How to Live a Longer Life: Principles of Healthful Living

Below we go on to study this topic of how to live longer life: Principles of Healthful Living, I wanted to share with you a video I found on the TED website. It is a presentation based on a scientific study of communities where people live longer than the average person. It is entitled, "How to Live to be 100+" by Dan Buettner. This video will definitely inspire you to change your lifestyle so that you too can increase your chances of a long life.

Dan Buettner: How to live to be 100+

The Simple Life in a Nutshell, How To Live a Long Life by John Harvey Kellogg, Inventor of Cornflakes.

The purpose of this booklet is to present a few simple rules, the careful following of which the writer believes will promote physical and mental efficiency, mental and moral equipoise and equanimity, and will prolong life and useful activity. As space is too limited to permit of the full presentation of arguments or reasons, these rules are expected to be of chief service to those who are already persuaded of the correctness of the general propositions of the "simple life," "right living" or "return-to-nature" movement. It is proper, however, to say, for the encouragement of those to whom the ideas presented are altogether new, that of the various suggestions made, not one is presented which has not been thoroughly tried and tested in the experience of hundreds, even thousands, of persons; nor is a single proposition offered which does not rest upon a sound basis of scientific fact. The "simple life" is not an innovation. It is a return to the "old paths" from which the perversions of our modern civilization have gradually diverted millions of men and women, perversions that are responsible for the multitudinous maladies and degeneracies which yearly multiply in number and gravity.

Modern medical research has demonstrated that most maladies from which human beings suffer, chronic as well as acute, are due to infection of the alimentary canal with poison-forming germs. Many scores of such germs are known. The poisons are absorbed, and give rise to a great variety of distressing maladies and symptoms. Unnatural foods and unwholesome habits of life encourage infection of the intestine by introducing poison-forming bacteria and promoting their growth. Natural food and natural habits of life combat these disease-producing infections. Hence the "simple life" is an antitoxic life, a clean life in the largest sense.

GENERAL RULES TO LIVE A LONG LIFE

1. Give attention daily to cultivating health. It will pay. Study the conditions and the surroundings of the home and the business, and give careful thought to personal habits and practices with special reference to their bearing on health. 

2. Recognizing that health of mind and body is one of the most valuable of all personal assets, make every reasonable effort to maintain intact, and, if possible, increase the capital of physical and mental strength. 

3. Give to the body and its functions that care and study which you would accord to any other valuable and costly mechanism, so as to become familiar with its needs and the best means of supplying them.

EATING FOR HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY

4. Eat only natural foods; that is, those which are naturally adapted to the human constitution. The natural dietary includes fruits, nuts, cooked grains, legumes, and vegetables. Natural food imparts to the body the greatest amount of energy, and maintains normal conditions of life. No animals but scavengers and men eat everything. We should follow our nearest relatives, the orang and chimpanzee, in diet.

5. Avoid meats of all sorts (flesh, fowl, fish, including "sea food"). These are unnatural foods. They are all likely to contain deadly parasites of various kinds, and always contain countless numbers of noxious germs, "meat bacteria" or "wild germs," which infect the intestines, cause putrefaction and other poison-forming processes, and inoculate the body with colitis and many other diseases. These germs are not destroyed by ordinary cooking, such as stewing, broiling, frying, and roasting.

Crohn's disease

6. Take care to avoid an excess of protein, that is, the albuminous element which is represented by lean meat, the white of eggs, and the curd of milk. An excess of protein promotes putrefaction, and thus intestinal autointoxication, the chief cause of "biliousness," colitis, appendicitis, gall-stones, arteriosclerosis, possibly cancer, Bright's disease, and premature old age. Ordinary bread contains a sufficient amount of protein, as do also other cereals. Most nuts, also peas and beans, contain an excess of protein, and should be eaten sparingly. 

7. Eggs should be eaten in great moderation, if at all. They encourage autointoxication, and thus often cause "biliousness." The yolk of the egg is more wholesome than the white. 

8. Cow's milk is not altogether suited for human food. A large proportion of invalids, —nearly half, perhaps—suffer from "casein dyspepsia," and can not take milk without suffering from constipation, headache, "biliousness," coated tongue, or other unpleasant symptoms which indicate intestinal autointoxication. Such persons may sometimes make use of fresh buttermilk, sour milk, cottage cheese, yogurt cheese or yogurt buttermilk, with less difficulty, and even with benefit. Excellent substitutes for milk may be prepared from nuts (Almond cream, Malted Nuts). 

9. Animal fats, such as lard, suet, and ordinary butter, should be avoided. They are difficult of digestion, and promote intestinal autointoxication, and thus cause "biliousness." Vegetable fats are more easily digestible, and do not encourage intestinal autointoxication. To be wholesome, butter must be perfectly sweet, and should be made from sterilized cream.

mixed nuts

Persons who are not subject to casein dyspepsia are often able to digest sterilized cream more easily than butter. Persons who suffer from hyperpepsia—"sour stomach"—may take sterilized butter and cream more freely than those who suffer from slow digestion. When butter and cream produce pimples on the face, a coated tongue, or a bad taste in the mouth, they must be diminished in quantity, or omitted altogether. Nuts, Malted Nuts, ripe olives, and olive oil are excellent substitutes for butter and cream.

10. Avoid poison-containing foods. Tea, coffee, chocolate and cocoa contain poisonous alkaloids which impair digestion, damage the nerves, and promote disease of the liver, kidneys, and blood-vessels. Cereal beverages and hot fruit juices are wholesome substitutes for tea and coffee.

11. Condiments—mustard, pepper, pepper sauce, cayenne, capsicum, vinegar, hot, irritating sauces, and spices of all kinds—must be wholly discarded. They irritate the stomach and cause gastric and intestinal catarrh and gastric ulcer, colitis, and damage to the liver and kidneys. 

12. Common salt, or chlorid of sodium, should be used sparingly. According to Richet and others, the food naturally contains all the chlorid of sodium actually required by the body, so that the addition of salt to the food is necessary only to please a cultivated taste. A safe rule is: The less the better. Persons who have dropsy, Bright's disease, arteriosclerosis, gastric ulcer, hyperacidity, obese persons, and epileptics should discard salt.

Fruits and Vegetables

13. Food combinations should be such as to give the proper proportion of the several elements,—proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Fruits and vegetables, as well as other combinations of natural foodstuffs, agree perfectly when mastication is sufficiently thorough to reduce the food to a liquid state in the mouth.

