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Holistic Medicine and the Extracellular Matrix
The Science of Healing at the Cellular Level
By Matthew Wood
Foreword by Stephen Harrod Buhner
Published by Healing Arts Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
• Examines the function of the extracellular matrix, the inner ocean that unifies all our cells and controls them in a coordinated and integrated fashion
• Explores how the extracellular matrix builds and repairs itself and how holistic therapy can be applied based on this knowledge
• Introduces new and old holistic and herbal protocols for treatment of the matrix
The cells in our bodies are not independent units. They do not control their own feeding, elimination, migration, or reproduction; they are controlled by signals from the extracellular matrix (ECM) that surrounds them. This all-encompassing inner ocean unifies all our cells and controls them in a coordinated and integrated fashion.
Revealing the stunning implications of the extracellular matrix, Matthew Wood shows how it clearly explains the actions and efficacy of holistic therapies. He explores the groundbreaking research of Alfred Pischinger, who discovered the ECM in 1975, as well as the role of the matrix in transmitting and enacting the genetic code, including the roles of the mitochondria, the nucleus, and ribosomes.
Wood explains how modern drugs, directed at specific receptors on the cell membrane, interfere with bodily self-regulation. He details how holistic therapies modify the environment of the cell and strengthen the whole, bringing the body back to homeostasis and consequently offering true healing.
• Explores how the extracellular matrix builds and repairs itself and how holistic therapy can be applied based on this knowledge
• Introduces new and old holistic and herbal protocols for treatment of the matrix
The cells in our bodies are not independent units. They do not control their own feeding, elimination, migration, or reproduction; they are controlled by signals from the extracellular matrix (ECM) that surrounds them. This all-encompassing inner ocean unifies all our cells and controls them in a coordinated and integrated fashion.
Revealing the stunning implications of the extracellular matrix, Matthew Wood shows how it clearly explains the actions and efficacy of holistic therapies. He explores the groundbreaking research of Alfred Pischinger, who discovered the ECM in 1975, as well as the role of the matrix in transmitting and enacting the genetic code, including the roles of the mitochondria, the nucleus, and ribosomes.
Wood explains how modern drugs, directed at specific receptors on the cell membrane, interfere with bodily self-regulation. He details how holistic therapies modify the environment of the cell and strengthen the whole, bringing the body back to homeostasis and consequently offering true healing.
Excerpt
From Chapter 4. The Matrix and Wound Healing: Template for Healing Matrix Injury
Understanding the processes and components involved in the self-healing of wounds and traumas not only facilitates our comprehension of how the matrix builds and repairs itself, but helps us learn how to treat the ECM in a knowledgeable fashion. A review article by Olczyk et al. (2014) gives an excellent overview of the subject. The authors traced out the role of ECM constituents in the progress of wound healing. These constituents play significant roles in hemostasis (stopping bleeding) and each of the three stages of healing: inflammation, granulation, and remodeling. The whole process includes the building of new “scaffolding,” or a “provisional new matrix,” various repair processes, with signaling and regulation during “this dynamic, interactive sequence.” These same processes apply when toxins, microbes, internal wounds, etc., attack the matrix--though the bleeding stage will not generally occur.
The Three Stages of Healing
Three fundamental stages of healing have long been recognized. They overlap but also follow one another in sequence. The processes associated in a stage can be overactive or underactive, so that the organism gets stuck and that blocks the later stages from occurring. For instance, no granulation (cell proliferation and regrowth) will occur as long as the area is inflamed. Excessive granulation (commonly called “proud-flesh”) will block the next stage, including the formation of a healthy scar signaling the end of the process. . . .
The Inflammatory Stage
Inflammation develops during the first 24 hours after an injury has occurred and lasts on average for up to 48 hours in a modest wound. The characteristic symptoms of inflammation--established since the doctors of ancient Rome--are redness (robur), heat (calor), swelling (tumor), and pain (dolor). (Sounds better in Latin.)
