RadioVerso.org – Herbal Health

Nutrition is a relatively new science, barely 30 years old. It has already made impressive gains in knowledge. But we have only scratched the surface. In coming years nutritionists will discover and identify many new vitamins and other nutritional factors which will play an important role in your health.

Therefore, one who does not suffer from any specific disease or deficiency but who is interested in food supplements for prophylactic or preventive reasons—that is for health protection —should not take any vitamins, minerals, or other isolated factors. But he should use natural food supplements, such as brewers yeast, kelp, bone meal, rose hips, cold-pressed vegetable oils, cod liver oil, wheat germ oil, etc. These are all natural, unrefined foods, rather than isolated vitamins or minerals. When you take them you will be benefiting not only from all the known vitamins and other nutritional factors, but also from all the unknown, as yet undiscovered, factors. Moreover, in such natural food supplements all the vital factors are present in their naturally balanced combination. This is important for two reasons. First, this will assure their full biological activity and maximum assimilation. Second, it will prevent overdosage which, as in the cases of vitamins D, A, and certain vitamins of the B-complex, could be quite dangerous.

The above remarks are made in reference to relatively healthy people. In the case of disease, however, the use of isolated vitamins and other nutritional factors could be not only justified but, in many cases, absolutely essential.

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These affect only middle-aged women, and then often only for a year or two. The story is striking. The woman complains that, while walking along, she suddenly finds that her legs have given way. She may land on her knees or pitch forward on her face. In either case she is always adamant that she is fully aware of what is happening, and equally adamant that she does not trip. The condition is variously assumed to be due to some weakness of the thigh muscles, or to a disturbance of blood flow in the brain-stem, interfering with postural reflexes. Whatever the mechanism, neurologists are confident that there is no association with epilepsy.

Jumping legs (myoclonic jerks; hypnic jerks)-About 80 per cent of the adult population, at some time in their lives, are conscious of a sudden jerk of one or other leg, usually in the twilight stage of drifting off to sleep. The jerk is associated with, or may cause, a sudden arousal. Some people have a great number of jerks, so many that their spouse, being bruised by the kicks, will refuse to share a bed with them. These jerks must represent some sort of paroxysmal discharge of nerve cells, not necessarily in the brain. They are therefore in this way close to epilepsy, but are not so regarded because of their near universality in the population, and their lack of association with frank epileptic seizures. Specifically, there is no relationship between these jerks and the morning myoclonic jerks associated with typical absence or tonic-clonic seizures.

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The changes in blood flow that we have considered so far affect all parts of the brain equally. In older people, arteriosclerotic changes take place in the arteries in the neck and head. There may be a temporary blockage of an artery to one part of the brain by a fragment of chalky deposit or thrombus swept downstream from a larger artery by the flow of blood. Neurologists call these blockages ‘transient ischaemic attacks’. In some of these short episodes, muscle weakness or tingling in one or other limb may slightly resemble partial motor or sensory seizures. However, although focal motor seizures may arise in the scarred brain in the territory of a permanently blocked artery after a stroke, transient ischaemic attacks are associated with transient paralysis rather than convulsions.

In younger people, localized (focal) neurological phenomena occur in migraine. In the first stage of a classical migraine attack, arterial spasm occurs, reducing cerebral blood flow focally. It is unclear whether this is primary or secondary to some depression of nerve cell activity. The occipital area is the region most often affected. This results in a hallucination of distorted vision or flashing lights, rather than the formed visual hallucination which may be part of a partial seizure arising in a temporal lob. Occassionally spasm affects the motor or sensory areas of the brain, producing short-lived paralysis or disturbance of sensation, without convulsions, on the opposite side of the body.

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There are three main types of prostate disorder — cancer of the prostate, prostatitis and prostatic hypertrophy or enlargement of the prostate. Cancer of the prostate is the third most common cancer experienced by males and is usually found in men over the age of sixty. Common symptoms are frequent and difficult urination and the presence of blood in the urine. Sometimes, however, there are no apparent symptoms. Prostatic examination by a medical practitioner is recommended for men in this age group.