14. The quantity of food should be adapted to the size of the person and the amount of work which he does. Never eat to satiety. A person of average height and moderately active requires 200 calories of protein (1/10), 600 calories of fat (3/10), and 1,200 calories of carbohydrates (6/10), or a total of 2,000 calories or food units, daily. This is furnished by the following: Bread, 10 1/2 oz.; milk, 6 oz.; potatoes, 8 oz.; butter, 2 1/4 oz.; rice flakes, 1 1/4 oz.; cream, 2 1/4 oz.; apples, 7 oz. The proper quantities for any bill of fare may be easily figured out by aid of the Battle Creek Sanitarium Diet List. Be careful to eat enough to maintain normal weight (see table in the Diet List). The body can dispose of a small excess, but can not make up a deficiency. Weigh once a month. To reduce weight, eat less and exercise more. Eat one-third more when doing hard muscular work. Mental work requires no more food than loafing. 

15. Food must be well relished to be well digested. According to Pawlow, "appetite juice," which is produced by stimulation of the nerves of taste by palatable food, is the most important factor in gastric digestion. Eat when hungry, never because it is mealtime, or because invited to eat. 

16. Cane-sugar should be eaten only in small quantity. Large quantities cause acidity and give rise to gastric catarrh and indigestion. Sweet fruits, such as raisins and figs, honey and meltose or malt sugar, are natural and wholesome sweets and may be eaten freely. 

17. A sedentary life tends to produce intestinal inactivity, that is, slow digestion and constipation; hence, the ordinary daily bill of fare should supply an adequate amount of laxative foodstuffs, fresh sweet fruits (not preserves), especially figs and prunes, acid fruits and fruit juices, fresh vegetables, bran, whole grain preparations. 

18. Some fresh, uncooked food should be eaten at each meal in the form of fresh fruits or fruit juices, lettuce, raw cabbage, cucumber and other salads. 

19. Fresh vegetables and whole grain cereals are needed to supply lime, potash and other salts. The blood and all living cells require these salts, as do the teeth and the bones. The free use of cane-sugar and meats leads to lime starvation, because of the deficiency in lime. Avoid white bread. Eat baked potatoes freely. 

20. Avoid complicated dishes and great variety at one meal, but vary the diet from day to day, as the appetite may indicate. 

21. Eat at regular hours, so as to maintain the normal intestinal rhythm which secures the daily movements of the bowels. Rather than omit a meal entirely, eat some fruit, or a cake of colax (agar-agar) with fruit juice, or some other simple nutrient which will keep up the peristaltic procession and rhythm. Never take food into the stomach when remains of a previous meal are present.

22. The best meal plan is to eat twice a day. Eight to nine a. m. and three to four p. m. are the best hours; or eleven a. m. and six p. m., if the retiring hour is necessarily very late. When breakfast is omitted or taken very late, it is an excellent plan to take some fruit soon after rising.

23. If three meals are eaten, the heartiest meal should be taken at midday. The breakfast should be substantial, the evening meal very light, especially avoiding pastry, fats, rich sauces, and hearty foods. The evening meal should consist chiefly of ripe or cooked fruits, liquid foods, and such cereals as boiled rice or cereal flakes.

24. Avoid iced foods and drinks. Very cold foods or drinks, if taken at all, should be swallowed slowly and in very small quantities to avoid chilling the stomach.

25. Chew every morsel until reduced to liquid in the mouth. Thorough chewing develops "appetite juice" in the stomach and combats intestinal autointoxication, a most prolific cause of disease. Careful mastication affords opportunity for the nutritive instincts to select the food and food elements adapted to the body needs, and to say, "Enough," at the proper moment. Hence, give preference to dry foods. Sip liquid foods slowly, taking care to insalivate thoroughly.

26. Dismiss work, worries, business cares and annoyances while eating. Good cheer promotes good digestion. Anger, worry, irritation, stop digestion.

27. What we eat today will be walking about and talking tomorrow; hence all foods not known to be pure and wholesome should be avoided. Especially avoid rich and so-called hearty (hard to digest) foods, and such indigestibles as pickles, green olives, and preserves.

28. Take three or four pints of water a day, including liquid food.

• Do not drink much at nor immediately after meals. Take a few sips whenever thirsty.
•  Drink a glassful of water on rising in the morning, on retiring at night, an hour before each meal, and two or three hours after eating.

EXERCISE FOR HEALTH

29. Live as much as possible in the open air. If compelled to work indoors, be sure that the living and work rooms have an ample, continual supply of fresh air. The lower the temperature the better, so long as the body is kept comfortably warm. Temperatures above 70° are depressing. The breathing of cold air is a continuous tonic; every breath is a tonic bath, a vital lift. A thousand breaths an hour count greatly toward health or disease, according as the air breathed is pure and cool, or impure and hot.

30. Working in the open air is one of the best forms of exercise, especially working in the garden, digging, hoeing, pruning, etc. Do some good, hard muscular work every day, enough to produce slight muscular fatigue and free perspiration; but avoid exhaustion. Exercise out of doors is most beneficial.

Swimming in water at 76° to 78° is the best of all special health exercises. Rapid walking and hill climbing are excellent; stair climbing is good.

31. One need not degenerate physically because his occupation is sedentary. Always sit erect, with chest held high and the small of the back supported. Sit as little as possible. Standing and lying are more natural and healthful positions than sitting. One may exercise while sitting at work by deep breathing and by stiffening the muscles of first one limb a few seconds, then the other. All the muscles in the body may be exercised in this way.

32. Deep breathing aids digestion, encourages liver and bowel action, develops the lungs, and purifies the blood. The only directions needed are: Hold the chest high and breathe as deep as you can ten or twenty times every hour, or oftener. The best "breath" gymnastics are swimming, hill or stair climbing, and rapid walking or running. Always breathe through the nose.

33. In walking, always hold the chest high and carry it well to the front. Swing the arms moderately, and walk fast enough to hasten the breathing a little. Nine miles walking a day at the rate of three miles an hour is the necessary amount for the average adult. Most housekeepers and laborers do more.

34. Develop the abdominal muscles by some simple exercises, such as walking on tiptoe with chest held high, or running round the room on all fours; or lie on the back, hold the legs straight and raise them to the perpendicular, repeating thirty to forty times three times a day.

Lying on the back, raise the body from the lying to the sitting position with the hands placed upon the back of the neck. Repeat ten to twenty times three times a day, gradually increasing the number.

35. If the abdominal muscles are weakened, so that the lower abdomen bulges forward, a tight flannel bandage, or more substantial support, should be worn about the lower abdomen when on the feet, until the muscles have been strengthened by exercise.

THE TOILET

36. Cleanse the mouth and teeth thoroughly before and after each meal, on rising and on retiring. A foul tongue and decaying teeth indicate mouth infection and intestinal autointoxication and general low resistance.

37. Bathe daily at night in warm weather. Twice a week in winter, take a warm cleansing bath before retiring. Apply olive oil or fine vaseline after the bath if the skin is dry.

If the skin is irritated, apply Dr. Buckley's skin cream, of which the following is the formula:

Lanolin ..............................1 dram.

