Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Are you fighting weighty issues? Do gym sessions seem nearly impossible to balance with your tight scheduleAre crash diets leaving you and Fight fat with aroma therapy (Getty Images)tarved? Don't fret! Aromatherapy is of great help to shed that extra flab, sans strenuous workouts and fad diets.
Well, all you need to do to knock out approximately 3-4 kilograms in a month is to get a soothing massage twice a week with right essential oils, in addition to 45 minutes of brisk walk for 5 days in a week along with a well balanced diet (which is neither too bland nor intended at making you starve)! Essential oils used in aromatherapy work towards detoxifying three major systems in our body - the circulatory, gastric and excretory system.
Such an exhaustive and all natural detoxification stimulates the adipose tissues which get accumulated in the fat areas of our body (tummy, thighs, love handles). Thus, increasing our Body Metabolism Rate (BMR) finally melts the fat content and cellulite," explains aroma therapist.Heat generated during essential oil massages continue their decomposing effects on fat tissues for as long as 12-24 hours. As a result, even while your body is in an inactive state, calories will keep burning out.
These oils not only detoxify and cleanse the body of toxins, but also take care of resulting hunger pangs. If this much information is enough to heighten your curiosity about the wonder essential oils, read on to achieve a ten-on-ten figure you've always dreamt of:
1. Juniper oil Characterised by its earthy, fruity fragrance, Juniper oil is useful for the digestive system, especially in cases of obesity and fighting cellulite. Caution: Pregnant women and people with kidney problem should avoid using this oil.
2. Orange oil This oil with its citrusy aroma works wonders to cure constipation and slow digestion. It boosts the lymphatic system, which ensures fast decomposition of fat cells. Orange oil is also recognised as a great body toner. Caution: Might show phototoxic effect, so avoid using orange oil before exposing yourself to the sun for prolonged periods.
3. Cinnamon oil Cinnamon oil works wonders for treating constipation and indigestion, which ultimately adds to the complete detoxification process. Caution: Do not use during pregnancy.
4. Fennel oil Slightly spicy in its odour, fennel is a great detoxifier. It works wonders to suppress hunger pangs common to 'comfort eaters' as it promotes a 'full feeling' and possess a diuretic effect as well, which helps in dispersing cellulite. Apart from that, even this oil has a toning effect on one's skin, which is helpful to avoid sagging skin after weight loss. Caution: Do not use during pregnancy.
5. Lemon oil Again citrusy smelling, lemon oil helps to do away with cellulite deposited under the skin.
6. Grapefruit oil This refreshing oil bears diuretic properties, which help remove excess water from the body. Hence, it is a good option if treating cellulite is on your agenda. It also stimulates the lymphatic system. Caution: It can irritate the skin if exposed to strong sunlight after treatment.
Friday, September 26, 2008
The term fever is applied to a condition of the body where the temperature has gone above the normal, which in health ranges between 98.4degree F and 99.5degree F.
Naturopathy believes that fever develops in a body only when the system is in a condition of internal uncleanliness. Fever is a direct manifestation of an acute disease but at the same time it represents the effort of the body to expel the poisons which have accumulated in it. If the fever is allowed to run its course in a natural manner, the sufferer would be in better health than before after the body has thrown off the affliction.
It is nature’s way of spring-cleaning of the body.Modern medicine seeks to cure the fever with drugs but it succeeds only in suppressing it. There may be a seeming cure after the administration of drugs and the temperature may go down but in umpteen cases maladies more serious than fever result because the drugs suppress the ejection of the poison which nature tried to by means of a rise in the temperature of the body.
Fever is a natural crisis and it must be helped to run its normal course; any interference, such as administration of drugs, is only likely to retain the poisons which caused the crisis. The first thing that should be done to help the body to carry out the spring-cleaning is to make the sufferer fast. The system of a person suffering from fever does not need any food because all his energies are directed towards ejecting the poisons accumulated in the body.
If the body has to divert a part of those energies towards the digestion of food which in most cases is forced on the patient because the physician thinks that his strength is to be maintained, the only result is that the course of nature is obstructed creating complications. One must not forget that anorexia- loss of appetite- accompanying most fevers is a signal from nature that the patient should not be given anything to eat.
