Dr. D. C. Jarvis, M.D., has made apple cider vinegar and honey drink popular in this country. As an exponent of the old Vermont Folk Medicine, he claimed that a simple drink of two teaspoonfuls of apple cider vinegar and two teaspoonfuls of honey in a glass of water at each meal is a cure-all for practically every ill of mankind, including arthritis.1

There is considerable doubt in many minds as to the scientific value of this popular remedy.

Now, when I am confronted with an old folk medicine or remedy used for hundreds of years, I investigate it not with a doubt or suspicion, but with a great respect. I reserve my doubts and skepticism for the new toxic chemical drugs which are put on the market daily without much testing or clinical experience as to their true therapeutic value or undesirable side effects.

It seems to me that apple cider vinegar and honey treatment for arthritis may have true merit. People with arthritis are usually in a dilapidated state of health. Their general health is broken down. The functions of the vital organs are weakened and impaired. This is especially true of their digestive and assimilative systems. Most people of middle age and over usually experience diminished secretion of hydrochloric acid in their stomach. This condition leads to poor digestion and consequent inefficient assimilation of nutrients from the foods consumed. This lack of hydrochloric acid in the stomach affects the whole metabolism, especially the mineral metabolism. The disturbed calcium metabolism is but one of the many known contributing causes of arthritis.

Apple cider vinegar and honey drink taken with meals helps to compensate for the insufficient secretion of hydrochloric acid and thus improves digestion of foods. This results in a better assimilation of nutrients and in improved metabolism. Of course, other fruit acids, such as lemon juice, apple juice, or fresh pineapple juice, taken with meals, will accomplish about the same effect.

Honey has many wonderful medicinal properties and is truly one of nature’s miracle foods. In biological medicine, honey replaces white sugar whenever a sweetener is needed: in drinks, in foods, etc. Both cider vinegar and honey are beneficial for the digestive tract and exert a favorable influence on constipation, which often accompanies arthritis.

A good use for apple cider vinegar and honey is in making a salad dressing. With cold-pressed vegetable oil and a few natural spices it makes a most delicious and wholesome dressing for fresh vegetable salads. Warning: ordinary white vinegar is not suitable for these purposes and should never be used. Use only natural apple cider vinegar of health food store quality.

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Tags: Arthritis

In this country, the idea of having some citrus fruit or citrus juice every day is so popularly spread and associated with the concept of a wholesome diet, that even a suggestion of citrus being anything but beneficial is met with skepticism.

Let me state right at the beginning that there is nothing wrong with citrus fruit per se. All fruits, including oranges, lemons, and grapefruits, are excellent foods and used with wisdom and in moderation could constitute an important part of every diet

However, in recent years many nutritionists and medical researchers have questioned the value of citrus in the diet. It was shown in tests that citric acid in citrus fruit can cause tooth damage. It has also been shown that citrus juices are finked with peptic ulcers and can unfavorably affect the general health.” Some nutritionists and health writers, impressed by the findings of these researchers, have concluded that all citrus fruits should be eliminated from the diet

It seems to me that the citrus question has been handled rather unscientifically. It is unfair to condemn citrus fruit as such when so many other factors related to its use are not taken into consideration.

First, in tests, which put citrus fruit in a bad light, usually only citrus juices are used, not the whole fruit.

Second, most citrus fruit in this country has not been given a chance to ripen fully on the trees. They are harvested unripened to assure an early market Unripe citrus has a much higher content of acids, which can be very harmful, even when the fruit is eaten whole. It is, of course, even more injurious in the form of a concentrated juice.

Third, we should not forget that citrus fruit today is so loaded with toxic chemicals of various kinds—preservatives, artificial colorings, insecticide sprays, waxes, etc.—that some of these are bound to be consumed; this is especially true in regard to commercial juices, where the whole fruit, skin and all, is squeezed in huge, powerful presses.

Then, how many of us do use fresh juices anymore? The great majority of Americans drink frozen, reconstituted, or canned fruit juices, not to mention so-called fruit drinks, where there is actually not much of real juice or fruit at all, only artificial colorings and flavorings and various chemicals and preservatives.

Citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C, which is very important for arthritis sufferers, because it is essential for the health and stability of collagen and all connective tissues of the body, as well as for all vital processes of the body and proper functioning of organs and glands. The juice of half a lemon in a glass of warm water, sweetened with one teaspoon of honey, is an

excellent morning drink for anybody, including persons with arthritis. But it should not be taken every day for prolonged periods. It should be alternated with vegetable broths and herb teas.

