Healthy Terrain, Healthy Body

People come to my practice with a variety of symptoms, many of which have persisted for years without having been helped by many different kinds of treatments. Understandably, they are often frustrated. So an appropriate question really the question to ask is: What is really going on here? Not so much what are your symptoms, but WHY are you having those symptoms. The truth is: The symptoms of your body are a reflection of the state of your terrain. The “terrain” is another way of saying the ecology of the body. The symptoms you have mirror the state of this underlying ecology. The ecology of your body is composed of approximately one trillion human cells. For example, liver cells, kidney cells, blood cells, skin cells, bone cells and others. In addition to these, your body houses twice to ten times as many microbes bacteria of all kinds (mostly friendly, which we call probiotics, and some unfriendly). A much smaller percentage is made up of viruses, parasites, yeasts, etc. There are also toxins in your body such as heavy metals and chemicals derived from such things as impure food, water, air and soil. Because the symptoms of your body are reflective of the state of your terrain, when your underlying ecology is out of whack, you are going to have symptoms. It just makes sense. The state of this inner ecology – the terrain – is the reason you suffer from symptoms like fatigue; insomnia; allergies; autoimmune disorders; digestive issues; sinus congestion; candida overgrowth; acid reflux; recurrent skin problems such as eczema, acne and psoriasis; thyroid conditions; menstrual discomfort; diabetes; osteoporosis; prostate problems; even anxiety. This is also the reason why these symptoms do not get better with conventional drug treatments (which often have side-effects of their own). Conventional medicine often deals only with the expression of these symptoms, suppressing them from the outside. But unless you deal with the imbalances on the inside – the terrain – the root causes of the problems will never be solved. That is why so many patients come to me in a state of frustration, and at times even hopelessness, after months and sometimes years of treatments that have not worked. Now, think of a fish tank. You see water, fish, plants, gravel, poop, the filtration system, etc. All of that is the terrain of the fish tank. And we all know that if the terrain of that fish tank becomes toxic or otherwise gets out of balance, the health of the fish will suffer. By the way, why does tuna contain mercury? Because mercury is in the terrain of the ocean and over time it accumulates in the terrain of these fish. Tuna are high on the food chain just as we are. Like the tuna, we take in toxins from the world around us on a daily basis – in our case from food, water, air, cosmetics and skin products, fumes, sometimes things like alcohol, tobacco, medical drugs or even the fillings in our teeth. These toxins become part of our terrain the same way that mercury becomes part of the terrain for the tuna. (And of course, when we eat tuna, the tuna’s mercury also becomes part of our own terrain.) So – the first and most important part of the treatment in my practice is to figure out where your terrain is stressed – where it is out of balance. Then, many approaches can be used, depending on the need. These might be homeopathic remedies; drainage drops; dietary modifications; increased water intake; detoxification practices like body brushing and sauna; proper sleep; an exercise program; or stress reduction techniques such as breathing exercises. These all work on the terrain and bring things back into balance. Once your terrain is in order, the reasons for your symptoms are addressed. Then those symptoms are free to clear up. You might have noticed that I mentioned drainage drops. What are they? The body has certain organs that are called “emunctories.” That is basically a fancy word for organs that assist in waste removal. ;You already know the key ones: the colon, the kidneys, the liver and lungs. These are called the primary emunctories. You also know the secondary ones, including the skin and the sinuses. These organs do their best to clear the body of toxins, which we now know is the same as cleaning up your body’s terrain (think of cleaning that fish tank!). But in today’s world, because of so much stress on our bodies thanks to the onslaught of toxins from every angle, these waste-removal organs can get overloaded. And as they get overloaded, these drainage drops help to clear them out. Not only do they clear the emunctories out, the drops also help the rest of the body deliver their toxins to these drainage organs so they can be eliminated. So the real way to alleviate your symptoms is to go to the cause of your symptoms. And that means clearing up your all-important terrain. There is no more getting away from your body’s ecology than there is getting away from the earth’s ecology, as we are all learning more and more. Without cleaning up your body’s terrain, you can keep taking increasing amounts of expensive and sometimes harmful drugs without really accomplishing anything. Once you start addressing the terrain, real progress happens. Here’s what I can promise you: As you get your terrain healthy, your symptoms will diminish and probably resolve and the way will be clear for you to enjoy a healthy life. By Dr. Anthony Salzarulo, DC, PT with Matthew Tomasino, BFA, LMT