Treatment:
The accumulation of poisons in the body, which results in fever, can be dealt with by making the patient fast. Only water and orange juice in limited quantities should be given. Denial of food to the patient may have to be continued for a week. Only when the temperature has dropped to 98degree F and the tongue of the patient is a healthy pink should he be given food.
During the fasting period the patient should be given a warm water enema daily; it should be discontinued after he has started feeding normally. The best and the safest way of reducing the temperature of the body is to use cold packs; they may be applied to the whole of the body in the case of high temperatures like those of malaria and typhoid, to the chest in the case of pneumonia, and to the throat in the case of diphtheria.
A large piece of linen material or a sheet may be dipped in water, wrung out and wrapped twice round the body (in the case of high temperature) and the patient covered with a blanket. The pack on the throat may be covered with a piece of flannel. Cold or tepid sponging of the body is also recommended and if the patient can stand it he may be given a cold shower.
The packs may be removed after temperature has come down to 100 degree F but the body should be thoroughly sponged. Mud-packs and hip baths also help.Those administering cold packs must hold on to their courage and not panic; if they do and send for a traditional physician, the patient may come to harm, because any food, solid or liquid, after the patient has fasted for some days would worsen his condition.
After the fever has gone down and the tongue of the patient is no longer furred, he should be put on an exclusive fruit diet of some days. The first two days only juice of fruits should be given and then the whole fruits; oranges, grapes and other juicy fruits are the best.
On the third day a limited quantity of unboiled fresh milk can be added to the diet of the patient. After he has been on a diet of fruit juices and milk for three to four days, he should be advised to start taking boiled vegetables and unleavened bread made of whole meal. If fruits are not available during the period of convalescence, vegetable juices may be given. Soups and broths made of animal material - chicken soup etc. - should be avoided.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Symptoms :
Diabetes is a disorder of assimilation. When the pancreases become inactive or atrophied and cease to produce insulin, the body is unable to convert the sugar into energy for the muscles. Its chief symptoms are weakness and loss of weight, great thirst and increase in the amount of urine passed. There is some times voracious appetite but the patient gradually becomes more and more emaciated. Owing to poor vitality of the tissues, various skin eruptions like boils and carbuncles appear. There may be itching in the groins and eczema.
A serious complication could be gangrene of the skin of the feet, beginning with the toes. A curious phenomenon is that the younger the patient, the more rapid is the course of the disease.Allopathy depends mostly on administration of insulin to dissolve the sugar in the blood and forbidding starchy and sugary foods to the patients.
Treatment :
Naturopathy recommends a dieter ragmen and no drugs, for people suffering from diabetes. The main purpose is to help the body to assimilate the sugar into the system and that can be achieved by a special diet. Adiet, consisting of one kg. Of curd made from cow's milk and various types of gourds without salt is recommended .
The greener the vegetable, the most beneficial it would be. Sour fruits like tomatoes, oranges, pineapple, rose apple (jamun), Scolanum (makoy) could also be taken with advantage. The patient can also take one to two chappaties made of flour which has not been passed through sieve. The person suffering from diabetes must take long walks (preferably ten kilometers) daily.
Cereals, sugar and sugar preparations should not be taken for some time. The other method of treating the disease is by fasting for a couple of days and then eating sour fruit only for a week during which green vegetables may also be alternated with the fruits. Curd made from cow's milk must form an inevitable part of every meal.
If the curd is not available, about 50 grammes of germinated gram may be taken with every meal. After about a fortnight of this regimen, the patient can take bread made of whole flour. During the period of fasting, lukewarm enema should be taken every day.Diabetes must take physical exercise as that helps to utilize the blood sugar, walking, preferably jogging is the best exercise. Hip bath is also extremely beneficial in the case of diabetes, particularly for patients suffering from constipation. For a leathery skin most diabetics develop, the best exercise is vigorous rubbing of the skin with a rough towel for fifteen before a bath with cold water.The diabetic must also try to remain cheerful and keep his poise. There are some asanas recommended by yoga specialists which have proved helpful in dealing with the disease.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Causes and Symptoms:
Hernia means the protrusion of any organ, or part of an organ, into or through the well of the cavity which contains it. The most common form of hernia is the hernia of bowel, popularly known as rupture.Hernia may be caused due to a defect of injury of the abdominal wall or increase of pressure within the cavity. It may be caused by sudden exertion as during the lifting of a weight, but generally it develops gradually.
