to acute coryza and exposure to irritating dust, or cold, moist,
and perhaps infectious air. These may be secondary causes and may
augment catarrh after it has appeared, but experience has proved
that the primary cause of catarrh is the decomposition of unused
food material, and that Nature throws off the decomposition products
resulting therefrom, through the nasal passage, in the form of
mucus. In the support of this theory I may refer to many cases of
ordinary stomach trouble, constipation, torpidity of the liver,
etc., that have had my personal care. In nearly all these cases I
found that, when the diet was balanced according to the age and the
occupation of the patient, with the climate or time of the year,
practically all catarrhal symptoms disappeared, and exposure to
atmospheric changes, dust, and the usual things that had formerly
brought on catarrhal conditions, did not affect the patient.
CATARRH--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of catarrh are constant secretion of nasal mucus, which
often passes off into the postnasal and nasopharyngeal spaces. This
mucus is usually thin and of a light-colored watery character,
varying in quantity according to exposure or activity, the quantity
of food eaten, and the temperature of the atmosphere.
CATARRH--THE REMEDY
In the treatment of catarrh, avoid the following:
All meats
Heavy starchy foods (Especially white flour products)
Sweets (See Lesson VIII, p. 334)
The diet should consist of--
A reasonable quantity of proteid foods in the form of--
Beans Peas
Eggs Sour milk
Nuts
Bananas
Coarse cereals--twice a day; such as entire wheat and rye
Fish (small quantity, occasionally)
Fresh vegetables
Green watery salads
Non-acid fruits
Wheat bran--
(Enough to keep the bowels in normal condition)
[Sidenote: Nasal breathing]
Deep breathing through the nostrils and vigorous exercise should be
taken freely, especially just after rising and just before retiring.
Special attention should be given to breathing through the nose.
When the air is pure, there is nothing more healing and remedial in
the treatment of catarrh than the abundant passage of air through
the nasal cavities.
In cases of Catarrh:
OMIT EAT
All meats A reasonable {Beans
Heavy starchy foods (white flour quantity of {Eggs
and grain products) Proteids {Nuts
Stimulants and narcotics such as {Peas
Sweets {Sour milk
Bananas
Coarse cereals--entire wheat
and rye
Fish, occasionally
Fresh vegetables
Green watery salads
Non-acid fruits
Take vigorous exercise, together with deep breathing through the
nose.
HAY FEVER
Hay fever might be called autumnal catarrh. It is popularly supposed
to be irritation of the nasal passages and the bronchial tubes,
caused by the flying pollen from various flowers and plants.
HAY FEVER--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of hay fever are usually a salty discharge from the
eyes and the nostrils, followed by severe irritation of the mucous
lining of the nasal cavity, a sense of fullness in the head, and
violent sneezing.
HAY FEVER--THE REMEDY
It has not been the writer's opportunity to examine deeply into the
actual causes of hay fever, but it has been his good fortune to cure
many cases.
The remedy should be confined to--
Fresh air and sunshine
Close observation of the rules of diet
Total abstinence from all forms of stimulants and narcotics
I would suggest the following diet:
Berries
Eggs
Fish (Limited quantity)
Green and fresh vegetables
Sour milk (Buttermilk)
(Where this kind of milk cannot be obtained, the ordinary
sweet milk will suffice)
The diet must be governed, as already explained in many other cases,
by the individual requirements of the patient in regard to the
amount of exercise, the temperature of the atmosphere, and the age
of the patient. In spring and summer is the ideal time to remove the
causes of hay fever and effect its cure. (See Catarrh.)
In cases of Hay Fever:
OMIT EAT
Coffee {Bananas
Confections {Berries
Condiments Abundance {Fresh
Liquors and wines of {vegetables
Tea {Green salads
Tobacco {Sweet fruits
White flour products
Limited {Eggs
quantity {Fish
{Sour milk (buttermilk)
The diet should be governed by amount of exercise, temperature,
etc.
ASTHMA
THE CAUSE
The cause of asthma is congestion in, or constriction of, the
bronchial tubes. This congestion is usually caused by overeating
and the excessive use of narcotics and stimulants such as tobacco,
liquors, and beer. The excessive use of sugar and starches, or what
is generally known as carbohydrates, will set up a form of difficult
breathing, or at least augment asthmatic tendencies. This condition
is more likely to occur among those whose lungs are weakened and who
have a tendency toward consumption.
