Other Natural Methods
Acupuncture: Health and Vitality through Balanced Energy
What Is It?
Acupuncture is a five-thousand-year-old traditional Chinese healing art that aims to rebalance the flow of Qi (pronounced 'chee'), or life force, in the body. By harmonizing the patient's body, mind and spirit, natural self-healing powers can work properly. Acupuncture works by the insertion of very fine needles into, or application of heat, pressure or massage on, certain points along the body's energy pathways called meridians.
History
Acupuncture is a very complex system that has been refined and used effectively for thousands of years. Its founding text is the Nei Jing, also known as The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which was written about three thousand years ago. Acupuncture is used with other elements of traditional Chinese medicine: herbs, massage, diet and exercise.
How Can It Help Me?
Whether you are having trouble with colds, tennis elbow, blood pressure, gallstones or depression, acupuncture can help. In fact, the World Health Organization recognizes it as especially effective for afflictions of the respiratory system, eyes, mouth cavity, stomach and intestines, and nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. It is also effective for many other common problems. In cases of severe chronic illness, acupuncture may not cure the disease but it improves quality of life and provides drug-free pain relief so that the body energy may start the process of healing.
If you have just consumed food or alcohol, or if you are menstruating or pregnant, delay your acupuncture therapy until your body has returned to its normal state. Similarly, if you feel overly stressed or exhausted, wait until you are more relaxed. Anyone with a weak constitution, malignant tumors or serious hemorrhagic conditions should avoid acupuncture.
Many patients are pleased to have their primary problem cleared up and are delighted to note that secondary symptoms also disappear. The acupuncturist treats each patient as unique, carefully assessing symptoms, then giving an individualized treatment based on what has been diagnosed as the underlying problem. In contrast, modern medicine gives standardized treatments based solely upon the symptoms, with little regard to the patient as an individual whole person.
Since acupuncture's subtle diagnostics seek to identify underlying causes, it is an effective preventive for curbing progression of symptoms towards disease.
How Does It Work?
The acupuncturist seeks to optimize the flow and character of the Qi by stimulating certain points along the minute energy channels known as meridians, through which Qi flows. There are 365 points on the main meridians and hundreds of others on secondary meridians. These meridians are located below the skin and occur symmetrically on both sides of the body.
There are twelve main meridians forming an energy circuit throughout the body, and eight extraordinary meridians which act as alternate pathways if there is a problem in a main meridian.
Each meridian is associated with an organ-if an organ is removed, the meridian still exists. The main meridians are: lung, large intestine, stomach, spleen, heart, small intestine, bladder, kidney, pericardium, triple warmer, gall-bladder and liver.
How Is It Done?
Diagnosis
The first visit to the acupuncturist will begin with a detailed diagnostic process involving some or all of the following: pulse evaluation; tongue examination; detailed questions about your lifestyle, health and symptoms; visual, auditory and perhaps olfactory observations; and tactile exploration of acupuncture points on the spine or stomach. Pulse and tongue diagnosis are the foundation of the oriental diagnostic system, and have been highly developed. The practitioner is trying to determine patterns of disharmony, and any inherent weaknesses that may be the underlying cause of illness.
Treatment
Very fine needles, usually made of stainless steel, are inserted at meridian points usually below the elbow or knee. These areas have command points for each meridian and are where the Qi is most dynamic. Needles are sterilized and inserted at varying depths and angles depending on the location on the body and the desired effect. Sometimes the practitioner manipulates the needles. They are inserted for a duration of a few seconds (dispersal technique) to many minutes (stimulating technique). Commonly they are left in for fifteen to twenty minutes.
You should not feel any pain or experience any bleeding. There is sometimes a radiating sensation where the needle is inserted, although this usually only lasts a few seconds. This sensation can also be felt to a lesser extent by the practitioner, and indicates that the needle indeed has connected with the Qi. Your pulse is checked during the treatment to monitor progress and after the treatment to ascertain that balance has been restored.
After a treatment you will probably feel drowsy and relaxed, or in some cases you will feel energized. Expect to feel the benefits a couple of days later when the Qi has had a chance to adjust. You should feel better immediately if the treatment has been for acute pain, such as a migraine.
What Can I Do?
First, find yourself a fully qualified practitioner. Next, maintain a healthy diet of whole, unrefined foods. Once you have started treatments, be sure to follow the diet, lifestyle and any other treatment suggestions recommended by your acupuncturist.
Where Do I Go Next?
This ancient and complex healing system requires many years of study. It cannot be learned in short courses. In China, acupuncture is a five-year full-time program of which two years are devoted to studying herbalism. In the West, it is a three-year full-time program. To locate a practitioner, inquire at your nearest acupuncture, oriental medicine, holistic association or school. (For more information, see Appendix 1.)
Other Natural Methods Aromatherapy: The Power of Scent
What Is It?
Aromatherapy uses plant-derived essential oils to gently stimulate the natural healing action of both body and mind. This enjoyable treatment can include an aromatic massage or bath, or diffusing a scent throughout a room. Essential oils are very small molecules which are able to penetrate the skin and pass through capillaries into the blood and through cell walls. These oils contain hormones, vitamins, antibiotics and antiseptics. Depending on their chemical composition, essential oils can have one or more of the following properties: antiseptic (property of all essential oils), anti-inflammatory, stimulant, sedative, expectorant, diuretic, toning, bactericidal, spasmolytic, mucolytic, immunostimulant, antiviral and antifungal.
Among the plants rich in essential oils are anise, balm melissa, basil, camomile, fennel, elecampane, feverfew, juniper, lavender, marigold, marjoram, peppermint, pine, rosemary, sage, thyme, valerian and yarrow.
History
Aromatic oils have been used throughout the ages for healing, religious ceremonies, as beauty aids and in perfumes. The ancient Egyptians used aromatherapy five thousand years ago and the Babylonians as far back as 1800 BC. Using essential oils for healing is mentioned in the Bible and was used by the ancient Greeks for medicines, by the Romans for beauty, and as antiseptics during the plagues in Europe.
Aromatherapy as we know it, was founded and named in 1937 by French chemist, Dr. René-Maurice Gattefossé. Working with plant materials in his laboratory one day, Gattefossé burned his hand and immediately immersed it in the nearest substance available, pure essential lavender oil. The oil took away the redness and healed the burn with startling speed. Gattefossé was so impressed that he started to research the healing properties of other essential oils, discovering a completely new healing discipline in the process.
In France today, aromatherapy is widespread and is routinely prescribed by physicians. Pharmacies sell remedies related to aromatherapy alongside conventional medicine. In England and Germany, essential oils are mostly used for their calming effects, as sleep inducers and as respiratory medications. In North America, aromatherapy has been steadily growing in popularity.
How Can It Help Me?
The gentle healing power of aromatherapy is used to treat many common problems. Baths are used to alleviate stress, headaches, fatigue, colds, flus, and aches and pains. Steaming and inhalation clear sinuses and cleanse and moisturize the skin. Compresses help in cases of bruises, abscesses, skin irritations, aches and pains.
Essential oils can have many medicinal effects. They can act on the stomach (stomachics, such as ginger); affect the production of urine (diuretics, such as dong quai); clear respiratory passages (expectorants, such as thyme and eucalyptus); reduce inflammation (anti-inflammatories, such as camomile, everlast and marigold); or eliminate parasites (antiparasitics, such as garlic and thyme).
How Does It Work?
Essential oils are highly effective remedies because their molecules are so fine that they can easily penetrate skin and body tissues, delivering healing substances in very effective ways.
Essential oils are administered in various ways and their aroma acts like a messenger with a short-cut to the brain, where it affects the limbic system. The limbic system is a kind of switchboard in the brain directly connected to brain centers that control blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, hormone levels and the nervous system. When essential oils are smelled, inhaled or absorbed through the stomach, the skin or any other body tissues, they directly stimulate the limbic system, creating pathways to affect physical, emotional and mental changes.
Researchers have shown that one group of essential oils is tranquilizing, capable of calming body and mind and imparting a feeling of well-being; another group of essential oils is stimulating, energizing body and mind and heightening mental awareness. Recent studies have shown that aromatherapy can be used to improve the mood and increase the awareness of Alzheimer patients and other patients with memory problems.
Essential oils have multilevel body-mind effects; they can clear your breathing passages on one level while simultaneously producing mental clarity and positive emotions. Even aromas too subtle to be picked up by the human nose have been shown to alter electroencephalogram (EEG) activity and increase the speed of completing visual tasks.
Unlike their synthetic counterparts, natural essential oils are very complex and have hundreds of chemical ingredients. The combination of main active ingredients with all the trace elements has a pleasing effect. Evidence shows that a natural extract is more effective than an isolated major active ingredient.
Essential oils are usually extracted from plants by a distillation process. They are very potent, volatile and powerful smelling and are not to be confused with 'perfume' or 'fragrance' oils which are synthetic and do not have therapeutic properties. The price of essential oils depends on plant availability and ease of extracting oils from plants.
Mix essential aromatherapy oils with a carrier oil (or combination of carrier oils) which acts as a base and as a lubricant for massage. The carrier oil should be of vegetable source and naturally extracted, not processed. Common carrier oils are sweet almond (good for dry skin), grapeseed (normal skin), soya bean (oily skin) and wheat germ (antioxidant, preservative, diminishes scarring).
Generally six drops of essential oil are used for each two teaspoons of carrier oil. For use on the face, reduce to four drops. Half these amounts should be used when treating children or the elderly.
How Is It Done?
Diagnosis
An aromatherapist will start with a diagnostic interview to determine background, health, emotional states, and lifestyle.
If you want to try aromatherapy at home, start with one or two essential oils so that you can first learn what each of them can do for you before adding others. Some stores sell 'starter kits' which contain a number of remedies. Always make sure that whatever you purchase is 'pure essential oil.'
Treatment
The name aromatherapy is somewhat misleading as it suggests that essential oils must be inhaled in order to benefit from their healing powers. In fact, there are several techniques available:
Vaporizers-A vaporizer can be used to launch minute particles of essential oils into the air. This method can act as a natural air freshener as well as a disinfectant. It can also facilitate breathing, and at the same time create an energizing or calming effect inside a room.
Heat sources-Drops of essential oil are added to a small bowl of water, which is then heated over a tea light to spread the aroma and its effects throughout the room. For steaming, use essential oil in a bowl of very hot water. Put your head over the bowl and cover with a towel.
Fragrant water spray-This is water to which a certain amount of essential oil has been added. The water can be used on hot summer days as a moisturizing skin spray or in the winter as a skin or air moisturizer to combat dry air. Use weak dilutions to prevent skin irritation.
Other external uses-Because the minute molecules of essential oils penetrate tissues so easily, oils can be effective in baths, compresses, liniments, salves, massage oils, plasters or in direct applications to the skin. Essential oils should be diluted before applying to the skin. Add oil to your bath just before you get in. For dry skin, mix the oil with a carrier such as almond, olive or avocado oil. Make sure the oil is dispersed to avoid possible skin irritations. Compresses should be soaked in a mixture of essential oil and water. Certain conditions such as bruises and abscesses may require a compress infused with undiluted oil. For massage, the therapist will make a blend of oils that is pleasing to the patient and use it during the massage. Most people feel relaxed after the aromatherapy massage, some feel energized and others may feel lethargic.
Internal use-Essential oils can be so strong that even one single drop can be completely overwhelming. To use essential oils internally, first make sure that the label specifies internal use. If no specific dilutions are given, start with one drop in half a cup of water and observe the effect. While essential oils are scientifically studied in England, Germany and France, it is still a little more difficult to get reliable advice about each oil in North America.
Even fewer drops of essential oils are needed than of tinctures. One drop of a healing mint oil, for example, taken in a cup of hot water, can cause your eyes to water and your sinuses to clear. For that reason, essential oils work well as inhalants and in steam baths. Essential oils can also be mixed for a synergistic effect. Essential oils can be used internally for colds, coughs, hoarseness, stuffy and runny nose, toothaches, headaches, sore throats and nausea. Externally, they are useful as inhalants, liniments and bath additives for headaches, nerve pains, exhaustion, chilblains, rheumatism, sprains and muscle cramps. Use antibacterial oils for minor scrapes and wounds and as a gargle. Carrying a small bottle of preparation is like carrying a miniature home pharmacy in your pocket. However, before using any essential oil remedy, read the directions because most essential oils have to be greatly diluted before use.
What Can I Do?
Because of the gentle nature of aromatherapy, it can be used safely in home treatment. Thoroughly educate yourself before trying it, especially when using in cases of pregnancy. (For more information, see Pregnancy Problems in the Conditions section.)
