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= Lesson 54 - Weather And Human Well-Being =
54.1. Introduction
54.2. The Body’s Natural Protective Systems
54.3. Bioelectronic Factors In Nutrition
54.4. Questions & Answers
Article #1: The Weather In Your Health by Mike Benton
== Introduction ==
54.1.1 Twentieth-Century Technology—A Two-Edged Sword
54.1.2 Our Fabulous Body Intelligence
54.1.3 Natural Weather and Manmade Weather Affect Health and Nutrition
At first glance, a discussion of that universal subject—the weather—might seem out of place in a Life Science/Hygiene course in human nutrition. But, since nutrition is a unified or total body process, any influence that can disrupt this complicated and mar- velous process anywhere along the great chain of nutritive systems would seem to justify its study in relation to human health and nutrition. And, while many sincere investiga- tors (past and present) have delved deeply into nature’s secrets of human nutrition, as yet we cannot see but can only infer by deductive reasoning the mysteries of the inner metabolic processes going on in the living cells of the body. We can deduce that certain things are going on, but we cannot be sure all these deductions are infallibly correct.
54.1.1 Twentieth-Century Technology—A Two-Edged Sword
Meanwhile, the mounting evidence seems worthy of note and concern that the hu- man race—the 20th-century human race—has caused “unnatural” weather conditions (such as worldwide air pollution, nuclear blasts, burning of fossil fuels, etc.), which can then become a cause of “unnatural” stimulation or shock to living bodies, on the same order that drug poisons create an unnatural stimulation (shock reaction, etc.) to living bodies. Of course, the effect of the weather will be different on different people, depend- ing on the condition of their bodies. The heat of a noon-day sun (shining through visible and invisible layers of air pollution) will have a different effect on a sober person from the effect it will have on a drunkard (including a food drunkard).
One of Life Science/Hygiene’s most vital concerns is the mounting evidence that the two-edged sword of modern technology may be creating a technological world which, instead of enhancing life on this planet, could be making it unbearable (and unlivable!).
One area, however, that 20th-century technology would seem to deserve credit for opening some dramatically revealing new studies is in the area of this planet’s weather, and how recent findings would seem to lead to the conclusion that air, electricity, ions, weird winds, sunspots, etc., have a greater effect on human health, nutrition, moods, etc., than was thought in the past. Those Life Scientists seeking new challenges should find this area of study fascinating.
54.1.2 Our Fabulous Body Intelligence
This new field of scientific investigation of how weather affects living things has been given the name of “biometeorology.” The findings so far show that when the weather changes, the body wisdom quickly makes changes in the body—adjusts our marvelous internal body systems to keep the vital functions at the constant level nec- essary for life. All the body’s functions give evidence of marvelous intelligence, pre- vision, and provision, and nowhere is this better exemplified than in the living body’s
master thermostat called the “hypothalamus.” Working faster than the most advanced modern computer, this temperature control system of the brain adjusts the body to ex- ternal changes of cold or heat with lightning speed. It, and other body control systems, make possible the seasonal acclimation process of living bodies. This entire process of adjusting and switching the entire metabolism if living bodies from one season to anoth- er, or to sudden hocking changes in the weather during a mid-season, should show even the most hardened skeptic that the wisdom that created the living body and maintains it is (and always will be) greater than the conscious mind of man can conceive. Our duty, according to Hygiene/Life Science philosophy, is to learn all we can about it and how it works, but to never lose our awe and respect for it.
But these natural responses of the inner body wisdom to sustained or changing weather conditions can be hammered, and interfered with by a myriad of external and internal factors and conditions. One analogy of the living body would be to liken it to a fine electric motor that someone drops a wrench in. The wrench stops the motor though the electric power that ran the motor is still here ready to do its job of starting the mo- tor when the wrench is removed. We can, for purposes of analogy only liken the mar- velous, intelligent life force that “builds” and runs the human body to the electric force of the motor. And, we can liken such things as the weather, wrong diet, drugs, etc., as the wrenches that thwart the body wisdom in its work. Life Scientists should include the weather, and its influence on living bodies, in their studies on nutrition.
We constantly hear people say that they “can’t take the weather as well as they used to when they were younger.” But, the cause is not their age in years, per se, but the ac- cumulated wrongs done to their bodies over a period of years. Many of these wrongs are self-inflicted, but not all. There is very little we can do to change the weather, and evidence is mounting that certain weather conditions can have deleterious effects on the living body, causing such maladies as migraine headaches, depression, heart irregulari- ties, metabolic disruptions, and a host of other ills. The body, and its governing wisdom, though astounding in its capabilities and sensitive adjustments, cannot dominate he ex- ternal environment (like it reigns over the internal environment), except to a very limited extent. Even the culmination of some of this century’s most vaunted technology, such as NASA’s space shuttle, must pay obeisance to the weather, as happened recently with the voyage of Space Shuttle Columbia, when it was forced to stay in earth orbit an extra day due to very strong cross-winds at the prime landing site.
54.1.3 Natural Weather and Manmade Weather Affect Health and Nutrition
Theoretically it seems possible (even probable) that the present “arms race,” with its continued nuclear explosions (one by Russia in the sixty-megaton range!), may have al- ready upset nature’s delicate balance at the electronic level. And, some of these weird winds, and strange weather patterns all over the planet, in these hectic, closing years of the twentieth century, may be nature’s way of trying to restore the atomic and electron- ic balance! If either of the so-called “super-powers” have done any investigation into whether or not their continued insane atomic blasts have disrupted nature at the atomic and electronic level, they are keeping their findings well hidden. And, of course, in ad- dition to this new manmade atmospheric pollution and disruption, nature has to contend with natural pollution—such as the recent catastrophic volcano eruption in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. Incalculable tons of molten ash and other volcanic debris were ex- ploded into the upper atmosphere changing the immediate weather picture around the world, according to meteorologists!
And, as far as humans on this planet are concerned, our natural atmosphere is our most vital natural resource, for we must breathe it all the days and nights of our lives. And, the electromagnetic condition of the atmosphere has been shown (by recent bio- meteorology research) to exert probable and significant effects on life on this planet! As this century draws to a close, evidence is mounting that man has (over the years) with
sometimes good intentions, but with seldom any thought of future consequences, proba- bly interfered in the natural environment so much that the natural electronic balance may have been vastly disrupted to the detriment of life on this planet. Nuclear explosions are the latest and greatest madness in tampering with the natural balance of our environ- ment. Technologically-advanced “civilization” does not necessarily mean a culturally- advanced one!
We can, to a limited extent, help the body’s adjustment to external environmental conditions (sudden weather changes, etc.), with artificial “microclimates” of our 20th- century technology. But, as in the use of anything artificial, this again proves to be a two-edged sword. The best and most astounding piece of “machinery” human beings can have is their own bodies. And these marvelous systems of living equipment have their natural rhythms, their natural systems of adjustment, etc.,” to maintain certain standard levels of function within the body. These can be interfered with by artificial climates, etc. However, in some conditions of impaired health and disrupted nutritional (metabolic) functions, the temporary use of artificial climates has proven to have a temporary helpful influence. But, our bodies were designed by an incredible, invisible power and wisdom to respond naturally to weather conditions. These natural responses can be thwarted and weakened by artificial (technological) conditions.
54.2. The Body’s Natural Protective Systems
54.2.1 Drugs Thwart and Impede Internal Vital Functions
54.2.2 More Influences on the Body
54.2.3 How Can We Control How the Weather Affects Us?
Clearly, in the living body, the body “chemistry” changes when there are changes in the weather. Technology can thwart the body’s efforts at correct changes. But, modern technology is not the only thing that interferes with the body’s natural functioning and responses to changed conditions in order to maintain internal temperature and other vital functions at a constant level. As Hygienists know, “toxemia” can play havoc with the body’s internal economy; prolonged mental or physical stress can disrupt the body’s in- ternal adjustive mechanisms, and present a constant interference with the body’s natural functions; and, of course, one of the worst causes of complete and deadly disruption of natural body functions is drugs.
54.2.1 Drugs Thwart and Impede Internal Vital Functions
Both the so-called “primary” and “side effects” of many drugs can critically interfere with the body’s natural functions. For instance, tranquilizers, prescribed to “relieve” stress during prolonged heat waves, have actually killed people due to their “side ef- fects” of blocking the body’s natural system of cooling itself by sweating! And, it has long been known that the drug, nicotine, can constrict circulation in the extremities. The western world’s love affair with coffee makes millions of addicts to caffeine, another drug that can cause the constriction of blood vessels, causing a rise in blood pressure and giving a deceptive feeling that the body is naturally warmer. Other drugs, such as amphetamines, marijuana, and King Alcohol, can play havoc with the body’s natural temperature-regulating systems.
The body’s incredible sensitivity to changes in atmospheric pressure, and its remark- able internal adjustments to stabilize its functions in relation to external changes, can be fatally interfered with by drugs. According to scientific studies, the side effects of certain drugs prescribed for heart patients, for instance, can prove fatal to some patients taken under conditions such as the sudden dropping of atmospheric pressure preceding a storm, or in the lowered air pressure of the mountains.
54.2.2 More Influences on the Body
And, who knows how many highway accidents, job-related accidents, marital break- ups, etc., are caused by the changing weather’s effect on “weather-sensitive” people, who develop circulatory problems, fatigue, inability to concentrate, moodiness, depres- sion, instant anger, migraine headaches, etc. The nervous system of the marvelous liv- ing body is so sensitive to external influences (such as infrasound influences) that it can “feel” certain sounds that winds make which are of too low a vibration to affect the hu- man ear.
Every year, in certain parts of this planet, weird winds spring up that in folklore have been called “witch’s winds,” because in their wake there seems to be a rise in accidents, illnesses, crimes, etc. Both weather-sensitive humans and animals seem to “sense” the coming of these winds. Now a scientific explanation has been given this folk wisdom of the ages. Scientists researching this phenomena now call this the “ion influence.” They claim that in weather changes, it is these ions or electrically-charged molecules of air, to which people are really sensitive. They theorize that a natural balance of positive to negative ions of five to four increases strikingly as these “witch’s storms” approach. The conclusions of these bio-meteorology researchers is that this upsetting of the ion balance causes immediate and drastic changes in the body-regulating systems of weather-sensi- tive people who are truly living barometers. One widely-noted effect is the overproduc- tion of adrenalin, which as a secondary effect causes adrenal exhaustion symptoms such as extreme fatigue, nervous tension, moodiness, depression, etc.
