For the Health of It: Bounce!

The Health Benefits of Rebounding

Rebounding is a form of exercise that has been scientifically proven to improve the immune system and flow of the lymphatic system.  Rebounding involves jumping on a mini trampoline; this increases both blood and lymph circulation. The body contains 5-6 quarts of blood, which is circulated by the heart. There is three times more lymph in the body than blood and it does not have a pump like blood does.  We have to depend on our muscles to contract in order to move the lymph.  Yet there is so much of it that if a person’s lymphatic system were to stop functioning loss of fluid volume and swelling tissue would cause death within 24 hours. That is how important circulation of both blood and lymph is for the body.  Blood carries protein, oxygen, nutrients to the organs.  Once inside the organs it exchanges it's nutrients and carries wastes and carbon dioxide away.  Lymph is the leftover blood that leaks from blood capillaries into the tissue that the lymphatic vessels pick up.  Lymph fluid contains water, proteins, salts, lipids, and white blood cells that must return to the blood.  It also filters toxins like pathogens, damaged cells, cellular debris and cancerous cells in lymph nodes on it’s way to the chest where it is connected to a blood vessel and gets dumped back into the blood supply.  

I love how Dr. Samuel West puts it, ’Toxins are carried through the body by blood. These toxins include impurities of what we eat, inhale and ingest.  This causes an increase in blood protein and water to leak out of the capillaries into the interstitial space around the cells causing swelling (edema).  The swelling prevents oxygen from getting into the cells, causing cellular stress which can lead to various forms of diseases.’  Dr. Samuel west was  One of the first doctors in U.S. to talk about the importance of the lymphatic system in the healing process of disease and injuries. He believed that the #1 cause of diseases and pain are a lack of oxygen due to a congested lymphatic system.  Rebounding gets circulation moving.  All  forms of exercise work on the principle of opposing gravity, rebounding utilizes the forces of gravity, as well as the forces of acceleration and deceleration.  When you land on a rebounder, every cell in the body has to adjust to the increased deceleration. When the springs take over and push the body up into the air, then the body has to adjust to a weightless condition for only a moment at a time. But that weightless condition is throughout the entire body regardless of where the cells are.  Having the body adjust to an environment that it is not used to, which is deceleration at the bottom of the bounce promotes the flow of lymph, thereby helping the body flush out toxins and strengthening the immune system and making it more effective.

The way the lymphatic system works is the lymphocytes, the white blood cells, are moved through the body via one-way valves. You’ve got these valves from the bottom of the feet upwards throughout the entire body – and the valves from the legs all point upwards, from your neck they go down, from the arms they go towards the chest. So when you move the body around, the lymph fluid is always moving in one direction, that is towards the collarbones.

It’s here, at the top of the chest, the lymph valves allow the lymph fluid to flow into the bloodstream.  By activating the one-way valves  of the lymphatic system, you cause an increase in lymph circulation by 10-30 times of what the lymphatic system is able to circulate during periods of rest, lymph flow is sluggish and almost zero.  So when you bounce on a rebounder, or jump on the floor, or use a jump rope, the one-way valves open and close about 100 times a minute, circulating the lymph fluid, removing toxins and getting the white blood cells to areas of the body where they need to be.

Without adequate movement the lymph does not move and the lymph vessels can’t even pick up the lymph from the tissue.  This means the cells are left stewing in their own waste products and starving for nutrients and oxygen, a situation that contributes to arthritis, cancer and other degenerative diseases.  

Rebounding is great for the lymph system because the lymph vessels move the lymph in one direction, towards the heart that makes the  vertical up-and-down movement of rebounding more effective than horizontal motion workouts, such as jogging and running.  It’s nice for the joints in general too because the rebounder gets rid of the pressure the joints take when hitting the pavement.  

Poor lymph flow is common in sedentary people; this is one reason why less active individuals are more susceptible to illness. Sedentary people who have poor diets or choose to live on junk food are often unwell because the body sends all the toxins and waste to the lymphatic system. The lymph flow is poor due to a lack of exercise, so toxins accumulate in the body.

