ilbertofranchi@hotmail.frreaction. Each cell turns temporarily into a mini -
furnace, a mini -reactor. Water is absolutely nec-
essary, but the cells remain without, especially
the diseased and altered cells. In such circum-
stances the strongest, healthiest cells survive,
and whether they like it or not, in order survive
such extreme conditions they are forced to acti-
vate the production of own endogenous water,
of excellent quality. Based on the law of biologi-
cal efficiency, the endogenous water should be of
greater quality than the exogenous water. In fact,
the cell consumes a lot of energy and conse-
quently the quality of the final product must cor-
respond to the invested efforts.
Exogenous and endogenous water can be com-
pared respectively to a polluted river where a
chemical factory discharges its waste, and to a
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frmountain stream, which originates from the
depths of the earth and feeds on defrosted water
rich in healing potential. Du ring the dry fast the
old "dead water" is replaced by "living water" of
excellent quality and synthesized by the organ-
ism itself. In the meantime all the negative infor-
mation brought into our body from the outside
is eliminated. By making a relatively short fast
without water the organism is stimulated to
elaborate the water that it already contains
within, thereby renewing our information. This
is why at the end of the fast we are information-
ally uncontaminated; we are composed of a ma-
trix of information devoid of anything negative
coming from the external environment. Similar
mechanisms do not exist in any of the other ex-
isting types of therapeutic fasting. This
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frphenomenon is one of the main advantages of-
fered by this form of fasting. It is one of the main
therapeutic mechanisms of DF, which plays a
decisive role in renewing the energetic balance
of the human organism.

8.2. Anti -inflammatory and immune -stimu-
latory mechanism: the action of free forms of
glucocorticoids
The second therapeutic mechanism by im-
portance is an anti -inflammatory and im-
munostimulatory one. Life does not exist with-
out water and even inflammation cannot pro-
gress in its absence. Every part of the body that
is inflamed can be distinguished because of its
swelling. Microorganisms, viruse s and mi-
crobes, can only multiply in a sufficiently watery
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frenvironment. A lack of water compromises the
inflammation process. The dehydration occur-
ing in the body with DF triggers a ruthless com-
petition for water between the strongest body
cells and pathog enic microorganisms. The cells
of the body, full of their role as "home owners",
will subtract water from microorganisms. At the
same time, the organism is able to not only syn-
thesize endogenous water in sufficient quantity,
but also to absorb the water fr om the outside,
from the air, through the skin. This is because
during DF the organism functions in absorption
mode rather than in emission. Then, the healthy
and strong cells receive extra energy and water
from the air, by seizing it, while the sick cells, the
viruses and the bacteria cannot do it. This is why
it is fundamental to practice DF in the middle of
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frnature, preferably in the mountains and near
streams and waterfalls.
Without water, microbes, viruses and parasites
die instantly. 70% glucocorticoid  and sexual
hormones are linked to blood transport albu-
mins and only 30% circulate in the blood in a
free state. During DF, the transport albumins de-
cay and their amino acids are employed in sup-
plying the body's needs, mainly the needs of the
brain and the  cardiovascular system. During this
process there is a release of huge quantities of
hormones circulating in a free state in the blood:
the amount of glucocorticoids flooding the
blood is three times greater than usual. This ex-
erts a strong anti -inflammato ry effect, suppress-
ing all inflammation outbreaks present in the
body. Glucocorticoid hormones are in fact the
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frmost powerful anti -inflammatory agent in the
body. The powerful therapeutic mechanism of
dry fasting aimed at fighting inflammatory dis-
eases lies  in the action of free forms of glucocor-
ticoids.
As mentioned above, during a dry fast the tox-
ins burn "in their own furnace", which means
that every cell, in the absence of water, triggers a
thermal reaction, a particular radical method
within the cells that destroys all the superfluous,
excessive, and morbid elements. Each cell trans-
forms into a temporary mini -reactor that mani-
fests as an increase in internal temperature. This
temperature may not even be noted with a ther-
mometer, but during DF, patients c learly per-
ceived as a sensation of heat, internal fire or
chills. It should be emphasized that in this state
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frthe temperature itself is an important element of
defensive reaction. We know from experience
that with temperature all the waste, poisons and
even  cancer cells are destroyed and their activity
is suspended. This process accelerates healing.
By increasing in body temperature, the organism
causes microorganisms to slow their growth.
If the body does not receive food and dead and
heavy water, our blood  does not receive many
harmful substances, while it is instead cleansed
by the body, i.e. the same blood composition will
be repeatedly purified through the filter systems
until it becomes as ideally pure as possible.
The human body has a powerful weapon
against diseases: the immune system, designed
to safeguard our health with the help of organs
and tissues programmed for the detection and
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frelimination of foreign substances and harmful
microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria and
diseased cells. The main organs of the immune
system are the tonsils, the adenoids, the appen-
dix, the spleen and the thymus gland. Bone mar-
row, white blood cells and lymphatic tissues are
also important elements of the immune system.
All these elements work together and, when nec-
essary, trigger the body's immune response.
In a healthy organism with a strong immune
system it is quite difficult for viruses to survive.
Bacteria are destroyed before they can cause in-
fection. Altered or diseased cells are destroyed
before they can cause cancer or other illnesses.
But if the immune system is not healthy, it will
not work properly. In this case we can easily get
ill from colds, flu, infectious diseases and even
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frcancer. Maintaining a healthy immune system is
the most important thing we can do  to preserve
our health, because this system is our main bio-
logical ally in the war against diseases.
But how does the immune system work? When
a foreign body invades the organism, whether it
is a virus or a splinter, the immune system begins
to effectively produce a series of complex chem-
ical reactions. From this moment the immune
system embarks on its mission: to find the out-
sider and to destroy it.
In our organism there is an entire system of
cells that resemble amoebae; they are the mono-
nuclear phagocytes. In every organ there is a
group of cells specific for only that organ, which
appear like amoebae and migrate throughout the
body, engulfing and digesting any alien bodies.
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frThese particular cells are found in the skin, in
the liver and in the heart and even in the brain.
They migrate continuously, looking for prey.
The problem is that any food, even vegetable,
contains a small amount of fat and the mononu-
clear phagocytes, instead of carrying out their di-
rect functions, focus on capturing and digesting
these droplets of fat, as if


 a meal of raw fruit, there is  usually no discernable rise in the white count. So the rule is this: I f
we can’t eat the food “raw,” if it is not delicious and palatable in its  natural living state, it is not a food for us.

Second Criterion
Does the food introduce harmful or toxic substances into our digestive system?
If the food is proper to the human diet it must contain no  noxious or unwelcome substances. We do not want poisons in our
system, no matter how little or how “mild.” Anything that interfere s with vital activities or destroys cells and tissue is poisonous to ou r
system.
[Author’ s note: Since the time of this writing, science has progressed re markably. W e now know that various toxins
exist even in the most preferable of foods. Terry was correct in his concept, however; j ust the wording was off. I believe
that today he would likely replace the thought of “no” toxins with the reality of “t he lowest possible amount.”]

Third Criterion
Is the food easy of digestion and assimilation?
Foods to which we humans are ideally adapted require a minimum of vital en ergy for their digestion and assimilation. To be of
greatest value to us, foods must be efficiently digested and assimilat ed, granting, of course, that we have unimpaired digestive
systems.
Humans have become highly efficient at digesting and assimilati ng foods to which they, in nature, became adapted. Millions of
years of development made certain foods very easy of digestion—we devel oped constitutions, enzymes, and processes that
appropriated, digested and assimilated certain foods with a minimum expendi ture of vital resources and time.
The water and sugars of fruit, which make up almost its entire digesti ble portion, require virtually no digestion whatever. They
simply require absorption. Shortly after their absorption, they are very e asily and rapidly assimilated.

Fourth Criterion
Does the food contribute a broad range of nutrients? Does the food possess great biological value for us? Though many foods are rather complete in their range of nutrients, non e is suitable for a “mono diet” such as grass is for cattle.
But most of the fruits and vegetables are quite suitable for “monomea ls.” And, certainly, if properly combined, these foods furnish all
the nutrients we humans need.
The objective is not that we should eat a great variety in hopes of getti ng all the nutrients needed, but rather to eat simply to
afford our bodies every opportunity to easily digest and assimilate what th e foods offer. What does it matter the range of nutrients
we put into our bodies if we ingest them in such manner as to vitiate and t ax the digestive process? We can compromise digestion
such that we fail to derive the goodness intended. Thus we would penalize ou r bodies and rob them of nutrients as well.
We should never take more than four or five foods at a single properly prepared a nd combined meal. Almost no preparation
other than cleansing is necessary, but we must make sure to eat in st rictly compatible combinations. The ideal is a single food per
meal! There is no particular penalty in eating two to four different i tems at a meal if they are compatible in the digestive process.
To really simplify the digestive process and to assure ourselves of eas y digestion on a continuing basis, we may select a rather
narrow range of foods according to the season and stick with them. For instan ce, we may make one meal a day of just bananas with
some lettuce and celery and another meal of a salad with citrus and nut s. This can go on day after day in the winter season. In
summer we might have melon rather consistently for just one meal a nd at a second meal of the day, mangos, peaches, or other
summer fruit and a green salad with tomato. The objective is to eat a diet  to which we are biologically adapted, that gives the highest
potential for wonderful health.
Green leaves possess the highest and most complete range of micronutr ients. This is one of the primary reasons we must have
them often in our diet for the best health. Of course the body is provi dent––missing them on occasion is not particularly harmful and
would not prove disastrous unless we missed them for some length of time, us ually months or more.
While we do not spell out the nutrient contents of various foods––that knowl edge not being necessary––we should plan our
meals so that we receive the benefit of foods that complement each other  in their nutrient contents essential in human nutrition. A
variety of fruits and vegetables eaten throughout the year will ea sily guarantee nutritional sufficiency.

