Clinical PNI – Scientific Mind-Body Therapy
Clinical psycho-neuro-immunology (cPNI) originates from the science of PNI, which was
developed in the early 1980s by the Americans Ader, Felten and Cohen. At the Natura
Foundation, the knowledge centre for clinical PNI and nutritional therapy, the body of thought
relating to PNI has undergone further development and elaboration, enabling this discipline to
be used in clinical practice by Dutch pioneers, the late Bram van Dam and Leo Pruimboom.
Since then, psycho-neuro-immunology has undergone tremendous growth and plays a key role
as the science which links the existing medical specialisms together.
Clinical PNI is a clinical specialty that is characterised by international scientists working closely
together, who principally conduct research into the interactions between the nervous system
and the immune system, and the mutual relationship between behaviour and health. However,
cPNI is not only an academic matter. Quite the contrary: it is a practical science that offers a
wide range of treatment options for obesity, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome,
depression and many more modern day disorders. As the aforementioned potential uses in the
public health sector are at the forefront of cPNI, clinical PNI is spoken of. Food in all its forms,
exercise, psychosocial interventions, epigenetics, resoleomics and deep learning are a few
cornerstones of the therapy in clinical PNI.
Science in practice
The method applied by the cPNI therapist is the result of many decades of research and the
effectiveness of this method is endorsed by more than 3,000 practising therapists and physicians
from various countries. The majority of cPNI scientists have many years of experience practising
(nutritional and natural) medicine and are active in the health care sector. To this end, it is
interesting to take a look at the origin of Western medicine. In around the year 1200, at
universities scholarly doctors mainly studied the original writings of Hippocrates and Galen, whilst
barber-surgeons (mobile barbers) performed surgery on the diseased. The craftsmen were
lacking in medical-theoretical knowledge, whilst the practical knowledge of the actual surgery
remained an unknown to the scholarly doctors. Unimpeded further development of medical
science was not possible until the Renaissance, when the aforementioned two groups started to
work closer together. This example clearly demonstrates that theory and practice cannot be
treated as separate entities in (natural) medicine. For that reason, clinical PNI opts for a practical
scientific approach, enabling smoother integration of valuable scientific knowledge into
everyday practice.
An essential addition
Clinical PNI does not only bridge theory and practice, but essential correlations are also made in
the scientific field. The main disciplines that are brought together are psychology, neurology,
immunology, endocrinology, evolutionary biology and epigenetics. Research has revealed that
human physiology and the external environment interact dynamically. A precise subdivision into
medical specialisms is particularly of importance in emergency medicine, but obstructs the
understanding, and, because of that, ultimately the treatment of less acute (chronic) disorders.
Complex interactions that are psychological, neurological and immunological in nature often
underlie these disorders; when just one of these factors is examined, it is impossible to find a
satisfactory health solution for the problem as a whole. Clinical PNI accurately examines in closer
detail the various interactions in order to gain an integrated picture of human health, based on
which therapeutic strategies can be drawn up which ignore the treatment of symptoms and
grasp the problem at its root. This full overview means clinical PNI is an essential addition to firstline
medical care.
Clinical epigenetics
One of the most spectacular insights in clinical PNI is that our genes have less of an effect on our
behaviour and our health than has been assumed to date. The discipline that studies these
effects is called ‘epigenetics’. Epigenetics work ‘on top of’ genetics. Our genotype is coded in
our DNA, but not all of our genes are expressed in our phenotype. The epimechanism dictates
which genes are switched on and off. We inherit this mechanism from our parents and this is
influenced by nutrition, exercise, the use of medicine and the environment. A large-scale
Swedish study has revealed that even the influences of our parents on the epimechanism are
hereditary. Even if the influential epigenetic factors are hereditary they are fortunately not
irreversible. This fact is one of the fundamentals of cPNI therapy; the epimechanism can be
influenced in such a way that (chronic) diseases can be prevented or even healed. Of prime
importance to this are nutrient-rich food, sufficient exercise, natural supplementation and a
healthy environment.
Resoleomics
Another important cornerstone in cPNI therapy is resoleomics; this word is derived from the English
verb “to resolve”. As part of the healing process, resoleomics drive the physiological
inflammatory response, thereby offering the body a ‘solution’ to a potentially life-threatening
problem. Evolution is responsible for a response to tissue damage, where the start of the
inflammation also immediately heralds the beginning of the end of the inflammation. The genes
that are responsible for a healthy inflammatory response were created millions of years ago, at a
time when our diet mainly consisted of fish, crustaceans and shellfish. These genes have not
changed, but the environment in which they have to perform has undergone a revolution.
Inflammation inhibitors, food which lacks nutrients, a lack of exercise and other modern ways of
life have a disruptive effect on our gene expression. The inflammatory response itself is, in
principle, good, but in our current environment, this can change to chronic inflammation, the
result being an increased risk of developing a variety of present-day disorders, including
cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. To enable resoleomics to function correctly, our eating
habits have to be brought more in line with the diet that, from an evolutionary point of view, our
genes are more able to cope with. Omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, arachidonic acid
and natural sources of salicylic acid are essential for resoleomics to function effectively.
The power of deep learning
A powerful treatment strategy available to the cPNI therapist is deep learning. The deep learning
process is a technique that therapists wish to entrench in their clients in order to put into motion a
required behavioural change. This learning process is characterised by improved internalisation
of what has been learned, because the client is encouraged to integrate the new information
with knowledge that is already available to him. The general aim is that the client is able to place
himself in the midst of his health problems with an active solution-oriented attitude and
appropriate positive expectations of the future. The cPNI therapist acts as a coach in this
process, someone who can answer the client’s questions and explain the set of symptoms, risk
factors and disrupted body processes and how these can be improved. The therapy is personal,
scientifically substantiated and is founded on the client’s own commitment. An important
consequence is that the client feels that he/she is being taken seriously. This enables feelings of
despair and powerlessness to make room for motivation and a feeling of being in control, which
is a basic condition for the successful progress of the therapy. This enables the client to help to
actively participate in the path towards health and ensures he/she is also more capable of
taking preventive measures for the future.
From care of the sick to health care
Clinical PNI is of great importance to the health of modern man. Increasingly, the science is
discovering that we are unable to extract ourselves from our evolutionary background and the
specific environment from which we originated. Along with the social structure in existence since
time immemorial, this environment formed a balanced entity with the human genome. Insight
and integrated knowledge of nutrition, immunology, endocrinology, neurology, psychology,
sociology and pathology both in the present and the past therefore create opportunities within
cPNI to promote health as much as possible and to reduce the burden of disease. A growing
group of therapists, physicians and scientists share this knowledge and experience through
seminars, training courses, universities and other collaborating institutes. Only in such a
cooperative atmosphere will it be possible for the care of the sick of today to also really become
health care in the future.
Maurice Kool & André Frankhuizen, Bonusan http://www.naturafoundation.co.uk/
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