LESSON XI (continued 2)

If the patient be obese or above normal weight, the diet given for obesity should be rigidly observed. If of normal weight, the body should be fed somewhat below its physical requirements, even if a radical loss in weight should be experienced for the first three or four weeks.

If the patient is emaciated, then the diet should consist of six or eight eggs, and about one quart of milk daily, together with sweet fruits and fresh vegetables. Milk may be given in larger quantities, up to three quarts daily, if all other food except eggs be omitted.

In cases of Asthma:

OMITEAT

All intoxicants About two ounces of nuts

Coffee per day (no more)

Condiments {Fruits

ConfectionsAbundance{Salads

Red meatof{Fresh green vegetables

Tobacco

Egg albumin

If any meat, it should be

fish or tender fowl

INFLUENZA

THE CAUSE

Bacteria the result, not the cause

This disorder is popularly supposed to be of bacteriological origin, but upon this question the scientific world is much divided. In the opinion of the writer the cause of influenza cannot be traced to bacteria or any other form of germ life. Bacteria is nearly always present in decomposing animal matter. It is the opinion of the writer, therefore, that bacteria is the result and not the cause of influenza. It might be described as an acute activity of the entire system in throwing off accumulated waste or toxic substances. This process of excretion will become more difficult at certain times, during violent changes in temperature, and many people in small communities may be similarly afflicted, which no doubt gives rise to the theory that it is a disease of germ origin.

INFLUENZA—THE SYMPTOMS

The symptoms are headache, languor, sometimes nausea and congestion in the lungs, together with acute irritation of the nasal passages.

INFLUENZA—THE REMEDY

The logical remedy is normal temperature of environment, abundance of fresh air, and omission of all solid food.

There are two specific forms of diet to be recommended—

1 A liquid diet entirely, such as— Juice of berries Orange juice Milk Very thin vegetable soups 2 Confine diet entirely to— Nuts Fruits Fresh green vegetables 3 Eliminate fats, starches, sugars

Either of the above suggestions will be sufficient to control an ordinary case of influenza if it is rigidly adhered to.

In the spring and summer, the latter diet would be recommended, while in winter, when green and fresh vegetables, fruits, etc., cannot be procured, the milk diet should be given.

In cases of influenza, see menus for colds, hay fever, and catarrh. Take choice, giving preference to those prescribed for hay fever. Whichever menu is chosen, it should be taken in its entirety; that is, do not select the meals from two or three menus.

INSOMNIA

THE CAUSE

The inability to sleep is caused:

1 By intestinal congestion or sluggish intestinal peristalsis

2 By irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines

3 By the presence of gas, superacidity, and the consequent irritation and excitation of the nerves leading out from the digestive tract

4 By the use of tobacco

5 By the consumption of stimulants and narcotics, which are so universal and so life-destroying

The effects of (4) and (5) upon the stomach are much the same as those of overeating, in that they invariably cause supersecretion of acid, and, in the majority of instances, produce false appetite, thus augmenting the baneful habit of overeating.

INSOMNIA—THE REMEDY

The logical remedy for insomnia is first to eliminate the use of tea, coffee, tobacco, distilled and malted liquors, and drugs of every kind whatsoever, as the ultimate effect upon the stomach of all these things is the same. When this has been done, the amount of food required by the body, governed by the three laws of age, work, and temperature of environment, should be accurately laid out so that the quantity of food may be controlled and overeating avoided.

Cases necessitating a special remedial diet

The diet should also be balanced according to the chemical needs of the body heretofore mentioned. In a a majority of cases, when the food scientist can prevail upon his patient to confine himself to a normal quantity of food, reasonably well balanced as to nutrient elements, the stomach will perform its natural functions, and fermentation with its long train of ills will gradually disappear. This can, in many instances, be accomplished by merely standing out of Nature's way, but in some cases the stomach, liver, intestines, and nervous system have been so long abused and so impaired that they seem to have entered into a conspiracy for mutual protection, hence may not yield to the "normal quantity" or "balanced dietary" remedy. In these cases a remedial diet must be followed, such as will restore the balance by omitting altogether the elements on which the patient had been overfed, and taking an excessive quantity of the elements for the lack of which the patient had been suffering.

The following menus should be adopted in the treatment of ordinary cases of Insomnia:

SUMMERWINTER

BREAKFASTBREAKFAST

CantaloupHot water

A baked bananaWheat bran, cooked

Wheat bran, cookedWhole wheat, thoroughly cooked

Thin cream

LUNCHEONLUNCHEON

A baked potato or fresh cornVegetable soup

DINNERDINNER

Choice of one of the following:Choice of one of the following:

Beans PeasCabbage Parsnips

Carrots SpinachCarrots Turnips

Corn SquashEggplant

A potato—eat skins and allOne two-minute egg

Wheat branA baked potato

In cases of insomnia:

OMITEAT

Distilled and malted liquors All fresh vegetables

Drugs of every kindCoarse cereals, boiled whole

DessertsEgg whites

Flesh foodsLeafy salads

Soda-fountain drinksNuts

Tea and coffeeWheat bran, if constipated

White bread

Mastication should be very thorough. Eat sparingly at the evening meal. Two meals a day preferred, 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Drink plain water.