Chapter 4. Understanding the Caloronutrient Ratio

W e get our calories from three sources: carbohydrates, proteins, and f ats. I refer to these as “caloronutrients,” a term my wife (who
at that time was known as Professor Rozalind Gruben) and I coined. Thus, I re fer to the proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, and
fats in a person’s diet as their “caloronutrient ratio.” Y ou will s ee these terms used throughout this book. For consistency, I list all
ratios in my writings in the same order: carbohydrates/proteins/f ats (CPF for short), separated by slashes. Thus, “ 80/10/10 ” is
shorthand for 80% carbohydrates, 10% protein, and 10% fat.

“Goldilocks” Nutrition
I believe we benefit from fat—and all other nutrients—in appro priate, moderate amounts. In this book, I propose that too
much of a good thing (in this case fat) is as harmful, and in many cases  much more harmful, than not enough. I call it the “Goldilocks”
approach to nutrition: for best results, you don’t want too much of any nut rient and you don’t want too little; you want the amount to
be “ju-u-ust right.”

80/10/10 for Health, Beauty, Energy
That amount, I assert—at least in terms of caloronutrients—turns  out to be 80/10/10 : a minimum  of 80% of your calories
from carbohydrates, primarily from whole, sweet fruit, and a maximum  of 10% protein and 10% fat.
On the 80/10/10  plan, a person who eats 2,000 calories a day would shoot for approximately 1,600 of those calor ies to
come from carbohydrates, 200 from protein, and 200 from fat. Naturally, not all source s of these nutrients are the same, and I have
devoted much of this book to discussing just what forms those caloronutrient s should take for best results.
After two decades of research, coaching amateur and professional athle tes, and assisting health seekers worldwide, I have
come to believe that 80/10/10  is the overall target for long-term health and dietary success. Whe n we consume our food in this
proportion—the one for which our species was designed—we enjoy glowi ng health, superb energy, and ideal body weight,
effortlessly.
Sometimes in my lectures, I simplify this formula even further, re ferring to it in shorthand form as 811 —as in “Dial 811  for the
healthiest, trimmest you!” This short form is commonly used in conver sation, e-mail, and my online discussion group, as you will
notice in the testimonials in Appendix C.

80/10/10 for Longevity
Eating foods of low caloric density, such as fruits and vegetables, has bee n cited as a probable method of extending longevity.
Experts in the field of human longevity have long held that refraini ng from overeating is the surest method of extending the lifespan, as
it most effectively reduces the likelihood of obesity. Obese people live shor ter lives, on average.
One very healthful method of not overeating is to increase caloric dem and by raising activity levels while eating primarily fruits
and vegetables, foods that are relatively low in calories per bite.

Long-Lived Cultures Eat High Carbs, Low Fat
In John Robbins’ new book, Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the W orld’ s Healthiest and Longest-
Lived Peoples, he describes the lifestyles and eating patterns of the long-lived cu ltures of Abkhasia (Russia), Vilcabamba
(Ecuador), and Hunza (Pakistan). This table is taken from Robbins’ book:

The Abkhasians, Vilcabambans, and Hunzakuts have traditionally consu med high carbohydrates and little fat mostly out of
necessity, eating strictly from the foods that have been available t o them. They have done so naturally, without any science to guide
them and without options for choosing or adjusting their caloronutrient r atio.

The Ratio for Humans … By Design
People ask me how the 80/10/10  diet can apply equally well to people of all ages, sizes, activity le vels, etc. “Aren’t we all
individuals, with different nutritional requirements and differen t bodily makeups?” they ask.
Despite all the hype about metabolic typing, I do not believe this ratio vari es to any appreciable degree on the basis of our
individual needs. (See the FAQ entitled “What about individual differ ences?” on page 235.)
Like high-performance race cars, the human


 fear they need more calcium to avoidosteoporosis and to give their children good teeth. What pasteurized milk actuallydoes to their children is make them calcium deficient and makes the children toxic,provoking many colds, ear infections, sinusitis, inflammations of the tonsils andlung infections, and, induces an allergy to milk in the children.
The Development Of Allergies
There are three ways a body can become allergic. (1) It can have a genetic
predisposition for a specific allergy to start with. (2) It can be repeatedly exposedto an irritating substance such as pollen when, at the same time, the body’smechanism for dealing with irritations is weakened. Generally weak adrenalscauses this because the adrenal’s job is to produce hormones that reduceinflammation. Once the irritating substance succeeds at producing a significantinflammation, a secondary reaction may be set up, called an allergy. Onceestablished, an allergy is very hard to get rid of.
(3) An allergy can develop in a way very similar to the second case, but
instead of being irritated by an external substance, it is irritated by repeatedlyfailing to properly, fully digest something. Pasteurized milk for example, basicallyimpossible to completely digest even in its low-fat form, often sets up an allergythat applies to other forms of cows milk, even raw, unpasteurized cows milk or
yogurt. Eating too much white flour can eventually set off a wheat allergy. My
husband developed a severe allergy to barley after drinking too much home-brewed beer; he also became highly intolerant to alcohol. Now he has allergicreactions to both alcohol and barley. And gets far sicker from drinking beer (twoseparate allergies) than from wheat beer, hard liquor or wine (only one allergy).
Eating too much of any single food, or repeatedly eating too much of an
otherwise very good food at one time, can eventually overwhelm the body’sability to digest it fully. Then, the finest whole food products may set up an allergicreaction. Worse, this allergic reaction itself subsequently prevents proper digestioneven when only moderate quantities are eaten.
An allergy may not be recognized as an allergy because it may not manifest as
the instant skin rash or stuffy nose or swollen glands or sticky eyes. that peopleusually think of when they think “allergic reaction.” Food allergies can cause manykinds of symptoms, from sinusitis to psychosis, from asthma to arthritis, fromhyperactivity to depression, insomnia to narcolepsy—and commonly thesymptoms don’t manifest immediately after eating. Frequently, allergic reactions
are so low grade as to be unnoticeable and may not produce an observablecondition until many years of their grinding down the vital force has passed. Whenthe condition finally appears it is hard to associate it with some food that has beenconsumed for years, apparently with impunity.
Thus it is that many North Americans have developed allergies to wheat, dairy,
soy products (because many soy foods are very hard to digest), corn and eggs.These are such common, widespread, frequently found allergies that anyoneconsidering a dietary cause of their complaints might just cut all these foods out ofthe diet for a few weeks just to see what happens. And individuals may be allergicto anything from broccoli to bacon, strawberries to bean sprouts. Unraveling foodallergies sometimes requires the deductions of a Sherlock Holmes.
However, food allergies are very easy to cure if you can get the suffererer to
take the medicine. Inevitably, allergic reactions vanish in about five days of
abstinence. Anyone with sufficient self-discipline to water fast for five days can
cure themselves of all food allergies at one step. Then, by a controlled, gradualreintroduction of foods, they can discover which individual items cause trouble.See Coca’s Pulse Test in the Appendix where you’ll find step-by-step instructionsfor allergy testing that are less rigorous, not requiring a preliminary fast.
Flour, And Other Matters Relating To Seeds
One of the largest degradations to human health was caused by the roller mill.
This apparently profitable machine permitted the miller to efficiently separatewheat flour into three components: bran, germ and endosperm. Since bread madewithout bran and germ is lighter and appears more “upper class” it becameinstantly popular. Flour without germ and bran also had an industrial application—it could be stored virtually forever without being infested by insects because whiteflour does not contain enough nutrition to support life. Most health consciouspeople are aware that white flour products won’t support healthful human lifeeither.
Essentially, white flour’s effect on humans is another demonstration of Health =
Nutrition / Calories. When the bran and germ are discarded, remaining are thecalories and much of the protein, lacking are many vitamins and minerals andother vital nutritional substances.
Whole wheat bread has been called the staff of life. In ages past, healthy
cultures have made bread the predominant staple in their diet. Does that meanyou can just go to the bakery and buy whole grain bread, or go to the healthfoodstore and buy organically grown whole wheat flour, bake your own, and be ashealthy as the ancients? Sorry, the answer is almost certainly no. There are pitfalls,many of them, waiting for the unwary.
White flour has one other advantage over whole wheat flour. It not only
remains free of insect infestation, it doesn’t become stale (meaning rancid). In thewheat germ (where the embryo resides) there is considerable oil, containing
among other things, about the best natural source of vitamin E. This oil is highly
unsaturated and once the seed is ground the oil goes rancid in a matter of days.Whole wheat flour kept on the unrefrigerated shelf of the store is almost certainlyrancid. A lot of its other vitamin content has been oxidized too. If the wheat flourhad flowed directly from the grinder into an airtight sack and from there directly tothe freezer, if it had been flash frozen and kept extremely cold, it might have astorage life of some months. Of course that was not the case. Maybe you’relucky and your healthfood store is one of the very few that has its own small-scaleflour mill and grinds daily. Probably not.
How about your baker’s whole wheat bread? Where does the baker get
flour? From the wholesaler’s or distributor’s warehouse! In fifty pound kraftpapersacks! How much time had elapsed from milling to wholesaler to baker tobaking? The answer has to be in the order of magnitude of weeks. And it mightbe months. Was the flour stored frozen? Or airtight? Of course not.
If you want bread made from freshly ground flour you are almost certainly
have to grind and bake it yourself. Is it worth the trouble? You bet. Once you’vetasted real bread you’ll instantly see by comparison what stale, rancid wholewheat flour tastes like. Freshly ground flour makes bread that can be the staff oflife and can enormously upgrade your health— if the wheat you use is any good.
But before we talk about wheat quality, a more few words of warning. If you
think wheat goes rancid rapidly, rye is even worse. Rye flour goes bad so fast thatwhen you buy it in the store it usually is the rye equivalent of white wheat flour.The germ has been removed. The bag may not say so. But it probably has. If youare going to make rye breads, even more reason to grind your own. Corn mealfrom the grocery store has usually been degerminated too. If it hasn’t been, the oilin the seed’s germ has probably gone rancid.
Grinding flour at home is easy these days. There is an abundance of at-home
milling products and no shortage of hype about them. You’ll find staunchadvocates of stone mills. These produce the finest-textured flour, but are costly.
The sales pitch is that stones grind at low temperature and do not damage the oils
(remember the development of rancidity is a function of temperature) or thevitamins, which are also destroyed at high temperature. This assertion is half true.If you are going to store your flour it is far better to grind it cool. However, if youare, as we do, going to immediately bake your flour, what difference does it makeif it gets a little warm before baking. That only accelerates the action of the yeast.
On the negative side, stone mills grind slowly and are very fussy about which
grains they will grind. If the cereal is a bit moist or if the seed being ground is alittle bit oily, the mill becomes instantly blocked.
Steel burr mills grind fast and coarsely and are inexpensivebut coarse flour
makes heavy bread. The metal grinding faces tend to wear out and have to bereplaced occasionally—if they can be replaced. Breads on the heavy side are stilldelicious; for many years I made bread with an inexpensive steel burr millattachment that came with my juicer.
Some steel burr mills will also grind oily seed like sesame and sunflower.
However, oily seeds can be ground far more easily half-a-cup at a time in a littleinexpensive electric spice/coffee mill, the sort with a single fast-spinning propeller.
I currently think the best compromise are hammermills. The grain dribbles into
a chamber full of fast-spinning teeth that literally pound the grain into powder.Since air flows through with the grain the flour is not heated very much. This typeof mill is small, very fast, intermediate in price between steel mills and stone mill,lasts a long time, but when grinding, sounds like a Boeing 747 about to take off. Itis essential to wear hearing protectors when using it.
Awareness of


