 This patient’s life is usually a snarl of upsets, problems, andguilty secrets. Their key relationships are usually vicious or unhealthy. Their levelof interpersonal honesty may be poor. There are usually many things about theirlives they do not confront and so, can not change. With this type of case, all thephysical healing in the world will not make them permanently better because themental and emotional stresses they live under serve as a constant source ofenervation.
Cases like this usually do not have only one thing wrong with them. They
almost always have been sick for a long time; most have been what I call “doctorhoppers,” confused by contrary diagnoses and conflicting MD opinions. When Iget a case like this I know from the first that healing is going to be a long process,and a dubious one at that. On the physical level, their body will only repair oneaspect of their multiple illnesses at a time. Simultaneously, they must be urged toconfront their life on a gentle gradient. There is usually a lot of backsliding androllercoastering. The detoxification process, physical and psychological, can takeseveral years and must happen on all the levels of their life. This kind of case seesonly gradual improvement interspersed with periods of worsening that indicatethere remains yet another level of mental unawareness that has to be unraveled.
Few medical doctors or holistic therapists really understand or can help this
kind of case. To do so, the doctor has to be in touch with their own reactive mindand their own negative, evil impulses (which virtually all humans have). Fewpeople, including therapists, are willing to be aware of their own dark side. Butwhen we deny it in ourselves, we must pretend it doesn’t exist in others, andbecome its victim instead of conquering it. Anyone who denies that they have orare influenced by their own darker aspects who seem to be totally sweet andlight, is lying; proof of this is that they still are here on Earth.
All this generalizing about diagnostic methods and clinical approaches could go
on for chapters and more chapters, and writing them would be fine if I wereteaching a group of health clinicians that were reading this book to become betterpractitioners. But I’m sure most of my readers are far more interested in somecomplaint of their own or in the health problem of a loved one, and are intenselyinterested in one might go about handling various conditions and complaints, whattypes of organ weaknesses are typically associated with them, and whatapproaches I usually recommend to encourage healing. And, most importantly,what kind of success or lack of it have I had over the past twenty five years,encouraging the healing of various conditions with hygienic methods.
In the case studies that follow I will mostly report the simpler, easier-to-fix
problems because that is what most people have; still, many of these involve life-threatening or quality-of-life-destroying illnesses. I will tell the success story ofone very complicated, long-suffering case that involved multiple levels ofpsychological and spiritual handling as well as considerable physical healing.
Arthritis
Some years back my 70 years old mother came from the family homestead in
the wilds of northern British Columbia to visit me at the Great Oaks School. Shehad gotten into pathetic physical condition. Fifteen years previously she hadremarried. Tom, her new husband, had been a gold prospector and general
mountain man, a wonderfully independent and cantankerous cuss, a great hunter
and wood chopper and all around good-natured backwoods homesteadhandyman. Tom had tired of solitary log cabin life and to solve his problem hadtaken on the care and feeding of a needy widow, my mom. He began doing thecooking and menu planning. Tom, a little older than my mother, had no senseabout eating but could still shoot game. Ever since their marriage she had beenliving on moose meat stews with potatoes and gravy, white flour bread with jam,black tea with canned milk, a ritual glass of brandy at bedtime, and almost nofresh fruit or vegetables.
In her youth, my mother had been a concert pianist; now she had such large
arthritic knobs on all of her knuckles that her hands had become claws. Thoughthere was still that very same fine upright in the cabin that I had learned to play asa child, she had long since given up the piano. Her knees also had large arthriticknobs; this proud woman with a straight back and long, flowing strides was bentover, limping along with a cane. She was also 30 pounds overweight and herblood pressure was a very dangerous 210 over 140, just asking for a stroke.
Instead of a welcoming feast, the usual greeting offered to a loved one who
has not been seen for a few years, I immediately started her on a juice fast. I gaveher freshly prepared carrot juice (one quart daily) mixed with wheat grass juice(three ounces daily) plus daily colonics. She had no previous experience withthese techniques but she gamely accepted everything I threw her way because sheknew I was doing it because I loved her and wanted to see her in bettercondition. She also received a daily full body massage with particular attention tothe hand and knees, stimulating the circulation to the area and speeding theremoval of wastes. Every night her hands and knees were wrapped in warmcastor oil compresses held in place with old sheeting.
I did not use any vitamins or food supplements in her case. I did give her
flavorful herbal teas made of peppermint and chamomile because she needed thecomfort of a hot cupa; but these teas were in no way medicinal except for hermorale.
After three weeks on this program, Grannybelle, as I and my daughters called
her, had no unsightly knobs remaining on either her knuckles or knees and shecould walk and move her fingers without pain within a normal range of movement.The big payoff for me besides seeing her look so wonderful (20 years youngerand 20 pounds lighter) was to hear her sit down and treat us to a Beethovenrecital. And her blood pressure was 130 over 90.
Breast Cancer
I have worked with many young women with breast cancer; so many in fact,
that their faces and cases tend to blur. But whenever I think about them, Kellyinevitably comes to mind because we became such good friends. Like me, Kellywas an independent-minded back country Canuck. At the age 26, she received amedical diagnosis of breast cancer. Kelly had already permitted a lumpectomyand biopsy, but had studied the statistical outcomes and did not want to treat herillness with radical mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy because she knewher odds of long-term survival without radical medical treatment were equal to orbetter than allowing the doctors to do everything possible. Nor did she want tolose even one of her breasts. She knew how useful her breasts were because shehad already suckled one child, not to mention their contribution to one’s own self-image as a whole person. I admired Kelly’s unusual independent-mindednessbecause she comes from a country where universal health coverage is in place;her insurance would have paid all the costs had she been willing to acceptconventional medicine, but Canadian national health insurance does not coveralternative therapy.
Kelly stayed with me for nearly two months as a residential faster, because she
needed to be far from the distractions of a troubled family life. With financialsupport from her parents and child-care from her friends she was able to taketime out to give the recovery of health top priority in her life without worryingabout whether her small son was being well cared for. This peace of mind wasalso very important to her recovery.
Analysis with biokinesiology showed a pervasively weak immune system,
including a weak thymus gland, spleen, and an overloaded lymphatic system. Herliver was weak, but not as weak as it might have been, because she had becomea vegetarian, and had been working on her health in a haphazard fashion for a fewyears. Kelly’s body also showed weaknesses in pancreatic and adrenal functionas well as a toxic colon. Most immediately worrisome to her, biokinesiologytesting showed several over-strong testing lumpy areas in the breasts and over-strong testing lumpy lymph nodes in the armpits. Cancerous tumors always testoverly strong
Kelly’s earlier life-style had contributed to her condition in several ways. She
had worked for years in a forestry tree nursery handling seedling trees treatedwith highly toxic chemicals. She had worked as a cook in a logging camp forseveral seasons, eating too much meat and greasy food. And she had also spentthe usual number of adolescent and young adult years deeply involved inrecreational drug use and the bad diet that went with it.
Kelly started right in on a rigorous water fast that lasted for one entire month.
She had a colonic every day, plus body work including reflexology, holding andmassage of neurolymphatic and neurovascular points, and stimulation ofacupuncture points related to weak organ systems and general massage tostimulate overall circulation and lymphatic drainage. She took protomorphogensto help rebuild her weakened organs; she took ten grams of vitamin C every dayand a half-dose of Life Extension vitamin mix in assimilable powdered form; shedrank herbal teas of echinacea and fenugreek seeds and several ounces of freshlysqueezed wheat grass juice every day. Twice each day she made poultices out ofclay and the pulp left over from making her wheat grass juice, filled an old brawith this mixture and pressed it to her breast for several hours until the clay dried.Shortly, I will explain all the measures in some detail.
These physical therapies were accompanied by counseling sessions dealing
with some severe and long-unresolved problems, response


