FA S TI N G FO R

THE C UR E O F
D I S EA S E
( FO UR TH E D I TI ON)

DR . LI N D A BU RFI ELD HAZZA RD

P UBLI S HE D BY

T HE PHYS IC AL C ULTU RE PU BLI S I N G

C O M PANY
N EW YO R! C IT Y U s A, . . .
 P R E F A C E

HE ye a rs that have pass e d S i nce

se ve ral

the s e cond edition of this w o rk w a s is

sue d have brought daily proo f o f the
succe ss o f the claims th en m a d e In this
.
,

the third edi tion t he author trusts that im

,

prove d form mor e num e rous citations a nd

, ,

greater d etail will s erv e to stimulat e both

the sci e ntific and the popul a r mi nd to a r ealiz
ation o f the importance o f system atic inves
t ig a tion of the th e ory and t he practic e o f

Fasting f o r the P revention and the C ure o f

D is e as e .

Again the author d esire s to a cknowledge

he r ind ebt e dn e ss to D r E dward Hook e r
.

D ewey now d e ce a s ed f o r his cou ns el and

, ,

p e rsonal guidance in the e arly ye ars of he r

practice She is also d eeply sensibl e of the
.

e ncour a ge m e nt and mat e ri a l support of pa

t ient s and fri ends in d e fault o f which the

,

success that has atte nde d her eff orts in ad

V
 P R E F A C E

vancin g the work in hand would many tim e s

have failed of accomplishment .

The author cannot flatt e r h e rs elf with t he

thought that she will succee d in convincing
all who re ad this book of the truth it pr es ents ,

f o r any question that conc e rns inducin g be

lief in other mi nds is s eldom settle d by argu
m ent But if it be capabl e o f practical solu
.
,

tion its worth is e asily discov e red through

,

trial And it is thus with the fast But be

. .
,

caus e of almost universal dep e nde nce upon

sp e cializ e d advice and becaus e of human d e
,

sire for tangible r emedy the m ethod is hard ,

to follow It involves rigid s elf denial in

.
-

its initial stage s a nd after it is broke n it

may prov e disagree able in applica tion If .
,

for one mome nt the imm e asurable b enefits

,

that accru e from bodily purification and re

newal are lost sight of bitter lessons are ,

taught The slow processes o f nature can

.

n ev e r be hurried in action Time elapses in .

the developm e nt o f dis e ase and time must ,

e laps e ere cure r e sul ts Impatience is the evil

.

underlying world dep endence upon drugs

-
.

Q uickness o f action is demande d and a ,

symptom suppressed I S a cur e accomplished

—i n medica l parlance But is this true ! .
,

The text ex plains .

vi
 P R E F A C E

E ve ry step that is taken in d ev eloping the

practice o f tre atment o f dis e ase by natu r al
m ethods is met with opposition which in ,

many instan ce s amounts to p e rsecution The

, .

re s e arch cov e re d by this work and e spe cially ,

that whi ch involved post morte m e x amina

tion was hamp ere d by medica l inte rvention
,

a nd was accomplish e d only through sh ee r d e

te rmination and the assistance of a f ew broad

minds in authority The author b elieve s that
.

these autopsies are unique in the history o f

the healing a rt No othe r inve stig a tor in her
.

k en has had opportuni ty to conn e ct the origin

o f disease with the immediate ca us e o f d e ath
— its organic consequ e nce The latt er in all .
,

cases have the additional advantage and

,

sci entific value o f b eing exhibite d fre e from

the e ff e cts o f drugs .

Stress must be laid upon the truth in the

stat ement that the fas t is but a me ans to an
e nd. Full V igor and compl ete re cup e ration
a re not t o be ha d in a mom e nt and t he com ,

l e t ed b e n e fits of the tr e atm ent are s eldom

p
enJo ye d until t hre e four or six months aft e r
, ,

the end of abstinence P ati ence s elf denial

.
,
-

and faith a re the mor a l re quir ements with ,

physical re generation as the reward for their

‘

e x e rci se .

vii
 P R E F A C E

In d e scribing the symptoms o f dis e ase and

t he anatomy o f the body it has been nece s
,

sary to u se terms that a re technical in charac

t er To render the text perfe ctly int elligible
.

to the lay mind a gloss a ry has be en appende d

,

which cont a ins the d e finitions o f all words

di ffi cult o f int erpretation .

The facts pr e s e nte d and the argum ents

mad e a re int end e d primarily for g ene ral in
t ellig e n ce ; but sinc e t he facts a r e co r ro b o r
,

ated it is hop ed that e arn est inve stigation

,

will follow by those who s eek truth in its

e v e ry phas e The author claims no origin
.

ality in th e ory e ith e r philosophical o r physi

,

ological but she insists upon the re cognition

,

o f he r thoroughness of d e tail in r e s e arch and ,

o f her confidenc e in practical d e monstration .

LIN D A BU R IE
F LD H AZZ AR D .

O lall a Wa shin gto n D e c embe r

, , , 1912 .
 CON TE N TS

CH A P TER P A GE
P RE F A CE
I . F A ST I N G
II . S T AR A T I O N V

III . W H E N AN D WHY T F A ST o

IV . P RE A R A T I O N
P T H E F A ST
F OR

V . S YM T O M S
P

VI . TH D U RA T I O N O F T H E F A ST
E

VI I . BRE A I N ! T H E F A ST
G

V I II . TH E N E M A
E .

IX . F O O D AN D D S E A S E I

X . B T AN D E I M I N A T I O N
ES L

XI . A UX I L IA R I E S IN F T N G AS I

X II . D IE T
XI I I . ME N T A AN D B O D I L Y RE A C T I O N
L

XIV . C H I LDRE N IN T H E F A ST
XV . S E X U A D S E A S E S AN D T H E F A ST
L I

XV I . D I FF I CUL T IE S IN C ON D U C T I N G T H E F A ST
XV I I . C U RE S BY F A ST IN G

XV I I I . D E A T H IN T H E F A ST
X IX . S C HOO L S N A T U RA H
or NG L E A LI

GLO SS AR Y
ix
 L I S T O F I LL U ST R ATI O N S

Li nda Bu rfie ld H a zz r d a , D O . .
, F S
. . F r on tispiece

Mrs J . . C as of O be ity
e s o
F llow ingP g a e 30

Mrs . J .
, t E nd of T hi rt y fo r
a u

D ay F ast P re c d ingP age

e 31

J . G . C a se of Addi cti o n to
F ll w o o ingP age 42

J G . S ix . M onths A ft e r Co m
pl e t i on of F a st P reced i ng Pag e 43

R . C e of M ln tri tion
J . as a u

S pi nal C rv t r
an d u a u e F aci n g P ge
a

Aliment ry C n l a a a

B H C s of I n te t in l D i
. . a e s a s

ord r in O n yea r ld C hil d

e e - -
o

R M . C of Bronchi l
. as e a

P n moni in F o r y r ld
eu a u -
ea -
o

C hild
A H C ase of S r i o us C hro ni c
. . e

S toma ch D isea se

Mrs E S C ase of B il io usn

. . . ess

D ing P r gn ncy
ur e a .

Tw F stion g S bj e cts—F T
a u . .

and J . T .
 Appe t te i:i C a v ng r i
; H u nge r i s r
D esi e . r i
C a v ng
r i
is ne ve sa t sfie d ; bu t D es e is ir r eli e ve d w he n Wa n t is

i
S uppl e d .

E at ingw itho t u Hu nger , orp a n de ri ng to App ti t e e

a t t he ex
p f D ig
e ns e o est i o n , ma k e s D is e a sei n i t bl
ev a e .
 o , o ’
i
S me as th u sa w s t, by v o le t st k e sha ll die , n ro
oo
By fir e, fl d , fa m e ; by in
te mpe a ce m e in r n or
ri i
I n me a ts a nd d n ks, w h ch o n the E a th sha ll b r r i ng
i ir ic
D s e as e s d e , of w h h a m ns t u s ew o ro cr
B ef e thee s ha ll a ppea , tha t t h u mays k w
or r o t no
’

Wha t m se y the na bs t e n e of E ve
i r i in c
ri
S ha ll b ngo n me n .

I f th u w e ll bse ve o o r
The ru le of N o t too mu h by te mpe a n e ta ug
c ht r c
I n wha t th u e a t st a nd d rink st, se e k ngf m the nc e
o
’ ’
i ro
o ri
D u e n u shme nt, no t lu tt n u s d e l g
o o g ht i ,

T ll ma ny ye a s ve t hy he a d e tu n ;
i r o r r r
o i i i ri
S o ma y s t t h u l ve , t ll, l k e pe f u t, t h u d p
’
r i o ro
I n t thy m the s la p,
o ’
o r or it
be w h ease
Ga the e d, no t ha shly plu k e d, fo r d ea t h ma t u e
r r c r .

J o hn M il to n , Pa r di
a se L ot
s .
 FASTING

R elieving phys ical illne s s b y voluntary

thh oldin gfood is b ased upon the logical
conclusion o f the argu ment herein that no ,

matter what are the various names attached

to the forms in which disease is manifested ,

there is but o ne caus e for all o f its outward

and inward signs T he sole source of b odily
.

ill s is impure blood T he cause o f im pure

.

blood is imperfect dige s tion .

An important distinction in condition s

here needs exposition
O rganic dis e ase whether inherent or the
,

result o f continued fu nctional disturb ance

o r physical shoc k is that in which one or
,

more o f the internal organs of the body is

deformed undeveloped or otherwise dis
, ,

abled so as to prevent or to curtail its wor k ,

a state comparable to that o f a machine with

a missing cog .

Functional dis e ase is that in which the or

gans themselves are in condition to do their
work naturally but have b ecome unable to
,

function b e cause o f poisonous congestion the ,

re sult o f food tak en into the body beyond

the amount which the system needs for main
t e nance. Such surplus ferments and putre
fi e s in the intestin al canal and els e where ,

p roducin g to x in s that are a b sor b ed int o the

18
 FASTING

blood thus impairing its quali ty and fun c

,

tionally hamp e ring the vital processes E x .

tra labor is also e ntailed upon the organs

assailed since they are stimu late d in u m
,

wonted degre e by the presence o f substances

harmful to their action .

Inhe rent organic disease is a cause in itsel f

o f imperfect dige stion for when it is pres
, ,

e nt the organs a re parti a lly or entirely crip

,

pled from birth Whi l e this form o f disease

.

is beyond the hop e of cure its harmful re,

sul t s upon t he body may be reduced to a

minimum by m eans o f the fast and a com ,

bination o f this m ethod of tre atment with

scie ntific di eting will l engthe n the life of the
unfortun ate victim to the e xt ent to which a
defective organism permits vitality to op
erat e .

E m otional diseas e and its ul timate resul t ,

fun ctionally caus e d organic dis e ase are the

-

cons e quence s of dig e stion impaired by incor

re ct methods in feeding by improper selec
,

tion o f food and by e xce ss supply In any

, .

Of the se circumstance s as has be en said pois

, ,

o n s are produced that inj ur e the system ,

finally the condition become s ge neral

and dis e as e is apparent As a matter o f fact
.
,

the subj ect cannot have b een ignorant of in

19
 FASTING

te rnal disturbance for som e tim e previou s to

actual di sability for minor ache s and pai ns
,

have giv en ample warning M ild preventive.

steps tak e n wh e n symptoms first app ear

, ,

shut O ff by anticipative action later drastic

m easures An ounce of prevention is worth
.

”
a pound o f cure The power resid ent in na
.

ture of cont ending ag a inst bodily abuse is

limited only by individual charact eristics and ,

a positive halt is not call e d until through ne

,

gleet the physical machinery has be en

,

clogged w ith food rubbish and its products ,

and e quilibrium has b e en ove rturned .

I t is possible that at first sight the princi

ples her e set down cannot be ful ly a ppre
hended but as important premises to the
, ,

argument th ey a re a gain e num erated for

,

refe rence b y the student in connection with

the b ody o f the te xt
T he source o f all symptoms o f diseas e is
im pure blood .

Impure blood is cause d by impaired di ges

Impaired dig e stion resul ts from

a
( ) Taking into the body food
wrongly s el e cte d in kind o r in quantity ,

wrongly prepared or wrongly masti ,

cated .

so
 FASTING

(b) Tak ing into the body food tha t

may hav e be en correctly s el e cte d pre ,

par ed and e at en but in qu antity great e r

, ,

than is n e e ded for the repair and growth

o f t issu e c e lls.

If any o f the se causes is operative food ,

ingested fe rm ents and pu tre fies generatin g ,

a circul ating poison that cre a tes and co n

tinne s di s e ase until the producing cause can
be cast out by the organs of elimination .

Inherent org a nic di se a se a nd functionally

caused organic di s e a s e in its lat e r stages em
body d e fe cts in form size or ce ll structure o f
, ,
-

any o ne of the vit al org ans E xcept in rare .

ins tances through s u rgical inte rvention s u ch

, ,

structural defici encies a re b eyond the hope o f

cur e but a sci entific di etary combined with
, ,

j udi cious application o f the fa st and its ac

ce sso rie s will a ff ord r eli e f and prolong e x
,

istence .

In pur ely fun ctional di sease the vital or

gans are normally dev elop e d and physically
perfect in structure but clogge d and laden
, ,

with the accumul ation of the toxic pr oducts

o f food excess their functions a re im peded
,

o r totally arr e st e d Fun ctional dis ease is a

.

condition that admits o f complete re covery ,

and even in its acut e forms cure is a cer

, ,

21
 FASTING

tainty where natural law is permitte d its

course .

Any symptom o f disease in the body is evi

dence o f poison circulating in the blood and
d e posit e d in the tissues The conv entional
.

m e dical method o f attack invariably aims at

the Suppression of the symptom rather than
at the removal o f its caus e .

Hunger and dis e ase cannot exist simul

tane ously in the human fram e and natural,

methods o f cure take this fact into considera

tion assuming first the unity of diseas e and
, , ,

second the m e ans indi cate d by nature for

,

restoration of health When hunger is ah

.

sent food is not required and all animate

, ,

creation save man ob eys the primal law o f

, ,

abstinence when the physical scal e no long er

balances Re cognizing that disease aris e s
.

from a singl e source the m ethod o f the fast

recognize s as w ell a unity o f cu re— rest f or
,

organs ove rworke d and abused and prompt ,

r emoval by natural mechanical ai ds o f fil th

productive of substances no x ious to health
—
.

To revert to the sym pto ms of disease the

function of di gestion is generally regard ed
as an e x tensive and complicated process and ,

it i s so closely related to the fun ctions o f

o ther part s of the body that it is d ifiicu lt to
as
 FASTING

d escribe the bounds if any beyond whi ch di

, ,

ge stion has no i nfl uence The digestive ap

.

paratus is commonly spoken of as including

the alimentary canal and those im po rtant
glands that contribut e s e cre tions to the suc
cessiv e proc e ss e s involv e d ; but as absorption ,

and assimil a tion on the o ne hand and forma

, ,

tion and withdrawal of wast e products on ,

the othe r are so ne a rly re lat e d to pre liminary

,

di g e stion it is impossible to form a clear con

,

ce pt io n o f dis e as e of the dig e stive organs

without obs erving the st a te of other and con

t ribu t o ry parts o f t he body Whil e it makes .

f o r simplicity o f d e scription to e xclude thos e

organs not commonly grouped with the di
g e st ive apparatus t
, his do e s not r e sult in a

corr e ct und e rstanding and the refore if an

, ,

e xplanati on is to be found not only for a ,

disturbed physiologica l sta te but also in , ,

instan ces for struct u r a l ch a nges in the di

,

g e st iv e org a ns
, t he fi e ld must b e wid e ned ,

a nd study be dir e ct e d to t he n e rvous syst em ,

including its physica l ma nife stations to the ,

fluids o f the body to the rebuilding and

,

breaking down o f tissue and to the elimi

-

nativ e fun ctions a s well Unconsciously a

.
,

great part o f the importance o f this g eneral

vi e w is p e rhaps recogni zed wh en it is assumed
as
 F A S TING

that good digestion dep ends upon restful

sle e p fresh air sunlight physical exercise
, , , ,

and activity o f the bowels kidneys and skin

, , .

D isregarding thes e ess ential matt ers it is ,

difficu l t to apprehend the nature o f digestive

dis turbanc es or to pr e scribe for their re lief
, .

It may trul y be said of an individual that in ,

a s ens e his digestive ailm ent aris e s in the

,

brain in the lungs in the h e art or in the kid

, , ,

neys but the distinctions and di ff ere nc es

,

he retofore stated must be cle arly k ept in

mind le st the id e a o f the uni ty of disease be
,

clouded The study of dis e as e o f the stomach

.

is not limited to that organ but is the e x pres

,

sion there o f distur b a nc e s that may be wi dely

distribut e d throughout t he body M edicin e .

has sought to giv e dis e as e sp ecifically classi

fied n ame s bas e d upon locality of symptom ,

but this it is s een is only a r elatively j u stifia

, ,

ble conce ption Th e re a re no symptoms

.

refe rabl e solely to the kidneys to the heart , ,

or to the blood ; the man is sick from a S ingle

caus e ; his illness app e ars her e or th ere .

The advance toward unity o f thought and

of action go es on in a ll sci e ntific fields and it ,

is logical to b eli ev e that the important place

occupied in the universe by the body Of man
shoul d long since have be en compl etely de
94
 CH AP T E R I I

S T A R VAT I O N

“
R eple t io n nd S t r v tio n m y bo th d
a a a a o ha rm in tw o
c o ntra ry e x tr m
e es.

B u r to n : A na to my of M l
e an cho ly .
 C HAP T ER I I
S T A R VA T I O N

E AT H from starvation frequently oc

curs when the body is overfe d The .

p u rpos e o f food is that o f nourishi ng

body tissue a pur ely mechanical proc ess for
,

use in growth and rebuildi ng In the event .

tha t through errors in dige stion organic de

, ,

feet o r fault in the fu nct ions of ab so tion

and assimilation tissu e wast e is not r e laced p
,

as brok en down starvation and death res ul t

, .

If any one o f these con ditions exists the ,

more food supplied the l ess resistance to

,

di seas e su cce eds s ince energy is th en di recte d

,

towards the elimination o f food products

that cannot be utili zed because Of physical
inability in the ultimate process e s Of growth .

Exhaustion and after a tim e death occur

, , .

D eath from sta rvation cannot take place

in a fast wh en organic di s ease is abs ent In .

every animate body a r es e rve supply o f

nourishment is held in the int erstices of tis sue
cells. T he brain and the nerves are directly
99
 o o g r h o f b ct t k n
Mr s J O b i t y P h t p a su j e a e
.

e re
es

b f o t tm nt ;
.

rea
.

w ei geh t 9,
5 0 po nd
u s .
M rs J at e ndo f f t o f t hirty fo r d y
as
-
u a s,

i gh t o nd r r k b l r d c t io
. .

we 1 45
-

p u sA
. m e a a e e u n
of 1 05 po u nd s mpli h d b t r tm nt
a cco s e v ea e .
 C HA P T E R I I I

WH E N AN D WHY T O F AS T

The When—The Why—I t Boo ts I t N o w To Te ll .

—Byron .
 C H AP TER I I I '

WH E N AND WHY TO F AS T

T is
. perhaps di ff icul t for the average
, ,

mind to grasp the fundamental natural

principl e of the Unity o f D is ease—to re
alize that di s e as e is not only the warning o f
natu re but her reme dy in sickn e ss T he
, .

symptoms e xpressing disease may be specifi

—
cally n amed and cla ss fi ed it may be said
i
that a pati ent su ff e rs from B right s D isease ’

from ecz ema from diphth e ria or from small

, ,

x but be hind the symptom li e s the ca us e

p o , ,

and the body is not to be thought of as ill in

a special l ocali ty o r in an in dividualiz ed 0 r
gan It is sick as a whole though the signs
.
,

o f its ailme nt are mor e visibl e or more se

ver ely e xpr e ssed in o ne locality or another .

Illn e ss re sul ts wh en bal a nce no longe r e xists

betwe en nutrition and elimi nation with the ,

cons e quence that the blood curr ent is vitiated

-

at its source the r esistive powers lowered

, ,

and germ soil produced O ne rem edy alone

-
.

can cope with this condition and it is that ,

35
which nat ure sugg ests and employ
nation of the poisonous products o f di gestive
ferment and rest for organs that have been
, ,

fun ctioning under stress It is thus seen that .

,

no t onl y is a unity to b e recognized in t he

caus e o f diseas e but that there exists an e qual
, .

unity in natural me ans o f r eli e f and cur e .

Here is perce ived the p e culi ar office o f the

fast— it is the unit cure As pointed out els e .
-

where t he lowe r anim als by instinct employ

,

it when ill and its efficiency in di s e as e func

, ,

tional and organic wh e n app li e d to human ,

kind is fully substantiated and daily cor

,

r obo r a te d .

D is eas e a ff ects every cell in the animal

body The fast in its Operation and r esults
.

e qually a ff ects t he body as a whol e What .

matte r if in att a ini ng the e xtr em e e nds o f

, ,

purification the body is r e duced to a mini

,

mum o f fle sh ! O rga ns and frame work still -

remain by which and upon which to build a

new , purified and resistive structure f or
,

future ne eds .

The S implest forms in which bodily illness

is e xpress e d are the various rash e s that ap
p e ar upon the skin Thes e re sult directly
from stomach abus e— from in ability o f that
.

org an to ca rry on its work becaus e of over

36
WH E N AND W HY T O F A S
‘
T

work o r o f food improp erly supplied E limi .

nation through bowe ls kidneys and lungs is

, ,

by na ture continue d to the limit o f the power

o f these organs . They may be overtaxe d and ,

then but one avenue r emain s for the escap e

o f surplus impurity — the skin It responds
.
,

and in re sponding su ff ers Sometimes it is

, .

the sk in its elf that is calle d upon to work to

its limit or it may be that it is a ff ected by
,

e xposure and chill with closin g o f its

pores ; th en the exce ss o f wast e is di scharged
through mucus m embrane o r through lun gs ,

and colds and pn eu monia appear .

balance must exist among all the organs o f

e limination . E ach must p erform its allotted
tas k proportionately with the oth e rs A n d .

the arms o f the scale o f intake and Outgo

must likewis e rem a in at leve l and they do so
,

ma intain bal an ce in h ealth Any excess o f

.

weight on one side o r the other me ans disease .

T he fast as a remedy is un iv e rsally in di

os ted — n ever specially so . There are no
diseases but onl y one dis e ase A n d f or this
, .

there is but one remedy N o need exist s in

.

health for the employment o f measures for

the all e viation o f pain and distress f o r the ,

reason that th e se S igns are non evide nt wh en -

p hy s i cal b alance ex ists

. Re medial means are

37
 FASTING

ne cessary onl y in illn ess and th en and then

, ,

alone should the fast a nd its a cce ssori e s be

,

applied .

B e fore entering upon a fast illness must ,

be manife sted and the patient wh ether

, ,

und e r guidance or conducting his own cas e ,

should fully grasp the d etails of the truth

that physical lack o f balanc e is due to a single
cause The symptoms that are pre sent or
.
,

that may aris e th er e aft e r in the fast o r wh e n

o n di e t n ee d occasion no alarm f or the ir
, ,

source is und erstood and th eir meaning is a

,

the rapeutic o ne Nature is in proc ess o f puri

.

f yingthe body — is casting o u t its wast e and ,

is cleansing the syst em in pr eparation for

active h e althy r ebuilding The omission o f
, .

food p e rmits natural law to opera te unh am

pered and it is the only method by which
,

natur al assistance can be give n with the as

surance o f p erman ent relief and cure The .

alle viation o f symptom atic distress is ao

complish e d locally by simple hygi enic m eans
—dry h eat hot fomentations cold applica
, ,

tions sunlight fre sh air ost eopathic manipu

, , ,

lation chiropractic adj ustment and the

, ,

e nema .

The time to fast is wh e n ill And illne ss .

never occurs at the convenient moment I ts .

38
 FASTING

spring tonics are hous ehold terms and epi

-

demic di sease is mor e prevale nt th en than at

any other season But again reme dy for
.
,

disease shoul d be used only when disease is

manifested .

O n the other hand the social surroundings

,

o f a fasting patient are o f the utmost import .

The e ff e ct o f m e ntal states upon the physical

body is too well known to dwell upon in this
connection and anoth e r chapte r d e als with
,

this subj ect in all o f its aspects Wh en .

friends and family obj e ct to the treatment ,

they obj ect b e caus e o f ignorance o f the pur

pose o f the m ethod and of the details o f its
application A ff e ction t oo may ent er into
.
, ,

their opposition and th ey in their ignorance

, ,

fear the outcome The s imple truth that

.

underlies the me thod is usually e asy to im

press upon a mind situat e in a body long dis
e ased. But often convincing a patient is
, ,

only half the battl e for relatives and fri ends

,

resist to the point o f compul sion Since peac e .

o f mind and quiet enviro nment are ess ential

to successful issue it is b e st to remove from

,

anx ious but misguide d intimates p e rmitting ,

them to await in ignorance o f immediate

trials the results that prove the wisdom of

40
WHEN AND WHY T O FAST

Worry ange r and grief are also most

, ,

detrimental t o progress towards cure One .

instance co mes to mind in which a cas e had

faste d but e ight days for functional dis eas e
o f no especial gravity Improvement had
.

be en continuous but diff erenc e s e xisted be

,

tw e en the patient and he r husband and the ,

latte r in an int e rvi ew with his wife on the

,

e ighth day o f her fast so ang e r e d and dis

,

tressed her that a n e rvous congestive chill ,

with su ff usion of blood to the brain and

lungs occur red and d e ath r e sul t e d immedi
, ,

at ely from the s e caus e s No amount of argu

.

m ent coul d convince the orthodox mind that

the fast ha d not brought about d eath in this
cas e But the woman would have di e d j ust
.

as surely ha d the scene d e scribed tak en pl ace

before the omission of food wh en the p ati ent
,

was ill and n ervously we ak e r than at the tim e

wh en anger and gri e f we re so strongly ex
cited .

In cases o f functional disease wh en the,

pati ent is not so de pl eted as to be bed ridde n -

mod e rate daily ex e rcis e is most b ene ficial In .

fact it is r ecommended that the ordinary

,

duti e s o f life be continued if such be possibl e

, .

In many instances this can be done and bene ,

fit accrues from ex e rcis e because o f its as

,

41
 FASTING

sist ance toelimination and from mental ,

work because o f its value in diverting the

,

mind from cont emplation o f physical ills .

Numbers o f fasters can safely follow th eir

usual vocations and again others a re com
, , ,

p ell e d to r e st throughout the period o f ab

stinence . The maj ority o f the latter are ,

however su ff ere rs from organi c d e fects in

, ,

cipient or advanc e d in character and sooner ,

or later the facts are uncovered in the cour se

of treatment .

O ne thought may b e im pressed at this

point The patient shoul d so occupy himself
.
,

in so far as he can th a t his illness and his

,

tre atment are not at any time uppermost in

hi s mind The me thod in its infancy has
.

numb ered among the maj ori ty o f its patients

chronic invalids medically treated for years
, ,

and accustome d to const ant thought o f pe r

sonal pain and distre ss The reli e f occasione d
.

by the fast ve ry Oft e n p e rmits the se cas es to

forg e t th eir ailm e nts and to devote their a t
,

tenti on to the duties o f life O ccupation and .

amuseme nt assist materially in accomplis h

ing this resul t .

In the ordinary case of functional disease

the fast to compl e te purification shoul d be
as
J G
. . c im o f dr g h b t P hoto gr ph d pict
Vi t u a i . a e s a ppe a r
a nc t d o f hi f t o f fi fty d y
e a en s as a s
.
J . G . S ix month s compl tion o f f t
a ft e r e as . A compl e te

phy i l d mor l t r n f orm t ion w

s ca an a a s a as the
r lt o f t r tm nt in th c
esu ea e is a se .
 FAS T ING

e xclusion o f the disturb ance producing it .

Wh en a sym ptom of disease appears in ag

g rav a t e d form after years o f intermittent
occurrence exp e rience leads to the conclusion
,

that orga nic change has tak en place and that ,

disease is du e no longer to functional d e

rangement but to actual organic defect
, .

Here the partial or the interrupted fast is

found d e sirable not b ecause the protracted
,

fast woul d not accomplish the re sults with

better prosp ect o f successful outcome but be ,

cause the average pati ent r egards the symp

tom as the caus e and fails to appreciate
,

what its temporary aggravation in the pro

tract e d fast im plie s Increase in s eve rity o f
.

symptom may occur and does occur in

periods o f dieting also .

An organ me chanically defective especi ,

ally if it be eliminative in function cannot be ,

e xp e ct e d to work to ful l capacity It may be

.

able partially to perform its task but pushe d , ,

beyond a point it will assure dly fail to re

,

s ond
p . In t he fast all vital parts are e ngag e d

in a suprem e proce ss of pu rificatio n— o f cast

ing ou t waste ma tter And when it is seen

.
, ,

through aggravat ed symptoms that one or ,

other Of the s e is incap able of full duty the ,

progre ss of elimination may be checked by

44
W H E N AND W HY T O F A S T

int e rrupting the periods o f abstinence with

intervals of diet .

The only alleviation tha t can be ac

complished when distress occurs in a fast is ,

that whi ch may be Obtained by assisting na

ture hygienically L ittl e can be done in case
.

o f severe symptoms sav e to await r e sul ts but ,

the enema is an all M portant ally an d in

-

variably brings immediate relief while hot ,

applications for puls e and t emperature below

normal and cold applica tions f or the Oppo
,

site condition are ess ential as well The par

, .

tial and the interrupte d fast wheth e r indi

,

cated in the manner d e scribed or entered in to

from policy are always beneficial

, .

The post mort em examinations cited in the

text rev eal the fact that it is impossible for
o ne to die in t he fast unless the vital organ s

are in such condition prior to e ntering absti

nence that d e ath is inevitabl e whether food is
taken or not Symptoms s evere in character
.

result in the fast or ou t o f it fro m organs

, ,

that are below normal in size or that are m is

placed or defective in struct ure A nd wh en .
,

distressing conditions arise in the fast the ,

safe r and the san e r thing to do is to continue

the o mission o f food to the po int o f pu rifica
tion rath er than to return to feed ingor to re
,

46
 FASTING

sort to the partial fast T he pro cess of elimi

.

nation accomplish e s but o ne thing— the cast

ing ou t o f waste— and to return to feeding
puts extra labor upon organs alre ady over
taxe d Vital parts are Oft en d e fective in
.

structure due to wrong treatment in the

growing p e riod o r to inh e rent d e fici ency
, ,

and then wh en the fast is invoke d the symp

, ,

toms are invariably distr e ssing Wh en dur .

,

ing the omission o f food symptoms o f pain ,

and distre ss a re aggravated and resort to ,

food is tak en the trouble is only increased

,
~
,

and the patie nt finds h imself in deeper water

than be fore .

Fruit j uices and liquid veg etable food s are

the proper di et indicat e d whe n the fa st is
brok en b e fore its compl etion o r at its logical
end since th e s e are e a sily h andle d and place
,

no great tax upon digestion When acid .

fruits are not tol era t e d the fast may be ,

broken on ve g et abl e broths alon e V arious .

vegetabl e s and c ere als lend th ems elves read i

ly to the pre paration o f broths s ui tabl e for
the purpos e named Tomato e s carrots .
, ,

asparagus rice and barl ey and gard e n p r o ;

, , ,

duce gen erally may be utilize d But nothing .

can quite tak e t he pl a c e of t he broth from t o

matoes f o r this ve getabl e though slightly
, ,

46
WHEN AND WHY TO FAST

acid in composition seems to satisfy both

,

taste and nutrition at any and all tim e s .

E ve n in a fast when s e rious sym p toms are

,

pre sent the broth from the tomato may be

,

giv en for the reli e f o f distre ss The pre para .

tion of thi s ve g et able may be refe rred to as

a counterpart o f that of the others and it is ,

h ere d escribed Two pounds o f tomatoes are

.

stewe d with about two cups o f wat er The .

boiling shoul d continu e f or approximately

fifteen o r twenty minut es and the br oth ,

shoul d be slightly s ea soned th e n straine d so

,

that no l arg e solid p a rticl e s ente r the stom

ach O ne cup of this product s e rve d hot often
.

answers as a m e ans of compl et e r eli e f from

pain and it is the ideal foo d u p on which to
,

bre ak a fast as well .

The drinking o f water during a fast is not

needful unl e ss thirst is indicat ed When the .

latter s ensation make s d em and onl y su ffi ,

cient wa ter to satisfy it should be taken The .

forcing o f water upon the body when no de

sire exists tax es organs alrea dy burdened .

Water shoul d not be thrown into the stomach

in gulps It shoul d be sipped especially
.
,

when fasting for it th en cause s no S hock to

,

the system Thirst is not always evident in a

.

fast sin ce when properly conducted water

, , ,

47
 FASTING

is supplied to the body through absorption

from the vehi cle of the enema The kidneys
.

ar e flush e d from this source , and the flui ds

o f the tissue s are m aintained in the same

mann er A knowledge of this fact will re

.

lieve the tortures o f the s hipwrecked marine r

,

f or an enema of sea wat e r in addition to its

-

cleansing propertie s will satisfy thirst

, .
 C H AP T E R IV

P REP AR ATI O N F O R THE F AS T

“
Do i
no t t h nk t ha t w ha t is ha rd for the e to m ste r
a

is imp ssi ble for ma n; bu t if a

o t hi ngis po ssi bl nd
e a

ro e r to ma n, d e em i t a tt i
a na ble b t hee
p p y .

Ma rcus Au r elius Antoninus .

 FASTING

nize the fact that prevention Of later evil lies

entirely in his own hands the greater part of
,

physical su ff e ring woul d be eradicated ; but

prevention compels personal denial in per
sonal habit and enj oym ent ; and denial in
these resp ects is the hardest Of all virtues to
incul cate and to practice .

T he simplicity Of the application o f the

fast constitute s its chief drawback To the
.

mind convince d on final argum ent o f the effi

cacy o f the method nothing is more easy than
,

to begin the omission o f the daily ration ir ,

respective O f the mental and physiolog ical

changes that are involve d Food stimul ation
.
,

always an important factor in disease as ,

s e rts the power o f habit over the body ; and ,

even though the will o f the patie nt has been

brought to und erstand the futility Of de
p e n d en ce upon artificial aids to h e alth as em
,

bodi ed in medicine and in methods akin to it .

general knowledge is lacking concerning the

prop e r means to pursue in ord e r to overcome
habit and to meet the physiologica l mutations
that ensue wh en food is d enied the body f or
the purpose o f prevention or o f cure .

T he cultivation Of a h abit is a slow and in

sidiou s process and so in l e ss e r degr e e is its
, , ,

d e struction Abruptly to ce ase an act or a

.

59
 PREPARATION FOR FAST

bodily function that has b e come constant

caus e s both physical and me ntal disturb ances .

Witne ss for instanc e the a tt empts o f a vic

, ,

tim Of tobacco alcohol or morphi n e to e sc ap e

, ,

from the toils Will powe r the high est a t tri

.
,

bute o f mind alone can accomplish the r es ul t

, .

In many cases the will re quire d to be gin

the fast is pr e s e nt and foo d might at once be
,

d eni e d we re this the sol e consid eration But .

,

b e cause natural physiological chan g e is al

ways gradu al in fulfi lm ent S imi lar appro a ch
,

to absolute cessation Of function is not only

d e sirable but imp e rative The ideal way O f
.

e ff e cting the r e adj ustment Of organic action ,

that is the cons equenc e o f lowe ring to zero

the intake o f food is t o di mi nish by d e gr ee s
,

the amount inge sted To omi t all food sud

.

d enly wh e n approachin g a fast s ets the stom

ach clamoring for supply at the hours which
habit has fix ed and the res ul ts of d eprivation
,

are then comparable to those e xp e ri enced by

the toper or the victim o f drugs wh en dri nk
o r narcotic is d e nied N e rvous re action is at
.

once apparent and d epr ession follows O nl y .

in acute dis ease shoul d abrupt entrance to the

fast occur and this solely because nature de
,

mands at this time p rompt and s trenuous

measure s .

m
 F A STING

D aily b ath s and e nemata m echanical s e

,

ce sso ries f o r the maintenance o f cleanline ss

and aids to elimination mark the commence

,

ment o f the tr eatment ; and these accompani

ments with the omission o f the morning
,

m eal mark the fir st stage of approach to the

,

period Of total abstin ence from food O mit .

ting bre akfast and l e ss ening quantity at the

othe r meals pave s the way ; and in the ordi ,

nary case O f functional disease the gradual ,

diminution of food supply should occupy an

interim Of not more than ten days or two
weeks aft er which the oth e r meals shoul d in
,

succession be dropped Thus the system is

.

prepared without any noticeable change save ,

that Of reli e f for entire deprivation Of food

, ,

for the absolute ce s sation of the function of

digestion .

In the event that the o mission of the mom

in gm eal occasions undue distress as some ,

times happens ripe fruit in small quantity

,

may be eaten at the usual hour C aution re .

quires that sweet frui t and acid fruit be not

mix ed at any one tim e Soups made of veg
. e

table s graduall y b ecoming lighter in food

value s hould constitute the remaining meals ,

which are successively dropped u ntil all food

i s denied I t i s well to use the j uices of fruit
.

54
P REPARAT I O N F O R FAST

al one for the las t few days before entering

In the ordinary patient the omission of

b reakfast as suggest ed above causes slight
, ,

dis t urbances such as dizzin e ss h ea dach e or

, , ,

stomach pains Thes e are t he resul ts o f habit

.

change L ater they disappear— usually

.

within three or four days— and there are

ordin arily no u n pleasant symptoms when the
other mea ls are omitte d In the no breakfast
.
-

peri od eli mination Of dige stive toxins begins

,

t o gain over their formation and as the , ,

patient gr adually diminish e s inge stion the ,

fact that the body is und ergoing a cleansing

process becomes most evid ent from the daily
discharges in the enemata and from the Odor ,

that emanates from the skin and the breath .

T hese resul ts make it apparent that years Of

overburdened dige stive functions and o f
cons e quent im perfe ct nutrition have load ed
the tissue s with toxins and that a compl ete
,

cl e ansing Of the system with r est for the or

,

gans o f dige stion and a re arrangement in na

ture and manner Of food supply is meces ,

sary f or re gaining a physical balance A .

fre sh foundation must be constructed as the

Old is removed and a change in internal con
,

dition must be e ff ected by destroying the

55
 FASTING

active cause o f diseas e and by renewing

, ,

through re st the functions of thos e organs

,

that have b e en long h amp er ed in operation .

The most important O f the organs con

nect ed with the dig e stiv e process is the liver .

I t stands at the portal o f the circulation o f

the blood like a faithful s entry It receiv e s .

dige sted food products as th ey are absorbed

,

through the wa lls O f the inte stine s and it ,

separat e s that which may be us e d for the re

building O f tissu e from that which is waste .

Its products ar e thus on the one hand blood

, ,

filled with nutriment a nd o n the othe r the

, , ,

p e culiar s e cr etion known as bil e The latte r .

it stor e s in the g all bladde r wh ence it is sup

,

pli ed to the int estin e s as n ee ded in the dige s

tion O f food N a ture is loath to cast out any
.

mat erial a s us el e ss a nd the function of t he

,

live r by which constitu ents of the blood ,

otherwis e us el e ss a re utiliz e d for further di

,

g es tiv e op e ration in the form Of bile is ,

o ne of the most striking instances of her

e conomy .

