The psalmist says, “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:14).  Herein we study the eight natural remedies that man needs to keep his wonderfully made body both physically and spiritually healthy.

“Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in Divine power – these are the true remedies” (Ellen White, Ministry of Healing, 127).  An acronym for these eight natural remedies is NEWSTART (Nutrition [proper diet], Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance [Abstemiousness], Air, Rest, and Trust {in Divine power}). “The use of natural remedies requires an amount of care and effort that many are not willing to give.  Nature’s process of healing and upbuilding is gradual, and to the impatient it seems slow. The surrender of hurtful indulgences requires sacrifice. But in the end it will be found that nature, untrammelled, does her work wisely and well. Those who persevere in obedience to her laws will reap the reward in health of body and health of mind” (ibid).

Nutrition

It is out of the ground that God makes the food grow that should be eaten by every living creature (see Genesis 1:29-30). It is true that many animals, since the fall, subsist largely or wholly on the flesh of other animals; and man has also been allowed to do the same thing; “but from the beginning it was not so.”  Since the work of Christ is to restore all things (Acts 3:19-21), it is evident that the food which God gave man in the beginning is the best for him, and should be adopted by all who wish the perfect image of God to be restored in them.

The plant is God’s laboratory for the preparation of food both for man and beast.  Only the plants of the earth are capable of taking inorganic mineral substance, and turning it into living tissue.  It is impossible for either man or beast to assimilate inorganic mineral substance.  Man can get life only from life; but in the plant God turns dead matter into living substance.  The lower animals can no more assimilate inorganic matter than man can; all that they can do with the food that they eat is to assimilate it, if it is already of the same nature as their bodies; therefore when men eat the flesh of animals they get no different material than they would if they ate the same food that the beasts ate; only they have the disadvantage of taking their food second hand.  Man is better off eating plant foods.

In eating flesh man gets the plant minus nutrients that is wasted by once using, and plus the poisons that have been added by its passage through a living organism.  It is thus that the flesh of animals is not so nourishing as plants.  Moreover, the degenerate characteristics of the animals are necessarily imparted to the food that it has formed into its own flesh; and if the animal is diseased, which is very commonly the case, this evil is intensified. Today, animal flesh is polluted with diseases, toxins, drugs such as growth hormones and antibiotics pumped into them to combat disease; and as such, animal flesh and products are neither ‘clean’ nor safe to eat.

Sin has increased in the world and so has diseases in both man and animals.  As a result of sin, “the whole creation groaneth” (Romans 8:22), “even we ourselves groan within ourselves” (Romans 8:23), and “the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings” (Romans 8:26).  If God will have our full attention, we must be in good health, which requires a return to plant foods.

It is no longer safe for God’s people to find comfort in being vegetarian – with cow’s milk and eggs in their diet.  A vegan diet must be sought.  Animals from which milk is obtained are not always healthy.  Animals are often diseased.  A cow may be apparently well in the morning, and die before night.  Then she was diseased, her milk was diseased, but you did not know.  The animal creation is diseased.

Startling scientific evidence has shown milk to be a major source of cancer.  In 2005, Dr Campbell and other renowned scientists published a report on what came to be known as The China Study (see thechinastudy.com), which report was published as a book in 2006 (ISBN 9781932100662).

The study concluded: “People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease … People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease.”  The study results could not be ignored.  Of the animal products, Milk is found to pose the most danger for cancer.  Without a doubt, the cancerous elements in Milk have turned Milk into abominable thing not to be placed into the body-temple. For further study, read the booklet: Nutrition in the Bible.

Exercise

God still says to us, as to Adam, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). This is not the pronouncing of a curse, but the relief from it.  Sweating is necessary, in order to carry off the impurities from the system. The stream of life must be kept constantly moving. One ought to exercise sufficiently every day, in some way or other, to induce free perspiration; only so can health, be maintained. If we eat for strength, and use the strength that we get, health and happiness is ours.

