There Are No Cures

Lesson 65 - There Are No Cures

Introduction

Many of the methods of treatment that were often prescribed by physicians during the 19th century and before are today considered useless and life-threatening. But the physicians during that time persisted in such practices as bleeding, blistering, purging, and the use of heavy metals, especially mercury, because they witnessed that, in some patients, symptoms would disappear. This, however, was an illusion. Symptoms were suppressed but there was no recovery of health. Indeed, many people died because of the treatment but the physicians did not recognize that the “cure” itself was the direct cause of the deaths.

Since that time, there has been a constant search for that elusive “cure.” Harmful results occur when people become so convinced that these “cures” will restore health that they rely upon this illusion instead of looking to their modes of living as the real cause of their ill health. You must, therefore, strive to become more independent thinkers. You must begin to question “cures” and seek the truth by seeing things from a different perspective.

If a certain drug is found particularly harmful and taken off the market, we are told that we should not doubt the effectiveness of all of these agents. However, we should not follow ourselves to be deceived by them. One may feel better for awhile after taking one of these symptom-suppressing agents, but our so-called “cure” is a deception. The “cure” will not last. By seeking the truth, we will be lead to the true cause of disease and from this we may know how to regain our health.

A good example of how the American people have been misled by this delusion of “cures” lies in the practice of immunization. People have been told that vaccines build up antibodies that protect the vaccinated from disease. This is a false claim. Disease is the result of unhealthful living and one cannot be “immunized” against his errors in living.

Any violation against physiological law always results in sickness. This would include any failure to meet sleep requirements, proper food, air, water, sunshine, exercise, or other needs The body’s ability to adapt is remarkable but freedom from symptoms is a delusion when it is produced by drugs in contravention of physiological functions.

Under such circumstances, the body will inevitably become exhausted and more chronic illnesses will ensue.

The adverse effects of drugs were illustrated in a previous lesson and more and more people are realizing the dangers of these poisons and are looking elsewhere for “cures.” Thus, we see many drugless practitioners throughout the country promising all sorts of “cures.” This lesson will review some of the more popular “cures” and it will be demonstrated that they are harmful and, at best, relatively innocuous.

You should keep in mind that there are no “cures.” There is no diet, no herb, no massage therapy that will restore health if the underlying cause of sickness is not removed. As we have stated before, health will result only from healthful living.

Herbal “Cures”

History

Herbs have been used throughout recorded history as “cures” for various ailments. However, the use of herbs came into the forefront more formally in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Samuel Thomson is credited for the wide spread of this practice during that time in history. During that time, the regular medical practice included harsh bleed, purge, and blister methods. The popularity of the Thomsonian sect arose not necessarily from their success in curing patients’ ills but from the fact they seemed to kill fewer patients than did their entrenched competitors—the regular medical practitioners. Thomson’s empirical system was based largely on the use of steam and herbs.

Many people opposed the regular profession, but they had no more knowledge of how to remedy its deficiencies than did the regular physician. They found many aspects of regular medicine repugnant but they did not know why or how they were undesirable. The public could only choose among the alternatives available at the time.

Thomson saw his mother die of measles in spite of the care of several local physicians (or was it because of their treatment?); earlier, he felt he had “cured” himself of the same disease through the use of botanies. The illusion is that what appeared to “cure” did not. At best it was less harmful than the regular mode of therapy and therefore the body was able to overcome this drug obstacle and achieved the purposes for which it instituted the healing crises. A year after his mother’s death, Thomson’s wife became severely ill following childbirth. Several local physicians treated her, but her condition continued to worsen. As she neared death, Thomson wisely dismissed the traditional practitioners and their poisonous treatments. He then called in the local “root doctors.” One day later, his wife appeared “cured.” Of course, the herbs did not “cure” but the body promptly set about the process of healing when the deadly drugs were removed.

On another occasion, Thomson badly lacerated his ankle with an axe while clearing some virgin land with his father. After a number of treatments, including soaking it in turpentine, he naturally became worse. He then ended up at the home of one Dr. Kitteridge who treated the wound with herbs and was credited with healing him. The body cannot heal if it is continually assaulted with toxins. When toxic herbs are removed, healing and repair are accelerated. Dr. Kitteridge or his herbs did not assume healing obviously. Herbs cannot help. They present less of an obstacle to the body than the harsh treatment of medical practitioners.

These incidences were enough to convince Thomson that herbs had the power to “heal” and the Thomsonian Sect began to emerge. Thomson became convinced that all disease arose from one general cause and that one remedy could effect a “cure.” The cause was cold and the cure, heat. He, like the Greeks believed, “all animal bodies are formed of four elements, earth, air, fire, and water.” Any imbalance among these four elements which reduced the power of the heat resulted in illness. To effect a cure, one must restore the balance. Thomson sought to restore the balance through the use of purgatives, enemas and sweat producing botanicals. The chief ingredient was lobelia, an emetic which grew wild in much of North America. To this he might add capsium, hemlock, bayberry, ginger, or pepper, and cloves to make a concoction often referred to as “Composition Tea.” What Thomson did not realize is that you cannot poison anyone into health. But he killed fewer people with his method than the regular practitioners and was therefore considered successful.

Thomson patented his system and marketed it through representatives who traveled about the country selling copies of his two volume work, New Guide to Health; or Botanic Family Physician.

The treatment that Thomson advocated was rather harsh. As with the regular therapeutics, if the patient recovered, it was in spite of the treatment and not because of it. The following is one patient’s account of treatment that he received (Frank G. Halstead, “A first-hand account of a treatment by Thomsonian medicine in the 1830’s” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 10 (1941): 680-687.):

“The Thomsonian treatment is a steam bath 30 minutes in duration. When the sweat rolls off as thick as your finger the body is washed with cold water and the patient is straight-way put to bed with hot bricks to bring back his heat. Then a powerful vomitive is administered, composed of bayberry, of cayenne (red pepper) and lobelia, which suffer naught impure to remain in the stomach, and all these herbs are mixed in 40 proof brandy, after which warm water is drunk until there has ensued the most extraordinary vomiting. Next, the patient rises and takes a second bath, like the first. He takes again to his bed, after having been laved with cold water and is surrounded with hot bricks and remains in bed for an hour. At the end of this time he takes two injections (enemas) of pennyroyal, cayenne pepper and lobelia and the treatment is over for the day.”

The fact that this system was of no value is obvious. It is remarkable that the body could withstand such a treatment. Yet some individuals recovered to a certain extent and, as harsh as this treatment was, it was still less harmful than the heroic treatment that it supplanted.

With the death of Samuel Thomson in 1843, his organization (already split three ways) disintegrated. The principal contending factions came to be known as True Thomsonians, the Physio-pathists, the Physio-medicals, and the Eplectics.

Herbal Medicine Today

Herbal medicine is still practiced today but not on that formal basis. However, there are several misleading books, organizations, and schools that advocate and teach about herbal “cures.” We condemn herbs because, first of all, they have no ability to heal arid secondly, they are very dangerous due to their toxicity.

Some authors have been known to advocate the use of the herb squill which is an ingredient often found in rat poison. Mark Bricklin lists some of the most toxic herbs in his book Natural Healing.

“In general, it is safe to say that you should never use the following herbs for a home remedy: Jimson weed, daffodils, spurge, arnica, wormwood, mandrake, hellebore, squill, poison hemlock, tobacco, tonka beans, aconite, white bryony, nux vomica, calabar bean,

camphor, ergot, ignatius beans, bittersweet, gelsemium; henbane, celandine, belladonna, foxglove, and may flower.”

Tansy is a narcotic and may result in abortion. Valerian in excessive doses may result in headache and even delusions. Goldenseal is extremely toxic if taken in stronger doses than one-quarter of a teaspoon to a cup of water. Even in this dose, the poisoning effects are present but they are not immediately noticeable.

Comfrey (Symphytum Officinale)

Comfrey root will produce a high amount of gummy substance and the root and the leaf are both high in allantoin and pyrrolizidine, substances that are claimed to help with cell proliferation. An increase of cells will occur due to an inflammatory response to the presence of this foreign agent against the skin. Comfrey has no power to heal skin wounds but will interfere with proper healing initiated by the body. When this substance is applied externally to a wound, the outside of the abrasion will close faster than it normally would. This is a response on the part of the body to protect itself so that foreign matter does not enter into the system. As a result, proper healing, from within, is impaired.

It is also claimed that comfrey will help broken bones to knit. This is impossible since healing can only take place from within the body and no agent applied externally or ingested can promote this process.