Ion research at the University of California, Berkeley, has discovered that negative ions reduce normal blood levels of serotonin, a hormone that “carries messages” (ac- cording to brain specialists) within the brain processes. These findings concluded that positive ions, on the other hand, increase serotonin levels. This increase in serotonin caused by an increase of positive ions is declared to be the cause of illnesses related to “witch’s winds,” according to ion researchers. The theory is that wind friction caused by moving air masses, layers of wind, etc., creating friction with existing, relatively motion- less surrounding air, tends to cause massive electrical disturbances by “knocking off” negative ions and increasing the overdose of the number of positive ions. Ion researchers now conclude that an overdose of positive ions affects the body processes, metabolism, temperature regulating, etc., of all living creatures on this planet.
54.2.3 How Can We Control How the Weather Affects Us?
If these current findings about weather-related illnesses caused by an upsetting of the body’s internal systems hold true after much future investigation, then an equal, if not more important, area of investigation would be to see if we can discover how the body itself best copes with these outward, adverse changes and influences. Life Science al- ready has a key understanding in that the healthy, normally-functioning body can more quickly adjust to and overcome enormous external adverse influences. But, the body’s energies and intelligence not only have to be expended in adjusting to massive external influences, like the weather, but it also has to use its precious life energies neutralizing and expelling drugs that are deadly to the body’s internal processes; plus the processing and expelling of wrong foods, bad combinations, etc. But, the primary law of physiolo- gy of the body is “self-preservation” by the great wisdom within. Life Science/Hygiene teach that a living body not burdened with toxemia, and correctly nourished, can with- stand external environmental changes, like the weather, with a remarkable resilience, and that weather influences on such a healthy body are more temporary with less lasting disruption of body economy.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it?” But we all can do something about it by correct living in such a way that we help the body to help itself, in its readjustments and responses to the disruption
of its internal equilibrium by such conditions as sudden weather changes, etc., and not in such a way that we are constantly throwing deadly “wrenches” in the body’s incred- ibly complex works. Or, to put it another way, study and listen to your own body, for its wisdom and marvelous workings are the best indicator, maintainer, and adjuster of total body health (physical and mental) whether in weather changes or whatever, and not some external authority, drug prescription, injection, etc.
Thus, the constantly increasing discoveries of how the weather can be a disrupting factor in health, nutrition, etc., show dramatically, again, the great value of the Hygiene/ Life Science way of life, as the best way of helping the body cope with these disruptions. One of the basic pillars of the Hygiene/Life Science way of life is correct nutrition. We have already mentioned the deadly effects of many prescription drugs on the body’s abil- ity to adjust to weather changes. But few of the contemporary works on nutrition equate all the harmful additives in food as being drugs also, and just as poisonous as prescrip- tion drugs to the living economy.
Many things popularly thought to be foods are really poisons. For instance, sugar and salt are not foods, but poisons. The enormous amounts of salt and sugar consumed by Westerners produce untold ill health, misery, and death. Salt buildup in the body causes increased loss of potassium, and this depletion of potassium can lead to heat prostration, headache, lassitude, sleeplessness, localized pain, inability to concentrate, etc. Much ev- idence is available to show that its cumulative effect over a period of years is one of the culprits in kidney disease, high blood pressure, heart enlargement, etc. Refined sugar is consumed in towering amounts by our Western society and culture, and is suspected of being a major factor in heart disease, arterial diseases, teeth and bone deterioration, etc.
It is not hard to see how the complex body system, disrupted constantly by the in- gestion or injection of dangerous drugs, chemical additives/etc., could be unable to cope with sudden and vast changes in the weather. On the other hand, a smooth function- ing body whose cells and tissues are kept well cleansed and well nourished with the biologically-suitable diet of mankind—fruits, uncooked vegetables (especially green, leafy salads), and nuts, can withstand and adjust to weather changes to a remarkable de- gree.
Space is limited, so this must necessarily be a rather general survey and summary of some of the recent investigations and discoveries in this fruitful and fascinating field of biometeorology—the study of weather, climate, etc.—and its mysterious influence (in several aspects) on human health. Here is surely a fertile field for present and future in- vestigation, for those Life Scientists/Hygienists who desire to strike out into newer fields of creative thinking, investigation, and discovery for the benefit and betterment of hu- mankind.
54.3. Bioelectronic Factors In Nutrition
54.3.1 Food and Electronic Energy
54.3.2 The Body As a Bioelectronic Phenomenon 54.3.3 The Hygienic/Life Science Way
Those who probe, poke, and pry into the living body trying to force it to reveal its innermost secrets of nutrition and life, finally come to an invisible, impenetrable wall, and the message of nature seems to clearly proclaim: “Thus far shalt thou go, and no fur- ther!” All investigation seems to run out into unfathomable mystery. The living body’s ultimate processes of nutrition are a nature-kept, or life-kept, secret. Nor, is it necessary that we know these ultimate nutritive processes, for nature (or the invisible life force of nature) would still have to do the ultimate processing by the same natural laws as it has done since life first began on this planet.
The one vital area where nature requires our conscious participation is that first im- portant step along the long and winding nutritive road, of providing the body with the biologically-correct food, and of course, proper mastication of that food.
Even our 20th-century technology, remarkable as it is in some areas, cannot take a television camera into the inner recesses of the living cell and show us its ultimate nu- tritive processes. Thus, it has always been, and shall always probably be. We can only speculate, theorize about ultimate processes, and up until recently that seemed counter- productive since nature goes right on with her great secret work regardless of our ques- tions about it. But, in the light of recent investigations and findings (as summarized in the first segment of this lesson, on the weather), showing that weather, climate, drugs, etc., can seemingly have an often devastating effect on living bodies by disrupting elec- trical balances, etc., perhaps a renewed, more intense speculative look, or theorizing, about what may go on behind the great barrier of effects in living nutritive processes may now be more fruitful.
And, it must be admitted at the outset that this will be mostly theoretical and spec- ulative, as, in this writer’s opinion, investigations of invisible ultimate nutritive matters (no matter how sincere and dedicated) cannot at present (if ever) be considered as having absolutely-established conclusions that present final “scientific proof.” But, Hygiene/ Life Science ever seeks to increase the light of human understanding and betterment, and if questioning and theorizing into new fields of thinking lead to that worthy goal, then more power to it—as long, of course, as this thinking does not subvert or take us astray from the time-honored and proven basic principles of Hygiene/Life Science.
Since all material things seem to run out into invisible electronic mysteries, for pur- poses of this lesson let us approach the living body from that standpoint. The pioneer in “bioelectronics” was George W. Crile, who as early as 1889 began his researches into the electronic nature of the living cell, and reached the conclusion that every cell of the human body is really a tiny bipolar battery carrying two electronic charges—a negative charge on the outside, and a positive charge at the center. But Crile, and the bio-electron- ic researchers after him, started their investigations with a “full-blown” cell which has turned out to be a very complex thing indeed!
Crile’s researches and findings were later duplicated and verified by Lakhovsky and others. They concluded that a predominance of a positive electronic charge brings total health, abundant energy, extended youthfulness, etc., while a predominance of negative charge or potential in the cells caused cellular fatigue, structural deterioration, exhaus- tion, and eventual death of the cells.
This might lead some to conclude that electricity, or electronic energy is life, or the life force. We are no more able to resolve the problem of the ultimate nature, essence, mystery, and miracle of life than any other Hygienist/Life Scientist, and claim no special mandate to give such final dispensation. We can only offer our own ideas held at the present (which could change in the future, in the light of newer thinking and investiga- tion) with no implication that we think these are final and unshakeable conclusions. And, with the hope that present and future Life Scientists/Hygienists can delve further into this great mystery. There are those who will dogmatically state that the life force is you, or your subconscious mind, etc. But such statements lack absolute, demonstrable proof, and therefore are assumptions, not conclusions. Others will claim, just as dogmatically, that the life force is electricity.
It is this writer’s considered opinion, however, that life, or the life power, is probably not the same as electricity, but that the life power “uses” electronic energy to “build” or form the body and put it into a certain condition so that life can manifest more fully. There are just too many unresolved (and probably unresolvable) differences between the life force and electricity. Perhaps there are even “life fields” and “body fields” that inter- mingle and interpenetrate. The pioneering work of Harold Saxon Burr is highly interest- ing along these lines of investigation of the ultimate cause of the great barrier of effects in living processes.
And, to try to reduce the life force to the same size as the “electronic building blocks” it uses, as the reductionists try to do, is as futile as trying to describe and reduce the brick mason to the same size as the bricks he uses! Those, who in their philosophical considerations, try to reduce the life force to its tiniest “building blocks,” are following a wrong theory, in this writer’s opinion.
But, who can say they know, and can prove for absolute certainty, what life really is? Perhaps we will never know what the life force is, in its ultimate essence. It is a nature- kept, or life-kept secret, and one that Mother Nature seems not to want to share with us! Perhaps, for us humans, it is just as important to know that life is not as to know what it is!
Many Hygienists/Life Scientists of old wrote as though they considered the life force and nerve force as the same thing. I have expressed my own opinion (above) that I do not think the life force and electricity are the same. Yet, nerve force does appear to be some form of electricity or electronic energy. How do we resolve this? Theorizing from bio- electronic research findings, and from Hygiene/Life Science philosophy, the conclusion seems inescapable that here, perhaps, we can deduce a reasonable hypothetical explana- tion to account for the perplexing paradoxes and contradictory aspects of nerve force and life force. They are apparently two different things! At least that is the conclusion we are drawn to, at this time, by our evaluation of current bioelectronic research. It should remain an “open-ended” subject, however, and it should be understood that we are not here claiming to present absolutely final conclusions about it! To return from this needed digression to the comparison of the life force and nerve force—nerve force is a variable factor—life force is a constant. Nerve force would appear to be the “positive aspects” of the bioelectronic energy of the nervous system, and rises and falls with certain con- ditions. Life force, on the other hand, is a constant and not a variable factor. It is not “used” by the body, but uses the body and nerve force as its manifesting instruments. Life force initiates intelligent action in the body, while nerve force, being apparently a form of electricity or bioelectronic energy, has no power of intelligent initiation. And the Hygiene/Life Science philosophy shows that even life, itself, must work within the confines of biological laws.
At the present state of bioelectronic research, nerve force would appear to be gen- erated within the body, although there are those who think it also can, to some extent, be generated from without. Here, as elsewhere, the infinite power and wisdom of the life force may have designed more than one way of doing things as an emergency, self- preservative influx. Who knows? But, if our bioelectronic theorizing is to be consistent- ly developed as a theoretical explanation of the differences between the life force and nerve force, we must postulate that for the maximum healthful functioning of the body, and full manifestation of life’s powers, the life force apparently must maintain a nerve force balance of positive and negative electronic energy charges, with slightly more of the positive charge predominating.