When ove rworke d by ove rfeeding or other

abus e the liv e r cannot p erform its function
,

Of inspection successfully and more or l e ss

,

o f the poison r e tain e d absorb e d from f er

,

mentingre fuse in the int e stines is carried ,

56
P REPARAT I O N F O R FAST

into the circul ation E xcess o f bile is mani

.

f e sted and with it the h eadach e the cold or

, , ,

the bilious attack appears all warnings of ,

further di s e a se .

T he mi nut e cells Of the liver hav e indi

vidual work to perform in s eparating nutri
tive matter from waste ; and unl ess care be ,

taken to furnish a food supply corre ct in pro

portion and quality bile is s e cr e ted in
,

amount larger than the system d emands or

requi res and is its elf absorbe d and re
,

ab sorbed with additions from oth e r sour ces

, ,

until congestion resul ts the circul ation is ,

vitiated and the bowels are filled with bil ious

,

to x ins that poison and re poison indefinitely -

.

A ll hab its having a t e nd e ncy to ca us e diges

tive disturb anc e such as the use o f tobacco
,

o r alcohol carel e ss eating and overeating

, ,

hinder the functioning o f the liver An y .

clogging or int erference with its dutie s pre

vents the blood from re ce iving the b ene fit of
its inspection and an impur e product is the
,

resul t All parts o f the body will S how dis

.

tressing symptoms Of fatigue and o f exhau s

tion if the cells of the liver become diseased
o r us eless through intemperat e li ving or
through ignorance of the specific duty be
longing to it as an organ of the human ma
57
 F A S TING

chine And this o f cour se i s true with refer

.
, ,

ence to the funct ions o f any other Of the vital

organs Of the body ; but so closely is the liver
allied to the imm ediate work of digestion that
the detail e d description given of its labo rs
‘

is deemed essential to a full understanding Of

the method discussed herein .

As will be discove red there are two distinct,

plans to b e followed when the fast is used as

a means for the relief and cure Of di sease .

O ne o f these requ ires the patient to continu e

the period Of abstin ence to its lo gical and
complete conclusion the return o f hunger
, ,

and its duration is problematical T he other .

,

o f e qual value in milder complaint s than

those f or whi ch the finish fast is employed -

makes use of shorter intervals Of ab stinence

from food alternating with peri od s of re
,

st rict ed di et What has been written in this

.

connection may then be qu alified to the ex '

tent that when short fasts o f one or two days

, ,

or Of a week are undertaken f or the relief

,

o f temporary indisposition o r f or the preven

tion Of acute di sease no such extended pre
,

p a ra t ion as is desc ri bed is needful F o r the .

long fast the fast that cleanses the system to

,

purity pre paration as outlin e d must be pre

,

cedent . T he short fast and the compu l sory

58
 CH AP T E R V

S Y M P T OM S

“
c r
E very excess cau ses a d efe t; e ve y defect , a n es
c ess . r t t o r r
E ve y swee ha h its s u ; e ve y e v l, i ts g d i oo .

r c t ic r ci r
E ve y fa u l y w h h is a e e ve of pleas u e ha s a n r
e u al
q p e n t
al
y pu t o n its a bu se I t is to a nswer fo r
.

i ts mo d e a o n w h its l fe
r ti it i
”
.

R a lph Waldo E me rso n .

61
 C HAP T ER V .

S YM P T O M S

I S E AS E symptoms are the evidences

of the conditions present within the
body and they indica te with more or
,

less a ccu racy the d egree Of functional or o f

organic distu rbance In addition they enable
.

the exp e ri enced Observer to localize the point

o f l e ast r e sistance — the organ prevented
,

from proper p erformance O f its task In .

fast ing th es e S igns Of disease during the

, ,

first days Of abstin ence are seen to be e x ag

,

gerated or seemin gly incr e ased in seve ri ty ;

but this is a logical consequence Of the a p
plication o f a m ethod the purpos e of which
,

is that of elimination o f a clogging circul at ,

ing poison The e xtreme process Of cas ting

.

ou t in progr e ss during the fast un cov e rs the

seat Of diseas e and exagge rates in the very

,

cure itself its characteristic signs TO the .

orthodo x mind thi s phenomenon at once sug

gests an increase in sev erity since to it the
,

sympto m itself represent s a cause Bu t re . ,

63
 FASTING

garding disease as a un ity or as arising f rom ,

a singl e primary source the intellect trained ,

in the application Of natural means of treat

ment finds no cause for fear but rather rea ,

son for rej oicing Nature has entered the .

Op en avenue o f assistance presented and i s

proceeding rapidly to e ff ect relief and cure .

I n any method f or the treatme nt Of disea se

nothing can be done unless nat ur e cc Oper -

ates In some m ethods her m eans of cure

.
,

e limination triumphs in spite o f the treat

,

ment and thi s is nowhere so fully di splayed

,

as in traditional orthodo x y which is trained ,

to l oo k upon the sym pto m or the appearan ce ,

o f disease as its cause

, A S a resu lt the ef
.

forts o f medicine have b een directed to check ,

to su ppress to turn into other channels the

, ,

S i gn mani fe s te d T he fac t has bee n and is

.

ignored that thus turned aside and unt e

,

moved di seas e is certain of retu rn in re

,

doub led force .

T he whole o f the hum an race ha s been edu

os ted f o r years along wrong curative lines .

F or instance in orthodo xy if the heart action

,

is high a depressant drug is adm ini stered ; i f

,

it is low a stimulant i s given I n either ca se

, .

re action occurs and the organ is less able to

,

recuperate when the clog ged channels of

cs
 SYMPTOMS

bod ily energy finally are cl eared sufficiently

f or function T his occurs when
. nature as
serts herself as she Often does in spite of the
, ,

dru g When the S ign o f distress appears

.

u pon the s ur f ace o f the S kin attempts are at

,

o nce in order not t o remove the inward cau se

, ,
“
bu t to eradicate the outward appearance to ,
”
drive it in. O rthodox y refuses to admit the
unity Of dis ease and hence neglect s to assist
,

in the cleansing process of natu re whi ch , ,

reco gni zing the cause ignores the sym ptom

, ,

o r uses it solely as a guide The thought and

.

hOpe Of the physician trained to h eed the

warnings o f dis e as e from a natural view
—
point is this that the organs Of the b ody o f
his patient may prove equal to the work of
elimi nation and this they can accomplis h
,

onl y when they are structurally intact I n .

spite o f the mildness or the s everi t y Of it s

manifestation it is through bodily pu rifica

,

tion alone that di sease can be cured .

Since the physiological changes involved

in the application of fasting for the cure o f
disease need to be made gr adually the ideal ,

method o f approach to the period o f abstin

e nce is to prepare the system by a gradual

less e nin g of the food supply ; but whether ,

begu n in this m anner or without p reparation ,

es
 FASTING

as is nece ss ary in acute di seas e the resultant ,

sym ptoms are in general alike When the .

intake o f food is stopped the stomach is ,

naturally empti e d and commences its eu

forced vacation All o f its energy as an or
.

gan is th en appli ed to re cup e ration to allay ,

ing with the assistance o f a blood current -

continually gaining in purity inflammation ,

that may be pres e nt in its structure and to re ,

lieving conge stion in veins and in glands It .

w ill from time to time be disturb e d in this

work by its neighboring orga n the liver , ,

which during the fast b e comes solely an

, ,

instrument o f elimi nation and discharges ,

quantities Of refuse into the alim entary canal .

T he secretion o f the live r is a lways a waste

product but eve n as such it has its use as a
, , ,

dige stive fluid in health When the fast is in

.

progress however this product o f e limina

, ,

tion is discharged into the intestine s and is ,

nothing more than poisonous r e fuse e xcreted

from tissue blood and organ s which must
, , ,

be at once removed from the body lest it be

reab sorbed into the circulation .

When food is taken away t he bowels still ,

proceed to collect the waste d e posit e d in them

by the blood and the liver ; the kidneys the ,

lun gs and the skin continue the process Of

,

66
 J in l c r t r S bj ct
Ma lnu t rit ion a nd
f t d tw nt y—
R Sp a u va u e . u e

i ght d y t k in g p l x rci for

. .

as e e e a s, a S e cl a e e se s

S i l c r
na t r C
u r t r corr
va u e t d d g n r l h lt h
u va u e ec e an e e a ea
p
r m rk bly impro d P hoto gr ph t k n t hr month
.

e a a ve . a a e ee s

aft r compl tion o f f t

e e as .
 SYMPT O MS

elimi nation ; and the whole sewerage system

o f the body c ente rs its e ntire energy in an
e ff ort to cl ear away the im purities stored
within The stomach rests while the involun
.
,

ta ry absorptive fun ctions continue their

work even upon e xcreted tissue waste and
, , ,

lest harm result the most expeditious me

,

chanical m e ans must be employed to remove

this product from the digestive tract T he .

blood following its mission gathers the ref

, ,

use from cell structure and supplies for re

,

building purposes what it finds available .

T his it discov ers in the r es e rve supply Of

nourishm ent naturally stored in the inters
tices o f tissu e As the proc ess of eli mination
.

o r purifica tion continu e s wast e grows less ;

,

the d e nsi ty of the bl ood is r e duce d gradually ,

as refuse dimi nishes in quantity ; and the

labor Of the heart is thus progr essively light
ened .

Heart action is low In some cases Of dis

e as e and it is high I n others
, It Is low wh en
.

the blood 13 loaded with waste and Is dens e or

thick I n quality It Is high when fe rmenta
.

tion o f r e fus e in the inte stin es occurs w ith ,

absorption o f active poison into the circul a

tion But wheth er high or low poisonous
.
, ,

products are pres ent in the blood A circul at .

07
 FASTING

ing poison acting upon the n e rves that con

trol the h e art may d evelop irr e gulariti e s that
seem to show organic structural d e fe ct and ,

these are often so diagnosed But following .

,

the argument of the te xt it is plain that, ,

whatever the symptom improvement in heart

,

action must nece ssarily result in the fast

when elimination becomes suffici ently ad
vanced to r emove the poisonous r e fuse that is
the cause o f dis ease N O fe ar n eed be enter
.

t ained as to the abi lity of the heart to per

form its fu nctions during a fast for the or ,

gan has less work to do as each day goes by ,

and it is s erved with the increas e d nerve

power of a syst em gradually purifying .

When the fast is onc e begun elimination ,

asserts its predominance D e sire for food is

.

in many cases re place d by disgust at the

thought o f it and app etite is lacking un til
,

the fast is complete The v e ry Odor of food

.
,

and even the p erfum e o f flowers is to some

pati ents naus eating W hen this symptom is
.
'

pres e nt in aggravated form it is an almost ,

certain in di cation Of organic d e fe ct th at may

prove fatal In this sign how ever in both
.
, ,

fun ctional and organic disease th ere may be ,

variations due mor e or l ess to the time de

,

voted to preliminaries ; and several instan ces

es
 SYMPT O MS

are o f re cord in which n e ithe r app etite nor a

s emblance Of it was pre s ent throughout the
e ntir e p eriod Of abstin e nc e O th e r cas e s have
.

claime d the s ensation o f fals e hunge r from

the b eginnin g to t he end of t he fast .

An oth e r gene ral symptom is di scovered in

the fact that the tongu e imm ediat ely upon
,

the omission Of food dons in ordi nary cas es

, , ,

a thick y e llowish whit e coat which it k ee ps

-

until the impuriti e s within the body are elimi

nat ed ; and the cl e aring o f its surface is o ne
o f the important sign al s th a t in di cat e a co m

p le t e and succ e ssful fast Wh .e n the s e cre

tions of the body a re acid in character an ap ,

p a r en t ly cl e an tongue may d e velop and in ,

thi s event strict int erpretation Of the symp

tom mi ght le ad to the infe rence that the sys
tem is clea ns e d a nd is ready for food But .

h ere puls e and t emp erature give neede d

guidance and the condition Of the mucus
,

membra ne Of the mouth or cank e rs upon the

,

tongue a re warnings suffici ent for the prac

ticed mi nd The coat d eposit ed upon the
.

tongu e is one Of the simpl est visibl e signs Of

an extremely foul inte rnal stat e and Of the
'

fact that elimin ation is rapidly tak ing place .

In he alth a cl e an tongu e as d e fin e d medi

,

cally is seldom in eviden ce with a full stom

,

69
 FASTING

ach . O rdinarily here food stimulation domi

,

nates elimination for a foul tongue is onl y

,

an indication of the attempt o f nature to cast

ou t im puri t y from the system E xcept as .

previously stat e d a clean tongue is one Of the

,

unfailing signs Of a compl ete and succe ssful

fast and it may take months to accomplish
, .

L ike the tongu e the breath becomes loaded

,

with evid e nces Of the int e rnal cond ition and ,

its Odor is most O ff e nsive for the greater part

of the fasting period T his too is an in di
.
, ,

ca tor o f the progress Of the cleans in gpro

cess which the body is un d ergoing and the ,

term ination o f the fas t is heralded by its be

co ming odorless .

O ne O f the products o f fermentation with

in the b ody is known by the ch emical n am e o f
acetone Th e re is no doubt that ace tone the
.
,

resul t o f the decomposition Of organic mat

ter is present to gre ater or l e ss d e gree in
,
'

many cas e s und e rgoing the fast It is not .

nece ssarily a product Of the albumen o f the

food but is more probably the res ul t Of the
,

destruction of that part o f the body albu men

that has come from the bre ak ing down o f
the tissue cells I n other words the produc
.
,

ing mat erial has s e rved its purpose as living

ce ll growth In ca s e s treate d medically its
.

70
 SYMPTO M S

pre s ence is regarded with dread and at tim e s ,

when it app ears as it does in an aes thetized

, ,

subj ects und er the sur geon s kni fe opera ’

,

tions have b een abandone d because of the

fear O f death while the paralysis of the
anaesthetic e ndur e s Its presence in a patient
.

undergoing the fast indicat e s functional de

rangement o f more than ordinary gravity .

In health the r e is no production o f acetone ,

since di scard e d cell tissue is eliminated before

fermentation can occur O nce food is denied
.

and c ell re fuse is discharged into the channels

Of evacu ation aceton e when it is pres ent ap
, , ,

pears in all the e xcretions and its charact eris

,

tic ether like Odor is most pronounced I n

-
.

fact In th ese instances one o f the signs o f the

b eginning Of the end Of the fast I s found In
the disapp e arance o f acetone fro urine m ,

breath and e xcreta It I s no longer formed

, .
,

since the body is again in position to produce

normal h e althy c ell structure balan ce d by
normal elimination Of waste .

In dis ease it is quite usual to Observe nu

pl e asant body odors Th e se are manifesta
.

tions o f an uncle an int erior manifest ations ,

which nature seeks to remove thr ough the

organs o f elimination not the l e ast o f which
,

is the skin O ne e xperi enced in the treatment

.

71
 FASTING

of mental dis e as e s b e come s e xp e rt in dis

t ing ui shin gt he mark e d Odor attach e d to most
lunatics E v en in the mi ld e r n e rvous de
.

rangem ents such as hyst eria the Odor of the

, ,

body becomes distinctly ch ang ed and is f re ,

quently noticed by the p ati ent hims elf E f .

Il u viu m is pr e s e nt in m a ny dis e as e symptoms

othe r than thos e Of the min d and o f the

n e rv e s— witn e ss f o r inst ance the distinct
, ,

Odor charact eristic o f tub e rculosis o f the

lungs In the fast the one function par
.

amount is that O f e limination ; and du e to this

fact the b ody Odor at this tim e is decidedl y
more noticeable than in ordinary dis e ase
when food is suppli ed S O tru e is this that the
.

pres ence Of a fasting pati ent in a clos e d room

can at once be d et e ct ed by o ne familiar with
the treatment and its r e sults .

In cas e s Of acute dis e ase and in what is

known as bilious t emp erament a ft e r the fast
,

has be gun annoying symptoms may d ev elop

—d izzin ess on rising sudd enly spots b e fore
, ,

the eye s and g en eral mal a is e and w eakne ss

,
.

But thes e signs are not found in e ve ry in

stanc e and cannot b e e stablish ed as guid e s .

Som e th e re a re who may abstain from food

for from thirty to forty days without any
di sagreeable symptoms save an O ff e nsive
7s
 FASTING

when the flui d raised is yellow or yellowish

green in hue and when naus e a occurs at in
,

fre quent intervals But if the color changes

.
,

to a vivid green or as it does in instances Of

,

acute organic derangement to black the case , ,

may be considere d as most serious in charac

ter and o f doubtful prognosis Wh en nausea .

is pre sent during a fast it is far b etter to aid

,

e li mination in ridding the stom a ch O f its con

tents through the mouth than to permit them

to remain with the c e rtainty Of partial re
absorption and re toxication If di fficulty is
-
.

found in raising the cont ents Of the stomach ,

titillation o f the palate with the end o f the

finger or with a feathe r will caus e the con
vu l sive muscul ar contraction nec e ssary ; and
the drinking Of warm wat e r will eas e the act
O f retchi ng and at the same tim e will clean se
, ,

the walls O f t he stomach .

T h ere are patients with livers organicall y

diseas e d who un d ergo the fast without the
appearance O f bilious vomit O bs e rva tion in .

post mortem e xamin ations l eads to the co n

elus ion that these sub j e cts are invariably e f
f ected with some stage o f a cirrhosed o r
hard ened live r and are outwardl y o f an ema
,

ciat ed or wiry typ e O n the oth e r hand those

. ,

in whom e xcessive vomiting occurs durin g

74
 SYMPTO M S

the fast are always incline d to obesity and at

death display a liver disintegra t e d or soft
ened O f the two typ e s the chances f or re
.

co ve ry a r e great e r with the latter .

B ile thrown into the stomach m ay produ ce ,

thr ough irrit ation o f its walls spasmodic con

,

traction Of the diaphragm i e hiccoughs

, . .
, .

They may also occur as the result o f other

ab normal stimul a tion o f the diaphragmatic
nerve and this happens frequently in cases
,

of any a ff ection o f the liver or o f the intes

tines When merely fun ctional disturbance

.

causes this annoying symptom it m ,

ly b e relieved by vomiting or by the

o f cold water ; but if it p ersists it points to
, ,

serious conditions and in the later stages o f

,

dis ease it is proof Of organic d e fe cts b eyond

,

re p air and heralds the approach o f death .

I n the e arlie r stages of the fast there will

prob ably be fe rmentation and consequent
formation Of gas in the intestines which may ,

co ntinue for days d epending upon the

,

amount Of solid material clinging to bowel

walls and also upon what may be termed the
,

virulence o f the bil e and other waste de

posited in the alimentary canal The gas .

formed is Oft en the cause o f colicky pains ,

and is always a source of uncomfortable mo

75
 FASTING

me nts un til r emove d M anipul ation of the

.

abdom en tog e th e r with hot wat er applica

tions are o f gre at assist ance in this event ,

since th ey t end to r educe infl ate d intestines '

by stimul ating p e ristalsis and thus bring

,

about the disch a rge Of the ga s The en ema is

.

also o f the utmost value in th ese circum

stance s and must be e mploye d .

I n all cas e s in the fast the evacuations from

the bowe ls are strikingly similar Floating .

in a brownish flui d th a t sh ad e s to black in

color are Old fe ce s mor e o r le ss abundant in
quanti ty T he l att er are pre s ent for many
.

days and are e vid ence o f the form e r state

,

ment that ov e rwork ed bowels do not fully

di scharge their contents even when regul ar
in action .

T he more usual indication of disease as it

a ff ects body t emperature is feve r but it is ,

uit e fre qu ently the c a s e that in an aemic sub

j ec t,s S hortly aft e r t he b e ginning o f a fast ,

the temp e ra tur e drops to a d egre e or so be

low norm al This is caus e d by the abs ence o f
.

food stimul ation for a fast n ever lowe rs

,

t emp erature The l a tt e r is alwa ys b elow

.

re giste r in instance s o f long st anding de -

bility a nd it is high in proportion to the se

,

ve rity Of acute di s e as e The fast t ends to

.

76
 SYMPT OM S

restor e t emp erature and pul s e to normal be ,

th ey high or low a t its inception It is well .

t o not e th at whil e the av e ra ge normal t em

,

a t ur e Of the body is 9 8 2 5 d e gr ee s and

p er -

the ave rage norm al p ul se is about 7 2 b e ats

to the min ut e th e s e figure s a re not to be re
,

garde d as normal for e a ch and eve ry indi

vidual The re a re v a ri ations both above and
.

b elow that a re not to be consid e re d as arising

in e ve ry instance from di s e a s e A cas e is .

cite d in which t emp erature b e fore the fast

was habitually ninety four de gre e s ; in the
-

fast app a rently no ch ang e w as mad e until

the twenti eth d ay wh en an incre as e O f o ne
,

half d e gre e w a s not ed ; ave ra ge normal Of

nin e ty eight de gre e s was r ea che d t en days
-

lat e r H e re undoubte dly dis ea s e was the

.

caus e o f low r egist e r M a ny c a s e s h ave b een

.

Obs e rve d in which t emp erature a t the b e gin

ni ng of the fa st w a s so low as not to admit o f
r egiste r upon the clini cal the rmomet er but ,

inva ri ably ave ra g e normal was re a ch e d b e

fore the e nd O f abstinence When conditions.

o f a bnorm a lly low t emp era t ur e a r e pr e s e nt

during the fast hot a pplica tions along the

,

spinal column and hot tub b aths are the

,
-

m eans to be employe d to assist internal elimi

nation in restoring body h eat to normal In .

77
 F A STING

any case temperature is merely a sym ptom

Of the con di tions within and whether high , ,

o r low it d e not e s that there is in progress a

,

fight for life that has scarce need to be sup

pressed N O th ermometer is necessary to
.

read the severity o f dis eas e and if pulse and , ,

t emperatur e are above or b elow normal at the

beginning of the fast th ey will d escend or
,

ascend to natural register when dis e ase disap

pears or perhaps while some Of its symptoms
,

are still in evidence T he gen eral conditions

.

described in this paragraph in connection

with temperature below normal occur in the
cases of almost all fasters T hese are ag gra .

vat ed in certain temperaments more e spe ci ,

ally in those who su ff er from the wasting

forms o f illn ess such as hardening Of the
,

liver and m al assimilation

,
-
.

Wh en the fast is concluded and the body

has been rebuilt it is to be noted that a ve g
, e

tarian diet insure s a pul se and temperatur e

with no apparent tend ency to rise above in di
vidual normal If the di e tary change has
.

been one from fle sh to vegetable the puls e ,

may show reduction Of several beats from its

former average .

O ne word more concerning bodily tem

p arature in the fas t : P hysiology asserts and
7s
 SYMPTOM S

obs ervation proves th at the re can be no di

gestion in the absence Of dig e stive jui ces and ,

that th ere is almost no secretion Of the flui ds

when fe ve r is present Why th en feed dur
.
, ,

ing high temp eratur e ! Without di g e stion

th ere can be no nourishm ent no upbuilding ,

of wasted tissue Why add the bur den o f

.

eliminating un digested material to the al

ready gre at e ff ort that nature is m aking to
reduce ove r stimul ate d h e art action and ab
-

normal body heat ! The sure st m e ans to cor

rect this condition is to withhold food to re ,

move the refuse and to r e st thos e organs that

,

are functionally unable to Oope with the labor

forced upon them .

D ependi ng upon the physical tend encies

of the in divi dual after the beginning o f the
,

fast and during its early stage s many symp ,

to ms not S pecifically d e scri bed in this chapter

may develop In some a rash upon the sk in
.

appears and in oth e rs a cold with e xcessiv e

,

nasal and bronchial discharge is the form in

which the p u rifying proce s s at work is dis
played But thes e and all other signs that
.

occur at this tim e may be ascribed in part to

the depression succe e ding food stimul ation ,

and in part to the e x ceedingly gre at elimi

nation Of waste that is in progress The lat .

79
 FASTING

ter is Of cours e r e sponsibl e for the larger

, ,

numb er o f symptoms that app e ar h ere and

h ere a ft e r in the fast Aft er the fi rst indi ca
.

tions vani sh in cas e s Of pur ely functional dis

,

e as e the pati e nt discov e rs th a t his str e ngth

,

has appare ntly incr e as ed and th a t he is in

, ,

most instances abl e to att end without diffi

,

cul ty to ordinary labor and to approach it

with brain marvelously cl ear In oth e r .

words with the l oss Of stimul ation due to

,

food poison di s ea s e d ecr ea ses and real

, ,

strength is manifest The pati ent is not l ess

.

weak nor more strong th an at any t ime dur

in ghis pr evious dis eas e d e xist ence wh en liv
ing under stimul ation The fast has but u n
.

covered the tru e st at e Of a ff airs and it has ,

demonstra t e d that a sick man is not o f neces

sity a w e ak man for w e akn e ss is abs e nc e Of
,

strength du e to syst emic poison alon e and , ,

in the e arly st age s of illn ess strength is onl y

,

dormant This s e emingly p a ra doxical state

.

m ent is e xpl a in e d by the fact that in dis ease

all avenu es for the passag e O f en ergy and
vitality are so clogg ed by cumul ative waste
products as to b e rend ere d almost us eless f or
the e xpre ssion o f th e s e forces .

T he subj e ct o f food stimulation has not re

ceiv e d the att ention that it d e serve s in an y

so
 FASTING

their functions im peded be cause o f defect in

structure in themselves or in the inte stines ,

or because Of excess o f waste the salivary ,

glands excrete in quantity and constant e x ,

p e c t orat io n O f viscous foul smelli

, n g spittle -

is symptomatic Of the conditions describ ed .

T his symptom abate s and ceases as the func

tions are restored and it may be much all evi
,

ated by hot baths and by sweat inducing -

fomentations .

T he headaches o f the fast are invariably

located in the frontal po r tion of the b rain ,

and are coincident with the prior stage of

abstinence wh en the system is accomodat ing
,

itself to the physiolo g ical change Of habit

then in progress As elimination proceed s
.

this symptom di sappears and in functional, ,

disturbances the brain experiences more

,

rapid relief from pain and distres than do

the other organs C onnected with eadache
. r ,

when organic defect s exist are visual spectra,

and flashes of light A muscular tremor ao

.
,

co mpanied with a rotary motion o f the eye

b all Or even with crossed eyes and faulty
,

vi s ion,
sometim e s app e ars in the graver
form s O f organic disease T his peculiar .

variation in symptom has been Observed

shortly before death in the fast and in ex ,

89
 SYMP T O M S

treme form it would seem to in dicate ap

pr o a chingdi ssolution .

At an early stage in the fast partial deaf

ness with humming in the ears is apt to occur .

When this happ ens careful and co nstant

,

syringin g o f the outer ear with warm water

di scloses an excessive quantity Of wax after ,

the removal o f which the annoyin g symp

,

to ms vanish The p resence Of this s ecretion

.

in amoun t above normal indicate s the e x

treme Of elimi nation to whi ch the body lends
its elf while dige stion is suspended C ases .
,

which before the fast have su ff ered from

, ,

semi d eafness find the sym pto m much ag

-

g r av a t e d until m e chanical removal Of th e

clogging mass Of wax is accomplished .

E ve ry avenu e o f escap e is utili ze d by natur e

in the process Of elimination in progress dur
ing the fast and the e ars perform th eir part
,

in company with the eyes the nose the , ,

mouth and the elimi native organs them

,

A t the end of a fast remarkable evidences

of complet e renewal Of the old body are dis
played The hair fa lls profus ely ; tartar de
.

posits upon the te eth are shed ; diseased spots

in dental substance are sloughed ; and e x
tr eme forms of pyorrh ea thos e a ff ectin gthe
,

as
 FASTING

bone o f the te eth are wholl y corr e cted

, .

Finger and toe nails are sometim e s replace d

from b eneath with complet e new growth the ,

Old horny covering b eing forced from posi

tion and cast O ff Al l these indications
.

demonstrate not onl y renewal Of s e cretion

and o f cell structur e but purification as well
-

, .

I n the reb uil ding period perfect replacement

occurs .

E maciation in the fast cannot prop e rly be

regarded as a symptom It is the r es ul t o f the
.

e limination Of toxic products tog ether with ,

the loss occasion e d b y the use by brain and

nerves of the reserve food supply stored in -

tissue interstice s D iminution o f weight due

.

to the latter cause is howev e r very slight in

, ,

comparison with that arising from elimina

tion. Wasting Of the body is gre ate r in
cases where the organs are atrophied or cir
rhosed than in oth e r forms of disease but the ,

loss is less in th e se instances than in those Of

fun ctional di sease or o f organic hypertrophy .

D elirium in diseas e is not ne c essarily an

alarmi ng sym ptom A t emporary condition
.

o f m ental ab e rration apparent in confusion

of thought incoherency o f spee ch and in

, , ,

some instance s unconsciousn ess is character

, ,

istic Of certain natures wh enever the bod v ,

84
 SYMPTOM S

temp e ratur e ris e s above a fix ed point T his .

is possibly an inh e rite d t end ency for on the , ,

oth er hand there are m a ny te mp eraments

,

whos e minds re tain control in a ny a nd all

forms Of di s e a s e when the brain its e lf is not
,

the s eat of disturb ance In the trea tm ent o f

.

functional dis ea s e by t he fast it is rarely the ,

case that d eli rium occurs and if it does its

, , ,

app earanc e is due to e xtr eme auto intoxica -

tion from e xce ssive waste thr own into the

inte stin e s and not evacu a ted with su ffi cient
rapi di ty If pre s ent at all it will be e vident
.
,

within a d ay o r so a ft er the fast begins and ,

it will c e as e wh e n elimin ation has proceeded

to the point Of cle aring the bowels from the
conge st e d mass Of o ld fece s This symptom .

need n ev er app e a r in c a s e s o f pur ely fun c

tional derang em e nt if proper preparation
,

for the fast has b ee n Obs e rved In instan ces .

wh ere abstin ence from food is forced and in

volun ta ry as is the cas e in min e accidents and
,

in shipwr e cks t he m e ntal strain prod uced by

,

the situation caus e s d elirium whi ch together , ,

with sp eedily fatal r e sul ts might be obviated

,

were knowle dge Of the resources Of the

human b ody more gene ral I n organic dis .

e ase in t he fast o r b e fore it d e lirium may

, ,

continue for some tim e and while its prim

, ,

85
 FASTING

a ry caus e is one with that in functional

trouble s its p ers istence is due to de fe cts in
,

organs that pr event e limination into the ih

t e stine s or to d e fects in the intestin e s them
,

se lve s that hind e r evacuation naturally o r by

mechanical m eans If r e covery be possible
.
,

th e s e cases are most obstin a te in yielding to

treatme nt f or the process o f cl e ansing is e x
,

tremely slow and l e ngthy in accompli shment ,

while r e cup eration is delayed inde fini t ely .

T his class o f cas e s r e qui re s more pati ence and

ca ution than all oth e rs combined since the ,

pati ent is apt t o b ecome discouraged and to

lose faith in th e power Of nature to overcome
the condition R e sort to food a nd dr ugs may
.

again be had and the outcome doubtful be

, ,

fore is now inevitably fatal The l e sson to

, .

be learned wh e n this situ ation confronts

physician and pati ent is that Of organic limi
t ation The vital organs a re capabl e o f func
.

tion onl y within bounds beyond which a re , ,

danger and po ssibl e d e ath S a fety rests in .

natu ral processes alone ; dan ger lies in tonics

and in foo d .

A general cl assification Of the sympto ms

o f dis e as e t e ndin g to limi t c e rtain S igns to
certain ailments can neve r be m a d e with s e
cur ac y I t is true that me dicin e has ticketed
.

as
 SYMPTOM S

and shelved all symptoms and that it is its,

plan to await development o f indications be

fore diagnosis But m edicine d evotes its at
.

tention entirely to the suppre ssion o f the

manifestation to the n e glect o f its cause and ,

a classification thus mad e finds items over

lapping e ach oth e r in such mann er as to make
distinction difficul t if not impossible But an .

a rrang ement o f g e neral dis e as e forms may

be mad e on line s th a t are sh a rply d e fined .

l — P urely fu nctional a ilme nts that re adi

.

ly yi eld to the fast In th e s e c a s e s b e cause

.

o f accum ul ation o f e xc e ss food rubbish in

- -

the dige stive tract blood and tissue organs

, , ,

are hamp e r e d in fun ction but a re not struct

ur a lly d e fe ctiv e o r in th e ms elv e s dis e ased .

Gradua l improvem ent is note d from the be

ginning Of pre par ation f or the fast and re ,

cove ry is always possibl e .

2 — O rg anic d e fe ct in sl ight degree o c

.
,

ca sioningdistur banc e becaus e Of work im

p e rfe ctly p erforme d by a partially disabled
organ This condition place s h e avi e r burd ens
.

upon othe r organs and functionally u nbal

auces the entire system D isagr e eabl e symp
.

toms are not ed in th e s e cases during the

progress Of the fast and it is possible that
,

full fu nctionin g may never be restored .

87
 FASTING

However if the structur al d e fect has not

,

reached the point that includ e s the cas e in the

following class and if care b e e xercised dur
, ,

in gthe period o f convalescence recovery is ,

3.
— O rganic d e fect of such degree that the
fun ctioning Of a vital organ is rend ere d im
possible A grad u al declin e b eginning be
.
,

fore tr e atment and continuing with a short

inter val o f r eli e f a ft e r e nt ering the fast is ,

the charact e ristic indic a tion The r eli e f noted.

m ay be such as to O ff er hOpe o f recovery but , ,

if the condi tion is as stated there is no po s ,

sibility o f cure .

I n functional di s ease wh en her laws are

,

obeyed nat ure n e ver fails Of cure She is

, .

h elpless only wh e n organic d e fects exist th a t

d efy re pair .

The car e ful s tu dy of the symptoms of dis

ease as th ey occur e ith er whil e fe e ding o r
,

f asting is in progress r eve als the law through

,

which n ature works to a cure It may bri efly .

be st a te d as a process of e limin a tion upon ,

lin es Of least r e sistance of the toxins pro

,

d u ced by functions imp erfe ctly p e rform ed .

Thes e S igns o f distress may often be loca lly

relieved by m e chanical me ans embodying
heat water su nl ight air and manip ul ation
, , , , ,

as
 C HA P T E R V I

THE DU R AT I O N O F T H E F AS T

P hys ic
, u
q ick t o a fie c t theb dy,
o ca n neve r pro du ce

r r
the pe fe c t esu lts o f t he lo w op r ti o ns of e e rc i
s e a x se

a nd te m e a n e— t he
r c r t in t r m nts of h lth ”
p t wo g ea s u e ea .

Addis o n .

91
 FASTING

in the habits o f feedi ng Hun ge r is an in

.

voluntary function O f the system— as much

S O as is the b e ating o f the heart It is not .

created by the indi vidual nor does it make ,

its appearan ce at stat ed hours by e xercis e o f

the will . But appetite its counterfeit is
, ,

e asily call e d in t o being and may be made a

p
parent at set times .

In dis e ased conditions hunger is absent ;

and in the fast app etite ordin arily disap
, ,

pears after the first few days Wh en the .

elimi nation o f toxic products is complete ,

hung e r not app etite returns Hunger is

, , .

normal app etit e abnormal This distinction

, .

with a di ff e rence is most im portant con

sid ered in conn e ction with the br e aking Of a

fast The que stion o f the re sumption of fccd

.

ing doe s not li e for answe r in the hands of

either physician or pati ent It r e sts with the.

law o f hung e r alone D ur ing the fast and

.

until hunge r returns food o f any kind is an

,

intruder and all of the en e rgy of the body is

,

being directed through the organs o f elimi

nation towards the cl e ansing o f the system
from its s elf manufa ctur e d poison The
-
.

coat e d tongue the foul breath are sim ple

, ,

signs o f the d e composition Of excess food and

o f worn o u t tissu e
-
. And b eing signs Of de
,

9 4.
DURAT ION OF THE FAS T

composition they are also signs O f the death

,

Of life substance and Of living organism the ,

products O f which are harmful unl ess re

moved from the functioning body When .

the e limination o f the s e toxins has reach ed

the point that reb ui l di ng is d e manded l e st
the body die hu ng e r will m anife st itself
, .

Hunger is the abiding law o f animal e xist

ence ; it is not a cr e a tion o f man nor o f the
animal but is the signal of instinct by which
,

all animat e cre at u re s kn ow that food is

neede d for the r e pair and growth o f the or
g an ism
. A n d with its
, manif e station the ,

clean tongue the swe et bre ath and normal

, ,

li fe symptoms return .

In fun ctional dis e as e the fast may b e car

ried to its logical end without a particle Of
anxiety for the law Of hun ger marks the
,

limit b eyond whi ch abstin ence cannot con

tinn e lest death occur An d to this nature
.

has added anoth er safe guard almost its ,

equal in im port ance Re sid ent in the body

.

there exists at all tim e s a supply Of tissue

pabul um f or use in r epair and growth both ,

ordinary and e xtraordinary Thi s is con .

stantly call e d upon f or the nourishme nt and

upbuilding o f nerv e s and b rain and the lat ,

ter never su ff e r deterioration in substance

95
 FASTING

nor in structure unl ess th ey themselves are

organica lly di s e ased E v e n in instances of
.

death from all e g ed starvation nerv e tissue ,

shows no loss It mak e s use of the normal

.

food r e s e rve store d in the interstice s Of mus

cu l ar tissu e and ; fasting o r feedi ng it draws
, ,

upon this accumul ation for support The .

whole n e rvous syst em r e ga ins its e nergy by

res t alone but it m a int a ins its substance at
,

par by the m ea ns d escrib ed H ence so long .

,

as th ere r emain tissue and blood su fli cient to

carry on the work Of the fun ctions and of
the circu lation brain and nerves must con
,

tinne th eir di recting t a sk and th ey cannot

,

waste in the process .

T he stat ement that a supply o f healthy

,

tissue food exists during a fast and is not

-

ex hauste d until natur al hung e r retu rns does ,

not rest for proof upon the me re ass e rtion

Of m e dical Obs ervation in all eged starvation .

In the chapte r o f the t e xt d evot e d to case s

cured by fasting an instance is cited of heal
ing by first int ention during a fast o f fi fty
eight days Of a sore three inches in diameter ,

so virul ent in character that the p erios teum

o f the sacrum was e x posed T wo case s o f.

pregnancy are also noted in which the moth

ers fast ed twenty two and thirty days respec
-

96
 FASTING

bui l din g and waste M astication which is

.
,

the mechanical part Of inge stion must o f , ,

cour s e be correctly accomplish e d to insur e

,

this result Hunge r is discr iminative and

.

preserve s the body App etit e is abnormal

.

desire and ul timat e ly destroys Hunge r is .

primarily indicat e d in the mouth and if not , ,

reli ev e d b e com e s an organic craving that

,

can be satisfi e d only by dige stibl e food ; but

appetite is sil ence d wh en e ve n indigestibl e
substanc e s are inge st e d .

Aft e r the fast with the r eturn Of normal

,

hun ge r the food s el e ctive s e nsations Of taste

,

and smell a re also r e stor e d Th e s e facultie s

.

in ave r a ge e xist e nce are train e d to acce pt

mat erial and Odor abhorr ent to naturally
constitut e d organisms ; but in normal state ,

whil e d ep end e nt upon tru e hunge r th e y act ,

as minor indicators in d e t ermining the point

that marks the conclusion of the fast And .

with th em thirst app e ars— not that d e sir e

f or liquid produc e d by stimul a tion or by
drug e xhaustion O f the fluids Of the body
-

but that which mak e s known the immediate

n e ed for th eir r en e wal The body that e ats
.

when hunge r not app e tit e calls that drinks

, , ,

when thirst not S timulation d emands and

, , ,

that foll ows unquestioningly the selective

98
DURAT I ON OF THE FAST

sen s ations o f taste and o f smell need neve r ,

know disease .

