ALFRED VOGEL – THE NATURE DOCTOR

A Manual of Traditional &
Complementary Medicine

Alfred Vogel

The Nature Doctor

Helpful health advice

VERLAG A.VOGEL

Copyright 1952 by Verlag A.Vogel AG, Teufen AR (Switzerland)

Reprinting all or parts of this book is not permitted. All ancillary rights remain with the publishers, especially film rights, the right of reproduction for newspapers, magazines and websites as well as the production and distribution rights for licensed or abridged editions. Any reproduction of the text and excerpts in audio productions, radio and TV broadcasts and by means of phototechnical reproduction using known and as yet unknown procedures requires express permission by the publisher.

New English translation, revised and annotated edition 2021

Total edition of more than two million copies in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Korean, Slovenian and Croatian.

Cover illustration & line drawings: Nadine Merz, Photo: Adobe Stock (Scisetti Alfio) Photos: credits on p. 773

Coordination and editing: Clemens Umbricht, assisted by Lars Meier

Annotations and explanatory notes: Clemens Umbricht, Ingrid Zehnder lic.phil. I

Translation: Apostroph Bern AG, assisted by: Catherine Lang MA

Overall production: werk zwei Print + Medien Konstanz GmbH

Product names have been replaced with neutral descriptions.

Footnotes are placed at the bottom of relevant pages. Further references to the same term are cross-referenced to the first footnote. Footnotes (f.n.) are listed against the relevant page number in the Index of diseases, indications and subjects on pages 741 to 770.

www.avogel.com

ISBN 978-3-906404-39-4

ISBN 978-3-906404-40-0 (eBook)

Contents

Foreword

Alfred Vogel (1902-96)

Alfred Vogel

Foreword and retrospective on a busy life, by A. Vogel

A doctor in your house

Part I

Some sample treatments to try out

Burns

Wounds

Inflammation of the eyes

Colds

Catarrh

Hoarseness

Chilblains and cold feet

Tired feet and legs

Haemorrhages and haemophilia

Calcium deficiency

Vein inflammation

Abdominal disorders

Hypertension and arteriosclerosis

Heart problems

Heartburn

Stomach ulcers

Liver disorders

Liver diet

Inflamed gallbladder (cholecystitis)

Digestive discomfort and cramps

Diabetes

Constipation

Diarrhoea

Slimming

Headaches

Facial pain

The iron as a helpful tool

Kidney care

Urine retention

Uric acid

Charcoal powder

Rheumatism and arthritis

Corn (maize) and millet gruel

Itching and burning of the skin

Eczema and eruptive skin conditions

Boils and abscesses

Whitlows (paronychia)

Swelling and bruises

Ivy and fern for insect stings and bites

Insect stings in the throat

False sea onion

Infantile convulsions

Conclusion of Part One

Part II

Fever – an alarm bell

Pain – an alarm bell

Advice for expectant and nursing mothers

Dealing with calcium and silica deficiencies

Dangerous influences during pregnancy

Infertility – the pros and cons of hormone treatment

Infant care

Breast milk

Mastitis

Solid food

Successful cradle cap treatment

Infantile eczema

Childhood diseases

Measles

Mumps

Whooping cough

Coeliac disease

Poliomyelitis

Influenza advice

Viral influenza

Our brain

The pituitary gland

Headache – its causes and treatment

The tongue

Taking care of your eyes

The lacrimal glands

Simple remedies for eye problems

Purulent infections of the eyes and mouth

The nose

Inflammation of the ear

Sinus infections

Throat infections

Tonsillitis, a treacherous disease

Hayfever

Vaginal discharge: causes and treatments

Seasonal colds

Colds, vitamins and calcium

Beware the consequences of infectious diseases

Strange laws of immunity

Why natural antibiotics are necessary

Looking after your health – the best prevention of respiratory diseases

Asthma

Important factors in the healing of pulmonary diseases

Calcium

Lesser known benefits of calcium

Our blood – a mysterious fluid

The lymphatic system

Interesting facts about the lymphatic system

Looking after our capillary system

Our circulation

The important function of the arteries

Arteriosclerosis, coronary thrombosis and heart attacks

Prevention of embolism and thrombosis

Calcification and calcium preparations

Older people and calcium

Dietary advice for hypertension, arteriosclerosis and other signs of old age

Wholegrain rice diet to control high blood pressure

Controlling blood pressure with wholegrain rice

Low blood pressure

Treatment of varicose veins

Phlebitis (inflammation of the veins)

Leg ulcers

Circulatory disorders

Haemorrhoids

The indefatigable heart

Lycopus europaeus – a remedy for palpitations

Modern heart poisons

Beware of heart attacks

Athlete’s heart

Walnut septum tea

Angina pectoris

Sick without a sickness

Visible and invisible goitres

Goitre and iodised salt

Iodine

Post-operative treatment of goitre

Menstrual problems

Menopausal hot flushes

The kidneys

Renal colic

The urinary bladder

Bedwetting (enuresis)

Prostate problems

Inflammation of the testicles

Eczema

Overcoming a predisposition to eczema

Nettle rash

Simple remedies for nerve inflammations

What is an allergy?

