Tuberculosis is supposed to be due to infection by the tubercle bacillus, and although many parts of the body may be affected, it is the lungs which are the usual seat of the disease. Bad housing and wretched conditions of work, lack of sunshine and fresh air, the devitalising of the system through excess and abuse, overwork, defective nutrition, etc., etc., are all given as predisposing factors in the development of tuberculosis by our medical scientists, it being realised that a devitalised and impoverished state of the system is necessary before the germ can become active.

The germs of tuberculosis may be either inhaled or introduced into the system through food, we are told, and one of the most potent sources for the spread of the disease, according to orthodox medical views, is cow's milk, especially with regard to tuberculosis in children ; for the domestic cow is very prone to become the victim to tuberculosis under modern dairy-farming conditions. Now, this fact that cows can, and do, develop tuberculosis when taken away from a natural state of living and feeding and subjected to an artificial and unnatural existence, points the way more clearly than any other single factor to the real causes underlying the development of tuberculosis, not only in animals, but in man as well, as we shall soon see.

We are told by our medical authorities that tuberculosis is a disease due to germ infection, yet even these self-same authorities admit that the disease will not take root in any and every person's organism indiscriminately, but depends upon a considerable devitalisation of the system beforehand for its development. The fact is that it is this devitalisation of the system which is the chief factor concerned all the time, and not the germs ! Not only are we all exposed to infection by the tubercle bacillus at every turn, we actually have these germs within our system all the time, without the slightest apparent harm in the great majority of cases. It is only where the vitality of the organism has been brought to a low ebb, through various causes, that the germs begin to assert their sway and tuberculosis is said to be beginning. It is the devitalisation which comes first always, and the germ activity afterwards as a direct consequence.

No, the fact is that all of us have seeds for the development of tuberculosis within us in greater or less degree. The germs do not attack us ; they are already housed within us, and will do us not the slightest harm, providing we have not depleted our vital forces in such a way as to make their propagation possible. If we have, then

the development of tuberculosis within us will begin, whether we have been exposed to germ infection or not.

As to what the real fundamental cause is which will so deplete the system as to allow the tubercle bacillus an opportunity to develop and set up tuberculosis, let us return to our point re the domestic cow, which we said would show where the trouble lies. In his work as a food investigator, Alfred McCann, the great American food scientist and author of The Science of Eating, proved over and over again that tuberculosis in domestic animals is the direct outcome of the artificial manner in which these animals are fed. If cows are fed on grass, hay, etc. � their natural foods � they cannot develop tuberculosis ; it is only when they are kept in dairies and fed on all kinds of " manipulated " and " concocted " feeds that tuberculosis arises after a time.

The whole thing is quite simple, and starts in this way. Instead of being allowed to eat natural foods containing all the minerals and other vital elements necessary for the healthy upkeep of the body, the cow in many dairies � especially in winter-time, and more so in the United States than in England � is given artificially prepared foods which are very deficient in mineral and vital properties. The result is that the cow's tissues tend to become more and more starved of these essential elements to health the longer it is fed in this way, and as it is under a constant strain all the time by virtue of the fact that it is forced to provide milk far out of all proportion to what it naturally should do, the animal's system becomes so devitalised in time that the tubercle bacillus has an easy ground for growth, and the seeds for the development of tuberculosis are readily sown.

The trouble is made all the more acute because in its milk the cow has to furnish a large amount of mineral and other vital matter which it is itself being denied from the food supplied to it, so that the deterioration of its tissues goes on at a far greater rate than would otherwise be the case, and tuberculosis develops the more readily. A bullock fed in the same way as a dairy cow would stand far less chance of developing tuberculosis than the cow because of the fact that there would not be this continual drain on its vital powers for the production of milk containing essential elements which its food has not supplied to it, and which its own tissues have had to give up as a consequence. Herein lies the tragedy of the domestic cow !

In exactly the same way many a nursing mother living on the devitalised food-stuffs of the present era develops tuberculosis. Not having received an adequate supply of natural mineral matter and other vital elements from her food during pregnancy, her steadily depleting store of these same elements has been drained from her own tissues for the needs of the growing child within her ; and after the birth of the child and the strain of nursing and giving an adequate supply of milk to the infant, tuberculosis comes along to claim yet another victim. Especially is this so after the second or third child in those living habitually on a vitally impoverished dietary.

