Diet For The Chronically Ill
Categories: Diet and NutritionSources: How And When To Be Your Own Doctor
The chronically ill person has a long-term degenerative condition
that is not immediately life threatening. This condition usually
causes more-or-less continuous symptoms that are painful, perhaps
unsightly, and ultimately will be disabling or eventually capable of
causing death. To qualify as "chronic" the symptoms must have been
present a minimum of six months, with no relief in sight. People
with these conditions ha
frequently have had surgery, and have taken and probably are taking
numerous prescription drugs.
Some examples of chronic conditions are: arthritis, rheumatism,
diabetes, early onset of cancer and aids, asthma, colitis,
diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, some mental disorders,
arterial deposit diseases, most of the itises (inflammations).
Before fasting, the chronically ill often do have time to prepare
the way with limited dietary reform, and frequently begin to feel
relief quite quickly. Before actually fasting they should limit
their diet to raw foods and eliminate all toxic foods like alcohol,
coffee, tea, salt, sugar and recreational drugs for two months if
they have been following a typical American diet.
If the chronically ill had been following a vegetarian diet, perhaps
a diet including with eggs and dairy, if they had been using no
addicting substances, then one month on raw foods is sufficient
preparation for fasting. If the person had water or juice fasted for
at least a week or two within the last two years, and followed a
healthy diet since that time, one or two weeks on raw foods should
be a sufficient runway.
During preparation for a fast, I never recommend that a chronically
ill person quit taking prescription medicines because doing so can
seriously disrupt their homeostasis. However, if their symptoms
lessen or vanish during the pre-fasting clean up, the person might
try tapering off medications.
The length and type of fast chosen to resolve a chronic illness
depends largely on available time, finances, availability of support
people, work responsibilities, and mental toughness. If you are one
of those fortunate people 'rich' enough to give their health first
priority, long water fasting is ideal. If on the other hand you
can't afford to stop working, have no one to take care of you and
assist with some household chores, and/or you are not mentally tough
enough to deal with self-denial, compromise is necessary.
Ideally the chronically ill person would fast for an extended period
under supervision until their symptoms were gone or greatly
improved, with a fall-back plan to repeat the whole process again in
three to six months if necessary. If you are not able to do that,
the next best program is to fast for a short period, like one or two
weeks, with a plan to repeat the process as often as possible until
you are healed.
I have had clients with potentially life-threatening conditions such
as obesity with incipient heart failure, or who came to me with
cancer, that were unable to stop work for financial reasons, or who
could not afford a residential fasting program, or who felt
confident in their own ability to deal with detoxification in their
own home. These people have fasted successfully at home, coming to
see me once a week. Almost inevitably, successful at-home fasters
had already done a lot of research on self healing, believed in it,
and had the personal discipline to carry it out properly, including
breaking the fast properly without overeating.
Foods To Heal Chronic Illness
Sprouts Baby Greens Salad Juices Fruit
alfalfa sunflower lettuce beet grapefruit
radish buckwheat celery celery lemon
bean zucchini zucchini lime lime
clover kale kale orange orange
fenugreek endive radish parsley apple
wheat tomato tomato raspberries
cabbage cabbage cabbage blueberries
carrot carrot grapes
spinach apple peaches
parsley grapefruit apricots
sweet pepper lemon strawberry
Fruits should be watery and lower in sugar. Some examples of poor
fruit choices would be pineapple, ripe mango, bananas, dates,
raisins, figs. Fruits should not be combined with vegetables.
Vegetables should not be starchy, packed-full of energy. Poor
vegetable choices would be potato, parsnip, turnip, corn, sweet
potato, yam, beet, winter squash. Sprouts and baby greens are
vegetables and may be included in salads.
Juices should not be extremely sweet. Apple, orange, beet and carrot
juice should be diluted with 50% water. Fruit juices should not be
mixed with vegetable juices or with vegetables at the same meal.
