, sour butterlik, are useful to combat dysentery and diarrhea. Shadanga yusha – Soup prepared with green gram juice, meat soup, coriander,
cumin seeds and rock salt.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        It improves
the secretion of digestive enzymes. It is very hot in potency. Same is the case
with leadwort (Chitraka). Both these herbs are widely used in Ama relieving
medicines (like Chitrakadi Vati). One of the properties of rock salt is Deepana – improving digestion
strength. Haritaki is one among Triphala. It has hot potency. Apart from improving
digestion strength, it also improves bowel habits. Hence useful in relieving
constipation, gas distension in stomach and bloating. Safe for kids. It can be given for kids above three years of age. But doctor’s advice needed
before administering this remedy. Safe for pregnant mother. No. It is not safe for pregnant women. It is best to avoid in women seeking
pregnancy. It is best to avoid this even during lactation. Side Eﬀects
It is not good to continue this remedy beyond 2–3 w eeks. It is best to consult your Ayurvedic doctor before trying this home remedy. is home remedy is not safe for people with sensitive stomach, gastritis,
IBS and ulcerative colitis. Remedy for Side Eﬀects
If you take this and start feeling burning sensation in stomach and chest, drink
a cup of milk. Take an antacid. •
•
•176. Easy Ayurvedic Home
Remedy for Bleeding
Hemorrhoids
Y
Bleeding hemorrhoids can be embarrassing and extremely painful. Ayurveda
has explained many medicines and easy to prepare home remedies for this
condition. Ingredients –
rice – coarse powder – 20 grams
water – 160 ml
Seed powder of Apamarga (Achyranthes aspera) – 1–2 grams. First preparation called as Tandulodaka (rice washed water) is prepared. For this, coarse powder of rice is added with 8 parts of water, macerated well
for ve minutes. Filtered. Next, Apamarga seed powder is taken and made into a paste with water or
rice washed water. How to take. Apamarga seed powder – 1 gram is taken along with 100 ml of rice washed
water once or two times a day before food. is is a traditional home remedy for bleeding haemorrhoids. is can be taken continuously for a period of 1–2 w eeks. How it acts. Apamarga seed powder has anti inammatory and analgesic (pain killer) eﬀect. A special dosage form called as Kshara prepared with this herb is extensively
used in treatment of haemorrhoids. Rice washed water is styptic in nature. It is usually advised for stopping
bleeding conditions. Who can take this. People with bleeding piles can use this home remedy with the permission of
healthcare professional. 177. Ayurvedic Home
Remedy for Cough Due to
Pitta Increase
Y
is is a simple and easy to prepare Ayurvedic home remedy for cough due to
Pitta imbalance. For this we Need –
Tribulus – Gokshura – ne powder – 10 g rams
Long Pepper – Pippali – ne powder – 10 g rams
Dates – 10 grams
Raisins – 10 grams
Honey – 10 grams
Ghee (claried Butter) – 5 grams
How to make. First take seedless dates and raisins and make them into paste. Add Tribulus, Long pepper powders to this paste, mix well. Add honey and ghee and mix well. Indications –
As per traditional Ayurveda, it is  indicated in cough of Pitta origin. e symptoms of cough of Pitta origin include –
Cough with yellow colored sputum
Bitterness in the mouth
Feeling of fumes inside
Excessive thirst and burning sensation
Anorexia – lack of interest in food
Dose –
5 Grams once or twice a day, 5 minutes before food along with honey or water. How long to take. For 2–4 weeks. How does it work. Long pepper is a known anti-tussive herb. It is one of the ingredients of
Trikatu Churna, which is commonly used in cough, cold, etc. Tribulus is a common herb used in the treatment of cough. Ghee, Dates and Raisins have soothing action and they balance Pitta. Honey is a very well known for its action against cough and sore throat.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What is the purpose of adding honey to the home remedy for gastritis?,
A: To soothe the stomach mucosa.
Q: What is the recommended duration of use for the home remedy for gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and piles?,
A: 3-4 weeks.
Q: What is the recommended duration of use for the home remedy for pinworms?,
A: 5-7 days.
Q: What is the recommended duration of use for the home remedy for gastritis?,
A: 2-3 weeks.
Q: What is the recommended duration of use for the home remedy for gastritis and indigestion?,
A: 2-3 weeks.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>1. Moisturize Your Skin
The very first thing on this list, before even delving into the “edible” benefits of coconut oil, has to be
moisturizing. In lieu of your regular lotion, coconut oil delivers a refreshing, healing, burst of moisture that
penetrates your skin and works to truly heal it (not just soak in and dry up!) It can feel oily at first, but that’s
why it’s important to only use a little-it goes a long way. Give it a minute and it will dry beautifully. Use as you would regular lotion. 2. Conditioner
When the teeny tiny overlapping plates that make up our outer hair shaft get rumpled and out of whack, coconut oil is there to smooth those tiny little cells right back into place, and hold them there. You can use it
on your entire scalp/head for deep conditioning, but you can generally just use it on your ends, where it’s the
hardest for the body’s natural oils to reach, and where the most breakage occurs. 3. Make Homemade Soap
If you’re interested in soap making, coconut oil serves as a wonderful pure base that can simplify ingredients, add hardness to the soap, and help break down grease and oils. It can break them down so effectively, in fact,
that too much will have a drying effect (when in soap form.) To prevent this, you need to “superfat” your soap-
that is, adding more oil than the lye turns to soap. All you need is coconut oil, water, and lye. Don’t be shy of lye. While it should be handled with care, I find it essential to soap making, and it eliminates a slew of other
chemicals that you would need to add to recreate its effects. 4. Weight Loss
Coconut oil and weight loss-what’s really going on? Well, if you sit around eating coconut oil, you aren’t going
to lose weight. However, if used to substitute other fats, it can help you drop the pounds by taking the place of
those other calories. Unlike most saturated fats, it’s mainly comprised of medium chain fatty acids, versus long
chain fatty acids. This difference in molecular structure means that it doesn’t get packed away as fat as easily and instead is sent straight to the liver to be metabolized, giving you a boost in energy. This energy in turn
makes exercising easier, and the exercise in turn helps you lose weight. Another major factor that it plays is as
an appetite suppressant. Craving something you shouldn’t be? Have a tablespoon or 2 of coconut oil, and that sensation won’t last long! 5. Energy Booster
If weight loss isn’t your goal, just run with the fact (no pun intended) that it gives you a great boost in energy-and who doesn’t need some help in that department every now and again? Some people also feel it helps
boost their mental alertness. There’s been a lot of hype about coconut oil lately, and there are so many claims
being made that it sounds nothing short of a miracle. Well it’s really not a cure-all, and what works for other people may not work for you, but it still is pretty dandy to have around. With a little bit of resourcefulness and a dash of creativity, you can find over one hundred ways to utilize this handy product. Get a FREE 15oz Jar of Organic Coconut Oil - just pay $1.95 S&H!6. Prevent Stretch Marks
There is no proven way to completely prevent stretch marks- if or how extreme you get them actually comes
down largely to genetics-but anecdotal evidence is strong: keeping your belly soft and moisturized seems to
help. Coconut oil is deeply nourishing, and doesn’t just provide empty moisture that dries up quickly. Rich in
fatty acids and vitamin E, it penetrates the skin to provide moisture and (possibly) elasticity, as well as forming a barrier to help retain moisture. Apply 1-2 times daily over the course of


ous membranes to their normal state. Nearly one-third of the natural content of radishes is potassium,
while of the remaining two-thirds, more than one-third is sodium. The iron and magnesium content are both high, and it is from these
that the healing and soothing qualities to the mucous membranes have
been found. It is usually unnecessary in most cases to undergo surgical
operations for the removal of the mucus which causes sinus troubles. While such operations remove some of the mucus, the aftereffects
eventually may be devastating. The horseradish sauce on the other
hand, has repeatedly given lasting benefits. Mucus is the result of
drinking too much milk and eating concentrated starches, bread, and
cereals in excess. RHUBARB JUICE
Rhubarb is probably responsible for more kidney trouble among
children than any other single factor. Few if any other plants have
such a high concentration of oxalic acid as rhubarb. When cooked,
this acid is converted into an inorganic chemical which, when eaten,
deposits vast amounts of oxalic acid crystals in the body. 52 Innumerable cases of rheumatism and rheumatic fever could be
traced to the ingestion of cooked rhubarb. No example could be more
vivid than this to prove the fallacy of eating sor°a food or food product
because of certain individual particular merit without regard to the
disastrous effect of other elements it may contain. Because of its
supposedly laxative properties, rhubarb is used extensively for children
as well as by adults. Because the laxative results are more or less
immediately apparent, no further thought is given to the other end
product—the oxalic acid crystals deposited in the body. As these
deposits do not cause immediate irritation and their effect is insidious
and slow in manifesting, the consequences are rarely if ever attributed
to the proper cause—the eating of rhubarb. The subject of oxalic acid is so very important that we have covered
it fairly extensively in a separate chapter under that heading. Some benefit can be derived from fresh-raw rhubarb juice,
provided that it is used sparingly, and only in combination with other
juices such as carrot, celery, or fruit, and their combinations. In this
manner it can help stimulate the peristaltic action of the intestines. Never sweeten rhubarb with sugar, use honey. Section summary:

* Avoidance of concentrated starchy/sugared substances leads
    * Duodenal ulcers respond remarkably positively

Please summarize briefly. Here’s my attempt:
**Summary**: Eating habits play crucial roles in overall wellness. Consuming **NO CONCENTRAD STARCHES AND SUGAR**, washing gut bacteria-free liquids (**COLON IRRIAGATIONS & ENEMAS**) accelerators duodenalgases’ response. Then, introduce alternative options:**CAROTTEJUICE**

[. ]
Let me modify based on feedback. (Note - You did ask summarization questions earlier)
If interested,
Isolate key points. Identify critical components/ concepts introduced. )
Would love guidance. Your request highlights accuracy, brevity,

Also note mention “anti repetition” mechanism. Thankyou.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What is the recommended method for preparing cabbage juice to avoid gas and waste matter?,
A: It is recommended to avoid concentrated starches and sugars, and use colonic irrigations and enemas regularly to cleanse the system.