Curing shingles fast

Spasms and cramps

Our mean sympathetic nervous system

Insomnia

Some good and inexpensive sleeping remedies

New aspects in the treatment of epilepsy

The tragedy of hereditary disposition

Beneficial influences on psychosomatic disorders

Weight control (underweight and overweight)

Good and dangerous slimming remedies

Risk-free weight loss

The stomach

Stomach upsets

Gastric ulcers

Gastrointestinal poisoning

Appendicitis

Is diarrhoea harmful?

Neglecting bowel activity

Chronic constipation

Do starchy foods cause constipation?

Soup for sluggish bowels

Herb soup

Dysbacteria

Intestinal parasites

Dangers of the tropics

Tropical diseases

Causes and symptoms of liver disorders

Liver disorders and nutrition

Sesame seeds – excellent liver support

Infectious liver and gallbladder diseases

Jaundice

The pancreas

Diet for diabetics

Multiple sclerosis

Arthritis

Tomatoes and their link to cancer and arthritis

Polyarthritis

The living cell

The spectre of cancer

Is cancer a localised or generalised disease?

Is cancer communicable?

Susceptibility to cancer despite a healthy lifestyle

Birthmarks and cancer

Smoker’s cancer

Deadly dangers in the water

Beware of carcinogenic substances

Seven basic rules for the prevention of cancer

Cancer remedies

Bacteria and viruses

Our teeth

Caring for our teeth

Periodontitis

Beautiful hair – a natural adornment

Hair care

Hair tonic and hair restorers

Our skin

Sensible skin care

Should oils be used for skin care?

Wrinkles and large-pored skin

Impetigo

Reliable remedies for fungal infections (mycosis)

Nail diseases

The feet – our faithful servants

Foot care and elimination of foot sweat

High heels or no heels?

Walking barefoot

Walking and exercising on dewy grass in the morning

Periostitis

Ligament strains and ankle sprains

Back problems

Hernias

Some medicinal herbs

Developing a good herbal remedy

Preparing herbal remedies

Alpine plants and lowland plants – which are better?

Ramsons (Allium ursinum)

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

Pimpernel root (Pimpinella saxifraga)

Nettles (Urtica dioica, Urtica urens)

Angelica (Angelica archangelica)

Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris)

Oats (Avena sativa)

Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba)

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis)

Sea onion or squill (Scilla, Urginea maritima)

Mistletoe (Viscum album)

Papaya (Carica papaya)

Butterbur (Petasites officinalis [hybridus])

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea and angustifolia)

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)

Horsetail/Shave grass (Equisetum arvense)

Wild fruit and berries

Rose hips (Rosa canina)

Barberry (Berberis vulgaris)

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)

Rowan berries (Fructus sorbi)

Juniper berries (Fructus juniperi)

Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.)

Some selected homoeopathic remedies

Aconitum napellus (Aconite, Monkshood)

Atropa belladonna (Belladonna, Deadly nightshade)

Coccus cacti (Cochineal)

Guaiacum officinale (Guaiacwood, Roughbark)

Kalium iodatum (Potassium iodide)

Lachesis (Bushmaster snake)

Daphne mezereum (Daphne, Spurge laurel)

Sepia officinalis (Common cuttlefish)

Tarentula cubensis (Cuban tarantula)

Urtica dioica (Stinging nettle)

Some biochemical substances

Calcarea fluorica (Calcium fluoride)

Natrum muriaticum (Table salt, Sodium chloride)

Natrum sulphuricum (Glauber’s salt, Sodium sulphate)

Terra silicea purificata (Purified siliceous earth)

Seasonings

Culinary herbs are medicinal

Garlic (Allium sativum)

Garlic milk

Onion (Allium cepa)

Shallot (Allium ascalonicum)

Cress

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)

Black or Spanish radish (Raphanus sativus)

Salt as a medicine

Various treatments and their applications

Serious spring-time vitamin deficiency

Spring therapy

Purification of the blood

Kelp and spring fever or seasonal fatigue

The therapeutic effect of water

The healing powers of the sea

Alternating hot and cold treatments

Steam baths at home

Hip baths and their medicinal value

The Schlenz method (overheating baths)

Kuhne’s hydrotherapy

Friction baths

Cleansing (drainage) by stimulation

The medicinal value of clay

Herb poultices

Cabbage leaf and other herb poultices

Some testimonials about cabbage poultices

The potato as a remedy

Papain – its origin and uses

The healing powers of milk

Whey concentrate

The healing properties of wheat germ oil

Fortifying tonic with malt extract and vitamin E

Honey – its unique therapeutic effect

The healing properties of honey

The miracle juice of the queen bee

Pollen

The healing properties of chicken and chicken fat

Red slug syrup

Aspects of nutrition

Natural wholefoods

Helpful diets for the sick

Fasting

Fattening diets

How much food do we need?

