Health Ideas, Part VII

by

John Stephen Mauldin, MLA (not AI assisted)

All right reserved, copyright © 2025

Digestive Health

A plant-based diet free from gluten, processed food, and junk food, accompanied by about four to six glasses of purified water (depending upon our climate and physical activities) and daily exercise, virtually assures good regularity. Regularity could be one to three times daily, depending upon what we eat and the quantity.

Should irregularity become a problem, we might take larger than average doses of vitamin C (not ascorbic acid) until becoming regular again. It’s the best laxative since it is also excellent for our overall health. However, do not depend on it. Approximately 1000 mg of vitamin C is a good daily dose. Seek your doctor’s advice.

Eliminating alcohol, tobacco, salt, sodium, and sugar will improve our colon health. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center suggests limiting animal fats from meats and fatty dairy products to reduce our risks of colon polyps. Whereas, the University of Michigan Health System reports that tomatoes and cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage, will improve colon health.

It is also important to understand the relationship between colon health and regularity with a positive mental attitude, which was discussed in the section on depression.

Drinking

Now, since we are members of the animal kingdom, it may be helpful to try to see ourselves, with any possible degree of objectivity, standing in an enormous group among its manifold subjects. We may note that, save for ourselves, all of them drink only water, with the exception of their mother’s milk during infancy. Our fellow subjects drink to quench their thirst; we, on the other hand, drink many things for many reasons.

It is healthy to follow our fellow animal’s lead, however, for up to 60% of the human body is water; our hearts and brains are 73% water, our lungs are about 83% water, our skin is 64% water, our muscles and kidneys are about 79% water, and even our bones are composed of water—31%. To be certain, water is a building block of the 37 trillion cells of our bodies.[1] The indispensability of water is self-evident but let’s consider some of the reasons to drink clean, purified water:

• Acts as a thermostat, regulating our body’s temperature

• Metabolizes carbohydrates and proteins

• Principal component of saliva necessary to swallow

• Needed to manufacture neurotransmitters and hormones

• Keeps mucus membranes moist

• Lubricates our joints

• Shockabsorber for vital organs andspinal cord

• Insulatesand cushions the fetus

• Delivers oxygen to all parts of the body

• Flushes waste and toxins from the body

Reward your body with a crystal-clear glass of purified water first thing in the morning. After all, it’s been busy all night maintaining your body from head to toe. Depending upon our local climate and our diet, we should typically drink four to six glasses of water each day.

Alcohol, by contrast:

• Causes difficulty in maintaining normal temperatures

• Interferes with metabolizing carbohydrates and proteins

• It thickens our saliva and interferes with swallowing

• Interferes with neurotransmitters and hormones

• Dehydrates mucus membranes

• Deteriorates our joints

• Compromises protection of brain, organs, and spinal cord

• Critically harms the fetus

• Significantly slows delivery of oxygen to all the body

• Deposits toxins throughout the body

• Increases the chance of stroke

• Increases the chance of high blood pressure

• Increases the chance of obesity

• Increases the chance of breast cancer

• Increases the chance of suicide

• Increases the chance of accidents

• Poisons the liver and kidneys

• Kills cells

• It is profoundly addictive

Despite these facts, some people advocate drinking wine for the health of their hearts. It appears this is a myth. For, surprisingly, no research has been conducted to substantiate this idea. According to the American Heart Association, “No direct comparison trials have been done to determine the specific effect of wine or other alcohol on the risk of developing heart disease or stroke.”

If we drink, we should pose the question: Can I enjoy a meal or an evening out without alcohol? If the answer is no, or if the answer is yes but it doesn’t align with your actions, you may be addicted, ever so mildly or monstrously.

How do we know if we are drinking too much? According to Alcoholics Anonymous, a woman who has more than seven drinks per week or more than three drinks per occasion is drinking too much. For a man, the limit is fourteen drinks per week or more than four drinks per occasion. For those older than sixty-five, seven drinks per week or more than three drinks per occasion is too much.

Energy

Why run the race of life with a heavy boat anchor chained to one’s neck? If we aspire to have buoyant energy, wheat is an anchor that must be heaved overboard. Eliminate all wheat, which is gluten, from your diet. Gluten counterbalances energy by creating weight gain, general fatigue, mental fog, and arthritis.

Energy begets energy. Exercise compliments the work of our respiratory, circulatory, and lymph node systems, giving them a boost. So even a walk will add zest to our lives.

Be certain your walk is in fresh air, when the weather permits, since oxygen also enlivens us. We can workout at an indoor gym and eat a supremely healthy diet yet, without deep breathing clean, fresh air, we will never attain optimal health.

It is important to note that the potassium and enzymes in apple cider vinegar energize us. You might add apple cider vinegar to a glass of water and drink it during a workout to prevent fatigue. The amino acids in apple cider vinegar combat lactic acid that accumulates after exercise; doing so may help us feel fresher and stronger.

Positive friends, even casual friends, family, and sociability energize us. It must be positive, however.

Sunlight invigorates. Even a few minutes of sunlight makes a difference, yet it is best to spend as much time outside as possible. Those who live in regions with less sunlight time will benefit from lighting up daytime hours with artificial light and bright colors.

But let the night be the night. As we will discuss in the section on sleep, we want zero light in our bedrooms.

Deep breathing—one way to ensure we are completely expanding and filling our lungs with fresh air is to run a mile or so three days each week with a day between runs to allow recuperation. We can also achieve deep breathing by walking and holding our breath. Every time our left foot hits the ground is one count. After counting to ten, which would be twenty steps, exhale thoroughly. This will start the deep breathing cycle that you might use two or three times during each walk.

