Made for Health

Balanced

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants:

Home

Series Code: MH

Program Code: MH230004S


00:02 Whoa, hey.
00:04 Today's episode we're going to be talking about
00:07 finding balance.
00:08 We're going to learn about the intricate dance between the
00:10 immune system and the nervous system,
00:12 and what can unbalance us and tip the scales
00:15 towards autoimmune diseases.
00:16 We're going to understand better how the foods we eat,
00:19 the way we sleep, and even our gut health
00:21 play vital roles in keeping us stable and in health.
00:25 Because that's what we were made for.
00:45 Have you ever walked on a tightrope?
00:48 It's harder than it looks.
00:50 Philippe Petit was only 18 years old when he made it his ambition
00:53 to walk between the roofs of the Twin Towers
00:56 in New York City on a tightrope.
00:58 Six years later in 1974, he did it on a one-inch thick cable
01:03 that sagged, swayed, vibrated, and was as cold as ice.
01:07 How did he do it?
01:08 With a lot of planning and practice for sure.
01:10 But he shared one of his secrets.
01:12 He didn't fixate on the towers, but instead focused
01:15 on the space between them.
01:18 Balance is important in all areas of our life,
01:21 but especially when it comes to the immune system.
01:23 When immune function becomes imbalanced,
01:26 then just like a tightrope we've got a problem.
01:29 The healthy immune system is able to recognize
01:32 where the danger is, and is really accurate at it.
01:35 That means when there is danger, it will just
01:39 get rid of the danger.
01:41 And it will be good at distinguishing what the
01:45 danger is and where there is safety
01:47 so that it doesn't attack anything that it shouldn't.
01:51 A healthy immune system is an immune system that
01:53 recognizes self and doesn't attack yourself,
01:56 but also recognizes the external threats
01:59 and allows your body to take care of those external threats.
02:02 You know, if we didn't have a good immune system,
02:04 we'd scratch ourself and it would never heal.
02:06 We'd get an infection and that would be the end of that arm.
02:09 We'd have to amputate it, right?
02:11 So we need an immune system to recognize that was a scratch
02:14 and to appropriately manage any potential infection
02:18 and heal it, you know.
02:21 So as long as we have all these pieces, and we want them
02:24 all to work in synchrony appropriately,
02:28 and not have one piece overreact.
02:30 There is something to be said for the fact that you get
02:34 a little bit of reaction if you're getting a bug.
02:37 It doesn't mean you have to become totally sick from it.
02:40 But most of us know that you don't feel quite right,
02:44 and hopefully in a couple hours you're going to feel better.
02:47 That is the pulse that the immune system
02:51 is supposed to go through.
02:53 But if you never get anything, that isn't necessarily,
02:58 it could be the immune system is great.
03:01 But it also could be your immune system isn't working.
03:03 So you've got to be cautious about some of these things.
03:06 You can have an immune system that doesn't work.
03:10 And you start getting all kinds of diseases,
03:12 infections, and other things.
03:14 You can also have an immune system that is so hyper,
03:18 so activated, that you start getting other problems.
03:22 Autoimmunity, for instance, is a hyperactive immune system
03:26 for numerous reasons.
03:29 The idea with an immune system is, you want something that
03:32 stays balanced so that when you have an attack of a bug,
03:37 it attacks the bug, it goes through the inflammation,
03:40 the quarantining, et cetera, then kills the bug.
03:43 And then the inflammation goes away.
03:46 That's a correct immune system.
03:49 If it gets into an inflammatory state and the inflammation
03:52 never goes away, you can't heal.
03:55 So again, it's this complex system that I see.
04:00 And I see some patients who come in and they say,
04:02 "Well, I never get sick."
04:04 We assume if you never get sick, your immune system is okay.
04:08 We now know that's not necessarily true.
04:11 You may never get sick because you don't have an immune system
04:14 that's identifying the bugs you're getting.
04:17 So that's not an accurate measurement
04:19 of immune system function.
