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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/8521.txt b/8521.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4f182d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/8521.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12706 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Maintaining Health, by R. L. Alsaker + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + +Title: Maintaining Health + +Author: R. L. Alsaker + +Posting Date: March 21, 2015 [EBook #8521] +Release Date: July, 2005 +First Posted: July 19, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAINTAINING HEALTH *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Yvonne +Dailey, David Garcia, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + + + + + + + + + +MAINTAINING HEALTH + +(FORMERLY HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY) + +By R. L. ALSAKER, M. D. + +AUTHOR OF "EATING FOR HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY" + + + + + + + + _"When you arise in the morning, think what a precious privilege + it is to live, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."_ + --MARCUS AURELIUS. + + _"Nature Cures"_ + --HIPPOCRATES + + + +TO ISAAC T. COOK + +WHOSE CRITICISMS, ASSISTANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT HAVE LIGHTENED +THE LABOR AND ADDED TO THE PLEASURE OF PRODUCING THIS VOLUME. + + + + +CHAPTER CONTENTS + + I PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS + Humanity, Health and Healers + + II MENTAL ATTITUDE + Correct and Incorrect--Results + + III FOOD + General Consideration + + IV OVEREATING + + V DAILY FOOD INTAKE + + VI WHAT TO EAT + + VII WHEN TO EAT + + VIII HOW TO EAT + + IX CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS + + X FLESH FOODS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XI NUTS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XII LEGUMES + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XIII SUCCULENT VEGETABLES + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations--Salads + + XIV CEREAL FOODS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XV TUBERS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XVI FRUITS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations--Salads + + XVII OILS AND FATS + + XVIII MILK AND OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XIX MENUS + Food Combination in General + + XX DRINK + Water--Tea--Coffee--Alcohol--Enslaving Drugs + + XXI CARE OF THE SKIN + Baths--Friction--Clothing + + XXII EXERCISE + + XXIII BREATHING AND VENTILATION + + XXIV SLEEP + + XXV FASTING + Our Most Important Remedy--Symptoms--When and How to Fast--Cases + + XXVI ATTITUDE OF PARENT TOWARD CHILD + + XXVII CHILDREN + Prenatal Care--Infancy--Childhood--Mental Training + + XXVIII DURATION OF LIFE + Advanced Years--Living to Old Age in Health and Comfort + + XXIX EVOLVING INTO HEALTH + How it is Often Done--A Case + + XXX RETROSPECT + A Summing-up of the Subject + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. + +Writings on hygiene and health have been accessible for centuries, but +never before have books and magazines on these subjects been as numerous +as they are today. Most of the information is so general, vague and +indefinite that only a few have the time and patience to read the +thousands of pages necessary to learn what to do to keep well. The truth +is to be found in the archives of medicine, in writings covering a +period of over thirty centuries, but it is rather difficult to find the +grains of truth. + +Health is the most valuable of all possessions, for with health one can +attain anything else within reason. A few of the great people of the +world have been sickly, but it takes men and women sound in body and +mind to do the important work. Healthy men and women are a nation's most +valuable asset. + +It is natural to be healthy, but we have wandered so far astray that +disease is the rule and good health the exception. Of course, most +people are well enough to attend to their work, but nearly all are +suffering from some ill, mental or physical, acute or chronic, which +deprives them of a part of their power. The average individual is of +less value to himself, to his family and to society than he could be. +His bad habits, of which he is often not aware, have brought weakness +and disease upon him. These conditions prevent him from doing his best +mentally and physically. + +This abnormal condition has a bad effect upon his descendants, who may +not be born with any special defects, but they have less resistance at +birth than is their due, and consequently fall prey to disease very +easily. This state of impaired resistance has been passed on from +generation to generation, and we of today are passing it on as a +heritage to our children. + +About 280,000 babies under the age of one year die annually in the +United States. The average lifetime is only a little more than forty +years. It should be at least one hundred years. This is a very +conservative statement, for many live to be considerably older, and it +is within the power of each individual to prolong his life beyond what +is now considered old age. + +Under favorable conditions people should live in comfort and health to +the age of one hundred years or more, useful and in full possession of +their faculties. Barring accidents, which should be less numerous when +people fully realize that unreasonable haste and speed are wasteful and +that life is more valuable than accumulated wealth, human life could and +should be a certainty. There should be no sudden deaths resulting from +the popular diseases of today. In fact, pneumonia, typhoid fever, +tuberculosis, cancer and various other ills that are fatal to the vast +majority of the race, should and could be abolished. This may sound +idealistic, but though such results are not probable in the near future, +they are possible. + +All civilized nations of which we have record, except the Chinese, have +decayed after growing and flourishing a few centuries, usually about a +thousand years or less. Many reasons are given for the decline and fall +of nations. Rome especially furnishes food for much thought. However, +look into the history of each known nation that has risen to prominence, +glory and power, and you will find that so long as they kept in close +contact with the soil they flourished. With the advance of civilization +the peoples change their mode of life from simplicity to luxuriousness +and complexity. Thus individuals decay and in the end there is enough +individual decay to result in national degeneration. When this process +has advanced far enough these people are unable to hold their own. In +the severe competition of nations the strain is too great and they +perish. There is a point of refinement beyond which people can not go +and survive. + +From luxury nations are plunged into hardship. Then their renewed +contact with the soil gradually causes their regeneration, if they have +enough vitality left to rise again. Such is the history of the Italians. +Many others, like the once great Egyptians, whose civilization was very +far advanced and who became so dissolute that a virtuous woman was a +curiosity, have been unable to recover, even after a lapse of many +centuries. The degenerated nations are like diseased individuals: Some +have gone so far on the road to ruin that they are doomed to die. Others +can slowly regain their health by mending their ways. + +Nations, like individuals, generally do better in moderate circumstances +than in opulence. Nearly all can stand poverty, but only the exceptional +individual or nation can bear up under riches. Nature demands of us that +we exercise both body and mind. + +Civilization is not inimical to health and long life. In fact, the +contrary is true, for as the people advance they learn to master the +forces of nature and with these forces under control they are able to +lead better, healthier lives, but if they become too soft and luxurious +there is decay of moral and physical fibre, and in the end the nation +must fall, for its individual units are unworthy of survival in a world +which requires an admixture of brain and brawn. + +Civilization is favorable to long life so long as the people are +moderate and live simply, but when it degenerates to sensuous softness, +individual and racial deterioration ensue. Among savages the infant +mortality is very great, but such ills as cancer, tuberculosis, smallpox +and Bright's disease are rare. These are luxuries which are generally +introduced with civilization. Close housing, too generous supply of +food, too little exercise and alcohol are some of the fatal blessings +which civilized man introduces among savages. + +A part of the price we must pay for being civilized is the exercise of +considerable self-control and self-denial, otherwise we must suffer. + +The state of the individual health is not satisfactory. There is too +much illness, too much suffering and too many premature deaths. It is +estimated that in our country about three millions of people are ill +each day, on the average. The monetary loss is tremendous and the +anguish and suffering are beyond estimate. + +The race is losing every year a vast army of individuals who are in +their productive prime. When a part of a great city is destroyed men +give careful consideration to the material loss and plan to prevent a +recurrence. But that is nothing compared to the loss we suffer from the +annual death of a host of experienced men and women. Destroyed business +blocks can be replaced, but it is impossible to replace men and women. + +We look upon this unnecessary waste of life complacently because we are +used to it and consequently think that it is natural. It is neither +necessary nor natural. If we would read and heed nature's writings it +would cease. Then people would live until their time came to fade away +peacefully and beautifully, as do the golden leaves of autumn or the +blades of grass. + +Many dread old age because they think of it in connection with +decrepitude, helplessness and the childish querulousness popularly +associated with advancing years. This is not a natural old age; it is +disease. Natural old age is sweet, tolerant and cheerful. There are few +things in life more precious than the memory of parents and grandparents +grown old gracefully, after having weathered the storms of appetites and +passions, the mind firmly enthroned and filled with the calm toleration +and wisdom that come with the passing years of a well spent life. + +A busy mind in a healthy body does not degenerate. The brain, though +apparently unstable, is one of the most stable parts of the body. + +We should desire and acquire health because when healthy we are at our +maximum efficiency. We are able to enjoy life. We have greater capacity +for getting and giving. We live more fully. Being normal, we are in +harmony with ourselves and with our associates. We are of greater value +all around. We are better citizens. + +Every individual owes something to the race. It is our duty to +contribute our part so that the result of our lives is not a tendency +toward degeneration, but toward upbuilding, of the race. The part played +by each individual is small, but the aggregate is great. If our children +are better born and better brought up than we were, and there is +generally room for improvement, we have at least helped. + +Health is within the grasp of all who are not afflicted with organic +disease, and the vast majority have no organic ills. All that is +necessary is to lead natural lives and learn how to use the mind +properly. Those who are not in sympathy with the views on racial duty +can enhance their personal worth through better living without giving +the race any thought. Every individual who leads a natural life and +thinks to advantage helps to bring about better public health. The +national health is the aggregate of individual health and is improved as +the individuals evolve into better health. National or racial +improvement come through evolution, not through revolution. The +improvement is due to small contributions from many sources. + +The greatest power for human uplift is knowledge. Reformers often +believe that they can improve the world by legislation. Lasting reform +comes through education. If the laws are very repressive the reaction is +both great and unpleasant. + +It takes about six months to learn stenography. It requires a long +apprenticeship to become a first-class blacksmith or horseshoer. To +obtain the rudiments of a physician's art it is necessary to spend four +to six years in college. To learn a language takes an apt pupil at least +a year. A lawyer must study from two to four years to become a novice. A +businessman must work many years before he is an expert in his line. Not +one of these attainments is worth as much as good health, yet an +individual of average intelligence can obtain enough knowledge about +right living during his spare time in from two to six months to assure +him of good health, if he lives as well as he knows how. Is it worth +while? It certainly is, for it is one of the essentials of life. Health +will increase one's earning capacity and productivity and more than +double both the pleasure and the duration of life. + +Disease is a very expensive luxury. Health is one of the cheapest, +though one of the rarest, things on earth. There is no royal road to +health. If there is any law of health it is this: Only those will retain +it permanently who are deserving of it. + +Many prefer to live in that state of uncertainty, which may be called +tolerable health, a state in which they do not suffer, yet are not quite +well. In this condition they have their little ups and downs and +occasionally a serious illness, which too often proves fatal. Even such +people ought to acquire health knowledge, for the time may come when +they will desire to enjoy life to the fullest, which they can do only +when they have health. Those who have this knowledge are often able to +help themselves quickly and effectively when no one else can. + +I am acquainted with many who have been educated out of disease into +health. Many of them are indiscreet, but they have learned to know the +signs of approaching trouble and they ease up before anything serious +overtakes them. In this way they save themselves and their families from +much suffering, much anxiety and much expense. Every adult should know +enough to remain well. Every one should know the signs of approaching +illness and how to abort it. The mental comfort and ease that come from +the possession of such knowledge are priceless. + +Everything that is worth while must be paid for in some way and the +price of continued good health is some basic knowledge and self-control. +There are no hardships connected with rational living. It means to live +moderately and somewhat more simply than is customary. Simplicity +reduces the amount of work and friction and adds to the enjoyment of +life. The cheerfulness, the buoyancy and the tingling with the joy of +life that come to those who have perfect health more than compensate for +the pet bad habits which must be given up. + +Many of the popular teachings regarding disease and its prevention are +false. The germ theory is a delusion. The fact will some day be +generally recognized, as it is today by a few, that the so-called +pathogenic bacteria or germs have no power to injure a healthy body, +that there is bodily degeneration first and then the system becomes a +favorable culture medium for germs: In other words, disease comes first +and the pathogenic bacteria multiply afterwards. This view may seem very +ridiculous to the majority, for it is a strong tenet of popular medical +belief today that micro-organisms are the cause of most diseases. + +To most people, medical and lay, the various diseases stand out clear +and individual. Typhoid fever is one disease. Pneumonia is an entirely +different one. Surely this is so, they say, for is not typhoid fever due +to the bacillus typhosus and pneumonia to the pneumococcus? But it is +not so. Outside of mechanical injuries there is but one disease, and the +various conditions that we dignify with individual names are but +manifestations of this disease. The parent disease is filthiness, and +its manifestations vary according to circumstances and individuals. + +This filthiness is not of the skin, but of the interior of the body. The +blood stream becomes unclean, principally because of indigestion and +constipation, which are chiefly due to improper eating habits. Some of +the contributory causes are wrong thinking, too little exercise, lack of +fresh air, and ingestion of sedatives and stimulants which upset the +assimilative and excretory functions of the body. In all cases the blood +is unclean. The patient is suffering from autointoxication or +autotoxemia. + +If this is true, it would follow that the treatment of all diseases is +about the same. For instance, it would be necessary to give about the +same treatment for eczema as for pneumonia. Basically, that is exactly +what has to be done to obtain the best results, though the variation in +location and manifestation requires that special relief measures, of +lesser importance, be used in special cases, to get the quickest and +best results. In both eczema and pneumonia the essential thing is to get +the body clean. + +The practice of medicine is not a science. We have drugs that are +reputed to be excellent healers, yet these very drugs sometimes produce +death within a few hours of being taken. The practice of medicine is an +art, and the outcome in various cases depends more on the personality of +the artist than on the drugs he gives, for roughly speaking, all +medicines are either sedative or stimulant, and if the dosage is kept +below the danger line, the patient generally recovers. It seems to make +very little difference whether the medicine is given in the tiny +homeopathic doses, so small that they have only a suggestive effect, or +if they are given in doses several hundred times as large by allopaths +and eclectics. + +It is true that we have drugs with which we can diminish or increase the +number of heart beats per minute, dilate or contract the pupils of the +eye, check or stimulate the secretion of mucus, sedate or irritate the +nervous system, etc., but all that is accomplished is temporary +stimulation or sedation, and such juggling does not cure. The practice +of medicine is today what it has been in the past, largely experiment +and guess-work. + +On the other hand, natural healers who have drunk deep of the cup of +knowledge need not guess. They know that withholding of food and +cleaning out the alimentary tract will reduce a fever. They know that +the same measures will clean up foul wounds and stop the discharge of +pus in a short time. They know that the same measures in connection with +hot baths will terminate headaches and remove pain. They further know +that if the patient will take the proper care of himself after the acute +manifestations have disappeared there will be no more disease. After a +little experience, an intelligent natural healer can tell his patients, +in the majority of cases, what to expect if instructions are followed. +He can say positively that there will be no relapses and no +complications. + +How different is this from the unsatisfactory practice of conventional +medicine! However, most physicians refuse to accept the valuable +teachings which are offered to them freely, and one of the reasons is +that the natural healers do not present their knowledge in scientific +form. The knowledge is scientific but it is simple. Such objection does +not come with good grace from a profession practicing an art. Life is +but a tiny part science, mixed with much art. + +The true scientist in the healing art is he who can take an invalid and +by the use of the means at his command bring him back to health, not in +an accidental manner, but in such a knowing way that he can predict the +outcome. In serious cases the natural healer of intelligence and +experience can do this twenty times where the man who relies on drugs +does it once. The physicians who prescribe drugs are ever on the +look-out for complications and relapses, and they have many of them. The +natural healers know that under proper treatment neither complications +nor relapses can occur, unless the disease has already advanced so far +that the vital powers are exhausted before treatment is begun, and this +is generally not the case. In this book many of the medical fallacies of +today, both professional and lay, will be touched upon in a kindly +spirit of helpfulness and ideas that contain more truth will be offered +in their place. The truth is the best knowledge we have today, according +to our understanding. It is not fixed, for it may be replaced by +something better tomorrow. However, one fundamental truth regarding +health will never change, namely, that it is necessary to conform to the +laws of nature, or in other words, the laws of our being, in order to +retain it. + +No one can cover the field of health completely, for though it is very +simple, it is as big as life. The most helpful parts of this book will +be those which point the way for each individual to understand his +relation to what we call nature, and hence help to enable him to gain a +better understanding of himself. + +By natural living is not meant the discarding of the graces of +civilization and roaming about in adamic costume, living on the foods as +they are found in forest and field, without preparation. What is meant +is the adjustment of each person to his environment, or the environment +to the person, until harmony or balance is established, which means +health. + +One of the most difficult things about teaching health is that it is so +very simple. People look for something mysterious. When told that good +old mother nature is the only healer, they are incredulous, for they +have been taught that doctors cure. When informed that they do not need +medicine and that outside treatment is unnecessary, they find it +difficult to believe, for disease has always called for treatment of +some kind in the hands of the medical profession. When further told that +they have to help themselves by living so that they will not put any +obstacles in the way of normal functioning of their bodies, they think +that the physician who thinks and talks that way must be a crank, and +many seek help where they are told that they can obtain health from +pills, powders and potions or from various inoculations and injections. + +To live in health is so simple that any intelligent person can master +the art and furthermore regain lost health in the average case, without +any help from professional healers. There is plenty knowledge and all +that is needed is a discriminating mind to find the truth and then +exercise enough will power to live it. If a good healer is at hand, it +is cheaper to pay his fee for personal advice than to try to evolve into +health without aid, but if it is a burden to pay the price, get the +knowledge and practice it and health will return in most cases. The vast +majority of people suffering from chronic ills which are considered +incurable can get well by living properly. + +The more capable and frank the healer is, the less treatment will be +administered. Minute examinations and frequent treatment serve to make +the patient believe that he is getting a great deal for his money. +Advice is what the healer has to sell, and if it is correct, it is +precious. The patient should not object to paying a reasonable fee, for +what he learns is good for life. People gladly pay for prescriptions or +drugs. The latter are injurious if taken in sufficient quantity to have +great effect. So why object to paying for health education, which is +more valuable than all the drugs in the world? Because of their attitude +on this subject, the people force many a doctor to use drugs, who would +gladly practice in a more reasonable way if it would bring the +necessities of life to him and his family. The public has to enlighten +itself before it will get good health advice. The medical men will +continue in the future, as they have done in the past, to furnish the +kind of service that is popular. + +A good natural healer teaches his patients to get along without him and +other doctors. A doctor of the conventional school teaches his patrons +to depend upon him. The former is consequently deserving of far greater +reward than the latter. + +The law of compensation may apply elsewhere, thinks the patient, but +surely it is nonsense to teach that it applies in matters of health, for +does not everybody know that most of our diseases are due to causes over +which we have no control? That the chief cause is germs and that we can +not control the air well enough to prevent one of these horrible +monsters (about 1/25,000 of an inch long) from settling in the body and +multiplying, at last producing disease and maybe death? This is untrue, +but it is a very comforting theory, for it removes the element of +personal responsibility. People do not like to be told that if they are +ill it is their own fault, that they are only reaping as they have +sowed, yet such is the truth. + +Patients often dislike to give up one or more of their bad habits. "Mr. +Blank has done this very thing for sixty or seventy years and now at the +age of eighty or ninety he is strong and active," they reply to +warnings. This is sophistry, for although an individual occasionally +lives to old age in spite of broken health laws, the average person who +attempts it perishes young. Those who do not conform to the rules are +not allowed to sit in the game to the end. + +Another false feeling, or rather hope, deeply implanted in the human +breast is: "Perhaps others can not do this, but I can. I have done it +before and can do it again; it will not hurt me for I am strong and +possessed of a good constitution." The wish is father to the thought, +which is not founded on facts. The most common and the most destructive +form of dishonesty is self-deception. Those who are honest with +themselves find it easy to deal fairly and squarely with others. + +The doctors of the dominant school are very distrustful of the natural +healers, in spite of the fact that the latter obtain the best results. +Many of the conditions which the regular physicians treat without +satisfactory results, the natural healers are able to remove in a few +months. When members of the dominant school of medicine find men +leading patients suffering from various skin diseases, Bright's disease, +chronic digestive troubles, rheumatism and other ills which they +themselves make little or no impression upon back to health, they are +unwilling to believe that such results can be accomplished by means of +hygiene and proper feeding. They think there is some fakery about it, +for their professors, books and experience have taught them otherwise. +They consider the views of the natural healer unworthy of serious +attention and often call him a quack, which epithet closes the +discussion. They are ethical and do not wish to be mired by contact with +quacks. + +The distrust of medical men for healers of the natural school is not +hard to explain. Many of the natural healers are men of education and +experience, but others lack both, and no matter how good the latter may +be at heart, they make very serious blunders. For instance: They get out +circulars, listing all prominent diseases known, stating that they cure +them. They either are so enthusiastic that they are carried away or they +are so ignorant that they do not know that there is a stage of +degeneration which will not allow of regeneration, and that when such a +stage is reached in any chronic disease the end is death. + +Another handicap is that intelligent natural healers have such excellent +success that they lose their heads. They educate patients by the hundred +into health who have been given up as incurable by the conventional +physicians. In their success they forget that modesty is very becoming +to the successful and begin to boast. This hurts the cause. Let the +natural healer ever remember that he does not cure, that he is but the +interpreter and that nature is the restorer of health. + +The natural healers must be more careful about their statements if they +would have the respect of intelligent people, and they must labor +diligently to be well informed. For their own good regular physicians +will have to be more open-minded, and recognize the fact that it is not +necessary to have a M. D. degree to accept the truth regarding healing. +Medical men are losing their hold on the public largely because they +have cultivated the class spirit. + +It is a well known fact among natural healers that most cases of +Bright's disease are curable, even after they have become chronic. +However, a physician who voices this truth will probably be classed +among irresponsible dreamers by other doctors. + +Antagonism of this kind breeds extremists and is therefore harmful to +the public, which pays for all the mistakes made. It is very easy to +lose one's mental balance and to begin to play on a harp with but one +string. We have a large army of Christian Scientists. If it were not for +the way in which physicians of the past mistreated the body and +neglected the mind, this sect would not exist. The doctors, with their +awful doses of nauseous and destructive drugs, went to one extreme. The +reaction was the formation of a sect that has gone to the other extreme. +The Christian Scientists are incomprehensible in spots to us mortals who +believe in a body as well as a mind, but they have a cheerful and +helpful philosophy which brings enjoyment on earth and they have done an +immense amount of good by teaching people to cease thinking and talking +so much about themselves and their ills. Among other demonstrations, +they have shown the uselessness of drugs. + +Of late so many varieties of drugless healers have sprung into existence +that it is difficult to remember even their names. There are many +pathies. These have a tendency to take one part of the human being, or +one procedure of treatment, and to play this up to the elimination of +all the rest. Some do everything with the mind. Others pay no attention +to the mind. Bathing, massage, manipulating the spine, washing out the +colon, baths in mud, sunshine or water, suggestion and many other things +are separately given credit for being cure-alls. Many of these are +excellent as a part of regenerative treatment, but they are not +sufficient of themselves to give permanent results. + +Most healers have too narrow vision. People come to them because they +have faith. The faith alone will produce temporary improvement, but as +soon as the interest is gone and the procedure grows old the patient +becomes worse again unless the treatment possesses genuine merit. +Osteopathy is most excellent, as a part of a healing system, but it is +not sufficient. The osteopaths find their patients relapsing over and +over again, or taking some other disease. However, they are learning, in +increasing numbers, that if they would keep their patrons well, they +have to give them education along the line of hygiene and dietetics, +with a little mental training thrown in. + +Many chiropractors are learning the same thing. In some chiropractic +schools there are professors wise enough to teach their students to be +broad-minded. The true natural healer makes use of air, water, food, +exercise, mental training--in fact, all the means nature has put at his +disposal. He realizes that the best treatment is education of the +patient. In many cases a cure can be greatly hastened by proper local +treatment. + +It is unfortunate that the nature healers are so divided and that many +operate upon such a narrow basis. If the vast majority of them were well +informed, broad enough to make use of all helpful natural means, and +were designated by the same name, it would not take them long to gain +more public confidence and respect than they now possess. So long as the +nature healers segregate themselves and allow themselves to be narrow, +so long will they have to struggle at a disadvantage against the more +united wielders of scalpels and prescribers of drugs. + +The question of choosing a health guide is sometimes perplexing. The +patient should select one in whom he has confidence, for confidence is a +great aid in restoring health. It often happens that there is no one in +the town in whom the patient has confidence, for many communities have +no competent natural healers. Then the question is whether or not to +seek advice by correspondence. In acute diseases this is generally a bad +plan, for the family often lacks the poise and equanimity necessary to +carry out directions. In chronic cases it is usually all right. Here all +that is required is correct knowledge put into practice and errors are +not as dangerous as in acute diseases. Curable cases will get well by +following the advice given by correspondence. A medical man who educates +people by correspondence is considered unethical and is severely +censured by the ethical brethren. To prescribe medicine by mail is +without doubt reprehensible, but to educate people into health is a work +of merit, whether it is done face to face or by correspondence. It is +advantageous to meet the physician, talk things over and be examined, +but it is not necessary. + +I know of some cases of acute disease treated satisfactorily by letter +and telegram, but the patients' families were in sympathy with natural +methods, of which they had a fair knowledge, and they had unlimited +confidence in the healer. + +I am personally acquainted with many people who have been educated out +of chronic disease and into health by correspondence, after the local +physicians had vainly exhausted all their skill. It is simply a matter +of applied knowledge and it works just as well in curable cases if given +by telephone, telegraph or letter as if imparted by word of mouth. +However, it seems to me that it is most satisfactory for all concerned +when the healer and the sufferer can meet. + +My words are not inspired by any ill feeling toward the members of the +medical profession. I have found medical men to measure well up in every +way. They are better educated than the average and they are as kind and +considerate as are other men. As men we can expect no more of them under +present conditions, but because they are better equipped than the +average, we have a right to ask for an improvement in their practice, +even if they have inherited a great many handicaps from their +predecessors and it is not easy to throw off the past, which acts as a +dead weight ever tending to check progress. The tendency of the times is +for fuller, freer and more sincere service in every line, for evolving +out of the useless into the greatest helpfulness. It is not asking too +much when we demand of the doctors that they rid themselves of the +injurious drug superstition and become health teachers, that instead of +being in the rear they come to the front and make progress easier. + +What I say about drugs is founded on intimate observation. I was +educated medically in two of the colleges where medication is strongly +advocated and well taught, and am a regular M. D. I have watched people +who were treated by means of drugs and the biologic products, such as +serums, vaccines and bacterines, which are now so popular, and I have +watched many who have been treated by natural methods. Anyone with my +experience and capable of thinking would come to the conclusions given +in this book, that it is a mistake to administer drugs and serums and +that the natural methods give results so much superior to the +conventional methods that there is no comparison. Others who have +discarded drugs know from experience that this is true. + +The physicians who are on intimate terms with nature will neither desire +nor require drugs. Sound advice, that is, teaching, is the most valuable +service a physician can render. Right living and right thinking always +result in health if no serious organic degeneration has taken place. If +the public could only be made to realize that they need a great deal of +knowledge and very little treatment, and that knowledge is very valuable +and treatment often worthless the day would soon dawn when health +matters will be placed on a sound, natural basis. + +Surgery is occasionally necessary, but today from ten to twenty +operations are performed where but one is needed. + +"There is nothing new beneath the sun," is a popular quotation. It seems +to hold true in the healing art, for the best modern practice was the +best ancient practice. Naturally, people like to make new discoveries +and get credit therefore. Our valuable new discoveries in healing are +very ancient. Though much that appears in these pages may seem strange +and new to many, I claim no originality. My aim is to present workable, +helpful facts in such a way that any person of average intelligence and +will power can apply them, and to get the essentials of health within +such a compass that no unreasonable amount of time need be employed in +finding them. + +According to late discoveries, the ancient Egyptians were more advanced +in the art of living than any other people on earth, including the +moderns. They taught that overeating is the chief causative factor of +disease, and so it is. They taught cleanliness, the priests going to the +extreme of shaving the entire body daily. It would naturally follow that +they prescribed moderation in eating, which leads to internal +cleanliness. Cleanliness of body, in conjunction with cleanliness of +mind, will put disease to rout. + +The ancient Greek writers commented on the good state of health among +the Egyptians, and modern medical writers marvel that they made so +little use of drugs. Evidently they found drugs of little value, for +they were taught hygienic living. The admirable health laws laid down by +Moses were derived from Egyptian sources. + +The ancient nations were as much influenced by the Egyptians as we are +today by the Greeks who lived before the Christian era. The Greeks built +combination temples and sanitaria, to which the afflicted resorted. The +priests were in charge and these ancient heathens were great rogues. By +fooling the people they got big fees out of them. Their oracular sayings +and miracles were adroitly presented. They did not teach that overeating +is the chief cause of disease, for this did not suit the mystic times. +The people liked oracular prescriptions, and they got them. The law of +supply and demand worked as well then as it does now. The heathen +priests waxed fat and the medical art degenerated. + +About five centuries B. C., Pythagoras taught that health can be +preserved by means of proper diet, exercise and the right use of the +mind. He also taught many other truths and some fallacies. In spite of +much superstition mixed with his philosophy, it was too pure for the +times and he perished. + +Hippocrates, born about 470 years B. C., is one of the bright lights of +the medical world. He was so far ahead of his time that he still lives. +He was the founder of medical art as we know it. He used many drugs, but +he also relied on natural means. He was the first medical man on record +to pay serious attention to dietetics. The following quotations will +show how well his mind grasped the essentials of the healing art: "Old +persons need less fuel (food) than the young." "In winter abundant +nourishment is wholesome; in summer a more frugal diet." "Follow +nature." "Complete abstinence often acts very well, if the strength of +the patient can in any way maintain it." In acute disease he withheld +nourishment at first and then he prescribed a liquid diet. He also made +use of the "milk cure," which is considered modern, in conjunction with +baths and exercise; this is very efficacious in some chronic diseases. +He further spoke the oft-forgotten truth that physicians do not heal. +"Natural powers are the healers of disease." "Nature suffices for +everything under all conditions." + +The next great physician was Galen, who lived in the second and third +centuries of our era. He added greatly to medical knowledge, made +extensive use of dietetics, and then in a self-satisfied manner informed +his readers that they need look no further for enlightenment, for he had +given them all that was of any value. Perhaps he meant this as a joke, +but those who followed him took it seriously, with the result that +medical advance stopped for several centuries. + +The physicians of the dark ages had some light, as evidenced by this +popular quotation taken from a poem that the faculty of the medical +college of Salerno gave to Robert, son of William the Conqueror, in the +year 1101: + + "Salerno's school in conclave high unites + To counsel England's king and thus indites: + If thou to health and vigor wouldst attain, + Shun mighty cares, all anger deem profane; + From heavy suppers and much wine abstain; + Nor trivial count it after pompous fare + To rise from table and to take the air. + Shun idle noonday slumbers, nor delay + The urgent calls of nature to obey. + These rules if thou wilt follow to the end, + Thy life to greater length thou may'st extend." + +During recent times but two important discoveries have been made +concerning matters of health: First, the advantage of cleanliness; +second, the approximate chemical composition of various foods. All the +other important new discoveries are old. + +Cleanliness, moderation in all things, right thinking and a realization +of the fact that nature cures are some of the most important stones upon +which to build a healing practice. The most important single therapeutic +factor is to abstain from food during pain and active disease processes. + +Cleanliness of mind and body has been taught for thousands of years, yet +cleanliness of body is a new discovery, for which we are greatly +indebted to the great bacteriologist, Pasteur. It has been found that +germs thrive best in filth; this has been taught so thoroughly that the +public is somewhat afraid of the germs and as a measure of +self-protection they are cleaning up. Of old, cleanliness meant a clean +skin, but this is the least important part. It is far more necessary to +have a clean alimentary tract and clean blood, with a resultant sweet, +healthy body, and this is what cleanliness is beginning to mean. +Internal cleanliness necessitates moderation, for an overworked +alimentary tract becomes foul and some of the poisons are taken into the +blood. + +Asepsis and antisepsis simply mean cleanliness. + +The benefits of moderation have been known for thousands of years. Louis +Cornaro, who died in 1566, wrote a delightful book on the subject. +People know that it is necessary to be moderate, but they do not seem to +realize the meaning of moderation nor is its value well enough implanted +in the human mind to produce satisfactory results. + +Right thinking seemed as important to the thinkers of old as it does to +the New Thought people today. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is +he." + +For the better knowledge of the composition of food we have to thank the +chemists. + +Laymen are referred to frequently in this book because their work has +been so helpful and important. Herbert Spencer and Alfred Russel Wallace +had very clear conceptions regarding health. See their opinions +regarding vaccination. There is no difference in the mental processes of +physicians and laymen. Anyone can know about health, though it takes +considerable experience and observation to get acquainted with the less +important subject of disease. One indictment against medical men is that +they have dwelled almost entirely on disease and paid no attention to +health. + +A group of modern men deserve great credit for popularizing health +knowledge, which generally results in the loss of professional standing +of the teacher. R. H. Trall, M. D., insisted that drugs are useless and +harmful, that the only rational and safe way of healing ordinary ills is +to use nature's means. "Strictly speaking, fever and food are +antagonistic ideas," he wrote. In his Hydropathic Encyclopedia, +copyrighted in 1851, he puts great stress on natural remedies, such as +food and water. He met with much opposition, but he has left a deep +impression on the minds of men who are now having some influence in +shaping public opinion on health and healing. + +Dr. Charles Page of Boston has been writing in advocacy of natural +healing for over thirty years. He also has emphasized the harmfulness of +drugs, the necessity of withholding food from fever patients, and simple +living, remaining in touch with nature. Another important point which +the doctor has been trying to impress upon the public is that it is +necessary to retain the natural salts of the foods, instead of ruining +them or throwing them away, as is generally done, especially in the +preparation of vegetables and many cereal products. + +Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey began to present his ideas to the public a few +years after the Civil War. His little book entitled "The No-Breakfast +Plan and the Fasting Cure," has had a great influence among rational +healers. The doctor emphasized the importance of going without food in +acute diseases so that no one who has read the book can forget it. He +pointed out some of the errors of conventional healing as they had never +been shown before, and I believe he was the first one to give the +correct rules to guide people in the consumption of food. + +For fourteen years Dr. J. H. Tilden of Denver has been a voluminous +writer on health. He teaches that the law of compensation applies to +health; that all disease is one and the same fundamentally; that +"Autotoxemia is the fundamental basic cause of all diseases." Like all +others who have investigated the subject impartially he believes that +one of the most important factors of health is correct feeding. He +allows all foods, in compatible combinations. Of course, he gives no +drugs. + +Dr. Harry Brook of Los Angeles is unique among the health educators of +today. He is a brainy journalist with a good stock of fundamental health +knowledge and is endowed with the ability to place his convictions +before the public in a striking manner. He has been carrying on his +educational work for many years. + +Elbert Hubbard has also had a great deal of influence on the thought of +today. At intervals he publishes an article on health which gets wide +distribution. He has the faculty of making people think, and those who +allow themselves to think independently generally evolve into +serviceable knowledge. + +Bernarr Macfadden has a large following. He is a strong advocate of +physical culture and favors vegetarianism and other changes from +conventional life. He educates his readers away from drugs. He has +written much that is helpful and his influence is widely felt. Like all +others who have struggled against the fetters of convention, he has +aroused much opposition. + +There are a few good health magazines, and there are many people living +who deserve credit for their labor to improve the mental and physical +condition of humanity. Some of these will be mentioned and quoted. + +Some of the teachers have dwelled upon but one idea and some have +advocated fallacies, but there is good to be found in all of them. No +knowledge assays one hundred per cent. pure. + +No helpful healing knowledge should be kept away from the public; it +should be as free as possible. The public, when it understands, +willingly pays a fair price for it, which is all that should be asked. +To take advantage of the sick and helpless is contemptible. The old-time +idea, still prevalent, that medical knowledge is for the doctor only is +a mistake. The best patients are the intelligent ones. The office of the +physician should be to educate his clients; his best knowledge and his +best qualities will be developed in dealing honestly with intelligent +people. + +The practice of medical secrecy began in ancient times when the healers +and the priests believed in fooling the public. Unfortunately, this +professional attitude still survives. No one who has not practiced the +healing art can know how tempted a doctor is to fake and humbug a little +to retain and gain patronage. + +Emerson wrote: "He is the rich man who can avail himself of other men's +faculties. He is the richest man who knows how to draw a benefit from +the labors of the greatest number of men--of men in distant countries +and past times." Those who wish to be healthy and efficient are +compelled to advance by taking advantage of other men's faculties. He +who attempts to learn all by experience does not live long enough to +travel far. + +Everyone should try to get a knowledge of the few most fundamental facts +of nature governing life. Then it would not be so easy to go astray. +Health literature should be read with an open mind. Read in conjunction +with your knowledge of the laws of nature, and then it will be seen that +health and disease are according to law, and that by eliminating the +mistakes disease will disappear. + +All disease is one. It is the manifestation of disobeyed natural law, +and whether the mistakes are made knowingly or ignorantly matters but +little so far as the results are concerned. It is generally considered a +disgrace to be imprisoned for transgressing man-made law, which is +faulty and complex. How about being in the fetters of disease for +disregarding nature's law, which is just and simple? + +It is my aim to use as simple language as possible. If physicians read +these pages, they will understand them without technicalities, and so +will laymen. This book contains much knowledge that physicians should +have, knowledge that will help them when that which they have acquired +from conventional sources fails, but in many respects it is so opposed +to popular customs and beliefs that many physicians will doubtless +condemn it on first reading. Doctors are taught otherwise at medical +colleges, and most of them have such high regard for authority that it +is very difficult for them to see matters in a different light. I appeal +to both laymen and healers with open minds. + +These rambling thoughts will serve to show the reader whether it is +worth while to go any further. The following chapters are devoted to an +exposition of a workable knowledge of how to retain health, and how to +regain lost health in ordinary cases. They will teach how to get +dependable health, how to remain well in spite of climatic conditions, +bacteria and other factors that are given as causes of disease, and how +to more than double the ordinary span of life. + +Good health and long life result in better work, increased earning +capacity and efficiency of body and mind, greater understanding, and +more enjoyment of life. It gives time to cultivate wisdom. