What Is Nature Cure? by Kenneth S. Jeffrey 3rd Edition

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First published 1970 No. 4 of a Series Copyright No.71208 K. S. Jaffrey 1969 This book is copyright. No part may be published without permission of the author. STATEMENT BY THE PUBLISHER The opinions expressed in this book are based on the Naturopathic philosophy of health and do not coincide with currently accepted medical theories on health and healing. The publisher does not claim that any advice given represents a "cure" for disease.

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INTRODUCTION With the tremendous growth of interest in natural health and natural healing in recent years there is a need for a small booklet which explains clearly and simply what nature cure is. So many people have consulted "natural healers" and arrived home laden with "natural" remedies and food supplements - their hearts full of hope and pockets drained of loose cash. They have been subjected to doses of electricity and "treated" by exposure to mysterious little black boxes. Is this nature cure? At the risk of becoming unpopular I have decided to set down for all to read what I believe to be the truth about nature cure. I present for your consideration my reply to the question - What IS Nature Cure? KENNETH S. JAFFREY

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What is Nature Cure? I shall take as my text a statement made IN THE 1850’s by the founder of Nature Cure - Vincent Priessnitz. “Various causes engender vicious juices (by which he meant an abnormal composition of the body fluids). The principal are: Food of bad quality, the excess of good food, the suppression of perspiration, the want of exercise and mental affliction acting violently upon the system, such as anger, sorrow, care or melancholy.” We have good reason to be proud of Nature Cure because it is the only healing art, with which I am familiar, which has not had cause to change its fundamental principles since the day it was discovered. These words are as true to day as they were way back then. I would recommend that you memorize these words – and when you have occasion to use them – think on an illiterate peasant farmer who used them. What is the best way to achieve and maintain health? Since I am a Naturopath it is natural that I should advise everybody to investigate and adopt Nature Cure. But - what IS Nature Cure? Sooner or later most of us are faced with this question. Like all other questions it demands an answer - clear, concise and all-embracing. If we ask a friendly enthusiast we could receive a weird, inaccurate description of certain methods, which he believes, benefited him in his search for health. We may consult books or magazines. They could prove even worse. Nature Cure, it seems, can be many things. Practitioners can be just as disappointing. A practitioner calls himself a Naturopath, professes to disbelieve in drugs, yet when faced with an actual case of ill-health, will unblushingly put his patient into a hot bath laced with Epsom salts - a DRUG. If this ‘cure’ fails to cure, he may then advise the patient to take a dose of a drug (which he professedly condemns), mixes it with

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water and hopefully gives this remedy to his patient to drink, telling him that it is a "natural" remedy. If these two procedures fail to make the patient happy he may produce a contraption like an old-fashioned wireless set with knobs all over it. He seats the patient in front of the box and after adjusting to the wavelength of the patient (whatever that means), tells his victim to call again for a further session of this pure bunkum. This foolishness he calls Radiesthesia or Radionics - Big words that mean exactly nothing. Is it any wonder that the genuine enquirer pleads “What IS Nature Cure?” In this booklet I will try to set out what Nature Cure is, what it is not, and briefly, how it works. Definition Nature Cure - What does the term mean? Nature Cure is derived from two words. The word ‘nature’ implies that which is natural and normal - that which derives from nature itself. The word 'cure' means care and attention. So, we can define Nature Cure as the art of caring for human beings in a way, which is natural to their organisms. And so we start to think about that which is ‘natural to our organism. Nature Cure is not only a way to assist in the removal of disease but also a way of life that provides the natural care and attention necessary to maintain health. This is a very important statement – it encompasses a philosophy of living based on astute observation, care and attention. Why do we need the system of Nature Cure? Have we not already got perfectly competent medical physicians, trained and qualified to advise us how to keep healthy and how to restore health when it has been lost? The answer is NO. It is precisely because the medical hotch-potch of cures lacks a correct underlying principle and because it does nothing to solve our problems that we MUST look elsewhere for the truth about health. Can any sane rational person believe that in order to enjoy good health one has to be drugged, injected and mutilated from birth to

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death? Yet, this is the thoroughly negative and futile approach, which is current today. Silver Nitrate or some other drug is dropped into a baby's eyes at birth. He is given soothing syrups and teething powders. His life begins with drugs. Before long he is being injected with poisonous vaccines that are supposed to prevent him from becoming sick. No logical reason is offered why a healthy person, if normally cared for, should ever become ill. Yet, the round of superstitious injections goes on. We are immunised against measles, whooping cough, poliomyelitis and a host of other diseases we may never get. Throughout life, various organs such as tonsils, appendix or gall bladder may be removed surgically. And still humanity remains ill. Diametrically Opposite Nature Cure has a completely different approach to health and healing. It claims that health is the natural consequence of providing the body with its normal, natural materials and environment.

• We believe that when we are ill there is a perfectly natural cause for that condition.

• We believe that illness is simply the organism reacting to a situation that is causing it some difficulty.

• Something has interfered with the normal, natural functioning of the body.

• The body, previously at “ease”, comfortable and efficient, is in a state of “dis-ease.” It functions imperfectly and is in a state of discomfort, illness or “dis-ease.”

The advocates of Nature Cure believe that the correct approach is to …

• Remove the cause of the “dis-ease” and to render any assistance that will provide the body with the most favourable conditions for a return to health.

Doesn't this sound more logical than the blind hit-and-miss methods now customary? So it is!

