Natural Healing Power

First of all my apologies for having been “out of the air” for a while.

Let me share a program with you which I gave to one of my patients today (this is not the USA). It is a good example of natural healing, going to the cause of the problems. It will work for those cases which are caused by hardening of the arteries. There can be other causes as well, sometimes there can be an hormonal issue for example, but these other causes are not covered today.

High blood pressure is usually a sign of hardening of the arteries and plaque formation against the walls of the arteries, clogging the blood vessels and thereby comprising blood flow, oxygenation and nourishment in tissue and organs ahead of the (partial) blockage.

The good message is that this process can be reversed. By paying attention to our diets, eliminating junk foods and other foods which clog up our system, we can certainly stop that process of hardening and plaque formation. Because the root cause of the problem is what we eat. There is a saying “we are what we eat”. Diet is not the only problem of course, but still, it is almost true, because our bodies are wonderfully designed in such a way, that providing it gets the correct nourishment, and it is eliminating properly (waste and toxins etc), it will always strive for the best health possible. No one would dream of putting the wrong type of fuel in his car. With our bodies it is the same thing. We need proper nourishment, which is not provided by the common foods which most people enjoy. These common foods are constipating and clog up our system, so the body can not do its proper job.

Once we have a problem, we need to do some cleansing. Those plaques in the arteries need to be dissolved, so eventually they can regain their normal elasticity with normal blood pressure.

For cleansing you first need to make sure there are good bowel movements, one for every meal (large, nice and soft without straining and without any discomfort whatsoever). Good bowel movements are top priority, you will never win the battle without. This applies to any condition by the way.

The second important thing is cleansing of the liver. If the liver is in good condition then it will get rid of the excess cholesterol in the blood, put it in the bile and out it goes via the bowels. With a good functioning liver the bad cholesterol level in the blood will come down, and the same applies to triglycerides. Warning: you better not have your cholesterol tested while you are cleansing. The reason is that your cholesterol can go up temporarily while it is coming loose of the plaques and going into the blood (after which it ends up in the liver for elimination). When the plaque is dissolved, then the cholesterol will come down to normal!

Calcium deposits in the plaque in the arteries can be dissolved with apple cider vinegar (only use raw unpasteurized and without preservatives, not the local one). The calcium has settled down in the arteries because it came in such a way that the body could not utilize it. Calcium in refined foods is missing other minerals and trace elements which are needed for proper utilization in the body, like silicon for example. So if the calcium is dissolved by the apple cider vinegar, and the other needed trace elements are still not there, then the calcium can not go anywhere, it will just settle somewhere else in the system without doing much good, may it is now going to block a more important vessel and you will be in trouble. So what you also need is silicon especially (besides other minerals which are in natural foods), which you can find in inyawuthi (bulrush millet, pearl millet). Inyawuthi is the best food source of silicon. Horsetail herb also has a lot of usable silicon, so that can also help. Then the silicon will help the calcium along to the place where it belongs, most of it will go to the bones.

So summarizing what you need for high BP:

1 A diet of wholesome natural unprocessed foods. These foods do not harden arteries, do not cause plaque in the arteries (blood vessels) and do not cause high Blood Pressure. This means practically

Vegetables (either raw or lightly steamed) (‘Vegetables’ includes potatoes and sweet potatoes). Eat a lot of vegetables, any you like.

Fruits

Whole grains

Legumes (peas, lentils, and any type of beans, except soyabeans, do not eat soy products)

Raw nuts and seeds

This is the most wholesome and healthy diet, and proven to be so. The only thing which can be a problem on the long run is vitamin B12. Normally the body has enough stored for about 2-3 years, so no need to rush here. If you do this diet for a long time (recommended!!!), then it could be wise to add a vit B12 supplement (methyl-B12 is the type usable by the body).

Vegetarian diets do not always have a good name and rightly so, because many vegetarians do not take enough care about what they are eating as long as they don’t eat animal products. So if you are vegetarian and you eat a lot of refined grains for example, that can be worse than any other diet, and is not healthy at all. So you need to make sure you go for natural whole foods, and then you will reap the benefits. Make sure you get a lot of vegetables which are powerhouses of nutrients.

2 Elimination of all foods which cause the problem. See the diet sheet. No sugar, no refined foods, no margarin or cooking oils (except cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, take care to never buy olive oil which says ‘pomace oil’ somewhere on the label), absolutely no animal products (they encourage high cholesterol levels), no diary products (there is a substance in homogenized pasteurized milk, xanthine oxidase, which damages the blood vessels). After the healing phase one could try amasi (clabbered milk) from raw milk, but this is not encouraged for the time being.