The inflammatory stage is initiated by neutrophils--the first pro-inflammatory cells to appear at the wound site--and continued by macrophages, the consumers of bacteria and debris. Neutrophils and macrophages are the first line of defense against infections, consuming invading bacteria and the proteases they release, and the debris from injured tissue. They intensify the inflammatory reaction by releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines. They also generate reactive compounds containing oxygen and nitrogen that encourage and control oxidative processes. Thrombin and products of fibrin decomposition, bacteria, cytokines, and leukotrienes control neutrophil and macrophage behaviors. All of these are attracted to the place of damage by various means. Neutrophils and macrophages not only initiate the inflammatory stage but release cytokines and growth factors (GFs) that activate fibroblasts and epithelial cells that create conditions for the initiation of the next phase of the healing process: granulation (Olczyk, et al., 2014).
Bacteria arrive early at the scene as scavengers living off debris. They produce various kinds of proteases (enzymes that break down proteins) in the course of their work. These act on both the matrix itself and the cells. They increase the virulence of infection, degradation of tissue, and encourage the evasion and destruction of physical barriers to bacterial invasion. Some of them secrete the enzyme hyaluronidase that breaks down HA, retarding repair and facilitating the spread of bacteria. They also secrete the enzymes collagenase and elastase to break down connective tissue fibers and perpetuate the invasion. These activities spread the bacteria through the matrix, furthering the inflammatory response. Other bacterial enzymes generate free radicals that cause additional inflammation and tissue degradation through uncontrolled oxidation. Neutrophils and macrophages need to contain and remove the bacteria, their proteases and enzymes, not only to bring the inflammatory stage to an end but to prevent mutation in the DNA of cells and damage to the matrix, both of which can encourage the eventual appearance of cancer (Alfano, et al, 2016). . . .
After two- or three-day presence in the wound area, the neutrophils are depleted by apoptosis (built-in self-destruction) and replaced by monocytes that migrate from the capillaries into the matrix, where they are transformed into macrophages under the influence of inflammatory mediators--byproducts of fibrin and fibronectin degradation and other factors coming from the temporary wound matrix. . . . Remedies that act on the four symptoms of inflammation are well known in herbal medicine. A full range would include those for an overactive immune response as well as those for an underactive response. An incomplete list are given under the remedies for Mast Cell Instability, while a few of the latter (Calendula, Echinacea) are listed here. Native Americans use saps and resins to seal off, sanitize, and heal wounds. Dr. Marguerite Maury (see final chapter), considered such resins and dense essential oils to be especially active on the matrix. As a class, the herbs used here possess or combine these sedative or stimulating properties with mucilage.
Calendula officinalis
This plant medicine comes to us from central European folk medicine via homeopathy. It is used in homeopathy in herbal doses, externally, for wound-healing. The flowers are used, including the petals (which are slightly sweet and mucilaginous) and the corollas or flower base (which are bitter and salty).
It is said in many herbal websites and books (I used to say this) that Calendula contains iodine. However, modern assays do not bear this out. What does seem to be true is that Calendula picks up iodine. This is indicated by the fact that it was used, a hundred years ago, to detect the presence of iodine. Calendula tincture turns red in the presence of iodine - research by Phyllis Light. This means that there is a chemical reaction between Calendula and iodine. Since there is already iodine in the body, this means that the plant picks up available iodine. This naturally produces the powerful topical or local healing formula discovered by Dr. Cutting--iodine and hyaluronic acid (or mucilage) and now available as a product called Hyiodine.
Calendula is used for all kinds of surface injuries, cuts, and wounds. It does not have the reputation of Yarrow as a hemostatic. It is best suited to swollen, red, inflamed, painful tissues that are not open where pus is building up inside (think of a cat scratch). From experience we can deduce that Calendula helps with the drainage from the wound through the lymphatics. It is an excellent remedy for swollen lymphatics independent of a wound, especially old, stagnant cases needing mild stimulation. But it manifests its herbal genius when there is a surface wound.
