| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII | HTML | PDF ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: Encyclopedia of Diet Vol. 2 (of 5)
Author: Christian, Eugene
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopedia of Diet Vol. 2 (of 5)" ***
Transcriber's Note: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
Minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected
without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have
been retained as printed.
The cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the
transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
* * * * *
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
DIET
_A Treatise on the Food Question_
IN FIVE VOLUMES
EXPLAINING, IN PLAIN LANGUAGE, THE
CHEMISTRY OF FOOD AND THE CHEMISTRY OF
THE HUMAN BODY, TOGETHER WITH THE ART OF
UNITING THESE TWO BRANCHES OF SCIENCE IN THE
PROCESS OF EATING SO AS TO ESTABLISH NORMAL
DIGESTION AND ASSIMILATION OF FOOD AND
NORMAL ELIMINATION OF WASTE, THEREBY
REMOVING THE CAUSES OF STOMACH,
INTESTINAL, AND ALL OTHER
DIGESTIVE DISORDERS
BY
EUGENE CHRISTIAN, F. S. D.
VOLUME II
NEW YORK CITY
CORRECTIVE EATING SOCIETY, INC.
1917
COPYRIGHT 1914
BY
EUGENE CHRISTIAN
ENTERED AT
STATIONERS HALL, LONDON
SEPTEMBER, 1914
BY
EUGENE CHRISTIAN, F. S. D.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PUBLISHED AUGUST, 1914
CONTENTS
VOLUME II
_Lesson VIII_ _Page_
FOODS OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN 287
Grains 289
Uses of Grains:
(1) Grain as a Source of Energy 295
(2) Grain as a Source of Nitrogen 297
(3) Grain as a Remedial Food 298
Nuts 300
Peanuts 306
Legumes 307
Fruits 308
Classification of Fruits according to acidity 313
Vegetables 317
Classification of Vegetables 319
Sugars and Sirups 324
Beet-Sugar 325
Honey 330
Confections 332
Vegetable Oils 335
_Lesson IX_
DRUGS, STIMULANTS, AND NARCOTICS 341
Alkaloids and Narcotics 349
Opium 350
Cocain 353
Nux Vomica and Strychnin 356
Quinin 356
Acetanilid 357
Tobacco 361
Coffee 363
Tea 365
Cocoa and Chocolate 366
Alcohols and Related Compounds 367
Alcohol 367
Chloroform, Ether, and Chloral 372
Poisonous Mineral Salts and Acids 373
Mercury 373
Potassium Iodid 374
Lead and Copper 375
Purgatives and Cathartics 375
_Lesson X_
IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT DIAGNOSIS AND CORRECT TREATMENT 379
_Lesson XI_
COMMON DISORDERS--THEIR CAUSE AND CURE 403
Health and Dis-ease Defined 405
Overeating 413
Superacidity 418
The Cause 420
The Symptoms 421
The Remedy 423
Fermentation (Superacidity) 424
The Cause 425
The Symptoms 426
The Remedy 428
Gas Dilatation 431
The Symptoms 432
Importance of Water-drinking 434
Constipation 434
The Cause 434
The Remedy 436
Foods that May Be Substituted for One
Another 439
Constipating and Laxative Foods 446
Constipating and Laxative Beverages 446
Gastritis 447
The Cause 449
The Symptoms 449
The Remedy 450
Nervous Indigestion 453
The Cause 454
The Symptoms 455
The Remedy 458
Subacidity 460
The Cause 461
The Symptoms 462
The Remedy 463
Biliousness 465
The Cause 466
The Symptoms 466
The Remedy 466
Cirrhosis of the Liver 467
The Cause 467
The Symptoms 468
The Treatment 469
Piles or Hemorrhoids 471
The Cause 471
The Symptoms 472
The Treatment 472
Diarrhea 474
The Cause 474
The Treatment 476
Emaciation or Underweight 477
The Cause 478
The Symptoms 481
The Remedy 482
Obesity or Overweight 491
The Cause 493
The Remedy 495
Neurasthenia 503
The Cause 505
The Symptoms 506
The Remedy 506
Malnutrition 511
Cause and Remedy 511
Locomotor Ataxia 511
The Cause 511
The Symptoms 514
The Remedy 515
Colds, Catarrh, Hay Fever, Asthma, Influenza 519
Colds--The Cause 520
The Symptoms 521
The Remedy 523
Catarrh--The Cause 527
The Symptoms 528
The Remedy 528
Hay Fever--The Cause 530
The Symptoms 531
The Remedy 531
Asthma--The Cause 533
The Symptoms 533
The Remedy 534
Influenza--The Cause 536
The Symptoms 537
The Remedy 537
Insomnia 538
The Cause 538
The Remedy 539
Rheumatism--Gout 543
Rheumatism--The Cause 544
The Symptoms 545
Gout--The Cause 546
The Symptoms 547
Rheumatism, Gout--The Remedy 547
Bright's Dis-ease 550
The Cause 551
The Symptoms 551
The Remedy 552
Diabetes 556
The Cause 556
The Symptoms 557
The Remedy 557
Consumption 560
The Treatment 564
Heart Trouble 569
The Cause 571
The Remedy 573
Dis-eases of the Skin 574
The Cause 575
The Treatment 578
Appendicitis 580
The Symptoms 582
The Treatment 583
Chronic or Severe Cases of Appendicitis 586
LESSON VIII
FOODS OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN
GRAINS
Grains constitute the most important article of human food, not so
much on account of their superior nutritive, curative or remedial
value, but chiefly because of their prolific growth and abundant
production in all civilized countries throughout the world.
The variety of grain produced in the various countries depends
largely upon the climate and the habits of the people.
The predominant use of rice by the Asiatics, wheat by the Europeans,
and maize by the aboriginal American, shows how people adapt
themselves to the foods of prodigal growth. It also shows the
effect different foods have upon the physical development of the
various tribes that inhabit these remote countries.
[Sidenote: Wheat]
Wheat is said by some writers to be a complete food. This is not
strictly true. Wheat contains a very small percentage of fat, and
while fat can be made in the body from carbohydrates, it is more
natural, and entails less work upon the digestive organs and the
liver if the diet is balanced so as to contain the required amount
of fat, and all other nutritive elements in the right or natural
proportions.
[Sidenote: Results of eating too much starch]
A diet composed of wheat alone would contain 70 per cent of
carbohydrates, chiefly in the form of starch. While this would be
perfectly wholesome, it would give the body an excess of starch
which would ultimately result in intestinal congestion, gout,
rheumatism, hardening of the arteries, and premature old age. Wheat
contains a larger quantity, and a greater variety of proteids than
any other grain, but wheat proteids are more difficult to digest
than the proteids of milk, eggs, or nuts.
[Sidenote: Composition of wheat]
Wheat varies greatly in composition, according to the soil and the
climate in which it is produced. This fact is not recognized or
considered by the average writer on dietetics, who eulogizes wheat
as the wonderful "staff of life," because certain food tables show
that wheat contains 13 per cent, while corn contains only 10 per
cent of proteids. It is neither the proteid nor the carbohydrate
content that determines the value of any grain as food, but rather
the proportions of the different elements of nutrition it contains,
that being the best which is more nearly balanced to meet the
requirements of the human organism.
[Sidenote: Rye]
Rye may be considered in the same class as wheat. Chemically, the
contents are very similar, and the effects upon the body are very
much the same. It contains a larger per cent of cellulose, and less
gluten than wheat, therefore as a remedial food it is superior
to all other grains for exciting intestinal peristalsis, thereby
removing the causes of constipation.
[Sidenote: Barley]
The nutritive elements of barley are similar to those of wheat and
rye. It contains less cellulose fiber, and therefore a larger per
cent of digestible nutrients than any one of the cereal group except
rice. It has never become popular as a bread-making grain because--
1 The nitrogenous or gluten substances are not tenacious enough
to make the conventional "raised" bread
2 The flour is dark in color
3 The grain is so hard and "flinty" that it is very difficult to
mill it down to the required fineness
For these reasons barley has been greatly neglected as a food
commodity. From a chemical standpoint it deserves a much higher
place in our dietaries than it has hitherto been given.
[Sidenote: Oats]
The composition of oats varies somewhat from that of wheat, rye and
barley. They contain a larger proportion of both fat and proteids,
and form a desirable food if correctly prepared. The objection
to oats as an article of diet is the hasty manner in which they
are usually prepared, which converts them into a gummy mass of
gelatinized starch, entangled with the peculiar gummy proteid of
the oat grain. Thus prepared the oat is a most prolific source of
disturbed digestion.
[Sidenote: Corn]
Corn is the cheapest material capable of nourishing the human body
that is produced in the temperate zone. It is less digestible,
and more deficient in the salts than the group of grains thus far
mentioned. It is very wholesome, however, but in no way superior to
other grains. In the future corn will probably play an increasing
part in the problem of feeding the world, as a cheap source of
carbohydrates, and for the purpose of manufacturing glucose.
[Sidenote: Rice]
In all tropical and semi-tropical countries rice occupies the same
position that corn does in the temperate zone. It is more deficient
in proteids and in fat than any other food grain, while the starch
of rice is more easily digested than any other form of cereal
starch. This grain, however, is almost entirely devoid of mineral
constituents, and for this reason it is productive of serious
nutritive derangements when indulged in too freely. This deficiency
can be overcome by taking a liberal quantity of green salads, or
fresh vegetables, whenever rice is eaten.
[Sidenote: Buckwheat]
Buckwheat is a grain whose consumption is very limited, owing to the
fact that it is dark in color. It compares favorably with wheat and
corn as to nutritive elements, and is now much used as a winter food
by the northern people.
USES OF GRAINS
The use of grains as an article of food may be considered under
three headings:
1 As a source of energy
2 As a source of nitrogen
3 Grain as a remedial food; that is, as a source of cellulose or
roughness, for the regulation of intestinal action
(1) GRAIN AS A SOURCE OF ENERGY
[Sidenote: Too much grain consumed]
All grains are composed largely of starch, therefore the question
of energy to be derived from this source is one of assimilation
and use. The use of grains in the diet deserves the most careful
consideration, and the study should not be confined to any
particular grain, but to the entire group, and especially to the
method of preparation, and the quantity that should be consumed
under the varying conditions of age, temperature of environment, and
work or activity. The conventional American diet contains such an
abnormal quantity of grain-starch, and the methods of preparation
are so unnatural, that the Food Scientist, in practise, will find
many people whose digestive organs have become so deranged that he
may deem it necessary to prohibit grain-starch almost entirely.
The grown person, pursuing the ordinary sedative occupation, should
not eat more than three or four ounces of cereal food a day, while
the manual laborer should not consume more than five or six ounces
each twenty-four hours. This quantity contemplates cool, or winter
weather. In summer this quantity should be reduced according to work
or activity.
(2) GRAIN AS A SOURCE OF NITROGEN
Grain as a source of proteid has received undue consideration in
hygienic works. Upon an allowance of one-fourth of a pound of grain
per day, which would make four vienos, with a nitrogen factor of
six, we see that 24 decigrams of nitrogen would be supplied from
the grain. The variations between the proteids contained in two
varieties of breakfast food is seldom more than two or three per
cent. This would amount to a variation in the daily intake of
nitrogen of about five decigrams, an amount too little to be worth
consideration.
[Sidenote: Digestibility of grain proteids]
Grain proteids are not so easily digested as are the proteids
of eggs, milk and nuts. The following list of grains and grain
products is given in the order of the digestible nitrogen they
contain:
1 Gluten or dietetic foods
2 Barley
3 Macaroni
4 White flour
5 Whole wheat--Graham flour
6 Rye
7 Oatmeal
8 Corn products
9 Buckwheat
10 Rice
11 Pure starches
(3) GRAIN AS A REMEDIAL FOOD
[Sidenote: Remedial value of the whole grain]
[Sidenote: Wheat bran a natural remedy for constipation]
Grain is constipating or laxative in effect according to the way it
is prepared and eaten. Whole grain, especially wheat and rye, will
normalize intestinal action, and in some cases act as a laxative,
while the same grains made into flour, and milled in the usual way,
are constipating. Ordinary wheat bran is one of the most effective
remedies known for intestinal congestion, and it can be administered
or regulated with much accuracy, according to the severity of the
case. An intelligent understanding of the use of bran in treating
constipation is quite necessary. The object should be to employ
bran as a remedy in chronic cases, and to vary the quantity, the
quality, and the cellulose content of the meals. In rare cases,
bran may produce irritation; in such cases it should be cooked
three or hours, and eaten only with hot water. In other cases the
mechanical stimulation of the peristaltic action is not effective.
The practitioner can usually determine these questions on the third
or the fourth day.
Bran should be administered about as follows: In cases of severe
constipation, one rounding tablespoonful in water, just after
rising; one-half teacupful, cooked, taken at each meal, and a
heaping tablespoonful in water just before retiring.
The following table gives, in the order of their laxative effects, a
few of the principal grains:
1 Flaked or whole rye
2 Flaked or whole wheat
3 Flaked or whole barley
4 Flaked or whole oats
NUTS
[Sidenote: Nuts as heat producers]
The true nut is the seed of trees and shrubs which stores the
greater proportion of food material for nourishing the seedling in
the form of vegetable oil. The nut is very largely a fuel food or
heat producer, therefore among the primitive races, along the warmer
belts of the earth's surface, the nut was not of so much importance,
but in the northern or colder countries, where the body-heat meets
with such powerful resistance from climatic environment, the nut is
of equal, if not of more importance than fruits.
There are a few miscellaneous articles of food that are classed as
nuts, which do not belong primarily to this group.
In the following discussion I will take up the several varieties
of nuts in the order of their general value as articles of human
nutrition:
[Sidenote: Pine nuts]
[Sidenote: Composition of the pine nut]
[Sidenote: The nitrogen factor in nuts]
There are several species of pine seeds from many varieties of
trees, and from many different countries. The Italian pine seed or
nut, called in Italy "Pignon," and in this country "Pignolia," is
the refined or cleansed nut, called by the writer "protoid" nut.
This is a coined word given to it because it contains the highest
percentage of protein of any other food that has yet been analyzed.
The "protoid" nut contains 34 per cent protein, 47 per cent oil,
9 per cent carbohydrates, 4 per cent ash, and 6 per cent water.
The relative proportion of nitrogen to energy is not so great as
in some other food products, such as eggs, or skimmed milk. These
contain a large per cent of water, so that the protoid nut, while
containing pound for pound more nitrogen than any other known food,
has a lower nitrogen factor than foods which do not contain so large
a percentage of fat. This same rule will apply to all nuts. They
are rich in protein, but because of the large amount of fat which
supplies energy in its most condensed form, the nitrogen factor,
which is the relation between nitrogen and energy, is often lower in
many nuts than in grain. The chief advantage of protoid nuts over
other varieties is in their softness, consequently they are more
digestible, and more assimilable than any other specimen of the nut
family.
The pine nuts which grow prodigally in the western part of the
United States are not so rich in protein as the protoid nuts, but
in other respects are very excellent food. The annual crop of these
is about one million pounds, but is variable, a full crop being
produced only about every third year. They are harvested in a very
crude way, chiefly by Indians, from the remote districts of New
Mexico, Utah and California.
[Sidenote: Almonds]
The almond is a most desirable food. It contains 17 per cent
nitrogen, and 54 per cent fat. The flavor is very agreeable, and
the nuts, in digestibility, rank next to protoid nuts. They may be
substituted for each other in many dietaries.
[Sidenote: Pecans]
The pecan, which is a species of hickory-nut, contains 13 per
cent protein, and 70 per cent fat. It is a very delicious article
of food, though somewhat inferior to pine nuts and almonds, in
digestibility, and as a source of nitrogen.
[Sidenote: Brazil-nuts]
Brazil-nuts contain 18 per cent protein and 66 per cent fat, and
rank high as an article of body-heat and energy.
[Sidenote: White walnuts]
Soft-shelled or white walnuts are commonly known as "English
walnuts," though they are chiefly grown in France and in California.
These nuts contain 24 per cent protein, 63 per cent fat, and form
one of the staple nut foods of both Europe and America.
[Sidenote: Hazelnuts]
Filberts or hazelnuts contain 15 per cent protein, and 65 per cent
fat. They differ widely from the varieties hitherto named, and are
less digestible. They should be masticated exceedingly fine, and
should not be taken by one whose digestion is particularly weak.
[Sidenote: Butternuts]
Butternuts are a species of walnut. They contain 27 per cent
protein, 61 per cent fat, and rank in the dietary along with English
walnuts and Brazil-nuts.
[Sidenote: Beechnuts]
Beechnuts contain 22 per cent protein and 57 per cent fat. Owing to
the difficulty of gathering or harvesting, these nuts have never
become popular as an article of human food. They are in the grain
class, therefore rank high as an energy-producing material.
[Sidenote: Cocoanuts]
The cocoanut is a product of the palm tree, and, while quite
distinct from our nuts of the temperate climate, is a very valuable
and abundant food, deserving more extended use. Cocoanut is
about one-half fat, contains 6 per cent protein and 28 per cent
carbohydrates. The milk of the cocoanut is an excellent article of
food, and used by the natives in the tropics in many remedial and
medicinal ways.
PEANUTS
[Sidenote: Value of pea-nuts and soy-beans]
Peanuts, which are so widely used as food, are on the boundary line
between nuts and legumes. They were classed as peas by some of the
early botanists, and as nuts by others. The name indicates the
compromise that was made between the two theories. Another legume,
which is largely used in Japan and China is the soy-bean. Both the
peanut and the soy-bean are better balanced, and more nutritious
than common beans and peas. They are similar in composition, and
contain about equal quantities of protein and fat, some peanuts
yielding as much as 48 or 50 per cent oil. Neither are palatable in
their natural state, but both are very delicious when their starch
content is converted into dextrin by roasting. The Japanese have a
method of preparing the soy-bean by a process of fermenting, which
renders the proteid material very digestible. Soy-beans have not
yet been introduced into this country, hence there will be little
opportunity to use them, and they will, therefore, not be discussed
here at length.
LEGUMES
Legumes are the seeds of a certain group of plants grown in pods.
The term comes from a very ancient word, "legere," meaning _to
gather_. Beans and peas are the most familiar types of this group.
[Sidenote: Legumes rich in nitrogen]
Legumes are rich in nitrogen, and some varieties are also very rich
in oil. They are not equal to nuts in fuel or food value, however,
because in the natural state they are hard, somewhat indigestible,
and unpalatable. These qualities are due to the fact that the
nitrogenous material of legumes are radically different from the
nitrogen found in nuts, and belong to a class not so desirable as
food. Meat may be omitted from the diet and legumes adopted as the
chief source of nitrogen, but this change requires some knowledge
and careful feeding in the beginning. Meat is digested wholly in
the stomach and does not require mastication (only enough to be
swallowed), while dried or mature legumes require much mastication,
owing to the carbohydrates they contain. The best form in which
legumes can be taken is in their green or immature state, owing to
the fact that the immature starch they contain is readily soluble,
while mature legume starch is rather difficult to digest.
FRUITS
The term "fruit" in a strictly botanical sense includes a very wide
range of vegetable articles--the reproductive product of trees,
or other plants, such as grains, legumes, nuts, berries, apples,
peaches, plums, etc. In this lesson, however, I will apply the
popular meaning to the term.
[Sidenote: General composition of fruit]
The common succulent or juicy fruits, including both tree fruits and
berries, have many properties in common. The chemical composition
of these typical fruits consists of from 80 to 85 per cent water, 5
to 15 per cent sugar, 1 to 5 per cent organic or fruit-acids, and
small quantities of protein, cellulose, and the numerous salts, a
portion of which may be combined with the fruit-acids. Some unripe
fruits contain starch and various other carbohydrate substances,
many of which are distasteful and unwholesome. On the other hand,
when fruits become over-ripe, and decay sets in, the sugar is
changed into carbon dioxid, alcohol, and acetic acid, and the fruit
rapidly deteriorates in nutritive value and unwholesomeness. These
changes, together with the loss of water, account for the sponginess
and the tastelessness of cold storage and other long-kept fruits.
All varieties of fruit are best when they have been allowed to ripen
naturally on the trees, but modern commercial conditions demand
that fruits for shipping purposes be picked slightly immature, and
allowed to ripen in transit to the markets.
[Sidenote: Dietetic value of fruits]
The fruit-acids are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and
are burned in the body the same as sugar, or fats. The actual
energy-producing content of fruit is not large, and depends almost
entirely upon the sugar content. The nutrient elements of fruit
consist of fruit-sugar, combinations of salts, organic acids, and
various flavoring or aromatic substances. These same salts, acids,
etc., purchased at the drug store, and administered separately,
would be of no particular value, and might produce harmful results,
but in the various combinations of fruits they have very important
places in the diet.
[Sidenote: Fruit as an aid to digestion]
One of the most important functions that fruit performs in the
body is that of an artificial solvent, or an aid to digestion. To
make food serve this purpose well would require some knowledge in
regard to chemical harmonies, quantity, etc. To illustrate: If the
stomach does not secrete a sufficient quantity of hydrochloric
acid, fruit-acid should be absolutely omitted, as any acid, except
hydrochloric acid itself, tends to inhibit the formation of the
normal stomach acid. And this in turn tends to fermentation of the
sugars and starches--causing acid fermentation and all the symptoms
that accompany this condition.
[Sidenote: Effect of acid fruits]
So it is very important to prevent all the causes and sources of
fermentation if we would prevent the development of all the various
diseases that arise from acid conditions of the stomach, and
autointoxication. This explains why people of rheumatic tendency
cannot take acid fruit. Citrus fruits, however, and limes, lemons,
oranges, grape-fruit, etc., are beneficial in rheumatism and
conditions of lowered blood alkalinity, because they are changed to
alkalis in the system, and reinforce the blood alkalinity. People of
rheumatic tendency, therefore, should confine the diet as nearly as
possible to starchless foods, omitting all but the citrus fruits.
[Sidenote: Classification of fruit according to acidity]
In the lesson on "Vieno System of Food Measurement" I give the
energy value of various fruits, and also the nitrogen factor. These
tables consider fruits in the same light with other foods; that is,
as sources of energy and nitrogen. In the table which follows, the
more important fruits are grouped according to their total acidity.
The _figures_ represent the _volume_ of _acidity_, not strength:
ACID FRUITS SUBACID FRUITS SWEET AND
NON-ACID FRUITS
Limes 95 Raspberries 16 Grapes 8
Lemons 78 Plums 14 Prunes 7
Grapefruit 39 Cherries 13 Raisins 6
Cranberries 37 Peaches 12 Bananas 6
Pineapples 22 Blackberries 12 Persimmons 4
Oranges 20 Apples 11 Figs 4
Apricots 18 Pears 3
Strawberries 18 Dates 3
The fruits in the above table are all reasonably wholesome, and the
particular fruits to be used depend as much upon convenience as upon
the nature of the food substances. The above groups, however, will
be given much attention in dietetic prescriptions, and the food
scientist should become thoroughly familiar with this classification.
Of the acid fruits, oranges are the best and most desirable, and
cranberries perhaps the least.
Acid fruits are responsible for much stomach and intestinal trouble.
Food was prior to life. Animal life on this globe has been fitted
into, and is the net result of food; therefore, in the wonderful
adaptations of Nature, it is evident that life will develop higher
and better by subsisting upon the food that grows in its respective
country.
Acid fruits, such as lemons, limes, grapefruit, pineapples, and
oranges, are grown in the tropical and semi-tropical countries,
where the climate is warm, and where people subsist largely
upon native vegetables. These fruits supply the acids and the
fruit-sugars which the system requires in a warm climate.
In the tropics the people live out of doors, the pores of the skin
are kept open, and the effete matter produced by acids can be cast
out of the body.
[Sidenote: Evils of acid fruit in northern countries]
In northern countries people live largely indoors, and are heavily
clad except during a very short term in midsummer, therefore they
do not eliminate freely. They subsist largely upon the heavier
foods, such as flesh and grains, both of which require a large
amount of hydrochloric acid for digestion, hence when the acid of
fruits is added to the hydrochloric acid, of which most people have
a deficiency, serious acid fermentation may result.
Acid fermentation is the beginning of nearly all stomach trouble,
and is the primary cause of many other ills. (See "Fermentation," p.
424.)
[Sidenote: Value of subacid fruits]
Practically all the fruits of the subacid group are excellent;
however, on account of the mechanical irritation of the seeds,
berries should not be used in cases in which the stomach and the
intestines are irritated or catarrhal. In such cases the juice
should be pressed from the fruit and the seeds discarded.
[Sidenote: Value of non-acid fruits]
Of the non-acid fruits, raisins, figs, and dates are excellent
foods from the standpoint of furnishing a large amount of sugar in
its very best form. _Very ripe_ bananas and _ripe_ persimmons,
especially the large Japanese variety, are fruits which have
a distinct nature, and are suited to a particular purpose in
dietetics. These pulpy fruits are especially desirable in all cases
of digestive irritations and disorders, because of the amount of
nourishment contained in them, which is greater than that contained
in the juicy fruits. In my practice I seldom, if ever, find a
stomach so weak that it cannot digest ripe persimmons and very ripe
bananas. I attribute much of my success in treating such cases to
the skillful use of these products. The persimmon and the banana as
remedial and nutritive articles, are the most valuable fruits grown.
[Sidenote: Canned and evaporated fruits]
Raisins, prunes, figs, dates, apricots and peaches are common
types of fruit preserved by the process of evaporation, and when
soaked in clear water may be restored to almost their original
condition. Evaporated fruit should not be cooked. This is perhaps
the most palatable and wholesome method of preserving fruit. Next
in purity and importance are the methods of canning, as practised
by the housewife. The ordinary commercial preparations of canned
fruits, together with the many jams, marmalades and jellies, are
generally of doubtful, if not inferior quality. The Pure Food Law
has accomplished much to establish honesty in the preserving and
the labeling of food, but these products are still far from ideal,
and are not to be considered where fresh or evaporated fruits are
obtainable.
VEGETABLES
In this group we may conveniently class all food products not
elsewhere discussed.
