The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1916-08-24
RADIANT ENERGY AND DISEASE


So tenaciously do the legends of our
forefathers cling TO US that even yet
it is the common belief that all our
Ills are Of external origin, the result
of some malignant power which takes
Possession Of us by capture and can
be overcome only By the Introduction
into our bodies Of the appropriate an
tagonist in quantity sufficient TO neu-
traliZe and beat doVe the unhealthful
conditions. Every discovery seems TO
prove that the truth IS always simple.
but because our powers of observation
are poorly trained and our knowledge
OF the universe is very slight we 90
laundering along. ever seeking some
miracle for the relief Of our MS blind
20 the fact that health is simply mat
[ ter Of being ia accord with the balance
Of the universe. The truth Of this is
( proved by the fact that in the hnaI
analysis an our diseases are found to
/ originate in some deficiency. because
+ we ignore some simple natural re-
I quirement which breaks the normal
continuity OF the vital chain binding
every living unit into nicely balanced
/ reciprocatiug machine.
The scientific world has come to
4 believe that the primary sources of
natural energy by virtue Of which the
/ universe keeps going over immense
periods OF time are TO be found not in
/ the great masses OF glowing matter
dotting the heavens. nor III any of the
I relations between energy and matter
I in bulk. but in the reactions between
the individual atoms out of which
bulk is made up" Just So too. our
health, happiness and efficiency are
the direct products of the natural OPP
Grafton OF the individual cells OF which
We are composed And anything
which disturbs the natural relations
between these minute individuals is
certain to result in some form of vari-
ation which we usually call i'll health.
We have noted that variations in
plant growth take place under differ
ent colorcd lights because plants have
I the inherited capacity to develop nor
maliy only under white light But
there has been very little research
| work done along these lines for the
| purpose OF determining why these
variations occur. Probably the most
| significant facts in this connection are
TO be found in the discoveries Of Or.
J. r Green. who in 1897 showed that
light had an appreciable effect on the
formation and action OF the engines
I'm plants and that the red and blue
rays favored the formation OF the
engines. while the green the indigo
and the violet. and especially the ultra
violet rays destroyed them. lie also
made the striking suggestion that
vegetable structures have power Of
absorbing radiant energy which is not
connected with the presence and activ-
ity OF chlorouhyH."
The very recent discoveries Of Nine
Henri and others as TO the effects Of
light RAYS ON INTERPRETATIONS are
steps along this line which promise
much relief 10 suffering humanity by
emphasizing the elects on light rays
on life ia general
We know tuberculosis to be essenti-
ally a deficiency disease. the ultimate
result OF insufficient food and air and
!. light The only known successful
method of controlling the disease con
|. sists in supplying the missing factors
By simple substantial diet and living
out OF doors. Prevention. nc. cure, is
the modern weapon against this
scourge. and prevention consists in
sufficient food. air and light
. II al living things are subject TO the
same laws then it would be reasonable
to infer that Doctor Greene hint that
vegetable structures have power Of
absorbing radiant energy which is not
connected with the presence nd activ-
ity OF chlorophyll" may have ? parallel
IL the human body, and perhaps we,
, too. may have a power of absorbing
radiant energy not connected with the
presence and activity of hemolglobin,
our oxygen carrying substance anal
. ogous to chlorophyll in the plant.
. A method of treatment by means Of
! prolonged exposure of the naked body
to solar rays has been found particu-
!. larly helpful for tuberculosis of the
/ bones, joints and ganglia. The new
treatment is called heliotherapy and
/. has been found not only particularly
J helpful in tubercular diseases, but has
also met with marked success in other
diseases.
In a general sense the healing vir-
! tues of sunlight have been recognized
from the dawn of human history and
are embodied in a thousand myths and
legends, but the facts have been stead
lastly ignored. while the whole world
has sought for the fountain of youth.
!. II has remained for our own genera
ton to discover that direct sunlight is
not merely beneficial in stimulating
the general health and raising the
tone of mind and body, but that. as
!; we shall later see, it possesses a
| therapeutic value in certain ailments
which borders on the marvellous and
forces US more and more to recognize
that disease is the result OF social and
economic conditions.