All food consumed must pass the living surface of the digestive tract. That which reaches the liver must undergo a general assortment and temporary storage. After being released, it enters the blood stream and must pass through the lining surface of the capillary blood vessels to reach the lymph stream. Finally, before reaching its final destination, it must penetrate the walls surrounding each separate cell of each separate tissue and organ. This process, from the time the food is digested until it becomes part of the cells or forms new cells, is known as metabolism. Any substance which cannot be metabolized is neither food nor medicine, is of no value to the system, must be considered as a foreign substance and is frequently the cause of future trouble.

If we exclude water - formerly simply considered as an eliminating agent, but now recognized by the adherents of the Natura school and many advanced physicians as containing very important animal matter which is absorbed into the blood and carried to and used by the nervous, mental, and particularly the creative system - there are but three broad types of food substances which build and rebuild the body. These are:

1. PROTEINS: To build up and repair the bodily structures.
2. CARBOHYDRATES: Sugar and Starches.
HYDROCARBONS: Fats. These are frequently used interchangeably by the system, to warm the body and to supply energy, as well as material which controls and regulates the flow of the life forces.
3. ORGANIC MINERAL ELEMENTS: These help by acting as catalytic agents whereby small amounts of these elements bring about extended reactions on large amounts of material, and by direct action, whereby they are built in and become part of the body's cellular structure. In order to prevent their being thrown out by the excrementary organs and to help them reach the final point at which they become operative, these elements must be in the state of complex soluble organic (vitalized) compounds of salts. Simple chemical combinations do not reach the seat of final absorption.

All food substances used are composed of:

OXYGEN, HYDROGEN AND CARBON, alone or in combination with NITROGEN in proteids.

The first three are the creators of force in the body, and in combination with nitrogen are employed in the building of tissues and supplying the required energy.

CALCIUM: This element is the builder of the bony structure. In conjunction with iron it is essential in the production of red corpuscles. It is important to the gastric juices and in the digestion and assimilation of food. Protein molecules must be combined with calcium for their proper utilization in the body. Calcium gives firmness to the arteries and vitalizes the cells: it has an alkaline reaction and neutralizes toxins and bodily acids.

POTASSIUM: This element is essential in the formation of glycogen from glucose, fats from glycogen, and proteins from peptones. The liver, main factor in glycogen-formation, must have potassium and sodium. Potassium is a predominant element in the red corpuscles and the brain. This element nourishes the muscular system, is the healer in injuries, unites with phosphorus to nourish the brain cells, combines with sulphur to supply the oil in the skin and helps to carry oxygen to every part of the body. It is a rejuvenation. Its reaction is alkaline. Potassium is an essential in the treatment of Cancer and Tumor.

SODIUM: The solvent and neutralizer of waste material. In combination with chlorine it is one of the principal constituents of the lymph. Sodium is required in the formation of saliva, the pancreatic juice and bile, and therefore essential in digestion. The excretion of carbonic acid through the lungs is the work of sodium phosphate and sodium carbonate. This element nourishes the ligaments and tendons, promotes secretions. Sodium is essential to keep calcium and magnesium properly distributed and prevent their localization. This theory is based on extended experiments in the treatment of such diseases as arthritis, calcium disturbances, tuberculosis, and other ailments, by the application of vital sodium obtained from vegetables, herbs, roots and barks. It is alkaline in reaction and neutralizes acids and toxins from whatever source.

IRON: This element is indispensable in the formation of chlorophyl and hemoglobin. The hemoglobin carries the oxygen through the capillaries to all parts of the body where the carbon of digested food is oxidized and changed into carbonic acid, and then combined with the alkaline elements, eliminated from the lungs. Iron is important in the gastric juices. It gives strength to the blood vessels, and is the first remedy indicated in anemic conditions. Its reaction is alkaline.

