Germ Theory vs Terrain Theory
Which One Makes More Sense
(and why it is so important at the current time to know about both of these)
Please note that I am no longer using Facebook as a means to communicate and share health and nutrition information with you.
I am currently using mewe.com and my page can be found at http://mewe.com/p/trufoodsnutritionservices
I have been meaning to get this post completed for quite some time because it is so important now that the world has changed right in front of our eyes.
I was that kid, teen and college kid that got sick all the time, literally it seemed like. I had fevers so high that I would get burn marks on my face. There were school years that I missed over 30 days of school and no I wasn’t faking it, I was actually very sick. If it wasn’t a virus, it was strep throat or ear infections. I baby pics I wasn’t that cute chubby baby because I was always sick so I was a skinny baby. While I have quite a few theories as to why I was sick all the time I won’t go into that now.
But once I knew more about the immune system, I got to work on my health. It took years to get to a better place and I still get sick on occasion such as in the past three years I had two very minor colds and one quick stomach bug but prior to that when I got sick, I got really sick!
Why is that? I am the same person, still exposed to germs daily, so why do I get sick less now than before?
Before I go on to talk about Germ and Terrain Theory I want you to think about this:
One person has COVID 19 and is with two other people
Both are the same distance from the person who has the virus and have spent the same time with the infected person and at the same time.
One of these two people gets the virus with flu like symptoms
The other shows no symptoms
How can this be if they were both exposed to the exact same virus?
To Fear or Not to Fear Viruses
Because of COVID 19, it is important that you know the difference between these two theories as they will shape how you approach the virus and determine how you will protect yourself against pathogens.
Western medicine and the mass media (whether they realize it or not) are following the germ theory that all germs are bad, are dangerous and to be feared and we must do everything we can to avoid contact with germs and to protect ourselves.
Wear your mask, stay 6 feet away from others, do not socialize or gather in groups, don’t hug-this is all off the premise of Germ Theory.
Germ theory has its place. I think in the case of certain bacterial strains that can rapidly and dangerously infect a person, antibiotics are life saving and beneficial.
But should we be applying germ theory to viruses such as COVID 19 and what is terrain theory? You probably have never even heard of the Terrain Theory and for good reason.
Modern medicine took the Germ Theory and ran with it. The theory supports the use of medication for eradication and protection. Germ Theory instills fear of the pathogens such as what we see with COVID 19.
Terrain Theory focuses more on you.
When it comes to viruses and your exposure it is important to know how the two theories differ and what you can do to lead a life that interacts daily with viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
Where Is Your Immune System?
Before I discuss the difference between Germ and Terrain theory, I should briefly discuss the immune system. The immune system is composed of a group of organs, tissues and cells that work together to defend your body from invaders. This is a complex system that goes to work to protect you.
The first line of defense is your innate immune system. This is the physical immune system such as your skin as a protective barrier and your mucosal membranes. Other parts of the innate system include stomach acid which kills pathogens that enter the gut on food, immune cells such as neutrophils and monocytes, natural killer cells and mast cells.
The second line of defense is the adaptive immune system and this system produces a response such as making antibodies to a specific virus. The adaptive immune system targets the invaders that get past the innate immune system. They specifically target an invader. This system is made up of B cells, antibodies, antigen presenting cells, T cells, and complement proteins.
Your immune system even has a memory! You have memory T cells that will remember a specific invader so that if you say get the same virus again, your T cells would activate your B cells much quicker the second and third time you are exposed as compared to the very first time. Thus if you get the virus again, it is cleared much quicker resulting in fewer and shorter duration of symptoms.
This memory can also cross react and we are seeing this with COVID 19. For instance, you may have had a similar coronavirus in the past and you contract COVID 19 and because it looks similar you have a layer of protection against this virus.
We cannot skip the gut’s role when we discuss the immune system. If you have a weak immune system, pick up every germ that comes your way (this way me in childhood!), then the microbiome cannot be overlooked. It is said that over 80% of your immune system is within the digestive tract. It must be supported by incorporating foods that include prebiotic and pro biotics so that your good bacteria will also produce post biotics. All of this will support immunity. You can do this by adding in carb rich whole foods, and a wide variety of plant foods into your diet along with fermented foods.
