Vagus Nerve Imbalance/Hiatal Hernia Syndrome

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A missing link to chronic illness, allergies and longevity? Vagus Nerve Imbalance/Hiatal Hernia Syndrome
by Steve Rochlitz

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Could there be a factor either unknown, or not fully understood, by both mainstream and alternative medicine, that can initiate much chronic illness including allergies? Could there be a very dangerous condition in the body that can cause virtually every other organ of the body to malfunction? Could 85% of the population have this undetected condition? The answer is decidedly yes to each of these questions. At the end of this article, surprising, new evidence will be revealed that this factor may even be a predictor of life expectancy.

The biochemist Carey Reams, PhD, said, "Illness begins with the Vagus Nerve." The Hiatal Hernia Syndrome (HHS)--by pinching the Vagus Nerve--causes Vagus Nerve Imbalance (VNI). This imbalance is usually a hyperexcitability, but a decreased energy state is also possible at some point in time. In a Hiatus Hernia, or Hiatal Hernia, the upper portion of the stomach protrudes through the opening (hiatus) in the diaphragm muscle. I urge the reader to go beyond any preconceived notions that this condition only causes GERD (acid reflux) and minor discomfort, and to read this article in its entirety before judging this work. My own recent research will be described for the first time, after reviewing one pioneering clinician's findings.

This article will reveal how this condition, Vagus Nerve Imbalance/ Hiatal Hernia Syndrome, which I will abbreviate as VNI/HHS, can cause so many other maladies and symptoms, and how it can cause many other organs to malfunction. Then I will describe testing to uncover the VNI/HHS, and finally, how to treat this insidious malady with various modalities. These methods include manipulations to rapidly correct (bring down) the stomach, as well as nutrition, diet and lifestyle changes. Health practitioners and/or patients can learn the crucial manipulations.

The pioneering physician, Theodore Baroody, DC, ND, PhD, after treating thousands of patients for many other illnesses, calls the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome, "the mother of all illness." (1) He states that nearly "every [non-infectious] condition (except trauma) is the direct result of some digestive dysfunction." (2) He writes that the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome is "dangerous ... and brings about ... constant imbalances ... that lead to all maladies known to mankind." (3) He has found that over 85% of all of his patients--when tested--have a Hiatal Hernia! He further postulates that about "85% of the overall populace" has the HHS! My own clientele, mostly sufferers of severe fatigue/fibromyalgia and extreme food, chemical, and electromagnetic sensitivities have the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome over 90% of the time. It's no coincidence. Baroody's findings are described in his brilliant opus, Hiatal Hernia Syndrome: Insidious Link to Major Illness. Simply put, if one considers finding the initiating cause of chronic, degenerative illness a key factor in medicine, this is one of the great works in the medical literature. I cannot blame the reader for any initial disbelief, as both Baroody and myself are often "mindboggled" to see again and again how seemingly unrelated illnesses or symptoms are often immediately relieved when "the stomach is brought down." The difficulty in seeing all this clearly often arises because many factors can prevent the stomach from "staying down." But Baroody's, and my own, techniques can help make this change last, and thus the improvement in these many, seemingly unrelated conditions will be clear. Also, I might not have believed this myself if I hadn't, (unfortunately), lived through it; and, as a physicist, insisted on uncovering the most primary causes of my own problems.

As stated above, Hiatal Hernia refers to the stomach's protrusion through the opening, (hiatus), in the diaphragm muscle. Wellness can ultimately only return when the diaphragm's hole (hiatus), has been repaired and the stomach can no longer jump up. This can take months of continuously doing everything just right. The key to an enlightened understanding of the VNI/ HHS is that the amount of stomach protrusion is often irrelevant. In many people, serious illness begins unfolding even if the amount of protrusion, (the Hiatal Hernia), is "small," as found, for example by X-ray. In many sufferers, any such protrusion causes major hyperexcitability of the Vagus Nerve. The extensive Vagus Nerve is so diverse and so interconnected to so many organs that it has been nicknamed the "wanderer." The slightest upward displacement of the stomach through the diaphragm disorders the Vagus Nerve. Immediately, the stomach no longer is able to produce the proper amount of hydrochloric acid. The entire digestive process is then adversely affected. The final result is often that the entire body will become too acid.

