Dr. Paul Eck once remarked that a science that he drew upon when he learned nutritional balancing science is acupuncture. At the time I did not know exactly what he meant. However, both sciences attempt to balance subtle qualities in the body. This is very different from allopathic or modern drug medical care. It is also very different from homeopathic, and most nutritional and naturopathic healing methods. The latter use the principle of assessing a problem and then offering a remedy to fix it. Meanwhile, acupuncture and nutritional balancing assess subtle imbalances, not diseases, and then attempt to balance the body. If they succeed, then symptoms and diseases vanish on their own.
In other words, only nutritional balancing science and acupuncture, and few other healing sciences have as their goal the balancing of the body first. Healing is actually a “side effect” that comes as a result.
This article discusses some common hair analysis patterns and acupuncture equivilents. By knowing these correlations, it may give one a deeper understanding and appreciation of the acupuncture and the hair mineral analysis patterns.
NOTE: Everything in this article, and indeed on this website, applies only to hair mineral analyses from labs that do not wash the hair at the laboratory.
TWO IMPORTANT WARNINGS ABOUT ACUPUNCTURE
Also, this article contains two warnings about going for acupuncture therapy. Lately, we have observed some problems in people after acupuncture sessions. These occur, I believe, not because the practitioner is not skilled. They occur due to the fact that acupuncture is very ancient, and times have changed on planet earth, especially in the past 50 years or so. Here are two recommendations for anyone contemplating acupuncture treatments:
1. Make sure the practitioner begins and ends by needling the conception vessel at each session. This appears essential today, although it is not widely taught and was not as needed in the past.
If an acupuncturist is not doing this, he or she may inadvertently unbalance the body in a serious way with the acupuncture needles.
As a result, some acupuncture clients end up more out of balance due to the their acupuncture! This is very unfortunate. It appears that if one does not focus on the conception vessel today, one can unbalance the third chakra in an unusual way that weakens the body.
The reason for this damage today is the lower strength or intensity of the earth’s magnetic field. This is a scientific fact.
Do not, however, go out and buy a magnetic mattress pad or other magnetic pads. I do not believe these products duplicate the earth’s magnetic field, even if the manufacturers claim they can. This is true of the Nikken products, the Magnetico mattress pad (the best), and all the others. They are helpful for some people, but they are best avoided as they can upset the body in unusual ways.
Warning #2. Avoid all Chinese herbs, including the ones used in acupuncture. This sounds harsh. However, hair mineral analyses reveal that basically all of the Chinese herbs, even the most expensive, organic, wild-crafted and best brands, contain toxic metals. I do not know if they contained toxic metals many years ago before the earth was heavily polluted, but they do today. These herbs can still give some therapeutic results, but they also leave toxic deposits in the body that are harmful. This problem is getting progressively worse.
The problem of toxic metals is also affecting some Western herbs as well, though not as much as it affects the Chinese and Ayurvedic ones.
Now let us review some major patterns seen on hair mineral analyses, and how they correlate with major acupuncture patterns.
YANG AND YIN
This is a central theme in acupuncture and in nutritional balancing science. I will just give a few examples of hair analysis patterns that relate to this concept:
- Fast oxidation is more yang, while slow oxidation is more yin. The degree of fast or slow oxidation relate to the degree of yang or yin.
In fact, the International Journal of Acupuncture And Oriental Medicine, 1995;6 (1-4) 26-29, published an article entitled How Does Traditional Chinese Medicine Work – An Atomic Answer. In it, the author notes the vitamin and mineral formulas that are used in nutritional balancing science to correct fast and slow oxidation are very similar to ancient Chinese acupuncture herbal formulas used to correct yang and yin conditions in the body.
· A higher sodium/potassium ratio is more yang, while a lower ratio is more yin. However, if the ratio is very high, it may indicate a more yin condition in some cases.
· A phosphorus level below about 12 mg% appears to be an indicator of reduced liver/gall bladder meridian activity, in our experience. It is also somewhat more yin. A higher phosphorus above about 17 may also be more yang and indicate spiritual development, a process that is more yang in nature.
· A low calcium/magnesium ratio appears to be more yang, while a high ratio above about 10 appears to be a more yin or deficiency indicator.