04:21 The immune system is everything when it comes to chronic pain.
04:25 A lot of people develop chronic pain after an injury,
04:30 and it's normal to have acute inflammation, you know.
04:35 In fact, acute inflammation is good.
04:37 Without it, we would never be able to heal, you know.
04:41 So for example, let's say you get a cut on your hand.
04:46 You want those white blood cells to come to your hand
04:50 and start healing things.
04:52 But the problem is when it becomes chronic.
04:55 And you know, normally with the healing process,
05:04 the anti-inflammatory signals come out,
05:09 the cytokines are produced,
05:11 and then the inflammatory process comes to a stop.
05:15 But with chronic inflammation, that signal is never released.
05:20 Those anti-inflammatory cytokines never really happen.
05:24 And so you have this low and smoldering chronic inflammation
05:30 situation, and the person therefore stays in chronic pain
05:34 because chronic inflammation equals chronic pain.
05:39 Our immune system is like our body's military.
05:42 It defends and protects us from internal and external enemies.
05:46 It's highly armed and highly organized.
05:49 It has different branches with unique responsibilities.
05:52 And when the immune system is balanced, we flourish.
05:55 When it loses its balance, we fall into chronic pain
05:58 or autoimmune conditions, or cancer.
06:01 Some of the factors that affect the immune system
06:03 tightrope are present very early in life.
06:07 The factors that help balance our immune system
06:12 really start in the belly of the mother, and also
06:16 when the children are born.
06:18 What the mother eats has an important impact
06:22 on the health of the child.
06:25 There are some studies showing that increased
06:29 dairy and meat consumption is also associated
06:32 with greater risk of autoimmune disease
06:35 later in life.
06:37 And breast feeding is one of the most important
06:41 protective factors against developing autoimmune disease.
06:45 Actually being born c- section versus vaginally
06:48 actually helps make a difference in how our immune system
06:51 starts to learn from the very inception of us being born.
06:55 And so one of the reasons why we're moving more towards
06:58 vaginal deliveries over c- sections now is because
07:00 the baby is actually exposed to some of the different factors
07:04 of mom, and mom's immune system as they're being vaginally born
07:09 that actually plays a role in the child and how they're able
07:11 to develop their immune system.
07:13 And one of the reasons why breast milk is so important
07:15 is because mom is giving some of her immune system
07:18 components to the baby when the baby's own immune system
07:21 is still being developed.
07:23 And so we have these early, early signs of what it means
07:27 for us to develop our immune system.
07:28 And if something doesn't go right when we're very, very
07:32 young as an infant, then our immune system for life,
07:35 we find, is actually set up to be
07:38 hyper-reactive or under reactive.
07:40 And then we have to think through, like, what do we
07:42 need to do differently in order to help our immune system
07:45 function properly to recognize threats and to manage them
07:49 appropriately, and then to be also able to say,
07:52 "Well this is self, and we don't want to attack ourself."
07:55 And we end up with autoimmune diseases
07:57 when our body starts to lose that ability to recognize
08:01 our own tissue versus external tissue.
08:03 And so there's a rise in autoimmune issues
08:07 all the time now, more and more different systems.
08:10 I hear about it,
08:11 and it's something that I've struggled with.
08:13 And so the immune system is critical.
08:15 And it's amazing how God created the immune system.
08:19 to function well, and how all the different components
08:22 around us and in our environment can make it
08:25 difficult for our immune system to function normally.
08:29 Yeah, there are so many hits.
08:31 If we're exposed to antigens that doesn't belong in our body,
08:37 especially early in the life, then there's a high risk of
08:42 training our immune system in the wrong way.
08:45 For example, children who are not breast fed
08:48 have a higher risk of developing autoimmune disease such as
08:52 type 1 diabetes compared with children who are breast fed.
08:56 Introducing the baby formula with cow's milk
08:59 too early in the life just trains our immune system
09:05 in the wrong way.
09:06 And the immune system starts attacking the beta cells
09:10 in the pancreas that are structurally similar to
09:15 the protein in cow's milk.