Additional benefits of rebounding include:

• Increased lymphocyte activity 

• Physically strengthens muscles

• Helps improve balance

• Improves cardiovascular function

Linda Brooks says gently bouncing on a rebounder for two minutes every hour is an ideal protocol for fighting against cancer. Within just two minutes the entire lymphatic system is flushed, creating a demand for more lymphocytes, including killer T-cells. The white blood-cell count is approximately tripled during this two-minute rebounding session.

Approximately one hour after rebounding, the white blood-cell count returns to normal, so it is time to rebound again to flush out the lymphatic system and to create another army of defensive cells. The object of this pattern is to keep the immune system operating optimally and naturally, hour after hour, day after day.

Rebounding exercise also strengthens each cell of the body so that healing can occur. Every process of every cell is enhanced allowing each organ to do its job more efficiently: digestion and absorption are enhanced; elimination is improved, thus removing more toxins from the body; and the body is relaxed and de-stressed so healing hormones are produced.

She explains that practice of rebounding against cancer is done using the “health bounce”.  Here is an explanation of the health bounce along with other rebounding exercises you can do.  

The Health Bounce

The health bounce is where the feet never leave trampoline. This still has positive effect. You’re getting all the one-way valves to open and close at the same time, increasing the activity of the lymphatic system throughout the entire body. 

The Basic Bounce

This can be done instead of the Strength Bounce below until you develop more balance.

1 Stand on the rebounder with your feet shoulder width apart.

2 Relax shoulders and arms and keep arms slightly bent at the elbow.

3 Gently bounce up and down while keeping your knees slightly bent. Your feet should never leave the trampoline surface more than a few inches.

The Strength Bounce

1 Stand on the rebounder with your feet shoulder width apart.

2 Relax shoulders and arms and keep arms slightly bent at the elbow.

3 Gently bounce up and down while keeping your knees slightly bent. Your feet should leave the trampoline surface approximately 8-12 inches.

High Knees

This is a terrific exercise that gets your heart rate up while working the muscles of your core.

1 Stand on trampoline surface with your feet hip distance apart.

2 Raise your right knee, lower it, then raise your left knee and lower it.

3 Once you feel able, begin doing the knee raises as if you are running in place.

4 Variation: Sprints – go as fast as you can in short bursts.

Butt Kickers

1 Stand on trampoline surface with your feet hip distance apart.

2 Begin jogging in place.

3 When your knee goes up, kick yourself in the tush with your heel.

Jumping Jacks

This will increase your heart rate while working both the inner and outer thighs.

1 Stand on the rebounder with your feet together

2 Jump up off the trampoline surface a few inches while extending arms out, up and overhead

3 Return to the starting position and repeat.

Twisting Jumps

1 Stand on the rebounder with your feet together

2 Jump up off the trampoline surface a few inches while twisting your body to the left.

3 On your next jump, twist your body to the right.

One Leg Jumps

1 Stand on the rebounder with your feet shoulder width apart

2 Begin jumping on one leg for 3-10 bounces.

3 Switch legs and jump on the other leg for 3-10 bounces.

4 Variation: kick out the leg you are not jumping on.

5 Variation: alternate legs every bounce, kicking out non-jumping leg.

Sample Beginner Routine

These are perfect rebounder workouts for beginners.

1 Health bounce for two minutes while breathing deeply.

2 Strength bounce for 3 minutes (do the basic bounce if you don't have enough balance for the strength bounce).

3 Health bounce for an additional 2-3 minutes while breathing deeply.

4 Repeat three times daily.

Sample Advanced Routine

1 Health bounce for 2 minutes while breathing deeply.

2 Strength bounce for 3 minutes.

3 High knees alternating with butt kickers for 3 minutes.

4 10-15 second sprint.

5 Jumping jacks for 3 minutes.

6 Twisting jumps for 2 minutes.

7 10-15 second sprint.

8 Strength bounce for 1 minute.

9 Health bounce (cool down) for 2 minutes.

For stability, most retailers of rebounders sell an optional handlebar to attach to the rebounder to help with balance. For balance you can also place the rebounder beside a wall or in a doorway and using the door frame or wall to help keep you balanced while performing rebound exercise.