Salads should include no fruit. Salad dressings should be lemon or
lime juice, very small quantities of olive oil, and herbs. No salt,
soy sauce nor black pepper. Cayenne can be okay for some.
I have also helped chronically ill people that were not mentally
prepared to water fast, but were able to face the long-term
self-control and deprivation of a raw food cleansing diet that
included careful food combining. These people also regained their
health, but it took them a year at minimum, and once well they had
to remain on a diet tailor-made to their digestive capacity for the
rest of their life, usually along with food supplements.
Jim was such a case. He was 55 years old, very obese, had
dangerously high blood pressure poorly controlled with medication,
and was going into congestive heart failure. He was on digitalis and
several other heart medications plus diuretics, but in no way was
his condition under control. He had severe edema in the feet and
legs with pitting, and fluid retention in the abdominal region
caused a huge paunch that was solid to the touch not soft and
squishy like fatty tissue.
Jim had dreamed of having his own homestead with an Organic garden,
now he had these things but was too sick to enjoy them or work in
his garden without severe heart pain and shortness of breath. Jim
had retired early in order to enjoy many years without the stresses
of work, and he was alarmed to realize that he was unlikely to
survive a year.
The day Jim came to see me the first time I would have classified
his condition as critically ill because his life was in immediate
danger; but he responded so quickly to his detox program that he was
very soon out of danger and would be more accurately described as a
chronically ill person. Jim was not prepared to water fast. He was
attached to having his food and he was aware that at his extreme
weight he was going to have stay on a dietary program for a long,
long time. He also wanted to choose a gradient that he could manage
by himself at home with little assistance from his wife. He had been
on a typical American diet with meat, coffee, etc., so that in spite
of his dangerous condition it did not seem wise to me to add the
heavy eliminatory burden of a water fast to a body that was already
overwhelmed with fluids and waste products.
Jim immediately went on a raw food cleansing diet, with no
concentrated foods like nuts, seeds, or avocados, and with one day
each week fasting on vegetable juice and broth. He did enemas daily
even though it wasn't his favorite thing. In one month he had lost
30 pounds, his eyes had started to sparkle, and his complexion was
rosy. The swelling had disappeared from his feet and legs, and he
had to buy new pants.
Starting the second month he gradually withdrew from prescription
medications. From the beginning I had put Jim on a program of
nutritional supplements including protomorphogens (see chapter on
vitamins and food supplements) to help the body repair it's heart
and the kidneys. In only four months he had returned his body to
glowing health, and looked great for his age, though he was still
overweight. At the end of one year he had returned to a normal
weight for his height, and only cheated on the diet a couple of
times when attending a social event, and then it was only a baked
potato with no dressing.
He was probably going to have many qualitative years working his
garden and living out his dreams. The local intensive care ward lost
a lot of money when they failed to get Jim.
More
-
Convalescence
When compensation has been restored, the patient may be allowed gradually to resume his usual habits and work, provided these habits are sensible, and the work is not one requiring severe muscular exertion. Careful rules and regulations must be laid... Convulsions Of Children - Fits
These generally occur, either from the irritation of worms, or as precursors of ague, or they may arise from diarrhoeal irritation, affecting the brain. They sometimes occur in hooping cough. If convulsions occur from worms, the child appearing to... Cooking
Why We Cook our Food. While some of all classes of food may be eaten raw, yet we have gradually come to submit most of our foods to the heat of a fire, in various ways; this process is known as cooking. While cooking usually wastes a little, and s... Copy Of Certificate
These may Inform all whom it might Concern, that Mr. John Kaighin, of the Province of West New Jersey, hath lived with me (here under named) a considerable time, as a Disciple, to learn the Arts and Mysteries of Chymistry, Phys... Cornus Sericea
will often cure malignant ulcers both of the breast and uterus, used as a wash. ... Coronary Sclerosis
