MEDICINE OR FOOD

Radio Record, 17 June 1938, Page 35

MEDICINE

OR FOOD

By

AMY

GRIFFIN

OTH laboratory experiment and practical experience have amply demonstrated that human health to a large degree depends upon the acidalkaline equilibrium of the blood. Any form of illness indicates a disturbed state of blood chemistry-generally an acid state. It follows that the first step in curative measures is to correct the acid condition as quickly as possible, and place the tissues in a position tu restore themselves through proper alkalinity. This, naturopath opinion holds, should he done with foods, and not drugs. Disease does not develop in normal healthy tissues, those

nourished with a proper blood supply. Experiments by Dr. Alexis Carroll, at the Rockefeller Institute, demonstrated that growths can he accelerated or inhibited by varying the degree of alkalinity of the blood through diet. In the treatment of disease, steps should be taken to correct the aeid stute of the blood and tissues. nnd to promote high alkalinity. Vegetable juices are highly effective agents for this purpose and produce a diseaseresisting bloodstream. Most outstanding in the modern scienee of nutrition

and dietetics is the discovery of the important part played by the various vegetables in supplying food elements which act as governors of the entire digestive and assimilative system. In the uverage diet vegetables are usually eaten in too small 2a

quantity, for they contain the greater part of the organic minerals and vitamins which enable the entire assimilative system to function properly. CERTAIN of these vegetables appear to be exceptionally useful in ridding the body of accumulations of toxi¢ wastes which haye not been eliminated in the ordinary course of events. In many instances the elimination of these toxins and the supply of larger quantities of needed vegetable elements in the ordinary. diet have cleared up conditions due to food abuses with surprising rapidity. An increasing number of medical authorities agree that the best preventive of illness is proper diet. ‘To-day, far more illness is cured by normalisation of the eating habits of the patient than by medicine. Hveryone knows that foods may be divided into three main classes-the starches, the proteins, and the fats. Almost everyone knows that an excess of one class of food

leads to a change in the acid-alkaline balance of the body, and opens the door to disease. But people are just beginning to learn that the balancers of these inuscle and energy-producing foods are the vegetables and fruits, which, though they do not add fat and muscle to the hody, nevertheless, contain important organic mineral and vitamin compounds which harmonise’

and normalise the assimilation of body-building foods. HIS knowledge is the real reason behind the tremendous popularity of vegetable and fruit juices, and the rapidly-

increasing use or the juices extracted from fresh vegetables, grown under proper conditions of soil and climate. If everyone would eat plenty of vegetables, either cooked or raw, there might be no need for vegetable juices. The average person needs a head of lettuce instead of a dainty salad,.a bunch of celery instead of a stalk or so, a handful of parsley instead of a sprig for garnish-but who can or will eat such amounts? Many people, however, urge that in spite of eating raw salads and green vegetables in abundance, they still do not possess health. This may be due to their inability to masticate thoroughly. Owing to faulty nutrition and wrong habits of living, the average person loses his teeth very early in‘life. it is impossible to chew raw food properly if even one tooth is missing. For those particularly who have lost their teeth or those with defective teeth, raw vegetable juices should form an essential part of the daily food. (Continued on page 49).

Preserving Balance

Choice Of Medicine Or Food

‘(Continued from page 35.)

The first thing you will notice after & day or so of their use is that your elimination is greatly improved. These juices are not laxatives in the ordinary sense, for they go through the entire blood stream and clean out many odd corners where toxic wastes have lodged. You will too, notice a gradual buoyancy of body and spirits, a longer endurance at work and play, the disappearance of dullness and fatigue. I many cases vegetable juices have acted wonderfully in overcoming excess acid conditions, in aiding the digestion by increasing the discharge of bile and pancreatic fluid and in other ways. Complexions clear, breath he: comes sweet, the eye sparkles... . Many vegetables ... in particular celery, spinach, silver beet, carrot and parsley are astounding in their ability io rid the body of fatigue poisons, T9 restore the alkaline balance, to normalise blood pressure, to improve neryous conditions, and to restore tone and vitality to every part of the system. Silver beet supplies iron, celery is 2 detoxifier and alkaliniser, parsley is a diuretic and eliminator of kidney wastes second to none. Carrot has long been known as a blood purifier

and for its effect on the hair, nails and complexion; it is. now recognised as a most important source of carotene, _ from which vitamin A is organised, The valuable properties of the garlic: have been known and. used for centuries by people of many lands. VOR all general purposes the juice extracted from dark green leaves is good, but it should be remembered that such juices~contain other substances that, unless taken with extreme caution, will cause nausea. Spinach, . for example, has been lauded .as. THE green vegetable, but raw spinach juice should be taken in small quantities. We should utilise the tops of carrots, turnips, and beets to obtain iron and other mineral elements, as well as the popular celery and lettuce, Lawrenee Armstrong. says, "To reeducate our bodies, to give new life and energy to our many organs, there: is nothing to compare with a week spent on the juices of raw vegetables and fruits alone. For imparting vitality and building up. resistance to disease, raw juices have no equal, and should form part of the daily diet of young and old." --- oe