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   The thyroid gland is a double lobed gland, connected by a narrow bridge, situated in front of and on both sides of the trachea at the base of the neck. It is now proved that the secretion from this gland has much to do with the oxidation and absorption of protein food materials. It provides the blood with a substance which enables the body to assimilate nitrogenous food elements and to oxidize and eliminate protein waste and morbid materials.

   Goiter is an ailment characterized by permanent enlargement of the thyroid gland. This is usually accompanied by accelerated and irregular heart action and by more or less pronounced and serious nervous symptoms. The secretions of the thyroid are tonic in their action and act as a strong stimulant when present in large quantities. The gland has an abundant blood supply and becomes enlarged very readily when unduly irritated by systemic or drug poisons.

   The disease is very common in Switzerland and certain other parts of Europe. It has been attributed to excessive amounts of lime in the drinking water, but this does not hold true in all cases. Heredity and excess of protein in the diet are undoubtedly prominent factors.

   In the first stages of this disease the enlargement is soft and spongy, but in time it becomes tough and hardened until it appears to the touch like hard rubber. The enlargement in the soft stages is due to some kind of irritation and over stimulation. When the source of this irritation or over stimulation is removed through natural living and treatment, the enlargement is readily absorbed and disappears entirely within a few months' time.

   Long continued irritation, over stimulation, acute and subacute inflammation are always followed in time by atrophy of the affected organs and by the formation of connective or scar tissue. This occurs in the thyroid gland after prolonged irritation and over stimulation. The soft enlargement then gradually turns into hard connective tissue similar to a fibrous tumor. After this has been in existence for some time even strict adherence to natural methods of living and of treatment may not succeed in dissolving and absorbing these hard formations. In such cases, however, natural treatment will result in purifying the body, adjusting mechanical lesions and in improving the vital processes, thus restoring the system as a whole to as good condition as is possible under the circumstances.

   Ever since I began to teach the principles of natural healing I have claimed that enlargement of the thyroid gland was caused in most cases through irritation of the organ by systemic or drug poisons. When the circulation becomes overcharged with nitrogenous waste and systemic poisons the gland enlarges and its secretions become more profuse. Excessive secretion over stimulates the nervous system and heart action and causes increased oxidation (destruction) of protein waste and also of protein tissues and food substances. This, in turn, produces loss of flesh and weight.

   The succeeding gradual atrophy of the glandular tissues tends to inhibit hyperactivity of the organ and is followed in time by the opposite condition of deficient secretion. While the natural dietetic treatment is very much the same in both extremes of soft and hard goiter, the manipulative treatment must be entirely different. In the first soft and hyperactive stages the nerve and blood supply of the gland should be inhibited. In the atrophic stages the treatment must be stimulative in its effects.

   Over stimulation of the thyroid gland frequently occurs through toxins produced by some septic disease, but in such cases the increased secretions from the gland may be needed to neutralize the toxic materials generated by the inflammatory processes; in other words, the hyperactivity of the thyroid is protective and will diminish as the disease subsides.

   Irritation and over stimulation of the gland may also be caused through spinal lesions. Luxated bones, strained muscles or ligaments may irritate the nerves which supply the thyroid and thus cause hyperactivity of the organ. We have cured many soft goiters by removing such mechanical irritation by neurotherapy treatment.

   This is an aggravated form of goiter, accompanied by increased rate of heartbeat, muscular tremors, etc. It derives its name from a characteristic symptom--protrusion of the eyeballs. This as well as the peculiar stare which it produces is caused by excessive nerve and blood pressure from within.

   The disease is more common in women between the ages of fifteen and thirty, and in men between thirty and fortyfive. Nervous shock, grief, fright and over taxation of the nerves are exciting and contributing causes.