Since all matter in the universe is built, and has an electronic basis, food must also have its electronic basis with its positive and negative electronic charges. And, it would seem logical, and consistent with our bioelectronic theorizing, to conclude that all foods either have a predominantly positive potential or a predominantly negative potential, or else a near balance of positive and negative potentials.
We do not get life from food, for food cannot give what it does not possess in the first place. Food, in the state it is taken into the body for nourishment, is dead, inert ma- terial that is acted on by the life force, Let those who claim that electricity is life explain this—food matter contains electricity (electronic factors) in its very basic makeup, but it does not contain life. A predominance of negative electronic potential in inert matter, as in dead bodies and dead foods, is still electricity or basic electronic factors. Is not a dead body still composed of electricity in the material of which it is still composed? And, yet it does not contain or manifest life. We do not get life from dead, inert material like food. What we do apparently get from food (at its ultimate breakdown by digestive
processes) is electronic energy, if our electronic theorizing is to be consistent. Reducing food to its cells, the food cells themselves are further reducible to molecular and then to atomic and subatomic or electronic levels. Upon correct and complete digestion and assimilation, the electronic energy is freed from the foods. Thus, under the bioelectronic view, we see that the so-called “biochemistry” system of food science would not be cor- rect food science, and would be of relatively minus value to the Life Scientist/Hygienist, as its conclusions are reached from the data and studies of contrived experiments, re- search on rats, manufactured deficiencies, and research on dead bodies, dead foods, and the dead chemical elements of these.
But, under the bioelectronic view, it is seemingly the electronic energy in the foods (according to bioelectronic research), and not the chemical elements that should form the real basis for a genuine science of living nutrition. Reasoning from the findings of the bioelectronic researchers leads to the conclusion that the chemical elements in foods are apparently the transport-carriers of the electronic energy that is seemingly the real goal of the long chain of nutritive processes in the body. When this electronic energy has been released from food cells, the chemical transporters that are left, and that are not uti- lizable by the body, are poison to the living body and must be speedily eliminated by the self-preservative instincts of the body wisdom. Pursuing this reasoning further, anoth- er apparent conclusion to be drawn is that fractured and fragmented food supplements are unusable by the body, and therefore foreign to it (poison), and also must be quickly eliminated as life-threatening materials.
54.3.1 Food and Electronic Energy
A bioelectronic food science based on the electronic energy would show whether a food had a predominance of positive or negative electronic potentials, or is almost neu- trally balanced. But, this does not mean that we need to always follow some complicated chart showing the positive and negative, or neutral potentials of every food in existence. Nor does it mean we have to be always keeping the positive and negative electronic con- dition of the body in mind, so that we will be sure to eat foods and maintain a proper balance to keep us healthy and fully alive. As in so many other things, wise old Mother Nature has preceded us and provided the perfect balanced food to maintain maximum health. Since this is the natural, biological food for humans, and since health results from its use (other things being equal, of course), it seems a fact of observation that this food, designed by wise nature for human use, has a perfect balance of electronic potentials to maintain the living human body at its highest level. That perfect natural food of mankind is, of course, the many wonderful varieties of edible fruit, along with uncooked vegeta- bles (especially green, leafy ones), and nuts. In the master drama of human nutrition, our prime role or duty is to see that we eat the natural diet that contains the essential nutritive factors. And, we can then put our trust in the great wisdom within to do its marvelous work of building our bodies as healthily as possible—as it has done for untold ages past, since life first manifested on this planet Earth.
54.3.2 The Body As a Bioelectronic Phenomenon
In the first segment of this lesson, I indicated that scientific findings show that dis- ruption of body processes by weather is done at the electronic level. But, how much greater is this electronic disruption from wrong food, and wrong food combinations? And yet, nature has seemingly made our correct biological diet such a relatively simple objective for us, and we humans seem to want to make it so complicated. Our theoreti- cal reasoning leads us to believe that the wisdom in nature has made the natural food of mankind so perfect as to its ultimate electronic potentials needed for the body processes that no human genius in electronics, or the most sophisticated modern computer, could even begin to compare with it.
Thus, theorizing (or deducing) from the bioelectronic viewpoint, nutrition at its ul- timate invisible goal after releasing or unlocking of the electronic energy, possibly con- sists of some magical (and there’s no better word to describe it) transformation of ulti- mate electronic factors of foods into some higher state or condition that is closest to the essence of the life force, itself, and can best be utilized by it in that “higher” condition. Perhaps, again, this ultimate energy unlocked from food consists of some peculiar and higher form of vibration of the released electronic factors. Thus, certain radiations, at certain wavelengths, might be the invisible “building blocks” that the life force uses in building and maintaining animate bodies.
Of course, the mysterious energies locked up in the ideal foods—fruit, uncooked vegetables, and nuts, in correct combinations, cannot be available to the life force unless they are unlocked and set free by correct functioning digestive processes all the way down the Ion road of nutritive processes. And these digestive processes can be interfered with and disrupted and perverted in a myriad of ways and conditions, such as sudden weather changes, wrong food combinations, enervation and toxemia, wrong emotions, overwork, etc.
54.3.3 The Hygienic/Life Science Way
And, while fruits, uncooked vegetables, and nuts, in correct combinations, are na- ture’s ordained diet for mankind! it may be that with more knowledge in the future we will discover that during certain times, and under certain conditions, we should favor the combining and eating of certain fruits, vegetables, and nuts over others, for their slight- ly different predominance of electronic potentials. For example, future findings might show that specific fruits, vegetables, and nuts, properly combined, may be better for weather-sensitive people whose ion balance has been upset by adverse weather condi- tions, etc. This is, of course, speculative, and awaits more research for possible verifi- cation in the future; but, as stated at the beginning of this part of the lesson, this brief speculative analysis of bio-meteorology and bioelectronics hopefully may arouse further thinking and investigation by Hygienists/Life Scientists into these relatively little inves- tigated areas of nutrition and related subjects. For we can never reach the omnipotence and omniscience of nature, or the life force and wisdom that ever remains hidden within manifested nature; but in the constant journey, struggle and out-reaching to learn more of nature’s secrets, in order that we may learn to live in compatibility with her ordained ways, we grow and expand our lives and our consciousness. And, creative outreaching is initially speculative, until more definite evidence catches up to it.
54.4. Questions & Answers
You say if one eats Hygienically and is in good health that he or she will not be ad- versely affected by the weather. But I’m in very good health, eat no wrong foods, and yet as soon as winter comes (I live in Michigan), I get sick for long periods of time. Could it be that my attitude toward the weather (I hate winter and being in- doors) has physiological effects on me?
Most certainly, yes. Attitude is a very important factor in human health—almost as important as diet. Observe those around you who are always negative in their thought processes—check how often they become ill despite their diets and lifestyles. This does not mean, however, that you should neglect your diet. Maintain a good, healthy diet and a good, healthy attitude.
Every time it rains my joints ache. I’ve been to the doctor for this problem on several occasions and he says I don’t have arthritis or anything like that. What could cause this?
Apparently your diet and your lifestyle are not as pure as they need to be to maintain optimum health. Try adding more fresh, raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds and eliminate harmful items in your diet such as refined products, salt, condi- ments, alcohol, drugs, meats, etc. You’ll be amazed at the difference the next time it rains.
Whenever it is just slightly cold out and everyone around me says it’s just right—such as when the temperature is about 65 or 70 degrees—I still feel cold. The same is true when it’s in the upper 70s and 80s—everyone around me says it feels good and I’m too hot. Why is this so?
Perhaps your body’s temperature controlling device, the hypothalamus, is not functioning properly. This is caused by improper diet, poor environment (too much artificial cooling and heating), not enough exercise, fresh air, or sunshine. Try im- proving your diet and getting out in the open air and sunshine for exercise regularly.
In this lesson I have shown that the weather can and does affect one’s health. I have also shown that it will have less effect on you if you abide by nature’s laws—that is eat only of natural fare (raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds), drink only pure water, take exercise, fresh air, and sunshine, and apply the other essen- tials of life as taught previous to this lesson.
This lesson pointed out that every cell of our bodies has an electronic na- ture—that is, a positive and negative charge. The food we eat also has electronic energy which when released from the food’s cells, nourishes our bodies. More stud- ies need to be conducted regarding the electronic nature of foods and how they af- fect our well-being.
Article #1: The Weather In Your Health by Mike Benton
Weather Sensitivity
The Weather Fronts
Weather and the Changes In Your Body
A Case History In Weather Changes: Rheumatoid Arthritis The Weather Thermostats In Your Body
Diet and Weather
Manmade Weather
Becoming Less Weather Sensitive
Weather You Believe It or Not...
It was many years ago. I was a small boy visiting my great-uncle on his farm in the back country.
On a warm and sunny day in early November, he told me, “Better pick all those fall tomatoes. Probably be snow on them by tomorrow.”
I thought he was joking, but I harvested all the tomatoes just the same, sweating in the garden in a pair of shorts.
The next morning I woke up and saw snow all over the fall garden. My uncle met me at breakfast. “It’s my wrist,” he told me. “Better than any weather vane. Always acts up before a snow or a rain.”
How many times have you heard people say that they knew a storm was coming by the “way their bones felt?” How about hearing people complain that they feel “under the weather?” How about yourself? Do you drag around when it’s cloudy and feel great only when the sun shines?
No doubt about it. Weather affects all of us in some way or another. Many people seem more strongly bothered by the weather than other people. Some blame the weather for that ache or pain, or their own poor health in general. But what roles does weather
play in how good or healthy we feel? Is the weather responsible for the many symptoms that people feel, or is it something else?
Weather Sensitivity
How weather influences living things is what the science of biometeorology is all about. The biometeorologist studies how the daily and seasonal changes in the weather influence animals and humans.
These “weathermen-biologists” say that while changes in the weather affect every- body, about one in three people is extremely sensitive to these changes (like my great- uncle) and that they may express one or more of over forty different symptoms associat- ed with changing weather.
For instance, pains in the joints or other parts of the body that precede a change in weather have been known since the times of ancient Greece. Rheumatism sufferers are the most affected—sometimes up to two days ahead of the changes in the weather. Many people with fractures, dislocations, burns, and even chafed areas or corns have a sort of weather barometer “in their bones.”
Other symptoms that accompany weather changes in sensitive people are migraine headaches, back pain, upset stomach, irritability, loss of appetite, severe depression, feel- ings of uneasiness, and so on. Some people blame all their ills on the weather.
However, it is important to remember that the weather itself does not produce weather-sensitive people. The sensitivity people experience with changes in the weather is a function of their own physiological makeup.
