A major deficiency of paradigms of obesity has been their omission of factors which influence both extra- and intra- individual variations in energy balance—in particular the influence of environment, biology and behavioural factors on equilibrium body fat levels.

Environmental influences. Abnormalities of biology or psychology cannot explain the big increases in obesity in modern societies. For this we need to look to the environment. Environmental influences on obesity occur either within a macro or micro environmental setting and can have either a physical or socio-cultural basis.

Macro environmental influences at the physical level are those components of the larger world such as the food supply or technology. At the socio-cultural level, the macro environment represents population and community attitudes, values and norms. The micro environment refers to the immediate physical and social environments such as in the home, amongst peers and social contacts, pressures and attitudes in the family and immediate community. All of these environments can influence body fat levels through the mediation of energy intake or energy expenditure.

Environmental influences represent the public health arm of the obesity problem. While these exist, programs aimed at influencing behaviour at the individual level could only be expected to have limited effect. Any comprehensive approach to the prevention and treatment of overfatness and obesity must then consider both the macro and micro environments.

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The use of analgesics alone often has a limited role in the relief of pain due to endometriosis. They may not be able to completely alleviate your pain and you should not use them continuously even if your pain is chronic and ongoing. You may therefore have to explore a range of options in order to manage your pain. To give you some insight as to the variety of treatments available, we have compiled a brief overview of some of those that people have found useful in helping them to manage their chronic pain.

Heat

You will probably have already discovered that heat brings some relief to menstrual pain. The faithful hot water bottle placed on the affected area can diminish your menstrual pain significantly. Other forms of heat relief include electric blankets or heating pads, a hot shower, bath, spa or sauna. The heat works directly on the nerves that transmit the pain and it also relaxes tense muscles

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Sampson’s theory of retrograde menstruation probably explains most of the cases of endometriosis where the implants are located in the pelvic cavity. However, it does not explain some of the rare cases where the implants are located in sites that are some distance from the pelvic cavity — for example, when the endometrial implants are located in the lungs, thighs or arms. In these circumstances it would appear, that living fragments of endometrium somehow enter the veins or the lymph vessels and are transported around the body to another location where they implant in the surrounding tissue.

Accidental transplantation theory-In this situation, the endometrial fragments are transferred from the uterus to the new site during gynaecological surgery or the delivery of a baby. The fragments of endometrium become lodged in the muscle or tissue at the site of the surgical

cut — such as in a caesarian or an episiotomy — where they implant. This theory explains the occurrence of endometriosis in surgical and episiotomy scars. Fortunately, this is not common.

Metaplastic theory-The last theory is known as the metaplastic theory. According to this theory, women may have dormant cells in their pelvic cavities which have the ability to be transformed into endometrial cells in certain circumstances, such as when there is repeated irritation of the lining of the pelvic cavity. This irritation may be due to the presence of menstrual blood, infections or the hormones in the body.

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There is much’ accumulated research which shows that vitamin B also plays an important role in prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis. The B-family vitamins specifically named in this connection are choline, inositol, pyridoxine, niacin and thiamin.

A study made in Poland on 26 patients with atheromatosis showed that 15 of them had a significant decline in blood cholesterol after administration of niacin. Another test on 230 patients demonstrated that the death toll of heart patients treated with choline was two and a half times smaller than in a corresponding group of patients on conventional medication. And animal tests, conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, proved that a deficiency of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) has produced in animals the same condition as human hardening of the arteries, as well as high blood pressure. Also thiamin deficiency has been found to impair the function of the heart and result in “terminal cardiac standstill.”

The best sources of all the vitamins of the B-complex are brewer’s yeast, desiccated liver, wheat germ and all the unrefined grains, seeds and nuts. Never use single synthetic B-vitamins, except under a doctor’s supervision—some of them could be toxic taken alone in large doses, or they may create a deficiency in vitamins other than the B-complex. B-vitamins are most effective when taken together in natural food supplements, such as brewer’s yeast.

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Almost one-third of all Americans are overweight! The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company has found that:

“The death rate is one-third higher among those whose body weight is 20 percent above the average. The death rate from coronary artery disease (heart disease) is 50 percent greater among the overweight.”

The well-known American scientist, Dr. C. M. McCays of Cornell University, through his extensive studies has definitely proven that overeating is one of the prime causes of degenerative diseases and premature death; or, as he put it, “the thin rats bury the fat rats.”

Overeating

Everyone agrees that the cause of obesity is overeating. But what causes overeating?

Dr. T. L. Cleave, famous British scientist, has a theory which explains what makes us “civilized” people such compulsive eaters. He says that man, like animals, has an inborn instinct which guides him in his choice of the kind and the amount of foods he should eat. He can trust this instinct with absolute confidence, but only as long as he uses natural substances; that is, the foods which occur naturally in his environment and are in their natural state. This appetite instinct, however, is “confused” if your food is so over-processed, and so adulterated with artificial flavors and colorings, that it bears very little or no resemblance in either appearance or taste to the original food.

