3. Symptoms relating to chronic conditions disappear in the reverse order of their appearance; the ones that emerged latest leave first and the earlier ones reemerge and then leave last. This means that long after we set out on a healing path, we might relive symptoms of very old problems if these were suppressed or incorrectly treated. Their reemergence( sometimes known as retracing), if treated naturally and allowed to follow its course, would only mean that the body is healing itself. For example, if you used to cough a lot as a child and took medicine and then developed asthma, when you go into a healing mode, you may have a brief flare-up of the asthma, and later— even several years later— have a coughing episode that is in fact a“ retracing” of your childhood condition. The foregoing three rules comprise Hering’ s Law of Cure, after Constantine Hering( 1800 – 1880), who formulated them. To these, John Garvy, N. D., has added two more: 4. A feeling of well-being precedes a healing crisis. 5. There is also a feeling of well-being at the core during the crisis; that is, deep down inside it feels OK. The latter two are the key to differentiating a healing crisis from a sickness that we might be perpetuating: A sickness feels like something is definitely wrong, IF YOU ARE NOT SURE, CHECK WITH A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. The more the body has to clean up, the stronger and / or longer will be the discharge reactions. They will also be more pronounced if the change in diet is abrupt, less so if it’ s gradual. Some foods, notably sugar, meat, coffee, and milk products, will not be fully eliminated unless completely abstained from. That is, as long as you have even one teaspoon of sugar in your tea once a day and no sugar at any other time, the addiction is maintained and withdrawal does not occur. Should withdrawal symptoms become too uncomfortable, they can sometimes be stopped by the“ hair of the dog” method: A sip of coffee will miraculously eliminate a coffee-withdrawal headache. In fact, this is what keeps addictions going. The addictive substance( coffee, sugar, drugs)“ cures” the discomfort produced as the body tries to clean out that same substance. Stopping the discharge may prolong the agony somewhat, as the healing process is arrested for a few days; however, this is preferable to throwing the whole healing program out the window because it is too difficult or painful to maintain. It is easier to endure these apparent symptoms of illness at the start of a healing diet when you know their true nature. If you don’ t know that there is a difference between a tension headache and a withdrawal headache, you may panic and run for the medication. Fear can make us sicker than sickness itself. Keep in mind also that not everyone will experience the same discharges, nor will they last the same length of time for everyone. Use the Elimination and Symptom Chart only to orient yourself, so that you know what to expect. And when well-intentioned friends want to know why you have a cold if you’ re eating so healthily, just smile and say,“ Because I’ m getting better!” HOW LONG, OH, HOW LONG? When we shift into a healing mode, we have to unravel, like Penelope, what we have knitted so far. This takes time, a detail that can be bothersome to those whose liver congestion( as Chinese medicine will have it) makes them impatient. As a student once said to me,“ I don’ t want to wait. I want to be better this minute!” Perhaps deciding to heal ourselves, or to accept healing, does indeed make us instantly better on the spiritual level. The material side of our being, however, is denser and takes longer to react.
Although the body does follow the direction of the mind, it has its laws and progressions, which cannot be bypassed( except in the case of miracles). As the mind / spirit aspect of our being becomes whole, the body aspect, its complementary opposite, does so too— but at its own speed. Our cells renew themselves continuously. The quickest changes occur in the blood and lymph, because they are in continuous flow. Blood sugar and the acid-alkaline balance may change as a result of diet in a matter of hours, perhaps less. † Before any such changes can actually make us feel different, however, the new regime needs time to make a physiological impact. Eating more alkalinizing foods( see chapter three, this page) than acid-forming ones can have a noticeable effect in one or two days. In cases of extreme“ stuckness” it can take as long as seven to ten days to feel better because we have to allow for the withdrawal symptoms to come and go. In general, within a week of a major change in diet— if it is a good change— you should feel:
• Better
• Positive about your new direction It takes between 90 and 120 days to renew all the red blood cells. As the old red cells in the bloodstream are replaced with cells built with good-quality prime matter, you feel better and better. After about three to four months the healing process shifts deeper. It begins to pull debris out of the intercellular spaces, and very often a new spate of discharge symptoms show up at about this time. You will find this especially true if you have given up milk and milk products. Time and again, when one of my students has stopped eating these foods, I get a phone call, and the conversation runs more or less like this:“ I have this terrible cold,” I hear. So I ask,“ How long