Information on popular complementary and alternative medical topics

If we are careful in our choice of protein we can count on rapid success. Lactoprotein, as found in soft white cheese (quark), buttermilk and sour milk, is a good form of protein to take when skin disorders have to be treated. It is preferable to mix in finely grated horseradish, because fresh horseradish has antibiotic properties. People suffering from a skin disorder often cannot tolerate full-cream milk and should therefore abstain from it. On the other hand, they can take protein as contained in almond milk or soya milk. However, stay away from eggs, especially boiled eggs, and egg dishes, which cause strong reactions in persons suffering from eczema and similar skin disorders. The same holds true for all kinds of cheese with the exception of curds, cottage cheese, quark and most soft white cheeses made from skimmed milk, if they cause no upset.

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There is a happy medium between the over-taxed heart of a professional athlete and the under-taxed ‘loafer’s heart’. Anyone who does not want to end his life prematurely should certainly try to achieve this medium. It is extremely dangerous to give up physical exercise around the age of forty, because by doing so you may run the risk of having a heart attack fifteen or twenty years later and perhaps dying as a result. So, if you practise therapeutic exercises early enough and always make sure to take plenty of exercise in your daily life, you will avoid the need to go on strophanthin medication in later life.

There are times, however, when certain symptoms appear as an advance warning, making us aware of a potential problem. This happened to me several years ago when I began to have severe heart spasms. A subsequent examination showed there was nothing wrong with my heart, but I was prompted nonetheless to take a closer look at my life. In doing so I found that for some months I had been doing only brain work, with little physical activity. What made things worse, during this time my life was filled with problems and worries. It did not take much persuading to make me resume my interest in hiking and climbing in the mountains. And sure enough, within a short time I felt fully recovered.

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Diet is a very important factor in maintaining health or correcting illness. Give your body its natural food: whole grains, salads, fruit, meat in moderation (if you cannot give it up altogether), wholemeal bread and flour, and all those concentrated energy goodies like dates, figs, nuts, and dried fruits. You will lose weight, and your energy and enjoyment of life will grow each day. Have a browse around your local health food store and see what a tempting array of exotic, tasty, nourishing food comes under the heading of “what is good for you”. You will be astonished at the variety of gourmet meals you can prepare from natural ingredients.

I have known many, many people who have been dissatisfied with the results obtained from orthodox medicine and have turned as a last resort to a natureopath or herbalist. I have never yet met one who has been dissatisfied with natural medicine and natural living and returned to his former diet and chemical drugs.

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Creeping thymes come in a multitude of types, the grey woolly thyme with its furry bluish-grey leaves and pale flowers; Shakespeare thyme, growing in a little cushion of light green; the white and pink-flowered Thymus serpyllum for small lawns in a sunny spot; and many others. Each will cover a large area in quite a short time, particularly if reflected heat from rocks and stones can reach it.

Light soil suits all the thymes best, but they will grow in heavier soils if necessary. Don’t feed them too much; poorer conditions suit them better. Artificial fertilizers can even be fatal to them, or at best can cause leaf-drop and yellowing of the remaining foliage. Thyme is the poor man’s herb: it will just grow and grow and grow.

Thyme tea is often prescribed for sore throats and colds. Take a good handful of the fresh herb, pour a cup of boiling water over, let it stand for a few minutes, and then sip slowly. Taken internally this way, the antiseptic thymol can kill many germs and bacteria in the throat and respiratory passages.

On the culinary side, thyme stands as one of the Big Four, which include sage, parsley and marjoram, these being used together in a bouquet garni for flavouring soups, stews and hotpots. Its best-known use is to flavour grilled, roasted or broiled meat, but it can be a vegetable “flavour-saver” too. The Romans used it with soft cheese, and in liqueurs.

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Country Fruit Bake

Soak 4 oz. dried apples and 4 oz. dried apricots (separately) in hot water just come off the boil, for 3/4 hour, then drain. (You can drink the liquid later when it has cooled.) Butter a shallow oven-proof dish. Cut a banana into inch-long sections and arrange over the bottom, then add the drained fruit and 5 or 6 leaves of garden mint or spearmint, and pour over the top half a cup of sweet cider in which 3 tablespoons of honey have been dissolved. Sprinkle generously with fine-grated lemon-rind, dot with butter and bake uncovered at 300 degrees for 1 ? to 2 hours, or till fruit is tender and glazed.

Mint Chutney 2 lb. apples 4 oz. raisins

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 cup chopped mint

3/4 pint vinegar 4 oz. brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Peel and core the apples, and mince or chop finely with the raisins. Add all the other ingredients and cook all together until of jam-like consistency. Bottle immediately, and seal well.

Mint and Raisin Sandwich Filling

Mix equal quantities of chopped raisins and mint leaves with a little hot water to give a spreadable consistency.

For a Cold Platter

Whip cream cheese through with a little top-of-the-milk, add a few caraway, dill or fennel seeds. Form into little balls and serve with chunks of fresh pineapple topped with an applemint or pineapple mint leaf.

