Nambudiprad’s Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET) combines aspects of various modalities, including acupuncture and kinesiology, to identify allergens and resolve allergies in pets.

I was introduced to the world of NAET by way of a cat named Chloe who had skin allergies. Using herbs and acupuncture, I definitely helped her, but every time we tried to extend the time between treatments, she relapsed. Her bright red itchy patches returned, though less prominently than before.

One day, her person showed me her own elbow and forearm, and announced they were clear of eczema for the first time in ten years. She said it was thanks to NAET, and described the treatment to me. At the time, I chuckled as I thought of how muscle testing and energy could possibly transfer from a glass vial into the core of a subject’s immune system. However, I stored the information along with my future NAET practitioner’s business card (given to me by Chloe’s person) for several years. Chloe moved to California, and my own asthmatic condition degenerated to the point where any exposure to cats set me off – a tough position for a veterinarian to be in.

I finally began seeing Dr. Chiong in the summer of 1997, after many nights of coughing and wheezing. I experienced a healing crisis after my first treatment for egg allergen, with dry heaving off and on for a few hours; but I knew that something had shifted deep within my immune system.

Basic principles and uses of NAET

NAET (Nambudiprad’s Allergy Elimination Technique) is an energetic method combining techniques from chiropractic, acupuncture, nutritional, and kinesiological modalities to identify individual allergens and resolve allergies. For each allergen, specific association points along each side of the spine are stimulated, along with acupuncture, to open the immune gates.

Immune-mediated diseases are often a result of allergies. When the body is reacting to pervasive allergens, it cannot be available to respond to infections and often begins to become allergic to itself. By resolving these allergic reactions with NAET, the immune system shifts back to normal function.

Common allergy symptoms or conditions I treat with NAET include:

• Itchy skin
• Digestive problems
• Ear infections

Immune-mediated and other diseases that respond well to NAET include:

• Epileptic seizures
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Masticatory muscle myositis (MMM)
• Canine onchodystrophy
• Aural vasculiits
• Syringomylia in King Charles spaniels
• Granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) in small breed dogs

Using NAET, one can explore other potential allergens like minerals, vitamin A, foods, etc. The single best reason to use NAET over blood testing or saliva testing is that food allergies and triggers change depending on the immune system’s strength. Using the clearing technique, the veterinarian can recognize this with muscle testing before symptoms reflect the shift. When a food allergen has become a problem, NAET can detect it before symptoms get out of control; prevention is the focus, either by shifting the diet to avoid that food or by directly treating the food.

An overview of the technique

1. First, the specific allergens affecting the individual are identified through applied kinesiology (see sidebar on page 55 of IVC Journal, Summer 2015). When working with animals or human infants, a surrogate is used. The surrogate is most often the animal’s guardian. A technician is also acceptable.

The surrogate holds a small glass vial of a potential allergen, consisting of water and the allergen’s energetic vibration. These vials can be purchased from the NAET office in California after completing the training. You can make your own samples by placing very tiny amounts of the substance in a glass vial.

With one hand, the surrogate holds the vial in direct contact with the pet and extends her free arm towards the practitioner. The surrogate is asked to keep lifting the arm with even, upward pressure as the practitioner gently pushes the arm down. If the surrogate’s arm becomes weak under gentle downward pressure, this indicates sensitivity to the allergen in the vial. This sequence is repeated with several allergens. Some practitioners have learned ways of testing using their fingers, thus eliminating the need for surrogates (Khalsa, Deva Kaur. “NAET, allergies and the immune system”, Proceedings AHVMA, 1998, p. 126+)

I have decreased the time this process takes by simply holding the kit open and touching each allergen myself while performing muscle testing with the surrogate. Within about five minutes, I can obtain a list of allergens specific for that day.

2. The second step is the allergen clearing process. The glass vial containing the identified allergen is secured to a collar-like band around the pet’s neck. The vial must stay in contact with the patient for approximately 20 minutes. With the vial still in contact, the practitioner then uses massage along the spine of the animal, firmly tapping each of the back association points from neck to sacrum. Acupuncture or acupressure is also used during the treatment to open the immune gates or points. Allergens can be eliminated one at a time. After ten to 20 minutes of clearing, the animal is re-tested to see if the allergen has cleared.