Store essential oils in a cool, dry place and keep tightly closed.
If you have allergies, it is a good idea to perform a skin patch test to determine any possible negative reaction.
Where Do I Go Next?
Check with aromatherapy stores, natural food stores and essential oil suppliers. Talk to a knowledgeable person to become familiar with reputable companies that guarantee the purity of their oils. Deal with companies that are in the herb business and not in the food business. Essential oils produced for food flavoring do not adhere to the same standards of quality and purity as those specifically made for aromatherapy. The label should say 'pure essential oil' instead of using deceptive terms, such as 'essential fragrance,' 'botanical essence' or 'natural perfume.'
Essential oils vary in price, depending on the availability of plants and the percentage of oil they contain. If you see a line of aromatherapy remedies where every oil has the same price, you can be sure that the contents are not pure essential oil. Be prepared for high prices since it can take up to one thousand pounds of plant material to make one quart of essential oil. Remember, however, that a bottle will go a long way because only a few drops are used at a time.
Once you start using aromatherapy, you will find that it is a versatile and easy discipline. If aromatherapy keeps gaining in popularity, physicians may someday be prescribing it in North America as they do in France.
Other Natural Methods Ayurveda: Promoting Balance between People and Their Environment
What Is It?
Ayurveda is a complex and ancient East Indian system of holistic living, preventive medicine and healing that seeks to promote health by creating a balance in the subtle energies (doshas) within and around us. Ayurveda teaches that a lifestyle that maintains the doshas in balance with the individual's constitutional type will maintain health in mind, body and soul. Illness is caused by an imbalance in the doshas due to poor diet, emotional trauma or an accumulation of toxins. Ayurveda tailors lifestyle and treatments according to the uniqueness of the individual's physical, mental, lifestyle and environmental conditions. Ayurvedic philosophy is based on the premise that we must take responsibility for our own health.
Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word that can be translated as the 'science of life' or 'knowledge of how to live.' Classical Ayurveda texts include comprehensive lifestyle guidelines comprising diet, exercise, sleeping, cleanliness, oiling the body and partaking in religious devotions of your faith.
History
This healing system is was developed by the great rishis (seers) and was passed on through oral tradition. Ayurveda is at least five thousand years old but ancient texts only exist from about 1000 BC. Ayurveda is only now becoming popular in the West.
The lotus is an Ayurvedic symbol and each of its eight petals represents one of the eight Ayurvedic disciplines: internal medicine; surgery; treatment of ears, nose, throat, eyes, jaws and teeth; toxicology; psychiatry; gynecology and pediatrics; geriatrics; and sexology.
How Can It Help Me?
Ayurveda is a preventive discipline that seeks to recognize and eliminate disease before it can become entrenched in the body. Ayurveda is used to maintain health by promoting understanding of lifestyle and eating habits that are beneficial to a particular constitution and situation.
With the self-knowledge gained through diagnosis and treatment options, you learn how to take responsibility for your health and well-being.
How Does It Work?
Ayurveda is based upon the principle that we heal from within. It assists nature in a positive way by supporting beneficial processes to reinstate and maintain proper balance of doshas. Decreasing excess doshas hastens the elimination of wastes and improves resistance to disease.
How Is It Done?
Diagnosis
Diagnostic tools include taking an analysis of body (pulse, tongue, iris, face, skin, urine and stools), mind, spirit and environment. The pulse diagnosis is highly refined and in some cases may be the only form of diagnosis used.
Treatment
Treatments consist of medicinal plants (fresh, dried or naturally extracted), strict dieting and exercise.
What Can I Do?
Take responsibility for your health by maintaining balance and harmony in all areas of your life: physical, mental and spiritual. When illness does strike, follow the recommended treatment of the practitioner to hasten your recovery.
Where Do I Go Next?
It can be difficult to find a qualified Ayurvedic physician or practitioner. Check with the nearest holistic/natural healing or naturopathic organization, or ask at your health food store, which should carry Ayurvedic formulas.
Other Natural Methods Bio-oxidative Therapies: The Power of Oxygen
Oxygen is essential to all life on earth. It is the most abundant element of the earth's crust and forms a major part of the oceans, rocks and all living things. Sixty-two percent of the earth's crust and sixty-five percent of the human body blood, organs, tissues and skin consist of oxygen.
Oxygen is involved in all body functions, and the average person requires about one cup of oxygen per minute while resting and up to eight quarts during strenuous activity. The brain needs twenty percent of the body's oxygen supply.
Healthy body cells need oxygen. Without it, cells with low levels die and become vulnerable to pathogens that thrive in an oxygen-deficient environment. Deprivation of oxygen to the body encourages anaerobic microbes (organisms that live without oxygen) to proliferate. Cancer cells are anaerobic. Overgrowth of harmful microbes will lead to the breakdown of important enzymatic reactions, an overload of metabolic wastes and ultimately cell death.
Imagine how tired and sluggish you feel when enclosed within a poorly ventilated room full of people. The room is filled with elevated levels of carbon dioxide - it lacks vital oxygen. High levels of carbon dioxide often lead to symptoms of oxygen deprivation - headaches, exhaustion and sinus problems.
Reduced lung capacity, lack of exercise, smoking and stress deprive the body of oxygen, accelerating the aging process and leaving the body more susceptible to illnesses, including heart disease, strokes and cancer. The supply of oxygen available to the tissues and organs is largely dependent on oxygen levels in the blood, which are measurable in blood samples. Lower blood oxygen levels are common with age and lead to fatigue, poor circulation, weakened immunity and poor vitality - all of which are typically attributed to the effects of aging. These, in turn, increase susceptibility to disease.
Automobile exhaust, environmental pollution, devitalized foods (including overcooked, canned and processed foods) and inadequate breathing all lead to oxygen deficiency. Learning to breathe fully through your diaphragm will boost your body's oxygen supply. Deep and rhythmic breathing, aerobic exercises and high-oxygen foods (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) are essential to the daily promotion of normal cell function and oxidation within the body. It is always crucial, above all, to maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet. In addition, two natural elements - ozone and hydrogen peroxide, perhaps the most powerful oxidizers can provide highly effective bio-oxidative therapy.
What Is It?
Bio-oxidative therapy involves introducing small amounts of medical ozone (O3) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into the body for the prevention and treatment of disease. These elements accelerate oxygen metabolism and stimulate the release of oxygen atoms from the bloodstream to the body's cells.
Many physiological functions are affected by bio-oxidative therapies, such as hormonal regulation, immune response and tissue oxygenation. When properly administered and used in conjunction with detoxification, supplements, diet, exercise and breathing, these bio-oxidative therapies have virtually no side-effects.
Bio-oxidative therapies have been used for over 100 years and medical literature on the therapeutic uses of ozone and hydrogen peroxide has been published for over sixty years.
Ozone
Ozone's first medical application in 1856 involved the disinfection of operating rooms. It was used to treat skin diseases in 1915. Dr. E. A. Fisch, a dentist, later used it as a disinfectant. One of his patients, Dr. Edwin Payr, became interested in its properties and was the first to use it intravenously in 1945 for circulatory problems. During World War II, ozone was used medically to treat wounds and infections. In the late 1950s, Dr. Werner Zabel used it to treat cancer.
In the early 1980s, Dr. Horst Kief was the first to use ozone successfully in the treatment of HIV and pioneered the autohomologous immunotherapy (AHIT) treatment method. It has been used medically in Europe for over thirty years to treat many different conditions including cancer, AIDS and heart disease. Ozone is used by fifteen thousand European practitioners and it is estimated that it has been administered to over one million patients in Germany alone.
Most major research is ongoing in Russia, Cuba and Germany. Other research is taking place in Canada, the United States, Mexico, France, Italy and Australia. A Canadian study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, gained worldwide attention by showing that ozone kills HIV in vitro, the hepatitis and herpes viruses, as well as other pathogens found in blood.
In the earth's high atmosphere, oxygen (O2) is exposed daily to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. This creates ozone (O3), a highly reactive molecule which has a short life. Ozone is nature's purification system, reacting quickly to oxidize other chemicals and elements. It is able to transform toxic substances into harmless materials.
Ozone kills bacteria and fungi while also oxygenating the blood, improving blood circulation and stimulating oxygen production in human tissue. Ozone has a strong germicidal effect-it has been found to be very effective against chronic infection, particularly viruses and candidiasis.
Because ozone therapy enhances the body's immune system on a fundamental level, it enables the body to heal itself of a wide range of other conditions, including skin conditions, herpes, diabetes, HIV-related problems, asthma, allergies, heart and circulatory problems, digestive and intestinal disorders, parasites, nerve disorders, Epstein-Barr virus and cancer. Cirrhosis of the liver, cystitis, giardiasis, gangrene, Raynaud's disease, senile dementia, hepatitis B, multiple sclerosis and scars have all shown improvement with ozone therapy.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Louis-Jacques Thenard, a French chemist, discovered hydrogen peroxide in 1818. It was first used medically in 1920 by Dr. T. Oliver to treat people who were critically ill with influenza pneumonia. His patients had a reduced mortality rate, down from eighty percent to forty-eight percent.
Also at this time, Dr. William Koch successfully treated cancer using intramuscular injections, but due to persecution by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) he moved to Brazil. In the 1960s, the Baylor University Medical Center in Texas carried out major studies on the use of hydrogen peroxide for cancer and heart problems. Researchers found that hydrogen peroxide had long-term effectiveness in removing plaque build-up in the arteries.
Dr. Charles Farr is one of the most important American contributors to this therapy. He was nominated for the 1993 Nobel Prize in medicine for his research in the therapeutic use of hydrogen peroxide. His work, recognized abroad, is unfortunately largely ignored in Canada and the United States.
Hydrogen peroxide is a naturally occurring substance found in healing springs, plants and animals, and is necessary for body function. It is a liquid with a molecular structure consisting of two atoms of hydrogen and two atoms of oxygen.
Hydrogen peroxide is necessary for proper function of the immune system. The metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals requires hydrogen peroxide, which is also a by-product of cell metabolism. It is involved in the production of cellular energy and the regulation of blood sugar, having effects similar to insulin in the control of type-II diabetes. Hydrogen peroxide also works as a hormone regulator and is essential in the production of estrogen, progesterone and thyroxin. The therapeutic possibilities of hydrogen peroxide are wide-ranging.
Besides fighting infection and killing various pathogens and diseased cells, hydrogen peroxide will successfully treat varicose veins, allergies, vascular headaches, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and lupus. It has also helped with chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.
Hydrogen peroxide and ozone therapies stimulate the body's production of white blood cells (needed to fight infection), help dissolve excess cholesterol, and stimulate production of tumor-necrosis factor, a cancer-inhibitor.
Pharmaceutical hydrogen peroxide is used in many different concentrations: three percent is used as a disinfectant for skin abrasions and for cleaning; six percent is used to bleach hair; thirty percent reagent grade is used diluted for bio-oxidative therapies; thirty-five percent food grade is used as a disinfectant in food processing and dairies.
How Does It Work?
Bio-oxidative therapies work in two basic ways. As oxidizers, they spur certain redox (reduction-oxidation) reactions within the body, when used in proper protocols that do not exceed therapeutic levels. As oxygenators, they deliver life-giving oxygen to the body at the cellular level. Bio-oxidative therapies work to destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, yeasts and parasites without harming healthy cells.
Healthy cells will survive because of sufficient antioxidant buffers-a protective 'charge' exists when the cell is properly oxidizing carbohydrates. This coating also protects healthy cells against free radicals.
Reduction-oxidation refers to the chemical process whereby electrons are transferred from one molecule to another. Reduction takes place when oxygen molecules donate an extra electron (reductants or oxidizers). Oxidation takes place when other molecules accept an extra electron (oxidants or reduced molecules). Both ozone and hydrogen peroxide have highly reactive molecular structures; they readily enter into these redox reactions. This biochemical process does not have to involve oxygen, but these bio-oxidative therapies have the added benefit of oxygen as an end-product.
Oxygenation simply involves the addition of oxygen to the blood or tissues. Therapy relying strictly on oxygenation, known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, also exists and was used by physicians before research in the 1960s showed that this method was unwieldy and expensive. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy introduces oxygen to the body in a pressurized chamber and is generally effective in the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning, severe soft tissue damage (such as in crash injuries), and extensive deep body cavity infections.
