Promoting health through happiness is an interesting pursuit. The poet Conrad Ferdinand Meyer thought deeply about this subject and concluded that a heavy heart is not cured by unrestrained hilarity but responds very quickly to even a little happiness. Was he really right? Can life’s problems be sorted out by just a little happiness, even though our everyday demands, worries and sufferings continuously erode our energies?

Imagine a beautiful peach tree espaliered against the wall of your house. Each spring it blossoms anew and a few months later it brings forth delicious fruit. Why should we think it could be otherwise? Yet suddenly the unexpected happens. The peach tree flowers as usual, but just as the flowers open they fall to the ground. The bark of the tree dries up and the tree dies. What has happened? The tree was the pride of the household; its healthy growth, its beautiful blossoms and delicious fruit were the talk of the neighbourhood. How could this tree die so quickly and unexpectedly? What malicious enemy could have attacked it? You ask yourself all these questions but you can only find the answers by digging up the tree. It is then that you discover the cause: field mice have eaten the roots and so killed the beautiful tree.

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If you want to move house, you should check the location you have chosen from the standpoint of bioclimatology; of course you will also wish to see whether the area is suitable, that is, whether you actually like it and it suits you. For this reason it would be useful if you could live in the selected area for a while before finally deciding to build or buy a property there. In accordance with our constitution and sensitivity, various circumstances can be significant, for example atmospheric humidity, elevation, and whether the area is known for the fohn or any other influential winds. You should also take into account whether you feel the cold or the heat, your preference as regards food and exercise or movement, or whatever type you are. In view of the different idiosyncracies and natures we have inherited and from which we cannot escape, it is by no means of little importance where and under what conditions we live. The various members of a family often differ in their needs and preferences, in which case it would be advisable to be guided by the more sensitive ones, choosing your site to suit them.

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In Switzerland very few plants contain iodine. Iceland moss, lung moss, reindeer moss, larch moss (Usnea) and carrageen (also called Irish moss) are some of the plants that do contain vitamin A and a reasonable amount of iodine, as has been proved by the pharmacologist Professor Gessner. In Switzerland there are thirty-eight different varieties of these mosses, which are described in botanic terms as lichens. Professor Gessner reports that these additionally contain antibiotic substances with a strong tuberculostatic effect. Some of these lichens are used in Usneasan drops and Usneasan Cough Lozenges. Genuine eelgrass (Zostera marina) and thrift [Armeria maritima), which can be found on the shores of the North and Baltic Seas, contain iodine, fluoride and bromide, three essential trace elements. Small amounts of iodine are also found in watercress.

All seaweeds contain iodine, the amount varying according to the kind and where it grows. The species known as bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) grows to a size of 5 cm (2 inches) wide and 1 metre (3 feet) long. Its iodine content varies between 0.03 and 0.1 per cent, and it is used to treat obesity, struma and scrofula. However, it is unsafe for some people to take large amounts of this seaweed, especially those with a sensitive thyroid.

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Girls and women who become obese because of ovarian insufficiency should take herbal sitz baths and eat plenty of wheat germ, as this will stimulate the ovaries, increase the metabolic rate of the body and so dispose of undesirable fat. In addition, they should take the seaweed preparation Kelpasan for even faster results.

Lack of vigour and stamina, tiredness because of overwork and neurasthenic conditions call for foods rich in vitamin E, which have a better effect than all expensive medicines if taken over a period of time. Anyone suffering from impotence should not give up hope, but take a long-term course of wheat germ or wheat germ oil capsules and, at the same time, Kuhne treatments, which will certainly help, if not cure the problem completely. In addition to wheat germ, other sources of vitamin E are lettuce, watercress and soybeans. So make sure to eat enough of these natural products if you suffer from any of the above-mentioned conditions. Moreover, it is interesting to note that experiments on vitamin E have shown that no side effects have resulted if too much of the vitamin is taken.

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It was many decades ago (in 1922) when the American scientist Herbert McLean Evans discovered vitamin E. Since then it has been proved that there is no better natural remedy for sterility and infertility. Many a woman could have saved herself great heartache if she had known about vitamin E. Not only does this vitamin prevent miscarriage, but it also promotes the healthy, normal development of the foetus, ensuring a normal pregnancy without complications.

However, vitamin E is not only important for women; men too depend upon an adequate supply of it for the normal functioning of the sex glands. In turn, vitality, pleasure in work and stamina are dependent upon the efficiency of these glands.

Vitamin E influences the development and function of the smooth and striped muscles, being able to prevent muscle degeneration. This is of great importance for the cardiac muscles. In fact, vitamin E, together with natural heart remedies such as Crataegisan and Auroforce, has proved most effective as a tonic for weak heart muscles. It can be added that a vitamin E deficiency is very bad for the nerves too.

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