MAGNESIUM: In conjunction with calcium, iron, and sulphur, magnesium has an important part in the formation of albumen of the blood. This element is a vitalizer. The muscular tissues and the brain and nerves must be supplied with it. Normal lungs contain more of it than twice the amount of calcium. Magnesium is a cell-builder to the nervous system and the lungs. With calcium, it eliminates waste material from the system. It helps to maintain the natural fluidity of the blood and the osmotic pressure without which metabolism is impossible. Magnesium can only work in association with calcium and these must be kept distributed by the action of sodium. Magnesium is strongly alkaline in its reaction and is a cooling agent to the entire system and a modifier of the emotions. All super-emotional people should be supplied with magnesium foods. Magnesium unites with the phosphates and is therefore important to the nervous- mental system. It is likewise the insulator without which the nervous-mental telegraph system could not function.

MANGANESE: May be called secondary in importance to iron in the system. It is important to the red-blood corpuscles. It influences the function of the glands enabling them to keep normal their secretions. It is a nerve and brain food of importance, and without it the mental-nervous system could not function and confusion would reign. It is the element indicated whenever there is erratic action or an indicated mental confusion. Manganese is alkaline in its effects, though itself not an alkali.

PHOSPHORUS: The most important of the acid reacting organic mineral elements. It is chiefly used by the system in the form of phosphoric acid and phosphates. This element is essential to the formation of the various forms of lecithin and nucleo-proteins and without this element there would be lack of life in man or plant. Phosphates, Nuclein, and Vitamins D and E may be basically one and the same thing when obtained from the seed of plants, legumes, etc. Phosphorus has been termed the chemical of the mind, or intelligence, and is essential in the building of nerve fibre and brain cells. It is a vitalization agent, especially so the procreative function.

SILICON: Is the antiseptic created by Nature for the holding at bay of the various diseases that afflict mankind. It is an element essential in the prevention of infections as well as in their elimination when they have gained a foothold. It helps to prevent fatigue and though of acid reaction itself, it holds in check the formation of "nascent" lactic acid resulting from hard work or worry. Silicon is required by the procreative system of both men and women, and in the treatment of nerve exhaustion, infections, low endurance, and diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis.

CHLORINE: Used by the organism of the body as potassium and sodium chloride - of acid reaction. This element is important in the manufacture of all the digestive juices, especially the gastric juice with its hydrochloric acid. The mineral matter of the blood serum is also made up in great part of vital sodium chloride. This element is essential in the elimination of the nitrogenous waste resulting from the process of metabolism. Chlorine breaks up albumen and aids in digestion. It is a purifier and has been known as the washerwoman of the body. It is often used in the treatment of Bright's disease, tumors and cancers, sluggish liver, gall bladder affections, heart weakness, worry, affliction of the joints, and many other ailments.

FLUORINE: This element is necessary in the formation of the enamel of the teeth and for the normal development of the bony structure of the body. The iris of the eye requires it that ophthalmic derangement may not develop. This organic element is the natural preventer of diseases affecting the bones and spinal cord, as well as venereal diseases. Fluorine will prevent premature old age. It is used in the treatment of tuberculosis, varicose veins. Scrofulous and syphilitic infections, stones of bladder and kidneys, paralysis, insanity, prolapsus of organs, and decaying or dysfunctioning of the glands, ulcers, anemia, necrosis, all erratic action, or mental aberration. Fluorine is acid in reaction.

SULFUR: This element, of acid reaction, is one of the constituents of the blood, is an antiseptic of great value to the system and is an oxidizing agent. It is part of the composition of the protein of all the tissues. This element acts in conjunction with phosphorus, and due to his association, is a tonic to the system. Vital sulphur is necessary in bile secretion, and helps prevent intestinal putrefaction. It is an immunizer against the invasion of disease, clarifies mental action, cleans the complexion and preserves the life of the hair. Vital sulphur is used in the treatment of all congestions, boils, carbuncles and eruptions, paralysis of nerve centers, muscular weakness, irregular menstruation, fibroid tumors and affections of the liver.

