No science here (Pt 2)

I have been having a hella time getting past this chapter as there is so much misinformation in five paragraphs. The 10:1 ratio has reared its ugly head. Ten times the information is needed to correct the information presented. 

Epperly obviously has no understanding of the information she accumulates, retaining only what agrees with her agenda. There is a kernel of truth to what Jillian states but she makes leaps in logic that are not supported. For example, “most bodies naturally gravitate towards, or crave, specific elements or minerals when they are deficient.”

While it has been studied in animals, there are too many factors that influence food choices. The overlap in humans, many nutrients do not have distinctly identifiable tastes. (Only two specific appetites - besides salt and sugar - for iron and calcium, have been identified with experimental rigor so far.) Other appetites are thus currently classified as “learned appetites, which are not innate appetites that are triggered automatically in the absence of certain nutrients, but learned behaviours, aversions to or preferences for certain foods as they become associated with experiences of malnutrition and illness." 

 

BUT then Jillian doubles down on the notion that water is the “balancing force” of salt based on the elements that comprise the makeup of the human body. As I have stated previously, drinking water as a “balancing force” to salt is a false notion; water does not replace the electrolytes lost by "waterfalls". Furthermore, the trace minerals in the PHS are at too low of a concentration to make a positive or negative impact. (Milk is actually a better choice, not water.) While cabbage is good for you, it is not a panacea.

Our bodies require sodium but not at the level she is suggesting. Epperly's lack of grasping the role of water intake and kidney function in regulating homeostasis is appalling as she is encouraging a large consumption of liquid in a very short time. Kidneys can get rid of via urine; 0.8-1 gallons (3-4 liters) of water in a short amount of time. Kidneys can eliminate about 5.3-7.4 gallons (20-28 liters) of water a day, but they can't get rid of more than 27-33 ounces (0.8-1.0 liters) per hour.

I have read and experienced that most bodies naturally gravitate towards, or crave, specific elements or minerals when they are deficient. For example, when you eat a salty snack, what is the body’s natural inclination to do? The body sends a “I’m thirsty” message to your brain, telling you to drink water to offset the salt exposure. That is called a voluntary/involuntary balancing force because your body involuntarily told you to drink water and you voluntarily drank water, avoiding hypernatremia (too much salt in the body).

A craving for something salty or sweet does not make for a necessity as a craving is a feeling or sensation; an urge, compulsion or drive. We tend to crave things that make us feel better. Cravings connect a specific stimulus with a specific response; remember Pavlov’s dog? 

While there is a physiological reaction to a craving, there is no physiological need as a craving will pass in 3-5 minutes. We crave specific foods because they taste better than other foods. We might enjoy them for that reason, but we crave them because they do something for us physiologically that the brain likes. We tend to develop cravings for foods that help us feel better however temporarily. 

The one caveat I would throw at this, food cravings aka selective hunger are caused by the regions of the brain that are responsible for memory, pleasure, and reward. And there very well may be an evolutionary advantage to cravings, but to state “I'm thirsty” after eating a salty snack does not make it a balancing force.

Humans have been able to survive times of famine and hardship throughout history due largely to our ability to store excess calories, consumed during times of plenty, as body fat. At some level, our bodies may be programmed to crave foods high in calories. 

Again Jillian doubles down using her ill-informed example of normal saline solution in the hospital setting. As satetd before, a 0.9% saline solution is used for re-hydration purposes. Jilly Juice comes in at 2.3%-2.8% salinity (just below salt water at 3.0%). A HUGE difference. 

Normal saline is as close to blood serum as one can get without being blood serum. NS is used frequently in intravenous drips (IVs) for patients who cannot take fluids orally and have developed or are in danger of developing dehydration or hypovolemia. . NS is typically the first fluid used when hypovolemia is severe enough to threaten the adequacy of blood circulation, and has long been believed to be the safest fluid to give quickly in large volumes. However, it is now known that rapid infusion of NS can cause metabolic acidosis.

As I figured, Jillian addresses homeostasis in chapter five. There is so much wrong with what she presents that I may have to approach this line by line. The 12 different systems of the human body bullshit, I am going to ignore for the moment. As you will see, her understanding of homeostasis is so wrong that it makes all other information moot.

Each system must be able to cross functionally communicate to elicit a certain outcome based upon the purpose of each system. The energy needed for each system to communicate to each other is called bioelectricity that is powered by electrolytes, a combination of salt and water.

As noted previously, Epperly in her use of the term “energy”, seems to imply the human body is like an electric power plant. There is a differential across cell membranes, but it is not as simple as she makes it out to be.  Simply put, homeostasis the tendency to maintain a stable, relatively constant internal environment while continuously interacting with and adjusting to changes originating within or outside the system. There are thousands of homeostatic systems within the body. Some of these systems operate within the cell and others operate within organs to control the complex interrelationships among the various organs.

