Reprinted from Nature’s Field Vol. 8 No. 6
Immune Disorders: A 21th Century Plague
by Steven Horne

This country is experiencing a plague of immune-related diseases such as cancers etc. These diseases are serious and often difficult to treat. It isn’t that they can’t be helped with natural and holistic means. On the contrary, they can. It’s just that they require time, patience, accurate knowledge and self-discipline.

In my travels I’ve met dozens of people who have told me their personal success stories with cancer and other “incurable” diseases. These people have had hundreds of experiences in helping other people with these serious diseases, too. So, don’t give up hope if you have one of these problems. Before going further, I want to make it absolutely clear that I don’t treat cancer, or other life-threatening diseases. This is not to say that I would not offer assistance to someone with one of these serious diseases, position...” This is not a prescription. I don’t tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. I just provide them with information and options. They must decide what is right for them.

Specifically, there are three things I would do if I had cancer, lupus or any other serious immune disorder. These are the things I tell anybody who comes to me with one of these problems.

First, I would focus on living and would not think or talk about dying
A growing body of research is demonstrating that fear, worry, doubt, self-pity, anger and other “negative” emotions paralyze the immune system, while love, joy, faith, hope and trust tend to stimulate it. There is even a name for this new field of study: psycho-neuro-immunology. This is the study of the effect of the mind on the immune system through the nervous system.
Studies have found that people who are motivated by selfless love have higher immune function and are generally healthier than people who are more self-centered. Other studies have found that prayer assists in recovery, even if the patients do not know that they are being prayed for.

Numerous books are appearing urging sick persons to visualize themselves recovering and hold onto positive thoughts to help them recover from disease.
Here are a few you may wish to read:
Love, Medicine and Miracles and Peace, Love and Healing by Bernie S. Siegel, M.D.,
Head First: The Biology of Hope, The Healing Heart and Anatomy of an Illness by Norman Cousins, and Minding the Body, Mending the Mind by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

That is why the first thing I tell anyone suffering from a serious immune disease, is this: “If I were in your position I would find a reason to live and I would focus my attention on living and not on dying.”

The power of this principle was taught to me by noted herbalist and homeopath, Jim Jenks, who wrote the book Think and Be Healthy. Dr. Jenks has helped many people pronounced “terminally” ill to recover. In addition to getting these people to change their health habits and take supplements, he encourages them to start planning the next 50 years of their life. When he first tells them to do this, many of them balk at first and say,“but I only have so long to live.”

When a person believes they have only so many weeks or months to live, they have accepted a “voodoo hex” or a “sentence of death” which becomes a “self-fulfilling prophesy.” As the person mentally prepares to die their immune and healing functions diminish. By having the person concentrate on setting goals and making plans, they start reaffirming life. They quit thinking about dying and start to concentrate on living.

Not long ago studies were published which suggested that people with “terminal” diseases will postpone dying until they have accomplished some significant task or lived to see some important event. If a person can postpone death from a terminal illness for several months because they want to see their son or daughter graduate from collage or get married, then why can’t they postpone death even longer if they have a reason to live and serve their fellowmen?

I had a personal experience with this some years ago when I met a young man who had AIDS. His immune system was severely depleted and his prognosis was poor. His countenance was dejected and he was obviously discouraged. The disease had robbed all hope from his life and he was mentally preparing for death. I told him about exercising the mental discipline to think only about life and living, but I didn’t seem to be getting through.
Finally, acting on a hunch, I asked him if he felt that it was his time to die. I said, “Do you feel like your mission here on earth is done, that you have accomplished what you were sent here to do?” He replied, “It’s funny you should ask that question because just the other night I was praying and I felt impressed that God didn’t want me to die because I haven’t completed what I was sent here to do.” Upon hearing this I stated emphatically, “Well, there you have it. If God wants you to live, how can you die? God is all powerful and if He has a purpose for you here on this earth, then nothing can make you die before your time. You think about that and hold that thought in your mind: If God wants me to live, how can I die?”

Two weeks later, I saw him again. This time, however, his countenance was bright and you could see the hope in his eyes. He told me that he had thought about what I had said and had decided that he would live. He studied and improved his diet, life-style and attitudes. His immune system promptly returned to normal. Three years later, he told me the university hospital had wanted to study him because he was the only AIDS patient in Utah who was receiving no medical treatments. He had turned them down, because, in his words, “They would wreck my attitude.” He is still alive as of the writing of this article and is doing well.


Second, I would get on a good general health program of diet, rest and exercise
This past summer we hosted an herb walk and were pleased to have Fernand Demers, a fine natural healer from Canada, visit our home for the second time. Fernand was telling us that we cannot rely on supplements alone to heal people. He said we must start recommending FOODS for people, not just supplements. He is absolutely right. The immune system cannot be rebuilt by taking a few herbs or supplements while continuing to eat white flour, refined sugar, excessive quantities of meat and dairy products, food additives, preservatives, coffee, tea, alcohol, soft drinks and so forth.

That is why my second recommendation includes improved nutrition. In all cases of degenerative illness the body needs to be built up with wholesome food even more than it needs to be cleansed. Putting anyone in a severely weakened state on a heavy cleanse is a mistake. Conditions of excess require cleansing, but conditions of deficiency or weakness require building.

If I had cancer or some other serious degenerative disease I would immediately change my diet to include more raw or fermented foods— foods rich in enzymes, in life. Life nourishes life. We eat too much cooked,“killed”, processed food. It wears out our digestive organs. Of course, I see no reason why we should wait until we are seriously ill to change our nutritional habits. One of the major reasons I’ve quit traveling is because it is hard for me to eat right on the road.