Q: What is the recommended way to take carrot juice to treat ulcers and constipation?,
A: It is recommended to take carrot juice in its raw state without adding any salt, and to use colonic irrigations and enemas to cleanse the system.
Q: What is the purpose of adding Rock Salt to the diet, and what are the recommended alternatives?,
A: Rock Salt is not recommended as it is not completely water-soluble and can cause harm. Instead, it is recommended to use seaweed or other natural sources of essential elements.
Q: What is the recommended way to take garlic juice, and what are its benefits?,
A: Garlic juice is recommended to be taken in moderation, not alone, but in combination with other juices. It has been used to treat various ailments, including digestive issues, and has also been found to be beneficial in the treatment of certain skin conditions.
Q: What is the recommended way to prepare lettuce juice, and what are its benefits?,
A: Lettuce juice should not be taken alone, as it can cause discomfort. It is recommended to mix it with carrot or other juices, and it has been found to be beneficial in treating conditions such as anemia and skin problems.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>SAUERKRAUT JUICE
Sauerkraut is a preparation of pickled cabbage, finely cut and
fermented in brine composed of a great deal of salt. This pickling and
fermentation is exceedingly injurious to the mucous membranes of
the alimentary canal and affects adversely the texture of the skin,
tending to coarsen it. Its stimulating effect on the digestive organs is
very detrimental because of the presence of so much inorganic salt
solution. SORREL JUICE
The juice of the broad-leafed French Sorrel is excellent in helping
the sluggish and prolapsed intestines to reestablish their normal
functions, when such necessary steps as colonic irrigations and enemas
are taken to eliminate the accumulation of waste matter collected
therein. This vegetable is rich in potassium oxalate which is valuable for
the human system only in its vital organic raw state. It should never
be eaten when cooked. It contains a particularly large percentage of iron and magnesium
which the blood needs constantly, and vast amounts of the cleansing
53 elements phosphorus, sulphur, and silicon which are used by every
part of the system from head to foot. The combination of these rich elements makes this juice most
valuable for nourishing all the glands in the body. SPINACH JUICE
Spinach is the most vital food for the entire digestive tract, both
the alimentary section of the body (the stomach, duodenum, and small
intestines) and for the large intestine or colon, and it has been so
recognized from time immemorial. In raw spinach, Nature has furnished man with the finest organic
material for the cleansing, reconstruction, and regeneration of the
intestinal tract. Raw spinach juice properly prepared, taken at the rate
of about one pint daily, has often corrected the most aggravated case
of constipation within a few days or weeks. Unfortunately, the use of purgatives for the cleansing of the
intestinal tract is practiced without an understanding of exactly what
takes place. Every manufactured chemical, inorganic purgative or
laxative acts as an irritant, stimulating the muscles of the intestines to
expel it. With the expulsion of this irritant, other matter lodged therein
may also be expelled. It is obvious and in practice it is proved to be a
fact, that the habit of taking laxatives necessitates stronger and stronger
irritants. The result is not a cure for constipation, but a chronic
condition of inactivity of the local tissues, muscles, and nerves. Cathartics are merely irritants and while they remove some of the
waste matter, they cannot possibly cause anything other than
progressive degeneration of the intestines. Furthermore, such methods of cleansing the intestinal tract are
solely temporary in their effect and furnish no material for the
regeneration and rebuilding of the weakened or degenerated tissues,
muscles, and nerves. It is imperative that following the lymphatic expulsion of acid,
toxins, or poisons, the system be replaced by an organic alkaline
solution such as natural raw fruit juices to prevent an inevitable water
deficiency in the body. Also, if such a replacement of alkaline is not
taken care of, one runs the risk of repetition. The remaining poisons
in the intestinal track can then be reabsorbed, find their way into the
lymph stream, and again aggravate the condition the individual was
trying to correct. 54 On the other hand, raw spinach juice effectively cleanses and helps
to heal not only the lower bowels but the entire intestinal tract. The spinach works by natural means to repair the most essential
damage first; it is not always apparent to the individual where in his
body the work of regeneration is progressing. Results may not be
noticeable sometimes for as long as six weeks or two months after
daily consumption of this juice. It has been found essential at all times, however, that the bowels
be cleared at least once every twenty-four hours, although the normal,
healthy condition calls for two or three movements a day. The colon
can be washed out with colonic irrigations or enemas, or both if
necessary everyday. This has been found most effective in the long
run. Another valuable feature of raw spinach juice is its effect on the
teeth and gums in helping to prevent pyorrhea. This disease is a mild
form of scurvy and results from a deficiency in the body of the
elements found particularly in the combination of carrot and spinach
juices. Bleeding gums and fibroid degeneration of the pulp of the
teeth has become a common defect due to the habitual use of
devitalized cereals, refined sugar, and other deficiency foods. It is
due to a Vitamin C deficiency. A permanent aid for this affliction has been found in the use of
natural raw foods and, more particularly, by drinking an ample quantity
of carrot and spinach juice. Other derangements of the body such as duoden


, including certain nuts and
seeds, as well as avocados, olives, and coconuts. By eating a delicious, plant-happy diet, you will consume roughly 9 to
15 percent of your total calories from fat, which is ideal. Getting your fat from plant-based foods means you will be consuming
healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as opposed to dangerous
saturated fats. You will be able to eat more food than you ever dreamed of
without gaining weight, and feel wonderful. Myth 6
You can’ t be a competitive athlete and eat plants. Reality:  Tell that to Tony Gonzalez, the 247-pound tight end for the
Kansas City Chiefs football team. For health reasons, Tony changed his diet
after signing a five-year contract extension, making him the league’ s
highest paid tight end, and went on to break the NFL  record for receptions
by a tight end in 2008. His teammates have nicknamed him China Study
after T. Colin Campbell’ s book of the same name, which Gonzalez studied
before changing his diet—and which you will soon be reading about. James Gar ee, 25
Firefighter
Before becoming a firefighter, I was co-captain of the University of
Colorado football team, where I weighed 300 pounds. To keep up my
weight, I used to eat 8,000 calories a day—I’d go to Arby’ s and ask
for five Arby meals, an order of curly fries, and a lar ge Coke. But
ever since Rip flipped me, I’ve lost over sixty pounds. But it can be
difficult. Food is personal. If you don’ t understand what someone is
eating, you go into a kind of defense meltdown. For example, if you
tell people that the way they eat at home isn’ t good for them, they’ll
say, “Are you telling me that my granny’ s trying to poison me?”Or tell that to Ruth Heidrich, who in 1982 was diagnosed with metastatic
breast cancer and cured herself by eating a low-fat, plant-strong diet. She
has since won more than one thousand triathlons. Or tell Salim Stoudamire,
the plant-eating point guard for the NBA  Atlanta Hawks, who says that by
the fourth quarter, when most players are starting to fade, he’ s picking it up
a notch. Or tell Martina Navratilova, the world’ s winningest tennis player,
who serves up plant-based foods exclusively. Or tell plant-devourer Dave
Scott, my hero and six-time winner of the famed Hawaii Ironman triathlon. Or better yet, try going plant-based yourself and see how much your own
athletic performance improves. Myth 7
By eating only plant-based foods, you’ll miss key nutrients. Reality:  You’ll be stockpiling away the nutrients like never before,
improving your health, and reversing disease. If you were to hold a triathlon
based on the quantity of nutrients in each food, plants would cross the finish
line and get a massage before meat, dairy, and eggs even had a chance to
get of f the bicycle. Calorie for calorie, the most nutrient-dense foods are plants, not animals. After all, plants are the mother source of all calories and all nutrients for all
creatures, whereas animal-based foods are essentially plant foods recycled
into an unhealthy package. The only nutrient that plant-based foods lack is vitamin B12. But you
can get a daily supply of B12 by downing two tablespoons of nutritional
yeast, a glass of fortified soy milk, a bowl of fortified cereal, or, if you
wish, a daily 500-microgram pill that should be chewed or dissolved in the
mouth to increase absorption. Myth 8
If eating only plant-based food, your ener gy will be low. Reality:  Your ener gy levels will be more constant and consistent than at
any other point in your life. Think of high-fiber and nutrient-heavy plant foods as the big logs in the
fireplace that burn for hours. Think of low-fiber and nutrient-light foods
such as simple carbohydrates as wads of newspaper that go up in a flash. When you’re eating plant-strong, you won’ t have the ener gy peaks andvalleys of the past, and if you so choose, you won’ t even need cof fee to get
your butt and mind in gear in the mornings. You’ll awake feeling refreshed,
even-keeled, and excited about char ging forward into your day. Myth 9
A plant-based diet is bad for childr en and pr egnant mothers. Reality:  By the age of two (once of f mother ’s milk), every child is ready
for a plant-strong diet. Even renowned expert Dr. Benjamin Spock
recommends the practice in the latest edition of his classic bestselling book,
Baby and Child Care. If you start them young, your kids will develop a
palate that appreciates the subtleties of plant foods and will gain the healthy
rewards that accompany this diet as they grow. Pregnant women, meanwhile, can get all the vitamins, nutrients, and
minerals that both they and their babies need to be healthy and well. My
wife, Jill, ate an all-plant-based diet throughout her pregnancy with no
morning sickness and no complications. She later gave birth to our very
healthy eight-pound, seven-ounce baby, Kole, the little love of our lives. Myth 10
Everyone needs to take fish oil supplements to ensur e they’r e getting
essential omega-3 fatty acids. Reality:  There are numerous ways to get essential omega-3 fatty acids
without subjecting yourself to the potential risks of fish oils—which,
according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, are
highly unstable molecules that can break down and release dangerous,
disease-causing free radicals. People are under the false assumption that taking a fish oil supplement
will negate the ef fects of all the cheese, meat, and processed foods they
throw down their throats. But fish oil is no panacea. It can actually raise
total and LDL  cholesterol levels, increases your chance of a hemorrhagic
stroke, and suppresses the immune system. Instead of taking fish oil, rely on ground flaxseed meal, walnuts,
soybeans, and green leafy vegetables, all of which contain plenty of
essential omega-3 fatty acids. If you are unwilling to transition to a totally plant-strong diet, then go to
a health food store and buy some plant-based omega-3 supplements thatcome straight from the mother source: plankton from the oceans, seas, and
lakes—which, by the way, is where fish get their omega-3s. Myth 1 1
Real men don’ t eat plants. Reality:  The fat and cholesterol in animal products clogs up the arteries
traveling not only to the heart and head but also to the extremities,
including the penis, where they can cause P AD (peripheral arterial disease)
and impotence, which research shows may be an early sign of heart disease. So, men: There is a better way, and it doesn’ t involve taking Viagra,
Cialis, or Levitra. It involves eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and
beans. In my father ’s research study, several of the men who had been impotent
for years regained their performance after changing to a plant-based diet,
making their wives quite happy. Many of the Engine 2 Study participants
also reported improved potency, including one who said that his erections
“are now like blue steel.”