3 Cleansing of the bowels
Rhubarb root is effective. The Bowel Formula provides rhubarb root mixed with licorice root. Licorice root can increase the BP in high doses, but I don’t think it will affect one in this small dose. Anyway, if it causes problems then better switch to pure rhubarb root . (N.B. Rhubarb root is not my first choice, but the best local alternative out here)

There is a Lower Bowel Formula on the market (USA), which is very effective and which can be taken long term, see Dr Christopher products, Fen-LB.

4 Cleansing of the liver
Dandelion and Milk thistle are both very good for the liver. Take 3 cups per day.

5 Apple cider vinegar

6 Inyawuthi (type of millet, whole grain, soaked, sprouted and cooked).
Horsetail herb tea 3 cups per day.
These are both for silicon. There is a formula of Dr Christopher which is called Calc-T, which has oat straw and comfrey for best utilization of the silicon.

7 Chili pepper (hot, raw, home ground) is very good to improve circulation and to reduce high BP. In my experience it does not work for chronic hypertension where there is plaque formation. That plaque simply needs to be dissolved.

8 Also garlic and ginger are very good to get rid of bad cholesterol

9 One may add a blood cleanser as well, but this should only be done after proper instruction, to ensure it is done the right way.

The above is an example of what can be done. It is simple but effective program. With understanding and motivation one can make healthy choices, stay fit, and save a lot of money on medications, doctors visits and hospitalizations for either hypertension or for related problems, like a heart attack or a stroke for example.

Take care,

Jannette Benschop

‘You can not stop disease through any kind of adjustments, treatments or diets, without stopping the eating of the foods which produce disease’ (Arnold Ehret).

Modern foods create mucus, uneliminated waste and toxins in the system, which cause discomfort or disease one way or another.

There are two types of mucus. There is a thin natural layer covering and lubricating mucosal linings. This layer is healthy and necessary. Then there is pathogenic (=causing disease) mucus, which is the result of eating the wrong types of foods. The last type is an ideal medium for propagating germs, microbes and bacteria. Cow’s milk is the worst when it comes to production of pathogenic mucus. And that is why babies raised on cow’s milk have constantly running noses, infected tonsils etc. I have heard a doctor say that tonsillitis is strongly connected to drinking of milk, he never saw tonsillitis in people who never drank milk.

It all starts in the colon. It makes a thick layer of mucus trying to protect the body against unwanted disease causing substances. When the system is overwhelmed toxins and what all will get absorbed into the circulation, and cause trouble here or there.

Mucus forming ‘foods’ are dairy products, all sorts of meats, margarine and cooking oils, refined flours, anything with sugar, excess salt, etc

Mucusless diet on the other hand prevents the formation of mucus and helps the body to eliminate waste and toxins, and prevent and reverse disease.

A mucusless diet mainly consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. If needed, depending on your circumstances and on availability, you can add raw, sprouted, or low heated grains and legumes.

In this modern age it is totally impossible to avoid toxins of all kinds, be it from our plastic containers in which we store our food, gases emitted from our furniture, air pollution by traffic and industry, our cell phones, pesticides, insecticides, all sorts of chemicals used nowadays, and what all.

Yes, you could try to clean up your diet, clean up your indoor environment, and live in the forest, settle as a recluse, but for most of us that is very impractical, to say the least…..and you will still not avoid everything….

The alternative is to reduce the toxic load in such a way that the body will be able to handle it. We can not avoid toxins all together, but the good and surprising news is that cleaning up the diet alone will go a long way and deal with most diseases when it comes to prevention and healing.

Our bodies need proper nourishment as well in order to be able to function well. Junk foods in the broadest sense of the word (everything which is not natural and generally everything which comes in a package) do not supply the needed nutrients, they will only serve to clog up the system and make it impossible to eliminate what needs to be eliminated.

We need a clean system. The good news is that the body is geared towards cleansing as long as we do not overwhelm the detox and elimination systems. Our liver is an amazing detox factory, but we can ask too much of it.

True, diet alone is not the only thing, but it certainly is the main culprit in causing the diseases which are caused by our modern way of life in our present day world. The wrong foods serve to clog up the system, so detox and elimination are hindered and disease sets in.

Colds and flus for example are not something unavoidable, they are the result of our way of life with loads of mucus forming foods. If you clear up your diet, you will not catch colds and flu’s and you will not be troubled by running noses for example. Yes the bugs may be around, you will be inhaling them but in a clean system they will have nothing to feed on so they can not survive in your body. Your immune system will be really functioning so well, they won’t touch you. There are immune cells in that tiny healthy layer of mucus, which can effectively deal with invaders, but once that layer is allowed to thicken those immune cells will no longer be able to perform as well.