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Disease – like death and taxes… Let me state quite emphatically that the idea that ill health is inevitable, is false.

• If we give the body what it needs we will enjoy normal health. Health is NOT the result of drugs

• The idea that human beings can be “poisoned” into health is also false.

• NO poisons of ANY kind are of any benefit to a well person and they are less beneficial to a sick one.

Poison = In Nature Cure we classify as a poison any substance which is not needed by the body as a source of food and which the body cannot profitably utilise for the purpose of providing energy or building tissues. Drugs, medicines and many commodities sold under the guise of foods are in reality poisons. They may be mild poisons in some cases, but they are poisons nevertheless. Causes of Health Let us return to the causes of health for a while. When we are well we rarely stop to consider what it is that is keeping us well. Obviously, SOMETHING is.

• Nature Cure teaches that it is NATURAL to be healthy. • We believe that Human beings, like animals in their natural

state, SHOULD be healthy. • No drugs, vaccines or electrical gadgets are necessary to

keep a normal person in good health. What then, is needed? Right living - Correct living habits will produce normal, natural health.

• If you are ill, have headaches or pains, feel tired and out of sorts, if you need a laxative to force your bowels to work properly, then you are ill.

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• If you constantly have catarrh or get frequent colds, there MUST be something wrong.

But doesn't everybody get a cold now and then? Of course they do, if there is a need for it.

• Colds just don't happen capriciously. • Colds are nature's way of removing unwanted material

through the mucus membranes. • They are our safety valves.

Behind every illness or disability there is a CAUSE. • The body is self regulating and self-repairing. • We don't need to take medicines to ensure that the bowels

work normally.

• We don't need to apply ointment if we cut ourselves. • Healing is a natural process, which should proceed without

the use of any external or internal aids. Nature Cure does NOT use drugs, medicines, herbs, vitamin preparations, food supplements or electrical machines.

• It uses only such methods as are natural to the body. • Nature Cure teaches that illness is caused by an infringe-

ment of natural law. • It teaches that the only sure way to regain health is by

obedience to natural law. In other words, we should live naturally.

• In order to be healthy we need suitable food, exercise, rest, water, sunlight, fresh air, correct living habits and a positive mental attitude.

When a person is ill, the SAME factors are necessary as in health, but in different proportions. The chief causes of ill-health are foodless or poisoned foods, drugs, lack of exercise, insufficient rest, tensions,

worries, fears, excessive stimulation, impure air, polluted water,

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occupational strains or accidents,

wrong living habits and unbalanced emotions.

Any one or more of these things can cause

1. Enervation, which is depletion of nerve force. 2. This leads to imperfect elimination of body wastes and 3. Retention of poisons, causing toxaemia, which is an

abnormal composition of the blood. This is the chain of events through which disease arises; Wrong living habits > enervation > imperfect elimination > retention of poisons > blood poisoning > disease The job of a Naturopath is to uncover the factors that cause disease and then teach the patient how to adjust his way of life so he will live in harmony with nature and not against it. So - the Naturopath is NOT a medical practitioner.

• He does not supply medical or surgical advice or treatments. If he does these things he is really an amateur physician and has no right to call himself a Naturopath.

• Nature Cure is devoted wholly to the achievement and maintenance of normal health by natural means.

• It seeks to provide the correct environment and conditions so the Life force within the body will restore and maintain health.

• Nature Cure recognises nature as the ONLY healer. We use the following natural factors Natural Foods Fasting Water Sunlight Air Earth

Exercise and Relaxation Positive Thinking Manipulations such as Chiropractic / Osteopathic / Naprapathic are used to assist in establishing normality of the body structure.

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The treatments used are not treatments in the usual sense of the word.

• Naturopathic treatments are used only to achieve normality. • When the body is normal it repairs itself automatically.

Naturopaths therefore do not promise to CURE disease and they do not TREAT disease. They concentrate solely on normalisation of the patient.

• Naturopaths do not prescribe drugs, medicines or remedies of ANY kind.

• The only substance used in Nature Cure, which even remotely resembles medicine, is water, and water has never injured anyone or produced any harmful side effects.

• The approach of Nature Cure to health is scientific, logical and rational.

• Its treatments are biologically sound and normal. Whilst theory is very interesting, actual practice is better still. Many thousands or people all over the world have been restored to health after all other methods had failed and medical authorities had said their case was hope less. Does it always work? “Will the simple natural methods which I have enumerated suffice to banish disease?” They will - providing there is sufficient vitality within the body. Nature Cure will not save a dying person. It will undoubtedly prolong life – but unless there is enough vitality - even Nature Cure will fail. “If Nature Cure is so effective, why do not more people adopt it and why has the medical profession ignored its teachings?"

• Many people do not adopt Nature Cure because they do not wish to discard their old living habits.

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• Many people would rather die or remain ill than give up drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco or eating the flesh of animals.

• The choice is theirs. They elect to indulge their old tastes and habits rather than discipline themselves and discard their wrong habits of a lifetime.

• Members of the medical profession can be forgiven if they do not adopt natural healing methods. Most physicians do not know anything about Nature Cure and are too busy to investigate it thoroughly.

• There is also the natural resistance to change - It's in most of us.

• Another reason why Nature Cure is not popular is that there is little money in it. There is nothing to sell or exploit commercially.

