Newsletter v2n15

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." (Albert Einstein)

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER Vol 2, No 15, June 5, 2002 "Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A." Written by Andrew Saul, PhD. of http://www.doctoryourself.com , a free online library of over 350 natural healing articles with nearly 4,000 scientific references.

A NEW WAY TO SEE In the Sixties, one slogan was "What if they gave a war, and nobody came?" Enough individual actions add up to peace. Well, what if each person eats right, exercises, eradicates their bad habits, and starts taking vitamins? Might our new slogan be: "What if they gave everybody health insurance, and nobody needed it?" The result would be nothing less than total national health, gained one person at a time.

Oddly enough, it may be that we've had trouble seeing the trees because of the forest. Health care is such an enormous issue that we tend to bite off more than we can collectively chew. Getting a nation to be healthy is one tall order. To think we can ever gain national health by refinancing the same old disease model is ludicrous. http://www.doctoryourself.com/amhealth.html

As difficult as it truly is to change our own personal habits, it remains the only sure method to gain our own health, and to positively influence another person to do the same. http://doctoryourself.com/edumed.html

In the end, education may be reduced to an option, and motivation may be reduced to an offer: there is a way out, and you are free to try it. The Titanic had insufficient lifeboats, yet many of them were launched when less than half full. There actually was a way out for hundreds more to be saved, but only for those 1) who knew early that the ship actually was sinking and 2) who climbed in a boat. Most of those lost never knew their options, such as they were, until it was too late.

Today, Americans have vastly better options when it comes to healthcare, yet remain largely unaware of the safety, the scientific validity, and the real curative power of large quantities of simple, inexpensive nutrients. Sometimes it is the most dreadfully ill persons that make the discovery first, and on their own: there is a way off the sinking ship of conventional drug-and-surgery disease care. Terminal cancer patient Dr. Anthony Sattilaro's experience with a meatless, sugarless, grain-bean-vegetable diet is a good example ( http://www.doctoryourself/cancer/html ). Dr. Ann Wigmore's use of sprouts and other raw foods is another. ( http://www.doctoryourself/sprouting_2/html and http://www.doctoryourself/sprouting_2/html)

Both these individuals recovered after "hopeless" diagnoses.

It is regrettable that so much more often, patients are never informed that they even HAVE choices such as macrobiotics or wheatgrass, and that these alternatives can really work.

This can and must change. We must advocate, and personally choose, that less-traveled route if it will lead us to health. That small lifeboat, no matter how flimsy it looks, is a better bet than staying on any big, solid, doomed ship

COMFREY LEAF POULTICE USED ON A TUMOR Preparation of fresh Comfrey leaves (Symphytum officinale) for topical use on tumors is described by Dr. H. E. Kirschner at http://www.doctoryourself.com/comfrey_herb.html . The doctor specifically describes its palliative yet dramatic use in a case of severe malignancy. He also traces comfrey's 500-year history as a cancer therapy.

I had an opportunity recently to try the herb on a superficial but prominent benign growth on the back of my aging dog's neck. Having long entertained private doubts that Dr. Kirschner could possibly be right, I nevertheless decided to give comfrey a try. I applied "bruised" fresh comfrey leaf pulp to the tumor for about a week. It was easy to monitor progress, since every time I would pet the dog, the growth was unmistakably right there.

I'm still petting the dog. The tumor is undetectable. Dr. Kirschner was right.

And the power of Nature's remedies amazes me yet again.

Anyone can grow comfrey in their garden for use when needed. In fact, just try to stop it: it takes no work whatsoever to grow this virtually indestructible perennial. As a young man, I decided to plant a lot of comfrey all over my yard. That took about 15 minutes. It grew so vibrantly that I eventually decided to eradicate comfrey from lawn and garden. It took twenty years to root it all out. Well, most of it. There is still that patch over there on the side. . .

I got my "starter" comfrey from a friend, and now I know why he was smiling so broadly as he handed the huge sack of roots over to me.

No, neither he nor I supply comfrey by mail-order. Ask around and see who's got some to share. Or, try a garden supplier, nursery, herb store or Internet search. How to plant comfrey: stick the root under ground and come back in a month or two. To grow: Refer to the previous step.

To use the leaves, one simply picks them, crushes them into a nice emerald green paste, and applies topically. Although comfrey leaf tea or dried leaves are often to be inexpensively purchased at herb and health food stores, there is a need to mention Dr. Kirschner's constant reference to using fresh cut leaves only, right from one's garden.