While disease of the coronary arteries may occur without general arteriosclerosis, it is so frequently associated with it that it is necessary to give a brief description of the general disease. Arteriosclerosis or arteriocapillary fibrosis is rea... Croup
Treat croup, whether membranous or spasmodic, much the same as is prescribed for diphtheria, only, in the latter part of the form, treat less. ... Croup
This is a disease of children. Comes on in consequence of a sudden cold. Children suffering from Hooping Cough are more subject to it. The cough is of a peculiar whistling kind, like the crowing of a young chicken, with rattling in the throat and di... Cuprum Aceticum
(_Acetate of Copper Verdigris_) applied to _Cancerous_ ulcers of the face, _Lupus_ or _Noli-me-tangere_, in the early stage, will in most cases effect a perfect cure, especially if for a week previously the part has been wet daily with _tr. Thuja_. ... Curing With Enemas
It is not wise to continue regular colonics or enemas once a detoxification program has been completed and you have returned to a maintenance diet. The body should be allowed its regular functioning. But because enemas immediately lower the toxic... Deafness
The prognosis is very uncertain. This infirmity is often cured by our system, even when of long standing; and often, again, the treatment fails. The uncertainty arises from the difficulty in determining the exact pathological derangement. Take th... Decannulation
When the tracheal incision is placed below the first ring, no difficulty in decannulation should result from the operation per se. When by temporarily occluding the cannula with the finger it is evident that the laryngeal aperture has regained suffi... Decannulation After Cure Of Laryngeal Stenosis
In order to train the patient to breathe again through the larynx it is necessary to occlude the cannula. This is best done by inserting a rubber cork in the inner cannula. At first it may be necessary to make a slot in the cork so as to permit some... Decompensation
To understand the physiology, pathology and the best treatment for broken compensation, it is necessary to study the physics of the circulation under the different conditions. With the mitral valve insufficient, a greater or less amount of blood is ... Deformities Of The Prostate Distortions And Obstructions Of The Prostatic Urethra
The prostate is liable to such frequent and varied deformities, the consequence of diseased action, whilst, at the same time, its healthy function (if it have any) in the male body is unknown, that it admits at least of one interpretation which may,... Deformities Of The Urinary Bladder The Operations Of Sounding For Stone Of Catheterism And Of Puncturing The Bladder Above The Pubes
The urinary bladder presents two kinds of deformity--viz., congenital and pathological. As examples of the former may be mentioned that in which the organ is deficient in front, and has become everted and protruded like a fungous mass through an ope... Demonstrations Of The Nature Of Congenital And Infantile Inguinal Herniae And Of Hydrocele
PLATE 39. Fig. 1--The descent of the testicle from the loins to the scrotum.--The foetal abdomen and scrotum form one general cavity, and are composed of parts which are structurally identical. The cutaneous, fascial, muscular, and membranous layers... Demonstrations Of The Origin And Progress Of Femoral Hernia Its Diagnosis The Taxis And The Operation
PLATE 45, Fig. 1.--The point, 3, from which an external inguinal hernia first progresses, and the part, 5, within which the femoral hernia begins to be formed, are very close to each other. The inguinal hernia, 3, arising above, 5, the crural arch, ... Demonstrations Of The Origin And Progress Of Inguinal Herniae In General
PLATE 41, Fig. 1.--When the serous spermatic tube is obliterated for its whole length between the internal ring, 1, and the top of the testicle, 13, a hernia, in order to enter the inguinal canal, 1, 4, must either rupture the peritonaeum at the poi... Destruction Of The Organ Of Hearing
When the glands pass into a sloughing state, the parts connected with them are frequently damaged. Thus the ulceration of the parotid gland often causes deafness, by the gangrenous matter communicating to the eustachian tube and the inner ear, where... Deviation Of The Esophagus
Deviation of the esophagus may be marked in the presence of a deformed vertebral column, though dysphagia is a very uncommon symptom. The lack of esophageal symptoms in deviation of spinal production is probably explained by the longitudinal shorten... Diabetes A Kidney Disease
