Sheehan Chiropractic, serving Medford, Ashland, and Southern Oregon

A patient of mine came in yesterday for an allergy checkup. I originally helped him with multiple sensitivities probably 10 years ago, and he comes in occasionally for tuneups or to eliminate new sensitivities which have sprung up. He gave me the idea to write this article, to let folks know about the great technique I’ve been using for probably 15 years now with great success. I thank our incredible acupuncturist and healer Lori Paiken for teaching me the technique so I could help her with her allergies. That success led me to help many others over the following years.

It’s called N.A.E.T. – Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique. What a mouthful! Sorry. It’s named after Devi Nambudripad, an acupuncturist and chiropractor in L.A. who discovered an acupuncture/acupressure technique that effectively eliminates “electromagnetic incompatibilities” (my term), which seems to be a more accurate descriptor for what we think of as “allergies”. Devi accidentally eliminated a  sensitivity of hers by treating herself with acupuncture while holding on to the thing she was sensitive to. She was so amazed by the result that she began researching the idea over a number of years, and developed quite an effective system.

The basic premise behind NAET is that our body’s electromagnetic fields can react positively or negatively to exposure to the fields of other people or substances, either natural or synthetic. A “negative” reaction in terms of acupuncture meridians and chi would result in a change in the flow of chi through certain meridians, resulting in certain changes in how our bodies function, causing certain symptoms and health challenges. The goal of NAET is to diagnose these negative energetic reactions to substances and correct them by stimulating certain acupuncture points, primarily along the spine, in the presence of the offending substance.

An overly-simplified understanding of an “allergy” is that our bodies react to the presence of a foreign body or substance by our white blood cells releasing histamine, a highly inflammatory chemical which very effectively destroys the offending object, but also causes local inflammation and mucus membrane irritation, especially during allergy season, which we’re heading right into now. We also notice reactions in our bodies to certain foods, chemicals, fabrics, heck, even people. The only problem with this chemical definition is that many folks who know they’re reacting to something often fall through the cracks of conventional skin testing in a dermatologist’s office, which only shows positive if the skin reacts in a short period of time. If the person reacts in a delayed fashion, as in a day or two after exposure, the skin test doesn’t show it, and the patient may leave frustrated, knowing they react to something, but it’s just not showing up on this conventional test. Blood tests often seem to be more helpful, but sometimes even they miss some things people are energetically sensitive to because they’re just not included in the panel being tested, and many of the sensitivities don’t seem to involve these exact chemical pathways tested for in the blood or skin tests. NAET can pick up some of those “sensitivities” (not classical allergies because they don’t seem to involve this chemical reaction) well, and can often eliminate them effectively and without medications, shots, or prolonged avoidance.

The testing part of the technique involves “applied kinesiology” muscle testing, with temporary observable changes in the patient’s muscle strength when exposed to a sample of a sensitivity. We first test a list of 12 “Basics”, which are vials of substances the patient may be sensitive to and which must be treated and eliminated before treatment of other substances can take place.

The treatment aspect of NAET can vary from office to office depending on the training of the practitioner. Acupuncturists will often treat the acupuncture points involved with needles or with an activator gun, and I use manual pressure to stimulate the specific acupuncture points along the spine and extremities, followed by a short period of avoidance of the sensitivity, usually 24 hours or less. The muscle testing is repeated after the treatment to see if there is an observable change in the muscle strength. If the strength of the muscle tested has returned, the treatment is complete for the day.  After several days the patient returns and the treated substance is rechecked with the muscle testing, and if the strength is maintained during re-exposure to the substance, the sensitivity is assumed to be eliminated. The next substance in the basic list that the patient tested sensitive to would then be treated, avoided, and rechecked several days later.

What Dr. Nambudripad discovered in her research and what my experience has also shown to be true is that observed sensitivities to foods and airborn substances are often secondary to sensitivities to other things, such as vitamins and minerals, many of which are in the list of “basics” discussed above. These items would then have to be treated before any other treatments can be done. Often by the time we eliminate sensitivities to these more primary things, the symptoms the patient presented with have disappeared. I had a patient a few years ago who was extremely sensitive to cats. She had a friend who had over 30, count em, 30, cats, and whenever this patient was unfortunate enough to enter her friend’s front door, she quickly felt like her head was going to explode.  She tested very sensitive to cat dander, but we only had to treat 3 or 4 more primary substances before her symptoms abated completely. We never actually had to treat the cat dander itself. The next time she walked into her friend’s house, she noticed no reaction.

The technique is often effective for sensitivities to certain forms of electricity, such as observed reactions to fluorescent lights or electric blankets or computers, as well as sensitivities to fabrics, smoke, many things otherwise untreatable with conventional allopathic therapies. (As an aside here, I want to mention that acupuncture, herbology, clinical nutrition and chiropractic all have very effective track records also with allergy and sensitivity relief and are worth looking into as powerful methods of bringing our bodies back into balance and harmony.)

N.A.E.T. isn’t 100 % effective, but it’s been effective in my experience probably 75% of the time I would say, although I haven’t tried to keep accurate tabs on it. On checking back with patients 6 months and a year or more after treatment, I’ve only found several who found that their symptoms returned over time. Some return on a yearly basis to get rechecked for sensitivities, even in the absence of symptoms, with some noting more energy overall after additional treatments. Usually the patients who experience a return of symptoms over time find relief again with retreating the sensitivity.

Another interesting benefit to NAET which Dr. Nambudripad discovered over the years is it’s effect on alcoholism. She observed that approximately one third of her patients who were alcoholic were found to be sensitive to three critical categories – alcohol itself, as well as B vitamins and sugars. On desensitizing them to these things, she noticed they consistently  experienced a decrease or elimination of their craving for alcohol. This obviously only deals with the alcohol part of the equation and doesn’t touch the emotional/social and other aspects of the alcoholic’s situation we know to be vital to address, but it’s perhaps a vital missing piece worth investigating further. I’ve only worked with one alcoholic with NAET over the years, with positive results, namely an elimination of any craving for alcohol, and an ability to drink   socially with no need to continue drinking. She regained control of her life. I heard from her every six months for a year or so after treatment, and she had maintained her sobriety.

My apologies to our esteemed local acupuncturists for my meager description of the acupuncture aspect of NAET. It was meant as a brief overview only, and the details of Chinese medicine can of course be better explained by them.

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Yours in health,

Matt Sheehan, D.C.