Stress

Stress is Just a Word

M.C. Orman, MD, FLP.


Pick up any book on the subject of stress and you will usually find a brief, authoritative-sounding definition within the first several pages. Each author begins as if:

stress is something that actually exists;

some degree of stress is "good" or "healthy" for you;

the best way to deal with stress is to manage or avoid it.


These assumptions are part of the "stress management mentality" of our times.

While they are generally accepted by most educated people, they are not really true.

You must know that:

a) stress is not a "thing" that exists;

b) there is no such thing as "good" or "healthy" stress; and

c) there is a much better way to deal with stress than learning how to manage or avoid it.

In order to become a winner against stress, you must start by understanding these three points.


What Is Stress--Really?

Many experts endorse the original definition proposed by Hans Selye in 1926: STRESS IS THE NON-SPECIFIC RESPONSE OF THE BODY TO ANY DEMAND PLACED UPON IT.

Selye was an Austrian-born, Canadian physician who conducted hundreds of laboratory studies on animals and humans during the 1920's and 1930's. He was the first person to document the chemical and hormonal changes that occur with stress. He was also the first to introduce the term to the scientific community.

Selye believed that stress results whenever we are faced with external changes or demands. Such demands include variations in environmental temperature, overcrowding, painful stimuli, and loud noises. In fact, Selye believed most of life was "stressful."

In the preface to his 1956 book The Stress Of Life he commented:

No one can live without experiencing some degree of stress all the time.

You may think that only serious disease or intensive physical or mental injury can cause stress.

This is false.

Crossing a busy intersection, exposure to a draft, or even sheer joy are enough to activate the body's stress-mechanism to some extent.

Stress is not even necessarily bad for you; it is also the spice of life, for any emotion, any activity causes stress.

Selye conceived of external demands as stressors and the internal body changes they produced as the stress response.

He also reasoned that the stress response occurs whether the demands we experience are positive or negative.

In other words, if you inherit a large sum of money or lose a large sum of money, your body would respond in exactly the same way.

According to Selye, what matters most is how well you adapt to each new demand.

He coined the term "eustress" (pronounced u-stress) to stand for good or healthy stress--i.e., to times when the adaptation process resolved itself quickly--and he chose the term "distress" to stand for bad or unhealthy stress--i.e., to times when the adaptation response was excessive or prolonged.

Thus, Selye not only gave us the "external demand model" of human stress, but he also gave us the idea that two types of stress occur for human beings--1) a "good" or "healthy" type, and 2) a "bad" or "unhealthy" type.


Although Selye's ideas were widely accepted, subsequent researchers proposed other definitions.

Some theorists noted similarities between the body's stress response and the "fight or flight" response, a well- known survival mechanism present in most animal species.

These researchers viewed stress as AN EXCESSIVE OR INAPPROPRIATE ACTIVATION OF THE BODY'S "FIGHT OR FLIGHT" RESPONSE, which is induced by threats of danger in our environment.


In the 1960's and 1970's, other researchers began to focus upon cognitive and behavioral causes.

Mental processes, such as our interpretations of events (e.g. good/bad; positive/ negative), our appraisals of situations (e.g. threat/no threat; danger/no danger) and our judgements about our ability to cope with our problems successfully, were believed to activate the body's stress response.

Memories of past experiences and habitual behavior patterns were also found to be important.

Thus, stress became viewed as a mind- body, "psychosomatic," or psycho-physiologic phenomenon.



This mind-body viewpoint is clearly expressed in the following definition, which is endorsed by many experts today:

STRESS IS A PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGIC AROUSAL RESPONSE OCCURRING IN THE BODY AS A RESULT OF A STIMULUS WHICH BECOMES A "STRESSOR" BY VIRTUE OF THE COGNITIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL.

Meanwhile, while scientists argued about what stress really was, members of the general public began to use the term in a variety of ways.

Some people defined stress as having too many pressures, responsibilities, or demands in their lives.

Some used the term to refer to internal states, such as feeling tense, nervous, tired, or exhausted. Others considered stress to be the inability to concentrate or focus mentally.

Still others used the term to refer to any negative mood or emotion, such as anger, frustration, guilt, or anxiety, or to a host of stress-related physical problems, such as headaches, muscle tension, sleep disturbances, and high blood pressure.


