Tip 35. The Surprising Causes of Leucoderma

Many wrong beliefs are prevalent about the causes of leucoderma. It is not caused by eating fish and drinking milk at the same time, as is generally believed because even vegetarians suffer from this disorder. Other food combinations such as pumpkin and milk, onion and milk as
possible causes of leucoderma also have no basis.
Leucoderma is not caused by any germs; nor is it due bad blood. It is neither infectious nor
contagious. It cannot be transmitted from one person to another by physical contact.
The main causes of leucoderma are excessive mental worry, chronic or acute gastric disorder,
impaired hepatic function such as jaundice, worms or other parasites in the alimentary canal,
ailments like typhoid which affect the gastrointestinal tract, defective perspiration mechanism
and burn injuries. Often the hormone secreting glands are involved in this disorder. Heredity is
also a causative factor and about 30 per cent of patients have a family history of the disorder.

Tip 34. Stress causes headaches

Intense emotions often cause headaches. Many people who outwardly appear to have a
pleasant disposition may actually be simmering about a job, or may bear resentment towards a
person or something. This hidden hostility may manifest itself as headache. It is important,
therefore, that negative feelings should not be bottled up, but should find some safe means of
expressions.
How can you know your headache is due to stress? The answer is simple. Tight neck muscles are a sign of stress. Pain across the forehead is a sign of stress.
What can you do to treat stress headaches. To relieve tension, add tension. Tighten the muscles at the back of the neck as you count 10, and then release. If you repeat this exercise several times, your headache will be relieved.

Tip 33. No drugs cure high blood pressure.

All drugs against hypertension without exception, are toxic and have distressing side effects.
The safest way to cure hypertension is to remove the real cause. The natural way of dealing with it is to eliminate the poisons from the system which cause it. Persons with high blood pressure should always follow a well-balanced routine of proper diet, exercise and rest.
Diet is of primary importance. Meat and eggs cause the blood pressure to rise more
than any other food. The pressure is lowered and blood clotting diminished by partaking of a
higher fruit content, lower protein and non-flesh diet. A natural diet consisting of fresh fruits and
vegetables, instead of a traditional diet, is helpful in getting rid of the poisons from the body. A
hypertension patient should start the process of healing by living on an exclusive fruit-diet for
at least a week, and take fruits at five-hourly intervals thrice in the day. Oranges, apples, pears,
mangoes, guava, pineapples, raspberry, water-melon are the best diet in such cases. Bananas
and jack fruit should not be taken. Milk may be taken after a week of "fruits only"' diet. The milk
should be fresh and should be boiled only once. The patient can be permitted cereals in his food after two weeks.

Tip 32. Meditate!

Meditation involves training the mind to remain fixed on a certain external or internal location.
All the mental faculties should be directed, without cessation, towards the object of meditation. It
can be achieved by constant practice. It will be advisable to meditate on God or Atman as one
becomes imbued with the quality of the object on which one meditates.
Meditation will help create an amount of balance in the nervous system. This would enable the glands to return to a correct state of hormonal balance and thereby overcome the feeling of depression. Regularity of time, place and practice are very important in meditation. Regularity
of practice conditions the mind to slowing down its activities. The most effective times for meditation are early dawn and dusk, when the atmosphere is serene and peaceful.

Tip 31. To avoid gout, avoid meat.

Gout was at one time considered the disease of the rich, when in the West only the rich ate meat.
The gout patient should avoid all purine and uric acid producing foods such as all meats, eggs, and fish. Glandular meats are especially harmful.
The one who has gout should also avoid all intoxicating liquors, tea, coffee, sugar, white flour and its products and all canned and processed foods. Spices and salts should be used as little as possible.

Tip 30. Low blood sugar is caused by too much sugar.

Hypoglycaemia is a condition of low blood sugars. Ironically, it is aggravated by consuming too much sugar.
Hypoglycaemia is usually caused by an excessive intake of refined carbohydrates and sugar
foods. These substances cause the pancreas, the adrenal gland and the liver to lose their ability
to handle the sugar properly. Other causes of low blood sugar are a tumour, disturbed functioning of the liver, pituitary gland or adrenal glands. Stress intensifies this condition as it weakens the adrenal glands and starts a faulty pattern of glucose intolerance.

Tip 29. Influenza is more than a viral infection.

Influenza, like all other acute diseases, is a natural attempt at self-cleansing and if rightly
treated in a natural way, immense good can ensue so far as the future health of the patient is
concerned. In the acute stage of influenza, a patient should abstain from all solid foods and only
drink fruit and vegetable juices diluted with water, 50- 50 for first three to five days, depending
on the severity of the disease. The juice fast should be continued until the temperature comes
down to normal. The warm water enema should be taken daily during this period to cleanse the
bowels.
After fever subsides the patient may adopt an all-fruit diet for two or three days. In this regimen,
the patient should take three meals a day of fresh juicy fruits such as apples, pears, grapes,
oranges, pineapple, peaches and melons at five-hourly intervals. Bananas or dried, stewed or
tinned fruits however, should not be taken. No other food stuff should be added to the fruit
meals, otherwise the value of the treatment will be lost. This may be followed by a further two or
three days on fruits and milk diet. Thereafter, the patient may adopt a well-balanced diet of three
basic food groups namely, (i) seeds, nuts and grains, (ii) vegetables, and (iii) fruits.
Spices and condiments, and pickles, which make food more palatal and lead to overeating,
must be avoided. Lemon juice may be used in salad dressing. Alcohol, tobacco, strong tea and
coffee, highly seasoned meats, over-boiled milk, pulses, potato, rice, cheese, refined, processed, stale, and tinned foods should all be avoided.