Has Blood Changed Since the Covid Pandemic?

A new world

There is no doubt that the world as we knew it pre-pandemic no longer exists. Travelling, working, relationships and families have all been affected - we have been through a collective trauma caused by a virus.

Not everyone and not every country has had the same experience though. The differences in resources, in infrastructure, in government and health care between countries around the world have created different outcomes.

The measures taken by the dominant Western countries have created chaos that has rippled throughout the world, touching everyone. Mask wearing, vaccine mandates, lockdowns and restrictions in medical treatments to name but a few.

I am a Live and Dry Blood Analyst and I have been looking at blood through a microscope for over 11 years. Since the pandemic, I have seen some changes in the blood and in this blog post I am going to share some of my observations and my understanding of how this virus and how the vaccine has affected my clients’ blood.

What Live Blood Analysis is not

At this point I feel that I should state that live blood analysis is not diagnostic of any kind of disease, condition or syndrome. It is a tool for observing a sample of living blood and as such it provides a unique insight into how this biological fluid is functioning.

Of course, the blood sample is no longer being regulated by the body and so this is taken into account. However, how quickly the blood ages and the effect this has on the cells is still relevant.

You also take into account the impact of the sampling technique, whether it is fasted blood or not and the health history of the person whose blood it is and how that may affect the blood (including medications, supplements, lifestyle etc).

Finally you must also be aware of artefacts – these are not in the blood or of the blood but rather contaminants in the sample and/or manufacturing defects on the slides and coverslips.

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What have I seen under the microscope in my clinic since the pandemic?

The clients that come to see me are varied and diverse.

Some are interested in maintaining and monitoring health in order to prevent illness. Some suffer from a variety of health issues and are looking at alternatives to pharmaceutical interventions in order to do as much as they can to maintain or gain health.

Some have even been to their doctor and had a multitude of tests carried out but have been told that there is nothing out of the ordinary in the results and so, cannot be given treatment.

After the first lockdown finished and we were allowed to do face to face consultations once more, I was able to observe blood and build a body of documentation – blood after the pandemic.

What the blood tells us

In my career as an analyst I have seen the blood of hundreds of people. I have seen millions of blood cells under the microscope.

I have looked at the blood of people with all kinds of diseases including diabetes, AIDS, CVD, leukaemia, MS, cancer, those with many symptoms such as IBS, migraine, allergies and many, many others.

Each of them had a unique blood picture - there are usually no specific blood analysis indications for each disease or symptom.

The blood reflects the person’s terrain – the inner environment that supports the cells. The appearance of the cells in the blood tells a story of the health/balance of the inner terrain.

As an analyst you are trying to read the story by putting together all of the pieces of the health puzzle. It is not enough to use the blood alone - it holds clues as does the patient’s case history.

The blood will alert you to a B12 deficiency for example, but why it is deficient needs further thought. Does the diet contain adequate B12? Is the digestion optimal and capable of breaking down the food to obtain the B12 and also absorb it? What lifestyle choices could be depleting B12? Are there any symptoms reflecting B12 deficiency? Do they have issues with methylation? Are there other blood tests that correlate B12 issues? It is not as simple as just supplementing with B12.

However, in my experience, during the pandemic and after it, the blood of those who either had had COVID or had the injection to innoculate against COVID (or both), had several distinct indications.

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Indications in the blood

The following pictures are from my clinic and are taken from clients who have a variety of health issues related to COVID. They are either suffering with Long Covid symptoms or have been injured by the vaccine.

In many cases the vaccine injury is actually confirmed in their NHS health records. Some have been able to get compensation, some are having to fight very hard to get support.

Only a very few have been able to get any effective treatment from their NHS doctor and despite having multiple tests from a variety of consultants they are often told that “everything is normal”. As a result of their experiences, they have turned to private health care.

Please note: These indications are not diagnostic and they existed before the pandemic. However, they were most commonly found in those with metabolic disorders such as Diabetes or cardiovascular issues. What has changed is the prevalence of them in people who appeared to be healthy before the pandemic.

Fibrin

In nearly every single case I have found fibrin in their blood samples.

Fibrin is a long protein that is produced to create a clot in the circulatory system. Fibrin is formed from fibrinogen which is produced in the liver in response to inflammatory chemicals released by white blood cells. It is also part of the coagulation cascade as it creates clots which prevent bleeding and protects the linings of the circulatory system.

Fibrin in the live blood can be indicative of liver stress, circulatory stress, inflammation, pathogenic infections, toxicity and/or leaky gut. When looking at a sample and assessing the fibrin I am also looking at other indications, symptoms and health history that can help pinpoint the cause of the fibrin presence.

Fibrin in the circulatory system will be congestive to circulation, preventing the optimal flow of red blood cells to the micro circulation, creating a lack of oxygen to all cells, tissues and organs throughout the body.

Rouleaux & Aggregation

Red blood cells are supposed to bounce around in the plasma as separate cells. They only bunch up and stick together when the balance of ions inside the cells and outside the cells has altered.

Red blood cells repel each other in circulation because of the charge on the cell membrane. This charge is only created when the membranes are composed of the right mix of lipids and proteins AND the surrounding environment is also balanced with the correct ions.

This balance of charges across membranes is known as zeta potential – the difference between the charge on the inside of the cell and the charge on the outside of the membrane are strongly opposed creating a “potential” which enables the cells to flow freely and provide optimum oxygenation throughout the body.

Cells lose this potential when their membranes are coated with proteins that change the charge. These proteins are inflammatory chemicals that attract to the surface of the red blood cells. This is yet another indication of inflammation and it can lead to a lack of oxygen in the cells, tissues and organs.

Thrombocyte Aggregations

Thrombocytes are cell fragments that are about a quarter of the size of a red blood cell. They circulate within the blood and secrete clotting factors when they are activated by other cellular chemical signals.

Once they are activated, they release chemicals, become sticky and aggregate with other thrombocytes to form larger masses. They are part of the clotting cascade and are often found in the blood along with fibrin because they are both activated/formed by the same chemicals.

The chemicals that the activated thrombocytes release are inflammatory themselves and can cause the aggregations to grow further, generating more chemicals which are released in vesicles, becoming hypersecretory aggregations.

These are congestive to the circulation and can block the microcirculation. The larger they are, the more dangerous they are to health. Our blood’s homeostatic mechanisms normally down regulate thrombocyte aggregation but when the body is out of balance this may not happen. The root cause is an inflammatory trigger and until that is switched off, the aggregations will continue to happen.

As with the fibrin and the rouleau, oxygen delivery to cells, tissues and organs is disrupted in the presence of thrombocyte aggregations. Symptoms such as cold hands and feet may be common, but also brain fog, all kinds of aches and pains anywhere in the body, dizziness and balance issues, and heart palpitations can be experienced.

Immune cell changes

Our largest white blood cell (wbc) is a monocyte. It is a phagocyte – it ingests pathogens, toxins and dead cells. It cleans up our inner terrain and literally digests bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses.

All our immune cells communicate with each other to share information about what sort of things they have found. They are like an army with walky-talkies, warning each other of threats so that they can become primed with the right weapons or charge towards a threat and work together to neutralise it!

In patients with long Covid a rise in the number of monocytes found in the blood has been observed. They are also activated monocytes - this means that they have been triggered by the presence of a toxin/pathogen and have been actively ingesting and fighting this trigger.

Activated white blood cells all produce inflammatory chemicals and often where you see one type of wbc activated you will see other types activated too, because of this communication they have between them.

This in turn produces more inflammation which can activate thrombocytes and make fibrin form too. The excess inflammatory chemicals will also change the zeta potential on the red blood cell membranes, causing rouleaux formation.

It is a perfect storm for the coagulation cascade, formation of micro clots and a host of symptoms.

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Why are these indications problematic for health?

All of the above symptoms are congestive to the delivery of oxygen to cells, tissues and organs. Oxygen is vital for every cell in our body.

It is why our red blood cells have no nucleus – there is no room in the cell for organelles, it can only fit in 4 massive protein molecules, haemoglobin. These molecules are responsible for carrying oxygen.

It is why our bone marrow produces 2 million red blood cells per second and why 2 million red blood cells are culled from circulation per second too. Our red blood cells do not reproduce, they live for 120 days on average and then their parts are recycled to produce new ones.

A lack of healthy, viable, free floating red blood cells will affect our health on all levels, especially if it continues for prolonged periods. It can accelerate aging and bring us closer to chronic disease.

This is why there are so many symptoms associated with Long Covid/vaccine damage because the most prominent features of these syndromes is the lack of oxygen availability to cells.

How do we stop this perfect storm?

You have to find the root cause - the trigger - and switch it off!

 To be continued…….

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Coming Soon

I will be discussing this topic in more detail in an online masterclass soon.

This masterclass is open to analysts, medical practitioners, complementary practitioners and those interested in becoming analysts themselves.

To be sent more information when the masterclass becomes available, please email us at info@naturecureacademy.com

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Learn More About Live & Dry Blood Analysis

If you would like to find out how you can use Live and Dry Blood Analysis Training 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!

