Health Programme

This Health Programme has been developed by the Herbal Clinic, Swansea, as a guide towards the attainment of an ideal lifestyle and good health.  Revised and updated since 1977, it reflects an accumulation of various ancient traditions, intending to develop and sustain an individuals optimum constitution.

For too long we have referred every symptom of our careless way of life to the doctor, expecting a miracle cure without taking any responsibility for our own actions.  ‘The doctor will fix it’ doesn’t hold.  Even practitioners of natural forms of medicine, cannot help a patient without the patient helping him or herself by taking full responsibility for the necessary lifestyle changes.  It is time to realise that there are no ‘chemical or miracle cures’, only temporary suppression of irksome symptoms that will eventually lead to chronic, often incurable, dis-ease.

We are constantly reminded that we live longer.  A more correct term would be ‘survive’ on massive amounts of medication, assistance of the different services and artificial aids.  Embroiled in the stresses created by ill health, it is often a matter of ‘somehow getting through the day’.  Whilst few have their own sight, hearing or even teeth, how many wake up each morning with a sense of joy, energised by a good night’s sleep and take up the day efficiently with enthusiasm and laughter?

We live in a culture of blame, of shedding our responsibilities. This Programme has been written with the aim of accepting ownership for our own health.  If we don’t, nobody else will and the consequence is pain, depression, low spirits, no energy, i.e. poor quality of life.  It is like dragging one’s feet through life, existing instead of living, hoping that it will get better tomorrow, that a ‘cure’ will be found; while carrying on with the very actions that have caused the symptoms in the first place.

In days before rapid forms of transport, our needs were met by consuming locally prepared food.  Fruits, vegetables and meats were obtained from the neighbourhood and only when seasonal.  The all-year accessibility of almost any food has resulted in confusing our bodies.  Sadly, most of us no longer know what is in season.  We can buy strawberries at Christmas and oranges all the year round, giving little thought to the way the body may digest these.

Nature is subtle and knows best.  There is no need for great scientific data to understand that citrus fruit, which grows in tropical or subtropical climates, is a refrigerant (cooling the body) and unsuitable to the cold temperatures of rainy Britain.  In addition, these fruits are picked well before they are ripe and due to the considerable time that elapses before they are consumed, they have little, if any, nutritional value.

Not only changing the content of what we eat and drink is a prerequisite for better health, but also how and when. Frequent colds or digestive problems suggest the need to review our lifestyle and make necessary alterations.

Most of the advice in this programme is no more than common sense; however, due to our busy lives and reliance on fast or junk foods, we are ingesting an increasing amount of inorganic materials into our already overloaded systems.  We have lost the ability to recognise what our bodies require to obtain the nutrition needed to function correctly.

Following the first consultation, this programme is tailored to suit the needs of our patients and subsequently revisited where necessary.