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!

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Good Fat, Bad Fat, Healthy Fat, Low Fat! Insights From LBA

My grandmother used to save the dripping from the Sunday roast and ceremoniously offer it up to us when we visited. We would dunk a chunk of bread in the solid white fat; it would crack like ice on a pond to reveal the jelly like rich gravy underneath and the bread soaked it up. Delicious!

Most people will shudder at the thought of eating the dripping now because for decades we’ve been led to believe that saturated fat is bad for our health, especially animal fat. We’ve been taught that eating fat will make us fat and could cause heart disease.  

But fat is a vital nutrient that our body requires in order to be healthy.

As a nutritionist, I often need to inform my clients of the science around dietary fats and the role they play in health and disease to be able to persuade them that:

“Yes, you can eat fat – even saturated fat - and be healthy”.

But often clients are not so easily convinced, until they see their blood during an analysis session!

Considering how important to health our red blood cells are, it is vital that they are able to withstand the pressures they are under during circulation in order for them to deliver the essential-to-life oxygen to all our cells, tissues and organs.

If clients are consuming high levels of refined and processed fats, eating a diet of predominantly polyunsaturated fats and have little to no animal fats in their diet - it will show up in the blood in various ways:

• If the membranes are not formed properly – the red blood cells will lose their integrity in circulation.

Hemolysed Red Blood Cell

• The rbc membranes will also oxidise easily creating red blood cells that are unable to carry out their functions.

Echinocytes

• If the rbc membrane is deformed due to lack of appropriate fats they break under circulatory pressure. (picture of acanthocytes)

Acanthocytes

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Is fat essential to health?

Yes! Healthy fats are essential for healthy cell membranes, especially red blood cells, and unhealthy fats can create unhealthy cell membranes which, if not corrected, can be responsible for many health issues:

• Dietary fats are a source of energy – double the energy content of protein or carbohydrate.

• They function as structural building blocks of the body –providing every cell with a membrane which contains a combination of different fats that together create stability and flexibility for the cells.

• Fats carry fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K, and support their absorption in the intestine. Consuming sufficient amounts of fatty foods that contain these vitamins is essential for adequate intake of these vital micronutrients.

• Fats are indispensable for a number of important biological functions including growth and development.

• The brain is very rich in fat (60%) and has a unique fatty acid composition; docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the major brain fatty acid. The lipids of the retina also contain very high concentrations of DHA.

• Essential fatty acids, which are derived from dietary polyunsaturated fats via a very complex and sensitive biological conversion – are necessary for brain and eye health, hormonal balance, inflammatory response regulation, blood clotting and wound healing.

Considering this long, but by no means exhaustive list of the benefits of fat, when did fat become associated with bad health and why?

“Fat makes you Fat”

Just before the turn of the 19th century food started to be measured in calories. Of the three macromolecules of nutrition – fat, carbohydrate and protein – fat contains the most calories. By the 1920s the desired shape and size of women’s bodies changed from plump and voluptuous, which indicated wealth and health -  to stick thin and flat chested being the in vogue female image.

The word calorie became associated with dieting and soon women were counting calories and seeking to eat less and less of them in an effort to maintain the fashion industry’s promoted skinny ideal.

And so began the dieting culture.

This led to eating habits that aimed to reduce calories, but paid little attention to the nutrient values of the foods. Diets evolved to contain less fat, more carbohydrates and foods rich in sugar.

But – we’ve reduced our fat calorie intake and yet today one in 3 of us is obese?

“Fats are bad for your heart”

In the 1920s clogged arteries were a rarity and only a small branch of medicine was concerned with coronary heart disease. A few heart specialists would meet occasionally to discuss their few cases and formed the American Heart Association in 1924.

A researcher called Ancel Keys presented the Lipid Hypothesis in the late 1950s. It stated that there was a direct relationship between the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet – specifically the traditional animal fats - and the incidence of coronary heart disease.

