Books: Nature Cure
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Henry Lindlahr >> Nature Cure
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Neither does Dr. Haig explain the effects of other destructive
by-products formed during the digestion of starches and proteins.
Sulphurous acid and sulphuric acid (vitriol), as well as phosphorus
and phosphoric acids actually burn up the tissues of the body. They
destroy the cellulose membranes which form the protecting skins or
envelopes of the cells, dissolve the protoplasm and allow the latter
to escape into the circulation. This accounts for the symptoms of
Bright's disease, the presence of albumen (cell protoplasm) in blood
and urine, the clogging of the circulation, the consequent
stagnation and the accumulation of blood serum (dropsy) and the
final breaking down of the tissues (necrosis) resulting in open
sores and ulcers.
Excess of phosphorus and the acids derived from it overstimulates
the brain and the nervous system, causing nervousness, irritability,
hysteria and the different forms of mania.
An example of this is the distemper of a horse when given too much
oats and not enough grass or hay. The excess of phosphorus and
phosphoric acids formed from the protein materials of the grain, if
not neutralized by the alkaline minerals contained in grasses, hay
or straw, will overstimulate and irritate the nervous system of the
animal and cause it to become nervous, irritable and vicious. These
symptoms disappear when the rations of oats are decreased and when
more fresh grass or hay is fed in place of the grain.
Similar effects to those produced upon the horse by an excess of
grains are caused in the human organism, especially in the sensitive
nervous system of the child, by a surplus of protein foods, of meat,
eggs, grains and pulses.
Still, when patients suffering from overstimulation of the brain and
nervous system consult their doctor, his advice in almost every
instance is: "Your nerves are weak and overwrought. You need plenty
of good, nourishing food (broths, meat and eggs), and 'a good
tonic.'"
The remedies prescribed by the doctor are the very things which
caused the trouble in the first place.
As stated before, uric acid is undoubtedly one of the most common
causes of disease and therefore deserves especial attention. Through
the study of its peculiar behavior under different circumstances and
influences, the cause, nature and development of all acid diseases
will become clearer.
Like urea, uric acid is one of the end products of protein
digestion. It is formed in much smaller quantities than urea, in
proportion of about one to fifty, but the latter is more easily
eliminated from the system through kidneys and skin.
The principal ingredient in the formation of uric acid is nitrogen,
one of the six elements which enter into all proteid or albuminous
food materials, also called nitrogenous foods. Uric acid, as one of
the by-products of digestion, is therefore always present in the
blood and, in moderate quantities, serves useful purposes in the
economy of the human and animal organism like the other waste
materials. It becomes a source of irritation and cause of disease
only when it is present in the circulation or in the tissues in
excessive amounts.
How Uric Acid Is Precipitated
The alkaline blood takes up the uric acid, dissolves it and holds it
in solution in the circulation until it is carried to the organs of
depuration and eliminated in perspiration and urine. If, however,
through the excessive use of nitrogenous foods or defective
elimination, the amount of uric acid in the system is increased
beyond a certain limit, the blood loses its power to dissolve it and
it forms a sticky, glue-like, colloid substance, which occludes or
blocks up the minute blood vessels (capillaries), so that the blood
cannot pass readily from the arterial system into the venous
circulation.
This interference with the free passing of the blood is greater in
proportion to the distance from the heart, because the farther from
the heart, the less the force behind the circulation. Therefore we
find that slowing up of the blood currents, whether due to uric acid
occlusion or any other cause, is more pronounced in the surface of
the body and in the extremities than in the interior parts and
organs.
This occlusion of the surface circulation can be easily observed and
even measured by a simple test. Press the tip of the forefinger of
one hand on the back of the other. A white spot will be formed where
the blood has receded from the surface on account of the pressure.
Now observe how quickly or how slowly the blood returns into this
white patch.
Dr. Haig says that, if the reflux of the blood take place within two
or three seconds, the circulation is normal and not obstructed by
uric acid. If, however, the blood does not return for four or more
seconds, it is a sign that the capillary circulation is obstructed
by colloid uric acid occlusion.