From an imbalanced Vagus Nerve, any other organ can begin to malfunction depending on genetic weakness and various other factors. Of course, the diaphragm itself will be directly affected and breathing normally no longer occurs. Other openings in the diaphragm--now stretched or torn--allow the major blood vessels to and from the heart to pass through it. Thus spasms in the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava can occur in rare cases. Indeed, Baroody's 6th edition of his book, reveals kinesiological (muscle) tests for two separate "stuck diaphragm" conditions related to abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava imbalances. (4) The heart itself can be crowded, and pressed on by the stomach, being "where it doesn't belong." These last factors and the direct hyperexcitability of the Vagus Nerve's connection to the heart, leads to many Emergency Room visits and "pseudoheart attack" symptoms of chest pain, difficulty breathing and left arm numbness. The reader, if experiencing these complaints, should seek emergency medical care, and not assume they are arising from the HHS. There is a remarkable similarity between Hiatal Hernia Syndrome and angina. Both can cause similar symptoms and both can occur after similar events such as overeating, exercise, and heavy lifting. My own hypothesis is that the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome, if uncorrected, may sometimes eventually become true angina. Other factors that might make this more likely include smoking, dehydration and other nutritional deficiencies.

Pregnant women, for the obvious reasons, need frequent Hiatal Hernia corrections. This can provide remarkable relief for many complaints. The Hiatal Hernia can readily result from the trauma of birth. This will be undetected unless a good kinesiologist is around to perform surrogate muscle-testing on the infant. There is a possible link between Hiatal Hernia Syndrome and life expectancy. I propose a long-term study, from birth, to learn statistically what illnesses correlate with Hiatal Hernia--as well as the Hiatal Hernia's possible use as a predictor of life expectancy.

The better Chiropractic physicians and kinesiologists will pull the stomach gently down on newborns possibly preventing a lifetime of illness. I can also imagine that the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome could arise before birth from weeks or months of being somewhat "scrunched" in the uterus. Physical trauma to the abdomen, at any time, can also cause a Hiatal Hernia. Even emotional stress is said to be able to cause or exacerbate this condition. There is a strong genetic component as many family members have the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome and often intestinal hernias and, in males, other hernias such as varicocele (or testicular hernia.) There is a strong allergy connection to VNI/HHS. There is a vicious cycle between allergies and the HHS, each one is capable of causing or exacerbating the other. In fact, I would like to note a possible, remarkable connection of a VNI/HHS symptom and a well-known allergy test. This is the Coca Pulse test, which denotes an increase in pulse rate some time after eating a food (allergen). But one of the most common VNI/HHS symptoms is an increase in pulse rate. So I hypothesize that a large percentage of the food allergy sufferers, and their practitioners, who have used the Coca Pulse test for allergy detection (for decades now), were also dealing (unbeknownst) with Hiatal Hernias. Of course, quick, inexpensive, Kinesiological testing could verify or disprove this, and other, hypothetical links in this article.

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To get well, one often has to learn to give up one's favorite foods as these are usually allergy/addictions. Once a Hiatal Hernia exists, it may worsen with every passing day, with every stress, and with every meal eaten (especially if it's an allergic meal). Eventually this can result in very serious disease, unless uncovered and corrected and unless the appropriate diet and lifestyle changes are made.

The Hiatal Hernia Syndrome may frequently be the earliest cause of GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), though the orthodox literature often only denotes "an occasional link." But I believe, many people have Hiatal Hernia for some time before GERD develops. Even conventional physicians now make the following very helpful recommendations for GERD/HHS: Lose weight, chew food well, don't eat spicy foods, eat small meals, avoid alcohol, tobacco, (and I would add possibly other nightshades: tomato, potato), avoid fried or greasy foods and mints, elevate the top of the bed by 6-8 inches, avoid tight clothing at the waist, and don't eat less than 3 hours before going to sleep. Some sources recommend sleeping on the back or left side only. Avoid right side sleeping. Baroody notes that lifting, bending, sneezing, coughing, stress, and many other factors can immediately push the stomach up through the diaphragm. Other foods that can be problematic for this syndrome include dairy, wheat, vinegar, citrus and other fruits. Avoid food or drink that is too hot or too cold.