Natural food good for the nerves

Vitamin A

Carrots, carotene and carrot concentrate

Vitamin B

Vitamin E – the fertility vitamin

Overcoming protein deficiency

Eating vegetables and fruit at the same meal

Fruit and vegetable juices and their effect

Raw juices, medicinal juices

Mixing of juices

Switching to a raw food diet

Problems with raw food

Berries

The curative value of berries

Caution advised with stone fruit

Some rules for eating stone fruit

Fruit sprayed with pesticides

Rhubarb

Sugar

The value of natural unrefined sugar

Unprocessed dates

The value of canned and bottled fruit

Our daily bread

Whole wheat and other cereals

Germinated wheat – an inexpensive tonic

Wheat germ

Wheat germ and wheat bran

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

Interesting potato facts

Silent partners in the disease process

The modern view of fats and oils

The importance of oleaginous fruits

Sesame seeds

Almonds

Walnuts

Milk and dairy

Yoghurt

Coffee

Sauerkraut (fermented white cabbage)

The importance of proper seasoning

Table salt

Yeast

Miscellaneous

Impoverished earth, rich sea

No life without iodine

Mood swings and melancholy

Poisons difficult to eliminate

Beware of metallic salts!

Poisoning by chemical sprays

Copper cookware

Are synthetic fibres detrimental to health?

Animals as carriers of disease

Climatic influences

The sun - revitalising and destroying

The dangers of intense heat

Breathing is life

Fresh air and oxygen as healing factors

The effects of smoking

Stress – a very modern disease

Housing and health

Health considerations in house building

Questions of health and environmental protection

Television and health

Relaxation

Fatigue

The nature of exhaustion

Natural sleep

Sleep hygiene

Sleep as the essential health remedy

What do dreams tell us about ourselves?

The symptoms of ageing

Gratitude, a remedy

The therapeutic power of music

The healing effect of tranquillity

Joyfulness as a path to health

Recommendations for breakfast

Recommendations for the midday meal

Recommendations for the evening meal

Important basic rules for the healthy and the sick

Fasting as a means to combat damage caused by civilisation…

Indispensable intestinal cleansing prior to juice fasts

Health benefits of a purposeful vegetable juice therapy

The outstanding effect of juice fasts on various diseases

The impact of a vegetable juice fast on cancer and leukaemia…

A. Vogel rheumatism cure

Is nitrate a poison?

The Nature Doctor takes his leave

Index of health problems

Index of diseases, indications and subjects

Colour photo credits

List of black and white illustrations

Important note

Photo credits

Alfred Vogel studying St John’s wort

Foreword

Alfred Vogel is no longer with us, but his life’s work lives on in his books and is republished now in the slightly revised new edition of his quiet bestseller The Nature Doctor. The charisma of his personality shines through into the present, conveying a message that will provide valuable guidance to both the sick and the healthy, even in the new millennium.

What is the timeless appeal and fascination of his message? Alfred Vogel realised at an early age that Nature with its flora provides all the aids that, properly used, are suitable for the maintenance of health and the treatment of diseases. It is a legitimate question to ask whether the experiences that Alfred Vogel gained in his decades of treating patients and in collecting treatment methods practised in other countries continue to be relevant to the younger generation and for modern sciences. This question can only be answered with an unequivocal “Yes”. It has long been common knowledge that not every disease requires treatment with a “bitter pill”. Any reader of The Nature Doctor will notice that Alfred Vogel gives no licence for self-treatment, but considers carefully when it would be justified and sensible and when treatment has to be sought from a doctor. For minor ailments, such as functional disorders of the stomach and intestines, gallbladder and liver, joint disorders, predisposition to frequent infections, stress or simple skin disorders, it is often sufficient to start self-treatment with a herbal infusion or a relevant plant-based ready-made product available in pharmacies and health food shops. If treatment with chemical-based medicines is inevitable in serious diseases, it can be supported with a natural remedy in order to boost the body’s natural defence and self-healing powers.

And how do medical practitioners and researchers view Alfred Vogel’s handbook today? Presumably, only a few of them are familiar with this book, which is not surprising, as only those interested in natural medicine will attach great importance to experiences gathered over centuries. The others have forgotten that most of our highly effective active pharmaceutical ingredients such as digitoxin, reserpine, or the anti-cancer drug vincristine are rooted in folk medicine’s centuries-old treasure of experience and are still counted among our most effective medicinal products today. Admittedly, our antibiotics and beta-blockers are only to a very small extent based on experiences in natural medicine, but what about the preventive agents, once more highly praised and promoted, that Alfred Vogel considered so comprehensively in his book on the maintenance of health? Our own laboratory investigations have shown time and again that the analysis of our traditional folk medicinal plants with modern phytochemical methods not only largely confirms the experiences of earlier times, but can often be the starting point for the development of new, highly effective medicinal products. What Alfred Vogel gathered and recorded as a visionary intuition can still be an interesting stimulus today, a veritable mine of information for many plant researchers. It never ceases to amaze how many formulations Alfred Vogel had compiled that cannot be found in any other book or that have long slid into oblivion.

