Inflammation in all its kinds is the most common and basic pathological phenomena. In this article, we will discuss excess phlegm as a major cause of inflammation according to the holistic outlook, and how does it cause inflammation
In the previous article we discussed the vast differences between the modern Western medicine outlook regarding inflammatory diseases and that of the natural holistic medicine. Concerning diagnosis and treatment of inflammation of any sort, the modern Western medicine focuses almost solely on the microbial level participating in the pathological process. Its aim is supposedly eradicating those microbes, even though in most cases, when balanced, those microbes constitute a vital part of healthy metabolism and most of our genes. In contrast, the holistic outlook refers to an inflammation as an internal metabolic failure resulting from faulty lifestyle, causing imbalance in the bodily natural flora. The holistic medicine does not regard inflammation as the result of something external “jumping” into the body from the outside. This article expands on the holistic outlook regarding the sources of inflammation and the way to an efficient treatment.
The holistic internal medicine usually defines the metabolic failure causing inflammation as “excess phlegm”. All inflammations are in fact a manifestation of excess phlegm at a certain site in the body, resulting from a specific reason that caused the imbalance. For example, gingivitis (inflamed gums) is a result of a local problem, such as a rotting tooth root or wounded gums. The inflammation is created by the body as a way to deal with and heal the damaged tissues.
One of the ways the holistic medicine (e.g., the Eastern medicines, ancient Greek medicine and traditional Jewish medicine) classifies the bodily phlegm, is by the ” four phlegms”, which are the basis of metabolism (1). In the Jewish traditional medicine, they are likened to the “four great oceans”. The usual classification of the “four phlegms” is as follows: The white phlegm resides in the brain and the lungs, (and indeed, when cutting into these organs, an inside membrane of white phlegm becomes visible). The black phlegm resides in the spleen, (and indeed the fresh blood cells produced in the spleen are very dark in colour, almost blackish). The green phlegm (sometimes classified as yellow) originates at the liver and the gall bladder, (and indeed when cutting into these organs, green phlegm becomes visible). The fourth red phlegm resides at the heart and kidneys, which are situated on each side of a major energy channel; The heart is responsible for the distribution of blood to all bodily organs and tissues, and the kidneys are responsible for filtering the blood, with every 5 minutes an average of 1.8 liters of blood go through the kidneys for filtering. The filtered blood then gets separated: the waste goes out of the body via the urine and the rest of the purified liquids are driven upward by the kidneys to nourish all bodily organs, up to the eyes producing tears. These are the ” Four Phlegms”, and when they are in balance, in the right amount and at their places, normal physiology is maintained. An onset of a pathological process occurs, when there is excess or deficiency in one or more of the phlegms.
Wherever an inflammation is manifested anywhere in the body, it will almost always involve a weakness of the stomach / small intestine, as a result of an erosion of their inner wall. Both the stomach and the small intestine are the source of phlegm in the body, and when any of these two organs becomes weakened, one of the most common side effects of it is excess phlegm. When the inflammation occurs in the digestive system, it can manifest anywhere along the digestive tract and even in any other organ or bodily system. But in any of these cases, the source would be, as said, the weakness of the stomach / small intestine.
The first stage in the pathological process is a depletion of the stomach hydrochloric acid (HCL), which has a pivotal role in the stomach function of grinding the entering food. There could be a number of reasons for the reduction of HCL in the stomach, and the most common ones are chronic deficiency in protein – necessary for HCL production, and emotional stress. When the function of the stomach weakens, at the same time, the microbial levels in the gut (the natural flora – imperative for proper dismantling, transforming and absorption of the nutrients) go out of balance. Both chronic protein deficiency and mental stress are causes for an imbalanced gut natural flora, as well as weakening the stomach. When gut flora goes out of balance, the walls of the small intestine adjacent to the site of the pathology start to weaken. If the person continues his/her faulty lifestyle habits, the walls of the stomach and the small intestine continue to deteriorate. Some of those common faulty habits include smoking, consumption of coke, too spicy and acidic food, over consumption of foods containing chemicals, preservatives and artificial ingredients, repeated exposure to contaminated food (as unfortunately in many food outlets and junk food places these days), chronic onychophagia (chronic nail biting) and frequent contact between the hands and the mouth. All of the above chronic habits greatly disrupt the balance of the gut flora. It is true that there are some people who might drink coke, smoke or do all the other mistakes and still not get sick, but we cannot learn from the exception. The body continuously strives toward balance and harmony, and all the mentioned harmful substances greatly disrupt the balance and harmony.