Germ Theory
What is Germ Theory?
The Germ Theory originated with Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) the inventor of pasteurization. What Pasteur believed is that there are external germs that can invade the body and are the direct cause of disease and that we must eradicate them, destroy them to get well. This theory supports medications, chemotherapy, and radiation, antibiotics, and surgery.
Pasteur thought that the body is a sterile place that is void of any germs and thus with this thinking in mind you could see how he would think that germs we are exposed to are bad for us and we should fear all pathogens.
With this type of thinking you could also see how he would think that nutrition is useless and surgeries and potent drug therapies would be the only solution. This type of thinking is just what big pharma/vaccine industry would want you to believe because it keeps them in business.
Germ theory is accepted as the scientific theory of disease, and no wonder why because it brings in a great deal of revenue for big pharma.
However, I am not dismissing the Germ Theory all together, as I do believe that both theories have their place.
The Germ theory lends itself to creating life saving treatments which are valuable. But what if the amount of people that are impacted by pathogens could be reduced if the terrain of each individual was addressed?
Drugs, vaccinations, chemo/radiation, surgery all are in support of the Germ Theory. Not to say they don’t have their place, but why can we not also use preventative measures and this is where the Terrain theory is important to know about during COVID 19.
Terrain Theory
The theory of your Terrain versus the germ to be feared started with Claude Bernard (1813-1878) and then it was built upon by Antoine Bechamp (1816-1908). Both men believed that it was not about the germ but instead about your internal health. They believed that when the body is in balance, functioning well, when your immune system and your detoxification systems are operating as they should, that the body can handle pathogens in the environment that come its way.
They believed that what determines how sick you get is based not on the virus/germ but on everyone’s susceptibility to the germ/virus/disease.
The theory goes on with the belief that a weak terrain is more vulnerable to threats from the environment. Based on this theory they believed the opposite of Pasteur, that instead a nutritious diet and a body that is detoxifying is the key to a healthy response to pathogens.
To me, this makes perfect sense when you look at COVID 19. We know that COVID impacts more so those with diet and lifestyle diseases and impacts the institutionalized elderly at a greater rate.
Look at their immune systems, look at their health, look at their diet! If this was all about the virus, wouldn’t healthy individuals be getting symptoms as severe as those who are unhealthy. And why are 2/3 of the deaths in the institutionalized aging population? How can we explain this based on Germ theory?
Bacteria Versus a Virus
When talking about COVID 19, Fear of Germs and your terrain, it may be helpful to know more about what a virus is.
A virus is not living.
It cannot replicate on its own.
It must enter the cell of the host in a lock and key fashion to replicate. It relies on you to replicate, needing to borrow your enzymes and other molecules.
Your body has trillions of viruses and microorganisms present such as in your gut microbiome but also on your skin, and mucous membranes such as in the nasal passage. So, if you have viruses present in you and on you, it does not necessarily mean that it is the cause of illness. You breath in, eat and touch viruses every day, well at least when you are not in a forced quarantine situation and wearing masks!
In Nature Cure, Dr. H. Lindlahr, MD, states that “Germs cannot be the cause of disease because disease germs are also found in healthy bodies” We have a symbiotic relationship with these pathogens.
What will happen if we completely isolate ourselves from all exposure? It is estimated that there are around 200 species of respiratory viruses, influenza viruses, rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, and others that we have always lived and interacted with. Exposure to them can strengthen your immune system.
If we compare a bacteria to a virus, there are some differences. For instance, bacteria are larger in particle size (1000 nm) to (20-400 nm) for viruses. This is one of the reasons why a mask for TB can be effective but not as effective for any virus. Bacteria are living organisms while viruses are not. Bacteria can reproduce by themselves while a virus needs a living cell (that is you) to reproduce. Again, any virus needs a viable host, thus this goes back to supporting the Terrain Theory.
So why are we as a society blaming those who don’t wear a mask when we get sick instead of looking to ourselves?