“A healthy, robust, and well-balanced person is rarely sensitive to changes in the weather,” says Michel Ganquelin, a weather researcher. Generally speaking, people who are overly sensitive to the weather tend to suffer from chronic diseases, and they react with pain to barometric changes.
A strong and healthy person can endure stress on several levels and not exhibit any signs of illness or discomfort. Weather is probably the most basic stress that all humans experience. It changes almost every day, and with these changes come new situations and stresses that we must adjust to.
The Weather Fronts
Perhaps the most stressful weather condition is the passing of cold and warm fronts. William Thomson, author of Climate and Health, believes that people respond more to weather fronts than to any other single weather factor.
A cold front coming through means more than just a drop in temperature. It also means complex changes in the barometric pressure, wind direction, humidity, and even pollutants and radioactive fallout may be carried in. All of these changes affect our bod- ies, our endocrine systems, our nervous systems, and our cardiovascular systems.
The biometeorologist, Dr. De Rudder of Paris, says that the “death rate often increas- es while fronts are passing.” For people in good health, fronts may only cause tempo- rary feelings of discomfort. But for the person whose system is weakened, or who has undergone surgery or has high blood pressure, this feeling of discomfort can become something much more critical. Heart attacks often accompany weather front passages, and in general any disease which is aggravated by stress increases in intensity when a front goes by.
While a healthy person does not react as severely to the passing of a front as does a “weather-sensitive” person, all people experience many physiological changes that are being constantly modified by the climate and weather.
Weather and the Changes In Your Body
Here are some of the findings of weather researchers and biologists about how just one weather phenomenon—weather fronts—affect everybody.
# Blood clotting occurs faster just before a front passes.
# Fibrinolysis, or the dissolving of blood clots, increases after the passage of cold fronts.
# Theamountofurinepassedincreaseswhencoldfrontsarepassinganddecreaseswhen a warm front has passed.
# Theblood-sugarlevelischangedbythepassageofafront,asarethelevelsofcalcium, phosphates, sodium, and magnesium in the bloodstream.
# The amount of blood in the body decreases and the blood sedimentation rate is lower after the passage of a cold front.
# White blood cells increase in number when the barometer falls sharply. A Case History In Weather Changes: Rheumatoid Arthritis In healthy people, the changes that accompany passing weather fronts are minor, al- most unnoticed. In an individual with rheumatoid arthritis, however, the changes can be quite serious. A seven-year-old girl who already had arthritis was asked when her pain was the worst. “Whenever we have a storm, my joints feel stiff and I’m sore all over. Sometimes I get stiff before the storm starts, and sometimes I feel better before it stops raining.” Weather researchers have found that in 93% of all arthritic pain, there was a major change in barometric pressure. One suggestion for this affect is that people with rheuma- toid arthritis have peripheral blood vessels that are easily constricted. The passage of. fronts often causes changes in these blood vessels, causing them to constrict farther, which decreases circulation and increases pain for those with arthritis. A fall in barometric pressure also leads to a retention of water in the body. The cells of rheumatic tissue are not as permeable as healthy cells, so they retain this fluid more. This retention of fluid leads to the pain and swelling of the afflicted body part. The weather did not “cause” the condition; the condition already existed, and the weather simply aggravated it. Besides arthritis, there are many other illnesses of the body that can be made more intense by weather changes. The Weather Thermostats In Your Body Obviously weather does affect all of us greatly. Depending upon how healthy we are, we can either shake off these effects or succumb to them. To understand a little more how weather affects your body and, consequently, your health, let’s look at some of the inner workings of the body as they relate to weather. There’s a portion of your brain called the hypothalamus. It controls digestion, water retention in the body, how we sleep, and our body temperature. The front part of the hypothalamus tells us when to lose heat by making us sweat and opening up our blood capillaries to cool us off. The back part of the hypothalamus can make the capillaries contract which helps keep our body heat in. In older and sick people, the hypothalamus does not always function properly. This is why these people seem to chill so easily in the winter or become overheated in the summer. Toxins in the bloodstream, brought about by improper diet and poor elimina- tion, poison the hypothalamus. Dr. N. W. Walker has said that the best way to keep the hypothalamus healthy is by eating mostly raw foods. Noxious substances from improper foods can slowly destroy the hypothalamus, which is actually the body’s thermostat. Notice, too, that the hypothalamus also controls such functions as appetite and sleep- ing. This might help to explain why weather, which affects the hypothalamus, can also make a person lose his appetite or have trouble getting to sleep.
The pituitary gland at the base of the skull controls the body’s metabolism in cold and hot weather. It, too, regulates the water level in our body for heating and cooling. The posterior part of the pituitary also regulates the temperature of the body as the tem- perature changes. It’s responsible for blood temperature, the perspiration process, and opening and closing the pores of the skin during hot and cold weather. A healthy pitu- itary gland can help us adapt to weather changes more easily. Again the best foods for optimum functioning of the pituitary are fresh fruits and vegetables, according to Dr. Walker who has made a close study on glandular health and diet.
If we keep the pituitary and hypothalamus healthy by proper diet, we can stay atop the weather more easily. A pure bloodstream from a proper diet, along with regular ex- ercise, can insure the well-being for these two body parts as well as the entire organism.
Diet and Weather
Your diet can help you adjust to the changes in the weather if you’ll remember two things: 1) When it’s hot, you need more fluids for the body; 2) When it’s cold, you need more fuel.
People used to automatically change their diets to meet the seasons because they ate what foods were naturally available, such as fresh fruits and vegetables in the summer and the dried fruits, nuts and greens in the fall and winter. Nowadays, with supermarket and technological junk foods, people can eat the same poor diet all year round.
During the hot months of the summer, my own diet is chiefly melons, tomatoes, and peaches. These are high-fluid foods, and they help to keep the body water-cooled. The summer fruits are also high in potassium and sodium, which are important minerals in maintaining the bock’s water balance.
You do not need extra salt or any salt in the summer. . People that eat salt sweat it out during tie summer because the body is trying to eliminate it. The mistake is made that since salt is leaving the body, it must be replaced, so they eat more salt and the body must work all the harder to get rid of it again. Salt serves no purpose in the human diet, and its use in the summer (or anytime) is not recommended.
When the weather is cold, you’ll need more carbohydrates in your diet for winter fuel—not fats or proteins. A public health nutritionist in New York, Beverly Daniel, puts it this way: “In very cold weather, people need to eat a diet heavy in carbohydrates—like fruits and vegetables. Eating fat is a good way to get fat. Fats are hard to digest in sum- mer or winter. About seven years ago, the army tested soldiers stationed in cold moun- tain areas. They always picked carbohydrate foods over fats and proteins for their body’s fuel needs.”
Dried fruits and the more-concentrated fresh fruits (like bananas and persimmons) are the best high-carbohydrate sources for winter needs.
Incidentally, a layer of fat is not a good idea in winter or summer. In a 1958 govern- ment test, overweight men did feel the cold less than thin people, but when the exposure to the cold was prolonged, the underweight individuals suffered less cumulative effects of cold stress than those with heavy fat layers. Without exception, the thin people also readjusted to the heat much better than those that were overweight.
So don’t use winter as an excuse to pile on layers of fat— unless, like the bear, you plan to sleep and fast until spring!
Manmade Weather
Another way you can better adapt to weather changes is by avoiding as much “man- made weather” as possible, such as unnecessary heating and cooling.
Humans have a definite metabolic need for fresh air to pass over their exposed skins. Especially while sleeping do we need an open circulation of fresh air.
By living in tightly-sealed, climatically controlled buildings all year-round, we lose our ability to readily adjust to weather changes. In the perfect environment for man, tem- perature extremes would not require artificial heating or cooling. Actually, air condition- ing in the summer is a real newcomer, and with appropriate building design and dress, it could be eliminated.
Don’t make yourself uncomfortable, but do take every opportunity to keep your liv- ing and work areas open to the current weather. Don’t let “manmade weather” be your constant year-round environment.
Becoming Less Weather Sensitive
To become less sensitive to weather changes, improve your physical health and re- view your emotional attitudes. Weather sensitivity can be decreased by changing your lifestyle and the way you view the world. Weather sensitivity does change throughout your life, perhaps reflecting your strength and state of health. Infants and elderly people are the most sensitive to weather changes, followed by adolescents and adults. Young children are the least sensitive of all.
Ever notice how preschool children can play outside in the hottest sun or run around without their jackets in the snow? Their young bodies still possess boundless health and vitality that allows them to rise above the weather conditions.
We can achieve that state again, too, if we follow a few simple rules:
# Reduce your dependence on manmade weather (heating and cooling) while still main- taining a reasonable comfort zone;
# Eatadietinournaturalfood(freshfruitsandvegetables)andeatinseason—juicyfruits in the summer and more concentrated carbohydrates (dried fruits, nuts, etc.) in the win- ter;
# Fastorfollowanoptimumdiettodetoxifyyourbodysothatitwillbecomelessweather- sensitive. This is especially beneficial for arthritis and those that complain of weather- related pains, aches and allergies;
# Exerciseoutsideintheopenonayear-roundbasis,evenifonlyforfiveortenminutes (if weather is severe).
# Spendmoreandmoretimeoutsideintheopenairandlesstimeinbuildings.Livingin buildings removes us from our natural environment and increases our “sensitivity” to natural changes in the weather, etc. Besides paying attention to such physical details, you might also need to consider your weather sensitivity in a psychological light. Adapting to weather changes may just reflect a difficulty in adapting to all changes in life. People who complain about the weather all the time may be “set in their ways” and be afraid or resist any kind of change—even a passing cool front! Weather-sensitive people, according to the biometeorologist, Dr. De Rudder, are of- ten very emotional, perspire profusely when nervous, color rapidly when annoyed, and rarely say that they feel well. Some of these people use the weather as a convenient way to blame their own negative feelings and emotions. Then, too, weather sensitivity may also be a reflection of our general sensitivity to life itself. Highly aware people are tuned into all aspects of their environment, includ- ing the weather. Many famous artists, musicians, and writers have often discussed their oversensitivity to changes in the weather. Being aware of weather changes is one thing; having them dominate your life is another. Weather You Believe It or Not... The weather is the great equalizer of mankind. Rich and poor, old and young—we all share the weather again.
Like any other aspect of our environment, the weather is going to affect each of us in different ways. The way your body responds to the weather is dependent on your level of health, both physical and emotional.
You’ve heard it said that you can’t do anything about the weather but talk about it. Well, that’s not true when it comes to your own health. A healthier person does adapt to weather changes better than his sickly neighbor.
So don’t just talk about your health, do something about it, and you’ll never feel un- der the weather again!