If people lived normal, natural lives there would be no need for drugs nor for physicians to prescribe them. Hospitals would be drastically reduced in size and number. Only a few surgeons would be needed to attend to people who were accidentally injured. BIOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS If we accept the claim that it is natural to be healthy and that there are certain principles to be followed in order to maintain the highest degree of health, it is logical for us to study the human body and its environment and then determine what we should do to be healthy. NUTRITION Living foods In our short list of requirements we mentioned suitable food. Most people would accept this. But just what IS suitable food? Here is where we have the widest divergence of opinion. The diet recommended by most authorities is, according to Nature Cure philosophy, most UNSUITABLE. In a booklet of this nature it would be impractical to enter into a long discussion on food. Suffice it is to say that the secret of good nutrition is LIVING FOOD

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• We need a daily intake of foods in a state as near natural as possible.

• It is best to adopt what is commonly called a vegetarian diet, although I prefer to tall it a natural diet.

EXERCISE Next in our list of health needs is exercise.

• If man lived in a wholly natural environment he would not need planned exercise.

• Living under our civilised conditions it is vitally necessary to have daily exercise in order to build and maintain strong flexible muscles and tissues.

REST Rest is the opposite to exercise and just as important.

• Rest is really a period of relaxation in which all muscular tension is relieved.

• Sleep is the most natural and essential form of rest. SUNLIGHT Sunlight, although feared by many, is the power from nature's generators.

• All life on earth derives its power indirectly from the sun. • This power in the form of solar radiations is absorbed

through the skin, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.

AIR That rare commodity, fresh air, is also a most desirable factor in our search for health.

• Modem man is polluting his atmosphere with gases from factories, homes and transport machinery.

• This gives us a good reason for visiting the country or seaside as often as possible.

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WATER Water, once a wholesome beverage, is now becoming an unwholesome poisoned soup.

• Many town water supplies are unfiltered which means that the water contains sludge and algae.

• Then fluoride, chlorine, aluminium sulphate, copper sulphate and other chemicals are added to make substandard water still less suitable for human consumption.

• If we MUST drink this poisoned water it is advisable to distil or filter it to remove all impurities.

• Incidentally, water is not only used for drinking and bathing but also for producing better tone of skin and muscles.

MENTAL POISE As well as the concrete factors just discussed we have the abstract factor of the human mind.

• Nature Cure teaches that a positive, constructive and optimistic attitude of mind produces the best mental climate for high-level health and emotional stability.

If we attend to these factors we will be living fairly naturally. Should we be already ill, then it, is necessary to eliminate the illness by removing the CAUSES and the necessity for the illness. This process is called Nature Cure or Naturopathy. There are many schools of thought and each school stresses the factors, which appeal most strongly to its adherents. To give you an idea of the wide divergence of treatment methods, I will quote the experience of a patient who consulted seven natural healers. These are the methods they recommend, in various combinations: - Diet, Fasting, Exercise, Relaxation, Sunbathing, Osteopathic Manipulations, Chiropractic Adjustments, Massage, Spinal Traction, Herbs, Vitamin Pills, Homeopathic Drugs, Biochemic Tissue Salts, Ultra-sonic Treatments, Diathermy, Short Wave, Vapour Baths and Radiesthesia. All of the practitioners consulted by this patient called themselves Naturopaths. It would be interesting to compare the various combinations of treatments and advice given and to try to analyse

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the reasons for using these particular combinations of methods. Perhaps, after all, they really believed in them. Whilst it is only natural that individual practitioners will always lay the greatest stress on the methods that have the strongest appeal to them personally, the effect on the patient is confusing. It is wrong to encourage belief in the power of medicine or food or a machine to heal; or even for that matter, to encourage belief in some magic power in the practitioner's hands. TREATMENTS

• At this point it would be wise to give a list of the most popular methods of treatment, which have been classified from time to time as natural.

• Some of these treatments are far from natural and have no place in a system of healing called Nature Cure.

• This will be explained as we go along. • A simple description will be given of each method, with my

comment on each one and my opinion as to its merits or otherwise.

DIETETICS - This subject covers everything that is consumed by the mouth.

• Nothing but food should ever pass the lips. • There is never a time when a poison or non-food has any

value.

• Dietetics is the cornerstone of Nature Cure but it is also the most difficult of all subjects connected with it.

• A fully balanced diet contains everything needed for nutrition. • Such things as vitamins, food supplements and so-called

natural remedies are of very little, if any, value. • The vast majority of people do not want to give up their

orthodox eating habits, so we have many schools of thought, all vying with each other to make dietetics attractive and acceptable to the average person.

• All kinds of queer diets are proposed. There are diets for almost every conceivable complaint - Ulcer diets, Obesity

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diets, Constipation diets, Diets for Arthritis and Rheumatism. One enterprising practitioner has even resurrected the old and discredited Salisbury diet consisting of cooked minced meat and hot water. Such diets are not only useless but also harmful.

LIGHT

• This subject covers sunlight, chromotherapy, infrared, ultra-violet and other forms of light radiation.

• It is very doubtful if any of these methods, except sunbathing, has any value beyond what psychological help they may give.

• The only benefits derived would be produced by the faith one has in them.

• Sunbathing on the other hand is a perfectly natural method of absorbing solar radiations from the sun and should be included in every natural health program.

• In the beginning, the exposures to the sun should be carefully graduated in order to avoid burning.