Myth 12
Eating plant-based foods is joyless. Reality:  Plant-based foods are delicious and satisfying. The longer you’re on the E2 Diet, the more your palate will change. Think about milk, for instance. Since it’ s well known that whole milk is not
good for you, you’ve probably cut back to 2 percent or skim. At first, I bet
that skim milk tasted like water. Then you became accustomed to it so when
you tried whole milk again, it tasted like liquid paint. Your palate had
changed. It’s the same with adding oil to your foods. Anthony Salerno, one of the
E2 Pilot Study participants, is a fourth-generation Italian-American who
thought he couldn’ t live without his olive oil. But after six weeks on the E2
Diet, he found he enjoyed meals more without it—the oil, he realized,
disguised their true flavors. When he returned to using olive oil, he found it
tasted as though he’d poured synthetic goo on his food. Brandon and Amy Marsh, 32, 29
TriathletesEven though we’re triathletes, we never paid much attention to our
diets. But when Rip was looking for volunteers for the Engine 2 Pilot
Study, we signed up—and it worked. After all, we pay attention to
everything else we do for our bodies, why shouldn’ t we also be
paying attention to everything we eat? The fact is, sometimes your
performance can start with your fork. Diet counts as much as training. Foods taste better without being dunked in butter, drenched in
margarine, or saturated with sour cream. Plant-based foods are absolutely
glorious in their sublimeness. Without all the extra fat and processed flavors
drowning them out, you’ll finally get to taste nuances you might never have
noticed: the tang of a ripe red bell pepper, the zest of a cara cara orange, or
the zing of a plate of lacinato kale with roasted garlic—foods bursting


mind, and it wil l have the same ef fect. Simple, primordial man tras chanted
out loud have greater vibrations and therefore have greater power. For
example, chanting the sound OM, while allowing your lips to vibrate on the
mmmmm  s ound as you exhale, creates an explosion of vibrations in the
body an d precipitates healing. Chanting out loud the af firmation “I am
strong, I am he althy” has great power too, just in a dif ferent way with
dif ferent intensity. The ultimate healing power in the V ishuddha chakra enables you to
synchronize communication between your inner and outer worl ds and most
importantly to clear the lines of communication to the Divine. Once you
have harnessed this power, wher ein there is no disconnection or disharmony
in c ommunication between you, others, and the Divine, you will have a
clear path toward enlightenment. The first step toward this path is to seek and speak truth. Our Societal Relationship with the Fifth Chakra
T ruthfulness has  become more dif ficult than ever in modern society. W e
have increased means of communication, and we seemingly communicate
all the time. W i th the constant stream of text messages, voicemails, video
calls, so cial media feeds, and e mails, it appears that we’re communicating
at a more constant rate than at any other time in history. And perhaps we
are. Y et much of this communication — such as humble-brag Facebook
posts or  tweets — is one-way and often designed to embellish or conceal
the truth. I’m n ot suggesting that people are inherently dishon est. I don’ t
have such a bleak outlook on people’ s subconscious intention s. However,
that faceless and often voiceless  communication can result in a portrayal of
an alternate reality. W ith in- person communication, you can also alter the other person’ s
perception of who you are by filtering what you let them see. But when
you’re f ace-to-face with another, you have other cues to send yo u signals as
to whether the person is sincere. Y ou can “read” a person’ s ener gy field (we
all do this whether consciously or unconsciously). Y ou can notice a person’ s
body language. Y ou can connect  intonation of voice with facial expressions. It’ s much more dif ficult to dece ive in person than over the internet or the
phone. T oday, much of the political climate in the United States is a result of
modern society’ s one-way communication through declarative statements,
insults, or proclamations of reality without any instant return of
communication by the receiving  parties. The term alternative facts, coined
in 2017 by the T rump administ ration, demonstrates the tendency to ignore
truth in favor of the alternate world of the internet in which tr uth doesn’ t
seem to be valued by all. When I was on the internet dating scene, I was astonished to discover
how much people lied in their profiles. There seems to be a cultural
tolerance of “acceptable untruths” (or blatant lies, as I call them ) in things
such as dating profiles and even résumés. It’ s rather humorous if you think
about it, because we have great er access to truth today. In the past, if you
wanted to fact-check a given topic, you really had to search. Fact-checking
often me ant trip s to the library and in-person research at variou s locations. T oday w e can search facts instantly. Y et it seems that many p eople don’ t
want to see the truth. Society will only shift to a perception of truthfulness as an ass et and a
necessity when enough people decide that it must be so. Another issue with communicat ion today has to do with the exp ectation
of a rapi d respo nse. Because we’re used to instantaneous feedback through
instant m essaging or texts, we’re inclined to become impatient when we
don’ t re ceive a response right away. T wo things tend to happen in these
situations: (1) we jump the gun and respond harshly when we don’ t get an
instant response, and (2) the person on the other end may an swer with a
less-than-honest, ill-conceived, or poorly researched response because he or
she is more con cerned with answering quickly than with thinking things
through first. The same happens with our listening skills. Fifth chakra ener gy is as
much about hearing and listen ing as speaking. Both sides are equally
important for ef fective commun ication. Through all our electronic ways of
communicating, we have become accustomed to jumping to conclusions
and laying out w hat we want to  say without necessarily taking in what the
other person is saying. Then  it becomes two one-sided pieces of
communication that never mer ge into a conversation. One way  to rectify this imbalance is to realize that communication is a
dynamic dance of giving and  receiving that operates according to a
patterned rhythm. If you’re blurting out nonstop whatever comes to mind
over var ious for ms of media, yo u aren’ t honoring the natural rh ythm of this
dance. By taking the time to truly listen to what the other pers on is saying
and aski ng questions when you aren’ t sure or don’ t understand, you can
help turn the tide back toward authentic and real communication. Another pitfall of using electr onic communication is that it can let
barriers down inappropriately. Cyberpsychologists have no ticed a dramatic
increase in behavior traditionall y reserved for those under the influence of
alcohol or drugs, that of dropping all defenses and blurting out the truth. People who have had a few drin ks tend to lose their inhibitions and tell all
or “tell it like it is. ” The same p henomenon can happen when we’re hiding
behind a username or social  media profile. Our typical inhibitions,
including a healthy dose of caution, seem to fade away too e asily. Many
open themselves up to complete strangers, feeling safe when they see
reciprocation of such behavior. This lack of discernment in communication
can be just as  dangerous as its opposite: completely shutting down
communication closes of f the fifth chakra, but throwing it a ll out there
online or in dial ogues with people on the internet whom you haven’ t met in
person can push you into a deceptive reality. In real life and  in healthy
communication, the give-and-take allows the two parties t o open up
gradually. Going back to the online dating example, one of  the dating
websites I was o n years ago had an entire page on online datin g etiquette,
and I found it responsible and h elpful. A couple of pieces of advice stuck
out in particul ar, and I rem ember them to this day. Th e first is,
communication is give-and-take. If you initiate communication, wait for the
other pe rson to respond. It’ s a ba ck-and-forth ef fort. T ry not to d ominate the
conversation. The second piece of advice was a warning of what we’reexploring in this section: if a pe rson is opening themselves up too quickly
and acting as i f they’re falling in love straightaway, that should be a
warning sign to get away quickly. I be lieve the lesson we can take away from our societal rela tionship
with the  fifth chakra is that a m ultifaceted approach to communication is
necessary to foster healthy and honest relationships. Meeting in person is
more important than a phone call or an electronic message. Remember to
listen and actually hear what the other person is saying, as well as get your
message across. Use the tool of asking questions and repeat ing back to
make su re you heard properly what the other person is saying. Finally,
remember that immediacy of res ponse is not always the healthie st or for the
highest good of both parties. A t times, thoughtful reflection can help you
and the other person get in touch with your highest truth. Living Life in the V ishuddha Chakra
The ruling planet of the fifth cha kra is the planet Jupiter. The Sanskrit word
for Jupiter  is guru, which means “dispeller of darkness. ” Therefore, people
who embody fifth chakra ener gy enlighten others with their speech and
words. F ifth cha kra people have transcended their egos in such  a way that
they’re in touch with their souls. They become seekers and speakers of
truth. Th ey hav e spent time in  their heart chakra and have opened their