Likewise, half a grapefruit once or twice a week, or one whole orange two or three times a week, will do no harm but lots of good. Again it should not be continued endlessly, but alternated with periods when other fruits are used.

The modern, efficient communication and cold storage system makes it possible to buy any kind of fruits and vegetables, anywhere in the United States, any time of the year. This is called progress. But from a nutritional point of view this is a very unfortunate development. This is admittedly great “marketing progress,” but it has contributed to the establishment of such unhealthy habits as using certain fruits or, which is even worse, certain fruit juices every day of the year, year after year.

All fruit should be eaten “in season.” Eat citrus only for a few months during winter when it is harvested. Then switch to the other fruits as they come “in season”—various berries, peaches, cherries, apples, etc. This way you will get fruit always when it is fresh and at the peak of its nutritional value, and your body will be afforded an opportunity to obtain a great variety of nutritive elements. In storage, even cold storage, all produce gradually loses its vitamin content.

The nutritive value of various fruits—vitamins, minerals, enzymes, trace elements, etc.—varies considerably. Also, the habit of eating fruit in season will be a good protective measure for possible damage by an overdosage, as is the case with citric acid in citrus fruits.

In summary, citrus fruits are good for you if you eat them whole and in moderation, not more than two to three in a week. (Lemon is an exception. It can be juiced and used diluted in water in drinks and in salad dressing.) But use citrus only in season and sec that it is organically grown without poisonous sprays. In practice, it would mean that you have to buy it only from sources you can trust or from the better health food stores which sell certified, organically grown produce.

If you live in northern parts of the country you can leave citrus fruits out of your diet entirely and replace them with vitamin C-rich apples and other fruits grown in the area.

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Tags: Arthritis

First, all exercises should be planned in accordance with the individual needs and capabilities of the patient. No two cases are alike and, consequently, only a general outline of the program can be given here.

As was pointed out before, the body afflicted with arthritis usually suffers from poor circulation, stagnation, and sluggishness. Restoration of the proper circulation is, therefore, essential before the body can effectively accomplish its own healing task. The bloodstream carries fresh oxygen and nutritive elements to all the tissues and organs of the body. It also carries toxic waste materials from the tissues to the eliminative organs where they are expelled from the system. Thus, effective circulation is imperative for successful results in any program of treatment for arthritis.

There are many ways to stimulate circulation, such as massage, alternating hot and cold baths, dry brush massage, etc. But physical exercise in the fresh air is one of the most effective ways to rebuild circulation. For this reason outdoor walking is the most popular form of exercise in all biological clinics.

Of course we should not forget that often a patient is in such a weak condition that he is unable to take any walks. Also, if joints are badly inflamed and painful no exercises should be taken at all-such a patient needs rest more than exercises. But as soon as pain has subsided, immediately a gradually increasing program of exercises should be initiated.

Outside walking is the simplest and most effective way to assist your body’s healing and health restoring processes. It will stimulate your glands to secrete more hormones. It will accelerate your metabolism and digestion. It will saturate your blood and all the cells of the body with fresh oxygen. It will assist your eliminative organs in their detoxifying work through the lungs, skin, and intestines. Moreover, a walk in the fresh air, especially in the woods or some other beautiful natural surroundings, will put you in good spirits, stimulate your thinking, and make you feel happy and jubilant all over.

In addition to walking, various other exercises could be used, such as deep-breathing exercises, arm and leg exercises, etc. All this should be adjusted to the condition and ability of the patient. When any particular joint or part of the body is affected it should first be exercised very slowly and, as the movements become freer, the exercises could be gradually accelerated.

To summarize the answer to the question: What exercises are best for arthritis?, I must say that all specific exercises of various joints, limbs, and other parts of the body should be carefully planned in accordance with the needs of each individual case and preferably under expert supervision. However, of far greater importance to the recovery of the patient are various forms of “natural” exercise in fresh air: walking, riding bicycling, swimming, dancing, horse riding, playing games, or any kind of suitable outdoor work, such as gardening. I am a firm believer in natural exercises that give you the benefit of physical exertion without much will effort while simultaneously giving you emotional and spiritual stimulation and enjoyment.

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Tags: Arthritis

Of all the various therapeutic measures employed by biological medicine in treatment of arthritis fasting is, perhaps, singularly the most important one.

