The Royal Road to Health; or, the Secret of Health Without Drugs

by Chas. A. Tyrrell

PREFACE
TO THE
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTIETH EDITION

In presenting to the public the one hundred and seventieth edition of this work, it is a matter for profound gratification to be able to state that the treatment described in its pages has steadily increased in public favor since its introduction. Tens of thousands of grateful people testify to its efficiency, not only as a remedial process, but better still, as a preventive of disease. Truth must ever prevail, and this treatment being based on natural law (which is unerring), must achieve the desired result, which is the restoration and preservation of health.

This edition has been completely revised and much of it re-written, and while the essential principles remain unchanged, some slight departures from previously expressed opinions may be noted; for in the years that have elapsed since the first edition saw the light, some notable advances have been made in rational therapeutics and dietetics, and no one can afford to lag behind the car of Progress.

The arrangement of the book has been still farther altered, by adding another part, making nine in all, each part being devoted to a special phase of the general subject, thus simplifying it, and making its principles easier of application. Quotations have been freely made from articles written during the past three years by the author, in his capacity as editor of “Health,” and several new formulas for the treatment of important diseases have been added to those that have appeared in previous editions.

While painfully conscious that the critically disposed may find something to condemn in its pages, the work is sent forth with the fervent hope, that despite any defects it may possess it may, in the future, as in the past, prove the means of restoring to suffering thousands the possession of their natural and rightful heritage—health.

The Author.

CONTENTS.

[PART I.] DRUGGING PROVED UNSCIENTIFIC.
	PAGE
Health is wealth. The truth about “Materia Medica.” Medicalopinions on drugs—they do not cure disease. Opinionsof British physicians. The most important medicaldiscoveries made by laymen. There is no “lawof cure,” only a condition. Drugs do not act on thesystem, but are acted upon	[13]
[PART II.] THE TRUE CAUSE OF DISEASE.
Only one cause of disease. There is only one disease, butmany modifications. Digestion and assimilation explained.Evil effects of the retention of waste. Thehorrors of fæcal impaction. How auto-infection is accomplished.The mysteries of the circulation. Diseaseshown to be the result of imperfect elimination	[37]
[PART III.] RATIONAL HYGIENIC TREATMENT.
Nature cures, not the physician. The action of microbes.The cathartic habit. The true action of cathartics explained,and popular suppositions corrected. A correctsolution of the difficulty. “Flushing the colon” an ancientpractice. Dr. Turner’s post mortem experiences.Colon distortion illustrated. Objections to the ordinaryappliances—danger in using the long, flexible catheter.Invention of the “J. B. L. Cascade,” and descriptionof it	[50]
[PART IV.] HOW TO USE IT.
The complete process of “flushing the colon” explained, stepby step, so that even a child might understand it. Objectionsanswered. Advice to users of the treatment	[71]
[PART V.] PRACTICAL HYGIENE.
Longevity man’s natural heritage. The care of the body—absolutecleanliness rare. The function of water in thehuman organism. Hot water the natural scavenger. Thebath. Description of the skin, and its function. Hintson bathing. The wet sheet pack. Importance of freshair. Interchange of gases in the lungs. Ventilation.Prof. Willard Parker on impure air. The function ofthe heart. The therapeutic value of sunlight	[86]
[PART VI.] EXERCISE.
Motion is life. Effect of exercise on the fluids of the body.How the tissues are nourished. Exercise for invalids.Complete system of breathing exercises for developingthe lungs. Improved system of physical exercises, callinginto play every muscle of the body—ensuring harmoniousdevelopment. Special nerve exercise. How tostand and how to walk. All the above exercises plainlyillustrated	[108]
[PART VII.] THE DIET QUESTION.
The replacement of waste. Appetite and hunger. The evilsof gluttony. Vegetarianism versus flesh eating. Diet,a question of latitude. The cause of old age. Cretinism.Danger of earthy matters in food substances.Fruits are ideal foods. The true value of bread. Classificationof the ingredients of food substances. Table ofproportions. Table of digestive values. Vegetarianismdiscussed. A mixed diet the most reasonable. How toeat. Liquids at meals. When to eat. The no-breakfastplan. The effects of alcohol, tea and coffee. Improperhabits of eating. The influence of mind upon digestion.The advantages of regularity. Nature’s bookkeeping	[124]
[PART VIII.] TREATMENT OF DISEASE.
Complete formulas of treatment (with dietary rules) forover fifty different diseases, including Consumption, Appendicitis,Locomotor Ataxia, Paralysis, Dyspepsia, Pneumonia,Diabetes Mellitus, Uterine troubles, etc. Also allthe principal ailments of children	[158]
[PART IX.] SOME HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS.
Disease is the result of the operation of natural law—don’tdread it. Don’t treat symptoms; treat the fundamentalcause. Pain is Nature’s danger signal. Prevention isbetter than cure. The elements of prevention. Importanceof a knowledge of physiology. The body, thevehicle of expression for the mind. The strenuous life.Tear worse than wear. The importance of reserve energy.The effect of the mind on the body. The humanbody as a bank. The importance of a daily balance.Cultivate cheerfulness. The habit of happiness. Thefolly of squandering health. Medicine and surgery compared.What children should be taught. The final word	[214]
[MASSAGE, SHEET-PACKS, ETC.]
Instructions for massage. How to use the stomach bath bythree different methods. How to improvise the TurkishBath in your own home, without apparatus. How touse the wet-sheet pack. How to care for the “Cascade”	[209]