Caution: There are potentially harmful side-effects if comfrey leaves are *eaten* in appreciable quantity. Herbs may be the most natural of medicines, but they are still medicines. To be comfy with comfrey, consult your doctor and a reliable herbal textbook (such as John B. Lust's *The Herb Book,* NY: Bantam, 1974) before employing this, or any, herbal remedy, in serious illness. It is important to meet potential physician objections with a clear, shared understanding of the "comfrey rule": fresh leaves externally, boiled root decoction internally.

More on comfrey at http://www.doctoryourself.com/comfrey_herb.html and even at http://doctoryourself.com/gums.html

HUMOR, SORT OF Send me your favorite Comfrey puns. So far, we have names for comfrey plants which include "Hubert Comfrey" and "Comfrey Bogart."

POST SURGICAL SWELLING Swelling around an incision can be greatly reduced by topical vitamin E dropped onto the suture line. Physicians and hospitals cannot rationally object to such use as long as you wait about five to seven days before application. This helps ensure that the wound has well begun to close. And, swelling is not always immediate. I recently saw this work rather dramatically in a case where there was a most profound swelling (more like a large hard egg-like lump) beneath a "dissolvable" sutured incision. Topical vitamin E also reduces inflammation, itching, and that "pulling" feeling of a healing wound. Plus, it greatly reduces scarring. http://doctoryourself.com/vitamin_e.html

MONONUCLEOSIS Mononucleosis is another one of those diseases that are generally believed to be hard to cure, but in fact are remarkably easy to cure. Saturation (bowel tolerance) levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) will obliterate the symptoms of mono in less than 48 hours. To a public that has been taught to think of mono as a serious six-week disease, this of course is medical heresy. It is really too bad that so many physicians hold such strong opinions without ever having tried intensive vitamin C therapy.

Details of vitamin C dosage and administration, written by medical doctors, will be found at http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html http://www.doctoryourself.com/ortho_c.html http://www.doctoryourself.com/klenner_table.html http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html

READERS ASK: "Where can I buy vitamin C spray to help me stop smoking?"

Beats me. Plus, I think you are better off making your own, fresh, every day. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) powder is cheap. You can probably find a sprayer at the dollar store. Mix as much of the crystalline vitamin C as will dissolve in a couple of ounces of water and spray the back of your throat every time you want a cigarette. This not only helps you stop smoking; it also helps control hunger cravings and reduce that old nicotine-withdrawal weight gain syndrome. (Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 1993:337, p 211-213)

BY THE WAY: "World No Tobacco Day" is May 31, 2002. For more information on putting an end to smoking, you can look at the website of one of my favorite, all-volunteer organizations: http://www.SmokefreeAir.org

"If I am a vegetarian, will I get enough iron, calcium and other minerals in my diet?"

Gorillas, elephants and rhinos are all raw food vegetarians, yet they have vast amounts of iron-rich blood in their bodies. The vegetarian hippopotamus has a calcium-rich body strength of Biblical proportions (Job 40:18) "His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron." And every cow I've ever milked is a vegetarian that, from grains and grasses alone, puts together not only gallons of its own iron-rich blood and its own calcium-rich massive skeleton, but also puts out gallons of the very milk YOU are supposed to need for your calcium! The problem is that we do not eat like cows or rhinos or elephants. Until we do, calcium (plus magnesium) supplements are very important for all ages. Adult men do not require extra iron, but women and kids usually do. http://doctoryourself.com/osteoporosis.html http://www.doctoryourself.com/pregnancy_lactation.html

JUICE AT WORK? Sam writes: "I was reading a lot about juice fasting and how it might help my sinus problem. You've written that it has to be all fresh juice, so what should I do on working days? I cannot possibly carry a juicer and a box of veggies to the office. Any suggestions?"

Sure. 1) Juice at home and carry it in a Thermos. Not ideal for taste, but people have done it. Of course you can juice as soon as you get home, too.

2) Bring a ton of V-8 vegetable juice with you. Be sure to get the "low-salt" variety. And I do NOT refer to so-called "V-8 Splash," which is NOT "vegetable juice."

3) Simply eat your vegetables. (They do let you have lunch and snacks and breaks, don't they?) Also eat lots of fruit. Lots!

4) If you don't like any of the above, take very large quantities of vitamin C and drink huge amounts of water. There's not a sinus problem in town that can long stand up to that. Still more hints at http://doctoryourself.com/sinuses.html , http://doctoryourself.com/juicefast.html and http://www.doctoryourself.com/juicing_2.html

PMS Sharon writes: "I enjoy your website, especially the info on PMS/PPMD. I take a time- released B-complex tab so I only have to take it once a day. Is this as effective as taking regular doses throughout the day?"