AIR • Air bathing, breathing, hot-air baths, ozone and oxygen

therapy have all been used. • Air bathing is most beneficial in that it tones up the muscles

and develops efficient skin reaction. • Breathing pure air by means of rhythmic diaphragmatic

breathing should form pan of every health program. • The ozone and oxygen treatments and hot-air baths have

little value and act mainly as symptomatic treatments.

• Tobacco smoking could also be mentioned under the heading of Air. Inhalation of these poisonous gases pollutes the bloodstream and not only causes respiratory diseases, but also aggravates many conditions in other parts of the body.

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EXERCISE • Under this heading we find physical culture, weight lifting,

sports and gymnastics. • Running, Jogging, Swimming and all non-violent sports are

the ideal form of exercise. • Violent movements should be avoided. • Those exercises that rotate, flex and stretch the spine are

the most valuable as personal systems of exercise. • Conscious posture correction has great value in overcoming

some of the wrong postural habits of civilised life. PHYSICAL THERAPIES Under this heading we can group all of the mechanical treatments, those that study and treat the body as a mechanical contrivance. The philosophy behind all of these treatments can be stated as “A place for everything and everything in its place.” They all strive to produce normality of the body structure. The best-known are - Osteopathy and Chiropractic. They commenced as entirely separate and distinct systems. Today, they have overlapped to such an extent that chiropractic schools teach many osteopathic movements, while osteopathic schools teach almost all of the chiropractic methods. Chiropractic formerly concentrated its efforts on the examination and adjustments of the bony joints of the body, paying particular attention to the spine. Chiropractors now use hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, vitamins and many other adjuncts. Osteopaths originally depended solely on manipulation of the soft tissues and bony structure, and declared that there was no room for anything else. Osteopaths today use chiropractic adjustments, dietetics, food supplements, massage, electrotherapy and several other methods. American osteopaths even use drugs and surgery. Osteopaths claim that the osteopathic lesion is the main cause of ill health. This is defined as a tissue-change in any part of the body, which impedes nutrition, drainage and flow of nerve-force, blood and lymph. Chiropractors claim that an impingement of a nerve by a slightly misplaced or abnormally fixed vertebra or joint (called a

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subluxation) can cause an excess or shortage of nerve-force and thus act as a cause of disease. The osteopath uses a series of actions, which he calls osteopathic movements. These are leverages on the bony structure and manipulation of the soft tissues. The chiropractor uses a quick recoil thrust against a maladjusted vertebra or joint and calls this an adjustment. Unfortunately, much mumbo-jumbo has surrounded Osteopathy and Chiropractic. Exaggerated claims have been made for them and they have been grossly misused. These manipulations are not always necessary. If there is no appreciable mechanical disability they are not needed. However, if there is interference with the normal flow of blood, lymph and nerve-force, it is wise to adjust these abnormalities. Many thousands of people have recovered their health without manipulation, which proves that in some cases it is unnecessary. Manipulation should only be used when needed. When spinal discs are thinned or crushed, spinal traction is very beneficial. MASSAGE

• Under this heading we have manual rubbing, stroking, kneading and vibration, as well as ultra-sonic, electrical vibration and concussion of the spine.

• Massage and vibration can best be described as external pushing.

• The effect is purely palliative and has been much over-rated. • Massage does not produce any permanent beneficial change

in the structure or chemical composition of the body. • Some massage methods have value in that they relieve pain

by breaking up congestion and dispersing toxins. • They do not aid the body to remove the cause of disease so

cannot be claimed as having any healing value. • Massage should be used for relief of pain and even then only

for as long as is necessary and until the body has been able to remove the cause of the pain.

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ELECTROTHERAPY • This includes Diathermy, Short wave, Galvanic Faradic and

all other methods of applying electricity to the body. • Except for the slight psychological help they may give some

suggestible people, the total effect of electricity applied in these ways is almost nil.

• It is far better and less risky to absorb natural radiations into our bodies through sunbathing and contact of the bare feet with the earth.

PSYCHOLOGY

• Under this heading we have many schools of thought. All claim to teach the patient how to correct his mental faults and to give him the right approach to the problems of life.

• The system, which has been used by Naturopaths right from the beginning, is Positive thinking or the development of a positive mental attitude.

• This system teaches that a pessimistic, destructive and negative attitude of mind produces tensions, fears and worries and they in turn generate the climate favourable to ill health.

• Conversely, it teaches that a positive, optimistic and constructive mental attitude assists in the achievement of harmony and health.

• A few practitioners have used hypnotism. Hypnotism is a psychological crime. Never surrender your mind to anyone, not even a Naturopath.

HYDROTHERAPY

• This is the use of water. Many modem Naturopaths have now discarded the use of water and so in recent years this cheap, efficient and safe health aid has been neglected.

• Some people claim that water applications are not natural and have no value.

• If they are genuine in their belief this could only mean that they have not properly tested hydrotherapy.

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• In the early days of Nature Cure, water was widely used to cleanse, tone and harden the organism.

• It was even called The Water Cure. • Water may be used in the form of affusions, sprays, vapour

baths, sitz baths, packs and compresses. • It can also be used in internal baths. • It is fully conceded that some forms of water treatments such

as colonic irrigations, hot mineral baths and other violent applications should be avoided. This however, does not detract from the great value of the simple forms of hydrotherapy when intelligently applied.