Walking is the best exercise.  When walking, whether in the discharge of one’s duties, or purely as an exercise, one should get the most possible good from it.  Even when we take a walk for the purpose of warming our feet the good effects are not confined to our feet.  The feet will profit by the exercise in proportion as the entire system is benefited.  One of the first requisites to deriving benefit from walking is that it be done briskly and not in a listless, loafing manner.  A rapid walk of half a mile gives one more exercise than twice as far at a very slow pace.  But one should walk in a way not to become exhausted.

“There is no exercise that can take the place of walking. By it the circulation of the blood is greatly improved. Walking, in all cases where it is possible, is the best remedy for the diseased bodies, because in this, all of the organs of the body are brought into use” (Ellen G White, Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 78).

“There is no exercise that will prove as beneficial to every part of the body as walking.  Active walking in the open air will do more for women, to preserve them in health if they are well, than any other means.  Walking is also one of the most efficient remedies for the recovery of health of the invalid.  The hands and arms are exercised as well as the limbs” (EG White, Health Reformer, 1 April 1872).

“A walk, even in winter, would be more beneficial to the health than all the medicine the doctors may prescribe” (Ellen G White, 2 Testimonies, p. 529).

“Exercise will aid in the work of digestion. Take a walk after a meal; but no violent exercise after a full meal” (Ellen G White, Testimonies, Vol. 2, p. 530).

“Morning exercise, walking in the free, invigorating air of heaven, or cultivating flowers, small fruits, and vegetables, is the surest safeguard against colds, coughs, congestion of the brain, inflammation of the liver, the kidneys, and the lungs, and a hundred other diseases” (Ellen G White, Healthful Living, pp. 176-177).

But no Christian seeking a Christ-like character should play sports for exercise. Christ never “educated His disciples to engage in amusement of football or pugilistic games, to obtain physical exercise, or in theatrical performances; and yet Christ was our pattern in all things” (Ellen G White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 229). For further study, read the booklet: Sports in Adventism.

Water

Our bodies are composed largely of water.  The blood, by means of which all the nourishment we receive is conveyed to the body, is seventy-nine per cent water.  If it were not liquid, so as to hold all the solid substances of our food in solution, the extremities of the body would be deprived of nourishment, and would starve.  Our vital organs, as the heart and lungs and brain, are encased in water, and depend on it for free movement.  Our muscles have a large portion of water in their composition; if they were to become dried, they would be utterly useless; we should be palsied; and so it is with all the organs of the body.  Even the bones have a portion of water in their composition, so that fully two-thirds of the entire body is water.

Evaporation is continually taking place from the body.  There is always in health insensible perspiration, and moisture is given off with every breath.  In order, therefore, for the body to be kept in a normal condition, water must be taken in every day.  A portion, of course, is taken in with our food, even though it is dry, but not sufficient to make up for the loss, and we must therefore drink water daily.

Adults in good health need six to eight glasses of water every day for optimum health.  Start the day with one to two glasses of warm water to cleanse the digestive track, 30 minutes before breakfast.  Drink the rest of the water, not too cold, through the day.

Water is the universal solvent; it is the cleansing fluid. It not only cleanses the outside of our bodies, but it also removes the impurities from the interior; it is water that God has given for the drink of all living creatures. Men have adopted many other drinks, but whatever fluid it be, water is the basis of it, and is the portion from which we receive the benefit. Only man has added to the original drink which God gave; beasts are content to drink water, refusing all other drink, and they are the strongest and healthiest.

If alcoholic liquors be taken into the system, they tend to increase thirst, instead of to diminish it. Alcohol extracts water, so that in drinking it men make the conditions of life more difficult. The various organs become dried, so that every vital function is carried on at a disadvantage. Beer, therefore, is not an improvement upon water, but a degeneration of it, it is not food, and it is a very poor drink, not really satisfying the body’s need, but actually increasing it.

Even so it is with tea and coffee. While the water that is the basis of these drinks do good, supplying fluid to the body, this good is greatly counteracted by the active poisons that are conveyed throughout the system at the same time.  No one who has any respect for his stomach will dose it with the poisons that hinder digestion and destroy the body nerves.

