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

The most common symptom clients reports is a temporary reduction in energy. They may find themselves sleeping longer, perhaps as much as 12 hours a night. Some people 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 in the individuals 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 accentuated by the body’s process of tearing apart defective tissue, repairing cells, destroying parasites or infective agents, and otherwise producing debris from the reconstruction.

The more severe the individual’s condition (the more toxic his or her body I), the stronger the healing reaction will be. 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 the healing reaction will be.

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?

It is believed that the specific symptoms that a person experiences at any five times depends 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 this ratio gets out of balance in 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.

People re-experience symptoms as they get healthier because, in order to progress from, say, a 100:1 imbalance to a 1:1 balance, they have to go back through 99:1, 98:1, and so forth. As they go through each phase, they experience the symptoms associated with that particular level of imbalance.

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 explain the basis of the chronic illnesses, such as arthritis, pain, and fatigue that plague so many people.

Try to picture the healing process as going up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs, the energy is balanced, all of the nutrients are present in their proper ratios, and the body is functioning properly. When a persons begins to deteriorate, he moves down the stairs, and at each step along the way he experiences a specific kind of symptom-perhaps less energy at one step, headaches a little further down, an 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-experience the symptoms associated with various levels of health.

Drugs That Block Pain May Also Block Healing

Experiencing such healing reactions can be very distressing for many people because our society teaches that symptoms are somehow bad. Although, it is tempting to take painkillers, antihistamines, or other drugs when uncomfortable symptoms occur in the course of healing, it is very important to follow the prescribed program correctly and to do nothing to interfere with the healing process. If an individual experienced a period of pain, taking painkillers or other drugs to relieve the symptoms, actually prolongs the discomfort.

You see aspirin and antihistamines work by blocking the prostaglandin-chemical substances found throughout the body, which regulate many bodily functions and metabolic processes. Generally the prostaglandin work in opposing pairs. One for example may produce inflammation and swelling in response to a specific stimulus, while another undoes these reactions. When a person takes aspirin or an antihistamine to stop an uncomfortable reaction, he may not experience the pain or inflammation, but he also does not get the healing that undoes the reason for the pain and inflammation. He has achieved a stalemated rather that a cure.

Some Natural Ways To Ease Healing Reactions

When healing reactions are very troublesome, we can usually do something to help. Some herbal remedies relieve symptoms without interfering with the healing process. For example, white willow bark contains a different chemical form of salicylic acid than aspirin, so that it blocks only the inflammation chain of the prostaglandin and not the healing chain. This is one example that illustrates why natural substances are preferable to synthetic drugs in the long run.

Another non-invasive remedy that supports and stimulates healing is magnetic therapy. Health magnets applied to the areas of discomfort give relief to many people for various discomforts. Be aware that refrigerator magnets and industrial magnets are generally different than magnets that have been specifically designed for health purposes.

The dosage of certain supplements can also be adjusted to slow down the rate at which the healing process takes place. When clients have uncomfortably strong healing reactions, I cut down on the dosage of some of their tissue extracts. This slows down the healing process. The uncomfortably strong healing process. The uncomfortable symptoms are less intense, but the healing process is also more prolonged. As the person’s body becomes detoxified, we can once again increase the tissue extract dosage until it is being taken at optimal dosage.

There are certain energy techniques, related to the methods of Applied Kinesiology and acupuncture that can help to balance the body’s energy quickly, so that the individual can go through the healing process with a minimum of discomfort. These energy techniques have been in practice for thousands of years.

One of these points is below the nose. Place your thumbnail upside down ate the base of the nose and apply pressure as if you are pointing with your thumb to the top of your head. Apply pressure for 30 seconds until it hurts. This should alleviate the reactive symptoms.

When a person is experiencing a healing reaction, he may be worried that he is getting worse, rather than getting better. The timing and sequence of symptoms, as well as the use of energy-testing techniques can be used to monitor the progress of healing. If the person is undergoing a healing reaction, they should be reassured with the explanation that the uncomfortable symptoms are a sign that he is moving up to a higher level of health. The skillful practitioner will be able to determine that healing is taking place rather than some “disease process”.