 if you are inebriated by caffeine then please do not quit coffee quickly. Take a week or two to quit if you are drinking over a dozen cups a day, and a week if you are drinking less than a dozen. Then drink coffee only as you need it. One cup of weak coffee (you might
call it Brazilian Tea-you can see the bottom of the cup) is very good for people over forty.
"Throw away the frying pan," is a half-truth that is put out as fact.
This came about over 100 years ago when the only thing they had to fry foods in was hog lard, or shortening. There is no such thing as vegetable shortening. It is either ve getable oil or hog lard. Hog lard is
shortening, and if the label reads VEGETABLE SHORTENING, it simply means some vegetable oil and a lot of hog lard. So don't be
fooled by reading the label (they forgot to put in a comma).
Even Crisco, which is supposed to be 100% all vegetable has
"shortening" written on the can, s imply because some people don't
know what shortening is, and therefore that word should be removed from the label. Crisco is pure vegetable oil.
We need to use more oils and more fried foods than we have been
taught to use, but use the better grade of vegetable oil. If there were more oil (corn oil) used today in our cooking, especially in the steam-ing of vegetables, and in casseroles there would be less constipation problems. I highly recommend the use of  corn oil, or a high quality ol-
ive oil, for frying or cooking because it is easier to digest than any other oil. A high quality olive oil is tasteless, and if it tastes strong it 114 should not be used. Corn oil does not have the amount of preserva-
tives in it to hurt anything.
The vegetable oil that requires a very low solvent, such as corn oil
and olive oil is very easily digested. In the liver they form gelatin, which prevents the undigested foods from sticking to the lining of the
intestines and makes elimination easy. Now don't expect the first time you use vegetable oil to get a perfect elimination. This is something that takes weeks and months to get your system to really synchronize to manufacture a sufficient amount of gelatin to afford the body to give a good, clean elimination. If more vegetable oils were used in cooking today there would be much less diverticulitis.
There are other vegetable oils like Wesson Oil (peanut oil), Sesa-
me Oil, that are very good if you are very healthy, but if you're not healthy you should use oils using the least amount of solvent possible. Safflower oil is one of the more difficult oils to digest; however, a lit-tle bit of safflower mixed with lemon juice makes a very good salad oil dressing.
In the cooking of most meats I suggest using one tablespoon of
Manichewitz medium dry grape wine to each pound of beef, lamb, or venison, and one teaspoon in cooking chicken. Also, in cooking chicken use some thyme when it comes to a boil (or use the thyme in the water in which the blood is soaked out of the chicken before cook-ing). Thyme takes away the animal taste.
We recommend chicken and fish once or twice a week; beef and
lamb once a week for those who are meat eaters.
Meat should be soaked in salt water 12 hours (using twice the
amount of salt that you'd use if you were salting the meat for cooking) to get the blood out, and then to soak it in fresh water 24 hours. If meat is good, it will be better wit hout the blood, and if it's not good,
taking the blood out won't make it any worse. Soaking will not tough-en the meat. Adolph's Papaya Meat Tenderizer is excellent to use. Pa-pain from the papaya is a white powder (an enzyme in the juice of the green fruit of the papaya and apparen tly intermittent in action between
pepsin and trypsin) and tenderizes the meat, making it much more di-gestible. 115 The only difference in the chemistry of raw and cooked meat is
that the cooked meat gives up the moisture, and as it gives up the
moisture the tissues become tenderized. Meat should be cooked until well done. Medium rare and rare meat should never be eaten if you want to be healthy. They are much more difficult to digest.
There is the idea that fertile eggs are better for you than eggs that
are not fertile. There is only one cell difference in the fertile egg. For it to make any difference you would have to use at least 2,400 eggs at one breakfast.
These facts can be substantiated by laboratory tests and only those
facts that can be substantiated by laboratory tests are of any lasting value. It is very important to st udy foods and food chemistry, and also
to read the labels when you buy foods. However, the labels are written by chemists for chemists, and mo st housewives and people who buy
foods are not chemists, and, therefore, they should use dictionaries more to find the meaning of the words on the labels.
Certain foods slow down digestion in most people. Such as
cheese, which not only slows down the digestion, but also is constipat-ing. However, if you have loose bowels, cheese is an excellent food. If you have a constipation problem and poor elimination, you should go very light on cheeses.
One should not eat over two slices of bread a day. If you eat more
bread than that you are threatening the nutrients and minerals found in other foods. It should be toasted for best nutrients, and it makes it eas-ier to digest.
There are people who need a little wine, or Zest Tonic with their
food. Not before or after, but with their food. People who have cold hands and cold feet all the time should have a little white wine with their food. Zest Tonic is the nearest product ever made to the exact enzymes that are made by the pancreas and is better than wine. Every-one has a built-in whiskey still, or gin factory, so to speak. It turns the excessive sugars into alcohol, and it is the alcohol that determines our
body temperature. I'm not speaking of fever, I'm speaking of a normal body temperature (98.6° F). Generally people over 40 years of age are 116 troubled with cold hands and cold feet, or are cold all over. This is be-
cause their pancreas is not manufacturing alcohol.
It is not the use of alcohol that is bad, but it is the abuse of the use
of alcohol, and also the using of the wrong type of alcohol. The RBTI tests will indicate which, and how much, of the four kinds of alcohol is the best for your body chemistry. It is recommended that you use 1 teaspoon of Zest Tonic in four ounces of grape juice after meals and sip it (sit down and do absolutely nothing) slowly for 30 minutes, or
until your feet and hands become warm. After a few weeks you will notice that each time you do this ther e is a mild headache that will fol-
low. Do not quit using the Zest T onic because of the mild headache;
however, cut the amount in half and when a ½ teaspoon full, sipped
for 30 minutes, after dinner and supper, if it gives a headache, cut it down to ¼ teaspoon, and when that gives you a headache, use only a drop or two, and when that gives you a headache discontinue it com-pletely. The pancreas will again be working perfectly.
Some people go to a doctor and he says, "No salt. I want you to
have a bland diet," so people buy salt substitutes, which is just as bad as salt itself because salt substitutes simply means it is not sodium chloride (which is ordinary table salt [Na Cl] ). Other salts can be magnesium chloride, iron chloride, ammonia chloride, potassium chloride, carbon chloride, etc.
There are salts that do not contain chlorides in them whatever. Some are ammonia salts, nitrogen salts, and a number of carbonate
salts.
All of the salts cause the blood vessels to dilate, and also the intes-
tines to form diverticulos areas in them, and generally upsets the body. Some people, before they taste the food, empty a salt shaker and yet their salts are perfectly normal in the tests because their body chemis-try is perfect enough that it throws out  the salt and does not retain it.
There are other people who do not use any salt, or salt substitutes, and
yet their salt is dangerously high. Sometimes high enough to cause or bring about an angina heart attack. It is not how much salt you use, it's
how much salt your body retains. 117 Sea salt is the worst of all salts for people to use. In many people it
causes a dry, hot tongue and it dries up the saliva glands and the
mouth is always dry because sea salt contains seven kinds of salt and only the healthiest log rollers (or a man doing heavy muscular work) can use it, and they should use it sparingly. Just because it comes from the sea does not mean that it is better.
Some people are so afraid of food additives until the fear of the
food additive does them more harm than the additive itself. "Perfect love casts out all fear," and there is nothing in the life to fear but fear itself.


 newspaper, or the doctor who tells you
that cholesterol is bad. If cholesterol from animal fats were unhealthy, then why do we desire them so
much? Part of this fear-inducing story is the claim that eating too much animal fat raises serum
cholesterol and thus increases the chance of heart disease. Your body produces three to four times
more cholesterol than you eat. When examined more closely, you will see that cholesterol from
healthy fats is not dangerous and that cholesterol levels do not bear any relation to the prevalence of
heart disease. For more information and a plethora of evidence, I recommend visiting
The
Cholesterol Myths
, by Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD, at:
www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htmThe Miracle of Vitamin D
Phosphorus, calcium and our hormones all have something in common. They need fat-soluble vitamin
D. Fat-soluble vitamin D is considered a hormone rather than a vitamin. Strange as it may sound, our
bodies have developed a biological need for hormones.
14
 Fat-soluble vitamin D is essential to
balance the ratio of calcium and phosphorous in our blood to stop tooth decay.
Professor and physician Edward Mellanby of England is the famous researcher who discovered
vitamin D. He and his wife May Mellanby did extensive research on tooth decay which included
decades of feeding experiments on animals and humans. He wrote:
By far the most important factor producing well calcified bones and teeth is vitamin D.
15
We need fat-soluble vitamins A and D for our cells to produce osteocalcin – the protein responsible
for deposition of calcium and phosphorous into our bones.
16
 Dr. Price found that modern people
suffered from tooth decay because modern diets are severely lacking in fat-soluble vitamins. To cure
cavities many people simply need to add these vitamins back into their diets.