Tea and coffee are stimulants; they do not satisfy a legitimate desire of the body, but a fictitious desire that they created for themselves.  It is the supply that has created the demand. Suppose that there were a big strong ruffian who should make a regular practice of picking up a small boy and throwing him into the water, and then plunging in and pulling the lad out just as he was drowning; would you recommend him for a medal on account of his activity in saving life? Of course you would not. Now tea and coffee are just such conscienceless ruffians as that.  They throw a victim into the ditch, and then pull him out, and the poor, deluded victim embraces them, and says, ‘Noble fellow! you have saved my life.’  And the more the thing is done, the more the victim falls in love with his tormentor.  The trouble is, he does not know that the one who lifts him up temporarily is the same who has pushed him down.  We can get along better without such a ‘benefactor’! Surely, “tea and coffee drinking is a sin” (CD 425.3)!

If people drank only at the right time, there would be far less drinking of substances that are injurious; for it is a fact that the greater portion of the tea, coffee, chocolate, etc, which ought never to be drunk, are taken at meal time, when one ought not to drink anything even fruit juice.  For optimum health, eat whole fruits as food; avoid any drinks at meal.

Drinking at meal is injurious in that it leads one to eat more than is really needed for satisfying hunger, and it dilutes the digestive fluids, so that the result is indigestion. Cold drinks at meal distract the digestion process, as it halts digestion until warmth is imparted to the stomach, causing food to ferment.  Water at meal distracts the flow of and dilutes saliva, causing indigestion.  If accustomed to water at meal, it may be difficult at first to eat food without drinks when the habit of drinking at meals has become established; but a little perseverance, together with the adoption of proper diet, will make it a matter of enjoyment; and the gain in strength of body and clearness of mind will amply repay the preliminary self-denial.

If people would take pains to satisfy their thirst from half an hour to an hour before eating, they would not care to drink when they come to the table; and if at table they eat plant food, chewing slowly and thoroughly, allowing saliva to mingle with food for best digestion, they would not feel the need of drinking immediately at the close. Those who have not tried this do not know the real satisfaction there is in eating and drinking, – a satisfaction the great recommendation of which is that it continues without interruption from one meal to the next.

Even though we may feel somewhat thirsty when the meal begins, if we slowly eat a little dry food we shall soon find this thirst quite disappear; and if there should still be a slight thirst at the close of the meal, if it be resisted, the process of digestion, which will be accelerated by the refraining from drink, will remove it. Thus after two or three hours, where one is in ordinary health, water may be drunk freely.  A glass of water two hours before bedtime would well replace late supper which many imagine they need.

Sunlight

“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day” (Genesis 1:16).  The sun is the great healing agency.  The ordinary rays of the sun will of themselves alone heal many diseases; many persons if they were only brought out doors and given plenty of fresh air and sunlight, would be healed.  The ordinary rays of the sun will in a comparatively short time destroy any disease germ that lives.  It is common science that the influence of light upon bacteria is such that adequate daily exposure to direct sunlight is sufficient to destroy them.  A child living in sunlight takes up the life-giving rays in its blood, by which it gets rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes, sturdy limbs, and a cheerful spirit.

Exposures to sunlight, avoiding sunburn, benefit our bodies.  Adventist scientists at the Uchee Pines Lifestyle Center, list the following: “Sunlight increases: blood circulation; the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood thus enabling oxygen to reach tissues and joints by direct action and reflex action of the blood vessels; the number of white blood cells and their capacity for fighting infection; liver function; our ability to withstand pollutants in our environment; muscle tone and endurance; metabolism; etc.  It also stabilises blood sugar levels: if blood sugar is too high the effect of sunlight on the carbohydrate metabolism is almost indistinguishable from that of insulin, except that it will not take the blood sugar below the normal level; it raises blood sugar if too low.  Sunlight kills streptococcus and other germs.”