It is sometim es the policy of good j udg

ment to break the f a st b e for e the system is
complet ely cleansed to return to it after an
,

interval O f di eting ; but this is so solely be ,

cause Of the wid e spre ad ignoranc e o f the

-

hum a n body and its care and because o f the ,

advantage that orthodoxy has take n Of this

fa ct for commerci al and oth e r re asons The .

mind Of the pati ent thus becomes imbued

with groundl ess fea r o f death and more ,

harm than good re sults on account o f the

mental strain From the same motive policy
.
,

may indicate short e ning the p eriod Of ab

stine nce wh en the certainty o f the r e sence Of
p
organic dis ease e xists or wh e n preparation
,

has b e en c a rel essly p e rformed o r e ntirely

omitt ed But even though organic defe cts
.
,

are pre sent the body in dis e ase is more cer

,

tain Of re cove ry wh en the fast is applied ,

since the labor o f the organs is in pro cess o f

gradual reduction and progressive r elief is
,

a ff orded the system as a whol e The only .

hop e Of partial r e cup eration or of permanent

cur e lies in the rest given to ove rworked or
d e fect ive organs permitting th em if pos
, ,

sible to recover and to r e sume their functions

,
.

99
 F A STING

The que stion regarding the duration a of

f as t is then one that can never be answered
, ,

with certainty and it is to be remembered

,

that each individual develops his own case ,

and that each case has its own limitations and

requi rements In view Of th e se con di tions
.
,

the fact is to be faced that no matu r e d human

body in which disease is manife st can be
, ,

brought to health within a limited period Of

tim e I t has r equired years O f abus e and o f
.

dr u g ging to cause diseas e and it is unrea son ,

able t o as sume that nature in a few short

weeks o r m onths can bring a bout the physio
logical changes necessary to perfect fun c

T he fast completed the body e xi s ts in a

,

sphere of natural condition and th e re are no ,

circum stances in which there is so much of

real gratification in the s imple r acts that con
stitu t e physical life TO eat rationally to eat
.
,

only at the demand Of hunge r and not to ex

cess become ex quisite pleasure s marr ed
, ,

with no grief for the fles h pots nor f or the

lo s s o f appetite .

What the fast re quires is ability to follow

lo gically the d e tails o f a gr e at but s impl e
law the law of hunger which once obeyed
, , , ,

bring s health f or the as king and d emands ,

I oo
 C HA P T E R V I I

B RE A ! I NG THE FA S T

’
o u r lv th t w e thus nd th s O
Tis in se es a e ar a u . ur

bo d i gr d en ; to w hich o w ills
e s a re a s
gr d e n e r :
ur a re a s

s o t h t if w a w i ll pl nt ne tt le
e or so w l ttu ce t
a s e , se

hy op nd w d p t hym
ss a ee u
pp yl i t w i th o n g n d r
e, s u e e e

of h r bs or d i t r c t i t w i th m n y
e s a i th r to h v i t a , e e a e

s te ri l w i th i dl n or m n r d w i th ind try why

e e e ss a u e us , ,

t h po w r n d orr ig
e e a i bl c t hor ity of t hi s l i es i n o
e au ur

w i ll I f th b l nc
s . e f oa a li s h e o no t o n e s c l
ur ve as a e

o f r o n t
ea so p o i n o th r of
se a n l i ty e t he bl oo
se d n
su ad , a

b inus f n
e ss o t r
our s w o l d
a uon d ect tuo m o st
c
p u us re

p o t ro
s e n on l s ci o n : b t
c us w h v
s r uo n to coo
e l ao e e as ur

r gi ngmo tion s o r ca rna l sti ng o

a , u nb i tt e d lust s, ur u s.
”

S ha k espe a re , t
O he llo .

1 03
 FASTING

a clear insi ght into the m atter o f di et hy ,

gien ic care and

, e x e rcise after ab stinence is

An experienced director o f the method is

onl y too w ell aware that the re are subJe cts ,

whos e number entitl es them to be distin

g u ishe d as a class
, who through
, physical d e

feet store within t he system e xtr aordin arily

,

excessive accumul ations o f food poison .

These cases are group e d und er C lass 2 in

the division o f general di sease symptoms
noted in a previous chapte r In th em constant
.

stimulation prevents recogni tion o f the pre s

e nce of toxic products until some serious in

discretion ove rt u rns the b alance and a fast,

is be gu n usually without prep aration o r di

,

rection O nce elimination has comme nced

.
,

no return is possible until the logical end o f

the cleansing process is reached and ofte n ,

alarming symptoms develop ere the first

week has e lapsed The attempt is made at
.

once to supply nour ishment and dige stiv e

,

trouble more seve re in kind is produce d for ,

the alim entary canal is fill e d with the prod

n ets o f elimi nation and food but a dds fuel to
,

the combustion in progress Fear now takes

.

po s session o f the family and more oft en,

than not of the pati ent as well and the

, ,

106
 BREA! ING THE FAST

d eadlie st foe to n a ture and her me thods of

cure is called to aid in o ff s e tting t he work al
ready accomplishe d M e dicine complete s in
.

the s e circumstance s what food began and the ,

chance s are that death will ensue No de .

f ense of the fast ca n be made and it is ,

visite d with wide spread and emphatic con

-

d emnation wh e re as we re t he facts k nown

, ,

f or th e ir r e al worth the conditions arising

,

therefrom woul d be r e cogni z e d as natural in

origin and as warnings that prodigious and
,

successful e ff orts towa rds cur e were at work .

To b reak the fa st a t a wrong tim e is eve n

wors e than to bre ak it upon erroneo us die t .

The po int of gr e atest im port h e re to be ob

s e rv e d is the car e that shoul d be given and
the confid ence that should be e nge nd ered l e st
fe ar ste p in and with it food and drugs In .

the administration of copious e nemata dupli ,

cate d and r e duplicat e d f or the purpose of

,

the imm e di ate removal of disturbing ele

m ents li e s the remedy for the eradication o f
alarming sign s .

The fast in ordinary cases shou ld be

brok en by the inge stion o f the jui ce s o f ripe
fruit and o f broths prepared from vege
,

tables . The jui ce s o f p erfe ctly ripen e d

fruit are most easily ch anged in mouth and
1 07
 FA S TING

stomach f or the s ub sequent process o f assimi

lation There is th erefore but small e ff ort in
.

digestion The same r eas onin g is applicable

.

to the admi nistration o f strain e d vegetable

b roths seasoned to taste and void of soli d par
ticles The thought that bids for this consid
.

cration of the digestiv e organs fin ds origin in

the fa ct that the stomach has b e e n for a time
deprived o f the ex e rcise o f its function and ,

ret urn to solid food must be care fu ll y made .

T he hun ger instinct shoul d gui d e and after , ,

all but a small amount o f sustenance is

needed to maintain the body A caution i s .

a ppended to the e ff ect th at the jui ces o f

sweet fruits should not be mix ed at any time
with those o f acid V eg e table s in solid form
.

and green salads a re graduall y added t o the

di etary as dig e stive pow e r as serts itsel f .

T here are many v e ge tabl e s that l end th em

s elves readily to the pre para tion of the
broths referred to and among them may be
,

mentioned as particul arly e asy o f dige stion ,

ripe tomatoes cel e ry carr ots and gr ee n p e as

, , , .

Some o f the cereals such as rice and barley

, ,

are al s o easy to prepare and to assimilate in

the form o f broth Great caution is e ssen
.

tial in order to suit the di et to indi vidual re

quirement and slight e x periment may be
,

1 08
 FASTING

though P asteuriz ed or st erili zed it will again ,

take up germs if e x posed to the air In ad .

dition st erili zed milk is a di ff erent article

,

from fre sh milk its chemical composition be

,

ing alter ed by the proce ss The milk of the .

cow wh en ingeste d is ch a nged upon encou n

, ,

t erin g the gastric j uice s into wh ey a liquid

, , ,

a nd into a tough mass of curd most difficu lt

of digestion To call milk a liquid food is

.

absur d for the solid matt e r in a pint of mi lk

,

is e qual to that in a half pound of meat and ,

in its dense coagul a te d form it is vastly more

difficul t of di ge stion .

In the pres ent discussion the digestive ca

pability under cont emplation is th a t of an in
divi dual who has j ust succ ee d e d in riddi ng
his syst em o f the toxic products o f food i n
e xc e ss of t he n ee ds of the body Hunger has .

r etu rn ed and feeding must be re sumed If .

the mi lk o f t he co w is the form in which nour

ishment is supplied and if in addition not
, , ,

o ne pint but as r e comm e nd e d s e v e ral quarts

, , ,

daily are imbibed for e ach quart consum ed

, ,

an e quiva l e nt in fl esh food of o ne pound is

o ff ered for dige stion The purpos e o f the
.

fast is at once d e fe at ed since the most vigor

,

ous o f bodi e s is un a bl e p e rfe ctly to transform

and to assimilate this mass of ma terial All .

1 10
 BREA! ING T H E FAST

of the excess and most of it is excess—fil ls

—
the alimentary tract with d e composing rub
bish and t he system is again in the d evelop
,

ing process o f dis e a s e A di et in cluding o r

.

di n a ry quantiti e s o f milk succ eeds at any

time in depositing a di pos e tissue and in creat
ing incre as e d bilious flow At the very b est
.

the milk o f the cow is int e nd e d only as food

for the calf .

When after the fast dige stive power re

, ,

a sserts itself the e n em ata a re discont inued

,

daily but th ey shoul d b e administe re d wi th

,

ou t question a t l ea st twic e w ee kly in h e alth .

That natural mov em ents o f the bowe ls are

d ep end ent upon perfe ct dige stion is but
slightly qu a lifie d by the stat em ent that mus
cu lar tone is a n e ce ssary condition in the in

t e stinal walls For the attainment o f thi s

.

state and f or the rebuilding of ge neral mus

,

cu l a r qu ality a syst e m o f j u di cious exercis e

,

is r e comm e nd e d a nd insisted upon wh en the

fast is broke n and ther e afte r This like di e t
.
, ,

must be e ntere d upon in gradual manner and

is incr eas e d and extend e d in proportion as
the body shows progre ssive capability .

The process involve d in br eaking the fast

demands extrem e caution and care At the .

end o f the period o f abstin ence and with the

1 11
 FASTING

re turn of hunger w ak will e d patie nts are

, e -

alm ost ce rtain to overste p the bounds o f sup

ply In the se cases acut e symptoms may d e
.

v elO
p due
, t o cong e stion of the entire circul a

tory syst em The brain may su ff e r to the

.

e x t ent of the production o f V iol e nt d eli rium ,

an d all the organs of the body are includ e d in

the revolt Wh e n a gradual process o f re
.

turn to normal amount in sust enance is not

pur sue d all the b en e fits o f the fast are wors e
,

than d e stroyed and if W ill power be lacking

, ,
-

in the pati e nt its e qui val ent in supervision

,

must be furnish e d by the director o f treat

m ent If nece ssary personal watch must be
.
,

e stablished ove r the conval e scin g subj e ct .

When organic defects are pr e sent in the

colon they may or may not prove serio u sly
,

short ening to life ; but wh en at the end o f a , ,

fast feeding is r e sumed ev en a slight dis

, ,

placement o f the lower bowel may r etard

elimi nation to such degree that absorption o f
fecal m aterial proceeds so rapidly as to caus e
severe physical and m ental derangement .

T his is especially so in cas e s that are not nu

der gui dan ce in which ignorance of cous e
,

q u en ce e x ists and w ill

, control is absent -
Y et .
,

even under competent supervision often ,

time s desire impels the pa tient to overe at .

1 19
 C H AP T E R VI I I f

THE E N E MA

i
I k e ep as d el ca te a round o
the b wels as a rou nd
r
the he ad a nd hea t ;
D v ne a m I ins id e a nd
i i o u t.
”

Wal t Whitma n.

115
 FASTING

stat e o f the wast e thrown into the bowels

wh e n the proce ss of digestion is suspended ,

p ermits o f easy absorption and o f consequent

s eptic poisoning D ur ing the fast from the
’

.
,

fir st day o f abstin ence until indications point

to the fact th a t the cl e ansing proce ss is com
ple t e large amounts of brownish foul sme ll
-

ing discharges are evacuated mix e d with ,

lumps o f hard en ed fecal matter dislodged ,

from the walls of the inte stines o r im pact ed

from particl e s excre t ed in the proce ss o f
e limination .In long fasts another feature
more or l e ss noticeable is the quanti ty o f
stringy white or yellowish mucus that is
evacuat ed The latter is catarrhal in nature
.

and is evid ence o f the complete renewal th at

is accomplish e d when the fast is carried to its
logical conclusion .

The n e ce ssity f or the use of the enema

woul d ce as e to e xist were all food inge ste d
p erfe ctly transformed and entirely consum ed
in tissue building But continue d excess in
-
.

s upply creat e s imp e rfe ct functioning o f the

digestive organs Natura l bowel movem ents
.

d ep end upon food perfectly dige sted or

ch emic ally change d and the waste products
,

from this process are always fully eliminated .

Imperfect digestion cause s im perfect elim

1 18
 THE ENEMA

imation which is the o ne source o f s eptic

,

poisoning and o f subsequ ent di sease ; but so

long as food inges ted l s cooked food and soft
food and so long as it i s not prop erly masti
,

ca t e d jus t so long will assistanc e be r e quir e d

,

to evacu a t e the cont ents of the bowels In .

f e rentially this fact has be e n recognized for

ages since drug statis tics show th a t ninety
,

pe r cent o f all medica tion is aimed at the

.

inte stin es .

O bj e ctions are mad e to the use o f the

e n ema on the grounds that it is not natural ;

that it tends to dilate p e rmanently the bo w el ;

and that its constant employm ent will ulti
mately d e stroy the fun ctioning o f the colon .

In answe r to the first di ff e rence it is found

that drugs ta ken into the syst em for the pur
pos e o f caus ing a movem ent o f the bowe ls
pass through a proce ss simi lar t o th a t to
which ing e sted fo od 1 5 subj ect ed They a re
.

acted upon by the di ge stive j uice s in the

stom ach and small inte stin e and a re absorbed
,

into the circul ation The liver in its cap a city

.
,

of se parator obj ects t o their introduction as

,

h a rmful t o the system and casts out with m

cre ased secr etion o f bile that portion which
re ach e s it The nerv e s governing the ab so rp
.

tive and secretiv e functions of the stomach

119
 FASTING

and intestin e s irritated by the pr e sence o f a

,

substance for e ign and noxious to the diges

tive process are stimulat e d into action and
,

cause an augm e nt e d quantity o f secr e tion to

be pour e d forth and the folds o f t he colon
,

a r e fill e d with fluid foul e d by dissolv e d fecal

matter which is partially absorbed ere cvac

,

n ation can occur .

P urgativ e s in m e dicin e are drugs which

act as d e scrib e d and th e y are divid e d accord
,

ing to th e ir suppos e d p e culiar propertie s .

Thus th e r e ar e cholagogu e s that incr e ase the ,

flow of bil e and int e stinal purgativ e s that

, ,

act o n the int e stinal s e cre tion e g calom el ; , . .

,

o r that incr e as e p e ristaltic a ction 6

g aloes , . .
,

and c a scara Aga in th e r e a r e drastic purga

.

t iv e s o r cathartics e g croton oil ; a nd mild , . .

,

ap eri ents e g compound licoric e powd e r

, . .
,

and s enn a .

E ach application o f the r em e dy finds the

alime nt a ry tract l e ss a bl e to cont e nd aga inst
its pr e s enc e a n d in ord e r to obtain the de
, ,

sir e d e ffe ct in futur e large r dos e s are nece s ,

sary mor e of the dige stive fluids of the body

,

are wast e d and the cathartic habit b ecome s

,

as dangerous as continu e d indulge nce in mor

phine By it dige stive j uic e s a r e drawn upon
.

to e x ce ss digestion is r ende r e d di fficult if

, ,

1 20
 FASTING

internal purity the condition o f health is

, ,

reach e d and th ereafter assured .

To the obj ections that the bowel is perm a

u e ntly d ilated and its functioning lost by
,

continued use o f the enema a de tailed reply ,

is nece ssary The intestine as a W hole is

.
, ,

that part o f the alim entary c a nal which com , ,

mencingat the pyloric Op ening o f the sto m

ach is coil e d in t he abdominal cavity and ends
,

a t the anus . For purpos e s o f d e scription

it is divide d into several portions Food .

l e aving the stomach passes first into the

duod enum th en into the j ej unum and next
, ,

into the ileum The se thr ee s ections form the

.

small int e stine which in man is about twenty

,

fee t in l ength but is subj ect to great varia

,

tions The lum e n of the small int e stine is

.

large r at its upper end and gradually nar

rows as it goes downward The opening of .

t he il eum into the ca e cum the first portion

,

of the colon is valvul ar and this arrang e

, ,

ment prevents any passage b ackward o f the

int e stinal contents B eyond the il eo caecal
.
-

valve the caecum forms a larg e dilatation ,

and from it springs an elongat e d blind proc

e ss the vermiform app e ndix
, The cae cum is .

contin ued upward as the colon which is de ,

scribed as ( 1 ) ascending ( 2 ) transver se , ,

199
 THE ENEMA

( )
3 descending The sigm oid fl ex u re a de
.
,

vice o f natu re that prev ents exce ssive pres

sure by the contents o f the bowel upon the
muscle s of the re ctum and the anus li e s be ,

twee n the d e sce nding co lon and the re ct um ,

whos e lower op e ning the anus is gua rd e d

, ,

by a strong circul a r muscle The sigmoid .

f l e xur e thus int e rrupts the straight fa ll from

the transve rse portion o f the large int estin e
to the rect um and acts a s a r e tain ing pouch .

From this d e scription it wi ll be s e en that

there are thre e positions in which the colon
may re ceive a supply o f water sufficient to
soft en its cont e nts and to wa sh the m a way
from its walls Th ese are the right side the
.
-

kn e e ch est and the fl at c mthe back The

-

,
- - -
.

latter e xcept in b e d rid den ca s e s and in chil

,
-

dren is inconve nie nt to assume but the tw o

, ,

former postur e s are found to be comfortable

and e asily t ak en .

Wh e n the pati ent in taking the inj ection

li e s on the l e ft sid e gravity can assist the
,

flow only a s far as the transvers e colon which ,

in this position is a perp endi cul ar tube for

bidding fu rth e r p a ss a ge o f the fluid o f the
e n ema H ence only one third o f the bowel is
.
-

possibl e o f flushing The right side pos tur e

.
-

permits the wate r to flow along the descend

1 93
 FASTING

in g colon down the transve rse bowel and

, ,

through the ascending gut to the caecum ,

completely flushing the organ The kn ee .

che st and the flat on the back positions in - - -

sur e with even gre at er e as e full cleansing o f

, ,

the bowel Wh e n the inj e ction is tak en in

.

t he sitting pos t u re gravity and the cont ents

,

o f t he lowe r portion of the bowe l pr ev ent the

rise o f the wate r unl ess som e sp e ci al d e vice

embodying force is utilize d ; eve n th en only
the d esce nding colon re ceive s the b enefit of
the flow and di latation o f the rectum and the
,

fl ex u re is certain to occur with possible ,

mechanical inj ury .

Soap suds salt soda and the like are to be

-

, , ,

avoided i n the pre paration o f the fluid m the

inj ection S imilarly oils of any kind are
.
,

forbidden and wat e r warm e d to body tem

,

p e r atur e not ,high er than 1 0 0 d e grees

Fahrenheit shoul d be the onl y flushing

,

agent Absorption o f a portion of the con

.

tents o f e ach bag is a lmost inst a nt a ne ous so ,

the safe r plan li e s m using no for eign sub

stance what ever C opiou s dis charge from
.

the bladd e r imme di at e ly afte r r ectal inj ec

tion is the common indication o f the rapidi ty
with which absorption occurs through the
wa lls of the colon a nd this in itself is proof
, , ,

1 94
 THE ENEMA

that th ere is fallacy in the medi cal sub argu -

ment against the u se o f the en ema to the

e ff ect that no absorption o f r e tain ed feca l

material can take place But medi cine g oes

.

e v e n fu rthe r in t he process o f self stu ltifi ca

-

tion wh en it recomm ends the employment of

nutrient e nemata D enying that the cont ents
.

o f the bow els may be returned in part to the

circul ation through the w a lls o f the gut it ,

neve rth ele ss a ffirms th a t food mate rial may

in this mann e r be absorbed It there for e as
.

sum e s that tissue is nourish ed by matter that

has not undergone the proce ss of digestion .

It is a lso re adily s ee n th at food absorbed

through the walls o f the colon is not received
by the portal or nourishing part o f the cir
cul ation but e nt e rs di re ctly into the venous
,

blood whi ch is its elf lo ade d with impuri ty

,

awaiting elimination To d e liv er hous ehold

.

wat e r to the faucets from the s ewe rs of a city

woul d be d eem e d an act o f insanity ye t ,

a nalogy is pl a inly e vid ent when this m e thod

o f transmission is compared with th a t o f food

introduce d into the human body per re ctum .

When the p ati ent is be d ridd en o r abnorm

-

ally we ak en e d the kn ee chest posture in tak

,
-

in g the en ema may prove t oo exhausting

and when thi s con di tion e xists a canvas
, ,

1 95
 FASTING

stretcher upon which the subj ect may com

fortably lie can be pl a ced over the bath tub
, .

If this apparatu s cannot b e procure d a tri ,

ang u lar platform o f thr ee boards cover e d

with a blank et a nd oil cloth its bas e arranged
-

so as to cross the top o f the tub b en e ath the

buttocks may be us ed as a substitute By
, .

this me a ns all e ff ort on the part of the pati ent

in re taining position is remove d a m att er o f ,

the utmost importance wh en e xce ssive weak

ness is pres ent .

T he op e rator in administe ring the e nema ,

or the pati ent hims elf will often find it need

,

ful to rep e at its a pplication to the e xt ent o f

twenty o r more quarts or u ntil the fluid re
,

turns comparatively colorl e ss O bs e rvation

.

shows that e ven to the twenti e th day of a

,

fast and sometime s th er ea fte r gr eat amounts

,

o f bile and mucus app e ar in t he discharg e s .

The necessity is thus apparent of the daily

use o f the e nema R e p etition insuring thor
.

ough cl eansing o f t he colon is most essenti a l

in employing the int ern a l bath f o r the inj e c
,

tion o f only a sm all quantity of water acts

detrimentally since it s e rves to rend er the
contents o f the bowe l easily absorptiv e and ,

is not in amount suffi ci ent to be evacuate d

freely F or this reason also small enemas cc
.

1 96
 FASTING

in dig e stive and assimilative processes p eris ,

t alsis and subsequent e vacuation o f refuse

products o ccur in sequence N o instance of
.

loss of fun ction o r of paralysis o f the bowel

as the r e sult o f the j udicious use o f the in
t e rnal bath has e ver been observed or known
in the course of the long exp e ri ence of the
writer O n the contrary the e nema has
.
,

been found to r e store natur al action and to

act as a tonic stimul us upon the mus cles o f
the colon prev enting all chance o f septic
,

poisoning and o f re sulting di sease .

Years o f fe e ding upon other than natu ral

foods and o f excess consumption have
brought about conditions in the body o f man
that leave no doubt as to food rubbish re
tain e d in the int e stinal canal Its removal
.

is absolutely essential to h e alth and pu re

,

water is the natural agent f or the accomplish

ment of this purpose Wh en di g estive powe r
.

reass e rts itself the daily u se o f the enema

,

may be discontinued but it shoul d without

,

que stion be admini stered at least twice

weekly in health .

T he factors that conduce to decompo s ition

in the colon are several in number T he .

organ is deve lop e d as a sto rage re s e rvoir for

198
 THE ENEMA

medium w ell suppli e d with warmth and mois

ture ; and there are microb e s constantly pres
e nt capable o f utilizing toxic substances and
, ,

in their turn producing them D elay in

.

e vacuation gives a time of r et e ntion s ufficient

f or further microbic propagation Thes e

.

conditions exist in the normal colon and , ,

when fre quent action is impeded as in con

,

stipation th e y increase to the highest degre e

,

o f development .

A mod e rn scientist not a physician E lie

, ,

M etchniko ff recently call ed attention to the

,

fact that extreme longe vi ty in mankind is

dir ectly dep e ndent upon the frequency and
copiousne ss o f bowel discharges This V iew
.
,

taken without qualification may be re garded

,

as extravagant but there is good reason for

,

accepting his cont ention that the primary

cause o f shortn e ss o f life is the p ernicious
action o f poisons absorbed from the colon .

Following the medi cal plan o f annihilating

the symptom M etchniko ff sought and sup
,

p o se dly found that constant use o f sour milk

placed a limit on inte stinal fermentation .

The active principl e in this fluid is an organ

ism known as the b a cillus o f lactic acid which ,

M etchniko ff discovere d to be antagonistic to

the microb e s habi tually pres ent in the large
'

1 99
 F A S TING

intestine He dubbed his fighting ally a

.

“
friendly germ Again the r everse reason
.

ing of me di cin e is app a r ent Why not take .

steps for the prompt removal o f the soil in

“ ”
whi ch unfri endly germs propagat e instead ,

o f mak ing the colon a b a ttl e ground of which-

the decomposing d e ad are a sour c e of further

septic poisoning ! The e n ema solv e s this
probl em and a clean bowel whe th e r it dete r
, ,

mi n e long life in its elf or not at least con ,

duces to h ealth and to l ength of days

Since the colon and its attachment the ,

vermiform app endi x a re fre quently subj ect

,

t o di s e as e and since the colon itself is the

,

principal sourc e of toxic infe ction sur gical ,

fanatics argue th a t th es e are unn e ce ssary

organs and sugge st compl ete removal O p
,
.

e ra t ion s hav e b ee n p e rform e d in which the

il eum has be en attach e d dire ctly to the sig

moid fl ex u r e and the e ntir e lower bowel
,

betw ee n these points has be e n e xtirpated .

Surely this is one way o f eradicating bowel

trouble since the organ vanish e s but it may
, ,

b e add e d that the mortality from surgical

shock in this triumph o f sci ence is nin ety nine -

per cent The en ema will long hold its o wn

.

in comparison with methods as dra st ic as this .

1 30
 C HAP T E R IX .

F OOD AN D D I S E AS E

N the life of m an tradition inheritance

, ,

and education oft en combin e to fost e r

and pres e rve doctrines that are misl e ad
in g And in no mann e r is this so well illus
.

t ra te d as in the orthodox methods e mployed

f or the reli ef o f bodily ills By the popular
.

mind di s e ase is contemplate d with dread and , ,

whe n certain symptoms are in e vidence it is ,

fled from in panic and in terror T hi s atti .

t u de is to be e xp e ct e d so long as present con

ditions pr evail but the proph e cy is ventur e d
,

that the day is at hand whe n human ailm ents

will be re garded as in truth they are but
, ,

ration al natura l proce ss e s of cure T o the

, .

gen eral awake ning in r e sp e ct to the pre s e rva

tion o f publi c and in di vidual h e alth apparent
,

within the past two d e cad e s is du e this

,

reasonable view of a most important ques

tion .

D is ease is not a f oe to life but is the

,

plan o f nature institut e d to restore a system

temporarily u nbalance d to e qu ilibri um or
1 33
 FASTING

health That the g eneral conception and

.

treatme nt o f di seas e are wrong and that ,

h e alth lie s withi n re ach of all dis e ased bodi e s

that are no t orga nically imp erfe ct are truths
which it is hoped the te x t will fully demon
, ,

strate .

A healthy human organism is one in posi

tion to libe rat e e n ergy a nd V itali ty as these
forces are n eede d in the acts that constitute
li fe To pre s erve the body in he alth man
.
,

b reathes sle eps and eats These are natural

, , .

laws and if any one of them is violated

, , ,

function a l dis tu rbances occur that must re

s ult in di sease .

C enturies catering to the s ensory or

of

gans lie behind modern carelessne ss in feed

ing the human body and custom has caused ,

false standards to be erected ab out the appc

tite o f man Food in its preparation has long
.

been subordinated to the s ens e of taste and , ,

ingested in exce ss o f the amount requi re d to

mak e good the losses incu rred through physi
cal and mental activity has entail ed much u n ,

necessary lab or upon the processes o f diges

tion and disposal of waste B ecause of almost .

universal violation of the natural law of nu

trition in respect to ov e reating this vi ce ap , ,

1 34
 FASTING

into living tissue and the details o f this

,

change are s uffici ently familiar to preclude

description h e re Howeve r the act of diges
.
,

tion is an e ff ort at once nervous and mus

cul ar which w ill be follow e d by troubles in
,

numerabl e if continu e d beyond the real need

o f the system ; for wh e n the body is over
,

loaded with sustenance e n e rgy that might ,

well be utilized for othe r impo rtant purpose s

m
is em oyed in the di sposal of that in excess
of what is n e ed ed for the repair of used tis
sue. Surplus is thus accumul ated in circul a
tion in tissu e and in the organs of elimi na
, ,

tion ; and of this the portion which the liver

is abl e to separate and cast ou t toget her with ,

un digested matter in the intestinal tract de ,

compos es and is absorbe d to be re d e posited -

with d etrim ental e ff e ct The natural avenu e s

.

o f energic force a re as a co nseq u en

,

ged irnperf ect functioning occurs

, ,

Normally only that po rtion o f digested

food that is a ssimi lated ca n be used by the
blood for the r e pair of cell structure ; the re
ma inder is refuse and in cases o f overfeed
, ,

ing it takes its place as de scribed with u m

, , ,

di gested mat erial to ferm ent and d ecom pose

in the inte stinal tr a ct Absorption o f toxins
.

1 36
 FOOD AND DI SEAS E

thus formed occurs rapidly an d continuous ly ,

as is shown by the symptoms that follow .

An e x amination o f hu man fe cal discharges

in the average case reveals conditions that are
conclusive Undigested food is found di
.
,

gested food products and old feces are pres

e nt and d e pend e nt upon di e t and mastica
, ,

tion the odor is more or le ss o ff ensive Nor

, .

mal refuse from prop e rly m a sticated and

chemical ly changed food is not disagree able
in odor When daily examination is co n
.

tinned f o r a tim e assurance is gained that

,

fo od is not all dige ste d ; t hat t he bowe ls are

not compl etely cleared of waste by a regul ar
dail y movem ent ; that fermenting rotting ,

matter d e files the human interior to an extent

scarcely to be a ccep ted as a fact ; and that in ,

cons e quence of over supply unne ce ssary tax

-

is put upon the digestive tract and upon the

organs o f elimination The re sul ts are ap .

pare nt in a waste o f energy that lowe rs vi

O

tality and diminishes the po wer of assimila

—
tion a double 1nj ury
A movement of the bowels each day is no
proof o f a clean and heal thy alimentary
canal Su ff e rers from digestive troubles
.

often assume that because the bowels are

,

re gul ar in action the evacuations are com

,

1 37
 FASTING .

ple t e and suffi ci ent forg etful o f the fact

,

that in most inst a nces but the r e ctum alone

, ,

is relieved o f its cont ents Additional evi .

dence o f a filthy int e rnal condition is fur

nishe d upon the administration of the en ema ,

when quantiti e s of old harden e d fecal matter

,

app ear And post mort em diss e ction o f the

.

colon gives further proof o f fouln ess for ,

masse s o f wast e are discover e d clinging to its

wall s mat e rial b eyond the pow e r o f the or
,

gan to eliminate the dir ect re sult o f ove r

,

feeding A moveme nt o f the bowels in these

.

circumstances tak e s place onl y through the

center of the clogg e d tube These facts are .

developed in the maj ority of cases and but ,

one infe r enc e can be mad e— food wast e rot

tin g ih human int e stin e s forms soil an alogous

to that o f filth d e composing in out e r air with ,

the result that the destroying age nts o f na

tur e bacilli are at once introduced full y
, ,

e quipped as scav e ngers .

T he germ e volve s and prop agat e s not to ,

cre ate disease but to r emove its caus e ; not on

,

account o f the ill h e alth of the body but for

-

the sole reason that ignorant and improp e r

handling o f the r esource s o f nature furnishe s
conditions that stimul a t e and cons e rve g erm
life The remedy li es not in making the body
.
,
.

1 33
 FASTING

plus food held within the body— food be

yond the need o f the system f or the repair
of b ro k en down tissue
-
.

S ymptoms o f di sease the out war d and in

,

ward evidences o f its presence vary with ,

t emp e rament hereditary tendenci e s sur

, ,

roundin gs and the physical condition of the

,

individu al No two hu man beings ever ex

.

press identical morbid signs even in lik e en

,

vironment ; and the reason un d e rlying the de

v elOpment o f di seas e sym ptoms perhaps ,

diametricall y opposed in persons similarly

,

situated is to b e sought in the domain of the

,

phenomena o f h e redi ty .

Food prepare d in the su cce s sive stages o f

di gestion f or conversion into tissue nourish
ment is eventually transformed into chyle a ,

milky fluid that is absorbed from the intes

tines and carried through liver heart and , ,

lun gs to the arterial system E l ements other

.

than food products enter into the cell strue

tur e but the great supply o f material for re
,

building is secure d from food ingested and

digested and blo od quality depends in large
,

degre e upon food properly conve rted and

perfectly assimilat e d Any dis t urbance o f
.

any part o f the proce ss e s of dig estion and as

sim ila tion causes an imperfect supply o f
1 40
 FOOD AND DI SEASE

blood and hence o f tissue nourishm ent .

When such disord e r occurs abnormal func

,

t ionin gof vital organs r e s ul ts the blood b e

,

comes e ncumbere d with impurities and na ,

tur e at once makes e ff ort t o restore normal

balance by manife sting dis eas e .

A revi ew o f the physiology o f the passage

o f the blood through the body evidences that

health is synonymous with perfe ct blood

quali ty and circulation What is d e posited in
.

o ne state is removed m another ; and giv e n ,

a pure blood sup ply prop e rly delivere d

broken—
,

down tissue is at once e liminated and

replaced T he products of converted food
.

are furnish ed to the ti ssue by the blood and ,

this fluid gathers and carri e s away the r efuse .

Upon the normal performanc e o f this pro

cess dep ends the maintenance o f the anim al
body .

With these premi ses it shoul d not now re

quire an e xhaustive argument to e stablish the
fact that dis e as e has its origin in di ge stion '

abuse d and impaired The tr eatment herein

.

described rests in its e ntirety u pon the ex po si

tion o f this fun d amental truth and long ex
,

p e rie nce at various cas e s pl a ce s an axiomatic

value upon the st at ement that what eve r the

,

symptom the sole caus e o f disease is found

,

1 41
 FASTING

in impaired dig e stion manife ste d in impure

,

blood The law o f comp ensation in nature is

.

here amply and compl etely shown for e ach ,

and every violation o f the rul e o f ob edi ence is

visited with condign correction individual or
,

cumul ative O n the oth e r h a nd r elief and

.
,

restoration a re o ff e red when the road o f in

d ul g en ce is forsak e n and natural paths re

sumed .

Granting that impaired digestion is the

source o f impure blood or dis e ase it is the
,

purpose o f the foll owing page s to e stabli sh

that abused dig e stive fun ctions r eli eved
,

from th eir labors for a tim e will re cove r and

,

return with re n ew e d vigor to their appointed

tasks R e st and r e st alone is the one means
.

of r e cuperation in the re alm o f nature and ,

the sol e purpose o f physical life is so to main

tain the structure o f the human b ody that
dis e ase may be prevented and e radicated .

142
 C HAP TER X .

BE S T A N D E L I M I N AT I O N
OD Y tissue is continuously undergoing
change of structure The cells that.

form it are constantly dyin g are c ast ,

o ff
, and fr e sh mat erial is supplied The .

waste elimi nate d is poison ; and without mus ,

cul a r r e st this d e ad and harmful refuse can

,

not be replace d with su fli cient rapi di ty by

new products .This appli e s not only to mu s
cles in active u se but to all of the bodi ly
,

fabric Ra pid e x e rcis e o f any p a rt o f the

.

human machin e can be continu e d but for a

short tim e f or b eca us e o f vigorous muscular
, ,

action voluntary or involuntary poisonous

, ,

substance s a re throw n into the blood and are

carri ed to tissue n e rve s and brain Thr ough
, , .

the nerve c ells the h e art is aff ect ed and the ,

muscles o f respiration are to a sim ilar ext ent

distur bed and re sul ting symptoms of s elf
,

toxication app ea r that may end in d eath .

The onl y m e ans of restoration lie s in abso

lute muscul ar re st .

1 45
 FASTING

T he heart though mak ing contractions at

,

the rate o f seventy two beats a mi nute is abl e

-

to continue its work throughout the life o f an

individual since each contraction o f this mu s
,

cle is followed by an interval of rest during ,

which the cells re cuperate Stimulate the

.

heart beats beyond the normal rate and a ,

point is soon reached at which poisonous

products are not replac ed by fresh cells since ,

the intervals o f rest are insuffici ent Similar.

conditions are me t in the action o f the dia

p h r a gmand of t he chest and a b do m inal m us
cles used in respiration .

J ust her e a distin ction in function needs

notation
The muscles that move involuntarily those ,

that are not subj e ct to t he human will neve r ,

know absolute rest f o r th ey continue their

,

labors wh eth e r the body be asleep o r awak e .

O n the other hand those muscl e s the ac

, ,

tion o f which d epends upon the direction o f

t he human will cannot work continuously
, ,

l e st fatigue with fatal exhaustion follow .

Seemingly automatic labor labor not di

, ,

r ect e d b y the highest function o f conscious

ness does not wear It is only conscious work

, .

that requi re s for r ecuperation and muscle re -

bu ilding other means than simple non use or -

1 46
 FASTING

inl pe rf ect interpretation o f natural law .

P hysical growth and muscular developm ent

in man are never completely rounded ou t ,

and t his may be attri buted to a doubl e cau se .

T heoretica lly every muscle o f the body

,

should be exercised impartially and b e

nourish e d with j ust the quanti ty of cell pabu
lum that is n ecessary for the replacement of
its was te T his never occurs ; but it is a possi
.

bility that may be cont emplated with sure ty

since it is a natural condition T o bring it to
.

pass reciprocal action must ex ist between

,

intak e and out go rebuilding and waste labor

, ,

and rest consciousness and sleep

, .

T he processes o f nutrition are involuntary

in character so long as mat e rial is supplied
f or their use but they may be directed by the
,

individual to the ex tent o f the selection and

preparation o f nourishment In this they .

di ff er from the functions o f the involun tary

mus cles and organs o f the body the control ,

o f whi ch is entirely b eyond that o f the human

will When through abuse the di gestiv e

.

function be comes impaire d di sea se resul ts

,
.

Function al di s eas e is then analogous to mus

cu lar fati g ue and since nature knows but
one law o f re cu peration — —
, ,

tha t o f rest it is
reasonable to assume what the text promu l
1 4s
RE ST AND ELIMINATION

—
gates Re st thr ough ab eyance
z ofthe pro
ce sses of dige stion o ff ers the possibili ty o f
comple te renewal o f fun ctional machin ery .

