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First published January 1950

Made and printed in Great Britain by the Lewes Press, Lewes, Sussex.

NATURE CURE
EXPLAINED
BY

ALAN MOYLE
(Member: British Naturopaths Association)

LONDON:
HEALTH FOR ALL PUBLISHING CO.
17/18 HENRIETTA STREET, STRAND, W.C.2.

NATURE CURE EXPLAINED

I wish to take this opportunity to express my profound
appreciation and thanks to my severest criticmy wife; and to
the many patients and others whose kind help and co-operation
have made this book possible.
ALAN MOYLE
FOREWORD
I was once asked, "What is Nature Cure?" To the best of my limited
capacity I replied, ending with the words: "It is really only ordinary commonsense."
" But you're wrong," was the rejoinder. "It's not ordinary common-sense
it's extraordinary common-sense!"

REFERENCES
Body Mechanics . . .
T. Brown and Lang T. Swain
Allergic Man. . . . . . .by Erwin Pulay
Report from the Zoology Department of the
University of Birmingham
The Living Soil. . . .
The Newer Knowledge of Nutrition . by
Human Physiology . . .
Physiological Economy in Health .
Iris Science. . . . .
The Schroth Regeneration Cure . .
The New Bedrock of Health
Nature Cure. . . . .
My System and Fresh Air Book . .
Actinotherapy Technique . .
Textbook of Massage. . . .
The British Medical Journal
Principles of Osteopathy . .
Coffin's Botanical Journal
Herbal Manual. . . . .
Dr. Schuessler's Biochemistry . .

by Drs. J. E. Goldthwait, Lloyd

Dr. Barnet Woolf and
Mr. John Waterhouse
.by Lady Eve Balfour
McCollum and Simmonds
.by Furneaux and Smart
by Professor Chittenden
.Dr. W. H. Andershou
by A. Pitcairn-Knowles
by Richard J. Ebbard and F. W. Vogt
.by Ernest Lindlahr
.by Lt. J. P. Muller
.by Sollux Publishing Co.
.by L. L. Despard
by Dain L. Tasker, D.O.
.by Harold Ward
by Dr. J. B. Chapman

CONTENTS
FOREWORD
REFERENCES
CHAPTER I
THE MEANING OF NATURE CURE
CHAPTER II
NATURAL LAWS
CHAPTER III
MEDICINE AND NATURE CURE
CHAPTER IV
GENERAL NOTES
CHAPTER V
DIET
COMMERCIALISM AND FOOD
CHAPTER VI
SPECIAL DIETS
CHAPTER VII
THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
CHAPTER VIII
WHY FAST?
CHAPTER IX
SPECIAL FASTS THE GUELPA FAST
CHAPTER X
THE HEALING CRISIS
CHAPTER XI
HYDROTHERAPY
CHAPTER XII
SUN AND AIR BATHING
CHAPTER XIII
MASSAGE AND EXERCISES
CHAPTER XIV
THE PROBLEM OF REST
CHAPTER XV
OSTEOPATHY AND NATURE CURE
CHAPTER XVI
HERBALISM

CHAPTER XVII
BIOCHEMISTRY
CHAPTER XVIII
DIAGNOSIS
CHAPTER XIX
CONCLUSION

CHAPTER I
THE MEANING OF NATURE CURE
WHAT is Nature Cure? Briefly, it is a method of curing disease
without the use of drugs or surgical interference. But that is too
simple an explanation, for Nature Cure is not merely the
negative approach to diseaseit is a positive way of life. By
positive life is meant the full abundance of life, which can be
appreciated only by those who know what real, vital health
means. Some of us have experienced this. We remember the
years, probably between seventeen and twenty-one, when we
cared little for anyone or anything outside our own intimate
circle, and life was lived to the full. The lack of material cares
and woes form only half the secret of that joie de vivre which is
the normal attribute of that periodthe other half is the health
that goes with it.
We sigh for those days to return, thinking they are beyond
our grasp. Yet they are within the reach of everyone when once
we have realised that health is not a commodity to be bought
over the counter, but that it lies within each one of us.
Nature Cure or Naturopathy is an arta philosophy. As a
science it is not new, nor has it been re-discovered, though it is
experiencing a renaissance. This renaissance is due principally to
the long-term failure of orthodox medical methods, to which we
shall refer later.
Curiously enough, the world acclaims Hippocrates as the
Father of Medicine. A small excerpt from the Encyclopoedia
Britannica's allusion to the Hippocratic Collection (i.e. medical
works written or attributed to Hippocrates and his followers),
demonstrates how far modern medicine has diverged from the
true path.
. . . the physician attends cases of every type. He is no
specialist. But the mass of his practice lay with cases to which
instrumental treatment was inapplicable. In these cases he tended
to adopt the "expectant" line of treatment. Realising that the
tendency of the body is to recover, he contented himself with
"waiting on Nature." This does not imply that he was helpless, for
much could be done by nursing, regimen and diet to aid the patient
in that conflict which he alone must fight. For the conduct of that
great battle wise and useful directives are recorded. But believing
in the healing, power of Naturethe phrase is characteristically
Hippocraticthe physician was not eager to administer drugs.

We record this with a view to demonstrating that the true

descendants of Hippocrates are not medical doctors but
naturopaths. For the medical man must interfere and suppress the
inherent healing power with drugs, while the naturopath assists
the healing power of Nature by the application of natural
methods. Nature Cure, therefore, is the art of assisting Nature to
overcome disease and to maintain health. Medicine, on the other
hand, can mean (and very often this is all it literally constitutes)
a bottle of highly coloured fluid.

It is the dissatisfaction with allopathic methods that has

caused the resurgence of Naturopathy.
Nature Cure recognises that there exists within the body the
power to overcome disease. Cognisance of this factor, together
with the proper use of knowledge and experience gained through
the centuries, has evoked the philosophy of Naturopathy. It is
still being added to, but the basic laws are the same immutable
natural laws which have stood the test of time. And it is the
violation of natural laws that produces disease.
Man was created a healthy unit; so long as he obeys the
natural laws that his body was designed to observe, then he
remains a healthy uniteven unto death. Unfortunately, as
civilisation progresses, so the observance of natural laws
recedes. Two instances of this face us every day. These lie in the
refining of flour and sugar. It is an indisputable fact that health
has decreased as the refining of food and the lowering of the
"natural" value of food has increased.
Food is refined and made "palatable" but loses its quota of
vitamins and mineral salts; nerves (jangled by the myriad
problems of civilisation) are stimulated by drugs, fresh air is
neglected, speed demands quicker locomotion than the legs can
provide, our pleasures are the artificial stimulation of senses,
work is concentrated, industrialisation causes neuroses. . . . In
short, Man has become the slave of the machine he constructed.
With the regression from natural laws, we must inevitably
find that Man is a sickly being. His sickness grows with each
violation of the laws he was constructed to observe. The
resilience of Man is one of his virtues and his weaknesses.
Without this inherent tendency to be healthy Man would
probably have rendered himself extinct by this period. Yet it is
this very power which orthodox drugs suppress, and which the
naturopath encourages.
Naturopathy recognises that disease is the result of the
violation of natural laws. Individually we eat too much, drink too
much and have the same indulgences in pleasure and tobacco.
We concentrate our lives into patches of sub-health and illness
because of our pandering to the senses. And in sub-health we
subsidise with drugs which, unfortunately, suppress the
symptoms of disease. Then, when we fall really ill, the
symptoms of disease only are treated and, with a combination of
suppression and the assertion of healing power, we are deluded
into assuming that health is once more with us. But this is not so,
and no one is more aware of it than the naturopath. The medical
profession also should be cognisant of the fact that real health is
on the down-grade. The yearly statistics revealing the growing
incidence of rheumatism, arthritis, nerve disorders, heart
diseases, etc., point to the failure of Medicine.
Nature Cure, therefore, insists that disease is created by the
departure from such natural laws as govern diet, exercise, sun,
fresh air and environment. When these natural laws are obeyed,
health follows. The cure of the disease, obviously, calls for the
correction of the non-observance of natural laws and for the
application of such methods as will assist the healing power of
the body to overcome disease. Such methods are fasting, diet,

water treatments, the use of sun and air, herbs, bio-chemical

medication, exercises and manipulation, electrotherapy, etc.
Naturopathy differs from Medicine in many ways. Diagnosis
follows largely the same lines, but its most sharp contrast is in
the interpretation of disease. For it is this divergence in
interpretation that culminates in opposing methods of treatment.
Disease, briefly, is classified as acute or chronic.
Naturopathy recognises that acute diseasesi.e. colds, fevers,
tonsilitis, skin eruptionsare merely attempts by Nature to
overthrow disease. Acute diseases are healing crises. It is, so to
speak, a condition whereby the system endeavours to throw off
the accumulation of poisons caused by wrong living over a
period of time. Acute diseases, therefore, are beneficial. And it is
in the manner of treating acute diseases by fasting, diet, water
treatments, etc., that the naturopath observes and assists the
process of self-cleansing.
Naturopathy, then, hinges upon the theory that disease is the
result of non-observance of the laws of Nature and that acute
disease is a beneficial effort on the part of Nature to eliminate
pent-up waste products.
The medical treatment of acute disease consists of
suppressive measures, since the main object of medical treatment
is the recognition and suppression of symptoms only. The cause
of disease, the transgression of natural laws, is left untouched
(and is, in fact, made worse) by medical attention. The repeated
suppression of acute diseases gives rise to chronic disease.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that chronic disease (rheumatism
and arthritis are common examples) is on the increase? And the
increase in chronic disease is largely responsible for the rapid
growth of Naturopathy, for it is, sad to say, the victims of
chronic disease (disillusioned with allopathy) who swell the
ranks of believers in naturopathic methods.
The reader will, by this time, have gathered that Nature Cure
must place little or no reliance upon the germ theory of disease.
Germs and bacteria do, of course, exist. In disease they are
increased. But it is contended that germs and bacteria are not the
cause of disease, but that the body must be in a depressed state of
health before germ contact (infection) can bring about disease. It
has been conclusively demonstrated that people in a normal state
of health carry the same germs within their systems as are
presumed to be the cause of disease. Germ infection can take
place only when the body is already clogged with an
accumulation of poisons and there is a fertile ground for the
multiplication of the germs. Even then the inherent healing
power of the body seeks to overthrow the infection by a healing
crisis (acute disease).
For any person to fall ill by reason of germ infection,
therefore, there must be a predisposing factor. This factor is the
vitiated condition of the body brought about by wrong living and
lack of adherence to natural laws. Dr. Beddow-Bayly quotes an
illustration of the complete fallacy of the germ theory in the
following instance:
The celebrated Professor Pettenkoffer, to show his disbelief in
the then recently mooted germ theory, swallowed a test-tube of

cholera germssupposed to be sufficient to kill a whole regiment

of soldiersbefore a classful of gaping students. Nothing
happened! As Pettenkoffer maintained, in support of his amazing
act, "Germs are of no account in cholera." The important thing is
the disposition of the individual.

Since Nature Cure does not believe in the germ theory

regards acute disease as attempts by the body at self-cleansing
and submits that disease is the result of wrong dieting, lack of
exercise, excesses and bad environment (mutation of natural
laws)then it is obvious that all disease is regarded as one. Any
disease, therefore, it is claimed, springs from a system poisoned
with an accumulation of toxins arising from disregard of the true
laws of Nature.
This reiteration that disease is the result of the transgression
of the fundamental laws of Nature is necessary, because it is the
basis of the philosophy of Nature Cure.
Modern Nature Cure, then, is concerned with the application
of age-old natural laws interpreted in the light of knowledge and
experience. There is nothing antique about Naturopathythough
its principles are steeped in antiquity. Nature Cure follows the
cold logic of cause and effect, and its success is due entirely to
its working in harmony with Nature.
To sum up, the naturopath, instead of using drugs to suppress
disease, resorts to the principles in harmony with Nature, and
these are:
Fasting.
Dieting.
Exercises.

Hydrotherapy.
Electrotherapy.
Massage.

Biochemics.
Herbs.
Manipulation (Osteopathy).

CHAPTER II
NATURAL LAWS
A DISTINGUISHED visitor to a mental asylum once encountered a
harmless-looking individual in his cell. "What," said the visitor,"
are you in here for?" The man replied: "Sir, I thought the world
was mad. Because I thought the world was mad, the world said I
was mad. And the world, being in the majority, placed me here."
To a lesser or greater degree each pioneer must have felt
himself in the same position as this inmate. It is illogical but true
that we have progressed and retrogressed at the same time.
Progress, or evolution, has taken place because Man demanded
Power, Luxury, Knowledge and Security. In the first place Man
had to find Food, Comfort and Security. His natural
inquisitiveness showed him how to increase his wealth, comfort
and power. From the first flickering of flame and the first turn of
the wheel Man sought to conquer Nature. In the process, instinct
was submerged and reason and culture grewand with them,
Commercialism.
The observance of natural laws does not imply a reversal to
primitive type (though, who knows, the atomic age may yet
thrust it upon the scattered remnants of a world-wide disaster); it
means the adoption of what is recognised as the fundamental
laws of Nature in relation to modern standards.
Commercialism, though it may play a vital part in
civilisation, has rendered the world a catastrophic disservice by
its interference with Man's food. From the growth of milling and
refining has come disaster. Modern technique in food processing
has resulted in a depletion of the "natural" value of food. Milk is
pasteurised (a poor substitute for clean, healthy cows), so that it
is servedpresumably cleanto the customer. Pasteurisation,
however, owing to the heat required in the process, destroys the
vitamin C and precipitates the vital calcium phosphate mineral
salt which is left in the containers and not in the milk. Balkans,
Sikhs and Arabs drink sour milk, and this, together with eating
whole wheat, helps them to remain virile. The diet of the Sikh is
a "whole" diet, in that it is grown and consumed without any
artificialities such as chemical manures, refining, pasteurising or
concentrating. Modern milling of flour demands that the germ of
the wheat and the wheat-grain covering (bran) be removed from
the flour, in order to save the mills and permit the flour to be
kept without going sour. The germ and the bran contain the
vitamins and mineral salts essential to health, but
Commercialism, and the inability of Britain to feed its
population, decrees that we shall lose the very parts of wheat
upon which we depend for health.
By the refining of sugar-cane we suffer the same losses in
natural food value. Sugar found in a dilute form in fruit and
honey is natural. Refined sugar, however, is a concentrated form
of carbohydrate and can easily be taken in excess. Dr. Chalmers
Watson says: "There is a widely prevailing opinion in the
medical profession that the modern excessive use of highly

refined artificial sugar is definitely detrimental to the health of

the community, lowering the resistance to disease, predisposing
to catarrh, dental disease and other disorders, especially in early
years." The reduction of catarrh in a boarding school during the
war was ascribed to the reduced sugar ration. There is little
doubt, however, that the increased extraction rate of flour
(making it more wholesome) would also materially assist the
lessening of catarrhal incidence.
When we include tea, coffee, pickles, sauces and other
artificial appetising ingredients to the national diet, it is easy to
comprehend how the natural laws of feeding are ignored. The
orthodox diet of concentrated and highly refined food is one of
the major items in the causation of disease.
Breakfast, for instance, of stimulating tea, vitamin-less
bread, concentrated jam or marmalade and probably refined
cereal with pasteurised milk, shows up as a meal which is almost
entirely carbohydrate in form. This contains the bulk to satisfy
hunger, the stimulant to soothe nerves, but no protective
vitamins and little of the mineral salts essential to well-being.
The other meals of the average family contain acid-forming
meat, boiled-out vegetables, tea or coffee and more bread, cakes
and jam. The protective foods like fruit, raw vegetables and
unpasteurised milk are taken only in quantities insufficient to
balance the "energising" elements in the diet and, incidentally,
insufficient to provide a clean system and protection against
disease.
The natural laws of feeding, therefore, are the first laws we
transgress, not only as to quality, but also as to quantity. The
great majority of people consume excessive meals and suffer
from indigestion, lethargy, constipation and a host of other
ailments, as a result
We previously referred to acute diseases as beneficial
attempts by Nature to cleanse the system of impurities. In
Naturopathy we encourage the inherent healing force by fasting
and other methods in harmony with Nature. Orthodox
civilisation, however, maintains that these symptoms must be
suppressed. One of the great faults of civilisation is that it
demands quick results and a minimum of discomfort. This has
been, in part, encouraged by Commercialism, for the
manufacture of patent remedies and drugs forms a lucrative
business It is an utter fallacy to assume that the treatment of
symptoms by suppressive drugs will cure disease. Symptoms are
certainly masked for a transient period, but the ultimate result is
a more highly poisoned condition and, eventually, chronic
disease. The futility of patent medicines and drugs is borne out
by the ever-increasing consumption of these articles and a glance
at the advertising pages of the daily Press will confirm the
enormous hold the patent medicine industry has upon the public.
The damaging effect of drugs is that they are poisonous
agents which suppress disease. Orientals are commonly
supposed to be drug addicts. But the average Oriental is most
abstemious in the use of drugs. Opium, for instance, is given for
insomnia, the suppression of pain and inhibition. Diarrhoea, a
sign that the system is throwing off extra poisons, is checked

with the use of opium. Opium is used in many familiar forms,

and one can build up a tolerance to it, but it is essentially a
poison foreign to the system. As such it will temporarily check
symptoms of disease. Its ultimate result, however, is to excite the
brain, deplete the nervous system, inhibit natural secretions and
depress the system. Cocaine stimulates the central nervous
system and culls pain. Its continued use causes wasting, loss of
memory, insomnia and general breakdown. Chloral hydrate,
sulphonal, trional, bromides and paraldehyde all cause mental
troubles, digestive disorders and depression of the system. All
drugs are injurious to the system, and their action is entirely one
of suppressionleaving a false notion that the trouble has been
cleared up. The poisons resulting from drug-taking add to the
accumulations of toxins within the system and create more deeprooted disease, which inevitably turns to chronic disease. Drugs
are not in harmony with natural laws and suppress the healing
efforts of Nature.
We previously mentioned that the sharp differentiation
between allopathic and naturopathic methods is due to the
entirely opposite ways in which disease is interpreted. The
failure of Medicine is due to its addiction to the germ theory of
disease, its ready recourse to drugs to suppress symptoms and its
non-recognition of the healing force. Medical methods, plus the
activities of patent-medicine manufacturers, thus provide the
means whereby one of the basic laws of Nature is negated.
The pressure of modern life and the effects of modern
salesmanship combine to intensify the demands upon physical
fitness. When the effects of bad diet and drug-taking are added to
those of high-pressure living, is there any wonder that we fall an
easy prey to disease? Industrial neuroses are on the increase
largely because of the lowering of vitality plus the monotony and
concentration demanded in industrial occupations. A feature of
such troubles is the bad diet, drain on nervous energy and
postural defects in such work. Regarding defects in posture, it is
of interest to record the findings of the White House Conference
on Child Health and Protection by one of their Committees'
Report on Growth and Development. In this it was stated that
poor body mechanics are extremely common among children of
school age and cause unnecessary fatigue. In a book entitled
Body Mechanics written by Drs. J. E. Goldthwait, Lloyd T.
Brown and Lang T. Swain there occurs the following:
"Poor health may be found with no disease of the organs but
it is always associated with faulty adjustment of the body or
what is better called Body Mechanics."
More and more we are pressed for time. We set out to gain a
minute, but what for? Even the calls of Nature are often pushed
aside in the rush to catch the seven or eight o'clock bus or train.
Then we pant to catch the four or five o'clock back home. This,
for many people, is about the only form of exercise. We call
ourselves sportsmen and stand in queues for the spectators'
stands at the football or cricket games . Organised sport has
taken the place of individual effort. We do not even know how to
relax when on holiday, because we must rush from place to place
and do all there is to do. The wireless, cinema and concert hall

are satisfying forms of relaxation, but they are usually taken to

the extreme.
The unfortunate lack of exercise, sunlight and fresh air
combine, with over-feeding, to clog our systems with impurities.
For the fact is, that with intake exceeding output, the balance in
the system is deranged. Elimination fails to keep pace with
ingestion, and an accumulation of toxins is permitted to burden
the body. As a result of eating masses of starch, constipation is
rife, and this adds to the trouble. Lack of exercise fails to burn up
the unnecessary food consumed, and we are left a prey to illness.
In such a state as this, headaches, nerve disorders, rheumatism,
high blood-pressure, indigestion, colds, catarrh and feeble
circulation become common ills. When we suppress these with
drugs we do our utmost to complete a vicious circle.
Man endeavours to be an effete animal. He shelters himself
from the elements and covers himself with layers of unnecessary
garments. Food and warmth are, of course, essential to health.
But air is required to oxygenate the blood, and the skin has a
peculiar function in that it gives off carbon-dioxide and
excretions. When we do not use our lungsand the average
person only takes advantage of 50 per cent. of his lung
capacitythen it means that the bloodstream is deprived of lifegiving oxygen and that the carbon-dioxide is inadequately
eliminated from the system. We are all aware of the story of the
little boy who was painted with gold paint and died. How many
of us think of that when we boil our skins in steaming hot water
and then pile on garments to ensure that as little cold as possible
reaches the skin? Nature demands that the skin be exposed to the
elements to invigorate it and renew its vitality. Instead we impair
its function by pandering to the weaker element of our make-up.
This ignoring of the natural physiological demands of two of
the eliminatory organs of the body (bowels, kidneys, lungs and
skin are the organs by which normal elimination takes place)
lowers our efficiency and creates the very illnesses we seek to
avoid.
We have all experienced the lack of appetite that overtakes
us when we are attacked by illness. When we have no desire to
eat, anxious relatives, misguided physicians and our own fear
and greed, plus the conventional idea of building up the
resistance by good feeding, conspire to make us overcome the
temporary anorexia. Yet this same lack of appetite is a protective
instinct dictated by the natural laws that govern life. It means
that the efforts of the body are concerned with healing and that
food is not desired, so that the main efforts may be concentrated
upon ridding the system of undesirable impurities, and not
engaged upon the digestion of unwanted food. In this way
Nature seeks to save the dissipation of energy. How many times
do we allow this protective impulse to function?
Over and over again we violate the laws of Nature without
ever realising that each transgression takes its toll of health. Such
is the resilience of the human body, however, that it will
withstand countless inflictions upon its functioning and still
strive for health. All through our lives Nature fights to maintain
harmony within the system. We must learn to work withnot
againstNature.

CHAPTER III
MEDICINE AND NATURE CURE
FROM the foregoing chapters it will be readily appreciated that
there is a vast discrepancy between Nature Cure and Medicine.
Although each acknowledges the same laws of anatomy and
physiology, although diagnosis follows largely the same lines,
and the naturopath recognises that there are occasions for
surgical work, the similarity ends there.
Nature Cure recognises the unity of disease and the fallibility
of the germ theory. Medicine adheres to the germ theory and
administers to symptoms. If, then, Naturopathy claims to be the
superior of the two methods, why does it appear that Medicine is
successful?
The answer to the superficial success of allopathy lies in its
very suppression of acute conditions. We related previously how
drugs suppress pain, depress or accelerate vital functions and, as
the case may be, stimulate or inhibit secretions. By these means
a transient victory is gained. This victory, however, is won only
at the expense of the body politic. The patient recovers, partly
because of the suppression and partly because of his own
inherent healing force. But the cause of the disease has remained
untouched. Only if the disease factors involved (bad diet, habits,
environment, etc.) are corrected will the cure remain permanent.
That permanent cures are found only rarely in allopathic
methods is proved by the immense outlay diverted to popular
patent remedies.
There are sufficient superficial successes to convince both
the public and the doctors that medical administration is correct.
That does not explain, however, the inability of allopathy to cure
the common cold or rheumatism, nor does it explain the
"incurable" diseases. The failures of Medicine are the successes
of Nature Cure. Naturopathy's victory over chronic disease is, in
effect, thrust upon it by the failure of orthodox treatment. It is in
the sphere of chronic disease that the naturopath works most. It
is from this section of the populace, too, that the major part of
the dissatisfaction with allopathic treatment springs.
We can give a simple illustration of this in a case of
rheumatism. Nature Cure maintains that the cause of rheumatism
is the direct violation of natural laws. The over-consumption of
protein food and starches, together with indulgences in
stimulants and highly refined foods, are the commonest dietetic
errors. These contribute to a state of constipation and retention of
poisons. With ingestion exceeding elimination there ensues a
system burdened with toxins. The usual colds which are a
concomitant of this condition are suppressed with drugs, leading
to a more highly toxic condition.
To this dangerous state of affairs we have to add the effects
of weather and hereditary influences (both exaggerated by the
medical profession), the harmful tendency of the pressure of life,
lack of exercise, over-concentration, worry and depression.

All the conditions that help to create rheumatism are caused

by either direct or indirect violation of natural laws. Orthodox
medicine promptly reacts, not by removing the cause or causes,
but by suppressing the symptoms with alkalis, claiming that the
attack is thereby shortened and pain relieved. Salicylate of soda
has long been used to combat rheumatism, and its action is
similar to that of phenacetin and other coal tar products. When
taken for some time, the effects of these drugs is to cause
deafness, head noises and fullness in the head. Aspirin is a
popular remedy for rheumatism and, as such, adds to the cause
of rheumatism by increasing the toxicity of the system. It does,
however, give an impression of cure by temporarily suppressing
the pain.
But the patient, wearied by constantly increasing attacks,
usually of greater severity, eventually grows tired of medical
methods. Until he realises that there are other methods, however,
he accepts with grim resignation the inevitability of his disease.
When he learns of other methods and is thereby cured, his
objection to Medicine is profound.
Serious consideration of the facts proves that the suppression
of symptoms can only lead to chronic disease. What Medicine
fails to grasp is that its very suppression of symptoms is one of
the causative factors in disease. Superficial successes are entirely
misleading. We have only to study the statistics to realise that
chronic diseases are on the increase.
Let us consider the commonly advertised picture of a man
suffering from stomach pains. He is advised to takeand more
often than not he accepts the advicesomeone or other's
bicarbonate of soda preparation or stomach powder. Here we
have a classical example of the attention to symptoms. The
stomach acidity is due probably to over-eating or indulgence in
an unwise diet or to the cumulative effect of an impoverished
diet.
On the surface it appears that the alkaline powder or
medicine has a marvellous effect. Certainly the pains seem to go.
It will be found from experience, however, that larger and larger
doses are required to overcome the trouble. This is because the
powders do not get at the cause of the acidity, nothing is done
towards correcting dietetic faults, and the alkaline agent itself is
causing disease.
The first effect of an alkaline powder or liquid is to interfere
with the digestion of protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, etc.)
because protein foods require an acid medium for digestion.
Delayed digestion causes intestinal fermentation and
putrefaction. This calls for laxatives to remedy the intestinal
stasis (note how one medicine leads to another in orthodox
treatment) and we have an unnatural stimulation of the bowels.
The membrane lining the stomach is attacked by the alkaline
agent and is coarsened and thickened, predisposing to ulceration
and cancer. The kidneys have to deal with the residue of the
alkaline agent and become overworked when these medicines are
habitual, resulting in serious kidney trouble. The poor victim is
still a martyr to an acid stomach but, owing to this attention to
symptoms only, the condition is complicated by the everincreasing dose of drugs which he has, perforce, to consume.

Since we claim that Medicine fails to produce health, how do

we explain the growing freedom from epidemics? We do not
deny that germ infection can cause disease, but only when the
victim is already in a sub-normal state of health. The freedom
from epidemics cannot be traced to any orthodox victory over
germs. The secret lies in the vast improvement in sanitation,
social advancement and public hygiene. Even when infection
spreads its ugly shadow there is ample evidence to demonstrate
the futility of allopathic counter-action. In an outbreak of
smallpox in Edinburgh in 1942, eight people died from smallpox,
but ten from the effects of vaccination. Only 50 per cent. of the
population were vaccinated, though presumably all were exposed
to the disease.
Erwin Pulay, in his book Allergic Man (Fdk. Muller, Ltd.,
London) has the following to say about serums:
We know how often, after curative sera have been
administered, eruptions and high temperature take place, as the
effect of hypersensitive reactions. We must not, therefore, inject
diphtheria or other sera indiscriminately. Indeed, when diphtheria
serum was first used a vast number of cases died owing to
ignorance of allergic reactions. A second injection given to a child,
for example, would kill it.

Those hypersensitive reactions are the result of toxic matter

causing disharmony within the system. The body was
endeavouring to throw off the serum introduced, and where the
condition of the body was already low (owing to bad feeding and
environment) death intervened. Despite these facts, and the
misinterpretation of hypersensitive reactions, serum is still given
indiscriminately when panic reaches infectious areas.
In a report issued by Dr. Barnet Woolf and Mr. John
Waterhouse of the Zoology Department of the University of
Birmingham it was stated that of preventable infant deaths
. . . one-third are associated with over-crowding, one-quarter
with low-paid occupations, one-fifth with unemployment and oneeighth industrial employment of women. In England and Wales
over 250,000 deaths in 11 years, about 63 per cent. of the total, can
be attributed to adverse social conditions.

A further comment by these two scientists merits attention:

In the 21 years between the two great wars, just under
1,000,000 infants died in England and Wales, including about
400,000 potential mothers. To these deaths we should add over
1,000,000 still-births. If these deaths were unavoidable, one might
face them with mournful resignation. But there is a strong prima
facie case for believing that a large proportion of infant deaths are
preventable.