Around the same time the cotton industry discovered a processing technique that turned a waste product, cotton seed oil, into a fat that can be used as a replacement for butter, lard and in commercial baking and sold as a food ingredient known as ‘Crisco’. This product soon became a household staple around the world.

However, there were no safety tests done to make sure this was a product fit for human consumption.  Despite this, the lipid hypothesis took hold and research bodies, such as the American Heart Association enjoyed huge financial support from the burgeoning refined food oil industry.

The fats that made up our diet changed quite drastically due to the advice given by medical institutions to cut down on the traditional butter and lard and consume refined vegetable oil instead, in an effort to reduce the rising heart disease epidemic.

But – we’ve cut out our saturated animal fat and yet today heart disease is the number one killer in the world?

Between 1920 and the year 2000 -

• The proportion of traditional animal fats in diet declined from 83% to 62%

• Consumption of sugar and processed foods increased by 60%

• Yet dietary vegetable oils intake increased by 400%!

• Within just 80 years heart disease went from a few rare cases to one in three deaths globally!

Our diets have changed, we are consuming fewer calories as fat, and we are consuming massively increased levels of processed vegetable fats and refined carbohydrates.

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Could plant-based fats be bad for our health?

Humans have always consumed polyunsaturated fats as part of the diet in the form of legumes, grains, nuts, green vegetables, fish, olive oil and animal fats – but not as processed and refined vegetable oils. Modern diets typically contain around 30% of its calories as polyunsaturated fat from soy, corn, safflower and canola oils.

Yet the evidence from scientific research supporting the lipid hypothesis is not conclusive. In fact it indicates that we should not be consuming more than 4%.

These volatile polyunsaturated oils are damaged by the heat and pressure they are put under in order to extract the oil from the raw product. It changes the molecular structure of the delicate oils.  

In order to make the finished product palatable it is treated with deodorants, bleach and chemical preservatives, flavourings and colours.

All of this refining and processing may lead to a convenient palatable product that can be used in cooking and food product manufacturing but it has caused so much damage to our health that today, the levels of these dangerous fats – known as trans-fat - allowed in food has been reduced enormously, in some countries even banned.

We now know just how unhealthy trans-fats are, causing:

• Oxidation and free radical damage to all cells

• Cell membrane oxidation and abnormalities

• Damage DNA/RNA causing mutations in cell reproduction

• Premature aging of the skin

• Damage to tissues and organs

• Damage to blood vessels which can lead to a build-up of plaque

Trans fats can also:

• Block the use of essential fatty acids –affecting the central nervous and endocrine systems

• Increase blood cholesterol levels

• Raise inflammatory responses and trigger autoimmune diseases

Consumption of these oils in this quantity has been shown to contribute to disease conditions such as cancer, heart disease, immune system dysfunction, damage to liver, reproductive organs and lungs, digestive disorders, learning and growth impairment and weight gain.

Free radical damage that can be triggered by consuming damaged fats is associated with premature aging, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory responses that are linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, contributes to insulin resistance.

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How to improve your diet and use Live & Dry Blood Analysis to monitor progress

You can use Live & Dry Blood Analysis to check the levels of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation of your red blood cell membranes. 

We all have damaged fats in our organs, tissues and cells. If you change the fats you consume, in time, your body will replace the damaged fats with the healthy ones.

Top tips for ensuring you eat plenty of healthy fats

1. The best thing you can do for your health is to eliminate processed, refined oils and fat - no margarine, odourless golden vegetable oil liquid, foods cooked in those oils (crisps), or food products produced using those oils (pastry, cakes, biscuits etc).

2. Include healthy fats in all your meals - make sure you eat a range of different fats throughout your week to get the benefits:

   You need unrefined, cold pressed nut and seed oils such as EVOO, flaxseed/linseed oil – these will be full of antioxidants and unspoiled by processing, contained in dark glass bottles and kept cool, sealed and away from light.

   Plant based healthy fats - coconut oil, avocados, raw and soaked nuts and seeds, green leafy vegetables, fermented nut cheese, nut and seed milks and yoghurts, chia seeds and even cacao nibs!

3. Other healthy fats – if you consume animal products it is essential that you choose the highest welfare producers and check the provenance of the product.

   Grass fed, unpasteurised, organic butter, milk and cheese contain very important healthy fats. Unprocessed, grass fed, naturally raised organic meat, cooked slowly to break down the fast and enrich the meal with minerals from the bones. Organ meats are very high in healthy fats too.

Make the necessary dietary changes and after 120 days, when all of your blood cells have been replaced with new ones, you can check the blood again under the microscope and see the difference.

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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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Should We All Go 'Plant-Based'? Changing Diets Using LBA

The term “plant-based” is everywhere! It is very much in vogue due to the environmental impacts of meat production and the growing vegetarian/vegan movement.

Most nutritionists and those of us interested in regaining health know that increasing the amount of vegetables, fruits and wholefoods in the diet will inevitably lead to some improvement in health.

It really is a “no-brainer”. Right?

What is “plant-based”?

A plant-based diet means eating a diet that is derived either wholly or mostly from plants - specifically vegetables, fruits, pulses, legumes, nuts, seeds and wholegrains.

Doing so ensures you are consuming a huge variety of nutrients, all-important fibre, prebiotics (essential food encouraging a healthy microbiome) as well as a myriad of micro nutrients yet to be discovered.

In many ways it is eating as nature intended. However, eating a plant-based diet doesn’t always lead to good health.

Can a plant-based diet make health worse not better?

Short answer – yes, but how?

The plant-based movement is a huge emerging market and there are plenty of food producers looking to supply the demand. Growing plants and processing them into convenience foods in the cheapest way possible is the drive behind many of the new plant-based products that are filling the supermarket shelves.

These foods may be convenient and plant based but that does not mean that they are healthy. It is important that this distinction is understood.

Meatless meat products  

• Quorn is made from fermenting a strain of the soil mould Fusarium venenatum, then adding glucose, fixed nitrogen, vitamins and minerals, and heat-treating it to remove certain toxins. It is a highly processed food, low in protein, higher in fat than lentils, for example, and is high in sodium.

  This product is far from a health food. It has been responsible for allergic reactions, contains few essential nutrients and in fact is not vegan.

• Textured vegetable protein – another plant based meat substitute that is also highly processed. It is made from defatted soya protein which creates a denatured protein, providing very little usable protein for the body.

• There are also pea protein-based meat products which are often loaded with fillers, additives, flavouring and preservatives.

For some people consuming these products can provide very little nutrition - you do not consume the amount of protein you need if you rely on meatless meat substitutes and can become deficient or malnourished.

Also your body may not be able to digest and eliminate the denatured, highly processed proteins/fats/by-products which can lead to health issues or exacerbate current symptoms.

Removing meat and dairy but adding more processed foods

Another pitfall of becoming more plant-based is that people remove the meat and replace it with unhealthy refined carbohydrate products that are often loaded with sugar and damaged fats.

Refined and processed convenience foods can increase the possibility of blood sugar issues and obesity. Processed and chemically altered plant fats, known as trans fats, are damaging to health and have been banned because they are known to promote systemic inflammation and increase your risk of heart disease.

In many ways meat, fish and dairy are convenience foods. Eating a healthy plant-based diet takes time – sourcing, shopping and preparing foods – and it is NOT convenient and this is the reason that most people will fall into the trap of using plant-based convenience foods. This can cause nutrient deficiencies over time, however, and for some could make existing health issues worse or even bring about symptoms that they previously did not suffer from.

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How do you go “plant-based” healthily?

I have worked with hundreds of clients with a huge variety of health issues and dietary habits. One aspect that most of my clients have in common when they first come to me is that they consume a diet of few plant wholefoods but with many processed convenience foods.

