Hindrances to Healing

If you missed last week’s post entitled, “Two Steps Forward, Are We Taking a Step Back?” I encourage you to go back and catch yourself up to speed before diving into part two here.

I’ve been laying the groundwork for this idea that our bodies are innately designed to heal, but sometimes once we finally begin to uncover what is truly keeping us sick, we begin to express new symptoms that can throw us off or discourage us from continuing on the current path. I used the example of chronic eczema on my hands, a sign of poor liver and lymph drainage, and a symptom that only surfaced after I began working on my gut health and liver detoxification. It was a long journey for me to uncover and treat the real root of my eczema–intestinal parasites called Blastocystis hominis–and it took months of drainage support once I finally figured out the cause for my body to be able to support their grand exit. 

I was doing “all the right things.” I cleaned up my diet, following a super-low carb anti-Candida diet before relaxing into a more sustainable Paleo approach. I even dabbled with Autoimmune Paleo for a few months after reading up on the connection between eczema and autoimmunity, but I saw no difference in my skin over that time. I threw out all my conventional personal care and cleaning products. I worked on my stress and sleep hygiene. I avoided a laundry list of food sensitivities and completed who knows how many gut healing protocols over that time, but yet every time I would re-test, I still had new food sensitivities and I STILL had miserable and sometimes debilitating eczema. 

I felt like I was constantly taking two steps forward, and one giant step back. 

It wasn’t until I dove into the foundational medicine model that I began to really understand what was going on “under the hood,” and I began a process of questioning the pathophysiology that I had always believed was established fact.

Toxins disrupt our body’s terrain, sabotage our mitochondrial energy, and weaken our immune systems, making us an inviting host for parasites and other pathogens to proliferate. When our body’s detox pathways and draining mechanisms are compromised we’re left with chemicals and toxins that the body has no way of getting rid of. Thus, these toxic byproducts are stored in the organs, in fat tissue, in the fascia and connective tissue, and are often buried deep in biofilms of the gut and other mucous membranes.  Biofilms are a thick and super-smart protective layer that parasites also love to hide in. 

Parasites are considered a type of “opportunistic” organism that live on or in a host and they get their nourishment at the expense of the host. Parasites are actually there for clean up! They ingest the toxins, bacteria, viruses, and essentially “hold onto” these harmful organisms, making them harder for us to treat and eradicate.

Parasites are an often overlooked cause of gut dysfunction, yes, even in Western society, but have you ever considered where else they could be wreaking havoc? For example, did you know that liver flukes can block bile flow and contribute to gallbladder disease and high cholesterol? How about pancreatic flukes that can contribute to insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction? That perhaps it isn’t all about diet and exercise, after all? Parasites can also cause a variety of chronic nutrient deficiencies (because they’re leaching nutrients from your diet) that lead to malfunctioning mitochondria, poor cellular energy, and slowed metabolism. 

If you’ve been dealing with long-term symptoms and you feel like you’ve tried “all the things,” but you haven’t thoroughly addressed drainage function and parasites, I’d encourage you to consider what this could mean for you. How about the stubborn reflux or heartburn and doctors said you’d just have to be on omeprazole for the rest of your life? Or how about the bloating and constipation, Candida or SIBO that you can’t seem to kick? What about the weight that you just can’t possibly seem to keep off, even with strict diet and exercise? Or hormonal issues, like PCOS or endometriosis that may also correlated with parasitic activity? 

I know that parasite cleanses have become a bit of a fad recently, but I don’t want their overnight popularity to discredit their effectiveness. I think it’s great that more people are talking about how easy it is to pick up parasites from your pets, your food (do you like pork or sushi?), contaminated swimming or drinking water, or even by walking barefoot through your yard! That doesn’t mean that we should live in fear or in a bubble, but knowing how easy it is to come in contact with parasites, even in modern day America, should make us that much more cognizant of our wellness routines that keep us from being a hospitable host.

By addressing drainage pathways first, we prepare the way for true detoxification by opening up the body’s routes of elimination. Next, we address the body’s overall parasitic load, because there’s no use going after things like viruses, mold, or heavy metals when parasites can be “holding onto” them and preventing actual progress. Then, and only then, do we tackle the heavy hitters with the detoxification of toxic elements. 

Supporting these fundamental repair systems to allow the body to uproot and eliminate whatever has been stored away over the years allows us the potential to heal from decades of dis-ease due to stored pathogens and toxins. 

It’s not always a quick process, and sometimes we still experience setbacks. But I am convinced that the healing that is possible when we start pulling back the layers and supporting the body’s design is always worth the effort.

If you haven’t taken my Detox Detective quiz yet, it’s a great place to begin to identify where your “weak link” in your drainage funnel might be. Once you’ve identified which area to begin, then I’ll send you specific guidance and tips straight to your inbox about how to support your particular area(s) of opportunity. Go check it out!