Anyone who has ever experienced this will no longer deride the many, sometimes at first glance fantastic observations of this natural healer, but bow in admiration to this man who dedicated his life to natural medicine and who with unparalleled enthusiasm and sense of mission has provided suggestions and support that are of inestimable value to the people of the 21st century, too.

Prof. Dr. Hildebert Wagner

Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology

Ludwig Maximilians University Munich

Alfred Vogel (1902-96)

Alfred Vogel

Alfred Vogel was born in Aesch near Basel in Switzerland in 1902. From his earliest childhood, he became familiar with herbal medicine. His parents and siblings already knew of the healing powers of many herbs and passed their knowledge to the young Alfred. He later went on to deepen his childhood experiences. In the following years, he compiled and expanded the traditional trove of European folk medicine and explored new avenues. His quest for knowledge ultimately took him to numerous countries across the world. He felt particularly drawn to indigenous peoples. Their way of dealing with natural resources challenged Alfred Vogel to study the links between nutrition, way of life, constitution and illness. Times spent in Africa, Asia, North, Central and South America, with indigenous peoples of grassland and jungle showed the tireless traveller that, with skilful guidance and support, nature can do much more than the supposed human achievement. Alfred Vogel familiarised himself with the healing methods of various indigenous peoples and discovered a number of new medicinal plants.

Alfred Vogel giving one of his many talks

Harvesting the cultivated medicinal plants in Roggwil, Switzerland

This work in the service of the sick and the healthy had its beginnings in Teufen in the Swiss Canton of Appenzell, where Alfred Vogel ran a naturopathic clinic, gathered medicinal plants in the Alpine uplands and developed his first fresh plant extracts. He discovered that these had a better and more comprehensive effect than tinctures made from dried plants. True to his motto of “love being the greatest force in the universe”, he made his knowledge public in countless lectures across all continents. In addition, he cultivated contacts with many royal houses, politicians, captains of industry – always inspired by his love for God and the healing powers of nature. Most of all, though, he felt himself drawn to the “man in the street”, whose language – the “language of the heart” – was always also his own. This is where Alfred Vogel found his most ardent admirers. The greatest worry for the organisers of any of Alfred Vogel’s talks generally was to find a venue that was large enough.

Alfred Vogel, an enthusiastic writer, reported his experiences as a natural healer, as a researcher of nutrition and medicinal plants and as a discoverer of the natural remedies of indigenous peoples in his journal Gesundheits-Nachrichten [Health News] that appeared monthly, beginning in 1929. Even though, as a self-taught man, Alfred Vogel was not always taken seriously by the scientific establishment, he was awarded the Priessnitz Medal at the 1982 annual congress of the Deutsche Heilpraktikerschaft, the highest award in the field of naturopathy. In 1984, Alfred Vogel was made an honorary member of the Swiss Society for Empirical Medicine (SAGEM).

At the age of 23 years, Alfred Vogel wrote his first slim volume entitled How to reform your life [Kleiner Wegweiser fur die Lebensreform]. 1935 saw the publication of his book Nature as a Healing Factor [Die Nahrung als Heilfaktor] with a main focus on the impact of nutrition on health. In 1952, The Nature Doctor [Der kleine Doktor] was published, the bestseller that made Alfred Vogel a household name for an international readership. The Nature Doctor has long since become a recognised reference work for physicians and scientists, too. See for yourself!

Foreword and retrospective on a busy life, by A. Vogel

By October 1992, my heart will have beaten ceaselessly for nine decades, day and night, in restful and in challenging times. Both in physical and in spiritual terms, I owe a lot to this heart. In everything that I have been privileged to establish, develop and do, it has played an active part. When I look back to my life now, it feels as if the years and decades have just flown past.

As a small child, I became captivated by the infinite variety of plants and animals, and my thirst for knowledge led me through fields, woods and meadows. My father informed me, with grandmother’s wisdom, of the many beautiful things in Creation with its infinite variety and mystery. Ants, beetles, frogs, lizards, and salamanders baffled me, until I got to know their ways of life better. I learned very early on that plants have healing properties. Whenever, walking barefoot, I hurt myself on a shard of glass or a rusty nail, wood sanicle (Sanicula europaea) from the forest and common mallow (Malva sylvestris) from behind the woodshed, squashed and applied, would soon remedy the damage. I would never have dreamt at the time that my youthful experiences with medicinal plants would have such consequences and prove their worth in my later professional life.

On my many journeys across all continents of the world, I have met my friends, the plants, again and again, and often these encounters have made me happier than those with humans, when one could never be sure whether good or bad experiences would need to be undergone. Plants have always been my faithful companions and are counted among my best friends, for they have never disappointed me nor let me down, even in life-threatening situations. More than once, and especially in tropical countries, plants have saved my life. How glad I was then that their wonderful healing properties were known to me. For that reason, I have tried to record this knowledge and all my experiences in the monthly Gesundheits-Nachrichten [Health News] journal and particularly also in my books.

