Recover from Germ Phobia

February 9, 2010 Recover from Germ Phobia by Building Your Immune System by Steven Horne, RH(AHG)   I must confess that I feel frustrated by how germ phobic most people in our society are. Everywhere I turn people are concerned about killing poor defenseless microbes. They seek to sanitize this and sterilize that, all in the belief that the reason we get sick is because microbes invade our otherwise healthy bodies and make us sick.   Beyond basic sanitation (washing my hands and keeping my home clean) I NEVER worry about microbes because I know that the whole germ theory is seriously flawed. In fact, I believe that our obsession with killing microbes is doing more harm than good.   You see, there are two theories out there about germs and disease, not just one. The first theory says that says germs cause disease. This  "germ theory" was advanced by Louis Pasteur, and it's become so popular most people accept it as fact. The second theory says that germs attack weakened tissue and that if tissue is healthy there is no breeding ground for infection.   This theory was advanced by a contemporary of Pasteur named Antoine Beauchamp and is known as the biological terrain theory. And, it's no secret that I'm a big proponent of biological terrain theory.   As an interesting side note, Pasteur didn't discover  "germs", he plagurized the work of other researchers like Beauchamp. It is even reported that Pasteur admitted on his deathbed that Beauchamp was right. Another of Pasteur's contemporaries, Rudolph Virchow, is reported to have said on his deathbed that if he were to live his life over again, he would devote it to proving that germs seek their natural habitat, diseased tissue, rather than being the cause of disease.   My thirty years of experience in natural healing makes me a firm proponent of the biological terrain theory. For example, I can remember many times when everyone in my family was sick and I nursed them back to health and never got sick myself. Another reason why I subscribe to this approach is because when I do get sick, I get well faster when I focus on remedies that detoxify my body rapidly. When I've tried just taking something that's antimicrobial, I don't recover as quickly.   Just think about it. If Pasteur was right, and germs alone cause disease, then why is it that a group of people can all be exposed to the same microbe and some will get sick and some won't? We say it's because some of the people are immune, but what that really means is that some people didn't have an environment in their tissues that was favorable to serve as a host for the infection. In other words, their tissues were healthy!   So, you can only "catch" a cold when your system is weakened in a manner that makes you susceptible. In fact, I read an article many years ago that talked about clinics where they test products for colds. In these clinics they deliberately infect people by injecting cold viruses into their sinuses, and only about half the people who they do this to actually "catch" a cold. That's really an eye-opener isn't it?   Let me clue you in on another little secret. If we could kill all the bacteria, fungus and viruses in the world, we'd all be dead! Microbes actually play critical roles in helping plants grow, breaking down dead organic material, creating products we use everyday and even in keeping us healthy.   Furthermore, exposure to microbes actually helps our immune system learn how to deal with them. Children growing up in homes that are highly disinfected have greater risks for allergies and asthma because they may not develop a healthy gut microflora.   You see, part of what protects us from disease is a layer of friendly microbes that grow on the surface of our skin and on our mucus membranes. These microbes form a natural barrier that resists harmful infections. Kill off these microbes with disinfectants and we actually wind up losing part of our natural immune defense.   So, if you really want to stay healthy, start by taking Probiotics. Probiotics are friendly bacteria that colonize your digestive tract and protect you from infection. Probiotic Eleven is a great product to use. You can also eat yoghurt with live bacterial cultures daily (if you're not allergic to dairy) or eat naturally fermented foods.   Stress weakens your immune system, because the stress hormones released by the adrenal glands dampen the immune response That's why you're most likely to get sick when you're feeling stressed. So, if you really want to stay healthy, learn to manage your stress.   One way to do this is to use adaptagens. Adaptagens modulate the output of stress hormones, which reduces stress and enhances immunity. Adaptamax is a great product here, because it not only contains adaptagens, it contains immune stimulants as well.   Immune stimulants put your immune system on "red alert" so that you're better prepared to fight off any infection you may be exposed to. Two of my favorite immune stimulants are Ultimate Echinacea, which is great for kids, and Immune Stimulator, which is fantastic for adults. During cold and flu season you can take these products daily to keep your immune system going strong.   If you have weakness in the lungs and tend to get sick easily when it is cold, try Chinese Lung Support and Cordyceps. These products act as tonics to your immune system and can help you get through the winter without coming down with anything. Cordyceps is also an adaptagen, so it will help you cope with stress better.   