THE COMMON COLD

CHAPTER XV. THE COMMON COLD

It is not extravagant to say that the simple malady we call an ordinary common cold has baffled the Prof ision for centuries. A doctor once said to the write‐: "If there is one thing I dislike being asked to cure, i± is

a common or garden cold in the head! "The late Dr. Haig, who first drew attention to uric acid, aid beater still to the folly of living on an unbalanced di It (though on certain points one might differ from him) told people they should be thankful when they contracted a streaming cold, as it acted as a species of house‐cleaning, and therefore should never be suppressed. But unfortunately for mankind at large, very often the first thing most persons do immediately they "begin to feel a cold coming on" is to buy something to stop it, and "nip it in the bud." This is not curing it, it is merely suppressing it and frustrating Nature. The suppression of a simple cold often leads to worse afflictions, such as pneumonia, etc.

The cause of colds is as simple as colds themselves are common; it lies in an unbalanced diet, and as t to majority of people live on unbalanced diets, the majority if people are thus in, varying degrees susceptible to colds. Excess of starch in a diet combined with a deficiency of foolis containing the essential mineral salts is productive of catarrh. The exudations in catarrhal conditions should in themselves be quite sufficient to indicate to us the real cause of catarrh ‐their nature is starchy. Moreover, just as the cause of a cold must be obvious, so must The cause of colds is as simple as colds themselves are common; it lies in an unbalanced diet, and as t to majority of people live on unbalanced diets, the majority if people are thus in, varying degrees susceptible to colds. Excess of starch in a diet combined with a deficiency of foolis containing the essential mineral salts is productive of catarrh. The exudations in catarrhal conditions should in themselves be quite sufficient to indicate to us the real cause of catarrh ‐their nature is starchy. Moreover, just as the cause of a cold must be obvious, so must

The procedure is to fast on cold water and self‐urine only. No medicaments, whether in the form of lozenges or potions, must be taken. If this treatment is carried out, the cold will disappear, in the case of otherwise healthy individuals, in about 12 hours or less. Doubtless the reader will say: "but this is quite contrary to the old adage `Feed a cold, and starve a fever'." Yet was that the original adage? I have heard it said that such is merely a perversion of the original saying, which was "If you feed a cold, you'll have to starve a fever." Even a fast on cold water only will cure a cold in anything from

24 to 48 hours. But this is less effective than the cold water and self‐ urine treatment, which not only results in the rapid disappearance of the catarrhal condition, but the victim feels much better in every way than prior to the visitation. Moreover, which is very important, it prevents the development of influenza, pneumonia, etc., which when once developed may in some cases need at least a fast of 10 days, and much care and nursing.

And yet influenza, pneumonia, bronchitis and kindred ailments may be merely the more immediate results of suppressing Nature's attempts to get rid of an excess of starch and its evils. Indeed, it is my conviction that suppressed colds are the most fruitful and common basis of a long list of major diseases. Coryza, as it is technically called, i.e., the inflammation of the mucus membrane of the nose; should be regarded as a blessing in disguise, for it is, so to say, the alarm‐bell which annouoices that the interior needs a cleansing process. And I would here stress at the risk of repetition that nothing performs this office so And yet influenza, pneumonia, bronchitis and kindred ailments may be merely the more immediate results of suppressing Nature's attempts to get rid of an excess of starch and its evils. Indeed, it is my conviction that suppressed colds are the most fruitful and common basis of a long list of major diseases. Coryza, as it is technically called, i.e., the inflammation of the mucus membrane of the nose; should be regarded as a blessing in disguise, for it is, so to say, the alarm‐bell which annouoices that the interior needs a cleansing process. And I would here stress at the risk of repetition that nothing performs this office so

20 pints in the 24 hours of a fast. As to chronic nasal catarrh, those people who live on an unbalanced

diet should be thankful for this "safety valve" which may prevent them from developing far more serious ailments. Those who attempt to suppress it by unnatural means may have to face serious consciences. Its cause is to be found in the habitual co isumption of too much bread, especially white, of buns, scones, polished rice puddings, porridge, biscuits, especially made of white flour, and other starch foods. Where these aliments preponderate in a dietary it also involves a deficiency in those foods rich in the essential mineral salts. To say that sugars and starch give energy is one of those pernicious half‐truths which are nearly as misleading as a 100 per cent error. An excess of starch cannot give energy, because it merely clogs the system and inhibits its normal functioning. The proof is that people who live mostly on the aliments I have enumerated, have constantly to resort to alcoholic beverages or cups of tea to "buck themselves up."

As I always like to substantiate my contentions with scientific reasons for the benefit of those who like the i‐s dotted in this manner, I may add that apart from an excess of starch being the cause of catarrh, there is in the tissues a deficiency of chloride of potash, phosphate of lime and sulphate of lime, and if the throat is infected, of phosphate of iron. (See Biochemic Pocket Book, by E. F. W. Powell, D.Sc.) In recent times researchers have occupied themselves with the analysis of various, foods in order to ascertain their mineral‐salts content As a result of this, we find that some foods are richer in one or other salt

than other foods. Thus the aliments have been tabulated under such headings as Carbon Foods, Calcium Foods, Chlorine Foods, Flourine foods, Sodium foods, Potassium Foods, Phophorus Foods, Sulphur Foods, etc., etc. As all these salts have now been found to be essential to the proper functioning of the body, such research only serves again to show how necessary it is to live on a varied and well‐balanced diet. It is significant that until recently, the Medical Profession ignored Potassium (potash) as a salt of any importance to the human body. And yet it has since been discovered by exponents of the Biochemic System that a deficiency of one or other forms of potash is a contribut,ng cause in most diseases ‐especially in cancer and growths. Nevertheless, this was already discovered by Dr. Schuessler, of Oldenburg, Germany, in the latter half of last century. Yet it was only brought into greater prominence in 1912 by Dr. Forbes‐Ross (already mentioned) who had probably never even heard of Dr. Schuessler or of his momentous but largely ignored discovery. In his General Sketch of The Biochemic System of Medicine G. W. Carey, M.D., significantly points out that a lack of any of the inorganic cell salts will set up certain symptoms which are merely Nature's method of indicating that one or more of the vital workers of the body are absent and must be supplied. "Each mineral salt has a special work to do. Each has an affinity for certain organic materials used in building up the human frame. Thus, Kali mur (chloride

of potash) molecules work with fibrin. If a deficiency occurs in this salt,

a portion of the fibrin not having inorganic salt to unite with becomes a disturbing element and may be thrown out of the vital circulation through the nasal passages or lungs... producing conditions called catarrhs, colds, coughs, etc.”

Here, then, we have the biochemic explanation of colds a kindred ailments such as leucorrhoea (the whites) which when the discharge is milky white, indicates a deficiency of chloride of potash in the female organism. (Carey.) I think I have now produced sufficient evidence to show that the common cold together with all catarrhal conditions, whether acute or chronic, is primarily the result of wrong feeding, on which I shall enlarge in a later chapter.