Maybe. The older we get, the less reliable sustained-release supplements are. If you've ever heard those "undissolved vitamin pills found by plumber" stories, you can be pretty sure the tablets allegedly found were sustained-release or delayed-release products. For youthful cast-iron-stomach digestions, they are a good start. But I think if a person tries frequent, manual, every-three-hour divided doses, she is likely to notice a considerable difference. Why not make a comparison test?

More on PMS is posted at http://doctoryourself.com/pms.html

NATURAL HEALTH INFORMATION GRAB BAG As we move towards a paperless (ha!) society, I find that I have a lot of extra goodies in my file cabinets, such as articles or review sheets on various vitamins, natural therapies, and such.

So here's an offer: If you live in the USA and send me a 37-cent stamped, self-addressed, business-sized envelope, I will send you three or four assorted natural health information sheets, my choice. If you put TWO 37 cent stamps on the envelope, I'll send six to eight pages. That's about as much as can be crammed into a business-sized envelope.

You may specify either of two subject areas: 1) "Vitamin C," or 2) "Assorted Topics Other than Vitamin C."

The catches: 1) the sheets, remember, are MY CHOICE only. We are NOT taking requests for particular topics or illnesses with a freebie like this. It is strictly pot luck.

2) This offer is only good in the 50 states of the USA. International requests will NOT receive a response. For international readers, please search my website for free access to over 350 articles 24 hours a day.

3) Email and telephone reservations are NOT needed, and emailed inquiries about this will of necessity be answered with a form letter. Time simply does not permit more, as you can understand.

THIS MONTH'S BIG REASON TO BECOME A VEGETARIAN: The Jerusalem Chronicle reports that the United States Department of Agriculture's new regulations allow diseased animals to be sold to for human consumption. "Animal carcasses with cancers, tumors, and open, running sores (are considered) as safe for American consumers to eat." Ugh.

Government meat inspectors now have "the right to certify these tainted pieces of flesh with the government's official seal of approval (and) sold in supermarkets throughout this country." Ugh!

It's enough to make veteran meat inspector Delmer Jones into a vegetarian. The article quotes him as saying, "I eat very little to no meat, but (do eat) sardines and fish. I'm trying to get my wife to stop eating meat. I've told her what's she's eating." Interestingly, Jones is also the "president of the National Joint Council of Meat Inspection Locals, a union of 7,000 meat inspectors nationwide."

If he's avoiding meat, maybe we all should. Read the full article at http://www.jcnnews.com/Economy/economy.html How to be (more of) a veggie today: http://www.doctoryourself.com/eatright.html And here's my crash Course in Vegetarian Cooking" article: http://www.doctoryourself.com/cooking.html

LONG AGO, IN THE LAND OF CATHAY, a young Chinese lad apprenticed himself to a venerable doctor, a man learned in the secrets of Nature. The old wise master taught the apprentice to know herbs and how to gather them at just the right time. He then schooled the boy in preparing the plants to treat all manner of ailments. Eagerly, the lad absorbed all he was taught, became an excellent student, and began to work alongside his great teacher. The apprentice grew into a man with considerable skills.

In time he went to his master and said to him, "Wise one, you have taught me well and I am now ready to return to my village to help my own people."

"Not yet!" said his master. "There is but one more test you must pass. You must take these 12 small jars to the mountains and fill them with plants that have no purpose."

Somewhat perplexed, the apprentice trudged off to the mountains. Days became weeks, turning into long months. Finally, in complete despair, he returned dejected and weary.

Falling at the feet of the old doctor, the young man cried, "I have failed, Master. I have found no plants without a purpose."

The aged wise man smiled gently and said to his young student, "No, my son, you have passed the test. You may now go heal your people."

(Thanks to Charles Pixley and Joanna Jennings for submitting this right-on-the-money fable.)

Newsletter Ideas? To submit a question or suggest a topic for the newsletter, email me at doctoryourself.com/contact.html

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This newsletter is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision.

Privacy Statement: We do not sell, and we do not share, our mailing list or your email address with anyone. You may notice that there is no advertising at http://doctoryourself.com and no advertising in this newsletter. We also do not sell vitamins or other health products, except for Dr. Saul's books, which help fund these free public services.

Did You Want a Back Issue of this newsletter? All are available free of charge at http://www.doctoryourself.com/backissues.html

Copyright c 2002 and prior years Andrew W. Saul Permission to reproduce single copies of this newsletter FOR NON-COMMERCIAL, PERSONAL USE ONLY is hereby granted providing no alteration of content is made and authorship credit is given.