Boroglyceride .................... 2 drams.

Cold cream. .......................6 drams.

If the skin irritation is very great, add five grains of carbolic acid and ten grains of menthol to the above. Apply after bathing in cold weather, especially when using hard water.

Rub the scalp with the finger tips dipped in cold water twice a day.

38. Take a short cold bath every morning on rising. This is an excellent tonic. Or take a cool air bath morning and night, rubbing the skin with a dry towel.

39. The hands, nose, and scalp also require sanitary attention. For the hands, use a good soap and rinse well with soft water. If rough, apply skin cream (see opposite page).

40. The bowels should move thoroughly three times a day, most naturally soon after each meal. Many persons move the bowels soon after rising. Train the bowels by trying to move them on rising and after meals.

41. Putrid, foul-smelling stools are an indication of intestinal autointoxication, and are due to an excess of protein in the form of meat, eggs, or to decay (stasis or stagnation) in some part of the colon. Such a condition always breeds disease and indicates need for a "change of flora."

SLEEP AND REST

42. Sleep eight hours each night. If not strong, or if neurasthenic, take a nap before dinner. Growth, assimilation, and repair are most active during sleep.

43. Surroundings at night should be quiet. Sleep amid noise is not normally refreshing.

On the side is the best position during sleep for most persons. Change sides.

44. The bed should be neither too hard nor too soft. Avoid feathers. The covers should be dry, warm, light, and porous. Avoid overheating by excess of clothing. Use a thin pillow and discard bolsters.

45. When asleep, always breathe outdoor air supplied by means of wide open windows, a window tent, a fresh-air tube, or a sleeping balcony. Do not sleep within two hours after eating.

46. Make the weekly Sabbath a day of complete rest from work. Spend most of the day out-of-doors if possible. Take a half-day off for an outing in the middle of the week.

CLOTHING

47. The clothing should be loose, comfortable, light and porous. Restrictive clothing is necessarily damaging, for the trunk of the body is continually changing in form and size. Wear porous, cotton or linen underclothing next the skin.

48. Avoid waterproofs except for temporary protection. Clothe the extremities so as to keep them warm and dry. Avoid too much clothing.

MENTAL HYGIENE

49. Do not worry. The Power that made us can and does take care of us. There is no need to worry. The Intelligence that controls and energizes heart and lungs can rule our destinies and with our co-operation will lead our lives in ways where "all things work together for good" to us. Worry kills. Hope inspires, uplifts. Cheer up.

50. Do not become self-centered. Avoid thinking or talking about ailments or other unpleasant things. Cultivate altruistic ideals and wholesome and optimistic thoughts.

51. Exercise self-control and restraint in all things. Work uses energy moderately; the passions and the emotions, enormously.

52. Take a vacation when you dream about your work.

53. Discard tobacco, alcoholic beverages, "tonic drugs" and other nerve foolers. They are poisons which lessen efficiency and shorten life.

SUGGESTIONS FOR BOWEL MOVEMENTS

55. For inactive bowels, knead the abdomen well with the hands night and morning, especially the lower side parts. Eat laxative foods, especially fruits and nuts, and whole-grain "cereals." Drink a glass of cold water or eat an orange on rising and retiring. Exercise the abdominal muscles. If necessary, use a cool enema (80°F.) within an hour after breakfast daily for a week or two. Use one and a half to two ounces of sterilized bran daily. Use Colax biscuit (agar-agar) at each meal. Take one to three tablespoonfuls of Para-lax (emulsion of Russian paraffine oil) at night. Visit the closet regularly after each meal to train the bowels. When a "call" is experienced respond immediately. Five minutes may postpone action indefinitely. Support the feet on a stool before the closet seat.

56. For a cold, take an electric light or other sweating bath on retiring; drink three quarts of water or weak lemonade daily and eat little but fruit for a day or two; and stay out-of-doors. Live in the fresh air and avoid colds.

57. If sleepless or nervous, take a warm bath at 102° F. for one or two minutes, then cool to 93° to 95°; continue half an hour to two hours if necessary. This rarely fails.

58. If "bilious," take several enemas until the bowels are thoroughly emptied. Drink two or three quarts of water daily. Eat freely of fresh fruits and green vegetables. Avoid fats almost wholly for a few days, and diminish the amount of fats in the regular diet. Discard milk. Make the bowels move three or four times a day by the use of bran, Colax, or Para-lax, or all three, if necessary. Use besides if required a daily enema at 80° F.

59. The best foods in the order of excellence: Fresh, ripe fruits, cooked fresh fruits, cooked dried fruits, nuts, graham bread, rice, zwieback, toasted wheat flakes, potato, cauliflower, carrots, greens and other fresh vegetables, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, honey, mel-tose, malted nuts, yogurt buttermilk, sterilized milk and cream, peas, beans, lentils, raised bread, sterilized butter.

60. Eat, drink, sleep, exercise,— do all for efficiency. Said Paul, "Whether ye eat or drink, whatsoever ye do, do all for the glory of God." A man can do credit to his Creator only in following the natural order of life intended for him. 4ZMCWTKWN8HP

A Blogin Blog Directory

Amazon Health Products Store

Amazon Health Products Store

Health Products Store

Herbs,The Natural Alternative is an over 100 pages of factual, fresh, very informative and valuable reference for the very best and safest remedies for the for all. It is a result of my years of experience coupled with thorough research. It provides an accurate and factual history of herbs and their uses as well as illustrations for ease of reference.

As you are seated reading this, wouldn't you rather have a natural, non-drug treatment for your family's illnesses? Even though many over-the-counter medicines are in fact derived from natural sources, most of them have synthetic additions which is why we react so badly to them.

The safest and most effective cures and preventatives are derived from ingredients already in our garden and home.

Find out what they are and how to make them. You'll not only be curing an ailment, you'll be safeguarding your family.

Do YOU suffer from any illness or disease and have had no benefit from any treatment you've tried?

Are you sick and tired of spending huge amounts of money you can ill afford for pills and drugs that don't work? Then Herbs,The Natural Alternative is for you.

Buy this book by clicking on the image on the links and you will get a book filled with practical, no nonsense advice as well as full instructions for proven cures for specific ailments. You will not regret having a herbal reference that will serve you for years to come. Herbs, The Natural Alternative

FASTING AS A CURE FOR DISEASE

FASTING AS A CURE FOR DISEASE

IN certain maladies, fasting is a necessity; as, for example, in cases of ulceration of the stomach; in cholera infantum, cholera morbus, Asiatic cholera, appendicitis; infact, in most acute bowel disorders all food should be withheld until the symptoms of the onset have subsided. Acute gastritis often necessitates the withholding of food for a few days, as do also severe cases of gastralgia and vomiting. Many chronic disorders are greatly benefited by temporary withholding of food. This is especially true of conditions which are commonly designated as biliousness.