FREE email mini-series when you join our Mailing List

The Truth about Boosting the Immune System (& what can Live Blood Analysis tell us?)

A Very Relevant Controversy

A few months ago, the press in the UK had a field day with headlines about boosting the immune system in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why?

Recently, a company that were advertising their (prescription only) vitamin injections as “immune boosting” were banned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).

They actually broke the advertising laws and regulations because you can’t promote prescription-only supplements like this in the UK. They were accused of suggesting their product could be used as a strategy to prevent viral infections which exploited the anxieties people have about contracting coronavirus.

However, the message that the ASA sent out to the media and to the public was essentially that no-one is allowed to promote a product as “immune boosting”.

A flurry of articles and TV news reports ensued – talking about whether you can or can’t boost the immune system.

Many social media posts that linked peer reviewed science studies showing how deficient nutrient levels adversely affect immune function – or – that supplementing certain nutrients have been shown to improve patient outcomes, such as shortening illness duration, limiting symptoms or improving recovery post illness were removed as “fake-news”.

So, what is the truth? Can we “boost” our immune system with nutrition?

If your immune system is running perfectly smoothly and you have no nutrient deficiencies or health problems then you can’t actually “boost” it beyond its normal level of functionality.

However, there is no doubt that you can influence the health of your immune system with nutrients - through diet and supplementation - especially if things aren’t at 100%.

Our immune systems rely on being fed with a variety of vitamins and minerals that are essential to its proper functioning. These nutrients need to be consumed through the diet or through supplementation – the body simply doesn’t manufacture them itself.

In this blog post I am going to present to you

• A brief summary of the immune system – how it works and which cells/organs are involved.

I will show you the actual cells of the immune system – from my clinic’s live blood analysis pictures.

• The essential nutrients your immune system needs in order to function properly.

Live and Dry Blood Analysis (LDBA) can assess the client’s immune system and identify the nutrients that may be deficient. I will show you what abnormal immune cells look like and what nutrients are indicated.

• The best ways you can improve your levels of these nutrients and maintain immune health.

There may be multiple factors involved as to why clients are deficient in nutrients. I discuss the main areas to focus on and which recommendations may be relevant to improve a client’s immune system.

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Lets briefly break down what the immune system is, how it works and what it looks like under the microscope

There are three layers to the immune system’s defence strategy:

1 – Physical barriers and biochemical barriers

The barriers of our immune system are:

• the skin - which defends our body from environmental pathogens.

• the respiratory tract - which is lined with mucous membranes designed to protect us from the pathogens that we breathe in.

• the acid in our stomach - which kills any bacteria we may ingest.

• the lining of our digestive tract - which is a barrier to stop pathogens, such as parasites and bacteria, entering our internal circulation.

2 – Immune System Cells such as monocytes, granulocytes, and lymphocytes (B and T cells)

These are all white blood cells. They are created in the bone marrow from blood stem cells and are released into the circulation where they travel to their destination to fight infection.  

3 – Antibodies or immunoglobins – products of the immune cells that actively affect invading microbes and infected cells

These are the biochemical products of the immune cells that can trigger an attack on pathogens, stimulate immune cell production and actively kill bacteria or infected cells.

The immune system is divided into different pathways:

1 – The Innate Immune System

The cells of the innate immune response are the white blood cells such as neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils and monocytes.

These white blood cells can be seen in the blood when conducting a Live Blood Analysis.

Neutrophils are the most numerous and they roam the blood, ready to engulf (phagocytose) pathogens and/or migrate out of the circulation into the tissue if called on to do their work there. They contain granules that can literally digest the pathogens they engulf.

In blood analysis you can see if there are not enough of these in the sample – indicating immune suppression. Or you may see too many of them, indicating an immune response. Both need to be addressed.

In a healthy blood sample neutrophils should comprise 60% of all the white blood cells in a live blood sample.

healthy neutrophil

Eosinophils – these are most commonly found in the mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive tract. They release chemicals as a defence against pathogens - specifically parasites - and in response to allergens in chronic allergic issues.

When you see them in the blood in numbers (they are rare wbcs) it means that there may be an active allergic response or a parasite infection.

In healthy blood sample eosinophils comprise 2 to 4 % of all white blood cells.

healthy eosinophil

Basophils – also called mast cells - these are rare to see in the blood unless they have been triggered to respond.

They release heparin to prevent clotting in inflamed tissues and they release histamine as a first response to an allergen.

If you see several in a blood sample it indicates a possible inflammatory response or allergic response. For more information about how LDBA can reveal allergies see this previous blog post.

In a healthy blood sample basophils should comprise only 0.5 to 1% of all white blood cells.

healthy basophil

2 – The Adaptive Immune System

This is a very specific targeting system that has evolved to protect us against viruses. It literally adapts to defend against specific invaders.

This system involves antigen responses - antibodies - that are produced by the T and B lymphocyte cells when they are activated by exposure to the pathogen.

T-cells – Initially, T-cells leave the bone marrow, travel via the blood to the thymus gland where they mature. They develop receptors for antigens and then circulate within the lymphoid organs until activated.

• Once an antigen is picked up by the T-cell it becomes a helper T-cell and proliferates, triggering other immune cells to attack by releasing cytokines and helping B-cells produce antibodies.

• T-cells can also become cytotoxic T-cells which actively seek out cells that are infected with viruses or bacteria - and kill them. They even kill cancerous cells. (see picture below of cytotoxic lymphocyte)

• After infection, T-cells can become memory T-cells, which are antigen-specific and long-lived cells. These can quickly proliferate upon re-exposure to even the smallest amount of the antigen.

B-cells – These lymphocytes remain in the bone marrow to mature then they migrate to the spleen and lymphoid tissue. Here they wait – in the mucosa and linings of the colon, respiratory tract for example - to be triggered by a pathogen/antigen.

• Once activated (by antigens or by T-cells) B-cells enlarge and produce specialised complex proteins called antibodies to specific antigens. (see picture below of activated lymphocytes)

• Memory B-cells are long lived cells that circulate in case of re-infection and will proliferate, with the help of T-cells, to deal with a re-infection before it takes hold.

Normal, Activated & Cytotoxic Lymphocytes

In a healthy blood sample lymphocytes comprise around 35% of all white blood cells.

Increased numbers can indicate viral infection or acute/chronic inflammatory processes, overload of toxicity or chronic infection.

Low levels can indicate lengthy chronic viral infection leading to lymphocyte exhaustion or nutrient deficiencies such as B12, B6, folic acid.

3 – The Complement System – this works with both the innate and the adaptive immune system.

As the name suggests this part of the immune system complements the actions of the others. It doesn’t include cells but it stimulates the other white blood cells into action by the production of specific proteins – chemical messengers that

• Stimulate phagocytes to clear pathogens and damaged cells.

• Instigate inflammation to attract more phagocytes.

• Activate a membrane attack complex to kill bacterial cells.

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Why is good nutrition important?

Adequate nutrition is crucial to supply the immune system with energy and the building blocks of its biochemical defence products

The immune system is complex for good reason; it is responsible for keeping us alive! You can imagine that it needs a lot of fuel and a constant supply of diverse nutrients to keep it functioning optimally.

Below is a brief summary of the most vital nutrients required along with how a possible deficiency of these nutrients can be picked up via LDBA.

Firstly – The Macronutrients – protein and lipids.

Protein -

• is vital for our immune system to be able to manufacture cytokines and complement proteins.

• is crucial to the mucosal barriers which are vital barrier protection.

• deficiency affects the thymus gland, which matures and produces our T cells.

Protein deficiency – moderate, mild or severe - can be surprisingly common especially amongst vegetarians, vegans, dieters and those with digestive disorders. Alongside protein deficiency there are likely to be other micronutrient deficiencies as well.

LDBA can reveal protein issues – such as “protein linkage” (ineffective protein digestion, inadequate protein intake) and “lack of fibrin web” (same).

Cross-referencing other indications in the blood analysis - along with examination of diet and other symptoms, especially digestive - will help to find the root cause of any protein issues.

Protein Linkage

Essential fatty acids are another macronutrient essential for immune function. They are incorporated in the membrane phospholipids in immune cells where:

• they modulate immune cell signalling and inflammatory processes.

• they regulate T and B cells by taking long-chain fatty acids (arachidonic and EPA) from the membranes and transform them with enzymes to create prostaglandins and other immune cell products.

• deficiency of EFAs and/or too many omega 6 fats can lead to imbalances in inflammatory responses such as pro-inflammatory issues.

Live Blood Analysis can assess the health of the cell membranes of all the blood cells – red and white – which will give an indication of lipid status.

A lack of integrity of cell membranes can be seen in cells that literally break apart, or “lyse” (see image below) in the sample. This indicates that the lipids that are incorporated in the membrane are composed of the wrong proportions and/or types of lipids.

lysed ghost cells

Secondly – but just as vital – the micronutrients

The micronutrients used in the immune system are Vitamin A, C, D, E, B2, B6 and B12, folic acid, beta carotene, iron, selenium and zinc.