ASTHMA--THE SYMPTOMS
There are but few conditions preceding asthma that can properly be
called symptoms. The attacks are usually violent and frequently come
on late at night. The patient suffers with a sense of asphyxia,
which causes the impression of death from suffocation.
ASTHMA--THE REMEDY
The causes of asthma can be removed by diet, fresh air and exercise.
If the patient can take a reasonable amount of exercise, sunshine
and fresh air, the cure will be more rapid, but if this cannot be
done, the diet can be limited so that there will be but little
waste, therefore little congestion, and the necessity for exercise
and fresh air will be reduced to the minimum.
In cases of asthma, the diet should be confined to--
Egg albumin
Limited quantity of nuts (No more than two ounces per day)
An abundance of--
Fresh and green vegetables
Fruits
Salads
If meat be taken at all, it should be confined to fish, young
and tender game, or fowl, although these articles are not
recommended.
If the patient be obese or above normal weight, the diet given for
obesity should be rigidly observed. If of normal weight, the body
should be fed somewhat below its physical requirements, even if a
radical loss in weight should be experienced for the first three or
four weeks.
If the patient is emaciated, then the diet should consist of six or
eight eggs, and about one quart of milk daily, together with sweet
fruits and fresh vegetables. Milk may be given in larger quantities,
up to three quarts daily, if all other food except eggs be omitted.
In cases of Asthma:
OMIT EAT
All intoxicants About two ounces of nuts per day (no more)
Coffee
Condiments {Fruits
Confections Abundance {Salads
Red meat of {Fresh green vegetables
Tobacco
Egg albumin
If any meat, it should be fish or tender fowl
INFLUENZA
THE CAUSE
[Sidenote: Bacteria the result, not the cause]
This disorder is popularly supposed to be of bacteriological origin,
but upon this question the scientific world is much divided. In the
opinion of the writer the cause of influenza cannot be traced to
bacteria or any other form of germ life. Bacteria is nearly always
present in decomposing animal matter. It is the opinion of the
writer, therefore, that bacteria is the result and not the cause of
influenza. It might be described as an acute activity of the entire
system in throwing off accumulated waste or toxic substances. This
process of excretion will become more difficult at certain times,
during violent changes in temperature, and many people in small
communities may be similarly afflicted, which no doubt gives rise to
the theory that it is a disease of germ origin.
INFLUENZA--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms are headache, languor, sometimes nausea and congestion
in the lungs, together with acute irritation of the nasal passages.
INFLUENZA--THE REMEDY
The logical remedy is normal temperature of environment, abundance
of fresh air, and omission of all solid food.
There are two specific forms of diet to be recommended--
1 A liquid diet entirely, such as--
Juice of berries
Orange juice
Milk
Very thin vegetable soups
2 Confine diet entirely to--
Nuts
Fruits
Fresh green vegetables
3 Eliminate fats, starches, sugars
Either of the above suggestions will be sufficient to control an
ordinary case of influenza if it is rigidly adhered to.
In the spring and summer, the latter diet would be recommended,
while in winter, when green and fresh vegetables, fruits, etc.,
cannot be procured, the milk diet should be given.
In cases of influenza, see menus for colds, hay fever, and catarrh.
Take choice, giving preference to those prescribed for hay fever.
Whichever menu is chosen, it should be taken in its entirety; that
is, do not select the meals from two or three menus.
INSOMNIA
THE CAUSE
The inability to sleep is caused:
1 By intestinal congestion or sluggish intestinal peristalsis
2 By irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and
intestines
3 By the presence of gas, superacidity, and the consequent
irritation and excitation of the nerves leading out from the
digestive tract
4 By the use of tobacco
5 By the consumption of stimulants and narcotics, which are so
universal and so life-destroying
The effects of (4) and (5) upon the stomach are much the same as
those of overeating, in that they invariably cause supersecretion
of acid, and, in the majority of instances, produce false appetite,
thus augmenting the baneful habit of overeating.