Many herbalists advocate the use of comfrey as a tea or to be used raw in salads. However, recent studies have proven that this practice may be harmful. According to Dian Dincin Buchman (Herbal Medicine, New York: Gramercy Publishing Company, 1979). “Comfrey is in the same plant family as several other plants (Senecio, Crotolaria, Heliotropium), and these plants, investigation now indicates, contain some natural poisons in the form of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. These plants have been implicated in various accidental human and animal poisonings.

“The young leaves of comfrey, thought to be edible and rich in chlorophyll, and used in many natural green drinks, may contain up to 0.15 percent (1,500 parts per million) of the alkaloid.

“Dr. Claude Culvenor of the Animal Health Division of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization has worked on this subject and studied this alkaloid in pasture weeds. He is particularly conversant with heliotrope, a weed from the same plant family as comfrey.

“He notes, ‘At least four of these alkaloids are known to be carcinogens, and it is probable that the type found in comfrey is also carcinogenic. While it is unlikely that anybody eating comfrey in small quantities would suffer serious effects, its regular use as a green vegetable could cause chronic liver damage or worse. Plants in the same family, have caused human poisonings: in the USSR, Africa, India, and Afghanistan after their accidental consumption in bread over a period of one or two years. The evidence of these outbreaks, considering the amount of the alkaloid we have measured in comfrey, suggests that daily consumption of several young leaves of the plant over a similarly lengthy period will lead to serious disease.’ ”

There are no cures in comfrey and we should eschew this herb. It is, however, useful in the organic garden as an excellent mulch and as an addition to the compost pile as it contains a large amount of nitrogen. Its prolific blossoms also attract honey bees to the garden ensuring proper pollination to all crops.

Ginseng (Panax Schinseng)

Ginseng is an herb with a long, flesh root that is often used as a medicine. It is a low plant with three leaves on the top. Each leaf is made up of five leaflets. Ginseng has small greenish-yellow flowers. Some of these flowers later produce scarlet berries. The

Chinese use ginseng to “treat” many illnesses. The name of this plant comes from Chinese words meaning likeness of a man, because of the shape of its root. Those shaped most like a human body are said to be the most valuable.

American ginseng is cultivated chiefly in Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, and Wisconsin. The plant glows wild in pans of the United States and Canada.

Ginseng is a stimulant for the central nervous system. It is often taken as a tonic, a “pick me up,” to sharpen the memory, suppress coughs, ward off colds, etc. This drug effect will eventually lead to extreme enervation and chronic diseases due to the constant stimulation and suppression of symptoms.

Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum Minimum)

The official name, capsicum, is derived from the Greek word “to bite,” and a single taste of this substance will convince you why it was so named. This “biting” effect on the tongue and mouth will give you a clue as to what effect it has on the internal digestive tract. It is a powerful irritant and poison. It is taken for its stimulant effect which are, in reality, nature’s efforts to eliminate this poison as soon as possible. Cayenne pepper should never be taken in any form, in any amount.

Peppermint (Memha Piperitu)

Peppermint is a favourite beverage all over the world. It is taken for a suppressive effect on the digestive system to control diarrhea, spasms, and relieve indigestion. Peppermint is very high in tannin which is a very astringent acid and its use results in enervation and impairment of normal metabolism.

There are many other herbs that are commonly used but we should eschew them all. They do not have any property to “cure” and they contribute to ill health due to their poisonous products.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is a cactus that grows outdoors in tropical and subtropical climates and indoors everywhere else. When you break open one of its leaves, you see a thick, clear liquid ooze out.It is this liquid that is claimed to be a “cure” for burns, ulcers, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, psoriasis, shingles, hemorrhages, post-surgery treatment and more. It is applied topically and taken internally in a liquid form. However, instead of curing anything, it is actually a toxic substance. It contains allontoin which results in the same adverse effects as the alkaloid of comfrey. A cathartic, its purgative properties are due to three pentosides (barbaloin, iso-barbaloin, and beta-barbaloin) and to a resin. The resin is aloetin.

Aloe emodin occurs in the free state and as glycoside in various species of aloe and is extremely irritating to the delicate linings of the intestinal tract. The body attempts to discharge this poison quickly. Hence, its purgative effects.

But what about the claims? Many people experience that their sores, burns, and ulcers heal almost immediately after applying aloe vera, where otherwise would heal very slowly. The body is continually striving toward health and will do all it can to protect itself from any poisonous substances. When aloe vera is applied to an ulcer, the body closes off that opening as quickly as it can to block the entrance of that poisonous substance thereby protecting itself. This gives the false impression of proper healing. However, when the ulcer was an outlet for toxic materials, this vital outlet is closed off and toxins are kept inside the body. Now a new outlet must be found. Either other ulcers will form or more serious diseases will result.

If you do not interfere with bodily intelligence, healing will take place. To “intelligently do nothing” is the best advice for all ulcers, psoriasis, etc. That is, simply follow

the teachings of Life Science/Natural Hygiene and your body will surely be vital enough to heal itself promptly.

Acupuncture

The principles of acupuncture are based on cell paralysis. The idea on which Chinese medicine is founded is the “Doctrine of the Two Principles: Yang and Yin.” According to this philosophy, everything in the universe is governed by these two principles. Yang is the masculine principle, Yin the feminine. They are opposite in all aspects. Yang stands for heaven, Yin for earth. Yang is heat, Yin is cold. Life and death, strong and weak, positive and negative, day and night, dry and wet, hard and soft, light and dark—all these are Yang-Yin—pairs of opposites. Unless these two forces are in exact balance, according to Chinese folklore, health, peace, and well-being are impossible to attain. When the relationship between Yang and Yin get out of balance within a person’s body, illness results. The task of the physician, then, is to restore health by renewing the equality of Yang and Yin, according to the Chinese acupuncturist.

The Chinese regard acupuncture as a complete medical system based upon the principle that man is a part of nature. Since nature is precise, then therefore, man is precise. Predictable order reigns in nature and in man. They claim that disturbance in that order results in illness and it is the acupuncturist’s work to restore that order and thereby “cure” the illness. By inserting hair-thin needles into certain points on the body, acupuncturists treat disease and malfunctions of every organ of the body. The Chinese people believe that channels of energy, called “meridians” run through the body. In acupuncture, needles are inserted at specific points along the meridians.

Illness is explained in terms of disharmony between man and nature, and in man, between Yin and Yang. Illnesses are either Yin or Yang and the therapy used to “cure” them will be either Yin or Yang.

Ch’i comes into the body at birth and leaves at death. During person’s lifetime it flows in a specific and continuous pattern in the forms of Yin and Yang. Ch’i does not inhabit the body at random, although it is present throughout the organism. Instead it flows inside a system of channels called “meridians” that extend into the arms and legs and around the torso beneath the surface of the skin. These meridians are not the vessels of the circulatory system that carry blood. They are not the nerves of the central nervous system.

The Chinese contend that Yin and Yang may not be equal—one rises as the other falls—but their total amount must be properly distributed among the organs for the body to remain healthy. In any organ, Yin and Yang are delicately balanced with each other. Illness results if the balance is disrupted. At certain times of the day, the Yin or Yang “influence” will be stronger than its counterpart, but this is a normal rhythm and will not cause illness or disease. When an imbalance causes sickness, the acupuncturist tries to discover where Yin or Yang has become too strong and with his needles restore the balance, as prescribed in an ancient book called the Nei Ching. The illness supposedly disappears when he has done this successfully.

Such treatment based on superstition and opposed to physiology must be discarded. Acupuncturists hold no “cures” and their needles cannot possibly heal. They can do harm if they strike a nerve and damage it. Cleverly-placed needles distress the nerves, resulting in the secretion of narcotizing encephalins, but this procedure cannot possibly restore health. One is anesthesized into relative unawareness of illness.

Megavitamins

Vitamins resemble enzymes in their catalytic action, producing changes without undergoing any changes in themselves. They are active in extremely minute quantities.

Vitamins are constant constituents of living tissues and they make it possible for the body to utilize proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and minerals and are essential to growth, regeneration, and maintenance of health. They must be taken in the context of whole foods since there is a distinct relation between the amount of vitamins required and the other food elements. As Dr. Shelton tells us, the efficiency of the vitamins is dependent upon the composition of the food mixture.

Adverse changes take place when an excessive amount of vitamins are taken in concentrated form, especially vitamins A, E, and D. The other vitamins can be harmful, too, but these are the fat soluble vitamins and are difficult to eliminate and oxidize when taken in excess. As a result, you have abnormal changes that take place in the cells.

