It is characterized
by difficult breathing (dyspnea) blueness of the lips and fingers (cyanosis) rapid, but feeble heart
actions, venous engorgement, a decreased urinary output, with, in severe cases, an accumulation of
fluid in the tissues—edema, dropsy, anasarca. Although already greatly weakened, the increased work of the heart occasioned by the
accumulating fluid, adds to its difficulties. The heavier burden on the heart becomes intolerable
and it slowly weakens under the load. As the heart weakens the dropsy increases and as this
increases, the work of the heart is increased. A vicious cycle is established from which it is
difficult to escape. Another source of edema is the taking of common table salt (sodium chloride). This salt is non-
usable and poisonous. It is excreted with difficulty, hence it tends to accumulate in the body of the
salt-eater. It is stored in the surface tissues just under the skin and in cavities, along with water that
is needed to dilute it, thus forming brine. This salt-occasioned edema, often sufficiently marked in
supposedly healthy individuals to be easily
 detected (in others existing as a hidden edema) places
an added burden upon the heart and kidneys. The body of the fasting patient is able to bring the salt and water back into the circulation, from
where it is excreted. There is commonly an enormous urinary excretion of sodium chloride, in such
cases, up to 78 grams of salt a day having been observed to be excreted during a fast. It has been
shown by careful biochemical observations that fasting results in an absolute increase in the
amount of sodium chloride excreted, even in cases in which the total urinary output is small. As the sodium chloride content of the blood remains normal during the fast, the indication is that
the salt excreted is from the edema and effusion flud accumulation. The first step in the excretion of the salt-water accumulation is the return of the water and salt to
the blood stream. Fasting favors the absorption of the fluid from the tissues and its subsequent
excretion. When the fast is instituted and all intake of salt is entirely discontinued, the body is
enabled to rapidly withdraw the water and sodium chloride from the edematous tissues. The
hidden edema and dropsy disappear at a rapid rate. The principle of lightening the work of the circulatory system and particularly that of the heart
by decreasing the food intake and by eliminating salt from the diet is carried to its ultimate stage
when the heart patient fasts. Often it is even found necessary to reduce greatly the amount of water
taken. Especially in cases of marked edema (dropsy) is it important to reduce the water intake in
order to facilitate the excretion of the fluid from the tissues. In decompensation of the heart, there is commonly renal (kidney) stasis—stoppage of the blood
flow—which impairs the function of the kidneys. The fast seems to result in an instantaneous
improvement in the function of the kidneys, so that there is an immediate increase of elimination. There are different views about water intake in this condition, some fasting advocates favoring
taking water freely, on the theory that the kidneys can function better if plenty of water is taken;
others holding that the intake of liberal quantities of water slows down the excretion of the
111edematous accumulation. I favor limiting water intake. With the increased excretion, through the kidneys, of water and sodium chloride, so that the
edema is reduced or obliterated, the heart is greatly relieved. It has also been suggested that fasting
may favorably affect certain vaso-motor centers, (the nerve centers that control circulation), thus
causing improvement in the condition of the heart and arteries. Certainly it would be folly to say that the excretion of water and sodium chloride in dropsical
conditions is alone responsible for the wide relief of symptoms that occur. The concomitant
general improvement of the heart and circulatory condition must be taken into full consideration,
but there is reason to think that the increased urinary outpout and the absorption of
 water and salt
from the tissues is due, in great measure, to the improvement of the general circulatory action, the
improvement tending to persist after eating is resumed. An Italian physician, Giorgio Dagnini, M.D., studied the results of fasting in sixteen cases of
cardiac decompensation and presented a detailed account of his observations in the 
Institute of
General Medicine and Therapeutics
 of the University of Modena, Italy. I am indebted to an
American physician, who is interested in fasting, for an English translation of the account. Dagnini says of these sixteen cases, many of whom had previously proved “refractory of therapy
with cardiac drugs,” that all of them suffered with severe cardiac decompensation. In addition to
the fast, the patients were all given bed rest and all the water desired but no drugs. Twelve of
these patients suffered with edema of the serous cavities; four had no edema. Of the twelve edematous patients the clinical diagnoses were myocardial sclerosis (hardening
of the heart muscle) in six cases; mitral stenosis (narrowing or stricture of the mitral valve of the
heart) in two cases; mitral and aortic stenosis (stenosis of both the mitral and aortic valves) in one
case; mitral insufficiency (failure of the mitral valve to close) in one case; malignant hypertension
and cardiac asthma in one case; hypertension and cardiovascular disease, fibrillation and
myocardial sclerosis in one case. Both sexes were involved and their ages ranged from 24 years to 75 years. The fasts ranged
from five days (the shortest) to seven days (the longest). Of the non-edematous group, three had
mitral stenosis, one had hypertension with myocardial sclerosis. There was but one man in this
group. The youngest of the group was thirty-eight years, the oldest, sixty-four years. These patients
all fasted seven days. All the fasts in these heart cased were short, but Dagnini says: “It was consistently observed that
cardiac patients treated with fasting show increased urinary output and a rapid resorption of edema
fluid and peritoneal and pleural effusions.” In the non-edematous group sodium chloride excretion
was about “normal.” This may indicate that the edema in the other cases was as much the result of
salt-eating as of heart weakness. From among his twelve edematous patients, I would like to cite one case only, to picture the
developments as they occur when a cardiac patient is fasted. The patient was a twenty-four-year-old man who had a clinical diagnosis of mitral stenosis. He
was in a grave condition, with failure largely on the right side of his heart. The heart was much
enlarged in all diameters. The liver was enlarged to the iliac crest (the crest of the hip bone). There was slight effusion into the pleura, edema of the lower extremities and slight difficulty in
breathing. Previous to admission to the institution this patient had been treated with the usual heart
medicines. At the institution he was given a fast of seven days. By the third day there was distinct
improvement in his condition. The liver shrank at the surprising rate of two-finger-breadths a day. 112The edema fluid was rapidly absorbed through the fast. By the end of the seventh day the liver was
but three fingerbreadths below the ribs and the generalized edema had disappeared. There was much improvement of the pleural effusion. The urinary output in this case was
significant. Being but 250 cc at the outset, it increased rapidly until by the fifth day it reached 3700
cc and remained at about 2000 cc thereafter. The diuresis in this case accounted for the removal of
the edema. Dagnini’s observation that fasting has been employed beneficially in many types of cardiac
decompensation and that this has suggested that its benefits are drawn, not from a single one of its
effects, but from multiple effects, is worthy of careful consideration. He suggests that “possibly many diverse effects are summed and potentiated with a resulting
restoration of normal or near-normal cardiovascular function.” Unfortunately his fasts were of
short duration, never long enough for complete results, and he fails to tell us how they were
followed up—how the patients were fed after the fast, what activities they were permitted, what
subsequent developments resulted. But his observations, limited as these cases were, certainly, so
far as the length of the fasts were concerned, are enough to reveal the beneficial effects of the fast
in a wide, variety of severe heart abnormalities. The intelligent individual will employ the fast long before his heart condition reaches the stage
represented in the cases described by Dagnini. In spite of the benefits described, there is no doubt
that these were terminal cases and no genuine recovery could have been expected in any of them. The fast should be employed at a time when there is still possibility of genuine recovery. I should not have to add, again, that it should be undertaken under competent and experienced
direction and supervision, but the warning is important in these cases. No sufferer from heart
disease—or the possible incipient stages of heart disease—should ever attempt to fast on his own. 11328
Colitis
Colitis is inflammation of the colon. To understand what the colon is let us examine a brief physiological description. Anatomically,
the human colon or large bowel, which is often likened to a sewer, is divided into three distinct
sections: the ascending, transverse and descending colon. It begins with a blind pouch, the cecum,
where the small intestine ends. The vermiform appendix is attached to the cecum. Immediately
above the appendix, the cecum receives the small intestine, almost at right angles. The upper end of the cecum merges into the first part of the ascending portion of the colon. This
passes upward on the right side to a point near the liver, where an angle is formed (the hepatic
flexure) and the second portion, the transverse colon, begins. The transverse colon passes in a slight curve across the abdomen immediately under the
stomach and, at the left side forms another angle (the splenic flexure). Below the spleen, the colon
becomes the descending colon, which merges into the sigmoid flexure, and curves irregularly
downward in an S shape. Between the end of the small intestine (the ileum) and the cecum, there is
a valve formed by a sphincter muscle and known as the ileo-cecal valve. At the end of the rectum,
another such valve (the rectal sphincter) closes the rectum. The colon functions by carrying the residues of digestion upward from the cecum, across the
transverse colon, and downward through the sigmoid to the rectum and to the outside world. Digestion is completed in the small intestine and it is there that the digested portions of the food
are absorbed. Some water may be absorbed from the colon, but the small intestine is specially
adapted for the absorption of food. There seems to be no absorption of toxins from the colon. The colon, like all the rest of the alimentary tract, is lined with a skin or membrane that is called
mucous membrane
. Irritation, or inflammation of the colon is known as colitis or colonitis. Supposed by some authorities to be perhaps the most common disease of cilivized man, colitis is
asserted to be very rare among uncivilized peoples. Constipation is perhaps the most annoying
symptom of colitis, although it is likely to be alternated with 
diarrhea. If the colitis is acute
(diarrhea) there may be mucus in the loose, watery stools. All the forms of colitis discussed in this
chapter come under the general technical classification of “mucous colitis.”