Treatment
Ozone
Medical ozone is produced from medical oxygen through electrical discharge and generally administered as an oxygen/ozone gas mixture. (Ozone also occurs naturally through electrical discharge-after a lightning storm the air is replete with the pungent smell of ozone.) Ozone can be given internally or externally and is dose-dependent (i.e., the concentration of the dosage is multiplied by the length of time of exposure-longer exposure means more oxidation is allowed to happen). The exact amount must be individually determined by a practitioner, as too much ozone can suppress the immune system and not enough exposure can be ineffective.
Externally, ozonated water can be taken in a bath as a wound cleanser, or as a gaseous mixture pumped into a bag surrounding the area to be treated or the entire body except the head.
External applications are used to treat burns, ulcers, gangrene, fungal infections and slowly healing skin problems. Ozonated oil and creams can be used for topical applications to treat insect bites, skin wounds and disorders.
Internally, ozone therapy involves a very diluted solution which may be administered via injection to veins, between joints (for arthritis, rheumatism and other joint problems) or into muscles (for allergies and inflammatory diseases). As an oxygen/ozone intestinal insufflation, much like an enema, it is used to treat colitis (fungal infection of the intestine), fistulas (abnormal openings) and colon cancer.
It has been proven that direct delivery of ozone into the blood vessels has very low risk factors. It is important to note that air is never used in therapy because it contains nitrogen, and could cause an embolism to occur.
There are two injection methods involving the patient's blood. Major autohemotherapy is the most common procedure and has been successfully used in treating herpes, cancer, AIDS and cardiovascular patients. This involves taking up to three fluid ounces of blood, treating it with ozone and oxygen, and then returning it to the patient intravenously. Minor autohemotherapy usually treats minute amounts of blood with ozone and oxygen, and then reinjects it intramuscularly.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Intravenous injection with hydrogen peroxide is considered the most effective form of treatment. The infusion lasts one to three hours and includes one to twenty treatments depending on the patient and condition being treated. Since hydrogen peroxide is such a powerful oxidizer, it is never mixed in solution with other therapeutics such as vitamins, enzymes or chelation treatment. Hydrogen peroxide produces free radicals in the presence of ferrous oxide (Fe2O3), and should not be used concurrently with iron supplementation.
Oral ingestion of a diluted solution in distilled water is endorsed by some practitioners. Any oral use requires distilled water. External application through baths is considered safer-one pint of thirty-five percent food grade hydrogen peroxide mixed with two cups of sea salt and two cups of Epsom salt in a tub of warm water provides a therapeutic bath, especially for skin diseases. Soak for a minimum of thirty to forty-five minutes, then shower off.
What Will I Feel?
The lungs are the organs most sensitive to ozone. Inhaling moderate to high levels of ozone causes harmful inflammation of the lung tissues. This type of therapy is not usually recommended because there is no predictable response to ozone-every patient requires individual treatment and monitoring for effects. Inhaling ozone can cause alterations in the density of the lung tissue, damage the delicate lung membranes, irritate mucous membranes and even lead to emphysema.
Therapeutic ozone has been used in the lungs of critically ill patients without adverse effects, and there are many advocates of ozone therapy who believe that commercial air purifiers generating ozone can provide extra oxygen for breathing, while also destroying harmful airborne pathogens. Ozone is generally well tolerated by other tissues. When incorporated into a holistic approach of cleansing, and proper dosage is ensured, there are virtually no side-effects if applied properly.
Other Uses
Ozone
Ozone is commonly used non-medically as a water purifier and in waste-water, pollution and air-quality control. Ozone can break down industrial waste into a biodegradable state. Industry ozone may be used in various ways, from disinfecting beer bottles to oxidizing surface impurities in the manufacture of electrical components. As a water purifier, ozone is used to treat drinking water because ozone effectively destroys micro-organisms through the oxidation process, breaking them down into harmless oxygen. Ozone is also used in dentistry as a powerful disinfectant and catalyst for healing through oxygenation of the treated area.
In air-quality control, ozone has been used to remove harmful odors in sewage treatment, paper mills and mines-not just masking foul smells but actually making them odor-free. Despite this, very few experts will advocate the use of commercial air purifiers which generate small amounts of ozone to clean the air in homes and offices. The lungs are sensitive to ozone, making its inhalation through the use of these generators controversial. What constitutes a harmful concentration of ozone remains disputed, but air purifiers can supply beneficial ozone in low concentrations, while also eradicating bacteria, fungi, yeasts and dust mites from the air.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used for bleaching, pollution control and as a disinfectant.
Industries use hydrogen peroxide to bleach vegetable fibers and de-ink paper in the recycling process because it is environmentally friendly-it breaks down into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). Because it is a powerful oxidizer, bactericide and virucide, as well as being safe, hydrogen peroxide is highly useful in pollution control, killing harmful pathogens and neutralizing noxious pollutants.
As with ozone, hydrogen peroxide is an effective water treatment. It is used in lens cleaners, eye drops, aloe vera products and mouthwashes. Hydrogen peroxide has been particularly effective as an inexpensive way to purify drinking water for agricultural livestock and for irrigating crops. It is an effective and safe insecticide in the field and at home. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as a propellant-ninety percent high-grade hydrogen peroxide serves as rocket fuel in aeronautics.
What Can I Do?
There are ways to improve oxygenation within your body on a continual basis. Following a holistic health regimen is key.
Eat fresh, raw fruits and vegetables which contain oxygenated water.
Ensure the intake of mineral-rich foods, grown in mineral-rich soil-a lack of minerals puts an extra burden on the body's oxygen supply.
Include antioxidants such as beta-carotene, vitamins A, C and E, selenium and zinc.
Practice deep, rhythmic breathing.
Engage in regular, moderate aerobic exercise.
Avoid air pollution, toxic wastes, certain food additives, pesticide residues and radiation.
Hydrogen peroxide baths (using thirty-five percent food grade solution available from health food stores) are helpful for skin conditions.
Where Do I Go Next?
Bio-oxidative therapies should always be administered by a qualified practitioner who knows the proper handling, use and storage of these powerful oxidizers. A naturopathic association can provide referral for certified naturopathic physicians who practice ozone therapies. The International Bio-Oxidative Medicine Foundation founded by Dr. Charles Farr provides practitioner referral for hydrogen peroxide intravenous therapy. (For more information, see Appendix 1.)
Other Natural Methods Chelation Therapy: Clean and Unclog Your Arteries
What Is It?
Chelation therapy cleans the arteries by using intravenous chelating agents in conjunction with dietary supplements and lifestyle changes, focusing on diet, exercise and stress reduction. Chelation means 'combining with metal.' The major chelator used is ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA), a synthetic amino acid, which removes toxic heavy metals from the body by binding to them and eliminating them through the kidneys. EDTA is non-toxic when used properly and according to the guidelines of the American Board of Chelation Therapy. Toxic metals most commonly found in the body are mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and aluminum. EDTA also binds to calcium which builds up as plaques on the walls of the arteries. By removing this calcium, the plaques are reduced and circulation is improved.
Chelation therapy is a world-recognized treatment for heavy-metal toxicity, snake venom poisoning, radiation toxicity, digitalis intoxication (from heart drugs) and heart arrythmias.
History
EDTA was originally developed in the 1930s in Germany to remove calcium from hard water. Chelation was introduced to the United States in 1948. Dr. Martin Rubin, who studied under American EDTA pioneer researcher Frederick Bersworth, conducted the first experiments on EDTA for humans. In the 1950s, chelation therapy was first used with excellent results to treat lead poisoning.
Since then, EDTA has been researched and used by thousands of doctors. The American Board of Chelation Therapy has set standards for qualification in and practice of chelation therapy. Chelation therapy's benefits are proven through many controlled and uncontrolled studies. The successful treatment of hundreds of thousands of seriously ill patients who have made remarkable recovery in their health and quality of life with chelation therapy are also an example of chelation's effectiveness.
Due to chelation's powerful healing action, it is now a popular treatment.
How Can It Help Me?
Chelation can treat and reverse degenerative illnesses. Chelation therapy has restored many seriously ill people to their normally functioning selves. It has prevented the need for dangerous surgery and chronic use of toxic drugs. It can restore natural body function, stop deterioration, and increase both mental and physical well-being.
Chelation is mainly and optimally used to treat heavy-metal toxicity and cardiovascular disorders like hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure. It also helps improve such conditions as arthritis, diabetes, cancer, stroke, osteoporosis, gangrene and senility.
How Does It Work?
When heavy metals remain in the body and come in contact with oxygen, showers of tissue-damaging free radicals are produced. A free radical particle of energy is very unstable, lacking one electron which it must receive in order to be balanced and stable. Free radicals will travel around the body damaging the cells in the lining of the artery plus other tissues in the search for the missing electron. Also, heavy metals in the body suppress the normal healthy enzyme reactions which fuel the metabolism. When EDTA is introduced into the bloodstream, it binds the heavy metal to itself and the EDTA metal complex is then carried through the bloodstream to the kidneys where it is dumped out in the urine.
Removal of the heavy metals stops contact with oxygen, greatly reducing free-radical production and the damaging effect on the artery walls and other tissues. The removal of the heavy metals also frees up the suppression effect that these metals have on the normal enzyme systems in the body which promote healthy metabolism. In addition, EDTA binds to the calcium deposits on the walls of the arteries and pulls it into the bloodstream where it is carried to the kidneys and eliminated. The removal of this calcium usually results in improved blood flow to the heart and the brain and other important organs.
A recent publication in the Journal For Advancement In Medicine found an eighty-six percent rate of improvement in patients with cardiovascular, carotid and peripheral vascular symptoms with chelation therapy. Over twenty thousand patients were included in the study.
How Is It Done?
Diagnosis
A complete medical and lifestyle history is taken with an emphasis on circulatory and respiratory functions. Tests including blood, urine, and hair analysis (detects heavy-metal and mineral concentrations) are also performed. (For more information on hair analysis, see Appendix 1.)
Treatment
Chelation therapy involves intravenous injection of EDTA into the blood in sessions that last three to four hours. A series of chelation treatments usually include twenty to thirty treatments.
Patients are advised to eat before a treatment to control blood sugar levels. Snacking during treatment will also aid this. Infusions of any type can cause blood sugar to drop. The patient sits or lies down (usually in a group setting) while the solution of EDTA and various vitamins and minerals is dripped into the blood into a vein in the arm or hand. The solution content is tailored to the needs of the patient. Patients may do light activity such as reading, writing, watching television or napping.
Because the kidneys bear most of the strain of excretion of the chelated minerals, their function is monitored every fifth treatment.
After treatment, the patient may feel tired, light-headed, muscle cramping or a headache, which usually resolve by the next day. Others immediately feel energized and clear-headed. It takes up to ninety days after a course of therapy for the full beneficial effects of chelation to be felt.
An essential adjunct to this therapy is lifestyle change that includes a nutritious diet, vitamin and mineral supplementation, anti-stress techniques, exercise and no smoking.
Oral chelators such as vitamins A, C, E and reduced l-glutathione may be given before treatments are started or as maintenance supplements to neutralize free radicals and prevent their damaging effects upon the artery walls and other body tissues. For cases of cardiovascular or degenerative diseases, oral chelates are not a substitute for chelation therapy.
Where Do I Go Next?
Make sure you find a practitioner qualified by the American Board of Chelation Therapy. Contact the American College in the Advancement of Medicine in California (see Appendix 1).
Other Natural Methods Chiropractic: Optimal Nerve Function through Spinal Alignment
What Is It?
Chiropractic is a holistic treatment which emphasizes the body's natural ability to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery. In the preservation and restoration of health, chiropractic focuses particular attention on subluxation.
A subluxation is a complex of functional and/or structural and/or pathological changes to the joints that compromise optimal fu\nction of the nervous system, which also influences organ function and general health. The purpose is to keep your spine and all the associated nerves healthy. Most chiropractors also treat all peripheral joints, including elbows, knees and shoulders. Proper nerve function allows your body to continually regenerate and maintain optimal health, and prevent disease.
History
Ancient societies applied spinal adjustments unsystematically for thousands of years. In 1895 a systematic approach was developed. It all began when Dr. D. D. Palmer adjusted the spine of a deaf client named Harvey Lillard. The result seemed like a miracle. Harvey's seventeen years of deafness were cured. Palmer named this new profession chiropractic, derived from two Greek words meaning 'done by hand,' and he opened his own school in 1910. He reasoned that when the spine is fully aligned, there is a free flow of nerve energy to every cell and organ in the body, thus allowing the body's innate ability to work effectively and coordinate normal body functions. Conversely, a dysfunctional spine results in nerve interference that inhibits all functions of the body.
