Southern Folk Medicine

by Phyllis D. Light

  The earth is full of minerals, rocks, dirt, and sand. These are the basic building materials for houses, buildings, and bridges, and the basic building materials of the human body. About 46 percent of the Earth’s crust is made from oxygen, and silicon forms about 28 percent of it. The rest of the crust is made of sundry other minerals too numerous to mention. These surface minerals break down into smaller particles due to water and wind erosion and, along with certain microbes, become our soil. Here in this fertility, plants grow—the plants that feed, clothe, and shelter us.

  Earth, then, is the inorganic minerals found both within the soil and deep within the planet, as well as the organic plant, animal, and human life that grows on the surface. It is the combination of both, as we are the combination of both.

  Some people are rock hounds, amateur geologists, souring their local environments hunting and collecting rock specimens. Rock hounds often learn about the structure of rock formations and mineralogy in the process of rock collecting. Sedimentary rocks are made of sand, gravel, and shells that settle over time and harden; they often contain fossils. This is the most common rock where I live. Metamorphic rocks are formed over time under the earth from intense heat and pressure. Igneous rock are formed from molten rock deep within the Earth.

  And then, there is the definition of earth that most relates to our discussion in Southern Folk Medicine. Earth is one of the four elements in Greek humoral medicine and Southeast Native American folk medicine, as well as many other indigenous folk medicine systems around the world. Let’s get started.

  Types of Earth in the Body

  Earth is cold by nature because it lacks movement. The temperature of the Earth is maintained by radiation from the sun, just as our temperature is maintained by our metabolism. There is a balance between the heat the Earth receives from the sun and the heat that is lost back to space. The human body certainly does the same, trying to maintain a balance between our internal temperature and the external temperature of the climate. We put clothes on or take clothes off to adjust our temperature. The Earth uses motion to also help balance temperature, and that includes rotation and revolution. While I might say that the Earth is static and cold, it’s still a great ball spinning through space.

  The Earth only heats while the sun is shining, and loses heat at night or on cloudy days. But the Earth doesn’t heat evenly because about 70 percent of the surface is water. Soil and water heat at different rates, which causes uneven surface heating. Because the Earth is a sphere, and not a circle, the equator heats more than the poles. And because the Earth is spinning, we have seasons, which have different heating capabilities.

  What about internal heat? We’ve all seen photos of volcanoes spewing massive amounts of molten lava, that’s how continents are built. Because Earth was hot when it formed, there is leftover heat trapped inside. (This is actually a good illustration of how heat and inflammation can get trapped in the body.) This heat is being released to the surface, but is not the main contributor of the Earth’s heat; that’s the sun. The Earth continues to make some internal heat by radioactive decay of certain elements like uranium. The radioactive decay causes internal pressure to build, which leads to volcano eruptions and earthquakes.

  The energy from the sun drives our weather on Earth, and the energy from the Earth builds mountains. It’s a continual process that makes this world hospitable to all the life that lives on the surface of this planet. A change in either one of these sources of heat and humans are toast.

  Where is earth in our bodies? Earth is actually one of the elements most easily seen, both visually and metaphorically, along with water. Earth is our supporting structure, our solidness, our house, our physical interface with the world. It is our bones, teeth, hair and skin, our nails, and our organs and glands. Place your hand on your opposite arm. Our earth is touchable and real.

  Earth comprises most of the tissue in our body. It includes our musculoskeletal system—bones, muscles, and connective tissue, including ligaments, tendons, and cartilage. Earth in our bodies can also include any solid masses such as tumors, solid organs such as the liver, and glands such as the pancreas.

  Think about how all the elements are coming together to create you, a unique human being. Earth is your structure; air the nervous system, breath, movement, and blood; water is all tissue fluids and gives shape to the physique; and fire is energy production, metabolism, and the activity of hormones. No element can work alone and, as you can see, no body system can either. We need the activities of all the different elements to be healthy, just like we need all the different body systems working together to be healthy. When everything is working in sync, we are in homeostasis.

  Earth builds to form our structures. Cells come together to form membranes, which can cover the body, line the body, or divide organs into parts. An example would be the mucous membrane tissues that line the respiratory system, digestive system, gallbladder, bladder, and reproductive tissues. Tissues combine to form organs, which perform specific functions, such as the gallbladder storing bile. A group of organs come together to form systems that contribute to or share functions, such as the digestive system, the respiratory system, or the reproductive system.

  All this begins with earth, with the basic building blocks. Let’s begin this discussion of earth by looking at the types of tissue of which we are made: connective, epithelial, muscular, and nervous.

  Connective Tissue

  Let’s start with the connective tissue, the most abundant of all tissues in the body and which is most commonly used for support and protection. Fat tissue is loose, connective tissue that stores energy. Both blood and lymph are specialized forms of connective tissue. And of course, cartilage and bone are dense connective tissue that give our foundation and support, form, stability, and ability to move. Some bones, like those in the rib cage, protect vital internal organs.