Pain may be experienced while coughing or straining at stool, but really acute pain is suffered when a hernia becomes strangulated as the result of stoppage of its circulation by the pressure of the opening through which it protrudes. It may become inflamed, turn acutely painful and may even produce peritonitis - inflammation of the membrane lining the abdominal cavity - and finally prove fatal. Stoppage of the bowels, onset of acute pain and vomiting are the ominous symptoms which herald strangulated hernia.
Treatment :
The best treatment according to naturopathy is exercise. The torn muscles, the site of the hernia could be helped regain their tone and strength by application of could compresses or application of bandages covered with soft clay. Compresses should be continued for half an hour at a time and should be applied twice or thrice in a day. Diet plays an important part in dealing with a hernia as it does in other diseases.
The patient should take light, bland food, comprising boiled vegetables and fruits in order to reduce the pressure on the intestine. Too much of weight of waste matter would merely burden in increasing the risk of worsening of the hernia.The truss can help during the treatment of the hernia. It comprises a pad which fits over the opening a spring to run round the pelvis and a strap to pass between the legs and prevent the truss from sliding upwards.
Special trusses can be made by firms manufacturing medical and surgical supplies according to the needs of individual patients. The patient must find the truss which suits her hernia. It should be worn constantly so that the hernia does not recur. The regimen suggested needs to be followed strictly to get relief.
Some Exercises:
The following exercises are suggested for hernia patients:
(i) Lie on a hard bed and ask somebody to hold your feet firmly or bind them with a strap passed round the end of the bed. Put your hands on your waste and raise your head about six inches. Turn left and then right and resume your former position.
(ii) Lie in the position indicated above and take your arms behind your neck. Now try to rise with your feet in the former position. See that you do not overstrain yourself.
(iii) Lie straight and fold your knees to touch your abdomen. Then straighten them slowly without touching the bed.
(iv) Hold the bed with your hands and raise your legs and try to touch your head with your feet.Raise your feet perpendicularly and then twist your legs, first to the right and then to the left. Turn more towards the direction opposite to the site of the hernia.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Causes and Symptoms:
Common cold caused by a variety of factors, the most common being a sudden chilling because of a change of temperature, coming out of a cozy bed into a blast of cold air or walking from an air-cooled room into a blazing sun. There is an old adage that "if you take medicine, the cold is cured in a week, otherwise seven days". In the case of weak constitutions a cold may lead to more serious diseases like tonsillitis, laryngitis, bronchitis, pneumonia and tuberculosis. What is worse, a catarrh of the respiratory organs may degenerate into a catarrh of the alimentary system.A cold is an extremely irritating condition. You are not sick enough to get into bed, yet not well enough to lead a normal life. A running nose, feverishness, heaviness of the head, pains and aches in the body, loss of appetite and of smell are the main features of a cold which makes life miserable.
Treatment:
Like other disease to which human beings are subject, a cold is the result of inappropriate diet. It is nature's way of expelling poisonous humours from the body. We must attack the malady at its source and that is the putrifying matter in the intestines. The patient must fast till the cold is gone - it will not take more than two days - and take a warm water enema followed by a cup of warm water after every two hours. If he is unable to take the enema, Try the following method:Take half a kilogramme of spinach, 250 grammes of turnips (along with their leaves), 250 grammes of tomatoes, 75 grammes of coriander leaves and 25 grammes of ginger. Cut them into small pieces and boil them in about one litre of water. If some of these vegetables are not available, radishes or other greens may be used. Cover the lid of the vessel with a flat dish full of water so that the water does not evaporate and there is sufficient left. When the vegetables are done, strain them through muslin or other fine cloth. Add a little salt, the juice of a lime and roasted and ground cumin seed and take it in tumblerfuls after every two to three hours. This will clear the bowels and also open the pores by producing sweat. Chronic Cold: A cold sometimes becomes chronic. Such patients should also follow the regimen suggested above. It will clear their bowels. Let them also take some exercise so that their pores open. Those who are too weak should soak their feet in warm water for fifteen to twenty minutes the last thing at night. Let the patient wear a blanket while he is doing it; it will help open his pores and the nose will stop running.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Causes and Symptoms:-
Asthma is a disorder of the respiratory system characterized by severe paroxysms of difficult breathing. The onset of an attack is sudden, though the patient starts feeling uneasy, drowsy and irritable a little before the difficulty of breathing starts. Respiration becomes difficult and the breath comes with a wheezing and sometimes whistling sound. The general belief is that asthma is a chronic disease and that once gotten continues to dog its chronic disease and that once gotten continues to dog its victim till the day he dies.In fact, asthma is caused by excess of phlegm and the inability of the body to expel it.