A state of spasm of the colon is common in cases of colitis, especially if the condition is
marked. Frequently, also there is a sagging of the transverse colon—
enteroptosis
. The colon may
sag in the absence of colitis and colitis may exist without sagging, but spastic colitis is almost
certain to accompany both conditions. It is a mistake, however, to think of the spastic constipation as the cause of the mucous colitis. This view is no more rational than to think of the colitis as the cause of the spastic constipation. In chronic colitis the more marked inflammation may be located at different parts of the colon,
the acute exacerbations of which will be named after the location of the more severe inflammation,
as sigmoiditis, proctitis, etc. For long periods the condition may be obscure, the individual merely being conscious of
abdominal distress, which he may attribute to constipation or to gas. When mucus appears in the
stools, the condition is already well advanced. As the colitis becomes more marked the mucus may
appear in the stools in masses of jelly-like consistency, in suspicious looking ropy shreds like
114casts of the bowels, or the feces may be coated with mucus and this may be streaked with blood. There is now no mistake that colitis is present. I do not intend here to attempt to cover all the variations from the common picture of colitis. These may occur, often, but for all practical purposes, they are of little significance. As the colon
is divided into a few sections, it becomes possible to have such special forms of colitis as
proctitis, sigmoiditis and others, but the so-called disease is the same in each case. Let us look at the two “diseases” just named. There is no actual dividing line between the
sigmoid and the rectum. If we imagine a hair line dividing the two continuous sections of the colon,
we may recognize the folly of naming inflammation on one side of this line sigmoiditis, and, if it
extends only an eighth of an inch over the line into the lining membrane of the rectum, calling this
proctitis. It is like naming pimples on the left cheek one disease and pimples on the right cheek
something else. We make the same confusing classifications of inflammation according to locations throughout
all parts of the body. Inflammation of the lining membrane of the nose is rhinitis, inflammation of
the lining membrane of the nasal sinuses is sinusitis, inflammation of the bronchial tube is
bronchitis; but these are only different names for precisely the same condition in the different
locations. Gastritis is the same condition in the lining membrane of the stomach. To call all of
these local inflammations different diseases is only to add to growing confusion. Often great skill is needed to diagnose correctly the form of colitis with which the patient
suffers, and to detect just where the inflammation is located. Skill in diagnosis may not indicate
familiarity with cause. The greatest diagnostic technique is often harnessed to the most ineffective
means of mere palliation. We are here more interested in what is causing the patients trouble than in what particular
section of the colon may be irritated or spastic. Symptoms of colitis are alike in kind, differing
only in location and degree. One significant fact that has received much notice is that every case
that presents the marks of chronicity has a 
colon
 complex; this is to say a negative or depressive
psychosis. People who are ill or who suffer are rarely cheerful and happy. Anxiety, apprehension and
consequent depression form the rule in sickness of every nature. It is rarely possible for one to
remain mentally or emotionally indifferent to physical discomfort. A certain measure of self-pity
creeps into the consciousness of the most sanguine and stoical. When we consider the nature of
colitis, it is not surprising that the sufferer becomes depressed and anxious. Many so-called
neurotics
 and 
psychotics
 are such only because of long standing colitis. In at least ninety-five percent of cases of chronic colitis, constipation is an outstanding feature. It
frequently continues over a period of years, during which time the sufferer tries laxatives,
purgatives, teas, oils, enemas, colonic irrigations, and other means of securing “relief’ from his
constipation, never once realizing that the constipation is only a symptom. Although these measures
often afford some temporary relief, they serve, in the end, to aggravate greatly the condition. All colitis sufferers complain of indigestion, both gastric and intestinal, and of rumbling of gas
in the intestines, with more or less pain, sometimes of a colicy nature. They have a sense of
fullness and uneasiness. Commonly there is a dull and constant or sharp and intermittent headache. Many of these patients complain of a feeling of stiffness and tension, even pain, in the muscles of
the neck, often with pain just below the juncture of the neck and the head. Frequently they describe their symptoms as a “drawing sensation.” Most of these cases appear
anemic and dysemic. They are thin and undernourished, as a rule, although colitis is by no means
115confined to the poorly nourished. The tongue is commonly coated, the taste unpleasant, and the
breath offensive. There may be a feeling of extreme exhaustion, with a lack of enterprise and ambition. Nausea
may develop immediately upon the expulsion from the colon of a large accumulation of mucus. Invariably this is followed by a feeling of great relief. In colitis the facial expression is one of dejection and misery, frequently combined with anxiety,
although many try bravely to repress their feelings,
 while others appear to be in a constant state of
unconcealed apathy. The patient may become very nervous, irritable, excitable, even border on
melancholia and hysteria. Not only a trial to themselves, they become a trial to everyone about them. In severe and long
standing cases, the patient’s whole thinking centers on his physical state. Few conditions can
compete with colitis in engineering obsessions. Many colitis sufferers become habituated to the taking of drugs. They try everything that is
advertised as a remedy. They exhaust the list of laxatives, cathartics, tonics and digestants. They
go from one physician to another, studying their symptoms and confusing their feelings. Enemas,
cascades, irrigations, different methods of dieting, and psychiatrists are all tried in vain. Some
study anatomy, physiology and foods and acquire an extensive technical vocabulary, often quite
meaningless. It has been suggested more than once that the milder types of insanity often have their origin in
colonic irritation. At least mental diseases requiring restraint have evolved in colitiis sufferers. Such cases at least make it clear that the mental 
reactions
 to colitis are real and not mere fancies. One man of great prominence gives as his opinion that a chronically diseased colon forms the
basis of more mental and physical troubles than any other single functional abnormality. Most important in caring for the sufferer with colitis is to ignore symptoms and the acute
exacerbations, and to recognize and remove the cause of the suffering. We are fully convinced that
the development of colitis is concomitant with the retention of toxic waste and its accumulation in
the blood and lymph. Whatever will free the body of its accumulated toxic load will prove
adequate care for the colitis sufferer. The mind of the patient and the mind of the one who cares for him must both be freed from the
tyranny of local symptoms. The discomforts must be persistently minimized for the reason that the
mucus, the gas, the rumbling, the spasticity, the constipation, and the nervous irritability, are
neither singly nor collectively the cause of the trouble. Recovery cannot be expected without complete and prolonged rest, away from friends and
relatives and away from the enervating environmental factors. Physical rest means going to bed
and remaining there. It means ceasing physical activities and relaxing. Mental rest requires poise. It means the elimination of worry, fear, anxiety, and depressing emotions. Sensory rest requires
quiet and freedom from sensory excitement. Physiological rest can be obtained only by going
without all food. Fasting soon results in a relaxation of the spastic bowel and stomach. Instead of bulk-free diets, a fast is indicated. Fasting speeds up that part of metabolism that
eliminates waste and rejuvenates fatigued nerve and cell structure. It permits the body to establish
a normal blood chemistry in its own inimitable manner. No man understands how to establish a
normal 
blood chemistry. No one can either duplicate or imitate the ways of the body in re-
establishing its normal blood chemistry. The continual irritation of the bowels by drugging can only add to the suffering of the patient, as
this makes the condition worse. Medicated enemas are highly irritating. Enemas containing
116soapsuds, molasses and other such substances are also to be condemned. It is important to know that colitis is but a part of a general irritation and inflammation of the
mucous surfaces of the body (it would have been called but a few years ago, a general catarrh) and
that whatever frees the patient of his colitis will, at the same time, free him of his other 
itises
 in
other regions—in the nose and throat, in the womb or in the bladder, to name a few local mucous
membrane inflammations. The common condition called diarrhea is simply a colitis of short duration. Not serious in the
average case, and lasting but a day or two (to a few days) it is the rule of many to neglect the state
of the colon and resort to means of suppressing the diarrhea. Often the condition is nothing more
than a temporary irritation of the bowels by unsuitable or fermenting food. This is especially true
when it develops in children. But repeated crises of this kind tend to evolve chronic colitis. As long ago as 1918, Richard C. Cabot, M.D., of Harvard University Medical School and the
Massachusetts General Hospital, wrote in his book for social workers, 