09:18 And that's how the immune system gets confused
09:22 and starts destroying the cells from our own body.
09:27 Just like the sagging, swaying, vibrating, rolling,
09:32 ice cold tightrope, a lot of variables affect the
09:36 balance of the immune system.
09:39 So the immune system and the nervous system,
09:43 we have neurotransmitters, but we also have cytokines.
09:46 And the immune system uses a lot of what we call
09:47 little cytokines, or messengers.
09:49 And so they interact with each other in ways that we're still
09:53 just understanding.
09:55 They're studying it a lot.
09:56 We're starting to get an idea of how they're interacting
09:58 with each other, but the fact of the matter is that
10:02 there are so many molecules that are constantly talking
10:07 to each other, telling each other what to do, where to go,
10:10 how to function.
10:11 You know, "Take care of this. Don't take care of this.
10:13 This one is fine. This one is not fine.
10:15 Manage this."
10:16 And the cross-type between the immune system
10:20 and the nervous system is so essential to the balance
10:23 of our health that if we don't have that,
10:25 if one part is out of alignment,
10:29 then you're going to get disease.
10:31 Right?
10:33 So what we want to do is we want think,
10:35 well, why is the immune system, or why is the nervous system
10:38 not functioning well?
10:40 And how can I let that part that's dysfunctional
10:44 relax or calm down
10:47 so that it can come back into balance with
10:50 its brothers and sisters, all the pieces
10:52 so that it can work in synchrony again?
10:54 And again, so much of our immune system...
10:57 We have our blood-brain barrier, and so the blood-brain barrier
11:01 is meant to only let certain things into our brain.
11:05 But if there starts to be a breakdown of our
11:08 blood-brain barrier, other things get into our brain
11:11 and the immune system can go in and can over react in the brain,
11:14 and it can cause problems, right.
11:16 And so again, we have barriers.
11:19 We have our gut that's a barrier,
11:20 we have our lungs that are barriers,
11:22 we have our brain that has that blood-brain barrier.
11:24 And if any of these barriers get broken down or get
11:28 holes in them, then you get things going where they're not
11:31 supposed to and you start to get reactions
11:33 where you're not supposed to get reactions.
11:36 And that's where the immune system and the nervous system
11:40 can then be damaging to each other because they think
11:45 they're doing the work that they're supposed to be doing,
11:47 that they're created to do, but they're in the wrong place
11:49 at the wrong time doing the wrong thing,
11:51 right, and damaging self.
11:54 And so that's where autoimmunity really comes into play.
11:56 Autoimmunity is more and more of a problem.
12:00 We have one of the most common autoimmune conditions
12:03 is Hashimoto's, which is autoimmune thyroiditis,
12:06 or an inflammation of the thyroid,
12:09 because the immune system is now attacking
12:11 the mechanism of thyroid hormone production.
12:15 So that's very common.
12:16 In fact, the majority of people with low thyroid function,
12:19 or hypothyroidism, actually have an autoimmune problem
12:23 that's leading to that.
12:25 Other common autoimmune conditions like
12:28 Sjogren's syndrome where dry eyes and dry mouth syndrome.
12:32 Frequently I see that happening in people who have their
12:35 gall bladders removed.
12:37 You know, if you don't have a gallbladder, which is
12:39 not an evolutionary remnant, right, it was put there by God
12:43 for a reason to optimize digestion and to help emulsify
12:48 the food that's leaving the stomach that is mixed with
12:52 the bile from the gallbladder that then helps
12:54 you absorb the nutrients.
12:56 So without a healthy gallbladder, without healthy
12:59 amount of bile, you're not going to be emulsifying
13:02 that food very well, and therefore you're not going to
13:04 be absorbing that in an optimal way.
13:07 The fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, K, the minerals
13:11 require that to be absorbed optimally.
13:15 So autoimmunity oftentimes happens because
13:20 of a breakdown of how well, the body can digest.
