From the May 2007 Idaho Observer:
Carrot juice: Key to rejuvenating the liver
Now that we know that a healthy liver is essential in obtaining vibrant health (Back to Basics, The IO, March, 2007), what are some of the lifestyle habits that we should incorporate in order to ensure we have a fully-functioning, healthy liver? This is what this month’s column, the third installment on the liver and gallbladder, will focus upon. We have found that nearly all diseases can be "cured" by improving the functioning of the liver, our body’s chemical factory and organ of detoxification. Naturally, one must change one’s eating habits from the Standard American Diet (SAD) that created the problem in the first place to a diet rich in living foods. The most important kitchen tool to have is a fruit and vegetable juice extractor. The second essential kitchen item is a ceramic or Corningware teapot for infusions or decoctions of herbs that can be imbibed daily instead of beverages that actually harm the liver, such as coffee, soda pop and alcoholic beverages. But first we are going to focus on why raw fruit and vegetable juices are so therapeutic with specific emphasis on carrot juice.
By Ingri Cassel
Fruits and vegetables grown organically in healthy soil contain all the elements needed for nourishing the human body. By extracting the pure liquid locked up in the cells of plants and drinking this juice immediately, we are getting essential enzymes, vitamins and minerals into our bodies in the most easy-to-assimilate form possible.
Freshly extracted juice can be compared to a blood transfusion from the plant to the human body. When the juice is taken within a few minutes of it being extracted, the energy and vital nutrients of the plant goes directly into the bloodstream. Today there are many health retreats, therapists and living foods "coaches" who specialize in creating specific juice combinations for cleansing and rebuilding various organs and body systems.
Dr. Benedict Lust once said, "There is something more behind these health, raw juice cocktails than simply satisfying the palate. They satisfy and nourish the twenty-six thousand billion cells of the body. When people form the health cocktail habit, they put liquid life into their bodies."
Even the famous naturopath Paul Bragg was quoted as saying way back in 1935 that "[t]he continuous and persistent practice of getting the liquid life of fruits and vegetables into our system is one of the secrets of keeping young. They revitalize the bloodstream, giving sparkle to the eye, color to the lips and a spring to the step."
These raw juices are very rich and should be sipped slowly and even "chewed" like solid food, swishing each mouthful so that it is thoroughly mixed with saliva before swallowing. According to Dr. John Christopher, 1 ½ pints of saliva are available for digesting each meal and it is the saliva that stimulates the production of the other digestive enzymes such as hydrochloric acid.
Juice of a carrot
In general, fruit juices are more cleansing and vegetable juices are regenerating and ideal for building healthy cells. While all fresh, raw juices are excellent for restoring health, I have found that organic carrots are fairly easy to obtain and the juice from these carrots provides the most immediate results. When someone I know is in a health crisis, I make sure that a juice extractor is on hand along with a large 25 lb. bag of organic carrots.
Ragnar-Berg, an early diet reform advocate with a scientific background, said this about carrots:
"They have some protein, are rich in carbohydrates, potassium, sodium and calcium, there is a high alkali excess, a trace of iodine and a good proportion of all vitamins. They constitute a powerful cleansing food. A large amount of carrot carbohydrate is one of the most effective means of changing the intestinal flora from a putrefactive to a non-putrefactive type."
Carrot juice as nutritional support
Carrot juice is the richest source of vitamin A that the body can assimilate. It also contains an ample supply of vitamins B, C, D, E, G, and K. Carrots are an aid to digestion, promote a healthy appetite and are recommended to nursing mothers to improve the quantity and quality of their milk. Carrot juice is a specific for calcifying poor teeth and can correct faulty circulation.
In the treatment of disease it is important to alkalinize the body and carrot juice has been demonstrated to rapidly achieve this objective through cleansing of the liver and improving the quality of the blood. Carrot juice is very effective in correcting chronic infections such as tonsilitis, colitis and appendicitis. It has also been used in the treatment of anemia, blood poisoning, ulcers, rheumatism, acne and all forms of cancer.
Drinking carrot juice
The recommended dose is one to six pints of fresh carrot juice daily. If the skin develops a yellow, "jaundiced" hue, this is due to the congealed bile breaking up to be eliminated. According to Dr. John R. Christopher, "Whenever the liver and gall bladder are in malfunction, and we drink carrot juice or other herbs to assist the organs to cleanse themselves, the yellow will show until the liver and gall bladder are cleaned out. As soon as this job is done the yellow fades away from the skin and the eyes, and a new, fresh, healthy complexion appears. Then drinking even more carrot juice will cause no further yellow tinge to the skin as long as the liver and gall bladder are in a good, healthy condition."
The late Dr. Christopher became well-known as the Father of American Herbology due to his faith in the power of God and Nature to heal us from all manner of maladies. If he was unsure of how to treat someone’s illness, he would pray about it and would receive the correct herbal and dietary procedure that would work for that specific case. The following stories are from his newsletter, The Importance of Fresh Juices (originally published in 1982):
Snowbound and healthy
There is a little town in Idaho which had its main crop in carrots, and they did so well there that every farm was in carrots. This was still in the "horse and buggy days" and the area was quite isolated, so when fall came, the people would harvest the carrots and take them down to a larger town and trade for supplies as staples for the winter. But one particular winter they got snow-bound before they could take the carrots down, so they had raw carrots, fried carrots, grated carrots, juiced carrots, carrot salads. That is about all they lived on. And, you know, that was the first year in the history of that town that there was no sickness; not even a case of sniffles! Well, the next year, being pretty smart people, they didn’t take the chance of the repeat performance of getting snowbound again, so they hurried down early to get their usual dietary staples and, of course, they had their regular sickness, and they kept their local doctor happy by keeping him in business.
