Raw Food Explained: Life Science
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9. Your Choice
Persons with heart disease believe that they do not have any choice but to take drugs to palliate their symptoms. But they do have a choice. Drugs will not heal and they do not produce health. However, given the proper conditions, the body will heal. The most important requirement for all heart patients is rest. That is, to rest in bed and abstain from all food until healing of the heart has taken place. During this physiological rest, toxins will be eliminated from the body; cholesterol accumulations along the arteries will break up and will be eliminated; and the heart will begin to repair itself. During the fast, vital energy is not being expended for digestion and therefore, more energy is available for repair.
9.1 The Fast
Dr. Hereward Carrington, author of Vitality, Fasting and Nutrition, recognized the fact that fasting resulted in strengthening of the heart. He attributed this improvement to the following three factors:
- The added rest the fast provides the heart.
- The resulting improvement of the bloodstream.
- The absence of the “stimulants” that patients in general and heart patients in particular are accustomed to take.
Dr. Shelton Says, “If we consider angina pectoris, a disease of the heart that grows out of constant stimulation with tobacco, coffee, tea, wrong food combinations and excesses of carbohydrates, and observe the effects of the fast in these patients, we are amazed at the speed with which the heart recovers from its difficulties.”
It is not claimed that fasting actually “cures” anything. We know that fasting takes a load off the heart so that it may restore its own normal condition in a more certain and speedy manner. Fasting results in the quieting down of a rapid heart. This takes a heavy load off the heart and results in a speedy reduction of blood pressure.
With a reduction of tension and the number of repetitions of the heart’s pulsation, a rest is secured. With less work to do, the heart repairs itself.
In the hundreds of cases of heart disease that Dr. Shelton has witnessed through fasts of various lengths, all but a few have developed stronger and better hearts. Many of them, even so-called “incurable” ones, have become entirely normal. Rapid hearts have slowed down, abnormally slow hearts have speeded up, weak hearts have greatly improved in vigor, hearts that were irregular have become regular in time and frequency, hearts that were missing pulsations (even as often as one pulsation out of four) have resumed regular pulsation, and many other improvements in heart function have been observed.
The rest provided for the heart is accounted for in several ways. There is a marked lessening of the number of pulsations of the heart; there is a fall of blood pressure; and there is a reduction in weight. Weight reduction is most marked in fat individuals whose size is such that the heart has to labor to keep the blood circulating through so much bulk. The loss of pounds relieves the long-suffering heart of a burden. Every pound that is lost relieves the heart of work it has been forced to do.
Edema is often observed in the weakened heart of the heart patient. This edema is a major consequence from taking common table salt (sodium chloride). This salt is nonusable and poisonous. It is excreted with difficulty, and tends to accumulate in the body of the salt eater. It is stored in the surface tissues just under the skin and in cavities, along with water that is needed to dilute it. This salt-occasioned edema, often sufficiently marked to be easily detected, places an added burden upon the heart and kidneys. The body of the fasting patient is able to bring the salt and water back into the circulation, from where it is excreted.
The principle of lightening the work of the circulatory system and particularly that of the heart by decreasing the food intake and by eliminating salt from the diet is carried to its ultimate stage when the heart patient fasts.
The fast seems to result in an instantaneous improvement in the function of the kidneys, so that there is an immediate increase of elimination. With the increased excretion through the kidneys of water and sodium chloride so that the edema is reduced or obliterated, the heart is greatly relieved. It has also been suggested that fasting may favorably affect certain vasomotor centers, (the nerve centers that control circulation), thus causing improvement in the condition of the heart and arteries.
It should be understood, however, that no sufferer from heart disease should ever attempt to fast on his own but should consult with a practitioner who has experience with the fast.
After the fast, it is imperative that a more healthful diet is strictly adhered to. That is a diet low in fats and proteins and high in natural carbohydrates. A diet of raw fruits, vegetables, and raw, unsalted nuts and seeds will provide the perfect nutritional requirements.
In addition to this, a regular vigorous exercise program should be gradually assumed. Accompany this with plenty of fresh air, sunshine, and emotional poise, and improved health will follow.
- 1. Introduction
- 2. General Physiology
- 3. How The Heart Works
- 4. Control Centers
- 5. Factors Contributing Heart Impairment
- 6. A Look At Other Societies
- 7. Hypertension
- 8. Cardiovascular Drugs
- 9. Your Choice
- 10. Questions & Answers
- Article #1: Coronary Thrombosis By Dr. Robert R. Gross, D.C., Ph.D.
- Article #2: Heart Attack By Dr. Geo. E. Crandall
- Article #3: Exercise And The Heart
Raw Food Explained: Life Science
Today only $37 (discounted from $197)