Weight loss and diet plan for a healthy lifestyle.

Pregnancy itself compensates for feelings of inner emptiness, literally filling the woman with new life. Women who experience this emptiness often feel depleted after childbirth and may be anxious to get pregnant again soon afterwards, resenting any discussion of contraception. The baby can also represent one’s own baby self to love in a way that one was not loved. Being a mother enhances status and although mothers are not necessarily treated well, they are regarded as good. Children can counteract boredom and loneliness, providing interest and entertainment, and can satisfy the need to be needed. They can compensate for a lack of material possessions and give a sense of potency: ‘Something new created in a material world,’ as one unemployed and destitute young man put it when he was asked how he felt about the pregnancy of his girlfriend.

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Scarlet – The Colour of Arousal and Sexual Stimulation

Like red, scarlet is a powerful sexual stimulant that helps with impotence and frigidity. It increases blood pressure and is great for fluid retention. Scarlet works on stimulating the body’s hormones and blood.

Avoid Scarlet

Try to avoid scarlet if pregnant, as it may encourage uterine contractions.

Natural Sources of Scarlet

Plums, grapes, cherries, flowers and roses.

Magenta – The Colour of Universal Love, Divine Understanding and joy

Believed to be seen in the aura of pregnant women, magenta is a vitalizing colour that is particularly good for low energy. It has a stabilizing effect on the heart and adrenal glands. Magenta is a tonic and revitalize to the body’s ethereal field.

Avoid Magenta

Avoid magenta when in feverish and excited or hyperactive states.

Natural Sources of Magenta

Flowers, birds, clouds and jacaranda trees.

Violet – The Colour of True Devotion and Spirituality

Violet is believed to halt the growth of tumours. It is very useful in meditation and enhances the development of spiritual intuitive processes. It also has a soothing and tranquilizing effect on the body’s nervous system. Violet is great for people who are nervous or highly-strung by nature. Surrounding yourself in violet creates a peaceful environment.

Violet maintains the delicate balance between sodium and potassium in the body, thereby preventing fluid retention. Violet is good for rheumatism, cancer, kidney and bladder disorders, scalp problems and migraines. Violet has a subtle effect on the appetite, controlling excess hunger. It is therefore very good for weight loss programs.

This inspirational colour radiates inner wisdom, pure knowing and opens one’s heart to spirituality.

Avoid Violet

Avoid violet when suffering melancholic states, depression, chronic fatigue, low vitality, cold and negative conditions.

Natural Sources of Violet

The most enlightened and respected priests and monk’s robes are adorned with violet, lavender flowers, grapes, butterflies and flowers.

Gold – The Colour of Divine Wisdom, Forgiveness and Love

Gold is a great colour to use in any healing that requires forgiveness, love and acceptance. The golden rays assist with the deepest healing of the soul itself. This colour, used in conjunction with the breath and words of love and acceptance, can change and heal past mistakes, old patterns, resentments, blocks and fears. Gold connects us to our god within.

Avoid Gold

There is no time when it is necessary to avoid the beautiful colour, gold.

Natural Sources of Gold

Glowing golden light, firelight, golden haired children, gold jewellery, golden Buddhas, gold statues and deities.

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All human tissues and organs need oxygen in order to function efficiently. Cancerous cells breed in an oxygen-deprived environment. Tumours and cancer cannot survive in an oxygen-saturated environment and nutrients and healing methods that carry oxygen to the cancerous tissues are very effective in fighting cancer.

As a human being we can live without water for five to seven days, we can exist without food for weeks, but we are unable to live without oxygen for a matter of minutes. Every vital process that occurs in our body’s cells needs oxygen to allow us to survive. It cleanses our body and removes harmful toxins that can lead to disease.

Oxygen therapy can be given in a number of ways. Simply using liquid oxygen supplements saturates the body’s cells with life-giving oxygen. Breathing deeply in oxygen-rich environments or being administered oxygen at high atmospheric pressure are other successful methods of enhancing the body’s supply and efficiency of oxygen. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) saturates the body with oxygen by placing the individual in a chamber that delivers pure oxygen at three times the normal atmospheric pressure. It is most commonly used in cases of trauma, including burns, wounds and the death of tissues from radiation therapy. HBOT increases the rate of healing and speed of recovery after surgery.