Fasting has been used in treating arthritis for centuries, mostly in Europe, but also on this continent. The big difference is that in the United States the majority of doctors who employ fasting in their practice usually advocate a complete or water fast, while European, biologically oriented doctors employ mostly juice fasts.

Although fasting is without a doubt one of the safest therapeutic agents known to medicine,1 in the minds of the uninitiated and uninformed it is often associated with fear of the possibility of doing harm to the body. This is quite understandable, considering that the average man has the impression that complete abstinence from food just for a couple of weeks would result in death. The truth is that man can live without food for months. In fact, man can kill himself by overeating in a shorter time than by fasting.2 There are recorded cases of fasting up to 90 days on water and up to 249 days on juices and liquids. In recent tests at Stobhill General Hospital, in Glasgow, Scotland, a 54-year-old woman was put on a liquid fast and lost 74 of her 262 pounds along with a painful arthritic knee condition, during a fast of 249 daysl2 Although therapeutic fasting usually is of no longer duration than 40 days, the great majority of fasts in European clinics are ten to 20 days long.

Although liquid fasting is not a dangerous measure and could be safely undertaken without supervision at home, I would advise that the average patient, who does not have a thorough understanding and insight into all the details and various phases of fasting, should not undertake it on his own, but only under expert supervision. This will assure him of peace of mind which is imperative for the successful outcome of any therapeutic measure.

In Sweden, fasting is a national sport. Thousands of healthy young and old, men and women members of the national health organization, Halsoframjandet (Health-promotion, Inc.), fast for a week or two every year. Regular short fasts are considered an effective way to cleanse the body of wastes, build up resistance and physical stamina, and prevent diseases. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t get weakened or depleted by fasting. On the contrary, fasting will strengthen the body in many ways. The stomach and digestive tract will receive a rest and will be strengthened by fasting. Actually, the total regeneration and rejuvenation of all functions of the body is the objective which induces thousands of Swedes to fast. These fasts are done on

their own. in their own homes, without supervision of doctors. But then again, these Swedes are experts in fasting; they are well informed and acquainted with the mechanics and philosophy of fasting.

Just to show you how safe fasting actually is, I like to refer to two famous fast-hikes, which were performed in Sweden in recent years under the direction of Dr. Lennart Edr6n, world famous authority on fasting. First, 11 Swedish health enthusiasts walked from Gothenburg to Stockholm (over 300 miles) in ten days. During that time they fasted—did not consume any foods at all, only plain water. A couple of years later about 20 persons repeated the hike under tight scientific control. During the whole hike, and for an extended period after it, various medical tests of their condition were made: blood count, blood sugar tests, heart tests, pulse, physical endurance tests, etc. All tests showed that in spite of the unusual stress of the combined fasting and strenuous hike, all participants were in perfect health and did not suffer any damage of any kind. However, quite the contrary was later found to be true because of the discovery that some of the participants were freed from various ailments they suffered before the fast-hike began.

At the time of my last visit to Sweden in July of 1966, Dr. Edr6n himself had already fasted a total of 45 days so far that year. At 50 he is a picture of youthful vitality and health, and he is regularly fasting to keep his superior health condition at an optimum level.

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Tags: Arthritis

Here, briefly, are a few more actual cases of arthritis having been healed, as follows:

Mrs. E. L., 47, Algaras, Sweden

Mrs. E. L. noticed the first symptoms of arthritis in 1956. She felt a dull pain and stiffness in her hands. The pain spread to the other joints: elbows, shoulders, legs, and feet. Eventually the whole body was affected and the pain became more and more intense.

She was referred by her doctor to the Lidkoping Hospital. There she received x-ray treatments plus some drugs. In 1957 her doctor prescribed cortisone. In 1958 she was treated with gold injections at the Mariestad Hospital which resulted in slight improvement in her knees. In 1961 she was again treated with gold injections and other drugs in Nynashamn Hospital but without any improvement. She stayed at the hospital for two months.

During all these years of conventional treatments with drugs, x-rays, cortisone, and gold injections her condition was gradually getting worse. Her joints were badly deformed and the pain became more and more unbearable.

Finally, in 1962, Mrs. E. L. came to the Bjorkagarden Institute. She stayed there six weeks and fasted five days on juices. She felt great improvement; pain and stiffness disappeared. In 1963 she returned for six more weeks and this time she fasted ten days.

