Anämie Anhängsel

ZEIT ONLINE

wissen

Stimmt’s? Nagel im Apfel

Kann man den Eisengehalt im Blut steigern, indem man Äpfel isst, in denen zuvor rostige Nägel gesteckt haben? Nina Malaka, Bensheim

Ganz abwegig ist dieses alte Hausmittel nicht, sagt Hans-Heinrich Jörgensen, ein Ernährungsberater, der sich mit Spurenelementen auskennt. Es geht allerdings nicht um rostige Nägel –

Rost ist oxidiertes Eisen. Die braunen Flecken, die sich im nagelgespickten Apfel bilden, bestehen aus Eisenmalat, einem zweiwertigen Salz. In dieser Form wird das Eisen vom Körper gut aufgenommen, besonders im Zusammenwirken mit Vitamin C. Just solche Eisenverbindungen sind auch in den Präparaten enthalten, die man als Nahrungsergänzungsmittel kaufen kann.

Die Eisenmenge, die man sich so zuführt, lässt sich jedoch kaum kontrollieren, deshalb raten die Fachleute von dieser Art der Selbsttherapie ab. Denn in zu hoher Dosierung sind die lebenswichtigen Metalle durchaus schädlich. Das beste Mittel gegen Eisenmangel ist eine ausgewogene Ernährung, betont Sven-David Müller von der Gesellschaft für Ernährungsmedizin und Diätetik. Die am besten verwertbaren Eisenverbindungen stecken im Fleisch. Vegetarier decken ihren Eisenbedarf durch Pilze und Vollkornprodukte.

Wer die Apfel-Nagel-Therapie unbedingt ausprobieren will, für den hat Hans-Heinrich Jörgensen einen wichtigen Tipp: »Die Nägel vorher herausziehen!« Christoph Drösser

‡ Folgendes hat anthroposofische Einschlüße ‡

Frei nach: Bernhard Woehrmann and Barbara Denjean-von Stryk

"Why does the blood need iron?" asked R.S. calling it a "key question for medical science as a whole“. He answered by explaining that blood "is sick by nature and constantly needs to be healed by iron“.

R.S. found words that can help us think about this subject. He described how human blood: "...not at all in the materialistic manner envisaged by scientists today, is shot through and filled with processes brought into it by iron through the stimulus received from the world of soul and spirit. The processes that take place in every single blood corpuscle when the iron compound comes in are the same, on a minute human scale, as the processes set in motion by a meteor as it flashes glowing through the air“.

Mars-iron and Sun-iron

Iron has a dual character owing to the fact that

1. "Mars" iron [= the substance that has contributed to the formation of the Earth since the time when Mars passed through the Earth (middle period of Lemuria)]. The Earth's crust, for example, contains 4,7% iron, which amounts to about 47 kg per ton of Earth matter. There are large iron deposits in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. Typical of this middle region of the Earth are the ever-changing seasons and weather resembling a breathing function.

2. Meteteoric iron falls to Earth in the form of the "iron rain" of meteors thrown off by the Sun. The daily amount of meteoric substance is estimated at 10.000 tons. This must mean that the air we breathe is permanently filled with very fine meteoric dust. There is thus a clear distinction between the sources of the two kinds of iron and their different qualities.

Iron in evolution

1a. It contributed to the transition from the green pigment in leaves to the red pigment in blood, thereby making possible a development from the sleeping, unconscious nature of the plant to the human consciousness of self.

2a. Iron formed out the lungs and so made possible the step from gill breathing to lung breathing.

Because of its special capacity to absorb and give off oxygen (Wilhelm Pelikan: the "breather" among planetary metals) iron is capable of combining with the heavy metals, some of which are very toxic, as well as with other poisonous substances, thus taking on an important detoxifying function in nature and in the human being.

Iron in the human being

The human body contains 5 g iron. Current physiological opinion has it that all of this is absorbed from food via the digestive tract. In the appendix to Anton Degenaar's reports of his conversations with R.S. he quotes Steiner as saying that humans absorb the "iron they essentially need" from the air by breathing and also through the senses via the eyes and ears and the skin. We mustn't lose sight of this important fact. Obviously the reference is to the iron ever-present in the air in the form of fine meteoric dust. So now we can distinguish between nutritional iron (Earthly or Mars iron), and respiratory iron (cosmic, meteoric or Sim iron). Two vitally important substances (meteoric iron and O) are absorbed via the lungs through breathing. The manner in which they are absorbed into the body demonstrates the difference between the two forms of iron. In connection with iron metabolism in humans we shall here merely remind readers of the important role played by hemoglobin in absorbing oxygen via the lungs and distributing it throughout the body. In addition, the blood corpuscles containing iron provide a "buoyancy" which enables human beings to overcome the heaviness of the body. It is not very far-fetched to link this with depressive conditions in which heaviness wins the upper hand over lightness and in which there is often an underlying disorder of the iron process in the general direction of anemia.

