Case Notes from the Live Blood Analysis Clinic: Leukaemia under the microscope
In this article we compare the blood pictures of two clients that had been diagnosed by their doctors as having Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia. We explore both the similarities and also the many differences observed, and see how the same diagnosis does not necessarily mean the same recommendations for our clients.
There are many types of leukaemia but they all have one thing in common – a problem in the bone marrow where all blood cells are created. This can cause multiple symptoms and if left untreated it can lead to a complete breakdown of health.
The blood’s stem cells live in the bone marrow and they differentiate into the various cells of the blood - red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. In leukaemia the stem cells produce abnormal cells and this means that the bone marrow space gets filled with these cells crowding out the normal cells and eventually the circulating blood becomes overloaded with abnormal cells.
If the red blood cells are not normal we can suffer from anaemia and fatigue.
When the white blood cells are affected it disrupts the functioning of our immune system, leading to autoimmune issues or too few white blood cells leaving us susceptible to infection.
If we do not have enough platelets our blood’s homeostatic clotting mechanism does not work properly leading to increased bruising and uncontrollable bleeding.
Our body cannot survive for long if the blood continues to produce a high number of abnormal cells or too few normal cells.
Healthy Stem Cells = Healthy Blood
Normally the bone marrow produces 2 million blood cells every second and recycles 2 million old cells every second. In people with a blood stem cell abnormality and who are therefore are producing less normal blood cells than the body needs, then it is important to maximise the health of those blood cells.
If we make sure that:
the body is getting the nutrition it needs through the diet
the digestive system is able to absorb and metabolise those nutrients properly
any toxicity absorbed or produced by the body is eliminated
we can supply the stem cells with the nutrients and conditions they require to differentiate into blood cells and to mature normally.
What is Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia?
I recently had two clients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia. They are monitored closely by their doctor or specialist to check their blood and monitor the numbers of abnormal cells. They came to me to see what their blood actually looked like and to learn more about what they can do in terms of diet and lifestyle to remain as healthy as possible.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) is one of the most common types of leukaemia that mostly affects adults. It has no known cause, it isn’t genetic or hereditary and it is usually diagnosed by chance after a routine health check. It can shorten life but it is a very slow developing disease and many people with it can live normally with no treatment needed.
CLL requires constant monitoring to check the levels and health of the different blood cells. Treatment, which is usually immunotherapy or chemotherapy, is only needed if the disease develops and it is very much tailored to the individual.
How can Live & Dry Blood Analysis help?
Whatever a person’s diagnosis, I believe that if they can have an influence over the environment their cells are living in – the extracellular fluids – then they can influence the health of their cells.
I also believe that by observing the health of our blood cells we can see whether the internal environment of their body is supporting the health of their cells.
This is essentially what Live and Dry Blood Analysis can do. It can:
assess the condition of the fluids that surround the cells and pick up possible metabolic and digestive issues
assess the appearance of the blood cells and identify normal and abnormal cells
ascertain whether there are issues in the bone marrow – deficiencies of nutrients, defective stem cell differentiation - or issues in the circulation – obstruction, stress in certain organs, aggregations and crystals in the plasma, evidence of infections.
My aim is to assess their blood and determine what indications can be seen and to interpret those findings so that I can offer individualised dietary and supplemental advice that addresses those unique indications.
Does the same diagnosis = same recommendations?
We all have biochemical individuality as well as a unique health history, diet and lifestyle and so the impact on our health from all of these elements will vary from person to person.
This becomes very apparent when you look at blood under the microscope and see the profile of indications. Despite both clients having CLL – their blood pictures are unique. This illustrates how a diagnosis does not dictate treatment in the holistic health world.
It also raises a question – if two people with the same diagnosis have such different blood profiles, how differently will they react to prescribed medication?
Case History One
52 year old woman recently diagnosed with CLL when she went to the Dr because of her extreme fatigue which was getting worse.
This client was extremely stressed and traumatised by her diagnosis. It was completely unexpected and came at a time when she had already experienced prolonged stress over a period of two years.
She had lost her way in terms of her diet and lifestyle over the last few years where she had previously been exercising and eating healthily she now relies on food for comfort and feels so tired and stressed she is unable to make decisions or plan.
She has lost both parents and has been caring for a suicidal son in the midst of which her marriage has been breaking down. She was coming to me to start again and reset her health. She had been doing a lot of research but was confused and wanted guidance.
Her Blood Analysis
In the context of her diagnosis she did have abnormal lymphocytes and low levels of neutrophils. These were obvious in her blood sample.
Abnormal Lymphocytes
However, I was more interested in finding other indications that would point to root causes of any health issues.
The most obvious and prevalent issue was evidence of parasites. This can be seen in the dry blood analysis as black spider like shapes.
Parasite indication in dry blood
Parasites can leach nutrients, create an acidic environment and can damage organs and tissues that they proliferate in.
I could also see that her blood contained some toxicity and possibly heavy metals. This can be seen bin the dry blood as a dark outer ring around the blood layer.
Indications of toxic metals
Toxicity is circulating in the blood and rather than being filtered out it is left in circulation. Depending on the nature of the toxins they will cause damage to cells as the blood circulates, raise acidity levels, get deposited in tissues (even the brain), and attract parasites and bacteria.
The live blood showed a variety of nutrient deficiencies, macrocytes and micocytes which are abnormal red blood cells produced by the bone marrow and unable to carry out their function of delivering oxygen to tissues. This is because of a B12 and folate deficiency as well as iron.