A Layman’s Handbook of
Medicine:
 “Simple diarrhea or acute colitis of adults gets well as a rule in a week or ten days. The important remedies are rest and warmth and starvation.” He indicates that this same care is
best for infants and children, although he thought that a purge at the outset of the diarrhea should
help. The impotant thing for us to note, however, is the recognition of the value of the fast in
diarrhea. I think it should be added that a week to ten days constitutes more time than is required
for most cases of diarrhea to come to an end if fasting is instituted at the first sign of diarrhea. Often two or three days are enough. Amoebic dysentery is a form of colitis that is said to be caused by an amoeba. It is quite
common in many parts of the world and I have had opportunity to handle a number of cases coming
to me from Mexico and South America. I do not think that the dysentery is caused by the amoeba,
but I am convinced that the amoeba and the medication aimed at this microbe tend to perpetuate a
disease that, initially is but a simple inflammation of the bowel. The disease would “run its
course” in a week to ten days in almost all cases, if not complicated by feeding and drugging. When the true cause of the disease is understood and removed a speedy return to health follows,
but if these cases are treated in the usual manner, the disease may last for years and end in death. Drugs to kill the amoeba, medicated enemas to kill parasites—these build ulcerative colitis and
proctitis. The fact is that the war that is supposed to be made on the amoeba too often kills the
patient before the 
disease is controlled
. Some day amoebicides, 
parasiticides and germicides will
be given up as they tend to kill the patient. Instead of making war on the amoeba, the fast provides an opportunity for the body to cast off its
nutritive redundancy and its toxic load and the diarrhea comes to an end. Whatever part the
amoeba plays in the causation of the disease, it cannot be specific nor can it be primary, as this
microbe ceases to annoy when the fast has progressed for a few days. Two lovely young girls of the same family, citizens of this country, but living with their parents
in Mexico City, where the father was stationed, developed a sickness diagnosed as amoebic
dysentery, a disease very common in Mexico. They had been treated in the regular manner: Drugs to kill the amoeba and plenty of “good
nourishing food.” In spite of the drugs, perhaps because of them, the dysentery persisted; in spite of
the nourishing food, they continued to lose both weight and strength. Their parents began to despair
of their lives. They knew of deaths in the disease in Mexico and began to fear that they were going
to lose both of their daughters. Then a New Yorker visited the family. He told them of 
Hygiene
 and urged them to give it a
117chance to restore the health of the two girls. The mother brought them to this country, where they
were given a fast of only one week each. The diarrhea ceased, they became more alert and developed a demand for food. The sisters
were fed on a diet of fresh fruits, non-starchy vegetables and minimum quantities of proteins and
carbohydrates. Their recovery was rapid and they put on weight on a diet that would not ordinarily
sustain weight. Now after the passage of more than fifteen years, these two young ladies are still
enjoying excellent health. Ulcerative colitis is but a further evolution of mucous colitis. The chronic inflammation has
resulted in hardening and ulceration of the membrane of the colon. Severe ulcerative cases may
evolve out of acute colitis, but this is not the rule. Those who carry out the instructions given for
mucous colitis will not evolve ulcerative colitis. In a syndicated newspaper article published Oct. 24, 1962, Walter C. Alvarez, M.D., whom I
have already quoted in this work, declared that chronic ulcerative colitis is “unfortunately … a
disease which we physicians do not understand well. We don’t know for sure what causes it.” He
explains that no germ or virus has been found that can be blamed as causing the often severe
diarrhea and says that some cases seem certain to start with a nervous cause, such as an unhappy
marriage. He adds that some physicians are sure that the disease begins and is kept going by “an
allergic sensitiveness to some food or foods.” Then he says: “However it starts, it often ends with
a bad ulceration of the inner lining of the large bowel.”
The patient develops fever, there is diarrhea with blood and pus in the 
feces, and, eventually,
the colon shrinks and becomes deformed and shortened. In ulcerative colitis constipation
frequently alternates with diarrhea. This condition may evolve after years of suffering with chronic
colitis or it may evolve immediately after a severe acute inflammation of the colon. In either case, it is correct to say that when colitis has passed through the successive stages of
irritation, inflammation, ulceration and induration, it is ready for the evolution of cancer, which
needs but the addition of a continuous bath of decomposition from excess and unsuitable food. It is
essential to understand that all chronic forms of inflammation begin with irritation, followed by
inflammation and ulceration. If the location favors stasis—stoppage of the blood flow—induration
and cancer follow. In its origin irritation is absolutely innocent of all taint of malignancy, hence
there is no reason why it cannot be remedied. When ulcerative colitis is established cancer is not far away. Indeed, the objective symptoms of
cancer and ulcer are far from pathognomic—that is, undeniably proving the presence of either. But
there seems to be no reason to doubt that eating to the point of keeping the colon and rectum
saturated with putrefaction is the one and only way to complete the evolution of cancer of the
bowel. The beginning of the trouble is simply inflammation, which is absolutely innocent of all
taint of malignancy until the diseased membrane of the colon or rectum has been mascerated, so to
speak, in a continuous bath of decomposition. The care of chronic inflammation of the colon and rectum should be successful at any stage
before the beginning of malignancy. After the malignant stage is reached, hope flies out the
window. This is to say, when colon disease has evolved through irritation, inflammation,
ulceration, and induration to cancer, any remaining possibility of recovery is wrecked by methods
of diagnosis and treatment that set up psychosis or mental depression as deadly as cancer itself. Operation for cancer of the rectum or colon, making an artificial anus above the cancer, a
questionable palliation, creates a blind pouch out of the cancerous portion of the colon or rectum,
thus producing a miniature gehenna within the patient’s body. 118Alvarez says: “In a few cases, if no medical treatment helps, as the last resort the colon can be
removed surgically.” The drug treatment he describes is purely symptomatic: barbiturates to
enable the patient to sleep, copavin or codeine to “quiet” the bowels and “give rest,” extra fluids,
and “some iron” for his anemia. He recommends antibiotics and cortisone-like drugs for other
symptoms. One gets the idea that “treat the symptoms as they arise” is still 
good medicine
. Reverting to the article by Alvarez, he also says: “… The patient should be kept in bed a while,
on a liberal diet, and one tasty enough so 
that he will eat it, and not leave it on his plate. He must
have enough food and vitamins so that he can keep up his nourishment.”
This is a slightly different way of expressing it, but what he says is only a restatement of the old
advice that the patient must “eat plenty of nourishing food to keep up his strength.” Eating prevents
the bowel from healing and keeps alive the disease process. If the fast were instituted at the outset
of the diarrhea, the formation of the ulceration could perhaps be avoided. The remainder of the advice as to treatment which is given by Alvarez may prove enlightening. He says: “He will probably need barbiturates so that he can sleep at night, and he should have
copavin, or codeine, to quiet his bowels and give him rest. He may need extra fluids, and he may
need some iron for his anemia. One authority on this disease, Dr. J. A. Bargen of the Scott & White
Clinic of Temple, Texas, gives an antibiotic, Azulfidine, which helps in some cases. Dr. Kirsner,
of the University of Chicago, Dr. Ingelfinger, of Boston, and other authorities get results in some
cases by giving cortisone-like drugs for a while. In a few cases, if no medical treatment helps, as a
last resort the colon can be removed surgically.”
Apparently from this, the authorities are floundering about, trying first one thing and then
another, hoping that something may prove to be of value. But without a knowledge of cause, there
is nothing constructive that they can do. To remove the colon as a last resort certainly does not
remove the cause of the suffering. It seems to be an open confession of failure. It is essential to understand that irritation is absolutely innocent of the taint of malignancy, hence
there is no reason why it should not be remediable. Malignancy is the ending, not the beginning of
the pathological process. Those who carry out the instructions given for mucous colitis will not
evolve ulcerative colitis. 11929
Psoriasis and Eczema
A college youth in his twenties—with all the high ambitions of the average young man—found
himself forced to face a situation apparently beyond help. His entire body, his limbs, his neck, his
face were covered with a mass of scaly eruptions. The scientific name for the skin trouble is
psoriasis. He had been afflicted for a number of years; his eye lids were covered 
with eruption,
his fingers were covered, even his lips. He had tried all the usual “remedies,” without avail. X-
rays, salves, ointments, cortisone and other drugs had proved to be of only brief help if any at all. The physician asserted, “We are doing everything we can. There simply isn’t a specific cure.”