If the patient gives up foods which tend to increase the phlegm, e.g., rice, flour passed through a sieve, sugar, lentils, milk and curds, he can find relief. He should be put on foods which discourage phlegm, such as green vegetables, fruits, and the like. That would tend to reduce the amount of phlegm present in the body and the disease will have him. Unfortunately, under the false impression that asthma being a weakening disease, the patients are fed on high protein diets like meat, fish, milk and milk products and fats and that makes there condition worse.
Treatment:-
An asthma patient must select foods which help contain the amount of phlegm in the body. For breakfast he should take foods like orange, tomato, papaya, guava, mango and rose apple and vegetables like carrots. His dinner and lunch should consist of boiled vegetables. His bath is recommended in the morning and evening to perk up his digestive powers. Taking a walk is also recommended, if jogging is beyond the capacity of the patient.Asthma, particularly when its attack is severe, tends to destroy the appetite of the patient. He should not be forced to eat. He should keep fasting till the attack is over.
The only thing he should take is a cup of warm water every two hours. An enema taken at that time would be doubly beneficial. If this regimen is followed, the attack will not last for more than 36 hours and its virulence in case of a recurrence would be very much less.An asthma patient should regularly fast once a week and take an enema the morning after the fast to clear his bowels. If he is unable to fast regularly, he must not hesitate to stop eating the moment the attack comes. A fortnight after the treatment has been started the patient can take cow's unboiled milk or curd with a breakfast of fruit.The sufferer from this disease should be extremely careful in his eating habits.
He must never overeat. The amount of food taken at one time should be so measured that he must feel extremely hungry at the time of the next meal. A salt-free diet would be the best.At the onset of the attack, soaking of the feet in warm water can relieve the agony to a large extent. A chest pack can also help, even though on application it may seem to aggravate the attack. The pack applied in the afternoon and immediately before sleep would do wonders. The main aim of treatment of asthma should be to augment the vital force of the body with the help of proper diet and a natural living in which clean water and sunshine play an important part.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Causes and Symptoms:
Bronchitis is the inflammation of the tubes that lead from the throat to the lungs. The inflammation tends to impede the process of breathing because phlegm tends to stick to its insides.
Treatment: The sufferer from bronchitis must fast for as long as the acute symptoms last. He should only take water and orange juice. An all fruit diet should be taken when the fever attendant upon bronchitis has gone down the breathing is easier. A hot Epsom salt bath every night or alternative nights will be beneficial during the acute stage of the disease. A wet pack should be applied to the upper part of the chest every day.
Hot towels (dipped in hot water and wrung out) applied to the chest are also helpful. The phlegm sticking to the insides of the bronchial tubes will be dislodged and the sufferer will feel an immediate relief in breathing. After the hot compresses, a cold compress should be applied.After relief is obtained the sufferer should take to natural feeding because if that is not done, the disease is likely to recur and it may become chronic.
Breathing exercises, a friction sponge (rubbing the body with a hand towel dipped in water and wrung out) should be taken regularly. Hot Epsom salt baths should be taken twice or thrice weekly.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The common disease from which teeth suffer are: toothache, caries of the teeth, inflammation of the gums and pyorrhea. All of them are produced from common causes like improper brushing, not chewing your food properly, dyspepsia, too much of intake of refined sugar and general neglect.Pyorrhoea: Pyorrhoea or parodontal disease is characterized by the promotion of pockets of purulent material round the teeth and loosening of the affected teeth. It is a legacy of the modern civilization with too much of emphasis on refined and canned foods, sugar, refined wheat flour and polished rice. In other words, it is the result of too little roughage in the diet and inadequate care of the teeth. Food tends to stagnate between the teeth leading to the excessive formation of tartar. There is a foul taste and also a foul odour in the mouth. A characteristic feature in the later stages is the tendency for the gums to bleed easily.Our food must include alkalis which are to be found in wheat flour not passed through a sieve, unpolished rice, unboiled milk, fresh fruit and raw, green vegetables. Lack of calcium leads to decay of teeth and give rise to the various diseases.