From the many reports issued by committees and

investigating bodies of every type there comes conclusive
evidence that it is not allopathy that prevents diseaseor cures
itbut cleaner and more natural living. When their very own
reports demonstrate the failure of Medicine and the superiority

of diet, hygiene, observance of natural laws and social

advancement, one would imagine that more serious thought
would be given to the observance of those material things that
influence health, and not the present concentration upon germs.
It is with this addiction to drugs, sera and vaccines that the
naturopathic profession quarrels with Medicine. Against doctors
personally there is no question of their integrity and highmindedness. Medical methods, however, are open to serious
doubt, and there is every reason to assume that drug
administration causes disease.
The following quotations are very much in line with Nature
Cure thought, yet they were written more than forty years ago by
Dr. Paezkowski, a German, and ignored by the medical
profession. What he has to say is largely an exposition of the
Nature Cure theory of disease, but not of the Nature Cure way of
life. It is the latter that must be stressed: for Nature Cure is not
the negative attitude towards disease that many people
unwittingly assume; it is a positive way of life. But let
Paezkowski present his conception of disease:
1. Foodother than absolutely necessary for the bodyacts
on the system as a poison in consequence of waste and
decomposition.
2. The remnants of the metabolic process, if not expelled in
time, due perhaps to weakness of the excretory organs, likewise
become poisons.
In both cases the remnants are changed into poisons which
have an irritating and paralysing effect upon the whole system.
Thus auto-intoxication (or self-poisoning) is no more than a
poisoning of the organism by products of its own metabolism
which accumulate to an excessive quantity, their formation being
encouraged partly on account of a surplus of material having been
furnished to the body, and partly on account of an inability of the
weakened excretory organs to fulfil their task thoroughly. There
are many diseases, more than a cursory glance will reveal, but all
these divers diseases have one original causation in common, viz. a
derangement of the excretory organs.
As long as the latter function properly, disease is an
impossibility. In these days we frequently speak of bacilli and
"colds," but we are oblivious of the fact that they merely denote
opportunities, not causes. Long before the disease broke out,
something was wrong. One of the organs had got out of working
order, and now but a slight opportune circumstance, such as a cold,
a shock, physical or mental strain, would suffice to call forth a
disease immediately.
The contention has been advanced that all diseases have their
origin in impure blood and bad circulation, which is, generally
speaking, true, but I wish to amend that impure blood is in itself a
disease which was originated as above delineated.
The blood can only become impure or bad if it contains
elements which are not meant to be there. However, as these
elements are formed in our body every day, aye, every minute, we
may confidently infer that our bodya prioripossesses organs
whose sole duty it is to remove the former. These special organs
are the excretory organs already referred to. As soon as they
become fatigued or diseased they cannot eliminate all poisonous
substances, but a portion remains in the system, which latter may

thus become seriously deranged. This applies with equal force to

the lungs and kidneys, as well as to the skin and bowels.
Should the lungs fail to work satisfactorily, too much carbonic
acid remains in the blood; if the kidneys lose their energy, urea and
uric acid cannot be expelled properly; be the skin neglected,
poisons propernot unlike septic or snake poisonsvitiate and
poison the blood; and sluggish bowels retain the remnants of food
too long, causing putrefaction. It becomes a matter of course that
under such circumstances the blood grows overcharged with
morbid matter, and that a system thus contaminated will yield itself
readily to the invasion of diseases. We are liable to these impurities
already as children, and the whole host of infantile diseasesas,
for instance, diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough,
etc.are merely the outcome or expression) of these
accumulations.
Still, the much-discussed bacillus is there, but it can only exert
its powers in an impure soil. It is a well-known fact that millions of
these bacilli float around us in the air; we inhale thousands of them
in the loveliest garden and in the cleanest room. But how is it that,
although we are all exposed to these common dangers, only a few
of us succumb to them? Why, of all the children who live in the
same air, does only one get an attack of diphtheria? And further,
why does only one or only a limited few of all the people who walk
home during a chilly and damp night, contract pneumonia? They
all were exposed to the same atmospheric conditions and breathed
the same air.
Does not this show that only diseased individuals can become
diseased? It may sound queer and paradoxical, but it is a fact all the
same. Disease can only thrive in a diseased (or impure) body!
For example, take a man whose system is excessively
overcharged with impurities. Say, he catches a cold. What will very
likely result? An attack of pneumonia or inflammation of the
kidneys or some other grave disease! A person, however, with
cleaner blood will probably escape with a mere cold in the head.
But a thoroughly healthy individual will not catch a cold at all!
Catching a cold is a process of sudden refrigeration. Everyone
will have observed that our skin grows red in warm, and pale in
cold, weather. This phenomenon is founded on the contractility and
expansibility of the skin. If these faculties remain unimpaired, the
skin will be able to contract as quickly as it will expand; but if the
skin has been neglected it can only change from one state into the
other with difficulty. If, in that case, a cold draught strike a part of
the body, or the whole body become suddenly refrigerated, the skin
will contract spasmodically without being able to expand again
quickly. Furthermore, however, we know that the skin should
constantly transpire to prevent the organism from becoming
poisoned. But a contracting skin cannot excrete, and consequently
all the morbid matter with its poisonous products assails the
internal organs: lungs, kidneys and bowels. These, not prepared for
the assault, become inflamed and lead to the various diseases,
really severe forms of a cold, known as pneumonia, acute catarrh,
inflammation of the kidneys and bowels.
I have endeavoured to show by the above exposition that the
blood is the most important and vital element in our body, and that
health depends on its quality, which, to wit, must be alkaline, i.e.
sweet. As soon as it becomes acid it jeopardises health and even
life, as, for instance, in gout and diabetes. Acid blood is a veritable
poison within our veins, causing disease and breaking down the
resisting power of the body. The alkalinity of the blood (i.e
richness in potash and sodium) attains to its greatest significance in

all febrile diseases. The fact that the alkaline salts disappear in the
blood and urine during these diseases leads us to believe that these
salts are used up in the body by combating diseases. Only the
alkaline blood is able to destroy the morbid matter in such diseases
as typhus, pneumonia, scarlet fever, and erysipelas. It has, indeed,
been proven that the alkaline blood kills the most powerful bacilli
as effectually as any disinfectant, carbolic acid or sublimate. We
can, therefore, dispense with the latter; our bloodprovided, as
already emphasised, it be correctly composedbeing the best and
most reliable protection against injurious invasions. Not so much
depends on the action of the heart in febrile diseases as a rich
supply of alkaline blood to the whole system.

From the above it will be gathered that most diseases arise

from a clogged condition of the body; and this is caused by
excesses, wrong selection of food, lack of exercise and so forth.
How many doctors will tell their patients that they overeat, that
they do not work enough and that if they would only go home
and eat less, exercise more and worry less, they would be fit?
Not many. In the first place his interpretation of disease is
wrong; in the second, he must suppress the disease quickly; and
last but not least (since doctors are human) he does not wish to
offend patients, though some doctors tell the truth and are
respected for it, when they come across a case of excesses.

CHAPTER IV
GENERAL NOTES
IN the following chapters we propose to discuss diet, fasting and
hydrotherapy in some detail. The reason for this is that the above
subjects are of the most practical value to the person who wishes
to gain health and to practise Naturopathy in his own immediate
surroundings. Osteopathy, herbalism and other branches of
Nature Cure are, of necessity, the work of the expert and can
hardly be translated into practical application for home use.
When, here and there, I is inserted instead of we, the reader
will understand that I am expressing my own opinionand that
this opinion may not necessarily represent the opinion of all
naturopaths. The same basic principles of Naturopathy, however,
are adhered to throughout.
That differences of opinion and procedure existeven in
Nature Cureis a healthy sign. One of the main assets of
Naturopathy is that it does not encourage, nor can it be allied to,
anything approaching regimentation. Naturopathy is entirely
individualistic and must remain so. The relationship between
naturopath and patient is entirely personal. There is no room for
merely interviewing a patient and prescribing certain remedies.
Personal treatment has to be applied, more often than not
through the medium of the hands, in the form of manipulation
and other types of manual therapy. That is not to say, however,
that nothing can be done at home on personal initiative. On the
contrary, no other sphere of healing offers so much that can be
achieved by personal endeavour. The essence of Nature Cure is
simplicity. Once the fundamental principles of Naturopathy have
been grasped golden opportunities for health lie ahead.
It will be discovered that naturopaths differ greatly in the
emphasis placed upon various therapies. No one need be
confused by this differentiation. There is always a personal or
psychological or economic reason for the apparent emphasis of
one therapy. Sometimes, indeed, it is a matter of convenience
that circumstances thrust upon the practitioner. In some areas,
for instance, there are restrictions placed upon the practitioner by
local regulations which do not permit him to use either
electrotherapy or hydrotherapy. In all cases, however, there is the
same insistence upon all the branches of Naturopathy.
In typical working-class districts, for example, there is a
greater demand for herbal therapy than in the more affluent
neighbourhoods. This requirement is based, not solely on
expediency, but because of psychological and economic
impulses. Country people and working classes have always had
more faith in herbs than other sections of the public. This is
perhaps because the countryman and his industrial counterpart
are in closer touch with the soil.
Osteopathy, on the other hand, is more popular among the
middle and upper classes. That it is usually more expensive is
entirely owing to the time factor involved and to the maintenance
of a more adequate establishment.

Hydrotherapy is difficult to apply in busy office practices,

and it so lends itself to home application that it is very rarely
utilised, except in institutions. The only exception to this rule is
the high colonic irrigation, which is particularly adaptable to
office practices and can be classified under water treatments.
One of the sharp differences between Nature Cure and
allopathy is the fact that Nature Cure teaches people how to live.
Nature Cure, as previously stated, is a philosophy and not a mere
negative approach to disease.
Nature Cure is fundamentally simple. It is its very simplicity
that deludes people. In these times we are so accustomed to
scientific ideas that we overlook the fact that Nature itself is a
science. The fact that it is a simple science governing the laws of
life is ignored. We, who try to oust Nature, have to pay for our
folly.
It can hardly be over-emphasised that Naturopathy
particularly recommends itself to home application, since it is a
way of life. Once the principles of Nature Cure have been driven
home, there is no need to hesitate in translating principles and
theory into practical application. Quite naturally, there is always
the need for intelligence, but even a car has to be used with
intelligence. The reader is, however, encouraged to test the
Nature Cure theory for himself. In this he is warned to make
haste slowly. If he gradually applies naturopathic methods he
will find improvement in his condition. This improvement will
beget confidence and appreciation of the logic of Nature Cure,
thus paving the way for a complete conversion to Naturopathy
and full, abounding health.
There is a general impression that Nature Cure is expensive.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The simple home
remedies that can be applied for next to no cost are numerous.
The food-reform diet that goes with Nature Cure need not be any
more costly than the orthodox diet. There is an infinite saving in
doctor's bills, loss of earning capacity and expenditure on patent
medicines.
But the monetary gain is nothing compared to the immense
saving in health and happiness.
Apart from accidental injury, no adherent to Nature Cure
need be forced into the position where an early retirement from
business is necessitated on account of low health. There is every
reason to assume that the adoption of naturopathic methods will
add years to the physical and mental efficiency of the convert.
The really unfortunate part of the cost of Nature Cure is not
in its actual cost, but in the fact that the person who takes up
Nature Cure to save his health is handicapped by the nation in
that he gets no redress if he has to consult a naturopath
professionally. That the country has not seen fit to include
Nature Cure in its National Health Scheme is, perhaps,
unfortunate. While I (personally) doubt whether naturopaths
wish to be included in the Government Health Scheme, that is
not to say that the patient who has to subsidise the Health
Scheme should not have the right either to "contract out" or to
obtain equivalent benefit. There should, of course, in all fairness
to the believer in Nature Cure, be some means by which he can

claim financial benefit should he fall sick and not feel justified in
calling in an orthodox practitioner.
At the same time, for the practitioner, it must be stated that
the reasons for staying outside any Health Scheme are very
concrete. These are, in the main, to keep free from the shackles
that bureaucracy always tends to impose and to maintain a
personal relationship that can hardly conceivably exist under any
official system. It will be readily appreciated, too, that the
opposition from medical quarters is very real. Under the National
Health Scheme the Nature Cure movement would be allowed but
little freedom and every effort would be made to ensure that the
naturopaths would become not independent practitioners, but
little more than medical auxiliaries. Such an invidious position
could not be tolerated.
It would be a serious mistake to assume that, since the
naturopath has no official connection with the State (at least at
the moment), Nature Cure practitioners wish to avoid
responsibility. The reverse is actually the case. No naturopath,
for instance, is empowered to write out a death certificate. Any
negligence on the part of a naturopath leading to the death of a
patient involves severe castigation from the authorities. Serious
treatment (fasting, for instance) is sometimes called negligence
for want of better understanding.
If a doctor makes a mistake he can, in effect, bury it. The
most he can expect is a chastising. For a gross misdemeanour the
doctor may be struck off the register. As a general rule, however,
there is a bias in favour of the medical man.
Not so with the naturopath. He must stand on his own,
completely unprotected, and be the object of censure and of
gross misrepresentation in the daily Press. The gratifying aspect
of the few cases that arise is the immediate response of grateful
patients. These are, however, rarely permitted to give evidence in
favour of the unorthodox practitioner.
Knowing, then, what the forces are against him, it is
decidedly improbable that the naturopath could be anything but
responsible. Nor is irresponsibility consistent with the steady
growth of Nature Cure. The naturopath has a responsibility to his
patients no less than the doctor. In carrying out this
responsibility he is not deterred by the handicaps and limitations
that the authorities insist upon.
Though the word "quackery" is now little used in connection
with Nature Cure, that strong antipathy to the profession
remains, especially among orthodox medical circles. When the
authorities make laws bearing on health, they are, of course,
subject to the influence and pressure of the expertsthe doctors.
Can we, therefore, reasonably expect an unbiased consideration
from the authorities? I think not.
No matter what inducements are offered by a free Parliament
to the naturopathic profession for inclusion into any health plan,
it would be advisable for Nature Cure to be wary. Once Nature
Cure came under the auspices of the medical professionand
that would happen if the State controlled all healingthen
Nature Cure would be lost.

Regulations, safeguards and protection there must be. In no

circumstances, however, should Nature Cure be lured into a
position where it can be controlled out of existence.
Nature Cure is a way of life. Its policy and application are
inconsistent with regimentation.

CHAPTER V
DIET
COMMERCIALISM AND FOOD
THE Industrial Age and the growth of Commercialism may have
provided manifold benefits, but, paradoxically, they have been
the cause of intense misery throughout the civilised world,
particularly the Western civilisation. One of the major instances
of the decline was the introduction of the steel rolling mill for the
production of flourwhite flour. Make no mistake about this,
modern milling methods were not designed for the benefit of the
consumer, though it could be argued that the introduction of the
steel roller mill helped to fill an ever-growing number of hungry
mouths. The change-over resulted in disaster for the public, but
in satisfying convenience and increased profits for the millers.
What were the immediate causes of the introduction of white
flour which, at one time, was only a luxury for the upper classes?
The answer lies in Industrialisation, the growth of population and
the decline of agriculture. To meet a growing demand wheat had
to be imported and flour kept for a long time. The old milling
processes did not permit flour to be maintained in a good
condition over any lengthy period. This obstacle was overcome
by the steel roller mill, apart from the fact that it was more
economical. For efficient functioning, however, the wheat germ
and the bran (the outer skin of the wheat) had to be removed
hence white flour. Unfortunately it is the germ and the bran that
contain the vital parts of the wheat. These are the Vitamin B and
the mineral salts. The bran, too, provides the roughage essential
for peristaltic action and natural defaecation. Can we wonder that
constipationwith its resulting self-poisoningis so rife? If
bread did not play such an important part in the national diet, the
consequences would not be so serious. For millions of people,
however, it is the "filler" food, and the working classes
especially rely upon bread to stave off hunger.
It is, therefore, the height of folly to take the vitamins out of
flour and so deprive the masses of an essential ingredient of the
natural food. The same truth applies to bran. Yet what an
excellent proposition it is to Commercialism! One of the main
attractions in this profitable venture is the fact that the same
material can be sold twice. The public pays for its bread minus
the bran and then pays again to have the bran packeted and sold
as a remedy for constipationthe constipation having been
caused, to a large extent, by eating the denatured bread. Vitamins
have to be manufactured and sold to make up for what is taken
out of the wheat. Even the existing "National" loaf only half
covers the problem, though it has resulted in a substantial
increase in resistance to disease and provides one of the reasons
why epidemics did not arise through or immediately after the
Second World War.
Commercialism with bread does not end with the removal of
the vital parts of the wheat. When Mr. Strachey, Minister of
Food, announced in Parliament that the amount of creta

proeparata in flour would be permitted to be doubled, one M.P.

interjected: "Why not call it chalk?" Why not indeed, since that
is all it constitutes? Chalk is not the only item added to white
flour. There are other (so-called) improvers: benzol peroxide
powder, chlorine gas, nitrosil chloride, sal ammoniac and alum
are among them.
The only "whole" bread is the stone-ground wholewheat.
Even the commercial brown bread is darkened and has bran
added to it.
Commercialism is intent upon perverting the taste for natural
food. It is a lucrative business. The liking for white bread was
deliberately encouraged. The masses, in their folly, were not
slow to imitate the rich and discover a taste for white bread.
Alum, used in flour, baking powder, cheap ciders and wines,
is, according to a Dutch scientist who spent years investigating
the cancer problem, one of the contributory causes of this
scourge.
The chemists and food merchants could not even keep their
hands off the humble kipper. Artificial dyeing of kippers was at
one time a menace to public health. But the rich hue imparted to
kippers by chemical processes was a strong inducement to the
unwary housewife.
A suggestion was mooted, and the experiments were made,
to breed bigger and better fish on chemicals in inland waters, so
as to save the expense of fishing! There is no doubt, too, that a
certain amount of superficial success would be obtained. As to
the quality of the said fish one can hazard a guess, but even the
cleverest scientists cannot make an accurate reduplication of
Nature's work.
There are very few articles of diet that the tentacles of
Commercialism do not touch. Practically every time this occurs
there is chemical adulteration by colouring, spicing, preserving
or, in one way or another, an endeavour to stimulate the jaded
appetite of the consumer by artificial flavouring. More often than
not this calls for the denaturing of the food product.
With the vitamins and mineral salts removed from the food
on the one hand, every effort of salesmanship is made to draw
money out of the people's pocket for the purchase of some
vitamin capsule or vitamin food or some article containing
mineral salts. Though apparently trivial, there is, on second
thoughts, solid foundation for believing that this trick of having
to pay twice for food does materially contribute to the extra cost
of living. Some may argue that it causes employment. But is
denuding the nation's food of natural, health-giving ingredients
(at the same time adding harmful chemicals) productive
employment? And does not the health of the people count for
anything?
Any flour or sugar product is an unnatural food if it is not
made from pure wholewheat flour or from pure, unrefined sugar.
By "unnatural food" it is meant that it is devoid of all or some of
the vitamins or mineral salts that are essential to health. If one
contemplates the wide range of food products that have the
above two items for a base, then one can have a glimpse of the
harm wreaked upon a largely unsuspecting public. And if one
assumes that there is much freedom of speech over these matters,

allow me to say that, just before the Second World War, one of
our biggest dailies had a large notice installed saying that it was
forbidden to mention anything detrimental about bread. By bread
it can be presumed that white bread was meant, since it had by
far the largest sale. If one's mind runs back to that period, it will
be recalled that there was a large advertising campaign about
"Eat More Bread" going on at much the same time. Whether
there is anything significant in connection with the admonition to
journalists and the large-scale advertising, both taking place at
the same time, I leave to the imagination of the reader.
Take a look in a grocery shop some time and note the
prepared foods that are for sale. Remember that almost each one
is adulterated in some way or another. There are, of course,
reputable manufacturers who specialise in preparing food in
either a natural state or in a condition that calls for a minimum
use of preservatives. Reputable manufacturers, too, deplore the
activities of less responsible business interests.
Drinks, in particular, are often the source of profound
suspicion. The multi-coloured liquids offered as refreshment are
often detrimental to health. At the close of one of the Derbys just
before the Second World War a vendor of refreshments poured
his remnants of so-called lemonade over the grass. He was
subsequently brought before a court and fined, not, as you might
think, for selling liquid dangerous to public health, but for
damaging the sacred grass of the famous Epsom course! His
lemonade had actually "scorched the earth."
It is unfortunate that the Food and Drug Laws of this country
are inadequate. Of late years these laws have been made more
sweeping (even some tea packets now carry the statement that
the tea is of no food value) and it behoves every housewife to
study diligently the labels on packet food, tinned goods and any
form of preserved food. Despite the more extensive restrictions,
however, clever advertising agencies and others directly
concerned with the marketing of food products show remarkable
ability in the art of finding loopholes.
We have previously discussed the disastrous impact of
Commercialism upon our milk supplies. The fear of tuberculosis
from unpasteurised milk has been proved to be riddled with
inaccuracies and is fostered by the large milk combines. Not so,
however, the case with mother's milk. Here, the rapid growth of
bottle-feeding from artificially prepared foods is proving to be a
deadly menace.
An investigation by the Infant Welfare Centre of Chicago
between 1924-29 produced the following results. 20,061 infants
attended the Centre during the period. Of the total number 48.5
per cent. were entirely breast-fed, 43 per cent. partially breastfed and 8.5 per cent. entirely fed on artificial foods. The
mortality figures for the entire group were as follows:

Entirely breast-fed
Partially
Artificially fed

No. of
Infants
9,749
8,605
1,707

Deaths
Total
15
59
144

Percentage
of Deaths
0.15
0.7
8.4

Study of the above figures reveals the appalling danger of

artificial infant foods. Contrast this with the beautiful babies we
see on pictorial advertisements for baby foods. Not so much by
direct encouragement as by indirect implication do commercial
interests pander and foster the artificial bottle-feeding of infants.
When the child puts on an abnormal amount of weight, the
motherin her ignoranceattributes special powers to artificial
feeding. There is no doubt, of course, that many mothers are only
too pleased to find other methods than the breast for feeding
infants. Commercial interests are not slow to realise this factor in
modern social conditions.
The luckless baby who is bottle-fed suffers much more from
colds, stuffiness, indigestion and tonsilitis. It is also dosed with
useless medicines, hence it has a bad start in life.
The mother should not only feed her own child, she should
also ensure that the breast-milk is of the highest quality. To do
this she should regulate her diet and habits. This care, however,
should begin long before the child is conceived. Thousands of
potential mothers not only influence the lives of unborn children,
they also render themselves sterile. Though hereditary influences
are probably exaggerated, there is little doubt that due caution
and respect for one's own personality and that of the unborn
child demands stricter adherence to natural laws of living and to
a more natural diet. In this respect we are sadly inferior to many
native races.
Testimony of the advantages of a natural diet have come
from various sources: from explorers, scientists, doctors, the
London County Council, leading dieticians, naturopaths, etc. In
the Geography and Diet section we shall discuss some of the
more appropriate accounts. It is not necessary, however, to seek
confirmatory evidence from abroad of the disastrous effects
Commercialism has upon food.
Sir Paul Dukes, a former British Intelligence Chief in Russia,
investigated longevity in 1938. Of 150 people over 100 years of
age in Britain he visited 110. The majority of the centenarians
came from lower-income groups whose diet, in the major part of
their young years, had been coarse, wholemeal bread, vegetables
and dairy produce.
Sir Paul Dukes, speaking of the centenarians he met, said:
"The illnesses that overcame them in the course of their lives
coincided for the most partsignificantly or not I will not
venture to saywith the cheapening of luxuries. Certain it is that
dentistry has especially flourished since sugar and sweets
became plentiful and cheap."
It would not be out of place to add laxatives, purges, drugs
and other patent medicines to dentistry.
That beri-beri is a deficiency disease created by polished rice
is already well known. What is not generally realised is that we
have our own deficiency diseasesnot so spectacular to be
surebut none the less having their own deadly effects. Owing
to the slightly observed changes we do not attribute our
deficiency diseases to the unnatural diet of the times. Yet these
deficiencies, due to the tampering with food, produce a
decreased resistance to disease and manifest themselves in the
hundred and one common ailments to which we succumb.

The activities of Commercialism, whether with good intent

or not, actually begin with the growing of food. The experiments
of Sir Albert Howard, Sir Robert McCarrison, Lady Eve Balfour
and others go a long way towards emphasising the detrimental
effects of artificial fertilisers and the unremitting exploitation of
the soil. American authorities are already perturbed about certain
features of modern agriculture. They have demonstrated, too,
that American citrus products have a decreased Vitamin C
content because the soil is exploited by artificial fertilisers and
intensive cultivation.
What once were thriving granaries in North Africa, Persia,
Mesopotamia, etc., are now deserts. This transformation took
place because the soil was exploited, the essential humus used up
and no efforts made to replace it. The humus holds the soil in
place. When it became too scanty to perform this function, the
winds blew away the top soil, and what we now know as erosion
caused the deserts with which we are so familiar. This process,
of course, is insidious. None the less, the same thing is
happening in America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and even
in our own beet-growing areas. In an article in the Sunday Times
of February 6, 1944, Lord Hankey said:
. . . For the reformers [alluding to people such as Sir Robert
McCarrison, Sir Albert Howard] believe that some chemicals
poison the life in the soil, destroying the earthworms (which aerate
it and render other essential services), and probably also the
mycorrhiza, those beneficent fungi which, as modern research has
discovered, give a stimulus to health and resistance to disease to an
ever-extending list of trees and plants, which already includes
cereals, potatoes, vines, hops, clovers, peas, beans, and other
leguminous crops; and in the tropics, tea, coffee, cocoa, coco-nut,
rubber and tobacco.
The results of artificials, they believe, are over-stimulation and
excessive crops, followed by deterioration of the soil and reduced
resistance of the plants to disease which necessitate spraying by
more chemicals and further destruction of life in the soil.
Eventually the humus which holds the soil particles together is
destroyed, the soil turns to dust, and is blown to the four winds.
Not least serious, the food grown on artificials is thought by the
reformers to be less nourishing to man and beast, and the cause of
disease and sub-normal health.

Manchester, Southwark and Maidenhead are among local

authorities that are utilising municipal wastes for compost and
the restoration of humus. Hampshire War Agricultural
Committee also utilised waste from the big Army camps for the
production of humus. It is a suicidal policy to allow our
sewerage to pour into the rivers and seas, causing pollution,
when it could be transformed into life-giving material for the
soil.
Humus, briefly, is a "product of the decomposition of animal
and vegetable residues brought about by the agency of microorganisms." It is the humus that holds the soil together and
imparts a vital force to the land. A German chemist named
Liebig discovered in 1840 that chemistry could, theoretically, be
applied to agriculture. What the chemists have overlooked is that

the soil is organic and teeming with life. Inorganic chemicals

stimulate the soil, produce an abundance of crops (for a period)
and produce an impression of scientific benevolence. The
unfortunate fact, however, is that this persistent over-stimulation
denudes the soil of humus (since nothing but artificial chemicals
are put back) and paves the way for the ultimate erosion of the
soil. The chemicals kill the life of the soil, create disease and
produce crops of diminishing quality.
From The Living Soil, a book written by Lady Eve Balfour
(Faber & Faber, London), we take the following:
The consequence of this process of denuding the soil of its
fertility is only just beginning to be realised in Western countries.
McCarrison has stated: "These [certain natural foodstuffs], when
properly combined in the diet, supply all the food essentials,
known and unknown, discovered and undiscovered, needed for
normal nutrition, provided they are produced on soil which is not
impoverished, for if they be proceeds of impoverished soil, their
quality will be poor and the health of those who eat them, man and
his domestic animals, will suffer accordingly."
Thus it will be seen that we cannot safely separate human
health from the health of farm produce whether animal or
vegetable. All have their origin in a fertile soil. Under field
conditions a fertile soil is a live soil, and maintenance of life in
such soil depends on humus.

Natural humus formation is a slow process. It is a continuity

between life, decay and life as typified in a virgin forest.
Since it is imperative that humus should be applied to the
soil (or maintained in it) to give it life, there must be an answer
to soil fertility, soil erosion, poor-quality crops and poor health.
The answer does exist, for which we are largely indebted to Sir
Albert Howard and his famous Indore Process of Composting.
The making of compost heaps for the production of humus is not
a difficult problem. In these heaps all residual waste from
vegetables, crops, weeds, leaves, animal manure, etc., are
permitted to go through a natural process of decay by bacterial
action.
For a full description of composting, and its advantages, the
reader is referred to the works of Sir Albert Howard or to Lady
Eve Balfour's book The Living Soil. In these and other
contemporary books the reader will find a whole fund of useful
information and helpful advice, all of which has a direct bearing
on health.
From the Nature Cure point of view, foodthe right food
is of paramount importance to health. The Nature Cure
practitioner is also a dietician, and his knowledge is imparted to
the thousands of patients and believers in the philosophy of
Nature Cure. It is obvious, therefore, that Naturopathy is as
much interested in the way food is produced (and in soil fertility)
as it is in the food itself. The advantages of a correct diet are
limited if the food is grown on artificial lines. Food produce
must contain all the essential vitamins and mineral salts if it is to
be used to advantage. Thus it will be found that there is not only
an insistence upon a sound diet, but that Naturopathy equally
insists that food should be produced under natural conditions.

