Q.
Would you have any suggestions or
solutions to the fibrositis, or more
commonly called cellulite (orangerind syndrome)? It seems to be prevalent in females only. I have it on the
upper thigh, which seems the most
common. Medical doctors don't seem
to know too much about the condition
or its cause (or care to know about it
when it is cosmetic). I am a natural
food oriented person, take ample vitamin supplements, and get plenty of
exercise. It is very unsightly looking,
and I would appreciate any information or suggestion relating to this, particularly the cause.
- J.V.B., Franklin, Mass.
A.
I think you are confusing fibrositis
with cellulite. They are quite different
conditions. Fibrositis is an excessive
growth of fibrous tissue, usually due
to an injury or inflammation, such as
that which takes place about a shoulder involved in bursitis, or like a tennis elbow. Cellulite is an excessive
growth of fatty tissue, although sometimes both fibrous and fat tissue can
be combined.
The exact cause of excessive cellulite buildup is not known, but most
experts agree that the primary cause
is excessive caloric intake, especially
in the form of fat, oils, and fatty
foods. The secondary cause could be
hormonal imbalances, especially the
excess of female sex hormones. Thyroid insufficiency can also be involved.
The only truly workable solution is
eating less, i.e., eating less calories
than the body burns daily, forcing the
body to consume its own fat deposits.
Especially, all fat-containing foods
should be practically eliminated. Naturally, all refined sugar and white
flour products, which are easily
changed into fat in the body, must be
avoided. In addition to the dietary restrictions, vigorous massage of affected areas, possibly with a powerful
vibrator, daily dry brush massage,
sweat baths, and lots of indoor and
outdoor exercise are extremely important.
Q.
I have always read your column
with great interest, and have been
hoping for a discussion of my problem, but none has been forthcoming.
I am in my early sixties, and had a
complete hysterectomy about 12 years
ago because of a growth. I am in good
health, take a full complement of vitamins, am happily married, and lead
an active life. During the past five or
six years (I don't recall exactly, although I am sure it did not immediately follow the hysterectomy), I have
found that my sexual responses are
very poor most of the time, and even
when I feel aroused emotionally there
is never a vaginal flow at the time of
intercourse. I use one of the petroleum
jellies on the market, but this obviously is not ideal either for me or my
husband. Incidentally, I find the petroleum jellies irritating, and wonder
if anything else could be used instead.
Is the change that has taken place
in me irreversible, or is there anything
that could help at all? I've felt too inhibited to discuss this with my doctor,
and would appreciate a response in
your column. - S.A., New York, NY.
A.
It is rather common that with age,
the vaginal lubrication is diminished.
This is due to several factors, but lowered estrogen levels is the most likely
factor in your case. At the end of the
reproductive cycle, the hormone producing glands, such as the ovaries,
become inactive. Also, the lowered
levels of other endocrine hormones,
such as thyroid, pituitary, and adrenal
hormones, can contribute to diminished sexual interest and/or response.
Likewise, dietary lack of the following
vitamins or the body's inability to utilize them properly, can contribute to
the symptoms you describe: vitamin
B, vitamin E, vitamin D, and vitamin A.
A.
The lack of hydrochloric acid is a
common cause of mineral deficiencies
in older people. It is also known that
severe deficiencies of calcium and
magnesium can, result in shriveled
sex glands and loss of sex interest.
Needless to say, chronic fatigue, depression, boredom, and mental and
physical stresses can drive away the
ecstasy from the bedroom and contribute to vaginal dryness.
To answer your question whether
your lack of sexual response is permanent, or if it can be corrected, I am
inclined to believe that if you build
up your physical and mental health
to the optimum level, and will continue to show warmth, tenderness,
and love towards your husband, and
meet without inhibitions his sexual
and emotional needs, your body will
respond with normalizing all its functions and secretions.
Q.
There is a report that unhulled
(brown) sesame seeds are harmful in
the diet because they contain oxalate
of calcium. Do you prefer the hulled
(white) sesame seeds, even though
they have a lower calcium content?
Please comment.- R.M.; Santa Monica, CA.
A.
The report to which you are referring is correct. I have never recommended eating unhulled (brown)
sesame seeds because the sesame
seed hull is not only difficult to digest, but the calcium oxalate crystals
it contains may be harmful and toxic
to the body, possibly contributing to
mineral depletion and kidney stones.
Even though hulled (white) sesame
seeds do contain less calcium, they
are preferable to the unhulled ones.
