Health News

The normal strain of work stimulates the circulation and, with it, the entire metabolism, so that the body is kept resilient and healthy. Of course, a normal and healthy metabolism also produces wastes, resulting in a feeling of tiredness when these waste products reach a certain concentration. This symptom of tiredness should always be met with rest and relaxation, even by young people who are usually able to work 8-10 hours a day with ease. A healthy, properly nourished body experiences the sensation of pleasant tiredness in the evening, and 7—9 hours of sleep, the exact amount depending on our individual needs, will be quite enough to restore a feeling of refreshed well-being. We will then be able to carry out our duties quite happily the following day if our body has had sufficient rest during the night.

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Professor Jaeger devoted much time to the question of fibres, or materials, some fifty years ago. The main point of the arguments current at that time was whether silk, wool or cotton were to be preferred. Dr Lahmann of Dresden, at the ‘White Hart’, joined in the controversial debates on underwear and fibres. Those who had the money wore silk, which was considered the healthiest fibre of all. Depending on its quality, wool may cause itching and not everyone can wear it next to the skin. In particular, women in the change of life and after are usually very sensitive and cannot stand wool; it may be that even cotton causes itching and they have to resort to buying expensive pure silk lingerie, which produces no reaction and feels pleasant to the skin.

The Arabs and Bedouins living in the desert prefer to wear wide, flowing woollen clothes and coats as a protection against the heat of the day and the cold of the night. Cotton had many opponents at first, but in time it came to be accepted and established itself as a good, inexpensive material, especially as a substitute for linen, which was much more expensive. Eventually, cotton began to replace linen more and more.

All these fibres are produced by nature, yet each one has its own characteristics and qualities. Wool and silk are better insulators than cotton and linen, making them more suitable for winter weather and cold days. Interestingly, however, silk is also pleasant to wear in the heat of summer because it has a cool feel.

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First, let us consider linseed, the seed of the flax. People who are used to eating linseed regularly have no problems with their livers. Indeed, recent experiments have confirmed that linseed is important for good liver function.

Before eating linseed, grind it with a small mill or mincer. If you buy it already ground, make sure that it is fresh because after four or five days ground linseed begins to go rancid. The reason for this change is the effect of oxygen on the ground seeds and, after just a few days, although their goodness is barely reduced, the unpleasant taste is most off-putting. Thus, it is better to buy the seeds to grind yourself and use them right away. Take care to select good linseed, rich in active substances and highly unsaturated fatty acids. A small mill or a blender can be used to grind; set on the lowest speed for the best results. There are various ways of using linseed, for example, mixed with honey or curd cheese and herbs, all nourishing and delicious. These seeds can be called a strengthening food, a tonic, and once you have become used to their taste you will not want to do without them.

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The danger of ingesting intestinal parasites together with raw salads is not unknown. But if you are able to grow vegetables organically in your own garden, that risk should be eliminated. With bought vegetables, however, you are never quite sure whether they were fertilised with liquid manure and thus infected with worm eggs. Hence the warning to wash salad greens thoroughly in salt water, rinsing them afterwards, to make sure that you have at least some protection. The effects of intestinal worms are most unpleasant and you would be wise to take care to avoid infection. Mind you, some people have had intestinal parasites for years, possibly decades, without realising it. They have no idea why they are always on edge, often unwell and anaemic. Nor do they know the cause of the black rings around the eyes. People who recognise these symptoms should consider the possibility that they may have intestinal worms. As mentioned above, one precautionary measure is to be careful when preparing raw food; another good suggestion is to take a course of Papayasan, the plant remedy that effectively eliminates worms.

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If you work your own garden, any manure you use should be organic. Compost, bone meal, hoof and horn meal and forest soil can all be used for soil improvement. According to your soil’s particular need, if it is loamy or peaty, it may require stone meal. All these natural materials are appropriate for organic fertilising. Strong chemical or artificial fertilisers should be avoided at all costs. The keeping quality and the flavour of produce grown in organic soil are vastly superior to that of produce grown in soil treated with inorganic fertilisers.