There is no doubt that living and working in habitually stuffy or badly ventilated atmospheres is conducive to the development of tuberculosis, as is also abuse or misuse of the system generally; but the main predisposing cause all the time is mineral starvation of the tissues of the body through an inadequate dietary, as already pointed out. This does not mean to say that the dietary has been inadequate when measured by mere bulk standards, but when measured according to the amount of organic mineral and other vital matter it contains. Thus many people eating four or five meals a day may be having an inadequate dietary when judged from this standard, whereas from the ordinary conventional point of view their dietary is full and abundant in every way. And the sort of dietary we are here referring to is precisely that same white bread, refined-cereal, white-sugar, cooked-meat and cooked-vegetable dietary so prevalent throughout civilisation to-day.

But over and above mineral starvation of the tissues of the body as a result of living upon a dietary in which the food minerals and other vital elements are almost altogether lacking, there is yet another factor to be considered in every case where tuberculosis sets in, and that is something entirely to do with the psychical (and not physical) " make-up " of the individual concerned. It would seem with tuberculosis (in human beings at least), as with cancer, that there is needed a negative attitude � a sort of non-vital attitude � towards life on the part of the individual concerned, before malnutrition and the other physical factors already referred to can pave the way for the development of the disease in the said individual's system. And, of course, with regard to tuberculosis of the lungs, the part played by habitual colds and catarrh treated suppressively, and by bronchitis, pneumonia, and other chest and throat affections treated by drug and knife, has always to be considered, such treatment inevitably tending to lower the tone and lead to the high toxicity of the lung tissue, a condition very favourable to the later development of tuberculosis.

Treatment. � The cause of tuberculosis has here been made clear as being fundamentally due to the impoverishment of the tissues of the body of essential organic mineral elements � particularly calcium � as a result of living upon an habitually demineralised and devitalised dietary. But the part played by bad environmental conditions, misuse and abuse of bodily powers, and the suppressive medical treatment of former disease (especially chest disease such as bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.), has also not been lost sight of. Further, a negative attitude to life, on the part of the individual affected by the disease, has also been cited as a most important predisposing factor on the psychical side. One must also remember that certain individuals inherit a tendency towards the development of the disease. The tubercular bacillus itself is therefore only a very late-comer on the scene, as it were; it puts in its appearance when all the spade-work has been performed by the other factors above named. But once the disease begins to take hold (with its accompanying symptoms of hacking cough, emaciation, night sweats, heightened temperature, etc., etc.), then of course the germ takes more and more of the limelight upon itself, until it appropriates the whole centre of the stage eventually, and all other factors fade inconspicuously into the background.

With regard to the medical treatment for tuberculosis, we have already said a certain amount of good work has been done by means of open-air treatment, in which fresh air and sunlight play the most important parts. But such treatment is very rarely sufficient to cure the disease on its own ; what is needed is proper dietetic and other health-building help along natural lines as well. The medical view with regard to the dietetic treatment for tuberculosis appears to be that the patient should be made to eat as much " nourishing " food as possible, in order to " build up his strength " and so " fight the germ." But such a dietetic regime is the reverse of that really needed, as the foods given are themselves of the same devitalised and demineralised kind as those here cited as the real underlying cause for the setting up of the condition.

White bread, white-flour products, refined cereals such as porridge, rice, barley, etc., milk puddings, boiled and mashed potatoes, boiled vegetables, cooked meat, white sugar, etc., etc., are all foods which are deficient indeed in organic mineral and vital matter, yet these are the very foods upon which the consumptive is told to " feed up " in order to build up his strength " to fight the germ of tuberculosis." No wonder the fight is a losing one in great numbers of cases ! There is no doubt that sanatorium treatment for tuberculosis owes ninety-nine per cent, of its failures to crass ideas about feeding� ideas which only perpetuate the old fallacies regarding food, and which lead many a consumptive to an early grave who would be otherwise saved.

There is much talk these days of new treatments for tuberculosis � drug and otherwise � from orthodox (or unorthodox) sources, many of them of the most weird nature ; but no system of medication will prevail in which the dietetic factor is either overlooked or misunderstood. An all-round scheme of dietetic and vitality-building treatment along natural lines is the only sure road to success in tuberculosis, as the many cures achieved by Natural-Cure practitioners the world over in this dread disease testify. But the case must be in the comparatively early stages for the best results to be secured ; long-standing cases may be past cure because of the great deterioration of lung tissue that will have taken place here. Even so, in these latter cases, quite a great deal can be done by natural treatment properly applied.