In ordinary cases, however, total abstinence from food is seldom necessary. It is only essential that certain foods should be withheld, especially fats and proteins, or nitrogenous foods, such as eggs, meats, milk, and other foods rich in proteins. Fats prevent the formation of hydrochloric acid, which is the natural disinfectant of the stomach. Proteins encourage the growth of germs. Hence both these food elements are injurious in cases in which the stomach is foul, as indicated by a foul tongue and foul-smelling fecal discharges.

Cereal foods are less objectionable, because of the small amount of protein which they contain, but fruits are especially adapted to these cases, for the reason that the organic acids they contain are very effective germ destroyers. Thus fruit has a most important disinfectant action upon the stomach and bowels. A fruit diet or a diet consisting of fruits, with a small allowance of dry bread, thoroughly toasted bread, or zwieback, is the most effective means of purifying the alimentary canal. This is accordingly an essential measure in nearly all eases of chronic disease. A fruit diet thus affords all the advantages of fasting, with some additional advantages, and is decidedly more comfortable. Except in the cases previously mentioned, abstinence from food is seldom required.

Facts About Protein

This article discusses facts on protein. Protein is unquestionably the most important of all known substances in the organic kingdom. Without it no life appears possible on our planet. The name protein comes from a Greek word meaning "to take first place."

There are about twenty amino acids. Each one is made of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, with the added bonus of nitrogen which makes protein different from the carbohydrates and fat. Like the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, which can be combined to form many different words of numerous letters, the amino acids can be combined in specific sequences to form protein molecules containing thousands of amino acids. And protein still takes first place, nutritionwise. Supplying adequate protein to the people, especially the children, of the world is the major nutritional problem today and is of international concern. Efforts to find a solution involve not only nutritionists, biochemists, and food technologists but statesmen also.But protein is needed not only in other lands; it is essential to you and your family, your health and vitality. Since all living substances contain protein, it is necessary for life—your life. Why is protein so important? What does it do in the body and for the body?

It is a protein—haemoglobin in the red blood cells—which carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs. It is proteins—albumin and globulins—which are involved in the exchange of water and minerals between the blood, lymph, and tissues. If the protein level in the serum decreases, the fluid balance becomes upset, water accumulates, and oedema results.

It is proteins—enzymes and most hormones— which effect metabolism. It is proteins—gamma globulins —which as antibodies can destroy bacteria viruses, and other microorganisms in the body and sometimes confer temporary or permanent immunity to specific diseases. Proteins also serve as buffers in the complex system which keeps the blood in a slightly alkaline condition.

To grow, a child needs ample protein, and the need does not stop when he grows from youth to adulthood. Throughout life proteins in all living tiof this the daily diet should supply adequate amounts of protein even after the growing years are over. One gramme of protein furnishes four calories. Since your body's need for energy must be met, proteins will be used if carbohydrates and fats are low in the diet. Carbohydrates are sometimes called protein sparers because they supply fuel and energy and spare protein for its other important functions. Plants are able with the help of the sun to make their own protein from carbon dioxide, water, and the nitrogen in the air and soil; but human beings and animals must get their protein from plants or from other animals. The proteins of each plant and animal species differ from every other. Proteins in various parts of the body differ—muscle, skin, and haemoglobin protein are not the same.

Each protein is a large and complex puzzle, usually containing thousands of amino acids joined in a specific sequence. If this sequence is broken by one amino acid missing or out of place, the results may be serious. For example, in the cases of persons suffering from sickle cell anaemia (when a specific amino acid is replaced by a different one) the life span is shortened.

To be absorbed from the digestive tract, protein has to be broken down by digestive enzymes into the original amino acids, If a large molecule of protein were to be taken directly into the blood without being broken down into amino acids, allergic reactions would occur. Thus complete proteins replenish the body's amino acid pool. The muscles contain one third of your total body protein, the skin contains one fifth, and- various other parts of your body contain the remainder of your total proteins.

The terms "essential" and "nonessential" are sometimes used to characterize amino acids. Your body can synthesize some amino acids but others it cannot. Those which cannot be synthesized are called essential amino acids and must be present in the food. They are leucine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine (and also histidine for children). The so-called nonessential amino acids can be manu-ssues factured by your body from other nutrients or from the essential amino acids.

Probably you have heard about complete, partially complete, and incomplete proteins. Such terms refer to the amoiunt and proportion of essential amino acids present in a protein. Complete proteins have all the essential amino acids in sufficient amounts and proportions to support growth and maintain life, even when they are the only protein in the diet.

Partially complete proteins have all of the essential amino acids but in inadequate amounts or incorrect proportions. 'When they are the only protein in the diet they will sustain life but not growth. Incomplete proteins lack one or more of the essential amino acids and will neither support growth nor maintain life.It is seldom that only one protein is used in a meal; therefore the classification of complete or incomplete usually affects only those individuals with limited food available or those on dietaries used for experimentation.

Foods from animal sources such as milk, cheese, eggs, meat, fish, and poultry contain complete proteins and thus supply all of the essential amino acids. Soy-bean, garbanzo, and peanut proteins have been compared with animal protein in quality. Green leafy vegetables also furnish excellent protein but in such minute amounts that they do not contribute much to the protein requirements.

Proteins in grains, nuts, most legumes, vegetables, and fruits are frequently classified as partially complete. Fortunately proteins of different foods can supnlement each other. A meal which combines two or more foods with partiallv complete or incomplete proteins may provide protein of good quality which will support life and promote growth.

Good amino acid balance can be obtained by combining cereals with legumes, nuts, milk, cheese, or eggs. Throughout the ages people have practised supplementation of protein instinctively. Many cereal proteins are low in the amino acid lysine, but fairly well-supplied with sulphur-containing amino acids. Thus legumes and cereals may supplement each other. One study found that a combination of beans and rice resulted in a nutritive value similar to that of a complete protein. Some legumes and nuts may supplement each other and are good sources of minerals and vitamins as well.

Digestibility of protein bears on its nutritive value. Your cooking methods also affect the value you receive from the proteins in your food. Some of the amino acids, such as lysine, are unstable and may be destroyed bv overheating, toasting, or frying. However, cooking in water improves the digestibility of beans and wheat proteins.

Since every protein contains nitrogen, the protein needs of people and animals have been investigated by nitrogen balance studies. These studies are customarily carried on for a number of days or weeks in order to determine the variations from day to day. There are two considerations in nitrogen balance studies: first, the intake of protein in the food; and, second, the output of nitrogen in the body excretions. The intake of protein is determined by chemical analysis of the foods or by calculating from tables of nutritive values. The output of nitrogen is ascertained by laboratory tests.