[Sidenote: Composition of lettuce]
Beans, peas, and corn, when taken in the immature state, are classed
as vegetables. The importance of this group of food products
is not their great food value per pound (succulent vegetables
contain anywhere from 75 to 95 per cent of water); it is the
great variety of nutritive substances which they contain. Lettuce
contains cellulose, proteids, active chlorophyl, pentoses, sugars
and starches, representing carbohydrates in various processes of
transformation; small quantities of fat, and a relatively large per
cent of mineral salts, besides numerous flavoring materials. All
other edible plants contain many of the same elements in different
proportions.
Edible vegetables may be conveniently grouped according to that
portion of the plant which we consume. These groups are:
a Above ground
b Roots and tubers
c Leafy or succulent
d Cucurbita family
Melons, cantaloups, and tomatoes are on the border line between
vegetables and fruits. The following groups of vegetables are made
up according to these classifications:
VEGETABLES
_(a) Above Ground_
Beans--
Dried
Green
Beets
Brussels sprouts
Cauliflower
Corn
Eggplant
Lentils (dried)
Okra
Peas
Dried
Green
_(b) Roots and Tubers_
Artichokes
Asparagus
Carrots
Onions
Potatoes--
Sweet
White
Parsnips
Radishes
Turnips
_(c) Leafy or Succulent Vegetables_
Beet-tops
Cabbage
Celery
Dandelion
Kale
Lettuce
Parsley
Romaine
Radish-tops
Spinach
Turnip-tops
Watercress
_(d) Miscellaneous Vegetables (of the cucurbita family)_
Cantaloup
Muskmelon
Pumpkin
Squash
Watermelon
[Sidenote: Value of succulent vegetables]
Succulent vegetables are very essential in a well-rounded bill
of fare, and the neglect of their use is one of the errors in
dietetics. The most important function of succulent or leafy
vegetables is in the supply of pure water and mineral salts. They
give to the body that which cannot be obtained elsewhere.
[Sidenote: Vegetable juices aid the digestion of all food]
The diet of the average person is composed of too many solids,
especially of the carbohydrate class. Cereal products compose a
very large proportion of the civilized diet, especially in America,
yet the starch of cereals is the most difficult of all starches to
digest and to assimilate. The water and solvent juices in fresh
vegetables and succulent plants are important factors in the
digestion and the assimilation of cereal starches. The relative
importance of salads and succulent plants in the diet may be graded
according to the following table:
1 Spinach
2 Turnip-tops
3 Dandelion
4 Lettuce
5 Romaine
6 Endive
7 Celery
8 Cabbage
9 Kale
10 Watercress
11 Parsley
12 Beet-tops
[Sidenote: The white potato]
The Irish or white potato is the only true tuber that is used very
extensively as an article of food. It is formed chiefly of starch
and water. The starch of this tuber is very coarse and much softer,
more soluble, and hence much more digestible than the starch of
cereals or legumes. Baking is the best method of preparing the white
potato. The skins or peeling should be eaten in order to balance
the diet as to cellulose, which is a most important article in the
excitation of peristalsis of both the stomach and the intestines.
[Sidenote: The sweet potato]
The sweet potato is a root, and differs chiefly from the Irish
potato in that it contains more sugar and less starch. The sweet
potato is more wholesome than the Irish variety. Measured by its
chemical contents, it is one of the best foods of all the tuber
group.
[Sidenote: Root vegetables]
The root vegetables given in the order of my preference are:
Carrots, parsnips, turnips and beets. Carrots are exceedingly
nutritious and palatable in an uncooked state, eaten with nuts.
Tomatoes may be considered upon the border line between vegetables
and fruits. They are exceedingly useful in cases of intestinal
congestion and torpidity of the liver.
[Sidenote: The melon]
The watermelon is very wholesome. The water is rich in sugar, while
the pulp is composed of a soft fiber, which is a mild stimulant to
the digestive and the excretory organs. Muskmelons and cantaloups
are rich in natural sugar. They are non-acid, hence in harmony with
nearly every known article of food. Considering their chemical
neutrality and food value, they are about the best articles of diet
in the watery or juicy class.
The pumpkin and the squash, which are closely related to the melon,
are of the genus cucurbita, and are divided into three species:
1 Pepo or pumpkin
2 Maxima or winter squash
3 Moschata, the pear-shaped squash
With a slight variation of the water content, all of these varieties
contain much the same elements of nutrition. However, the pumpkin is
most important to the student of dietetics--(1) because of its food
value, and (2) because of its prolific and universal growth.
SUGARS AND SIRUPS
It will aid the student greatly in comprehending this subject if he
will review the chemical composition of sugars as given in Lesson IV
under "Carbohydrates," Vol. I, p. 107.)
Sugar in its various forms is a very prolific food product. It is
the principal substance contained in nearly all fruits, but we shall
confine our discussion here to the various sugars and sirups as they
appear in commerce, freed from the other materials with which they
are associated in nature.
BEET-SUGAR
[Sidenote: Origin of beet-sugar]
Contrary to common belief, the greatest proportion of the world's
supply of sugar comes from the sugar-beet. Sugar, which was once
manufactured solely from the maple-sap and the sugar-cane, was
discovered about one hundred years ago, to be present in beets. A
very interesting historical fact is that the sugar-beet industry
owes its origin to the efforts of Napoleon to supply France with
home-produced sugar, because of the tariff or embargo laid upon
foreign commerce. As a result of this effort all of Central Europe
is now a heavy sugar-producing region.
The method of production and the quantity of sugar contained in the
sugar-beet have been so greatly improved that the present industry
is quite able to compete with the production of sugar from cane
in the tropical regions. Crude sugar from sugar-beets is very
unpalatable, but the refined or crystallized form of beet sugar is
chemically identical with cane-sugar.
[Sidenote: Cane-sugar]
Sugar-cane, though not so important as formerly, is still grown very
extensively in several of the Southern states--Cuba, Porto Rico,
and many semi-tropical countries. The chief distinction between
cane-sugar and beet-sugar is that the crude cane-sugar, before it is
refined, is a very wholesome and palatable product. The brown sugar
of commerce is uncrystallized, or unrefined cane-sugar, and is fully
as wholesome, and to most tastes more palatable than the granulated
product. It is to be regretted that fashion has decreed we should
use white sugar.
[Sidenote: Refined sugar]
Refined sugar, whether produced from beets or cane, is sometimes
slightly contaminated with sulfurous acid and indigo, which are used
for bleaching purposes, and if present in any quantity are very
objectionable.
[Sidenote: Maple-sugar]
Maple-sugar, which is made by boiling or evaporating the sap of the
sugar-maple, is a product decidedly superior in natural flavor to
either beet or cane-sugar. Maple-sugar contains a small proportion
of glucose and levulose, but its chief distinction from other sugars
is a matter of flavor. The hickory tree contains flavors somewhat
similar to the maple. A cheap substitute for maple-sugar has been
manufactured by flavoring common sugar with the extract of hickory
bark.
The other forms of dry sugar obtainable in the market are milk-sugar
and crystallized glucose. The chief use of milk-sugar as an article
of diet is in humanizing cow's milk for infant feeding. The dry
glucose, or, as it is sometimes called, grape-sugar, is not
commonly seen in the market for the reason that it is difficult to
crystallize, hence it is much cheaper to market glucose in the form
of sirups.
[Sidenote: The manufacture, composition and uses of glucose]
Commercial glucose, as was explained in Lesson IV, is made by
treating starch with dilute acids, and its wholesomeness depends
entirely upon the care with which this is done. Theoretically,
glucose is a very good food. In practise it is somewhat risky
because cheap chemicals used in its manufacture may leave harmful
and poisonous substances in the finished product. The manufacture of
glucose is an excellent illustration of the objections to man-made
foods as compared with natural foods. When we eat grapes we know
that we are taking one of the most important substances required in
the life-processes in a perfectly pure, unadulterated and wholesome
form. Science has taught man to manufacture the identical substance
that is found in the grape from corn, which is a much cheaper
product, but the temptation to economize for the sake of dividends,
and to allow the commercial spirit to control in the manufacture of
food products is always present. For this reason the manufactured
article comes under suspicion, while the natural form we know to
be "exactly as represented." The principal uses of glucose are for
table sirups and confectionery. Pure glucose as an article of food
lacks flavor; for this reason the usual method of manufacturing
sirups is to mix glucose and some other form of sirup or molasses.
[Sidenote: Sirups and molasses]
The original sources of sirups, besides commercial glucose,
are cane-sirup, made directly by evaporating the juice of
the sugar-cane; maple-sirup, made from the pure maple-sap;
sorghum-sirup, or molasses, from the juice of the sorghum-cane,
which is grown extensively in the South and Central West; and
last, yet perhaps most common, "New Orleans" molasses, which is
the residue from the manufacture of cane-sugar. This may be very
wholesome if taken from the first drippings of the crystallized
sugar, but if taken from sugar refineries it contains chemicals that
have been used in the refining and the bleaching processes, and is a
very doubtful product. An excellent quality of sirup can be made in
the home by adding to the brown sugar a certain quantity of water,
and boiling down to the desired consistency.
HONEY
[Sidenote: Honey, man's only food from the insect world]
Honey occupies a very unique place, as it is practically the only
food substance which man utilizes from the insect world. Honey
cannot be strictly compared with milk and eggs as a food product,
as the latter are complete foods for the nourishment of young and
growing animals, hence must contain all food material necessary
to construct the animal body. Honey, which is a carbohydrate,
is gathered and used as a food for the adult bee. Pollen, or
bee-bread, a nitrogenous substance, is the food of the larvae
or young bees. This illustrates a very interesting fact in
physiological chemistry. The insect differs radically from higher
animals in that its life is divided into three complete stages.
When the adult insect, with its wings, emerges from the cocoon or
pupa, its growth is complete. Some insects never take any food in
the adult stage; but the adult bee takes food, which is practically
pure carbohydrates, and which would not maintain the life of a young
animal.
Honey is composed chiefly of glucose and levulose, with perhaps 10
per cent of cane-sugar, depending upon the flowers from which it
is gathered. Honey is extensively adulterated with glucose, and
sometimes with cane-sugar; thus the natural flavors are impaired and
the product cheapened.
CONFECTIONS
[Sidenote: Evil effect of confections]
Under the general term of confections are included all products
manufactured for the purpose of appealing chiefly to the sense
of taste rather than to serve any special purpose as food. The
chief products that enter into confections are the various forms
of sugars, chiefly glucose, because of its cheapness; fruits,
nut-kernels, flavoring extracts, and coloring materials. Many of
the substances used are very wholesome, yet the habit of eating
confections as a general rule should be discouraged, if not
condemned, the reasons being--
1 That the material from which they are made is usually unknown
to the public, and the temptation of manufacturers to use cheap
or adulterated material too often controls, therefore quality is
sacrificed to profits.
2 Confections are usually eaten without regard to appetite, or
the physical need of food.
3 The combination of things from which confections are made
shows that they are put together not for their food value, or
nutritive virtue, but wholly for the purpose of appealing to an
artificial sense of taste, rather than natural appetite. This
destroys the appetite for similar products in simpler forms.
The following are the best forms in which sugar can be found, given
in the order of their importance:
1 Sweet fruits
2 Honey
3 Sorghum
4 Maple-sugar or sirup
5 Unrefined cane-sugar
6 Refined cane-sugar
Even glucose sirups are perfectly wholesome when free from
adulterants. The mixing, fixing, refining and manufacturing all go
to make our sugar supply more expensive and less wholesome than the
plain fruit-sugars, honey and sorghum.
[Sidenote: Application of the term "sweets" as herein used]
In order to avoid repetition, all articles containing sugar are
referred to throughout this work as _sweets_. By "sweets" I mean
sugar, sirups, honey, and all foods containing sugars, such as
desserts, soda-fountain drinks, and the limitless number of
confections. While carbohydrates rank second in importance in the
human diet, yet Nature has made no provision for sugar being taken
in its concentrated form. In this form it is the most severe article
of human diet, and to its use can be traced the origin of a vast
number of stomach, intestinal, and other disorders. Superacidity,
fermentation, intestinal gas, and the large number of sympathetic
disorders that follow these conditions are caused largely by the
overconsumption of sugars. It would be equally as important for the
Federal Government, or the States, to regulate the manufacture and
the sale of confections as to regulate the manufacture and the sale
of intoxicating liquors.
VEGETABLE OILS
[Sidenote: Value of vegetable oils]
Vegetable oils form too small a portion of the modern bill of fare.
Oils of vegetable origin, whether taken in their natural form or
pressed out, and used with other foods, are the most valuable
nutrients known for the production of heat and energy. By this
statement I mean to convey the idea that a given quantity of fat
will produce more heat and energy than any other article of human
nutrition, and that vegetable fats are more valuable than animal
fats, because they are more adapted to the fat metabolism of the
human body, and less likely to contain harmful substances. Vegetable
oils contain a larger per cent of olein, which is considered the
most palatable and the most valuable fat known.
[Sidenote: Olives and olive-oil]
The olive is a unique plant, standing along the border line between
fruits and nuts. Ripe olives contain from 40 to 60 per cent oil, the
best quality of which is extracted by cold pressure, the cheaper
grades being pressed out at higher temperature. The superiority
of olive-oil is due to the fact that it is composed almost wholly
of olein; that it contains very little fatty acids and other
impurities, and has a mild, sweet, and agreeable flavor.
The adulteration of olive-oil has been extensively practised, but
the agitation of pure food, and the demand for same are improving
the quality of this excellent article of food.
[Sidenote: Cottonseed-oil]
Cottonseed-oil is the largest vegetable oil industry in America. It
is also the cheapest of vegetable oils. The cottonseed-kernel from
which the oil is taken is not an edible product. Though used as
cattle feed, it contains alkaloid substances which sometimes have a
poisonous effect when fed too generously.
The methods of cottonseed-oil manufacture are more complex than
those of olive-oil. The oil must be heated and bleached with certain
chemical agents, and if designed for salad-oils, frequently a
portion of the stearin is removed to make the oil more liquid.
When the cottonseed-oil is carefully manufactured, it is considered
to be entirely free from harmful substances. However, as the
original material contains poisonous combinations, and as chemical
agents are used in refining and bleaching, cottonseed-oil products
are open to the same criticism as glucose and refined sirups; that
is, they are wholesome when properly made, but cheap and careless
production renders the product undesirable as food. Manufactured
under careful Government supervision, cottonseed-oil will, no doubt,
be one of the great foods of the future. I recommend the purer
brands of cottonseed-oils, when pure olive-oil cannot be obtained or
afforded.
[Sidenote: Peanut-oil]
Peanut-oil is an excellent food substance which is almost entirely
neglected in this country. It contains the best portion of the
peanut. Other vegetable oils, valuable as foods, and the use of
which is to be recommended, are sesame-oil and sunflower-oil. These
products are not produced extensively in this country.
[Sidenote: Cocoa-butter]
The cocoa-butter is pressed from the beans from which cocoa and
chocolate are made. The butter has a flavor similar to these
articles. Cocoa-butter should not be confused with cocoanut-butter.
These products are very different in origin.
[Sidenote: Cocoanut-butter]
Cocoanut-butter is not extensively used in America as a food
product, owing to the fact that the exposed fat globules oxidize
very rapidly. It is extensively used in Germany, however, and with
the introduction of better methods of preservation, we expect to see
cocoanut-butter more generally used in this country, as the source
from which it is derived is almost unlimited.
[Sidenote: Palm-oil]
Palm-oil comes from a different species of the palm plant than that
which produces the cocoanut. It is a very inexpensive product and
one which is chiefly used in the production of soap and candles,
although it is perfectly wholesome as a food. Such products have
not been utilized in this country as food, because our boundless
prairies and corn-fields have made the production of cattle and
swine cheap, and our fat supply has swung toward points of least
resistance.
Not all vegetable oils are edible or wholesome. Some contain, in
addition to olein, stearin and palmitin, and other fats quite as
undesirable. Castor-oil, for example, contains ricinolein, which is
a poison, and to which its purgative action is due. Croton-oil is
the most powerful laxative known to medicine, owing to the fact that
Nature abhors a poison.
[Sidenote: Linseed-oil]
Linseed-oil contains large quantities of linolein, which is the
substance that oxidizes, forming the stiff, rubbery coat on
the surface of linseed-oil when exposed to the air. This makes
linseed-oil valuable matter to the painter, but objectionable as a
food.
LESSON IX
DRUGS, STIMULANTS, AND NARCOTICS
With the origin and the use of drugs in the treatment of dis-ease,
most people are familiar. The purpose of this lesson, however, is to
give brief but accurate information concerning the various chemical
elements and compounds termed drugs or medicines.
Many of the medicines in common use are neutral, having no
particular effect upon the body, and the effects attributed to
them are largely imaginary. Out of the many thousands of chemical
materials found in nature, there are, however, certain substances,
groups, and compounds which have most marked and violent effect upon
all forms of living protoplasm.
[Sidenote: Ancient belief concerning medicine]
The general theory upon which the practise of medicine rests is
that certain chemical substances which are not found in the animal
body, and which have no natural place therein, have mysterious
and beneficial effects; that they possess certain powers, among
which are the rebuilding of dis-eased cells, and the purifying of
dis-eased blood. This belief arose in a very remote age, when the
mind was primitive; when man was ignorant, and controlled almost
wholly by superstition--when every natural phenomenon was believed
to be the work or whim of some god, and every dis-ease was thought
to be the work of some devil.
[Sidenote: Life the result of chemical harmony]
Modern science has proved all this to be untrue. We know by the
selective processes through millions of years of evolution that
those chemical substances which work in harmony have become
associated so as to form life. We know that life is merely an
assemblement of organic matter, very complex and little understood;
that it is eternally undergoing chemical changes governed by the
natural laws of development and decay. We know that conformity to
certain natural laws will produce physical ease, and that violation
of these laws will produce dis-ease. We know that ease is what we
most desire, therefore the trend of thought, throughout the world,
is to realize this desire by turning toward the natural.
[Sidenote: The material upon which life depends]
True food furnishes the foundation or constructive material upon
which all life depends. Nearly all other substances which affect the
human body are merely disturbing elements that interfere with the
natural chemical processes of life.
To illustrate more fully these general principles, we will take, for
example, the chemical changes that may take place in the hemoglobin
of the blood. Hemoglobin is a proteid containing iron. It is a
complex chemical compound and reacts with other substances very
readily. In the lungs it combines with oxygen. In the muscles, this
oxyhemoglobin is again received into the original body-substances.
This life-giving process is only one of the many thousands selected
by evolution from the millions of chemical changes possible in
nature.
[Sidenote: Effect of carbon monoxid upon the hemoglobin of the blood]
When carbon monoxid, which is present in illuminating gas, is
breathed into the lungs, it combines with hemoglobin, producing
a compound which prevents the formation of oxyhemoglobin, thus
stopping the process of oxidation in the body, and death is the
result.
[Sidenote: Drug theory declining]
In proportion as science has shown the origin of life, and the
methods by which it has been sustained and developed, the use of
drugs as a remedial agent has declined. This line of reasoning
followed to its logical end, points with unerring certainty to the
total abandonment of the drug theory of treating dis-ease except,
perhaps, as anesthetics and disinfectants.
[Sidenote: Treatment of dis-ease by disinfection]
The means of combating dis-ease by disinfection is sometimes
confused with the general system of drugging. The modern methods of
preventing and of combating contagious dis-eases by disinfection are
in harmony with the best known sanitary laws. These results depend,
not upon the ignorant and the harmful theories on which general drug
medication was founded, but upon the latest and the most scientific
knowledge.
[Sidenote: Patent medicines and the doctor's prescription]
In the recent magazine exposures of patent medicines, the chief
trend of argument was that these stock remedies were evil because
the user took opium, cocain, or whisky without a doctor's
prescription. This standpoint is more amusing than instructive.
Just why a poison taken without a doctor's prescription should be
dangerous, and its sale a crime, while the sale and the use of the
same drug over a doctor's prescription should be highly recommended,
is rather difficult to comprehend, and this the enterprising
journals have not explained. The exposé that is most needed is not
of a few poisonous patent preparations, but of the fundamental folly
of interfering with Nature's work by any form of poisoning. Poison
is poison whether advertised in a newspaper as a "New Discovery," or
prescribed by a reputable representative of the "Ancient Order of
Medicine Men."
In a lesson of this kind it is impractical to classify all drugs
accurately according to their chemical nature. For convenience of
the student, however, the drugs commonly used in medicine will be
divided into three groups, which have common representatives, and
whose general effect upon the human body are well understood. These
three groups are:
a Alkaloids and narcotics
b Alcohols and related compounds
c Poisonous mineral salts and acids
a ALKALOIDS AND NARCOTICS
[Sidenote: Effect of alkaloids upon the body]
All alkaloids are of vegetable origin. They all contain nitrogen,
and in some respects resemble ammonia. Many of the alkaloid
compounds are used in medicine. They affect primarily the nervous
system, and may cause freedom from pain, or that abnormal state of
exhilaration of which the cocain addict is a typical representative.
Substances of this alkaloid group doubtless have useful functions
in the plant in which they grew, but in the animal body they are
disturbing factors. Among the most important alkaloids may be
mentioned opium, cocain, nux vomica, and quinin.
OPIUM
[Sidenote: Composition of opium]
Opium is the evaporated sap that flows from incisions made in the
unripe capsules of certain Asiatic species of poppy. It contains
a large number of chemical compounds which belong to the alkaloid
group. The chief alkaloids in opium are codein, narcotin, heroin,
and morphin, the most active being heroin. Other alkaloids are of
similar composition. The general effects and the uses of the crude
opium and the refined morphin may be considered together. The
latter, being more concentrated, is used in much smaller quantities.
[Sidenote: Effect of opium]
The effect upon the body of either opium or of morphin is that of
benumbing the nerves and producing sleep. Opium illustrates in a
typical manner the progressive stages by which both the body and the
mind may become enslaved to the influence of a narcotic. The last
stages of the opium or of the morphin slave is probably the lowest
state of depravity into which the human being can sink.
[Sidenote: Origin of the morphin habit]
Opium is eaten or smoked by the Chinese and by other Asiatic races
to a very great extent. This habit is considered the worst form
of slavery to drugs that is known except cocain. In this country
the morphin habit is the more common form. Morphin is either taken
internally or is injected beneath the skin by a hypodermic syringe.
It is estimated that the great majority of the morphin slaves in
this country begin the use of this drug under "their" doctor's
prescription.
[Sidenote: The several uses of morphin]
The use of opium as prescribed by medical men is chiefly for the
relief of either pain or of insomnia. Its employment in cases of
great agony is probably justifiable, but the repeated taking of
this drug until the habit is formed becomes a criminal blunder for
which the doctor who prescribed it should be held responsible.
Unfortunately this is only one of the uses to which opium is put
by the medical profession. Prescriptions containing either opium
or morphin are frequently given to relieve pain, or to produce
sleep, when the primary trouble is chronic, and should be treated by
removing the causes, and not alleviated by stupifying the nerves.
In the majority of such cases, if the diet is balanced according
to age, activity, and climate, and vigorous intestinal peristalsis
created, sleep will follow, and other disorders will gradually
disappear.
[Sidenote: Opium in patent medicines]
The dangers that lurk in the use of opium are so well known, and
the habit has become so unpopular, that tricks are resorted to by
manufacturers of this drug to deceive the people into believing that
they are using some "harmless" substance, while it is the influence
of the opium that gives the medicine its apparent good effect.
Patent medicines which claim to kill pain, soothe nerves, and
produce sleep, usually contain opium. The popular "Soothing Sirups"
for children are nearly all opium products, and have been given to
millions of babies in this country by deluded mothers, in the belief
that because it soothed, their innocent child was being benefited.
These are the crimes of greed passed on to innocent childhood
through ignorance.
COCAIN
Cocain is an alkaloid, the use and the influence of which are almost
as noteworthy as that of morphin. Cocain is derived from the leaves
of the cocoa plant which grows in the Andes of Peru. Just as the
Chinese use opium, so the Peruvian Indians use cocain.
[Sidenote: Uses and effects of cocain]
Owing to its hydrochloric-acid salt, the effects of cocain differ
somewhat from those of opium. It produces relative freedom from
pain, and is used more particularly to produce insensibility in
local parts of the body, as in the case of extracting teeth. The
cocain slaves, which are increasing alarmingly in this country,
usually take it by snuffing, or in an atomizer. The habit is usually
acquired, as in the case of morphin, by the prescription of a
physician. The patient, learning from experience the freedom from
pain and the sense of exhilaration that can be produced by the drug,
and not being warned by "his" physician of its baneful effects,
continues the habit after the doctor's treatment has ceased, and
awakes to find a monster owning his body and his mind. The cocain
fiend, like the opium slave, develops an insatiable desire for the
drug, and suffers extreme mental and physical pain when deprived of
the usual allowance. The development of untruthfulness and trickery
in a person desiring his allowance of a forbidden drug, is one of
the marked traits of the narcotic slave.
[Sidenote: Cocain in patent medicines]
There are a number of different medicines which depend for their
action wholly upon the cocain they contain. A large number of
catarrhal powders in the market are diluted forms of cocain, and
are used extensively both by those who do not realize the nature of
the drug they are using, and by those who know that they are cocain
slaves, but prefer to disguise the fact in this manner.
NUX VOMICA AND STRYCHNIN
[Sidenote: Effect of strychnin]
Nux vomica is derived from the seeds of a plant that grows in
India. Strychnin is the alkaloid which exists therein. Strychnin is
quite different in its effects from the above-mentioned alkaloids,
for instead of benumbing the nerves, causing sleep or a pleasing
sensation, the effect is a nerve stimulus which causes muscular
convulsions.
The medical use of strychnin is more of a stimulant than of a
narcotic. It is one of the most widely used of all the drugs
prescribed by the old school physicians, and is extremely dangerous
in over-doses. Indeed, thousands of people have been killed by
strychnin poisoning.
QUININ
Quinin is derived from Peruvian or cinchona-bark. This bark, like
the juice of the poppy plant, contains a number of alkaloids. These
alkaloids, in turn, may react with acids, forming salts.