Not until one really gets down to basic facts does one
discover the full deleterious impact of Commercialism upon our
food resources. The ramifications of big business extend over the
whole process of food cultivation and preparation. This
exploitation of the soil and its produce is a vital factor in disease.
There is no doubt that the drive towards artificial fertilisers
was given greater impetus after the First World War, when
explosives manufacturers were compelled to seek other outlets
for their products. Sulphate of ammonia and other synthetic
fertilisers were thus foisted on to the farmers, principally with
the aid of large-scale advertising, so that factories would not
become obsolete and profits could still be made.
To say that Nature Cure has found an answer is an oversimplification of our whole health problem, especially where
food is concerned. Nature Cure, however, points to a richer and
fuller life. One of the main bugbears is the artificial processes
through which our food is denuded of its natural qualities. If
Commercialism could only be prevailed upon to forego 50 per
cent. of its emasculation of total food resources, then we could
expect a most profound improvement in human health. With that
improvement would come greater productivity, decreased
expenditure on drugs, an expansion of industry useful to man,
increased social amenitiesin fact a whole new vista of life
would open up before us.
GEOGRAPHY AND DIET
By studying the effects of food habits in other parts of the
world we are led to the obvious conclusion that, to derive the
utmost benefit from what we eat, the food must be essentially
"whole." By that we mean that the food should be produced,
prepared and consumed in relation to its natural state. This does
not imply that we should consume all our food raw; though there
is ample evidence to prove that raw food, particularly fruit and
vegetables, should hold a high place in a commonsense diet. We
shall refer to this subject again, when we discuss the famous
Bircher-Benner raw-food system.
Some arguments are put forward that for a food to be natural
it should form an integral part of the native produce. In this
event, an orange would be natural for California, but an
unnatural fruit for Britain. Where favourable climatic and
agricultural conditions coincide with industrial and agricultural
usages, as in certain native districts, there is every reason to
support this theory.
Britain, however, is a highly industrialised nation with a
limited variety of food production. What is more, it has, along
with other (so-called) civilised communities, suffered dire effects
from the commercialisation of food. While there is every
indication that we could increase our native agriculture, and at
the same time add to the diversity of indigenous crops, there is
no sound reason why we should forego the many advantages of
imported fruits and vegetables.
Imported fruit, in particular, serves as a pleasant variety and
as a most convenient source of augmenting our stock of
protective foods. There should, however, be some form of

inspectorate to ensure that these imported foods conform to

specified standards of vitamin content. If necessary, there should
be financial inducement to produce food of the highest quality
from natural cultivation methods. Anything below the minimum
standard should be refused an import licence.
From the foregoing it will be deduced that I do not subscribe
to the "natural" food theory in so far as it restricts the diet to
indigenous food products. That we should make more use of the
land is obvious, but there is no valid reason for restricting our
diet to what we alone are able to grow. There is, however, much
to be said for a simpler diet with less variety at any one meal.
Those getting on in years and those who suffer from digestive
troubles will find it more suitable to have less variety at any
given meal.
An example of the "native" theory which is entirely
successful is displayed by the Hunzas, Sikhs, Pathans and other
Himalayan tribes. These healthy specimens (they grow to six feet
of healthy and cheery manhood) exist on a diet largely composed
of sour curds, plenty of leafy vegetables, potatoes, wholewheat
bread and little meat. These sections of India's population stand
out in marked contrast to the Madrasis. The latter are very
susceptible to gastric and internal ulcers, are of smaller stature
and are as prone to disease as the Sikhs and Pathans are immune.
The diet of the Madrasis consists of polished rice, red pepper,
tamarind and dried fish. There is, of course, a difference in the
climate, but the main essential difference is the wholeness of the
Sikh and Pathan diet compared with the adulteration of the diet
of the Madrasi. In this case, too, there is the natural cultivation
that is a part of the life of the hill tribes.
Crete provides another example of health and longevity. The
diet in this island is mainly of sour milk and fruit. I have in my
personal possession a photograph of a venerable old man of 116
years of age. When the photo was taken, about 1937, the old man
was living almost entirely on sour milk. Up to the age of 110 he
had been working as a porter, carrying a 40 lb. pack six miles per
day up winding mountain paths. It is quite common for people to
reach extremely ripe old ages in the island, and the diet is,
obviously, on simple and natural lines.
Tibetians live to an incredible old age and, here again, sour
milk figures in the dietary. If we include the Balkan countries,
Arabs, Himalayan tribes and others we will find ample
substantiation for the fact that the correct use of milk appears to
be to permit it to go sournot the civilised way of pasteurising
the milk and robbing it of its natural contents.
Curiously enough, healthy natives often have an instinct for
the right food. In one of the Pacific islands, for instance, a local
toddy was the object of the authorities' disfavour, since overconsumption and inebriation interfered with work. The drink was
banned, the result being that a sharp decline in health followed.
This led to an investigation of the local toddy, and it was proved
that the offending drink possessed just that vitamin content
which made all the difference between health and disease.
We will take another example. When the Americans took
their highly refined and commercialised foodstuffs to Hawaii,
the strong, sound teeth of the natives began to decay. 80 per cent.

tooth decay, equal to that of America, followed the American

invasion of Hawaii. In an experiment that took place some years
before the Second World War, 1,000 Hawaiian children reverted
to the diet of their forefathers, a feature of which was taroa
native tuber. In the first year of this experiment the tooth decay
fell 40 per cent. and in later years to 8 per cent.
McCollum and Simmonds, in The Newer Knowledge of
Nutrition (Macmillan & Co. Ltd., London), say:
There is no better illustration of the soundness of the views
regarding the types of diet which succeed in inducing good
nutrition than the experience of the non-citizen Indian of the
United States. All who observed the Indians in their primitive state
agree that most of them were exceptional specimens of physical
development. With few exceptions, however, during two
generations they have deteriorated physically. The reason for this is
apparently brought to light by a consideration of the kind of food to
which they have restricted themselves since they have lived on
reservations.
There is no group of people with a higher incidence of
tuberculosis than the non-citizen Indian. As wards of the
Government they have been provided with money and land, but
have shown little interest in agriculture. They have lived in idleness
and have derived their food supplies from the agency stores. In
addition to muscle cuts of meat they have, therefore, taken large
amounts of milled cereal products, syrup, molasses, sugar and
canned foods, such as peas, corn and tomatoes. In other words,
they have come to subsist essentially upon a milled cereal, sugar,
tuber and meat diet. On such a regimen their teeth have rapidly
become inferior and are badly decayed. They suffer much from
rheumatism and other troubles which result from local infections.
Faulty dietary habits are, in great measure, to be incriminated for
their susceptibility to tuberculosis.

The Indians in the Canadian reservations have also shown a

degeneration in health. That the diet is principally involved in
the deterioration of the health of the Indians would be hard to
deny. Idleness, however, must also be a factor.
An astounding experiment on a mass scale has been the
subject of frequent comment. This took place in March, 1917,
when Denmark began to feel the effects of the blockade.
Professor Mikkel Hindhede was appointed Food Adviser to the
Danish Government. Denmark, at that time, had a human
population of 3,500,000 and a domestic population of 5,000,000.
Grains for both human and animal consumption were imported
from the United Statesuntil the blockade stopped the import of
grains when America declared war.
The question facing Professor Hindhede was how the grain
stocks should be distributed. He decided that four-fifths of the
pigs and one-sixth of the cattle should be slaughtered, and the
grain saved given to the people. The Danes were compelled to
eat coarse, wholemeal bread, vegetables, fruit, milk and butter.
Only very little meat was available to the Danish public. No
grain or potatoes were allowed for the distillation of spirits, and
the production of beer was cut by 50 per cent.
The Danes, therefore, were enforced to live on a natural diet
with the emphasis on "wholeness." The food regulations

bringing about this forced existence on a natural diet lasted from

March 1917 to October 1918.
Extraordinary things happened in that time. The Danish
death rate, which had been 12.3 per 1,000 in 1913, dropped to
10.4 per 1,000, the lowest mortality figure that had ever been
recorded in any European country. Hindhede wrote: ". . . I have
emphasised the advantages of a lacto-vegetarian diet. I am not in
principle a vegetarian, but I believe I have shown that a diet
containing a large amount of meat and eggs is dangerous to the
health." Professor Hindhede himself lays much importance on
the bread consumed at the time. It consisted of 67 per cent. rye,
21 per cent. oats and 12 per cent. bran.
The impressive improvement in health, brought about in so
short a time, points to a damning indictment of the
commercialisation of food and faulty dietetic habits.
From all over the world there come examples of what
constitutes a natural diet, and of how such a diet is conducive to
health. There are examples, too, of the degenerate effects of the
impact of Western civilisation with its denatured food products.
The actual food, in all cases where real health is found, is grown
(and often consumed) in a natural state. By that we mean that
cultivation follows the age-old principle, familiar to the Chinese,
of maintaining the fertility of the soil and not robbing it of the
essential humus. There is, it will be noticed, in all good examples
of dietary, an emphasis on the "wholeness" of food. Milk, for
instance, is not pasteurised and wheat is wholewheat, not the
white-flour product of civilisation.
The rural Chinese, incidentally, who follow their ancestral
system of agriculture, demonstrate that cheerfulness of character
and vigour of health which springs from the roots of unexploited
soil.
Geography, and the diet of many races, provide numerous
pointers for the selection of a sound diet. While we welcome the
information from various sources of the world as proving the
value of a sound, natural dietary, we should not forego the
advantages that modern dietetics have provided. There is no
reason, therefore, why we should not avail ourselves of the fruits
of the world provided, as previously stated, that these fruits are
up to standard regarding the vitamin and mineral content. The
evidence from abroad, however, points to simple meals and less
variety at any one meal.
BALANCED DIET
The reader will already have some idea of what constitutes a
balanced diet. It must be emphasised that there is no suggestion
of faddism in a balanced diet. A sound dietary takes some
account of the humanitarian principles involved in
vegetarianism, but it is not based solely upon those principles; its
foundation lies in logic. There is no doubt that some vegetarians,
in their enthusiasm, go to extremes, and have a diet that contains
an excess of starch and is not conducive to health. Other
vegetarians have a most intelligent dietary. But that section of
vegetarians, for instance, which, apart from meat, abstains from
milk, eggs and honey must find little sympathy from the general

publicnot that they look for it. Their contentions are based
upon ethical and humanitarian grounds. There is some sound
reasoning in part of their arguments. I fail to see, however, where
honey (especially when the bees are not fed upon refined sugar)
is not a good food. Nor, as we have learnt, is there any real
objection to sour milk. To argue that eggs, milk and honey are
not good foods because, by consuming them, Nature is exploited
appears to be a specious argument.
Diet reform, therefore, though it is not insensitive to the
humanitarian element, does not base its reasoning on those lines.
The real factors concerned in diet are the proper balance of food,
food production, preparation and consumption in accordance
with natural requirements. Proteins, starches, sugars, vitamins,
mineral salts and roughage have to be considered in relation to
human needs so that health can be the result. Apart from any
broad lines that can be laid down as necessary, there is always
the personal element to be taken into account. A sedentary
worker obviously does not require so much protein or starch
food as the heavy, manual worker. Then, again, there are people
with a high starch tolerance and others with a low tolerance.
These factors must be personally weighed up when selecting a
dietary.
We have seen, however, that the fundamental basis of a
sound diet is "wholeness." This is demonstrated in wholegrain
cereals, fruit, vegetables, dairy produce, honey and nuts. A diet
that is based upon these foodstuffs, all produced on natural lines,
contains the essential ingredients for proper nutrition. We have
the bulk, vitamins, mineral salts, proteins, starches and sugars
necessary to real health. In the correct combination of the aforementioned foods lies the road to health.
Two important factors influence the selection of various
foods. There are the relative acid and alkaline action of the
various foods. Before we delve into this problem we shall recall
some factors in nutrition.
In Furneaux and Smart's Human Physiology (Longmans,
Green & Co. Ltd., London) there is an excellent description of
the need for food:
All living matter is of the nature of a machine in that it uses up
energy, converting some into work and most into heat. Moreover,
the wear and tear of tissues has to be made good, and the material
for growth to be provided (if the animal is young). All this is
secured by the provision of food; and the more the composition of
the food differs from that of the body of the consumer, the longer it
takes to digest; the greater part of the lives of most animals is
concerned with a continual hunt for food. Food is anything taken
into the body for the purpose of growth, repair, the production of
heat and work, or the supply of body regulators (hormones,
vitamins and enzymes). This food has, however, to be first
rendered suitable for absorption, i.e. it has to be digested. After
absorption it is oxidised for the production of heat and work, or
stored or used for repair and growth, as the case may be.

Food, therefore, serves the primary object of maintaining

bodily functions, and is not, as some people appear to imagine,
merely a way of satisfying a sensual pleasure. That food should

be appetising is not denied, for enjoyment leads to good

digestion, but the main purpose of food is the continuance of life.
Food is divided into protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins,
mineral salts and water.
Protein is found principally in meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts,
milk and certain vegetables. It is required for nitrogen
replacement. Urea and uric acid are the forms in which nitrogen
is excreted from the body as a result of wear and tear on the
cells. The fact that proteins build and replace the tissues of the
body, as well as supplying nitrogen, led people to overemphasise their importance in bodily welfare. Experiments on
American soldiers and students of Yale University, conducted
over forty years ago by Professor Russel H. Chittenden, proved
the fallacy of the high-protein theory. As a result of the
experiments, Professor Chittenden showed that the great
majority of people overeat, and that the consumption of protein
was especially excessive. The soldiers and students improved in
health on a restricted diet.
Professor Chittenden outlined his work in a book
Physiological Economy in Health. Chittenden himself said that
"body-weight, health, strength and mental and physical vigour
and endurance can be maintained with at least half of the proteid
food ordinarily consumed." "Health," Professor Chittenden
declared, "could be maintained much more satisfactorily on
about 10 per cent. of protein in the diet than on 20 per cent."
Lahmann, the famous Continental Nature Cure pioneer, had
stated even before Chittenden that over-consumption of protein
was a vital factor in the causation of disease. The excess of uric
acid was declared to be one of the causative factors in
rheumatism and allied complaints. Professor Hindhede also
proved that meat (one form of protein) was not only unessential,
but that health could be improved on a diet with a much reduced
protein content.
Though protein is necessary for health it has been vastly
overrated, and an over-consumption leads to disease. Cheese,
eggs, milk, nuts, fresh fish are the best sources of protein.
Fats are essential to health since they provide heat and can
be stored in the subcutaneous tissues of the body. Here again,
however, the consumption of fats is generally excessive. Animal
fat, especially, is not easily digested, and fried starch food (fried
bread, chips, etc.) is never good. Fried fat creates an insoluble
coat over the starch cells and prevents digestion in the upper
digestive tract Ptyalin, a salivary secretion, has to act upon the
starch and convert it into maltose. This part of the digestion is
interfered with when there is a coating of fat around the starch.
Incidentally, this type of fried food (like all starch) is one of the
causative factors in catarrh and colds.
Butter, olive and vegetable oil are the best types of fat.
Carbohydrates are necessary for energy. That most people
are over-conscious of carbohydrate food is one of the reasons
why we fall ill. The excess of carbohydrate food (especially
white-flour products and refined sugar) is a vital factor in
disease. Starches and sugars are the principal containers of the
above element. All carbohydrate foods (bread, rice macaroni,
potatoes, sugar, etc.) are converted into sugars during digestion.

The material is stored in the tissues and liver as glycogen so that

it can be quickly converted into glucose. Most starch food is
acid-forming, but wholewheat bread, potatoes and other root
vegetables, fruit and honey are the best sources of carbohydrate.
Vitamins, mineral salts and water will be discussed under
their respective headings, as these merit full discussion.
For a diet to be properly balanced it must contain all the
essential foods in the correct quantities. That is to say, it must
contain protein, starch, sugar, fat, vitamins, minerals, water and
bulk. As each individual is a law unto himself, there can be no
definite statement as to how much a given person should
consume, or even what proportions of carbohydrate or protein
are necessary in an individual case. This is a point where studied
dietetics in relation to personal health come into force.
It is generally recognised, however, in the diet reform of
Naturopathy, that the orthodox consumption of proteins and
carbohydrates is excessive. Nature Cure affirms also that the
excessive intake of these acid-forming foods has a bearing upon
disease.
From this it will be deduced that Naturopathy places little
reliance upon the calorie theory. We are only too painfully
familiar with the calorie standards so frequently discussed in the
popular Press.
Diet reform (or balanced dieting) is concerned with the
correct alignment of food requirements in accordance with
natural laws. Man's instinct as regards foodwith the exception
of when he feels sick and loses his appetitecan no longer be
trusted. His perversion has been brought about largely by the use
of denatured and refined food.
We previously mentioned a distinction between acid and
alkaline foods. Broadly speaking, these fall under two categories.
The proteins and carbohydrates are acid-forming, and the fruits
and vegetables are alkaline. The alkaline foods neutralise the
acid foods and maintain harmonious balance within the system;
provided, of course, that they are consumed in sufficient
quantity. The alkaline foods are the cleansing elements in diet.
Below is a comparative list of alkaline and acid foods.
Acid
Meat.
Meat extracts.
Bread.
Macaroni.
Cheese.
Eggs.
Fish.
Refined sugar.
Lentils.
Peanuts.
Rice.

Alkaline
Root and leaf vegetables.
Dried and fresh fruit.
Buttermilk.
Olives.

With the above in mind, we have now to consider the bulk in

diet that is essential for efficient peristaltic action and the
cleansing of the bowels. When we recall the laxative foods with
a bran foundation, it seems the height of folly to take this
commodity out of flour and then retail it again as packet food to
relieve the very distress its absence from bread creates. This is

without reference to the vitamins lost. Bulk, therefore, is best

found in whole-grain cereals, vegetables and fruit.
It is quite evident that, with protein and starch being acidforming, and the fruits and vegetables alkaline (as well as
supplying the bulk and water), a sound dietary should comprise a
minimum amount of protein and starch and a maximum of fruit
and vegetables. It will be recalled, too, that fruits and vegetables
are excellent sources of vitamins and mineral salts. This is a
factor that should be borne in mind when weighing up the
advantages of a balanced diet.
We have previously emphasised "wholeness" with regard to
diet. I make no apologies if I keep repeating this theme, as I
believe it to be of the most profound importance. Therefore,
although starch should be reduced in quantity, the wholegrain
cereals are advised. With "wholeness," however, we arrive at
another advantage in dietthat is the use of raw food.
Vitamin C is the most easily destroyed vitamin (hence the
reason for unpasteurised or sour milk), and any cooking process
has a detrimental effect upon the vitamins and mineral salts.
There is every reason, therefore, to include a substantial amount
of raw food in the diet. In connection with this, a large raw salad
and fruit meal per day has obvious advantages.
Naturally, a certain amount of cooking is required. Heat
preparation of food, however, should be cut to a minimum.
Though raw feeding plays a large part in the naturopathic
concept of an ideal diet, one cannot ignore popular prejudices
and tastes; nor is it desirable to eliminate all cooked food, for it
makes for variation and enjoyment.
Wherever possible, however, such cooking as is carried out
is best done with the aid of baking, steaming, braising or
conservative cooking. The latter method means cooking with the
aid of a minimum amount of water. The average housewife
literally boils her vegetables to death. Having done so, she
promptly pours her family's resistance to disease down the drain,
in the liquid left over from the cooking. Vitamins and mineral
salts are wasted, and what is served is merely the residue of what
was originally a protective food.
While on this subject of cooking (and "wholeness") it would
seem appropriate to mention the devastating amount of waste
that goes on with the peeling of potatoes, apples, etc. It is not
generally realised that often a substantial quantity of the vitamins
and mineral salts are contained in or near the skins of fruits and
vegetables and that it is frequently a crime to cause so much
avoidable waste.
Though salt may be added to the cooking, it is not advised.
Soda should definitely be abolished. There is no need for table
salt. Unfortunately millions of people have arrived at the
conclusion that salt is a requirement and that they should not
deprive themselves of it. This is one of the instances where the
taste has been perverted.
By elimination we arrive at what balanced dieting implies.
We have largely cut out protein (especially meat) and
carbohydrates (especially white-flour products, refined cereals
and refined sugars). What we have left is, in the main, composed
of dairy produce, fruit, vegetables, whole-grain cereals and nuts.

We thus arrive at what is largely a lacto-vegetarian diet with

particular emphasis on raw food.
What it virtually amounts to, therefore, is that a balanced diet
comprises the following:
Wholegrain cereals in low quantities.
Fruit and vegetables in abundance.
Dairy produce in fair quantities.
Nuts and natural sugars in low quantities.
The proportion of cereals, dairy produce and nuts would be
increased or decreased according to the amount of work
performed. Those who do heavy work would require more of the
energy-giving foods, and those doing light work and taking little
exercise would have a corresponding decrease. Invalids and aged
people also would consume less.
There is an emphasis on raw food (raw fruit and salads) and
on not overeating. Breakfast should be a fruit meal, lunch either
a cooked or salad meal and, when the lunch is a cooked meal, the
evening meal should take a salad form or vice versa.
One question that inevitably arises is: if the citrus fruits are
acid, and one of the basic factors in diet is the reduction of acid
foods, why advocate acid and sub-acid fruit? The answer lies in
the fact that while citrus fruit (oranges, lemons, grapefruit, etc.)
is acid in content its ultimate reaction is alkaline. The acid
condition of the body, brought about by an excess of protein and
starch and by worry or indulgence, is really a toxic condition
which the alkaline elementsbeing eliminativeovercome.
It is true that some people, especially those with a high toxic
condition, experience unpleasant reactions from eating acid and
sub-acid fruit. What really happens, however, is that the acid
condition of the body is stirred up with the introduction of the
acid fruit. The fruit itself is not to blame. The discomfort created
by eating acid or sub-acid fruit indicates a toxic condition of the
body and demonstrates the necessity for either a highly alkaline
diet or a curative fast. Once the system is really cleansed there
will be no discomfort on eating acid fruit.
These indications of a toxic state of the body are ignored in
ordinary circumstances, the fruit which is supposed to cause the
disturbance is avoided, and the toxic condition is allowed to
develop (with the aid of drugs) into chronic disease.
We shall consider fluid under the section entitled "Water."
For general purposes, however, we do not recommend drinking
with meals, as this habit interferes with digestion. Fruit juices,
vegetable soup, Vecon or Yeastrel, dandelion coffee and mate
tea, are among recommended drinks.
The reader, however, is encouraged to gain more information
from the specialised works on recipes created for the advocates
of balanced dieting, i.e., "Health for All" Ration-time Recipes, by
Margaret Brady, M.Sc. (5/- net, or 5/4 post paid from the
Publishers of this book).

COMMON ERRORS
We have already mentioned many of the mistakes in diet,
especially with reference to Commercialism and the high protein
and starch consumption that is normal to the majority. We have
mentioned also overeating and overdrinking. Wrong
combinations in diet, especially with regard to excesses in the
acid-forming foods, are the main errors in diet. They are also the
largest factors in disease.
Let us consider some of the materials concerned in normal
feeding. The orthodox breakfast of cereal food, toast, bacon or
egg or fish, washed down with tea or coffee, is, on examination,
a meal largely devoid of any of the vitamins, minerals or alkaline
elements necessary for health. Bulk there certainly is, but mostly
of a denatured type. The acid-forming protein, starch and tea or
coffee are unrelieved by any of the alkaline elements necessary
for neutralising the acid content. We can, moreover, take it for
granted that some condiment or other is used with the savoury
part of the meal to give it a flavour. The idea of condiments is to
bolster up the appetite and create an unnatural desire for food
and drink. As stimulants condiments work very well. They are,
however, not only acid-forming in themselves, but they arouse
desires for food and drink that are incompatible with human
requirements and lead to excesses. Since this excessive
consumption is largely of the acid-forming foods, and there is a
constant deficiency of the alkaline materials, can we wonder at
the increase in digestive troubles, ulcers, constipation,
rheumatism, etc.?
There is another factor in overeating that is frequently
overlooked, and which a natural diet checks. That is lack of
mastication. It can be proved that thorough mastication induces a
more real satisfying of hunger and diminishes the tendency to
overeat. Raw feeding emphasises this point on account of the
extra mastication that must take place. Not only is less food
consumed, however, but more taste is extracted from the food.
When we recall how digestion begins in the mouth with the
action of the saliva we realise how important is this neglected
function of mastication. We also have a sound reason for
avoiding the dilution of the saliva with fluid at meal-times.
Though British people are less affected by the gum-chewing
habit common to the Americans, it is of passing interest to record
the latest developments in the habit. I take the following from
Zoe Farmer's "American Diary," a feature of the News
Chronicle:
. . . there are gums containing aspirin, laxative agents, and
indigestion soothers. Latest is a hangover gum claiming to relieve
the most shattering morning-after. Obtainable by prescription only,
since it contains an opium derivative, it is also being successfully
used to placate the morning nausea suffered by some pregnant
women.

Chewing is a process specifically allied to digestion.

Perverting this function by chewing gum, especially with its

effect on the salivary flow, can do no good. Chewing exercises

that stretch the jaws are a different matter. These assist the
drainage and circulation in the muscles and tissues of the throat,
and are helpful in many throat diseases.
Apart from efficient mastication, the food should be
balanced at any meal. If a meal contains protein or starch it
should contain also a larger proportion of fruit or vegetables. In
this way we can strike a balance and permit the alkaline elements
to neutralise the acid. Since potatoes are starch (it must be
remembered that potatoes have also a large potassium content
and can be alkaline if baked or steamed), no bread should be
consumed at the same meal if potatoes also form part of the
menu.
We previously mentioned that acid and sub-acid fruit is
alkaline in reaction and that there is no reason why the fruit
should not form part of the diet. Moreover, we also stressed its
alkalinity. There is one proviso with acid fruit, however: it
should not be consumed in conjunction with starch food. The
two do not mix well, and the acid fruit interferes with the
digestion of starch.
To avoid common mistakes in balancing food we shall
define balance in the way Dr. Lindlahr, the famous American
Nature Cure practitioner, suggested. He recommended that 20
per cent. of the diet should contain protein, 20 per cent. starches,
sugars and fats, and 60 per cent. fruit and vegetables. An
amendment to this would be that the protein should consist of
non-animal protein (or rather, not meat). Cheese, eggs, nuts, fish
and fowl are the best sources. As regards fats and starches, it is
not out of place to reiterate the dangers of fried starch food.
Evening meals should be of a light character. When heavy
meals are partaken late at night there is disturbance of sleep on
account of fullness in the stomach. Late drinking also interferes
with sleep. Apple juice is probably the safest drink at night, as it
possesses soothing properties. Incidentally, parsley tea is
recommended for those who suffer from bladder or kidney
troubles.
No meals should be consumed when feeling tired, depressed
or emotional. It is a common mistake to eat a meal when worn
out by a harrowing day. It is much better either to forgo the
meal, have a light fruit meal or have a suitable rest interval
before eating. With regard to eating when there is no desire for
food it must be emphasised that this amounts to what is virtually
a criminal assault upon the natural forces of the body. It is a
grievous error usually made by well-meaning relatives or
misguided medical practitioners.
The majority of mistakes in diet are due to either ignorance,
commercialisation of food, lack of interest in cooking or greed;
or a combination of one or more of these factors. In any event,
the deterioration in health is certainly in evidence when the
dietary is unbalanced.

VITAMINS
We hesitate to add to the mass of literature on vitamins. In a
work of this kind, however, it is obviously necessary to have the
major details at hand.
What are the vitamins? When analytical chemists were
dealing with fats and oils they discovered that a certain part was
"unsaponifiable." That is to say, the unsaponifiable matter would
not yield to a process of boiling with alkali. From the chemists'
viewpoint, this matter was an impurity. Research work by Sir W.
Gowland Hopkins, from 1906 onwards, proved that the impurity
was the very substance that enabled fats and oils to be fully
utilised in the body.
First thought to be in a class of nitrogenous bodies termed
"amines," the impurity came to be called "vitamins."
Subsequently the terminal "e" was dropped. We know that
vitamins are elusive substances and that deficiencies in them
definitely cause disease. We are aware also that some are
destroyed by heat. So far as we are concerned it is necessary
only to know that vitamins are essential and that the different
classes have different purposes. It is also a known fact that the
best containers of vitamins are those foodstuffs that also contain
the mineral salts, i.e. fruit and vegetables. We have, then, another
factor in proving that the right diet is one based upon lactovegetarian lines, with an emphasis on "wholeness."
There is absolutely no necessity for purchasing foods that
have synthetic vitamins added. All the vitamins required for
bodily needs are contained in a balanced diet containing plenty
of fruit and vegetables, dairy produce and whole-grain cereals. It
is interesting to record that vitamin A was formerly prepared
from nettles. The herbs and wild plants that abound in the
countryside are prolific sources of vitamins and mineral salts.
The following, written by the Science Editor of the News
Chronicle, Ritchie Calder, helps to illustrate the above point,
also the answer to the query why our forefathers did not worry
about vitamins.
A wise old scientist once counselled me "Never despise or
dismiss an old wives' tale or spurn their remedies. Remember they
usually have the sanction of the centuries." Instead of rejecting
time-honoured infusions as a kind of ju-ju, scientists are beginning
to examine them for their properties.
Vegetable tonics, for instance, have fallen out of favour in the
days of man-made drugs, but an investigation has recently been
made into herbs and medical plants to find how much thiamine
they contain. Thiamine is one of the vitamin B family, and a
deficiency of it causes loss of appetite, fatigue, stomach disorders
and a lowering of blood pressure. And these, of course, are just the
run-down conditions for which the "wise women" and the oldfashioned family doctor gave a vegetable pick-me-up.
Guess what was found? Right, first time! Buchu, caraway,
camomile, dandelion, white cinnamon, gentian and thyme were all
rich sources of thiamine.

Since vitamins were never thought of forty odd years ago,

why should they be necessary now? The point is, as the above

partly explained, that at that time the normal diet was not short
of vitamins. Milk was not pasteurised, bread and sugar were not
refined, the consumption of denatured foods was infinitesimal.
Even beer was not put through a chemical process Nor was the
soil impoverished by artificial fertilisers, and the food was of the
highest quality. And what medicines were consumed were
largely of the herbalist and non-drug varietyrich in vitamins
and mineral salts. There was, in effect, little need for an
awareness of vitamins.
Below is a list of the main items in vitamins and their
respective actions.
Vitamin A.

Anti-infective.

For night-blindness, eye disease

and poor resistance.
Vitamin B1. Anti-neuritic.
For disease of nervous system.
Aids digestion.
Vitamin B2. Anti-pellagra.
For skin diseases.
Vitamin C. Anti-scorbutic. For scurvy.
Vitamin D. Anti-rachitic.
For rickets and metabolism of
calcium and phosphorus and important
in bone formation.
(Ultra-violet rays act upon ergosterol in the skin,
enabling the body to manufacture this vitamin.)
Vitamin E. Anti-sterility.
Vitamin K
Prevents excessive bleeding.
Vitamin P. Essential for the health of capillaries.

The only addition to a normal balanced diet that could be

considered necessary, as far as vitamin supply is concerned, is,
in my opinion, a teaspoonful of yeast per day. This supplies that
little extra of the vitamin B which assists in offsetting the drain
upon the nervous system that modern life entails.
MINERAL SALTS
Owing to the tremendous amount of publicity that vitamins
have received, there has been a strong tendency to overlook the
part mineral salts play in health. They are, however, just as
important as the vitamins. For instance, if we break the body
down into cells and then into what the cells are made of, we find
the same elements that we find in food, etc.
The average body is composed of the following:
Oxygen 65 %
Carbon 18 %
Hydrogen 10 %
Nitrogen 3 %
Calcium 1.5%

Phosphorous 1.00%
Potassium 0.35%
Sulphur 0.25%
Sodium 0.15%
Chlorine 0.15%

The body contains also iron, manganese, fluorine, copper,

iodine and traces of silicon and other elements.
The combination of oxygen and hydrogen accounts for 75
per cent. of body weight, of which 75 per cent. there is a 60 per
cent. actual water content. Calcium is the most abundant mineral
salt in the body, and its importance for growing children is
emphasised. Iodine is necessary for the proper functioning of the
thyroid gland. Iron is the element that enables the haemoglobin

to absorb oxygen and thus permits the blood to carry out its vital
task of transporting oxygen to the tissues.
The process of digestion and assimilation is considerably
influenced by mineral salts. Along the tract of the small intestine
lie minute, hair-like projections called "villi." Through these villi
nutriment is absorbed in two ways: either directly into the
bloodstream or indirectly via the lymphatic system. The blood
carries the nutriment to the cells of all parts of the body, where it
is ultimately transformed into heat and energy, or used for the
repair and replacement of tissue. The passage of nutritive
substances into blood capillaries and lymphatics is aided by a
mechanical process termed "osmosis." Osmotic pressure is a
feature of all cell life, and it is responsible for the transference of
liquids and dissolved substances to and from the solutions
surrounding the cells of the body and their contents. Osmotic
pressure can be increased by fruit or vegetable juices which
contain their full complement of mineral salts.
While on this subject of osmosis, it seems appropriate to
refer to the statement of a famous German dietician, Ragnar
Berg, concerning the use of common salt. Berg maintained that
common salt has a paralysing effect upon the kidneys and
ureters, that it disturbs the balance of osmosis and interferes with
vascular endothelial activity. Salt causes an abnormally
permeable state of the tissues on account of the increased
osmosis induced by it.
Note that salt causes an abnormally permeable state of the
tissues. This is not caused by the natural mineral salts, which can
never be taken in such massive doses.
We have seen that the body itself is partly composed of a
great many minerals and that we must obtain these from our food
to maintain health. Any deficiency, such as calcium, for instance,
has serious effects upon health. A recurring theme throughout
this book has been that of a natural, whole diet. It has been
emphasised for many reasons, not the least of which is the
necessity for an adequate supply of mineral salts.
These are best obtained from fruits and vegetables and
wholegrain cereals. Mineral salts are just as easily destroyed as
vitamins. Any cooking process, therefore, diminishes the value
of food. The importance of raw fruit and vegetables cannot be
over-emphasised. A lacto-vegetarian, "whole" diet, therefore, is
the soundest basis for ensuring a plentiful supply of mineral
salts. A raw salad and fruit meal per day will, in itself, be
sufficient guarantee against any vitamin and mineral salt
deficiency.
More as a matter of interest than of any consequence, I give
the following table as a guide to mineral salts. It is not intended
to be complete, so far as the foodstuffs are concerned, but it does
emphasise the point of a balanced diet. Whatever feature of diet
we turn up, whether it be vitamins, mineral salts, roughage,
wholeness, acidity or alkalinity, we come to the conclusion that a
balanced diet provides the answer to all the questions.