(There are actually no "negative emotions," only emotions people consider to be negative. All emotions can have both positive and negative consequences. Fear, for example, can be devastating, while at other times it can save your life. Anger can be destructive, both individually and socially, while at other times it can be constructive for ourselves and for others.)


Humorous definitions also emerged.

One of these--STRESS IS CREATED WHEN ONE'S MIND OVERRIDES THE BODY'S BASIC DESIRE TO CHOKE THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF SOME JERK WHO DESPERATELY DESERVES IT!--frequently appears on posters, T-shirts, coffee mugs, and other novelty items.

Thus, as we enter the 1990's, we are faced with a multitude of definitions of stress, both popular and scientific. Unfortunately, all of these definitions ignore one major fact. This fact is emphasized in the definition I use and also encourage my patients to adopt:

Dr. Orman's Definition
______________________________________________________

STRESS IS JUST A WORD!
______________________________________________________

Allergic Bronchitis (Asthma)

Allergic Bronchitis (Asthma)


[ My wife was suffering from this from the childhood. Every month she used to take antibiotic course first then steroid tablets in tapering fashion as given by regular physician. At the age of 33 yrs in 1997 when I met the spiritual healer he gave a list of things and said the way of preparing the powder and to take that. after the medicine was over till date she has visited the doctor perhaps maximum 5-6 times in last 14 years, but not in situation as severe as that used to be. In 2002 the same formula I gave to one person (Mr. Bhatia) aged 55 yrs who was suffering for last 25 years. He used to take the steroid puff 4 times a day. He got relieved and is very much healthy living in Pune. I recommended other people also and they got benefitted]

The list of items are:

1. Green Moong (mung)-200 gms.
2. Kali Mirch(Black Pepper)---100 pc.
3. Ilaichi(Cardamom) green-50 pc.
4. Lavang(Clove)- 100 pc.
5. Methi(Fenugreek) grains-200 gms.
6. Dalchini(Cinnamon)-100gms
7. Bel(Stone Apple) Leaves-500 pc.
8. Tulsi(Holy basil) Leaves-1000 pc.
9. Sooth(Dry Ginger) Powder-150 gms
10. Amla(Gooseberry) poweder-200 gms
11. Triphala Powder- 100 gms.
12. Bay Leaves----200 pc.
13. Haldi(turmeric) powder-100gm

A. Dry all the items except 9,10 and 11 in the clear sun for 5 days.

B. Mix all the items in a grinder and keep the powder in an air tight jar.

C. At the time of going to bed in the night take one spoon of this powder with water as long as it gets finished. And see the miraculous recovery.

Effects of Food

Nisarga Raman

Effects of Food


How does the food affect the body cannot be concluded immediately like putting the light after the switching the button on.

Normally the effects to be seen takes a long time and may be very difficult yo correlate with the food taken a long time back too.

We should not forget the fact that in every 7 yrs or so we have a new body altogether. None of the cells of our body is more than 7 yrs old.

Many people get sick with some particular disease (which is supposed to happen due to some specific reasons) , but they find themselves puzzled why they got this as there was no reason for that.

I am not saying about the genetic diseases.

Many a times we don't know why people start behaving in some particular way.

Again I am not saying that for all these happenings only food is responsible.

But we cannot brush aside the fact that the food does play a major role.

The food and water are the only things over which perhaps we have full control while putting in our mouth, but we don't have any control over other factors contributing to giving rise to various diseases.

Hence, why should we not exercise our intelligence, if we have, in choosing the quality of food ?

For that we have to behave like scientists who are always open to all sorts of ideas.

Why should we not look into all aspects of food, because we are nothing but food only and we are recognised by this food body only?

Who will look into all these things if we the so called educated cannot do?

Why should we not experiment with the different ideas if they seem quite logical ?

DIABETIC NEWS

Nisarga Raman

DIABETIC NEWS



Artificial Pancreas Research Takes Huge Step Forward

By Gary Gilles, About.com Guide January 24, 2010

My BioHeadlinesForumRSS

It was just announced that the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is partnering with Animas Corporation to develop the first-generation artificial pancreas over the next four years. This is exciting news because it could become the prototype of a fully automated diabetes management system that completely self-regulates the flow of insulin, much like a healthy pancreas.