If the vitamins and minerals have been separated from their natural partners or nutritive elements that stabilize them and work harmoniously with them, they become harmful. There is not an isolated nutritive component that can lead to the same kind of activity that results when nutritional elements are derived from a natural source. In an extracted form, there is some activity but if is not a normal one.

The vitamins that are contained in fruits, vegetables, and nuts are much more available than those derived from other food sources, such as flesh foods or any cooked foods. The vitamins in synthetic form are not utilizable at all.

Even those vitamins derived from raw foods may not be utilized due to certain abnormal interferences such as the inhibiting effects of tobacco upon digestion, the use of coffee, tea, and other such substances. Also, the use of vinegar and condiments inhibit digestion and thus prevent vitamin utilization.

The body uses vitamins and minerals synergistically with one another. For example, the utilization of vitamin C is better with iron and the B complex. The B complex is used better with A and D. Such minerals as zinc, manganese, and magnesium are necessary for best utilization of vitamin C and B complex. In whole raw foods, we receive the vitamins and minerals in correct proportions so that they are used appropriately.

Concerning the use of synthetic vitamins as “cures” Dr. Shelton says:

“The use of certain vitamins is said to ‘cure’ certain ‘diseases.’ We must not permit ourselves to be misled by these claims. They have no more validity than the claims that drugs, or other such substances, ‘cure’ disease. There is no so-called disease that is due to a unitary cause—every disease is the complex effects of a number of correlated antecedents—and no disease is curable by a unitary cure. On the other hand, practically all of the so-called deficiency states that are said to require vitamins for their cure, will and do get well while the patient is fasting and drinking only distilled water. The wild enthusiasm caused by the discovery of vitamins will sooner or later, give way to sober reflection and it will then be recognized that the research workers and others have permitted their enthusiasm to run away with their judgment.”

A study was conducted to determine the link between adequate amounts of vitamins and the ability of the liver to produce a group of enzymes that inhibits the action of carcinogens. Laboratory animals were fed an artificial diet that included sufficient quantities of all known vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in a highly-purified form. The animals were unable to produce the important liver enzymes. When small amounts of alfalfa were added to the artificial diet, the enzyme production began almost immediately. Other fresh vegetables—cabbage, brussels sprouts, turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, dill, and celery—also enabled their systems to produce the anti-carcinogenic enzymes.

We cannot utilize inorganic vitamins and minerals. All the essential nutrients that we require are provided in abundance in a diet of raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts. If our diet is correct, we do not have to worry about deficiencies of any kind.

The Vitamin E Cure

Vitamin E is widely promoted as a preventive, a treatment, or a “cure” for literally scores of human ailments—ranging from diabetes and heart disease to infertility, ulcers, and warts.

A consumer’s report cited an early experiment conducted to determine whether vitamin E was a valid therapy:

“In 1953 M. K. Horwitt, M.D., head of the Biochemical Research Laboratory at Elgin State Hospital in Elgin, Illinois, made the first study of what happens when humans are maintained for protracted periods on low-E diets. The project spanned more than eight years—making it one of the longest as well as one of the most thorough studies of human metabolism under controlled conditions. A total of thirtyeight subjects participated in the study.

“The outcome of the project can be simply stated: There was no apparent physical or mental impairment caused by the restricted intake of vitamin E. Low-E patients remained in satisfactory health, despite the fact that blood levels of alpha-tocopherol were lowered by 80 percent. The survival time of their red blood cells became somewhat shorter—on the average, about 100 days instead of 123—than that of the two comparison groups (those on a low-E diet who received vitamin E supplements, and those on a standard diet). But the number of cells remained adequate and no patient became anemic. Nevertheless, the shorter survival time was considered sufficient reason for termination of the experiment. In earlier studies monkeys maintained on diets severely deficient in vitamin E had developed anemia, and Horwitt did not want to risk that possibility with the Elgin patients. In short, the study showed that human beings apparently need some vitamin E, but that the requirement is a modest one and can be easily satisfied by typical, everyday diets.”

Vitamin E enthusiasts claim that millions of Americans, especially those whose intake of polyunsaturated fats is low, don’t get enough vitamin E in their diet. The deficit, they insist, should be made up by vitamin E supplements. The fact is, however, as the National Research Council made clear in 1973, that vitamin E is available in adequate quantities in the ordinary diet. More than adequate supplies are in vegetables or fruits or nuts.

In a report published in March 1979, a recommendation against the over-the-counter sale of vitamin E supplements on the grounds that deficiencies of vitamin E are “practically nonexistent.” Currently, the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin E for adults is 12 to 15 International Units, equivalent to approximately 8 to 10 milligrams of natural vitamin E in foods.

Very low levels of vitamin E have been found in patients with cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, nontropical sprue, chronic pancreatitis, and a few other diseases. These disorders are not caused by lack of vitamin E, however, nor can they be helped by vitamin E. All of these ailments have one feature in common: an impairment in the small intestine’s ability to absorb fat. Consequently, the vitamin E dissolved in that fat is not absorbed either. Even if such patients eat diets with an abundant quantity of vitamin E, very little of it would reach their bloodstreams.

The doses of vitamin E specified in medicinal use commonly range from 300 to 600 milligrams a day or even higher—from thirty to sixty times the Recommended Daily Allowance. Clinical trials have failed to show any vitamin E benefits for miscarriages, sterility, menopausal disturbances, muscular dystrophies, cystic fibrosis, blood disorders, leg ulcers, diabetes, and a variety of heart and vascular diseases. No drug, including vitamin E, can “cure” these diseases because the causes for them are not dealt with. The 1973 statement by the National Research Council was also negative about the supposed

value of vitamin E supplements for the wide variety of ailments for which vitamin E is promoted.

The efficacy of vitamin E in toilet soaps or cosmetics for skin care, despite advertised claims, has not been demonstrated. We know that no substance possesses any curative properties. Its proposed advantage in a deodorant was ruled out when the distribution of Mennen E was halted by its manufacturer because of an unexpected number of adverse reactions in unhappy users.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C has been recommended to combat cancer, atherosclerosis, every “viral” disease, every so-called bacterial disease, poisoning of all kinds, mental illness, colds, injury, temperature extremes, old age, diabetes, allergy, cataracts, kidney stones, radiation sickness, arthritis, headaches, and bee stings.

While vitamin C plays a very important role in human physiology, it does not have the ability to wipe out the effects of unhealthful living that result in numerous acute and chronic diseases.

Since Dr. Pauling declared that vitamin C was a sure “cure” for the common cold, millions of Americans have been running to their neighborhood drugstores to obtain this vitamin. The effect of this practice is really a drug effect. While the body is eliminating excesses of vitamin C, other housecleaning duties (such as debris eliminated during colds) are temporarily halted. Thus, the illusion of “prevention” or “cure.”

All fresh raw fruits and vegetables contain several times over the vitamin C that we need. When cooked, however, this vitamin is readily destroyed and is, therefore, not available to us. It is important that we consume all our foods raw and as fresh as possible. Even in the winter, when freshness is lacking in many of our fruits and vegetables, we still receive a more than adequate supply.

Reflexology (Zone Therapy)

Reflexology is a specialized form of massage and, among the many claims, it is said to be able to restore normalcy of function and give relief from pain to virtually any part of the body. The two basic modes of this therapy are foot reflexology and hand reflexology.

According to reflexology therapists, organs or parts on the right side of the body have their reflex areas on the right foot or hand. Organs on the left side of the body have their reflex areas on the left, foot and hand. Organs extending past the middle or center of the body will have reflex areas on both feet and hands. Where there are two like organs or parts (kidneys, ovaries, etc.), each has a reflex area on its corresponding foot and hand. The lower half of the body has its reflex areas on the lower half of the, foot, and the upper half of the body has its reflex areas on the upper half of the foot. The waistline is located approximately halfway between the base of the toes and the lower part of the heel.

It is said that reflexology stimulates the internal organs and increases circulation. It is based on the theory that if the body is in a healthy condition, with no congestion in it, no tender areas should be found on the feet. The tenderness, they say, is caused by crystalline deposits that form at the nerve endings in the feet. The purpose in doing compression foot massage is to break up these deposits (or crush them) so that they may become solvent and be carried away with the rest of the waste material in the body. Once these deposits are dissolved, the congestion is relieved, and the circulation to the body is improved.

This theory sounds reasonable, but like other therapies, it is based on symptomatic relief. It does not restore health because it does not remove the underlying cause of ill health. There can not be any “cures” through this method or any other if the causes of

disease are left in force. Calcium deposits that may be deposited in the feet are the result of incorrect living habits. Simply removing these deposits does not create health.

