FOOD PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN: DIARRHOEA IN BABIES AND CHILDREN
Diarrhoea in babies and children can have a great many causes, the most obvious one being infection with bacteria, viruses or other microbes. But if infections and other possible causes (such as cystic fibrosis) have been ruled out by your doctor, then you should consider the possible role of food.
Diarrhoea due to food sensitivity can come on suddenly and acutely, or it may start gradually and slowly get worse. There may be physical damage to the gut wall, which can be checked by taking a tiny sample and examining it under a microscope – this is known as a biopsy. However, there can also be diarrhoea due to food without any major damage to the gut. Where there is visible damage, this may indicate coeliac disease or infant colitis. The latter is,characterized by blood and mucus in the stools. The doctor will wish to eliminate both these possibilities before looking at other forms of food sensitivity.
An acute reaction to food may be difficult to distinguish from a viral infection that produces an attack of gastroenteritis, because the virus cannot always be detected in the baby’s stools. Even if there has been an infection, this does not rule out the possibility of food sensitivity: diarrhoea of any sort can sensitize the gut so that foods which were previously eaten without trouble now produce symptoms. Drinking milk makes the situation worse, because there is often a transient lactase deficiency.
Where diarrhoea is due to food sensitivity, in infants and children, the culprit food often turns out to be cow’s milk. Where milk sensitivity occurs, problems with other foods may follow, because the structure of the gut wall is altered by the reaction to milk. It becomes more ‘leaky’ which allows other food molecules through and the body may then react adversely to these as well. Often the reaction to other foods is only temporary – if they are eliminated from the diet for a few months they can be eaten again without difficulty. The reaction to milk tends to be more persistent, but most children who are sensitive to milk as babies can drink it once more by the time they are three or four. For a small number of people, however, the milk sensitivity will be lifelong.
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Allergies
FOOD INTOLERANCE: STAPLE CROPS
All this happened in the Middle East, about 12,000-10,000 years ago, when the earliest forms of wheat and barley were domesticated. The same sort of events occurred quite independently in the Far East between about 9,000 and 7,000 years ago, and in Central America over 7,000 years ago. Grass-derived crops, which we now call cereals, were important in both areas. In the Far East, rice became the main crop (or staple), while in the Americas it was maize, also known as corn. In Africa, domestication probably took place rather later, and the main cereal crops were millet and sorghum. South-east Asian farmers differed in relying on a root-crop, the yam, as their staple, and root-crops were also important in other parts of the world where grasses did not grow well. The potato became the main crop of the high Andes, and in tropical Africa another type of yam was grown.
With the growing of these staple crops, foods such as grass seeds and roots, that had previously been eaten in fairly small amounts, became the mainstay of the diet. Some people believe that this was a bad thing for human health because we were not adapted to eat large quantities of starch, but that is a debatable point. What may be more important is the fact that we are eating large quantities of the particular chemical ‘armaments’ found in these crops. Selection and plant breeding have reduced the amounts of these armaments substantially, of course, which is why our crop plants lack the bitterness of their wild equivalents, such as crab-apples or sloes. But it is possible that some chemicals with more insidious effects may remain, and that relying so heavily on a staple crop may expose us to excessive amounts of those chemicals.
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Allergies
ALPINE PLANTS AND LOWLAND PLANTS – SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS
Some time ago, Professor Flueck delivered an interesting lecture to members of the Swiss Association of Apothecaries dealing with exactly these observations and the many factors that combine to produce active substances in plants. The lecture was based on the results of experiments in which various medicinal herbs had been grown at different altitudes but in identical soils. The experiments enabled Professor Flueck to prove beyond doubt that the therapeutic value of the plants does not depend solely upon the altitude at which they grow. In order to accurately identify the other factors involved, the experiments were fully controlled; the same plant was grown at different altitudes but in the same kind of soil in every case.