  All tissues have an earth component. Let’s look at some of these earthly components in greater detail.

  Bones

  Bone is the hardest of human tissue and the most enduring. It is tough and hard, and slow to decay. Fossils offer visual keys to our distant past, how our ancestors might have looked, and how they lived their lives. Bones dug from archeological sites offer a glimpse of the human age and experience on this planet. According to traditional knowledge, we inherit our bones, our foundation, from our fathers and our covering (skin and muscles) and our internal workings from our mothers. The bones of ancient man, our ancestors, are not dissimilar from our own.

  Bones are often seen as a symbol of either mortality or death. Today, the skull and crossbones on a label are the symbol for poison or a warning of danger. In more ancient times, the symbol was a reminder of our mortality and the fleeting nature of human existence, and a reminder that the soul is immortal though the body is not.

  Indigenous peoples used animal bones and shells for tools, weapons, musical instruments, and decoration. The study of the use of animal bones provides a unique glimpse into ancient societies and their culture and class systems. Tools made from bones include combs, sickles, daggers, digging sticks, fish hooks, needles, scrapers, and awls.

  Because of their durability and seeming indestructibility, bones were given special magical powers by certain Indigenous tribes, as well as some Christian religions. Indigenous peoples used bones to make magical talismans. In the Catholic religion, bones have been viewed as religious relics and are believed to be imbedded with spiritual power that can be used by the owner of the relic. Sometimes the bones were painted or stained red in semblance of the life-giving properties of blood.

  Throwing the bones or casting the bones was an ancient form of divination in some regions around the world, including North America, the Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia. In ancient Greece, temple priests used the anklebones of sheep (astragali), because they are more or less cube shaped, with four flat sides and two rounded ones; only the flat sides could be landed on. These were the forerunners of dice, which have
been around for about 8,000 years. Dice were thrown to tell the future, and priests interpreted the message from the gods. About 7,000 years ago, the shape of the dice became more cube-like, and all six sides could be landed upon, which increased the potential for more complex outcomes. Throwing the dice became so popular that during a military campaign, Julius Caesar declared, “The die is cast.”

  Bone is active, living tissue and every ten years we replace worn-out bone with new bone in a process called remodeling. Our bones, and the minerals needed for their creation, form the framework for our bodies. Their strength and arrangement provide the support for our muscles and attachment points that give us our ability to walk upright and to turn, twist, jump, and run.

  Bones support and protect softer tissues, store inorganic salts or minerals, and protect vital blood-producing cells in the marrow. Bones are named according to their shape—long, short, flat, and irregular. A bone’s shape helps make possible its function.

  Bone development begins during the first few weeks of life and continues into adulthood. Nutrients required for bone growth include vitamin D, which is necessary for the proper absorption of calcium. A lack of calcium in the bones of children is called rickets and in adults is called osteomalacia. The sun is our best source of vitamin D; however, supplementation may be necessary in some situations. In addition, vitamins A and C are also required for normal bone development. Hormones necessary for the production of bone include growth hormone, thyroxine, testosterone, and estrogen. Physical stress also stimulates bone growth, which is the reason exercise is vital to strong bones.

  As we age, we begin to lose our earth, our structure, our bones. Bone loss begins about the age of thirty, and we proceed to lose about one-sixteenth of an inch a year thereafter. As we age, bones increasingly become susceptible to fracture due to loss of calcium and bone material influenced by the hormone-related changes of aging and our activity level. Although bone loss in men is slow and steady, bone loss in women is dramatically linked to changing hormones. However, by age seventy, both sexes are losing bone, losing earth, at about the same rate. We must work to maintain that structure with sound nutrition and weight-bearing exercises, and reduce diminishment as much as possible.

  Sometimes the bone loss due to aging seems to happen all at once. On one visit to Grandma, she stands tall and straight, and then it seems that only a few months later she has suddenly shrunk. The diminishing of our house, our structure, seems to pertain to the spirit also. There is often less desire to travel, less desire to interact with social groups, and less willingness to start new ventures. As the structure diminishes, so does the Vital Energy.

  Joints

  Did you ever entertain your classmates at school by pulling your thumb down against your arm or otherwise contorting into weird shapes? If so, your genetics may have endowed you with hypermobility of the joints. But most of us have regular joint mobility.

  A joint is the connection between the bones and muscles. That’s a pretty simple definition, but a very important one. Wherever two bones meet, joints form. We have to have joints because bone doesn’t bend. Joints allow skeletal muscles to move, enable bone growth, and are the reason parts of the skeleton are able to open, expand, and change shape at childbirth (temporary hypermobility). They also protect the ends of the bones from damage.

  It’s tendons and ligaments that create our joints and allow for the mobility of our bodies. They hold bone to bone in splendid perfection, which allows perfect function of the joint. Tendons, ligaments, and cartilage are all made from collagen and elastin in specific amounts for each tissue type.