The manner in which the digestive organs

may be give n neede d rest is perhaps not at
once apparent The me re thought o f absteu
.

tion from food carries with it violation o f

long taught doctrine that fre quent fe eding
-

in sickn ess and in h e alth is necessary for the

maintenance of vitality and strength Yet .

j ust this omission of food is me ant when rest

thr ough ab eyance o f the di gestive function
is suggested The phenomena o f fasting for
.

the cure o f disease include facts that prove

that the human bo dy doe s not depe nd f or
str ength or f or vitality upon inges t ed food ;
the latter is utilized f or the rep ai r of the
body as the ve hicl e o f the e x pression of thes e
forces and by it the material
,

ke pt in condition to liberate the li fe principle

in its variety of manifestation .

In ill ness weight is always lost and con

, ,

tingent upon the duration or the sev e rity

o f disease , the substance o f the body dim
inishes in gr e ater o r in less degree .D ur
ing sick nes s under prevailing methods fccd
, ,

ing is conti nuous and if the stomach rebel

, , ,

nutrient enemata are pressed into servi ce .

1 49
 FASTING

The question suggests itself why if food is , ,

constantly supplied naturally or otherwis e

, ,

do e s the body los e in we ight ! The answer is

found in the fact that the intake is not di
gested cons e quently is not assimil ated and
, , ,

far from nour ishing the tissue s is an add e d ,

burden to fu nctions alr eady ov e rtaxed A n .

other cause is discov e r e d in that brain and

nerve tissue as instrum ents f o r the expre s
,

sion of thought and s ensation are prot e cted ,

from d et erior a tion in substance even in ,

disease by a provision o f natu re that p e rmits

,

them to utilize nourishm ent store d in the in

ter stice s o f body tissue Thi s th e y cons u me in
.

illness and in health and wh e n in diseas e a

, ,

normal bal a nce is not pr e s e rv e d when cells ,

are not rebu ilt as waste occu rs they still a re ,

supported from this source .

With slight di ff er ences the physiology o f

digestion in all manun als is mark edl y similar .

When dis e ase is manife st the lowe r animals

,

and the reptil e s abstain from food until

health is restored Th ey are comp ell ed to this
.

by instinct a force implanted by nature in

,

the whole o f animate cre ation The fasting .

whi ch anim als instinctively und e rgo is a fact

that is constantly observed but not in general
,

intelligently pe rceived A common expres

.

1 50
 FASTING

lead to the conclusion that in the ab sence o f

,

m echanical defects in physical organs ah ,

stinence f ro m food with oth e r nat u ral health

,

givin g and health preserving a ccompani

-

ments is the unfailin g

,

o f functional i ll s
.
 C HAP T E R XI

AU X I L IA R I E S I N FAS T I N G

The he a rt re ce ive th be nefit or ha rm most fro m th e

i r
h ch w e b e a the
a ir w .

Wa sh ngthe b dy in w a te
“
i o r is goo d fo r l e ngth f
o

S le ep d th supply s me wha t to n u is hme nt, a nd

o o o r
g
c o n e rre th to le n th o
f f d a s
y .

ca n be hea l th
y w t h i
o u t ea e r cise , n e the i r
natural oii
no r p l t c
”
.

In
 FASTING

quantity o f organic matter are exhaled the ,

latter dependent upon the condition o f the di

g es t ive apparatu s
.

In ord e r to supply o xygen to the system ,

from 3 0 0 to 400 cubic fee t o f air are drawn

into the lungs in twenty f our hours E ach
-
.

hour an adul t inhal e s about 5 00 grains of

oxygen and emits about 6 00 grain s o f car
b onic acid with a much larger amount of
wat e ry vapor D eprive d o f air the body per
.

ishes from asphyxi a tion .

I t follows that not only is a continued sup

ply o f fre sh air essential to life but that
,

constant care is necessary to insure its pu rity

at the moment o f delivery The natural .

chann els for the passage o f air to the lungs

be gin at the nostril s which are furnished
,

with short fine hai rs and with mucus s ecre

tion mechanical pre ventives of the inhalation
,

o f dust and light materi al I f obstruction o f

.

the nas al tract occurs it is pos sible f or

,

breathi ng to take place through the mouth ,

but so harmful is the latte r method to general

health that attention is here directed to its
results .

O verfeeding a child invariably develops a

cold with accompanying nasal discharge and
conse quent obstruction of the n atural air pas
1 56
AUX I LI AR I E S IN FAS TING

sages A prolonged cold or a s e ri e s of colds

.

comp el the use o f the mouth for the act of

breathing a me thod that if not co rrect ed
, , ,

e ventually becom e s habi tual C onstant irri

.

tation and inflammation o f the mucus mem

brane o f the nostrils and o f the vaul t o f the
pharynx caus e the much di scuss e d adenoid
growths to form and obstruction o f the air
,

canal is th ere aft e r p erman ent until removal

o f the obstacl e s is accomplished e ith e r by the

fast o r by surgical m e ans C hildre n thus

.

a ff ected a r e stupid and sluggish and exhibit

a char acteristic faci a l e xpr e ssion approach

in that o f imb e cility In fact wh e n the
.
,

b e it o f mouth bre athing ha s be e n contracted

in infancy o r in adul t life e ve n wh en no oh
,

st ruction o f the n aso pharyn g e al vaul t e xist s

-

not only do the nas al passag e s through the ,

la ck o f ex ercis e fail o f normal d eve lopm ent

, ,

bu t the open mouth and dull e d eye s d enot e a

serious d e ficiency in intelle ctua l advance and

k now
the e xact source whenc e
is received the influx o f vitali ty and ene rgy ,

the e xpression o f which is life nor in what ,

manner thes e forces p enetr ate the physical

body and anima t e its mov em ents and its
thou ght but wh a tever is gained of vital
,

1 57
 FASTING

power from without— and life is very evi

d ently n either residual nor de veloped within
the body— must r e a ch us from the dom a in of
the surrounding atmosphere either through ,

air its elf or through its p e netrating medium ,

e ther . Its transference to the brain directly

through the bony structure imm e diately
above and back o f the nasal passages is con
ce ivable ; and whil e the pur ity o f the atmos
,

p h e ric constitu e nts that furnish the lungs

with blood re storing a ctivi ty may well b e
-

vitiat e d in transmission by paths not natu

rally intended the lack o f int ell e ctuality dis
,

playe d in all mouth bre ath ers cannot be

accounte d for on this basis sin ce no d e precia
,

tion in blood value is apparent H ence the .

theo ry here pr esent ed — that vital force

enters the body from without through the ,

natural air p a ss a g e s and the b ony caviti e s

immediat ely above and in th e ir rear Wh at .

ever the attitude o f the re ader in re sp ect to

this ther e can be no qu e stion of the import
,

a nce to b e attach e d to t he form a tion of a

nasal breathing habit —hygi enic b ecaus e it ,

is natural ; h ealthful b e caus e it is corr ect

,
.

In the fast prop er respiratory m ethods

must be pursued and d e ep bre athing prao
,

ticed E very portion of the lung surface

.

1 58
 FASTING

the latte r are found upon a square inch o f the

pahn o f the hand and at l e ast 5 00 on an e qual
,

space upon other parts o f the body .

P e rspira tion is the watery matter

”
breath e d ou t from the syst em through the
pores d escribed It is more copious than the
.

exudation from the lungs by r e spiration but ,

the quantity discharge d vari e s gre atly and is ,

a ff ect e d by the h e at o r the d ryn e ss of the at

mosphere by li quids dru nk by exercise and
, , ,

by the r elative activity o f the kidneys Sensi .

ble p e rspiration is that whi ch is p e rceptible in

the form of small drops but by far the larger,

portion exuded is of the ins ensible or non

visible kind Solid matter is c a rried to the
.

surface of the skin in the sweat and au thori ,

ties all agre e that a considerable proportion

of the total waste o f the body is evacuate d in
this manner Hence b esides kee ping the
.
,

skin in a h ealthy moist condition and acting

, ,

through evaporation as a r e frig e rator re gu

lating body temperature perspiration tak e s ,

its share in the elimination of useless mate rial .

Close sympathy ex ists between the skin

and the lungs the kidneys the liver and the
, , ,

bowel s and this is evidenced in the fact that

”

, ,

when one or other o f these organs becomes

a ff ected by disease the p erspiratory function
,

1 60
 AUX I L IAR I E S IN FAS TIN G

is sympathetically deranged and vice v ersa .

This does not n e cessarily m e an that t he

e ff ect is produc e d by physical transfe r e nc e

o f suppr e ss e d e xhalation to t he int e rnal or

gan nor the r ev ers e ; the chi e f impr e ssion

s eems to b e mad e upon the n e rvous system .

But the import ance o f the r elation e xisting

betwe e n the skin and the oth e r e xcr e tory o r
gans is such th a t it cannot b e disregarded
whe n dis e as e is to b e r emedi e d .

In ord e r to insure functional activity o f

t he surfac e o f the body fr e qu e nt bathing is
,

n e ce ssary at a ll time s F o r t his purpos e one

.

cl e ansing bath daily is r e quir e d D e ad .

,

scaly p a rticl e s o f skin dirt and the products

, ,

o f perspiration a r e thus r emov e d and the

,

oth e r orga ns o f elim ination are r eli ev e d from

the p erformance o f e xtra labor The rul e .

o f the body is th a t o f cl e anlin e ss int ern al

,

and e xt ernal The importanc e of the dail y

.

cl e ansing bath during a fast p e riod n ee ds no

furth e r e xposition .

A bath with t emp e ratur e ran ging from

8 0 t o 9 0 d e gr e e s Fahr enh e it is suitabl e for
e ld e rly p e opl e and for thos e who do not n e rv

ou sly r e act with promptness from eith e r h e at

o r cold. O ne o f t emp e ratur e no t more than

1 0 5 degrees is cleansing in the highe s t sense
1 01
 FASTING

if soap be freely us e d and the fl esh brush -

vigoro us ly plied The cold bath of register

.

lower than 75 de grees shoul d never be em

ployed except in h e alth and for tonic pur
poses It has a powerful stimul ating action
.

o n the circul ation a nd n e rvous system in ad ,

dition to but slight cle ansing properties I t .

cannot be us e d during the fast .

B athing shoul d nev er b e undertaken im

mediately before or dire ctly after eating and ,

an int e rval o f at le ast two hours should

elapse b etwee n D uring the m enstrual flow
.

in w oman m e dical authority to the contrary

'

a warm sitz or full body bath with a warm ,

vaginal douch e are imperative for cl e an

liness and for reli ef and eas e in fun ction .

C aution is dire cted in conne ction with all

bathing toward continuing the bath to undue
length O nly time suffici ent to cleanse the
.

body or to rece ive a tonic e ff ect should be

occupi ed ; more than this is weak ening .

When in the fa st chillin ess occurs a few

, , ,

minute s in the hot bath e qualizes the circul a

tion and rem e di e s the condition care being ,

taken to guard against exposure at its con

clu sio n .

C ivilization and the customs it entails are

responsible f or m any physiological evils .

1 69
 FASTING

the wall s of the cap illaries and as has been

, ,

shown it is an organ o f elim ination as well

, .

I n the conservation o f body heat the skin is ,

the thermostat o f the organism I t preserves .

and regul ates temperature and acts as a gov

,

e rn or o f internal m e chanism If its function

.

b e interfere d w ith by the interposition o f sub

stances between it and outer air evaporation ,

cannot take place freely and elimination o f

,

the products o f the pores is im peded if not ,

entirely arreste d . T emperature is main

t ained in this instance artificially and ah
normally f o r disease o f function causes in
,

terior combustion that is detrimental to

health ! indred organs are called upon to
.

do the work of b ody covering and danger ,

lurk s in forced e x ertion A ch ill precedes a

.

fever ; the pores are closed ; intense heat is

generated ; the fever is cured when perspir a
tion with subsequent evaporation is restored .

A very st riking ex emplification of th e se facts

is given in cas e s o f cutaneous burns whe re
large areas are a ff ecte d R e spirati on is in
.

creased to ex haustion and kidney di scharges

,

are highly colored with waste that ordinarily

is eliminated through the po res I f an ex .

treme proportion o f skin area is seared su f ,

fo cati on en sues Also fatal results ensu e whe n

.

1 64
AUXI L IAR I E S IN FA S TIN G

the body is covered with a sub sta nce that is

imperviou s to air such as gold leaf Here
,
-
.

the symptoms are those that accompany

asphyxiation .

Ages of submi ssion to conventionality

have com elled skin covering and have ,

e volution y mad e o f this organ a partial

f un ct ioner Since clothing is an essential o f
.

civili zation the remedy lies in making it as

,

light and as pervious to air as is consistent

with de cency and in caring f or the surface
,

of the body with co nstancy and di ligen ce

—
.

’
S LEE P N a ture s law of recup eration is
.

that o f rest o f reli e f from labor The instru

, .

ment o f thought and o f motive government ,

the brain obtains its repose in regul arly re

,

cur ring p e riods o f unconsciousness and ces

sa tion o f bodil y acti vi ty— the hours of sleep .

It is th en that the cells o f the human b atte ry

ar e recharged that the working principal
,

receives its pote ntial f or transformation

du ring con scious moments Sleep is a physio .

logical necessity and death resul ts within a

few days if it be denied I n the fast due to .
,

slight b rain congestion produced by e x cess ive

e limination in the prior sta g es inability to ,

slum ber i s sometimes present but attention ,

to the bath and to the ventila tion of the slee p

1 65
 FASTING

ing apartment b rings re freshing rest as dis

eas e departs No garm ent worn during the
.

day shoul d cove r the body in slee p and bed ,

clothing shoul d be r eg ul ated to an accurate

degree o f protection neither too heavy nor
,

too light.

E x aa crsn — .T he maintenance o f every

mu scle and organ o f the bod in propor
tionate developme nt is re gulate dby its work .

C onstant use o f a particul ar muscle adds to

its substance at the ex pense of that o f its
neighbor hence the aim of all exercise should
,

be direct e d at equality of labor Trunk and .

legs arms and n e ck all should receive pro

, ,

portioned attention M uscular deve lopm ent

.

also depends upon an unim p eded circula tion

of blood and upon healthful cell forming -

constitu ents constantly furnished to replace

us ed tissue C onstriction o f the body in any
.

part prevents free circul ation and only loose

,

garm ents permit o f full growth and proper

developm ent The tight collar the garter
.
, ,

and the cors et make flabby muscles inevit

,

able and only a b ody u nrestrained by the

,

bonds o f conventional dress can hope f or

physical perfection in form B ut few elderly
.

women of the pr esent day can exhibit an

a bdom en that is not p e ndulous nor breas ts ,

1 66
 C HAP T E R X I I

DIET

rudent, cau tio us self

-
control
p ”
Is wis d o ms
’
root.

R obert B urns
.

1 00
 FASTING

qu en ce o f pers istent cultivation the sens e o f

,

taste has b een much p e rvert e d and most men

,

and women are more o r less abnormal in

taste p e rception To the lack o f s ense per
.

ceptio n in this r e spect is d u e much o f car e

l e ssn e ss in mastication Improp e rly accom

.

p lish e d salivation and t he s ee ds o f diseas e are

re sul ting evils With normal taste the medi
.

cal profession would be a t loss to administer

the average drug wer e the pati ent to masti
cate o r insalivat e its substance R ecognizin g
.

this fact as well as the subs e qu ent action o f

the digestive j uices upon m e dical r emedies ,

physician obviat e s the d ifl icu lty pre

sented by the use of capsul e s o r by intro du c
~

ing the drug directly into the blood .

T he sense o f sm ell r e aching o u t beyond

,

the b ody ere food material pass e s the lips ,

a ssists in its selection a n d it and tast e when

, ,

normal in function and no t vitiat e d by cul ti

vation and hab it form a perfe ct picket line
,
-

o f protection against the in t r o d u t ion o f u n

wholesom e nourishm ent into the system .

Norm ally constituted bodi e s pre fer those

odors that are classifi e d as pl e asant yet con ,

t inu al personal cont act with emanations that

are di stinctly disagr e e abl e first brings to ler
,

ance and finally pl e asure in their presence .

1 79
 D I E T

P e rhaps this departure from natural law and

normal instinct can be illustrate d in convine
ing form by cont empl ating the s ens u al
d e light o f the e picure in chee s e s o f doubtful
ag e but o f indubitabl e r ot te nn es

The fallacy o f attempting practical ap

plication o f a th eory o f food selection based
upon taste and sme ll alone is easily de mon
st rat ed The qu e stion re solve s itself into one
.

concerning the n ee ds of the bod y but after , ,

a fast taste and smell are re store d to normal

,

acuteness and so long as they remain in this

,

sta te they may b e us e d as p a rtial indicators

, .

At this time all whol e some food gives delight

and is d e sired with a hunge r created in a
clean healthy syst em that as ks for nourish
,

m ent and that fully e nj oys its ing e stion .

Simple foods prop erly pre pared and co r

,

rect ly proportion e d as to the r elative amounts

o f fats ca rbo hydr at e s and protein with
,
-

, ,

the nec e ssary min eral salts are what the di eti ,

tian and the patient shoul d ende avor to sup

ply T he fast is e nd ed the sy ste m cle ansed
.
, ,

and the dige stive organs are in full vigor ,

waiting to form pure blood and pure tissue

from pure food .

No furthe r d etail is n e eded to show that

m ankind habitual ly ove re ats and that as a ,

1 73
 FASTING
'
‘

resul t nutritive mat eri al is absorb e d into the

,

circulation in quantity b eyond the require

ments of the body loading t he system with
,

an unn e cessary and h a rmful burd en and

hamp e ring with poisonous waste the opera
tion o f its machinery But j ust as the liver
.
,

stands guard in so far as it may ov e r mat

, ,

ters absorbed and j ust as it s e parat e s the

,

good from the b ad so at the v e ry inception

, ,

o f the di g e stive proc e ss the mouth wi th its

, ,

armor o f t e eth and its salivary apparatus de ,

termines in large degree the amount o f food

needed in nutrition .

T he mouth holds the nerves o f taste taste ,

i s enj oy e d in the mouth and tast e has its ,

gre at purpose in d e ciding j ust wh en food has

b e en ground b etwee n the t e eth suffi ciently to
prepare it for the subs e qu ent processes .

Tast e disapp e ars wh e n food has b e e n

properly insalivated and too thorough m as
,

t icatio n cannot occur for the b ene fits derived

,

are imme asurable even apart from the com

,

minu t ion o f solids The mouth easily a o

.

complishes this work wh en the habit o f mas

t icat io n has be e n acqui red but if it perform
, ,

it carel essly the oth e r organs of digestion

,

cannot act in norm al fu nction and as a mat , ,

ter o f fact perf e ct dige stion cannot occu r

, ,

1 74
 FASTING

The appetite satisfied by the infiltering

,

process is a swe etly appeased appetite calm

,
, ,

re ste d content ed normal Th e re is no

, , .

dang er from the flooding of intemp e rance

for there is not even tole ration o f excess ,

e ither of mor e food or of more drink and ,

this cont ente d appeti te will remain in the

condition o f contentm ent until another nee d
has really be en e a rn e d by evaporation or de
”
structive katabolism .

Fletch e r uses in his d e scription the term ,

appetite in the s ens e that the word hu nger

, , ,

is employe d in the pre s e nt t e xt In the con

.

ditions th at he so well e xpresses li e s the solu

tion of the probl em of ove re ating M as ti .

cation carried to the d e gre e that taste is

,

neutralize d absolut ely pre clud e s eating save

,

f o r the n e eds o f m etabolism The supply is

.

made equal to the d emand ne ither more nor

,

le ss ; and intemperance in food o r drink is

e ff ectiv ely pr e v e nted .

A scientific discussion o f the question of

diet is manife stly ou t o f place in this text .

Authoritie s di ff e r widely and non e has d e alt

with feeding from the vi ewpoint met after a
fast with a stomach so to S peak re cre ated
, , ,
-
.

I t is no undu e iteration to again point ou t

1 76
 DIET

tha t di et is largely a matt e r of special ne e d ,

an d that no fixed rul es can be promulga t ed to

apply in ev e ry cas e ; but certain gen eral prin

ciple s r e quire discu ssion of which the first
,

and most importa nt d eals with the use or non

u se o f meat . Fle sh in any form shoul d never
enter the dietary of normal man Argu .

ments for and against hav e long been ex

changed ou this subj e ct and advocates o f ,

the strongest will co mbat the non fl esh di et -

f or ye ars to come The argum ent that s e rv e s

.

to refut e this e rror in hyg i ene co ntains ,

among oth e rs the following premises : First

, ,

d e ad animal tissue holds within it the

products o f m eta bolism The proce ss o f .

change is suddenly arr e ste d whe n the animal

is kill ed and the jui ces of the body o f the
,

latter conta in u n e limin at e d toxic products

-

from b roken down c ell tissue that no proce ss

- -

o f cooking ca n d e stroy F o r that matt e r

.
,

e v e n w e re th e y compl e t ely annihilated fl e sh ,

is st ill change d vegetabl e tissue with the

waste o f the proc e ss of chang e and that o f
the living organi sm retain e d in its structu r e ,

a con di tion th a t logically sugge s t s the con

sumption o f the plant rath e r th a n o f its cre a

tion In a ddi tion d ecomposition o f animal
.
,

fle sh begins at the moment o f d e ath and by ,

1 77
 FASTING

the time it is consumed as food d e ca y has ,

progr e ss e d ahno st to the point of pu t re f a c

tion In the fast it is obs erv e d that excessive
.

meat e a te rs and p a ti ents who pr e viously have

”
und e rgone the Sali sbur y tre atment with
its forced fee ding o f fle sh exhibit a foul ness
,

in e limination so much beyond that in all

oth e r cas e s that it r end e rs th em obno xious
e v e n t o th ems e lv e s .

M r O tto C ar qu e in his E rrors o f Bio

.

” “
C h emistry says : Th e re is also a marked
physiological di ff e r ence b etw ee n plant and
animal food Anim als are di stinguished
.

from ve getabl e s by incessant d e cay in every

tissue a d e ca y which is proportional to ani
,

mal activity This ince ss a nt decay ne ce ssi

.

tat es ince ssant re pair so that the animal body

,

has be e n lik en ed to a t empl e on whi ch two

opposit e forc e s a r e at work in every part ,

the o ne t e a ring down t he oth e r repairing the

,

bre a ch as fa st as it is mad e In plants no su ch

.

incessant d e cay has ev e r been discovered If .

it e xists at all it must b e very tri fl ing in com

,

parison P rotoplasm it is tru e is tak en from

.
, ,

t he old e r parts of t he plant and th e s e parts,

die ; but the protopl a sm do e s not s eem to d e

compos e but is us e d a gain f or tissu e build
,

ing Thus the et e rn a l activi ty of animals is

.

1 78
 FASTING

no loop hole through which to e scape from

-

the facts .

N o ade quate e xplanation is as yet available

o f the e vid e nt sup eriority o f a vegetarian diet

over o ne o f flesh as re gards endurance save , ,

perhaps in the th e ory that a di et composed

,

in gre at e r part o f proteid produces uric acid

and other cryst allin e su bst ance s which in turn
,

cause muscular fatigue in ex ercise The facts .

are patent in thes e instances as related as ,

well as in the experiments mad e by the author

o f the text along similar lines during the past

twelve years The resul ts obtained demon

.

strate that a non fl e sh diet builds a cousis

-

t ently strong and enduring physical strue

ture while the reverse is true in great part
,

when me at figur es in the list o f food in

gested In the past facts such as these have
.
,

been o b scured and the truth has su ff ered be

“
cause the idea contained in the term veg e ,

tarian sugg e sted what was popularly re

,

garded as fanaticism carri e d beyond all

bounds In the history o f the world no doc
.

trine advanced with polemical warmth and

coupled with enthusiasm and dogma almost
re ligious has eve r had i nfluence upon scien
,

t ific thought and for this re ason t he m atte r

, , ,

need s to be approached deliberately

1 90
 DIET

passionately and with the s e riousness befit

,

ting a subj ect that is of more pra ctical im

port tha n any oth e r in the whole r ang e of
hygi enic res earch Wh en this shall have be en
.

accomplish ed the th e ory embodi ed in the re

,

sul ts o f the t e st s m e ntion e d will be fully

borne ou t and conclusively established as a

living truth .

With the individual himself rests the selec

tion o f a he althful and prop erly distribut e d
food supply In ord er to m aint a in a normal
.

body in p erfect equili brium the a moun t a nd ,

the sel e ction o f food re quir e car e ful con

siderati on Qu antity d ep ends upon physical
.

characteristics a nd the ki nd of la bor at which

the subj ect is e mploy ed A workin gman d e .

stroys more tissue in short er time th a n do e s

the bank e r o r the cl e rk ; yet usu a lly the lat , ,

t e r e at no fewe r m e a ls nor l e ss at a sitting

than their burly brothe r What is ne e d e d for
.

the one is far mor e than sufficient for the

oth ers Shoul d the bra in work e r devote spar e
.
-

time to outdoor recreation or to manua l

l abor a m ean might be e stablish ed ; but in ,

ge n eral equilibrium is s eldom r eached and

, ,

the supply of food is far in exce ss o f require

ment T he laboring man t oo is at faul t in
.
, ,

thi s respect for unl e ss his he an exceptional

, ,

IS L
 FASTING

cas e the basis o f di et is starch which carries

, ,

its nutritiv e principl e in a bul ky vehicle de ,

manding e xtra l abor from the digestive tract

in ord e r to s e p a rat e waste from nutriment
and to eliminate the former .

To reduce the supply o f food to the re

ci ro cal basis o f d emand the plan that sug
p
g ests the om
,

ission o f the early morning

breakfast is p e rhaps the e asie st method to fol
low and once the habit is acquired this meal
, , ,

is scarcely miss ed C ommon s ens e indicates

.

that food ingested soon after rising is reall y

d etrimental to the body and the mind f o r ,

the brain and the nervous syst em are r e cuper

a ted by the night s rest and tissu e cells have
’

be en re placed while the body slept In .

fact the reasoning pow e r is retarded and

,

hamp ered in its action by the presence o f

food in the stomach since the latter calls
,

ene rgy els ewhere and deprive s the brain of

just so much of its motive power T he whole .

mental and nervous systems are at th eir max

imum of e ne rgy in the e arly morning ; the
blood in its double function has replaced
, ,

the wast e it has carried away and the e ntire ,

human fabric stands at the threshold o f the

day re ady for anything but the process of
dige sting food The re is no true hu nger at
.

1 89
 FASTING

the one food people who are in contin ual

-

s earch of what not to devour and who woul d ,

reduce the universe to whole wheat and pe

cans By th e se at each encounter with their
.
,

fellowmen are di scovered di sease symptoms

,

identical with th eir own for which the same

,

remedy is insisted upon and p erhaps applied .

It is absurd f o r any who are not famili ar with

the ch emi stry o f foods to endeavor to talk
leame dly o f their action in human e conomy ,

an d it may be taken as an axiom that within ,

the indi vidual capacity which can be kn own

,

onl y by indi vidual e xp e riment a di et limited ,

in variety to not more than three p ropor

t ioned items at each meal is more conducive
to health than unlimi ted choice or a single
dish A list that is strictly limit ed to few
.

things trains the stomach to adapt its elf ao

cordin g ly and eve ntually trouble ensues
,

when change is attempted .

Aft e r all the amount o f foo d and the kind

,

thereof are o f s econdary importance to the

physical condition of the digestive apparatus
o f t he sub j e ct It must continually be borne
.

in mind that the state o f the digestive or

gans is the cru x o f the whole situation .

There in li e s he alth or illne ss The aim of .

physician and o f patient should constantly be

directed at the restoration o f the system to
1 84
 DIET

health ,afte r which its maintenance in this

condition r equire s carefu l attention to the
selection and to the quantity of food .
 C H AP TER XIII
M E N T AL AN D B O D I L Y RE A C T I O N
OD I L Y action may be brought about
in two ways— through the brain or ,

through inte rnal or exte rnal physical

ca uses In either case the ne rve centers per
.

form th e ir functions eithe r in the inception

,

o f t he thought o r in the transfe r o f ou t wa rd

o r inward ca use . The act Of movi ng the hand

may originate in the brain or it may occur
,

through the fac t that the member is in close

prox imity to fire In the former circum
.

stance the act begins with the thought in the

brain and nervous influence op erates di rectly
,

upon m oving muscles In the s econd condi

.

tion the sensory n e rv e s in form the brain that

the flesh is burning and the brain sets in
,

motion the muscles n e cessary to move the

hand I n both instance s the moving powe r
.

e manates from the brain and the phenome

,

non as described may happ e n in connection

with any specific portion Of the body N ot .

1 89
 FASTING

only are these facts tru e Of the voluntary

muscl es but they may also be Obs e rved in
,

simila r phas e in h eart lungs stomach and

, , ,

the organs o f function in g ene ral Swallow .

ing an emetic caus e s vomiting an e ff ect ,

brought about through muscular convu lsion

Of the stomach for the purpos e Of e j ecting
a substance irritating to its n e rves The mere .

sight or thought of a disgusting Obj ect may

have the same consequence and imagination
,

is oftentim es able to produce r es ul ts lik e that

occasione d by a powe rful drug or by a com
bination Of physical condi tions .

E v ery organi c act healthy or diseased i s

, ,

du e sol ely to a curr e nt s ent from one O f the

gre at n erve cent ers and the l atte r may be
,

called into b eing e ith e r indire ctly by r efl ex

action o r dire ctly by fee ling or thought
, .

T hough the mind and the e motions have

large influe nce ove r physical fun ctions the ,

field of Op eration Ove r which that influence

e xtends is comparatively little known I t is .
,

in some re sp e cts ahnost unbounded f or

, ,

every bodily fun ction may b e hastened r e ,

t ar d ed o r eve n tot a lly susp e nd e d and life

, ,

itself may b e d estroye d by the subj ective e f

feet Of thought P l ea surabl e emotions are
.

physically healthful ; painful one s the reverse ;

190
li k e mann er a ff ect the mind ! O b servation
shows not only that it d oes influence brain
function but that the resul ts o f disease are
,

always and continuously di splayed mentally .

In many Of the ordinary hypochondri acal

disturbance s in melancholia and in the vari
, ,

o u s m a nias oth e r forms Of treatment S houl d

,

be accompanied by correction of derange d

di g e stive function .

I n health the constructive and destructive

changes that take place in the human b ody
progre ss without noticeable di minution or in
crease in excell ence o f b rain quali ty so long ,

as waste material is promptly removed and

pateg
u it ble fo od i s supplied and properly a ssim

I n condi tions of deb ility and weaknes s

i

whenever the influx is too large for the de

mand or the waste too great f or disposal by
,

the organs o f elimi nation ab sorption o f the

,

poisons generat e d in fermenting food rub

bish retained in the intestinal tract is continu
ously occurring and the subj ect becom e s a
, .

vi ctim o f auto intoxication is drunk with the

-

p roducts o f hi s own decomposition T hi s .

condition if long continued is no less bane

, ,

f111 in e ff e ct than that o f al coholic saturation ,

and in some cases it may take the form o f

, ,

1 99
ME NTAL AN D BOD I L Y R E A C TI O N

ins anity while in all dimi nis hed brain

, , ,

power is evident .

T he di gestion of a m eal with the su bse ,

quent forcing o f food waste through the

bowels consumes brain energy in gr e ater
,

amount than doe s any ordi nary work Of

muscle or o f mind and the re sult is a pparent
,

in weakened vitality which ove rfeedi ng ,

never fails to S how Sufficie nt food per

. ,

di ges ted produces a body with brain

,

to clear thought and maximum o f en

e rg M ore than thi s entails excessi ve labor
y
.

upon the organs Of digestion and consequent

overtax of vitality .

T he caus e o f mental disease is one and the

same with that Of physical disturbance The .

physica l si gns precede the mental danger sig

nal s and shoul d be heeded and reme di ed when
first displayed .

The close conn ection b et ween m ental and

physical functions is always promin ently ex
hibit ed in the consequence s Of the fast and ,

never more so than in the treatm ent o f those

morbid d e pressions that Often lead to con
finement in state inst itutions T hese case s .

origin a te in the abuse Of the di ge stive organs ,

which coupl ed wi th hereditary t end encies

, ,

a ff e cts the n e rv e cente rs and ultimat ely t he

1 93
 FASTING

brain D uring the fast constant improve

.

ment in mental c a p a city is shown after

p roper pre paration on restricted di et and
omitted meals ; and as the fast progresses
, ,

the return to sanity proce e ds at a rate com

mensu r ate with physical advance A general .

fact Observed in tre ating this symptom o f

disea se wh en fun ctional in origin is the pres
, ,

ence Of quantiti e s o f dark foul smelling dis

,
-

charge s from the bowe ls which do not de

,

crease either in amount or in vilen e ss until

, ,

long after the period indi cated in ordinary

di sease The valu e Of the fast as employed
.

in cas e s o f extr eme n e rvousn e ss and o f in

sani ty from fun ctional caus es is almost u m
,

kn own to alienists but in the n e ar future it

,

is bound to receive reco gnition as a certain

means Of cure .

D ue to sup erficial Obs e rvation o f the delir

ium o f auto intoxication som etim e s present
-

in the early st a g e s of the fa st the criticism

,

has be en advance d that prolonge d a bs tinenc e

from food not only produc e s w e ak en ed men
tality in the pati ent but that it will eventu
,

ally cause insanity Fasting n e ve r ent a ils a

.

loss of mental pow e r and this stat ement is

,

based upon exp eri ence gath e re d from con

sid erably over t wo thousand cases Of fas ting

194
 FASTING

treme m ental di sorder I t m ay b e deduced

.

that a functionally perfe ct brain is the

product o f a physicall y perfect body .

T o illustrate the e ff ect o f abnormal phy

sical condi tions upon mind function the f ol-

lowing ca s e is cited : T he patient a m an ,

thirty years o f age presented himsel f with

,

a histo ry o f continuous digestive trouble ac ,

compani ed with strongly developed m ental

dis turb ance E xamination created the im
.

pression that the disease of the mind was the

direct result of functional inactivity of the
di ge s tive trac t compli cated with decided or
,

g ani e sym ptom s

uices and
A
vegetable b
tentative
.

roths a ff
diet
orded
Of fr
the
u it

re
j
lief usual when organic labor is progressively
decreased E x peri ence is needful to dis
.

ting u ish bet we en temporary mitigation o f the

distress o f disease and progress towards cure ,

and though the symptoms were favorable to

,

the e x tent Of raising the belief in the mind of

the patient that recovery would ensue no ,

definite hope was extended At the end O f .

four weeks Of preparato ry treatment the ,

patient ceased hi s visits and a month later

,

his b ody was found dead by s u icide an act

, ,

committed a s its condition showed within a

, ,

few days a fter di scontinuing treatm ent T he .

196
M E N T AL A N D B OD I L Y R E A C TI ON

actions of the man th roughout together with ,

the contents o f a lette r found on hi s p erson ,

were evid ence that de cid ed l a ck Of mental

balance e xisted and s e arch o f hi s e ff ects
,

b rought to li ght nu mb ers Of long rambling , ,

scribbled comments that left no doubt con

cerni ng mental d ecay The body was in
.

shap e such that post mortem e x amination was

possible and the autopsy reveale d the follow
,

ing : T he ki dn eys were normal The lun gs .

and the heart w ere congest ed but function ,

all y equal to their tasks The liv er was cirr

.

hosed and th ere was only a rudimentary gall

,

sac not larger than the first j oint of the adul t

,

index finge r containing no bile and with no

,

evidence that it had b een fun ctionin g since ,

no stain w as pr e se nt and the c olor Of the

,

sac was a perfect white The stom ach w as

.

e nl arged to the ca paci ty Of four fluid quarts ,

and it lay in the abdominal cavity opposite

the navel ; it was fill ed with fo od and all evi ,

d ences pointed t o the fact that glandular

function had b een inoperative f or months .

T he small inte stines were tangle d and

knotted into a mass with bleached portions
,

that had been in active f o r a long time The .

colon was ex cessively dilate d and its trans

,

verse s ection had fall en shapingthe or gan

,

1 97
 FASTING

into a letter M with the verte x of the

drop ped tub e re sting upon the bladd er and
the p elvic bon e s ; t he transverse ascending
, ,

and d escendin g parts adhered at their angl e s

for s eve ral inches The bladder was normal
. .

The pancreas was a soft disintegrated m ass .

The sple e n was e xtremely large and cirr

hosed The m es entery e xhibit e d Old lesions
.
,

whil e no trace of the ome ntum rem ained .

The brain was structurally perfe ct .

The abov e instance o f a body e xce edingly

d e formed inte rnally was preserved with its
handicaps f o r thirty years The cause Of
.

the organic defects is to b e attributed to

digestive functions paralyzed in early life b y
disease and by the administration o f drugs
as a remedy I n this case progressive i11
.

ability to function brought about morbid

mental di sturb ance I t may be aske d why
.

this e ff ect was not produce d in each of the

instances cited under another headi ng and ,

re ply is m ade that these also showed the in

fl u ence s o f physical condition upon mind
fun ction but in l ess e r degree And the gen
, .

eral conclusion is stated that all diseas e func ,

tional as well as organic acts detrime nta lly

,

upon brain cap ability .

The work that the b rain can pe rf orm is

1 98
 FAS T ING

be continued in definitely in the abs ence of

food nor i s it to b e assumed that in the
,

process o f evolution man may reach an ideal

sta te o f foodl ess existence T hese are but .

hypotheses o f idle dreamers T he source of .

li fe will possibly always remain an enigma

to fini te understandin g and its manifesta
,

tions can do naught but continue to o ff er 0 p

p o rt u ni ty for speculation .

T he theory that human ener gy and b ody

heat are not derived from food ingested w as
advanced some years ago by D r E H . . .

D ewey and every application o f the fast for

,

the cure o f disease adds evidence to corrobo

rate its verity I n the fast when elimi nation
.
,

has progressed to the point that disease is

eradicated the avenues f or the ex pression
,

o f energy and vitality permit o f the manif es

t ati n o f strength
o — strength that was appar
e ntly lost on full daily ration when ill ness

b eg an As previously noted in di sease the

.
,

li beration o f life force is made impossible be

caus e of physical obstacles in the paths of
e x pression . As disease vanishes natural ,

hunger and strength return Food is not the .

source o f this phenomenon since the condi ,

tion resul ts in its absence T he conclusion is

.

forced that E nergy is an entity and that the

900
M E N T AL A ND B OD I L Y R E A C TI ON

human body is but a vehicle for its mani f es

tation .

Again in di s eas e body tem perature and

, ,

pul se may be above or below register In .

the fast when purification 1 s complete tem

, ,

p e r atu r e and pulse are restor e d to normal .

Food plays no more part in the accomplish

ment o f this result than it does in the restor
ation of strength E ach instance of fasting
.

f or the cure of di sease p e rfectly demons trates

the b asis l n fact o f the th eory that food serves
the sole purpose of repair and growth o f
body tissue and that the source of vital en
,

e rg y and o f b ody heat lie s without the human

frame T he b rain is its organ o f reception
.
,

and it is si gni ficant that thi s in stru ment of

f un ction recovers from fatigue through rest
and not b ecaus e of the assimilation of food .

N erve sustenance is ob tained from its store

hous e in the body but nerve energy is re
,

new ed thr o ugh the breath o f lif e .