Vitamin D levels in Foods
Food
17
,
18
Vitamin D Amount I.U.
Blue Ice™ fermented cod liver oil – full spectrum vitamin D - 1 teaspoon
19
3500-10000
X-Factor Gold™ high vitamin butter oil - D3 only – 1 teaspoon
20
1,000-3000
Pig or Cow Blood – 1 cup
4,000
Marlin – 3.5 ounces
1,400
Chum Salmon (Dog, Keta, or Calico) – 3.5 ounces
1,300
Herring - 3.5 ounces
1,100
Sockeye Salmon - 3.5 ounces
763
Duck Egg – 1 1/3 eggs
720
Oysters - 3.5 ounces of oyster meat
642
Halibut – 3.5 ounces
600
Grunt and Rainbow Trout 3.5 ounces
600
Sardine – 3.5 ounces
480
Mackerel – 3.5 ounces
345 – 440
Pork Lard – 1 tablespoon
140 – 400
Salmon – 3.5 ounces
360
Canned Sardines – 3.5 ounces
270Caviar (fish eggs) 3.5 ounces
232
Shrimp - 3.5 ounces
172
Chicken Egg – 2 eggs
120
Butter - 3.5 ounces
56
Pork Liver - 3.5 ounces
50
Milk - 4 cups
40
Beef Liver3.5 ounces
30
A review of this vitamin D chart shows a few important points. Seafood is an excellent source of
vitamin D. For those who do not have good access to seafood, lard seems to be the densest source of
vitamin D. However in feeding trials, bacon fat did not produce the same anti-cavity effect as did suet
(beef fat from bovine adipose deposits).
21
 Fermented cod liver oil is the most potent source of full
spectrum fat-soluble vitamin D. For vegetarians, consuming moderate amounts of butter and chicken
eggs will be unlikely to provide adequate fat-soluble vitamin D. However adding Green Pasture’s™
butter oil, and free ranging duck eggs would more than likely ensure for plenty of vitamin D.
Supplements vs. Food
There are many studies warning of adverse health effects of too much fat-soluble vitamins A and D in
the diet. Most of these studies are the result of studying vitamins A and D independently and from
synthetic supplements, not whole foods. I recommend only food-based forms of these vitamins to be
sure the body can metabolize them properly.Vital Fat-Soluble Vitamin A
Water-soluble nutrients called carotenes are not true vitamin A. Carotenes are found in foods like
carrots, squash, and green vegetables. Fat-soluble vitamin A is retinol and is only found in animal
fats. When we are healthy our bodies can make the difficult conversion of carotenes into retinol.
Depending on the fat-soluble vitamin A status in your body you made need to consume 10-20 times
more carotenes to create the same amount of true vitamin A.
22
Vitamin A is a family of fat-soluble compounds that plays an important role in vision, bone growth,
reproduction, cell division, proper prenatal development and cell differentiation. Vitamin A is
important for healthy bones and together with vitamin D stimulates and regulates bone growth.
Vitamin A lowers blood serum calcium.
23
 This is an indication that vitamin A is helping your body
utilize calcium. Vitamin A increases growth factors, which stimulate bones and teeth to grow and
repair.
Large doses of vitamin A can be toxic. However any negative effects of vitamin A seem to be
blocked when sufficient vitamin D is in the diet.
24
 Therefore if you eat a lot of liver from land
animals, make sure you are getting plenty of sunlight or vitamin D to prevent vitamin A toxicity.
Fat Soluble Vitamin A
Food
25
Vitamin A Amount (I.U.)
Blue Ice ™ fermented cod liver oil – 1 teaspoon
26
7,500-25,000
Turkey Liver 3.5 ounces
75,000
Duck Liver 3.5 ounces
40,000
Beef Liver 3.5 ounces
35,000
Chicken Liver – 3.5 ounces
13,328
Fish Head / Fish Eyes / Animal Eyes
Very high
Eel – 3.5 ounces
3477
Hard Goat Cheese 3.5 ounces
1745
Soft Goat Cheese 3.5 ounces
1464
Duck Egg – 1 egg
472
King Salmon 3.5 ounces
453
Ghee – 1 tablespoon
391
Butter – 1 tablespoon
350
X-Factor Gold™ high vitamin butter oil – 1 teaspoon
27
200 – 450
Egg Yolk – 1½ yolks
333
Whole Milk – 1 cup
249
In examining this list, you will see that liver is the most concentrated source of fat-soluble vitamin A.The magic of liver in relation to healing tooth cavities in part is its high vitamin A content.
Vitamins A and D from Foods
If you have tooth decay, you are presumably deficient in vitamins A and D. To make up for a
deficiency more of these vitamins will be required at the beginning of your dietary change. It is
difficult to know without thorough testing and scientific understanding the exact amount of vitamins A
and D your body needs. That is why you will have to adjust your dosages of fat-soluble rich foods
based upon how you feel. Using Dr. Price’s program as a guide, we want at least 2,500 IU’s of
vitamin D per day, and at least 6,000 IU’s of vitamin A. You can obtain these fat-soluble vitamins
either from food, from cod liver oil, or from both. First we will look at our food options.
My experience has been that for most people, but not everyone, we are greatly underestimating our
needs for these vitamins, so much higher dosages than recommended here might be in order if it feels
right to you.
28
Three Different Sample Daily Food Groups for Fat-soluble Vitamins A and D
Sample 1

2 tablespoons of tallow (suet) approx. 500 IU vitamin D
3.5 ounces of sockeye salmon 763 IU vitamin D
6 chicken eggs 800 IU vitamin D
1 ounce beef liver 10,000 IU vitamin A
Sample 2

3/4 pound sockeye, king, keta salmon 2616 IU vitamin D
1/2 pound goat cheese 3,600 vitamin A
2 tablespoons butter, 750 IU vitamin A
Sample 3

4 duck eggs 2100 IU vitamin D, 1888 IU vitamin A
1 ounce of chicken liver 3808 IU vitamin A
Please note that all of these daily suggestions do not focus on the crucial Activator X which will be
discussed in a few pages.
Cod Liver Oil Heals Cavities
When vitamins A and D are taken together they are not toxic.
29
 The most potent and easy way to
consume the fat-soluble vitamins A and D together is cod liver oil. One teaspoonful of good cod liver
oil has the vitamin A equivalent to 5 ½ quarts of milk, or 1 pound of butter, or 9 eggs.Dr. Price described an experiment that shows the potency of cod liver oil in remineralizing teeth
which was reported in
TheNew Zealand Dental Journal
. In a group of sixty