Cholesterol and heart disease

We have been reading and hearing a great deal about animal fats in connection with heart disease. We have been told that the high level of fat consumption, particularly of cholesterol-rich animal fats, is the cause of arteriosclerosis and heart disease.

Now I would be the last person to defend or justify animal fats in human nutrition. But in all fairness it must be stated that it appears as though some scientists are accusing the wrong villain in their attempt to solve the problem of heart disease. Although cholesterol deposits on the walls of the arteries are symptomatic of cardiovascular disease, more and more researchers, particularly in Europe, have become convinced that cholesterol in itself is not the villain, but that a general biochemical imbalance, impaired metabolism and the resultant inability of the system to handle cholesterol, are to blame! This view is supported by the fact that many peoples, like Eskimos, some of the North American Indians, inhabitants of Tristan da Cunha, and some tribes in Russian Siberia, consume large quantities of cholesterol-rich foods, yet they do not suffer from hardening of the arteries or heart disease at all. That is, they do not until they adopt “civilized man’s” eating habits and start to eat white sugar, white flour, canned foods, and such. There is mounting independent research which shows that cholesterol is an effect, not a cause.

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It is the opinion of biologically oriented doctors that the best therapeutic diet for arthritics is a low-protein diet, with emphasis on raw, fresh vegetables and fruits, and with the total exclusion of meat and fish. Also, salt, white sugar and white flour and everything made from them, soft drinks, coffee, tea, alcohol, and tobacco should be completely eliminated.

The value of biological treatments for arthritis was scientifically tested by the Royal Free Hospital in London, England, in 1949. Twelve patients with arthritis, all more or less hopeless cases given up by doctors as not responsive to conventional treatments, were selected to participate in the tests, which were carried out under careful scientific control. The experiment was documented on films taken during the entire period of the treatments; both the films and the detailed report were published in the British Medical Journal.

The results were very convincing. Patients who had been considered hopeless cases, crippled and in many cases bedridden, improved remarkably and regained the use of their deformed and formerly immobile joints. They literally left their crutches and beds and walked. The treatments used in this experiment were those employed at the Bircher-Benner Clinic in Zurich, Switzerland—basically a raw food diet and other biological treatments, as described in this chapter.

Biological medicine is not quackery or a passing fad. It is a new, fast growing branch of medical science—truly the medical science of the future. It is as scientific as it is simple. Its philosophy is based on the fundamental principle of intelligent cooperation with nature; it sees man as a part of nature, subject to its eternal laws. It is a modern science which incorporates all the harmless and effective therapies that can be applied in the support of the body’s own healing forces in restoring health.

A biological program of treatments is not easy. There are no specific miracle remedies, no specific diets which can cure arthritis. Arthritis can be cured only by the efforts of the body’s own healing powers. With the assistance of the wide arsenal of biological treatments and with the full and willing cooperation of the patient, it can be done—it is done in European clinics every day. But in order to achieve lasting and effective results, full cooperation and a positive effort on the part of the patient are imperative.

Lars-Erik Essen, M.D., the leading pioneer of biological medicine in Sweden, said:

There is no question that arthritis, if not too advanced, can be cured. Biological methods are the only ones at present which can bring about the cure. . . . Many patients have been restored to health through the practiced application of biological medicine after all the conventional treatments have failed. Biological medicine and naturopathic methods of treatment will come to the fore more and more as the successful alternative to conventional therapy; and for the afflicted, who tried in vain conventions! therapy, they present the only choice.

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If you do not have your own sauna, what can you do and how can you use fever to stimulate and strengthen your own defenses against infections and other diseases?

Here are few things you can do:

Do not suppress or reduce, but support and sustain fever in colds and acute infections.

You can take Schlenz-bath, as I described in this chapter, in your own bathroom. If you plug the emergency outlet with some pieces of cloth or paper, you will be able to raise the water in your tub so that it will cover your whole body—but be careful not to flood your house!

Physical activity to the point of heavy perspiration is almost as beneficial, if not more so, than the overheating bath. Physical exertion may actually raise body temperature several degrees. A combination of heavy exercise or exhausting, perspiring games, with swimming in a pool or the ocean can substitute for a Finnish sauna.

Even if you don’t have a bath tub, a do-it-yourself sauna in your own bedroom can be made as follows: Wrap yourself in a heavy bath sheet. Put a plastic or rubber sheet on your bed to protect it from damage by perspiration. Take one or two hot water bottles and lie on the rubber sheet. Cover yourself with an electric blanket turned on high, leaving just a crack for breathing. Use several heavy blankets if necessary. Remain until profuse sweating occurs—half an hour or more. Finish your do-it-yourself sauna with a cold shower or rub-down.