54.1. Introduction
54.2. The Body’s Natural Protective Systems
54.3. Bioelectronic Factors In Nutrition
54.4. Questions & Answers
Article #1: The Weather In Your Health by Mike Benton
== Introduction ==
54.1.1 Twentieth-Century Technology—A Two-Edged Sword
54.1.2 Our Fabulous Body Intelligence
54.1.3 Natural Weather and Manmade Weather Affect Health and Nutrition
At first glance, a discussion of that universal subject—the weather—might seem out of place in a Life Science/Hygiene course in human nutrition. But, since nutrition is a unified or total body process, any influence that can disrupt this complicated and mar- velous process anywhere along the great chain of nutritive systems would seem to justify its study in relation to human health and nutrition. And, while many sincere investiga- tors (past and present) have delved deeply into nature’s secrets of human nutrition, as yet we cannot see but can only infer by deductive reasoning the mysteries of the inner metabolic processes going on in the living cells of the body. We can deduce that certain things are going on, but we cannot be sure all these deductions are infallibly correct.
54.1.1 Twentieth-Century Technology—A Two-Edged Sword
Meanwhile, the mounting evidence seems worthy of note and concern that the hu- man race—the 20th-century human race—has caused “unnatural” weather conditions (such as worldwide air pollution, nuclear blasts, burning of fossil fuels, etc.), which can then become a cause of “unnatural” stimulation or shock to living bodies, on the same order that drug poisons create an unnatural stimulation (shock reaction, etc.) to living bodies. Of course, the effect of the weather will be different on different people, depend- ing on the condition of their bodies. The heat of a noon-day sun (shining through visible and invisible layers of air pollution) will have a different effect on a sober person from the effect it will have on a drunkard (including a food drunkard).
One of Life Science/Hygiene’s most vital concerns is the mounting evidence that the two-edged sword of modern technology may be creating a technological world which, instead of enhancing life on this planet, could be making it unbearable (and unlivable!).
One area, however, that 20th-century technology would seem to deserve credit for opening some dramatically revealing new studies is in the area of this planet’s weather, and how recent findings would seem to lead to the conclusion that air, electricity, ions, weird winds, sunspots, etc., have a greater effect on human health, nutrition, moods, etc., than was thought in the past. Those Life Scientists seeking new challenges should find this area of study fascinating.
54.1.2 Our Fabulous Body Intelligence
This new field of scientific investigation of how weather affects living things has been given the name of “biometeorology.” The findings so far show that when the weather changes, the body wisdom quickly makes changes in the body—adjusts our marvelous internal body systems to keep the vital functions at the constant level nec- essary for life. All the body’s functions give evidence of marvelous intelligence, pre- vision, and provision, and nowhere is this better exemplified than in the living body’s
master thermostat called the “hypothalamus.” Working faster than the most advanced modern computer, this temperature control system of the brain adjusts the body to ex- ternal changes of cold or heat with lightning speed. It, and other body control systems, make possible the seasonal acclimation process of living bodies. This entire process of adjusting and switching the entire metabolism if living bodies from one season to anoth- er, or to sudden hocking changes in the weather during a mid-season, should show even the most hardened skeptic that the wisdom that created the living body and maintains it is (and always will be) greater than the conscious mind of man can conceive. Our duty, according to Hygiene/Life Science philosophy, is to learn all we can about it and how it works, but to never lose our awe and respect for it.
But these natural responses of the inner body wisdom to sustained or changing weather conditions can be hammered, and interfered with by a myriad of external and internal factors and conditions. One analogy of the living body would be to liken it to a fine electric motor that someone drops a wrench in. The wrench stops the motor though the electric power that ran the motor is still here ready to do its job of starting the mo- tor when the wrench is removed. We can, for purposes of analogy only liken the mar- velous, intelligent life force that “builds” and runs the human body to the electric force of the motor. And, we can liken such things as the weather, wrong diet, drugs, etc., as the wrenches that thwart the body wisdom in its work. Life Scientists should include the weather, and its influence on living bodies, in their studies on nutrition.
We constantly hear people say that they “can’t take the weather as well as they used to when they were younger.” But, the cause is not their age in years, per se, but the ac- cumulated wrongs done to their bodies over a period of years. Many of these wrongs are self-inflicted, but not all. There is very little we can do to change the weather, and evidence is mounting that certain weather conditions can have deleterious effects on the living body, causing such maladies as migraine headaches, depression, heart irregulari- ties, metabolic disruptions, and a host of other ills. The body, and its governing wisdom, though astounding in its capabilities and sensitive adjustments, cannot dominate he ex- ternal environment (like it reigns over the internal environment), except to a very limited extent. Even the culmination of some of this century’s most vaunted technology, such as NASA’s space shuttle, must pay obeisance to the weather, as happened recently with the voyage of Space Shuttle Columbia, when it was forced to stay in earth orbit an extra day due to very strong cross-winds at the prime landing site.
54.1.3 Natural Weather and Manmade Weather Affect Health and Nutrition
Theoretically it seems possible (even probable) that the present “arms race,” with its continued nuclear explosions (one by Russia in the sixty-megaton range!), may have al- ready upset nature’s delicate balance at the electronic level. And, some of these weird winds, and strange weather patterns all over the planet, in these hectic, closing years of the twentieth century, may be nature’s way of trying to restore the atomic and electron- ic balance! If either of the so-called “super-powers” have done any investigation into whether or not their continued insane atomic blasts have disrupted nature at the atomic and electronic level, they are keeping their findings well hidden. And, of course, in ad- dition to this new manmade atmospheric pollution and disruption, nature has to contend with natural pollution—such as the recent catastrophic volcano eruption in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. Incalculable tons of molten ash and other volcanic debris were ex- ploded into the upper atmosphere changing the immediate weather picture around the world, according to meteorologists!
And, as far as humans on this planet are concerned, our natural atmosphere is our most vital natural resource, for we must breathe it all the days and nights of our lives. And, the electromagnetic condition of the atmosphere has been shown (by recent bio- meteorology research) to exert probable and significant effects on life on this planet! As this century draws to a close, evidence is mounting that man has (over the years) with
sometimes good intentions, but with seldom any thought of future consequences, proba- bly interfered in the natural environment so much that the natural electronic balance may have been vastly disrupted to the detriment of life on this planet. Nuclear explosions are the latest and greatest madness in tampering with the natural balance of our environ- ment. Technologically-advanced “civilization” does not necessarily mean a culturally- advanced one!
We can, to a limited extent, help the body’s adjustment to external environmental conditions (sudden weather changes, etc.), with artificial “microclimates” of our 20th- century technology. But, as in the use of anything artificial, this again proves to be a two-edged sword. The best and most astounding piece of “machinery” human beings can have is their own bodies. And these marvelous systems of living equipment have their natural rhythms, their natural systems of adjustment, etc.,” to maintain certain standard levels of function within the body. These can be interfered with by artificial climates, etc. However, in some conditions of impaired health and disrupted nutritional (metabolic) functions, the temporary use of artificial climates has proven to have a temporary helpful influence. But, our bodies were designed by an incredible, invisible power and wisdom to respond naturally to weather conditions. These natural responses can be thwarted and weakened by artificial (technological) conditions.
54.2. The Body’s Natural Protective Systems
54.2.1 Drugs Thwart and Impede Internal Vital Functions
54.2.2 More Influences on the Body
54.2.3 How Can We Control How the Weather Affects Us?
Clearly, in the living body, the body “chemistry” changes when there are changes in the weather. Technology can thwart the body’s efforts at correct changes. But, modern technology is not the only thing that interferes with the body’s natural functioning and responses to changed conditions in order to maintain internal temperature and other vital functions at a constant level. As Hygienists know, “toxemia” can play havoc with the body’s internal economy; prolonged mental or physical stress can disrupt the body’s in- ternal adjustive mechanisms, and present a constant interference with the body’s natural functions; and, of course, one of the worst causes of complete and deadly disruption of natural body functions is drugs.
54.2.1 Drugs Thwart and Impede Internal Vital Functions
Both the so-called “primary” and “side effects” of many drugs can critically interfere with the body’s natural functions. For instance, tranquilizers, prescribed to “relieve” stress during prolonged heat waves, have actually killed people due to their “side ef- fects” of blocking the body’s natural system of cooling itself by sweating! And, it has long been known that the drug, nicotine, can constrict circulation in the extremities. The western world’s love affair with coffee makes millions of addicts to caffeine, another drug that can cause the constriction of blood vessels, causing a rise in blood pressure and giving a deceptive feeling that the body is naturally warmer. Other drugs, such as amphetamines, marijuana, and King Alcohol, can play havoc with the body’s natural temperature-regulating systems.
The body’s incredible sensitivity to changes in atmospheric pressure, and its remark- able internal adjustments to stabilize its functions in relation to external changes, can be fatally interfered with by drugs. According to scientific studies, the side effects of certain drugs prescribed for heart patients, for instance, can prove fatal to some patients taken under conditions such as the sudden dropping of atmospheric pressure preceding a storm, or in the lowered air pressure of the mountains.
54.2.2 More Influences on the Body
And, who knows how many highway accidents, job-related accidents, marital break- ups, etc., are caused by the changing weather’s effect on “weather-sensitive” people, who develop circulatory problems, fatigue, inability to concentrate, moodiness, depres- sion, instant anger, migraine headaches, etc. The nervous system of the marvelous liv- ing body is so sensitive to external influences (such as infrasound influences) that it can “feel” certain sounds that winds make which are of too low a vibration to affect the hu- man ear.
Every year, in certain parts of this planet, weird winds spring up that in folklore have been called “witch’s winds,” because in their wake there seems to be a rise in accidents, illnesses, crimes, etc. Both weather-sensitive humans and animals seem to “sense” the coming of these winds. Now a scientific explanation has been given this folk wisdom of the ages. Scientists researching this phenomena now call this the “ion influence.” They claim that in weather changes, it is these ions or electrically-charged molecules of air, to which people are really sensitive. They theorize that a natural balance of positive to negative ions of five to four increases strikingly as these “witch’s storms” approach. The conclusions of these bio-meteorology researchers is that this upsetting of the ion balance causes immediate and drastic changes in the body-regulating systems of weather-sensi- tive people who are truly living barometers. One widely-noted effect is the overproduc- tion of adrenalin, which as a secondary effect causes adrenal exhaustion symptoms such as extreme fatigue, nervous tension, moodiness, depression, etc.