Zinc

Zinc is one of the most important minerals for immune function. It is not stored in the body so it needs to be constantly supplied by the diet:

• A lack of zinc will:

  • decrease the numbers of lymphocytes

  • lower production of antibodies and make them less effective

  • disable neutrophils’ ability to move towards pathogens

  • increase levels of oxidative stress

• Macrocytes are the biggest phagocytic cells of the immune system – they physically ingest pathogens and kill them. They cannot do this without zinc.

• Pro-inflammatory cytokines are increased in zinc deficiency.

In zinc deficiency, Live Blood Analysis will show neutrophils that are non-motile, there will be low levels of lymphocytes and the Dry Blood Analysis will show high levels of oxidative stress.

Vitamin C

This is one of the most famous of the vitamins known to support the immune system.

Vitamin C is not stored in the body and so we need to have a constant supply in the diet. It is especially needed during stress and any kind of infection, because Vitamin C:

• stimulates the production and function of white blood cells

• stimulates motility of white blood cells

• increases production of antibodies

• protects white blood cells from autointoxication from the pathogen-killing chemicals they produce

• regenerates vitamin E, a fat-soluble vital antioxidant that oxidises easily

• is needed to help prevent the oxidative stress from damaging tissues and killing our own cells

Lack of neutrophil motility (same as above) or increased numbers of wbcs (picture) seen in Live Blood Analysis indicate a need for vitamin C.

High levels of oxidative stress as seen in the Dry Blood Analysis would also indicate a need for vitamin C.

These following micronutrients are fat soluble - they require healthy fats in order to be digested and absorbed properly - so efficient fat digestion is also key to getting enough of them into your cells.



Vitamin D

There are thousands of vitamin D receptors within the human genome and Vitamin D is thought to directly or indirectly regulate 100 to 1250 genes.

• Vitamin D receptors are expressed in several types of immune system cells and vitamin D3 is now recognized to be a potent modulator of the immune system.

• Vitamin D regulates antimicrobial proteins, which are critical components of the innate immune system because they directly kill pathogens, especially bacteria, and thereby enhance immunity.

  These proteins also modulate immune functions through cell-signalling effects.

• Vitamin D has also been shown to stimulate immune cell proliferation and cytokine production. Through these roles, vitamin D helps protect against infections caused by pathogens.

In blood analysis you can observe general immune system status through the presence, quality and levels of the white blood cells. Any indications of infection or inflammation – either in elevated levels of certain white blood cells or high levels of oxidative stress in dry blood analysis – can indicate possible vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is hugely important for the immune system; deficiency is surprisingly common. It is vital for protecting us on all levels against infections.

• Vitamin A is crucial to the health of the immune system’s barrier protection such as the skin, mucosal cells of the eye, lining of the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract.

• Healthy neutrophils and lymphocytes require adequate vitamin A.

• T and B lymphocytes need vitamin A to generate antibody responses to specific antigens.

In Live Blood Analysis we are able to make an assessment of the integrity of the gastrointestinal barrier by the appearance of “chylous” in the blood sample.

Clients fast for 5 hours before the test and so there should be no evidence of food particles in the blood – they will have all been absorbed. Chylous indicates that there may be a leak in the digestive tract – leaky gut – which can be a big indicator of Vitamin A status.

Chylous

Other nutrients that need mentioning –

B12 – Cobalamin - crucial as a coenzyme that helps to build DNA synthesis. Deficiency is known to decrease the numbers of circulating lymphocytes and suppress their ability to kill infected cells.

Folate - crucial for DNA replication and normal proliferation of white blood cells.

Both B12 and Folate deficiencies can be assessed with Live Blood Analysis. Here is a link to a previous blog post for more information.

Iron – needed for proliferation of T-cells and the creation of oxidative pathogen-killing chemicals.

However, iron supplementation can “feed” pathogens and help them replicate. Which is why free iron levels are automatically stored by the body as a response to infection or inflammation.

Live Blood Analysis can show iron deficiency. The presence of high levels of microcytes (small red blood cells) and codocytes (red blood cells appear like targets) are clear indicators of low iron levels.  

Selenium – several important selenium-dependent enzymes function as important antioxidants. Selenium deficiency affects antibody production, and can enhance the progression of viral infections.

Any increase in lymphocytes and other white blood cells seen in Live Blood Analysis could indicate a need for selenium. Dry Blood Analysis will show high levels of oxidative stress.   

Vitamin E – powerful antioxidant, promotes cell membrane health.

B6 – Pyridoxine – part of the building blocks of the immune system proteins like cytokines and antibodies. 

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Eight problem areas to address in order to improve immune system function

The reason for a possible deficiency in any macro or micronutrient is likely to be multifactorial and so questions need to be asked in order to get to the root cause of a deficiency, so that the appropriate recommendations can be made.

Diet – does the diet contain the necessary nutrients?

Make sure to take a deep look at the contents of the diet. Does it contain the vitamins and minerals that the immune system requires? Are there appropriate protein levels? Which fats are being consumed and in what quantity? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17726308/

Digestion – are there any symptoms of digestive issues, dysbiosis, inadequate stomach acid and/or stress?

All of the above factors will affect whether vital nutrients can actually be broken down, digested and absorbed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4513829/

Exercise – too much or too little?

Over-exercising can burden the body with excess oxidative stress which uses up precious antioxidants, conversely exercise can stimulate the immune system and help it function. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18522619/

Stress – how much emotional or/and mental stress is there?

Stress diverts energy away from digestive processes and the stress hormone actually reduces the number of lymphocytes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4465119/

Medication – check for medication that affects the immune system.

Medicines for illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis, crohns disease, cancer, inflammation and treatment for transplant patients all affect the immune system. They are all designed to suppress the immune system to prevent inflammation and auto-immune reactions.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4706827/

Alcohol – how much is being consumed?

Too much alcohol will suppress the immune system, whereas it has been shown that small amounts can improve it.  https://www.nature.com/articles/1601486.pdf

Pollution and toxicity – what levels of exposure are there?

This is a huge problem for people living in polluted areas. Assessing toxicity sources and eliminating where possible is essential for the immune system function.  https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Multivitamin-Supplementation-Supports-Immune-By-Air-Haryanto-Suksmasari/72892c93510d261d3e9e05770782c2ddb6cf4056

Sleep – This really matters for the immune system.

Getting the right amount of sleep will regulate the immune system as it has been shown that the wake/sleep cycle synchronises with immune activity. Release of various cellular signalling products and can regulate inflammation.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3256323/

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The immune system is complex and if it is nourished with all the necessary nutrients and given the right conditions it will always act to protect us.

We can use LDBA to monitor the immune system and keep an eye on any signs of immune stress and possible deficiencies.

LDBA is not a definitive diagnostic blood test. It is used to help reach a deeper level of understanding of health at a cellular level by assessing the most valuable biological fluid, the blood.

Indications can help make correlations between clients’ symptoms, their diet and lifestyle so that any recommendations can be truly individualised.

For further nutrition information, here is a great article called Important Diet Habits To Implement For A Healthy Immune System written by Fitness Volt which gives detailed advice as to what whole foods are most effective for maintaining the health of the immune system.

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Learn More About Live & Dry Blood Analysis

If you would like to find out how you can use Live and Dry Blood Analysis Training 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!

FREE email mini-series when you join our Mailing List

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.

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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!

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"Do You Check Your Own Blood?" - Being a Live Blood Analyst

“Do you check your own blood?”        

I often get asked this question by my clients and the answer, of course, is “yes”!

In fact, I am extremely grateful for my microscope, it has helped me to gain a deeper understanding about how the human body reacts and responds to the stresses of life.

After looking at my own blood under the microscope over the last 8 years I have witnessed how it has changed throughout the ups and downs in my own health. I believe this has helped me become a much more informed nutritionist and now, I cannot imagine life without my microscope.

The Truth is in Your Blood

When I first trained in LDBA I remember sitting in class along with about 12 other nutritionists, herbalists, naturopaths and health practitioners feeling very apprehensive when asked by our tutor – “Who would like to have their blood taken so we can all look at it under the microscope together?” There was no rush of hands; instead there was hesitation and reluctance.

We were fearful of what our own blood would reveal – “Will our cells show that even though we believed we were doing all the right things to be healthy – we were not healthy on the inside? Had we got it all wrong?”

We soon got used to putting ourselves under the microscope and became completely fascinated by this amazing tool for assessing our health. Once I was in the privacy of my own home with my own microscope, I could see my blood as often as I liked, This is when I really began to realise it’s worth, not only to my own health but also to my family’s and my clients.

Healer Heal Thyself

I became a nutritionist because changing my diet literally changed my life. I had ME/CFS twenty five years ago and I recovered within two years due to a massive diet change, taking a variety of supplements and using naturopathic techniques.