B. J. Palmer, D. D.'s son and also a chiropractor, is known as the developer of chiropractic, and brought to the field such methods as the Palmer recoil adjustment technique, and the Meric system, which associates different parts of the spine with nerves that control different organs. He recognized that dealing with major subluxations will consequently fix minor ones. B. J. introduced X-rays to the Palmer School in 1910 and they became an important diagnostic tool.
Willard Carver started a rival school of chiropractic. Unlike the Palmers who believed that all disease can be cured by spinal adjustment, Carver used chiropractic in conjunction with such things as diet, massage and heat therapy. Those who were in line with the Palmer School thought this to be an adulteration of true chiropractic. Carver was a remarkable pioneer especially known for his studies of the body mechanics of the spine and the pelvis which led to the development of new chiropractic methods. Carver was one of the first to ascribe the benefits of good posture as a preventive chiropractic treatment.
Today, a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) in North America is licensed and regulated, but a long battle was fought to become recognized by the medical establishment. In the early years, many chiropractors were jailed for practicing medicine without a licence. Public desire for the availability of chiropractic services helped win the struggle for official recognition.
How Can It Help Me?
Most chiropractors have clients ranging from newborn babies to centenarians. Babies are checked from birth to ensure there is no trauma to the spine and neck due to the birth process.
Adult clients seek periodic chiropractic adjustments for a variety of reasons. As a result, many have experienced relief from conditions such as migraine headaches, colds, digestive disorders, nervous dysfunction, vertigo, hay fever, allergic asthma, blurred vision, ear ringing, sinus trouble, insomnia, depression, allergies, stiff neck, shoulder and arm pain, whiplash, constipation, urinary problems, diarrhea, fatigue, lower-back pain, arthritis, bursitis, neuralgia, sciatica, scoliosis, disk problems, poor posture, sports injuries, bedwetting and menstrual cramps.
Healthy individuals also benefit from chiropractic care. After all, it is easier to stay healthy than it is to get well.
What Causes Spinal and Neck
Alignment Problems?
There are numerous reasons why proper alignment of the spine is compromised at some point in a person's life. The birth process is recognized as one of the causes of spinal dysfunction. As there is often trauma to the neck and spine after birth, chiropractors recommend that babies should have their spine checked soon after birth. By age five, children have had hundreds of falls. Many of these accidents may be harmless, but some may impair the normal function of the spine. Poor posture, emotional stress, accidents, sports and nutritional deficiencies can cause further alignment problems. Vertebral misalignments, or vertebral subluxation, refers to one or more of the spine's twenty-four vertebrae shifting out of their normal position to the extent that there is interference with the delicate spinal tissues and nerves, which in turn impedes proper blood and nutrient supply to the body. Ultimately, irritations to the spine result in premature degeneration of the nerve system, if left unattended. When proper care of the spine is neglected, the body becomes susceptible to disease. A dysfunctional spine inhibits all functions of the body.
How Is It Done?
Diagnosis
A thorough assessment and examination of your spine is standard on your initial visit. A history of your overall health is recorded. A diagnostic X-ray may be necessary to determine the exact location of the spinal nerve damage and provide you with accurate adjustments. The chiropractor uses X-rays to confirm diagnoses. X-rays are an important diagnostic tool that show both spinal alignment and pathology such as tumors, osteoporosis and infective arthritis.
Chiropractic adjustments are applied according to specific techniques to restore optimal spinal function. When the spine is aligned and healthy, the nerve system functions better and, consequently, overall health improves.
Treatment
During each visit, the chiropractor puts his or her hands over your misaligned vertebrae and shifts it back to its natural position. After the diagnostic session, a course of treatments averaging seven to eleven visits will usually follow. The diagnostic session lasts about twenty to forty-five minutes, including X-ray time, and subsequent sessions last about ten to twenty minutes. A course of treatment should bring permanent improvement.
A once- or twice-yearly visit to the chiropractor for check-ups is recommended. It is also common for chiropractors to provide you with information regarding natural approaches to prevent disease and degeneration. Some chiropractors suggest nutritional supplements to correct mineral imbalances that prevent manipulation from holding.
There are hundreds of ways or techniques to adjust the spine. After years of training and clinical experience, each chiropractor becomes highly skilled in a variety of adjustment procedures that are most suitable for your age, body type and condition. These are the most common chiropractic techniques used today:
Gonstead Technique:
Detailed analysis of spinal X-rays is used to determine correct adjustments to be administered.
Activator:
Detects and corrects dysfunction using a small tool which delivers a light and measured force to correct misalignments.
Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique (BEST):
A non-force technique using subtle, yet precise pressure applied by hand to remove blocked nerve energy, eliminate physiological interference and balance sensory signals to the central nervous system.
Cox Flexion-Distraction:
Involves traction or stretching of the spine designed especially to correct lower-back pain.
Applied Kinesiology:
Light massage is given to various reflexes and sometimes to acupressure points. (For more information, see 'Kinesiology' later in this section.)
Thompson Terminal Point:
A full-spine technique using a special drop table.
Palmer Toggle Recoil Technique:
A speed and precision adjustment in which the hands are placed over the subluxation and the elbows snapped to give sudden pressure. There is no joint cracking.
Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT):
Padded blocks are placed under the patient in the pelvic area to allow the body to adjust itself, since muscle tension at the pelvis affects the neck.
Logan Basic Technique:
A gentle, sustained pressure is exerted at the base of the spine. Correcting the sacrum corrects the rest of the spine.
Nimmo Technique:
Application of simple pressure to tender areas to release muscles from localized spasm.
Orthotics:
Custom-made devices placed in the shoes to treat posture problems, such as uneven leg length, spinal curvature and tilted pelvises.
Motion Palpitation:
Joints felt as they are moved to determine fixations.
Is Chiropractic Care Safe and Effective?
Chiropractic is becoming fully integrated into the health care system around the world. A 1993 Canadian Government study funded by Health Canada supported the effectiveness of chiropractic care. This study was based on scientifically proven clinical studies.
Because of the years of training chiropractors receive, chiropractic spinal adjustments are considered to be extremely safe. Chiropractic is considered safer than taking over-the-counter medication or driving your car.
Are Chiropractors Well Trained?
Doctors of Chiropractic are the only health care professionals trained to correct a dysfunctional spine. Chiropractors are trained in the use of physical therapy and specific exercises beneficial to the structure and function of the spine. Three years of an undergraduate degree is required prior to attending an accredited institution where completion of four more years of training, totaling about forty-five hundred hours will provide a degree in chiropractic medicine. In all, chiropractors receive instruction in sciences equivalent to that of medical doctors.
What Can I Do?
Be sure you are eating a proper diet. Nutrition is the key to a healthy body. (For more information, see Section 5, Optimal Nutrition for Optimal Health.)
Ask questions, follow recommendations for exercise, posture and lifestyle. Take advantage of information available at your chiropractor's office to help you stay inspired, informed and healthy.
Where Do I Go Next?
Because of the years of extensive training, Doctors of Chiropractic are considered primary care practitioners, so you can consult a chiropractor without a referral. The best way to find a practitioner is to ask friends, family members, colleagues or acquaintances who personally consult a chiropractor or contact your local chiropractic association.
Other Natural Methods Colon Health: Keep Your Colon Clean and Avoid Disease
What Is It?
Maintaining a healthy colon is important for maintaining overall health. The focus of colon therapy is to maintain or regain regular bowel function. Regular bowel function means thoroughly eliminating food wastes eighteen hours after eating. After food has passed through the small intestine (eight to ten hours after eating) it enters the colon for final processing and elimination. The large intestine or colon is made up of six sections: the cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid and rectum. In total, the colon is five feet long and two-and-a-half inches in diameter. A healthy colon requires good nerve and muscle tone, and proper circulation, as well as adequate nutrients and pure water.
There are four methods by which the body eliminates wastes: exhalation, perspiration, urination and defecation. The major organs involved in waste removal are the lungs, skin, kidneys, liver and colon. If any one of these systems or organs fails to perform, the other three must accommodate removal of the excess wastes. If a system cannot tolerate the surplus of wastes, the body is forced to reabsorb it. The reabsorption of wastes causes body toxicity levels to rise. Once toxicity levels rise, disease and illness take over.
History
Cleansing your colon is a very ancient custom. In the past, it was accepted as a common and sensible practice. If an individual suffered from an ailment such as a flu or fever, enemas were performed in lakes and rivers to facilitate healing. In ancient times, hollow river reeds were used to blow water into the rectum. Much later, as natural doctors and healers such as Father Sebastian Kneipp or Dr. John Harvey Kellogg explored the benefits of hydrotherapy and colon cleansing, the habit of colonic irrigation became acceptable once again.
How Can It Help Me?
Eat lots of whole natural grains, fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and drink lots of water, and you will maintain a healthy colon through regular bowel movements. If the proper nutrients are not provided for the body, the body systems, including the colon, will slow down or fail. The colon is not performing regularly if a bowel movement does not occur within eighteen hours after a meal. The earliest signs of an unhealthy colon are constipation, diarrhea and chronic gas or flatulence. Any pain in the colon is a sign of a problem. Other signs of possible colon problems are acne, lethargy, mood swings, allergies, headaches and recurrent illnesses such as flus and fevers.
Many chronic, degenerative diseases are a direct result of poor colon health, including arthritis, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and various autoimmune diseases.
How Does the Colon Work?
The cecum controls the amount of undigested waste, or chyme, that enters the colon from the small intestine. As well as food wastes, the chyme may consist of predigested food, water and secretions from the small intestine, liver and pancreas. Once the chyme enters the cecum, final digestion begins. The colon is supported by haustrum, the small sacs in the colon wall produced by the arrangement of muscle fibers. The muscles gather and release to push the feces to the rectum. The haustrum also cause the cells in the wall lining to secrete a mucus which lubricates the colon and assists the transit of the feces. As the feces makes its way through the ascending, transverse and descending sections, it is constantly churned, processed and assimilated until it reaches the sigmoid, where it is stored until a bowel movement occurs. A bowel movement is prompted by the entrance of food into the stomach.
What Happens If Feces Remain in Your Body?
When fecal matter is retained in the sigmoid or in the colon, the remaining water in the feces is absorbed by the colon wall, making the feces hard. The harder the feces, the more difficult it is to eliminate. When the colon is impacted with fecal matter, very few friendly bacteria can survive and unhealthy bacteria form. Unhealthy bacteria feed on the undigested proteins and organic compounds in the feces and produce toxic by-products. When the colon becomes obstructed with hardened fecal matter, the absorption of nutrients and elimination of waste material slows. The mucus and feces in the colon putrefies. This toxic decay is then absorbed into the body by the blood capillaries. Storing fecal matter in any area of the body creates irritation, inflammation and disease.
Maintaining the health of your colon means avoiding a toxic bowel. Exercise, fasting and a proper diet will decrease your chances of a toxic bowel. Replenishing friendly bacteria through supplementation with acidophilus or other probiotics is commonly recommended by practitioners after a series of colonics (for more information, see Section 6, Nutritional Supplements). Massage and skin brushing will also encourage lymph drainage and waste removal.
Fasting allows the body to rid itself of toxic waste and unfriendly parasites that have developed over years of negligence. Also, it provides the body a reprieve from the rigorous demands of digestion and elimination. (For more information on fasting, see Section 5, Optimal Nutrition for Optimal Health.)
Colonic Irrigation
Colonic irrigation is the fundamental approach to colon health. Unlike an enema, colonics are a slow and precise process. A colonic should only be performed by a certified colon therapist. There is home equipment available, but it is advisable to seek counsel before attempting to cleanse at home. It requires about one to one-and-a-half hours.
During this process, the client lies down on his or her stomach and a speculum is inserted into the rectum. Two tubes are inserted into the rectum through the speculum. One allows water to flow in and one allows water, gas and fecal waste to flow out. This process is not painful and is diligently monitored to ensure that fresh water does not enter the colon until bodily water and waste have left. A colonic allows only a few ounces of water to enter the rectum at one time, to a total of twenty to thirty gallons of water. During the process, the therapist will gently massage the abdomen to encourage waste removal.
You will experience an array of benefits from colon cleansing. Usually, you will feel lighter and more energetic. Increased circulation, a clear complexion, increased stamina and relief from headaches, arthritis and allergies are all common results of a colonic.
For people with healthy colons, colonics may be used once a year if desired. For people with impacted and unhealthy colons, a series of colonics is suggested as the first step towards colon health. A person might undergo three to six colonics before his or her colon is cleansed. If the colon is unhealthy, cleansing is a must. Once a colon is cleared of toxins and fecal build-up, regular exercise, healthy eating habits and an annual fast or colonic can keep the colon healthy for life.
What Can I Do?
The main contributers to an unhealthy colon are poor diet, stress and a lack of exercise, water and fresh air.
