Poisons and Antidotes; part 2 of 3: How Do Poisons Work?

Inner Experience and the Outer World

Conversation with a three-year-old:

‘Mommy, does the earth move?’; ‘Yes, it travels around the sun…’; (She considers this a bit.) ‘Well, are we going very fast?’; (My turn to consider a bit…) ‘Yes, we are.’ After a contemplative pause, she exclaimed cheerfully, ’Wow, we must be having lots of fun!’

A young child’s perceptions tend to be closer to the spiritual world. While for her three year old self this felt like a reasonable conclusion to our conversation, for me it was surprising and funny. But why? Inner-self and outer-world…she as a child in this moment had a different relationship to this polarity than I as an adult. She could imagine herself as one with the earth; feeling herself actually ‘out there’ in space speeding around as if on a roller coaster. While, in my adult self, I was stuck inside my individual bodily and soul processes in the midst of life on earth doing my chores and living day to day with the attendant joys and sorrows.

When I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, I had a number of patients who had grown up homesteading ‘off the grid’ way down a river somewhere in the remote wilderness and sometimes in objectively abusive situations. It struck me that some looked back on their experience as a strengthening asset in their personal development; yet others took it in as a trauma and experienced symptoms of PTSD decades later (even though the outwardly physical facts of their descriptions were quite similar in some cases). In a similar vein, arsenic has been classified as a carcinogen after long term exposure in small quantities. Yet, there are areas of the world where the arsenic groundwater concentration is significant, and people are able to consume on a daily basis doses of arsenic which could be lethal for the average individual (and even remain in better health than they would be if they had to give it up). Arsenic compounds have been known and used as a poison by many cultures and for thousands of years. With similarly broad scope, in time and among cultures, it has also been used and studied for its medicinal effects for conditions as varied as cancer, asthma, and various skin conditions. Currently, it is approved in the US for medicinal use only for ‘relapsed APL’ which is a specific kind of leukemia (blood disease).

A ‘poisoning’ has to do with a relationship-gone-wrong between ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ substances and/or experiences. How does something in the outer world affect me as a human being in my inner world; whether it be a physical poison or an experience or happening in the outer world? ‘This is me; that is the world’ is a fundamental human experience without which we would not be able to have perceptions, make judgments, form concepts, and experience the attendant consciousness-of-self that these activities pre-suppose. In fact, it is this self/not self polarity that is the principle gesture of the human immune system which makes possible our independent life on earth (rather than succumbing to our surroundings). How does something which is ‘outside’ and which makes its’ way ‘inside’, whether a physical substance or an experience that the world brings to us, come to act as a poison rather than as nourishment?

According to Casarett & Doull’s textbook, ‘Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons’, there are a few steps that a potential poison must typically go through in order to poison:

1) Delivery: from the site of exposure to the target

2) Reaction of the ultimate toxicant (some toxins are transformed within the body into their most toxic form) with the target molecule

3) Cellular dysfunction and resultant toxic effects

4) Inappropriate repair and adaptation

According to the same source, the target of the poison must possess certain attributes in order for the poison to do its best work as a poison:

1) Must be performing a critical function within a system

2) Accessibility to the the poison

3) Reactivity to the poison

As an archetypal example of a mineral poison, arsenic was often referred to as the ‘king of poisons and the poison of kings’. Although arsenic compounds were mined by the early Chinese, Greek and Egyptian civilizations, it is believed that, as an isolated element, arsenic itself was first isolated and identified by Albertus Magnus in the year 1250AD. The tasteless powdered mineral is non-detectable when mixed into liquids or salves and then consumed or applied to the skin. Relatively small amounts were fatal for most people. And even better for the surreptitious poisoner, back in those times there was no way to test the deceased for traces of this poison in order to prove a poisoning (whereas now it may be easily proven by laboratory testing). To result in a lethal or crippling effect for the organism, the target of an effective poison must be a molecule or process that is crucial for survival or functioning; and in order to actually poison, a substance must first find its way towards its target site of action. Arsenic can accomplish this feat by acting as a sort of imposter or ‘mimic’ by pretending to be inorganic phosphate (the ‘P’ in ATP which is the main energy currency of the body; and recall from the ‘Noses, Snouts…’ post the relationship of phosphorous to light!). Since all cells need this energy currency, arsenic in its subterfuge has access to disruption and subsequent destruction of many organs and processes in the body. If it is not detoxified or otherwise checked in its destructive action, the effects become chronic and even irreversible. In some cases, the organ’s over-zealous and misguided attempts at repair (to fill the gap left by the destructive impulse) may result in tumor formation. Another example of ‘inappropriate repair’ resulting in tumor formation is the well-documented association of a mycotoxin (Ochratoxin which is produced by some species of Aspergillus and Penicillium molds) with kidney cancer.