SEMI-MEDICAL TREATMENTS Herbal remedies, Biochemic tissue salts, Homeopathic drugs and the thousands of remedies sold as natural remedies are all almost valueless. They have no place in a natural system of healing. While some of these remedies are much less harmful than orthodox drugs, they cannot remove the causes of disease nor can they supply any of the biological requirements of the body or be used by the body to build normal tissues. By their very nature they are either mild poisons or non-foods and therefore should not be consumed by well or sick people. Herbalism is a system of botanic medicine. Plants are treated in many ways to make them into medicines. The body recognises these substances as unwanted material and makes more or less violent efforts to expel them. Most herbs, if eaten in the natural state, are wholesome foods and should be regarded as such. When converted into medicines by roasting, boiling, drying and mixing with harmful ingredients they lose any value they originally possessed. Biochemic tissue salts and Homeopathic medicines are all highly diluted drugs. Here again the body will try to expel these mild poisons and so produce a reaction. But, as these drugs do not remove the causes of disease and simply mitigate the effects of wrong living habits they do not qualify as natural methods of treatment.

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Many modern Naturopaths give medicines because they feel that most people are not yet ready for the pure teachings of Nature Cure and because there is a demand for something to take. They have even gone so far as to rationalise this procedure by claiming that people suffer from certain deficiencies that these natural remedies supply. The medical profession has used placebos for many years. A placebo is defined as medicine, which contains solely inactive ingredients. The only possible benefit gained would be produced by the faith patients have in these remedies. Early hygienists made use of coloured water and bread pills. People were encouraged to believe that these so-called medicines contained some powerful and mysterious healing powers. Today, this faith has been transferred to vitamin pills and food supplements. In Great Britain, the situation has become so serious that an organisation known as the British Register of Naturopaths accepts as members only those practitioners who practise pure Naturopathy. In order to gain membership the applicant must promise not to prescribe remedies of any kind. This is a step in the right direction and members of this organisation assure patients of a high standard of practice. There have been other methods used from time to time. Each has had its day. Some of these survive today and are used by a few practitioners. Under this heading we find Nerve-pressure, Zone Therapy and Radiesthesia, including the so-called Colour-therapy. The first two I have mentioned constitute a group of methods that depends upon pressure at strategic points on the body to produce effects of stimulation and inhibition. They either speed up or slow down the flow of nerve-force and do on occasions, produce effects. Their value is minute, brief and not worth the trouble involved. At best, they do little harm. At worst, they suppress slightly some symptoms of disease. They are all unnecessary. Radiesthesia or Radionics is based on the claim that disease is caused by unfavourable radiations and that inducement of favourable radiations can improve health. Radiesthesia is quite useless for the purpose of making changes in the body structure or body chemistry. It has the saving grace that it does not do any harm except to convince the patient that there is some magical quality of healing in the little black box.

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The truth is that the inherent healing power within the cells of the body alone can bring about a return to health. You will get good results with Nature Cure, with or without Radiesthesia, but you will NOT get results without that force known as the Vis Medicatrix Naturae or the healing power of nature. Acupuncture and Chicken embryo injections are methods that have become popular in recent years. They have the glamour of the east about them.

• Acupuncture makes use of needles, which are thrust, into the skin in certain well-defined areas. It is highly unnatural and quite useless.

• The embryos of unborn chickens are used to provide the raw material that is injected into dupes who believe it will confer some benefit on them. It is supposed to produce rejuvenation - Another most unnatural and useless procedure.

FASTING I have left the most important and least understood subject until the last. Fasting can be described as nature's own method of healing. Not that there is any healing power in the act of depriving yourself of food alone - but Fasting does give the digestive system directly - and the rest of the body indirectly - a much-needed rest. Right from the beginning Naturopaths have held the belief that rest or conservation of energy was the best way to assist the body to heal and repair itself. Naturopaths were not quite alone. Many years ago an eminent medical doctor, John Hilton, wrote in his classical work "Rest and Pain", the following words - "Pain is the monitor. Rest the cure." Doctor Hilton understood that pain was the reflection of the nervous system telling us that something was wrong. He also understood that at this time the body needed rest to effect a cure The secret of Fasting is not mysterious. It provides physiological rest, which combined with mental and physical rest - is the most important tool in the hands of the Naturopath.

Fasting is the Rest Cure.

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We have now concluded our review of the most important and best-known methods, which have been included in the practice of Nature Cure. Any one or more of these methods has been called Nature Cure. I leave it to the judgment of the individual as to what he or she thinks about each one. I have tried to indicate fairly those methods which I feel should and should not be included. If my readers feel that I have been unduly harsh on some natural health practitioners, I would point out that ANY unorthodox treatment is better than the orthodox medical treatment. ANY treatment, which poisons the body less, or which subjects it to less strain or less enervation is bound to be more beneficial than orthodox treatment. Since it is the inherent healing power within the body that heals, it follows that the less hindrance caused the better the end-result will be. Some remedies are simply placebos, which act on the principle that they keep the patient happy while nature does the curing. The bottles of coloured water and bread pills that were used at the close of the 19th century were used on the assumption that patients expected the doctor to give them something to take. We can only hope that humanity is ready to emerge from this infantile stage and can now adopt a more scientific and more rational outlook towards health and healing. There is a widespread misconception that anything that is not “medical” treatment must therefore be Nature Cure. Members of the medical profession are impatient with Naturopaths. They claim that doctors already use everything that Naturopaths use so there is no need for a separate profession. It is true that the medical profession at one time or another has used all of our methods, although they have now largely discarded most of them. Dietetics, Liquid Diets, Fasting, Exercising, Relaxation, Sunbathing, Water Treatments and Manipulation have all been used by medical practitioners. The essential difference between medicine and Nature Cure is the philosophy behind them. The tools we use are not so important. Give one tradesman a saw, a hammer, a plane and a square. He will produce a piece of furniture or a house and it will be a work of art.