Prostatitis is an infection of the prostate caused by bacteria and is treated with antibiotics. Enlargement of the prostate is a common complaint in men over 50. Symptoms include a lessening in the force of the urinary flow, difficult or patchy flow followed by dribble, and a feeling that the bladder is never completely empty. Some of these symptoms are a result of the enlarged prostate compressing the urethra, producing pressure on both bladder and urethra.

Treatment of benign enlargement of the prostate involves dietary, herbal and vitamin intake. Legumes, sprouted seeds and whole grains are valuable because of the hormones they contain. Other helpful foods include green string and red kidney beans, beetroot, cabbage, onions, parsley and pumpkin seeds. The herb saw palmetto forms the basis of herbal treatment and should be supplemented with horsetail. Anise is also recommended because of its mild oestrogenic action. Other herbal treatments are clivers, nettle, ginseng and couch grass. Zinc should also be taken as a supplement, as lack of zinc has been suggested as a possible cause of prostate enlargement.

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These are a type of syncope, but deserve a particular mention as the attacks are frequently misdiagnosed as epileptic seizures. Reflex anoxic seizures (also called pallid syncopal attacks) usually affect young children between 12 months and 4 years of age, but can affect older children and even adults. The attacks are always provoked by either a sudden fright, or unexpected pain. This unpleasant experience then stimulates a nerve (the vagus nerve) which causes the heart to slow down or even stop for a few seconds. As a result of this the child becomes pale, then limp, and may even have a brief clonic convulsion. Almost immediately the child will recover, may cry, and then appear sleepy. Within a few minutes the child is usually back to normal. These attacks do not damage the brain or heart, do not need treatment, and usually stop by the age of 5-10 years.

Breath-holding attacks-These attacks occur only in young children, aged usually between one and three years. The typical story is of a child who is frustrated, told off, or spanked. The child becomes angry or upset and will hold their breath. After a few seconds the child becomes blue (cyanosed) because of a lack of oxygen in the blood and loses consciousness, and becomes limp. Because of the reduced oxygen supply to the brain (as the child is not breathing) the child may have some clonic (jerking) movements and wet themselves. The child always starts breathing again and is back to normal within a few minutes. These breath-holding attacks usually stop by the age of 4-5 years.

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And lastly, not only what you eat, but how you eat is extremely important. After all, we are not what we eat, but what we assimilate. And assimilation of nutrients from the foods you eat is to a large degree dependent on proper eating habits.

Many of us eat too fast, gulp our food down without chewing it properly-not to mention the fact that we often eat when we are not really hungry, merely because it is dinner time. Also, we eat when we are tense and irritated or when our thoughts are far away from food. Or, we eat certain foods because we think they are good for us, without really enjoying them.

No, all foods should be eaten slowly and chewed very thoroughly. Never eat in a hurry. It is far better to skip a meal than to eat it in a hurry. Slow eating and good mastication will increase the assimilation of nutrients in the intestinal tract and make you feel satisfied with a smaller quantity of food. Well-chewed and generously salivated food is practically half-digested in the mouth. Saliva contains enzymes and other digestive agents.

And, finally, food should be eaten in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoyed. My old friend and teacher, Dr. Ragnar Berg, one of the world’s most renowned nutritionists, used to say, “Eating should be a pleasure.” Please, don’t misconstrue his statement to mean that you should eat for pleasure! Eat to live—don’t live to eat! The biological fact is that only foods eaten with a genuine pleasure will do you any good. A peaceful, unhurried, pleasurable, and happy atmosphere around the table will pay good dividends in improved digestion and assimilation of food and in better health.

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The latest scientific research shows that the single most important health and longevity factor is a scanty diet or underfeeding. Statistics collected from the several thousands of centenarians in Russia show that one common characteristic of all people who lived 100 years or longer is that throughout their lives they were all moderate eaters. Extensive animal studies reveal that moderate underfeeding increases longevity and decreases incidence of degenerative diseases.2 The eminent scientist, Dr. C. M. McCays of Cornell University, has shown by his research that overeating is the major cause of premature aging in civilized countries. To prolong life and assure good health he recommends a scanty diet of nutritionally superior natural foods.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “A full belly is the mother of all evil.” Obesity is, perhaps, the biggest American health problem and a contributing cause in the contraction of many diseases, including arthritis. As Thomas Edison suggested, “People gorge themselves with rich foods, use their time, ruin their digestion, and poison themselves…”

Food eaten in excess of the actual bodily need acts in the system as a poison; interferes with digestion; causes internal sluggishness, gas, incomplete assimilation, and other metabolic disturbances. It causes fermentation and putrefaction and actually poisons your system.

