1957

Constipation is a common complaint that many of our authorities attribute to various nutritional shortcomings; from a lack of bulk-forming factors to a lack of vitamins and minerals needed by the liver and other organs.

A congenital thyroid weakness is quite often the cause of a most stubborn kind of constipation. This may serve to illustrate the variety of physiological disturbances that may be responsible. For that reason there can be no universal remedy that is safe or logical, laxatives being well-known to be highly variable in effect and dosage for different persons.

In fact, most of the drugs used for the purpose are unfit for habitual use. For example, a cheap synthetic drug much used, phenolphthalein, which Merck’s Index tells us is “contraindicated in piles or in predisposition to piles,” also is known to cause an immediate rise in blood sugar.

Coronary Thrombosis and Cancer

There is probably no better example of the penalties of departing from the natural principles of physiological therapy than the story of mineral oil, long sold for its “laxative” effect. It is now considered so dangerous that its use “should be considered under the category of toxicology” because of its contribution to cancer alone, cancer of the lower bowel in particular. (The same reference cites the fact that mineral oil promotes hypoprothrombinemia, now known to predispose to coronary thrombosis.) Becker cites tests where as much as 60 per cent of the mineral oil in an emulsified laxative preparation was absorbed through the intestinal wall, much of it no doubt to lodge permanently in the liver. All quite contrary to the assurances of the makers that it was “harmless.”

Another dangerous laxative is milk of magnesia. It causes nosebleed; you will find many cases of recurrent nosebleed to be users of milk of magnesia. Magnesium hydroxide, like aluminum salts, has a great affinity for phosphorus; can create phosphorus deficiency; possibly destroy phospholipids such as vitamin E-2 and F-2.

Authorities Cited

The physiological story goes back to Dr. D. T. Quigley’s analysis of the diet of patients getting treatment for cancer; he says: “Ninety-five percent suffered from constipation or some form of stomach or intestinal disease.” (D. T. Quigley, M.D., Am. Jol. Roentgenology & Radium Therapy, 34:81, 1935). He said the average content of any natural vitamin supplying factors in their diet was only 8.5 percent, the remainder being white flour products, refined cereals, white sugar and candy. Dr. Barnett Sure in his book, Vitamins in Health and Disease, points out the relation of devitaminized foods and constipation, stating that, “It is an amusing coincidence that certain states legally require that middlings sold for stock feed must not be robbed of their wheat germ.” (p. 54.)

Rickets and Pellagra

Dr. Sure points out that rickets usually involves constipation, that scurvy is accompanied by constipation, that white bread causes constipation, and that lemon juice added to the baby formula is a good remedy for constipation. Pellagra often begins with constipation, say Bicknell & Prescott in The Vitamins in Medicine (p. 399) and that constipation is definitely associated with vitamin-B deficiency (p. 265). Also that intestinal hypotonicity, dilatation, stasis and hypomotility follow B-1 deficiency. (p. 226.)

Liver Starvation

We must realize that the liver is one of the first organs to crack under such starvation, and liver function no doubt must be impaired before constipation can follow. No wonder men like Dr. Quigley feel that cancer is the offspring of constipation. Considering these facts, it is evident that there is no short cut to the prevention of constipation by drugs or laxatives. One might as well find a substitute for fresh air. The counterfeit foods like oleo, hydrogenated fats, synthetic sugars (glucose, corn syrup, dextrose) the refined foods like white flour, refined sugars, refined oils, loaded with bleach chemicals (or bleached by filtration through activated carbon which also removes all vitamins), are examples of the foodless food we permit in our dietary pattern, which cheats us of health, constipation being one of the warning signals that we in the main ignore or try to subvert.

Natural Foods

As we pointed out at the beginning, there is no universal remedy for constipation. Good food always has a beneficial effect. Raw milk, whole wheat pancakes for breakfast with real butter and Tupelo honey is a good start. Fresh, uncooked raw sesame butter, with its high content of natural oils and proteins is good. Yogurt, with its special culture of the acidophilic group of organisms, has been much used. The common syndrome of constipation–calcium deficiency symptoms and a drift to arthritis–is obviously a situation calling for a whole-wheat regimen, and raw foods that contain phosphatase (all nuts, bran and cereals only if uncooked), soaked whole wheat or rye as breakfast cereal, raw fruit and juices, raw vegetables and juices.

A change to raw milk alone has cured wheel chair arthritis cases. (But keep in mind the fact that milk, raw or pasteurized, is the commonest offender as an allergen). Citrus juices are out for the victim of arthritis, unless grown on neutral soil (like the Indian River district of Florida, where sea water seeps in under the trees).