   The pulse beat is sometimes as high as 200 per minute. The patient is very often anemic, the heart becomes hyper-trophied as a result of its rapid and violent action, which is very often followed by dilatation, inducing leakage through improper closing of the valves. Palpitation of the heart is a frequent symptom, as also is the staring look caused by the protrusion of the eyeballs, which may be accompanied by other ocular disturbances, such as paralysis of the lids, or paralysis of one or more of the nerves controlling action of the eyeballs. The thyroid gland itself is moderately enlarged at first and rather soft and elastic, but it becomes harder and firmer as a result of the proliferation of connective tissue.

   Muscular tremor is common and may affect the whole body or only the limbs. Other symptoms may be present, such as digestive disturbances, kidney involvement inducing excessive formation of urine or showing the presence of sugar or albumin in the urine, occasional fever, skin eruptions, mental depression, melancholia or mania.

   In all cases of goiter we find that the urine contains excessive amounts of indican, skatol, indol and phenol, and other forms of ptomains and leukomains created through putrefactive changes in the intestines and other parts of the body. This indicates the source of the trouble, namely, excessive production of poisonous acids and alkaloids of putrefaction resulting from unbalanced diet and defective elimination through clogging and atrophy of the skin, bowels and kidneys. Pathogenic materials and drug poisons over stimulate the thyroid and other ductless glands. Continued hyperactivity and increase of secretions from the thyroid and adrenals not only results in excessive oxidation of protein food materials, but also in destruction of fleshy tissues of the body. This, in turn, increases nitrogenous waste and alkaloids of putrefaction, and these will cause complete prostration and death unless the destructive processes are arrested. The toxic condition of the system and increase of thyroid secretion over , stimulates the nervous system and heart action, causing high frequency of pulse.

   Treatment.--The individual should be treated upon the appearance of the first symptoms. The increased function of the thyroid gland in this disease may be caused by insufficiency of the internal secretions on the part of the suprarenals, ovaries, testes or pituitary gland. Consequently it requires general treatment for the purpose of toning up the entire body. The cardiac symptoms, when they are severe, can be relieved by careful manipulative treatment of the spine. Fresh air, moderate exercise and rest, are required to make a good recovery. No attempt should be made to suppress the activity of the thyroid gland itself by painting with iodin or by the use of ice bags, X-ray or other powerful suppressive agents. The diet at first should be directed toward increasing elimination and consequently should consist largely of fruits and vegetables, and later may be extended to include a moderate amount of protein (grains, nuts, milk and, occasionally, eggs).

   Massage and Swedish movements must make the organs of elimination more active and alive. The spinal lesions must be corrected through neurotherapy treatment; open air exercise, sun and air baths, constructive attitude of mind and soul, all must combine to produce normal conditions, physically and mentally. As this is being accomplished, the thyroid gland as well as all other organs in the body will gradually become normal in structure and function.

   Allopathy, in accordance with its general trend of theory and practice, attributes these diseases of the thyroid gland to infection from other foci of inflammation, such as diseased tonsils, adenoids, abscesses in the teeth, ovaries or other parts of the body. The "Handbook of Therapy", edited by the American Medical Association, says under "Hyper-Thyroidism": "The etiology of hyper-thyroidism is not yet determined. . . . There are numerous reports in the literature of cases of hyper-thyroidism (goiter) following acute or chronic infections such as tonsilitis, sinusitis, arthritis and salpingitis. These facts make it seem likely that the disease is due to metastatic infection of the thyroid gland." (Infection through transmission from some other foci of inflammation.) ". . . The treatment of hyper-thyroidism is based on two main factors: First, alleviation of symptoms; and second, removal of the foci of infection which may be responsible." This means, of course, that the symptoms--nature's healing efforts--must be suppressed, and the foci of infection in other parts of the body must be removed through suppressive antiseptic, germicidal or surgical treatment.

   Natural living and treatment will remove the foci of infection in the teeth, tonsils, ovaries, appendix, or wherever they may exist, in exactly the same rational and efficient manner in which it cures all other ailments of the body. Bromids and coal tar poisons for the excited brain and nerves, cathartics for the sluggish bowels, and paralyzing sedatives for the rapid heart may be good "symptomatic" treatment, but they do not touch the underlying causes of the trouble.