The goal is to combine the latest technology of the insulin pump with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that continuously reads glucose levels in the blood. The CGM would communicate the blood glucose reading to the pump with wireless technology, prompting the pump to release the necessary amount of insulin to keep blood glucose within a target range. A sophisticated computer housed within the pump would slow or stop insulin delivery if blood sugar was going low and increase insulin delivery if blood sugar was going high.

The early system would still require users to manually deliver an extra dose of insulin at mealtimes. But a later model would eliminate this need and be fully self-regulating. We're not there yet, but we're getting closer.

More information is available about the JDRF Artificial Pancreas Project.

Healing Quotes

QUOTE:

"The cure of the part should not be attempted without treatment of the whole. No attempt should be made to cure the body without the soul. Let no one persuade you to cure the head until he has first given you his soul to be cured, for this is the great error of our day, that physicians first separate the soul from the body." -------------PLATO

"Complementary" means to "complete". Patients are helped back to "wholeness" using physical, mental, emotional, vital force and spiritual dimensions of treatment. This approach remains generally in line with the thinking of Plato.

"Wholeness" means that the physical, mental, emotional and vital force are all in balance between themselves and with the spiritual consciousness known as the Soul.. The body is, or should be, an expression of the Soul. Healing is the natural way in which all imbalances are rectified so that the symptoms of the stress or illness can be controlled. Sometimes our own natural ability to heal ourselves cannot cope so we need the help of others. Drugs may help in the short term but healing happens separately and this is why it is important to understand the process so that patients can help themselves back to health.

Healing is the act of getting rid of all the imbalances and creating harmony with the Soul. Consequently, Complementary Medicine is patient centred.

"I AM NOT MY BODY - I LIVE IN MY BODY."

Plato's quote (above) still embodies the best explanation of why the split has occurred between current orthodox medicine and the traditional or complementary approaches. But this does not explain the reality and, if you would like to reason out the problem, the following examples may help.

This is another way of expressing Plato's vision. The physical body is ultimately controlled by the mind and Soul consciousness. During our lifetime on Earth, our computer like brain is programmed by every experience we have so that we react to external forces like threats, anger, danger or beauty, compassion and love. Each reaction of the mind has a direct influence on the physical body which responds in the way it has been programmed. Sometimes that programming is wrong which prevents the body's defence mechanism from functioning correctly This allows illness and disease to get a foothold.

Perhaps the best example to explain this is to compare the motor car and driver with the human body.

A car has a framework which includes all the working parts plus seats for the passenger and a place for baggage. The driver decides what route, speed and direction is going to be taken. A car needs petrol for the engine, sparking plugs to ignite the fuel and a battery to spark the plugs. It is the driver who acts to avoid accidents and decides when the car needs servicing. It is the driver who must decide what fuel to use since putting ordinary fuel in a car which is programmed for unleaded will cause breakdown. Without any or all of these working parts the car will not go. Thus the driver has the overall responsibility of seeing the car is maintained and driven both safely and correctly

The ancients viewed humans as being constructed in much the same way. The physical part of us is represented by the car while the driver is considered as the vital force (car battery) and the spirit (Soul consciousness which decides motivation, direction and ethics). The old traditional systems of medicine accepted the vital force and spirit and treatments were for the healing energies which touched both the vitality and Soul to bring them back into harmony with the physical body.

Again, using the example of the car, we can begin to see the importance of correct thinking, motivation and nourishment as being means to maintaining health in the fullest sense. Healing is the equivalent of "jump starting" the vital force similar to coping with a flat battery. But healing also helps the patient to recognise past problems and re-programme themselves towards health and well-being.

The Healing Process

Complementary Medicine is a system of medicine which treats the physical, mental, emotional and vitality of the patient together with the spirit. This central view runs through a variety of disciplines which traditionally work towards the same goal where harmony between all levels of consciousness including the vital force and spirit must be achieved if true healing is to happen..

Healing the whole person has traditionally been seen as part of a co-ordinated programme of treatment. However, the scientific approach has tended to separate the treatment of the symptoms from treatment of the cause. Science does not recognise the common factor which unites all traditional medical approaches i.e. the vitality or spirit of the patient. Vital force and spirit can be equated with Chi in Chinese Medicine, Shakti in Indian Medicine, Vital Force in Homoeopathy, etc.