Lemon Cucumber

Peel and slice thinly a firm fresh cucumber. Arrange in layers with salt, lemon juice and chopped fresh garden mint leaves in between. Garnish with a dob of sour cream.

Beetroot and Mint Salad

1 lb. cooked beetroot

2 tablespoons chopped mint French dressing

Lettuce

Peel and slice the beetroot. Wash and dry lettuce and arrange on a large platter. Pour over the french dressing and garnish with the chopped mint.

Mint Jelly

1 pint water

1 lb cooking apples

1 ? cups of mint

Green colouring

Sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Wash the apples, chop coarsely (no need to peel or core), and simmer in the water until the fruit is pulp. Strain the mixture by hanging in a muslin or jelly bag overnight. For each pint of juice, add 1 lb of sugar and boil rapidly until thick. Allow to cool, then stir in the lemon juice, finely-shredded mint and a few drops of green colouring. Seal in small glass jars.

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Here are a couple of suggestions for cold platters:

Open Sandwich

Mash an avocado to puree, add some mayonnaise, chilli powder, a few drops of lemon juice, tomato quarters, black olive halves, sprigs of fresh dill. Blend loosely, and serve on lettuce on rye bread.

Pepper with Dill

Seed and wash half of a small red or green pepper. Fill with a mixture of cottage cheese blended with chopped dill, diced black olives and diced cucumber, the whole bound together with a little sour cream. Garnish with watercress or garden cress.

Dill Sauce

Here is a seventeenth century recipe. A modern bouillon cube can be added if stock is not available.

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons flour (wholemeal if possible)

1 1/2 cups stock

2 tablespoons chopped dill 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 tablespoon sugar, raw 1 egg yolk Salt and pepper

Melt the butter, blend in the flour, and add the hot stock gradually, blending constantly to keep smooth. Add all the other ingredients except the egg yolk. Keep this aside until the sauce is slightly cooled (to avoid curdling) then add the yolk, and whisk again. This is a delicious sauce for beef.

Cucumber Sauce

1 large fresh cucumber 1 oz. oil or butter 1 oz. flour (wholemeal) 1 tablespoon chopped dill

1 cup sour cream

2 cups stock or 1 bouillon cube dissolved in 2 cups of water

Peel the cucumber, remove the seeds and chop it into dice, then melt the butter or put the oil in a pan, and add the flour, stirring well. Add the stock or bouillon, then the diced cucumber, a small pinch of sugar and a drop of lemon juice. Simmer slowly for about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the chopped dill and the sour cream just before serving, and reheat quickly.

Seafood Salad

Cook 2 cups of long-grain rice in plenty of salted water, till the grains are fluffy and plump. Wash with cold water to separate the grains, and allow to cool and drain completely. Place the rice in a bowl and add the following: a small tin crabmeat chunks, 1 red and 1 green pepper, chopped, a little sliced celery, several good-sized leaves of fresh dill, chopped, and toss with 3/4 cup of good mayonnaise to which salt and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice have been added. Chill well before serving, piling into a mound in the centre of the serving platter, and garnish with fresh whole dill sprigs.

Shrimp Moulds with Dill

1 small can tomato juice 1 oz gelatine

1 1/2 cups shrimps (or prawns)

Juice of half a lemon Dash of cayenne Several chopped gherkins Sprigs of fresh dill

Tablespoon of chopped green pepper

Soften the gelatine in a little cool water, then heat gently to dissolve. Gradually stir in the tomato juice, then all the remaining ingredients. Leave the mixture cool until nearly set (otherwise all the shrimps will sink to the bottom of the mould), then spoon into individual moulds. When set, turn out onto a bed of cucumber slices and garnish with more sprigs of dill and a few of the shrimps.

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Borage has been planted by commercial strawberry growers to assist in the growth of the young plants. The borage is also helped by the strawberry plants, and grows extremely well. Thus the two are true companion plants, each stimulating the growth of the other. A plant of borage every 12 to 18 feet along the rows has been found a suitable distance. There is room for much experimentation and tabulation of such companion plants that can be of value to commercial growers. Several instances are mentioned in this book, and if you have any such experiences with your own gardening the Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association Inc., of Stroudsberg, P.A., U.S.A., will be very glad to hear of them. Only by collecting information from farmers and gardeners all over the world can such results be evaluated, and as world food problems increase any methods of increasing crop growth and yield can be of great importance. Who knows, your own “helpful hint”, based on proved experience, could help cancel out in the long run some of the problems of feeding the earth’s population.

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Now that you have the menial pictures and suggestions ready, you can begin creative imagery. Start by practicing the deep relaxation techniques described earlier until you have attained the deepest possible state of relaxation. Allot fifteen minutes to a creative imagery session and divide it into the following stages.

1. Visualize the cold or flu you want to get rid of. Make it appear weak and disoriented. Visualize thousands of spherical-shaped viruses trying to enter the cells in your nasal passages. (30 seconds).

2. Visualize any medical or herbal supplement, food, exercise or outer natural therapy that you are using and watch it boosting the numbers and aggressiveness of your white blood cells. Alternatively, visualize the medication or treatment soothing an afflicted area and reducing inflammation and discomfort (75 seconds).