RHEUMATISM—GOUT

These disorders are grouped under the same heading because they are of identical origin.

Why rheumatism manifests itself largely in the joints

In the average body of five feet eight inches in height, there are about 2,000 miles of tubing, classified under the various names of arteries, veins, capillaries, and nerves. Altogether this is called the circulatory system. A vast amount of this system is infinitely small. Every atom of food taken into the circulation that is not used or converted into energy passes into some of these infinitely small tubes and nerve fibers. These tubes are susceptible of considerable expansion in the fleshy part of the body, but where they pass through the joints or cartilage, there is but little expansion. There these undissolved atoms are most likely to congest, therefore the first expression of rheumatism is usually in the joints. If it takes place at the terminals (fingers or toes), it is called gout; if in the muscles, it is called muscular or inflammatory rheumatism. This congestion accounts for the stiffness and lack of elasticity in the joints. These accumulated atoms become in time almost as hard as bone.

RHEUMATISM—THE CAUSE

The cause of both rheumatism and gout are practically the same—that is, overeating, especially of flesh and starchy foods. Meat and bread are the two things that cause nearly all rheumatism, though rheumatic symptoms often appear among vegetarians, caused by the overconsumption of starchy food, especially when acid fruits are used. The ideal diet for producing rheumatism is cereals, white bread, meat, acid fruit and eggs.

RHEUMATISM—THE SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of rheumatism often manifest themselves a year or more before an attack comes on.

The earlier symptoms are—

Languor, stupidity and dulness in the morning Impaired circulation and a sense of body-heaviness

The later symptoms are pain in the joints or muscles, often followed by inflammation and severe soreness and stiffness.

The rheumatic usually has good digestion. In fact, it is the ability of the digestive organs to force more nutrition into the circulation than is needed, that produces this dis-ease.

In nearly all cases of rheumatism and gout the patient will be found to have been a large consumer of starchy food, especially of the cereal family, which is the most difficult of all starches to dissolve.

GOUT—THE CAUSE

An excess of starch causes an excess of acid

The primary cause of gout is faulty metabolism; behind this, however, are other causes. The metabolic process is rendered faulty or incomplete by the overingestion of heavy starchy foods. This excess of starch, which the body is not able to appropriate or use, becomes acted upon by the excess of acid which is always present when too much starch is consumed. This harmful process is often augmented by the eating of fruit-acids such as grapefruit, lemons, oranges, pineapples, and other citrus-fruits. In addition to these causes the uric acid residual in meat and in the yolk of eggs is an important factor in the causation of gouty or rheumatic conditions.

GOUT—THE SYMPTOMS

The earlier symptoms of gout are nervousness, irritability, and sometimes insomnia. In the second stages, shooting pains through the fingers and toes are experienced, and later a swelling or a slight inflammation of these terminals. After this acute condition has existed for perhaps a year, the pain may cease and the joints may begin to swell. Knots are also often formed, especially upon the hands, and sometimes upon the feet.

RHEUMATISM, GOUT—THE REMEDY

The remedy for these disorders may be said to lie wholly within the realm of diet, exercise and oxidation, supplemented by a liberal superficial application of heat, such as Turkish and electric light baths.

In all cases of rheumatism and gout, the following should be omitted:

All acid fruits, such as, Grapefruit Lemons Limes Oranges Pineapples Eggs Red meats Starchy foods (Carbohydrate class)

The diet should be confined to—

Fish and white meat of fowl Fresh vegetables Nuts Salads Sweet and non-acid fruits (See Lesson VIII, p. 313)

How to prevent the active principle of rheumatism

If the diet were confined wholly to green salads, fresh vegetables and white meats, it would remove the causes of these disorders, and inasmuch as Nature is always striving to create perfect health, the cause being removed, she would begin at once to apply the remedy, by removing the congested mass of undissolved calcareous matter, atom by atom. Thus the active principle of rheumatism would disappear.

Where the joints have become enlarged, the best that can be done is to render them flexible. It is almost impossible to take out of them all the accumulated deposits, and to reduce them to their natural or normal size.