 spool of number 40 or 50 thread, you would bring her back a thread one fiftieth of an inch in diameter. If you don't believe numbers talk ju st look at your bank statement the
first of the month. Sometimes they even scream at you!) This is the re-sult of cause and effect, the loss or gain of energy.
The doctors laughed at me for suggesting a heart attack. They ran a test and found that she had had a heart attack, and that
there was slight heart damage. I said, "You know what to do, and in the meantime I am going to suggest something for the hives. Put her on the lemon and water according to the weight, every hour, and water every half hour for ten hours a day. Also, give her asparagus twice a day, with some bread, and for the dinner meal only raw, leafy salads. I will be in to see her with you on M onday, and I think she will be able
to go home."
I was in on Monday and went to see her with the doctors. She was feeling fine and all hives were gone. We gave her a diet
to follow. She got along beautifully. This is an example of cause and effect.   91 CHAPTER 12
TESTING PROCEDURES

One thing about the Reams Biological Theory of Ionization tests
is that they are done so quickly, in less than 30 minutes.
When tests are made no case histories are required and no one has
to be undressed. No questions are asked other than identification, name, address and telephone number for the purpose of getting in touch with the person as needed.
We do look at the eyes to know whether or not the body chemistry
is cooperating, or not cooperating. In each eye, if the blood vessels were stretched out end to end, we are told there would be approxi-mately 80 miles of blood vessels. In the sclera of the eye there are two groups of blood vessels. One running horizontal and one running per-pendicular (upright). The perpendicular blood vessels indicates loss of delta cells that are not being washed out of the system from above the diaphragm and upper extremities. The horizontal blood vessel indi-cates that the loss of cells is below the diaphragm and the lower ex-tremities of the body. The delta cells that are not being washed out of the system will eventually turn to urea and are indicating that a heart attack will be in three hours, days, or years, regardless if in the hori-zontal or perpendicular blood vessel eye dilation, unless something is done.
The sclera of each eye is divided into 60 parts, a total of 120 divi-
sions for both eyes. By writing down the eye numbers of the sclera when it is checked off on our little checkerboard scale form, then the greater the amount of numbers or lit tle boxes we have in the eye that
has dilated blood vessels the greater the number the delta cells, or even omega cells, that should be thrown out of the body.
These blood vessels are so delicate until they are very easily
stretched or expanded, and can also denote a vitamin C deficiency
in the body. This is as much as the eye test tells us. There are certain body conditions in which the body chemistry
cannot accept vitamin C. Vitamin C is the element that knits the cells 92 together. When women are pregnant and have a vitamin C deficiency
they have stretch marks in their skin. Men with vitamin C deficiency
may also have stretch marks. Stretch marks is always a sign of vitamin C deficiency. The RBTI testers do not have to examine a person to know whether or not there are stretch marks. Not the eye numbers, but the lab numbers tell whether or not there is a vitamin C deficiency.
Everyone who has a body chemistry with 4.5 milligrams of vita-
min C per gram of blood has no type of disease. Vitamin C is the po-lice department that keeps the diseases out of the system.
There is a theory that vitamin C cannot be stored. It can be and is
stored in the system!
One of the early signs of a vitamin C deficiency is a cold. A runny
nose or sore throat is a very early sign of a cold. Also, swollen tonsils is a sign of vitamin C deficiency. Swollen tonsils are also a sign that
the person is not drinking enough pure (distilled)
water. I've never seen a case of tonsillitis, regardless of how badly
the tonsils were swollen, that couldn't be brought down normally with-in a week with drinking the proper amount of distilled water systemat-ically, plus taking vitamin C as soon as the body chemistry (pH above 6.40) was ready to accept vitamin C.
The taking of vitamin C does not mean that the body assimilates it
at all. You may take vitamin C by the pound and the body not accept one milligram. One milligram is one thousandth of one gram, and it takes 28.4 grams to equal one o unce (1 ounce = 16 ounces = 1 pound).
So you see that one milligram is a very, very small amount. Vitamin C
has a low pH and if your body chemistry has a low pH it rejects vita-min C. There is one exception, when a cation is added to a cation, it will give off enough vitamin C energy to supply the required amount needed.
We can connect the deficiency in vitamin C to a direct cause of
lack of calciums in the system. The vitamin C is deficient because of the lack of enough varieties of calciu ms in the system, plus the oxygen
that we breathe, plus enough iron and iodine for the liver to function normally. So when we begin to study body chemistry we are going to run into chain reactions. One body action has a reaction upon another 93 body action, and each time there is a reaction then our reserve energy
level changes. Most medical doctors cannot find anything wrong with
our bodies until the reserve energy drops below 30, sometimes to even 25, and less.
Whenever the principles of the RBTI are put into practice, all
stretch marks can be eliminated in the skin. All cavities in the teeth
can be stopped. All heart attacks can be predicted in a matter of minutes, to months, and even completely prevented.
Angina heart attack is not caused by cholesterol (a fatty sub-
stance). Cholesterol is the final effect that brought about the heart at-tack. The angina heart attack was brought about because of cholester-ol, but the cholesterol formed in the blood vessels and in the veins and arteries because the body retained too much salt, causing the vessels to lose their ability to expand and contr act so nature puts grease or oil in
the blood vessels so that the blood can get away from the heart and back to the heart. Otherwise the person would die much sooner if the blood vessels dilated and the cholesterol did not form in the blood vessels. However, it is possible for enough cholesterol to form in the blood vessels, but a piece of this cholesterol can turn loose and plug up the heart, causing it to go into a spasm and cause a fatal heart at-
tack, or damage to the heart. It ma y take years for the heart to repair
itself unless steps are taken to supply the proper mineral needed to ef-fect the healing.
When the doctor tells you that once a heart is damaged by a heart
attack that it will not repair itself, he means that no drug will repair it. But diet will repair a heart that has been damaged by a cholesterol heart attack, or a pectoris heart att ack if the body responds to a tailor-
made diet. A pectoris heart attack is brought about because the system has not thrown out the delta cells, and the salt in the blood has broken the cell down to a urea.
Urea is in two forms-NITRATE NITROGEN and AMMONICAL
NITROGEN.
These two nitrogens cause the heart to beat too hard. Not any fast-
er, but much harder. When this reading of the urea (the last numbers in the equation) gets to 18 to 20, or 23, the person is very, very tired 94 all the time because the heart is beating much too hard, causing the en-
tire body to be tired. This is a very common occurrence with women
because they use seven times more calciums a day than a man. Since the need for calciums is so much greater in females the weaknesses are magnified much more than in the male.
The lack of calciums causes the urea to rise higher and higher. If
this urea rises above 24 to 27, this person is in the zone for a major heart attack. Above 27 anyone would be in the zone for a fatal heart attack, if it was a first reading. It s houldn't be that high even in a sec-
ond reading.
Heart attacks, both angina and pectoris, can be blotted out within
30 days in the United States in a patient any time the people demand it. The quicker they demand it, the easier it will be.
Another thing that causes heart problems is acute indigestion. Fifty years ago a cute indigestion was a very common disease. It generally could be cured in 30 minutes. But today there is no
money in acute indigestion so everybody has "heart attacks” and it takes two or three weeks to get well, even though it is acute indiges-tion. It is very easy to tell if it is acute indigestion, or a heart attack


