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There is some evidence to suggest that when progestogen is given for ten to fourteen days per cycle to women prior to menopause, it should be taken in phase with the existing menstrual cycle if it is still apparent. This helps to reduce the occurrence of breakthrough bleeding. The experience of Josie, who developed severe hot flushes at the age of forty-five while stiD menstruating regularly, illustrates the point. Her cycle length had always fluctuated around twenty-one days, and when she took progestogen for the first twelve days of each month she experienced repeated breakthrough bleeding that required investigation.

At first her doctor tried manipulating the dose and type of oestrogen and progestogen, but this did not help. Finally, her doctor twigged to the possibility that the bleeding problems could be due to the fact that the hormones her ovaries were still producing intermittently were not synchronising with the hormones she was taking on HRT. Josie was advised to take the last progestogen tablet on the day before the start of the next menstrual bleed she was expecting. Thus, with a twenty-one-day menstrual cycle, she took the progestogen from day nine to day twenty. This simple alteration resulted in much less breakthrough bleeding.

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For most women menopause occurs between forty-eight and fifty-three, and it is usually preceded by a few years of changing ovarian function, including an end to the release of eggs (ova). Women may view it as ‘one of nature’s design faults’ or ‘a blessed relief from periods and pregnancies’. Each ovary of a newborn baby girl contains about a million immature eggs. Up to five hundred eggs develop to full maturity between puberty and menopause and are released from the ovary in the process of ovulation. No one is sure why the remainder degenerate, nor is it clear what triggers the sex hormone shifts and the stop-starts in ovarian function signalled in the years before menopause by altered bleeding patterns.

About the only certainty is that menopause occurs when the number of eggs in the ovary falls to a critical level.

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Another potential cause of diarrhoea is the natural laxative effect of some fruits. Prunes, rhubarb and figs are well known for such properties, but other fruits can have similar, if milder, effects, and so can avocado pears. Eating too much of foods such as these may produce diarrhoea in the susceptible person. Eating beans, lentils, chickpeas or other legumes can also cause problems, especially if they have not been properly cooked. Shellfish are another common cause of diarrhoea – they quite often contain toxins that are not destroyed by cooking.

These are common reactions to food, or to food contaminants, which anyone might have. In food intolerance, there is a more specific reaction to one or more foods, which do not produce diarrhoea in most people. The sort of diarrhoea caused by food intolerance is likely to be fairly mild, although with occasional more acute attacks, perhaps in reponse to a change in diet, or to stress. There might also be periods when the bowel reverts to normal function for a while, or brief episodes of constipation. Opinions vary, but some doctors would classify this sort of chronic diarrhoea, without any pain, as a form of irritable bowel syndrome. It is therefore dealt with below, under that heading.

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As I have said before, sleeping far into the day does not compensate for those hours lost before midnight. An old rule of country folk says: ‘One hour of sleep before midnight equals two hours after.’ This is no delusion but a fact confirmed scientifically, and one that anyone can prove to himself over a two-week period, by going to bed when the sun goes down and getting up when it rises. He will find his nerves have become regenerated and his general health and vitality greatly improved. A clinical experiment carried out for one week produced interesting results. One person went to bed every night at midnight and slept for twelve hours until midday, while another slept from seven or eight o’clock in the evening until four or five o’clock in the morning. Even though the second person slept three or four hours less than the first one, it was found that he was more refreshed, more rested and in better physical shape. This was obvious proof that hours spent in rest before midnight are far more beneficial than the hours after midnight, since they recharge the system with energy more effectively.

Natural sleep is a simple and easy way to help the body stay strong and healthy. All that is needed is a little willingness, a little determination and perseverance.

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People who live in the desert keep themselves fit in spite of the continuous heat and we would do well to learn from them and imitate their habits and customs. Since not only hot beverages are important but also the way they dress, we might try comparing their ideas to ours; in so doing we will be surprised to find that the desert people do not at all agree with our custom of wearing light clothing when it is very hot. On the contrary, in the desert they wrap themselves in loose woollen robes that are more like cloaks and keep their heads covered. Watching these people you can see that they feel comfortable and seem to suffer much less in the intense sunlight than we do when wearing tight clothes or swimwear. The loose robes protect the Bedouins wonderfully and we obtain the impression that they do not perspire. We give much too little thought to the fact that the sun’s intense rays are extremely damaging to anyone who has not sufficiently adapted to them. There is the danger of sunstroke, and sunburn can set off permanent or prolonged damage to the peripheral nerve and vascular systems.

The Bedouins do not feel the need to lie around motionless in the hot sun for hours on end; they do their work and moving around early in the morning or in the evening. We can also take a look at animals and their habits to see whether such exposure is beneficial. In fact, no animal, domestic or wild stays in the direct sunlight when it is hot, preferring instead to seek a shady spot or half-shade.

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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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