I have seen improvement with my patients doing as little as 5 minutes a day of rebounding.  

How Healthy pH Levels Can Help With COVID-19

An overlooked aspect of the coronavirus pandemic is the fact that most viruses are pH sensitive. pH medicine offers us a key to treating viral infections that is easy, safe and inexpensive. Shifting a patient's pH, combined with high dosages of vitamin C, vitamin D and other immune boosting support is foundational support to both treat and prevent COVID-19.  

There are many additional treatments like zinc, glutathione, iodine and selenium, even hydrogen, but the first thing we should reach for is baking soda aka sodium bicarbonate, which offers us control of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

Wherever the body has low voltage (pH), the cells begin to have problems that get more serious the lower the voltage goes. The lower the voltage goes, the lower the pH goes, and the lower oxygen levels go.  Chronic disease is associated with low pH values (acid conditions).  This means that alkaline (higher pH) tissues have more oxygen in them. 

Wherever the body becomes acidic, voltage drops as does tissue oxygen levels. What is pH after all? It is ultimately a measure of redox potential. Redox potential is a measure of whether electrons are available in surplus (and thus are “electron donors”) or whether electrons are positive (and thus are “electron stealers”). Electrons are necessary for life and are needed for health and in high quantities for healing and the growth of new cells.

Dr. David Brownstein wrote, “The human body is constantly removing old and injured cells and replacing them with healthy new cells. This process can only occur if the voltage of the cells is maintained at an optimal level. This process works more effectively when we are young as compared to when we are older. In the body (or in a solution), voltage is a direct reflection of pH, which is a measure of the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution, measured on a scale of 1 to 14. A low pH reading (highly acidic) indicates a low voltage state. Conversely, a high pH reading (highly alkaline) means a high voltage state.”

The amount of oxygen in cells is determined by voltage. If a cell has adequate voltage, it will also have adequate oxygen. If cellular voltage is low, the amount of oxygen in the tissues will be low. This applies to metabolism as well. When voltage and oxygen are low, metabolism becomes anaerobic, which means that oxygen is unavailable. The more aerobic metabolism we have the healthier we are.  

So now that you know what pH is you need to know that the Coronavirus needs a slightly acidic pH to penetrate the cell. The simple alkalinization of the blood reduces the cells susceptibility to the virus and this goes for lots of other viruses and pathogens as well.  When we are alkaline we invariably don't get sick or have mild attacks of viral infections and the same is true for bacterial and fungus infections. Studies have shown there is significant decrease in the growth of bacteria and fungi in the lungs of pneumonia patients when sodium bicarbonate is used compared to saline during nebulizer treatments.  

Although the pH of blood ranges from 7.35-7.45, the pH of other body fluids is different. If the pH blood levels drop below 6.9, it can lead to coma. The pH of saliva is ranges from 6.5 to 7.5. After swallowing, the food reaches the stomach where upper and lower parts of stomach have different pH values. The upper part has a pH of 4.0−6.5, while the lower part is highly acidic with a pH of 1.5−4.0. It then enters the intestine which is slightly alkaline, with a pH of 7.0−8.5. Maintaining the pH values of different regions is critical for their function and good digestion.  

Any increase or decrease in the blood pH can lead to inflammation and we know inflammation is the cause of all disease.  Maintaining the right pH is so important to have good health.  The body does this using primarily three mechanisms: buffer systems, respiratory control, and renal control.

Proteins form a part of the buffer system to regulate the pH levels. These proteins can act as electron acceptors or donors because of the presence of basic or acidic groups. Similarly phosphate buffers also help in moderating the levels of pH. Buffers may help in regulating pH during minor physiological changes, such as during breath holding (which increases the CO2 in the blood), exercise (which increases lactic acid in the blood), or when stomach acid is secreted.