Better growth and content of active substances was achieved with the plants grown in sheltered mountain valleys, exposed to sunshine but protected from the winds, than with those grown at higher altitudes with equal exposure to the sun but unprotected from the winds. For this reason certain plants were found to do better at middle elevations than at higher altitudes. Others produce a higher content of medicinal properties if grown in the shade, or at least semi-shade, but these are usually exceptions to the rule.
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Herbal
THE SKIN – NATURAL BEAUTY CARE (KEEPING HEALTHY…)
Much time is often wasted in efforts to improve one’s looks cosmetically. Yet how much easier it would be to keep the body healthy and, in particular, to take good care of the sex glands right from the start. Their efficiency contributes to maintaining youthfulness longer. For this, sunlight, deep-breathing and exercise are important. Anyone who spends most of his time in heated rooms, rarely moves around in the open air, never goes for walks or hikes or practises some other sport in moderation, should not be surprised if he becomes like a hothouse plant and grows old before his time. Remember, exercise in the open air, perhaps gardening or walking, has much to do with keeping young and fit. Regular showers, alternating between hot and cold water, are also beneficial since they promote good circulation. Recommended, too, are good plant remedies for effective external application, such as Symphosan tincture or Symphytum Cream, and Violaforce. These two remedies, applied in alternation, help to reduce the size of the pores and rejuvenate the skin.
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Herbal
NATURE DOCTOR – OUR TEETH – WHY CORRECT NUTRITION IS NECESSARY
Not only solid food but also wholefood is necessary to keep the teeth healthy, for the blood can only supply the nutrients and materials needed for regeneration and repair that it has available. If we do not take in enough calcium, even the best machinery ready to do the repair work cannot function because the necessary substances are lacking. A bricklayer will not be able to build a strong wall if he does not use enough lime or cement in his mortar. The same principle applies to our teeth. Deficiencies of calcium, vitamin D and fluoride, besides other vital substances, tend to prepare the way for weakness and degeneration.
Such degenerative symptoms, particularly dental caries and also degenerative effects apparent in the jawbone, are the consequences of our modern denatured food, our eating habits and life-style. People in less developed parts of the world, who have not yet been affected by modern ways but live a healthy natural life, generally possess fine teeth.
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Herbal
THE COMPLEX NATURE OF THE CAUSES – SUFFERING AND PAIN (CANCER)
Anyone who has seen the suffering and pain of someone afflicted with cancer of the larynx or lungs will not find it too difficult to give up smoking for ever. If you suffer from rheumatism or arthritis and are sensitive to volcanic influences, you should keep away from radioactive treatments because the water of volcanic springs that are radioactive can also cause cancer.
All in all, do not be overanxious, yet still be sensible and careful. You do not want to do what is harmful while thinking you were doing yourself some good. Strong stimulations can destroy, whereas milder ones can be beneficial.
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Herbal
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS – VARIOUS APPROACHES TO TREATMENT – A TESTIMONIAL OF SUCCESS
‘Now I can watch television for hours without any difficulty, participate quite normally in conversations, and I read a lot.’
Letters like this one from our Belgian patient are indeed encouraging. They show that if we support nature it has the power to bring about a regeneration even in serious cases of illness. The patient in question had been ill for many years and I am sure that his progress and success would have been better still if the treatment could have been given right from the start. The remedies mentioned by the patient are good for raising the calcium level and curing circulatory disturbances, inflammation and spasms.
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Herbal
BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO SEXUAL DISORDERS: THE LAW OF PARSIMONY
The core of the behavioral evaluation is the identification of specific target behaviors. In the sexual area the target behaviors are usually phobias. To those who have not actually seen the dramatic changes in complex sexual problems that may be brought about through the reduction of a simple phobia, such an approach may seem to be simplistic. In actuality, it would be more correct to designate this approach as parsimonious.