Natural perspiration vs. artificial in the treatment of rheumatism

In addition to the above-named restrictive diet, the patient should be given sufficient exercise each day to generate enough heat to cause perspiration. It is well to remember that one drop of perspiration forced out of the body by activity is worth a dozen drawn out of the body by the application of superficial heat, such as the Turkish bath. Natural perspiration should come from exercise (muscular friction). This is the method designed by Nature to throw poisonous substances to the surface in the form of sweat, thereby demolishing the old cell and making a place for the new. The Turkish bath and massage is the lazy man's method of cheating Nature, and cannot possibly bring as good results as can obedience to the natural law of motion.

In cases of Rheumatism and Gout:

OMITEAT

All acid fruits—Buttermilk

GrapefruitFish and white meat of fowl

LemonsFresh vegetables

LimesNuts

OrangesPotatoes

PineapplesSalads (green)

CoffeeSweet fruits (non-acid)

Eggs

Liquors, wines, beers

Red meat

Starchy foods

Tobacco

Eat rather sparingly, especially at the evening meal.

BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE

This disorder is confined entirely to the kidneys. In its final analysis it is nothing more than consumption or destruction of the kidneys by thrusting upon them a greater amount of waste matter than they are capable of throwing off, the result being (1) irritation; (2) ulceration; (3) suppuration or consumption.

BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE—THE CAUSE

The causes of Bright's dis-ease are overingestion of food, especially sweets, starches and meats; the taking of stimulants and narcotics, and the consequent failure of the body to eliminate the poisons or waste accumulating therefrom.

BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE—THE SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of Bright's dis-ease are scant amount of urine, heavily laden with solids and fatty granules, while leucocytes and even red blood-corpuscles are often shown, especially in advanced cases. Dull pains in the small of the back, and a general weakening in the lumbar regions are common symptoms.

BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE—THE REMEDY

Prevention of Bright's dis-ease by correct feeding

It has been popularly supposed, and announced from many alleged sources of authority, that there is no remedy for this dis-ease, and from the standpoint of Materia Medica this probably is correct, but from the standpoint of the natural scientist there is a remedy. However, Bright's dis-ease, like all others herein discussed, can better be prevented than cured, and under a correct dietetic regimen, with plenty of exercise and fresh air, the kidneys, like every other organ of the body, will perform their normal functions.

When Bright's dis-ease has made its appearance, the first thing to be ascertained is the character of the diet and the general habits of eating and drinking during the previous two or three years; secondly, the occupation or habits of exercise, especially exposure to fresh air and sunshine.

BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE—THE TREATMENT

A very restricted diet should be observed, consisting largely of the following:

Fresh vegetables Green salads Subacid fruits The fine cereals— (Such as barley and rice) Milk and eggs—(limited quantity)

All sweets taken should be in the form of sweet fruits. (See Lesson VIII, p. 313).

Milk is very beneficial in this condition—especially when taken in the form of buttermilk, clabbered milk, koumyss or zoolak. The lactic acid ferments in the sour milk help to destroy the germs of putrefaction in the intestines, which are always one of the aggravating causes of Bright's disease.

Sometimes an exclusive acid milk diet for a while works wonders.

Suggestions for diet in different seasons

If the patient is under treatment in the spring and summer, as many green plants and fresh sweet fruits as possible should be taken, in connection with the milk, eliminating cereal starch entirely. In the fall and winter, the many varieties of apples and autumn vegetables may be taken in liberal quantities.

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE

In the majority of cases it is well to first put the patient on a short fast of about twenty-four hours, and then begin the diet with articles containing a liberal quantity of cellulose, such as the entire wheat, boiled; celery, cooked in casserole dish.

Keep the bowels open by the use of wheat bran, or grapes, if they are in season, swallowing skins, seeds and pulp.

As in all sympathetic disorders, an abundance of pure, cool water should be taken and as much time as possible should be spent in the open air and sunshine.

Care should be taken to limit the diet to the minimum so that the excretory organs can easily eliminate all waste matter, and so that there may be no further poisonous accumulations.

In cases of Bright's Dis-ease:

OMITEAT

DrugsAbundance of nuts (Italian pine nut)

Flesh of every kind Fine cereals—barley, rice

IntoxicantsFresh vegetables

Rich dessertsGreen salads

SweetsLimited quantity of milk and eggs

Sweets in form of fruit-sugar, such as

dates, figs, raisins (limited quantity)

Subacid fruits

Wheat bran with evening meal

The diet should be somewhat restricted.

Drink an abundance of pure water.

DIABETES

This disorder may be described as one of malassimilation from the stomach, liver, kidneys, and intestines, but to the trained student it is better described as a condition in which the capacity of the body to burn or use grape-sugar has become chronically depressed. It is usually supplemented by a lack of physical exercise and elimination of body-poisons.

