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FOOD REMEDIES
HEALTHY LIFE BOOKLETS
No. 2.
* * * * *
HEALTHY LIFE BOOKLETS
NO. 1. THE LEAGUE AGAINST HEALTH.
By ARNOLD EILOART, B.Sc., Ph.D.
NO. 2. FOOD REMEDIES.
By FLORENCE DANIEL.
_Ready in September, 1908._
NO. 3. INSTEAD OF DRUGS.
By ARNOLD EILOART, B.Sc., Ph.D.
NO. 4. HEALTHY LIFE COOK BOOK.
By FLORENCE DANIEL.
_Ready in December, 1908._
NO. 5. MIND _VERSUS_ MEDICINE.
By ARNOLD EILOART, B.Sc., Ph.D.
NO. 6. DISTILLED WATER.
By FLORENCE DANIEL.
* * * * *
FOOD REMEDIES
FACTS ABOUT FOODS AND THEIR MEDICINAL USES
BY
FLORENCE DANIEL
LONDON
C. W. DANIEL
11 CURSITOR STREET, E.C.
1908
_PREFACE_
There is a sentence in the Talmud to the effect that the Kingdom of God
is nigh when the teacher gives the name of the author of the information
that he is passing on. With every desire to fulfil the rabbinical
precept and acknowledge the sources of this booklet, I find myself in a
quandary. If I make my acknowledgments duly I must begin with my
grandmother and Culpeper's Herbal. Following upon those come the results
of my own and friends' practical experience. After this I should,
perhaps, give a list of the periodicals from whose pages I have culled
much helpful information. But as space and memory preclude individual
mention I must content myself with this general acknowledgment. Lastly,
I desire to record my thanks to Dr. Fernie, whose _Meals Medicinal_, a
large and exhaustive collection of facts about food, has afforded not
the least valuable assistance.
F. D.
_CONTENTS_
PART 1.--INTRODUCTORY
PAGE
While there is Fruit there is Hope 1
Fruit and the Teeth 5
Fruit is Food 6
Objections to Fruit 8
A Pioneer of Food Remedies 10
The Simple Life 12
Fruit or Fasting 13
Acute Illness 14
PART II.--FOODS AND THEIR
MEDICINAL USES
Almond 15
Apple 16
Asparagus 20
Banana 20
Barley 23
Blackberry 24
Black Currant 26
Brazil Nuts 26
Beans, Peas, and Lentils 27
Beet 28
Cabbage 28
Caraway Seed 29
Carrot 30
Celery 31
Cresses 31
Chestnut 32
Cinnamon 32
Cocoanut 33
Coffee 33
Date 34
Elderberry 34
Fig 38
Grape 39
Gooseberry 43
Lavender 43
Lemon 44
Lettuce 46
Nettle 47
Nuts 47
Oat 51
Olive 52
Onion 53
Orange 56
Parsley 57
Pear 58
Pea Nut 59
Pine-Apple 60
Pine Kernel 64
Plum, Prune 64
Potatoe 66
Radish 67
Raspberry 68
Rice 68
Rhubarb 69
Sage 71
Strawberry 72
Spinach 72
Tomato 73
Turnip 74
Thyme 75
Walnut 75
Wheat 76
PART III.--INDICES
Index to Diseases and Remedies 79
Index to Prescriptions and Recipes 86
Index--Miscellaneous 87
FOOD REMEDIES
PART I.--INTRODUCTORY
_While there is Fruit there is hope._
While there is life--and fruit--there is hope. When this truth is
realised by the laity nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand
professors of the healing art will be obliged to abandon their
profession and take to fruit-growing for a living.
Many people have heard vaguely of the "grape cure" for diseases arising
from over-feeding, and the lemon cure for rheumatism, but for the most
part these "cures" remain mere names. Nevertheless it is almost
incredible to the uninitiated what may be accomplished by the
abandonment for a time of every kind of food in favour of fruit. Of
course, such a proceeding should not be entered upon in a careless or
random fashion. Too sudden changes of habit are apt to be attended with
disturbances that discourage the patient, and cause him to lose patience
and abandon the treatment without giving it a fair trial. In countries
where the "grape cure" is practised the patient starts by taking one
pound of grapes each day, which quantity is gradually increased until he
can consume six pounds. As the quantity of grapes is increased that of
the ordinary food is decreased, until at last the patient lives on
nothing but grapes.[1] I have not visited a "grape cure" centre in
person, but I have read that it is not only persons suffering from the
effects of over-feeding who find salvation in the "grape cure," but that
consumptive patients thrive and even put on weight under it.