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Give the same tools to an unskilled man and he will produce an inferior job. It is not the tools but the skill and understanding of the operator and how he applies his knowledge and skill that matters. THE POWER TO HEAL Here we can anticipate a question. "If there is no healing power in drugs, surely there MUST be some healing power in herbs or electricity. Aren't they natural?" My reply is NONE at all. The power to heal does not lie in ANY substance, ANY machine or in any other human being.

• The power to heal is within the tiny cells of every living body, animal or vegetable.

• Every cell of your body is vibrating with life, expanding and contracting, pulsing with movement.

• It is absorbing electricity and radiating electricity. • It is absorbing chemicals and excreting chemicals. • THIS is the power that heals. • When we understand this simple basic truth, we understand

almost everything there is to understand about Nature Cure. There is NO healing power in anything outside the body. • Nature Cure is used only for the purpose of releasing the

inherent power within the cell.

• Only such treatments and procedures as those that help the body to achieve normality are of any value.

We of the Nature Cure school know through experience that the human body will function perfectly if it is given the right foods, a favourable environment, proper hygienic care and congenial activity. We believe that unsuitable foods, drugs, medicines and unnecessary surgical operations, unfavourable environments, unhygienic living habits and negative mental attitudes all cause disease, reduce efficiency, hinder nature's self-healing efforts and shorten life.

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Every cell of the body has within itself the Will to live - the Will to survive. This is the Life force in action and this is what we have to encourage. CAUSE AND EFFECT A visit to a Naturopath is a pleasantly different experience from a visit to a medical physician.

• The physician is concerned mainly with outward symptoms and his treatments are directed largely towards removal of these outward symptoms (Effects)

• The Naturopath, on the other hand, concerns himself mainly with the search for CAUSES of disease. His treatments are directed mainly towards removal of causes.

Germ Theory • The medical profession holds to the belief that germs and

viruses cause disease. The treatment is therefore directed largely towards the killing of these germs and viruses by means of drugs, which are loosely, called antibiotics.

Toxaemia • The Naturopath makes no effort to kill germs or viruses

because he does not recognise them as being basic causes of disease.

• While he accepts the existence of bacteria, he knows that the bacteria are secondary in the scheme of disease causation.

• Germs arise within a diseased and poisoned organism and thrive on the filthy matter they find there.

• Germs and viruses cannot and do not harm a healthy body. Germs Do Not Like a Clean Environment You can make a simple test for yourself, which will prove this.

• Get two clean bottles. Stand them side-by-side. • In one bottle place scraps of decaying food. • Wait for a few days. • The bottle containing the food will be infested by all kinds of

vermin.

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• The empty bottle will be free from infestation. • Why? • Because there is nothing in the empty bottle of interest to the

vermin. • Germs and viruses are scavengers of the human body. • Germs find no habitation or food supply in a healthy body. • Those who live in accordance with natural law have nothing

to fear from germs. • Every housewife knows that the secret of a healthy home is

cleanliness. • Apply the same line of reasoning to your body. • If you have neglected your home it will become infested. So

will your body. We return to our original question. What IS Nature Cure? Nature Cure is a way of life, which lays down certain requirements. If these are met we will be able to live in health. It also offers hope for the restoration of health to those who are afflicted. The right way back to health is to remove all unnatural living habits and obstructions to normal functioning of the body. The methods based upon natural law, which I described earlier, have their uses in varying degrees. When a Naturopath makes his diagnosis of a case he forms a picture of the patient and his living habits. Obviously no two people are exactly alike and so his instructions may differ in each case. One person may eat suitable food but does not exercise enough. Another may exercise enough and eat suitable food but due to the adoption of negative mental attitudes, nullifies all his efforts towards health. Some people eat basically good foods - yet grossly overeat, thus overloading their digestive capacity, producing indigestion and all of the ills that follow.

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OMNI-LATERAL Good health demands attention to all of the factors we have discussed. If we neglect one or more of these we may not necessarily die or develop cancer, but we WILL have reduced efficiency or shortened life span. Any attempt at restoring health should take into account as many as possible of the essential factors, especially those that have been neglected over long periods. A one-sided approach (UNI-LATERAL) to health is NOT Nature Cure. Dietetic errors account for by far the largest proportion of disease conditions and that is why Naturopaths lay such stress on the adoption of rational eating habits. No matter how positively we think, how much we fast, how much we exercise, if the food we eat is sub-standard we will never achieve the highest standard of health of which we are capable.

• We need food, which is naturally suited to our digestive system. This is briefly raw fruit, raw vegetables, nuts, whole grains and a few other minor items.

• Our food should be masticated thoroughly and we should not overeat.

• Our food should preferably be organically grown using compost instead of artificial fertilisers.

• Food grown organically lasts better keeps longer and has a higher nutritional value.