 C H AP TER XI V
C HI LD RE N I N THE F AS T

H E N the human child is born into

the world , it is e quipped with but
three developed faculties—hun ger ,

and sleep T he infant i f ca pable of

.
,

e xpress ed desire would s i gnify its g

, reatest
n eed as sleep but it s res t is naturally pune
,

tuated with hun ger period s and at these ,

tim e s and at no others it shoul d be f ed To .

awak en a qui etly sleeping child for the ur

pose of admini s terin g food is most vis
able y et nu rse and mother burdened with
, ,

p rofessional tradi tion and advice in over ,

zealous care rarely permit a two hour interval -

to pas s without forcin g f ood upon the atten

tion o f the b aby asleep or awake T he child
, .

will through habit take the b reast and suckle

, ,

f or longer or shorter tim e but its re st has

,

been disturb ed and its small digestive ap

,

paratus is never free from labor as long a s

mother or nurse can stimul ate appetite D is .

obedience to natu ral law b rin gs its penalty ,

905
 FASTING

and disease invariably appears to right the

wrong Feed the baby only at the dictate
.

o f the natural hung e r cry but begin the ,

process at the beginning before a vicious

habit of e x pectation and app etite has a
chance to form With the exception o f in
.

herited blood taint overfe e ding the child is

,

the great cause o f infantile disease and it ,

coul d not occur if the fir st hun ger instinct

were permitted to guide the infant from
b irth Actual need alone woul d then be s at
.

isfied and the artificial sense o f appetite that

,

mi ght develop could be curbed and di rected .

At birth the physical connection b etween

the child and its mother must o f neces sity be
s evered O ne o f the mistakes in mod ern oh
.

st et rics is the wid e spread practice of cutting

-

the umbilical cord before the cessation o f its

natur al pulsations Inte rchange of o xygen
.

and of nutriment between mother and foetus

has taken place through this avenue f o r the
whole period of g e st a tion and by this m eans
,

alone has the baby frame been built to the

moment o f birth Its final use and its last
.

pul sations insure tissue nourishment su ffi

-

cient to carry the child until food for post

natal growth can be furnish ed from the
bre ast o f the mother Nature thus provide s
.

906
 FASTING

rather the child agrees with any one of the

many ki nds on the ma rk et onl y in, ex cep
tional circumstances .

T he contention that all disease has its

origin in im paired digestive power is more
strongly upheld when disturbance s occur in
the young than when the adul t organism is
a ff ected In the child unaccustom e d to con
.
,

tinu ed a buse o f the bo dy and its functions ,

and with no harmful habits formed the sys ,

tem resents any but natural treatment I f .

the contrary is persi stently followed diseas e ,

develops .

The physical condition of a nursing mother

is invariably refl e cted in the body o f her
child and m ental disturbance s temporary or
, ,

perman ent have like e ff e ct T hrough nerv

.

ou s derang ement o f functional power in ,

du ced b y di s e ase or b y anxi e ty grief or

, ,

anger such changes are occasioned in moth

,

er s mi lk a s to cause serious ill ness in the

’

suckling child I t is there fore incumb ent

.

upon the parent so to regul ate her physical

body through a dietary r! gime as to corr ect
in hers elf the error in mi lk quality and so ,

to conserve her mental force s as to prevent

systemic disease and nerve tension with ,

908
 B . H y r old S tom ch nd int tin l
. One ea . a a es a
t ro b l
u e F t d
. i d y W i ght t nd o f f t
as e s x a s . e a e as ,

po nd E i gh t months
u s. fter f st in p r f ct a a e e
h lth ; w i ght 9 5 po nd
ea e , u s.
 FASTING

tion toward the prompt removal of the soil

,

in which the germ propagate s and di es .

G e rmicides me rely succeed in d e stroying the

microbe a process that adds d e composing
,

mate rial to an alr e ady fertile and exp ectant

m e dium And it is r e a sonable to assume that
.

a poison powe rful enough to kill living o r

g a nism s within the body is o f strength suffi

ci ent to d e al destruct ion to cell life itsel f and ,

this it also does .

R eferring to a former s tatement concern

ing the administration o f food while high
temperature prevails the question may here
,

—
be asked W hy put food into a feverish in
fant body ! A roaring fire is ot ordin n

subdue d by adding fuel to the flame ,

until dis e as e mad e its appearance the patient

,

was inge sting food and in all p robability

, , ,

was stricken with a ful l stomach Fever a s .

,

a symptom is caus e d by absorption into the

,

circul ation o f the products o f e xcess food

rotting in the alimentary canal and when , ,

additional material for fermentation is

forced into this mass eith e r from above or
,

b elow the resul ts are a ris e in t emp erature

,

a nd mor e aggravated symptoms T he fur

.

—
th e r que stion is sugg ste d W hy administer
e

drugs at this tim e ! Th es e are either stimu

9 10
CHILDREN IN THE FAST

lants or narcotics— the forme r increase the

action o f the h e art and with it the temp era
t u r e while the latter re duce nerv e transmis
,

sion I n ad di tion medi cal treatme nt usually

.

calls for nutrim ent at inte rvals of three to

four hours and food is administer ed in the
,

natural manner or when symptoms o f an

, ,

e sp e cially acut e natur e are pr e s e nt per rec

,

t um In the body o f the chil d the e ff e cts of

.
,

both overfe eding and of drugs are long

lasting and h ere most emphatically the
,

method to be employed should remove fer

mentingrubbish the cause of the condition
, .

As in the adul t wh en dis e ase appe ars

, ,

prompt withholdi ng of food removes through

active elimination the imme diat e caus e o f dis
tu rbance ; an en ema o r s ev e ral of them
, ,

cle anses the bowels of toxic digestive prod

u ct s ; feve r is abat e d ; di arrho e a and colic dis
appear ; and in two or thre e d a ys at most the
youngster is again whol e and h e arty F or .

childr en respond to t he fasting treatment in

marv elous manner ; th eir natural force s have
not been depl eted by years o f excess in phy
sical indulg e nce and are pr e s e nt in pristin e
,

vigor No al a rm n eed be felt since nature

.
,

readj usts the littl e syst em most ra pidly and ,

its functions at once resume th eir labors re

921 1
 FASTING

freshed and re invigorated A f ast un til

-
.

hunger makes its demand is m andatory in

even the slightest digestive ailments of the
smallest of babes ; and a comparison of this
method of treatment with that whi ch requi re s
the stomach to be dosed with drugs and the ,

very blood itself to be perme at e d and vitiat ed

with the products o f disease in lower anim als
in the forms of virus and serum nee ds no
commentary .

S imilarly the enema may b e given to the

in fant using of course an amount of fluid
, , ,

commensurate to the size o f the infant bowel ,

and , i f j udiciou sly repeated the colon is ,

flushed of its poisonous contents fever sub ,

sides delirium if pres ent ceases and dis

, , , ,

e ase vanishes T he en ema may b e adminis

.

t e red to even the day old bab e with b eneficial

-

resul ts for it serves to cle ar the colon from

,

clogged and thick en e d s e cretion and when , ,

feeding has begun especially if the milk o f

,

the cow or prepare d foods are use d the prod ,

u ct s o f the ir im p e rfect digestion are at once

removed The e ase with which the fretful
. ,

colick y babe may b e relieved by the care ful

us e o f the internal bath is a matt er which
every m other shoul d unde rstand and its ap ,

pli ca tion at j udi cious intervals du ring in

91 9
 R . .e fo u r
M Ag y r ea s . B ronchi l pn moni Tro b l d
a eu a . u e

wit h t hro t ll h
a li f
a er e. d fi d y Thr month
F a st e ve a s . ee s

l t r i p r f t h lt h
a e n e ec ea . N ow li g t ri n d t
ve s 0 11 a ve e a a ie ,

tw m l d ily
o ea s a .
CHILDREN IN T H E FAST

fancy i s of equal importance with its bi

we ekl y employm e nt in adult life .

Whenever in a youn g child the slightest

evidence of dise ase mak e s its appe aran ce ,

whether in the form of nasal discharge o f ,

constipation o f di arrho e a o r o f int ernal

, ,

pain it should be co nsidere d as ample warn

,

ing o f loss o f balance betwe en nutrition and

waste Food should be at once omitted the
.
,

enema admini st e red an d treatment continue d

,

un til equi librium is r e stor ed If this m ethod

.

of handlin g the situation b e co nsist ently fol

lowed no need will occur for late r alarm lest
,

acute di s e ase symptoms o r morbid organi c

struct ural d e fects such as adenoid growths
,

and enlarg e d tonsils d ev elop C are at this

, .

time preclud e s d ep ende nce upon the kni fe o f

the surgeon in infa ncy o r in adol escence .

Re p ea ting the caution expre ssed in the

first para graph of the present chapter free ,

d om from di s e ase in infancy and d evelop

ment of strong resistive qualiti e s in ad ul t life
are depend ent upon normal feedi ng in chi ld
hood No food exce pt as hunger dictates
. .

An d further the child must be p e rmitte d

, , ,

not only to signify its need but also after it

, ,

is weaned from the milk o f the mother to ,

s elect within reason the kind o f food desired .

913
 FASTING

If no abnormal craving has b e en d evelope d

through forc e d fe eding or through food ,

other than moth er s milk tast e will not have

’
,

b ee n viti at e d and in its w a nts the child its elf

,

will pursu e its n atural inclination the only

.
,

law upon which h e alth d e p ends Hands o ff ! .

Follow nature ! D o not attempt to act as

her gu id e !
The moment that disease is recognized in
its true ch a ra ct e r as a n atura l proce ss o f cur e ,

the r eal and only sp e cific for the child as for ,

the man is discov er ed— re st f or the ov e r

,

worked organs of the body and renewal of ,

those functions that n e ed repair .

NOTE
DE TA I LS OF TH E AD M I N I S TRATI N O OF TH E

EN E M A TO TH E I N F AN T I M PLE M E N TS
The usual fountain syringe equipp ed with ,

conve ni ent s hut off and with tw o small size d

- -

rectal tips .

A low chair admitting of holdmgthe re

,

cumb ent child in the lap at a height slightly

above the l ev el o f the bowl of the toilet .

T wo piece s o f rubber sheeting each one ,

yard in length Throw one pi ece over the

.

top edge o f the r a is ed s e at of the toilet drap ,

9 14
 FASTING

fro m the anus since the li quid form o f the

,

discharge from the bowels permits ej ection

aroun d the sid es o f the tub e and avoidance is
thu s mad e o f repeate d insertion with conse
quent irritation After the e xhaustion o f the
.

water in the bag the tip shou ld be withdrawn

, ,

and the extra one m entioned in the equip

me nt un attach e d to the hose should be in
, ,

t rod u ce d into the anus Through it su bse

.

quent evacuation will occur the more easily ,

since the constriction o f the muscle o f the

a nus is b y this m e ans overcome Neither pipe .

should be ins erte d at gre ater depth than two

inches At this stage o f the op e ration m anip
.

ul ation should be made o f the abdomen f ol ,

lowing the ascending colon on the right sid e

from the caecum to the transve rse bo wel th en ,

across to the l e ft sid e over the transverse por

tion to the d e scendin g colon and down the
. ,

lat ter to a position corr e sponding with its

extremity and outlet This is an essential
.

that must not be neglected since it assists

,

peristaltic action and hastens evacuation .

N ever less than si x o r eight quarts of water

should be use d in giving this enema and if , ,

extreme di scoloration in discharg e still per

sists even more fluid shoul d be inj ected The
,
.

value of the internal b ath depends upon the

91 6
CHI L DREN IN THE FAST

thoroughne ss with which easily ab sorbed fer

-

mentingwaste is removed from the co lon ,

and this condition is not satisfied u ntil the

retur ns comparatively colorles s
.

21 7 t
 CH AP T E R XV
S E X UAL D I S E AS E AN D TH E FAS T

U S T what normal se x desire in both male

and femal e originally signified is some
what diffi cul t to defin e but it is sa fe to
,

assume that primordial se x relations were

limited to the pu rposes o f procr eation T he .

ultimate obj ect o f the fast is discovered in

the resto ration of all physiological functions
to a prim ary condition and this is e ff ected
,

not onl y with respect to the processe s o f di

ge stion assimilation and elimi nation b ut to
, , ,

that of the sex instinct as well While the .

fast i s in progress s exual desire whether

, ,

formerly active to excess o r a be yant is ,

brought to normal and att ention to di et and

,

to right living in the future finds assion

controlled and desire sub servient in senses
to the will.

In the female during the fast the mens es

may or may not appear but after the fast is
, ,

completed the monthl y discharg e may miss

,

99 1
 FASTIN G

several or more periods I ts temporary ces

.

sation should occasion no anxiety for the ,

menstrual flow is at all times a waste product ,

and in pregnancy and after the m enopause

, ,

its disposal is accomplished through other

,

chann e ls H ow ev e r instances have b e e n

.
,

noted in which the mens e s have appeared ,

when food was omitted at irre gular inte rvals

,

almost viscid in consistency and very o ff ens

ive in odor This may be re gard e d as the re
.

sult o f congestion localiz ed in ovari e s and

uterus and as a natural cleansing of a repro
,

du ctive system clogge d with r e fuse .

With resp e ct to the menstru al discharge ,

the interesting facts are to be obs erved that

it is o f regular recurr ence during t he bearing
period in the femal e s o f all mammals ; that it
is barely p e rceptible in som e ; and that in
none is it so profuse in quantity as in woman .

She is the only female in the a nimal kingdom

that is comp elled to und e rgo a monthly in
convenience o f copious flow from the ut e rus
yet this evid enc e o f function is as natural as
breathing but becaus e of perversion in habit
, ,

it has b e come aggravated in exc essiv e degree .

P rofus e discharge is the pen alty attache d by

nature to the use o f the organs o f reprodu c
tion f or other than le gitimate purposes and ,

99 9
 FASTING

normal recurr ence is possibl e when right liv

ing is adh e re d to Similarly purification o f
.

the syst em at the period of the m e nopause o r

be fore coupl e d with prop e r di et and j udi
,

cious ex e rcise , will p e rmit any woman to

,

pass through this exp e ri ence without dis

tress e xce ssive ne rvousn e ss or othe r e vil con
, ,

sequence s .

The obj e ct o f the fast is achieved in cleans

ing functional energic avenu e s and in resting
the vital organs of the body By virtue of .

the se accomplishm ents the high fu nction o f

reproduction is not only b en efited but is also ,

re store d almost to original e as e in gestation

and accouchem e nt .O rdinarily congest e d
,

healthy secr etion as w ell as impuritie s de

posited in the organs o f re production are
elim i nated through the circulation ; but even
the excessive and o ff ensive discharge that
sometim e s is present during the fast may b e
regarded in the light o f an e liminativ e prod
u ct evacuated on the line o f least resistanc e .

I n fact unless organic defect e x ist ev er

, ,

present female troubles are unknown to na

ture when her dictates are accept ed and
obeyed T he fast and subsequent treatm ent
.

resul t in a set of healthy muscles for the sup

port o f the or gans o f re production and in
994
S E X U A L D I S E A S E— T H E F A S T

healthy secr etions f or all purpose s pe culiar

to these parts J udicious gene ral exercise
.

and normal nutrition will maintain the sus

taining ligam ents in strength and the gen ,

e rative system cannot fa il fun ctionally o r

structur ally if normall y used .

T he dress o f wo man is responsible f or

some of her se x weaknesses and without en
, ,

tering into details it is well to call attention

,

to the garment to which is attributed so much

o f fem al e woe . The cors et has no right nor
title in the wardrobe o f a healthy normal ,

woman Her own bones and muscles shape

.

her form as int end e d by nature and any ,

woman not di storted in fram ework may at

, ,

tain pe rfe ction o f figure by muscul ar free

dom and proper exerci se The restriction of
.

a h ealthy muscle causes it partially to lose its

functioning ability and habitual restraint
,

and unnatural pressure brought to bear upon

the mus cl e s o f the trunk r e sult in local con
gestion and in di splacement o f special or
gans Lun gs live r and intestines together
.
, , ,

with the organs o f reproduction su fl er from

'

the constrictive e ff ects of the corset and lack ,

o f nourishm ent d u e to restri cted circul ation

,

thus p roduced causes atrophy o f muscular

,

tissue since the latter is not adequat ely t e

,
 FASTING

built E nergy is lik ewise impeded in the

.

proces s o f liberation ; intestines unable to

‘

function are fill ed with food rubbish ; and

,

congestion inflammation auto intoxication

, ,
-

and se xual decay ensue The cors et alon e .

succeeds in producing many degenerate ,

breastless wom en who ev entually su ff er un

,

d er the surgeon s knife ; who cannot ful fil

’

the natural function o f child bearing ; and -

who if thefy by accid ent r eproduce their

,
r

species are unable to furnish their young

,

with natural food .

The science o f O steopathy has not as yet

r e cogni zed the ease and the b en e fit o f man
ipul ation o f the uteru s and its appendages ,

and it is only now and then that an osteo

pathic physician is discovere d who upon his ,

o wn initiative has mad e known the good that

,

accru e s by transcendi ng pre scrib e d me thods

when occasion d emands Fasting will r eli eve
.

conge stion while manipulation of the uterus

,

and the ovaries from within and without and ,

o f the region o f the Fallopi a n tubes assist ,

~

ing in this process will also m e chanically ad

,

j ust the ute rus and will giv e tone to t he con

,

dition o f the reproductive apparatus by stim

u l a tingcircul ation .

Sexual di sease oth er than that peculiar to

296
 FASTING

mal in quality and if cleanliness e speciall y

, ,

in the female is prop e rly observed, The .

form er condition is promptly e ff ected by the

fast and the latter is a matter o f ordinary
,

personal care The irritating symptoms o f

.

local venereal infection yield to the treatment

in few days and convalescence brings no su
,

p e r vening annoyance as expressed in ure ,

thral stricture prostatic congestion etc

, , .

T he taint o f syphilis congenital or a c ,

quired if treat e d b e fore its characteristic or

,

ganie lesions have developed is eradi cated ,

with equal succe ss but with somewhat m ore ,

di fficulty since this disorder is d eeply seated

, ,

and a ff ecting the composition o f the blood

, ,

partakes of the nature of structural defect

in vital organs .

M asturbation a habit of more widely com

,

mon pract ice in both sexes than is g en e rally

believed may have its origin in the curiosity
,

o f pubescence stimulat e d by vicious infl u

ences . But its d evelopment into habit ual

form re quire s a constitutional derangement
o f the functions o f nutrition and the vice o f ,

self abuse is purely a symptom not a cause

-

o f disease D ig estive ferm ent occasioning

.
,

e x citement of the nerve centers controlling

998
S E X U A L D I S E A S E— T H E F A S T

the genital org ans or loc al cong estion cause d

,

by constriction o f the waist by constipation , ,

o r by lik e m e a ns are the active stimulating

,

agents re sponsible for lascivious dreams and

pervert e d forms o f sex satisfaction .

D is e as e is a unity The solitary vice is but

.

a symp tom and the fast applie d f or the re

, ,

moval of the ca use restores morbidity to

,

he alth.

In connection with the e ff ects of the fast

and of di et upon s e xual development and
d esir e observation estab lish e s the fact that
,

childre n f ed upon a non fl esh regimen pro -

gress s e xually in gradual normal manne r ,

to puberty and e xhibit few e r tendencies

,

towards s exual abuse or perversion than do

those whose diet include s the v a rious fle sh
food s A di etary embodying meat is far mo re
.

stimulating than one purely vegetable in

character for the reasons adduce d in pre
,

viou s di scussion .

The ide al to be desired in all life is that of

e qui librium . P hysical e xistence without nor
mal se x re lation is an unbalanced state nor ,

can it be im plied that this natural function ,

when not exercised is changed in purpose

,

and acts as an increment to intellect as moral ,

refo r mers would have us believe F ar from .

999
 FASTING

it since in the male the propagating secre

, , ,

tion is produced only as it is discharg e d .

An d in the femal e monthly production and

, ,

removal o f the ovu m indi cate s ren ewal of fe r

tile cells In both s e x e s const a nt e xhaustion
.

o f sex s e cretion undoubt e dly draws upon

nervous ene rgy and in this mann e r a ff ects

brain powe r but the rev ers e cannot be true
, .

If so the bul k of the brains o f the world

,

woul d be in poss ession o f contin ent celibates .

Sex and inte ll e ct d emand impartial exercise ,

the form e r f or procr eation onl y the latte r

,

f or physical control and spiritual advance .

 C H AP TER XVI
DIFFI C U LT I E S I N C O N DU C T I N G T H E F AS T

HE very simplicity o f the fast in its

applica tion has proved the most serious
obstacle to its general acceptance by
both the public and the m edi cal profes sion .

P opul ar write rs have lauded its claims in

news paper and in magaz ine Books have .

been written upon it in the e nthusiasm pro

du ced by the b ene ficial e ff ects o f personal
tri al and cures by fasting have b een heralded
,

the world over . The consequences are what

might have been fore se en R egardl ess o f the
.

physiology o f the human body and the ra

tionale o f the method and ignorant o f the
,

physiological changes that the administration

of the fast must involve both in function and
in tissue structure inex perienced hands have
,

und ertaken the treatment without gui dance

o r the necessary knowledg e o f the conditions
that may develop and in many in stance s
, , ,

harm with unmerited adverse criticis m o f the

method has resul ted .

938
 F A S TING

I f human bo di es continued to ex ist

throughout life in the normal state they
should possess at birth wh en fu nctional dis
,

e as e app e ar e d the application o f t he fast

woul d prove p erfectly e a sy in all cases But .

,

through constant wrong living through ,

chronic abuse of the vital proce ss e s and , ,

more than all else through the paralyzin g

,

e ff ects o f drug dosag e the av erage man has

,

acquire d d e fe cts in organic structure .

In infancy wh en dis e ase d ev elops a drug

, ,

is giv en f or the suppre ssion o f the symptom .

In some cas e s the childr en d ie ; in oth e rs the ,

paralysis the function al ruin of some por

, ,

tion o f the int e stinal tract o r oth e r organ is

caused ; in still others the re sistive powers
,

o f the infan t are such as to p e rmit it t o sur

vive despit e the dos e In any e vent no tru e

.

benefit has be e n de rived and since the harm, ,

was done during the gr owing state retarda ,

tion of d evelopm ent occur s and in futur e , ,

years disease symptoms may be trace d di

,

r e ctly to the points a ff e ct ed in infancy .

With function al troubl e s continually recur

ring th e se d eficiencies in organism finally
,

cause almost absolute cessation of the proc

ess e s o f elimin ation .

C areful observation o f s everal thousands

234
 FASTING

as drugs in the ordinary sense may then act ,

as a poison t o the tissue I n like manner the .

sub stances formed in the body from the proc

esses of tissue waste may themselves act as
drugs in their e ff ect upon livin g tissue T his .

occurs when elimination is inadequat e .

Hence the auto toxins through which tissue -

re sistan ce 1 e immunity from disea se 1 8 re

, . .
, ,

du ced and the way opened for the larg e

,

group o f so called infectious maladie s

-
.

I t cannot fairly be assume d that upon ,

viewin g a b ody after d e ath in the fast the ,

lesions that may be pres ent in any org an are

due s olely to previous drugging Where two .

such agencies as dis e ase and dru gs have been

simul taneously acting upon a pati ent it is ,

diflicu lt in the ab sence o f criteria to decid e

, ,

whether a specific resul t is due t o one or to

the other or to bo th
, B ut it is a signifi cant .

fac t that in every instance o f dea th that has

,

occurred in the fast as covered by the write r s ,

’

e x perien ce each of the su bj ects with but a

,

single e x c eption had been drugged in early ,

li fe and that the e ff ects upon organs as

, ,

shown in lack o f development w e r e such as ,

would have resul te d from im peded ne rve ac

tion caused by an active poison ; and the re
p o ndera n ce o f evidence gathered in ese
936
D IFFI CUL TI E S M ET IN FAS T IN G

post mortem findings lies on the side of drug

p aralysis .

T he constant u se of drugs to suppress dis

ease symp toms in the growing child not only ,

lower s physical resistance but also retards

,

the deve lopment o f its organ s in whol e o r in

,

part while bony framework and tissue strue

,
-

t ure continu e to advance to norm al adult di

mension The disp a rity presented by organs
.

o f infan t ile size e nclosed in a body ful ly ma

tu red is bound to cause severe forms o f fu nc

tional trouble that will end in chronic dis
ea se s ince the und e rsized organs are not
,

equal to the demands made upon them The .

funct ion that is predomin an t while the fast

is in progress is that of eli mination and it is ,

e asy to understand that in a b ody in which

,

po rtions o f the intestin al tract are under di

mension or in which one or oth e r o f the vital
,

organs is mechani cally imperfect the work ,

o f ridding the syst em of a ccu mulated poison

is beyond the power o f the organi sm to se
complish A s a cons e quence to the degree
.
,

in which organi c defects exist is d etermi ned

,

the s eve rity of the st ruggle with dis e ase to ,

use o rthodo x phraseology In natural terms

.
,

the e ff ort which is b e ing mad e to cast ou t

gathered impurity is made propor tionately
93 7
 F AS TING

more difficul t when organi c im perfect ions ex

ist In the adul t body chronic functional
.
,

disease or drugs may produce like e ff e cts ,

but here the organs conce rn e d are fully de

v elo e d
p ,and the r e sul ts a r e shown not in ,

a rrest e d develop m ent but in lesions or in

, ,

Wh en e ve r in the fast or o therwi se be cau se

, ,

o f organs undev e loped or functionally par

a lyz e d t he products o f e limination cannot be

,

evacuated through natur al channe ls r e ab ,

sorption o f waste occur s and the r e sul t is ,

displayed m a genera l poisoning of the blood

supply Thi s condition 1 8 known as auto in
.

to xication or as ex pressed b e fore the body

, , ,

is poison e d by its ow n d ecomposition T his .

state gives rise in the subj ect to manifesta

tions that may b e come a larmi ng The brain .

is a ff ected to the extent of mild d e lirium ,

hiccoughs app e ar o r the pati ent may sink

,

into stupor M e chanical means o f re lief in

.

the forms o f the e n ema and of g en era l mas

sage of the body must be r e sorted to and
pli e d to the utmost in conn ection with hot
appli cations to the spin e and a bdomen In .

cases not und e r car e ful and exp e ri enced

gui dance the situation related will assuredly
prove disastrous and h e rein li e s one of the
,

ass
 FASTING

into x ication from overfeed ing are speedily

restored when food is d eni ed In fa ct auto .
,

into xication take s place more ofte n wh en

feedin g than when fasting and the ove rfed ,

body produces poisons the e ffects o f which

upon mentality are more dread and more
lasting than tho se o f alcohol its elf .

The sole explanation of the presence o f

toxins in the human body lies in the inability
of the elimin ative organs to funct ion They .

cannot dis pose o f the r e fuse in qu antity to

balance intake In the fast when difficul ty
.
,

is encountere d in thi s respect lack o f func ,

tional power is indicated and this is d u e in

,

most inst anc es to congenital organic d e fect

or to early drug paralysis .

The physician who has had l on g ex pe ri

e nce in handling dis e ase as a unity 18 not co n

cemed l n any s e ns e with t he pr e s e n ce o r ab

sence of the various toxins nor by the sym

toms in evid en ce exce pt as indice s of th
,

, e

sta te of funct ioni ng of the int e rnal organs .

If these organs are in no rmal condition ,

e xc e ss food may interfere with function

through conge stion But the vital parts o f
.

the human body are in many instances drug

paralyzed o r foo d stimulated and me dically
-

, ,

speaking they are brought into acti on by the

,

940
D IFFI CUL TI E S ME T IN FAS TI NG

a dministration of addition al drugs or by fur

the r food stimul us
-
E limination can then
.

take place only abnormally with in all cas es

, , ,

but partial evacuation of body waste I n .

the natural tre atment of dis ease the char ,

act e r of the toxin n eed not be considere d save ,

in so f a r as it is an indication o f the s everity

o f dis e as e while the thought paramount d e als
,

with the co ndition of the organs rather than

with the nature of the circul ating poison .

The statem ent is oft en made that the fast

in gpati e nt subsists upon his o wn bo dy whil e
food is d enied This is absurd f or the domi
.
,

nant process in action at this tim e is that o f

e limination of wast e which at no point was
,

a vailabl e for re pair of tissue and which , ,

s to red throughout the system acted only as ,

an obstacl e in the avenue s o f vitality This .

is so even of that part o f the re fuse that had

e ntered into cell composition since the pres,

ence of dis e ase has mad e apparent the fact

that this matt er has b een rend ered harmful

by decomposition through d elay or arrest o f
e limination The diminution in weight of
.

the body d u ring a fast is due to the removal

o f waste and the chang e in cell life that is
,

taking place must be continue d until naught

but h e althy tissue and tissue nourishment re
9 41
 FASTING

main The new b ody thus created is th en

.

ready for the process o f rebuilding upon nor

mal lines .

The di ff e r enti a tion b e twee n starvation

and fasting is mad e upon the basis that stary
ation is the cons equence of food d e ni ed either ,

by accident or d esign to a syst em cl amoring

,

f o r suste n a nc e and that fasting consists in

,

intentional abstin ence from food by a system

diseased and as a result non desirous of
, ,
-

sust enance until re sted cleans ed and again , ,

re ady for the labor of dig e stion This might .

be admitted and yet not alt er the fact that

the process e s in operation a re largely ident
ical But it ha s b een obs e rv e d that the hu
.

man body carri es a r es e rv e store of n e rve sus

t enance both in health and in dis e ase ; hence
, ,

the process o f fa sting un d e rt a k e n only when

,

dis e ase is in evid ence is not at all analogous

,

to that o f st a rvation which ca n occur only

,

wh en the supply of ne rv e sust enance is ex

hau st ed or wh en as is the cas e in instance s
, , ,

of overfe eding and mal assimilation the -

brain is preve nt e d from utilizing its store d

nou rishment through obstructe d channels o f
supply The pati ent may starve though
.
,

well f e d ; and i n applying the fast k ee ping

-

the di stinction as stat ed in mind starvation ,

c4c
 FASTING

past as a preventive and a cure for di sease ,

it s therapeutic possibili ties have never hereto

fore be en scientifically applied H ence it
.

resul ts that modern employment of the

m ethod places the practitione r in such posi
tion that no authorities can be consulted and,

no personal gui dance or advice can b e tu rned

to f or aid in times o f stress E arly years o f
.

practice in these circumstances often de

velo ped ca s e s in which the patient seemingly
declined to the point o f death Famil y and
.

friends at once condemned the physician and

the treatment and a howling publi c stood
,
“ ”
waiting to cry starvation
, , It m attered
not that the patient had be en given up to die
by orthodoxy nor that the fast had been
,

sought as a last resort O ftentim es only the

.

su ff erer him self was in sympathy with the

method and his condi tion was aggravated to
,

the last d e gree by opposition .

A state of a ff airs such as de scribed in

duces in a consci entious mi nd intense concen
t ration on the work in progress No point
.

that may conduce to favorable issue is over

look e d ; no natural law or accessory is per
mitte d to remain without investigation .

M erely selfish considerations might here

prove motives suffici ent for ea rnest en
D IFFI CUL T I E S M E T IN FAS T IN G

d e a v or —
the d e sire for success the hOpe, of

triumphing over oth er schoo ls But a .

broad er deep e r fe eling will actu ate the true

,

stud ent of natur e In him a p e rfect unde r

stan di ng o f the law o f cause and e ff ect—the
.

giving o f a truth to the world the r eli ef o f ,

physical su ff e ring— are the stimuli that

bring succ e ss to his work and cause him to
surmount the obstacles in his way .

The first di scov ery o f the e fficacy o f the fast

in functional di s e ase was rapi dl y followed
by a kn owl e dge o f its value as a di agnostic
agent The method never fails to un cover
.

e v e ry weak point in a diseased body to re ,

ve al the exact location of organic distress or

d e fect Then came the value of proper ap
.

pro a ch to abstinen ce through gradual dimin

u t ion o f intak e thus insur i ng systemi c ac
,

co mod a tio n to the physiological change in

volved a nd permitting elimination naturally
,

to dominat e the functions Here too the .

, ,

e nema and the bath prov e d of greatest as

sist an ce in disposing of e liminative products .

A s elimination proceeds the observe r is ,

p e rmitt ed to greater or less extent to deter

m in e the condition o f function o f the various
organs and if m e chanical o r structu ral de
, ,

feet is present it is certa in to be detect ed

,
.

945
 F A STING

The proce ss of gradual l e ss ening of food

supply in all s av e a cut e dis ease is the normal
, ,

—
rational m ethod to follow first for the ,

physica l r e asons given and second b ecause

, ,

of ignorant Opposition on the part of the

public and the m edical profe ssion Am ple .

time is thus give n to di scov er what is pos

sibl e und e r a di e t and the necessi ty of con
,

t inu in gthe tre a tment by a fast is fortifie d

by the knowl e dge thus obtain ed .

Wh en m er ely fu nctional diseas e 13 in que s

tion the c a s e in treatme nt I S simplicity its elf
, ,

unl e ss dissi pation exce ssiv e n ervous ex pendi

,

ture o r seri ous blood taint has l a rgely pro

, ,

hibit ed vital e xpr e ssion . P ati ents of this

class are ord inarily abl e to care for th em
s e lv es throughout a fast o f average length .

Whenever organic dis eas e exists wh ether ,

in the form given in C lass 2 or that in C lass

,

3 in pr e vious discussion ( p a g e 8 7 ) u nple as

ant symptoms are bound to arise And at .

tim e s all the courage and the wisdom o f long

e xp e ri e nce in handling diseas e by the method

of nature are needed to meet the conditions .

! nowl e dge o f the causes o f deli ri um of ,

stupor o f any and all o f the symptoms of

,

toxic poisoning none of which can be wholly

,

overcome in extreme organic di s ea s e makes ,

946
 FASTING

ble to locate by palpation o r feeling with the

,

hand the lowe r bowel throughout its extent

, ,

by u s ing a copious enema aft er the intestin e

has been flushed of its contents Fi lling the .

colon with water rounds it ou t and its form ,

and position can th en readily be discover e d

through the walls o f the abdomen I n all .

case s wh ere extreme mental disturbance was

noted the transvers e portion of the lowe r
,

bowel had falled from its normal position to

the re gion of the bladd e r In this situation
.

the contents o f the small in t estine when di s ,

charged into the caecum w ere incapable of

,

rapid evacuation eve n with the assistance o f

,

the enema and brain cong e stion followed the

,

e xtreme condition o f auto intoxication pro -

d u ced b y the absorption of the fe rm e nt thus

created I t has b een dwelt upon in the chap
.

ter on m e ntal and bodily reaction that

physical disea se induce s m ental disturbance .

Th e re can be no doubt that many inmates o f

asylums are curable through the relief o f
conditions id entical with thos e h ere describ ed .

A regular physician prominent as an ex p ert

,

o n insanity r e cently made the following pub

,

li shed st a t ement : F or the ch ecking o f in

sanity the crying ne e d is a study of the
,

causes o f the malady with a view to its pre

a4s
D IFFI CUL TI E S ME T IN FAS T ING

vention . Nine tenths of the inmates of ou r

-

insane asylums are incurable according to ,

o ur pre sent k nowledge What an argum ent

.

”
f or the prevention o f the di sease !
O the r instances where organic develop
m ent o f the small int es tin e s has b een arrested
in early life through di se ase and drugs give ,

rise to unple asant sympto ms an d requi re

most care ful attention not only in the fast
, ,

but in the afte r p e riod o f di eting T hese .

cases neve r occasion mental cris es however , .

T he lat ter are un iforml y confined to ih

stances su ch as cite d above .

As has b een said fear the dre ad of death

, ,

by starva tion calls down upon the fasting

,

patient de spite the courage o f hi s convi e

,

tions the torture that follows acts in oppo

,

sitiou to the wish e s o f a ff ection An d ofte n

.
, ,

in sheer hopele ssn e ss of family cooperation ,

and in spite of personal fa ith and benefit ,

the fast is abandoned and drugs are a gain

re su med .

In the fast the re can be no dan g er o f

star vation The great safeguard of all life
— —
.

is hunger true hunger not appetite And .

,

when the process o f purifi cation is complete ,

hunger retu rns and food must be supplied .

Skill in the treatment o f disease by natu r al

94 9
 FASTING

methods cannot be acquired from book s for ,

there are non e in print as yet with detail

sufficient to cove r all points Ye ars of ex
.

p e rie nce in applying the method to ailing

bodi e s alone can give the knowle dge nece s
sary for overcoming the di fficulti e s that may
and do aris e And constant practice and ob
.

s e rvation o f the phenomena o f the fast con

vincingly establi sh that the b e ginnin gs o f
dis ease lie at the thr eshold of dig estion Its
.

s eeds a re sown in the mouth while stomach

,

a nd intestin e s inj ured by food improp e rly

,

masticate d and work e d beyond limi t by ov er

,

supply continue and conserve their propaga

,

tion I mpair e d di gestion and im pure blood

.

are cause and e ff ect .

I t cannot be too strongly borne in mind

that fasting in itself I S but a means to an
e nd a cl e ansing and resting process that pre
,

pares the human body f or right living in

future tim e A cure cannot be accomplish ed
.

until the in di vidual cooperating with na

,

tur e completes what the fast began

,
.
 C HAP TER X VII
C U RE S BY FAS T I N G

HE cases de al t with in the following

chapte r a re typical but not exhaustive .

T h ey a re s ele cte d from a large num

ber sol ely beca us e of their r epres entative
character and as evi dence that the fast
,

re aches indiscriminately but in like manne r

a ll phases o f t he fun ctional bodily ills and ,

all organi c di s eas e that is not b eyond re pair .

I n the first instance the patient was a fflict

ed with the di s e as e symptom known as in
fl ammat ory rheumatism When first se en
.
,

the boy f o r he was but sevent een y ears o f

,

age was in a pre carious condition The case

, .

had bee n giv en up by the me dical adviser as

hopel ess and a limi t o f twenty four hours
,
-

had been set within which death must occur .

In the opinion o f the physici a n the onl y thing

that could be done w a s to alleviate the ex
cruciating pain with opiat es thus permitting
,

dissolution to take place while the youth was

un conscious from their influ ence T he dis .

9 53
 FASTING

tract e d family as a last resort turned to the

, ,

fasting method o f tre atm ent and a d escrip ,

tion o f the condition o f the youn g man will

perhaps throw stronger li ght upon the con
trast that is drawn between the methods o f
natur e and thos e of man .

T he bo y had b e en in bed for five weeks ; his

body displaye d all of the evid e nce s of diseas e
and of the r em e die s that had b e e n applied .

His left arm wrist and hand w er e grea tly

, ,

swollen and painful as w er e also both knees

,

and ankles The fa ce was flushe d the br e ath

.
,

ing stertorous the p ul s e fluttering and irre

,

gul ar while the body t emperature was 1 05

,

degrees In all resp ects the working foun

.

dation was insecure and the pr e ce ding weeks

,

of m e di cal tr e atment had b e e n worse than

wasted from the standpoint o f the natural .

F or two o f these we eks the h e art action had

been stimulat e d with digitalis and strych
n ine ; food had been force d upon an unwill
ing stomach as many times daily as the pa
tient could be induce d to swallow ; and wh en ,

pain had becom e too gr eat to be borne or , ,

when delirium intervened cod ein and other ,

opiates had be en used un sparingly In addi .

tion within seven days b e fore change of

,

trea tm ent occurr e d two quarts of brandy

,

954
 FASTING

were but slightly above normal D uring this .

interval two enemas daily had been administ

ered and mass e s o f M pacted fece s had bee n
removed on each occasion B athing of the .

b ody twice each day had relieve d discomfort ,

and at the end of the first week tub b aths -

were begun and prove d o f great assistance in

the final reduction o f fil thy int ernal condi
tion by aiding and increasing e limination .