3. Visualize your immune system massing in your nose and throat for an all-out attack on the viruses located there. For about a minute, visualize your macrophages and T and B cells replicating in huge numbers. Then see the B cells manufacturing antibodies. Spend thirty seconds visualizing white cells and antibodies from all over your upper body moving to your nose and throat and massing there for a huge attack.

Then imagine squadrons of B cells firing wave after wave of antibodies at the already reeling viruses. See the viruses frying apart as each antibody strikes home. Next, see hordes of rough, tough killer T cells charge the remaining viral invaders, chewing up and destroying all that remain. Finally, see the huge macrophages sail in and mop up the debris, chewing up the remains of millions of viruses. (8 minutes).

4. Visualize your nose, throat and other afflicted areas as already healed and restored to health. (90 seconds).

5. Visualize yourself in perfect health. (75 seconds).

6. Picture your life’s goals as fulfilled and visualize a good self-image. (75 seconds).

7. Congratulate yourself for having taken part in your own recovery. Tell yourself you are feeling terrific. The cold or flu is already gone. Maintain a strong positive feeling. (75 seconds).

If your visualization is finished before the allotted time is up, start over and visualize it again. Repeat the visualization as many times as necessary to fill the allotted time.

End the session by repeating the classic Coue suggestion: “Every day in every way I feel better and better.” As you say the words, feel yourself well, cheerful, optimistic and filled with new energy.

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Take care not to overeat during a respiratory infection. Overeating causes atrophy of the thymus gland, leading to premature weakening of the immune system.

All T cells are manufactured in the thymus gland which also secretes thymosin, a hormone which orchestrates the growth of the immune system in childhood. During early childhood, the human organism is exposed to a large number of unfamiliar diseases for which antibodies must be formed without delay. But as the teen years approach, antibodies have already been formed for most of the common diseases. Need for thymosin begins to decline and the thymus begins to gradually atrophy. By age sixty, it has declined to approximately one-tenth the size it was in youth. Yet it still plays a vital role in maintaining immunocompetence. All indications thus far are that a frugal diet helps to preserve the size and activity of the thymus gland.

Studies using lab animals at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and at Chase Institute for Cancer Research have all confirmed that frugal eating boosts immunocompetence and reduces incidence of all types of disease and infections. For example, by eating lightly, we can keep the lungs clear and healthy until well into our eighties and nineties. The lungs of heavy eaters, by contrast, gradually become filled with cysts and hemorrhaged areas that increase risk of a complication following a cold or flu.

The most recent and important discoveries in this field emanate from the work of Roy C. Walford, Ph. D., an immunologist at UCLA Medical School. Walford has discovered that when calorie intake is gradually reduced by one third while intake of all thirty-two essential vitamins and minerals is maintained, atrophy of the thymus gland is retarded, causing the immune system to remain younger and more active. Put another way, by eating lightly at all times we can, at say age sixty, have an immune system comparable to that of the average person of forty-five.

Thus sparse eating reduces risk of every type of disease including cancer and all respiratory tract infections. We can easily cut calories by reducing such undesirable foods as fats and oils, refined carbohydrates and excessive amounts of animal protein such as meat, whole milk dairy products, and cheeses, ice cream, pizza and eggs. We should also pass up all convenience and fried or fast foods; and all commercial sauces, mayonnaise, dressings and condiments containing fats, oils or sugar. In their place, we can use herbs, lemon juice or garlic to flavor foods.

Eating the 80-10-10 way literally forces us to reduce calorie intake while the fibrous bulk of these complex carbohydrate foods satisfies hunger mechanisms and keeps us feeling full. For instance, fat has 9 calories per gram while protein and refined carbohydrates each have 4. But most complex carbohydrates have only 2.75 calories per gram, less than one-third that of fats. When you consider that 40 percent of the Standard American Diet consists of fat, the high incidence of upper respiratory tract infections is hardly surprising.

Thus the 80-10-10 way of eating not only provides a disease-resistant diet but it will also restore weight to normal.

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Vitamin A plays a key role in maintaining the integrity of epithelial cells lining the mucosal tissues of respiratory passages. A deficiency of A causes these cells to dry out and become increasingly susceptible to viral penetration.

Vitamin A is also essential for optimal functioning of the adrenal, thyroid and thymus glands, each vital to immunocompetence. Vitamin A stimulates the thymus to produce more T cells. A healthy thyroid gland is essential for converting beta-carotene in food into additional vitamin A for use by the body. And without an adequate supply of vitamin A, the adrenal glands may secrete cortisol which directly suppresses the immune system. Subjects with the highest vitamin A content in blood plasma had the highest immunocompetence. Several studies on lab animals have confirmed that in animals deprived of vitamin A, the immune system is suppressed while supplementation with vitamin A bolstered immunocompetence in the test animals.

While the RDA for vitamin A is 5,000 IU daily, or 8,000 IU for pregnant women, many nutritionists believe that an intake of 10 to 15,000 IU would be more appropriate during a cold.

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