   More destructive than the symptomatic drug and serum treatments are the more radical iodin, surgical and Roentgen Ray treatments. These are positively destructive in their effects upon the system. We have learned from our study of iodin in Chapter XIV that this poison atrophies glandular structures all through the body. This explains the action of the poison in the treatment of goiter. Painted on the throat, it is absorbed and atrophies the glandular structures of the thyroid. Iridiagnosis proves, however, that the poison applied to the throat usually locates in other parts or organs,--a lucky thing for the thyroid. Fig. 31 illustrates this fact. It shows the iodin in the lower back and chest as well as in the thyroid.

   Understanding the importance of this little organ in the vital functions, what a dangerous procedure this is. As already stated, the iodin absorbed into the circulation may affect other organs or glandular structure in the system such as mammary glands, the adrenals, ovaries, testes, etc., and destroy their functions.

   Later on, the red spots of iodin clearly reveal in the iris of the eye where the poison has accumulated in the body. In my own case, as I have related elsewhere in this volume, the iodin rubbed into my throat in order to reduce enlarged lymphatic glands happened to concentrate in liver and kidneys, thus laying the foundation for chronic disease of these organs. Incidentally, it was the iodin poisoning that helped to bring me into this work.

   The surgical treatment consists in snipping off parts of the enlarged organ, I suppose with the idea of reducing its hyperactivity. I can find only one fitting adjective for describing such unnatural treatment, and that is the word "criminal". Such wilful destruction can never be compensated. If total extirpation of the organ is surely followed by death within a few days, why destroy part of it? We know positively that natural living and treatment will restore the little organ to a normal condition (if destruction has not too far advanced), but it cannot restore that which has been destroyed by the surgeon's knife. I have had occasion to observe a number of cases that had been operated on and all of them developed, sooner or later, serious chronic constitutional diseases. Some drifted into tuberculosis, others developed malignant tumors or died from malassimilation and malnutrition, still others developed serious nervous conditions, several became insane.

   Several years ago a patient of mine tried to induce a friend to have natural treatment for exophthalmic goiter instead of submitting to an operation. But the patient and her friends had more confidence in their "great specialist" than in Nature Cure. The ends of the thyroid were snipped off and within twenty-four hours afterward the lady was completely paralyzed on one side. Death ended her sufferings about two years after the operation.

   The opposite of the conditions described under hyper-thyroidism we find in cases where for some reason or another the thyroid gland fails to produce a sufficiency of secretions. Where this condition is caused by defective development of the gland from birth, it results in cretinism. This word is derived from the French word "cretin", meaning "dwarf". Cretinism therefore signifies backward development both physically and mentally.

   The child is dwarfed and very ugly. The tongue is too large for the mouth, and the voice is harsh and squeaky. The hair is coarse, the abdomen prominent, hernia is common. The sexual organs remain undeveloped, so do also the mental functions, and the vocabulary is very limited. A few cases reach adult life, but the majority die in childhood. The regular medical treatment consists in the administration of thyroid extract daily throughout life.

   Better and more permanent results are obtained by thorough, all round Natural Therapeutic treatment. The diet must be carefully regulated. The little patient must receive a generous supply of the positive mineral elements. Careful massage and neurotherapy treatment, consisting largely in stimulation of the nerve centers which supply the thyroid gland, has a wonderfully vivifying effect in such cases. Magnetic treatment also is very beneficial in this as Well as in all other forms of thyroid disease. Cold water treatment, sun and air baths, and the indicated homeopathic remedies all help to make the dormant organ more alive and active. I always find that the plastic, sensitive organisms of children and infants respond much more readily to the natural influences than the coarser and more heavily encumbered bodies of adults.

