The toxic by-products of bowel fermentation and putrifaction are actually carcinogens and dangerous gases that severely tax the liver's neutralizing efforts. If we add to this the vast number of pesticides, environmental pollutants, food chemicals and additives, heavy metals, drugs and water-borne chemicals, not to mention the growing number of mutating bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, we can readily see why our liver is rapidly losing the battle. Never before in human history have we faced such an internal environmental catastrophe. It is no wonder that the incidence of cancer is three times higher in the current generation of baby boomers than in their parents!

By enhancing the liver's function, it will be possible for the liver to detoxify both itself and the body within the daily rhythms of body function and thus avoid the need for drastic therapies and excessive cleansing reactions. As the liver function increases, the liver's own inherent cleansing mechanisms work more effectively.

What do we need to cleanse our body most effectively? The answer is pure water. This brings us to a final point to ponder: What is the link between the liver and water? This question is seldom asked. Again we owe it to the genius of Steiner's spiritual vision to find a hint worthy of further investigation. In Spiritual Science and Medicine he states, "There is a dependence of the liver's health and activity on the special quality of the water in a given locality. In order to comprehend the exact state of liver health of any local group of persons, the composition of the local water ought to be studied." Our destruction of the subtle qualities carried within water has been the most extreme in this century and we are now paying a terrible price for this abuse.

Water is the carrier of the formative (etheric) forces and the liver is one of the most watery organs in the body being only slightly more dense than blood itself. The technological attack upon our drinking water will in the future be seen to have had the most dire consequences for the public health of humanity and deserves immediate study and remediation. But to understand the issues at stake here, one needs to study water with the eyes of a spiritual scientist and strive to fathom the mysteries of the world of formative forces. That is the challenge of the coming Age of Aquarius, the Age of the "Waterbearer", that we are increasingly approaching.

Dr. Maret received his Master of Engineering degree in 1973 and his medical degree in 1977, both from the University of Toronto in Canada. He works as a nutritional consultant and preventive medicine practitioner striving to integrate the principles of Anthroposophical Medicine into his curative work.

1. Husemann/Wolff: The Anthroposophical Approach to Healing

2. R.Steiner, Health and Illness, Volume II

3. R. Steiner, Spiritual Science and Medicine, Lecture 13