But do not fall into the error of supposing that the power and virtue are inherent in the sun itself.  That would be to make it a god, a thing that is commonly done, when men tell what the sun does, and trace the power no farther back. All things are the servants of God, and the heavens simply reveal His glory.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).  “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4); as His life is light, it necessarily follows that there must be life-healing virtue in the light that comes from Him.

There is life in sunlight, simply because the light that lightens our earth is but the glory of God’s life, of which the sun is but a general agent.

An instance of the healing power of light, which also shows that the light which our eyes can see is Christ’s own life, is recorded in the ninth chapter of John.  As Jesus passed by, He saw a poor beggar who was born blind.  As His attention was called to him, He said, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), and forthwith He gave the man sight. The light of Christ’s life healed the blind man’s eyes.

Temperance

It is intemperate to overeat.  Eat only enough to feel satisfied, not “full” or “stuffed. Surely, “excessive indulgence in eating and drinking is sin” (CH 50.3)!

The most common way to be intemperate is to be controlled by appetite.  Whoever knows the dangers of meat eating, yet continue eating animal products, is a slave to his appetite. To be a slave to appetite is to have another god before the Lord.  “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).  To all, the LORD says, “thou shalt have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2-3).

If you are controlled by appetite, then you have another god – “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) – the “spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2), which is Satan.

Perverted appetite or intemperance is “the lust of the flesh” (1 John 2:16).  This is specifically defined as a god; for it is written: “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things” (Philippians 3:18-19).  Is your belly your god?

Temperance is self-control – but many do not have true self-control – control of one part of the man is not self-control – true self-control is control of the whole man.  But this can never be done by the man himself; for the whole of man himself is already subject to the control of “the god of this world,” the evil one.  This control was gained by the evil one, in the Garden of Eden, and through appetite, that is, in the “lust of the flesh.”  Since man is thus the subject of “the god of this world,” a slave, “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14), it is impossible for him of himself to clear himself of that power to which he surrendered himself.

But man can choose deliverance by the power of God, the rightful God of man.  God can set free every man, from all the power of “the god of this world;” and it is only thus that any man can ever gain control of himself.  It is only thus that any man can attain to true self-control, to true temperance.

The heart of man is the place of the seat of God in things pertaining to the man for “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).  The kingdom of the heart and life of man belongs to God: is alone His dominion.  Through the deception of man this kingdom has been usurped by “the god of this world.”  This was done at the choice of man. At the choice of man, God will return to His kingdom, and will take His place upon His throne in the kingdom, and will there rule and reign in righteousness, “even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ and to all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Romans 3:22).

The question of having other gods, or the only true God, is this: Who has the heart? Therefore it is written: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

This principle is expressed in the scripture: “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Corinthians 6:12).  Anything therefore, which has a tendency to bring man under its evil power is the indulgence of idolatry: it is to have another god before the Lord.

Air

Our bodies can be likened to an engine that burns fuel to keep functioning.  The food that we eat is the fuel that we need to burn to keep up this life, but like the fire it must have air to make it burn.  It is the oxygen in the air that comes into us that burns this fuel, and so keeps life and heat in our bodies.  The oxygen burns up the waste matter that is in our bodies – those things that are no good or that are harmful to us.  Like the fuel in the fire, they are turned again into gas, which our blood carries to the lungs, and this poisonous gas is then breathed out into the air, and we take in a fresh supply of oxygen.

The poison from every part of our bodies is carried by the blood to the lungs, where it passes off into the air that fills the lungs, and the good air passes into our blood and is carried all through our bodies. So the air that we breathe out is full of poison, and this is why it is so important that we should have our rooms well supplied with the fresh, pure air of heaven, especially when there are many people in them.  Then if you want pure, clean bodies, you must be sure to get plenty of fresh air; for air that has been breathed over and over again has much poisonous gas in it, and very little oxygen.  For if we keep on breathing the same poisoned air over and over, our blood cannot be purified by it, and the poison stays in our bodies and makes us ill.