Year after year, this patient with psoriasis was treated by skin specialists, otherwise called
dermatologists, and all their treatments led to nothing but more inflammation and disfigurement. The patient turned at last to a wild non-medical question: Would fasting help? Investigating, he
was told: “It might.” As a result, the youth journeyed to an institution that cares for clients with
fasting and other nutritional measures. He was placed upon a fast and given daily sun baths. Under such circumstances one may almost
watch the melting away of the skin disease and the restoration of a clean skin. Within weeks this
young man’s skin was clear. He could look in his mirror again; he could face the world happily. The human skin, the largest organ of the body, ranks with the liver and the brain in the number
and versatility of its functions. A highly complex organ containing nerves, blood vessels, glands,
pigment cells and fat, this waterproof and gasproof structure invests the body like an envelope,
standing between the delicate inner organs and the external environment. It is the body’s radiator
and air conditioner, regulating through sweating, the temperature of the body, and in the same
process helping to maintain water balance in the body. To a slight extent, it excretes waste. Its pigment protects against an excess of the sun’s rays. Using the sun in the process, it manufactures vitamin D. It stores fat and blood, and is the largest
sense organ of the body, nerve endings in the skin enabling us to feel heat, cold, pressure, all the
sensations of finger-tip touch. Commonly abused in a variety of ways, the skin is essentially a vital organ. It is subject to a
wide variety of 
diseases
, the greater number of them being inflammations. Inflammation of the skin
is called 
dermatitis
. The skin is fed by the blood, not from any form of exterior feeding. There are no skin foods
other than the blood itself and all money spent for so-called “skin foods” is wasted. The skin as the
body’s protecting envelope, comes in contact with many outside substances and influences that are
harmful. It is damaged in a variety of ways. Fortunately its powers of self-repair are great, so that
few of these damages leave permanent marks. Most skin diseases are due to systemic causes. It is
these that should concern us most. Dermatitis may appear in myriad forms, giving rise to diagnosis of the various forms of eczema,
psoriasis, dermatoses and a host of others. So far as the layman is concerned, the fine-spun
diagnoses and descriptions have 
only short value; at best they represent merely slight variations of
the same condition. Dermatologists who use only salves and internal “remedies” do not really
remedy
 these inflammations. Many cases are the results of a general or systemic toxemic state; many others are the results of
120taking such drugs as arsenic, mercury, iodine, potassium, and the so-called vegetable blood
remedies. Some of the irritation is the result of vaccines, serums and other drugs. In all of them
recovery hinges upon removal of the cause; this no salve can do. It is not unusual for dermatologists to advise against bathing in many of these skin eruptions, as
soap and water are supposed to aggravate the condition. Soap may do so, but not plain warm
water. Indeed, cleanliness is half the victory in almost all of these conditions and to go unwashed
is to intensify the trouble. In all skin eruptions, even the worst forms of eczema, I insist upon frequent bathing with warm
water. It may seem strange, but in many instances cleanliness is all that is required to enable the
patient to get well. A few baths and the skin disease vanishes. It reminds one of bathing seven
times in the Jordan that we read about in the Bible. In all skin eruptions, diet requires first attention. Almost certainly the patient will be found to be
overeating. It is common that a redundancy of starches and sugars in the diet gets a major share of
the blame. In most cases the combinations are such as to favor indigestion. There is the habit of
taking starches and proteins at the same meal. This is often enough to cause indigestion and result in skin inflammation. If there is a history of
drug taking, this must be given due consideration as there are many drugs that cause skin eruptions. Brome acne is a common example. Bromine is given in many conditions and is contained in many
different drugs in common use. Psoriasis is characterized by small spots, a little elevated from the surface and covered with a
flaky, bran-like covering which peels, especially in hot weather, leaving the surface red and
irritated, and the skin somewhat thickened. These spots range from the size of a pea to that of a dime. Then they develop on the face, they
appear much worse after shaving. They often cause much humiliation to those who develop the
disease on exposed regions of the body. I recall a beautiful young girl whose psoriasis was hidden
when she was in a street dress but very apparent in a bathing suit. A good swimmer, she had to
give up swimming because of the humiliation brought on by this condition. Large surfaces on the body may be involved. On the lower extremities the whole leg may be
covered. In some cases the dry scales flake off at a mere touch. Psoriasis is a very persistent
disease and patients suffer with it for years. It may develop only on the forearms or about the
elbows, or it 
may cover the whole body. It tends to get better in the summer and to grow worse
during the winter months. It has a tendency to recur after the skin is perfectly clear. Indeed, it seems that to completely
recover from the disease almost always requires an extended time. Slight indiscretions in eating
and beverage drinking will cause a recurrence. It, therefore, becomes necessary for the psoriasis
patient to live very carefully for an extended period in order to eliminate a recurrence. As
imprudent eating seems to affect the condition more promptly than any other self-indulgence, it is
especially important that careful attention be given to the eating habits. Even an occasional short
fast, as the eruption tends to recur, is often necessary. Eczema—early generations knew it as tetter—may develop on almost any surface of the body,
but seems to occur most often on the elbows, about the fingers and wrists, on the back and on the
ears, on the anus and genitals. It also develops quite frequently on the face and on the abdomen. The skin tends to thicken and crack and there is considerable itching, causing much scratching
which only aggravates the trouble. The dry patches about the elbows, knees and ankles are
specially prone to itch and burn. 121Wrong eating plays a dominant role in the production and maintenance of this skin inflammation. It is essential in these outbreaks that correct diet follow a preliminary fast. The fast hastens the
healing of the eczema. The disease is often seen in infants, where it appears to be more persistent
than if it develops later in life. The fast of the infant must be conducted under the most careful
supervision and only by those fully trained and competent to conduct it. Often a long fast is not needed, but if the condition is serious, it should be taken. In some
instances, a series of short fasts with careful feeding between fasts can be made to serve. The patient should force himself to keep his hands away from the itching surface, to avoid
rubbing and scratching, as both these processes tend to aggravate the condition. Cleanliness is the
chief need to prevent great itching. Frequent bathing with warm water is essential. Often, indeed,
cleanliness is all that is required for complete recovery. 12230
Prostatic Englargement
The prostate gland is an auxiliary of the male reproductive organs. Neatly tucked around the neck
of the bladder, just under the body of this organ, the utrethra or tube through which the urine flows
from the bladder, passes through it. The prostrate gland secretes a fluid that is mingled with the
semen after it reaches the urethra. Because of its location about the urethra its enlargement results
in more or less blockage of the flow of urine. Enlargement of the prostate is almost as common in men over thirty-five years as enlargement of
the tonsils in children. For every woman who suffers with uterine disease, there is a man who has
enlarged prostate, irritation, inflammation and ulceration of the urethra, and the neck of the
bladder. In large numbers of men over fifty, there is more or less ulceration of the urethral portion
of the prostate gland. These conditions can be the source of much annoyance and suffering in men. It is a common
cause of retention of the urine and fouling of the bladder often giving rise to discomforts in the
back, hips and legs, and sometimes causes lumbago and sciatica. The irritation resulting from
retention of the urine ultimately leads to cystitis (inflammation of the bladder) and even to
ulceration of the bladder and its neck. Indeed, it may not be an exaggeration to say that prostatic disease, and its influence on
neighboring organs, causes more than half the discomforts of men past fifty. Many of the diseases
of elderly men, for which they are being regularly and unsuccessfully treated, are but reflexes of
genitourinary disease, of which prostatis or inflammation of the prostate gland is the primary
disease. Prostatic enlargement may begin early, at thirty five or sooner, or later, even after seventy. Fat
men with large abdomens and sedentary men are more liable to prostatic enlargement, as both the
fat and the sedentary life interfere with pelvic circulation, the resulting blood stasis being,
perhaps, the principal cause of the prostatic enlargement. Thin men and physical workers are not,
however, exempt from the disease. Enlargement of the prostate gland results in the retention of a portion of every urination—
residual urine. The pressure upon the urethra and mouth of the bladder exerted by the enlargement
prevents the bladder from fully 
emptying. A slight retention is caused by a slight enlargement of the
prostate. As the enlargement increases, the amount of urine retained is also increased. One of the annoyances of men after middle life is slow micturition, soon to be followed by a
slowly developing obstruction to the flow of urine. At fifty-five to sixty there develops small
retention of urine, which means that after all the urine has been passed that can be passed, there
will be an ounce or two of urine left in the bladder. The inability of the bladder to empty itself
slowly increases. As the same time the amount of urine retained increases. The retained urine
poisons the bladder, and in, time, the entire system, causing much discomfort and suffering, even
death. As the prostate enlarges, its weight pulls the bladder downward thus making it even more
difficult for the bladder to empty itself. As retention increases, the bladder becomes more sensitive
and the difficulty of urination increases. Cystitis, inflammation of the lining membrane of the
bladder due to residual urine, caused in turn by retention from prostatic enlargement, is quite
123common in elderly men. Urethritis—inflammation of the lining membrance of the urethra—also
results from the irritation. The membranes, these inner skins that line the bladder and urethra, are mucous membranes and
resemble the membranes lining the nose, mouth and throat. Hence, when these membranes become
inflamed, we have a profuse flow of mucus or what is commonly known as a catarrhal condition. Long and continuous inflammation of the neck of the bladder ends in ulceration with slight
hemorrhage, so that bleeding is sometimes seen, although this is not a common development. Cancer rarely occurs in this condition. When the irritated tissue has hardened it has taken the first
step along the road to cancer. Cancer of the prostate is not an uncommon condition, but it is rare
compared with the number of cases of enlarged prostate that develop. Physicians say that the cause of prostatitis is unknown. We see in it another development out of
wrong life. Excesses in eating and drinking and in sex seem to be the most common causes. Because no attention is given to these phases of the living habits of the sufferer, the condition tends
to grow progressively worse. I recall a conversation I had with a man who suffered with prostatic enlargement but three years
ago. Describing his symptoms to me and the medical treatment he was getting, he added, “I eat like
a horse.” His physician had not instructed him about his eating, but was content to try to palliate
his discomforts with drugs and X-rays. No satisfactory palliation for prostatic disease had been evolved. Operations to remove the
gland or part of it, injections to shrink the gland, and all other treatments that have been tried, have
proved to be highly unsatisfactory. Why? Because there are no treatments that antidote wrong life. The 
manner of living that results
in engorgement and enlargement—also called hypertrophy—of the prostate gland cannot be
counteracted by drugs and surgery. It will be necessary to correct the way of life. When enlargement of the prostate and strangury (drop urine) have evolved, with their pain and
regrets, a good surgeon can end the patient’s misery—permanently. Thousands have died as a
result of prostatic operations. Perfect drainage is required for a successful operation on the
prostate gland and this is not possible. For this reason, when a surgeon assures you. “The operation does not amount to anything; you’ll
be up and out in three days,” it would be well to ask him: “Out where?” All too often it is out in
the cemetery. At present the better surgeons do not like to remove the prostate. Walter C. Alvarez, M.D., says
of this: “For myself I would have only one type of operation performed, and that would be the
transurethral, which is perfomed through a ligated tube which is passed down through the urethra. “The only difficulty with this operation is that it requires much skill, and when much prostatic
tissue has been removed, the urologist must be able to operate with speed.”