Diet constraints cannot be overemphasized. Eating only small meals is key. Getting complete food allergy testing, (via Kinesiology is recommended here), and possibly rotating foods to avoid new food allergies, can be crucial. Avoiding greasy and spicy foods is also essential. I have found that roughage may have disastrous consequences for the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome sufferer. The cellulose fiber may immediately push the stomach back up, or worsen the condition itself. Likewise for nuts and seeds. So only soft foods, cooked foods or juices should be allowed at first. A pure juice diet may have healing potential at least, in part, because the liquid diet will allow the VNI/HHS to heal. Likewise I have surmised that taking supplements may cause or exacerbate the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome. The hard tablets and capsules (until they dissolve), may also push the stomach right back up through the diaphragm. I have had clients say, "all supplements make me sick." Muscle testing on clients often reveals most are allergic to most of the supplements they take everyday; but never "all." So perhaps the client is just reporting how the supplements push the stomach back up resulting in the myriad of symptoms of the VNI/HHS. Some people take dozens of supplements--because they aren't well and don't know the cause--often at the same time. Pulling capsules apart, and putting the contents in a liquid, may be absolutely necessary, or else avoid supplements until healing has occurred. Previously, as a general wellness modality, I recommended lengthy fasting. In theory, this might help heal this condition. However, the work by E. Denis Wilson, MD on thyroid malfunction, (Wilson's Syndrome), indicates that fasting can disorder the thyroid system, as he calls it. Since his work shows that this may not show up on any blood tests--because 80% of T4 to T3 conversion occurs inside cells--and the thyroid and adrenals are already stressed from the VNI/HHS, I cannot recommend lengthy fasting.

Avoiding caffeine and any other neurotoxins and/or excitotoxins such as MSG, (monosodium glutamate), or aspartame is also crucial. Perhaps the most nerve-damaging substance is mercury. Perhaps too, the vagus nerve, due to its high metabolic rate, preferentially absorbs mercury or other toxins, more than other nerve tissue. And this combination of VNI/HHS and mercury can be devastating. Soda with the extra gas it contains should be avoided. Trapped gas makes this syndrome much worse. Indeed the sufferer may have episodes of feeling as if dying, only to be relieved by belching or perhaps the gas passes down the other way unnoticeably. Likewise, when the practitioner pulls the stomach down, much gurgling is often audible. One hundred years ago, medical schools taught Roemheld's, (or Gastro-Cardiac) Syndrome which described significant cardiac complaints arising from stomach problems. Unfortunately, this now seems to have disappeared from all but the homeopathic medical literature.

The gastroenterolgist will do an endoscopic exam. The patient is put to sleep and a tube is inserted down the esophagus. Some gastroenterologists use a numbing, throat spray at the outset. Others have found this is often allergenic and unnecessary. The video camera that the endoscopic tube contains reveals the status of esophageal, gastric and duodenal tissues. Ulcerations, inflammations, and growths are looked for. The tube/device is also used to take biopsies. These tissues are then tested for cancer or pre-cancerous conditions and to look for bacteria, especially the ulcer-causing Helicobactor pylori. This examination also looks for the potentially, dangerous pre-cancerous, esophageal condition called Barrett's Esophagus, which can occur after long-term GERD.

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It may not be possible to overcome the VNI/HHS unless the sufferer becomes thin. This can be difficult. Many forms of exercise will exacerbate the hernia. Finding some exercise regimen that doesn't worsen the hernia is crucial, as is taking it slow and steady. Getting thin alone may not bring the stomach down without manipulation; but losing weight may be necessary for it to stay down, assuming everything else needed is being done. It may be very problematic to become thin as one complaint for the VNI/HHS is that eating when the stomach is up may immediately cause the sufferer to get hungrier (and not satiated) as s/he eats! (Stomach hyperacidity and ulcers--themselves linked to the HHS--can also cause this hungrier-while-eating condition. Stomach pH should be measure&) Over-eating--one of the worst things for this condition--often results. Hypoglycemia may be caused by this condition, Baroody asserts. But sometimes glucose testing, when these assumed hunger pains arise, reveals that no true low blood sugar exists.

