4. Questions & Answers

My 15-year-old son is sullen and depressed. His mother and I have just about reached the end of our patience. We are thinking of handing him over to the authorities. We have always tried to give him the best of everything but now we are losing our minds over this boy. His behavior is affecting his mother's health, too. Do you have any suggestions for us?

Do you think your wife's health would be any better if she were worried about where her son was and who was taking care of him or wondering if he were in trouble somewhere without any loving member of his family present to whom he might turn for advice or comfort? Again, let me reiterate. A healthy person is a happy person. Your son is sick, and this condition doesn't help his mind. Your son is emotionally troubled by inner hurts, by his toxic condition. You need to set up channels of communication with him, not shunt him off to some strange environment with strangers as companions. Don't ask "Why?" of him, but rather ask "What?" What can we do for you? And, "How?" How can we help you to obtain your goals? Not ours, but yours? Then, begin to improve your family's eating habits, slowly if you must; immediately, if that is possible. Get interested in what he's doing or wants to do. Communicate! But, let HIM do most of the talking. Listen! Most teenagers complain that their parents don't listen to them. Let him open up his thoughts, his ideas, his heart to someone he knows really cares about him. That could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between you and your son. But, most important of all, see to his nutrition. Get his body cleaned out and he should be just fine!

My daughter is 16. She has had asthma ever since she was 12 years of age. She has been to many doctors. They all just give her drugs and they haven't helped at all. She just seems to be getting worse all the time. She is so unhappy. Can Life Science help her?

Indeed it can! The full application of the principles and practices embodied in the science of life can. Your daughter's body is filled with poisons and these are what is causing your daughter's unfortunate condition. I imagine your daughter had many colds as a youngster and probably experienced many healing crises in the form of some of the familiar "childhood diseases." She was probably vaccinated, too, perhaps several times. I see you are nodding your head. Let me tell you about a 17-year-old girl who was brought to our office by her parents. She also had been kept on various medications. In fact, longer than your daughter, because she had received her first dosing when she was a year-and-a-half old and, up to the day she first came to us, she had continued faithfully taking her pills every single day! During all this time, this girl had never been able to play with a puppy or cuddle a kitten. She had never been able to play ball or run with the other "children on the playground. Now, here she was, in her first year at college. She was still unable to be "one of the gang." Instead, she had to watch what she did and with whom she did it. She had to be careful where she went, too, because of her numerous "allergies." And, above all, she had to be careful to take her pills.
We presented to this girl and her parents the solution to her unfortunate condition: a complete Hygienic program which included a 100% raw diet of fruits, a few vegetables with occasional small amounts of nuts and seeds plus, of course, sunbathing, more rest and sleep, walking, etc. We asked the girl if she would be willing to give up her present haphazard way of eating for this new adventure in good eating so that she would have complete freedom from asthmatic "attacks" and her "allergies." We told her to take her time making up her mind, that this was an important decision and that the changes we were suggesting, this new way of living, would be for the rest of her life, from now on, not just for the next few weeks. The parents listened carefully to us and wisely kept silent, knowing full well that this had to be their daughter's decision. The girl thought it over—the time seemed long to us as we waited anxiously but quietly for her decision. Finally, she nodded her head. She was willing!
Three years have come and gone. Today this young woman has just about forgotten all about her asthma. She is no longer chained to her medications. Not too long ago, she brought her fiance here to the ranch for us to meet. They are both into jogging, and the young man is learning all about Natural Hygiene. They have great plans for the future, including a family of nonasthmatic babies! Yes! Your daughter can be helped, but it will take three things: 1. Knowledge of what to do, 2. Knowledge of how to do it, and 3. The DOING! We can impart to you all the knowledge you will need but it will be up to your daughter to complete the job. And you, her parents, can support her in the doing!

My son is 16. I know he is intelligent, but he is difficult to understand. His grades are terrible, his face is pimply and he has very few friends. If he doesn't shape up soon, I don't know what will become of him. I want him to go on to the college where his mother and I went, but he'll never make the grade at this rate. Can you help us reach him?

I think so. The chances are that your son's moodiness, his poor grades, his lack of friends and his pimples are all caused by the same thing: a toxic condition of the body. The ideal thing would be to start out with a fast but, in his present state of mind, this might not be possible. I doubt if you'd get much cooperation from him. So, clean out the refrigerator and cupboards of all the junk foods—and I do mean ALL. Your wife can easily learn how to make delectable treats for him and his friends from natural fruits. She can easily learn, too, how to serve well-combined and more wholesome foods and perhaps you can, too! Make this a family project. Keep lots of fruit on hand. And nuts and sunflower seeds. If there's no junk food lying around, children will eat whatever is handy and they'll really learn to like fruit and vegetables, even if they won't admit it—out loud. Keep a plate of raw vegetables in the refrigerator, bits of carrots, celery, broccoli, etc. Teenagers will grab these, too, when they are hungry and teenagers always seem to be hungry! I can almost guarantee that if you follow my advice, in about three months, or even less, he'll stop objecting to such "far-out" foods because, he secretly will have learned to like them! You'll find that his whole body, including his mind, will improve and his lethargy will disappear, as will the pimples.
You can help to motivate him in other ways, too. Find out what he wants out of life, if he knows. If he won't cooperate, then it would seem you and your wife will have no other alternative than to take some "baby steps" but make these a family affair. Everybody in the family should participate. Make little changes at first, major changes as you and he adjust to them. Some suggestions. Perhaps you and your son can take up weight-lifting. Compete with your son to see how fast you progress. Take him jogging with you and invite his pals to join you on the trip and for a watermelon feast afterwards. Get your wife into the act, too. The first thing you know, you'll all have stars in your eyes! Don't expect this all to be an easy trip, either for him, or for you and your wife. Just remember that the world can be terribly confusing place for teenagers. Their bodies are in a state of flux. One moment they are little children wanting to be held and comforted by their mother or father; the next, they are grown-ups struggling to make decisions about matters of vital importance to them. When young people have problems, but don't have a sufficient amount of knowledge to enable them to make judgmental decisions, then you, their parents, must become their mentor as well as their example. And, if they lack willpower and the ability to discipline themselves, then you must supply both the willpower and the discipline. They may not like it at the moment, but they'll respect you now and thank you for your efforts in their behalf as they grow older. But, all this must be done without censure and in a kindly, loving manner. Communicate and explain the why's. It will help them immensely with their doing!

I am 19. I have stomach problems all the time it seems, no matter what I eat. I've been to one doctor after another and to several specialists. They tell me I don't have an ulcer, just a sensitive stomach. I take their pills and a lot of vitamins on my own, but I still have problems. I have a lot of diarrhea and cramps, too. I'm in my first year at college now and this condition is affecting my grades and my social life. Do you have any suggestions?

I sure do! Learn what foods you are physiologically designed to eat and then eat them! Learn about the kinds of food to which your body is best adapted and then learn how to combine those foods, when to eat them and how much and you'll soon find that your stomach will respond in perfect peace! There are many fine books on the subject. Stay after the class and we'll recommend a few but start with Dr. Shelton's Food Combining Made Easy. Applying the principles you will learn in that little book should end your troubles.
Note: Shortly after the above exchange, this young man informed us that he felt "Just fine!" He enrolled in a course of study which taught Hygienic principles of eating and living. He says that getting into "people food" and taking this course changed his whole life around. All this happened just four years ago. We still hear from this young man quite regularly, even though his work calls for him to travel throughout the world. This "remembering" on the part of our students and clients is one of the more, important rewards of being a Hygienic practitioner!