Health

Heath – Is Soy Dangerous?

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We have heard people say, “Watch out for soy.” “Soy will cause this, that, and the other thing,” and “If you are eating soy, you will have some very bad things happen to you.” There are some websites that give information that sounds very good, causing people to wonder about soy and soy products.

Most of the negative allegations ultimately come from one or two sources, and are written by four people who are very anti-soy. At least two of these people have PhD degrees, which lends credibility to their claims. But let’s look at some of their allegations.

  1. Accusation: Soy causes infertility.

Soy has been used for centuries in the East. However, neither China nor Japan has a fertility problem and are very well populated though they have used soy for centuries.

Experiments were performed on female cheetahs. When they were fed high concentrations of genistein and daidzein, they had problems conceiving. One must note that cheetahs are cats that have different digestive systems than humans and they are also sensitive to these substances. We need to be cautious of studies that are based on high concentrations of a substance, which more than likely exceeds the amount that a person would normally eat.

In another experiment, one to five-day-old rats were injected with genistein. Later in life they had fewer pregnancies and some became infertile. There is a danger of using animal studies for determining what is good or bad for humans. Humans do not inject their food but ingest it, making these experiments to show doubtful similarities in outcome.

Let’s look at some examples of this, particularly in drug testing, because animals are used extensively.

Many drugs which tested safe in animals, later had to be recalled because of the dangerous results in humans.

  • Vioxx is a pain killer and it was safely tested on animals—rats, mice, monkeys and dogs. It tested safe and was even heart protective. But in humans it causes congestive heart failure, strokes and heart attacks.
  • Rezulin is a diabetes drug, which tested safe on animals but in humans it can cause liver failure.
  • Zomax is another pain medicine that tested safe on animals but had a deadly effect on humans.
  • Fen-phen was a weight loss drug, and it tested safe on animals, but in humans, caused thickening of the heart valves.
  • Thalidomide was widely tested on animals with total safety but with horrendous birth defects in children whose mothers took it for morning sickness.
  • Opren tested good on monkeys but killed 61 people.
  • Cylert was fine for animals but caused liver failure in hyperactive children.
  • Tobacco. For years animal tests were inconclusive, so the tobacco companies used that to their advantage and promoted their products. We now know, with very great clarity, that tobacco is one of the most potent detractors from health and a great promoter of cancer worldwide.

Other examples prove that animals are not necessarily the best for determining what is good or bad for humans. Ninety percent of the drugs that tested safe in animals failed human trial, and some are exactly opposite. An example of the opposite is penicillin. When it was first developed it was tried on rabbits and seen to be completely ineffective. It was a full decade later before it was used as an antibiotic in humans, because it failed the rabbit trials. Looking at animals to see what is good for humans is not necessarily the best thing, unless it can be backed up with real human trials and tests. Animal testing has proven to be quite unreliable and according to the soy testing, we are seeing one thing for people in populations using soy compared to cheetahs.

Eggs are considered the perfect source of protein because of rat studies. Young rats grew faster, but we were not told by the proponents of the egg industry that those were the rats that died sooner. Baby rats failed to thrive on soy; however, they also failed to thrive on human breast milk. Are we to say that baby rats are a good example for determining what is good for humans? Are we to say that human breast milk is bad for babies? Obviously not! Then we cannot take that same study and say soy should not be used on humans.

Animal biology is physiologically and anatomically different from humans; therefore animal studies can be very misleading. Human trials are much more reliable looking at the different populations that use soy versus those not using it. Those using soy typically have a better health status than western society and the diet often includes greater amounts of plant foods, especially leafy greens, and it has been found that the use of soy products did not detract from their overall health.

In reality, since virtually all of the accusations against soy are based upon animal studies and not humans, at best they can be meaningless and at worst they can be totally misleading and take you completely onto the wrong track and some wrong conclusions.

It is said that soy causes reproductive problems. One study reported that the declining male fertility in the last 60 years was blamed on estrogens, chemicals, plastics and tofu. The one thing they do not address is the estrogens that are fed to livestock for fattening. The phyto estrogens in tofu are very weak in estrogen activity, especially as compared to the potent estrogens that are fed to the livestock.

Soy has only become popular in the western world in the last twenty years or so. But here we have these studies going back 50 or 60 years before soy became popular.

We have also seen that when people, who have not been able to conceive, switch to a plant based diet, including tofu and soy products, they improve their chance of having children.

In one study men were administered doses of up to 30 times more than normal. First of all, 30 times more of what? It is not clear. Was it 30 times more of estrogen or tofu? Instead of eating one slice of tofu, was it 30 slices of tofu every day? Was it the isoflavones? The study is unclear. It would be unrealistic for anyone to eat 30 slices of tofu in a day, but that anti-soy conclusion was that the 30 times of whatever will lead to a drop in testosterone and then also it will cause some men to become demasculinized. Then the question is asked in a very calm, serious tone, “Do you want to become demasculinized”? No male would want that, but by the emotionally charged words they fail to realize that this is not a realistic situation and there is not a lot of real solid evidence behind the claim.

Another study seemed to indicate that there was an increased risk of infant male development. This was a small study in which they also failed to mention that mothers who had iron supplements during their pregnancies, or had the flu during their trimester, also had a heightened risk of that same abnormal male infant development. There is a lot of muddied water, and blame cannot be pinned only on soy.

Another claim is made that soy causes significant biological effects in women, and it is put in such a way that the significant biological effects are on the negative side. However, there are some that show that lengthening the cycle, which is what happens, actually ends up being protective against breast cancer—it correlates with a reduced risk of breast cancer.

We do not see the accusations of the anti-soy people playing out in real life. We do not see the infertility problems being a problem for humans. Whether or not it is in China, or people who are now switching to vegetarian from a meat diet, these things are based upon bad analysis and ridiculous dosages such as 30 times more than “what”; unreliable studies that are very small and isolated, as well as creating a negative slant on something that is positive. These are some of the problems with the accusations.

  1. Accusation: Soy raises the risk of cancer and other diseases.

There are isoflavones in the soy that are called genistein and daidzein. These are phyto estrogens. This is pretty much what this whole concept is based upon and that high estrogen levels will promote cancer. It is true that estrogen tells the cells to hurry up and multiply, and they fail to develop properly many times; that translates very easily into cancer. We looked at the fact that the meat industry feeds the animals estrogens to make them develop and to get fat quickly. The phyto estrogens in this are very weak in this action. In fact, some researchers believe that instead of their being a problem, they actually bind to the estrogen receptor sights and lock the receptor sites from the more potent estrogen. Therefore, they are actually being protected against breast cancer. They find this to be the case especially when the soy consumption has begun early in life as a young girl.

The anti-soy people use this as the basis for many accusations against soy and breast cancer when other studies do not indicate that soy increases breast cancer risk. Again, the focus is not on the fact that we get estrogens from the meat and dairy industry as well. Obviously, we do need some estrogen but we do not need a high or potent source physically.

We do not want to stop eating tofu because it is uncertain whether or not isolated substances may cause a harmful effect. We do not recommend mega doses of isoflavones. We want the full package as opposed to pulling out the isoflavones and giving that in concentrated or very large amounts.

It is claimed that protease inhibitors from soy increases risk of pancreatic cancer in rats and chicks. It is interesting that they look at rats and chicks and don’t seem to pay much attention to the fact that this does not happen in mice, dogs, pigs, monkeys or humans. So, apparently rats and chicks are extraordinarily sensitive to these inhibitors. When rats and chicks are fed nothing but soy, they do have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. That is not the same with the other groups we have mentioned here.

It is also interesting that these protease inhibitors and other enzyme inhibitors are rendered basically irrelevant when the soy is made into tofu or soy milk, tempeh and so forth. Protease inhibitors inhibit the absorption of protein. They use that point also. But protein is so high in tofu and related products that it is really a non-issue.

The populations that use soy have a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer and other cancers.

The anti-soy people unfortunately have a difficult time accepting the fact that different species of creatures, including humans, act differently and process soy differently. It is also interesting that they ignore the fact the protease inhibitors have been shown in some studies to inhibit colon, prostate and breast cancer in humans. Some are constantly looking at a negative slant and not looking at the whole picture.

  1. Accusation: Soy shrinks brains and causes Alzheimer’s—Soy reduces cognitive function.

This accusation was based on one isolated study in Hawaii in which Japanese American men who ate tofu in their middle age had the greatest mental deterioration and dementia as seniors. This was based upon one study, and it is not a good idea to base our theories on one study. A physician found that the tofu these individuals were eating contained an extra-ordinary ordinary amount of aluminum. That gives us an idea of the real culprit as opposed to tofu. Again, we do not see this happening in the East or in other countries with men becoming demented or deteriorating mentally as they get older.

Other studies put children on a vegetarian diet with tofu and it boosted their grades and their energy. These were children who were having low grades and not performing well academically. After a vegan diet for a month that included tofu, they reported that the children showed improvement in both the classroom and on the basketball court. Some grade point averages (GPA) rose from 1.6 to 3.4. Others ranged from a 3.1 to a 3.9; that is from a B average to an A average. All scored at least an 85 percent on their final exam.

Does soy decrease cognizant function? Apparently not. Does soy cause cancer? Not that we can see. Does soy cause infertility? None of these symptoms have been proven in the practicalities of life.

  1. Accusation: Soy interferes with thyroid and causes goiter.

Soy contains goitrogens, which is considered another anti-nutrient that suppresses thyroid function. This only happens when iodine intake is low. It is very interesting that other foods that contain goitrogens are cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables are noted for cancer prevention. These include cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts; also sweet potatoes, lima beans and millet.

If we say that it is necessary to eliminate the foods that contain goitrogens, it will also be necessary to eliminate the cruciferous vegetables along with sweet potatoes, lima beans and millet. Of course, this is not recommended; the focus is only on soy.

The focus should not be on one particular substance in a food. In most common vegetables, you could find a potentially toxic or harmful nutrient that if isolated and concentrated and fed to humans, it would have some undesirable side effects.

  1. Accusation: Soy causes osteoporosis.

This is also totally unfounded. There is a strong correlation between the amount of animal foods in a diet and the strength of the bones. Studies show that the countries that use the animal products actually have a higher incidence of osteoporosis compared to cultures that use the plant food. This also includes the Chinese, Japanese and other Eastern people. The more plant food consumed, the stronger the bones.

