After working with the chronically ill for decades, our team at the Institute for Restorative Health has encountered a multitude of unusual symptoms. Just a few examples include a patient report the feeling of oozing into the floor, a sensation of carbonation running under the skin, and even feeling like the skin is thin and then thick, all within a few minutes. It is important to us, as health practitioners, to take a non-judgmental approach as we stride alongside our patients throughout their health journey. Instead of dismissing their experiences as all in their head, we listen to the story intently to find the clues that others have missed.
The oddest, yet most common, list of mysterious symptoms falls into a category we refer to as “Moon Sickness.” Yup, you heard me right – Moon Sickness. Now, if you are reading this and have not experienced this phenomenon, you may be very skeptical about its validity. On the other hand, if this is familiar territory for you, be prepared for potential answers to this very old, yet perplexing, mystery.
My working theory behind this full moon effect revolves around the bodies inability to communicate appropriately during aggressive, although natural shifts, in the environment caused by various phases of the moon. This theory is based on both published scientific research and data extrapolated from the hundreds of patient stories in our own clinical experience.
To lay a foundation for our discussion of this phenomenon, I would like to review what everyone already knows – we all need water to survive. In fact, we can only survive for a few days without water.
But what else does water affect?
We know that water aides in digestion. It is necessary for creating hormones and neurotransmitters. It facilitates the body’s ability to regulate temperature. Most importantly, as it relates to this topic, is water’s ability to flush toxic debris from the body and promote both cellular healing and optimal organ function. Water plays a critical role in our body’s ability to transport materials throughout our system in an efficient manner. Debris within the cardiovascular and lymphatic drainage channels create an environment of higher than normal surface tension which is problematic for overall health.
The amount of water, in any given human, varies depending on age, gender and size. Dr. Jeffrey Utz, Neuroscience Pediatrics at Allegheny University, states that babies and children have a higher percentage of water than adults. Women contain less water than men. Those with higher amounts of fatty tissue contain a smaller amount of water compared to people with less body fat.1 A lower percentage of water content, leads to poor debris clearing, sluggish, sticky lymph and worsened circulation.
Ideally, our daily water consumption should equal half our body weight in ounces. For example, a 200-pound individual should have a daily water-intake goal of 100 ounces. This amount should increase by 20% for every 30 minutes of daily exercise or any activity that causes sweating.
But, what does this have to do with Moon Sickness?
Do you find yourself suffering from increased headaches, neurological symptoms, muscular aches and pains, as well as parasite symptoms during a full moon? Do you experience the all too common, heightened menstrual pain and flu-like feeling when your period happens to coincide with a full moon? If so, keep reading for an explanation behind these weird full moon symptoms.
In my clinical experience, women have a greater tendency to suffer effects from the full moon due to a lower percentage of water in their body and a buildup of waste in their system. Also, low blood pressure, due to sludgy, slow-moving lymph and blood may contribute to a higher likelihood of adverse effects tied to the phases of the moon.
Conventional medical research has viewed the concept of the full moon’s effect on physical and psychological health as more fable than fact. However, I wholeheartedly believe the hundreds of subjective complaints that my patients have shared with me over the years.
I remember a patient of mine who was no longer able to go outside. She literally closed her shades and lived in relative darkness. She stopped using computers and never watched TV which left her with absolutely no frame of reference as to the day of the month. She simply recorded her symptoms and from those records, she was able to tell the exact phase of the moon.
I wish I could make this stuff up, but lunar effects are an occurrence that some of my patients experience consistently every month.
While reading one night, I found research by the Sussex police force in Great Britain chronicling a rise in violent crime when the moon was full.8 This reminded me of the stories my father told of being a volunteer firefighter in a small, rural community. Frequently when there was a full moon, he would be dispatched, including one night when a bizarre event occurred involving a naked man running down the street while a burning bale of hay was rolling in front of him. You can’t make this stuff up!
To continue exploring the connection between the full moon and chronic illness, let’s review a few additional points. Many doctors and their patients do not realize that parasites have a much greater affinity to heavy metals than their hosts.2 I find this very interesting.
Review the blog on (Discovering Valuable Clues in the New Polymicrobial Lyme Research), for evidence that the body can balance multiple microbes in equal ratios. These research-based antibody tests concluded no one microbe was represented more predominantly than another in cases of Lyme Disease.