I suspect many cases of "hypoglycemia" may either really be the VNI/HHS, and not hypoglycemia, or at least that the VNI/HHS is one of the exacerbating factors of hypoglycemia, (as well as allergies, parasitosis, etc.) I was astounded once myself recently when I was feeling "out of it." My glucose meter revealed a blood sugar of 60, which is low, and low for me. I had one of my students test me for Hiatal Hernia. My stomach was up, and I showed him how to pull it down. I felt the "assumed low blood sugar feeling" immediately go away. I was astounded to see the glucose meter then read 90! The VNI/HHS is also one of the great, hidden causes of obesity. However, when the Vagus Nerve is perhaps even more imbalanced, a loss of appetite may result. The sufferer is then in an even more dangerous condition, perhaps with significant, adrenal failure at that point.

Any practitioner who works with phobias, panic attacks, or anxiety needs to learn how to test and correct the VNI/ HHS if s/he truly wants to help her/his patients. Or the sufferer must become his/her own expert. While I am fond of the "energy psychology" field and have made contributions to it, I believe that various conditions cause these corrections to be far from "permanent" unless these underlying conditions are addressed. Perhaps chief among these conditions is VNI/HHS. Other "antipermanent" factors include mercury and other toxins, and parasitosis and subsequent allergies. The acupuncture point tapping performed by energy psychologists will often be short-lived (despite incorrect muscle-testing results), unless, and until, these other problems are corrected.

The illnesses of children need special mention. There has been an epidemic of asthma, dyslexia, learning and behavioral problems in children in the last several decades. Once again, I assert that VNI/HHS is a large part of the cause of this epidemic. It is never "too early" to pull the stomach down. Enlightened chiropractic kinesiologists and others may do this on a newborn. I have found children with learning and behavioral disorders--such as dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, Aspergers Syndrome, autism, etc., and asthma and allergies--almost always have the VNI/HHS. The hyperactive child's inability to "sit still" could actually occur because the seated position often makes the VNI/HHS much worse. Most seats may be very unnatural and may further stress the hernia. (If my stomach is up, I sometimes eat standing up. And my sports car's seat is notorious for aggravating my Hiatal Hernia.) Getting back to children: as stated earlier there is often a terrible synergism between mercury toxicity and VNI/HHS. The child, who suffers from these illnesses cited, often also has mercury poisoning as determined by Hair Mineral Analysis (which can easily be verified by blood mercury testing.) The child's mercury poisoning could have come from the preservative used in vaccinations (ethyl mercury, AKA thimerosol, a potent neurotoxin), or from leeching of the mother's dental amalgam to the fetus; or from fish or environmental sources. The parent can be taught how to pull the child's stomach down during a session. Mercury poisoning in particular, I have found, makes it difficult for the stomach to stay down. Unless and until mercury, and/or other toxins present, are eliminated, the stomach may not stay down. Perhaps the Vagus Nerve is itself permanently, or semi-permanently, damaged by mercury (or other) poisoning, which then exacerbates this syndrome.

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Baroody believes a chronic, unidentified virus causes the stomach to go back up, in some patients, often seconds after he pulls it down. (5) He first thought it might be Epstein-Barr, but disproved this. My own hypothesis is that this "hidden" micro-organism may not be a virus, but the virus-sized nanobacteria. (6) would urge everyone to learn more about these remarkable bacteria. They are up to 1,000 times smaller than the usual bacteria. They secrete a calcium biofilm around themselves. These two properties have made them undetectable by most means until the last few years. Some of the illnesses that researchers are proving to be caused by these pleomorphic, cell, invading nanobacteria include: cataracts, scleroderma, kidney stones and kidney cysts, arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, liver cysts, breast calcification, prostate calcification, arterial calcification, tumor calcification, dental plaque, periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, bone spurs, brain sand, autism, some cancers, blood disorders and myelodegenerative disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's and Alzheimer's Disease. (7) My kinesiological testing indicates nanobacteria as causing or exacerbating many cases of VNI/HHS. I ask that nanobacteria researchers also look at the connection to gastrointestinal disease--in particular to this "Mother of All Illness," the VNI/HHS. Blood antibody and antigen testing is now available from Nanobaclabs. (I have no financial or other connection to this company.) Due to the small size and the slow replication by this germ, it takes decades for the diseases it produces to manifest. Perhaps this is one reason why VNI/HHS becomes debilitating later on in life unless properly addressed. The "official" Nanobaclabs treatment for chronic nanobacterial infection involves a three-pronged approach including Tetracycline antibiotic, EDTA suppository, (for removing calcium), and an oral enzyme concoction, (for kidney support).