Ion research at the University of California, Berkeley, has discovered that negative ions reduce normal blood levels of serotonin, a hormone that “carries messages” (ac- cording to brain specialists) within the brain processes. These findings concluded that positive ions, on the other hand, increase serotonin levels. This increase in serotonin caused by an increase of positive ions is declared to be the cause of illnesses related to “witch’s winds,” according to ion researchers. The theory is that wind friction caused by moving air masses, layers of wind, etc., creating friction with existing, relatively motion- less surrounding air, tends to cause massive electrical disturbances by “knocking off” negative ions and increasing the overdose of the number of positive ions. Ion researchers now conclude that an overdose of positive ions affects the body processes, metabolism, temperature regulating, etc., of all living creatures on this planet.
54.2.3 How Can We Control How the Weather Affects Us?
If these current findings about weather-related illnesses caused by an upsetting of the body’s internal systems hold true after much future investigation, then an equal, if not more important, area of investigation would be to see if we can discover how the body itself best copes with these outward, adverse changes and influences. Life Science al- ready has a key understanding in that the healthy, normally-functioning body can more quickly adjust to and overcome enormous external adverse influences. But, the body’s energies and intelligence not only have to be expended in adjusting to massive external influences, like the weather, but it also has to use its precious life energies neutralizing and expelling drugs that are deadly to the body’s internal processes; plus the processing and expelling of wrong foods, bad combinations, etc. But, the primary law of physiolo- gy of the body is “self-preservation” by the great wisdom within. Life Science/Hygiene teach that a living body not burdened with toxemia, and correctly nourished, can with- stand external environmental changes, like the weather, with a remarkable resilience, and that weather influences on such a healthy body are more temporary with less lasting disruption of body economy.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it?” But we all can do something about it by correct living in such a way that we help the body to help itself, in its readjustments and responses to the disruption
of its internal equilibrium by such conditions as sudden weather changes, etc., and not in such a way that we are constantly throwing deadly “wrenches” in the body’s incred- ibly complex works. Or, to put it another way, study and listen to your own body, for its wisdom and marvelous workings are the best indicator, maintainer, and adjuster of total body health (physical and mental) whether in weather changes or whatever, and not some external authority, drug prescription, injection, etc.
Thus, the constantly increasing discoveries of how the weather can be a disrupting factor in health, nutrition, etc., show dramatically, again, the great value of the Hygiene/ Life Science way of life, as the best way of helping the body cope with these disruptions. One of the basic pillars of the Hygiene/Life Science way of life is correct nutrition. We have already mentioned the deadly effects of many prescription drugs on the body’s abil- ity to adjust to weather changes. But few of the contemporary works on nutrition equate all the harmful additives in food as being drugs also, and just as poisonous as prescrip- tion drugs to the living economy.
Many things popularly thought to be foods are really poisons. For instance, sugar and salt are not foods, but poisons. The enormous amounts of salt and sugar consumed by Westerners produce untold ill health, misery, and death. Salt buildup in the body causes increased loss of potassium, and this depletion of potassium can lead to heat prostration, headache, lassitude, sleeplessness, localized pain, inability to concentrate, etc. Much ev- idence is available to show that its cumulative effect over a period of years is one of the culprits in kidney disease, high blood pressure, heart enlargement, etc. Refined sugar is consumed in towering amounts by our Western society and culture, and is suspected of being a major factor in heart disease, arterial diseases, teeth and bone deterioration, etc.
It is not hard to see how the complex body system, disrupted constantly by the in- gestion or injection of dangerous drugs, chemical additives/etc., could be unable to cope with sudden and vast changes in the weather. On the other hand, a smooth function- ing body whose cells and tissues are kept well cleansed and well nourished with the biologically-suitable diet of mankind—fruits, uncooked vegetables (especially green, leafy salads), and nuts, can withstand and adjust to weather changes to a remarkable de- gree.
Space is limited, so this must necessarily be a rather general survey and summary of some of the recent investigations and discoveries in this fruitful and fascinating field of biometeorology—the study of weather, climate, etc.—and its mysterious influence (in several aspects) on human health. Here is surely a fertile field for present and future in- vestigation, for those Life Scientists/Hygienists who desire to strike out into newer fields of creative thinking, investigation, and discovery for the benefit and betterment of hu- mankind.
54.3. Bioelectronic Factors In Nutrition
54.3.1 Food and Electronic Energy
54.3.2 The Body As a Bioelectronic Phenomenon 54.3.3 The Hygienic/Life Science Way
Those who probe, poke, and pry into the living body trying to force it to reveal its innermost secrets of nutrition and life, finally come to an invisible, impenetrable wall, and the message of nature seems to clearly proclaim: “Thus far shalt thou go, and no fur- ther!” All investigation seems to run out into unfathomable mystery. The living body’s ultimate processes of nutrition are a nature-kept, or life-kept, secret. Nor, is it necessary that we know these ultimate nutritive processes, for nature (or the invisible life force of nature) would still have to do the ultimate processing by the same natural laws as it has done since life first began on this planet.
The one vital area where nature requires our conscious participation is that first im- portant step along the long and winding nutritive road, of providing the body with the biologically-correct food, and of course, proper mastication of that food.
Even our 20th-century technology, remarkable as it is in some areas, cannot take a television camera into the inner recesses of the living cell and show us its ultimate nu- tritive processes. Thus, it has always been, and shall always probably be. We can only speculate, theorize about ultimate processes, and up until recently that seemed counter- productive since nature goes right on with her great secret work regardless of our ques- tions about it. But, in the light of recent investigations and findings (as summarized in the first segment of this lesson, on the weather), showing that weather, climate, drugs, etc., can seemingly have an often devastating effect on living bodies by disrupting elec- trical balances, etc., perhaps a renewed, more intense speculative look, or theorizing, about what may go on behind the great barrier of effects in living nutritive processes may now be more fruitful.
And, it must be admitted at the outset that this will be mostly theoretical and spec- ulative, as, in this writer’s opinion, investigations of invisible ultimate nutritive matters (no matter how sincere and dedicated) cannot at present (if ever) be considered as having absolutely-established conclusions that present final “scientific proof.” But, Hygiene/ Life Science ever seeks to increase the light of human understanding and betterment, and if questioning and theorizing into new fields of thinking lead to that worthy goal, then more power to it—as long, of course, as this thinking does not subvert or take us astray from the time-honored and proven basic principles of Hygiene/Life Science.
Since all material things seem to run out into invisible electronic mysteries, for pur- poses of this lesson let us approach the living body from that standpoint. The pioneer in “bioelectronics” was George W. Crile, who as early as 1889 began his researches into the electronic nature of the living cell, and reached the conclusion that every cell of the human body is really a tiny bipolar battery carrying two electronic charges—a negative charge on the outside, and a positive charge at the center. But Crile, and the bio-electron- ic researchers after him, started their investigations with a “full-blown” cell which has turned out to be a very complex thing indeed!
Crile’s researches and findings were later duplicated and verified by Lakhovsky and others. They concluded that a predominance of a positive electronic charge brings total health, abundant energy, extended youthfulness, etc., while a predominance of negative charge or potential in the cells caused cellular fatigue, structural deterioration, exhaus- tion, and eventual death of the cells.
This might lead some to conclude that electricity, or electronic energy is life, or the life force. We are no more able to resolve the problem of the ultimate nature, essence, mystery, and miracle of life than any other Hygienist/Life Scientist, and claim no special mandate to give such final dispensation. We can only offer our own ideas held at the present (which could change in the future, in the light of newer thinking and investiga- tion) with no implication that we think these are final and unshakeable conclusions. And, with the hope that present and future Life Scientists/Hygienists can delve further into this great mystery. There are those who will dogmatically state that the life force is you, or your subconscious mind, etc. But such statements lack absolute, demonstrable proof, and therefore are assumptions, not conclusions. Others will claim, just as dogmatically, that the life force is electricity.
It is this writer’s considered opinion, however, that life, or the life power, is probably not the same as electricity, but that the life power “uses” electronic energy to “build” or form the body and put it into a certain condition so that life can manifest more fully. There are just too many unresolved (and probably unresolvable) differences between the life force and electricity. Perhaps there are even “life fields” and “body fields” that inter- mingle and interpenetrate. The pioneering work of Harold Saxon Burr is highly interest- ing along these lines of investigation of the ultimate cause of the great barrier of effects in living processes.
And, to try to reduce the life force to the same size as the “electronic building blocks” it uses, as the reductionists try to do, is as futile as trying to describe and reduce the brick mason to the same size as the bricks he uses! Those, who in their philosophical considerations, try to reduce the life force to its tiniest “building blocks,” are following a wrong theory, in this writer’s opinion.
But, who can say they know, and can prove for absolute certainty, what life really is? Perhaps we will never know what the life force is, in its ultimate essence. It is a nature- kept, or life-kept secret, and one that Mother Nature seems not to want to share with us! Perhaps, for us humans, it is just as important to know that life is not as to know what it is!
Many Hygienists/Life Scientists of old wrote as though they considered the life force and nerve force as the same thing. I have expressed my own opinion (above) that I do not think the life force and electricity are the same. Yet, nerve force does appear to be some form of electricity or electronic energy. How do we resolve this? Theorizing from bio- electronic research findings, and from Hygiene/Life Science philosophy, the conclusion seems inescapable that here, perhaps, we can deduce a reasonable hypothetical explana- tion to account for the perplexing paradoxes and contradictory aspects of nerve force and life force. They are apparently two different things! At least that is the conclusion we are drawn to, at this time, by our evaluation of current bioelectronic research. It should remain an “open-ended” subject, however, and it should be understood that we are not here claiming to present absolutely final conclusions about it! To return from this needed digression to the comparison of the life force and nerve force—nerve force is a variable factor—life force is a constant. Nerve force would appear to be the “positive aspects” of the bioelectronic energy of the nervous system, and rises and falls with certain con- ditions. Life force, on the other hand, is a constant and not a variable factor. It is not “used” by the body, but uses the body and nerve force as its manifesting instruments. Life force initiates intelligent action in the body, while nerve force, being apparently a form of electricity or bioelectronic energy, has no power of intelligent initiation. And the Hygiene/Life Science philosophy shows that even life, itself, must work within the confines of biological laws.
At the present state of bioelectronic research, nerve force would appear to be gen- erated within the body, although there are those who think it also can, to some extent, be generated from without. Here, as elsewhere, the infinite power and wisdom of the life force may have designed more than one way of doing things as an emergency, self- preservative influx. Who knows? But, if our bioelectronic theorizing is to be consistent- ly developed as a theoretical explanation of the differences between the life force and nerve force, we must postulate that for the maximum healthful functioning of the body, and full manifestation of life’s powers, the life force apparently must maintain a nerve force balance of positive and negative electronic energy charges, with slightly more of the positive charge predominating.