Calendula is considered a “bacteriostatic,” meaning that it does not kill bacteria but stabilizes the population of microbes as the wound heals. This means it does not interfere with the natural healing processes associated with natural immunity - which, as we saw above - are very finely tuned by changing sequences of immune cells. The havoc wrecked upon the system by antibiotics (more so when taken internally) is impossible to estimate. We know that they destroy the gut flora, leading to almost untreatable conditions like small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
We do not know exactly what Calendula does, but clearly it assists in the removal of pus and the lay-down of the new “scaffolding” consisting of matrix polymers analogous to those found in the Calendula petals, also probably having an encouraging or regulatory effect on immune cell activity. At any rate, it is the single most important wound-healing medicine in herbalism. . . .
The Proliferation or Granulation Phase
This is the phase in which proliferation of cells occurs so that new connective tissue, epithelium, and endothelial vessel tissue can be laid down. It is also frequently called “granulation” because the newly laid down capillary bed tufts look like granules. This combination of proliferating cells makes a tissue that is unformed and pink. The work of regrowth and replacement is synergistic as fibroblasts synthesize new ECM components in the presence of newly formed blood vessels manufactured by endothelial cells migrating and proliferating to close up the wound. . . .
Aloe barbadensis (Aloe vera)
This succulent has been used in medicine since ancient times. The layer under the external rind contains a yellow substance rich in anthroquinones that is cathartic, while the inner gel contains 99% water mixed with glucomannans (akin to matrix polysaccharides), amino acids, lipids, sterols, and vitamins. The gel has been used in folk medicine as a wound-medicine and burn remedy. It is excellent for burns, used in a spray freshly prepared from the gel and water, notes herbalist Steven Horne. . . .
Understanding the processes and components involved in the self-healing of wounds and traumas not only facilitates our comprehension of how the matrix builds and repairs itself, but helps us learn how to treat the ECM in a knowledgeable fashion. A review article by Olczyk et al. (2014) gives an excellent overview of the subject. The authors traced out the role of ECM constituents in the progress of wound healing. These constituents play significant roles in hemostasis (stopping bleeding) and each of the three stages of healing: inflammation, granulation, and remodeling. The whole process includes the building of new “scaffolding,” or a “provisional new matrix,” various repair processes, with signaling and regulation during “this dynamic, interactive sequence.” These same processes apply when toxins, microbes, internal wounds, etc., attack the matrix--though the bleeding stage will not generally occur.
The Three Stages of Healing
Three fundamental stages of healing have long been recognized. They overlap but also follow one another in sequence. The processes associated in a stage can be overactive or underactive, so that the organism gets stuck and that blocks the later stages from occurring. For instance, no granulation (cell proliferation and regrowth) will occur as long as the area is inflamed. Excessive granulation (commonly called “proud-flesh”) will block the next stage, including the formation of a healthy scar signaling the end of the process. . . .
The Inflammatory Stage
Inflammation develops during the first 24 hours after an injury has occurred and lasts on average for up to 48 hours in a modest wound. The characteristic symptoms of inflammation--established since the doctors of ancient Rome--are redness (robur), heat (calor), swelling (tumor), and pain (dolor). (Sounds better in Latin.)
The inflammatory stage is initiated by neutrophils--the first pro-inflammatory cells to appear at the wound site--and continued by macrophages, the consumers of bacteria and debris. Neutrophils and macrophages are the first line of defense against infections, consuming invading bacteria and the proteases they release, and the debris from injured tissue. They intensify the inflammatory reaction by releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines. They also generate reactive compounds containing oxygen and nitrogen that encourage and control oxidative processes. Thrombin and products of fibrin decomposition, bacteria, cytokines, and leukotrienes control neutrophil and macrophage behaviors. All of these are attracted to the place of damage by various means. Neutrophils and macrophages not only initiate the inflammatory stage but release cytokines and growth factors (GFs) that activate fibroblasts and epithelial cells that create conditions for the initiation of the next phase of the healing process: granulation (Olczyk, et al., 2014).
