The Theory Of Nature Cure
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In view of the increasing number of new readers of the Magazine (Health for All) who may still be unfamiliar with the theory of Nature Cure and its relation to treatment, it is felt that a brief review of the basic principles will be especially opportune.
Unless the prospective user of Nature Cure methods has this theoretical knowledge in his possession, he will be unable to cooperate with the treatment as fully as he should do, because it is the full cooperation between patient and treatment which provides Nature Cure with an opportunity to achieve the wonderful curative results of which it is capable.
The first essential for the prospective patient to understand is that there is a fundamental divergence between medical and Nature Cure methods of treatment.
Thus the medical treatment for asthma, for instance, will be directed to alleviating the spasms of breathlessness of the patient, without reference to the underlying factors causing the trouble to arise in the first place: whereas the Nature Cure practitioner will not be concerned so much with the spasms of breathlessness as with the removal of the toxic and other factors at work within the organism which cause these attacks to develop.
Once the underlying causes of the asthma are removed, the attacks of breathlessness will cease of their own accord; but, if the patient merely tries to disperse the attacks of breathlessness, and nothing more, he will never be free from the asthma, and in spite of protracted medical treatment more and more serious attacks will develop.
The same applies to constipation (To cite a similar case); the medical procedure in constipation is merely the forced relief of the bowels by the administration of purgatives which do nothing to remove the fundamental cause or causes of the bowel sluggishness, but actually intensify it. The Nature Cure treatment for constipation is directed towards the removal of the basic causes of the condition, i.e. wrong diet, weak abdominal and colonic muscles, lack of exercise, etc., and thus ensures the proper working of the bowel, in time, without any artificial aid whatever.
If we continued through the whole list of diseases common to man, in each different disease the medical treatment would be found to be directed towards the eradication of the superficial aspects (or symptoms) of the disease, whereas the Nature Cure treatment would be found to aim directly at the removal of the fundamental causative factors without any special reference to the symptoms of the disease.
Once the patient has grasped this most important and distinct difference, and can keep it clearly in his mind, he will be ready for the next outstanding truth about Nature Cure treatment, which is that through directing its methods towards the eradication of the fundamental causes of disease, Nature Cure is far more simple and direct then drugs, sera, vaccines, etc. - for it is found on careful study and examination that the fundamental causes of ALL DISEASES are the same (as already stated), no matter how different the superficial symptoms may appear to be.
The next point for the patient to understand is that all disease tends to express itself, in the first place, in the form of simple bouts of eliminative activity - called ACUTE DISEASE - such as colds, eruptions and fevers. Nature is always striving to keep the organism in perfect health by endeavouring to remove the toxins responsible for disease (which fact is the basic principle of the Nature Cure philosophy).
Disease is nothing more than a self-initiated attempt of the body at cleansing, and not the result of an invasion of the body by germs, as is generally accepted.
Thus it follows that to cure disease all attempts at self-cleansing on the part of the natural forces within the body must be helped rather than hindered. It is only by working with the organism in its attempts to free itself from the clogging accumulations of toxic matter which interfere with its normal functioning, and which it is attempting to eliminate as disease, that health can be found.
Such attempts at self-cure, for such they really are, must never be suppressed through the medium of drugs etc., for that is the way in which CHRONIC DISEASE develops.
The continual suppression of colds leads, in time, to chronic catarrh, rheumatism, chest complaints, etc., while the suppression of fevers by means of drugs, etc., may lead to heart disease and kidney disease, to cite two examples of the results of suppressive treatment.
When the patient realises that fundamentally, disease is an attempt at self-cleansing on the part of the organism. he will be in a position to understand and cooperate with Nature Cure treatment to the fullest degree. Nature Cure treatment is always directed to the sole end of trying to help the natural forces of the body in their effort to remove toxins from the system and restore normal balance, and thus pave the way for health to re-develop; for in no other way is sound health possible to any sufferer from disease.
That is why medical treatment has failed to help him so far.
We have said that disease is a move towards self-cleansing on the part of the organism; but it is difficult for the sufferer from arthritis, for instance, to see his complaint in this light, although the suffered from a cold should be able to see this fact quite clearly after what has been said. This is because in the case of a chronic condition, such as arthritis, the organism is no longer in a position to try to dispel the toxins which are the cause of its malfunctioning, as with a cold or fever; but, through continuous suppressive medical treatment, plus many years of wrong living, the system's vitality has become so depleted that it has to accept the presence of disease-factors far beyond its powers to deal with and has produced a chronic condition, such as arthritis, in an attempt to make the best of things.
Until the innate vital powers of the organism have been enhanced by intelligent Nature Cure treatment the sufferer from such a condition as arthritis can never hope to free himself from his diseased state - and that is why the disease is regarded as incurable, even in the early stages, by the orthodox medical profession. (The same applies to cancer, tuberculosis, and all other serious chronic disease conditions).
To be able to remove the disease-factors responsible for chronic ailments, sufferers require a considerable degree of vital force. Nature Cure treatment ensures that the requisite degree of vital force may be engendered, for it is only this vital force (if it can be sufficiently stimulated) that can cure in time; not the treatment.
The treatment can only help the curative powers of the human system to operate to a greater extent than has been possible hitherto. This is very different from medical treatment, which only hinders and thwarts the action of the curative forces of the body. Under Nature Cure treatment the patient soon begins to find himself getting better, instead of steadily getting worse as formerly.
It stands to reason that the more fully the treatment can be carried out the quicker will the curative process proceed, no matter what the particular disease may be, so that the need for full cooperation need hardly be stressed. Otherwise, the results may be disappointing to all concerned.
Once Nature Cure treatment is begun there are certain points that need to be made clear to the patient with regard to what he may expect to happen to him during the period of treatment. Sometimes certain symptoms arise which may upset his faith in the treatment, make him feel that he is doing more harm than good, and perhaps cause him to give up, merely for lack of understanding.
For instance, when Nature Cure treatment is begun, the innate vital powers of the body are accelerated, and bouts of special internal cleansing activity may take place, which may express themselves in the form of heavy colds, or crops of boils, or a rash, etc. These conditions are sure indications that the treatment is doing what is intended, i.e. removing toxins from within the deeper structures of the system to the surface for elimination, and such a state of affairs should be welcomed by the patient undergoing treatment, rather than worried over, providing, of course, that the treatment has been adhered to strictly. Such little "healing crises", as they are known in Nature Cure parlance, are all to the good. The patient must always bear in mind the possibility of these occurrences. It is most important he should do so, for it would save him much loss of peace of mind should such a crisis occur in his case.
It is hoped that this brief review of the theory of Nature Cure will make it easier for readers to cooperate more fully and understandingly with any treatment advocated in this Magazine that they may wish to put into practice.
Reference: Stanley Lief, from "Health for All" - now out of print., appr. 1946.
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