Albertus Magnus, friend of Thomas Aquinas and a German Catholic Dominican friar and alchemist

When my three year old asked about how fast the earth moves, I could have launched into an exposition on the work of Copernicus; when she exclaimed on how much fun we ‘must be having’, I could have countered with the ‘real’ situation, as my adult self ‘knows’ it to be. I chose not to do those things, and left our conversation as it stood. Of course she has since learned about the observations and calculations of modern astronomy along with the importance and relevance of these discoveries for everyday understanding of life. And if she as an adult had been perpetually ‘tripping’ in her younger self’s Imagination of riding through space on the earth as if on a roller coaster, she would not have been able to develop her professional acumen in her highly technical job. However, it is also my feeling that if she had been prematurely deprived of her healthy childhood Imaginations, she may not have been able to develop her unusual and powerful creative abilities and her joyful sense of connection with living processes. I think it is these qualities which make her so highly sought after both professionally and personally.

While in the last essay, I approached the question ‘What is a poison?’, this time around I attempted the same with another question; ‘How do poisons work?’. I feel that these two questions and the consideration of them are prerequisite to an approach to a third; ‘How do we antidote a poison?’ or in the soul/spiritual realm, ‘What do we do with or how do we behave towards the executioner?’ This third question is one that has been close to my heart in this form for at least a decade. How does one behave towards a dear friend, respected individual, or even a public institution that has apparently ‘killed’ something that one reveres or loves; whether it be a loved one, the possibility of achieving an ideal, a relationship, one’s health, one’s ability to practice one’s religion or spiritual path, way of life, profession or hobby as one thinks is best, or even one’s sense of comfort perhaps born out of ignorance? For that matter, how do we behave towards that part of ourselves that may have done likewise either for ourselves or towards another? I have not found much in the way of answers yet; but it seems important to work towards understanding of these issues with others towards the goal of healthier community. A first step can be in discovering which substances and situations in our lives act as poisons and how they go about doing so.

And as for ourselves, in trying to become a poor target for any kind of poison, what are the questions we need to ask? Avoidance? Susceptibility? Antidote?

1) In order to avoid or address a toxin, there must to be an awareness if its presence and an acknowledgement of its toxicity. There are many known environmental toxins and ways to test for their presence and effects in the body. One of my favorite labs is Great Plains Laboratory. These urine tests show the presence of these toxins, and also how your body is reacting to them. If they are in your body, it is a good idea to find out if they are still in your environment in order to avoid increasing toxin load. Check these links to descriptions of urine tests such as MycoTox (toxins from mold); GPL-TOX (common chemical toxins); and OATS (indicating results of toxicity and ability to detoxify).

2) Toxins affect people differently. Even though a given toxin typically causes a predictable set of symptoms, degree of severity may be different among various people, and certain individuals have unusual symptoms or even seem to not be affected at all. One way to learn how you as an individual are affected by various substances or influences (such as electromagnetic fields or ‘EMFs’), is to do an ‘elimination diet’ or a cleanse. An elimination diet classically involves eating a restricted diet of foods that have very low allergen or reactivity potential for 3-6 weeks until your symptoms are reduced or gone; and then re-introducing one food at a time, about every three days, and noticing how you react (which symptoms a particular food causes you to exhibit). This information is valuable in helping you to make decisions about your future diet and also allows you to know if certain ingredients ‘sneak’ into prepared food (You have severe insomnia the night after consuming gluten, for example). It is surprising to some people that symptoms are not always digestive when it comes to foods. They may be neurologic, muscular, psychological, or even just plain fatigue. Laboratory tests that measure immune reactivity such as traditional allergy testing and the ALCAT blood test are two of many lenses through which to assess your immune specific reactions to various foods, medications, supplements, and environmental chemicals.

