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Series Code: MH
Program Code: MH230004S
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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. |
Revised 2025-05-28