Switching diets with the farm animals
One day in our naturopathic offices in Evanston, Wyoming, we received a call from over in Woodruff, Utah, from a rancher who complained that he and his wife and children were all rather "sickly." We visited them and learned that the rancher claimed he could only ride the range about a half hour and then would have to get off the horse, sit or lie on the ground a while before being able to ride longer. His wife said she would have to lie down after breakfast to gain enough strength to do the dishes, and would rest this way several times each day, always feeling weary. The children were cross and sickly and were receiving poor grades in school.
After walking around the barns and sheds with the rancher, we went into the house and sat down to talk with the family. I was, of course, very curious about their diet so I asked what foods were stored up for the winter, and they told me about the thousand pounds of enriched white flour, bags of sugar, canned fruits and vegetables they had. Having seen the whole grains he had stored in the sheds for his registered livestock, I made him this proposition: It was that he would for ninety days trade his food with that of the animals! His family would use the whole grains, we explained, and get a juicer and juice at least a pint a day of fresh carrot juice from the ton of carrots he had for the animals, and then let his prize stock eat their flour and foods.
Immediately he snapped back with: "What do you want to do, kill my cattle and horses?" then stopped abruptly and said, "You really tricked me on that one – I never thought of it that way. The very idea of feeding my expensive animals the foods that are probably making us sick! We will try your program."
They did – he found he could now work twelve to fourteen hours in a day without tiring; she had pep and energy, and the children got well and their grades improved.
Carrot poultice good for man or beast
A few months later on one of our calls to their ranch we found they were quite concerned because one of their favorite horses, a family riding horse and pet, had torn its leg on barbed wire. The veterinarian could not kill the infection and advised them to shoot the animal. The children were broken hearted, so the father asked me what to do for the horse. He seemed rather embarrassed, as he thought it rather silly to ask an herbalist and N.D. about an animal. He was informed that all animation was of God and that herbs are good for man or beast. The instructions were to make a poultice of freshly ground carrots, wrap around the infected leg and fasten securely. The poultice was to be replaced daily with a fresh one as soon as it became dry, keeping fresh poultices on until the infection was cleared. The horse was to have plenty of water, oats and fresh carrots to eat as well as green alfalfa if obtainable that time of year (very early spring.)
On our next visit a few weeks later, we saw a frisky horse romping around the field and were informed that this was the poor old infected family horse that they were told would have to be shot. The carrot poultice and carrots to eat had cleared up the infection, gave the horse new life as well as a glossy shining coat. This man and his family later sold their cattle ranch, bought a small fruit and garden farm, and he became an herbalist and reflexologist. He said he wanted to help other people to learn the "good way of life."
Incidently, carrot juice is one of the best remedies for failing vision and cataracts. We have heard from many subscribers to The IO that they are having more problems with their vision than ever before. Al Frye from Garden Valley, Idaho has written an excellent testimony regarding the use of Dr. Christopher’s eye wash formula for correcting damaged eyes and improving vision (see page 21). But as Al reminds us in his letter, the eye wash must be used in conjunction with a healthy diet of living foods, and drinking carrot juice daily will insure much more rapid and long lasting results.
Next month we will discuss several herbs that are specific for cleansing the bloodstream and liver. Most cancerous conditions can be overcome by simply focusing on the liver and blood. Even dandelion root, a well-known liver cleanser, was featured in the Feb./Mar. 2007 edition of Nexus magazine as a cure for a "prostate cancer sufferer who was instructed by an inner voice to use dandelion root and how to prepare it, when nothing else helped."
Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Lecture Series
Dr. John Christopher, the father of modern American herbology, left us in 1983 at age 74. But before he died, he bequeathed to us a wealth of herbal knowledge. Azure Standard, a truly wonderful, family-based, healthy food distributor out of Dufur, Oregon, has the entire collection available on CD. This priceless collection sells for $45 +s/h. and can be obtained by calling 541-467-2230 or ordering online at www.azurestandard.com.
Disk 1 -
Intro to Series; Elimination: maintaining a clean colon as thebasis of sound health
Disk 2 - The Bloodstream: The River of Life; Herbal blood purifiers
Disk 3 - Liver and Gallbladder; Lungs and the importance of oxygen
Disk 4 - Stomach overcoming digestion/assimilation problems; The Heart
Disk 5 - The Pancreas; Nerves; Insomnia
Disk 6 - Kidneys: Herbal Diuretics; Pregnancy; The Skin
Disk 7 - Allergies; Reporductive Organs; Obesity; The Mucusless Diet
Disk 8 - Eyes; Pyorrhea; Varicose Veins; Hair
Disk 9 - The Cold Sheet Treatment; The Incurables Routine
Disk 10 - The Incurables Routine (cont.); Comfrey paste; The Plague Remedy
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