Regarding EMFs, it is also possible to do a ‘fast’. This is usually more complex, as it is getting harder and harder to find places where exposure to man-made electromagnetic fields is very low. Nevertheless, you can reduce your exposure as much as possible and avoid all screen time for a minimum of three days (ideally 3-6 weeks or more), and note how much better you feel, and which symptoms return when you resume exposure. This may be as simple as turning off your WiFi router at night when you are sleeping. There are some tips on mitigating harmful over-exposure on our resources page.

A cleanse or detox, generally involving at least a light diet, binders and liver support for at least 3-10 days (it is best to consult with a health care provider about a process that would be right and safe for your particular situation), helps to diminish your toxic load. This process can also give information about the extent to which toxins play a part with your particular health situation. A favorite recent find for me is CellCore products - especially for recovery from toxic mold exposures. CellCore has a 4 month, and a more thorough ten month detoxification protocol.

3) If you are on multiple medications, especially if you suffer from memory loss and/or cognitive decline (brain fog), ask your prescribing doctor to help calculate your ‘anticholinergic load’. Sometimes discontinuing or changing medications can actually improve your overall health. Since stopping a medication suddenly can be very dangerous, it is important to seek advice before you change medication habits. There are also genetic tests that can show which medications and even supplements your body is most likely to tolerate well. Some are even covered by Medicare. Of course a decision to stop a medication is multi-faceted; so make sure that you consult your prescriber or someone else knowledgable about the particular set of medications that you take.

4) Lies affect how we exert our will; laws and social arrangements affect our life of habits; giving un-asked for advice and forcing opinions on others affects the emotional life and life of desires. Self knowledge is always healing in a wider sense. Take notice of how an influence in the social sphere may be nourishing and/or toxic and how you experience these effects.

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…and few more tidbits with some comments on the history of language, poisons, and gender - two important and relevant topics as mentioned in the previous essay:

‘We say today die Mitgift (dowry, literally ‘with-gift’), which shows a clear connection to the word die Gift. We also say today Der Abscheu (‘aversion’, literally ‘away-shyness’) which is clear evidence of an earlier word Der Scheu. Both these deductions are correct. Der Scheu and die Gift have gone through some subtle changes in connotation. Die Gift in early times simply meant ‘the noncommittal act of giving’. But because of what some people have given and what was, also in Faust’s opinion harmful to others, the word has changed its meaning and has been applied to gifts that are objectionable, losing the connection with the original gender characteristic. The result is Das Gift ‘poison’, neuter gender. When a person once was called scheu, he was considered as having strong feelings, as being firm in himself. When the word became weak, it became die Scheu, ‘shyness’ feminine. ‘The Genius of Language’, lecture 5; 2 January 1920; Rudolf Steiner

‘This experience of anger is wonderfully brought out in the vernacular phrase ‘sich giften’, to poison oneself, as a phrase meaning ‘to get angry’. This is an example of how popular imagination arrives at a truth which may often elude the learned. Anger which eats into the soul is a poison; it damps down the Ego’s self awareness and so promotes selflessness. Thus we see how anger serves to teach both independence and selflessness; that its dual mission as an educator of humanity, before the Ego is ripe to undertake its own education. If we were not enabled by anger to take an independent stand, in cases where the outer world offends our inner feeling, we would not be selfless, but dependent and Ego-less in the worst case. ’Metamorphisis of Soul’ vol 1; Rudolf Steiner

The word arsenic has its origin in the Syriac word ܠܐ ܙܐܦܢܝܐ (al) zarniqa,[43][better source needed] from Arabic al-zarnīḵ الزرنيخ 'the orpiment’, based on Persian zar 'gold' from the word زرنيخ zarnikh, meaning "yellow" (literally "gold-colored") and hence "(yellow) orpiment". It was adopted into Greek as arsenikon (ἀρσενικόν), a form that is folk etymology, being the neuter form of the Greek word arsenikos (ἀρσενικός), meaning "male", "virile". From ‘History of Arsenic’; See full article here.

‘Whatever is happening in us is striving toward or away from a zero, something we do toward or away from nothingness. We are striving toward the point where the world is no longer active and we are not yet active. Between the two is a kind of zero. There is something in us that is oriented toward nothingness. It is that that makes us free human beings; that is why we can hold responsibility.’

11 Sept 1924: Rudolf Steiner; Pastoral Medicine, lecture IV