The commonest form of the three kinds of degenerative diseases is hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis), with its principal and commonest symptom of high blood pressure. This is also a condition which is a result of the evil effects of a common foundation of disease, maintained or rather continued by bad food. As in all other diseases, prevention is by far preferable to cure. To prevent this disease and all its possible complications, the same rule holds true as in all other diseases; we must start early in the career of the individual ; we must not wait until middle or old age to cure this disease; though the old adage is just as true here it is never too late to mend. We must remember that the individual’s common foundation of disease has existed most probably from early life. This common foundation of disease has been harming the individual as a whole almost all the years of his life, and in the later years of his life the blood vessels in particular have been injured.
High blood pressure, whether due to hardening of the arteries or the so-called essential variety wherein the hardening process of the arteries is not so evident (though nevertheless, the underlying factor) with very few exceptions starts later on in life or rather becomes evident in this latter period of life.
The chief danger of high blood pressure is the breaking of the weakened walls of the blood vessels, either in the brain or in the heart muscle itself. Where a vessel breaks (ruptures) in the brain, the result is ordinarily known as a stroke, and paralysis usually of one-half of the body takes place. If such a blood vessel breaks in the heart, instantaneous death is the result.
The writer’s experience in these cases of hardening of the arteries (high blood pressure) has been highly encouraging wherein these patients have undergone common foundationing and have followed the dietary rules of this system most carefully. As is to be expected, the process of common foundationing must of necessity be quite complete in these cases. Almost every step of common foundationing has to be taken to cure this disease and to prevent strokes or further attacks of them. But the excellent results will more than repay us for our efforts. The writer has had the satisfaction of relieving cases of high blood pressure who have even had strokes and who have been paralyzed in one-half of the body as a result of the stroke. Both the paralysis and the high blood pressure have completely disappeared.
The only way in which to prevent strokes and other complications in these cases is to common foundation the patient. The common foundation of disease is the basic cause for this disease and hence must be removed to save the patient. The writer does not believe a true and permanent cure, nor the prevention of further strokes can be obtained by any other means.
It has always been a pleasure and highly interesting to the writer to observe how quickly the high blood pressure can be reduced to normal by the use of even the mild form of the antisepticizing treatments and a strict adherence to the simple diet of this system; as a rule, a blood pressure of 200 is reduced to 145 in a week’s time, and maintained at this low level, by these two simple means the diet and use of the antisepticizing treatments. The explanation for the efficiency and rapidity with which the antisepticizing treatments alone will lower high blood pressure can easily be found in any good physiology book under physiology of the vagus nerve. Stimulation of the vagus nerve lowers the blood pressure. Depression of the vagus nerve increases the blood pressure. Nothing will as rapidly stimulate and improve the tone of the vagus nerve as the nasal antisepticizing treatments. These explain the usefulness and beneficial influence of the nasal antisepticizing treatments in people suffering with blood pressure. As soon as the antisepticizing treatments are started, the high blood pressure begins to fall. In Chapter IV under the Vagus Nerve this is more carefully explained.
The moment the person changes his diet from the simple diet and the antisepticizing treatments are temporarily discontinued, the blood pressure will immediately rise again.