Avoid foods that are processed, preserved, dried, roasted or burned, as well as those that contain pesticides, steroids and antibiotics. Always avoid tobacco, coffee, alcohol, chocolate and white sugar. Eat more organic fruits, whole grains, vegetables and legumes and less meat to provide lots of nutrients and fiber. Fiber supplies the roughage that helps you move feces efficiently through your colon.
Exercise is a natural laxative and provides good muscle tone, and water aids waste elimination in the colon, bladder and the skin. Without water, the body fluids thicken and lubrication in the colon is less effective. If you postpone or ignore the urge to eliminate, you destroy the natural rhythms of the body and constipation results. In this case, the sigmoid stores feces longer than is natural and healthy.
Certain types of medications, such as antibiotics, will destroy friendly intestinal flora and produce an unhealthy colon. Bacteria play a major role in digestion and elimination. The large intestine is full of intestinal flora. These bacteria consume and synthesize nutrients from the processed food, producing vitamins K and B12 for the whole body. Some toxic by-products from this process are indole, skatole, hydrogen sulfide, methane gas and carbon dioxide. These products cause the feces to be odorous.
Similarly, laxatives are detrimental to health. Although laxatives relieve the symptoms of constipation, they create further problems in the colon. The body recognizes laxatives as pollutants or poisons in the system, so the colon will quickly remove the undesirable toxins. However, this does not always work. Traces of the toxic substances remain in the colon and are then absorbed into the blood vessels and lymph nodes. Laxatives also cause the bowel muscle to become unnaturally lazy, eventually making it capable of eliminating waste only with the help of laxatives.
Where Do I Go Next?
Naturopathic practitioners, nutritionists and colonic irrigationists are listed in the white or yellow pages or natural health books. Also, naturopathic associations have numbers and addresses of certified colon therapists. Make sure to check credentials.
Other Natural Methods Cupping: Promoting Circulation with Suction Cups
What Is It?
Cupping is a traditional healing technique that promotes circulation and detoxification by stimulating the skin with the application of suction cups. While it is not as common in North America as in Europe, it has been a popular Western healing tradition since Hippocrates, and the same techniques are used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine.
How Can It Help Me?
Cupping is particularly helpful for fast relief from muscle spasms, back pain, sciatica and arthritic and rheumatic problems. In stimulating the skin and underlying muscles, it promotes the release of toxins that have accumulated in this area, and encourages circulation of both blood and lymph vessels. In addition, it stimulates the organ-related reflex zones in the skin to further improve the function of inner organs, including the liver, stomach, intestines and kidneys. Cupping is thought to increase immunity in a particular area, since the suction causes the release of a histamine-like substance in the skin which stimulates immune system response.
Other detoxification therapies are often used in conjunction to enhance the eliminatory action of cupping. Together, they can be used to treat chronic pain and discomfort relating to these inner organs more successfully, even where other therapies have failed. Cupping can be applied in a wide variety of chronic conditions, from migraines and recurring respiratory problems to stomach spasms and gall-bladder colics.
How Does It Work?
There are two main types of cupping: dry and wet cupping. While dry cupping simply involves stimulation of the skin by suction, wet cupping includes some blood-letting as well, achieved by puncturing the skin with tiny needles before the cups are applied. Both techniques act similarly, but wet cupping has a stronger stimulatory action on the skin, muscles and corresponding organs. This form is more likely to be used for areas of congestion to reduce inflammation, pain and cramping. It is helpful for patients with stronger constitutions, who often have a tendency for high blood pressure and weight gain rather than weakness and thinness. Patients with weaker constitutions, especially if suffering from anemia or heavy periods, prefer dry cupping.
How Is It Done?
Cupping is almost solely practiced on the back, often on either side of the spine, though cups can also be used on the abdomen and upper arms and legs. In sciatica for instance, several cups are placed on the lower back and along the affected leg. Cupping in the lower back area stimulates the urogenital organs, and often relieves headaches as well. In Chinese medicine, the glass cups are placed along meridians.
Cupping can be performed with a variety of methods. Cups are available with elastic knobs that provide a sucking action when pumped. Once applied to the skin, the cups can be pumped until the skin has reached the desired height inside the glass. A more traditional method uses plain glass cups. Using a small flame to create a vacuum inside the glass, the vacuum sucks the skin into the glass once it is applied to the skin. Both of these techniques are popular today.
In either method, several cups are applied one after another and then left on the skin for ten to thirty minutes. This stimulation dramatically increases circulation and in response, the skin discolors and bruising occurs. This bruising does not last long, unless the person bruises easily due to poor clotting of the blood. While cupping often feels uncomfortable, it is not painful. Skin stimulation can even be increased if desired, by applying creams to promote circulation before the glass cups are applied.
A cupping-massage technique can also be achieved using a suction cup with the pump and gliding it slowly along the skin. Before the massage, a massage oil is applied to facilitate the gliding of the cup along the skin. This technique is a more vigorous method to encourage the flow of lymph fluids and blood circulation, as well as to stimulate inner organ function. The cupping-massage is particularly useful for relief of muscle spasms and pain. Since this is a more painful technique, this type of massage should only take three or four minutes and allow the patient to rest for an additional fifteen minutes. Temporary skin discoloration and bruising typically occurs where the massage took place.
Other Natural Methods Iridology: Reflections of Health From The Eyes
What Is It?
Iridology (pronounced eye-ri-dology) is the art of analyzing the iris (colored portion of the eye) to discern what it reflects about the health of the body tissues. The iris regulates the amount of light entering the eye by making the pupil larger or smaller. Qualities of the iris such as color, structure, density and markings (rings, spots, rays and their location) are examined in iridology.
The iris of the eye is a reflector of your health. The eye has been used as a diagnostic indicator of human conditions for centuries. Once an iridologist has detected a problem, the diagnosis can be confirmed by your health practitioner. Iridology may be used in conjunction with any other method of health assessment.
Examining your iris can non-invasively determine constitutional strengths, weaknesses and internal tissue problems before they reach a more serious, symptomatic stage. It can also be used as a tool to monitor body response to therapies.
Iridology cannot reveal specific illnesses or give diagnoses.
History
The practice of iridology is not new. Records show a form of iris interpretation was used in China as far back as 1000 BC. Dr. Ignatz von Peczely of Hungary and Reverend Nils Lijequist of Sweden discovered iridology independently and simultaneously. Peczely's discovery was triggered when he noticed a distinct mark in the eye of an injured owl. Lijequist noticed that drug residues left marks on the iris. Both these men also developed iris charts of incredible similarity. The first major work on the theory and practice of iridology was written by Peczely in 1880. The medical mainstream of the day was very much opposed to this treatise and did all they could to discourage the continuation of this medical practice. In spite of this, curiosity and application of iridology have continued to this day.
Subsequent development occurred in Germany. In the early 1900s, iridology made its way to North America where Dr. Bernard Jensen developed the Jensen charts which are used by iridologists worldwide. The Standard Jensen charts are used when analyzing another's eyes and the Reverse Jensen charts are for self-analysis.
Iris analysis is currently growing in popularity among health care practitioners worldwide.
How Can It Help Me?
Iris analysis shows basic constitution, its inherent fixed strengths and weaknesses, and gives a baseline for building and maintaining health. Since the iris changes with fluctuations in body health, it provides an ongoing picture of internal conditions and is an effective way to monitor healing. It gives the individual the opportunity to understand and take responsibility for his or her own body.
Iridology shows the state of body tissues, toxic deposits, inflammation, physical and mental fatigue and stress, preclinical stages of disease and healing. However, iridology cannot determine such things as blood pressure, medications being used, pregnancy, tumors, hemorrhage, gallstones, kidney stones or blocked arteries.
Tissue conditions are revealed at four levels of the iris: acute, subacute, chronic and degenerative. Iridology reveals problems in the formative stages, before any disease symptoms have started to appear, so early corrective action can be taken.
How Does It Work?
The eyes are an extension of the brain via the optic nerves. The nerve fibers that end in the iris connect to the entire body. Different parts of the iris correspond to different parts of the body. The presence or absence of certain markings in the iris reflects the condition of the associated body part. There is almost 120 years of scientific data showing the accuracy of iris analysis.
The Jensen charts show the eyes and map body parts to correspond to certain areas of the iris. There are 166 areas: eighty-six in the left iris and eighty in the right iris. The layout of the eye charts is analogous to the body with the brain at the top, the feet at the bottom, the skin on the outside and the bowels on the inside. The right eye reflects the right side of the body and the left eye reflects the left side.
How Is It Done?
Iridology is not a treatment therapy, but a form of analysis to assess conditions of health. It should be used in conjunction with information from other sources to provide a diagnosis.
Traditionally, iridology was performed using a focused light source to illuminate the iris and a magnifying glass to clarify details.
Today, specialized cameras are used to photograph the eyes using color transparency film to allow for enlargement through projection. This creates greater detail for accurate analysis. Research continues to develop a computerized system of iris analysis. Due to the intricate variations in each individual iris, the task is monumental. There are no two irides alike, they are as different and unique as fingerprints.
Upon viewing the enlarged irides, the iridologist refers to the iridology chart and correlates the features seen in the irides to the various anatomical structures.
You can analyze your own irides using a focused flashlight, a magnifying glass (4x is recommended) and iridology charts. Be sure to do enough background research on iridology to properly understand this science.
Nutrition is often used as an associated therapy after iridology indicates which areas of the body need healing. Iridology nutrition charts show which vitamins, minerals and herbs are helpful for different areas of the body.
In Germany and other European countries, homeopathic practitioners make wide use of iridology. Throughout Europe, homeopathic medicines are used more than nutritional therapies in conjunction with iris analysis.
Where Do I Go Next?
Consult an iridology or holistic health association to find a practitioner, or look for books in a holistic bookshop or natural food store.
Other Natural Methods Kinesiology: Your Muscles Reveal Your Health
What Is It?
Kinesiology is a natural health therapy that manually tests muscles to determine energy imbalances in the body and uses a variety of techniques such as reflex and acupressure point manipulation, nutrition, exercise and movement to restore proper energy flow. Unlike traditional kinesiology used by physiotherapists and sports trainers, natural health kinesiology is holistic, which means that it encompasses chemical, nutritional, electromagnetic, mental and emotional aspects as well as physical and structural components of health. Kinesiology is used as a diagnostic and monitoring tool and should be used with other diagnostic methods.
History
In the 1940s, muscle testing was developed by Kendal, Kendal and Wandsworth and was used to assess insurance injury claims.
In 1964, Dr. George Goodheart, a chiropractor in Detroit, discovered applied kinesiology when he noticed muscle weakness in healthy muscle tissue. Upon applying massage at the point of muscle attachment, the muscle was restored to normal function. Goodheart's research led him to find the links between muscle groups and their associated organs and acupuncture meridians. Goodheart also found that restoring function to a weak muscle in turn restored balance to the opposing muscle which tightens in response to the other muscle's weakness.
Goodheart founded the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) in 1973 and developed the vertebral challenge, a muscle-testing technique that is used immediately after a chiropractic adjustment to assess its effectiveness. Kinesiology became more accepted as ongoing research results had continual corroboration with other diagnostic techniques.
In 1968, Dr. Alan Beardall, a graduate of Los Angeles Chiropractic College became one of Goodheart's most brilliant protégés. Through study, personal observation and testing procedures he identified functional divisions within muscles and went on to isolate reflex points which further differentiated those muscle divisions. In 1975, Beardall named his new diagnostic method, clinical kinesiology.
John Thie wrote the book Touch For Health, which describes a basic self-help system of kinesiology for laypersons. He studied and researched with Goodheart and played a major role in the development of kinesiology. Thie wanted kinesiology to be available for the common person and his work in spreading the word is credited with popularizing kinesiology.
Applied kinesiology refers only to practitioners trained at the International College of Applied Kinesiology. Some other forms of kinesiology are Professional Kinesiology Practice (PKP), Educational Kinesiology (EDUK), Three in One, Biokinesiology and the layperson's version called Touch for Health.
PKP uses standard kinesiology techniques, but it does not diagnose or treat disease. It works on the emotional level, using goals and positive affirmations. EDUK uses specialized movements to enhance learning potential, while Three in One works to diffuse negative emotions. Biokinesiology makes the link between stressful emotions and nutritional needs with a combination of exercise and emotional release.
Today kinesiology is widely used in the United States, but elsewhere remains in the domain of natural health practitioners. ICAK continues to rigorously research this field of healing.
How Can It Help Me?