 the half of it.
That would be hell.
Exactly. Yet you are not condemned to it.
You are not relegated to it forevermore. All
that it takes to get out of hell —to get out of
not knowing —is to know again.
There are many ways a nd many places
(dimensions) in which you can do this.
You are in one of those dimensions now. It
is called, in your understanding, the third
dimension.
And there are many more?  Have I not told you that in My Kingdom
there are many mansions? I would not
have told it to you were it not so.
Then there is no hell —not really. I mean,
there is no place or dimension to which we
are everlastingly condemned!
What would be the purpose of that?
Yet you are always limited by your
knowingness —for you —we—are a self-
created  being.
You cannot be what you do not know your
Self to be.
That is why you have been given this life —
so that you might know yourself in your  own
experience. Then you can conceive of
yourself as Who You Really Are, and  create
yourself as that i n your experience —and
the circle is again complete...only  bigger.  And so, you are in the process of growing —
or, as I have put it throughout this book,  of
becoming.
There is no limit to what you can become.
You mean, I can even become —dare I say
it?—a God...just like You?
What do you think?
I don’t know.
Until you do, you cannot. Remember the
triangle —the Holy Trinity: spirit - mind -body.
Conceive -create -experience. Remember,
using your symbology:
HOLY SPIRIT = INSPIRATION =
CONCEIVE
FATHER = PARENTING = CREA TE SON =
OFFSPRING = EXPERIENCE  The Son experiences the creation of the
fathering thought, which is conceived of by
the Holy Ghost.
Can you conceive of yourself as one day
being a God?
In my wildest moments.
Good, for I tell you this: You are already a
God. You simply do not know it.
Have I not said, “Ye are Gods”?
  Chapter 14
There now. I have explained it all for you.
Life. How it works. Its very reason and
purpose. How else can I serve you?
There’s nothing more I could ask. I am filled
with thanks for this incredible dialogue. It’s
been so far -reaching, so encompassing.
And, as I look at my original questions, I
see we’ve covered the first five —having to
do with life and relationships, money and
careers, and health. I had more questions
on that orig inal list, as you know, but
somehow these discussions make those
questions seem irrelevant.
Yes. Still, you’ve asked them. Let’s just
quickly answer the remainder of them, one
by one. Now that we’re moving this rapidly
through the material — —What material? —
The material I brought you here to expose
you to —now that we’re moving this  rapidly
though the material, let’s just take those
remaining questions and deal with  them
quickly.
6. What is the karmic lesson I’m supposed
to be learning here? What am  I trying to
master?
You are learning nothing here. You have
nothing to learn. You have only to
remember. That is, re -member Me.
What are you trying to master? You are
trying to master mastering itself.
7. Is there such a thing as reincarnation?
How many p ast lives have I had? What was
I in them? Is “karmic debt” a reality?  It is difficult to believe there is still a
question about this. I find it hard to imagine.
There have been so many reports from
thoroughly reliable sources of past life
experiences. Som e of these people have
brought back strikingly detailed
descriptions of events, and such
completely verifiable data as to eliminate
any possibility that they were making it up
or had contrived to somehow deceive
researchers and loved ones.
You have had 647  past lives, since you
insist on being exact. This is your 648th.
You were everything in them. A king, a
queen, a serf. A teacher, a student, a
master. A male, a female. A warrior, a
pacifist. A hero, a coward. A killer, a savior.
A sage, a fool. You have been all of it!  No, there is no such thing as karmic debt —
not in the sense that you mean in this
question. A debt is something that must or
should be repaid.
You are not obligated to do anything.
Still, there are certain things that you want
to do; choose to experience. And some of
these choices hinge on —the desire for
them has been created by —what you have
experienced before.
That is as close as words can come to this
thing you call karma.
If karma is the innate desire to be better, to
be bigger, to evolve  and to grow, and to
look at past events and experiences as a
measure of that, then, yes, karma does
exist.  But it does not require anything. Nothing is
ever required. You are, as always you  have
ever been, a being of free choice.
8. I sometimes feel very psychic. Is there
such a thing as being psychic? Am I that?
Are people who claim to be psychic
“trafficking with the devil”?
Yes, there is such a thing as being psychic.
You are that. Everyone is that. There is  not
a person who does not have what you call
psychic ability, there are only people  who
do not use it.
Using psychic ability is nothing more than
using your sixth sense.
Obviously, this is not “trafficking with the
devil,” or I would not have given this sense
to you. And, of course, there is no devil  with
whom to traffic. Someday —perhaps in  Book Two —I’ll explain to you exactly how
psychic energy and psychic ability works.
There is going to be a Book Two?
Yes. But let’s finish this one first.
9. Is it okay to take money for doing good?
If I choose to d o healing work in the world —
God’s work —can I do that and become
financially abundant, too? Or are the two
mutually exclusive?
I’ve already covered this.
10. Is sex okay? C’mon —what is the real
story behind this human experience? Is sex
purely for procreati on, as some religions
say? Is true holiness and enlightenment
achieved through denial —or
transmutation —of the sexual energy? Is it
okay to have sex without love? Is just the physical sensation of it okay enough as a
reason?
Of course sex is “okay.” Again, if I didn’t
want you to play certain games, I wouldn’t
have given you the toys. Do you give your
children things you don’t want them to  play
with?
Play with sex. Play with it! It’s wonderful
fun. Why, it’s just about the most fun you
can have with your body, if you’re talking of
strictly physical experiences alone.
But for goodness sake, don’t destroy
sexual innocence and pleasure and the
purity  of the fun, the joy, by misusing sex.
Don’t use it for power, or hidden purpose;
for ego gratification or domi nation; for any
purpose other than the purest joy and the
highest ecstasy, given and shared —which is love, and love recreated —which is new
life! Have I not chosen a delicious way to
make more of you?
With regard to denial, I have dealt with that
before. No thing holy has ever been
achieved through denial. Yet desires
change as even larger realities are
glimpsed. It  is not unusual, therefore, for
people to simply desire less, or even no,
sexual activity —or, for that matter, any of a
number of activities of th e body. For some,
the activities of the soul become
foremost —and by far the more
pleasurable.
Each to his own, without judgment —that is
the motto.  The end of your question is answered this
way: You don’t need to have a reason for
anything. Just be cause.
Be the cause of your experience.
Remember, experience produces concept
of Self, conception produces creation,
creation produces experience.
You want to experience yourself as a
person who has sex without love?
Go ahead! You’ll do that until you don’ t
want to anymore. And the only thing that
will—that could ever —cause you to stop
this, or any, behavior, is your newly
emerging  thought about Who You Are.
It’s as simple —and as complex —as that.
11. Why did You make sex so good, so
spectacular, so powerful  a human