The _Herald of Health_ stated, some few years back, that in the South of
France where the "grape cure" is practised consumptive patients are fed
on grapes alone, and become quite strong and well in a year or two. And
I have myself known wonderful cures to follow on the adoption of a
fruitarian dietary in cases of cancer, tumour, gout, eczema, all kinds
of inflammatory complaints, and wounds that refused to heal.
H. Benjafield, M.B., writing in the _Herald of Health_, says: "Garrod,
the great London authority on gout, advises his patients to take
oranges, lemons, strawberries, grapes, apples, pears, etc. Tardieu, the
great French authority, maintains that the salts of potash found so
plentifully in fruits are the chief agents in purifying the blood from
these rheumatic and gouty poisons.... Dr. Buzzard advises the scorbutic
to take fruit morning, noon, and night. Fresh lemon juice in the form of
lemonade is to be his ordinary drink; the existence of diarrhoea should
be no reason for withholding it." The writer goes on to show that
headache, indigestion, constipation, and all other complaints that
result from the sluggish action of bowels and liver can never be cured
by the use of artificial fruit salts and drugs.
Salts and acids as found in organised forms are quite different in their
effects to the products of the laboratory, notwithstanding that the
chemical composition may be shown to be the same. The chemist may be
able to manufacture a "fruit juice," but he cannot, as yet, manufacture
the actual fruit. The mysterious life force always evades him. Fruit is
a vital food, it supplies the body with something over and above the
mere elements that the chemist succeeds in isolating by analysis. The
vegetable kingdom possesses the power of directly utilising minerals,
and it is only in this "live" form that they are fit for the consumption
of man. In the consumption of sodium chloride (common table salt),
baking powders, and the whole army of mineral drugs and essences, we
violate that decree of Nature which ordains that the animal kingdom
shall feed upon the vegetable and the vegetable upon the mineral.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] This was the original treatment; now other food is added, although
excellent results were obtained under the old _régime_.
_Fruit and the Teeth._
I mention the above because one of the objections that I have heard
cited against the free use of fruit is that "the acids act injuriously
upon the teeth." Until I became a vegetarian I used to visit a dentist
regularly every six months. I had done this for ten years, and nearly
every tooth in my gums had its gold filling. The last time I visited the
dentist I told him that I had become a vegetarian, and he replied that
he rather thought my teeth would decay quicker in future on account of
an increased consumption of vegetable acids. But from that day, now
nearly six years ago, to the present time, I have never been near a
dentist. My teeth seem to have taken a new lease of life. It is a fact
that the acids in fruit and vegetables so far from injuring the teeth
benefit them. Many of these acids are strongly antiseptic and actually
destroy the germs that cause the teeth to decay. On the other hand, they
do _not_ attack the enamel of the teeth, while inorganic acids do.
Nothing cleanses the teeth so effectually as to thoroughly chew a large
and juicy apple.
_Fruit is a Food._
Until quite recently the majority of English-speaking people have been
accustomed to look upon fruit not as a food, but rather as a sweetmeat,
to be eaten merely for pleasure, and therefore very sparingly. It has
consequently been banished from its rightful place at the beginning of
meals. But fruit is not a "goody," it is a food, and, moreover, a
complete food. All vegetable foods (in their natural state) contain all
the elements necessary to form a complete food. At a pinch human life
might be supported on any one of them. I say "at a pinch" because if
the nuts cereals and pulses were ruled out of the dietary it would, for
most people, be deficient in fat and proteid (the flesh and
muscle-forming element). Nevertheless, fruit alone _will_ sustain life
if taken in large quantities with small output of energy on the part of
the person living upon it, as witness the "grape cure."[2] The
percentage of proteid in grapes is particularly high for fruit.
Those people who desire to make a fruitarian dietary their daily
_régime_ cannot do better than take the advice of O. Hashnu Hara, an
American writer. He says: "Every adult requires from twelve to sixteen
ounces of dry food, _free from water_, daily. To supply this a quarter
of a pound of _shelled_ nuts and three-quarters of a pound of any dried
fruit must be used. In addition to this, from two to three pounds of
any _fresh fruit_ in season goes to complete the day's allowance. These
quantities should be weighed out ... and will sustain a full-grown man
in perfect health and vitality. The quantity of ripe fresh fruit may be
slightly increased in summer, with a corresponding decrease in the dried
fruit."
FOOTNOTE:
[2] Recent years have witnessed a modification of the original cure.
Other food is now included, but I have not heard that the results are
better.