There may be an intimate, even causal, relationship between hiatal hernia and asthma and possibly other respiratory disorders. For example, some researchers have noted a frequent occurrence of both GERD (reflux) and asthma in children and adults. Some researchers believe that GERD may cause or influence asthma and others believe that asthma may cause or exacerbate GERD. Some physicians or researchers have found that treating either GERD or asthma sometimes helps the other condition when both occur in the same individual.

There may be an intimate, even causal, relationship between hiatal hernia and asthma and possibly other respiratory disorders. For example, some researchers have noted a frequent occurrence of both GERD (reflux) and asthma in children and adults. Some researchers believe that GERD may cause or influence asthma and others believe that asthma may cause or exacerbate GERD. Some physicians or researchers have found that treating either GERD or asthma sometimes helps the other condition when both occur in the same individual.

What I propose here is that the earliest link and possible initiator of both may be the hiatal hernia. The reasoning is as follows. Hiatal Hernia experts, like Baroody, would propose that GERD is very frequently caused or exacerbated by Hiatal Hernia. But Hiatal Hernia can cause or exacerbate respiratory disease as the diaphragm (a primary breathing muscle) is torn and no longer functions properly. In addition there is the pinched vagus nerve--a branch of which goes to the bronchi and lungs. In addition, reflux may bring up acid that can be inhaled into the lungs causing or exacerbating respiratory illness. So these mechanisms can cause or exacerbate asthma. But, in some individuals, asthma may occur first--due to these mechanisms. But sooner or later, the Hiatal Hernia will result in GERD. Asthma is deeply connected to allergies and possibly to an overexcited nervous system. But we have already seen how this VNI/HHS syndrome can lead to both a very allergic state and to an imbalanced parasympathetic nervous system.

In an informal study, I have noted that an apparently large percentage of people with various respiratory diseases (including asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, COPD) either are aware that they also have an Hiatal Hernia (via an official diagnosis), or are being treated for GERD or heartburn, which I assert is usually a result, or an indicator, of the presence of Hiatal Hernia. What I also propose is that all sufferers of respiratory disease who possess a known or "hidden" Hiatal Hernia may benefit significantly if they or their practitioners learn to pull the Hiatal Hernia out of the diaphragm (and more importantly and more problematically, try to keep it that way)--regardless of the etiology. Sadly, this connection and method is not known to pulmonologists or respiratory therapists. I am also currently researching a possible connection between the Hiatal Hernia and the Infraspinatus Respiratory Reflex (IRR) treatment of Harry Philibert, MD. Here the asthma treatment is injections of local anesthetic (lidocaine, procaine) into the IRR trigger points in the infraspinatus muscle. But does Hiatal Hernia/Vagus Nerve pinching cause the IRR to go bad? Or possibly the other way around? Philibert also has elucidated a cardiac reflex in the pectoralis major muscle. This reflex may cause or exacerbate angina, myocardial infarction, or other cardiac problems. Can this crucial reflex or trigger (treated again with neural therapy injections) also be related to the Hiatal Hernia? In my next article, I hope to detail my research on the various, latest, complementary asthma methods.

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Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of Vagus Nerve Imbalance/Hiatal Hernia Syndrome include the following (mostly from Baroody with numerous additions from this researcher):

Belching

Bloating

Gas

Hiccups

Reflux (GERD)

Dental enamel erosion

Ulcers

Regurgitation including dry heaves

Nausea

Diminished, or excessive, appetite

Colic in children

Diarrhea or Constipation

Fatigue

Hoarseness

Coughing

Pain in throat, chest, shoulders, spine, extremities, back

Arthritis

No deep breathing, or can't breathe, or hyperventilation

Diaphragm or lung pain

Swallowing air

Fatigue

Nervousness, insecurity feelings

Facial Flushing, blushing

Depression

Anxiety

Panic Attacks

Tachycardia

Faulty blood pressure (either high or low)

Orthostatic hypotension

Food, Chemical, Electromagnetic Allergies

TMJ

Bruxism

Headaches

Dizziness, poor balance

Numbness, paralysis

Hypoglycemia

Shakiness

Mental confusion

Poor stress tolerance

Vision weakness

Asthma

Learning/behavioral Problems (ADD, ADHD, etc.)