Isotonic and Hypertonic

Warm physiological salt solution (1 teaspoon of table salt in one pint of warm water) will flush out the bowel within an hour, unless the user is deficient in salt, for otherwise the concentration of salt is equal on both sides of the intestinal tract, and the water or salt cannot be exchanged and must pass through. The use of these salt laxatives or “bowel flushes” will be found of varying success, depending upon the degree of osmotic balance they meet in the body. If the body is low in any of the components, it will be absorbed and the laxative effect nullified to that extent. Repeating the dosage daily will in time bring on the effect desired, unless some factor like hypothyroidism prevents the action. Organic sea salt, dehydrated sea water without the use of heat, may be preferable because of its high content of trace minerals.

 

1962

Intestinal hygiene is the maintenance of the intestinal tract in a healthy condition–a prerequisite of health. On the other hand, intestinal toxemia is deleterious and may terminate in the guise of a variety of provoking symptoms. While some still continue to deny this “common denominator” for such diseases as arthritis, allergy, and high blood pressure, for example, few experienced doctors cannot cite at least several instances where intestinal hygienic measures alone restored the patient to normalcy. On a clinical level, the incidence of response is too considerable to be denied.

Paul Kouchakoff, M.D., demonstrated how the phagocytes–the scavengers of the blood stream–increased after a cooked meal–showing how cooking of foods overloads our defense system. The daily demonstration of a bout of indigestion after a greasy doughnut, syrupy pancake, or bread spread with synthetic fat is all that is needed to convince us of the effects of these counterfeit foods.

None Deny

The toxic end products of an unfavorable intestinal environment are a secret to no one. They are organic waste products (histamine, peroxides, guanidine, to mention a few), produced by rancidity of fats, putrefaction of proteins, and fermentation of starches. This process is greatly accelerated in the intestinal environment, particularly in the small intestine where most absorption takes place. What happens when these poisons (toxins) reach the blood stream?

The stress is first upon the detoxification system–in the main the liver and kidneys. When these fail to carry the overload, the skin, glands, and other eliminative organs are brought into the situation. The end result is metabolic overload, lowered resistance, diminished vitality, and disorganization of the metabolic balance. The result then extends far beyond the subjective symptoms–gas, bloating, fullness, indigestion and constipation–and metabolic disaster such as arthritis, allergy, or other diseases may result.

Vigilance Required

The “therapeutic measures” now in vogue, such as antacids, laxatives, breath-sweeteners, are merely symptom-dulling remedies, the only reason for which is palliative. The intestinal environment cannot be basically improved in the face of continued ingestion of white flour, refined sugars, synthetic fats and autoclaved (cooked) foods, especially when these form the basis of the American diet.

Basic Treatment

The doctor who wishes to treat intestinal complaints successfully must begin with the natural law: unrefined, natural foods, unaltered by man’s tampering, provided by mother nature not only to please the taste, but also to nourish the body adequately. Whole grains, whole meat, whole fruits and vegetables–with all parts intact–should be taken in as natural form as possible (uncooked). This is one of the few remedies most sufferers from indigestion do not try!

Coronary Thrombosis

There is probably no better example of the penalties of departing from the natural principles of physiological therapy than the story of mineral oil, long sold for its “laxative” effect. lt is now deemed so dangerous that its use “should be considered under the category of toxicology” because of its contribution to cancer alone, cancer of the lower bowel in particular. (The same reference cites the fact that mineral oil promotes hypoprothrombinemia, now known to predispose to coronary thrombosis.) Becker cites tests where as much as 60% of the mineral oil in an emulsified laxative preparation was absorbed through the intestinal wall, much of it no doubt to lodge permanently in the liver. All this is quite contrary to the assurances of the makers that the preparation was “harmless.”

Creates Deficiency

Another dangerous laxative is milk of magnesia. It causes nosebleed. Many cases of recurrent nosebleed are found among users of milk of magnesia. Magnesium hydroxide, like aluminum salts, has a great affinity for phosphorus, can create phosphorus deficiency, and possibly destroy phospholipids, such as vitamin E-2 and F-2.

In fact, most of the drugs used for laxative purposes are unfit for habitual use. For example, a cheap synthetic drug much used, phenolphthalein, which Merck’s Index tells us is “contraindicated in piles or in predisposition to piles,” is known also to cause an immediate rise in blood sugar.

Natural Foods

There is no universal remedy for constipation. Good food always has a beneficial effect. Raw milk, whole wheat pancakes for breakfast with real butter and Tupelo honey is a good start. Fresh, uncooked raw sesame butter, with its high content of natural oils and proteins is good. Yogurt, with its special culture of the acidophilic group of organisms, has been much used.

Warm physiological salt solution (one teaspoonful of table salt to one pint of warm water) will flush out the bowel within an hour, unless the user is deficient in salt, for otherwise the concentration of salt is equal on both sides of the intestinal tract, and the water or salt cannot be exchanged and must pass through.