Diabetes and Alternative/Complementary Medicine, What You Should Know

It took me quite a time to make one blog. I apologize, has been busy with my 2 new locations and my teaching career.

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The Forgotten Universal Key Ingredient

Like our planet, we humans are a walking bottle of water. Our body is approximately 70% water. At a cellular level, 45% is extracellular where 8% is in the blood, 22 % is interstitial and lymphatic, and 15% is in connective tissues, cartilage and bone; the remaining 55% of the water is intracellular. Our body and cells use water to dispose of waste, as transportation of  enzymes, proteins, amino acids, fats, minerals, vitamins,  temperature regulation of organs and body and as a medium for biochemical reactions such as hydrolysis, oxidation and reduction. Water is composed of one atom of hydrogen and two of oxygen, hydrogen been positively charged and oxygen negatively. The outcome of one hydrogen and two oxygen atoms create some sort of electric charge that facilitates the union (bonding) of hydrogen to oxygen, nitrogen and fluorine from another molecule.

As we can see, water is a very important factor in order to maintain a healthy body, which includes our brain.  Poor hydration can easily affect the brain’s chemistry the more viscous the solution is less effective biochemical reactions are.

Doctor F. Batmanghelidj spent 2 years and 7 months in an Islamic prison. During his time in jail he made a very interesting discovery, he was experiencing abdominal pain and upon drinking water the pain went away… later on during his incarceration officials brought him two prisoners with peptic ulcer pain but he did not have any medications so he offered them tap water and for his surprise the pain went away as well. No more to say he spent the remaining time  doing observations on water as a treatment and once released he kept studying, researching and documenting his findings. Now he believes that a comprehensive understanding of  physiology from an anatomical to a molecular perspective can shed light on many diseases that nowadays afflict humanity.

He found that many humans are dehydrated even if their mouth is not dried causing chemical imbalances at a cellular-molecular level. Dehydration can cause poor performance of vitamins, minerals and even amino acids. According to F. Batmanghelidj, MD prolong dehydration can create imbalances that eventually, if perpetuated, can be passed on to the offspring, meaning genetic mutations, resulting in diseases such as asthma, allergies, depression, diabetes and many other genetic disorders. This dehydration pushes the body to make its best to survive in a system with less water. The consequences are ample, as I previously mentioned, but one aspect that is more interesting is that the liver uses tryptophan and tyrosine as antioxidants substitute, which causes a lack of tryptophan and tyrosine in the brain (or body). All these information that water is nourishing and life supporting and a deficiency of this nourishing and life supporting liquid points out to what ancient Chinese medicine practitioners called yin and/or jin, ye deficiency. After all what they were explaining was exactly what science is now able to explain by means of a total different jargon, dehydration can cause biochemical imbalances which in turn will manifest pathologically.

I would like to expand on this yin, jin, ye deficiency concept by quoting a portion of  Lei Jing Fu Yi (Wings to the Classified Canon) written by Zhang Jing-Yue, a famous Chinese physician from the Ming dynasty

Yin cannot exist without yang; without qi, form cannot be engendered. Yang cannot exist without yin; without yang, form cannot be carried. So, substance is engendered because yang engenders it, and substance is formed because yin forms it. This so-called original yin and original yang and is also called true essence and true qi. […] Early heavens causes qi to transform [into] form; this is yang engendering yin. Later heaven is form transforming [into] qi; this is yin engendering yang. Form is essence and essence is water. Spirit is qi and qi is fire. The two qi -yin and yang- most importantly should not be imbalanced. If they are not imbalanced, qi is harmonious and can engender substance. If they are imbalanced, qi is disharmonious and kills substances. […] Those who are good at treating essence are able to make qi be engendered from within essence; those who are good at treating qi are able to make essence be engendered within qi. This follows the mysterious use of [the fact that yin and yang] are separate but indivisible.  (This quotation was taken from the book Principles of Chinese Medical Andrology by Bob Damone. Blue Poppy Press, 2008 pp 16.)

While I was reading this quote  I could not stop thinking on what Doctor F. Batmanghelidj explained on his book that by hydrating the body by means of water (yin in nature or jin-ye) the body will start creating ‘hydroelectricity’ (qi) by rushing water through cell membranes’ pumps. Rehydration of the cells will bring into the cell more nutrients (yin) which would be used by the mitochondria to create more ATP’s (qi). By having more water (yin) at the cellular level the minerals, amino acids and proteins will be able to flow freely and faster (from a stagnant situation they are quicken by water) and engage into energy producing cycle known as Kreb’s cycle. From my perspective, Dr Batmanghelidj has developed a paradigm that closely relates with what in Chinese medicine we call yin, jin or ye deficiency. The difference is that for Dr Batman a big chunk of ailments, disorders, syndromes and diseases spring from what we call in Chinese medicine yin, jin or ye deficiency. He believes that we humans are not aware of the body’s messages. Confusing thirst with hunger (food and water are late heaven) deprives the body of water which over time will start suffering a ‘drought’, the body will be able to manage it but its cumulative effect will start mounting to the point that serious degenerative conditions are manifested. Here we see a lack of water or cellular dehydration (yin deficiency) leading to disharmonious qi (lack of energy production) which in turn will damage yin even more by activating histamine and renin-angiotensin (qi or yang in nature).