· The presence of toxic metals, particularly lead, cadmium, arsenic and aluminum, appear to be yin indicators. Other metals are more yang indicators, such as selenium, chromium and zinc. However, assessing them is sometimes tricky. One must understand how to interpret the test by the method of Dr. Paul Eck, as sometimes minerals rise as they are being eliminated through the hair and skin tissues.
· Four lows pattern, three lows pattern and the bowl pattern are more yin.
· Double high ratio pattern is more yang. Double low ratio pattern is much more yin.
OTHER IMPORTANT ACUPUNCTURE-RELATED PATTERNS ON A HAIR MINERAL ANALYSIS
Yang rising. This is reflected on the hair mineral analyses of adults in most cases, when sodium and potassium levels are above their ideal values of about 25 mg% and 10 mg% respectively. This occurs in several situations:
- Fast oxidation in an adult. The pattern may look like a true fast oxidizer, a tired fast oxidizer (a low sodium/potassium ratio) or a four highs pattern as described below.
· Four highs/three highs pattern. This occurs when three or four macrominerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium – above their ideal levels. The oxidation rate, in these cases, may be either fast, slow or mixed.
· Slow on crutches pattern. This is a slow oxidation pattern. However, the oxidation rate is really even slower than it appears, and the person’s sodium and potassium levels are pushed upwards by some type of toxin or stressor. It is a fairly common pattern.
In traditional acupuncture, yang rising is evidenced by heat in the upper body. One may have bloodshot eyes, a reddish face, hot flashes and sensations of heat rising.
Blood deficiency. This may be seen on some hair mineral analyses as a bowl pattern. In particular, it appears to be connected with a calcium/magnesium ratio greater than about 10.
In acupuncture texts, blood deficiency is associated with symptoms such as a pale complexion, lethargy, anemia, cold extremities, short and scant menstrual periods and hair loss. Many of these are associated with a low Na/K ratio and/or a high Ca/Mg ratio with biounavailable copper, which can cause a common type of anemia.
Yin deficiency. This may be indicated by a hair sodium/potassium ratio less than about 2.
In acupuncture, symptoms associated with yin deficiency include deficient heat in the body, night sweats (usually due to an infection), feeling hot in the evening with warm feet, a cracked and dry tongue, reduced moisture in the body, and it is associated with older people.
Similarly, a low sodium/potassium ratio is associated with chronic infections, sodium and fluid loss at times, and it is seen commonly in older people, though it is seen at all ages today.
Interestingly, a product developed by Dr. Paul Eck to correct a low sodium/potassium ratio called Limcomin is similar in some ways to traditional Chinese herbs that are used for yin deficiency.
Damp heat. This common tendency in acupuncture has to do with copper toxicity in most cases. In acupuncture texts, damp heat is associated with dysmenorrhea, acne, yeast infections such as candida albicans, female organ problems, liver dysfunction, a slight yellow color of the skin, emotional upsets, seizures, and perhaps other conditions that we find associated with copper imbalance.
It tends to affect the spleen meridian. Usually one has too much copper that may be biounavailable. The person is usually in slow oxidation, and it is more common in women than in men.
Damp heat may also have to do with a low Na/K ratio and low female hormones. It can be associated with amenorrhea or a lack of menstrual periods in a young woman.
In terms of hair mineral analysis, the person may present with a low Na/K ratio and/or a ‘slow oxidizer on crutches’ hair analysis pattern. These individuals often need to eat more meat. Meat has a drying and more yang effect on the body.
MERIDIAN PATTERNS
Here are a few basic hair analysis patterns that relate to the condition of particular acupuncture meridians:
- Liver/gall bladder: Low meridian energy may be reflected by:
* A hair phosphorus level less than about 13 mg%.
* A hair calcium level greater than about 150 mg%.
* A hair copper above about 10 mg%.
* A hair manganese above about 0.04 mg%.
* A hair iron above about 2 mg%.
* High lead, cadmium, copper and mercury appear to be the most damaging to the liver/gall bladder meridian, though all toxins can affect it.
· Kidney/bladder: A low sodium/potassium ratio indicates some kidney weakness. Low zinc may also indicate kidney weakness, as can elevated levels of cadmium, mercury and nickel, although all toxic metals can be toxic for the kidneys.
