Mercy Products as a preventative supplement:

The old proverb- 'Prevention is better than cure' is timeless and still rings true today.

The escalating amount of disease and ill health caused by environmental or food related factors are highlighted in various media daily.

We may not always be able to control our exposure to micro- organisms and pollutants directly but we can help ourselves by taking a multi-nutritional remedy like Mercy Products to build up our bodies’ natural defence systems.

Take 1 x 5 ml teaspoons of Mercy Drinking Oil or alternatively 1 x 5 ml tsp of Mercy Nettle Oil in a warm drink with honey and lemon in the morning. Even better, take 1/2 tsp of each daily. Taken regularly, you will feel healthier, build up your immune system and regain your natural energy.

General dietary factors to be used with Mercy Products:

There is an old Arabian proverb "Most people dig their graves with their teeth!" This means that most ill health is caused by bad eating habits! If we can make small changes to our diet, we can reap large benefits in our health.

We always recommend that our patients follow some simple instructions to achieve optimum benefit from the Mercy Products they use and which help them to get more from life in general.

• Drink plenty of water (spring water is the best).
• Eat organic foods. Meat, vegetables, dairy, pulses, wholegrains, fruit, honey and sugar (unrefined rather than white).
• Eat plenty of nuts, seeds and oily fish.
• Eat no more than 1/4 pound of meat weekly!
• Eat brown bread, rice and pasta instead of white.
• Avoid fried, fatty and spicy foods completely.
• Avoid alcohol and addictive substances.
• Avoid excessive caffeine drinks (2+ small cups daily)
• Eat uncooked foods for breakfast & cooked foods only between midday and early evening.
• Get plenty of exercise, even if it is just walking.

The following Excerpts are taken from the "The Traditional Healer's Handbook" by Hakim G. M.Chishti, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT 05767, Copyright © 1988, 1991 Inner Traditions/ Bear & Co.
http://www.HealingArtsPress.com

Heating (Garmi) Foods:

Meat and Fish: lamb, liver, chicken, goose, duck, eggs, goat (male)
Dairy Products: sheep’s milk, cream cheese, cream, clarified butter (ghee)
Vegetables and Beans: asparagus, beet, radish, onion, mustard greens, kidney beans, leek, eggplant, chickpeas, red pepper, green pepper, carrot seed, squash, turnip, parsley
Fruit: peach, plum, lime, lemon, rhubarb, banana, red raisins, green raisins, dates, figs, olives, ripe grapes, all dried fruits
Seeds and Nuts: sesame, almond, pistachio, apricot kernels, walnut, pine nuts
Grains: thin grain rice, basmati rice, wheat
Oils: sesame oil, corn oil, castor oil, mustard oil
Beverages: black tea, milk
Herbs: basil, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, garlic, marjoram, mint, celery seed, anise seed, rue, saffron, garam masala (blend), curry powder (blend), senna, frankincense, mustard medicine

Cooling (Sardi) Foods:

Meat: rabbit, goat (female), beef, fish (general)
Dairy Products: cow’s milk, mother’s milk, goat’s milk, butter, buttermilk, dried cheeses, margarine
Vegetables and Beans: lettuce, celery, sprouts (general), zucchini, spinach, cabbage, okra, cauliflower, broccoli, white potato, sweet potato, carrot, cucumber, soybeans, tomato, turnip, peas, beans (general)
Fruits: apple, melons (general), mulberries, peach, pear, coconut, fig, pomegranate, apricot, orange, carob
Seeds and Nuts: none
Grains: brown rice, thick-grain rice, barley, lentils
Oil: sunflower oil, coconut oil
Beverages: green teas, coffee
Herbs: coriander (dry), dill, henna, thyme, rose, jasmine
Other: refined sugar, vinegar, bitter things, sour things, truffles, water

The following Excerpts are taken from the "The Traditional Healer's Handbook" by Hakim G. M.Chishti, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT 05767, Copyright © 1988, 1991 Inner Traditions/ Bear & Co.
http://www.HealingArtsPress.com

DIGESTION TIMES OF FOODS*

*Source: Food Heritage, Companion and Facts about Foods (Mokelumne Hill, Calif.: Health Research, 1971).

