I was a physically tough, happy-go-lucky fellow until I reached my
late thirties. Then I began to experience more and more off days
when I did not feel quite right. I thought I possessed an iron
constitution. Although I grew a big food garden and ate mostly
vegetablitarian I thought I could eat anything with impunity. I
had been fond of drinking beer with my friends while nibbling on
salty snacks or heavy foods late into the night. And until my health
began to weaken I could still get up the next morning after several
homebrewed beers, feeling good, and would put in a solid days work.
When my health began to slip I went looking for a cure. Up to that
time the only use Id had for doctors was to fix a few traumatic
injuries. The only preventative health care I concerned myself with
was to take a multivitamin pill during those rare spells when I felt
a bit run down and to eat lots of vegetables. So Id not learned
much about alternative health care.
Naturally, my first stop was a local general practitioner/MD. He
gave me his usual half-hour get-acquainted checkout and opined that
there almost certainly was nothing wrong with me. I suspect I had
the good fortune to encounter an honest doctor, because he also said
if it were my wish he could send me around for numerous tests but
most likely these would not reveal anything either. More than
likely, all that was wrong was that I was approaching 40; with the
onset of middle age I would naturally have more aches and pains.
Take some aspirin and get used to it, was his advice. Itll only
get worse.
Not satisfied with his dismal prognosis I asked an energetic old guy
I knew named Paul, an 80-something homesteader who was renowned for
his organic garden and his good health. Paul referred me to his
doctor, Isabelle Moser, who at that time was running the Great Oaks
School of Health, a residential and out-patient spa nearby at
Creswell, Oregon.
Dr. Moser had very different methods of analysis than the medicos,
was warmly personal and seemed very safe to talk to. She looked me
over, did some strange magical thing she called muscle testing and
concluded that I still had a very strong constitution. If I would
eliminate certain bad foods from my diet, eliminate some generally
healthful foods that, unfortunately, I was allergic to, if I would
reduce my alcohol intake greatly and take some food supplements,
then gradually my symptoms would abate. With the persistent
application of a little self-discipline over several months, maybe
six months, I could feel really well again almost all the time and
would probably continue that way for many years to come. This was
good news, though the need to apply personal responsibility toward
the solution of my problem seemed a little sobering.