DIABETES—THE CAUSE

From the above explanation it will be seen that diabetes, like all other dis-eases of the digestive organs, is caused directly by errors in eating—overconsumption of carbohydrates (sweets and starches), and albuminoids. These errors are augmented by inactivity, causing lack of assimilation or utilization of nutritive elements.

DIABETES—THE SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of diabetes are intense thirst and appetite, copious passing of urine and the presence of excessive quantities of sugar and uric acid therein.

DIABETES—THE REMEDY

The selecting, proportioning and balancing of the daily menu, together with an observance of the natural laws hitherto laid out, will prevent diabetes, but after it has made its appearance the remedy lies in simple and limited feeding.

The sufferer should be put upon a rigid diet of fresh vegetables, nuts, fruits, and salads. If the body has not been trained to accept these foods, the diet might consist of the following:

Bloodless (white) meats Eggs Fats—reasonable quantity (Olive-oil, butter, cream) Fish Fresh vegetables Green salads—generous quantity Nuts

If the patient be overweight, the diet should consist largely of subacid fruits and nuts. If underweight, a liberal quantity of sour milk should be given, especially whole soured milk in which the cream is also present.

Diet in extreme cases of diabetes

In extreme cases the patient should be required to subsist upon Pignolia (the pine) nuts, and green or fresh vegetables uncooked. The writer knows of a gentleman suffering from a very advanced case of diabetes, who, in utter despair, adopted a diet consisting entirely of pine nuts, merely because they appealed to his taste, while nothing else did. A noticeable change for the better was seen in a week, especially in regard to the amount of sugar passed in the urine. He adhered rigidly to this diet for nearly three months. He then added green salads and carrots, and the seventh and eighth months a few fresh cooked vegetables, and was pronounced thoroughly cured before the year had expired. This might have been due partly to the limited bill of fare, but undoubtedly it was largely due to the food elements contained in this wonderful product of the Italian pine.

In cases of Diabetes:

OMITEAT

CondimentsAll fresh vegetables, cooked—

Confectionspreferably in casserole dish

IrritantsNuts

PastriesBaked potatoes

Red meatsCoarse whole cereals thoroughly

Stimulants and narcoticscooked—small quantity

SweetsFish

White flour productsMilk (sour)

Very ripe subacid fruit

White meat of fowl

Drink an abundance of pure water.

In treating diabetes, foods containing starch and sugar should not be wholly eliminated from the diet, but should be administered in limited proportions, or such quantities as the body could use. Starches and sugars contained in cereals and legumes, however, should in extreme cases be omitted because they are difficult to digest and to assimilate. If the digestion is impaired, the body is likely to cast out these valuable nutrients through the kidneys, rather than labor to digest and to assimilate them. The starches and sugars found in fresh vegetables (See table, Vol. III, p. 614), are easily digested and assimilated, therefore in cases of diabetes the body will use or appropriate them, as this entails less energy than that required to cast them out.

CONSUMPTION

For many centuries chemists, scientists, and medical men generally have been vainly battling with this dis-ease. It is only within the past decade that it has been understood or successfully treated.

Consumption is an infection of the lungs by the bacteria called bacillus tuberculosis. The local inflammation produces lesions, and the formation of small growths (nodules) of gray, white, or yellowish tubercles.

Authorities differ concerning the bacillus

It is yet an open question and a matter of grave doubt in the minds of various authorities on this subject as to whether the bacilli is the real cause, or the result of the dis-ease. The fact that a person or an animal afflicted with tuberculosis was in "susceptible condition" is much emphasized by all authorities.

Predisposing conditions and occupations

Such disorders as catarrh, influenza, chronic colds, etc., are all predisposing conditions. Such trades as metal grinding, spinning, weaving, cleaning grain, street sweeping, or any vocation necessitating the breathing of large quantities of dust, are termed predisposing occupations, which show very clearly that all writers are practically agreed that the real cause is undoubtedly due to imperfect oxidation or impaired use of the lungs.

The above conditions may be brought on from two specific causes—

1 By the habitual overingestion of food, and the consequent congestion of effete matter in the lungs, brought thither by the circulation in its effort to dispose of the waste-products by burning them with oxygen.

2 Through the agency of foreign substances breathed in, which gradually congest, and prevent thorough oxidation and normal activity of the excretory function of the lungs.

Bacilli the result, not the cause of consumption

The opinion of the writer is that the bacillus above referred to is the result and not the cause of this dis-ease, and that such living organisms (bacilli) are created in the economy of Nature to dispose of this congested matter, just as she, in her provident economy, disposes of the carcass of a dead animal.

Facts shown by experiments and by modern treatment of consumption

The fact that a tuberculosis culture, deposited in the lungs of another animal, reproduces the dis-ease, proves nothing, as it may have been planted in susceptible soil, well prepared for the growth and the development of the bacteria. The fact that some very healthy animals did not contract the dis-ease by this method, supports the theory that if conditions are not favorable the culture is killed by the process of oxidation. This sustains the theory that the bacillus tuberculosis is the result, and not the cause of this dread dis-ease. This theory is further supported by the results of the most modern and only successful methods of treating it.