The Healing Mechanism

This is difficult to evaluate. Healers channel this energy to the patient. The process begins with a sense of compassion felt by the healer for the one in distress. Mothers feel this sense for their children and "kiss the hurt better" or gently "stroke" the pain away. Every aspects of the mother's thought, physical. mental, emotional and spiritual energy is concentrated on helping her child to over come the pain. In terms of healing energy, the mother's vital force and spiritual senses are focused on helping the child to regain its balance and overcome distress.

Does the healer try to heal the symptom or seek to help the patient come to terms with the cause of the problem ? It is not always easy to establish the primary need. In an ideal world both conditions need help and this is why the healers prayer is usually on the following lines - "May this patient receive the healing that they need." In this way, the appropriate energies are drawn from the healer in such a way as to begin the process of regaining the overall balance between all levels of consciousness. The process is not usually very fast and the healer will need to help the patient to realise that as it probably took a considerable time for the illness to develop so it will take time for the body to remove it.

The Attitude of the Patient

The way the patient views their problem is crucial and every attempt must be made to ensure that a balance between accepting the nature of the problem is balanced with expecting healing to occur.

This is especially important if the condition is life threatening. There is a need to remain quietly confident that the healing processes will stimulate both the body's immune response and the determination to change, remain uppermost in the patient's mind. Recognising the possible cause of the illness is useful where it is possible to change but it must be recognised that dwelling on past mistakes can inhibit the healing. It is better to look at today as the first one of the rest of your life. By living in the present, it is possible to focus on a programme of healing which will build for the future and automatically remove problems from the past at a pace which the patient can manage without adding additional trauma.

Working with Healers

There is a tendency for the public to think of healers as ordinary folk who have a natural gift. This gift can be from God, Nature or the Universe according to the individual belief and they give their services by the laying on of hands or prayer. Healing is certainly a gift which can be used by everyone but it is also a central part of all the ancient traditional medical treatments.

Healing energy is central to all those practitioners in Complementary Medicine. Homoeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, acupuncture and the other systems listed by the Institute for Complementary Medicine, the practitioner to diagnoses and heals at all levels of consciousness. However, it is a fact that many have tried to remove the concept of healing energy from the training and focus on a more simple and symptomatic approach. Osteopathy is an example where a partially qualified practitioner may only be concerned with the structure of the body and pay little attention to the mental, emotional and spiritual health of the person. In these cases, a complete removal of the symptoms may not be easy to achieve. Joints may be realigned but the change is often not permanent because the cause has not been treated. The patient is always required to play a crucial part in their treatment but some cannot find the strength of purpose to make necessary changes in their life style and belief systems to allow healing to reach its full potential.

What Is Healing?

Nisarga Raman

What Is Healing?

“Healing is a spontaneous event that comes about through a kind of grace. It can happen anytime, and in any place. It may or may not happen in the context of a healing session. It may come about simply with a smile from a stranger, the breeze blowing through the trees, the song of a bird — some reminder of our connectedness and wholeness — the beauty of Life just as it is at this moment for us.

“Healing can happen on many different levels. Sometimes our healing is not what we expect. We need to be open to the gifts which life is always ready to give us. It may be that a physical problem heals, but it may also stay awhile to teach us something. Sometimes a health challenge is a doorway to a deeper healing, a cry from deep within for attention to some part of us that has been unloved and feels separated from the Whole.

“Regardless of whether our focus in healing is on the physical, mental, emotional or spiritual level, all levels are invariably touched by the process, and none can be separated out from the rest.” — Mary Maddux


The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the following definitions of healing:

1. to make sound or whole
2. to restore to health
3. to cause (an undesirable condition) to be overcome
4. to restore to original purity or integrity
5. to return to a sound state

“to make sound or whole”…

Although it is clear from these definitions that the word “healing” can be used in very broad ways, it most often refers to healing of the physical body, as in the healing of a disease of injury. It is also frequently used to indicate healing of mental, psychological, and emotional conditions. For those who are spiritually inclined, “to make sound or whole” would have to include the spiritual dimension of life, as well.

