by Nelson, Dr. Christopher's Herb Shop
Today's newsletter will deal with the most medicinal natural remedy in all of natural Materia Medica. With herbs, there are a lot of plants you can use to get someone to sweat, purify the blood, diuretics, laxatives, etc. Usually plants will have many medicinal properties.
But nothing has as many varied usages, or maintains health or provides such a direct impact on disease as water. In fact, water can be so successfully employed that it has its own branch in medicine - hydrotherapy. We have had some herbalists say that they use hydrotherapy more than herbal therapy, and this should be no surprise.
In fact, some herbs will not work at all without water. An example would be a traditional protocol for gangrene. Gangrene is no laughing matter, and within hours can become a serious or fatal problem if limbs aren't amputated. Dr. Christopher employed marshmallow tea in these instances, bathing the affected area in hot marshmallow tea for 30 minutes, then cold water for 5 minutes. He then would repeat this procedure with fresh marshmallow tea all day. Within hours the color of the skin would come back, and many people owe their limbs to this procedure.
But if the gangrenous wound is packed with marshmallow powder, it will not work. Why is that? When water is used on wounds or congested areas, its diffusive nature allows it to draw toxic material into it. One reason that so much marshmallow tea must be used is that the poison is being pulled out of the bloodstream into the water.
One reason Dr. Christopher used herbal teas was because they were hydrating. This is very useful, particularly with the cleansing formulas when a lot of water is needed to get the job done (Lower Bowel, Kidney, etc). Dr. Christopher also considered the Cold Sheet Treatment to be the most effective remedy for colds and flu. Likewise, hot baths, enemas, douches and the like have played a central role in our programs for similar reasons.
Truth be told, you can get a lot done with water by itself. Hydrotherapy alone is not used as extensively today as it was 150 years ago. This is probably because of the amount of time it takes to successfully employ it. Jethro Kloss recounts a case where his wife woke up completely paralyzed. He spent several hours doing nothing else but fomentations of hot and cold water. By the end of it, his wife was fully mobile again. Kloss' book, Back to Eden, provides a solid foundation for hydrotherapy applied in simple ways.
Alternating hot and cold can act as a pump to any clogged area of the body, be it intestines, arteries or nerves! And it is with the level of heat that we decide the medicinal attributes of water. Few substances have as high a specific heat as water, meaning it can hold a lot of thermal energy. This means that hot water will cool down much slower if put in a refrigerator than something like hot copper.
Given hot, it will will promote sweating as a diaphoretic. Given cold, it will promote urination as a diuretic. Hot, it will promote circulation and speed healing in this way. Cold, it can be a refrigerant to lower the body temperature more effectively than other substances. In all ways, it is a blood-purifying alterative. So on and so forth.
There are many historical accounts of using hot and cold water, used for problems ranging from colds and fevers to life threatening problems like appendicitis. 200 years ago, Thompsonian herbalists would spend several hours to a few days with their patients- giving them hot foot baths, fomentations, teas to make them sweat, vomit and evacuate their bowels, scalding hot teas to rehydrate them afterwards and stimulate them, etc.
From that alone, you might guess why Thompsonian herbalism died out, despite a very high success rate with many illnesses. The pleasantness of a remedy has always played a factor in its use. Herbalism today is often done long distance, or through private consulting where it is up to the ill person to do the work. So the labor intensive therapies are not done so much anymore, even though a good portion of the time someone can feel well the very next day.
A few diseases actually respond better to water than to herbs. Some proffesionals have been saying for years that the primary cause of Alzheimer's disease is chronic dehydration, followed by aluminum build up in the brain. The cases where you hear about major reversals from Alzheimer's are usually elderly patients who have been in retirement homes for years. It is hard for a nurse to keep someone hydrated when they have to change the bedpans.
Nonetheless, just like anything else, water can be overdone. The kidneys must filter the water, and they are at their best when they have plenty of it. But drinking too much water too quickly will wear them out. It will also flush out minerals and other important things the body needs. It makes sense to space out your intake of water throughout the day. A 16 ounce glass of water drunk within an hour should be mild to the body. A quart or more in an hour may be a bit much.
It is important to drink before you feel thirst come on, as thirst is a late indicator of dehydration. Lately it has been said to drink half your body weight in fluid ounces. Others say to drink your full body weight in fluid ounces. I say keep this in mind, but take as much as your level of activity calls for, varying from day to day, letting the way you feel be your primary indicator.
With water being common and accessible, even should we find ourselves without herbs or other medicines, we will still have one of the most powerful healers at our disposal.
Find Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Formulas, single herbs, essential oils, books and more at Dr. Christopher’s Original Herb Shop: www.drchristophersherbshop.com.
NOTICE: All information in this newsletter is given out as information only and is not intended to diagnose or prescribe.
