4. Questions & Answers
I went to a doctor for a checkup and he said I had the start of two small cataracts in each eye. Later this doctor said he just thought so but wasn't sure and said I should have an eye doctor check my eyes. Up to this point, 1 never had any problems with my eyes.
I was very worried about it, so I went to a health food store and they recommended Dr. Christopher's Eyebright. I used it and wrote Dr. Christopher. I told him I started to get floaters and drew a picture of them for him. I received letters that kept telling me I was doing fine, even after ten weeks, and they recommended I continue the Eyebright. I kept telling them my eyes were getting worse and I kept getting the same answers (I have all the letters).
During December, I started to see flashes of blue and this scared me terribly. I could not watch a color TV anymore it was so bothersome.
I went to an ophthalmologist in early February of this year and another one in March. I found out that I had vitreous floaters and the last doctor said the flashes would get better and not to put anything in my eyes. I followed his advice but 1 still took the Eyebright internally. I know today I should not have done this since I have read your guidance in Healthful Living. But Eyebright was supposed to be good for the eyes.
Since I stopped taking Eyebright in March the blue flashes bother me less, even if I watch color TV. But the floaters go so bad they were all over my eyes. My right eye is worse than my left eye. So I took stronger doses in that eye. The right eye got even worse. But I was afraid of cataracts. Both eye doctors had told me I had no cataracts. Since I've seen these doctors I've been drinking carrot juice, celery juice, and some parsley. My floaters seem to be improving a little now.
Yours is a classic case of active "prevention" that causes disease. You are poisoning yourself wholesale! Almost everything you're taking is synthetic and/or inorganic even if the prominent markings on the labels say natural. Your body is poisoned, not nurtured, by non-metabolizable synthetic vitamins and toxic minerals in supplements. The minerals are the same as in soil, rocks, and ores. Selenium, iodine, and chromium are trace minerals that are essential to the body but, in inorganic form, are very toxic. They bear the skull-and-crossbones on commercial preparations. But, as elaborated by plant life, we can readily use them.
The grand plan of nature is to leave the body alone. It is fully self-operating and self-sufficient if its needs are furnished. These needs basically, are pure air, pure water, adequate sleep and rest, vigorous activity, sunshine, recreation and play, emotional poise, security of life, and foods which we are biologically and physiologically equipped to utilize. This means we should put into our bodies only water, air, sunlight, and a diet of mostly fruits with a small amount of vegetables, nuts and seeds. Humans are frugivores (fruit-eaters), and in nature we ate fruits, only and exclusively (according to scientific research). Our anatomy has not changed from this in the few thousand years that we've been eating grains, animal products, and plant fare other than fruits.
Floaters are caused by toxic materials that destroy and coagulate the protein component of the eye's lens. This causes their opacity. The toxic materials, together with coagulated or indurated protein tissue, move around in the vitreous fluids of the lens, thus giving the illusion of indistinct objects floating before the eyes.
The way to overcome this is to stop those practices that are causing it. Eyebright is a toxic herbal formula containing several virulent compounds. Capsicum is a highly toxic and irritating alkaloid found in cayenne peppers which is in Eyebright. This and other toxins as found in herbs can cause much harm but they have no possibility to help the body. They cannot troubleshoot body problems and correct them. Their only character with relation to the body is as a poison. The body rejects them and tries desperately to protect itself from their destructive factors. We humans have been deluded into believing that we will be helped by supplements, drugs (medicines), and preparations, even if we continue to get worse under their administration.
There is only one way back to good health—healthful living. Living healthfully means observing our physiological needs. What you are dosing yourself with is contrary to everything we nourished ourselves with in nature. Instead, you are giving your body drug problems that only further intoxicate and ruin your health. Your eye problems are only a symptom of overall body conditions.
I suggest that you consider a fast of a week or more. Then put into your body only fruits as your primary dietary fare with occasional vegetable fruits such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, salads, eaten with nuts, seeds, or an avocado, etc.
Should I let my dentist take X rays? Isn't the radiation worse then the decay itself?
Many times X rays can be avoided. A dentist can examine your teeth visually for signs of decay which may appear on the surface. Unfortunately, most dental decay occurs from the inside out of the tooth, so that by the time it appears on the surface, it may already be quite advanced. An X ray can detect early decay and it can be fixed before more serious problems develop.
Nobody likes X rays, and the medical profession overuses them. What you might consider is to have just one set of X rays done of all your teeth for one time only. This initial set will help your dentist evaluate the overall condition of your teeth and the supporting bone beneath them. This will allow correction of any old problems you might have. After these X rays, you should probably never need any more if you stay on a wholesome diet.
Should you have this one set of X rays taken, insist on having the X ray technician give you a "lead apron" to protect you from incidental radiation.
You don't have to allow X rays at all; that is your right, and you should always refuse "routine" X rays done casually. Sometimes, however, you just might need that one set to get your past problems straightened out.
I've got some cavities and decay from before I started a good diet. Should I get these filled or can I fast or let my new diet take care of them?