After a second visit to Bjorkagarden her arthritis was all but gone. Pain disappeared and joints became flexible and mobile. She continued with the lactovegetarian diet in her home, and reported to me in August, 1966 that she felt great and had no recurrence.

Mrs. I. B., 39, Borlange, Sweden

Mrs. I. B. was stricken with arthritis at the age of 22. First, she noticed a swelling in the joints and then later stiffness and pain. She was treated with various drugs. Her condition was steadily getting worse until 1958 when she had to go to a hospital in Halmstad. She made several hospital visits during 1958-63. In spite of these treatments and several drugs she didn’t notice any improvement in her condition.

In 1964 she came to Bjorkagarden Institute. She stayed there three weeks and fasted three times. After three weeks of intensive biological treatments and fasts her arthritis was completely gone. In answer to my inquiry as to the results of her treatments in Bjorkagarden and the permanency of her cure, Mrs. I. B. wrote, in September, 1966:

“Results were fantastic. No arthritis left… No relapses!”

Mr. S. K., 40, Stockholm

The first symptoms of arthritis appeared in 1952. The contributing cause: a stubborn case of chronic tonsilitis. The pain in his joints continued on and off for several years. A visit to a doctor resulted in the removal of his tonsils. But the pain and the stiffness in the joints didn’t disappear. With the passing years it only seemed to become worse.

Finally, he was referred to the Sodersjukhuset in Stockholm. There he was treated with gold injections.

In 1957 he started with cortisone. At first he felt great improvement. Then the pain and the stiffness returned. In 1959 he was sent to the Karolinska Institute and stayed there three months—no improvement.

During 1961 and 1962 he was trying to keep going with the help of cortisone—16 milligrams a day, a very heavy dose. In addition to cortisone he was taking various other drugs, including sulfa drugs and salicylates. He estimates that during a period of six years he had consumed 25,000 aspirin tablets! All these drugs didn’t help his condition at all. His arthritis was getting progressively worse with aggravated and intensified pain and stiffness.

In 1963 Mr. S. K. went to Brandals Clinic. Treatments at Brandal started with the traditional fast. He fasted for 20 days and felt better and better with each day of fasting. After the first week all pain and stiffness disappeared. For the first time in many years he could clench his hands together. After 20 days of fasting, consequent special diet, and other biological treatments his long battle with arthritis was finally won.

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Tags: Arthritis

It all started during the hot summer of 1957. Mrs. Guldi Deiber started to feel a dull pain in her muscles. She hoped that it was something that would pass. But the pain didn’t go away. Instead it became worse with every new day. Then, a few weeks later, she noticed that the joints of her arms and legs started to swell.

She recalled that she had similar symptoms about 20 years ago, but then the pain gradually disappeared. This time she didn’t seem to be able to shake it off; it only became worse each week. Her knees and hips were particularly painful.

Mrs. Deiber went to a doctor. He prescribed a drug. Several weeks of medication didn’t help. Then she visited a new doctor, he prescribed new drugs and so on—an endless cycle of visits from doctor to doctor, from one hospital to another hospital, from one toxic drug to another. When a drug caused unpleasant side effects, she was prescribed a new drug to mask the symptoms caused by the previous drug. This continued for four years. Although some of the drugs she received were able to dull temporarily her unbearable pains, her condition was growing worse.

The most horrifying experience she had with powerful drugs occurred in 1962. Her doctor prescribed a new and controversial drug called Imagon. Its effect on pain was remarkable. Fain disappeared as if by magic and happy Mrs. Deiber continued with the drug from October, 1962 to April, 1963. At this time she noticed that her eyesight was becoming impaired. Everything began to look hazy to her. She hurried to the doctor who had prescribed Imagon.

“Oh, it hurt your eyes already,” was the doctor*s comment

Damaged eyesight was the price Mrs. Deiber paid for temporary relief from pain!

Now she was referred to an eye specialist and had to go to this doctor three times a month during the summer of 1963. When the doctor finally prescribed cortisone, she became alarmed and reluctant to use such powerful drugs again-after all she already had a very bad experience with drugs before!

A good friend suggested that she try wheat germ oil for her eyes. Mrs. Deiber had already taken six cortisone tablets by that time. She discontinued using the drug and started taking six capsules of wheat germ oil each day instead, reduced later to four capsules a day. At the same time she continued to visit her eye specialist every ten days. After a few weeks on wheat germ oil the doctor noticed an improvement in her eye condition. Further improvement was registered with each visit to the doctor.

