Nourishing the body's cells
Many everyday aches and pains respond simply and safely to inorganic substances
that can be taken in pill form and that occur naturally in the human body.
It has long been known the inorganic salts – substances of mineral origin are essential for the healthy working of the human body. but it wasn't until about a century ago that a German doctor, W. H. Schuessler, suggested that some of the substances, which are found naturally in the body, had potent and special healing powers.
He called these the tissue salts, because they were found in the tissues of the body. At the time he listed 12. This has now been extended considerably by modern experts in biochemics – the healing therapy which uses tissue salts.
The Basic Guidelines of Biochemics
Schuessler detailed very carefully what each of the salts did in the body and looked at various ailments that could be cured by using them as medicines. He formulated a set of rules that still make excellent sense today.
- Disease does not occur if cell metabolism (the process at the very heart of cellular function) is normal.
- Cell metabolism is in turn normal if the cells of the body receive the right kind of nourishment.
- Substances that nourish the body are either of an organic nature (having an organized physical structure) or an inorganic nature as far as the body is able to discern.
- If there is a deficiency of the inorganic material (mineral salt) that helps to make up the body tissues, the body cells may have difficulty in carrying out the normal processes of assimilating and digesting foods and excreting waste.
- The body cells can be properly nourished, and their metabolism brought back to normal, by supplying the required tissue salts to the body in a finely divided form which the body can deal with and make use of easily.
Biochemics – the healing use of the tissue salts – is really an extension of homoeopathy. The tissue salts are prepared in the same way as are homoeopathic remedies, but most of the original salts were included in the standard list of homoeopathic remedies many years before Schuessler expounded his biochemic therapy. In fact, Schuessler was greatly influenced by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy.
SALTS – NATURAL BODY BUILDERS
In general, minerals have five main functions:
- They are components of enzymes – protein substances which help to bring about certain biochemical reactions necessary for the body to function.
- They are essential for nerve transmission.
- They carry oxygen.
- They form the building blocks that go to make healthy bones and teeth.
- They are components of hormones.
The 12 original tissue salts (see below) were thought to be at the heart of all life systems, but with increasingly sophisticated methods of chemical analysis since Schuessler's day, another 30 have been identified by an English expert, Dr. Eric Powell, and other workers in the field have found more.
Although many a practitioner can attest to their effectiveness, no one knows exactly how tissue salts work. They probably function in the body much life other homoeopathic remedies, by stimulating the body's natural healing systems. After a century of experience with them, they have been found to be safe and without dangerous side-effects.
TAKING THE TABLETS
The salts are made up in the form of lactose pills. if you are allergic to lactose – a form of sugar present in milk – it is probably sensible not to take them; otherwise, do not be put off, because the amount of lactose is very small indeed and should not cause problems except in the most highly sensitive people.
Choosing which salt to take requires some skill and experience, but there are commercial preparations on the market, some of which are combination that have been found, by trial and error, to work better than single salts used alone. Tissue salts can be taken safely with other medications and are easy to take. Simply let the tablets dissolve under the tongue and use them as directed on the pack. Usually it is safe and effective to take them every couple of hours in the initial stages of an illness.
Biochemic tissue salts appear to act quickly in sudden-onset, short-lived conditions, but they may have to be taken for up to six months or more to produce results in chronic conditions. The turnover of the body's minerals in stores (as opposed to those in solution in the body's fluids) is slow and can take months. This is why results can take many months in long-standing ailments.
As with all do-it-yourself natural medications, it is vital to consult your doctor so that you know exactly what you are treating. This is of course, not necessary if the condition is a long-term one with which you are totally familiar, such as hay fever. And many such conditions respond well to the salts.
COMPLEMENTARY CURES
By and large, tissue salts are mainly used for everyday aches and pains. They are not intended to be used instead of medications prescribed by the doctor, but alongside them. Some people find that experience with the salts make them confident to treat their common ailments without seeing a doctor, but if things are not improving or you are at all worried, do seek medical help.
About eight out of ten conditions, that people go to their GP with are self-healing, yet we are all impatient to get better as quickly as possible. Often, medications prescribed by the doctor have undesirable side-effects and may do little good while the body goes about its self-healing process. many users of tissue salts say that, in this waiting period, they prefer to take tissue salts than medications prescribed by their general practitioner.
