The Biology of Belief - Bruce H. Lipton [44]
In my research on human blood vessel cells, I experienced firsthand the limits imposed by redundant signaling pathways. In the body, histamine is an important chemical signal that initiates the cells’ stress response. When histamine is present in the blood that nourishes the arms and legs, the stress signal produces large gaping pores in the walls of the blood vessels. The opening of these holes in the blood vessel’s wall is the first step in launching a local inflammatory reaction. However, if histamine is added to blood vessels in the brain, the same histamine signal increases the flow of nutrition to the neurons, enhancing their growth and specialized functions. In times of stress, the increased nutrition signaled by histamine enables the brain to ramp up its activity in order to better deal with the perceived impending emergency. This is an example of how the same histamine signal can create two diametrically opposed effects, depending on the site where the signal is released. (Lipton, et al, 1991)
One of the most ingenious characteristics of the body’s sophisticated signaling system is its specificity. If you have a poison ivy rash on your arm, the relentless itchiness results from the release of histamine, the signal molecule that activates an inflammatory response to the ivy’s allergen. Since there is no need to start itching all over your body, the histamine is only released at the site of the rash. Similarly, when a person is confronted with a stressful life experience, the release of histamine within the brain increases blood flow to the nervous tissues, enhancing the neurological processing required for survival. The release of histamine in the brain to deal with stress behaviors is restricted and does not lead to the initiation of inflammation responses in other parts of the body. Like the National Guard, histamine is deployed only where it is needed and for as long as it is needed.
But most of the medical industry’s drugs have no such specificity. When you take an antihistamine to deal with the itchiness of an allergic rash, the ingested drug is distributed systemically. It affects histamine receptors wherever they are located throughout the whole body. Yes, the antihistamine will curb the blood vessels’ inflammatory response, dramatically reducing allergic symptoms. However, when the antihistamine enters the brain, it inadvertently alters neural circulation that then impacts nerve function. That’s why people who take over-the-counter antihistamines may experience allergy relief and also the side effect of feeling drowsy.
A recent example of tragic adverse reactions to drug therapy is the debilitating and life-threatening side effects associated with synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Estrogen’s best-known influence is on the function of the female reproductive system. However, more recent studies on the distribution of estrogen receptors in the body reveal that they, and of course their complementary estrogen signal molecules, play an important role in the normal function of blood vessels, the heart, and the brain. Doctors have routinely prescribed synthetic estrogen to alleviate menopausal symptoms associated with the shutting-down of a woman’s reproductive system. However, pharmaceutical estrogen therapy does not focus the drug’s effects on the intended target tissues. The drug also impacts and disturbs the estrogen receptors of the heart, the blood vessels, and the nervous system. Synthetic hormone replacement therapy has been shown to have disturbing side effects that result in cardiovascular disease and neural dysfunctions