Taking walks in the country, being in mountains, walking on the beach and visiting the ocean all enhances the body’s supply of life-giving oxygen and helps to remove carbon dioxide and harmful toxins from the lungs. Beautiful environments rich in negative ions help to maintain normal blood oxygen levels. Certain nutrients and herbs also improve the body’s utilization of oxygen and increase oxygen transport throughout the body. These include germanium, coenzyme Q10, vitamin B2, potassium, iron, magnesium, sulphur, gingko biloba, wheatgrass, chlorella, chlorophyll and ginseng.

The most beneficial way to improve the health of your lungs and absorb oxygen for healing is to undertake deep breathing exercises and relaxation techniques such as yoga, tai chi, qui gong and regular aerobic exercise. All of these natural forms of exercise enhance deep breathing and improve concentration, lung capacity, immunity and health.

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Chaparral (Larrea divaricate)

Chaparral contains a potent anti-oxidant, nor-dihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA). NDGA has been found to have anti-tumour activity and life-extension properties. Being a potent antioxidant, chaparral is able to scavenge free radicals and toxins that contribute to cancer formation. People around the world who have used chaparral tea have claimed to have regressed malignant melanomas, lymphosarcomas and other types of cancer.

The oil obtained from the resin of chaparral decreases inflammation of the respiratory and intestinal tract. It has strong anti-bacterial properties and is very effective in the treatment of wounds. It has the ability to enhance energy levels by increasing vitamin Ñ levels in the adrenal glands and it stops the production of LDL cholesterol, the ‘bad guy’ in fats. It stimulates respiration in the mitochondria of body cells and protects against the toxic effects of radiation. It also protects against skin cancer and improves liver and lung function.

Chaparral has been used for centuries as an anti-cancer remedy in Mexico. When combined with red clover, it is believed effective at removing cancerous growths and tumours by purifying the bloodstream. However, in rare cases it may stimulate tumours, particularly lymphomas. Use of chaparral in cancer treatment should only be pursued by qualified, experienced practitioners.

The major ingredient of chaparral, dihydronorguaiaretic acid has antioxidant properties and is useful for detoxification. It is also useful in the treatment of acne, warts, arthritis, backache, increasing hair growth, improving eyesight, kidney infections, weight reduction and as a laxative.

What is the best way to use chaparral?

Take only as directed — consult with your health practitioner, naturopath or herbalist.

Chlorella

Chlorella is a single-celled, freshwater green algae that grows in shallow ponds. The name chlorella comes from the fact that it contains the highest amount of chlorophyll of any known plant. There is approximately 100 times more chlorophyll in chlorella than there is in green leafy vegetables. Chlorella stimulates the production of interferon and macrophage activity. The active ingredient, chorellan, is responsible for this and has strong immune-stimulating properties.

Chlorella has anti-tumour properties and it is believed to prevent or inhibit cancer. Many papers have been written on the photodynamic qualities of chlorophyll (found in high quantities in chlorella) against cancerous tumours. Chlorella is also an excellent detoxifier, removing wastes from the body. It is particularly useful in detoxifying heavy metals including uranium, mercury, cadmium, copper and lead. It helps to remove pesticides, insecticides and polychloridebiphenyl (PCB) from the human body.

Chlorella is useful in the treatment of liver toxicity, alcohol hangover prevention, bowel toxicity, pancreatitis, constipation, ulcers, skin problems, allergies, high cholesterol levels and heart problems. Chlorella also contains high amounts of protein (approximately 58 per cent), Â vitamins, carbohydrates, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, amino acids and rare trace minerals. It contains higher amounts of vitamin B12 than liver, plus considerable amounts of beta-carotene. The high chlorophyll content in chlorella enhances blood cleansing.

In addition, chlorella helps to protect against the effects of ultraviolet radiation and orthodox radiation therapy.

What is the best way to use chlorella?

Chlorella normally comes in liquid form. Take as directed by your health care professional.

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The function of selenium is closely related to vitamin E and it is a powerful antioxidant. Selenium facilitates the deactivation of certain free radicals and therefore helps to protect against many forms of cancer.