INSOMNIA--THE REMEDY
The logical remedy for insomnia is first to eliminate the use of
tea, coffee, tobacco, distilled and malted liquors, and drugs of
every kind whatsoever, as the ultimate effect upon the stomach of
all these things is the same. When this has been done, the amount of
food required by the body, governed by the three laws of age, work,
and temperature of environment, should be accurately laid out so
that the quantity of food may be controlled and overeating avoided.
[Sidenote: Cases necessitating a special remedial diet]
The diet should also be balanced according to the chemical needs of
the body heretofore mentioned. In a a majority of cases, when the
food scientist can prevail upon his patient to confine himself to
a normal quantity of food, reasonably well balanced as to nutrient
elements, the stomach will perform its natural functions, and
fermentation with its long train of ills will gradually disappear.
This can, in many instances, be accomplished by merely standing out
of Nature's way, but in some cases the stomach, liver, intestines,
and nervous system have been so long abused and so impaired that
they seem to have entered into a conspiracy for mutual protection,
hence may not yield to the "normal quantity" or "balanced dietary"
remedy. In these cases a remedial diet must be followed, such as
will restore the balance by omitting altogether the elements on
which the patient had been overfed, and taking an excessive quantity
of the elements for the lack of which the patient had been suffering.
The following menus should be adopted in the treatment of ordinary
cases of Insomnia:
SUMMER WINTER
BREAKFAST BREAKFAST
Cantaloup Hot water
A baked banana Wheat bran, cooked
Wheat bran, cooked Whole wheat, thoroughly cooked
Thin cream
LUNCHEON LUNCHEON
A baked potato or fresh corn Vegetable soup
DINNER DINNER
Choice of one of the following: Choice of one of the following:
Beans Peas Cabbage Parsnips
Carrots Spinach Carrots Turnips
Corn Squash Eggplant
A potato--eat skins and all One two-minute egg
Wheat bran A baked potato
In cases of insomnia:
OMIT EAT
Distilled and malted liquors All fresh vegetables
Drugs of every kind Coarse cereals, boiled whole
Desserts Egg whites
Flesh foods Leafy salads
Soda-fountain drinks Nuts
Tea and coffee Wheat bran, if constipated
White bread
Mastication should be very thorough. Eat sparingly at the evening
meal. Two meals a day preferred, 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Drink plain water.
RHEUMATISM--GOUT
These disorders are grouped under the same heading because they are
of identical origin.
[Sidenote: Why rheumatism manifests itself largely in the joints]
In the average body of five feet eight inches in height, there are
about 2,000 miles of tubing, classified under the various names of
arteries, veins, capillaries, and nerves. Altogether this is called
the circulatory system. A vast amount of this system is infinitely
small. Every atom of food taken into the circulation that is not
used or converted into energy passes into some of these infinitely
small tubes and nerve fibers. These tubes are susceptible of
considerable expansion in the fleshy part of the body, but where
they pass through the joints or cartilage, there is but little
expansion. There these undissolved atoms are most likely to
congest, therefore the first expression of rheumatism is usually in
the joints. If it takes place at the terminals (fingers or toes),
it is called gout; if in the muscles, it is called muscular or
inflammatory rheumatism. This congestion accounts for the stiffness
and lack of elasticity in the joints. These accumulated atoms become
in time almost as hard as bone.
RHEUMATISM--THE CAUSE
The cause of both rheumatism and gout are practically the same--that
is, overeating, especially of flesh and starchy foods. _Meat_ and
_bread_ are the two things that cause nearly all rheumatism, though
rheumatic symptoms often appear among vegetarians, caused by the
overconsumption of starchy food, especially when acid fruits are
used. The ideal diet for producing rheumatism is cereals, white
bread, meat, acid fruit and eggs.
RHEUMATISM--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of rheumatism often manifest themselves a year or more
before an attack comes on.
The _earlier_ symptoms are--
Languor, stupidity and dulness
in the morning
Impaired circulation and a
sense of body-heaviness
The _later_ symptoms are pain in the joints or muscles, often
followed by inflammation and severe soreness and stiffness.
The rheumatic usually has good digestion. In fact, it is the ability
of the digestive organs to force more nutrition into the circulation
than is needed, that produces this dis-ease.
In nearly all cases of rheumatism and gout the patient will be
found to have been a large consumer of starchy food, especially of
the cereal family, which is the most difficult of all starches to
dissolve.