[Sidenote: The uses of quinin]
Sulfate of quinin is the most common form of this drug. Its
principal use is for the destruction of the malarial germ, and it
is, therefore, the standard drug in all malarious countries. The
germs of malaria, however, are not bacteria (microscopic plants,
as many suppose), but minute forms of animal life. Aside from this
particular use, the effect of quinin is to disturb the nervous
system, produce insomnia, ringing of the ears--and even deafness, in
a great many cases. It does not, however, produce an addiction, as
do morphin, cocain, heroin, and other drugs.
ACETANILID
[Sidenote: Composition and effects of acetanilid]
Acetanilid is one of the coal-tar poisons and is chemically related
to anilin. This drug has come into use only within the past few
years, and of all the coal tar group is one of the most remarkable
in its physiological effects. Its influence is to produce at first
a deadening effect upon the nervous system, which puts it in the
"pain-killer" class. Its continued use destroys the hemoglobin of
the blood and produces marked cell-destroying effects throughout the
body. Its medical use is for rheumatism, headache, severe coughs,
and the like.
A patent medicine now being widely exploited advertises, "We print
our formula." So they do, and acetanilid is one of the ingredients.
The general public does not know what acetanilid is. The habitué of
this "healthful drug" experiences a craving similar to that of other
narcotic drug fiends.
A person who has long used a medicine containing acetanilid shows
a bluish-white complexion caused by the destruction of red
blood-corpuscles. I merely mention this as an example to show that
a knowledge of the composition of patent medicines does not protect
the public unless the public is made familiar with the ingredients
that compose these medicines.
Acetanilid is the active principle in many popular headache powders,
the formulas of which are not made public. The use of acetanilid by
those claiming to cure suffering, or to relieve it, is one of the
most glaring malpractises of the day.
[Sidenote: Evil effects of coal-tar products]
Other coal-tar products chemically related to acetanilid are
antipyrin, phenacetin, and various derivatives of benzol and phenol.
The general uses of this class of drugs are to reduce fevers and
to allay pain. They accomplish this by stupifying the nerves and
the nerve fibers, which serve as telegraph wires to inform the
brain that something is wrong. This is equivalent to killing the
messenger that warns us of our sins.
The following are a few of the toxic remedies used by old school
physicians in the treatment of nearly all forms of dis-ease:
Laudanum--which is merely another name for opium
Paregoric--a standard baby medicine which is a tincture of opium
with camphor and other drugs
Codein--an alkaloid manufactured from morphin
Lyoscine--the alkaloid of henbane
Atropin--an alkaloid extensively used by oculists. (It is
contained with other alkaloids in BELLADONNA, which, in turn, is
prepared from the plant known as the "Deadly Nightshade")
Hellebore--a powerful alkaloid, is one of the old standard drugs
used in the treatment of rheumatic gout
TOBACCO
Tobacco belongs strictly to the narcotic class of drugs. With the
possible exception of opium, tobacco is by far the most detrimental
narcotic used by man.
[Sidenote: Effect of nicotin]
The active principle of tobacco is nicotin, which resides in the
leaves in combination with malic acid. Nicotin is an alkaloid, and
one of the most deadly poisons known. In distilled form, nicotin,
even in minute quantities, produces death almost instantaneously.
The nicotin contained in a pound of tobacco is sufficient to kill
several hundred men if administered in the form of pure nicotin, but
in smoking and chewing tobacco only a small amount of this poison is
absorbed into the body at one time, and, owing to the gradual growth
of the tobacco habit, the system has time to partly adjust itself
to the use of this powerful drug, enough at least to prevent acute
narcotic poisoning.
The violent sickness caused by the first use of tobacco evidences
the poisonous effects of the nicotin upon a body not accustomed to
its use.
Tobacco as a narcotic is not as drastic in its effect as opium,
morphin, and cocain; for this reason its use is not so generally
condemned. Popular opinion, however, is now rapidly recognizing that
all of these substances belong in the same general class and are
deteriorating factors in human development. The rapid spread of the
cigarette habit among young boys has done much to arouse popular
agitation against the tobacco evil.
[Sidenote: General effect of tobacco]
From the standpoint of health, nothing can be said in favor of
the use of tobacco in any form, as it gradually deadens the
sensitiveness and control of the nervous system. It preys with
great violence upon the optic nerves, and more than any other
drug known dethrones sexual vitality. The tobacco heart, which is
readily recognized by medical practitioners, shows the effect of
this narcotic upon the nervous system. The craving for tobacco is
closely related to the craving for intoxicating liquors and for
highly seasoned food--three of the most potent factors in perverting
the true sense of taste and arousing abnormal cravings which destroy
natural hunger.
Neither tobacco nor nicotin are now used by medical practitioners.
Tobacco was formerly used as a purgative, and also as a poultice to
relieve swellings and inflammation.
COFFEE
[Sidenote: Composition of coffee]
Coffee is one of the most extensively used articles in the narcotic
group. The alkaloid which gives coffee its characteristic properties
is caffein. Coffee also contains from three to four per cent of
tannic acid. Other substances in coffee, to which the pleasant odors
and taste are due, are various forms of fats and carbohydrates,
but these exist in such small quantities as to be negligible food
elements. The effect of the caffein is that of a nervous stimulant,
increasing the general nervous and mental activity. Coffee is
frequently used to keep people awake. It is given as an antidote
for opium poisoning because it stimulates the nervous system and
prevents sleep.
[Sidenote: Effects of coffee-drinking]
Coffee, when used habitually, produces various forms of dyspepsia,
especially hypersecretion of hydrochloric acid, tannic acid being
the provoking factor. The effect of coffee upon the nervous system
is that of continued stimulation or excitation. Its continued
use overworks and wears out the nervous system, thus causing a
deterioration of both body and mind. If caffein were taken in a
highly concentrated form, it would result in a narcotic habit quite
as enslaving as the use of opium or cocain.
TEA
[Sidenote: Composition of tea]
Tea, in its chemical composition, is similar to coffee, containing
even a greater percentage of the alkaloid caffein, and also a
larger percentage of tannic acid. Tannic acid is present in larger
quantities in green tea than in the black variety. In addition to
the evil effects caused by the caffein which it contains, tea is
more destructive to the normal activities of the stomach because of
the tannic acid. The student may get some idea of what the stomach
of the tea-user has to contend with, when it is stated that tannic
acid gets its name from the essential action that this substance has
in the process of tanning leather.
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
The cocoa bean, which was mentioned as the source of chocolate and
cocoa-butter, is also the source of the beverage known as breakfast
cocoa. The cocoa bean contains caffein, though the per cent is
considerably less than in coffee or tea. Cocoa is practically free
from tannic acid. For these reasons, and because of its food value,
it is decidedly the least harmful of the stimulant beverages. Cocoa,
though being in reality more tasteful and nutritious than either
coffee or tea, is less used because it lacks the stimulating effect.
The various alkaloid poisons thus far discussed form but an
infinitesimal part of the great group of articles used by old school
physicians in the treatment of dis-ease, and by civilized people as
stimulating and sedative beverages.
b ALCOHOLS AND RELATED COMPOUNDS
The second group of drugs which is associated with alcohol includes
the ethers, chloroform, and coal-tar products. This group is also
wholly of plant origin, alcohol being distilled from plant products,
and coal-tar being formed from petrified plants. These drugs
always contain the three elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen;
some contain an additional element which gives them their peculiar
property; for example, chloroform contains chlorin.
Coal-tar is the most wonderful source of drugs known. The
distillation of this substance produces coloring matter,
preservatives, poisons, and "pain killers" ad infinitum.
ALCOHOL
The uses and the effects of alcohol will not be discussed at length
in this lesson because the subject of alcohol is constantly before
the public, and its evil effects universally known and acknowledged.
However, I deem it well to examine a phase of the question which is
not so well understood.
[Sidenote: Alcohol a poison not a food]
Whether or not alcohol is a food has recently been discussed by a
wide range of writers. The answer of science is that alcohol is
a food in the sense that it can produce heat in the body. Even
if alcohol were a true food, the heat is produced, however, by
the increased circulation of the blood, which is Nature's warfare
against a poison, and in the reaction the vitality of the body
is lowered. Thus the true effect of the poison is made manifest.
Starvation is not the danger that threatens mankind, but OVERFEEDING
and WRONG feeding. Were we in danger of starvation, whisky at
one dollar a quart would not save us. The very fact that alcohol
produces heat in the body, whether we call it a food or not, only
adds another reason why it should not be used. It produces heat by
stimulating heart action; rapid heart action is Nature's defense
against the intruding poison.
Alcohol taken in addition to food, and in connection with it,
produces surplus heat, and overstimulates metabolism, which is very
harmful. It also adds one more to the long list of detrimental
effects traceable to intoxicating beverages. Alcohol is a food in
the same sense that dynamite is a fuel. Dynamite produces heat, but
it would be an unwise fireman who would use it under his boiler.
[Sidenote: Correct eating the best treatment for the drink-habit]
Another point regarding the use of alcohol that is worthy of
consideration, is the fact that improper nutrition, together with
the over-ingestion of stimulating and heating foods such as meat
and condiments, invariably increase the appetite for intoxicants.
The appetite for alcohol seldom, if ever, develops in a perfectly
nourished body, and the best treatment known for the drink-habit is
a careful course of balanced dieting and hygienic methods of living.
Alcohol is purely a stimulant. It increases the heart action,
the circulation, the production of heat, and the general vital
activities. It is an offense to Nature, and the body calls into
activity all her powers to cast out the poison. When the influence
of alcohol has run its course, there is a reaction or stupor which
calls for more of the same drug. This indulgence cultivates the
desire through both the body-functions and the appetite, and the
blighting habit dethrones the reason, thus rendering useless the
lives of millions of worthy people.
[Sidenote: Why alcohol is used in patent medicines]
The prescribing of alcohol by physicians has chiefly descended from
the ancient idea that alcohol was strengthening and beneficial to
the body. The practise is being discontinued by many reputable
physicians, which proves that no great benefits, in dis-ease, can
be derived from its use. The regular use of alcohol in small doses
gives the patient the feeling of physical exhilaration, and is
therefore an excellent means of making him believe that he is being
benefited. For this reason, and because of its cheapness, low grade
alcohol is the chief component of many medicines.
The following table gives the percentage of alcohol contained in a
few patent medicines, previous to the popular exposé of the subject.
(I do not vouch for the accuracy of this table at the present time,
as the manufacturers under the pressure of public opinion may have
changed their formulas):
Peruna 28%
Hostetter's Bitters 44%
Lydia Pinkham's Compound 20%
Hood's Sarsaparilla 18%
Ayer's Sarsaparilla 26%
Paine's Celery Compound 21%
Within the past few years these facts have been made public,
resulting in a heavy decline in the sale of these concoctions. The
number of good temperance people who have been innocently under the
influence of alcohol for a goodly portion of their days can only be
vaguely estimated.
CHLOROFORM, ETHER, AND CHLORAL
[Sidenote: Uses of chloroform, ether and chloral]
These drugs are chemically related to alcohol, and are typical
anesthetics, which mean that they produce temporary relief from
pain when the vapors are inhaled. They are chiefly used in surgical
operations, which is justified providing the operation is justified.
One death in three thousand occurs from the administration of
chloroform, and one in thirteen thousand from the administration
of ether. These products have been used to some extent in patent
medicines, particularly in consumptive cures, where they have been
given with the idea of relieving the cough.
POISONOUS MINERAL SALTS AND ACIDS
The mineral acids and salts of certain metals, especially of
mercury, lead, and copper, are powerful poisons. Patent medicines
are frequently labeled "Pure vegetable compounds." This statement
may be true, but it is deceptive because they are equally as
poisonous as the coal-tar products which have become so popular.
They are life-destroying in their final effects upon the human body.
MERCURY
[Sidenote: Uses of mercury and mercurial salts]
The metal mercury or quicksilver is used very extensively as a
medicine, chiefly in compounds of mercurial salts. All salts of
mercury are extremely poisonous. Calomel (mercuric chlorid) is
a standard allopathic medicine. Mercuric bichlorid or corrosive
sublimate is more destructive to protoplasm, and is used as a
germicide or disinfectant. The poisonous action of mercurial salts
is probably due to the combination of mercury with the protoplasm
of the body-cells. When mercurial compounds are taken in poisonous
doses, the antidote is the white of egg with which the mercury
combines in the stomach, thus sparing the human protoplasm. The
mercurial salts, when given in small doses, produce very remarkable
physiological disturbances, sometimes even loosening of teeth.
Because of their violent physiological action, these drugs are
generally to be condemned.
POTASSIUM IODID
Potassium iodid has a very destructive effect upon the natural
functions of the body, and for this reason it has been associated
with mercury in the treatment of syphilis, the usual method being to
alternate between potassium iodid and mercurial salts.
LEAD AND COPPER
The salts of lead and copper, like those of mercury, are poisonous.
However, these salts are not extensively used in medicines. The
mineral acids, such as sulfuric, are recognized poisons, but their
destructive effects upon the living tissue are so apparent and so
painful that they have never gained favor with physicians.
PURGATIVES AND CATHARTICS
[Sidenote: Effects of salts]
The popular term "salts" includes sodium sulfate (Glauber's salt),
and magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts). These salts cause a large
amount of watery mucus to be excreted from the mucous membrane
of the intestines, the physiological purpose of which is to wash
the offending substances from the body, thus producing a laxative
effect. Were the large doses usually taken of these salts absorbed
into the blood, death would ensue within a few hours.
The number of products that are used for the purpose of relieving
constipation is almost unlimited. Many poisons which react directly
upon the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal have a laxative
effect.
[Sidenote: Why laxatives cause loss of vitality]
Laxative drugs do not act on the body--the body acts on the drug
because it abhors a poison, and, in throwing out the drug, the food
residues of the digestive tract are also thrown out, regardless of
whether digestion is complete or not. The rapid loss of vitality and
weight while taking physic is caused by this fact.
[Sidenote: Object of this lesson]
In this lesson I have examined only a few of the many thousand
drugs in general use. I have omitted many drugs and compounds
whose properties and uses would form interesting information, but
the purpose of this book is to impart a knowledge of foods, not a
knowledge of drugs. This lesson, however, is for the purpose of
giving the reader some authentic information about the standard
drugs and medicines, so that he may form his own conclusions
in regard to the efficacy of drugs in curing dis-ease. If the
reader will secure at a public library a copy of the "National
Standard Dispensatory," the book used by practising druggists,
and scan through its two thousand pages, he can form some idea of
the limitless number of things, and the complex, uncertain, and
unscientific methods used in the prescribing and in the dispensing
of drugs.
LESSON X
IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT DIAGNOSIS AND CORRECT TREATMENT
The word "diagnosis" is derived from two Greek words, "dia," meaning
_through_, and "gnosis," meaning _knowing_. It therefore means
literally "through knowledge," "to know thoroughly," or, as we
now say, "thorough knowledge." The old form of the word is still
retained in the very common expression "to know it through and
through."
[Sidenote: Diagnosis may be a source of danger]
The primary purpose of diagnosis is to locate a difficulty, to find
an internal disorder that is causing unpleasant symptoms. It will
readily be granted that this is only desirable when, after the
internal disorder has been located, we are able to do something
to correct it; that otherwise it is of no more importance than to
learn by post-mortem examination what caused death. Indeed, to know
what the trouble is without knowing how to deal with it, is a very
grave source of danger, and has caused many a death through resort
to wrong methods. In a large percentage of cases Nature will heal,
if her processes are not interfered with, and in all cases she is
the real physician; our only proper office is to supply the right
materials, and to leave her to use them as she will.
[Sidenote: True diagnosis, merely an interpretation of Nature's
language]
Correct diagnosis is important because it is the guide--the
beginning--the primary step in the treatment of dis-ease. Wrong
diagnosis is usually followed by wrong methods of treatment, while
correct diagnosis simplifies, and points the practitioner, with
certainty, to the interpretation of Nature's language (symptoms).
With an understanding of these, the remedy, in most cases, will
suggest itself.
[Sidenote: The human body and the linotype machine compared]
The linotype machine that set the matter you are now reading is
composed of several thousand parts. The keyboard is operated by the
compositor, in much the same manner as that of a typewriter, and
the delicate mechanism produces the metal lines of type ready to
be "made up" in "forms" for the press. Where several such machines
are in use, an expert machinist is usually employed to keep them
in order. He can take them apart, study the mechanism at leisure,
and reassemble them, yet it not infrequently happens that almost
insurmountable difficulties are encountered. What would be the
difficulties, then, if the machine were enclosed in a case that
could not be opened, with only the keyboard exposed? What mechanical
engineer in all the world could then make it work if something went
wrong? One who could tell from the faulty action just what the
matter was, and correct it from without, would be looked upon as a
wizard.
[Sidenote: Belief in the magical effect of drugs]
The human body is incomparably more complex and delicate than any
machine, yet it is a widespread superstition that one skilled in
the art of locating disorders (diagnosis) can, almost invariably,
correct them by the magical effect of drug applications. This is a
superstition with no more foundation in fact than the parallel one
that a man of vicious character can be made virtuous by a magical
process. He may turn from vice to virtue in a moment, but he can
become spiritually strong and wholesome only by growth, and by
conformity to the moral law. In like manner bodily health comes not
by magic, but by right living, by conformity to the laws of health.
[Sidenote: Involuntary functions are perfectly performed]
It is literally true that "the only perfectly performed functions
of the body are the involuntary or the automatic functions."
Those that are even partly under the control of the will, such as
breathing, are almost invariably ill done. The infinite wisdom is
strikingly exemplified in the fact that the vital functions are
quite independent of our volition except for "hindrances or ruinous
urgence." We may, and we do hinder them constantly, and we subject
them to "ruinous urgence" almost continuously. These two facts are
responsible for nearly all the bodily ills from which we suffer.
[Sidenote: Nature's marvelous methods beyond our comprehension]
The marvelous metabolism by which energy is translated into life,
by Nature's processes, is not only beyond our control, but beyond
our comprehension. We should make it an invariable rule, therefore,
never to interfere in any way, but to confine our efforts to
the task of supplying Nature with material with which to do her
wonderful work, and to an observance of the common laws of health
and life.
[Sidenote: The blood-corpuscles like little workmen]
The blood-corpuscles are like millions or tens of millions of
little workmen in the body, each with a particular work to do;
each on duty and quickly responsive to call every moment. When
we recognize the fact that the body is constantly being broken
down and rebuilt; that every atom of broken-down material must
be floated away in the blood, and new atoms built in to keep the
structure from deterioration; that all the broken-down material is
poisonous, and must be eliminated from the body without delay, we
realize that the internal activities are almost bewildering. When
we consider that all the blood in the body passes through the heart
every two or three minutes, carrying food to every cell, and at
the same time carrying away the poisonous products of physical and
mental activities, disposing of them by various processes; when we
remember that the supply to every cell is delicately adjusted to
constantly varying requirements; that all this goes on so quietly
and so smoothly that we are unconscious of it--when we remember
all this, we begin to have some appreciation of the Psalmist's
exclamation, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
How faithful these little workmen are! Not for an instant do they
leave their tasks. Verily, they are the sentinels forever at the
portals. In our work, in our pleasures, they are ever active; in
our sleep, they sleep not. Not for an instant do they cease watch.
Is there a wound--be it a great rent or a tiny pin-prick, they are
there in force to repair it, to wall up the breach and to make it
whole--swarming to the rent as the Lowlanders to a break in the
dike. Has a foreign substance penetrated the structure?--instantly
they set about to expel it; but if this be impossible, they seal it
in a capsule of impervious integument that it may do no harm, or,
the least possible injury.
[Sidenote: A seeming consciousness in the automatic action of the
blood]
If these little workmen are not conscious as we know consciousness,
at least their work shows purposeful action, and when we see an
obvious purpose definitely carried out by every available agency, we
may be sure there is a consciousness back of it, whether it be like
ours or not.
But while these workmen are faithful--while they will stand to their
tasks to the end, they are limited in their power, and will break
ranks under long-continued hindrances.
[Sidenote: The human body a power-plant]
The human body is a power-plant, a combined engine and boiler,
and there is a close analogy between this conscious, self-acting
power-plant and the one that furnishes the power to generate
electricity, or to turn the wheels of a factory.
[Sidenote: Symptoms compared with electric light]
When your electric lights grow dim, and the defect is not cured
by renewing the lamps, then you are convinced that the trouble is
elsewhere. If the lights in every part of the house are dim, you
will know (if you are a skilful electrician--a good diagnostician)
that the trouble is not in the electric nervous system of the house.
It may be between your house and the electric station, but before
taking the trouble to examine the line, ask those of your neighbors
who are on a different line, whether their lights are dim. If they
are, you may go to the electric station with reasonable certainty of
finding the cause.
[Sidenote: The stomach and the lungs of this leviathan]
Suppose we have come to the station and are commissioned to locate
the difficulty. We go into the engine room and find everything in
good order. The engine is a fine piece of mechanism; it has no
loose joints, no leaky valves, yet it seems to lack power; is
overloaded. Inquiry shows there are no more lights than formerly,
while the service was satisfactory. You go at once to the boiler
room. It may also be in good order so far as appearances go, but
you look at the steam gage and find the pressure is low. "Yes,"
says the fireman, "I simply can't keep the pressure up. I shovel in
coal and keep the drafts on so that I have a roaring fire, but, in
spite of all, my steam pressure runs down." Look into the furnace
(the stomach) of this leviathan! If the grate-bars are clean; if
there is no accumulation of ashes, cinders, or clinkers to interfere
with the combustion (digestion) of the black provender fed to it,
you may close the furnace door and open another. Look into the fire
tubes (the lungs) of the laboring monster that has shown signs of
weakness! If the fire tubes are clean, free from soot and dust, the
trouble is not there.
[Sidenote: "Scale," like an irritated mucous lining]
[Sidenote: "Scale," the cause of dim light]
We have now gone almost the full course; there is but one place left
to explore and that is closed. The trouble is inside the boiler. It
is lined with scale deposited from the water evaporated in producing
steam. This scale, which may be likened unto an irritated mucous
lining of the stomach, or the intestines, forms a coating upon the
lower inside of the boiler, and the upper side of the fire tubes,
just as it is deposited on the bottom of a teakettle, and it shuts
out the heat from the water. The heat being the source of energy,
and the steam only the means of applying it, the power-plant is
crippled. Seldom does it happen that so great a thickness of scale
is to be found in a boiler as may be seen in almost every household
teakettle, yet the effects (symptoms) are found in the dimmed lights
miles away, and if the difficulty is not dealt with, it will rapidly
increase until the service becomes intolerably inefficient.
[Sidenote: Difficulty in dealing with the "scale"]
Had we found the grate-bars choked with ashes, cinders, and
clinkers, and the fire tubes (lungs) smothered with soot and dust,
we should have instructed the fireman to keep them clean and free.
This is not a difficult thing to do, requiring only careful daily
attention, but the scale inside the boiler is not so easily dealt
with. It is completely enclosed, and there is no possibility of
getting at it except by extinguishing the fire and letting the
boiler cool--by making the boiler "dead," or "killing" it, as
firemen term it.
[Sidenote: Treating the "dim light" dis-ease]
Having diagnosed this case of the lighting system, starting with the
symptoms of a dim light in a residence some miles away, and having
located the difficulty inside of the boiler of the power-plant,
we desire to treat it. The boiler can be "killed," and the scales
removed by going into the boiler. It can then be revived by
refilling it with water and rekindling the fire.
Then, too, let us assume that there are two boilers, and that we can
keep the plant alive with one; a low ebb of life, to be sure, but
not dead. We will then cool one boiler at a time, go into it, and
remove the scale, thus restoring the plant to full efficiency.
This method can be used where the boiler may be cooled, but as this
cannot be done with the human power-plant, for the sake of our
analogy, let us suppose that the steam boiler, like the human body,
must always be kept under pressure that it cannot be "killed" and
revived. What, then, shall be done?
[Sidenote: Removing the cause of the scaly deposit]
It is evident that the first thing to do is to cease the use of
water containing the solution of mineral, which causes the scaly
deposit. This will prevent the condition from growing gradually
worse, and may be accomplished by distilling the water before
introducing it into the boiler, or, by using rain-water. As to the
scale already in the boiler, it must be dissolved, and gradually
eliminated, or remain there. There are many so-called "boiler
compounds" for the purpose, and every well-informed man in charge of
such a "plant" knows how important it is to avoid using a compound
that may cause damage to the boiler itself. A "compound" that would
attack the steel, as well as the scale, would be a desperate remedy
indeed.
[Sidenote: One degree of variation in temperature indicates dis-ease]
[Sidenote: The marvelous economy of Nature]
In the human body something happens very similar to the deposit
of scale in a steam boiler. But the human body is a furnace as
well as an engine. It is so intricate and so delicate that if the
temperature rises or falls one degree above or below normal, the
condition is one of dis-ease. As food is its fuel, how can we expect
the mechanism to remain in order if we utterly disregard the body's
requirements, not only as to the character of the fuel supplied,
but also as to the quantity, especially if we so choke it with
fuel that Nature is unable to burn it up in the vital processes,
and to dispose of the resulting ashes and cinders? Nature is
resourceful--full of expedients and makeshifts! If she were not, the
span of life would be much shorter than it is. As previously stated,
she will seal up a foreign substance that cannot be expelled, and
not only will she do this with solids that have penetrated the
flesh, but she will actually build "catch basins" in the body,
called cysts--bags, somewhat like a bladder, in which the excess or
refuse that cannot be eliminated may be impounded, and the ruin of
the body postponed for months or even for years.
[Sidenote: True diagnosis locates a disorder; also the causes]
The true office of diagnosis is not only to find the disorder, but
to discover also the conditions that lead to it, or have a bearing
upon it; hence that diagnosis is faulty which comes short of this,
for the reason that even if the disorder be located and overcome, it
will recur if its cause persists, just as the scale in the boiler
will form again if the causes that produced it are not removed.