13:25 Ironically, sometimes autoimmunity occurs because
13:28 of an exposure to something that the body is reactive to.
13:34 Like various toxins that then destroy
13:38 the lining of the stomach.
13:40 We have conditions where the mucosal layer,
13:45 the crypts of Lieberkuhn, the little wells of cells
13:50 that produce hydrochloric acid, and pepsinogen,
13:54 and the compounds that help digest the food in the stomach,
14:00 okay, those are destroyed because of a
14:03 sensitivity to dairy, for instance.
14:05 That's something I see all the time.
14:07 In some people, it can be a sensitivity to gluten.
14:11 Autoimmunity is created by two primary things.
14:14 And one of my favorite books I've ever read is a book by
14:19 Donna Jackson Nakazawa.
14:21 She was a medical journalist who developed a very severe
14:25 and rare autoimmune condition.
14:27 And because of her training in medical journalism
14:30 she says, "You know, I've been going to a lot of good doctors,
14:34 and they have no idea how to treat me.
14:36 It's like they're saying, 'Well, when it gets worse,
14:39 then we'll be able to treat you with methotrexate,
14:42 and Humira, and all these drugs that can help
14:46 basically block the immune system, but therefore actually
14:49 increase your risk for other cancers
14:51 and cardiovascular disease.'"
14:53 We know that methotrexate is a cardio toxin
14:56 when used long enough.
14:57 So rheumatologists don't want to prescribe those medicines
15:01 unless that patient is so severe that the benefits
15:07 outweigh the risks, theoretically.
15:09 So that's why we need to catch autoimmunity much earlier.
15:14 And that's why I always check the antinuclear antibodies
15:17 and the thyroid antibodies in every patient that I see
15:21 just to see if that can give us clues of autoimmunity.
15:24 So Donna Nakazawa, in her book, The Autoimmune Epidemic,
15:31 it's been out for years now, but a wonderful expose on
15:37 what she learned from talking to the world's leading experts
15:40 on this that really understood the underlying
15:44 causes of autoimmunity.
15:45 And it boils down to two things.
15:47 Kind of like what Dr. Sid Baker said about,
15:50 you've got to have all the necessary elements,
15:52 and you've got to get rid of the
15:54 interfering elements, the toxins.
15:56 She said...
16:08 In other words, you can be exposed to ten time more of a
16:12 toxin than I, but I'm the one that gets the
16:15 autoimmune disease.
16:17 Why? Because you don't have the same genetic
16:19 predisposition that I do.
16:21 And so by knowing my genetic predisposition,
16:24 what SNP or single nucleotide polymorphism,
16:28 these little portions of genes that code for different
16:32 enzyme production, and if those SNPs are mutated,
16:36 either single copy from one parent or double copy from
16:39 each parent, that means that we are much more susceptible
16:46 to various toxins.
16:48 Yeah, I think the key is, optimized.
16:51 Which infers that you have a balance.
16:54 Where a weak immune system essentially is associated with
17:00 low white blood cell counts and inactivity associated with
17:05 chronic stress over time.
17:07 You don't want a weak immune system.
17:08 But neither do you want an immune system that is
17:11 exaggerated, is causing cytokine storm.
17:17 So can you touch on what an exaggerated
17:20 immune response results in?
17:21 Like how would that manifest?
17:23 So have you ever heard, like, of a little dog if attacked
17:28 or if it's scared is going to attack more ferociously
17:33 because they're little and they don't want to get hurt, right?
17:38 Whereas a big dog that knows it can protect itself
17:42 no matter what, they see something, like, "Oh whatever.
17:44 You know, I'm not going to worry with that little dog,
17:47 that little pipsqueak, right."
17:48 So likewise, in an immune system that is healthy,
17:52 okay, is not going to exaggerate its response to anything.
17:56 And immune system that is healthy is not going to easily
18:00 become inflamed and lead to that hyper-inflammatory state
18:04 leading to that cytokine storm.
18:06 Like in the case of a severe viral infection,
18:11 it would cause acute death.