With all the skill and speed the urologist may be able to exercise, the operation is still mere
palliation. It removes no cause, it restores no health. When cause is untouched it continues to build
more trouble. At one time operations on the prostate gland were more popular than they are now. The loss of
popularity was due to the high death rate which seems to have been about twenty-five percent, and
to the great aftermath of trouble. The man who has an operation for enlargement of the prostate and
survives the operation has not settled his account with nature. Indeed, the resort to surgery almost
guarantees that he shall not be restored to health. A troublesome prostate is the result of continued practice of habits that no self-respecting man
124will continue after he has learned the truth. From the systemic and not merely local effects of these
bad habits, surgery can provide but temporary relief. Prostatic surgery is intended to enable ignorant old men to side-step the results of breaking the
laws of biology in their mental and physical habits. To give up the physical and mental bad habits
that build prostatitis will enable these patients to get well, providing the change of habits takes
place early enough. Advanced prostatitis is a condition that can be completely remedied only in a small percentage
of cases, but those so afflicted can be taught how to live to make their lives more comfortable and
to greatly prolong life. Once the prostate gland has enlarged, there seems to be a strong tendency
for it to enlarge again on slight provocation. Even after it has been brought down to normal size, it
re-enlarges with ease and speed if the patient does not rigidly adhere to a healthful way of life. I have seen prostate glands that were as large as baseballs and nearly as 
hard—cases in which a
catheter (an instrument used to draw off urine) had been inserted and used because the passing of
urine was a painful process. The enlargement was reduced to nearly normal size in a week, the
hardness was entirely dissolved, so that urination was normal after proper care was given. Commonly, however, more time than this is required to reduce the prostate. In some cases it does not seem possible to reduce all of the enlargement, but it may be reduced
so that the urine flows freely, all discomforture in the back, hips and legs (and sometimes lumbago
and sciatica, which are not present all the time) are relieved. This is all accomplished by stopping
enervating habits, putting the patient to bed and stopping all food. Men who have prostatic enlargement are forced to get up frequently at night to pass urine. The
irritated bladder will not retain urine in a normal manner. The nightly promenading interferes with
sleep and this results in further eneveration. I have seen these patients who were forced to be up as many as fifteen to twenty times a night. I
have seen them, after a few days of fasting, sleep thirteen hours in a stretch without having to void
urine. Men who had great difficulty in passing urine were able to do so as freely as when they
were boys. In only a small percentage of these cases is this improvement permanent. I have seen numerous
instances in which the enlargement recurred within two or three weeks. Overeating will result in a
speedy re-enlargment of the prostate. Nervous excitement, over-work, sexual excesses, and a
variety of other enervating indulgences will do the same. Tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol and other
stimulants quickly cause the enlargement to recur. The fast in these cases provides only temporary relief if the way of life is not changed. The
engorgement and enlargement of the prostate gland may be reduced by a fast, but this is not all that
is necessary to the restoration of health. A short fast is certainly inadequate to reduce the prostate
more than a small amount. It will make urination easier and relieve some of the distress, but a few
days afterward the trouble will be as severe as ever, unless radical, sweeping changes in the ways
of life are made. The fast may be used as a means of controlling the enlargement in those cases where it cannot be
permanently eliminated. If indiscretions in eating or in other facets of living have resulted in re-
enlargement of the gland, a fast of one to two days is commonly enough to restore a free urine flow
and relieve the discomfort and difficulty. This may be repeated at intervals as need arises. But no amount of fasting will compensate for
the failure to correct completely the mode of life. If the way of life is not changed, fasting becomes
a mere palliative and, though far less harmful than other forms of palliation, leads the individual to
125depend upon palliation rather than a radical correction of cause. 12631
Gonorrhea
“I have gonorrhea; what shall I do?” The voice came over the telephone from a near-by city. The
caller was advised to fast at once, with rest. “But I have to work, my business requires my attention. I cannot fast. Would it not be better to
take penicillin?”
Penicillin would suppress the symptoms he was told, but they would recur in a brief time. After
a short discussion, he decided to take penicillin. A few days later he called again and triumphantly
announced that he had taken penicillin, this being administered by a local physician, and that his
symptoms had all speedily cleared up. It was an old story, but one that he did not understand. Several more days passed and he called again. “The symptoms have returned,” he said. “What do I do now?”
Again he was advised to fast. Again he said that he could not fast. A fruit diet was urged. He
said he would try it. Eventually, after repeated failures by other methods, he went on a fast and
was soon free of his symptoms with no recurrence. “Failure Against Gonorrhea.” was the significant title of a press release made in December,
1962, by the World Health Organization. The experts on gonorrheal infection of WHO reported
that “in spite” of the widespread employment of penicillin and other “powerful anti-biotics”
complete failure to control gonorrhea throughout the world had been registered. Instead of wiping out the disease as the first optimistic prediction promised us, there had been
for a few years an increase in the number of cases. They estimated that there are 60,000,000 new
cases of gonorrhea each year in the world, an incidence that they blame largely on the teen-agers—
young people who had been taught that a shot of penicillin will “fix you up” in jig time. Figures the Committee accumulated reveal that gonorrhea is more common between the ages of
fifteen and twenty-five than at any time in the past. Many sections of the United States have reported an alarming increase in venereal disease that
is swamping clinics and control centers. Just to take the figures released in 1962 by one state,
California: 26,932 cases of gonorrhea were officially reported by physicians. Compare this with 14,697 cases reported in 1955. It is asserted that these figures for 1962 do
not begin to tell the story, for although the law requires all physicians to report such cases, many
fail to do so. Indeed, it is said that such cases are rarely reported. Less than ten percent according
to estimates of the cases of gonorrhea have been reported. It is stated that teen agers and young
adults are the chief 
victims
. The false security that was aroused by the first optimism for the anti-biotics, has now given way
to despair—and alarm. Physicians admit that penicillin and steptomycin are “no longer effective”
against the disease. The common explanation is employed: the germs have developed resistance to
the drug. Even progressively larger doses are now admitted to be resulting in more “treatment failures”
than did much smaller doses when the drug was first used. It is now realized that it is not possible
to treat gonorrhea out of existence with universal use of anti-biotics. While one may have gonorrhea numerous times in a lifetime, it is well known that one 
infection
127does not confer 
immunity
, as is claimed for many other infections; it is now said by the experts of
WHO that the only hope for the future resides in the possible finding of a vaccine that will confer
immunity
. It is strange that they never suggest that good behavior is a sure preventive. They take it
for granted that youth has started on a course of sexual laxity from which it cannot be returned, no
matter what the cost. My observations as well as statistics of the disease show that circumcision is a very poor
substitute for good behavior. The disease is very prevalent in circumcised as well as
noncircumcised peoples of the world. Before the days of penicillin I used to get numbers of cases of gonorrhea for care. Then came the
“wonder drugs” and the belief that one to three shots would rapidly cure gonorrhea. I ceased to get
these patients. Everybody who developed gonorrhea resorted to penicillin. Symptoms were thus
suppressed and recurrences were again suppressed. But suppressing symptoms does not provide
any lasting answers. Gonorrhea is a self-limited disease. This is to say, it runs a more or less variable course to
recovery. Patients get well under all kinds of treatment and they get well with no treatment at all. A
number of years ago some tests were made and it was discovered that warm water was as
effective as the drugs popularly used. The course of gonorrhea runs from four to six weeks. Its
course can be shortened by rest and fasting. Complications can be prevented in all cases by
fasting. Every enervating influence, such as tobacco, alcohol, overeating, lasciviousness, late hours,