 the clearance of TMP from serum and increased TMP serum concentration, a finding that had no immediate explanation.
27
These findings add to the unsettled controversy of how and what molecules
DMSO is able to help penetrate the blood–brain barrier. However, it is clear that penetration of DMSO itself through the intact blood–brain barrier occurs and has been shown to use magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
28
DMSO has been shown to enhance the killing activity of certain bactericidal such
as peroxynitrite, whereas other hydroxyl radical scavengers cannot. Macrophages and other cells able to produce nitric oxide can generate the formation of peroxyni -
trite, a strong and versatile oxidant and the reaction product of nitric oxide and 105 DMSO in Basic Microbiology
superoxide, which are not strong oxidants themselves.29 Peroxynitrite is highly bac -
tericidal, killing E. coli  in direct proportion to its concentration.30 Three hydroxyl
radical scavengers mannitol, ethanol, and benzoate did not significantly affect the
killing potential of peroxynitrite on E. coli  cultures, but 100 mM DMSO did enhance
peroxynitrite-mediated killing. DMSO is a more efficient hydroxyl radical scavenger than the other three scavengers and increases the formation of nitrogen dioxide to enhance the killing power of peroxynitrite.
30
Helicobacter pylori  is a spiral, intragastric bacterium that can be found in at least
a third to half of people worldwide, most of whom have no symptoms. The frequency of H. pylori  infection varies from country to country with 70%–90% of adults har -
boring the microbe in underdeveloped countries to about 50% in the United States found carrying the bacterium in 60-year-olds.
31
H. pylori  can help the human body by helping to regulate the level of stomach acid
secreted, and as it does, it creates a beneficial environment both for itself and its host. When this regulation of acid secretion is disturbed, a series of molecular changes in the stomach can occur where H. pylori  strains become harmful to its host.
When that happens, the dark side of H. pylori  is revealed as the causative organ -
ism in peptic ulcer disease and chronic gastritis. The H. pylori  pathogenic strain is
also linked to the development of duodenal ulcers and distal stomach adenocarci -
noma. The discovery of H. pylori  as the cause of peptic ulcer disease came about
after Freedberg and Baron
32 found in 1940 spirochetes in about 40% of gastric biop -
sies. Even thought there were sporadic reports occasionally appearing in the medical literature about the association of H. pylori  and peptic ulcers, the great majority of
gastroenterologists believed that these ulcers arose principally from lifestyle factors or from physical and emotional stress due to acid secretion. The fact that H. pylori
was capable of living in the acidic environment of the stomach was a major reason for most gastroenterologists to dismiss its potential pathogenicity because no one could envision how a bacterium could survive for long in such an environment.
Until 1984, anyone training in medicine was taught the axiomatic golden rule,
“no acid, no ulcer,” the intention being that peptic ulcers can occur only when the stomach secretes acid.
33 This long-standing and erroneous principle supported by no
solid evidence of any kind became an unchallenged medical dictum in the teaching and management of gastric ulcers. The “no acid, no ulcer” rule also led to a finan-cial boom for many pharmaceuticals that manufactured a hodgepodge of antacids. However, in 1983, a year before the continued pursuit of antacids for the treatment of ulcer disease, two Australian physicians, Robin Warren and Barry Marshall,
34 boldly
and correctly identified and later successfully treated peptic and duodenal ulcers with antibiotics despite violent opposition by the medical establishment at the time. Their work not only cured a serious gastroduodenal disorder that afflicted millions of
patients worldwide but also prevented a highly lethal cancer of the  s tomach. Marshall
and Warren shared the Nobel Prize in 2005. The Warren–Marshall  d iscovery has
generated over 50,000 scientific publications to this date and has resulted in a signifi -
cant decline of gastroduodenal ulcers in most Western countries.35
H. pylori is presently treated with a triple therapy consisting of two antibiotics,
clarithromycin and amoxicillin, and a proton-pump inhibitor omeprazole.36 This
regimen has considerable side effects. Moreover, the increase in antibiotic resistance 106 Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) in Trauma and Disease
by this bacterium has led to the search for new therapeutic strategies, including anti-
inflammatory agents and hydroxyl radical scavengers.
Searching for other options to treat H. pylori, an in vitro  study removed H. pylori
strains  isolated from antral biopsy specimens and cultured these pathogens on sheep
blood agar.37 An agar diffusion test was used to screen the antibacterial effect of 10%
DMSO and 1% allopurinol. It was found that therapeutically administered concen -
trations of DMSO and allopurinol had no growth-inhibiting effect on H. pylori in
vitro.37 No zones of inhibition were produced by either drug.37 This study concluded
that neither DMSO nor allopurinol at the doses used is suitable for H. pylori eradica -
tion treatment. A cautionary note was added to these negative findings by pointing out the limits of in vitro  testing since it could not be ruled out that DMSO may work
to interfere with adherence factors of H. pylori and, in this way, block this microbe
from recolonization of the gastroduodenal epithelium and prevent duodenal ulcer relapse.
37
The role of oxyradicals in the process of acute and chronic duodenal ulceration
in the rat was examined by administering allopurinol and DMSO by gavage. To produce chronic duodenal ulceration, all rats received intramuscular reserpine injec -
tions (0.1 mg/kg) every day for 6 weeks. Pretreatment was given with dose-dependent DMSO and allopurinol. At least 70% of rats were protected against ulceration with 5% or 10% solutions of DMSO, and similar concentrations of allopurinol protected
all  a nimals. Neither agent was seen to protect rats from influencing the hyperchlor -
hydria.38 These findings appeared to indicate that oxygen-derived free radicals
played an important role in the formation and development of gastric ulcers and led to translationally examine DMSO and allopurinol in a clinical setting in patients diagnosed with H. pylori.
38
In a randomized, controlled clinical study on 146 patients, cimetidine, placebo,
and the free radical scavengers allopurinol and DMSO were tested to see their effects on H. pylori  duodenal ulcer relapse, which is believed to be mediated by oxygen-
derived free radicals.
38 DMSO was given orally at doses of 500 mg four times daily,
allopurinol at 50 mg four times a day, and cimetidine 400 mg at bedtime to patients who had shown endoscopic healing from gastric mucosal infection with H. pylori.
38
Treatment of these agents continued for 1 year. During the follow-up endoscopy at 6 and 12 months, the cumulative relapse at 1 year was placebo 47%, cimetidine 24%, allopurinol 6%, and DMSO 6%. In the patients who relapsed, ulcer recurrence tended to occur early in those patients taking a placebo or cimetidine, while ulcer relapse tended to be evenly distributed over the year for the patients treated with DMSO or allopurinol. The conclusions from this study suggest that oxygen-derived free radicals are involved in the relapse of duodenal ulceration in patients infected with H. pylori.
38
P. aeruginosa  is a common opportunistic pathogen of humans, animals, and
plants. This bacterium can colonize the respiratory tract in hospital-acquired infec -
tions particularly in immunocompromised or mechanically ventilated people.39
Because it thrives on most surfaces, this P. aeruginosa  can colonize medical
equipment, including in-dwelling catheters, causing cross-infections in hospitals and clinics. It has been shown that several P. aeruginosa  virulence factors, both
cell-associated and extracellular products, are potent inducers of proinflammatory 107 DMSO in Basic Microbiology
mediators, such as the interleukins, a large group of cytokines mainly produced
by PMNs and leukocytes during inflammation. In particular, interleukin-8 (IL-8) overexpression has been shown to induce ulcer formation in the cornea through neu -
trophil recruitment.
40 Interleukin-8 is often associated with inflammation. IL-8, also
known as neutrophil chemotactic factor, has two primary functions. It induces che -
motaxis in target cells, primarily neutrophils but also other granulocytes, causing them to migrate toward the site of infection,


