Tip 54. Bed rest for liver disease.
Often forgotten in cas
e
s
of cirrhosis
of the liver is that the p
a
tient must have bed rest.
He must also abstain c
o
mpletely fr
o
m alcohol in any form. He should u
n
dergo an ini
t
ial liver cleaning pr
o
gramme
with a juice f
a
st for seven days. Freshly extracted juices from red beets, lemon, papaya and grapes may be
t
aken during
this period.
This may be followed by the fruit and milk di
e
t for two to three weeks.
In this regi
m
en, the pati
e
nt should h
a
ve three m
e
als a day, each of fresh
juicy fruits
a
nd milk. The fruits may include
a
pples, pears, grapes, g
r
ape fruit, o
r
anges, pin
e
apples and
peaches.
One litre of milk may be
taken on t
h
e first day. It
should be increased by 250 ml daily up to two
to two and a half litres a
day. The milk should be
fresh and u
n
boiled, but
may be slightly warmed if
d
esired. It s
h
ould be sip
p
ed very slowly.
After the fruit and milk diet, the pati
e
nt may gra
d
ually embark upon a well-balanced
diet of
three basic
f
ood groups,
namely (i) seeds, nuts
a
nd grains, (i
i
) vegetables and (iii) frui
t
s
, with emphasis
o
n raw organically grown foods. An a
d
equa
t
e high
quality protein diet is necessary in cirrhosis. T
h
e best complete proteins for liver
patients are ob
t
ained from raw goat 's milk,
home-made
raw cottage cheese, sp
r
outed seeds
and grains
and raw nuts, especially almonds. Vegetables
such as be
e
ts, squash
e
s, bitter gou
r
d, egg-plant,
tomato, carrot, radishes and
papaya are useful in t
h
is condition.
A
ll fats and
o
ils should be
excluded from the diet for several weeks.
The patient
should avoid all refined,
processed
and canned
foods, sugar
in any form,
spices and condiments, strong
tea and cof
f
ee, fried fo
o
ds, all prep
a
rations co
ok
ed in ghee,
oil or butter and all meats rich
in fat. The
u
se of salt
s
h
ould be rest
r
icted. The
p
atient should also avoid all ch
e
mical additives in food
a
nd poisons
in air, water and environment.
Tip 55. Breathe right!
Enhance your health wi
t
h proper breathing. Breathing is
so simple we often take it for
granted, but it has f
u
ndamental influence on
body, mind,
and spirit.
Ev
ery t
i
me we breathe in
air, we
bring oxyg
e
n into the b
o
dy and spark the transf
o
rmation of nutrients into
fuel. Every t
i
me we breathe out,
we purge the body of carbon dioxide, a toxic waste.
Breathing i
n
fluences our
state of mind. Shallow breathing can make us tense. Deep breathing can make use calm. Breathing can
make our thinking conf
u
sed or clear.
In the yogic tradition, breathing is
the means of acquiring
p
rana, the e
t
hereal subs
t
ance that p
o
wers life.
Pranay
a
ma is the optimization of pr
a
na through
t
he control of
the breath.
Pranay
a
ma can be practiced wi
t
h or without the practice
of other poses. You alr
e
ady know how to do this.
1. Sit comfortable with your spine st
r
aight or lie
comfortable on your back. Take deep
breaths through your nostrils.
2. Relax yo
u
r breath as you slightly contract the
b
ack of your throat. The first time you do this, you m
a
y create an "oinking" sound
r
ather like a
pig! Do not worry about
unusual so
u
nds. With a little pr
a
c
t
i
ce, you will create a st
e
ady hissing
sound as you breathe in
and out. You do not have to force this soun
d
s, but it s
ho
uld be loud
enough that
another person in the r
o
om could hear it.
3. Breathe as long and
d
eep as you can without
creating te
n
s
ion anywhere in the bo
d
y. Perfect your technique
with help of
an instructo
r
.
What diseases can be r
e
lieved by pranayama?
Pranay
a
m
a purifies the
channels
al
ong which the life stre
a
m of 'prana' flows in the
body and prevents various disorders. It increas
e
s
one's
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