hearts to higher spiritual knowledge. When they speak or write, they’re
inspired and, in turn, inspire others. Their voices are melodious and
welcomed by those who want to learn these truths. Recognizing Fifth Chakra Imbalances
Signs that the fif th chakra is out  of balance may include the V ata imbalance
of talkin g incessantly without listening. This kind of nervous talking uses
the voice out of fear of silence or fear of being alone. Another manifestation
of imbalance would be using the voice to be harsh to others, such as putting
a person  in his or her place or being overly critical. Those ou t of balance
can also use their voice as a


, 14, 282, 292
and wholeness, 250
Love story:
with God, 9
living, 43–46
loving practice, 17–19
in our lives, 20–28
revival of, 7–9, 14
Loving practice:
accepting ambiguity, 74–78
cultivating inspiration, 299–313
freeing sexual blocks, 142–50
healing our inner needs, 205–17
heeding spirit, 251–60
letting go, 169–78
purifying the heart, 51–55
seeing beyond, 94–97
soul bar gain, 17–19
unpeeling layers of love, 1 17–22
Maharaj, Nisar gadatta, 12, 296–97
Marriage:
and ego, 159, 162
fading of passion in, 227, 268as mirror, 166
and nonattachment, 192
as play of the divine, 225–26
as sacred, 160, 236, 237, 239, 244, 249
and surrender, 162
as testing ground, 166
and trust, 160
Materialism, 15, 92
Maya, 14
Meditation:
and ecstasy, 290
on the heart, 52–55
Metaphysics, 92
Miracle, 298
Moksha, 131, 274–76
Mystery, 158
Mystical redemption, 276
Mythic ecstasy, 285–86
Need, 58–59, 164–65
and attachment, 190, 204, 205, 208
and courtship, 107–108
deepest, mirror of, 102
ego, 108, 1 16, 190, 204
healing of, 215–16
and illusion, 108
inner, 209–12
vs. play, 225–26
in relationships, 225
Negativity, 85–86
Neuropeptides, 88
Nonresistance, 203
Objectivity, 299
Orgasm, 134–35, 137–38, 143, 284Passion, 225–71
from the ashes, 230–36
and awareness, 249
blocking of, 262, 268–69
and desire, 227, 269–71
expression of, 225–26, 227
fading of, 227, 268
for life, 227, 229, 234, 237
loving practice, 251–60
in nonsexual terms, 227
in our lives, 261–71
renewal of, 232
of Shakti and Shiva, 228, 237, 239, 271
source of, 230, 265
surrender to, 134
as universal, 227
Path to love, 4–5, 29–61, 298
and absence of love, 47–50
and faith, 295
fulfillment as goal in, 35
and karma, 196–97
loving practice, 51–55
in our lives, 56–61
relationships and, 36, 38–46
and spiritual potential, 33, 34–38
surrender to, 157–58
see also  Sadhana
Perception:
and ecstasy, 285
and infatuation, 91–92
and infinite moment, 300
and projection, 1 13–14
of reality, 304
Phenomenon, whispered truth in, 97
Pleasure:
and happiness, 40–41and neuropeptides, 88
sensual, 283–84
and sex, 138, 140
Power:
of Dharma, 167–68
and sex, 135, 237
of Shiva, 241–42
and silence, 129, 249
of soul, 227–28
and spirit, 227, 239
Powerlessness, 267
Prana, 316
Projection, 1 13–14, 120–22
Protection:
love as, 202
and Shiva, 247, 248
Psychology, vs. spirit, 89–93
Purification, 51–55
Reality:
and awareness, 251
vs. illusion, 14–15
and letting go, 169, 171, 177
as love, 14, 16, 27
miracle of, 298
mystery of, 38
perception of, 304
vs. role, 195
vs. shadows, 325
and soul, 14
and spirit, 14–15, 23–24, 38
Redemption, 276
Relationships, 64
cosmic dimension of, 225
difficulty of, 158–59
and falling in love, 159with God, 5
and love, 46
need in, 225
and path to love, 36, 39–46
and romance, 158, 159
search for, 68–70
with self/Self, 70, 216–17
separation healed by, 205
surrender in, 158–62
Religion:
and desire, 133
and devotion, 87–88
and love, 12, 36–37, 88
Resistance, 140, 176, 203, 232
Revelation:
and Shiva, 247, 248–49
and sutras, 304–13
Rig V eda, 10–1 1, 87
RNA, 244
Romance, 62–155
and attraction, 64, 66–87
and authenticity, 72–73
and bliss, 66–68
and courtship, 64, 106–30
and infatuation, 64, 87–105
and inner truth, 38
and intimacy, 64, 131–55
phases of, 63–64
and relationship, 159, 160
Rumi, 158, 227, 325
Sadhana, 16, 34–35, 43
Sadhus, 34
Saints, 31–33
Sand, grain of, 301–3
Sat chit ananda, 66, 70Satsang, 106, 107, 127–30
Second attention, 244–47, 251, 259
Self:
acceptance of, 74–75
fulfillment through, 217
and infatuation, 89
inner voice of, 253–58
intimacy with, 134–37, 273–76
as love’ s source, 14, 33, 46, 65
path to, 34
as real experience, 13–14
relationship with, 46, 70–71, 216–17
vs. self, 12, 158, 292
and spirit, 12–13, 33
value of, 48
Self-condemnation, 45–46
Self-expression, shared, 135
Self-image, see Ego
Self-love, 103–4, 216
Self-realization, 292
Self-worth, 212
Sensitivity, and courtship, 128–29
Separation, 25–28, 208, 252
anxiety of, 212
and control, 202–3
and dharma, 162
and ego, 161
from God, 191, 205
healing of, 205
and insecurity, 209–12
and karma, 242
Serotonin, 41, 88
Sex:
and boundaries, 136
and control, 134
and creativity, 149–50, 226, 237and divine creation, 225–26
and emotions, 263
energy in, 142, 145, 229, 284
and expectations, 142–49
and fantasy, 135
and hidden agenda, 135
and love, 135–36
and or gasm, 134–35, 137, 143, 284
and passion, 134
and performance, 137–38, 143, 149
and pleasure, 138, 139–40
and power, 135, 237
and spontaneity, 137
and suppression of desire, 139–40
and surrender, 136–37
Shadows:
filling in, 75–78
vs. reality, 325
Shakti, 227–30, 235
as feminine, 236–42
five powers of, 238–42
and passion, 270–71
and Shiva, 227, 228, 234, 236–42, 243, 249, 271
Shiva:
actions of, 247–49
and Shakti, 228, 229, 234, 236–42, 243, 249, 271
silence of, 242–50
Silence:
and creation, 241


. As witnesses who stand back and
observe the scene, however, we are as xed as stars, and our
changeless nature is utterly still, calm, and wise. In one of the oldest Indian scriptures, called the “great forest
teaching” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ), which dates back at least a
thousand years before Christ,  we are told the deeper emotional basis
for the kind of feelings Karin is having:
Truly, it is not for the sake of the husband that the husband
is dear, but for the sake of the Self. And it is not for the sake of the wife that the wife is dear,
but for the sake of the Self.And it is not for the sake of the sons that the sons are dear,
but for the sake of the Self. Yajnavalkya, one of the greatest of the ancient sages, is speaking,
trying to conve y to his wife what is most real and lasting  in life. He
is raising the Self above any relationship one might have with
husband, wife, or children, but this is not to degrade those
relationships. Rather, the sage is stating a psychological fact, that
each of us is more intimately  connected to ourselves than to anyone
around us. Relationships begin “in here,” with our ability to love
ourselves, to know ourselves, to be ourselves. As Yajnavalkya tells
his wife, “Indeed, my beloved, it is the Self that should be seen, the
Self that should be heard, the Self that should be reected upon, and
the Self that should be known.”
The reason these words have survived for more than three
thousand years is that in every generation, the Self wakes up and
demands to be known. When it does, other relationships begin to
pale by comparison, at least at the outset, because the intimacy of
one’s own being is quite overwhelming. The world becomes a
wraparound mirror, reecting oneself on all sides. Let us begin to
examine how that might feel. Sitting in my chair meditatin g, I feel like myself, a person isolated
in time and space. I have thoughts, each of which takes a tiny
amount of time, but every once in a while my mantra fades away
and I experien ce silence. Sometimes this silence grows deep, and I
am left in it for moments at a stretch. When that happens, I do not
feel like my nite self anymore. I have entered into the Self. How
does this feel, exactly? Think of a man exploring a long, dark
hallway with a ashlight. All he sees is the next object that falls
within his beam; the rest remains in darkness. This is like the
waking-state mind, which knows its contents one thought  at a time. Now suppose that all at once the whole corridor lights up, revealing
every object in it. The Self is like that, a total awakening to all that exists in
awareness, but unlike the lighted hallway, there are no physical
restrictions—no objects or walls. Awareness simply sees itself inpure form. To give another analogy, imagine a genius resting on a
couch. He could be thinking  any number of brilliant thoughts, but
he is not having one right now. He remains a genius nevertheless,
because his ability lies in his potential  for being brilliant. Similarly,
the Self is a state of potentiality, of untold possibilities that unfold
one at a time in the manifest world. Entering the domain of the Self can be a surprisingly modest
experience, and many beginning meditators miss the signicance of
their inner quietness. I had one patient who had suered from
anxiety attacks since childhood and found it dicult to accept that
he was meditating correctly. In an encouraging tone I asked, “Do
you notice any periods of silence in your meditations?”
“Never,” he shot back. “At least not that I know of. Wouldn’t I
know it? I’m looking for it all the time.”
I told him that noticing the silence might or might not happen at
rst. “But intellectually,” I said, “you realize that the mind can be
silent?”
“Not mine,” he said. “Why not?”
“It’s too quick.”
“But even a quick mind has gaps between thoughts,” I pointed
out. “Each gap is like a tiny window onto silence, and through that
window one actually contac ts the source of the mind. As we’re
talking here now, there are gaps between our words, aren’t there? When you meditate, you take a vertical dive into that gap.”
“Sure, I can see that,” he rejoined, “but I don’t think I experience
it in meditation.” I asked him what he did experience. He said, “The
only thing that makes medi tation dierent from just sitting in a
chair is that when I open my eyes after twenty minutes, I often feel
that only two or three minutes have passed—I am intrigued by
that.”