I still need to be cautious with my own health and being able to analyse my blood has helped me understand some of the root causes of the symptoms I still suffered from.

Lingering colds, weak immune system.

One of the biggest health issues that had continued to linger since recovering from ME/CFS was my seemingly sluggish immune system. I could feel a cold coming over a period of weeks; I would eventually get some symptoms such as blocked sinuses, foggy head, achy body and headaches but they would take months to clear completely.

To understand why this was happening I decided to analyse my blood when I next felt I was coming down with a cold. I discovered that my white blood cells, specifically my neutrophils, were very small, there were not as many as there should be and that their nuclear lobes were undefined and “cloudy”.

Comparison between normal and small/cloudy Neutrophils

All of this indicated that my white blood cells were deficient in certain nutrients – they needed minerals and vitamins to help them be produced normally in the bone marrow, and they needed fuel in the form of antioxidants in order to be viable immune cells.

• I created a bespoke protocol that would aim to boost the immune system, replenish the antioxidants – such as vitamin C, zinc, selenium – to encourage healthier neutrophils.

• I boosted my B12 and folate levels with supplements but also checked my diet for the right foods, and supported the digestive system to make sure the nutrients could be digested and absorbed.

I saw my neutrophils improve over a period of a few months and after six months of following my protocol my body had a proper cold! I had a real fever and chills, lots of mucous and these acute symptoms only lasted for three days. I recovered within a week rather than a few months.

Helping the Ones I Love

The most valuable thing to me is health, not just my own but also my family’s. When you love someone you do whatever you can to help them.

When my husband became sick five years ago, it was the biggest challenge of my career.

He had many diagnostic tests issued by both his Dr and functional medical practitioners and has had many interpretations of what may be going on in his body. Initially he was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/M.E and later he was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and co-infections.

I have analysed his blood from the time he first started to feel ill, throughout his anti-viral and antibiotic medication and during his herbal protocols. In times of frustration when nothing seemed to be working or when a symptom would come on suddenly without apparent provocation, I have been able to look at his blood, make an assessment and offer advice. This had many advantages:

1. Reassurance – because I knew my husband’s blood well, I was able to judge when things changed. This helped me to reassure him when he was feeling rough and was worried that things were getting worse.         

2. I was able to assess his blood during the various protocols he tried which included prescribed medications as well as herbal and supplement protocols, checking for changes or new developments.

3. It gave me the sense that I was able to help and make a positive contribution to the man I love, even if I couldn’t offer a cure.

4. It also gave me a valuable insight into the progress of a diagnosis such as this which is often vague, hard to treat and fraught with a lot of “try and see” approaches to finding relief from symptoms.

 “Somethings just not right – I need to look at his blood.”

Just recently my youngest son has been poorly. He has been having a repeated cycle of nausea, dizziness and stomach pain that comes every few weeks. At first I assumed it was a tummy bug and it passed after a few days, but when it returned again a week or so later I knew I had to look at his blood.

I could see all the signs of a parasite infection and this enabled me to take immediate action and put an anti-parasitic protocol into place for him. I loved the reassurance my microscope gave me. As a Mum, that is priceless.

It is often harder to help those you love because you care so much, the emotions can take over and you can lose your focus. My microscope has been my rock to cling to when I was worried about my family and helped me use my knowledge to take positive action to help them.

The beauty of being able to use Live & Dry Blood Analysis is that I can get immediate results, no waiting for tests or appointments and I can take action straight away.

Having my own microscope gives me the opportunity to experiment!

With so many new supplements being produced, new types of tests being invented and theories about health and diet being written about, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by all of this information input! How do you, as a nutritionist, absorb it all and use it effectively to help clients?

I have used my microscope to experiment on myself by doing many “before and after” blood checks. I have tried new supplements over a period of months and checked my blood to see if there are any changes. I have induced a hangover (all in the name of science of course!) and administered hangover cures and seen how my blood changed.

What the blood looks like during detox - I conducted a gallbladder and liver cleanse on myself and I analysed my blood before I started, during the detox and once I had finished so that I could track how my blood changed during the process. It really helped me understand that once you start a detox it doesn’t end.

• I learned to allow the body the time it needed to complete a detox. Your body will continue the process for some time after you have finished the detox routine.

• Once toxins are kicked out of their hiding place in the cells and tissues, you must check that they are indeed being excreted and are not left circulating in the blood able to settle somewhere else.

Detox Before & After

Pleasant Side-effects

Having constant access to my own microscope has been a huge benefit to my health, my family’s health and my clients’ health. It has allowed me to grow in my knowledge and experience of the human body and how it is in constant flux, adapting and responding to its internal environment.

I have learned also that we are all truly unique and our own blood has a unique signature – I can see patterns, similarities and a range of abnormalities in everyone’s blood but the particular collection of indications in a person’s blood is unique to them.

I initially trained in LDBA because I thought it would help me be more effective as a nutritionist, which it absolutely has. I completely underestimated just how valuable it would be to my own health and the health of my loved ones. 

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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!

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What Happens When Clients See Their Live Blood During Analysis?

Clients often come to an appointment with me armed with a pile of papers that are the results of various blood tests conducted by doctors or other nutritionists.

I often ask them if they understand the results of these tests and how they have helped. Their answer is usually no – they don’t understand what the numbers mean or how to interpret the results, and most often they are confused after having been told that their results are normal yet they feel awful.

They rely on the practitioner or doctor to interpret the results for them and very often the practitioner relies on the laboratory to interpret the meaning of the results for them.

Clients come to me for looking for a different experience. Rather than a list of numbers, they want a meaningful analysis of the state of their health, something that they can understand and that they can relate to. This is the advantage of Live & Dry Blood Analysis.

Health is More Than Skin Deep

When judging health from the outside we can often tell when something is wrong - for instance a skin rash or a cough. But it is often the unseen disease processes that lie beneath the surface, invisible to the naked eye, that we fear the most.

We are all aware of the images of diseased lungs that are printed on the side of cigarette packets or adverts that graphically illustrate the physical effects of smoking. We are often told that one in three of us will get cancer; we are led to believe that a disease like that can come out of the blue and we have very little power to stop it.

How many of us heed the warnings or change our behaviour? These fear-based warnings can be powerfully motivating, but humans tend to be good at ignoring them, especially if they appear to be healthy –on the outside at least.

Seeing your own cells can be a powerful experience

The majority of my clients come to me when they are already in pain in some way, whether that is an actual physical pain such as arthritis, or the emotional and mental pain of being constantly fatigued but no idea why, for example.

And so the challenge for the Live & Dry Blood Analyst is to make sure we do not add to the fear that clients already have. We need to motivate in a positive way, offer hope by educating clients about their bodies and this we can do through LDBA – with clients viewing their own cells.

When a client sees their own blood moving around on a screen they have a visceral, emotional connection to those cells. They are literally seeing inside their body. The realisation that these cells are responsible for the way that they feel and for the health of the rest of their body creates a major shift in approach to their own health.

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“How bad is my blood?”

Clients usually confess after the analysis session that they were worried about how bad their blood would be and that there would be signs of chronic disease. One of the most common questions I get asked by clients after we have looked at their blood is “how bad is my blood?” and “Can you tell if I am going to get a disease like cancer?” This is understandable of course and something I bear in mind.

I use LDBA to offer clarity, understanding and most of all, reassurance that you can affect your health positively and that it is never too late.

I am often able to reassure clients that their blood is not as bad as they feared it would be. Additionally, their blood may well reveal some issues that I need to highlight in order for them to understand how important it is that they make changes to their diet and lifestyle. I am able to use their blood to educate them as to which habits are causing imbalances and which habits they can integrate to improve their health.

Their blood cells give me leverage as a practitioner and offer motivation for the client.

Motivation for Change - Humans Will Do More to Avoid Pain than Gain Pleasure

It is a fact of human nature that we often know exactly what we should be doing or what we should stop doing in order for change to happen – but without leverage, without a powerful reason, a “why”, we do not commit.

We need leverage – what will happen if we don’t change – “I don’t want to end up on medication for the rest of my life” or “I will never get rid of the pain”.

We need a goal – something we feel strongly about – “I want to be fit enough to enjoy my grandchildren” or “I just want to wake up feeling refreshed and ready for life”.

The WOW Factor

The other response a client has when seeing their blood is amazement. They very often cannot believe what they are seeing.

It makes them think about their body in a different way. Knowing that the cells they are looking at were created by their own body and that the condition of them is dictated to by what they eat, how they move and what they feel and think on a daily basis, is very powerful.

If we are better educated as to how to look after our body, to understand what it needs to be healthy and how to interpret our symptoms as a call for help then we can feel empowered.

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Good for Clients & Good for Practitioners Too

As a practitioner, I find LDBA incredibly rewarding.

• I know that no matter why my clients come to see me, whether that is a diagnosis, a collection of uncomfortable symptoms or that they are just looking to check their health status I will be able to look at their blood to reveal a picture of their health that is unique to them, informed by the cells of their own body. It eliminates guesswork, theories or assumptions about what may be going on.