In this connection I would call attention to the fact that the
accumulation of carbonic acid in the cells and tissues, and the
resulting oxygen starvation, may produce similar interference with
the circulation and result in the same symptoms, including the slow
reflux of blood after pressure, as those which Dr. Haig ascribes to
the action of uric acid only.
When this obstruction of the circulation by uric or carbonic acid
prevails throughout the body, the blood pressure is too high in the
arterial blood vessels and in the interior organs, such as heart,
lungs, brain, etc., and too low in the surface, the extremities and
in the venous circulation. The return flow of the blood to the heart
through the veins is sluggish and stagnant because the force from
behind, that is, the arterial blood pressure, is obstructed by the
uric acid which clogs the minute capillaries that form the
connection between the arterial and the venous systems.
Because of this interference with the normal circulation and
distribution of the blood, uric acid produces many annoying and
deleterious effects. It irritates the nerves, the mucous membranes
and other tissues of the body, thus causing headaches, rheumatic
pains in joints and muscles, congestion of blood in the head,
flushes, dizziness, depression, fainting and even epilepsy.
Other results of uric acid irritation are: inflammatory and
catarrhal conditions of the bronchi, lungs, stomach, intestines,
genitourinary organs; rapid pulse; palpitation of the heart; angina
pectoris; etc.
These colloid substances occlude the minute excretory ducts in
liver, spleen, kidneys and other organs, interfering with their
normal functions and causing the retention of morbid matter in the
system.
All these troublesome and destructive effects of uric acid poisoning
may be greatly augmented by excessive accumulation of sulphuric,
phosphoric and other acids, and by the formation of ptomaines and
poisonous alkaloids during the metabolism of proteid substances.
The entire group of symptoms caused by the excess of uric acid in
the system and the resulting occlusion of the capillary blood
vessels by colloid substances is called ~collemia~ [a glutinous or
viscid condition of the blood].
If in such a condition as collemia the amount of uric acid in the
circulation is still farther increased by the taking of uric
acid-producing food and drink and the saturation point of the blood
is reached, that is, if the blood becomes overcharged with the acid,
a curious phenomenon may be observed: the collaemic symptoms
suddenly disappear as if by magic, giving way to a feeling of
physical and mental buoyancy and strength.
This wonderful change has been wrought because the blood has lost
its capacity for dissolving uric acid and holding it in solution and
the acid has been precipitated, thrown out of the circulation and
deposited in the tissues of the body.
After a period of rest, that is, when no uric acid-or
xanthine-producing foods have been taken for some time, say,
overnight, the blood regains its alkalinity and its capacity for
dissolving and carrying uric acid and begins to reabsorb it from the
tissues. As a consequence, the blood becomes again saturated with
uric acid and the collaemic symptoms reappear.
This explains why the hilariousness and exaltation of spirits at the
banquet is followed by "Katzenjammer" [hangover] in the morning. It
also explains why many people do not feel fit for their day's work
unless they take a stimulant of some kind on arising. Their blood is
continually filled with uric acid to the point of saturation and the
extra amount contained in the coffee or alcohol repeats the process
of uric-acid precipitation, the temporary stimulation and relief.
Every time this precipitation of uric acid from the circulation is
repeated, some of the morbid materials remain and accumulate in
different parts and organs. If these irritating substances become
lodged in the joints and muscles, arthritic or muscular rheumatism
is the result. If acids, xanthines and oxalates of lime form earthy
deposits along the walls of arteries and veins, these vessels harden
and become inelastic, and their diameter is diminished. This
obstructs the free circulation of the blood and causes malnutrition
of the brain and other vital organs. Furthermore, the blood vessels
become brittle and break easily and there is danger of hemorrhages.
This explains the origin and development of arteriosclerosis
(hardening of the arteries) and apoplexy.
Apoplexy may also be caused by other acids and drug poisons which
soften, corrode and destroy the walls of the blood vessels in the
brain.
In individuals of different constitutions, accumulations of uric
acid, xanthines, oxalates of calcium and various other earthy
substances form stones, gravel or sandy deposits in the kidneys, the
gall bladder and in other parts and organs.
The diseases caused by permanent deposits of uric acid in the
tissues are called arthritic diseases, because the accumulations
frequently occur in the joints.