When nitrogen in the food is more than the amount excreted by the body, you are in positive nitrogen balance. When the intake equals the excretion, there is nitrogen equilibrium. In contrast, if the nitrogen intake is less than the output you are in negative nitrogen balance.

A normal adult should be in nitrogen equilibrium. During growth, pregnancy, and lactation, the need for protein is increased. New tissues are being built and nitrogen is retained. In other words, there should be positive nitrogen balance.

In wasting disease, burns, starvation, and fevers, there is much tissue breakdown. If the supply of protein in the diet is low at such times the body will draw from its own tissues to supply the lack and there will be a negative nitrogen balance.

Protein Sources

. Protein of good quality can be obtained from both animal and plant sources.Milk and milk products, eggs, meat, poultry, and fish are protein foods of animal origin.

Plant proteins

are contained in legumes (beans,peas, lentils, garbanzos, and peanuts), nuts (such as walnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds), and cereals (wheat, rye, oats, corn, rice, barley, millet). Vegetables and fruits contribute only a small portion of protein. Seeds of sesame, cotton, sunflower, pumpkin, and squash have relatively high percentage of protein.Some spun soybean products and vegetable protein manufactured from legumes, nuts, cereals, wheat glutten, and soybeans approach the taste and texture of meat. These products make inexpensive main dishes which are both nutritious and tasty.

Plant protein sources, if properly chosen and combined, can meet the needs for the essential amino acids and contribute to an adequate diet.

Protein Requirement

. Karl von Voit, a German physiologist and nutritionist, established the first protein requirements in 1881. He believed that people needed 118 grammes of protein daily to sustain good nutrition. He based his conclusions on surveys of German workers in Berlin.

Later at Yale University, Russell H. Chittenden, who was the first physiological chemistry teacher in America, questioned von Voit's Standards. He experimented on himself and others, including young athletes, during periods of six months to more than a year and found that diets containing only 53 grammes ofprotein a day could maintain proper balance.

In 1920 Henry C. Sherman of Columbia University analyzed all of the available evidence on protein requirements. He came to the conclusion that one half gramme of protein daily per kilogramme (2.2 pounds equals one kilogramme) of body weight was sufficient to meet the body's needs. Further experiments have shown that even less protein is sufficient if the protein quality is good. Dr. Sherman, however, advised a fifty per cent mark-up from the one half gramme as a "margin of safety."

Nutrition experts provide a safety margin and suggest 0.9 grammes per kilogramme of body weight. This means 65 grammes protein each day for a normal healthy adult man weighing about 154 pounds (70 kilogrammes). During pregnancy 65 grammes are recommended and 75 during lactation. The amounts for children vary with size and age.

Protein Deficiency.

In areas where dietary protein is poor in quality or scarce, malnutrition especially during infancy and childhood is common. Protein deficiency is particularly prevalent in the low socio-economic brackets among infants and children, pregnant and nursing women, and elderly people.

Malnutrition

Malnutrition may occur when there is a low protein intake due to lack of knowledge or misinformation regarding protein needs; when fasting or dieting without medical advice; or when excessive loss of protein takes place as with haemorrhage, burns, fevers, wounds, and starvation.

Kwashiorkor

Kwashiorkor, a widespread pronounced form of malnutrition, results largely from protein deficiency. The condition is known as shibi gachaki in Japan, mehlnuhrshaden in Germany, male de farina in Italy, and sindrome pluricarencial infant!) in Central America. Economic, social, sanitary, and educational factors contribute to its high incidence.

It occurs most often in infants after weaning, when the diet which replaces the mother's milk is very deficient in protein and consists largely of carbohydrates. Among the symptoms are malnutrition, oedema, lesions of the skin resembling pellagra, apathy, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, poor resistance to infection, retarded growth, and discolouration of the hair.

The treatment of kwashiorkor includes administering protein of high nutritive value. When reconstituted non-fat milk was fed to a group of children with kwashiorkor, thev made dramatic improvement. A good diet with all the essential nutrients from available local food is given as soon as tolerated. Supplementation of the diet in the weaning and postweaning periods contributes most to preventing kwashiorkor.

Vegetable proteins are being studied in the laboratories of many countries in their efforts to find a solution to the world's protein problem.

BIBLE HYGIENE.

GOD has been pleased to reveal himself to us through two books — the Bible and nature. Between these there must be entire harmony. Nature as truly reveals one almighty, all-wise God as does the Bible; for "the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork." The laws of nature are as truly the laws of God as are the ten commandments, and "a continual transgression of nature's laws is a continual transgression of the law of God." As God's word and God's works always agree, so a careful examination will reveal the fact that not only is the Bible in harmony with those physical laws of our being revealed to us by scientific investigation, but that it gives us much useful information relating to matters of personal and domestic hygiene. That the Bible should deal with such questions will not appear strange when we consider their importance. And their importance will be more and more apparent as we consider the close relation that exists between the mind and the body — between the physical, and the mental and spiritual faculties. A failure to appreciate the closeness of this relation causes many to exalt the mental and spiritual powers to the detriment of the physical.The Bible idea of human development is that the " whole spirit and soul and body " be brought to the highest degree of culture attainable.

The Bible is not a text-book of hygiene. Many of its allusions to the subject are merely incidental. It does not enter largely into details, nor give many specific rules. But it gives principles, suggestions, and hints, in the application of which, to ourselves,we should be guided by the light of common-sense and experience.

A few citations from the Scriptures will illustrate this, and also show the importance the word of God attaches to the care of the body. Isa. 43 : 7 teaches that the design of the Creator in making man was for his own glory. If, then, man, who was made in the image of God, by the transgression of nature's . laws defaces that structure, he dishonors his Maker. The apostle says that our bodies are the temples of God, and adds: " If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy." 1 Cor. 3 :17.

In Eccl. 10 :17 the principle laid down that should govern us in eating, is broad and comprehensive : " Bat in due season ;" i. e., at proper intervals; at such times and in such a manner as will be conducive of the best physical development. Eat, not for the pleasure of eating, not for the mere gratification of an oftentimes perverted appetite; but eat " for strength and not for drunkenness." How many physical evils might be avoided if this principle was applied in our own daily lives.

Hygiene relates to the care of the body. Webster thus defines it: " That department of medical science which treats of the preservation of health ; a system of principles or rules designed for the promotion of health." The apostle John says : " Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." 3 John 2. That physical prosperity or bodily health is here meant, is clear from the fact that it is contrasted with spiritual or soul prosperity. And physical health was considered of so much importance that he desires " above all things " that we should have it. He evidently realized what so many now fail to appreciate, that a sound mind is found only in a sound body.