· Spleen/pancreas/stomach: An imbalanced calcium/magnesium ratio may relate to this meridian. The levels of magnesium and chromium, when low, may indicate deficiency or weakness of this meridian.
· Lung/large intestine: Elevated hair copper, in particular, may relate to weakness or underactivity of this meridian. This is extremely common today. All drugs, chemicals, food toxins, yeast, parasites and the results of improper eating habits, lack of rest and other factors contribute to a weak large intestine meridian in almost everyone. This tends to overheat the liver, where all the toxins end up since the portal vein system of arteries conducts the toxins that are absorbed from the intestines directly to the liver.
· Conception vessel: This meridian runs down the center of the body in the front of the body. Hair analysis indicators related to the thyroid gland may indicate weakness in this meridian. These include a calcium/potassium ratio greater than 4, and perhaps indicators for hidden or high copper and a mercury level greater than about 0.03 mg%.
· Triple heater: Faster oxidation favors this interesting acupuncture indicator. Also, a good sodium/potassium ratio favors this meridian’s energy. A low sodium/potassium ratio always indicates some weakness. Also, a good calcium/magnesium ratio favors this meridian energy.
NUTRITIONAL BALANCING MODALITIES AND ACUPUNCTURE ENERGIES
The following are ways in which nutritional balancing uses healing modalities to balance the acupuncture meridians and other imbalances related to acupuncture terminology.
To fully understand and appreciate the following sections, one needs to know that most people’s bodies are extremely yin. The cause is hidden radiation toxicity, a cause that is rarely discussed, even in medical and acupuncture texts. However, I believe this modern scourge invalidates some of ancient acupuncture by reducing some of the diagnostic accuracy of ancient medical acupuncture. Fortunately, the hair mineral analysis indicators we use for fast and slow oxidation seem to take into account this modern insidious threat to our health.
Here are some nutritional balancing modalities and their relation to acupuncture concepts. The most important one may be related to the diet.
A MORE YANG DIET
Nutritional balancing favors more yang foods such as meats, eggs, whole grains and cooked vegetables, prepared in more yang ways by cooking vegetables thoroughly. We avoid yin foods such as all sweets and sugars, and most food chemicals, and yin methods of preparation such as raw food, vegetarian food and most fermented food. An exception is dairy products, that we find are best eaten raw or only lightly cooked.
I am not sure why, but the macrobiotic system of yin and yang foods seems to work far better today than the traditional Chinese system of food selection in most cases. However, in clinical practice, I have had to modify the macrobiotic system as well for today’s nutritional depleted people. Here is more detail on foods and food preparation.
Organic food is far more yang in most, though not all cases. This is due to higher mineral content and lower pesticide and toxic metal content.
Proteins such as meats should be cooked, but not overcooked as it denature’s the protein too much. Pasteurized dairy products are not as healthful. Eggs are best eaten only lightly cooked and soft for the same reasons. Egg yolks should be runny. Meats and eggs are among the most yang foods.
Vegetables: Today there is a great need for the many excellent phytochemicals found in cooked vegetables. Raw vegetables are far too yin to be eaten in any quantity. Also, we find that few people can absorb enough minerals from raw vegetables as the human intestinal tract cannot break down the fiber well enough.
Therefore steam, bake, stir-fry or roast all vegetables. Fresh vegetables are far more yang, although frozen is okay. Canned are not as good as they are likely to be more yin.
Kelp or kombu in Japanese appears to be an excellent vegetable dried in capsules or cooked. Other sea vegetables are higher in mercury and do not contain enough alginates and other phytochemicals to offset the mercury, so they should be strictly limited.
Yin and yang vegetables: Sweet potato is quite yin and should be eaten in small quantities only. Starchy root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, rutabaga and parsnips are somewhat yin, but their nature as a root improves this quality and they are very nourishing. Onion and garlic are superb root vegetables and high in selenium, an important mineral today. Greens are excellent, as are the cabbage family of vegetables (cabbage cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and others), and others such as celery. Nightshades are very yin and somewhat toxic, and best avoided.