As the blood is the life, as it brings to every cell life
(nourishment), and carries away death (poisonous by-products of
vital activities in the form of dead matter to be eliminated from
the body); as it does this by its marvelously rapid circulation
through every cell, it is obvious that every part of the body will
be in a state of health if the blood itself is pure, and its supply
and circulation such that every cell is abundantly fed. The supreme
law of health, therefore, may be expressed in two statements, one
positive and one negative:
1 Feed the body correctly
2 Do not interfere with the circulation of the blood
[Sidenote: Both the storing of fat and the disposing of waste are
expensive processes]
If the blood is not a perfect building material it is because we
have not put into the digestive mill the right materials; and if it
is not properly circulated, it is because the circulation is impeded
by positive constrictions, or, as is more frequently the case,
because the composition of the blood is not perfectly suited to the
demands of the vital activities. As a result, much of the material
must be rejected as unusable, thus involving a great deal of extra
work in disposing of it. If the excessive material is wholesome,
though not at present usable, it may be packed away for future
use as fat, this being the easiest, and perhaps the only possible
way of disposing of it in the rush. The builders are not only
overworked, but literally overwhelmed with excessive and unsuitable
materials--and why?--that we may indulge perverted appetites.
[Sidenote: Corpulency considered unhealthy]
Even the excessive material packed away in the wholesome form of fat
may, merely by its bulk, become an impediment to the circulation. It
not only reduces the efficiency of the bodily mechanism, but also
is so potent a factor in shortening life that a corpulent person
is likely to be rejected by an insurance company, even though his
present state of health may be good.
[Sidenote: Defective circulation reduces efficiency]
A condition often found illustrates most forcibly the manner in
which defective circulation reduces the efficiency of the human
power-plant, even as the scaly deposit impairs the efficiency of the
steam boiler. "That tired feeling" of which so many complain, is so
called because the person thus afflicted has a sense of painful
exhaustion upon slight exertion--is tired all the time. If our
diagnosis shows a state of chronic exhaustion, and we endeavor to
increase the body-efficiency by increasing the food, we shall make
the same mistake as the fireman who shovels more coal under a scaly
boiler.
[Sidenote: Exhaustion, the accumulation of body-poisons]
Painful exhaustion in a perfectly healthy body results from violent,
or too long-continued exercise of a muscle, and if there are no
intervals of rest, excruciating pain results. The cells are broken
down more rapidly than the resulting waste can be carried away
by the circulation, hence the body-poisons and pain. The pain is
a symptom, and where the condition of which it is the index is
temporary, rest soon restores the normal condition of ease.
[Sidenote: Rest is imperative]
There would be no sense of exhaustion if the building and the
eliminating processes could be carried on with sufficient rapidity
concurrently to make good all the expenditures of mental and bodily
activities. Not only should we not need rest, but we should not
even need sleep. The only occasion to stop, then, would be to take
in more fuel (food), and if this could be taken while the body
is in action, as fuel is fed to the steam boiler, there would
be no necessity to stop. But apparently both the upbuilding and
the elimination of waste normally lay behind the demands of even
ordinary activity, so that a given muscle must have very frequent
intervals of rest (every few seconds), and the organism, as a whole,
must reduce activity to the minimum by sleep about one-third of the
time.
[Sidenote: Nature's devices to provide rest]
As some of the muscles are used with practical continuity during
the waking life, Nature resorts to some very cunning devices to
provide the necessary rest. The tension upon the muscle of the eye
is relaxed for an instant in the unconscious act of winking, but
by reason of the persistence of visual sensation, this does not
interfere with vision. Thus Nature has always used the principle
involved in the moving picture. The heart must perform its work
every instant, from the time before we are born until the end, but
each muscle rests about one-third of every second--when it relaxes,
and the chamber of the heart expands with the inrush of blood.
[Sidenote: The body a pile of mysterious atomic masonry]
Nature alone is the builder, and will do all that should be done if
she only has the proper materials in proper proportions. We may well
stand in awe and admiration of her mysterious atomic masonry, but
let us lay no sacrilegious hand upon her work.
LESSON XI
COMMON DISORDERS--THEIR CAUSE AND CURE
HEALTH AND DIS-EASE DEFINED
Health is that condition of the human body in which the functions
or activities work together in perfect harmony. Any serious
interference with this condition we call dis-ease. Dis-ease,
therefore, in its final analysis, is merely the expression of
violated natural law.
[Sidenote: Three fundamental laws of life]
The harmonious working of the life-processes in the human body
depends upon three things--(1) nutrition; (2) motion and (3)
oxidation. Nutrition is the principal factor that controls the
action of the living cells, for, if the body is kept up to its one
hundred per cent of energy it will demand a certain amount of motion
or exercise, and this will enforce the proper breathing (oxidation).
We can see, therefore, that nutrition is the physical basis of all
activities of life.
By nutrition as here used I mean to include all chemical substances
that may be supplied for the use of the body-cells, also the sum
total of all chemical substances in solution in the circulating
fluid or blood-plasma which bathes the body-cells.
[Sidenote: The phenomenon of death caused by self-poisoning]
The stoppage of the heart beat causes the nutritive fluids of the
body to cease circulating. The cells are then no longer supplied
with nutritive material, and the poisons which they are constantly
throwing off accumulate, cell activity ceases, and the phenomenon we
call death ensues. Suffocation acts in a very similar manner--oxygen
ceases to be supplied to the blood; carbon dioxid accumulates; the
vital fluids cease to flow, and death is the result.
Dis-ease has been defined to be an absence of harmonious activity
in the body. It may result from the inactivity of some particular
function. A stomach which secretes no hydrochloric acid is abnormal
or dis-eased. Again, a dis-ease may be due to an overdevelopment
of some function, because the man whose stomach secretes more
hydrochloric acid than digestion requires is as truly dis-eased as
is the man whose stomach secretes too little.
[Sidenote: Dis-ease is partial death]
[Sidenote: Animals starve when fed on salt-free food]
Dis-ease may also be defined as partial death, for it is the
disturbance or weakening of functions whose complete failure we
call death. Starvation illustrates one side of this process. When
nutritive material ceases to be supplied, the cells have nothing
with which to work, causing disturbance of function (dis-ease), and
then partial, or complete death. The man in a desert under a hot
sun will starve for water in one-tenth the time that he would starve
for solid food. Animals fed on a diet from which all salts have been
chemically removed will die in a shorter time than will those from
which all food is withheld. This rather interesting fact is due to
the rapid utilization of the salts residual in the body during the
digestion and the assimilation of the salt-free foods taken. The
order in which the withdrawal of nutritive substances will produce
starvation is about as follows:
1 Aerial oxygen
2 Water
3 Mineral salts
4 Organic nitrogen
5 Carbohydrates
[Sidenote: Examples of drug poisoning]
Poisoning by drugs is an excellent illustration of dis-ease and
death produced by specific starvation. When a man takes ether, this
substance, passing to the brain, immediately interferes with the
function of that organ. Insensibility to pain results. If ether
is taken in larger quantities, the functions of the brain may be
still further interfered with, and the nervous control of the
heart beat will be lost, and death will ensue. When castor-oil is
taken into the alimentary canal, the irritating substances therein
contained inflame the cells of the mucous membrane, and excite
them to abnormal secretion, thus disturbing the harmony of the
body-activities, and producing dis-ease.
[Sidenote: Scientific definition of dis-ease]
The examples here referred to are not commonly considered dis-ease,
because we know the particular or immediate cause of the physical
disturbance. Modern knowledge now shows us that the most prolific
cause of what is commonly known as dis-ease is but the interference
with cell activities, either by the deficiency or by the excess
of nutritive substances, or by the presence of irritating and
disturbing poisons. This condition may be caused by an unbalanced
diet containing too much of certain nutritive elements, or too
little of others, causing surfeiting on the one hand and starvation
on the other.
[Sidenote: Man still in the childhood state of development]
[Sidenote: Hunger, thirst, and taste are Nature's language]
Health is the normal condition, and in spite of Ingersoll's
witticism, it is more "catching than dis-ease." Were it not so,
the race would long since have become extinct. With reference
to body-health, however, we are still in the childhood stage of
development, and the science, therefore, of building man to his
highest estate--of lifting his mental, moral, and physical faculties
to their highest possible attainment, is worthy the labor of the
greatest minds. That person, then, who enjoys the best health, the
keenest mentality and power of perception, the highest physical
and emotional organism, is he who can select such articles of food
as will supply all the constituent parts of the body most nearly
in the right or natural proportions. The science of feeding, upon
which this mainly depends, becomes possible only when food is taken
in accordance with certain fixed, natural laws. These laws are not
complicated--they are simple and easy to comprehend. Nature is
constantly endeavoring to aid us in their solution. Hunger, thirst,
taste--all the instincts and natural desires of the body are merely
Nature's language. To interpret this language, and to obey the laws
it lays down is man's highest duty to himself and to his race.
There are very few true dis-eases. Nearly all of the abnormal
physical expressions given off by the body can be traced to a
few primary causes, and most of these causes can be removed by
ascertaining and removing other causes that precede them.
[Sidenote: Classification of dis-ease, a matter of convenience]
The classification of dis-eases is merely a matter of convenience,
and is of no practical importance between the food scientist and
the patient. It merely enables the one who has studied these
classifications to convey his knowledge or information to the lay
mind.
The dis-eases which will most interest the student will be those
caused by a lack of nutrition, or by a surfeit of nutrition; that is
to say, a form of starvation caused by a lack of certain nutritive
elements, and overingestion caused by an excess of certain other
nutritive elements.
The only practical method of describing dis-ease is by indicating
the organs afflicted and the impairment of their functions.
Beginning with the stomach, in which, as previously stated,
originates probably ninety-one per cent of all human disorders,
I will first take up the question of the abnormal action of food
caused by overeating.
OVEREATING
[Sidenote: The resourcefulness of Nature]
Fortunately Nature does not demand exactness. She has made wonderful
provision for our errors or our lack of precision. If we eat too
much now and then she will cast out the excess. If, however, we
habitually overeat, she will store away the surplus in the form of
useless fat, or she will decompose it; that is, make an effort to
volatilize it and cast it out through the pores of the skin. If our
diet is unbalanced, Nature has the power to convert one chemical
into another--a secret yet unknown to modern science.
[Sidenote: Injurious effects of congested waste matter]
While the tendency of Nature is to maintain normality by casting the
debris out of the body, she demands that we obey the laws of motion
and oxidation. If we do not observe these laws, the debris or matter
she cannot use will accumulate, and congestion and constipation will
take place. The excess of food thus actually clogs the system and
generates in the intestines the poisons which cause autointoxication.
THE EFFECTS OF OVEREATING
The effects of overeating are so far-reaching, and so common among
civilized people that a volume might be devoted to this habit and
the subject not exhausted. Here, however, I will review only that
which is of most importance to the student of dietetics, namely, the
causes and a few of the effects of overeating.
Overeating is due to three specific causes:
1 Eating several articles of food at the same meal which are
incompatible
2 Taking stimulants at meals
3 Eating too many things at the same meal
(1) Incompatible foods:
When foods are eaten together that are incompatible they usually
result in superacidity and sometimes cause a gnawing sensation in
the stomach.
(2) Stimulants with meals:
When one takes stimulants such as beer, liquor or wine with meals,
the stomach-cells secrete a deficient amount of hydrochloric acid,
causing food to leave the stomach too slowly, thereby allowing
fermentation to take place and acid conditions to develop.
(3) Too many things at same meal:
Too many things eaten at the same meal may exhaust the digestive
juices and cause a condition of subacidity (lack of acid), which is
true indigestion, or it may cause just the reverse, too much acid,
and therefore produce the same result as in taking stimulants with
meals. (See "Causes of Superacidity," item 2, p. 420).
ABNORMAL APPETITE
[Sidenote: The cycle of cause and effect]
In nearly all cases of overeating Nature's only weapon with which to
defend herself is hydrochloric acid, thus the stomach-cells become
over-trained in the secretion of acid, and the constant irritation
caused by acid fermentation produces abnormal appetite. The desire
to satisfy this abnormal craving produces more acid, therefore the
cycle of overeating and superacidity is complete.
[Sidenote: Disorders originating in the stomach]
Standard medical works give about sixty different disorders arising
from what is termed dis-eases of nutrition. These include diabetes,
gout, arthritis, rheumatism, rickets, scurvy, obesity, emaciation,
adiposis dolorosa, and various disorders of the liver, heart, and
the circulatory system; also constipation and dozens of disorders
under the broad term of autointoxication.
The first step in the practise of scientific eating should be to
limit the quantity of food, or, in many cases, to take a complete
fast for a brief time.
In the slow stages of human development, Nature seems to have
accommodated herself to man's omnivorous habits of eating. She will
accept many things that are wholly unfit for food without apparent
harm if the quantity is not too great. On the contrary, the results
of the most scientific dieting will be injurious if a quantity be
taken in excess of that which the body can use.
SUPERACIDITY
We will first consider superacidity because it is usually the first
disorder that appears in consequence of wrong eating. It is commonly
known as "sour stomach."
The chief cause of superacidity is a wrong combination of foods; and
particularly an excess of starchy foods and sugars. The starch and
sugar breaks down under the action of fermentation, and develops
lactic acid. This further inhibits--or prevents--the normal
secretion of hydrochloric acid, and, as a consequence, the albumen
molecule is insufficiently converted--the transformation of the
protein into peptones and proteoses is incomplete.
As with all acid fermentation, gases are produced in the stomach,
which give rise to belching and eructations. This fermentation
sometimes occasions a feeling as though there were a solid lump
in the stomach. This may come on immediately after eating. And
then again, it may not come on for two or three hours after the
meal--depending entirely upon the activity of the enzymes that are
responsible for the fermentation.
HYPERCHLORHYDRIA
Occasionally the hyperacidity is caused by the presence of a
superabundance of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This condition
is called hyperchlorhydria, and gives rise to a boring, gnawing
sensation in the pit of the stomach, together with an abnormal
desire for food.
SUPERACIDITY--THE CAUSE
The chief causes of superacidity are--
1 Too great a quantity of food
2 Wrong combinations and wrong proportions of food
For instance, a diet consisting of an excess of acid fruits,
or sweets and starches, and at the same time an insufficient
quantity of other nutrients
3 By poisoning from the use of tea or coffee, liquor, tobacco,
and the various stimulating and narcotic drugs used by civilized
man
4 An excess of hydrochloric acid
SUPERACIDITY--THE SYMPTOMS
So far as the symptoms are concerned, all the above causes may be
considered together, since the ultimate result is the same. The
symptoms are named in the order of their various stages or the time
acidity has endured:
1 [1]Irritation of the mucous lining of the stomach, expressed
by a burning sometimes called "heartburn"
2 Abnormal appetite caused by the irritation of too much
hydrochloric acid in the irritated cells of the stomach
Many people mistake these symptoms for evidence of good health,
until overeating produces nervous indigestion, and sometimes a
complete breakdown.
3 Fevered mouth, and so-called fever-sores on the lips and
tongue, both of which are a true mirror of the condition of the
stomach
4 [1]A sour fluid rising in the throat from one to two hours
after meals
5 White coating on the tongue
6 Faintness, emptiness; in the language of the layman a
"hollowness and an all-gone caved-in" feeling
[1] (See "Fermentation--The Symptoms," p. 426)
SUPERACIDITY--THE REMEDY
In all cases of superacidity all fruit, especially that of an
acid character, except citrus fruits, should be omitted, and also
all sweets except a very limited quantity of maple-sugar and
sweet fruits--and these never in conjunction with the meal. Foods
containing proteids (nitrogen, albumin and casein), together with
fresh green vegetables, should form the principal part of the diet.
[Sidenote: One acid will not counteract another]
It has been the theory with dietitians that those afflicted with
hyperchlorhydria (supersecretion of hydrochloric acid) should not
take sweets, but should take acids liberally. This is one of the
few instances in which medical guesswork seems to have a foundation
of fact. For there is no doubt but that the giving of hydrochloric
acid, the normal stomach acid, _before_ a meal, tends to retard and
restrict the development of hydrochloric acid _during_ the meal.
It remains true, on the other hand, that the giving of hydrochloric
acid after the meal tends always to increase the supply of free and
combined hydrochloric acid in the stomach during the process of
stomach digestion.
For list of foods to be eaten and omitted in cases of overeating,
superacidity, fermentation and gas dilatation, see p. 433. For the
importance of water-drinking, see p. 434.
FERMENTATION
Fermentation is the effort of Nature to dispose of or to dissolve
things it cannot use; it is the first step in the process of decay.
FERMENTATION--THE CAUSE
The common causes of fermentation are the same as those of
superacidity (see p. 420), the difference being that superacidity
originates in the stomach, and is confined chiefly to it, while
fermentation may take place throughout the entire intestinal tract.
The causes are--
1 Overeating
2 Too much acid fruit
3 An excess of sweets
4 Stimulants of the alkaloid group
5 Overeating of cereal products
FERMENTATION--THE SYMPTOMS
[Sidenote: Difference between superacidity and fermentation]
The first evidence of fermentation is a burning sensation in the
stomach, almost exactly as in superacidity, the difference being
that in cases of fermentation the symptoms appear later after
eating. Superacidity may appear immediately after eating, and the
symptoms such as a lump in the stomach, or a sour fluid rising
in the throat may also appear within an hour after meals, but
fermentation, which produces the same symptoms, does not manifest
itself until the acid has acted upon the food, which requires from
two to four hours, governed by the time required to digest the
different articles of which the meal is composed.
The patient may also experience a fullness; an unpleasant and
sometimes painful distention of the bowels.
[Sidenote: Results of fermentation]
The gas generated by fermentation sometimes passes along down
the intestinal tract into the ascending colon, accumulating at
the highest point, which is in the transverse colon. This causes
the transverse colon to become very much distended and seriously
interferes with the blood flow, both into and out of the heart and
the lungs.
(See "Gastritis," p. 447; also "Heart Trouble," p. 569).
In considering the symptoms of fermentation, it might be well to
return to the question of causes. The primary cause of nearly
all conditions of fermentation, either in the stomach or in the
intestinal tract, is overeating, or an unbalanced dietary.
This practise indulged in from day to day causes two specific
conditions:
1 Fermentation followed by various disorders, usually toxic
substances, and catarrh, and ulceration of the stomach
2 Intestinal congestion and physical emaciation
If the stomach and other digestive organs are capable of
assimilating this superabundance of food, they force into the
tissues an excess which Nature stores up in the form of fat, and if
work or activity is not increased, or the food diminished, excessive
fat or chronic obesity is the result.
If the first warnings are not observed, and the remedy applied,
Nature gives to the disobedient one more impressive signals in the
form of nervousness, irritability, abnormal appetite, and sometimes
mental depression, which indicates one of the most advanced stages
of superacidity.
FERMENTATION--THE REMEDY
The remedy for fermentation is first to eat only such foods as are
in chemical harmony, and second to limit the quantity to the actual
needs of the body. If the patient is _under_ normal weight, all acid
fruits should be eliminated, and the diet should be about as follows:
BREAKFAST
Three or four egg whites and one yolk, whipped five or six
minutes; add a large spoonful of sugar and one of cream while
whipping
A baked white potato or boiled wheat
A tablespoonful of wheat bran
LUNCHEON
One whole egg whipped five minutes; add sugar and cream to taste
while whipping, mix with a glass of milk
A large boiled onion
A baked potato, with butter
Two tablespoonfuls of bran
DINNER
Two fresh vegetables--choice of carrots, corn, turnips, peas,
beans, or squash
Spinach, or a salad of lettuce and celery
The whites of two or three eggs, whipped; add sugar and cream
while whipping
A baked potato
Wheat bran, cooked as a cereal
From two to three glasses of cool water should be drunk at each meal.
It will be noticed that this bill of fare is composed largely of
vegetables, which is right in cases of fermentation.
[Sidenote: Despondency, the result of superacidity]
The foods named in the above menus will remove the primary causes
of fermentation, which in turn is the most prolific cause of that
abnormal mental condition called despondency. Under the most
favorable social and financial conditions, when every environment
is pleasant and seemingly conducive to the highest degree of
pleasure and interest in life, the one afflicted with superacidity
and fermentation has been known to destroy himself; all life seems
gloomy, all effort useless, and the thought "Why should I desire to
live?" enters the mind unbidden, until it often takes tangible shape
in some rash act. Possibly within the memory of every individual one
of these rash acts can be recalled.
The practitioner should make it a special point to ascertain any
adverse or depressed mental conditions of his patient and remove
them, if possible, by encouragement, sympathetic counsel and
optimistic views, all of which have a splendid psychological effect,
and which, in nearly all cases of mental depression, are very
important.
As the supersecretion of hydrochloric acid becomes less and less,
fermentation will gradually disappear; the patient will at once
begin to gain weight; the mental conditions will show an immediate
improvement, and every part of the anatomy will share in the general
upbuilding.
GAS DILATATION
So closely related are gas dilatation, fermentation and superacidity
that it might be said they all come from common causes, such
as excessive eating, over-consumption of sweets, acid fruits,
starches, and the use of tobacco, stimulating beverages and drugs.
GAS DILATATION--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of gas dilatation are practically the same as those
given for fermentation, page 426. In addition thereto, however,
there is often belching, loss of appetite, a weighty or draggy
feeling, and vomiting sometimes an hour or two after meals, or late
at night.
Scanty urine and constipation are frequently the results of gas
dilatation. In severe cases the stomach drops down below its normal
level, causing permanent stomach prolapsus.
To the trained eye, in severe cases, the stomach may be outlined,
especially when it is much distended.
For remedy, see "Fermentation," page 428.
See also menus for Gastritis.
IN CASES OF OVEREATING, SUPERACIDITY, FERMENTATION AND GAS DILATATION
OMIT EAT
All acid fruits Bananas, very ripe
All sweets except sweet fruits Green salads
in limited quantities Liberal quantity of fresh
Cane-sugar green vegetables
Condiments Limited quantity of blood-less
Coffee and tea meat, such as fish and white meat
Cream of tender fowl
Fatty foods Limited quantity of coarse cereals
Gravies Limited quantity of eggs and
Pastries milk--sweet and sour
Stimulating and intoxicating Melons
beverages Nuts
Subacid fruits in extreme cases Potatoes
Tobacco Sweet fruits--limited quantity
White bread Wheat bran
Whole wheat, thoroughly cooked
Whole wheat bread--sparingly
IMPORTANCE OF WATER-DRINKING
The lack of body-moisture is one of the causes of supersecretion
of acid, therefore water is of primary importance in removing the
causes of the above disorders. It should be drunk freely immediately
on rising, and just before retiring. From two to three glasses
should also be drunk at each meal, especially in treating severe
cases. Copious water-drinking also relieves irritation of the
stomach, thus reducing abnormal appetite.
Patients afflicted with superacidity never have natural thirst.
CONSTIPATION
THE CAUSE
This disorder might be called "civilizatis," so universal has it
become among civilized people.
Several conditions may conspire to cause constipation--
1 Premature stomach digestion
2 Neutralization of the bile by excessive acid
3 Eating too much starchy food
4 Flesh-eating
5 Sedentary habits or lack of proper exercise
6 A diet too refined--lacking in roughness, cellulose or "fodder"
7 The use of sedatives, stimulants, and narcotics, such as tea,
coffee, liquor, tobacco, and drugs, especially of the alkaloid
group
While most of these are direct causes, the primary cause, however,
goes back to superacidity--premature stomach-digestion.
In cases of superacidity the liver is nearly always more or less
inactive. Just why this is so is not definitely known, but in the
opinion of the writer it is caused by the neutralization of bile
by the excess of acid. Be this as it may, nearly all cases of
superacidity are accompanied by intestinal congestion, commonly
called constipation, or by intermittent diarrhea and constipation.
CONSTIPATION--THE REMEDY
[Sidenote: Laxative drugs an offense to the body]
It is believed by the medical profession, and generally accepted by
the public, that certain drugs act upon the alimentary tract with
beneficial effect in cases of intestinal congestion. This is untrue.
The facts are the intestines act upon the drug. The drug is an
offense to Nature, and when it is taken into the stomach and passed
on to the intestines, the body-fluids are severely drawn upon to
neutralize the poison, and to cast it out. The result, therefore, of
taking poisons, miscalled "laxatives," is that each time the act is
repeated, the liver and the peristaltic muscles are weakened, and
rendered more and more abnormal, and less and less able to perform
their natural functions.
[Sidenote: Suggestions for the relief of constipation]
That system of treatment which has been prescribed for fermentation
will, in most cases, relieve constipation. The treatment should be
varied, however, according to the age and the occupation of the
patient, governed by the season of the year, or the foods available
at the time of treatment. If diagnosis of the patient reveals the
fact that constipation has been caused primarily by overeating, the
quantity of food should be reduced, and the articles changed so as
to include a generous quantity of cellulose (coarse foods).
The following bill of fare may be given under ordinary conditions:
Immediately on rising, take two or three cups of water, the
juice of one or two oranges, or half a pound of grapes,
swallowing the seeds and pulp whole, masticating only the
skins. Devote from eight to ten minutes to vigorous exercise,
especially movements Nos. 3 and 5, as shown in "Exercise and
Re-creation," Vol. V, pp. 1344 and 1345.
BREAKFAST
Half a cup of coarse wheat bran, cooked ten minutes; serve with
thin cream
Whole wheat, boiled five or six hours
One or two very ripe bananas, with either nuts or thin cream
LUNCHEON
One or two fresh vegetables
A "two-minute" egg or a very small portion of fish
A heaping tablespoonful of bran
DINNER
Two of the following vegetables: Corn, carrots, peas, beans,
parsnips, turnips, onions
A baked potato
Celery, lettuce, or anything green, with nuts
One egg
A tablespoonful of wheat bran
From one to two glasses of water should be drunk at each of these
meals.
These menus are merely suggestive. They may be varied according
to judgment, depending upon the habits and the environments of
the patient. Curative feeding for constipation is one of the most
important departments of this work, and will receive special
consideration in the volume of Menus.
FOODS THAT MAY BE SUBSTITUTED FOR ONE ANOTHER
The menus may also be varied by substituting the articles herein
given for other things of the same general class.
EXAMPLES:
{Evaporated peaches
Dried fruits {Evaporated apricots
{Prunes
The above are all in the same general class, and may be
substituted for one another.
{Dates
Sweet fruits {Figs --All form another class
{Raisins
{Eggs
Dairy products {Milk
and Meats {Fish
{Fowl
These compose the nitrogenous group, and may be substituted for
one another.