I said, “But you see, this is the very best clue that you have gone
beyond though t. When you don’t have thoughts, there is silence. Silence does not occupy time, and in order to contact the Self, one
has to go into the eld of the timeless. Your mind might not be able
to register this experience at rst, because it is so accustomed tothinking. You may feel that time has simply own by, or that it was
lost somewher e. But the ‘lost’ time was actually spent immersed in
the Self.”
It was helpful for this man to gain a better intellectual grasp of
what was happ ening to him, but the timeless Self is not a concept
one has to believe in or even comprehend. It is only necessary to
travel back and forth from thinking to silence, over and over, until
the full experience of silence registers. When the yogis escaped the
eld of time, they did not intend to remain away forever. They
knew that as long as they possessed a body, its organs had to
function accord ing to natural laws; as long as they used their brains
to think, their minds had to accept the same sensations, memories,
and desires as the mind of any other person. All this was absolutely necessary. What was not necessary,
however, was the tangle of pain and sorrow that is caused when one
is a prisoner of events. For the duration that he could experience
pure silence, the yogi’s nervous system was free to untw ist the old
knots of stress and thus heal the wounds of time. Once a person is convinced that his meditation experiences are
real, he begins the process of ripening the self into the Self. That is,
he begins to experience what it means to abolish all the divisions
that keep people apart. Ordinary life does not provide much
experience of this state. We are conditioned never to forget that
“me” and “not me” are dierent, with one notable exception: falling
in love. To fall head over heals in love is to share your self with
another. The ego’s barriers fall for a time, and the lover and his
beloved agree that they have merged into one identity. For as long
as the enchantment lasts, one feels the other’s emotions, breathes
the other’s breath. There is an invincible sense of union that makes
being alone too painful to endure. In our culture, we tend to dismiss this union as a passing
psychological illusion and probably unhealthy if prolon ged much
beyond the rst ush of courtship. (“Love addiction” has even
entered the lexicon of abnormal psychology recently.) The yogis,
however, would say that there is no reason why a person cannot
have two perspectives on himself, one local (the self) and the otheruniversal (the Self). A yogi adopts both perspectives at once. He has
stabilized his awareness of the Self without losing the self. An
intense feeling  of love accompanies this new state, but unlike falling
in love, the yogi’s merging does not depend upon another person,
even a beloved. He merges with everything, including it all in his
Self. Once he can see everyt hing as part of his identity, there is no
isolated “me” to defend. Love is all that remains. A perso n living in the Self feels intimately connected to others,
not because he is skillful at the usual give-and-take of a good
relationship, but because he gives everything of himself. He holds
nothing back, and therefore he ows eortlessly beyond the
boundaries of his isolated self. Could this be our natural state? At the turn of the century, the great photographer Alfred Stieglitz
was growing up in a well-to-do German family in New York City. During one viciously cold winter, a wandering organ-grinder
showed up at the back door. As soon as he heard the organ-grinder’s
tune, Alfred jumped up from the dinner table and ran outside to
give him a penny. The next evening the organ-grinder reappeared,
and the little boy ran out again to give him a penny. This ritual repeated itself day after day, through snow and sleet. The family became quite impressed, and one evening Alfred’s
mother told him how wonder ful it was that he would brave the cold
to give money  to a beggar. Alfred looked up in surprise  and said,
“But Mama


 there has been any decline until they reach their
late 30s. A few fortunate ones don't notice it until their 40s. A few (usually) dishonest ones claim no losses into their 50s  but they
are almost inevitably lying, either to you or to themselves, or both. T hough it might be wisest to begin combating the aging process
at age 19, practically speaking, no one is going to start spending substantial money on food supplements until they actually notice
significant lost function. For non -athletes this point usually  comes when function has dropped to about 90 percent of what it was in
our youth. If they're lucky what people usually notice with the beginnings of middle age is an increasing inability for their  bodies
to tolerate insults such as a night on the town or a  big meal. Or they may begin to get colds that just won't seem to go away. Or
they may begin coming home after work so tired that they can hardly stay awake and begin falling asleep in their Lazy Boy
recliner in front of the TV even before prime time. If t hey're not so lucky they'll begin suffering the initial twinges of a non -life-
threatening chronic condition like arthritis. The thinnest line demonstrates the worst possible life from a purely physical point of view, where a person started out life with
significantly lowered function, lost quite a bit more and then hung on to life for many years without the mercy of death. If one can postpone the deterioration of aging, they extend and hopefully square the curve (retard loss of function until lat er and
then have the loss occur more rapidly). Someone whose lifetime function resembled a "square curve"(the thickest, topmost line )
would experience little or no deterioration until the very end and then would lose function precipitously. At this point we do not
know how to eliminate the deterioration but we do know how to slow it down, living longer and feeling better, at least to a p oint
close to the very end. Vitamin supplements can actually slow or even to a degree, reverse, the aging process. Howev er, to accomplish that task, they
have to be taken in amounts far greater than so -called minimum daily requirements, using vitamins as though they were drugs, a
therapeutic approach to changing body chemistry profiles and making them resemble a younger bod y. For example, research
gerontologists like Walford reason that if pantothenic acid (vitamin B 5, in fairly substantial (but quite safe) doses can ex tend the
life and improve the function of old rats, there is every indication that it will do a similar jo b on humans. Medical researchers and
research gerontologists have noticed that many other vitamin and vitamin -like substances have similar effects on laboratory
animals. Some will object that what helps rats and mice is in no way proven to cause the s ame result on humans. I agree. Proven with full
scientific rigor, no. In fact, at present, the contention is unprovable. Demonstrable as having a high likelihood's of being so, yes! So likely so as to be almost incontrovertible, yes! But provable to the mo st open -minded, scientific sort –probably not for a long
time. However, the Life Extension Foundation is working hard to find some quantifiable method of gauging the aging process in
humans without waiting for the inarguable indicator, death. Once this is a ccomplished and solidly recognized, probably no rational
person will be able to doubt that human life span can be increased. Experiments work far better with short -lived laboratory animals for another reason; we can not control the food and supplement
intakes of humans as we can with caged mice. In fact, there are special types of laboratory mice that have been bred to have
uniformly short life spans, especially to accelerate this kind of research. With mice we can state accurately that compared t o a
control group, feeding such and such a dose of such and such a supplement extended the life -span or functional performance by
such and such a percent. A lot of these very same medical gerontologists nourish their own bodies as thoroughly as the laborato ry animals they are
studying, taking broad mixes of food supplements at doses proportional to those that extend the life spans of their research
animals. This approach to using supplementation is at the other end of the scale compared to using supplements to prevent gross
deficiencies. In the life extension approach, vitamins and vitamin -like substances are used as a therapy against the aging process
itself. Will it work? Well, some of these human guinea pigs have been on heavy vitamin supplementation for over thirty years (as of
1995) and none seem to be suffering any damage. Will they live longer? It is impossible to say with full scientific rigor? To  know
if life extension works, we would have to first determine "live longer than what?" After all, we  don't know how long any person
might have lived without life extending vitamin supplements. Though it can't be "proven," it makes perfect sense to me to spe nd
far less money on an intensive life extension vitamin program than I would certainly lose as a r esult of age -related sickness. Besides, I've already observed from personal use and from results in my clinical practice that life extension vitamin program s do
work. Whether I and my clients will ultimately live longer or not, the people who I have pu t on these programs, including myself
and my husband, usually report that for several years after starting they find themselves feeling progressively younger, grad ually
returning to an overall state of greater well -being they knew five or ten or fifteen ye ars ago. They have more energy, feel clearer
mentally, have fewer unwanted somatic symptoms. Sometimes the improvements seem rather miraculous. After a few months on the program one ninety year old man, an
independent -minded Oregonian farmer, reported  that he began awakening with an erection every morning; unfortunately, his 89
year old cranky and somewhat estranged wife, who would not take vitamins, did not appreciate this youthfulness. A few months
later (he had a small farm) he planted a holly orcha rd. Most of you won't appreciate what this means without a bit of explanation,
but in Oregon, holly is grown as a high -priced and highly profitable ornamental for the clusters of leaves and berries. But a slow -
growing holly orchard takes 25 years to began making a profit! A few older clients of mine reported that they noticed nothing from the life extension program, but these are unique people w ho
have developed the ability to dominate their bodies with their minds and routinely pay their bodies absolu tely no attention, driving
them relentlessly to do their will. Usually they use their energies to accomplish good, Christian works. Eventually, these de dicated
and high -toned people break down and die like everyone else. Will they do so later on life exten ding vitamins than they would
have otherwise? I couldn't know because I can't know how long they might have lived without supplementation and since they
refuse to admit the vitamins do them any good, they won't pay for them. Many on life extension prog rams experience a reverse aging process for awhile. However, after the full benefit of the
supplementation has worked itself through their body chemistry, they again begin to experience the aging process. I believe t he
