Medical Articles, Medicine Information.

It is certainly a sign of progress that babies are today given vegetable juices to supplement their usual gruels and milk food. I am sure that this is one reason why vitamin deficiencies are much rarer now than years ago. Infant mortality has also decreased considerably, and it is quite possible that better nutrition has contributed to the improvement.

But what happens when the loving mother has prepared the juice with such care but the carrots, for example, contain poison? How ouzzled she must be when her baby does not put on any weight or, worse, loses weight, despite her constant attention. The baby’s stool becomes thinner and thinner, but the doctor is unable to diagnose the cause, having eliminated the possibility of its being coeliac disease.

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What else is there to know about potatoes other than that they are tasty? That is about the extent of most people’s knowledge about the peculiar solanaceous plant we call potato and botanists call Solatium tuberosum. Because potatoes belong to the same family as the deadly nightshade, our forefathers had some rather unfortunate experiences with them when they were first brought to Europe. No one knew this strange plant native to Peru’s highlands.

If ever you get the chance to visit the mountainous areas of that country you will be surprised to see how many varieties of potato actually grow there, many not even known to us. In the Altiplano, from Cuzco as far as Puno on Lake Titicaca especially, the Indians cultivate some beautiful vegetables.

It was as late as the sixteenth century when Spanish sailors and Sir Francis Drake first brought potatoes to Europe, with the intention of cultivating them as a food on the European continent. They gave them to their friends but did not explain anything about the new plant. Why not? Well, it often happens, does it not, that someone knows something but does not tell it to another person simply because he thinks that he will be aware of it already. That is exactly what happened with the potato. No one who planted the tubers seemed to realise that the unknown plant was a member of the deadly nightshade family and had poisonous properties. Neither could anyone imagine that it was the tubers themselves that served for food and not the round green berries growing on the plant. In fact, no one took any notice of the actual potatoes. Of course, the result of eating the berries brought only trouble, because anyone who tried the new vegetable from overseas soon suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting.

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The great progress in civil aviation has made foreign travel easy and has brought us into close contact with people from other parts of the world, who visit us and are pleased when they can get their own food and fruit in our shops. Conversely, many of us venture out and travel to faraway places, where we become familiar with other customs and habits. The result is that we now have many food items in our shops that were rare or even unknown until relatively recently.

I keep receiving letters and reports that confirm the fact that digestive problems often arise when fruit and vegetables are eaten at the same meal. Let me quote the following account as an example.

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I f you’ve been feeling run-down, the problem could be your thyroid gland. Research suggests that hypothyroidism (thyroid deficiency) is far more common than previously believed. One study found signs of the disorder in 8% of women and 3% of men.

Hypothyroidism is especially common among older people. Over age 60, up to 17% of women and 8% of men have it.

The thyroid gland, located just below the Adam’s apple, is responsible for regulating body metabolism. Besides reducing your energy level, hypothyroidism can cause elevated cholesterol levels, weight gain, depression, constipation and/or brittle hair and nails.

The leading cause of hypothyroidism is scarring of the gland caused by inflammation. This condition is known as Hashimoto’s disease.

Other causes include viral infection, certain drugs (including lithium and iodine) and radiation therapy delivered to the neck for cancer.

Mild cases of hypothyroidism often go undetected—because the symptoms are too subtle to be detected by the individual.

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston studied a group of patients with mild hypothyroidism. Most of these patients thought they were well. In a double-blind study, each was treated, in turn, with thyroid and placebo tablets.

result: Most patients felt better when taking the thyroid tablets. Some felt more energy, others were less depressed or less constipated.

These findings suggest that low-dose thyroid treatment may be beneficial even for people who don’t know they have thyroid trouble.

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Elephantiasis is transmitted by a mosquito. The female bites an infected person, sucks in the blood and transmits the parasite to a healthy person’s bloodstream by another bite. Once the parasites, which we could call minute worms, are in the human blood, they multiply into the millions, causing fever and extreme enlargement of the lymphatics. Given time, the limbs may enlarge to the extent that they are two or three times their normal size. In fact, the disease got its peculiar name from this condition, for the legs come to resemble elephants’ legs in their bulk. But it is no laughing matter: elephantiasis is a sad affliction and one that is difficult to cure successfully.

I have also heard from doctors specialising in tropical diseases that malaria has not yet been fully eradicated in all parts of Sri Lanka. It is therefore advisable to sleep under a mosquito net and to take preventative medicines. There is, however, no danger in the mountainous areas of Sri Lanka where the strikingly beautiful tea plantations are to be found. Yes, tropical countries and islands might present an especially exciting and tempting attraction and no doubt offer plenty of beauty, yet caution is definitely called for because of the unknown dangers. As I have said before, I would not recommend a tropical vacation to just anyone; weak, sickly and especially older people should not even think about visiting the tropics.

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Stomach problems, while not the number one category of illness, have been on the increase. This is especially true in the United States, where people are in such a hurry all the time that they literally gulp down their meals, often not even taking time to sit down at a table because they do not want to lose time away from their place of work. If one has acquired the habit of eating food that is too hot or swallowing it too rapidly, it should not come as a surprise when gastric problems surface. It is just as harmful to hurriedly eat ice-cream on top of a hot meal. The extremes of hot and cold can lead to gastritis. And once the lining of the stomach has become chronically inflamed, one need not be surprised if this condition develops into ulcers. How ulcers are formed and some suggestions for their treatment is discussed in a later section (see pages 210-12). Although ulcers can be cured, it is clearly preferable to treat gastritis in good time, before it reaches the ulcerous stage.