Don't be afraid of germs. Fear is stressful, and that lowers your immune system.. Read what Dr. Edward Bach, the English homeopath who developed Bach Flower Remedies had to say about the fear of disease in the sidebar. If you have issues with fears, you might also want to attend my free webinar this week.. It's called, It Takes Courage to Succeed, and is about overcoming fears. You can register by clicking the link below. Click here to view It Takes Courage to Succeed   Take  Practical Tools for Health Assessment Via  Webinar with Thomas Easley, RH(AHG)   Starting Monday, February 22 and going for the next 12 weeks, Thomas Easley will be teaching Tree of Light's Practical Tools for Health Assessment course via webinar. This is a great opportunity to expand your ability to read what a person needs to do to improve their health.   Our Health Assessment course teaches the basics of tongue and pulse analysis, glandular body typing, muscle testing and pH testing to provide you with a wide range of tools to figure out what is out of balance in your clients.  It integrates well with our ABC+D Approach class and the concepts of biological terrain and the disease tree.   Thomas will have two very special guest instructors, Phyllis Light and Corey Pine Shane. Thomas will cover tongue and pulse analysis and glandular body typing. Cory Pine Shane will talk about integrating Chinese pulse analysis and western medicine. Phyllis Light will discuss using size, shape, and birth date to determine a person's constitution.   The price of the class will be $349.00 or two payments of $190..00 and includes the Practical Tools for Health Assessment manual from Tree of Light. If you have already taken the Health Assessment course, you can register for the webinar for just $99.    Tree of Light is NOT taking registrations for this class. Please call (334) 804-6830 to register  N ew Comprehensive Guide to Nature's Sunshine Products  coming:    The sale on our updated Comprehensive Guide ends Wednesday, February 10.  This fourth edition features all of the following changes over our 3rd edition.  * We highlighted Steven's best picks in product lists to make it easier for beginners to decide which products to try first..   * We added all the new products NSP introduced at last year's convention in Las Vegas, including the new Sunshine Heroes line for children.   * We expanded the descriptions of how to deal with many major ailments, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and autoimmune disorders, adding about 50 pages of new material..   * We cross referenced diseases with major therapies, like colon cleansing, a gall bladder flush and correcting a hiatal hernia.   * We updated the ABC+D charts with new products and completely revised the Immune and Reproductive charts.   Order your copies by Wednesday and save 10% off the regular price of $39.95. You can also save on volume purchases, which means you can get 6 or more Guides for $28.79 each or 12 or more for just $21.59 each. Order online at www.treelite.com or call 800-416-2887 to order today.   We've also updated our Nature's Choices brochures with the latest NSP products, so order a few of these great educational tools to go with your new Comp Guides.   Dr. Edward Bach on The Fear of Disease   The following was written by Dr. Edward Bach, the English homeopath who created the Bach Flower Remedies.   In this age the fear of disease has developed until it has become a great power for harm, because it opens the door to those things we dread and makes it easier for their admission. Such fear is really self-interest, for when we are earnestly absorbed in the welfare of others there is no time to be apprehensive of personal maladies. Fear at the present time is playing a great part in intensifying disease, and modem science has increased the reign of terror by spreading abroad to the general public its discoveries, which as yet are but half-truths.   The knowledge of bacteria and the various germs associated with disease has played havoc in the minds of tens of thousands of people, and by the dread aroused in them has in itself rendered them more susceptible of attack. While lower forms of life, such as bacteria, may play a part in or be associated with physical disease, they constitute by no means the whole truth of the problem, as can be demonstrated scientifically or by everyday occurrences. There is a factor which science is unable to explain on physical grounds, and that is why some people become affected by disease while others escape, although both classes may be open to the same possibility of infection. Materialism forgets that there is a factor above the physical plane which in the ordinary course of life protects or renders susceptible any particular individual with regard to disease, of whatever nature it may be.   Fear, by its depressing effect on our mentality, thus causing disharmony in our physical and magnetic bodies, paves the way for invasion, and if bacteria and such physical means were the sure and only cause of disease, then indeed there might be but little encouragement not to be afraid. But when we realise that in the worst epidemics only a proportion of those exposed to infection are attacked and that, as we have already seen, the real cause of disease lies in our own personality and is within our control, then have we reason to go about without dread and fearless, knowing that the remedy lies with ourselves. We can put all fear of physical means alone as a cause of disease out of our minds, knowing that such anxiety merely renders us susceptible, and that if we are endeavouring to bring harmony into our personality we need anticipate illness no more than we dread being struck by lightning or hit by a fragment of a falling meteor. Dr Bach understood that health was not going to be obtained by declaring war on germs.  We can't kill all the microbes in our environment, but we can learn to create health by eating healthy and by having the right mental and emotional attitude.