The main inflammatory pathologies in the digestive system are ulcers: in the stomach it is known as “the ulcer”; in the intestine it may be known as “colitis”, Crohn’s disease”, “diverticulitis”, “proctitis”, etc. All these pathologies with different names are basically of the same kind: an inflammation in the gut. The difference in the conventional medical terms is merely according to the site of the inflammation: if it is a severe inflammation in the large intestines – it would be referred to as “Crohn’s”; if it is a relatively small inflammation on the stomach – it would be called “an ulcer”; if it is a medium severe inflammation in the small intestine – it would be “colitis”, and so forth. The problem is that these general terms bind together great many different inflammatory pathological processes potentially happening at a certain site. Those terms do not present any differential diagnosis and no insight as to the specific causes and the specific pathological process in each case. Only by identifying the causes and conditions of the individual manifested pathology we can find the key to a successful personalized treatment. The medical definition of the disease as appearing in the medical literature causes fixation, preventing a holistic outlook and investigation into the influence of other bodily systems on the pathology in the specific case, as well as the influence of the individual patient’s lifestyle on the pathology, taking into account the variety of differences from patient to patient.
Let’s take for example a diagnosis of “Crohn’s disease”: Such diagnosis says nothing about the exact site of the inflammation in the large intestine. We have today high-tech equipment that can demonstrate precisely the site of the ulcer and its size. However, somehow, when it comes to the actual treatment offered, all cases have the same treatment protocol, whether one has a 1/2 cm ulcer, the second has a 2cm ulcer and the third has a 10cm ulcer spread on a wide area of the intestine wall – all of them are referred to as “Crohn’s”, only because they are situated in the large intestine. There is no differential treatment even when it comes to the area of the ulcer in the large intestine: one’s ulcer can be situated in the lower third of the large intestine, while the inflammation in the second case might have already spread to 3/4 of the intestine facing an amputation if not treated successfully. In one case the “Crohn’s” ulcer is in its initial stages, while in the second case it might be a large area of tissue, which is already consumed by the inflammation, bleeding and developing necrosis. According to the conventional outlook, all of these cases are tagged under the umbrella of “Crohn’s” and receive the same treatment with the same harsh medicines, regardless of the major differences we described above.
Another example that clearly illustrates how excess phlegm causes inflammation is otitis (ear inflammation) in children. According to an American study (2), 90% of babies and toddlers arrive to the G.P. at least once due to otitis, rendering it one of the most common disorders in infancy. How does an ear inflammation come about (as well as laryngitis, sinusitis and other respiratory inflammations)? The inflammation has no external source – nothing “jumped” unto the ear or the throat. It is a result of an internal pathological process due to an imbalance in the normal physiology. To understand the source of the ear inflammation, let’s take as an analogy a leaky wall soaked with dampness. Externally, we can see the chipped paint and water bubbles, but any reasonable person would know that the source of the leak in internal, within the wall, whether due to a broken pipe or a leak from the upper floor. It would be obvious to all that we are not dealing here with an external cause attaching itself to the wall from the outside.
In the same way, the excess phlegm that created the inflammation originates in a metabolic disorder of internal organs. In the case of the leak in the wall, it is obvious to us that we need to search for some internal problem within and around the wall. Unfortunately, when it comes to the human body, most of the medical experts fail to recognize that although the inflammation manifests externally in the ear, its source is an internal pathological process not originating in the ear. Regarding some bacteria or a virus as the sole cause of the ear infection, as if “attacking” the ear from the outside, is missing the whole point, therefore prevents an efficient treatment. The contention that only the “extermination” of the microbe will make the inflammation extinct and solve the problem in the long run, does not withstand a reality check. “eradicating” the microbe as the intended goal of a treatment is not plausible and even detrimental to one’s health. As explained, those microbes involved in ear inflammation – and any other inflammation – are also part of our natural flora vital for proper metabolism. Furthermore, science has not yet identified all the billions of other microbes, who might be even more directly involved in the pathology. It would be like closing a police investigation before interrogating all those potentially involved in the crime. The real problem lies in the natural flora going out of balance – therefore, restoring harmony and balance should be the goal of the treatment, rather than fighting vital elements of the body. This goal can be achieved only by correctly treating the internal metabolic failure, the source of the imbalance.