T he fast was broken on the eleventh day

with a small quantity o f tomato broth fed
m orning and night and the amount of food
,

was increased as the patient became able to

take care of additional supply Five weeks .

from the day o f the beginni ng of tr e atment ,

the youth was enj oying a walk o f several

miles daily and after its discontinuance he
, , ,

adhered strictly to the diet and exercise pre

scribed and rapidly develop ed a healthy and
ro bust physique .

T he second cas e a man 61 year s of age

, ,

was stricken with paralysis of the entire right

side and after vain search within the domain
, ,

o f m edicine began preparation for a com

,

p let e fast .T he preparatory period cove re d

but ten days a time to o short to accomplish

,

wholly satisfactory resul ts but at its com ,

letion a f as t of forty days Which proved

p ,

95 6
 CURES BY FASTING

eminently successful in its final outcome was ,

u n dertaken. P aralysis as is well unde rstood

, ,

is cau sed directly by blood coagulation in spe

cifi c localiti e s o f the brain tissue But one
.

course can b e recommended— to rely upon

natural processes to absorb the clot thus re ,

moving pressure and releasing nerve force .

C onstant accumul ation o f food material in

such circumstances simply p rolongs condi
tions that encourage excessive density of the
blood but the fast without argu ment
, , ,

through rest and elimination causes natural

,

assistance to be utilized in removing obstru c

tion to the passage o f nerve for ce through
nerve channels .

The history of the case was such as will be

found in every ins tance when apoplectic con
di tions are present in any in di vidual The .

patient refe rr e d to weighed at the time o f

s eizure 2 1 4 pounds E ach day o f ab stinence
.

testified to a loss in avoirdupois and at the , ,

end o f the fast the latter had been reduced

,

to 1 7 4 po u nds
1 . Bile in abundance was dis
charged with the enemas and at intervals
,

vomi ting o f the same fluid occurred The .

fast was broken by the administration of

grape j uice and that of oranges Within a .

few days food more solid was ingested I t .

9 57
 FASTING

is as well to quote from a p ersonal letter

dat e d aft e r re covery for the subsequent his
tory o f the case .

The l etter reads I was totally incapa

'

cit ate d from actual manual labor o f any kind

before my fast and I li ved in dr ead of a
,

second stroke with a strange unnatural de

, ,

pression e vid ent upon slight over ex ertion -

.

Great drowsine ss a ff ect e d me and on occa ,

sions I woul d sl eep thirty to thirty s i x hours -

almost without intermission M y mentality .

was impaired my eyesight defective and my

, ,

speech impeded M y right hand and arm

.

were clumsy and weak and a t this stage all,

ordinary human aid seeme d powerless .

“
I began the fast and contrary to my ex
, ,

p e ct at io
,n s I had no hunger from the third
day to the fortieth T o a ff irm that there was
.

no inconvenience howeve r would be untrue

, , ,

f or by eve ry ave nu e o f elimination most o f

fensive im purities w e re thrown o ff and at ,

times these coul d not have been borne had

the obj e ct b een lost sight of M y weight .
,

b e fore I undertook the fast was 228 pounds ,

and the girth o f my abdomen 45 inches , .

Aft e r I had compl eted the total abstin ence

period I weighed 1 7 4 pounds and m easur ed
, ,

in girth 3 8 72 inch es I am cured of my

.

258
 FASTING

of coordination in movement and by the ,

fourte enth day all muscul ar signs of nervou s

ness had completely disappeared .

N o unusual symptoms developed in this

case T he enemas brought away solid mat
.

ter until the seventeenth day and thereafter ,

but a s mall quantity of biliou s fluid O steo .

pathic m anipulation wa s daily resorted to ,

and the loss in weight was not remark able .

T here were almost no unpleasant symptoms ,

and f or thi s an outdoo r li fe and an e quable

disposition and temperament were larg ely re
sponsible After a time devoted to j udi cio us
.

ex ercises the patient wa s dis charged com

,

p tely restored to health and with no remai n

l e

ing traces o f the nervous disorder of former

days An added b enefit was displayed in
.

the fact that although there had been decided

,

impairment o f sight myopic in charact er the

, ,

patient was able to dispense with lenses six

wee ks a fter the b e g inning o f the fast .

T he distressing affliction epilepsy is a dis

, ,

e ase symptom that m ay be traced to the

sour ce o f all functional di sorder the dige s ,

tive machinery and the case o f a young

,

woman 29 years of age will demonstrate the

, ,

e ff ect o f the fast and its adj uncts upon this

disease characteristic B efore entering upon

.

9 60
 CURE S BY FASTING

the fast the patient had tentatively foll owed

,

a diet and had noted d e cided improvem ent in

,

general health but no cessation of the attacks

,

peculiar to the di sease n amed M edical at .

tendance had b een continuous for years ,

and no improvement ha d re sul ted ; rather the

reverse for the epileptic seizures had in
,

creas ed in number and in severity as tim e

elapsed At the beginning of the fast the
.

attacks were recurring at intervals o f two

wee ks and the latest seizure had happened
,

but three days before F or fi fty six days .

-

food was deni ed and from the moment of

, ,

the inception of the fast to thi s pr es ent writ

ing not a sin gle convuls ion has occurred nor ,

an y semblance o f an attack whil e the gen ,

eral h e alth of the patient has been better tha n

at any time o f her life .

T he fast in thi s ins tance is to b e noted in

several m inor ways o ne o f which is the fact
,

that on each of the fif ty six days the patient -

walk ed a distance of at l e ast tw o miles ; an

other that on the fort ieth day o f abstinence
,

a large mass of dead intestinal worms passed

from the bowels in the enema Improvement .

was constant from the first but after the , ,

evacuation of these parasites it was increased ,

most rapidl y and natural hung er ass erted it

,

9 61
 FASTING

self on the fif ty fi f th day The loss in w eight

-
.

was normal avera ging abo ut three quart ers

,
-

of a poun d a day .

The m edi cal history of the nex t instance

t ells of constant treatment for thi rty years
for the disease symptom known as di ff use
psoriasis At the time that the patient turn e d
.

to nat u ral methods the inflamed bleedin g

, ,

s u rface s chara cteristic of the symptom cov

e red at least one third o f the skin o f the body
-

and we re not confined to any particul ar local

ity but appeared indi scriminately on trunk
, ,

arms and l egs ; while hands face and feet

, , ,

we re not a ff ected T he sore s were exudi ng

.

blo od and serum and were itching intolerably ,

so much so that in order to exist in anything

approaching com fort local application o f ,

m e rcurial preparations had long been resort

e d to to r e lieve the pain and inconveni ence .

But these proved onl y temporary in e ff e ct

and the symptom returned in a short tim e
more angry and more obstinate .

The general health o f the patient w as e x

cellent and to this a strong constitution and
,

a robust physi que contributed P erhaps as .

,

is oft en the case the outlet that nature had

,

establish e d in this instance was most s alutary

in so far as the appearance o f other diseas e
962
 FASTING

subsidence o f disease early opposition w as

,

conquered by faith in the outcome .

The fast was typical and was remark able

,

in nothing save its len gth The loss in weight

.

was not unusual and at the end o f the fast

,

but thirty two pounds had been elimi nated

-

and the patie nt weighed on this date 1 40

pounds Until the twenti eth day chilliness
.

and temperature below normal were noted ,

and while pulse and temperature remained

,

below reg i st e r in the early st age s by the si x th

,

we ek normal r e gister had b een reached T he .

enemas contained solid feces until one third -

o f the fast had b e en fin ished and therea fter

, ,

until the last week o f abstinence large quan ,

tities of yellowish whit e mucus were di s

-

charged T his catarrhal refuse indicated

.

that elimi nation had b e e n re established -

throu gh normal avenues U p to this point

.

the great er part o f internal fil th had been

cast o ff through the pores o f the s kin an ab ,

normal condition that had directly caused the

suppurating areas on the surface o f the body .

It wa s not until the fourth week that vis

ible M provement in the exudi ng s ores be
came noticeable in any de ee The itchi ng .

subsided with the cessation o f e x udation and ,

the latter began to dimi nish to an appreciable

9 64
 CURE S BY FASTING

ex ten t about the end o f the third week F rom .

the time mentioned until hun er returned ,

the inflamed areas rapidly b eale and healthy

s kin formed in patches that increased and
graduall y covered the d enuded spots .

After bre aking the fast the gene ral health

,

o f the patient continu e d excellent an d the

,

sole remaining signs of form er dis e ase were

the scarred edges surrounding the areas that
were last healed E ven these in time disap
.

peared and no trace e x cepting slight dis

, ,

coloration whi ch w as the result o f the pre

,

viou s medical treatment that the case had r e

ceived was left as a reminder o f the hideous
,

di sfigur ement of earli er years .

At no tim e du ring the long interval w ith

o u t f ood was any alarm felt concernin g the

ul timate outcome e ither by the patient or b y

her phy s ician Fear enters and dis aster re

.

sul ts in cas es not pro e rly co nducted s olely

p
because of ignorance of the physiology and
of the philosophy o f the f asting method o f
cu re an d the cas e is but another instance de
,

monstratingthe fact that in the absence o f

,

organic imp erfe ct ion there is positively no

,

dan ger in abstaining from food until natur e

asse rts that the elimi nation o f di sease is com
plet e
.

905
 FA ST I N G

An other case pres ents itself—that of a

woman 3 4 years old in which the fast was
,

und e rtak en for the r elief of gene ral disease

res ul ting from years of wrong living and o f
e rroneous tr e atm e nt O rganically spea king
.
,

th e re was a mechanical d e fect in the dorsal

ve rt ebrae two o f which had b e en displaced
,

in such manner as to compress the s pinal cord

thus causing complete par alysis of the lower
t runk and l egs The slipping of th es e ver
.

te brae w a s directly due to mal nutrition o f

-

the dorsal muscles and in all her life the

,

p ati ent had ne ver known a moment o f h ealth ,

w hile int e rmitt ently in e arlie r days s ev e re

feve rs had occurre d which fin ally created
,

contractions in the descending colon a con,

dition that caus e d constipation and su bse

quent septicemia When first examin ed the
.
,

case had been b edridden for one y e ar and a ,

conge stive chill was the immediate s eve re

symptom that indicated the employment o f
othe r means than m edicine for cure The .

fast was entere d without preparation and ,

was carri e d to a succe ssful end aft er 5 8 days .

The medical history o f this case showed

an inherited t endency towards scroful a and ,

th er e had b e en manifest at intervals o ff ensive

running sores while the thumb and the in
,

266
 FASTING

subj acent cushion o f healthy fl esh proclaimed

that nat ural work o f r e pair had progressed
despite the abs ence of food This is the
.

point o f gre atest interest and import to b e

obs e rved in the treatm ent of this c a se when ,

it is rememb ered that the blood o f this woman

had possibly b een tainte d a t birth and had ,

be en poison e d and re poisone d for years by

consta nt additions to accumulate d food rub
bish E limination had n ev er b een succe sfully
.

accomplish e d in this body but once it could

, ,

proceed undisturb e d nature was abl e not

, ,

onl y to cast ou t existing impurity but also ,

to repair dis eas e d tissue from the store o f

healthy pabulum husb anded within .

T he res ul ts of the copious daily enemas

were notice able for their e xceeding fouln ess ,

and f or the large quant i ty o f dark bilious

fluid that was evacuated un til the thirtieth
day of the fast The loss in weight was not
.

rem arkable and amounted to but twenty

pounds and wh en it is consid er e d that the
, ,

patient weigh e d only 8 5 pounds at the be

ginnin g o f t he fast the proporti on of loss as
,

given in a late r tabl e was w ell carri ed ou t .

While the m echanical difficulty re ferr ed to

was not wholly r eli eve d at the compl etion o f
treatm ent the gener al h e alth of the patient
,

ass
 CURE S BY FASTING

was such at this time as to place her w ell fo r

ward on the ro a d to p erfe ct r e covery .

In concluding the history of this ca s e a t ,

tention is ag a in call e d to the h ealing of a

scro f u l ar a bsc e ss to the point of compl e te and

he althy closur e while the fast was in prog

re ss
.

Another instanc e is that of a woman o f 28

in whom poor nutrition and what is called a
bilious t emp erament had brought about a
condi tion that manife sted its elf in p e riodical
h ea daches and in melancholia with a t e ndency
toward mania But for the c ar e and d evotion
.

o f an old e r sist e r , the pati ent woul d have

been plac e d in an asylum long b e fore coming
und e r obs ervation In fact it was b ecause
.
,

the physician last consult e d ha d reco m

m ende d that she be re strain ed that her r ela
tiv es in d e spair r e sort e d to the fa st
, ,
.

E xamination showe d a p ul se cont inually

at 1 2 8 and a t emp eratu re that vari e d from
above to below normal with no app a rent rea
son The di et o f the pati ent had consist e d
.

larg ely o f meat and its extr a cts and this was
,

at once changed to v e ge table broths while ,

the da ily e n em a s we r e vigorously appli e d .

At first hot towe l packs we re us ed upon the

spine in ord er to control the circulation and
269
 FASTING

to ste ady the fluctu ating puls e bu t a fter a ,

short time th e s e we re discontinu ed since

h e art be at and t emp e rature mad e constant
improvement from the b e ginning D ark .
,

foul smelling disch a rge s that did not c e a se

-

until the l att e r part of the fa st form e d the

bulk of the li quid in the return ed enemas .

The pati ent showed extraordin a ry vitality

throughout the entire p e riod of 4 2 d ays of
abstinence from food and she daily walke d a
,

distance o f two mil e s unde rw ent ost eopathic

,

manipul ation a nd retur ne d to her home

,

without undue fatigu e Towards the e nd o f

.

treatme nt she was able and d e sirous to in

cre as e the a mount o f her ex e rcis e whil e her ,

mental condition improved from the v e ry

beginning of the dieting p e riod O n the .

thi rtieth day of fasting and th ere a fter the

youn g woman p e rformed her portion of the
housework well a nd ch ee rfully Hunge r re .

turn e d on the forty fi rst d ay and the fast

-

was brok e n on the morning o f the forty

thi rd Two weeks lat e r the sisters s ail ed for
.

their hom e abro ad and a l ette r written by the

,

p ati e nt since th eir a rrival shows a min d in

ev e ry way rational .

The cas e of a man 47 ye ars old who had

9270
 FASTING

ress under the fast T his pati ent ab stained

.

from food for twenty four days but pre p -

aration the fast and the period of di et after

, ,

the latt e r was conclude d cover e d a tim e o f ,

full six months When first und er observa

.

tion ex amination o f the sputu m showed

,

numb ers o f bacilli typical o f the symptom ;

both lun gs we re a ff e cted ; chill s with fever
occu rred daily in the afternoon ; in fact the ,

case displaye d all the signs characteristic o f

the symptom named After a liquid diet for
.

s everal we eks the fast was undertaken was

, ,

continu e d for twenty f our days and no un-

favorable conditions of any kind developed .

From the beginning an e xcessive discharge

o f s put u m occurred but this gradually di
,

minished un til evid ences o f the r eturn of

hunger appeared and at the several period
, ,

ical examinations made during the tim e of

fasting gene ral d e crease in the number of
,

bacilli was obse rv ed The en emas were con

.

st antly charg e d with bile and with old feces ,

and these products dis a pp ear ed only during

the last we ek o f the fast The chills and the .

fever vanished by the fourteenth day and , ,

when the sputum was e xamined on the

twenty second day of abstin ence there was
-
,

no trace of micro organism s General health

-
.

97 9
 C URE S BY FASTING

was marked by constant improvement afte r

the fast was brok en .

T he tr e atm ent o f tuberculosis o f the lun g s

by m e ans o f the fast to insure successful
,

issue must be undertaken before the stage

,

when e xce ssive structural break down o f -

lung tissue has occurr e d If attacked at this

.

tim e a cure is assure d O th e rwise the cas e

, .
,

cl asses its elf with that o f advanced orga nic

disease which in the light o f previous dis
, ,

cu ssion bars all r e m e dy

, .

T he symptom nam e d in the medi c al diag

nosis o f the n e xt case was valvular h e art dis
ease and prognosis assume d that the patient
,

had no hop e of r e cov ery Ther e w as great

.

pain in the r egions o f the h e art stom a ch and

, ,

liver and at tim e s in the abdomen The he art

, .

missed o ne beat in ev e ry thr ee ; and in view ,

o f the s e rio u sn e ss o f the condi tion the fast ,

was b egun without preparation imm e diately

upon coming unde r obs ervation E normous .

amounts of dark bili ous fluid came aw aywith

every en ema of which four we r e a dmi nis
,

t ere d daily throughout the fast E x cru eiat

.

ing pain and n ervous e xcit e m ent were e x

perience d until the tw enti eth day wh e n at ,

le ast a cupful o f gallston e s was evacuated .

T he s e continued to be pa s sed until the thir

2 73
 FASTING

t ieth day of the fast which was broke n on

,

the thirty fif th The weight 0 the patient

-
.
"

at compl etion was 1 7 4 pounds a e duction o f ,

'

tw enty pounds in thirty five d z /s In the-

. .

e arly part o f this fast there was great chilli

n ess but t emperature and pul se re ach ed

,

normal by the twentieth day the latter miss ,

ing no beats B e fore this the pulse had be e n

.

at times above at tim e s b elow register ac

,

cording to the degree of activity of the ciren

lating poison From the Bre akin g of the
.

fast all functions became an 1 continued nor

mal ; weight was gained gradually and soon ,

reached 1 8 5 pounds ; and from the com

p le t io n of treatm e nt the general health was
perfect .

An inte resting add endum to this case is

the fact that the pati ent after strict ly fol
,

lowing the rul e s prescribe d as to diet habits , ,

and ex e rcis e for at least a ye ar and a half

after restoration to h ealth laps e d and fell ,

into laxness both in e ating and in drinking ,

with the resul t that tw o years subsequent

,

to the first attack an abscess formed upon

,

the floor of the stomach and the patient ,

again came und er observation and tr e atment ,

and underwent a s e cond fast of forty five -

days The condition a t this tim e gave g

. reat
927 4.
 FASTING

i mprov ement was cons tant and p ermanent .

I n an other instance the fast was unde r

taken for the purpose of correcting fun c
tional h e art dis e as e coupled with e x treme
,

o besi ty by a woman 4 1 y ears o f a ge whose

, ,

weight was 2 00 pounds The patient showed .

no medical history excepting that she had

,

submitted to an op e ration som e years pre

vious for the dis e ase symptom known as sal

ping itis T hroughout the fast the patient

.

was able to attend to her home duties and

to tak e a daily walk to and from the office
of an osteopathic practitioner and these acts ,

we re easily accomplished during the long

fast of six ty thre e days T he re was but little
-
.

’
faster s chilli ness and the re were no un
,

usual symptoms exc eptin g that at about

, ,

t he period includ e d b e tw ee n t he thirti eth and

fo rt ieth days a gain in weight o f from tw o
,

to three pounds daily occu rre d after which ,

a gradual d ecre as e continued as before until , ,

the end o f the fa st when w e ight was reduced

,

to 1 4 0 pounds and heart di st urbance had en

,

t irely disapp e are d .

M edical diagnosis o f the next case was

bas e d upon dark ill sm elling fe cal discharge
,
-

and the symptom was de eme d an indication

of the existence o f cancer of the stomach .

9 76
 A H
. h rt y
. Ag
e, tn y r C di gi -
seve ea s
. a se a
o d
n se nc r o f th tom ch b y phy ici n
a s ca e e s a s a .

P ho to g r ph t k n a fi fti th d y o f f t j
a e ont e a as us
b for b r kin g it W i gh t t b ginnin g o f
e e ea e a e
f t 1 3 5 po nd \V ght t d o f f t 1 05
as , u s e1 a en as ,

po un d s . t m nt h l t r 1 75 po d
no o s a e , un s.
 FASTING

Of this symptom d emands immediat e Oper

ation and r emoval o f the app endix O b .

servation o f numb ers of cas e s le ad s t o the

b e lief that an inflame d app endi x is a symp
tom most rar e in occurrence T he mod ern
.

craze f o r cutting living fle sh 1 s responsible

f or snap j udgm ent m diagnosis and gas in ,

the caecum gall ston e s inflammation Of

, ,

the ovary or Of the bowel in the ileo caecal -

region all have be en mistak en for an in

,

flamed appendix and have occasioned u nnec

essary Operations with s e rious and p erhap s
fatal shock.

I n the treatment o f any intestinal infl am

m ation appendicitis includ ed no assistance
, ,

is needed other than that whi ch compl ete rest

Of the digestive tract and constant appli ca
tion o f the e nema a ff ord P ain ceases and
.

fever is reduce d in every un complicate d in

stance by the end o f the third day and the ,

sole necessity for the continuance o f the fast

is found in seek ing perfect resul ts and the
general welfare Of the patient .

A young man 2 3 years o f age O ff ers a

, ,

case o f the insanity o f syphilis The blood

.

taint was acqui red by contact and when Ob

, ,

served and first und e r treatment pre sented ,

what is known as the s e condary stage Of the

9 78
 CURES BY FASTING

disease sym p tom named T he mental con .

dition o f the p a ti ent was such that no phy

sical act was un der control and all a bnormal ,

t endencies pursued erotic chann e ls H is .

weight when treatment began was 1 5 0

pounds Afte r low diet and an absolute fast
.

o f tw enty eight days the time Of die t ing and

-

o f the fast having occupied three months ,

we ight was reduced to 6 7 pounds The re .

were no unusual symptoms during the period

Of fasting but progress toward sani ty was
,

daily noticeabl e and at the end o f the tim e

, ,

mentioned mental b alance was ent irely re

,

sto red whil e the blood taint has n ever sin ce

,

given any evidence that it ever e xisted .

A young man 1 9 year s Old who had b een

, ,

led into habits m ent al and physical detri

, ,

m ental to normal development became as a , ,

resu lt a victim o f the dis e ase symptom

, ,

e pilepsy For five years he su ff e red from

.

the fits charact eristic o f the mal ady recur ,

rent at intervals of from one to two weeks .

M edicin e had been app ealed to in vain and ,

when the fast was proposed it was dis ,

covered after ca reful examination that the

, ,

youth was ad dicted to masturbation which , ,

in instance s o f thi s nature is mor e Of a symp ,

tom than a cause A co ndi tion Of low phy

.

979
 FASTING

sica ltone seems rather to in duce a habit of

this kin d and the young man was no ex ce p
,

tion to the rul e For five months a regim e

.

of restrict ed d i et and of fasting was pur

sue d The absolut e fa st inte rmitt ently in
.

'

clud e d in thi s t ime occupi e d a t ot al o f sixty

days Symptoms gradually subsid ed and
.
,

the r e curr e nc e O f t he e pil eptic s e izur e s b e

came reduce d to such an e xte nt that at the ,

e nd of the second short f a st four w e eks in ,

t ervened be t we e n attacks ; and wh e n fee ding ,

was permanently r e sume d no furth e r s eiz ,

ur e s were appre h end ed The w eight O f the .

patient was r educe d b e fore dis e as e was climi

nat e d to fi f ty e ight po un ds but from the
-

, ,

breaking o f the fast a gradual incr e ase took

,

place and at t he e nd O f di eting he had re

, , ,

g a in ed his normal O f 1 4 8 poun ds .

A woman 3 6 y e ars O f a ge at the end of

, ,

the third month of pre gn a ncy d ev elop ed

s e ve re bilious symptoms Vomiting o f dark .

gree n bil e and a condition ve rging upon

,

coma d em anded imm e diate action so the fa st ,

was begun a nd copious en em a s w er e adminis

t ere d twic e daily The latt e r brought from
.

the bowels dark discharge s which continue d ,

with no apparent im provem ent until the sev

e nt eenth day of abst inence O n the fifteenth .
,

98 3
 CURE S B Y FAS TING

sixt eenth a nd s event eenth days the p ati ent

,

lay in a s emi conscious st ate but revive d on

-

the morning of the e ight e e nth wh en t he ,

bowel p a ss ag e s w e r e alm ost n o rm al in color .

R apid r eturn to consciou sn e ss occurr e d and ,

incre as ed st re ngth marke d all succ e e ding

d a ys 1 mtil the twenty s e cond wh en the fast
-

w a s brok e n upon fruit juic e s a nd co nvale s ,

ce nce th e re aft er proceed e d without interrup

tion .

The loss in weight in this cas e was 2 2

pounds T emp e ratur e a nd puls e w ere con
.

t inu ally ab ov e individu al norm a l un til the

latt er p a rt of the fast the form e r r a nging,

be twe en 9 5 and 9 9 and the l atte r from 8 0

,

to 1 1 0 although a d ecid ed drop in e ach was

,

Obs e rve d a ft er the administration o f an

e n em a . N O r e turn of the n aus e a of pr eg
nancy occurre d afte r bre aking the fa st a nd ,

th er eafte r the gen e ral h e alth of t he p ati ent

was e xcell ent At te rm a n e ight pou nd child
.
-

was d elive r ed p erfe ctly d eve lop e d and vig

,

orou sly h e althy .

O n the fift e enth day of this fa st in vi ew ,

of the gravity O f the situ ation a consult a tion ,

was held with a f ormer m e dical advis er The

r
.

l att e r advocate d as the only m e ans of saving

,

the life O f the moth e r the imm e diate removal

,

98 1
 FASTING

of the fetus and the abandonm e nt Of the

,

fast H is Op inion was overruled howeve r

.
, ,

and the resul t o f the case fully j ustifie d the

stand taken As the o fficiating physician at
.

the confinem e nt five months lat e r he e x

, ,

press e d himself conce rning the ease o f d e

live ry and the r emarkabl e vitality of the in
fant and acknowledge d his e rror in j udg
,

ment by a comple t e reversal O f his condem

nation Of the fast .

An analogous cas e 13 that Of a woman o f

2 7 wife Of a practicing physici a n She was
, .

b etwee n thre e a nd four months pregnant ,

a nd was su ff ering s ev e r e pain in the r e gion

of the uterus and in that Of the stomach .

The form er organ was found to be displaced .

Naus e a and vomiting we re constantly dis

tressing the pati ent wh e n the cas e was pre
s ented and the fast d e cided upon A pre .

paratory period Of twelve days on liquid di e t

preceded the latt e r which continue d for
,

thirty days N O unusual symptoms aros e

.

durin g this time and constant improvem ent

,

was note d from the be g i nn ing the s e ns a tion

,

Of naus ea decreasing successively and disap

pearing about the twenti eth day with no

return thereaft e r P ul se and temperature
.

remained slightly b elow norm al until eating

98 9
 FASTING

com e so intens e that the weight o f the bed

clothe s w a s unb e arabl e T h e physician
.

whom w e e —
call d o ne of the re gular school
—promptly diagnos e d the c a s e a s o ne O f in
fl ammat o ry rh eumatism He a dvised the
.

u se of hot applic ations to subdu e t he pain ,

a n d insist e d on putting the left kn e e which ,

“
was t he wors e in a splint so that it coul d
,

not b e moved O n his s e cond or third visit

.

he di scov e r ed mitra l r e gurgit a tion that com ,

mon and ominous symptom showing that ,

the syste mic poisoning ha d a ff e cted the

valve s Of the h e art His prognosis was most
.

unfavorable He s a id that the acut e stage

.

woul d l a st prob ably six we eks and th a t it ,

would l e ave the patient with organi c h e art

troubl e.

“
At this point w e d e cide d to r e sort to a
m ethod in which w e ha d long b eli eve d but ,

whi ch w e ha d fa il e d to try a t the outset of

this sickne ss b e caus e w e ha d not re alized the
seriousne ss of the c a s e W e discharge d the
.

physician and b eg a n the tr e atment d e scrib ed

herein und er the dir e ction O f a comp et ent
natural practitione r S he took O ff the splint
.

and gave both kn e e s a c ar e ful but thorough

r ubbing . Th ey had b ee n a ppar ently too
sensitive to touch b e for e this but by the ,

984
Tw o F ast in g bj ct —F T on th ri ght J T n l ft
Su e s
~
. e , . . O e
l r g r boy f t d tw l d y d w
.

F T , t he a
. . e as e e ve a s an as

on l mit d di t i w k t h n took
,
a i e e cond f t o f
s x ee s, e a se as

t w nt y tw d y
e Th child w
-
o t o t lly b lind in con
a s . e as a
nec ti n w it h o r infl mm tory rh m ti m A m
se ve e a a eu a s . co

pl t c r
e e ff ct d w ith i gh t compl t ly r t or d
u e e e e s e e es e
m ll r boy f t d
.

J T th.
, e s n d y for tom ch
a e , as e se ve a s s a
d b w l t ro b l P ho t o gr ph t k n
.

an o e u y r ft r
e . a a e o ne ea a e

t h f t o f th
e as m ll r child d e s nd h lf y r
a e , an o ne a o ne -
a ea s
a ft r th lon g f t o f t h l r g r boy
e e as e a e .
 FASTING

At the tim e o f writing two y e ars from

,

the dat e O f the last fast th e re has been no

,

re currence o f e ither the throat trouble rh eu ,

matism or eye trouble and a regular physi

, ,

cian a friend O f t he family who e xamined

, ,

the boy a f e w months ago pronounce d his ,

”
h e art p e rfect
.

T he next and l a st case is that o f a cancer

of the right eyelid O f twelve years sta nding
in a man 6 2 y e ars Old The pati ent had been
.

twice op e rated upon without success and the ,

cance r made its third app e arance in most

virulent form A consultation with a medi
.

al sp e cialist re sult e d in ren ewe d r eco m

mendation o f the knife to which the pati ent
re fused to submit H e be gan pr e paration
.

f or a fast which last e d fort y five days and -

a t the e x piration of this p e riod all th a t r e

mained Of the suppurating sore was a red

dish scar Of its forme r s eat Four years late r
.

his personal r eport of the c as e shows no

symptom O f re curr ence upon the eyelid o r
e ls e wh e re
, and gene ral h ealth sup e rb The .

e radication of this symptom of e xtreme

blood impurity by m e ans o f the fast fixes
the valu e Of the tre atm e nt in suppos e dly in
curable forms o f dis eas e It bears ou t com
.

ple tely the contention that diseas e is a unity ,

98 6
 CURE S BY FASTING

a nd that its cure li e s in the a ppli cation Of

the singl e m ethod Of nature e limi nation , .

C a nce r is m erely a symptom o f g en e ral dis

e as e , a nd it may be e r a dica t e d wh e n its

rava ge s have not involve d an orga n to the

e xt e nt O f r e nd e ring it incap a bl e Of function .

A cance r a tumor are e vid ences of

, ,

n ature s e conomy in gathe ring her forces Of

’

cure at a s ingl e point M edicine s eeks to

.

“ ”
drive it in ; surge ry to cut it out ; n e ithe r
succeeds in removing its c aus e E ve n though .

the actu a l growth and its n e arby ramifica

tions a re e xtirp a t e d by the knife nature is ,

st ill imp ell ed to rid the body Of its circulat

ing impurity by constructing destructive
cells an d onl y blood purification can ac
,

complish a cur e .

The cas e s cit ed in this ch a pt e r are des

c ribe d w ith as little t e chn ical langu a g e as

possibl e and a re submitted in ord e r to show

,

the vari ety of symp toms tre at e d all o f which ,

reve rt to the fundame ntal principl e dwelt

upon and emph a sized in the text— that th ere
is but o ne symptom of dise a s e im pur e blood ;
,

and that it has but one caus e impaired di ,

ge st ion ; and further that any and all o f its

, ,

medically t e rm e d manifestations becaus e

-

they are resul ts from the sam e origin wi ll ,

98 7
 FASTING

yield to the reme dy indicated and prescribed

by nat u re .

Faster s chilliness referred to in a numb e r

’

O f instanc e s in the t e xt should not ne ces

,

sa rily convey the idea that body t e mperature

in th e s e cases was b elow normal At any .

time chilline ss is simply a condition Of sen

sation and in the fast it is du e to the absenc e
,

O f food stimulation as pr eviously d e scribed

, .

Then too it is to be recalled that normal

, ,

pul se and normal temp e rature a re relative

terms and that their limits vary with the
,

individual In many Of the cases quoted and

.

in others not mention ed t emp e ratur e was

,

below register during part Of the fast but ,

the application of the treatm ent and its ac

cessorie s invariably restor e d th e se condition s

to normal f o r the particul ar patient .

Attention has bee n drawn to the fact that

when death has occurre d during the fast the ,

organic trouble r eveale d showe d in each in

stance that some paralyzing influence had
interfere d in e arly life with the functions
and had retarded the development or strue
tu rall y a ff ected the organs O riginal defect s
.

thus caused have always been located in the

organs Of digestion which displaye d con
,

tractions accum ulations of morbid or Of

,

98 8
 F A S TING

de generation o f one or other Of the large

d igestive glands—the liver the spleen and
—
, ,

the pancreas is also revealed In one par .

ticul ar subj ect the pancreas had b ecome a

m ere cartilaginou s repli ca of the original
organ a petrified reminder of its forrner s elf
'

, .

I n another case a hardened ring Of mus

,

cul ar materi al had brought the walls O f the

sto m ach t o such a state o f contraction that
distinct and separate pouches were formed ,

and the floor Of the organ at the contract ion

lay within a half inch o f its upper wall
-
.

C ontractions e x isted also throughout the

length of the small intestines but those por ,

tions which were in fu nctional state between

, ,

showed conclusively that the organ had

fully developed and had b een originally o f
,

normal size and function but had been acted

,

upon by some corrosive agent that had

caused the deformation In other autopsie s
.

intestines were Of infantile size and ex hibit ,

e d a condition that made known the fact

that at no tim e after the third or fou rth

year of infancy had they ever added to their
structure or to their capability o f function .

The cause O f this result must also be ascribed

di r e ctly to the same malignant infl u ence
the administration O f poi s o ns O f paralyzin g
,

99 0
 CURE S BY FASTING

e xtracts that d e stroy n erve tra nsmi ssion and

,

occasion paralysis o f fu nction and of organ .

”
It is evident that the word sci ence d e , ,
“
fine d as to know cann ot be appli e d to
,

medicine as a cur a tive syst em f o r di seas e .

N O practitione r is abl e to fore t ell the e ff e ct

of a drug upon successive patie nts O ne .

may be stimulat ed anoth e r stu pefied and

, ,

these results may be reve rs ed wh en condi

tions are chang ed The physician Of the
.

futu re will forsake symptoms except as in

di cations for local reli e f and will devot e ,

hims elf to the prev ention o f di s ease to the ,

Science embodied in the unch a nging laws of

nat ure .

Whil e the rest and the purification that

result from a compl et e d fa st ar e the basis
of the m ethod Of tre atm e nt additional ,

me ans that can in any way assist in attainin g

resul ts are n eve r n e gle cte d and these ma ,

t e ri al aids n ee d not e v e r e nt e r the domain of

medicin e O st e opathic m anipulation int elli
.
,

g ently appli ed prove s O f great value at all

,

tim es dur ing the fast and there after C hiro .

practic adj ustment O f spinal column brings

reli e f and comfort And e ach of th e s e
.

schools with their limitations recogniz ed

, ,

a re yet to be reckoned as im port ant adj un cts

29 1
 F A S TI N G

on curative lines T he di ff erences that arise

.

among members of the m e dical profession

are such as cannot occur among those who
re ason with nature from cause to e ff e ct nor
,

is it necessary for the natural practitioner to

w ait u nt il disease has reached an acu te stage
'

making diagnosis .
 C HAP TER X V I I I

D E AT H I N THE FA S T

E AT H und e r m edic al tre a tment in ,

the maj ority o f insta nc e s r esults ,

from dis e as e that is function al not ,

.

organic In the e xp eri ence o f the writer

.
,

d e ath in the fast never has occurred wh en

merely F U N C T I O N AL dis e as e was pres
e nt and n ever has r e sul t e d from abstin enc e
,

from food but w a s the inevitabl e conse

,

q u e nce of obst r uction by O R G A N I C im

perfe ction o f the av enu e s through which the
energy of the body is e xpr e ss ed In this .

chapter me dical evid ence in cas e s o f d e ath

from all e ge d starvation is compare d with
fir st hand knowl e dge obtain e d in applying
-

the fast f o r the cur e of dis e ase and from

,

post mort em examination of the bodi e s of

pati ents who di ed whil e und e r tre atm ent .

The imm ediat e caus e of the cessation o f

life is discovere d in the fact that the brain
becomes unabl e through dis e ase or shock
, ,

to draw upon its reserve store of sustenance

99 5
 FASTING

for structural maintenance Some paralyz .

ing influence prevents nourishment o f nerve

centers and shuts o ff the li fe current N o .

ag ent more d e structive of both physical and

mental fu nctions ex ists than unreasoning
fear and it plays its part in accidental sit
,

u at io ns where food is d e nied such as min e ,

disaste rs shipwrecks and the like since here

, , ,

mental su ff ering a ff ects the physical bal

ance and the caus e o f death li e s in the con
,

ditions o f the circu mstances and not in the ,

fact that the body 1 s depriv ed o f food f or , ,

in favorable surroundings weeks and even ,

months may pass e re death occur from lack

o f sustenanc e .

It is que stionable whether in a conscious ,

being not affl icted with organic defect or not ,

situated so that food cannot be supplied

when hunger calls death has ever resulted
,

from starvation or in oth e r words from

, , ,

the e xhaustion of brain food stored in body

tissue No conclusive evidence shows that
.

this has ever happened .

T he autopsies that were held upon the

bodi e s of the pati ents of whom the caus e s
,

o f death are here described disclosed in ,

e very instance organic diseas e the ori gin ,

o f which lay in t he e arlier years o f life In .

99 6
 FAST I N G

appallin g It is onl y necessary to draw the

.

parallel b e twe en the r esul ts o f administerin g

brandy to a child and to an adul t to em
p h asiz e this statement What then mus
. t , ,

follow in the event of repeat e d dosage for

fev e r colic co lds and the varied cate gory
, , ,

o f infantil e disease ! And what a re the e f

'

fe ets of this tr e atm e nt upon grow ing human

bodi e s Not one of us but has the sacred
!

relics o f the day of powd e r e d dri e d toads to

blame for organs functionally disordered ,

arr ested in d evelopm ent or wholly ruined , .

R ep e ating the di stin ction

Starv a tion is the cons e quence of food de
ni ed eithe r by accident or design to a
, ,

syst em clamoring for sustenance .

Fasting consists in intentional ab stinence

from food by a system diseas ed and as a , ,

r e sult non d e sirous o f sustenance until

,
-

rested cl e ans e d and again ready for the

, ,

labor of dige stion Then and not till th en

.
, ,

is food suppli e d Th e n and not till th e n

.
, ,

does starvation b egin The law o f hunge r .

draws the line o f d emarcation .