Autism

PMS

Prostate problems

Bladder weakness

Ulcers

Intestinal Disease

Gall Bladder Disease

Adrenal Fatigue

Hypothyroid

Kidney Disease

Epilepsy

Cancer

Insomnia

Many pregnancy complaints

Baroody states that he does not necessarily mean that the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome is the cause of all these problems. Rather he has seen how pulling the stomach down has alleviated these maladies and may be either a primary cause or an exacerbating factor much of the time in these illnesses. In Baroody's word, the HHS is, at least, an "insidious link." These symptoms or organ disorders can arise from direct over-energy from the Vagus Nerve's connection to these organs, or by secondary nerve imbalance as these other nerves interact with the Vagus Nerve, or from digestive disorder begun in the stomach, or by systemic pH imbalance. Of course, when we don't breathe right, Oriental knowledge has revealed that any imbalance can then result. Likewise when adrenal exhaustion sets in from the continual stress of the VNI/HHS, all the other organs in the body will weaken. Baroody also writes, at the outset of his opus, of his frustration that all the myriad treatments for these many symptoms and maladies by mainstream and alternative practitioners are way off the mark because they do not correct the VNI/HHS! They don't deal with the cause of these problems. And the reason the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome is considered to be "minor" is because most of medicine has not observed how so many, seemingly, unconnected illnesses can often be immediately improved by pulling the stomach out of the diaphragm. Of course, decades--perhaps a lifetime--usually go by without most people ever getting their "hidden" Hiatal Hernias corrected. The illnesses it has (directly or indirectly) caused will then be even harder to connect to the VNI/ HHS.

It is a large list indeed; hence Baroody's quote that the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome is "the mother of all illness." I have been correcting HHS for 17 years and have seen proof of this connection in clients and/or myself over this span of time. I would urge anyone with any of these problems to add this to the protocol of things to do ASAP. Baroody strongly recommends correcting systemic pH imbalance with diet and supplements. I have found that the recent innovation of making water alkaline with a water ionizer to be one of the best methods of alkalinizing the body. (8) These water ionizers also make the water become wetter and a potent anti-oxidant--greater than fresh, wheat grass juice--and you can't become allergic to the water.

It often requires a lot of learning and conceptual change in someone with severe chemical sensitivities, (MCS), who is used to blaming the chemicals "out there" for all his/her problems to learn that when the Vagus Nerve is hyperexcited is most likely when he/she will be over-reacting to those chemicals! It is often a shocker to think in these terms: "as your vagus nerve goes, so goes your allergies." But I have always strived to find out what is different about those of us who have, or have had, a history of severe environmental allergies. If everyone does not react to a food, chemical, pollen or electromagnetic field, I have always believed that the problem arises in the person. Previously I have written on how hidden parasitosis, secondary opportunistic microorganisms, (viruses, Candida, etc.), and mercury and other toxins are causative in food, chemical and EMF allergies. (9) This syndrome, VNI/HHS, and any factors that may be causing or exacerbating it, (such as nanobacteria, or mercury), may be a crucial factor in elucidating the causes of chronic allergies, chronic fatigue, and chronic, degenerative illness.

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The Correction

Before pulling down the stomach from the diaphragm, Baroody has devised kinesiological tests and corrections for what he calls a "stuck diaphragm" condition. This refers to the abdominal aorta and/or the inferior vena cava getting "stuck" This then restricts the diaphragm's movement. The longer one has had this undiagnosed, untreated condition, the more likely it is that one has the stuck diaphragm. It is also most likely if there is chest pain, rib pain, and trouble breathing, and bloating. The tests and corrections for the "stuck" condition may not be known to anyone who hasn't read Dr. Baroody's work. There are two separate tests to see if either, or both, the abdominal aorta or the inferior vena cava are "stuck." Corrections include rubbing or stretching certain body points or the diaphragm.

Once the stuck condition has been corrected, the stomach itself can then be pulled down, after muscle testing the Hiatal Hernia point which is just below the xyphoid process. The correction is to push into the Hiatal Hernia point and then push down the center and left. I recommend "asking the body" if breathing in or out is optimal during the pull. "Ask" again if the correction should be optimally done while seated, standing or lying down. I recommend holding in the upper diaphragm during the stomach pull-down, because I found that the act of pushing the stomach down could pull the diaphragm down too.