CONSUMPTION—THE TREATMENT

When beginning treatment, the tubercular patient should be restricted as to diet for the purpose of giving Nature an opportunity to make use of every atom of food taken into the body, leaving nothing to go to waste.

The diet should consist almost wholly of vegetable fats, sour milk, nuts, fruits, salads, and eggs, with a limited amount of readily digestible carbohydrates.

The following menu is given as a fair example of selection as to quantity and combinations:

BREAKFAST

Cantaloup, orange, grapes, pears, or persimmons

Two or three eggs, whipped five minutes, adding a teaspoonful of lemon juice, and one of sugar to each egg

LUNCHEON

A green salad eaten with nuts, a dash of lemon juice and olive-oil

One or two fresh vegetables, including a baked potato

One egg prepared as for breakfast

A glass of sour milk

DINNER

A green salad, with nuts and oil

Eggs or buttermilk

One or two fresh vegetables

A baked potato

The above menus may be increased in quantity after the first week or ten days, at least sufficient to meet all physical requirements, and the articles may be changed according to seasons.

Dietetic suggestions for spring and summer in consumptive cases

In spring and summer all kinds of fruits and berries may be used, and such vegetables as squash, asparagus, spinach, beets, green peas and beans, turnips, parsnips, carrots, and green corn. All of these vegetables should be cooked in a casserole dish.

The bowels should be kept free. (See treatment for "Constipation," p. 437.) Drink copiously of pure water.

Suggestions for the treatment of mild cases of consumption

If the patient is not far advanced, he should seek employment which affords constant exercise in the open air, preferably in the hills or mountains, and the labor should be of such a character as to cause normal activity of the liver and the bowels, and to enforce deep respiration. A spirometer or lung-measuring machine should be secured, and the patient should practise upon this night and morning, endeavoring each day to register from one to five cubic inches more than the previous day, until every air cell of the lungs is opened and the full capacity is reached, which should be about 315 cubic inches for the average man, and 250 for the woman of normal size.

General rules of hygiene in consumptive cases

Contrary to usual customs and theories, the patient should take a cool sponge bath every morning, in a warm room, except in very cold weather. It should be followed by a vigorous rub down and deep breathing. Wear thin cotton under-clothes. Dress as lightly as possible, except when exposed where exercise or motion cannot be taken, such as riding in an open car or vehicle. Nature's method of producing hardihood and increasing endurance is by means of exposure. The house-plant life is conducive and favorable to tuberculosis.

Importance of perfect oxidation

The most important thing in the treatment of this dis-ease is perfect oxidation (breathing). Every cell of the lungs should be filled at every breath. The lungs should be filled to their extreme capacity, one hundred or more times a day, with pure, fresh, dustless air. The patient should never breathe the same breath twice; especially should he not breathe the air that has been used by other people, or by pet animals in a closed room.

In order to carry out this regimen, it is necessary to live out of doors day and night, winter and summer.

The tubercular patient should sleep in a tent, or upon an open piazza every night, regardless of the weather or the temperature of the atmosphere. If these rules were observed the white plague would lose some of its terrors.

In cases of Consumption:

OMITEAT

CoffeeCheese

MeatEggs

Stimulants { Preferably—

Sweets { Carrots

Tea { Dried beans,

TobaccoFresh{ Onions

vegetables{ Peas

{ Parsnips

{ Potatoes

{ Pumpkin

{ Squash

Figs

Milk

Raisins

HEART TROUBLE

The heart, a sentinel of the body

The heart may well be called the thermometer of the body. Under normal conditions it is never heard from, but under abnormal conditions it is the first and the most reliable sentinel of the body. It stands eternally on duty and sends its danger signals to the brain with truthful accuracy, whether the trouble be of physical, mental, or emotional origin. A word or a sound sent through the air enters the ear and is analyzed by the brain, but the heart registers accurately its effect upon the physical body. We see a face or an occurrence a block away, and through the optic nerves it is comprehended by the brain, but the heart alone registers or gives back to the brain the effect upon the body.

Necessity for heeding the symptoms of the heart

This little engine, but little bigger than one's fist, pumps about twenty tons of blood every day above its own level in every body of average size, besides sending the life fluids of the blood-serum with lightning speed to the parts of the remotest anatomy, carting away the effete and poisonous matter to the lungs to be burned with oxygen, and carrying new building material from cell to cell for repairs. Should we not, therefore, take good care of, and heed the warnings of so wonderful a piece of automatic mechanism? Should we not study all its symptoms told in a language sympathetic and truthful, and as unerring as the laws that govern the movement of worlds in space?