It may be re p e at e d th at in functional ,

dis eas e the fast can b e carri e d to its logical

,

e nd without a particl e of anxi e ty be cause ,

the law of hung e r m a rks the limit beyond

99 8
 DEATH I N THE FAS T

which abstinence cannot continue lest the

body die Hence d eath from starvation is
.
,

impossible in a fast prop erly applied when ,

it is conduct e d for the cure o f dis e ase no t

organic Hunge r mus t return and food
.
,

must be suppli ed The resul t in the pres ence

.

o f struc tur a l d e fe ct is not assur e d When .

the latt e r is of slight d e gre e r e pair is pos ,

sibl e and recove ry will follow ; but wh e n the ,

faul ts are such that functioning o f o ne or

more organs is pr event ed no hop e of cur e ,

e xists although by l e ss e ning the strain upon

, ,

oth e r vit al p a rts life may be prolong e d and

,

distress reli e ved .

E leve n instanc e s of death occurring whil e

the fast or a cours e of di e t was in progre ss
a re quoted b e c ause of t he light they c a st

upon the diagnosis of dis e as e wh en natural

me thods a re appli ed and because o f the
,

e xposition mad e by the autopsies o f the

e ff e cts o f erron e ous di e t and o f drug treat

ment upon the hum a n body In e ach case .

it is shown conclusively that the cause o f

d e ath was organi c di s e as e b eyond repai r ,

and th a t at the st ag e r each e d when the fas t

,

was undertak en no m eans of cure could have

,

brought about recov e ry Two o f the deaths .

de scrib e d occurre d while the pati ents were

99 9
 F A ST I NG

di etin g not fasting but the conditions in

, ,

these show no contrast excepting in resp ect,

t o food or its omission D eath was ce rtain

.
,

fasting or fee ding This li st of el even d e aths

.

is s el e ct e d from a total o f eighteen the latte r ,

figure comprising all the fatali ties o f sixte en

ye ars o f the practice o f fasting f or the cure
of dis e as e The numb e r o f cases treated
.

dur ing thi s time r e a che s n e arly two thousand ,

five hu ndre d e ach of whom fast e d continu

,

ou sly for p e riods varying in duration from

e ight t o sev e n ty fiv e d a ys
-
The d e ath rate
.

is thus seen to b e about seven tenth s o f one -

per cent .

CAS E 1 . m arried woman 38 yea rs

A ,

o f age , w ho had d evoted twe nty y e ars o f her

life in vain att empt to enj oy normal ex ist
e nce un d e r m e di ca l tr e atm e nt finally as oe r
,

ta ined that p e riods o f di e ting and o f

abstinence from food we r e the only means
whereby she could obt a in re li e f At con .

sul t ation a p e rilous condition indi cating the

pr e sence o f organic dis e as e was evid ent and ,

careful dieting and the employment of the

hygi enic a ccompanim ents o f the tre atment
we re pre scrib ed and continued u ntil six
months late r At this tim e the patient with
.
,

300
 FAS T I N G

permit them to resume the ir labors and the ,

administration of food r e sulte d in n ause a

with vomiting outward symptoms of organ
,

ic inability to handle ev en the small amount

ingeste d Hiccoughs in s eve re form a sign
.
,

most appr eh ensive in ch ar a ct er and usually

in dicativ e of inte stin al obstruction w er e al so ,

in evidence and continu ed p e rsist e ntly a t

,

intervals until d e ath int e rve ne d .

Whe n a cas e such a s this exhibits the

symptoms noted in aggravat ed form and ,

when moreov e r its history shows years of

, ,

constant su ff e ring it is a vi rtual certainty

,

th at organic defe cts e xist that can in no wise

b e ov e rcome But to all ay the anxiety o f
.
,

the memb e rs o f the family the condition of ,

the patient was brought to the a tt ention o f

seve ra l me dical pra ctition e rs who coul d ,

sugge st nothing for the stoma ch re j e cted

,

nourishment and great difficulty w a s ex per

,

ienced ev en in the r et ention of wate r This .

state continu e d f o r more than two we eks ,

with pulse and temp e rature at average nor

mal but with no mat erial improvem ent As
, .

a final r e sort a consultation o f medical men

,

was call ed . Th eir un ani mous dia g nosis ,

bas e d upon the color of the bowel disch a rge s ,

named the dis eas e symptom as cancer and ,

309
 DEATH I N THE FAS T

the outcome of the case was by th em also

pronounce d hop el e ss Inaccuracy in m e dical
j udgment is well e x emplified by comparison
o f this diagnosis with the findings of the post

mort em e x amination which followed D eath .

came at the end o f the fort ieth day o f abstin

e nce from food .

The autopsy m a d e kn own a condition that

the symptoms had predict e d The stomach .

occupied a position in the a bd ominal cavity

such that its pyloric opening was turned for
ward and downward si x o r s ev en inch es ; the
lower surface o f the organ lay opposit e the
navel and its normal shap e was enl arge d
,

and distort ed to a c a pacity of si x fluid qu arts

and to a l ength of n early two feet The .

small intestine s at nume rous points were

ad here nt to the walls of the p e riton e um and ,

the stomach its e lf had to be cut from the

same surface in orde r to expose its whol e
e xt ent . The me di cal history o f this cas e
notes an attack o f typhoid fever complicat ed ,

with peritonitis about twelve years before

,

death This undoubt edly determines the

date of the visce ral adhesions and in all , ,

probability that of the distortions in stomach

,

and intestines In attempting to ov ercome

.

conditions the gall bladder had enlarged to

,

303
 FAST I NG

the si ze o f a pint measure whil e the live r,

was utterly disint e grate d .

In the abnormal physical e xist ence o f this

woman medicine had r endere d no assist ance ,

but rather the r eve rse and as y ears p ass ed

, ,

di seas e grew greate r B e fore the fast bilious

.
,

di scharges and w e ak en e d h e art action we re

symptoms that n eve r va ri e d e xc ept to in
cre ase in intensity The fa st disclos ed from
.

its first day imm ens e quantiti e s of vil e black ,

fil th that had b ee n store d within the body ,

with the r esul t that from its b e ginning until

,

j ust b e fore de ath t he ca s e showe d d e cid ed

,

reli e f and l ess en ed p a in Th e re was howeve r

.
, ,

no decre as e in the amoun t o f wa st e reve al e d

at each application of the e n em a a nd finally ,

natur e indicate d that organic troubl e d e fy

ing re pair existed and that death was
,

At the time wh en typhoid sym ptoms

appeare d all of the organs o f the body of
,

this pati e nt had fully matu red but the tre at ,

me nt o f the feve r and inflammation with

drugs wh ile fe eding was in constant prog
,

ress led to the formation of the orga nic

,

l e sions d e scrib ed to whi ch is di rectly trace

,

able the fatal issue o f the case .

804
 FAST I N G

disintegration but the oth e r organs and the

, ,

intestines throughout with the e xce ption o f

,

the p ortion named were normal in size and

,

position Until a year or more preceding

.

death there may have been a small passage

through the growth describ ed but this had ,

finally closed and the woman had lived o nly

,

by the ab sorption o f such liquid food as she

coul d ingest and retain The condition o f .

the maj or portion of the intestines as to size

and position is afli rmative p roo f that the
patient had n ev e r been subj ected to dru g
dosage in the developing period o f life I n .

this respect this case cannot parallel the one

first cited for in it drugs had played a disas
,

trous part and were the dir e ct cause o f the

,

deformation o f the dige stiv e tract H ere .

the de fect was occasioned by natural pro

ce ss es operating for local repair .

CA S E 3 A young marri e d woman of

.

245 had been since matu ri ty a su ff erer from

severe intestinal troubles and from acute ,

bilious symptoms She had b een medically

.

tr e ate d for so call e d app endicitis four ye ars

-

b efore her death and an op e ration had b ee n

,

advised but to this she re fused to submit

, .

I n this connection it is int e re sting to note

306
 DEATH IN THE FAST

that the autopsy on this body disclosed an

appendix m normal state with no signs o f
,

former inflammation .

E ight months before death the patient had

undergone a fast o f twenty eight days and -

had conval esced into the most satisfactory

physica l co ndition that she had known since
childhood D uring the time o f this fast and
.

th ereafter she car ed f or a young baby and ,

continu e d to do so until acut e bilious de

rangement accompanied by symptoms of
,

organic disease was m anifested T he case

, .

fasted until d e ath an even si xty days and ,

it was foun d after a few we eks o f abs tin ence

, ,

that pr egnancy o f several months added

somewhat to the complica tions that arose .

From the beginning o f the fast e xce ssively

foul black discharges came away with the
enem as , and th e re was a constant slight ,

daily rise in temperature which however, , ,

was invariably reduced t o ave rage normal

after the ad ministration of the int ernal bath .

At the post mortem examinati on it was

discovered that the liver was in a condition
of complet e disint e gration ; the stomach ex
hibited an e xtre me hour glass contraction
-

an d its pyloric op e ning woul d not permit t he

insertion o f a l e ad p encil nor coul d it be

,

307
 FAST I N G

str etched without tearing on account o f the

,

hardene d nature o f its walls ; the small int e s

tines and the colon thr oughout their length
displayed a s e ries of ca rtilaginous contrae
tions In th is instance these contractions
.

were formed after full dev elopm ent to ad ult

life had taken place . They undoubt e dly
were the results o f powerful dru gs admini s
t ered fro m time to time after the eighteenth
year since all other portions o f the int e stine s
,

were of normal size T he fetus was removed

.

from the uterus at the autopsy and was

found to be in perfect condition ,

the normal develop m ent of an u nborn

o f fo u r m onths
.

C A S E 4, that o f a married woman o f 3 5 ,

was s imilar in many respects to the o ne

preceding This pati ent faste d fifty nine
.
-

days from the be ginning of illness until

d eath and the case was complicat ed with an
,

e xt ra uterin e pregnancy in the right Fallo

-

pian tub e which aggravated conditions until

,

the fetus was prematur ely delive red The .

whole adult life o f thi s woman had been

m ad e wretched by digestive disturbance ,

biliou s attacks and menstrual di fficu lti es

, .

D rugs and patent m edicines ha d done th ei r

303
 FAST I N G

e n ema but invariably fell to re g

, i ster after
the int e rnal b a th which w as give n t w ic e
,

daily The fact of an e xtra ut e rine pre g

.
-

nancy having be en d et ermine d about the

third we ek o f the fast it was discovere d on
,

the forty fi rst day that contractions o f t he

-

uterus we re occurring ; the os was dilate d

a nd it was evid ent that an att em
,

pt was in
progre ss to d e live r the forming child through
natu ral chann els By outsid e and insid e
.

manipul ation of the uterus a dead mis , ,

shap en fe tus was finally r emove d with littl e

or no pain General reli e f was instantaneo us
.
,

and was o f such nature as to o ff e r hope o f

ultimate re cove ry but it lasted only a few
,

days when a d e cli ne set in that ended in

,

d ea th on the fi f ty ninth day from the begin

-

ning of the fast .

Hiccoughs in mild form w ere pre sent at

time s during the latter d ays o f fasting and ,

there was some vomiting o f black bile I t .

w a s usel ess to a tte mpt fee ding a t any stag e ,

for from the first the stomach re j e ct ed food

, ,

and wat er a nd the only fluid th a t the body

,

re ceive d during the period named was ob

t a in e d from the internal and external bath s .

The post mortem findings follow — The

liv e r was in such state of disintegration that
31 0
 DEATH IN THE F A S T

e ven the slightest functioning coul d not have

occurre d for months The gall cyst was at
.

least four times its norm al size and contained

black bilious fluid The kidneys we re hyp er
.

trophied an d pocketed with pus T he pan

.

hyp e rtrophi ed and was so

hardened in texture as to resist the knife .

T he splee n was disintegrated to the extent

that it was h eld together me rely by its sur
ro unding membran e The small intestine s
.

were normal in size and position as was the

,

colon ex cepting the transv e rse por tion o f

,

the latter which had dropped below the nave l

,

and w as no larger in di ameter than an adul t

thumb T he right ovary contain e d a cyst
.
,

filled with serous fluid and the right Fallo

,

pian tube was bent t wice upon its elf The .

left ovary was in a state of atrophy and was

no larger than a lima bean T he heart and
.

the lungs were normal .

C A S E 5 is that of a man of 24 who had

been syphili tically infected five years before
his death , and had tre ated the symptoms
m edically and with advertis ed nostrums At .

the time o f consultation the syphilitic sores

still remained and the re were other evidences
,

o f the ravages of the blood taint present as

31 1
 FASTING

well Among the latter was a loss o f mental

.

control that comp elled the family o f the

pati ent to employ a k eep e r for the youth .

About six months b e fore death a fast of

twenty eight days was undertak e n and suc
-

cessf u l ly accomplish e d
. The syphilitic sor e s
were completely eradicated at its compl etion ,

and relief in gene ral was such that the

patient was enabled to dispense with his
attendant and there aft e r care d f or himself .

B ut some months late r the signs of organic

disease including loss o f mental control
, ,

again b ecame appar ent From this time

.

there was a copious discharge of watery

mucus from the nasal passages and throat ,

a nd a constant profus e exudation o f sweat

,

about the face and the h e ad The latt e r

.

symptom was present in such d egree that the

hair of the patie nt dripp ed moisture con
t inu ou sly and his pillow n ee ded changing
every hour Quantiti e s o f solid fece s and of
.

catarrhal mucus app eared in the enemas ,

and for a month b e fore death sp ee ch was

impossible and no fun ction could be per
formed without assistance D uring the last
.

ninet e en days of life no food was inge sted .

The post mort e m findings showe d a brain ,

the right hemisphere of which was softened

31 2
 FASTING

of peculiar circums tance s m edi c al tre atment

,

was resort e d to for a short tim e but wi thout

ben efit Reve rted to fi nally the fast and its
.
,

accompanim e nts succeed e d in reli eving con

d itions to such degre e that in fourt ee n days
the pati ent was abl e to r e sum e the practice
of his profe ssion Al though su ff ering at
.

int e rvals from that time on th ere was no ,

return of acut e symptoms until the month

pre ce ding d e ath wh en aft e r unwont e d phy
, ,

sica l ex e rcise followed by a heavy m e al se

, ,

v e r e pains in the inte stine s d evelop e d The .

stomach re j e ct e d food ; within a we ek drink

ing o f wat er brought on nausea ; and the
point was soon re ach e d wh en any att emp t
at the administration o f sustenance occa
sione d excruci ating pain Thi s condition .

continue d for thirty days at the end o f ,

which d e ath occurred .

The post mortem examination showed

most abnormal characte ristics in the vital
organs The lu ngs wer e adh erent at every
.

point to the walls of the pl eural cavi ty and

to the diaphr a gm The h ea rt was in fair
.

con di tion The stom a ch was dilat ed and

.

prolapsed The gall bladd er exhibit ed three

.

distinct pouch e s any one of which was the

,

siz e of a norm al sac and two of th es e s e ctions

,

314
 DEATH I N TH E FAS T

were filled with one hundre d a nd twenty six -

stones one measuring four inches in circum

,

ference The small int e stine s were collaps e d

.

to the p e lvis and we re intussusce pted midway

in their lower portion so that two yards of
their l ength we re telescop ed into five inches ,

and this part measured in diam et e r o f lum en

onl y one quarter inch All o f the small
-
.

intestines were b elow normal in siz e ; the

transverse colon lay in front of the descend
ing bowel an abnormality which largely
,

increas ed the labo r o f dis po sing of body

waste ; the ascending a nd d e scending por
tions of the colon showe d lack of develop
m ent and were cartilaginous in structur e ;
the sigmoid b end and the re ct um we re o f
diameter not to e xceed that of an adult
thumb and we re also in advanced cartilagin
,

ous state ; the kidn eys the liver the pancre as

, , ,

and the sple en were all in a condi tion o f

partial atrophy ; the brain and the nerve
centers showed no d eterioration .

An excuse f or surgical inte rvention som e

time s exists and h ere was a case in which
,

a condition re quiring internal adjustment

was pre s ente d at the time of the accid ent
noted in its history Neglect ed then life
.
,

w as prolonged by natur e in spit e of the

315
 FASTING

handicap physic al defect but at cost

of , of

constant suff e ring .

CA S E 7 that of a man 5 6 years o f age

, ,

e x hibi t s a history of cont inuous dis e as e in

youth but includ e s a t l east twenty years of

,

l at e r life d evot e d to diet to the fast and to

, ,

hygi enic attention to the body In fact this .

part of the man s e xistence was distingui sh e d

’

by work along all line s o f progressive

thought At the tim e th at the case was
.

present e d the pati ent was aware that despite

, ,

all e ff orts at cons e rvation o f h ealth his ,

condition was such that he must h ave

recour se to every means of assistanc e th a t
nature could suggest o r he must succu mb ,

to the in e vitabl e Aft er exami nation with

.
,

the discovery that the symptoms showed

marked organi c di s t urbance it w a s agr ee d ,

that but one hOpe of r e cov e ry remained and ,

that this lay in a compl ete fast By it woul d .

be determined eith e r the a bili ty of the vital

or gans to continue fu nctioning or the assur ,

ance that the human machine had re ach e d a

point where life could be no longer main
t ained .

The fast b egan and there was no marked

,

di sturbance until the tw enty fir st day while -

31 0
 F ASTING

hims elf in be d to rise at intervals and to

, ,

help hims elf in w ays th at s e eme d marvelous

whe n his physical condition w a s consider ed .

The r e s ul ts of the autopsy follow — The

brain w eighing forty eight and one half
,
- -

ounces fill e d the entire cavity of the skull

, ,

and was p erfe ct in structur e Th es e facts

.

a d d corroborativ e e vid e nc e to t he truth o f

the th eory advance d by D r E H D ewey

. . .
,

and develop e d by all who h ave giv en time-

and pr a ctical thought to the tr eatment o f

dis e as e by the f that in a fast nerve
, ,

tissue is n eve r d epl et e d sinc e its supply o f

nourishm ent is gained dire ctly from body
reserv e and not from food ing est ed The .

lun gs were in exce ll ent condition ; the heart ,

organically speaking w a s p e rfe ct but was

, ,

fill e d with a gelatinous mass o f serum

a ff ected by post mort em chang e ; from the
cardiac Op e ning o f the stomach to within
two inch e s of the pylorus the re was not o ne
particl e o f h e althy muscular tissu e and the ,

appearance o f the walls of the organ was

that o f smooth w e t chamois skin ; the duo
,

d enum was below normal in size but the ,

upper portion o f the j ej unum w as consid er

a bly dil a t e d ; about midway in t he tub e o f

the small intestine a downward intu ssuscep

31 8
 DEATH IN THE FAST
‘

tion had take n place in l ength about two

,

a nd o ne h a lf inch e s ; this was O f long stand

- -

ing since the walls Of the bowe l had b e come

,

cartil a ginous and thick ene d and in so doing

,

had clos ed the Op ening o f the gut so th at it

would have bee n di fficult to ins e rt a l e ad
pencil into the p a ssag e ; the only section Of
t he colon that was in a natural state was the
ce cum but th ence to the r e ctum the org a n
,

was Of infantil e p roportion ; in fa ct th er e ,

was not one inch of this part o f the bowel

into whi ch the end o f an ind e x fin ge r could
have been introduced ; the sigmoid fl ex u re
was less deveolped than a ny oth er portion O f
the gut ; its b ent form was abs e nt and it ha d,

become m erely a stra ight v e rtical canal con

,

tinu ing the d e sce nding colon to the anus ;

the liver was badly conge st ed with its le ft
,

lob e partially cirrhos e d but its functions had

,

probably been p e rform e d with b ett er success

than thos e of the oth e r digestive org ans ; the
gall bladde r was dist end e d with bile ; the
pancrea s was extremely sm all and the spl een
,

was that of an infant ; the ki dn eys were dis

integrat e d and pock eted with pus which ,

discharged through the uret ers into an in

fl ame d and conge sted bladd er ; the l a tter
was very undeveloped and held withi n it s
319
 FASTING

thickened walls barely three ounces of liquid .

The conditions recite d w e r e not the resu l ts

O f a fast o f thi rty eight days but w e re those
-

Of di sease and subsequent arr est ed develop

ment in early life Whil e there may have
.

been a lack Of g en e ral physical growth in the

individual some paralyzing a gent intro
,

du ce d from without was r e sponsible for the

marke d d e formi ty found in the intestines .

In vi ew o f the und evelop ed and mechanic

ally inadequate state o f the digestive tra ct ,

it is interesting to record that the sexual

organs o f this man were those Of a boy He .

was under h eight and boyish in appea rance

as w ell N e rvous shock presumably received
.

through drugs administered in infancy

caused functional paralysis and arrested
growth Of the di gestive organs and gene ral
,

development su ff ered in consequence .

C A S E 8 , that o f a youn g man of 2 2 ,

su ff ered f or the greate r p a rt Of hi s life from

acute in di gestion attended with distressing
symptoms o f an apoplectic kind From the .

beginnin g of the fast the enem as brought

away mer ely colored water but general ,

relief was felt until the twentieth day o f

abstinence .Then a profuse hemorrha ge
330
 FASTING

year b e fore his last illn e ss upon li qui ds alon e ;

the s e cond the a bs e nc e of solid p a rticl e s in
,

the r e turn e d fluid of the e n em a s R epair Of .

body tissue ha d b ee n accompli sh e d but imp er

f e ctly by absorption through stom a ch walls
and thos e o f the short l ength of upp er int e s
tine that might hav e function ed The colon .

at both b ends w a s contract e d so th a t it w as

barely possibl e to ins e rt a fing e r into the
lum en a nd the right b e nd had a d he red to the
,

transve rs e portion O f the org an in such man

ner as to form a loop The kidn eys w e re
.

gr e atly congest ed ; the ga ll cyst was much

e nlarg e d ; the p a ncr ea s a n d t he spl ee n w e r e ,

how eve r normal ; a dh e sions of both upp e r

,

and lower bowels to the w alls of the p eri

to ne al c a vity ha d form e d a t frequ ent
int e rvals .

In tra cing the m e dic al history O f the c a s e ,

it was late r di scove r ed th a t at s even ye ars ,

Of ag e ,a s ev e re fev e r a ccomp a nie d by

inflammation of the int e stin e s had b een
tre ated m edica lly with opi at es and the h e a r t ,

a ction, as is usu al in ca s e s O f this n ature ,

had b een stimul at ed to the high e st d e gr ee

with strychnine a nd di git a lis .

CA S E 9 , a civil e ngin e er , 27 years of a ge ,

3 33
 DEATH IN THE FAST

had su ff ered since chi ldhood with acute

digestive ailments which we re treated as is
,

usu al in orthodoxy M alnutrition fin ally .

becam e so pronounced that the subj ect

decided that medicine coul d sugge st nothing
that would alleviate the con dition and he ,

entered a fast o f his ow n volition coming ,

f or consultation some days afte r its begin

ning He died at the e nd of tw enty one
.
-

days Of abstinence from food In the state .

in which thi s pati ent was at the first examina

tion the us elessness of attempting to cope
,

with the organic symptoms that we re plainly

apparent was so certain that it was d eeme d
best to inform him that reco ve ry was ou t of
the question Food was administe red at this
.

point but the stomach was u nable to retain

,

it and repeated trials at fee ding met with the

,

sam e resu l t The fast was perforce con

.

t inu ed and d e ath came

, as stated aft er , ,

twenty one days -

.

The post mortem e x amination revealed an

interior with h e art lungs and di gestiv e
, ,

organs so extremely arr est ed in deve lopment

that had it not been for the adult body in
,

which they were enclos e d th ey woul d have ,

b een taken for the organs Of a child four

ye ars o f ag e If comment is needed upon
.

39 3
 FASTING

this remarkable combination o f a m atun

body with infantil e instrum ents Of function ,

it shoul d be bas e d upon the caus e s of the

lack o f struct u ral growth noted A n d again .

the conclusion is forced that in dis eas e drug ,

treated in e arly life li e s the solution

, .

CAS E 1 0 a man Of 3 4 whos e physical

, ,

histo ry had b een one Of constant illn e ss aft er

the twentieth year is n ext pre sente d The
, .

patient had be en tre ated m edically f or indi

gestion constipation and various fevers
, , .

All his li fe he had b een an invet e rate us e r of

strong te a and in lat e r ye ars fe rm e ntation
, ,

gas difficulty in breathing and abdominal

, ,

pain invariably succe ed ed the inge stion Of a

meal . For the reli e f Of th e s e symptoms
medical corre ctiv e s and tonics w ere taken but
the conditions gradually gre w worse The .

pati e nt finally d e cid e d upon a fast but , ,

becaus e Of family inte rfe re nce a liqui d di et ,

was substituted and continued for thirty five -

days when death occurr ed In this ca se

, .

p ul se and temp e rature b efore the fast had

bee n habi tually below normal and they mad e ,

but little change during the p e riod b e for e

d eath the form e r r emaining at fif ty four o r
,
-

thereabouts and the latte r so low tha t it

,

3 94
 FASTING

inches in diamet e r a structural chang e which

,

suggests the thought th a t nature had

attempted to remedy in this portion of the
alime ntary canal the d e fici ency in size and
function e xisting in the stomach It is said .

that cirrhosis Of the stomach is a v ery rar e

symptom in di s eas e but in this cas e and in
,

the o ne that follows this organic change was

,

pres ent in forms that could scarcely have

been more perfect example s of th e ir kind .

Below the dilat e d s e ction of the intestines

the bowels including the colon w e re appar
, ,

e ntly normal T he gall bladder was quite

.

small while the kidneys the pancreas and

, , ,

the spleen all exhibited incipient hardening

o f tissue.

CA S E 1 1 an unmarried woman of 3 3
, ,

had never pass e d a ye ar during infancy and

girlhood fre e from acute illness and had ,

been a su ff e re r for all of late r life from

nervous exh austion that a t frequ ent intervals
took the form of morbid craving for food ,

which had been gre atly increased wh en her

medical advis e r about five years before
,

d e ath pre scrib e d its satisfaction by ord e ring

,

her sust en a nc e e v e ry two hours with a m e al

,

t he last thing a t night E xcruciating pain

.

39 6
 DEATH IN THE FAS T

at the menstrual p e riod compelled the patient

for many y ears to los e fou r o r five days from
her duti e s each month and left her prostrate
,

and nervous for much O f her othe r time .

S he had sought the world ove r for re li e f and ,

had turn e d to the fast and to g en e ral natural

me ans two ye ars before consultation but had ,

und ergon e onl y o ne fa st Of ten days Upon .

e xamin a tion th e re w as no quest ion that

organic dis e ase was pre s ent and beca use it
, ,

e xisted in aggrav a t e d form a nd no encou r

ag ement co u ld be off er e d in prognosis it ,

w as agree d that the tr e atment giv e n should

be aim e d solely at the relief th a t a light di e t
would be cert a in to a ff ord This course was
.

accordin gly pursu e d and the pati ent co n

t inu ed upon it for a p e riod of e ighty days
when d eath occur re d In this case a sinuse d
.

condition Of the skin of the face and body

was noted wh en first se en ; the che e ks we r e
blue and ve in ed as was also the nose and
, ,

the whole body showe d d eplorable d e ficiency

in venous circu l ation Thi s state improved to
.

some e xt ent afte r entering upon the di et

prescribed but it was neve r wholly corr e ct e d
, .

The e xaminati on O f the body after death

re vea led a live r and stomach cirrhosed in
struct ure an d the stomach wall s in additi on
, , ,

397
 FAST I N G

showed no evidence of glandular function ,

their surface b eing without corrugation the ,

mucosa having thickened as in the prec eding

case The stomach was functionally us eless
.
,

and its wall s wer e three quarters o f an inch -

in thickn ess The small inte stine s infantil e

.
,

in size w ere cartilaginous in s e ctions and

, ,

adhesions occurr e d at frequ ent points The .

colon was no larger th an a n adul t thumb

thr oughout and also e xhibite d adh e sions in
,

various place s The only organs of the body

.

that were in anything li ke a condition o f

function al activity wer e the lungs and the
h e art T he kidn eys the sple en and the pan
.
, ,

creas as in the previous case were incipi ently

, ,

hard ened .

It has been mentioned in s everal Of the

cases quote d that the pati ent afte r begin ning ,

the fast e xp e ri ence d a ren ewal Of vitality

,

for which no solid physical fou ndation

e xisted This was true to a degree in each
.

o f the oth e r cas e s and was so mark e d at

,

tim es that there w a s hop e o f ultimat e recov

ery N at u re struggling to re store organic
. ,

function make s the e ff ort commensurat e

,

with the gravity of the e xist ent defect By .

the remov a l of the labor O f digestion at least

'

o ne half O f the total organic work O f the

-

333
 FAST I N G

di seas e were such as not to be mistaken from

the first .The re sult in e ach instance must
be d e ath and all th a t could be done to aid
,

possible recove ry woul d in the circumstances

, ,

prove o f no avail B e cause of family anx iety

.

and the hoplessness of cur e thes e ca s e s were,

plac ed upon r estricted di et a die t that put ,

no undue strain upon the failin g functions ,

but that n ev e rth el e ss did not ameliorate the

, ,

distress of di s e as e as an absolute fast would

have done L ife was prolonged for several
.

w e eks in these instances but if food had , ,

been e ntir ely omitt ed r eli e f would have been

,

gre ater and days woul d have been added t o

,

ex istence .

The passing o f the li fe o f a human body

in cas e s that are m edi cally treated in the ,

maj ority o f instances happens und e r the

,

influence Of opi at e s that de ade n pain and

paralyze consciousne ss In the fast the end
.

of a li fe occurs as a quiet sl eep painl ess , ,

peace ful and beautiful

, .

D isease is self limited ; the amount O f

-

p oison manufactur e d is d e t e rmin e d by t he

intak e o f food or O f d rugs and e radication ,

of dis e ase is fix e d in limit of tim e by the

ability Of the vita l organs to cast ou t toxic
330
 DEATH IN THE FAST

products The possibility always exists that

.

the se organs may prove un e qual to the ir w ork ,

and this possibi lity b e comes a ce rtainty with

d e ath as the outcom e in two situation s —one
,

, ,

when the orga ns th emselves are structurally

defe ctive and the other when their powers
, ,

are stimulated through food or through

drugs o r both to the po int o f ex haustion
, , .

O nly o ne Of these conditions that o f organic ,

defect presents its elf in treating dise ase bv

means o f the fast Both are met in the th e ra
.

p e u t ics O f m e dicine .

The results displayed in the post mortem

findings cited and the comparisons made in
,

the statem ent that follows are tangible assets

,

in the claim that in the absence Of defects

,

in the organs of the body abstine nce from ,

food with othe r natu ral health giving and

,
-

health prese rving accompaniments is the

-

, ,

unfailing remedy f or the cure Of functional

ills The physician and the patient from the
.

outset of the tre atm ent possess the as suran ce

o f recovery ; a nd confidence that rests on
in fallibl e natu ral law is in its elf o f the great
e st assistance in acco m plishi ng results .

38 1
 F A ST I N G

ST ATE M EN T OF P OST M OETE M

C OM P AR A T IVE
F I N DI N GS I N DEA T H BY ST AR V AT I ON ( M ED
I CAL ) A N D P OST M OR TE M F I N DI N GS I N DEA T H
DU RI N G THE F AST A s N OT ED I N TH E TEX T .

DE AT H BY S T A RV A T IO N . DEATH IN T H E F A ST .

E M A C I AT I O N .

Mark ed . Inc wh r cirrho d

ases e e se
st ta eo f li r or tom ch ve s a ex
i t d
s e m ci tion w
, e a imil r a as s a

to th t in chronic
a ilm nt a e s,
b t in th oth r in t nc
u e it e s a es
was n t t ll m rk ed
o a a a .

S! IN .

ri ll d nd wrink l d ;
Sh ve e a e Smooth nd pli b l in ll a a e a
emit f tid Odor ; om tim
sa e s e es c ; fr from odor ; no
ases ee
d rk b rown rni hy co t
a , va s a co ti n g ; n t dh r nt E
a o a e e . x
ing; ti htly dh r nt t p rt
a e e o a s c pt in c
e o f cirrho i o f
a ses s s
b nea ro gh c r y
e u , s u v su r li r or tom ch p rf ctly
ve s a , e e
face . whi t e I n th l tt r in d
. e a e s use
cond iti on not d as e .

S UB C U T A N E O U S FA T
-
.

A bs nt
e . In c b c t n o
all ase s su -
u a e us
f t w
a pr nt Thi w
as ese . s as
esp ci lly
e wh r
a di tn so e e s
t g ti n f th li r i n t d
‘

e ra o O e ve s o e .

P OST MO R T E M R I G I D I TY .

Pronounced . Ve ry li ght s .

339
 FAST I N G

S P LE E N .

N ot not ewo rthy . N orm l a in maj ority of

c ases . B ii
s a ion
t
in CA S E 4, a t r o p h y in
CA S E S 6 a nd 7 .

P A N C RE A S .

Alwa y s rophi d
at e , som e rophy not d in CA S E S
At e
t imes to pr ct ic l di
a a sa pp r ea 6 nd 7 ; hyp rt rophy wi th
a e
cirrho i in CA S E 4 ; in ip
ss c
i nt cirrho i in CA S E S 10
e ss
and 1 1 Ot h r norm l
. e s a .

O ME N T U M .

Tr ans t a nd destit u te In cases someall fat

of f at . i n CA S E 4 c si ex e s ve fa t .

Tr n p r nt in no c
a s a e ase .

L I VE R .

n lt d
U a ept in
er e iz ex c s e, o d in ll c ses Th
N te a a . er e
w hich i l essen d
s e . w r e eno g ner l ch r ct r e a a a e
i ti ; th
s cs or g n ri d i e a va e n
siz nd tr ct r with th
e a s u u e e
indi id lv ua .

GA LL BL A D D E R .

Ul ually full ; c o nt n t e s CA S E only i

8 was the a
st aini ng d j a a ec nt ti s ssu e . st a nc e hich h r w
in w t e e as
st a inin g o f dj cent tiss a a u es .

w r
e rs as n t d or e e o e
no
 DEATH IN THE FAST

S T OMA C H .

S ma l, l contr ct d ; w ll
a e a s r l c s s how d
S eve a a e s e ex
thin ; mc
u osa corr g t d u a e tr m dil tion ; two w r
e e a in e e
t t
s a e o f c i r r h o i s ; non s e
show d cont r ction
e c pt a s ex e
CA S E 3 ( ho r g l ss) nd u -
a , a
CA S E S 1 0 nd 1 1 ( i a c rr
hosi sOt h r ri tion e va a s as
not

I N TESTI NE S .

o ni form contr ction

Sh w u a condition of the int s
The e
as t l m n nd l n gt h ; w ll
o u e a e a s tin s i e p ci fic lly not d in
s s e a e
usu ally thin nd tr n p r nt
a a s a e all c Th r w r
a ses. no e e e e
t li g h t ; t h ir t ro phy i t hi
o e a n s g n r l ch r ct ri tics b t
e e a a a e s , u
conn ct ion i ch r ct ri tic
e s a a e s . in no in t nc w r th w lls
s a e e e e a
S om t im
e esmpty ; e om s e u nd ly thinu .

tim cont ini ng d rk m c ;

es a a u us
som times di t nd ed w i t h
e s e

! ID N E Y S .

Do not see m to su fl er
’
. S u fl ered as not d e .

O ne fact Of significance shown in the po st

mort em fin dings and in the comparison noted
abov e is that no matter how general were
,

the defe cts in other organs nor how ema ,

ciat e d the body unl e ss th e y th ems e lves wer e

,

organi cally imperfect the h eart the lungs , , ,

and the brain we re normal in size and in

functional ability It may be added that .
,

although not alway s speci fically stated the ,

33 5
 FAST I N G

brain in each instance in the cases cited was

thoroughl y dissect ed .

T hrough the facts relat ed the imm ediat e

,

cause o f death in e very instance quoted can

easily be traced to its origin O rganic
.

deficiency is the dir e ct re sult of functional

digestive impairment The sci entific worth
.

of this obser vation is much enhanced by the

fact that in these autopsie s the organs were
pre sented un a ff ected by r ecent drug paraly
sis The cases that e xhibit e d glands that
.

were hard en e d or atrophi ed we re invariably

of an e maciat e d o r wiry physiqu e W hile those
,

in which a soft ening o f the organs had

occurred were inclined to ob e sity It is also.

int eresting to not e that wh er e m ental con

,

trol was lacking at any stage o f the fast ,

the colon at diss e ction show e d displacement

and distortion th a t rend e red evacuation o f
its contents ahn o st impossible e ven with
,

e n emata.

From the sci e ntific vi ewpoint the obs e rva

tions includ e d in the pr esent chapt e r are
undoubte dly o f great e st import in the t ext .

By them the theory o f Fasting for the

C ure o f D is e a se is substantiated as a fact ,

and proof of its efficacy as a remedy is ren

dered incontrovertible .

336
 C HAP T ER XI X

S C H OO LS O F N AT UR A L H E AL I N G

“
Sci nc e do e it d ty
e s s u , no t te lli ng s the c us e
in u a s

ofs po t:i n t he n
su b
, t in
u ex
pla i n i n g t o u s the l w : of
a

o wn l if co n nc of t he i r vio l t io n
”
o ur e, a nd t h e se ue e:
q a .

R ue /t in .
 F A S T I N G

tions or int erference s with the fluids o f the

body all without the internal administration
,
”
o f drugs o r medicin e The name d e rive d
.
,

as it is from the Greek oste on bone and , , ,

pathos su ff e ring is not such a misnomer as

, ,

might at first appear The ost e opathic .

theory is that many dis eas e symptoms orig

inat e in bony l e sions This appli e s more
.

particu larly to the v e rtebral column which , ,

owing to its comple x me chanism is liable to ,

s e veral forms o f sub dislocation d e pending

-

upon the region in which th ey may occur .

The m ost common is that of rotation f ol

lowed by forward or backward displacement
of a singl e ve rt ebra C omp ensation always
.

succee ds th es e change s so that the disturb

a nce is communicated to t he on e s above o r

b elow thus forming a group Th e s e l e sions

,
.

are d et e ct e d by the touch and are v e rifie d

by tend e rness of the surrounding parts .

Th e y are necessarily slight but the th eory ,

supposes th em suffici ent to profoundly infl u

e nce adj acent tissue .

M obility o f the spine is of first import

a nc e
,
for in h e alth th e re is motion b etwe e n
adj a cent v e rt ebrae L a ck of movem ent may
.

b e caus e d by muscul a r t ension by stretching ,

of li gaments or by a union of the parts due

,
S C H O O L S O F N A T U R AL H E AL IN G

to bony d eposit Foll owing any o f these

.

condi tions the th eory holds a re functional

, ,

or organic disturbance s a cut e becoming

,

chronic N e rv e s are pinch e d or imping ed

.
,

and as the circul ation o f the blood to an

,

organ dep ends upon its ne rve control ,

organic m e chanism is int erfered with and ,

di s e ase be gins .

C hiropractics is defined as a system o f

therap eutic tre atme nt for dis e as e through
the adj ustme nt of the articul ations o f t he
human body particul arly thos e o f the spin e
, ,

with the obj ect of re li e ving pre ssure or ten

sion upon n erve filam ents As in O st e
.

o pa thy t he op e rations ar e performed with

,

the hands no drugs b e ing administ e r e d

, .

The two th eori e s above pre sent e d are seen

to be most clos ely relat e d But it must be
.
,

obvious th a t each school is reasoning from

e ff ec t to cause when the claim is advanced

th a t spinal l e sions primarily lowe r nutrition .

M uscl e s built wh en a state o f mal nutrition -

e xists a re not a d e quate for the work o f sup

po rting the bony structure with the deli cate

adj ustm e nt th a t co mbines str e ngth with the
necessary d egree o f flexibili ty Barring dis .

plac em ent o f v e rtebra e through an accident

that forcibly disturbs the arrangement of t he
343
 FAST I N G

separa te bone s of the spinal column there is,

but one source from which may aris e a con

dition o f low ere d nutrition in any one of the
muscles o f the body— impair e d digestion .