Of course, you should consult with your doctor before trying this routine.

Noise is stress. And stress saps our strength. Therefore, doctors so often recommend quiet rest to their patients. We would be wise to use discriminating tastes about what comes into our bodies via sound waves. Rather than welcoming radio gibberish into our minds, bodies, and souls, we would be foresighted to allow our whole person to resonate with Vivaldi, Schubert, Paganini, Chopin, or a panoply of other masters.

Coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and processed “food” markedly deplete energy.

B-complex supplements that include B-1, B-2, B-3, B-6, and B-12 enhance energy and are a necessity for those who eat a plant food diet.

Finally, nothing is more essential to living an energy-filled life than a diet that is principally based upon sparkling clean water, fresh organic vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, and inhaling plenty of fresh clean air.

Eye Health

In this, the Information Age, we place profound stress on our eyes, so we must care for them daily. After all, they give us light, every shade of color, they express an infinite array of emotions and clever wit, they help us read books, and see the boundless glories of our realm. All this work requires maintenance. Eight hours of non-stimulated rest in darkness, while we sleep, is essential. A bedroom darkened by curtains, shutters, or blinds gives our eyes the rest they crave and a quality sleeping mask will provide near-total darkness.

After a long day, it may be helpful to place a warm compress on our eyes. Soak a washcloth in warm water, wring it until only damp, lay down in bed, placing the compress over your closed eyes, and relax for at least five minutes. This process tends to keep the tear ducts open so that your eyes can remain moist and properly lubricated. In addition, it will also help to avoid a stye and shorten its duration should one occur. Our eyes will be protected and relaxed, and our whole being will be calmer, as well.

Another eye care technique is using eye drops made with colloidal silver. Please note that you must use the correct type of colloidal silver. There could be side effects, one of which is a condition known as argyria, which causes the skin, nails, and gums to have a bluish-gray to gray-black pigmentation, and it is irreversible. This is due to the ingestion of colloidal silver, which is composed of silver particles that are too large to exit the body. Should you decide to use colloidal silver, you must talk to your physician first and, with his or her approval, use a type that contains particles smaller than a nanometer.

I mention colloidal silver because it improved my eyes dramatically. I had used an expensive, Swiss-made homeopathic eye drop for years, and my eyes suffered the consequences. They were noticeably red. I had also been diagnosed with blepharitis, bacteria, and flaky skin residing at the base of eyelashes, a condition that interrupted my sleep, for at night I felt as though my eyes were full of sand. My ophthalmologist told me blepharitis was essentially incurable.

I decided to stop using the homeopathic eye drops and try colloidal silver eye drops three or four times each day. After these at-home treatments, a surprising amount of white substance would gather at the corners of my eyes. At the end of three days, the discharge stopped, and my eyes improved markedly. My general physician commented on the improvement the moment I saw him without my inquiry, and a recent exam by my ophthalmologist revealed no blepharitis.

The type of colloidal silver I use is ninety-eight percent positively charged with silver ions and nanoclusters, a feature that affects its rehabilitative performance; and, its particle size is smaller than a nanometer, 0.8 nanometers/0.0008 microns. If this composition is taken seven times a day for seventy years, the ingestion range still falls below the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Reference Dose (RfD) for silver.

Very gently cleaning our eyelids with tearless baby shampoo while showering is also an effective way to manage blepharitis.

Another key eye aid is lutein, which is extracted from marigold petals. Lutein is an antioxidant carotenoid that occurs in nature along with zeaxanthin, which is a closely related carotenoid and protects the macula from degradation and cataracts normally associated with aging and oxidative stress. The critically important macula helps our eyes focus and differentiate colors. I take forty milligrams each day.

Spinach, peas, avocados, broccoli, and collard greens are also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin. Oranges, lemons, berries, and grapefruits are excellent sources of vitamin C, which may also guard against macular degeneration and cataracts. Sunflower seeds, which are excellent sources of vitamin E and zinc, may also be a healthy choice for eyes.

Not long ago, I feared I must abandon writing because, after working particularly long and hard on a project, my very eyeballs ached as though they were swollen. I listened to this cry of my overwrought eyes, turning away from my computer screen for two weeks; and, since I haven’t owned a television for twenty-five years, wasting my eyes on this programmed nonsense was not an issue.

During this time, I employed the eye care techniques described above. Yet, after this fortnight of rest, I was disappointed that looking at a computer screen, even for fifteen minutes, still caused an ache that required me to stop. I was crestfallen.

Yet, my eyes regained their fortitude almost overnight from one small change: I began including a handful of organic kale in my morning smoothie. These megadoses of kale, naturally enriched with vitamin A, healed and strengthened my eyes, returning them to a condition in which they were better than ever. Kale also made my eyes brighter and more attractive.

If you don’t have a blender, you may want to consider purchasing one. It needn’t be expensive.

Here is a kale smoothie suggestion: Purple Kale Smoothie

• One frozen organic banana (peel and freeze overnight).

• One cup of organic blueberries.

• Carrot Juice, 8 to 10 oz., organic, not from concentrate.

• One big handful of organic kale.

• Vanilla vegan protein powder from peas and no sugar.

Drink this for breakfast as you take your daily vitamins and supplements before eating anything else since fruit may interfere with the digestion of other foods. Give your body time to digest this super healthy drink before eating a second breakfast or lunch. Your eyes will sparkle!

[1] Mitchell, H.H., Hamilton, T.S., Steggerda, F.R., and Bean, H.W., 1945, “The chemical composition of the adult human body and its bearing on the biochemistry of growth,” Journal of Biological Chemistry, v. 158, issue 3, p. 625-637.