Mr. M.P. was brought to my Health Rest, in a desperate condition of ill health. The diagnosis of his case was pernicious anemia.
He had been under treatment in a hospital in the state of New Jersey. That hospital pronounced him incurable. A sister of the patient was told that he had “only three days to live.” Because of his desperate condition, he was brought to the Health Rest as “a last resort.” The patient was admitted for treatment because I felt that he should be given the opportunity to let nature begin where ordinary mortals had given up.
On his admission, Mr. P.’s blood picture was as follows: Hemoglobin 37 per cent; red blood cells 1,210,000; white blood cells 3,500. The differential blood count was proportionately normal for his condition.
In the medical hospital, Mr. P. had been on ordinary drugs and blood transfusionswithout being helped. The weight of the patient on admission was normal; in fact, he was somewhat overweight for his height. Yet he was so weak in his limbs that he could hardly stand up on the scale. Weakness is one of the characteristic symptoms of anemia.
Mr. P was a cooperative patient and he made progress that proved to be remarkable. One week after the first blood count, on October 4, 1952, his blood had improved as follows: Hemoglobin 41 per cent; red blood cells 1,470,000; white blood cells 4,150. The following week, on October 11, the blood picture was as follows: Hemoglobin 55 per cent; red blood cells 2,610,000; white blood cells 7,400. On October 25, the Hemoglobin was up to 60 per cent; red blood count 2,900,000; white blood count 4,000. It came down because the patient “caught cold.”
The reader can readily see that my patient, Mr. M. P., survived even though the physicians who had treated him before had given him only three days to live. Now he is well, drives his own car and enjoys lifel.
I did not use any injectable drugs, or any capsules or pills or “liver” by mouth. Mr. M. P. was fed as much as he could take of the following foods.
First thing in the morningsa freshly made glass of grapefruit juice. An hour later, breakfast consisted of fresh raw fruits in season. The patient was given two or three kinds of fruit and was instructed to eat one kind only every hour. In addition to the fruit, Mr. P. was given a glass of freshly made raw vegetable juice that consisted of celery (the leaves and stalks), watercress, beet tops, raw carrot, lettuce and parsley; one medium-boiled egg; two slices of whole wheat bread and butter. The patient was instructed to eat the egg and fruit at one time and the bread and some sweeter fruit an hour or two hours after the egg. In other words, the patient was advised to eat smaller meals, dividing his breakfast into two or three periods.
Noon meal: one glass of raw vegetable juice, same as for break-fast; raw salad materials to chew, in order to exercise the muscles of his neck and face because he looked rather flabby and pudgy; two green vegetables, average portions, slightly steamed; lentil and green vegetable soup; a slice of protose nutmeat; raw fruit, same as for breakfast.
Mid-afternoon: a glass of freshly made orange juice and a glass of raw vegetable juice.
Evening meal: a glass of buttermilk, 2 ounces of cottage cheese, raw green salad consisting of lettuce, watercress, cucumber, celery; two servings of steamed vegetables, one yellow and one green; raw fruit for dessert and for between-meal snacks. Bedtime: a glass of buttermilk and a glass of raw vegetable juice.
Fortunately, this patient had a good digestive system, considering his general sickness. He enjoyed this food at the Health Rest. His hospital diet, before he was brought to the Health Rest, had consisted of cooked meat, liver, canned fruit, canned vegetables, white bread, and cereals…. I cannot help wondering why the medical profession ignores the New Knowledge of Nutrition, as applied to the feeding problems of the sick.
Mr. M. P. made progress under my care because I applied the principles elucidated by the scientists who formulated the New Knowledge of Nutrition. This basic science is being applied in the feeding of animals. Tile farmer who raises chickens, cows and sheep knows how to keep his animals from getting into a state of malnutrition. Pernicious anemia is also a condition of malnutrition.
Mr. M. P., an elderly bachelor, had lived on a diet of modern foods that came out of cans and packages. Apparently this was, to a large extent, the cause of his illness. Miss P., his sister, who kept house for him, admitted that she did not want to bother with buying fresh raw vegetables because “it would just take too much time to prepare meals.” There may have been some other reason for this patient’s anemic condition which could not be determined during my observation and treatment of his case.
A blood count was also done for his sister, in order to determine her condition. Miss R. P. is about 15 years younger than her brother. Her blood picture on October 11 was fairly good, at a safe minimum; the hemoglobin was 60 per cent, red count 3,500,000, white count 6,000. This is considered a type of secondary anemia. Miss P. was put on the same diet as her brother and she improved in general strength and blood condition.
During his Health Rest dietary the patient was given general osteopathic treatments daily. He was also given a nude sun bath every day. A mercury sun lamp was used. My objective in using the sun lamp was to supply his constitution with ultra-violet light, which in turn aids in the assimilation of vitamins and minerals and other basic food nutriments.
To conserve the patient’s energy, he was given sponge baths in-stead of tub baths. I believe in permitting my patients to vegetate, thereby building up bodily energy and nerve energy. I believe that serious disease can be helped toward a cure only when the body is permitted to conserve its vitality in every way possible. Fortunately, this patient had no stomach or bowel trouble. His bowels moved naturally twice or three times a day.
After the first three weeks of treatment, Mr. P was given twice a week baked potato with his noon meal instead of the protose nut-meat. Once or twice a week he was given brown rice or buckwheat, deliciously prepared (the Health Rest way), instead of the nutmeat. His breakfast was modified to include two eggs every morning; his evening meal remained the same.
At the end of five weeks of Health Rest treatment, Mr. P. felt strong enough to take his own tub bath and to walk around the outdoors. Mrs. D., my laboratory technician, with an orthodox medical viewpoint, remarked that the progress of this case was “no less than miraculous.”
To me it has always been amazing how the ordinary medical men, even though they may be of specialist standing in their profession, can remain indifferent to the dietetic approach. This approach, using food as medicine, must eventually become accepted in the practice of the healing arts by all school physicians and surgeons.