In Luke 21 :34, Christ, speaking directly to those who should be living in the last days, gives this solemn warning : " And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting [overeating], and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." The term " heart" is doubtless used here in the sense of "mind." "Overcharged" means literally "overburdened" or "weighted down." The danger to those in this mental condition is that they will not know when the day of the Lord is at hand. This scripture shows very clearly the blighting effect of wrong dietetic habits. The mental powers are weakened, the spiritual vision blinded, rendering the victim incapable of discerning sacred truths.

But hygiene is not restricted to dietetics ; so the Bible not only gives instruction in the matter of eating and drinking, but many hints and suggestions concerning the importance of exercise, ventilation, drainage, cleanliness, etc., are found on its pages. Only a few of these references can be given in a short a article like this, but any one will be amply repaid for his labor in exploring this field.

The relation of physical labor to the proper development of the body is not fully realized by many. God saw that work was necessary for man's best good, so he gave command to subdue the earth. Gen. 1: 28. (See also chapter 2 :15.)

" God made Adam and Eve in paradise, and surrounded them with everything that was useful and lovely. He planted for them a beautiful garden. No herb, nor flower, nor tree was wanting, which might be for use or ornament. The Creator of man knew that the workmanship of his hands could not be happy without employment. They must have labor to call into exercise the wonderful organs of the body. The Lord made the organs for use....Not only will the organs of the body be strengthened by exercise, but the mind also will acquire strength and knowledge through the action of those organs....Each faculty of the mind and each muscle has its distinctive office, and all require to be exercised in order to become properly developed and retain healthful vigor." " Testimony for the Church," Vol. 3, p. 77. Bead also 1 Thess. 4: 11; 2 Thess. 3 :10-12. Eccl. 10 : 18 contains a suggestion on this point worthy of consideration. Whether the house referred to is the building of wood or stone in which we live, or that more wonderful structure, the human body, certain it is that " by much slothfulness the building decayeth." Organs not used, soon lose their vigor, and decay.

Cleanliness is Next To Godliness

In regard to cleanliness, both physical and moral, see Ex. 19 : 10; Deut. 23 : 10-14 ; 2 Cor. 7:1. In the Jewish Talmud (not in the Bible, as some suppose) is found this excellent maxim, " Cleanliness is next to godliness." Perhaps this might be improved by changing one word thus : " Cleanliness is a part of godliness." Certainly, in the sanitary code given by God through Moses to ancient Israel, much stress was laid on this matter of cleanliness. If people living in modern times would pay as much attention to drainage and disinfection, the burning up or removal of all refuse and excretory matter, garbage, etc., as was required in the camp of ancient Israel, millions of lives would be saved every year, which are now sacrificed through ignorance or carelessness,— quenched by diseases produced by germs generated in decaying animal and vegetable matter.

Plant Poison

Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac, Poison Vine by GEORGE H. HEALD, M. D.

ONE of the severest afflictions that can come to a visitor to the country is a dermatitis — skin inflammation — caused by coming in contact with certain poisonous plants, variously known as poison ivy, poison oak (two or three varieties of this), poison sumac, poison vine, etc. These are different but closely related plants (Rhus), and contain a very irritant oil; so irritant, in fact, is this oil, that the minutest quantity, penetrating the skin, is sufficient to set up a violent reaction. The plants in one form or another are widely scattered over the entire area of the United States, except at high altitudes. Some persons apparently are immune to the effects of this poison and can handle the plants without fear. But as sometimes happens, this immunity is only apparent or relative. Occasionally a per­son who has been repeatedly ex­posed to certain of these plants without ill effect is finally taken down with a severe case of poison­ing.

After exposure a person may be­gin to feel the effects within a few hours, or not for several days. The oil is slow in penetrating the skin, and in addition it may have been transferred from the plant to the clothing or the shoes or to some im­plement, and later from there to the skin. Whether any one is ab­solutely immune to the poison when it penetrates the skin, is not known.

The writer, when a little child, was badly poisoned with oak (Rhus diversiloba). Later in his boyhood he found the poison oak apparently harmless to him. Whether or not this was due to the fact that he, with other boys, chewed some poi­son oak twigs, he is unable to say. He had heard that such a practice would act as a preventive of poisoning, and, boylike, he tried it. Since he has arrived at the age of discretion, he has never had sufficient confidence in the method to recommend it to others. Still, from what we know of the value of using minute doses of certain proteins to desensitize, or render immune, patients suffering from asthma and hay fever, it would seem that the principle of preventive inoculation for the Rhus poison is a sound one. The danger is that the dose by mouth might possibly produce a worse condi­tion than a skin exposure. In immunizing a hay fever or an asthma case, an overdose of the offending protein would be disastrous. So the writer has no burden to advise others to chew poison oak or poison ivy in order to acquire

immunity.

Symptoms of Plant Poisoning

The first evidence of poisoning may be a slight itching, gradually becoming more severe, and finally almost unbearable, so that sleep is impossible. Though scratching af­fords temporary relief, it spreads the trouble, and makes it more se­vere. The scratching may also be the means of causing an infection by pus germs, thus increasing the inflammation and pain.

The appearance of the affected area may vary within wide limits. There may be merely a red, angry surface, or small water blisters, or large blisters with considerable leakage, or there may be pustules and pus pockets (germ infection through scratching); and in the later stages the formation of scabs, and later a scaling off or peeling of the affected area, which may be scarcely noticeable, or in severe cases may be very marked.

The affected parts, especially around the eyes, are likely to swell; and somtimes the patient with both eyes swollen shut is a pitiable-look­ing object, whom his best friends would fail to recognize.

Though the pus-germ invasion may affect neighboring glands and ulcerations may persist for some poisoning terminates about as quickly as it began, leaving the skin in practically its normal condition.

In some cases where, on account of the na­ture of one's work, exposure to Rhus poisoning is frequently repeated, there develops a chronic eczema-like form which the patient may not rec­ognize as Rhus poisoning.

Prevention of Plant Poisoning

The most efficient preventive measure would be thorough eradication of all Rhus plants. But as this is not a condition that can be hoped for in the near future, the most practical preventive measures are:

1. Learning to recognize and avoid the Rhus plants.

2. Protecting the skin from contact with the poisonous oil:

a. By the use of rubber gloves.

b. By thorough washing after any suspected exposure.

c. By preventing poisoning from clothing, shoes, utensils, etc.

Where one is going through or is handling underbrush, rubber gloves may be a great pro­tection ; but they should be thoroughly washed in soap and water when they are removed after the trip.

On returning from a trip where one may have been exposed to Rhus poisoning, it is advisable to wash the exposed parts well with soap and hot water. In order to remove the least vestige of oil, they should be washed repeatedly in a series of soapy waters.

Owing to the fact that it takes some time for the oil to penetrate the skin, this measure will usually prove efficient — provided the clothing is changed; for there is a possibility that some of the oil is clinging to clothing or shoes, and may be transferred to the skin after one has gone through this washing process.