3. The animal must avoid the specifically cleared allergen for 25 hours following treatment. Only one allergen is cleared per visit, using this system. During the next appointment, the original allergen is rechecked to make sure it cleared, then the next one is addressed. For more advanced practitioners, in some situations, one can boost an old allergen but then continue to the next one. There is a protocol to doing this which varies a little from a standard clearing. Appointments can be done twice weekly or spread up to one month apart depending on the wishes of the client and the severity of the symptoms.

Repeating treatments

The results and number of repeated NAET treatments needed to resolve the allergens are dependent on:

• Length of time the animal has been affected by the allergies
• Exposure to electromagnetism, radiation and chemicals
• Accuracy of muscle testing
• General health status of the animal – young animals resolve very quickly without relapse
• Quality of nutrition
• Tenacity of the owner regarding treatment

In an integrative practice, we can offer many different approaches, often combining several. I like to blend herbal therapies with NAET, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the herbs. If eating a particular food generates maximum inflammation, then the herbs are not as effective because they are up against a daily deluge of inflammatory mediators. But if you can reduce this inflammation using NAET, dietary education, and information about the impending shifts in the immune system, then the effectiveness of the herbs is exponentially optimized. I have helped hundreds of dogs and cats using the combination of NAET and herbs.

By adding NAET to your practice, you have a dynamic way to evaluate why an animal is not responding as expected to your other holistic treatments. You can often resolve overt allergies, as well as more subtle ones causing autoimmune diseases.

Let go of preconceived notions

Muscle testing for NAET requires working on your ability to step aside from your ego and preconceived notions, and to step into the world of feeling for energy shifts. This was very difficult for me at first because I have always been taught to use my brain over my intuition. In essence, everyone can do NAET if he or she can approach the therapy with a light heart, forgiving oneself for mistakes or misconceptions, diving a bit into the unknown, feeling for and grabbing hold of the deep vital force that heals our patients.

Case studies

Louie

Louie was a nine-month-old rescue standard poodle mix who was adopted from a shelter two months before presentation on May 21, 2012. He was keeping his owners up all night with his scratching.  He had been previously diagnosed with demodectic mange, yeast and bacterial skin infections and was being treated with daily oral ivermectin, ketoconazole, prednisone and antibiotics.

A physical exam revealed a large amount of white mucus in both eyes, but no redness of the conjunctiva or sclera. He was thin with a black spot on his tongue and had crusty skin with large portions of hair missing from both sides of his trunk (not uniformly). His ALT was 68 but other bloodwork was normal.

NAET revealed that Louie was allergic to chicken, grains, mold and yeast, plus an essential amino acid combination. Since his diet was made of hydrolyzed chicken, he was allergic to his food. He was diagnosed with Liver Heat with exhaustion of Liver Qi and subsequent Kidney deficiency.

His diet was changed to 7 cups turkey (cooked), and 2 cups of veggies (liver cleanse specific), and was supplemented with chia seeds, coconut oil, and 1,200 mg calcium citrate. For herbs, he was given equal portions of Goto Kola (Centella asiatica), astragalas root and salvia leaf. All conventional meds were discontinued with minimal wean-off period.

Louie was very responsive and experienced almost immediate relief. By week two, his eyes were brighter and not as itchy, and his hair was growing back. His liver symptoms moved inward, and he developed minor digestive upset with burping and gas. His second treatment involved NAET clearing of amino acids, and acupuncture (LI 11, LI 4, GB 20, SP 6, LIV 3).

It took about four treatments to see results. After eight treatments, Louie had no more symptoms and has stayed symptom-free for several years, with no further treatments.

Lucy

Lucy, a 15-year-old cat, presented in June of 2014 with a several-month history of skin infection and lesions that, despite an E-collar, were not clearing up. Using NAET, her allergies were determined: fish, chicken, beef, grains, minerals, dust and human dander.

Lucy did not want to consume herbs, but we were able to change her diet to avoid fish and fish oil by using homemade cooked bison and vegetables that clear Heat and boost organ support (dandelion greens, beet greens for the liver; parsley, fennel bulb and asparagus for the kidneys). The total quantity of vegetables was 2 tablespoons a day to 2/3 cup cooked bison, with calcium citrate, taurine and soaked chia seeds. Her person made a topical herbal tea of calendula to apply twice a day.

It took six treatments to cure Lucy. She needed testing and tune-ups every two months but after the initial NAET clearings, standard TCM acupuncture was used to boost her Kidney and Liver Qi.