Signs of Dehydration

Doctor Fereydoon Batmanghelidj grouped signs and symptoms of dehydration into four categories these are feelings, drought and resource management, local dehydration and fourth dimension. For simplistic reasons I will propose to call these groups differently acute, sub-acute, chronic and degenerative. Under the acute (Feelings) category the person will start complaining of heaviness sensation in the head, irritability, anxiety, anger, impatientness, low spirits and feeling inadequate, depressed mood, attention deficits, poor concentration, poor memory, shortness of breath without any pathological evidence,  malar flush, red nose and chin, tiredness, sleep disturbances, craving coffee, tea, sodas or any other beverage, and agoraphobia. Batmanghelidj proposes that dreaming of water, rivers, oceans, lakes or anything similar might be a subconscious signal that the person is dehydrated. A person with a sub-acute dehydration will experience what he calls cannibalistic processes where the body starts attacking its own tissues in order to obtain the water that it needs. The conditions that he believes are part of what I call sub-acute dehydration are asthma, allergies, hypertension, constipation, type 2 diabetes and autoimmune disorders. The third stage, which I call chronic dehydration, the patient will start manifesting localized pain due to an accumulation of acid inside the cell; these signs are heartburn, gastritis, duodenitis, esophagitis, and indigestion after eating, angina, lower back pain, arthritic pain (even rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis), migraine, colitis, fibromyalgia, bulimia, edema and morning sickness. Once the chronic stage has started, degeneration of tissues and organs is underway leading to the last stage called degenerative. Some of the diseases or disorders due to severe dehydration (degenerative) are obesity, high cholesterol and triglycerides,  plaquing of arteries, coronary thrombosis, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, heart failure, strokes, juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s, scleroderma, cancers and AIDS.

How Much Water

 

Every twenty-four hours the body recycles an equivalent of forty thousand glasses of water. From that amount of water a healthy human (note that healthy is in bold which means that people that are not healthy might need more) lose approximately 2 liters of water per day; of that amount 50% is loss via urine while 5% is lost in fecal matter while the remaining 45% is lost through our lungs and skin. On a cellular level, at least 75% of the cytoplasm content is water, 25% at an extracellular level while 8% of water is in the blood as serum.  Now imagine what will happen if there is dehydration present. To make this easier to understand let us compare this with a budgetary deficit. When governments start facing deficits resources have to be re-allocated some areas will suffer severe cuts, other less and there will be some that will  not experience any disturbance yet if the deficit keeps growing more cuts and restructuring will occur and if the deficit keeps mounting it will come a day that governments will go bankrupt. Something similar happens with the body when dehydration takes place. First the body will take water at an intracellular level, then extracellular level…the body will rationalize the water to the most important organs brain, liver, kidneys and heart. While this process of rationalization is taking place, the mitochondria will keep producing energy and their “waste” will start piling up, which creates an acidic intracellular environment and later on an acidic extracellular environment. A shortage of water will shrink the cell and the cytoplasm will become more viscous.  It is good to mention that as humans get older their thirst sensation decreases. At this point, you might have an idea of how many physiological consequences dehydration exerts in the body, it is no wonder to see people suffering with some of the signs and symptoms previously mentioned, and it is rightfully correct to ask how much water I should be drinking.

As a rule of thumb I always advice to drink 2 glasses of water as soon as waking up and one glass of water 30 minutes to 1 hour before and after having a meal or snack. This routine will certainly keep your cells well hydrated and equipped to transport nutrients, hormones, other substances and the proper methylation and hydrolysis processes. You could take your weight and convert it into ounces and divided it by two; the result is an estimate of how much water a person should be drinking.

Doctor Batmanghelidj believes that we have been deceived to believe that coffee, tea, soda, alcohol and other liquids can replace water consumption. His point of view is that nothing can replace the life giving and sustaining liquid known as water.  He advises that in order to re-hydrate our cells we need to add sea salt to the water we drink. I highly recommend reading his book if you are more interested in his paradigm.

Certainly water plays a major role in our body biochemistry therefore increase your water intake to flush out lactic acid out of your system, increase oxygenation at a cellular level, promote stronger molecular bonds, facilitate enzymatic activity and other reactions so necessary to produce cellular energy and good health.  Cheers!

Emmanuel Arroyo is a New York State licensed acupuncturist, certified chinese medicine herbologist and iridologist.  Can be contact by email at dr.agujas@gmail.com or by phone at 917-324-1140


This information should not be copied or published without written consent from Emmanuel Arroyo.