• We need pure air on our skins. • We should breathe this air deeply and rhythmically using the

diaphragm rather than the chest for this purpose. • We need plenty of sunshine, both through the food we eat

and directly on the bare skin. • Our skin also needs regular bathing with cool water and then

rubbing vigorously. • We need exercise and plenty of it. • We should adopt a positive, constructive and cheerful

outlook on life.

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• We should radiate love, harmony and helpfulness towards our fellow man. We should try to achieve mental poise.

These are the minimum requirements for health and given these we should live long healthy lives, providing our heredity is sound. If we have disobeyed nature's laws and suffer sub-standard health we may reverse the process providing the damage done to vital organs has not been too great. We must remove the CAUSE of disease and do everything in our power to produce normality of the body structure and body chemistry.

• There are times when such treatments as manipulation can be used to correct structural faults and deviations.

• If the skin action has been impaired through years of neglect and it is no longer able to carry out its function of eliminating body wastes efficiently, hydrotherapy in the form of vapour baths, sitz baths or compresses can be used to assist in normalising skin action.

As long as the treatments are non-violent in character and carefully applied, they can assist in achieving normality. The wise and competent Naturopath is the one who can detect the faults in his patient and then selects a routine, which is the best suited to his needs. ACUTE V CHRONIC DISEASE The philosophy of Nature Cure recognises only two forms of disease. It is unnecessary to give names to various sets of symbols. The body is either in the Acute state or the Chronic state. That is all we need to know. ACUTE

• If the body is in the acute state, the temperature will be above normal and it will also be more active than usual.

• This is a sign of high vitality. • We call this the Healing Crisis. • It may take the form of colds, influenza, diarrhoea, head-

aches, boils or skin eruptions. • The Healing Crisis is an example of Nature's effort to heal

and restore normal functioning of the organism.

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• When you develop a healing crisis the correct procedure is to Fast at once and continue to do so until the body indicates that the fast should be concluded.

• If you have not fasted before it is advisable to undertake your first fast under correct supervision.

CHRONIC

• If the body is in the Chronic state then a different approach is necessary.

• In the chronic state the temperature is normal or below normal.

• If through years of neglect, the taking of drugs or submission to operations, or incorrect management of previous acute diseases, the disease ceases to be acute, it then proceeds towards the chronic state.

• In this state there may be loss of efficiency, tiredness, pains, deformity or anyone or more of many symptoms.

• In this state the body is unable to heal itself and restore health. It has virtually ceased to struggle against its enemies.

RAISE THE VITALITY As the acute disease is nature's method of healing, we must direct all of our energies towards raising the vitality of the body so this state will be produced.

• This could take from seven weeks to two years. • We make use of all the forces of nature, which we have been

discussing under the heading of natural treatments and which are appropriate to our case.

• When the body is given the right foods and all other requirements and there is an unobstructed flow of nerve-force and blood - it will proceed to heal itself.

• It does this by producing the healing crisis. As stated before, this is the correct time to undertake a fast.

When health has been restored it seems logical that the person should then rearrange his or her life and living habits so as to prevent a recurrence of disease in the future.

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There are characteristics peculiar to Nature Cure, which should be explained to the newcomer. Citing a case history can best do it.

• A patient presents himself to a medical physician for diagnosis.

• The physician finds that the patient has ONE symptom only - a headache.

• A drug is prescribed and subsequently the headache disappears.

• As far as the physician is concerned the case is closed. • The patient suffered a headache, a drug was given and the

patient now has no headache. In Nature Cure the case would not be closed so readily. We of the Nature Cure School would ask some pertinent questions.

• What set of conditions within the body produced the headache?

• What was the action of the drug, and by what means was the headache cured?

• What is the condition of the body? • Have the conditions, which produced the headache been

removed? • Has the drug caused any permanent change within the

body? Until these questions are satisfactorily answered we insist that this kind of treatment remains unscientific and invalid. PATTERN OF DISEASE Cure of disease does not always run quite as smoothly or directly as this case history would indicate. The body has its own way of dealing with causes of disease. A short time after the adoption of a normal living plan, certain dynamic and revolutionary changes take place within the body.

• The toxins or blood poisons which were most recently acquired, are eliminated.

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• Then those poisons that were accumulated further back in time will be eliminated progressively in reverse order to that in which they were accumulated.

• The poisons you accumulated a month ago will be eliminated first.

• The poisons you accumulated two months ago will be eliminated next.

• Those you accumulated twelve months ago will be next, and so on.

• Thus the body progressively and systematically cleanses its tissues of unwanted and harmful material.

• This continues until the body finally rids itself of all harmful matter.

• A person who has had many diseases in the past and has cured them medically must understand that these diseases were not in reality cured at all, but only suppressed.

• Not only do his tissues contain the actual poisons, which caused his disease in the first place, but also the residues of the drugs used to CURE the disease.

• So, the body, acting under the stimulus of the new Nature Cure program, builds vitality, which enables it to progressively throw off both the original disease-producing poisons, AND the drugs used in treatment.

In carrying out a Nature Cure Treatment we commonly find that the patient has a revisitation of his old illnesses, but in a milder form and for a shorter period. This is what distinguishes Nature Cure markedly from all other forms of healing. A patient following a Nature Cure regimen actually re-lives his past medical history in reverse. The intelligent patient is pleased to note that his body is now vital and active and that for the first time in years it is healthy enough to rid itself of poisons accumulated over a long period.