GOUT--THE CAUSE
[Sidenote: An excess of starch causes an excess of acid]
The primary cause of gout is faulty metabolism; behind this,
however, are other causes. The metabolic process is rendered faulty
or incomplete by the overingestion of heavy starchy foods. This
excess of starch, which the body is not able to appropriate or use,
becomes acted upon by the excess of acid which is always present
when too much starch is consumed. This harmful process is often
augmented by the eating of fruit-acids such as grapefruit, lemons,
oranges, pineapples, and other citrus-fruits. In addition to these
causes the uric acid residual in meat and in the yolk of eggs is an
important factor in the causation of gouty or rheumatic conditions.
GOUT--THE SYMPTOMS
The earlier symptoms of gout are nervousness, irritability, and
sometimes insomnia. In the second stages, shooting pains through the
fingers and toes are experienced, and later a swelling or a slight
inflammation of these terminals. After this acute condition has
existed for perhaps a year, the pain may cease and the joints may
begin to swell. Knots are also often formed, especially upon the
hands, and sometimes upon the feet.
RHEUMATISM, GOUT--THE REMEDY
The remedy for these disorders may be said to lie wholly within the
realm of diet, exercise and oxidation, supplemented by a liberal
superficial application of heat, such as Turkish and electric light
baths.
In all cases of rheumatism and gout, the following should be
omitted:
All acid fruits, such as,
Grapefruit
Lemons
Limes
Oranges
Pineapples
Eggs
Red meats
Starchy foods (Carbohydrate class)
The diet should be confined to--
Fish and white meat of fowl
Fresh vegetables
Nuts
Salads
Sweet and non-acid fruits
(See Lesson VIII, p. 313)
[Sidenote: How to prevent the active principle of rheumatism]
If the diet were confined wholly to green salads, fresh vegetables
and white meats, it would remove the causes of these disorders, and
inasmuch as Nature is always striving to create perfect health, the
cause being removed, she would begin at once to apply the remedy, by
removing the congested mass of undissolved calcareous matter, atom
by atom. Thus the active principle of rheumatism would disappear.
Where the joints have become enlarged, the best that can be done is
to render them flexible. It is almost impossible to take out of them
all the accumulated deposits, and to reduce them to their natural or
normal size.
[Sidenote: Natural perspiration vs. artificial in the treatment of
rheumatism]
In addition to the above-named restrictive diet, the patient should
be given sufficient exercise each day to generate enough heat
to cause perspiration. It is well to remember that one drop of
perspiration forced out of the body by activity is worth a dozen
drawn out of the body by the application of superficial heat, such
as the Turkish bath. Natural perspiration should come from exercise
(muscular friction). This is the method designed by Nature to throw
poisonous substances to the surface in the form of sweat, thereby
demolishing the old cell and making a place for the new. The Turkish
bath and massage is the lazy man's method of cheating Nature,
and cannot possibly bring as good results as can obedience to the
natural law of motion.
In cases of Rheumatism and Gout:
OMIT EAT
All acid fruits-- Buttermilk
Grapefruit Fish and white meat of fowl
Lemons Fresh vegetables
Limes Nuts
Oranges Potatoes
Pineapples Salads (green)
Coffee Sweet fruits (non-acid)
Eggs
Liquors, wines, beers
Red meat
Starchy foods
Tobacco
Eat rather sparingly, especially at the evening meal.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE
This disorder is confined entirely to the kidneys. In its final
analysis it is nothing more than consumption or destruction of the
kidneys by thrusting upon them a greater amount of waste matter than
they are capable of throwing off, the result being (1) irritation;
(2) ulceration; (3) suppuration or consumption.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE--THE CAUSE
The causes of Bright's dis-ease are overingestion of food,
especially sweets, starches and meats; the taking of stimulants and
narcotics, and the consequent failure of the body to eliminate the
poisons or waste accumulating therefrom.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of Bright's dis-ease are scant amount of urine, heavily
laden with solids and fatty granules, while leucocytes and even red
blood-corpuscles are often shown, especially in advanced cases. Dull
pains in the small of the back, and a general weakening in the
lumbar regions are common symptoms.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE--THE REMEDY
[Sidenote: Prevention of Bright's dis-ease by correct feeding]
It has been popularly supposed, and announced from many alleged
sources of authority, that there is no remedy for this dis-ease,
and from the standpoint of Materia Medica this probably is correct,
but from the standpoint of the natural scientist there is a remedy.