For this purpose St John’s wort oil is excellent when taken in the morning and at night, a teaspoonful each time. And do not forget the help that can be obtained from natural remedies such as Gastronol, Centaurium, Hamamelis and Solanosan.

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In summary, I would like to stress that in cases of eczematous skin disorders the liver needs special attention and care. The same applies to the kidneys, which must be protected from exposure to damp and cold. Furthermore, take care that the skin does not come into contact with strong detergents, floor wax and other products containing turpentine. When the kidneys and liver are functioning properly the strain is taken away from the skin and the unpleasant, often unbearable, itching will subside. At the same time the lesions will also disappear.

For those who follow my suggestions conscientiously an eventual cure is certain, but those who think that drugs and chemicals alone will suffice may go for years without finding any relief. The more stubborn the case, the more patience is needed to obtain satisfactory results.

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There are different forms of angina pectoris, the peculiar disease that produces something like heart spasms. It is caused by an insufficient supply of blood to the walls of the heart, which in turn induces oxygen starvation. The serious symptoms do not appear all at once, but increasing instances of acute heart cramps accompanied by a feeling of tightness across the chest – called cardiac insufficiency – should be a warning that immediate action must be taken.

The newest treatment with hormones has yielded comparatively good results. There are, however, various homoeopathic and herbal remedies that should not be overlooked in the treatment of this disease. Correctly employed, they are invaluable. For serious acute cases Tabacum 6x is helpful, and Tabacum 12x for chronic conditions. The cramping heart pains which induce fear, dizziness and nausea, an irregular pulse and cold sweat will be relieved by

Tabacum. It is noteworthy that this remedy also works well in cases of nicotine poisoning, thus proving the homoeopathic principle, like cures like. Tabacum 6x will greatly improve the patient’s condition if he suffers from nicotine poisoning, which constricts the coronary vessels and causes the symptom-complex of angina pectoris.

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Dried herbs and spices are used in the making of pot-pourri, the scented mixture of flowers, leaves, roots and aromatic spices used in those little pottery jars, and bags or sachets. Believe it or not, the name comes from the French pourrir, to rot, and is derived from the original method of manufacture, semi-dried material being mixed with oils and perfumed waters and allowed literally to rot. The resulting sticky mess had to be put into opaque containers. But the perfume, using salt and orris root, benzoin gum, and various other preservatives, was delightful.

Nowadays, the most popular way to make pot-pourri is by the dry method. Dry some of the following; lemon balm, lemongrass, rose petals (the old scented “cabbage roses” are the best), lavender heads, violet petals, white jasmine, a small quantity of lemon or garden thyme, rosemary, orange and lemon blossom or dried orange or lemon peel, and leaves of the scented geraniums (rose and lemon are the best). Dry all these thoroughly separately, then mix together in a large container, together with a very small quantity of cinnamon, several blades of mace, or a few cloves if you wish.

Now pack a layer about 1 inch deep in the bottom of a half-gallon glassjar (a smaller glass jar will do for a smaller quantity), and sprinkle with a mixture of half salt and half powdered orris root. Fill up the jar this way with alternate layers, pressing it down tightly as you go, then seal well. (Orris root, by the way, is the rhizome of Iris germanica or Iris florentina, the common purple, mauve or white garden iris. It can be bought from herb stockists, but you can make your own by drying the roots as described here previously, and rubbing them through a fine grater or pulverizing them in a blender. They have no perfume when fresh, only when dried.)

Leave your jar now for one month. Then unpack, stir all around, and fill small pottery jars, decorative containers, or small dainty bags of silk or taffeta. This dry mix is ideally suited for making sachet bags for clothing cupboards and linen drawers, or for scenting a box of writing paper. Remember to stir the pot or rub the sachet occasionally: herbs release their perfume only when bruised.

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When dry, the root slivers can be powdered or pulverized in a blender and stored in glass jars to make a sedative tea. One teaspoonful of the powder to a cup of warm milk can be taken each day, the milk will help to disguise the strong flavour. Add a little honey if you like.

I can hear you saying, “Why should I drink a nasty brew like that when a clean pink sleeping pill will have a quicker effect?” The answer surely is in what other effects each one will have. Sleeping pills can make you feel dizzy and vague the next day, and do not really attack the cause of your problem; they only palliate the nerves by anaesthetizing them. They cost a lot, and you may find you need an ever-increasing dose to produce the same effect, with the possibility of permanent addiction. Nature’s way costs you only a small amount of time and virtually nothing in cash. You will have no side-effects (provided of course you apply commonsense and take only this recommended quantity), and it will strengthen the nerves, not anaesthetize them. Valerian’s high silica content and its natural phosphorus, too, will ensure this. If you don’t want to wait two years before having your own supply, plant your valerian and get your intermediate requirements from your natureopath or health food store.

Obviously, Mercury is given dominion over this herb: it acts on the whole nervous system and the senses too, the “communicators” of the body. It is sometimes used in herbal treatment of epilepsy, and in other diseases of a mental or hysterical origin, where nerve “messages” are not getting through correctly. Its other ancient name, “All-heal”, should speak for itself.

The pure valerian oil can be used externally for spinal rubs in diseases where the spinal cord needs stimulation or lessened sensibility to pain.

For the home gardener—plant valerian near vegetable rows, and use its cut tops and any small root remains in the compost. Its high phosphorus content seems to draw earthworms to the area, and this has been confirmed in field studies in America.

Keep valerian out of the kitchen, though. No culinary masterpiece can ever be created by the addition of a little valerian root powder.

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