The Law of Parsimony is central to scientific thinking. Essentially this law states that “of alternative explanations for a given phenomenon, choose the simplest, that requiring the fewest assumptions, provided it meets the facts adequately” (Schneirla). A corrolary to this law, as it may be applied to the therapeutic formulation, is never to use a complex, higher-level psychological pattern as the core of the formation, when an equally adequate formulation is available using simpler, lower-level behaviors. If the choice is between a simple conditioned response to a specific stimulus and a complex dynamic formulation involving internal conflict and assumptions of repression, instinctual drives, and unconscious fantasies, the logic of science compels us to accept the former- provided it meets the facts adequately.
In sexual treatment, there are several major reasons why therapists do not arrive at the most parsimonious treatment formulation, namely:
1. The confusion between genesis and maintenance. The psychological constellation that produced the sexual symptoms may not be involved in the maintenance of these symptoms. As already noted, the symptom pattern may achieve functional autonomy from the forces that caused it. As also previously noted, the problem behaviors may now be maintaining the original constellation. To arrive at the most parsimonious formulation, the therapist must focus on the psychological variables keeping the problem behavior active in the present, rather than on the variables originally causing it.
2. The failure to distinguish between teleological and automatic behaviors. Symptomatic behaviors often have certain consequences. A sexual dysfunction may result in humiliating the person or frustrating the partner. All too frequently this is interpreted in teleological terms. The purpose of the symptom is to achieve this self-humiliation or frustration of the partner. It is completely true that people are capable of behaving in such a purposive manner. People also are capable of acquiring automatic conditioned responses to specific stimuli or acquiring certain modes of behavior because of the impact of external contingencies of reinforcement. In those instances self-humiliation or partner frustration may be a by-product rather than a goal of the symptom. The Law of Parsimony requires that we choose the simpler, conditioning explanation over the purposive one, unless compelling reasons exist to do otherwise.
3. The failure to distinguish between precipitating and derivative disturbances. Usually patients with sexual problems come in surrounded by an aura of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, marital or inter-personal problems, and other disturbances. There is a strong temptation to see the sexual problem as arising out of this disturbed context, as sometimes it does. However, many times these disturbances derive from the sexual malfunction, and to make them part of the therapeutic formulation is to complicate that formulation unnecessarily. Unless there are compelling reasons, it is usually most parsimonious to consider such disturbances as deriving from the symptom rather than as causing it.
A very common error along these lines is made with people with sexual variant behavior. Very common, particularly among fetishists and transvestites, are the derived feelings of “being a monster” or of being found out by other people and being contemptuously rejected. Many times these derived reactions are considered to be precipitating stimuli leading to the variant behavior. Hence, unnecessarily complicated formulations are set forth. Unless there is specific reason to believe otherwise, it is most parsimonious to exclude these reactions from the formulation.
4. The failure to discern when problems are independent of each other. When a person has several problems, the tendency all too often is to see them as being inter-related. Most often they are seen as covarying from a common root cause. Should a woman have a dysfunction of sexual arousal and a fear of authority, both problems are likely to be seen as stemming from an oedipal conflict regarding father. This often leads to an unnecessarily complex therapeutic formulation and a cumbersome treatment strategy. The most parsimonious formulation may see them as two simple, independent fears: the fear of not being aroused and the separate fear of authority. This conception requires the fewest assumptions. Unless there is specific and definite evidence to show that problems are inter-related, they should be considered to be independent of each other.
Therefore, formulating a sexual problem, even a complex one, in terms of one or several simple phobic reactions is not simplistic. Rather, it is fully scientific in its utilization of the most parsimonious explanation of the problem. Also, it often leads to the most effective course of therapeutic action.
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Men’s Health
HOMOSEXUALISM: INCIDENCE AND ETIOLOGY
Incidence
There are no public health statistics on the incidence of either male or female homosexuality or bisexuality. The figures most commonly quoted are those of Kinsey, since subsequent smaller-scale studies confirm them. Kinsey rated homosexuality on a seven-point scale (0—6). A rating of six signifies exclusive or obligative homosexuality of long duration, most likely a lifetime. A man with a rating of three will have had more than incidental homosexual participation off and on for several years during adolescence or later, not necessarily for a lifetime, and not to the exclusion of heterosexual participation. Kinsey estimated a rating of from three to six for 10% of the adult male population, and of five or six for 3%. The figures for the female population are less definite but are estimated at one-half to one-third those for males. On the basis of these estimates, the predominantly homosexual male population in the United States today is approximately three million plus, and the female, one million or more.