Regular intake of selenium is able to decrease the risk of breast cancer and colon cancer dramatically. Epidemiological studies suggest that the risk of cancer is reduced in areas where the soil is high in selenium. Low serum, dietary and soil selenium levels are particularly associated with lung, gastrointestinal tract and prostate cancers. Selenium deficiency is quite common, as many soils around the world are now selenium deficient.

Selenium is able to protect against several forms of skin cancer and oral or topical supplementation with the L-Selenomethionine form of selenium is effective in retarding some skin cancers induced by exposure to UV light.

Selenium is also a beneficial nutrient to the body’s immune system by stimulating the action of phagocytes (cells in the immune system that gobble the ‘baddies’), improving the defense response of T-Lymphocytes (immune army cells that attack cancer cells) and causing an increase in the size of the body’s thymus gland (the ‘maestro’ gland of the immune army).

Selenium used in combination with other minerals helps to increase our body’s levels of white blood cells. It stimulates B-Lymphocytes to produce more antibodies and is able to increase the body’s defenses by up to 3000 per cent if combined with Vitamin E, as it amplifies the health promoting effects of vitamin E. Selenium is able to detoxify harmful fats, inhibiting their cancer-causing potential. It counteracts the toxic effects of tobacco smoking and it also improves liver function.

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are carcinogens found in tobacco smoke and car exhaust fumes, which cause cancer if ingested or inhaled. Selenium retards the ability of PAH from converting to cancer-causing substances in the liver. Selenium binds (chelates) with many toxic minerals and facilitates their excretion from the body including arsenic, cadmium, lead and methyl forms of mercury via the faeces.

Selenium protects the immune system by preventing the formation of harmful free radicals and prevents the formation of certain types of tumours. It improves the ability of macrophages (immune system cells) to attack and destroy tumour cells. Selenium is also essential to the healthy functioning of the body’s reproductive organs in both men and women and an adequate amount of selenium in the body will guard against problems to these organs.

In Australia, Naturopaths are no longer able to prescribe good amounts of selenium, as before. There is no logical reason for this, besides once again, the profit-making capacity of a very effective mineral. Doctors have taken over the role of dispensing selenium, with a prescription only. So if you require selenium, ask for liquid form of sodium selenite from your doctor. Take as directed by your health care practitioner.

Colorectal Cancer

A low selenium intake is thought to increase one’s chance of developing colon cancer, compared to people with a high selenium intake. Selenium is a potent antioxidant that is now found in low amounts in the foods that we eat.

Lung Cancer

As mentioned previously, Selenium is a potent antioxidant that helps to retard against damage to cells while removing harmful cancer-causing substances from the body. A person’s risk of developing lung cancer is reduced with a higher selenium intake.

Good sources of selenium include wheat-germ, wheat-bran, barley, mushrooms, asparagus, garlic, tuna, herring, onions, radish, liver, tomatoes, potatoes, celery, brewers yeast, cabbage and shellfish.

Most soils throughout the world are selenium deficient.

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Spirulina

Spirulina is a form of micro-algae rich in vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll and protein. It has been recognized the world over as a valuable whole food source. Spirulina contains concentrations of nutrients unlike any other single grain, herb or plant. It contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), linoleic and arachidonic acids, vitamin Â12 (needed for healthy red blood cells), iron, a high level of protein, essential amino acids, the nucleic acids RNA and DNA, chlorophyll and phyococyanin (a blue pigment only found in blue-green algae). This pigment is believed a key compound in deterring and treating liver cancer.

Spirulina is a naturally digestible food which aids in protecting the immune system, cholesterol reduction and in mineral absorption. It supplies all the necessary nutrients to cleanse and heal the body, while reducing the appetite. Its high protein content helps to stabilize blood sugar levels, so it can be useful for blood sugar conditions and for fasting. Spirulina also boosts energy levels, preventing the debilitating fatigue caused by cancer and cancer treatment.

Spirulina is one of the richest sources of chlorophyll, which is essential in the treatment of cancer by enhancing oxygen transport to cancerous cells. It is a brilliant food supplement to use while cleansing as spirulina removes deadly toxins from the body and provides good levels of protein, vitamins, minerals and other life-giving nutrients.

Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass is a nutritional food that was made popular by Dr Ann Wigmore, an educator and founder of the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston. Wheatgrass is an energy-packed food containing an immense array of over 100 vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, laetrile and other trace elements. According to Dr Wigmore, one pound of fresh wheatgrass (just over 500 grams) is equal in nutritional value to nearly 25 pounds (12 kilograms) of the best vegetables.

Wheatgrass therapy combined with a whole-foods diet helps to eliminate cancerous growths and helps many other disorders. It is also very rich in chlorophyll, making it a potent antioxidant. Wheatgrass is able to increase the health of the immune system, lower blood pressure, detoxify the liver and act as a powerful kidney tonic. Wheatgrass juice is able to draw toxins from the colon, liver and kidneys, causing their elimination and ridding the body of the toxic effects of pollution.

Cancer cells cannot grow and exist in the presence of oxygen. Wheatgrass contains high amounts of chlorophyll which oxygenates the body’s cells, causing death to cancer cells. Many cancerous cell mutations begin in an environment of oxygen deprivation. No wonder cancer is more prevalent in busy, polluted cities. Wheatgrass improves blood circulation, nourishing body cells and enhancing the carrying of oxygen to body cells.

Various enzymes and amino acids present in wheatgrass deactivate the cancer-causing effects of benzyprene, the dangerous carcinogen found in charcoal broiled meats and smoked fish. Wheatgrass juice prevents chromosome damage, a step the cell undergoes in becoming cancerous. Wheatgrass is a miraculous food that may have the ability to destroy cancerous tumours without the toxic effects of chemotherapy and cancer drugs.

A special juicer is needed to extract the juice from wheatgrass. Fortunately, it can now be obtained fresh from many juice bars and cafes.

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Try preparing food in different ways to see if you tolerate it better. Cooking food modifies its chemical structure. As an example, some people tolerate cooked food where they cannot eat it raw. Try baking or stewing fruit, for instance, if you cannot eat it raw. (Or, conversely, try food raw rather than cooked if it upsets you.) Prepare purees of gently cooked meat or vegetables – this can make foods easier to digest.

Do not bum or char foods when cooking. This can alter the chemical composition of foods and make you react to them. Burning meat when grilling or roasting produces the chemical acrolein which, even in tiny traces, can irritate. Do not bum toast.

If you have been eating whole grains in the form of wholewheat or brown rice, and cannot tolerate them, it is worth trying white wheat and white rice. These are sometimes better tolerated than whole grains, and may make you able to eat them.

Try different varieties of apples to see if you tolerate certain ones better. Some people find that they can tolerate one variety of apple and not another, so test Granny Smiths separately from Golden Delicious, and so on.

Some people tolerate processed and canned foods, such as canned fish or canned or dried fruit, better than their fresh equivalents. Some chemically sensitive people do not respond well to canned foods, however, so take care if you are sensitive to chemicals.

Some people find that they tolerate foods better if they add salt when eating. Other people find, conversely, that this makes things worse. Test this out to see. Use Pure Salt BP (available from Foodwatch International, address below) to avoid any additives in salt.

Some people are generally sensitive to alcohol, whatever the food or foods from which it is made. Other people can tolerate alcohol of different types, being able to tolerate the base foods. Ciders are based on apples. Wine, port, sherry and champagne are based on grapes. Most spirits are derived from various grains and cereals of the grass family (wheat, rye, oats, barley, corn, cane sugar) or from vegetables such as potato. Beers are brewed from grains and cereals, and hops; lagers are usually from grains and cereals only. Fruit wines and liqueurs are derived from various fruits.

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Residues from tobacco smoke impregnate many surfaces in places where people smoke regularly, and can give persistent problems for some time after, even if smoking has been banned. These may trouble you if you have just given up smoking, or recently banned it from your home, or if you have just moved to a house where smokers lived before. It helps to clear out and remove the residues as far as you can.

Wash and clean anything you can. Wash curtains, rugs, soft toys, pets’ bedding, all clothing – anything you see. Steam-clean carpets, upholstered furniture, cushions. Wipe down toys, storage jars and kitchen utensils – anything that has been exposed. Wash down all surfaces thoroughly – walls, windows, furniture, skirtings, bare floors, doors, ceilings. Wash inside the vacuum cleaner. Even clean inside cupboards if smoking has been heavy.