We currently live in a society in which we would rather put the blame elsewhere-it is never our fault, yet if we look at the health of society, it is our own fault.
What Impacts Your Terrain?
Sleep, exercise, movement, socialization, diet, lifestyle, stressors, sunshine and fresh air, isolation, unhealthy habits, and addictions such as drinking, gambling, smoking and so forth.
Ironic, that all these things can have a positive or negative influence on your body and can either increase or decrease your susceptibility to a virus yet you hear none of this from the mainstream news, from your government, from Fauci and others in high places.
I contacted my Tri County Health department about offering to share tips on how to support your immune system during COVID. They inadvertently added me to a internal response of which stated “wondering if she is connected to that board member who kept bringing this up to Dr. Smith (I changed the doctors name)…”
Yup, people are trying and get shut down.
I know many don’t see this but in my world, I see this happening EVERY SINGLE DAY since COVID 19 came on the scene. So if I sound harsh in some of my posts you have to understand the frustration being in the health field during this time.
I put a great deal of effort into getting information out to you to help you to stay and get healthy but your society, your government, the powers that be, do not want you to have this information!
The Flu Shot and Your COVID 19 Risk
Studies have shown even prior to COVID 19 that getting the flu shot increases your risk of contracting other viruses. In fact, the risk is 36% greater! Thus, those who consider themselves healthy and got their yearly flu injection may be at greater risk. If we believed in the germ theory, this would not even seem plausible.
We also must look at COVID deaths in this way: As I stated, we know that 2/3 or more of COVID deaths are the elderly that are in skilled nursing facilities. These facilities require all the residents to get the flu shot yearly. These people are already at greater risk due to their weaker immune systems, their numerous diagnosis, and their long list of medications. On top of that we add the yearly flu shot.
While their deaths are very sad, when we look at it this way, it is not surprising to see these numbers, yet the world is in a state of lockdown because of these deaths.
How To Build An Armor Like Shield For Immunity
Start supporting your immune health and identify what your health issues are. Are you a smoker? Do you need to lose weight? Is it that you just sit in front of a computer all day, no fresh air, no movement, no exercise? Once you identify the areas you need to work on then you can start setting up small, doable goals and baby steps.
Here are some suggestions
- keep a food journal-a handwritten one only! This will help you to identify your weak areas in the diet
- start the day with a full glass of water and look outside to the light when you wake up (not directly into the sun!)
- start the day with some movement, fresh air, stretches if you can
- Plan meals! Most people don’t eat healthy because they don’t plan. Focus on breakfast first.
- Try a fermented food/drink such as raw fermented sauerkraut or low sugar kombucha,
- Purchase a new vegetable this week and look up ways to prepare it
- Sign up for a farm share
- Always incorporate whole foods that you have prepared into your diet. When you go out to eat, you never know what oils are used, where the food is sourced and so forth. While I understand that as a society we do not cook as much unfortunately, it doesn’t mean we should not prepare home cooked meals at all!
- Address the stress in your life. Chronic, on-going, unaddressed stress will always weaken the immune system. There are many ways to address stress such as whole foods diet, exercise, forest bathing, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, quiet time, hobbies, acupuncture, Adaptogenic herbs and more!
These are just suggestions above. Pick one to three that are doable for you and then build upon that foundation.
These are some first steps that you can take. It is best to work with a nutrition professional who can guide you into the best dietary changes for you since we all have different needs. Enlist the help of a Health coach if you are having trouble staying on task.
The Example from the Start of This Article
Now let us go back to the example. Does the virus have complete control over you or are you in control? If we look at the example and now that you know about both theories it would appear, at least to me, that you are in control, your terrain, you the host, and that the virus should not be feared!
What do you think? Do you still think that viruses should be feared and avoided, and we should take extreme measures to avoid contact?
Sources
https://microbenotes.com/the-germ-theory-of-disease/
https://johnscottconsciousness.com/germ-theory/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404712/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7126676/
https://microbiologyinfo.com/differences-between-bacteria-and-viruses/
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