{Carrots
Vegetables {Parsnips --Are in the same group
{Turnips
{Beans
Legumes {Peas --Are in the same general class
{Lentils
{Barley Rice
Cereals {Corn Rye
{Oats Wheat
Barley, corn, oats, rice, rye and wheat are the six great
staples, which grouped are called cereals. They form the
carbohydrate class of grains, and may be substituted for one
another. In cases of constipation, however, whole wheat and rye
are preferable, owing to the large amount of bran they contain.
{Dandelion
{Kale
Edible succulent {Lettuce --Belong to same class
Plants {Parsley
{Romaine
{Spinach
Citrus fruits {Grapefruit
{Lemons
{Limes
{Oranges
All citrus-fruits (fruits containing citric acid), so far as
their action upon the liver is concerned, have practically the
same effects, and substantially the same nutritive value.
[Sidenote: Milk may be laxative or constipating]
Whether or not milk is constipating depends entirely upon how it
is taken, and the articles with which it is combined. In small
quantities, from one to two glasses at a time, milk is constipating.
However, if taken at intervals of fifteen or twenty minutes, a
quantity is very soon taken, greater than the hydrochloric acid of
the stomach can convert into curd, therefore the surplus quantity
becomes rather laxative. In many years' experience I have rarely
treated a case of constipation that would not readily yield to milk
and to coarse vegetables, or bran, if taken in this way; however,
the milk diet should not be given longer than two or three days at
one time. After this period adopt the menus herein given, varying
them by selecting different articles from the several groups named.
When the bowel action has become regular, the milk period should be
reduced, and the breadless diet extended until the milk is entirely
withdrawn. (See "Emaciation--The Remedy," p. 482)
[Sidenote: Hernia due to abdominal pressure]
Man undoubtedly sprang from anthropoid stock. His original position
of locomotion was upon his four feet. The intestines, therefore,
rested upon a flexible belly surface, but since he has risen and
changed his two front paws into hands, the intestines are inclined,
with every step, to sag to the bottom of the abdominal cavity, and
are prevented from so doing only by small ligaments attached to the
abdominal walls. Hernia or rupture is exceedingly common owing to
this downward pressure in the lower part of the abdominal cavity.
The position maintained while walking, therefore, is not conducive
to the relief of that pressure in the abdomen, which is the direct
cause of hernia, and often the cause of very stubborn intestinal
congestion.
[Sidenote: Remedial and counteractive exercises]
It is obvious, therefore, that this condition needs remedial
exercise. It will be observed that all the movements given in the
lesson on "Exercise and Re-creation" bring the trunk to a horizontal
position with the body leaning forward. All of these movements are
designed to counteract this abdominal pressure.
[Sidenote: Exercise a necessity in counteracting constipation]
I go thus into detail for the purpose of showing the great necessity
of these exercises, especially in cases of constipation, and of
insisting that they be executed vigorously and regularly. _The most
beneficial diet that could be prescribed will not relieve and cure
constipation unless it is supplemented by certain remedial exercises
or movements._ This is true because Nature contemplates a certain
amount of motion exactly as she contemplates a certain amount of
nutrition, and her laws governing motion are just as mandatory and
her penalties just as certain.
[Sidenote: Proper nourishment promotes natural desire for exercise]
Nutrition is of more importance because it is more fundamental,
and it is more fundamental because when the body is naturally
nourished, there is created a surplus amount of energy which will
compel a certain amount of motion, and this in turn will cause
deep or full breathing. Therefore the well-fed person will take
his exercise because he has an appetite for it, or because the
superabundance of energy forces him to do it in obedience to the
same law that produces hunger. Hence the perfectly nourished body
will conform automatically to the other two great physical laws of
motion and of oxidation.
_Constipating Foods_ _Laxative Foods_
--------------------- ---------------
All white flour products All green salads
Blackberries Apples
Cheese Apricots
Chestnuts Beet-tops
Corn-starch Celery
Fine corn-meal Figs
Macaroni Peaches
Oatmeal Persimmons
Red meat Plums
Rice Prunes
Spaghetti Spinach
Sweet potatoes Turnips-tops
White bread Wheat bran
Whole wheat
_Constipating Beverages_ _Laxative Beverages_
------------------------ --------------------
All alcoholic stimulants Mineral water containing magnesia
Chocolate Unsweetened fruit-juice
Cocoa Water--lime-free
Coffee
Cream
Lime-water
Milk (In small quantities)
Tea
In cases of constipation:
OMIT EAT
Baked beans All fresh vegetables
Chestnuts Apricots
Cheese Bananas
Coffee, tea, chocolate Grapes--seeds, skins and all
Corn products Nuts
Cream Peaches
Flesh food of all kinds Plums
Intoxicants Prunes
Milk Succulent plants
Oatmeal Tomatoes
Rice Wheat bran
Sweet potato Whole wheat
Tobacco Rye
White flour products
Drink plain water with meals.
GASTRITIS
Gastritis is a word meant to describe a chronic and a painful
condition of stomach and of intestinal irritation. When the stomach
becomes much irritated from constant fermentation of food, and from
the resultant presence of acid, certain articles such as milk,
fruit-acids, and starchy foods will cause rapid accumulation of gas,
which becomes exceedingly painful and sometimes dangerous.
[Sidenote: Gas, the primary cause of heart trouble]
The majority of deaths from so-called heart-failure is caused
directly by the accumulation of gas from the fermenting mass of
food in the stomach and in the intestines. These organs become
greatly inflated, and their pressure against all the vital organs,
and against the arteries leading into and out of the lungs and
the heart so impair the circulation that the heart action becomes
very irregular--first slow and faint; sometimes skipping a beat,
and again violent and palpitating. When the congested blood spurts
through into the heart it is called "arterial overflow," and the old
diagnostician seems to have been content with giving this a name.
It is certain they have not yet given the world a remedy, as the
regular profession is still prescribing such drugs as bicarbonate
of soda, bismuth subnitrate, and nux vomica, none of which can give
more than temporary relief, and that is accomplished by neutralizing
the acid at the tremendous expense of the cells that secrete it.
GASTRITIS--THE CAUSE
Gastritis is caused:
1 By the use of stimulants
2 Irritating foods, condiments, etc.
3 Overeating, especially of acid fruits, starches and sweets
4 Cirrhosis of the liver is sometimes one of the secondary
causes of gastritis
GASTRITIS--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms are usually a dull pain in the region of the stomach
and upper intestines, a swollen full feeling, now and then biting
pains, followed by a dark vomit, especially when the attack comes
late at night.
Gastritis is often confused with gastric cancer, and in diagnosis
it is difficult to speak with authority as to whether the case is
ordinary gastritis, as above described, gastric ulcer, or gastric
cancer. The diagnostician in making up his opinion must be governed
largely by the time the condition has endured, and the immediate
causes, giving especial care to the food and drink that has been
consumed just prior to the attack.
GASTRITIS--THE REMEDY
In severe cases the patient should be given a glass of cool water.
In fact, one of the best means of allaying the inflammation of
gastritis--or as a matter of fact any other inflammation--is cool
water.
All food should be omitted for at least twenty-four hours, then the
patient should be given vegetable juice prepared as follows:
Grind spinach, carrots, squash, or turnips, any two or three of
these, very fine; cook about ten minutes in enough water to make
a pint of thin vegetable soup. Put through a colander; strain
through a coarse cloth, discarding the pulp. Give this to the
patient every two hours in quantities not more than one or two
ounces, dependent upon the condition.
The diet may be varied by changing vegetables, always selecting one
green plant such as spinach, lettuce, beet or turnip-tops. As the
patient improves more of the pulp may be used. After the second or
third day a thin puree may be used, care being exercised not to
overfeed.
[Sidenote: Foods to be used in the treatment of gastritis]
In milder cases the patient should be fed after the same methods,
only more of the vegetable pulp may be used, thereby increasing the
strength of the diet after four or five days; or, when the patient
shows signs of substantial recovery, egg whites, baked potatoes, and
the ordinary fresh vegetables may be given in moderate quantities.
Inasmuch as stomach fermentation is the beginning or parent cause of
gastritis, the causes, symptoms, and menus given for fermentation
would apply in cases of gastritis, limiting the quantity of food
according to the severity of the condition.
In cases of gastritis:
OMIT (In severe cases) EAT (In severe cases)
Coffee Baked bananas
Condiments Egg whites
Flesh foods Lettuce
Fruit Puree of tender beans
Intoxicants Puree of tender carrots
Starchy foods Puree of tender corn
Sweets Puree of tender peas
Tea Spinach
Tobacco Squash
Vegetable juices
In the earlier stages of acute gastritis, all foods should be
omitted except, perhaps, vegetable juices. (See recipe, p. 451.)
See also Fermentation and Superacidity, pp. 424 and 418.
NERVOUS INDIGESTION
[Sidenote: Mental effects of nervousness]
There are millions of nerve fibers leading out from the stomach and
alimentary tract to every part of the anatomy, so that the nervous
connection, especially between the stomach and the brain, is very
direct and sensitive. The stomach seems to bear the same relation to
the brain that a basket bears to a balloon so far as their nervous
connection is concerned. Thus it is that the irritated stomach
produces an irritable temper, insomnia, forgetfulness, and a lack of
ability to concentrate the thoughts. These are the milder symptoms
or first warnings.
NERVOUS INDIGESTION--THE CAUSE
The use of stimulants or narcotics, such as tea, coffee, liquor
and tobacco are most prolific causes of nervousness. These drugs
act upon the body in a dual capacity: (1) They excite or raise the
nervous system above normal, only to drop it below when the reaction
takes place. (2) In addition to this, they irritate the stomach and
the intestines by causing superacidity.
Nervousness caused by sedatives and narcotics acts both upon the
mental and the physical organism, and the source of such nervousness
can be easily traced by ascertaining the habits of the patient.
[Sidenote: Abnormal appetite for sweets and starches]
When the patient has used stimulants and narcotics long enough
to cause nervousness, the mucous membrane of the stomach is
usually in a state of irritation. The presence of blood, under
these conditions, causes abnormal appetite, frequently followed
by overeating, especially of sweets, starches, and acids, for
which the patient usually has a great craving. This is followed
by fermentation, and comes into or envelops superacidity and must
necessarily be classed with it.
Overeating and the constant use of stimulants and narcotics will,
after a time, cause a chronic state of fermentation, and the stomach
will seldom be free from acid, the constant presence of which will
ultimately cause gastric ulcer, and perhaps stomach carcinoma.
NERVOUS INDIGESTION--THE SYMPTOMS
[Sidenote: Nature's final symptoms]
The more advanced stages of stomach irritation which are expressed
by nervousness cause melancholia and a gloomy sort of pessimism.
These are among the last signals the stomach gives to the brain
before final collapse, and if these signals are not heeded, the
victim may expect to go down in the maelstrom of nervous prostration
within twelve months from the time the first signals are given.
These fits or spells of melancholia often come on suddenly. The
palms of the hands become moist with a cold, clammy perspiration,
and the mind is flooded with a train of thoughts such as "What's
the use of living?" "Why all this struggle for mere existence?"
The victim of this condition invariably believes that his mind is
becoming affected; that he is becoming insane, and will soon be a
public charge, and shunned by those whom he loves. While under these
spells many people take their own lives rather than face what they
believe to be insanity and ostracism.
The patient should be made acquainted with his true condition, and
shown that it is only temporary, and that all such thoughts are mere
mental aberrations which will disappear when the causes of stomach
irritation are removed.
The above-named symptoms always point with certainty to an irritated
stomach, the severity of which can be determined by the symptoms
above described.
[Sidenote: Difference between stomach and intestinal irritation]
_Stomach irritation_ is expressed largely through the _mind_, as
in irritability, nervousness and melancholia, while _intestinal
irritation_ is generally expressed by some _physical symptom_, such
as restlessness, twitching of the muscles and a general lack of
physical tranquillity.
There is another form of nervousness believed to be caused by
overwork, business worries, etc. With these opinions the writer
does not agree. If the body is properly fed one is not likely to
overwork. Nature will demand rest, and sleep will come while at the
desk, or when following the plow.
[Sidenote: Acidity the cause of worry]
Investigators are much divided on the question of whether worry
causes superacidity, or superacidity causes worry. The experience of
the writer in treating several thousand cases of stomach acidity has
proved beyond a doubt that acid fermentation and stomach irritation
are the primary causes, and what is commonly called "worry" is
merely a symptom or result of this condition. It is quite evident,
therefore, that all forms of nervousness must go back to the food
question for final solution.
NERVOUS INDIGESTION--THE REMEDY
Nervous indigestion should be treated as follows:
1 The patient should employ his time in pleasant but useful
occupation
2 As to diet, _omit_ the following:
All red meats
Acid fruits
Bread and cereals
Condiments
Pickles
{Such as--
{Candies
Sweets {Cane or maple-sugar
{Dates and figs
{Desserts and pastries of all kinds
{Sirups
3 The diet should consist of--
An abundance of green salads
Baked potatoes (Including the skins)
Egg whites
Fats--limited quantity--
Such as--
Dairy butter
Nut butter
Olive-oil
Nuts
Fresh vegetables--not canned
{Beans
Legumes {Peas
{Lentils
In cases of Nervous Indigestion:
OMIT EAT
Acid fruits Baked potatoes
Bread and cereals Fats (limited quantity)
Coffee and tea Fresh vegetables
Condiments Green salads
Desserts and pastries Legumes
Pickles Limited quantity of milk (preferably
Red meats sour)
Stimulants of all kinds White of eggs
Sweets
Tobacco
The experience of the writer for many years has been that the _fewer
the articles composing the diet, the better the progress could
be made in treating nervous indigestion. In many instances, the
mono-diet system (eating only one kind of food at a meal) has been
adopted with excellent results_.
SUBACIDITY
Indigestion is a term used to describe the condition caused by food
remaining in the stomach _over_ Nature's time-limit. In such cases
there is usually a lack of hydrochloric acid. This disorder is
sometimes called hyperchlorhydria. The expression of indigestion,
which is a lack of acid, and the expression superacidity or
hyperchlorhydria, which is too much acid, are often confusing,
inasmuch as both conditions cause a feeling of heaviness or a lump
in the stomach. (See "Superacidity," p. 419.)
SUBACIDITY--THE CAUSE
The most prolific cause of subacidity is sedentary habits or lack of
activity. This is especially true of young people, while in adults,
or those who have passed forty, the usual cause is incorrect eating,
or an unbalanced diet.
Another cause of subacidity is the overconsumption of flesh foods.
Flesh requires considerable acid for dissolution; sometimes more
than is normally supplied by the stomach, and consequently results
in indigestion or non-dissolution.
The over-consumption of either starchy foods or sweets may produce
the same result. It is therefore obvious that this particular
disorder is caused primarily either by overeating or by an
unbalanced dietary.
SUBACIDITY--THE SYMPTOMS
1 Brown coating on the tongue--
The _white_ coating on the tongue always indicates too much
acid, hence predigestion; while the _brown_ coating indicates
insufficient acid, hence indigestion. The _white_ coating shows
the action of the acid on the stomach lining, while the _brown_
coating shows the decomposition of food matter in the stomach,
usually accompanied by an offensive breath.
2 Gas in the stomach--
Gas sometimes appears in the stomach immediately after eating.
This shows that food, in a state of fermentation, remains in the
stomach from a previous meal. It also shows that the stomach
may be prolapsed; that is, dropped down below its normal level.
A sort of pocket is thus frequently formed in which a small
quantity of food remains from one meal to another, causing an
immediate formation of gas after eating.
SUBACIDITY--THE REMEDY
The logical remedy is to limit the amount of food to the actual
requirements of the body, and especially to balance the daily bill
of fare in conformity to the chemistry of nutrition.
[Sidenote: Diet in cases of subacidity]
In cases of chronic indigestion or impoverished acid secretions,
it often becomes necessary to prescribe a counteractive diet,
the composition of which should be determined by the cause of the
disorder. If the cause be over-consumption of meat, the patient
should be given a breakfast of acid fruits, and nuts and salads;
while if the cause be over-consumption of starchy foods, all legumes
and grain products of every kind should be omitted, and a diet of
subacid fruits, an abundance of green salads, and even some flesh
now and then, such as tender fish or fowl, should be prescribed.
In all cases the special object should be to prescribe an amount of
food for the first few days somewhat below the normal requirements
of the body, and after the counteractive diet has been taken
for three or four days, the menu should be balanced daily as to
nutritive elements. By observance of these rules, together with a
reasonable observance of the laws of exercise, fresh air and deep
breathing, the most obstinate cases of indigestion or subacidity can
be overcome.
In cases of Subacidity:
OMIT EAT
Cereals All acid fruits with meals
Coffee and tea Buttermilk
Flesh foods Fish
Liquors Fresh vegetables
Sweets Potatoes
Tobacco Sautern wine, sparingly
White bread Succulent plants
Tea
Tomatoes
Wheat bran
Whole wheat
See "Diet in cases of subacidity," p. 464.
BILIOUSNESS
Biliousness is the supersecretion of bile; that is to say, more
of this fluid is secreted by the liver than is required for the
ordinary processes of digestion, and the excess passes into the
stomach.
BILIOUSNESS--THE CAUSE
Biliousness is caused, in a majority of cases, by the
overconsumption of fats, milk, eggs, and sweets, or by taking
stimulants, especially such as malted or brewed liquors.
BILIOUSNESS--THE SYMPTOMS
The presence of bile in the stomach interferes with the
stomach-secretion, thus causing faulty digestion and severe
headache, usually starting at the back of the head and ending in a
severe pain over the eyes. The complexion becomes sallow and there
is a general decline in strength and vitality.
BILIOUSNESS--THE REMEDY
The logical remedy is to remove the above causes by eliminating from
the diet such articles as tea, coffee, distilled, brewed and malted
liquors of every character, and sweets, selecting such foods as will
give to the body all the elements of nutrition, and so combining
them as to furnish these elements in the right proportions.
(See menus for "Constipation," Vol. III, p. 761).
In cases of Biliousness:
OMIT EAT
Coffee and tea Bananas
Cream Coarse cereals
Egg yolks Egg whites
Fats Fresh vegetables
Intoxicants Fruit
Milk Melons
Sweets Nuts
Wines and liquors of all kinds Succulent plants
Wheat bran
CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER
THE CAUSE
Cirrhosis of the liver, or Hanot's Disease, is a condition
characterized by degeneration of the liver cells, usually
associated with a fatty infiltration.
While there are many conditions that may cause cirrhosis, the
principal one, perhaps, is excessive indulgence in alcohol. Thus the
disease is frequently called "hob-nailed liver," "gin-liver," etc.
Cirrhosis of the liver is a disease that is almost invariably
fatal in from one to two years--although, if the process is not
far advanced, and the cause is removed, the patient may recover
tolerable health.
It is absolutely necessary that further irritation of the liver,
caused by the drinking of alcohol, be stopped. Close attention
should be paid to the catarrhal condition of the stomach and bowels,
which is usually associated with cirrhosis. (See chapter on Catarrh.)
CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms are usually pain in the epigastrium; nausea and
sometimes vomiting in the morning; general loss of vitality and
ambition; sallow complexion. A dull aching or a throbbing pain is
often experienced, followed by a heavy, sluggish feeling, especially
on rising in the morning. Alternate constipation and diarrhea, and
enlargement of the liver are frequent symptoms. In the atrophic
variety, however, the liver shrinks in size.
CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER--THE TREATMENT
The diet should be nutritious, yet simple, so as to put as little
labor as possible upon the already impaired digestion. Fats should
be restricted, and starchy foods should be closely limited, so as
not to set up additional fermentation.
A liberal service of plain wheat bran should be taken at least twice
a week in order to insure active intestinal peristalsis.
All stimulants, narcotics, sweets, condiments and irritating foods
of every character should be omitted. The patient should drink
copiously of pure water at meals, omitting all other beverages.
In cases of Cirrhosis of the Liver:
OMIT EAT
Acid fruits, except the All legumes
citrus fruits Edible succulent plants
Condiments Fresh vegetables
Fats Green corn
Gravies Liberal quantity of wheat
Red meats bran
Stimulants and narcotics Limited quantity of--
Sweets Apples Oranges
White bread Bananas Peaches
Grapes Pears
Grape fruit Plums
Lemons
Nuts
Potatoes
Salads
Whole wheat thoroughly cooked
Cirrhosis of the liver is always aggravated by the overconsumption
of sweets, starches, fats and intoxicating beverages. Sweet and
starchy foods should be limited and intoxicants of all kinds should
be entirely omitted. An abundance of pure water should be taken at
meals.
PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS
THE CAUSE
Piles or hemorrhoids are usually the result of chronic constipation;
or, they may occur from violent exercise, or a shock. The straining
at stool when constipated has a most potent influence in causing
piles, as well as the passage of hard, dry feces. In both of these
cases the rectal mucous surfaces are torn loose or detached from the
supporting walls, and the cells fill with blood, thereby becoming
very greatly distended.
PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS--THE SYMPTOMS
The first symptoms are usually itching of the mucous membrane of the
anus. In the second stage a bloody discharge will appear with the
feces, and in the more advanced cases the rectal mucous membrane
will protrude.
PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS--THE TREATMENT
[Sidenote: How to relieve the strain upon the rectal lining]
When it is first discovered that there is a slight protrusion of the
rectal mucous membrane from the anus, great care should be taken in
evacuation of the feces. The first or direct cause of this condition
is usually congestion; that is, the feces in the rectal cavity forms
into a hard mass. When this condition appears, just before each
evacuation, inject into the rectum, with a small rectal syringe, a
tablespoonful of olive-oil, followed by a pint or two of lukewarm
water, taken as an ordinary enema, and retain two or three minutes.
Then place the first and the middle fingers, one on each side of the
anus, and press gently so as to relieve the strain upon the rectal
lining. The feces, if very hard, can be worked back and forth until
broken up, and evacuation made easy. By this means I have known many
cases of bleeding piles or hemorrhoids to be permanently cured.
It is exceedingly difficult to cure chronic cases in which the
membrane has been torn from the walls for many years. However,
Nature never tires of doing her work of repair, and if these
suggestions are religiously observed, even chronic cases can be
greatly relieved, and sometimes permanently cured.
For diet, see menus for constipation and fermentation.
Every night, just before retiring, take a light enema and retain it
over night; also, take an enema just after rising.
DIARRHEA
THE CAUSE
Diarrhea is in reality not a dis-ease, but a symptom behind which
there are always primary causes, usually--
1 Overeating
2 Irritating condiments
3 Wrong combinations of food at meals
4 Poisonous laxative drugs
5 Excess of acids
6 Excess of sweets
7 Sometimes nervous excitement
Diarrhea caused by the last-named condition is usually of temporary
duration. Sudden attacks of diarrhea are often caused by exposure,
by changes of diet, or by the overconsumption of acids in the form
of berries.
[Sidenote: Errors in eating the cause of diarrhea]
There is no abnormal condition of the alimentary tract that is more
directly traceable to errors in eating and drinking than diarrhea
and all forms of dysentery. This condition is most generally caused
by chronic fermentation, or by the presence of some non-nutritive or
foreign substance. It matters not whether this condition comes from
the use of poisonous drugs called laxative remedies, or from foods
containing foreign or non-nutritive substances, the result is the
same.
The habitual taking of drugs sufficiently poisonous to cause the
intestinal machinery to exert enough action to cast them out, is a
painful and slow process of self-destruction. It frequently happens
that the peristaltic muscles become relaxed and give way completely
from the habitual use of poisonous cathartics, and chronic diarrhea
or dysentery is the result.
DIARRHEA--THE TREATMENT
In ordinary cases of diarrhea one can pursue his usual work provided
he observes the suggestions in regard to diet, given below, but in
severe cases one should avoid labor or exercise, and remain most of
the time in a reclining position. Drink copiously of pure water, and
eat very sparingly.
OMIT EAT
Acid fruits Boiled rice (thoroughly cooked)
All green salads Boiled sweet milk
Coarse foods, such as cabbage, Cottage cheese
celery, turnips, spinach Ordinary white bread
Condiments Potatoes--
Desserts, pastry, etc. Sweet (baked)
Pickles and all foods preserved in White
acids Puree of rice
Red meat and flesh food of ever Sweet clabbered milk, including
kind except very tender fish the cream
and white meat of chicken and Very tender white meat of chicken,
turkey or turkey, or fish
Relishes
Sweets
Tuber vegetables except
sweet and white potatoes
Omit all beverages at meals except plain water, taking only about
one glass.
EMACIATION OR UNDERWEIGHT
Underweight, or lack of adipose tissue, is a condition with which
the practitioner will often have to deal, as under nearly all
abnormal conditions of the body, called dis-ease, the first result
or evidence is loss of weight.
The tendency of a perfectly normal body, after it passes the
forty-fifth year, is to become muscular, or what is termed "thin."
In all countries those who have lived to a very great age have been
termed emaciated. However, there is a normal body-weight that can be
maintained, and which indicates normal health.
[Sidenote: Effects of emaciation]
Emaciation is usually followed by general anemia and a weakening of
nearly all the functions of the body. The memory, sight, hearing,
all become impaired, while the taste or appetite usually becomes
keener or more sensitive. This is caused by irritation of the mucous
membrane of the stomach and the consequent presence of too much
blood therein, the same as when intoxicating liquors are taken just
before meals.
Overwork, loss of sleep, unbalanced diet, worry, grief, or a period
of extreme emotional tension, all have a tendency to disturb and
derange the processes of metabolism. Under these conditions the body
is very likely to lose weight, but there is always a fundamental
cause which should be discovered and removed.
EMACIATION OR UNDERWEIGHT--THE CAUSE
There are a number of things which usually conspire to cause
emaciation. Named in the order of their generality, they are as
follows:
[Sidenote: Physical causes of emaciation]
1 Overeating
2 Superacidity
3 Stomach and intestinal fermentation
4 Constipation
5 Autointoxication
6 Under-drinking of pure water
7 The use of tobacco, coffee and tea
All of these things tend to cause malassimilation, which is the
secondary cause of emaciation. In a majority of cases the loss of
weight begins while the body is surfeited with food. In fact, it is
nothing uncommon for those suffering most from this condition to
consume from three to four times the necessary quantity of food;
overeating becomes a habit, and consequent fermentation and toxic
substances, usually known as autointoxication, are the results.
