The Concept of Terrain

“You cannot grow daisies in cement”
“As the soil is, so the seed grows”

All biological life requires a certain environment to thrive. The more suitable this environment to the species the stronger and the better quality of life. There are various specific characteristics required by the milieu of any given species and man is not an exception to this rule.

It is interesting to observe that during an epidemic such as the flu, not everyone succumbs. Why is that? Unfortunately, Louis Pasteur proposed the theory of dis-ease based on the strength or virulence of the pathogen and gave little consider-ation to the terrain in which these organisms thrive or to the biological purposes some of these organisms serve. Claude Bernard advocated the concept of terrain, observing that there are parameters in the environment that predispose the development of all organisms, pathogenic or otherwise. It was reported that shortly before he died, Pasteur admitted: “Claude Bernard was right. The microbes do not mean anything. Everything depends on the terrain.”

Prof. Louis Claude Vincent was among the first to examine the terrain, going beyond simple static chemistry to the dynamic interpretation of the internal milieu (or terrain) using biophysics. Examination of pH (acid-alkaline balance – ionic potential for acidity or alkalinity), rH₂ (oxidation-reduction potential – electronic potential of the pH value), and r (resistivity or the mineral content and thermal factors) allows determination of terrain specific to the healthy human. Through observation of the alteration of these factors in altered states of health it is possible to conclude a predisposition to various dysfunctions resulting in disease states.

Conditions that affect the state of the terrain in humans:

• Water
• Air
• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Mental stress and belief system
• Other pollution factors

Water

Consider that 60-90% of all food from plants and animals consists of water, and thus water is the most essential substance of our food and for maintaining life.

Also consider that our body consists of up to 70% fluid. This means a man weighing 150 pounds is made up of about 105 pounds of water.

Pasteur said that “90% of all illness can be related to our drinking habits.”

What is good water?

The parameters of good or biologically compatible water are:

• pH – 6.5 to 6.8 (therefore slightly acid);
• rH₂ – 25 to 28 atmospheres of hydrogen at the cathode per centimeter squared;
• r – greater than 6000 ohms (thus low in minerals).

City water, treated with chlorine or ozone is typically more alkaline; more oxi­dized (values greater than 28); and has an ohmic resistance of less than 3000 (containing too many minerals). Mineralization can also be expressed through the hydrometric titer. Values of the hydrometric titer which lie between 15 and 30 are generally accepted for human nutrition, but values in that range are far too high. These slowly lead to alkalization and oxidation of the blood. These changes result in premature aging and chronic degenerative illnesses.

Chlorinated water: Chlorine was added to water as early as the late 1800’s to prevent the spread of typhoid. However, chlorine not only kills the pathogenic bacteria but also the friendly bacteria such as L. acidophilus in our intestines.

Chlorine has been implicated in the creation of mutant strains of a commonly non-pathogenic bacteria called E. coli resulting in an antibiotic resistant pathogen. No government can afford the cost of trying to provide potable water to our houses without the use of chlorine or ozone to sterilize it. But there is no reason why you cannot remove the chlorine before you use it. People go to the store and buy bread – most are smart enough to take off the wrapper before eating it. Why not remove the chlorine with some filtration method such as reverse osmosis.

Remember that hot chlorinated water gives off chlorine as a gas in the vapor. This vapor is inhaled and absorbed through the skin in the bath and shower in very high amounts. Dechlorinating the entire water supply coming into the house is recommended. Your dishwasher, clothes washer, etc. all produce steam.

Letting the water stand for awhile in an open topped container allows dissipation of some of the chlorine. Do so if you are in a pinch.

Mineral waters, or the so-called therapeutic waters, are also far too high in minerals. They are often therapeutic if taken at the source but the bottling process destroys much of this. Taken at the source, they are powerful agents in altering the terrain, but if not monitored they may force the biological terrain in a worse direction.

Purity of water: The concept of purity is often confused with the concept of pure water. With the sterilization techniques today there is little doubt as to the purity – namely bacteria-free water. Actual pure water, devoid of excess inorganic salts, etc. is very difficult to find.

Distilled water: The process of distillation produces alkaline and oxidized water with no minerals. At first glance, no minerals may appear desirous. Having no mineral content results in very high ohmic resistance and when we calculate the microwatts (the energy factor of water) we find that it is extremely low. Ideally, water should have about 24.24 microwatts, distilled water can be as low as 7.0. This phenomena results in the loss of energy from the body. Distilled water also loses the ability to refract polarized light and therefore is biologically dead water.