IODINE: A neutral element. Of greatest importance to the thyroid gland. It is an element of mental balance and without it men would be idiotic, moronic, non-spiritual. Iodine prevents or eliminates body toxins, helps in oxidation, normalizes the nervous system, induces assimilation of calcium and directs its application, and is essential in the treatment of children suffering from mental or physical under-development.

MINOR ELEMENTS: Many minor elements, are constituents or our food as yet unkown as to their composition or exact relation to the economy of man. There are, for instance, the germ life in milk and the animaculae in water. These have been considered inimical to the life of man but as an actual fact, they are as necessary to his well-being as any other food. If any natural element is long missing, disease is certain to follow because the balance will be lost. If the animacules were altogether missing from milk and water and the air we breathe, our capacity for procreation would be quickly destroyed, and man, even if he continued to exist, would become sexually incompetent and incapable of the reproduction of the species. Our conviction on this point is continually being strengthened by experiments and observation, and we feel that here is a large field for investigators who delve into the realm of life and its basis.

PROTEINS: These chemicals are the products of living organisms and are very complex structurally. They are present in all vital foods and especially abundant in eggs, cheese, nuts, gluten, and pulse. After a meal, especially if it be rich in these proteids, the blood will be found teeming with these tiny organisms, indicating whence they come and demonstrating the fact that our bodies are actually composed of them.

When these proteids have been absorbed and become broken down, they disintegrate into five different acids: Hydrochloric,(1) Uric, Carbonic, Sulphuric,(1) Phosphoric. The secret of a correct diet, i.e., of health, is that sufficient vegetable substances abundantly supplied with the organic mineral elements be consumed to neutralized and render these acids harmless as soon as they are formed. This process actually takes place in a normally functioning body when the proper food is selected and correctly proportioned. -----------------------------------------------------
(1) These are not free acids as in the digestive juices but are salts in combination with these acids, formed in situ. Loosely speaking, these have been termed "bodily acids" to distinguish them from the useful acids found in the digestive juices, and those acids which are required by various parts of the bodily structures and functions, and are obtained from food. -----------------------------------------------------

These, belong to the second class of food substances, are composed of the heating elements, a combination of about 78 per cent carbon, held in combination with hydrogen, and oxygen. These are found mainly in grains, breads, rice, potatoes, nuts, any varieties of dried fruit, honey, butter, vegetable fats, and oils.

This type of food, in the process of digestion and before bing permitted to pass the first lining portal of the digestive tract, is thoroughly assorted. The fats and oils, after preliminary digestion, are taken up by the lacteals, known as the lymphatics of the small intestines and are passed, via the chyle channels, directly into the blood, whence they are taken into muscle, or stored up in the various parts of the body as fat.

The starches and sugars are sent to the liver, via the portal circulation. Here they undergo certain changes, and are then stored in the form of animal starch, termed Glycogen, from which we have the term Glycerine. The fat in the bone marrow and the animal starch in the liver, are the fuel deposits of the body, and out of them are manufactured Haemoglobin, the red coloring matter which forms an essential part of the red blood corpuscles.

The carbohydrates and fats are of much simpler construction than the proteids, and are composed of the three elements - oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. These occur in various proportions, according to their type and nature. In their normal state, they break down into water and the one gaseous acid - carbonic.

All natural foods contain proteid indissolubly combined with the carbohydrates and hydrocarbons. The two predominating types of food in this class are commonly, and mistakenly, eaten together, as for example: bread, potatoes and cheese, or tomatoes with beans. If the digestive apparatus is strong and normal, no trouble occurs, but if weak, then fermentation of the starches and sugars takes place, resulting in the formation of a number of highly complex acids which are extremely injurious in their effects upon the system. These acids are lactic acid, butyric, and similar acids.

