Not without reason constipation is considered the mother of all diseases. It is usually the first faulty condition of the body brought about by irrational living and is the cause of most sicknesses. Constipation is the inability of the alimentary canal to completely eject the undigested remains of food. What is the cause of that? To understand it we must once more go back to the life of primitive man and see what we can learn from it. There was no such thing as constipation known in early times, the same as there is none in animal life today, with, perhaps, the exception of domesticated man-fed animals.

As we all know the food we eat is first digested in our stomach, then in the small intestines, where it is turned into a smooth liquid called chile. The digestible part of the chile is sucked in through the walls of the small intestines, first into the lymphatic system, and then into the blood. The indigestible remains of the chile are passed into the large intestines where they stay until voided. All intestines have muscles shaped like rings and these, by contracting and expanding (the so-called peristaltic motion) push the food down through the whole alimentary canal. The intestinal muscles are not very active and are usually aided in their work by our external motions, physical work, deep breathing, bending, walking, et cetera.

When we lead a sedentary life, or do not sufficiently exercise our body, the peristaltic motion is weak and the waste matters are retained in the intestines longer than necessary. After the food has been digested it has to be voided, otherwise it goes through decomposition, and is partly reabsorbed into the blood. Whereas the primitive man moved his bowels freely at nature’s call, the modern man cannot do it, and of necessity always retains it for some time according to his social convenience. To aggravate this condition manifold the modern man feeds on a diet of concentrated, refined foods containing no roughage to push the rest of the food through the intestines. White bread and other refined grain products, meats and sugars are examples of highly concentrated foods which constitute the bulk of our present-day diet. These foods stick to the walls of the intestines, clog their little pores, and block the passage of the digested food into the blood.

The latter carries the retained poisons to various parts of the body and, trying to get rid of them, puts them in out of the way places where they accumulate in the form of boils, tumors, stones, pimples, cancers, and similar malignant growths.

The putrefied mass in the intestines also forms gases which are absorbed partly into the blood stream, causing more poisoning. Some of the gases are voided by the sufferer causing inconvenience, embarrassment ,and direct harm to the anus. Hemorrhoids and fistula of the anus are often caused by continual voiding of gases. These gases also back up from the intestines into the stomach, cause belching, and also pain, by distending the stomach and intestines. In the mouth they cause bad odors and a bad taste which cannot be camouflaged or relieved by any of the hundreds of commercial breath remedies on the market. These gases permeate every cell of the body and cause immeasurable harm.

When our body is thus stuffed up with fermented poisoned food, it cannot take any more of it and, as a result, we lose our appetite. However, as a matter of habit, we usually continue to eat. If eating does not work we try to bolster our appetite with medicines or alcoholic beverages and force ourselves artificially to continue taking food. The result is still more constipation, more fermentation of food, more gases, and sickness.

To remedy constipation the average person will take a commercial laxative of which there are many on the market. The folly of taking these purgatives is evident when you are familiar with the principles upon which they are based — either the taking away of great amounts of water from the tissues and forcing this water into the colon, or producing spasmodic motions of the intestines in order to shake off the debris glued to the inner surface. Out¬side of the harm these violent methods incur they do not cure constipation because as long as the person continues to consume more of the wrong foods the same faulty condition will persist. The cause of the trouble has not been removed and the constipated person will go on being constipated the same as before.

The primitive man of ages past had none of the above-mentioned negative influences to contend with. He ate only when hungry and digested his food thoroughly; he used natural foods containing plenty of roughage; his continual physical exertion supplied all the peristaltic motion needed so that constipation had no place in his life.

One of the most wide-spread ailments of modern times is what is termed a “common” cold. It is so common that our markets are virtually flooded with remedies for colds. All of them are good sellers, so much so that the industry runs into millions of dollars. Plenty of the poor man’s money, time from work, and his health are wasted trying to doctor a cold with more harm than good to the sufferer.

Symptoms of a cold are: at first, irritation in the nose and throat, sneezing, coughing, running nose, inflammation of the throat and the bronchial tubes, loss of the senses of smell and taste, fever, and other complications. When the cold starts breaking up there is expectoration of a thick greenish phlegm from the throat, watering of the eyes, and, finally, a gradual subsiding of all the symptoms.

The nature of all the enumerated symptoms, particularly the expectoration and the running nose, clearly shows that they are a result of a natural process of elimination of accumulated waste materials unwanted by the body. These wastes have been accumulating in the body for a long period of time and gradually over¬load the system until some cause like a draft, acute indigestion, mental excitement, et cetera, has caused a violent reaction. The body is making a supreme effort to eliminate all the accumulated wastes in order to be able to continue its proper functioning.

In spite of its extreme discomfort and unpleasantness a cold is actually a blessing to us because it rids our body of poisons which, if retained by us, would kill us in time. It is foolish to try to suppress a cold through medicines, shots, or any other means because the cold will remain in your body only to spurt out later in a more severe form, since more impurities will have been added if you continue the same mode of living for a while longer.
Accumulations of waste matters bringing about colds are caused by habitual overeating, also by the consumption of toxic, acid-forming, and constipating foods which clog up the digestive sys¬tem and overload our blood with poisons.

