Directory of health resources for healthcare professionals.

Yogurt reminds me of the old Bulgarians, whose longevity and health have commonly been attributed to their eating plenty of this healthy dairy product.

What is yogurt? One usually receives the answer that it is a kind of curdled milk. In a certain sense this is correct, the difference being that ordinary sour milk contains approximately 6 g of lactic acid per litre while yogurt contains only about 2 g.

Lactic fermentation does play an important part in the preparation of yogurt, but its particular properties and flavour are due to the Maya bacillus, which works in symbiotic association with the ordinary oriental lactic acid bacillus.

Is yogurt better for you than ordinary sweet milk? Sweet milk coagulates in the stomach into curd. The same process is used in making cheese, when rennet from the stomach of calves is added to warm milk, which then turns into curd. The process of turning milk into curds imposes quite a bit of work on the stomach, which it accomplishes only insufficiently, or not at all, if there is a disturbance in the secretion of the gastric fluids or if the stomach lacks tone. Some people find it difficult to digest sweet milk if the stomach is not performing well. On the other hand, most people can tolerate yogurt or sour milk, the reason being that yogurt enters the stomach in a predigested form, that is, a fine curd. Proof of this can be seen when a child vomits after having drunk some milk and the milk returns in big white lumps, whereas yogurt or sour milk is brought up as a flaky fluid.

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If you are uncertain as to whether a fruit has been sprayed, caution commands that you peel it, which unfortunately also removes the phosphates and other valuable materials which lie immediately under the skin. It is better to do without these minerals, however valuable, than to risk poisoning. If the fruit trees are sprayed in winter, when they are bare, the fruit cannot suffer since there is none; the only damage that can then be done is to the ground and the micro-organisms in it. The poison adhering to the bark will not find its way into the fruit later on.

It is hoped that the practice of spraying poisons, chemical pesticides, will eventually stop as there is the possibility of using harmless biological pesticides that will help increase the yield of crops without the risk of harming the consumer. However, such harmless products can only be discovered if an effort is made to find them, as is the case with natural remedies as opposed to chemical ones.

Experiments carried out with herbal sprays, containing extracts of horsetail (shave grass), yarrow and nasturtium have given very satisfactory results and trials are continuing. We also recommend spraying with tobacco extract because it is organic and much less hazardous than chemical sprays.

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For a drink, make a cup of rose hip tea sweetened with honey or grape sugar. If desired, top the tea with a little cream or even less milk. Cream is better than milk because it contains fat but little protein, although liver patients will find milk or almond milk more tolerable. For a change, you might try some cereal coffee.

These suggestions give you an idea of how to plan your breakfast according to the season and the availability of fruit, as well as your own preferences.

An occasional fruit juice breakfast is beneficial, and grape, orange or grapefruit juice can be recommended. Grapefruit juice is especially good because it stimulates the kidneys, the liver and the entire glandular system.

In cases of impaired liver function take 100—200 ml (about 4-8 fl. oz) of pure, raw carrot juice and a slice of buttered crispbread sprinkled with wheat germ, rather than sweet fruit dishes such as fruit salad with citrus fruits. Muesli with apples is permissible too. If this does not satisfy you, sandwiches as described under ‘Supper’ can supplement your breakfast.

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Fish protein is a food that should not be overlooked. It is important, however, that only fresh fish is used and that it is prepared with the utmost care. If fish is slightly tainted the danger of poisoning is very high, and if fish is not carefully cleaned there is the additional danger of poisoning because it may have swallowed some toxic dead matter that still remains in its entrails. Fish poisoning is especially damaging to the liver. Be particularly careful in southern regions where food goes off relatively quickly. Since fish tend to consume anything they see in front of them, they represent an immediate danger if eaten by the unsuspecting. I once watched a sick man spit into a lake somewhere in Switzerland. At once a trout surfaced and swallowed the unusual bait. Yet it could well have been the sputum of a consumptive. And it is not impossible to imagine that the fish might have been caught and served up on one’s table the next day! Well, that’s enough of that. The final point to remember is that should a liver patient want to enjoy some fish for a change, heed the advice given and either grill or poach it.

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Although we now know that the appendix is there for a purpose and is not just a vestigial structure of no real importance to the body, it is generally advisable to have it removed when it becomes inflamed, rather than run the risk of a perforation and resultant peritonitis. On the other hand, surgeons who routinely remove a healthy appendix merely because the abdomen has been opened for another operation are, from nature’s standpoint, guilty of an incomprehensible action. Every scar carries with it the possibility of subsequent irritations and disturbances. Anyone who lives sensibly, keeps his bowels working well and makes sure that infectious diseases are completely cured, will generally be able to keep his appendix throughout life without any danger of inflammation.