P e rfe ct dig e stion insure s p erfe ct nutrition ,

and p e rfe ct nutrition must conserv e mus

cul a r ton e
.

Both O st eopathy and C hiropractics are

cut short o f th eir gre at est possibilities when
they a re appli e d apart from the fast In the.

pres ence o f a full stom a ch th ey become m ere

m ethods o f force and stimulation which in
, ,

many r e sp e cts are d etrimental to health

, .

Th e y are th e n to be class e d onl y as passive

physical culture in which the patient p e rmits
,

the op e rators to exercise the muscl e s instead

o f working them himself D uring a fast all
.
,

muscle s o f the body a re in a state o f p erfe ct

relaxation a natural r e sult o f the process o f
,

re st and elimin a tion in progress Th ey

.

r espond in this con di tion to ev e ry imp etus ,

and blood circulation at the same time is

directly amen abl e to the stimulation applied .

H ence the value both local and gene ral o f

, ,

a combination with the fast o f O steopathi c

manip ul ation and C hiropractic thrust .

In pre gnancy and confineme nt o steOpathic

m e thods are super i or to all others m equ aliz
s“
 TI N G
‘
FAS .

onl y as re gards the sugge stive powe r o f mind

over m a tt e r It with othe r similar cults
.
, ,

n egl e cts the physical body and its functions ,

and calls upon the soul to further i t s ends .

The int e rde p e nd ence o f matt e r and mind is

the subj e ct of detailed di scussion in another
ch a pte r and n ee d not be re p e a t e d here
, .

H e al ing the sick as well as the sinful is an

ideal union in purpos e N ee dle ss to say it
.
,

i s seldom found in practice yet th ere is truth

,

in the thought that physical h e alth is a prime

factor in the process o f attaining spiritual
e x cellence .

Al l practical wor king schools that employ

natural aids to h ealth in their operation are
mutually concerned in the cons e rvation of
physical balance in man E xcluding the.

quasi science of me dicin e with the exception

-

o f its rarely need e d surgical branch the ,

methods o f natu ral h e aling enumerated

body a perfect combination .

( THE EN D )
 GLO S SARY

A BD O E N M The be lly . .

A B E RR A TIO N A w a de m
. n ring fro .

ABE Y A N T Abse e ; suspe s

. nc n ion .

AB S C E SS A a v t y o ta
. c i c n ining
pu s .

A B SO R P T IO N The su k . c i ng in or
ta k up ing a u d of fl i
by a y h n t ing
f— ni
.

AB STINE N C E l u nt a y p v a t
. Vo r ri ion or
se l d e al in
d e t , etc i .

A C C O UC H E E N T M
C onfin nt i g
e me , ly
n i r
in , d el ve y
.
-
.

A C C R UE . o r i to
T a se, be a dd e d t o .

A C ETO N E A hem a l mp u d d ev el pe d
c ic co o n
. o in the
b dy by e me t a t
o f r n ion of org nic tt r a ma e s .

A C ID .
As a d e t ve , s u , a t A s un , a mp un d
j ci o r t r no co o .

of t he g a s, h d
yrog n i o r
e , w th t he csu bsta n e s .

ADD E N DU M A th ing t o be a dde d

. .

A D E NO I D A gro
. r g n
wt h tha t e se mble s a la d .

A D H E RE N T ic i ng or gro to
St k to
. wn rf ca su a e .

AD I P o ss Fa y
.tt .

AD J A C E N T Ly ni g n r ea. to .

A D O LE S C E N C E The pe rio n
d betw ee . r pu be t y a nd
m t ri ty a u .

A LIE N IST O n w h tr ts m n t l d i
. e o ea e a se a se .

A LI M E NT A R Y C A N A L Th d ig t i t b nd cc . e es ve u e a a es

ory gl n d
s a s
.

A L A LI N E
! A lt of ny k in d t h t fi vesces w i th
. sa a a e er

aci ds ; t h Oppo ite of n ci d e s a a .

A L LE V I A T E T o l e n t d i mini h t all y
. sse ,
o s , o a .

847
 GL O S SARY

M
A E LI O R A TE T ma k e be t e o . t r .

ANE IA M A d e e y bl d a nd
. fici nc o f oo d corpus cles re .

ANE IC M e ta
. P r ining
to a em a n i .

A N A E ST H E T I C A su bsta e p du .nc ro cing in s n sibili ty or e

u ncon se l o u sn e ss .

A N A LO GY . S i mi la ri ty of r ela tio n s b e tw e e n o ne thi ng

no ther
a nd a .

A N TI SE P TI C P r e nt in g or d t ro ying p t r f c t ion
. ev es u e a .

AN u s Th l o w e r o pe nin go f t h
. e limmt y c n l e a ar a a .

A P A T HY D dn . of th mo t ion w nt of f ling
ea e ss e e s, a ee .

A P E R IE N T A g n tl p rg ti
. e e u a ve .

A P O PLE X Y P r lysi s from r pt r of bloo d v l

. a a u u e a e sse

in th b r in e a .

A PP E N D I C IT IS I nfl mm tion of th v r mifor m ppen

. a a e e a

APPE N D I X ( VERM I F O RM ) . The w or m sha ped -

a ppe n
da c ec m
g to e t he u .

A R T I CU L A T I O N A j oint . .

A S P H YX I A T IO N Th con d i t io n c ed by no n o y
. e aus -
x

gen t ion of the bloo d ; ff oc ti on

a su a .

Ass A mN
IL The ct of b sor bing n u tr ime nt nd
'
r . a a , a

i t s c h ng i nto t i bl oo d
a t e ssu e , , e c .

ATR O P HY Th w sti ng of
.
p r t fro m l cek of n tri a a a a u

tio n .

A U G M E N T A T IO N The ct o f i ncr e i ng . a as .

A U TO I NT O X I C A T IO N
-
S el f poi soning .
-
.

A U TO P S Y The e x min tion o f b o dy ft e r d e th

. a a a a a .

A o r o xN Any poi sono us s b t nc origin t in g

ur -
x . u s a e a

w i thi n t he bo dy .

A IO M
X A sel f i d n t tru th
.
-
ev e .

B A C I LL I The pl r l of b ci ll s
. u a a u .

'

B c i LL u s
a Any n of . g e n of d lik e organi sms o e a us ro -

micro copic in si z s e .

348 -
 GLOS SARY

C A R BONI C A C I D A p ng n t fl t i n g gs th. u e , su o ca a , e

pro d ct of r pir t ion u es a .

C A RD IA C O PE NING Th pp r o p ni ng o f th to m . e u e e e s

h ac c ll d b ec
, n r t th h rt
so -
a e au se ea e s e ea .

C A R T I L AGINO U S O f th n t r of c t il g or gri tl . e a u e ar a e s e .

C A T A RRH A L O f th n t r . f c t rr h w hic h i n e a u e O a a ,
s a

i nfl mm t ion of th m c m mbr n
a a e u us e a e .

C A T E GO R Y A l i t or cl
. s a ss .

C A T HA R T I C A p rg t i v m dicin
. u a e e e .

C A U T ER I ZE T o b rn or . r w i th b t nc or u se a su s a es

in tr m nts u e s .

C ECUM Th blin d po ch t t h h d f th l rg
. e u a e ea O e a e

i nte tin s e .

C EL IBA T E O n w h i nm rri d
. e o s u a e .

C H O L A GO U E GA m dicin th t promotes the fl w of

. e e a o

bil e .

C HYLE . Th mi lk y fl i d f int tin l di g est i o n

e u O es a .

C I RCUL A T O R Y P r t ining t t h circ l tion f t h

. e a o e u a O e

blood .

C IRR HO S ED P e rta ining to cirrho i

. s s .

C RR H S
I O Is T hi ck nin g o f th co nne cti v t i
. f n e e e ssu e O a

org n a .

C L I N I C A L P rt inin g to
. i ck bed or clini c
e a a s -
.

C LO T A m s f thi ck n d bloo d
. a s O e e .

C O A G U LA T E D T hi ck en d ( of fl i ds) cur ded

. e as u , .

C O D E IN On of the lk loi d d r iv d fro m Opi m

. e a a s e e u .

C OL I C S p smo di c p in in the bd om n
. a a a e .

C OLL A T E R AL Acco mp nying i di ng . a , a .

C OLO N The s p rior p rt of th l rg e intestine

. u e a e a .

C OLO N T U B E A long r bb r tu be for in rtion . u e se

thro gh n nd ig moi d fl
u in to t h colo n
a us a s e x ur e e .

35 0
 GLO S SARY

CO M A An bnorm ll y d ee p l p; tupor
. a a s ee s .

CO M A T O S E I n con dit ion f co m

. a O a .

C O MME N S URA T E H ving th m m r or extent . a e sa e easu e

eq l pro por t ion l

ua ,
a .

C O MM IN U T I O N Th proc of br k in g in to pie ces. e ess ea .

C ON C O M I T AN T Acco mp n yin g ; x i t in g in nj un
. a e s co c

t ion w i t h .

C ON D IGN Ad q t d rv d
. e u a e, e se e .

C ONGE NI T A L E i ting fro m birth ; inn t . x s a e .

C ONGE ST ION Ex c of blood in p rt . ess a a .

CO N S ER V E T pr r or pro t ct fro m inj ry or l o

. O ese ve e u ss .

C ON ST I P A T I O N S l ggi h ction of th bo w ls . u s a e e .

C ON T AGI O N Th co mmunic tion of di. by n e a sea se co

t a ct .

CO N T IN E N T C o mpl t b t in nc from ind l gnc

. e e a s e e u e e

in l in t rco r
se x u a e u se .

CO NVA LE S CE N CE Th pe rio d f r co v ry fte r . e O e e a

di se a se .

COO RD INA T I O N H rmonio ct ion f m cl . a us a , as O us e s.

C O RD S P INA L Th cor d f n r v t i
,
in t h c n l
. e O e e ssu e e a a

of th pin l col mn e s a u .

CO RD U M BI L I C A L Th n v l trin g tt chi ng th
,
. e a e -
s a a e

fo t t th pl c nt or ft r bi rth
e us o e a e a a e -
.

C O R I UM Th d p l y r f th k in
. e ee a e O e s .

C O RR O S IV E A b t nc th t t w y or d e t roys
. su s a e a ea s a a s .

C O RRU GA T I O N A contr ct ion in to w rink l or folds

. a es .

G me
a s .The pl r l of C ri i t r ni ng point in ny u a s s, a u -
a

m tt r a e .

C R I TE R I A Th pl r l of C rit rion
. t n d r d by
e u a e ,
a s a a

w hi ch n yt hing i j d g d a s u e .

C R O UP O U S P rt in ing t C ro p which i ac te in
. e a o u ,
s u

fl mm t i n of t h l ryn
a nd t r c h a o e a x a a ea .

G n
u . Th cro s th c n tr l point
e s , e e a .

351
 GL O S SARY

CU L T . t m of r li gi o b eli e f
A sys e e us .

C URD .The co gu l t e d or c u r dl ed p rt O f milk w hi ch

a a a ,

is u su ally m d in to c h se a e ee .

C U TA N E O U S P r t in ing to th sk i n
. e a e .

CUT I C L E The epi d er mi s or o t r l yer of the sk in

. u e a .

C YS T A membr n o us s ck cont in ing fl u i d

. a a a .

D E B I L I TY We ak n ess lo ss or w a n t of str en gth

.
,
.

D E C O MP O S I T ION P u t r e f ct ion d e c ay
. a ,
.

D E GE N E R A T E F alle n off fro m a be tte r to a

. wo rse
t t ; d e cl ine d in n t r l or mor l w orth
s a e a u a a .

D E L IRI U M M e nt l be rr tion d e to di sease

. a a a u .

D EL I V ER Y P rtu r iti on chi ld birt h

. a ,
-

D E N S I T Y The qu li ty of be in g c lo e or co mpact
. a s .

D E N UD E T ma k e b r e or n k d
. O a a e .

D EP L E T E T o r e du c e to less n
.
, e .

D E S I DER A T A P l r l o f D e i d r t m st ate o f thi n g

. u a s e a u , a s

to be d e ir d s e .

D E T ER IO R A T ION The t of r ed cin g anythin g in

. ac u

valu e or qu l ity a .

D E T R I ME N T A L C aus ing h rt ; i nj u ri o
. u us .

D I AGNO S I S The r e cogni tion

. f d i ea s from it O s e s

ympto ms
s .

D IAGNO ST I C IAN O n k illed in d i gn o sin g

. e s a .

D I A P HR AG M The m c l r w ll be t w e n th chest
. us u a a e e

n d the
a b d ome n a .

D IARR H E A E c i d i ch rg o f fl i d e ac t ion
. x e ss ve s a e u v ua s

fro m t he b w l o e s .

D I E T F oo d ; system f f d in g
. a O ee .

D IE T A R Y P e rt ining t d i t ; syst m of fe eding

. a o e a e .

D I E T E T I C S The b r nch of tr e t me nt r f rr i ng to d i et
. a a e e .

35 52
 GLO S SARY

E M BO L I S M The Obstru ctio n of blood v sel by a

. a -
es

bl oo d c lot -
.

E ME T I C A s b t nc e th t c ses vo mi tin g
. u s a a au .

E MP I R I C A L D p n di ng pon p r i nc or Obs rv
. e e u ex e e e e a

ti o n .

E N EM A A li q i d i nj ct d i nto th r ctu m
. u e e e e .

E N EM A T A Th pl r l f E n m . e u a O e a.

E P I C U RE On w h giv s him l f p to th nj oy
. e o e se u e e

m nt f the t bl
e s O a e .

E P DEM I C C ommon to m ny peo pl ;

I .
pr ev ili ng a e a a

a il m nt e .

E P I L EP S Y F llin g S ickn ; n rvo

. a ff ect i on w ith ess a e us a

l o s o f con sc i o sn
s nd con vu l i on u e ss a s s .

E QU I L I B R I UM A sta t o f b l nc . e a a e .

E R A D I C A T E T root t ; to x t rmi n te
. O ou e e a .

E R O T I C P rt ining to ex l p s i o n
. e a s ua a s .

ET H ER Th . b tl fl i d fi lling ll sp c e ; l o
e su e u a a a s a

colorl s fl i d d n e sn st h tic u u se as a a ae e .

EV A CU A T IO N Th ct of c ing di ch rg fro m . e a au s a s a e

ny of the
a cr tory p g ex e a ssa es .

E VA P O R A T I ON The proc O f t rning into v por . ess u a .

Ex c E E N
R SC An bnormal ou tgrowt h of t h b o dy
CE a e

E X CRE T E T throw Off w orn— t m t ri l

. .

. O ou a e a .

E X PE C T O R A T ION Th proc f j ctin g m tte r fro m

. e e ss O e e a

th l n g s or tr c h
e u by S pi tti ng a ea .

E xT IRP A T T o c t t or ff to r d ic t
E . u ou o e a a e .

E X T R A U T ER IN E
-
O t id th t r . u s e e u e us .

E X U D A T I ON Th t te of be in g emi tted l ik moi t r

. e s a e s u e

th ou gh th por es
r e .

F
F A L LA C Y T h t whi ch d c eive or mi l ads th ye
. a e s s e e e

or t h mind e .

354
 GLO S SARY

F A LL O P IAN T U B E . O ne of the tw o sm ll t bes on a u

c h si d e
ea O f t he u t e r us th t con ey t he ov a v a

from the ov r i es a .

F A N T I C I S M E tr g n t noti ons or Opin ion

A . x a va a s .

F E C A L P ert ining t t h d i c h rge of t h bo w els

. a o e s a e .

F R CE S The di sc h rg e of t he bo w els
. a .

F E R ME N T T ch nge by ch mica l ction

. O a e a .

F E T ID H ving n O ff e n siv smell

. a a e .

F E T U S Th yo ung in th w o mb ft r it i p rf ct ly
. e e a e s e e

form d i fte r the fo u rth month of ge st tion

e , . e .
, a a .

F I C T I T I O U S I m gin ry f lse not r ea l

. a a , a ,
.

F I LA ME N T A thr e d li k stru ctu re

. a -
e .

F IL T ER T o str ai n fro m so li d p rt i cle s

. a .

F L E xI B I L I TY The q li ty O f b e in g ea sil y be n t
. ua .

F LUC T U A T ING A ri sin g and fallin g su ddenl y ; nu

.

st e din es a s .

F O CU S The meeting point of r efl ected or r e fr a ct ed

.
-

rays of li ght .

F O ME N T A T I ON The ppli c ati o n Of w a rm li qui ds to

. a

the b ody .

F U NC T I O N The norma l or speci al acti o n of a pa rt

. .

G ALL B L A D DER
-
The pea r sha pe d -

sac in t he r i g ht
G AL L C YST
-
l obe f t h li r th O e ve , e r se r
e

GA LL S A C
-
Voir for t h b il e e .

G ALL S T ON E S S ton b ilt p f l y r of c r bon te

-
es u u O a e s a a

o f li m in th g ll—
.

bl dd r nd it s d ct s
e e a a e a u .

G A N G L IA P l r l of G nglion
. b ne rv c n t r
u a a ,
a su -
e e e .

G ANGRE N E Th m t ifi ti n or d t h of oft ti s
. e or ca o ea s su e .

GA ST R I C P rta in in g to th to m ch
. e e s a .

GE LA T I N O US R e embli ng g l t in ; j elly l ik e
. s e a e -
.

35 5
 GL O S S ARY

G E N I T AL P e rta in ing to t he org ans of ge n e r at i o n

. .

G ERM A mi crobe or ba cte r i u m

. .

G E R M I C I DE An a g e nt d estro ying ge rms

. .

G E S T A T I O N The act O f c a rryin g youn g in the u te r u s

.

from the t ime O f conc eption t o tha t Of deli ve ry .

G LA N D A se cr e tor y org an
. .

G LEE T . C hronic t t o f gonorrh w ith d i ch rg s a e ea s a e .

G O N O C O C CU S Th p cific g r m of gonorr h
. e s e e ea .

G ONO RR H E A A cont gio . in fl mm tion with dis a us a a

ch rg fro m the genit l org n

a e a a s .

GR A N U LA T IO N F or m tion of sm ll l vations on
. a a e e a

he ling su rfac
a e .

H
H E AR T Th ho llo w mu scul ar body th c enter O f th
. e , e e

c i rc l tor y yst m
u a s e .

H M I S P H ERE H l f ph r ; s to th br in ne of
E . a a s e e a e a ,
o

th ppe r ph ro i d l port i o ns
e u s e a .

HE MO II GRR A A fl w f bl oo d from t he v ls
E . o O esse .

H O U GII A dd n i n spi r tion follow d by e pir

ICC . su e a e x a

ti o n cco mp n i ed by no is
a a a e .

H Y G I E N E Th ci enc e f hea l th
. e s O .

H Y PER T R O P HY Abnor m l incr e s in iz f p rt

. a a e s e O a a

or n org n a a .

HYP O II O N DRI A C On
C ffected wi th morbid an ie ty
. e a x

re ga rd ing th h lth e ea .

HYP OTII E S I A ppo sit io n

S. su .

H Y ST ER I A A n r vo. d i or d r f f m l es w ith
e us s e O e a

innumer ble ympto m f n emoti o nal n t r e

a s s O a a u .

I
I LE O CE C A L P rt ini ng to t h I l m nd C ecum
-
. e a e eu a .

I LE UM Th l ow r h l f f th m ll intestine
. e e a O e s a .

35 6
 GLO S SARY

I NTE RI M The
. mean t ime ; the in te rvening tim or e

pe r i o d .

I N T ERM I TT E N T . O ccu rr i ng i nt e r v l s
at a .

I N T ER ST I CE S S pac e s ; . inte rval ; pores s .

I N T U SS U S CEP T ED One .
p rt S l i ppe d into
a an othe r , sa id
of t he i nte st ines .

I T E RAT I O N R epe ti ti on ;
. t he a ct O f r ep a t ing
e .

J EJ UN UM cond portion O f the small int estin e

. Th e se

O f w hi ch it forms t w o fi ft hs -
.

J U GU L A R P e rta inin g to the nec k The j u gu lar veins

. .

are t hr ee in num be r ; t he i r office i to re tu rn s

the blood fro m th e hea d .

!
A TAB O L ISM A r etrogr a de ch nge ti ssu es of
'

! . a in the
the b dy o .

! I D N E YS . The org an s se cr e tin g ur ine .

LA R YN x . The u ppe r pa rt of the w indpipe ; th e organ

of voic e .

L A S C IVIO U S Le w d l ustful .
,
.

L A SS I T UDE W e kn e ss e xhausti on
. a ,
.

L E S I O N S tr u ctu l ti ss e c h ng
. ra u a e fro m in j u ry or
di sea se .

L EUC O RR H E A . A i i h d i ch rg fro m th v g in
wh t s s a e e a a .

L IGA ME N T A . ba n d of fi b ro t is b ind in g pa rts

us su e

togethe r .

358
 GLO S SARY

L I V ER . The l a rg e st g lan du la r org an of the bo dy,

se cr e ting b il e .

L OB E A ro und e d d ivi sion O f an orga n

. .

L O C O M O TO R A T A X IA A pe c ul ia r for m of a ppa r e nt
.

a r a lysi s w ith u nst e a d

p y a nd di sor de r ly mu s
cul a r mo ve me nt s .

L O N GE V I T Y l e
. L ong if .

L U B R I C AN T A su bs a n e p d u
. t c ro cing slipper i n ess,

u su a lly a n O il a ea se or gr .

L UME N The al be Of a ube , a s

. c i r t of th bo w els or e

bl d vessel s oo -
.

L U N GS . The a s esp a n org n of r i r ti o .

M
M A L IG N A N T V i rul ent ; f a ta l . .

M A L N U T R I T ION P oor nu tr i ti on . .

M A MM A L S An imals w ho su ckle thei r young

. .

M A N D A T O R Y C ont a in in g a n or de r or co mmand
. .

M A N IA D e li r i u m or ma dne ss
. .

M ANI P U L A T IO N Tr e atment w ith the hand s ; hs nd1in g

. .

M A SS AGE M anipu lat ion ; met ho dic pr essu r e fr ict i on

.
, ,

d k nea d
an ing of t he bo dy .

M A ST I C A T IO N The proc c ing

ess O f he w. .

M A ST UR BA T IO ro c i on x org
N The p d u t O f the se u a l . a sm

in a ma nn r o r t
e th e n t r
ha n a u a l .

A I MUM
M X The gr t t
ea e s
. ntit
qu a y .

M ED I UM t in ic n t i ng i
T ha . wh h a y h rro i g
l ve s ; su und n

co itio
nd ns .

r io of ir it g oo in
ME L A N C I I O L I A D ep ess n sp s; . l m ess .

M EM B R AN E t o i g or in i g
A hin envel p n
. t c
l n subs a n e .

M E NO P A U S E The e nd O f the me ns u a l l e ; the

. tr if
c g of i f
han e l e .

35 9
 G L O S SARY

M E N S E S The mo nthl y fl ow from the w o mb

. .

M E N ST RU AL P e rt a in in g to the me n ses
. .

M E S E N T ER Y The memb r a n e w hich forms the a tta c h

.

me nt be tw een t he small in testi n es an d t he

a bd o men .

M E T ABO L I S M inti m te condi ti on of

. A cha nge in the a

ce ll con tr ctiv or d tr cti v

s, s u e es u e .

M I CR OB E Any mi n t e or mi cro ganis

. u -

or

M I CR O O R GANI S M A min t org ni m

-
. u e a s .

M I N I MUM Th m ll t q ntity
. e s a es ua .

M I S N O MER A mi t k n or mi ppli ed name

. s a e sa .

M I T I G A T I O N Th proc ess of makin g mil der or

. e

ab tin g a .

M IT RA L M ite r lik e ; ppli d to th v lve situ ted t

.
-
a e e a a a

th l ft u r i c l r O p ning f th h rt
e e a u a e O e ea .

M OB I L IT Y Th prope rty of be ing ea ily moved

. e s .

M O R BI D N ot healthy ; d iseased ; pe rta ining to

.

d is e ea s .

M O R T A L I T Y The dea th r te ; the ta te Of being

. a s

mortal .

MOTO R. ‘ Appli d to m scles and nerv movin g e u es a

p rt a .

M U C O S A A m c u s membr n
. u a e .

M U C U S The vi c id li qui d ecr e ti on Of m cus m m

. s s u e

br n a e .

M U T A T I O N The ct of chan gin g ; cha nge

. a .

M YO P IA N r Si ghtednes
. ea -
s.

M YO P I C P e rta inin g to M yopia

. .

N
N AR C O T I C M ed i c in e that
.
pro du ces sleep or torpor .

N A S AL P e rtai ning to the

. no se .

360
 GLO S SARY

O V UM The f e ma l e r epro du cti ve c e ll ; an e g

.
g P lural, .

O va .

O XYG E N O ne of the g a se o u s e le me nts ; the su pport e r

.

O f li fe a nd co mbu st i o n .

P A BU L U M F ood ; nythi ng n tri tive

. a u .

PAC ! . A mo i t t w l or bl nk t pl ce d on pati ent

s o e a e a a .

P A LP A T ION Expl or t ion w ith t h h n d

. a e a .

P AN CRE A S A d ig t i gl n d in t h bd o men ; th
. es ve a e a e

w t br d
s ee ea .

P A R A D O X I C A L I nclined to noti on mi ngly impo

. s see s

ible s .

P ARA L Y S I S Lo s f n ti o n or vo lunt ry moti o n

. s O se sa a .

P A R A S I T E An org ni m th t inh bits noth r org n

. a s a a a e a

i m nd Obt i n no r i hm nt from i t
s a a s u s e .

P A ST EUR I ZE T o d tro y th mi crobi c li f by h ting

. es e e ea

th b t nc e su s a e .

P EL VI S Th bony b sin t th low er p rt of th

. e a a e a e

trunk .

PER. A L t in pr epo iti o n h vi ngth force of p s g

a s a e , as a e

thro gh by u , .

P ER IO ST EUM A d n li ni ng m mb nc co e r i ng th
. e se e ra e v e

rfac e of th b on
su f the bo dy e es O .

P ER I ST AL S I S Th w orm lik mo tion o f th bow el

. e -
e e s,

c i ng d ownw r d mo m nt of th ir conte nts

au s a ve e e .

P ER I T ON EUM Th m mb r n lini ng th in n r su rfac

. e e a e e e e

f th O bd o m n e a e .

P ER I T ONI T I S I nfl mm ti on f th P r i to neum
. a a O e e .

P ERME A T E T p s thro gh th por es of

. O a s u e .

P ER N I C IO U S H i ghly d tru ct iv ; f t l
. es e a a .

36 9
 GLO S SARY

P HA R YN x The mu scu la r me mbr a no u s sa c b e hin d t he

.

mo u t h .

P HYS O L O
I GY The sci ence of the fu nct ion s of the bo d y
. .

P HYS UEIQ The physic a l st r u c t u r e of a n in d i vi d u a l

. .

PI C ET L E
! IN
-
A lin e of g ua r d s po ste d in fron t of
.

n rmy to gi v no t ic of
a a e e t he a
pp ro ch a Of t he
e ne my .

P LEUR A L P rt ining to th P l r or m mbr n

. e a e eu a e a e

e n lo ping th l ng
ve e u s .

P L IAB LE E i ly b nt
. as e .

P N EUM OGA ST R I C P r t ining to th l n g nd th . e a e u s a e

sto m ch a .

PO LEM I C A L Argu m nt t iv ; cont ro r i l

. e a e ve s a .

P N EUM ONIA I nfl mm t ion f the l n g . a a O u s .

P O RE A m ll Op ning i n th kin
. s a e e s .

PO R T A L P rt i ning to th P ort l V in w hich c rr i

. e a e a e a es

th bloo d to t h li v r
e e e .

P O ST M O R T EM O c rr i ng ft r d th . c u a e ea .

P O S T N A TA L O cc rring ft r birth . u a e .

P O T E N T IA L A dj cti po w rful ; no n po
. s a e ve , e as u , sse ss

ingpo w r e .

P RE CLUDE T h t o t ; t to p
. O s u u o s .

P RE GNAN C Y Th con d it ion f b in g with chi ld

. e O e .

P RE S CR IB E T l y d o w n r l or d ir c tion ; t d ir ct
. O a u es e s o e

to b d r m dy
e u se as a e e .

P R I M O RD IA L F ir t in or d r ; pri m ry or i gin l
. s e a ,
a .

P R I ST I N E B longing to n rly p ri d or t t ;
. e a ea e o s a e

origin l primiti a ,
ve .

P R O CRE A T ION R pro d ct ion g n r tion . e u , e e a .

P R OGN OS I S P r dicti on of co r nd nd of di
. e u se a e se a se .

P R OLA P S ED F ll n d ow n . a e .

P R O P AGA T E T g n r t ; to pro d c
. O e e a e u e.

863
 GLOS SARY

P R O ST A T E A gl n d l r bo dy i t t d ro nd th
. a u a S ua e a u e

n ck o f t h bl dd r in t he m l
e e a e a e .

P R O T E I D An lb minoi d con t it nt f n org ni m

. a u s ue O a a s .

P R O T E IN Th lph r fr r i d of prot i d ft r
. e su u -
ee es ue a e a e

th ction of c t ic pot h
e a au s as .

P R O TO PL A S M P ri mit iv org nic c ll m tt r ; g rmi n l

. e a e -
a e e a

m tt r a e .

PS O R I A S I S A chron i c in fl mm tory S k in d i e w ith

. a a -
sea s

c le form ti on
s a a .

PSY C H T H ER A P Y Th tr tm nt f di ea e by m n
0 -
. e ea e O s s e

ta l infl nc ue e.

PUB ER T Y The g o f c p b ili ty of r pro d cti o n

. a e a a e u .

P UL S A T IO N A b e ting or thro bb ing n ti on

. a se sa .

P UL S E Th b t or Shock f lt in ny rt ry w h
. e ea e a a e

l ight pr
s r e i mad on it c u ed by th essu s e ,
a s e

con tr ct i on of the he rt a a .

P UR GA T IV E A b t nc c in g w t ry v c ti o n
. su s a e au s a e e a ua s

fro m t h b ow l ; c th rti c e e s a a a .

PU S . A thi ck y ll ow fl i d the pro d ct of pp r ti on e u , u su u a .

P UT RE P Y To c . to rot or d c y w ith n o ff n i a u se e a a e s ve

O dor .

P Y L O RU S Th op ning of th to m ch i nto th d
. e e e s a e uo

d e nu m .

P YO RR H E A A d i ch rg . s a e Of pu s, u su a lly a ss oc i t ed
a

w i th t h ock t of e s e s t he te e th .

QU A S I . Almo st ; so mething w hich r esembles .

QU O T A . A proportion al S ha r e or p rt a .

364
 GL O S SARY

S
S A C RUM . F ive ve rt ebr ae
r e xtr mi ty of t h at t he l w e o e e

S pin l co l mn th t r pi dl y di mini h in S i z
a u a a s e

fro m bo ve d ow nw r d nd e ni t ed into n
a a s a ar u o e

ma ss in the a du lt .

S A L I SB UR Y T RE A T ME N T A syst em of t r ea tme n t e m .

pl o y in g me a t a n d ho t w a t e r .

SA LIVA R Y P e r t a ining t o t he sa l iva

. .

S A L IVA T I O N An e x c e ssi ve se cr e t ion of sa li va

. .

S AL P INGI T I S I nfl a mmation o f a F a llopi a n t u be

. .

S A LU T A R Y P ro mo t i ve O f he a lt h
. .

S A T UR A T I O N The con d i t ion of ho ldi ng in solu tion a ll

.

o li d c p bl of b ein g cont in d
Of a s a a e a e .

S C R O F UL A A con ti t tion l con di t ion w it h gl n dul r

. s u a a a

t mor s n d t be rc l o t n d nc y
u a a u u us e e .

S C UR VY Afl ect d or co e r d w i th sc rf or sca b s
. e v e u .

S E C RE T E T o sep r t fro m t he bl o d
. a a e o .

S E N S O R Y P e rta i ning t
. n ti on o se sa .

S E N S U A L P rt in in g to t h se n e or b o d ily organ
. e a e s s s

f pe rc ption
O e .

S EP T I C . R l t ing to p t r f ction
e a u e a .

S EP T I CEM IA A mor b i d con di tion from t he b sor ption

. a

of ptic pro d ct se u s .

S E QU E N CE A fo ll o w ing or co min g ft r ; s cc ession

. a e u .

S E R O US H i ng t h n t r of se
. av e a u e r

S ERUM The fl i d con t i t n t O f th b lood

. u s ue e .

S IG M O I D F L E U RE The S shaped port i on of the colon

X .
-

bove t he r ectu m
a .

SI MU LA T E T o ssu m the l ik ene ss o f ; to f ei gn to

. a e ,

co u nt e rf it e .

S I N U S A holl o w I n Anato my t he t e r m i s ppli d

. . a e

e spe ci ally t d il at e d v in or r c pt c l of o a e e e a e

bl ood .

3 66
 GL O S SARY

SI T Z B A T H A bath in a sitt in g postu r e

-
. .

S LO U GH T o se pa r a te from t he l i v ing pa rt a s the

.
,

d ea d pa rt in mort i fica tio n .

S O P HI ST I C A T ED N ot ge n u i n e . .

S PEC T R A C o lor s. .

S P I N A L C O RD The cor d of ne r ve ti ssu e in the c ana l

.

of the spin a l co lu mn .

S P I N E The ve rt eb r a l co lu mn
. .

S P L E E N An o val org a n behi n d t he ou te r end of the

.

sto ma c h I t s u se i s unk no w n . .

S P L I N T A su pport t o hold fr a ctu r e d b on e s or ln

.

fl amed j oint s rigi d .

S P U T U M E x pector a t e d ma tt e r
. .

S T E RI L I ZED S u bj e ct e d to he a t O f su ffic ient i ntensi ty

.

to de stroy germ lif e .

S TE R T O R O US Br e a thi ng w i th a sonorou s sou nd

. .

S T I M U LA T IO N The a ct O f e x citing ; a qu ickly di fl used

'

bu t tr n i nt i ncr e f Vit l e n e rg y
a s e a se O a .

S T I M U LU S Anyt hing e x citing n org n

. a a .

S T O M A C H The chi e f d ig st i e org n of the bo dy

. e v a .

S T R I C TUR E A contr ctio n of

. d u ct or t u be The a a .

t e t r e fe r s to strict u r e of the u r ethr a

x .

S T R Y C H N I N E A highly po iso no s lk lo i d m d e from

. u a a a

N ux V o mi c a .

S TU LT I E A C T I N R e n d ering w orthl ss
O . e .

S T UPE F Y T o m k e d ll or d e d to exte rnal infl u

. a u a

e nce s .

S U B CU T AN E O U S U n de r the S k in . .

S U B J A CE N T U n de rlyin g . .

S U B S ER VI E N T A ct ing a s a su bor d in a t e
. in st ru m nt e .

S UBV ER S IV E T e n d ing t o o ve rthro w

. .

S U D O R I F ER O U S C a rr ying sw e at . .

S U P E R P I C I AL C o n fined to the su rf ac e
. .

3 67
 GL O S S ARY

S UPER S EDE TO di spla c e . .

S U PER V E NING TO t a k e pla c e ; to ha ppen ; to oc cu r

. .

S U PPUR A T IN G F or ming pu s . .

S U ST E NAN CE T ha t w hich su ppor t s l if e ; food

. .

S Y MP T O M A S ign o f d i se a se
. .

S Y P H I LI S A c hronic inf ec t io u s ve n e r e al di sea se

.
, , ,

w hi ch ma y a l so be he r e d it a r y in d u c in g cu ta ne ,

ous a nd other les i o ns .

T AR T A R . The d e po si t of c lc r eo us
a a matt e r u po n the
t eeth .

T E N S IO N The st a t e of be ing str etc he d

. .

T E N T A T I V E B ase d on ex pe ri me nt
. .

T ERM A de fi nit e pe rio d, a s t he full T e r m o f

. gesta
T H ER A PE UT I C S S ci e nc e conc e rn e d w i th t he a ppli ca
.

tio n Of r emed ie s a nd the tr ea tme n t O f di sease .

TI SS UE . An a ggr e g ation of si mi l a r c e ll s a nd fi be r s ,

formi ng a d i st inct str u ct u r e .

T I T I LL A T ION The a ct or se n sa t ion O f t ickl i n g

. .

T ONI C An a g e nt to pro du c e nor ma l ton e O f a n org a n

.

or rt apa .

T ON S I L . g n A la d u l a
r org n on e ch si de of the thro a t a a .

TON S I L I T I S I nfl mm t ion of the ton sils

. a a .

T OXI C ATI O N The proc e ss O f cu m l t i ve po i son in g

. u a

fro m ptic pro d ct s se u .

T O X IN A poi on for m d b y b ct ri in b oth li vin g

. s e a e a

ti s e s nd d d s bst nc es
su a ea u a .

T R A C H E A The w in d pi pe . .

T REM O R I n volu nt r y t r mblin g

. a e .

TR U N ! . The bo dy e c ept t he he d nd the li mb x a a s .

3 68
 GL O S SARY

V
V A GI N A c n l fro m the v lv to the u teru s
. The a a u a .

V A L VU LAR P ert in ing t o v lve

. a a a .

VE G E T A R IA N One w ho e d i et i s ve g etable
. s .

VE N ERE A L P rt ining t o x l i nt erco r e

. e a se ua u s .

VE NO U S P e t min gto v in s Oppo ed to n a rt e ry

. r a a e a s a .

VER I T Y The q lity or t t e of b ing tr u ; tr th

. ua s a e e u .

VER T E B R A A bony e gm nt of the spin l column

. s e a .

P l r l V e r t br
u a ,
e ae .

V I C E VER S A The r e r s ; t he t erm O f the c ase b e in g

. ve e s

r eve r d se .

V I R U L E N C E Th q lity or t t of b ing extr emel y

. e ua s a e e

p oi sono s u .

V I RU S Any org nic poi son ; th p s from n ulc e r ;

. a e u a

t he r esul t o f o m mor bi d ction on t he syst em s e a .

V I S C E RA The cont nts of th bo dy caviti e s

. e e .

V I S C I D Gl ut ino s ; ropy
. u .

VI S C O U S The s me a s V i sci d
. a .

V I S U AL P r t in i ng to vi si on
. e a .

VI T I A T E T t int ; to in fect
. o a .

V I T U PER A T ION Abu se . .

V IZ. T w it ; n mely ; t h t is
o ,
a a .

V OL I T IO N Th w ill to t . e ac .

VUL VA The e x tern l fem le genitals

. a a .

W
WE T N UR S E A w o m n w ho s ckl the chi ld f
-
a u es o

no th r a e .

W H E Y The li q i d p r t of mi lk se p r at i ng fro m th
. u a a e

c rd in co gu l t ion
u a a .

WO M B The U t eru s
. .

3 70
 I RS ITY O F CALI FO RNIA LI BRARY
UN VE

Un vei rs ity of Califo rnia

S O UTHERN REGIO NAL LIBRARY FACILITY
r
305 De Ne ve D ive P arkingLo t 1 7 Bo x 95 1 388
LOS ANGELES , CALI FORNIA 9009 5 1 388 -

t i material to the library fromwhich it was borrowed

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