Refined sugar, which does not contain any calcium needs It to be properly digested and takes the calcium from the bones to get assimilated into the system. The worst effect is, therefore, on the teeth. An adult needs ten grains of calcium in his daily diet which is available in flour, unpolished rice, banana, groundnut, coconut, green peas, almonds, figs, dates, cabbage, tomatoes, gourds, carrots, cucumber and spinach. It is also found in milk, oranges and sesame.Steam Treatment: Steam treatment should be taken in case of swollen or bleeding gums if nothing else helps. Keep a vessel filled with water on heat and cover it with a lid with a small opening. When the steam starts escaping, expose your gums to its action.
Intersperse the steam with rinsing your mouth with cold water. If the steam affects the face also, all the better. Apply fresh lime juice mixed with coconut or mustard oil after steaming it at night and the glow will be far better than the one given by any much-advertised cream or face lotion.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Dyspesia or Indigestion: The cardinal remedy for dyspepsia is light food, if the patient can take to fasting for 24 hours all the better. Thereafter in take of easily digestible, nutural foods is advised. Fats and condiments must be avoided. Bland food, mostly vegetables cooked in water, juicy fruits and buttermilk (churned curd with water added) should be taken. Excess of food, like everything else, is bad and a person suffering from indigestion must eat less than he can digest. That would be the first stop in the treatment of this dsease.Application of heat through hot compress or a hot water bottle to the abdomen for 15 to 20 minutes twice in the day, either on an empty stomach or two or three hours after meals, can activate your disgestive processe. The procedure could be alternated with cold compresses, applied for a minute or so in between hot compresses, could accelerate the pace of recovery.The above procedure is merely a palliative. The patient can get permanent relief if he increases his body heat through vigorous exercise. Indigestion is the disease of the sedantry, active and brisk people generally do not suffer from the malady. Take a walk to begin with or light exercise. Jog a long, if you can and if there is a grassy lawn around your house, walk on the dew covered grass. Avoid rice as in our country rice is associated with lentils which are not easy to digest. Eat rice with vegetables. Take fruits in-between the meals. Masticate your food properly so that it mixes well with the saliva. Take adequate quantities of water. Alcohol and tabacco should be taken in the minimum possible quantities, if not altogether stopped.Constipation:The treatment of constipation should start in the kitchen and not in the lavatory. Eat the wheat flour without passing it through a sieve; unmilled and unpolished rice is the best. Your food should contain two parts fruits and vegetables and one part cereals. Boil the milk only once; let it not thicken by overboiling. That would give your system the roughage it needs.In case of chronic constipation, eat more of cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, spinach and cabbage. The total intake of these should be a minimum of 250 grammes in the day. Eat them as you eat salad - season it with a pinch of salt and juice of a lemon in order to make it more palatable. Eat thrice in twenty-four hours, but if you are above forty, do not take more than two meals in the day. Do not take it literally: you can eat fruit in-between the meals, but in reasonable quantities. Better still, make fruits a part of your morning and evening meals. Talking of fruits, the best fruits are seasonal and those which are available to you within hours of having been picked.Some people suffer from constipation because their intake of water or liquids is too insufficient. The water intake should be three to four litres in summer and one to two litres in winter. A glass of water taken in the morning immediately after waking up can help many cases of constipation.When the muscles of the large intestine lose their tone or strength, stools tend to adhere to its insides. Atony of the intestines can be cured by exercise. A walk in the morning or evening, better still jogging will help.Another way to help the intestine to void the stool is to cool it. Take a rough towel, fold it so that it can absorb water and place it on your lower abdomen after immersing it in cold water. Let the coolness percolate to the abdomen for about fifteen minutes. A mud pack can also be tried. Take about one kilogramme of clay and knead it into a dough-like consistency and spread it evenly on your lower abdomen - from the navel to the pubes. Some people are known to have benefited more from a mud bath than from a cold towel. It should be done before you go for a walk. Cooling and then warming it through exercise helps the large intestine regain its tone.In the beginning, you may not have the urge to void your bowels. But do not wait for the 'Call" of nature. Visit the toilet at the time your usually do, even if the "call" is not there. Remember that habit plays an important part. The best course is to drink about half a litre of water and take a walk for ten to fifteen minutes before you visit the toilet immediately after dinner: it may surprise you to hear of intake of food followed by the effort to void your bowels, but remember that it takes fourteen to eighteen hours for the waste matter left after absorption of food into the system to leave the body. The churning of the stomach and the resultant activity of the intestines when you are ingesting food helps relieve constipation.