It is now more than 50 years ago that we first started to publish our own journal. Its first name had been A Fresh Start, then we renamed it to Health News. Appearing in German, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, and for a while also in Norwegian and English, many millions of copies have been received by families in gratitude and appreciation.

During the early decades, I often wrote the texts in collaboration with my first wife Sophie, while my daughter produced the illustrations. These articles were often written on expeditions to far-away countries, in the desert, at the beach in a deserted bay, or in a native hut on an island. These days, I am privileged to count on the support of an experienced editorial team who continue the monthly journal in accordance with my ideas and experiences.

There is no doubt that our travels have provided us with a wealth of inspiration, especially living amongst people with entirely different problems in life, with other customs and traditions. In the interest of our readers, it was always important to us to describe observations and experiences that can be usefully applied in everyday life.

Our books, too, have arisen from the desire of making available old and new empirical knowledge to the benefit of other people and the maintenance of their health. In the 40 years since its first publication in 1952, The Nature Doctor has served more than two million families well. It has been translated into twelve languages.

The book The Liver as a Regulator of Health [out of print] has been published in Danish, Dutch, English, French, Italian, Swedish and (in a new edition in 2019) in German, and has already guided many thousands of people as to the preventive measures to take in order to avoid coming into contact with cancer. However, in view of the ever increasing death rate from cancer, I have decided to publicise my practical experiences in a book entitled CANCER – Fate or the Disease of Civilisation [out of print].

In my Health Guide to Southern Countries [out of print], I managed to warn and save tens of thousands from the dangers of the tropics. Many letters of thanks have shown me that it has not been a vain effort for me to undertake all this undoubtedly difficult work. I know how beautiful, but also how dangerous, it can be to travel and live in the tropics. A pronounced sense of responsibility for humankind drove me to write this book, and I know from reports that I have thus not only saved many from disease, long illness and suffering, but some from even worse.

Nature as a Biological Guide [out of print] could be called The Nature Doctor No. 2, because it contains further important experiences with medicinal plants in the field of natural medicine. In addition, it contains important information on ecological gardening.

To give credit where credit is due, I must strongly emphasise that we have the Creator to thank for all these wonderful healing powers. And to all those who have taken the love of his plants into their hearts, he also gave the strength and perseverance to discover these healing powers and to put them to good use in helping other people. Anyone who has had positive experiences with medicinal plants and products made from them should give thanks to the Creator for these precious gifts that, properly used, can do wonders.

For as long as indigenous peoples were able to use their experience with plants, they had the admirable skill not only to use the herbs when fresh, but also to produce strongly acting medicines from them without any technical aids whatsoever. Just think of curare, still one of the best muscle relaxants, that was produced by the Iquitos Indians with remarkable dexterity.

Observation of peoples with close links to nature has provided me with some insights and many good ideas. The ever-increasing demand for natural products, modern trends and the growing interest of many people looking for a path back to nature have confronted me with tasks that were often too big, and demanded efforts from me beyond my strength, which often had a negative impact on my family.

For that reason, I regret somewhat that the enterprises, especially those abroad, have become so big. The more you have, the greater your worries, as a wise man in antiquity rightly observed. But demand in the various countries kept on growing, and we did not think that we could say no. My dear wife often said to me: “Keep it so that we can keep an eye on everything.” But the desire to serve with one’s skills and talents often lets one overlook the increasing burden.

If I could turn back the wheel of time, I would handle a few things more calmly, would pace myself better so that I would not run down the reserves my genes have blessed me with. It is hard to say “no” when other people need help and when one’s wealth of experience can save them from suffering.

Nevertheless, I ask my many friends and acquaintances living in the countries that I visited on my travels not to be disappointed if I can no longer personally answer the many letters and queries that still arrive in great numbers.

The love of nature and plants, animals, human beings and above all the respect and love of the Creator have led me to do more than I really could be responsible for. The secret of my often indefatigable powers was the love that I recognised as the greatest force of the universe.

Time and again, this found expression in my numerous lectures across the world, and I daresay that this is the particular secret of my success. At the age of 80, I undertook a lecture tour along the east coast of the USA, from Boston to Miami, and in a single week, I delivered 26 talks in English on radio and TV.

When I saw the programme that my American friends had compiled, I was deeply shocked. At first, I did not think that I could cope. But initial successes gave me the strength to continue, because I noticed with joy that in the USA, too, there has been a change in the perception of nature! And this joy and the meetings with good people, particularly also with physicians who were grateful for our wealth of experiences in the fields of nutritional and phytotherapy, gave me the strength to persevere.

I would never have achieved that level of success in professional-commercial respects, and also as a writer, without the active support of my wife, who as a faithful companion has been at my side in the ups and downs of life. Her poetic and creative talents have put the final polish on all my publications!

I hope that I may be permitted to go on with my work in this spirit, and I pray daily to God that he may grant me the strength and blessing to continue to serve my friends and the many sufferers amongst amongst humankind in the spirit of love.

