Kidneys and Radiation - An Ongoing Document (send your feedback and experience)

Kidneys and Radiation (An Evolving Document)

By Ingrid Naiman – edited by Craig Lane www.healthalkemy.com 

Calamus - transforms the "muck" to healthy growth

Editor's note - this is a starting point at January 21st 2015.  Please send your updates and check out this link to comment on Facebook - join the conversation! Link - RadiationConversation

Many of the symptoms of radiation poisoning are similar to those of metal toxicity which, in turn, are similar to vata disorders in Ayurveda.  Loosely interpreted it means that some symptoms will appear to come and go — which does not mean that they are psychosomatic, much less unreal. The rule for vata is inconsistency. Once you accept that a medical condition can be inconsistent, you will not be quite as worried by the blank look on your doctor's face when he fails to diagnose your reported symptoms. In addition to being inconsistent, vata problems can move around because they are sensitive to the air element which facilitates motion.

One of the recommendations was to use demulcents, in this case apple pectin, and lymphatic cleansing teas along with diuretics. A few hours later, I received an email from Paris saying there is such a run on apple
pectin that it's hard to find in stores. This suggests that a lot of people are planning on doing canning this summer or a radiation remedy has gone viral.

Examples are: Comfrey, purslane, okra, cucumber, seaweeds, mullein, ginkgo (for protection), Eleuthero (protection), Sea Buckthorn, Triphala, Cats Claw (DNA help) and the Standard Process Protomorphogens (corrects DNA and new tissue growth)

Let's start with the adrenal part of the kidney.  Adrenals operate below the threshold of consciousness and are therefore not responsive to sermons on mind over matter. They are governed by instinct and memory, some of it primordial, and some from preverbal childhood and some from memories. The fact that you do not know the origin of the instincts and the patterns they generate does not mean they are irrelevant. Pause for a moment. Have you ever stopped to consider why you prefer certain colors to other colors, why you are afraid of birds or snakes, why your muscles tighten with certain inflexions of the voice, or even why you don't want to learn to swim or hike or whatever?  In reality, our choices are important because, as mentioned, the adrenals flip out over whatever makes them flip and when that happens, the kidneys quiver and the blood stream is flooded with an emergency dose of hormones that sets countless other processes in motion (and inhibits some that are not urgently needed.)

When the kidneys tremble, we usually have to excuse ourselves for a moment. If this happens too often, we become dehydrated and mineral deficient. As if this were not bad enough, the insulation provided by water is lost so nerves come closer together which makes it harder and harder to feel calm.  Most of us have been there, for longer or shorter periods of time, but some people live in this state most of their lives. (In Chinese medicine we call this “nervous bladder.”)  Eventually, the kidneys are weakened by the tremors and they fail to respond efficiently and then not enough water is passed out of the system and swelling occurs.

We might take something to strengthen the adrenals and improve coping margins. In fact, this is good choice regardless of how the other options are handled because by increasing the ability to handle stress, the kidneys are permitted to function somewhat normally, maybe even normally. The herbs that support this strategy are nourishing to the kidney-adrenal system.

In Chinese medicine, what is called kidney yin, helps those to develop more resilience by strengthening weaknesses (by nourishing the substance) rather than adding fire and stimulation (as with kidney yang approaches). Because we each have a breaking point, I prefer to think of elasticity. We want to move that breaking point a bit further "out there" and this takes a mixture of strength and flexibility. So, one wants really strong root herbs and vegetables plus high quality oils and demulcents to ease wear and tear on tissues. With any luck, there will be a bit left over to help regenerate some worn out tissues.

For this reason, I haven't put as much emphasis on garlic and asafoetida but rather Solomon's seal and rhodiola and other more elegantly grounding herbs. This said, we should not neglect the primary herbs in major ethnobotanical traditions such as maca from the Andes, shatavari and ashwagandha from India, rehmannia and schisandra from China, marshmallow and fennel from Western traditions, and licorice, something found in many, many formulas because of its primary action as well as ability to reduce the likelihood of allergic reactions to other ingredients in a formula. However, my all time favorite is jatoba because when our systems are in crisis, there is a much higher risk of fungal colonies establishing themselves and this herb combines support for energy levels with antifungal expertise.

All I am doing here is weighing in on the side of strengthening the weakest and most vulnerable systems of the body before attacking the problems directly. I.e., save the diuretics for emergencies and try to solve the problems with herbs that support the kidney-adrenal system so it can do its job smoothly instead of using aggressive interventions. This said, I support the use of lymphatic teas, including cleavers and violet teas. These are gently stimulating but overall calming, just what is needed when Vata is deranged and there is risk of system failure.

However, all these measures are greatly supported by high quality oils. Most people cannot even find these in supermarkets because more than 90% of all readily available oils are chemically damaged or otherwise compromised due to how the source plant materials were grown or how the oils were pressed or bottled. So, to remind you, cooking oils should be cold pressed and bottled in containers that do not permit light to pass through. Usually, this means brown or black plastic bottles that are chemically stable. Clear glass is simply not appropriate. However, I believe everyone who is exposed to radiation needs to look hard at black seed oil and perhaps other oils taken as supplements rather than used for cooking. I also think we should be learning to make medicated ghee and oils that have been infused with herbs.

Many blessings,

Ingrid
http://zerorads.com/