LACTIC ACID: Created in the stomach or bowels when the contents have soured due to retarded digestion, when mixed starches, sugars and proteids are undergoing septic degeneration. If health is to be maintained or restored, the creation of this acid, whether as a result of fatigue, depression due to worry, or incorrect foods, must be controlled.(2)
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(2) We have elsewhere in the present volume given consideration to what we believe is an organic difference between the lactic acid found in milk and sauerkraut and which is a health-creating product, and the lactic acid resulting from for instance, fatigue, which we believe to be a poisonous residue from burned-up-metabolized-food substances. The latter we have named "nascent" lactic acid, unmetabolizable, and which, remaining in the body, becomes a poison, destructive to mental and physical well-being.
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BUTYRIC AND SIMILAR ACIDS: These result from abnormal decomposition of proteids when mixed with the fatty foods.
TOXINS AND PTOMAINES: Sub-acid substances in an advanced stage of decomposition. They follow the destructive degeneration of mixed types of nutriment which the digestive organism cannot adequately dispose of in one way or another.

THE ORGANIC MINERAL ELEMENTS: This is the third type of food substance and is found abundantly in all greens, fruits, nuts, dairy products, eggs, and to a great extent in sea foods.

A diet consisting of fruit and nuts, with or without grains, is unsatisfactory unless vegetables are added to the extent of one-half the total bulk. The vital salts in these food substances are commonly known as the alkaline bases, because they are the opposite of acids. They combine with the acids and by neutralization, produce the salts or mineral elements.

There is, in health, a continuous chemico-vital process taking place in the human body between the waste acids emanating from the proteids and carbonaceous foods, and the organic mineral elements released by the digestion of vegetable foods. Continuance of life and health must necessarily depend upon the efficient performance of this chemico-vital activity and is only made possible if a sufficiency of these organic mineral elements are supplied through the medium of fruits, vegetables, milk, and root foods.

If the organic mineral elements are capable of neutralizing the waste acids, thereby preparing them for easy elimination, all is well, and health will reign. On the contrary, if the bodily structures become filled with bodily acids and toxins, and there is a perceptible lack of these organic mineral elements or alkaline substances wherewith to neutralize them, then these acids and toxins begin a campaign of destruction which can only end in the breaking down successively of the four protecting portals, ending finally in the partial, or complete destruction of the functions of the body.

Unnatural foods - so called because they are no longer balanced in the way Nature created them - or wrong combinations of good foods, faulty hygiene, the neglect of the physical functions, are the inciting factors which cause most of our physical ailments. We are prone to forget that no part of this wonderful mechanism, the human body, can safely be ignored or neglected without being called upon to pay a heavy penalty.

If we consume excessive quantities of Proteids, especially meat, the nervous mechanism which controls the physical functions, is unable to cope with the work of digestion. Because of this, the stomach and bowels become filled with a sour, fermenting, putrefying mass. The surface of the digestive canal becomes coated with a sticky substance through which the digestive fluids cannot readily pass (the visible sign is the furred tongue), and this closes the absorbing pores of the lining membrane and eventually erodes, blisters, and even ulcerates the tender cells which line the surface of the bowels. For this reason it is well in such cases to prescribe an acid fruit as the first food in the morning, and never permit the use of milk at the first meal by those suffering from a sub-acid condition. It is impossible for those suffering in this manner to digest or assimilate either milk or any other protein food so long as the membranes are coated by this slimy mass, and the physiological indications are for fruits to scour these membranes.

When the coating has continued for some time, the first protecting portal breaks down, thereby allowing the acids and toxins to percolate directly through the walls of the digestive canal into the capillary blood vessels which lead to the liver. These streams of acid and septic substances, pouring through the denuded lining of the injured bowel, flood the liver tissue and sicken and stifle the cells. The liver then ceases to do its work, and these objectionable and injurious acids pass directly into the blood stream, and the second portal soon ceases to be effective.

The third stage now sets in: The blood itself becomes flooded with acids, producing fermenting, poisoning products. These first attack and break up the red corpuscles. A red corpuscle is a cell consisting of a number of tiny organisms, which work in and are enveloped by, a red chemical substance known as Haemoglobin. The entire corpuscle is encased by a proteid substance, or cell wall, and the material from which this wall is constructed is called fibrin.