Thus we distinguish two distinct stages of uric acid diseases: the
collaemic stage, marked by an excess of uric acid in the circulation
and resulting in occlusion of the capillary blood vessels, and the
arthritic stage, marked by permanent deposits of uric acid and other
earthy substances in the tissues of the body.
During the prevalence of the collaemic symptoms, that is, when the
circulation is saturated with uric acid, the urine is also highly
acid. When precipitation of the acid materials from the blood into
the tissues has taken place, the amount of acid in the urine
decreases materially.
I have repeatedly stated that xanthines have the same effect upon
the system as uric acid. Caffeine and theobromine, the narcotic
principles of coffee and tea, are xanthines; and so is the nicotine
contained in tobacco. Peas, beans, lentils, mushrooms and peanuts,
besides being very rich in uric acid-producing proteins, carry also
large percentages of xanthines, which are chemically almost
identical with uric acid and have a similar effect upon the organism
and its functions.
From what has been said, it becomes clear why the meat-eater craves
alcohol and xanthines. When by the taking of flesh foods the blood
has become saturated with uric acid and the annoying symptoms of
collaemia make their appearance in the forms of lassitude, headache
and nervous depression, then alcohol and the xanthines contained in
coffee, tea and tobacco will cause the precipitation of the acids
from the circulation into the tissues of the body, and thus
temporarily relieve the collaemic symptoms and create a feeling of
well-being and stimulation.
Gradually, however, the blood regains its alkalinity and its
acid-dissolving power and enough of the acid deposits are reabsorbed
by the circulation to cause a return of the symptoms of collaemia.
Then arises a craving for more alcohol, coffee, tea, nicotine or
xanthine-producing foods in order to again obtain temporary relief
and stimulation, and so on, ad infinitum.
The person addicted to the use of stimulants is never himself. His
mental, moral and emotional equilibrium is always unbalanced. His
brain is muddled with poisons and he lacks the self-control, the
clear vision and steady hand necessary for the achievement of
success in any line of endeavor.
We can now understand why one stimulant craves another, why it is
almost impossible to give up one stimulant without giving up all
others as well.
From the foregoing it will have become clear that the stimulating
effect of alcohol and of many so-called tonics depends upon their
power to clear the circulation temporarily of uric and other acids.
Those who have read this chapter carefully, will know why this
effect is deceptive and temporary and why it is followed by a return
of the collaemic symptoms in aggravated form, and how these are
gradually changed into chronic arthritic uric acid diseases.
In order to give a better idea of the various phases of uric acid
poisoning, I have used the following illustration in some of my
lectures:
A man may carry a burden of fifty pounds on his shoulders without
difficulty or serious discomfort. Let this correspond to the normal
solving-power and carrying-capacity of the blood for uric acid.
Suppose you add gradually to the burden on the man's back until its
weight has reached one-hundred and fifty pounds. He may still be
able to carry the burden, but as the weight increases he will begin
to show signs of distress. This increase of weight and the attendant
discomfort correspond to the increase of uric acid in the blood and
the accompanying symptoms of collaemia.
If you increase the burden on the man's shoulders still further,
beyond his individual carrying-capacity, a point will be reached
when he can no longer support its weight and will throw it off
entirely. This climax corresponds to the saturation point of the
blood, when the limit of its acid-carrying capacity is exceeded and
its acid contents are precipitated into the tissues.
The Treatment of Acid Diseases
The treatment of acid diseases is the same as of all other diseases
that are due to the violation of Nature's laws: purification of
blood and tissues from within and building up of the vital fluids
(blood and lymph) on a natural basis through normal habits of
eating, dressing, bathing, breathing, working, resting and thinking
as outlined in other parts of this volume.
In severe cases which have reached the chronic stage, the treatment
must be supplemented by the more aggressive methods of strict diet,
hydrotherapy, curative gymnastics, massage, manipulation and
homeopathic medication.
Chapter XXVII
Fasting
Next in importance to building up the blood on a natural basis is
the elimination of waste, morbid matter and poisons from the system.