Mineral
Calcium

Function
Constructs and maintains bone, counteracts
acid, heals wounds,
aids vitality.

Sources
Carrot, cress, kale,
beetroot, cauliflower,
celery, cucumber,
spinach, lettuce, turnip tops, milk,
mushrooms, cheese, egg,
figs, wheat bran, onion,
tomato.

Iron

Carries oxygen to the

blood.

Sodium

Digestive chemical,
enables body to
absorb iron.

Phosphorus

Nourishes bone, brain,

teeth, hair.

Sulphur

Purifies and tones

system. Promotes bile
secretions and enables
liver to absorb
mineral salts.

Potassium

Stimulates liver and

prevents constipation,
Relieves pain and
heals.

Magnesium

For nerves. Alkaline.

Refreshing and sleep
promoting. Laxative,

Iodine

Gland regulator and

for mental energy.

Chlorine

Cleans up waste matter, prevents pyrrhoea

and counteracts autointoxication.

Lettuce, leek, radishes,

tomatoes, carrots,
spinach, dandelions,
beans, lentils, wholegrain cereals, dates, figs,
prunes, raisins, berry
fruits.
Carrots, cucumber,
cauliflower, milk, turAlkaline, nips, spinach,
lettuce, endive, celery,
beetroot, cabbage, dandelions, gooseberries,
apples, cheese, eggs, figs,
prunes.
Cabbage, celery,
sprouts, cucumber,
cauliflower, spinach,
watercress, radishes,
lettuce, wholewheat,
barley, cheese, eggs,
apples.
Spinach, cauliflower
cabbage, leeks, cress,
sprouts, nettles, celery,
onions, turnips, radishes,
parsnips, wholewheat,
oatmeal, oranges.
Potatoes, parsnip,
cabbage, cauliflower,
turnips, tomatoes,
lettuce, beans, dandelions, parsley, dill, oats,
milk, prunes, rhubarb,
strawberries, pears.
Spinach, nettles, cabbage, celery, beetroot,
kale, lettuce, tomatoes,
dried fruit, wheat bran,
apples.
Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, beans, tomatoes,
lettuce, artichokes,
pears, strawberries,
edible seaweed.
Spinach, celery, nettles,
kale, cucumber, lettuce,
tomatoes, milk, eggs,
cheese,whole wheat,
oatmeal, blackberries,

Mineral
Fluorine

Function
Anti-infection Youth
preserver.

Silicon

For teeth, nails and

hair. Anti-tubercular,

Manganese

Neutralises body
acids. Improves resistance.

Sources
Raw cabbage, spinach,
beetroot, onion,
sprouts, cauliflower,
watercress, cheese, eggs,
milk, whole-grain cereals
Cabbage, celery,
spinach, parsnips,
radishes, dandelion,
beetroot, lettuce, apples,
strawberries, cherries,
figs.
Watercress, endive,
cress, dandelion,
parsley, barley, eggs.

One last word before departing from this subject of mineral

salts. A great many of the salts are found in the skins of the fruits
and vegetables, as, for instance, silicon in apple skins and
potassium in potato skins. There is, therefore, a great deal of loss
when the peeling process is carried to an extreme. The same is
true, of course, of the outer skin of the wheat (bran). There is no
necessity to make a fetish of food, but these points are worth
bearing in mind, and it soon becomes a habit to do the right
things, as it is equally a habit to do the wrong. Moreover, one is
pleasantly surprised at the exceptional flavour of food when it is
served as near as possible to its whole state.
WATER
Under this section we shall discuss all fluids; the types of
liquid refreshment normally consumed, and the part diet has to
play in the amount of liquid necessary for health. Water, we
know, is a very important factor in the human make-up. Blood,
for instance, weighs about one-eleventh of the total body weight,
yet it is composed of 78 per cent. water. Saliva, of which about
one and three-quarter pints are secreted daily, is made up of 90
per cent. water, the rest being mineral salts and ptyalin.
It is estimated that the average person passes two and a half
pints of urine per day. 96 per cent. of this urine is comprised of
water, the rest being solids dissolved in the urine. Added to this
daily loss is the amount contained in the faxes (70 per cent.
water), that lost by the skin in perspiration and by evaporation in
the act of exhaling. Thus it can be seen that a great amount of
fluid is, in one manner or another, expelled from the body each
day. Roughly seven pints or more of fluid may be given off from
the body in any one day.
What of the daily intake of fluid? To assess this with any
accuracy it is first necessary to realise something of the
composition of food. What we eat has a distinct bearing upon the
amount of fluid necessary for body requirements. An
understanding of the water content presents us with a clue to the
amount of drinking that should prevail. Below is a list of the
common foodstuffs and their water content.

Bread
Meat
Cabbage
Potato
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Celery
Prunes
Sprouts

36%
70%
93%
78%
90%
93%
84%
84%
85%

Cheese
Fish
String Beans
Onion
Spinach
Carrot
Tomato
Apples
Berry Fruit

34%
80%
89%
86%
88%
86%
93%
84%
80-90%

The orthodox diet will contain at least 70 per cent. water. A

balanced diet, however, with its more pronounced emphasis on
the fruits and vegetables (with their larger water content) will
contain a minimum of 80-85 per cent. water. It must be
remembered, too, that this is the purest water obtainable. There
is another distinction between orthodox and balanced diet that
has a bearing upon the amount of fluid consumed (and also upon
bladder and kidney troubles). This lies in the use of condiments,
which have no place in a balanced diet. Salt, pepper, mustard and
sauces are all thirst-creaters. The natural seasoningsthyme,
parsley, chives, mint and balm, etcare more pleasing and
satisfying than any of the ordinary artificial condiments, without
arousing an unnatural thirst.
A natural thirst is an instinctive way of informing us that the
body requires more fluid to offset losses. Few thirsts, however,
are the result of a natural instinct. Habit and the
commercialisation of food and drink have almost banished
natural instincts, and we suffer for this perversion.
On a balanced, food-reform diet, however, there is a real
lessening of the desire for liquid, owing to the increased water
content of the diet. This is a physiological economy which
promotes good health. It does, to a very large extent, completely
eliminate the kidney and bladder troubles common to those who
exist on the more orthodox diet.
The tannin in tea and the caffein in coffee do not recommend
themselves as healthful drinks and have no food value
whatsoever. Both are stimulants which ultimately have a
depressant effect upon the body. The liquid refreshments
recommended in a balanced diet are: fruit and vegetable juices,
vegetable soup, dandelion coffee, mate tea, milk, limeblossom,
camomile and other herb teas. Additions to these drinks could be
good cider and the better-class light wine.
Real thirsts are rarely experienced by the majority. In certain
trades, however, there is a more natural desire for liquid to
replace losses caused by the effects of labour. In the north-east of
England, for example, there is a large demand for the betterquality beer. The heavy-steel workers of that district find more
satisfaction from the consumption of their particular beer than
from any other. It must be remembered, however, that their
calling makes heavy demands upon endurance and that they
excrete a fair amount of fluid in perspiration. Though we do not
condone the consumption of beerespecially the adulterated
typeit does seem that the liquid meets a physiological
requirement. The fact that beer contains Riboflavin (a chemical

factor in vitamin B complex) is probably not unconnected with

the local taste, though the majority of drinkers must be unaware
of this.
Ebbard and Vogt, in their book, The New Bedrock of Health
(L. N. Fowler & Co., London), extol the virtues of cider-whey,
which, as they maintain, is a very old simple. The following are
the authors' words on the subject:
Cider-whey contains the nutritive salts in the exact proportions
demanded by Nature for perfect nutrition. The whey is, therefore,
the most natural complement of our alimentation, and we can
expect more certain and correct effects from it than from
Lahmann's artificially prepared nutritive salts, even though they
may be extracted from plants and foodstuffs and thus administered
in organic form. . . . The numerous and wonderful curative effects
that we have had occasion to observe are directly attributable to the
natural composition of the nutritive salts in the cider-whey, thus
bearing out Lahmann's admirable theories. In our previous effort,
viz. Life-Giving Energy, we have had cause to dwell upon the great
value of cider-whey for the nutrition of the nerves, recommending
it strongly to all suffering from nervous exhaustion, and we hereby
once more desire to lay stress on this fact. In anaemia, particularly,
it would be difficult to find a better tonic; it is a blood-builder par
excellence, and will assure really reliable relief quicker than all the
iron preparations extant. Another point is that the cider contains
salts and nutritive ingredients, whereas its excessive acidity
(particularly in inferior qualities) is neutralised by the coagulating
process used in preparing the whey.

The cider-whey is prepared from equal quantities of fresh

milk, cider and water, which is brought up to 194 degrees Fahr.
(not up to boiling point) and then strained through a piece of
butter muslin or a linen filter. The cheesy residue is thrown away
and the liquid is used. After standing for a while, a deposit will
settle at the bottom of the whey; this should not be taken. Only
the liquid is given as a drink. Cider-whey should be slightly
warmed before drinking.
Dr. R. Weil says that no one should take more than a whole
cupful in any one day and also advises that:
Scrofula, rickets, cough in consequence of catarrhous irritation
of the larynx, windpipes and lungs, digestive troubles, affections of
the stomach, bowels and liver, anaemia, febrile diseases,
particularly typhus: very useful also in the stage of
reconvalescence.

Whatever fluid is taken, however, we must recognise that

there are physiological limits to the quantity consumed, and
anything above that quantity is harmful to the system, since it
must involve an excess of work. For a certain period, varying
with different individuals, the body will adjust itself to the
demands thrown upon it by the kidneys taking an extra strain and
by compensatory action on the part of the other organs of
elimination. Such an unbalanced condition, however, cannot last
for long and an ultimate breakdown is inevitable.
Fluid should be taken only when a natural thirst exists. With
a balanced diet there is a decreased demand for liquid

nourishment and no impairment of function. Flushing the system

is an erroneous idea. As a method of cleansing the system, it is,
unless accompanied by a fast or a special restrictive diet (the
milk fast), not in harmony with natural processes.
Our last thoughts on fluid are: never gulp it down, never take
any drink too hot and never with meals.

CHAPTER VI
SPECIAL DIETS
THE average reader must be amazed at the number of special
diets which are frequently advocated. He should not allow this
point to worry him unduly. We have previously stated that
naturopaths may have wide variations in their therapeutic
approach, but that the basic principles remain the same. This rule
applies to the varying diet methods applied. The Schroth Dry
Diet Cure, for instance, shocks our concepts of true dietetics. It is
not to be denied, however, that it obtains excellent results, just
the same as does the Bircher-Benner raw-food system or the
Hauser Eliminative Diet.
The main point to bear in mind, when considering the
various special diets, is that their main purpose is practically
always the samethat of the elimination of poisons clogging the
body. Such is not wholly true of all the specific diets, however,
since some are specially designed for the alleviation and cure of
certain diseases (digestive cases and ulcerationsthe Mono
Diet).
Special diets are not to be confused with fasting, which we
shall discuss further on in the book. The essential thing to
remember, when faced with the prospect of alternative diet
systems of the restricted typewhich are, for the most part,
really intended for cure-purposesis their limitations. They are,
almost without exception, purely curative. It is important also to
visualise the effects of any one diet. An old person with stomach
trouble will obviously do better on a Mono Diet than on a strict
Eliminative Diet or a Dry Diet.
There is little need to emphasise that serious feeding is not
faddism. Where the application of dietetic principles is carried to
an extreme, as by those who weigh up everything they eat or
drink, then the true sense of diet is lost. Food is meant for
enjoyment as well as for health, and those who overlook this
point miss much in life. We repeat, therefore, that specialised
diets are intended for specific cases of disease. Once the ailment
is cured then the time arrives to live on a generous balanced diet,
avoiding previous mistakes. There is one further point to bear in
mind when considering these special diets. We have mentioned
that the real aim of all restrictive diet methods is the elimination
of poisons from the body. The practical interpretation of this is
that alkalinity has to overcome acidity. With this in mind, it
would be a real benefiteven to those in normal good health
to have either a fast or a restricted diet once per year. The
restricted diet should last for at least seven days. As the most
appropriate time of the year for this self-denial we suggest the
spring. At this season the psychological and physiological
demands converge, and no other period seems so eminently
suitable as the early spring.

THE ELIMINATIVE DIET

This diet system has many advantages, not the least of which
is the way any acidity is corrected with the very minimum of
discomfort, if any at all. On this diet no starch, fat, protein or
sugar is consumed. The entire dietary consists of raw and cooked
fruit and vegetables of an essentially alkaline character. One
possible source of discomfort, that arising from the consumption
of acid fruits, can be eradicated by limiting the acid-fruit content
in the early stages of the diet. When the acid level of the body
has been lowered by two or three days of the alkaline diet, it will
be found that eating acid fruit produces no unwelcome reaction.
Here is the basis of the diet:
Breakfast
Apples or apple juice.
Citrus fruit.
Watercress, lettuce or tomato.
Mid-morning
Potassium broth.
Lunch
Large raw salad.
Fresh fruit.
Supper
Cooked vegetables.
Fresh fruit.
Potassium broth.
The above should be carried out for at least seven days,
longer in a case of illness and where there is greater necessity for
more prolonged dieting.
Potassium broth is made from spinach, carrot, onion, tomato,
celery, watercress and parsley. To one quart of water add three
medium-sized carrots, two tomatoes, a few sprigs of watercress,
one large onion, three or four stalks of celery, a few spinach
leaves and a bunch of parsley. Although the above are the
general ingredients, the best idea it to make one predominate (the
one most favoured) so as to impart a definite taste to the broth.
No table salt may be used. Allow the broth to simmer for thirty
minutes, and do not spoil it by over-heating. Drink as much as is
desired, but do not gulp it down and do not take if too hot.
The raw salads should be formed of the following
ingredients: raw grated carrot, raw grated beetroot, chopped raw
cabbage, lettuce, watercress, cress, celery, tomato, chopped
spinach, raw grated swede and chopped onion. Any four or five
of the above vegetables may be used in one salad. Different
combinations can be devised, and the herbs parsley, thyme, mint,
chives, etc., can be liberally used. These are best applied as
flavourings with a little lemon juice. Raw carrot, watercress,
chopped raw spinach, raw grated beetroot with chives, tomato or
cucumber and lemon dressing makes an attractive salad.
With regard to cooked vegetables, the emphasis should be
upon spinach, red or green cabbage (red cabbage cooked with
apple and a little lemon juice is very nice), carrots, cauliflower,

seakale, onions, broccoli, celery, leeks, asparagus and tomatoes.

Needless to say, steaming or conservative cooking should be the
method adopted to cook the vegetables.
Although it is permitted to eat as much as is desired while on
the diet, the same rules as regards mastication and not overeating apply. Any feeling of distension that may arise can be
counteracted by the hot and cold sitz bath or by hot fomentations
to the abdomen.
The Eliminative Diet is one of the most useful methods for
all-round cases of an acid system and for the regeneration of a
body clogged with toxic matter.
THE BIRCHER-BENNER DIET
As the name implies, this diet system was devised by Dr. M.
Bircher-Benner. He named his diet sunlight feeding and
maintained that 50 per cent. of all our daily food should consist
of raw, unfired fruits and vegetables. In one of his books he
says:
If anything can save civilised mankind from the menace of
cancer, it is a vegetable raw-food diet.
It is the diet which arrests dental caries, which, thanks to its
full iodine content, its vitamins and mineral salts, improves goitre,
abolishes constipation, restores the chemicophysical equilibrium in blood and tissues, and gives new life
energy to cells of the body.
Restore the natural predominance of uncooked vegetable food
in mankind's diet and with its help we will master the whole
complex of errors which ultimately leads to cancer.

The Bircher-Benner diet is similar to the whole diet

described in the previous chapter. The juices system, however,
which owes its conception to this celebrated dietician, is a more
restricted diet of great therapeutic value. The idea behind it, of
course, is to flood the body with vitamins and mineral salts,
produce a physiological economy in digestion and ensure easy
assimilation of the food. Metabolism is stimulated by the juices
and the alkaline elements overcome the acidity of the body. The
effect, in so far as the cleansing of the body is concerned, is
similar to that of a fast. The disintoxicating effects of the diet are
marvellous, and it should be prescribed in those cases where
actual fasting is either not necessary or inadvisable. For the
treatment of anaemia, blood pressure and nervous debility the
juices system is invaluable.
All the food in the diet is, of course, in liquid form and
consists of three meals per day, each meal being as follows: 1
glassful raw fruit juice. 1 glassful raw vegetable juices. 1 glassful
almond milk. 1 glassful of fruit muesli.
The fruit juice can be diluted and made from any fresh fruit.
Apple, orange, grape, grapefruit, peaches and berry fruit are the
best providers of fruit juices. Dried fruit juice may be used, and
prune, fig or raisin juice is recommended. Vegetable juices can
be made from carrot, tomato, beetroot, spinach, watercress,
lettuce, celery, swede, onion, potato and cucumber. Popular taste

is for a mixture of carrot and tomato or carrot, tomato, lettuce,

beetroot and a dash of onion.
Almond milk is produced by gradually adding lukewarm
water to almond cream. A teaspoonful of almond cream to a
glass of water is the usual rule. A little honey may be added.
The muesli is a delightful breakfast or lunch dish which is
easily prepared. Sufficient quantity for one person for one meal
is made by soaking one tablespoonful of rolled oats in two
tablespoonfuls of milk or water. Allow the oats to soak for at
least six hours. To the oats and milk (or water) add one
tablespoonful of almond milk, two tablespoonfuls of chopped or
grated fruit, a dash of lemon juice and a little honey. The fruit
recommended is raw grated apple, raw grated pear, chopped
peaches or apricots, berry fruit or chopped (cooked) prunes or
figs. The muesli can be a very attractive dish and its use is by no
means confined to the juices diet system alone. In normal food
reform it is, as previously stated, often served for breakfast or
lunch.
It will be seen that the juices system consists of all raw food,
with the exception of the cooked dried fruit. There is no wastage
of vitamins or mineral salts, and there is real economy of the
digestion which assists recovery. It is, however, purely a
therapeutic diet, though the very old and invalids will thrive on
it.
THE POTATO DIET
For those who seek simplicity in diet, this is the complete
answer. It is, at the same time, advised for all rheumatic subjects.
The potato is too often attacked for its starch content, and
popular opinion is apt to overlook the other virtues of the potato.
It has a valuable potassium content and, if cooked in its skin, is
alkaline. To make the potato diet even more valuable, it is an
advantage to add onions to it.
The potato diet, especially with the added advantage of
onions, is useful for rheumatism, bronchitis, colds and a whole
series of minor ailments which are manifest when there is a toxic
condition of the body. Below we supply a typical day on this
diet.
Breakfast
Potato and onion broth.
Mid-morning
Potato and onion broth.
Lunch
Baked or steamed potatoes.
Supper
Baked or steamed potatoes and potato and onion
broth.
It is essential that the potatoes be cooked in their skins so as
not to lose any of the vital elements. The potatoes in the broth
should only be scrubbed and sliced. Equal quantities of potatoes
and onions are required for the broth, which should be quite
thick when sieved. No salt may be used.

APPLE DIET
Equally simple and perhaps more cleansing is the apple diet.
Here again the one article of diet is adhered to. There is an
advantage in this simplicity of partaking of only one food, and
not merely in its ease of preparation. There is an enforced
economy of digestion which is always beneficial, and the
avoidance of mixtures, for a short spell at least, is frequently a
real asset, especially to those with weak digestions.
The apples may be consumed raw or cooked, according to
the need to avoid roughage. One of the best examples is given
below.
Breakfast
Raw or cooked apples.
Mid-morning
Apple tea or apple juice.
Lunch
Fresh raw apples or baked apples or stewed
(sieved) apples.
Supper
Raw or cooked apples.
It is advisable to have one meal of cooked apples and one
entirely of raw apples. Apple tea is produced from the peel and
core of the cooked apple. The apple juice can be bought in tins or
bottles or extracted from fresh apples by grating and squeezing
with the aid of a piece of strong muslin.
Nervous cases will benefit from the apple diet, though it
should not be continued for the long periods for which some of
the other restrictive diets may be applied. After one week of the
apple diet it is advisable to embark upon one of the more
generous diet systems for the final cleansing.
THE MONO DIET
This is a regime that is particularly suitable for invalids, old
people and those suffering from colitis and weak digestion. It
gives a little more variety, but the same rule of only one food at a
meal applies.
Breakfast
Apple puree.
Mid-morning
Prune pure.
Lunch
Carrot pure.
Tea
Apple pure.
Supper
Cooked spinach.

or
Breakfast
Water gruel or slippery elm.
Mid-morning
Apple pure.
Lunch
Carrots or spinach.
Tea
Apple or prune pure.
Supper
Water gruel or slippery elm.
It will be noted that all the vegetables and fruit are cooked,
but only with very little water (no salt), and, in the case of the
fruit, the liquid is served with the fruit. Water gruel is produced
by making thin porridge and then straining and serving. A little
honey may be used for sweetening the fruit or the gruel.
There is an absence of roughage in the Mono Diet which
renders the diet particularly suitable for the treatment of colitis.
Prunes, apples and spinach are laxative foods, however, which
will assist bowel movements. It is advisable to enlarge upon the
diet and add roughage and variety as soon as it is possible to do
so without harm. While the weak state persists, however,
especially with elderly invalids, the Mono Diet is most
applicable.
THE DRY DIET
The Dry Diet really appertains to the Schroth Dry Diet Cure,
which will be discussed under "Fasting." Any toxic condition
can be treated with the Dry Diet Cure, but as a short measure for
dealing with colds, attacks of rheumatism, common disturbances
of the system and depression, the Dry Diet will be found useful
and simple in application. It is not entirely, as the name suggests,
a dry cure, though there are long dry periods. There are
modifications, too, but any modification lessens the efficacy of
the method. The only drink permitted is light wine or cider, and
that only after a suitable dry period.
Breakfast
Dry toast or rolls.
Lunch
Same as breakfast or modified with baked
potatoes.
Supper
Dry toast or rolls with a glass of light wine or
cider.
The above menu can be repeated for two or three days, or
even only one day can be undertaken. During the dry spells a
flow of toxins from the tissues into the bloodstream is induced.
The mucous membranes of the various organs act as energetic
outlets for waste products attracted from the tissues. The light
wine or cider stimulates the excretion of the toxic matter, though
it also has the effect of driving some of the effete matter back

into the tissues, temporarily relieving discomfort. The intense

stirring-up and elimination of poisons, however, which the dry
diet achieves, has a remarkable effect. When undertaken over
long periods (in the actual Schroth Cure the dry intervals are of
greater duration), nightly full-body packs are added to the cure.
The full, wet-sheet pack stimulates the eliminatory activities of
the skin and assists the cure by the extra elimination created by
the pack.
It must be emphasised that while the dry diet is advocated as
a curative measure, the normal dietary should never contain the
masses of starch food consumed in the dry diet. The efficiency of
the dry diet does not suggest that starch is harmless, in fact the
bulk of evidence is against the tremendous part starch plays in
normal feeding. On the other hand, when the dry diet is modified
or attempted with other foods, the result is not nearly so good.
The secret appears to lie in the dry periods, the preponderance of
potassium content and in the as yet unexplained action of the
wine. Incidentally, sweet wine and cider are good eliminative
oxygen drinks.
We shall return to this subject of the Dry Diet when we
discuss the Schroth Cure.
All the diets outlined are intended for therapeutic use and are
not, as has been mentioned, to be taken as examples of a day-today rgime.

CHAPTER VII
THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
METABOLISM is the term covering all the physical and chemical
processes by which life is maintained. The constructive element
of metabolismthe processes by which food materials are
adapted for the use of the body, repair and renewal of tissues,
etc.is known as anabolism. The destructive processes, by
which energy is produced and the breaking down of tissues takes
place, is termed catabolism.
Physiological income is derived from food and oxygen, and
physiological expenditure is heat and work, repair of tissue,
growth in the young and elimination of waste matter. Curiously
enough, disease is almost always the result of a physical
situation diametrically opposite to that of the despaired-of
financial one; in that the physiological income exceeds that of
expenditure, and a satiated condition is brought about, in the
majority of people, which gives rise to all the common ills.
When, as we said before, these common symptoms of disease are
treated with drugs, an even worse condition arises. Not only have
we a system poisoned with retained toxic matter, but the drugs
are added to it. That these drugs temporarily suppress the ailment
is the most unsatisfying part of the treatment, because such
temporary relief gives an illusion of success and entirely
misleads, at the same time becoming a causative factor in
disease.
The naturopathic concept of health visualises a true balance
between physiological income and expenditure. In other words,
when a correct diet exists, when there is no overeating, when
exercise is taken, habits are moderated, drugs avoided and
elimination perfected, there is no disease. There is a constant
reiteration of the need for elimination. This reiteration is quite
understandable, for elimination provides the means of creating
harmony within the body. Without good elimination there can be
no true health, and without it an ever-increasing vicious circle
depresses the system and causes disease.
What is elimination? It is the series of processes by which
waste matter from food debris, destroyed cells, bacteria and all
the catabolic processes are removed from the body.
Four organs take charge of elimination: the bowels, lungs,
skin and kidneys. When these function efficiently and in
harmony, and providing that no undue stress is placed upon them
by overeating, eating wrong foods, lack of exercise and other
errors, health is maintained. Any neglect of natural laws,
however, that leads to a breakdown in elimination and the
retention of poisons within the system, must inevitably lead to
disease.
One of the first things the naturopath attends to in any case
of disease is elimination. So do medical practitioners. While the
latter, however, usually limit their attention to a purging of the
bowels, the naturopath delves further into the question. That is
not to say that the naturopath does not himself take advantage of

some aperient. The naturopathic practitioner applies aperients

himself, if he deems it necessary, but only in conjunction with
fasting and not as a commonplace remedy.
The purges so frequently applied act simply because they are
irritants which the body seeks to expel. The material provides an
artificial stimulus at the expense of natural function and is
destructive to the tissues. There is a sound maxim with regard to
health: over-stimulation or lack of function leads to weakness. In
constipation treated on orthodox lines we have both factors
contributing to bowel weakness: first, the lack of function due to
costiveness, and then the over-stimulation when pills and potions
are taken to correct the trouble. When this state exists for any
length of time, chronic constipation with all its toxaemia arises.
Large doses of purgative materials have to be taken to produce a
defecation, and the natural muscular activity is lost. Only
complete natural treatment will cure this vicious circle.
The causes of a breakdown in elimination are the causes of
disease. They are the thousand and one errors that characterise
the breaking of natural laws. Among these constipation takes a
high place.
The Bowels. Wrong diet, commercialised food and excessive
eating and drinking do; as previously stated, create constipation.
In normal life, purges or laxative pills are taken to counteract this
condition. What is not realised, however, is that constipation is
caused by the common errors. Apart from the aforementioned
causes, lack of exercise, inattention to the need for a bowel
movement, bad posture (with all its cramping of the abdominal
organs), purgative medicines and laxatives all contribute to
constipation.
Constipation is the bugbear of the Western civilisation. It is
the common cause of colic and haemorrhoids; appendicitis
would be unknown if constipation did not exist, and the retention
of poisons within the system is the foundation of most ailments.
The Skin. Now let us consider the skin. It must be
remembered that the function of the skin is not only that of
providing protection for the underlying tissues; it serves for the
heat regulation of the body, respiration and the excretion of
poisons. Though elimination is, for the most part, a visible
process, much of the eliminatory activity of the skin is invisible.
It is in perspiration that the skin displays its real eliminatory
function. Perspiration is a continuous process, though it is not
always in evidence. On an average the skin excretes 25 ounces of
water per day, in which are dissolved urea and salts. Sweating, of
course, is largely controlled by the heat mechanism of the body.
Any rise in external temperature or muscular activity creates
heat, and the increased activity of the sweat glands is a natural
process which balances body temperature.
We must understand more of the processes that play a part in
heat regulation. Ignorance of these often leads to a destruction or
impairment of the natural functioning of the skin.
When the surface of the body is exposed to heat (sun, water,
fire, electricity) the blood-vessels of the surface dilate, the skin
reddens with the blood brought to the surface and there is a
copious secretion of sweat (drier atmosphere produces a quicker
cooling on account of evaporation). The effect of cold, however,

is to contract superficial blood-vessels, little blood is circulated

through the skin and cooling is prevented. Heat regulation,
therefore, is a protective measure designed to maintain balance
in body heat.
Application of heat to the skin is, for most people, a
pleasurable sensation. It can be carried to excess, however, and
continuous hot baths (without the balancing effect of a cool or
cold shower) have an enervating effect upon the system and
destroy the natural function of the skin. Constant immersion in
hot baths or drying the skin by a blazing fire ultimately impairs
the secretions of the skin and limits the activity of the sweat
glands. The heat regulation and protective function of the skin
are less efficient, and there is an increased tendency to feel
draughts and cold.
There is a certain amount of respiration performed by the
skin. The effect of tight clothing or over-clothing (excluding the
air from the skin) is to enclose it in a curtain of stale air. This
misguided habit vitiates the skin, reduces elimination and
weakens the constitution. It also reduces circulation and gives an
increased sensitivity to cold.
As an organ of elimination, the skin is rarely permitted to
function to capacity. Indeed, civilisation seems intent upon
destroying the very organs designed to maintain life. That
women's clothes are much healthier than of yore is more an
accident of fashion than the result of any real desire for health.
No matter how much we may endeavour to restrict skin
activity, the healing force of nature always attempts to win the
day. Boils, pimples, acne and other common skin eruptions are
invariably the result of an attempt by the life forces of the body
to expel poisons. Where boils and acne arise one will find
constipation or some other breakdown of normal elimination. In
this conception we differ from orthodox medicine. While the
naturopath treats the case as a breakdown of normal elimination,
recognises that the eruption is an outlet for toxins and treats the
case by withholding food and cleansing the system, the orthodox
practitioner directs his attention to a purging of the bowels and
the application of suppressive ointments. In the latter is often
found mercury. Mercury is highly poisonous, is destructive to
the teeth and gums and, ironically enough, since the kidneys are
organs of elimination, damages the kidneys.
The way to attain skin perfection is to permit it frequent
exposure to the three elements that cost nothing: sun, air and
water. Providing that these elements are used with intelligence,
and the natural laws of living are followed more closely, the skin
will function as intended.
The Lungs. Despite the great advance in knowledge and
education (perhaps because of it), we seem bent upon inhibiting
the supply of oxygen so necessary for life and health. It is
estimated that the average person utilises only 50 per cent. of his
lung capacity. The great feats of Yogis, Tibetans and other allied
people are due largely to their mastery over the art of breathing.
As an industrialised and highly concentrated community we
are unfortunately placed as regards the purity of the atmosphere.
Conversion to electricity can be an immense advantage in
dealing with smoke abatement, but the highly poisonous fumes

that pour from the exhausts of motor vehicles will still vitiate the
air. The impact of civilisation upon the air we breathe is a
sufficient handicap in itself without that of under-developing the
lungs.
The importance of elimination via the lungs is common
knowledge. The response to this knowledge, however, is
depressingly small. Respiration is the process by which air
passes into the lungs so that the blood can absorb oxygen, and
stale air (carrying off carbonic acid gas and more complex
poisonous substances) is breathed out. The process is vital to life.
When, however, it is limited by the air we breathe and the
shallowness of the act, an accumulation of carbonic acid is
retained in the system and the oxygen supply is deficient. This
hampers the work of elimination and leads to a retention of
poisons or the overwork of the other organs of elimination.
Postural defects (bad walking and sitting in wrong positions
with the lungs and abdominal organs suffering compression
effects) and shallow breathing lead to a poisoned system and a
breakdown of elimination and, of course, disease. The answer to
this defect is deep-breathing, better ventilation, purification of
the atmosphere and more frequent excursions to the sea and
country for the town-dweller.
When the effects of deoxidised and vitiated air are so well
known, it is difficult to understand the lack of attention given to
the art of breathing. Deep-breathing and the full development of
the lungs are as essential to elimination as good bowel
movements. The pressure of life and the pursuit of artificial
pleasures, plus ill-designed workrooms and benches, are often to
blame for deficient respiration.
The Kidneys. The kidneys are a pair of glands lying close to
the spine in the upper part of the abdomen. Their chief function
is that of separating urine from the blood. As the urine contains
solids, from the waste matter of the body, a large amount of
water also is excreted to keep the solids in solution. Urine is
elimination of the end-products of metabolism in a liquid form.
When the other organs of elimination (bowels, skin and
lungs) fail to work to capacity, the kidneys endeavour to
maintain balance by increasing their activities. This condition,
however, can last only for a certain period, and the ultimate
efficiency of the organs is impaired.
The way in which the balance of the system is maintained
can be illustrated by a natural phenomena that all have
experienced. That is, in cold weather, when the skin activity is
decreased, more urine is excreted. The kidneys do their best to
cope with any extra tasks thrown upon them when elimination is
unbalanced or when an excess of poisons is consumed (as in
drug-taking, excessive starch and protein consumption or rabid
tea, coffee and alcohol drinking). When the kidneys fail to act,
solid waste substances accumulate in the blood, creating a
condition called uraemia. The name arises from the fact that urea
is the chief waste substance excreted by the kidneys. The
disease, of course, is highly dangerous and leads to coma and
death.
Disturbances in the body are reflected in the urine. Uric acid
from a high protein diet is eliminated with the urine, sugar in

diabetes and so forth. Dr. W. H. Anderschou, in a statement in

his book Iris Science, says:
It is a common mistake to gauge the extent of the presence of
uric acid in the system by the quantity of urates excreted by the
kidneys. If there is no excess of uric acid in the water of a patient,
the doctor will possibly discard the idea of its being the cause of
the disease he is treating. He will be on the look-out for bacteria,
forgetting that a want of alkalinity in the blood will hinder the
normal excretion and that uric acid in such a case will accumulate
in the system.