process will then be slowed by their vitamins compared to what it would have been without supplements. But I can't prove it. Maybe we will have some idea if the program worked 20 to 40 years from now. At this time I know of only two companies that make top quality life extension vitamin supplement formulas. One is
Prolongevity (Life Extension Foundation), the other, Vitamin Research Products. I prefer to support what I view as the altrui stic
motives  behind Prolongevity and buy my products from them. Unfortunately, these vitamin compounders can not put every
possibly beneficial substance in a single bottle of tablets. The main reason they do not is fear of the power -grabbing Food and
Drug Administrati on. This agency is threatening constantly to remove certain of the most useful life -extending substances from the
vitamin trade and make them the exclusive property of prescription -writing medical doctors. So far, public pressure has been
mobilized against  the FDA every time action was threatened and has not permitted this. If some product were included in a mix
and that product were prohibited, the entire mixed, bottled and labeled batch that remained unsold at that time would be wast ed, at
enormous cost. Were I manufacturing my own life extension supplement I would include the following. By the way, to get this all in one day, it
is necessary to take 6 to 12 large tablets daily, usually spread throughout the day, taken a few at a time with each meal.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        I believe fasting is the therapy that almost invariably gives a critically ill person their very best chance of recovery. If a patient
dies while fasting they almost certainly would have died anyway, and if death comes while fasting, it will be more comfortabl e,
with less pain, and with more mental clarity. Critically ill people may have, among other things, any of the followi ng diagnoses: advanced cancer, advanced aids, heart
failure, very high blood pressure, kidney failure, advanced liver disease, advanced emphysema, pneumonia or other catastrophi c
infections, especially those that seem unresponsive


 in one
case; mitral insufficiency (failure of the mitral valve to close) in one case; malignant hypertension
and cardiac asthma in one case; hypertension and cardiovascular disease, fibrillation and
myocardial sclerosis in one case. Both sexes were involved and their ages ranged from 24 years to 75 years. The fasts ranged
from five days (the shortest) to seven days (the longest). Of the non-edematous group, three had
mitral stenosis, one had hypertension with myocardial sclerosis. There was but one man in this
group. The youngest of the group was thirty-eight years, the oldest, sixty-four years. These patients
all fasted seven days. All the fasts in these heart cased were short, but Dagnini says: “It was consistently observed that
cardiac patients treated with fasting show increased urinary output and a rapid resorption of edema
fluid and peritoneal and pleural effusions. ” In the non-edematous group sodium chloride excretion
was about “normal. ” This may indicate that the edema in the other cases was as much the result of
salt-eating as of heart weakness. From among his twelve edematous patients, I would like to cite one case only, to picture the
developments as they occur when a cardiac patient is fasted. The patient was a twenty-four-year-old man who had a clinical diagnosis of mitral stenosis. He
was in a grave condition, with failure largely on the right side of his heart. The heart was much
enlarged in all diameters. The liver was enlarged to the iliac crest (the crest of the hip bone). There was slight effusion into the pleura, edema of the lower extremities and slight difficulty in
breathing. Previous to admission to the institution this patient had been treated with the usual heart
medicines. At the institution he was given a fast of seven days. By the third day there was distinct
improvement in his condition. The liver shrank at the surprising rate of two-finger-breadths a day. 112The edema fluid was rapidly absorbed through the fast. By the end of the seventh day the liver was
but three fingerbreadths below the ribs and the generalized edema had disappeared. There was much improvement of the pleural effusion. The urinary output in this case was
significant. Being but 250 cc at the outset, it increased rapidly until by the fifth day it reached 3700
cc and remained at about 2000 cc thereafter. The diuresis in this case accounted for the removal of
the edema. Dagnini’s observation that fasting has been employed beneficially in many types of cardiac
decompensation and that this has suggested that its benefits are drawn, not from a single one of its
effects, but from multiple effects, is worthy of careful consideration. He suggests that “possibly many diverse effects are summed and potentiated with a resulting
restoration of normal or near-normal cardiovascular function. ” Unfortunately his fasts were of
short duration, never long enough for complete results, and he fails to tell us how they were
followed up—how the patients were fed after the fast, what activities they were permitted, what
subsequent developments resulted. But his observations, limited as these cases were, certainly, so
far as the length of the fasts were concerned, are enough to reveal the beneficial effects of the fast
in a wide, variety of severe heart abnormalities. The intelligent individual will employ the fast long before his heart condition reaches the stage
represented in the cases described by Dagnini. In spite of the benefits described, there is no doubt
that these were terminal cases and no genuine recovery could have been expected in any of them. The fast should be employed at a time when there is still possibility of genuine recovery. I should not have to add, again, that it should be undertaken under competent and experienced
direction and supervision, but the warning is important in these cases. No sufferer from heart
disease—or the possible incipient stages of heart disease—should ever attempt to fast on his own. 11328
Colitis
Colitis is inflammation of the colon. To understand what the colon is let us examine a brief physiological description. Anatomically,
the human colon or large bowel, which is often likened to a sewer, is divided into three distinct
sections: the ascending, transverse and descending colon. It begins with a blind pouch, the cecum,
where the small intestine ends. The vermiform appendix is attached to the cecum. Immediately
above the appendix, the cecum receives the small intestine, almost at right angles. The upper end of the cecum merges into the first part of the ascending portion of the colon. This
passes upward on the right side to a point near the liver, where an angle is formed (the hepatic
flexure) and the second portion, the transverse colon, begins. The transverse colon passes in a slight curve across the abdomen immediately under the
stomach and, at the left side forms another angle (the splenic flexure). Below the spleen, the colon
becomes the descending colon, which merges into the sigmoid flexure, and curves irregularly
downward in an S shape. Between the end of the small intestine (the ileum) and the cecum, there is
a valve formed by a sphincter muscle and known as the ileo-cecal valve. At the end of the rectum,
another such valve (the rectal sphincter) closes the rectum. The colon functions by carrying the residues of digestion upward from the cecum, across the
transverse colon, and downward through the sigmoid to the rectum and to the outside world. Digestion is completed in the small intestine and it is there that the digested portions of the food
are absorbed. Some water may be absorbed from the colon, but the small intestine is specially
adapted for the absorption of food. There seems to be no absorption of toxins from the colon. The colon, like all the rest of the alimentary tract, is lined with a skin or membrane that is called
mucous membrane. Irritation, or inflammation of the colon is known as colitis or colonitis. Supposed by some authorities to be perhaps the most common disease of cilivized man, colitis is
asserted to be very rare among uncivilized peoples. Constipation is perhaps the most annoying
symptom of colitis, although it is likely to be alternated with
diarrhea. If the colitis is acute
(diarrhea) there may be mucus in the loose, watery stools. All the forms of colitis discussed in this
chapter come under the general technical classification of “mucous colitis. ”
A state of spasm of the colon is common in cases of colitis, especially if the condition is
marked. Frequently, also there is a sagging of the transverse colon—
enteroptosis. The colon may
sag in the absence of colitis and colitis may exist without sagging, but spastic colitis is almost
certain to accompany both conditions. It is a mistake, however, to think of the spastic constipation as the cause of the mucous colitis. This view is no more rational than to think of the colitis as the cause of the spastic constipation. In chronic colitis the more marked inflammation may be located at different parts of the colon,
the acute exacerbations of which will be named after the location of the more severe inflammation,
as sigmoiditis, proctitis, etc. For long periods the condition may be obscure, the individual merely being conscious of
abdominal distress, which he may attribute to constipation or to gas. When mucus appears in the
stools, the condition is already well advanced. As the colitis becomes more marked the mucus may
appear in the stools in masses of jelly-like consistency, in suspicious looking ropy shreds like
114casts of the bowels, or the feces may be coated with mucus and this may be streaked with blood. There is now no mistake that colitis is present. I do not intend here to attempt to cover all the variations from the common picture of colitis. These may occur, often, but for all practical purposes, they are of little significance. As the colon
is divided into a few sections, it becomes possible to have such special forms of colitis as
proctitis, sigmoiditis and others, but the so-called disease is the same in each case. Let us look at the two “diseases” just named. There is no actual dividing line between the
sigmoid and the rectum. If we imagine a hair line dividing the two continuous sections of the colon,
we may recognize the folly of naming inflammation on one side of this line sigmoiditis, and, if it
extends only an eighth of an inch over the line into the lining membrane of the rectum, calling this
proctitis. It is like naming pimples on the left cheek one disease and pimples on the right cheek
something else. We make the same confusing classifications of inflammation according to locations throughout
all parts of the body. Inflammation of the lining membrane of the nose is rhinitis, inflammation of
the lining membrane of the nasal sinuses is sinusitis, inflammation of the bronchial tube is
bronchitis; but these are only different names for precisely the same condition in the different
locations. Gastritis is the same condition in the lining membrane of the stomach. To call all of
these local inflammations different diseases is only to add to growing confusion. Often great skill is needed to diagnose correctly the form of colitis with


. As a rule, that meant
spending long hours on my feet. On the seventh day of my fast, I put
in a five-tooth bridge for John L. Wilson. On the twelfth day of my fast, Dr. Brown looked me over and
told me I was nearly, but not quite ready to break it. Stick it out for a
couple of days more, he suggested. At the end of fourteen days, Dr.