How people deliberately throw life away!  They trample under foot the commandments of God, yet “His commandment is life everlasting” (John 12:50).  They act in almost every particular in opposition to “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” that makes us free from death (Romans 8:2), seeming to study ways of getting out of harmony with it.  They shut the life giving breath of God out of their sleeping and living rooms, and when they are forced to get where it does circulate in freshness and purity, the women carefully shut as much as possible out from their lungs by tightly lacing themselves (tight dresses are usually fitted over empty lungs, thus giving no chance for expansion in breathing), and the men pollute all the fresh air with their vile tobacco smoke.

Everywhere there seems to be a mad rush to get rid of life as rapidly as possible; and when failing strength alarms people, they resort to stimulants and drug medicines to whip up the flagging life in order they may still have a little to spend with riotous living!

Rest

First, we go back in the beginning to have the incomparable rest that God gave man.  “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15).  “Eden” means delight, pleasure; the garden of Eden is the garden of delight; the Hebrew word which in this place is rendered “put” is a word meaning rest; it is the word from which the proper name Noah comes (for the signification, see Genesis 5:29); therefore Genesis 2:15 may be rendered thus: ‘And the Lord God took the man, and caused him to rest in the garden of delight to dress it and to keep it.’

Man entered into rest, and this is because man entered into God’s perfect, finished work.  We are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).  “This is the work of God, that ye believe” (John 6:29), and it is solely by faith that we can enjoy God’s work and share His rest; but if like Adam, if we disbelieve God, taking the word of Satan instead, we lose everything.

Second, have regular daily rests of sleep.  Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night to maintain proper health; teenagers need about 9-10 hours, children need 11-12 hours; infants need even more.

Third, we should have a weekly Sabbath rest (for further study read the booklet: Sabbath and Sunday Worship).  Man is not free to labour on “the Sabbath of the Lord” (Exodus 20:10). It is the Lord’s, for “the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28).

Fourth, rest in keeping the Lord’s health laws – let your stomach rest! “After disposing of one meal, the digestive organs need rest. At least five or six hours should intervene between the meals, and most persons who give the plan a trial, will find that two meals a day are better than three” (MH 304.1).  “The stomach, when we lie down to rest, should have its work done, that it may enjoy rest, as well as other portions of the body. The work of digestion should not be carried on through any period of the sleeping hours” (HL 84.5). “In most cases, two meals are preferable to three. Supper, when taken at an early hour, interferes with the digestion of the previous meal. When taken later, it is not itself digested before bedtime. Thus the stomach fails of securing proper rest. The sleep is disturbed, the brain and nerves are wearied, the appetite for breakfast is impaired, the whole system is unrefreshed, and is unready for the day’s duties” (Ed 205.3).

The feeling that most people mistake for hunger in the evening is usually simple weariness – a call for rest, and not food.  An already overworked stomach, or sluggish bowels will produce a sensation like hunger; to eat food is the worst thing to do in that state.  When you sit down or lie down after an unusually long walk, you have a sense of weariness in your legs, that you were not conscious of while they were on the strain; but you do not take that as evidence that they need more exercise.  You know that they need rest. Well, why can we not deal as sensibly with our stomachs as with our legs?

Many professed Christians neglect Christ’s health laws, “having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2), having no notion of leaving off their evil ways.  So long as conscience makes one uncomfortable over sins committed, there is hope of repentance and salvation; but what if you are offered a drug that could relieve you of all compunctions of conscience, while still “fulfilling the desires of the flesh” (Ephesians 2:3)?  Many professed Christians sadly take this very approach: they sin by defiling the body temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:17; 6:19), they suffer pain, then they take drugs to deaden that pain, so that they can continue in sin with impunity!  Many did so in ignorance that “God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).  To rest in the finished work of God and keep His Sabbath, we must not defile His body temple.

Trust in Divine Power

To follow the Lord’s health laws, is to show trust in Divine power and distrust in human power.  The tenor of the Bible is to inculcate distrust of human power and to encourage trust in Divine power.  God firmly says to us: “I will not fail thee” (Joshua 1:5).  He has pledged Himself to help us, and He has a good reputation.  “He is faithful that promised” (Hebrews 10:23).  “They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee” (Psalm 9:10).  “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even for ever” (Psalm 125:2).  “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepth thee will not slumber” (Psalm 121:3).