Bacteria arrive early at the scene as scavengers living off debris. They produce various kinds of proteases (enzymes that break down proteins) in the course of their work. These act on both the matrix itself and the cells. They increase the virulence of infection, degradation of tissue, and encourage the evasion and destruction of physical barriers to bacterial invasion. Some of them secrete the enzyme hyaluronidase that breaks down HA, retarding repair and facilitating the spread of bacteria. They also secrete the enzymes collagenase and elastase to break down connective tissue fibers and perpetuate the invasion. These activities spread the bacteria through the matrix, furthering the inflammatory response. Other bacterial enzymes generate free radicals that cause additional inflammation and tissue degradation through uncontrolled oxidation. Neutrophils and macrophages need to contain and remove the bacteria, their proteases and enzymes, not only to bring the inflammatory stage to an end but to prevent mutation in the DNA of cells and damage to the matrix, both of which can encourage the eventual appearance of cancer (Alfano, et al, 2016). . . .
After two- or three-day presence in the wound area, the neutrophils are depleted by apoptosis (built-in self-destruction) and replaced by monocytes that migrate from the capillaries into the matrix, where they are transformed into macrophages under the influence of inflammatory mediators--byproducts of fibrin and fibronectin degradation and other factors coming from the temporary wound matrix. . . . Remedies that act on the four symptoms of inflammation are well known in herbal medicine. A full range would include those for an overactive immune response as well as those for an underactive response. An incomplete list are given under the remedies for Mast Cell Instability, while a few of the latter (Calendula, Echinacea) are listed here. Native Americans use saps and resins to seal off, sanitize, and heal wounds. Dr. Marguerite Maury (see final chapter), considered such resins and dense essential oils to be especially active on the matrix. As a class, the herbs used here possess or combine these sedative or stimulating properties with mucilage.
Calendula officinalis
This plant medicine comes to us from central European folk medicine via homeopathy. It is used in homeopathy in herbal doses, externally, for wound-healing. The flowers are used, including the petals (which are slightly sweet and mucilaginous) and the corollas or flower base (which are bitter and salty).
It is said in many herbal websites and books (I used to say this) that Calendula contains iodine. However, modern assays do not bear this out. What does seem to be true is that Calendula picks up iodine. This is indicated by the fact that it was used, a hundred years ago, to detect the presence of iodine. Calendula tincture turns red in the presence of iodine - research by Phyllis Light. This means that there is a chemical reaction between Calendula and iodine. Since there is already iodine in the body, this means that the plant picks up available iodine. This naturally produces the powerful topical or local healing formula discovered by Dr. Cutting--iodine and hyaluronic acid (or mucilage) and now available as a product called Hyiodine.
Calendula is used for all kinds of surface injuries, cuts, and wounds. It does not have the reputation of Yarrow as a hemostatic. It is best suited to swollen, red, inflamed, painful tissues that are not open where pus is building up inside (think of a cat scratch). From experience we can deduce that Calendula helps with the drainage from the wound through the lymphatics. It is an excellent remedy for swollen lymphatics independent of a wound, especially old, stagnant cases needing mild stimulation. But it manifests its herbal genius when there is a surface wound.
Calendula is considered a “bacteriostatic,” meaning that it does not kill bacteria but stabilizes the population of microbes as the wound heals. This means it does not interfere with the natural healing processes associated with natural immunity - which, as we saw above - are very finely tuned by changing sequences of immune cells. The havoc wrecked upon the system by antibiotics (more so when taken internally) is impossible to estimate. We know that they destroy the gut flora, leading to almost untreatable conditions like small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
We do not know exactly what Calendula does, but clearly it assists in the removal of pus and the lay-down of the new “scaffolding” consisting of matrix polymers analogous to those found in the Calendula petals, also probably having an encouraging or regulatory effect on immune cell activity. At any rate, it is the single most important wound-healing medicine in herbalism. . . .
The Proliferation or Granulation Phase
This is the phase in which proliferation of cells occurs so that new connective tissue, epithelium, and endothelial vessel tissue can be laid down. It is also frequently called “granulation” because the newly laid down capillary bed tufts look like granules. This combination of proliferating cells makes a tissue that is unformed and pink. The work of regrowth and replacement is synergistic as fibroblasts synthesize new ECM components in the presence of newly formed blood vessels manufactured by endothelial cells migrating and proliferating to close up the wound. . . .