Relaxation Therapy

When the fight-or-flight response is evoked, it brings into play the sympathetic nervous system, which is part of the autonomic, or involuntary nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system acts by secreting specific hormones: adrenalin or epinephrine and noradrenalin or norepinephrine. These hormones, epinephrine and its related substances, bring about the physiologic changes of increased blood pressure, heart, rate, and body metabolism.

Dr. Herbert Benson (The Relaxation Response, New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1975) says:

“While the fight-or-flight response is associated with the overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, there is another response that leads to a quieting of the same nervous system, indeed, there is evidence that hypertensive subjects can lower their blood pressure by regularly eliciting this other response. This is the Relaxation Response, an opposite, involuntary response that causes a reduction in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Since we cannot easily change the nature of modern life, perhaps better prevention and therapy for hyoerten:ior and other creases related to the fight-or-flight response might be achieved by actively bringing forth the Relaxation Response.”

It is true that stress does affect our health and we should learn to deal with this problem. It is also true that we need rest and relaxation on a daily basis. But this aspect alone will not produce health. All the other requirements for health must also be present in one package of totally healthful living. There are no “cures” in the Relaxation Response. If blood pressure is lowered, or metabolism is lowered through this method, this does not indicate that total health has been achieved. One or two symptoms of ill health may have temporarily disappeared, but that is all.

It has been claimed that people have been “cured” from such symptoms as facial pain after a single session of this therapy. Do not be fooled by this illusion. Ill health is developed after a period of time and the body needs time to heal. It cannot accomplish this task in a few minutes or a few days, it takes time. But when the proper conditions are provided (e.g., through a fast), the body will restore health.

Ultrasound Therapy

The device used for ultrasound therapy consists of a small box. On its face are a few simple dials and gauges. Attached to a cord running into the unit is a transducer similar in appearance to a small bathtub shower spray extension. This transducer emits a stream of sound waves, at a frequency so high that they are inaudible to the human ear.

When this therapy is applied, a gel is spread on the surface of the body that is to be treated. When the transducer is placed against the injured part, the gel keeps the sound waves from being lost in the air.

On the box of the ultrasound unit is a dial where the ultrasound frequency may be set. It produces heat as the sound waves rub against cell molecules and cause them to vibrate. This heat penetrates just slightly under the skin but the ultrasound can penetrate into the joint.

This therapy is often used for persons with arthritis associated with calcium Deposits. The ultrasound waves break up the calcium which then disperses. One main problem is that it can also effect healthy bone and cause destruction there. The higher the ultrasound frequency, the greater the risk of bone damage. Since this therapy is still re-

ally in experimental stages, it is unknown what is a safe frequency, if indeed, there is. a safe range and also how long to apply the treatment. Besides being risky, no real and long-lasting benefit can be achieved. Calcium deposits may be broken up but the cause for their deposition has not been removed. They will, therefore, once again accumulate. At best, it is palliative. On the other hand, it can destroy healthy tissues and bones.

Radiation Therapy

Repeated surveys have shown that those physicians who have the most contact with radiation (radiologists) have a significantly higher incidence of leukemia—at least nine times greater than that among all other males of the same age and at least four times greater than that for other physicians.

Radiation Destroys Cells

As atomic radiation permeates living tissues, highly-organized units of living matter in the cell are disrupted. Fundamentally, the cell is composed of atoms and molecules which are split by radiation into electrically-charged fragments. This ionization process is completed in less than a trillionth of a second, yet it triggers off a chain reaction of subtle events within the cell leading to its damage or eventual death. Since cells are not inert blobs of matter but living, reproducing, organisms, they react to the radiation-induced injury by repair processes which lead to apparent recovery. If the radiation dose is overwhelming, immediate or only slightly delayed death of the cell ensues when the cell attempts to divide.

Radiation also harms cells by producing changes in the environment. Cells are bathed by solutions from which radiation-produced activated products can reach and damage them. Also, cells can be damaged by interference with their blood supply and the action of poisonous products released by radiation-killed cells themselves.

Tissue Damage

Since tissues are a specialized population of cells, their exposure to radiation causes damage as a consequence of injury and death of the component cells. The overall effect involves not only the direct action of the radiation on the individual cells but changes in the surroundings of the tissues.

One tissue may give an immediate response to radiation and another no apparent or detectable response. However, the seemingly unresponsive tissue may show injury at a much later date. The recovery of tissues from immediate radiation injury depends on the specific cell types, or the size of the radiation dose, and on the time between repeated irradiations. These factors have been summarized by Doctors E. G. Williams and S. C. Ingraham II in a United States Health report for 1956 (Jack Schubert, Radiation NY: Viking Press, 1957):

“The blood-forming organs, the skin, the membranes lining body cavities, and the secreting glands may regenerate completely and resume their normal functions. Muscle, brain, and portions of the kidney and eye cannot regenerate; their repair results only in scar formation. Even those tissues that can regenerate may fail to respond after repeated ionization and cause conditions such as nonhealing ulcers or

aplastic anemia (bone marrow destruction). Also, repeated regeneration may produce cancerous conditions ... These changes have all been observed in animals following radiation exposures at levels corresponding to doses only slightly above the accepted safe limits for man. There are no constant clinical symptoms which can be relied upon to warn of latent radiation injury before life-threatening changes become manifest.”

Effects on Genes

No cell fully recovers from a dose of radiation. While a cell may seem to recover, there is an irreversible effect on the chromosomes and genes. According to Drs. Williams and Ingraham: “Ionizing radiation can alter the genes in the body (somatic) cells and in the reproductive (sexual) cells and cause them to grow or reproduce abnormally. If a gene change occurs in a sexual cell, a mutation will occur in later generations provided that the cell is used in reproduction. If a gene change occurs in a cell of growing or regenerating somatic tissue like skin, liver, or bone marrow, it may cause cancerous or other harmful changes in the exposed individual.”

Hormonal Disturbances

The late effects of radiation are often produced in cooperation with disturbances in body function in general. One of these disturbances in particular—hormonal imbalance —can in itself aid and abet the cancer-producing effects of radiation or even delay years the appearance of the cancer. Consequently, in evaluating the changes wrought by radiation in the body we must also take into account the complex inter-relationship existing between the various organs and the hormones released by the different endocrine glands.

Dr. Schubert theorizes that since hormones influence the regeneration and growth of almost all the cells in the body, it is reasonable to assume that many of the late changes and cancers developed in the body after radiation are related to the impairment of the endocrine glands such as the pituitary, thyroid, gonads, and adrenals, either as a result of the radiation directly on the endocrine organ or, indirectly, because of damage to a distant organ which then brings forth a response from the endocrines.

Since a female child possesses at birth all the ova she will ever use, it is very important to note that exposure of the ovaries to radiation affects eggs which are to be fertilized in the future. Thus, radiation damage is preserved by the ova and may result in defective children. Even if the children appear normal, they may carry defects in their heredity (the genes) which will be manifest in later generations.

Depression of Cells

A single dose of 50 r to the whole body causes the number of lymphocytes to drop by one-half in about “two to three days. It takes about a week for it to return to the preradiation level. After higher but nonlethal doses of radiation, the lymphocyte drop is abrupt and little or no evidence of recovery may be apparent for several months. In fact, it may take years before the number of white cells returns to normal. Another significant observation is the fact that individuals previously exposed to radiation show a greater depression of cell numbers upon subsequent radiation exposure.

Brain Damage

The brain is considered to be relatively insensitive to small radiation doses, but this does not mean there is no damage—it means rather that there exists no suitable means of detecting damage, or that it has not beer, looked for, or that no cases have been followed for a long enough time. One must be suspicious of all tissues to which radiation has been given.

Relatively small doses of radiation to localized regions of the brain give immediate effects. In 1953, two volunteers were given 100 r to a localized region of the brain (diencephalon). About one and one-half hour; later they complained of ringing in the ears, generalized numbness, and apathy. Shortly thereafter they felt mentally stimulated. Sleep that night was very deep. The next morning they were very active and “high.” Then they became unusually quiet. The disturbances lasted about seven to ten days. These effects were confirmed in another experiment involving 120 persons.

There have also been several reports of brain damage in persons given heavy doses of radiation for brain tumors or for scalp lesions.

Laetrile

Derived from apricot pits, which contain cyanide, Laetrile was considered too toxic for human use by its discoverer, a Californian, Ernst Krebs, Sr., M.D. But years later, after his son, Ernst Krebs, Jr., claimed to have “purified” Laetrile, both father and son advocated it as an effective treatment for cancer. The Krebses patented their promising product as “Laetrile”—an acronym derived from the chemical name Laevo-mandelonitrile, the cyanide-containing substance they extracted from the crushed kernels of apricot pits.