Kinesiology helps to determine causes of chronic symptoms, structural weakness, organ dysfunction, metabolic status, nutritional requirements, allergies, faulty brain integration and improper nerve function.
Because kinesiology is a holistic discipline, it helps many common problems, including aches, pains, depression, weight problems, digestive disorders, PMS, headaches, joint problems, sports injuries, lower-back pain, chronic fatigue, and behavioral and learning problems. Kinesiology also restores proper functioning of organs, muscles, nerves and brain, and improves body structure and mechanics.
Kinesiology is a valuable preventive medicine because it shows problems in body function before symptoms arise.
How Does It Work?
The body's energy systems are interconnected and work as a whole. They are the nervous, lymphatic, vascular, cerebro-spinal and acupuncture meridian systems. A problem in one of these will affect the others. Kinesiology is based on the principle that muscles work properly if their energy systems are balanced. When the muscle's neurological function is normal, the muscle is 'switched on' and tests as 'strong.' The kinesiologist uses an indicator muscle that will test 'weak' when there is an energy imbalance. This imbalance can be caused by many things, such as a malfunctioning organ, food allergy or bone or joint problem.
Also, specific muscles correspond to specific organs. Fixing a malfunction in one will correct the problem in the other. This also works on the structural level since proper muscle function results in proper bone and joint function.
How Is It Done?
Diagnosis
Kinesiology is used by many different professions including medical doctors, chiropractors, naturopaths, dentists, nutritionists and sports trainers. It is used as an adjunct diagnostic tool which is both inexpensive and easy to administer and provides preventive health care.
A patient history is taken including diet and lifestyle. A physical examination will include visual checks for structural elements such as posture and balance. Blood tests are required if infections or other disease problems are suspected.
The clothed patient lies on a massage couch. The arms and legs are held in specific positions to isolate an indicator muscle. During a test, the muscle is gently pressed for a few seconds to determine if it is functioning properly. If it is, it can withstand the pressure. The test will be a therapy localization or a nutrition test.
For therapy localizations, the patient touches a part of his or her body that is not functioning, such as a subluxated vertebra or an acupressure point corresponding to a weak organ, while the therapist conducts the muscle test. North and south pole magnets are held to the body for testing. The muscle test shows whether the body is out of balance in relation to man-made energy as well as the earth's natural energy. Tiny, therapeutic magnets compatible with the body's energy are then applied to restore balance. These magnets are specialized and should not be confused with high-powered, generic magnets.
If a muscle is found to be weak, a treatment will restore energy balance and then the muscle is retested to assess the treatment. The cycle follows the pattern of test-treat-retest until the underlying problem is fixed.
In nutritional testing, there is a neuro-lingual (brain-tongue) reflex that occurs when food is tasted. When nutrient samples are held in glass vials against the body, their interaction with the body's energy field gives the muscle-test response.
Retesting is used to evaluate effectiveness of treatment and also to allow the body to know that a change has taken place.
Treatment
The treatment uses nutrition, reflex points, acupressure points and meridians or muscle origin or insertion points. For nutrition treatments, muscles are tested to determine which nutrients are beneficial. Reflex points are used for neuro-lymphatic massage to stimulate the lymphatic system, or neuro-vascular holding points are lightly touched for twenty seconds to ten minutes to stimulate the circulatory system. The kinesiologist often uses acupressure holding points or performs meridian tracing in which the hands are held about two inches above the body and trace the flow of the meridians. Origin or insertion massage involves firmly massaging the end or center of the muscle. This massage is directed inward or outward depending on the state of the muscle.
For a nutrition test, a tablet is placed on the tongue or a sample in a glass vial is held against the solar plexus, navel or cheek.
A chiropractor uses muscle testing to determine which vertebrae are subluxated. When the patient holds a hand over a problem vertebra, the muscle-test response is weak. This diagnosis is affirmed with X-rays. A muscle test is done immediately after the chiropractic adjustment to determine the effectiveness of the treatment.
What Can I Do?
To learn basic kinesiology, take a Touch For Health course. Remember that this is only used to deal with minor problems and not for diagnosis or treatment of disease. Workshops called Your Body Can Talk are also offered by clinical kinesiologists.
Where Do I Go Next?
Contact the International College of Applied Kinesiology in Kansas. Check with your local chiropractic association. (For more information, see Appendix 1.)
Other Natural Methods Live Cell Microscopy: Window to a Hidden World
What Is It?
Live cell or blood microscopy is a screening test to help determine the optimal diet and natural therapies for a given individual with chronic illness, especially of the immune system. Analysis of the blood by the microscope is as old as the practice of medicine itself.
History
Live cell microscopy was pioneered by scientists like Gaston Naessens, creator of the 714X alternative cancer treatment. Live cell microscopy offers people with candida or other infections a quick and reliable means of visualizing micro-organisms and their debris in live, whole blood. If candida, parasites or bacteria are seen in the blood, it is a certainty that the individual's bloodstream has been invaded. Conventional blood cultures (growing the bacteria outside the body) are not 100 percent accurate since many organisms resist being cultured in a laboratory. With those suffering from more severe immune-system abnormalities like colitis, Crohn's disease, asthmatic bronchitis, sinusitis and pneumonias, live cell microscopy can show the living organisms clearly, floating freely in the bloodstream.
Skeptics of live cell microscopy believe that the blood of most people is completely sterile and that viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites could not possibly exist in the bloodstream. They argue that if parasites, candida, fungi or bacteria were really present in the bloodstream, the patient would be lying horizontally in a hospital bed dying of septic shock.
This dogma has been disproven by a great deal of research done by scientists around the world, in Germany, Eastern Europe, New Zealand and countries where natural or drugless forms of treatment are available. The list of research papers describing the presence of viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic toxins in the blood of non-septicemic individuals is voluminous.
A growing number of pathologists and clinicians are recognizing the importance of using this kind of information in daily medical practice. The increasing incidence of autoimmune diseases associated with bacteria and parasites, including rheumatoid arthritis, and infectious diseases like AIDS, hepatitis, giardiasis and chronic fatigue syndrome, argues strongly against the idea that people have completely sterile blood.
How Can It Help Me?
The main advantage of blood microscopy is that many nutritional imbalances can be detected before standard chemical blood tests show any abnormalities. Health problems can then be prevented by early nutritional intervention. (For more information, see Section 5, Optimal Nutrition for Optimal Health.)
How Does It Work?
Live cell blood analysis is different from regular blood analysis because it uses whole blood (as opposed to just parts of the blood), the blood is unstained and uses higher magnification. The blood which is viewed directly by the technician is alive, not dead as in conventional microscopic evaluation. The type of lens used is also different in that the technique of visualization (phase contrast, darkfield versus brightfield) allows the technician to see much more than could possibly be seen by the conventional microscope. Stain-obliterated particles will not show up on conventional dead cell microscopy.
The presence of bacteria, fungi or parasitic forms on a live cell test is not diagnostic of an infection with any of these organisms. The blood and immune system are exposed to these organisms on a daily basis from the intake of food, tap water and a polluted environment. When these organisms enter the bloodstream, they are inactivated by the immune system's army of white blood cells and antibodies. Technically, the mere presence of these organisms in the blood is not diagnostic of an infection. For a blood infection to be present, a great deal more has to be observed.
How Is It Done?
Live cell analysis involves the use of a microscope attached to a high-quality color video camera which is connected to a color monitor and video recorder. One drop of blood coming from a fingertip puncture can show valuable information about various health concerns which are then correlated with other physical and biochemical tests. This way of viewing blood through phase contrast or darkfield mi-croscopy re-veals some data about health and disease that are not possible through conventional mi-croscopy.
Live cell microscopy reveals:
Free-radical damage and the need for antioxidant protection by vitamins, minerals and enzymes
Cell size and shape abnormalities typical of immune disorders of many different types
Bacteria
Parasites
Candida/yeast/fungi
Undigested protein and fat
Digestive enzyme and hydrochloric acid deficiencies
Abnormalities associated with hormonal imbalances
Folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiency
Uric acid crystals and risk for gout
Poor circulation, oxygenation level and abnormal blood clotting
Other Natural Methods Magnetic Therapy: Using Magnetic Energy for Health
What Is It?
Electromagnetic therapy applies magnetic fields-either static or pulsed-that activate the body's natural electromagnetic impulses to assist healing, provide pain relief and support optimal health in prevention and disease. All matter, including the human body, is composed of electromagnetic frequencies (vibrations), the universal energy. Magnetism and electricity are interconnected.
The brain works and communicates using electromagnetic frequencies that can be stimulated by internal or external forces. Interactions between the body and the electromagnetic environment occur continually, forming the biorhythms that also determine the biological clock of the body. The brain and immune system are constantly sending messages to each other via electromagnetic impulses. Both are intricately influenced by energy frequencies.
There are two different types of devices commonly used in magnetic therapy: pulsed magnets or 'pulsars' that emit intermittent electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and permanent magnets that generate static fields of fixed strength and duration. Essentially, both therapies are used for treating the same ailments. There is also a new treatment device developed by a Calgary dentist, which uses very powerful direct current (DC) electromagnetic fields for treatment of disorders of the brain such as Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy and stroke.
Pulsed magnets achieve fast and deep results and are especially indicated in the healing of injuries such as bone fractures. Large pulsars are used in hospitals for bone cancers, fractures, etc., and in diagnostics in various ways. Physiotherapists and sports medicine practitioners, who treat large areas of pain, injuries, bone and muscle diseases, often employ powerful pulsars to accelerate healing. In the more sophisticated of these pulsars, magnetic strengths, polarities, frequencies, pulse rates and waveforms are variable.
Modern reduction technology produced tiny but efficient electromagnetic field generators (hand-held pulsars) for personal and in-home therapies. Such small pulsars use only the lower portion of extremely low frequency (ELF) range, yet, are effective for a wide range of ailments and conditions. Small, hand-held pulsed devices include transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulators (TENS) that are mainly used in arthritis and other local pain management.
Permanent magnets generally work more slowly and gently. They are especially appropriate for long-term self-administration. Fixed magnetic therapy is usually applied for longer periods to be optimally effective. Permanent magnets come in great variety. There are acupuncture magnets, small adhesive magnets, magnetic foil and magnetic jewelry, sleeping pads, pillows and magnetic beds.
A magnetic field is generated by all of these therapies, performing essentially the same healing function. Static or permanent magnets are placed directly on the affected area for specific complaints or used periodically to energize and stimulate (i.e., improve blood flow, stimulate nerve and brain functions). When magnets are placed on the meridian points or affected areas, they elicit a brain response very similar to that of acupuncture.
Another form of magnetic treatment is drinking magnetized water or magnetized juices.
History
The use of magnets for healing can be traced back as far as the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Chinese. Pliny, a Roman naturalist, used magnets to heal eye problems, female disorders and wounds. The famous physician of antiquity, Paracelsus, used magnets for many different conditions, claiming that '...the magnet is king of all secrets.' Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), a German mathematician, astronomer and physicist, was involved in the first worldwide survey of the magnetic field of the earth in the early 1800s. He formulated the laws of terrestrial magnetism and began the mathematical theory of electromagnetism. The measure of electromagnetic energy as magnetic induction or changing magnetic flux density uses his name-a gauss being the unit of magnetic intensity.
In 1865, James Maxwell, the mathematician who proved the interrelation of electricity and magnetism in his electromagnetic wave theory, patented an impulse magnetic field device for therapeutic treatment. Magnetic fields had proved to have a noticeable effect on the electrical currents within the body.
Research into magnetic therapeutics continued throughout the world. Oskar Gleichmann discovered the pulsating magnetic field for medicine. This German physician studied the uses of magnetic energy in the treatment of serious disease. He developed a pulsating electromagnetic device, the pulsar, for medical application in the late 1960s.
Hans A. Nieper's 1981 book Conversion of Gravity Field Energy-Revolution in Technology, Medicine and Society was the catalyst for the application of static magnetic fields in hospitals and patient care for a variety of conditions.
North American interest in electromagnetic medicine largely grew out of NASA's space program. NASA recognized the importance of stimulative electromagnetic fields to biological organisms when astronauts in optimum health became ill traveling in outer space. Beyond the outermost layer of the atmosphere (ionosphere), the astronauts' bodies were no longer immersed in the geomagnetic fields of the planet. Withdrawn from the influence of these fields, their health deteriorated (rapid bone loss, etc.), but was restored when administering artificially generated magnetic fields that emitted the necessary planetary frequencies. Magnetic field generators installed in NASA's spacecraft alleviated health problems in orbit.
