It is appropriate to consider this question, since many people hold mistaken views about salt. We were taught in school that a person requires 7 kg (about 14 lb) of salt a year in order to stay alive. It is true that man and beast cannot do without it, although it is also acknowledged that certain diseases demand a low-salt or even a salt-free diet. This apparent contradiction resolves itself when we realise that our salt requirement need not necessarily be obtained from the crystalline kind of salt known as common or table salt, but can equally well come from our food. Cases in point are the inhabitants of the Asiatic steppes and the Indians living at the headwaters of the Amazon River. They have never heard of salt, nor do they have a word for it, but as they could not survive without it, it is obvious that they must cover their requirement by means of their food.

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Bread has always played an important part in our nutrition. It is still on our table today and every day as a staple food. The age-old request ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ illustrates to what extent we depend upon it. We may have an abundance of other foods, but bread remains the foundation of our diet. How much we disliked having it rationed during the war years. Things have changed since then, although the need for good and wholesome bread is as great as ever.    

We know from the history of ancient Rome that their legionaries were issued a certain quantity of wheat every day. Wheat grain can be stored almost indefinitely without losing any of its value, but this is not the case with flour. As soon as the external sheath has been broken and the grain has been milled, the oxygen in the air begins to take effect, and the longer the flour is kept, the more it will lose of its value. The enzymes are probably the first to suffer from such exposure. These are active elements in the grain, for example diastase, which comes to life during the process of germination and changes the starch of the grain into maltose, then dextrose.

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Every year, come autumn and winter in my garden in the Engadine, the little clusters of scarlet barberries between the leafless thorny branches of the berberis shrubs just beg to be harvested. A little earlier it would have been the ripe redcurrants, shining in the autumn sun. So when I am there, I pick some of these berries most days and enjoy their acidic flavour which is due to ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. These berries are, in fact, a natural food for the nerves. Before long, even the slopes facing south become covered in thick snow, and the birds will be daily guests on the shrubs, feasting on the beautiful red, oblong berries in order to obtain their requirements of sugar, minerals and vitamins. The red fruits of the Rosa canina (wild rose), the rose hips, will still be peeping through the snow. When these hips are ripe they are deliciously sweet. Because of their vitamin Ñ content they, too, are a wonderful food for the nerves. No wonder that rose hip puree and barberry puree are a perfect source of vitamins during the bleak winter months. They should be on every table because they fill an important gap in our nutrition, since practically all other foods lose some of their vitamin content during their months of storage. Wild fruits, in the form of fruit puree or conserve, prevent vitamin Ñ deficiency while being tasty and pleasant food. But not only barberries and rose hips are rich in vitamin C, even richer are the berries of sea buckthorn, which grows abundantly in the lower Inn valley, the Tessin and the Maggia valley in my native Switzerland. Their orangy-red colour, bright amongst the olive-green leaves, can be spotted on slopes and along brooks and rivers — a delight to the eyes of every nature lover.

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The pancreas secretes only about one-fifth of the amount of juice produced by the much smaller salivary glands, yet its secretion is much more concentrated and important. As many as four enzymes are secreted into the small intestine immediately adjacent to the bile duct. One of these enzymes, rennin, is also produced in the stomach. It turns milk into curds, a job that is mainly done by the stomach. When the stomach fails to function effectively the pancreas has a marvellous capacity to take on part of the stomach’s work load, since it can produce rennin just as efficiently as the stomach. Diastase, or amylase, changes starches into sugars, such as glycogen, dextrin and maltose. Trypsin, like pepsin, breaks down proteins into peptones and finally into the basic building blocks of protein, amino acids. The fourth enzyme, lipase, together with the bile, hydrolises fats into fatty acids and glycerol. In fact, the body cannot break down, digest and assimilate proteins, starches and fats without the enzymes secreted by the pancreas.

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Intestinal worms should never be considered harmless or their presence accepted as a necessary evil. Although in most cases we are dealing only with threadworms and roundworms, these intestinal parasites can still be quite harmful. The tiny threadworm (Oxyuris vermicularis) is often the cause of much discomfort. These worms, as well as the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), secrete toxic metabolic substances which are absorbed by the body. The result is a change in the blood composition and an adverse effect on the general condition of the person afflicted. Children with calcium deficiency are especially prone to infestation with worms, which constitutes a double dose of trouble for them since their power of resistance is already low and the damage will thus be magnified.

Today it has become much easier to eradicate these intestinal parasites, in as far as non-poisonous plant remedies are readily available. So do not let them settle in the intestines. Papaya preparations greatly facilitate the eradication of threadworms in the colon and of roundworms which inhabit the small intestine. Papay-asan is made from the tropical plant Carica papaya and is actually able to digest all kinds of worms that settle in the small intestine and the colon. Papaya is a palm-like tree with leaves similar in shape to fig leaves, but much larger. Its fruit, also called papaya, resembles a melon. When ripe it contains only a tiny amount of the vermicide enzyme papain, so it is from other parts of the plant that Papayasan is made.

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The patient should start the day early in the morning by walking barefoot on dewy grass, as recommended by Kneipp. This exercise draws the blood down to the feet and takes into the body the energy obtained from the earth. The result is a wonderful feeling of relief. If the weather does not allow this, paddling or stamping in cold water followed by physical exercises, preferably in the open air, can be done instead. In the course of the exercises, rhythmic movements, singing and vocal breathing exercises will help to disperse any mental blocks and free the inner self.

Breakfast should consist of pure, natural foods: various fruits, wholegrain muesli, wholewheat bread, butter and honey. Avoid the customary breakfast of milky coffee, white bread or rolls, and choose only natural wholefoods which contain the nutrients the body needs.