That uric acid can be excreted in large quantities with the

urine is demonstrated by the dry diet.
The three commonest crystalline deposits in the urine are
urates and uric acid, oxalates and phosphates. During any
regeneration process on Nature Cure lines (fasting, strict dieting,
etc.) elimination via the urine is increased. If the body is starved
of mineral salts or there is a high protein content in the diet, then
uric acid (a factor in rheumatism) will probably be demonstrated
in the urine. That it is not present, however, as Dr. Anderschou
states, is not evidence of the absence of uric acid. Treatment on
naturopathic lines will soon reveal that there is an accumulation
of uric acid.
Since it is the task of the kidneys to sort out and eliminate a
large part of the waste products of the body, it is obvious at once
that any inefficiency of the bowels, skin and lungs will demand a
corresponding increase of work from the kidneys. For a time the
kidneys will respond to the call. If, however, drugs are added to
the normal waste products, then the position is more serious.
Bicarbonate of soda, that apparently harmless household remedy,
leaves deposits in the stomach which are ultimately carried to the
kidneys. Irritating effects of the chemical end-products of
bicarbonate of soda impair the efficiency of the kidneys. Tea and
coffee increase the amount of work the kidneys have to perform
to eliminate the toxins contained in these drinks. Strong tea is
particularly bad. Excessive drinking of any sort throws more
work upon the kidneys; one should drink only when thirsty.
An organ collapses because of either over-stimulation
(overwork) or from lack of use. It most frequently happens that
the kidneys fail because of the amount of work thrust upon them.
If the other organs of elimination take their share of the task
of eliminating poisons from the body, and all excesses are
avoided, especially if a natural way of living is practised, the
kidneys will function automatically with no trouble and health
will be good.
Sound elimination is the secret of health. Providing that the
correct diet is adhered to, exercise, fresh air and sun are obtained
in amounts adequate to the needs of the body, and moderation
rules the habits, then elimination will not cause any worry and
health will be a normality.
The naturopath encourages elimination. In disease it is his
first consideration. By fasting, dieting, manipulation, water
treatments and all the branches of the naturopathic art he fosters
elimination so that the healing power of the body can overcome

disease. That no drugs whatsoever are used in Naturopathy is

one of the measures of its success, for by not applying drugs the
naturopath avoids adding to the toxins already present in the
system and does not depress the eliminatory efforts so vital to
health.

CHAPTER VIII
WHY FAST?
THERE is, throughout all Nature Cure works, an emphasis upon
the fast as a curative measure which is in full accord with natural
laws. At first glance it appears the height of folly to withhold
food at a time of disease, or to prescribe the fast as frequently as
is the practice in Naturopathy. It may even seem that the fast is
applied indiscriminately, but such is not the case.
Without a doubt much of the scorn of orthodox opinion is
directed against the fast as a natural procedure. That ignorance
lies behind this scorn in no way mitigates the harm caused by
unthinking attacks made upon a profession and a way of life that
materially contributes to the welfare of the community and adds
to the efficiency of its people. To people who have regained their
health by fasting, the folly of popular opinion appears just as
ludicrous as, no doubt, fasting is to strict medical-minded people.
Unfortunately, the good work achieved by natural therapeutics
using the fast as an instrument of cureis never reported. But let
one case of fasting end in fatal results, and it is nationally
reported. It is newsit is sensationand the most is made of it.
More often than not, in these rare cases, there are extraneous
influences beyond the control of either the victim or the adviser
involved. The truth of the matter is that the ordinary expert on
health (the medical man) has no conception of natural
therapeutics; is unable to read anything into the case but lack of
food, and is not in a position to determine the facts. Is it to be
surprised at, therefore, when an opportunity to discredit
Naturopathy is, so to speak, offered up on a platter, that much is
made of it? The ingenious misinterpretation and distortion are
due firstly to a lack of knowledge and secondly to a desire to
discredit. While the successes of fasting go unrecorded, the few
failures are widely publicised. That the successes of Naturopathy
are the failures of medicine is unobserved by the large majority.
The vindication of Nature Cure and the methods employed
including fastingis found in the enormous strides the
movement has made in recent years. That this success is made
under every handicap of official frustration and misguided
intolerance proves that Naturopathy is worthy of the confidence
it has gained. More than that, however, it demonstrates that
there is something seriously wrong with the official health
system.
Acute disease, we believe, is an expression of the life-force
of the body. All the main efforts of the body are concentrated
upon reaching a healthy state by throwing off the poisons
accumulated within the system. In acute disease there is an
increase of symptoms: the pulse rate rises, pain and other
symptoms are increased. The digestive function is temporarily
suspended, hence the loss of appetite. Even the common state of
heightened emotion produces a condition of anorexia. Such a
condition is purely protective; because the body, having no need

for food, and with little power to act upon it, seeks to protect the
suspended digestion by abstention.
It is necessary to limit the digestive functions because the
energies of the body are required for the elimination of waste
matter. Any energy that is used to digest food has to be diverted
from the primary task of elimination. But very little energy is
diverted, the consequence being that undigested food material
decomposes, forms a mass of toxins poisoning the system and
adds fresh fuel to the fire. As a result of feeding the cure is
protracted, the strength is sapped and unnecessary complications
arise.
Lack of appetiteone of the first symptoms to appear in
acute diseaseis a protective instinct which is woefully ignored
under modern medical treatment. All sorts of devices are
resorted to so that the unwilling patient shall eat. Not that the
patient is always unwilling. In minor cases of acute disease,
when the appetite is lost, he is only too keen to stimulate the
jaded appetite with drugs or medicines or to succumb to the
blandishments of anxious but misguided relatives. Fear and
tradition play a large part in this spurning of a natural instinct.
Though there is, it must be admitted, less nonsense talked about
food and fasting these days, outworn fears die hard and
ignorance is still rife. The saying that "one must build up" is an
evil that has yet to be correctly understood.
Among the animal world, the instinct to avoid food when
sick or wounded is very strong, and animals possess none of the
human inhibitions over this matter. Wounded elephants will
avoid food. Cats not only keep away from food, they seek their
own cures in the fields and hedges. Practically all wild animals
have this power of knowing when to fast and what to eat when
they are ill. When American black bears emerge from
hibernation they will select laxative berries and herbs to
counteract the unbalanced condition arising from the long
hibernation. Buck deer travel miles to find drinking water rich in
lime to provide proper growth for their new horns. Pregnant
mule deer carefully select the right food for their condition.
Throughout the animal and bird world there are natural instincts
governing the avoidance of food and the selection of herbs and
bulbs for the treatment of disease.
Mice are not men, as we are not slow to remind the medical
profession when they publish the results of experiments on
defenceless animals. Animal instincts provide a pointer to the
human instinct to avoid food in cases of sickness, but there it
ends. We do not rely upon such evidence, even though it is a
form of corroboration. Our interpretation of acute disease clearly
demonstrates the utility of the fast and, without recourse to
examples in the animal world, proves the basic need for fasting.
What is more, it is in accord with the natural, protective and
healing instinct of Nature.
That thousands upon thousands of cases have shown the
therapeutic value of the fast is sufficient evidence in itself. We
have shown how fasting is reconciled with acute disease. How is
it applied in the case of chronic disease? We have reiterated that
most chronic disease is the result of the suppression of the
simple acute diseases. The same rules, therefore, operate in such

cases. Cleanse the system, with due regard to the special features
of the disease, and improvement in the condition and a cure will
be found. All the factors having a part in the etiology of the
disease, of course, must be considered and corrected. But this the
Nature Cure way of life shows.
A simple cold provides an illustration of the need for fasting.
A cold, we believe, is an effort on the part of the body to
supplement the normal channels of elimination by an extra outlet
of poisons via the respiratory passages. (Skin diseases are the
same, witness acne or boils.) That a cold may be occasioned by
damp, infection or cold we do not deny. What we do suggest is
that the toxic materials must be in the system ready for removal
and that, when the right variety of conditions arises, the cold
develops. It could not develop, however, within a healthy
system.
The question one should ask is: "Where does all this stream
of mucus spring from?" Where, indeed, but from what is
consumed, from the poisons retained in the system and those
manufactured by worry, bad habits and lack of attention to
natural laws. If the cold develops into a feverish state, food is
obnoxious.
What is the best way to overcome the cold? First and
foremost is the fast. At one stroke we stop the intake of acidforming material, stimulate the elimination of effete matter and
reduce the cold. Other measures have to be taken in conjunction
with the fast: remedial baths, fresh air, massage and rest, etc., but
the fast remains the surest way of tackling the problem.
Since Nature Cure claims that disease is the result of an
impure system; that acute disease is an effort by the life-forces of
the body to expel accumulated toxic products; that the
suppression of acute disease results in chronic disease, then it
follows that the fast is frequently indicated as a therapeutic
measure. It may even seem that the fast is indiscriminately
applied. With due regard to the basic causes of most diseases,
however, and the need for the cleansing of the system, the
repeated use of the fast should occasion little surprise. By it
disease is tackled at its very source. All the other factors in the
causation of disease are studied independently, and correct
measures are taken to rectify possible errors. Such errors are
largely covered by the Nature Cure theory of living.
A fast achieves four main objects:
(1) It stops the intake of food which would inevitably
produce toxins.
(2) It rests the digestive tract.
(3) It enables the body to concentrate its energies upon
elimination.
(4) It stimulates the life-force and expels effete matter.
It is because the fast has a deep-reaching, disencumbering
effect upon the system that it is so widely used. It is for the same
reason that it is applied with due caution. Indiscriminate fasting
would indeed be a menace, but such is not the case. It is,
perhaps, at this point, advisable to warn those who consider that
fasting is the beginning and end of Nature Cure of their

misconception. Uncontrolled fasting can be dangerous. To link it

up with drugs is even more dangerous. It must be remembered
that fasting is a drastic procedure and can be carried to an
extreme . When applied with ordinary common sense, however,
and under some skilled supervision, it is an efficient means of
healing.
Fasting may produce all kinds of disagreeable symptoms
(one does not disturb a still, village pond without producing
some unwelcome reactions). It must be understood that fasting
so stimulates eliminationattracting toxic matter from the
tissues into the blood-stream, there to be carried to the
eliminating organsthat it is almost bound to cause abnormal
symptoms. Fasting is almost the equivalent of opening up a dam.
Some of the poisons rush out of the system and others circulate
in the bloodstream, making their presence felt, until an outlet is
found for them. Such a condition must naturally produce some
uneasiness until a stabilisation is reached.
From that it should not be imagined that a fast is
uncontrollablenothing is further from the truth. What should
be appreciated is that the controlling of a fast requires a
specialised technique which can only be acquired through
practical experience. Such experience is rare among medical
practitioners, hence they are in no position to judge the merits or
demerits of fasting.
There is another item in the application of the fast as a
therapeutic measure requiring attention. Of the many factors in
disease, two are important. One of these is the reaction to disease
and the other the capacity for overcoming it. It is the latter factor
that is important in fasting. Elimination does not follow the same
rule in every case: some are slow to eliminate in the first place;
in others the response is almost immediate. In all cases, however,
there is an acceleration of the eliminatory processes during
fasting, and the degree of elimination is conditioned by the
individual response.
Fasting is physiologically correct. It is not the complete
answer to disease, but it is as near to being perfect in the
treatment of disease, whether acute or chronic, as any therapy
can aspire to be. Fasting supplies the answer to many of the ills
of the body, and there is no valid reason for not applying it. Even
in health, one can make a good case for an annual fast of a short
duration, purely for its protective influence in periodically
cleansing the system.
It is astonishing that Man, with his superior intellect, is afraid
of going without food for a few days, while animals and birds,
with none of the inhibitions of civilisation, have more definite
ideas.

CHAPTER IX
SPECIAL FASTS
THE GUELPA FAST
THE three-day Guelpa Fast is mentioned first, not because of any
rigid preference, but on account of its practical considerations.
Though it must be stressed that, in healing with Nature, there are
no short cuts to health, there are certain practical items that have
to be considered. Busy people, for instance, cannot always afford
either the time or the money to go away for institutional
treatment. Such people have to be content with curing
themselves (which is one of the aims of Nature Cure) in as short
a possible time as can be obtained, and with a minimum of risk
and discomfort. Not that fasting always signifies discomfort.
Such is far from the case. To meet such circumstances, and yet
obtain a good result, is one of the reasons for applying the
Guelpa Fast. It can be repeated if necessary. For many minor
ailments, however, it is a most practical fasting method.
The Guelpa Fast is one where aperients are used. We have
previously mentioned that aperients are adopted in Naturopathy,
but not in the same sense as when applied in orthodox treatment.
During fasting, the stomach and intestines, instead of performing
their normal processes of digestion and assimilation, exude and
dispatch a flow of toxins coming from all parts of the body. The
aperient has the effect of washing these away and cleansing the
bowels. The saline aperient may be Esvach or Apenta water or
Epsom salts. Below we give a specimen of the Guelpa Fast:
First day
On an empty stomach at breakfast-time have half an
ounce of Epsom salts dissolved in a little warm water,
together with half a pint of warm water. Suck a small
piece of orange if something is required to take away
the flavour of the salts. Repeat above dose thirty
minutes later. At 2-3 hourly intervals drink orange
juice, apple juice, prune or raisin juice or clear
vegetable soup.
Second day
Same as first day except that thick vegetable soup (no
fat) may be taken at 7 or 9 p.m.
Third day
Dry-diet day. No drinks whatsoever until 7-8 p.m.,
when a glass of light wine or cider is consumed. Eat
only dry toast, dry rolls or dry bread.
From the above it will be realised that the Guelpa Fast
consists of two liquid days and a dry day. In the chapter on
special diets we gave an account of the eliminatory action of the
dry diet. It will be recalled that we stated that the dry diet
induced a flow of toxins from the tissues into the bloodstream,
which, under the stimulus of the drink, were expelled. As the two

liquid days are taken before the dry day, it follows that there
must be a certain amount of elimination already taking place.
The dry day accelerates the process and aids the elimination of
any poisons that have escaped the flushing that has already taken
place.
If necessary, a more efficient result can be obtained by the
application of the enema on the first two evenings of the fast.
STRAIGHT FASTING
Straight fasting usually lasts over a period of days or weeks.
It is not recommended for home application. If it is applied under
home conditions there must be the strictest supervision by a
qualified practitioner. The length of the fast is always determined
by the practitioner with relation to the facts he possesses. Among
factors taken into consideration are: condition of patient, the
patient's reaction, the disease being treated and, if there is a timelimit, that factor. The fast, however, may go on until all the signs
of an impure system have abated and hunger returns.
The application of straight fasting obviously calls for a
skilled technique and the correct interpretation of all the physical
signs that may arise. Its very duration renders specialised
supervision necessary. Up to the present moment, it appears that
the longest fast ever recorded is one of 100 days. It must be
remembered, however, that the breaking of records is no part of
the strictly serious aspect of fasting. The fast goes on only so
long as is considered necessary and advisable for the particular
case in hand. Any person who undertakes a fast for the sole
purpose of establishing a record is either a fool or a moron.
Straight fasting is usually conducted on water, fruit juices or
clear vegetable soup or on a combination of these drinks. On the
first and second mornings of the fast a saline aperient may be
given. Enemas or colonic irrigations are frequently applied so as
to ensure bowel cleansing and elimination of toxic products.
It will be found that, even in straight fasting, there are
differences of procedure in the varying Nature Cure
establishments. The same principles, however, are adopted in
every case. The stress is always upon elimination.
Undoubtedly, straight fasting is a very drastic measure. As
such it calls for the maximum of care and attention. It has its
detractors. What these detractors usually fail to appreciate,
however, is the enormous success that can be attributed to the
fasting method.
Fasting on the above lines is not necessarily weakening.
Many people are able to perform as much work while fasting as
when consuming normal meals. The only danger is that either
the fast may be over-lengthened or the patient may develop a
negative attitude towards food. Such complications are rare.
MILK FAST
This is really not so much a fasting system as a dietetic
regime. (We have mentioned cases of people living on milk
alonewhole milk or sour milknot the pasteurised milk we
see on the milk vans. Chaganail Parekh, an Indian, has lived on
milk since 1944. He takes six pints per day and recently declared

that he would never touch solid food again.) Since the milk diet
is a frequent sequel to the long fast, we have included it under
this heading.
A full glass of unpasteurised milk is taken every two hours,
from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., on the first day of the fast. On the second
day the two-hourly interval is reduced to ninety minutes, and
from then on the quantity of milk is gradually increased on each
successive day until as much milk is taken as can be comfortably
tolerated. The milk should not be too creamy and is best taken
slightly warm or cool. It is important that, as with all drinks, the
milk should be sipped.
Constipation is a development that may arise with the milk
diet, and often does, hence laxative dried fruits (prunes, dates,
figs) are given to assist a bowel motion. Enemas or colonic
irrigations are also applied for this trouble.
Unmalted Slippery Elm Food can be substituted for milk,
providing some milk is taken with it.
Although we have stated that whole milk is a good food and
have mentioned that people live exclusively on milk, it is not by
any means suggested that existing entirely on milk is advisable.
For cure-purposes the full milk diet is often useful. The average
person, however, needs much more than milk in his diet; though
for people well advanced in years, a type of Mono Diet, in which
milk plays a large part, would probably be found most
applicable. It can be said that, for ordinary purposes, the Milk
Diet is essentially curative only.
THE SCHROTH CURE
To be strictly accurate, the Schroth Dry Diet Cure is in no
sense a fast. At the same time, however, it is so drastic a measure
that it is considered necessary to include it under this section.
We have previously mentioned this cure method, and it has
already been explained that it consists of long, dry spells on
starch food punctuated with drink intervals, when light wine is
given. It is a most radical eliminative regime and is not without
its opponents. The important thing to bear in mind is that the
Schroth Cure is in harmony with natural healing and that, even if
the diet is contrary to all our ideas of scientific dietetics, it
achieves its results by elimination. What is more, we have
already discussed some of the implications of the diet and
recognised that one of the secrets lies in the preponderance of
potassium content and in the action of the wine or cider. That it
does work is proved. There are so many unexplained processes
going on in the body that we must recognise our limitations of
knowledge and strive to perfect them. What is important is that
where Nature has the power to achieve what we arc unable to
understand, we should regard the effect and endeavour to
understand why and not belittle success because of our lack of
understanding.
The Schroth Dry Diet Cure is essentially eliminative, and
once we recognise this and do not attempt to find in it an
argument for adding an accumulation of starch to our normal diet
we shall best serve the cause of Nature Cure. As to alcohol, there
is no doubt that there is little harm in having light wine or cider

in moderate quantities providing, of course, that these drinks are

not adulterated with chemicals.
The cure may occupy up to six weeks, and the system is as
follows:
First day

Dry day (dry rolls, dry bread or toast).

No drink whatsoever.
Second day Small-drink day
1 p.m. Rice, sago, potato or
porridge. (NO milk.)
3 p.m. Half bottle of wine to last
till evening.
Third day
Dry day.
Fourth day
Big-drink day.
1 p.m. Potatoes and onions.
3 p.m. Large bottle of wine to last
till evening.
Fifth day
Dry day.
Sixth day
Small-drink day.
Seventh day Big-drink day.
Rolls and bread can be eaten at any time, but no fluid other
than the wine is permitted. It will be observed that there are four
drink days in a week and three dry days, and that the dry periods
last for thirty-six hours or more.
Although the diet tends to be constipating (sometimes
diarrhoea results) the wine, onions and prunes (the latter are
sometimes given) tend to minimise this. Every evening the fullbody or three-quarter pack is applied and forms an essential part
of the treatment. The moist warmth induced by the pack
stimulates the breaking down and elimination of waste products.
A. Pitcairn-Knowles, in his book The Schroth Regeneration
Cure, says:
The effect of the cure is, first and foremost, eliminative. No
other cure can achieve as much in this respect. Enormous quantities
of impurities are visibly eliminated in the urine, the specific gravity
of which may rise to as much as 1048. If the cure is persevered
with (one course is not always sufficient), both the sediment and
the specific gravity tend to diminish, regardless of the fact that the
same quantity of liquid is being consumed. Uric acid is eliminated
copiously, also oxalic acid, salt, drug poisons, mucus and whatever
else may be the disease-producing encumbrance. Toxic matter is
ejected from the body through every one of its channels of
elimination. Even the packs may show visible signs of this
cleansing process, in the shape of discoloration and offensive
odour.

The Schroth Diet Cure was devised by Johann Schroth, a

little over a century ago. It was originated in the small CzechoSlovakian (once Austrian) village of Lindewiese. Schroth's
observations and experiments were at first limited to animals,
especially his pack system. Curiously enough, only three to four
miles from Lindewiese is Grfenberg, the village where
Priessnitz ,the famous Continental Nature Cure pioneer, founded
his marvellous hydropathic system.

The Schroth Cure may be modified, but any modification

lessens the intensity of the elimination, though a modified cure is
indicated in certain cases.
Richard J. Ebbard and F. W. Vogt, authors of The New
Bedrock of Health, say the following:
Adverse critics of Schroth's mode of treatment affirm that the
dark colouring and highly concentrated condition of the urine is
simply a result of the exclusion of moisture from the system: the
enhanced concentration of the urine is, in their opinion, the
necessary outcome of the fact that all liquid is withheld from the
body, and there is nothing to show that it has anything to do with
elimination of health-destroying matter. This view is contradicted,
however, by the circumstance that, providing the cure is rigidly
adhered to, and the work of disembarrassing the body from
unhealthy concretions duly proceeded with, the urine gradually
assumes a lighter colour, and, indeed, eventually becomes quite
clear and of a pale yellow or "straw" colour; and this invariably is
an unmistakable sign that the process of recovery is sufficiently
advanced to enable the further application of the treatment to be
discontinued. If, as our opponents assert, the original high
concentration of the urine were merely the effect of the nonadmission of water into the system, the urine could never become
lighter, no matter how long the treatment might be continued: on
the contrary its colour would deepen more and more as time went
on. Besides, it has been observed that, after each "drinking" day,
there forms a considerably thicker sediment in the chamber utensil
than on the "thirst" days, whereas, surely, the reverse ought to be
the case if the views of our critics were correct. The fact is that
Schroth, after testing a variety of beverages, found out that white
wine was the most effective medium for "stirring up" the
accumulated waste matter and expediting its elimination.

It is obvious that the fasting methods outlined are drastic.

The entire object is elimination of toxins from the body, so that
the life-force, which is inherent in every one of us, may be given
an opportunity to assert itself. The natural inclination of the body
is towards health. Only Nature Heals. Fasting, dieting,
manipulation, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy and all the other
range of therapies are subject to the basic principle of assisting
the natural powers of recovery.
AFTER-CARE
At the conclusion of any period of fasting there must be an
interval of after-care. A digestive system that has almost
reversed its ordinary function, and subordinated itself to the
demands of elimination, cannot suddenly be expected to cope
with normal food. If the diet has been very restricted, as in the
dry diet, or there has been a complete abstention from solid food,
it would be unwise to begin consuming normal foods at the
ordinary level of consumption.
On breaking the Guelpa Fast the position is much easier on
account of the short duration of the fast. A two-day menu is
appended below:
First day off fast
Breakfast Fruit.

Lunch

Tea
Supper

Second day
Breakfast
Lunch
Tea
Supper

Grilled tomatoes.
Spinach and potatoes.
Prunes
or
Potatoes and onions.
Figs.
Mat tea or fruit juice.
Salad of lettuce, tomato, cooked beetroot, chopped parsley, grated raw carrot,
watercress or cress.
Biscuits (NO butter).
Fruit.
Fruit
Poached or scrambled egg or mushrooms.
Potatoes and leafy vegetable.
Prunes, figs or raisins.
Mat tea or fruit juice.
Salad.
Cold nutmeat or nut mince.
Fruit.

The lunches or suppers can be interchanged, but no meal

from the second day should be transferred to the first day. On the
following days the meals may be enlarged and diversified and
more fat, protein and starch added. The latter foods, of course,
should always be restricted in accordance with the whole diet
system.
The object of restricting the diet after the fast is not merely
that of protection against complications. There is the added
quality of supporting and continuing the cleansing process
commenced with the fast, even if the elimination is on a reduced
scale, as feeding will inevitably make it.
When terminating the long, straight fast or the milk fast, it is
a good rule to have a fruit meal in the evening and continue the
fast till lunch-time of the next day and then have another fruit
meal. On the evening of the second day have a salad and fruit
meal. On the third day adopt the meals as given for the first day
off the Guelpa Fast, and on the fourth day have the menu as
outlined for the second day off the Guelpa Fast. The meals for
another three days (making a week all told) should be largely
fruit, salad and cooked vegetable meals. Small additions of
starch, protein and fat could be added, but it is advisable to
restrict the consumption of these foods for the first week and
then gradually increase up to normal standards.
After the Schroth Cure the diet should follow that of the long
fast. Breakfasts, as far as possible, should consist of the dried
fruits, apples and light salad food. If the fruit position is difficult,
the breakfast meal can consist of the following:
Grilled tomatoes on toast.
Two half slices toast and honey.
Limeblossom or mate tea (no milk).
Prunes, raisins or figs; or lettuce, tomato or cress.

It is not essential to have breakfast. A glass of fruit juice or a

cup of clear vegetable broth or even water is quite sufficient for a
great number of people. In any case, since very little work or
energy is used before the normal breakfast-time, there is little
need for solid food.
In my own experience, I have found that, after fasting, it is
advisable to give some bran with the laxative dried fruits. Bran
and prunes or figs with a few dates and a little of the dried fruit
juice are all that is required for breakfast. After one or two days I
add dandelion coffee (little milk), two halves of toast and tomato
or watercress or celery. By adopting this type of breakfast, I have
found that any loss of bowel movement is soon restored. Should
no breakfast be taken, then fruit juice is given and a similar meal
to the breakfast given at lunch time.
Before departing from this subject of fasting we must
emphasise that the deliberate abstention from food for curative
purposes is a skilled art. It is dangerous to embark upon a fast of
any duration without adequate supervision. What is more, NO
drugs must ever be consumed while on a fast. This rule applies at
all times, but never with more seriousness than when fasting.

CHAPTER X
THE HEALING CRISIS
ALL diseases manifest themselves by certain variations from the
normal which are called symptoms. Such symptoms may be an
exaggeration or a lessening of normal reactions. The
supernormal reaction is one that is, on the whole, favourable to
recovery, while the sub-normal is unfavourable. It is the
supernormal reaction that is evident in acute diseases, and the
same reaction is displayed in the healing crisis. Lindlahr defines
a healing crisis in the following terms:
"A healing crisis is an acute reaction, resulting from the
ascendancy of Nature's healing forces over disease conditions,
and it is, therefore, in conformity with Nature's constructive
principle."
A healing crisis is the approximation of an acute disease. We
shall again emphasise the curative aspect of acute diseases, for
too often are these suppressed in fear and ignorance. Such
suppression invariably leads to chronic disease, and it is with this
facet 'of medical treatment that we so deeply quarrel. Lindlahr,
in his book Nature Cure, says:
What is commonly called "acute" disease is in reality the result
of Nature's efforts to eliminate from the organism waste matter,
foreign matter, and poisons, and to repair injury to living tissues. In
other words, every so-called acute disease is the result of a
cleansing and healing effort of Nature. The real disease is lowered
vitality, abnormal composition of the vital fluids (blood and
lymph), and the resulting accumulation of waste materials and
poisons. . . .
Chronic disease is a condition of the organism in which
lowered vibration (lowered vitality), due to the accumulation of
waste matter and poisons, with the consequent destruction of vital
parts and organs, has progressed to such an extent that Nature's
constructive and healing forces are no longer able to react against
the disease conditions by acute corrective efforts (healing crises).
Chronic disease is a condition of the organism in which the
morbid encumbrances have gained the ascendancy and prevent
acute reaction (healing crises) on the part of the constructive forces
of Nature.
Chronic disease is the inability of the organism to react by
acute efforts or "healing crises" against constitutional disease
conditions.