The article cited for this statement, Tweaking the Tiny Electrical Charges Inside Cells Can Fight Infection discusses how manipulating the electrical charge of a cell(s) can increase an organism’s ability to fight infection. The organism in question, a tadpole embryo. (Actual paper referred to by Matchar.) The article cited in no way supports her notion that a daily mega-dose of salt is some sort of panacea to all that ails the human body.

Homeostasis is “from the Greek words for “same” and “steady,” refers to any process that living things use to actively maintain fairly stable conditions necessary for survival.”

Just NO!! adaptation is when the body finds a way to function normally despite the fact that homeostasis is not or can not be restored.

The usual means of maintaining homeostasis is a general mechanism called a negative feedback loop. The body senses an internal change and activates mechanisms that reverse, or negate, that change. An example of negative feedback is body temperature regulation. Opposite that is the positive feedback loop, a process in which the body senses a change and activates mechanisms that accelerate or increase that change. An example of its beneficial effect is seen in blood clotting.  

Both these examples are temporary and not meant to become the “new normal”. Homeostasis enables all living organisms to maintain internal stability in spite of a ceaselessly changing and challenging environment.

People can be mutated or managing an illness and still be in homeostasis as the body adapts to and seeks a normal from whatever it is exposed to.

Explain Type I Diabetes. How can a body that loses the ability to produce insulin be in homeostasis? Without the ability to secrete insulin, an individual with Type I Diabetes will develop diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). DKA is a life-threatening illness, and death can result in a matter of hours - unless insulin is provided to restore homeostasis.

  

No matter what level of homeostasis you are in, an interruption of homeostasis, (Homeostasis Interruptus) [NO such word], can be triggered by an under or over abundance of certain element. This alerts the body that it is off balance and the body systems will work toward getting it back to normal. A chronic imbalance of elements, minerals, and nutrients within the body has a tendency to create an environment for cancer, disease and chronic illness. That is why it is important to know what basic elements make up the foods you intake. So, they can match the elemental needs of your body.

There is no “level of homeostasis” as there are thousands of homeostatic systems within the body,

When the cells in your body do not work correctly, homeostatic balance is disrupted. Homeostatic imbalance may lead to a state of disease. Disease and cellular malfunction can be caused in two basic ways: by deficiency (cells not getting all they need) or toxicity (cells being poisoned by things they do not need). When homeostasis is interrupted, your body can correct or worsen the problem, based on certain influences. In addition to inherited (genetic) influences, there are external influences that are based on lifestyle choices and environmental exposure. These factors together influence the body’s ability to maintain homeostatic balance. 

 

While I am diabetic (Type 2), for the most part my body seems to function properly other than insulin production. It's why I have to take medication. Unchecked diabetes can impact other organs, such as kidneys, I have so far managed to avoid further complications by altering external factors that can be controlled.

Why are you insisting on re-creating the wheel? “That is why it is important to know what basic elements make up the foods you intake. So, they can match the elemental needs of your body.” What you are alluding to is the role of micro and macro nutrients. The FDA has set a reference daily intake for 12 minerals (calcium, iron, phosphorous, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum and chloride). Sodium and potassium also have recommended levels, but they are treated separately. Sulfur, silicon, boron, nickel, vanadium and lead, also may play a biological role but are not classified as essential. 

To find the elemental composition of certain foods, you must first find it’s food classification, also known as Phylum.

One more step is needed to find the basic elemental components of that phylum. I looked up the phylum name of garlic, (Google works well), and found that it belongs to the classification, Allium Sativum.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a species in the onion genus, Allium.

Here are the ingredients, in order of most to least; Aluminum, arsenic, boron, calcium, cadmium, copper, iron, mercury, potassium, magnesium, manganese, sodium nickel, phosphorus, lead, sulfur, selenium, strontium, and zirconium.

Sooooooo,,, you found a PubMed abstract that list the elements present in garlic. Since the actual paper is written in Chinese, I know it wasn't read. But, what you failed to notice, the list of elements was alphabetical by the nomenclature of the Periodic Table. The abstract in no way states “in order of most to least”.

The garlic plants sampled in the suburbs of Suzhou were rinsed thoroughly with deionized water, and divided into six different parts: root, low stem, middle stem, high stem, tender leaves and old leaves. After decomposition in a microwave oven, the contents of Al, As, B, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Se, Sr and Zn in these parts were determined by using ICP-OES, AAS and AFS, and the contents of these 20 elements in garlic bulbs collected from the same location were also determined. It was found that the tender leaves or the bulbs of garlic should be chosen preferably for the extraction of active compounds, because they are much richer in Cu, Fe, Mn, S, Se and Zn elements and rather low in harmful As, Cd, Hg and Pb elements as compared with other parts of garlic. The contents of 20 elements are varied in six different parts of garlic, from which some useful conclusions can be drawn concerning either physiological properties of garlic or situations of atmosphere contamination.