Today, magnetic therapy is well established worldwide. Japan has given official approval for the use of pulsed and permanent magnetic devices for healing. In Germany, the medical results of pulsars convinced the government health care system to officially recognize and reimburse the cost of electromagnetic treatments.
How Can It Help Me?
For most common ailments, specific magnetic therapy results in seventy to eighty percent effectiveness. Use of electromagnetic therapy can often halve the healing time required for sprains, and bone, muscle or tendon injuries. A few days of magnetic treatment usually gives some improvement and minor problems can clear up in a few minutes.
Magnetic therapy helps relieve pain and illness, restores vitality and reduces the need for medications while simultaneously being fully compatible with all types of medications. Conditions that have been helped with magnetic therapy include headaches, back pain, blood pressure disorders, nervous tension, joint and muscular complaints, fractures, broken bones, wounds, burns, arthritis and stomach problems.
When To Use Pulsars?
The use or supplementation of pulsed magnetic fields allows the body to function normally despite heightened environmental stresses. Atmospheric pressure changes are alleviated and interference from electrical household appliances and computers is neutralized. Efficacious, non-invasive in the traditional sense (unlike drugs and surgery), and wonderfully preventive, this therapy has no unwanted long-term side-effects. Insomnia and jet lag show significant improvement. General healing and prevention of scar tissue is promoted. Skin allergies, weather sensitivity, depression, PMS, stress and gastrointestinal ulcers can all be mitigated.
In small pulsars, the low frequency range of less than 10 cycles per second (cps), or hertz (Hz). The higher frequencies of 10-24 Hz prompt stimulative relief similar to the positive pole of static magnets. The pulsed magnetic field initiates the flow of blood and lymph. This flushes out toxins and boosts energy.
When to Use Permanent Magnets?
North and South Pole have opposite spin directions and different healing effects. North, the negative pole, stabilizes biological activity, calms and sedates, and reduces pain, infection and inflammation. The positive South Pole should be used with the advice of a practitioner since it can also overstimulate brain activity and at high strength stimulates the growth of harmful bacteria, viruses, tumors and cancers.
North polarity produces 'cold energy' and is used to treat 'hot' problems such as pain, inflammation and infection. It sedates and draws out pain and localizes bacteria so it is easier for the body to fight infection. South is 'hot energy' used to treat 'cold' problems such as weakness, poor circulation and stiffness. It dilates blood vessels, increases circulation, normalizes cell function and stimulates body functions.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the earth's magnetic field is negative (-); in the Southern Hemisphere it is positive (+). Since unidirectional magnetic flux is the key to magnetic revitalization and cell renewal, in either hemisphere the earth's field is passing through our bodies in only one direction, assuring the restoration of energy during sleep regardless of earth polarity. Supplemental permanent magnetic treatments work with the hemispheric polarities by applying the correct polarities to reinforce the currently depleting earth magnetic flux, but only if the magnets are the right size, strength, number and distance from the body such as a properly constructed magnetic pad.
Causes of Magnetic Deficiency
Stress significantly taxes this complex balance of vibratory energy. Increasingly harmful quantities of high frequency, high voltage alternating current (AC) electrical fields are emitted by the modern electrical sources in industry and in the home. Electropollution hits us from TVs, computers, alarm clocks, radios, microwaves, cellular telephones and all types of electrical appliances. These sources of electropollution are all implicated in the development of cancers, especially leukemia. Even the baby monitor lying next to a child's head emits harmful frequencies.
This dangerous form of high voltage electromagnetic energy is detrimental to health because it conflicts with the natural, low geomagnetic frequencies that corresponds to the resting state of the brain. While the body reacts favorably to these natural frequencies, it becomes disordered with the intervention of fields from common appliances and power lines, resulting in heightened stress, fatigue and lowered resistance to disease. Some buildings in which we live and work, and the cars in which we drive, can block the earth's natural electromagnetic waves from reaching our bodies, as does the steel in concrete and heavy industrial interference patterns. Man-made, high frequency, high voltage electrical and magnetic fields interfere with the brain's frequencies. Modern society is producing an increasing amount of electropollution. High-tension power lines and electrical gadgets inundate us with harmful AC using frequencies of 60 Hz or more. Although these frequencies are also in the relatively low range of the electromagnetic spectrum they still fall into the higher portion of the ELF range.
Computer operators are routinely exposed to strong EMFs. There is an entire sweep of fields that over time can create health problems. It ranges from microwave ovens, cellular and portable telephones to police, military and commercial radar installations.
Excessive electromagnetic interference can cause memory loss, headaches, changes in heartbeat and blood chemistry, and general malaise. Exposure is cumulative, resulting in increased sluggishness and fatigue. Cancer rates have been found to be much higher in areas close to high-tension power lines, especially childhood cancers. Electrosmog blocks out the brain's electromagnetic signals to the cells and weakens the immune system.
Electromagnetic interference is a concern in today's complex world, the more so as electropollution is exacerbated by a cyclical depletion of the earth magnetic field necessary to magnetic resonance, so vital to health. It is estimated that over the last four thousand years, the geomagnetic field has lost up to ninety percent of its original strength and is still depleting. Thus magnetic therapy, though still in its infancy, is increasingly vital in medicine and prevention of magnetic deficiencies.
How Does It Work?
A principle of physics states that: if the magnetic field is increased, the velocity of the electrons and protons will increase or decrease depending on the direction of the magnetic field and the orbits of the particles. The outermost unpaired (valence) electrons are the ones that are shared to make up molecules. These join to make the cells which compose all of the tissues in our body.
When the magnetic field passes through the atoms in the correct direction it will increase their energy state, which in turn will enhance the sharing of their electrons. Also involved is increased precession or 'wobble' activity of some electrons depending on the relationship of their orbits to the magnetic field direction. All this increased action is a catalyst to all the chemical reactions in the body.
Some hold that the therapeutic magnetic fields influence the electrolyte balance of cells. By stimulating the skin, magnetic fields act on reflexes in the skin that correspond to certain organs, similar to foot reflexology. Nerve impulses are sent to activate the function of certain organs. The body is a magnetic conductor and possesses its own biomagnetic field.
Continual flow of body fluids is essential to health. When flow is stopped, fluid accumulates in the tissues. Excess fluid can be carried away and disbursed when proper polarization of malfunctioning cells is regenerated, prompting healing. Pulsed magnets are effective because they initiate a resonance in the affected tissues, causing increased ion exchange through the cell wall.
Human nerve paths are electrochemical conductors, able to produce currents and retransmit them. Magnetic fields, from the natural magnetism of the earth or those created by a pure negative unidirectional field such as the earth has in the north hemisphere, underlie the pulsation of these currents.
Healthy cells maintain an active transport of ions, those electrically charged particles important to energy exchanges and cell metabolism. If electromagnetic energy is lacking, the cells malfunction, initiating illness. The magnetic energy from the brain and the earth is a catalyst to the chemical reactions in the cell which are necessary to run the sodium-potassium pump which charges up the cell wall so oxygen will be attracted in and carbon dioxide and other wastes will be expelled.
Magnetized Water
Magnetizing water has been shown to structure it temporarily thus changing its properties temporarily. Some feel that this has beneficial effects.
Magnetized water can be made by putting a glass jug of cool water in, next to, or on a 3,000 gauss magnet (500, 800 or 2,000 gauss strength are also beneficial). Either polarity, negative or positive, or both simultaneously, can be used for magnetizing water. Length of exposure time necessary for magnetization differs among experts, but ten hours will generally suffice. Recommended daily intake varies from two to three doses of an eight-ounce glass of water, up to a quart per day.
Other liquids can be magnetized in the same way, such as fruit and vegetable juices or body oils used for massage. Some feel that magnetized olive oil has been effective in the treatment of gout and rheumatism.
How Is It Done?
Diagnosis
It is recommended to consult a practitioner for proper diagnosis and initial treatment. However, after brief instruction, magnetic therapy can be performed at or away from home by just about anyone.
Treatments
The easiest treatment is magnetized water, which is energy-building, activating, cleansing and detoxifying. Half a glass of water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and continued for several months is optimal under conditions of regular health.
Larger, usually in-clinic electromagnetic therapy machines, create large magnetic impulse fields and are used for vast areas of pain. In Europe they have been used to heal bone cancer.
Small pulsars and permanent magnets offer more specific self-care treatments for pain and ailments. General treatment of the entire body is best achieved by sleeping on a magnetic bed or by wearing a pulsar over the solar plexus. Electromagnetic research has shown that pulsed fields of 2-24 Hz work well. Studies have shown that specific ailments respond best to specific frequencies and day or night conditions.
Smaller permanent magnets are best applied to acupuncture meridian points; reflex points on the hands for problems above the navel and reflex points on the feet for problems below the navel. Pulsars or permanent magnets can be applied to the chest area or spine for general symptoms such as depression or weakness. Body response to pulsars is influenced by frequency settings; the response to permanent magnets is influenced by polarity, which can be bipolar, negative or positive.
Other modalities of vibrational medicine include sound, light therapies.
Specifics of Pulsar Treatments
Small pulsars (battery-operated, hand-held electromagnetic therapy devices) have a flexible range of operation. Most of them oscillate between an extremely low frequency of 2-24 Hz. Small magnetic fields of 2-10 gauss are used in this generation process. Pulsars are placed directly over the site of the pain, injury or affected organ. Pulsars are used for fifteen to thirty minutes once or twice a day for several sessions. In severe cases they can be used for up to three months to accelerate response to treatment.
Pulsar therapy should begin at about 8.5 Hz during active periods, lowered to about 3 Hz during rest periods, and at night. After a few days, frequencies can be adjusted according to personal results and state of well-being. Response time can vary from two minutes to a month, depending on individual sensitivity, environment, medical history and gender. Females generally respond quicker than males. Preceding or ongoing chemotherapy means that the body will need more time to return to homeostasis.
Generally, pulsar therapy should not be continued uninterrupted for long stretches of time as the nervous system's vitality will eventually be depleted, thus reducing the effect.This depletion can be overcome by an on/off approach interjecting regular periods of use and non-use.
Specifics of Permanent Magnet Treatments
Permanent magnets are also best used with an on/off approach. For minor aches and pain, small magnets are worn until there is relief (often within fifteen minutes), or strong 3,000 gauss magnets are used twice a day for half an hour. For acute pain, adhesive magnets are left on for three to ten days, or strong 3,000 gauss magnets are used four times daily for an hour each session. Adhesive magnets are used for chronic pain, for two or more treatments consisting of ten days' continuous wear followed by a rest of two days. Strong magnets of 3,000 gauss are used three times daily for an hour at a time. Large permanent magnets of 2,000 gauss can be used in pairs, with treatments lasting from five minutes to two hours.
For a person who sleeps on their back or side, a negative polarity magnet should be applied to the back or side and a positive polarity magnet to the front. The opposite polarities are used if the person sleeps on their stomach.
A properly constructed magnetic bed pad is a very effective way to receive magnetic treatment while you sleep. It treats the whole body at one time with a very gentle 3-6 gauss negative magnetic field and in studies has been shown to be beneficial for arthritis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, PMS and back pain. They cause no loss of vitality with continued use.
Who Can Use Magnetic Therapy?
Pregnant mothers and patients with pacemakers should not use magnetic therapy unless advised by their doctor. All others will benefit regardless of sex, age or body type although males generally require longer treatment periods than females.
What Will I Feel?
Some users experience minor temporary side-effects, such as dizziness, dull sensation, headache, sleepiness or extra body heat. With pulsed magnetic fields, there can be some tingling. Females usually experience more sensation than males, especially when acute injuries are being treated. Some may develop magnetic resistance when using static magnets of simultaneous polarity or south polarity. This is overcome by applying north polarity. Some may not notice anything in particular, but this is no indication of inefficacy.
What Can I Do?
Magnetic therapies can be easily combined with other forms of treatment, especially acupuncture, massage therapy and reflexology. Homeopathic remedies, healing herbs and water therapy are important adjuncts. The stimulus of magnetic fields should be used as part of a holistic regimen based on proper nutrition, vitamin and mineral supplementation and exercise in a natural, health-promoting environment. If you choose to pursue magnetic therapy, keep the following in mind:
To reduce interference with the natural biomagnetic field, unnecessary electrical appliances should be eliminated and those not in use, unplugged.
Magnets should be kept at least one foot away from magnetized items such as computers, videos, tapes and credit cards. Magnets worn on the body should be removed or switched off when receiving X-rays.
Strong magnets must be kept away from batteries as they can drain the battery charge.
Other Natural Methods Orthomolecular Medicine: Vitamin and Mineral Therapy
What Is It?
