Educating the Immune System: The Ancient Art of Hormesis
I recently read a Wall Street Journal article titled "I Couldn’t Escape Poison Oak. So I Started Eating It." It delves into hormesis, the concept of using small amounts of a poison to promote healing. I’ve written extensively on this in my book Stopping Pain.
Urushiol is the primary allergen found in poison oak. Some don’t react, but for those who do, the rashes can last for weeks and sometimes be severe. It's essential to approach exposure to poison plants like poison oak and ivy with caution. This is not medical advice, but a discussion on the concept. Some people are highly sensitive to these plants, suffering severe rashes and even asthma, requiring medical intervention. At least 100,000 people seek medical treatment for exposure annually, with severe cases often resistant to home remedies. The best prevention is learning to identify and avoid the plant.
The article begins by discussing the practice of inducing hormesis through the consumption of small pieces of poison oak, even adding the buds to smoothies. Conventional wisdom advises against such practices, as poison oak and similar plants can cause significant digestive system distress, including "pruritis ani," Latin for "itchy butt." Just as the skin, the esophagus and intestines are external to the body.
Hormesis, a principle in biology and toxicology, involves the paradoxical beneficial effects that low doses of harmful substances or environmental factors can have on an organism. Essentially, minor stressors or toxins can activate protective mechanisms in cells and organisms, enhancing their ability to handle more substantial stresses or challenges.
The author's goal is to desensitize himself to poison oak, enabling coexistence with it. This centuries-old practice is utilized by various cultures to adapt to their environments and educate their immune systems for the greater good. Today, we often rely on masking symptoms of irritants like poison oak with chemicals such as Benadryl and steroids, which suppress rather than educate the immune system.
Some California History
Centuries ago, California’s native coastal tribes built desensitization to poison oak by consuming teas made from its roots and eating young leaves. They could then handle the plant’s flexible switches for basket weaving without adverse effects. The first documented reference to poison oak, or Toxicodendron diversilobum, was in 1624 by Captain John Smith, who wrote about "poison weeds" in the New World. Scottish botanist David Douglas later encountered the plant in the 1820s during his explorations of the Pacific Northwest, noting its irritating properties, though indigenous peoples were already adept at managing its effects.
However, modern authorities on poison oak typically discourage ingestion. Explicit warnings against consuming poison ivy, for example, are common: "Eating a poison ivy leaf can cause death," according to fact sheets from the state of Maine, the CDC, and PubMed, all advocating for prevention. Poison ivy and poison oak are closely related plants.
In obscure outdoor forums, however, one can find vocal advocates of eating the stuff. However, you have to venture far in an Internet search. One has to wonder why this is. I’m intimately familiar with the perils of seeking confirmation online. With just a few keywords, those bold enough to question the earth’s curvature or entertain ivermectin can access a body of knowledge hidden like a passageway behind a trick bookcase. So, like the WSJ author, I mined into the actual literature like someone obsessed with Bitcoin.
Another Pharmaceutical Venture?
Poison ivy’s potency made it a focus for early pharmacists, leading to the market introduction of poison-ivy extracts. By 1936, these extracts were used to prevent outbreaks of exposure in a state-run boy’s home in New Jersey. A 1954 study found that poison-ivy-extract pills provided "full protection" to 94% of tested Coast Guard personnel, demonstrating significant efficacy.
Despite these developments, when the FDA began reviewing "grandfathered" drugs in the late 1970s, it noted that oral urushiol treatments had been "tested and proven effective." Pharmaceutical companies were allowed to continue selling them, provided they could demonstrate consistent potency in their products. However, according to the WSJ, drugmakers never submitted the necessary data despite repeated FDA deadlines.
The Great Archetypical Story of Hormesis
I recently attended Jordan Peterson's "We Who Wrestle With God" Tour in Florida, where the archetypical story of Moses and the venomous snakes in the wilderness was discussed. This biblical narrative is symbolic of hormesis, where controlled exposure to a harmful agent can enhance resilience and adaptation. This principle is evident in medical practices like immunotherapy and vaccinations, where a small, controlled amount of a harmful agent is used to build resistance. This is called educating the immune system.
Interestingly, the Rod of Asclepius, a symbol associated with medicine, features two intertwined snakes and has roots in ancient mythology and biblical narratives, including Moses's story. The serpent mounted on a pole by Moses to heal those bitten parallels the Rod of Asclepius, enriching the interpretation of this biblical story and its themes of faith, divine intervention, and the human quest for healing.