Acute diseases manifest themselves in conditions such as

colds, fevers, diarrhoea, skin eruptions (boils, abscesses, rashes,
etc.), catarrhal and other discharges. When these acute diseases,
which are Nature's attempts to increase normal elimination or to
supplement the failure of normal eliminationas, for instance,
acne in constipationare treated in accordance with Nature
Cure principles, then no chronic disease can arise. We must
remember, however, that the vast majority of new converts to

Nature Cure spring from the ranks of disappointed medical

failures, i.e. the victims of chronic disease.
The aim of Nature Cure is to help the natural forces inherent
in the organism. It is quite evident, therefore, that when a
position is reached, as it must be, where the natural healing
forces are strong enough to take the offensiveas a result of
fasting or other cleansing treatmentthat a healing crisis is
liable to arise. We say liable, because there are exceptions to the
rule. The patient, however, need suffer no alarm when, as it so
appears, he suddenly relapses into a condition of acute disease.
Remembering that all acute diseases are favourable reactions,
and that the healing crisis would not arise if conditions were not,
on the whole, conducive to recovery, we can safely go ahead and
rely upon the impulse for health to gain complete control.
One extremely important point to keep in mind during a
healing crisis is not to permit alarm to drive one back into the
old stage of looking for a speedy suppressant drug. Medical or
drug interference at such a stage can lead only to harm and the
undoing of a vast amount of cleansing work.
When should a healing crisis be averted? Strictly speaking, it
cannot be avoided. Osteopathic inhibition of nerve impulses, it is
true, can check diarrhoea. On the whole, however, it is
impossible, and unnecessary, to avoid temporary flare-ups which
are indicative of a healing crisis.
There are certain cases, especially with older people who
have suffered for years from chronic disease, where it may be
inadvisable to bring about a healing crisis, largely because of the
lack of reserve powers. Graduated treatment over a longer period
is permissible. Working by stages, we can minimise the cureeffects and bring about partial healing-crises, which ultimately, if
all conditions necessary for recovery exist, will lead to a cure.
It is not essential to have a healing-crisis, nor does it always
arise. In such cases the cure is achieved by a steady cleansing of
the system. Any healing crises arising during that period are
minor disturbances which are of small consequence, but the sum
total of which materially assist the healing efforts as a whole.
It is the possibility of the healing crisis, and its correct
interpretation, that demands either a full application of the
principles of Nature Cure and / or the supervision of a skilled
naturopath. The healing crisis is too often the bogey that
frightens people away from Naturopathy. This can be due only to
misguided fears and ignorance and can be safely set at rest by the
acquisition of the true facts. Confidence and knowledge go hand
in hand.

CHAPTER XI
HYDROTHERAPY
IT is frequently said that there is nothing new in the world. To a
large extent this is true, and hydrotherapy subscribes to this
view, for it is not new. Even colonic irrigation, a more recent
addition to the branch of therapeutics with which we are now
dealing, was applied by the early Egyptian civilisation.
Hydrotherapy simply means the use of water as a curative agent.
For our present knowledge of hydrotherapy we are indebted
to the Continental pioneers of Nature Cure. In particular we must
pay homage to Father Kneipp, the remarkable parish priest of
Worishofen, in Bavaria; the German peasant Vincent Priessnitz,
also a great water-healer; Johann Schroth, originator of the dry
diet and pack system, Bilz and others. These men all had their
time in the early Victorian era.
Father Kneipp, like a great many true healers, took up his
work because he had to cure himself. He came across a little
book describing cold-water therapy and immediately began his
own regeneration. Kneipp, however, soon abandoned the more
drastic of the cold water treatments and improved his methods
through constant observation. As he himself said:
The applications it enjoined were often too rough, too violent,
for the human constitution. Such exaggerated treatment only serves
to bring the cold-water cure into discredit, and to reinforce the
ranks of those who blindly condemn whatever they do not, or but
imperfectly, understand.

Though the pioneers of hydrotherapy and Nature Cure

Kneipp, Priessnitz, Schroth, Bilz, Rikli, Gossman, Just,
Lahmann, Bircher-Benner, etc.were centred in Germany.
Austria, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia from 1850 onwards,
their work was, in a certain sense, not new. The early Greeks,
Romans, Egyptians and others had long appreciated the value of
water as a healing medium. The Redskins of North America had
their own hydropathic and clay treatments long before Columbus
or Cabot discovered that Continent. Most assuredly, the early
water-cure methods were crude, but the elements of natural
healing, even though perhaps imperfectly understood, were
recognised and applied by laymen in a true spirit of healing.
From Priessnitz, Schroth, Kneipp and others we progressed via
Lindlahr and others to our present-day standard. Speaking of the
progress of Nature Cure in general, we must emphasise the way
in which laymen have dominated the scene. True, there have
been enlightened medical practitioners, but even these have
encountered bitter opposition from their orthodox sect. The
medical claim to all healing is built upon a tissue of lies and
wishful thinking. Mr. Edgar J. Saxon expresses himself well
when dealing with this subject, and we can do no better than
repeat his words:

Dr. Samuel Hahnemann was met with the same contumely and
misrepresentation at the end of the eighteenth century as that
strange genius Paracelsus suffered in the sixteenth. The highly
intelligent German peasant Vincent Priessnitz, at the beginning of
what in this country we call the Victorian era, drew patients to his
Water Cure from all over Europe, but hydropathy, i.e. water
treatment, did not become medically respectable until the end of
the nineteenth century, as Dr. Bircher-Benner points out. It was
Arnold Rikli, a Swiss layman, who established the curative effects
of sunlight when combined with water in the 1860's; but the
medical profession took no notice of anything so cranky until Dr.
Rollier applied the method to tubercular disorders some forty years
later; even he, when he gave his first lecture on his findings to a
medical congress in Paris in 1905, spoke to rapidly emptying
benches. Dr. Lahmann, of Dresden, was one of the first to perceive
the basic importance of the mineral elements in food at a time
when British doctors knew no more about nutrition than they did
about the other side of the moon. The frequent suggestion in recent
times that medical science has led the way in nutrition \ is
shockingly false. Dr. Still developed the theory and practice of
spinal manipulation a whole life-time before the medical
profession, after deriding the whole thing as spurious and
unscientific, began to adopt something of the technique under the
name of "orthopedic surgery."

Hydrotherapy is no longer used solely by naturopaths, but

the medical profession has only an incomplete knowledge of its
application. It still ridicules many of the methods that have been
proven after years of experience under naturopathic treatment.
For an explanation of how water cures, we can do no better than
have recourse to Kneipp. This is what he says:
To dissolve, remove and strengthen: these, then, are the three
principal attributes of water; and we maintain water to be capable
of curing every curable disease, as its various applications,
properly applied, directly attack the root of the evil and have the
result
(a) Of dissolving the germs of diseased matter contained in the
blood.
(b) Of withdrawing the diseased matter from the system.
(c) Of restoring the purified blood to its proper state of
circulation.
(d) Of bracing the weakened constitution, and rendering it fit
for renewed exertion.

Dissolve, Remove and Strengthen are the three cardinal

factors in hydrotherapy. No matter how crude the appliances
used for the purpose of water treatments are, so long as these
three attributes are kept in mind, the result will be the same.
The aim, therefore, of all water treatments is to dissolve and
eliminate toxic matter, to stimulate the circulation and strengthen
the constitution. We accomplish this in many varied ways, each
differing method being applied for a specific purpose, and in
conformity with the patient's illness and individual powers of
reaction. Not that the sole purpose of hydrotherapy is the
treatment of diseaseused correctly it is one of the greatest
prophylactic therapies.

As a general rule, cold or cool water is applied after any

treatment where hot water has been used. This is not always the
case, and there are occasions when cold water alone is used, or
when hot applications are advised. There are dangers in the overenthusiastic utilisation of either hot-or cold-water treatments.
The cold bath, for instance, should always be of short duration,
and discontinued if no warm reaction is obtained.
One of the basic laws in water treatments, as Lindlahr points
out, is that of action and reaction. The application of any form of
heat to the skin draws the blood to the surface. That is the first,
immediate effect. But it is not a lasting effect, and the blood
must inevitably return to the deeper blood-vessels from which it
was derived. The application of cold water, on the other hand,
has the first effect of driving the blood away from the surface.
The secondary and lasting effect is that of warmth, since, by the
law of action and reaction, the blood must circulate back to the
blood-vessels and tissues from which it was expelled. In this
manner an actual increase of circulation is brought about by the
stimulating effect of cold water.
It is upon this basis of action and reaction that most water
treatments are founded, the ultimate result of which is the
dissolving, removing and strengthening previously mentioned.
Having assimilated this fact, we can appreciate the frequent
insistence upon short, cold ablutions, the many alternate hot and
cold baths and the advocation of cold packs and compresses.
If we were to limit our activities in hydrotherapy to what the
pioneers in this work advised, we would almost certainly rule out
the excessive hot or cold applications. To a large extent this is so
even now, but hot applications and ice still have their uses.
For everyday purposes we restrict our activities to using cold
water, hot water and hot and cold water combined. With simple
methods and simple apparatus we can obtain the most
marvellous results. The following description of the various
types of baths and treatments will offer much guidance in the
application of hydrotherapy.
The Sitz Bath
The old-fashioned sitz or hip bath provides one of the best
means of combating congestion and stagnation of the circulating
fluids (blood and lymph). It is one of the tragedies of our times
that the advent of modern plumbing has resulted in the
discarding of the hip bath. This bath is so useful that it should
form a standard part of every bathroom.
Abdominal congestion is the cause of many disorders. In all
cases in which a patient complains of cold extremities one can be
sure that he or she suffers from abdominal congestion, and the
sitz bath is ideal for the purpose of relieving this condition.
Depression, headaches, many throat troubles and catarrhal
conditions are a concomitant of abdominal congestion. The
nervous system is adversely affected by the same physical state,
and symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, nervous exhaustion,
fears, worry, bad temper, etc., are dispelled or decreased by the
continued use of the sitz bath. In the treatment of constipation,
flatulence, colitis, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhoids and
inflammatory conditions of the bowels, the sitz bath is supreme.

These baths can be taken cold or hot or alternately hot and cold.
Cold sitz baths of short duration are excellent for piles,
constipation and sexual troubles. At the same time, the long hot
sitz bath followed by a cool sponging is equally advised. For
cases of heart trouble, the sitz bath can be applied when no other
hot-water treatment is applicable. There is no strain upon the
heart, and its function is aided by the sitz bath lessening the
pressure upon the heart and reducing abdominal congestion.
Where indigestion is present, the sitz bath draws the blood to the
stomach and stimulates the functioning of the digestive glands.
For lumbago and sciatica, the alternate hot and cold sitz bath is
an ideal treatment. Female troublesinflammation of uterus,
ovaries, leucorrhoea and any irregularity or painfulness of
periodsshow a remarkable response when the sitz bath is
applied. For some conditions it is applied hot, and for others,
cold. Bladder troubles, enlarged prostate gland and hernias
should be treated with a daily cold sitz bath lasting from thirty
seconds to three minutes, and also with the hot sitz bath followed
by a cool sponging. The sitz bath is always advised in
conjunction with fasting. The alternate hot and cold sitz bath
promotes the dissolving and elimination of the effete matter
accumulated in the bowels during the cleansing process of the
fasting. Even if an enema or colonic irrigation is applied during
the fast, the daily alternate hot and cold sitz bath or the long hot
sitz bath followed by a cool sponging is advised.
As previously stated, the old-fashioned sitz bath and a foot
bath is all that is necessary for the purpose. The depth of the
water is varied according to the displacement arising from the
size of the person being treated, but the water must reach up to
the patient's waistline. The foot bath is necessary because it helps
to reduce the abdominal congestion and attracts the blood from
the head, lungs and liver, etc.
Ebbard, co-author of The New Bedrock of Health, describes
the application of the hot sitz bath in these terms:
The sitz bath is two parts filled with hot water, as hot as the
patient can bear it, up to 108 to 110 degrees Fahr. The bath should
last 10-14 minutes, during which time the temperature must be kept
up and, should the water cool down, boiling water must be ready at
hand to bring the temperature up again. By this means, all the
abdominal blood-vessels and tissues become expanded, and for the
moment even more blood is attracted to the abdomen. After the
given time, the patient gets out of the bath and part of the body,
which has been in the water, and only this part, is sponged with
cold water for about two minutes. By this sudden cold spraying, the
abdominal blood-vessels and tissues contract, and the blood is
forced away, at once establishing, especially by its larger quantity,
an increased circulation, not only in the abdomen, but all over the
body. Warm feet and the relaxing of any pressure in the body are
the immediate effects of the sitz bath.

We have already stated that there are different methods

of applying the sitz bath, and these are classified as
follows:

(1) The hot sitz bath, lasting from ten to thirty minutes and
terminated with a cold or cool sponging.
(2) The alternate hot and cold sitz bath (hot for five
minutes, followed by a short cold sitz bath for thirty
seconds) repeated twice or three times and always
concluded with the cold sitz bath.
(3) The cold sitz bath (deeper in summer than in winter)
lasting from thirty seconds to three minutes according
to the case, vitality of patient and time of year. This can
be a cool sitz bath in winter, or for people with nervous
temperament or heart cases.
(4) The blanket sitz bath, a mild and safe sweating
treatment for those with weak hearts.
The hot sitz bath is commenced with the water at a
temperature of 104 degrees Fahr. and is then raised (quickly or
gradually, as the patient prefers) to 110 to 114 or even 116
degrees Fahr. After ten to thirty minutes in the hot water the
patient is transferred to a cool sitz bath or sponges down those
parts that have been immersed in the hot water. The hot foot bath
(temperature 105-107 degrees Fahr.) is taken in conjunction with
the sitz bath, and the feet must also be cooled. The water of the
sitz bath should be heated by having a can of hot water handy.
The hot sitz bath is indicated in all cases of abdominal
congestion, constipation, bladder troubles, amenorrhoea, piles,
prostate gland, etc.
The alternate hot and cold sitz bath, as the name implies,
means using a hot and then a cold sitz bath. The temperature of
the hot bath must be kept constant at 110-112 degrees Fahr., and
the cold sitz bath means either cold water from the tap or just
slightly warmed to take off the chill (the latter especially in
winter). Sit in the hot bath for five minutes and then in the cold
for thirty seconds, repeating the process two or three times and
concluding with the cold sitz bath. Here, again, the feet are
included in the treatment by using foot baths. The alternate hot
and cold sitz bath is invaluable for constipation, all abdominal
congestion, piles, bladder troubles, sexual weakness and
inflammation of the uterus and ovaries, etc.
The cold sitz bath is used in addition to the other treatments.
Ruptures, piles, constipation, menhorragia, etc., are best treated
with a short cold sitz bath in addition to the other types. The
water must not be icy cold and, in winter, the addition of a little
warm water is advised. The essential part of any cold treatment
is the subsequent warm reaction. It is not advisable in the cases
of weak heart, nervous exhaustion or anaemia in the early stages,
though these will profit by such applications after a certain stage
in the cure has been reached. The temperature of the cold sitz
bath, and its depth, vary according to the time of the year and the
patient. The more vigorous can take lower temperatures and
greater depth of water, the less vigorous correspondingly higher
temperature and lower depth. In winter, 70 degrees Fahr. is quite
cold enough for most cases. The blanket sitz bath is one of the
most efficacious forms of sweating and can be applied in all
cases. It also acts in the same way as the hot sitz bath, but, as a
form of sweating, there is no gentler means of inducing

elimination via the skin. The only difference between the hot sitz
bath and the sweating bath is that boards are arranged over the
foot bath and sitz bath, so that a blanket can be placed from the
feet to the neck without falling into the water. Sit in the bath for
fifteen to thirty minutes, according to the case, the shorter period
being more applicable for the weaker person. Conclude the
treatment with a cool sponge-down. A cold towel should be
placed over the heart for bad cases, and one on the head is
advised. This is a simple form of sweating which lends itself to
use in the sickroom, thereby creating a minimum of disturbance
for the weakened patient. It is quite safe to apply. Frequently the
hot sitz bath and the sweating sitz bath will produce a sleepy
state in the patient; provided there is no overheating and the
patient is attended, this is not to be discouraged, though special
precaution attaches to the heart cases.
The Rising and Falling Bath
The rising and falling bath is almost self-descriptive. It can
be carried out in the ordinary bath with little or no trouble and is
a most effective water treatment. The result of the changing
temperatures of the bath is to dissolve, eliminate and strengthen.
As a general treatment it is excellent, though it should not be
applied to heart cases. The ordinary long bath is filled with
sufficient water to cover the patient, the temperature of the water
being between 96 and 100 degrees Fahr. The patient lies in this
water, and then the hot tap is turned on and the temperature of
the bath raised to between 108 and 110 degrees Fahr. The patient
should be made to sweat (this is seen on the forehead), and if 107
degrees Fahr. is sufficient for this purpose, there is no need to
raise the temperature higher. The sweating should not be of more
than three to four minutes' duration, after which the temperature
of the bath is lowered to 80-85 degrees Fahr. It is essential to rest
in bed for at least thirty minutes after this bath. The rising and
falling bath is indicated in all cases where auto-toxasmia is
present, for rheumatism, sciatica, arthritis, constipation, and
practically all those diseases where there is no weakness of the
heart and where high blood pressure is not present.
The Epsom Salt Bath
This, like the previous baths, is a very simple matter and
lends itself to home use. In all disease there is an accumulation
of acids in the system. This is especially true of those complaints
with a rheumatic character, where there exists an excess of uric
acid. In such conditions the Epsom salt bath is advised because
the salts neutralise the acid waste products and assist their
elimination. In an ordinary bath of hot water dissolve two large
handfuls of the commercial salts, and lie in the hot water for not
more than ten minutes. Over this period there is a danger of
enervation. Cool down after the hot bath and rest. People with
weak hearts should not take the Epsom salt bath, and in no case
should it be applied more than twice per week. Provided that the
above instructions are observed, it will be found that the salt bath
gives much relief and is efficacious in such cases as arthritis,
rheumatism, sciatica, neuritis, lumbago, colds and catarrh.

The Relaxing Bath

This treatment is of longer duration than the normal. The
temperature of the bath should be kept at about 90-93 degrees
Fahr., and one can lie in the bath for as long as forty to sixty
minutes. With this temperature there is a pleasant feeling of
relaxation and, if the bath is continued for the longer period,
there is complete relaxation of muscular and nervous tension.
This treatment is particularly suited for nervous cases, for
insomnia, heart trouble, general debility and depression.
The Cold Splash
All that is required for this is a few inches of cold water in
the bath. In the summer this water can come straight from the
running cold-water tap, but in the winter it is advisable to warm
the water slightly. It is advisable also to have the bathroom
warm. As few bathrooms are supplied with a heating
arrangement, the next best method is to dry the main part of the
water from the skin after the bath and then return to the warm
bed for a few moments to ensure the revival of body-warmth.
From this it will be concluded that the bath is taken first thing in
the morning, which is so. The treatment is of only very short
duration and should never last for more than two minutes. The
simplest method is to lie in the water and splash it all over the
body, and in the winter the process should not take more than
thirty seconds. As a tonic to start the day with, the cold splash is
supreme. It tones up the nervous system, releases muscular
tension, hardens the skin and reduces the proclivity to colds.
The Salt Rub
This is applied while lying in the warm bath. A second
person sprinkles common salt into the wet hands and thoroughly
rubs the patient's skin with the salt. As the salt quickly dissolves,
the hands have to be constantly dipped into the salt until the skin
has been quite covered with the salt rub. This treatment is
indicated in all conditions where the skin activity has been
lowered, when a dry scale appears on the skin and as a general
tonic. It should not be applied to open sores and hyper-sensitive
skins. The latter skin should be gradually hardened by frequent
exposure to the sun and air, to baths of a gradually decreasing
temperature, and to friction with a wet towel.
Sprays and Showers
Apart from the complete simplicity of these methods, there is
their undoubted effectiveness. A cold spray played upon a
varicose leg will rapidly allay inflammation and irritation. This
spray can be that which comes straight from the cold tap or from
an ordinary watering can. Tepid sprays played upon the spine are
useful in neurasthenia and nervous cases, colder sprays are
useful in high blood pressure, haemorrhoids, constipation and
bladder troubles. The spray, in the three latter conditions, is
directed towards the lumbar region. Cold showers or sprays
should always be taken after hot full baths, sun baths or any heat
treatment. In the cold bath or cold spray we have the classic
example of the action and reaction effect of hydro-therapy, for
the lasting effect after the cold application should be that of

warmth. With this in view we shall again emphasise that the best
effects are obtained from short-lasting cold-water applications.
Water Paddling
Run two to three inches of cold water in the bath, and paddle
with the bare feet for so long as it is comfortable. This is very
useful in the case of tired feet, varicose veins, nervous
conditions, insomnia and bad circulation. When varicose veins
are present it is advisable to combine water paddling with the
cold spray by allowing the cold water to run over the legs while,
at the same time, it is filling the bath to the required depth. Water
paddling is useful also in enuresis, and this measure alone,
carried out every night, is often successful in preventing bedwetting. For all foot troubles, however, water paddling is
especially advised. Walking on wet grass or wet stones in the
bare feet is often advised as a tonic. It must be remembered,
however, that the feet must be thoroughly warm after the
walking.
The Alternate Hot and Cold Foot Bath
For this treatment two bowls are required. One is three parts
filled with water at a temperature of 104 to 110 degrees Fahr.
and the other with water from the cold supply. Sit on a stool and
place the feet first into the hot water for from three to five
minutes and then into the cold water for about thirty seconds.
Repeat the process three to four times, and conclude with the
cold dip. This type of treatment is excellent for headaches, poor
circulation, tired feet, chilblains, sleeplessness, etc. Wounds,
bites and stings on the lower limbs can also be allayed with this
treatment. The Hot Foot Bath is applied in the same way as the
above with the exception that there is no changing over from one
bath to the other, the feet remaining in the hot water for from ten
to fifteen minutes and then in the cold water for about one to two
minutes. This is the most useful in the case of headaches.
The Alternate Hot and Cold Arm Baths
The directions for this are the same as those for the alternate
hot and cold foot bath. It is used for the same purposes, i.e. bites,
stings, wounds, chilblains and poor circulation. It is a local
treatment for Raynaud's disease.
The Dripping Mantle
This treatment is one of the oldest hydropathic methods. It is
neither a bath nor a pack, yet it is a most useful remedy, being
applicable in feverish conditions, colds, poor circulation, general
debility, autotoxaemia, lowered skin vitality and as a general
tonic. The treatment should be applied in a warm room, and the
patient should be able to go straight to a warm bed when the
treatment is concluded. All that is required for the dripping
mantle is a large sheet that has been dipped into cold water and
lightly wrung out. The sheet is wrapped round the patient and is
slapped against his body with light strokes and is gently rubbed
and stroked against the skin. The essential part of this treatment
is the speed with which the wet sheet is made to come into
contact with the skin and the stroking of the sheet against the

skin. The treatment lasts not more than three minutes, when the
patient is released from the sheet and returns to the warm bed.
Before embarking upon an explanation of the various types
of packs and compresses, it is in order to learn something of how
these work and the reason for their application. The secret of the
wet-sheet pack lies in the moist warmth it promotes. The heat of
the body supplies the warmth, and this comes from drawing the
blood to the surface of the body. By attracting the blood to the
superficial areas we decrease internal congestion, relax the
tissues of the skin and permit toxins (drawn by the larger amount
of blood attracted to the surface) to escape via the relaxed pores.
Since the pack is applied for at least two hours, it will be realised
that there must be a considerable amount of elimination taking
place. This is best illustrated in very toxic conditions, where,
when the sheet is removed, visible staining can be seen. In the
Schroth Cure, for instance, wet-sheet packs are applied each
evening and the drastic eliminative dry diet is supplemented by
the packs, resulting in a very potent elimination effect. Staining
of the wet sheets is often demonstrated in the Schroth Cure,
proving the powerful elimination that the packs promote.
Lindlahr, in his book, Nature Cure, says:
Many people are under the impression that the packs reduce
the fever temperature so quickly because they are put on cold. But
this is not so, because, unless the reaction be bad, the packs
become warm after a few minutes' contact with the body.
The prompt reduction of temperature takes place because of
increased heat radiation. The coldness of the pack may lower the
surface temperature slightly; but it is the moist warmth forming
under the pack on the surface of the body that draws the blood
from the congested interior into the skin, relaxes and opens its
minute blood-vessels and pores, and in that way facilitates the
escape of heat from the body. In febrile conditions the pores and
capillary blood-vessels of the skin are tense and contracted.
Therefore the heat cannot escape, the skin is hot and dry, and the
interior of the body remains overheated. When the skin relaxes and
the patient begins to perspire freely, we say the fever "is broken."
The moist warmth under the wet pack produces this relaxation
of the skin in a perfectly natural manner. . . .

The essential value of the pack lies in the way that it utilises
the natural forces of the body for healing. As previously stated,
the wet sheet draws a larger amount of blood to the surface of
the body, relieves internal congestion and promotes elimination.
Body-warmth, it is observed, is used to create a gentle stewing,
and it is this moist warmth that is most effective in treating
disease. The moist warmth, then, acting over a period of time
(varying from two to six hours), provides the means by which
elimination is stimulated and decongestion takes place.
While the full-body or three-quarter pack is the most useful
to apply, local packs are often advantageous and, in some ways,
easier of application. It must be remembered, however, that the
pack draws blood to the surface, attracting more blood than is
normal, and with this in mind we have to advise against the
practice of applying packs to the neck and throat alone, since
more blood is attracted to that area than is safe in so small a

compass. It is necessary, therefore, when applying a throat pack

for sore throats, tonsilitis, colds, etc., to apply a chest or
abdominal pack to draw away congestion from the restricted
area. Indeed, for many local conditions, especially where there is
evidence of intense toxicity, it is advisable to apply either the
three-quarter pack or a pack that comes well above and below
the affected part. Packs for the chronic complaintsrheumatism,
gout, catarrh, arthritis, asthma, etc.are best applied to the full
body. There is practically no illness for which the pack is not
useful. It is soothing in insomnia and neurasthenia, it is
decongesting in all the acute and chronic diseases, it is an
excellent eliminative measure for auto-toxaemia, for sprains and
bruises it is soothing and decongesting and for even the sickest
person it offers a valuable home treatment.
Apart from the rule of avoiding congestion by applying a
secondary pack in local, restricted areas, the other rules are
always to apply the pack in a warm room, to ensure a warm
reaction from the pack (putting extra hot-water bottles into the
bed if necessary) and to remove the pack when dry. No person
should be allowed to remain in a pack if a warm reaction is not
obtained. Packs are inadvisable when fasting on account of the
fact that some degree of body-heat is lost during that process. On
emerging from the pack it is essential to wash the skin
thoroughly to remove any waste debris from the skin that has
been eliminated while in the pack. For the same reason the pack
sheeting must itself be thoroughly washed and aired before it is
again applied. The outer covering, obviously, also needs airing
and frequently washing.
The Full-body Pack
This pack is termed thus because it covers the whole body
with the exception of the head. It is more drastic than the threequarter pack and, since nervous people feel disinclined to be so
fully enwrapped, it is not advisable in their cases. To prepare the
pack it is necessary to turn back the top bedclothes and lay a
thick blanket from the end of the pillow to the foot of the bed.
The sheet (twill cotton or raw silk sheeting is the best) is dipped
into cold water and well wrung out and then laid on the blanket.
The patient lies on the wet sheet, which is quickly pulled over,
covering from the top of the shoulders down to the feet. It is
folded over the feet and legs, and the arms are enclosed. The
blanket is then drawn over and secured with rustless safety pins,
after which the top bedclothes are pulled over. It is advisable to
have warmth without weight, so that a featherbed or two
eiderdowns make an ideal top covering. In colder weather it is
advisable to have two hot-water bottles in the bed, and the whole
treatment can be converted into a sweating treatment by placing
four to six hot-water bottles in the bed. In this case the pack must
not last longer than two hours, though in any event, the full pack
is only advised for from two to four hours. This pack is
advocated for any decongesting purpose. It is useful for gout,
arthritis, rheumatism, auto-intoxication, lumbago.

