| Most people, when they first experience the work | | | | arm away. Because it's not being exposed to |
| I do, find it somewhere between incredible and | | | | outside influences, it will resist completely. (If |
| impossible. And objectively speaking, it is a little | | | | there's injury or pervasive weakness in these |
| amazing that simply through testing someone's | | | | areas, we can employ different muscle tests.) If it |
| muscles and reflexes, in a practice called Nutrition | | | | tests ok, the next thing I do is have the patient |
| Response Testing (NRT), I can get clear and | | | | put her thumb, ring and pinky fingertips together |
| accurate answers about a person's state of | | | | on each hand separately (with her eyes opened |
| health. This effective, noninvasive, modality is a | | | | and closed). This reveals whether a person may |
| key tool of holistic nutrition. | | | | have dysfunction in the parasympathetic and |
| NRT is a systematic type of analysis that is | | | | sympathetic nervous system. |
| conducted using manual muscle testing, | | | | A positive reading changes my course of the |
| neurological reflexes and acupuncture points. The | | | | testing. Assuming it's negative, as it is 90 percent |
| underlying principle is that the body is run by | | | | of the time, the next step is to test for blocked |
| chemical and electrical signals that are sent from | | | | regulation of the autonomic nervous system. I put |
| (and back to) the brain via the spinal cord and the | | | | my hand over three different reflex points, and I |
| fluid nervous system. All of our organs are | | | | test muscle response to determine whether the |
| controlled by the brain and nervous system, and | | | | patient has autonomic dysregulation. Very sick |
| our hundreds of muscles are controlled by and | | | | people have autonomic dysregulation to some |
| connected to the nervous system. If there is an | | | | degree. They are stuck with either the |
| interference with electrical messages, the result is | | | | accelerator going or, the brakes on. |
| a weakened muscle. | | | | I also work with acupuncture points, which are |
| A healthy, unafflicted muscle is naturally strong | | | | related to different organs or glands. This is my |
| and will resist average resistance. What you | | | | direct testing technique to determine if there is a |
| probably think of as simple muscle strength is | | | | weakness in an organ or gland. I touch points |
| actually a much deeper connection to nerves, | | | | throughout the body, starting with the head and |
| organs, glands and all of the systems of the body. | | | | working down the torso. The analogy in the |
| When I subject clients to certain substances that | | | | conventional-medical world is hooking a patient up |
| they may be intolerant of, then apply average | | | | to a device that tests the electrical function of |
| resistance and the muscle response changes | | | | the heart or the conduction of specific nerves and |
| dramatically and go weak, I know this is a | | | | then records the findings on a graph or a chart. |
| reflection of a compromise on a deeper level. | | | | With NRT, the practitioner, for all intents and |
| Even the gentlest of pressure will weaken the | | | | purposes, becomes the device. Instead of |
| arm if there is an underlying dysfunction in an | | | | connecting electrodes to the specific points being |
| area that corresponds to a specific organ or gland. | | | | tested, I contact these points with my hands. |
| In NRT, we are interested in neurological reflexes | | | | With my other hand, I test the muscle of the |
| because they are connected to the autonomic | | | | extended arm. If it is a problem area or is |
| nervous system. The autonomic nervous system | | | | dysfunctional, the nervous system responds with |
| controls the function of our organs. It is divided | | | | weakness to the arm. The patient will feel as if |
| into the sympathetic nervous system (think "fight | | | | her arm is becoming weak to the point, that even |
| or flight," the body's accelerator) and the | | | | if she tried with all her might, she couldn't do |
| parasympathetic nervous system (think "rest and | | | | anything to keep her arm in a raised position. |
| digest," the body's brake). The neurological | | | | To the practitioner, even the gentlest application |
| reflexes reflect the functioning of the delicate | | | | of pressure causes the patient's arm to fall. Now, |
| balance of these two systems. | | | | let's say I touch the acupuncture point for the |
| That's the underlying theory of the system. Are | | | | kidney and liver and the patient's muscle response |
| you with me so far? So the way NRT session | | | | is weakness (the arm drops). My next step is to |
| works are, after talking to a patient and reviewing | | | | place supplements on the body or in the hand and |
| her symptoms, I conduct the analysis part, usually | | | | observe which nutritional supplements strengthen |
| with the patient lying face-up on my table. I first | | | | the weak reflex. My objective is to have a |
| establish a "baseline muscle test" of how they | | | | patient walk out of the office with effective |
| react when not exposed to outside agents. This is | | | | supplementation that will strengthen all of their |
| typically done using the arm and shoulder: | | | | weak reflexes. |
| I will gently hold the shoulder and push the raised | | | | |