Anti-soy people say that soy causes vitamin D deficiency and the high rate of osteoporosis is because of vitamin D depletion or because of it not being in the diet because of substituting soy oil instead of butter. So the butter people are using soy oil and they say that is a problem because they put vitamin D in butter. Actually sunshine is a better source of vitamin D than getting it through butter that has been supplemented. Our skin makes vitamin D from sunlight. Sunlight is one of the eight natural health laws.

Calcium from soy is nearly as bio-available as calcium from cow’s milk. Often the issue is how bio-available is a particular plant food when compared to meat—whether it is calcium, iron, or other nutrients. It is quite often not as straightforward as it is purported to be. It is actually good that the iron in the plant food is not as absorbable as it is in animal food, because it has been noted that high levels of iron for some people can increase their risk of heart disease. It is good to have checks and balances. Just because something is inhibited does not mean that the inhibition is bad; it may just put the brakes on something.

Calcium is usually a point of concern or controversy. Magnesium is just as important for body health and bones as calcium. Greens are an important source of calcium and magnesium. Other good sources of calcium are almonds, sesame seeds and tofu.

  1. Accusation: Soy causes zinc deficiency because of the phytates.

In large quantities phytates can block absorption, and they particularly focus on zinc. Phytates can block the absorption of several different minerals, and again the brakes are not necessarily a bad thing. The anti-soy people say that the safety feeling that vegetarians get is because of zinc deficiency, and they interpret that as being a high spiritual development. This is wrong. There is absolutely no proof that because of a zinc deficiency you enjoy spiritual things.

Soaking, roasting, sprouting, baking and leavening increased the bio-availability of minerals. Virtually any time you use soy, one of these things would have happened to it. Even if you are using just plain soybeans as a legume, you will have had to soak and boil them. If you are going to make tofu, you certainly would have soaked them at some point in time. Any time you use soybeans it will have included one of these processes. This applies to all of the phytates in the different vegetarian foods, including wheat. Wheat has been known to have phytates as well. We hear people say that vegetarians have to be careful that they do not have mineral deficiencies because of the phytates. Well, when you make bread, you are certainly baking, to make these minerals more bio-available. A healthy vegetarian diet is rich in nutrients by getting a good representation in of fruits, nuts, legumes, vegetables and whole grains.

Zinc deficiency is no more common in vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians and should not be singled out.

Some phytates act as potent antioxidants and favorably regulate cell growth. It is interesting that even though phytates have been promoted as being a problem, other studies show that they actually act as antioxidants. They are not necessarily a bad thing and they regulate cell growth. This could possibly put the brakes on the quick development of cancer cells and cells that are developing too quickly, slowing them down so they have time to mature and do what they need to do. Instead of being bad, phytates in the end could be very positive for us, particularly when we get them from the whole plant.

  1. Accusation: Soy contains toxins and anti nutrients.

We have already talked about phytates being antioxidants and actually helping to keep things in balance as far as cell development. We can also reference that to mineral absorption as well.

Many plant foods contain substances in concentration and isolation that would produce unwanted effects. All of the plant foods have some potential toxins in them. The following are some examples:

Broccoli, lentils and grapefruit contain naturally occurring pesticides, which could cause mutation. If we took certain substances in these plant foods, isolated them, concentrated them, made a very potent dosage out of them, we would have problems.

Peanuts and peanut butter contain aflotoxins that could cause cancer.

Celery contains toxins that could damage the immune system and cause photosensitivities. Are we telling people not to eat celery? No. Celery is very good and also contains organic sodium, which can be very good, especially in the hot summertime.

Spinach and chard contain oxalic acid that binds with calcium and diminishes absorption. Again, we are not telling people to stop eating spinach because of this.

In eating normal quantities of these foods, these things are not a problem. But the anti-soy people ignore that the isolated, compounded high levels of some of these things may cause problems.

A summary of what the anti-soy people do:

  • They rely upon animal studies that are not applicable to humans.
  • They use small or isolated studies that are not supported by the bulk of the studies.
  • They use examples of extreme intakes of soy.
  • They look at just certain components of soy that you would have to use in very high quantities isolated for it to be called a problem. This is not, in reality, how we use our soy.
  • They focus on naturally occurring substances that, in isolation, would cause undesirable side effects.

Some benefits of soy are as follows:

  • Various studies have shown that soy, in conjunction with a healthy diet, lowers risk of heart disease.
  • Soy has nine times less saturated fat as compared to cow’s milk.
  • Soy is cholesterol free, lowers total and LDL cholesterol. Interestingly, some anti-soy people say that lowering your cholesterol results in a greater number of deaths. Their proof is an article that they wrote themselves. This is totally unsupported by the scientific community.
  • Studies show that soy contributes to the reduction of cancer.
  • Soy contains many phyto chemicals, which protect against disease.
  • Soy may reduce insulin resistance, renal damage and fatty liver in diabetics. For people who are on insulin, switching from animal protein to plant protein can be very helpful. Part of that protein can be soy. Also, people who have renal failure need to bring down their protein, so switching them from animal protein to plant protein, including soy, can be very healthful.

Some guidelines for eating soy:

Eat a varied diet. Eat a plant-based diet, not a soy based diet. Eating soy at every meal is too much and goes against the principle of temperance. Some people believe they do not get enough protein; however, a plant-based diet will provide all of the protein needed from the different whole grains and legumes with some tofu or soy, and you will be just fine. You would virtually have to live on sweet potatoes and apples for the rest of your life in order to have a protein deficiency on a vegetarian diet. Eating a varied diet with enough calories to maintain proper body weight will give you enough protein. It is not essential to have soy in your diet, but the versatility of soy and the extra protein that it does provide are actually a benefit to the plant-based diet.

Minimize the intake of soy to two to three servings a day. Asians typically eat from one to three servings of soy per day. From looking at their population, they are doing quite well on that. Most vegetarian nutritionists will say to limit your consumption of soy to two to three servings a day.

Serving size. A serving is approximately three to four ounces of tofu, which is about one-fourth of a block of tofu, or one cup of soymilk. There are some days you might have a little extra, and some days you may not have any, but the average is no more than two or three servings per day.

Prefer whole soy foods such as tofu, soymilk, soy nuts rather than protein isolates. This goes back to the concept that whole foods are better than refined foods, just like we choose whole wheat bread instead of white bread. The whole food is better than the isolated part of it. You can look at the ingredient of the product and it will show whether it is a protein isolate or otherwise.

Soy supplements. Do not seek out soy supplements such as soy protein powders or isoflavones. At this point, these are not really supportive or necessary. Add some tofu to your diet and you will be just fine. Many of those anti-soy studies were based upon isolated components as opposed to the full package.

Follow a healthy diet and lifestyle. You need to follow a healthy lifestyle that includes the eight health laws.

Infants. Mother’s milk is still the best. As much as possible the infant should get the mother’s milk. Cow’s milk is not a better option. Soy infant formula has been used for over 50 years, and there is no evidence of it causing developmental problems or reproductive problems. Cow’s milk is highly allergenic, even though some people can be allergic to soy, which does not mean we write it off for everybody. Also, cow’s milk can be a factor in juvenile onset diabetes. Cow’s milk is not the better of the options; it is better to choose soy.

Selecting soy. Select non-GMO (genetically modified organism) tofu and soy products. There has been some preliminary exploration that the GMO can alter the protein component in the blood. It is the principle that the non-GMO is better.

All of the allegations or accusations are very shaky. A couple of the anti-soy people consider cholesterol to be their very best friend. That is also what the meat and dairy association said about 30 years ago. At that time they were advocating the necessity of dietary cholesterol. They did this to promote their product. They actually want you to eat saturated fat and not the plant oils. This, combined with the unreliable accusations made, sugguests that there is a particular agenda being promoted.

It is believed that the original humans were hunters, who ate meat, and that is the diet we need to go back to. We do not believe that. We believe that the original human beings were vegetarians. That is what we were created to be, and that is the diet to which we should return.

Be very careful about advocating anything with limited research on a few isolated studies or something that is not backed up by epidemiology studies—population studies—seeing what they are eating and not eating and seeing the results of the health status of that population. Stay balanced, temperate and in the middle of the road and do not get sidetracked on these various tangents.

Diane Herbert is a naturopath and lifestyle consultant. She received training from the NAD Lifestyle Consultant program, Thomas Edison State College, Clayton College of Natural Healing, and Bastyr University. Diane teaches health classes at the Gilead Institute located in Norcross, Georgia, gives health presentations, and contributes to the Institute’s literature and health flyer series. If you would like more information on water or other health topics, you may contact her at: The Gilead Institute of America, 6000 Live Oak Parkway, Suite 114, Norcross, Georgia 30093; telephone: 770-270-1087; Website: www.gileadinstitute.org.

Health – Cancer’s New Status

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The diagnosis of cancer strikes fear in the minds of millions of people worldwide every year.1 For many years heart disease was labeled as the number one killer in the United States, but recently that has changed. In January 2005, cancer surpassed heart disease as the number one killer of Americans under 85 years.2 Globally the World Health Organization projects that global cancer rates could increase by 50 percent by 2020.3 Thus there is good reason to be concerned. However, research also shows that we can do something to significantly reduce our risk of having cancer.

Globally, tobacco usage was the cause of the death of millions during the last century. Half of those who regularly smoke are killed by tobacco related diseases (cancer, lung disease, and heart disease), and one quarter die prematurely. Lung cancer in regular tobacco users is drastically higher (20 to 30 fold), and cancers of the oral cavity, esophagus, and upper digestive tract are significantly higher (2 to 6 fold). Even passive or secondary tobacco smoke increases lung cancer risk by 20 percent. Thus tobacco is a very dangerous, but avoidable, cancer risk. Of course, it is best to never start smoking; however, there is clear evidence that stopping smoking significantly reduces the chance of getting cancer. The greatest reduction is seen when a person stops smoking in their early 30s, but significant risk reduction is seen when a person stops smoking even after age 50.4

Diet is also a significant risk factor. Many studies have been conducted showing that the kind of diet we eat has a significant impact upon our cancer risk. We shall look at some of these studies.