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298–299. Do not exceed any dosages recommended. Always consult a professional practitioner if
symptoms persist. If taking prescribed medicines, seek professional medical advice before using herbal
remedies. T ake care to correctly identify plants and do not harvest restricted or banned species. So far as the
author is aware, the information given is correct and up to date as of July 2016. Practice, laws, and regulations
all change, and the reader should obtain up-to-date professional advice on any such issues. In addition, this
book contains general information on growing cannabis, which is a controlled substance in North America
and throughout much of the world. As the use and cultivation of cannabis and its derivative products can
carry heavy penalties, you should research your local laws before using the information in this book. The
author and the publisher expressly disclaim any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred
as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.
Third American Edition, 2016
First American Edition, 1996
This edition published in the United States in 2016 by
DK Publishing, 345 Hudson Street, New Y ork, New Y ork 10014
Copyright © 1996, 2001, 2016 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Text copyright © 1996, 2001, 2016 Andrew Chevallier
DK, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC
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US_004-005_Imprint_Contents.indd   4 26/02/16   4:42 pmContents
Introduction
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERBAL MEDICINE
How Medicinal Plants Work
Active Constituents
Quality Control
Early Origins to the 19th Century
20th Century Onward
Herbal Traditions of the World
Europe
India and the Middle East
China, Japan, and Southeast Asia
Africa
Australia and New Zealand
North America
South America
KEY MEDICINAL PLANTS
A visual guide to 1 00 key herbs from around the world with
details of their habitat, constituents, actions, traditional
and current uses, and information on the latest research.
Also included are key preparations and practical self-help uses.
OTHER MEDICINAL PLANTS
450 other herbs from different herbal traditions with descriptions
of their therapeutic properties and past and present uses.
HERBAL REMEDIES FOR HOME USE
Growing Medicinal Plants
Harvesting & Processing
Making Herbal Remedies
Using Herbal Remedies Safely
Remedies for Common Ailments
Consulting an Herbal Practitioner
Glossary
Bibliography
General Index
Index of Herbs by Ailment
Useful Addresses & Acknowledgments6
8
10
14
17
18
28
32
32
36
40
44
46
48
52
54
156
284
286
288
290
298
299
320
321
322
323
332
336
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6Introduction
In the twenty years since the first edition of this encyclopedia in 1996, herbal medicine
has gone through unprecedented change. Herbs, which have always been the principal form
of medicine in developing countries, have again become popular in the developed world,  as people strive to stay healthy in the face of chronic stress and pollution, and to treat illness with medicines that work in concert with the body’s defenses. A quiet revolution has been taking place. Tens of millions of people now take herbs such as ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba, p. 100)
to help maintain mental and physical health, and increasingly people consult trained herbal professionals and naturopaths for chronic or routine health problems. Increasingly too, scientific evidence is accumulating to show that herbal medicines can provide treatment that  is as effective as conventional medicines but with few side effects. Sales of herbal medicines continue to grow year after year—by over 50 percent in the U.S. since 2000—and several mainstream pharmaceutical companies now manufacture and market herbal medicines.
Plant Medicines
The variety and sheer number of plants with therapeutic properties are quite astonishing. Some 50,000 to 70,000 plant species, from lichens to towering trees, have been used at
one time or another for medicinal purposes. Today, Western herbal medicine still makes use
of hundreds of native European plants, as well as many hundreds of species from other continents. In Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine) about 2,000 plant species are considered to have medicinal value, while the Chinese Pharmacopoeia lists over 5,700 traditional medicines, mostly of plant origin.
 About 500 herbs are still employed within conventional medicine, although whole plants are
rarely used. In general, the herbs provide the starting material for the isolation or synthesis
of conventional drugs. Digoxin, for example, which is used for heart failure, was isolated from common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea, p. 202), and the contraceptive pill was synthesized from constituents found in wild yam ( Dioscorea villosa, p. 91).
Ecological Factors
The increased use of medicinal herbs has important environmental implications. Growing
herbs as an organic crop offers new opportunities for farmers, and sometimes, especially
in developing countries, opportunities for whole communities. In northeastern Brazil,  for example, community-run herb gardens grow medicinal herbs that are sold to local hospitals. Doctors at the hospital then prescribe these medicines for their patients. The rise in popularity of herbal medicines, however, also directly threatens the survival  of some wild species. Demand for goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis, p. 105) has become so  great that it now fetches around $140 a pound (£170 a kilo). It was a common plant in the woodlands of northern America two centuries ago, but is now an endangered species, with its survival in the wild threatened by overcollection. This example is by no means unique, and, sadly, many species are similarly threatened across the planet. The extinction of plant species as a result of over-intensive collecting is nothing new. The herb silphion, a member  of the carrot family, was used extensively as a contraceptive by the women of ancient Rome.
US_006-007_Introduction.indd   6 26/02/16   4:42 pm7Silphion proved difficult to cultivate and was gathered from the wild in such large quantities
that it became extinct during the 3rd century ce.
 Today, if herbal medicine continues to grow at its present rate, it is imperative that
manufacturers, suppliers, practitioners, and the public use only produce that has been
cultivated or wildcrafted in an ecologically sensitive manner.
About This Book
In the past, books on herbal medicine have tended to focus either on the traditional and
folkloric use of plants or on their active constituents and pharmacology. The Encyclopedia
of Herbal Medicine, which features over 550 plants, aims to cover both aspects. It discusses
each plant’s history, traditions, and folklore, and explains in simple terms what is known from
scientific research about its active constituents, actions, and potential new uses.
 It is easy when concentrating on the scientific aspect of herbal medicine to forget that
much, in some cases all, that we currently know about a particular plant results from its
traditional use. Moreover, even when a plant has been well researched, herbal medicines are
so complex and variable that what is currently known is rarely definitive, but rather a sound
pointer as to how it works. Sometimes the traditional use, insofar as it is based on the
experience of practitioners, provides an insight into how best to use an herb that is missing
from scientific knowledge alone. Herbal medicine is, after all, both a science and an art.
 In choosing the plants profiled in the Encyclopedia, the aim has been to select herbs that are
commonly used in different parts of the world and are considered to have particular health


 it is now common.chronic disease. For example, noni leaves are used
to treat boils and stomach ulcers and, chewed,
are applied as a poultice to relieve inflammation.
In Hawaii, traditional healers have long used noni in
order to promote recovery from bouts of
serious illness.
Medicinal Actions & Uses  Since the late
1990s, word of noni’s reputed medicinal benefits
has spread and noni is being presented as a
medicinal food with an astonishing variety of
potential uses. These include treating obesity,
diabetes, cancer, pain, lowered immunity, high blood
pressure, heart disease, and depression. With lists
like this, many people are justifiably skeptical about
noni’s value as a medicinal food. Nonetheless, noni
fruit and juice is highly unlikely to do harm and may
well prove useful in treating chronic illness, including
pain, inflammatory disorders, heart and circulatory
problems, and cancer. Traditionally, juice from
the fruit is used as a mouthwash and gargle for
infections in the mouth and throat. Noni juice is
probably best drunk on an empty stomach.
Research  The limited research into noni suggests
that it may support immune function and be useful
in treating chronic inflammation. A 2012 review
of noni research concluded that the fruit “may
have a small degree of anticancer activity.” One
theory advanced is that noni contains appreciable
levels of proxeronine, which the body needs to
produce xeronine. This alkaloid appears to enable
cells throughout the body to counter inflammation,
promote healing, and support cellular regulation. In
times of stress or infection, the body’s need for
xeronine increases, and many people are thought
to lack sufficient proxeronine to maintain adequate
xeronine levels.and premature ejaculation in men, and is
taken by both sexes to aid fertility. Morinda is
employed in various other conditions, notably
in the treatment of menstrual disorders.
Researchers are investigating the root for its
potential to prevent bone loss and help in
treating osteoporosis.
Morus alba (Moraceae)
White Mulberry,
Sang Y e (Chinese)
Description  Deciduous tree growing to about
49 ft (15 m). Has toothed leaves, flowers in catkins,
and white berries.
Habitat & Cultivation  White mulberry
is native to China. It is grown worldwide as a
garden ornamental. The leaves are gathered in
late autumn, the twigs in early summer, and the
berries when ripe in summer. The root is dug up
in winter.
Parts Used  Leaves, twigs, fruit, root bark.
Constituents  The leaves contain flavonoids,
anthocyanins, and artocapin. The flavonoids are
antioxidant. The fruit contains the vitamins A, B1,
B2, and C.Miner’s lettuce  may have
been spread around the
world by itinerant miners.
Medicinal Actions & Uses
Apart from its value as a vegetable,
miner’s lettuce, like its relative purslane
(Portulaca oleracea, p. 255), may also be
taken as an invigorating spring tonic and
an effective diuretic.
Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae)
Noni,
Indian Mulberry
Description  Shrub or small tree, growing to
26 ft (8 m), with 4-angled stems, and elliptical to oval
leaves to 14 in (35 cm) long. Large creamy-white
flowers produce a fruit resembling a breadfruit,
about 43⁄4 in (12 cm) long, green turning yellow to
white, with a pungent, very unpleasant odor.
Habitat & Cultivation  Originally native only
to Southeast Asia, noni has spread to India in the
west and across the Pacific to eastern Polynesia and
Hawaii. It prefers volcanic soils in coastal areas
and lowland forests up to about 1,300 ft (400 m)
above sea level, and until recently was infrequently
cultivated. The fruit is gathered when ripe; other
parts of the tree are picked as required.
Parts Used  Fruit and juice, leaves, bark.
Constituents  Noni fruit contains polysaccharides,
coumarins, iridoids, flavonoids and alkaloids.
No active compounds unique to noni have
been identified.
History & Folklore  Different parts of the
plant have been used in Polynesia for at least 2,000
years, chiefly to counter infection and to treat Morinda officinalis (Rubiaceae)
Morinda,
Ba Ji Tian (Chinese)
Description  Deciduous plant with white
flowers and a root that yields a yellow dye.
Habitat & Cultivation  Morinda is native
to China. It is cultivated in Guangdong, Guangxi,
and Fujian provinces. The root is unearthed in
early spring.
Part Used  Root.
Constituents  Morinda contains anthraquinones,
terpenoids, and polysaccharides.
History & Folklore  The earliest written record
of morinda’s use is in the Divine Husbandman’s Classic
(Shen’nong Bencaojing ) of the 1st century ce.
Medicinal Actions & Uses  Pungent and
sweet-tasting, morinda root is an important tonic
herb within traditional Chinese medicine. It has
hormonal and antidepressant properties. As a
sexual tonic, it is commonly used to treat impotence White mulberry  is grown
to feed silkworms.Berry
History & Folklore  White mulberry has
been cultivated for over 5,000 years for its leaves
(sang ye ), the preferred food of the silkworm. The
silkworm’s feces are used in Chinese medicine to
treat vomiting.
Medicinal Actions & Uses  White mulberry
leaves are expectorant, encouraging the loosening
and coughing up of phlegm, and are prescribed in
China as a treatment for coughs. The leaves are
also taken to treat fever, sore and inflamed eyes,
sore throats, headaches, dizziness and vertigo.
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238Murraya koenigiiOther medicinal plantsThe fruit juice is cleansing and tonic, and has often
been used as a gargle and mouthwash. The root bark may be used for toothache, and it is considered laxative. An extract of the leaves has been given by injection for elephantiasis. The twigs are used to combat excess fluid retention and joint pain. The fruit is taken to prevent premature graying of the hair, and to treat dizziness, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, and insomnia.
Related Species  The black mulberry (M. nigra),
native to Iran, is cultivated for its sweet, deep  red fruit.
Murraya koenigii (Rutaceae)
Curry Tree
Description  Aromatic deciduous shrub or tree
growing to 20 ft (6 m). Has strongly scented leaves, clusters of small, fragrant white flowers, and pink  to black berries.
Habitat & Cultivation  Curry tree
is native to subtropical forests in much of
southern Asia. It is widely cultivated in India
for its leaves.
Parts Used  Leaves, berries.
Constituents  Curry tree contains over
20 alkaloids, a glycoside (koenigin), volatile oil,  and tannins.
History & Folklore  Curry tree, also known as
curry patta, is a common flavoring in Indian food.
Medicinal Actions & Uses  Curry tree leaves
increase digestive secretions and relieve nausea, indigestion, and vomiting. They are also used to treat diarrhea and dysentery. Curry tree aids healing, for example in gastric ulcers, and the leaves are applied as a poultice on wounds and burns. It helps to stabilize blood-sugar levels and is useful for type 2 diabetes.
Related Species  The very bitter leaves
of cosmetic bark (M. paniculata) are taken
to treat stomach ache, dysentery, toothache,
and bruises.History & Folklore  Settlers in North America
extolled the medicinal benefits of bayberry. A 1737 account stated that the plants “expel wind and ease all manner of pains proceeding from cold, therefore are good in colic, palsies, convulsions, epilepsies, and many other disorders.” The root bark was listed in the U.S. National Formulary from 1916 to 1936.
Medicinal Actions & Uses Bayberry is used
to increase circulation, stimulate perspiration, and keep bacterial infections in check. Colds, flu, coughs, and sore throats benefit from treatment with this herb. It helps to strengthen resistance to infection and to tighten and dry mucous membranes. An infusion is helpful for spongy gums, and a gargle is used for sore throats. Bayberry’s astringency is beneficial for irritable bowel syndrome and mucous colitis. An infusion can help treat excess vaginal discharge. A paste of the powdered root bark may be used externally on ulcers and sores.
Caution  Do not take in pregnancy.immature and then allowed to ripen. The leaves  are gathered as required.
Parts Used  Fruit, leaves, root


