by Edgar Cayce: Living a longer and better life doesn’t have to be complicated…
Edgar Cayce (1877–1945), known as the “father of holistic medicine,” left us nine simple steps that almost anyone can follow.
If you’ve never heard of Cayce (pronounced Casey), he is the most-documented psychic of the 20th century. For more than 40 years of his adult life, Cayce gave psychic “readings” to thousands of seekers while in an unconscious state, diagnosing illnesses and revealing lives lived in the past and prophecies yet to come. Because the majority of his readings — more than 9,000 of 14,000 — addressed the health of the person seeking help, he left an enormous legacy of holistic health advice.
If you’d like to incorporate Edgar Cayce’s health tips into your preventative wellness plan, there are certain suggestions among the thousands of holistic health readings that were noted to be helpful for all to follow.
Here are nine easy steps that can lead to a life of longevity and good health:
1) Eat lettuce. One of the most recommended vegetables in the health readings, lettuce supplies us with vitamins A, C, and folic acid, plus potassium and iron. Rich in chlorophyll, it helps detoxify our bodies. The deep-green variety (romaine, escarole, curly endive, or leaf lettuce) is preferable to head lettuce (like iceberg), which contains fewer vitamins and minerals.
Plenty of lettuce should always be eaten by most EVERY body; for this supplies an effluvium in the blood stream itself that is a destructive force to MOST of those influences that attack the blood stream. It’s a purifier. — Edgar Cayce (reading 404–6, given in 1936)
2) Spend time outside. Edgar Cayce said, “…when it is practical outside activities are advisable, of course, as for everyone.” — Edgar Cayce (reading 3497–1, given in 1944)
Wherever the body may be more in the open is better. Everyone should stay close to the earth. ( — Edgar Cayce (reading 4007–1, given in 1923)
3) Take time to chew your food. The better we chew our food, the less work for our digestive system to break it down into smaller particles. We also become more aware of our food, enhancing our enjoyment of the meal and increasing its capacity to nourish our bodies.
For each and every body there should be the thorough mastication. For if this is done the activity of the glands in the mouth and the salivary glands is such as to keep the throat and the bronchi in a much healthier condition. Bolting food or swallowing it by the use of liquids produces more colds than ANY ONE activity of a diet! — Edgar Cayce (reading 808–3, given in 1935)
4) Drink plenty of water. To help flush and cleanse the kidneys, the readings frequently suggested drinking six to eight glasses of water daily.
At least two quarts [eight cups] of water should be taken a day by everyone. At a period [one] would drink a glass to three-quarters of a glass, or a tumbler of water. — Edgar Cayce (reading 5619–1, given in 1931)
5) Relax. In a reading for an osteopath, who was trying to conserve his energy, Cayce said: “…there should not be an overtaxing of the body; and there should be periods of relaxation, as there must be in everyone’s experience.” — Edgar Cayce (reading 1334–2, given in 1937)
6) Exercise. Those readings that specifically advised exercise often described the type to be carried out by the individual. The advice mirrors the last phrase of the familiar adage: After breakfast, work a while; after lunch, rest a while; after dinner, walk a mile.
It’s well that each body, every body, takes exercise to counteract the daily routine activity, so as to produce rest. Walking is the best exercise for this body; preferably in the evening. — Edgar Cayce (reading 416–3, given in 1934)
7) Use olive oil. In countries where olive oil is consumed extensively, a low incidence of cardiovascular diseases is reported. It has a beneficial effect on blood cholesterol levels, is easily digested, stimulates metabolism, and promotes digestion.
Olive Oil is good for anybody… Just take what the body will assimilate. A few drops four or five times a day is excellent, for it is an intestinal food not excelled in scarcely anything else. — Edgar Cayce (reading 348–17, given in 1933)
8) Care for your digestive system. The importance of preventing constipation is reflected in this excerpt (colonics and enemas were the “internal baths” most frequently recommended by Cayce):
Keep the eliminations in the system (that is, through the intestinal tract) acting normally and properly, even though enemas and cleansing of the colon [are] resorted to — which is well for anyone to do, for through same many re-infections take place by overtaxing the system with drosses from fermentation as takes place in ascending or [transverse] colon. — Edgar Cayce (reading 5712–1, given in 1926)
9) Get a good night’s sleep. In general, people who sleep well are happier and healthier. When sleep is poor or inadequate, people feel tired or fatigued, which negatively affects work productivity and relationships. A proper amount of sleep improves one’s quality of life. One woman in her reading was told:
Six to seven hours is good enough for anyone, and yet under the stress and strain some may require ten to twelve. — Edgar Cayce (reading 5449–4, given in 1931)
So there they are — nine easy steps to a healthier and longer life that are — according to Cayce — good for every “body.”
