Biological Terrain Analysis: Mapping your Inner Health
Trying to discover the best nutritional program can be a confusing and at times frustrating exercise. We try to eat the best diet we can and to take the appropriate supplements. How do we know if what we are eating and taking is really working for us, taking into account our unique lifestyle and individual body? It seems to involve guesswork, intuition and even faith. Fortunately, there is an approach to the quest for health and inner balance that is accurate and specific to the individual. This approach uses a scientific method to analyze samples of blood, urine and saliva to reveal a unique biological terrain for each individual. The method is called the biological terrain analysis or BTA and has revolutionized the way I practice naturopathic medicine.
Biological terrain was developed over a hundred years ago in France. At that time there was a fierce intellectual battle going on concerning the true cause of disease. Louis Pasteur argued that germs were the sole and only cause of human disease. Claude Bernard argued that both disease and germs emerged only after the internal milieu or chemistry of a person was out of balance. Unfortunately, Pasteur’s germ theory won out and has become the dominant paradigm in medicine. It is said that Pasteur recanted on his deathbed and admitted that Bernard was right, that “the microbe is nothing, terrain is all.”
Germs called viruses are being blamed for more and more diseases today, yet our ability to control them continues to evade us all the more. It is now apparent that germ theory has its limits and that an approach focusing on internal chemical balance, such as biological terrain, is more useful for optimizing health and reversing disease.
Traditional farmers have a practical understanding of biological terrain. They know that to produce healthy plants and crops, you need to have healthy soil. Healthy soil consists of organic matter, minerals and adequate water. The soil is the plant’s biological terrain. A plant subjected to acid rain, air pollution and chemical fertilizers will become unhealthy and subject to diseases such as rot and insect infestation. Thus it is actually the biological terrain of the plant that ultimately determines its health and not the plant’s germs.
We use the same concept of biological terrain to evaluate the health of a patient and how prone they are to disease. The pH or acid-alkaline balance, the redox potential or relative amount of free radicals, and the resistance or mineral content defines biological terrain in the human. The three body fluids we measure are the blood, the saliva and the urine. Thus we take three readings of three body fluids for a total of nine measurements. This constitutes a biological terrain analysis. This test is done in a doctor’s office using a sophisticated laboratory device linked to a computer. The results are printed and analyzed within minutes of the test. We always perform the test on fasting subjects in the morning to get reliable and consistent results.
What can be learned from the BTA?
The BTA provides a wealth of information about the state of the body’s cells, organs and biochemical balance including:
- Level of acidity of the cells and fluids of the body
- Blood alkalinity as a compensation for tissue acidity
- Tendency of the blood to thicken and become sticky
- Ability of the kidneys to excrete acids and other waste products
- Ability of the cells to produce energy
- Free radical activity in the body
- Mineral deficiencies or excesses in the body
- Digestive enzyme deficiency or efficiency
- Sufficient anti-oxidants in the body
- Candida or dysbiosis
- Liver toxicity
- Lymphatic congestion
- Heavy metal toxicity
- Dehydration
- Immune system breakdown
- Tendency towards degenerative disease
pH and Acid-Alkaline Balance
Acid-alkaline balance is extremely important for body functions. When pH is off balance enzymatic reactions in the body slow down and oxygen delivery to cells is impaired. Microorganisms like viruses, bacteria and yeast grow more easily when the pH of the blood is off balance. Cancer tends to grow more easily in an acidic and oxygen-deprived environment.
Excess acidity in the body is the prevailing imbalance in most people. This is because most things people consume are highly acidifying to the body: coffee, alcohol, sugar, drugs, refined foods and meat all promote acidity. Alkaline foods are the healthiest and include fresh fruits, vegetables, juices, green foods and natural sweeteners. As well, stress, poor digestion, lack of exercise and aging all tend to produce excess acid buildup in the body.
Symptoms of excess acidity include fatigue, achy and stiff joints, heartburn, poor sleep, candida or yeast infections, excess mucus and a tendency to get frequent infections. The primary way to reduce excessive acidity is to switch to an alkaline diet. The alkaline diet consists of eating at least 75 percent of your diet from foods that are alkaline-forming in the blood. This is a tricky concept for most people. Most alkaline foods are fruits and vegetables. Even acidic fruits like citrus are converted to alkaline after digestion in the body. Most grains, sugar, proteins, and refined foods are acidic and should be kept to only 25 percent of your diet.
The body will try to balance excess acid build up in the cells and tissues through the kidneys, if they are functioning properly. The blood will also buffer the excess acids by becoming more alkaline. Human blood is normally slightly alkaline at a pH of 7.3.I have seen people’s venous blood as high as 7.8, which means it is 50 times more alkaline than it should be.
When blood becomes very alkaline it becomes very sludgy and sticky. The red blood cells have a tendency to stick together in rolls called rouleaux. This is commonly seen in the examination of live blood using an in-office microscope. When the cells stick like this, they cannot flow easily in the small capillaries and release oxygen to the cells. Chronically cold extremities can result, as well as generalized fatigue, from a lack of oxygen at the cellular level.
As well, blood that is this alkaline is able to sustain more viral, bacterial and mutated fungal growths. This is the beginning of not only a chronic infection but also chronic disease. When medical researchers discover a microbe associated with a particular ailment they announce that they have discovered the cause of the disease. An example of this was the discovery of the H. pylori bacteria as the cause of stomach ulcers and chlamydia as the cause of arterial plaque. The true cause of these diseases is the acid terrain produced by an unhealthy diet, which then produces conditions favouring the growth of these bacteria. The recommended course of antibiotics will only treat the symptom of the disease and not the true cause. Unfortunately they will change the terrain to favour the growth of fungal organisms such as candida.