Meanwhile, her arthritis was becoming more and more unbearable. Violent pains in her joints continued day and night; and now she didn’t dare use any more pain-killing drugs. She had difficulty raising herself up from a chair without help. In the morning, her whole body was stiff and the slightest movement caused piercing pains.

At this time she met an old friend who had suffered from arthritis who just returned from the Bjorkagarden Clinic. She saw how much better her friend felt—the woman could now do all her housework with ease, she took long walks, etc. Should she try? She didn’t know what else to do. Doctors had tried everything for four years without success. She decided to try the “nature cure” at the Bjorkagarden Institute.

Mrs. Guldi Deiber came to Bjorkagarden Clinic on September 13,1963. She was tired and very depressed. In addition to excruciating pains in all her joints she had a frightful chronic headache. She felt so debilitated that she had to stay in bed much of the time.

She stayed at the clinic three weeks. The first week she was on a special diet. It was the usual diet of the clinic—but far different from the “usual” diet Mrs. Deiber was accustomed to at home. No coffee and pastry, to which Mrs. Deiber was so addicted! Instead, it was vegetable broth with flaxseed for the morning beverage; yogurt and fresh fruits for breakfast; or a choice of several cereals: brown rice, potato cereal,2 whole grain cereal, Molino.2 Lunch consisted of a big bowl of vegetable salad with oil dressing. Dinner was the same as breakfast. In between meals she drank fresh juices and herb teas.

After one week she felt better, but tiredness and pain remained. The next phase of her treatment was fasting. She lasted five days on juices and vegetable broths. After fasting she continued on the same lactovegetarian diet prescribed the week before her fast.

The results of the three week stay at Bjorkagarden could be summed up like this:

Her condition was improving steadily during all three weeks. Particularly during the fast she felt a great improvement At the time she left the clinic she was completely free from pain and felt better than any other time during the past four years. The swelling in her joints disappeared. In addition to the disappearance of the arthritis symptoms she noticed other improvements in her health. She had suffered from sciatic nerve trouble in both legs, which now totally disappeared. She lost six pounds. Her sedimentation rate went down from 33 to 15. Her blood pressure, although not too high previously, went down from 130 to 115.

Happy and healthy Mrs. Deiber returned to her home full of enthusiasm for the new, healthful way of life she had found at the Bjorkagarden Institute.

“Did you have any difficulties adapting yourself to the diet and the treatments at the clinic?” I asked her.

“No, actually it was not difficult at all. But the right attitude is important. You just can’t passively let them treat you with a doubtful wait-and-see-what-happens attitude. When I decided to try this method I also decided then and there to do it wholeheartedly and cooperate completely. I was fortunate to have enthusiastic support and encouragement from my husband Now, we both are sold on this new way of life. We will continue with lactovegetarian health foods at home. Actually, my husband always wanted to try health foods, but we didn’t know how to go about it.

“Now I have a new and clearer insight into the problems of health and disease. I know that most diseases are of our own making. I will continue with the new way of life. To go back to the old living habits would mean inviting disease back to my door,” concluded happy Mrs. Guldi Deiber, who not only recovered from a bad case of arthritis but has found a new, healthier, happier way of life!

This was in September of 1963. Three years later, in September of 1966,1 asked Mrs. Deiber if her cure was permanent. She replied that she felt fine and that her arthritis had not recurred since she left the clinic.

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Tags: Arthritis

During my visit to Bjorkagarden Institute I met several patients with arthritis and interviewed some of them. One story is etched into my memory more than any other because it is a dramatic and sad story of human suffering and despair. It is a circulus vitiosus of going from doctor to doctor in the hope of finding relief from agonizing pain; staying in hospital after hospital; consuming astronomical amounts of toxic drugs—and only getting worse and worse! But this sad story had a happy ending! Let’s hear it from Mrs. Greta Friberg in her own words as follows:

“About three years ago, at the age of 42,1 started to feel a certain stiffness in my joints, mostly in my hands and shoulders. I didn’t pay much attention to it, hoping that it would heal by itself. But the stiffness persisted, on and off, for over a year. Then, in January, 1965, my left hand swelled up and started to ache. I wrapped it in warm wool, which relieved the pain somewhat, but the swelling only continued to increase. Three weeks later my right hand started to swell.

“1 went to a doctor, a private practitioner in Boras. The examination showed low blood values (70 per cent) and a high sedimentation rate (50). The doctor sent me to the Boris Hospital. But the hospital was overfilled and I had to wait until April 9,1965 to enter it. Meantime, the pain in my hands was getting more and more agonizing.