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DISCIPLINE AND WILL POWER Even though many so-called miracles have occurred under Nature Cure, it would be wrong to demand dramatic results in every case. Each case is different.

• People have had organs removed. Others have taken drugs or eaten unsuitable food over a long period.

• Others again have sustained injuries to the spine or other vital parts of the body.

• A person, who after a long period of wrong living, simply adopted more rational eating habits may find that his condition persists or even becomes worse for a time.

• Only a complete change in the way of life will be of any avail in these cases.

• Half measures will not do. • A body saturated with poisons or unwanted materials will

take some time and patience to rehabilitate. • In rare cases, the sufferer must be content with prevention of

any further deterioration in health, or at best, to experience a slow transition back to full health.

• We cannot dictate to nature. • A healthy person is one who can do a hard day's work and

enjoy it. He recuperates quickly. • He needs no artificial stimulants such as tea, coffee or

alcohol. • He needs no poisonous sedatives like tobacco. • He has normal bowel action without having to resort to

laxatives or the enema. • What is more he is free from aches and pains. • His tongue is clean, his breath sweet and fresh. • He feels well every day. • His mind is alert and intelligent.

If you do not measure up to these standards it is time you took stock of yourself to see what changes you can make in your way of life to correct any deficiencies.

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Is there to be no compromise? Of course! Those who are unwilling to adopt the full program may go as far as they wish. They will derive benefit in ratio to the effort they make in the beginning.

• You can make minor changes in your diet - eliminate harmful foods and add others more nutritious.

• Then as time goes on and as you feel the benefit you gain, you can increase your involvement.

• The decision you make is entirely your own. • You are a free agent.

By neglecting your health you hurt only yourself. It can be seen that Nature Cure is quite different from any other healing art. It requires two things of us - Intelligence and Will power. Intelligence is necessary to enable us to carry out the program that is suited to us. Self-discipline and will power are essential to achieve the results. IN THE BEGINNING In the beginning it is advisable to have a consultation with a Naturopath, one who is competent, one who has experienced Nature Cure in his own case. He will give you an assessment of your condition and then plan a program for you to follow. It is also advisable to join a Natural Health Society if there is one in your locality. By means of lectures, films, demonstrations and discussions, you will learn more about this fascinating new approach to health. Buy some good books and magazines and make yourself familiar with the simple fundamentals of Nature Cure. If you have absorbed the contents of this book you will at least know the answer to the question - What IS Nature Cure?

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But - is information enough? It is not. ENTHUSIASM We also need some enthusiasm.

• Enthusiasm infuses the whole organism with vitality and activity.

• Having taken the stand in favour of natural living and natural healing, only a positive, constructive and optimistic attitude is good enough.

• Give this new program your full co-operation. • Apply the rules precisely and regularly. • Don't keep changing your program.

There are those who start off well. They adopt a good diet, do some exercises and maybe have a few treatments. Then, they hear of some magic remedy such as Apple Cider Vinegar. They become excited at the prospect of a quick cure. A few months later we hear of them taking vitamin tablets. They might try the latest craze of Radiesthesia. Next we hear of them going to a Magnetic Healer, a Faith Healer or a Spiritual Medium. These people get some kind of satisfaction out of trying everything novel, but they NEVER achieve real health. Only patience and consistency will do this. It takes time to get well. NATURE CURE PRINCIPLES To recapitulate, here are the principles of Nature Cure

1. ALL healing power is within your own body. 2. There is NO curative power in drugs, medicines, herbs,

foods, electrical apparatus or anything else outside your own body.

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3. Nature has NOT provided cures for disease. Nature has only provided penalties for the breaking of some natural law.

4. Return to obedience of natural law IS the only valid method of cure.

5. Drugs cause disease. If they succeed in "curing" one disease, they cause another. ALL drugs have two effects. One is that intended to benefit the patient and the other is the side effect, which harms the patient. You cannot have one without the other.

6. Since all drugs are potential CAUSES of disease we should avoid them at all times.

7. Drugs do NOT act upon the body, as taught in medical schools and in medical textbooks. The body reacts to the drug. The body recognises the drug as unwanted material and makes an attempt to expel it.

8. True medicines are materials and influences, which have normal relations to the body. Drugs are all harmful because they are not normal to the body by nature.

9. Nature's medicine chest contains: Sunlight, air, water, rest, exercise, correct temperature, natural foods, positive mental attitude and correction of misaligned bony joints.

10. Nature Cure consists in supplying the body with whatever it needs, and can use, in the particular circumstances. 11. Nature Cure assists to get well by removing the CAUSES of disease, and by providing the most favourable conditions. 12. Nature Cure is not a one-sided approach to health. It makes use of all non-harmful methods that have as their objective the normalisation of the body. 13. When the body is given its normal natural materials and conditions it maintains health. It will also restore health when it has been lost.

NO medicines! NO remedies! NO cures! Only normalisation

THAT is Nature Cure

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Published and Edited by: HINTONHEALTH Kevin and Katy Hinton Teaching the Science of Natural Living and Natural Healing www.HINTONHEALTH.com.au All Rights Reserved. © Copyright, 2014 STATEMENT BY THE PUBLISHER The opinions expressed in this article are based on the naturopathic philosophy of health and do not coincide with currently accepted medical theories on health and healing. The publisher does not claim that any advice given represents a "cure" for disease. If the reader has any doubts regarding his or her health, it is the responsibility of that individual to consult a competent health practitioner.