medicine broadening its scope…

Our medical institutions and training, which once were more narrowly focused on the physical aspects of healing, are gradually broadening their scope. First, the emotional and psychological factors which contribute to physical illness started to be more recognized. More recently, consideration is being given to the impact of spirituality on healing as well.

other traditions of medicine…

Other traditions of medicine, such as Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, are inclusive of every level of human life, and are in fact based on world views which recognize individual life as a part of a larger whole. They are based on philosophies which are essentially spiritually-based, whereas allopathic medicine is based on the scientific model which, until recently, has been quite materially-based. As the understanding of the abstract basis of our seemingly concrete, material existence becomes apparent in the cutting edge of physics, the world view upon which our medical system is based must necessarily shift.

spiritual healers in operating rooms…

The appearance of spiritual healers in operating rooms and research on such phenomena as “remote” or “distance healing” are an indication that the seemingly separate worlds of science and spirituality are beginning to shake hands. And this trend, after all, is a sign of “healing” as our medical system is made “sound and whole”!

Cinnamon research article..

Cheryl Townsend

Cinnamon research article..

The Cinnamon-Derived Dietary Factor Cinnamic Aldehyde Activates the Nrf2-Dependent Antioxidant Respo

www.mdpi.com

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of tumor-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recent research suggests that pharmacological intervention using dietary factors that activate the redox sensitive Nrf2/Keap1-ARE signaling pathway may represent a promising strategy for chemoprevention of h...

‎"You're not sick; you're thirsty. Don't treat thirst with medication." Dr. F. Batmanghelidj

Nisarga Raman

‎"You're not sick; you're thirsty. Don't treat thirst with medication."

Dr. F. Batmanghelidj


Our life, our planet. Over 70% of the earth's surface is water. However, most of it—98%--is salt water. Only 2% of the earth's H20 is fresh water that we can drink, and of this, almost all is trapped in frozen glaciers.

You are not just what you eat; you are what you drink.

This is why water is so important to your health.

The Water Cure (TWC) does not sell water or purification systems or any related products. We offer insights and information; both free and in books that give you easy-to-understand scientific explanations on why water is vital to your well-being.

TWC believes promoting "water for health, for healing, for life" is an invaluable public health message.

We can all change the way we drink – by drinking pure, natural water that is good for our health, our pocket book, and our environment.

No miracles.

Just common sense backed by Dr. F. Batmaghelidj’s years of research and investigation into why water works so well in keeping us healthy and pain free.

It can even cure illness in some people who get sick.

Water is the basis of all life and that includes your body.

Your muscles that move your body are 75% water; your blood that transport nutrients is 82% water; your lungs that provide your oxygen are 90% water; your brain that is the control center of your body is 76% water; even your bones are 25% water.

Our health is truly dependent on the quality and quantity of the water we drink.

Dr. B's pioneering work shows that Unintentional Chronic Dehydration (UCD) contributes to and even produces pain and many degenerative diseases that can be prevented and treated by increasing water intake on a regular basis.

If you are committed to a healthy lifestyle, make drinking enough natural water a habit in your life. It won't take long for you to feel the benefit.

It is a free investment for your long-term health.

Batmanghelidj, M.D

Nisarga Raman

Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D., an internationally renowned researcher, author and advocate of the natural healing power of water, was born in Iran in 1931.

He attended Fettes College in Scotland and was a graduate of St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School of London University, where he studied under Sir Alexander Fleming, who shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin.

Dr. Batmanghelidj practiced medicine in the United Kingdom before returning to Iran where he played a key role in the development of hospitals and medical centers. He also helped establish sport projects for youth in Iran, including The Ice Palace in Tehran, the first ice skating and sports complex in the Middle East.

When the Iranian Revolution broke out in 1979, Dr. Batmanghelidj was placed in the infamous Evin Prison as a political prisoner for two years and seven months.

It was there he discovered the healing powers of water.

One night, Dr. B. had to treat a fellow prisoner with crippling peptic ulcer pain. With no medications at his disposal, Dr. B. gave him two glasses of water.

Within eight minutes, his pain disappeared.

He was instructed to drink two glasses of water every three hours and became absolutely pain free for his four remaining months in the prison.

Dr. B. successfully treated 3,000 fellow prisoners suffering from stress-induced peptic ulcer disease with water alone.