18:15 It's the cytokine storm, that exaggerated immune response,
18:20 that kills people, not the virus.
18:22 In fact, by that point there is no virus.
18:24 The virus is gone by that point.
18:26 But the immune system is not healthy,
18:29 and now it doesn't know how to react.
18:31 And so that's the key in our lives.
18:33 We need to make sure that we're getting our rest.
18:36 Sleep is such a critical part of a healthy immune system.
18:40 Healthy everything.
18:41 So without proper sleep, the immune system is more likely
18:44 to be exaggerated in a harmful way.
18:47 Without the right nutrients, the same thing.
18:49 Without daily physical activity that's healthy and moderate,
18:54 it's the same thing.
18:55 We can easily succumb to an overactive,
19:00 harmful immune system.
19:02 What we eat has an important impact on our immune system.
19:07 So eating a lot of fat and sugar will limit
19:12 the function of our immune system.
19:15 In contrast to eating a lot of plant foods that are
19:18 rich in antioxidants, rich in fiber.
19:22 All of these will strengthen our immune system.
19:26 You know, there was a lot of discussion during the pandemic
19:30 about not doing things that would activate
19:33 the immune system too much.
19:35 And it was a misunderstanding of what that really means.
19:39 They were saying, "Ah, maybe you shouldn't take vitamin D,
19:42 because that would boost the immune system too much,
19:45 and then that could create an exaggerated cytokine storm."
19:49 And nothing could be further from the truth.
19:51 Vitamin D and things like N-acetyl cysteine
19:55 act as adaptogens where they prevent a weak immune system,
20:00 but they also prevent an exaggerated,
20:03 kind of harmful reaction.
20:05 So the more balanced our diet is, the more balanced
20:09 our lifestyle is, the more balanced our exercise is...
20:13 You know, too much exercise can make you sick, really sick,
20:17 and can make you actually end up getting a viral infection
20:20 that you otherwise wouldn't have gotten.
20:22 So we want a balanced immune system that is optimized.
20:27 And that happens by making sure that we're taking in
20:30 all the necessary elements at an optimal level
20:33 and we're removing or avoiding the harmful elements,
20:38 which are the toxins.
20:39 This interconnectivity within ourselves
20:42 is one of the main points that I want to
20:44 emphasize in these programs.
20:46 I want you to understand what is found in the Bible, actually.
20:50 That what affects one part of the body affects the whole,
20:54 with everything inside of us so intricate, so interdependent.
20:58 The space between is where we learn and
21:01 experience this balance.
21:02 Rather than a destination, it's the daily adjustments
21:06 that makes our crossing to the other side successful.
21:09 Everything in this world works the same.
21:14 Rest. Not enough rest is bad. Too much rest is bad.
21:20 Eating not enough is not good.
21:22 Eating too much is not good.
21:25 Exercising too much can be harmful.
21:29 Exercising not enough can be harmful.
21:32 But you find that gives you joy.
21:34 Then you're not only getting exercise, but you are getting
21:38 that, ahhh, from the exercise.
21:41 And if you do it with one or more other people,
21:44 you're getting that social interaction.
21:47 And all of that brings your stress down.
21:50 Are you eating plant-based diet?
21:53 Are you getting your exercise?
21:54 Are you getting plenty of air?
21:56 Are you getting your sleep that you should?
21:57 It's that whole thing.
22:00 Again, this wholistic approach.
22:01 Is your mind focused on good things?
22:05 Or do you have hidden anger?
22:09 Are you upset about things?
22:10 That all affects your immune system.
22:13 It's a wholistic approach.
22:15 If you just look at one thing, you're missing the program.
22:19 I've learned so much recently, over time how our immune system
22:25 really has this connection to our gut.
22:29 And so, really our gut health is reflective of our immune system,
22:34 because the majority of our immune system is actually
22:36 just underneath the lining of our gut.
22:39 And so, if our gut is struggling, if we aren't
22:43 eating the right kinds of food, feeding our gut the right type
22:47 of material, then it starts to be dysfunctional.