over-activity, will delay recovery and increase the liability to the development of complications. My own experience has indicated that the disease gets well more rapidly in females than in
males and there is less suffering, due primarily to the fact that the female canals are larger and
drain better. Adequate drainage is 
vitally important and any bandages or ligatures that interfere
with drainage are almost certain to cause complications. This is one condition in which I think that we may profitably alter our rule against drinking much
water, and permit the free taking of water. Much water drinking means frequent urination and this
helps to keep the urethral canal washed out. Injections into the canal tend to carry infectious
material further back into the canal, whereas urine tends to sweep it to the mouth of the urethra and
out. Externally, both in males and females, strict cleanliness is essential. While I prefer the fast in all such cases, if the circumstances of the patient are such that a fast of
any length is not feasible, the fruit diet may be substituted for the fast. Three meals a day of fresh
fruits, with no eating between meals and no heavy fruit meals taken, will enable the patient to carry
on his activities and get will without complications. Fasting or a light diet of this kind not only hastens recovery and prevents the development of
complications, but it also assures the patient greater comfort while the disease is at its height. There is less pain and in the case of the male, fewer painful erections. Again, I emphasize: the fast is not a 
cure
; it does not 
cure
 gonorrhea. The self-healing processes
of the body eliminate the cause of the gonorrhea and restore the normal state. When one fasts under
such conditions, one merely avoids putting hindrances in the way of the reconstructive processes
of life. 12832
Paralysis Agitans
A woman nearly forty years old arrived at a 
Hygienic
 institution in this country, after suffering
with Parkinson’s disease for six years. Her home was in Costa Rica, her husband was an Austrian
engaged in the importing business. When her first symptoms appeared a physician was consulted. After a few local physicians had been given the opportunity to restore her to health, her husband
took her to Vienna, where she was given the best medical care Europe afforded at the time. Two years later she was brought to New York, where she was again treated by the best
specialists on the east coast. After a total of six years of 
the finest care available, with no results
except that her condition had grown progressively worse, she was taken to the 
Hygienic
institution. At this institution she was put to bed and placed upon a fast. As progressed, she gained control
of her limbs. After a fast of more than thirty days, she was allowed to resume eating. There was an
immediate recurrence of tremor, but it was not so bad as before the fast. The results were the
same, except that the tremor was much less, after the second fast as after the first. After another period of eating, she was given a third fast. There was no recurrence of tremor
afterwards. For more than ten years, thereafter, as long as the 
Hygienist
 was able to maintain
contact with her, she had no recurrence of the tremor. She carried on the work of her household
and enjoyed better than average health. The total time during which she was under 
Hygienic
 care
was nine months. The developments in this case are typical, with the exception of the completeness of recovery. Not all cases make full recovery; indeed, full recovery is not the general rule. The rule is that the
majority of these cases make sufficient progress to become useful again, but retain a part of the
tremor. There are a small number of cases, in late stages of the disease, that make no appreciable
improvement. It is correct to say that cases that make full recovery and cases that make no
improvement are both comparatively rare. This is apparently true for the same reason in both
instances: 
Hygienic
 care is instituted much too late. It is rare that a patient with paralysis agitans
undergoes 
Hygienic
 care at the first appearance of symptoms. Indeed, the author has never known
of such an instance. Paralysis agitans, also known as shaking palsy and Parkinson’s disease, was named after Dr.
James Parkinson, who was British. He first described the disease in 1817. It commonly develops
late in life, usually after the age of forty. It is slightly more prevalent in men than in women, and is
characterized by stiffness and rigidity of the muscles, which causes delayed action of the voluntary
muscles, and by tremor, which is chiefly noticeable when the patient is sitting still and disappears
when he is active. A description of a typical very advanced case reads: “Quaking of the limbs,
rigidity of the muscles, an abnormal slowness of movement, staring wild-eyed without blinking,
right facial expression, and often drooling from the mouth.”
There are an estimated 280,000 cases of paralysis agitans in the United States, with thirty-six
thousand new cases developing each year. Tremors, whether coarse or fine, result from alternate contraction and relaxation of opposing
muscles. They are not confined to paralysis agitans, but are seen in cases of venereal excess,
129chronic alcoholism, delirium tremens, opium, chloral, mineral drug and other forms of poisoning. They may also be seen in many cases of neurasthenia, debility, senility, arteriosclerosis, hysteria,
goiter, paresis, etc. Usually affecting the hands and feet, the tremor of senility is exceedingly fine. In paralysis
agitans the tremor is rhythmic and regular and persists during sleep as well as during waking
hours. Beginning mildly, paralysis agitans progresses gradually with tremor and weakness beginning in
an extremity, usually one hand and arm. In the beginning the tremor can be controlled by the will,
but the disease gradually extends until an entire side is affected and it becomes no longer possible
to control the tremor. In advanced stages, there is often dullness of the mind, drooling, a tendency to go forward (the
so-called propulsion walk), and restlessness of the fingers, which appear to be continually going
through the motions of crumbling bread. There is a progressive loss of power in the affected
muscles, moderate rigidity, alternations in the gait, and, at times, mental impairment. In advanced
states, the tongue and chin may become tremulous. Rarely is speech lost. Some of the patients
become very much worse under excitement and so great is the tremor that they literally jump up
and down. Often the tremor is of minor importance in the estimation of the patient. He visits a physician for
hypertension, digestive troubles, arthritis or other affection. I have seen one or two cases of
arthritis, with rigidity of the limbs, in which the tremor showed up only after the arthritic condition
cleared. The arthritis seems to have masked the paralysis agitans. Wilson’s disease so greatly resembles Parkinson’s disease that it is difficult to distinguish them. In Wilson’s disease there is also enlargement and sclerosis of the liver. In general, Wilson’s
disease would seem to be less favorable than paralysis agitans. It appears to be much rarer. The single case of a woman I have seen personally did make considerable improvement during
a period of three months under my care. She had been unable to write for seven years, so great was
the tremor of her hands and arms. After two weeks of fasting she was able to write letters and was able to hold her hands as
steadily as the most normal individual. There was a recurrence of tremor after the fast was broken,
but it was not great enough to prevent her from writing letters. No second fast was undertaken and
the patient passed from under my care. Paralysis agitans is defined as a “nervous disease of unknown origin.” Its cause is said to be
“entirely unknown.” Studies of changes in the brain and nerves all follow the death of the patient,
hence the findings represent end-points rather than the condition of these structures at the first
appearance of symptoms. Patients often live for as many as twenty or more years after symptoms first develop, so slowly
does the disease progress. Certainly the changes in the brain and nerve tissue at the end of a twenty
year period of development tell us nothing of the condition of these tissues twenty years earlier. It is not enough to say that sometimes the nervous system wears out prematurely; it is essential
that we trace the cause of the premature wearing out of the brain and nerves. What is the cause of
the premature wearing of these vitally essential tissues? In later life paralysis agitans is supposed
to occur as a result of hardening of the arteries which supply the nerve cells at the base of the brain
and which have an important office in controlling the muscles of voluntary motion. Or it may develop rather early in life as a result of degeneration of the brain cells themselves. In
a few instances it has followed a head injury. 130Often tremor is seen in men of great enervation, especially in men past sixty, in whom hardening
of the arteries is already well advanced. Tremors often put in their first appearance after some
exhausting experience that leaves the individual profoundly enervated. It would seem that the causes of great enervation and of tissue hardening are the most likely
reasons for paralysis agitans. Among these sexual excesses are probably of great importance. Enervation is brought on by overindulgence in the pleasures of work and play—over-enjoyment
of the wholesome activities of our existence.