The following Excerpts are taken from the "The Traditional Healer's Handbook" by Hakim G. M.Chishti, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT 05767, Copyright © 1988, 1991 Inner Traditions/ Bear & Co.
http://www.HealingArtsPress.com

Cuisine

Virtually all dietary systems, including those considered alternative or natural, evaluate foods according to the various nutrient components- proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, amino acids, and so forth. In Tibb, the food is selected according to each food’s ability to enhance the metabolism of the body in general and specific organs in particular. The recipes have evolved from more than a thousand years of continuous use.

In selecting foods for yourself or your family, many factors have to be taken into account, for each person is unique and has specific dietary needs. This, in addition to evaluating diet in relation to the climate and humidity, season, geographical region, basic temperament, predominant humour, prevalent local bacteria or parasites, and similar factors, one should try to obtain the best and purest quality of food possible. In today’s marketplace, this is no easy task.

Most foods offered for sale in a chain supermarket in the United States have been treated with chemicals and pesticides. The claim has been made that testing has proved these chemicals safe for human beings. But long-term effects may appear, as has happened with virtually every food additive initially approved by governmental agencies. Even if the small quantities added to one food, and tested alone, may be considered safe, when the cumulative effect of many hundreds of chemicals is added to the years and decades of consumption, it is fair to assume that the eliminative and detoxifying organs of the body are overwhelmed.

Besides chemicals added during processing, there are many toxic substances used in the growing of the vegetables, fruits, or meats, plus the preserving sprays used on items such as tomatoes, potatoes, apples, and dozens of other foods. Therefore, anyone seeking food of a high degree of purity must grow it at home. Possibly the greatest contribution to health that could occur in the United States would be for each family to begin growing a substantial portion of its own food according to organic principles, without chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

In particular, the meat offered for sale in supermarkets should not be considered safe for human consumption, owing to the addition of chemical drugs and other poisons used to control the growth cycles of the animals. This point has been elaborated in so many journals and articles by impeccable authorities that it needs no further comment here. Moreover, as a matter of economy, many growers feed their animals things that, frankly speaking, are garbage that is rejected for consumption for humans, and even for cats and dogs. I even knew personally of a beef-raising operation that bought candy bars that been damaged in freight train wrecks, and used this for cattle feed- paper wrappers and all. Any animal grown on such matter cannot be considered proper nourishment for a human being.

Many people desire to have an “ideal” diet that would be the once-and-for-all perfect blending of nutrients and food groups. Such a diet is impossible to formulate, for within each household are usually found five or six persons with widely varying needs. Infants, children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly cannot be expected to thrive on exactly the same foods.

The timing of meals is important. Breakfast means literally “breaking the fast” of the previous eight to twelve hours. Breakfast can be a substantial meal of whole grain cereals and breads, fruits, eggs, cheese, and tea. The best time for breakfast is shortly after rising from sleep but after performing the toilet and any prayer or meditation practices.

The noon meal is beast taken after the sun has passed the midpoint in the sky. There is no harm if it is delayed until one or two in the afternoon, but not much beyond that. This is probably the best time to take the largest meal of the day because metabolism is functioning at its highest rate for most people. Americans by habit allow the noon meal to become little more than a snack, but it is the main meal for most people in the world. The composition of this meal will depend on all of the foregoing factors and also on what kind of work one does. If you do consume your main meal at noon, it is best to take a short rest afterwards, a nap of not more than forty-five minutes to an hour. This interlude will provide an opportunity for the body to digest the meal, and you will arise with considerably renewed energy to work the rest of the day without becoming sluggish.

The evening meal should be taken just after sunset and should include meat or vegetable protein, wheat or other whole grains, little or no fruit, and little sweets. It is best to conclude all eating at least two hours before sleep.

By adjusting the mealtimes to the rising and setting of the sun, one is conforming to the cycles of nature and the motions of the stars and planets, all of which have an effect upon human physiological functions. The sun may rise as early as 4:00 AM in the summer and as late as 7:30 AM in the winter.