Some undefined technical terms

The heart gives off various symptoms indicating the different kinds of sins we commit against the natural laws of our organisms. Medical men have named some of these symptoms as follows: Dilation, hypertrophy, atrophy, aneurism, inflammation, valvular derangement, etc., but in none of their reference works are the causes of these so-called dis-eases clearly defined. Fatty degeneration is the only one that is explained, the term meaning that the heart has been deprived of room in which to do its work, owing to surrounding fatty accumulations.

HEART TROUBLE—THE CAUSE

The blood enters the heart through the superior venae cavae flowing to the right lobe or auricle, then it is pumped by the heart beats to the right ventricle. From here it is forced through the pulmonary artery to the lungs where it is purified and charged with the oxygen we breathe. From the lungs the blood returns through the pulmonary veins to the left auricle of the heart, and then to the left ventricle. Having passed once through the purifying plant and twice through the distributing station, it is now sent out through the large systematic artery and distributed to every capillary cell of the body.

Heart trouble caused by (carbon dioxid) gas

From the accumulation of gas caused by fermenting food the transverse colon becomes very much distended. This interferes with the free flow of blood into and out of the heart, causing at times a very faint heart action from a lack of inflow, and again a very heavy, rapid action when the blood spurts through. This produces dizziness and vertigo, and sometimes where the inflow is greater than the heart can discharge, there is arterial overflow; the heart ceases action, and the victim falls prostrate, and sometimes dies.

(See "Fermentation—The Symptoms," p. 426.)

Heart trouble caused by calcareous substances

Many cases of serious heart trouble are caused by habitual overeating, especially of grain and grain products. The calcareous substances from these products are deposited in the capillary vessels and in the joints, causing rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, lumbago, gout, and other evidences of our lack of knowledge. When the one thus afflicted follows a sedentary occupation, taking but little fresh air and exercise, a hardening or stiffening of the arteries is usually the result.

It is safe to say that if one would eat moderately, omit stimulants and narcotics, take but a limited quantity of starchy foods, a liberal amount of fresh air, deep breathing and exercise, heart trouble would be unknown.

HEART TROUBLE—THE REMEDY

Diet for heart trouble

For the treatment of those who are afflicted with heart trouble I would suggest a very limited diet of nuts, fruits, salads, fresh tuber and green vegetables, eggs, and a limited quantity of coarse foods, such as boiled whole wheat, wheat bran, grapes (seeds and all), and all coarse vegetables, with an abundance of mild exercise and fresh air.

Exercise for heart trouble

In cases of heart trouble no greater mistake can be made than to cease exercise, as is often prescribed by well-meaning doctors. This is compromising with the enemy, with absolute certainty of ultimate defeat. Exercise, above all, is the very thing that is most needed.

The patient should begin moderately at first, daily increasing the time and the tensity of the work until a balance is established between the intake and the outflow of blood to the heart.

For foods to be eaten and omitted in cases of heart trouble, see p. 573. Also see menus for Fermentation.

DIS-EASES OF THE SKIN

There are two distinct kinds of skin dis-eases, namely—

1 Local

2 Constitutional

The local is that which manifests itself in the form of pimples or eruptions which come and go, and are of only a few days' duration. The second, or constitutional kind, is that which manifests itself by a permanent irritation or inflammation, which is classified as eczema, psoriasis, etc.

DIS-EASES OF THE SKIN—THE CAUSE

Local disorders

The local or temporary disorders are caused and controlled entirely by diet, usually overeating. Sometimes overingestion of some one particular food; for instance, too much acid taken in the form of berries, or citrus-fruits, will often produce an eruption or a rash within a few hours after eating.

Eruptions augmented by autointoxication

That form of pimples or eruptions caused by overeating is usually augmented by constipation or by some form of intestinal congestion, which has been given the impressive title of autointoxication. Autointoxication is a broad word that seems to have been invented, not for the purpose of explaining, but for the purpose of evading the necessity of explaining. The meaning of this word (self-poisoning) has been narrowed down by the profession to describe the above conditions, but in reality it should be applied to all forms of self-poisoning by overeating; eating the wrong combinations of food; the use of all stimulants and narcotics, such as tobacco, tea, coffee, liquor and wines of all kinds. In fact, self-poisoning from the last-named sources is as common as from errors in eating, and much more difficult to control.

Nearly all dis-eases are traceable directly to unexcreted poisons which the body has been unable to throw off. These poisons are from two sources:

1 The natural poisons or gases that accumulate in the body under normal conditions, which, if prevented in any manner from passing off, will cause some kind of disorder which would come under the head of autointoxication.