Treatment in a. Natural-Cure institution is of course by far the best in all cases of tuberculosis; but failing this, the sufferer should try his utmost to carry on under the personal supervision of a competent Naturopath. Personal treatment is far and away the best. However, if the sufferer is unable to secure such individual treatment he can carry on as follows with every hope of achieving satisfactory results with patience and perseverance, providing, of course, his trouble has not been allowed to develop too far or there are not too many subsidiary complications.

To begin the treatment the best thing is to have three or four days on the exclusive fresh fruit diet outlined in the Appendix. This should then be followed by a period on the fruit and milk diet also outlined therein. This fruit and milk diet should be carried on with for from three to six or eight weeks, according to the progress being made, the quantity of milk taken daily being gradually increased up to, say, six to eight pints daily relatively to the capacity of the patient. Then the full weekly dietary outlined in the Appendix can be begun, and should be adhered to strictly thereafter. Up to two pints of milk can be added to this full dietary daily. Further periods on the all-fruit diet followed by fruit and milk should be taken at intervals of, say, two months or so, according to the needs of the case.

It has been pointed out that tuberculosis is a disease due primarily to mineral starvation of the tissues of the body, and that the chief mineral concerned is calcium. Milk is the finest food medium for the supply of organic calcium to the body, and that is why it is so much used in the natural treatment for tuberculosis. But the milk should always be fresh and unboiled � NOT BOILED. Never mind about the " germs " in unboiled milk ; build up the tone of the system along approved natural lines and the erstwhile sufferer from tuberculosis can snap his fingers at germs. Besides, unboiled milk contains many vital properties necessary to the building up of the system which boiled milk has lost. That is why unboiled milk is the milk required. And the fresher and more direct the supply, the better.

Instead of the fruit and milk diet outlined above, the full milk diet can be tried by some with equally good or even better results. Cases vary, and what suits one best may not quite suit another. In this connection there is a short fast for from three to five days to begin with, on orange juice and water, and then the full milk diet given in the Appendix is begun and adhered to for from four to six weeks. The full weekly dietary with two pints of milk added daily is then begun, as advised above, with further short fasts and periods on the milk diet at two-monthly intervals thereafter as the case requires.

During the first few days of the treatment the bowels should be cleansed nightly with the warm-water enema or gravity douche, and afterwards if necessary; and where constipation is habitual, the rules for its eradication given should be put into operation forthwith. The morning dry friction and sponge outlined in the Appendix should form a regular feature of the treatment, and the breathing and other exercises also outlined therein should be gone through in conjunction with them. As regards breathing exercises, these should be done very gently and carefully at first, so as not to put too much strain upon the lungs. A hot Epsom-salts bath, taken once or twice a week, will be a very useful adjunct to the treatment.

The tuberculosis sufferer should see that he has as much fresh air and gentle outdoor exercise as possible, but he should not overtax his strength in any way. He should sleep with a good current of fresh air in the bedroom, and outdoors in summer where at all possible. All devitalising habits and practices should be discontinued, and early hours and simple living instituted as the main routine of living. Smoking and drinking, where habitual, must be rigorously excluded.

The dietary must consist of fruits, vegetables (raw and lightly steamed), milk, wholemeal bread, butter, eggs, nuts, and cheese mainly, as these are the foods richest in organic calcium and other organic minerals. Meat should be eaten very sparingly indeed, and all devitalised foods such as white bread, white sugar, refined cereals, milk puddings, puddings and pies, tinned and preserved foods, etc., rigorously avoided. No strong tea or coffee, and no condiments, pickles, sauces, etc., should be taken. On no account should drugs of any kind or so-called " nourishing foods " � patent or otherwise � be taken.

The mental factor is of very great importance in all cases of tuberculosis, and that is why personal treatment is always best. The patient receives support and encouragement from the practitioner all the time. But even with those carrying on, on their own, the right mental attitude should soon be attained once the true facts concerning the cause and cure of the disease (as outlined herein) are understood.