Schuessler's 12 Original Tissue Salts
- Calcium fluoride (Calc. Fluor.)
- Calcium phosphate (Calc. Phos.)
- Calcium sulphate (Calc. Sulph.)
- Iron phosphate (Ferr. Phos.)
- Potassium chloride (Kali. Mur.)
- Potassium phosphate (Kali. Phos.)
- Potassium sulphate (Kali. Sulph.)
- Magnesium phosphate (Mag. Phos.)
- Sodium chloride (Nat. Mur.)
- Sodium phosphate (Nat. Phos.)
- Sodium sulphate (Nat. Sulph.)
- Silicon dioxide (Silica)
CHECKLIST OF AILMENTS AND CURES
Some common ailments and their biochemic remedies:
| Acid regurgitation: Nat. Phos. |
Acne: Calc. Sulph. |
| Anaemia: Ferr. Phos., Calc. Phos. |
Anxiety: Kali. Phos |
| Bronchitis: Ferr. Phos |
Burns: Kali. Mur. |
| Catarrh in ear, causing mild deafness: Kali. Sulph., Kali. Mur. |
Colds – early stages: Ferr. Phos. |
| Colic in infants: Mag. Phos. |
Cough – acute, painful, short and irritating: Ferr. Phos. |
| Cystitis: Kali. Mur., Ferr. Phos., Kali. Phos., Mag. Phos. |
Dandruff: Nat. Mur., Kali. Sulph. |
| Depression: Kali. Phos., Calc. Phos., Nat. Mur. |
Earache – with beating, throbbing pain: Ferr. Phos. |
| Fainting, tendency to: Kali. Phos. |
Fatty food disagrees: Kali. Mur., Nat. Phos. |
| Fever – with chills and cramps: Mag. Phos., Ferr. Phos. |
Gums – bleed easily: Kali. Phos. |
| Hair loss: Kali. Sulph., Silica, Nat. Mur. |
Halitosis (bad breath): Kali. Phos. |
| Hay fever: Mag. Phos., Nat. Mur., Silica. |
Headache – at crown of head: Nat. Phos. |
| Headache – from mental work: Kali. Phos. |
Headache - Nervous: Kali. Phos. |
| Heartburn: Calc. Phos., Nat. Sulph., Silica. |
Impatience and nervousness: Kali. Phos. |
| Irritability: Kali. Phos. |
Laryngitis: Calc. Phos., Ferr. Phos. |
| Lumbago: Calc. Phos., ½ Ferr. Phos., Nat. Phos. |
Menopausal Symptoms – hot flushes: Ferr. Phos., alt with Kali. Sulph. |
| Migraine: Kali. Phos., Nat. Sulph. |
Nails brittle: Silica, Kali. Sulph., Calc. Fluor. |
| Nosebleed: Ferr. Phos. |
Periods – heavy, too frequent and too profuse: Ferr. Phos. |
| Periods – heavy, with bearing-down pains: Calc. Fluor. |
Periods – painful, relieved by heat: Mag. Phos. |
| Pimples on face: Calc. Phos. |
Pregnancy: Kali. Phos. & Calc. Phos. from 3-6 months before birth. |
| Retching, with taste of food: Ferr. Phos. |
Rheumatism: Ferr. Phos., Nat. Phos., Nat. Sulph., Silica. |
| Rheumatism – with swelling: Kali. Mur. |
Sciatica: Mag. Phos., Ferr. Phos. |
| Shyness: Kali. Phos. |
Sleep, unrefreshing: Nat. Mur. |
| Sprains: Ferr. Phos. |
Stings of insects: Nat. Mur. (applied locally) |
| Sweating at night: Nat. Mur., Silica, Calc. Phos. |
Teething, with drooling: Nat. Mur. |
| Tiredness from overwork: Kali. Phos. |
Travel sickness: Kali. Phos., Nat. Phos. |
| Ulcers in mouth, white: Kali. Mur. |
Vaginal discharge – white, non-irritating: Kali. Mur. |
| Vaginal discharge – scalding, yellow or orange: Kali. Phos. |
Vaginal discharge – yellow or greenish, slimy or watery: Kali. Sulph. |
| Varicose veins and ulcerations: Calc. Fluor. |
Warts: Kali. Mur. |