Washing surfaces with a Borax solution can help neutralise fumes. Put 1 dessertspoonful of Borax in a bowl of warm water and wipe down. Domestic Borax is available from chemists.

If you dry-clean things to remove tobacco fumes, air them well in a shed or spare room, or on a washing line, before using again.

Put things to air. Washing and cleaning may not be enough, so air everything as much as you can – put furniture outside, or in a shed or spare room with plenty of ventilation. Remember to air duvets, cushions and soft furnishings. Put books and paper outside in the wind and sun to air. Open up windows as much as you can and let the air through. Do this for as long as it takes.

Do not forget to clean and air cars. Scrub out used car ashtrays and open them to air off.

If these measures do not go far enough, redecorate to cover up walls and building surfaces.

You may also eventually have to replace things – furniture, furnishings, carpets and curtains, even lampshades and bedding, if residues still give you trouble. (See the relevant sections for suggestions for replacements.)

If you cannot manage to do the whole home, do just one room thoroughly to give you somewhere free of tobacco residues.

If you get stuck halfway through any of the above strategies, and get confusing results, either start from scratch and follow the radical clean-out programme (below), or go to page 98 and follow the long-term avoidance measures.

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If you are exceptionally sensitive to synthetic fibres, you may have to avoid using them in curtains, furnishings and upholstery. Your choices then come down to pure cotton, wool, linen or silk. Pure cotton is for most people the best choice, for reasons of cost, practicality and the fact that it is usually washable. However, pure cotton furnishing fabrics are commonly treated with three types of chemical finishes which can cause sensitivity:

• Formaldehyde resins

• Fire retardant treatments

• Stain resistant finishes

Dyes and other fabric treatments rarely cause reactions.

Formaldehyde resins protect the fabric against stains, grease, water and creasing. They restrict dyes fading, and improve the feel and body of the fabric. Formaldehyde is a common sensitiser and irritant.

Most major manufacturers of pure cotton furnishing fabrics in the UK apply fire retardant finishes to most or all their fabrics. Fire retardant treatments are of two basic kinds. The first, more common, are proprietary chemicals applied to cotton fabrics at the final stage of production. Two of the most widely used in the UK, Pyrovatex and Proban, release formaldehyde and have been known sometimes to cause irritation and reactions. The second kind of fire retardant treatment is to apply a thin backing layer of a rubber-like chemical.

Stain resistant treatments are not so widely applied to cotton fabrics. The fabric is usually labelled with a proprietary name, or is called ‘stain-resistant’.

If you are not sure whether you react to fabric finishes on a piece of fabric, you can use the Iron Test to help you find out. You can do this on a sample of fabric before you buy it to see if you react.

If you want to find out whether Pyrovatex, Proban, other chemicals or back coating have been applied to any fabric you want to buy, ring the fabric manufacturers to find out. They are invariably courteous and helpful.

Pure wool fabrics are not treated with formaldehyde resins, nor with fire retardant chemicals since they meet fire safety regulations without treatment. They are sometimes treated with stain protection chemicals. Wool furnishing fabric may therefore be a good option for the chemically sensitive, if you are confident you do not react to wool.

If you are very sensitive to fabric treatments and synthetics, and are allergic to cotton and wool, wooden shutters or roller blinds of wood, rushes or paper may be an alternative to curtains.

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The basic components of any paint are resins which form the protective coating or film that any paint gives to its surface; solvents or liquids to hold the resins and other ingredients before and as the paint is applied; chemical driers which help the drying process; and pigments to give colour. Specialist paints contain a variety of chemicals according to their use – some external wood paints may contain fungicides, for instance, or textured paints for walls and ceiling contain fibres or grains.

The principal cause of problems are solvent- or oil-based paints which give off fumes on application, and over their life. Water-based alternatives are increasingly becoming available for most applications, and should be used wherever feasible.

Some people tolerate paints based on natural solvents and chemicals, which have some performance advantages over water-based paints.

Other components of paint vary a great deal, according to brand and type of paint, and their acceptability to people with chemical sensitivity can also vary a great deal – sensitivity can be idiosyncratic with paint, just as with other chemicals. A choice of paints is therefore given below wherever possible.

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