Since all matter in the universe is built, and has an electronic basis, food must also have its electronic basis with its positive and negative electronic charges. And, it would seem logical, and consistent with our bioelectronic theorizing, to conclude that all foods either have a predominantly positive potential or a predominantly negative potential, or else a near balance of positive and negative potentials.
We do not get life from food, for food cannot give what it does not possess in the first place. Food, in the state it is taken into the body for nourishment, is dead, inert ma- terial that is acted on by the life force, Let those who claim that electricity is life explain this—food matter contains electricity (electronic factors) in its very basic makeup, but it does not contain life. A predominance of negative electronic potential in inert matter, as in dead bodies and dead foods, is still electricity or basic electronic factors. Is not a dead body still composed of electricity in the material of which it is still composed? And, yet it does not contain or manifest life. We do not get life from dead, inert material like food. What we do apparently get from food (at its ultimate breakdown by digestive
processes) is electronic energy, if our electronic theorizing is to be consistent. Reducing food to its cells, the food cells themselves are further reducible to molecular and then to atomic and subatomic or electronic levels. Upon correct and complete digestion and assimilation, the electronic energy is freed from the foods. Thus, under the bioelectronic view, we see that the so-called “biochemistry” system of food science would not be cor- rect food science, and would be of relatively minus value to the Life Scientist/Hygienist, as its conclusions are reached from the data and studies of contrived experiments, re- search on rats, manufactured deficiencies, and research on dead bodies, dead foods, and the dead chemical elements of these.
But, under the bioelectronic view, it is seemingly the electronic energy in the foods (according to bioelectronic research), and not the chemical elements that should form the real basis for a genuine science of living nutrition. Reasoning from the findings of the bioelectronic researchers leads to the conclusion that the chemical elements in foods are apparently the transport-carriers of the electronic energy that is seemingly the real goal of the long chain of nutritive processes in the body. When this electronic energy has been released from food cells, the chemical transporters that are left, and that are not uti- lizable by the body, are poison to the living body and must be speedily eliminated by the self-preservative instincts of the body wisdom. Pursuing this reasoning further, anoth- er apparent conclusion to be drawn is that fractured and fragmented food supplements are unusable by the body, and therefore foreign to it (poison), and also must be quickly eliminated as life-threatening materials.
54.3.1 Food and Electronic Energy
A bioelectronic food science based on the electronic energy would show whether a food had a predominance of positive or negative electronic potentials, or is almost neu- trally balanced. But, this does not mean that we need to always follow some complicated chart showing the positive and negative, or neutral potentials of every food in existence. Nor does it mean we have to be always keeping the positive and negative electronic con- dition of the body in mind, so that we will be sure to eat foods and maintain a proper balance to keep us healthy and fully alive. As in so many other things, wise old Mother Nature has preceded us and provided the perfect balanced food to maintain maximum health. Since this is the natural, biological food for humans, and since health results from its use (other things being equal, of course), it seems a fact of observation that this food, designed by wise nature for human use, has a perfect balance of electronic potentials to maintain the living human body at its highest level. That perfect natural food of mankind is, of course, the many wonderful varieties of edible fruit, along with uncooked vegeta- bles (especially green, leafy ones), and nuts. In the master drama of human nutrition, our prime role or duty is to see that we eat the natural diet that contains the essential nutritive factors. And, we can then put our trust in the great wisdom within to do its marvelous work of building our bodies as healthily as possible—as it has done for untold ages past, since life first manifested on this planet Earth.
54.3.2 The Body As a Bioelectronic Phenomenon
In the first segment of this lesson, I indicated that scientific findings show that dis- ruption of body processes by weather is done at the electronic level. But, how much greater is this electronic disruption from wrong food, and wrong food combinations? And yet, nature has seemingly made our correct biological diet such a relatively simple objective for us, and we humans seem to want to make it so complicated. Our theoreti- cal reasoning leads us to believe that the wisdom in nature has made the natural food of mankind so perfect as to its ultimate electronic potentials needed for the body processes that no human genius in electronics, or the most sophisticated modern computer, could even begin to compare with it.
Thus, theorizing (or deducing) from the bioelectronic viewpoint, nutrition at its ul- timate invisible goal after releasing or unlocking of the electronic energy, possibly con- sists of some magical (and there’s no better word to describe it) transformation of ulti- mate electronic factors of foods into some higher state or condition that is closest to the essence of the life force, itself, and can best be utilized by it in that “higher” condition. Perhaps, again, this ultimate energy unlocked from food consists of some peculiar and higher form of vibration of the released electronic factors. Thus, certain radiations, at certain wavelengths, might be the invisible “building blocks” that the life force uses in building and maintaining animate bodies.
Of course, the mysterious energies locked up in the ideal foods—fruit, uncooked vegetables, and nuts, in correct combinations, cannot be available to the life force unless they are unlocked and set free by correct functioning digestive processes all the way down the Ion road of nutritive processes. And these digestive processes can be interfered with and disrupted and perverted in a myriad of ways and conditions, such as sudden weather changes, wrong food combinations, enervation and toxemia, wrong emotions, overwork, etc.
54.3.3 The Hygienic/Life Science Way
And, while fruits, uncooked vegetables, and nuts, in correct combinations, are na- ture’s ordained diet for mankind! it may be that with more knowledge in the future we will discover that during certain times, and under certain conditions, we should favor the combining and eating of certain fruits, vegetables, and nuts over others, for their slight- ly different predominance of electronic potentials. For example, future findings might show that specific fruits, vegetables, and nuts, properly combined, may be better for weather-sensitive people whose ion balance has been upset by adverse weather condi- tions, etc. This is, of course, speculative, and awaits more research for possible verifi- cation in the future; but, as stated at the beginning of this part of the lesson, this brief speculative analysis of bio-meteorology and bioelectronics hopefully may arouse further thinking and investigation by Hygienists/Life Scientists into these relatively little inves- tigated areas of nutrition and related subjects. For we can never reach the omnipotence and omniscience of nature, or the life force and wisdom that ever remains hidden within manifested nature; but in the constant journey, struggle and out-reaching to learn more of nature’s secrets, in order that we may learn to live in compatibility with her ordained ways, we grow and expand our lives and our consciousness. And, creative outreaching is initially speculative, until more definite evidence catches up to it.
54.4. Questions & Answers
You say if one eats Hygienically and is in good health that he or she will not be ad- versely affected by the weather. But I’m in very good health, eat no wrong foods, and yet as soon as winter comes (I live in Michigan), I get sick for long periods of time. Could it be that my attitude toward the weather (I hate winter and being in- doors) has physiological effects on me?
Most certainly, yes. Attitude is a very important factor in human health—almost as important as diet. Observe those around you who are always negative in their thought processes—check how often they become ill despite their diets and lifestyles. This does not mean, however, that you should neglect your diet. Maintain a good, healthy diet and a good, healthy attitude.
Every time it rains my joints ache. I’ve been to the doctor for this problem on several occasions and he says I don’t have arthritis or anything like that. What could cause this?
Apparently your diet and your lifestyle are not as pure as they need to be to maintain optimum health. Try adding more fresh, raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds and eliminate harmful items in your diet such as refined products, salt, condi- ments, alcohol, drugs, meats, etc. You’ll be amazed at the difference the next time it rains.
Whenever it is just slightly cold out and everyone around me says it’s just right—such as when the temperature is about 65 or 70 degrees—I still feel cold. The same is true when it’s in the upper 70s and 80s—everyone around me says it feels good and I’m too hot. Why is this so?
Perhaps your body’s temperature controlling device, the hypothalamus, is not functioning properly. This is caused by improper diet, poor environment (too much artificial cooling and heating), not enough exercise, fresh air, or sunshine. Try im- proving your diet and getting out in the open air and sunshine for exercise regularly.
In this lesson I have shown that the weather can and does affect one’s health. I have also shown that it will have less effect on you if you abide by nature’s laws—that is eat only of natural fare (raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds), drink only pure water, take exercise, fresh air, and sunshine, and apply the other essen- tials of life as taught previous to this lesson.
This lesson pointed out that every cell of our bodies has an electronic na- ture—that is, a positive and negative charge. The food we eat also has electronic energy which when released from the food’s cells, nourishes our bodies. More stud- ies need to be conducted regarding the electronic nature of foods and how they af- fect our well-being.
Article #1: The Weather In Your Health by Mike Benton
Weather Sensitivity
The Weather Fronts
Weather and the Changes In Your Body
A Case History In Weather Changes: Rheumatoid Arthritis The Weather Thermostats In Your Body
Diet and Weather
Manmade Weather
Becoming Less Weather Sensitive
Weather You Believe It or Not...
It was many years ago. I was a small boy visiting my great-uncle on his farm in the back country.
On a warm and sunny day in early November, he told me, “Better pick all those fall tomatoes. Probably be snow on them by tomorrow.”
I thought he was joking, but I harvested all the tomatoes just the same, sweating in the garden in a pair of shorts.
The next morning I woke up and saw snow all over the fall garden. My uncle met me at breakfast. “It’s my wrist,” he told me. “Better than any weather vane. Always acts up before a snow or a rain.”
How many times have you heard people say that they knew a storm was coming by the “way their bones felt?” How about hearing people complain that they feel “under the weather?” How about yourself? Do you drag around when it’s cloudy and feel great only when the sun shines?
No doubt about it. Weather affects all of us in some way or another. Many people seem more strongly bothered by the weather than other people. Some blame the weather for that ache or pain, or their own poor health in general. But what roles does weather
play in how good or healthy we feel? Is the weather responsible for the many symptoms that people feel, or is it something else?
Weather Sensitivity
How weather influences living things is what the science of biometeorology is all about. The biometeorologist studies how the daily and seasonal changes in the weather influence animals and humans.
These “weathermen-biologists” say that while changes in the weather affect every- body, about one in three people is extremely sensitive to these changes (like my great- uncle) and that they may express one or more of over forty different symptoms associat- ed with changing weather.
For instance, pains in the joints or other parts of the body that precede a change in weather have been known since the times of ancient Greece. Rheumatism sufferers are the most affected—sometimes up to two days ahead of the changes in the weather. Many people with fractures, dislocations, burns, and even chafed areas or corns have a sort of weather barometer “in their bones.”
Other symptoms that accompany weather changes in sensitive people are migraine headaches, back pain, upset stomach, irritability, loss of appetite, severe depression, feel- ings of uneasiness, and so on. Some people blame all their ills on the weather.
However, it is important to remember that the weather itself does not produce weather-sensitive people. The sensitivity people experience with changes in the weather is a function of their own physiological makeup.