However, Bright's dis-ease, like all others herein discussed,
can better be prevented than cured, and under a correct dietetic
regimen, with plenty of exercise and fresh air, the kidneys, like
every other organ of the body, will perform their normal functions.
When Bright's dis-ease has made its appearance, the first thing to
be ascertained is the character of the diet and the general habits
of eating and drinking during the previous two or three years;
secondly, the occupation or habits of exercise, especially exposure
to fresh air and sunshine.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE--THE TREATMENT
A very restricted diet should be observed, consisting largely of the
following:
Fresh vegetables
Green salads
Subacid fruits
The fine cereals--(Such as barley and rice)
Milk and eggs--(limited quantity)
All _sweets_ taken should be in the form of sweet fruits. (See
Lesson VIII, p. 313).
Milk is very beneficial in this condition--especially when taken
in the form of buttermilk, clabbered milk, koumyss or zoolak. The
lactic acid ferments in the sour milk help to destroy the germs
of putrefaction in the intestines, which are always one of the
aggravating causes of Bright's disease.
Sometimes an exclusive acid milk diet for a while works wonders.
[Sidenote: Suggestions for diet in different seasons]
If the patient is under treatment in the spring and summer, as many
green plants and fresh sweet fruits as possible should be taken, in
connection with the milk, eliminating cereal starch entirely. In the
fall and winter, the many varieties of apples and autumn vegetables
may be taken in liberal quantities.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE
In the majority of cases it is well to first put the patient on a
short fast of about twenty-four hours, and then begin the diet with
articles containing a liberal quantity of cellulose, such as the
entire wheat, boiled; celery, cooked in casserole dish.
Keep the bowels open by the use of wheat bran, or grapes, if they
are in season, swallowing skins, seeds and pulp.
As in all sympathetic disorders, an abundance of pure, cool water
should be taken and as much time as possible should be spent in the
open air and sunshine.
Care should be taken to limit the diet to the minimum so that the
excretory organs can easily eliminate all waste matter, and so that
there may be no further poisonous accumulations.
In cases of Bright's Dis-ease:
OMIT EAT
Drugs Abundance of nuts (Italian pine nut)
Flesh of every kind Fine cereals--barley, rice
Intoxicants Fresh vegetables
Rich desserts Green salads
Sweets Limited quantity of milk and eggs
Sweets in form of fruit-sugar, such as
dates, figs, raisins (limited quantity)
Subacid fruits
Wheat bran with evening meal
The diet should be somewhat restricted.
Drink an abundance of pure water.
DIABETES
This disorder may be described as one of malassimilation from the
stomach, liver, kidneys, and intestines, but to the trained student
it is better described as a condition in which the capacity of the
body to burn or use grape-sugar has become chronically depressed.
It is usually supplemented by a lack of physical exercise and
elimination of body-poisons.
DIABETES--THE CAUSE
From the above explanation it will be seen that diabetes, like
all other dis-eases of the digestive organs, is caused directly
by errors in eating--overconsumption of carbohydrates (sweets
and starches), and albuminoids. These errors are augmented by
inactivity, causing lack of assimilation or utilization of nutritive
elements.
DIABETES--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of diabetes are intense thirst and appetite, copious
passing of urine and the presence of excessive quantities of sugar
and uric acid therein.
DIABETES--THE REMEDY
The selecting, proportioning and balancing of the daily menu,
together with an observance of the natural laws hitherto laid out,
will prevent diabetes, but after it has made its appearance the
remedy lies in simple and limited feeding.
The sufferer should be put upon a rigid diet of fresh vegetables,
nuts, fruits, and salads. If the body has not been trained to accept
these foods, the diet might consist of the following:
Bloodless (white) meats
Eggs
Fats--reasonable quantity (Olive-oil, butter, cream)
Fish
Fresh vegetables
Green salads--generous quantity
Nuts
If the patient be _overweight_, the diet should consist largely of
subacid fruits and nuts. If _underweight_, a liberal quantity of
sour milk should be given, especially whole soured milk in which the
cream is also present.
[Sidenote: Diet in extreme cases of diabetes]