“In the hospital they gave me two different drugs: the first week Bamul the second week Prednisolone, a hormone preparation. I also received shortwave treatments. After two weeks at the hospital my sedimentation rate improved, and swelling went down a little. I was sent home and asked to return after one week for a checkup. Upon returning I received a new medication, Tanderil, and instructions to take six tablets of it a day. I went back home and continued with Tanderil. It relieved the stiffness in my joints, but after about one week I started to feel sick all over and my face started to swell badly— I looked like a blown-up balloon. I lost my appetite, felt tired all the time, and could not sleep well. One morning I could not get out of bed. I had a fever of over 100° and noticed a rash over my breast. My husband telephoned for a physician, but he couldn’t come, so my husband took me to the doctor’s office in an automobile. The doctor thought that my condition was quite bad. He said that perhaps the Tanderil was too strong and he advised me to get back home, stay in bed, and not take this drug for a while. I was rather shocked and scared to discover that drugs could be that toxic and that they could make me so ill. I went home and decided to throw away all my drugs. I had a high fever and tried resting in bed, but the fever just continued to climb. I felt sick all over. And, after I discontinued with drugs, the pain in my arms was unbelievable. The slightest move caused the most excruciating pains.

“Now my husband telephoned the hospital in Boras and was advised to take me there immediately. At the hospital I received medication which caused irregular heartbeats and a bad cough. Next day I lost consciousness and remained unconscious for 36 hours. When I woke up, I had a bad nosebleed and my eyes were inflamed. Also my hearing was affected. It was as if I had a very severe cold. My nose and throat were all congested and inflamed, and I could not take in any solid foods. This continued for a whole week. During all this time my fever remained high. Nosebleeding became very bad and they had to burn the inside of my nose to stop the profuse bleeding. After three weeks they put me back on Bamul again. This time I stayed at the hospital a total of seven weeks.

“When I got back home and started using several new prescribed drugs my temperature never did go down. I felt very tired and had to stay in bed most of the time. After four days at home and heavy medication a rash broke out all over my body. I went back to the hospital

“Now I stayed there for two and a half months. All that time my condition was progressively getting worse. My blood hemoglobin count was now 40. Doctors said that my kidneys were weak and my liver was inflamed. They gave me new drugs, six tablets a day, and sent me home. The hospital doctor sent me to a convalescent home in Hultafors.

“Five weeks at the convalescent home put me on my feet again. I regained some strength and added some weight. Not only did I receive various drugs there, but also shortwave treatments, massage, hot baths, etc. My blood value improved (80 per cent) and stiffness and swelling were relieved somewhat. I returned home able to walk, even though my arms and shoulders were still painful and stiff.

“In January, 1966 my condition took a turn for the worse again. My whole body was swollen. A doctor at the Boras

Hospital said that the swelling was caused by the drugs I was taking. When I stopped taking the drugs the pain in my joints was so unbearable that I could not tolerate it. And now stiffness was spreading all around my body; All the joints were swollen: knees, feet, hips.

“I felt very discouraged and hopeless. They had tried everything and yet I was getting worse. The drugs only made me worse, yet without them my pains were intolerable. I was a nervous wreck and felt very depressed. I wanted to die. There was no way out of the inferno of my agonizing suffering and pain.

“At this point some friends told me of the Bjorkagarden Institute. My husband felt that perhaps it was worth trying. I did not reflect one way or another—I could hardly get worse, so I had nothing to lose.

“I came here on March 18,1966. Immediately I was put on a 17 day fast. It wasn’t easy, I must admit. My nerves were bad, I was worried and irritable. But after 17 days of fasting, to my surprise, I felt a fantastic improvement! The pain was all but gone (and without drugs, because all my drugs were taken away from me the day I arrived) and my joints regained some mobility. Of course, during the fast, which consisted of fresh juices and vegetable broths, I received all the usual treatments here: baths, vacuum massage, cupping, etc. I returned home in better condition than I had experienced in many years.

“After one week home I returned here to continue my treatments. I fasted one week on water; then I went on a special diet for four weeks. After that I fasted one more week on juices. I went home for a week, much improved, but still felt some stiffness in the joints, especially my knees and hips. Later, I returned here on June 5 to complete my treatments, and have been here now for six weeks. I fasted on juices for 21 days. Now I am on my special diet again.