The next step was to explain how Laetrile worked. With a little imagination, the younger Krebs came up with a “magic bullet” theory. Cancer cells, he claimed, contain an abundant amount of an enzyme that releases cyanide from Laetrile. The cyanide, in turn, kills off the tumor cells. Normal cells are low in that enzyme, the Krebs theory went, but rich in another enzyme that detoxifies the cyanide. So normal cells live while cancer cells die.

This theory was proved to be wrong. The supposedly abundant “releasing” enzyme is scarcer in cancer cells than in normal ones, and the “protective” enzyme is found in equal amounts in both kinds of cells. Moreover, cyanide does not have bullet-like precision. Because cyanide diffuses rapidly across intercellular barriers, any destructive effects would spread to both cancerous and noncancerous cells.

Its promoters then took a different course. Laetrile, the drug, was suddenly transformed in 1970 into Laetrile, the vitamin. Cancer, according to the later theory, was a vitamin-deficiency disease. Laetrile, it went on, was “vitamin B-17,” the “missing vitamin” needed to prevent and treat cancer.

Besides daily injections or oral doses of Laetrile, the “total holistic metabolic nutritional” regimen includes massive doses of vitamin C and other vitamins, chelated mineral supplements, even coffee enemas. The Laetrile-centered regimen emphasizes a strictly vegetarian diet, free of all animal protein. Often another nonvitamin B-15 or “pangamic acid,” is prescribed (B-15 is also the creation of the same Ernst Krebs, Jr., who christened Laetrile “B-17”).

Laetrile is one of the most tested substances ever put forward as a remedy for cancer. In 1953, the Cancer Commission of the California Medical Association investigated Laetrile and found it ineffective. As part of that study, the commission discovered that all but one of forty-four patients treated with Laetrile still had an active form of cancer or were dead.

The most comprehensive series of animal tests were done at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City. From 1972 to 1976 approximately thirty-seven experiments were conducted using Laetrile on mouse and rat tumors. Laetrile neither prolonged life, nor reduced tumor size, nor checked the spread of cancer.

Medical records submitted by Laetrile proponents have never substantiated the claims made. Many cancer patients who believe they had been cured by Laetrile find out later that they still have the disease. Others never had cancer to begin with. Some cancer patients have temporary remissions—periods when symptoms lessen; if Laetrile use coincides with such a remission, the patient may think Laetrile was the cause.

The FDA’s pharmacological analysis, in 1977 indicated that Laetrile smuggled or imported from Mexico in the form of oral doses and vials of injectable material under the names of “Laetrile” and “amygdalin” were potentially lethal sources of cyanide. Laboratory tests hinted that amygdalin might even be cancer-causing in its own right.

Jerry P. Lewis, M.D., chief on onncology and hematology at the University of California School of Medicine in Davis, reported late in 1977 the case of a seventeen-year old in Los Angeles who swallowed approximately 10 1/2 grams (one-third of an ounce) of injectable Laetrile. The young woman had a convulsion ten minutes later, and died without recovering consciousness. In mid-1977, a ten-month-old girl died in an upstate New York hospital a few days after gulping down several Laetrile-tablets. Beyond these documented deaths, the FDA toxologists suggest that many cancer patients whose death after long-term, high-dose Laetrile medication was attributed to their malignancy actually succumbed to slow cyanide poisoning from Laetrile.

In addition to being deceived, the patients or their families have to pay dearly for the deception.

Laetrile therapy does not come cheap. The cost of 6 month’s treatment at a Mexican clinic has been estimated at between $1,500 and $2,000. Laetrile smuggled into the United States is priced as high as $50 for a half-ounce vial for injection, compared with a $9 price tag in Tijuana. Tablets sell for nearly two dollars in this country, but cost only about three cents to manufacture.

Cancer is the end point of a lifetime of unhealthful living and the accumulated toxins that results from such a lifestyle. Adding more poisons to our body as “medicines” will not produce health.

Spurious Products Sold Through The Mail

Probably the most extensive study of mail-order health advertising was done in the summer of 1977 by the quackery committee of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. The committee screened five-hundred nationally-circulated magazines and found that about a quarter of them carried ads for mail-order health products. Altogether, about onehundred-fifty such products were offered by fifty promoters. The products included weight reducers, bust developers, blemish removers, hair-loss remedies, longevity formulas, aphrodisiacs, impotency aids, and others.

According to Postal Service estimates, mail-order fraud costs Americans at least $150 million a year.

In January 1978, some two million copies of a four-page brochure were accepted for insertion into the various editions of eighteen city newspapers from coast to coast. The brochure promoted a handbook, “Modern Solution to Age Old Physical Problems,” published by the Midwest Health Research Laboratory. The handbook, it was claimed, “contained a solution or prevention for as many as forty different diseases and illnesses,” including arthritis, diabetes, and hardening of the arteries. More than one thousand readers surrendered to the inviting logic of the promotion: “Our special introductory offer of $9.95 can save you unnecessary visits to the doctor, the hospital, and save you money.”

Those who mailed money received a twenty-five-page booklet revealing the secret cure-all and end-all of disease —“colonic irrigation,” otherwise known as an enema, preferably “two and three times a week.” Coupons were available for those desiring “personal Home Treatment Kits” at $29.95 apiece.

The Washington Post and eleven other prominent publications carried full-page ads for Thera-Slim-100, the “diet aid” that supposedly “burns away more fat each 24 hours than if you ran 14 miles a day.”

Research conducted by the Consumer’s Union resulted in several conclusions concerning some of the more widely-publicized health “cures”:

1. Wrinkle removers - No cream or liquid that’s safe to put on the skin can do more than temporarily increase the water content of the skin, and then only to the point of masking the most superficial of wrinkles. ‘Anti-aging’ pills containing RNA, DNA, or other chemicals have no beneficial effect at all.
2. Baldnessremedies-Malepatternbaldness,themostcommontypeofbaldness,isconsidered to be hereditary. (But other factors are also involved.) Medical science knows of no pill or cream that can arrest that genetically-determined condition. In some instances, loss of hair may also be symptomatic of various emotional and physical disorders.
3. Aphrodisiacs-Mostpillsandpowderswithaphrodisiacalpretensionscontain‘Spanish fly,’ a legendary ingredient celebrated for its purported effect on women. Today’s ‘Spanish fly’ consists mainly of red pepper. It causes nothing more than mild irritation of the urethra. The ginseng root, long used as an Oriental cure-all, has recently acquired a reputation in this country for improving sexual prowess. The FDA has unearthed no evidence to support the root’s reputation.
4. Dietpills,proteinsupplements,reducingdevices—thereisnoproofthatsuchgimmicks are effective for weight loss. Most nonprescription diet pills contain either phenylpropanolamine or methylcellulose. Some evidence indicates phenylpropanolamine can act as an appetite suppressant, but only for short periods. Methylcellulose is a ‘bulking agent,’ which supposedly expands in the stomach to relieve hunger. There’s no evidence that it works. Weight-loss powders are usually accompanied by instructions bidding users to follow a rigid low-calorie diet as well. The diet might very well promote a weight loss, but protein products contribute nothing. Clinical studies by the FDA have shown that ‘body wraps’—devices wrapped around parts of the body for selective weight loss—are useless. Some can be harmful.
5. Megavitamins - Everyone recognizes that adequate amounts of vitamins are necessary for good health. But none has ever shown that extra large or ‘megavitamin’ doses produce better health. Depending on the vitamin, amounts beyond the National Academy of .Sciences/National Research Council’s Recommended Daily Allowances can be dangerous or just a waste of money. Too much of the fat-soluble vitamins A and D can build up in the body to dangerous levels. Doses of water-soluble vitamins that exceed what the body can use are simply excreted in the urine.

There are many other “cures” being sold through the mail and magazine advertisements, but all are worthless. They are all dishonest attempts to make money from an uninformed or unknowing public. There are no “cures.”

High-Fiber Diets

It is claimed that this single dietary factor plays a role in such diseases as appendicitis, diverticular disease, polyps of the large bowel, cancer of the bowel, irritable colon, hiatial hernia, gallbladder disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, obesity, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, and dental disease.

Dr. Benjamin H. Ershoff, a research professor of biochemistry at Loma Linda University and the University of Southern California, points to many studies conducted during the past twenty years that he says indicate the beneficial effects of plant fiber-containing materials when administered to animals fed on low-fiber diets. But the beneficial effects are seen when this fiber is part of the natural food and not separated from it.