What about minerals? Why should water containing minerals which are essential for life, be damaging to the human organism? The answer lies in cytology. The minerals cannot be assimilated directly by the animal cell. The plant kingdom (autotrophic) can assimilate the minerals directly from water and soil. They give them a new structure with the ability to refract (turn) polarized light. In the animal kingdom, the heterotrophic cells can only assimilate organic salts that have the ability to turn polarized light. Therefore, we get our minerals the same place cows do – from the vegetable kingdom.

Water high in inorganic salts that cannot be assimilated leads to an overloading of electrolytes of the blood. These electrolytes have to be eliminated by kidney filtration. This eventually overloads the normal excretion of the nephron and the minerals are not excreted. Since the blood must be cleansed, the minerals become sediment in the tissues of the body, resulting in degenerative disease.

Good water: Ideally, one seeks to find pure water with the appropriate parameter of pH, rH₂ and resistivity. There are springs and deep wells around but generally the population does not have access to these. Although it is still trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, reverse osmosis is the preferred method of process­ing water. The efficiency of reverse osmosis depends on the quality of the water being filtered, the age of the filters, etc.

Note: Reverse osmosis units must have a holding tank that can be cleaned. Sealed bladder tanks in a number of under the counter models cannot be cleaned.

How much water should one drink?

It is a fact that most people do not consume enough water. The average person should consume from one to two liters per day of pure water. Adequate hydration has been shown to improve the health and functioning of human beings – not to mention plants and animals.

If one does not consume adequate amounts of water, our bodies lose the ability to discern when we are thirsty. Thirst is often interpreted as hunger. People drinking adequate amounts of water find less need to over eat. Several substances cause dehydration. For example, the use of caffeine containing foods and drinks; smoking; refined carbohydrates (sugar causes an increase in osmolarity); etc.

The air we breath

Another substance vital to the terrain and optimal functioning of the organism is the air and with it adequate oxygen.

In primordial times, it is estimated that the oxygen content of the air may have been as high as 40%. It was in this atmosphere that life developed. Around the time of the Second World War, the atmosphere was measured to contain approximately 27%. Today, our atmosphere contains approximately 19% and in some
cities it is as low as 17%.

The reasons for this decrease in oxygen are well-known – industrial pollution, deforestation, etc. No matter the reason, we are now trying to run an engine on fuel of half the octane rating it was built for. Warburg (a Nobel prize winner) pointed out that cancer is an anaerobic phenomenon – that is a process that develops due to decreased availability or decreased ability to use oxygen.

To compensate for this deficit we must maximize the body’s ability to use the available oxygen and provide as much air as possible to the body. Avoiding pollutants which block the cells oxidative properties, using antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, and doing regular deep breathing exercises are beginning steps.

Nutrition: Refer to my “Optimal Nutrition” paper.

Exercise: There are numerous benefits to exercise. Improvement of blood and lymph circulation aids in the uptake of oxygen, the elimination of waste, and increases metabolism.

Mental stress and belief system: See article on “Why is Irritability, Anger and Viciousness Increasing?” – an excellent article on neurotoxicity; and, “Anxiety Can Also Make You Sick”; as published in Explore Magazine.

Other pollution factors

High energy impact processing and cooking: High energy cooking (like micro- wave ovens) does several things that denature and reduce the food value of sub­stances prepared in this way. This primarily affects fats, since cis-fatty acids are changed to trans-fatty acids,

• as found in hydrogenated oils like margarine and processed cooking oils.
• Trans-fatty acids cause a rise in cholesterol and triglycerides, and
• have been demonstrated to increase atherosclerotic plaques.
• Increased use of trans-fatty acids parallels increased cancer rates; and
• Trans-fatty acids cause swelling of the energy producing mitochondria in cells.

N.B. All food contains four basic elements – carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitro­gen. High energy cooking splits the nitrogen off the amino acid chain and thereby decreases its usefulness to the body.

Building electrical and electromagnetic pollution of the body:

• Synthetic clothing, particularly undergarments, cause positive electrical charge, and can lead to oxidation (the basis of development of disease);
• prolonged exposure to unshielded computer monitors;
• heaters in waterbeds create Yin-discharging fields and can weaken those who sleep on them;
• exposure to areas of high electrical fields, i.e., high tension power lines, grid power entering the house near the bedrooms;
• polluting of the sleeping area, by televisions, radios, LED clocks, electric blan­kets, electric heating pads;
• quartz watches produce a constant, subliminal stimuli that can be detrimental to the body;
• shielding or distortion of the natural Schumann waves from the earth occurs in insulated high-rise, or reinforced concrete buildings.

To be continued in subsequent articles…

An exclusive article for Affiliiates
From THE BRIDGE Newsletter of OIRF
Published July 22, 2004

© Copyright 2004, Dr. Alexnder A. Wood, Ontario, Canada