In one study of 190,545 participants who were followed for seven years, researchers found that those who regularly ate red meat (beef, pork, lamb) had a 50 percent increase in pancreatic cancer risk (a very serious form of cancer), and those who consumed processed meat (sausage, salami, bologna) had a 70 percent increase.5

Another study looked at ovarian cancer. This Canadian study followed 2,500 women, and researchers found that those with the highest cholesterol consumption had a 40 percent increase in ovarian cancer risk compared to those with the lowest cholesterol consumption. Even those with the highest egg consumption had a 30 percent increase in risk. Cholesterol is found only in animal products (meat, eggs, dairy including cheese, etc.) and not in plant foods. It is interesting that this same study showed that the women with the highest consumption of total vegetable intake, including cruciferous vegetables (kale, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, turnips, radishes, rutabaga, cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, watercress, kohlrabi), had a reduced cancer risk by almost 25 percent.6

A large study following 148,610 people for over 20 years showed that those with the highest meat intake had approximately a 50 percent higher colon cancer risk compared with those with lower intakes. The researchers concluded that the less red and processed meat people eat, the lower was their risk of colon cancer.7

A review of 21 studies showed a relationship between dairy product consumption (skim milk, low-fat milk, whole milk, yogurt, cheese) and ovarian cancer risk. Study reviewers found that for every 10 grams of lactose (about the amount in one glass of milk) consumed daily, ovarian cancer risk increased by 13 percent.8 Thus a person consuming two glasses of milk or equivalent will have an increased risk of 26 percent, ingesting three glasses or equivalent will have an increased risk of 39 percent, and the risk continues to escalate as consumption increases.

A Canadian study compared data from men with testicular cancer to healthy individuals. After examining nutrients, food groups, and particular foods, researchers concluded that a high intake of dairy products (particularly cheese), baked goods, and luncheon meats, could contribute to this cancer.9

Harvard researchers analyzed 90,655 premenopausal women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study 11. They found that animal fat intake, especially from red meat and high-fat dairy products during premenopausal years increased the risk of breast cancer.10

One of the most prestigious studies on diet and health is The China Study. It is widely considered the most comprehensive study of diet, lifestyle and disease ever completed. It was headed by T. Colin Campbell, and he makes this very interesting comment: “My fellow researchers and I determined that plant-based diets are the main reason there are such low rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer in certain areas of rural China. In contrast, even small amounts of animal protein-based foods [meat, fish, poultry, milk and milk products, and eggs] increased the risk of many diseases.”11

Other studies also consistently show that plant foods prevent or inhibit cancer; such as avocados inhibit prostate cancer,12 oranges and bananas may reduce childhood leukemia,13 and fruits and vegetables lower pancreatic cancer risk.14 The message for reducing the risk of cancer seems to be the same over and over and over again: eat little or no animal products and eat a plant based diet. In other words, the less animal fat and protein you include in your diet, the less your risk of cancer. You will notice that each of the studies cited above looked at one kind of cancer. Researchers often limit a study to one particular problem because of the very nature of study design. However, the fact that we see the same message being repeated for so many different types of cancer, we can logically conclude that the message will be the same for all types of cancer: eat a plant-based diet and your risk of all types of cancer will decrease.

Another major determinant in whether or not you will get cancer is the health and vitality of your immune system. Every day our bodies produce about 300 abnormal cancerous cells, and more if we are exposed to carcinogens. However, a healthy immune system will quickly identify and kill these cancerous cells.15 The consumption of simple carbohydrates (sugar) distinctly suppresses the immune system. Ingesting 100 grams (25 teaspoons) of sugar (table sugar, sugar cane crystals, fructose, glucose, maltose, etc.) at one meal or snack suppresses the immune system for the next five hours. Even the consumption of 24 grams (6 teaspoons) reduces the body’s ability to destroy bacteria.16

In 2003, per capita sugar consumption in the United States was 142 pounds,17 which works out to about 43.5 teaspoons per day (142 lbs. per year x 16 oz. x 28 [ounce to gram conversion] / 365 days / 4 grams = # of teaspoons per day).18 Soda pops and many sweet desserts have 10 teaspoons of sugar, and many candy bars, cookies, and donuts can have 6 or more teaspoons of sugar. Many fat-free items have simply replaced the fat with sugar to maintain a taste that Americans will buy. Also, sugar is added to many things to which you would not think it would be added. Just look at the ingredient list of items you buy, and notice if and how much sugar is added. Also, notice how near the top these sugars are listed. Then look at the Nutrition Facts label and look for the quantity of sugar in the item. Remember that 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon of sugar. If you see, say, 15 grams beside “Sugars,” that means there are almost 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving in that item. If you start to look at the Nutrition Facts labels of the things you consume, you may just be surprised how much sugar you do eat on a daily basis. (Also, be aware that fruits and vegetables often have naturally occurring “sugar,” which will be included in the quantity of sugar given in the Nutrition Facts label. That is why it is also good to look at the ingredient list to find out the source(s) of the sugar and its relative amount to the other ingredients.)

The bottom line is that it is easy to see that the vast majority of Americans have chronically suppressed immune systems through excessive consumption of sugar. And the fact that many eat donuts for breakfast, drink soda pop instead of water, have candy bars for snacks, and love to have a nice dessert for dinner, the immune system is just not able to function at a level to protect against the cancerous cells all of us develop in our bodies every day. If these cancerous cells are not identified and killed by the immune system, they are left to grow, and after a few years you are diagnosed with a tumor or cancer.

Even though cancer is now the number one killer of Americans under age 85, there are things that we can all do to drastically reduce our risk of cancer. Eliminating tobacco usage by those who smoke is a major step in cancer risk reduction. Moving from a diet containing animal fat and protein to a plant-based diet is repeatedly shown to provide major cancer risk reduction benefits. Finally, drastically reducing our intake of sugar will help give our immune systems the ability and vitality necessary to identify and kill the abnormal cells in our bodies and not allow them to reproduce to form the basis of full-blown cancer. Certainly there are things that we can do; therefore, let us do all that we can to reduce the risk of cancer in our lives and in the lives of others.

  1. World Health Organization. Global cancer rates could increase by 50% to 15 million by 2020. Internet: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2003/pr27/en/. Accessed Feb. 20, 2006. Also: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/20/health/main667998.shtml. Accessed Feb. 17, 2011
  2. Good Medicine, Spring 2005, Vol. XIV, No. 2:16
  3. WHO, Ibid.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Nothlings U, Wilkens LR, Murphy SP, Hankin JH, Henderson BE, Kolonel LN. Meat and fat intake as risk factors for pancreatic cancer: the multiethnic cohort study. J. Natl Cancer Inst. 2005;97:1458-65.
  6. Pan SY, Ugnat AM, Mao Y, et al. A case-controlled study of diet and the risk of ovarian cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers. 2004;13:1521-7.
  7. Chao A, Thun MJ, Connell CJ, et al. Meat consumption and risk of colorectal cancer. JAMA 2005;293:172-82.
  8. Larsson SC, Orsini N, Wolk A, Milk, milk products, and lactose intake and ovarian cancer risk: a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. Int. J. Cancer. Internet: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/110575092/ABSTRACT. Accessed Feb. 20, 2006.
  9. Garner MJ, Birkett NJ, Johnson KC, Shatenstein B, Ghadirian P, Krewski D. Dietary risk factors for testicular carcinoma. Int. J Cancer 2003;106:934-41.
  10. Cho E, Spiegelman D, Hunter DJ, et al. Premenopausal fat intake and the risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. (#5. last line) 2003; 95:1070-85.
  11. Campbell TC, Campbell II TM. Lessons of a Lifetime: Decades of Scientific Research Show the Power of a Plant-based Diet. Good Medicine, Spring 2005, Vol. XIV, No. 2:8.
  12. Lu QY, Arteaga JR, Zhang Q, et al. Inhibition of prostate cancer cell growth by an avocado extract: role of lipid-soluble bioactive substances. J Nutr Biochem. 2005;16:23-13. Kwan ML, Block G, Selvin S, et al. Food consumption by children and the risk of childhood acute leukemia. Am J Epidemiol. 2004;160:1098-107.
  13. Nkondjock A, Krewski D. Johnson KC, Chadirian P. Dietary patterns and the risk of pancreatic cancer. Int J Cancer. 2005;114:814-23.
  14. Pizzorno J. Total Wellness. Prima Publishing. 1996:24
  15. Country Life Natural Foods. Nutrition Seminar Cookbook. Southern Missionary Society, Harrisburg, NH. 1984:69-71.
  16. US News. One Sweet Nation. Internet: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/050328/28sugar.b.htm. Accessed Feb. 20, 2006
  17. The Food Pyramid-Food Label Connection. Internet: http://www.fda.gov/fdac/special/foodlabel/pyramid.html. Accessed Feb. 20, 2006

Diane Herbert, ND, is leader of the Health and Temperance team at Tucker-Norcross Free Seventh-day Adventist Church, and teaches health classes at The Gilead Institute, a medical missionary organization.

Lifestyle – Perfect Circulation

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We know that “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Leviticus 17:11. “In order to have good health, we must have good blood; for the blood is the current of life. It repairs waste and nourishes the body. When supplied with the proper food elements and when cleansed and vitalized by contact with pure air, it carries life and vigor to every part of the system. The more perfect the circulation, the better will this work be accomplished.” The Ministry of Healing, 271. Because of this, we must do everything possible to produce good blood and not do anything that will hinder circulation.