Warning. Although a fever is a welcome, constructive symptom and is perhaps the best “medicine your body could have,” and therefore should not be suppressed or lowered, but supported and sustained, I do not want to leave you with the impression that fever should be simply ignored. Fever is a serious matter, good and beneficial, but serious nevertheless. In small babies particularly the heat-regulating mechanism is not fully developed and a sudden temperature rise may cause convulsions. The sudden rise of temperature in adults to over 103° F should be watched carefully as it may become dangerous, according to some authorities. Some other doctors believe that fevers up to 104° or 106° are not harmful in themselves.6 It is wise, however, to have an understanding doctor supervise a patient with a high fever and watch for possible dangers in the development of the disease.

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One of the greatest authorities on using raw juices for therapeutic purposes is Georg Lanyi, M.D., from Gothenburg, Sweden. Dr. Lanyi served for many years on the staff of the famous Buchinger clinic in Germany, where juice fasting is done by thousands of patients each year. He has had extensive experience with using different juices and their combinations for specific ailments. Much of the following information is taken from his illuminative article Raw Juices Instead of Drugs.2

The favorable effect of raw juices in treatment of diseases, particularly in combination with fasting, is attributed to the following physiological facts:

• Vital minerals, vitamins and trace elements present in juices are assimilated almost 100 percent from the digestive tract.

• They provide an alkaline surplus to balance the acids which are in large quantity in the blood and tissues during fasting.

These factors have a stimulating and exhilarating effect on the detoxicating, cleansing and healing processes. The amount of juices, therefore, should be carefully controlled in accordance with specific needs, just as it is with any other kind of medication. The total juice intake in 24 hours should be between a pint and a quart and a half, never more. It is advisable in most cases that one half of the daily intake is fruit juice, the other half vegetable juice.

The most effective way to use juices for therapeutic purpose is in the form of a juice fast, as described in Chapter 2 of this book.

The shortest juice fast is seven to eight days, the longest three to four weeks, and sometimes even longer. Fasting for one week is usually sufficient for prophylactic purposes; that is, when people in relatively good health fast regularly to cleanse the system of accumulated impurities and to give the digestive and other organs time to rest and thus restore their functions to peak performance—rather like the servicing and tune-up that we have on our automobiles. The length of the therapeutic juice fast should be determined by the experienced practitioner.

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The scientific fact that our bodies are made up mostly of proteins may be largely responsible for the high-protein myth. But powerful American advertising must have played the decisive role in building up the high-protein cult. There is no money in advertising health. But there seem to be huge economic interests involved in promoting the high-protein diet.

You are subjected to continuous, never-ending high-protein propaganda every day of your life. Periodical reports of “scientific research,” naturally sponsored by the livestock, dairy or meat packing industry, see to it that you’ll never forget your need for “lots of proteins.” You read this in the medical syndicated columns of your daily newspaper; you read it in popular health magazines and health books on nutrition by “experts” and “authorities.” You have been taught this in your grade school, your Home-Ec course in high school, and your nutrition classes in college. You have been fed this propaganda and geared for the high-protein cult for decades, from all possible directions, even roadside billboards and “beef for health” stickers on automobile bumpers! You are advised to eat lots of meat, fish, eggs, and milk to get as much protein as possible. In fact, you are basically told that you can never get too much protein in your diet.

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I have told about mud pack cures used in European biological clinics. But in Mexico I learned a wonderful way to make a do-it-yourself sand pack cure by the seashore. On my favorite beach in San Bias, Nayarit, I have on several occasions observed Indians from nearby mountains coming down to the ocean and taking these packs. This is how they do it:

They dig a hole in the sand sufficiently deep for a man to lie down flat in it. The hole should be close enough to the water so that the bottom of the hole will be moist from the seeping sea water. The patient lies down in the hole and is completely covered by the dry hot sand, leaving only the face uncovered. Then the others bring a pail of sea water and pour it over the sand. The patient stays in the hole for about 15 minutes to half an hour.

I have asked several Indians why they take these packs. Their answer was always enthusiastic: These sand packs have a wonderful healing effect on most diseases, but especially on abdominal disorders, nervous conditions and blood diseases. They have told me of many dramatic cases of miraculous cures accomplished by these packs. There is no doubt that the combination of the osmotic absorbtion of minerals from the sea water and the therapeutic effect of cold water and hot sand packs has a powerful healing effect. Try a salt water sand pack next time you are on the beach!

By the way, these same Indians always take several bottles of sea water with them to the mountains. They told me that they drink it when they feel “out of sorts.”

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