   Thyroid deficiency in adults may result from many different causes. Pathogenic matter may clog or gradually benumb and paralyze the glandular structures. Poisonous drugs may produce similar results more quickly. The nerve supply of the gland may be greatly interfered with by luxated spinal vertebrae or through pressure on the nerves by contracted or strained muscles, ligaments or connective tissue growth.

   While hyperactivity of the gland often results in great emaciation, deficiency of thyroid secretion tends to cause the opposite condition, namely, obesity or excessive flesh and fat formation. This in itself proves that the secretion of the thyroid promotes the processes of oxidation. One of the principal causes of excessive fat formation lies in defective oxidation of protein, starchy and fatty materials. In such cases small doses of thyroid extract, carefully regulated, help to reduce excessive fat formation.

   This treatment is at best only palliative, the underlying causes of the ailment must be overcome by natural living and treatment. Natural diet and treatment must bring about greater activity of the organ and improve the processes of digestion and elimination.

   Many people suffer more or less all their lives from severe headaches which defy all sorts of treatment. A great deal of this lifelong torture is due to either temporary or constant inactivity of the thyroid gland. Deficiency of thyroid elements in the circulation interferes with the oxidation of food materials as well as of systemic poisons, causing, on the one hand, nerve starvation, and on the other hand, brain and nerve poisoning. See nerve rings, Fig. 32, left and right.

   We have cured many such cases in individuals who had suffered all their lives either at intervals or continuously with headaches resulting from such causes. The accumulation in the system of nitrogenous waste due to insufficient activity of the thyroid also becomes frequently one of the contributing factors in asthma and in other chronic diseases of the respiratory organs. The pathogenic materials in the circulation are not oxidized and eliminated from the system on account of the deficiency of thyroid and adrenal secretions in the blood. Therefore they accumulate in the circulation and clog and benumb the tiny air passages, capillaries and nerve filaments in the bronchi and lungs. This results in all kinds of acute and chronic diseases of the respiratory organs and intensifies oxygen starvation. Here, as in many similar instances, we observe the see sawing between cause and effect. A disease producing cause sets up a certain ailment. This in turn aggravates and intensifies the primary cause and both together create new troubles, until the entire organism becomes disordered and incapacitated.

   Myxodema. This ailment is due to more or less complete inactivity of the thyroid gland. The disease is much more frequent in women than in men, mostly in those women who have borne children. The disease is characterized by the accumulation of colloid materials in the circulation. This causes capillary obstruction and dropsical swelling. Frequently the hair and eyebrows fall out, the nails and teeth loosen and drop out, while the skin takes on a very peculiar texture and appearance resembling leather. After extirpation, or complete inactivity of the gland through other causes, death follows usually within a week from the manifestation of the first symptoms of myxodema.

   Chlorosis, eclampsia, eczema, epilepsy, hysteria and other forms of diseases are undoubtedly more or less aggravated by either hyperactivity or inactivity of the thyroid gland. We of the school of Natural Therapeutics have the satisfaction of knowing that even when we do not understand the exact causes and multiform effects and complications of these and other disorders, we can always apply the best treatment possible under the circumstances by overcoming with our natural methods of living and of treatment the three primary manifestations of all physical disease. (Vol. I, Chap. V.)

   Addison's Disease. Synonyms: melasma, suprarenalis, "the bronzed skin disease". (Fig. 32, Area 19, right.)

   Allopathic definition and description: A constitutional disease characterized by degenerative changes in the suprarenal capsules or semilunar ganglia, accompanied by pigmentation of the skin. Causes unknown. There is said to be some connection between Addison's Disease and tuberculosis. Pathological changes are found also in the semi-lunar ganglia and branches of the sympathetic nerve. The skin assumes a peculiar bronze or blackish pigmentation. The backs of the hands, for instance, look as black as those of a negro, while the inner surface looks pale and white.

   Duration about two years. Prognosis, incurable.

   The treatment (as in all cases of chronic disease) must be symptomatic.