Clinical practice has shown that it IS possible to reverse disease, acute or chronic, as long as these principles are followed. Dr J.R. Christopher used to say that there are no incurable diseases. The body has an amazing self healing capacity if we do not overwhelm its detox and elimination systems. It WILL go to work if we allow it to….

Enough food for thought for today!

Jannette Benschop

Do you know the number one food for prevention of osteoporosis? I am going to tell you!

The Dairy industry make us believe it is milk, but is it?

And the general belief is “The more Calcium the better” for bone health, but is it?

It is actually not that straight forward. Contrary to what many believe, excessive Calcium makes bones age….. faster.

And that is what osteoporosis is all about, about aging of the bones.

You must read a very interesting article about this subject on http://www.youngerthanyourage.com/4/ExcessiveCalcium.htm
This is from a Dutch researcher.

It says that excessive Calcium causes a high turnover of bone cells, exhausting the replicating mechanisms and leading to premature aging of the bones.

Did you know that countries with the highest intake of Calcium also have the highest rates of hip fractures for example?

On the other hand, we do need Calcium, and in such a way that the body is going to make full use of it.

1 Given our reduced need for calcium on a plant food diet we want to be sure the body is not going to eliminate it in the urine! See the previous entry for the explanation!

2 We also want to be sure that the body is getting all the other factors needed for Calcium metabolism and good bone health, like for example Magnesium, vitamin K, vitamin D, Silicon, and what is important: the proper ratio of Calcium/Phosphor 1.5:1 and of Calcium/Magnesium 2:1

3 In practice we don’t need to worry about that so much as long as we get a variety of foods. The body is perfectly able to assimilate what it needs, if we allow it to by eliminating acid forming junk foods from our diets, which cause calcium loss in the urine, and which may provide an excess of phosphor (think of soft drinks!).

4 Good sources of Calcium are green leafy vegetables, beans, tofu, and even oranges.

With a variety of vegetables and fruits we actually get all the nutrients needed for good bone health.

Do you know the number one food for prevention of osteoporosis?

5 No…….not milk…….. but green leafy vegetables! The best sources of assimilable Calcium are green leafy vegetables. And the greens also provide a good amount of magnesium and vit K. Compared with milk they are far superior!

6 Of course we should not forget vitamin D. Sunlight is the best source, where there is limited exposure, one would do well to supplement with cod liver oil for example, or with some herbs rich in vitamin D. Those who are not vegan may consider raw fish and raw organic free range egg yolks.

7 Silicon is needed to get the calcium where it belongs. An excellent source of silicon is oatstraw tea or horsetail tea. High calcium/low silicon does not protect the bones, but low calcium with silicon does.

8 Don’t take calcium supplements!!!! They will make matters worse.

9 Grains are not the best option because of their high phytic acid content. Millet may be an exception because of its high silicon content!

10 Oxalic acid is a well known substance interfering with calcium metabolism.

11 Exercise and weight training are crucial. Inactivity leads to loss of bone, about 1% per day, that soon adds up!

This will be enough food for thought for now……

Jannette Benschop

It has been suggested so…… but can it be true?

Raw Vegans have lower bone mass generally, which is thought to be a risk factor for osteoporosis.

A study found in the Archives of Internal Medicine compared 18 people on strict raw food diets with a group on the standard American diet with its cooked foods, refined foods and animal products. They found that the raw foodists had lower bone mass indeed and lower bone mineral density, but no evidence whatsoever of increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures. With other words: they had healthy bones!

Other studies have shown that there is a direct relation between osteoporosis and consumption of milk products. NOT with plant food diets, but with consumption of MILK. If you look at it, then you will discover that countries with the highest milk consumption and the highest calcium intake also have the highest rate of hip fractures. The more milk consumed, the higher the risk. And surprisingly, in countries where there is no milk consumed, there are no hip fractures.

I am always amazed when I look at the women here (this is Zimbabwe) with their strong bone structures. They don’t drink milk! They hardly get any calcium from their poor diets, but they are strong.

Looking at the evidence, it turns out that those who are consuming animal protein are the ones at risk!

Animal protein causes calcium loss in the urine. Vegetable protein does not do this. The result is a negative calcium balance, because more is lost than is ingested. That is one reason why milk with its high calcium does not offer protection but on the contrary puts you at high risk of osteoporosis!

Other factors which cause loss of calcium in the urine are salt (!), sugar, coffee, alcohol, smoking, and some medications.

On a plant food diet there is a higher absorption rate of calcium, meaning that we absorb more from plant foods than from milk, plus there is less calcium lost in the urine. The end result is a positive calcium balance, meaning that we ingest more than we loose.

Although we need less, we do need calcium though :). Next time you will learn more about the factors which help us to actually utilise the calcium from the foods! There may be enough in our diet, but you need to know what other factors are needed to make it all work!

Jannette Benschop