Iron as the original healing principle

Iron forms out the lungs and the larynx and makes possible intermediary respiration by means of oxygen absorption and transport; it gives buoyancy to the red blood corpuscles and is the prerequisite for the independent initiative to stand upright as well as for the free will that comes to expression in speech. It detoxifies and thus overcomes the sickness of the blood by sending healing, health-giving principles down from the rhythmic system into the pathological actions of the metabolism.

The close relationship between iron process and speech process

In view of the great affinity between speech and iron, is it possible to talk of speech having an effect on iron processes? This question challenges us to examine the therapeutic qualities of consciously-formed speech. Speech formation has a harmonizing and deepening effect on respiration, which leads to increased oxygen intake. We only have to observe how by hearing speech little children are stimulated to bring themselves into an upright position and how good articulation helps them mold their internal organs. Another sign of the link between blood and breathing processes on the one hand and iron processes on the other is the increase in iron content that occurs at age 9 and again at age 14. The way is smoothed for the child's readiness for life on Earth by the descending respiratory curve and the ascending pulse curve in the 9th year, a process that leads to dominance of the blood pole in the 14th year. The curriculum of the Waldorf school uses speech, in particular alliteration and hexameter, to help the children "breathe themselves down" into earthly maturity.

It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that therapeutic speech formation can be used to activate and bring in the ego, and this means that speech formation has a clear inner kinship with iron, the incarnation metal. It works and radiates in the same direction as iron - from above downwards. In strongly-formed speech, spirit and soul give expression to the power of iron, and each presupposes the other. Powerful speech requires a healthy iron process; and, conversely, by helping spirit and soul to radiate right down into bodily iron processes, speech formation can provide an impetus for healing by uniting the power of Mars iron with the substance of cosmic iron.

Looking up to Mars we can say that it is Mars who creates in us the influences which enable us to utilize iron. Mars must exist so that we shall have the power to make use of iron. Iron must exist so that we can apply this power of free will. Mars provides us with the power of iron, substance of iron.

This important differentiation should also be taken into account far more thoroughly by doctors giving medical treatment:

Mars is the body in the cosmos that helps us make appropriate use of the iron that meteors and comets send down to us.

In the power of Michaelic speech we rediscover the iron of the sword, melted down and transformed. This is the other iron process, the one belonging to spirit and soul that arises out of the union of Mars iron with Sun iron.

Iron deficiency anemia

Basic iron deficiency anemia (disregarding anemia resulting from hemorrhage) is almost exclusive to women. With the onset of puberty the hemoglobin level of women is about 1.5 g below that for men, and this cannot be explained solely on the basis of menstruation. These facts constitute one of the many differences between the male and female constitution. Iron helps men incarnate more deeply and become more Earthbound whereas women retain more of their original cosmic nature. They find it more difficult to master iron and absorb it. Some women feel very well when they lack a certain amount of iron because this suits their nature. Iron brings about a better connection between higher principles and bodily nature, which is why it is termed the incarnation metal.

All symptoms and signs of iron deficiency anemia indicate that the body has not been properly taken hold of (tiredness/increased desire for sleep/general dullness/lack of energy and initiative/lack of concentration/increased need for warmth/noticeable hoarse/depressed mood + by lack of drive or initiative/weakness of will/pallor/metabolic weakness).

A particular cause of chlorosis in young girls/also of other iron deficiency symptoms, lies in the difficulty of "bringing together" Mars and Mercury in the right way in the stomach (as R.S. put it). The chlorine in the hydrochloric acid of the stomach must be prepared to "accept," = absorb, the iron. The Sun stands between Mars and Mercury, and the Sun powers have to be strengthened so that Mercury and Mars may unite and iron can be absorbed.

Speech therapy for iron deficiency

We have seen that iron and speech processes have the same physical basis = respiration and blood circulation. R.S. described the speech process as originating in the "astral body modified by the ego“. Iron is stimulated by spirit and soul powers to radiate into human blood. The stimulus for both processes comes from the higher principles of the human being, and each presupposes the other. They help the being to stand upright and form out the body and make a person capable of EXpressing free will. To demonstrate how a disturbed iron process can be countered by increased speech activity we shall explain how voice, breathing and articulation work together in human speech.

Stimulated by the will to speak, the voice (bearer of the individual soul mood) rises up and takes hold of the formative powers of speech sounds. In the breath two combine to shape speech that moves and lives freely in the air. If the direction from below upwards predominates (from metabolism via the pulse to respiration) then the resulting speech will be a musical recitation. But if the respiration affects the blood (if a declamatory molding works from above downwards to give form to the speech process) we follow the direction of the iron processes in our speaking:

Declamation is tied to the process that links up with the element in the life of the soul. The breath impinges on the whole of the metabolic process which in the blood circulation in turn impinges on the pulse. In this procedure going/from above downwards there is a pressing down into our will element that is predominantly bound up with exhalation..