There is disagreement, sometimes acrimonious, among experts as to the etiology of homosexuality, as there is also of heterosexuality and bisexuality. Theories range from loose assumptions of voluntary choice, through psychodynamic determinants in the personal biography, to hereditary predestinarianism. There is a good possibility based on experimental animal studies, that an anomaly in prenatal hormonal function may influence sexual pathways in the central nervous system to remain sexually undifferentiated or potentially bisexual. In human beings, an individual so affected would be vulnerable, or easily responsive to additional postnatal influences, primarily social influences that enter the brain through the eyes, ears, and skin senses, that might favor perpetuation of bi-potentiality or its resolution in a homosexual differentiation of gender identity/role. Once differentiated, a strongly homosexual gender identity/role tends to persist without changing.
There is not enough knowledge yet to formulate a rational program of prevention. Nonetheless, there is strong presumptive evidence that lifting the taboo on infantile and childhood sexuality, and responding positively to normal heterosexual rehearsal play in the early years, strongly favors heterosexuality at puberty and in adulthood. This evidence comes from anthropological studies and from experimental studies of psychosexual development in nonhuman primates.
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Men’s Health
SEX DISCRIMINATION: HISTORY
Although thorough examinations of how women were regarded throughout history can be found elsewhere (Bullough; Taylor) it is nonetheless instructive to consider briefly a few central points. Stereotypes about women have had a long tradition in our culture, and it is important to view current events not as isolated happenings but as part of a historical progression. Particularly germane to the discriminatory treatment of women is the age-old image of women as inferior to men and the long-standing image of women as both physically and emotionally frail. The idea that women are inferior to men has been accepted throughout Western history. The Greeks excluded women from any political, intellectual, or social activities, and gave them no legal status or education. Women were viewed as equipped only to bear children and to maintain the home, and they often had no contact with anyone outside their immediate households (Arthur). Aristotle perhaps best articulated the Greek image of women when he wrote, “We should look on the female state as I being … a deformity”. Plato, although more diplomatic, was no less biased in his view, “All the pursuits of men are the pursuits of women also, but in all of them a woman is inferior to a man”.
Religious teachings also espoused this point of view (Hunter). In the creation story in the Book of Genesis, Eve is essentially an afterthought, created from Adam. Elsewhere in the Bible, women are depicted as property, first of their fathers, then of their husbands. Christianity, although ostensibly more liberal in its conception of women, largely through the writings of Paul, also has relegated women to a secondary status, allowing them no important role in the church. The Judeo-Christian tradition thus perpetuated the negative view of women so prevalent in antiquity. An alternative view of women began to emerge in France in the eleventh century. Chivalry came into being. Now a woman no longer was a man’s inferior but his inspiration to excellence and his duty to protect. Even so, women were confined to passive roles, waiting for knights to perform brave deeds to win their love. Although different, this also was a belittling role for women. Again their dependence upon men was highlighted, suggestive of a fundamental weakness and inability to cope with life’s realities.
These views of women, women as inferior and women as weak and dependent, have predominated through the centuries. The consequence has been the legitimization of the differential treatment of women. Even the courts, until very recently, accepted womanhood as a condition warranting different treatment by the law (Agate and Meacham). Using the commonly accepted cultural conception of women, United States Supreme Court Justice Bradley in 1873 explained why a state could constitutionally ban women from practicing law: “The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life” (Bradwell v. Illinois, 83 U.S. (16 Wall) 130, 141). It was not until almost a hundred years later that the Supreme Court first ruled that sex was not a permissible basis for differential legal treatment.
Stereotypes about what women are like are part of our heritage. Our legacy is the teaching that men and women are fundamentally different not only in the roles they have played, but also in their capabilities and talents.
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Men’s Health