• Clients often have an emotional reaction and feel very inspired by the awesomeness of their body. They have a new found respect for it which leads to a deep curiosity as to how they can help it. This gives me an opportunity to share my understanding, my knowledge and experience as a nutritionist. I feel that I can make a real difference, that they listen deeply and this propels them to make the changes I recommend.

• Every client is unique and the cycles of regeneration may take longer for some than others. By re-testing clients’ blood after a period of 2 to 3 months we can get visual confirmation of the improvements in health.  It allows me to adapt my protocol to continue through the cycles of regeneration and it confirms that the recommendations I am making are working. It can be very rewarding for both my clients and myself to see improvement.
  
  

“Why doesn’t everyone do this?”

By the end of a LDBA session my clients express a variety of emotions and thoughts.

The most common response is – “wow!” - Seeing their blood cells has had a profound impact on the way they feel about their body and how it works.

Very often they say, “This really makes a lot of sense, now I get it!” – They see how all of their symptoms are connected, that their habits will either build or breakdown their health.

Their final words are usually “why doesn’t everyone do this?” – and this is exactly why I have written a course training health practitioners in Live & Dry Blood Analysis.

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Many practitioners have a passion to help others improve their health and yet come across obstacles. The biggest obstacle is overcoming human nature – practitioners have to affect a client deeply enough within a short space of time so that they are left with a lasting drive to make the changes you recommend.

LDBA is the best tool I know for overcoming these issues.

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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!

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Is Live Blood Analysis a Valid Health Screening Tool?

Firstly, why is Blood so important?

Blood is the most complex biological fluid. Not only does it contain the RBCs, WBCs and the essential clotting factors - thrombocytes - but the majority of blood (55%) is plasma.

Plasma is the fluid which carries the nutrients, the wastes, proteins, electrolytes and hormones. Basically, the plasma is like a postal system that receives and delivers the chemical messages produced by the body’s cells, organs and tissues.

Blood has been extracted, examined and tested as a barometer of health throughout the history of medicine, and these days laboratory medicine continually discovers new ways of testing blood and new things to test for.

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What is the difference between a Doctor’s blood test and Live Blood Analysis?

The various terms used to describe the different blood cells seen under the microscope are the same – whether they are used in a medical context or as part of an LBA assessment.  The main difference between the medical blood tests and Live Blood Analysis is the preparation of the blood sample, and the purpose.

Medical Blood Tests

Only medical professionals – medical doctors – can diagnose disease. They use a variety of blood tests to be able to detect the levels and presence of various blood elements, which allows them to eliminate certain diseases and/or affirm the possibility of others; however a single blood test in itself is not definitively diagnostic.

The blood sample they take is mixed with anticoagulant so that it does not clot and is sent to a laboratory. Blood is then processed in a machine where they break it up into its components and then measure the various elements. They may also take a drop of blood and stain it to be able to pick up various types of cells and look at it under the microscope.

They grade the blood based on a statistical range of measurements to determine what a normal level is and what isn’t. The results will flag up areas of concern depending on which elements are beyond the range they consider normal and healthy.

From there they will either determine that you need more diagnostics or they will make a judgement, based on your symptoms and your blood results, that there is no cause for concern.

The problem is, just because we fit into the statistical range that is considered ’normal’ doesn’t mean that we feel well.

Clients often choose LBA because they have been to the Doctor and had normal blood test results, yet they still feel unwell. They know something is wrong and despite going to the Doctor they have no answers as to why they feel the way they do.

Live Blood Analysis

Live Blood Analysis is used in the field of complementary medicine, often in conjunction with nutrition, naturopathy, homeopathy, acupuncture or herbalism.

A drop of the client’s blood is examined under a microscope and the information gained is used to check for signs of many issues relating to health. We are able to use it to bring a new dimension to our ability to understand what is happening at a cellular level within our clients. 

Why is it called ‘live’ blood analysis?

An LBA blood sample is not stained or treated with chemicals - it is mounted onto the microscope as soon as possible after being extracted to be able to view it in its ‘live’ state.

This enables us to see how the blood moves, how the blood cells react to each other and how they respond to the environment they float in – the plasma.

By magnifying the blood 1000 times, we can see the health of each individual cell and are able to assess how many cells are normal and functional and how many cells are not. Abnormal cells are obvious and their presence will indicate a variety of issues.

What can a Live Blood Analysis show?

One drop of blood contains 5 million cells. The proportions and amounts of the different cells distributed throughout that one drop is representative of what is contained in all of a person’s blood. 

From this one drop of blood we can:

• Determine if there are specific deficiencies of nutrients such as B12, folate, zinc, Vitamin C, or EFAs.

• Check if the cell membranes are damaged or whether they are healthy.

• Assess immune system cell activation and whether there are enough/too many white blood cells - this can show the presence of inflammation, autoimmune issues, infection, allergies or parasites.

• Check for elements in the plasma that can indicate liver issues or circulatory challenges, such as thrombocytes, uric acid crystals or fat crystals.

• Assess the integrity of the digestive tract and screen for problems such as ‘leaky gut’.

• Make an assessment of the charge of the red blood cell membranes – the zeta potential – which is indicative of the pH of the fluids/tissues of the body as a whole.

What is the Purpose of Live Blood Analysis?

The ultimate goal of a blood test is to find out if there is anything in the blood that can answer the question “what is wrong with me?”.

There are many ways to test blood but Live Blood Analysis enables the complementary health professional to:

• assess a client’s blood immediately in their own clinic.

• educate and motivate clients by identifying how their lifestyle habits are reflected in their blood.

• use the results to generate a bespoke protocol that focuses on the root causes of a client’s health symptoms.

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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!

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Laboratory Blood Tests - The Best Way To Help Your Clients?

We all know that blood is vital to life. It courses through our veins and is pumped around our body day in, day out from the beginning to the end of our lives.

It has been known to be a special fluid throughout the history of medicine, from the ancient times to present day, and despite the advances in medical knowledge we are still learning about it.

The invention of the microscope in the 1600s enabled us to finally see what blood was made of. We could identify red blood cells – the cells responsible for carrying oxygen and removing carbon dioxide - and the white blood cells – the cells of our immune system responsible for protecting us from pathogens. We could also more closely examine the contents of the plasma, the watery fluid that transports the cells through our circulatory system.

We have since discovered that blood is a very complex fluid. It contains many substances that are produced by our body’s trillions of cells or produced by the pathogenic organisms that reside or invade our body.

We can count up the cells within a sample of blood in a laboratory to be able to assess whether the levels are normal or abnormal. We can also test for the most sensitive of molecules in a sample, to uncover specific antibodies, antigens, products of inflammation, pathogenic compounds, liver enzymes, minerals and vitamin levels ……… the list goes on.

The more we learn about the body and understand our own biology and disease processes, the larger the menu of available blood tests becomes.

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Do these blood tests lead to reduced disease, or just more complex diagnoses and more prescribing - whether it is pharmaceuticals or nutritional supplements? 

There is no doubt that for practitioners of modern medicine, being able to test the blood for clues as to what is happening inside their patients can be extremely useful in determining a diagnosis and pharmaceutical prescription.

Functional medical practitioners also use blood tests to be able to help understand their clients’ complex health issues, that have not been or cannot be resolved medically.

For those of us who believe in a holistic approach, we take a wider view in order to create a complete picture of what is influencing a client’s health.

The solution to our client’s health issues encompasses more than a supplement prescription. It often also includes dietary advice, emotional and mental support, lifestyle changes that mean changes in habits and a movement/exercise prescription.  

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Why are these complex and nuanced blood test results problematic for a holistic health model?

Time – When you work in the alternative/complementary health field, you spend a lot of time on each client.  Whether it is collecting a client’s case history, researching a client’s health conditions or medications, or undertaking an appointment and creating a health plan, it all takes time.

You must then add to this workload the extra time it takes to organise the tests, wait for and then read and interpret the results (if you can) and then explain them to your client.

Results – Tests are being developed and invented all the time - it is hard to keep up with the latest understanding on how they should be used. Tests have varying degrees of accuracy and some tests may return false positives or false negatives.

We can end up putting our faith in tests without really understanding how accurate they are (after all we are not medically trained), what else can influence the results and what the results actually mean in terms of how we make our recommendations to our clients.

We give our power away as knowledgeable practitioners, taking advice from laboratory analysts instead.

Cost –the fact that these tests cost a lot of money cannot be ignored. Clients that are desperate to improve their health will put their faith in these tests if you recommend them, and will believe the cost will be worth it. In some cases it will be.

BUT - this is very important to understand - there is little point in testing just the once. The body is a living organism in constant flux. The blood can change from day to day, hour to hour, moment to moment. If tests are going to be used to map a client’s health you need more than one reference point.

If clients are going to change their diet, take supplements or follow detox regimes – in time you will need to test again in order to check that the protocol is working. Are clients ready to accept this? Are you?