This disease occurs in two forms--diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus. In the first named form, the disease is readily cured. In the latter, it is very formidable, and is rarely, if ever, cured by medicines; especially when of long standing. In... Diagnosis
If a more malignant form of endocarditis develops on a mild endocarditis, the diagnosis is generally not difficult. If, without a definite known septic process, malignant endocarditis develops, localized symptoms of heart disturbance and cardiac sig... Diagnosis
The swallowing function can be studied only with the fluoroscope; esophagoscopy for diagnosis, should therefore always be preceded by a fluoroscopic study of deglutition with a barium or other opaque mixture and examination of the thoracic organs to... Diagnosis
It has been estimated that 70 per cent of stenoses of the esophagus in adults are malignant in nature. This should stimulate the early and careful investigation of every case of dysphagia. When all cases of persistent dysphagia, however slight, are ... Diagnosis
After what has been said about the symptoms of scarlatina, it cannot be difficult to distinguish it from similar eruptive diseases. However, as there is much resemblance between _scarlatina_ and _measles_, at least in the milder form of the former, ... Diagnosis From Measles
In scarlatina the heat is much greater, and the pulse is much quicker than in measles.--In scarlatina the throat is inflamed, usually the brain affected, and the patient smells like salt-fish, old cheese or the cages of a menagerie; in measles, the ... Diagnosis Of Foreign Body In The Air Or Food Passages
The questions arising are: I. Is a foreign body present? 2. Where is it located? 3. Is a peroral endoscopic procedure indicated? 4. Are there any contraindications to endoscopy? In order to answer these questions the definite routine giv... Diarrhoea
This disease consists in a looseness of the bowels, generally accompanied with pain in the abdomen, more or less severe. It sometimes occurs without pain, but is _then_ attended with a sense of weakness, and a general feeling of uneasiness. It preva... Diet
As intimated in the preceding paragraph, the diet during endocarditis must be carefully regulated. It must be sufficient, and appropriate for the disease in which the complication occurs, but it must be in such dosage and administered with such freq... Diet
The diet of the sick should he nutricious, but at all times simple, free from greasy substances, and from all stimulating condiments whatsoever, as well as from vinegar, or food in which vinegar is used. In short, let the food be nutritious, easil... Diet
I have little to say with regard to _diet_, at least to physicians. During great heat and high fever, the patient should eat little or nothing; but he should drink a good deal. Substantial food must be avoided entirely. When the fever abates, he can... Diet And Baths In Heart Disease
The diet in cardiac diseases has already incidentally been referred to. The decision as to what a patient ought to eat or drink must often be modified by just what the patient will do, and, as we all know, it is absolutely necessary to make some c... Diet For A Healthy Person
I doubt that it is possible to be totally healthy in the twentieth century. Doctors Alsleben and Shute in their book How to Survive the New Health Catastrophes state that in-depth laboratory testing of the population at large demonstrated four unive... Diet For A Long, Long Life
Some people not only want to be healthy, but they want to live in good health long past the normal life span projected by statistical tables for Homo Sapiens. Dr. Roy Walford, a well-respected medical research gerontologist who has been actively stu... Diet For The Acutely Ill
The acutely ill person experiences occasional attacks of distressing symptoms, usually after indiscretions in living or emotional upsets. They have a cold, or a flu, or sinusitis, or a first bout of pneumonia, or a spring allergy attack. The intense... Diet For The Chronically Ill
The chronically ill person has a long-term degenerative condition that is not immediately life threatening. This condition usually causes more-or-less continuous symptoms that are painful, perhaps unsightly, and ultimately will be disabling or eve... Diet Is Not Enough
Those isolated, long-lived peoples discovered by Weston A. Price had to do hard physical labor to eat, had to walk briskly up and down steep terrain to get anywhere. But today, few North Americans output very much physical energy in process of daily... Diets To Heal The Critically Ill