Let me share with you some of my favorite raw foods. I’m not saying this is the ideal program for you, since we all have different constitutional makeups, but it does give you some ideas. Each of us has to find what an optimal diet is for us.
** Many people find that drinking the juice of a half a lemon in purified warm water first thing in the morning helps to flush the liver and kidneys and get them going.
** Many people also enjoy a little “cleansing” drink first thing in the morning. My little health cocktail contains psyllium hulls, liquid chlorophyll in purified water. I don’t like the taste that much, but I do like the way I feel when I take it. In fact, the taste reminds me of the mouthwash commercial: “It’s the taste I hate - once a day.”
** Other people include aloe vera juice, vitamin C crystals or acidophilus in their cleansing drink.
** Freshly made fruit and vegetable juices have helped many people recover their health and strength. We make assorted mixtures of carrots, cabbage, parsley, celery, green peppers and beets. We prefer organically grown vegetables if possible. I always feel better when I have some raw vegetable juice each day. We’ve been making extra juice for a neighbor suffering from blood sugar imbalances. After only a few days she can already tell the difference.

I’ve also noticed a difference when I eat a good helping of tossed salad every day. Salads should be made with dark greens (never with head lettuce) and other raw vegetables such as grated red cabbage and carrots, radishes, cucumbers (unwaxed if possible), beets, green peppers, tomatoes (when they are in season), celery, broccoli, radish and alfalfa sprouts, and sometimes even edible weeds. It is worth the extra expense to get organically-grown vegetables if they are available.

Note from Christian at Four Winds Nutrition

Seasoning: Do not buy ready made seasoning but make your own as follows:
Grapeseed Oil (found in health food stores)
Fresh lemon juice
Minced garlic, a touch of curry, sea salt (little) and other herbs you like.

Two fantastic foods for rebuilding health are wheat and barley grass. Much has been written about their health building qualities. Sprouts are an excellent way to get fresh greens in the winter. However, it is best to cook sprouted legumes (beans, lentils, etc.) before eating them. Also, don’t eat too many alfalfa sprouts as they can thin the blood. Sprouted wheat makes an excellent “live” bread, called Essene bread.
These are just some ideas for foods that a person might utilize to strengthen their body if they have a serious degenerative disease. Of course, there are many others. A person facing a serious degenerative disease should obtain a couple of good cookbooks and learn to prepare healthier food.
They should also make certain they get adequate sleep each night and engage in some moderate physical activity each day. In my opinion, walking or gentle bouncing on a mini-trampoline are the best exercises for people with a run-down immune system. Deep breathing exercises may also prove beneficial.

Third, I would take herbs and nutrients to enhance my immune and digestive systems

If a person is paying good attention to attitude and nutrition, their body may still need a “boost” to help restore normal body function. My major focus would be on herbs, but I would also consider other supplements. Jack Ritchason taught me that he has never seen a person who has a degenerative disease who does not have a hiatal hernia and a weak digestive system. My own experience confirms this. Hence, pulling down their hiatal hernia is a very important step in helping these people recover. If you don’t know how to do this, get someone to teach you. This also means that the first supplement I would consider using if I had a serious degenerative disease would be a high quality digestive enzyme product to help my digestion.

Food Digestive Enzymes with hydrochloric acid are helpful, but I have personally found that a product which contains only amylase, lipase, protease and cellulase works best for me. Herbs which may help rebuild digestion include: papaya, peppermint, ginger, gentian, myrrh and orange peel.
Formulas which may help include Anti-Gas formula, Spleen Activator and Intestinal Soothe & Build.

The next supplements I would consider would be anti-cancer and immune-boosting herbs.
I don’t believe there are any “magic” herbs or supplements for curing these serious diseases. It is simply a matter of nourishing the weakened body and allowing it to “cleanse” itself of the disease. Some of the herbs which I would use include: chaparral, pau d’arco, echinacea (purpurea or angustifolia), red clover, Siberian ginseng, suma, ganoderma mushrooms, astragalus and burdock.
Formulas to consider would be Red Clover Blend, Jason Winter’s Tea, the Hoxley formula and E-Tea (Essiac formula). It would be preferable to take these herbs in a liquid form to improve their assimilation and utilization. I would not rely solely on one herb or formula, but would probably vary what I took from time to time.

Lastly, what I would not do
I would never opt for chemotherapy or radiation as a treatment for cancer. I’m not saying that someone else shouldn’t use these treatments, it is just that I don’t believe in them. I would rather risk death from the disease than the side effects of these “treatments.” I believe they are barbaric and 100 years from now, people will look on them with the same contempt we currently have for the mercury-poisoning, blood-letting and blistering therapies of the 1800s. Surgery would not be my first choice either, since surgery tends to spread the cancer and disfigure the body. However, I would not rule out surgery completely, if say, the tumor was obstructing a major organ and was an immediate, life-threatening situation.
In spite of my beliefs, I have never told anyone (and never will) not to submit to a treatment which they felt was necessary to save their lives. Mainly because if they believe that treatment is necessary for their survival and they don’t get it, then they are creating a self-fulfilling prophesy about dying. This violates my first rule about healing.

Whatever therapy a person decides to use, they need to be encouraged to maintain a positive attitude and good general health practices.

I do not believe there are any incurable diseases. I believe there are only incurable people. If all else fails, I still believe in miracles. So, above all, never give up hope. There is no such thing as false hope. Hope is a gift of God and one of the greatest instruments of all healing. So, never let anyone talk you out of your hope. Cling to your hope with all the faith you can muster. If you find you have an “incurable” disease, then study, search, pray and hope. If you truly desire to be healed, I believe there are answers. All you need is the hope to find them, the faith to receive them and the courage to follow them.