The causes of emaciation, according to most authorities, are
impoverished blood and malnutrition. With these opinions the
writer fully agrees, but the intelligent reader will naturally
inquire--What are the causes of impoverished blood and malnutrition?
The answer goes directly back to the food question.
[Sidenote: Mental causes of emaciation]
All mental influences, business, social, or financial worry,
contribute their share toward physical emaciation, but when the body
is perfectly nourished it is more capable of withstanding these
drains because it is made fearless by perfect health. Behind all
forms of business and financial trouble is the demon "fear," and
fear rests on the uncertainty of our ability to provide creature
comforts and necessities; therefore when we have mastered the
science of feeding our bodies, and have learned how simply and
cheaply this may be done, the mere possession of such knowledge
does more than all else to make of us philosophers and students,
eliminating fear and worry of every kind, as in health the mind is
usually in a state of optimism and tranquillity.
EMACIATION OR UNDERWEIGHT--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of emaciation, of course, are so apparent that it
is only necessary to say that when the above-named errors are
corrected, and the following symptoms are observed, the normal
weight can nearly always be maintained.
So-called cold-sores, fevered lips and canker-sores on the tongue,
intestinal congestion, torpidity of the liver, slight headaches,
fullness after eating, alternate constipation and diarrhea, are all
symptoms that point to the causes of emaciation.
EMACIATION OR UNDERWEIGHT--THE REMEDY
Emaciation is sometimes caused by organic or hereditary dis-eases,
but the usual causes are to be found within the field of dietetics.
The remedy, therefore, is first to naturalize or normalize the diet
as to quantity, selection, proportion, and combinations of food.
In the majority of cases, those who come to the food scientist for
treatment will be those who have tried every conceivable remedy
except the natural one, therefore they come in a chronic state of
emaciation, poisoned by overeating. Never having been instructed
in regard to diet, exercise, breathing, bathing, or any other
hygienic law, they will, in most cases, require a counteractive or
remedial diet. There may be a number of supplementary causes to be
considered, but the most important things for the practitioner to
ascertain are:
1 Time the patient rises
2 Hour the first meal is eaten
3 Of what that meal consists
4 Time the second meal is eaten
5 Of what the second meal consists
6 Time the third meal is eaten
7 Of what this meal consists
8 All mental influences under which the patient is laboring,
especially fear or worry
9 The condition of the bowels as to congestion
10 The amount of liquid taken during the day and at meals
In nearly all emaciated cases it will be found that the patient
is suffering from premature fermentation, intestinal and stomach
gas, and a congested condition of the bowels commonly known as
constipation.
[Sidenote: Foods that are necessary in the treatment of emaciation]
The first remedy lies in the selection and the combination of foods
which are readily soluble and assimilable, and which contain the
best flesh and cell-building properties. The chemical properties or
elements most necessary are albumin, phosphorus, casein, proteids
and carbohydrates. These elements are supplied best by milk, eggs,
nuts, sweet fruits and coarse cereals, followed by a limited
quantity of fresh green vegetables.
[Sidenote: Value of milk and eggs in the remedial diet]
The nutriment contained in the egg is all that is required for the
young chick, while the nutrient contents of milk is all that is
necessary for the young animal. Therefore these two articles contain
the most reliable and speedy counteractive elements known to
chemistry, but in dealing with the adult they should be supplemented
by fresh vegetables, coarse grain, wheat bran, raisins, and the
seeds and skins of grapes.
[Sidenote: Constipation must be overcome in cases of emaciation]
It must be remembered that milk has a constipating tendency when
taken in ordinary quantities--from one to two glasses at a meal.
Therefore in laying out the diet for the emaciated, it is vitally
important to avoid constipation, which may be done by giving milk
during the first two or three days in quantities ranging from two
and one-half to three and one-half quarts a day, together with a
liberal quantity of coarse cereal. (See "Constipation--The Remedy,"
p. 436.)
These remedial methods may be repeated day by day until a
substantial gain in weight is noticed, when the diet may be
normalized--such articles selected as will give to the body all the
required elements of nourishment in the right proportions.
[Sidenote: Chronic emaciation--its cause and remedy]
It sometimes happens that the body is thrown into a chronic state
of emaciation on account of a catarrhal formation over the mucous
membrane of the intestines, which closes the "winking valves" that
take up nutriment from the alimentary tract. In such cases coarse
cereal or wheat bran, the seeds and skins of fruit, especially
grapes, together with milk and eggs, form the best foods known. The
milk and the eggs may be forced, not only beyond the limitations of
hunger, but beyond the normal needs of the body. By thus forcing
them for a short period of time (twenty to thirty days) a physical
"trial balance" can be reached, and the body brought to its normal
weight, which can be maintained for an indefinite period of time,
if the bill of fare is again balanced or leveled according to the
chemical requirements governed by the three natural laws, namely,
age, temperature of environment, and work.
[Sidenote: Diet for extreme constipation in emaciated cases]
There is another condition of chronic emaciation which, in the
beginning, should sometimes be treated in exactly the opposite way.
For instance, when the forcing of casein proteids, albumin and
nitrogen (the principal nutrient elements in milk and eggs) produces
complications, such as extreme constipation, it becomes necessary to
put the patient on a diet composed of coarse cellulose articles and
fruit for a period of from three to six days. This should be done in
the following manner:
Immediately on rising drink two or three cups of water--lime-free.
BREAKFAST
(One hour later)
The strained juice of two or three sweet oranges, or a bunch of
grapes; grapes preferred
A cup of wheat bran, cooked; serve hot, with thin cream
LUNCHEON
Plain wheat and an equal quantity of coarse wheat bran, cooked
until very soft; preferably simmered over night
A salad of celery, lettuce and tomatoes, with nuts
DINNER
About four tablespoonfuls of boiled wheat; also one of bran
A baked potato
One fresh vegetable
Drink copiously of water at all meals.
Just before retiring, eat half a pound of grapes, when in season.
After the first or second day this bill of fare may be increased
in quantity, and heavier fruits added, such as pears, prunes,
and very ripe bananas. After the fourth or fifth day, a salad
and a few of the lighter vegetables, such as onions, romaine or
cabbage, celery, carrots, or other fibrous vegetables may be
included.
After the first week the diet should be composed of fresh
vegetables, coarse cereals, eggs, bananas, nuts, salads, and
wheat bran.
Those who are emaciated should drink an abundance of water
immediately on rising and at meals. They should also take a
sufficient quantity of plain wheat bran, or grapes if in season
(Concord preferred), eating skins, seeds, and pulp, in order to keep
the bowels in normal condition.
In cases of extreme emaciation, loss of appetite, or fermentation,
the patient should, for a time, adopt a diet of milk and eggs,
alternating as follows:
The first, second, and third days, drink from two and a half to
four quarts of milk, in small quantities--one glass at a time.
For the next three days, reduce the quantity of milk, and begin
taking six eggs a day, increasing the number, until twelve eggs
are taken. Alternate between the milk and the eggs, for a month
or more, unless the patient responds in weight in a shorter
time. When there is a perceptible gain in weight, and normal
hunger has been restored, reduce the milk and the eggs, and add
the solid foods already suggested.
In cases of Emaciation:
OMIT EAT
Acid fruits Bananas
Coffee Cheese
Condiments Coarse cereals
Tea Eggs
Tobacco Fruits
Wines and liquors Dates, figs, raisins
Milk
Sweet milk or buttermilk
Nuts
Vegetables, such as--
Beets Lettuce
Cabbage Parsnips
Carrots Potatoes
Celery Spinach
Cauliflower Turnips
Green beans Green peas
The proteid and the carbohydrate foods should predominate in the
diet.
OBESITY OR OVERWEIGHT
[Sidenote: Diet, the governing law of body-weight]
It is generally supposed that obesity is a natural result of modern
civilization. This theory has no foundation in fact or physiology.
Man can be genuinely modern without being obese. The law that
governs the growth and graceful symmetry of the human body is based
upon dietetics, and the indispensable adjuncts of diet are exercise,
oxidation and elimination. A body that is filled with vitality by
a perfectly balanced diet will experience the same appetite for
motion or exercise that it does for food or drink. Exercise forces
more blood to the lungs, and more thorough oxidation is the result.
The properly fed young animal, whether brute or human, plays and
exercises involuntarily, and the older animal, adequately nourished
without being overfed, does not lose its youthful instincts. An
observance of the above laws will prevent the accumulation of an
excess of fatty tissue.
The following table gives the normal weight of natural healthy
adults according to height, also the weights considered thin and
obese:
-----------+-------------------+-------------------
| MALES | FEMALES
-----------+-------------------+-------------------
Height | Weight | Weight
-----------+-----+------+------+-----+------+------
Feet Inches| Thin| Fat |Normal| Thin| Fat |Normal
-----------+-----+-----+-------+-----+------+------
5-- -- | 95 | 126 | 110 | 93 | 122 | 111
5-- 1 | 98 | 132 | 115 | 94 | 128 | 116
5-- 2 | 100 | 138 | 120 | 96 | 134 | 118
5-- 3 | 106 | 144 | 125 | 102 | 140 | 121
5-- 4 | 110 | 149 | 130 | 105 | 145 | 126
5-- 5 | 114 | 155 | 135 | 109 | 151 | 131
5-- 6 | 116 | 158 | 138 | 112 | 154 | 134
5-- 7 | 118 | 161 | 140 | 114 | 157 | 136
5-- 8 | 121 | 164 | 143 | 117 | 160 | 140
5-- 9 | 126 | 173 | 150 | 123 | 169 | 145
5-- 10 | 131 | 178 | 155 | 126 | 173 | 150
5-- 11 | 133 | 184 | 160 | 128 | 179 | 155
6-- -- | 136 | 190 | 165 | 131 | 185 | 160
6-- 1 | 140 | 192 | 170 | 135 | 187 | 165
6-- 2 | 148 | 201 | 175 | 143 | 196 | 170
6-- 3 | 152 | 207 | 180 | 147 | 200 | 175
-----------+-----+------+------+-----+------+------
OBESITY--THE CAUSE
A very exhausting treatise could be written upon the cause of
obesity, but, summing it all up briefly, corpulency is invariably
induced through a direct or indirect violation of the laws
of nutrition, as exemplified in their wonderful processes of
transforming material called food into pulsating life.
A combination of commissions and omissions generally conspire to
produce the obese body. They may be mentioned in the order of their
importance:
1 Overingestion of fat-producing foods
2 Omission of the proper amount of motion or exercise
3 Imperfect oxidation (breathing)
4 The overconsumption of fluids
[Sidenote: Obesity caused by overeating]
In every case of obesity, one or more of these causes are present.
If one is blessed with good digestion and good assimilation, or, in
other words, if all the nutriment taken into the body is absorbed
into the tissues, then the quantity must be regulated by one's work
or labor, otherwise any excess of fat-producing food is stored
up by provident Nature, contemplating future use; and if it is
not used, by actual work, the result is a gradual accumulation of
fatty tissue. Again, if a quantity of food commensurate only with
the requirements of mental labor be consumed, and only ordinary
body-activity indulged in, there is likely to be a gradual decrease
in weight, because a considerable percentage of energy is consumed
by the mere carrying on of the vital processes.
[Sidenote: Obesity caused by drinking malted liquors]
The worst form of obesity, however, is that caused by
overconsumption of fermented wines or malted liquors. This form
of enlarged tissue contributes no strength whatever to its own
support. It is as much of a dead weight as a hod of mortar, and much
more useless; in fact, all forms of obesity are not only useless
weight, but dangerous to life. The obese body is much more liable to
contagious and infectious dis-eases, and when once affected, less
able to defend itself than the normal body.
OBESITY--THE REMEDY
The control of body-weight rests upon three distinct and separate
laws, the first and most important of which is nutrition, the second
exercise, and the third oxidation.
[Sidenote: The storing of fat regulated by labor or activity]
While at the outset body-weight may be controlled by increasing the
amount of activity sufficiently to use the surplus which Nature is
storing away, if however, the activity ceases and the surplus is
not used, then the storing process becomes chronic, and radical
remedies both in regard to dietetics and activity must be applied in
order to bring the body back to normal.
[Sidenote: Amount of fat required daily in different climates]
A man of normal weight, say 150 pounds, doing ordinary work in a
tropical country, would not need to consume more than an ounce
of fat each twenty-four hours, while the same man in a northern
climate, where the thermometer ranges from zero to 20 below, could
use up, with similar labor, from three to four ounces of pure fat
daily. Fats, however, do not produce fat in the human body unless
taken largely in excess of its needs. Their primary purpose is to
keep up the temperature of the body.
[Sidenote: Dietetic suggestions for chronic obesity]
Where the weight is only from ten to fifteen pounds above normal, a
substantial reduction can be made by merely balancing the diet, but
where the accumulation of adipose tissue has become chronic, and
the body has taken on from twenty to fifty pounds, or more, above
normal, then a diet composed largely of non-acid fruits and fresh
vegetables should be adopted for a period of from twenty to thirty
days.
[Sidenote: Foods that produce fat]
Carbohydrates, that is to say starch and sugar, are the principal
fat-making nutrients, and all people inclined to take on abnormal
weight, as a rule, are very fond of, and eat an excess of starchy
foods. A great amount of the casein in milk and the phosphorus in
eggs are converted into fat, especially if a quantity be taken in
excess of the amount used in effort or work. The fat-producing
staple foods are:
All cereal products
All legumes
Bread
Eggs
Milk
Potatoes
In order, therefore, to remove the causes of obesity, one must begin
with the diet.
[Sidenote: Foods that reduce fat]
Eliminate meat and animal fat; ascertain as nearly as possible the
amount of carbohydrates necessary for each day and take none in
excess of this quantity. This will stop the accumulation of fatty
tissue. If the body is obese, and a reduction of weight is desired,
the diet should consist of nuts, fruits, salads, fresh vegetables,
and a very limited quantity of eggs, omitting starchy foods
entirely. After a week or two of this diet, discontinue the use of
eggs, reducing the diet entirely to nuts, fruits, fresh vegetables
and salads, which in nearly every case will bring a very substantial
reduction in weight, even if the patient takes but little exercise
and fresh air. If, however, he can be induced to adopt the above
diet, and at the same time take two hours' moderate exercise, either
in gymnastics or useful labor, with a reasonable amount of exposure
to fresh air, the reduction in weight will be greater, and the
muscular tissue and vitality will increase.
Inasmuch as fat contributes no item of strength to its own support,
if the patient will take a reasonable amount of exercise and fresh
air, muscular tissue will increase in the same ratio that fatty
tissue decreases.
[Sidenote: How menus for obesity may be varied]
The menus for obesity may be varied according to the fruits and
vegetables at one's command. Fish is the one article among animal
food that has much to recommend it, insomuch that it contains an
excellent form of proteid and phosphorus. If the taste of the
patient should rebel against natural foods, fish would supply these
elements better than any form of flesh.
The following articles should compose the general diet for the obese
under ordinary conditions:
Buttermilk
Eggs or fish--limited quantity
Fruits
Green salads
Nuts
{ Such as--
{
{ Asparagus
{ Beans
{ Beets
{ Carrots
Fresh vegetables { Celery
{ Parsnips
{ Peas
{ Pumpkins
{ Spinach
{ Squash
{ Turnips
The ordinary obese person should adopt either of the following
menus, varying them according to vegetables in season:
MENU I MENU II
BREAKFAST
An orange, or grapes Choose two of the following:
One or two eggs, whipped Berries, grapes,
peaches, plums, pears,
apples, melons, soaked
evaporated apricots,
peaches, or prunes
LUNCHEON
Choice of two fresh vegetables, One fresh vegetable
cooked A small portion of fish
A baked potato A baked potato
One very ripe banana, with two
tablespoonfuls of nuts
DINNER
A salad of lettuce or romaine Spanish onions
Peas, beans, beets, carrots, or An egg, or a small portion
turnips of fish
Two tablespoonfuls of nuts Tablespoonful of nuts
One egg One or two vegetables
A green salad
[Sidenote: Foods should be selected according to vocation]
If the patient is doing manual labor, the proteid foods, such as
milk, cheese, nuts, fish and eggs should be increased according
to the work. If, however, the labor is sedative, such as followed
by the average business man, the amounts herein prescribed are
sufficient. The breakfast should be taken an hour after rising, and
the luncheon early, not later than 12 noon, and the dinner not later
than 6 p.m.
The symptoms during the first two or three days will be that
of weakness and perhaps hunger, leaving the impression of
under-nourishment. This will disappear after the third or fourth
day, and strength will not only return to normal, but the body will
feel more energetic than before, and there will be a marked increase
in the powers of endurance. If the patient can be induced to "fight
it out" for a week on these lines, favorable symptoms will develop
so fast that the practitioner will be aided in his work by the
mental conviction of the patient, and success will be assured.
In cases of Obesity:
OMIT EAT
Bread products Eggs--limited quantity
Cereals Fish or Lobster
Dried beans Fresh vegetables
Flesh food Fruit
Milk Melons
Sweets Nuts
Succulent vegetables
Wheat bran
Whole wheat thoroughly cooked (sparingly)
Do not drink at meals.
NEURASTHENIA
That disorder of the nerves known as neurasthenia is expressed in
general anemia, or a breaking down of the nervous vitality. This
does not indicate, however, that neurasthenia is wholly a dis-ease
of the nerves; it merely means that through the nerves the symptoms
are given to the brain.
[Sidenote: Neurasthenia a last or final warning]
Neurasthenia is a signal or warning given by the united voice of all
the functions of digestion, secretion, and excretion. Therefore,
this disorder does not appear until the body has given fair warning
in many other ways, and if proper heed had been given the preceding
signals, the nerves would have performed their functions without an
outcry.
Every so-called dis-ease of the human body, especially of the
nervous system, is in reality the voice of Nature telling us of our
mistakes, and giving us the opportunity to correct them. Dis-ease,
therefore, is not an enemy to the race, but a friend. It is an
effort, as it were, in our behalf, of provident Nature to prevent
race extinction.
Nearly every seeming misfortune with which we are afflicted can be
turned to our benefit. We never take a step upward until we are
mentally prepared for it; we never become mentally prepared until we
have passed through a certain amount and kind of experience.
[Sidenote: Education defined]
Education reduced to its last analysis is merely the accumulation
and co-ordination of useful knowledge; useful knowledge is
accumulated only by and through the art of comparison. The more
experience we have, the more comparisons we can make.
[Sidenote: Ability to make comparisons, measures, ability to enjoy]
Country-raised people control the great industries of the city and
lead in the nation's great work because they never become _blase_.
They have always their homely and primitive child life to draw
upon for comparisons. Every good thing, every invention, every step
forward and upward, every advancement is appreciated and realized
exactly according to their ability to compare these things with
their opposites.
If the patient should be suffering from mental disturbances called
worry, he should be reminded that he is merely a floating mote in
the abyss of space, and if the matter composing his form should
change from organic to inorganic, from active to inactive; in other
words, if he should die, the great planets would move on in their
majestic courses and the cosmic scheme would in nowise be interfered
with.
NEURASTHENIA--THE CAUSE
Neurasthenia is caused by a violation of the laws of nutrition,
such as overeating, taking intoxicants, tea, coffee, tobacco,
stimulating and sedative drugs; an oversupply of certain elements
of nourishment and an undersupply of others; failure to eliminate
waste; a lack of activity or motion, and improper oxidation.
These causes removed, nervousness and all neurasthenic tendencies
disappear, and Nature asserts herself and produces physical
normality.
NEURASTHENIA--THE SYMPTOMS
Neurasthenic symptoms are excitability, irritability, mental
depression, insomnia, fatigue, exhaustion, emaciation and sometimes
hysteria, which very often result in other local disorders, such as
extreme constipation or chronic hyperchlorhydria, with a tendency
toward weakened sexuality.
NEURASTHENIA--THE REMEDY
In medical literature there are hundreds of alleged remedies for
nervous disorders, yet not one of them attempts to ascertain the
causes and to suggest their removal. Drugs only paralyze and
stupify the delicate, sensitive nerve fibers that are conveying the
intelligence to the brain that something is wrong, and the average
man mistakes this for a remedy or a cure.
[Sidenote: Unbalanced diet, a primary cause]
In the opinion of the writer, neurasthenia would be almost
impossible if the body were thoroughly nourished, and the daily
bill of fare kept level, or, as we would say in our cash system,
"balanced." But when one labors under heavy mental strains,
especially that character of burden called worry, and is not
properly fed and nourished, the expenditure of force on one side and
the lack of supplying it on the other, are very likely to result
in an abnormal physical condition called neurasthenia. It is safe
to say that all cases of neurasthenia can be traced to improper
nourishment on the one hand and abnormal mental tension on the
other.
[Sidenote: Diet more important than rest]
The rest cure has been employed quite successfully for these
conditions for many years, and if the proper diet, or what might
be called a counteractive or remedial diet, were employed in all
the rest cure establishments, they undoubtedly would meet with
greater success, but unfortunately some of the best institutions
in the country--those best equipped to take care of neurasthenic
patients--do not attach any great importance to diet. This comes, no
doubt, from the universal lack of information concerning the natural
laws governing Food Chemistry, and their particular application to
animal life.
[Sidenote: Suggestions for the neurasthenic]
Neurasthenic patients should first be given rest, which means
complete or total diversion from business cares, worry, financial
or social responsibility. They should be induced, if possible, to
become interested in some special eleemosynary work; some "hobby"
that has for its purpose the uplifting of people. The best remedy
for the weary or discouraged mind, or the neurasthenic body, is the
praise and esteem of people.
The suggestions hitherto given for all kindred disorders will apply
in most cases of neurasthenia. (See also "Nervousness--Its Cause and
Cure," Vol. V, p. 1211.) The patient should be advised to spend at
least from three to four hours a day in the open air and sunshine,
when the weather will permit, in some quiet way, walking, driving,
or in moderate exercise.
Most important of all is the diet. It should be balanced according
to age, labor, and temperature of the atmosphere, and should consist
of--
Such foods as will cause normal action of the bowels
Green corn
Nuts
Rich fresh milk
Yolks of eggs
Young beans, peas, or any legume before it hardens
Immature starch composes the best form of carbohydrate food, which
is exceedingly necessary in most cases of neurasthenia, unless
the patient be obese, in which event it should be reduced to meet
only the requirements of the body, and nitrogenous foods should
predominate.
A passive form of exercise is very highly recommended, such as all
forms of Swedish or mechanical electrical massage. In connection
with this the body should be given an olive-oil rub at least twice a
week.
In cases of Neurasthenia:
OMIT EAT
Confections All legumes
Desserts Cheese
Fatty foods Eggs (yolk)
Hot drinks Fish--very tender
Fresh milk Fresh vegetables
Pastries Green corn
Rich gravies Nuts
Red meat Potatoes
Stimulants
Tea and coffee
White flour products
MALNUTRITION
CAUSE AND REMEDY
Malnutrition is caused mainly by errors in eating, sedentary habits,
and lack of fresh air. The remedy, therefore, suggests itself. Level
or balance the diet according to the patient's requirements, and
advise from two to three hours' vigorous exercise every day, and
deep breathing in the open air.
All the causes as well as the cure of malnutrition were discussed
under the subject of emaciation. (See "Emaciation," p. 477.)
LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA
THE CAUSE
The principal cause of locomotor ataxia is syphilis, the
treatment of which has not been sufficiently thorough. So,
after lying latent--sometimes for as long a period as twenty
years--the disease breaks out again, the germs (which are called
_spirochaeta pallida_) assume new virulence, and attack the nervous
system--usually the posterior column of the spinal cord.
Not infrequently, the optic nerve is also affected, developing what
is known as gray atrophy of the nerves. This causes a gradual loss
of vision, and finally, relative blindness.
Locomotor ataxia may occasionally be brought on by long-continued
exposures to wet and cold, injuries to the spinal column,
and by excesses of various kinds. But its chief origin is in
syphilis--indeed, most European authorities claim that this is its
only origin.
LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA--THE SYMPTOMS
Among the earliest symptoms of ataxia are the so-called lightning
or lancinating pains--which come on in paroxyms of varying
duration--lasting for hours, or even days at a time. These pains
may be burning, tearing, cutting or boring in their nature--and
usually affect only the upper half of the body.
There is generally, also, a sense of constriction in the throat--as
of a choking by the clutch of a hand--and sometimes regurgitation
of food, intense pains around the heart or in the epigastrium--with
flatulence, eructations, and hiccough.
A very common symptom is the so-called "girdle," a sensation
as though a rope or band were tightly drawn around the body at
the waist. One of the earliest noticeable symptoms is the want
of co-ordination--ataxia. This is most pronounced in the lower
extremities, and is responsible for the unsteadiness of ataxics in
walking or standing.
The gait in ataxia is staggering--resembling somewhat the
inco-ordination of a man under the influence of alcohol, and there
is an exaggerated lifting of the feet and legs with each step. The
normal "knee-jerk" reflex--that quick jerk of the foot and lower leg
that follows a sharp blow struck below the knee when the leg is held
free--is generally abolished. In fact, this failure of the reflexes
is usually one of the earliest diagnostic symptoms.
Later in the disease the sphincters of the bladder and the anus lose
their power to contract, and there is incontinence of both urine and
feces.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DIET
As with any other disease in which there are serious trophic
changes, and the generation within the system of toxic products from
food decay, it is absolutely indispensable in ataxia to observe the
utmost care in the selection of the diet. The food should be light,
but nutritious--nourishing and strengthening the system, without, at
the same time, putting too great a tax upon the organs of digestion
and assimilation.
Particular care should be taken to insure daily movements of the
bowels, and to see that the kidneys are flushed with a plentiful
supply of water drunk each day.
LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA--THE REMEDY
The generally accepted opinion among medical men is that locomotor
ataxia is an incurable disease, and that there is little or nothing
that any form of treatment can accomplish that will tend to restore
function--or even to arrest the course of the disease, and postpone
its fatal termination.