A critically ill person is someone who could expire at any moment; therapeutic interventions are racing against death. Can the body repair itself enough before some essential function ceases altogether? If there already exists too much damage to vit... Differential Diagnosis Of Laryngeal Growths In The Larynx Of Adults
Determination of the nature of the lesion in these cases usually consists in the diagnosis by exclusion of the possibilities, namely, 1. Lues. 2. Tuberculosis, including lupus. 3. Scleroma. 4. Malignant neoplasm. In the Bronchoscopic C... Differential Diagnosis Of Ulcer Of The Esophagus
Simple ulcer requires the exclusion of lues, tuberculosis, epithelioma, endothelioma, sarcoma, and actinomycosis. Simple ulcer of the esophagus is usually associated with stenosis, spastic or organic. Luetic ulcers commonly show a surrounding infl... Difficulties In The Introduction Of The Bronchoscope
The beginner may enter the esophagus instead of the trachea: this might be a dangerous accident in a dyspneic case, for the tube could, by pressure on the trachea, cause respiratory arrest. A bronchoscope thus misplaced should be resterilized befor... Difficulties Of Direct Laryngoscopy
The larynx can be directly exposed in any patient whose mouth can be opened, although the ease varies greatly with the type of patient. Failure to expose the epiglottis is usually due to too great haste to enter the speculum all the way down. The s... Difficulties Of Esophagoscopy
The beginner may find the esophagoscope seemingly rigidly fixed, so that it can be neither introduced nor withdrawn. This usually results from a wedging of the tube in the dental angle, and is overcome by a wider opening of the jaws, or perhaps by ... Diffuse Dilatation Of The Esophagus
This is practically always due to stagnation ectasia, which is invariably associated with either organic or spasmodic stricture, existing at the time of observation or at some time prior thereto. The dilating effect of the repeatedly accumulated foo... Dimensions Of The Trachea And Bronchi
It will be noted that the bronchi divide monopodially, not dichotomously. While the lumina of the individual bronchi diminish as the bronchi divide, the sum of the areas shows a progressive increase in total tubular area of cross-section. Thus, the... Diphtheria
Chronic postdiphtheritic stenosis may be of the panic, spasmodic or, rarely, the paralytic types; but more often it is of either the hypertrophic or cicatricial forms. Only too frequently the stenosis should be called posttracheotomic rather than p... Diphtheria
Use the A D current, strong force. Place the N. P., long cord, upon the lower cervical vertebrae, and then treat, first, with the tongue instrument, P. P., in the mouth, as far back on the tongue as can be borne, three to five minutes. Next, manipul... Direct Laryngoscopy Adult Patient
Before starting, every detail in regard to instrumental equipment and operating room assistants, (including an assistant to hold the arms and legs of the patient) must be complete. Preparation of the patient and the technic of local anesthesia have... Direct Laryngoscopy In Children
The epiglottis in children is usually strongly curled, often omega shaped, and is very elusive and slippery. The larynx of a child is very freely movable in the neck during respiration and deglutition, and has a strong tendency to retreat downward ... Direct Laryngoscopy In Diseases Of The Larynx
The diagnosis of laryngeal disease in young children, impossible with the mirror, has been made easy and precise by the development of direct laryngoscopy. No anesthetic, local or general, should be used, for the practised endoscopist can complete t... Direction Of The Esophagus
The esophagus enters the chest in a decidedly backward as well as downward direction, parallel to that of the trachea, following the curves of the cervical and upper dorsal spine. Below the left bronchus the esophagus turns forward, passing through... Diseases And Disturbances Of The Skin
Their Chief Causes. Skin troubles are of two main kinds according to their cause: internal, due to the irritation of waste-poisons, or toxins, in the blood; and external, from direct injury or irritation of the skin from without. The latter are o... Diseases Of The Esophagus
The more frequent causes of the one common symptom of esophageal disease, dysphagia, are included in the list given below. To avoid elaboration and to obtain maximum usefulness as a reminder, overlapping has not been eliminated. 1. Anomalies. ... Disorders Of Muscles And Bones
The Muscles and Bones Have Few Diseases. Considering how complex it is, and the never-ceasing strain upon it, this moving apparatus of ours, the nerve-bone-muscle-machine, is surprisingly free from disease. The muscles, though they form nearly half ... Distinctive Use Of Each Pole