Hindrances to Healthy Circulation:

  • Excess fat in the diet and therefore in the blood causes the blood cells to become sticky and clump together. This interferes with the ability of the red blood cells to carry oxygen to the body and encourages them to block blood vessels, especially small vessels and capillaries that are the most affected. See Healthful Living, 67.
  • Sugar also thickens the blood, clogs the system, and hinders oxygen levels. See Testimonies, vol. 2, 369, 370.
  • Overeating puts a very heavy load on the stomach, robs the body of oxygen in order that the heavy load can be digested, and then further comprises oxygen levels as the heavy load of digested food enters the blood circulation. See Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 51.
  • A sedentary life lessens circulation, endangering abundant health. Exercise and fresh air both stimulate the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, bringing much needed oxygen, nutrition and life to every cell in the body. See Testimonies, vol. 1, 562.
  • Poorly clad extremities interfere with good circulation. “Perfect health depends upon perfect circulation. … When the extremities, which are remote from the vital organs, are not properly clad, the blood is driven to the head, causing headache or nosebleed; or there is a sense of fullness about the chest.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 531.
  • Lack of trust in God and a sense of freedom from wrong. “If the mind is free and happy, under a consciousness of rightdoing and a sense of satisfaction in causing happiness to others, it will create a cheerfulness that will react upon the whole system, causing a freer circulation of the blood and a toning up of the entire body. The blessing of God is a healer, and those who are abundant in benefiting others will realize that wondrous blessing in their hearts and lives.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 60, 61.
  • Anything that hinders full, pure respiration hinders circulation. This could range from lack of deep breathing, poor posture, tight clothing, inhibition or damage to the lungs from smoking, air pollution, un-hygienic surroundings, or poor ventilation in buildings. See Child Guidance, 363, 364, 425; Healthful Living, 171–173.

“Thus an insufficient supply of oxygen is received. The blood moves sluggishly. The waste, poisonous matter, which should be thrown off in the exhalations from the lungs, is retained, and the blood becomes impure. Not only the lungs, but the stomach, liver, and brain are affected. The skin becomes sallow, digestion is retarded; the heart is depressed; the brain is clouded; the thoughts are confused; gloom settles upon the spirits; the whole system becomes depressed and inactive, and peculiarly susceptible to disease.” The Ministry of Healing, 273. In order to have health, we must work with our bodies to provide, not hinder, perfect circulation.

Lifestyle – Air and Respiration

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If all hindrances to good circulation have been minimized and/or prevented, then good oxygenation of the blood and tissues is dependent upon a healthy respiratory system.

Let’s look at the anatomy of respiration. With a normal inspiration, about one pint (500 cc) of air is moved into and out of the lungs with each breath taken. Approximately 16 breaths are taken per minute, totaling 23,040 times each day, moving about 3,000 gallons (12,000 liters) of air per day through the lungs. This air, with the carbon dioxide waste products produced by the body, is processed within the 300 million tiny air sacs in the lungs. In these air sacs, oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide and is then circulated to every cell in the body.

There is much that can be done to maximize or hinder breathing efforts. Having an erect posture while sitting or standing allows the diaphragm to fully contract and relax. The diaphragm is the large muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. If the posture is slumped, full expansion of the diaphragm is hindered by the stomach and increases the work of the lungs, resulting in less oxygen to the body or a faster breathing rate. With full expansion of the diaphragm, abdominal movement will be noticed with breathing. This can be promoted by doing deep breathing exercises, with the abdomen moving up and down slightly with each breath. After daily practice, this correct breathing will become natural, benefiting the body with health-giving oxygen.

The type of clothing worn can affect breathing. Clothes that are tight around the chest and the waist can hinder full respirations. It is important for clothes to be loose enough to allow full, unhindered movement of both the chest and abdomen. Tight fitting undergarments and tight constricting waist bands or belts should be eliminated from our wardrobe.

Exercise is a friend to good lung function, speeding up not only the respiratory rate but greatly increasing the amount of air moved with each respiration which helps open every tiny air sac and remove any waste products in them. This directly helps prevent lung infections and also gives a boost to the immune system, producing a double benefit, so some form of exercise on a daily basis is excellent for improved lung function. If the exercise can be obtained outside in fresh air and sunshine it is even more beneficial. Having fresh air circulating in the home and bedroom daily is also beneficial for the lungs and improves sleep.

Adequate hydration is beneficial to good lung function. Approximately one quart (liter) of water is lost per day from the lungs. Water helps with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. It makes the lungs more mobile, and helps the lining of the lungs to have adequate fluid, helping trap and remove harmful particles in the air.

A healthful, temperate lifestyle that avoids smoking is of great benefit. Air pollution can be very detrimental to the lungs, preventing pure oxygen from being brought into the body. Irritated eyes, irritability, headache, decreased job efficiency and lung problems can be signs and symptoms of poor quality of air and can also be a contributing factor to heart disease.

With this in mind, it would be wise to avoid polluted or poor quality air as much as possible in order to have healthy lungs, efficient respiration, and pure oxygen circulating to all cells in the body.

Always remember that our lungs and voice should be used to raise praise to our Lord who created this wonderful body. “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 150:6.

Health – The Dangers of Pork Eating Exposed

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Taken from Good Health Publishing Company, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1897. Retypeset from the original 1897 edition.

Pork-raising has come to be one of the great industries of this country, and since the supply is wholly regulated by the demand, it may be taken as a proper index of the prodigious quantities of swine’s flesh which are daily required to satisfy the gustatory demands of the American people. No other kind of animal food is so largely used as pork in its various forms of preparation. …

In the case of no other animal is so large a portion of the dead carcass utilized as food. It seems to be considered that pork is such a delicacy that not a particle should be wasted. The fat and lean portions are eaten fresh, or carefully preserved by salting or smoking or both. The tail is roasted; the snout, ears, and feet are pickled and eaten as souse; the intestine and lungs are eaten as tripe or made into sausages; black pudding is made of the blood; the liver, spleen, and kidneys are also prized; the pancreas and other glands are considered great delicacies; while even the skin is made into jelly. In fact, nothing is left of the beast, not even the bristles, which the shoemaker claims. Surely it must be quite an important matter, and one well deserving attention, if it can be shown that an animal which is thus literally devoured, and that in such immense quantities, is not only unfit for food, but one of the prime causes of many loathsome and painful maladies. …

A Live Hog Examined

Straighten out his fore legs. Now observe closely. Do you see the open sore or issue, a few inches above his foot on the inner side? Do you say it is a mere accidental abrasion? Find the same on the other leg; it is rather a wise and wonderful provision of nature. Grasp the leg high up and press downward. Now you see its utility, as a mass of corruption pours out. That opening is the outlet of a sewer. With the offensive matter which discharges from it, you can be able to trace all through the body of the animal.

What must be the condition of the body of an animal so foul as to require a regular system of drainage to convey away its teeming filth? Sometimes the outlet gets closed by the accumulation of external filth. Then this sewer stream ceases to flow, and the animal quickly sickens and dies unless the owner cleanses the parts, and so opens anew the feculent fountain, and allows the festering poison to escape.

What dainty morsels those same feet and legs make—pickled pig’s feet! Do you suppose the corruption with which they are saturated has any influence upon their taste and healthfulness?

A Dead Hog Examined

Do you imagine that the repulsiveness of this loathsome creature is only on the outside? That within everything is pure and wholesome? Just as sickening and disgusting, as is the exterior, it is, in comparison with what it covers, a fair cloak, hiding a mass of disease and rottenness which grows filthier as we penetrate deeper and deeper beneath the skin.

What Is Lard?

Just under the foul and putrid skin we find a mass of fat from two to six inches in thickness, covering a large portion of the body. Some say lard is animal oil; an excellent thing for consumptives; a very necessary kind of food in cold weather. Lard, animal oil, very truly; and, we will add a synonym for disease, scrofula, torpid liver. Where did all that fat come from, or how happened it to be so heaped up around that poor hog? Surely it is not natural; for fat is only deposited in large quantities for the purpose of keeping the body warm in winter. This fat is much more than is necessary for such a purpose, and is much greater in amount than ever exists upon the animal in a state of nature. It is evidently the result of disease. So gross have been the habits of the animal, so great has been the foulness of its body, that its excretory organs—its liver, lungs, kidneys, skin, and intestines—have been entirely unable to carry away the impurities which the animal has been all its life accumulating. And even the extensive system of sewerage with its constant stream, which we have already described, was insufficient to the task of purging so vile a body of the debris which abounded in every organ and saturated every tissue. Consequently this great flood of disease made its way through the veins and arteries into the tissues, and there accumulated as fat! Delectable morsel, a slice of fat pork, isn’t it? Concentrated, consolidated filth!

Then the fatter the hog, the more diseased he is? Certainly. A few years ago, there were on exhibition at the great cattle show in England a couple of hogs which had been stuffed with oil cake until they were the greatest monsters of obesity ever exhibited. Of course they took the first premium; and if a premium had been awarded to the animals which were capable of producing the most disease, it is quite probable that they would have headed the list still.

Lard, then, obtained from the flesh of the hog by heating, is nothing more than extract of a diseased carcass! Who that knows its character would dare to defile himself with this “broth of abominable things”?

Disgusting Developments

Now let us take a little deeper look, prepared to find disease and corruption more abundant the deeper we go. Observe the glands which lie about the neck. Instead of being of their ordinary size, and composed of ordinary gland structure, we find them surrounded by large masses of scrofulous (rod-shaped bacteria that produce spores) tissue. Perhaps tuberculosis degeneration had already taken place. If so, the soft, cheesy, infectious mass is ready to sow broadcast the seeds of consumption and premature death. …

Now take a deeper look still, and examine the lungs of this much-prized animal. If he is more than a few months old, you will be likely to find large numbers of tubercles (bacteria). If he is much more than a year old, you will be more likely than not to find a portion of the lung completely consolidated. Yet all of this filthy, diseased mass is cooked as a delicious morsel. If the animal had escaped the butcher’s knife a few years, he would have died of tuberculosis consumption.

But what kind of a liver would you expect such an animal to have? Is not excessive fatness one of the surest evidences of a diseased and inactive liver? Then a fat hog must have a dreadfully diseased bile manufactory. Make a cut into its substance. In seventy-five cases out of a hundred you will find it filled with abscesses. In a larger percentage still will be found the same diseased products which seem to infest every organ, every tissue, every structure of the animal. Yet these same rotten, diseased, scrofulous livers are eaten and relished by thousands of people.

Taking just a glance at the remaining contents of the abdomen, in every part evidences, unmistakably, of scrofula, fatty degeneration, and tuberculosis masses are noticed.