Allopathic or holistic - There is a danger, for the holistic therapist, in entering into the world of blood testing because we can easily end up in a doctor-like relationship with our clients; working in an allopathic model consisting of tests, results and prescription – rather than a holistic one. We become the middle man between customer and product.

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Live & Dry Blood Analysis is the modern holistic solution to allopathic blood testing.

There are other ways to use blood to assess health; ways that allow us to gauge a person’s overall health – to see it from many angles and create a broader picture of what is happening within the body, the cells and the organs.

This is because blood affects every cell in our body. It flows through all of our organs and affects all our body’s systems.

Our blood’s plasma is a nutrient delivery system as well as a carrier of wastes.  Vital nutrients and water are extracted from our digestive tract and deposited in the blood stream. From there they travel within the blood’s plasma, around the body and diffuse out of the circulatory system and into the tissues.

This is how our cells receive nutrients so that they can function.  Additionally, cells release their wastes into the extracellular fluid which diffuses back into the circulation.

Normal blood with clear plasma

Let’s look at some of the blood components seen during Live Blood Analysis, which make it such an incredibly powerful tool for the holistic health practitioner:

Crystals

When looking at a person’s blood sample under the darkfield microscope, we are able to assess the contents of the plasma. You can see aggregations of waste products – called crystals – which can enter the circulation for various reasons.

Uric acid for example, a by-product of the metabolism of purine which mostly comes from certain foods in the diet, is usually filtered out as the blood passes through the kidneys. Uric acid crystals can be found in the blood, which can signal several things:

• The kidneys are not working well, or

• The digestion and metabolism of protein is not working well or

• The diet contains too much protein.

Uric Acid Crystal

Fibrin

Fibrin is a clotting cascade protein produced by the liver and circulates in a dormant form ready to be activated in case it is needed to maintain circulatory homeostasis. If it appears in its activated form when analysing live blood it can indicate:

• That there is damage in the linings of the circulatory system, or

• The liver is stressed and is producing too much fibrin/too little fibrinogen, or

• The client is prone to cardiovascular injury

Whatever the reason for the appearance of fibrin in the blood, possible consequence of it are impaired blood circulation, a tendency to create thrombosis and a lack of oxygen reaching cells, tissues and organs. This can affect the health of the whole body!

Fibrin Web

Blood Cells

The blood’s red blood cells do not leave the circulatory system. They spend their whole 120 days of life travelling through the veins, arteries, capillaries and organs – being squeezed, pushed and pulled.

The quantity, shape, size and quality of the red blood cells can reveal a myriad of issues - even whether any damage to them is caused during circulation or whether they were produced abnormally during their production in the bone marrow. Some of the things revealed in live blood analysis are:

• Lack of specific nutrients – B12, folate, iron, essential fatty acids

• Stress in certain organs like the spleen, the kidneys and the liver

• Protein metabolism issues

• Lack of oxygen in the tissues

Acanthocytes (distorted RBC)

The white blood cells of the immune system travel in and out of circulation and they can all be found in a live blood sample.  The quantity, quality, shape and size can indicate several things about our immune system:

·         Lack of nutrients – B12, folate, vitamin c, zinc and EFAs

·         Allergies, parasites, pollution

·         Evidence of pathogens – viruses, bacteria, fungus

·         Evidence of possible autoimmune issues and inflammation

Cytotoxic WBC

As you can see, viewing the blood in its live state can reveal so much - without having to mix it with chemicals, put it through a machine, stain the cells and separate them out!

The above are just a few examples of issues that you can find in a person’s live blood sample, there are more indications found in the dry blood which I will discuss in another blog post! 

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Using the results of a client’s LBA effectively

The results of blood analysis can be included in a holistic health practitioner’s assessment of the client, taking into account the detailed case history and the blood analysis.

This enables them to build a more thorough picture of their client’s health, which is based not just on theory but also based on their clients’ own cellular health and the state of their blood’s plasma.

Live and dry blood analysis can assess the state of a client’s blood to determine possible root causes of any of their health symptoms, assess whether their routes of elimination are blocked, whether their digestive system is working correctly, the level of burden on the immune system, stress on the liver or kidneys and so much more.

The sensitive and knowledgeable holistic practitioner will know that simply supplementing missing nutrients will not fix the root cause. The results of blood analysis will help the practitioner devise a bespoke protocol for their client that will address the root causes of any nutrient deficiencies, for example, so the body can heal itself.

The holistic health model believes that everyone is unique and this applies to blood too – every client’s blood is a reflection of their uniqueness.

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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!

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To B12 or Not To B12?

B12 is a hot topic in nutrition, especially amongst vegetarians and vegans. As Live Blood Analysts we spend a lot of time looking at red blood cells through the microscope and one of the most common abnormalities that we see are related to issues with B12.  

Live blood analysts are able to view a drop of blood in its ‘live’ state, meaning it is unstained, has had no chemicals added to it and is fresh, not clotted. Live blood analysis (LBA) is used to assess the state of health of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and the contents of the plasma. B12 is vital for normal red blood cell production and a lack of it is obvious when looking at a blood sample. B12 deficiency, if present, will be apparent in the size and shape of the red blood cells and in extreme deficiency we will see certain abnormalities in some of the white blood cells too. The picture below is of a blood sample, magnified 1000x through a darkfield microscope; the cell that has been highlighted is a ‘macrocyte’. A macrocyte is an abnormally large red blood cell and it is released into the blood stream when there is a lack of B12 (and folate, but more about that later). If there are a large proportion of these throughout the blood sample, it is a sign that there may be a B12 deficiency.

Macrocyte red blood cell

Other cells that indicate issues with B12 are ovalocytes, microcytes and hypersegmented neutrophils.

LBA is not a diagnostic test but it is a tool that gives a holistic health practitioner an insight into the cellular life of a client through viewing their blood. As B12 is vital for the red blood cells especially, this makes live blood analysis a very useful tool for screening for B12 deficiencies. A skilled practitioner will be able to analyse the blood sample, cross reference it with the client’s case history and not only assess the extent of a B12 issue but also what may be the root cause:

• Correlations with diet – is there enough B12 available in the food the client eats?

• Correlations with digestive capacity – is the client suffering from digestive issues that can interfere with digestion and absorption of nutrients?

• Correlations with other issues found in the blood – is the blood showing a lack of iron? / is the plasma crowded with fibrin, indicating liver issues? / are there signs of leaky gut, indicating dysbiosis? / are the white blood cells out of range, indicating autoimmune issues? / is there a high level of oxidative stress or inflammation?

Even consuming B12 in one’s diet or taking B12 supplements does not always ensure sufficient levels of available B12 for our body to use. How can this be? The answer lies in the complexities of the vitamin B12 itself and the complexities of the human organism.

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What is B12 and why is it important?

Vitamin B12 is the largest, most complicated of all the vitamins and it is also one of the most important nutrients for our health. In our body B12 is used as a co-enzyme that is involved in three vital processes that happen within every single cell of our body. It plays a vital role in the synthesis of DNA, the development of red blood cells and the creation of the myelin sheath that coats the nerve cells that allow the conduction of nervous signals. This is why the effects of a B12 deficiency can cause many profound and varied health issues.

A mild deficiency of B12 may not cause any symptoms as the body keeps a store of it in the liver, but if the root-cause of a deficiency is not corrected it can lead to quite severe and far ranging health issues:

Signs of B12 Deficiency  

Poor growth/failure to thrive in infants                                                 
Inflamed tongue
Premature grey hair                                                                                
Disturbed carbohydrate metabolism
Fatigue or Weakness                                                                                                 
Weight loss                                                                                              
Constipation
Infertility                                                                                                   
Vision problems
Loss of hearing and tinnitus                                                                    
Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
Alcoholism                                                                                                
Impotence
Incontinence                                                                                             
Hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation (dark and light patches in the skin)
Neuralgia, neuritis and bursitis                                                                  
Anaemia, including pernicious anaemia                                                
Spinal cord degeneration
Psoriasis and other skin problems                                                           
Brain degeneration
Insomnia                                                                                                   
Irrational or chronic anger                       
Violent behaviour                                                                                    
Lack of balance/abnormal gait                                   
Many emotional disorders

The possible dangers of supplementing folate when B12 deficient

Folate is the name given to the naturally occurring vitamin B9, also known as folic acid when it is in its synthesised form. Both B12 and B9 are coenzymes involved in methylation reactions that allow for DNA synthesis. In a state of B12 deficiency folate (B9) becomes trapped as methylfolate and cannot be further involved in essential reactions for DNA replication. In this situation, if folic acid is given either as supplement or as a fortified food (such as cereals and bread products) the trapped folate is by-passed which temporarily masks the underlying B12 deficiency. The danger in this is that the damage from B12 deficiency continues and eventually symptoms of cognitive decline and anaemia occur. Therefore it is possible that, for those of us that are B12 deficient, it is dangerous to supplement with folic acid and it would be wise to be mindful of how many folic acid fortified foods are consumed.