ane A
2, endothelial-derived hyperpolarizing factor, adenosine, and K+ and
H+ ions.34
CPP is the driving force that moves blood flow through the cerebral circulation.
Cerebral blood flow varies directly with CPP, which is defined as the difference between mean arterial and ICPs, and inversely with cerebrovascular resistance. Normally, CPP can be considered equal to mean arterial pressure. Immediately after brain trauma, two compensatory mechanisms to counter low CPP from vessel stenosis or vessel obstruc -
tion (e.g., platelet aggregation) can be activated: autoregulation and oxygen extraction fraction. As CPP falls, cerebral blood flow is maintained by the vasodilation of resis-tance arterioles, which results as reflex autoregulation is activated.
90
If cerebral blood flow falls beyond the autoregulatory range, oxygen extraction
factor kicks in order to maintain oxygen levels, but up to a point.91 When CPP falls
beyond the point where neither autoregulation nor increases in oxygen extraction fraction can compensate, ischemia resulting in an insufficient delivery of oxygen to meet metabolic demands will occur with almost certain damage to the brain.
Cerebrovascular resistance results mainly from the friction caused by the blood
on the vessel wall and is determined by vessel length, which does not vary signifi -
cantly in normal physiology, and from blood viscosity, which normally stays within a small physiological range. Blood viscosity, however, increases with blood loss, with ischemia, or with the inability of RBCs to deform in tight capillary lumens.
92 Blood
viscosity depends on hematocrit, erythrocyte aggregability, and plasma viscosity.93
When blood viscosity increases, cerebral blood flow decreases, and inversely,
when viscosity is decreased, cerebral blood flow is increased. This occurs because resistance arterioles regulate the amount of blood flow supplied to the brain by changing their diameters according to the viscosity and the friction of the blood passing through them, also called shear stress. Consequently, the most important aspect of resistance in regulating brain blood flow is the diameter of the vessel whose main activator is blood viscosity.
There is a vasomotor duality that produces either vasodilation or vasoconstriction
of brain arterioles, and it is thought to occur from endogenous arteriolar generation of either 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), a powerful vasoconstrictor derived from arachidonic acid (AA), or from conversion of AA to the vasodilator epoxyeicosatrienoic acid.
94
Normal cerebral blood flow (CBF) in adult humans is about 60 mL/100 g/min
and, regionally, about 70 mL/100 g/min in gray matter, and 20 mL/100 g/min in white matter. These values normally decrease with age by an estimated rate of about 0.5% per year.
95 Between the ages of 20 and 65, normal CBF generally declines
about 15%–20%.96,97 It is generally accepted that when CBF reaches 30 mL/100
g/min following brain injury, neurologic symptoms can appear and when CBF falls to 15–20 mL/100 g/min, electrical failure or irreversible neuronal damage can occur even within minutes. Neuroimaging studies show that vascular disturbances can reduce CBF to generate ischemic neurons (<12 mL/100 g/min), penumbral neurons 148 Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) in Trauma and Disease
(12–22 mL/100 g/min), or hypoperfused neurons (>22 mL/100 g/min. Penumbral
neurons are functionally impaired but, unlike ischemic neurons, lack structural damage, while hypoperfused neurons may or may not exhibit anatomic or functional changes for extended time periods.
27
Penumbral and hypoperfused neurons therefore may be salvageable following
brain trauma in the event that a safe and effective treatment can be found. Such a treatment should address most if not all of the following factors:
 1.  I nhibit platelet aggregability
 2.  B lock vasoconstrictors including thromboxane A2, endothelins, and 20-HETE
 3.  S uppress tissue factor to prevent thrombosis
 4. B lock Na+ and Ca+ intracellular influx
 5.  B lock glutamatergic activation of NMDA receptors
 6.  S uppress inflammation
 7.  I nhibit free radical formation
 8.  R educe brain edema
 9.  S tabilize cell membrane from damage
 1 0.  I nhibit toxic cytokines
 1 1.  I ncrease cerebral blood flow by (a) activating smooth muscle cells in brain
to increase vasodilation and (b) stimulating PG vasodilators E1 and prosta -
cyclin (I2)
These factors that are linked with injuries to the brain and spinal cord and the role DMSO plays in their activation are reviewed in the following text and summarized in Figure 8.1.
PROSTAGLANDINS
Concussive brain trauma is often accompanied by platelet aggregation and platelet dysfunction in pial arteries and arterioles due to coagulation disturbances caused by the sudden trauma.
98,99
In brain trauma patients, early coagulopathy is common on hospital admission
with the coagulopathic process beginning at the time of trauma.100 As discussed
in the section “Cerebral Hemodynamic Function in Brain Injury” in this chapter, blocked or obstructed brain vessels can lead to energy delivery disturbances whose outcome is brain cell damage or death. For this reason, traumatic brain injury has been the focus of treatments using antiplatelet aggregators such as prostacyclin, a potent vasodilator and platelet deaggregant.
101
Although microcirculation is improved following prostacyclin treatment after
brain trauma,101 brain edema and cerebral blood flow do not necessarily improve.
This limitation has discouraged the use of prostacyclin and other antiplatelet aggre -
gators both in basic and clinical strategies in treating brain trauma.
DMSO has been consistently reported to be an effective platelet deaggregator101–103
and, unlike prostacyclin, has been shown, following severe insults to the brain, to improve brain edema, cerebral blood flow, CPP, and electroencephalographic activ -
ity, while lowering ICP and cerebrovascular reactivity.
41,47–49149 DMSO in Basic Neuroprotection
The first step in the PG synthesis is the release of the substrate fatty acid, such as
AA, from the cellular phospholipids, by the action of the enzyme phospholipase A2
(Figure 8.2).
There are three ways that PGs can be elaborated. The monoenoic pathway forms
PGE1 and PGE1-alpha from dihomo-y-linolenate. The bisenoic pathway leads to the
elaboration of the endoperoxides (PGG2 and PGH2), which are the controlling agents
in subpathways producing PGI2, TXA2, and PGE2 (Figure 8.2).
It can be seen from Figure 8.2 that PGI2 (prostacyclin) and, to a lesser extent, PGE2
act as potent vasodilators and platelet deaggregators. The antiplatelet aggregation
activity by PGI2 and PGE2 results from their increase of cAMP levels in platelets.104,105
The other products, especially TXA2, are potent vasoconstrictors and platelet
aggregators. There is a third trienoic pathway derived from eicosapentaenoic acid, which originates with the membrane-bound fatty acid, but little is known about the effects of its products, TXA
3 and PGI3, on the cerebral vascular bed. However, it is
of interest that the vascular-platelet action of PGI3 is similar to that of PGI2, although
TXA3 is not considered analogous to TXA2 since the latter can increase the levels of
cAMP in platelets, thus neutralizing their potential aggregation.105,106
Formation of PGE2 can stimulate the levels of adenosine diphosphate (ADP), a
mild platelet deaggregator and antagonist of noradrenaline production.107Cellular phospholipids
Arachidonic acid
Cyclooxygena seIndomethacin blo cks
Aspirin blo cks
Prostaglandin H2
Thromboxane A2
Vasoconstr iction
Platel et aggr egation
Inflammation
Bronch oconstrictionVasodila tion
Platel et deaggr egation
Anti-inflammation
BronchodilationProstaglandin E2
BlocksIncre ase cAMPProstaglandin E1Prostaglandin synthesis and DMSO actions
Stimulates
StimulatesStimulates
DMSO
DMSO(Prosta cyclin syntha se)
Prosta cyclin (I2)Phospholip ase A
FIGURE 8.2  Simplified scheme of prostaglandin biosynthesis, which starts with the
release of a fatty acid nearly always derived from the 2-position of a membrane phospho -
lipid. Arachidonic acid is created from diacylglycerol via phospholipase-A2 and then brought
to either the cyclooxygenase pathway where


 Fishman; H.S. Wiley; and P.S.
Peyakovich.
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.
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24.
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Can. J. Physicol. and
Pharmacol.
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25.
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203–204, 1965.
26.
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Calesnick.
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27.
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28.
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528, 1967.
29.
 DiStefano, V., and H. Borgstedt.
Science
, 144(3622), 1137–1138, 1964; CA.
61, 4868c.
30.