While it may not be feasible to eliminate all Rhus plants, yet those who own land infested with these plants will be doing missionary work if they will root it up or kill it around their own property. If each property owner would do " his bit" in this matter, there would not be nearly so many cases of Rhus poisoning.

The plants may be killed by a solution of sodium arsenite, picpared by dissolving a pound of sodium arsenite in five to ten gallons of water. This solution applied to the plants will kill them, but it is a poison that may kill other plants, and also live stock, so it must be used with due caution.

Treatment of Plant Poison

" Accidents," we are told, " may happen in the best-regulated families; " and with the best of preventive care there is a possibility that sometime one will get a dose of Rhus poison.

Some experienced physicians who have had much to do with the treatment of Rhus poison have expressed the opinion that time is the only reliable factor in the treatment of this condition; in other words, that it runs its course notwithstanding the best of treatment, and gets well itself when the proper time arrives. Per­haps they are fight. Still, there are remedies that have seemed to work so quickly and so graciously that they are advocated with confi­dence by their sponsors.

Hot fomentations or compresses afford tem­porary relief to the itching, but probably do not lessen the duration of the attack.

Potassium permanganate, in 2-per-cent strength (ten grains to one ounce of water) if the skin is unbroken, or half this strength if the skin is broken, seems to antagonize the poison. It gives prompt results. Unfortunately it dark­ens or stains the skin. It is best applied by means of compresses. Following the permanga­nate compress with another compress wet with a 10-per-cent solution of sodium hyposulphite (48 grams to an ounce of water), will serve the double purpose of discoloring the permanganate and neutralizing the Rhus poison. Some per­sons use only the hyposulphite.

Some of the sulphates also act well. A 10- per-cent solution of magnesium sulphate (Ep­som salts), applied hot by means of compresses, covered with oiled silk, and renewed three or four times a day, has its enthusiastic advocates.

But the writer has had best success with zinc sulphate, ten grains to one ounce of water. If this is applied within twenty-four hours, or within ten hours of the formation of blisters, it seems to abort the trouble — " dry it up," as it were. Even if applied later it acts well, though more slowly. Where the skin is broken, it should be applied half strength to treat plant poison

Porphyria

The following post is a question and answer post on Porphyria

I am a registered nurse aged 49, and have been in poor health for several years. Within two years I had two serious operations. After the second surgery my blood pressure remained over 210/120, and it was discovered I was suffering from porphyria with mental confusion. The doctors tell me I am sensitive or allergic to morphine and its derivatives, barbiturates, phenergan, sulfas; that I will always have porphyria, and that probably I have had it all my life. How serious is porphyria? What can be done for it? I eat well, and I gained almost 25 pounds after surgery, but I still have high blood pressure, edema, and poor coordination at times. I take only one medication, but I feel no benefit from it. I have been told porphyria can be fatal.

Porphyria includes a group of diseases in which large amounts of abnormal sub­stances called uroporphyrins occur in the urine. Porphyria is one of several condi­tions that could cause inherited meta­bolic irregularities, ranging in severity from a mild condition to a pronounced

disease process.

There are two major groups of porphyrias. One involves the production of red cells in the bone marrow, and the other type involves the liver, in which excessive uroporphyrins are formed.

The first group, or erythropoietic por­phyria, a condition people are born with,often is discovered in infancy or child­hood. It may cause certain skin lesions or a rash.

The second group, the hepatic (liver-related) type, may be called acute inter­mittent porphyria. Your condition may refer to it. This condition usually is first noticed between the ages of 20 and 40,and it is more likely to occur in women than in men. This type of porphyria may cause attacks of severe abdominal pain associated with such related symptoms as vomiting, diarrhea, and bloating of the abdomen. The colicky nature of the pain may simulate acute abdominal conditions, and it may even result in exploratory surgery.

Patients with this disease can develop various nervous-system symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, restlessness, and even more severe symptoms; for example, con­fusion or even delirium, according to the severity of the condition. High blood pres­sure, a fast heart rate, liver insufficiency, and fever may develop. In such cases the urine may become dark red or black on exposure to sunlight, owing to the large amount of abnormal end-products formed

in the liver.

Treatment should be adjusted to the needs of the patient by the doctor. There are medications that can give rapid relief of the symptoms of porphyria.

Vein Stripping

Question: Please explain what is meant by vein stripping, ligation, and surgery on the sympathetic nervous system.

Answer: Vein stripping and ligation refer to surgical procedures done for varicose veins.

When varicose veins require surgery, one of the procedures used is called vein stripping.

Ligation consists of removing the en­larged and dilated veins with an instru­ment that more or less literally strips out a vein after the instrument has been threaded into it. Ligation refers to the tying off with a suture of the end of the remaining vein to prevent bleeding. Some surgeons merely tie off the diseased veins in several locations. In either case then circulation is expected to be taken care of by the connecting blood vessels.

Surgery on the sympathetic nervous system refers to an operation on any part of the sympathetic nervous system, which refers to the combination of the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (the connecting nerves from the spinal cord to the arms and legs).

In selected cases neurosurgeons can sever a nerve or some of the fibers in the nerve complex to relieve prolonged un­bearable pain or to improve circulation to the arms and legs. That's it about vein stripping. Have you ever gone through this procedure of vein stripping. Share with us your experiences.

Healing Water

This post is a continuation of an article on healing water. We explore various ways water can be used to heal various infections.

Thirst is nature's signal for the body's need of water. The experts tell us that it may be the result of dry mouth tissues. It may also result from diarrhea, nausea, excessive sweating, and the excretion of excessive amounts of urine. Thirst is common in such conditions as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or disturbance of the salivary function. The person who has an above-average thirst would be wise to consult a physician to learn of any dormant illness.

Water lubricates the joints and acts as a cushion to protect the body from injury resulting from impact and shock. Water makes it possible for organs that rub together to slide smoothly. Water serves to maintain pressure in various parts of the body, such as the eye-balls.

The muscles, which are 75 perent water, must have water to contract and maintain proper tonus. Good muscle tone itself serves to protect the body.

Under conditions of severe deprivation, generalized body symptoms develop. There is dryness of the mouth and throat.In some tests it was found that normal young men put on a low water ration soon showed abnormal function—headache, nervousness, loss of appetite, digestive disturbance, and inability to concentrate. The symptoms were promptly relieved by increased water drinking.

A water deficiency may also come about through excessive talking. Our bodies lose water through the air we breathe out. Ordinarily, an adult may lose a third of a quart of water this way in a day. Talking, as with exercising, is an activity that increases the loss of water from the lungs. For those of you who must talk a lot, balance your activity with water drinking to prevent dehydration and fatigue. Ever notice how tired you are after a short speech?