Where Scrofula Comes From

The word scrofula is derived from the Latin scrofu, which means a sow. The ancient Romans evidently believed that scrofula originated with the hog, and hence they attached the name of the beast to the disease. Saying that a man has scrofula, then, is equivalent to saying that he has the hog disease. After we have seen that the hog is the very embodiment of scrofulous disease, can anyone doubt the accuracy of the conclusion of the Romans who named the disease?

Origin of the Tapeworm

We shall attempt to trace the history of this horrid parasite only so far as concerns its introduction into the human system.

With this end in view, let us glance again at the diseased liver. It will be no uncommon thing if we discover numberless little sacs, or cysts, about the size of a hemp seed. As soon as they are taken into the human stomach, the gastric juice dissolves off the membranous sac, and liberates a minute animal, which had been lurking there for months, perhaps, awaiting this very opportunity. This creature, although very small, is furnished with a head and four suckers that attach themselves firmly to the wall of the intestine, and the parasite begins to grow. In a short time an addition to its body is produced posteriorly, attached like a joint. Soon a duplicate of this appears, and then another, and another, until the body attains a length of several yards. Not infrequently tapeworms measuring thirty to one hundred feet in length are found in the intestines of human beings.

Under some circumstances the eggs of the tapeworm find entrance into the body, when the disease is developed in another form. The embryonic worms consist of a pair of hooklets so shaped that a twisting motion will cause them to penetrate the tissues after the fashion of a corkscrew. Countless numbers of these may be taken into the system, since a single tapeworm has been found to produce more than two million eggs. By the boring motion referred to, which seems to be spontaneous in the young worm, the parasites penetrate into every part of the body. Penetrating the walls of the blood vessels, they are swept along in the life-current, thus finding their way even to the most delicate structures of the human system. They have been found in all the organs of the body, even the brain and the delicate organs of vision not escaping the depredations of this destructive parasite.

When this lively migrating germ gets fully settled in the tissues, it becomes enveloped in a little cell, and remains quiet until taken into the stomach of some other animal, when it is liberated, and speedily develops into a full-grown tapeworm, as already described. But although quiet, the imprisoned parasite is by no means harmless. The cysts formed often attain such a size as to endanger life. When developed in the eye, they occasion blindness; in the lungs or other organs, they interfere with the proper functions of the organs; in the liver, which is the frequent rendezvous of these destructive creatures, a most serious and fatal disease known as hydatids is occasioned by the extraordinary development of the cysts, which are originally not larger than a pea, but by excessive growth assume enormous proportions. The same disease may occur in any other part of the body in which the germs undergo development.

The germs of these dreadful animals are found not only in the liver, but in other organs as well. Pork containing them is said to be “measly.” Sometimes the condition is discovered; but that such is not always the case is evidenced by the fact that tapeworm is every year becoming more frequent. It has long been common in Germany. In Iceland it has become extremely common. In Abyssinia the occurrence of the worm has become so frequent, owing to the bad dietetic habits of the people, that it has been said that every Abyssinian has a tapeworm. In this country [United States of America] the parasite is most common among butchers and cooks.

Some time since, we received from a friend in the South a specimen of pork which was so densely peopled with the germs of this dreadful parasite that every cubic inch of flesh contained more than a score of them. The writer has in his microscopical cabinet specimens of the embryonic worms taken from hydatid tumors of the liver of a patient who died of the disease in Bellevue Hospital, New York.

The poor victim who is forced to entertain this unwelcome guest suffers untold agonies, and finally dies, if he cannot succeed in dislodging the parasite.

The Terrible Trichina

Now, my friend, assist your eyesight by a good microscope, and you will be convinced that you have only just caught a glimpse of the enormous filthiness, the inherent badness, and the intrinsic ugliness of this loathsome animal. Take a thin slice of lean flesh; place it upon the stage of your microscope, adjust the eyepiece, and look. You will see displayed before your eyes hundreds of voracious little animals, each coiled up in its little cell, waiting for an opportunity to escape from its prison walls and begin its destined work of devastation.

An eminent gentleman in Louisville has made very extensive researches upon the subject, and asserts that in at least one hog out of every ten these creatures may be found. A committee appointed by the Chicago Academy of Medicine to investigate this subject reported that they found in their examinations at the various packing-houses in the city, one hog in fifty infested with trichina. Other investigations have shown a still greater frequency of the disease.

A few years ago I obtained a small portion of the flesh of a person who had died from trichina poisoning. Upon subjecting it to a careful microscopical examination with a good instrument, I discovered multitudes of little worms. Each individual animal seen was enclosed in a little cyst, or sac, which is dissolved by the gastric juice when taken into the stomach. The parasite, being thus set at liberty, immediately penetrates the thin muscular walls of the stomach, and gradually works its way through the whole muscular system. It possesses the power of propagating its species with wonderful rapidity; and a person once infected is almost certain to die a lingering death of excruciating agony.

In Helmstadt, Prussia, one hundred and three persons were poisoned in this way, and twenty of them died within a month.

It is doubtless not known how many deaths are really due to this cause; for many persons die of strange, unknown diseases, which baffle the doctors’ skill both as to cure and diagnosis. Trichinosis very much resembles various other diseases in some of its stages, and is likely to be attributed to other than its true cause. It is thought by prominent medical men that hundreds of people die of the disease without suspecting its true nature.

Pork Unclean

Have we not seen that a hog is nothing better than an animated mass of physical defilement? Few who have seen the animal will dispute that his filthiness is a most patent fact. How wise and sanitary, then, was the command of God to the ancient Jews: “It is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their dead carcass” [Deuteronomy 14:8].

Although it may not be said that this law still exists, and is binding as a moral obligation, it is quite plain that the physical basis upon which the law is founded is as good today as at any previous period. Could it be proved that the hog had kept pace with advancing civilization, and had improved his habits, we might possibly feel more tolerance for him; but he is evidently just as unclean as ever, and just as unfit for food.

Adam Clarke [British Methodist Theologian and Biblical scholar (1762–1832)], when once requested to give thanks at a repast of which pork constituted a conspicuous part, used the following words: “Lord, bless this bread, these vegetables, and this fruit; and if thou canst bless under the gospel what thou didst curse under the law, bless this swine’s flesh.”

The Mohammedans, as well as the Jews, abstain entirely from the use of pork. Such is also the case with some of the other tribes of Asia and Africa.

Evil Effects of Pork-Eating

At the head of the list we place scrofula. How almost universally it abounds. How few are entirely untainted by it. How do chronic sore eyes, glandular enlargements, obstinate ulcers, disfigured countenances, unsightly eruptions, including the long list of skin diseases, all proclaim the defilement of the blood with this vile humor. So, too, do the vast army of dwarfed, strumose, precocious children tell the same story.

Erysipelas, too, a dreadful scourge, owes more to pork than to any other predisposing cause.

Leprosy, that terrible disease, so common in Eastern countries, and now beginning to show itself upon our [United States] own shores, is thought by many to be largely attributable to pork-eating.

“Biliousness,” a name which covers nearly every bad condition for which no appropriate name can be found, is notoriously the result of pork-eating. This is the main reason why so many people complain of biliousness in the spring, after gorging themselves with fat pork all winter. The liver is overworked in attempting to remove from the system such a mass of impurity as is received in the eating of pork. It consequently becomes clogged, congested, torpid. Then follow all the ills consequent upon the irritating effects of the accumulation of biliary matters in the blood. The skin becomes tawny and jaundiced. The kidneys are overworked. Perhaps fever results. A partial clearing out then occurs, which enables the individual to pass along for a time again until some epidemic or contagious disease claims him as its lawful victim.

Consumption is another disease which is not easily separable from pork-eating. In fact, scrofula is its great predisposing cause. The narrow chests, projecting shoulders, thin features, and lank limbs of so many young boys and girls are evidence of a consumptive tendency, of which a scrofulous diathesis is the predisposing cause.

Dispepsia, that malady of many forms, frequently results from the use of pork, especially when fat and salted or smoked pork, one of the most indigestible of foods, is used. Pork requires between five and six hours for its digestion, while wholesome food will digest in half that time. This is the reason for the notion that salt pork is an excellent thing to “stick by the rib.”

Tapeworm, we have already mentioned as the result of eating measly pork. It is a very difficult disease to cure, and often baffles the best medical skill for many years. Few ever detect the cysts in the flesh of the hog unless their attention has been directed to the matter.

Trichinae produce in man an incurable disease. No remedy can stay the ravages of the parasite. All pork-eaters are in constant danger; for the worm is too small to be seen without the aid of the microscope. However, this disease is not nearly so formidable as the others named; for it is not so common, neither does it entail any weight of suffering upon posterity.

Apologies for Pork-Eating Examined

On every hand we are met by all sorts of excuses for continuing to make swine’s flesh an article of diet in spite of the striking evidences of its dangerous character. Let us examine a few of the most common of these apologies, and test their value.

Pork is Necessary as a Heat-forming Food in Winter. Are there not plenty of more healthful animals than hogs to supply all the animal fat necessary? Certainly there are; and, better still, we have the various grains and farinaceous vegetables, which are abundantly sufficient to furnish all the heat required by man in any latitude.

Our Fathers and Grandfathers Ate Pork, and yet Lived to very Old Age. Ah! yes, my good friend, and you are suffering the penalty of their transgressions. You may not be aware of it yet; but more than likely your old age will not be so free from ills as was theirs. And quite as probably you may even now see in your children the results of your own, as well as your father’s, disregard of the dictates of sound sense in feasting upon the hog. Their frequent sore eyes, sore mouths, tetter, crysipelas, and other eruptions, are all evidences of the scrofula which they have inherited.

Neither can you urge the plea, “Pork does not hurt me.” No man ever became a drunkard who did not make the same excuse for liquor. You may not feel it now; but the future will expose your delusion.

The Hog is Cleanly if You Give Him a Chance to Be So. It is surprising to us that any one who knows anything of the real nature of a hog can make such an assertion. Who has not seen hogs wallowing in the foulest mire right in the middle of a green, fragrant clover pasture? The dirty creature will turn away from the nicest bed of straw to revel in a stagnant, seething mud hole. If one of his companions dies in the lot or pen, he will wait until putrefaction occurs, and then greedily devour the stinking carcass. The filthy brute will even devour his own excrement, and that when not unusually pressed by hunger.

The hog is by nature a scavenger, and is especially adapted for that purpose. Let him pursue his natural hunger.