It is the fear and uncertainty connected with tuberculosis which have such a depressing effect upon the patient, quite apart from his own negative attitude psychologically (which we have already alluded to as being a predisposing factor in the setting up of the trouble in the first place). Once let the patient realise that he is on the right road towards cure � as he will if he adopts natural treatment � then the right mental attitude will come of its own accord.

The greatest predisposing factor towards the setting up of valvular heart disease is inflammation of the heart lining (endocarditis) ; and this, as has been pointed out in discussing endocarditis earlier in the present section, is most often the outcome of the suppressive drug treatment of former disease, especially acute disease (or fevers), such as rheumatic fever, scarlet fever, etc. The part played by toxin poisoning in the development of endocarditis has also been mentioned, such toxin poisoning being the direct outcome of a highly toxic condition of the blood and system, as a result of wrong feeding habits and unhygienic habits of living.

However, the chief underlying causes of all heart troubles in general have been made perfectly clear and fully discussed in the introductory pages to the present section, and these same introductory pages should be read carefully by every sufferer, not only from actual heart disease itself, but from all other heart affections, such as hypertrophy, dilatation, myocarditis, etc., as the general remarks there made apply to all cases of heart trouble, no matter of what kind or origin. The only thing is that in certain instances one of the points raised may need stressing more than another, according to the particular and peculiar circumstances of the case.

In the pages above referred to, not only was the origin and development of heart troubles clearly explained, but the value of drug treatment was exposed in its true light, and the sufferer from heart affections was assured that only under natural methods of treatment could he hope for any lasting improvement in his condition. He was further advised to seek personal naturopathic treatment where at all possible, because of certain facts which were made clear.

It is fully realised, however, that there will be many who will find it impossible to secure personal treatment for their case, and these can carry on along the lines here to be laid down, with every hope of securing beneficial results, no matter what their heart trouble may be, providing, of course, that the condition has not been allowed to develop too far before natural treatment is begun.

Treatment. � In outlining a scheme of home treatment for heart troubles one has always to bear in mind that some sufferers from heart affections can undertake a far more rigorous scheme of treatment than others. For instance, those with only slight hypertrophy or slight V.D.H. might be able to undertake quite a strict scheme of fasting and other eliminative treatment without undue strain upon the heart itself; but others, on the other hand, with myocarditis or dilatation or pronounced V.D.H., will find it impossible to do much in the way of very strict treatment, because the strain would be more than their weakened heart structures could be safely called upon to withstand successfully. That, indeed, is the real reason why personal treatment is so much to be desired in heart troubles ; each patient can have the treatment definitely arranged to suit the needs of his own special case. But we shall get over the difficulty here, to a very great extent, in the following manner.

The great thing in all cases of heart trouble is a cleansing diet, for, as already explained, the cleaner and purer the blood is as it passes to and from the heart, the less will be the toxicity set up in the heart structures, and the easier will it be for the heart to carry out its function. So that the first essential for all those undertaking treatment is to place themselves at once upon a natural cleansing dietary, and to cut down very much (or exclude altogether as the case may be) the consumption of meat, bread, sugar, puddings, pies, rich cakes, all heavy and stodgy dishes, fried foods, and other highly toxin-forming food materials which throw a great burden upon the system in general and the heart in particular. For this purpose the full weekly dietary given in the Appendix can be followed with the most beneficial results by each and every sufferer from heart affections, no matter of what nature or how long duration his trouble might be.

The next step is to cut out the drinking of tea, coffee, alcohol, or other highly stimulating beverages, and to stop altogether the use of condiments, pickles, sauces, etc. Articles of diet such as these either directly affect the working of the heart or tend to make the toxicity of the blood worse than it otherwise would be, and so indirectly affect the heart's activity. Of course, where smoking is indulged in, that must be stopped altogether, or very much reduced, according to the severity or otherwise of the case. It is, however, by far the best thing to cut out smoking entirely in all cases where the heart is affected.

Having brought the dietary on to a new and cleaner basis, and removed the harmful effects upon the heart of stimulating drinks, etc., the sufferer from heart trouble will soon begin to find a definite improvement in his condition, commensurate, of course, with the severity and duration of the complaint. He can then begin to introduce a fast-day or a day on the all-fruit diet outlined in the Appendix, at intervals of, say, a fortnight. (For the fast, hot water and orange juice may be taken.) It will be quite easy for those with even serious heart trouble to stand a fast for a day, or a day on the all-fruit diet, every fortnight; and those with less serious heart conditions can have both a fast-day and a day on fruit to follow, at these times, or a fast-day one week and a day on fruit the next. All this will assist very greatly indeed in clearing up toxic matter in the system, and so helping on heart action, whilst at the same time it will prevent the heart from becoming affected by the treatment.