 up of epithelial tissue; a
fibroma
 or fibroid is composed of
fibrous tissue, etc. Being constituted of the same tissue as the normal structures of the body, when
they are broken down, they yield up the nutritive material contained in them.
A woman was told that she had a fibroid tumor of the uterus about the size of a lemon, and that it
should be removed at once. This meant that her womb would be removed and that during surgery
reasons might be discovered for removing her ovaries.
But this would not restore health. She would still be a sick woman. Operations remove no
causes. There would probably be a recurrence of tumor. She would also be a physiological
cripple. Cutting into the ovaries is like cutting into the brain. The patient rejected the operation and
resorted to the fast. Soon the tumor was absorbed and her organs were saved.
One case that I cared for was a woman who had a uterine fibroid about the size of a medium
sized grapefruit. Complete absorption of the tumor was brought about in twenty-eight days. This
was an unusually rapid rate
of absorption and I have never seen it take place so rapidly in another
138case.
I have seen tumors in the breast, on the womb, in the abdomen, on the feet and elsewhere
absorbed while fasting, and some of these absorptions have been rapid while others have been
slow. One man who had a large tumor in the right lower abdomen, which had been diagnosed, by
means of a biopsy, as “giant cell sarcoma” (cancer) lost all of his sarcoma in seven days of
fasting. Of course he didn’t have cancer, but he did have a diagnosis.
For reasons that are not yet fully understood, some tumors are not affected by the fast, but
thousands of tumors, some of them of considerable size, have been completely and permanently
removed by fasting. I have had the pleasure of saving hundreds of women from mutilating
operations for the removal of the breast, and many more from desexing operations for removal of
uterine fibroids. The process is identical with the removal of stores of fat in the tissues. There is
nothing mysterious about it.
The layman who can understand how it is possible to reduce weight, losing large quantities of
fat in the process, by fasting, should have no difficulty in understanding how the body may also
free itself of other organized accumulations of structural materials while abstaining from food.
Just as fat on any part of the body may be autolyzed and taken up by the lymph stream to be
mingled with the blood and used in nourishing the vital tissues of the organism while no food is
being taken, so other tissues may be digested in the same manner and used as food. Muscular
tissue, glandular tissue, and other tissues may be called upon to supply nutriment for the more vital
tissues, those that have to carry on the most essential functions of life.
In like manner, the tissues that make up a tumor (neoplasm) are digested and absorbed, the
usable portions employed in nourishing the vital tissues, the non-usable portions excreted.
13936
Sterility in Women
The pattern of the case was simple and familiar: A young Italian woman had been married for five
years to a virile young man, also Italian. Both wanted children and had avoided all efforts at birth
control in the hope that pregnancy would take place. It did not.
She consulted several physicians who assured her that her sterility was permanent. Her father-
in-law told her of the fast and of the possibility that it might help her. She consulted a
Hygienist
.
“Will a fast enable me to become pregnant?” she asked. It was explained to her that there are
different reasons for sterility and that some of them yield to the fast, others do not. After
interrogation, she was told that the probability was that a fast would enable her to become
pregnant.
She underwent the fast. A few weeks after the fast was broken, she conceived and later bore a
bright, healthy boy.
This is one case out of many of similar nature. Fasting has enabled many women to conceive
after years of sterility. Many of these women give a history of menstrual irregularities, profuse
flow, severe cramps that send them to bed each month, large clots, soreness of the breasts and
similar symptoms that indicate endocrine (ductless gland) imbalance, inflammation of the ovaries
or womb and nervous difficulties.
Others give a history of metritis (inflammation of the lining of the womb) with a more or less
chronic vaginal discharge. In these latter cases, the discharge is often highly acid, sufficiently acid
to destroy the sperm.
These are the types of cases that are most readily corrected and that are restored to health by a
period of physical, mental and physiological rest. Few cases of female sterility are absolute; most
of them are the outgrowth of conditions of disease and are remediable. Great numbers of women
have found the ability to conceive restored by a restoration to good health, and a large part of these
women have found the fast of inestimable value in the clearing up of conditions that prevented
conception.
In passing, it may be well to mention that in those many cases of women who readily conceive,
but who abort, being unable to carry their baby to full term, a restoration of good health will
enable them to give birth to normal babies. A clearing up of the toxic state followed by greatly
improved nutrition enables them to avoid abortions.
The most spectacular case of this kind that has come under the author’s observation was that of a
woman who had previously had twenty-eight spontaneous abortions. After a fast of ten days and a
period on a greatly improved diet, she became pregnant and at full term gave birth to a healthy boy.
Delivery was normal.
The length of fast required in cases of female sterility varies with the condition of the woman. I
recall the case of a comparatively young woman who had been married for ten years and had not
conceived, although no attempt had been made to avoid it. She suffered agonies with each
menstruation, going to bed every month and relieving her pains with drugs.
A fast of ten days was sufficient to permanently end her menstrual difficulties and shortly after
the fast, she conceived for the first time, subsequently giving birth to a healthy baby boy. Another
woman much less vigorous and sick for a number of years, took several short fasts before she
140conceived. Her previous period of sterility was also of about ten years duration. The young Italian
woman whose story was recounted at the beginning of this chapter had a fast of thirty days.
Absolute sterility is a comparatively rare condition in both men and women and fasting can do
nothing in such cases. When sterility is due to conditions of disease, rather than to defects of
development, there is reason to think that both men and women can almost always profit by a fast
of sufficient duration to enable the body to clear its abnormal states.
14137
Fasting in Pregnancy
When the rational mind recognizes that pregnancy is a normal biological process, it at once
realizes that it should be unaccompanied with any pain, discomfort or abnormal condition. It is
observed that animals in their natural state do not suffer with nausea and vomiting during
pregnancy. The condition is said to be unknown among so-called primitive women. Only about
half the women in civilized life so suffer.
All the evidence points to the conclusion that nausea, “morning sickness” and vomiting are not
essential developments during pregnancy. Mild and evanescent in the majority of the cases, severe
and lasting in some cases, perhaps leading even to the artificial ending of pregnancy “to save the
mother’s life,” the cause is still a matter of much debate.
If it can be understood that disease is the outworking of natural law, we may understand that
under certain states of the organism of woman, when pregnancy occurs, there is an urgent need to
put the physiological house in order.
It is common to say that the nausea is a “reflex” and that it is a “reaction,” but these words
explain nothing. It is necessary that we understand the nature and cause of the condition that gives
rise to the “reflex” or to the “reaction.”
Nature plays no favorites, is no respecter of persons. If a woman suffers with nausea and
vomiting during pregnancy, this is because she has built her suffering by a way of life that has laid
the foundation for trouble. Her suffering is not due to the fact that she is pregnant, but to the fact
that she is toxemic.
While we recognize that pregnancy is a normal physiologic state, we must
also recognize that, in
modern life at least, there is much that is not physiologic associated with the whole reproductive
process and that these conditions of abnormality have the same general causes that are responsible
for other structural and functional abnormalities of the body.
In her efforts to promote life and its highest welfare, in her never-ending effort to endow each
new form of life with the finest that can be given, nature tries to give each child that is born the
best that life affords. She is, therefore, interested in the environment of the unborn child and
especially in its nutrition.
The unborn child feeds upon substances supplied by the mother. If her blood is physiologically
suitable to the highest interests of the evolving embryo her pregnancy will be comfortable and even
pleasurable. If she is toxemic, there must evolve a process designed to prepare a better source of
nutriment for the embryo. The physiological house