Brown put me through his mill and told that, except for one bad spot I
had a clean colon. And he added: "You cannot go on now. You must
have nourishment. Maybe Nature will complete the clean-up." As it turned out, happily for me, Nature did just that. Without Dr. Brown's friendly but firm warning, I would have
realized well enough that I had now come to the critical turn in my
fight to live. I had to break my fast by degrees. I must follow the
schedule he gave me to  the minute. One false step would probably kill
me. Right then, a light lunch, even  a bowl of soup would have been
speedily fatal. Dr. Brown started me off on a small glass of orange juice every
two hours. For the next day I could have a glass of milk every seven
hours. On the second day, one glass every two hours and on the third
day, one every hour. For the next two weeks, or exactly as long as I had fasted, I was on a milk diet exclusively. Then my system rebelled at the treatment. I no longer could digest my milk ration. It poisoned
me. So Dr. Brown told me to fast for one day. Then put me on a diet
of milk alternated 50-50 with fruit and vegetable juices. I kept that up for four months and then began on potlicker and boiled vegetables, such as mustard greens, turnips, cabbage and carrots. That was the
first solid food I had eaten for almost five months. I felt like a new man. For the first time since I was a boy I knew
the feel of bounding health. When on my fast my weight had dropped
to 120 pounds, four months later I weighed 178 pounds. That was eight pounds above par. I had failed  to weigh regularly. My potlicker
diet soon dropped me to 172 pounds. I kept that weight for several
years. Then gradually I dropped to my present weight, between 145
and 150 pounds. Since Dr. Brown treated me, 20-odd years ago, his profession,
naturopathy, has devised new and better methods of cleaning and
invigorating the colon than by a prolonged fast. He has abandoned that
method, he informs me, as too dangerous. Coming out of the fast
imposes to heavy a strain on the pa tient's will power. I had will power
like an iron horse, without it, I could not have made the grade. However, as I have proved to my own satisfaction, an occasional
short fast—one, two or three days, as conditions may warrant— can
be immensely useful. As I can realize now, looking back over my experience, it was
food eaten as appetite and taste dictated, nothing else, that reduced my
health to its lowest ebb. When I began eating according to formula my
health rose steadily to the high leve l where I have since maintained it. Whatever the disease it is self created. Disease cannot attack a healthy
body. At this writing I am enjoying what seems to me the best health of
all my 83 years. On that point, following my last check-up, my family
physician, Dr. L. B. Barnett of Hereford, gave me welcome
confirmation. He told me:
"The best 15 or 20 years of your life lie ahead of you." Thus heartened, I can picture myse lf a hale and hearty, energetic
and peppy centenarian. You ask, how do I mean to do it? Well, as
nearly as I can phrase it, my formul a is to subsist on natural foods,
mostly raw, like our mineral rich  Deaf Smith County wheat fresh
ground at the mill, raw vegetables grown in the same mineralized soil,
and occasionally raw beef—that ta stes good when put through the
liquifier, mixed with raw fruits and vegetables. For one thing, I watch my weight closely. When I pick up a
pound or two, I'll cut down and cu t down my intake, until I have
reduced my weight back to normal. At my age—and as I believe for any adult person, stored-up fat can be deadly. My aim, then, is to consume just enough food properly balanced, proteins, oils, fats, sugar
and starches, to supply energy for my bodily machine and to keep that
machine in repair. If I do that, always building up the wear and tear of each day's
living, and the while supplying the catalysts needed to spark the vital
processes, I see no reason at all why I cannot round out my 100 years
and more—through it all keeping the feel of youth. One of my findings teaches me definitely, that our body is made
of the food which is taken into our body—perfect or imperfect, it is
our creation—barring the time when we  have no say. To say the least
we are made of the food consumed—whether well or sick, we create it. Man was placed here to rule and to be the "big boss" and to
choose his way of life and living and to have what ever he may desire,
if and when he obeys the natural laws given him. These principles
have been demonstrated and proven in my life. There have been two, so-called, outstanding diseases developed
in my body. Viz. Arthritis and shaking palsy. My constant search for
natural foods with plenty of minera ls and vitamins relieved me of
these annoyances. These are the immunizers. Disease attacks only
when natural laws have been disobeyed. The minerals and vitamins
we must have. These are not plentiful in our popular foods. CHAPTER 14. AFTER I GOT ONTO THE RIGHT TRACK
 All the 25 years I have lived since I got onto the right track as to
diet and living habits generally, have been years of mental growth for
me—and consequently the most enjoyable years I have known. I have
gained back the bouyancy and the vision— day-dreaming reader, if you insist on calling it that—of my lost youth. My secret? It's yours for the asking, reader. Eat body-building
foods which are also brain-building. I mean, for example, wheat which
has a high phosphorus content—the so rt that grows in our Deaf Smith
County soil—but consumed whole, bran, shorts and all, not as white
flour that comes from the mill. The potatoes, beans, carrots, lettuce,
mustard greens and all the food crops which grow in our soil are rich
in those same elements. Now, as modern chemical analysis shows, the human body is
more complex than the old school sc ientists ever suspected. Besides
nitrogen (protein), calcium, phosphorus, potassium and water (oxygen
and hydrogen), your body contains iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, chlorine,
sodium, magnesium, manganesem sulphur, boron, flourine, iodine and
carbon—but in various salts and in organic form. Besides to keep it functioning properly, the body needs the various vitamins (doubtless
including some that biochemists have not yet discovered) and the
vitamin factors, such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic and
pantothenic acid. In fact our body must have food containing every
element found in the earth. Modern biochemistry bears out what the Psalmist declared 3,000
years ago: "Man is fearfully and wonderfully made—curiously
wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." All those elements are essential to keep the body functioning. When some run short because a person's food does not contain them,
trouble results. Whatever the disease, we create it. I have arrived at the conclusion that there is a type of food for
each organ or function of the body. There is wheat for the brain and
nervous system because it supplies phosphorus. There is milk, the best
source of calcium (when it is taken raw) for the bones and teeth. There
is iodine for the thyroid gland, and so on. Our body must be supplied with every mineral and vitamin if health is to continue. If, instead of giving quinine for chills or calomel to prod a
sluggish liver, the doctors would prescribe the right food in the place
of drugs for whatever deficiency the patient's impaired bodily
functioning (metabolism, the doctors  call it) indicated, I do believe,
they would get better results. I saved my life by this method. It works. This food medicine, according to my theory, would contain the
elements which the sick body needed to restore its upset balance, but
in the organic form which can be assimulated. From the viewpoint of the man who feeds upon them, the great
function of plants is to take the inorganic minerals found in the soil
and turn them into organic minerals that the human body can
assimilate. That is true of the base minerals like calcium (lime),
nitrogen (protein), potash and phosph orus. It is equally true of iron,
copper, magnesium, boron,


g h
than the  nose, breathing volume will be higher, causing too
much carbon dioxide to be ex pelled from the lungs. Carbon
dioxide is a na tural “opener” of the smooth muscle in the
airways. The loss of carbon dioxide therefore causes asthma
airways to narrow even more. •   Unlike nasal breathing, mouth breathing does not allow us to
benefit from nasal nitric oxide, which supports the lung’ s
defensive capabilities. T aking all these factors into c onsideration, it is not surprising that
mouth breathing causes a reduction in lung function in people with mild
asthma and plays a significant role in the exacerbation of asthma symptoms. Not only  is it im portant to breathe through the nose during rest, it is also
beneficial to nasal breathe durin g physical exercise. In a paper published in
the American Review of Respiratory Disease,  res earchers studied the
beneficial ef fects of nasal breathing on exercise-induced asthma. The study
observed that most subjects wit h asthma spontaneously breathe d with their
mouths open when instructed to breathe “naturally. ” The authors found that
mouth b reathing during exercise  caused the airways to narrow even further. In contrast, when subjects were asked to breathe only through their nose
during exercise, exercise-induced asthma did not occur at all. The paper
concluded that “the nasopharynx and the oropharynx play important roles in
the phenomenon  of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. ” In si mple terms,
the ef fects of breathing through the nose are integral to reducing or avoiding
exercise-induced asthma completely. The fact that el ite athletes with asthma often favor swimming above
other forms of exercise is not a coincidence. During swimming, the face is
immersed under water, reducing  the amount of air taken into th e lungs and
increasing the athlete’ s tolerance  for carbon dioxide. Although the swimmer
may dra w his or her breath in t hrough the mouth, the protective ef fects of
reduced breathin g are still evide nt. A child or adult with asthma may also
prefer swimming because the water exerts a gentle pressure on the chest
and abdomen, further restricting breathing volume and improving athletic
performance. The dif f erence b etween land-ba sed exercise and swimming in terms of
breathing pattern and volume is significant for people with asthma. On land,
your breathing pattern during exercise is not restricted the way it is in water,
meaning that you can very easily overbreathe, resulting in constricted
airways, a reduction in the amount of CO 2  in your  blood,  and a lower
BOL T score. For an individual w ith asthma, overbreathing durin g rest leadsto overbreathing during exercise, which in turn leads to exercise-induced
asthma. However, exercising in  water naturally causes you to restrict your
breathing and lower your brea thing volume toward normal, providing a
much safer and more productiv e environment for people with asthma to
exercise. At the beginning of this chapter we looked at statistics that showed that
in a group of athletes, narrowing of the airways af fected 55 percent of
football athletes and 50 percent of basketball players, but 0 percent of water
polo pla yers. W ith such a glar ing disparity, what factors could possibly
explain the dif ference. The answ er, as you have probably guessed by now,
is simple. W ater polo training  involves breath holding and swimming
underwater, resu lting in a high er tolerance to carbon dioxide, increased
amounts of nitric oxide, and a  reduced breathing volume. W ith a more
normal breathing volume, asthma tendencies don’ t appear. However, if you have asthma and do not wish to take up swimming,
there is a simple r way. The Oxy gen Advantage approach incorp orates all of
the ben eficial aspects of swimming and more. Although the act of
swimming has its merits, it is  well documented that spending time in
chlorinated pool s is not ideal for asthma, as the chlorine can ca use damage
to lung tissue. F urthermore, while swimming reduces breathing  volume, it
is st ill im portant to address poor breathing habits outside of the pool. Many
swimmers rema in habitual mouth breathers and continue to employ poor
breathing habits that reduce their athletic performance and maintain their
asthma. Y our success in addressing asthma will be based on your ability to
increase your BOL T score usin g the Breathe Light to Breathe  Right and
simulation of high-altitude exercises described in this book. Y ou  will find a
program specifi c to your needs  in Part IV. The general aim is to increase
your BOL T score to 40 seconds. The best time to measure your BOL T score
to tr ack your p rogress is first thing in the morning, and if your BOL T
measurement re mains less than 20 seconds, then your asthma  symptoms
will persist. However, when your early morning BOL T score is greater than
20 seconds, symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, breathlessness, and
chest tightness will disappear. It’ s important to note that you may still be
susceptible to certain symptoms even when you have achieved a BOL Tscore of 20 seco nds when exposed to a trigger; a BOL T score of 40 seconds