If we are to benefit from the minerals in the plants we grow we should avoid boiling them, as the minerals pass into the water. It is better to steam the vegetables or, if cooked in water, use the bare minimum so that hardly any is left when the cooking has been completed.

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Below are listed several precautionary rules that everyone should heed when travelling in the tropics.

Walking barefoot, although a pleasant and healthy habit in temperate zones, is hazardous in the tropics. Various parasitic larvae may stick to the skin, penetrate the sole of the foot or the skin between the toes and travel via the lymphatics and the bloodstream to various parts of the body where they can wreak havoc. If you are a nature-lover, who cannot resist the impulse to walk barefoot in these warm areas, make sure you do so only on beaches where the sand has been cleansed by the ocean tides. Even the sand dunes farther back from the beach and which are not in direct contact with sea water are a danger and must be avoided. In tropical and subtropical regions the sand farther back is often contaminated with human excrement, releasing hundreds of thousands of worms and other parasites that can be easily transferred to the foot – and their new host – while walking on the dunes.

In hot, humid, tropical or subtropical regions, it is advisable to take with you, and sleep under, a mosquito net at all times. A net is an excellent protection and prevention from insect bites that could result in malaria, elephantiasis, sleeping sickness, and many other tropical diseases.

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As soon as the patient drinks a little milk or chews some dry rolled oats the acid is neutralised and the pains temporarily subside. Even more effective is wood ash, taken as described in the preceding section, as this is able to neutralise the acid immediately because of its alkaline content. Ashes from birch wood or grapevines have proved to be excellent. The remedy Gastronol contains this ash, as well as condurango.

Hydrochloric acid acts like a disinfectant and kills the germs that cause fermentation and putrefaction. Where there is little hydrochloric acid present, fermentation accompanied by gas formation and bad breath is more likely. It is peculiar, too, that cancer of the stomach generally develops when there is a great lack of hydrochloric acid; the reason for this has not yet been satisfactorily explained. When we come to think of it, how difficult it is for man to find answers and explanations for that which we receive from the hands of our Creator!

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Nettle rash, also known as urticaria, is a peculiar and very unpleasant condition. Although easily diagnosed, the actual cause is another matter. The itching variety of urticaria is accompanied by small pink eruptions on the skin. Identifying the cause of the complaint is often difficult. As a rule, it is recognised that a sensitivity to certain substances or foods is responsible for nettle rash, the kind of hypersensitivity generally referred to as an allergy. Where such a tendency exists, certain foods, such as strawberries, fish, cheese, eggs, seafood, pork and salami may be the allergens that cause such a reaction. There could also be a reaction to certain medications, even if these are biological preparations such as arnica, to cite just one. What can you do if you are susceptible to attacks of urticaria?

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An infusion made from the woody partitions inside the walnut is excellent in cases where the coronary vessels have become hardened, and for cardiac pains and fever. A narrowing of the coronary vessels can often be attributed to chronic nicotine poisoning. The doctor and knowledgeable friends may have encouraged the patient on more than one occasion to quit smoking because of his heart trouble, the so-called angina pectoris. Unfortunately, the nicotine addiction often triumphs over health considerations, and severe chest pains will continue to plague the smoker. Would he continue to smoke if he knew that every severe attack of angina pectoris leaves a small scar in the muscle tissue of the heart? I wonder. Still, his unreasonableness may compel him to carry on smoking and the final result will be a myocardial infarction, death of the tissues in the myocardium. Many weeks resting in bed may bring about an improvement in his condition, but it is not to be mistaken for a cure. For once again, instead of healthy pink muscle tissue, the patient will be left with yet another white scar on the heart. Even so he must consider himself fortunate, as a ‘heart attack’ can sometimes lead to a rupture of the heart, which would be fatal.

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