In the course of following a nutritional program for allergies or other problems, many people experience uncomfortable symptoms.  This is known as healing reaction.

The most common symptom my clients report is temporary reduction in energy.  They may find themselves sleeping longer, perhaps as much as 12 hours a night.  Some people also report aches and pains in various parts of the body, digestive-system disturbances such as gas, constipation, or diarrhea, or other miscellaneous complaints.

These symptoms occur because the body is ridding itself of the substances that have been making it toxic – not only the materials that have accumulated in the colon, but also the antibodies and other substances that have built up in the individual cells, interfering with their normal functioning.  As these substances are ejected out of the tissues, they are dumped into the system, making the body temporarily more toxic until they can be excreted.  This is partly what produces the symptoms of the healing reaction.  This effect is accentuated by the body’s process of tearing apart defective tissue, repairing damaged cells, destroying parasites or infective agents, and otherwise producing debris from reconstruction.

I find that the more severe the individual’s condition, (the more toxic his or her body is), the stronger will be the healing reaction.  Because the healing reaction is caused by the flushing of toxins out of the cells, the strength of the reaction also depends on how carefully the individual is following the recommended nutritional program.  The more correctly the program is followed, the stronger will be the healing reaction.

Why Old Symptoms Come Back

Often in the course of the healing process, old symptoms temporarily reappear.  Why should people have to go back through these old problems in the course of getting better?  I believe that the specific symptoms that a person experiences at any given time depend on the balance among the various biochemical substances in the body.  For example, when a person is perfectly healthy, there is a certain ratio between substance A and substance B in the tissues.  When the ratio gets out of balance to a certain degree, the person may feel fatigue; when the imbalance is greater, a headache may occur; when it is greater still, the person may develop insomnia, and so on.

One reason people must re-experience symptoms as they get healthier is that in order to progress from say a 100:1 imbalance to a 1:1 balance, they have to go through 99:1, 98:1, and so forth, and as they experience the symptoms associated with that particular level of imbalance.

Biochemist John Eck has pursued a similar line of though in his research on mineral nutrients.  Using hair analysis, Eck has suggested the optimal levels for some of the principle minerals in the body.  On the basis of the ratios among these minerals, Eck is able to estimate how efficiently the thyroid and adrenal glands are functioning, and hence to predict an individual’s metabolic energy level.

Of course in actuality, a person’s symptoms would not depend on the ratio between just two substances, but among hundreds of different things.  If a person gets stuck at some level he will get stuck in the symptoms for that level.  This helps to explain the basis of chronic illnesses from which so many people suffer.

I like to picture the healing process as going up a flight of stairs.  At the top of the stairs, the energy is balanced, all the nutrients are present in their proper ratios, and the body is functioning properly.  When people’s health begins to deteriorate, they move down the stairs, and at each step along the way, they experience a specific kind of symptom – perhaps less energy at one step, headaches a little further down, and ulcer still further, and so on.  As the body begins to heal itself once again, the person begins to move back up the stairs, and re-experiences the symptoms associated with these various levels of health.

The experience of one of my clients illustrates how difficult the healing process can be.  When Mona first came to my office, she hobbled along on a cane, moving with difficulty, and constantly in pain.  Her arthritis has developed rapidly, and she looked 10 years older than she was.  In spite of the hopeless prognosis she received from numerous health professionals, Mona was a fighter and was determined to overcome her affliction.  Her high motivation helped her to follow closely the program he worked out for her.  Now, only a year later, Mona is almost over her arthritis.  She threw away her cane months ago.