While early small cavities may be arrested by proper diet, dental decay should probably be cleaned out and the cavity filled once it reaches a certain size. A cavity does not heal; it is a permanent injury done to the body. Although you can remineralize your teeth with a proper diet and prevent the pain from decay by fasting, you're not going to be able to make that hole in your tooth go away. Sorry.
If you have these cavities filled, and you probably should, insist that your dentist does not use silver amalgam fillings. This is the most common type of filing (usually called "silver" filling). Actually, it should be called a "mercury filling" because it is 45% pure mercury which is a potent poison. The saliva in your mouth will interact with silver amalgam fillings and dissolve them so that the mercury enters your bloodstream. Even the FDA recognizes the dangers of "silver" fillings, and had they been developed recently, they probably would never have had a chance for approval.
You can have your dentist use gold as an alternative Jilting. While expensive, gold is the most compatible metal with the fluids of your mouth. You might also be able to use a quartz or porcelain filling for cavities in the front teeth or for small areas. Porcelain used to chip easily on large surfaces, but recently has been improved and is worth investigating as a substitute for the common silver filling.
What about novacaine shots and pain killers? Should I take them?
Although injections are objectionable, it may prove impossible to avoid them under some circumstances. With some dental work, you would jump around from the pains so much that the dentist could not do his or her work, unless the nerve is first deadened.
My own recommendations for "pain killers" is to first see if your dentist can use the services of an acupuncturist to deaden the nerve area. Acupuncture involves no drugs or injections, but it may be very difficult to find a dentist that can use this in his practice. The second choice is nitrous oxide ("laughing gas"). Nitrous oxide is taken in by the lungs, introduces no foreign substances to the bloodstream (except for extra nitrogen), and wears off in about five minutes. Some people find it mildly pleasurable and I've noticed no harmful after effects. Finally, if you do have to have a local anesthetic (such as for a root canal or an extraction), ask the dentist for something else besides novacaine. Novacaine has some undesirable after effects and there are other drugs that can be used instead.
Understand that we do not encourage the use of any pain killer or injection. Philosophically, all injections and drugs are a compromise in your Hygienic lifestyle; practically, you may have to compromise in this area unless you have an exceptionally high pain threshold. Afterall, you probably wouldn't be getting these injections in the first place if you had followed the laws of Natural Hygiene all your life.
What toothpaste should I use?
Cleaning the teeth, like cleaning the body, is a mechanical not a chemical process. In other words, your primary concern in cleaning and brushing the teeth is to physically remove the plaque—not to apply some chemical to them than may be included in the toothpaste. In fact, toothpaste is not even necessary. A water-moistened brush is sufficient.
Many commercial toothpastes contain sugar (!), fluoride (harmful) and various abrasives. In fact, those glamour toothpastes that promise "whiter white" do their work with harsh abrasive compounds that may actually strip the enamel off the teeth. You'll wonder where the yellow went, and you'll also wonder where your teeth went after a few years of scraping them down.
Also be cautious of so-called organic toothpastes. Often they contain sea salt and various herbs which are absorbed through the mouth when you brush your teeth. In general, don't use any toothpaste you wouldn't feel comfortable eating because that's actually what you are doing when you put it in your mouth.
One trick for whitening the teeth, is to brush your teeth with strawberries! Rubbing strawberries over the teeth and gums helps remove plaque and yellowing, and then you can eat the strawberries afterwards. Now that's a "toothpaste" I can heartily recommend!
Regardless if you use toothpaste or not, a gentle brushing of the teeth and gums is just good hygiene—just like removing the dirt and grime that collects on the skin of the body. Of course, if you eat a predominantly raw diet, less "dirt"' will collect around the teeth anyway.
What causes cavities?
A common opinion is that cavities are caused by bacterial formations of acids in the mouth from sugars.
The only thing correct about this assumption is that sugars, more particularly, refined sugars, are the culprits.
Bacterial fermentation of sugars does result in acids. Milk sugar is fermented to form lactic acid. That is, the acids found in clabber milk, yogurts, buttermilk, scoured milk, cheese, etc. It will not crack enamel. Sucrose is converted to acetic acid and alcohol. Alcohol will not chip teeth. Should any acetic acid form in the mouth (acetic acid is vinegar) it is instantly neutralized by a constantly alkaline saliva.
We agree that sucrose is a cause of cavities in those who eat it, but not by the modus operandi popularly ascribed.
The eating of sucrose causes osteoporosis of every bone in the body including the teeth. This is so because the body must borrow from its bones the minerals, especially calcium, with which to metabolize the sugar. The sugar of commerce has no mineral or vitamin complement, that having been destroyed by heat and removed by several refining processes.
Other causes of cavities are the ingestion of acid-forming foods (such as grains, legumes, etc.) which also cause the body to draw from its alkaline teeth and bone materials as a recourse in neutralizing the acids and maintaining an alkaline pH.
Cavities are caused primarily from improper dietary habits. Eating our natural diet of raw foods consisting of mostly fruits with some vegetables, nuts and seeds will not cause cavities.