The foregoing is the manner in which all sufferers from more or less serious heart trouble should carry on, then : go on to the weekly dietary outlined in the Appendix and then have a day's fast or a day on fruit � or both � at regular fortnightly intervals thereafter, as described above. If desired, a day's fast or a day on fruit can be taken as a preliminary to beginning on the weekly dietary ; and many will be able to undertake both a fast-day and day on fruit before beginning the new diet. It all rests with the individual to decide for himself according to the special circumstances of his case. The great thing is not to do too much in the way of fasting or strict eliminative dieting at a time, but to spread it out at intervals, over a period, as directed.

Of course, there will be those with comparatively slight heart disease or other heart trouble who could quite easily undertake a short fast of three or four days, or a similar period on the all-fruit diet, to begin the treatment, and who could have further short fasts or periods on all-fruit at monthly intervals thereafter as needed. But the great thing is never to overtax the system at these times, but just to carry on as long as the patient feels he comfortably can, There are some sufferers from heart trouble who could undertake a fast for a week with ease, and with the greatest benefit to themselves. It is all a question of what each separate individual is capable.

The great point for the sufferer from heart disease or other heart trouble to realise, then, is that (commensurate with his powers and graduated thereto) the more fasting and strict eliminative dieting he can carry out (apart from the regular following of the weekly dietary), the more quickly will curative results be secured in his particular case ; for nothing helps so much in the cure of heart disorders as treatment of the nature here referred to. That is why the medical regimen for heart troubles�apart from the definitely harmful after-effects of drugs�is so ineffectual. The diet factor is ignored all the time, and the patient is allowed to eat all sorts of foods which are the very worst possible for him where the health of the heart is concerned. The more the dietary approximates towards a fruit and salad basis, the cleaner will it be, and the better will the heart be able to function.

It is of great importance in all heart affections to avoid indigestion and allied ailments, for such troubles tend to affect the heart very much (through pressure of wind, etc.). It is therefore always best to eat very sparingly, and to leave the table after a meal feeling that you could easily eat more. Never eat to repletion. For the same reason, it is never wise to eat a meal late at night; let the last meal be at least three hours before retiring. Avoid all white-flour products, refined cereals, milk puddings, and other mushy foods ; avoid sugar in all forms. Another dietetic point worth bearing well in mind is that it will always pay the heart sufferer to replace meat or other flesh foods, where mentioned in the menus, by either egg or cheese or nuts, where at all possible. ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD DRUGS OF ANY KIND BE TAKEN.

It is always best to use the warm-water enema or gravity douche to cleanse the bowels nightly during the first few days of the treatment, and afterwards as necessary ; whilst if constipation is habitual, the rules for its eradication given should be put into operation forthwith. The morning dry friction and sponge outlined in the Appendix should be taken daily by all those capable of it, whilst the breathing and other exercises (also outlined in the Appendix) should be gone through in conjunction with them, so far as is possible without straining or overtaxing the heart. These exercises should be done very gently at first and more vigorously as the patient improves. (Some will have to leave the exercises out altogether ; each person must use his own discretion here.) It is a mistake to think that sufferers from heart troubles should not take much exercise, though it should never be really strenuous, but of a gentle kind. Walking is the best exercise of all.

Those who can stand a hot bath fairly well should have a hot Epsom-salts bath every week, as part of the treatment, but the bath should not be taken too hot in any case. If the sufferer from valvular heart disease (or other heart trouble) carries on as here directed, progress is bound to follow, even in really long-standing cases; but of course the rate of progress will depend in every case upon the nature of the heart lesion, its duration, etc. The longer the treatment is persevered with, the better will the results be in every case.

As a general rule, the patient under treatment should take things fairly quietly and easily, and have plenty of rest daily. Early hours and no excesses must be the order of the day, and excitement and prolonged-nervous or physical strain must be carefully avoided. Spinal manipulation, where at all procurable, is very much to be recommended in all cases of heart trouble.