Fasting_Can_Save_Your_Life_by_Herbert_M._Shelton.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        It is characterized
by difficult breathing (dyspnea) blueness of the lips and fingers (cyanosis) rapid, but feeble heart
actions, venous engorgement, a decreased urinary output, with, in severe cases, an accumulation of
fluid in the tissues—edema, dropsy, anasarca. Although already greatly weakened, the increased work of the heart occasioned by the
accumulating fluid, adds to its difficulties. The heavier burden on the heart becomes intolerable
and it slowly weakens under the load. As the heart weakens the dropsy increases and as this
increases, the work of the heart is increased. A vicious cycle is established from which it is
difficult to escape. Another source of edema is the taking of common table salt (sodium chloride). This salt is non-
usable and poisonous. It is excreted with difficulty, hence it tends to accumulate in the body of the
salt-eater. It is stored in the surface tissues just under the skin and in cavities, along with water that
is needed to dilute it, thus forming brine. This salt-occasioned edema, often sufficiently marked in
supposedly healthy individuals to be easily
 detected (in others existing as a hidden edema) places
an added burden upon the heart and kidneys. The body of the fasting patient is able to bring the salt and water back into the circulation, from
where it is excreted. There is commonly an enormous urinary excretion of sodium chloride, in such
cases, up to 78 grams of salt a day having been observed to be excreted during a fast. It has been
shown by careful biochemical observations that fasting results in an absolute increase in the
amount of sodium chloride excreted, even in cases in which the total urinary output is small. As the sodium chloride content of the blood remains normal during the fast, the indication is that
the salt excreted is from the edema and effusion flud accumulation. The first step in the excretion of the salt-water accumulation is the return of the water and salt to
the blood stream. Fasting favors the absorption of the fluid from the tissues and its subsequent
excretion. When the fast is instituted and all intake of salt is entirely discontinued, the body is
enabled to rapidly withdraw the water and sodium chloride from the edematous tissues. The
hidden edema and dropsy disappear at a rapid rate. The principle of lightening the work of the circulatory system and particularly that of the heart
by decreasing the food intake and by eliminating salt from the diet is carried to its ultimate stage
when the heart patient fasts. Often it is even found necessary to reduce greatly the amount of water
taken. Especially in cases of marked edema (dropsy) is it important to reduce the water intake in
order to facilitate the excretion of the fluid from the tissues. In decompensation of the heart, there is commonly renal (kidney) stasis—stoppage of the blood
flow—which impairs the function of the kidneys. The fast seems to result in an instantaneous
improvement in the function of the kidneys, so that there is an immediate increase of elimination. There are different views about water intake in this condition, some fasting advocates favoring
taking water freely, on the theory that the kidneys can function better if plenty of water is taken;
others holding that the intake of liberal quantities of water slows down the excretion of the
111edematous accumulation. I favor limiting water intake. With the increased excretion, through the kidneys, of water and sodium chloride, so that the
edema is reduced or obliterated, the heart is greatly relieved. It has also been suggested that fasting
may favorably affect certain vaso-motor centers, (the nerve centers that control circulation), thus
causing improvement in the condition of the heart and arteries. Certainly it would be folly to say that the excretion of water and sodium chloride in dropsical
conditions is alone responsible for the wide relief of symptoms that occur. The concomitant
general improvement of the heart and circulatory condition must be taken into full consideration,
but there is reason to think that the increased urinary outpout and the absorption of
 water and salt
from the tissues is due, in great measure, to the improvement of the general circulatory action, the
improvement tending to persist after eating is resumed. An Italian physician, Giorgio Dagnini, M. D. , studied the results of fasting in sixteen cases of
cardiac decompensation and presented a detailed account of his observations in the 
Institute of
General Medicine and Therapeutics
 of the University of Modena, Italy. I am indebted to an
American physician, who is interested in fasting, for an English translation of the account. Dagnini says of these sixteen cases, many of whom had previously proved “refractory of therapy
with cardiac drugs,” that all of them suffered with severe cardiac decompensation. In addition to
the fast, the patients were all given bed rest and all the water desired but no drugs. Twelve of
these patients suffered with edema of the serous cavities; four had no edema. Of the twelve edematous patients the clinical diagnoses were myocardial sclerosis (hardening
of the heart muscle) in six cases; mitral stenosis (narrowing or stricture of the mitral valve of the
heart) in two cases; mitral and aortic stenosis (stenosis of both the mitral and aortic valves) in one
case; mitral insufficiency (failure of the mitral valve to close) in one case; malignant hypertension
and cardiac asthma in one case; hypertension and cardiovascular disease, fibrillation and
myocardial sclerosis in one case. Both sexes were involved and their ages ranged from 24 years to 75 years. The fasts ranged
from five days (the shortest) to seven days (the longest). Of the non-edematous group, three had
mitral stenosis, one had hypertension with myocardial sclerosis. There was but one man in this
group. The youngest of the group was thirty-eight years, the oldest, sixty-four years. These patients
all fasted seven days. All the fasts in these heart cased were short, but Dagnini says: “It was consistently observed that
cardiac patients treated with fasting show increased urinary output and a rapid resorption of edema
fluid and peritoneal and pleural effusions. ” In the non-edematous group sodium chloride excretion
was about “normal. ” This may indicate that the edema in the other cases was as much the result of
salt-eating as of heart weakness. From among his twelve edematous patients, I would like to cite one case only, to picture the
developments as they occur when a cardiac patient is fasted. The patient was a twenty-four-year-old man who had a clinical diagnosis of mitral stenosis. He
was in a grave condition, with failure largely on the right side of his heart. The heart was much
enlarged in all diameters. The liver was enlarged to the iliac crest (the crest of the hip bone). There was slight effusion into the pleura, edema of the lower extremities and slight difficulty in
breathing. Previous to admission to the institution this patient had been treated with the usual heart
medicines. At the institution he was given a fast of seven days. By the third day there was distinct
improvement in his condition. The liver shrank at the surprising rate of two-finger-breadths a day. 112The edema fluid was rapidly absorbed through the fast. By the end of the seventh day the liver was
but three fingerbreadths below the ribs and the generalized edema had disappeared. There was much improvement of the pleural effusion. The urinary output in this case was
significant. Being but 250 cc at the outset, it increased rapidly until by the fifth day it reached 3700
cc and remained at about 2000 cc thereafter. The diuresis in this case accounted for the removal of
the edema. Dagnini’s observation that fasting has been employed beneficially in many types of cardiac
decompensation and that this has suggested that its benefits are drawn, not from a single one of its
effects, but from multiple effects, is worthy of careful consideration. He suggests that “possibly many diverse effects are summed and potentiated with a resulting
restoration of normal or near-normal cardiovascular function. ” Unfortunately his fasts were of
short duration, never long enough for complete results, and he fails to tell us how they were
followed up—how the patients were fed after the fast, what activities they were permitted, what
subsequent developments resulted. But his observations, limited as these cases were, certainly, so
far as the length of the fasts were concerned, are enough to reveal the beneficial effects of the fast
in a wide, variety of severe heart abnormalities. The intelligent individual will employ the fast long before his heart condition reaches the stage
represented in the cases described by Dagnini. In spite of the benefits described, there is no doubt
that these were terminal cases and no genuine recovery could have been expected in any of them. The fast should be employed at a time when there is still possibility of genuine recovery. I should not have to add, again, that it should be undertaken under competent and experienced
direction and supervision, but the warning is important in these cases. No sufferer from heart
disease—or the possible incipient stages of heart disease—should ever attempt to fast on his own. 11328
Colitis
Colitis is inflammation of the colon. To understand what the colon is let us examine a brief physiological description. Anatomically,
the human colon or large bowel, which is often likened to a sewer, is divided into three distinct
sections: the ascending, transverse and descending colon. It begins with a blind pouch, the cecum,
where the small intestine ends. The vermiform appendix is attached to the cecum. Immediately
above the appendix, the cecum receives the small intestine, almost at right angles. The upper end of the cecum merges into the first part of the ascending portion of the colon. This
passes upward on the right side to a point near the liver, where an angle is formed (the hepatic
flexure) and the second portion, the transverse colon, begins. The transverse colon passes in a slight curve across the abdomen immediately under the
stomach and, at the left side forms another angle (the splenic flexure). Below the spleen, the colon
becomes the descending colon, which merges into the sigmoid flexure, and curves irregularly
downward in an S shape. Between the end of the small intestine (the ileum) and the cecum, there is
a valve formed by a sphincter muscle and known as the ileo-cecal valve. At the end of the rectum,
another such valve (the rectal sphincter) closes the rectum. The colon functions by carrying the residues of digestion upward from the cecum, across the
transverse colon, and downward through the sigmoid to the rectum and to the outside world. Digestion is completed in the small intestine and it is there that the digested portions of the food
are absorbed. Some water may be absorbed from the colon, but the small intestine is specially
adapted for the absorption of food. There seems to be no absorption of toxins from the colon. The colon, like all the rest of the alimentary tract, is lined with a skin or membrane that is called
mucous membrane. Irritation, or inflammation of the colon is known as colitis or colonitis. Supposed by some authorities to be perhaps the most common disease of cilivized man, colitis is
