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The key to fitness is nutrition and every one of us has previously ‘lain in his own platter’. We are mainly what we eat and, in the words of Cervantes, ‘the stomach carries the heart and not the heart the stomach.’ It is true that exercise, restful sleep, peace of mind, regular habits of elimination, bathing, etc.are all factors in keeping fit, but these will avail us nothing if our nutrition is at fault. Modern research scientists no longer regard germs as the primary cause of disease, and their study of the body’s chemistry and the part played by nutrition in health and disease, is opening up important new vistas of research. It is now recognized that most common illnesses are closely associated with nutrition and arise from lack of vitamins and minerals, just as some more serious ailments, which where dominant in the old days, such as scurvy, rackets, anaemia, beri-beri, pellagra, and nerve trouble are equally deficiency ailments, and respond to appropriate vitamin therapy. Periodically, new and successful uses of vitamins in diseased conditions are reported in the world’s medical journals and more and more physicians are prescribing vitamins instead of drugs. Many people wonder why the terrible epidemics which formerly ravaged the earth – typhus, yellow fever, typhoid, cholera, malaria, etc. -have largely brought under control, yet the degenerative diseases, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, stomach ulcers, nervous breakdown, colitis, cataract, and kidney and liver ailments are all on the increase. The reason is that the plague or ‘dirt’ diseases, spread by vermin, mosquitoes and human contact, are disappearing owing to improved methods of hygiene and sanitation. The degenerative diseases arise primarily from man’s continual tampering with natural foods, thereby depriving them of vital nutrients that Nature, in her wisdom, incorporates in our foodstuffs to ensure good health. It is a tragic commentary on these times that most people only begin to take an intelligent interest in their health, after they have lost it. Nature requires that we co-operate with her, and we cannot escape the consequences of our refusal to do so. Postponement merely increases the severity of such consequences.
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nutrition, vitamins, minerals, degenerative diseases,
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