It has been discovered that once the appendix has been removed the bowels become more sensitive. This alone indicates that an operation should be resorted to only when really necessary. Even then, a person should proceed with caution and seek a competent and conscientious surgeon, to be sure that the operation will be performed with the utmost care, because second operations have at times been necessary when an instrument or a piece of bandage was left inside the patient. However, such carelessness and negligence can only happen if those responsible for the blunder are not equal to the high standards of their profession.

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In addition to the measures outlined above, a number of other simple approaches to inducing sleep have been found helpful by many people.

You may find it possible to put the cares of the day out of your mind when in bed by reading an upbuilding book or a magazine article. If one reads for long enough, it will usually lead to drowsiness and sleep.

In cases where you have overtaxed your brain, making the back of the head feel tense and painful, it is helpful to massage the aching area with the fingertips. This gentle massage generally relaxes the tension and induces sleep. Cold water can also help to dispeltension, and a Kuhne treatment is often successful in relaxing the body. Brush massages can also be effective, and even fresh air will often help.

Anything that stimulates the circulation, driving the blood back to the external areas, helps to induce sleep, since insomnia is often caused by too much blood in the brain. Our busy life today lacks balance; we often overtax our minds and do not provide enough exercise for our bodies.

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Iodine is present in rocks, from which it is released when the rocks decompose during the process of weathering. It is dissolved in rain water and is carried to the oceans by the rivers. This, no doubt, is one of the reasons why the ocean is so rich in iodine, as well as other minerals which are carried to it in a similar way. While various other salts remain in the sea, iodine evaporates and is returned to the soil by means of rainfall, dew, fog and snow. Every year hundreds of tons of iodine are thus returned to replenish the soil.

In mountain valleys, however, a deficiency of iodine is often found in the population. The explanation for this may lie in the fact that the water rushes along so rapidly that it carries away large amounts of dissolved iodine instead of restoring it to the soil, as it is able to do in the flatlands.

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It is understandable that one would like to get rid of varicose veins as quickly as possible. This is sometimes done by injecting a strong hypertonic saline or sugar solution into the affected vein, sclerosing it, so that it ceases to function. Each calf possesses two deep and two superficial veins, and each thigh has one of each, with smaller communicating veins. If one of these veins is put out of action, the other will have more work to do. It is obvious that this one may, in time, also become defective, for how can one vein manage to do the work of two, especially when the work was evidently too much when shared by two veins? Eventually, the second vein will also have to be sclerosed and the circulation will depend on the subsidiary veins. True, these can indeed expand a little and become stronger, but not enough to save the circulation from being impeded. Insufficient circulation will lead to further problems. Circulatory disorders, especially among the elderly, are common and often cause grave ailments, such as can be seen in senile gangrene. In many instances such afflictions can be traced back to an earlier interference with the venous system when the patient was young. Indeed, even young people can be affected. The danger of embolism and thrombosis is accentuated by meddling with the blood vessels, as many patients can confirm.

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The general feeling among doctors is that people with angina should take their own action, such as eating healthily, stopping smoking, and exercising regularly, to lower their blood cholesterol levels, and that very few actually need drugs to do the job for them.

This is not because the drugs do not work. They do, very successfully, lower blood lipid (fat) levels. However, there is little proof that they actually benefit patients, because the trials of lipid-lowering drugs have had equivocal results. Due to this, there are guidelines for doctors about prescribing such drugs for people with higher than normal levels of cholesterol and other related lipids in the blood.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs should not be considered until other risk factors for atherosclerosis have been controlled or eliminated. They list the most important of them as being smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and physical inactivity.

They then advise that people with total cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dl but below 250 mg/dl should receive dietary counseling involving the general principles of weight reduction, a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber.

Those with cholesterol levels above 250 mg/dl but below 300 mg/dl should be given a thorough diet overhaul. If they do not respond with a good reduction in cholesterol, especially if they have other risk factors such as hypertension and a previous heart attack, then drug treatment should be considered.

For those with cholesterol levels above 300 mg/dl, diet is still essential, but the majority will need drugs. Most people with this level of blood cholesterol have inherited their condition (familial hypercholesterolemia); they may need two drugs with different actions to lower their levels satisfactorily.

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Understand that stopping smoking is not an end in itself. Smoking has been part of your life, probably for many years. It was almost a friend to you. You must replace it with a new positive approach to life, one that takes in your new eating and exercise habits. They will take your mind off the cigarette routine. Eat more fruit, for example. Your rediscovered taste buds will really enjoy it. Try a new hobby, and meet new friends. Avoid places that you know will be smoky and be on your guard at all times. Resolve never to buy or accept another cigarette. Never risk “just one,” even when you have had alcohol and your resistance is low. Just one cigarette can lead to another, and you will soon be back where you started, in a matter of a few weeks.

If you have angina, you owe making the effort to stop smoking to your heart and your future, and to the future of your partner and your family. You are not alone. Several million Americans have given up the habit in the last ten years. Only one in four American adults now smokes. Now that you have stopped (I assume that having read this far you must have made that decision), you have simply joined the sensible majority.

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