Proteins are more yin, but needed for slow oxidizers more than for fast oxidizers because they have a yangizing effect on protein synthesis and tend to support the liver/gall bladder activity. Red meats and eggs are most yang and some is okay for most people. Lamb is better than beef, which has become more yin due to hybridization and genetic modification. Red meats are higher in iron, which is not as good for some people with iron toxicity.
Chicken and turkey are excellent. Fish are nourishing foods, but much too high in mercury for general consumption at all. The exception are sardines, herring, anchovies, smelt and other very small fish, though even these must not be consumed more than about three times weekly. Salmon once a week is okay and wild-caught may be more healthful, though not necessarily. All shellfish and seafood (lobster, clams, oysters, eel, octopus, shrimp, scallops, crabs and others) are usually very toxic with heavy metals and should all be totally avoided. Shellfish tend to be more yin. Beans or legumes are quite yin and starchy, and should only be eaten a few times weekly unless one has no other proteins to eat.
Dairy foods, if raw and fresh, are superb as long as one is not allergic to them. These should be in the diet to provide bioavailable calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and many other vital nutrients.
Nuts and seeds are extremely yin (they grow high up in the air in most cases). They can be eaten occasionally, but not as staple foods.
Brewer’s and nutritional yeast are very yin. However, some may be eaten as a side addition for their many nutrients such as chromium and selenium, for which they are excellent.
Algae such as spirulina, chlorella, blue-green algae and others contain considerable protein, but are really vegetables that are very yin and appear less healthful. I suggest totally avoiding them until further research can discover ways to eat these foods healthfully.
Fats and oils are even more yin, and most helpful for those who are more yang – namely, fast oxidizers. They tend to cool down the metabolic rate and yang condition of the body. Those with a low sodium/potassium ratio need less of them as they are somewhat less yang than a true fast oxidizer, which is a person with a normal sodium/potassium ratio.
Some people with a fast oxidation rate cannot eat much fat. These individuals are usually temporary fast oxidizers and their oxidation rate will change within a few months to a year to slow oxidation. In these cases, the hair analysis must be studied carefully to look for telltale signs of underlying slow oxidation. These include a zinc level greater than about 13 mg%, a low phosphorus level, a low sodium/potassium ratio, or other imbalances such as high levels of the three amigos (iron, manganese or aluminum) or other toxic metals.
Avoid most coconut oil, palm oil and avocado because they grow in sub-tropical regions and this helps them to be more yin. A little bit is okay, however. Coconut and palm oils are otherwise healthful. Even olive oil is more yin, as olives grow in semi-tropical regions of the earth. Animal fats are much more yang such as beef tallow, lamb and chicken fat, and lard. Lard is a pig product, however, and is more yin and less healthful because of this and because pig products may be infected with trichina and other parasite cysts, even when well-cooked, in our experience. Freezing meat kills some parasites, but not all.
Carbohydrates: Sugars are extremely yin. For this reason, we tend to avoid all of them, including most fruits, and vegetables that are really fruits (cucumber, okra, squashes and the nightshade vegetables – tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and all peppers). Hot peppers are slightly more yang than sweet peppers and therefore a little better, but not recommended much at all.
Complex carbohydrates or starches are often well-balanced foods, in general, except that wheat is very hybridized, more yin and a very inflammatory food, and should be avoided by everyone in all forms, even organic whole wheat products. This is unfortunate but true. Also avoid spelt, as it is close to wheat and another inflammatory food.
Other excellent grains for those that can handle them are brown basmati rice, rye, and especially blue corn that is far more yang than most other corn. Organic blue corn chips with sea salt appear to be an excellent snack food. Other good grains are millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat and perhaps some oatmeal, barley and others if one tolerates them well. As health improves, one usually tolerates them better.
DRINKING WATER
Water is very yin, but needed for life. We only recommend spring water for daily drinking purposes. Well water is often okay, but most is somewhat contaminated with pesticides that will not be revealed on standard water tests. Some well waters have high levels of toxic metals and should be strictly avoided.
Distilled and reverse osmosis water, and all alkaline waters are the most yin waters and generally to be avoided. Distilled and RO are yin because they are devoid of minerals, although they have a somewhat acid pH. We sometimes recommend distilled water, but only for about 3 months in most cases to remove certain toxins from the body.