asserted to be very rare among uncivilized peoples. Constipation is perhaps the most annoying
symptom of colitis, although it is likely to be alternated with 
diarrhea. If the colitis is acute
(diarrhea) there may be mucus in the loose, watery stools. All the forms of colitis discussed in this
chapter come under the general technical classification of “mucous colitis. ”
A state of spasm of the colon is common in cases of colitis, especially if the condition is
marked. Frequently, also there is a sagging of the transverse colon—
enteroptosis. The colon may
sag in the absence of colitis and colitis may exist without sagging, but spastic colitis is almost
certain to accompany both conditions. It is a mistake, however, to think of the spastic constipation as the cause of the mucous colitis. This view is no more rational than to think of the colitis as the cause of the spastic constipation. In chronic colitis the more marked inflammation may be located at different parts of the colon,
the acute exacerbations of which will be named after the location of the more severe inflammation,
as sigmoiditis, proctitis, etc. For long periods the condition may be obscure, the individual merely being conscious of
abdominal distress, which he may attribute to constipation or to gas. When mucus appears in the
stools, the condition is already well advanced. As the colitis becomes more marked the mucus may
appear in the stools in masses of jelly-like consistency, in suspicious looking ropy shreds like
114casts of the bowels, or the feces may be coated with mucus and this may be streaked with blood. There is now no mistake that colitis is present. I do not intend here to attempt to cover all the variations from the common picture of colitis. These may occur, often, but for all practical purposes, they are of little significance. As the colon
is divided into a few sections, it becomes possible to have such special forms of colitis as
proctitis, sigmoiditis and others, but the so-called disease is the same in each case. Let us look at the two “diseases” just named. There is no actual dividing line between the
sigmoid and the rectum. If we imagine a hair line dividing the two continuous sections of the colon,
we may recognize the folly of naming inflammation on one side of this line sigmoiditis, and, if it
extends only an eighth of an inch over the line into the lining membrane of the rectum, calling this
proctitis. It is like naming pimples on the left cheek one disease and pimples on the right cheek
something else. We make the same confusing classifications of inflammation according to locations throughout
all parts of the body. Inflammation of the lining membrane of the nose is rhinitis, inflammation of
the lining membrane of the nasal sinuses is sinusitis, inflammation of the bronchial tube is
bronchitis; but these are only different names for precisely the same condition in the different
locations. Gastritis is the same condition in the lining membrane of the stomach. To call all of
these local inflammations different diseases is only to add to growing confusion. Often great skill is needed to diagnose correctly the form of colitis with which the patient
suffers, and to detect just where the inflammation is located. Skill in diagnosis may not indicate
familiarity with cause. The greatest diagnostic technique is often harnessed to the most ineffective
means of mere palliation. We are here more interested in what is causing the patients trouble than in what particular
section of the colon may be irritated or spastic. Symptoms of colitis are alike in kind, differing
only in location and degree. One significant fact that has received much notice is that every case
that presents the marks of chronicity has a 
colon
 complex; this is to say a negative or depressive
psychosis. People who are ill or who suffer are rarely cheerful and happy. Anxiety, apprehension and
consequent depression form the rule in sickness of every nature. It is rarely possible for one to
remain mentally or emotionally indifferent to physical discomfort. A certain measure of self-pity
creeps into the consciousness of the most sanguine and stoical. When we consider the nature of
colitis, it is not surprising that the sufferer becomes depressed and anxious. Many so-called
neurotics
 and 
psychotics
 are such only because of long standing colitis. In at least ninety-five percent of cases of chronic colitis, constipation is an outstanding feature. It
frequently continues over a period of years, during which time the sufferer tries laxatives,
purgatives, teas, oils, enemas, colonic irrigations, and other means of securing “relief’ from his
constipation, never once realizing that the constipation is only a symptom. Although these measures
often afford some temporary relief, they serve, in the end, to aggravate greatly the condition. All colitis sufferers complain of indigestion, both gastric and intestinal, and of rumbling of gas
in the intestines, with more or less pain, sometimes of a colicy nature. They have a sense of
fullness and uneasiness. Commonly there is a dull and constant or sharp and intermittent headache. Many of these patients complain of a feeling of stiffness and tension, even pain, in the muscles of
the neck, often with pain just below the juncture of the neck and the head. Frequently they describe their symptoms as a “drawing sensation. ” Most of these cases appear
anemic and dysemic. They are thin and undernourished, as a rule, although colitis is by no means
115confined to the poorly nourished. The tongue is commonly coated, the taste unpleasant, and the
breath offensive. There may be a feeling of extreme exhaustion, with a lack of enterprise and ambition. Nausea
may develop immediately upon the expulsion from the colon of a large accumulation of mucus. Invariably this is followed by a feeling of great relief. In colitis the facial expression is one of dejection and misery, frequently combined with anxiety,
although many try bravely to repress their feelings,
 while others appear to be in a constant state of
unconcealed apathy. The patient may become very nervous, irritable, excitable, even border on
melancholia and hysteria. Not only a trial to themselves, they become a trial to everyone about them. In severe and long
standing cases, the patient’s whole thinking centers on his physical state. Few conditions can
compete with colitis in engineering obsessions. Many colitis sufferers become habituated to the taking of drugs. They try everything that is
advertised as a remedy. They exhaust the list of laxatives, cathartics, tonics and digestants. They
go from one physician to another, studying their symptoms and confusing their feelings. Enemas,
cascades, irrigations, different methods of dieting, and psychiatrists are all tried in vain. Some
study anatomy, physiology and foods and acquire an extensive technical vocabulary, often quite
meaningless. It has been suggested more than once that the milder types of insanity often have their origin in
colonic irritation. At least mental diseases requiring restraint have evolved in colitiis sufferers. Such cases at least make it clear that the mental 
reactions
 to colitis are real and not mere fancies. One man of great prominence gives as his opinion that a chronically diseased colon forms the
basis of more mental and physical troubles than any other single functional abnormality. Most important in caring for the sufferer with colitis is to ignore symptoms and the acute
exacerbations, and to recognize and remove the cause of the suffering. We are fully convinced that
the development of colitis is concomitant with the retention of toxic waste and its accumulation in
the blood and lymph. Whatever will free the body of its accumulated toxic load will prove
adequate care for the colitis sufferer. The mind of the patient and the mind of the one who cares for him must both be freed from the
tyranny of local symptoms. The discomforts must be persistently minimized for the reason that the
mucus, the gas, the rumbling, the spasticity, the constipation, and the nervous irritability, are
neither singly nor collectively the cause of the trouble. Recovery cannot be expected without complete and prolonged rest, away from friends and
relatives and away from the enervating environmental factors. Physical rest means going to bed
and remaining there. It means ceasing physical activities and relaxing. Mental rest requires poise. It means the elimination of worry, fear, anxiety, and depressing emotions. Sensory rest requires
quiet and freedom from sensory excitement. Physiological rest can be obtained only by going
without all food. Fasting soon results in a relaxation of the spastic bowel and stomach. Instead of bulk-free diets, a fast is indicated. Fasting speeds up that part of metabolism that
eliminates waste and rejuvenates fatigued nerve and cell structure. It permits the body to establish
a normal blood chemistry in its own inimitable manner. No man understands how to establish a
normal 
blood chemistry. No one can either duplicate or imitate the ways of the body in re-
establishing its normal blood chemistry. The continual irritation of the bowels by drugging can only add to the suffering of the patient, as
this makes the condition worse. Medicated enemas are highly irritating. Enemas containing
116soapsuds, molasses and other such substances are also to be condemned. It is important to know that colitis is but a part of a general irritation and inflammation of the
mucous surfaces of the body (it would have been called but a few years ago, a general catarrh) and
that whatever frees the patient of his colitis will, at the same time, free him of his other 
itises
 in
other regions—in the nose and throat, in the womb or in the bladder, to name a few local mucous
membrane inflammations. The common condition called diarrhea is simply a colitis of short duration. Not serious in the
average case, and lasting but a day or two (to a few days) it is the rule of many to neglect the state
of the colon and resort to means of suppressing the diarrhea. Often the condition is nothing more
than a temporary irritation of the bowels by unsuitable or fermenting food. This is especially true
when it develops in children. But repeated crises of this kind tend to evolve chronic colitis. As long ago as 1918, Richard C. Cabot, M.
The text does not explicitly state the common symptoms of colitis, but it does mention that the patient's liver shrank at an alarming rate, and the edema fluid was rapidly absorbed during a fast.
What are the common symptoms of colitis?
The text does not explicitly state a recommended treatment for prostatic enlargement, but it suggests that a fast can help alleviate symptoms and improve the condition.
What is the recommended treatment for prostatic enlargement?
The text does not explicitly state a recommended treatment for paralysis agitans, but it suggests that a fast can help alleviate symptoms and improve the condition.
What is the recommended treatment for paralysis agitans?
The text does not explicitly state the cause of prostatic enlargement, but it suggests that it may be related to bad habits and lifestyle choices, such as overindulgence in work and play.
What is the cause of prostatic enlargement?
The text suggests that a fast is an effective treatment for colitis, as it allows the body to eliminate toxins and restore health.
What is the recommended treatment for colitis?