“The last long fast did wonders for me! Now I am completely free from pain. The joints are almost normal; no swelling, just a slight stiffness occasionally. But I know that a couple weeks more and I will he completely cured. I feel like a new person. I swim in the river every day and take long walks. I am so grateful! I plan to stay here until the 15th of August, but I feel so great already that I could go home today!”

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Tags: Arthritis

Dr. Essen makes some important exceptions to some of the fundamental principles adopted by other major clinics in Sweden, as follows:

1. Dr. Essen has a general impression, based on practical experience and existing case histories, that prolonged fasting is undesirable in the case of rheumatoid arthritis. The same is true concerning the raw, uncooked diet Although it is general observation, including his own personal experience, that fasting and raw food diets result in an immediate and striking improvement in the condition of the patient, it is all too common that prolonged, continuous treatment of this kind will very often result in a change for the worse. The reason for this is that raw vegetable juices and raw vegetables, as well as fasting, dissolve the accumulated toxins too fast and thus activate biochemical changes in the joints to such an extent that the pathologically affected joints cannot tolerate it nor can eliminative organs handle the heavy load of wastes thus thrown into the bloodstream. This invariably leads to deterioration and worsening of the condition. Raw food therapy and fast therapy, as healing measures, are very powerful curative therapies and should be employed with great caution.

Consequently, Dr. Essen recommends repeated short fasts from three to five days followed by the cleansing diet for the same length of time. The intermediate diet should consist of a mixed raw and cooked vegetable diet, well balanced and individually planned in every case to prevent detoxification from occurring too rapidly.

2. The administration of certain biological preparations (organic medicines) is of very great importance in Dr. Essen’s treatments. The biologically oriented physician in Europe has access to a growing line of new biological medicines made from organic and inorganic substances found in nature and prepared in accordance with biological principles. They are never synthetic and never toxic. Several companies in Europe specialize in the production of such remedies. The preparations most used by Dr. Essen are the well-known remedies from Weleda and Wala in Switzerland. These preparations are administered both orally and as subcutaneous injections.

Dr. Essen says, “The therapeutic effect of these kinds of medications lies in the fact that they direct the life-force in the desired direction, stimulate the glands and other vital organs of the body, and accelerate the healing process. They do not alter nor interfere with normal metabolic processes, only support and activate them.”

Aside from these two exceptions, Dr. Essen’s program is in general similar to what we have described in the previous chapter: lactovegetarian diet, preferably of organically (without sprays and chemical fertilizers) grown products, fasting, enemas, therapeutic baths, physiotherapy, relaxation massage, etc.

In his practice all synthetic and chemical drugs are taboo. He warns, however, that cortisone should not be cut off abruptly. The doses should be reduced gradually until the body has time to adjust to the new situation. He replaces cortisone with biological medicines that stimulate the adrenals, hypophysis, and other endocrine glands.

In addition, he uses large doses of vitamins, particularly vitamin B-121 and large doses of vitamin E (300 milligrams a day), because of its anticollagenotic effect.2 Furthermore, he uses vitamin C (up to 1,000 milligrams orally or intravenously), also B-complex and C combination. The other remedies to note are pollen preparations, organic mineral supplements, medicinal herbs, biologically prepared elixirs, and Luvos Heilerde, a clay preparation which is very effective in absorption and elimination of toxins from the intestinal tract. To the same end he uses various preparations of lactoacid bacteria: L. acidophilus, L. thermophilus, L. bulgaris.

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Tags: Arthritis

My first question to Dr. Essen concerned the meaning of the term biological medicine. The concept of biological medicine is very exactly defined by Dr. Essen in Vidi Nova, a special publication for biological medicine issued by him, which deals with the practical results of applied biological methods. As the foremost representative of biological medicine in Sweden and the leading spirit behind the new and growing movement of progressive doctors following the principles of biological medicine in their practice, Dr. Essen was indeed a man well qualified to answer my question: “What is biological medicine?”

“May I, instead of using dry, scientific definitions, illuminate this with a concrete example,” said Dr. Essen. “A doctor is treating a case of infectious disease by the conventional methods. The determining factor for a successful result of this kind of treatment is to identify the kind of bacteria considered responsible for the infection in question. When the intruder is identified, the patient is given a specific chemical or antibiotic drug, which, as a rule, accomplishes the immediate results: the bacteria are destroyed and the patient is free from symptoms.