Leave your table when the food tastes its best. Several smaller meals or snacks are better than a few huge meals. Train yourself to systematically undereat and you will give yourself the best—and the cheapest—health insurance possible.

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Before fasting.

Prepare a supply of pure water. Pure means exactly that. Note, that tap water usually contains chlorine, fluoride, heavy metals from pipelines, traces of herbicides, pesticides, solvents etc. and preferably it should not be used for drinking at all. Spring water from a safe source is probably the best. If no spring water is available, collect enough rain water, preferably in the country, where the air is clean. Alternatively well filtered water could be used.

2 days before fasting

Eat only light food, mostly fruit. No meat, no fish, no eggs. No alcohol. Drink at least 2 litres of water. Eat breakfast and lunch only. Skip dinner. Vegetarians could skip this preparation and go to the next phase.

1 day before fasting

Eat only light food, mostly fruit. No meat, no fish, no eggs. No alcohol. Drink at least 2 litres of water. Eat breakfast and a light lunch only. Skip dinner.

In the evening make an enema.. This is the single most important step. Never attempt fasting without making an enema first. The

reason is quite simple. Before fasting, your body expected a new load of food to digest and absorb every day. When your intestines are full, and you stop eating, some of the food waste is absorbed back into your bloodstream. This will cause extra poisoning, because the body absorbs the toxic waste, which was prepared for excretion.

Making the enema cleanses the intestine, and the body, sensing nothing to absorb, enters into a self-purifying mode of operation.

After the enema go to bed early. Your body is already in a self-cleansing state and will continue to cleanse itself when you sleep.

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There is a close relationship between the skin and the nervous system. In the early development of the fertilized human ovum into the embryo, adjacent cells are split off so that some will ultimately develop into the skin and others into the nerve cells of the central nervous system. When our skin is gently stroked our nerves are calmed, but when our skin is tickled our whole nervous system is convulsed. It is therefore not surprising that activity of brain cells is often reflected in the activity of the cells of the skin. In other words, emotional stresses in the mind are apt to produce nervous rashes in the skin. This is such common knowledge that it is reflected in our everyday speech when we talk of something “getting under our skin”; and we can observe emotional reactions in the skin when people blush with embarrassment, go pale with fear, or turn livid in anger. Thus the self-management of nervous rashes involves both a reduction in the general level of anxiety and a reduction of responsiveness to emotional stress.

A doctor’s wife came to see me because of a nervous rash which she had had for the past two years. I showed her a little about relaxation, and as she lived in the country it was arranged that she would return to the city in a month’s time for an extended visit so that I could help her further. But she wrote cancelling her appointment, saying that the rash had already cleared.

She came to see me some two years later when she had a slight recurrence. The rash quickly settled down just as on the previous occasion.

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While medical treatments can cure many forms of back problems, including those that give rise to sciatica, it still remains a fact that many sufferers will continue to experience pain at times because of their underlying condition. Essentially, a patient is most likely to have to cope with pain under the following circumstances:

When the problem first manifests itself, pain being almost invariably the first symptom. Naturally, depending upon the severity of the problem, the sufferer will then either seek medical help immediately or perhaps wait a while in the hope that the symptoms ease or disappear of their own account.

Even when medical treatment or other remedial therapy has been initiated, it may take a while for this to take full effect and pain may still be experienced now and then.

Then, of course, many people have what might be called ‘mild sciatica’ in that occasionally they have pain or perhaps only discomfort, which although bothersome, they feel is not severe enough to seek medical help. It needs to be stated once again that anyone experiencing symptoms severe enough to cause concern should seek medical advice. However, there’s little doubt that good though this advice is, not everyone will take it, many people preferring to try to control or reduce their pain rather than seeking to deal with the problem that may be causing it.

While the many forms of treatment available for back problems are described elsewhere in this book, in this chapter we will concentrate solely on those measures intended to eliminate or reduce pain. But first of all. . .

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