2 The poisons that accumulate under abnormal conditions, such as hitherto described, and which are very often made manifest by eruptions of the skin.

Constitutional disorders

That form of skin dis-ease known as eczema has baffled the medical world for many centuries. It has hitherto been treated locally by the most skilled and learned specialists, in the belief that it was of bacteriological origin, but modern experiments in the field of food chemistry have demonstrated the fact that it can be cured by scientific feeding, therefore it is only fair to assume that its origin or primary cause is due to some form of self-poisoning, caused by errors in eating and faulty metabolism.

DIS-EASES OF THE SKIN—THE TREATMENT

If a rash should appear on the skin after eating acid fruit or berries, one would naturally know the remedy; namely, omit acids, limit the quantity of food at the next meal, drink copiously of pure water and breathe an abundance of fresh air. The same general remedy should be observed in all cases.

Preliminary treatment for dis-eases of the skin

The pimples or eruptions will gradually disappear when the causes are removed, and the same rule will apply to eczema or any chronic form of skin irritation. The patient should first be put upon a short fast of two or three days' duration, and caused to perspire freely each day for an hour or so. This can be accomplished by the aid of the Turkish bath, but preferably by exercise. On the first day the fast should be broken by taking either the juice of such fruits as plums, peaches, apples, grapes, and pears, or the juice of cantaloup and watermelon.

DIET FOR DIS-EASES OF THE SKIN

The diet should be gradually broadened by the addition of green salads, uncooked carrots, onions and turnips, and a limited quantity of such cooked vegetables as spinach, asparagus, squash, fresh corn, green peas or beans when in season. Later, the diet should be confined mainly to egg whites, skimmed milk, nuts, sweet fruits, salads, fresh green vegetables, including a very limited quantity of sugar and coarse cereals, two or three times a week.

DIET FOR CHRONIC ECZEMA

In extreme and chronic cases of eczema the diet should be confined entirely to green salads, sweet fruits, fresh vegetables, and about two ounces of olive-oil daily, feeding the body always somewhat below its normal requirements as indicated by hunger.

Under this diet and regimen the patient will, of course, lose weight and possibly strength, but the body will so completely make use of all nutrition and the elimination of all waste will be made so completely, through the excretory channels, that the dis-ease will gradually disappear, owing to the removal of its primary causes.

For "Sweet Fruits," see Lesson VIII, p. 313.

APPENDICITIS

There are three large colons in the intestinal tract which form an inverted U, the "ascending," "transverse," and "descending" colons. The descending colon is situated on the left side, its lower part opening into the rectal cavity. The ascending colon, located on the right side, connects with the small intestines, while the transverse colon goes across at a point opposite the navel, connecting the two.

The vermiform appendix a useful organ

To the lower part of the ascending colon is attached the vermiform appendix. Authorities are much divided as to the function of this organ. Many claim that it is a relic of anthropoid man, while others contend that it is a useful and important part of the anatomy. In the opinion of the writer it secretes a valuable digestive fluid and therefore performs a function valuable both to digestion and to alimentation. In the ascending colon is the only place in the thirty-six feet of intestinal tubing where the fecal matter must rise against the law of gravity, therefore, if there is any congestion throughout this canal, it is most likely to occur in this colon. While the bowels may seem to act normally, yet, owing to the tremendous amount of waste matter necessary to be conveyed from the body, and the peristaltic action involved in moving it along, especially at this point, some of the fecal matter often lodges under the small folds and in the flexuous surfaces of this colon, decomposing and causing an acute form of inflammation. The vermiform appendix, being attached to this inflamed colon, becomes inflamed also. In other words, this inoffensive and useful little organ suffers the penalty of being in bad company.

Old diagnosis correct

Thus it is seen that appendicitis, so-called, is merely a form of fevered or irritated colon; hence the old-fashioned diagnosis—"bowel inflammation"—before appendicitis became popular, and profitable, was in reality correct. Knowing the cause—the physiology of appendicitis—the remedy becomes a simple one.

APPENDICITIS—THE SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of appendicitis (bowel inflammation) are usually pain, at times sharp, but generally dull, in the lower abdomen on the right side.

APPENDICITIS—THE TREATMENT (IN MILD CASES)

If the pain is dull and intermittent, the patient should cease work, especially that vocation which necessitates being on foot, and spend at least twenty-four hours, most of the time in a sitting or reclining position. All such substances as meat, cereal and cereal products, sweets, milk, tea, coffee, cocoa, and all stimulating beverages should be omitted.

A natural remedy

The patient should take high enemas (knee or chest position) of lukewarm water, thus removing as much of the congested fecal matter as possible. Take from two to three tablespoonfuls of olive-oil, and two or three cups of hot water several times a day. The application of an ice-bag will sometimes afford much relief, and has a tendency to reduce the inflammatory process. Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the fact that in any inflammatory condition of the stomach or intestines, rest for these organs is imperatively demanded.