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31.
 Caldwell, A.D.S.; P.G.T. Bye; and M.H. Briggs.
Nature
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32.
 Brobyn, R.
Medical Tribune
, October 3, 1968.
33.
 Jenkins, B.H.
Invest. Ophthalmol.
, 5(3), 329, 1966.
34.
 Jacob, S.W., and D.C. Wood.
Current Therap. Res.
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 Hull, F.W.; D.C. Wood; and R.D. Brobyn.
Northwest Medicine
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1969.
36.
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37.
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Arch. Ophthal.
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38.
 Kleberger, K.E., and D.M. Gordon.
Forthschr. Med.
, 85(5), 171–174, 1967;
CA. 67, 52318n.
39.
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40.
 Wood, D.C; F.S. Weber; and M.A. Palmquist.
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Therap.
,
177(3), 520–527, 1971.
41.
 Ibid., 528–535, 1971.
42.
 Brobyn,
R.D. “The human toxicology of dimethyl sulfoxide,”
Ann. N.Y. Acad.
Sci.
, 243:497–506, 1975.
43.
 Wood, D.C; D. Sweet; J. Van Dolah; J.C. Smith II; and I. Contaxis.
Ann. N.Y.
Acad. Sci.
, 141, 346–380, 1967; C.A. 67, 460h.
44.
 Mueller, F.O.; P. O’Neill; and P.D. Trevor-Roper.
Brit. J. Ophthal.
, 51, 227,
1967.
45.
 Ibid., 13–30.
46.
 Kleberger, K.E.
Graefes Arch. Klin. Exp. Ophthal.
, 173, 269–281, 1967.
47.
 Rubin, L.F., and K.C. Barnett.
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.
, 141, 333, 1967.
48.
 Barnett, K.C., and P.R.B. Noel.
Nature
, 214, 1115–1116, 1967.
49.
 Kleberger and Gordon.
Forthsch. Med.
, 85(5), 171–174, 1967; C.A. 67,
52318n.
50.
 Smith, E.R.; M.M. Mason; and E.E. Epstein.
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.
, 141, 386,
1967.
51.
 Kleberger.
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.
, 141, 381, 1967.
52.
 Kleberger.
Graefes Arch. Klin. Exp. Ophthal.
, 173, 269–281, 1967.
53.
 Ibid.
54.
 Ibid.
55.
 Wood, D.C; D. Sweet; J. Van Dolah; J.C. Smith II; and J. Contaxis.
Ann. N.Y.
Acad. Sci.
, 141, 346–380, 1967, C.A. 67, 460h.
56.
 Wood, D.C.
Science
, 155, 404, 1967.
57.
 Rubin, L.F., and P.A. Mattis.
Science
, 153, 83–84, 1966.
58.
 Caldwell, A.D.S.; P.G.T. Bye; and M.H. Briggs.
Nature
, 215, 1168, 1967.
59.
 Vogin, E.E.; S. Carson; G. Cannon; C.R. Linegar; and L.F. Rubin.
Toxicol. and
Appl. Pharmacol.
, 16, 606–612, 1970.
60.
 Smith, E.R; M.M. Mason; and E.E. Epstein.
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther.
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172, 1969; C.A. 72, 30143c.61.
 Gordon, D.M., and K.E. Kleberger,
Arch. Ophthal.
, 79, 423, 1968.
Chapter 6
The Potent Potion for Sports Injuries
1.
 Lang, J. “Potent potion for bum arm; Denehy ready now,”
The Sporting News
,
March 13, 1971.
2.
 Percy, E.C., and J.D. Carson. “The use of DMSO in tennis elbow and rotator
cuff tendonitis: a double-blind study,”
Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise
, 13(4):215–219, 1981.
3.
 “DMSO: New Hope for Arthritis?” Select Committee on Aging, House of
Representatives, Ninety-Sixth Congress. Washington, D.C: U.S. Government
Printing Office, Comm. Pub. No. 96–232, March 24, 1980, p. 136.
Chapter 7
Arthritis Therapy With DMSO and Diet
1.
 Morassi, P.; F. Massa; E. Mesensnel; D. Magris; and B. D’Angnolo.
“Treatment of amyloidosis with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO),”
Minerva
Medica
, 80(1):65–70, January 1989.
2.
 Akimova, T.F.; T.M. Novoselova; and A.P. Aliab’eva. “Current methods of
treating acute gouty arthritis,”
Terapevticheskii Arkhiv
, 53(7):127–129, 1981.
3.
 Yoshimitsu, K.; N. Koga; Y. Kitamura; K. Fukuda; E. Kittaka; N. Horino; N.
Sakura; T. Tanaka; Y. Nishi; T. Sakano; et al. “Favorable effect of dimethyl
sulfoxide on secondary amyloidosis in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis,”
Pediatric
Pharmacology
, 4(3):177–181, 1984.
4.
 Murav’ev, I.V., and A.P. Aliab’eva. “Dimethyl sulfoxide in the treatment of
amyloidosis in rheumatoid arthritis (case report),”
Terapevticheskii Arkhiv
,
(11):38–39, 1981.
5.
 Tareev, E.M.; O.M. Vinogradova; L.N. Kochube; and T.V. Chegaeva.
“Approaches to the treatment of amyloidosis,”
Urologiia I Nefrologiia
, 6:56–
63, November-December 1983.
6.
 Takahashi, A.; J. Matsumoto; S. Nishimura; N. Tanada; S. Imura; T. Isobe; and
T. Shimoyama. “Improvement of endoscopic and histologic findings of AA-
type gastrointestinal amyloidosis by treatment with dimethyl sulfoxide and
prednisolone,”
Gastroenterologia Japonica
, 20(2):143–147, April 1985.
Chapter 9Using DMSO in Head and Spinal


tan” leather. They also help to stop bleeding and to check infection. T annin-containing herbs are used to tighten up over-relaxed tissues—as in varicose veins—to dry up excessive watery secretions—as in diarrhea—and to protect damaged tissue—such as skin problems resulting from eczema or a burn. Oak bark (Quercus robur, p. 260) and black catechu (Acacia catechu, p. 158) are both high in tannins.Black Catechu
(Acacia catechu)Thyme
(Thymus vulgaris)Lemon
(Citrus limon)
German Chamomile
(Chamomilla recutita)
US_014-017_Active_Constituents.indd   14 26/02/16   4:42 pm15 Active constituentsProanthocyanins
Closely related to tannins and flavonoids,
these polyphenolic compounds are
pigments that give flowers and
fruits a blue, purple, or red hue.
They are powerfully antioxidant
and free-radical scavengers. They
protect the circulation from damage,
especially the circulation in the
heart, hands, feet, and eyes.
Blackberry ( Rubus fruticosus,
p. 264), red grapes ( Vitis
vinifera, p. 283), and
hawthorn ( Crataegus
oxycantha, p. 87) all contain
appreciable quantities of
these proanthocyanins.
Coumarins
Coumarins of different kinds are found
in many plant species and have widely
divergent actions. The coumarins in melilot
(Melilotus officinalis, p. 234) and horse
chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum, p. 58)
help to keep the blood thin, while
furanocoumarins such as bergapten,
found in celery ( Apium graveolens, p. 64),
stimulate skin tanning, and khellin, found
in visnaga ( Ammi visnaga, p. 62), is a
powerful smooth-muscle relaxant.
Saponins
The main active
constituents in many
key medicinal plants,
saponins gained their
name because, like soap,
they make a lather when
placed in water. Saponins occur in two
different forms—steroidal and triterpenoid.
The chemical structure of steroidal saponins
is similar to that of many of the body’s hormones, for example
estrogen and cortisol, and many plants containing them have a
marked hormonal activity. Wild yam ( Dioscorea villosa, p. 91), from
which the contraceptive pill was first developed, contains steroidal
saponins. Triterpenoid saponins occur more commonly—for example
in licorice ( Glycyrrhiza glabra, p. 101) and cowslip root ( Primula veris,
p. 256)—but have less hormonal activity. They are often expectorant
and aid absorption of nutrients.Anthraquinones
Anthraquinones are the main active
constituents in herbs such as senna
(Cassia senna, p. 75) and Chinese rhubarb
(Rheum palmatum, p. 126), both of which
are taken to relieve constipation.
Anthraquinones have an irritant laxative
effect on the large intestine, causing
contractions of the intestinal walls
and stimulating a bowel
movement approximately 10
hours after being taken. They
also make the stool more liquid,
easing bowel movements.
Cyanogenic glycosides
Though these glycosides are
based on cyanide, a very
potent poison, in small
doses they have a
helpful sedative and
relaxant effect
on the heart and
muscles. The bark
of wild cherry ( Prunus
serotina, p. 257) and the
leaves of elder ( Sambucus nigra,
p. 132) both contain cyanogenic
glycosides, which contribute to the plant’s
ability to suppress and soothe irritant dry
coughs. Many fruit kernels contain high
levels of cyanogenic glycosides, for example
those of apricot ( Prunus armeniaca, p. 257).Cardiac Glycosides
Found in various medicinal plants, notably
in foxgloves (see common foxglove, Digitalis
purpurea, p. 202) and in lily of the valley
(Convallaria majalis, p. 194), cardiac glycosides
such as digitoxin, digoxin, and convallotoxin
have a strong, direct action on the heart,
supporting its strength and rate of
contraction when it is failing. Cardiac
glycosides are also significantly diuretic.
They help to stimulate urine production,
thus increasing the removal of fluid from
the tissues and circulatory system.
Celery
(Apium graveolens)Chinese Rhubarb
(Rheum palmatum)
Blackberry
(Rubus fruticosus)
Licorice
(Glycyrrhiza
glabra)Common Foxglove
(Digitalis purpurea)
Elderflower
(Sambucus nigra)
US_014-017_Active_Constituents.indd   15 26/02/16   4:42 pm
16
The developmen T of herbal medicinePolysaccharides
Found in all plants, polysaccharides
are multiple units of sugar molecules linked together. From
an herbal point of view, the most important polysaccharides are the “sticky” mucilages and gums, which are commonly found in roots, bark, leaves, and seeds. Both mucilage and gum soak up large quantities of water, producing a sticky, jelly-like mass that can be used to soothe and protect irritated tissue, for example, dry irritated skin and sore or inflamed mucous membranes
in the gut. Mucilaginous herbs, such as slippery elm (Ulmus rubra, p. 145) and linseed or flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum, p. 109), are best prepared  by soaking (macerating) in plenty of cold water. Some polysaccharides stimulate the immune system, for example acemannan, which is found
in the leaves of aloe vera (Aloe vera, p. 60).Alkaloids
A very mixed group, alkaloids mostly contain a nitrogen-bearing molecule  (-NH
2) that makes them particularly
pharmacologically active. Some are well-known drugs and have a recognized medical use. Vincristine, for example, derived from Madagascar periwinkle (Vinca rosea, p. 282), is used to treat some types of cancer. Other alkaloids, such as atropine, found in deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna,  p. 69), have a direct effect on the body, reducing spasms, relieving pain,
and drying up bodily secretions.
Vitamins
Though often overlooked, many medicinal plants contain useful levels of vitamins. Some are well known for their vitamin content, for example dog rose (Rosa canina, p. 263) has high levels of vitamin C, and carrot (Daucus carota, p. 201) is rich in beta-
carotene (pro-vitamin A), but many are less well recognized.
Watercress ( Nasturtium
officinale, p. 239), for
example, contains
appreciable levels of
vitamins B
1, B2, C, and E as well
as beta-carotene, while sea
buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides, p. 220) can be regarded as a vitamin and mineral supplement in its
own right.Glucosilinates
Found exclusively in species of  the mustard and cabbage family, glucosilinates have an irritant effect  on the skin, causing inflammation and blistering. Applied as poultices to painful or aching joints, they increase blood flow to the affected area, helping to remove the buildup of waste products (a contributory factor in many joint problems). On eating, glucosilinates are broken down and produce a strong, pungent taste. Radish (Raphanus sativus, p. 261)  and watercress (Nasturtium officinale,  p. 239) are typical glucosilinate-containing plants.
Bitters
Bitters are a varied group of constituents linked only by their pronounced bitter taste. The bitterness itself stimulates secretions
by the salivary glands and digestive organs. Such secretions can dramatically improve the appetite and strengthen the overall function
of the digestive system. With the improved digestion and absorption of nutrients that follow, the body is nourished and strengthened. Many  herbs have bitter constituents, notably wormwood (Artemisia absinthium, p. 66),
chiretta (Swertia chirata, p. 273), and hops (Humulus lupulus, p. 104). Minerals
Like vegetable foods, many medicinal plants provide high levels of minerals. Plants, especially organically grown
ones, draw minerals from the soil and convert them into a form that is more easily absorbed and used by the body. Whether plants are eaten as a vegetable, like cabbage (Brass