Alkaline waters are very yin and will unbalance the body eventually. Please avoid them, even though they will cause symptomatic improvements in the body when the body is very acid, and are okay for a month or two. I am not sure why they are so yin. It may have to do with the way they are produced, although alkaline anything tends to be a bit more yin.
Spring water is somewhat alkaline, and usually is the best overall long-term drinking water. If one does not wish to buy the plastic bottles of it, go to www.findaspring.com to locate a spring nearby where you can usually obtain it free.
Distilled water is often excellent for a few months at the beginning of a nutritional balancing program as it attracts and removes some loosely bound toxic metals. It can also be used during a toxic healing reaction for a short period of time to remove toxins faster. However, do not drink distilled water long-term, as it will leach vital minerals from the body.
Do not drink reverse osmosis water, as it does not hydrate the body well. It is also extremely yin. It is sold in machines, supermarkets and health food stores as “purified water”, “drinking water”, Dasani water, Agua Fina and many others.
Too much bathing is also yin and to be avoided. Shower every other day, if possible. Even living by the ocean or lakes is quite yin.
Rest and sleep: This is yin, but absolutely needed by most people, so it cannot be reduced or skipped. Go to bed early. This is the more yang time of the night and very critical for rebuilding the body.
Radiation is the ultimate yin toxin! Avoid it as much as possible. This means limiting all x-rays as much as possible. It also means limiting air travel, as it exposes a person to some extra radiation at high altitudes and at airport x-ray machinery.
Most travel is quite yin and toxic in other ways as well, such as pesticides in hotel rooms, breathing stale and contaminated air in planes, trains, buses, etc., eating improperly prepared foods laced with chemicals, and for other reasons, too. Car travel is usually the best.
Most medical drugs, over-the-counter drugs, recreational drugs and alcohol are very yin.
Sugar and even most fruits are extremely yin and in fact toxic today, we find, for many people. All feed yeast in the yin bodies and upset the blood sugar, which is already out of balance. Do your best to avoid all sweeteners in all foods and beverages. Also, avoid most fruits and all fruit juices, even diluted, as they are extremely yin and often sprayed with pesticides today, even those labeled organic.
Chemical food preservatives, flavors, colors and hundreds of other additives are generally very yin. For this reason, avoid most processed and prepared food items. This means you must cook at home and eat out sparingly. When eating out, choose ethnic or smaller restaurants where food is prepared fresh, and generally avoid chain restaurants, as they usually use many more prepared and chemical-laden foods.
Table salt is quite yin and toxic. Use sea salt, a decent food that can enhance your diet. Do not drink water with salt in it, however. Cook with salt as this has a yangizing effect.
NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
Mineral therapy is among the more yang supplemental nutrient therapies, though all supplements tend to be quite yin. This may be why it works so well today. It is most helpful for all the meridians, when recommended properly. This is not easy to do, however, but Dr. Paul Eck discovered many secrets of how to do it properly. We use mainly chelated minerals, as most other types are even more yin and therefore not as helpful.
An exception is the use of iron supplements. These are quite irritating and we find that almost everyone has plenty of iron from eating meats, eggs and white flour products. Vegetarians and women with very heavy periods occasionaly need iron, however.
Be careful with “natural” minerals from the earth or the sea, as these are usually contaminated with toxic metals, no matter what the company claims. As a rule, stay away from mineral supplements of most kinds. Instead, use Hawaiian Bamboo Jade se salt, and Veg-easy along with kelp and a diet of about 70% or more cooked vegetables. This will give you enough minerals.
Glandular extracts: This is an important aspect of nutritional balancing. Glandulars are the most yang type of nutritional supplements, and this may be one reason why they are so helpful. They also provide many subtle nutrients the body needs and they seem to strengthen particular organs, glands and meridians in unusual ways.
We use only freeze-dried glandulars. The salt extracted glandulars such as those from Standard Process are okay, though not superior, as some claim.
Vitamin therapy: Most vitamins are good for the liver/gall bladder meridian that is weak in most people. Most synthetic vitamins, in particular, and all vitamins are somewhat yin, so we do not use any more than are absolutely required.