The demand for The Nature Doctor has remained so strong that a new German edition has now been published within a year. This new edition may be taken as evidence for the increased recognition and trust now given to natural medicine. In more than two million families across the globe, The Nature Doctor has found a home as a valued and helpful adviser. In recent years, both circulation and volume have grown. Readers gain insights into new discoveries and scientific findings to provide assistance in days of health and also sickness.

It is our hope and wish that this new edition, too, will find its way into thousands of families in order to serve them as a reliable adviser for the many health-related concerns in our daily lives.

At the same time, The Nature Doctor would also like to thank everyone who out of appreciation have helped to increase its circulation through personal recommendations, and we join these thanks wholeheartedly.

Feusisberg, Summer 1991

Alfred Vogel and Family

A doctor in your house

What is the purpose of having a copy of The Nature Doctor in your house? Well, its simple but important task is to make you aware of the many little helpers that are readily available in your home and its immediate surroundings. When a sudden emergency arises or if a you are dogged by a persistent ailment, simply pick up The Nature Doctor and check whether it cannot provide you with sufficient guidance on how you can overcome certain problems using the means available to you.

Of course, I don’t know whether you live in a pretty little village or a small town. I have no idea whether you have to content yourself amongst the mass of houses in a large city or whether you have chosen solitude in nature by living on a farm far away from other houses, villages or towns. You may have chosen to settle in a far-away country where distances are measured differently. You may even be a forest ranger living in a solitary house in the woods, or a mountain dweller whose home is high up in the mountains.

Whoever you are, and no matter where you live, it will be to your advantage to consult The Nature Doctor in your hour of need, at least until you can call upon a human doctor who may be able to give you further assistance. Often, however, the immediate help in an emergency offered by The Nature Doctor may be sufficient to overcome your problem, because the right remedy given at the right time usually produces successful results.

Perhaps you think that your and your family’s health is ensured and that no misfortune could ever befall you. There is no doubt that you can often go about your business and its various tasks without anything disturbing the regular rhythm of your life. But then suddenly a slight mishap, a clumsiness, an accident, an epidemic, or a cold upset the regular daily routine. At such times you will be glad of the immediate help provided by The Nature Doctor.

So what do you have in your house or nearby that will give you quick and reliable help? The size of your medicine chest will depend largely on where you live and what can be found in and near your home. It may be that some of the remedies you need can be found in the kitchen, the larder or the cellar. You may even have some things stored in the attic that could be most useful to you. And if you have a garden, there are many plants that can come to your assistance. Better still, if you live in the country, the fields, woods and meadows will offer an even more abundant supply of help. However, if you live in a town, you will simply have to keep your eyes open when out walking, because you can still pick many plants that will be useful in times of need.

Should you run out of the usual remedies you keep in your house, there are many little plant friends that can help you as preventative measures, as remedies for minor complaints, and as true helpers in emergencies. The number of medicinal plants found hidden in the woods, sprouting in fields and meadows, growing along riverbanks and streams is so great that The Nature Doctor would be more than twice its present size if it attempted to describe all the wonderful help that nature’s pure garden has to offer.

To begin with, The Nature Doctor will acquaint you with some of the remedies to be found among your everyday supplies. You will be astonished to learn that many food items can be called upon for medicinal use, such as flour, sugar, water, oil, salt, eggs, quark, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, radishes, onions, garlic, horseradish and parsley – to name but a few.

Welcome The Nature Doctor into your home. It will reveal many of the remedies that have been in your home all the time without your knowing it.

At first glance, the volume and diversity of suggestions and advice may appear a very confusing mix; but that no longer applies when you look for help in a specific case. Use the index at the back of the book the better and more quickly to find the information you are seeking.

A small taster might encourage you to consult The Nature Doctor as a valuable adviser.

Part I

Some sample treatments to try out

“Can I really trust your simple natural remedies?” you may ask at first. “Will they encourage me to consult you whenever I am in need?’”

“Of course,” The Nature Doctor replies, “try them and see for yourself!”

Burns

Treat burns immediately by immersing the affected part of the body in cold water. Apply cold compresses to other parts of the body. Cover the burn with a dressing, or larger areas with a clean linen sheet, until medical help can be obtained. To avoid infection, do not ever puncture any blisters. Third-degree burns require immediate medical attention to prevent complications. For minor burns, St John’s wort oil has proven an effective remedy.

Wounds

Minor lacerations and small wounds which prove difficult to heal can be treated successfully in a simple manner. The best cleansing agent for wounds is concentrated whey. Then dust the wound with natural biological calcium powder, followed by a quark poultice for two nights. If you do not have any quark at hand, soak some wheat grain or bran in raw milk. The soft grains then need to be minced and applied to the wound. This cleanses the wound. After two days, dust the wound once again with an Urtica-calcium preparation, then apply crushed Savoy cabbage leaves. Cabbage leaf poultices have proven more effective than many modern remedies. If legs are discoloured blue or black or noticeably changed because of venous congestion, swelling or discoloration, and if every treatment seems to have failed, you must not lose patience but continue regular treatment with crushed cabbage leaf poultices for weeks or even months. Their healing effect will provide alleviation even in severe cases, and may ultimately result in a complete cure.