Instead of suppressing the symptoms of a cold by taking medícines, it is better to encourage a greater elimination of wastes so that the cold will break up faster. An enema should be taken once or twice a day for several days; hot baths and plenty of rest are essential. No food should be eaten and only copious quantities of water with some lemon juice in it taken until the symptoms sub¬side. Usually, under such treatment, the stubbornest cold will break up in three to four days. When expectoration begins, continue for three to four more days to drink liquids — water, fruit juices, and later on vegetable juices, skim milk, fruits, and melons in season. If you have to continue working throughout the cold it is advisable to subsist from the start on solid fruits, melons, and skim milk instead of the above-advocated complete abstention from all foods for a few days. In this case recuperation will not be as fast as in the first one, but you will be able to keep on working at your job without interruption in spite of the cold when this is unavoidable or urgent.

After the cold is gone continue to stay on a light diet, gradually adding raw and cooked vegetables, baked potatoes, and cottage cheese, but no concentrated starchy foods — breads, cereals — and no meats for a couple of weeks.

When a cold is not taken care of properly, or is suppressed by artificial means, complications may set in. They may be any one or more of the following: catarrh of the eyes, nose, or throat; sinusitis, swollen adenoids, ear trouble, bronchitis, hay fever, asthma, lung infections and a long list of various body derangement.

After the cold is completely over you will feel much better and peppier than you did before the cold set in. This is due to the fact that a load of poisons has been eliminated from the body which is restored to a better all-around functioning. If you wish to continue feeling and doing well you must adhere to a proper way of living, in particular, a proper way of eating. Once more we will repeat that it is what you put into your body that makes you well or sick. A general healthful regime of natural living foods, plenty of sunshine, fresh air, and a proper mental attitude will go far in preventing colds and will keep you in a fine condition of health.

In spite of being the possessor of the most perfect machine in creation — the human body — the average person takes very little interest in it. You will go to no end of trouble to learn how to take proper care of your car, home, or job, but the care of the greatest possession of all, your body, you leave to the doctor. Granted, the doctor knows more about the human body than does the layman, but it still is no excuse for anyone to be ignorant on this all-important subject.

Knowledge of our body, its functions, and requirements creates in us an interest and a certain reverence towards it, and, thus, gives us an inducement to take better care of ourselves. Matters of correct diet, natural environment, proper posture, exercise, relaxation, sleep, sex life, et cetera, should be clearly understood by everyone.

Ability to recognize and correct minor, and even some major, illnesses is essential, both because of the benefits directly derived and of the peace of mind and assurance this knowledge will bring. The average man, and particularly the woman who has to handle children in the family, are helpless and worried most of the time over themselves and their loved ones due to lack of knowledge to handle emergencies. The slightest trifling symptoms of sickness leave them frustrated because they are actually groping in the dark. Many become nervous wrecks due to constant worry and strain caused by sickness in the family.

Many families are in perpetual debt and misery due to enormous sums of money spent on doctors and hospitals treating one member of the family after another — sometimes, all at the same time. Imagine! So much money wasted by poor people when it could be used as the backbone of their future economic security!

Many dollars could be saved by understanding the simple natural ways of treating illness.
Surgery is also a bit overdone nowadays in spite of its being one of the most modern branches of the medical science. Our body consists of a number of interrelated parts or organs, each having its own work to do, but, at the same time, connected with, and dependent on, all other parts of the body. Each one of them was placed there by nature, which is the source of the greatest wisdom in this universe, and once it is there it belongs there and is indispensable to the body.

To remove any organ means robbing the body of its normal functioning, its efficiency, comfort, and resistance to disease. Doing that will not remove the cause of sickness, which is actually a result of a constant flow of harmful foods into the body. Purify the blood and it will then clear the diseased organ of all the accumulations of pus and dead matter, and then, once more, the organ will begin to function properly. Tonsils, adenoids, kidneys, sinuses, et cetera, no matter how deteriorated they are, will respond quickly and rebuild themselves if given the opportunity and right treatment. Surgery should be used only in cases of accidental emergencies but not in chronic diseases.

While on the subject of medical science let us take a look at one particular branch of it. Lately we have been hearing so much about new “wonder drugs” that we get rather confused. They are claimed by manufacturers and promoters to perform miracles in curing various ailments. But, somehow, all these wonder drugs fade out one by one while new ones make their much advertised appearance on the horizon. Before they disappear they usually take with them a toll of many thousands of human lives which are carried away by the malignant effects of these poisonous chemicals. While used they may disguise or lessen pain in one part of the body, but afterwards they prove to have affected another part or parts of the body in a still more aggravated manner. Here is one instance of a wonder drug which recently departed from the market —an anticoagulant designed to prevent heart attacks — it proved to cause brain hemorrhage with complete paralysis of one hand, overdoses of it causing instant death.