This makes it crucial for us to determine if we are or at risk of being B12 deficient.

Protective effects against homocysteine

Homocysteine is produced in the body from the metabolism of an amino acid methionine which is ingested as a component of food protein. Homocysteine needs to be converted to S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) so that our body can create glutathione; the body’s most powerful anti-oxidant protecting our cells from free radical damage. If we are deficient in B12 and folate this conversion cannot take place, leaving high levels of homocysteine circulating in our bodies. This can lead to cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.

Making sure we have good levels of available B12 can protect us from the damage homocysteine can do.

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Causes of B12 deficiency

There are a many different possible causes for a lack of ‘usable’ B12 in our systems:

• Any kind of dysfunction, irritation, inflammation or disease of the digestive tract that diminishes levels of stomach acid or ‘intrinsic factor’ (see later), and limits the transport of B12 out of the digestive tract and into the blood e.g:

Gastritis
Crohn’s disease
Chronic enteritis
Chronic diarrhoea
Pancreatic disease

• Consumption of alcohol, recreational drugs, toxins, chemical pollutants, or heavy metals can use up stores of B12 and affect production of intrinsic factor and absorption in intestines.

• Intestinal worms and parasites consume large amounts of B12

• Aging – our ability to produce stomach acid and intrinsic factor diminishes as we age. Many symptoms of old age are due to a lack of B12.

• Prescription drugs such as contraception, hormones, diabetes medication, proton pump inhibitors, blood pressure medications, beta blockers, statins and many more block the absorption of B12.

• Any form of liver congestion, disease or stress limits B12 storage and metabolism.

The difficulties of effectively testing B12 levels

Serum B12 tests can be inaccurate, leading to false positives and false negatives in mild to severe B12 deficiency:

Testing for B12 deficiency is tricky. The main method for testing is a serum blood test. This assesses levels of B12 in a sample of blood and is the standard test for general medical practice. However it is an unreliable indicator of B12 availability because B12 has a usable and unusable form which a serum test cannot differentiate between. Serum tests results can show a high level of B12, but not whether cells can actually access it.

Testing for the active form of B12 could prove more useful:

The majority of plasma B12 (70 - 90%) is in the form of haptocorrin (HC) and the rest is in the form of transcobalamin (TC), which is the only form that can enter cells. A test for transcobalamin would be more useful in diagnosing B12 deficiency.

Can a urine test offer any help?:

Methylmalonic acid (MMA) is a by-product of amino acid metabolism and is produced when protein is digested. In cases of B12 deficiency, our bodies produce more MMA and it is excreted via the kidneys. High levels of MMA in the urine can be good indication of B12 deficiency.

  Can Live Blood Analysis assess B12 deficiency?:

By directly observing a blood sample magnified 1000x you can assess it for specific cell pathologies that indicate a lack of B12 - specifically macrocytes, microcytes, ovalocytes and hypersegmented white blood cells. If a large percentage of the sample contains these types of cells it is a sure sign of B12 absorption issues. The benefit of this blood analysis is that it can also offer indications as to the root cause of a B12 deficiency.

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Can we get enough B12 from our diet?

B12, also known as cobalamin, is produced in animals by their intestinal bacteria. The B12 is then stored in their liver, muscles, eggs and milk. Our digestive tract is designed to absorb this B12 by consuming these animal products. B12 is also produced by anaerobic bacteria present in soils and so can be found on the unwashed skin of plants that are grown in naturally maintained, healthy soils.

B12 rich foods such as meat, cheese, eggs, and nuts

Our diet can contain plenty of foods rich in B12 but if our digestive tract is not functioning optimally we may not be able to absorb that B12. We have a very complex digestive chain of reactions that are designed to absorb this vital nutrient, but this chain can be disrupted at many points:

How ‘B12 Analogues’ can block the absorption of real B12

There are different forms that B12 can take but there are only two that can actually be used directly by the body; methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin.  There are also two other forms, cyanocobalamin and hyroxocobalamin, that can be converted by our body into the useable forms. Then there are the analogues of B12 that have a similar structure but do not perform any of B12’s biochemical functions in our body. These analogues block the true B12 from being absorbed and so the more of these we consume, the harder it is for us to get enough true B12.

Fresh algae produce true B12 but after drying it only contains the analogue B12. Additionally, the level of B12 available in plant sources can vary as levels depend more on the microorganisms in the environment than the plant. This is one reason why some research on Chlorella shows high levels of true B12 and in other studies it shows there is none. Most plant sources of B12 contain higher levels of analogue B12 than true B12, making them poor sources of B12.

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Supplementing B12 effectively

Supplementation is often necessary but it can be very confusing as there are so many different types of B12 supplement available:

• Choose a form of B12 that is most usable by the body – methylcobalamin or adenosylcobalamin. Avoid the cyanocobalamin form as it contains cyanide which, although is in very small amounts, still needs to be processed by the body.

• With all forms of supplemental B12 check the ingredients for sweeteners, fillers and other additives. It is always best to choose one that is pure or has as few ingredients as possible.

• B12 supplements come in four types - sublingual, transdermal, intramuscular and capsules/tablets:

Sublingual B12 can be in liquid or tablet formulation. It is deposited under the tongue and absorbed through the mucous membrane of the mouth. Although only 1 to 2% is absorbed this way, if any of the dosage is swallowed it can be absorbed through the digestive tract. Sublingual B12 is useful if the digestive tract is not in optimum health or if there is difficulty in swallowing.

Transdermal B12 is a liquid B12 that is mixed with a carrier molecule that allows the B12 to pass through the skin. This is another useful method of delivery of B12 as it bypasses the digestion. About 6% of the B12 is absorbed this way, but it is important to make sure the skin is free from chemicals as these will get absorbed as well.

Intramuscular B12 is an injection of a B12 liquid into the muscles where is it absorbed into the tissues. The advantages of this form of B12 are that it gets into the blood stream quickly and is therefore useful for those with severe deficiencies. It is also pure, containing very little other than B12 and 70% of it is absorbed, higher than any other form. Only a few injections are required to raise levels and stores of B12, and then a maintenance dose is required every 3 to 6 months, depending on the reasons for deficiency. Note that there are risks of bruising or blisters at the injection site, and also possible infections.

Tablets or capsules of B12 that are swallowed are possibly the least likely to be absorbed as nearly all issues with B12 deficiency are related to digestive issues.

Conclusion

Vitamin B12 is essential to our health, yet in order for us to be able to absorb it we need to have a healthy functioning digestive system and the correct type of B12 in our diets. Live Blood Analysis can screen the blood for signs of B12 deficiency and it can also assess other issues that may be contributing to our inability to assimilate B12, such as digestion, absorption and detoxification.

Uncovering the root cause of any B12 deficiency issue is the key to knowing what to do so the body can correct itself. The blood can then be reassessed by live blood analysis after a period of three months, by which time the blood cells will have been replaced. If changes to diet and a supplement plan have been implemented then there will be a clear difference in the condition of the blood cells – there will be less macrocytes, microcytes, ovalocytes or hypersegmented neutrophils and more normal healthy red and white blood cells.

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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!

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Is it Really Time For a Detox?

Are detoxes or cleanses necessary and beneficial? Do they suit everyone? 

Detox is a bit of a buzz word in the wellness industry. The word carries with it the promise to cleanse you from the inside-out, leave you renewed, refreshed, feeling younger, happier, more energetic and a few stone lighter. Who wouldn't want that? But, what does it actually mean and will it deliver what it promises?

Living life in this modern world where we are surrounded by pollution in the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the chemicals we put on our skin; it's hard to escape toxins. Our bodies, when functioning well, can process these toxins and either eliminate them or lock them away somewhere in the body fat so they don't cause us problems. Undoubtedly we all have toxins, but it's whether they are overwhelming our body's own capacity to process them that is the issue. Toxins can disrupt enzyme reactions, block absorption of nutrients, weaken nerves, and distort many body processes. They can even accumulate in the brain and other organs or tissues where they can cause inflammation and worse. 

However - if you have an unhealthy level of toxicity and this is reflected in the symptoms you are experiencing, then it is vital that you proceed with caution. 

Why?

1. If your body is being overwhelmed by toxins then it is certainly not ready for a detox, as it shows that your routes of elimination are blocked. What your body needs is help with preparing and toning up the routes of elimination, and improving the digestive process so that you can absorb nutrients and stop consuming toxins through your diet and lifestyle.
   

2. A body detox takes energy, nutrients and enzymes in abundance and so if the body is already deficient in any of these, the detox may actually do more harm than good. A detox typically involves limiting food types and therefore limiting certain nutrients. Once toxins are pushed out of the tissues and into the blood there's a chance that they will flow around the body and get deposited elsewhere rather than be eliminated.
   

3. If toxicity is suspected, it's important that you make sure you know what toxins you are dealing with so you can eliminate them safely. For example, heavy metals like mercury can be very destructive to health.
   

