IN the two last issues of “HEAL THYSELF” I endeavoured to deal with the above subject chiefly from the standpoint of the athlete, the wonderful performances accomplished and records broken by “the few” vegetarians against “the many” that may be described as “the rest”.
In view of the few in number of vegetarian athletes compared with the numerous flesh-eating competitors, it does not require a logician to see that for such facts there must be definite reason. If there are any other reasons that can be adduced, apart from the superiority of a vegetarian diet for such strenuous sport, I should like to hear of them from any reader of “HEAL THYSELF”.
I will mention a few other examples of what has been accomplished on a non-flesh diet. The first shall be on Walking, as no examples were given of such feats in my last article.
“J. P. Fox walked 70 3/4 miles in the Middlesex 12-hours open path-race in 1910, and in 1909 H. Swabey walked 114 3/4 hours. S. Norwood, when 66 years of age, walked 100 miles in 24 hours on a London track. Karl Mann, in 1902, won the International Walking Race from Dresden to Berlin (201 kilometers) in 26 hrs. 58 mins., Amateur Worlds Record being beaten at 50 kilometers (4 hrs. 58 mins.). The first six arrivals in that race were all vegetarians.
CYCLING. Says Mr. C. F. Davey, the present respected Captain of the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletic Club: “One of the greatest triumphs was in 1930-31-32, in which three years in succession the Team Shield in the Best-All-Rounder competition, organized by Cycling, and open to all the clubs in the kingdom, was secured. There is not much fluke about that ! And, but for an unfortunate error in measurements in one of the open races last year, we should have won again for the fourth time.
Accidents to some of our riders spoilt our chances in 1933.” Mr. Davey is not without authority when he speaks of the wonderful accomplishments performed on racing tracks by vegetarian cyclists. Pages could be written of the victories won by himself. In 1912 he was chosen to ride for England in the Olympic Games at Stockholm; in all there were three vegetarians in the English team, one on the Irish and two in the Scotch.
There were also other vegetarians taking part in the Games. In 1923 Mr. Davey secured the “Lands End to London” record (twice), the “London-to-Bath-and-back”, the “24- hour record” and in 1926, at the age of forty, finished his competitive career by securing the “London-to-Portsmouth-and- back” record.
Last month I made a slip in finishing my article by stating that “In the May issue I hoped to deal with the subject of Vegetarianism and Fitness from quite a different angle”. It should, of course, have read “JUNE”.
After having for more than forty years abstained from Fish, Flesh and Fowl, and more and more from the products of the animal kingdom, such as eggs, milk, butter and cheese, I unhesitatingly state that the longer I live the fitter I become, and the more I enjoy perfect health.
The inherited tendencies that caused three doctors to refuse my application for life insurance at the age of twenty have since become less and less year by year, until now in my seventieth year they have practically ceased to be, and I feel like being insulted when asked “How are you?” The question very often has a redeeming feature when the words are added: “You look very well, have you just returned from your holidays?”.
When one spends the larger portion of every twenty-four hours at work– year in, year out — it is very easy to be less fit than one should be. It is very important with all such that they remember their duty to themselves, those near and dear to them and those with whom they come in contact, is to always appear fit, otherwise they will be poor advertisement for the cause they represent. After all, what is there worth striving for greater than perfect health? With this, eating, drinking and all the pleasures of life are greatly enhanced.
Take for example, the question of the “common cold”. There are many vegetarians who have not had a cold for many years. A fit of sneezing overnight, with no sign of a cold in the morning, is the nearest approach they get to a cold, while many meat-eaters not only “catch colds” but are always expecting so to do. Another gets into the hands of the doctor through a motor or some other unfortunate accident.
Note the short time his recovery takes compared with that of the meat eater. Enquire into the history of the children in vegetarian families. It will usually be found that they have suffered from none of the “childrens complaints” that meat-eaters expect their children to have as a matter of course. With the children in many such families in the first category, it is as true to say “they are never ill” as it is to day of the others “they are always ailing”.
Again, see the risk there is with the amateur gardener pruning roses, loganberries and the like. He gets dozens of prickles in his hands. If these are not removed festers are likely to follow, and often worse troubles. With these the food reformer troubles nothing. He is certain that whether offending thorns or splinters are removed or not, all will be well. With pure blood the thorn eventually works itself out, or hard skin forms around the offender and it can be removed without difficulty.
Others who have been troubled– off and on– all their lives as far as they remember, with boils, biliousness or sick headaches, have ceased entirely to be so troubled owing to having adopted a vegetarian diet. With the ordinary mixed feeder who is continually taking into his system impurities ready made in the sharp of impure flesh from the carcasses of animals, we are continually being told that he was taken ill with one or another of the hundred different complaints and it turned to “something else” far worse than the first. Why ?
With any disease the system has simply commenced to rid itself of its large accumulation of impurities, and now the Nature has commenced so to do, it is using every possible channel to quicken the process of cleansing. Diseases of any kind, however, cannot exist in the body of a healthy person.
There is nothing for disease to accomplish in the body of person with a pure blood stream. To possess this purity of mind and body both must be fed with pure foods. If this is done pure thoughts and pure blood must follow. Impurities are thus starved out. If the opposite is done, purity of mind and body cannot exist for very long.
We must remember that Nature is the only healer. The nearer we live to Nature and obey Natures laws, the safer we are. We can make mistakes on a non-flesh diet as well as on a meat diet. As an example, if we rob the golden grain of all its laxative elements and then bleach the remainder with chemicals, we must not expect our digestive organs to put up with such, so-called food, for ever.
If we do, it wont. Those who desire to regain lost health and to become fit must first digest their food properly. Without this fitness can no more follow than satisfactory results can follow from a furnace fire fed with cobble stones.
It is useless imagining that one can continue to transgress Natures laws and get put right by taking a wonderful concoction in the shape of a pill. If, on the other hand, one consults, and is willing to take the advice of a man such as the Editor of “HEAL THYSELF”, one can turn ones back on “Ill Health” and look forward to Health and Happiness of both mind and body– the birthright of every human being to be claimed by all those willing to obey Natures Laws.
Henry followed in his father's footsteps, obtaining his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from Durham in 1891. At the age of 27 he arrived in Melbourne in April 1894 aboard the Port Albert. He was registered as a medical practitioner in Victoria on 4 May 1894.
It appears that Dr Cook already believed in homœopathy, possibly because of his father's influence, as in 1895 Dr Cook took the position of Resident Surgeon of the Melbourne Homœopathic Hospital . (This position was previously held by Dr James Cook, unrelated, who resigned in March 1895). He was listed in the 1896 & 1897 editions of the Melbourne Post Office Directory as being Resident Medical Officer at the Melbourne Homœopathic Hospital, but not in the 1898 edition.
In 1901 he moved to Sale in Eastern Victoria, where he ran a practice in York Street. By 1909 his practice was at Wyndham Street, Shepparton.
By 1919 he had moved to 2 Studley Park Road, Kew, where he died on 7 May, 1923.