Prof. Olaf Mickelsen tells us, "It is well to remember that it is more important to have an adequate intake of water than it is to have calories.

"Except when a deficit of body water develops,thirst is the best guide to the amount of water a person needs. There is relatively little danger in an increased water intake, except if it persists and is associated with an insatiable thirst—symptoms that suggest diabetes insipidus and should be considered by a physician."

Professor Mickelsen then adds, "Aside from an edematous [swollen] condition, which occurs only in pathological states, the intake of water beyond the body's needs is excreted in the urine. From this stand point, the regulation of body water content is more precise than the factors regulating caloric intake; caloric intake in excess of needs is stored as adipose tissue."

Water, on the other hand, serves to nourish, wash,and revitalize the system.

Here are ways for conserving your water supply:

1. If you are in a place where drinkable water is scarce, take all possible measures to reduce your water loss. Make certain that your drinking water is free from unpleasant odors and flavors.

2. If it is necessary that you work or walk under conditions of extreme heat,if possible do it at night or in the early morning. Keep in the shade whenever possible.

3. Work at a rate that does not cause your body to become overheated and cause loss of water through sweating. If you have to do hard work when the air is hot, spray your body and your clothes with any non-drinkable water at hand.

4. Protect your drinking water from evaporation, and use all possible means for collecting what rain water there may be. Where there is a plentiful supply of drinking water, hard physical work is facilitated and fatigue is prevented by drinking enough water to replenish what is lost by sweating.Under conditions of extra-high temperature you may have to drink as much as a quart of water an hour. Thirst is the clue to the need for drink.

It has been estimated that people need two or three quarts of fluid daily. This does not mean we have to drink this amount in the forms of liquids. Actually, we obtain water from fruits, which are from 75 percent to 90 per cent water. Vegetables are often from 75 per cent to 95 percent water. Eating fresh fruit and vegetables freely adds to the supply of water.

The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council recommends a normal daily liquid allowance of about 11 glasses. Something like two pints of this amount is supplied by solid food. The remaining five or six glasses must come from water and other liquids.

The simplest way to take care of the daily water supply is to develop early in life a drinking plan that becomes as automatic and irrevocable a habit as brushing the teeth. A sensible schedule might be one glass of liquid in the morning, two or three more between meals, and one before going to bed.

Drinking plenty of water helps retard the growth of intestinal bacteria and lessen the putrefactive process in the in­testines. For some people drinking a few sips of liquid with meals promotes activity of the digestive juices and digestion and absorption of the food.

There are various good sources of water, such as these:

1. Fresh fruit and vegetable juices are excellent sources of liquids that boost your mind and body. Freshly squeezed juices are tasty and stimulating to enzymatic flow. You might go on a fast occasionally using only juice from raw fruits or ve­tables and devote an entire day to these healthful juices. Many people have found an all-natural food program of valuable health-building benefit.

2. Foods that contain water include all raw and cooked fruits and vegetables. Eat freely of these luscious and succulent edibles. Vegetable juices or the water in which vegetables have been cooked are prime sources of water. Many protein foods such as soybeans, lentils, peas, seeds,and nuts supply a fair amount of water.

3. In addition to coffee substitutes and herbal teas, there are natural beverages that help supply you with water. Make it a practice to enjoy a variety of natural beverages as well as fresh water.

Water helps overcome fatigue. Many people are reluctant to interrupt their work for a drink of water until thirst becomes urgent. Even when they do,they may drink only enough to take the edge off their thirst without actually restoring positive fluid balance. Help your body by drinking water freely every day. No wonder it is called healing water. Please share with us if you have used water to heal yourself of any ailment.

how can you cure a cold?

In this post we try to answer the question, how can you cure a cold.

Symptoms of Common Cold

Most people know what the symptoms are; they vary somewhat according to the seat of the trouble, whether it be in the nose, the pharynx, or the throat. Nasal obstruction, sneezing, coryza, difficulty in swallowing, loss of voice, chills and feverish sensations, pains in the bones and the joints (from the infection, or toxemia," in the blood).


How Common Colds Are Spread

Again, it is a matter of obvious experience, and one " well-understood " of the laity that there are epidemics of colds. Colds are caught from others suffering with a cold, just as in diphtheria or any other infection. House infections and outbreaks in schools, factories, and public buildings where many people are closely associated, frequently occur and result in much suffering and loss of time and money. They are not generally fatal in themselves, these colds; but they lead may lead to pneumonia.

Herbs that Can Cure a Cold

I have personally found a daily dose of echinacea to be the most effective cure for a cold. In my case if I take echinacea, over and above the recommended dose, the cold is stopped in its tracks within three days. I have constrasted this with all the cough syrups and other medicines that I used to take and I can testify that given a choice I would choose echinacea even in my sleep. In my case I take at least 10 echinacea capsules three times a day. The recommended dosage is 2 but I would rather trust my body than recommended dosage. Even in hospitals doctors are forced to give higher dosages of conventional medicines when dealing with serious cases.

One can also take, in case of persitent cough, sage tea. For excessive mucus, a tea made from fenugreek or ginger can be very effective. A tincture of goldenseal is also advisable during infectious period to assist in fighting the infection.

Supplements That Can Cure A Cold

I would recommend vitamin C and zinc tablets as supplements that one should take when suffering from a cold. These supplements will boost the body's ability to produce more blood cells and also boost the immune system. There's however no better way of getting vitamin C and zinc than by eating foods rich in vitamin C. These include many fruits and vegetables such as carrots and beetroot.

Hot Foot Bath Cure For a Cold

Another remedy for treating a cold is a hot foot bath where you place your feet in very hot water and cover the rest of the body with a blanket or sheet to keep warm. The purpose is to raise the body temperature. The artificial raising of the body temperature will lead to the body being stimulated to produce more white blood cells and thus increasing phagocystic action to fight off the infection. You are advised to put a a cold compress over the forehead during the process to avoid dizziness or fainting as blood goes to the feet.

There is no easier way of boosting the body's immune system than having a hot foot bath. This should be supplemented with a hot and cold shower. Alternate between a minute of very cold water and a minute of very hot water for seven times or exchanges and you will be surprised what it can do when suffering from a common cold.

To carry out a hot foot bath one needs the following materials:-

• Foot tub or container large enough to submerge both feet above the ankles, 
• cold compress, 
• towel, 
• sheet and blanket, 
• pitcher, check original material.

I hope you will into practice these simple remedies and cure a cold. Above all, eat well, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and thus protect yourself from colds. There is really no cure for common cold, just like most viral infection. All the treatment of common cold above aim at boosting the body's ability to fight off the infection. Eventually it is the body that wins the battle against common cold by curing it. The herbs or hydrotherapy remedies that we employ are there to stimulate the body's immune system and I know from personal experience that they do cure a cold of flu.