idiflora), of New
Caledonia, has properties similar to those of cajuput. See also tea tree (M. alternifolia, p. 112).
Cautions  T ake internally only under
professional supervision. Do not use during pregnancy. Cajuput essential oil is subject to legal restrictions in some countries.
Self-help Use  Chest coughs & bronchitis,
p. 310.
Melilotus officinalis
syn. M. arvensis (Fabaceae)
Melilot
Description  Biennial herb growing to about 3 ft
(1 m). Has 3-lobed leaves, spikes of yellow flowers,
and brown seedpods.
Melilot is an
effective remedy for
venous disorders.Habitat & Cultivation  Melilot is native to
Europe, North Africa, and temperate regions
of Asia, and is naturalized in North America. It grows in dry and open areas. It is harvested in
late spring.
Parts Used  Aerial parts.
Constituents  Melilot contains flavonoids,
coumarins, resin, tannins, and volatile oil. If allowed to spoil, the plant produces dicoumarol, a powerful anticoagulant.
History & Folklore  The Irish herbalist
K’Eogh reported in 1735, “a gentlewoman of my acquaintance … had a swelling for a year or more on her right side, which was cured by three or four times rubbing the grieved part with an oil made of this herb.”
Medicinal Actions & Uses  As with horse
chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum, p. 58), long-term use of melilot—internally or externally—can help varicose veins and hemorrhoids. Melilot also helps reduce the risk of phlebitis and thrombosis. The plant is mildly sedative and antispasmodic, and is given for insomnia (especially in children) and anxiety. It has been used to treat flatulence, indigestion, bronchitis, problems associated with menopause, and rheumatic pains.
Cautions  Do not take melilot if using
anticoagulants. If harvested from the wild,  melilot should be dried or used immediately,  as the spoiled plant is toxic.Alfalfa has been cultivated for centuries for its nutritional
and medicinal properties.
Mentha haplocalyx (Lamiaceae)
Bo He (Chinese),
Corn Mint
Description  Perennial herb growing to 2 ft
(60 cm). Has a square stem, oval toothed leaves,
and whorls of pale lilac flowers growing from  the leaf axils.
Habitat & Cultivation  Bo he is native to
temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, and is widely cultivated in China. Harvested 2–3 times a year, the best crops are in early summer and early autumn.
Parts Used  Aerial parts.
Constituents  Bo he contains a volatile oil
comprising mainly menthol (up to 95%) with menthone, menthyl acetate, camphene, limonene, and other terpenoids.
History & Folklore  Bo he was first mentioned
in Grandfather Lei’s Discussion of Herb Preparation  (c. 470 ce). A 15th-century Chinese prescription recommends bo he for dysentery with blood.
Medicinal Actions & Uses  In Chinese
herbal medicine (see pp. 40 –43) bo he is a popular treatment for colds, sore throats, sore mouth and tongue, and a host of other conditions ranging from
US_224-245_Jasmine_Harmala.indd   234 26/02/16   12:47 pm235 Other medicinal plantsMitchella repens
toothache to measles. Like peppermint ( M. x piperita,
p. 114), it helps to lower the temperature, has
antimucus properties, and may be taken for
dysentery and diarrhea. The juice has also been
used to treat earache. Bo he  is often combined
with ju hua  (Chrysanthemum x morifolium,  p. 78)
to treat headaches and bloodshot or sore eyes.
Related Species The Japanese variety of bo he
(M. arvensis ) is widely cultivated as a source of
menthol. The closely related spearmint ( M. spicata )
native to Europe and Asia, is used mainly as a
flavoring and culinary herb. See also peppermint
(M. x piperita, p. 114) and pennyroyal ( M. pulegium,
following entry ).only distantly related, has constituents similar
to those of pennyroyal. American pennyroyal is
traditionally used as a remedy for colds, headaches,
and delayed menstrual periods.
Cautions  Do not use the essential oil, which
is highly toxic. Do not take pennyroyal during
pregnancy, or if menstrual periods are heavy.
Self-help Uses  Digestive headaches &
biliousness, p. 309; Nausea with headache, p. 306
Menyanthes trifoliata
(Menyanthaceae)
Bogbean
Description  Perennial aquatic plant growing
to 9 in (23 cm). Has trefoil leaves and spikes of
pink and white flowers with fringed petals.
Habitat & Cultivation  Bogbean is native
to Europe, Asia, and America. It is found in shallow
fresh water. The leaves are picked in summer.
Parts Used  Leaves.
Constituents  Bogbean contains iridoid
glycosides, flavonol glycosides, coumarins, phenolic
acids, sterols, triterpenoids, tannin, and very small
amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The iridoids are
strongly bitter and stimulate digestive secretions.if there is abdominal discomfort. This herb is also
used as an aid to weight gain. Bogbean is thought
to be an effective remedy for rheumatism, especially
when this condition is associated with weakness,
weight loss, and lack of vitality. Mostly, bogbean is
prescribed in combination with other herbs such
as celery seed ( Apium graveolens, p. 64) and white
willow ( Salix alba,  p. 129).
Cautions  Do not take if suffering from
diarrhea, dysentery, or colitis. Excessive doses
may cause vomiting.
Bogbean  leaves are gathered in summer, after the plant
has come into flower.
History & Folklore  Long used as a folk remedy
for rheumatism and arthritis, bogbean has also been
taken to treat fluid retention, scabies, and fever. In
the past, because of the herb’s pronounced
bitterness, it was used as an adulterant of, or a
substitute for, hops ( Humulus lupulus, p. 104).
Medicinal Actions & Uses  Bogbean is a
strongly bitter herb that encourages the appetite
and stimulates digestive secretions. It is taken to
improve underactive or weak digestion, particularly Mentha pulegium (Lamiaceae)
Pennyroyal
Description  Powerfully aromatic perennial
growing to 16 in (40 cm). Has oval, toothed leaves
and whorls of lilac flowers.
Habitat & Cultivation  Pennyroyal is native
to Europe and western Asia, and has become
naturalized in the Americas. It thrives in damp
areas and is gathered when in flower in summer.
Parts Used  Aerial parts.
Constituents  Pennyroyal’s volatile oil contains
pulegone (27–92%), isopulegone, menthol, and
other terpenoids. Pennyroyal also contains bitters
and tannins.
History & Folklore  The Roman natural
historian Pliny (23–79 ce) wrote that pennyroyal
was considered a better medicinal herb than roses,
and that it purified bad water. His contemporary,
Dioscorides, stated that pennyroyal “provokes
menstruation and labour.” In 1597, John Gerard
wrote that “a garland of pennie royal made and
worne about the head is of great force against
the swimming of the head, and the pains and
giddiness thereof.” The name pulegium derives
from the Latin word for flea, referring to
pennyroyal’s traditional use as a flea-repellent.
Medicinal Actions & Uses  Similar in many
respects to peppermint ( M. x piperita, p. 114),
pennyroyal is a good digestive tonic. It increases
the secretion of digestive juices, relieves flatulence
and colic, and occasionally is used as a treatment
for intestinal worms. It makes a good remedy for
headaches and for minor respiratory infections,
helping to check fever and reduce mucus.
Pennyroyal powerfully stimulates the uterine muscles
and encourages menstruation. An infusion of
pennyroyal can be used externally to treat itchiness
and formication (a sensation of ants crawling over
the body) and rheumatic conditions including gout.
Related Species  See peppermint ( M. x piperita,
p. 114) and bo he  (M. haplocalyx, preceding entry ).
American pennyroyal ( Hedeoma pulegoides ), while Mitchella repens (Rubiaceae)
Squaw Vine