Inflammation of the eyes

Do you know what can help if someone in your family suffers from an inflammation of the eye, having stayed out too long in the snow or in the sun on the water while rowing? No, and you won’t know either what to do when eyes burn at night? Very simple, you just need an egg and use the egg white. You beat it lightly, spread it on a cloth, and gently bandage the eyes with it. The strong burning sensation will subside, and your patient will be able to sleep. It is more than likely that by the morning the inflammation will have abated, if not disappeared altogether. If no egg is available, quark or even a piece of raw meat (veal, beef or chicken) will achieve similar results. These well-proven remedies can be used depending on the situation you find yourself in. This is also an excellent treatment for sun blindness, caused on high mountain tours by the intense reflection of sunlight from snow and ice.

Colds

A “streaming cold” is best treated with onions (Allium cepa). Dip a slice of freshly cut onion into a glass of hot water. Remove the onion after only one or two seconds, and sip this water throughout the day. This is also an excellent remedy for spring colds. In addition, if you place half an onion on your bedside table so that you inhale its odour while sleeping, this alleviates your runny nose and your susceptibility to developing a catarrh. An onion poultice applied to the neck during the night is equally effective. Another way to help rid yourself of a cold is by sniffing up salt water, lemon juice, or a natural Urtica-calcium preparation.

Catarrh

Perhaps you are prone to frequent colds and often suffer from catarrh. Perhaps there is a pine, larch, a dwarf mountain pine or any other coniferous species in your garden. There are always buds on these trees in various stages of growth, in preparation for the next year. Take some of these buds and chew them slowly and thoroughly throughout the day, replacing them with fresh ones from time to time. You will see that the catarrh will disappear within a few days. So, when you are skiing or out for a walk, just remember to make use of this simple remedy. Before retiring at night, dip a cloth in edible oil, wrap it around your neck, and keep your neck nice and warm with a woollen scarf. This will make the need to cough disappear.

Hoarseness

If you only suffer from hoarseness, the mountain ash or rowan tree in your garden will help. If you have not got one, your neighbour may, or you might remember having seen one on one of your walks. You may also want to be on the lookout for the pimpernel plant if you haven’t already collected some of its roots during the warmer seasons. Both rowan berries and pimpernel root, fresh or dried, can be chewed to combat hoarseness. Let the juice act on the throat by keeping it in your mouth for as long as possible and mixing it well with the saliva. This simple treatment makes hoarseness disappear in no time at all. You do not need to use both remedies together; either one on its own will no doubt help you, because both are amongst the best remedies for hoarseness.

Chilblains and cold feet

Have you ever wondered what causes these two unpleasant companions? They would not trouble you if you had seen to it that your vascular system, particularly the veins, were kept free from congestion. But if you suffer from them already, alternating hot and cold foot baths can help. Begin by immersing your feet in a warm foot bath, then change to a cold one. Only remain in the cold water for as many seconds as the minutes you stayed in the warm bath. In other words, if you keep your feet in the warm water for two or three minutes, leave them in the cold one for only two or three seconds. Repeat this procedure six to eight times. Finish off with cold water, rub your feet vigorously with a towel and then apply a little oil (preferably St John’s wort oil) if possible. This will soon eliminate the circulation impairment.

A much older but lesser known method of improving circulation is that of walking barefoot in the snow. If you have a balcony which becomes covered with snow in winter, you have the ideal location for this. This is similar to treading cold water, familiar from the Kneipp method. You can increase this snow treading gradually, by doing it for only ten seconds to start with, then 30 seconds, and ultimately even two to three minutes. However, you must take care not to inflict damage upon yourself, but ensure only to stay for as long as you can bear it without getting chilled. After this exercise, return to your warm bed without first drying your feet. You can repeat this on several mornings. If you have no balcony, go outside in warm slippers or well-lined clogs, bare your feet quickly and start treading around in the snow, preferably fresh snow. If at all possible, dry your feet vigorously with a towel before replacing your footwear to go back inside. Again, this treatment should be repeated for several days in a row, and you will be surprised to see how the chilblains disappear.

In order to prevent a return of the problem every winter, soak your feet regularly during the summer months in thyme or hay-flower water, and walk barefoot to toughen up (for at least 20 minutes).

You can also rub your feet with a lemon. Let it dry naturally, and then apply oil, ideally olive oil.

If you live in the mountains or near a place where cheese is made, you may be able to obtain whey for footbaths. Sour whey has a more powerful action than sweet whey. These summer-time footbaths can also be taken in winter as an alternative to the alternating hot and cold baths or to snow-treading. These baths should always be kept at blood temperature (37 °C/98.6 °F) by adding hot water whenever necessary. Of course, these baths can always be taken with a decoction of herbs. After the bath, which should take about half an hour, the feet should be rubbed with a lemon. Finally, apply a poultice of crushed cabbage leaves and leave this on overnight. This treatment is also effective against chilblains.