With this opinion I beg leave to differ. I am convinced that, by
the proper regulation of the diet, limiting the system only to
that which it requires for its complete nourishment--giving ample
quantities of those foods that are rich in lecithin (or nerve-fat)
and phosphorus--such as eggs, milk, whole wheat bread, fish, roe,
etc.--much may be done to arrest the progress of the disease.
This, in combination with the proper kind of exercise--particularly
those forms of which the "Fraenkel Movement System" is an
example,--will do a wonderful amount of good in re-educating such
groups of nerves in the spinal column as have not yet suffered
degenerative changes.
The following diet is a mere suggestion, subject to change in order
to meet the conditions of temperature, age, and activity.
Immediately on rising, the patient should take a few spoonfuls of
strained orange juice and drink a cup of hot water. He should also
devote a few minutes to deep breathing, and such moderate exercises
as he is able to endure.
BREAKFAST
The whites of four eggs and the yolks of two (If digestion is
good, the whites of six eggs may be taken--one yolk to each two
whites)
A glass of milk
A tablespoonful of nuts
One very ripe banana with cream
Three or four dates
LUNCHEON
Three or four eggs whipped eight minutes; to each egg add one
teaspoonful of lemon juice, and a heaping teaspoonful of sugar;
whip this mixture into a quart of milk; drink slowly
DINNER
Smelts, or any small fish
A Spanish onion, baked in casserole dish
Corn bread
Buttermilk or skimmed milk
One fresh vegetable, cooked plain
In addition to this diet, there should be a regular daily schedule
of exercise and deep breathing, which the patient should be required
to carry out with rigid precision and regularity.
[Sidenote: Value of exercise and massage]
In nearly all cases of locomotor ataxia the body is unable to cast
off the generated poisons, or used-up tissue, the result being that
the new building material (food) taken in is not appropriated.
This condition of atrophy must be overcome by exercise, massage,
fomentation (wrapping the patient in a hot, wet blanket), or by
anything that will induce excessive superficial circulation.
If one afflicted with locomotor ataxia can be induced to arise
from his lethargy and exert himself, following the methods herein
suggested, a gradual increase in strength is very likely to be
experienced inside of two or three months, and sometimes a complete
arrest of the process may be expected in time.
The writer had a patient, a retired ship captain, who came under his
treatment after suffering for twelve years with locomotor ataxia,
and after twelve months declared himself cured. The only evidence
remaining of his former condition at this writing is shown when he
attempts to turn around suddenly, and his control of the lumbar
and motor muscles are undergoing such improvement that even this
symptom, it seems, will finally disappear.
In cases of Locomotor Ataxia:
OMIT EAT
Drugs of every character Carbohydrates--limited quantity
Intoxicants Corn hominy
Sex indulgence Dates, figs, honey
Stimulants and narcotics
{Beans
{Buckwheat
Foods {Cheese
rich in {Eggs
proteids {Fresh corn
and {Fish
albuminoids {Milk
such as {Nuts
{Peas
{Potatoes
{Whole wheat
Rice
Rye
COLDS, CATARRH, HAY FEVER, ASTHMA, INFLUENZA
[Sidenote: Overeating a common cause of capillary congestion]
These disorders are grouped under a general heading because there
are a few fundamental laws that affect them all alike. Capillary
congestion is a common cause in all these disorders, and anything
that will produce this condition will cause, or at least augment
catarrh, hay fever, asthma, influenza, and colds. As overeating is
the primary cause of congestion throughout the capillary system,
it, rather than exposure, is the most common cause of all these
disorders. The treatment that will remove or prevent this form
of congestion will, therefore, remove a primary cause, when such
remedial measures may be employed as each case demands.
COLDS--THE CAUSE
That condition commonly known as a cold is merely a congestion of
effete matter and toxic substances in the body-cells, coming from
two causes, and, so far as my experience has been able to guide me,
from two causes only, namely:
1 Overeating
2 Exposure to violent atmospheric changes
COLDS--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms from both causes manifest themselves in exactly the
same way, therefore it becomes very necessary to ascertain what the
sufferer has been eating, both as to quantity and as to kind of
foods during the previous forty-eight hours.
[Sidenote: Colds caused by overeating]
It often occurs that colds from overeating are cumulative, that
is, the patient habitually takes too much fat, sweets, or meat,
especially the two latter articles, and these may have been
digested, and their nutritive elements may have passed into the
circulation, but the body being unable to use them, they finally
begin to decompose and are converted into alcohol and other
decomposition products. An excess of this effete matter brought to
the lungs is called a "cold."
If one who is blessed with good digestion and assimilation should
habitually take an amount of nutrition in excess of his needs,
it will manifest itself first, perhaps, in the growth of adipose
tissue, and later in the various disorders called autointoxication,
among which are colds, catarrh, etc.
[Sidenote: Colds caused by exposure]
If the body be exposed to a violent draft of cold air, and
sufficient motion is not exerted to keep the circulation active,
or if the feet be exposed to cold and wet, Nature, in obedience to
the law of self-defense, closes the pores of the skin against the
intrusion, hence the poisonous and effete matter that is constantly
passing off through these openings cannot escape, but it is picked
up by the blood and carried to the lungs to be oxidized or burned in
the process of breathing.
[Sidenote: Colds from overeating and exposure, identical]
If the amount of poisons thus brought to the lungs be in excess of
the amount that can be consumed or burned, a form of congestion
will take place (in the lungs) causing first irritation, then
suppuration, which must be thrown off in the form of mucus. It
matters not whether the congestion is caused by exposure or
overeating, the effects are identically the same, and Nature's
method of ridding the body of these poisons is the same in either
case. The only difference between an ordinary cold and pneumonia is
one of degree.
COLDS--THE REMEDY
Since colds are merely a form of congestion, first in the capillary
vessels and next in the lungs, the first thing to be done is to
cease eating. The misunderstanding of the old adage "stuff a cold
and starve a fever" has killed thousands of ignorant but innocent
people. Its real meaning is, if you stuff a cold, you will have to
starve an internal fever.
In the treatment of colds, I would suggest the following method of
procedure:
1 (a) Omit all food except--
{Such as--
{Apples
Juice of subacid fruits {Grapes
{Peaches
{Plums
This should be continued until the congestion is relieved,
whether it be one day or a week. (For list of subacid fruits,
see Lesson VIII, p. 313.)
(b) Drink copiously of pure, cool water
2 Select a light diet of--
Nuts
Salads
White of eggs
Fresh watery vegetables
Limited quantity of carbohydrates
If the cold is severe, a Turkish bath or any treatment that will
produce liberal perspiration, will aid in the elimination of
body-poisons and the relief of congestion.
[Sidenote: Remedial value of fresh air and exercise]
Inasmuch as the blood is conveying an excessive amount of poisons to
the lungs for oxidation, much depends upon the amount of pure air
that is breathed and the cell capacity of the lungs for oxidation;
therefore the sufferer, if unable to be out of doors, should be
warmly clad and placed before an open window, or on a veranda in the
sunshine, if possible, where every breath will be of fresh air. If,
however, the patient is able to go out, every moment possible should
be spent walking briskly in the open air. Every morning the patient
should be given a vigorous "sponge" with a towel dipped in cold
water, and rubbed down with a dry one. This should be done in a warm
room, with the body well protected from undue exposure. The room
should be thoroughly ventilated at night, and in severe cases all
garments and sheets used during the day should be thoroughly aired
or changed at night.
The old methods of drugging and of excluding the air and sunshine,
which is in reality poisoning the patient both within and without,
is little less than criminal.
A cool shower, or a sponge bath, together with a vigorous rub
every morning immediately on rising, and a normal quantity of
natural food, render the body almost entirely immune from colds, la
grippe, and all forms of capillary congestion and effete and toxic
(poisonous) substances.
(For diet, see volume of Menus, p. 917.)
In cases of Colds:
OMIT EAT
Confections Coarse cereals (very little)
Desserts Fresh vegetables
Fatty foods Fruit (See p. 524)
Flesh foods Light vegetable soups
Heavy starchy foods Nuts
Intoxicants Wheat bran
Whites of eggs
CATARRH--THE CAUSE
[Sidenote: Decomposition of unused food the primary cause of catarrh]
The causes of catarrh are attributed by all old school writers
to acute coryza and exposure to irritating dust, or cold, moist,
and perhaps infectious air. These may be secondary causes and may
augment catarrh after it has appeared, but experience has proved
that the primary cause of catarrh is the decomposition of unused
food material, and that Nature throws off the decomposition products
resulting therefrom, through the nasal passage, in the form of
mucus. In the support of this theory I may refer to many cases of
ordinary stomach trouble, constipation, torpidity of the liver,
etc., that have had my personal care. In nearly all these cases I
found that, when the diet was balanced according to the age and the
occupation of the patient, with the climate or time of the year,
practically all catarrhal symptoms disappeared, and exposure to
atmospheric changes, dust, and the usual things that had formerly
brought on catarrhal conditions, did not affect the patient.
CATARRH--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of catarrh are constant secretion of nasal mucus, which
often passes off into the postnasal and nasopharyngeal spaces. This
mucus is usually thin and of a light-colored watery character,
varying in quantity according to exposure or activity, the quantity
of food eaten, and the temperature of the atmosphere.
CATARRH--THE REMEDY
In the treatment of catarrh, avoid the following:
All meats
Heavy starchy foods (Especially white flour products)
Sweets (See Lesson VIII, p. 334)
The diet should consist of--
A reasonable quantity of proteid foods in the form of--
Beans Peas
Eggs Sour milk
Nuts
Bananas
Coarse cereals--twice a day; such as entire wheat and rye
Fish (small quantity, occasionally)
Fresh vegetables
Green watery salads
Non-acid fruits
Wheat bran--
(Enough to keep the bowels in normal condition)
[Sidenote: Nasal breathing]
Deep breathing through the nostrils and vigorous exercise should be
taken freely, especially just after rising and just before retiring.
Special attention should be given to breathing through the nose.
When the air is pure, there is nothing more healing and remedial in
the treatment of catarrh than the abundant passage of air through
the nasal cavities.
In cases of Catarrh:
OMIT EAT
All meats A reasonable {Beans
Heavy starchy foods (white flour quantity of {Eggs
and grain products) Proteids {Nuts
Stimulants and narcotics such as {Peas
Sweets {Sour milk
Bananas
Coarse cereals--entire wheat
and rye
Fish, occasionally
Fresh vegetables
Green watery salads
Non-acid fruits
Take vigorous exercise, together with deep breathing through the
nose.
HAY FEVER
Hay fever might be called autumnal catarrh. It is popularly supposed
to be irritation of the nasal passages and the bronchial tubes,
caused by the flying pollen from various flowers and plants.
HAY FEVER--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of hay fever are usually a salty discharge from the
eyes and the nostrils, followed by severe irritation of the mucous
lining of the nasal cavity, a sense of fullness in the head, and
violent sneezing.
HAY FEVER--THE REMEDY
It has not been the writer's opportunity to examine deeply into the
actual causes of hay fever, but it has been his good fortune to cure
many cases.
The remedy should be confined to--
Fresh air and sunshine
Close observation of the rules of diet
Total abstinence from all forms of stimulants and narcotics
I would suggest the following diet:
Berries
Eggs
Fish (Limited quantity)
Green and fresh vegetables
Sour milk (Buttermilk)
(Where this kind of milk cannot be obtained, the ordinary
sweet milk will suffice)
The diet must be governed, as already explained in many other cases,
by the individual requirements of the patient in regard to the
amount of exercise, the temperature of the atmosphere, and the age
of the patient. In spring and summer is the ideal time to remove the
causes of hay fever and effect its cure. (See Catarrh.)
In cases of Hay Fever:
OMIT EAT
Coffee {Bananas
Confections {Berries
Condiments Abundance {Fresh
Liquors and wines of {vegetables
Tea {Green salads
Tobacco {Sweet fruits
White flour products
Limited {Eggs
quantity {Fish
{Sour milk (buttermilk)
The diet should be governed by amount of exercise, temperature,
etc.
ASTHMA
THE CAUSE
The cause of asthma is congestion in, or constriction of, the
bronchial tubes. This congestion is usually caused by overeating
and the excessive use of narcotics and stimulants such as tobacco,
liquors, and beer. The excessive use of sugar and starches, or what
is generally known as carbohydrates, will set up a form of difficult
breathing, or at least augment asthmatic tendencies. This condition
is more likely to occur among those whose lungs are weakened and who
have a tendency toward consumption.
ASTHMA--THE SYMPTOMS
There are but few conditions preceding asthma that can properly be
called symptoms. The attacks are usually violent and frequently come
on late at night. The patient suffers with a sense of asphyxia,
which causes the impression of death from suffocation.
ASTHMA--THE REMEDY
The causes of asthma can be removed by diet, fresh air and exercise.
If the patient can take a reasonable amount of exercise, sunshine
and fresh air, the cure will be more rapid, but if this cannot be
done, the diet can be limited so that there will be but little
waste, therefore little congestion, and the necessity for exercise
and fresh air will be reduced to the minimum.
In cases of asthma, the diet should be confined to--
Egg albumin
Limited quantity of nuts (No more than two ounces per day)
An abundance of--
Fresh and green vegetables
Fruits
Salads
If meat be taken at all, it should be confined to fish, young
and tender game, or fowl, although these articles are not
recommended.
If the patient be obese or above normal weight, the diet given for
obesity should be rigidly observed. If of normal weight, the body
should be fed somewhat below its physical requirements, even if a
radical loss in weight should be experienced for the first three or
four weeks.
If the patient is emaciated, then the diet should consist of six or
eight eggs, and about one quart of milk daily, together with sweet
fruits and fresh vegetables. Milk may be given in larger quantities,
up to three quarts daily, if all other food except eggs be omitted.
In cases of Asthma:
OMIT EAT
All intoxicants About two ounces of nuts per day (no more)
Coffee
Condiments {Fruits
Confections Abundance {Salads
Red meat of {Fresh green vegetables
Tobacco
Egg albumin
If any meat, it should be fish or tender fowl
INFLUENZA
THE CAUSE
[Sidenote: Bacteria the result, not the cause]
This disorder is popularly supposed to be of bacteriological origin,
but upon this question the scientific world is much divided. In the
opinion of the writer the cause of influenza cannot be traced to
bacteria or any other form of germ life. Bacteria is nearly always
present in decomposing animal matter. It is the opinion of the
writer, therefore, that bacteria is the result and not the cause of
influenza. It might be described as an acute activity of the entire
system in throwing off accumulated waste or toxic substances. This
process of excretion will become more difficult at certain times,
during violent changes in temperature, and many people in small
communities may be similarly afflicted, which no doubt gives rise to
the theory that it is a disease of germ origin.
INFLUENZA--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms are headache, languor, sometimes nausea and congestion
in the lungs, together with acute irritation of the nasal passages.
INFLUENZA--THE REMEDY
The logical remedy is normal temperature of environment, abundance
of fresh air, and omission of all solid food.
There are two specific forms of diet to be recommended--
1 A liquid diet entirely, such as--
Juice of berries
Orange juice
Milk
Very thin vegetable soups
2 Confine diet entirely to--
Nuts
Fruits
Fresh green vegetables
3 Eliminate fats, starches, sugars
Either of the above suggestions will be sufficient to control an
ordinary case of influenza if it is rigidly adhered to.
In the spring and summer, the latter diet would be recommended,
while in winter, when green and fresh vegetables, fruits, etc.,
cannot be procured, the milk diet should be given.
In cases of influenza, see menus for colds, hay fever, and catarrh.
Take choice, giving preference to those prescribed for hay fever.
Whichever menu is chosen, it should be taken in its entirety; that
is, do not select the meals from two or three menus.
INSOMNIA
THE CAUSE
The inability to sleep is caused:
1 By intestinal congestion or sluggish intestinal peristalsis
2 By irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and
intestines
3 By the presence of gas, superacidity, and the consequent
irritation and excitation of the nerves leading out from the
digestive tract
4 By the use of tobacco
5 By the consumption of stimulants and narcotics, which are so
universal and so life-destroying
The effects of (4) and (5) upon the stomach are much the same as
those of overeating, in that they invariably cause supersecretion
of acid, and, in the majority of instances, produce false appetite,
thus augmenting the baneful habit of overeating.
INSOMNIA--THE REMEDY
The logical remedy for insomnia is first to eliminate the use of
tea, coffee, tobacco, distilled and malted liquors, and drugs of
every kind whatsoever, as the ultimate effect upon the stomach of
all these things is the same. When this has been done, the amount of
food required by the body, governed by the three laws of age, work,
and temperature of environment, should be accurately laid out so
that the quantity of food may be controlled and overeating avoided.
[Sidenote: Cases necessitating a special remedial diet]
The diet should also be balanced according to the chemical needs of
the body heretofore mentioned. In a a majority of cases, when the
food scientist can prevail upon his patient to confine himself to
a normal quantity of food, reasonably well balanced as to nutrient
elements, the stomach will perform its natural functions, and
fermentation with its long train of ills will gradually disappear.
This can, in many instances, be accomplished by merely standing out
of Nature's way, but in some cases the stomach, liver, intestines,
and nervous system have been so long abused and so impaired that
they seem to have entered into a conspiracy for mutual protection,
hence may not yield to the "normal quantity" or "balanced dietary"
remedy. In these cases a remedial diet must be followed, such as
will restore the balance by omitting altogether the elements on
which the patient had been overfed, and taking an excessive quantity
of the elements for the lack of which the patient had been suffering.
The following menus should be adopted in the treatment of ordinary
cases of Insomnia:
SUMMER WINTER
BREAKFAST BREAKFAST
Cantaloup Hot water
A baked banana Wheat bran, cooked
Wheat bran, cooked Whole wheat, thoroughly cooked
Thin cream
LUNCHEON LUNCHEON
A baked potato or fresh corn Vegetable soup
DINNER DINNER
Choice of one of the following: Choice of one of the following:
Beans Peas Cabbage Parsnips
Carrots Spinach Carrots Turnips
Corn Squash Eggplant
A potato--eat skins and all One two-minute egg
Wheat bran A baked potato
In cases of insomnia:
OMIT EAT
Distilled and malted liquors All fresh vegetables
Drugs of every kind Coarse cereals, boiled whole
Desserts Egg whites
Flesh foods Leafy salads
Soda-fountain drinks Nuts
Tea and coffee Wheat bran, if constipated
White bread
Mastication should be very thorough. Eat sparingly at the evening
meal. Two meals a day preferred, 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Drink plain water.
RHEUMATISM--GOUT
These disorders are grouped under the same heading because they are
of identical origin.
[Sidenote: Why rheumatism manifests itself largely in the joints]
In the average body of five feet eight inches in height, there are
about 2,000 miles of tubing, classified under the various names of
arteries, veins, capillaries, and nerves. Altogether this is called
the circulatory system. A vast amount of this system is infinitely
small. Every atom of food taken into the circulation that is not
used or converted into energy passes into some of these infinitely
small tubes and nerve fibers. These tubes are susceptible of
considerable expansion in the fleshy part of the body, but where
they pass through the joints or cartilage, there is but little
expansion. There these undissolved atoms are most likely to
congest, therefore the first expression of rheumatism is usually in
the joints. If it takes place at the terminals (fingers or toes),
it is called gout; if in the muscles, it is called muscular or
inflammatory rheumatism. This congestion accounts for the stiffness
and lack of elasticity in the joints. These accumulated atoms become
in time almost as hard as bone.
RHEUMATISM--THE CAUSE
The cause of both rheumatism and gout are practically the same--that
is, overeating, especially of flesh and starchy foods. _Meat_ and
_bread_ are the two things that cause nearly all rheumatism, though
rheumatic symptoms often appear among vegetarians, caused by the
overconsumption of starchy food, especially when acid fruits are
used. The ideal diet for producing rheumatism is cereals, white
bread, meat, acid fruit and eggs.
RHEUMATISM--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of rheumatism often manifest themselves a year or more
before an attack comes on.
The _earlier_ symptoms are--
Languor, stupidity and dulness
in the morning
Impaired circulation and a
sense of body-heaviness
The _later_ symptoms are pain in the joints or muscles, often
followed by inflammation and severe soreness and stiffness.
The rheumatic usually has good digestion. In fact, it is the ability
of the digestive organs to force more nutrition into the circulation
than is needed, that produces this dis-ease.
In nearly all cases of rheumatism and gout the patient will be
found to have been a large consumer of starchy food, especially of
the cereal family, which is the most difficult of all starches to
dissolve.
GOUT--THE CAUSE
[Sidenote: An excess of starch causes an excess of acid]
The primary cause of gout is faulty metabolism; behind this,
however, are other causes. The metabolic process is rendered faulty
or incomplete by the overingestion of heavy starchy foods. This
excess of starch, which the body is not able to appropriate or use,
becomes acted upon by the excess of acid which is always present
when too much starch is consumed. This harmful process is often
augmented by the eating of fruit-acids such as grapefruit, lemons,
oranges, pineapples, and other citrus-fruits. In addition to these
causes the uric acid residual in meat and in the yolk of eggs is an
important factor in the causation of gouty or rheumatic conditions.
GOUT--THE SYMPTOMS
The earlier symptoms of gout are nervousness, irritability, and
sometimes insomnia. In the second stages, shooting pains through the
fingers and toes are experienced, and later a swelling or a slight
inflammation of these terminals. After this acute condition has
existed for perhaps a year, the pain may cease and the joints may
begin to swell. Knots are also often formed, especially upon the
hands, and sometimes upon the feet.
RHEUMATISM, GOUT--THE REMEDY
The remedy for these disorders may be said to lie wholly within the
realm of diet, exercise and oxidation, supplemented by a liberal
superficial application of heat, such as Turkish and electric light
baths.
In all cases of rheumatism and gout, the following should be
omitted:
All acid fruits, such as,
Grapefruit
Lemons
Limes
Oranges
Pineapples
Eggs
Red meats
Starchy foods (Carbohydrate class)
The diet should be confined to--
Fish and white meat of fowl
Fresh vegetables
Nuts
Salads
Sweet and non-acid fruits
(See Lesson VIII, p. 313)
[Sidenote: How to prevent the active principle of rheumatism]
If the diet were confined wholly to green salads, fresh vegetables
and white meats, it would remove the causes of these disorders, and
inasmuch as Nature is always striving to create perfect health, the
cause being removed, she would begin at once to apply the remedy, by
removing the congested mass of undissolved calcareous matter, atom
by atom. Thus the active principle of rheumatism would disappear.
Where the joints have become enlarged, the best that can be done is
to render them flexible. It is almost impossible to take out of them
all the accumulated deposits, and to reduce them to their natural or
normal size.
[Sidenote: Natural perspiration vs. artificial in the treatment of
rheumatism]
In addition to the above-named restrictive diet, the patient should
be given sufficient exercise each day to generate enough heat
to cause perspiration. It is well to remember that one drop of
perspiration forced out of the body by activity is worth a dozen
drawn out of the body by the application of superficial heat, such
as the Turkish bath. Natural perspiration should come from exercise
(muscular friction). This is the method designed by Nature to throw
poisonous substances to the surface in the form of sweat, thereby
demolishing the old cell and making a place for the new. The Turkish
bath and massage is the lazy man's method of cheating Nature,
and cannot possibly bring as good results as can obedience to the
natural law of motion.
In cases of Rheumatism and Gout:
OMIT EAT
All acid fruits-- Buttermilk
Grapefruit Fish and white meat of fowl
Lemons Fresh vegetables
Limes Nuts
Oranges Potatoes
Pineapples Salads (green)
Coffee Sweet fruits (non-acid)
Eggs
Liquors, wines, beers
Red meat
Starchy foods
Tobacco
Eat rather sparingly, especially at the evening meal.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE
This disorder is confined entirely to the kidneys. In its final
analysis it is nothing more than consumption or destruction of the
kidneys by thrusting upon them a greater amount of waste matter than
they are capable of throwing off, the result being (1) irritation;
(2) ulceration; (3) suppuration or consumption.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE--THE CAUSE
The causes of Bright's dis-ease are overingestion of food,
especially sweets, starches and meats; the taking of stimulants and
narcotics, and the consequent failure of the body to eliminate the
poisons or waste accumulating therefrom.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of Bright's dis-ease are scant amount of urine, heavily
laden with solids and fatty granules, while leucocytes and even red
blood-corpuscles are often shown, especially in advanced cases. Dull
pains in the small of the back, and a general weakening in the
lumbar regions are common symptoms.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE--THE REMEDY
[Sidenote: Prevention of Bright's dis-ease by correct feeding]
It has been popularly supposed, and announced from many alleged
sources of authority, that there is no remedy for this dis-ease,
and from the standpoint of Materia Medica this probably is correct,
but from the standpoint of the natural scientist there is a remedy.
However, Bright's dis-ease, like all others herein discussed,
can better be prevented than cured, and under a correct dietetic
regimen, with plenty of exercise and fresh air, the kidneys, like
every other organ of the body, will perform their normal functions.
When Bright's dis-ease has made its appearance, the first thing to
be ascertained is the character of the diet and the general habits
of eating and drinking during the previous two or three years;
secondly, the occupation or habits of exercise, especially exposure
to fresh air and sunshine.
BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE--THE TREATMENT
A very restricted diet should be observed, consisting largely of the
following:
Fresh vegetables
Green salads
Subacid fruits
The fine cereals--(Such as barley and rice)
Milk and eggs--(limited quantity)
All _sweets_ taken should be in the form of sweet fruits. (See
Lesson VIII, p. 313).
Milk is very beneficial in this condition--especially when taken
in the form of buttermilk, clabbered milk, koumyss or zoolak. The
lactic acid ferments in the sour milk help to destroy the germs
of putrefaction in the intestines, which are always one of the
aggravating causes of Bright's disease.
Sometimes an exclusive acid milk diet for a while works wonders.
[Sidenote: Suggestions for diet in different seasons]
If the patient is under treatment in the spring and summer, as many
green plants and fresh sweet fruits as possible should be taken, in
connection with the milk, eliminating cereal starch entirely. In the
fall and winter, the many varieties of apples and autumn vegetables
may be taken in liberal quantities.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE
In the majority of cases it is well to first put the patient on a
short fast of about twenty-four hours, and then begin the diet with
articles containing a liberal quantity of cellulose, such as the
entire wheat, boiled; celery, cooked in casserole dish.