While in prison he conducted extensive research into the medicinal effects of water in preventing and relieving many painful degenerative diseases.

Evin proved an ideal “stress laboratory,” and despite his being offered an earlier release, Dr. B. chose to stay an extra four months in prison to complete his research into the relationship of dehydration and bleeding peptic ulcer disease.

The report of his findings was published as the editorial of the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology in June 1983. The New York Times Science Watch reported this discovery on June 21, 1983.

On his release from prison in 1982, Dr. Batmanghelidj escaped from Iran and came to America.

At the Foundation for the Simple in Medicine he began to research the effect of chronic unintentional dehydration on the human body.

His findings were published in the Foundation’s “Journal of Science in Medicine Simplified” in 1991 and 1992.

They can be read on the web site www.watercure.com.

Dr. F. Batmaghelidj wrote his first self-help book “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” in 1992, in which he stated that a dry mouth is not a reliable indicator of dehydration.

The body signals its water shortage by producing pain.

Dehydration actually produces pain and many degenerative diseases, including asthma, arthritis, hypertension, angina, adult-onset diabetes, lupus and multiple sclerosis.

Dr. B’s message to the world is, “You are not sick, you are thirsty.

Don’t treat thirst with medication.”

Dr. F. Batmanghelidj devoted the last 20 years of his life promoting public awareness of the healing powers of water.

He appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs and lectured around the world.

He has left a body of valuable works of six books and more than a dozen educational audio and video seminars.

His work has created an international community that has embraced the natural healing of the water cure.

His ground-breaking book “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” has been translated into 15 languages and continues to inspire readers all over the world.

The Wonders of Water: Amazing Secrets for Health and Wellness

Nisarga Raman

The Wonders of Water: Amazing Secrets for Health and Wellness


1. Water prevents and helps to cure heartburn.

Heartburn is a signal of water shortage in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a major thirst signal of the human body. The use of antacids or tablet medications in the treatment of this pain does not correct dehydration, and the body continues to suffer as a result of its water shortage.

Not recognizing heartburn as a sign of dehydration and treating it with antacids and pill medications will, in time, produce inflammation of the stomach and duodenum, hiatal hernia, ulceration, and eventually cancers in the gastrointestinal tract, including the liver and pancreas.

2. Water prevents and helps to cure arthritis.

Rheumatoid joint pain - arthritis - is a signal of water shortage in the painful joint. It can affect the young as well as the old. The use of pain-killers does not cure the problem, but exposes the person to further damage from pain medications. Intake of water and small amounts of salt will cure this problem.
Water prevents and helps to cure back pain.

Low back pain and ankylosing arthritis of the spine are signs of water shortage in the spinal column and discs - the water cushions that support the weight of the body. These conditions should be treated with increased water intake - not a commercial treatment, but a very effective one.

Not recognizing arthritis and low back pain as signs of dehydration in the joint cavities and treating them with pain-killers, manipulation, acupuncture, and eventually surgery will, in time, produce osteoarthritis when the cartilage cells in the joints have eventually all died. It will produce deformity of the spine. It will produce crippling deformities of the limbs. Pain medications have their own life-threatening complications.

3. Water prevents and helps to cure angina.

Heart pain - angina - is a sign of water shortage in the heart/lung axis. It should be treated with increased water intake until the patient is free of pain and independent of medications. Medical supervision is prudent. However, increased water intake is angina's cure.

4. Water prevents and helps to cure migraines.

Migraine headache is a sign of water need by the brain and the eyes. It will totally clear up if dehydration is prevented from establishing in the body. The type of dehydration that causes migraine might eventually cause inflammation of the back of the eye and possibly loss of eye sight.

5. Water prevents and helps to cure colitis.

Colitis pain is a signal of water shortage in the large gut. It is associated with constipation because the large intestine constricts to squeeze the last drop of water from the excrements - thus the lack of water lubrication.

Not recognizing colitis pain as a sign of dehydration will cause persistent constipation. Later in life, it will cause fecal impacting: it can cause diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and polyps, and appreciably increases the possibility of developing cancer of the colon and rectum.