In 1943, two American medical investigators observed that immature mice who were being given a compound related to vitamin C—glucoascorbic acid—developed a severe condition characterized by growth failure, diarrhea, hemorrhages beneath the skin, hair loss, and death. But the condition developed only in mice who were being fed on a highly-refined ration. It did not develop at all in mice fed similar doses of glucoascorbic acid in conjunction with a natural food stock ration or in mice fed the refined diet supplemented with dried grass.

In 1954, Ershoff showed that alfalfa meal, when incorporated in the diet was similarly effective. He continued to see if any known nutrient in the alfalfa meal might account for the phenomenon. It was not a nutrient that was responsible. When juice was extracted from the alfalfa, it had no effect. But the whole alfalfa with pulp included provided beneficial results.

It turned out that various grasses—rye, orchard, wheat, fescue, and oat—were also effective. When cellulose was tried, it had a moderate effect, considerably less than that obtained with the fiber—containing alfalfa and varied grasses.

“Nearly all disease,” says Denis Burkett, “has more than one causative factor. Not in any of these diseases would suggest that fiber deficiency is a sole causative factor, merely that it may be one important factor. What I would emphasize is that a fiber-depleted diet is a common factor, common to a number of characteristic Western diseases. It is a major factor, I believe, in some, a less important factor in others, but it is common to each of them and offers the only reasonable explanation put forward, I think, why these diseases are associated.”

These diverse diseases are related because the underlying cause is the same in each. That is, an unhealthy and unnatural diet plus other poor living habits. A natural diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds will provide us with all of the proper nutrients needed to ensure a state of health. The natural fiber will be there in proper amounts and we do not need to think about providing this one ingredient separately. The fiber is the undigestable part of the plant and we receive no nourishment from it anyway. It is certainly not so important as is claimed. It is not any “cure” since it is an inert substance that passes through the digestive tract unchanged. It is discarded by the body in this way because it is non-usable.

The mice fed on an unnatural and refined diet became sick not because of lack of fiber alone but because of the presence of toxins in an unnatural diet. This diet was foreign to their body and was not sufficient to promote health. When some of their natural foods were given, such as alfalfa, health was restored because their organism was once again provided with the nutriment they needed, and healing and normalization took place. This was certainly not due to the fiber present in the diet but due to the many factors in their natural diet that are essential for their particular requirements.

Many human disease conditions are associated with low-fiber diets consisting largely of refined breads, cereals, sweets, etc. However, this again is not due to the lack of fiber alone. Other aspects to take into consideration are the presence of toxic elements and lack of vitamins, minerals, and proteins in ‘these refined products. Merely adding fiber in the form of bran will not decrease the toxicity of these foods.

Our natural foods are complete with all nutrients including fiber and these are the foods that will provide the conditions for health.

Fructose Diet Cure

List 1 – “free foods”

List 1A (Unlimited in raw state; limit to 1 cup cooked—it is claimed that these foods are most digestible cooked.)

List 2

List 3 - Fats

List 4 - Milk and milk products

List 5 - Vegetables - 1/2 cup per serving List 6 - Fruits - servings per day

List 7

This diet depends on the periodic ingestion of fructose and a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet is followed. Dates are eaten between meals to maintain high blood sugar levels.

The foods are divided into seven basic types: 1) “free foods” which can be eaten in any amount since they contain negligible amounts of carbohydrates, fats, or proteins; 2) meat; 3) fat; 4) milk; 5) vegetables; 6) fruit; 7) flour products.

The fructose diet is intended for people who have functional hypoglycemia, for those who wish to lose weight without feeling hungry or irritable, for those who wish to reduce their craving for alcohol, for people who wish to avoid the onset of migraine headaches or premenstrual tension, for hyperactive children, and for persons with certain psychotic tendencies. Do not be fooled by these claims. The Fructose Diet or any diet cannot detoxify and heal. But they certainly can derange the body!

The lists of foods for this diet is as follows:

List 1 – “free foods”

Bouillon Pepper & other spices

Clear broth Pickles

Coffee Rennet tablets

Cranberries Salt

Horseradish Seasonings

Lemon Vinegar

Mustard

This list of “free foods” contains the most toxic food elements that we can ingest. Except for lemon, all of the above foods are eliminated on the Hygienic diet not only for their toxicity but because they are irritants, and interfere with normal digestion.

List 1A (Unlimited in raw state; limit to 1 cup cooked—it is claimed that these foods are most digestible cooked.)

Asparagus Eggplant Rhubarb

Bean sprouts Lettuce Sauerkraut

Broccoli Mushrooms Spinach

Brussels sprouts Parsley Summer squash

Cauliflower Peppers String beans

Celery Pimentoes Tomatoes

Cucumbers Radishes Zucchini

Sauerkraut, spinach, rhubarb, radishes, parsley, and mushrooms all contain toxins which interfere with normal assimilation of certain nutrients. The other vegetables would be healthful additions to our meals if consumed raw.

List 2

This list includes meats, fish, cheese, peanut butter, and eggs—each serving contains seven grams of protein. All of these foods are unnatural items in the human diet and contribute to disease.

List 3 - Fats

Avocado - 1/8 French Dressing - 1 Tbsp.

Butter - 1 tsp. Mayonnaise - 1 tsp.

Bacon - 1 slice Nuts - 6 small

Chocolate - 2 tsp. Oil - 1 tsp.

Light cream - 2 Tbsp. Olives - 5

Heavy cream - 1 Tbsp. Shortening - 1 tsp.

Lard - 1 tsp. Cream Cheese - 1 Tbsp.

Except for the avocado and nuts in this list, these “foods” would result in ill health in anyone consuming them.

List 4 - Milk and milk products

1 cup of milk or yogurt equals one serving

1/4-cup ice cream equals one serving

Humans cannot digest milk products due to lack of the enzymes rennin and lactase.

Ice cream contains many unnatural and toxic ingredients and a high percentage of refined sugar. Yogurt is fermented milk and also may contain high levels of sugar. Humans cannot digest the byproducts of fermentation and putrefaction.

List 5 - Vegetables - 1/2 cup per serving

These vegetables are all served cooked and add little to the value of the diet.

List 6 - Fruits - servings per day

Beets Rutabagas

Carrots Winter squash

Onions Turnips

Green peas Tomato puree

Pumpkin Frozen mixed vegetables

Apple - 1 Orange -1

Applesauce – 1/2 cup Peach - 1

Apricots - 2 Pear - 1

Banana – 1/2 Pineapple - 1/2 cup

Berries - 1 cup Plums - 2

Cantaloupe -, Vi Watermelon - 3” x 1 1/2”

Cherries- 10 Grapefruit - 1/2

Fresh figs - 2 Grapes - 12

Nectarine - 1 Honeydew - 1/4

List 6 provides the only major worthwhile contribution to the diet but in such small portions that they are merely “crops in the bucket.”

List 7

Flour products and starchy vegetables.

As was explained in earlier lessons, humans have a limited capacity for starch digestion. In addition, wheat has toxic acids that are harmful and therefore should not be consumed.

For most people following this diet, Dr. Palm recommends that two to three servings of protein foods from List 2 and usually just one serving per meal for the remaining categories be included. Such high amounts of protein will only further endanger your health.

Several recipes include the use of concentrated fructose. In addition, Dr. Palm requires that you eat between 75 and 100 grams of fructose daily—available in tablet or powder form. Fructose is refined from sucrose, ordinary white sugar. The health consequences of such a practice is the same as ingesting the same amount of refined white sugar. This diet is dangerous and could never result in any benefits.

Bland Diet For Peptic Ulcer Patients

History

The roots of diet therapy in the treatment of patients with peptic ulcer extend far back in medical history. As early as the first century, Celsus ordered smooth diets free of “acrid” food, and practitioners of the seventh century wrote of their belief in “special healing properties” of milk for patients with digestive disturbances. In the first half of the nineteenth century, peptic ulcer became established as a pathologic and clinical entity, and physicians generally advocated a liberal dietary regimen with frequent feedings.

However, in the later part of the nineteenth century, a radical change developed in medical opinion concerning peptic ulcer treatment. The belief spread that food was harmful to the ulcer, and only complete rest—meaning an empty stomach—would allow the stomach to heal itself. When the body is free from the irritation of the presence of food and when the digestive system is given a complete rest, healing will commence. This is the safest known method to regain health and its beneficial results can be documented by anyone who is familiar with fasting.

However, in 1915, an American physician, Bertram Sippy, broke the common practice of fasting end established the beginning principles of continuous control of gastric acidity through diet and alkaline medication. He outlined a program of milk and cream feedings with slow additions of single soft food items over a prolonged period of time, allowing little variation.

