Detoxification and Homotoxicology

By Caroline Walrad, Ph.D., CN

Philosophy

When the body retains toxins, it will do it’s very best to release them from the cells and tissues. The pathways to release the toxins are called emunctories.  These emunctories are the kidney/bladder/urine, intestine/stool, uterus/menstruation, skin/perspiration, lung/breath, and liver. Although the liver does not lead to the outside of the body, it is the main detoxifying organ in the body. Nearly everything in the body filters through the liver at least once. Many environmental toxins, such as insecticides, fungalcides, metals and other carcinogenic chemicals are converted, if possible, in the liver. Then, the toxins must go through the cellular processes and be eventually excreted through another emunctory. Many chemicals are lipid binding and will be stored in adipose (fat) tissue of the body. The lymphatic system will try to bring the toxins to the large intestine instead of being stored in the body.

There are many reasons why a person does not excrete unwanted substances. Mainly it is because glands of the body are not in good health. Another reason is that the body has too many parasites and candida yeasts/fungus in the mucous membranes and walls of the intestines. The more mercury and other metals from our environment, including leaky amalgams, create a compounding situation with the parasitical environment. They benefit from the existence of each other. The more mercury, the more candida. When one’s diet is poor, the ph-balance is off and the system cannot excrete bacteria and viruses and toxins. The environment is ripe for overgrowth of organisms and the inability of the lymph to do its work. A diet of fruit, vegetables, good quality of protein, and low carbohydrates are important. Sugar or coffee or alcohol will create a disease-producing environment. It is said that one teaspoon of sugar will decrease the immune system efficiency by fifty percent.

When the body is not exercised and lymph is not circulated from the stretching or muscle contractions, the toxins/lymph become stagnated and the body will try to wall off the toxin from the rest of the body. Cysts and benign tumors can result.

Lack of balance in the person’s spirit and soul can also create a ‘holding-on’ vibrational pattern within certain organs. We know from the Chinese, that each organ represents an emotion such as: liver/anger, lung/fear, gallbladder/resentment, spleen/worry, etc. These sites of emotional storage must also be considered when the goal is to detoxify the body.

When the body begins to ‘fast,’ toxins are trying to be released through all emunctories and the lymph is trying to carry the toxins to the sites of release. Any emotional frequencies will also be released from the various organs. The healthier the liver and emunctories are of the body, the easier and less painful the fast will be. It is important to do many things after the detoxification process is started. The body needs lots of fresh neutral water to flush the system, especially the kidneys. Hot baths are a wonderfully inexpensive and effective way to aid the body in detoxification. One sits in a hot bath and waits until the water reaches room temperature. At this point, the body will begin to perspire and release the toxins through the skin. Once a woman stops menstruating, the body must adjust and send the toxins to other emunctories. If the liver is congested already, the skin cannot perspire or breathe, the lungs are ineffective and the kidney is not filtering properly, menopause can be very difficult for the body. Sometimes, a female body can ‘get by’ without illness until menopause. This may be one of the reasons. Immobility allows the lymph to settle and toxins to ‘pool’ in cellulite and bumps under the skin and settles even deeper within the body. By stretching and using the muscles in yoga or other forms of exercise, the lymph is moved through it’s emunctories, especially the intestines. When detoxification is initiated, lots of water, massage, saunas, exercise, etc, are extremely important for health. Sometimes when people begin to ‘diet’, they feel very sick. This can be from failure of the emunctories to be efficient.

We heal in a specific order. Which means the body excretes toxins in a very calculated way. Herring’s Laws of Cure states that we:

1. Heal from the inside out.  This means that our heart will heal before the acne. We will sleep better first. Our nervous system will settle before the kidney heals.

2. Heal from the top down.  Eczema on the head will heal before eczema on the foot.

3. Heal from the most recent symptom to the less recent symptom.  Our toxins are released from the exposure of yesterday, that from the exposure when we were infants.

We must know which direction our cure is going before we know if we are getting better or worse.

Dr Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg developed the theory of homotoxicology by integrating modern medical science with the principles of homeopathy. In the Reckegweg method, each body is viewed as a dynamic flow system constantly adjusting to it’s surrounding environment. He developed the term, ‘homotoxin, or any material that adversely affects the human body.

Dr Reckeweg created two phases of homotoxicolgy: The humoral phase and the Cellular phase. Because some tissue types are actually ‘deeper and more important for life’ in the body, they are given a priority. Ectodermal (skin type found on the outside of the body and the GI tract) is the outside layers of importance, then Endodermal, Mesenchymal, and last is Mesodermal tissues.

There are six total phases, below in order of severity:

Humoral:  excretion, reaction and deposition phases
Matrix: deposition and impregnation
Cellular:  impregnation, degeneration and neoplasm phases

When someone is detoxifying from the excretion phase and the ectodermal tissues, the detoxification is light, the results extraordinary. However, if the body is holding toxins in the mesodermal tissues and is in the degeneration phase, it is serious. When this detoxification is invoked, the body MUST have tremendous amounts of water, exercise, ph-balancing diet, and rest for a period of time. When the system becomes exhausted for any reason, it must rest. It is important to treat the detoxification with care according to the severity of congestion. With the degeneration phase, the body has walled off the toxins and the cells around and in it are degenerating. Oxygen is not getting to the cells and a carbolic reaction is taking place.

Homotoxicology is a system for understanding the penetration and degree of releasability of toxins within the body. Understanding this, will help us understand when we are getting well.