The Three-quarter Pack

This is applied in the same manner as the full pack, except
for one distinction. It envelops the whole of the body except the
arms and is applied from the armpits downwards. It is the most
useful form of pack for general purposes, and is particularly
suitable for insomnia and neurasthenia, as the patient is less
nervous when the arms are free. For the treatment of fevers,
arthritis, rheumatism and, indeed, any ailment where congestion
is present, the three-quarter pack is advisable.
The T Pack
The name of this pack is derived from its shape. The material
is usually made up from two lengths, from ten to fifteen inches
wide, stitched together to form the letter T. It is made in this
form so that the vertical part of the T can be drawn through the
legs and the horizontal section carried around the abdomen. This
pack is indicated in the treatment of haemorrhoids, constipation,
indigestion, ovarian troubles, bladder and kidney diseases and
practically all abdominal complaints. The outer covering, of
course, has to be adapted to cover the T pack. Local Packs
Arms, legs, chest, throat, etc., can all be treated by local
packs. While it is more advisable to use the three-quarter pack
wherever possible, the local packs are useful for minor ailments
or injuries. Remember, however, that throat packs should never
be applied singlya chest or waist pack should always
accompany it to avoid congestion in the constricted throat area.
Packs are often used in conjunction with clay or mud. This
subject will be discussed under the heading of clay. It may be of
interest to record, however, that the raw-potato pack is very
useful in connection with the treatment of injuries, bruises or
stings. The materials required for the purpose are sufficient
grated raw potato to cover the area well, a piece of gauze and a
strip of sheeting. Place the grated potato on the gauze and apply
this, gauze first, to the skin. Cover with the sheeting and leave on
for two to three hours. Renew at intervals until the irritation,
bruise or swelling has subsided. Honey, incidentally, can
sometimes be used instead of the raw potato, especially in
ulcerations. It must be genuine (not sub-standard) honey, and the
pack must be removed when prickling or intense irritation arises.
Compresses
The cold compress supplies the answer to many a household
problem. Even a child can apply it. Sprains, bruises, swellings
and any inflammatory condition can be treated with a cold
compress. In any inflamed state there is an excess of blood
within the affected area. To apply heat, bringing more blood to
an already hyperaemic part, would be a mistake. The cold
compress, by driving the blood away, relieves the pain and
reduces the inflammation and congestion. Immediate application
of a cold compress to an injured part will usually reduce the
time-factor involved in healing.
The size of the compress varies according to the locality
being treated. A large handkerchief will suffice in some cases as
an emergency measure, but a small towel folded over is the most

useful article to use. All one has to do is to rinse the towel in

cold water and apply to the part.
Cold compresses to the back of the neck will often relieve a
stubborn headache, pressure in the head, etc. Apply cold
compresses to the spine and neck in feverish conditions, high
blood-pressure, sunburns and minor heat-stroke effects.
Urine Compresses
These compresses are advised in quite a number of obscure
and common skin conditions. Chilblains, rashes, all manner of
skin eruptions including acne, shingles, etc., will respond to the
application of urine compresses, especially where diet and
fasting are employed. The person's own urine is employed and it
must be fresh. The compresses can be kept on for two hours at a
time, and then the skin and the towel or sheeting must be
thoroughly washed.
Hot Fomentations
In all cases where the application of heat is found to be
soothing and of curative value, hot fomentations are advised on
account of their simplicity. They are useful in most neuralgic
conditions, toothache, indigestion, flatulence, anaemia and low
blood pressure, kidney diseases, colitis, acute rheumatism, etc.
The hot fomentation is prepared by placing a small towel (folded
over four times) on a larger open towel. In this position the
towels are laid in a large bowl so that the ends of the large towel
are free of the bowl. Hot water is poured into the bowl, and the
fomentation is wrung out by using the free ends of the large
towel. Before applying the fomentation to the affected part rub it
with olive oil to diminish any possibility of burning the skin. In
cases of colitis and weak digestion it is a good plan to apply the
fomentation to the abdomen immediately after a meal.
Steaming
Where it is difficult for ordinary forms of heat to penetrate,
as in the nose, ear and throat, steaming performs a very useful
task. Haemorrhoids, for instance, can be treated by steaming. In
this case it is done by sitting over a bowl of hot water and
allowing the steam to penetrate the anus and dilate the bloodvessels, assisting the decongestion required for healing.
Steaming of the ear, nose and throat is indicated in all painful
conditions of the areas. Catarrh, colds, asthma, bronchitis and
influenza can all be subjected to steam treatment. The chest and
throat are steamed in affectations such as tonsilitis, mumps, sore
throat and loss of voice. Steaming is very soothing and
decongesting in earache, neuralgic symptoms in the face and also
for styes and boils.
It is totally unnecessary to go to a lot of expense to apply
steam heat; there is a distinct difference between direct steam
heat as indicated above and the steam cabinet bath or pyretic
bath which are used in institutions as a general treatment. For
local treatments, as in the throat, ear, nose and chest, it is
necessary to have a kettle two-thirds full of water. Bring this to
the boil, and, when a steady head of steam is issuing from the
spout, sit in such a manner that the steam is directed on to the
part to be treated. After two to three minutes of steaming always

cool down with cold water and reapply the steam, concluding
with the cold-water application. Medical steaming kettles,
incidentally can be procured from almost any chemist.
Ice
Ice packs and the use of ice in baths has largely fallen into
disfavour on account of the extreme coldness. There are
occasions, however, when ice is a very useful medium. Freezing
treatment by the external application of ice has proved very
beneficial. It must be stressed that great care should be taken in
its application, and it is not advised unless the operator has either
some experience in its application or is accustomed to giving
manual and professional treatment. I am indebted to Mr. Leslie
0. Korth, D.O., for the following remarks on freezing treatment.
This method can well come under the heading of hydropathy,
as water in a solidified state may be used as an excellent freezing
agent. It is little known in this country and still less practised, but
its efficacy is striking not only in the relief of pain but in removing
its cause.
Nothing better has been found than cold applications as a
remedial measure in the treatment, for example, of localised areas
of spinal tenderness and all inflammatory conditions.
The skin over the region of tenderness must be distinctly
frozen so that the tissues under treatment present a whitened or
parchment-like appearance, and this condition must be maintained
for one to two minutes.
Very often but one application is sufficient for the cure of
neuralgia. However, the process must be repeated for a few days in
some cases.
There are many freezing agents obtainable, but the safest and
easiest for home use is ice out of the domestic refrigerator.
Sprinkle some fine salt on to one or two of the small blocks of
ice and hold firmly against the skin over the affected part. In the
case of facial neuralgia, for instance, freeze the parts just above the
eyebrow, below the eyeball and between the chin and lower lip
alternately.
Freezing is a specific for all forms of uncomplicated neuralgia
provided it can be done near the point of origin of the nerve
involved, i.e. close to the site of most pain. If the neuralgic pain is
situated at the lower part of the back of the head freezing over a
particular sensitive point in that region will cause the pain to cease.
Should the neuralgia be present in the leg or arm freezing along the
painful path will relieve it.
Freezing is also most effective in some cases of herpes zoster
or shingles.
To relieve pain in the back freeze each side of the spine in the
painful area and other painful muscles that may be involved.
Neuritis either in the arms or in the thigh and leg (sciatica)
reacts most favourably to freezing, and so does fibrositis or any
other inflammatory condition.
Freezing is also very useful in stubborn, persistent coughs.
Freeze each side of the upper spine including the neck.
Migraine headaches respond well to this form of treatment, and
no better treatment is available for strains or sprains. If the ankle or
any other joint is sprained move it immediately after freezing and
keep on moving it; little or no pain will be experienced.

It must be stressed that there exists some danger of burning

with ice treatment. These burns may arise if the treatment is too
prolonged, but with due precaution such unhappy contingencies
should not arise. If, however, a burn is caused, cover it with lint
immediately.
Enemas and Colonic Irrigations
This subject is always a bone of contention, and there are
various schools of thought with differing opinions upon the
advisability or otherwise of the above means of cleansing the
bowels. It must be appreciated, however, that any artificial
means of inducing bowel cleanliness are to be deplored and that
the sole aim of the above methods must be to ensure future
natural functioning or to circumvent a temporary loss of
function. Even the most enthusiastic exponent of enemas and
colonic irrigations will not deny that natural defaecation is the
real method of expelling the contents of the bowel.
Under natural conditions, i.e. where natural laws are used to
the best advantage, the enema and colonic irrigation would be
superfluous. Unfortunately, owing to our high-pressure mode of
lifethe intense refinement of foodstuffs, which are not even
grown under natural conditions and lack true food value, the
equanimity with which we ill-treat our minds and bodies, etc.
there are an enormous number of people to whom the power of
natural bowel movements is denied. Even so, the moment the
complaint has been cleared up and full, natural defecation is
restored, colonies and enemas should be dropped.
It is argued that, during fasting particularly, the enema or
colonic irrigation is absolutely essential to reap the full benefit of
the fast. This is because it cleanses the bowel of the highly toxic
effete matter released from the cells by the fasting process. It is
quite true to say that there is an excess of morbid matter present
when fasting. The case is much more complicated, too, when
putrefaction has previously existed (especially when the person
has been living on a rich meat and fish diet) from overeating, etc.
On the whole, however, there has been too much stress laid upon
the necessity for semi-drastic bowel cleansing while fasting, and
the protagonists for these processes are sometimes inclined to
overlook the other organs of depuration, which, while they do
not take such a burden of elimination, do play their part.
I have known patients, even those suffering from chronic
constipation over a period of years, who have successfully
reacted to natural methodsincluding fastingand who, for
various reasons, were never given either a colonic irrigation or
an enema. Nor could it be said that these patients ever suffered
from the reabsorption of toxins into the bloodstream, as is often
stated. Obviously there is a danger of reabsorption if the
eliminatory processes are seriously retarded, or if there is a vast
accumulation of morbid material within the bowels for over a
certain variable period. Such dangers, however, it seems, are
quite likely to be overemphasised. The most important point to
bear in mind is that a natural action, even if somewhat delayed
(say, two to three days), is much better than any enema or
colonic irrigation. The establishment of natural movements, then,
should be the real purpose of enemas and colonic irrigations. In

this respect, of course, diet, hip baths, massage, manipulation

and exercises are also advised.
Fasting is not a normal procedurein fact it may interrupt
the normal course of bowel movements in the non-constipated
individual. By not normal, we mean that fasting, though
excellent for cleansing purposes, is obviously a method limited
to therapeutics only and as a safeguard to health. There are many
factors involved in fasting, not the least of which is the timefactor. If it can be proved that a cure can be accelerated or
accentuated by the adoption of some means of bowel cleansing,
such as enemas or colonies, then we are justified in using such
means. In most cases this theory is accurate, but it does not
imply that enemas, etc., should be casually resorted to. It must be
remembered, in connection with this form of bowel cleansing,
that intestinal intoxication, which is what we are presumed to be
careful about, can arise only if the faeces are retained over an
abnormally long period. Speaking of intestinal intoxication, Sir
Arbuthnot Lane said: "Inflammation of the bile ducts, and of the
gall bladder, gall stones, inflammation of the pancreas, duodenal
spasm of the pylorus, cirrhosis of the liver and Bright's disease
may be caused by intestinal toxaemia." The foregoing, of course,
does not include headaches, lassitude, depression, rheumatism,
and many other common ailments that arise from intestinal
toxaemia.
Colonic irrigations, of course, are a matter for the expert.
Various types of apparatus are in vogue, all performing the same
operation. The Vattenborg, Studa Chair, and Plombires are the
most widely known systems. The operation is, in itself, fairly
simple, and, in skilled hands, quite free from danger. As the
patient lies in the correct position or adopts the attitude called
for, a proctoscope is gently inserted into the anus (the sphincter
can be felt to relax as it is inserted). This instrument has an
attachment containing an inlet tube and wider waste tube and is
clipped on to the proctoscope after insertion. A valve is then
released and the fluid allowed to enter the rectum. While the
solution is running in the oesophageal tube is gradually inserted
a few inches towards the sigmoid colon. The waste matter is run
off through the wider waste tube, though this can be periodically
checked, if necessary. The operator can watch the waste as it
runs through a glass tube. Different methods are used, but the
main essential, so far as the patient is concerned, is that there is a
continuous inflow of fluid and return of fluid plus waste matter.
Up to ten gallons of fluid may be used in a single irrigation. The
enema is a very different matter from the above system, in that it
can be self-applied. The gravity douche is the most popular
method, the syringe type having fallen out of favour. About one
to two pints of water can by this method be allowed to flow into
the rectum. The patient lies upon the left side with the hips raised
on a thick pillow. The nozzle is introduced into the anus and the
fluid allowed to flow. Before applying the enema make sure that
the water is at a temperature of 98 Fahr., the nozzle well
lubricated with vaseline or oil and the anal orifice itself oiled.
The nozzle should be passed forwards and upwards about three
to four inches before turning on the water. The best results are
obtained from the enema if the fluid is retained for as long as

possible. The water should be allowed to enter the rectum only

slowly.
It is almost impossible to be too emphatic on the issue of
natural defalcation. Never should colonic irrigations or enemas
be substituted for natural bowel movements. There are four main
organs of depuration, the skin, lungs, kidneys and bowels. If
these are maintained in correct balance and natural laws are
followed as far as possible, then the above means of bowel
cleansing should be unnecessary.
One final word before leaving the subject: always have the
feet well raised on a box or adopt the squatting position by some
other means when attempting a bowel movement.

CHAPTER XII
SUN AND AIR BATHING
THERE is no doubt that psychologically there is an asset in being
well dressed. There is a sense of satisfaction and an uplift in
morale from the knowledge that one is wearing good clothes and
looking one's best. Conversely, there is an equally strong uplift
arising from the freedom from clothes. It is not the intention of
this book to debate the merits or demerits of nudism in public.
Suffice it to say that there would be less sexual abnormalities
and a healthier outlook on sex if we were not so inclined towards
prudish habits inculcated from early childhood. Moreover, we
are slowly overcoming much mock modesty, and it is to be
regretted that the average film possesses such a baneful influence
regarding sex and clothes.
It has long been recognised that sun and air bathing are
conducive to health. Hippocrates was an early pioneer of sun
bathing. We are indebted to Arnold Rikli, a Swiss naturopath, for
the first revival of sun bathing in recent history. Rikli had an
establishment at Veldes, Austria, which he opened in 1855.
Apart from instituting sun bathing, Rikli pioneered the air bath
as distinct from the sun bath. Like all pioneers, he suffered from
the contempt and misrepresentation of an unreasoning public.
Medical opposition contumeliously dismissed Rikli's claims.
Among his pupils, however, was a medical man, Heinrich
Lahmann. Lahmann opened his own establishment at Dresden
and, at this Nature Cure Home which achieved world-wide fame,
made a feature of sun and air baths. The famous Bilz
Sanatorium, also at Dresden, promoted sun and air bathing.
In 1900 sun and air bathing was getting into its stride. By
1903 Dr. Rollier had opened the first heliotherapeutic clinic for
the treatment of tuberculosis at Leysin, in Switzerland. This,
again, was at first disregarded and ridiculed by orthodox
medicine.
A well-known advocate of sun and air bathing was Lt. J. P.
Muller, the famous physical culture expert, whose books My
System and Fresh Air Book (Link House Publications, London),
had immense popularity. "Sunlight," said Muller, "kills all
manner of bacteria and disease; as soon as we permit the sun's
rays to penetrate our skin, our digestive powers are invigorated,
our blood becomes healthier and darker, our disposition
enlivened."
Normal out-door sun bathing can be a very dangerous
pastime. While the burning effects from sun bathing are not
usually dangerous, such burns are exceedingly painful. Olive oil
applied to the skin before sun bathing will help to prevent any
such occurrence. Sunstroke, however, can be very detrimental
and cause serious harm. Only the extremely unwary should ever
suffer evil effects from sun bathing in this temperate climate of
ours. Even so, it is much wiser to be knowledgeable before than
after the event.

Whether a person is dark or fair will give some clue as to the

relevant period it is safe to sun bathe for the first time, but it
must not be overlooked that such pigmentation is not an accurate
guide. In every case the head should be covered and the first sun
bath should not last for more than five to ten minutes. After that
period it is advisable to seek the shade and stay there for thirty to
forty minutes before repeating the sun bath. Moving successively
from sun to shade will avoid complications; even so, it is as well
to limit the first total exposure to twenty to thirty minutes,
according to individual reaction. With children the total exposure
should be substantially reduced.
The movement from sun to shade serves a secondary purpose
in that it constitutes a form of skin gymnastics which stimulates
the circulation. This is induced by the expansion and contraction
of the pores of the skin. A cold shower after sun bathing is
advised so as to harden the skin and avoid any enervating results
from the heat. A sun bath produces hyperaemia, dilation of the
blood-vessels and a rise in temperature, and the cold application
will correct this and restore and stimulate normal circulation. A
radiant-heat lamp produces the same effect as the above and is
used for therapeutic purposes. Natural sunlight also contains
infra-red and ultra-violet rays. Infra-red rays are emitted from
every substance with a temperature above zero. However, since
body-heat is 98.6 degrees Fahr., to receive any benefit the
substance supplying the infra-red rays must have a higher
temperature than body-heat. Infra-red rays act by induction of
increased elimination and tissue growth, diffusion of heat
through the bloodstream, tissue relaxation, etc. It is very useful
in the relief of pain and inflammation. Ultra-violet rays, of
course, promote vitamin D by their action on the cholesterol. In a
book, Actinotherapy Technique (Sollux Publishing Co., Slough,
Bucks), the following effects arising from ultraviolet irradiation
are given:
(a) Direct effects
Direct bactericidal action on skin infections.
Stimulus of skin cells and increase in their oxygenmetabolism.
Formation of vitamins or pro-vitamins.
Release from the skin into the lymph duct of amino-acids and
elaboration of hormones by the endocrine glands.
Release into the circulation of vitamins, "anti-bodies" and
histamine-like substances from the irradiated skin.
Erythema, some hours after irradiation, with dilation of
superficial blood-vessels, increase in skin temperature and
vasomotor activity. (Erythema is not usually observed in infants.)
Improvement of skin tone and increased firmness and
development of underlying musculature. Increased "esophylaxis"
(anti-body formation by the skin).
Stimulation of the skin functions (transpiration, heat
regulation, resistance to infection).
(b) Effects on the blood through the skin
Increased content of calcium, phosphorus, iron and iodine.
Increase in the bactericidal power (originating locally in
irradiated area).
Increase in haemoglobin and red corpuscles.

Lymphocytosis and leucocytosis.

Normalisation of blood pressure.
Increased alkali reserve: hence decreased tendency to
thrombosis.
(c) General Effects on the Body
Increased oxidation: hence increased metabolism, shown in
improved appetite and sleep, increased assimilation and diuresis.
Improved endocrine function.
Marked mental stimulation, through action on the central
nervous system.
Reduction of pain through analgesic effect on the peripheral
nervous system.
Deepening and slowing of respiration, with increased
expiration of carbon dioxide.
Higher resistance to certain infections.

The startling effect of sun-ray treatment upon rickets, which

was discovered by two doctors working independently thousands
of miles apart, focused increased attention upon sun-ray
treatment and ultra-violet irradiation in particular. Previous to
that, however, and despite the work of Rikli, Lahmann, Bilz and
Rollier, orthodox medicine despised or dismissed sun-ray
therapy as of little consequence. The work of Drs. Hess and
Muldschinsky took place in 1919 (Rikli 1855) when they proved
the value of ultra-violet treatment in rickets, but it was not till
1927 that vitamin D was indemnified and an explanation of
ultraviolet treatment given.
Even such a partial explanation of the value of the sun bath,
as given above, should convince readers of the immense health
value of the sun. Under the circumstances, therefore, few
objections can be made to decent exposure to vital sun rays. Any
rigid adherence to prudish ideas of indecency in exposing the
body as much as possible to the sun and air is outmoded.
It must be remembered that ultra-violet, infra-red or radiantheat lamps reproduce these rays with a sharper intensity than the
sun and must be used with caution. They are, of course, capable
of being applied with greater accuracy than the variable exposure
to natural sun. Much depends upon the make and quality of the
lamp, but all manufacturers supply instructions which should be
followed. In any case, they are not substitutes for natural
sunlight, but are added conveniences which are most useful and
beneficial and, of course, properly used, of immense therapeutic
value.
With so much attention paid to the value of sun-ray treatment
and sun bathing, it is little wonder (especially since it has no
marketable value) that air bathing has been overlooked except in
naturopathic circles. Of course, anyone sun bathing in the nude
or semi-nude is also air bathing at the same time. The value of
the air bath, however, lies in the fact that it is not reliant upon a
fickle sun. It can be practised in the privacy of one's own room,
providing that a free flow of air is entering the room.
With air bathing, it is essential not to lose body-heat,
therefore it is a wise plan to combine exercises and air bathing at
the same time. The daily air bath, even of five minutes' duration,
will tone and harden the skin, increase circulation, raise the heat-

regulation powers of the skin (thus increasing the resistance to

colds, draughts and changes in temperature), stimulate the
nervous system, provide a certain amount of protective
pigmentation (ensuring longer exposure to sun without burning)
and act as a general tonic to the body.
The skin is an organ of elimination: it is via the millions of
pores that a vast amount of poisonous waste matter is exuded,
and every encouragement should be given to this natural
function. A skin that is always covered by thick and tight
garments restricting a free flow of air is a sickly skin, inefficient,
sensitive to draughts and thermal changes, hypersensitivein
fact, displaying only a crude imitation of its real capabilities. The
daily air bath quickly alters this state of affairs and transforms a
weak skin into a healthy organ playing a vital role in maintaining
good health.
Moderate vanity is not a questionable impulse, nor is it
correct to reduce dress to a mere sex instinct (as some fashion
designers and psychologists would apparently like us to believe),
but clothing that limits or inhibits the natural function of the skin
to an intolerable degree has a marked effect on health. Clothing
that hampers free movement of limbs, circulation or any organ of
the body is probably even more of a menace. It is unnecessary to
be either conspicuously unconventional or extreme to wear
sensible, light clothing offering unrestricted movement or free
air flow to the skin, but it is necessary to good health to allow the
skin free and unencumbered access to the elements for some
period of the day.

CHAPTER XIII
MASSAGE AND EXERCISES
MOVEMENT is Life. This much has been recognised from the
earliest times of Man's existence. Massage is really nothing more
than producing the end-results of movement in a patient who
has, actually, made little or no movement while the massage was
in progress. That is to say, the beneficial results of massage are
similar to those of exercise, and the art has more than once been
called the "lazy man's exercise."
Massage is a form of manipulation that has existed in Eastern
countries for countless centuries. In the Textbook of Massage, by
L. L. Despard (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd., London), we read:
. . . at the commencement of the Christian era, as well as
antecedent to that time, celebrated Greek and Roman physicians
prescribed the treatment for their patients, and that Plato classified
the movements as being active or passive. Massage is known to
have been employed on the Continent for some centuries, but its
practice in England dates only from the beginning of 1800. The
present system owes much to Professors Ling, Mezger of
Amsterdam, Von Mosengeil, Klein and others. Professor Ling was
a native of Sweden. He lived 1776-1839 and it was he who
elaborated the "Swedish Medical Gymnastic" system and
introduced it in Stockholm in the year 1813.

Massage can be simplified by saying that it is a skilful form

of rubbing. To call massage rubbing, however, would shock the
susceptibilities of the masseur or masseuse. Massage is divided
into: Effleurage, Stroking, Friction, Kneading, Petrissage,
Tapotement and Vibration. Each different movement is
performed for a specific purpose. Effleurage, for instance, acts
upon the cutaneous nerves and superficial vessels, while
Stroking is more calculated to influence the nervous system and
is used for sedative effects. Friction is used for breaking up
adhesions, promoting the absorption of effusion after breaking
up inflammatory products. In massage, too, are active and
passive movements which aim at introducing greater mobility
and strength to the limbs.
Massage is extremely useful for improving the circulation,
removing waste products and stimulating chemical interchanges,
and the digestion benefits from increased secretion of digestive
juices. The respiratory system benefits by the increased
oxidation brought about by massage, thus forcing the lungs to
work harder to eliminate the poisonous gases, again creating
deeper inspiration as a result. The nervous and lymphatic
systems also derive great benefit from massage; and not only is
muscular nutrition improved but fatigue and nervous irritability
can be removed by massage treatment. In the field of restoring
muscular activity and strength after a long illness massage is
supreme. Gentle massage should be given to most invalids
(excepting such contradictions as tumours, aneurysms,
thrombosis, tubercular joints, etc.), to maintain muscular strength

and to mitigate weakness, elasticity and poor circulation, etc.,

which arise from enforced idleness.
Massage is, of course, a universal remedy. It is a natural
means of aiding Nature to overcome disease and strengthen the
organism. As a means of inducing relaxationso essential in
these days of nervous tensionit is highly recommended. As the
entire Nature Cure theory is one of using natural methods to
prevent and overcome disease, it goes without saying that
Naturopathy employs massage to the fullest extent.
Neither massage nor manipulation of any kind can take the
place of exercise in normal life. Even those actively employed in
physical labour should remember that they use only certain sets
of muscles. The sedentary worker, of course, is the one most
likely to be affected by lack of exercise.
All exercises should aim at freeing and strengthening
muscles not normally used or muscles that suffer from fatigue.
Gardeners, for instance, who presumably do a lot of forward
bending in their daily toil, would be well advised to incorporate
exercises involving a backward stretching; also, since sidebending is not common in any work, side-bending exercises are
encouraged. With so much close repetition work, mental strain,
eye-strain and bad posture, the vast majority of people suffer
from stiffness in the neck. Simple head exercises such as sidebending and rotation of the head will free the neck and banish
many a headache and eye-strain.
Exercises need not be vigorous all the time. Rhythm counts
for a great deal in producing relaxation of tensed muscles. Even
heart-sufferers can improve their condition by graduated
exercises aimed at reducing congestion. Posture, too, counts for a
great deal. A simple method of inducing relaxation is to lie on
the floor with the buttocks close to the wall and the legs at right
angles up the wall. Stay in that position for a few minutes, now
and again bending the legs, and much ease will be gained. The
application of exercises and the correction of postural defects are
highly regarded in Nature Cure practice. Correct posture is
defined as"Head up, chin, chest up and out (not puffed out),
shoulders high, abdomen in, legs straight and feet forward so that
the body inclines lightly forward." Such a posture ensures even
weight-distribution with an economy of effort. Eye-strain and
headaches and indigestion, etc., can be avoided by sitting in the
chair with the spine erect instead of slumping over. In the
position one usually observes in offices and factories the worker
is bent over, the spine is arched and there is evident tension in
the neck muscles and the abdominal organs are cramped. Such a
posture creates maladjustments, congestion and neuro-muscular
tension and is the forerunner of much avoidable gastric and head
pains.
Stretching, yawning and laughing are not regarded as
exercises, yet all exert a beneficial influence on the organism.
These are instinctive exercises. Laughter increases the action of
the lungs and exercises the abdominal muscles and organs.
Yawning has a similar effect. In stretching we ease cramped
muscles, stimulate circulation and reduce tension. Any audience
will produce typical natural reactions which convention
endeavours to suppress. So long as the gathering is interested

and concentrating on what is going on, it is settled. Let the

interest subside or boredom ensue, and there are immediate
natural reactions (no matter how politely such reactions are
stifled) of yawning and stretching. This arises because,
concentration being no longer required, the body becomes aware
of its discomfort and takes steps to relieve it.
In these times, when sport is so largely confined to huge
attendances at various types of professional games, it is
imperative to find a corrective. To keep fit it is not essential to
have expensive paraphernalia nor to spend a lot of precious time
on exercises. Providing a certain amount of physical exercise is
taken in the form of work, walking, swimming, gardening, golf,
etc., fifteen minutes per day is quite sufficient to devote to
exercises. Exercise in the nude five minutes in the morning, ten
minutes at night (include deep-breathing in the exercises), and
the time spent will more than repay itself.

CHAPTER XIV
THE PROBLEM OF REST
GREAT importance has always been attached to the question of
rest in disease and health. In the last few years, however, there
has been a reversal of previous policy as regards rest, not so
much in normal, healthy life, as in the after-treatment of surgical
cases and other afflictions. The period of immobility in bed has,
in some cases, been drastically reduced. This applies particularly
to patients who have had operational treatment The reduction of
the lying-in period after the removal of some abdominal organ or
a section of the abdominal mechanism, etc., has produced some
startlingly successful results. Statistics from a large American
hospital encourage the belief that previous conceptions of rest
periods were on the generous side, and were even detrimental to
health. Patients who had undergone abdominal surgery, for
instance, responded quicker when the resting period was
shortened.
In this country, during the Second World War, the necessity
for keeping beds available for serious cases and potential air raid
victims drove many patients home long before the usual time.
Was this an evil arrangement dictated by circumstances? In the
light of subsequent events it would hardly appear to be as harsh
as was imagined. Even now, of course, when the position as
regards hospital staff is still a little critical, some reduction in the
lying-in period is a boon. But we must not be cynical enough to
assume that cutting down the number of days a patient occupies
a bed is one method of helping to solve the staff shortage
problem.
Not long ago, a medical specialist, R. A. J. Asher, wrote in
the British Medical Journal of the dangers of prolonged lying in
bed. Dr. Asher argued that the maintenance of one position
causes the collection of secretions in the lung; that the blood
stagnates in the veins and may cause clotting and even
embolism; that muscles waste and bones become drained of their
calcium; that the appetite fails and the patient may sink into a
vegetative condition which creates an antipathy to movement.
The above, of course, is rather an alarming picture of what
might and could happen if prolonged rest was indulged in. Up to
1939 people spent from ten to fourteen days in bed after an
operation. Yet in 1899 an American surgeon, Emil Ries, was
advocating a reduction in the resting period after operation or
illness. A minimum of mobility retards the recovery of postoperation cases. Figures have proved that complications have
been halved by the act of making patients get up one or two days
after injury. It has also been found that fractures heal better when
holding the weight of the body rather than when suspended in
the air.
For a long time, of course, naturopaths have bitterly
commented upon the avoidable distortion and fixation of limbs
arising from ill-advised complete rest in many cases of arthritis.
Though complete rest is not so generally insisted upon

nowadays, in the treatment of rheumatism and arthritis, it has

caused much misery that even gentle passive movement or
massage could have mitigated. In these days, however, much
more attention is paid to the value of manipulation, massage,
remedial exercises and baths, etc. Forced rest in many cases
produced adhesions which, in time, resulted in complete fixation
of a joint.
In a lecture, "Cases that Bone-Setters Cure," published in the
British Medical Journal of January 5, 1867, Sir James Paget said
"Too long rest is, I believe, by far the most frequent cause of
delayed recovery after injuries of joints, and not only to injured
joints, but to those parts that are kept at rest because parts near
them have been injured." Although Sir James Paget had an
international name as a surgeon of high skill, little or no attention
was given to his words.
Now, of course, with earlier recognition of the onset of
arthritis, special attention should be given to passive and active
movements to prevent or mitigate adhesion formation. The
qualified naturopath is probably more on the alert for such signs
than his medical counterpart One good reason for this lies in the
fact that manipulation plays such a large part in the naturopath's
work, and so he depends much more on actual physical work
upon the patient than the normal allopathic practitioner. The
mere fact of this difference contributes, to a large extent, to the
earlier recognition of adhesion formation, and to its correction.
Acute conditions call for rest Whether such a condition goes
under the name of arthritis, rheumatism, febrile attacks or the
results of injury, rest is essential. When, however, the acute stage
has given way to the sub-acute, some movement can be
instituted. Arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, etc., will all benefit by
manipulations which aim at breaking down and removing
adhesions. Manipulation will also prevent or reduce adhesion
formation. Commenced at the right moment, such manipulation
will reduce the time factor involved in the return to normality, it
will reduce pain and prevent unnecessary stiffening of joints and
tissues. Even a simple sprain can be seriously incommoding, yet
manipulation instituted at the earliest possible period will
accelerate recovery and stimulate mobility. Prolonged rest, on
the other hand, will increase stiffness, permit a favourable
background for the formation of adhesions, and delay the final
cure.
It is, naturally, of great importance to avoid straining an
already strained ligament or muscle. Any movement or weightbearing that causes intense pain should be avoided. Passive or
active movement, however, will assist the healing of a strained
joint and improve mobility if intelligent caution is practised.
Many thousands of stiff joints owe their lack of mobility to a too
ready acceptance of the theory of rest.
It has long been recognised that muscle, ligament or vital
mechanism of the body can suffer from extremes. As continued
extremes of heat and cold are harmful to the body. so are
persistent extremes of over-work and lack of use. Overstimulation of a nerve fibre, for instance, will result in a loss of
nerve stimuli. Muscles and ligaments that are not called into play
because of excessive rest soon lose their tone and degenerate.

