Does the Body have the Ability to Heal Itself?

In 1822, there was a medical doctor by the name of Isaac Jennings. After 20 years of practicing medicine, he became convinced that drugging and bleeding people did more harm than good. He decided to administer placebos of bread pills, starch powders and colored water to his patients and at the same time instructed them in healthful living habits. By 1822, his fame extended far and wide because of his remarkable healing record. When he finally became convinced that his . . . what he called “The Do-Nothing Cure” worked, he announced his discovery to the world. His announcement was not well received by other doctors or even some of his cured patients who denounced him as an imposter and accused him of cheating them into good health. He continued his practice for another 20 years and helped many people get well.

Current scientists are finding out more and more that what we eat is directly associated with how healthy we are and how we are able to resist sickness and disease through our immune systems. Some of the newest statistics found in recent studies about the differences between vegetarian and non-vegetarian people show some astonishing results.

According to Medical News Today, 28 percent of men who ate processed red meat were more likely to have heart failure than those who ate less or not at all. This study was conducted over 12 years and concluded that "to reduce the risk of heart failure . . . eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, [and] nuts" ( http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278158.php).

Also, according to findings that are in the Surgeon General’s Report on deaths caused by Coronary Heart Disease, we see that there is a definite relationship to those deaths and to their diets. A study of 20,044 vegetarians shows that the rate of mortality, caused by coronary heart disease, among those 35 to 44 yrs. is 72% lower than rates found in the general population. Also the risk of suffering symptoms of coronary heart disease in non-vegetarian males, aged 35 to 64, is three times greater than in vegetarian males.

Of the following diseases compared to predominantly vegetarian nations, we (in the US) tend to suffer mostly from arthritis, breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, gallstones, heart disease, hypertension, hypo or hyperglycemia, obesity, prostate cancer, strokes, and others.

Now some argue and ask, “Aren’t vegetarians undernourished?” The fact is there has not been any evidence that proves that a true vegetarian diet has any bad effects on the body. On the contrary, it proves just the opposite: there are only good effects. This is being proved more and more as research continues. Vegetarianism is regarded by many medical experts to be the ideal form of sustaining good health. And the American Dietetic Association has indicated that one can get all the nutrients they need from a well-rounded vegetarian diet.” (TL Rodgers, Lifesave.org.) When we talk about vegetarian in this article, we are talking about pure vegetarianism, which some people now call vegan.

What are some simple healthful living habits we can adopt in our own lives to maintain or begin to restore our health?

1. Eliminate as much as possible, processed foods (white sugar, white flour, high-fat foods, animal protein) from our diet.
2. Gradually go in the direction of eating as much raw or living food as possible: fresh produce, sprouted nuts, grains and seeds, fresh juices, fresh juice of grasses such as barley and wheat.
3. Restore probiotic organisms to the colon such as the homeostatic soil organisms.
4. Educate ourselves and our children about our bodies and natural healthful living.
5. Being healthy is really a very simple thing when we go back to nature – not the complicated 10,000 hard to pronounce diseases that ones’ medical specialist would have him believe.
6. Be patient. If it took 15 to 30 years for your body to get into the shape it is in, it might take 2 or 3 years of healthful living to get it back into a high state of health. Healthful living builds new tissue to replace the old. It is not a quick fix.
7. Exercise is very important in that it circulates nutrients to the tissues.
8. Add the grass juices to the diet.
9. One hopes that the organic grasses, and organic produce such as the greens, have the tiny micro-organisms that make B-12. If doubtful, it might be well to take a B-12 sublingual supplement.

If in fact the body does have the ability to heal itself, it seems that it will do a better job if it is not bogged down by foods that take hours to digest. Digestion is a major energy drain on the body -- energy that could be used to heal and repair tissue rather than just process food. This is a major reason that the juices are so effective in their ability to heal and cleanse. Fresh juice takes about 20 minutes to digest and enter the blood stream whereas heavy fat laden destructive type food sometimes takes 8 to 12 hours to be processed before it can be used as energy for the body. A healthful diet begins when we use predominantly foods in their natural state.