Trying to discover the best nutritional program can be a confusing and at times frustrating exercise. We try to eat the best diet we can and to take the appropriate supplements. How do we know if what we are eating and taking is really working for us, taking into account our unique lifestyle and individual body? It seems to involve guesswork, intuition and even faith. Fortunately, there is an approach to the quest for health and inner balance that is accurate and specific to the individual. This approach uses a scientific method to analyze samples of blood, urine and saliva to reveal a unique biological terrain for each individual. The method is called the biological terrain analysis or BTA and has revolutionized the way I practice naturopathic medicine.
Biological terrain was developed over a hundred years ago in France. At that time there was a fierce intellectual battle going on concerning the true cause of disease. Louis Pasteur argued that germs were the sole and only cause of human disease. Claude Bernard argued that both disease and germs emerged only after the internal milieu or chemistry of a person was out of balance. Unfortunately, Pasteur’s germ theory won out and has become the dominant paradigm in medicine. It is said that Pasteur recanted on his deathbed and admitted that Bernard was right, that “the microbe is nothing, terrain is all.”
Germs called viruses are being blamed for more and more diseases today, yet our ability to control them continues to evade us all the more. It is now apparent that germ theory has its limits and that an approach focusing on internal chemical balance, such as biological terrain, is more useful for optimizing health and reversing disease.
Traditional farmers have a practical understanding of biological terrain. They know that to produce healthy plants and crops, you need to have healthy soil. Healthy soil consists of organic matter, minerals and adequate water. The soil is the plant’s biological terrain. A plant subjected to acid rain, air pollution and chemical fertilizers will become unhealthy and subject to diseases such as rot and insect infestation. Thus it is actually the biological terrain of the plant that ultimately determines its health and not the plant’s germs.
We use the same concept of biological terrain to evaluate the health of a patient and how prone they are to disease. The pH or acid-alkaline balance, the redox potential or relative amount of free radicals, and the resistance or mineral content defines biological terrain in the human. The three body fluids we measure are the blood, the saliva and the urine. Thus we take three readings of three body fluids for a total of nine measurements. This constitutes a biological terrain analysis. This test is done in a doctor’s office using a sophisticated laboratory device linked to a computer. The results are printed and analyzed within minutes of the test. We always perform the test on fasting subjects in the morning to get reliable and consistent results.
What can be learned from the BTA?
The BTA provides a wealth of information about the state of the body’s cells, organs and biochemical balance including:
- Level of acidity of the cells and fluids of the body
- Blood alkalinity as a compensation for tissue acidity
- Tendency of the blood to thicken and become sticky
- Ability of the kidneys to excrete acids and other waste products
- Ability of the cells to produce energy
- Free radical activity in the body
- Mineral deficiencies or excesses in the body
- Digestive enzyme deficiency or efficiency
- Sufficient anti-oxidants in the body
- Candida or dysbiosis
- Liver toxicity
- Lymphatic congestion
- Heavy metal toxicity
- Dehydration
- Immune system breakdown
- Tendency towards degenerative disease
pH and Acid-Alkaline Balance
Acid-alkaline balance is extremely important for body functions. When pH is off balance enzymatic reactions in the body slow down and oxygen delivery to cells is impaired. Microorganisms like viruses, bacteria and yeast grow more easily when the pH of the blood is off balance. Cancer tends to grow more easily in an acidic and oxygen-deprived environment.
Excess acidity in the body is the prevailing imbalance in most people. This is because most things people consume are highly acidifying to the body: coffee, alcohol, sugar, drugs, refined foods and meat all promote acidity. Alkaline foods are the healthiest and include fresh fruits, vegetables, juices, green foods and natural sweeteners. As well, stress, poor digestion, lack of exercise and aging all tend to produce excess acid buildup in the body.
Symptoms of excess acidity include fatigue, achy and stiff joints, heartburn, poor sleep, candida or yeast infections, excess mucus and a tendency to get frequent infections. The primary way to reduce excessive acidity is to switch to an alkaline diet. The alkaline diet consists of eating at least 75 percent of your diet from foods that are alkaline-forming in the blood. This is a tricky concept for most people. Most alkaline foods are fruits and vegetables. Even acidic fruits like citrus are converted to alkaline after digestion in the body. Most grains, sugar, proteins, and refined foods are acidic and should be kept to only 25 percent of your diet.
The body will try to balance excess acid build up in the cells and tissues through the kidneys, if they are functioning properly. The blood will also buffer the excess acids by becoming more alkaline. Human blood is normally slightly alkaline at a pH of 7.3.I have seen people’s venous blood as high as 7.8, which means it is 50 times more alkaline than it should be.
When blood becomes very alkaline it becomes very sludgy and sticky. The red blood cells have a tendency to stick together in rolls called rouleaux. This is commonly seen in the examination of live blood using an in-office microscope. When the cells stick like this, they cannot flow easily in the small capillaries and release oxygen to the cells. Chronically cold extremities can result, as well as generalized fatigue, from a lack of oxygen at the cellular level.
As well, blood that is this alkaline is able to sustain more viral, bacterial and mutated fungal growths. This is the beginning of not only a chronic infection but also chronic disease. When medical researchers discover a microbe associated with a particular ailment they announce that they have discovered the cause of the disease. An example of this was the discovery of the H. pylori bacteria as the cause of stomach ulcers and chlamydia as the cause of arterial plaque. The true cause of these diseases is the acid terrain produced by an unhealthy diet, which then produces conditions favouring the growth of these bacteria. The recommended course of antibiotics will only treat the symptom of the disease and not the true cause. Unfortunately they will change the terrain to favour the growth of fungal organisms such as candida.
Dr. Stefan Kuprowsky