I have said that every disease is preternaturally either positive or negative. I have further said, that the application of either pole to a given part produces an effect the opposite of what would be produced in the same part by a reversal of the p... Disturbances Of The Heart In General
Of prime importance in the treatment of diseases of the heart is a determination of the exact, or at least approximately exact, condition of its structures and a determination of its ability to work. This is not the place to describe its anatom... Diverticulum Of The Esophagus
Diverticula may, and usually do, consist in a pouching by herniation, of the whole thickness of the esophageal wall; or they may be herniations of the mucosa between the muscular layers. They are classified according to their etiology, as traction a... Division Of The Process Of The Disease Into Periods
Its course is commonly divided into four distinct periods, viz.: the period of incubation, the period of eruption, the period of efflorescence, and the period of desquamation; to which may be added: the period of convalescence. ... Do Not Hurry
HOW can any one do anything well while in a constant state of rush? How can any one see anything clearly while in a constant state of rush? How can any one expect to keep healthy and strong while in a constant state of rush? But most of m... Don't Talk
THERE is more nervous energy wasted, more nervous strain generated, more real physical harm done by superfluous talking than any one knows, or than any one could possibly believe who had not studied it. I am not considering the harm done by ... Dr Jerome Kidder's Electro-magnetic Machine
On opening the machine-box, as it comes from the manufacturer, there will be found a glass bottle, intended to hold the battery fluid when not in use; a glass cup or jar, to serve as the battery cell; a pair of insulated metallic conducting cords; t... Dripping Sheet Substitute For The Half-bath
To apply the _dripping sheet_, a tin bathing hat or a large wash-tub is placed near the patient's bed, and a pail of water on the brim of the hat, or close by the tub. Dip a linen sheet into it, and leave it there till you wish to take the patient o... Dropsy
Use the A D current, moderate force. Give general tonic treatment; then place P. P. with the feet, in a vessel of warm water, or place the sponge-roll P. P. at the soles of the feet, and treat the affected parts a few minutes with N. P., to quicken ... Drugs In Hypertension
The drugs that are mostly used to lower blood pressure are nitrites or drugs which are like nitrites, and these are nitroglycerin, sodium nitrite, erythroltetra nitrate and amyl nitrite, and the frequency of their use is in the order named. Other dr... During And After Desquamation The Treatment Should Be Continued As
indicated in milder cases, except the throat continue troublesome, when more packs should be used. If the throat is well, the patient may leave his room by the sixteenth day, under the precautions given above. ... Dysentery
Treat exactly as in acute diarrh[oe]a, except that P. P. should be moved more over the colon and rectum than in diarrh[oe]a. ... Dysentery
This disease is caused by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the colon and rectum, (the large intestine) generally confined to the lower part of the bowel. It is always painful. There is griping and straining in the lower part of the abdomen, an... Dysmenorrhea Painful Menstruation
If the disease be occasioned by uterine displacement, obstructing the os uteri, the organ must be restored to its normal position. This can best be done by mechanical action. But it is most commonly occasioned by irritation of the mucus membrane lin... Dysmenorrhoea - Painful Menstruation
For this disorder, I know of no one remedy so valuable as the _Caulophyllin_, but _Pulsatilla_ in many cases is efficacious, and as they do not prevent each other's action, I prescribe them in alternation, giving a dose every half hour, for a short ... Dyspepsia
This is one of the most difficult of diseases to control by any of the ordinary modes of medical practice; and yet, under judicious electrical treatment, it is one of the surest to yield. The disease assumes various phases in different persons, and ... Dyspepsia
This term is applied so loosely and so indiscriminately to all chronic derangements of the stomach, that it is difficult to define it. I shall therefore point out some of the more common ailments of the stomach and their proper remedies. For sour...