Anisocytes
There were many red blood cells that had been damaged in circulation which I believe is because the cell membranes are not robust enough. Cell membranes need a mix of cholesterol and other essential fatty acids, if they contain too many of the wrong fats then they will oxidise easily or become easily damaged during circulation.
Acanthocytes
My interpretation
This client was experiencing a lot of stress and we know that stress plays a huge part in causing ill health. When a client is this traumatised it is not the right time to give them a long list of things to do. Asking them to do anything is asking too much and our role is not to add to the stress.
My main focus was to reassure her that she can make changes and improve her health. This is very empowering and offers hope. I only made a few suggestions but ones that I knew would be the most effective and important to get her onto the first stage of healing. These were primarily digestive support, some essential supplements to top up deficiencies and a few dietary tweaks.
I believe that parasites were playing a big role in her mental health; however she needed to do some preparation before using any parasite protocols. I wanted to start by correcting the imbalanced pH of the body’s cells and fluids through diet, hydration and gentle cleansing techniques. This alone can help to shift parasites and it is a gentler process that does little harm to the cells
I felt that addressing the stress was the most important issue for this client, I referred her to other therapists that would be able to help her further with stress coping and trauma healing. She responded very well to this approach and managed to make some changes slowly which gave her more energy, hope and a clearer mental state so that she could move forward.
Case History Two
46 year old male, has been diagnosed in the last 6 months, discovered by routine health check at Dr.
This client was very positive. He had taken lots of action already, researched and read lots of books and had devised his own health plan involving diet – gluten, dairy and sugar free, juicing and smoothies, no carbohydrates.
He was on a lot of supplements – antioxidants, lots of chlorella, charcoal, several multi mineral and vitamins and herbal mixes. He was also doing far-infrared saunas and coffee enemas twice a day, skin brushing, Epsom salt baths as well as exercising and intense medical cannabis treatment! His only symptoms were fatigue and some digestive discomfort.
His Blood Analysis
His live blood was very interesting as it showed multiple indications. I would say that only 30 % of his blood sample looked normal.
Within the first few minutes of analysis he remembered that he also had Thalassemia – a hereditary blood disorder where the red blood cells are produced smaller than normal and are often much weaker than normal red blood cells. It is a common disorder in those with Mediterranean heritage and it can induce fatigue, but is usually untreated.
Anisocytes
His blood sample also contained a lot of lymphocytes and a high percentage of those were abnormal, which I believe were present because of the CLL.
Abnormal Lymphocytes
However, despite his rather “messy” live blood sample his dry blood sample was quite different.
He had a fairly weak fibrin web. The fibrin in the dry blood is a clotting protein and should traverse the whole of the blood layer. In our first client it was virtually absent. In this client it is a partial fibrin web, and it indicates the need to tone up the digestion and increase absorption of protein.
Fibrin Web
The dry blood analysis can reveal the depth of disease – acute or chronic –as well as the extent of the disease process in terms of oxidative stress and inflammation – systemic or localised. This client had virtually no oxidative stress and only very mild inflammation in specific areas.
Indication of organ inflammation
He also had waves of toxicity in his dry blood that show his tissues, cells and organs are releasing a lot of toxicity but it is remaining in the blood putting pressure on the organs of elimination and all the resources the body needs to be able to quench the toxicity and the consequential free radical damage.
Indications of toxicity
My interpretation
I believe he was pushing his body too fast in terms of detox. Given his CLL and Thalassemia, the pace of detox could be causing too much oxidation and damage to the already fragile blood cell membranes. My advice was to slow the detox process down.
I asked him to introduce some soothing, hydrating and nourishing approaches rather than the raw and mostly vegan diet. I also supported the digestion, especially protein and fat digestion. He was consuming far too many Omega 6 fats and hardly any Omega 3 – which really affects the integrity of the cell membranes and so I advised to get the balance right and include EFA (DHA and EPA) supplementation. He needed to supplement B12 and folate too and avoid iron overload in the diet
One size does not fit all!
Two clients diagnosed with the same condition and yet you can see that their blood samples were completely different. Even the expression of CLL was different in terms of the appearance and quantity of abnormal lymphocytes.
Their individual health stories, their state of mind and the resources that they have available to them meant that they each needed a unique approach on the path to healing and regeneration. The speed of healing from any health issue is dependent on the biological strength of the body but also the mental and emotional state too.
One client needed to be able to find her own strength and stability before she could embark on making dietary changes. The other was already speeding ahead with diet and lifestyle changes, but going too fast for his body to cope.
Our Blood is an Expression of Our Uniqueness
The blood is a fascinating biological fluid that contains our unique biological imprint. It can provide so much information and help us understand our health at a deeper level.
I believe Live & Dry Blood Analysis is the best tool for:
helping clients to address their individual needs in terms of diet and lifestyle
looking deeper at the individual and not the diagnosis
monitoring their blood as they progress to keep them going in the right direction for them
One thing I need to make clear is that LDBA is not a diagnostic method and alternative health practitioners are not able to treat anyone for their diagnosis.
The truth is that no matter what diagnosis a client has, diet and lifestyle can influence the health of our bodies and so with that logic, getting professional advice on what sorts of diet and lifestyle habits would be beneficial to anyone who wants to improve their health is a sensible thing to do.
If you would like to know more about Live and Dry Blood Analysis Training so that you can use it to assess your clients’ health, then please follow this link.
You are also invited to join our Facebook Group ‘Learning Live Blood Analysis’ - a private group of students, qualified analysts and anyone interested in learning.
If you have any questions about this topic or LDBA in general please email Shirah directly at info@naturecureacademy.com or add a comment below!
