The Healing Crisis     

The question is often asked, "Why is it that when I change my diet or take a different nutritional product I get sick?"

First, this usually happens when the substance taken is food based (grasses, juice powders) or cleansing herbs or homeopathic remedies.

Secondly, you're not getting sick; your body is utilizing the nutrients taken and is producing a healing crisis.

Discharges of mucous and even acute infections can be categorized as healing crises.

A crisis is brought about when the body becomes overcrowded with waste and irritating poisons. Cells and tissues begin to throw off the waste which is then carried by the bloodstream to the eliminatory organs-the bowels, kidneys, lungs, skin, nasal passages, ears, throat, bronchi, and genito-urinary organs.

These organs then become somewhat irritated and congested, and produce disease symptoms such as colds, boils, kidney and bladder infections, open sores, perspiration, diarrhea, fevers, etc...

These symptoms and the process of elimination are part of the cure. There is nothing to fear, but it is necessary to work with them. Do not suppress the symptoms with drugs unless absolutely necessary. (In some situations, such as with chronic diseases like cancer, the pain can become severe and drugs may sometimes need to be used.) The drugs themselves accumulate in the body because our organs were not made to handle them. They are stored in fatty tissue and other parts of the body. Tissues imbedded with these foreign elements actually begin a process of degeneration. That is why many natural healers claim that some diseases are in fact "drug diseases," i.e. caused by these inimical elements which only suppress nature's healing forces.

The Naturopathic school of thought distinguishes between a "healing crisis" and a "disease crisis." These may look alike by their outward manifestations, but they are taking place under different conditions.

A "disease crisis" occurs when the body is loaded to its toleration point with toxins and waste products. The body then arouses itself in self-defense and brings forth the acute elimination of toxins in the form of a cold, fever, inflammation, etc... The body is on the defense when it produces a disease crisis.

If the poisons are not adequately eliminated, the body will adapt itself to them and function at a lower energy level. These foreign wastes will continue to accumulate and inhibit the organs from performing their normal functions until finally a chronic disease manifests.

On the other hand, a healing crisis develops because the healing forces are on the offense-or ascending, as we say. Through natural living and a balanced, transitional diet, the body will get stronger and automatically start drawing from the tissues and eliminating chronic waste. This will cause the symptoms, which we call the healing crisis. During a healing crisis, therapy can be used to a much greater extent because the patient already has endurance and can tolerate cleansing herbs, fasting, and advanced water treatments. When people are weaker it is common to recommend energy-building foods, short fasts, and tonic herbs. Once the energy returns, more vigorous cleansing methods can be used.

A healing crisis shows that there is enough energy in the body to eliminate unwanted materials. The crisis can take the form of fevers, excessive menstrual discharge, diarrhea, itching, boils, ulcers, hemorrhages, etc. Reactions will vary according to how seriously ill the person has been, or how much he/she has been abused by the environment.

It is very important to be able to differentiate between a healing crisis and a change for the worse during a disease. Any crisis if not watched, understood, and properly treated can weaken the individual and last for several days. You will usually see a positive change in a healing crisis after three days. The most severe symptoms begin to decrease, the fever breaks, and the person becomes more relaxed. Psychologically they feel better. If after three days, however, the severe symptoms do not lessen, then a new course of treatment is indicated.

Many times, crises can be avoided if the individual has a strong constitution and properly functioning eliminatory organs. Also, sometimes there are warning symptoms that show that a crisis is coming and the body is trying to eliminate toxins. Dark urine, sluggishness, fevers, coated tongue, sense of irritability and weaknesses, headaches, and ringing in the ears, are a few warning signs to look for. If therapy is undertaken in these early stages and the body is assisted by the proper use of herbs, enemas, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, and hydrotherapy, energy blockages that are caused by accumulated waste can often be released. The normal energy flow can be restored to the eliminatory organs and accumulated poisons can be eliminated naturally without a noticeable crisis. Although there is no absolute guarantee that a crisis can be avoided, these naturally therapies will always assist nature in reestablishing health and balance.

The body will become stronger after each healing crisis if a better lifestyle is continued. Crises will become farther apart until the day comes when only health is present, and sickness is history. You may still experience slight crises once in a while, but they will usually be brief (one to three days). When they pass they will leave you healthier. When the healing crisis is over, in both weak and strong persons, toning and strengthening the body is a necessity. Exercise, proper diet, toning herbs, and hydrotherapy can be used.