Theory

In general, Sippy’s regimen is used today by many physicians and dietitions for gastric ulcer patients. This diet therapy is based on several erroneous principles. The food must be both acid neutralizing and nonirritating, according to this principle.

Acid Neutralizing

The therapy begins with milk and cream feedings every hour or so, to supposedly neutralize free acid with the milk protein, suppress gastric secretion with the cream, and generally soothe the Ulcer by coating the stomach. However, these assumptions have not been supported by research. In fact, clinical evidence proves them to be worthless.

There are gradual additions of soft bland foods over a period of time, keeping some food in the stomach at all times to mix with the acid to prevent its corrosive action on the ulcer. These bland foods are usually limited to choices of white toast or crackers, refined cereals, eggs, milk, cheeses, a few cooked pureed fruits and vegetables, and later, ground meat.

With such frequent meals, the digestive organs are never allowed to rest, and recovery is prolonged rather than assisted. In addition, many of the foods advocated are toxic and further contribute to the reason for the disease.

Nonirritating

The therapy is concerned with eliminating chemical, mechanical, and thermal irritation.

Chemical Irritation

Any food believed to stimulate gastric secretions is prohibited. These include highly seasoned foods, meat extractives, coffee, lea, alcohol, citrus fruit juices, dried foods, spices, and flavorings.

I could concur with this rule. The above foods are highly irritating for anyone and all except citrus juices contain toxic components that would result in sickness in a well person. For a sick individual who is already enervated, the results are just that much worse.

Mechanical Irritation

Any food believed to be abrasive in its effect upon the ulcer is prohibited. These include all raw foods, plant fiber (strained fruits and vegetables are used), coarse or rough foods, whole grains, and “gas forming,” or strongly-flavored foods.

Hygienists advocate that all foods should be withheld for the gastric ulcer patient. To ensure complete return of health, a fast is in order. After the fast, a diet of the same foods that are prohibited above would be those that would be the best to maintain health. That is a diet that consists of raw foods, mostly fruit.

Thermal lrritation

Any very hot or cold food believed to irritate the lesion by its effect on surface blood vessels are prohibited. These include hot beverages and soups, frozen desserts or iced beverages.

On this point. I would concur.

The Four-Stage Pattern

After initial hourly milk and cream only, the diet is gradually increased as the ulcer heals. The routine usually, follows a progressive four-stage pattern as follows:

Stage 1 - For this initial stage of the dietary therapy, the following foods are permitted: milk, cream, butter, margarine, eggs, cooked and refined cereals, plain custard, Jell-O, rennet, plain puddings, vanilla ice cream, noodles, macaroni, spaghetti, white rice, white bread, soda crackers, cheese, jelly, honey, sugar, white potatoes, and creamed soups.

A healthy man could live for a very short time on this diet before he became extremely ill. Why, then, is it advocated for sick individuals? It defies reason.

Stage 2 - During this second stage of the bland diet, strained fruit juices are allowed to a limited extent (starting with 1/2 cup). In addition to the fruit juice, the following “foods” are added to the diet: plain cake such as angel food, sponge, pound, butter cake; winter squash; strained asparagus, peas, carrots, green beans, beets, spinach; cooked, stewed fruits.

The fruit juice would be a welcome addition to the diet if it is served fresh. No individual—healthy or sick—should be served cake as it contains toxic ingredients along with refined white sugar and flour that will result in toxicosis and sickness. Since the vegetables and fruits in the above list are all served overcooked and strained, they contribute little value to this diet.

Stage 3 - At this stage, flesh foods are added to the diet. These include fowl, fish, and beef that has been ground.

As we have stated in earlier lessons, flesh is a terrible food for man. We are not equipped to deal with the many toxic byproducts of flesh and therefore, its ingestion will invariably lead to ill health.

Stage 4 - At this stage, certain desserts are added such as prune or apricot whip, plain cookies, plain sherbert, water ices, and fine graham crackers. Also, some additional cooked vegetables and fruits are added.

Research Studies

This entire diet is a nutritional disaster and will result only in disease. Recent research studies demonstrate the uselessness of this type of dietary therapy.

A. M. Gill reported a series of studies with chronic ulcer patients, whose ulcers healed in four to eight weeks with placebo treatment of a daily injection of one ml. of distilled water and no diet or exercise restrictions or medications. He concluded that ulcers healed not by manipulation of the various common therapies used but because, “... the man with the ulcer comes under the care of a physician who is able to transmit some of his own confidence to the patient.”

Gill’s studies were valuable in that he found that the orthodox dietary therapy was useless even though he arrived at some other erroneous conclusions. But his theory that no therapy is better than the bland one, is valid.

Other researchers likewise have found that bland food do not increase the rate of healing, nor was there any particular benefit from avoidance of all foods thought to be commonly irritating (such as fruits and vegetables).

It has been demonstrated that routine omission of any fiber in the diet also seems to have no benefits.

Modes of eating—wrong foods or wrong combinations of foods, improper mastication, and rapid consumption of meals are more involved as sources of irritation. Many physicians, such as Dr. H. J. Shull, contend from their experiences with individual patients that so-called coarse or rough foods; such as lettuce, raw fruits, celery, cabbage, and nuts, do not necessarily traumatize a peptic ulcer when they are properly chewed and mixed with saliva. Grinding or straining of food is needed only when teeth are poor or absent!

DMSO

Barry Tarshis (DMSO New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1981) believes that he has found the true panacea for all illnesses. He states:

“... let’s say, for the sake of argument, that (somebody—the government, a drug company, a foundation—pulled together a blue-ribbon group of pharmacologists and physicians, presented them an unlimited budget and told them to develop a drug that came closer to being a panacea than any substance now known. Imagine the properties that such a drug, were it ever developed, would embody.

“To begin with, the drug would be effective not only against one or two conditions and diseases, but against a broad range of maladies, from simple, everyday problems such as sprains and sinusitis to life-threatening diseases such as stroke or cancer. The drug, in other words, would be far more powerful than aspirin and a good deal more versatile than, say, penicillin.

“Apart from its effectiveness, the drug would be safe, keeping in mind that not even aspirin is completely harmless. Physicians who prescribed it wouldn’t have to concern themselves with the adverse reactions that may claim as many as 30,000 to 60,000 lives a year in the United States alone. And the people who take it wouldn’t have to suffer the myriad side effects—headache, fatigue, blurring of vision, mental disorientation—that come with the territory when you have a chronic disease for which there are only a handful of medications available.

“The drug would also be versatile—versatile enough so that, depending on the condition, a physician could administer it orally or topically, by injection or intravenously. And it would be stable enough so that you could ship it anywhere in the world, or keep it on the shelf for months and not have to worry about it spoiling or losing its potency. The raw materials from which the drug was made would be readily available, so that you would never have to concern yourself with a shortage. And, finally, if you had a social conscience, you’d want the drug to be inexpensive enough (somewhat less expensive than, say, the interferon treatments now being offered for cancer in Europe at a price of $65,000) so that patients who took it on a long-term basis wouldn’t have to spend a big chunk of their yearly income for the privilege of living without pain.”

The name of this new “wonder drug” is dimethyl sulfoxide or DMSO for short. It is being used for such ailments as sprains and sinusitis to burns and arthritis. Some people claim that it has the ability to stabilize progressively crippling arthritic conditions and to alleviate certain forms of mental illness.

This powerful and toxic drug passes through cell membranes so quickly that you can taste it minutes after it has been applied to the skin. Combined with other drugs, it will carry them through cell membranes that were formerly impenetrable to these drugs when taken alone. Due to this property, DMSO can cause immeasurable damage to all the cells of the body. These cell membranes can become weakened or altered and many other toxins besides DMSO will enter the cell which would not ordinarily enter. Such derangement of the cells may result in serious health consequences—much more serious than the ailment for which it was given.

There is never any “easy way out”—no quick and magical path to health. Many athletes have been using this poisonous drug for years for sprains, pulls, and other soft-tissue injuries. Continued suppression of pain by this drug will eventually result in permanent damage. Besides this, DMSO is now being used regularly by thousands of arthritic patients. People use DMSO for cuts, for sores, for itching conditions. Some people even rub it on their gums.

Do not be fooled by misleading claims. No agent outside of the human body has the ability to heal. The regular use of drugs can result only in greater health destruction.

Mineral Water Therapy

Certain places of the world are well known for their mineral springs that are said to have therapeutic properties. Sometimes it is recommended that these waters be consumed or bathed in as a “cure” for assorted ailments.