Aloe barbadensis (Aloe vera)
This succulent has been used in medicine since ancient times. The layer under the external rind contains a yellow substance rich in anthroquinones that is cathartic, while the inner gel contains 99% water mixed with glucomannans (akin to matrix polysaccharides), amino acids, lipids, sterols, and vitamins. The gel has been used in folk medicine as a wound-medicine and burn remedy. It is excellent for burns, used in a spray freshly prepared from the gel and water, notes herbalist Steven Horne. . . .
Product Details
- Publisher: Healing Arts Press (September 28, 2021)
- Length: 256 pages
- ISBN13: 9781644112953
Raves and Reviews
“Brilliant! A substantial and important addition to our understanding of the human body, chronic disease, and herbal medicine.”
– Stephen Harrod Buhner, author of Sacred Plant Medicine
“Matthew Wood is among the most respected and well-known herbalists of our era and is the author of several brilliant textbooks on herbal medicine. Holistic Medicine and the Extracellular Matrix is his opus and masterpiece. Exceptionally well written and impeccably researched, this book debunks the popular theory that cells of the body function as independent units existing independently of one another. Instead, he meticulously reveals in easy-to-understand terms the implications of the extracellular matrix, the inner ocean in which the cells exist, and how this simple switch hugely impacts our understanding of healing. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in health, healing, and medicine.”
– Rosemary Gladstar, herbalist and author of Planting the Future
“Holistic Medicine and the Extracellular Matrix is a deep examination of the scientific justification of concepts discussed in traditional systems of medicine for millennia--that the human organism is a living wholeness unto itself, not a compilation of unintelligent biochemical and cellular machinery. This groundbreaking text reveals the truth of how our bodies function at a fundamental level and how we can rejuvenate our health on all levels with natural, holistic approaches to healing. It’s akin to the discovery of the heliocentric model of our solar system but for the understanding and practice of holistic medicine . . . truly revolutionary.”
– Sajah Popham, author of Evolutionary Herbalism
“Matthew Wood’s book turns biomedical physiology on its head and presents a science-based holistic perspective on how and why herbs really work. His finest book yet!”
– Robert Dale Rogers, RH (AHG), author of Rogers’ School of Herbal Medicine
“In his groundbreaking book, Holistic Medicine and the Extracellular Matrix, Matthew Wood brings us a more balanced scientific perspective and further proves the basic tenet of holism while condemning reductionism as a model for how biological systems work. A revolutionary work poised to overthrow the conceptual foundation of modern science and its therapeutic models and drug therapies, this book directs treatment toward the individual as a whole and blows the lid off a ‘onesize-fits-all’ approach to modern pharmacology and compares our situation to that of Galileo and the Church. I recommend this book for all students of herbalism, holistic medicine, and the curative arts.”
– Thea Summer Deer, clinical herbalist and author of Wisdom of the Plant Devas
“Matthew Wood’s brilliant new book definitively establishes the scientific basis of holistic healing. Wood shows how optimal health--homeostasis--is in the extracellular matrix, the fundamental basis of alternative medicine. Drugs circumvent the self-regulation of our bodies and are creating more diabetes, cardiovascular distress, and cancer, yet holistic therapies improve the cellular environment and our bodies’ balance. I especially admire this book because Wood brings in Arthur Firstenberg’s research on the intensifying electromagnetic frequencies as the cause of much modern disease. The extracellular matrix that transports our bodily fluids is very sensitive to these frequencies that may be causing the huge rise in inflammation today. This is a must-read for herbalists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, energy therapists, bodyworkers, and anyone directing their own path to healing.”
– Barbara Hand Clow, author of Astrology and the Rising of Kundalini
"Matthew Wood’s presentation of Holistic Medicine and the Extracellular Matrix brings into focus a number of concepts in alternative ways of thinking about health. While the book does not provide all the answers, it rather asks the questions we might have about human health and disease. The author proposes new angles, a different perspective (his key word) and a whole array of ideas about the microbiome and the cellular terrain. Matthew Wood’s herbals and reference books on Western herbalism are exceptional."
– Herbology East and West
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