APPENDICITIS—THE DIET

After the first day or two, the following diet should be adopted and continued for a few days until the pain has ceased and the bowels are restored to normal action:

BREAKFAST

A cup of hot water

One or two exceedingly ripe bananas peeled and baked in a hot oven

One egg, whipped five minutes; sugar to taste; flavor with lemon or fruit-juice

A glass of water

LUNCHEON

A salad of anything green

Liberal portion of boiled onions

DINNER>

Spinach, or a green salad, same as at luncheon

Green beans, or peas, if in season, rejecting all the fiber; or, carrots or parsnips

Two whipped eggs

Baked banana, with butter or oil

These menus are intended as a general guide. They may be modified by selecting such articles, in the same general class, as are in season.

The following list of foods may be drawn upon to compose the menus, at the various seasons of the year:

SPRINGSUMMERFALLWINTER

AsparagusCarrotsArtichokesCarrots

BeetsCauliflower BeetsParsnips

CabbageEggplantBrusselsPotatoes

Dandelion LettucesproutsPumpkin

LettuceOkraCarrotsSquash

OnionsOnionsCauliflower

PeasRomaineEggplant

PotatoesSpinachOkra

SpinachSquashPotatoes

TomatoesSquash

Sweet potatoes

Tomatoes

CHRONIC OR SEVERE CASES OF APPENDICITIS

The errors in diet that cause fermentation and superacidity in the stomach will also cause fermentation and inflammation in the intestines.

A constipated condition in the intestines so hinders the natural flow of food-matter that in extreme cases of inflammation and suppuration the congested matter might be forced into the vermiform appendix, thus causing what is termed "appendicitis," and under these conditions the removal of the appendix might be advisable, but in the opinion of the writer more lives have been sacrificed on the operating table than the old-fashioned doctors ever lost from "bowel inflammation" before this dis-ease was named "appendicitis," and before the knife was applied as a remedy.

Treatment in severe cases

There should be injected into the rectum a tablespoonful of olive-oil, followed immediately by an enema of hot water at a temperature of about 115 degrees. This should be retained as long as possible. In order to aid in this process, the head might be lowered, and the feet slightly elevated so as to relieve the strain upon the rectal muscles. In very severe cases an ice pack may be placed over the lower abdomen for five minutes. The ice pack should be kept in place until the temperature is lowered and the pain relieved.

THE DIET IN SEVERE CASES OF APPENDICITIS

From three to four quarts of cool water should be taken the first day and all food omitted. The second day fruit-juices and olive-oil should be administered. This treatment should be continued for several days, or until the pain is relieved, when the diet for milder cases may be adopted in a reduced or limited form.

DANGERS OF INTESTINAL CONGESTION

Causes of appendicitis

All conditions of bowel inflammation are caused primarily by congestion of fecal matter in the intestinal tract. That which will relieve congestion, therefore, will, by removing the causes, relieve inflammation. Intestinal congestion has become one of the most common disorders among civilized people, because of the fact that a large percentage of the coarse material known as cellulose fiber has been removed from their food by super-civilized methods of preparation. For instance, in modern milling methods, every trace of cellulose is removed from the grain, leaving nothing but a white mass of unbalanced food material, largely carbohydrates, and the peelings are removed from all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Thus the diet of civilized man has become woefully impoverished in cellulose and mineral salts, with the result that there is nothing left in the diet to stimulate the liver and the peristaltic activity of the intestinal tract.

Evils of the civilized diet

This condition is largely augmented by flesh food, all sedative drugs, and intoxicating drinks which have become so conspicuous in the diet of modern civilization.

Why coarse food is necessary

The intestinal (digestive and eliminative) organs of man, through the millions of years of his development, have been built up on the primitive plan. They have been shaped by the process of ages to accommodate coarse food, therefore a generous amount of non-nutritive cellulose is absolutely necessary to both the digestion of food and the elimination of waste. The liberal use of cereal bran puts back into the diet that which modern milling methods have taken out of it.

Remedial value of coarse food

The use of wheat bran and the seeds of grapes in the treatment of appendicitis has both a scientific and a common-sense basis. The bran and the seeds pass into the various folds, wrinkles and turns of the intestines, and sweep out the congested fecal matter which is undergoing decomposition and causing inflammation. After the bowels have been thoroughly cleansed, the patient should adopt a fresh vegetable diet selected from the list heretofore given, drinking an abundance of water both at meals and between meals.

Under these conditions most symptoms of appendicitis will disappear, and if the diet is made to consist of a sufficient quantity of coarse food, all causes of bowel inflammation will be removed.

Transcriber's note:

Minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed.

The cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.