Appendix 1 – Drugs and Their Effects

In a 2000 study, iatrogenic (“physician-induced”) deaths in America were put at 225,000 per year (106,000 due to negative effects of properly prescribed drugs)! (Dr Barbara Starfield, ‘Is US Health Really the Best in the World?’ [2000] 284 Journal of the American Medical Association 483).  In 2003, authors of Death by Medicine (Dr Gary Null, Dr Carolyn Dean, Dr Martin Feldman, Dr Debora Rasio, Dr Dorothy Smith) put iatrogenic deaths in America at 783,936 per year! The findings remind us what Ellen G White wrote in 1899, and here is the entire article:

Drugs and Their Effects [Mrs. E. G. White, Review and Herald, 5 September 1899]

“More deaths have been caused by drug-taking than from all other causes combined. If there was in the land one physician in the place of thousands, a vast amount of premature mortality would be prevented. Multitudes of physicians, and multitudes of drugs, have cursed the inhabitants of the earth, and have carried thousands and tens of thousands to untimely graves.

“Indulgence in eating too frequently, and in too large quantities, overtaxes the digestive organs, and produces a feverish state of the system. The blood becomes impure, and then diseases of various kinds occur. A physician is sent for, who prescribes some drug, which gives present relief, but does not cure the disease. It may change the form of disease, but the real evil is increased tenfold. Nature was doing her best to rid the system of an accumulation of impurities; and had she been left to herself, aided by the common blessings of heaven, such as pure air and pure water, a speedy and safe cure would have been effected.

“In such cases the sufferers can do for themselves that which others can not do as well for them. They should begin to relieve nature of the load they have forced upon her. They should remove the cause by fasting a short time, and giving the stomach time to rest. The feverish state of the system should be reduced by a careful and understanding application of water. These efforts will help nature in her struggle to free the system of impurities. But generally the persons who suffer pain become impatient. They are not willing to practise self-denial, and suffer a little from hunger, neither are they willing to wait the slow process of nature to build up the overtaxed energies of the system; but they are determined to obtain relief at once, and so take powerful drugs, prescribed by physicians. Nature was doing her work well, and would have triumphed; but while accomplishing her task, a foreign substance of a poisonous nature was introduced. What a mistake! Abused nature has now two evils to war against instead of one. She leaves the work in which she was engaged, and resolutely takes hold to expel the intruder newly introduced into the system. Nature feels this double draft upon her resources, and becomes enfeebled.

“Drugs never cure disease. They only change its form and location. Nature alone is the effectual restorer, and how much better can she perform her task if left to herself! But this privilege is seldom allowed her. If crippled nature bears up under the load, and finally accomplishes in a measure her double task, and the patient lives, the credit is given to the physician. But if nature fails in her effort to expel the poison from the system, and the patient dies, it is called a wonderful dispensation of Providence. If the patient had taken a course to relieve overburdened nature in season, and understandingly used pure, soft water, this dispensation of drug mortality might have been wholly averted. The use of water can accomplish but little, if the patient does not realize the necessity of strict attention to his diet.

“Many are living in violation of the laws of health, and are ignorant of the relation their habits of eating, drinking, and working sustain to their health. They will not arouse to their true condition until nature protests against the abuse she is suffering, by aches and pains in the system. If, even then, the sufferers would only begin the work right, and would resort to the simple means they have neglected,—the use of water and proper diet,—nature would have just the help that she requires, and which she ought to have had long before. If this course is pursued, the patient will generally recover without being debilitated.

“When drugs are introduced into the system, they may for a time seem to have a beneficial effect. A change may take place, but the disease is not cured. It will manifest itself in some other form. In nature's efforts to expel the drug from the system, intense suffering is sometimes caused the patient. The disease that the drug was given to cure may disappear, but only to reappear in a new form, such as skin diseases, ulcers, painful diseased joints, and sometimes in a more dangerous and deadly form. The liver, heart, and brain are frequently affected by drugs, and often all these organs are burdened with disease; and the unfortunate subjects, if they live, are invalids for life, wearily dragging out a miserable existence.

