This is a powerful statement made by the ancient German-Swiss physician full name Philippus
AureolusTheophrastus Bombastusvon Hohenheim called Paracelsus.
Paracelsus established the role of chemistry in medicine. Another interesting quote from him is
that” The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician. Therefore the physician
must start from nature, with an open mind.”
The earlier quote in full, states that,”everything is a poison: it is only the dose that differentiates
a remedy from a poison”.Today we want to understand why this is so. I would be using different
necessities of life to explain this concept.
The first I will like to talk about is water. We have often heard that water is life. This is because
our body is composed of about 70% water and the rest 30% of the body’s composition is of
muscles, bones, etc. Majority of the water is in the blood and other body cells and
compactments. Major life metabolic processes go on with some amount of water. How
beneficial or harmful water is to the body depends on the amount that we consume and which
is consequently made available inbodycompartments. It is recommended that we drink up to
about 3 litres or 6 satchet water in a day. Up to about 5 litres or more water would be too much
than the body can handle unless in very demanding situations.
Adequate amount of water is needed in order to
Flush out toxins from the body. Regulate body Temperature. Aiding Digestion and to reduce
constipation. Reduce headaches and migraines. Aiding Weight loss and supress appetite. Make
Healthier skin. Relieve tiredness. Aid Faster recovery from hangovers. carry nutrients and
oxygen to your cells. Flush bacteria from your bladder during infections. Normalize blood
pressure. Stabilize heartbeat. Cushioning joints. Protect organs and tissues.
Overhydration or taking in too much water. Leads to depletion of important minerals like
potassium, sodium, calcium and Magnesium.This leads to electrolyte imbalances with
symptoms such as headaches, vomiting and mental disorientation. The kidneys also can’t flush
the water out of our bodies quickly enough and this excess water enters the cells in our body
and causes them to swell. When the brain cells start to swell then the condition can lead to
seizures, comas and potentially death.
Also dehydration or taking in too less water than the body demands can result in: Droping blood
volume and hence decrease in blood pressure leading to fatigue and other health problems
resulting from disruption in normal metabolic processes.
Next is Food. Balanced diet enhances normal growth, While improper feeding causes various
diseases ranging from ones causing the blood vessels to become narrow or blocked with fat
deposits atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis too many lipids in the body hyperlipidaemia or
hypercholesterolaemia and nutrients deficiency diseases, while increasing the risk of
developing some diseases like diabetes hypertension, stroke among other ones
Salt.
Scientifically referrred to as sodium chloride or table salt, is needed for generating of a correct
rhythm of heartbeat as well as maintaining of healthy blood pressure. It’s also ended as part of
essential minerals in the body. Too much causes abnormally too hard and too fast heartbeat,
fluid accumulation, blood pressure rise etc.
Too low causes the heart to beat slowly and with a pressure less than is necessary for the body
to bear. Among other things.
OXYGEN. Too much oxygen in the brain and spinal cord resulting from longer exposure to
increased oxygen levels at normal pressure can lead to lung and eye toxicity. Symptoms may
included is orientation, breathing problems, and vision changes such as myopia, oxidative
damage to cell membranes, collapse of the alveoli in the lungs and seizures etc.
Oxygen toxicity is managed by reducing the exposure to increased oxygen levels. Inadequate
amount of oxygen could lead to respiratory arrest and even death
There are more examples to explain, but all with the basic principle that anything could be AS
GOOD AS THEY ARE BAD. IT IS ACTUALLY THE AMOUNT THAT WE TAKE IN THAT MAKES IT
DANGEROUS OR BENEFICIAL TO OUR HEALTH