Sometimes the subject smiles and feels like they are breathing right for the first time in many years. The subject often reports standing taller, and feeling stronger, than they have in years! I have seen oxygen saturation go from 88% to 98% after Hiatal Hernia correction. Sometimes, however, there is great discomfort in the abdomen. The person feels really bad. I can almost always fix this with the PISS technique. No it's not what you may be thinking! The acronym is for Proprioceptor Integration of Skin Sensors. The actual technique is to pull, stretch and vibrate the skin in certain ways, which I determine again by "asking the body." That's right, the skin has proprioceptors just like muscles do, and the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome sufferer's skin proprioceptors have likely been in a bad state for many years. They are supersensitive to touch, let alone a deep stretching. This is an indication, as well, of how the Vagus Nerve is likely also to be in a really bad, (hyperexcited), state.

Assuming I have tested for many other imbalances first, I then re-check them. It is indeed amazing (usually but not always), to see blood sugar imbalance, thyroid, adrenal, small and/ or large intestine, gall bladder, brain integration, pitch/roll/yaw (spatial imbalance), TMJ and many other circuits re-test as intrinsically fixed by the HHS correction. (Of course, none of this is a substitute for proper medical testing, and treatment, for any of these problems. This refers to energy states only.) Then comes the perennial question, "how long will it last?" I have already stated how difficult it may be to keep the stomach down due to so many factors already described. So, as with much of chronic illness, it is up to the sufferer to learn to master these factors, and these diet and lifestyle changes can be mastered by all. It is advisable for everyone to learn how to pull their own stomach down. Dr. Baroody had a wooden "hiatal hernia egg" created to facilitate self-correction.

Kinesiological corrections for the diaphragm (10) are often an additional benefit, as is advanced bodywork on this muscle itself. Reflexology for the solar plexus, diaphragm, pyloric valve and brain also help. It is fascinating that the stomach is often OK while the diaphragm, solar plexus, and brain often need treatment. An acupuncture/ acupressure point for the vagus nerve is PC6. The new FDA-approved motion sickness Relief Band[R] is a watch-like device, which discharges electricity over the PC6 point. Walt Stoll, MD recommends meditation, and ginger for GERD/HHS. (11) Learning and practicing proper breathing methods can be a big help. Baroody recommends many herbs and nutrients for the HHS. These include comfrey, pepsin, aloe vera, and Swedish bitters. Useful homeopathic remedies include lycopodium, nux vomica, nux moschata and others. I trust the reader will realize that no neutraceutical is a substitute for pulling the stomach down and for making the diet and lifestyle changes needed.

To summarize, the Hiatal Hernia may be a frequent, undetected occurrence often from the trauma of birth, or from some stress or trauma shortly thereafter. The Vagus Nerve is then immediately imbalanced. Through the mechanisms outlined in this article, virtually any organ can then be adversely affected. Thus this VNI/HHS may be a primary cause of much chronic, degenerative physical and "mental" illness. The VNI/ HHS may also be a primary cause in food, chemical and electromagnetic allergies. Finally, I suggest that the Hiatal Hernia may be a predictor of life expectancy.

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A recent advance in cardiology is the sub-field of Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV refers to statistical analyses of five-minute, (or longer), electrocardiograms. HRV analyses and subject follow-up for "all-cause mortality" yielded the conclusion that Heart Rate Variability is perhaps the best predictor of life expectancy. (12) But Heart Rate Variability--and even stress, "stress vulnerability" and "reactivity to stress"--have been demonstrated to be highly dependent on the state of the Vagus Nerve. (13) Thus we have come full circle and verified Carey Reams' quote cited at the outset of this article. Reams stated that illness began with problems with the Vagus Nerve. HRV studies have now found that our life expectancies may depend on an optimum or balanced Vagus Nerve; and Dr. Baroody has found that the Vagus Nerve cannot be in balance unless the stomach is down and stays down. The logical conclusion I propose here is that the Hiatal Hernia--overlooked in its totality, by nearly all of mainstream and alternative medicine may indirectly be ... a great predictor of life expectancy/ Though this may be the first time this Hiatal Hernia/Longevity hypothesis has been explicitly stated, it should not come as a surprise. Since this problem--the Hiatal Hernia Syndrome--often arises from the trauma of birth, or other stress or trauma shortly before or after birth; it may be ... the longest standing, undetected, misunderstood, yet dangerous, condition the person has experienced.

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