“After a while, it may happen that the same patient will turn up with a new infection. The diagnosis shows that either it is a question of the same kind of bacteria, which this time, however, is already immune to the specific drug, or there are new bacteria involved. Accordingly, new and more potent drugs are prescribed, which bring about immediate results, as far as the fighting bacteria is concerned. But in spite of the “success” of the treatment, the patient’s resistance to infection seems to progressively weaken and various complications set in. Now, perhaps, such potent drugs as cortisone—pain-killer and symptom-remover—and other highly toxic synthetic drugs enter the picture. The body, already weakened by the disease, must now, in addition, cope with the toxic and damaging side effects of the poisonous drugs.

Then, one day, we stand by the deathbed surprised and shocked. The patient had received all the correct treatments in accordance with medical science’s conventional practices and regulations. The laboratory tests proved that we made no errors! Bacteria samples showed that the bacteria, which our treatment was aimed at, were ‘successfully’ eradicated. As far as the direct cause of the symptoms was concerned (the bacteria) our treatment was a complete success. The only problem was the patient died! We succeeded in killing the bacteria, but we failed to save the host organism, where our war on bacteria was so successful It also could be said that the treatment was successful, but unfortunately, as a result of the treatment and resultant complications, the patient died. Or, The operation was successful but the patient didn’t survive.’

“Now, actually, this kind of a result is not so surprising, is it?” continued Dr. Essen. “After all, what did we treat? Our treatment was directed at micro-organisms which we considered pathogenic or disease-causing. In the meantime, the biological environment for this micro-organism, the host organism, the living, delicate, sensitive, and easily damaged human body, has actually been completely neglected. The man hardly comes into the picture at all. What we actually treat today are diseases, not the diseased people. The sick body, however, is subject to very different biological laws than those which could be applied in primitive germ war with chemical and antibiotic germ-killers.

“A parallel to this can be seen in today’s damage and destruction of life and natural environments as a result of man’s indiscriminate use of insecticides and other poisonous chemicals. Is there any intelligent human being who is so naive as to assume that these poisons will be less devastating to the human body, with its endlessly more intricate and delicate living mechanism? The biological laws of life are quite different from the laws which regulate chemical reactions observed in laboratory tubes. When we fail to see the difference between the two, catastrophic conditions will be the result, and we have to accept the consequences of our unwise actions.”

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Tags: Arthritis

The first and most important principle of optimum nutrition is that you should eat natural foods.

Natural foods are foods grown under natural conditions in man’s natural environment, consumed in their natural state. It would be unnatural for an Eskimo to live on a raw vegetarian diet, just as it is unnatural for inhabitants of tropical or subtropical regions to eat meat.

Dr. Weston A. Price made an extensive study of health and diet habits of practically every race of people in the world and came to the conclusion that the condition of their health is in direct relation to the “naturalness” of the foods they eat.1 Wherever he found strong, healthy people without diseases and without tooth decay, he learned that their diets were made up of natural, fresh, pure, and unprocessed foods, available in their immediate environment. Conversely, where he found people subject to dental decay and various diseases common to civilized man, he invariably discovered that they ate denatured, cooked, processed foods and that white sugar, white bread, canned foods, etc. had found their way to them from more “civilized” countries.

In the United States, we have departed so far from the natural way of life that for many it is difficult to comprehend what is meant by natural foods.

Let’s clarify this with an example. Eggs laid by hens which have access to the outdoors, green grass, seeds, insects, and worms are natural, fertile eggs full of nutritive value. But eggs produced in an egg factory, by hens who never see a rooster, nor sunlight, and eat only synthetic mash, are not natural. Not only is the chemical composition of such an egg altered and unbalanced, but also its nutritional value is far below that of a natural egg.

Natural fruits and vegetables should grow in healthy, fertile soils, without chemical fertilizers or sprays. Equally, animal food

—milk, cheese, or meat-should come from healthy animals which are fed organically grown fodder and are not artificially raised with the help of hormones, antibiotics, and poisonous chemicals.

Natural foods contain more vitamins, more proteins, more minerals and other nutrients, particularly the vital enzymes, than denatured foods.

The human body is a living organism, a part of the complex organic universe subject to the unchangeable laws of nature. The human body must have living, organic food elements in their unaltered natural state in order to survive and five in good health. Synthetic, altered, poisoned, processed, and devitalized foods will not sustain health, but will bring about a degeneration of normal bodily functions and disease.

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Tags: Arthritis