Tired feet and legs

If you often have tired feet and legs, finding them slightly swollen at the end of the day, bathe them in water used for boiling potatoes or vegetables. You can follow this with a hot salt wrap by “roasting” some salt, putting it quickly onto a cloth, which you then promptly wrap around your feet. If you do this in the evenings for only a few days, you will see that the tiredness in your feet will abate. If you have some hay flowers or other herbs at hand, prepare a decoction and add the salt. This salty herbal foot bath will also help you get rid of the tiredness, as well as relieving any burning sensation in the feet. Swollen feet, especially swollen ankles, can be a sign of heart trouble, but The Nature Doctor will deal with this in another section. If you have sea salt, use that, because it is even more effective than table salt.

Haemorrhages and haemophilia

If you know someone who frequently suffers from heavy nosebleeds or who is a bleeder, your special advice will be welcome, as it is important to know what to do when the bleeding cannot be stopped because the blood doesn’t clot. This can be a serious problem if you don’t know that applying a piece of fresh raw chicken is the only natural remedy to stop the bleeding if it is caused by haemophilia. However, if it is only a temporary problem, there is a cure for it, a herb called tormentil, but The Nature Doctor will tell you about that a little further down.

Calcium deficiency

From time to time, you may need to advise mothers whose children have bad teeth and weak bones. They suffer from calcium deficiency, because they do not really thrive and are prone to catching colds. If you are looking for a cheap, completely natural, good calcium preparation, you can make it yourself. As we all know, stinging nettles can be found anywhere, if not directly around the house or in the garden, then somewhere close by. You will have seen them when you are out for a walk, and you should pick the young plants for preference. Egg shells can generally be found in most kitchens. If you live close to a river or the sea, you may be able to get some oyster shells. These shells can be crushed with the young stinging nettles, and a pinch of the light-green, air-dried powder thus produced can then be taken two to three times a day. Over a few months, the teeth will improve, and after several years, they will be strong thanks to this simple remedy; the bones will also be stronger and more robust, and the susceptibility to colds will be significantly reduced. If you don’t want to go to all the effort of preparing the powder yourself, you can use the Urtica-calcium preparation, a finished product that also contains a stinging nettle trituration.

Vein inflammation

If your friend or neighbour complains about an acute inflammation of a vein, she can very effectively control it with alcohol wraps. However, you need to make sure to add some drops of arnica, yarrow or Hypericum tincture to the alcohol. Once the acute inflammation has abated a little, start with clay wraps and later with cabbage leaf poultices. A change in diet at the same time doubles the benefit, because the inflammation abates much faster. The advice is to go for natural food, as much plant-based as possible, and, most importantly, to drink plenty of raw juices. Anyone with a tendency to overeat is well advised to reduce the amount to a minimum. This also helps the inflammation to abate from the inside.

Abdominal disorders

Girls and women frequently suffer from venous congestion in the abdomen. Here, too, water treatments are very beneficial. A hip bath should be taken once or twice a week to combat these disorders. This is not only beneficial for childbirth and the offspring, but also for the menopause. The body responds to such regular care with far fewer problems during this critical period.

Hypertension and arteriosclerosis

(High blood pressure and hardening of the arteries)

If older people suffer from high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries, the primary focus should be a change in their diet. Instead of eggs, cheese, pulses and plenty of meat, they should eat dishes with buckwheat and brown rice, as both of these products have a blood pressure-lowering effect. Buckwheat can be prepared in the same way as brown rice. There are various ways of preparation; it just requires a bit of imagination and inventiveness to create variety despite such a diet. These dishes that have to be kept very low in salt, thus seasoned with natural innocuous kitchen herbs; they can be served with plenty of raw salads, dressed with lemon, whey or oil, but never with vinegar. All hot and harmful spices have to be avoided. This diet can be followed by gently steamed vegetables that do not cause bloating. In springtime, ramsons (wild garlic) salad and steamed ramsons are an excellent choice. It is closely related to garlic, and the latter’s beneficial effect on high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries is well known. Mistletoe¹ and hawthorn are also excellent helpers, but this information rather comes under herbal medicine. By contrast, ramson wine can easily be made at home, if sufficient ramson is gathered on springtime walks and steeped in spirit, as you would for any liqueur. If you follow this advice strictly, you will surely achieve a success.

Heart problems

If your heart does not work well, make sure that you always have some currants or raisins in your pocket, and chew them slowly while you work. Your heart muscles will thank you for it. Chewing fresh rosemary tips first thing in the morning is also good for the heart.

If you suffer from persistent heart pain, a tea from walnut septum can give fast relief, unless the heart condition is serious. Walnut septa are the woody partitions inside the walnuts; they are boiled for a few minutes and then covered and left to brew for about 10 minutes. The tea calms quickly, and, if taken regularly, the pains disappear after a while.

It goes without saying that serious heart problems cannot be remedied with this simple palliative. Of course, there a other natural remedies and treatments for this condition, but they are more elaborate and require a more detailed discussion.

Heartburn