_Objections to Fruit._
Some vegetarians object that it is possible to eat too much fruit, and
recommend caution in the use of it to people of nervous temperament, or
those who seem predisposed to skin ailments. It is true that the
consumption of large quantities of fruit may appear to render the
nervous person more irritable, and to increase the external
manifestations of a skin disease. But in the latter event the fruit is
merely assisting Nature to throw the disease out and off more quickly,
while in the former case the real cause lies not in the fruit but in
some nerve irritant, tea, for example, the effects of which are more
acutely felt under the new _régime_. The nervous system tends to become
much more sensitive upon a vegetarian, especially fruitarian, diet, and
people often attribute their increased nervousness and irritability to
the diet when it is simply that they now react more quickly to poisons.
This is not a bad thing, on the contrary, it shows that the system has
become more alert. Under the old _régime_ we tend to store up poisons
and impurities in the body, but the effect of a vegetable diet,
especially when united with the use of distilled water, is to cause all
our diseases and impurities to be expelled outwards and downwards. Tea
is a slow poison, and so is coffee except under exceptional conditions
when it is used as a medicine, and then it should always be
pale-roasted.
Fruit should always be eaten at the beginning of a meal. Again, when the
diet consists of a mixture of cooked and uncooked foods, the uncooked
should always be eaten first. Also when the meal consists of two
courses, a sweet and a savoury dish, sufferers from indigestion should
try taking the sweet course first. I have known several cases where this
simple expedient has resulted in a complete cessation of the discomfort
of which the patient complained.
_A Pioneer of Food Remedies._
The pioneer, in England, of the treatment of all sorts and conditions of
disease by means of a vegetable (chiefly fruit) dietary was Dr. Lambe, a
contemporary of the poet Shelley. His last book appeared in 1815, and in
it and the one preceding are recorded some wonderful cures, especially
in cases of cancer. It is only fair to add here that in Dr. Lambe's
opinion no system of cure is completely efficacious so long as the
patient is allowed to drink the ordinary tap or well water. Distilled
water was the only drink he advised. But he held it better still not to
drink at all if the necessary liquid could be supplied to the body by
means of fresh, juicy fruits. He contended that man is not naturally a
drinking animal; that his thirst is a morbid symptom, the outcome of a
carnivorous diet and other unwholesome habits. And I think that anyone
may prove the truth of this for him or herself if he or she will adopt a
fruitarian dietary and abstain from the use of salt and other
condiments.
I have cited so out-of-date a personage as Dr. Lambe for two reasons.
The first is that I know many of the so-called new and unorthodox ideas
are more likely to appeal to some readers, if it can be shown that they
originated with a duly qualified medical practitioner who recorded the
results of his observations and experiments in black and white. The
second is that the principles and practices of Dr. Lambe are
incorporated with those of the Physical Regeneration Society, a large
and ever-increasing body of enthusiasts having its head-quarters in
London, to whose annals I must refer those readers who desire up-to-date
instances of the efficacy of the use of fruit in disease. Lack of space
will not allow me to quote them here.
_The Simple Life._
We hear a great deal about the "Simple Life" and "Returning to Nature"
nowadays, but most of us are so situated that the proposed simplicity
simply spells increased complexity. The "vegetarian chop" costs the
housewife more than double the time and labour involved in preparing its
fleshly namesake. And when it comes to illness some of the systems of
bathing and exercising prescribed by the "naturopath" are infinitely
more troublesome to the patient and his friends than the simple
expedient of sending for the doctor and taking the prescribed doses. I
do not want to be misunderstood here. I am not condemning treatment
with water and exercises. On the contrary, I hope to pass on what I have
learnt about these methods of treatment. But so many people lack the
time, help, and conveniences necessary to carry them out successfully.
It is to these that I would say that the patient's cure may be effected
just as surely, if more slowly, by means of fruit alone.
_Fruit or Fasting._
Treatment of disease by fasting has come into fashion of late, and there
is really no lack of proof as to the benefits to be obtained from
abstaining entirely from food for a short period. I know of an elderly
man who fasts for a fortnight every spring, and gains, not loses, weight
during the process! He accounts for this by explaining that certain
stored up, undigested food particles come out and are digested while he
fasts. Whether this is the correct explanation I do not know, but the
fact remains, and it is not by any means a solitary case. Of course, the
majority of people lose weight when fasting, but this is very quickly
recovered. Now I do not think fasting should be undertaken recklessly,
but only under competent direction. But an excellent and safe substitute
for a fast is an exclusive fruit diet.
_Acute Illness._
The simplest and quickest method of recovering from attacks of acute
illness, fevers, inflammatory diseases, etc., is to rest quietly in bed
in a warm but well-ventilated room, and to take three meals a day of
fresh ripe fruit, grapes by preference. If the grapes are grown out of
doors and ripened in the sun so much the better. I have found from two
to three pounds of grapes per day sufficient. If there is thirst, barley
water flavoured with lemon juice should be taken between the meals.