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


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


 highly recommended.
They will speed up the detoxification processes in the body and support
the liver. You will need to have a good juicer at home to make these juices.
A good juicer often comes with a recipe book, but you can experiment with
your own mixtures and combinations (look in the recipe section). For more
on juicing look in the chapter Detoxification for people with GAPS,
Apart from freshly pressed juices I do not recommend any commercially
available juices for a number of reasons. Commercial juices get pas
teurised, which destroys a lot of nutrition in the juice and turns it into a
source of processed sugar. Some commercial juices can be mislabelled by
not mentioning added preservatives, sweeteners and other substances.
Most commercially available juices are prone to having moulds and fungi
in them, which GAPS people very often react to. It goes without saying that
all cordials and other soft drinks have to be out of the diet.
Alcoholic beverages are best avoided by people with GAP Syndrome as it
adds more toxicity for the liver to deal with However, on rare occasions a
small amount of dry wine, gin, Scotch whisky, bourbon and vodka are per
missible. Beer has to be completely avoided as it has a high content of
starch. Fats and oils
All natural fats on meats - lamb, pork, beef, poultry, etc.- are acceptable.
These are the best fats to cook with because they do not change their
chemical structure, when heated. All cooking oils or vegetable oils are full
of harmful trans-fatty acids and should be avoided. Cooking should be
done with butter, ghee, pork dripping, beef fat (lard), lamb fat, goose fat,
duck fat or chicken fat. If you roast a duck collect the fat from the baking
tray, put it through a sieve or a cheese cloth and you will have a large jar of
excellent cooking fat. If you roast a goose you will have enough for half a
year. You can bake with these fats too if you have any concerns about using
butter and ghee in your baking. If you can find natural non-hydrogenated
coconut oil, you can use it for cooking and baking. Unfortunately most
brands of coconut oil available in the west are hydrogenated and best
avoided.
Avoid all commercially available oils apart from vir gin cold pressed  olive
oil. You should not cook with it as heating will destroy a lot of nutrients and
change unsaturated fatty acids into trans-fats. Use it as a dressing on your
ready served meals, salads and vegetables in ample amounts. Other cold-
pressed oils, like flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, avocado oil, etc., are
very beneficial but, again, should never be heated.
Avoid all artificial fats like margarine and butter replacements. Avoid all
foods cooked with these fats.
For detailed explanation about fats and oils please look at the chapter:
Fats, the good and the bad,
A typical menu
Start the day with a glass of still mineral or filtered water with a slice of
lemon. It can be warm or cold to personal preference. If you have a juicer
your patient can start the day with a glass of freshly pressed fruit/vegetable
juice.
A good juice to start the day is 40% apple + 50% carrot +10% beetroot (all
raw of course). You can make all sorts of juice mixes, but generally try to
have 50% of therapeutic ingredients: carrot, small amount of beetroot (no
more than 5% of the juice mixture), celery, cabbage, lettuce, greens
(spinach, parsley, dill, basil, fresh nettle leaves, beet tops, carrot tops),
white and red cabbage, and 50% of some tasty ingredients to disguise the
taste of therapeutic ingredients: pineapple, apple, orange, grapefruit, grapes, mango, etc. Your patient can have these juices straight or diluted
with water.
Every day our bodies go through a 24 hour cycle of activity and rest, feed
ing and cleaning up (detoxifying). From about 4am till about 10am the
body is in the cleaning up or detoxification mode. Eating fresh fruit, drink
ing water and freshly pressed juices will assist in this process. Loading the
body with food at that time interferes with the detoxification. That is why
many of us do not feel hungry first thing in the morning. It is better to have
breakfast around 10am when your body has completed the detox stage and
is ready for feeding. At that stage we usually start feeling hungry. Children
maybe ready for their breakfast earlier than adults.
Breakfast choices
• Eggs cooked to personal liking and served with sausages and vegetables,
some cooked, some fresh as a salad (tomato, cucumber, onions, celery,
any fresh salad greens, etc.) and/or avocado and/or meat. The yolks are
best uncooked and the whites - cooked. Use plenty of cold pressed olive
oil as a dressing on the salad and eggs. Mix a tablespoon of pre-soaked or
sprouted sunflower and/or sesame and/or pumpkin seeds with the
salad. Sausages (full fat) should be made of pure minced meat with only
salt and pepper added. Make sure that there is no commercial seasoning
or MSG (MonosodiumGlutamate) in the sausages. I recommend finding
a local butcher, who would make pure meat sausages for you on order. If
diarrhoea is present then the vegetables should be well cooked and the
person should not have seeds at this stage.
• Avocado with meat, fish or shellfish, vegetables raw and cooked,
lemon and cold pressed olive oil. Serve a cup of warm meat stock as a
drink with food.
• Pancakes made with ground nuts. These pancakes are delicious with
some butter and honey, or as a savoury snack. If you blend some fresh
or defrosted berries with honey, it will make a delicious jam to have
with pancakes. Weak tea with lemon, ginger tea or mint tea.
• Any of the home baked goods: muffins, fruit cake or bread.
Lunch
• Home-made vegetable soup or stew in a home-made meat stock.
• Avocado with meat, fish, shellfish and raw or cooked vegetables. Use olive oil with some lemon squeezed over it as a dressing. Serve a cup of
warm home-made meat stock as a drink.
• Any meat/fish dish made with vegetables.
Dinner
One of the dishes from the lunch or breakfast choice.
For snacks between meals your patient can have fruit, nuts and home-
baked products.
A few words about vegetarianism
I had a few families where parents are dedicated vegetarians and want
their children to be vegetarians as well. These cases are the most difficult to
treat because after eliminating all grains, sugar and starchy vegetables
from the diet there is not much left to eat. What these parents need to know
is some statistics:
1. Vegetarian children are more prone to health problems than children
who eat meat, particularly to psychomotor impairment.
2. Vegetarians are prone to muscle loss and bone damage. They, on
average, have lower muscle strength.
3. According to census data vegetarians die younger than people who eat
meat.
From my clinical observations I have yet to meet a healthy vegetarian. In
the process of evolution we humans have evolved to be omnivores, eating
everything we can find in the environment: plants, eggs and meats. Our
physiology is designed to work on these foods. To be healthy and full of
energy we require a substantial amount of protein every day. GAPS people
are particularly in need of high-quality proteins from meats, fish and eggs
because their digestive systems are not in a fit state to handle hard-to-
digest proteins from plants. Imposing vegetarianism on your GAPS child
will undermine his or her chance of recovery.
Vegetarians have every right to follow their beliefs and to make decisions
about their personal eating habits. But I strongly advise not imposing these
beliefs on your GAPS child! Get your child healthy and well first through
using GAPS nutritional protocol! Then allow your child grow and be
mature enough to make his/her own decision whether to be a vegetarian
or an omnivore. After all our children have a right to chose for themselves! THE APPROPRIATE DIET FOR GAP SYNDROME
Recommended foods
Almonds, including almond butter and oil
Apples
Apricots, fresh or dried
Artichoke, French
Asiago cheese
Asparagus
Aubergine (eggplant)
Avocados, including avocado oil
Bananas (ripe only with brown spots on the skin)
Beans, dried white (navy), string beans and lima beans
Beef, fresh or frozen
Beets or beetroot
Berries, all kinds
Black, white and red pepper: ground and pepper corns
Black radish
Blue cheese
Bok Choy
Brazil nuts
Brick cheese
Brie cheese
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Butter
Cabbage
Camembert cheese
Canned fish in oil or water only
Capers
Carrots
Cashew nuts, fresh only
Cauliflower
Cayenne pepper
Celeriac
Celery
Cellulose in supplements
Cheddar cheese
Cherimoya (custard apple or sharifa)
Cherries Chestnuts
Chicken