4. A detox takes time, energy, money and support. It's important you ask yourself "do I have these resources in order to do a successful detox?". It is impossible to tell how you will feel and how your body will react, but if you have been assessed properly by a nutritionist you will not be putting your body through anything it cannot cope with.
   

5. Detox reactions can happen, but ideally they shouldn't. If you do have a detox reaction like flare up of old symptoms, headaches, inflammation etc then your body is not coping with the release of toxins and you should slow down the detox.

Often I hear of the suffering people go through when they undertake a juice cleanse without professional guidance, and find they have constipation or diarrhea, their energy levels soar and then crash, they feel starving all the time, their sleep suffers, or they get moody and irritable, and often experience headaches. When they eventually resume normal life, their bodies get stressed all over again as they suddenly have to cope with solid food, caffeine, alcohol and stress!

My definition of a detox varies from client to client because I create a unique detox plan that will suit them and their body's needs. I always use live and dry blood analysis as a guide as to whether they need a detox, and what level of detox they can comfortably and successfully complete. Most clients need to prepare the body for several months so that they can really shift the toxins efficiently and painlessly. 

Why use Blood as a guide?

Live and Dry Blood analysis is a useful tool for any nutritionist, naturopath or biological medicine practitioner wanting to get a different perspective of a client's health by viewing a drop of their blood.

The blood flows throughout the body connecting all the cells, organs and tissues. It allows the body's different systems to communicate with each other with in-house hormonal and protein signals and messages, in order to maintain optimum health. The blood is actually a biological fluid that contains plasma as well as red and white blood cells. When viewing a drop of live blood (cells are still 'alive' rather than stained and separated) through a darkfield microscope, you can examine the function and viability of the cells and assess the contents of the plasma, the vital nutrient rich medium that feeds the body and removes waste. Add to this analysis the interpretation of the patterns within a drop of dried blood which are created from its elements and residues, and you can build a unique picture of the biological health of a client. 

It becomes very clear from looking at the blood in this way as to what sort of detox they will need. Heavy metals show up in the dry blood as a very definite indication if present and will need very careful handing in order to remove them safely from the body. If a client's blood indicates a lack of antioxidants, this will be obvious by the viability of the white blood cells as well as the sialic acid residues in the dry blood and will need correcting first.  Their dry blood picture may even indicate severe toxic bowel which would mean the routes of elimination need to be opened and supported first. 

For information on using Live Blood Analysis with your clients please CLICK HERE

Detox Case History

Below is an example of a case history showing blood analysis pictures before, during and after a detox program, tracking the progress and changes that the body goes through, as seen through the blood of a client.

A brief history

This client wanted to do a detox as she felt a bit sluggish. Her diet is a mostly gluten free and dairy free, predominantly organic, meat or fish once a day and loaded with vegetables. She drinks a litre and a half of water, a fresh green juice and one coffee a day. She regularly performs naturopathic techniques such as skin brushing, epsom salt baths and enemas and she exercises regularly. She experiences a cold or cough twice a year on average. She recovered from ME 20 years ago and is prone to migraines, brain fog, candida and chronic fatigue if she doesn't keep on top of her diet and lifestyle regime. She has been under some considerable stress for a few years now and wanted to do a cleanse to help release a sense of being overwhelmed, stuck and carrying some weight that was very stubborn despite her diet and activity levels. 

Pre-detox

Before any detox or dietary advice is given I always take a full case history to flag up any areas of weakness and strengths within the clients health and body systems. That allows me to get a sense of how their body is coping with things like digestion and elimination, how robust their immune system is, and how much energy they have. Importantly it also allows me to identify how much time, support and resources they have available in order to make the changes that may be necessary to their daily habits. Any changes will need to be continued for at least a month (usually longer) in order to get the results they are wanting.

I then look at their blood under the microscope to see the effects of their current lifestyle and I look for issues such as possible nutrient deficiencies, signs of toxicity, how stress is affecting them, inflammation and allergy response and to see how deep their symptoms go - are they superficial and transitory (acute) or are they longstanding and underlying all other health issues (chronic).

Pre-detox live blood pictures:

The pre-detox live blood pictures (all pre-detox aged) show corrugated red blood cell membranes with what looks like strings coming off from the membranes. It also shows smaller circles, vesicles, and other shapes with fainter outlines. These are congestive bacterial forms showing a trend towards pathogenic bacterial development - if allowed to continue then it could pave the way for more of the ME symptoms of candida and chronic fatigue. 

Pre-detox dry blood picture:

The dry blood picture shows that there are signs of parasites in her system and there are also signs of stress (the round white pin prick holes in the centre of the picture). The larger white shapes in the centre indicate an inflammatory process is occurring. There is also a darker patch of blood right in the centre too. This shows that there is an element of bowel toxicity. 

Considering that this client's diet was generally very good and there didn't seem to be any glaring nutrient deficiencies I felt that she could undertake a colon cleanse. The symptoms of fatigue, stubborn fat, sluggishness and the sense that her old symptoms of chronic fatigue, migraine and brain fog were just lurking ready to pounce if she relaxed her diet, made me confident that not only could her body cope with a cleanse but that she would be able to shift some stagnation and create movement and healing at a deeper level. 

The Detox

The detox that I recommended was a Colon Cleansing Kit by Blessed Herbs (click here for a 10% discount on all Blessed Herbs products). It contains a comprehensive booklet with full instructions, questions and answers, and guides for diet and for naturopathic techniques in terms of assisting the detox process. The kit contains a glass shaker jar in which one mixes up the sachets of "toxin remover" which is a mixture of apple pectin and psyllium husk. This is mixed with fresh pressed organic apple juice (that you make yourself). Digestive enzymes are taken to help break down and soften any tough residues in the digestive tract and to ensure movement of contents of the colon. Whilst on this cleanse you consume food in the form of liquid rather than solid - fresh juices, vegetable broths, coconut water, herbal teas and plenty of water alongside the regular shaker jars of the toxin remover ensure that you do not get hungry. This program can vary in length depending on your choice of detox intensity. In this client's case it was completed in seven days. 

The colon is the place where we absorb water and eliminate waste. It is also a place where bacteria colonise and proliferate in huge numbers. If the colon doesn't work properly, or efficiently - which can happen for many reasons such diet, stress etc - then we accumulate waste and unfriendly bacteria and parasites. Making this part of your body work better will make a huge difference to your health.

Blood re-test after colon cleanse

After my client had completed the cleanse, I wanted to check her blood to see if there were any changes. There was a huge difference in the red blood cell membranes and a reduction of the congestive bacterial activity on the membranes and in the plasma too. I also noticed that the white blood cells, the body's immune cells, were very active and I witnessed them moving around the blood chasing and engulfing bacteria. All of these changes were positive. 

Mid-detox live blood pictures:

I then looked at the dry blood and could see that there was increased evidence of parasites. This did not surprise me because the colon cleanse would have cleared away a lot of matter that provides a home and food for them. The colon cleanse will also have an effect on the tissues too, as clearing the routes of elimination allows the body to push out more toxicity from other tissues. Parasites can live anywhere in the body, depending on which type they are, but they are rarely in the blood itself. What we see in the dry blood are the by-products of their life cycle, their waste and their debris from dying.

Mid-detox dry blood picture:

This showed that the colon cleanse was working, however it created a release of toxicity that the body still needed to be supported in continuing to eliminate. Otherwise the danger was that this newly released toxicity would settle in the body rather than be ushered out of it. I advised that she continue the cleanse but added in herbs for treating parasites. 

Post colon cleanse and continued parasite cleanse

After two weeks of conducting a colon cleanse and parasite cleanse, my client reported a sense of clarity in her mind, she had more concentration and felt very motivated. Physically she felt that she had so much more energy and that she had lost weight. 

The blood pictures reflected this. The live blood picture shows really active white blood cells; a sign of a healthy immune system and a reflection on health and vitality in general. The aged blood picture is vastly different to the pre-detox picture - this shows how the cleanse changed the internal environment. The fluid around all the cells has been changed and no longer supports "bad" bacteria. The red blood cell membranes look stronger and the plasma is clear of debris. The dry blood pictures throughout the detox process tell a story of the toxicity being processed by the body. The final picture shows less stress, no inflammation or parasites but it does show heavier bowel toxicity which makes sense, as in order to cleanse and release toxicity it has to exit the body and the bowels are the primary channel!

Post-cleanse live & dry blood pictures:

I advised my client to keep focused on the fact that her body was still cleansing and so it was important to keep hydrated, keep up the "clean" diet and the naturopathic techniques that supported the release of toxicity. 

This case history illustrates the importance of understanding the demand that is placed on your body when you ask it to cleanse or detox. The body needs antioxidants, fibre, hydration, rest and time. A five day, seven day, ten day detox doesn't really exist.

Once the body is encouraged and supported in releasing toxicity it creates momentum and you want the body to continue until it is completed or else you could be left with more health issues. Using blood analysis is an ideal way to help clients prepare for a cleanse and track the progress to make sure it is followed through. 

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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!

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FREE email mini-series when you join our Mailing List

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