Another important consideration is to eat foods in season. You may be able to obtain all manner of foods throughout the year, but your body will accomplish these foods best if they are eaten mainly in the season when they are harvested. It upsets the temperaments to eat strawberries in winter, for example, for it is an early summer fruit. Likewise, cucumbers- a cooling vegetable- should be avoided in winter. The natural cycles of the region in which one lives support the biolife that is suitable for people living there. Eskimos seldom, if ever, eat bananas! The monoculture of America’s nationwide distribution system, along with methods of preserving foods, means we can buy and consume virtually any food on earth at any time. While this may seem to be a boon and accomplishment of technology, eating foods out of season confuses the temperaments and burdens the metabolism.

Also, whenever possible, one should eat foods grown in the locality in which one lives. This means that residents of California should not eat New York apples. The Hakims say that the onions, potatoes, and other root vegetables from ones own region contain antidotes for all of the bacteria and viruses that are common in your town.

The most important law regarding diet is this: never eat unless there is true hunger. When a true and ready appetite appears, the meal should be taken soon afterwards and not delayed, or the stomach will fill with putrefying digestive gases and digestion will be spoiled.

There is no greater harm than to eat to full satisfaction after going a long time without food. This places an unbelievable stress on the digestive powers and clogs up the channels through which the humours are dispersed. Many heart attacks occur after eating an overlarge meal.

After eating, it is best to take some light activity such as walking. This allows the food to move into the lower part of the stomach, where digestion can be carried on more readily. This is especially important to do if one has the desire to lie down or feels sluggish. Mental excitement, emotion, excessive exercise, and sexual intercourse all hinder digestion.

The amount to eat in a standard meal depends upon the general condition and activity of the person. A normal, healthy person should eat enough without producing a feeling of heaviness ort a sense of tightness in the solar plexus area. After eating, there should be no rumbling of the stomach of sloshing of the food on movement. Nausea, sour belching, a lingering taste of the meal are signs that the meal was too heavy.

Foods that are quickly and easily digested should not be taken along with foods that are hard to digest. The food that is digested first will, being lighter, float to the top of the undigested food, trapping it. Unable to enter the blood, it will be retained unnecessarily long in the stomach and begin fermenting, resulting in gas and belching.

All liquids taken simultaneously with food dilute the gastric juices and therefore are not recommended with meals. Nor should much liquid be taken after a meal, for it causes the food to leave the lining of the stomach and float about. If there is a great thirst after a meal, it is best to satisfy it with cold water- the colder it is, the less will be required to quench the thirst.

When the initial stage of digestion is over (about thirty minutes), evidenced by a feeling of lightness in the upper part of the diaphragm, some tea may be taken, preferably one that aids digestion, such as peppermint. Oranges are ideal to eat after a meal, for the citric acid helps digestion and the fruit satisfies any thirst.

There are many well-considered opinions about the eating of meat, both for and against. There is no harm in adopting a strict vegetarian diet, provided that one exercises great care in selecting those foods that will combine to manufacture vital amino acids and necessary enzymes.

It is my personal opinion that it is permissible from a moral point of view to eat meat. However, as has been stated, all meats from commercial supermarkets should be shunned. This means one should raise and slaughter animals for ones own consumption. For city dwellers this poses some problems, but by checking with the best health food stores and Muslim (halal) and Jewish (kosher) meat markets, you can discover sources of pure meats. However, do some questioning of the butcher. Just because meat has been slaughtered according to religious law does not mean it has been grown without chemicals. Regardless of the source of the meat, the quantity of meat consumed to remain healthy and promote growth is not as much as people consume in the united States. Eating reasonable portions twice or three times a week is more than sufficient. In any event, eating meat three times per day in huge quantities produces disease.

Some meats should not be eaten at all. These include pork and any animal that eats carrion (already dead) flesh, such as dogs, cats, most birds of prey, snakes, and many wild animals. The easiest meat to digest is that of fowl. All fish are acceptable, but you should prefer those that do not feed off the refuse on the ocean or river floors. Lamb is the best meat, and that of a male yearling is preferred over older sheep. The shoulder cut is the most nutritious.

Try to find others with whom you can share meals. Everyone knows the dull feeling of eating alone. Organize people in your neighbourhood, office, or club to prepare and eat meals together, at least once or twice a week. There is a saying in the East: “He who eats alone eats with Satan; he who eats with one other person eats with a tyrant, he who eats with two other people eats with the prophets.”