   Natural Therapeutic Description and Treatment. The adrenals are two little bodies situated one above either kidney. Their function is to supply to the blood certain substances which produce, as we have learned (page 258), profound effects upon the vital economy of the body. Extirpation or total inactivity of these tiny organs, as well as of the thyroid gland, is followed by rapid decline and death. The secretions of the adrenals have a powerful effect upon all the processes of oxidation in the body. They are to the body what the igniter is to the automobile. As the latter ignites and explodes the gas in the machine, so the secretions of the adrenals in the circulation make possible the combustion of food materials and of morbid waste in the body.

   The symptoms following the sudden or gradual destruction of the adrenal glands have been named Addison's Disease. The onset is gradual and the patient develops a feeling of weakness and languor. This is followed by extreme muscular prostration. The pulse becomes weak and irregular, with feebleness of the heart's action. Lowered blood pressure is due to the depression of the nerve centers which control the compression of the blood vessels and the heart action. There may be gastro-intestinal disturbances resulting in nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The skin becomes bronzed or blackish in appearance. Temperature subnormal.

   This ailment is rather rare and occurs mostly in men between twenty and forty years of age. Pressure upon the semi-lunar ganglia, due to connective tissue adhesions, is a possible cause by creating interference with the blood supply to the suprarenal bodies. Postmortem examinations have shown that frequently the degeneration of the suprarenal bodies is of a tuberculous nature.

   When the destructive changes in these ductless glands are too far advanced, even the most thorough natural treatment may fail to arrest the degenerative processes. If, however, the patient is placed under natural treatment during the initial stages of the disease, improvement and cure are sure to follow. We have proved this to be true in many cases. Several patients of this type that came under my observation exhibited drug signs in the iris in the area of the kidneys. The degenerative processes may also be caused or aggravated by interference with the nerve or blood supply through impingement by mechanical lesions or contraction of connective tissues. Thorough systematic natural treatment by all approved methods will meet and overcome the causes of the disease whatever they may be, if this is at all possible in the nature of the case. If systemic toxins or poisonous drugs are paralyzing or destroying the glandular structures, natural diet and all methods which promote elimination of morbid matter and poisons will bring about the desired improvement. Mechanical lesions and interference with blood and nerve supply must be corrected by manipulative treatment.

   It will be found in such cases that a diet low in protein and rich in mineral salts is more advisable than fasting, because the disease itself produces great weakness and emaciation.

   The chronic signs in Fig. 32 right, areas 21 and 15, respectively, showed in the eyes of a man forty-five years old. He had contracted several gonorrheal infections, which were suppressed in the usual manner. The sign in 15, right, testes, shows that the disease and drug poisons caused atrophy of the sex glands. This explains why he became impotent within a year after the disease was cured (?). He also has suffered since that time from chronic rheumatism of the arthritic type, especially in the lower extremities. This is indicated by the chronic signs in area 18, right and left.

   In many instances of suppressed gonorrhea and syphilis I have noticed that the patients were sterile (unable to produce offspring) while still capable of performing the sex act. Many of these cases showed lesions in area 15, right or left.

   The sign of an acute lesion in area 23, right, Fig. 32, I observed in a patient who had sustained a severe fall, striking the end of the spine and bending the coccyx inward. This caused irritation of the coccygeal gland, resulting in inflammation of the tiny sympathetic ganglion. This in turn caused excruciating pains, contraction of the sphincter ani, stubborn constipation and hemorrhoids. Allopathic physicians had recommended surgical removal of the gland. The coccygeal lesion was improved by manipulative treatment and the tension relieved by dilatation of the sphincter ani. This overcame the constipation and cured the hemorrhoids.

   The chronic lesion in area 23, left, Fig. 32, was visible in the iris of a patient who had suffered for many years with paralysis agitans, the result of mercurial treatment for syphilis early in life. In this case the sphincters of the anus and the bladder were so relaxed that feces and urine were discharged involuntarily.

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