This depends to a large extent upon the right (natural) diet; but it
must be promoted by the different methods of eliminative treatment:
fasting, hydrotherapy, massage, physical exercise, air-and sunbaths
and, in the way of medicinal treatment, by homeopathic, herb and
vitochemical remedies.
Foremost among the methods of purification stands fasting, which of
late years has become quite popular and is regarded by many people
as a panacea for all human ailments. However, it is a two-edged
sword. According to circumstances, it may do a great deal of good or
a great deal of harm.
Kuhne, the German pioneer of Nature Cure, claimed that "disease is a
unit," that it consists in the accumulation of waste and morbid
matter in the system. Since his time, many "naturists" claim that
fasting offers the best and quickest means for eliminating systemic
poisons and other encumbrances.
To "fast it out" seems simple and plausible, but it does not always
prove to be successful in practice. Fasting enthusiasts forget that
the elimination of waste and morbid matter from the system is more
of a chemical than a mechanical process. They also overlook the fact
that in many cases lowered vitality and weakened powers of
resistance precede and make possible the accumulation of morbid
matter in the organism.
If the encumbrances consist merely of superfluous flesh and fat or
of accumulated waste materials, fasting may be sufficient to break
up the accumulations and to eliminate the impurities that are
clogging blood and tissues.
If, however, the disease has its origin in other than mechanical
causes, or if it is due to a weakened, negative constitution and
lowered powers of resistance, fasting may aggravate the abnormal
conditions instead of improving them.
We hear frequently of long fasts, extending over days and weeks,
undertaken recklessly without the prescription and guidance of a
competent medical adviser, without proper preparation of the system
and the right subsequent treatment. Many a good constitution has
thus been permanently injured and wrecked.
When Fasting Is Indicated
Persons of sanguine, vital temperament, with the animal qualities
strongly developed, enslaved by bad habits and evil passions, will
be greatly benefited by occasional short fasts. In such cases, the
experience affords a fine drill in self-discipline, strengthening of
self-control and conquest of the lower appetites.
Vigorous, fleshy people, positive physically and mentally,
especially those who do not take sufficient physical exercise,
should take frequent fasts of one, two, or three days' duration for
the reduction of superfluous flesh and fat and for the elimination
of systemic waste and other morbid materials. Such people should
never eat more than two meals a day, and many get along best on one
meal.
However, different temperaments and constitutions require different
treatment and management. People of a nervous, emotional
temperament, especially those who are below normal in weight and
physically and mentally negative, may be seriously and permanently
injured by fasting. They should never fast except in acute diseases
and during eliminative healing crises, when Nature calls for the
fast as a means of cure.
People of this type are usually thin, with weak and flabby muscles.
Their vital activities are at a low ebb and their magnetic envelopes
(aura) are wasted and attenuated like their physical bodies. The red
aura, which is created by the action of the purely animal functions
and forces, is more or less deficient or entirely lacking. Such
people have the tendency to become abnormally sensitive to
conditions in the magnetic field (the astral plane).
Next to the hypnotic or mediumistic process, there is nothing that
induces abnormal psychism so quickly as fasting. During a prolonged
fast, the purely animal functions of digestion, assimilation and
elimination are almost completely at a standstill. This depression
of the physical functions arouses and increases the psychic
functions and may produce intense emotionalism and abnormal activity
of the senses of the spiritual-material body, the individual thus
becoming abnormally clairvoyant, clairaudient and otherwise
sensitive to conditions on the spiritual planes of life.
This explains the spiritual exaltation and the visions of heavenly
scenes and beings or the fights with demons which are frequently,
indeed uniformly, reported by hermits, ascetics, saints, yogi,
fakirs and dervishes.
Fasting facilitates hypnotic control of the sensitive by positive
intelligences either on the physical or on the spiritual plane of
being. In the one case we speak of hypnotism, in the other of
mediumship, obsession or possession. These conditions are usually
diagnosed by the regular practitioner as nervousness, nervous
prostration, hysteria, paranoia, delusional insanity, double
personality, mania, etc.
The destructive effects of fasting are intensified by solitude,
grief, worry, introspection, religious exaltation or any other form
of depressive or destructive mental and emotional activity.