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Physical therapy is also beneficial. For about half an hour each night a hot and moist compress made with hay flowers and camomile should be applied to the kidney area. Hot sitz baths will also help. If the stones should cause bleeding, the patient should take Millefolium, Hamamelis virg., Echinaforce, Tormentavena and Cantharis 6x.

While carrying out these recommendations take the Rubiaforce treatment. Drink less liquid when taking Rubiaforce tablets. After completing one box of tablets wait a week before starting on another, but during this interval drink as much liquid as possible in order to thoroughly flush out the kidneys and prevent the formation of new gravel or stones. At the end of the week begin to take another box of Rubiaforce tablets; drink limited amounts of a weak kidney tea with Nephrosolid. Follow up with a further week without medication but drinking plenty, as before. The treatment is completed after the third week on tablets and a further week when, again, plenty of liquids are consumed.

Even though the stones will have disappeared after this treatment, it would be wise to repeat it in a shortened form every three months, just to be on the safe side. However, the diet must be watched all the time. If available, a tea made from Chanca piedra, a plant found in the tropical jungles of Peru, will enhance the effectiveness of the Rubiaforce treatment and can be taken in conjunction with it.

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It is interesting to note that the heart may continue to beat even when the person is already dead. On the other hand, it is also possible for the heart to stop beating although death has not yet occurred, as in the case of suspended animation (apparent death, or asphyxia). A strong electric shock, for example, causes a spasm in the heart which may temporarily suspend its function, but death itself does not occur until later, when the oxygen supply is cut off completely and carbon dioxide accumulates because it is no longer eliminated.

Vesalius, the father of modern anatomical research, wanting to determine the cause of death of a nobleman he had treated, performed an autopsy during which he noticed, to his horror, that the heart was still beating. Witnesses who were present at the autopsy took him to court. He was found guilty of having performed a post-mortem examination on a living person and he was sentenced to death. This illustrates that life does not always coincide with the activity of the heart. So, even if death has occurred, the eyes are glassy and breathing has stopped, the heart may nevertheless continue to beat for a little while.

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Archangelica officinalis UMBELLIFERAE

Angelica is one of the oldest-known herbs. It is a native of cold countries, Russia and Lithuania and Iceland, and as far south as Germany. It is classified as a biennial, but if it is not allowed to flower and is cut back hard it will grow as a true perennial.

The legends about angelica are many. It was introduced into England in the sixteenth century with already a wide reputation on the Continent as a powerful remedy for coughs, colds and rheumatic complaints—all the troubles of the cold, damp climates in which it grows naturally and, as Nature has ordained, where it is most useful to man.

In Europe, it flowers on St Michael the Archangel’s day, 8th May, and it figured in many rites and rituals for this festival. In England it gained a strong reputation as a stomach strengthener, and was used extensively, the roots in particular being chewed as a protection from the plague. Angelica root was said to actually cure even after infection had already taken place, and it was an ingredient in the “Four Thieves’ Vinegar”, a concoction of powerful herbs drunk by four robbers who pillaged the bodies of those dead from the plague, and maintained apparent immunity themselves.

In Norway, bread was often made using the dried powdered roots; but all parts of the plant are valuable, the leaves to use dried in pot-pourri (pick them before flowering commences), and the stems and bark stripped and candied, or cooked with rhubarb to take away its tart taste. The seeds are used to flavour liqueurs such as Chartreuse, and are also used commercially in perfumes.

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Samuel Hahnemann, the brilliant exponent of the homoeopathic school of natural medicine, found yet another principle relating to herb usage. He discovered that by giving massive doses at varying strengths of a particular herb certain symptoms could be produced in healthy people, and he formed the theory that a person showing this same set of symptoms in illness might be cured by an infinitesimal dose of the same herb. Application of his discoveries has provided some astonishingly effective results in the field of natural medicine. This is an over-simplification of a very complex theory, and further reading on the subject can be very rewarding.

I do not think any of us can scoff at something that works, and works not only on humans but on animals as well, thus confounding those who cry “Faith Healing!” and “If you believe in something hard enough, you will be cured.” Homoeopathic doses of herbs are even being used to activate the compost heap. Work done in England recently has shown that a concentration of one in ten thousand parts of yarrow (Achillea millefolium) added to the compost heap is the most effective “dose”. I have proved this myself, and the short time taken to produce rich well-decomposed compost has been very valuable to me in my herb nursery, where all the plants are organically grown and natural compost is one of their chief foods.

In 1927, in Baker Street, London, a Mrs Leyel started up a small shop selling dried herbs and herbal preparations, known as the “Society of Herbalists”. Interest in the use of herbs grew to such an extent that in 1936 a new Society of Herbalists was formed by admirers of her work, by those who had benefited by using herbs, and those who wished to gain more knowledge to help in healing others. The hundreds of members became thousands, and Mrs Leyel wrote many books that have become reference works for those studying natural medicine.

Another herbalist with a world-wide reputation is Juliette de Bairacli Levy, an Israeli lady who has spent a large part of her life living amongst some of the primitive peoples in so-called “under-developed” countries, learning from them their herbal lore and usage. The American Indians, the natives of several South American countries, and the gipsies all over the world, have given her a wealth of information on how they manage to raise their families and their live-stock under extremely poor conditions. In many cases, their health and vigour, even in old age, should bring shame on our affluent, enlightened society, with its increasing toll from asthma and obesity and early coronaries. Two of her books are listed in the bibliography at the end of this book, and I can recommend them to those wishing to raise livestock by natural methods or to care for the health and well-being of the family without recourse to unnatural products.

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