6. Water and salt prevent and helps to cure asthma.

Asthma, which also affects 14 million children and kills several thousand of them every year, is a complication of dehydration in the body. It is caused by the drought management programs of the body. In asthma free passage of air is obstructed so that water does not leave the body in the form of vapor - the winter steam. Increased water intake will prevent asthma attacks. Asthmatics need also to take more salt to break the mucus plugs in the lungs that obstruct the free flow of air in and out of the air sacs.

Not recognizing asthma as the indicator of dehydration in the body of a growing child not only will sentence many thousands of children to die every year, but will permit irreversible genetic damage to establish in the remaining 14 million asthmatic children.

7. Water prevents and helps to cure high blood pressure.

Hypertension is a state of adaptation of the body to a generalized drought, when there is not enough water to fill all the blood vessels that diffuse water into vital cells. As part of the mechanism of reverse osmosis, when water from the blood serum is filtered and injected into important cells through minute holes in their membranes, extra pressure is needed for the "injection process." Just as we inject I.V. "water" in hospitals, so the body injects water into tens of trillions of cells all at the same time. Water and some salt intake will bring blood pressure back to normal!

Not recognizing hypertension as one of the major indicators of dehydration in the human body, and treating it with diuretics that further dehydrate the body will, in time, cause blockage by cholesterol of the heart arteries and the arteries that go to the brain. It will cause heart attacks and small or massive strokes that paralyze. It will eventually cause kidney disease. It will cause brain damage and neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease.

8. Water prevents and helps to cure early adult-onset diabetes.

Adult-onset diabetes is another adaptive state to severe dehydration of the human body. To have adequate water in circulation and for the brain's priority water needs, the release of insulin is inhibited to prevent insulin from pushing water into all body cells. In diabetes, only some cells get survival rations of water. Water and some salt will reverse adult-onset diabetes in its early stages.

Not recognizing adult-onset diabetes as a complication of dehydration will, in time, cause massive damage to the blood vessels all over the body. It will cause eventual loss of the toes, feet and legs from gangrene. It will cause eye damage, even blindness.

9. Water lowers blood cholesterol.

High cholesterol levels are an indicator of early drought management by the body. Cholesterol is a clay-like material that is poured in the gaps of some cell membranes to safeguard them against losing their vital water content to the osmotically more powerful blood circulating in their vicinity. Cholesterol, apart from being used to manufacture nerve cell membranes and hormones, is also used as a "shield" against water taxation of other vital cells that would normally exchange water through their cell membranes.

MIRACLES OF WATER THERAPY

Nisarga Raman

FREE HEALTH FOR ALL

MIRACLES OF WATER THERAPY

(courtesy: DECCAN CHRONICLE, 29.09.91)



Several diseases can be cured by a simple method called WATER THERAPY. An article published by Japan's Sickness Association tells us how the system has to be followed for quick results. Before giving the details of this therapy, one might be interested to know some of the diseases which can be cured under this therapy. They are HEADACHE, HYPERTENSION, ANAEMIA, RHEUMATISM, GENERAL PARALYSIS, OBESITY, ARTHRITIS, SINUSITIS, TACHYCARDIA, ANESTHESIA, COUGH, ASTHAMA, BRONCHITIS, PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS, MENINGITIS, HEPATIC, UROGENITAL DISEASES, HYPERACIDITY, DYSENTRY, RECTAL PROLAPSE, CONSTIPATION, DIABETES, EYE TROUBLES, OPTHALMIC HEAMORIAGE, OPTHALMIA, IRREGULAR MENSTRUATION, LEUCORRHOEA, UTERINE CANCER, CANCER OF THE MAMMARY GLANDS, RHINITIS, PHARYNGITIS.

It might sound incredible, but facts cannot be denied. As said by CONFUCIUS early 2500 years back, the health of an organism is tempered wholly by the mechanics of the stomach. As a modern Saint, PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA analysed, that IT IS OVER EATING ON ALL THE 365 DAYS OF A YEAR that leads to and complicates diseases.

Consuming ordinary drinking water by the right method purifies the human body. It renders the colon more effective in forming new fresh blood, known in medical terms as 'haemotopaises'. That the mucousal folds of colon and intestines are activated by theis method, is an undisputed fact. Just as the theory that new fresh blood is producted by the absorption of the nutrients of the food by the function of the mucousal. If the colon is cleaned then the nutrients of the food taken serveral times in a day will be absorbed and by the action of the mucousal folds, they are turned into fresh blood. This blood is all important in curing ailments and restoring health, and for this, water should be consumed in a regular pattern.