“Oh, how much that poisonous drug cost! If it did not cost the life, it cost quite too much. Nature has been crippled in all her efforts. The whole machinery is out of order, and at a future period in life, when these fine works, which have been injured, are to be relied upon to act a more important part in union with all the fine works of nature's machinery, they can not readily and strongly perform their labor, and the whole system feels the lack. These organs, which should be in a healthy condition, are enfeebled, and the blood becomes impure. Nature keeps struggling, and the patient suffers with different ailments, until there is a sudden break-down, and death follows. More die from the use of drugs than would die from disease, were nature left to do her own work.

“Very many lives have been sacrificed by physicians’ administering drugs for unknown diseases. They have no real knowledge of the exact disease that afflicts the patient. But physicians are expected to know in a moment what to do; and unless they act at once as if they understood the disease perfectly, they are considered by impatient friends, and by the sick, as incompetent. Therefore, to gratify erroneous opinions of the sick and their friends, medicine must be administered, experiments and tests tried, to cure the patient of a disease of which the physician has no real knowledge. Nature is loaded with poisonous drugs, which she can not expel from the system. The physicians themselves are often convinced that death was the result of their use of powerful medicines for a disease that did not exist.”  May the reader choose natural remedies!

Appendix 2 – Personal testimony on using simple herbs

Below is my personal testimony on how I used simple herbs to cure bacterial infection, malaria, and a fatal injury.

For years I had suffered from peptic ulcers.  Early in 2014, medical test revealed I had deadly bacteria: Helicobacter Pylori. A doctor prescribed these drugs: 21 Amoxicillin 500mg capsules; 14 Clarityromycin 500mg tablets; and 28 Lansoprazole 30mg gastro-resistant capsules. I refused to take the drugs. I used a tincture of roots of two herbs: echinacea and goldenseal. After this herbal treatment, I went to the doctor for a test; I tested negative for the bacteria!  By the simple herbs, I avoided side effects of drugs!

Late 2014, visiting in East Africa, I contracted the deadly malaria.  I refused to take the common drug: Chloroquine.  I used 12 seeds of papaya (I cracked black shells off, chewed the inner whitish parts) with juice of two lemons.  Within only 30 minutes, malaria symptoms were completely gone!  By the way, it is said that for non-vegans, it would take longer for malaria to cure by this treatment.  By papaya seeds, I treated malaria and avoided side effects of drugs!

Early 2015, while visiting in East Africa, I had an accident that left me with a fatal injury into my under foot flesh. I was rushed to a Medical Clinic.  The doctor proposed: stitching, tetanus vaccine injection, antibiotics and painkillers.  I refused to have these drugs.  I used charcoal powder, starch and water, to make charcoal poultice, wrapped it in a paper towel, and I bandaged the charcoal poultice on the wound.  I repeated this twice a day for five days, and the injury completely healed!  By using charcoal, I avoided side effects of vaccine and antibiotics!

Appendix 3 – Diabetes Type II (Treatment Protocol)

Here is how to treat Diabetes Type II using NEWSTART.  This is a typical natural treatment, obtained by permission from Uchee Pines Lifestyle Center (ucheepines.org), which is based on research and experience of qualified health professionals at Uchee Pines Lifestyle Center who are Seventh-day Adventists.