22:52 And then that carries over to a dysfunctional immune system.
22:56 So really I've done a lot of study on the gut,
22:58 the gut-brain connection and our immune system.
23:01 It affects our gut and our brain.
23:04 And so, you know, you have a gut feeling, right?
23:07 The connection between the brain and the gut is really important.
23:10 So when it comes to hits, the first thing I think of is
23:13 like, what are we putting into our mouth?
23:15 And how that's influencing our gut,
23:17 which them influences our immune system.
23:19 So that's like the biggest factor that I think about.
23:22 But then there are other factors that affect our gut.
23:25 So there are certain medications that can affect our gut.
23:28 Stress can affect our gut,
23:29 lack of good sleep can affect our gut,
23:31 our emotions being out of control can affect our gut.
23:34 So all these things can give us a hit to our gut,
23:36 which then gives us a hit to our immune system.
23:39 So you can't separate nutrition and exercise.
23:43 And whenever you exercise, you can't separate
23:46 exercise, because that's the working part, from rest.
23:51 Basically, a balanced lifestyle will translate
23:54 to internal balance, which actually makes up
23:57 for a lot of life's happiness.
23:59 We tend to think that exciting experiences are
24:02 what make us happy.
24:03 But, well it's my opinion at least, that actually happiness
24:06 and joy lie somewhere in the middle,
24:09 in the space between the highs and lows.
24:13 There's this connection of the immune system
24:15 and our gut, but then it's also our nervous system.
24:19 So the communication between our immune system and our
24:22 nervous system, and how that influences our brain,
24:25 and they make the connections; if you have a dysfunctional gut,
24:27 the fact that you're going to feel more depressed,
24:29 or anxious, or sad, or down is really likely.
24:33 And if you can clean up your gut and get your gut healthy,
24:35 then the brain fog goes away, the depression goes away.
24:39 So just us understanding how all these pieces fit together.
24:42 Traditional medicine wants to chop the body up into pieces.
24:45 Right? And what God is trying to show us and has been trying to
24:49 teach us, and He's written in the Bible and His manual for us
24:52 is how all of these pieces work well together.
24:56 And you know, He's give us this manual so that we can
24:59 live a healthy life to glorify Him as much as possible.
25:03 Right? And that people can see Him through us.
25:06 And to be healthy and well is one of those ways in which,
25:09 you know, God can demonstrate who He is and His character,
25:13 and how He created us to begin with.
25:16 And I really think that God has placed our body in a position
25:19 where it wants to heal itself. Right?
25:23 And we have created all sorts of insults that help us,
25:29 that let the body degenerate further.
25:32 And if we can follow God's principles,
25:35 and give the body the greatest opportunity
25:38 to kind of grow and heal itself, to me
25:40 that's what health really looks like.
25:42 And if our immune system is given this appropriate balance,
25:46 then it will want to equalize out, and it will know
25:50 foreign from self, right, and know how to respond
25:54 appropriately to what it's supposed to.
25:58 There's no way to thoroughly cover the topic of what it takes
26:01 to have a balanced immune function in this short time.
26:05 But did you learn something today?
26:06 You know, from a nutrition perspective,
26:08 there are certain strategies that can support our
26:10 immune system, like removing foods that you
26:13 might be intolerant to, having healthy gut function,
26:16 making sure you're eating enough nutrient-dense foods,
26:19 like your veggies.
26:21 It's worth it.
26:22 This interconnectivity within ourselves that was discussed
26:24 today is one of the main points that I want to emphasize
26:28 in these programs.
26:29 I want you to understand what's found in the Bible actually,
26:33 that what affects one part of the body affects the whole,
26:36 with everything inside of us so intricate and interdependent.
26:41 The space between is where we learn
26:43 and experience this balance.
26:46 Rather than a destination, it's the daily adjustments
26:49 that makes our crossing to the other side successful.


Home

Revised 2025-05-28