Orthomolecular medicine focuses on the individual nutritional needs of a person and uses both diet and nutrient supplements to restore and maintain the correct nutritional balance. 'Ortho' means 'correct.' Orthomolecular medicine corrects or normalizes the molecular balance of vitamins, minerals and amino acids in the body. Because this type of medicine involves quite large doses of certain nutrients, it has been referred to as 'megadose' therapy.
History
Though vitamins and mineral supplements have been used since the 1920s, orthomolecular medicine had its real beginnings in 1952, the year Abram Hoffer, a Canadian medical doctor, with partner Dr. Humphrey Osmond, discovered that large doses of vitamin B3 (niacin) helped to control schizophrenia. In their study, the number of recoveries from schizophrenia doubled in a one-year period in relation to conventional medical treatment alone.
Dr. Linus Pauling, professor of chemistry at Stanford University, and two-time recipient of the Nobel Prize, coined the term 'orthomolecular' in a 1968 report called Orthomolecular Psychiatry. Pauling's input denoted this type of medicine as one concerned with using natural substances that are normally present in the healthy body. Pauling went on to be famous for his research into and promotion of megadoses of vitamin C for colds and other ailments.
Hoffer, Osmond and Pauling suggested that taking certain nutrients could directly influence the onset, severity, treatment and prevention of disease. Their theories pointed to malnutrition as a cause of illness, and to the rise in the consumption of refined and processed foods, especially white flour and sugar. At the time, the connection between diet and disease was a new one, at least for Western medicine.
Like any new model or theory, orthomolecular medicine met with immediate reluctance and even harsh criticism from the established medical community, and continues to draw prejudice today. According to Hoffer, the doubt lodged against vitamin therapy is based on the question of how anything as simple as vitamins can be of value for treating a complicated disease. Hoffer characterizes this widespread sentiment as absurd. Nearly every serious disease remains complicated until a specific treatment is developed.
How Can It Help Me?
This nutritional approach helps maintain good health, improve health through proper diet, and cure and treat illness. Orthomolecular medicine has been used widely, though controversially, for both physiological and psychiatric conditions. Some commonly treated afflictions include colds, heart disease, cancer, depression and schizophrenia. It can provide dramatic recovery when nothing else has worked.
Using its broadest definition, people who take a daily multi-vitamin pill to supplement their diets are practicing orthomolecular medicine-they are trying to 'correct' the nutritional deficiencies in the food they eat.
Proper orthomolecular therapy is an intense, directed and thorough approach to nutrient supplementation. It takes into account individual nutritional needs on the basis of age, sex, activity, stress and the presence of disease. In this respect, it aims to employ 'custom-made' therapies which, unlike conventional pharmaceutical preparations, remedy the underlying causes of diseases to prevent further problems. In effect, orthomolecular medicine helps the body help itself out of an imbalanced or diseased state.
How Does It Work?
Orthomolecular medicine defines itself by questioning two common medical assumptions: that a well-balanced diet will provide us all the required nutrients; and that we are all generally alike in the amount of nutrients we need, typified by the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) rating system.
These assumptions fail to recognize that our food is not as high in nutritional value as it once was. It is often grown on mineral-depleted soil with the aid of chemicals, and then refined or processed so that any bit of nutrient value left is stripped away. A good example of such 'empty' food is bleached white flour.
Our nutrient requirements also vary throughout our lives according to activity levels, sex and genetic predisposition. The aim of orthomolecular medicine is to provide optimal nutrients to the body through a whole food diet, unhindered by junk foods, sugar, additives, and free of allergens. When necessary, nutrients are supplemented through pills or injections to ease symptoms as well as to correct and prevent deficiencies.
Orthomolecular therapy is not meant to be a replacement for standard medical treatment, but a complementary approach which is better suited to particular disorders. For orthomolecular physicians, nutrition, which has been largely ignored in medical training, is the main component of all treatment.
Inadequate nutrition from eating a diet of processed foods, sugar, junk foods and chemical additives leads to disease. A deficiency of even one nutrient affects the functioning of body processes. A deficiency of vitamin C, for example, is well known to have caused scurvy, especially common in English sailors of the nineteenth century. This was eventually remedied by providing citrus fruits and juices on the ships. Eating too much or too little proteins, fats or carbohydrates-that is, an unbalanced diet-also leads to impaired body function.
How Is It Done?
Diagnosis
The orthomolecular physician's goal is to discover the cause of a disorder and to devise a suitable treatment program to remedy it. Most often, the first area of patient analysis will be the diet, and determining if there are important nutrients which are low or missing in the daily dietary intake. In addition, food allergies, sensitivities and exposure to chemicals may be considered. A number of laboratory tests, such as those for glucose tolerance, thyroid function, insulin levels, and analyses of the hair, blood and urine, are used by orthomolecular physicians. (For more information on these tests, see Appendix 1.)
Treatment
The main problem for the orthomolecular therapist is to discover the optimum levels of certain nutrients to relieve symptoms, and restore and maintain health. As noted above, these optimum levels may vary drastically for different people, and for a number of reasons. Simple trial and error is the most effective way to determine the optimum levels. Physicians and patients work together to find the level which restores health without causing either unpleasant or dangerous side-effects.
The first treatment option is always reformulating the diet to eliminate junk foods, refined foods, sugar and caffeine, as well as those foods high in chemical additives. Any food which the patient knows makes him or her sick should also be eliminated. A diet of whole, raw, live and unrefined foods, balanced in proteins, fats and carbohydrates, is basic to orthomolecular treatment.
In some cases, a patient's nutrient needs cannot be supplied in the diet alone and must be supplemented. Vitamin or mineral injections are often used to provide an initial, quick response and are usually followed by nutrients orally. These dosages are quite high by modern medical standards. For example, in some cases the successful treatment of schizophrenia with vitamin B3 (niacin) took 3,000 mg per day, which is more than a thousand times the current RDA.
Physicians begin with dosages which long experience has shown to be most effective for a particular condition. Through patient consultation and examination, dosages may be slowly lowered or raised until the rate of improvement is satisfactory to both doctor and patient. For example, high doses of vitamin C can cause intestinal gas and diarrhea, an unpleasant side-effect for the patient. In administering vitamin C, orthomolecular physicians attempt to find the level of 'bowel tolerance'-that level just shy of producing gas and diarrhea.
Once a patient has displayed improvement, the dosage is slowly lowered. If any symptoms return, the dosage is increased. This process determines the 'maintenance dose'-that dosage which, for a particular patient, is adequate to maintain health and freedom from symptoms.
What Can I Do?
Avoid refined foods, chemical additives and any food you know makes you sick. Read up on nutrients and their deficiency symptoms and try supplementation with the recommended dosage. For more intense therapy, see a qualified orthomolecular physician.
What Makes a Qualified Practitioner?
Orthomolecular medicine is not a therapy totally unto itself, but a complementary approach to standard medical treatment. As such there are no diplomas in orthomolecular medicine. It is best undertaken by a medical doctor or clinical nutritionist interested and experienced in healing with vitamins and minerals.
Where Do I Go Next?
Contact the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine. (For more information, see Appendix 1.)
Other Natural Methods Vision Training: Improving Your Eyesight
What Is It?
Vision training reduces your dependence on strong compensating lenses and enhances your visual interaction with the world. Vision deficiencies are changeable-training helps make your eyes function more efficiently by using a combination of exercises, nutrition, light, color, awareness, and reducing the use and strength of visual aids. Vision fitness includes visual acuity, the ability of the eyes to work together, and the ability to visually interact with your environment without eye problems or emotional blinders.
History
Dr. W. H. Bates, a New York ophthalmologist, is considered the pioneer of vision training. In the early 1900s, he developed the Bates Method for vision improvement which focuses on breathing, relaxation, memory, imagination and eye drills. In over thirty years of research, he showed that vision defects are usually the result of functional problems that can be overcome, and not permanent flaws in the shape of the eye. His work was not accepted by most ophthalmologists.
The Bates Method was used with great success by many practitioners and notably by writer Aldous Huxley who, within two months of using this method, was able to read without using Braille or a heavy magnifying glass. He was so impressed that he wrote a book called The Art of Seeing.
Dr. Robert-Michael Kaplan is an internationally known consultant in complementary vision care who has used a multifaceted approach to develop a comprehensive vision training system that incorporates exercise, diet, lifestyle and mental and emotional awareness. The self-help techniques of Bates and Kaplan are becoming more popular as people are realizing the benefits of natural health care.
How Can It Help Me?
Vision training improves dyslexia, far-sightedness, near-sightedness, eye strain, astigmatism, eye coordination, memory, photosensitivity and will enhance overall well-being. Emotional patterns such as beliefs, fears and angers, and perceptions picked up from your parents and teachers, distort vision.
Causes of Eye Problems
Eye problems have many causes, including mental and physical tension, unsynchronized eyes, strain from looking sideways instead of directly at things, traumatic events that alter our visual perception, fluorescent lights and improper nutrition.
Although 20/20 prescriptions help you to see perfectly, they increase eye stress, reduce natural depth perception and produce strain and fatigue after extended use. Strong prescriptions do not give your eyes an opportunity to regenerate themselves naturally and result in a dependency on compensating lenses.
How Does It Work?
Conventional compensating lenses hold the eye in a fixed position and inhibit the eye muscles from naturally adjusting to accommodate near and far focusing. Avoiding corrective lenses or using a reduced (less than 20/20) prescription permits your eyes to function more naturally.
Kaplan's concept of vision fitness lenses (20/40 instead of 20/20) allow your eyes to relax, producing a calming effect. The reduced lens prescription also means that your eyes are given a chance to increase their natural function, and you are able to notice any fluctuations in vision that are triggered by your activities, diet and environment.
Eye exercises and general exercise improve circulation, oxygenate the blood and enhance nerve function. Proper nutrition improves the health of the entire body, including your eyes.
Vision training reveals your inner perceptions, either current or from the past, as they manifest themselves in your eye condition. By understanding the 'mind's eye,' you learn how emotions affect the way you see, and you can overcome these visual limitations.
How Is It Done?
Improving vision starts with specific exercises including the following: head movements to loosen the neck area and relax the mind; swinging your torso from side to side while looking between your two outstretched arms; placing your palms over your eyes for relaxation; near and far focusing; blinking; blinking into sunlight; scanning; stretching the eye muscles; crossing your eyes; breathing; acupressure (for more information, see earlier part of this section) and non-staring. Visual aids such as glasses and contacts should be removed for at least a few hours a day so that the eyes have an opportunity to function naturally and regenerate.
Eye patches are also used to stimulate perception and peripheral vision. Rate of improvement depends on the effort you put into the program and the severity of your vision deficiency. Be patient and relax-emotional strain will also affect your vision.
Vision Exercises
Here are a few simple vision training exercises you can use for your own self-help. Palm your eyes after these exercises to relax the eyes.
Strain from Close Work and Reading
Changing Focus Distance: Frequently look away from your work to an object in the distance.
Near and Far: Shift focus between a near object and a far object several times.
Blinking: Blink every three seconds.
Crossing Eyes: Cross your eyes by focusing on an object that you bring to touch the bridge of your nose.
Scanning: Move your eyes quickly to different objects within your visual field.
Tension
Palming: Rub palms together and place over your closed eyes, but not touching your eyes, to block all light and relax for a couple of minutes. When you are completely relaxed, you should see pure black.
Neck Stretch: Stretch your head down to the chest. Repeat ten or more times.
Side-to-Side Neck Stretch: Stretch the head sideways to look over one shoulder then look over the other shoulder. Repeat ten or more times.
Stimulating
Up-and-Down Eye Stretches: Keep head still and without straining look up and then down. Repeat three times.
Side-to-Side Eye Stretches: Keep head still and without straining look left and right. Repeat three times.
Left-to-Right Diagonal Eye Stretches: Keep head still and without straining look up and to the left and then down and to the right. Repeat three times.
Right-to-Left Diagonal Eye Stretches: Keep head still and without straining look up and to the right and then down and to the left. Repeat three times.
Crossing Eyes: Cross your eyes, by focusing on an object that you bring to touch the bridge of your nose.
What Can I Do?
When your eyes are tired, give them a break and stimulate them with some vision exercises. Take time to relax by breathing and stretching. Avoid looking sideways to prevent straining the eyes. Instead, move your head to look directly at what you want to see. When reading, use a 100-watt light source behind you and keep your work directly in front of you. A healthy lifestyle including exercise, proper nutrition, natural light and relaxation is also important.
Where Do I Go Next?
Check at your holistic health book store or natural food store to find a vision fitness practitioner, or contact the International Society for Eyesight Education. (For more information, see Appendix 1.)
Other Methods
