Understanding the Healing Crisis

Guest Author for this article is Ginger Chalford, Ph.D.

This article was written about Body Biotics™ but applies to any healing crisis with any nutritional supplement.

The body has an inherent desire for perfect health. We have the ability to earn our way back to that state, no matter how "normal" or bad our health is now. But in the meantime, the body must go through an elimination process to achieve good health. The elimination process is often referred to as the "healing crisis."

Once the healing crisis starts, reactions may be mild or severe. Expect ups and downs as it takes awhile to get good health back.

In a healing crisis, or Herxheimer Reaction, every body system works together to eliminate waste products and set the stage for regeneration. Old tissues are replaced with new. A disease occurs when the body cannot make it through its natural healing crises for one reason or another. The body is "locked" into a destructive and shut down place, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Symptoms of the healing crisis may at first be identical to the disease it is meant to heal. But there is an important difference: elimination. A cleansing, purifying process is underway and stored wastes are in a free-flowing state. The body, mind, and spirit are no longer "locked." Sometimes pain and symptoms during the healing crisis are more intense than that of the chronic disease, but it is temporary and necessary.

The healing crisis will usually bring about past conditions and personal issues. People often forget the diseases, issues, or injuries they have had in the past, but are usually reminded during the healing crisis so that they can heal their unfinished business. This arises in whatever order the body is capable of handling at that time.

Physical reactions of the healing crisis could include skin eruptions, nausea, headache, sleepiness, unusual fatigue, constipation, diarrhea, head or chest cold, ear infections, boils, or any other way the body uses to loosen and eliminate toxins. An initial healing crisis usually lasts around three days but if the energy of the patient is low, it may last a week or more.

Your body needs juices, and especially water to help carry off the toxins. This is a time for rest. Be kind to yourself --- mentally, emotionally, and of course physically.

One crisis is not always enough for a complete cure. The person in a chronic "locked" disease state will often have to go through cycles of healing crises, with each one improving the condition some. It has taken time to develop a chronically diseased state, and time is required to let go of the "locked" energy, piece by piece. A healing crisis is like peeling the layers off an onion.

Often the healing crisis will come after one feels their very best and most energized, setting the stage for the elimination. The whole body gets into action. Most people feel an energy boost at the beginning until the toxins start dumping into the blood stream for elimination. Go as slowly as your body needs so your elimination is gradual and comfortable.

With a more serious condition, there may be many small crises to go through before the system can become healthily balanced. Everything must be considered and given its proper place in the build-up to a healing crisis. One should expect it and work with the body, not resentfully against it.

Keep the colon open during a healing crisis. This is really important! As they say, "Health begins in the colon." If your tendency is towards constipation then by all means use an all natural herbal tea or herbal laxative to help the process. (If you take a hot herbal tea, do not drink it at the same time you take Body Biotics [formerly named Nature's Biotics®] or the hot water could destroy the living probiotics.) What's going on in your colon is that the Body Biotics Soil Based Organisms get in behind all the crud on your colon walls. As these pieces are lifted off, they can create a "dam" effect. Do not stop taking Body Biotics. Cut back if you need to, even to 1/2 capsule a day. If you stop during a healing crisis, you lose ground you gained.

The Soil Based Organisms live for about 72 hours. After the walls of the entire colon, approximately 5 feet long, have been cleansed, you may never again experience constipation! Your body will have repatterned itself. A doctor told me he has to use a saw to cut out portions of the colon which have become like cement!

By the way, avoid colas and chlorinated water during your cleanout and the healing crisis because they destroy enzymes. It's a good idea to get off them permanently as well, as carbonated drinks are high in phosphorus and end up leaching much needed calcium out of your body. Meat takes a LOT of calcium to digest, and a lot of enzymes (especially if it isn't organically grown), minerals, and everything else. So you may want to cut down your meat consumption until your body can digest food better.

Other substances which inhibit or destroy enzymes include antibiotics taken for illness, any food treated with pesticides, any animal given antibiotics, and alcohol. If you've had radiation or chemo, your enzymes have probably all been wiped out! Of course, keep up mineral supplementation. This will support the action of the enzymes.

When your digestive tract is restored to the strength of a teenager's, then you can decide what diet you want to have. But by that time, you may not crave the same destructive foods you did before! And many of your food and temperature sensitivities may be gone!

Believe me, a healing crisis is really worth going through!

Information, statements and products on this website have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, mitigate, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition.