The Free Radical

This is a New Paradigm Papers supplement, not part of the main series.

Typically, catharsis refers to an emotional purgation only. In the relation of this incident, I am using it as something much more holistic and encompassing, including a full reset for the physical, mental, and spiritual levels of my being, setting a new foundation for emotional wellbeing thereafter.

It happened a little more than a week ago. But to say that it just ‘happened’ is a bit misleading. It was upon my own insistence; I forced it, somewhat unwittingly.

For the better part of the last year, I’ve been dealing with an unprecedented flare-up of psoriasis on my hands. As anyone who’s gone a few rounds trying to shoo this unwelcome visitor from the temple knows, just when you think you’re making great headway and the recalcitrant is nearly out the door, he suddenly turns upon the threshold and storms back in— much like the Peter Falk character of Columbo waving a stubby cigar and muttering “Uh… there’s just one more thing…”

What now?!

I know that psoriasis, at its root, is systemic, having its foundation set in some sort of autoimmune dysfunction. So to thus characterize it as some easily recognizable character to simply be ushered out the door, is also misleading. There’s nothing simple or easy about it.

I had already come to understand a great many things— about this particular character, and especially his relationship with every aspect of my health-questing self. With the aid of redox signalling technology tools, administered consistently for at least the last 3 months, I had come to know— from the inside out— this special relationship psoriasis seemed to have with particular food choices I typically made.

With my body re-establishing its inherent molecular signalling systems, I was being gently but insistently nudged toward a lifestyle of far fewer carbs, especially alcohol, sugars and grains. Over this time period, I was able to establish a direct correlation between overt carb consumption and pesky psoriasis flare-ups. Sometimes it was almost instantaneous, taking no more than a half hour after ingestion to see and feel the correlative link.

On the dread night in question, I had had my supper of two seemingly healthful wraps, filled to bursting with wholesome veggies, a bit of brown rice and a home-made yellow curry— which included a generous dollop of raw honey. I’m inclined to think now that it was more the whole wheat wraps and rice which spiked my blood glucose rather than the honey, or perhaps it was the combination. Nevertheless, my fingers shortly began to itch.

Dammit!

Okay. So I got out my handy-dandy tube of redox gel (Renu 28) and began applying. After each time I rubbed it in, the itch was quelled for a minute or two at first and stretched to longer periods of relief as I persistently reapplied. I must’ve put that shit on at least 20 times! The recommended use is twice daily. Oops!

By the time I went to bed, there was no more itch.

I should also note that the week prior to this I had increased my oral dose of ASEA (redox signalling) from 2 ounces twice daily to 2 ounces three times daily— a 50% increase. Quite frankly, I was looking for resolution.

Apparently, I had sent a clear communication to my body: I want this thing resolved ASAP! And the message was received.

I slept most of the night normally… and then awoke abruptly at 4:00 am. My tummy felt a bit uncomfortable. I felt like there was gas in my intestines, so rather than risking a fart, I went to the washroom. Smart choice.

My body decided to evacuate my bowels completely right then and there. It was more than a bit liquidy. What I didn’t realize quite yet was that my body had completely shut down all digestion. The supper I had eaten that evening was still sitting mostly in my stomach. A couple hours later, at about 6:00 am, I continued my purge through the back end as well as added a few bouts of good vomiting from the front end. I was surprised that so much food that I had eaten 12 hours before was now still being puked out.

This very intense purge continued every two hours until about noon, so it lasted a total of about 8 hours… but it was incredibly thorough!

Now, I know what you might be thinking: “Niels, that was just a bout of food poisoning.” No, it wasn’t. I had a lot of leftovers from that supper— the rice and yellow curry. I revisited those leftovers a few nights later without incident, so the food wasn’t tainted.

And what occurred during that intense purge was a total systemic reset. My body felt completely different afterward, almost like I had been reborn— albeit painfully. Absolutely everything had changed.

The purge marked the beginning of a total 36-hour fast. I had no desire to eat for a day and a half, so I didn’t. I just drank mineral water. Then, when I did return to eating, I wanted fat and protein. I didn’t even want to look at carbs. The thought of sugar was repulsive. This was quite new to me, as I’ve always been a bit of a sweet-tooth. My sugar addiction was utterly broken, and the psoriasis had disappeared completely. There were still dry flaky patches on the surface, but underneath there was just healthy pink new skin; no redness, no puss.

With the help of redox signalling tools, Restore and ASEA, my body had been working out its issues slowly, inexorably for the past three months. Now, with this very intense purge, it seemed I had gotten over a major hurdle. I was definitely pointed toward a ketogenic diet before I even really knew what it was. In a nutshell (pun intended), it’s a very high fat, moderate protein, and very low carb diet. Its main drawback is that there’s an initial period of days when the body is making the switch from primarily burning carbs for fuel to burning fat which tends to be rather uncomfortable.

With my purge and fast, I seemed to have already gotten through the tricky bit. So now I’m keto— and I’ll have much more to say about that after I’ve properly sussed it out.

But here’s where my little story gets a bit woo-woo. You may not find this aspect of the tale particularly compelling, but for me, personally, this is way beyond mere coincidence.

On the very night of the purge, some hours before I began to hug the toilet bowl, that night one of my best friends whom I grew up with died of brain cancer. As teenagers we were very close, hanging out almost daily. It was only during the university years that we had grown apart, as he went off to medical school while I sniffed out the next great party.

Throughout high school, he had widely been considered the smartest guy in the grade. He’d led a relatively clean lifestyle, drinking only on occasion, never smoking, and growing up on a traditional Indian cuisine. He became a practicing MD as well as becoming a medical researcher with the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Health-conscious and smart, and now he was gone at fifty-one. It was terribly shocking when I found out two days later that he’d died— when he’d died.

I don’t believe that it was mere coincidence that my friend’s passing and my excruciating catharsis occurred nearly simultaneously. And though both happenings were shocking and very uncomfortable, I choose to look upon this synchronicity as an old friend— the Healer— come to help me out in my time of need. Through my own actions and insistence I was looking for a breakthrough, and my friend’s spirit answered saying “You want to break through and truly change what needs to be changed? Then brace yourself. Here we go…”

Thank you, my friend. I’m in a better place now… as are you.

This whole experience has reaffirmed what I’m attempting to do with this series of medical essays through the overhaul of my personal health and its attending tale. I sincerely hope that my readers can derive great benefit from this sharing, and I look forward to hearing about your own health adventures.

If you are interested in more info about redox signalling, or would like to purchase these revolutionary tools, please contact me at niels@nielskunze.com