It has been definitely proved that although character traits and limitations are transmitted from parent to offspring, disease, as a rule, is not. Nature has seen to it that a new generation should always have a good start in life. We all know how a pregnant woman, lacking calcium in her blood, will lose some of her teeth in order that the foetus may build bones out of the needed material. Many other similar adjustments are made in a woman’s body at the time of pregnancy so that the child may be born physically normal in spite of its mother’s limitations. From the moment food begins entering the child’s body the latter develops either normally or not, both physically and mentally, all according to what is given it to eat — proper or improper food. A vivid proof of this contention is a comparison between breast-fed and bottle-fed babies. Whereas the former are known for their sturdiness and absence of sickness, the latter are sickly most of the time and do not develop as well.

Not only in growing children, but also in adults, nutrition is an important factor in maintaining health. We must eat the right foods in order to be well — we all know that; conversely, when we eat the wrong foods we encourage disease.

What becomes of the food after we eat it? First, it is broken up into small particles and mixed with saliva in our mouth and sent to the stomach. There it is mixed with various digestive juices, then sent to the small intestines where it is mixed with additional secretions from our organs and glands — the liver, pancreas and spleen. Now in the form of a smooth creamy liquid it begins to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestines into our lymphatic system, and then into the blood. The latter carries the assimilated food to every cell of our body where it is used for building muscles, nerves, bones, to repair tissues, and to be burned up to produce energy, and do other necessary work in the body.

The various glands in our body manufacture their juices from certain elements in the foods, mainly from minerals. When the foods consumed by us lack these elements lesser quantities of juices are produced. Foods eaten later on get less juices than are needed for complete digestion with the result that these foods are not digested properly and enter our blood stream in a less-assimilable, partly undigested, and fermented form. This upsets the blood balance and impedes its proper functioning because, in order to do its work properly, the blood has to have a certain consistency and content. Trying to rid itself of the harmful ingredients the blood deposits them in various parts of the body. Continuous overloading of the blood with foods causes continuous depositing of the unwanted matter. Gradually, these deposits are built up into boils, pimples, rashes, tumors, and similar external and internal growths. On the other hand, when it lacks some necessary ingredients for its proper work, the blood takes them away from various parts of the body, thus causing deficiencies and eating away parts of organs, as is the case in tuberculosis, cancer, ulcers, et cetera.

What is the purpose of nature in doing that? You see, nature is very clever and highly efficient. In order to maintain life (even in an inferior shape) it will sacrifice the less important for the sake of the more important. Should blood circulation stop for a few moments death will follow; whereas, even a diseased body can survive and carry on for various lengths of time, sometimes for many years.

Given the right opportunity our body can readjust and remedy itself by the reverse process to the one of creating disease. Better foods containing needed minerals and vitamins will supply our glands with the necessary ingredients for the manufacture of sufficient quantities of digestive juices which will properly digest the foods eaten by us, supply our blood with enough elements to build new healthy cells, and wash away bit by bit all accumulated growths of dead cells in the body. These are the natural processes of building health and overcoming disease which is brought on by incorrect foods and overcome by the use of the right ones. There are additional factors influencing these processes—such as living and working conditions, amount of rest and sleep, proper mental attitude, and the like, but they all hinge on, and are closely connected with, the main factor of health or sickness — which is the food we eat.

Our blood travels continuously over each cell of the body every few seconds. It brings to the cells food for nourishment and oxygen to burn up wastes. It picks up the latter, carries them to the lungs, and other channels of elimination, where they are expelled.
The blood nourishes the hair on our head as well as the nails on our toes, our kidneys, nerves, stomachs — every nook and corner of our body. It is easy to conclude that when there is disease in the body the blood carries it around. All diseases are in the blood stream and so also all diseases are one — a disease of the blood.

To get rid of a disease we must give the blood a chance to purify itself by not adding any more waste material to that already accumulated, and, on the other hand, by bringing in only those materials which will build a healthy body. Little by little our blood will carry out all dead and diseased tissues, dispose of them through various channels of elimination, and thus rid the body of abnormal conditions.

Once we understand the basic cause of all diseases we will be able to treat every one of them successfully by one and the same method of procedure; namely, cut out all harmful foods and substitute a diet of foods that will build health and longevity. What these foods are we shall learn in the succeeding articles of this book.

In conclusion, we should like to dispel an erroneous notion deeply seated in the minds of the majority of people that each person inherits a predisposition to certain diseases which his parents were afflicted with. In reality, it is not the disease which is inherited by the individual; but he is conditioned to a mode of living, and mainly to a mode of eating. The kinds of food, and the ways of preparing them, are transferred from one generation to another in the same family. As a rule, a daughter will imitate the ways of cooking and the use of the same types of food as her mother used to prepare for the family. A son who liked certain dishes his mother excelled in will prevail on his wife to prepare the same for him and his children. National and regional limitations and customs also play their part in molding a family’s eating habits.

In this way, similar foods and living habits create similar conditions of health.   That is why a son, in time, will acquire the same sicknesses his father was suffering from, while a daughter will similarly be predisposed to her mother’s ailments. Rational living is the only thing that will predispose every person to normal health with no diseases of any kind to contend with.