Before blindly advocating a plant-based diet change, or offering any dietary changes, I use Live and Dry Blood Analysis to screen my clients’ blood for signs of imbalances and clues to the root causes of their symptoms.

It is vital to get a clear picture of current nutrient status – deficiencies of nutrients such as iron, B12 or folate, as well as an understanding of any disruption to the body’s many biological systems responsible for health – such as the digestive system, eliminatory system or the circulatory system. If they are already deficient in certain nutrients like B12 or they aren’t digesting protein efficiently, then a plant-based diet may make things worse.

The most common issues amongst my plant-based diet clients are signs of B12 deficiency, protein digestion issues and cell membrane weakness. Why?

• B12 is such a vital nutrient for the health of our bodies and it is more or less absent in a plant-based diet.

  Blood cells require B12 in order to develop normally and so the body has a store of it in the liver. But over time this store is depleted, even one night of binge drinking (alcohol) will eliminate a years’ worth of B12. If this is not replenished, through diet and a healthy digestive process, you can soon become B12 deficient.

  Symptoms of B12 deficiency often do not appear until the body is quite depleted and normal cell reproduction has been affected for some time. I have written about B12 extensively in this blog post.

  Live blood analysis can clearly show if B12 is lacking by the presence and quantity of abnormal cells:

Macrocytes

Hypersegmented Neutrophils

• PROTEIN is another vital nutrient for the health of our body. The quality of protein as well as our ability to digest and metabolise it determines whether we are giving our body what it needs.

• You can definitely consume plenty of healthy protein in a plant-based diet (see this blog post I wrote about vegan protein). However, digesting protein and breaking it down into the amino acid building blocks that our body relies on depends on not only diet but the health of the digestive tract.

  It is vital to get the digestive tract healthy and functioning efficiently, especially if animal protein is off the menu.

  Here are some examples of issues of protein digestion as seen in Live and Dry Blood Analysis:

Weak Fibrin Web

Protein Linkage

• CELL MEMBRANES are made up mostly of lipids or fats. Essential fats such as Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are vital for healthy membrane and are hugely important to health. We need to consume them in our diet as the body does not synthesize them.

  Plant-based fats are predominantly Omega 6 fats which are known to increase the possibility of inflammatory diseases, autoimmune conditions and incidence or severity of allergic reactions.

  Additionally the Omega 3 fats available in plant-based foods are actually very hard for the body to metabolise. It involves a complex enzyme pathway that is easily disrupted, causing a lack of the EPA/DHA that the cell membranes are so desperate for. It is estimated that over 90% of the Omega 3 oil consumed in a plant based diet is lost via the digestive process.

  Trans fats are fats that have been damaged or denatured and are used in plant-based foods such as margarines, baked/fried/cooked goods and dairy-like food replacements. They are extremely bad for health because they replace the healthy lipids of the cell membranes, especially in the brain, and will disrupt cellular communication and proper normal functioning of the cell.

  They also increase levels of “bad” cholesterol and because they are hard to metabolise they end up being pocketed by the body, where they cause damage to tissues and processes.

  Live Blood Analysis can assess the health of the cell membranes as well as screen for fat metabolism issues by checking for fat aggregations in the blood’s plasma:

Lysed RBCs

Crystals

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Potential pitfalls of a plant based diet are -

1. Lack of quality protein

2. Reduction of B12 intake

3. Increase of trans fats

4. Imbalance between omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids

Top tips for ensuring a healthy transition to plant-based diet.

1. Get the blood analysed to screen for deficiencies and imbalances before cutting out food groups.

2. Tone up the digestive tract and ensure good stomach acid production.

3. Make sure the routes of elimination are open – to be able to process the additional vegetable and fruit fibre as well as eliminate the toxin release.

4. Do it gradually and plan the diet. Make shopping lists, print off recipes, ensure adequate nutrients especially protein and fats and don’t rely on vegan plant-based meat substitutes or processed convenience foods!

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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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