An article by Gina Sarten, Naturopath
Cell Danger Response
Many people have been hit with the Covid virus or other colds and flu’s this winter, it finally caught up with me too. Not Covid according to the couple of RAT tests I did, just a cold, and it felt like a cold – a slow onset: sore throat, headache, low fever, and sinus congestion. I haven’t had a cold for quite a few years, so I actually enjoyed the novelty of doing little more than watching Netflix and reading books, I now feel quite rested and have a sense of energy emerging throughout my body. However, I’ve recently been working with clients who have had Covid or other viral infections, and they still don’t have sufficient energy levels weeks or even years later.
So my question is what is it that alters the body’s ability to recover quickly from illness?
One answer is a cell danger response (CDR), a term coined by Robert K Naviaus MD, PhD, Professor of Genetics, University of California. Essentially CDR is when the cells of the body respond to a single or group of threats to the body, by reducing function in the form of low metabolic state or hibernation. The body will generally work to resolve threats with a range of responses from multiple body systems, but if the threat persists the CDR will continue and result in a change in metabolism, alteration in the gut microbiome, and potentially chronic disease. In some people CDR may resemble chronic fatigue or chronic pain, while in others it could turn into food allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, anxiety disorders, asthma, ADHD, or many other disorders.
CDR can be triggered by interactions with chemical, physical or biological threats, including viruses, parasites, fungus, toxic pesticides, heavy metals, inhaled toxins, poor nutrition, stress, lack of sleep.
Consider someone who pushes themself physically and mentally, stressing if they don’t achieve well, perhaps they regularly eat foods that cause bloating and pain, they don’t sleep well and have hay fever. Then they contract a severe case of Covid or Glandular Fever and months later they’re still recovering.
Is the illness more severe because they already have multiple stressors affecting the body?
Are they able to take the time to allow a full recovery or do they push through and continue to work or study or manage the children?
Unravelling and answering these questions becomes part of the treatment, everything that occurred prior to the illness has to be resolved – remember the reactions to food, plus the stress, insomnia,and hay-fever – understanding the multiple triggers is vital. In some clients this will be enough to gain significant improvement, but there is more investigation required for others, this is where we look further at cellular and body functions.
If you’d like more information about cell danger response and how I can help with recovery please
contact Gina Sarten, Naturopath, gina@bodyofwork.co.nz