Sufficient Heat Will Kill the Trichinae and Incipient Tapeworms. Surely, dead worms cannot kill any one; but it must be delightful for the pork-eater to contemplate his ham or sausage with the reflection that he is partaking of a diet of worms. The Frenchman sometimes eats earthworms; the African relishes lizards; and one philosopher so far overcame his natural prejudices as to eat spiders. “How disgusting!” you say, and you shut your eyes and swallow a million monsters at a meal, because they are cooked and so cannot bite. The louse-eating Patagonian cannot equal that. But it should be remembered that in order that the parasite should be killed, every part of the meat must be subjected to a heat of at least 212 degrees which is quite difficult to do, and is seldom accomplished. A whole family was poisoned by eating pork-chops, which were well cooked upon the outside.

What Shall We Do With the Hog?

Stop raising him. Turn him loose. He will soon find his place, like the five thousand which ran down into the sea in the days of Christ. If he must be raised, use him for illuminating our halls and houses. Lubricate our car and wagon with his abundant fat. Do anything with him but eat him. It would be dangerous to adopt the principle that we must devour everything which is in the way, or which cannot be otherwise utilized. Adam Clarke thought of one appropriate use to make of the hog. He said that if he was going to make an offering to the devil, he would employ a hog stuffed with tobacco.

Reader, what will you do? Can you continue to use as food such an abominable article as pork, and in so doing run so many risks as you must do? And if you decide that the animal is unfit to claim a place upon your own table, can you conscientiously raise and sell him to your neighbors’ injury?

Cases of Trichina Poisoning

The reported cases of death from this terrible cause have become so frequent that we are no longer startled by them. Ten years ago the description of the death of a person literally infested with worms, and tortured to death by their inroads upon the system, would have excited feelings of the deepest horror; but these accounts have now become so common that little interest is shown in them, and death from this cause is one of the regular causes of additions to the mortuary list. Nevertheless, the disease is divested of none of its real horrors by its common occurrence. No one is safe; any one who uses swine’s flesh as food in any form is liable to the disease. Salting, smoking, and the other ordinary means of curing pork do not destroy the parasite.

A few years ago, Dr. Germer, health officer of Erie, Pennsylvania, was sent for in haste to see a patient who was supposed to be suffering from the cholera. He hastened to the bedside, and found a whole family sick with the symptoms much resembling those of cholera, though the season was then midwinter. Suspecting the possible cause, he secured a specimen from the pork barrel, and hastened to his office. Upon making a careful microscopic examination, he found myriads of the loathsome parasites in every part of the flesh examined. The writer prepared numerous microscopic specimens of the worm in various aspects from a portion of the infected meat kindly furnished by the doctor. These have been shown to hundreds of persons who were skeptical respecting the existence of such a pest.

In this case the hog had been fattened on the premises, having been purchased when quite young by the owner, a German, from a drove of hogs which passed through the city. It was known that, previous to the purchase of the hog, two of the drove had died on the road, and had been devoured by their scavenger companions. No doubt the deaths were the result of trichinosis; and by devouring the victims the whole herd became infected. It would be difficult to estimate what an amount of suffering and death was entailed by the consumption of this great herd of trichinous hogs. Several members of the German family died, together with several of the neighbors. Those who survived the acute stages of the disease escaped only to linger out a painful existence in the chronic and incurable state of the malady.

Some three years later the writer received a specimen of pork from a gentleman in Wisconsin who requested an examination of the same, stating that he procured it from the pork barrel of a neighbor whose family were suffering from a disease which the doctors called cholera infantum. Several of the children had died, and other members of the family were still dangerously ill. The pork had been suspected and examined, but no trichinae were found by the observers, though several physicians had inspected it. Upon making a careful microscopical inspection of the specimen, it was found to be alive with young trichinae.

Adapted from www.giveshare.org/Health/porkeatdanger.html, May 3, 2011.

Health – Our Healing Vegetables

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The next time you sit down to a plate of vegetables consider the important healing virtues they have, for they are more than just a tasty food. We will consider using mint or comfrey or some other herb for healing purposes not realizing that our vegetables are also herbs and have their value in helping the body to heal itself. Let’s review briefly some of the valuable medicinal properties of some of the common vegetables.

A watchmaker suffered for a year with a painful eczema of both hands, preventing him from working. The lesions were acutely inflamed, and the fingernails were separating, about to fall off. Applications of cabbage leaves twice daily for a few days brought relief from pain, as clear fluid drained onto the dressing. With continued treatment, healing took place within two months.

In 1875, a 75-year-old man suffered arteriosclerotic gangrene of the lower right leg and foot. The skin was black and the front of the lower leg was decayed. Following the local application of cabbage leaf dressings, the skin changed from black to brown to red, and then returned to its normal healthy color.

It has not yet been discovered why the cabbage leaf has such remarkable healing properties. We only know that the cabbage leaf has a particular affinity for disease-causing fluids, forcing them from the tissues. It even seems that treating small areas of extensive disease benefits the whole; as distant toxins are removed, the cabbage promotes healing and scar tissue, thus preventing complications.

The long history of cures obtained with cabbage concern many different diseases, including simple and complicated injuries, rheumatic pains, facial neuralgia, headaches, leg ulcer, anthrax, and many others. Cabbage—raw in salads, juiced, or steamed—has incomparable virtues in the most diverse maladies. Cabbage juice mixed with honey makes a syrup that heals hoarseness and coughing.

How to Prepare and Apply Cabbage Leaves

The preparation of cabbage for various disorders is as follows: Wash the leaves or soak them for a few minutes in water to which lemon juice has been added. Wipe dry, then use a knife or scissors to remove the central rib and, if the application is planned for an ulcer or sensitive wound, the secondary ribs. Crush the leaves, one by one, with a rolling pin or bottle. The juice appears at the surface of the leaves, ready for application. One, two, or three applications will be required according to the severity of the disease. Cover with a thick cloth and continue the application for several hours, generally overnight, or during the day if pain prevents sleep.

For a very sensitive wound, plunge the leaves for one or two seconds into boiling water, softening them, and reducing the possibility of irritation.

If cabbage leaves are applied to ulcers with swollen irritated margins, soak the leaves first for one-half hour in olive oil. The resulting preparation will soothe inflamed tissues as well as combating infection and aid healing.

Cabbage leaves applied to an infected wound, ulcer, or oozing eczema should be layered like roof shingles, allowing secretions to drain between the layers. When treating lumbago, joint pain, or various afflictions of the nerve or bladder, poultices of cabbage leaves bring rapid relief. A poultice is prepared as follows:

2–4 cabbage leaves

2 whole chopped onions

3–4 handfuls of bran

a small amount of water

Boil for 20 minutes. After evaporation of the water, place the poultice on gauze and apply hot for one or two hours, or even for the whole night. (Never apply heat to a painful abdomen. Only the physician can properly diagnose the cause of abdominal pain, and the application of heat to appendicitis or infection of the ovary may be harmful.)

Doctor Garnett-Cheney, Professor at the Medical School of Stanford, published a report concerning the use of cabbage juice in the treatment of gastric ulcers. Of 65 cases reported in his series, 62 were cured at the end of three weeks. (Cal Med 1949;70:10; Lancet 1954; ii: 1200.)

Cabbage has been found to be of infinite value for pregnant women, and for patients with anemia, fatigue, infections, intestinal parasites, stones, and arthritis.

The Red Beet

The common red beet is a highly nutritious plant. The root is an excellent appetite stimulant and is easily digested. The root has been used to treat constipation, liver ailments, dysentery, skin disorders, anemia, menstruation problems, obesity, and nervousness. One therapy for leukemia and tumors is to consume a couple of pounds of raw, mashed beets daily.

About ten percent of the beet root consists of a sugar that is more easily handled by the body than cane sugar and about a third of the root consists of starch and gum. The special value of the root is its effect on the liver and spleen. Some consume beets during an attack of the flu.

Beets are a potent anti-cancer treatment and are also great for detoxing the liver, kidneys, gallbladder, blood and lymph. They are also high in folate, which is good for your bones, and they are helpful in treating constipation.

Other Vegetables

The tuber of the Jerusalem artichoke is used in cases of gas, constipation and biliousness and as a substitute for potatoes. As it is considered starchless, diabetics who must watch their starch intake use it.

To remove toxins from the kidney apparatus as well as kidney stones, the parsnip has been used. It seems to be useful in cases of inflammation of the joints, colon, and nerves.

The green bell-shaped pepper is especially good for liver disorders, obesity, constipation, high blood pressure and acidosis.

The sweet potato is easily digestible and is good for inflammation of the colon or stomach and also for hemorrhoids. It is helpful to eat the sweet potato in cases of diarrhea and for problems of low blood pressure and poor circulation.

Another good food for inflamed intestines, stomach ulcers, and hemorrhoids is the pumpkin. The pumpkin seed is much recommended for prostate problems, tape and other worm elimination and constipation.

Radishes stimulate the appetite, are good for the hair and nails, teeth, gums and nerves. They help speed up recuperation from nervous exhaustion. Many have been helped in cases of constipation by eating radishes. Pulmonary disorders such as whooping cough, asthma, and bronchitis have been treated with the radish and its leaves. Chronic liver and gallbladder disease including gallstone and kidney stone afflictions have responded by eating the whole plant. The radish is good for vitamin C, D, and P deficiency.

Summer squash and zucchini are good to use where there are problems with high blood pressure, constipation, obesity and for bladder and kidney afflictions. The winter squash has more nutrients than the summer squash and is good for colitis, inflammation of the stomach or intestines, hemorrhoids and diarrhea. 100 grams of winter squash contain about 5,000 IU (international unit) of vitamin A. The high vitamin A content makes the winter squash a valuable food for the winter time.

The roots and leaves of the turnip are recommended in cases of pulmonary disease, obesity, kidney stones, and gout, as it promotes the elimination of uric acid. Drink a turnip broth for common colds and infections. Turnip roots have also been used to relieve nervousness and insomnia. Eat the greens for cases of poor appetite, bronchitis, asthma, liver problems, bladder disorders, gout, high blood pressure and tuberculosis.