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +MENTAL ATTITUDE. + +On mental questions there is a wide divergence of opinion. At one +extreme some say that all is mind, at the other, that life is entirely +physical, that the mind is but a refined part of the body. Most of us +recognize both body and mind, and realize that life has a physical +basis. If some are pleased to be known as mental phenomena, no harm is +done. + +All desire to make a success of life. What would be a success for one +would be a failure for another. It all depends on the point of view. +Broadly speaking, all are successful who are helpful, whether it be in +furnishing pleasure or necessities to others. The humble may be as +successful as the great, yes even more so. + +Wealth and success are not synonymous, as many think. Among the failures +must be counted many of the wealthy. Financial success is not real +success unless it has been gained in return for valuable service. The +men of initiative deserve greater rewards than the plodders and these +rewards are cheerfully given. + +A little genuine love and affection can bring more beauty and happiness +into life than wealth, and neither can be bought with money. + +The best and most satisfying form of success comes to him who helps +himself by helping others. "It is more blessed to give than to receive," +has passed into common currency; but the more we give the more we +receive. He who loves attracts love. He who hates is repaid in kind. "He +who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword." + +The enjoyment of the fruits of one's labor is a part of success. Some +make a fetish of success and thus lose out. Others are so ambitious that +in their striving they forget to live. A little ambition is good; too +much sows the seed of struggle, strife and discontent and defeats its +own ends. Those who do evil because the end justifies the means have +already buried some of the best that is in them. + +To enjoy life, health of body and mind is necessary. The mind can not +come to full fruitage without a good body. Those who strive so hard to +reach a certain goal that they neglect the physical become wrecks and +after a few years of discomfort and disease are consigned to premature +graves. Through proper living and thinking the body and mind are built +up, not only enough to meet ordinary demands upon them, but +extraordinary ones. In other words, it is within our power to have a +large margin, balance or reserve of physical and mental force. + +To make the meaning clearer let us illustrate financially: Prudent +people lay aside a few dollars from time to time, in a savings bank, for +instance. All goes well and the savings grow. At last there are one +thousand dollars. Now an emergency arises, and if the saver can not +furnish nine hundred dollars he will lose his home. In this case he must +either borrow or use his reserve, so he takes nine hundred dollars from +the savings bank and keeps his home. The improvident man loses his home +under similar circumstances, for his credit is not good and he has no +balance to draw upon. + +And it is the same with physical and mental powers, except that we can +not borrow these, no matter how much good will or credit we may have. He +who lives well is accumulating a reserve. He has a wide margin. If +trouble comes he can draw upon his reserve energy or surplus resistance +and bridge it over. He may be tired out, but he escapes with body and +mind intact. + +The imprudent liver generally has such a narrow margin that any +extraordinary demand made upon him breaks him down. It is very common +for men to die after a financial failure. Disease, insanity and death +often follow family trouble or the loss of a dear one. The reason is +that such people live up to their limit every day. They have no margin +to work on. They either overdo or underdo and fail to become balanced. +Then a little physical or mental exertion beyond the ordinary often +means a breakage or extinction. + +Equanimity and moderation will help to build up the reserve and give the +resistance that is necessary to cope successfully with the unforeseen +difficulties that we sometimes have to surmount. + +The physical state depends largely on the mental state and vice versa. +Body and mind react upon each other. Bad blood does not only cause +abnormal functioning of such organs as the heart, liver, kidneys and +lungs, but it interferes with the normal functioning of the brain. It +diminishes the mental output and causes a deterioration of the quality. +An engorged liver makes a man cranky. Indigestion causes pessimism. +Physical pain is so disturbing that the sufferer thinks mostly of +himself and is unable to perform his work well. We never do our best +when self-conscious. If there is severe pain the mind can perform no +useful labor. + +On the other hand, anger stops digestion and poisons the secretions of +the body. Worry does the same. It takes the mind from constructive +thoughts and deeds and centers it upon ourselves. An effective mind must +be tranquil, otherwise it upsets the body and fails to give proper +direction to our activities. + +For a real life success we need a proper perspective. We need to be +balanced, poised, adjusted. Most of us are too circumscribed mentally. +We live so much by and for ourselves that we consider ourselves, +individually, of greater importance than the facts warrant. Others do +not agree with us on this point, and this is a source of disturbance. I +am personally acquainted with two surgeons and several physicians who +think they are the greatest in the world, and one considers himself the +best physician of all time. The rest of the world does not appraise them +so highly, and some of these professional men are very much annoyed +because of this lack of appreciation. + +Selfishness and self-esteem to a certain point are virtues. Beyond that +point they become vices. Certainly we should think well of ourselves, +and then act so that this good opinion is merited. Self-interest and +selfishness are the main-springs of progress. Most of us need some +inducement to do good work. It is well that it is so. The ones who +deserve the great rewards generally get them, whether they are mental or +physical. + +To obtain a proper perspective of ourselves we must learn to think +independently and honestly. It is too common to be conventionally +honest, but dishonest with ourselves. It is too common to pass unnoticed +in ourselves the faults we condemn in others. We should be lenient in +our judgment because often the mistakes that others make would have been +ours had we but had the opportunity to make them. + +As physical ills are principally caused by bad physical habits, so are +mental ills and inefficiency chiefly due to various bad mental habits, +which are allowed to fasten themselves upon us. These will be briefly +discussed so as to focus attention upon them, for the first thing +necessary for the correction of a bad habit is to recognize its +presence. It is as important to think right as it is to give the body +proper care. A good body with a mind working in the wrong direction is +of no use. If we allow our minds to be disturbed and distressed by every +little unfavorable happening, we shall never have enough tranquility to +think well. + +The proper time to quit our bad habits is now. Why wait until the first +of the month or the first of the year? Every day that we harbor a bad +habit it grows greater and strikes deeper and stronger roots. A child +one year old can often be broken of a bad habit in a week; a child of +three, within a month; a child of six, within a few months; but let the +habit grow until the age of twenty, and it may take a year or more to +break the bonds. Let it continue until the age of thirty, and the victim +will say, "I can quit any time," but the chances are that the habit will +remain for life. After the individual is fifty or sixty years old, he is +rarely capable of changing. If he is the victim of a very bad habit, it +has generally so sapped his strength of body and mind that he is unable +to break away. + +The right time to stop bad habits is now. + +Some people have many pet bad habits. It is often the best policy to +attack them one at a time. Those who try to conquer all at once often +fail. They backslide, lose self-confidence, become discouraged, tell +themselves that it is no use, for it can not be done. Begin with the +habit that is least formidable. After this is conquered, overcome +another one, and in time most of the bad habits will be subdued. The +first conquest builds confidence, and with confidence and determination +it is possible to gain self-mastery in time. + +The greatest evil about bad habits is that they conquer us. They become +masters, we slaves. Let us be free. "He who conquers himself is greater +than he who taketh a city." + +The mind grows strong by overcoming obstacles, as the body gains in +strength through work and exercise. + +Giving up bad habits is very disagreeable at first. Those who have +conquered the prevalent habit of overeating know that they have been in +a fight. The smokers who quit suffer. Those who break away from liquor +have a much greater struggle. Those who attempt to overcome drug +addictions suffer the tortures of the damned. Those who overcome their +bad mental habits have a hard time of it at first, but though it is +difficult it is possible. It is no easy matter to curb a fiery +disposition or to quit worrying. It requires time, persistence and +perseverance. Fretting, envy, spite, jealousy and hatred are tenacious +tenants of the mind they occupy. These harmful emotions are enemies +which sap our strength and we must thrust them from our lives if we +would live well. This is not all narrow selfishness, for when we have +gained mental calm for ourselves we are in position to impart peace of +mind to others and to be more useful than previously. A calm mind is not +a stagnant one. It is a mind that is in the best possible condition to +work, to think clearly and effectively. + +_Self-pity_ is a very common mental ill. Those who suffer much from this +affliction usually have very good imagination. They think they are +slighted and abused. They know that they do not get their dues. They +envy others and are sure that others prosper at their expense. They +minimize their blessings and magnify their misfortunes. This state of +mind leads to spite and malice. These people become very nervous and +irritable and are a nuisance, not only to themselves, but to those who +are unfortunate enough to have to associate with them. + +_Self-consciousness_ and _self-centeredness_ are twin evils. The +sufferers lack perspective. They magnify their own importance. They +believe they are the targets of many other minds and eyes. The youth +refuses to take a dip in the ocean because he knows that the rest of the +people on the beach are watching his spindle shanks or perhaps the +bathing suit would reveal his narrow, undeveloped chest. The young man +is afraid to go onto the dance floor because everybody is sure to see +his ungainly gyrations. He stammers and stutters when he speaks because +others are paying particular attention to his words, when in truth he is +attracting little or no attention. Whether working or playing, those +whose good opinions are worth having are too busy to spend much time in +finding fault with others and discovering flaws that do not concern +them. More enjoyment is to be had in looking at fine physiques and +graceful movements than in watching the less favored. + +We always do our best when we are natural. When we become self-conscious +we become artificial and awkward. We can not even breathe properly. +Those who are ever thinking about themselves fail to do things well +enough to hold sustained attention, even if they are able to gain it for +a while. Those who do their work well will in time gain the attention +and appreciation they require. No one can long occupy a high place in +the public heart without adding to the profit or pleasure of the world. + +Here is a good line of thought for those who are too self-centered and +self-important: "There are millions of solar systems in the universe, +some of them much greater than ours. There are uncounted planets in +space, beside some of which our little earth is a mere toy. Some of +these planets are doubtless inhabited. Even on this small earth there +are over a billion people. I am one in a number so great that my mind +can not grasp such a multitude. Countless billions have gone before and +they got along very well before I was born. Countless billions will live +and die after I have passed on, and if they hear of me it will probably +be by accident. And so it will be for ages and ages, so extensive that +my brain can not grasp the stretch of time, which is without beginning +and without end. How much do I, individually, amount to?" + +And an honest answer _must_ be, "Personally I am of very small +importance." + +An individual can not live of himself, for himself and by himself. Only +as he adds his efforts to those of others does his work count. When we +realize that we are but atoms in this vast universe, we get down to a +business basis. Then it is easy to get adjusted. In order to count at +all we must be in harmony with some of the rest of the atoms and when we +discover this we are in a mental state to be of some real use. Building +for individual glory is vanity. Sometimes an individual builds so well +that he is picked out for special attention and honor, but this is +comparatively seldom. As a rule, we can only help a little in shaping +the ends of the race by adding our mite, as privates in the ranks. The +time we spend in nursing our conceit is wasted. + +This does not mean that we are worms in the dust. A human being is a +paradox. He is so little, yet he has great possibilities. Our bodies are +kept close to the earth, but our minds can be free and unfettered, +soaring through time and space, exploring innumerable worlds of thought. + +But it will not do to be too self-centered or consider one's self of too +great importance, for this lessens one's chances of meriting the esteem +of others. + +The well balanced man is not greatly affected by too great praise or +excessive censure, for he realizes that though the public may be hasty +and unjust at times, in the end it renders a fairly just verdict. + +_Fear_ is one of the harmful negative or depressing emotions. Fear, like +all other depressing emotions, poisons the body. This is not said in a +figurative sense. It is an actual scientific fact; it has been +demonstrated chemically. Were it not for the fact that the lungs, skin, +kidneys and the bowels are constantly removing poisons from the body, an +acute attack of fear would prove fatal. + +Fear or fright is largely a habit. The parents are often responsible for +this affliction. It is far too common for them to scare their children. +They people the darkness with all kinds of danger and with horrible +shapes, and the children, with their vivid imaginations, magnify these. +Children should be taught to meet all conditions in life courageously +and fear should not be instilled into their minds. There is a great deal +of difference between fear and the caution which all must learn or +perish early. + +The caution that is implanted in the human breast is our heritage from +the ages and works for our preservation. It was necessary during the +infancy of the race when man had to struggle with the animals for +supremacy. Beyond this point fear is a health-destroyer. + +There are people who cultivate fear until they imagine they are ever in +danger. They fear that they may lose their health, their mind, their +good name. Some are afraid of many things. Others have one pet fear. + +Today the fear of the unseen is strong in the public mind. I refer to +the fear of germs, those tiny plants which are so small that the unaided +eye can not see them. Children are shown moving pictures of these tiny +beings, enormously enlarged and very formidable in appearance. They are +told to beware, for these germs are in our food, in our drink, on the +earth, in the air, in fact everywhere that man lives. + +It is very harmful to scare the young thus, for it inhibits physical +action and stunts the mind. How much better it would be to teach the +children these truths about the germs: "Yes, there are germs in our +foods and beverages. They are on the earth, in the water and in the air. +They are necessary for our existence. If we take good care of our bodies +and direct our minds in proper channels, these germs will not, in fact, +can not harm us. If we do not take care of ourselves, but allow our +bodies to fill with debris, the germs try to clean this away; they +multiply and grow into great armies while doing it, for they thrive on +waste. It is our fault, not the fault of the germs, that we allow our +bodies to degenerate. The germs are our good friends and if we treat +ourselves properly they will do all they can to help keep the water, the +earth and the air in fit condition for our use." + +Such teachings have the advantage of being true. They are helpful and +healthful. The popular teachings are disease-producing. The mental +depression and bodily inhibition caused by fear are injurious. Those who +fear a certain kind of disease often bring this ill upon themselves, so +powerful is suggestion. The fear is more dangerous than the thing +feared. + +In fear there is loss of both physical and mental power. Not only the +voluntary muscles become impotent, but the involuntary ones lose in +effectiveness. Digestion is partly or wholly suspended. "Scared stiff" +is a popular and truthful expression. The bodily rhythm is lost, the +breathing becomes jerky and the heart beats out of tune. + +Keep fear out of the lives of babes. If children are taught the truth, +there will be little fear in adult minds. Children should not be taught +prayers in which there is an element of fear. It is much better to bring +children up to love other people and God than to fear. + +Those who have cultivated fear should try suggestion. Positive +suggestion is always best. Let them analyze matters thus: "I have feared +daily and nightly. Nothing has happened. I have brought much unnecessary +discomfort upon myself. There is nothing to fear and I shall be brave +hereafter." Those who fear God have a low conception of Him. Let them +remember the beautiful saying that "God is love." Through repeating them +often enough, such positive suggestions sink so deeply into the mind +that they replace doubts and fears. + +About 2500 years ago Pythagoras wrote: "Hate and fear breed a poison in +the blood, which, if continued, affect eyes, ears, nose and the organs +of digestion. Therefore, it is not wise to hear and remember the unkind +things that others may say of us." Pythagoras was an ancient +philosopher, but his words express modern scientific truths. + +_Worry_: Worrying is perhaps the most common and the worst of our +mental sins. Worry is like a cancer: It eats in and in. It is +destructive of both body and mind. It is due largely to lack of +self-control and is a symptom of cowardice. Much worry is also +indicative of great selfishness, which most of those afflicted will +deny. Those who worry much are always in poor health, which grows +progressively worse. The form of indigestion accompanied by great +acidity and gas formation is a prolific source of worry, as well as of +other mental and physical troubles. The acidity irritates the nervous +system and the irritation in time causes mental depression. + +Confirmed worriers will worry about the weather, the past, the present, +the future, about work and about play, about food, clothing and drink, +about those who are present and those who are absent. Nothing escapes +them and they bring sadness and woe in their wake. + +Worrying is slow suicide. + +Elbert Hubbard says that our most serious troubles are those that never +happen. + +Worrying is a very futile employment, for it never does any good, and it +reacts evilly upon the one who indulges in it, and those with whom he +associates. It is a waste of time and energy. The energy thus used could +be directed into useful channels. + +Let those who are afflicted with this bad and annoying habit get into +good physical condition. Then many of the worries will take wing. If +they persist, it would be well to face the matter frankly and honestly, +setting down the advantages of worrying on one side and the +disadvantages on the other. Then take into consideration that not one +thing in a thousand worried about happens, and if something disagreeable +does occur, worrying can not prevent it. Besides a disagreeable +happening now and then will not cause half of the discomfort and trouble +that a disturbed mind does. + +"And this too shall pass away," is an ancient saying which it would be +well to remember in conjunction with, "And this will probably never +happen." + +_Anger_ is a form of temporary insanity. It is an emotion that is +unbecoming in strong men, for it is a sign of weakness, and the women +who indulge in it frequently can not long keep the respect of others. +Those who become angry lay themselves open to wounds of all kinds, for +they partly lose their mental and physical faculties temporarily. An +angry man is easily vanquished in any contest where ready wit is +necessary. As the saying is, he makes a fool of himself. To be high +strung and quick to lose one's temper may sound fine in romantic +rubbish, but in real life it is folly, for much more can be accomplished +by being calm. + +Like hatred, anger produces poisons in the system. An angry mother's +milk has been known to kill the nursing child. A fit of anger is so +serious that the evil effects can be felt for several days, and those +who indulge in daily or even weekly loss of temper can not enjoy the +best of health, for the anger produces enough toxins to poison all the +fluids of the body. + +Fortunately, anger is one of the emotions that can be conquered in a +reasonable time, if there is a real desire to do so. It should not take +an adult more than one or two years to get himself under control. + +During anger there is a tensing of various muscles, those of the face +and hands for instance. If this tensing is not allowed the anger will +not last long. If there is a tendency to become angry, relax and the +mind will ease up. A perfectly relaxed individual can not harbor anger, +for this emotion requires tensing of body and mind. A determination to +control the temper and a whole-hearted apology after each display of +anger will prove very effective in reducing the frequency and force of +the attacks. Mental suggestion is not as powerful as some say, but it is +such a great force for good or evil, depending on its use, that those +who are wise will not neglect it as a means of self-conquest. + +People who are easily offended and "stand on their dignity," have a very +poor footing. Those who find it necessary to inform others that they are +ladies or gentlemen, are very apt to be prejudiced in their own favor. +Gentlefolks do not need to advertise, nor do they do so. Others +recognize their worth intuitively. + +_Fretting_ is anger on a small scale. It is a habit that is easily +formed. The fretter and those about him are made uncomfortable. Those +who respect themselves and others do not indulge. + +_Hatred_ is one of the most harmful and poisonous of emotions. +Fortunately, violent hatred can last but a short time, otherwise it +would prove fatal. Some are chronic haters. He who hates harms himself. +The thoughts weave themselves into one's personality and form the +character. + +_Jealousy_ is one of the most disagreeable of emotions. The jealous +person insists on suffering. A jealous woman can convert a home into an +inferno. Jealousy is sure to kill love in time. The jealous individual +often excuses himself on the ground that he loves. That is not true. +There is more fear than love at the base of jealousy. Jealous people are +selfish and too indolent mentally to give their thoughts a positive +direction. + +Those who are violently jealous are suffering from mental aberration. +The jealous person loses, for he drives away the object of his +affection. + +There are many jealous men, but women suffer most. Bad health and +idleness are two prolific causes of jealousy. It has probably broken up +more homes than any other one thing. It is blighting to all it touches. + +Men and women may feel flattered for a time by producing jealousy, but +it is a satisfaction of very short duration. They soon grow weary of the +questions, doubts and reproaches. + +Those who are sensible enough to give freely to others the liberty they +crave for themselves do not suffer much from this emotion. It would help +greatly if man and wife would look upon the marriage relation more as a +partnership and less as a form of bondage. One of the partners can not +force the other one to be "good." People do the best by others when full +confidence is given, and even if the confidence should be misplaced, it +would be better than to suffer from this corroding emotion at all times. + +It is not an easy task to overcome jealousy, but it can be done within a +reasonable time if there is a real desire. First get physical health. +Then get busy with interesting, useful work. Get something worth while +to occupy the mind and the hands. Determine to be master of yourself and +not a slave to what is often but figments of the imagination. +Unfortunately, jealousy so dwarfs the judgment at times that the +sufferers seek only to rule or ruin. Love and hate are so closely akin +that it is hard to find the dividing line. + +_Sorrow_: Some dedicate their lives to a sorrow. They make martyrs of +themselves. They have suffered a loss and they dwell upon it during all +of their waking hours. It may be that it was a very ordinary or +worthless husband or child. After death the poor real is converted into +a glorious ideal. With the passing years the virtues of the departed +grow. All the love and tenderness are lavished upon the dead and the +living are neglected. It is generally women who suffer from this +peculiar form of mild insanity, but men are not exempt. + +It is natural to feel the loss of a dear one, but so long as we are +mortal we must accept these things as matters of course. + +Related to this form of sorrow is the regretting or brooding over past +actions, especially in connection with the dead. Perhaps something that +should have been done was neglected, or something was done that should +have been left undone. Over this the sufferer broods by the hour, +leading to a form of sad resignation that is rather irritating to normal +people. + +For such people a change of interest and a change of scene will often +prove very beneficial. + +_Envy_ and _spite_ are closely akin to jealousy and anger. They have the +same effect in lesser degree. + +_Vacillation of mind_ is a common fault. Many small questions have to be +settled and a few important ones. Some are in the habit of deferring +their decisions from time to time, or making and revoking their +decisions. Then they decide over again, after which there is another +revocation. This is repeated until it is absolutely necessary to make a +final decision. By this time the mind is so muddled that the chances are +that the last decision will be inferior to the first one. No one who +leads an active life can be right all the time. He who is right six +times out of ten does pretty well, and he who can make a correct +decision three times out of four can command a fine salary as an +executive or build up a flourishing business of his own, if his mind is +active. + +The doubt and uncertainty which result from unsettled questions, which +should be promptly decided, are more harmful than an occasional error. +The untroubled mind works most quickly and truly. + +Related to this in minor key is the doubtful condition of mind where the +individual has to do things several times before he is sure they are +properly done. For instance, there is the man who must try the office +door several times to be sure that it is locked and after being +satisfied on this point he is obliged to unlock it and investigate the +condition of the safe door. Then it is necessary to attend to the office +door two or three times again. This kind of doubtfulness takes many +forms. It does no special harm except that it leads to much waste of +time. Such people should teach themselves concentration, thinking about +one thing only at a time, until they learn that when a thing is done it +is properly done. + +_Judging_: Many insist on passing judgment on everything and everybody +that come to their notice. Every individual has to be placed with the +sheep or the goats. This is a great waste of time. Each one of us can +know so little about the majority of individuals we meet and of the vast +volume of knowledge that is to be had that if we try to judge everyone +and everything, our opinions become worthless. Wise people are never +afraid to say, "I don't know." If it is necessary to judge, let there be +kindness. + +_Volunteering advice_: This is another annoying habit. It is very well +to give advice if it is desired and asked for, otherwise it is a waste +of time. Take a person with a cold, for example: If he meets twenty +people he may be told of fifteen different cures for it, ranging from +goose grease on a red rag to suggestive therapeutics. If he were to act +upon all the advice received there would probably be a funeral. It is +best to be sparing with advice. Those who have any that is worth while +will be asked for it and paid for their trouble. Free advice is +generally worth what it costs. + +_Cranks_: Many allow themselves to get into a mental rut with their +thoughts running almost entirely to one subject. This is a mild form of +insanity, for normal people have many interests. These people are the +cranks. They can talk volumes about their favorite topic, often of no +importance. It may be some peculiar religion or ethics; or that Bacon +wrote the plays of Shakespeare; or some health fad, or almost any +subject. + +Of all the cranks the diet crank is one of the most annoying, for he has +three good opportunities to air his views each day. With the best +meaning in the world he does more harm to the cause of food reform than +do the advocates of living in the good old way, eating, drinking and +being merry and dying young. When people become possessed of too much +zeal and enthusiasm regarding a subject, they are sure that their +knowledge is the truth and they insist upon trying to enforce their way +upon others, resent having their old habits interfered with forcibly. +Those who are too persistent and insistent produce antagonism and +prejudice in the minds of others, and then it is almost impossible to +impart the truth to them, for they will neither see nor hear. + +To be able to influence others for better is a grand and glorious thing, +but it is well to remember that we can not force knowledge which is +contrary to popular thought upon others suddenly. Those who change a +well rooted opinion generally do so gradually. When they first hear the +truth, they say it is ridiculous. After a while they think there may be +something in it. At last they see its superiority over their former +opinions and accept it. It requires infinite patience on the part of the +educators to impart unpopular knowledge to other adults, no matter how +much truth it contains. + +The truth about physical well-being is so simple and so self-evident +that it is exceptionally hard to get an unprejudiced audience. From the +time when the ancient heathen priests were the healers until today the +impression has been that health and healing are beyond the understanding +of the common mind, and therefore people are willing to be mystified. +The mysterious has such a strong appeal in this world of uncertainties +that it is more attractive than the simple truth. Mystery simply demands +faith. The truth compels thinking and thoughts are often painful. + +By all means, avoid being overinsistent in trying to impart health +knowledge to others. All who have a little knowledge of the fundamentals +of health and growth know that useful men and women are going into +degeneration and premature death constantly, because of violated health +laws. If these people on the brink, who can yet be saved by natural +means, are told how it can be done, they generally either refuse to +believe it, or they have led such self-indulgent lives that it is beyond +their power to change. The knowledge often comes too late. + +Those who are anxious to do good in the spreading of health knowledge +among their friends can serve best by getting health themselves. If a +physical wreck evolves into good health there will be considerable +comment and inquiry. This is the opportunity to tell what nature will do +and inform others where to obtain a good interpretation of nature's +workings. + +A little practicing is worth more than a great deal of preaching. The +truth is the truth, no matter what the source, but it is more effective +if it comes from one who lives it. + +I have gone into the subject of health cranks so deeply because there +are so many of them. They get a little knowledge and then they believe +they are masters of the subject. The right attitude toward proper +living, and especially toward proper eating is: "I shall try to conduct +myself so as to be healthy and efficient. If others desire my help, I +shall try to indicate the way to them. Right living is no sign of +superior goodness or merit, being a matter of higher selfishness, so I +deserve no credit for it. Although health is very important, I shall +refrain from attempting to force my will on others." + +After conquering ourselves it is time to begin making foreign conquests, +but by that time the realization comes that in the end it is best to +leave others free to work out their own salvation. The desire is strong +to mould others according to our pattern, but those who size themselves +up honestly soon come to the conclusion that they are so imperfect that +perchance some other pattern is fully as good. + +_Postponing happiness_: One peculiar state of mind is to refuse to be +happy at present. The romantic girl and boy think they can not be happy +until they are married. After marriage they find that they have to gain +a certain amount of wealth before happiness comes. Then they have to +postpone it for social position. They continue postponing happiness from +time to time and the result is that they never attain it. Happiness is +not a great entity that bursts upon us, transforming us into radiant +beings. It is a comfortable feeling that brings peace and places us in +harmony with our surroundings. It can best be gained by doing well each +day the work that is to be done, cheerfully giving in return for what is +received. Happiness is largely a habit. It is as easy to be bright and +cheerful as it is to be sad and doleful, and much more comfortable. If +we look for the best we will find beauty even in the most unpromising +places. If we are looking for tears and woe, we can easily find them. + +We can get along without happiness, but it adds so much color and beauty +to life, it makes us so much better, it helps us so much to be useful +that it is folly to do without it. It is not gained by narrow +selfishness. Those who forget themselves most and are kind and +considerate find it. By giving it to others we get it for ourselves. +Ecstasy and rapture are emotions of short duration. They are so +exhilarating that they soon wear out. + +We all have our little troubles and annoyances. These we should accept +as inevitable, and neither think nor talk much about them. They help to +wear away the rough edges. We are stupid at times and so are others and +then mistakes are made. These should also be accepted as inevitable, and +we should not be more annoyed by those that others make than by our own. +Those who go into a rage when their subordinates err waste much time and +energy, erring gravely themselves. + +It is not necessary to notice every unimportant detail that is not +pleasing. Fault-finding, carping and nagging destroy harmony. +Disagreements about trifles often lead to broken friendship and enmity. +Most quarrels are about trifles. + +If mistakes are made, learn the lesson they teach and then forget about +them. All live, active beings make mistakes. Sometimes we make serious +ones and afterwards regrets come, but these must soon be thrust aside. +Brooding has put many into the insane asylums. + +_Introspection_: It is not well to allow the mind to dwell upon one's +self very much. Give yourself enough thought to guide yourself through +life, and then for the rest apply the mind to work and play. Many of +those who are too self-centered end up in believing they are something +or somebody else and then they are shut away from the public. + +Introspection is a very useless employment. Individually we are so +small, and the mind has such great possibilities, that if we center it +upon our tiny physical being, things become unbalanced and the mind +ceases to work to good advantage. It is useless to go deeply into +self-analysis, for we are very poor judges of ourselves. One of my +neighbors delved so deeply into his heart and tried so hard to find out +if he was fit to dwell in heaven that he lost his mind and had to be +confined for a long time. He allowed his vision to narrow down to one +subject. There are many subjects that lead to insanity if they are +allowed exclusive possession of the mind. + +After we have given ourselves proper care, we should think no more about +ourselves. The best way is to get busy in work and play and forget +ourselves. It is much better to love others than to center our love upon +ourselves. If we conduct ourselves well we shall have all the love from +others that we need. If there is a tendency to be introspective, cure it +by becoming active mentally and physically. + +Those who have acquired the bad habit of thinking and talking ill of +others should break themselves of it. First cease talking ill. Then +begin to look for the good points and mention them. By and by the +thoughts will be good. Those who lack a virtue can often cultivate it by +assuming it. + +One of the most helpful things is a sense of humor. Laughter brings +about relaxation and relaxation gives ease of body and mind. He who can +see his own weaknesses and smile at them is surely safe and sane. If the +mind is too austere, cultivate a sense of humor. Train yourself to +appreciate the ridiculous appearance you make and instead of being +chagrined, smile. When others laugh at you, join them. + +Whatever the mental ill may be, one-half of its cure will be brought +about by getting physical health. + +Be charitable, tolerant and kind, and the good things in life will come +to you. Be slow to judge and slower still to condemn others. + +Those who give love attract it. Hypatia said: "Express beauty in your +lives and beauty flows to you and through you. To love means to be +loved, and to put hate behind is the sum of all loving that is of any +avail." + +The best "New Thought" is the best old thought. If we only would put +some of the beautiful knowledge into common use, what an agreeable +dwelling place this world would be. Marcus Aurelius gave us this pearl +of wisdom: "When you arise in the morning, think what a precious +privilege it is to live, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love! God's +spirit is close to us when we love. Therefore it is better not to +resent, not to hate, not to fear. Equanimity and moderation are the +secrets of power and peace." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +FOOD. + +The human body is so wonderfully made that as yet we have only a poor +understanding of it, but we are learning a little each decade, and +perhaps in time we shall have a fair knowledge both of the body and of +the mind. Body and mind can not be considered as two separate entities, +for neither one is of any use without the other. + +The body is not a machine. Those who look upon it as such make the +mistake of feeding it as they would an engine, thinking that it takes so +much fuel to keep going. The human organism is perhaps never quite alike +on any two consecutive days, for the body changes with our thoughts, +actions and environment, and the conditions never quite repeat +themselves and therefore we have to readjust ourselves. + +The most important single item for gaining and retaining physical health +is proper feeding, yet the medical men of this country pay so little +attention to this subject that in some of our best equipped medical +colleges dietetics are not taught. A total of from sixteen to thirty +hours is considered sufficient to fit the future physicians to guide +their patients in the selection, combination and preparation of food. +Dietetics should be the principal subject of study. It should be +approached both from the scientific and from the empirical side. It is +not a rigid subject, but one which can be treated in a very elastic way. +The scientific part is important, but the practical part, which is the +art, is vastly more important. A part of the art of feeding and fasting +is scientific, for we get the same results every time, under given +conditions. + +When we consider the fact that the body is made up of various tissues, +such as connective tissue, blood, nerves and muscles; that these in turn +are made up of billions of cells, as are the various glandular organs +and membranes; that these cells are constantly bathed in blood and +lymph, from which they select the food they need and throw the refuse +away, we must marvel that an organism so complex is so resistant, stable +and strong. + +All articles of good quality are made by first-class workmen from fine +materials. However, many people fail to realize that in order to have +quality bodies they must take quality food, properly cooked or prepared, +in the right proportions and combinations. If we feed the body properly, +nature is kind enough to do good constructive work without any thought +on our part. + +You will find no rigid rules in these talks on diet, but you will find +information that will enable you to select foods that will agree with +you. People may well disagree on what to eat, for there are so many +foods that a person could do without nine-tenths of them and still be +well nourished. In fact, we consume too great a variety of food for our +physical well-being. Great variety leads to overeating. + +A healthy human body is composed of the following compounds, in about +the proportions given: + + Water, 60 to 65 per cent. + Mineral matter, 5 to 6 per cent. + Protein, 18 to 20 per cent. + Carbohydrates, 1 per cent. + Fat, 10 per cent. This is perhaps excessive. + +These substances are very complex and well distributed throughout the +body. They are composed of about sixteen or seventeen elements, but a +pure element is very rarely found in the body, unless it be a foreign +substance, such as mercury or lead. About 70 per cent of the body is +oxygen, which is also the most abundant element of the earth. Then in +order of their weight come carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, +phosphorus, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, fluorine, potassium, iron, +magnesium and silicon. + +Because it will be helpful in giving a better idea of the necessity for +proper feeding, I shall devote a few words to each of these elements. + +_Oxygen_ is a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas, forming a large part +of the atmospheric air, of water, of the earth's crust and of our foods. +It is absolutely essential to life, for without oxygen there can be no +combustion in the animal tissues, and without combustion there can be no +life. The union of oxygen with fats, carbohydrates and proteins in the +body results in slow combustion, which produces heat and energy. Our +chief supply of oxygen comes directly from the air, but this is +supplemented by the intake in food and water. + +_Carbon_ is the chief producer of energy within the body, being the +principal constituent of starches, sugars and fats. It is what we rely +on for internal heat, as well as for heating our dwellings, for the +essential part of coal is carbon. The carbonaceous substances are needed +in greater quantity than any other, but if they are taken pure, they +cause starvation more quickly than if no food were eaten. This has been +proved through experiments in feeding nothing but refined sugar, which +is practically pure carbon. Salts and nitrogenous foods are essential to +life. + +_Hydrogen_ is a very light gas, without odor, taste or color. It is a +necessary constituent of all growing, living things. It is plentifully +supplied in water. All acids contain hydrogen and so does the protoplasm +of the body. + +_Nitrogen_ is also a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas. It is an +essential constituent of the body, being present in all compounds of +protein. It is abundant in the atmospheric air, from which it is taken +by plants. We get our supply either directly from vegetable foods or +from animal products, such as milk, eggs and meat. + +_Calcium_ is needed principally for the bones and for the teeth, but it +is also necessary in the blood, where it assists in coagulation. We get +sufficient calcium salts in fruits, grains and vegetables, provided they +are properly prepared. The conventional preparation of the food often +results in the loss of the various salts, which causes tissue +degeneration. If the supply of calcium in the food is too small, the +bones and the teeth suffer, for the blood removes the calcium from these +structures. Growing children need more calcium proportionately than do +adults. This is without doubt the reason pregnant women suffer so much +from softening of the teeth. They are fed on foods robbed of their +calcium, such as white bread and vegetables that have been drained. + +_Phosphorus_ in some forms is a poison whether taken in solid compounds +or inhaled in fumes, producing phossy jaw. In other forms it is +indispensable for bodily development. The compounds of phosphorus are +present in fats, bones and protein. In natural foods they are abundantly +present, but when these foods are unduly refined, or are soaked in water +which is thrown away, much of the phosphorus is lost. We get phosphorus +from milk, eggs, cereals, legumes and other foods. Of course, there is +phosphorus in fish, but those who eat sea food to make themselves brainy +will probably be disappointed. Phosphates are necessary for brain +development, but those who eat natural foods never need to go to the +trouble of taking special foods for the brain. If the rest of the body +is well nourished, the brain will have sufficient food, and if the body +is poorly nourished the brain will suffer. + +_Sulphur_ is present in protein and we get a sufficient supply from +milk, meat and legumes. The element sulphur is quite inert and harmless, +but some of its acids and salts are very poisonous. Sulphur dioxide is +freely used in the process of drying fruits, as a bleacher. In this form +it is poisonous, and for that reason it would be well to avoid bleached +dried fruits. We need some sulphur, but not in the form of sulphur +dioxide or concentrated sulphurous acid, both of which are used in the +manufacture of food. + +_Sodium_, in its elementary state, which is not found in nature, is a +white, silvery metal. It is found in great abundance in the succulent +vegetables, and is present in practically all foods. As sodium chloride, +or common table salt, it is taken in great quantities by most people. +Those who have no salt get along well without it, which shows that it is +not needed in large amounts. If but a little is added to the food, it +does no perceptible harm, but when sprinkled on everything that is +eaten, from watermelons to meat, it is without doubt harmful. By soaking +foods, they are deprived of much of their soda: The two sodium salts +that are very abundant are sodium chloride, or common salt, and sodium +carbonate, generally called soda. + +_Chlorine_ is ordinarily combined in our foods with sodium or potash, +forming the chlorides. It is essential to life. He who gets enough +sodium also gets enough chlorine. In its elementary form it is an +irritating gas, used for bleaching purposes. + +_Fluorine_ is present in small quantities in the body, appearing as +fluorides in the bones and teeth. It is supplied by the various foods. +In its elementary form it is a poisonous gas. + +_Potassium_ is found in the body in very small quantities, but it is +very important. It is mostly in the form of potassium phosphate in the +muscles and in the blood. It is necessary for muscular activity. It is +found in most foods in greater abundance than is sodium, which indicates +that it plays an important part in development. Like sodium, it is +easily dissolved out of foods which are soaked in water, and this is one +of the reasons that vegetables should not be soaked and the water thrown +away. It is very peculiar in its metallic state, being a silvery metal, +very light in weight, which burns when thrown upon water. That is, it +decomposes both itself and the water with the liberation of so much heat +that it fires the escaping hydrogen, which burns with a violet flame. +Pure potassium is not found in nature. + +_Iron_ is found in very small quantities in the human body, but it is +absolutely essential to life. Animals deprived of iron die in a few +weeks, and people will do the same under similar circumstances. Iron is +obtained principally from fruits and vegetables, but it is also present +in other foods. Man can not make use of inorganic iron. He has to get +his supply from the vegetable and animal kingdoms. The giving of +inorganic iron is folly and helps to ruin the teeth and the stomach of +the one who takes it. In the form of hemoglobin this element is the +chief agent in carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the +body. In the manufacture of foods, much of the iron is lost. For +instance, whole wheat flour contains about ten times as much iron as +does the white flour. Too little iron causes, among other ills, anemia, +and if the iron is very low, chlorosis or the green sickness may ensue. + +_Magnesium_ is found principally as phosphate in the bones. It is +present both in animal and vegetable foods. Its function in the body is +not well understood, but it appears to assist the phosphorus. + +_Silicon_ is found in traces in the human body. It is supplied in small +quantities in nearly all of our foods, and therefore we must take it for +granted that it is necessary, although we are in the dark as to its +uses. It is very abundant in various rocks. The cereals are especially +rich in silicon. In wheat it is found in the bran and is removed from +the white flour. + +The elements mentioned are the most important in the body, though others +are found in traces. We do not find the elements present as elements, +but in the form of very complex compounds. Under our present conditions +of living, we generally partake of too much carbonaceous and nitrogenous +food, and get too little of the salts, except sodium chloride, which is +taken in too great quantity. Salt, to most people, means but one thing, +sodium chloride or table salt. However, there are thousands of salts, +and when salts are mentioned in this book, all those necessary for the +processes of life are meant, whether they be compounds of fluorine, +sulphur, phosphorus, calcium, iron or magnesium or other metals and +minerals. + +Salts are not usually classified as foods, but they are essential to +life. Supply the body with all the protein, sugar, starch and fat that +it requires, but withhold the salts, and it is but a question of a few +weeks before life ceases. This is why it is so important to improve our +methods of cooking. A potato that is peeled, soaked in cold water and +boiled, may lose as much as one-half of its salts, according to one of +the bulletins sent out by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Other +vegetables not only lose their salts by such treatment, but as high as +30 per cent of their nutritive value. + +The lesson we should learn from this is that ordinarily if it is +necessary to soak foods, such as beans, they should be cooked in the +water in which they have been soaked. Furthermore, where possible, as it +is with nearly all succulent vegetables, we should take the fluid in +which the vegetables have been cooked as a part of the meal. If the +vegetables are properly cooked, there will not be much fluid to take. To +pour away the water in which vegetables have been cooked means that +perhaps one-third of the food value and one-third to one-half of the +valuable salts are lost. Why continue impoverishing foods in this way? + +Dr. Charles Page deserves much credit for calling our attention to this +fact when most healers neither thought nor talked about it. Now all +up-to-date healers with a knowledge of dietetics realize how important +it is to give good food. For those who wish more detailed information on +the composition of the salts, I insert a table which was compiled by +Otto Carque and published in "Brain and Brawn," February, 1913. Those +who wish still more detailed knowledge can find it in volumes on food +analysis and in some government reports. + + +MINERAL MATTER IN 1000 PARTS OF WATER-FREE FOOD PRODUCTS. +========================================================================== + P + P M h + o a o C + t C g s S S h + a S a n p u i l + s o l e h l l o + s d c s I o p i r + i i i i r r h c i + u u u u o u u o n + m m m m n s r n e + Total| | | | | | | | | + Salts| K2O |Na2O | CaO | MgO |Fe2O3|P2O5 | SO2 |SiO2 | Cl +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- +Human milk 34.70|11.73| 3.16| 5.80| 0.75| 0.07| 7.84| 0.33| 0.07| 6.38 +Cow's milk 55.30|13.70| 5.34|12.24| 1.69| 0.30|15.79| 0.17| 0.02| 8.04 +Meat (avge) 40.00|16.52| 1.44| 1.12| 1.28| 0.28|17.00| 0.64| 0.44| 1.56 +Eggs 41.80| 6.27| 9.56| 4.56| 0.46| 0.17|15.72| 0.13| 0.13| 3.72 +Seafish 84.20|18.35|12.55|12.80| 3.28| ....|32.13| ....| ....| 9.60 +Cottage Cheese 64.30| 8.50| 0.90|22.50| 1.50| 0.50|24.35| 0.10| ....|11.20 + | | | | | | | | | +Apples 33.00|11.78| 8.61| 1.35| 2.89| 0.46| 4.52| 2.01| 1.42| .... +Strawberries 65.00|13.72|18.53| 9.23| ....| 3.73| 7.97| 2.05| 7.82| 1.10 +Gooseberries 29.00|11.22| 2.87| 3.54| 1.70| 1.32| 5.71| 1.71| 0.75| 0.22 +Prunes 37.75|18.28| 3.41| 4.34| 1.36| 0.94| 6.03| 1.21| 1.19| 0.15 +Peaches 17.60| 9.63| 1.50| 1.41| 0.92| 0.18| 2.67| 1.00| 0.26| .... +Cherries 34.60|17.94| 0.76| 2.60| 1.90| 0.69| 5.54| 1.76| 3.11| 0.46 +Grapes 25.20|14.16| 0.35| 2.72| 1.06| 0.45| 3.93| 1.41| 0.70| 0.38 +Figs 41.00|11.63|10.77| 7.75| 3.78| 0.60| 0.53| 2.77| 2.43| 1.10 +Olives 33.40|27.02| 2.52| 2.49| 0.06| 0.31| 0.46| 0.36| 0.22| 0.06 +Apricots 33.60|19.68| 3.76| 1.08| 2.89| 0.46| 4.52| 2.01| 1.42| .... +Pears 25.60|14.00| 2.17| 2.05| 1.52| 0.25| 3.90| 1.45| 0.38| .... +Watermelons 40.00|18.00| 3.75| 4.00| 2.10| 1.75| 5.60| 2.10| 7.60| 1.10 +Bananas 32.40|16.20| 0.80| 0.25| 0.32| 0.10| 2.03| 0.21| ....| 2.47 +Oranges 38.15|18.62| 0.95| 8.65| 2.03| 0.38| 4.70| 2.00| 0.25| 0.29 + | | | | | | | | | +Spinach 191.00|21.71|57.42|22.73|12.22| 6.40|19.58|13.18| 8.60|12.03 +Onions 48.40|12.10| 1.55|10.65| 2.55| 2.20| 7.25| 2.65| 8.10| 1.35 +Carrots 69.00|25.46|14.63| 7.80| 3.04| 0.70| 8.83| 4.45| 1.66| 3.18 +Asparagus 86.40|20.74|14.77| 9.33| 3.72| 2.94|16.07| 5.36| 9.50| 5.10 +Radishes 110.40|35.33|23.37|15.45| 3.42| 3.09|12.03| 7.18| 1.00|10.10 +Cauliflower 91.20|40.46| 5.38| 5.10| 3.37| 0.91|18.42|11.86| 3.37| 3.10 +Cucumbers 100.00|41.20|10.00| 7.30| 4.15| 1.40|20.20| 6.90| 8.00| 6.60 +Lettuce 180.70|67.94|13.55|26.56|11.20| 9.40|16.62| 6.87|14.64|13.82 +Potatoes 44.20|26.56| 1.33| 1.15| 2.18| 0.48| 7.47| 2.89| 0.88| 1.55 +Cabbage 123.00|45.33|11.68|21.65| 4.90| 0.86|11.07|17.10| 1.10|10.45 +Tomatoes 176.00|82.50|32.90|11.35|13.55| 1.00|10.75| 5.00| 7.75|18.00 +Red Beets 41.65| 8.45|21.60| 2.50| 0.10| 1.00| 2.55| 0.50| 2.00| 2.95 +Celery 180.00|48.60|65.25|14.70| 6.75| 1.60|14.50| 6.50| 4.30|17.80 + | | | | | | | | | +Walnuts 17.40| 2.20| 0.17| 0.97| 2.88| 0.61|10.10| 0.22| 0.12| 0.12 +Almonds 21.00| 2.31| 0.38| 3.04| 3.95| 0.23|10.10| 0.96| 0.04| 0.06 +Cocoanuts 18.70| 8.21| 1.57| 8.60| 1.76| ....| 2.18| 0.95| 0.09| 2.50 + | | | | | | | | | +Lentils 34.70|12.08| 4.62| 2.18| 0.87| 0.69|12.60| ....| ....| 1.61 +Peas 30.03|13.06| 0.30| 1.45| 2.42| 0.24|10.87| 1.03| 0.27| 0.53 +Beans 38.20|15.85| 0.42| 1.91| 2.73| 0.19|14.86| 1.30| 0.25| 0.69 +Peanuts 24.30| 9.27| 0.21| 0.95| 2.29| 0.27|10.60| 0.45| 0.05| 0.23 + | | | | | | | | | +Whole Wheat 23.10| 7.20| 0.50| 0.75| 2.80| 0.30|10.90| 0.09| 0.46| 0.07 +White flour 5.70| 1.82| 0.08| 0.43| 0.44| 0.03| 2.80| ....| ....| .... +Rye 21.30| 6.84| 0.31| 0.61| 2.39| 0.25|10.16| 0.28| 0.30| 0.01 +Barley 31.30| 5.10| 1.28| 0.02| 3.92| 0.53|10.27| 0.93| 8.98| .... +Oats 34.50| 6.18| 0.59| 1.24| 2.45| 0.41| 8.83| 0.62|13.52| 0.03 +Corn 18.50| 5.50| 0.02| 0.04| 2.87| 0.15| 8.44| 0.15| 0.39| 0.35 +Whole Rice 16.00| 3.60| 0.67| 0.59| 1.78| 0.22| 8.60| 0.08| 0.42| 0.02 +Rice, polished 4.00| 0.87| 0.22| 0.13| 0.45| 0.05| 2.15| 0.03| 0.11| 0.01 +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +Please remember that most of the salts must be worked into organic form +for us by vegetation, and that we are able to take but few elements that +have not been thus elaborated. + +We need a moderate amount of food to maintain the body in health, but we +should be careful not to overindulge. + +Perhaps the most injurious errors are made by people who eat because +they wish to gain in weight. They consider themselves below weight and +they try to force a gain by overeating. This is a serious mistake and +leads to much suffering. + +There is no weight that can be called ideal for all people. To get a +basis, I copy a table from the literature of an insurance company. This +is for people twenty years old: + + Height Weight + 5--0........114 + 1........117 + 2........121 + 3........124 + 4........128 + 5........132 + 6........136 + 7........140 + 8........144 + 9........149 + 10........153 + 11........158 + 6--0........162 + 1........167 + 2........172 + 3........177 + +If the weight is much above this, it is a sure sign that the individual +is building disease. It may be Bright's disease, fatty heart, +arteriosclerosis, cancer or any other ill. The muscles can not be +increased in size very much by eating and there is a limit to the amount +of fluid that can be stored away. Stout people generally carry about a +great amount of fat. + +Excess of fat is a burden. It replaces other tissues and weakens the +muscles. It overcrowds the abdominal and thoracic cavities, thus making +the breath short and the working of the heart more difficult, also +producing a tendency to prolapsus of the various abdominal organs. + +People make the mistake of thinking that stoutness indicates health. It +indicates disease. Going into weight is going into degeneration. Women +like to be plump for various reasons, some of which are not the most +creditable to either men or women. Fat people are not good looking. +There is not a statue in the world sculptured on corpulent lines that is +considered beautiful. + +It is natural for some people to be slender and for others to be rather +plump, but fatness is abnormal. Rolling double chins and protruding +abdomens are signs of self-abuse in eating and drinking. As a rule women +are at their right weight at twenty and men at twenty-two or +twenty-three. This weight they should retain. If twenty or thirty pounds +are added to it life will be materially shortened. + +Perfect health is impossible for obese people, but it is within the +reach of lean ones. In getting well, it is often necessary to become +quite slender, but after the system has cleansed itself, it gains in +weight again. It may take from several months to several years to obtain +a normal weight after the ravages of disease. A healthy body is +self-regulating and will be as heavy as it ought to be. + +Those who eat too much in order to gain weight sometimes wreck their +digestive and assimilative powers to such an extent that they lose a +great deal of weight, and the more they eat the more they lose. Then it +is necessary to reduce the food intake until digestion and assimilation +catch up with supply. Then if the eating is right the individual goes to +the proper weight and retains it. + +The slender people are in the safest physical condition. The vast amount +of statistics gathered by the life insurance companies bears this out. +Remember that fat is a low grade tissue, which sometimes crowds out high +grade tissue, that an excess indicates degeneration and that obesity is +a disease. All fat people eat too much, even though they consider +themselves small eaters. They should regulate their eating and drinking +so that they will return to a normal weight. This is the only safe way +to reduce. + +Pay no attention to underweight. Eat what the body requires and is able +to digest and assimilate, without causing any inconvenience. The +organism will take care of the rest. To attempt to force weight onto a +body at the expense of discomfort, disease, reduced efficiency and +premature death shows poor judgment. + +Losing weight does not matter at all if there is no discomfort or +disease. It is all right to be a little lighter during summer than in +winter. + +In discussing food and its use, two words are frequently employed, +digestion and fermentation. Strictly speaking, digestion is largely a +process of fermentation, consisting of the breaking down of complex +substances into simple ones, by means of ferments. However, in the +popular mind digestion and fermentation are not synonymous, and will not +be so considered in this book. To make my meaning clear, in this book +the words will have the following meaning: + +Digestion--the normal breaking down of food and formation into +substances that can be used by the blood for building, repairing and +producing heat and energy. + +Fermentation--the abnormal breaking down of food in the digestive tract, +producing discomfort and health impaired. This process manifests in +various ways, such as the production of much gas in the digestive tract +or hyperacidity of the body. + +We will consider digestion as a process conducive to health, but +fermentation, as one that leads to disease, being an early stage of +digestive derangement. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +OVEREATING. + +All agree that excessive indulgence in alcoholics is harmful physically, +mentally and morally. We condemn the too free use of tea and coffee and +nearly all other excesses. However, intemperate eating is considered +respectable. A large part of our social life consists in partaking of +too much food. + +Medical text-books say that we must eat great quantities of food to +maintain strength and health. Humanity views the subject of eating from +the wrong angle, and it will perhaps be many years before the majority +gets the right point of view. We should eat to live, but most of us eat +to die. Benjamin Franklin said that we dig our graves with our teeth. + +Men and women band themselves into societies and associations for the +purpose of decreasing or doing away with the use of tobacco and +alcoholic drinks. They advocate temperance and even abstinence in the +use of those things which do not appeal to their own senses; but most of +them are far from temperate in their eating. They have very keen vision +when searching for weaknesses and faults in others, but are quite +near-sighted regarding their own. + +Is excessive indulgence in liquor any worse than overeating? Not +according to nature's answer. The inebriate deteriorates and so does the +glutton. Both cause race deterioration. Gluttony is more common than +inebriety and is responsible for more ills. Gluttony is often the cause +of the tea, coffee, alcohol and drug habits. Overeating often causes so +much irritation that food does not satisfy the cravings, and then drugs +are used. + +Improper eating, chiefly overeating, causes most of the ills to which +man is heir. If people would learn to be moderate in all things disease +and early death would be very rare. + +It is quite important to combine foods properly, but the worst +combinations of food eaten in moderation are harmless, as compared to +the damage done by overeating of the best foods. Overeating is with us +from the cradle to the grave. It shortens our days and fills them with +woe. + +There is a hoary belief that a pregnant woman must eat for two. The +mothers have generally obeyed this dictum. The result is that women +suffer greatly during pregnancy and at childbirth. The morning sickness, +the aching back, the headache, the swollen legs and all of the +discomforts and diseases from which civilized woman suffers during this +period are mostly due to improper eating. Pregnancy and childbirth are +physiologic and are devoid of any great amount of discomfort, pain or +danger when women lead normal lives. + +The overeating affects both mother and child. The mothers are often +injured or lose their lives during childbirth. Sometimes labor is so +protracted that the child dies and at other times the baby is so large +that it can not be born naturally. The mother's suffering is frequently +very great. In fact, it is at times so great that it is like a +threatening storm cloud to many women, and some of them refuse to become +mothers for this reason. + +Babies born of normal mothers, who have lived moderately on a +non-stimulating diet during gestation, are small. They rarely weigh more +than six pounds. Their bones are flexible. The skull can easily be +moulded because the bones are very cartilaginous. The result is that +childbirth is rapid and practically devoid of pain. However, there are +very few normal mothers, and consequently normal babies are also rare. + +A heavy baby is never healthy. Its growth has been forced by excessive +maternal feeding. It is no hardier than other growing things which +result from hot-house methods. Such babies show early signs of catarrhal +afflictions, indigestion or skin disease. Their bodies are filled with +poisons before they are born. + +Mothers who overeat invariably overfeed their babies. And why should +they do otherwise? Family, friends and physicians give the same advice: +The mother must eat much to be able to feed the child, and the child +must be fed frequently in order to grow. It sounds very plausible, but +it does not work well in practice. + +Why are babies cross? Why do they soon show catarrhal symptoms? Why do +they vomit so much? Why are they so subject to stomach and intestinal +disorders? Why do they have skin eruptions? Because they are overfed. + +The diseases of babies are almost entirely of digestive origin, and in +nearly every instance overfeeding is the cause. Statistics show that +about one-fifth of the babies born die before they are one year old. In +nearly every instance the parents are to blame. One's intentions may be +good, but good intentions coupled with wrong actions are deadly to +infants. Oscar Wilde wrote, "We kill the thing we love." Parental love +too often takes the form of indulging them and so it happens that +hundreds of thousands of little ones are placed in their coffins +annually through love. + +Each year about 280,000 babies under one year of age perish in the +United States, according to estimates based on census figures. Outside +of accidental deaths, which are but a small per cent., the mortality +should be practically nil. It is natural for children to be well, and +healthy children do not die. If an army of about 280,000 of our men and +women were to perish in a spectacular manner each year it would cause +such sorrow and indignation that a remedy would soon be found. But we +are so accustomed to the procession of little caskets to the grave that +it hardly arouses comment. It costs too much in every way to produce +life to waste it so lavishly. + +Why do little children suffer so much from eruptive diseases, whooping +cough, tonsilitis, adenoids, diphtheria and numerous other diseases? +Because they are overfed. The younger the child the greater is the per +cent. of disease due to wrong feeding. In adult life overeating and +eating improperly otherwise are still the principal causes of disease. +But during adult life the causation of disease is more complex than in +childhood, for the senses have been more fully developed and instead of +confining our physical sins to overeating we fall prey to the abuse of +various appetites and passions. + +Vigorous adults are often the victims of pneumonia, typhoid fever and +tuberculosis. Overeating is chiefly to blame, not the bacteria which are +given as the principal cause. + +Rheumatism, kidney disease and diseases that manifest in hardening of +the various tissues, all being forms of degeneration, are quite common. +Again, the principal cause is overeating. + +There are a great number of people who live many years without any +special disease, but who are always on the brink of being ill. They are +full-blooded and too corpulent. Although they are often considered +successful, they are never fully efficient either physically or +mentally. They do not know what good health is, but they are so +accustomed to their state of toleration that they consider themselves +healthy. They are rather proud of their stoutness and their friends +mistake their precarious condition for health. These people often die +suddenly, and friends and acquaintances are very much surprised. No +healthy man dies suddenly and unexpectedly except by accident. + +Instead of growing old gracefully, in possession of our senses and +faculties, we die prematurely or go into physical and mental decay. +Bleary eyes, pettiness, childishness and lost mental faculties are no +part of nature's plan for advanced years. Those manifestations result +from man's improvement on nature! + +From birth to death we are victims of this terrible ogre of overeating. +It deprives us of friends and relatives. It takes away our strength and +health. It makes us mentally inefficient and cowardly. At last it +deprives us of life when our work is not half done and our days should +not be half run. + +How is it possible, you may ask, that this is true? Of course, +overeating is not the only cause, but it is the overwhelming one. It is +the basic cause. Aided by other bad habits it conquers us. We are what +we are because of our parentage, plus what we eat, drink, breathe and +think, and the eating largely influences the other factors of life. + +Cholera infantum causes the death of many babies. It never occurs in +babies who are fed moderately on natural, clean food, not to exceed +three or four times a day. The child is cross. The mother thinks that it +is cross because it is hungry and accordingly feeds. The real cause of +the irritability is the overfeeding that has already taken place. The +baby has had so much milk that it is unable to digest all of it. A part +of the milk spoils in the digestive tract. This fermented material is +partly absorbed and irritates the whole system. A part of it remains in +the alimentary tract where it acts as a direct local irritant to the +intestines. When these are irritated, the blood-vessels begin to pour +out their serum to soothe the bowels and the result is diarrhea. The +sick child is fed often. Digestive power is practically absent. The +additional food given ferments and more serum has to be thrown out to +protect the intestinal walls. Soon there is a well established case of +cholera infantum. + +If only enough food had been given to satisfy bodily requirements, none +of the milk would have spoiled in the alimentary tract. If all feeding +had been stopped as soon as the child became irritable and pinched +looking about the mouth and nose, and all the water desired had been +given and the child kept warm, there would have been no serious disease. +In these cases, the less food given the quicker the recoveries and the +fewer the fatalities. + +Another common disease of childhood is adenoids. To talk of these +maladies as diseases is rather misleading, for they are merely symptoms +of perverted nutrition, but we are compelled to make the best of our +medical language. + +Adenoids are due to indigestion. The indigestion is due to overeating. +This is how it comes about: A child eats more than can be digested, +generally bolting the food, which is often of a mushy character. The +excessive amount of food can not be digested, and as the intestines and +the stomach are moist and have a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, +fermentation soon takes place. Some of the results of fermentation in +the alimentary tract are acids, gases and bacterial poisons. These +deleterious substances are absorbed into the blood stream and go to all +parts of the body, acting as irritants. We do not know why they cause +adenoids in one child and catarrh in another. It is easy enough to say +that children are predisposed that way, which is no information at all. +It seems that all of us have some weak point, and here disease has a +tendency to localize. What part the sympathetic nervous system plays, we +do not know. Glandular tissue is rather unstable and therefore it +becomes diseased easily and adenoids are therefore quite frequent. + +A coated tongue, or an irritated tongue, both due to indigestion, is a +concomitant of adenoids. Such diseases do not merely happen. There are +good reasons for their appearance. They are not reflections on the +child, but they are on the parents who should have the right knowledge +and should take time and pains enough to educate and train the child +into health. + +Tuberculosis is one of the results of ruined nutrition. First there is +overeating. This causes indigestion. The irritating products of food +fermenting in the alimentary tract are taken up by the blood. The blood +goes to the lungs where it irritates the delicate mucous membrane. In +self-protection it begins to secrete an excess of mucus and if the +irritation is great enough, pus. The various bacteria are incidental. +The tubercular bacillus is never able to gain a foothold in healthy +lungs, but after degeneration of lung-tissue has taken place the lungs +furnish a splendid home for this bacillus. The tubercular bacillus is a +scavenger and therefore does not thrive in healthy bodies. It is the +result of disease, not the cause. + +Tubercular subjects never have healthy digestive organs. Unfortunately, +nearly all of them are persuaded to eat many times more food than they +can digest, and thus they have no opportunity to recover, for the +overfeeding ruins the digestive and assimilative powers beyond +recuperative ability. A large per cent. of the human race perish +miserably from this disease, which results principally from the +ingestion of too much food. The liberal use of such devitalized foods as +sterilized milk, refined sugar and finely bolted wheat flour is +doubtless a great factor in so reducing bodily resistance that the +system falls an easy prey to disease. Too little breathing and poor, +devitalized air are also important factors. + +There are many causes of rheumatism, but overeating is the chief and it +is very doubtful if a case of rheumatism can develop without this main +cause. Exposure is often given as the cause, but a healthy man with a +clean body does not become rheumatic. + +Rheumatism is due to internal filth. A filthy alimentary tract makes +filthy blood. Some say that the poison in rheumatism is uric acid, and +perhaps it is, but there are no uric acid deposits in the body of a +prudent eater. The elimination in this disease is imperfect. The skin, +the kidneys, the bowels and the lungs do not throw out the debris as +they should. Perhaps only one or two of these organs are acting +inadequately. The debris is stored up in the system. + +Why do the organs of elimination fail to act? Because so much work is +thrust upon them that they grow weary and worn; also, a part of the +material furnished them is the product of decay in the alimentary tract, +and they can not thrive on poor material. Too much food is eaten. An +excess of nutritive material, poorly digested, is absorbed. And so we +come back to the principal cause, overeating. + +When the eliminative organs fail to perform their function, the waste is +deposited in those parts of the body which are weakened. The irritation +from these foreign substances causes inflammation and the result is +pain. The extent to which this depositing of material will go is well +illustrated in some cases of multiple articular rheumatism, or arthritis +deformans, where the deposits are so great that many of the joints +become fixed (anchylosed). + +We could review all the diseases, and nearly every time we would come +back to disturbed nutrition as the principal factor, and this is true of +not only physical ills, but the mental ones as well. + +Various foods do not combine well, still if they are eaten in moderation +they do but little harm. If we overeat, the evil results are bound to +manifest, no matter how good the food, though it sometimes takes years +before they are perceptible. The effects are cumulative. Each day there +is a little fermentation with absorption of the poisonous products. Each +day the body degenerates a little. The time always comes when the body +can continue its work no longer, and then the individual must choose +between reform on one hand and suffering or death on the other. + +It is very difficult to convince people that they eat too much. Indeed, +the average person is a small eater, in his own estimation. We have been +educated into consuming such vast quantities of food that we hardly know +what moderation is. In the past, physiologists and observers have +watched the amount of food that people could coax down and this they +have called the normal amount of food. This is far from the truth. The +average American eats at least two times as much as he can digest, +assimilate and use to advantage. Many eat three and four times too much. +However, nature is very tolerant for a while. Most of us start out with +a fair amount of resistance and are thus enabled to live to the age of +forty or fifty in spite of abuses. If we could only dispense with our +excesses, we could double or treble our life span, live better, get more +enjoyment out of life and give the world more and better work than we +can under present conditions. + +There is much talk of food shortage. The amount of food consumed and +wasted annually in the United States is enough to feed 200,000,000 +people. Even with our present knowledge we can easily produce twice as +much per acre as we are averaging, and we are tilling only about +one-fourth of the land that could be made productive. If we use our +brains there is little danger of starving. What is needed now is not +more food, but intelligent distribution and consumption of what we +produce. + +We hear of cases of undernourishment. This doubtless occurs at times in +the congested parts of great centers of populations. But there are not +so many cases suffering from want of the proper quantity of food as from +want of quality of food. Bread of finely bolted white flour is +starvation food, no matter how great the quantity, unless other food +rich in organic salts is also eaten. + +The overeating habit is so common and comes on so insidiously that the +sufferers do not realize that they are eating to excess. The resultant +discomforts are blamed on other things. Babies are fed every two hours +or oftener. They should be fed but three or at most four times a day, +and never at night. When able to eat solid foods they get three meals a +day and generally two or more lunches. Some children seem to be lunching +at all times. They have fruit or bread and butter with jelly or jam in +the hand almost all the time. They are encouraged to eat much and often +to produce growth and strength. This kind of feeding often does produce +large children, heavy in weight, but they are not healthy. Sad to +relate, the excess causes disease and death. + +Such frequent feeding allows the digestive organs no rest. The overwork +imposed upon them and the fermentation cause irritation. This irritation +manifests in a constant and almost irresistible desire for food, as does +the consumption of much alcohol cause a desire for more alcohol, as the +use of morphine or cocaine produces a dominating and ruinous appetite +for more of these drugs. These appetites grow by what they feed upon. +Man ceases to be master and becomes the abject slave of his abnormal +cravings. + +Slaves of alcohol and the various habit-forming drugs generally lack the +strength of body and mind to assert themselves and to regain mastery of +themselves. Coffee and tea have their victims, though they are generally +not very firmly enslaved. No one realizes how he is bound by his +cravings for an excessive amount of food until he tries to break the +bonds. Such people may eat moderately for days, perhaps for weeks, and +then the old appetite reasserts itself in all its strength and unless +the sufferer has a very strong will a food debauch follows. I have seen +men go from one restaurant to another, consuming enormous quantities of +food to efface the awful craving, just as men go from one saloon to +another to satisfy their desire for alcohol. The gluttons often look +with the greatest contempt upon the slaves of liquor. But what is the +difference? No matter what appetite, what habit, what passion has gained +the mastery, we are slaves. The important thing is to keep out of +slavery, or break the bonds and regain freedom. + +Those who eat to excess often eat more than three times a day. They take +a little candy now, a little fruit then, or they go to the drug store +for a glass of malted milk or buttermilk, which they call drinks, or +they take a dish of ice cream. The housewife nibbles at cake or bread. +If a person is in fair health and wishes to evolve into self-mastery and +good health, he should make up his mind never to eat more than three +times a day. Nothing but plain water should enter his mouth except at +meal times. + +Next he should limit the number of articles eaten at a meal. The +breakfast and lunch should each consist of no more than two or three +varieties of food. The dinner should not exceed five or six varieties, +and if that many are eaten, they should be compatible. Less would be +better. The less variety we have, the better the food digests. Also, +eating ten or twelve or more kinds of food, as many people do, always +leads to overeating. A little of this added to a little of that soon +makes a too great total. It is easy to eat all one should of a certain +article of food and feel satisfied, and then change off to something +else and before one is through one has eaten three or four times as much +as necessary. If the meal is to consist of starch there is no great +objection to a small amount of bread, potatoes, rice, macaroni and +chestnuts. However, a normal person does not need to coax food down by +using great variety. Those who mix their foods this way invariably +overeat. Besides, the various starches require different periods for +digestion. Rice is more easily disposed of than bread. Each new item +stimulates the desire for more food. It is best, when having potatoes, +to have no other starchy food in that meal; or when bread is eaten, to +have no potatoes or other starchy food. The habit of eating meat, +potatoes and bread in the same meal is very common and causes much +disease. + +Next the searcher for health should teach himself to eat foods that are +natural, cooked simply, and with a minimum amount of seasoning and +dressing. The various spices and sauces irritate the digestive organs +and create a craving for an excessive amount of food. The food should be +changed as little as possible because such denatured foods as white +flour, polished rice, pasteurized milk, and many of the canned fruits +and vegetables are so lacking in the natural salts that they do not +satisfy one's desire for organic salts. Overeating results. + +Preserves, jellies and jams are open to the same objection. They cause +an abnormal desire for food. Therefore, they should be used seldom and +very sparingly. So long as apples, oranges, figs, dates, raisins, sweet +prunes and various other fruits can be had, there is no excuse for the +consumption of great quantities of the heavily sugared concoctions which +are now so popular. + +Simplicity and naturalness are great aids in breaking away from food +slavery. They are discussed more fully elsewhere. In the next chapter +will be found hints on the solution of the normal amount of food to be +eaten. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +DAILY FOOD INTAKE. + +It is generally believed that the more we eat the better. Physicians say +that it is necessary to eat heartily when well to retain health and +strength. When ill it is necessary to consume much food to regain lost +health and strength. "Eat all you can of nourishing food," is a common +free prescription, and it sounds very reasonable. The physicians of +today are not to blame for this belief in overeating, for they were +taught thus at college, and very few men in any line do original +thinking. It has been a racial belief for centuries and no one now +living is responsible. When a physician advocates what he honestly +believes he is doing his best, "and angels can do no more." + +When a child loses its appetite, the parents worry, for they think that +it is very harmful for young people to go without food for a few meals. +A lost appetite is nature's signal to quit eating, and it should always +be heeded. If it is, it will prevent much disease and suffering and will +save many lives. + +The present-day mode of preparing food leads to overeating. The sense of +taste is ruined by the stimulants put into the food. Dishes are so +numerous and so temptingly made that more is eaten than can be digested +and assimilated. Refined sugar, salt, the various spices, pickles, +sauces and preserves all lead to overeating because of stimulation. The +same is true of alcohol taken immediately before meals. If we only give +nature a chance, and are perfectly frank and honest with ourselves, she +will guard us against the overconsumption of food. Those who eat but few +varieties of plain food at a meal are not sorely tempted to overeat. But +when one savory dish is served after another it takes much will power to +be moderate. + +People generally have had more than sufficient before the last course is +served. However, the various dishes have different flavors and for this +reason the palate is overwhelmed and accepts more food than is good for +us. + +Men who like to call their work scientific, figure on the amount of food +we need to furnish a certain number of heat units--calories. Heat, of +course, is a form of energy. Basing the body's food requirements on heat +units expended does not solve the problem. The more food that is +ingested, the more heat units must be manufactured, and often so much +food is taken that the body is compelled to go into the heating +business. Then we have fevers. + +A large part of the heat is given off by the skin. Those who overeat are +compelled to do a great deal of radiating. This excessive amount of fuel +taken into the system in the form of food, wears out the body. As +figured by the experts, it gives a result of food need that is at least +twice as great as necessary. Experience is the only correct guide to +food requirements, and each individual has to settle the matter for +himself. The human body is not exactly a chemical laboratory, nor is it +an engine which can be fed so much fuel with the resultant production of +such and such an amount of heat and energy. Some bodies are more +efficient than others. It is among human beings as among the lower +animals, some require more food than others. + +We need enough food to repair the waste, to perform our work and to +furnish heat. Every muscle contraction uses up a little energy. Every +breath deprives us of heat and carries away carbon dioxide, the latter +being formed by oxidation of tissues in the body. Every minute we lose +heat by radiation from the skin. Every thought requires a small amount +of food. If we worry, the leak of nervous energy is tremendous, but at +the same time we put ourselves in position where we are unable to +replenish our stock, for worry ruins digestion. All this expenditure of +energy and loss of heat must be made up for by the food intake. Only a +small amount of surplus food can be stored in the body. Some fat can be +stored as fat. Some starch and sugar can be put aside as either +glycogen--animal sugar--or be changed into fat. This storing of excess +food is very limited, except in cases of obesity, which is a disease. + +Overeating invariably causes disease. It may take two or three years, +yes even twenty or thirty years, before the overeating results in +serious illness, but the results are certain, and in the meanwhile the +individual is never up to par. He can use neither body nor mind to the +best advantage. + +To emphasize and illustrate these remarks, I shall copy a few diet +lists, which their authors consider reasonable and correct for the +average person for one day, and I shall give my comments. The first is +taken from Kirke's Physiology, which has been used extensively as a +text-book in medical colleges: + + 340 grams lean uncooked meat, + 600 " bread, + 90 " butter, + 28 " cheese, + 225 " potatoes, + 225 " carrots. + +An ounce contains 28.3 grams; a pound, 453 grams. It is easy to figure +these quantities of food in ounces or pounds, which give a better idea +to the average person. + +It is self-evident that this is too much food. Over twelve ounces of +lean, uncooked meat, over twenty-one ounces of bread, almost one-half of +a pound each of potatoes and carrots, about an ounce of cheese and over +three ounces of butter make enough food for two days, even for a big +eater. He who tries to live up to a diet of this kind is sure to suffer +disease and early death. + +The average loaf of bread weighs about fourteen ounces. Here we are told +to devour one-half of a pound of carrots (for which other vegetables +such as turnips, parsnips, beets or cabbage may be substituted), +one-half of a pound of potatoes, three-fourths of a pound of lean raw +meat, which loses some weight in cooking, a loaf and one-half of bread, +besides butter and cheese. The vast majority of people can not eat more +than one-third of this amount and retain efficiency and health, but many +eat even more. + +The next table is taken from Dr. I. Burney Yeo's book on diet, and is +given as the food required daily by a "well nourished worker": + + 151.3 grams meat, + 48.1 " white of egg, + 450.0 " bread, + 500.0 " milk, + 1065.9 " beer, + 60.2 " suet, + 30.0 " butter, + 70.0 " starch, + 17.0 " sugar, + 4.9 " salt. + +This worker is too well fed. Often those who are so well fed are poorly +nourished, for the excessive amount of food ruins the nutrition, after +which the food is poorly digested and assimilated. This worker eats so +much that he will be compelled to do manual labor all his days, for such +feeding prevents effective thinking. + +The following daily average diet is taken from the book, "Diet and +Dietetics," by A. Gauthier, a well known authority on the subject of the +nutritive needs of the body. Mr. Gauthier averaged the daily food intake +of the inhabitants of Paris for the ten years from 1890 to 1899, +inclusive. He takes it for granted that this is the average daily food +requirement for a person: + + 420.0 grams bread and cakes, + 216.0 " boned meat, + 24.1 " eggs (weighed with shell), + 8.1 " cheese (dry or cream), + 28.0 " butter, oil, etc., + 70.0 " fresh fruit, + 250.0 " green vegetables, + 40.0 " dried vegetables, + 100.0 " potatoes, rice, + 40.0 " sugar, + 20.0 " salt, + 213.0 C. C. milk, + 557.0 C. C. of various alcoholics, containing + 9.5 C. C. of pure alcohol. + +So long as the Parisians consume such quantities of food they will +continue to suffer and die before they reach one-half of the age that +should be theirs. The French eat no more than do other people, in fact, +they seem moderate in their food intake as compared with some of the +Germans, English and Americans, but they eat too much for their physical +and mental good. + +The lists given above are from sources that command the respect of the +medical profession. They are the orthodox and popular opinions. It would +be an easy matter to give many more tables, but they agree so closely +that it would be a waste of time and space. + +Quantitative tables from vegetarian sources are not so common. The +vegetarians say that meat eating is wrong, being contrary to nature. +Whether they are right or wrong, they make the same mistakes that the +orthodox prescribers do, that is, they advocate overeating. Medical +textbooks prescribe a too abundant supply of starch and meat in +particular. The vegetarians prescribe a superabundance of starch. Read +the magazines advocating vegetarianism and note their menus, giving +numerous cereals, tubers, peas, beans, lentils, as well as other +vegetables, for the same meal. It is as easy to overeat of nuts and +protein in leguminous vegetables as it is to overeat of meat. + +Starch poisoning is as bad as meat poisoning and the results are equally +fatal. + +The following are suggestions offered by a fruitarian. They give the +food intake for two days: + + 120 grams shelled peanuts, raw, + 1000 " apples, + 500 " unfermented whole wheat bread. + + 120 grams shelled filberts, + 450 " raisins, + 800 " bananas. + +In the first day's menu it will be noted that over two pounds of apples +and over one pound of whole wheat bread are recommended, also over four +ounces of raw peanuts. The writer says that this food should preferably +be taken in two meals. There are very few people with enough digestive +and assimilative power to care for more than one-half of a pound of +whole wheat bread twice a day, especially when taken with raw peanuts, +which are rather hard to digest. The trouble is made worse by the +addition of more than one pound of apples to each meal, for when apples +in large quantities are eaten with liberal amounts of starch, the +tendency for the food to ferment is so strong that only a very few +escape. Gas is produced in great quantities, which is both unnatural and +unpleasant. Neither stomach nor bowels manufacture any perceptible +amount of gas if they are in good condition and a moderate amount of +food is taken. + +Whole wheat bread digests easily enough when eaten in moderation, but it +is very difficult to digest when as much as eight ounces are taken at a +meal. One can accustom the body to accept this amount of food, but it is +never required under ordinary conditions and the results in the long run +are bad. + +The food prescribed for the second day is more easily digested, but it +is too much. Raisins are a splendid force food, but no ordinary +individual needs a pound of raisins in one day, in addition to about one +and three-fourths pounds of bananas, which are also a force food and are +about as nourishing as the same amount of Irish potatoes. + +In all my reading it has not been my good fortune to find a diet table +for healthy people, giving moderate quantities of food. Diet lists seem +scientific, so they appeal to the mind that has not learned to think of +the subject from the correct point of view. Quantitative diet tables are +worthless, for one person may need more than another. Some are short and +some are tall. Some are naturally slender and others of stocky build. +There is as much difference in people's food needs as there is in their +appearance. To try to fit the same quantity and even kind of food to all +is as senseless as it would be to dress all in garments of identical +size and cut. + +If we eat in moderation it does not make much difference what we eat, +provided our diet contains either raw fruits or raw vegetables enough to +furnish the various mineral salts and the food is fairly well prepared. +There are combinations that are not ideal, but they do very little harm +if there is no overeating. People who are moderate in their eating +generally relish simple foods. Unfortunately, there is but little +moderation in eating. From childhood on the suggestion that it is +necessary to eat liberally is ever before us. Medical men, grandparents, +parents and neighbors think and talk alike. If the parents believe in +moderation, the neighbors kindly give lunches to the children. It is +really difficult to raise children right, especially in towns and +cities. + +After such training we learn to believe in overeating and we pass the +belief on to the next generation, as it has in the past been handed down +from generation to generation. Finally we die, many of us martyrs to +overconsumption of food. Ask any healer of intelligence who has thrown +off the blinders put on at college and who has allowed himself to think +without fear, and he will tell you that at least nine-tenths of our ills +come from improper eating habits. It is not difficult to make up menus +of compatible foods. No one knows how much another should eat, and he +who prepares quantitative diet tables for the multitude must fail. + +However, every individual of ordinary intelligence can quickly learn his +own food requirements and the key thereto is given by nature. It is not +well to think of one's self much or often. It is not well to be +introspective, but everyone should get acquainted with himself, learning +to know himself well enough to treat himself with due consideration. We +are taught kindness to others. We need to be taught kindness to +ourselves. The average person ought to be able to learn his normal food +requirements within three or four months, and a shorter time will often +suffice. + +The following observations will prove helpful to the careful reader: + +Food should have a pleasant taste while it is being eaten, but should +not taste afterwards. If it does it is a sign of indigestion following +overeating, or else it indicates improper combinations or very poor +cooking. Perhaps food was taken when there was no desire for it, which +is always a mistake. Perhaps too many foods were combined in the meal. +Or it may be that there was not enough mouth preparation. It is +generally due to overeating. Cabbage, onions, cucumbers and various +other foods which often repeat, will not do so when properly prepared +and eaten in moderation, if other conditions are right. + +Eructation of gas and gas in the bowels are indications of overeating. +More food is taken than can be digested. A part of it ferments and gas +is a product of fermentation. A very small amount of gas in the +alimentary tract is natural, but when there is belching or rumbling of +gas in the intestines it is a sign of indigestion, which may be so mild +that the individual is not aware of it, or it may be so bad that he can +think of little else. When there is formation of much gas it is always +necessary to reduce the food intake, and to give special attention to +the mastication of all starch-containing aliments. Also, if starches and +sour fruits have been combined habitually, this combination should be +given up. Starch digests in an alkaline medium, and if it is taken with +much acid by those whose digestive powers are weak, the result is +fermentation instead of digestion. + +People should never eat enough to experience a feeling of languor. They +should quit eating before they feel full. If there is a desire to sleep +after meals, too much food has been ingested. When drowsiness possesses +us after meals we have eaten so much that the digestive organs require +so much blood that there is not enough left for the brain. This is a +hint that if we have work or study that requires exceptional clearness +of mind, we should eat very moderately or not at all immediately before. +The digestive organs appropriate the needed amount of blood and the +brain refuses to do its best when deprived of its normal supply of +oxygen and nourishment. + +Serpents, some beasts of prey and savages devour such large quantities +of food at times that they go into a stupor. There is no excuse for our +patterning after them now that a supply of food is easily obtained at +all times. + +A bad taste in the mouth is usually a sign of overeating. It comes from +the decomposition following a too liberal food intake. If water has a +bad taste in the morning or at any other time, it indicates overeating. +It may be due to a filthy mouth or the use of alcohol. + +Heartburn is also due to overeating, and so is hiccough; both come from +fermentation of food in the alimentary tract. + +A heavily coated tongue in the morning indicates excessive food intake. +If the tongue is what is known as a dirty gray color it shows that the +owner has been overeating for years. The normal mucous membrane is clean +and pink. The mucous membrane of the mouth, stomach and the first part +of the bowels should not be compelled to act as an organ of excretion, +for the normal function is secretory and absorptive. However, when so +much food is eaten that the skin, lungs, kidneys and lower bowel can not +throw off all the waste and excess, the mucous membrane in the upper +part of the alimentary tract must assist. The result is a coated tongue, +but the tongue is in no worse condition than the mucous membrane of the +stomach. A coated tongue indicates overcrowded nutrition and is nature's +request to reduce the food intake. How much? Enough to clean the tongue. +If the coating is chronic it may take several months before the tongue +becomes clean. + +A muddy skin, perhaps pimply, is another sign of overeating. It shows +that the food intake is so great that the body tries to eliminate too +many of the solids through the skin, which becomes irritated from this +cause and the too acid state of the system and then there is +inflammation. Many forms of eczema and a great many other skin diseases +are caused by stomach disorders and an overcrowded nutrition. There is a +limit to the skin's excretory ability, and when this is exceeded skin +diseases ensue. Some of the so-called incurable skin diseases get well +in a short time on a proper diet without any local treatment. + +Dull eyes and a greenish tinge of the whites of the eyes point toward +digestive disturbances due to an oversupply of food. The green color +comes from bile thrown into the blood when the liver is overworked. The +liver is never overtaxed unless the consumption of food is excessive. + +Another very common sign of too generous feeding is catarrh, and it does +not matter where the catarrh is located. It is true that there are other +causes of catarrh, in fact, anything that irritates the mucous membrane +any length of time will cause it, but an overcrowded nutrition causes +the ordinary cases. It is the same old story: The mucous membrane is +forced to take on the function of eliminating superfluous matter, which +has been taken into the system in the form of food. Many people dedicate +their lives to the act of turning a superabundance of food into waste, +and as a result they overwork their bodies so that they are never well +physically and seldom efficient mentally. + +Many people, especially women, say that if they miss a meal or get it +later than usual, they suffer from headache. This indicates that the +feeding is wrong, generally too generous and often too stimulating. A +normal person can miss a dozen meals without a sign of a headache. + +To repeat: No one can tell how much another should eat, but everyone can +learn for himself what the proper amount of food is. Enough is given +above to help solve the problem. The interpretations presented are not +the popular ones, but they are true for they give good results when +acted upon. + +If bad results follow a meal there has been overeating, either at the +last meal or previously. Undermasticating usually accompanies overeating +and causes further trouble. Those who masticate thoroughly are generally +quite moderate in their food intake. + +Many say that they eat so much because they enjoy their food so. He who +eats too rapidly or in excess does not know what true enjoyment of food +is. Excessive eating causes food poisoning, and food poisoning blunts +all the special senses. To have normal smell, taste, hearing and vision +one must be clean through and through, and those who are surfeited with +food are not clean internally. + +The average individual does not know the natural taste of most foods. He +seasons them so highly that the normal taste is hidden or destroyed. +Those who wish to know the exquisite flavor of such common foods as +onions, carrots, cabbage, apples and oranges must eat them without +seasoning or dressing for a while. To get real enjoyment from food it is +necessary to eat slowly and in moderation. + +I know both from personal experience and from the experience of others +that seasoning is not necessary. Instead of giving the foods better +flavor, they taste inferior. A little salt will harm no one, but the +constant use of much seasoning leads to irritation of the digestive +organs and to overeating. Salt taken in excess also helps to bring on +premature aging. It is splendid for pickling and preserving, but health +and life in abundance are the only preservatives needed for the body. +Refined sugar should be classed among the condiments. People who live +normally lose the desire for it. Grapefruit, for instance, tastes better +when eaten plain than when sugar is added. + +People who sleep seven or eight hours and wake up feeling unrefreshed +are suffering from the ingestion of too much food. A food poisoned +individual can not be properly rested. To get sweet sleep and feel +restored it is necessary to have clean blood and a sweet alimentary +tract. + +Much has been said about overeating. Once in a while a person will +habitually undereat, but such cases are exceedingly rare. To undereat is +foolish. At all times we must use good sense. It is a subject upon which +no fixed rules can be promulgated. Be guided by the feelings, for +perfect health is impossible to those who lack balance. + +Those who think they need scientific direction may take one of the +orthodox diet tables. If it contains alcoholics, remove them from the +list. Then partake of about one-third of the starch recommended, and +about one-third of the protein. Use more fresh fruit and fresh +vegetables than listed. Instead of eating bread made from white flour, +use whole wheat bread. Do not try to eat everything given on the +scientific diet list each day. For instance, rice, potatoes and bread +are given in many of these tables. Select one of these starches one day, +another the next day, etc. If one-third of the amount recommended is too +much, and it sometimes is, reduce still further. + +Please bear in mind that the orthodox way, the so-called scientific way, +has been tried over a long period of time and it has given very poor +results. Moderation has always given good results and always will. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +WHAT TO EAT. + +It is very important to eat the right kind of food, but it is even more +important to be balanced and use common sense. Those who are moderate in +their habits and cheerful can eat almost anything with good results. Of +course, people who live almost entirely on such denatured foods as +polished rice, finely bolted wheat flour products, sterilized milk and +meat spoiled in the cooking, refined sugar and potatoes deprived of most +of their salts through being soaked and cooked will suffer. + +There are many different diet systems, and some of them are very good. +If their advocates say that their way is the only way, they are wrong. +Many try to force their ideas upon others. They find their happiness in +making others miserable. They are afflicted with the proselyting zeal +that makes fools of people. This is the wrong way to solve the food +problem. Let each individual choose his own way and allow those who +differ to continue in the old way. + +Many have changed their dietary habits to their own great benefit. After +this they become so enthused and anxious for others to do likewise that +they wear themselves and others out exhorting them to share in the new +discovery. This does no good, but it often does harm, for it leads the +zealot to think too much of and about himself, and it annoys others. + +Many are like my friend who lunched daily on zwieback and raw carrots. +"I think everybody ought to eat some raw carrots every day; don't you?" +she said. We can not mold everybody to our liking, and we should not +try. If we conquer ourselves, we have about all we can do. If we succeed +in this great work, we will evolve enough tolerance to be willing to +allow others to shape their own ends. To volunteer undesired information +does no good, for it creates opposition in the mind of the hearers. If +the information is sought, the chances are that it may in time do good. +It is well enough to indicate how and where better knowledge may be +obtained. We should at all times attempt to conserve our energy and use +it only when and where it is helpful. Such conduct leads to peace of +mind, effectiveness, happiness and health. + +The tendency to become too enthusiastic about a dietary regime that has +brought personal benefit is to be avoided, for it brings unnecessary +odium upon the important subject of food reform. People do not like to +change old habits, even if the change would be for the better, and when +an enthusiast tries to force the change his actions are resented. He +makes no real converts, but as pay for his efforts he gains the +reputation of being a crank. + +Those who wish to be helpful in an educational way should be patient. +The race has been in the making for ages. Its good habits, as well as +its bad ones, have been acquired gradually. If we ever get rid of our +bad habits it will be through gradual evolution, not through a hasty +revolution. We need a change in dietary habits, but those who become +food cranks, insisting that others be as they, retard this movement. +Only a few will change physical and mental habits suddenly. If those who +know are content to show the benefits more in results than in words, +their influence for good will be great. + +What shall we eat? How are we to know the truth among so many +conflicting ideas? We can know the truth because it leads to health. +Error leads to suffering, degeneration and premature death. As the +homely saying goes, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." + +Let us look into some of the diet theories before the public and give +them thoughtful consideration. + +The late Dr. J. H. Salisbury advocated the use of water to drink and +meat to eat, and nothing else. The water was to be taken warm and in +copious quantities, but not at or near meal time. The meat, preferably +beef, was to be scraped or minced, made into cakes and cooked in a very +warm skillet until the cakes turned gray within. These meat cakes were +to be eaten three times a day, seasoned with salt and a little pepper. + +The doctor had a very successful practice, which is attested by many who +were benefited when ordinary medical skill failed. His diet was not well +balanced. In meats there is a lack of the cell salts and force food. +Especially are the cell salts lacking when the flesh is drained of its +blood. The animals of prey drink the blood and crunch many of the bones +of their victims, thus getting nearly all the salts. But in spite of his +giving such an unbalanced diet, the doctor had a satisfactory practice +and good success. Why? Because his patients had to quit using narcotics +and stimulants and they were compelled to consume such simple food that +they ceased overeating. It is a well known fact that a mono-diet forces +moderation, for there is no desire to overeat, as there is when living +on a very varied diet. + +Another fact that the Salisbury plan brings to mind is that starch and +sugar are not necessary for the feeding of adults, although they are +convenient and cheap foods and ordinarily consumed in large quantities. +The fat in the meat takes the place of the starch and sugar. Atomically, +starch, sugar and fat are almost identical, and they can be substituted +one for the other. Nature makes broad provisions. + +Dr. Salisbury's career also serves to remind us that a mixed diet is not +necessary for the physical welfare of those who eat to live. Vegetarians +dwell upon the toxicity of meat. But Dr. Salisbury fed his patients on +nothing but meat and water, and the percentage of recoveries in chronic +diseases was considered remarkable. Meat is very easy to digest and when +prepared in the simple manner prescribed by the doctor and eaten by +itself it will agree with nearly everybody. But when eaten with soup, +bread, potatoes, vegetables, cooked and raw, fish, pudding, fruit, +coffee, crackers and cheese, there will be overeating followed by +indigestion and its consequent train of ills. However, it is not fair to +blame the meat entirely, for the whole mixture goes into decomposition +and poisons the body. + +The cures resulting from Dr. Salisbury's plan also help to disprove the +much heralded theory of Dr. Haig, that uric acid from meat eating is the +cause of rheumatism. Overeating of meat is often a contributory cause. +We are told that the rheumatics who followed Dr. Salisbury's plan got +well. They regained physical tone. They lost their gout and rheumatism. +They parted company with their pimples and blotches. All of which would +indicate that the blood became clean. + +The chief lesson derived from Dr. Salisbury's plan and experience is the +helpfulness of simple living and moderation. An exclusive diet of meat +is not well balanced. Energy produced from flesh food is too expensive. +The good results came from substituting habits of simplicity and +moderation for the habit of overeating of too great variety of food. The +same results may be obtained by putting a patient on bread and milk. + +Dr. Salisbury's patients had unsatisfied longings, doubtless for various +tissue salts. The addition of fresh raw fruits or vegetables would +improve his diet, for apples, peaches, pears, lettuce, celery and +cabbage are rich in the salts in which meats are deficient. + +Dr. Emmet Densmore recommended omitting the starches entirely, that is, +to avoid such foods as cereals, tubers and legumes. He believed that it +is best to live on fruits and nuts. He recommended the sweet +fruits--figs, dates, raisins, prunes--instead of the starchy foods. The +doctor did much good, as everyone does who gets his patients to +simplify. He also had good results before discovering that starch is a +harmful food, when he fed his patients bread and milk. + +Starch must be converted into sugar before it can be used by the body. +The sugar is what is known as dextrose, not the refined sugar of +commerce. The sweet fruits contain this sugar in the form of fruit +sugar, which needs but little preparation to be absorbed by the blood. +Dr. Densmore reasons thus: Only birds are furnished with mills +(gizzards); hence the grains are fit food for them only. Other starches +should be avoided because they are difficult to digest, the doctor +wrote. + +Raw starches are difficult to digest, but when they are properly cooked +they are digested in a reasonable time without overburdening the system, +provided they are well masticated and the amount eaten is not too great +and the combining is correct. Rice, which contains much starch, digests +in a short time. + +We can do very nicely without starch. We can also thrive on it if we do +not abuse it. The two chief starch-bearing staples, rice and wheat, +contain considerable protein and salts in their natural state. In fact, +the natural wheat will sustain life for a long time. Man has improved on +nature by polishing the rice and making finely bolted, bleached wheat +flour, deprived of nearly all the salts in the wheat berry. The result +is that both of them have become very poor foods. The more we eat of +these refined products the worse off we are, unless we partake freely of +other foods rich in mineral salts. + +Not long ago a lady died in England who was a prominent advocate of a +"brainy diet." Her brainy diet consisted largely of excessive quantities +of meat, pork being a favorite. She died comparatively young, her +friends say from overwork. Such a diet doubtless had a large part in +wearing her out. To overeat of meat is dangerous. + +A gentleman is now advocating a diet of nothing but cocoanuts. This is a +fad, for they are not a balanced food. He has published a book on the +subject. Perhaps his advocacy is influenced by his interest in the sale +of cocoanuts. + +The vegetarians condemn the use of meat. Some of them are called +fruitarians. It is very difficult to decide who are the most +representative of them. Some advocate the use of nothing but fruit and +nuts. Others add cereals to this. Others use vegetables in addition. +Some even allow the use of dairy products and eggs, that is, all foods +except flesh. + +They say that meat is an unnatural food for man and condemn its use on +moral grounds. It is difficult to decide what is natural, for we find +that man is very adaptable, being able to live on fruits in the tropics +and almost exclusively on flesh food, largely fat, in the arctic +regions. In nature the strong live on the weak and the intelligent on +the dull. There is no sentiment in nature. In her domain might, physical +or mental, makes right. Sentiments of right and justice are not highly +developed except among human beings, and even there they are so weakly +implanted that it takes but little provocation for civilized man to bare +his teeth in a wolfish snarl. + +With some vegetarianism is largely a matter of esthetics, ethics and +morality. Morality is based on expediency, so it really is a question +whether meat is an advantageous food or not. + +Another vegetarian argument is that man's anatomy proves that he was not +intended by nature to eat meat. Good arguments have been used on both +sides, but they are not very convincing nor are they conclusive. It is +hard to draw any lines fairly. + +Another objection to meat is that it is unclean and full of poisons, +that these poisons produce various diseases, such as cancer. We are also +informed that refined sugar causes cancer, and the belief in tomatoes as +a causative factor is not dead. Cancer is without doubt caused +principally by dietary indiscretions but it is impossible to single out +any one food. + +No matter what foods we eat, we are compelled to be careful or they will +be unclean. Those who wish clean meat can obtain it. The amount of +poison or waste in a proper portion of meat is so small that we need +give it no thought. Those who eat in moderation can take meat once a +day during cold weather and enjoy splendid health. During warm weather +it should be eaten more seldom. + +On the other hand, meat is not necessary. We need a certain amount of +protein, which we can obtain from nuts, eggs, milk, cheese, peanuts, +peas, beans, lentils, cereals and from other food in smaller amounts. +The amount of protein needed is small--about one-fifth of what the +physiologists used to recommend. + +Those who think meat eating is wrong should not partake of it. They can +get along very well without it. We are consuming entirely too much meat +in America. The organism can stand it if the life is active in the fresh +air, but it will not do for people who are housed. Much meat eating +causes physical degeneration. The body loses tone. Experiments have +shown that vegetarians have more resistance and endurance than the meat +eaters, but the meat eaters get so much stimulation from their food that +they can speed up in spurts. The excretions of meat eaters are more +poisonous than those of vegetarians. + +Eggs produced by hens fed largely on meat scraps do not keep as well as +those laid by hens feeding more on grains. In short, meat eating leads +to instability or degeneration, if carried to excess. Young children +should have none of it and it would be a very easy matter for the rising +generation to develop without using meat, and I believe this would be +better than our present plan of eating. However, let us give flesh food +the credit due it. When meat eaters are debilitated no other food seems +to act as kindly as meat, given with fruits or vegetables. When properly +prepared and taken in moderation meat digests easily and is quite +completely assimilated. + +Many make the mistake of living too exclusively on starch and taking it +in excess. The result is fermentation and an acid state of the +alimentary tract. Dr. Daniel S. Sager says that, "About all that we have +to fear in eating is excessive use of proteids." Experience and +observation do not bear out this statement, for it is as easy to find +people injured by starch as by protein. One form of poisoning is as bad +as the other. The doctor also warns against nearly all the succulent +vegetables, saying that on account of the indigestible fibre, most of +them are unfit for human consumption. + +Dr. E. H. Dewey condemned the apple as a disease-producer, and +inferentially, other fruits. + +Dr. Charles E. Page objects to the use of milk by adults, on the ground +that it is fit food only for the calves for whom nature intended it. +Many writers have repeated this opinion. + +Most of the regular physicians have a very vague idea of dietetics and +proper feeding. When asked what to eat they commonly say, "Eat plenty +nourishing food of the kinds that agree with you." They do not point out +the fundamentals to their patients. Sometimes they advise avoiding +combinations of milk and fruits. Sometimes they say that all starches +should be avoided and in the next breath prescribe toast, one of the +starchiest of foods. At times they proscribe pork and pickles but they +are seldom able to give a good diet prescription. What people need is a +fair knowledge of what to do and the don'ts will take care of +themselves. + +All foods have been condemned as unfit for human consumption by people +who should know. However, those who look at these matters with open eyes +and open minds will come to the conclusion that man is a very adaptable +animal; that if necessary he can get along without almost all foods, +being able to subsist on a very small variety; that he can live for a +long period on animal food entirely; that he can live all his life +without tasting flesh; that he can live on a mixed diet; that he can +adopt a great many plans of eating and live in health and comfort on +nearly all of them, provided he does not deprive himself of the natural +salts and gets some protein; and finally and most important, that +moderation is the chief factor in keeping well, for the best foods +produce disease in time if taken in excess. + +Those who object to flesh, dairy products, cereals, tubers, legumes, +refined sugars, fruits or vegetables, should do without the class which +they find objectionable, for it is easy to substitute from other +classes. Eggs, milk or legumes may be taken in place of flesh foods. The +salts contained in fruits may be obtained from vegetables. The starch, +which is the chief ingredient of cereals, is easily obtained from tubers +and legumes; fats and sugars will take its place. Commercial sugar is +not a necessity. The force and heat derived from it can be obtained from +starches and fats. + +Outside of milk in infancy, there is not a single indispensable food. +Some people have peculiarities which prevent them from eating certain +foods, such as pork, eggs, milk and strawberries, but with these +exceptions a healthy person can eat any food he pleases, provided he is +moderate. We eat too much flesh, sugar and starch and we suffer for it. +This does not prove that these foods are harmful, but that overeating is. + +Sometimes the food question becomes a very trying one in the home. One +individual has learned the fact that good results are obtained by using +good sense and judgment in combining and consuming food, and he tries to +force others to do as he does. This is unfortunate, for most people +object to such actions, and though the intention is good, it +accomplishes nothing, but prejudices others against sensible living. The +best way is to do right yourself and let others sin against themselves +and suffer until they are weary. Then, seeing how you got out of your +trouble, perhaps they will come to you and accept what you have to +offer. + +The attempt to force people to be good or to be healthy is merely wasted +effort. + +The chapter devoted to Menus gives definite information regarding the +proper manner in which to combine foods and arrange meals. Such +information is also given in treating of the different classes of food. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +WHEN TO EAT. + +Three meals a day is the common plan. This is a matter of habit. Three +meals a day are sufficient and should not be exceeded by man, woman or +child. Lunching or "piecing" should never be indulged in. Children who +are fed on plain, nutritious foods that contain the necessary food +elements do not need lunches. Lunching is also a matter of habit, and we +can safely say that it is a bad habit. + +If three meals a day are taken, two should be light. He who wishes to +work efficiently can not eat three hearty meals a day. If it is brain +work, the digestive organs will take so much of the blood supply that an +insufficient amount of blood will be left to nourish the brain. The +worker feels the lack of energy. He is not inclined to do thorough work, +that is, to go to the root of matters, and he therefore does indifferent +work. One rule to which there is no exception is that the brain can not +do its best when the digestive organs are working hard. If there is a +piece of work to be done or a problem to be solved that requires all of +one's powers it is best to tackle it with an empty stomach, or after a +very light meal. + +If the work is physical, it is not necessary to draw the line so fine. +But it is well to remember that hard physical work prevents digestion. +All experiments prove this. So if the labor is very trying, the eating +should be light. Those who eat much because they work hard will soon +wear themselves out, for hard work retards digestion, and with weakened +digestion the more that is eaten, the less nourishment is extracted from +it. Those who labor hard should take a light breakfast and the same kind +of a noon meal. After the day's work is done, take a hearty meal. Those +who perform hard physical labor, as well as those who work chiefly with +their brains, should relax a while after the noon meal. A nap lasting +ten to twenty minutes is very beneficial, but not necessary if +relaxation is taken. + +During sleep the activities of the body slow down. Most people who take +a heavy meal and retire immediately thereafter feel uncomfortable when +they wake in the morning. The reason is that the food did not digest +well. It is always well to remain up at least two hours after eating a +hearty meal. + +Most people would be better off if they took but two meals a day. Those +who have sedentary occupations need less fuel than manual laborers, and +could get along very well on two meals a day. However, if moderation is +practiced, no harm will come from eating three times a day. + +In olden times many people lived on one meal a day. Some do so today and +get along very well. It is easy to get plenty of nourishment from one +meal, and it has the advantage of not taking so much time. Most of us +spend too much time preparing for meals and eating. Once when it was +rather inconvenient to get more meals, I lived for ten months on one +meal a day. I enjoyed my food very much and was well nourished. For +twelve years I have lived on two meals a day, one of them often +consisting of nothing but some juicy fruit. Many others do likewise, not +because they are prejudiced against three meals per day, but they find +the two meal plan more convenient and very satisfactory. + +Meat, potatoes and bread, with other foods, three times a day is a +common combination. No ordinary mortal can live in health on such a +diet. Such feeding results in discomfort and disease, and unless it is +changed, in premature aging and death. The body needs only a certain +amount of material. Sufficient can be taken in two meals. If three meals +is the custom less food at a meal should be eaten. However, the general +rule is that those who eat three meals per day eat fully as large ones +as those who take only two. + +As a rule, the meal times should be regular. We need a certain amount of +nourishment, and it is well to take it regularly. This reduces friction, +and is conducive to health, for the body is easily taught to fall into +habits of regularity and works best when these are observed. + +There should be a period of at least four and one-half to five hours +between meals. It takes that long for the body to get a meal out of the +way. Stomach digestion is but the beginning of the process, and this +alone requires from two to five hours. + +On the two-meal plan it makes very little difference whether the +breakfast or the lunch is omitted. After going without breakfast for a +week or two, one does not miss it. Miss the meal that it is the most +troublesome to get. Dr. Dewey revived interest in the no-breakfast plan +in this country. He considered it very beneficial. The doctor did not +give credit where credit is due, for he insisted on going without +breakfast. Omitting lunch or dinner accomplishes the same thing. He got +his beneficial results from reducing the number of meals, and +consequently the amount of food taken, but it is immaterial which meal +is omitted. + +Heavy breakfasts are very common in England and in our country. On the +European continent they do not eat so much for breakfast, a cup of +coffee and one roll being a favorite morning meal there. To eat nothing +in the morning is better than to take coffee and rolls. To eat enough to +steal one's brain away is a poor way to begin the day. Much better work +could be done on some fruit or a glass of milk, or some cereal and +butter than on eggs, steak potatoes, hot bread and coffee, which is not +an uncommon breakfast. + +When we consider the best time to eat, we come back to our old friend, +moderation, and find that it is the best solution of the question, for +if the meals are moderate we may with benefit take three meals a day, +but no more, for there is not time enough during the day to digest more +than three meals. However, it is not necessary to eat three times a day. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +HOW TO EAT. + +It seems that all of us ought to know how to eat, for we have much +practice; yet the individuals who know the true principles of nourishing +the body are comparatively few. Very few healers are able to give full +and explicit directions on this important subject. Some can give partial +instructions, but we need a full working knowledge. + +In one period of our racial history there were times when it was +difficult to obtain food, as it is now among some savage people. Then it +was without doubt customary to gorge, as it is among some savages now +when they get a plenteous supply of food, especially of flesh food. Even +among so-called civilized people, the distribution of food is so uneven +that some are in want somewhere, nearly all the time. In parts of +Russia, we are informed, the peasants go into a state of +semi-hibernation during part of the winter, living on very small +quantities of inferior food. + +With rapid transportation and the extensive use of power-propelled +machinery, famine should be unheard of in civilized countries. In our +land there is a sufficient quantity of food and people seldom suffer +because they have not enough, but considerable suffering is due to +excessive intake and to poor quality of food. Weight for weight, white +bread is not as valuable as whole wheat bread, though it contains as +much starch. Measure for measure, boiled milk is inferior as a food to +untreated milk, either fresh or clabbered. Such facts make it necessary +for us to know how to eat. + +The correct principles of taking nourishment to the best advantage have +been fairly well known for a long time, and perhaps they have been fully +discussed years ago by some author, but so far as I know Dr. E. H. Dewey +is the first one who grouped them and gave them the prominence they +deserve. He employed many pages in explaining clearly and forcibly these +principles, which can be briefly stated as follows: + +First, Be guided by the appetite in eating. Eat only when there is +hunger. + +Second, During acute illness fast, that is, live on water. + +Third, Be moderate in eating. + +Fourth, Masticate your food thoroughly. + +Dr. J. H. Tilden teaches his patients the same in these words: + +"Never eat when you feel badly. + +"Never eat when you have no desire. + +"Do not overeat. + +"Thoroughly masticate and insalivate all your food." + +Because these true dietetic principles are so important, probably being +the most valuable information given in this book, let us give them +enough consideration to fix them in the mind. They should be a part of +every child's education. They should be so thoroughly learned that they +become second nature, for if they are observed disease is practically +impossible. Accidents may happen, but no serious disease can develop and +certainly none of a chronic nature if these rules are observed, provided +the individual gives himself half a chance in other ways. When the +eating is correct, it is difficult to fall into bad habits mentally. +Correct eating is a powerful aid to health. Health tends to produce +proper thinking, which in turn leads the individual to proper acting. + +_First, Eat only when there is hunger_: Hunger is of two kinds, normal +and abnormal. The real or normal hunger was given us by nature to make +us active enough to get food. If it were not for hunger, there would be +no special incentive for the young to partake of nourishment and +consequently many would die comfortably of starvation, perhaps enough to +endanger the life of the race. Normal hunger asks for food, but no +special kind of food. It is satisfied with anything that is clean and +nourishing. It is strong enough to make a decided demand for food, but +if there is no food to be had it will be satisfied for the time being +with a glass of water and will cause no great inconvenience. + +Abnormal hunger is entirely different. It is a very insistent craving +and if it is not satisfied it produces bodily discomfort, perhaps +headache. The gnawing remains and gives the victim no rest. Very often +it must be pampered. It calls for beefsteak, or toast and tea, or +sweets, or some other special food. If not satisfied the results may be +nervousness, weakness or headache or some other disagreeable symptom. + +When missing a meal or two brings discomfort, it is always a sign of a +degenerating or degenerated body. A healthy person can go a day without +food without any inconvenience. He feels a keen desire for food at meal +times, but as soon as he has made up his mind that he is unable to get +it or that he is not going to take any the hunger leaves. Normal hunger +is a servant. Abnormal hunger is a hard master. + +A person in good condition does not get weak from missing a few meals. +One in poor physical condition does, although this is more apparent than +real. In the abnormal person a part of the food is used as nourishment, +but on account of the poor working of the digestive organs, a part +decomposes and this acts as an irritant or a stimulant. The greater the +irritation the more food is demanded. The temporary stimulation is +followed by depression and then the sufferer is wretched. This +depression is relieved by more food. Please note that it is relieved, +not cured. The relief is only temporary. + +All food stimulates, but only slightly. It is when the food decomposes +that it becomes stimulating enough to cause trouble. It is well to +remember that considerable alcoholic fermentation can take place in an +abused alimentary tract. The stimulation obtained from too much food is +very much like the stimulation derived from alcohol, tobacco or +morphine. At first there is a feeling of well-being, which is followed +by a miserable feeling of depression that demands food, alcohol, tobacco +or morphine for relief, as the case may be, and no matter which habit is +obtaining mastery, to indulge it is courting disaster. When a habit +begins to assert itself strongly, break it, for later on it will be very +difficult, so difficult that most people lack the will power to overcome +it. + +If there is abnormal hunger, reduce the food intake. Instead of eating +five or six times a day, reduce the meals to two or three. It is quite +common for such people to take lunches, which may consist of candies, +ice cream, cakes, milk or buttermilk and various other things which most +people do not look upon as real food. Take two or three meals a day, and +let a large part of them be fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. Eat in +moderation and the troublesome abnormal hunger will soon leave. By +indulging it you increase it. + +Many people get into trouble because they believe that they have to have +protein, starch and fat at every meal. This is not necessary, for the +blood takes up enough nourishment to last for quite a while. A supply of +the various food elements once a day is sufficient, which means that +protein needs be taken but once a day, starch once a day and fat once a +day. Starch and fat serve the same purpose and one can be replaced by +the other. + +Cultivate a normal hunger, then fix two or three periods in which to +take nourishment, and partake of nothing but water outside of these +periods. If there is no desire for food when meal time comes, eat +nothing, but drink all the water desired and wait until next meal time. + +_Second, During acute illness fast_: This is so obviously correct that +we should expect every normal individual to be guided by it. Even the +lower animals know this and act accordingly. + +According to this rule we should go without food when ill, but to do so +is contrary to the teachings of medical men. They teach that when people +are ill there is much waste, which is true, and that for this reason it +is necessary to partake of a generous amount of nourishing food, so they +give milk, broth, meat, toast and other foods, together with stimulants. +Feeding during illness would be all right if the body could take care of +the food, which it can not. In all severe diseases digestion is almost +or quite at a standstill and the food given under the circumstances +decomposes in the alimentary tract and furnishes additional poison for +the system to excrete. Food under the circumstances is a detriment and a +burden to the body. In fevers, the temperature goes up after feeding. +This shows that more poison has entered the blood. In fevers little or +none of the digestive fluids is secreted, but the alimentary tract is so +warm that the food decomposes quickly. Feeding during acute attacks of +disease is one of the most serious and fatal of errors. There is an +aversion to food, which is nature's request that none be taken. + +When an animal becomes seriously ill, it wants to fast, and does so +unless man interferes. Here we could with advantage do as the animals +do. Nature made no mistake when she took hunger away in acute diseases, +and if we disregard her desires, we invariably suffer for it. + +We should make it a rule to take no food, either liquid or solid, during +acute disease. + +Those who have had no opportunity to watch the rapidity with which +people recover from serious illness may take the ground that sick people +would starve to death if they were to be treated thus, for some of these +acute diseases last a long time. Typhoid fever, for instance, +occasionally lasts two or three months. It never lasts that long when +treated by natural means, and it is very mild, as a rule. The fever will +be gone in from seven to fourteen days in the vast majority of cases, +and then feeding can be resumed. + +Chronic disease is often due to neglected acute disease, at other times +to the building of abnormality through errors of life which have not +resulted in acute troubles. While acquiring chronic disease, the +individual may be fairly comfortable, but he is never up to par. Most +chronic diseases can be cured quickly by taking a fast, but usually it +is not necessary to take a complete fast. The desire for food is not +generally absent and there is usually fair power to digest. One of the +most satisfactory methods, if not the most satisfactory one, of treating +chronic disease is to reduce the food intake, and instead of giving so +much of the concentrated staples, feed more of the succulent vegetables +and the fresh fruits, cooked and raw, using but small quantities of +flesh, bread, potatoes and sugar. This gives the body a chance to throw +off impurities. There are always many impurities in a deranged body. + +_Third, Be moderate in your eating_: This is often very difficult, for +most people do not know what moderation is. In infancy the too frequent +feeding and the overfeeding begin. The common belief that infants must +be fed every two hours, or oftener, is acted upon. The result is that +the child soon loses its normal hunger, which is replaced by abnormal +hunger. When food is long withheld it begins to fret. The mother again +feeds and there is peace for an hour or so. When mothers learn to feed +their children three times a day and no more there will be a great +decrease in infant ills and a falling off in the infant mortality. The +healthiest children I have seen are fed but three times a day. They +become used to it and expect no more. + +Another thing that makes it difficult to be moderate is impoverishing +the food through refinement and poor cooking. These processes take away +a great part of the mineral salts which are present in foods in organic +form. These salts can not be replaced by table salt, for sodium chloride +is but one of many salts that the body needs and an excess of table salt +does not make up for a deficiency in the others. + +Children fed on refined, impoverished foods are not satisfied with a +reasonable amount. There is something lacking and this makes itself +known in cravings, which demand more food than is needed to nourish. I +have noticed many times that children are satisfied with less of whole +wheat bread than of white bread, and that the brown unpolished rice +satisfies them more quickly and completely than the polished rice. In +other words, depriving the foods of their salts is one of the factors +that leads to overeating. + +Simplicity is a great aid to moderation. It is also necessary to +exercise the conservative measure, self-control. Some writers suggest to +eat all that is desired and then fast at various intervals to overcome +the effects of overeating. In other words, they advise to eat enough to +become diseased and then fast to cure the trouble. This is better than +to continue the eating when the evil results of an excessive food intake +make themselves known, but it does not bring the best results. Such +people have their spells of sickness, which are unnecessary. If they +stop eating as soon as the disease makes itself known, it does not last +long. By exercising self-control sickness will be warded off. By using +will power daily it grows stronger and those who force themselves to be +moderate at first, are in time rewarded by having moderation become +second nature. + +People should always stop eating before they are full. Those who eat +until they are uncomfortable are gluttons. They should be classed with +drunkards and drug addicts. + +If discomfort follows a meal it is a sign of overeating. It would be +well to read this in connection with the chapter that treats of +overeating. + +_Fourth, Thoroughly masticate all food_: Horace Fletcher has written a +very enthusiastic book on this subject. Enthusiasm is apt to lead one +astray, and even if thorough mastication will not do all that Mr. +Fletcher believed, it is very important, and we owe Mr. Fletcher thanks +for calling our attention to the subject forcibly. + +Thorough mastication partially checks overeating. + +Our foods have to be finely divided and subdivided or they can not be +thoroughly acted upon by the digestive juices. The stomach is well +muscled and churns the food about, helping to comminute it, but it can +not take the place of the teeth. All foods should be thoroughly +masticated. While the mastication is going on the saliva becomes mixed +with the food. In the saliva is the ptyalin, which begins to digest the +starch. Starch that is well masticated is not so liable to ferment as +that which gets scant attention in the mouth. Starches and nuts need the +most thorough mastication. If thorough mastication were the rule, meat +gluttons would be fewer, for when flesh is well chewed large quantities +cause nausea. + +Milk digests best when it is rolled around in the mouth long enough to +be mixed with saliva. To treat milk as a drink is a mistake, for it is a +very nourishing food. + +All kinds of nuts must be well masticated. If they are not they can not +be well digested, for the digestive organs are unable to break down big +pieces of the hard nut meats. + +The succulent vegetables contain considerable starch. If mastication is +slighted they often ferment enough to produce considerable gas. + +Fruits are generally eaten too rapidly, and therefore often produce bad +results. Even green fruits can be eaten with impunity if they are very +thoroughly masticated. + +Those who are fond enough of liquors to take an excess should sip their +alcoholic beverages very slowly, tasting every drop before swallowing. +This would decrease their consumption of liquor greatly. + +Even water should not be gulped down. It should be taken rather slowly, +especially on hot days. During hot weather many drink too much water. +This tendency can usually be overcome by avoiding iced water and by +drinking slowly. + +These four rules should be a part of your vital knowledge. If you forget +everything else in this book, please remember them and try to put them +into practice: + + _Eat only when hungry. + During acute illness fast. + Be moderate in your eating. + Thoroughly masticate all food._ + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS. + +Food is anything which, when taken into the body under proper +conditions, is broken down and taken into the blood and utilized for +building, repairing or the production of heat or energy. + +There are various forms of foods, which can be divided into two classes: +First, nitrogenous foods or proteins. Second, carbonaceous, foods, under +which caption come the sugars, starches and fats. Salts and water are +not usually classified as foods, though they should be, for life is +impossible without either. + +The chief proteins are: First, the albuminoids, which are represented by +the albumin in eggs, the casein in milk and cheese, the myosin of muscle +and the gluten of wheat. Second, the gelatinoids, which are represented +by the ossein of bones, which can be made into glue, and the collogen of +tendons. Third, nitrogen extractives, which are the chief ingredients in +beef tea. They are easily removed from flesh by soaking it while raw in +cold water. They are rich in flavor and are stimulating. They have +absolutely no food value. Beef tea, and other related extracts, are not +foods. They are stimulants. In truth they are of no value, and those who +purchase such preparations pay a high price and get nothing in return. + +The sugars and starches are grouped under the name of carbohydrates, +which means that they are a combination of water and carbon. There are +various forms of sugar. About 4 per cent of milk is milk sugar, which +agrees better with the young than any other kind of sugar. It is not so +soluble in water as the refined cane sugar, and therefore not so sweet, +but it is fully as nourishing. Honey is a mixture of various kinds of +sugars. Cane sugar is taken principally from sugar beets and sugar cane. +There is no chemical difference between the products of canes and beets. +Sugars can not be utilized by the blood until it has changed them into +other forms of sugar. + +The use of sugar is rapidly increasing. Several centuries ago it was +used as a drug. It was doubtless as effective as a curing agent as our +drugs are today. Until within the last sixty or seventy years it has not +been used as a staple food. Now it is one of our chief foods. Not so +very long ago but ten pounds of sugar per capita were used annually, but +now we are consuming about ninety pounds each annually, that is, about +four ounces per day. Many people look upon sugar as a flavoring, which +it is in a measure, but it is also one of our most concentrated foods. + +That this great consumption of sugar is harmful there is no doubt. +Physicians who practiced when the use of sugar was increasing very +rapidly called attention to the increasing decay of teeth. Sugar, as it +appears upon the table is an unsatisfied compound. It does not appear in +concentrated form in nature, but mixed with vegetable and mineral +matters, and when the pure sugar is put into solution it seeks these +matters. It is especially hungry for calcium and will therefore rob the +bones, the teeth and the blood of this important salt, if it can not be +had otherwise. The most noticeable effect is the decay of the teeth. + +I have read considerable literature of late blaming sugar for producing +many diseases, among them tuberculosis and cancer. Improper feeding is +the chief cause of these diseases, but to blame sugar for all ills of +that kind is far from arriving at the truth. Cancer and tuberculosis +killed vast numbers of people before sugar was used as a staple. If we +wish to get at the root of any trouble, it is necessary for us to bury +our prejudices and be broad minded. + +People who eat much sugar should also partake liberally of fresh raw +fruits and vegetables, in order to supply the salts in which sugar is +deficient. Lump sugar is practically pure, and therefore a poorer +article of diet than any other form of sugar, for man can not live on +carbon without salts. + +Grape sugar and fruit sugar are the same chemically. Another name for +them is dextrose, and in the form of dextrose sugar is ready to be taken +up by the blood. + +Children like sweets, but it is just as easy to give them the sweet +fruits, such as good figs, dates and raisins, as it is to give them +commercial sugar and candy, and it is much better for their health. +Children who get used to the sweet fruits do not care very much for +candies. The sugar in these fruits is not concentrated enough to be an +irritant and it contains the salts needed by the body. Hence it does not +rob the body of any of its necessary constituents. Because the fruit +sugar, taken in fruit form, is not so concentrated and irritating as the +common sugar, the child is satisfied with less. + +Sugar is an irritant of the mucous membrane and therefore stimulates the +appetite. This is true only when it is taken in excess in its artificial +form, and it does not matter whether it is sugar, jelly or jam. For this +reason jellies and jams should be used sparingly, because it is not +necessary to stimulate the appetite. Those who resort to stimulation +overeat. When much sugar is taken, it not only irritates the stomach, +but it even inflames this organ. + +Sugar is a preservative, and like all other preservatives it delays +digestion, if taken in great quantities, and four ounces per day make a +great quantity. The digestive organs rebel if they are given as much of +sugar as they will tolerate of starch. When taken in excess sugar +ferments easily, producing much gas, which is followed by serious +results. + +Sugar is changed into forms less sweet by acids and heat. The ferment +invertin also acts upon sugars. + +Sugar is a valuable food, but we are abusing it, and therefore it is +doing us physical harm. The quantity should be reduced, and families who +are using four ounces per person per day, as statistics indicate that +most are doing, should reduce the intake to about one-third of this +amount. It would be well to take as much of the sugar as possible in the +form of sweet fruits. + +It is a fact that sugar is easy to digest and that one can soon get +energy from it, but feeding is not merely a question of giving +digestible aliments, but a question of using foods that are beneficial +in the long run. The moderate use of this food is all right, but excess +is always bad. Starches need more change than sugars before they can be +absorbed by the blood, but they give better results. Chemically there is +but small difference between starch and sugar. The starch must be +changed into dextrose, a form of sugar, before it can be utilized by the +body. + +The human body contains a small amount of a substance called glycogen, +which is an animal starch or sugar. This glycogen is burned. Sugar is a +force food. It combines with oxygen and gives heat and energy. The waste +product is carbonic acid gas, which is carried by the blood to the lungs +and then exhaled. + +Honey and maple sugar are good foods, but overconsumption is harmful. + +Sugar eating is largely a habit. Because the sugar has so much of the +life and so many of the necessary salts removed in its refinement it is +a good food only when taken in small quantities. Nature demands of us +that we do not get too refined in our habits, for excessive refinement +is followed by decay. It is easy to overcome the tendency to overeat of +sugar. + +Some spoil the most delicious watermelon by heaping sugar or salt, or +both, upon it. In this way the flavor is lost. There is not a raw fruit +on the market which is as finely flavored after it has been sugared as +it was before. True, those who have ruined their sense of taste object +to the tartness and natural acidity of various foods, but they are not +judges and can not be until they have regained a normal taste, which can +only be done by living on natural foods for a while. + +Fats are obtained most plentifully from nuts, legumes, dairy products +and animal foods. They are the most concentrated of all foods, yielding +over twice the amount of heat or energy that we can obtain from the same +weight of pure sugar, starch or protein. Many who think they are +moderate eaters consume enough butter to put them in the glutton class. + +Salts are present in all natural foods of which we partake. + +Water is indispensable, for the body has to have fluids in order to +perform its functions. + +Foods are burned in the body. They are valuable in proportion to the +completeness with which they are digested and assimilated and the ease +with which this process is accomplished. It takes energy to digest food +and if the food is very indigestible it takes too much energy. + +The following remarks on digestibility are according to the best +knowledge we have on the subject: + +As a general rule, the protein of meat and fish is more completely and +more quickly digested than the protein in vegetable foods. The reason is +that the vegetable protein is found in cells which are protected by the +indigestible cellulose which covers each cell. This covering is not +always broken and then the digestive juices are practically powerless. + +The legumes, which are rich in protein, are comparatively hard to +digest. If properly prepared and eaten, they give little or no trouble, +but they are generally cooked soft and the mastication is slighted. The +result is fermentation. Beans, peas and lentils should be very well +chewed, and eaten in moderation, for they are rich both in starch and +protein. + +Nuts are as a rule not as completely digested as meats and animal fats, +and the principal reason is that they are eaten too rapidly and +masticated too little. Nuts properly masticated, taken in correct +combinations and amounts agree very well. It is not necessary, as many +believe, to salt them in order to prevent indigestion. + +In the following pages will be found a number of diet tables, giving +compositions and fuel values of various foods which have been grouped +for the sake of convenience, for the foods in each group are quite +similar. These tables are not complete, for to list every food would +take too much space. I have simply selected a representative list from +the various classes of foods. Under flesh are given fish, meats and +eggs. Under succulent vegetables are given both root and top vegetables, +because of their similarity. Nuts, cereals, legumes, tubers and fruits +are each grouped because it is easy to gain an understanding of them in +this way. Milk is given a rather long chapter of its own because of its +great importance in the morning of life. + +Allow me to repeat that it is impossible to figure out the calories in a +given amount of food and then give enough food to furnish so many +calories and thus obtain good results. I have already given the key to +the amount of food to eat, and it is the only kind of key that works +well. However, it is very helpful to have a knowledge of food values. + +The calorie is the unit of heat, and heat is convertible into energy. A +calorie is the heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of +water one degree C. To translate into common terms, it is the heat +required to raise one pound of water four degrees F. + + One pound of protein produces 1,860 calories. + One pound of sugar produces 1,860 calories. + One pound of starch produces 1,860 calories. + One pound of oil or fat produces 4,220 calories. + +For the scientific facts regarding foods I have consulted various works, +especially the following: Diet and Dietetics, by Gauthier; Foods, by +Tibbles; Food Inspection and Analyses, by Leach; Foods and their +Adulteration, by Wiley; Commercial Organic Analysis, by Allan. However, +I am most indebted to the numerous bulletins issued by the U. S. +Department of Agriculture. All who make a study of foods and their value +owe a great debt to W. O. Atwater and Chas. D. Wood, who have worked so +long and faithfully to increase our knowledge regarding foods. + +As we consider the various groups of foods, directions are given for the +best way of cooking, but no fancy cooking is considered. Those who wish +fancy, indigestible dishes should consult the popular cook books. + +The women have it in their power to raise the health standard fifty to +one hundred per cent by cooking for health instead of catering to +spoiled palates, and by learning to combine foods more sensibly than +they have in the past. The art of cooking has made its appeal almost +entirely to the palate. This art is not on as high level as the science +of cooking, which gives foods that build healthy bodies. The right way +of cooking is simpler, quicker and easier than the conventional method, +and gives food that is superior in flavor. After the normal taste has +been ruined, it takes a few months to acquire a natural taste again so +that good foods will be enjoyed. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +FLESH FOODS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Beef, average 72.03 21.42 5.41 .... 1.14 .... + Veal, lean 78.84 19.86 .82 .... .50 .... + Mutton, average 75.99 17.11 5.77 .... 1.33 .... + Pork, average fat 47.40 14.54 37.34 .... .72 .... + Pork, average lean 72.57 20.25 6.81 .... 1.10 .... + Rabbit 66.80 22.22 9.76 .... 1.17 .... + Chicken, fat 70.06 19.59 9.34 .... .91 .... + Turkey 65.60 24.70 8.50 .... 1.20 .... + Goose 38.02 15.91 45.59 .... .49 .... + Pigeon 75.10 22.90 1.00 .... 1.00 .... + Duck, wild 69.89 25.49 3.69 .... .93 .... + Black bass 76.7 20.4 1.7 .... 1.2 450 + Sea bass 79.3 18.8 .5 .... 1.4 370 + Cod, steaks 82.5 16.3 .3 .... .9 315 + Halibut, steaks 75.4 18.3 5.2 .... 1.1 560 + Herring 74.67 14.55 9.03 .... 1.78 .... + Mackerel 73.4 18.2 7.1 .... 1.3 640 + Perch, white 75.7 19.1 4.0 .... 1.2 525 + Pickerel 79.8 18.6 .5 .... 1.1 365 + Salmon 71.4 19.9 7.4 .... 1.3 680 + Salmon trout 69.1 18.2 11.4 .... 1.3 820 + Shad 70.6 18.6 9.5 .... 1.3 745 + Sturgeon 78.7 18.0 1.9 .... 1.4 415 + Trout, brook 77.8 18.9 2.1 .... 1.2 440 + Clams, long 85.8 8.6 1.0 2.00 2.6 240 + Clams, round 86.2 6.5 .4 4.20 2.7 215 + Lobster 79.2 16.4 1.8 .40 2.2 390 + Oyster in shell 86.9 6.2 1.2 3.70 2.0 230 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The food value of meat depends on the amount of fat and protein it +contains. Lean meat may contain less than four hundred calories per +pound, while very fat meat may contain more than one thousand five +hundred calories. + +These foods are eaten because they are rich in protein. Protein is the +great builder and repairer of the body. It forms the framework for both +bone and muscle. We can get along very well without starch or sugar or +fat, but it is absolutely necessary to have proteid foods. They are the +only ones that contain nitrogen, which is essential to animal life. + +Nitrogenous foods are used not only to build and repair, but in the end +they are burned, supplying as much heat as the same weight of sugar or +starch. + +Proteid foods are generally taken to excess. To most people they are +very palatable, and they are generally prepared in a manner that renders +rapid eating easy. Besides, meats contain flavoring and stimulating +principles, called extractives, which increase the desire for them. The +consequence is that those who eat meat often have a tendency to eat too +much. Excessive meat eating often leads to consumption of large +quantities of liquor. Stimulants crave company. + +As will be noted, most fish and meat contain about 20 per cent. of +protein, while about 75 per cent. is water. The fatter the meat, the +less water it contains, and the more fuel value it has. The leaner the +meat, the more watery the animal, and the more easily is the flesh +digested. Beef is fatter than veal and harder to digest. Also, the flesh +of old animals is more highly flavored than that of the young ones, +because it contains more salts. For this reason people who have a +tendency to the formation of foreign deposits, as is the case with those +who have rheumatism and gout or hardening of the arteries, should take +the flesh of young animals when it is obtainable. + +In the past we have been taught to partake of excessive amounts of +protein. The prescribed amount for the average adult has been about five +ounces. If we were to obtain all the protein from meat, this would +necessitate eating about twenty-five ounces of meat daily. However, +inasmuch as there is considerable protein in the cereals and milk, and a +little in most fruits and vegetables, a pound of meat would probably +suffice under the old plan. A few physicians have known that such an +intake of protein is excessive, and now the physiologists are learning +the same. It has lately been determined experimentally that the body +needs only about an ounce of protein daily, which will be supplied by +about five ounces of flesh. Three or four ounces of flesh daily make a +liberal allowance, for it is supplemented by protein in other foods. + +Workers eat large quantities of flesh because they think they need a +great deal. The fact is that very little more protein is needed by those +who do hard physical labor than by brain workers. The extra energy +needed calls for more carbohydrates, not for protein. + +When the organism is supplied with sugar, starch and fat, or one of +these, the protein of the body is saved, only a very small amount being +used to replace the waste through wear and tear. Though protein can be +burned in the body, it is not an economical fuel, either from a +physiological or financial standpoint. The energy obtained from flesh +costs much more than the same amount of energy obtained from +carbonaceous foods. Ten acres of ground well cultivated can raise enough +cereals and vegetables to support a number of people, but if this amount +of land is used for raising animals, it will support but a few. The +protein obtained from peas, beans and lentils is cheap, but these foods +do not appeal to the popular palate as much as flesh. + +Meat immediately after being killed is soft. After a while it goes into +a state of rigidity known as rigor mortis. Then it begins to soften +again. This third stage is really a form of decay, called ripening. It +is believed that the lactic acid formed is one of the principal agents +producing this softening. Some people enjoy their meats, especially that +of fowls and game, ripe enough to deserve the name of rotten. The +ripening produces many chemical changes in the meat, which give the +flesh more flavor. Consequently those who indulge are very apt to +overeat. It is a fact that those who eat much flesh go into degeneration +more quickly than those who are moderate flesh eaters and depend largely +on the vegetable kingdom for food. + +If an excess of good meat causes degeneration, there is no reason to +doubt that partaking of overripe foods is even worse. + +All meat contains waste. If the flesh comes from healthy animals and is +eaten in moderation this waste is so small that it will cause no +inconvenience, for a healthy body is able to take care of it. If too +much is eaten, the results are serious. Overeating of flesh is followed +by excessive production of urea and uric acid products. Some of these +may be deposited in various parts of the body, while the urea is mostly +excreted by the kidneys. The kidneys do not thrive under overwork any +more than other organs. The vast majority of cases of diabetes and +Bright's disease are caused by overworking the digestive organs. Too +much food is absorbed into the blood and the excretory organs have to +work overtime to get rid of the excess. + +Meats are easily spoiled. They should be kept in a cold place and not +very long. Fresh meat and fish are more easily digested than those which +are salted, or preserved in any other way. Pickled meats should be used +rarely The same is true of fish. + +Ptomaines, or animal poisons, form easily in flesh foods. These are very +dangerous, and it is not safe to eat tainted flesh, even after it is +cooked. Fish decomposes quickly and fish poisoning is probably even more +severe than meat poisoning. Fish should be killed immediately after it +is caught, for experiments have shown that the flesh of fish kept +captive after the manner of fishers degenerates very rapidly. Fish +should be eaten while fresh. Even when the best precautions have been +taken, it is somewhat risky to partake of fish that has been shipped +from afar. + +Flesh foods are more easily and completely digested than the protein +derived from the vegetable kingdom. + +From the table it will be noted that some fish is fat and some is lean. +The ones containing more than 5 per cent of fat should be considered fat +fish. These are somewhat harder to digest than the lean ones, but they +are more nutritious. + +Shell fish is generally low in food value and if taken as nourishment is +very expensive. However, most people eat this food for its flavor. + + +COOKING. + +Cooking is an art that should be learned according to correct +principles. Every physician should be a good cook. He should be able to +go into the kitchen and show the housewife how to prepare foods +properly. Medical men who are well versed in food preparation and able +to make good food prescriptions have no need of drugs. + +The flesh of animals is composed of fibres. These fibres are surrounded +by connective tissue which is tough. The cooking softens and breaks down +these tissues, thus rendering it easier for the digestive juices to +penetrate and dissolve them. That is, proper cooking does this. Poor +cooking generally renders the meats indigestible. + +The simpler the cooking, the more digestible will be the food. Flavors +are developed in the process, but these are hidden if the meats are +highly seasoned. + +_Boiling_: When meats are boiled they lose muscle sugar, flavoring +extracts, organic acids, gelatin, mineral matters and soluble albumin. +That is, they lose both flavor and nourishment. Therefore the liquid in +which they are cooked should be used. + +The proper way to boil meat is to plunge it into plain boiling water. +Allow the water to boil hard for ten or fifteen minutes. This coagulates +the outer part of the piece of meat. Then lower the temperature of the +water to about 180 degrees F. and cook until it suits the taste. If it +is allowed to boil at a high temperature a long time, it becomes tough, +for the albumin will coagulate throughout. + +Salt extracts the water from meat. Therefore none of it should be used +in boiling. The meat should be cooked in plain water with no addition. +No vegetables and no cereals are to be added. All meats contain some +fat, and this comes into the water and acts upon the vegetables and +starches, making them indigestible. Season the meat after it is cooked, +or better still, let everyone season it to suit the taste after serving. + +Meats that are to be boiled should never be soaked, for the cold water +dissolves out some of the salts and some of the flavoring extracts, as +well as a part of the nutritive substances. It is better to simply wash +the meat if it does not look fresh and clean enough to appeal to the +eye, which it always should be. + +_Stewing_: If meat is to be stewed, cut into small pieces and stew or +simmer at a temperature of about 180 degrees F. until it is tender. It +is to be stewed in plain water. If a meat and vegetable stew is desired, +stew the vegetables in one dish, and the meat in another. When both are +done, mix. By cooking thus a stew is made that will not "repeat" if it +is properly eaten. Foods should taste while being eaten, not afterwards. + +_Broths_: If a broth is desired, select lean meat. Either grind it or +chop it up fine. There is no objection to soaking the meat in cold +water, provided this water is used in making the broth. Use no +seasoning. Let it stew or simmer at about 180 degrees F. until the +strength of the meat is largely in the water. + +When the broth is done, set it aside to cool. Then skim off all the fat +and warm it up and use. One pound of lean meat will produce a quart of +quite strong broth. + +_Broiling_: Cut the meat into desired thickness. Place near intense +fire, turning occasionally, until done. Be careful not to burn the +flesh. An ordinary steak should be broiled in about ten minutes. Of +course, the time depends on the thickness of the cut and whether it is +desired rare, medium or well done, and in this let the individual suit +himself, for he will digest the meat best the way he enjoys it most. + +Beefsteak smothered in onions is a favorite dish. It is not a good way +to prepare either the onions or the steak. A better way is to broil both +the steak and the onions, or broil the steak, cut the onions in slices +about one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick, add a little water and +bake them. Beefsteak and onions prepared in this way are both palatable +and easy to digest. + +_Roasting_ is just like broiling, that is, cooking a piece of meat +before an open fire. Here we use a larger piece of meat and it therefore +takes longer. Of old roasting was quite common, but now we seldom roast +meat in this country. + +_Baking_: Here we place the meat in an enclosed oven. Most of our +so-called roast meats are baked. The oven for the first ten or fifteen +minutes should be very hot, about 400 degrees F. This heat seals the +outside of the meat up quite well. Then let the heat be reduced to about +260 degrees F. If it is kept at a high temperature it will produce a +tough piece of meat. The time the meat should be in the oven depends +upon the size of the piece of meat and how well done it is desired. + +While baking, some of the juices and a part of the fat escape. About +every fifteen minutes, baste the meat with its own juice. A few minutes +before the meat is to be removed from the oven it may be sprinkled with +a small amount of salt, and so may broiled and roasted meats a little +while before they are done. However, many prefer to season their own +foods or eat them without seasoning and they should be allowed to do so. + +_Steaming_: This is an excellent way of cooking. None of the food value +is lost. Put the meat in the steamer and allow it to remain until done. +The cheapest and toughest cuts of meat, which are fully as good as the +more expensive ones and often better flavored, can be rendered very +tender by steaming. Tough birds can be treated in the same way. An +excellent way to cook an old hen or an old turkey is to steam until +tender and then put into a hot oven for a few minutes to brown. Some +birds are so tough that they can not be made eatable by either boiling +or baking, but steaming makes them tender. + +It is best to avoid starchy dressings, in fact dressings of all kinds. A +well cooked bird needs none, and dressing does not save a poorly cooked +one. Most dressings are very difficult to digest. + +_Fireless cooking_: Every household should have either a good steamer or +a fireless cooker. Both are savers of time and fuel and food. They +emancipate the women. Those who have fireless cookers and plan their +meals properly do not need to spend much time in the kitchen. + +Place the meat in the fireless cooker, following the directions which +accompany it. However, if they tell you to season the meat, omit this +part. + +_Smothering_ is a modification of baking. Any kind of meat may be +smothered, but it is especially fine for chickens. Take a young bird, +separate it into joints, place into a pan, add a pint of boiling water. +If chicken is lean put in a little butter, but if fat use no butter. +Cover the pan tightly and place in oven and let it bake. A chicken +weighing two and one-half pounds when dressed will require baking for +one hour and fifteen minutes. Keep the cover on the baking pan until the +chicken is done, not raising it even once. Gravy will be found in the +pan. + +Pressed chicken is very good. Get a hen about a year old. Place it into +steamer or fireless cooker until so tender that the flesh readily falls +from the bones. Remove the bones, but keep the skin with the meat. Chop +it up. Place in dish or jar, salting very lightly. Over the chopped-up +meat place a plate and on this a weight, and allow it to press over +night. Then it is ready to slice and serve. This is very convenient for +outings. + +Fish should preferably be baked or broiled. It may also be boiled, but +it boils to pieces rather easily and loses a part of its food value. It +must be handled with great care. No seasoning is to be used. When served +a little salt and drawn butter or oil may be added as dressing. + +_Frying_ is an objectionable method of cooking. It is generally held, +and with good reason, that when grease at a high temperature is forced +into flesh, it becomes very indigestible. In fact the crust formed on +the outside of the flesh can not be digested. It is folly to prepare +food so that it proves injurious. + +However, there is a way of using the frying pan so that practically no +harm is done. Grease the pan very lightly, just enough to prevent the +flesh from sticking. Make the pan very hot and place the meat in it. +Turn the meat frequently. Fries (young chickens) may be cooked in this +way with good results. The same is true of steaks and chops. + +Avoid greasy cooking. It is an abomination that helps to kill thousands +of people annually. + +_Paper bag cooking_ is all right if it is convenient. Those who have +good steamers or fireless cookers will not find it of special advantage. + +Brown flour gravies are not fit to eat. If there is any gravy serve it +as it comes from the pan without mixing it with flour or other starches. +It may be put over the meat or used as dressing for the vegetables. Milk +gravies are also to be avoided. Use only the natural gravies. + +Oysters may be eaten raw or stewed. Stew the oysters in a little water. +Heat the milk and mix. Eat with cooked succulent vegetables and with raw +salad vegetables. It is best to leave the crackers out. The oysters +themselves contain very little nourishment, but when made into a milk +stew the result is very nutritious. + +Eggs should be fresh. Some bakers buy spoiled eggs and use them for +their fancy cakes and cookies. This is a very objectionable practice and +may be one of the reasons that bakers' cookies never taste like those +"mother used to make." Eggs take the place of fish, meat or nuts, for +they are rich in protein. They may be taken raw, rare or well done. + +Eggs may be boiled, poached, steamed or baked. Soft boiled eggs require +about three and one-half minutes. Hard boiled ones require from fifteen +to twenty minutes. The albumin of an egg boiled six or seven minutes is +tough. When boiled longer it becomes mellow. Eggs may be made into +omelettes or scrambled, but the pan should be lightly greased and quite +hot so that the cooking will be quickly done. Eggs are variously treated +for an omelette. Some cooks add nothing but water and this makes a +delicate dish. Others use milk, cream or butter, and beat. + +Bacon is a relish and may be taken occasionally with any other food. It +should be well done, fried or broiled until quite crisp. This is one +place where frying is not objectionable. + +Pork should rarely be used. It is too fat and rich and requires too long +to digest. When eaten it should be taken in the simplest of +combinations, such as pork and succulent vegetables or juicy fruits, +either cooked or raw, and nothing else. + +Flesh may be eaten more freely in winter than in summer. Meat especially +should be eaten very sparingly during hot weather, for it is too +stimulating and heating. Nuts, eggs and fish are then better forms in +which to take protein. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Flesh foods combine best with the succulent vegetables and the salad +vegetables or with juicy fruits. It is more usual to take vegetables +with flesh than to take fruit, but those who prefer fruit may take it +with equally as good results. Both fruits and vegetables are rich in +tissue salts, in which flesh foods are rather deficient. The succulent +vegetables contain some starch and the juicy fruits some sugar, but not +enough to do any harm. They both act as fillers. + +Flesh is quite concentrated and it is customary to take it with other +concentrated foods, such as bread and potatoes. As a result too much +food is ingested. It would be a splendid rule to make to avoid bread and +potatoes when flesh food is taken, but if this seems too rigid, make it +a rule never to eat all three at the same meal. It is best to eat the +flesh foods without bread or potatoes, but if starch is desired, take +only one kind at a time. + +Most people crave a certain amount of food as filler, and they have +fallen into the habit of using bread and potatoes for this purpose. This +is a mistake. Use the juicy fruits and the succulent vegetables for +filling purposes and thus get sufficient salts and avoid the many ills +that come from eating great quantities of concentrated foods. + +When possible, have a raw salad vegetable or two with the meat or fish +meal. + +Eat only one concentrated albuminous food at a meal. If you have meat, +take no fish, eggs, nuts or cheese. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +NUTS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Acorns 4.1 8.1 37.4 48.0 2.4 2718 + Almonds 4.8 21.0 54.9 17.3 2.0 3030 + Brazil nuts 5.3 17.0 66.8 7.0 3.9 3329 + Filberts 3.7 15.6 65.3 13.0 2.4 3432 + Hickory nuts 3.7 15.4 67.4 11.4 2.1 3495 + Pecans 3.0 11.0 71.2 13.3 1.5 3633 + English walnuts 2.8 16.7 64.4 14.8 1.3 3305 + Chestnuts, dried 5.9 10.7 7.0 74.2 2.2 1875 + Butternuts 4.5 27.9 61.2 3.4 3.0 3371 + Cocoanuts 14.1 5.7 50.6 27.9 1.7 2986 + Pistachio nuts 4.2 22.6 54.5 15.6 3.1 3010 + Peanuts, roasted 1.6 30.5 49.2 16.2 2.5 3177 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Nuts vary a great deal in composition. They are generally the seeds of +trees, enclosed in shells, but other substances are also called nuts. +The representative nuts are rich in fat and protein, containing some +carbohydrate (sugar or starch.) + +A few nuts, such as the acorn, cocoanut and chestnut, are very rich in +starch, and these should be classified as starchy foods. Very few foods +contain as high per cent of starch as the dry chestnut. In southern +Europe chestnuts are made into flour, and this is made into bread or +cakes. An inferior bread is also made of acorn flour. Chestnuts may be +boiled or roasted. They are very nutritious. + +The more representative nuts are pecans, filberts, Brazil nuts and +walnuts. These may be used in place of flesh foods, for they furnish +both protein and fats. If the kernel is surrounded by a tough membrane, +as is the case in walnuts and almonds, it should be blanched, which +consists in putting the kernel in very hot water for a little while and +then removing this membrane. The pecan, though it does not contain very +much protein, is one of the best nuts, one which can be eaten often +without producing dislike. + +Nuts have the reputation of being hard to digest. If they are not well +masticated they are very hard to digest indeed, but when they are well +masticated they digest almost as completely as do flesh foods and they +produce no digestive troubles. + +One reason that nuts have obtained a bad reputation is that they are +often eaten at the end of a heavy meal, when perhaps two or three times +too much food has already been ingested. The result is indigestion and +the sufferer swears off on nuts. If he had sense enough to reduce his +intake of bread, potatoes, meat, pudding and coffee, the benefit would +be very great. The tendency is for the sufferer from indigestion to pick +out a certain food and blame all the trouble on that, when in truth the +combinations and the quantity of food are to blame. + +Some vegetarians make nuts one of their principal foods. We can easily +get along without flesh, for we can obtain all the protein needed from +milk, eggs, nuts and legumes. However, people who are used to flesh are +able to digest it when they can take hardly anything else. The foods +which we prefer are taken largely because we have become accustomed to +them and have formed a liking for them, not because they are the very +best from which to select. + + +COOKING. + +_Nut butter_: Take the nut meats, clean away all the skins and grind +fine in a nut mill. Then form into a pasty substance with or without the +addition of oil or water, to suit the individual taste. Most nut butters +are very agreeable in flavor. Sometimes the nuts are roasted and +sometimes they are not. Almond butter is very good. The nut butters soon +spoil if left exposed to the air, for the oils they contain turn rancid. + +Peanut butter can be made by taking clean kernels of freshly roasted +peanuts and grinding fine. Some are very fond of this butter. Cocoanut +and cocoa butters are not made in this way. They are purified fats, the +former from cocoanuts, the latter from the cocoa bean. + +_Nut milk_: Take nut butter and mix with water until it is of the +desired consistency. Cocoanuts contain a sweet liquid which is called +cocoanut milk. However, the artificial cocoanut milk is made by pouring +a pint of boiling water over the flesh of a freshly grated cocoanut. Let +it stand until cold and strain. If it is allowed to stand some hours the +fat will rise to the top and form cream. This milk is used by some who +object to the use of animal products. + +Various meals are made from nuts and made into food for the sick. This +does no harm, nor does it do any special good. These meals contain more +or less starch and the action of starches is much the same, no matter +what the source. Please remember that there are no health foods. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Nuts are especially fine in combination with fruits. Fresh pecan meats +and mild apples make a meal fit for the gods. Nuts may be used in any +combination in which flesh is used, that is, they take the place of +flesh foods. The starchy nuts take the place of starchy foods. + +A good meal is made of a fruit salad, consisting of two or three kinds +of fresh fruits and nuts. + +Nuts or nut butter with toast also make a good meal. + +Nuts have such fine flavor that cooks should think twice before spoiling +them. It is very difficult to use them in cookery and get a product that +is as finely flavored as the original nuts. The vegetarians use them in +compounding what they call roasts, cutlets, steaks, etc. My experience +with these imitation products has not been of the best, for though my +digestive organs are strong, they do not take kindly to these mixtures. +Some of my friends report the same results, in spite of thorough +mastication and moderation. These imitation roasts and cutlets usually +contain much starch and there is no reason to believe that it is better +to cook nut oils into starchy foods than it is to use any other form of +fat for this purpose. Those who like starch and nuts can make a splendid +meal of nut meats and whole wheat biscuits or zwieback. + +In eating nuts, always remember that the mastication must be thorough. +It takes grinding to break up the solid nut meats and the stomach and +bowels have no teeth. Those who can not chew well should use the nuts in +the form of butter. + +Ordinarily two ounces of nut meats, or less, are sufficient for a meal. + +At present prices, nuts are not expensive, as compared with meat. Meat +is mostly water. Lean meat produces from five to seven hundred calories +to the pound. Nut meats produce from twenty-seven to thirty-three +hundred calories per pound. In other words, a pound of nut meats has the +same fuel value as about five pounds of lean meat, but not as great +protein value. + +Those who are not used to nuts have a tendency to overeat, but this is +largely overcome as soon as people become accustomed to them. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +LEGUMES. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + _Fresh Legumes_: + String beans ......... 89.2 2.3 0.3 7.4 0.8 195 + Shelled limas ........ 68.5 7.1 0.7 22.0 1.7 570 + Shelled peas ......... 74.6 7.0 0.5 16.9 1.0 465 + + _Dried Legumes_: + + Lima beans ........... 10.4 18.1 1.5 65.9 4.1 1625 + Navy beans ........... 12.6 22.5 1.8 59.6 3.5 1605 + Lentils .............. 8.4 25.7 1.0 59.2 5.7 1620 + Dried peas ........... 9.5 24.6 1.0 62.0 2.9 1655 + Soy beans ............ 10.8 34.0 16.8 33.7 4.7 1970 + Peanuts .............. 9.2 25.8 38.6 24.4 2.0 2560 + --------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Analyses of all foods are approximate. The food value varies with the +conditions under which the foods are grown and is not always even +approximately the same. + +The fresh young legumes may be classed with the succulent vegetables. +The matured, dried legumes are to be classed both as starchy and proteid +foods. They are very easily raised and consequently cheap. They are the +cheapest source of protein that we have. Peas and beans are very +important foods in Europe. In this country we consume enormous +quantities of beans. In Mexico they use a great deal of frijoles, the +poor people having this bean at nearly every meal. In China they make +the soy beans into various dishes. The lentil is much used in Europe and +is gaining favor here, as it should, for it is splendid food, with a +flavor of its own. Peanuts, which are really not nuts, but leguminous +plants growing their seeds under the ground, are used extensively as +food for man and beast. + +These foods are much alike in composition, the soy bean being +exceptionally rich in protein. + +These foods have the undeserved reputation of being indigestible and of +producing flatulence. They are a little more difficult to digest than +some other foods, but they cause no trouble if they are taken in simple +combinations and in moderation, provided they have been properly +prepared. + +It is necessary to masticate these foods very well, and avoid +overeating. They are generally so soft that they are swallowed without +proper mouth preparation. The result is that too much is taken of these +rich foods, after which there is indigestion accompanied by gas +production. + +One rather peculiar food belonging to the legumes is the locust bean or +St. John's bread, which we can sometimes obtain at the candy stores. It +grows near the Mediterranean and is used in places for cattle feed. It +is so sweet that it is eaten as a confection. Its name is due to the +fact that they say St. John lived on this bean and wild honey. If he did +he must have had a sweet tooth. Others say that the saint really +devoured grasshoppers. It is not easy to decide, but I prefer to believe +that he was a vegetarian. + + +COOKING. + +The fresh young legumes are to be considered in the same class as +succulent vegetables, which are dealt with in the next chapter. + +Ripe peas, beans and lentils may be cooked alike. + +In cooking ripe legumes, try to get as soft water as possible. Hard +water contains salts of lime and magnesia and these prevent the +softening of the legumes. + +_Bean soup_: Clean the beans and wash them. Let them soak over night. +Cook them in the same water in which they have been soaked, until +tender. They are to be cooked in plain water without any seasoning and +with the addition of neither fats, starches nor other vegetables. When +the beans are done, meat stock and other vegetables may be added, if +desired. Pea soup is made in the same way. + +The reason for not draining away the water in which the beans are soaked +is that it takes up some of the valuable salts, the phosphates for +instance. The addition of seasoning or fat while they are cooking makes +the beans indigestible. + +_Baked beans_: Clean and wash well. Soak them over night. Let them boil +about three and one-half to four hours, using the water in which they +were soaked. Then put them into the oven to bake. They are to be cooked +plain and no fat or seasoning is to be added while they are baking. +After they are done you may add some form of fatty dressing, such as +bacon, which has been stewed in a separate dish, or you may dress them +with butter and salt when they are served. Cooked this way they digest +much more easily than when cooked in the ordinary way with tomatoes and +grease. Some prefer to add either sugar or molasses to the beans when +they are put into the oven. Avoid too much sweetening. Lentils may be +baked in the same way. + +_Boiled beans_: The same as bean soup, except that less water is used. +Dressing may be the same as for baked beans. Lentils and peas may be +treated in the same way. + +Beans and corn may be cooked together. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +The legumes are so very rich that they should be eaten in very simple +combinations. It is best to take them with some of the raw salad +vegetables and nothing else, or with the raw salad vegetables and one of +the stewed succulent vegetables. The legumes contain all the protein and +all the force food the body needs, so it is useless to add meat, bread +and potatoes. Tomatoes and other acid foods should not be used in the +same meal, yet beans and tomatoes or beans and catsup are very common +combinations. + +A plate of bean soup makes a good lunch. Bean soup or baked or boiled +beans with succulent vegetables, raw and cooked, give all the +nourishment needed in a dinner. + +Pea and bean flours can be purchased on the market. These flours can not +be made into dough, but they may be used for thickening. They contain +more protein than ordinary flour. + +Both peas and beans may be roasted, but they are rather difficult to +masticate. Roasted peas have a fine flavor. Roasted peanuts are a +nutritious food, and may be taken in place of peas or beans. + +More legumes and less flesh foods will help to reduce the cost of +living. Taken in moderation and well masticated, the legumes are +excellent foods. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +SUCCULENT VEGETABLES. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Asparagus........ 93.96 1.83 2.55 2.55 .67 ..... + Beet............. 87.5 1.6 .01 8.8 1.10 215 + Cabbage.......... 90.52 2.39 .37 3.85 1.40 ..... + Carrot........... 88.2 1.1 .4 8.2 1.00 219 + Cauliflower...... 90.82 1.62 .79 4.94 .81 ..... + Cucumber......... 95.4 .8 .2 3.1 .5 80 + Egg plant........ 92.93 1.15 .31 4.34 .5 ..... + Pumpkin.......... 93.39 .91 .12 3.93 .67 ..... + Lettuce.......... 94.17 1.2 .3 2.9 .9 90 + Okra............. 87.41 1.99 .4 6.04 .74 ..... + Onion............ 87.6 1.6 .3 9.9 .6 225 + Parsnip.......... 83.0 1.6 .5 13.5 1.4 300 + Radish........... 91.8 1.3 .3 8.3 1.0 135 + Squash........... 88.3 1.4 .5 9.0 .8 215 + Tomato........... 94.3 .9 .4 3.9 .5 105 + Spinach.......... 90.6 2.50 .5 3.8 1.7 ..... + Kohlrabi......... 87.1 2.6 .2 7.1 1.7 ..... + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Lima beans and shelled peas are generally included in this list, though +the young lima beans contain about 20 per cent. starch. + +Look at the cabbage analysis for kale and Brussels sprouts. They are +much alike. + +Most of the vegetables contain from one-half of one per cent. to two per +cent. of indigestible fibre, which is not listed above. + +This is but a partial list of the succulent vegetables. In addition may +be mentioned artichokes of the green or cone variety, chard, string +beans, celery, corn on the cob, turnips, turnip tops, lotus, endive, +dandelion and garlic. + +These vegetables produce but little energy, for most of them are not +rich in protein, fat and carbohydrates, but they have considerable +salts, which are given in the tables as ash. Their juices help to keep +the blood alkaline, and it would be well for people to get into the +habit of eating these foods, not only cooked, but some of them raw. The +salts are very easily disturbed and in cooking they are somewhat +changed. The best salts we get when we consume natural foods, such as +raw fruits and raw vegetables and milk. + +Another function of the succulent vegetables is to take up space in the +stomach. Many like to eat until they feel comfortably full, but if they +indulge in concentrated foods to this extent they overeat. The succulent +vegetables have the merit of taking up much space without furnishing +very much nourishment and they should, therefore, be used as +space-fillers. However, they contain enough nourishment to be well worth +eating, and most of them are excellent in flavor. This flavor is not +appreciated by those who eat much meat and drink much alcohol. + +The liberal use of these cooked vegetables has a tendency to prevent +constipation, and some of them are called laxative foods, such as stewed +onions and spinach. + + +PREPARATION. + +These vegetables may be either steamed or prepared in a fireless cooker. + +The usual way is to cook them in water. Clean the vegetables. Then put +them on to cook in enough water to keep from burning, but use no +seasoning. When the vegetables are tender there should be only a little +fluid left and those who eat of the vegetables should take their share +of this fluid, for it may contain as high as one-half to two-thirds of +the salts. When served, let each one season to taste. Avoid the use of +vinegar and all other products of fermentation as much as possible. +Lemon juice will furnish all the acid needed for dressing. + +The vegetables may be dressed with salt, or salt and butter, or salt and +olive oil, and at times with cream, or with the natural gravy from +meats, but avoid the use of flour and milk dressings, usually called +cream gravy. These vegetables may also be eaten without any dressing. + +The water is drained off from corn on the cob, asparagus, artichokes and +unpeeled beets. + +Vegetables should not be soaked in water, for they lose a part of their +value if this is done. Cucumbers may be soaked in water to remove a part +of the rank flavor, before being peeled. + +_Spinach_ is prepared as follows: Wash thoroughly. Put about two +tablespoonfuls of water in the bottom of the kettle. Put over the fire +and let the spinach wilt. Its juice will then begin to pour out and the +spinach will cook in its own juice. Let it cook slowly until tender. +Serve the spinach with its proportion of the juice. At first this will +taste rather strong, but after a while a person will not want the dry, +tasteless mess that is drained, usually served in hotels and +restaurants. If some of the roots are left on the spinach, it tastes +milder. The roots contain sugar. + +Some of these vegetables, such as summer squash, onions and parsnips may +be baked. Onions are very good sliced and broiled, but they should never +be fried. Beets are good baked, and especially is this true of sugar +beets. Radishes are very delicate and delicious when peeled and boiled, +but their preparation is tedious. Egg plant is to be stewed, but not +fried. As usually served, dipped in egg, rolled in crumbs and fried it +is very indigestible. + +Beet greens are excellent. They are best if the beets are pulled very +young and both the roots and the leaves are used. Turnip tops, +dandelion, mustard and Swiss chard are other greens that are good. All +of them are prepared like spinach, except that more water is necessary. +However, do not use much water. + +Those who say that the various vegetables are unfit to eat and act +accordingly are missing some good food. The vegetables all contain crude +fibre, but they hurt the stomach and intestinal walls no more than they +hurt the mucous membrane of the tongue. They furnish some bulk for the +intestines to act upon, which is good and proper. All animals need some +bulky food, otherwise they become constipated. + +Tomatoes are best raw. If they are stewed they are to be cooked plain. +Adding crackers and bread crumbs is a mistake. They taste all right +without sugar, but a little may be used as dressing. + +_Vegetable soup_: Take equal parts of about four vegetables, any that +you like. Slice and cook in plain water until tender. When done add +enough water or hot milk to make it of the right consistency. Season to +taste. One of the constituents may be starchy, such as potatoes, barley +or rice, but the rest should be succulent vegetables. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +The succulent vegetables may be combined with all other foods. They go +well with flesh or milk or nuts or starchy foods. With flesh or nuts +they make a very satisfying meal. They may be taken with fruit. The +tomato grows as a vegetable, but for practical purposes it is a fruit. +The tomato combines well with protein, but not so well with the starchy +foods. + + +SALAD VEGETABLES. + +If possible, salads should be made entirely of raw vegetables and raw +fruits. The chief salad vegetables are celery, lettuce, tomatoes, +cucumbers, cabbage, onions and garlic, the two last mentioned being used +for flavoring. + +Dr. Tilden, who has done much to popularize raw vegetable salads, has a +favorite, which he calls by his own name. It is equal parts of lettuce, +tomatoes and cucumbers, with a small piece of onion. Chop up coarse and +dress with salt and olive oil and lemon juice. This is all right for +those who like it, but many do not care for such a complex salad with +such dressing. Some of the combination salads that are served are +wonderful mixtures, containing as many as seven or eight vegetables and +a complex dressing. + +Raw onions are too irritating to use in large quantities, and the same +is true of garlic. The best salads contain but two or three ingredients. +Take any two of the vegetables mentioned, such as lettuce and tomatoes; +lettuce and cucumbers; cabbage and celery; celery and tomatoes, or eat +simply one of these green vegetables raw. It is a good thing to eat some +of those salad vegetables daily. If your digestion is excellent, you +may occasionally take raw carrots or turnips, and a few raw spinach +leaves are tasty for a change. Never mind if people tease you about +eating grass, for it helps you to keep well. + +Dress the raw vegetables as your taste allows. Most people want some +salt, or salt and lemon juice, or a little sugar, or cream, or salt and +olive oil, or salt, olive oil and lemon juice, or mayonnaise on their +salad vegetables. Some eat them without any dressing and the flavor is +excellent. Tasty salad can be made of fruit and vegetables, using no +dressing, but strewing some nuts over the dish. On warm days, such a +salad makes a satisfactory lunch. + +It is all right to make a fruit and vegetable salad. Instead of using +tomatoes, take strawberries, apples, grapes, or any other acid fruit. +These fruits may be combined with cabbage, lettuce, celery or cucumbers. +Do not mix too many foods in a meal, for to do so is indicative of poor +taste. Those with refined palates like simple meals, and there is no +reason for making salads so complex, when simplicity is a requirement +for building health. However, a complex salad made of raw vegetables and +raw juicy fruits does not play so much havoc as a mixture of +concentrated foods. + +Lettuce and celery are the most satisfactory salad vegetables to mix +with fruits. + +People who eat raw fruits do not need to eat the raw salad vegetables, +for fruits and vegetables supply the same salts. Those who avoid both +raw fruits and raw vegetables are not treating their bodies fairly. + +The vegetable salads are most satisfactory when taken in combination +with flesh, nuts or eggs, together with cooked succulent vegetables. +They may be eaten with starchy foods, but then they should contain +little or no acid. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +CEREAL FOODS. + + ==================================================================== + Carbohy- + Water Protein Fat drates Ash + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Barley. 10.9 12.4 1.8 72.5 2.4 + Buckwheat. 12.6 10.0 2.2 73.2 2.0 + Corn. 9.3 9.9 2.8 76.3 1.5 + Kafir corn. 16.8 6.6 3.8 70.6 2.2 + Oats. 11.0 11.8 5.0 69.2 3.0 + Rice. 12.4 7.4 .4 79.4 .4 + Rye. 11.6 10.6 1.0 73.7 1.9 + Wheat, spring. 10.4 12.5 2.2 73.0 1.9 + Wheat, winter. 10.5 11.8 2.1 73.8 1.8 + First patent flour. 10.55 11.08 1.15 76.85 0.37 + Whole wheat flour. 10.81 12.26 2.24 73.67 1.02 + Graham flour. 8.61 12.65 2.44 74.58 1.72 + Bread, ordinary white. 37.65 10.13 .64 51.14 .44 + Bread, whole wheat. 41.31 10.60 1.04 46.11 .94 + Bread, Graham. 42.20 10.65 1.12 44.58 1.45 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The cereal foods are important because of their wide distribution and +the ease with which they can be prepared and utilized as food. They are +very productive and need but little care and hence are a cheap food. The +body can digest and absorb sugar and starch more completely than any +other kind of food. + +All civilized people have a favorite cereal. The Chinese and Japanese +use rice very extensively, and this grain is growing in favor with us. +White people generally prefer wheat, which is an excellent grain that +has been used by man for thousands of years. It has been found in +ancient Egyptian tombs, and it is so retentive of life that it has +started to grow after lying dormant for several thousand years. Truly it +is a worthy food for man. + +The table of cereals should be carefully studied. It will be seen that +the grains contain much starch, a little fat, and considerable protein. +They also carry sufficient of salts, but only a small amount of water. + +Please note further that patent flour loses nearly all of its salts. +Patent flour is the product that is left after all the bran and +practically all of the germ have been removed from the wheat. Whole +wheat flour, or entire wheat flour, is the name given to the flour that +has had a great part of the outer covering of the wheat kernel removed. +It is a misnomer. Graham flour, named after Dr. Graham, is the product +of the whole wheat kernel, and it will be noted that it is richer in +salts and protein than the white flour and the whole wheat flour. The +whole wheat flour and Graham flour we find on the market are often the +result of blending, which is also true of the patent flour. + +As we would expect, the various breads are rich or poor in salts +according to the flours from which they are made. + +All the cereals are good foods, but inasmuch as wheat and rice are used +most extensively, they will receive more attention than the rest. + +Wheat is perhaps the best and most balanced of all our cereals. The +whole wheat with the addition of a little milk is sufficient to support +life indefinitely. It is one of the foods of which people never seem to +tire. Tiring of food is often an indication of excess. It is with food +as with amusement, if we get too much we become blase. Those who eat in +moderation are content with simple foods, but those who eat too much +want a great variety, as a rule. There are beef gluttons, who are +satisfied with their flesh and liquor, but this is because the meats are +so stimulating. + +Inasmuch as we use so much wheat, it is important that we use it +properly. Today people want refined foods, and in refining they spoil +many of our best food products. Sugar is too refined for health, rice +suffers through refinement, and so does wheat. The wheat kernel contains +all the elements needed to support life. In making fine white flour of +it, at least three-fourths of the essential salts are removed. This robs +the wheat of a large part of its life-imparting elements, and makes of +it starvation food. If much white bread is consumed it is necessary to +supplement it by taking large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, +not necessarily in the same meal, in order to get the salts that have +been removed in the process of milling. + +The salts are found principally in the coats of the wheat, and in +removing these coats and the germ, not only the salts, but considerable +protein is lost. In other words, we remove most of the essential salts +and a considerable part of the building material of the wheat, and then +we eat the inferior product. The finer and whiter the flour, the poorer +it is. + +White flour has a very high starch content. The products made from it +are quite tasteless and lacking in flavor, unless flavoring is added. +Those who are used to whole wheat products find the white bread flat. It +is possible to consume large quantities of white bread, and yet not be +satisfied. There is something lacking. Whole wheat bread is more +satisfying and therefore the danger of overeating of it is not so great. + +The advocates of white flour say that the bran is too irritating for the +bowels and for this reason it should be rejected. There is no danger in +eating the entire kernel, after it is ground up. The particles of bran +are so fine that they do no harm. The intestines were evidently intended +for a little roughage, and it might as well come partly from wheat as +from other sources. The gentle stimulation produced by the bran helps to +keep the intestines active. It is noticeable that consumption of very +refined foods leads to constipation. + +Bran bread and bran biscuits are prescribed for constipation. This is +just as bad as removing the bran entirely. Man has never been able to +improve on the composition of the wheat berry. When an excess of bran is +eaten, it causes too great irritation and in the end the individual is +worse off than before. The after effect of irritation is always +depression and sluggishness. Recent experiments seem to show that it is +not the coarseness of the bran that causes activity of the bowels, but +that some of the contained salts are laxative, for the same results have +been obtained by soaking the bran in water and drinking the liquid. + +The products of refined flour are more completely and easily digested +than the whole wheat products. However, by eating in moderation and +masticating well every normal person is able to take good care of whole +wheat products, and the benefit of using the entire grain is so great +that we should hesitate about continuing the use of the refined flours +and white breads. + +In the French army it has been found that when the soldiers are fed on +refined flour products they are not so well nourished as when they have +whole wheat products, and that they must have more of other foods to +supplement the impoverished breadstuffs. It is difficult to get people +to realize how important it is to give the tissue salts with the foods. +Salts are absolutely essential to vital activity, and a lack of salts +always results in mental and physical depression and even in disease. + +No matter what adults are given, children should not be fed on white +flour products. They need all the salts in the wheat. Depriving them of +salts retards their development and results in decaying teeth and poor +bone formation, among other things. They do not feel satisfied with +their white flour foods. Therefore they overeat and get indigestion, +catarrh, adenoids and various other ills. It is not difficult for people +with observing eyes to note the difference in satisfaction of children +after they get impoverished foods and the natural foods. + +Anemia is very common among children, especially among the girls. The +chief reason is impoverished foods. Salts can be used by the animal +organism only after they have been elaborated by the vegetable kingdom. +To remove all the iron from wheat and then give inorganic iron, which +can not be assimilated, in its stead, is the height of folly. By all +means, use less of the white flour and more of the entire wheat flour. +If the white flour habit can not be given up, take enough raw fruit and +vegetables to make up for the loss of salts in milling. + +When rice is properly prepared it digests very easily. It is a little +poor in protein, but this can be remedied by taking some milk in the +same meal. + +The rice we ordinarily get is inferior to the natural product. First +they remove the bran. Then the flour is taken off. Then it is coated +with a mixture of glucose and talcum and polished. All this trouble is +taken to make it appeal to the eye. This impoverished rice is lacking in +salts. It will not support people in health. In the countries where +polished rice is fed in great quantities, they suffer a great deal from +degenerative diseases. One of these is beri-beri, in which there are +muscular weakness and degeneration, indigestion, disturbances of the +heart and often times anasarca. When people suffering from this disease +are given those parts of the rice grain lost in making polished rice, +they recover. This is proof enough that the cause of the disease is the +impoverished food. + +The rice that should be used is brown and unpolished. When it is cooked +it looks quite white. It is very satisfying. + +Rye is extensively used in some lands. The bread is very good. Oats are +largely devoured in Scotland. Corn bread is a favorite food in the +southern part of our country. The negroes are fond of corn and pork with +molasses, which is far from an ideal combination in warm climates. + + +PREPARATIONS. + +Wheat makes the best bread because it contains gluten. Among proteins +gluten is unique, because it is so elastic and after it has stretched it +has a tendency to retain its place. This is what makes bread so porous. +There are various meals or flours that can not be made into bread, or +even dough, because they lack compounds which will act as frame work. + +Bread can be made in many ways. The chief question for the housewife to +decide is whether to make the bread from entire wheat flour or from +patent flour. They are so different in value that a decision should not +be difficult. It is also necessary to decide whether to use yeast bread +or some other kind. + +Yeast bread is made essentially from flour, water and yeast in the +presence of heat. There are so many ways of making bread of this kind +that a recipe is not necessary. The amount of salt to be added depends +upon individual taste. Some like to set their yeast working in part +potato, part flour. Others use milk instead of water. Some add +shortening. And nearly all women believe that their own bread is the +best. + +Yeast is made up of myriads of little plants or fungi, which thrive on +the sugary part of the flour. They convert this into alcohol and +carbonic acid gas. The alcohol is practically all gone before the bread +is brought to the table. The gas raises the bread, assisted by the +expansion of the water in the dough when it is placed in a hot oven. + +The yeast consumes a great deal of the nutritive part of the flour. This +may amount to from 5 to 8 per cent. of the food value, and I have read +that sometimes it is as high as 20 per cent. Liebig said that the +fermentation destroyed enough food material daily in Germany to supply +400,000 people with bread. However, yeast bread is very agreeable to the +taste and therefore is probably worth more than the unfermented product. + +One objection to yeast bread is that all the yeast is not killed in +baking, and the alcoholic fermentation may start again in the stomach. +If the bread is turned into zwieback this is remedied. Fresh bread is +not fit to eat, for it is very rarely properly masticated and if it is +merely moistened and converted into a soggy mass in the mouth it is hard +to digest. + +Unleavened bread is made by making the flour into a paste, rolling out +thin and baking well. Any kind of flour may be used. This is the +passover bread of the Jews. + +Dr. Graham's bread was made by mixing Graham flour with water, without +any leavening, mixing the dough thoroughly, putting this aside several +hours and baking. + +Macaroni and spaghetti are made by mixing durum wheat flour with water, +without any leavening. With the addition of eggs we get commercial +noodles. The paste is moulded as desired. + +All bread stuffs should be well baked.. The baking turns part of the +starch into dextrine, which is easy to digest. Biscuits should be placed +into a hot oven, but bread should be put into an oven moderately heated, +otherwise the crust forms too quickly. + +Whenever a light product is desired, whether it is bread, biscuit or +cake, sift the flour over and over again to get it well impregnated with +air. The more air it contains the more porous will be the finished +product. Five or six siftings will suffice. + +Unleavened breads of excellent flavor can be made by using either cream +or butter as shortening, rolling the bread very thin, like crackers, and +baking thoroughly. + +Shredded wheat biscuits, puffed wheat and puffed rice, flaked wheat and +flaked corn are some of the good foods we can purchase ready made. Most +of them should be placed in a warm oven long enough to crisp. Masticate +thoroughly and take them with either butter or milk, or both. It is best +to take the milk either before or after eating the cereal. Sugar should +not be added to these foods. Those who are not hungry enough to eat them +without sugar should fast until normal hunger returns. + +_Baking powder bread_ is very good. The essentials are well sifted +flour, liquid, good baking powder, quick mixing and a hot oven. The +following recipe, recommended by Dr. Tilden, is good: To a quart of very +best flour, which has been sifted two or three times, add a little salt +and a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. Sift again three times. Then +add one or two tablespoonfuls of soft butter. Mix rapidly into a rather +stiff dough with unskimmed milk. The dough should be rolled thin, and +cut into small biscuits or strips. Put into a pan and bake in a hot oven +until there is a crisp crust on bottom and top, which will take about +twenty minutes. The more thoroughly and quickly the dough is mixed, the +better the result. + +These biscuits or bread sticks are good, always best when made rather +thin, not to exceed an inch in thickness after being baked. When an +attempt is made to bake in the form of a fairly thick loaf it is +generally a failure. Use the proportions of white and whole wheat flours +desired. + +If more butter or some cream is added and it is rolled out thin, it +serves very well for the bread part of shortcake. + +_Toast_: Slice any kind of bread fairly thin, preferably stale bread. +Place the slices into a moderately hot oven and let them remain there +until they are crisp through and through. The scorched bread that is +generally served as toast is no better than untoasted bread. + +_Whole wheat muffins_: One cup whole wheat flour; one cup white flour; +one-fourth cup sugar; one teaspoonful salt; one cup milk; one egg; two +tablespoonfuls melted butter; four teaspoonfuls baking powder. Mix dry +ingredients; add milk gradually, then eggs and melted butter. Put into +gem pans and bake in hot oven for twenty-five minutes. + +_Ginger bread_: One cup molasses; one and three-fourths teaspoons soda; +one-half cup sour milk; two cups flour; one-half teaspoon salt; +one-third cup butter; two eggs; two teaspoonfuls ginger. Put butter and +molasses in sauce pan and heat until boiling point is reached. Remove +from fire, add soda and beat vigorously. Then add milk, egg well beaten, +and remaining ingredients mixed and sifted. Bake twenty-five minutes in +buttered, shallow pan in moderate oven. + +_Custard_: Three cups milk; three eggs; one-half cup sugar; one-half +teaspoonful vanilla; pinch of salt. Beat eggs, add sugar and salt; then +add scalded milk and vanilla; mix well. Pour into cups, place them in a +pan of hot water in oven and bake twenty to twenty-five minutes. Serve +cold. + +Custard may also be cooked in double boiler or baked in a large pan. + +This is not a cereal dish, but the next one is. + +_Rice custard_: To well cooked rice add a few raisins and a small amount +of sugar. The raisins can be cooked with the rice or separately. Place +the rice and raisins in a baking dish, pour over an equal amount of raw +custard and bake as directed for custard. Bake in either individual cups +or pan. When done the layer of custard is on top and the rice and +raisins on the bottom. + +_Macaroni and cheese_: Three-fourths cup macaroni broken in pieces; two +quarts boiling water; one-half table-spoonful salt. Cook macaroni in +salted water twenty minutes, or longer if necessary to make it tender; +drain. Put layer of macaroni in buttered baking dish; sprinkle with +cheese, and repeat, making the last or top layer of cheese. Pour in milk +to almost cover. Put into oven and bake until the top layer of cheese is +brown. + +_Corn bread_: Two cups corn meal; one-half cup wheat flour; one +tablespoonful sugar; one-half teaspoonful salt; two teaspoonfuls baking +powder; two eggs; one and three-fourths cups milk. Sift corn meal, +flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together four or five times; add +eggs and milk; stir well, pour into a hot buttered pan; smooth the top +with a little melted butter to crisp the crust. Bake a good brown in hot +oven. + +Another recipe for corn bread is: To one cup of wheat flour, add two +cups of corn flour; two eggs; one heaping teaspoonful butter or +cottolene; one heaping teaspoonful baking powder; one pinch soda, a +scant fourth teaspoonful; one-half teaspoonful salt. Prepare and make +into batter with milk and bake as directed in first recipe. + +_Corn mush_: Cook corn meal in plain water until it is done. It may be +cooked over the fire, in a fireless cooker or in a double boiler. Serve +with rich milk; add a little salt if desired. + +_Oatmeal_: Put into a double boiler and let it cook until it is very +tender. It can also be cooked in a fireless cooker over night. It +requires several hours cooking before it is fit to eat. All foods of +this nature should be thoroughly cooked, and they may all be made into +porridge, which is better. + +The objection to all mushy foods is that they are hardly ever properly +masticated. The result is that they ferment in the alimentary tract, +especially when they are eaten with sugar, as they generally are. It is +best to take the mushy foods with milk and a little salt or with +butter. Eaten in this way there is not such tendency to overeat as when +sugar is used. Children especially eat more of these foods than is good +for them if they are allowed to take them with sweets. Porridge is more +diluted than the mushes and hence the danger of overeating is not so +great. + +_Boiled rice_: The best way to cook it is in a double boiler or a +fireless cooker. Every grain should be tender. Cook it in plan water. It +is not necessary to stir, but if the rice becomes dry add some more +water. If rice and milk are desired, warm the milk and add when the rice +is done. Serve like oatmeal. Putting sugar on cereals is nonsense. They +are very rich in starch and sugar is about the same as starch. Sugar +stimulates the appetite, and consequently people who use it on cereals +overeat of this concentrated food. + +_Rice and raisins_: This is prepared the same as boiled rice, except +that raisins are added to the rice and water when first put on to cook. +With milk this makes a good breakfast or lunch. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Starches of the cereal order may be eaten in combination with fats, such +as cream, butter, olive oil and other vegetable oils. + +They combine well with all the dairy products, such as milk and cheese. + +Starches combine well with nuts. Take a piece of whole wheat zwieback +and some pecans, chew both the bread and the nuts well and you will find +this an excellent meal. + +There is nothing incompatible about eating cereals with flesh, but it +generally leads to trouble, for people eat enough meat for a meal, and +then they eat enough starch for a full meal. This overeating is +injurious. Besides, starch digestion and meat digestion are different +and carried on in different parts of the alimentary tract, so it is best +to eat starchy foods and meats at different meals. Those who eat in +moderation may eat starch and flesh in the same meal without getting +into trouble. + +In winter it is all right to take starch with the sweet fruits. + +It is best to avoid mixing acid fruits and cereals. Even healthy people +find that a breakfast of oranges and bread does not agree as well as one +of milk and bread. The saliva, which contains ptyalin, is secreted in +the mouth. The ptyalin starts starch digestion, but it does not work in +the presence of acid. Eating acid fruits makes the mouth acid +temporarily, and consequently the starch does not receive the benefit it +should from mouth digestion. The result is an increased liability to +fermentation in the alimentary tract. + +To get the best results it is absolutely necessary to masticate all +starchy foods well. If this is not done it is merely a question of time +until there is indigestion, generally accompanied by much acidity and +gas production. This condition is a builder of many ills. + +Recipes for pies and cakes are not given in this book. The less these +compounds are used the better. They are very popular and can be made +according to directions in conventional cook books. Pies should be made +with thin crusts, which should be baked crisp both on bottom and top. +The best cakes are the plain ones. + +When desserts are eaten, less should be taken of other foods. Most +people make the mistake of eating more than enough of staple foods and +then they add insult to injury by partaking of dessert. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +TUBERS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Potato............ 78.3 2.2 0.1 18.0 1.0 375 + Sweet potato...... 51.9 3.0 2.1 42.1 .9 925 + Jerusalem artichoke. 78.7 2.5 0.2 17.5 1.1 + +The two tubers that are of chief interest are the Irish potato and the +sweet potato. The former is easily and cheaply grown on vast areas of +land and therefore forms a large part of the food of many people. +Properly prepared it is easily digested and very nourishing. + +The sweet potato is a richer food than the Irish potato, but on account +of its high sugar contents people soon weary of it. The southern negroes +are very fond of this food. + +Like all other starches, potatoes must be thoroughly masticated, or they +will disagree in time. Potatoes are of such consistency that they are +easily bolted without proper mouth preparation. In time the digestive +organs object. + +A new tuber is receiving considerable attention. It is the dasheen. It +is said to be of very agreeable flavor, mealy after cooking, and +produces tops that can be used in the same manner as asparagus. The +dasheen requires a rather warm climate for its growth. + + +PREPARATION. + +_Baking_: All the tubers may be baked. Clean and place in the oven; bake +until tender. A medium sized potato will bake in about an hour. If the +potatoes are soggy after being baked they are not well flavored. To +remedy this, run a fork into them after they have been in the oven for a +while; this allows some of the steam to escape and the potatoes become +mealy. When a fork can easily be run into the potato, it is well enough +done. + +If the potatoes are well cleaned, there is no objection to eating a part +of the jacket after they are baked. The finest flavoring is right under +the jacket. This part contains a large portion of the salts. + +_Boiling_: All tubers may be boiled. It is best to keep the jacket on, +otherwise a great deal of both the salts and the nourishment is lost. If +the potatoes boiled in the jacket seem too highly flavored, cut off one +of the ends before placing them in the water. It takes about thirty or +forty minutes to boil a medium sized Irish potato. Test with a fork, the +same as baked potato, to find if done. + +Potatoes should never be peeled and soaked. If they are to be boiled +without the jacket, they should be cooked immediately after being +peeled. + +Steamed potatoes are good. + +There is no objection to mashing potatoes and adding milk, cream or +butter, provided they are thoroughly masticated when eaten. If the +potatoes are mashed, this should be so thoroughly done that not a lump +is to be found. + +Potatoes cooked in grease are an abomination. The grease ruins a part of +the potato and makes the rest more difficult to digest. Potato chips, +French fried potatoes and German fried potatoes are too hard to digest +for people who live mostly indoors. They should be used very seldom. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Potatoes are best eaten in combinations such as given for cereals. They +are commonly taken with meat and bread. This combination is one of the +causes of overeating. Occasionally they may be eaten with flesh, but +this should not be a habit. Take them as the main part of the meal. +Baked potatoes and butter with a glass of milk make a very satisfying +meal. A good dinner can be made of potatoes with cooked succulent +vegetables and one or two of the raw salad vegetables, with the usual +dressings. It is best not to eat potatoes and acid fruits in the same +meal. + +In selecting food it is well to remember that as a general rule but one +heavy, concentrated food should be eaten at a meal, for when two, three +or even four concentrated foods are partaken of, the appetite is so +tempted and stimulated by each new dish that before one is aware of it +an excessive amount of food has been ingested. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +FRUITS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Etherial Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Extracts drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Apples........... 84.6 0.4 0.5 14.2 0.3 290 + Bananas.......... 75.3 1.3 0.6 22.0 0.8 460 + Figs, fresh...... 79.1 1.5 ... 18.8 0.6 380 + Lemons........... 89.3 1.0 0.7 8.5 0.5 205 + Muskmelons....... 89.5 0.6 ... 9.3 0.6 185 + Oranges.......... 86.9 0.8 0.2 11.6 0.5 240 + Peaches.......... 89.4 0.7 0.1 9.4 0.4 190 + Pears............ 80.9 1.0 0.5 17.2 0.4 ... + Persimmons....... 66.1 0.8 0.7 31.5 0.9 630 + Rhubarb, stalk... 94.4 0.6 0.7 3.6 0.7 105 + Strawberries..... 90.4 1.0 0.6 7.4 0.6 180 + Watermelon....... 92.4 0.4 0.2 6.7 0.3 140 + + _Dried Fruits_: + + Apples........... 26.1 1.6 2.2 68.1 2.0 1350 + Apricots......... 29.4 4.7 1.0 62.5 2.4 1290 + Citrons.......... 19.0 0.5 1.5 78.1 0.9 1525 + Dates............ 15.4 2.1 2.8 78.4 1.3 1615 + Figs............. 18.8 4.3 0.3 74.2 2.4 1475 + Prunes........... 22.3 2.1 ... 73.3 2.3 1400 + Raisins.......... 14.6 2.6 3.3 76.1 3.4 1605 + Currants......... 