METHOD TO PRACTICE 'WATER THERAPY'

Every morning, as soon as one gets up, he should drink 1.26kg (1260cc/ml) of water at a stretch, without washing teeth, mouth, face or even eyes (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT). For the next 45 minutes, one SHOULD NOT EAT OR TAKE ANY BEVERAGES. After the Night Dinner (before going to bed), one SHOULD NOT EAT OR DRINK STIMULATING BEVERAGES OR SOFT DRINKS, A youngster who followed this therapy sums up his experience this way ".....After taking water, I urinated three times in one hour and the breakfast later tasted wonderful, The next day too, I drank water and felt that my bowels became free. In three months time, I put on weight. Ever since I took to WATER THERAPY, I never felt sick nor was affected by the COLD or COUGH ......" Where water contains impurities, it should be boiled in the night to be used in the morning.

Now all this triggers the inevitable question: "Can sickly persons drink 1260cc (about 4 steel glasses of 320cc or 2 bottles of syrup) of water at a stretch?" Perhaps no. After drinking maximum quantity of water , one should do "SPOTWALKING", lie for one minute and then drink the remaining water. Those who are weak to walk should practise abdominal breathing in a sitting or a standing posture and drink the rest of the water. During the first one or two days, one may urinate three to four times within one hour of water intake. However everything will be normal within 3 or 4 days. Persons suffering from ARTHRITIS and RHEUMATISM should practice WATER THERAPY three times a day for one week and therafter once in a day. While following this therapy, one should drink water 2 hours after a meal. One should not consume soft drinks containing poison or snacks or fast food before going to bed. WATER THERAPY is very simple, in-expensive and miraculous in its effects. NO SIDE EFFECTS.

Experience has shown that following diseases were cured by water therapy within the time shown:
1. HYPERTENSION (1 month)
2. CONSTIPATION (1/2 days)
3. DIABETES (1/2 weeks)
4. CANCER (1 month)
5. PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS (3/4 months)

Printed courtesy Mr. R.G. Gangwani for the benefit of citizens.
3, White Rose, 4 Perry Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai, India.

PLACEBO EFFECT (UNSOLVED MYSTERY OF MEDICAL SCIENCE)

Nisarga Raman

PLACEBO EFFECT (UNSOLVED MYSTERY OF MEDICAL SCIENCE)


A placebo, as used in research, is an inactive substance or procedure used as a control in an experiment.

The placebo effect is the measurable, observable, or felt improvement in health not attributable to an actual treatment.

When a treatment is based on a known inactive substance like a sugar pill, distilled water, or saline solution rather than having real medical value, a patient may still improve merely because their expectation to do so is so strong.

To eliminate the effect of positive thinking on clinical trials, researchers often run double-blind, placebo-controlled studies.

The placebo effect has sometimes been defined as a physiological effect caused by the placebo, but Moerman and Jonas have pointed out that this seems illogical, as a placebo is an inert substance which does not directly cause anything.

Instead they introduced the word "meaning response" for the meaning the brain associates with the placebo, which causes a physiological placebo effect. They propose that the placebo, which may be unethical, could be avoided entirely if doctors comfort and encourage their patients' health.

Ernst and Resch also attempted to distinguish between the "true" and "perceived" placebo effect, as they argued that some of the effects attributed to the placebo effect could be due to other factors.

The placebo effect has been controversial throughout history.

Notable medical organizations have endorsed it, but in 1903 Richard Cabot concluded that it should be avoided because it is deceptive.

Newman points out the "placebo paradox", – it may be unethical to use a placebo, but also unethical "not to use something that heals".

He suggests to solve this dilemma by appropriating the meaning response in medicine, that is make use of the placebo effect, as long as the "one administering… is honest, open, and believes in its potential healing power".

Another possible resolution of the ethical dilemma might come from the "honest placebo" effect found in a 2010 study.

At Harvard Medical School, where patients with irritable bowel syndrome experienced a significant beneficial effect even though they were told the pills they were taking were placebos, as compared to a control group who received no pills.