I find it interesting you ignore such a paper as this. Determining the Chemical Compositions of Garlic Plant and its Existing Active Element, which discusses “,,,the process of producing allicin in garlic. With regard to the chemical compositions of garlic (Allium Sativum L.),,,

In referencing back to the elemental composition of the body, you can see that aluminum, arsenic and boron, the major elements in garlic, are needed in only needed in trace amounts.

No where in the abstract you cite does it state, “aluminum, arsenic and boron, the major elements in garlic”.

Therefore, an upset to homeostasis will occur when too much garlic is introduced to the human body.

Define “too much garlic”? What is your standard?

I personally had too much garlic during a meal and my body reacted with a stomach ache. Eating too much garlic overdosed my body on garlic and created an imbalance in my body. I triggered an event that upset my homeostasis. My resulting symptom was a stomach ache.

So, don't eat garlic, it's that simple. What you demonstrate is a hypersensitivity to garlic, “On presentation to her GP the next day, she was told she had a classic case of liver poisoning, caused probably by an over-sensitivity to garlic.” As the article notes, “[p]eople can develop allergies to any food and even water.” So your reaction is not unusual. “The key to allergies and adverse reaction to foods is the amount ingested.”

According to WebMD, adverse reactions to garlic are a known issue. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-300/garlic

  

If you have diabetes for example, your body’s equilibrium is off relative to how you felt like physically before you were afflicted, and then you feel sick. Homeostasis was upset. When you finally find a way to get symptoms under control, your body will balance - go into homeostasis at that level - until another reactive or proactive event occurs.

As one with diabetes, I find this ludicrous. My body has ceased producing insulin at the proper levels. I therefore have to take medication that that “replaces” the activity of insulin and the resulting biochemical mumbo-jumbo that occurs in my body. I am not in homeostasis, I am (I hope, as I am a terrible patient) in an artificially induced balance. My body has nothing to do with this balance, as it is broken.

As an aside::  I use my diabetes as an example due to statements such as this by Jillian,

BTW, Vit D is not a hormone,,, ya fucking moron!!

She has no fucking clue what she speaks about.  Or I should say no concern. While DKA can and will kill in a "short" amount of time, so could Vit D deficiency.  Taking medication or supplements for a medical necessity is not drug addiction.  Telling people, your minions, that medication or medically prescribed supplementation it is drug addiction, is irresponsible.

People can be mutated or managing an illness and still be in homeostasis as the body adapts and seeks a normal from whatever elements it is exposed to. No matter what level of homeostasis you are in, an interruption will occur when you are exposed to an over or under abundance of either a nutrition or toxin. As a result, the body will signal that the immune system has been activated by this interruption. These body signals are commonly called symptoms. The type and severity will be based upon the context and amount of the exposure.

 

I am not adapting. As I stated previously (I feel like a broken record), adaptation is when the body finds a way to function normally despite the fact that homeostasis is not or can not be restored. Without medication I will die. My new normal is shoving pills down my throat to survive. The same goes for my HBP, without medication, my BP will sky rocket and kill me.

No matter what level of homeostasis you are in, an interruption will occur when you are exposed to an over or under abundance of either a nutrition or toxin.

Again, there are no levels of homeostasis. You're either in homeostasis or your not. The body always seeks homeostasis. (Over simplified)

The next two paragraphs make no sense to me as there is no such thing as “homeostasis Interuptus”. It is a made up term with no meaning outside of Jillian's agenda. If one does a search, her website is the ONLY site that appears using that term. Be that as it may, because here again, Epperly's book contradicts what she states on Facebook.

Concerning Epperly's discussion of “homeostatsis interuptus”, throughout her discussion she implies that “homeostasis interuptus” is a bad thing,

In this way, nutrition and toxins both work as a stimulus that interrupts homeostasis and cause symptoms. These outward symptoms are indicators that your immune and other systems have been activated and are working to process and balance the levels of your body elements. The key difference is however, is that you can die from a toxin but not a massive amount of good nutrition, even if it does “shock” the system initially.

BUT, recently she states this,,,

 

 

So which is it?

This is what I mean concerning Jillian creating her own meanings and definitions. This is probably the best example I’ve seen of the way she mixes unrelated terms in a way that makes it quite clear she does not know what any of them actually mean. As noted by one critic, “And i thought she was all about interrupting homeostasis a while back? Something about dying and needing to interrupt the death homeostasis yadda yadda yadda... Because if you didn't upset menopause homeostasis you were on the death trajectory.”

What is so disappointing in this chapter is the misrepresentation of sources cited by Jillian. Ignoring her lack of primary sources, she makes a mockery of the actual research being done in an attempt to support her bogus ideas. Her want for legitimacy is a disgrace to the years dedicated by licensed medical practitioners, actual scientists and researcher.