Since the body has an ability to regulate multiple microbes, it may also compensate by lowering its immune response to parasites. When parasites “overpopulate” the body, they take on heavy metals from the system reducing the burden of the host cells. We frequently see a correlation between patients with a high number of parasites carrying a greater heavy metal burden. The more parasites, the worse the patient feels during full moon phases.
Compounding these factors in Moon Sickness are the added effects of barometric pressure and gravitational forces upon fluids in our body, plus the ratio of positive to negative ions in our environment. This all points to a biological electro-kinetic phenomena4 playing a role in our patients suffering during these times of the month.
Our bodies consist of both negatively and positively charged ions but possess a higher number of negative ions. Negative ions are healthy for the body3. Forested areas, mountains, and water create a multitude of negative ions, the very ions that make us feel good. For this reason, you will notice that people who spend a great deal of time in these locations tend to have healthier and happier lives.
To optimize our health, we want to avoid a high number of positive ions (small particulates that have gained a positive charge). Unfortunately, for most of us living within cities, positive ions are more problematic than elsewhere. The increased levels of positive ions in large office buildings are due to electrical grids, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi equipment. In fact, the impending new 5G network will scatter high concentrations of positive ions from rooftop to rooftop. It is important to remember that most positive ions are from air pollution, toxic chemical exposure, pesticides, herbicides, high pollen, mold counts, and most heavy metals.
The claim that the full moon creates a positive ion environment is highly debated. However, the anecdotal evidence appears to suggest that the way the moon effects positive ions on the earth’s surface directly correlates with our body’s reactions. What we are certain of, through peer-reviewed research, is that positive ions can cause symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, anxiety, migraines and headaches, nausea, heart palpitations, hot flashes with sweating or chills, tremors, dizziness and depression, all of which are experienced in greater instances by our patients during different moon phases.
Water is a large part of who we are. As delicate creatures, we require very precise measurements of different fluids in our body in order to maintain life. For instance, our blood has a pH of 7.35-7.45, just slightly alkaline. If this pH goes in one direction or another, beyond an acceptable range, death or serious illness occurs. The body quickly balances its own pH by pulling calcium or potassium from the bones to regulate acidity and alkalinity in the blood. The more positive ions present in our environment from pollution and toxins, the more acidic our pH level will become. This can cause symptoms of headache, confusion, fatigue, and sleeplessness and a general flu like feeling.
Simply stated, the human body reacts to gravitational forces and atmospheric pressure changes. This affects healthy people, not only the ill. When we find ourselves with altitude sickness as we travel from sea level to mountain tops, or when large barometric pressure systems come barreling past our homes, this becomes clearly evident. Barometric pressure and gravity affect many dynamics within the body.5 Changes in sinus pressure as a result of changes in the pressure of our environment, can cause sinus headaches and migraines. A drop in barometric pressure can cause discomfort and joint pain that plague both sports injured adults and senior citizens.
The bodily fluids in a chronically ill individual become stagnant. As they become more debris filled, fluidity slows down even further, taxing the immune system and other systems responsible for balance in the body. This can be attributed to many causes, such as OTC medications like Tylenol or Ibuprofen, fast food, chemical laden cleaning products, prescription medications, and other environmental toxins. When reacting with positive ions in your body, the result is slow-moving, sticky blood and lymph that react very differently during the cycles of the moon, or pressure system changes.
The theory behind “Moon Sickness” presented here is purely anecdotal based on years of clinical experience. However, considering the hundreds of patients who have reported these experiences, I am fully convinced that bio-magnetic fields, barometric pressure fluctuations, as well as exposures to heavy metals and parasites influence patients who are struggling with chronic conditions. Individuals who fall into this “Moon Sickness” category need to be taken seriously and receive targeted protocols to ease their suffering.
Stay tuned for more upcoming blog posts, which further explore the connection between an increase in symptoms and the full moon. If you or someone you know experience similar health difficulties like the ones our patients describe, reach out to us to see how we can help you reclaim, restore and renew your health.
References:
- The Water in You: Water and the Human Body, www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-you-water-and-human-body?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects.
- Sures, B., et al. “Parasites as Accumulation Indicators of Heavy Metal Pollution.” Parasitology Today, vol. 15, no. 1, 1999, pp. 16–21., doi:10.1016/s0169-4758(98)01358-1.
- Mann, Denise. “Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes.” WebMD, WebMD, 6 May 2002, www.webmd.com/balance/features/negative-ions-create-positive-vibes#1.
- “Electrokinetic Phenomena.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Sept. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrokinetic_phenomena.
