Health News Blog provides coverage of current health news.

How many gifts of nature have you passed by without even looking? But look at your garden, how everything shines and sparkles. As you contemplate it, the beauty and splendour grows on you, the silence and peace take a hold of you. Involuntarily, you cast your eyes up to the sky, the Milky Way with its millions and millions of solar systems – what a tremendous, silent, quiet wonder! In fact, have you ever wondered how long the twinkling stars have already been in their places? For millions, or billions, of years they have been shining in silent peacefulness. What are you in comparison? Your life has gone on undc their light for twenty, thirty, forty or fifty years, yet you have never before seen them so beautifully still, so remote but so majestic. Slowly you begin to meditate on the meaning of life, wondering whether you actually fulfil its purpose, or even whether you know and understand what that purpose is. Perhaps hitherto you have merely let the noisy current of the modern world propel you along.

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What about modern concrete structures? Do they not represent a far greater hazard to health than buildings made of stone? If so, there are still some strong people around who, apparently, are not affected by living in concrete buildings. At least they are not aware of any disadvantages healthwise. Not everyone is so favourably endowed, however, and some people notice twinges of rheumatism and neuralgia after only a few weeks – a more accentuated stiffness of the limbs, or a stiff neck. The gouty nodes one may already have become more painful, perhaps even depression may set in, even if not experienced previously. If you notice these or other disturbances shortly after moving into a concrete building, you should experiment by spending a holiday with friends who live in a brick, wooden or stone building. If the symptoms disappear while you are there, it would be reasonable, in the interests of health and if you are able, to move from the concrete structure, despite its modern conveniences, to a healthier dwelling place.

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It was found that the plants not only grew better, but were healthier because of the addition of seaweed meal. Subsequent experiments with vegetables, fruit and berries provided good results. Mildew, fungi, scab and even pests such as greenfly were said to have disappeared when the plants were dusted with seaweed meal. It was therefore not only good for the improvement of the soil, but had the additional benefit of serving as a plant remedy, so to speak. While kelp is rich in iodine, the iodine content of the seaweed preparation ‘Lithothamne Calmagol’ is low, although the latter is rich in easily dissolved calcium.

Professor Boucher claims that one region in France escaped an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease because the farmers treated their land with seaweed meal. Since these reports come from a reliable source, one can rightly expect them to be true. It can therefore be assumed that seaweed is good not only for fertilising and improving the soil, but also for regenerating exhausted, sick soil. It would be worthwhile if more farmers and gardeners made their contribution to improving the soil by adopting the use of seaweed.

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It is quite common to spend good money on expensive tonics, so you will be pleased to learn that there is something much cheaper within your reach. I am referring to germinated cereals, whether it be wheat, rye or barley. These cereals offer us what many an over-the-counter potion promises but does not provide.

So how can we obtain germinated wheat? Well, all that is necessary to make grains sprout is moisture and warmth. Place a wet cloth on a plate, sprinkle it with grains and put it in a cupboard or similar warm place. Be sure to keep the cloth damp or germination will be retarded or even stopped altogether. When the sprouts have grown to a length of about 2-5 mm (up to about Va inch), put the grains through a mincer and use as a foundation for muesli. Or eat the mince just as it is, but remember to chew it thoroughly and insalivate well.

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Vitamin Bj, or thiamine, is considered to be the anti-beriberi vitamin. Beri is a Hindustani word referring to a sheep’s fetlock; in Sinhalese, beri means weakness. The weakness or loss of energy experienced by those whose main diet is white rice leads to a partial paralysis of the limbs, making the patients drag their feet similar to the way sheep do. For this reason the disease, which is caused by a dietary deficiency of vitamin Bb came to be known as beriberi, a reduplication of the word beri.

The anti-beriberi vitamin is contained in the aleurone layer of cereals; a good quantity is also present in yeast. The substance consists of various chemical compounds which, although not related to one another, have the same quality of being water-soluble.

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