top of your head, for traces of tension or stiffness, and release them. Make sure your jaw is relaxed
and your tongue lies easy against your upper palate. And now just stay with this feeling of peace,
release and relaxation for a little while.
This basic letting go is the key to all kinds of inner work, including meditation, prayer,
visualization and affirmations. Practised at least twice a day, free from disturbance, noise and
interruptions, it will make a great difference to your mental state, which in turn will affect your
body.
Meditation is a simple way to still the ever-busy brain and enter a place of profound stillness
and peace, which for a short while lets us escape from everyday reality. It needs practice—the
brain is hard to discipline and keeps bringing in thoughts, fragments of ideas and all kinds of
mental rubbish. At first you may find that even thirty seconds of stillness is quite an achievement,
but don’t give up: there are ways to improve the situation.
One is to get hold of intruding thoughts, identify them, then imagine tying a big balloon to
each one and watch them float away. Another one is to improve concentration by counting from
one to four, seeing in your mind’s eye the numbers, shining bright and beautiful against a dark
curtain, and repeat the counting ten times. You can also place a clock at eye level and fix your
entire attention to the second hand going round and round and round, so that nothing else matters.
Gradually—but it needs perseverance—you’ll find it easier to achieve spells of thought-free
awareness, leading to an extraordinary sense of restfulness and peace.
Also, switching off the brain for a little while enables us to hear our so-called inner voice, the
voice of intuition and wisdom. Whatever our belief system, whether or not we are religious, we
all have an inner life and a set of values by which we live. Often it is at a time of crisis, caused
by a serious health breakdown, that we turn inward and review our position in life. Naturally,
Gerson patients are totally free to choose their own way in this field: we are all different and must
respect our differences. But it is the experience of many doctors, counsellors and other health
professionals that patients who believe in a Higher Reality, who are able to pray and put their faith
in God, fare better than those who don’t. Prayer, coming from the heart, with trust in the ultimate
rightness of things, can be a great support on the rocky path of recovery.
Visualization uses the imagination to re-program not only the mind but to a certain extent the
body as well. It works through images, by-passing the thinking-talking brain, and those images
come from the same deep area of the psyche as the ones we meet in our dreams. The purpose of
visualization is to prescribe, so to speak, what we want to achieve: defeating disease, rebuilding
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This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 176Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comhealth, recovering and living a full life. Using visualisation in the context of cancer was first
developed by the American radiation oncologist Dr. O. Carl Simonton in the 1970’s; “Getting
Well Again,” the book he wrote with his then wife psychologist Stephanie Matthews-Simonton,
has appeared in many editions and several languages.
The essence of the Simonton technique is to find an image for the disease, another one for the
treatment, and see how the latter attacks and gradually demolishes the former. For instance, in the
state of deep relaxation described above, the Gerson patient may visualize his or her tumor as a
big blob of black mud, and the juices as powerful bursts of golden liquid that attack and gradually
clear away the mud. Read cold from the page this may sound odd; practiced as it is meant can be
a powerful experience.
Here is a simple visualization exercise for daily use: see yourself in a perfectly beautiful
place, real or imaginary, where you feel safe, secure and happy. Make yourself comfortable in
imagination, in whatever way feels right for you: gently swaying in a soft hammock, walking in
a perfect garden, sitting happily with a loved person. Choose your own setting outside time and
space and be refreshed by its peace and beauty.
Then see yourself as you wish to be: healthy, fit, strong and active, doing the things you most
enjoy, able to give and receive love, feeling at home in the world. Surrender to this image, become
it, anchor it in your mind and heart. And then slowly return to mundane reality, but bring with
you the memory of the experience. It does make a difference. Actually a similar technique is used
by successful sportsmen and women, who before an important event visualize themselves doing
extremely well in their chosen area.
Imagination is powerful. Used well, it stimulates and tunes the body. It is free, non-toxic and
has no harmful side effects, which makes it the ideal supplementary tool for Gerson patients.
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This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 177Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 26
Gerson Lab Tests Explained
Gerson patients are able to monitor their own healing process by having regular laboratory
tests of their blood and urine. Patients on the intensive Therapy and chemo-pretreated
persons on the adjusted version should have these tests every six to 8 weeks; those on the modified
protocol for non-malignant diseases may only need them every three months.
Ideally, laboratory tests should be arranged and analyzed by a Gerson-trained health
professional, but if no such practitioner is available, it is still possible to access these important
tools of follow-up. Patients need to find a conventionally trained allopathic physician, who is
willing to order laboratory tests for them (against the payment of a fee). Without the prescription
of a licensed health professional no tests can be carried out.
Once the test results are available, you should be able to interpret them, following the
detailed guidance contained in this chapter. As a rule, combining a doctor’s interpretation with
the information contained below will allow you to understand the physiological processes going
on in your organism. But let us reiterate the warning already given earlier (see Chapter 21, pg.
150): a well-meaning  allopathic doctor not trained in the Gerson protocol may suggest that you
take certain drugs or change your diet. Please listen to his or her suggestions, but realize that to
follow them would clash with the rules of the Gerson program and slow down or even stop your
progress.
When you read this chapter for the first time as a lay person, you may feel somewhat
overwhelmed by the unfamiliar technical terms. However, everything is made as clear as possible,
and you will soon find your way easily among the results. If you don’t have the services of a
health professional and have questions to which you find no answers in the information below,
put them to the experts at the laboratory where your tests are carried out.
The Serum Calcium Laboratory Test
The laboratory test for serum calcium is a measurement of the levels of calcium in the blood.
Knowing such levels helps a health professional to interpret the patient’s physiological status
regarding neuromuscular activity, enzyme activity, skeletal development, and blood coagulation.
Calcium (Ca+) is a predominantly extracellular ion (a cation) derived from the calcium
absorbed in food through the gastrointestinal tract, provided sufficient vitamin D is present in
the food eaten. Excess quantities of calcium ions in the blood are excreted in the urine and feces,
while insufficient calcium concentrations can move out of the storage areas of bones and teeth to
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www.thegersonway.comrestore low blood levels. Daily ingestion of 1 gram of calcium is necessary for normal calcium
balance. For Gerson patients, this should not be given in the form of supplements. Juices and
foods contain more than adequate amounts of calcium.
Serum calcium testing aids in diagnosing arrhythmias, blood-clotting deficiencies, acid-base
imbalance, and disorders of the neuromuscular, skeletal, and endocrine systems. Normal adult
serum calcium levels range from 8.9 to 10.1 mg/dL (atomic absorption is 2.25 to 2.75 mmol/L).
Serum calcium levels for children are higher than for adults.
When the level of Ca+ is too high, a condition of hypercalcemia prevails indicating the
possibility of one or more of the following pathologies: hyperparathyroidism, Paget’s disease
of the bone, multiple myeloma, metastatic carcinoma, multiple fractures, and prolonged
immobilization. From inadequate excretion of calcium, also shown by elevated serum calcium,
kidney disease and adrenal insufficiency may result.
In contrast, low calcium levels (known as hypocalcemia) may come from hypoparathyroidism,