Vitamin C is very important. However, most people use too much. Vitamin C is extremely yin. It is still very beneficial, but the amount needed is small. It is not true that a food-based vitamin C is more effective, in our experience, nor is it better absorbed.
Amino acids, enzymes and specialty products: These can be very helpful at times. We use a powerful digestive aid, GB-3, for everyone. It contains ox bile, pancreatin and dehyrocholic acid, a bile acid. This is a very yang supplement compared to other digestive aids and other liver support supplements, which is why we much prefer it over all other digestive aids.
Vegetable enzymes. These are derived from fungi, so they are much more yin. These are often termed protease, amylase, lipase and others. These are far more yin and hard on the liver, in our experience. They also appear to be somewhat toxic if taken for a few months or more, which does not happen so far with pancreatin and ox bile. This could be because they are so yin.
Isolated amino acids are all very yin. Then can be helpful and we use a few such as taurine, cysteine and methionine. These are more yang and contain sulfur, a yang mineral many people require more of. We do not like yin forms of sulfur as much, such as MSM or methylsulfonylmethane. This will give extreme symptom relief, but they will eventually make the body more yin, which is disastrous for some people.
Herbs. Herbs are powerful medicines, but many are very yin and most contain some toxic substances, in our experience. I hope this can be corrected. Especially Chinese and Indian or Ayurvedic herbs are somewhat toxic. This was not the case 100 years ago and before that, but the planet is now more polluted than ever. For this reason, we avoid almost all of these herbs.
American herbs are often better, and some Amazon herbs are fair. Herbs often function as remedies. Nutritional balancing is not about remedies, but rather about balancing the body gently and delicately, which causes most symptoms to go away. Please exercise great caution with all herbs, no matter what anyone claims about them. As a general rule, do not stay on herbs for more than a week or two. Extended use of most is not needed, and if it is needed, then one is not getting to the source of the problem. Mild herbal teas are fine, however, such as chamomile and hibiscus teas.
OTHER PROCEDURES THAT ARE PART OF NUTRITIONAL BALANCING SCIENCE
Coffee enemas and/or colon hydrotherapy: Coffee is a very yang herb, though it grows in the tropics. It grows at high altitudes, which is much more yang. Coffee enemas appear to be excellent and sometimes absolutely needed for the liver/gall bladder meridian and to detoxify the liver and the large intestine. Colonic irrigation by a professional is more yin, but also good for a series of colonics, for example. These are very underrated therapies and could save millions of lives if more people did them regularly.
Sauna therapy with a near infrared sauna: This is a hot, dry, reddish therapy. It is thus very yang. It is also an excellent, powerful, comfortable, quite safe and effective therapy for almost everyone today. It is somewhat similar to burning moxa, but safer and easier in most cases. It appears to be very good for the spleen/pancreas meridian and to detoxify the skin and the entire body. Other subtle benefits may include adding yang energy to the body via the infrared lamps.
Relaxation and rest. As explained earlier, this is yin, but absolutely needed today. It calms down the liver energy, caused by too much iron and other toxins in the liver such as copper.
Roy Masters meditation exercise: This is a very yang meditation. This concept of yin and yang meditations is critical today. The Roy Masters exercise is yang because it moves energy downward from the head to the feet. It also is about emptying the mind, rather than “expanding” the mind with mantras, thoughts, visualizations or images of any kind. This is a critical distinction between this exercise and most others. It is the most yang meditation we are aware of, so far.
Studying or mental efforting. This is also yang if done correctly. The kind of material to study must be grounded and scientific. The bible also works, perhaps because it is a true story and historic information.
What does not work are cheap novels, and other fiction unless perhaps if it is very scientific in nature. Most so-called “new age” or even most Eastern spiritual reading is not as good. Such material is too often too ungrounded to be helpful. It may be “mind expanding”, but not yang enough, as far as we can tell.
Political reading and study may be okay if it is Austrian economics and free market capitalist oriented. This is a science of human behavior and nothing more. Socialist and communist material is not very good. It is not science, but theory of a very yin nature because it is based on fear and anger, and most of it is a lie, which is a very yin condition.
CONCLUSION
This article introduces the interesting and compelling connections between some traditional Chinese acupuncture concepts and nutritional balancing science.
by Lawrence Wilson, MD
© September 2011, The Center For Development