Any patient who has been compelled to stay in bed for a few
days will recall the weakness of the legs when first getting up.
Bowels, too, become sluggish, and natural defaection may be
affected by prolonged rest. Few people can stay in bed for any
length of time without becoming constipated. It is not unknown
for old people to go to bed for some trifling complaint and never
get up again. This is explained partly by the fact that undue
resting weakens the system, causes the collection of secretions,
the retention of poisons and saps the initiative. Ultimately the
decline becomes serious and death ensues.
There is no intention, of course, to imply that rest is neither
essential nor desirableit is both. There is, too, a necessity for
older people to rest at more frequent intervals than the majority
of people. What must be guarded against, however, is the
excessive use of rest. The habit of staying in bed a few days for
any minor complaint is to be guarded against. Normal people
leading busy lives are not likely to require such a caution; it is
more than likely that they do not obtain sufficient rest. But the
neurotic "invalid" type and the phlegmatic (and, perhaps, slightly
indolent) individual should be warned against the dangers of
overindulgence of lying in bed.
It is obvious that there are times when resting in bed is
essential. Influenza, bronchitis and any febrile condition
demands rest in the prone position. There are numerous
conditions when rest in bed is the only sensible plan, but beware
of overdoing the inactive state of lying in bed.

CHAPTER XV
OSTEOPATHY AND NATURE CURE
DOCTOR Andrew Taylor Still, who, in 1874, founded osteopathy,
would most certainly be gratified by the enormous spread of his
teachings, and no less flattered and encouraged by the
tremendous amount of human suffering that has been banished
by the aid of osteopathy. It is, however, unfortunate that there
still exists such a great mass of ignorance concerning the
meaning of osteopathy. Even now, despite the rapid growth of
the profession and the respect that osteopathy has acquired, the
average person has only a vague idea of its nature.
Describing how the term "osteopathy" arose, Still said:
I had worked hard and tried to reason that a body that was
properly normal in structure could keep a man in the full
enjoyment of health just as long as the body was perfectly normal.
On that conclusion I worked first to know what was normal in form
and what was not normal: then I compared the two in health and
disease. I found by hard study and by experimenting that no body
was normal in bone whilst harbouring any disease, either acute or
chronic. I got good results in adjusting those bodies to such a
degree that people began to ask what I was going to call my new
science. . . . I concluded that I would start with the word "os"
(bone) and the word "pathology" (disease) and press them into one
word"osteopathy."

It is, of course, a misleading term, since osteopathy deals

mainly with the correction of structural (bone) lesions and not
with bone disease. In fact, one of the conditions osteopathy does
not treat is tubercular disease in the spine and joints.
Dr. Still based his theory on two beliefs: first, that the body
is an entity, containing all that is required to maintain health and
overcome disease; and second, that normal structure and normal
functioning go hand in hand. Still found that many diseases were
accompanied by faulty structure in the spine. Working on this
premise, he argued that, by correcting any structural unbalance,
he could correct the body as a whole. Deviations from normal
structure were called "lesions," and by the adjustment of these
lesions, which interfered with nerve and blood and lymph
supply, a cure could be effected. Out of these beginnings
osteopathy has grown into a skilled science, though it must be
remembered that, even before Still noted the relation between the
spine and disease, the phenomena of spinal tenderness in disease
had been observed. While Andrew Taylor Still is often fondly
regarded as the crude pioneer of a remarkably successful
therapeutic system, it must not be overlooked that many of his
teachings and sayings still hold good. Still's "Find it, fix it and
leave it alone" has stood the test of time.
Since osteopathy is concerned with the correction or removal
of lesions, we must first appreciate what constitutes a lesion.
Dain L. Tasker, D.O., in his book Principles of Osteopathy
(Birdey & Elson Printing Co., Los Angeles, U.S.A.), describes a

lesion as follows: "Any structural change which affects the

functional activity of any tissue is called a lesion." However, as
Tasker himself points out, the lesion must have a detrimental
influence on functional activity. Flat feet, for instance, are a
structural defect, but if a person who had flat feet from birth had
this structural abnormality corrected, he would find pain where
no pain previously existed. There are other similar instances of
structural defects to which the body has accommodated itself and
where any attempt at correction would be harmful. Tasker
says:
Lesions which might have been active at a former time are
sometimes non-active on account of laws of accommodation which
are always active in the body. If the body has succeeded in
recuperating from the effect of these lesions, it is unwise to disturb
them.

A lesion is usually characterised by subluxation, thickened

ligaments and contracted muscles. It is usually felt by palpation,
tenderness is displayed at the area of the lesion and the
functional disturbance is related to the lesioned area. By the
latter, we mean that the functional disturbance must have a
connection via the nervous system with the lesion, i.e. a lesion of
the eleventh or twelfth dorsal vertebra would probably be
connected with the kidneys. It must be remembered that the
spinal column is peculiar in that the nerves of the body radiate
from it and that any structural defect may cause pressure or
chemical changes which influence nerves innervating an organ
or tissue some distance from the site of the spinal lesion, because
the nerves of that organ or tissue arise from the area of the
lesion.
Lesions are of two classes: primary and secondary. Lesions
arising from injury or violence all fall into the primary class. In
this case, if the lesion is not corrected at an early stage, it may
further be complicated by an increase in size. Such lesions are
more difficult to correct. Some indeed are never corrected, nor
should they be, because of the law of accommodation which
ensues. As a protective element, we often find thickening and
increase of size in bone and ligaments. In any case, unless the
lesion is definitely the source of functional disturbance which is
detrimental to the body, it is not a true lesion. Tasker remarks:
There can be no doubt but that the removal of a primary lesion
due to violence is absolutely essential, but when we maintain that
all lesions must be removed before function can right itself, we
become absurd. Furthermore, if we contend that a structural lesion
antedates all functional disturbances, we make of life a series of
accidents, instead of a force governed by fixed laws.

Secondary lesions usually arise from the failure of the

organism to adapt itself to external conditions arising in
everyday life, and to functional derangements in the body. Cold,
poor diet, strain, overwork, etc., are in themselves sufficient to
cause a secondary lesion. The connection between a continued
draught of cold air striking on the skin and a spinal lesion may
not seem apparent. Yet if we consider the average person's

susceptibility to draughts on account of loss of tone in the skin

and circulation, and the contraction of muscles as a response to
cold, we can visualise how a lesion can be caused by cold. It
must be remembered, too, that lesions are osseous, muscular and
ligamentous. Recalling that spinal tenderness has been observed
in disease and that definite spinal areas are associated with
different organs via the nervous system, it is possible to realise
the fact that overeating can be reflected in that area of the spine
appertaining to the digestive tract. A stomach disorder arising
from overeating would probably assert itself in a lesion between
the fifth and seventh dorsal. While the correction of such a lesion
would be helpful, if the same dietetic mistakes were made the
lesion would recur. Of course, many lesions of a similar
character occur in life and either they are corrected naturally or
the law of adaptation assumes control and brings about a
recovery. Few spines are normal, and adaptation after longcontinued postural defects alone often creates an abnormal spine.
Even osteopathically, the unity of the body is demonstrated, as
Tasker shows in the following words:
The point we desire to emphasise is that the unity of the body
is exemplified by the spinal lesion phenomena. No organ or tissue
can or does suffer injury without other tissues being drafted to
compensate for its condition so as to maintain not only existence
but the most satisfactory life of which the organism is capable. If
the spinal lesion is viewed not only as a possible cause but, also, as
a quite probable effect of tissue disturbance elsewhere, we will
appreciate more fully the manner in which the body strives to live
up to its best.

It is commonly assumed, even by the most ardent devotees

of osteopathy, that, in acute cases, it is of little use calling in the
services of an osteopath. To help correct this erroneous belief,
we shall again resort to Tasker, who states:
As soon as we have an autotoxaemia to deal with our lesion
picture is enlarged. This is well illustrated in the various
manifestations of indigestion. In such cases, not only lesions in the
areas segmentally associated, but also above and below, will be
found. Some cases will complain of the whole length of the spine
while the auto-intoxication is at its height. As the intensity of the
auto-intoxication decreases the lesion areas become restricted to
the physiologically associated spinal areas. This is true in the
infections as well. The backache in tonsilitis, la griffe, smallpox,
etc., are well known and evidently not located in physiologically
associated areas. The phenomena of spinal hypertension and
hyperaesthesia are very important in these cases. Nothing seems to
palliate this spinal condition due to toxaemia to the same extent as
manipulation. We say palliate because the toxaemia which causes
the tension is not overcome by relieving the spinal tension.

Osteopathy would be of less account if it did not take

cognizance of the causative factor at work. If, for instance, a case
of sciatica were cured by osteopathic treatment, the same trouble
would arise if dietetic indiscretions, detrimental environment,
drugging, etc., which originally helped to produce the sciatica,
were not guarded against. It is not sufficient merely to correct an

osseous lesion. The soft tissues ranging the troubled area must
all be brought back to normality and the nerve, blood and lymph
now restored. In fact, all the stresses and strains causing or
arising from any lesion must be eradicated before a permanent
cure can be effected. It follows, therefore, that osteopathy is not
just a matter of producing impressive "clicks" and "pops," but of
ascertaining the true causes producing detrimental results within
the organism and, as far as possible, the removal of these causes.
The spectacular results achieved by osteopathy in the treatment
of primary lesions receiving early attention are far outweighed
by the patient but solid successes gained by persistent treatment
concerned with introducing normality to a disordered system.
Too frequently people expect immediate results from osteopathy
when, in point of fact, they have probably spent years in
reaching their state of ill-health by persistent abuse of the body.
Nonetheless, osteopathy does frequently achieve results in a
remarkably short time where all else has failed, and it is a system
of healing that should be encouraged.
What is the place of osteopathy in Nature Cure? It would be
a brave man indeed who entered into such a controversy. While
many regard osteopathy as the dominant factorand quite a lot
of osteopaths are scornful of Nature Cureit cannot but be said
that osteopathy is only one, though admittedly an impressively
useful one, addition to the arts of healing. The osteopath is not
automatically a Nature Cure practitioner, and the Nature Cure
practitioner is not always sympathetic to osteopathyor
chiropractic, its near relation. There is no doubt that the
osteopathic profession is very jealous of its code and standing,
and rightly so. They do not make extravagant claims any more
than the naturopath. It seems, however, that while the
osteopathic teaching does emphasise the way to health, its
subjects are more limited than those of the more-embracing
Nature Cure system.
Osteopathy does, of course, fall into that group of drug-less,
natural means of achieving and maintaining health which Nature
Cure must enfold. Osteopathy embraces diet, hygiene, exercise,
etc., but not to the same extent as Nature Cure. The difference
between the two can be summed up by saying that osteopathy is
a way to health and that Nature Cure is a way to life. In effect the
two are complementary, and the value of osteopathy as a natural
means of overcoming disease and maintaining health should not
be overlooked. At the same time, however, it must be
remembered that one of the essential differences between
osteopathy and Nature Cure is that the latter can be practised all
the time and the former only when taking that treatment. As a
prophylactic, Nature Cure must be supreme. Albeit, it is a very
healthy sign that there exists a fine body of osteopaths distinct
from the Nature Cure profession, even though the large majority
of the latter embrace osteopathy in their curriculum.

CHAPTER XVI
HERBALISM
BOTANIC therapy is as old as civilisation itself. It is a skilled art
which has, to a certain extent, been commercialised and brought
up to date. Whether this commercialism is a good or bad thing is
no concern of ours at the moment. Certainly, however, larger
groupings are probably better able to procure, prepare and
market the herbal remedies. They will, on the whole, most likely
do so under more hygienic conditions than previously existed in
the small herbalist shops of yore. It is essential, however, to bear
in mind the antiquity of herbalism. No healing art is more
steeped in tradition. The fact that botanic therapy has stood the
test of time should be sufficient proof of its value. An
investigating commission recently conducting scientific research
into old-time recipes and so-called "old wives' tales" was
surprised to find that many such recipes and habits had been
based on sound lines and supplied the missing ingredients in
many a familiar complaint. More than that, they were superior to
more modern treatment, because the preparations used were
found in natural surroundings and produced by natural growth.
An Act of Henry VIII decreed:
. . . by Authority of this present Parliament, That at all time
from henceforth it shall be lawful to every person being the King's
subject, having Knowledge and Experience of the Nature of Herbs,
Roots and Waters, or of the Operation of the same, by Speculation
or Practice, within any part of the Realm of England, or within any
other the King's Dominions, to practise, use and minister in and to
any outward Sore, Uncane Wound, Apostemations . . . any Herb or
Herbs, etc., or drinks for the Stone, Strangles or Agues, without
Suit, Vexation, Trouble, Penalty or Loss of their Goods. . .

The above Act was made necessary in the early years of the
sixteenth century by the victimisation of herbalists and others at
the hands of the orthodox medical school, who have never
ceased to be contemptuous of herbalism. All the way through
English history there are repeated attempts to connive for the
destruction of anything unorthodox in the healing world.
Herbalism has ever been the target for recrimination and
sarcasm, yet it has always maintained a high standard of
popularity, chiefly in country districts and urban areas.
The first great English name in herbalism, of course, is
Culpeper. Nicholas Culpeper (1616-54) was not an uneducated
man and gained great distinction in his work. The next great
name in botanic therapy is that of Samuel Thomson, who was
born in America. Thomson was entirely against the use of
poisonous herbs and, despite imprisonment, succeeded in
gaining State recognition for his methods in America. In the
meantime, herbalism had still flourished in England and was
given further assistance by the arrival in this country of Dr.
Coffin. Dr. Coffin was a very energetic American who did

excellent work despite medical opposition. The amalgamation of

Coffin's methods with those of current English herbalism laid the
foundation of modern botanic therapy. One of Coffin's
distinguished pupils was John Skelton, who left a wealth of
literature on herbalism behind him.
Coffin's Botanical Journal makes interesting reading. The
issue of July 6, 1850, contains a paragraph which is as true today
as it was then:
. . . In early ages, when Man was in a rude state, diseases were
uncommon, and, owing to the general physical exercise of the body
in the open fields, in the chase, or in the healthful occupation of
tilling the earth, those diseases which might by accident be
engendered, were soon removed, owing to the pure state of the
blood and the strong general tone of the body. In the course of the
progress of civilisation, Man gradually sank the physicalthe
animal manso as to allow more life to the mental; and acquiring
fresh power from improved intellect, indulged gradually in luxuries
and unnatural conditions which induced disease. Remedies were
sought, and, instead of regulating directly the cause, they blindly
overlooked that, and selfishly wished for enjoyment and remedy. In
some cases intelligent men endeavoured to cure by prevention, if
possible, and where not so, by selecting some of the myriads of
vegetable life according to their several qualities. . . .

One of the greatest objections to herbalism has been the use

of poisonous plants. Harold Ward in his Herbal Manual (The C.
W. Daniel Co. Ltd., Rochford, Essex) says:
Nevertheless, it is often necessary, in what is called acute
disease, to allay symptoms when these extraordinary efforts of the
body to expel poisons reach a point which brings too great a strain
to bear on the organism. This, herbalism contends, should be done
through harmless medicines and other means which co-operate
with Nature's normal efforts, and not by the administration of
further poisons. It may be asking too much of the organs of
elimination to get rid of this additional harmful matter, which
would then find lodgment in various parts of the system, so laying
the basis for chronic disease.

To a large extent, herbal medicines are used to assist Nature

restore the balance of the body. Herbal preventatives, however,
are freely available in the lanes and countryside. They play an
invaluable part in the natural treatment and prevention of
disease; yet it must be admitted that certain botanical remedies
are suspect. Officially, lobelia is classed as a poison, but
Coffinwho extensively used itsaid:
Lobelia is decidedly the most certain and efficient emetic
known, and it is at the same time safe in its operations. Unlike most
emetics from the mineral kingdom, it produces its specific effect
without corroding the stomach or producing morbid irritation and
inflammation of the mucous membrane of this organ, which are so
common in the use of antimony, zinc, and the sulphate of copper.
Lobelia may emphatically be said to "operate in unison with the
laws of life."

It can be stated that herbalists arraigned before the courts on

charges of causing death by the administration of lobelia have
never been convicted.
It must be emphasised that, by and large, we ignore the vast
collection of natural plants and herbs that can be used to cure and
prevent disease. Among the factors allied to the growth of
modern patent medicines is the industrialisation of the country,
the increase in reading matter containing advertisements of
patent medicines, the respect for "science," medical opposition
and official discouragement of herbalists. Nonetheless, despite
all disadvantages, an inherent respect for botanical remedies
exists, and herbalism still flourishes. That it does so is a tribute
to its time-honoured efficacy.
It would, naturally, be out of the question for every
naturopath to be an expert herbalist, as well as everything else.
The average naturopath, however, usually enlists the aid of as
many natural remedies as possible in the treatment of any single
case. For instance, a case of insomnia might be considerably
helped by correction of diet and habits, but it would be still
further assisted by osteopathic manipulation and remedial baths,
etc. Herbal remedies (hops, scullcap, etc.) could, however, be
usefully employed as adjuncts to the cure. It goes without saying,
too, that every effort would be made to remove fears, doubts and
worries that beset the patient's mind and inhibit sleep. From this
simple illustration we see that, of necessityor indeed, it is a
virtuea naturopath is a man of many studiesnot the least of
which is herbalism. It is impossible for the naturopath entirely to
neglect this useful field of natural therapeutics.

CHAPTER XVII
BIOCHEMISTRY
IT will already have been appreciated, from earlier chapters in
this book, that many Nature Cure pioneers were born in
Germany and adjacent Continental countries. How much one
was influenced by the other is difficult to estimate. The
biochemic system of medication, which is used as an adjunct by
numerous naturopaths, was founded by Dr. W. H. Schuessler.
The word "biochemistry" is derived from the Greek bios,
meaning "life," and "chemistry." The appellation, however, now
covers the following: "that branch of science which treats of the
composition of animal and vegetable matter; the process by
which the various fluids and tissues are formed; the nature, cause
and correction of the abnormal condition called disease."
Biochemistry is based upon the fact that all tissue of the
body contains, in varying degrees, twelve main mineral salts.
Actually, the human body is composed of two kinds of matter
organic and inorganic. The organic substances are sugar, fats and
albuminous materials. The inorganic constituents are water and
cell-salts, the latter comprising about one-twentieth of the body.
The unity of the human organism is such that, without the
relatively much smaller inorganic material, the organic would be
unable to perform its function. The twelve inorganic mineral
salts (previously mentioned in the diet section) are, in the
biochemic world, classed as follows:
Calcarea Fluor.
Calcarea Phos.
Calcarea Sulph.
Kali Sulph.
Magnesia Phos.
Natrum. Mur.

Ferrum Phos.
Kali Mur.
Kali Phos.
Natrum. Phos.
Natrum. Sulph.
Silicea.

The above should all be present in the diet in sufficient

quantities for the maintenance of health. Dr. J. B. Chapman,
author of Dr. Schuessler's Biochemistry (New Era Treatment
Co., London), writes:
. . . Every disease which afflicts humanity reveals a lack of one
or more of these inorganic cell-salts. Health and strength can be
maintained only so long as the system is properly supplied with
these cell-workers or tissue-builders. . . .
Being so small in quantity, the cell-salts have, until lately, been
thought to be of little importance. But now it is known that they are
the vital portion of the body, the workers, the builders; that water
and organic substances are simply inert matter used by these salts
in building the cells of the body.

Dr. Schuessler maintained that the inorganic substances in

the blood and tissues are sufficient to heal all diseases capable of

a cure, and insisted that it was in accord with natural laws. Dr.
Chapman writes:
Any disturbance in the motion of these cell-salts in living
tissues, constituting disease, can be rectified and the equilibrium
re-established by administering the same salts in small quantities.

From the above it would appear that the biochemist

considers that most ailments are deficiency diseasesthe
deficiencies being manifested in one or more of the cell-salts.
This is, of course, an attractive theory; yet deficiency diseases in
vitamins and mineral salts are always being recognised, and
biochemistry has, without doubt, value in the treatment of
disease.
The twelve cell-salts included in the biochemic system are,
of course, present in the food we eat. It is not without
significance that natural, whole wheat grown on natural lines
(i.e. without the aid of chemical fertilisers) contains the very
same elements that, together, constitute the chemical make-up of
the body. The cell-salts present in all food that is produced and
consumed in as natural a state as possible are found in
microscopic quantities. Nature provides these elements in a form
most easily assimilated, that is, in minute quantities readily used
by the body. It was, therefore, of little use to put the theory of
biochemistry to the test without being able to reproduce the
conditions present under natural laws. A method of producing
the cell-salts by fine trituration was discovered by Dr.
Schuessler, and there is no doubt that the enactment of
biochemistry has been beneficial to suffering mankind. It must
be emphasised that the biochemic system should be considered
only in conjunction with other methods: diet, exercises, correct
habits and a general Nature Cure outlook. We must remember
that pain is only an indication of disease, whether this disease is
due to a deficiency of cell-salts, vitamins or injury. To rectify the
deficiency by medication with the appropriate salt or salts would
be merely to palliate the symptom, unless adequate measures
were taken to see that such deficiencies did not recur. It would,
for instance, be helpful in most cases, to take the suitable
biochemic preparations for rheumatism or chilblains, but unless
other causative factors were removed (bad diet, lack of exercise,
excesses, etc.) no permanent or complete cure could be expected.
Biochemistry, like all other branches of healing, is but a part of
the general scheme of seeking health the natural way.

CHAPTER XVIII
DIAGNOSIS
IT will have been noted from time to time during the reading of
this book that reference is more than once made to the debt
Nature Cure owes various pioneers who are, or were, medical
practitioners. Usually, however, such pioneers were scorned by
their own fraternity for stepping out of convention. Insofar as
diagnosis goes, however, Nature Cure frankly pays its respects to
the medical system. The basic sciencesi.e. anatomy,
physiology, pathology, embryology, etc.are identical. There is
no point in denying that the best medical textbooks on these
subjects are used for training and guidance.
The patient who comes into contact with a Nature Cure
practitioner for the first time will find, on a superficial estimate,
very little difference between medical and unorthodox diagnosis.
There is a difference, however, despite the use of X-rays, urine
tests and all other modern devices that may be called upon. One
particular difference, perhaps even not apparent, would be the
formation of certain questions relating to diet, habits, posture,
previous medical treatment, etc. Of more fundamental
importance, however, is the interpretation of signs and symptoms
of physical disorder. True healing efforts such as diarrhoea, skin
eruptions, colds, fevers, etc., would be regarded as indicative of
a deeper-seated unbalance of the system and a sign that Nature's
reparative efforts are at work. There would be no danger of
symptoms pointing to a toxaemia being treated as primary
disorders and suppressed. On the contrary, these signs of supranormal activity of the body would be regarded for what they
arenatural healing effortsand correspondingly dealt with.
The family history, so often useful and so frequently
misleading, would be considered in a manner not accepted in
allopathic practice. For instance, the same environment and
similar habits as one's forbears would not necessarily mean that
the same family complaint is inevitable. Correction of mistakes
common to the parents and the rest of the family, which may
quite possibly have been the active cause of the common
complaint, is more likely to be detected by the naturopath than
the medical practitioner because, in the main, he is more
interested in natural factors governing health.
Since the majority of naturopaths include osteopathy in their
work osteopathic diagnosis would also be employed Particular
attention would be given to the spine in the search for lesions
that might be the cause of trouble. Such lesions may be the result
of violence or injury and, when the spinal lesion is situated in
such a manner as to have a bearing upon some internal organ
through its innervation from the same spinal area, such
association would probably confirm the diagnosis. Secondary
lesions arising from some functional derangement which
coincide physiologically would again tend to diagnostic
confirmation. That is to say, a liver disorder coinciding with a

lesion around the eighth, ninth and tenth dorsal vertebrae would
be of considerable help in diagnosis.
Such measures universally employed in diagnosisi.e.
questions, symptoms, inspection, palpation, percussion, etc.are
sharpened and reinforced by osteopathic diagnosis. This is, of
course, still not including all the modern aids in disease detection
which science has made available to the naturopath and which
are frequently brought into play.
What is important to the patient, however, is not so much the
naming of a disease as its removal. While it may be of some
consolation to know one is only suffering from fibrositis, the
patient would undoubtedly feel a great deal happier if this branch
of rheumatism were cured. In this respect, the treatment on
natural lines would follow closely on that of a second person
who had had his ailment confirmed as rheumatism. The result,
however, would be the same, since Nature Cure recognises the
unity of the body and the comparative unity of disease. The
supremacy of Nature Cure methods is due almost entirely to the
recognition of the body as a whole and the determination not to
waste too much time on the palliation of local symptoms, which,
though they may be important in themselves, are only indicative
of the general diseased state of the body.
The first and last aim in the diagnosis and treatment of
disease by natural methods is to find and remove the cause.

CHAPTER XIX
CONCLUSION
IN a narrative of this type, it is of course impossible to embrace
every feature of Nature Cure. Much has to be left unsaid; indeed,
a proper work on the theory and practice of Naturopathy would
occupy several volumes. It does, however, aim at giving the
man-in-the-street some idea of the meaning and usefulness of a
way of life that offers advancement not merely in health, but also
in the understanding that life can be fuller and more interesting.
The health we normally enjoy and the health we should enjoy are
poles apart.
There is one aspect of Nature Cure that we have not touched
upon. This concerns the extremes to which it is sometimes
subject by people who do accept it. These extremists do the
cause small service. Yet we must make some allowance for the
extremity of their views because, in most cases, Nature Cure has
been the means by which (a) they have either recovered their
health through the application of natural methods after years of
pain and misery; or (b) their health and prospects have been
permanently damaged by allopathy, but have regained a degree
of health by natural methods which permits them to lead a
tolerable existence only by strict adherence to Nature Cure
principles. We must not, of course, overlook that section of born
extremists who, if they did not take up Nature Cure, would be
attracted to some other unorthodoxy. These, however, are a small
minority, and, basically, Nature Cure adherents are a clearheaded section of the public who are able to think for
themselves, not ready to accept stereotyped ideas and are
attracted by the logic of Nature Cure.
There was, undoubtedly, a period when Nature Cure had to
be pioneered by extremists and by leaders fired with the
enthusiasm of the cause and by the necessity to overcome
ridicule, contempt and opposition by sheer force of character.
Such hectic days are practically over. Insensate opposition is
rapidly declining and Nature Cure is an accepted force. Tacit
State recognition has arrived, because public opinion has put
sufficient weight behind natural methods to compel the State to
give some consideration to unorthodox healing of this type.
Nonetheless, despite the fact that Naturopathy will one day have
to be fully recognised by both State and Medicine, a lot of the
old militant forces ranged against Nature Cure remain. Such
opposition as exists must be countered by cold logic.
Indisputable facts, however, must be properly presented to carry
any weight. In this age of publicity Nature Cure suffers its one
failing of lack of public appeal. Certain personalities do get
Nature Cure overwe could do with many more of these.
Indeed, many famous people who subscribe to Nature Cure
views would never consider making these views known publicly.
The reluctance on the part of many people, famous and humble,
to impart their enthusiasm for Nature Cure to others is, perhaps,
understandable. It is curious what diffidence is displayed by

many who are attracted by natural methods, yet are most mindful
of normal conventions and orthodoxy. Nonetheless, such
diffidence has detrimental results on Nature Cure as a whole, for
it does not permit a true picture of the effective supporters of
Naturopathy. It is very surprisingand gratifyingto discover
how Nature Cure has strode ahead in the last few years.
One of the questions invariably hurled at the naturopath is:
"Look at So-and-So. He's eighty years old and never suffered a
day's illness, yet he lives on anything and everything. What do
you say about that?" The answer is that old So-and-So must have
a tremendous constitution, probably has never worried about a
thing in his life and would, in proper natural circumstances,
probably live to be one hundred and forty! After all, Old Parr
(1483-1635) only died quickly when he was moved from his
rough-and-ready, simple existence into the pampered, luxurious
life of King Charles's court.
It is quite obvious that many old people now existing not
only laid the foundation of their good constitutions in the preartificial era, but would also live well over the eighty years if
natural methods were followed, as has been proved. Crete, for
instance, contains a high average of centenarians, and the diet is
plain and simpleprincipally sour milk and fruit. We must not
overlook, of course, the effects of improved hygienic and
working conditions, which do, to some extent, ameliorate the
effects of bad diet and other artificialities.
We must once again stress the fact that Nature Cure is not
merely a negative approach to disease. To look upon it, as one
looks upon allopathy, as a system to be called upon when disease
is present or imminent, is entirely misleading. One of the
essential differences is that Nature Cure teaches people how to
live and how to avoid disease.
In conclusion we have to emphasise the individual entity of
every person. In doing so we realise that while, within defined
limits, we can visualise the reactions that will arise from any
given dietetic regime, fast or therapeutic technique, we do not
anticipate all reactions to be the same. As proof of this, after
having conducted countless numbers of fasts where the tongue
has furred (the usual sign), in isolated cases no furring arises and
yet elimination still progressed as in normal patients. The same
individuality is frequently shown in diet, and we often find that
patients will recover or otherwise, despite all our teachings and
knowledge. As Kurt Kretschmann said: "He who takes his own
body as a guidance in matters of feeding, experiences the
collapse of a thousand prejudices and scientific dogma."
In so far as idiosyncracies arise, however, we must not
overlook the obvious effects of allergic conditions which were
mentioned in an earlier chapter. We must not forget, too, that our
knowledge of the human organism and how it functions is still
very incomplete. Nature Cure, like all other sciences, has much
to learn. In this, however, we have to avoid the pitfalls of
becoming too scientific and overlooking the simple, elementary
details that are part and parcel of the commonsense methods of
adopting natural laws for the betterment of health.
In a large measure, the failure of allopathy has been due to a
condition of developing scientific methods to supplant the

natural laws which took thousands upon thousands of years to

perfect. Evolution produced the necessary changes through
countless generations. Nature always hits back; it is constantly
rejecting the attempts by Man to supplant it in every sphere of
lifein the fields no less than in human frames. The neurotics,
the duodenal ulcers, the arthritics and cancers that pervade all
civilised countries are made by Man.
We affirm that only by following natural methods to an
increasing degree in the production of food, the rearing of
children and in our own lives, can health be restored to the
community. Nor does this mean foregoing the benefits produced
by our higher intelligence, but it does mean the restoration of
common sense and the keener awareness of what is "natural" and
what, as the popular Press is fond of saying "is a scientific
approach." There still lingers an immense instinct for doing the
"natural" thing. Pride, fear, superstition and prejudice should not
blind our eyes to the real fundamental laws governing existence.
Only by obeying these laws can humanity prosper.