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Medicines show up in water | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

Tiny traces of medical hormones, antidepressants, antibiotics and other drugs are trickling into the drinking water of homes and businesses across Delaware, a new Division of Public Health study has found.
The drug residues turned up in more than half the Delaware water samples taken from 20 public water sources and 95 farm irrigation wells last year.
Among the most common contaminants in Delaware's public taps: caffeine, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, the painkiller ibuprofen, a medical-imaging aid called iopromide and estrogens.
Also found: antidepressants, cholesterol drugs, nicotine and triclosan, an ingredient widely used in soaps and antibacterial hand cleaners, but now under investigation as a potential disruptor of human endocrine systems.
The release of the information was prompted by a formal request by The News Journal.
"At these extremely low levels, it's not expected that there would be a health impact, but then, nobody's sure of that," said Edward G. Hallock, program administrator for Delaware's Office of Drinking Water. "When you add three or four compounds, even at extremely low levels, we're not sure whether there's an effect."
Those questions already are circulating in Congress, where some lawmakers recently pressed the Environmental Protection Agency to look closer at the cumulative effect of low-level but long-term exposure to toxic compounds, and frequent exposure to cocktails of pharmaceuticals at trace levels.
Recent studies have tied antidepressant levels in fish brains to water pollutants, Kolpin said. Others have found that chemicals from human activities may be disrupting fish responses to predators, making them more vulnerable.
Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that up to 82 percent of male bass in the Potomac River had "intersex" symptoms, or female cells in their male reproductive organs. Scientists said the symptoms were "an indicator of exposure to estrogens or chemicals that mimic the activity of natural hormones."
In the Delaware study, the Wilmington, United Water Delaware and Newark systems, supplied from local creeks, had the highest concentrations, but pharmaceuticals and personal care product residues were detected in all three counties. Pharmaceuticals and hormones are believed to pass into the environment because sewage treatment plants were never designed to capture or break down the chemicals.

List getting long

Windybush resident Theresa Cody said Monday the news adds another reason for her uneasiness about our drinking water.
"It does slightly concern me -- that's why we have filtered water, and that's why we drink a lot of bottled water," Cody said. "I'm more concerned about industrial contaminants and things like that. The list is getting too long. Antibiotics in our meat, all kinds of things."
Delaware officials are worried enough that plans call for a stepped-up campaign to discourage flushing of medications and other medicinal chemicals in toilets. Development of disposal alternatives or drop-off programs also are under consideration.
"From what I've seen from other states, I don't think that we're any different than what's being found across the country, as far as surface water and shallow groundwater," Hallock said.
Although results from individual wells and water intakes have not been released, a summary of findings noted that 17 different drugs were found in 101 samples of treated and untreated water from public systems. Tests of 95 shallow farm irrigation wells detected 14 compounds. Some samples had as many as nine different substances.
Researchers have pointed to discharges from sewage-treatment plants and septic systems, sewage sludges, wastewater-fed irrigation systems and landfills as likely sources. Concentrations were in the parts-per-billion and parts-per-trillion range, however, far below levels in prescription doses.
Delaware's study, which cost $200,000, tested for 23 compounds, but many others not on the list are viewed as potentially harmful to humans, including flame retardants, plasticizers used in bottles, insect repellents and other medications and hormones.
Officials are preparing a report on the sampling and analysis commissioned by Delaware's Cancer Consortium.
Dana W. Kolpin, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey's Iowa Water Science Center, said scientists are concerned about the human and environmental consequences. In addition to flushed-away medications, human wastes carry away medicines not used by the body, Kolpin said. Although some may be trapped in sewage sludge, they can be released to groundwater as sludges are reused as farm fertilizers. Even landfilled drugs can eventually find their way into drinking water, since liquids emerging from modern dumps are often captured and sent through sewage plants.
"It's not because of any negligence by treatment plants," Kolpin said. "These compounds haven't been a part of the [treatment] equation, and they're still not regulated."
The USGS and the EPA are preparing new studies of contamination levels before and after treatment, Kolpin said, with a goal of helping to develop new ways to reduce releases of the chemicals.

Filter claims unverified

While some home tap-filter producers claim their systems can capture antibiotics and other contaminants, Kolpin said he was unaware of any that have undergone comprehensive, independent testing.
"They may or may not do something out of the box, depending on how well they've been maintained," Kolpin said. "But we've never done studies. There's a lot we don't know, just because we're trying to catch up on the products that are getting through."
The Brandywine is likely the largest carrier of pharmaceutical contaminants, because it receives treated wastewater from multiple sources as it courses through Pennsylvania, past Downingtown, Coatesville and West Chester.
University of Delaware professor and state Water Supply Coordinator Gerald Kauffman said that about 60 wastewater-treatment plants of varying sizes discharge into tributaries of the Brandywine, Wilmington's sole regular source of water. During past droughts, treated sewage and the trace contaminants it carries accounted for as much as 15 percent of all water reaching the city's treatment plant.
"Until we know more about it, in terms of developing methods of treatment, it's best to limit the amount of pharmaceuticals that get into the water supply by the very simple method of not flushing it, and making sure it's packaged for disposal."
"The other thing that's being talked about is getting pharmaceutical companies involved in disposal of their products, just as other industries are," Kauffman said. By Jeff Montgomery for The News Journal 27 April 2010 Contact Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or jmontgomery@delawareonline.com.