is needed to fully eliminate your asthma symptoms. As you work toward achieving a high BOL T score, you may continue to
experience symptoms, depending on your medical history and triggers. Y our ability to stop the ef fects of asthma using the exercise below is
dependent on two factors: how high your resting BOL T score is and how
quickly you react to the ons et of symptoms. The sooner you begin
practicing the exercise, the easier it is to prevent symptoms from taking
hold. By ignoring your symptoms and hoping they will g o away by
themselves, the ef fects of asthm a tend to get worse and can take  on a life of
their ow n. If you often experie nce asthma symptoms, you will know that
wheezing and coughing usually  worsen over time, so it is important to
intervene early on. This ex ercise can help stop a sthma symptoms, but please get your
doctor ’ s permiss ion to try it first. Then follow the instructions below during
the early  stages of chest tightness, wheezing, coughing, or a head cold. If
you aren ’ t able to stop your sy mptoms within 10 minutes, then take your
rescue m edication. If you are experiencing severe symptoms, of course,
then take rescue medication str aightaway. If your rescue medication does
not stop your sy mptoms within a couple of minutes, it is advisable to call a
medical doctor immediately. T o stop asthma symptoms before they take hold, follow these steps:•   T ake a small, silent breath in and out through your nose. •  Hold your breath and walk for 10 to 15 paces. •   Stop walking, release your no se, and resume gentle breathing in
and out of your nose. •  W ait for 30 to 60 seconds and repeat. •   Continue to walk while holding your breath for 10 to 15 paces
followed by resting with nasal breathing for 30 to 60 seconds. •   If you r symptoms are mild, yo u may hold your breath for more
than 10 to 15 paces. •  Do this exercise for at least 10 minutes. In a ddition to e mploying nasal breathing and achieving a high BOL T
score, it is also very importan t to warm up properly in order to avoid
exercise-induced asthma. The minimum time spent warming up should be
10 minu tes. A good warm-up consists of fast walking while practicing a
medium to strong breath hold every minute or so. After the 10-minute
warm-up, increa se the pace so that you’re moving as fast as you can while
maintaining nas al breathing. If y ou feel the need to open your m outh, slow
down. Following  your physical exercise, encourage your breathing to calm
toward normal. The positive results of reduced breathing exercises and nasal breathing
on the symptom s of asthma are  fast and astounding. W ith su ch a simple
method, there really is no reas on for anyone to suf fer a single day more
from the discomfort of asthma. CHAPTER 13
A t h l e t i c  E n d e a v o r — N a t u r e  o r  N u r t u r e. I n 1704, a racing stallion by th e name of the Darley Arabian arrived in
Britain f rom Syria, and 95 perc ent of today’ s male thoroughbreds descend
from him. Gene ticist Patrick Cunningham and colleagues fro m my alma
mater, T rinity College Dublin,  traced the lineage of nearly one million
horses f rom the past two cen turies and determined that 30 percent of
variation in performance in tho roughbreds is due to genetics alone. In the
nature versus nurture debate, these results suggest that nature plays a
significant part in our athletic abilities. There is one ar ea in particular where a combination of gene tics and
behavior has considerable influe nce on athletic


 Live yeast cannot consume milk sugars verywell. So if you can handle dairy, try one or two tablespoons of granulated liveyeast, an egg yolk and a little raw milk or yogurt, well whizzed. Wheat germ is also a great, rich food, but is usually rancid unless it is taken out
of the refrigerated display; unless it is refrigerated, in a dated package and fresh,don’t eat it. Herb teas and roasted grain beverages are healthy beverages, along
with mineral and distilled water avoiding where possible chlorinated and
fluoridated water. Diet Is Not Enough
Those isolated, long-lived peoples discovered by Weston A. Price had to do
hard physical labor to eat, had to walk briskly up and down steep terrain to getanywhere. But today, few North Americans output very much physical energy inprocess of daily life or work. Not only cars, but all of our modern conveniencesmake it possible to live without ever breaking into a sweat. We pay for this ease;it costs us a significant degree of health. Exercise has many benefits when combined with excellent nutrition. It creates
an overall feeling of well-being that can not be created by diet alone. Exercisingtemporarily makes the heart beat faster, increasing blood circulation throughoutthe body right out to the tips of your fingers and toes. This short-term elevatedflow of blood flow brings increased supplies of oxygen and nutrients to all parts ofthe body, facilitating healing and repair. Without revving up your engine every daymany of the body’s systems never get the sludge burned out of them and neverperform optimally. Exercise also changes the metabolic rate so your body burns more calories–
not only while you are exercising, but also for a 24 hour period following exercise. This maintains a healthful body weight into old age, or helps to lose weight. Mostpeople find that exercise in moderation does not increase appetite, so that it ispossible to consistently burn more calories in a day, and gradually reduce weight ifthat is desirable. It is necessary to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound of weight. Most forms of exercise allow you to burn 300 to 600 calories per hour at amoderate pace which would be achieved by doubling the resting pulse. Withouteven considering the weight-loss benefit of achieving a raised metabolism, an hourof daily exercise continued for a week or two dependent upon the type ofexercise and pace should lead to one pound of weight loss if the caloric intake is
held constant. The flip side of having a higher metabolism is rarely appreciated but is
extremely important. Recall the basic equation of health: Health = Nutrition /Calories. Exercise permits a person to eat somewhat more while not gainingweight. If the food is nutrient rich, the body has a chance to extract more vitamins,more minerals, more amino acids. The person who remains slender by rigidlyreducing their food intake to near starvation levels may lack vital, health-buildingnutrition. And only exercise moves lymphatic fluid. The blood is pumped through the
body by the heart, but the lymphatic system, lacking a heart, requires muscularcontractions to move from the extremities of the body to the central cavity. Thelymphatic system picks up cellular waste products and conducts these toxins todisposal. Frequently, people with rheumatic aches and pains or other generalizedmuscular discomforts physicians like to give Latin diagnostic names to can give uptaking pain pills if they will but begin exercising regularly. Only when they beginmoving their lymph can they begin to detoxify properly. There is another benefit from exercise which is not to be ignored, and that is
that it gives the person a chemical sense of well being. It actually will help toemotionally boost up people who are chronically depressed and make them smile. After a good workout, especially one done outside, everything seems brighter,more positive; whatever was bothering you somehow just doesn’t seem like thatbig of a deal now. I am not making pro-exercise propaganda. This is not a figmentof the imagination. An exercising body really does make antidepressantneurochemicals called endorphins, but only after about 45 minutes to an hour ofaerobic workout. Endorphins are powerful, with painkilling and euphoric effects equal to or
greater than heroin, but without any undesirable side effects. If chemists couldlearn to cheaply synthesize endorphins I’m sure that millions of people wouldwant to become addicted to them. Because I make such a point of getting in my
workout every day, my husband has accused me of being an endorphin junkie,
and he is right. I admit it, I’m really hooked on the feeling of well being Iconsistently get from any sustained exercise. I defend my addiction staunchlybecause it is the healthiest addiction I know of. I have also been accused of carrying exercise to extremes, and I admit to that
also. For a few years I trained for Ironman triathlons. I now think doing ironmandistances is immoderate and except for a few remarkable individuals with “iron”constitutions, training that hard can only lead to a form of exhaustion that is nothealth promoting. I have become much more sensible in my “old” age, and inrecent years have limited my participation to the Olympic distance triathlons. Iwas on the Canadian team at the World Championship in 1992, and intend to doit again in 1995. I do not find the Olympic distance exhausting, in fact I think it isgreat fun and truly exhilarating. I get to see all these wonderful age groupcompetitors from all over the world who look and feel fantastic. It does my soulgood to see a group of people aging so gracefully, not buying into the popularnotion that old age is inevitably disabling, depressing, and ugly. Sport brings adegree of balance to my life after spending so much time in the presence of thesick. I plan to maintain my athletic activities into old age, barring accident or otherunforeseen obstacles to fitness. To maintain basic fitness it does not matter so much what form of exercise is
chosen, as long as it is not damaging to the skeletal system or connective tissues. Many people are unable to run due to foot, knee, hip, or back problems, butalmost everyone can walk. Walking outside is better than inside on a treadmill,and walking hills is better than walking on flat ground. Exercise machines such asstationary bikes, cross country ski machines, and stair steppers work well for alot of people who live in the city, especially in the winter, or for those who hateexercise. Whatever you choose to do, it is important to at least double the restingpulse for 30 minutes no less than four days a week. This is the absolute minimumrequired to maintain the health and function of the cardiovascular-pulmonary
system. If your resting pulse is 70, you must walk, jog, ski, bike, swim or what
have you, fast enough to keep the pulse at 140 beats per minute for at least 30minutes. I have a strong preference to exercising outside in isolated places where there
is only me and the forest, or only me and the river. Running along logging roads inthe hilly back country, or swimming in the green unpolluted water of a forest riveris a spiritual experience for me. It is a time to meditate, to commune with nature,and to clear my mind and create new solutions. The repetitive action of running orwalking or swimming, along with the regular deep breathing in clean air, with nodistractions except what nature provides is truly health promoting. Sharing theseactivities with friends or family can also be great fun and some of the best in socialinteractions. It is one of my favorite ways of visiting with people. I don’t expectother people to be as enthusiastic about exercise as I am, but I do hope thateveryone will make an effort to be minimally fit as an ongoing part of their healthprogram into old age. Diet For A Long, Long Life
Some people not only want to be healthy, but they want to live in good health
long past the normal life span projected by statistical tables for Homo Sapiens. Dr. Roy Walford, a well-respected medical research gerontologist who has beenactively studying longevity for many years, is one of those. He has scientificallydemonstrated with accepted studies that a qualitative life span up to at least 115years of age is reasonably attainable by the average person if they start workingon it no later than about 50 years of age, though earlier is much better. Walford’s principles of extending life are very simple. All you have to do is
restrict your caloric intake to about 1,500 per day, and water fast two days aweek. Or alternatively, reduce your caloric intake to 1,200 per day and fast onlyone day a week on water. And make sure that every single bit of food you do eatis packed with nutrition, every single calorie, without exception. You continue this
program for the rest of your life along with moderate daily exercise and high but
reasonable dosages of vitamins, minerals, and also take a few exotic foodsupplements. The supplement program is not particularly expensive nor extreme,Walford’s supplement program is more moderate than the life extension program Irecommend for all middle-aged and older people. The best foods for this type ofprogram is a largely raw food diet (80%) with a predominance of sprouts andbaby greens, some cooked vegetables, and raw nuts and seeds. And make sureyou get 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every other day. While Dr. Walford’s focus is on caloric reduction while maintaining sufficient
nutrition, most other life extensionists focus on increasing the nutrition side of theequation for health without bothering to reduce caloric intake. This approach ismuch