The Ministry of Healing
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 20: General Hygiene
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Blood flow diagram of the human heart. Blue components indicate de-oxygenated blood pathways and red components indicate oxygenated pathways.
Illustration —
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The knowledge that man is to be a temple for God, a
habitation for the revealing of His glory, should be the highest incentive to
the care and development of our physical powers. Fearfully and wonderfully has
the Creator wrought in the human frame, and He bids us make it our study,
understand its needs, and act our part in preserving it from harm and
defilement. {MH 271.1}
The Circulation of the Blood
In order to have good health, we must have good blood; for
the blood is the current of life. It repairs waste and nourishes the body. When
supplied with the proper food elements and when cleansed and vitalized by
contact with pure air, it carries life and vigor to every part of the system.
The more perfect the circulation, the better will this work be accomplished. {MH 271.2}
At every pulsation of the heart the blood should make its
way quickly and easily to all parts of the body. Its circulation should not be
hindered by tight clothing or bands, or by insufficient clothing of the
extremities. Whatever hinders the circulation forces the blood back to the
vital organs, producing [272] congestion. Headache, cough,
palpitation of the heart, or indigestion is often the result. {MH 271.3}
Respiration
In order to have good blood, we must breathe well. Full,
deep inspirations of pure air, which fill the lungs with oxygen, purify the
blood. They impart to it a bright color and send it, a life-giving current, to
every part of the body. A good respiration soothes the nerves; it stimulates
the appetite and renders digestion more perfect; and it induces sound,
refreshing sleep. {MH
272.1}
The lungs should be allowed the greatest freedom possible.
Their capacity is developed by free action; it diminishes if they are cramped
and compressed. Hence the ill effects of the practice so common, especially in
sedentary pursuits, of stooping [273] at one's work. In this position
it is impossible to breathe deeply. Superficial breathing soon becomes a habit,
and the lungs lose their power to expand. A similar effect is produced by tight
lacing. Sufficient room is not given to the lower part of the chest; the
abdominal muscles, which were designed to aid in breathing, do not have full
play, and the lungs are restricted in their action. {MH 272.2}
Thus an insufficient supply of oxygen is received. The blood
moves sluggishly. The waste, poisonous matter, which should be thrown off in
the exhalations from the lungs, is retained, and the blood becomes impure. Not
only the lungs, but the stomach, liver, and brain are affected. The skin
becomes sallow, digestion is retarded; the heart is depressed; the brain is
clouded; the thoughts are confused; gloom settles upon the spirits; the whole
system becomes depressed and inactive, and peculiarly susceptible to disease. [274]
{MH 273.1}
The lungs are constantly throwing off impurities, and they
need to be constantly supplied with fresh air. Impure air does not afford the
necessary supply of oxygen, and the blood passes to the brain and other organs
without being vitalized. Hence the necessity of thorough ventilation. To live
in close, ill-ventilated rooms, where the air is dead and vitiated, weakens the
entire system. It becomes peculiarly sensitive to the influence of cold, and a
slight exposure induces disease. It is close confinement indoors that makes
many women pale and feeble. They breathe the same air over and over until it
becomes laden with poisonous matter thrown off through the lungs and pores, and
impurities are thus conveyed back to the blood. {MH 274.1}
Ventilation and Sunlight
In the construction of buildings, whether for public
purposes or as dwellings, care should be taken to provide for good ventilation
and plenty of sunlight. Churches and schoolrooms are often faulty in this
respect. Neglect of proper ventilation is responsible for much of the drowsiness
and dullness that destroy the effect of many a sermon and make the teacher's
work toilsome and ineffective. {MH 274.2}
So far as possible, all buildings intended for human
habitation should be placed on high, well-drained ground. This will ensure a
dry site and prevent the danger of disease from dampness and miasma. This
matter is often too lightly regarded. Continuous ill-health, serious diseases,
and many deaths result from the dampness and malaria of low-lying, ill-drained
situations. {MH 274.3}
In the building of houses it is especially important to
secure thorough ventilation and plenty of sunlight. Let there be a current of
air and an abundance of light in every room in the house. Sleeping rooms should
be so arranged as to have a [275] free circulation of air day and
night. No room is fit to be occupied as a sleeping room unless it can be thrown
open daily to the air and sunshine. In most countries bedrooms need to be
supplied with conveniences for heating, that they may be thoroughly warmed and
dried in cold or wet weather. {MH 274.4}
The guestchamber should have equal care with the rooms
intended for constant use. Like the other bedrooms, it should have air and
sunshine, and should be provided with some means of heating, to dry out the
dampness that always accumulates in a room not in constant use. Whoever sleeps
in a sunless room, or occupies a bed that has not been thoroughly dried and
aired, does so at the risk of health, and often of life. {MH 275.1}
In building, many make careful provision for their plants
and flowers. The greenhouse or window devoted to their use is warm and sunny;
for without warmth, air, and sunshine, plants would not live and flourish. If
these conditions are necessary to the life of plants, how much more necessary
are they for our own health and that of our families and guests! {MH 275.2}
If we would have our homes the abiding place of health and
happiness we must place them above the miasma and fog of the lowlands, and give
free entrance to heaven's life-giving agencies. Dispense with heavy curtains,
open the windows and the blinds, allow no vines, however beautiful, to shade
the windows, and permit no trees to stand so near the house as to shut out the
sunshine. The sunlight may fade the drapery and the carpets, and tarnish the
picture frames; but it will bring a healthy glow to the cheeks of the children.
{MH 275.3}
Those who have the aged to provide for should remember that
these especially need warm, comfortable rooms. Vigor declines as years advance,
leaving less vitality with which to resist unhealthful influences; hence the
greater necessity for the aged to have plenty of sunlight, and fresh, pure air.
[276]
{MH 275.4}
Scrupulous cleanliness is essential to both physical and
mental health. Impurities are constantly thrown off from the body through the
skin. Its millions of pores are quickly clogged unless kept clean by frequent
bathing, and the impurities which should pass off through the skin become an
additional burden to the other eliminating organs. {MH 276.1}
Most persons would receive benefit from a cool or tepid bath
every day, morning or evening. Instead of increasing the liability to take
cold, a bath, properly taken, fortifies against cold, because it improves the
circulation; the blood is brought to the surface, and a more easy and regular
flow is obtained. The mind and the body are alike invigorated. The muscles
become more flexible, the intellect is made brighter. The bath is a soother of
the nerves. Bathing helps the bowels, the stomach, and the liver, giving health
and energy to each, and it promotes digestion. {MH 276.2}
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It is important also that the clothing be kept clean. The
garments worn absorb the waste matter that passes off through the pores; if
they are not frequently changed and washed, the impurities will be reabsorbed. {MH 276.3}
Every form of uncleanliness tends to disease.
Death-producing germs abound in dark, neglected corners, in decaying refuse, in
dampness and mold and must. No waste vegetables or heaps of fallen leaves
should be allowed to remain near the house to decay and poison the air. Nothing
unclean or decaying should be tolerated within the home. In towns or cities
regarded perfectly healthful, many an epidemic of fever has been traced to
decaying matter about the dwelling of some careless householder. {MH 276.4}
Perfect cleanliness, plenty of sunlight, careful attention
to sanitation in every detail of the home life, are essential to freedom from
disease and to the cheerfulness and vigor of the inmates of the home. {MH 276.5}
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"Hygiene Among the Israelites"
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