Spirit controls often force their subjects to abstain from food,
thus rendering them still more negative and submissive. Psychic
patients, when controlled or obsessed, will frequently not eat
unless they are forced or fed like an infant. When asked why they do
not want to eat, these patients reply: "I mustn't. They will not let
me." When we say: "Who?" the answer is: "These people. Don't you see
them?" pointing to a void, and becoming impatient when told that no
one is there. The regular school says delusion; we call it abnormal
clairvoyance.
In other instances the control tells the subject that his food and
drink are poisoned or unclean. To the obsessed victim these
suggestions are absolute reality.
To place persons of the negative, sensitive type on prolonged fasts
and thus to expose them to the dangers just described is little
short of criminal. Such patients need an abundance of the most
positive animal and vegetable foods in order to build up and
strengthen their physical bodies and their magnetic envelopes, which
form the dividing and protecting wall between the terrestrial plane
and the magnetic field.
A negative vegetarian diet, consisting principally of fruits, nuts,
cereal and pulses, but deficient in animal foods (the dairy
products, eggs, honey) and in the vegetables growing in or near the
ground may result in conditions similar to those which accompany
prolonged fasting.
Animal foods are elaborated under the influence of a higher
life-element* than that controlling the vegetable kingdom, and foods
derived from the animal kingdom are necessary to develop and
stimulate the positive qualities in man.
*This subject will be treated more fully in another volume of this
series entitled "Natural Dietitics."
In the case of the psychic, who is already deficient in the physical
(animal) and overdeveloped in the spiritual qualities, it is
especially necessary, in order to restore and maintain the lost
equilibrium, to build up in him the animal qualities.
How to Take an Occasional Therapeutic Fast
Before, during and after a therapeutic fast, everything must be done
to keep elimination active, in order to prevent the reabsorption of
the toxins that are being stirred up and liberated.
Fasting involves rapid breaking down of the tissues. This creates
great quantities of worn-out cell materials and other morbid
substances. Unless these poison-producing accumulations are promptly
eliminated, they will be reabsorbed into the system and cause
autointoxication.
To prevent this, bowels, kidneys and skin must be kept in active
condition. The diet, for several days before and after the fast,
should consist largely of uncooked fruits and vegetables and the
different methods of natural stimulative treatment to assure proper
bowel action should be systematically applied.
During a fast, every bit of vitality must be economized; therefore
the passive treatments are to be preferred to active exercise,
although a certain amount of exercise (especially walking) daily in
the open air accompanied by deep breathing should not be neglected.
While fasting, intestinal evacuation usually ceases, especially
where there is a natural tendency to sluggishness of the bowels.
Injections [salt and baking soda enemas are best] are therefore in
order and during prolonged fasts may be taken every few days.
By prolonged fasts we understand fasts that last from one to four
weeks, short fasts being those of one, two or three days' duration.
Moderate drinking is beneficial during a fast as well as at other
times; but excessive consumption of water, the so-called flushing of
the system, is very injurious. Under ordinary conditions from five
to eight glasses of water a day are probably sufficient; the
quantity consumed must be regulated by the desire of the patient.
Those who are fasting should mix their drinking water with the juice
of acid fruits, preferably lemon, orange or grapefruit. These juices
act as eliminators and are fine natural antiseptics.
Never use distilled water, whether during a fast or at any other
time. Deprived of its own mineral constituents, distilled water
leeches the mineral elements and organic salts out of the tissues of
the body and thereby intensifies dysemic [blood deterioration]
conditions.
While fasting, the right mental attitude is all-important. Unless
you can do it with perfect equanimity, without fear or misgiving, do
not fast at all. Destructive mental conditions may more than offset
the beneficial effects of the fast.
To recapitulate: Never undertake a prolonged fast unless you have
been properly prepared by natural diet and treatment, and never
without the guidance of a competent Nature Cure doctor.
Fasting in Chronic Diseases
At all times some of our patients can be found fasting; but they do
not begin until the right physiological and psychological moment has
arrived, until the fast is indicated. When the organism, or rather
the individual cell, is ready to begin the work of elimination, then
assimilation should cease for the time being, because it interferes
with the excretory processes going on in the system.
To fast before the system is ready for it, means mineral salts
starvation and defective elimination.
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