  Ligaments attach bone to bone and limit the movement of a joint to avoid dislocation or breakage. Because ligaments lengthen, they can overstretch. If that occurs, ligaments cannot return entirely to their original form. That’s what happens during pregnancy when the uterine ligaments stretch to accommodate the growing baby but don’t fully shrink to pre-pregnancy size or position. Or think about a sprained ankle, where the ligaments have overstretched due to injury and now the ankle is swollen and painful.

  Tendons connect muscle to bone. Because tendons are elastic, they provide spring and release energy with movement, as well as resist tension. Overuse of tendons can result in tendinitis, such as tennis elbow, or carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive movements.

  Cartilage is stiffer than muscle and is found between the bones, at the end of the nose, outside of the ears, and in smaller respiratory tubes. Because cartilage does not contain blood vessels, it heals very slowly. Cartilage is supplied nutrients by compression that occurs with the pumping action of the cartilage that occurs with movement.

  These are the tissues that make up the joints of the body. Although there are three types of joints in the body—fibrous, cartilaginous, and synovial—most of us are most concerned with synovial joints, which are the most common type of joint, or cartilaginous joints, which are found in the vertebrae of the spine. We depend upon the synovial joints for most of our movement. The ends of synovial joints are covered in a cartilage capsule, which is filled with synovial fluid to reduce wear and tear. The fluid not only lubricates but also supplies nutrients to the capsule. Folks who have back problems often have disk issues that have affected the cartilage between the vertebrae.

  Dominant-earth folks tend to have wide, solid, and strong bones and are often blessed into the elderly years with good bones. Air, with the thinnest bones, is the most susceptible to age-related bone loss and must work at keeping bone strength and reducing loss. This is not so for earth folk, who are generally endowed with a solid framework that supports them for life.

  Muscular Tissue

  Muscles turn energy into motion. They pull us along, give us locomotion, and propel us through life. But they do more than that. Muscles allow us to express ourselves, communicate with others, and share ideas. Without the ability to move our arms, we can’t paint a masterpiece. Without muscles, we can’t talk, sing, or verbalize our thoughts and feelings. Without muscles, we can’t fight or flee in times of danger or stress. Without our muscles, we are just a puddle of skin and bones.

  Muscles are so important to our survival that they are highly specialized. Skeletal muscles provide movement, are under conscious control of our thoughts, and attach at bones. We can choose to pick up that penny. We can choose to walk around the block. We can choose to hug our friends and family members. Skeletal muscles can gain size and strength, then lose strength, and then gain it again, based on how often they are used and the purpose of their use. The type of exercise, movement, or work also determines how a muscle will respond to use.

  Cardiac muscles, found only in the heart, are not under conscious control and not considered part of the musculoskeletal system. Their functioning is automatic to keep blood, oxygen, and vital nutrients circulating to our cells.

  Smooth muscles are also not under conscious control; however, they are considered part of the musculoskeletal system. They help move fluids inside hollow structures or tubes such as those found in veins and arteries, the gastrointestinal tract, bronchial system, urinary tract, vagina, and within each individual cell. For example, the colon is a hollow tube that helps remove waste from our body in the form of feces. Although various life stresses may affect how the colon functions, such as stress, diet, hydration, and exercise regularity, it will generally empty at least once a day.

  Every skeletal muscle is covered and separated from adjacent skeletal muscles by the amazing fascia, a dense connective tissue that separates and stabilizes muscles and organs. For the muscles, fascia reduces the friction of muscular force. Fascia is composed of the same material as ligaments and tendons, but is flexible and pliable; it moves as we move. It is a singular system—one large network that covers the whole body. If somehow we could only see the fascia, we could see how it wraps around the outside of each bone, how it encloses and separates each muscle and organ, how it forms the outline of the breasts. The only areas of the body either missing or limited in
fascia are areas of the digestive tract, the respiratory system, and the lymph system. These tubes don’t require fascia for support.

  How do muscles move? Their movement is caused by an electrical stimulation (air) that travels through the nerves and contracts the muscle. Without the ATP (fire) created through cellular respiration, the muscles don’t have the energy to move even with the electrical stimulation. During strenuous activity, the cardiovascular system may not be able to supply enough oxygen to the muscles to create more ATP, resulting in an oxygen debt and the formation of lactic acid.

  Muscles contract to move, which is called a twitch. Slow-twitch muscle fibers produce enough ATP to contract for long periods. Fast-twitch muscle fibers contract more rapidly but fatigue quickly because they cannot generate ATP quickly enough. Which are you?

  Earth folks tend to have strong, solid muscles that respond well to exercise activities such as weight lifting and aerobics. They are not usually the fastest runners (air), or most competitive athletes (fire), or the most creative yoga instructors (water), but respond well to a variety of exercise options. Weight lifting, bicycling, and square dancing would all uniquely satisfy an earth person’s need for movement.

  Epithelial Tissue

  The most common epithelial tissue that we see is our skin. It covers the body’s surface and acts as a surface barrier to keep out bacteria, viruses, and yeast. For this reason, it is a first line of defense.