When acid substances predominate in the blood stream, they attack the fibrin walls of the red cells. The first effect of this is to make them, as a whole, sticky and difficult to propel along the blood vessels, thus raising what is known as blood pressure. This occurs in practically all catarrhal and rheumatic diseases. Eventually, if the eroding process is permitted to continue, the red corpuscles begin to lose their fibrin envelopes and their contents escape into the surrounding liquid portion of the blood stream.

If this destructive action is allowed to continue, the next or fourth stage, follows. In this the acids break down the lining surfaces of the capillary blood vessels, the third portal defense, and enter into the lymph stream, thus bringing them in direct contact with the actual cells of the tissues and organs which they attack and erode in much the same manner as they did the lining of the bowels, the liver tissues and red corpuscles, or as sulphuric acid acts when it comes in contact with the wires that connect two batteries, gradually severing the connection, therefore the life, between them.

This destruction of the fourth defensive portal occurs in certain acute fevers such as in diphtheria, scarlatina, pneumonia, and also in advanced chronic conditions, such as tuberculosis, diabetes, Bright's disease, and cancer. These diseases are therefore not directly due to germinal infections, but are the result of an unnatural diet which fails to supply the organic mineral elements, vitamin, and nuclein so essential if the equilibrium of the body is to be maintained.

FIRST: The crushing or thorough mastication of the food, mixing it with the saliva, the active principle of which, Ptyalin, has an alkaline reaction. The process of mastication is of extreme importance especially in the conversion of starches into sugar. Unless this conversion is more or less thorough, the final digestion of such food is greatly retarded if not altogether inhibited in many instances.

SECOND: Food enters the stomach and then the gastric juices consisting of Hydrochloric acid, Pepsin, and Rennin, of acid reaction, are called into action. These prevent fermentation, change the protein into peptones, and coagulate casein and albumen.

THIRD: The conversion of sugar into Dextrose so that it may be assimilated. The intestinal juices are known as Invertine and are of alkaline reaction. Fruit sugars and honey do not require this conversion as they are in the form of dextrose which is easily and quickly assimilated.

FOURTH: The conversion of proteins into peptones, disintegrating fats into acids and glycerine, and starch into Maltose, by the pancreatic juices known as Tripson, Stripson, and Amylopsin, all of alkaline reaction.

FIFTH: The bile, neutral or alkaline, emulsifies the fats and promotes their absorption, prevents putrefaction in the intestines and stimulates peristaltic action.

We thus have: The Introduction of food into the mouth, its mastication and salivation - the beginning of digestion; the further digestion in the stomach through the action of the digestive juices; the absorption of the digested portion into the lymphatics and blood vessels in the intestines, and the elimination of the waste material.

It is a fallacy to eat acid fruit and drink milk at the same meal, reasoning that the milk will be mixed in the stomach with acids and that such a mixture will aid in its digestion. We quote the statement of a chemist and dietitian, on this subject:

"The curd of milk which is casein, so formed by acid fruit and milk outside of the stomach, varies in its solubility and properties, depending upon the hydrogen ion concentration of the precipitation acid. If this could be made identical with the concentration of the acid in the individual's stomach, it is probable (though not at all certain) that the prior mixing would not be harmful or even noticeable, but it is not practically easy to accomplish this as the juice of one orange, for instance, may have a far different hydrogen ion concentration than that of another. This applies to milk only. In the case of starches it is quite different and here you need one hydrogen ion concentration for the Ptyalin and malting process and another for the hydrolysis and assimilation which starts in the stomach."

Our experience and experiments indicate that when, for instance, fruit and milk are mixed in the stomach, the milk, requiring a much longer time to digest and being acted on by the acid digestive juices, is parted from the fruit acid and digested first; by the time this has occurred, fermentation of the fruit has already commenced, and this is a source of acidosis. Practically the same result follows the combination of acid fruits and starches, thought the process is different.
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