Symptoms

Symptoms are trying to tell you something... and it's not a drug deficiency.

Symptoms

Symptoms are not the enemy.

They are messengers.

Yes, they are your body's cries for help with the challenges your are taking on right now.

Killing the messenger does not help overcome the challenge.

The problem is whatever is causing your body to have to work so hard trying to overcome it that you feel discomfort of some sort...

The problem is the cause.

The symptom is the effect.

And when we start listening to the symptoms, and understanding them, they are also the beginning of the solution...

Learn More

Symptoms come in many shapes, sizes and colors...

We like to consider them against a range of different maps of important dimensions of health.

These include the 5 Elements of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), the 5 Terrains of my 5 Phases of Health model, all of which you will hear more about...

But for starters, a more familiar map we will consider now is the body's systems.

There are many different ways to organize the body's organs and tissues into systems...

Our favorite is the one the body uses to make these organs and tissues...

It's the embryological tissue Layers that develop as the body grows from one cell to many...

System 1 is the deepest, and System 5 is the most superficial, so this way of looking at your symptoms gives you a quick rating of how deeply the challenge has penetrated into the body...

System 1: Compression

The deepest tissue system is essential for movement and flow.

It includes the skeletal muscles that move the body, and also the urinary tract the maintains a flow of waste elimination from the blood.

The key function of muscles is to contract, so that the distance from the origin to the insertion of the muscle decreases.

The key functions of the kidneys are to both concentrate the waste stream, so you don't dehydrate, and reabsorb the nutrient minerals...

The only essential mineral the kidneys cannot conserve is Chromium.

Chromium deficiency is involved in cardiovascular issues, and diabetes...

It's needed to process sugars and carbohydrates, yet it is also the first mineral stripped from food in processing...

Restoring healthy Chromium levels increases lifespan potential by about 5 years...

The most common remedy that balances stress in the Kidneys is a broad spectrum probiotic we call Microbiome...

For muscle symptoms, one possibility to consider is underlying Liver stress.

The Liver is in another tissue layer, but when it is stress, it calls on the muscles to help produce Liver enzymes.

Muscles packed with Liver enzymes are achy, tight and more easily injured, so giving yourself some Liver Support is a good start.

If there are muscle cramps the fastest relief is with TMG Powder.

TMG is Trimethyglycine, a somewhat sweet tasting amino acid with 3 Methyl groups, making it the best Methyl donor!

It is great for many things including bile flow, raising SAMe levels (which elevates mood), and for boosting cellular oxidative respiration...

System 2: Connection

There are several types of connective tissues that develop from this tissue layer...

The bones are a good place to start, since the bone marrow is where both the red blood cells and the immune system's white blood cells start their life...

This system includes the Lymph system and the Lymphocytes that live there...

And the whole Cardiovascular system along with the hematocytes that circulate there...

System 3: Conversion

The Respiratory tract and the Digestive tract, along with the associated digestive glands are all made from Layer 3.

This system converts food into building blocks and fuel for the cells...

It also supplies Oxygen and helps to eliminate Acidity in the form of Carbon Dioxide, lowering blood levels of Carbonic Acid...

System 4: Communication

The Communication system forms by invagination of the outer tissue layer which becomes the skin, the integument...

The invagination process forms the neural tube which moves inside the body...

It is essentially taking the skin's function of receptivity to energy and information, and creating an inner sanctuary where all of that energy and information can be integrated...

The two major divisions of the Communication system are the Nervous System and the Endocrine System...

Together, this system can be called the Neuroendocrine system...

System 5: Containment

The integument, or skin, is the outermost, most superficial layer.

It is often either the first or the last to heal.

When it is acting as an organ of elimination, the skin can present annoying symptoms.

If the deeper cause of those symptoms can be supported, the skin may be able to relax, as the wastes are able to adequately get out of the body through the more usual routes of the kidneys and the colon...

If on the other hand, there continues to be a deeper stress, for example in the kidneys, the skin may be the last to heal, because the skin functions like a third kidney.

The same enzyme systems the kidneys use to make acidic urine are used in the skin to eliminate liquid waste through the sweat glands...

The stomach also uses these enzymes in making acidic gastric juices for digestion...

When we measure the impedence on the electroacupuncture points on the foot, we often see a correspondence between the stress measures on the kidney, the skin, and the stomach meridians.