When nature gave us parsley, it gave an amazing and extremely versatile plant to aid the body in regaining its health. Parsley is chiefly used for renal congestion, inflammation of the kidneys and bladder, gravel, stones, and urine retention. The root and leaves are excellent for the liver and spleen when jaundice and venereal diseases are present. It is also one of the best reliefs for edema, helping when other remedies have failed. Parsley root contains ingredients that help produce a pain relieving benefit to relax stiff joints. Many have used parsley root tea to make stiff and unmanageable fingers work again. The root contains calcium, B-complex vitamins, and iron, all of which nourish the parathyroid glands which are concerned with the regulation of calcium in the body. Pour a quart of boiling water over a cup of firmly packed fresh parsley and steep for 15 minutes. Strain and then refrigerate.

Although parsley is a very reliable and old diuretic remedy, it is very much ignored today. Parsley will work on the gall bladder and will remove gallstones, if used properly, by taking a pint of the tea daily. Parsley is a specific for the adrenal glands, is powerfully therapeutic for the optic nerves, the brain nerves and the whole sympathetic nervous system. Parsley juice is an excellent tonic for the blood vessels, particularly the capillaries and arterioles. But remember that raw parsley juice is a most potent juice and should never be taken alone in quantities of more than one or two ounces at a time unless it is mixed into a sufficient quantity of carrot or other juices. The usual remedy for kidney, bladder, and edema is to make at least two quarts of a strong parsley tea and drink copiously. If the urine is suppressed, drink one half to one teacupful, hot, every hour.

These simple herbs are just a few of the tremendous blessings given to us from our Father in heaven. Enjoy and praise the Lord continually for truly “His mercy endureth forever.” Psalm 118:1.

Excerpts from Dr. John R. Christopher’s School of Natural Healing

Newsletters, Volume Four, Issue 12

Lifestyle – Rest

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Nightly sleep—a rest vitamin. Many people want to sleep as little as possible. There are so many things that seem more interesting or important than getting a few more hours of sleep. But just as exercise and nutrition are essential for optimal health and happiness, so is sleep. The quality of sleep directly affects the quality of the waking time. There is no other activity that delivers so many benefits with so little effort!

Sleep is regulated by the circadian rhythm, which is affected by the rays of the sun. The sunlight that enters through the eye helps develop chemicals in the body that encourage the feeling of, and need for, sleep in a cyclic pattern of about every 24 hours. Nightly sleep is most vital for the brain and especially the frontal lobe. With adequate sleep the frontal lobe can function with greater speed, greater accuracy, and greater efficiency. An understanding of how to maximize the benefits from sleep is not only important for physical health but also spiritual health.

The required amount of sleep needed varies per individual. One factor in determining this is age. Infants need the most sleep and usually require about 16 to 18 hours per day, while teenagers need, on average, around 9 hours per day. Most adults need around 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Despite popular thought, people do not seem to adapt to getting less sleep than they need.

There is a big difference between the amount of sleep you can get by with, and the amount you need to function optimally. The best way to figure out if you’re meeting your sleep needs is to evaluate how you feel as you go about your day. If you are logging enough hours, you’ll feel energetic and alert all day long, from the moment you awake until your regular bedtime.

Many problems can result from being sleep deprived. At least 40 million Americans each year suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping problems.

While it may seem like losing sleep isn’t such a big deal, sleep deprivation has a wide range of negative effects. These include:

  • Fatigue, lethargy, and lack of motivation
  • Moodiness and irritability
  • Reduced creativity and problem-solving skills and the ability to cope with stress
  • Reduced immunity; frequent colds and infections
  • Concentration and memory problems
  • Weight gain
  • Impaired motor skills and increased risk of accidents
  • Difficulty making decisions
  • Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems
  • The following are signs that you may be sleep deprived:
  • Need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time
  • Rely on the snooze button
  • Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning
  • Feel sluggish in the afternoon
  • Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms
  • Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving
  • Need to nap to get through the day
  • Fall asleep while watching television or relaxing in the evening
  • Feel the need to sleep in on weekends
  • Fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed

While you can’t pay off sleep debt in a night or even a weekend, with a little effort and planning, you can get back on track:

  • Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Make sure you don’t fall further in debt by blocking off a minimum of 8 hours for sleep each night. Consistency is the key.
  • Settle short-term sleep debt with an extra hour or two per night.
  • Record when you go to bed, when you get up, your total hours of sleep, and how you feel during the day. As you keep track of your sleep, you’ll discover your natural patterns and get to know your sleep needs.
  • Pick a two-week period when you have a flexible schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night and allow yourself to sleep until you wake up naturally. No alarm clocks! If you continue to keep the same bedtime and wake up naturally, you’ll eventually dig your way out of debt and arrive at the sleep schedule that’s ideal for you.
  • Make sleep a priority. Just as you schedule time for work and other commitments, you should schedule enough time for sleep. Instead of cutting back on sleep in order to tackle the rest of your daily tasks, put sleep at the top of your to-do list.
  • The following principles improve sleep:
  • Sleep in a dark, quiet, cool room with fresh air throughout the night
  • Be regular in your hours of sleep
  • Experience daily exercise
  • Go to bed on an empty stomach
  • Avoid stimulants, drugs, sleeping pills
  • Eliminate alcohol, tobacco, nicotine and caffeine
  • Develop proper relationships with man and God
  • Establish regular times for going to sleep and rising
  • Your deepest and best sleep is between 9:00 p.m.–midnight.

Health – First Principles

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A “diseased” condition develops when we fail to maintain health; it is the absence of health. Disease is not always some entity which drives out and overcomes health. The true science of conquering disease is to do so by restoring the health rather than to expect to restore the health by conquering disease. Health is maintained by forces which are always persistently at work, which need to have all hindrances to their work removed and all possible assistance given.

Possibly too much attention has been given to the study of disease, and not enough to the study of health, that the study of health has been approached from the standpoint of disease. It is certain that the study of sick, diseased bodies is much more common than the study of sound, healthy ones. To propose reversing this may seem to be like asking one to “stand on his head to get a right point of view,” and yet that change in outlook is the very thing that is needed. …

“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health. In case of sickness, the cause should be ascertained. Unhealthful conditions should be changed, wrong habits corrected. Then nature is to be assisted in her effort to expel impurities and to re-establish right conditions in the system.” The Ministry of Healing, 127.

A Balanced Program

There ought to be a way of daily living which will keep its adherents in good health so that they may perform the ordinary duties of life with ease and without undue fatigue, that the daily rounds of life may be one continuous pleasure rather than a struggle to “keep going” from the sheer force of necessity.

Such a happy way of living consists of a balanced program, which must include among other items:

  1. Perfect nutrition—natural foods, raw and cooked, proportioned to provide the right amount of protein to repair the body cells, starch, sugar and fat to supply heat and energy for the body and its activities, with water, minerals, and vitamins to sustain all of the life processes—a program of feeding which will nourish every organ, gland and cell in the body. …
  2. A proper amount of exercise to maintain good circulation of the blood that it may promptly bring fresh supplies of oxygen and food to the body cells and quickly transport their wastes to the skin, lungs, and kidneys for elimination so that toxins will not be allowed to accumulate in the body.

The Body’s Life

The body is built of cells. All body functions are associated with the function of cells. If the cells are normal, the organs and body are normal, and that is health.

The life is in the cell. The continuance of the life and functions of cells is made possible by forces which reside in air, sunshine, water, and food.

Plants can attain perfect development only when all of the elements they need for life and growth are in the soil.

“A plant, in order to obtain perfect growth, must find in soil a certain minimum of each of many elements. Consider, for example, the element potassium. Suppose only half of the necessary amount of potassium be present, then no matter how abundant may be all the other soil and air constituents, their normal utilization is limited to one-half. The rate of growth and the ultimate development of the plant are consequently depressed. Applying this principle to food absorption, showing that the lack of any one mineral requirement in the body will, to the extent it is lacking, thereby deprive the system of the ability to utilize all of the minerals present.” Dr. F. G. Hoskins, Cambridge University.

This is similar to the maxim the sages gave us long ago—“a chain is no stronger than its weakest link.” This seems to be so clear that it is useless to dispute it, and yet, when applied to a balanced ration it is almost revolutionary.

Animals—cows, horses, pigs, chickens—are the most profitable when fed scientifically.

The average farmer knows more about fertilizing the soil so that it may bring forth proper crops; the feeding of a balanced ration to the hens that they will lay a goodly number of eggs, and to the cows that they may give a profitable supply of milk, than he does about feeding those for whom all these things exist—himself and his family.

The average mother knows less about the foods needed to nourish the inside of the bodies of her children than about the style of the clothes for the outside. She does not discern that the body is more than the raiment.

Animals in the laboratory can be kept in good health, or fall ill with common ailments and diseases similar to ours, according to the food given them.

The engine of the automobile is “fed” scientifically to secure the greatest efficiency and the longest service.

Man alone—he who is lord of all living creatures and of every mechanical device, and who holds their destiny in his hands—too often eats according to the caprice of appetite and does not use as good judgment concerning his own health as he does in the protection of the animate and inanimate things under his care.

The Life-Span Is Decreasing

Man is the only creature given to the practice of self-destroying habits. Because of such habits, degenerative diseases of the vital organs are rapidly increasing with a consequent shortening of the life span. The much-lauded reports that human life is lengthening are deceptive in that they give a false impression. Through better care of babies and their mothers, and by better control of contagious and infectious diseases, more children grow to adult life than formerly; but when they reach adult life—age forty—they have already indulged in so many life-destroying habits that, on the average, they will not live as long as their grandparents did. “The young live longer but the old die sooner.” People do not live longer, but more babies grow up to adult life and this increases the average length of all lives. The age limit is lowering at the same time the average length of life is increasing. We cannot continue indefinitely to add to the average length of life by conquering infectious diseases, because when they are wiped out there will be no more to conquer, but degenerative diseases are increasing with accelerating rapidity.

Excerpts from Abundant Health, Northwestern Publishing Association, 1951, 1–11.

Lifestyle – The Anatomy of Sleep

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There are two basic types of sleep, rapid eye movement—REM sleep, and non-rapid eye movement—NREM sleep.