Keep the bowels open by the use of wheat bran, or grapes, if they
are in season, swallowing skins, seeds and pulp.
As in all sympathetic disorders, an abundance of pure, cool water
should be taken and as much time as possible should be spent in the
open air and sunshine.
Care should be taken to limit the diet to the minimum so that the
excretory organs can easily eliminate all waste matter, and so that
there may be no further poisonous accumulations.
In cases of Bright's Dis-ease:
OMIT EAT
Drugs Abundance of nuts (Italian pine nut)
Flesh of every kind Fine cereals--barley, rice
Intoxicants Fresh vegetables
Rich desserts Green salads
Sweets Limited quantity of milk and eggs
Sweets in form of fruit-sugar, such as
dates, figs, raisins (limited quantity)
Subacid fruits
Wheat bran with evening meal
The diet should be somewhat restricted.
Drink an abundance of pure water.
DIABETES
This disorder may be described as one of malassimilation from the
stomach, liver, kidneys, and intestines, but to the trained student
it is better described as a condition in which the capacity of the
body to burn or use grape-sugar has become chronically depressed.
It is usually supplemented by a lack of physical exercise and
elimination of body-poisons.
DIABETES--THE CAUSE
From the above explanation it will be seen that diabetes, like
all other dis-eases of the digestive organs, is caused directly
by errors in eating--overconsumption of carbohydrates (sweets
and starches), and albuminoids. These errors are augmented by
inactivity, causing lack of assimilation or utilization of nutritive
elements.
DIABETES--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of diabetes are intense thirst and appetite, copious
passing of urine and the presence of excessive quantities of sugar
and uric acid therein.
DIABETES--THE REMEDY
The selecting, proportioning and balancing of the daily menu,
together with an observance of the natural laws hitherto laid out,
will prevent diabetes, but after it has made its appearance the
remedy lies in simple and limited feeding.
The sufferer should be put upon a rigid diet of fresh vegetables,
nuts, fruits, and salads. If the body has not been trained to accept
these foods, the diet might consist of the following:
Bloodless (white) meats
Eggs
Fats--reasonable quantity (Olive-oil, butter, cream)
Fish
Fresh vegetables
Green salads--generous quantity
Nuts
If the patient be _overweight_, the diet should consist largely of
subacid fruits and nuts. If _underweight_, a liberal quantity of
sour milk should be given, especially whole soured milk in which the
cream is also present.
[Sidenote: Diet in extreme cases of diabetes]
In extreme cases the patient should be required to subsist upon
Pignolia (the pine) nuts, and green or fresh vegetables uncooked.
The writer knows of a gentleman suffering from a very advanced
case of diabetes, who, in utter despair, adopted a diet consisting
entirely of pine nuts, merely because they appealed to his taste,
while nothing else did. A noticeable change for the better was seen
in a week, especially in regard to the amount of sugar passed in
the urine. He adhered rigidly to this diet for nearly three months.
He then added green salads and carrots, and the seventh and eighth
months a few fresh cooked vegetables, and was pronounced thoroughly
cured before the year had expired. This might have been due partly
to the limited bill of fare, but undoubtedly it was largely due to
the food elements contained in this wonderful product of the Italian
pine.
In cases of Diabetes:
OMIT EAT
Condiments All fresh vegetables, cooked--
Confections preferably in casserole dish
Irritants Nuts
Pastries Baked potatoes
Red meats Coarse whole cereals thoroughly
Stimulants and narcotics cooked--small quantity
Sweets Fish
White flour products Milk (sour)
Very ripe subacid fruit
White meat of fowl
Drink an abundance of pure water.
In treating diabetes, foods containing starch and sugar should not
be wholly eliminated from the diet, but should be administered in
limited proportions, or such quantities as the body could use.
Starches and sugars contained in cereals and legumes, however,
should in extreme cases be omitted because they are difficult to
digest and to assimilate. If the digestion is impaired, the body is
likely to cast out these valuable nutrients through the kidneys,
rather than labor to digest and to assimilate them. The starches and
sugars found in fresh vegetables (See table, Vol. III, p. 614), are
easily digested and assimilated, therefore in cases of diabetes the
body will use or appropriate them, as this entails less energy than
that required to cast them out.
CONSUMPTION
For many centuries chemists, scientists, and medical men generally
have been vainly battling with this dis-ease. It is only within the
past decade that it has been understood or successfully treated.
Consumption is an infection of the lungs by the bacteria called
bacillus tuberculosis. The local inflammation produces lesions,
and the formation of small growths (nodules) of gray, white, or
yellowish tubercles.
[Sidenote: Authorities differ concerning the bacillus]
It is yet an open question and a matter of grave doubt in the minds
of various authorities on this subject as to whether the bacilli is
the real _cause_, or the _result_ of the dis-ease. The fact that a
person or an animal afflicted with tuberculosis was in "susceptible
condition" is much emphasized by all authorities.
[Sidenote: Predisposing conditions and occupations]
Such disorders as catarrh, influenza, chronic colds, etc., are
all predisposing conditions. Such trades as metal grinding,
spinning, weaving, cleaning grain, street sweeping, or any vocation
necessitating the breathing of large quantities of dust, are termed
predisposing occupations, which show very clearly that all writers
are practically agreed that the real cause is undoubtedly due to
imperfect oxidation or impaired use of the lungs.
The above conditions may be brought on from two specific causes--
1 By the habitual overingestion of food, and the consequent
congestion of effete matter in the lungs, brought thither by the
circulation in its effort to dispose of the waste-products by
burning them with oxygen.
2 Through the agency of foreign substances breathed in, which
gradually congest, and prevent thorough oxidation and normal
activity of the excretory function of the lungs.
[Sidenote: Bacilli the result, not the cause of consumption]
The opinion of the writer is that the bacillus above referred to is
the result and not the cause of this dis-ease, and that such living
organisms (bacilli) are created in the economy of Nature to dispose
of this congested matter, just as she, in her provident economy,
disposes of the carcass of a dead animal.
[Sidenote: Facts shown by experiments and by modern treatment of
consumption]
The fact that a tuberculosis culture, deposited in the lungs of
another animal, reproduces the dis-ease, proves nothing, as it may
have been planted in susceptible soil, well prepared for the growth
and the development of the bacteria. The fact that some very healthy
animals did not contract the dis-ease by this method, supports the
theory that if conditions are not favorable the culture is killed
by the process of oxidation. This sustains the theory that the
bacillus tuberculosis is the result, and not the cause of this dread
dis-ease. This theory is further supported by the results of the
most modern and only successful methods of treating it.
CONSUMPTION--THE TREATMENT
When beginning treatment, the tubercular patient should be
restricted as to diet for the purpose of giving Nature an
opportunity to make use of every atom of food taken into the body,
leaving nothing to go to waste.
The diet should consist almost wholly of vegetable fats, sour milk,
nuts, fruits, salads, and eggs, with a limited amount of readily
digestible carbohydrates.
The following menu is given as a fair example of selection as to
quantity and combinations:
BREAKFAST
Cantaloup, orange, grapes, pears, or persimmons
Two or three eggs, whipped five minutes, adding a teaspoonful of
lemon juice, and one of sugar to each egg
LUNCHEON
A green salad eaten with nuts, a dash of lemon juice and olive-oil
One or two fresh vegetables, including a baked potato
One egg prepared as for breakfast
A glass of sour milk
DINNER
A green salad, with nuts and oil
Eggs or buttermilk
One or two fresh vegetables
A baked potato
The above menus may be increased in quantity after the first
week or ten days, at least sufficient to meet all physical
requirements, and the articles may be changed according to
seasons.
[Sidenote: Dietetic suggestions for spring and summer in consumptive
cases]
In spring and summer all kinds of fruits and berries may be used,
and such vegetables as squash, asparagus, spinach, beets, green peas
and beans, turnips, parsnips, carrots, and green corn. All of these
vegetables should be cooked in a casserole dish.
The bowels should be kept free. (See treatment for "Constipation,"
p. 437.) Drink copiously of pure water.
[Sidenote: Suggestions for the treatment of mild cases of
consumption]
If the patient is not far advanced, he should seek employment which
affords constant exercise in the open air, preferably in the hills
or mountains, and the labor should be of such a character as to
cause normal activity of the liver and the bowels, and to enforce
deep respiration. A spirometer or lung-measuring machine should
be secured, and the patient should practise upon this night and
morning, endeavoring each day to register from one to five cubic
inches more than the previous day, until every air cell of the lungs
is opened and the full capacity is reached, which should be about
315 cubic inches for the average man, and 250 for the woman of
normal size.
[Sidenote: General rules of hygiene in consumptive cases]
Contrary to usual customs and theories, the patient should take a
cool sponge bath every morning, in a warm room, except in very
cold weather. It should be followed by a vigorous rub down and
deep breathing. Wear thin cotton under-clothes. Dress as lightly
as possible, except when exposed where exercise or motion cannot
be taken, such as riding in an open car or vehicle. Nature's
method of producing hardihood and increasing endurance is by means
of exposure. The house-plant life is conducive and favorable to
tuberculosis.
[Sidenote: Importance of perfect oxidation]
The most important thing in the treatment of this dis-ease is
perfect oxidation (breathing). Every cell of the lungs should be
filled at every breath. The lungs should be filled to their extreme
capacity, one hundred or more times a day, with pure, fresh,
dustless air. The patient should never breathe the same breath
twice; especially should he not breathe the air that has been used
by other people, or by pet animals in a closed room.
In order to carry out this regimen, it is necessary to live out of
doors day and night, winter and summer.
The tubercular patient should sleep in a tent, or upon an open
piazza every night, regardless of the weather or the temperature of
the atmosphere. If these rules were observed the white plague would
lose some of its terrors.
In cases of Consumption:
OMIT EAT
Coffee Cheese
Meat Eggs
Stimulants { Preferably--
Sweets { Carrots
Tea { Dried beans,
Tobacco Fresh { Onions
vegetables { Peas
{ Parsnips
{ Potatoes
{ Pumpkin
{ Squash
Figs
Milk
Raisins
HEART TROUBLE
[Sidenote: The heart, a sentinel of the body]
The heart may well be called the thermometer of the body. Under
normal conditions it is never heard from, but under abnormal
conditions it is the first and the most reliable sentinel of the
body. It stands eternally on duty and sends its danger signals
to the brain with truthful accuracy, whether the trouble be of
physical, mental, or emotional origin. A word or a sound sent
through the air enters the ear and is analyzed by the brain, but the
heart registers accurately its effect upon the physical body. We see
a face or an occurrence a block away, and through the optic nerves
it is comprehended by the brain, but the heart alone registers or
gives back to the brain the effect upon the body.
[Sidenote: Necessity for heeding the symptoms of the heart]
This little engine, but little bigger than one's fist, pumps about
twenty tons of blood every day above its own level in every body
of average size, besides sending the life fluids of the blood-serum
with lightning speed to the parts of the remotest anatomy, carting
away the effete and poisonous matter to the lungs to be burned with
oxygen, and carrying new building material from cell to cell for
repairs. Should we not, therefore, take good care of, and heed the
warnings of so wonderful a piece of automatic mechanism? Should
we not study all its symptoms told in a language sympathetic and
truthful, and as unerring as the laws that govern the movement of
worlds in space?
[Sidenote: Some undefined technical terms]
The heart gives off various symptoms indicating the different
kinds of sins we commit against the natural laws of our organisms.
Medical men have named some of these symptoms as follows: Dilation,
hypertrophy, atrophy, aneurism, inflammation, valvular derangement,
etc., but in none of their reference works are the causes of these
so-called dis-eases clearly defined. Fatty degeneration is the only
one that is explained, the term meaning that the heart has been
deprived of room in which to do its work, owing to surrounding fatty
accumulations.
HEART TROUBLE--THE CAUSE
The blood enters the heart through the superior venae cavae flowing
to the right lobe or auricle, then it is pumped by the heart beats
to the right ventricle. From here it is forced through the pulmonary
artery to the lungs where it is purified and charged with the oxygen
we breathe. From the lungs the blood returns through the pulmonary
veins to the left auricle of the heart, and then to the left
ventricle. Having passed once through the purifying plant and twice
through the distributing station, it is now sent out through the
large systematic artery and distributed to every capillary cell of
the body.
[Sidenote: Heart trouble caused by (carbon dioxid) gas]
From the accumulation of gas caused by fermenting food the
transverse colon becomes very much distended. This interferes with
the free flow of blood into and out of the heart, causing at times
a very faint heart action from a lack of inflow, and again a very
heavy, rapid action when the blood spurts through. This produces
dizziness and vertigo, and sometimes where the inflow is greater
than the heart can discharge, there is arterial overflow; the heart
ceases action, and the victim falls prostrate, and sometimes dies.
(See "Fermentation--The Symptoms," p. 426.)
[Sidenote: Heart trouble caused by calcareous substances]
Many cases of serious heart trouble are caused by habitual
overeating, especially of grain and grain products. The calcareous
substances from these products are deposited in the capillary
vessels and in the joints, causing rheumatism, rheumatoid
arthritis, sciatica, lumbago, gout, and other evidences of our
lack of knowledge. When the one thus afflicted follows a sedentary
occupation, taking but little fresh air and exercise, a hardening or
stiffening of the arteries is usually the result.
It is safe to say that if one would eat moderately, omit stimulants
and narcotics, take but a limited quantity of starchy foods, a
liberal amount of fresh air, deep breathing and exercise, heart
trouble would be unknown.
HEART TROUBLE--THE REMEDY
[Sidenote: Diet for heart trouble]
For the treatment of those who are afflicted with heart trouble I
would suggest a very limited diet of nuts, fruits, salads, fresh
tuber and green vegetables, eggs, and a limited quantity of coarse
foods, such as boiled whole wheat, wheat bran, grapes (seeds and
all), and all coarse vegetables, with an abundance of mild exercise
and fresh air.
[Sidenote: Exercise for heart trouble]
In cases of heart trouble no greater mistake can be made than to
cease exercise, as is often prescribed by well-meaning doctors. This
is compromising with the enemy, with absolute certainty of ultimate
defeat. Exercise, above all, is the very thing that is most needed.
The patient should begin moderately at first, daily increasing the
time and the tensity of the work until a balance is established
between the intake and the outflow of blood to the heart.
For foods to be eaten and omitted in cases of heart trouble, see p.
573. Also see menus for Fermentation.
DIS-EASES OF THE SKIN
There are two distinct kinds of skin dis-eases, namely--
1 Local
2 Constitutional
The _local_ is that which manifests itself in the form of pimples or
eruptions which come and go, and are of only a few days' duration.
The second, or _constitutional_ kind, is that which manifests itself
by a permanent irritation or inflammation, which is classified as
eczema, psoriasis, etc.
DIS-EASES OF THE SKIN--THE CAUSE
[Sidenote: Local disorders]
The local or temporary disorders are caused and controlled entirely
by diet, usually overeating. Sometimes overingestion of some one
particular food; for instance, too much acid taken in the form of
berries, or citrus-fruits, will often produce an eruption or a rash
within a few hours after eating.
[Sidenote: Eruptions augmented by autointoxication]
That form of pimples or eruptions caused by overeating is usually
augmented by constipation or by some form of intestinal congestion,
which has been given the impressive title of autointoxication.
Autointoxication is a broad word that seems to have been invented,
not for the purpose of explaining, but for the purpose of
evading the necessity of explaining. The meaning of this word
(self-poisoning) has been narrowed down by the profession to
describe the above conditions, but in reality it should be applied
to all forms of self-poisoning by overeating; eating the wrong
combinations of food; the use of all stimulants and narcotics, such
as tobacco, tea, coffee, liquor and wines of all kinds. In fact,
self-poisoning from the last-named sources is as common as from
errors in eating, and much more difficult to control.
Nearly all dis-eases are traceable directly to unexcreted poisons
which the body has been unable to throw off. These poisons are from
two sources:
1 The natural poisons or gases that accumulate in the body
under normal conditions, which, if prevented in any manner from
passing off, will cause some kind of disorder which would come
under the head of autointoxication.
2 The poisons that accumulate under abnormal conditions, such as
hitherto described, and which are very often made manifest by
eruptions of the skin.
[Sidenote: Constitutional disorders]
That form of skin dis-ease known as eczema has baffled the medical
world for many centuries. It has hitherto been treated locally by
the most skilled and learned specialists, in the belief that it
was of bacteriological origin, but modern experiments in the field
of food chemistry have demonstrated the fact that it can be cured
by scientific feeding, therefore it is only fair to assume that
its origin or primary cause is due to some form of self-poisoning,
caused by errors in eating and faulty metabolism.
DIS-EASES OF THE SKIN--THE TREATMENT
If a rash should appear on the skin after eating acid fruit or
berries, one would naturally know the remedy; namely, omit acids,
limit the quantity of food at the next meal, drink copiously of pure
water and breathe an abundance of fresh air. The same general remedy
should be observed in all cases.
[Sidenote: Preliminary treatment for dis-eases of the skin]
The pimples or eruptions will gradually disappear when the causes
are removed, and the same rule will apply to eczema or any chronic
form of skin irritation. The patient should first be put upon a
short fast of two or three days' duration, and caused to perspire
freely each day for an hour or so. This can be accomplished by the
aid of the Turkish bath, but preferably by exercise. On the first
day the fast should be broken by taking either the juice of such
fruits as plums, peaches, apples, grapes, and pears, or the juice of
cantaloup and watermelon.
DIET FOR DIS-EASES OF THE SKIN
The diet should be gradually broadened by the addition of green
salads, uncooked carrots, onions and turnips, and a limited
quantity of such cooked vegetables as spinach, asparagus,
squash, fresh corn, green peas or beans when in season. Later,
the diet should be confined mainly to egg whites, skimmed milk,
nuts, sweet fruits, salads, fresh green vegetables, including a
very limited quantity of sugar and coarse cereals, two or three
times a week.
DIET FOR CHRONIC ECZEMA
In extreme and chronic cases of eczema the diet should be
confined entirely to green salads, sweet fruits, fresh
vegetables, and about two ounces of olive-oil daily, feeding the
body always somewhat below its normal requirements as indicated
by hunger.
Under this diet and regimen the patient will, of course, lose weight
and possibly strength, but the body will so completely make use
of all nutrition and the elimination of all waste will be made so
completely, through the excretory channels, that the dis-ease will
gradually disappear, owing to the removal of its primary causes.
For "Sweet Fruits," see Lesson VIII, p. 313.
APPENDICITIS
There are three large colons in the intestinal tract which form an
inverted U, the "ascending," "transverse," and "descending" colons.
The descending colon is situated on the left side, its lower part
opening into the rectal cavity. The ascending colon, located on the
right side, connects with the small intestines, while the transverse
colon goes across at a point opposite the navel, connecting the two.
[Sidenote: The vermiform appendix a useful organ]
To the lower part of the ascending colon is attached the vermiform
appendix. Authorities are much divided as to the function of this
organ. Many claim that it is a relic of anthropoid man, while others
contend that it is a useful and important part of the anatomy. In
the opinion of the writer it secretes a valuable digestive fluid
and therefore performs a function valuable both to digestion and
to alimentation. In the ascending colon is the only place in
the thirty-six feet of intestinal tubing where the fecal matter
must rise against the law of gravity, therefore, if there is any
congestion throughout this canal, it is most likely to occur in this
colon. While the bowels may seem to act normally, yet, owing to the
tremendous amount of waste matter necessary to be conveyed from
the body, and the peristaltic action involved in moving it along,
especially at this point, some of the fecal matter often lodges
under the small folds and in the flexuous surfaces of this colon,
decomposing and causing an acute form of inflammation. The vermiform
appendix, being attached to this inflamed colon, becomes inflamed
also. In other words, this inoffensive and useful little organ
suffers the penalty of being in bad company.
[Sidenote: Old diagnosis correct]
Thus it is seen that appendicitis, so-called, is merely a
form of fevered or irritated colon; hence the old-fashioned
diagnosis--"bowel inflammation"--before appendicitis became popular,
and profitable, was in reality correct. Knowing the cause--the
physiology of appendicitis--the remedy becomes a simple one.
APPENDICITIS--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of appendicitis (bowel inflammation) are usually pain,
at times sharp, but generally dull, in the lower abdomen on the
right side.
APPENDICITIS--THE TREATMENT (IN MILD CASES)
If the pain is dull and intermittent, the patient should cease work,
especially that vocation which necessitates being on foot, and
spend at least twenty-four hours, most of the time in a sitting or
reclining position. All such substances as meat, cereal and cereal
products, sweets, milk, tea, coffee, cocoa, and all stimulating
beverages should be omitted.
[Sidenote: A natural remedy]
The patient should take high enemas (knee or chest position) of
lukewarm water, thus removing as much of the congested fecal matter
as possible. Take from two to three tablespoonfuls of olive-oil, and
two or three cups of hot water several times a day. The application
of an ice-bag will sometimes afford much relief, and has a tendency
to reduce the inflammatory process. Too much emphasis cannot be laid
upon the fact that in any inflammatory condition of the stomach or
intestines, rest for these organs is imperatively demanded.
APPENDICITIS--THE DIET
After the first day or two, the following diet should be adopted and
continued for a few days until the pain has ceased and the bowels
are restored to normal action:
BREAKFAST
A cup of hot water
One or two exceedingly ripe bananas peeled and baked in a hot
oven
One egg, whipped five minutes; sugar to taste; flavor with lemon
or fruit-juice
A glass of water
LUNCHEON
A salad of anything green
Liberal portion of boiled onions
DINNER
Spinach, or a green salad, same as at luncheon
Green beans, or peas, if in season, rejecting all the fiber; or,
carrots or parsnips
Two whipped eggs
Baked banana, with butter or oil
These menus are intended as a general guide. They may be
modified by selecting such articles, in the same general class,
as are in season.
The following list of foods may be drawn upon to compose the menus,
at the various seasons of the year:
----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------
| | |
SPRING | SUMMER | FALL | WINTER
| | |
----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------
| | |
Asparagus | Carrots | Artichokes | Carrots
Beets | Cauliflower | Beets | Parsnips
Cabbage | Eggplant | Brussels | Potatoes
Dandelion | Lettuce | sprouts | Pumpkin
Lettuce | Okra | Carrots | Squash
Onions | Onions | Cauliflower |
Peas | Romaine | Eggplant |
Potatoes | Spinach | Okra |
Spinach | Squash | Potatoes |
| Tomatoes | Squash |
| | Sweet potatoes |
| | Tomatoes |
| | |
----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------
CHRONIC OR SEVERE CASES OF APPENDICITIS
The errors in diet that cause fermentation and superacidity in
the stomach will also cause fermentation and inflammation in the
intestines.
A constipated condition in the intestines so hinders the natural
flow of food-matter that in extreme cases of inflammation and
suppuration the congested matter might be forced into the vermiform
appendix, thus causing what is termed "appendicitis," and under
these conditions the removal of the appendix might be advisable, but
in the opinion of the writer more lives have been sacrificed on the
operating table than the old-fashioned doctors ever lost from "bowel
inflammation" before this dis-ease was named "appendicitis," and
before the knife was applied as a remedy.
[Sidenote: Treatment in severe cases]
There should be injected into the rectum a tablespoonful of
olive-oil, followed immediately by an enema of hot water at a
temperature of about 115 degrees. This should be retained as long
as possible. In order to aid in this process, the head might be
lowered, and the feet slightly elevated so as to relieve the strain
upon the rectal muscles. In very severe cases an ice pack may be
placed over the lower abdomen for five minutes. The ice pack should
be kept in place until the temperature is lowered and the pain
relieved.
THE DIET IN SEVERE CASES OF APPENDICITIS
From three to four quarts of cool water should be taken the first
day and all food omitted. The second day fruit-juices and olive-oil
should be administered. This treatment should be continued for
several days, or until the pain is relieved, when the diet for
milder cases may be adopted in a reduced or limited form.
DANGERS OF INTESTINAL CONGESTION
[Sidenote: Causes of appendicitis]
All conditions of bowel inflammation are caused primarily by
congestion of fecal matter in the intestinal tract. That which
will relieve congestion, therefore, will, by removing the causes,
relieve inflammation. Intestinal congestion has become one of the
most common disorders among civilized people, because of the fact
that a large percentage of the coarse material known as cellulose
fiber has been removed from their food by super-civilized methods of
preparation. For instance, in modern milling methods, every trace
of cellulose is removed from the grain, leaving nothing but a
white mass of unbalanced food material, largely carbohydrates, and
the peelings are removed from all kinds of fruits and vegetables.
Thus the diet of civilized man has become woefully impoverished in
cellulose and mineral salts, with the result that there is nothing
left in the diet to stimulate the liver and the peristaltic activity
of the intestinal tract.
[Sidenote: Evils of the civilized diet]
This condition is largely augmented by flesh food, all sedative
drugs, and intoxicating drinks which have become so conspicuous in
the diet of modern civilization.
[Sidenote: Why coarse food is necessary]
The intestinal (digestive and eliminative) organs of man, through
the millions of years of his development, have been built up
on the primitive plan. They have been shaped by the process of
ages to accommodate coarse food, therefore a generous amount
of non-nutritive cellulose is absolutely necessary to both the
digestion of food and the elimination of waste. The liberal use
of cereal bran puts back into the diet that which modern milling
methods have taken out of it.
[Sidenote: Remedial value of coarse food]
The use of wheat bran and the seeds of grapes in the treatment of
appendicitis has both a scientific and a common-sense basis. The
bran and the seeds pass into the various folds, wrinkles and turns
of the intestines, and sweep out the congested fecal matter which is
undergoing decomposition and causing inflammation. After the bowels
have been thoroughly cleansed, the patient should adopt a fresh
vegetable diet selected from the list heretofore given, drinking an
abundance of water both at meals and between meals.
Under these conditions most symptoms of appendicitis will disappear,
and if the diet is made to consist of a sufficient quantity of
coarse food, all causes of bowel inflammation will be removed.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopedia of Diet Vol. 2 (of 5)" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.