These processes can be consciously applied in speech therapy. Before beginning to work with speech from above downwards we have to leam to experience, even when we breathe in, how speech takes hold of us and lifts us up. This can be made clear by an initial exercise in which gravity is overcome by raising and lowering first the heels and later on also the arms. The direction of the will from above downwards is emphasized by the sequence: raise the heels, raise the arms, speak - let the arms fall, let the heels go down, speak. Even a simple exercise: "High and low/high and low/rolls the wave/splish and splash" practiced in this way causes the first changes in our breathing. When we walk to a text there is an even stronger experience of extricating ourselves from gravity and finding ourselves on a new level. Speaking is never a matter of marking time, let alone of stepping backwards. Having learnt to rise up to the level of speech we can then begin to use the articulation exercises to shape the exhaled breath from above downwards. Step by step the words, monosyllabic at first, are articulated, whereby every sound must be given its inherent shape: "Dust aids dim/docks do darken this lobby“. The vowel sequence Ah Eh I( = ee) 0 U unfolding in the front part of the mouth stimulates a lively and relaxing force in the breath stream. The consonants N and M in the 2nd articulation exercise "No knock knees on nimbly moving mules“. Free the voice of a nasal sound or a head resonance that can indicate misdirected metabolic processes in the head in an anemic person. The vowels I(ee) and U strengthen the outward direction. With this exercise the step-by-step articulation of the previous one is transformed into flowing forms. In the next two exercises ("Rarely are merries, riddles move ready" and "richly relish/rumored ruses/reason wrestles /reckless rolling/ royally rousing“). the R encourages the breathing processes to be as agile as a gymnast. In the very clearly formed final articulation exercise "Proudly propping/battle boldly/pampered puppet/bobbing bounces/puffing powder/briskly banter" the consonants P and B strengthen the lips and thus bring in the ego more strongly. With all these exercises the speech must be prevented either from sinking back into the body or getting stuck in the head.

Psychological experiences can support these processes. A tentative question rises up, a firm answer points downwards. For example: What? That!/Where? There! The Wh and Th sounds give clarity to the speech gesture.

R.S. divided the vowels into two groups, the blood and the nerve vowels.

In the exercise dialogue: "I grant you, I did offend him" the blood aspect comes to life in the Ah, 0 and U. Then the nerve aspect counters with the I(ee) and Eh in: "Learn to make the best of life the way it is“. This is a very helpful exercise for the anemic patient who lacks a force with which to counter the toxicity that rises up from below in the organism. It is important not to let the "light" of the nerve vowels be used up in the nervous system but to take it far enough to enable it to give form to the "darkness" of the blood. This can only be done if speech is fully formed on the expiration. These processes can be intensified by the swing of throwing. The ball is thrown up (breathing in and lifting up), and as it falls we accompany its fall (breathing out and going down) by speaking "Golden ball, flee..“. (Goldkugel, fliege, doss ich dich kriege). This is a good preparation for the declamatory breathing exercise "Fulfillment grows/through hoping/grows through longing/through willing/willing weaves/in wavering/weaves in quavering/weaves quavers/weaving binding/in finding/finding winding/kindling", which is an exercise that is very good for strengthening the constitution of the anemic patient. In this exercise the downward breath stream is formed. Steiner said of this exercise: "Become aware of your expiration“. In order to become conscious of expiration in the etheric realm means, however, that the higher and the lower principles of me human being have to come together, and this in itself is a process of incarnation. When exhalation is strengthened inhalation is deepened. There are various exercises and texts mat can underpin working in this way from above downwards.

One of the few exercises R.S. gave to an individual patient called for the speaker to pause for a moment after breathing out. This draws down the upper principles as though into a vacuum and has a profoundly incarnating effect visible even in a reddening of the face. The patient breathes out completely while speaking the sentence: "I breathe the power of life" (Ich atme Kraft des Lebens). Then comes the pause when breathing out is complete before the speaking continues: "in air the breath dissolves" (In Luft verhaucht der Hauch).

Throughout all the exercises patients must have a sense of giving themselves shape and form by working on their breathing processes. Some poems have an important part to play in this therapy. The healing process is given warmth and life by the image of the hammer blow coming down from above (in the Iron Rune of the Kalevala or the Song of Thrym in me Edda).

Speech formation can thus be applied specifically to strengthen uprightness, overcome gravity, deepen breathing and stimulate the circulation. This amounts to a strengthening of the iron processes by the activity of spirit and soul. R.S. spoke of an unparalleled healing process taking place naturally in the iron process in human blood. This can be consciously imitated and strengthened through speech, but only by including the mediating, healing power of the breath "through which we take into ourselves the substance of the cosmos".

Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum