How Lead Poisons Water. -- when pure water recently boiled is placed in, or run over, lead, no action takes place; but if the water, after being boiled, is exposed for a short time to the air, from which it absorbs oxygen and carbonic acid, and is then brought in contact with lead, we soon find a whitish film, which on chemical examination is found to be composed of a carbonate of lead, is formed upon the metallic surface. This whitish film, which easily separates from the lead on which it appears and becomes mechanically mixed with water, is very poisonous. Since as already mentioned, Rainwater contains usually some nitric acid, in addition to the oxygen and carbonic acid which it absorbs from the air, and this nitric acid combines with lead to form a very soluble in poisonous nitrate of lead, it is much more dangerous than even purer. Water, after standing for a short time in contact with a leaden surface. Rainwater intended for drinking or cooking purposes ought, therefore, never to be collected from lead or tin roofs, transmitted through lead pipes, nor under any circumstances stored in lead lined cisterns of any kind.

Years back poisoning from lead was possible from industrial run off, from pain, and from many many sources.  Today, we have exposure to other chemicals but lead poisoning exposure has dropped somewhat as we use lead free gas, lead free paint and as we endeavor even to go fiber optic with HDMI cables and other silicon based conductors.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Applying the Test for Lead
  
  

  Applying the Test for Lead. — the sulfide of ammonium may be purchased at a small cost, save for $.25 an ounce, of most dealers and chemicals; and, as its odor is extremely disagreeable, it should be carefully corked until the moment it is used. The experiment should be made upon half a pint of the suspected water; and, if the contamination is supposed to be caused by lead pipes, it is a good plan to test a portion of the liquid which has stood overnight in the conduits. The mode of discriminating the precipitate caused by iron from those due to the dangerous metals, lead and copper, is to let fall a few drop of hydrochloric acid, called also muriatic acid, into the fluid. If the brownish or yellowish brown tent disappears, we may know that innocent iron is the only metallic impurities; whilst if, on the contrary, no change is effected by the addition of the acid, one of the poisonous metals, better copper, is present. No water, however, in which the slightest change is produced by adding the sulfide of ammonium, should be swallowed by man or beast until a rigid investigation by a competent water analyst has proved it to be harmless.

  I somehow doubt that sulfide of ammonium costs that amount today.  Its probably either much more expensive or sold in ridiculous bulks at every grocery store, pharmacy and gas station next to the Phentermine in one of those combination aisles that sells just a little bit of everything, but never the thing you really need.

• Wonders of Sight, Hearing, Touch and Locomotion
  
  

  Next we will start to explore Chart III.  This is a relatively short section and it will conclude book 1 on the Human body. 

  Just to give you a little hint of what is to come, each section here seems to kick off with the description of “something” and Its Wonders.

  Example

  The Eye and Its Wonders

  The Ear and Its Wonders

  The Hand its Mechanisms and its Wonderful Endowments

  I’m not making that up.  You’ll see . . .

• Improving Your Health through Yoga – A Great Introductory DVD
  
  

  Years ago when I was a teenager, I started practicing Yoga.  Back then it was just something to do to improve my breathing and increase my flexibility for karate.  After leaving high school I joined the military and the Yoga training, flexibility and especially the breathing paid off significantly.  It helped me with physical training and it also helped me to stay focused mentally.

  After leaving the military, I got caught up in a more normal routine and the necessity of practicing Yoga on a regular basis slowly slipped from my priorities.

  Since then I have tried Tai Chi and several other forms of exercise, meditation and stretching, but none have worked as well for me as Yoga.  I also do not do well in group classes.  Following a Yoga instructor in a class just does not fit in with my routine or lifestyle.

  I recently came across a great re-introduction into Yoga with a yoga dvd from RealBodyWork.com.  There are several things about the Vinyasa flow yoga dvd that make it very good not only for beginners, but also for people that are experienced with Yoga.

  1. It provides an excellent series of in depth explanations of poses and stances.  When I formerly practiced Yoga, I sometimes got the stances correct and sometimes I was not quite sure.  Some stances had alternative positions as well.  I could not always tell if I was doing the routine correctly or if I was possibly engaging in an alternative movement that might do more harm than good.  As I walked through the Gentle Vinyasa Flow dvd it has a video demonstration and tutorial on each of the positions, so you can not only find the positions that are best for you, but know that you are doing them correctly enough to benefit from them.
  2. The DVD is not just one program or yoga sessions, but includes 6 routines that range from about 25 minutes to almost an hour each. 
  3. The DVD includes over 23 poses and a great deal of variability.  I generally prefer a lot of variability in all of my exercise routines.  If the routine starts to feel ‘routine’ then I get bored and I’m more likely to fall out of practice.

   

  Now, as we get further into the exploration of the Book of Medicine, you will find something rather amazing.  This type of exercise was by no means foreign to Western medicine 100 years ago.  In fact it is described within the book itself with pictorial guides on practicing older forms of yoga and martial arts as well.