NREM sleep is the deep sleep cycle and REM sleep is the active sleep cycle. Sleep occurs in a series of recurring sleep stages and each stage varies according to what is happening in the brain and body. Each stage of sleep is vital with each playing a different part in preparation for the day ahead.

Non-REM sleep includes the following 4 stages:

Stage 1 (Transition to sleep) – This lasts about five minutes. The eyes move slowly under the eyelids, muscle activity slows down, and it is easy to be awakened.

Stage 2 (Light sleep) – This is the first stage of true sleep, lasting from 10 to 25 minutes. Eye movement stops, heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases.

Stage 3 (Deep sleep) – You are difficult to awaken, and if you are, you do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes.

Stage 4 (More intense deep sleep) – This is the deepest stage of sleep. Brain waves are extremely slow. Blood flow is directed away from the brain and towards the muscles, restoring physical energy.

REM sleep occurs about 70 to 90 minutes after falling asleep and is the stage where dreaming occurs. Eyes move rapidly, breathing is shallow and the heart rate and blood pressure increase.

The amount of time spent in each stage of sleep changes as the night progresses. For example, most deep sleep occurs in the first half of the night. Later in the night, the REM sleep stages become longer, alternating with light Stage 2 sleep.

Deep sleep, especially Stages 3 and 4, is a time when the body repairs itself and builds up energy for the day ahead. It plays a major role in maintaining health, stimulating growth and development, repairing muscles and tissues, and boosting the immune system. In order to wake up energized and refreshed, getting quality deep sleep is vital. Factors that can affect deep sleep are: being awakened during the night regardless of the reason, working night or swing shifts, and smoking or drinking in the evening.

Just as deep sleep renews the body, REM sleep renews the mind. REM sleep plays a key role in learning and memory. During REM sleep, the brain consolidates and processes information learned during the day, strengthens memory, and replenishes its supply of chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine that boost the mood during the day.

REM sleep in adult humans typically occupies 20–25 percent of total sleep with the amount of REM sleep varying considerably with age. A newborn baby spends more than 80 percent of total sleep time in REM sleep. During a normal night, about four or five periods of REM sleep is usually experienced. These periods are quite short at the beginning of the night and longer toward the end.

Being deprived of adequate deep sleep, the body will try to make it up first, at the expense of REM sleep. Furthermore, studies have shown that when sleep is deprived, the body becomes “more efficient” at sleep and moves to Stage 3 and REM sleep faster than patients who are not sleep deprived. This allows more time in the critical sleep of Stages 3, 4 and REM sleep.

The effects of sleep deprivation are serious and affect both the body and mind. The most damaging effects of sleep deprivation are from inadequate deep sleep with inadequate REM sleep mostly affecting mood and social interactions. Effects of this varies from irritability, tiredness, social ineptness, “cracking” under stress, memory loss, bad concentration, strange appetite change (always hungry, never hungry), and increased risk of occupational or vehicle injury. Many medical diseases are associated with chronic, longterm sleep deprivation. These include high blood pressure, frequent infections, activity intolerance, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, obesity, attention deficit disorder, and behavioral and social problems.

Knowing that these serious symptoms can result from sleep deprivation and especially chronic, long term sleep deprivation, doesn’t it make sense that we should make time in our busy schedules for adequate sleep? If we make time to sleep, and are right with the Lord, we can claim the promises of Scripture: “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8. “When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.” Proverbs 3:24.

Health – Hydrotherapy — The Contrast Bath

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“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 30:17.

“Through the agencies of nature, God is working, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, to keep us alive, to build up and restore us. When any part of the body sustains injury, a healing process is at once begun; nature’s agencies are set at work to restore soundness. But the power working through these agencies is the power of God. … When one recovers from disease, it is God who restores him.” My Life Today, 135.

Here is a natural remedy that works wonders with the human body. This simple explanation of using the contrast bath is found in the book, God’s Healing Way, by Mary Ann McNeilus, M.D. (Tenth Printing, 2004), 37-38. I pray that you will be encouraged to try hydrotherapy, a natural remedy.

In the Preface of this book, Dr. McNeilus shares the following incident:

Night Call

“One cold January evening in Minnesota, my husband and I were settled in by our cozy wood stove when the phone rang. The call was from one of our Amish neighbors. Their six-year-old daughter had developed a skin infection, which had rapidly spread from the ankles up to the knees within the past twenty-four hours. The parents had tried a few home remedies, but as the short winter day turned into dusk, their hopes faded into despair. Would I please come to see what else could be done? Quickly, I packed my medical bag with poultice materials and herbal teas. Cautiously driving over the narrow snow-covered gravel road, I headed for their old weathered farmhouse.

I found the little girl sleeping on a small cot in the middle of the dimly lit room. A worn blanket covered her shoulders leaving both lower legs exposed, as even the weight of a thin sheet on the sore limbs would have been unbearable. The little legs were swollen to nearly twice their normal size. Clear fluid was seeping through the pores of the taut, reddened skin. I stood there for a moment, assessing the situation—the exhausted pain-weary child, the anxious faces of the parents, and the solemn siblings hovering around the small quiet form. I silently sent up an urgent request for heavenly wisdom to meet this challenging situation. Then we went to work!

The parents were instructed to fill two large buckets, one with hot water and the other with cold water. The infected legs and feet were to be immersed alternately in hot, then cold water for a total of seven changes. This contrast bath was to be given four times during the day. After each water treatment, a charcoal or herbal poultice was to be applied to the infected area. We prepared garlic and other infection-fighting herbal teas to drink throughout the day. I also prescribed plenty of pure water and a nutritious diet—free of sugar, grease, and lard.

When I left the home later that night, the house seemed warmer and brighter. The family was filled with new hope and courage. When I returned the next morning, the father and mother happily reported that the pain in their daughter’s infected legs had definitely diminished. The family members faithfully gave water treatments, applied poultices, prepared teas, and strictly adhered to the dietary plan. The pain, redness, and swelling gradually disappeared without a single visit to the doctor’s office. This household was truly grateful for God’s wonderfully simple healing ways!

The Bath

The contrast bath consists of immersing a body part alternately in hot and cold water. (The hot and cold water may be applied with wash cloths to body areas that cannot be easily immersed in water.) This treatment may be combined with the application of a poultice or a heating compress.

The blood vessels expand or dilate with heat and contract with cold—increasing the circulation or blood flow to the treated body part. The increased blood flow (1) enhances the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the body cells and (2) hastens removal of the cell’s waste products. The result is increased cell metabolism and more rapid healing of the treated body part.

Treatment Indications

  • Localized infections
  • Muscle or joint injuries
  • Arthritis
  • Headaches (contrast bath to the extremities)
  • Edema (swelling of a body part due to fluid retention)
  • Blood vessel disease of the veins or arteries to the legs and feet

Treatment Precautions

  • Do not use very hot or very cold water in cases of loss of feeling (numbness) or blood vessel disease of the legs and feet
  • Be careful not to spread infection; disinfect equipment after treating an open sore or wound
  • Avoid treating any area where there is a tendency to bleed or hemorrhage
  • If the treatment is to be followed by massage to the body part, end the treatment with the hot water bathEquipment Needed
  • Two large basins for the hot and cold water
  • Tea kettle or pitcher of hot water
  • Towel
  • Sheet or light blanket
  • Another basin of cold water and 2 washcloths for a cold compress to the head

Treatment Procedure

  1. Preparation for treatment

  • Have the room warm and all equipment assembled
  • Explain the procedure; assist the patient in preparation for treatment

  1. Treatment

  • Encourage confidence in the divine remedies by beginning each treatment with prayer
  • Begin with the hot water bath. Start with milder heat; increase the heat as tolerated. After 3 to 4 minutes—or the specified time—transfer to the cold water bath for 1/2 to 1 minute
  • During the treatment, keep the hot and cold baths at the desired temperature by adding hot or cold water as needed
  • Place a cold compress to the head if sweating occurs
  • Make 5 to 7 changes per treatment. Treat 1 to 4 times per day

  1. Completion of Treatment

  • After the last change, thoroughly dry the treated body part
  • If sweating occurs, dry the entire body; remove damp clothing, and dress in clean, dry garment
  • Rest for 30 to 60 minutes after each treatment

Specific Treatment Recommendations

Localized Infections, Muscle and Joint Injuries:

  • Treat acute muscle and joint injuries with ice or cold packs, rest, and elevation of the affected body part for the first 12 to 24 hours
  • Begin the contrast bath treatment with water as hot as can be tolerated
  • Alternate from hot to cold water 5 to 7 times. End with the cold water bath
  • Repeat the above treatment 2 to 4 times per day

Arthritis

  • Begin the treatment with warm water (3 to 5 minutes); then change to cool water for 1 minute. Gradually increase the hot water temperature and reduce the cold water temperature as tolerated
  • Alternate from hot to cold water 5 to 7 times ending with the hot water bath
  • Repeat the above treatment 1 to 2 times per day

Decreased Circulation (Blood Flow) to the Extremities

  • Treat with mild heat for 3 minutes and cool water (no ice) for one minute. Test the hot water with your elbow to be certain that it is not too hot
  • Alternate from hot to cold water 5 to 7 times. End with the hot water bath
  • Repeat the above treatment 1 to 2 times per day.”

I thank Dr. McNeilus for a thorough, but simple, explanation of this procedure. May God bless each one of us as we learn the simple remedies, which have been provided for us to reach out and minister to others.

PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HOT AND COLD WATER TREATMENTS  
HEAT COLD
Increases blood flow Decreases blood flow
Increases the inflammatory response Decreases the inflammatory response
Increases edema production Decreases edema production
Increases hemorrhage Decreases hemorrhage
Decreases muscle pain and spasm Decreases muscle pain and spasm
Decreases stiffness in arthritis Increases stiffness in arthritis

The Hydrotherapy Advantage

  • It is easily applied to the skin surface
  • It has virtually no adverse side effects
  • It can treat a specific body part. Drugs are not as selective
  • It produces no toxins or waste products. As a result, it does not tax or overwork the liver or kidneys
  • It helps to eliminate toxins by increasing the body’s metabolism
  • It is inexpensive and readily available
  • It can be done in the convenience of the home
  • It imparts a sense of well-being! Drugs lack this effect