by Herbert M. Shelton

The conservatism of the ancient priesthoods preserved for ages the hygienic practices of an immemorable past. These normal factors of life continued to form vital and important elements of the care of the sick throughout that vast period during which the priestcraft held sway, and they continued to constitute a part of the mode of care during the early part of the evolution of leechcraft. Although both priest and leech taught man to rely upon artificial adventitious and harmful processes and substances, neither of them were able to completely divorce man from reliance upon his primitive requirements; indeed, the priests made no effort to do so. Neither the prayers and magic of the priest, nor the poisons of the physician could dispense with the normal needs of life. Western man made no attempt to abandon the primal mode of care of his body, in both health and illness, until a few centuries after the rise of the medical profession. The struggle between those who would rely upon drugs to restore health and those who would reject drugs and rely upon regulation of the ways of life, continued right down to the ushering in of that long night of intellectual darkness which we know as the Dark Ages.

Under the sway of anti-naturalism and super-naturalism, with its condemnation of the body and the “works of the flesh,” hygiene was neglected and the sanitary systems broke down. Europe degenerated into a continental pig stye. Epidemics and plagues abounded and a people who thought so much more of a hypothetical postmortem existence above the clouds than they did of life in this “lowly vale of tears” found their way to heaven in great numbers. Superstition took the place of learning, the people forgot to bathe. Compared to man in the Middle Ages, the life of the savage is a heavenly Paradise. (more…)

by Herbert M. Shelton

What most distinguishes medicine in the twentieth century from medicine in the preceding centuries is its burgeoning into a giant industry. Particularly the pharmaceutical and hospital industries have grown to gigantic proportions during this century. At the same time medicine has donned the bright robes of science and has succeeded in hypnotizing mankind with the illusion that it is a scientific evocation. With its great show of research and its vast array of statistics, which are made to order, today’s medicine fools the unwary into believing that, with its stronger poisons, it achieves successes which the past hardly dared dream of.

In its issue of December 31, 1910, The Lancet (London), is an article entitled “The Annus Medicus,” which said: “That medicine has advanced during the last twelve months, we have no doubt, though the time is too early to pick upon any given piece of recorded work and point to it as the beginning of a new principle or the embryo of a method of treatment with which great things will be wrought.” (more…)

by Dawn Lester & David Parker

Anti-Hypertensives

The establishment definition of hypertension refers to, “high blood pressure i.e. elevation of the arterial blood pressure above the normal range expected in a particular group.”

There is a great deal of concern within the medical establishment about elevated blood pressure, because it is said to force the heart to work harder in its efforts to pump blood through the arteries and around the body. This extra work is said to cause excess strain on the heart and blood vessels and lead to health problems, especially heart disease. It is claimed that elevated blood pressure above the range considered to be ‘normal’ is a reliable indicator of an increased risk for the occurrence of a heart attack or a stroke.

The medical establishment clearly considers high blood pressure to be synonymous with hypertension; as also indicated by the May 2019 WHO fact sheet entitled Hypertension, which states that, “Hypertension – or elevated blood pressure – is a serious medical condition that significantly increases the risks of heart, brain, kidney and other diseases.” (more…)