In the case of otitis in children, the problem is usually resolved by itself when the child grows up, and the sinuses and facial spaces widen. In spite of that, there is a frequent usage of antibiotics, time and time again, within several prolonged rounds. As viruses are involved in most ear infections rather than bacteria, the application of antibiotics becomes useless at the hefty price of its adverse effects. When the antibiotics fail, the usual suggestion by the conventional medicine are invasive surgical procedures, such as myringotomy (ear tubes), sinuses suction, etc. These are extremely unpleasant procedures running a high risk of damage to the child’s hearing. In any cases, these procedures usually provide only short relief, if any. Several of these procedures might be executed until the problem gets resolved anyway, by itself, when the child matures, often with some sort of a life-long hearing damage. With the conventional treatment, there is rarely any regard to the inner source of the inflammation. The inflammation itself is just the body’s way to try and get rid of the inner excess phlegm via the spaces in the facial areas – with one person through the ears, another through the throat, the third person through the eyes, and the forth through the urine. When we are aware of the location of the inner source of the excess phlegm, creating the inflammation, it becomes possible to offer an efficient, relatively quick and easy, which does not involve much pain and suffering and is risk free.
To top off the issue, it should be further noted that ear inflammations tend to significantly occur more in children who did not breastfeed and have been given instead artificial formulas. Those “milk substitute” formulas are almost all synthetic, devoid of real milk. As the stomach and small intestine struggle to digest and assimilate those artificial formulas, these organs weaken and excess phlegm starts to accumulate. This is one of the major reasons, why babies and toddlers suffer a lot from excess phlegm, cough, wheezing, etc. Later on, the situation deteriorates to otitis, sinusitis and such, because the source of the inflammation – i.e. the excess phlegm in the digestive system – has never been taken into account in neither diagnosis nor treatment, while the usage of commercial formulas continues. In many cases, mere discontinue of the artificial formulas, switching to other natural options, is enough to dry up the excess phlegm, thereby solving the problem without the need to resort to further treatment.
This has been an example of a common inflammatory process with a distinct external manifestation, but with an internal pathological source we must identify first and treat it well.
In summary, balancing the various phlegms in the body (for example, via the paradigm of the “Four Phlegms” or any other such paradigm) is an essential and vital perquisite for maintaining good health and avoiding diseases. Such paradigms of internal medicine also enable precise and full diagnosis as well as an efficient treatment, whenever a disorder or a pathological symptom manifest.
Only by performing a differential diagnosis in each and every case including taking into account all the little details of the patient’s lifestyle, will it be possible to construct the potentially most efficient personalized treatment strategy. Only such treatment strategy might enhance the success chances of solving the medical problem, without reoccurrence and with no adverse side effects and damage.
This article is the second and final in the series of “inflammation – Where Does it Come From?”
Wishing everyone good health,
Oren Kaholi, Dr. of Natural Health Science (PhD. DNHSc)
Oren Kaholi, Dr. of Natural Health Science (PhD. DNHSc) specializes in the unique acupuncture system of Single Needle Technique (SNT) and Chinese medicinal herbs pharmacology. Based on his professional training and vast clinical experience, Dr. Kaholi developed a precise holistic method of diagnosis, combining many diagnostic tools. Dr. Kaholi’s diagnostic method enables him to offer efficient personalized natural treatment plans for each of his patients with an average rate of success exceeding 95%. Dr. Kaholi has been treating a vast range of illnesses, acute and chronic, for over a decade both in Israel (his home base) and all over the world. Dr. Kaholi lectures on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and teaches his system.
References:
1) The Four Humours in Chinese and ancient Greek medicine:
http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Greek_Medicine_and_Chinese_Medicine.html
The Four Humours in ancient Jewish medicine:
ארבע הליחות – האנציקלופדיה היהודית (jewiki.org.il)
ארבעת היסודות – השער לרפואה היהודית מאת: אוריאל גורפינקל. – עילם” העמותה הישראלי לצמחי מרפא (herbology.org.il)
2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6959216/