MUD PACKSThe best way to prepare a mud pack is to take clay from about four inches below the surface of the earth. Ensure that the clay does not contain any impurities, like compost or pebbles.Mix it with cold water and see that it has a consistency like soft dough. It should stick and not be thin enough to slide down when used in the pack. If the pack is to be applied on the abdomen (from the navel to the pubes) spread the mud evenly on a piece of cloth. See that it is about half an inch thick. Then place it gently with the cloth up and the mud touching the skin. Remove the cloth and place a thick woollen piece of cloth on the mud. You may even let the cotton cloth remain over the mud, but cover it with a thick woollen. If that is done the patient can keep lying down without covering himself with a blanket or a sheet. The mud pack should be used for 20 to 30 minutes. After it is removed, clean the skin using a soft piece of cloth dipped in cold water.
HIP BATHThe hip bath can be taken in tubs made specially for this purpose. The tub is oval in shape and one end of it is raised so that the patient can rest his back against it. Fill the tub with cold water. The level of the water should be so adjusted that it touches your navel when you sit in it. Your feet will be outside the tub and you can support them by keeping a low stool in front of the tub. You can rest your back against the raised portion of the rub and remain in that half-supine position. Take a rough towel and rub your abdomen from the right to the left. Do it gently so that the skin is not scraped. Do not apply too much pressure in rubbing.A hip bath can be taken from ten to twenty minutes. Thin persons should take it for only ten minutes and the stout ones can continue for 20 minutes. During winter the duration of the hip bath should be reduced by about 25 per cent.In the beginning, the hip bath should be taken only for a minute or two; the time should be increased gradually to ten or twenty minutes.Wipe your body with a towel when you get out of the tub, dress quickly and go for a walk or take some other exercise. Those too weak to engage in any such activity should get into bed and wrap a blanket around them and rest for half an hour to bring back warmth to their body.
GENITALS BATHkeep stool onw foot long, six inches wide and six inches high in the tub. It would be all the better if there is a circular cut in front of it. If a stool is not readily available keep four bricks, two upon to raise the level and sit on them. The water level in the tub should be such that it is one inch above the stool. The water should be cold; during summer the water of an earthern pitcher can be used for the purpose.Take off your clothes and sit on the stool. Take a piece of cloth, dip it in water and gently rub your abdomen with it for two minutes. Then take hold of the foreskin of your penis in two fingers and rub it lightly with a soft piece of cloth dipping cold water often. This can be continued for ten to twenty minutes. A lean person can do it for only ten minutes, and the hefty one for as long as twenty mintes. After the rubbing of the foreskin is completed, rub the entire spine with a wet towel for two minutes.Women should rub their abdomen. They should take a piece of soft cloth, pull up the lips of vagina and rub them slowly.
HOT FOOT BATHSit on a stool and lower your feet in a bucket full of hot water. The level of the water should, ideally, come up to the knees. The tempeature of the water should not be too much above the body temperature. As the water gets cold, go on adding more hot water. Take care to see that the hot water added later does not scald the feet.Cover yourself with a blanket. Wrap it around your body; even if the bucket is covered, it will be all right. The head should be covered with a towel wetted with cold water. As the coldness of the towel cvaporates, dip it in cold water, wring it lightly and again cover you head with it.Take some hot water before you lower your feet into the bucket water. Go on sipping hot water throughout the time your feet are in the bucket.A hot foot bath should be taken for 20 minutes. Wash your feet with cold water afterwards and wipe them with a towel. If you have perspired, wipe your body with a wet towel and dress yourself. An ordinary bath can be taken after the hot foot bath.