“A healthy, robust, and well-balanced person is rarely sensitive to changes in the weather,” says Michel Ganquelin, a weather researcher. Generally speaking, people who are overly sensitive to the weather tend to suffer from chronic diseases, and they react with pain to barometric changes.
A strong and healthy person can endure stress on several levels and not exhibit any signs of illness or discomfort. Weather is probably the most basic stress that all humans experience. It changes almost every day, and with these changes come new situations and stresses that we must adjust to.
The Weather Fronts
Perhaps the most stressful weather condition is the passing of cold and warm fronts. William Thomson, author of Climate and Health, believes that people respond more to weather fronts than to any other single weather factor.
A cold front coming through means more than just a drop in temperature. It also means complex changes in the barometric pressure, wind direction, humidity, and even pollutants and radioactive fallout may be carried in. All of these changes affect our bod- ies, our endocrine systems, our nervous systems, and our cardiovascular systems.
The biometeorologist, Dr. De Rudder of Paris, says that the “death rate often increas- es while fronts are passing.” For people in good health, fronts may only cause tempo- rary feelings of discomfort. But for the person whose system is weakened, or who has undergone surgery or has high blood pressure, this feeling of discomfort can become something much more critical. Heart attacks often accompany weather front passages, and in general any disease which is aggravated by stress increases in intensity when a front goes by.
While a healthy person does not react as severely to the passing of a front as does a “weather-sensitive” person, all people experience many physiological changes that are being constantly modified by the climate and weather.
Weather and the Changes In Your Body
Here are some of the findings of weather researchers and biologists about how just one weather phenomenon—weather fronts—affect everybody.
# Blood clotting occurs faster just before a front passes.
# Fibrinolysis, or the dissolving of blood clots, increases after the passage of cold fronts.
# Theamountofurinepassedincreaseswhencoldfrontsarepassinganddecreaseswhen a warm front has passed.
# Theblood-sugarlevelischangedbythepassageofafront,asarethelevelsofcalcium, phosphates, sodium, and magnesium in the bloodstream.
# The amount of blood in the body decreases and the blood sedimentation rate is lower after the passage of a cold front.
# White blood cells increase in number when the barometer falls sharply. A Case History In Weather Changes: Rheumatoid Arthritis In healthy people, the changes that accompany passing weather fronts are minor, al- most unnoticed. In an individual with rheumatoid arthritis, however, the changes can be quite serious. A seven-year-old girl who already had arthritis was asked when her pain was the worst. “Whenever we have a storm, my joints feel stiff and I’m sore all over. Sometimes I get stiff before the storm starts, and sometimes I feel better before it stops raining.” Weather researchers have found that in 93% of all arthritic pain, there was a major change in barometric pressure. One suggestion for this affect is that people with rheuma- toid arthritis have peripheral blood vessels that are easily constricted. The passage of. fronts often causes changes in these blood vessels, causing them to constrict farther, which decreases circulation and increases pain for those with arthritis. A fall in barometric pressure also leads to a retention of water in the body. The cells of rheumatic tissue are not as permeable as healthy cells, so they retain this fluid more. This retention of fluid leads to the pain and swelling of the afflicted body part. The weather did not “cause” the condition; the condition already existed, and the weather simply aggravated it. Besides arthritis, there are many other illnesses of the body that can be made more intense by weather changes. The Weather Thermostats In Your Body Obviously weather does affect all of us greatly. Depending upon how healthy we are, we can either shake off these effects or succumb to them. To understand a little more how weather affects your body and, consequently, your health, let’s look at some of the inner workings of the body as they relate to weather. There’s a portion of your brain called the hypothalamus. It controls digestion, water retention in the body, how we sleep, and our body temperature. The front part of the hypothalamus tells us when to lose heat by making us sweat and opening up our blood capillaries to cool us off. The back part of the hypothalamus can make the capillaries contract which helps keep our body heat in. In older and sick people, the hypothalamus does not always function properly. This is why these people seem to chill so easily in the winter or become overheated in the summer. Toxins in the bloodstream, brought about by improper diet and poor elimina- tion, poison the hypothalamus. Dr. N. W. Walker has said that the best way to keep the hypothalamus healthy is by eating mostly raw foods. Noxious substances from improper foods can slowly destroy the hypothalamus, which is actually the body’s thermostat. Notice, too, that the hypothalamus also controls such functions as appetite and sleep- ing. This might help to explain why weather, which affects the hypothalamus, can also make a person lose his appetite or have trouble getting to sleep.
The pituitary gland at the base of the skull controls the body’s metabolism in cold and hot weather. It, too, regulates the water level in our body for heating and cooling. The posterior part of the pituitary also regulates the temperature of the body as the tem- perature changes. It’s responsible for blood temperature, the perspiration process, and opening and closing the pores of the skin during hot and cold weather. A healthy pitu- itary gland can help us adapt to weather changes more easily. Again the best foods for optimum functioning of the pituitary are fresh fruits and vegetables, according to Dr. Walker who has made a close study on glandular health and diet.
If we keep the pituitary and hypothalamus healthy by proper diet, we can stay atop the weather more easily. A pure bloodstream from a proper diet, along with regular ex- ercise, can insure the well-being for these two body parts as well as the entire organism.
Diet and Weather
Your diet can help you adjust to the changes in the weather if you’ll remember two things: 1) When it’s hot, you need more fluids for the body; 2) When it’s cold, you need more fuel.
People used to automatically change their diets to meet the seasons because they ate what foods were naturally available, such as fresh fruits and vegetables in the summer and the dried fruits, nuts and greens in the fall and winter. Nowadays, with supermarket and technological junk foods, people can eat the same poor diet all year round.
During the hot months of the summer, my own diet is chiefly melons, tomatoes, and peaches. These are high-fluid foods, and they help to keep the body water-cooled. The summer fruits are also high in potassium and sodium, which are important minerals in maintaining the bock’s water balance.
You do not need extra salt or any salt in the summer. . People that eat salt sweat it out during tie summer because the body is trying to eliminate it. The mistake is made that since salt is leaving the body, it must be replaced, so they eat more salt and the body must work all the harder to get rid of it again. Salt serves no purpose in the human diet, and its use in the summer (or anytime) is not recommended.
When the weather is cold, you’ll need more carbohydrates in your diet for winter fuel—not fats or proteins. A public health nutritionist in New York, Beverly Daniel, puts it this way: “In very cold weather, people need to eat a diet heavy in carbohydrates—like fruits and vegetables. Eating fat is a good way to get fat. Fats are hard to digest in sum- mer or winter. About seven years ago, the army tested soldiers stationed in cold moun- tain areas. They always picked carbohydrate foods over fats and proteins for their body’s fuel needs.”
Dried fruits and the more-concentrated fresh fruits (like bananas and persimmons) are the best high-carbohydrate sources for winter needs.
Incidentally, a layer of fat is not a good idea in winter or summer. In a 1958 govern- ment test, overweight men did feel the cold less than thin people, but when the exposure to the cold was prolonged, the underweight individuals suffered less cumulative effects of cold stress than those with heavy fat layers. Without exception, the thin people also readjusted to the heat much better than those that were overweight.
So don’t use winter as an excuse to pile on layers of fat— unless, like the bear, you plan to sleep and fast until spring!
Manmade Weather
Another way you can better adapt to weather changes is by avoiding as much “man- made weather” as possible, such as unnecessary heating and cooling.
Humans have a definite metabolic need for fresh air to pass over their exposed skins. Especially while sleeping do we need an open circulation of fresh air.
By living in tightly-sealed, climatically controlled buildings all year-round, we lose our ability to readily adjust to weather changes. In the perfect environment for man, tem- perature extremes would not require artificial heating or cooling. Actually, air condition- ing in the summer is a real newcomer, and with appropriate building design and dress, it could be eliminated.
Don’t make yourself uncomfortable, but do take every opportunity to keep your liv- ing and work areas open to the current weather. Don’t let “manmade weather” be your constant year-round environment.
Becoming Less Weather Sensitive
To become less sensitive to weather changes, improve your physical health and re- view your emotional attitudes. Weather sensitivity can be decreased by changing your lifestyle and the way you view the world. Weather sensitivity does change throughout your life, perhaps reflecting your strength and state of health. Infants and elderly people are the most sensitive to weather changes, followed by adolescents and adults. Young children are the least sensitive of all.
Ever notice how preschool children can play outside in the hottest sun or run around without their jackets in the snow? Their young bodies still possess boundless health and vitality that allows them to rise above the weather conditions.
We can achieve that state again, too, if we follow a few simple rules:
# Reduce your dependence on manmade weather (heating and cooling) while still main- taining a reasonable comfort zone;
# Eatadietinournaturalfood(freshfruitsandvegetables)andeatinseason—juicyfruits in the summer and more concentrated carbohydrates (dried fruits, nuts, etc.) in the win- ter;
# Fastorfollowanoptimumdiettodetoxifyyourbodysothatitwillbecomelessweather- sensitive. This is especially beneficial for arthritis and those that complain of weather- related pains, aches and allergies;
# Exerciseoutsideintheopenonayear-roundbasis,evenifonlyforfiveortenminutes (if weather is severe).
# Spendmoreandmoretimeoutsideintheopenairandlesstimeinbuildings.Livingin buildings removes us from our natural environment and increases our “sensitivity” to natural changes in the weather, etc. Besides paying attention to such physical details, you might also need to consider your weather sensitivity in a psychological light. Adapting to weather changes may just reflect a difficulty in adapting to all changes in life. People who complain about the weather all the time may be “set in their ways” and be afraid or resist any kind of change—even a passing cool front! Weather-sensitive people, according to the biometeorologist, Dr. De Rudder, are of- ten very emotional, perspire profusely when nervous, color rapidly when annoyed, and rarely say that they feel well. Some of these people use the weather as a convenient way to blame their own negative feelings and emotions. Then, too, weather sensitivity may also be a reflection of our general sensitivity to life itself. Highly aware people are tuned into all aspects of their environment, includ- ing the weather. Many famous artists, musicians, and writers have often discussed their oversensitivity to changes in the weather. Being aware of weather changes is one thing; having them dominate your life is another. Weather You Believe It or Not... The weather is the great equalizer of mankind. Rich and poor, old and young—we all share the weather again.
Like any other aspect of our environment, the weather is going to affect each of us in different ways. The way your body responds to the weather is dependent on your level of health, both physical and emotional.
You’ve heard it said that you can’t do anything about the weather but talk about it. Well, that’s not true when it comes to your own health. A healthier person does adapt to weather changes better than his sickly neighbor.
So don’t just talk about your health, do something about it, and you’ll never feel un- der the weather again!