Unfortunately, until recently, the hulling of sesame seeds involved the use
of strong, caustic chemicals such as
lye, neutralizing acids, and bleaches,
as well as high temperatures. Now,
however, a new process of de-hulling
has been developed, which does not
involve the use of toxic chemicals.
Such superior quality sesame seeds,
produced by a chemical-free de-hulling technique, are now available in
most health food stores.
Q.
l have been plagued with kidney
stones. Everyone seems to have a remedy: lime juice, Vitamin C, large doses
of magnesium. Won't you please help
me and publish an answer and give
me some good nutritional advice finally! - J.C., Daytona Beach, Fla.
A.
The following nutritional and
herbal measures have been employed
successfully for kidney stones:
Avoid oxalic acid-containing or producing foods, such as rhubarb, spinach, and vegetables of the cabbage
family. Diet should be low in sodium,
a vegetarian, low-protein diet. Watermelon is a good food to help flush
kidneys. Maintenance doses of all
other vitamins and minerals are taken
in addition to the above mentioned.
Q.
Dear Dr. Airola:
Have you eaten the sourdough rye
bread made by the recipe you have in
your books? My wife fixed it and it
was terrible - very tacky on adding the
8th cup of flour. The surface after
baking was very hard - our dog
thought it was a bone and licked it!
The taste was extremely sour, totally
unpalatable. The whole house smelled
sour. We followed your instructions
including the culture preparation.
Very disappointing. Any comments? - C.S.,
Seal Beach, CA.
P.S. Since my feedback may seem
negative, I wish to stress that I have
read most of your books, and value
tremendously your teachings on nutrition and natural healing. Our diet
and our lives have been radically
changed for the better after reading
your books.
A.
What can I say, except that your
dog apparently has good taste! If you
have never seen or eaten the genuine European-type of black sour rye
bread, I can understand your reaction.
The American idea of sourdough rye
is a fluffy white loaf made from 80%
white flour and 20% white rye flour,
which is raised mostly with yeast,
and a minimum of sourdough culture
to give the bread just a slight sour
taste. The genuine European sourdough rye, as it is made in England,
Russia, Germany, Poland, and Baltic
and Balkan countries, is heavy, black,
moist but compact, with a hard crust,
and so aromatic that the first thing
you smell when you enter a Russian
peasant's house is the heavy penetrating sour aroma of the bread. The taste
of this bread is also very heavy and
extremely sour. In Finland, such bread
is baked in large quantities and is
hung to dry from the ceiling, then
eaten over a period of several months.
It becomes so hard (talk about dog
bones!!) that it must be broken into
pieces with a hammer and soaked before it can be eaten. Obviously, accustomed as you are to the fluffy, airy,
sponge-like American idea of bread,
the heavy, smelly, hard leaf you concocted didn't seem very palatable to
you.
Now, what can you do to Americanize the black sourdough rye bread and
make it more appetizing to your palate? You can use some baker's yeast
together with sourdough culture,
which will make the bread fluffier,
as well reduce its sour taste. Most likely
your bread didn't rise enough and became
too flat and too hard.
You must knead twice as my recipe specifies and also let it stand the second
time until it is risen high, before you
put the loaf into the oven. Adding
salt to the dough will inhibit
the sourdough bacteria somewhat and
result in a milder taste. As for myself,
I wish I had been there when you
threw your hard, heavy, smelly sourdough loaf to your dog. I would
probably loved it as much as he did,
and may have beaten him to it.
Q.
I found the enclosed cigarette advertising in between pages 112 and 113 of
your book, Sex and Nutrition, published by Award Books in New York.
How can you allow such advertising in
your book? - especially when you
have a chapter entitled "Can Smoking
Cause Impotence?" in the same book. I
(and I am sure other readers of your
book) would like to know if you approved these advertisements and if you
received extra money for this. I certainly hope you regard honest information
about health and natural foods more
important than the money from cigarette advertisements. I will continue to
read your column to see if you have
any comments about this. - Unsigned
A.
I have received numerous complaints
from readers of the latest printing of
Sex And Nutrition about the cigarette
advertising insert that the greedy publishers put in without my permission or
knowledge. I am not surprised that this
can happen (I have seen worse things
done by Madison Ave. people), but I am
surprised and disappointed that some
of my readers can even suspect that this
was done with my permission and that I
was paid for it.
To answer your direct questions:
Cellulite
Poor Sexual Response
Hulled vs Unhulled Sesame Seeds
Kidney Stones
Sourdough Bread Fiasco
Cigarette Advertising by Airola