 of the food of the ground living pre-human
apes, are virtually uniquely the product of Asia. In other words, the
numerous fossil hominids of Africa may be no more than hominid
experiments, with little or nothing to do with the true human line.
This would be just as well, for the African hominids were a blood-
thirsty, cannibalistic lot.
That fruits are the favourite foods of the higher Primates is
explained by the fact that fruits o ffer one of the most concentrated
supplies of energy in nature, owing to their high content of sugar.
For animals with relatively large brains and complex social patterns,
such a concentrated food enabl es much time to be spent in
developing these characteristics, in  the continual games and other
social frolics so typical of these animals. Long browsing and
searching would have barred social evolution. As a prelude to the
evolution of man, fruits had an exceptional advantage—they are
among the most beautiful and harmonious objects in nature.
A consequence of a largely fruitarian diet resulted in digestive
changes, in the chimpanzee and in man, which had unexpected
subsequent results. The concentrated  energy of fruit sugars enabled
a considerable reduction in the si ze and length of the alimentary
tract in these two primates, comp ared with the bulky digestive
organs of the gorilla, for instance, a primate living largely on tough
leaves. It is this reduction which enabled man, and to a lesser extent,
the chimpanzee, to take to eating animal foods when their natural
diet fails.
The lengthy alimentary tract of the bulky plant eaters is quite
incongenial to such a mixed diet, for the very opposite conditions
are needed for the digestion of proteins or of plant fibres. The one
has to be absorbed rapidly, and eliminated rapidly, before
putrefactive poisons have time to  accumulate, while the latter needs
time for the nutrients to be digest ed out of the fibrous matrix. But
this does not imply that man or chimpanzee is well adapted to have
such a mixed diet, for a preponderance of proteins, which a mixed
diet involves, required a revolution in metabolism as well. The
metabolic end products of protei n, like the putrefactive products
formed in the gut by bacteria, ca ll for very special devices so as to
enable their excretion in a harmless form. All carnivores possess
such deamination devices. The primates are entirely deprived of
them, so that any intake of nitr ogenous substances over a relatively
low level of a vegetarian dietary, puts a strain on the system. Uric
acid and other end products of  purine metabolism accumulate,
causing increasing havoc over the years in rheumatic joints and
kidney strain.
That the level of protein intake at which deamination is
optimally efficient is identical in man and chimpanzee to that of the
other primates, should make it clear that the rare sallies of
chimpanzees into flesh eating, and the common mixed diet of
humans, are emergency measures. Since protein metabolism is the
most difficult aspect of digestion, one must expect that a
physiological tax has to be paid for defying its natural limits. This is
an important question, for if the human being required the relatively large amounts of protein recommended by nutritionists—1 gram per
kilo body weight—then man would have had to be a'mixed eater'
from the start, and could not be the preponderantly fruitarian
creature suggested in this book. Since protein balance studies
confirm that humans, like the other primates, need no more than
about a third of this amount, one can only conclude that the
standards recommended are wrong.
Because proteins are unquestionably important, nutritionists
have thought it wise to set their standards according to the so called
'best fed nations', those peoples in fact who in all probability
consume far more food altogether than they need. Nutritionists,
doing field surveys in the tropics, have been surprised to find people
living on amounts of protein much lower than they had been led to
believe were indispensable, and liv ing well and healthily. Although
the writer found many other signs of malnutrition in the course of
such a survey, he found no pr otein deficiency, except in places
where malaria was rife. In fact, the lurid picture of protein
deficiency in textbooks on the subject only occur in exceptional
conditions of general famine follo wing wars and other catastrophes.
The beauty of fruits, their sweetness and exquisite flavours,—
how different those different varieties of apple, of pear, of peaches
can taste!—are the ideal food fo r a beauty-loving animal. The
conditions in the Cretaceous which brought colour to the world in
flowers, so preparing the way for the evolution of the human colour
sense, also brought into being the fruits on which the highest of
creatures, the most noble, beautiful and pure, would in time come to
feast. The human being is best designed as a picker of fruits, not a
climber of tall trees, so that only low growing fruit trees would meet
his needs. It is just these fruits that abound, and abound still, in the
EuroAsian landmass—particularly the apple family, so close to the
rose, and also peaches, cherries,  plums, apricots, grapes and a
multitude of berries. The high growing fruit of tropical jungles
could have fed only a few acrobats. The apple features as the
miraculously healing fruit in the folklores of many of the peoples of
EuroAsia. In many of their langua ges, apple is synonymous with
fruit. The myth of Adam and Eve recounts the drama of the Fall, the
chasing from the earthly paradise, no doubt by the Ice Ages, and the
human corruption which ensued. In offering the apple, Eve was
symbolically reminding the man that lust could only be pursued at
the loss of a natural purity, of wholeness. In eating the apple, Adam
destroyed the symbol of human purity, and the human race began its
long stumble into pain and misery. In an engraving by Dürer, it is
the snake, phallic symbol of lust, which eats the apple.
The human need for very large amounts of daily fruit is borne
out by the relative enormous amounts of vitamin C needed for
optimal health and general well-being. The primates are exceptional
in their needs for this vitamin,  for almost all other animals,
including pure vegetarians like the rabbit make their own
requirements of it. Although the human being, like the other
primates, can make do with smalle r amounts of vitamin C in their
foods, they are less fit for it, more prone to infections, listless and
unhappy. The common cold is common because commonly people
do not eat enough fruits. The official recommendations, in all other
respects probably excessive, appear to have underestimated the
needs of vitamin C, judging from the ever increasing list of diseases in which an inadequacy of this vitamin is involved. The reason for
this underestimating is simple. No t believing man to be basically
fruitarian, they have ignored the hi nts that have come up over the
past years for much larger needs of vitamin C, for such amounts
could only be met by living largely on fruits.
The primates are lured to fruits by their colour, by their
pleasant smell and feel, and particularly, by their sweet taste. Many
animals have something of a sweet tooth, but nowhere as marked as
that of human beings. In a natural world, to eat sweet things is to eat
vitamin C. The child's craving for sweets is in reality a craving for
fruits, which shows up the iniquity of confectionery, the biggest
nutritional deception ever devised and responsible for much pain
and misery. Besides sweetness, the acidity of fruits is also an
enticement to eating them. Not only do such acids clean the mouth
without dissolving the enamel of the teeth, squeezing the salivary
glands and providing the right milieu in the digestive tract, but there
is evidence that in their metabolism, they have a tonic effect on the
body as a whole.
This insistence on fruits on the part of nature must have some
special significance to humanization. The cortex of the brain alone
has some six thousand million cells, each cell intertwined in a
profusion of interconnections. This inconceivably complicated
structure can only function if a perf ect co-ordination prevails. A few
molecules of some undesirable substance sends the whole
mechanism out of gear. Anything l ess than a perfect co-ordination is
insanity. It stands to reason that in  evolving such a fantastic organ,
natural selection would have picked on a way of life, including a
way of feeding especially, which could have best ensured this
cerebral equilibrium.
The brain's need of vitamin C is higher than any other tissues.
The brain functions on sugar, which fruits ideally supply. But it is
the fact that a preponderantly fruita rian diet necessarily means a low
protein diet which is probably the fruits' particular advantage in
brain evolution, for even in those animals long adapted to a high
protein diet, the carnivores, the tissue wear-and-tear, and the
cumulative damage by the products of protein metabolism, are not
completely overcome. The carnivores are short-lived, and