 

Nutrition

• Eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, peas, lentils, starchy roots).
• The foods least likely to cause your blood glucose levels to go up are the following in the following order: raw green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, etc), cooked green leafy vegetables (celery, broccoli), raw vegetables, cooked vegetables, cooked legumes (beans, peas, lentils), roots & squashes (sweet potato, carrot, beet, pumpkin, summer squash), nuts and seeds (flax, almond, walnut, pumpkin), cooked whole grains (brown rice, oatmeal, barley), raw low-glycemic fruits (kiwi, grapefruit, berries), & other raw fruits.
• Avoid processed foods (refined flour, white rice, fatty foods).
• Agaricus mushrooms (like button mushrooms) have been shown to decrease insulin resistance in type-II diabetics.
• Eating oats and oat bran for 6 weeks significantly decreases before-meal blood glucose, 24-hour blood glucose, and insulin level in type-II diabetics.
• Soy has also been shown to decrease glucose levels.
• Avoid spicy foods (hot curry, cayenne, black/white pepper).
• Avoid high-fat foods (oils, margarines, butter, cheese, etc).
• Eat only two meals daily, with a large breakfast and medium-size lunch (allow at least 5 hours between meals).
• No meals within 3 hours of bedtime or naps.
• No snacks between meals (except water).
• Eat only enough to feel satisfied, but not “full” or “stuffed.”

 

Exercise

• Take a walk after each meal, even if you can only walk for 10-15 minutes. A thirty-minute walk would be great.
• Maintain a regular cardiovascular exercise routine (walking, gardening, etc). You should exercise at least 5-6 days weekly. Begin with an exercise level that is comfortable for you, and each day do a little bit more or go a little bit farther than before. Work up to about 1 hour of exercise daily.
• Maintain a regular resistance exercise routine (weights, etc). Plan for at least 2 days resistance exercise weekly, working all major muscle groups (arms, shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, thighs, and legs). Begin with a weight that you can easily lift 15 times, then repeat another 15 times. Do this for every muscle group. Once you can do the routine without getting sore, increase the weight slightly so that you can lift the new weight at least 10 times without significant difficulty. Repeat another 10 times (2 sets) for each muscle group. As you strengthen, you can increase the number of times you lift the weight (up to 15 again), and then increase the weight again. As you increase muscle mass, you will lose fat mass, and your insulin resistance will decrease. You will gain agility and balance.
• Avoid vigorous exercise within a few hours of meal times.

 

Water

• Drink at least 1 ounce [0.028 litre or 28 millilitres] of water daily for every 2 pounds [1 kilogram] that you weigh (If you weigh 128 pounds [58 kilograms], you need to drink at least 64 ounces [2 litres] or 8 cups of water, daily).
• Drink 2 cups of water on arising in the morning.
• No drink within ½ hour before and 1 hour after meals.
• Avoid very hot or very cold water.
• Avoid drinks (sodas, coffee, tea, juice, milk) except water.

 

Sunshine

• Get 15-30 minutes (minimum) of sunshine during the day, depending upon your complexion. Do not burn. Low vitamin D levels are associated with increased risk for developing diabetes, greater difficulty in controlling blood glucose.
• The following factors increase the amount of vitamin D production: (1) More skin exposed (skin on your back has a greater capacity to produce vitamin D than other surfaces); (2) Lying or sitting (more direct exposure of skin to the sun); (3) Mid-day sunshine; (4) Remain warm after sun exposure.

 

Temperance

• Avoid even a drop of caffeinated or alcoholic beverages – they increase empty calories and blood glucose levels.
• Avoid overeating at meal, be satisfied, but not “stuffed.”

 

Air

• Get outside in the fresh air and breathe deeply.
• Practice deep breathing regularly. For this, breathe in for a moderately slow count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 7, and breathe out for a count of 9. Repeat 10 times in a row. Do this deep breathing exercise 3-5 times daily.

 

Rest

• Adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night to maintain proper health. Teenagers need 9-10 hours, children need 11-12 hours; infants need even more.
• Sleep before midnight is twice as restorative than sleep after midnight, so get to bed early (around 9 pm). This matches best with the natural variations in the secretion of melatonin, your circadian rhythm “hormone.”
• Have a regular time for sleep, and stick to it, always.

 

Trust in Divine power

• Early in the morning, spend time in prayer, talk to God about your wants, needs, and concerns. Trust that His promises are true for you, accept His help in your life.

Spend time every day reading from the Bible, seeing it as God’s love letter to you.