Diet is a subject of the greatest importance in all systems of medicine, but in naturopathy it is of overriding significance because most of the treatment consists in cleansing the system through diet.The basic principle of dietetics is that the body has to fed like an engine which needs fuel. Food is the fuel for the body but just as there are various types of fuels for the various types of engines - diesel for the trucks, ATF for the planes and petrol for your scooter - the human body and its needs also need special types of food according to its condition. If you are a robust individual without any constitutional disorders you may take any type of food without impairing your health, but in a morbid condition special diets have to be taken.Foods are refined to such an extent that their value is lost, even it they become more pleasing to the taste bubs and the eye. In the process of preparing food we tend to lose many of the vitamins. The polishing of rice and the refining of sugar are other example where the preference for a nicer book leads to destruction of their essential value as foods.A continuous supply of mineral salts and vitamins is found in many natural and unspoilt food. They also cleanse and purify the body ridding it of toxins that give rise to various diseases.Another fallacy which modern medicine suffers from is the measuring of food value in terms of calories. Energy is something fundamental to the organism and can be enhanced because of the ability of the system to absorb it from the foodstuffs taken. If the foodstuffs lack the essential elements which school be present in them, the vital force of the body is not enchanced.Milk is a complete food and one can live on it without in any way imparing one's health. But it must not be boiled and should be taken fresh. In India's ancient system of medicine it was known as dugdha kalpa and was recommended in certain conditions. Pernicious anemia, diabetes, arthritis, neurasthenia and many other diseases have been cured by milk therapy followed by a long fast.Refined foods like sugar and white bread, polished rice, boiled potatoes, etc. are acid forming and should be avoided as far as possible. Brown sugar (in India gur), whole meal bread, unpolished rice and potatoes with their peel intact are recommended as they are less acid forming
Naturopathy does not deny the existence of bacteria; they are inhaled from the air and ingested through contaminated food and water. But the presence of germs in human body is merely a symptom of a disease, not its cause.Naturopaths believe that it is the vital force in the body which fights the bacteria which need a breeding ground. And what better breeding ground could they find than a dirty, ill-kept body? One of the cardinal principles of naturopathy is that bacteria need a happy hunting ground of an ill-kept and ill-looked-after body. Injections administered to destroy them merely add to the poisons already accumulated in the body which have given birth to the bacteria in the first place. Naturopaths believe that bacteria help in fighting diseases and not in causing it. Bacteria are nature's scavengers; they would infest only that organism which is rotten. Injected into a healthy organism they would die of starvation since they cannot eat anything that is healthy. The only sane way to deal with disease is the naturopathic way. The vital force of the patient has to be augmented to make him well. That is the only way to eternal health.ARE HEIGHT-WEIGHT CHARTS BAROMETERS OF HEALTH? A thin, but sprightly lad may be told by the doctor that he is under-weight since his height and his weight do not measure upto the chart the doctor has before him.The height -weight charts are not, in fact, barometers of health; they are merely averages drawn from a mass of data. Their construction is defective, since nobody has bothered to relate the weight with the state of health. The fallacy lies in taking the average as the ideal. The moment a person's weight goes above the average, he is advised to reduce it without going into the state of his health. A person having a weight over the average indicated by the actuary's chart may be in bad health but to take the weight as the criterion of health is wrong. It may be an indication, but not the sole criterion. A healthy man should not, normally speaking, worry about obesity unless it gets out of hand. Nor should a lean, under-weight person lose sight of the need to maintain this condition.Bodily weight is the result of the cells, muscles, glands, the circumstances in which a person lives, and his heredity. If the glands and the cells do not misbehave, a person must attain a particular weight. Every person has his own weight; no objective standards can be laid down for universal application. A lean and this person can be as healthy as one who looks like a mound of flesh and bones.THE HEALING POWER OF NATUREEvery ill person wants to rid herself of the disease but indiscriminate use of drugs and medicines is likely to cause irreversible deleterious effects. Quick cures may suppress the symptoms of disease, but at the cost of permanent injury to the human body. The sick have a tendency to try one drug after the other in their eagerness to regain lost health.Practitioners of nature cure who prescribes fasting, the right food, hydropathy and other instruments of naturopathy, know that some patients on the road to recovery suddenly fall victim to an acute disease. That is nothing but aggravation of the malady, even if its form is a little different. The comprehensive treatment prescribed by the naturopath would sometimes produce rashes or boils on the skin. If the course of treatment is continued, they automatically disappear and the patient feels healthier than he did before the onset of the disease. It only means that the body reacts to the course of treatment by trying to expel the morbid matter. The expulsion of the morbid matter sometimes creates aggravation.When the natural diet - water, sunlight, fruits and vegetables- is prescribed t deal with an ailment, it helps the body to expel the morbid matter from the various orifices.NATURE CURE AND SURGERYThere is no need for surgery according to the naturopathic system of treatment. Many people who are unable to find relief after surgery take to nature cure. Even the largest boil can burst or dry up without the knife. Nature itself is the healer since it has given us the capacity to fight disease. Diet alone can cure many disorders which surgeons fail to ameliorate.