The pH of blood during normal conditions is 7.4. However, CO2 dissociates into carbonic acid in the tissues. Thus, presence of more CO2 makes the blood more acidic. That is the reason when we hold our breath for long durations, the CO2 levels increase in the blood lowering our pH leading to fainting. On the other hand with increased pH, the breathing may get slow in order to increase the CO2 levels and reduce the alkalinity. However, low breathing rate could also lead to low oxygen levels which could be detrimental. Thus, respiration provides an important control to regulate the pH levels.  We already know how important breathing and lung support is for the Coronavirus.  For more info on good breathing techniques, click here. 

The kidneys (renal system) regulates the pH of water in your body. The changes in pH induced by the respiratory system are in minutes, while the changes induced by the renal system are in the order of days. If the acidity of the fluids is high, kidney secretes H+ ions, while if the carbonate ion levels are high it retains H+ ions and secretes HCO3 ions. Although this process is slow it can prove an effective mode to regulate pH. One limitation of renal regulation is that the pH of urine cannot be below 4.4 so renal regulation can only do so much. 

Respiratory acidosis occurs when too much CO2 builds up in the body. Normally, the lungs remove CO2 while you breathe. However, sometimes your body can’t get rid of enough CO2. This may happen due to:

• chronic airway conditions, like asthma
• injury to the chest
• obesity, which can make breathing difficult
• sedative misuse
• overuse of alcohol
• muscle weakness in the chest
• problems with the nervous system
• deformed chest structure

Metabolic acidosis starts in the kidneys instead of the lungs. It occurs when they can’t eliminate enough acid or when they get rid of too much base. There are four major forms of metabolic acidosis:

1. Diabetic acidosis occurs in people with diabetes that’s poorly controlled. If your body lacks enough insulin, ketones build up in your body and acidify your blood.

2. Hyperchloremic acidosis results from a loss of sodium bicarbonate. This base helps to keep the blood neutral. Both diarrhea and vomiting can cause this type of acidosis.

3. Lactic acidosis occurs when there’s too much lactic acid in your body. Causes can include chronic alcohol use, heart failure, cancer, seizures, liver failure, prolonged lack of oxygen, and low blood sugar. Even prolonged exercise can lead to lactic acid buildup.

4. Renal tubular acidosis occurs when the kidneys are unable to excrete acids into the urine. This causes the blood to become acidic.

Factors that can contribute to your risk of acidosis include:

• kidneys not functioning
• obesity
• dehydration
• aspirin or methanol poisoning
• diabetes

If you body is too acidic which most people's are, here are some common symptoms:

• fatigue or drowsiness
• becoming tired easily
• confusion
• shortness of breath
• headache
• lack of appetite
• jaundice - yellow skin
• increased heart rate
• breath that smells fruity, which is a sign of diabetic acidosis 

If you think you may have acidosis, you can get blood work to check your pH levels and your kidney function.  Blood work can also check your calcium, protein, blood sugar, and electrolyte levels which are all important levels to know to see if the body is too acidic.  

If you are concerned about respiratory acidosis is you want to test the health of your lungs. This may involve a chest X-ray or a pulmonary function test.

If metabolic acidosis is suspected, you’ll need to give a urine sample. Doctors will check the pH to see if you are properly eliminating acids and bases. 

Now that I know the relationship between pH and viruses I will start checking oral pH in the office to keep everyone healthy.  It's a quick easy thing that can give us a good idea of your overall pH and the health of the mouth which is part of the digestive tract.  Based on the results we may test you for mineral drops, phosphorus drops or add a baking soda drink in the morning on an empty stomach to help become less acidic.  The less alcohol you consume and the more water you drink can also help your pH levels.  Chlorophyl can also be very helpful in supplement form or just increase your intake of green leafy veggies.  Because this coronavirus likes to hit the back of the throat and go into the lungs the less acidic our mouth and throat are the better.  A mouth wash can really help but not the Lysterine types.  You need to get a more natural one and I love Oxy Pulling mouth wash.  It advertises to do Oxy Pulling instead of oil pulling but instead I love to do them together.  The extra oxygen is exactly what the mouth and throat need to kill any germs and keep the body healthy.