Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog

On 31 March 1964 I received the first letter from a patient in Brussels who had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for sixteen years. A year later, on 30 April 1965, he wrote again, about the effect of the recommended treatment. His letter read as follows:

‘I have been taking your reliable medicines for one year now and have very much improved. It is exactly a year since I started taking Petasites, Usneasan, Echinaforce, Aesculaforce, Urticalcin and Biocarottin regularly. Every week I receive a massage with fresh bullock testicles. My nurse always waits at the slaughterhouse when a bull is killed, so that she can get the testicles quite fresh. The massages are indeed excellent for me. But let me give you a few details of my progress. All symptoms caused by the illness -cold feet, problems with the bowel movement, insufficient urination, bad eyesight, half the head going numb – have completely disappeared. However, I am not yet able to walk. True, I can stand up now and my right foot is already 60 per cent active; only the left foot does not respond yet. But considering that I have been ill for seventeen years, I have made very good progress in just one year. May I add that I had not been able to hold a long conversation without getting tired out; but this is no longer a problem.

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For one thing, vaccines are not available for every disease; what is more, vaccination in itself can often pose a problem for the traveller, because it can weaken his general condition. And do not forget that for many serious tropical diseases prophylactics do not exist. What comfort will the most beautiful and tempting colour brochure depicting glorious beaches and colourful surroundings be if the unsuspecting tourist comes down with something serious? Moreover, the treatment of tropical diseases is not always a simple, easy or safe matter. Strong medication is required and this affects especially the liver, often inflicting great harm. I have been shocked many times when browsing through travel brochures, to see that they give no hint whether the travel agencies, tour operators and their guides have any idea at all of the dangers in the destinations advertised. One such brochure planned to take the travellers to an area in Sri Lanka, to the south of Colombo and Mount Lavinia, an area where the dreaded tropical disease elephantiasis has not yet been fully eradicated. In spite of this knowledge, the agents chose exactly that place for an overnight stay.

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When prepared with love, food tends to taste better. By the same token, a nicely set table which does not reflect the haste of the daily routine, but which does show care and attentiveness, most certainly promotes the desire to eat by stimulating the flow of gastric juices, encouraging good digestion and the assimilation of the food. It goes without saying that the atmosphere at the table likewise contributes to better digestion. Every meal should be a family party where not only is the good food enjoyed and appreciated but also where stimulating conversation takes place.

Skilful seasoning of food is of great importance too. This is not accomplished by simply sprinkling salt on everything, but by using different herbs, the effects of which we should endeavour to find out. Most seasoning herbs serve to stimulate the stomach lining to increase its secretions and thus aid the digestive process.

It is too bad that in modern times we have lost much of what used to be known as table manners and the pleasures of sharing a meal with family and friends. Modern man is glutted with the hurried pace of life, always on the go, confronted with an endless choice of newspapers, radio and television programmes, so that even such things as TV dinners, eaten in front of the screen, are now becoming a way of life. Is it any wonder that so many people are suffering from gastric ailments, indigestion and ulcers?

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When treating skin problems, as with most other diseases, it is important that emotional upsets and difficulties be dealt with promptly and in the right way, otherwise they tend to aggravate the condition. That is why I have devoted a whole section in this book to ‘Happiness Means Health’. Special attention has been given to the same question in my book about the liver, since this organ is notably sensitive to emotional influences.

Knowing how to deal with your illness is a step in the right direction, as it is clearly important to maintain mental balance in approaching any problem. One must be determined to elect for natural treatment rather than chemical therapy. By adhering strictly to a natural diet you can be sure you are on the right track. To complete the cure, it is absolutely necessary to carry out the treatment for six months to a year. The treatment need not be expensive since it is mainly a question of correcting one’s dietary habits. Adverse reactions and side effects are usually minor or do not crop up at all if the treatment is undertaken correctly.

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Athletic people usually have strength and resistance, but they must not make the mistake of thinking that their resilience and ability to spring back from overexertion has no limits. Thoughtless waste of any of our potentialities will be followed by loss of fitness. Why sacrifice to sport the energies that could serve you for many years to come? Why dash with abounding strength into overstrenu-ous sports and come out with chronic ill health?

Many may think that I am painting a rather pessimistic picture, but this is not so. Now and then I receive sad letters from sports men and women who were once famous champions; one, for example, was from an athlete who many years ago won the Swiss pentathlon and decathlon. For years now, this once energetic athlete has been suffering from loss of breath when climbing stairs, a weak heart beat, low blood pressure and ear and head noises (tinnitus). At his age he should be full of vitality.

So this is a warning not to carry any sport to extremes, yet is is a warning difficult to heed on the part of those who have already sold themselves ‘body and soul’ to this unrelenting taskmaster. The passion for winning in competitive sports consumes a tremendous amount of strength and energy. And who benefits from this useless drain of energy? Nobody really, and certainly not the athlete’s heart, or why would it become defective so early in life?

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