Naturopathy as a system of medicine may not be very old, but it has been practiced by all right-thinking physicians for more than two millennia. In fact, its genesis can be traced to Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.), who is mistaken as the father of modern medicine, as he tried to treat his patients according to the basic principles of nature cure. According to Hippacrates, " Nature is the physician of all our diseases". He, therefore, laid stress on the right diet than on drugs.But the real father of naturopathy was Vincenz Priesnitz, who established a clinic in Grafenburg, a small village in the Silesian mountains, more than a century ago. A simple, unlettered farmer, Priesnitz was endowed with a sharp intelligence and the capacity to go to first causes. It was he who discovered the healing power of a cold bath. His clinic became a center of pilgrimage from all over the world. Initially he had to face a lot of scorn and opposition from all quarters. He was hounded by traditional physicians who ridiculed and abused him. Priesnitz had a milestone near his clinic inscribed with the dictum YOU MUST BE PATIENT since he found that perseverance alone could deal with stubborn ailments. He found that the best way to deal with chronic illness was to strengthen the resistance of the body so that it could throw out the poisons accumulated in it due to a wrong way of life.Johannes Schroth followed his footsteps, mainly on the basis of his personal experience.He, too, faced ridicule and banter but the Duke of Wintumburg came to his help in 1849, when wounds in his feet refused to heal and the traditional physicians advised amputation as the only remedy. The patient insisted, however, on giving Schroth a trial and, not surprisingly, he was healed. Impressed by the natural system of drugless healing, the Duke had an account of his treatment printed and distributed to the armed forces of Austria, silencing Schroth's detractors.While Priesnitz depended on the cool waters of the streams and rivers, Schroth gave pride of place to the application of heat through compresses and fomentations. He also devised a system of dietetics, known as the Schroth System.Naturopathy is indebted to the German innovator, Dr. Heinrich Lahmann who opened a clinic in Dresden. He measured the nutrition value of the various food in terms of milk, using it as a standard. His contribution to the science of dietetics is considerable. He underlined the importance of natural foods as aids to health and dilated on the harmful effects of table salt and the senselessness of liquor.One of the greatest teachers of naturopathy was Kunhe, a German, who had lost his health at the young age of 20 years. Disappointed with traditional medicine as it failed to provide him any relief, he turned to nature cure with remarkable success. His recovery convinced him of the utility of the system which he studied for many years and opened a health home in Leipzig. His treatments included sun-bathing, steam baths, hip baths and the like. His dictum was that cleanliness is the only answer to diseaseAnother great teacher of nature cure, Adolf Just, is known for his discovery of the healing property of clay. He stressed the need for going barefoot so that the life giving properties of mother earth may touch a person's body. He believed that disease was a punishment for disregarding the laws of nature. He was a staunch opponent of inoculation.The first American exponent, James C. Jackson, suffered an intractable ailment at the age of 35 years which improved when he sought the help of Silas O. Gleason, one of Priesnitz's disciples. Having got considerable relief after a stay of about a year at Gleason's sanatorium, he went into partnership with him. Disregarding drugs, Jackson used hydropathy, rest, exercise, diet and a psychological approach - all tools of naturopathy. "The way to heath," Jackson taught, "is sane living". Other Americans who contributed to the science of naturopathy include Dr. Russel T. Trall, Dr. J. H. Kellog and Dr. Henry Lindlarh . Dr. Henry Lindlarh believed every acute disease was the sign of natural resistance which the human body possessed. The pride of place among the naturopaths of the USA goes to Dr. J.H. Tilden who taught that the real cure lay in mending one's habits.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