The theory behind all forms of hydrotherapy is that the minerals of the water will, in very small amounts, enter your system through the skin or mucous membranes and help restore your entire system to a healthier state.

However, these inorganic minerals are inert substances and have no magic about them. They cannot enter the system through the skin and impose any health benefits. If consumed, they cannot be utilized by the body and may prove toxic.

Bee Products

Honey, bee pollen, bee propolis, and royal jelly are substances collected or produced by bees for their winter food supply, for reproduction, protection, etc.

Honey is a popular product and is essentially sugar (about 1/3 to 1/2 glucose, 1/3 to 1/2 fructose, and the rest water). Bee pollen consists of certain pollen grains of flowers incidentally collected by bees while gathering nectar. It contains protein, vitamins and

minerals, and enzymes. It is not a food that bees consume except as a honey contaminant.

Bee pollen is often used by athletes because it is claimed that it will increase their energy and stamina. This effect, however, is an illusion. Its stimulatory effect will first produce a false sense of increased energy, but like all other stimulants will soon have the opposite effect due to enervation of the stimulation of the organs involved.

Neither is propolis one of the bees’ food products. It consists of various tree resins, collected and applied to the interior of the hive by them. It acts as a kind of cement to keep their hives intact. When ingested by humans, this substance will have a stimulatory effect due to the response of the body to attempt to eliminate this foreign material. It has no place in human nutrition and has no property to “cure” as is often claimed.

Royal jelly is produced from honey and pollen and fed exclusively to the queen bee. It is made by the bees for the unique dietary needs of developing a queen bee and is excellent food for her.

With respect to honey it cannot be emphasized enough that:

1. It is not a natural food of human’s but of bees which created it for their specific needs.
2. Honeyislacedwithsixprotectiveacids.Humanscannotmetabolizethreeoftheseacids, thus making it a toxic substance.
3. Honeyisusedasasweetener.Anythingthatrequiresasweetenertobepalatableisnota fit food for consumption in the first place. In the second place, the addition of a sweetener creates an incompatible food combination that vitiates digestion and begets toxic byproducts.
4. Humandesecrationofthebees’foodsupplyisunnatural,contrarytothesymbioticrole of creatures in nature, and unhealthful both to bees and humans.

With respect to pollen keep in mind that, in gathering nectar, the bee performs a symbiotic service for the plant. It becomes contaminated with pollen and spreads it to the female flower, thus fertilizing it. Pollen’s role is to create a seed package, not to serve as a food. When the seed package is mature, it ripens a part of the package as fruit which is free food for the creatures that incidentally perform a service in distributing the plant’s seeds. That is symbiosis.

Pollen is not unique as a food and has no value. It fails to furnish our foremost need, carbohydrates, for energy. It is only the incipient nutrients and components to fertilize a flower ovary and thus create a seed package of which a part might be edible fruit. In that case we get not only all the nutrients contained in pollen but in a form specifically created to meet our needs. Most important of all we get an easily absorbable complement of simple sugars ready to convert to energy!

Macrobiotic Diet Cure

The macrobiotic diet consists of 60 to 100% grains. These include brown rice, buckwheat, wheat, corn, barley, and millet. They are eaten raw, cooked, creamed, with or without water, fried, or baked. A maximum of 30% of the diet may consist of vegetables. These vegetables that are considered permissible include: carrots, onions, pumpkin (a fruit), radish, cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce.

Grain is considered “Principal Food” and is eaten at every meal. The principle behind this diet is based on the same Yin-Yang theory as for acupuncture. Yin and Yang are antagonistic but complementary forces. Certain foods are considered Yang foods and others are Yin foods. There must be a certain balance between Yin and Yang.

When a person becomes ill, it is recommended that he/she eat 100% grains. In addition to this, certain specific beverages and/or foods are used for specific ailments—all based on the superstitious Yin-Yang theory.

This type of diet not only cannot produce health but it can be very harmful if persisted in over a period of time. Humans are not grain eaters—we are frugivores. We are not biologically equipped to digest, assimilate, and utilize large amounts of grains. Fruits contain plenty of sugar, but little or no starch, whereas the cereals are largely starch. Starch requires much more time and energy to digest than fruit. Cereals are among the most difficult of foodstuffs to digest. The protein of most cereals are inadequate. They also contain an excess of acid due to the absence of certain base minerals, especially calcium. The need for calcium of most cereal plants is relatively small so they do not draw much of this mineral from the soil. In the human organism, on the other hand, the need for calcium is very great. Cereals, are therefore, inadequate to support growth.

Oats are deficient in many basic salts. Wheat is deficient in sodium and calcium. Rice is deficient in salts, and especially in calcium. It is also deficient in sodium and chlorine. They are all lacking in iodine. What does this mean when we consume large amounts of cereals? Since cereals are acid forming, they must draw on base minerals from the body to neutralize these acids so as not to create a condition of acidosis within the body. These base salts are withdrawn from the tissues, bones, and teeth, eventually resulting in various pathological disorders such as osteoporosis and dental caries.

Dr. Shelton says, “We have learned that all cereals have certain defects which may be looked upon as characteristic of these nutriments. As regards organic salts, they are deficient in sodium and calcium; they are also poorly supplied with organically-combined sulfur and with bases generally; but they contain a superabundance of acid-formers and of potassium. The cereals are also poor in vitamins A, B, and C. Finally, the proteins of the cereals are always inadequate; they are lacking in essential amino acids, and are especially poor in lysin and cystin.”

A study of the human anatomy and physiology will clearly demonstrate which food humans are best suited to eat. For optimum health, we should stick with our biologically correct fruitarian diet.

Questions & Answers

Are the natural or “organic” vitamins any better than the synthetic ones?

No, a vitamin is nothing more than a specific compound, whether it is synthesized or extracted from a plant. In either form, they are not usable by the body but may be toxic. All the vitamins that we require are found in our whole natural foods and this is how they must be taken to be utilized.

Is choline effective in keeping fat from accumulating in the liver and arteries as claimed by some advertisements that I have read?

Choline manufacturers may have a difficult time explaining why anyone should swallow choline pills. Choline is widely available in the diet and is also manufactured in the body. It is considered an essential nutrient, but dietary deficiencies have never been demonstrated in man. Although choline has been widely used to treat fatty liver, as well as cirrhosis and hepatitis, it has never been demonstrated that this type of therapy is of any value. It is, in fact, worthless, and should not be used.

I have diverticulitis and my doctor told me not to eat fruits and vegetables. Is that good advice?

Diverticula are pouches that can develop in weak spots in the bowel wall. When many of these pouches are present and one or more become inflamed causing pain, the condition is known as diverticulitis.

This condition was virtually nonexistent in the early twentieth century and is now known as a disease of Western civilization. Its incidence has increased steadily in industrialized countries until between one-third and one-half the population over forty in the United States, Great Britain, France, and Australia suffer from it. Diverticulitis results from the increased use of refined flour and cereals and the substitution of foods containing large amounts of sugar and of meat for fruits and vegetables. In countries where the diet is high in fruits and vegetables, diverticular disease is still nonexistent.

The very foods that you were told to avoid are the ones that you should be eating exclusively. It would, however, be advisable to fast first to allow the bowel to heal.

Will apple cider vinegar “cure” colds and catarrh?

Cider vinegar is made by pressing the juice out of the apples and fermenting it, in the same way as making cider. The fermented juice is left to age for about six months and then the process of turning the alcohol into acetic acid begins.

Acetic acid is very destructive and corrosive to the tissues of the digestive canal and to all tissues and cells of the body. A small amount will halt digestion completely. This acid is so strong that it will dissolve certain metals and remove rust from steel. Consumption of vinegar will result in ill health and should never be consumed. There is no “cure” for colds. This is a reaction on the part of the organism to rid itself of accumulated toxic debris and should not be interfered with. Vinegar is a drug whose use suppresses the body’s vital activity in conducting the eliminative task called a cold.

Could you suggest a diet for migraine headaches?

There are no diet “cures.” Foods cannot act as specifics and go directly to the afflicted area to effect a cure. Only the body can heal and will promptly do so when the proper conditions provided. A natural diet of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds will provide the proper condition for the body to heal if the other conditions for health are also present.

What is the difference between white and red Ginseng? Are either forms acceptable to take?

All ginseng roots are naturally white. The red roots are produced by a special process that includes treating the white roots with other herbs, steaming, and other steps. This process is supposed to preserve the root and prevent insect infestation. As mentioned earlier, ginseng is a toxic substance and should not be consumed. The red root is just that much worse because it has the addition of other toxic herbs. Neither forms are acceptable.