17.2 2.4 1.7 74.2 4.5 1495 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Apricots, avocados, blackberries, cherries, cranberries, currants, +gooseberries, grapes, huckleberries, mulberries, nectarines, olives, +pineapples, plums, raspberries and whortleberries are some of the other +juicy fruits. They are much like the apple in composition, containing +much water and generally from 6 to 15 per cent of carbohydrates (sugar). +Olives and avocados are rich in oil. + +You may classify rhubarb, watermelons and muskmelons as vegetables, if +you wish. On the table they seem more like fruit, which is the reason +they are given here. Melons are fine hot weather food. They are mostly +water, which is pure. During hot weather it is all right to make a meal +of melons and nothing else, at any time. The melons are so watery that +they dilute the gastric juice very much. The result is that when eaten +with concentrated foods they are liable to repeat, which indicates +indigestion. + +Fruits are not generally eaten for the great amount of nourishment to be +obtained from them. They are very pleasant in flavor and contain salts +and acids which are needed by the body. + +The various fluids of the body are alkaline, and the fruits furnish the +salts that help to keep them so. A few secretions and excretions are +naturally acid. Sometimes the body gets into a too acid state, but that +is very rarely due to overeating of fruit. It is generally caused by +pathological fermentation of food in the alimentary tract. The salts and +acids of fruits are broken up in the stomach and help to form alkaline +substances. + +The water of the fruit is very pure, distilled by nature. The acid +fruits are refreshing and helpful to those who have a tendency to be +bilious. Fruits are cleansers, both of the alimentary tract and of the +blood. + +Fruits grow most abundantly in warm climates and that is where they +should be used most. In temperate climates they should be eaten most +freely during warm weather. + +Young, vigorous people can eat all the fruit they wish at all seasons, +within reason. Thin, nervous people, and those who are well advanced in +years should do most of their fruit eating in summer. In winter there is +a tendency to be chilly after a meal of acid fruit. In summer such meals +do not add to the burden of life by making the partaker unduly warm. + +The apple is perhaps the best all-round fruit of all. It is grown in +many lands and climates. It is possible to get apples of various kinds, +from those that are very tart to those that are so mild that the acid is +hardly perceptible to the taste. Stout people can eat sour apples with +benefit. Thin, fidgety ones should use the milder varieties. The juice +from apples, sweet cider, freshly expressed, is a very pleasant drink, +and may be taken with fruit meals. + +The avocado is a good salad fruit. It is quite oily. A combination of +avocado and lettuce makes a good salad. + +Thanks to rapid transportation, the banana has become a staple. It is +quite commonly believed that bananas are very starchy and rather +indigestible. This may be true when they are green, but not when they +are ripe. Green bananas are no more fit for food than are green apples. +Ripe bananas are neither starchy nor indigestible. When the banana is +ripe it contains a trace of starch, all the rest having been changed to +sugar. A ripe banana is mellow and sweet, but firm. The skin is either +entirely black, or black in spots, but the flesh is unspotted. The best +bananas can often be purchased for one-half of the price of those that +are not yet fit to eat. + +Bananas are a rich food. Weight for weight they contain more nourishment +than Irish potatoes. A few nuts or a glass of milk and bananas make a +good meal. Bananas contain so much sugar that it is not necessary to +eat bread or other starches with them. Those with normal taste will not +spoil good bananas by adding sugar and cream. When well masticated the +flavor is excellent and can not be improved by using dressings. + +Be sure that the children have learned to masticate well before giving +bananas, and then give only ripe ones. The flesh of the banana is so +smooth and slippery that children often swallow it in big lumps, and +then they frequently suffer. + +Lemonade may be taken with fruit or flesh meals. As usually made it is +quite nourishing, for it contains considerable sugar. Those who are +troubled with sluggish liver may take it with benefit, but the less +sugar used the better. Other fruit juices may be used likewise, but they +should be fresh. If they are bottled, be sure that no fermentation is +taking place in them. These juices may be served with the same kind of +meals as lemonade. Most of them require dilution. Grape juice is very +rich and a large glassful of the pure juice makes a good summer lunch. +It should be sipped slowly. Those who like the combination may make a +meal of fruit juice mixed with milk, half and half. + +Grapes and strawberries, which are relished by most, disagree with some +people. The skin of the Concord grape should be rejected, for it +irritates many. If they are relished, the skins of most fruits may be +eaten. When peeled apples lose a part of their flavor. + +Olives are generally eaten pickled. The fruit in its natural state +tastes very disagreeable to most people. The ripe olive is superior in +flavor to the green, which is not usually relished at first. + +The sweet fruits, by which we mean dried currants, raisins, figs and +dates, and bananas should be classed with them, serve the body in the +same way as do the breadstuffs, and may be substituted for starches at +any time. They may be eaten at all seasons of the year, but are used +most during cold weather. A moderate amount of them may be eaten with +breadstuffs, or they may be taken alone, or with milk, or with nuts, or +with acid fruit. They are very nourishing so it does not take much of +them to make a meal. To get the full benefit, masticate thoroughly. They +contain sugar in its best form, sugar that not impoverished by being +deprived of its salts. Grape sugar needs very little preparation before +it enters the blood. Starch and sugar are of equal value as nourishment. +It seems that the sugar is available for energy sooner than the starch. +Americans generally weary quickly of sweet foods, though they consume +enormous quantities of refined sugar, but in tropical countries figs and +dates are staple in many places and the inhabitants relish them day in +and day out as we relish some of out staples. It is a matter of habit. +Those who do not surfeit themselves do not weary quickly of any +particular article of diet. + + +PREPARATION + +Most fruits are best raw. Then their acids and salts are in their most +available form. Those who become uncomfortable after eating acid fruit +may know that they have abused their digestive organs and they should +take it as an indication to reduce their food intake, simplify their +diet, masticate better and eat more raw food. Those who overeat of +starch or partake of much alcohol cultivate irritable stomachs, which +object to the bracing fruit juices. + +For the sake of a change fruits may be cooked. The more plainly they are +cooked the better. Always use sugar in moderation, no matter whether the +fruit is to be stewed or baked. + +To stew fruit, clean and if necessary peel. Stew in sufficient water +until tender. When almost done add what sugar is needed. When stewed +thus less sugar is required than if the sweetening is done at the start. + +Stewed fruit can be sweetened by adding raisins, figs or dates. This is +relished by many. Figs and dates stewed by themselves are too sweet for +many tastes. This can be remedied by making a sauce of figs or dates +with tart apples or any other acid fruit that appeals in such +combinations. + +_Baked apple_: Place whole apples in large, deep pan; add about +one-third cup of water and one and one-half teaspoonfuls sugar to each +apple. Put into oven and bake until skins burst and the apples are well +done. Serve with all the juice. + +_Boiled apple_: Place whole apples in a stewing pan; add two +teaspoonfuls sugar and one cup or more of water to each apple; use less +sugar if desired. Cover the vessel tightly and boil moderately until the +skins burst and the apples are well done. + +All stewed fruits should be well done. Avoid making the fruit sauces too +sweet. + +_Stewed prunes_: A good prune needs no sweetening. Stew until tender. It +is a good plan to let the prunes soak a few hours before stewing them. +Raisins may be treated in the same way. + +Prunes may be washed and put into a dish; then add hot water enough to +about half cover them; cover the dish very tightly and put aside over +night. The prunes need no further preparation before being eaten. If the +covering is not tight it will be necessary to use more water. Raisins +and sundried figs may be treated in the same way. + +Unfortunately, most of our dried fruit is sulphured. Sulphurous acid +fumes are employed, and you may be sure that this does the fruit no +good. If you can get unsulphured fruit, do so. The sulphuring process is +popular because it acts as a preservative and it is profitable because +it allows the fruit to retain more water without spoiling than would be +possible otherwise. + +_Canning fruit_: It is very easy to can fruit, but it requires care. +Select fruit that is not overripe. The work room should be clean and so +should the cans and covers. It is not sufficient to rinse the cans in +clean water. Both the jars and the covers should be taken from boiling +water immediately before being used. + +Use only sound fruit, cook it sufficiently, adding the sugar when the +fruit is almost done. If you cook the fruit in syrup, do not have a +heavy syrup. Put into jar while piping hot, filling the jar as full as +possible, put on the cover immediately, turning until it fits snugly; +turn jar upside down for a few hours to see if it leaks; tighten again +and put in cool place. + +An even better way, especially for berries, is to fill the jar with +fruit, pour syrup over them, put the jars into a receptacle containing +water and let this water boil until the berries are done; then fill the +jars properly and seal. Some berries that lose their color when cooked +in syrup retain it when treated this way. + +Canned fruits are not as good as the fresh ones, but better than none. +Be sure that they are not fermenting when opened. When proper care is +exercised a spoiled jar is a rarity. If there is any doubt about the +fruit, scald and cool before using. This destroys the ferments. + +Fresh fruit is the best. Next comes fruit recently stewed or baked. If +other fruit can not be obtained, get good dried fruit and stew it. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Fruits may be combined with almost any food, except that which is rich +in starch, and even that combination may be used occasionally, although +it is not the best. I have seen people who were supposed to be incurable +get well when their breakfasts were mostly apple sauce and toast. +However, sick people should avoid such combining entirely and healthy +ones most of the time. Breakfasting on cereals and fruit is a mistake. +Those who eat thus may say that they feel no bad results, but time will +tell. Nowhere in our manner of feeding does nature demand of a healthy +human being that he walk the chalk line. All she asks is that he be +reasonable. So if you feel fine and want a shortcake for dinner take it. +But the shortcake should be the meal, not the end of one that has +already furnished too much food. + +Fruit combines well with both milk and cheese. The impression to the +contrary that has been gained from both medical and lay writers is due +to false deductions based on premises not founded on facts. Milk and +fruit, and nothing else, make very good meals in summer. + +_Fruit salads_: A great variety of these salads can be made. Take two or +three of the juicy fruits, slice and mix. Dress with a little sugar, or +salt and olive oil, or simply olive oil, or no dressing. Some like a +dressing of sour cream or of cottage cheese rather well thinned out. +Raisins and other sweet fruits may also be used. Ripe banana may be one +of the ingredients. + +Such a salad may be eaten with a flesh or nut meal, or it may be used as +a meal by itself. Fruit and cottage cheese make a meal that is both +delicious and nourishing. A fruit salad strewed with nuts does the same. + +Strawberries and sliced tomatoes dressed with cottage cheese make a good +meal. + +Lettuce, celery and tomatoes may be used in fruit salads. + +A few fruit salads to serve as examples are: Apples, grapes and lettuce; +peaches, strawberries and celery; bananas, pineapples and nuts; +strawberries, tomatoes and lettuce. Combine to suit taste and dress +likewise, but avoid large quantities of cream and sugar, not only on +your salads, but on all fruits. No acid should be necessary, but if it +is desired, use lemon juice or incorporate oranges as a part of the +salad. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +OILS AND FATS. + +Oils and fats are the most concentrated foods we have. Weight for +weight, they contain more than twice as much fuel or energy value as any +other food. Taken in moderation they are easily digested, but if taken +in excess they become a burden to the system. About 7 or 8 per cent of +the weight of a normal body is fat, and this fat is formed chiefly from +the fatty foods taken into the system, supplemented by the sugar and +starch. + +When the body becomes very fat, it is a disease, called obesity. Fat +people are never healthy. The fat usurps the place that should be +occupied by normal tissues and organs. It crowds the heart and the +lungs, and even replaces the muscle cells in the heart. The result is +that the heart and lungs are overcrowded and overworked and the blood +gets insufficient oxygen. Not only the lungs pant for breath after a +little exercise, but the entire body. Much fat is as destructive of +health as it is of beauty. Those who find themselves growing corpulent +should decrease their intake of concentrated foods and increase their +physical activity. + +Our chief sources of fat supply are cream and butter, vegetable oils, +nuts and the flesh of animals. Most meats, especially when mature, +contain considerable fat. When the fat is mixed in with the meat, it is +more difficult to digest than the lean flesh. Fresh fish, most of which +contains very little fat, is digested very easily, while the fattest of +all flesh, pork, is tedious of digestion. + +There is an instinctive craving for fat with foods that contain little +or none of it. That is why we use butter with cereals and lean fish, and +oil dressings on vegetables. In moderation this is all right. Fats are +not very rich in salts, which must be supplied by other foods. + +Because of their great fuel value, more fats are naturally consumed in +cold than in hot climates. The Esquimeaux thrive when a large part of +their rations is fat. Such a diet would soon nauseate people in milder +climes. + +Fats and oils are used too much in cooking. Fried foods and those cooked +in oil are made indigestible. Sometimes we read directions not to use +animal fats, but to use olive oil or cotton seed oil for frying. It is +poor cooking, no matter whether the grease is of animal or vegetable +origin. + +So far as food value and digestibility are concerned, there is no +difference between animal and vegetable fats. Fresh butter is very good, +and so is olive oil. Some vegetable oils contain indigestible +substances. Cotton seed oil and peanut oil are much used. Sometimes they +are sold in bottles under fancy lables as olive oil. The olive oils from +California are fully as good as those imported from Spain, Italy and +France and are more likely to be what is claimed for them than the +foreign articles. In the past, much of our cotton seed oil has been +bought by firms in southern Europe and sent back to us as fine olive +oil! Such imposture is probably more difficult under our present laws +than it was in the past. + +Most oils become rancid easily and then are unfit for consumption. If +taken in excess as food they have a splendid opportunity to spoil in the +digestive tract, and then they help to poison the system. Taken in +moderate quantities they are digested in the intestines and taken into +the blood by way of the lymphatics. They may be stored in the body for a +while, but finally they are burned, giving up much heat and energy. + +Taking oils between meals as medicine or for fattening purposes is +folly. People get all they need to eat in their three daily meals. +Lunching is to be condemned. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +MILK AND OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Whole milk 87.00 3.3 4.0 5.0 0.7 325 + Cream 74.00 2.5 18.5 4.5 0.5 910 + Buttermilk 91.00 3.0 0.5 4.8 0.7 165 + Butter ..... ... 82.4 ... ... 3475 + Cheese, whole milk 33.70 26.0 34.2 2.3 3.8 1965 + " skimmed milk 45.70 31.5 16.4 2.2 4.2 1320 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The dairy products vary greatly. Some cows give richer milk than others. +Butter may be almost pure fat, or it may contain much water and salt. +The cheeses are rich or poor in protein and fats according to method of +making. Cottage cheese may be well drained or quite watery. Therefore, +this table gives only approximate contents. + +Milk is not a beverage. It is a food. A quart of milk contains as much +food and fuel value as eight eggs or twelve ounces of lean beef. That +is, a cupful (one-half of a pint) is equal to two eggs or three ounces +of lean beef. This shows that milk should not be taken to quench thirst, +but to supply nourishment. Milk is one of our most satisfactory and +economical albuminous foods, even at the present high prices. In many +foods from 5 to 10 per cent of the protein goes to waste. In milk the +waste does not ordinarily amount to more than about 1 per cent. This +fluid generally leaves the stomach within one or one and one-half hours +after being ingested. + +In spite of its merits as a food some writers on dietetics advocate that +adults stop using it, giving it only to the young. + +Milk is an excellent food when properly used. When abused it tends to +cause discomfort, disease and death, and so does every other food known +to man. Milk is given in fevers and in other diseases, when the +digestive and assimilative processes are suspended. This is a serious +mistake and has caused untold numbers of deaths. When the digestion has +gone on a strike all feeding is destructive. Milk and meat broths, which +are generally given, are about the worst foods that could be selected +under the circumstances, for they decay very easily, and are excellent +food for the numerous bacteria that thrive in the digestive tract during +disease. These foods must decay when they are not digested, for the +internal temperature of the body during fevers is over one hundred +degrees Fahrenheit. + +When bacteria are present in excess they give off considerable poison, +which makes the patient worse. If circumstances are such that it is +necessary to feed during acute disease, which is always injurious to the +patient, let the food be the least harmful obtainable, such as fruit +juices. Even they do harm. + +In our country cow's milk is used almost exclusively, and that is the +variety that will be discussed in this chapter. In other lands the milk +of the mare, the ass, the sheep, the goat and of other animals is used. +Human milk is discussed in detail in the chapter on Infancy. + +The objection voiced against cow's milk is that it is an unnatural food +for man, only fit for the calf, which is equipped with several stomachs +and is therefore able to digest the curds which are larger and tougher +than the curds formed from human milk. It is said that the curds of +cow's milk are so indigestible that the human stomach can not prepare +them for entry into the blood. This is probably true, but it is also +true of other protein-bearing foods. The digestion and assimilation of +proteins are begun in the stomach and completed in the intestines, and +the protein in milk is one of the most completely utilized of all +proteins. + +To call a food unnatural means nothing, for we can call nearly all foods +unnatural and defend our position. A natural food is presumably a +nutritious and digestible aliment that is produced in the locality where +it is consumed, one that can be utilized without preparation or +preservation. So we may say that a resident of New York should not use +figs, dates, bananas and other products of tropical and semi-tropical +climates, for they are not natural in the latitude of New York. We can +take the position that it is unnatural for people to eat grains, which +need much grinding, for the birds are the only living beings supplied +with mills (gizzards). We can further say that it is unnatural to eat +all cooked and baked foods. But such talk is not helpful. The more a +person uses his brain the less power he has left for digestion and +therefore it is necessary to prepare some of the foods so that they will +be easy to digest. Man is such an adaptable creature that we are not +sure what he subsisted on before he became civilized and are therefore +unable to say what his natural food is. We know that in the tropics +fruits play an important part in nourishing savages, while in the frozen +north fat flesh is the chief food. Perhaps there is no natural food for +man. + +Some of those who advocate the disuse of milk have a substitute or +imitation to take its place, nut milk made from finely ground nuts and +water. Like all other imitations, it is inferior to the original. It is +more difficult to digest than real milk and the flavor is quite +different. + +The objection that milk is indigestible is not borne out by the +experience of those who give it under proper conditions. It is true that +milk disagrees with a few, but so do such excellent foods as eggs, +strawberries and Concord grapes, and many other aliments which are not +difficult to digest. This is a matter of individual peculiarity. Some +can take boiled milk, but are unable to take it fresh, and vice versa. +Outside of the few exceptions, milk digests in a reasonable time and +quite completely. It is easier to digest than the legumes (peas, beans, +lentils) which are rich in protein. It is also easier to digest than +nuts, which contain much protein. The milk sugar causes no trouble and +cream is one of the easiest forms of fat to digest, if taken in +moderation. The protein in milk will cause no inconvenience if the milk +is eaten slowly, in proper combinations and not to excess. The rennet in +the stomach curdles the casein. The hydrochloric acid and the pepsin in +the gastric juice then begin to break down and dissolve the clots, and +the process of digestion is completed in the small intestines. + +Those who overeat of milk in combination with other foods will derive +benefit from omitting the milk. They will also be benefitted if they +continue using milk and omit either the starch or the meat. When foods +disagree, in nearly every instance it is due to the fact that too much +has been eaten and too many varieties partaken of at a meal. Some may +single out the milk or the meat as the offenders. Others may point to +the starches, and still others to the vegetables with their large amount +of indigestible residue. They are all right and all wrong, for all the +foods help to cause the trouble. However, such reasoning does not solve +the problem. If the meals cause discomfort and disease, reduce the +amount eaten, take fewer varieties at a meal and simplify the cooking. +Those who eat simple meals and are moderate are not troubled with +indigestion. + +Those who eat such mushy foods as oatmeal and cream of wheat usually +take milk or cream and sugar with them. This should not be done, for +such dressing stimulates the appetite and leads to undermastication. +Neither children nor adults chew these soft starchy foods enough. The +result is that the breakfast ferments in the alimentary tract. After a +few months or years of such breakfasts, some kind of disease is sure to +develop. Mushy starches dressed with rich milk and sugar are responsible +for a large per cent. of the so-called diseases of children, which are +primarily digestive disturbances. Colds, catarrhs and adenoids are, of +course, due to improper eating extending over a long period of time. +Nothing should be eaten with mushy starches except a little butter and +salt. After enough starch has been taken, a glass of milk may be eaten. +If parents would only realize that they are jeopardizing the health and +lives of their dear ones when they feed them habitually on these soft +messes, which ferment easily, there would be a remarkable decrease in +the diseases of childhood and in the disgraceful infant and childhood +mortality, for several hundred thousand children perish annually in this +country. + +Milk is often referred to as a perfect food, and it is the perfect food +for infants. The young thrive best on the healthy milk given by a female +of their own species. Every baby should be fed at the breast. The milk +contains the elements needed by the body. + +The table at the head of this chapter shows that milk contains all +essential aliments. The ash is composed of the various salts necessary +for health, containing potassium, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, iron, +silicon and other elements. For the nourishment of the body we need +water, protein, fat, carbohydrates and salts, so it will be seen that +milk is really a complete food. However, as the body grows the nutritive +requirements change and milk is therefore not a balanced food for +adults. + +It may be interesting to note that there is no starch in milk and that +infants fed at the breast exclusively obtain no starchy food. Many +babies get no starch for nine, ten or even twelve months, and this is +well, for they do not need it. They grow and flourish best without it. + +Milk is an emulsion. It is made up of numerous tiny globules floating in +serum. The size of the globules varies, but the average is said to be +about 1/10,000 of an inch in diameter. These globules are fatty bodies. +There are other small bodies, containing protein and fat, which have +independent molecular movement. The milk is a living fluid. When it is +tampered with it immediately deteriorates. Without doubt, nature +intended that the milk should go directly from the mammary gland into +the mouth of the consumer, but this is not practicable when we take it +away from the calf. However, if we are to use sweet milk it is best to +consume it as nearly like it is in its natural state as possible. + +It is quite common to drink milk rapidly. This should not be done. Take +a sip or a spoonful at a time and move it about in the mouth until it is +mixed with saliva. It is not necessary to give it as much mouth +preparation as is given to starchy food. If it is drunk rapidly like +water large curds from in the stomach. If it is insalivated it +coagulates in smaller curds and is more easily digested, for the +digestive juices can tear down small soft curds more easily than the +large tough ones. + +Milk should not form a part of any meal when other food rich in protein +is eaten. Our protein needs are small, and it is easy to get too much. +Whole wheat bread and milk contain all the nourishment needed. On such a +diet we can thrive indefinitely. This is information, not a +recommendation. The bread should be eaten either before or after +partaking of the milk. Do not break the bread into the milk. If this is +done, mastication will be slighted. Bread needs much mastication and +insalivation. When liquid is taken with the bread, the saliva does not +flow so freely as when it is eaten dry. + +Fruit and milk make a good combination, but no starchy foods are to be +taken in this meal. Take a glass of milk, either sweet or sour, and what +fruit is desired, insalivating both the fruit and the milk thoroughly. +If you have read that the combination of fruit and milk has proved +fatal, rest assured that those who made such reports only looked at the +surface, for other foods and other influences were having their effects +on the system. Many people die of food-poisoning and apoplexy. These bad +results are due to wrong eating covering a long period and it is folly +to blame the last meal. It would be queer if fruit and milk were not +occasionally a part of the last meal. + +In winter, figs, dates or raisins with milk make an excellent lunch or +breakfast. These fruits take the place of bread, for though they are not +starchy, they contain an abundance of fruit sugar, which is more easily +digested than the starch. Starch must be converted into sugar before the +system can use it. + +On hot days milk and acid fruit make a satisfying meal. Many believe +that milk and acid fruit should not be taken in the same meal, because +the acid curdles the milk. As we have already seen, the milk must be +curdled before it can be digested. If this step in digestion is +performed by the acid in the fruit no more harm is done than when it is +performed by the lactic acid bacteria. Fruit juices and milk do not +combine to form deadly poisons. If fruit and milk are eaten in +moderation and no other food is taken at that meal the results are good. +However, if fruit, milk, bread, meat, cake and pickles make up the meal, +the results may be bad. Such eating is very common. But do not blame the +fruit and the milk when the whole meal is wrong. + +Likewise, if a hearty meal has been eaten and before this has had time +to digest a lunch is made of fruit and milk, trouble may ensue. All the +foods may be good, but a time must come when the body will object to +being overfed. In summertime much less food is needed than during the +cold months. Nevertheless, barring the Christmas holidays and +Thanksgiving, people overeat more in summer than at any other time of +the year. Picnics often degenerate into stuffing matches. We should +expect many cases of serious illness to follow them, and such is the +case. + +Sometimes the milk is so carelessly handled that it becomes poisonous +and at other times the fruit is tainted, but generally bad combinations +and overeating are the factors that cause trouble when the fruit and +milk combination is blamed. + +Buttermilk and clabbered milk are more easily digested by many than is +the fresh milk. In Europe sour milk is a more common food than in this +country. Here many do not know how excellent it is. Two glasses of milk, +or less, make a good warm-weather lunch. + +Those who have a tendency to be bilious should use cream very sparingly. +Bilious people always overeat, otherwise their livers would not be in +rebellion. The fat, in the form of cream, arouses decided protest on the +part of overburdened livers. + +A theory has found its way into dietetic literature, sometimes disguised +as a truth, to the effect that boiled or hot milk is absorbed directly +into the blood stream without being digested. This is contrary to +everything we know about digestion and assimilation, and although it is +a fine enough theory it does not work out in practice. I have seen bad +results when nothing but a small amount of the hot milk was fed to +patients with weak digestive power. Perhaps others have had better +results. When the system demands a rest from food, nothing but water +should be given. Boiled or natural milk is then as bad as any other +food, and worse than most, for in the absence of digestive power it soon +becomes a foul mass, swarming with billions of bacteria. The system is +compelled to absorb some of the poisons given off by the micro-organisms +and the results are disastrous. + +Every food we take must be modified by our bodies before entering the +circulation, and milk is no exception. + +When milk is allowed to stand for a while the sugar ferments, through +the action of the lactic acid bacteria. The sugar is turned into lactic +acid, which combines with the casein and when this process has continued +for a certain length of time the result is clabbered milk or sour milk. +The length of time varies with the temperature and the care given the +milk. If milk remains sweet for a long time during warm weather, +discharge the milkman and patronize one whose product sours more +quickly, for milk that remains sweet has been subjected to treatment. +All kinds of preservative treatment cause deterioration. If +extraordinary care is taken with the milk and it is kept at a +temperature of about forty-two degrees Fahrenheit, it may remain sweet +five or six weeks, provided it is not exposed to the air, but such care +is at present not practicable in commercial dairies. The milk contains +unorganized ferments which spoil it in time without exposure to +bacterial influences. These ferments cause digestion or decay of the +milk. + +Fresh butter is a palatable form of fat, which digests easily. Like all +other milk products, it must be kept clean and cold, or it will soon +spoil. Butter absorbs other flavors quickly and should therefore not be +placed near odorous substances. It is best unsalted and in Europe it is +very commonly served thus. When people learn to demand unsalted butter +they will get good butter, for no one can palm off oleomargarine or +other imitations under the guise of fresh unsalted butter. Unsalted +butter must be fresh or it will be refused by the nose and the palate. +Salt and other preservatives often conceal age and corruption of foods. + +Butter combines well with starches and vegetables, in fact, it can be +used in moderation with any other food, when the body needs fat. Butter +should not be used to cook starches or proteins in. Greasy cooking +should be banished from our kitchens. + +Milk is a complex food, highly organized, and therefore is easily +injured or spoiled. The general rule is that the more complex a food is, +the more easily it spoils. It is rather difficult at present to get +wholesome milk enough to supply the people of our large cities. When it +is boiled, the milk keeps longer, but boiled milk is spoiled milk. The +fine flavor is lost, the casein, which is the principal protein of milk, +is toughened, the milk, which is normally a living liquid, is killed, +the chemical balance is lost, the organic salts being rendered partly +inorganic. Milk that is unfit to eat without being boiled is not fit to +eat afterwards, for the poisonous end products of bacterial life remain. + +The milk is soured by the bacteria it contains. The lactic acid bacteria +are harmless. When there is a lack of care and cleanliness, other +bacteria get into the milk, and these are also harmless to people in +good health, and most of them are not injurious to sick people. The +bacteria (germs) do not cause disease, but when disease has been +established, they offer their kindly offices as scavengers. Bacteria +thrive in sick people, especially when they are fed when digestive power +is lacking. Boiling retards the souring of milk, but when fat and +protein are boiled together the protein becomes hard to digest. Milk is +rich in both fat and protein. Excessive heat turns the milk brown, the +milk sugar being carameled. + +Babies do not thrive on boiled milk. They may look fat, but instead of +having the desirable firmness of normal children, they are puffy. +Children fed on denatured milk fall victims to diseases very easily, +especially to diseases which are due to lack of organic salts, such as +rickets and malnutrition. + +Pasteurization of milk is very popular. This is objectionable for the +same reasons that boiling is condemned, though not to the same extent. +Pasteurization is heating the milk to about 140 to 150 degrees +Fahrenheit. This kills many of the bacteria, but many escape and when +the milk is cooled off they begin to multiply and flourish again. It is +estimated that pasteurized milk contains one-fourth as many bacteria as +natural milk. So nothing is gained, and the milk is partly devitalized. +The advocates of pasteurization give statistics showing that milk so +treated has been instrumental in decreasing infant mortality. But please +bear in mind that previously a great deal of milk unfit for consumption +was fed to the babies. Those who pasteurize milk generally are careful +enough to see that they get a good product in the first place. + +If we can't get good milk we can do without it, for it is not a +necessary food, but we can get good milk if we make the effort. If the +milk is filthy, boiling or pasteurizing does not remove the dirt. +Gauthier says of pasteurization: "Sometimes it is heated up to 70 +degrees (Centigrade) with pressure of carbonic acid. But even in this +case pasteurization does not destroy all germs, particularly those of +tuberculosis, peptonizing bacteria of cowdung, and the dust of houses +and streets, etc." + +Even boiling does not kill the spores of bacteria unless it is continued +until the milk is rendered entirely unfit for food. To kill these spores +it is necessary to boil the milk several times. The spores are small +round or oval bodies which form within the bacterial envelope when these +micro-organisms are subjected to unfavorable conditions. The spores +resist heat and cold that would kill almost any other form of life. When +conditions are favorable they develop into bacteria again. + +After heating, the cream does not rise so quickly nor does it separate +so completely as it does in natural milk. This is due to the toughening +of the casein in the milk. + +Heating partly disorganizes the delicately balanced salts contained in +the milk. The result is that they can not be utilized so easily and +completely by the body, for the human organism demands its food in an +organic state, that is, in the condition built up by vegetation or by +animals. We may consume iron filings and remain anemic, in fact, the +effect the iron medication has is to ruin the teeth, digestive organs +and other parts of the body as a consequence. But if we partake of such +foods as apples, cabbage, lettuce and spinach, the necessary salt is +taken into the blood. + +Heating milk also makes it constipating. True, normal people can take +boiled milk without becoming constipated, but how many normal people are +there? We are sorely enough afflicted in this way now. Let us have a +supply of natural milk or go without it. It is not my desire to convey +the impression that it does any harm to scald or boil milk occasionally, +but if done daily it does harm, especially to the young. Scalded milk +has its proper place in dietetics. Occasionally we find a person who has +persistent chronic diarrhea. If he is in condition to eat anything, this +annoying affliction is usually overcome in a reasonable time if the +patient will take boiled or scalded milk in moderation three times a +day, and nothing else except water. + +How are we to obtain good milk? We can do it by using common sense, care +and cleanliness. + +It is well to remember that there are bacteria in all ordinary milk, and +that if the milk is from healthy cows and is kept clean and cold these +bacteria are harmless. Most of them are the lactic acid bacteria, which +change the milk sugar into acid. When the milk has attained a certain +degree of acidity, the lactic acid bacteria are unable to thrive and the +souring process is slowed up and finally stopped. Most of the other +bacteria in milk perish when lactic acid is formed. This is why stale +sweet milk is often harmful, when the same kind of milk allowed to sour +can be taken with impunity. + +If the milk is kept in a cold place the bacteria multiply slowly. If it +is kept in a warm place they increase in numbers at a rate that is +marvelous, and consequently the milk sours much sooner. Even if the milk +is kept cold, bacterial growth will soon take place, but it will perhaps +not be lactic acid bacteria. It may be a form that causes the milk to +become ropy and slimy or one that gives it a bad odor. + +Bacteria are like other forms of vegetation, such as grass, weeds, +flowers and trees, in that some flourish best under one condition and +others under dissimilar conditions, and they struggle one against the +other for subsistence and existence. Like flowers there are thousands of +different forms of bacteria and they vary according to their food and +environment. + +Peculiar odors in milk generally come from certain kinds of food given +to the cows, such as turnips; from bacterial action; or from flavors +absorbed from other foods or from odors in the air. Milk should not be +exposed to odorous substances, for it becomes tainted very quickly. +Sometimes yeast finds its way into milk and causes decomposition of the +sugar with the formation of carbon dioxide and alcohol. + +A count of the bacteria in milk often serves a good purpose, for it +shows whether it is good and has had proper care. The consumers have a +right to demand milk low in bacteria, for if no preservatives have been +used, that means clean milk. If we could live in our pristine state of +beatific bliss, if such it was, we would not have to use milk after +childhood is past, but our present condition demands the use of easily +digested foods and to many milk is almost a necessity. + +The milk in the udder of a healthy cow is almost surely free from +bacteria, but the moment it is exposed to the air these little beings +start to drop into the fluid. + +The bacterial standards given by various city health departments vary. +Those who are mathematically inclined may find the following figures +interesting: In some great cities they allow 500,000 bacteria to the +cubic centimeter of milk. A cubic centimeter contains about twenty-five +drops. In other words, they allow 20,000 bacteria per drop. This may +seem very lively milk, but these bacteria are so small that about 25,000 +of them laid end to end measure only about an inch, and it would take +17,000,000,000,000 of them to weigh an ounce, according to estimates. +These are the tiny vegetables we hear and read so much about, that we +are warned against and fear so much. Truly the pygmies are having their +innings and making cowards of men. The bacteria multiply by the simple +process of growing longer and splitting into two, fission, as it is +called, and the process is so rapid that within an hour or two after +being formed a bacterium may be raising a family of its own. + +Some of the milk brought to the cities contains as many as 15,000,000 +bacteria per cubic centimeter, that is, about 600,000 per drop. This +milk is either very filthy or it has been poorly cared for and should +not be given to babies and young children. The filthiest milk may +contain several billion bacteria to the cubic centimeter. + +By using care milk containing but 100, or even fewer, bacteria per drop +can be produced. From the standpoint of cleanliness this is excellent +milk. Of course, the dairyman who takes pride enough in his work to +produce such milk will sell nothing but what is first-class, and if he +has business acumen he can always get more than the market price for his +product. + +The talk about germs has been overdone, but no one can deny that the +study of bacteriology has made people more careful about foods. The +filthy dairies that were the rule a few years ago are slowly being +replaced by dairies that are comfortable, well lighted and clean. Do not +allow the germs to scare you, for if ordinary precautions are taken no +more of them will be present than are necessary, and they are necessary. +They thrive best in filth, and they are dangerous only to those who live +so that they have no resistance. + +Wholesome milk can be produced only by healthy animals. Bovine health +can be secured by the same means as human health. The cows must be +properly fed and housed. They must have both ventilation and light. They +must not be unduly worried. If a nursing of an angry mother's milk is at +times poisonous enough to kill a baby, you may be sure that the milk +from an abused, irritated and angry cow is also injurious. If the +animals are kept comfortable and happy they will do the best producing, +both in quality and quantity. It may sound far-fetched to some to +advocate keeping animals happy in order to get them to produce much and +give quality products, but it is good science and good sense. Happy cows +give more and better milk than the mistreated ones. The singing hens are +the best layers. + +Cows should have fresh green food all the year, and this can be obtained +in winter time by using silage. It is a mistake to give cows too much of +concentrated foods, such as oil meals and grains. Cattle can not long +remain well on exclusive rations of too heating and stimulating foods. +When fed improperly they soon fall prey to various diseases, such as +rheumatism and tuberculosis. It is the same with other domestic animals. +The horse when overfed on grain develops stiff joints. The hogs that are +compelled to live exclusively on concentrated, heating rations are +liable to die of cholera. Young turkeys that have nothing but corn and +wheat to eat die in great numbers from the disease known as blackhead. +It is the same law running all through nature, applying to the high and +to the low, that improper nourishment brings disease and death. + +When cattle roam wild, the green grasses (sundried in winter) are their +principal source of food. Man should be careful not to deviate too much, +for forced feeding is as harmful to animals as it is to man. + +The following excellent recommendations for the care of milk are given +by Dr. Charles E. North of the New York City Milk Commission: + +"No coolers, aerators, straining cloths or strainers should be used. + +"The hot milk should be taken to the creamery as soon as possible. + +"The night's milk should be placed in spring or iced water higher than +the milk on the inside of the can. It should not be stirred, and the top +of the can should be open a little way to permit ventilation. + +"The milking pails and cans will be sterilized and dried at the +creamery, and should be carefully protected until they are used. + +"Brush the udder and wipe with a clean cloth; wash with clean water and +dry with a clean towel. + +"Whitewash the cow stable at least twice yearly. + +"Feed no dusty feed until after milking. + +"Remove all manure from cow stable twice daily. + +"Keep barnyard clean and have manure pile at least 100 feet from the +stable. + +"Have all stable floors of cement, properly drained. + +"Have abundant windows in cowstables to permit sunlight to reach the +floor. + +"Arrange a proper system of ventilation. + +"Do not use milk from any cows suspected of gargot or of any udder +inflammation. Such milk contains enormous numbers of bacteria. + +"Brush and groom cows from head to foot as horses are groomed. + +"Use no dusty bedding; wood shavings or sawdust give least dust. + +"Use an abundance of ice in water tank for cooling milk." + +Perhaps some will take issue with the doctor on the first paragraph of +his recommendation. If straining cloths are used they should be well +rinsed in tepid water, washed and then boiled. However, if his +recommendations are carried out in letter and spirit no straining is +necessary. + +Herr Klingelhofer near Dusseldorf, Germany., runs a model dairy. The +cows, stables, milkers, containers, in fact, all things connected with +the dairy are scrupulously clean. The milkers do not even touch the milk +stools, carrying them strapped to their backs. The milk is strained +through sterilized cotton and cooled. + +The cows are six and seven years old and are milked for ten or twelve +months and they are not bred during this time. The first part of the +milk drawn from each teat is not used, for that part is not clean, +containing dirt and bacteria. + +This milk is practically free from bacteria, for without adding +preservatives it will remain sweet, for as long as thirteen days. If +ordinary milk fails to sour in two or three days it shows that it has +been treated. + +According to the Country Gentleman, it will cost from one cent and a +quarter to one cent and three-quarters extra per quart to produce clean +milk. Healthy adults can take milk teeming with bacteria without harm, +but for babies it is best to have very few or none in the milk. At +Dusseldorf the babies used to die as they do here when fed unclean milk. +Herr Klingelhofer says that when fed on his product "sterben keine." +(None die.) + +This is submitted to those who advocate pasteurizing the milk. Denatured +milk makes sickly babies. Clean natural milk makes healthy babies. The +extra cost of less than two cents a quart is not prohibitive. Most +fathers, no matter how poor, waste more than that daily on tobacco and +alcoholics. The extra cost would be more than saved in lessened doctor +bills, to say nothing of funeral expenses. The recompense that comes +from the satisfaction of having thriving, sturdy, healthy children can +not be figured in dollars and cents. + +Dr. Robert Mond, of London, after investigating for years, has come to +the conclusion that sterilized milk predisposes to tuberculosis, instead +of preventing it. He believes that milk so treated is so inferior that +he would not personally use it. That sterilized milk predisposes to +tuberculosis, as well as to other diseases which can attack the body +only when it is run down, is natural. Any food that has been rendered +inferior can not build the robust health that comes to those who live on +natural food. Adults who use sterilized milk should counteract its bad +effects by partaking liberally of fresh fruits and vegetables. + +If the milk is clean, put into clean containers by careful milkers and +is then kept cold until delivered, it will reach the consumers in good +condition. Do not let the fact that when you consume a glass of milk you +are also engulfing some millions of bacteria bother you, for bacteria +are necessary to our existence. If all the bacteria on earth should +perish, it would also mean the end of the human race. + +Today the progressive farmer is coming to the fore. He is a man who is +justly proud of his work, so it will probably not be long before all +city people who desire clean milk can get it. + +The milk cure consists in feeding sick people on nothing but milk for +varying periods. Generally the patient is told to either take great +quantities three or four times a day, or to take smaller quantities +perhaps every half hour. The milk cure has no special virtue, except +that it is a monotonous diet. The body soon rebels if forced to subsist +on an excessive amount of but one kind of food. The individual loses his +desire for food and even becomes nauseated. If the advocates of the milk +cure would prescribe milk in moderation, instead of in excess, they +would have better success. (It is fully as harmful to partake of too +much milk as it is to eat excessively of other foods.) + +The benefit derived from the milk cure comes from the simplicity, not +from the milk. A grape cure, an orange cure or a bread and milk cure +would be as beneficial. The milk cure is ancient. It was employed +twenty-five centuries ago. + +_Clabbered milk_: Clabbered milk or sour milk needs no special +preparation. Put the milk into an earthen or china dish. Do not use +metal dishes, for the lactic acid acts upon various metals. Cover the +dish so as to keep particles of matter in the air away, but the covering +is not to be airtight. Put the dish in a warm place, but not in the sun. +Milk that sours in the sun or in an air-tight bottle is generally of +poor flavor. Clabbered milk is a good food. It does not form big, tough +curds in the stomach, it is easy to digest, and the lactic acid helps to +keep the alimentary tract sweet. The various forms of milk may be used +in similar combinations. + +_Buttermilk_: The real buttermilk is what remains of the cream after the +fat has been removed by churning. It is slightly acid and has a +characteristic taste, to most people very agreeable. The flavor is +different from that of artificially made buttermilk. In composition it +is almost like whole milk, except that it contains very little fat. + +Many people make buttermilk by beating the clabbered milk thoroughly, +until it becomes light. The buttermilk made from sweet milk and the +various brands of bacterial ferments obtainable at the drug stores is +all right. These ferments have as their basis the lactic acid bacteria, +and if the manufacturers wish to call their germs by other names, such +as Bacillus Bulgaricus, no harm is done. It is unnecessary to add any of +these ferments, for the milk clabbers about as quickly without them. + +Buttermilk is an excellent food. The casein can be seen in fine flakes +in the real buttermilk. Adults usually digest buttermilk and clabbered +milk more easily than the sweet milk. The lactic acid seems to be quite +beneficial. Metchnikoff thought for a while that he had discovered how +to ward off decay and old age by means of the lactic acid bacteria in +milk. + +Milk can be clabbered quickly by adding lemon juice to sweet milk. + +_Junket_: Add rennet to milk and let it stand until it thickens. The +milk is not to be disturbed while coagulation takes place, for agitation +will cause a separation of the whey. The rennet can be bought at the +drug stores. + +_Whey_ contains milk sugar, some salts, and a little albumin. It is +easily digested, but not very nourishing. It is what is left of the milk +after the fat and almost all of the protein are removed. + +_Cottage cheese_: This is sometimes called Dutch cheese or white cheese. +It is a delicious and nutritious dairy product that is easy to digest. +Put the clabbered milk in a muslin bag, hang the bag up and allow the +milk to lose its whey through drainage. In summer this bag must be kept +in a cool place. After draining, beat the curds. Then add enough +clabbered milk to make the curds soft when well beaten. A small amount +of cream may also be added. Cottage cheese made in this way is superior +in flavor and digestibility to that which has been scalded. No seasoning +is needed. A little salt is allowable, but sugar and pepper should not +be used. Fruit and cottage cheese make a satisfying as well as +nutritious meal. + +Delicious cottage cheese is also made by using the whole clabbered milk. +Hang it up to drain in a bag until it has lost a part of its whey. Then +beat it until the curds are rather small, but not fine. No milk or cream +is to be added to this, for it contains all the fat that is in the whole +milk. Do not drain this cheese so long that it becomes dry. + +_Other cheeses_: The various cheeses on the market are made principally +from ripened curds, with which more or less fat has been mixed. The +ripening is a form of decay, and it is no exaggeration to say that some +of the very ripe cheeses on the market are rotten. The flavors are due +to ferments, molds and bacteria, which split up the proteins and the +fats. + +The mild cheeses are generally good and may be eaten with fruits or +vegetables or with bread. Two or three ounces are sufficient for the +protein part of the meal, taking the place of flesh. Use less if less is +desired. + +When cheese becomes very odorous and ripe, no one with normal nose and +palate will eat it. People who partake of excessive amounts of meats or +alcoholic beverages are often fond of these foul cheeses. One perversion +leads to another. + +Cheese of good quality, eaten in moderation, is a nutritious food, +easily digested. Gauthier says of cheese: "Indeed, this casein, which +has the composition of muscular tissue, scarcely produces during +digestion either residue or toxins." + +Because good cheese is concentrated and of agreeable flavor, it is +necessary to guard against overeating. An excess of rich cheese soon +causes trouble with the liver or constipation or both. + +Cheese should not be eaten in the same meal with fish, meat, eggs, nuts +or legumes, for such combining makes the protein intake too great. +There is nothing incompatible about such combinations, but it is safest +not to make them. The course dinners, ending up with a savory cheese, +crackers and coffee, are abominations. They are health-destroyers. They +lead to overeating. As nearly everybody overeats, and because overeating +is the greatest single factor in producing disease and premature death, +it is advisable not to eat cheese and other foods rich in protein in the +same meal. The greater the variety of food, the more surely the diner +will overeat. + +The term, "full cream cheese" is misleading, for cheeses are not made of +whole cream. The cream does not contain enough protein (casein) for the +manufacture of cheese. Some cheeses are made of skimmed milk. Others are +made of milk which contains part, or even all, of the cream. Some have +cream added. The cheeses containing but a moderate amount of fat are the +best. + +The popular Roquefort cheese is made of a mixture of goat's milk and +sheep's milk. The savor is due to bacterial action and fat +saponification, which result in ammonia, glycerine, alcohol, fatty acids +and other chemicals in very small quantities. + +The peculiar colorings which run in streaks through some cheeses that +are well ripened are due to molds, bacteria and yeasts. Gentlemen who +would discharge the cook if a moldy piece of bread appeared on the +table, eat decaying, moldy cheese with relish. + +The best cheese of all is cottage cheese. People of normal taste will +soon weary of the frequent consumption of strong cheese, but they can +take cottage cheese every other day with relish. Occasionally put a few +caraway seeds in it if this flavor is agreeable. + +Cottage cheese may be eaten plain or with bread, or with fruit or +vegetables. It may be used as dressing both on fruit and vegetable +salads. + +Cheese should play no part in the alimentation of the sick, with the +exception of cottage cheese, which may be given to almost anyone who is +in condition to eat anything. The other cheeses are too concentrated for +sick people. In acute disease nothing is to be fed. + +_Skimmed milk_ is about the same in composition as buttermilk. It is +inferior in flavor, but a good food. It is used a great deal in cooking. +Milk should not be used very much in cooking. When cooked it does not +digest very readily and it has a tendency to make other foods +indigestible. + +_Sour cream_ or clabbered cream is best when it is taken from clabbered +milk. It may be used as dressing on fruits and salads. Sweet cream will +clabber, but it is not as delicious as when it clabbers on the milk. + +_Clotted cream_ is made by putting the milk aside in pans in a cool +place until the cream rises. Then, without disturbing the cream, scald +the milk. Put the pan aside until the contents are cold and remove the +cream, which has a rich, agreeable flavor. This may be used as a +dressing. + +Whipped cream and ice cream are so familiar that they hardly need +comment. Cream is such a rich food that it must be eaten in moderation. +Otherwise it will cause discomfort and disease. Ice cream is made of +milk and cream, in varying proportions, flavored to taste and frozen. It +is not necessary to add eggs and cornstarch. If eaten slowly it is a +good food, but taken in too large quantities and too rapidly it may +cause digestive troubles. It is not best to chill the stomach. Those +with weak digestion should be very careful not to do so. + +Buttermilk is sometimes flavored and frozen. This ice is easy to digest. +Some doctors recommend this dish to their convalescents. It is an +agreeable change, and can be eaten by many who are unable to take care +of the rich ice cream. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +MENUS. + +For a balanced dietary we need some building food, protein; some force +food, starch, sugar and fat; some of the mineral salts in organic form, +best obtained from raw fruits and vegetables; and a medium in which the +foods can be dissolved, water. + +We need a replenishment of these food stuffs at intervals, but it is not +necessary to take all of them at the same meal, or even during the same +day. Those who believe that all alimentary principles must enter into +every meal must necessarily injure themselves through too complex +eating. In talking of these alimentary principles, reference is made to +them only when they are present in appreciable quantities. + +To have the subject better in hand, let us again classify the most +important foods: + +Flesh foods, which are rich in protein. + +Nuts, which contain considerable protein and fat. + +Milk and cheese, which contain much protein. + +Eggs, taken principally for their protein. + +Cereals, the most important contents being starches. + +Tubers, containing much starch. + +Legumes, rich in protein and starch. + +Fresh fruits, well flavored and high in salt contents. + +Sweet fruits, containing much fruit sugar. + +Succulent vegetables, chiefly valuable because of salts and juices. + +Fats and oils, no matter what their source, are concentrated foods which +furnish heat and energy when burned in the body. + + +When people are free and active in the fresh air they can eat in a way +that would soon ruin the digestive powers of those who lead more +artificial lives. It is a well known fact that we can go hunting, +fishing, tramping or picnicking and eat mixtures and quantities of foods +that would ordinarily give us discomfort. The freedom and activity, the +change and the better state of mind give greater digestive power. + +Those who wish to live their best must pay some attention to the +combination of food. It is true that very moderate people, those who +take no more food than the body demands, can combine about as they +please. These moderate people do not care to mix their foods much. They +are satisfied with very plain fare. Much as we dislike to acknowledge +the fact, nearly all of us take too much food, even those who most +strongly preach moderation. By combining properly much of the harmful +effect of overeating can be overcome. + + +FRUITARIANS. + +I class as fruitarians those who eat only cereals, fruits and nuts. This +may not be a correct definition, but after reading much literature on +dietetics it is the best I can do. Their combinations should present no +difficulties. + +They should take cereals once or twice a day; nuts once or twice a day; +fruit once a day in winter and once or twice a day in summer. The winter +fruit should be sweet part of the time. In summer it can be the juicy +fruit and berries at all times. + +The fruitarians should be careful to avoid the habitual combination of +acid fruits with their cereals. + +One meal a day can be made of one or two varieties of fruit and nothing +else. Nuts may be added to the fruit at times. + +Another meal may be made of some cereal product with nut butter or some +kind of vegetable oil. + +A third meal may be some form of sweet fruit, with which may be eaten +either bread or nuts, or better still, combine one sweet fruit with an +acid one. + +Most people would consider such a diet very limited, but it is easy to +thrive on it, and it is not a tiresome one. There are so many varieties +of fruits, nuts and cereals that it is easy to get variety. These foods +do not become monotonous when taken in proper amounts. On such a diet it +does not make much difference which meal is breakfast, lunch or dinner. +The rule should be to take the heartiest meal after the heavy work is +done, for hearty meals do not digest well if either mind or body is hard +at work. + +It is not difficult to get all the food necessary in two meals, but +inasmuch as the three meal a day plan is prevalent the menus here given +include that number of meals. + +Breakfast: Apples, baked or raw. + +Lunch: Brown rice and raisins. + +Dinner: Whole wheat zwieback with nut butter. + + +Breakfast: Oranges or grapefruit. + +Lunch: Pecans and figs. + +Dinner: Bread made of rye or whole wheat flour, with nut butter or olive +oil. + + +Breakfast: Any kind of berries. + +Lunch: Dates. + +Dinner: Whole wheat bread, with or without oil, Brazil nuts. + + +These combinations are indeed simple, but these foods are very +nourishing and most of them concentrated, so it is best not to mix too +much. They are natural foods, which digest easily when taken in +moderation, but if eaten to excess they soon produce trouble. + +It is no hardship to live on simple combinations. We have so much food +that we have fallen into the bad habit of partaking of too great variety +at a meal. The fact is that those who combine simply enjoy their foods +more than those who coax their appetite with too great variety. There is +no physical hardship connected with simple eating, and as soon as the +mind is made up to it, neither is there any mental hardship. + + +VEGETARIANS. + +It is difficult to give an acceptable definition for vegetarianism. For +a working basis we shall take it for granted that those are vegetarians +who reject flesh foods. Those who wish can also reject dairy products +and eggs. It is largely a matter of satisfying the mind. + +The chief trouble with the vegetarians is that they believe that the +fact that they abstain from flesh will bring them health. So they +combine all kinds of foods and take several kinds of starches and fruits +at the same meal. The consequence is that they soon get an acid +condition of the digestive organs and a great deal of fermentation. +Among vegetarians, prolapsus of the stomach and bowels is quite common, +and this is due to gas pressure displacing the organs. + +Their foods are all right, but their combinations, as a rule, are bad. +The various vegetarian roasts, composed of nuts, cereals, legumes and +succulent vegetables are hard to digest. It would be much better for +them not to make such dishes. + +A few suggestions for vegetarian combining follow: + +Breakfast: Berries and a glass of milk. + +Lunch: Baked potatoes and lettuce with oil. + +Dinner: Nuts, cooked succulent vegetables, one or two varieties, sliced +tomatoes. + + +Breakfast: Cottage cheese and oranges. + +Lunch: Nuts and raisins. + +Dinner: Whole wheat bread, stewed onions, butter, salad of lettuce and +celery. + + +Breakfast: Cantaloupe. + +Lunch: Buttermilk, bread and butter. + +Dinner: Nuts, stewed succulent vegetables, lettuce and sliced tomatoes, +with or without oil. + + +Breakfast: Boiled brown rice with raisins and milk. + +Lunch: Grapes. + +Dinner: Cooked lentils or baked beans, lettuce and celery. + + +OMNIVOROUS PEOPLE. + +In this country, most people are omnivorous. The food is plentiful and +people believe in generous living. They put upon their tables at each +meal enough variety for a whole day and the custom is to eat some of +each. Some breakfasts are heavy enough for dinners. Three heavy meals a +day are common. Some can eat this way for years and be in condition to +work most of the time, but they are never 100 per cent. efficient. They +are never as able as they could be. Besides, they have their times of +illness and grow old while they should be young. They generally die +while they should be in their prime, leaving their friends and families +to mourn them when they ought to be at their best. They are worn out by +their food supply, plus other conventional bad habits. + +One of the best plans that has been proposed for omnivorous people is +that which has been worked out by Dr. J. H. Tilden. Its skeleton is, +fruit once a day, starchy food once a day, flesh or other protein with +succulent vegetables once a day. I shall make up menus for a few days +based on this plan: + +Breakfast: Baked apples, a glass of milk. + +Lunch: Boiled rice with butter. + +Dinner: Roast mutton, spinach and carrots, salad of raw vegetables. + + +Breakfast: Cantaloupe. + +Lunch: Biscuits or toast with butter, buttermilk. + +Dinner: Pecans, two stewed succulent vegetables, salad of lettuce, +tomatoes and cucumbers, dressing. + + +Breakfast: Peaches, cottage cheese. + +Lunch: Baked potatoes, butter, lettuce. + +Dinner: Fresh fish baked, liberal helping of one, two or three of the +raw salad vegetables. + + +Breakfast: Shredded wheat or puffed wheat sprinkled with melted butter, +glass of milk. + +Lunch: Watermelon. + +Dinner: Roast beef, boiled cabbage, stewed onions, butter dressing, +sliced tomatoes with salt and oil. + + +The doctor allows considerable dessert. That generally goes with the +dinner. + +It is nonsense to write, "So and so shalt thou eat and not otherwise." +The menus here given simply serve as suggestions. Where one succulent +vegetable is mentioned another may be substituted. One cereal may be +substituted for another. One juicy fruit for another. One sweet fruit +for another. One legume for another. One food rich in protein for +another. + +In combining food the principal things to remember are: + +Use only a few foods at a meal; use only one hearty, concentrated food +in a meal, as a rule, with the exception that various fats and oils in +moderation are allowable as dressings for fruits, vegetables and +starches; that much fat or oil retards the digestion of the rest of the +food; that the habitual combining of acid food with foods heavy in +starch is a trouble-maker; that concentrated starchy foods should be +taken not to exceed twice a day; that the heating, stimulating foods +rich in protein, which include nearly all meats, should be taken only +once a day in winter, and less in summer; that either raw fruit or raw +vegetables should be a part of the daily food intake, because the salts +they contain are essential to health; that fats should be used sparingly +in summer, but more freely in winter; that juicy fruits are to be used +liberally in summer and sparingly in winter, when the sweet fruits are +to take their place a part of the time. + +The dried sweet fruits are quite different from the fresh juicy ones. +The former serve more the purpose of the starches than that of fruits. +They are rich in sugar, which produces heat and energy. The same is true +of the banana, which is about one-fifth sugar. It is not as sweet as +would be expected from this fact. Some sugars are sweeter than others. +This you can easily verify by tasting some milk sugar and then taking +the same amount of commercial sugar made of cane or beets. + +The food need in summer is surprisingly small, so small that the average +person will scarcely believe it. Some writers on dietetics advise eating +as much in summer as in winter. How they can do so it is difficult to +understand, for reason tells us that in summertime practically no food +is needed for heating purposes, and that is how most of the food is +used. A little experience and experiment show that reason is right. +Nature herself confirms this fact, for at the tropics she has made it +easy for man to subsist on fruits, while in the polar regions she +furnishes him the most heating of all foods, fats. + +Because fats are so concentrated it is very easy to take too much of +them. An ounce of butter contains as much nourishment as about +twenty-five ounces of watermelon. Those who simplify their cooking and +their combining and partake of food in moderation are repaid many times +over in improved health. It is necessary to supply good building +material in proper form if we would have health. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +DRINK. + +There is but one real beverage and that is water. The other so-called +beverages are foods, stimulants or sedatives. Milk is a rich food, one +glass having as much food value as two eggs. Coffee, tea, chocolate and +cocoa are stimulants, with sedative after-effects. Their food value +depends largely on the amount of milk, cream and sugar put into them. +Chocolate and cocoa are both drugs and foods. Alcohol is a stimulant at +first, afterwards a sedative, and at all times an anesthetic. + +When we think of drinking for the sake of supplying the bodily need of +fluid, we should think of water and nothing else. If other liquids are +taken, they should be taken as foods or drugs. + +Water is the best solvent known. The alchemists of old spent much time +and energy trying to find the universal solvent, believing that +thereafter it would be easy to discover a method of making base metals +noble. But they never found anything better than water. Water is the +compound that in its various forms does most to change the earth upon +which we live, and it is more necessary for the continuation of life +than anything else except air. + +Pure water does not exist in nature, that is, we have never found a +compound of the composition H2O. Water always contains other matter. The +various salts are dissolved in it and it absorbs gases. The nearest we +come to pure water is distilled. Pure water is an unsatisfied compound, +and as soon as it is exposed it begins to absorb gases and take up salts +and organic matter. + +Pure water differs from clean water. Clean or potable water is a +compound which contains a moderate amount of salts, but very little of +organic matter. Bacteria should be practically absent. Water that +contains much of nitrogenous substances is unfit to use. + +If the water is very hard, heavily loaded with salts, it should not be +used extensively as a drink, for if too much of earthy and mineral +matter is taken into the system, the body is unable to get rid of all of +them. The result is a tendency for deposits to form in the body. In +places where the water is excessively charged with lime it has been +noticed that the bones harden too early, which prevents full development +of the body. If the bones of the skull are involved, it means that there +will not be room enough for the brain. Such diseases are rare in this +country, but in parts of Europe they are not uncommon. If the water is +very hard, a good plan is to distill it and then add a little of the +hard water to the distilled water. + +People who partake of an excessive amount of various salts can perhaps +drink distilled water to advantage, but those who take but a normal +amount of the salts in their foods should have natural water. + +Water forms three-fourths of the human body, more or less. It is needed +in every process that goes on within the body. "To be dry is to die." +Water keeps the various vital fluids in solution so that they can +perform their function. Without water there would be no sense of taste, +no digestion, no absorption of food, no excretion of debris, and hence +no life. The water is the vehicle through which the nutritive elements +are distributed to the billions of cells of the body, and it is also the +vehicle which carries the waste to the various excretory organs. + +We can live several weeks without food, but only a few days without +water. + +Hot water and ice-cold water are both irritants. Water may be taken +either warm or cool. It is best to avoid the extremes. + +The amount of water needed each twenty-four hours varies according to +circumstances. Two quarts is a favorite prescription. Those who eat +freely of succulent fruits and vegetables do not need as much as those +who live more on dry foods. Salt in excess calls for an abnormal amount +of water, for salt is a diuretic, robbing the tissues of their fluids +and consequently more water has to be taken to keep up the equilibrium. + +Naturally, more water is required when the weather is hot than when it +is cool. On hot days warm water is more satisfying and quenches thirst +more quickly than ice water. Warm water also stimulates kidney action, +which is often sluggish in summer. Ice water is the least satisfactory +of all, for the more one drinks the more he wants. + +A normal body calls for what water it needs, and no more. An abnormal +body is no guide for either the amount of food or drink necessary. Many +people do not like the taste of water, especially in the morning. This +means that the body is diseased. To a normal person cool water is always +agreeable when it is needed, and it is needed in the morning. People +with natural taste do not care for ice water, but other water is +relished. + +The common habit of drinking with meals is a mistake. Man is the only +animal that does this, and he has to pay dearly for such errors. Taking +a bite of food and washing it down with fluid lead to undermastication +and overeating, and then the body suffers from autointoxication. A +mouthful of food followed by a swallow of liquid forces the contents of +the mouth into the stomach before the saliva has the opportunity to act. + +The best way is to drink one or two glasses of water in the morning +before breakfast. Partake of the breakfast, and all other meals, without +taking any liquid. Sometimes there is a desire for a drink immediately +after the meal is finished. If so, take some water slowly. If it is +taken slowly a little will satisfy. If it is gulped down it may be +necessary to take one or two glasses of water before being satisfied. + +Those who have a tendency to drink too much during warm weather will +find very slow drinking helpful in correcting it. If there is any +digestive weakness, the liquid taken immediately after a meal should be +warm and should not exceed a cupful. Those with robust digestion may +take cool water. + +Cold water chills the stomach. Digestion will not take place until the +stomach has reached the temperature of about one hundred degrees +Fahrenheit again, and if the stomach contents are chilled repeatedly the +tendency is strong for the food to ferment pathologically, instead of +being properly digested. For this reason it is not well to drink while +there is anything left in the stomach to digest. As stomach digestion +generally takes two or three hours at least, it is well to wait this +long before taking water after finishing a meal, and then drink all that +is desired until within thirty minutes of taking the next meal. If the +thirst should become very insistent before two or three hours have +elapsed since eating, take warm water. Those who eat food simply +prepared and moderately seasoned are not troubled much with excessive +thirst. + +Two quarts of water daily should be sufficient for the adults under +ordinary conditions. Here, as in eating, no exact amount will fit +everybody. Make a habit of drinking at least a glass of water before +breakfast, cleaning the teeth and rinsing the mouth before swallowing +any, and then take what water the body asks for during the rest of the +day. Taking too much water is not as injurious as overeating, but +waterlogging the body has a weakening effect. + +To drink with the meals is customary, not because it is necessary, but +because we have a number of drinks which appeal to many people. Water is +the drink par excellence. + +A food-beverage that is used by many is cambric tea, which is made of +hot water, one-third or one-fourth of milk and a little sweetening. +Children generally like this on account of the sweetness. It may be +taken with any meal, when fluid is needed, but the amount should be +limited to a cupful. It is not well to dilute the digestive juices too +much. + +The water taken in the morning helps to start the body to cleanse +itself. Water drinking is a great aid in overcoming constipation. +Constipated people generally overeat. Less food and more water will +prove helpful in overcoming the condition. + +Unfortunately for the race, we have accustomed ourselves to partake of +beverages containing injurious, poisonous substances. Inasmuch as this +is the place to discuss the drugs contained in coffee and tea, I shall +take the liberty of dwelling upon other habit-forming substances in the +same chapter. They are all a part of the drug addictions of the race. +For scientific discussion of these various substances I refer you to +technical works. In this chapter will be found only a discussion of +their relation to people's welfare, that is, to health and efficiency. + +Coffee, tea and chocolate contain a poisonous alkaloid which is +generally called caffeine. The theine in tea and the theobromine in +cocoa are so similar to caffeine that chemists can not differentiate +them. These drinks when first taken cause a gentle stimulation under +which more work can be done than ordinarily, but this is followed by a +reaction, and then the powers of body and mind wane so much that the +average output of work is less than when the body is not stimulated. The +temporary apparently beneficial effect is more than offset by the +reaction and therefore partaking of these beverages makes people +inefficient. Coffee is very hard on the nerves, causing irritation, +which is always followed by premature physical degeneration. + +Experiments of late indicate that children who use coffee do not come up +to the physical and mental standard of those who abstain. The effect on +the adults is not so marked because adults are more stable than +children. + +Those who are not used to coffee will be unable to sleep for several +hours after partaking of a cup. Some people drink so much of it that +they become accustomed to it. + +Coffee is not generally looked upon as one of the habit-forming drugs, +but it is. However, of all the drugs which create a craving in the +system for a repetition of the dose, coffee makes the lightest fetters. +It is surprising how often health-seekers inform the adviser that they +"can not get along without coffee." If they would take a cup a few times +a year, it would do no harm, but the daily use is harmful to all, even +if they feel no bad effects and make it "very weak," which is a favorite +statement of the women. + +Smoking, drinking beer and drinking coffee have a tendency to overcome +constipation in those who are not accustomed to these things, but their +action can not be depended upon for any length of time and the cure is +worse than the disease. + +Tea drinking has much the same effect as coffee drinking, except that it +is decidedly constipating. Perhaps this is because there is considerable +of the astringent tannin in the tea leaves. + +Chocolate is a valuable food. Those who eat of other aliments in +moderation may partake of chocolate without harm, but if chocolate is +used in addition to an excess of other food, the results are bad. The +chocolate is so rich that it soon overburdens some of the organs of +digestion, especially the liver. The Swiss consume much of this food and +it is valuable in cases where it is necessary to carry concentrated +rations. + +Alcohol in some form seems to have been consumed by even very primitive +people as far back as history goes. The Bible records an early case of +intoxication from wine, and beer was brewed by the ancient Egyptians. So +much has been consumed that some people have a subconscious craving for +it. There are cases on record where the very first drink caused an +uncontrollable demand for the drug. Fortunately these cases are very +rare. + +Alcohol is really not a stimulant, though it gives a feeling of glow, +warmth and well-being at first, but this is followed by a great lowering +of physical power, which gives rise to disagreeable sensations. Then the +drinker needs more alcohol to stimulate him again. Then there is another +depression with renewed demand: There is no end to the craving for the +drug once it has mastered the individual. The lungs, heart, digestive +organs, muscles, in fact, every structure in the body loses working +capacity. Alcohol seems to have a special affinity for nervous tissue. + +A glass of beer or wine taken daily is no more harmful than a cup of +coffee per day, but the coffee drinker does not make of himself such a +public nuisance and menace as the man often does who drinks alcohol to +excess. + +Formerly it was respectable to drink. Some of our most noted public men +were drunkards. Now a drunkard could not maintain himself in a prominent +public position very long. To drink like a gentleman was no disgrace. +Now real gentlemen do not get drunk. + +In backward Russia they are becoming alarmed about the inroads of vodka, +and are trying to decrease its consumption. France is trying to teach +total abstinence to its young men because it disqualifies so many of +them from military service to drink. Scandinavia is temperance +territory. The German Kaiser has recently given a warning against +drinking. The United States discourages drinking in the army and navy. +Field armies are not supplied with alcoholics. Drinking is becoming +disreputable. + +It is very difficult to prove the harm done by excessive drinking of tea +and coffee, also by the use of much tobacco, even if we do know that it +is so. Everyone knows something about the deleterious effect of alcohol +upon the consumer. Solomon wrote: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is +raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Who hath wounds +without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?" + +Alcohol permanently impairs both body and mind. Depending on how much is +taken, it may cause various ills, ranging from inflammation of the +stomach to insanity. It reduces the power of the mind to concentrate and +it diminishes the ability of the muscles to work. It reduces the +resistance of the body and shortens life. Its first effect is to lull +the higher faculties to sleep. + +Most drunkards do not recover from their disease, for drunkenness is a +disease. The various drugs given to cure the afflictions are delusions. +Strengthening the body, mind and the will and instilling higher ideals +are the best methods of cure. Suggestive therapeutics, and the awakening +of a strong resolve for a better life are powerful aids. Proper feeding +should not be overlooked, for bad habits do not flourish in a healthy +body. + +Civilization necessitates self-control and considerable self-denial. +Those who go in the line of least resistance are on the road to +destruction. It is often necessary to overcome habits which produce +temporary gratification of the senses. + +According to Warden Tynan of the Colorado Penitentiary, 96 per cent. of +the prisoners are brought there because they use alcohol. It is also +well known that moral lapses are most common when the will is weakened +through the use of liquor. Those who have the welfare of the race at +heart are therefore compelled to give considerable thought to this +subject. According to past experience, it will not help to try to +legislate sobriety into the people. Education and industrialism are the +factors which it seems to me will be most potent in solving the alcohol +problem. Morality, which in the last analysis is a form of selfishness, +will teach many that it is poor policy to reduce one's efficiency and +thereby reduce the earning capacity and enjoyment of life. + +More and more the employers of labor will realize that the use of +alcohol decreases the reliability and worth of the worker. Many will +take steps like the following: + +"In formal recognition of the fact, established beyond dispute by the +tests of the new psychology, that industrial efficiency decreases with +indulgence in alcohol and is increased by abstinence from it, the +managers of a manufacturing establishment in Chester, Penn., have +attacked the temperance problem from a new angle. + +"Unlike many railways and some other corporations, they do not forbid +their employees to drink, but they offer 10 per cent. advance in wages +to all who will take and keep--the teetotaler's pledge. Incidentally, a +breaking of the promise will mean a permanent severance of relations, +but there is no emphasizing of that point, it being confidently expected +that the advantage of perfect sobriety will be as well realized on one +side as on the other." + +Business has during the past two centuries been the great civilizer, the +great moral teacher. It has found that honesty and righteousness pay and +that injustice is folly. Business has led the way to the acceptance of a +new ethics, and new morals. + +What has been said about alcohol applies to tobacco in a much smaller +degree. The use of tobacco seems to lead to the use of alcohol. It +retards the development of children. It is surely one of the causes of +various diseases. Tobacco heart, sore throat and indigestion are well +known to physicians. + +Tobacco contains one of the deadliest of poisons known. One-sixteenth of +a grain of nicotine may prove fatal. The reason there are so few deaths +from acute tobacco poisoning is that but very little of the nicotine is +absorbed. + +Men who chew tobacco make themselves disagreeable to others. Smoking of +cigarettes is to be condemned not only because it poisons the body, but +causes inattention and inability to concentrate on the part of the +smoker, as well. Every little while he feels the desire to take a smoke, +and if smoking is forbidden he devises means of getting away. He robs +his employer of time for which he is paid and injures himself. + +The ability to work is decreased by indulgence in smoking. Recent +experiments show that for a short time there is increased activity after +a smoke, but the following depression is greater than the stimulation, +so there is an actual loss. + +A few years ago, according to Mr. Wilson, who was then Secretary of +Agriculture, there were about 4,000,000 drug addicts or "dope fiends" in +the United States. Without doubt this estimate was too high, for the +proportion of addicts in the country is not as great as in the large +cities. The drugs chiefly used are cocaine, opium, laudanum, morphine +and heroin. These drugs are much more destructive than alcohol. Cocaine +and heroin are the worst. It is very difficult to stop using any of them +once the habit has been formed. Nearly every "fiend" dies directly or +indirectly from the effect of his particular drug. Every one weakens the +body so that there is not much resistance to offer to acute diseases. +Every one destroys the will power so that a cure is exceedingly +difficult. + +It is well to bear in mind that all are not possessed of strong enough +will power to resist their cravings and that some take to cocaine when +they can not get liquor. Cocaine is far worse than alcohol. + +People should be very careful about taking patent medicines. There is no +excuse for taking them. The most popular ones have as their basis one of +the habit-forming drugs. + +Most of the soothing syrups contain opium in some form. To give babies +opiates is a grave error, to speak mildly. It weakens the child, may lay +the foundation for a deadly habit later in life, and often an overdose +kills outright. Well informed mothers avoid such drugs and keep their +children reasonably quiet by means of proper care. + +Many of the remedies for nasal catarrh and hay fever contain much +cocaine. Cocaine is an astringent and a painkiller and people mistake +the temporary lessening of discharge from the nose and disappearance of +pain for curative effects. But there is nothing curative about it. In a +short time the mucous membrane relaxes again and then the discharge is +re-established. The nerves which were put out of commission resume their +function and then the pain reappears. + +Opium or one of its derivatives is generally present in the patent +medicines given for coughs. Opium is also an astringent and will +suppress secretions, but this is not a cure. Excessive secretions are an +indication that the body is surcharged with poison and food. Let them +escape and then live so that there will be internal cleanliness and then +there will be no more coughs and colds. + +The unfortunate people who get into the habit of using these drugs +degenerate physically, mentally and morally. They need more and more of +their drug to produce the desired effect until they at last take enough +daily to kill several normal men. Sometimes they are able to keep +everybody in ignorance of what they are doing for years. They develop +slyness and secretiveness. They become very suspicious. They are nearly +always untruthful, and those who deal with them are surprised and wonder +why those who used to be open and above-board now are furtive and +dishonest. They often lie when there is not the slightest excuse for it. +The moral disintegration is often the first sign noticed. + +After habitually using any of these drugs for a while the body demands +the continuation and if the victim is deprived of his accustomed portion +there will be a collapse with intense suffering. Every tortured nerve in +the body seems to call out for the drug. The victim will do anything to +get his drug. He will lie, steal, and he may even attack those who are +caring for him. For the time being he is insane. + +Many professional men use cocaine. It is a favorite with writers. It +often shows in their work. Those who write under the inspiration of this +drug often do some good work, but they are unable to keep to their +subject. Their writings lack order. We have enough of such writings to +have them classified as "cocaine literature." + +If there are 4,000,000, or even fewer, of these people in our land, it +is a serious problem, for every one is a degenerate, to a certain +degree. If the medical profession and the druggists would co-operate it +would be easy enough to prevent the growth of a new crop of dope fiends. +Of course, people would have to stop taking patent medicines, which +often start the victims on the road to degeneration. Then the physicians +should stop prescribing habit-forming drugs, as well as all other drugs, +and teach the people that physical, mental and moral salvation come +through right living and right thinking. + +Unfortunately the medical profession is careless and is responsible for +the existence of many of the drug addicts. A patient has a severe pain. +What is the easiest way to satisfy him? To give a hypodermic injection +of some opiate. The patient, not realizing the danger, demands a +pain-killer every time he suffers. He soon learns what he is getting and +then he goes to the drug store and outfits himself with a hypodermic +outfit and drugs, and the first thing he knows he is a slave, in bondage +for life. This is no exaggeration. There are hundreds of thousands of +victims to the drug habit who trace their downfall to the treatment +received at the hands of reputable physicians, who do not look upon +their practice with the horror it should inspire because it is so +common. Doctors do not always bury their mistakes. Some of them walk +about for years. + +In spite of laws against the sale of various drugs, they can be +obtained. There are doctors and druggists of easy conscience who are +very accommodating, for a price. + +There is no legitimate need for the use of one-hundredth of the amount +of these drugs that is now consumed. A local injection of cocaine for a +minor operation is justifiable, but none of the habit-forming drugs +should be used in ordinary practice to kill pain, for the proper +application of water in conjunction with right living will do it better +and there are no evil after effects. Massage is often sufficient. + +To show a little more clearly how some people become addicted to drugs, +let us consider one of the latest, heroin: A few years ago this drug, +which is an opium derivative, was practically unknown. It is much +stronger than morphine and consequently the effect can be obtained more +quickly by means of a smaller dose. Physicians thought at first that it +was not a habit-forming drug, for they could use it over a longer period +of time than they could employ morphine, without establishing the +craving and the habit. So they began to prescribe heroin instead of +morphine, and many a morphine addict was advised to substitute heroin. +All went well for a short while, until the victims found that they were +enslaved by a drug that was even worse than morphine. Now, thanks +chiefly to the medical profession, it is estimated that we have in our +land several hundred thousand heroin addicts. Sallow of face, gaunt of +figure, looking upon the world through pin-point pupils, with all of +life's beauty, hope and joy gone, they are marching to premature death. + +The medical profession furnishes more than its proportion of drug +addicts. They know the danger of the drugs, but familiarity breeds +contempt. If the public but knew how many of their medical advisers, who +should always be clear-minded, are befuddled by drugs, there would be a +great awakening. One eminent physician who has now been in practice +about forty-five years and has had much experience with drug addicts, +has said that according to his observations, about one physician in four +contracts the drug habit. I believe this is exaggerated, but I am +acquainted with a number of physicians who are addicts. + +Physicians who smoke do not condemn the practice. Those who drink are +likely to prescribe beer and wine for their patients. Those who are +addicted to drugs use them too liberally in their practice. + +Those who have watched the effects of the various drugs, from coffee to +heroin, must condemn their use. It is true that an occasional cup of +coffee or tea, a glass of wine or beer does no harm. A cigarette a week +would not hurt a boy, nor would on occasional cigar harm a man. But how +many people are willing to indulge occasionally? The rule is that they +indulge not only daily, but several times a day, and the results are +bad. One bad habit leads to another, and the time always comes when it +is a choice between disease and early death on one hand, and the giving +up of the bad habits on the other, and when this time comes the bonds of +habits are often so strong that the victim is unable to break them. + +I realize that knowledge will not always keep people out of temptation +and that some individuals will take the broad way that leads to +destruction in spite of anything that may be said. Youth is impatient of +restraint and ever anxious for new experiences. Regarding this serious +matter of destructive drug use, much could be done by teaching people +their place in society: That is, what they owe to themselves, their +families and the public in general. In other words, teach the young +people the higher selfishness, part of which consists of considerable +self-control, self-denial and self-respect. + +Drugs are too easy to obtain today. Some day people will be so +enlightened that they will not allow themselves to be medicated. This is +the trend of the times. Until such a time comes, society should protect +itself by making it very difficult to get any of the habit-forming +drugs. If necessary, the free hand of the physician should be stayed. +Much of the confidence blindly given him is misplaced. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +CARE OF THE SKIN. + +The skin is neglected and abused. Very few realize how important it is +to give this organ the necessary attention. If we were living today as +our ancestors doubtless lived, we could neglect the skin, as they did. +They wore little or no clothing. The skin, which formerly was very +hairy, served as protection. It was exposed to the elements, which +toughened it and kept it active. + +Today most people give the skin too great protection, and thus weaken +it. The result is that it degenerates and partly loses its function with +consequent detriment to the individual's health. + +A normal skin has a very soft feel, imparting to the fingers a pleasant, +vital sensation. It either has color or suggests color. An abnormal skin +pleases neither the sense of seeing nor feeling. It may feel inert or it +may be inflamed. + +The skin is a beautiful and complex structure. It is made up of an outer +layer called the epidermis and an inner layer, the true skin or corium, +which rests upon a subcutaneous layer, composed principally of fat and +connective tissue. + +The epidermis is divided into four layers. It has no blood-vessels and +no nerves, but is nourished by lymph which escapes from the vessels +deeper in the skin. It is simply protective in nature. + +The true skin is made up of two indistinct layers, which harbor a vast +multitude of nerves, blood-vessels and lymph-vessels. + +In the skin there are two kinds of glands, the sebaceous and the sweat +glands. The sebaceous glands are, as a general rule, to be found in +greatest numbers on the hairiest parts of the body and are absent from +the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. They throw off a +secretion known as sebum, which is made up principally of dead cells +that have undergone fatty degeneration and of other debris. The sebum +serves as lubricant. It is generally discharged near or at the shaft of +a hair. + +The sweat glands discharge on the average from one and one-half to two +pounds of perspiration per day, more in hot weather and much less when +it is cool. They are distributed over the whole external surface of the +body. According to Krause there are almost 2,400,000 of them. They carry +off water and carbonic acid gas chiefly. + +The functions of the skin are: To protect the underlying structures; to +regulate the heat; to serve as an organ of respiration; to serve as an +organ of touch and thermal sensation; to secrete and eliminate various +substances from the body; to absorb. + +The heat regulation is quite automatic. When the external temperature is +high there is a relaxation of the skin. The pores open, the perspiration +goes to the surface and evaporates, thus cooling the body. When the +surface is cool the skin contracts, closing the pores and conserving the +heat. Radiation always takes place, except when the temperature is very +high. + +The sensation of touch and the ability to feel heat and cold protect us +from untold numbers of dangers. They are a part of the equipment which +enables us to adjust our selves to our environment. + +The secretions and excretions are perspiration and sebum. These contain +water, carbonic acid, urea, buturic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, +salts, the chief being sodium chloride, and many other substances. + +The respiratory function consists in the absorption of a small amount of +oxygen and the giving off of some carbonic acid. + +A small amount of water can be absorbed by the skin. Oils can also be +absorbed. In case of malnutrition in children, olive-oil rubs are often +helpful. This absorptive function is taken advantage of by physicians +who rub various medicaments into the skin. Mercury enough to produce +salivation can be absorbed in this way. + +From the above it will be seen that the skin is not only complex in +structure, but has many functions. It is impossible to have perfect +health without a good skin. Under civilized conditions a healthy skin +can not be had without giving it some care. The average person has a +skin that shows lack of care. Fortunately, but little care is needed. + +A bath should be taken often enough to ensure cleanliness. Warm water +and soap need not be used more than once or twice a week under ordinary +conditions. If the soap causes itching, it is well to use a small amount +of olive oil on the body afterwards, rubbing it in thoroughly, and going +over the body with a soft cloth after the oil rub, thus removing the oil +which would otherwise soil the clothes. If the skin is not kept clean, +the millions of pores are liable to be partly stopped up, which results +in the retention of a part of the excretory matter within the skin, +where it may cause enough irritation to produce some form of cutaneous +disorder, or the skin may through disuse become so inactive that too +much work is thrown upon the other excretory organs, which may also +become diseased from overwork and excessive irritation. + +Soaps are irritants. Tallow soaps and olive oil soaps are less +irritating than other varieties. Whatever kind of soap is used, it +should be rinsed off thoroughly, for if some of it is left in the pores +of the skin roughness or even mild inflammation may ensue. Be especially +careful about the soap used for babies, avoiding all highly colored and +cheap perfumed soaps. + +Whether to take a daily sponge bath or not is a matter of no great +importance, and each individual can safely suit himself. If there is +quick reaction and a feeling of warmth and well-being following a cold +sponge, it is all right. If the skin remains blue and refuses to react +for a long time, the cold sponge bath is harmful. The cold plunge is +always a shock, and no matter how strong a person may be, frequent +repetition is not to be recommended. People who take cold plunges say +that they do no harm, but it is well to remember that life is not merely +a matter of today and tomorrow, but of next year, or perhaps forty, +fifty or sixty years from today. A daily shock may cause heart disease +in the course of twenty or thirty years. + +A good way to take a cold bath is to get under a warm shower and +gradually turn off the warm water. Then stand under the cold shower long +enough to rinse well the entire surface of the body. + +Those who take cold sponge baths in winter and find them severe, should +precede the sponging in cold water with a quick sponging off with tepid +water, and they should always take these baths in a warm room. + +After all baths give the body a good dry rubbing, using brisk movements. +Bath towels, flesh brushes or the open hands may be used for the dry +rubbing. + +The sponge bath has practically no value as a cleanser. Its chief virtue +consists in stimulating the circulation of the blood and the lymph in +the skin. In summer it is cooling. It is important to have good surface +circulation, but this can be attained as well by means of dry rubbing. +The rubbing is more important than wetting the skin. A skin that is +rubbed enough becomes so active that it practically cleans itself, and +it protects against colds and other diseases. Some advocate dispensing +with the bath entirely, but that is going to extremes. Cleanliness is +worth while for the self-respect it gives the individual. + +Hot baths are weakening and relaxing, hence weak people should not stay +long in the hot bath. Cold baths are stimulating to strong people and +depressing to those who do not react well from them. Swimming is far +different from taking a cold bath. A person who can swim with benefit +and comfort for twenty minutes would have a chill, perhaps, if he +remained for five minutes in the bath tub in water of the same +temperature. Swimming is such an active exercise that it aids the +circulation, keeping the blood pretty well to the surface in spite of +the chilling effect of the water. + +If a very warm bath is taken, there should be plenty of fresh air in the +bath room and it is well to sip cold water while in the bath and keep a +cloth wrung out of cold water on the forehead. People who are threatened +with a severe cold or pneumonia can give themselves no better treatment +than to take a hot bath, as hot as they can stand it, lasting for +one-half hour to an hour, drinking as much warm water as can be taken +with comfort both before and after getting into the tub. This bath must +be taken in very warm water, otherwise it will do no good. It is +weakening and relaxing, but through its relaxing influence it equalizes +the circulation of the blood, bringing much to the surface that was +crowding the lungs and other internal organs, thus causing the dangerous +congestion that so often ends in pneumonia. After the bath wrap up well +so that the perspiration will continue for some time. When the sweating +is over, get into dry clothes and remain in bed for six to eight hours. +To make assurance doubly sure, give the bowels a good cleaning out with +either enemas or cathartics, or both. Then eat nothing until you are +comfortable. Such treatment would prevent much pneumonia and many +deaths. The best preventive is to live so that sudden chilling does not +produce pneumonia or other diseases, which it will not do in good +health. + +People with serious diseases of the heart, arteries or of the kidneys +should not take protracted or severe baths. + +To sum up the use of water on the skin: Use enough to be clean. No more +is necessary. The application of water should be followed by thorough +drying and dry rubbing. If the reaction is poor, do not remain in cold +water long enough to produce chilling. As a rule thin people should use +but little cold water, and they should never remain long in cold water. + +Water intelligently applied to the skin in disease is a splendid aid in +cleansing the system. It is surprising what a great amount of impurity +can be drawn from the body by means of wet packs. However, this is a +treatise on health, so we shall not go into details here regarding +hydrotherapy. + +No matter what one's ideas may be on the subject of bathing, there can +hardly be more than one opinion regarding the application of dry +friction to the skin. Those who have noted its excellent results feel +that it should be a daily routine. It should be practiced either morning +or evening, or both. From five to ten minutes spent thus daily will pay +high dividends in health. A vigorous rubbing is exercise not only for +the skin, but for nearly every muscle in the body. + +The dry rubbing keeps the surface circulation vigorous. The surface +circulation, and especially the circulation in the hands and the feet, +is the first part that begins to stagnate. Blood stagnation means the +beginning of the process which results in old age. In other words, dry +friction to the skin helps to preserve health and youth. Skin that is +not exercised often becomes very hard and scales off particles of +mineral matter. + +If women would put less dependence on artificial beautifiers and more on +scientific massage, they would get much better results. They would avoid +many a wrinkle and save their complexions. The neck and the face should +never be massaged downwards. The strokes should be either upwards or +from side to side, the side strokes generally being toward the median +line. Such massaging will prevent the sagging of the face muscles for +years and help to keep the face free from wrinkles and young in +appearance. The massaging should be rather gentle, for if it is too +vigorous the tendency is to remove the normal amount of fat that pads +and rounds out the face. Men can do the same thing, but most men have no +objection to wrinkles. + +However, most men do object to baldness, which can be prevented in +nearly every case. To produce hair on a polished pate is a different +proposition. It is indeed difficult. If you will look at a picture of +the circulation of the blood in the scalp, you will notice that the +arteries supplying it come from above the eye sockets in front, from +before and behind the ears on the sides, and from the nape of the neck +in the rear. They spread out and become smaller and smaller as they +travel toward the top of the head, and especially toward the back. The +scalp is well supplied with blood, but it is not given much exercise. +The tendency is for the blood stream to become sluggish, deposits +gradually forming in the walls of the blood-vessels, which make them +less elastic and decrease the size of the lumen. The result is less food +for the hair roots and food of inferior quality. + +This process of cutting off the circulation in the scalp is largely +aided by the tight hats and caps worn by men, which compress the +blood-vessels. It is quite noticeable that people with round heads have +a greater tendency to become bald than those with more irregular heads. +The reason is probably that the hats fit more snugly on the round-headed +people. There are many exceptions. Women are not so prone to baldness as +men, because they wear hats that do not exclude the air from the hair +nor do they compress the blood-vessels. + +Let those men who dislike to lose their hair massage the scalp for a +short while daily, beginning above the eyes, in front of the ears and at +the nape of the neck and going to the top of the head. Then let them +wear as sensible hats as possible, avoiding those that exert great +pressure on the blood-vessels that feed the scalp. Thus they will not +only be able to retain their hair much longer than otherwise, but the +hair that is well fed does not fade as early as that which lives on half +rations. + +In the case of preserving the hair, an ounce of prevention is worth a +ton of cure. The man who can produce a satisfactory hair restorer that +will give results without any effort on the part of the men can become a +millionaire in a short time. + +The hair is a modified form of skin. Each hair is supplied with blood, +and the reason that the hair stands up during intense fear is that to +the lower part of the shaft is attached a little muscle. During fear +this contracts, as do other involuntary muscles, and then the hair +stands up straight instead of being oblique. + +As a rule people protect the skin too much. The best protection they +have against cold is a good circulation. With a poor circulation it is +difficult to keep warm in spite of much clothing. Coldness is also +largely a state of mind. People get the idea of cold into the head and +then it is almost impossible for them to keep warm. On the same winter +day we may see a man in a thick overcoat trying to shrink into himself, +shivering, while a lady passes blithely by, with her bosom bared to the +wind. + +The face tolerates the cold, because it is used to it, the neck and the +upper part of the chest likewise, and so it would be with the skin of +the entire body if we accustomed it to be exposed. We use too heavy +clothes. It is a mistake to hump the back and draw in the shoulders +during cold weather, for this reduces the lung capacity, thus depriving +the body of its proper amount of oxygen. The result is that there is not +enough combustion to produce the necessary amount of heat. + +Wool is warm covering, the best we have. However, it is very irritating +to the skin and has a tendency to make the wearer too warm. It does not +dry out readily. Consequently the wearer remains damp a long time after +perspiring. The result is a moist, clammy skin. A skin thus pampered in +damp warmth becomes delicate, and like other hot-house products unable +to hold its own when exposed to inclement weather. A good way to take +cold easily is to wear wool next to the skin. The best recipe for +getting cold feet is to wear woolen stockings. Wear cotton or linen or +silk next to the skin. Cotton is satisfactory and cheap. Linen is +excellent, but a good suit of linen underwear is too costly for the +average purse. Remie, said to be the linen of the Bible, is highly +recommended by some. + +Those working indoors should wear the same kind of underwear summer and +winter, and it should be very light. If people use heavy underwear in +heated rooms, they become too warm. The consequence is that when they go +out doors they are chilled, and if they are not in good physical +condition colds and other diseases generally result. By wearing outer +garments according to climatic conditions one can easily get all the +protection necessary. Those who take the proper food and enough exercise +and dry friction of the skin will not require or desire an excessive +amount of clothing. The feel of the wintry blast on the skin is not +disagreeable. + +If we would only give the skin more exercise, through rubbing, and more +fresh air, we would soon discard much of our clothing, and wear but +enough to make a proper and modest appearance in public, with extra +covering on cold days. Nothing can be much more ridiculous and +uncomfortable than a man in conventional attire on a hot summer's day. + +Of course, thin, nervous people should not expose themselves too much to +the cold. + +Most of the diseases known by the name of skin diseases, are digestive +troubles and blood disorders manifesting in the skin. As soon as the +systemic disease upon which they depend disappears, these so-called skin +diseases get well. Erysipelas is one of the so-called germ diseases, but +it is controlled very quickly by a proper diet. It can not occur in +people until they have ruined their health by improper living. Pure +blood will not allow the development of the streptococcus erysipelatis +in sufficient numbers to cause trouble. First the disease develops and +then the germ comes along and multiplies in great numbers, giving it +type. + +Acne, which is very common for a few years after puberty, shows a bad +condition of the blood. Even during the changes that occur at puberty no +disease will manifest in healthy boys and girls. About this time the +young people eat excessively, the result being indigestion and impure +blood. The changes that occur in the skin make it a favorable place for +irritations to manifest. Let the boys and girls eat so that they have +bright eyes and clean tongues and there will be very little trouble from +disfiguring pimples. + +Eczema is generally curable by means of proper diet and the same is true +of nearly all skin diseases that afflict infants. + +There are diseases of the skin due to local irritants, such as the +various forms of trade eczema, scabies (itch), and pediculosis +(lousiness), but the fact remains that nearly all skin diseases fail to +develop if the individual eats properly, and most of them can be cured, +after they have developed, by proper diet and attention to hygiene +generally. If the diet is such that irritants are manufactured in the +alimentary tract and absorbed into the blood, and then excreted through +the skin, where enough irritation is produced to cause disease, it is +useless to treat with powders and salves. + +Correct the dietetic errors and the skin will cure itself. Specialists +in skin diseases often fail because they treat this organ as an +independent entity, instead of considering it as a part of the body +whose health depends mostly upon the general health. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +EXERCISE. + +Nature demands of us that we use our mental and physical powers in order +to get the best results. Man was made to be active. In former times he +had to earn his bread in the sweat of his face or starve. Now we have +evolved, or is it a partial degeneration, into a state where a sharp +mind commands much more of the means of sustenance than does physical +exertion. The consequence is that many of those equipped with the +keenest minds fail to keep their bodies active. This helps to lessen +their resistance and produces early death. + +Some exercise is needed and the question is, how much is necessary and +how is it to be taken so that it will not degenerate into drudgery? +There are very few with enough persistence to continue certain +exercises, no matter how beneficial, if they become a grind. + +The amount required depends upon the circumstances. Ordinarily, a few +minutes of exercise each day, supplemented with some walking and deep +breathing will suffice. About five minutes of vigorous exercise night +and morning are generally enough to keep a person in good physical +condition, if he is prudent otherwise. + +Many strive to build up a great musculature. This is a mistake, unless +the intention is to become an exhibit for the sake of earning one's +living. Big muscles do not spell health, efficiency and endurance. Even +a dyspeptic may be able to build big muscles. What is needed for the +work of life is not a burst of strength that lasts for a few moments and +then leaves the individual exhausted for the day, but the endurance +which enables one to forge ahead day after day. + +It is generally dangerous to build up great muscles, for if the +exercises that brought them into being are stopped, they begin to +degenerate so fast that the system with difficulty gets rid of the +poisons. Then look out for one of the diseases of degeneration, such as +inflammation of the kidneys or typhoid fever. + +The great muscles exhibited from time to time upon the variety stage and +in circuses are not normal. Man is the only animal that develops them, +and they are not brought about by ordinary circumstances. Once acquired, +they prove a burden, for they demand much daily work to be kept in +condition. + +Good muscles are more serviceable than extraordinary ones. Vigorous +exercise is better than violent exercise. It is well known that many of +our picked athletes, men with great original physical endowment, die +young. The reason is that they have either been overdeveloped, or at +some time they have overtaxed their bodies so in a supreme effort at +vanquishing their opponents that a part of the vital mechanism has been +seriously affected. Then when they settle down to business life they +fail to take good care of themselves and they degenerate rapidly. + +Exercising should not be a task, for then it is work. It should be of a +kind that interests and pleases the individual, for then it is +accompanied by that agreeable mental state from which great good will +come to the body. It is necessary for us to think enough of our bodies +to supply them with the activity needed for their welfare and we should +do this with good grace. + +Exercise enough to bring the various muscles into play and the heart +into vigorous action. Office workers should take exercises for the part +of the body above the waist, plus some walking each day. All should take +enough exercise to keep the spine straight and pliable. Bending +exercises are good for this purpose, keeping the knees straight and +touching the floor with the fingers. Then bend backward as far as +possible. Then with hands on the hips rotate the body from the waist. + +It is very desirable to keep the body erect, for this gives the greatest +amount of lung space, and gives the individual a noble, courageous +appearance and feeling. The forward slouch is the position of the ape. +It is not necessary to pay any attention to the shoulders, if the spine +is kept in proper position, for the shoulders will then fall into the +right place. Being straight is a matter of habit. No one can maintain +this position without some effort. At least, one has to make the effort +to get and retain the habit. Most round-shouldered people could school +themselves in two or three months to be straight. + +Those who are moderate in eating need less exercise than others. Too +great food intake requires much labor to work it off. When the food is +but enough to supply materials for repair, heat and energy, there is no +need of great effort to burn up the excess. To exercise much and long, +then eat enough to compel more exercise, is a waste of good food, time +and energy. Be moderate in all things if you would have the best that +life can give you. + +Always make deep breathing a part of the exercise. No matter what one's +physical troubles may be, deep breathing will help to overcome them. It +will help to cure cold feet by bringing more oxygen into the blood. It +will help to drive away constipation by giving internal massage to the +bowels. It will help to overcome torpid liver by the exercise given that +organ. It will help to cure rheumatism by producing enough oxygen to +burn up some of the foreign deposits in various parts of the body. As an +eye-opener deep breathing has alcohol distanced. It costs nothing and +has only good after effects. Moreover, deep breathing takes no time. A +dozen or more deep breaths can be taken morning and night, and every +time one steps into the fresh air, without taking one second from one's +working time. To have health good blood is necessary, and this can not +be had without taking sufficient fresh air into the lungs. + +Proper clothing must also be taken into consideration in connection with +breathing and exercise. The clothes must be loose enough to allow free +play to limbs, chest and abdomen. Men and women were not shaped to wear +two and three inch heels. Those who persist in this folly must pay the +price in discomfort and an unbalanced body. + +The time to take exercise depends upon circumstances. It is best not to +indulge for at least one or two hours after a hearty meal, for exercise +interferes with digestion. A very good plan is to take from five to +twenty-five minutes of exercise, according to one's requirement, before +dressing in the morning and after undressing at night. Those who take +exercises in a gymnasium or have time for out door games will have no +difficulty in selecting proper time. + +Dumbbells, Indian clubs, weights, patent exercisers and gymnasium stunts +are all right for those who enjoy them. One thing to bear in mind is +that short, choppy movements are not as good as the larger movements +that bring the big muscles into play. + +It is well to exercise until there is a comfortable feeling of fatigue. +If this is done the heart works vigorously, sending the blood rapidly to +all parts of the body, and the lungs also come into full play to supply +the needed oxygen. This acts as a tonic to the entire system. + +The body must be used to keep it from degenerating. A healthy body gives +courage and an optimistic outlook upon life. A sluggish liver can hide +the most beautiful sunrise, but a healthy body gives the eye power to +see beauty on the most dreary day. + +Those who are not accustomed to exercise will be very, sore at first, if +they begin too vigorously. The soreness can be avoided by taking but two +or three minutes at a time at first, and increasing until the desired +amount is taken daily. + +If the muscles get a little sore and stiff at first, do not quit, for by +continuing the exercises, the soreness soon leaves. Many begin with +great enthusiasm, which soon burns itself out. Excessive enthusiasm is +like the burning love of those who "can't live" without the object of +their affection. It burns so brightly that it soon consumes itself. Go +to work at a rate that can be kept up. To exercise hard for a few weeks +or a few months and then give it up will do no good in the end. However, +a person may occasionally let a day or two pass by without taking +exercise with benefit. Avoid getting into a monotonous grind. + +I believe that the very best exercises are those which are taken in the +spirit of play. No matter who it is, if he or she will make the effort, +time enough can be found occasionally to spend at least one-half of a +day in the open, and this is very important. We can not long flourish +without getting into touch with mother nature, and we need a few hours +each week without care and worry in her company. Many immediately say, +"I can't." Get rid of that negative attitude and say, "I can and I +will." See how quickly the obstacles melt away. There are many who are +slaves to duty. They believe that they must grind away. They think they +are indispensable. The world got along very well before they were born +and it will roll on in the same old way after they are gathered to their +fathers. The thing to do is to break the bonds of the wrong mental +attitude and then both time and opportunity will be forthcoming. + +I shall comment on only a few of the outdoor exercises that are +excellent. + +Swimming is one of the finest. There is a great deal of difference +between swimming and taking a bath in a tub. Some people cannot remain +in the water long, but if they have any resistance at all and are +active, there will be no bad results. In swimming it is well to take +various strokes, swimming on the back, on the side, and on the face. +This brings nearly every muscle in the body into play and if the swimmer +does not stay in too long it makes him feel fine. If a feeling of +chilliness or weariness is experienced, it is time to quit the water, +dry off well and take a vigorous dry rub. Swims should always be +followed with considerable rubbing. The use of a little olive oil on the +body, and especially on the feet, is very grateful. No special rule can +be laid down for the duration of a swim, but very thin people should +generally not remain in the water more than fifteen minutes, and stout, +vigorous ones not over an hour. It is best not to go swimming until two +hours have elapsed since the last meal. + +Every boy and every girl should be taught to swim, for it may be the +means of preserving their lives. It is not difficult. For the benefit of +those who start the beginners with the rather tedious and tiresome +breast stroke, will say that the easiest way to teach swimming is to get +the learner to float on his back. I have taught boys to float in as +little as three minutes, and after that everything else is easy. When +the beginner can float, he can easily start to paddle a little and make +some progress. Then he can turn on his side and learn the side stroke, +which is one of the best. Then he can turn on the face and learn various +strokes. This is not the approved way of learning to swim, but it is the +easiest and quickest way. + +To float simply means to get into balance in the water. It is necessary +to arch the body, making the spine concave posteriorly, and bending the +neck well backward at first. In the beginning it is a great aid to fill +the lungs well and breathe rather shallow. This makes the body light in +the water. Tell the beginner that it does not make any difference +whether the feet sink or stay up. It is only necessary to keep the face +above water while floating. If there is the slightest tendency to sink, +bend the neck a little more, putting the head, farther back in the +water, instead of raising it, as most of the learners want to do. +Remember that the trunk and neck must be kept well arched, the head well +back in the water. The moment the beginner doubles up at waist or hips +or bends the neck forward, raising the head, he sinks. + +For speed and fancy swimming professional instruction should be +obtained. Swimming is one of the best all-round developers, as well as +one of the most pleasant of exercises. + +Golf is no longer a rich man's game. The large cities have public links. +For an office man it is a splendid game. Women can play it with equal +benefit. The full vigorous strokes, followed with a walk after the ball, +then more strokes, exercise the entire body. It is good for young and +old, and for people in all walks of life. + +Tennis is splendid for some people. Those who are very nervous and +excitable should play at something else, for they are apt to play too +hard and use up too much energy. Overexercising is just as harmful as +excesses in other lines. Tennis requires quickness and is a good game +for those who are inclined to be sluggish, for it wakes them up. + +Horseback riding is also a fine exercise. The companionship with an +intelligent animal, the freedom, the fresh air, the scenery, all give +enjoyment of life, and the constant movement acts as a most delicious +tonic. There is only one correct way to ride for both sexes, and that is +astride. The side saddle position keeps the spine twisted so that it +takes away much of the benefit to be derived from riding. Out west the +approved manner of riding for women is astride. The women of the west +make a fine appearance on horseback. + +Tramping is possible for all. If there are hills to be climbed, or +mountains, so much the better. Put on old clothes and old shoes and have +an enjoyable time. Fine apparel under the circumstances spoils more than +half of the pleasure. + +Playing ball or bicycle riding may be indulged in with benefit. It is +not fashionable to ride on bicycles today, yet it is a pleasant mode of +covering ground, and if the trunk is kept erect it is a good exercise. +Jumping rope, playing handball, tossing the medicine ball and sawing +wood are good forms of exercise and great fun. The spirit of play and +good will easily double the value of any exercise that is taken. + +Dancing is also good if the ventilation is adequate and the hours are +reasonable. + +Under various conditions vicarious exercises are valuable, and by that I +mean such forms of exercise as massage, osteopathic treatment or +vibratory treatment. If anything is wrong with the spine, get an +osteopath or a chiropractor. They can help to remedy such defects more +quickly than anyone else. They are experts in adjustments and thrusts. + +Some people take exercises while lying in bed or on the floor. One good +exercise to take while lying on the back is to go through the motions of +riding a bicycle. Another is to lie down, then bend the body at the +hips, getting into a sitting position; repeat a few times. Another is to +face the floor, holding the body rigid, supported on the toes and the +palms of the hands; slowly raise the body until the arms are straight +and slowly lower it again until the abdomen touches the floor; repeat +several times. + +It is impossible to go into detail regarding various exercises here. +Those who wish to take care of themselves can easily devise a number of +good ones, or they can employ a physical culture teacher to give them +pointers. Here as elsewhere, good sense wins out. It is not necessary to +give much time to exercise, but a little is valuable. Those who labor +with their hands often use but few muscles, and it would be well for +them to take corrective exercises so that the body will remain in good +condition. + +There is no excuse for round shoulders and sunken chests. A few weeks, +or at most a few months, will correct this in young people. The older +the individual, the longer it takes. If the vertebrae have grown +together in bony union no correction is possible. + +It is as necessary to relax as it is to exercise. When weary, take a few +minutes off and let go physically and mentally. A little training will +enable you to drop everything, and even if it is for but five minutes, +the ease gives renewed vigor. It does not matter what position is +assumed, if it is comfortable and allows the muscles to lose all +tension. At such times it is well to let the eyelids gently close, +giving the eyes a rest. Eye strain is very exhausting to the whole body +and often results in serious discomfort. + +Many do not know how to relax. They think they are relaxed, yet their +bodies are in a state of tension. When relaxed any part of the body that +may be raised falls down again as though it were dead. People who do +much mental work are at times so aroused by ideas that refuse to release +their hold until they have been worked out or given expression that they +can not sleep for the time being. A few minutes of relaxation then gives +rest. When the problem has been solved, the worker is rewarded with +sweet slumbers. An occasional night of this kind of wakefulness does no +harm, provided no such drugs as coffee, alcohol, strychnine and morphine +are used. + +We are undoubtedly intended to be useful. Normal men and women are not +content unless they are helpful. Hence we have our work or vocation. +However, people who get into a rut, and they are liable to if they work +all the time at one thing, lose efficiency. Therefore it is well to have +an avocation or a hobby to sharpen mind and body. + +It does not make much difference what the hobby is, provided it is +interesting. We waste much time that could give us more pleasure if it +were intelligently employed. An hour a day given to a subject for a few +years in the spirit of play will give a vast fund of information and may +in time be of inestimable benefit. + +Those who labor much with the hands would do well to take some time each +day for mental recreation, and those who work in mental channels should +get joy and benefit from physical efforts. A few hobbies, depending upon +circumstances, may be: Photography, music, a foreign language, the +drama, literature, history, philosophy, painting, gardening, raising +chickens, dogs or bees, floriculture, and botany. Some people have +become famous through their hobbies. They are excellent for keeping the +mind fluid, which helps to retain physical youth. + +There is something peculiarly beneficial about tending and watching +growing and unfolding things. It is well known that women remain young +longer than men. We have good reason to believe that one of the causes +is their intimate relation with children. Growing flowers, vegetables, +chickens and pups have the same influence in lesser degree. Tender, +helpless things bring out the best qualities in our natures. We can not +be on too intimate terms with nature, so, if possible, select a hobby +that brings you closely in contact with her and her products. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +BREATHING AND VENTILATION. + +The respiratory apparatus is truly marvelous in beauty and efficiency. +Medical men complain about nature's way of constructing the alimentary +canal, saying that it is partly superfluous, but no such complaint is +lodged against the lungs and their accessories. + +The respiratory system may be likened in form to a well branched tree, +with hollow trunk, limbs and leaves: The trachea is the trunk; the two +bronchi, one going to the right side and the other to the left side, are +the main branches; the bronchioles and their subdivisions are the +smaller branches and twigs; the air cells are the leaves. + +The trachea and bronchi are tubes, furnished with cartilaginous rings to +keep them from collapsing. They are lined with mucous membrane. The +bronchi give off branches, which in turn divide and subdivide, until +they become very fine. Upon the last subdivisions are clustered many +cells or vesicles. These are the air cells and here the exchange takes +place, the blood giving up carbonic acid gas and receiving from the +inspired air a supply of oxygen. This exchange takes place through a +very thin layer of mucous membrane, the air being on one side and the +blood capillaries on the other side. + +The whole respiratory tract is lined with mucous membrane. This membrane +is ciliated, that is, it is studded with tiny hairlike projections, +extending into the air passages. These are constantly in motion, much +like the grain in a field when the wind is gently blowing. Their +function is to prevent the entry of foreign particles into the air +cells, for their propulsive motion is away from the lungs, toward the +external air passages. + +In some of the large cities where the atmospheric conditions are +unfavorable and the air is laden with dust and smoke, the cilia are +unable to prevent the entrance of all the fine foreign particles in the +air. Then these particles irritate the mucous membrane, which secretes +enough mucus to imprison the intruders. Consequently there is +occasionally expulsion of gray or black mucus, which should alarm no one +under the circumstances, if feeling well. Normally the mucous membrane +secretes only enough mucus to lubricate itself, and when there is much +expulsion of mucus it means that either the respiratory or the digestive +system, or both, are being abused. At such times the sufferer should +take an inventory of his habits and correct them. + +The air cells are made up of very thin membrane. So great is their +surface that if they could be flattened out they would form a sheet of +about 2,000 square feet. We can not explain satisfactorily why it is +that through their walls there is an exchange of gases, nor how the +respiratory system can act so effectively both as an exhaust of harmful +matter and a supply of necessary elements. The distribution of the blood +capillaries, so tiny that the naked eye can not make them out, is +wonderful. Under the microscope they look like patterns of delicate, +complex, beautiful lace. + +The lungs are supplied with more blood than any other, part of the body. +A small part of it is for the nourishment of the lung structure, but +most of it comes to be purified. After the blood has traveled to various +parts of the body to perform its work as a carrier of food, and oxygen +and gatherer of waste, it returns to the heart and from the heart it is +sent to the lungs. There it gives up its carbonic acid gas and receives +a supply of oxygen. Then it returns to the heart again and once more it +is sent to all parts of the body to distribute the vital element, +oxygen. + +The lungs give off watery vapor, a little animal matter and considerable +heat, but their chief function is to exchange the carbonic acid gas of +the blood for the oxygen of the air. When the fats, sugars and starches, +in their modified form, are burned in the body to produce heat and +energy, carbonic acid gas and water are formed. The gas is taken up by +the blood stream, which is being deprived of its oxygen at the same +time. This exchange turns the blood from red into a bluish tinge. The +red color is due to the union of oxygen with the iron in the blood +corpuscles, forming rust, roughly speaking. + +The fine adjustment that exists in nature can be seen by taking into +consideration that animals give off carbon dioxide and breathe in +oxygen, while vegetation exhales oxygen and inhales carbon dioxide. In +other words, animal life makes conditions favorable for plant growth, +and vegetation makes possible the existence of animals. + +An animal of the higher class can live several days without water, +several weeks without food, but only a very few minutes without oxygen. +When the blood becomes surcharged with carbonic acid gas, and oxygen is +refused admittance to the lungs, life ceases in about five or six +minutes. From this it can easily be seen how important it is to have a +proper supply of oxygen. Acute deprivation of this element is +immediately fatal, and chronic deprivation of a good supply helps to +produce early deterioration and premature death. The lungs can easily be +kept in good condition, and when we ponder on the beautiful and +effective way in which nature has equipped us with a respiratory +apparatus and an inexhaustible store of oxygen, surely we must +understand the folly of not helping ourselves to what is so vital, yet +absolutely free. + +Wrong eating and impure air are largely responsible for all kinds of +respiratory troubles, from a simple cold to the most aggravated form of +pulmonary tuberculosis. Exercise and deep breathing will to a great +extent antidote overeating, but there is a limit beyond which the lungs +refuse to tolerate this form of abuse. + +Experiments have shown that if the carbonic acid gas thrown off daily by +an adult male were solidified, it would amount to about seven ounces of +solid carbon, which comes from fats, sugars and starches that are burned +in the body. It is well to remember that there are various forms of +burning or combustion. Rapid combustion is exemplified in stoves and +furnaces, where the carbon of coal or wood rapidly and violently unites +with oxygen. Slow combustion takes place in the rotting of wood, the +rusting of iron and steel and the union of oxygen with organic matter in +animal bodies. Both processes are the same, varying only in rapidity and +intensity. + +People who daily give off seven ounces of carbon are overworking their +bodies. They take in too much food and consequently force too great +combustion. This forcing has evil effects on the system, for under +forced combustion the body is not able to clean itself thoroughly. Some +of the soot remains in the flues (the blood-vessels) and is deposited in +the various parts of the engine (the body). Result: Hardening, which +means loss of elasticity and aging of the body. Aging of the body +results in deterioration of the mind. Proper breathing is fine, but +unless it is also accompanied by proper eating it does not bring the +best results. + +The atmospheric air contains about four parts of carbonic acid gas to +10,000 parts of air. The exhaled air becomes quite heavily charged with +this gas, about 400 to 500 parts in 10,000. It does not take long before +the air in a closed, occupied room is so heavily charged with this gas +and so poor in oxygen that its constant rebreathing is detrimental. The +blood stream becomes poisoned, which immediately depresses the physical +and mental powers. Warning is often given by a feeling of languor and +perhaps a slight headache. People accustom themselves to impure air so +that they apparently feel no bad effects, but this is always at the +expense of health. The senses may be blunted, but the evil results +always follow. To keep a house sealed up as tightly as possible in order +to keep it warm saves fuel bills, but the resultant bodily deterioration +and disease cause enough discomfort and result in doctor bills which +more than offset this saving. It is poor economy. + +A constant supply of the purest air obtainable must be furnished to the +lungs; otherwise the blood becomes so laden with poison that health, in +its best and truest sense, is impossible. + +The air should be inhaled through the nose. It does not matter much how +it is exhaled. The nose is so constructed that it fits the air for the +lungs. The inspired air is often too dry, dusty and cold. The normal +nose remedies all these defects. The mucous membrane in the nasal +passages contains cilia, which catch the dust. The nasal passages are +very tortuous so that during its journey through them the air is warmed +and takes up moisture. + +Habitual mouth breathing is one of the causes of the hardening and +toughening of the mucous membrane of the respiratory passages, for the +mouth does not arrest the irritating substances floating in the air, nor +does it sufficiently warm and moisten the inspired air. Irritation +produces inflammation and this in turn causes thickening of the +membranes. Then it is very easy to acquire some troublesome affliction +such as asthma. Very cold air is irritating, but the passage through the +nose warms it sufficiently. + +The evil results of mouth breathing are well seen in children, in whom +it raises the roof of the mouth and brings the lateral teeth too close +together. Then the dentists have to correct the deformity and the +children are forced to suffer protracted inconvenience. This mouth +breathing is mostly due to wrong feeding, especially overfeeding, which +causes swelling of the mucous membrane, thus impeding the intake of the +air through the nose and forcing it through the mouth. The chief +curative measure is obvious. Cut down the child's food supply and give +food of better quality. Remember that children should not be fat. + +Normal breathing is rhythmical, with a slight rise of the abdomen and +chest during inspiration and a slight falling during expiration. Watch a +sleeping baby, and you will understand what is meant. The ratio of +breathing to the beating of the heart is about one to four or five. +Whatever accelerates the heart causes more rapid breathing and vice +versa. Breathing is practically automatic, and were we living under +natural conditions we should need to pay no attention to it, but +inasmuch as our mode of life prevents the full use of the lungs a little +intelligent consideration is necessary to attain full efficiency. + +The body should be left as free as possible by the clothes and +especially is this true of the chest and waist line. Women sin much +against themselves in this respect. Most of them find it absolutely +necessary for their mental welfare to constrict the lower part of the +chest and the waist line a great part of the time, for really it would +not do to be out of fashion. The statue of Venus de Milo is generally +considered to represent the highest form of female beauty and perfection +in sculptural art. If living women would consent to remain beautiful, +instead of being slaves to fashion, it would be much better for +themselves and for the race. A corseted woman can not breathe properly, +even if she can introduce her hand between the body and her corset to +prove that she is not constricted. The natural curves of women are more +graceful than those produced by the corset. It would be an easy matter +to give the breasts sufficient support, if they need support, without +constricting the body, and then take enough exercise to keep the waist +and abdomen firm and in shape to accord with a normal sense of what is +beautiful and proper. + +Woman does right in being as good looking as possible, and it would do +man no harm to imitate her in this, for truly, "Beauty is its own excuse +for being." But beauty and fashion seldom go hand in hand. Look at the +modes which were the fashion, and you will be compelled to say that many +of them are offensive to people of good taste. American women should +cease imitating the caprice of the women of the underworld of Paris. +There are indications that women are liberating themselves somewhat from +the chains of fashions, as well as from other ridiculous things, so let +us hope that they will soon be brave enough to look as beautiful as +nature allows them to be, both in face and figure. + +The lungs, like every other part of the body, become weakened when not +used. The chest cavity enlarges during inspiration, but this enlargement +is prevented if there is constriction of the lower ribs and the waist. +The normal breathing is abdominal. Such breathing is health-imparting. +It massages the liver gently with each breath and is mildly tonic to the +stomach and the bowels. It truly gives internal exercise. It helps to +prevent constipation. + +Shallow breathing causes degeneration of lung tissue, and indirectly +degeneration of every tissue in the body, for it deprives the blood of +enough oxygen to maintain health. It also prevents the internal exercise +of the abdominal organs, which is a necessary activity of the normal +organism. Shallow breathers only use the upper parts of the lungs. It is +not to be wondered at that the lower parts easily degenerate. In +pneumonia, for instance, the lower part is usually first affected, and +in tuberculosis one often can get the physical indications in the lower +part of the lungs posteriorly before they can be found any other place. +The upper parts have to be used and consequently they get more exercise +and more blood and hence become more resistant. It is well known that +when the upper part of the lungs become affected the disease is very +grave. + +Men, as well as women, are guilty of shallow breathing. Many men are +very inactive and their breathing becomes sluggish. This can be remedied +by taking vigorous exercise and a few breathing exercises. Because +abdominal breathing is the correct way, some physical culturists, who +mix the so-called New Thought with their system, advocate exercising and +concentrating the mind on the abdomen at the same time. This is +unnecessary, for the proper exercises and the right attitude will cause +abdominal breathing without giving the abdomen special thought. + +Man was evidently intended to earn his food through physical exertion +and exercise, and so long as he did this the lungs were compelled to +expand. A few running exercises or hill or mountain climbs will suffice +to prove the truth of this statement. However, now that man can ride on +a street car and earn, or at least get, his daily bread by sitting in an +office, it is necessary to exercise a little in order to get good +results. The farmer who sits crouched up on a plow, mower or binder also +fails to use his lungs, but if he gets out and pitches hay or bundles of +grain, he is sure to get what oxygen he needs. + +Everyone should get into the habit of breathing deeply several times a +day. Upon rising in the morning, go to the open window or out of doors +and take at least a dozen slow, deep breaths, inhaling slowly, holding +the air in the lungs a few moments and exhaling slowly. This should be +repeated noon and night. Every time when one is in the fresh air, it is +well to take a few full breaths. By and by the proper breathing will +become a habit, to the great benefit of one's health. + +There are many breathing exercises, but every intelligent being can make +his own exercises, so I shall describe but one. Have the hands hanging +at the sides, palms facing each other. Inhale slowly and at the same +time bring the arms, which are to be held straight, forward and upward, +or outward and upward, carrying them as far up and back over the head as +possible. The arm motion is also to be slow. About the time the arms are +in the last position a full inspiration has been taken. Hold the +position of the arms and the breath a few seconds and then slowly exhale +and slowly bring the arms back to the first position. Repeat ten or +twelve times. If while one is inhaling and raising the arms, one also +slowly rises on the toes and slowly resumes a natural foot position +while exhaling, the exercise will be even better. + +Hollow-chested young people can attain a good lung capacity and good +chest contour in a very reasonable time. Persistence in proper breathing +and proper exercise will have remarkable results in even two or three +months, and at the same time nature will be painting roses on pallid +cheeks. It is easy to increase the chest expansion several inches. Those +who expand less than three and one-half inches should not be satisfied +until they have gone beyond this mark. Elderly people can also increase +their chest expansion and breathing capacity, but it takes more time, +for with the years the chest cartilages have a tendency to harden and +even to ossify. The less breathing the sooner the ossification comes. + +Many people are afraid of night air, for which there is no reason. The +absence of sunshine at night does no more harm than it does on cloudy +days. During the night, of all times, fresh air is needed, for less is +used, and what little is breathed should be of as good quality as +circumstances permit. Open the windows wide enough to have the air +constantly changing in the bedroom. During the winter it will be +necessary to put additional clothes on the bed, for no one can obtain +the best of slumbers while chilled. Some may find it a better plan to +use artificial heat in the foot of the bed. At any rate, during cold +weather better covering is required for the legs and for the feet than +for any other part of the body. People with good resistance can sleep in +a draught without the least harm, but ordinary people should not sleep +in a draught. It is easy to use screens so that the wind does not blow +upon the face. If the air is kept stirring in the chamber the sleeper +gets enough without being in a current. + +Some are in the habit of closing their bedroom windows and doors at +night and opening them for a thorough airing during the day. If the +bedrooms must be closed, close them during the day and open them wide at +night, for that is when the pure air is needed. It does not make much +difference whether they are open or closed while being unoccupied. It is +actually sickening to enter some bedrooms and be compelled to breathe +the foul air. + +When people are ill the rooms should have fresh air entering at all +times. Sick people give off more poisons than do those in good health +and they need the oxygen to burn up the deposits in the system. + +An early morning stroll while most people are in bed is very +instructive. It will be found that some houses are shut up as tightly as +possible and that only a few are properly ventilated. A person who +insists on keeping his window open in winter is often looked upon as a +freak. What is the result of this close housing? The first result is +that the blood is unable to obtain the required amount of oxygen and is +poisoned by the rebreathing of the air in the room. In the morning the +sleeper wakes feeling only half rested, and it takes a cup of coffee or +something else to produce complete awakening. The evil results are +cumulative, and after a while the bad habit of breathing impure air at +night will be a great factor in building disease of some kind. + +One reason why some are so afraid of fresh air, especially at night, is +that they become so autotoxemic through bad habits, especially improper +eating habits, that a slight draught causes them to sneeze and often +catch cold and they believe that the fresh air causes the irritation. +This is not so. The irritability comes from within, not from without. + +After becoming accustomed to good ventilation at night it is almost +impossible to enter into restful slumbers in a stuffy room. + +Savages are singularly free from respiratory diseases, and the reason is +without doubt that they do not house themselves closely. In some parts +of the world they fear to let civilized men enter their abodes, for they +may bring respiratory diseases. + +Not only the homes, but public places, such as street cars, theaters, +schools and churches are too often poorly ventilated. Sleeping, or +rather dozing in church is so common that it is a matter of jest. My +experience has been that drowsiness comes not from the dullness of +sermons, but from the impossibility of getting a breath of good air in +many churches. + +Please remember that exhaled air is excretory matter, and that it is +both unclean and unwholesome to consume it over and over again. + +Draughts do not cause colds. Cold air does not cause colds. Wet clothes +do not cause colds: These things may be minor contributory factors, but +the body must be in poor condition before one can catch cold. Colds are +generally caught at the table. Lack of fresh air also helps to produce +colds, as well as other diseases. + +The tendency in our country is to heat buildings too much. Europeans are +both surprised and uncomfortable when they first enter our dwellings or +public meeting places. The temperature in a dwelling should not be +forced above seventy degrees Fahrenheit by means of artificial heating. +The temperature required depends very much upon one's mental attitude +and habits. Those who take enough exercise have good circulation of the +blood in the extremities, and therefore do not need so much artificial +heat. The best heating is from within. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +SLEEP. + +A young baby should sleep almost all the time, and it will if +intelligently cared for. Overfeeding is the bane of the baby's life and +is the cause of most of its restlessness. The first few months the baby +should be awake enough to take its food, and then go to sleep again. As +it grows older it sleeps less and less. + +There is no fixed time for an adult to sleep. The amount varies with +different individuals. The idea is quite prevalent that eight hours +nightly are necessary. This may be true for some. Many do very well on +seven hours' sleep, and even less. The great inventor, Thomas Edison, is +said to have had but very little sleep for many years, and it is +reported that when interested in some problem he would miss a night or +two. Yet he has lived longer than the average individual and is now in +good health. Very few have done as much constructive work as he. Many +other prominent people have been light sleepers. + +As people grow older they require less sleep than they did in youth. It +is not uncommon for septuagenarians to sleep but five hours nightly. + +Although we can not say how much sleep any individual may require, each +person can find out for himself, and this is much better than to try to +live by rules, which are often erroneous. + +Those who live as they should otherwise and select a definite hour for +retiring and adhere to it, except on special occasions, get all the +sleep that is necessary. They awake in the morning refreshed, ready to +do a good day's work. + +During sound sleep all conscious endeavors cease. The vital organs do +only enough work to keep the body alive. The breathing is lighter, the +circulation is slower and in sound sleep there is no thinking. This +letting up in the great activity of body and mind gives an opportunity +for the millions of cells, of which the body is composed, to take from +the blood what is needed to restore them to normal. During the day many +of these cells become worn and weary. At night they recuperate. Hence +undisturbed sleep is very important. + +Many believe that "early to bed and early to rise" is the proper way, +that the hours of sleep before midnight are more refreshing and +invigorating than those after. This is merely a belief, perhaps a good +one. Early retiring leads to regularity, which is very desirable. Late +retiring often means loose mental and physical habits. Those who are +regular about their time of retiring and live well otherwise feel +refreshed whether they go to bed early or late. Children should always +retire early, otherwise they do not get enough sleep. The night is the +natural sleeping time for most creatures, as well as for man. This is a +heritage of ages. There was no artificial illumination during the stone +age. Man could do nothing during the darkness, so he rested. However, +those who must work at night find no trouble in sleeping during the day. +The tendency among men is the same as among animals, to sleep more in +winter than in summer, not that more sleep is required, but because the +winter nights are longer. + +Children should go to bed early. They require more sleep than adults +because of the greater cell activity. Also, children who stay up late +generally become irritable and nervous. + +It is not well to eat immediately before retiring. The sleep following a +late meal is generally interrupted, and there is not that feeling of +brightness and clearness of mind, with which one should awake, next +morning. + +Lunching before going to bed is a bad habit. Some believe they must have +an apple, or perhaps a glass of milk, before retiring, for they think +that this will bring sleep. The body should not be burdened with extra +food to digest during the sleeping hours. This time should be dedicated +to the restoring of the body, and the blood contains ample material. + +Dreaming is largely a bad habit. A normal individual rarely dreams, and +then generally following some imprudence. Dreams begin in childhood and +are then due principally to excessive food intake. As a producer of +nightmares overfeeding has no equal. During adult life dreaming is +caused by bad physical and mental conduct, plus the habit which was +formed in childhood. Fear, anger, worry, stimulants, too much food, +impure air and too warm clothes are some of the causes that produce +dreams. Like other bad habits, dreaming is difficult to overcome once it +is firmly established. The cure consists in righting one's other bad +habits and in not thinking about the dreams. A sleep that is disturbed +by dreams is not as sound as it should be and consequently not as +refreshing as normal sleep. The conscious mind is not completely at rest +and, the subconscious mind is running riot. Normal sleep is complete +unconsciousness. This is the sleep of the just and must be earned. + +Before retiring all the clothes worn during the day should be removed. +The night apparel should be light--cotton, linen or silk. The bed +should be comfortable, but not too soft. There should be enough covering +to keep the sleeper comfortably warm, but not hot. Those who cover +themselves with so many quilts or blankets that they perspire during the +night are not properly refreshed. It prevents sound sleep and makes the +skin too sensitive. It reduces a person's resistance to climatic +changes. The feet should be kept warm, even if necessary to put +artificial heat in the foot of the bed. During cold weather the feet and +the legs should have more covering than the rest of the body. From the +waist up the covering should be rather light. + +Sound sleep is dependent on relaxation of mind and body. Those who live +the day over after going to bed do not go to sleep quickly or easily. +This habit should be overcome. Do business at the business place, during +business hours, if you would have the mind fresh. There are days so full +of cares that the night does not bring mental relaxation, but those who +have begun early in life to practice self-control find these days +growing fewer as the years roll by. When they learn their true +relationship to the rest of humanity, to the universe and to eternity, +they are generally willing and able to let the earth rotate and revolve +for a few hours without their personal attention. They realize that +worry and anxiety waste time and energy. + +Many complain that they can not sleep. This they repeat to themselves +and to others many times a day. At night they ask themselves why they +can not sleep. They do it so often that it becomes a powerful negative +suggestion frequently strong enough to prevent their going to sleep. It +is an obsession. Real insomnia exists only in the mind of the sufferer. +Every physician, sooner or later, has experience with people who say +that they can not sleep. The doctors who give such patients sleeping +powders or potions make a grave mistake. These drugs are taken at the +expense of some of the physical structures, and the day of settlement +always comes. Perhaps it will find the patient with bankrupted nerves or +a failing heart. To be effective, the size of the dose must be increased +from time to time. At last the result will be some disease, either +physical or mental. + +Those who insist that they "do not sleep at all," or that they sleep +"but a few minutes" each night, sleep a few hours, but they make +themselves believe that they do not sleep. We are compelled to sleep, +and even those who "do not sleep at all" can not remain awake +indefinitely. + +Those who are troubled with the no-sleep obsession will soon realize +that they sleep as well as others if they cease thinking and talking so +much about the subject. I have seen people suffering from this bad habit +recover in one week. Those who have been taking drugs to induce sleep +generally have a few bad nights when they give them up, after which the +nervous storm subsides and sleep becomes normal. All drugs should be +discarded. The physician who understands more about the working of +nature than about the giving of drugs will have the best success in +these cases. Soothing sleep always comes to people possessed of a +controlled mind in a healthy body. + +If the day has been exhausting and the nerves are so alive and wrought +up that sleep will not come, do not allow the mind to delve into worry +about it. Do not say to yourself: "I wish I could sleep. Why can't I +sleep?" Such fretful thinking produces mental tension, which drives +sleep away. Instead, say to yourself: "I am very comfortable. I am +having a refreshing rest. It does not matter whether I sleep or not." By +all means relax the body. Choose a comfortable position and remain +quiet, having the muscles relaxed. It is remarkable how soon a relaxed +body brings tranquility to a disturbed mind. Let a man in pugnacious +mood relax his face and his fists and in a very short time his anger +vanishes. It makes no difference whether a person sleeps eight hours on +a certain night. If he is fairly regular about going to bed he will get +enough sleep. Those who realize this truth do not complain of insomnia. + +Most people who think much have an occasional night when an idea takes +such strong possession of the brain and demands so forcibly to be put +into proper shape, that they can not sleep. Under such circumstances it +is as well to to get up and work out the idea. Three or four nights like +that in the course of a year will do no harm. + +People rarely sleep well when lying on the back. If the theory of +evolution is correct, we were not intended to lie on our backs during +sleep. A good position is to lie on the right side, the right leg being +anterior to the left, both being flexed. Another position that is +restful to many is to lie on the abdomen, the arms extended away from +the body. + +The breathing should be entirely nasal. It will not be nasal if there is +obstruction in the nose. A healthy person who breathes through his mouth +at night must use autosuggestion to overcome the habit. He should +suggest to himself, "I will breathe through the nose; I will keep my +lips together." If he persists in this, closes the mouth when he goes to +sleep, in time the mouth-breathing will cease, and with it the +disagreeable habit of snoring. The harmfulness of mouth-breathing is +explained in another chapter. + +At all times the bedroom should be well ventilated. Some people are in +the habit of sleeping in unventilated bedrooms, but upon rising in the +morning they throw the windows open and give the room a good airing. The +ventilation does not do much good except when there is someone in the +room. During the day the bedroom could be closed with very little harm +ensuing, though it is best to have it sunned and aired as much as +possible. + +The sleeping porch is excellent. Outdoor sleeping is all right and it is +not a modern fad. Where Benjamin Franklin got his information I do not +know, but he has this to say about outdoor sleeping: "It is recorded +that Methusaleh, who, being the longest liver, may be supposed to have +best preserved his health, that he slept always in the open air; for +when he had lived five hundred years an angel said to him: 'Arise, +Methusaleh, and build thee an house, for thou shalt live five hundred +years longer.' But Methusaleh answered, and said: 'If I am to live but +five hundred years longer, it is not worth while to build me an house; I +will sleep in the air as I have been used to do.'" This may partly +account for some of his many years. His alleged conversation with the +angel indicates that he was a man of equanimity. + +Under ordinary circumstances those who sleep indoors should have one +sash of window fully open for each person in the chamber, or more. It is +well to have plenty of fresh air, but it is not best to sleep in a +draught. When the wind is blowing through the windows it is not +necessary to have them wide open, for an aperture of four inches will +then give as much fresh air as a sash opening in calmer weather. + +It is best to get up promptly upon awakening in the morning. Remaining +in bed half asleep is productive of slothfulness. Too much sleeping and +dozing make one dull. + +Those who overeat require more sleep than moderate people. The +sluggishness and sleepiness following a too heavy meal are familiar to +all. Animals that do not get food regularly, but are dependent on the +vicissitudes of preying for their nourishment, often gorge themselves so +that they can not stay awake, but fall into a stupor, which may last for +days. Man, who is generally assured of three meals a day, has no excuse +for this form of self-abuse, but unfortunately he practices it too +often. It is a gross habit, one in which people of refinement will not +continue to indulge. + +Young children should take a nap each day. They are so active that they +need this rest. Adults can with profit take a short nap, not to exceed +thirty minutes, after lunch. Those who are nervous owe it to themselves +to take a nap. Those who use the brain a great deal will find the midday +nap a great restorer. If sleep will not come, they should at least close +their eyes and remain relaxed for a short time. A long nap makes one +feel stupid. + +Those unfortunate people who are addicted to various enslaving drugs, +such as cocaine and morphine, often are very light sleepers. They are +deteriorating physically, mentally and morally. Such people are ill and +are no guides to the needs of healthy people. + +Coffee drinking is a destroyer of sound sleep. At first the coffee seems +to soothe the nerves, but in a few hours it has the opposite effect. The +habitual use of coffee helps to bring on premature nervous instability +and physical degeneration. + +Sleep is self-regulating. If we are normal otherwise we need give the +subject no thought except to select a regular time to go to bed and get +up promptly in the morning upon awaking. + +It is easy to drive away sleep. Those who wish to enjoy this sweet +restorer at its best must be regular. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +FASTING. + +Fasting is one of the oldest of remedial measures known to man, not only +for the ills of the body, but for those of the soul. Oriental lore and +literature make frequent reference to fasts. From the Bible we learn +that Moses, Elijah and Christ each fasted forty days, and no bad effects +are recorded. + +Addison knew the value of fasting and temperance. He wrote that, +"Abstinence well-timed often kills a sickness in embryo and destroys the +seeds of a disease." Unfortunately, he did not live as well as he knew +how. Hence his brilliant mind had but a short time in which to work and +the world is the loser. + +Our own great philosopher, Benjamin Franklin, had the same knowledge, +for he wrote, "Against disease known, the strongest fence is the +defensive virtue, abstinence." + +There is much prejudice against fasting, because people do not +understand what fasting is and what it accomplishes. Fasting is not +starving. To fast is to go without food when the body is in such +condition that food can not be properly digested and assimilated. To +starve is to go without food when the body is in condition to digest and +assimilate food and needs nourishment. + +It is quite generally believed that if food is withheld for six or seven +days the result will be fatal. Under proper conditions one can go +without food for two or three months. Perhaps most people could not do +without food for the latter period, but fasts of that duration are on +record. Fat people can live on their tissues for a long time before they +are reduced to normal weight, and slender ones can live on water for an +extended period. + +Prolonged fasts should not be taken unless necessary, and then they +should be taken under the guidance of someone who has had experience and +is possessed of common sense. If a person is fearful or surrounded by +others who instill fear into him, he should not take a prolonged fast. +The gravest danger during the fast is fear. It takes many weeks to die +from lack of food, but fear is capable of killing in a few days, or even +in a few hours. The healer who undertakes to direct fasts against the +wishes of the patient's friends and relatives, who have more influence +than he has, injures himself professionally and throws doubt upon the +valuable therapeutic measure he advocates. + +The indications that a fast is needed are pain and fever and acute +attacks of all kinds of diseases. Some of the more common diseases that +call for a complete cessation of eating are: The acute stage of +pneumonia, appendicitis, typhoid fever, neuralgia, sciatica, +peritonitis, cold, tonsilitis, whooping cough, croup, scarlet fever, +smallpox and all other eruptive diseases; colics of kidneys, liver or +bowels; all acute alimentary tract disturbances, whether of the stomach +or of the bowels. + +Sometimes it is necessary to fast in chronic diseases, especially when +there is pain, but as a rule chronic diseases yield to proper hygienic +and dietetic treatment without a fast, provided they are curable. Here +is where many people who advocate fasting go to extremes. A fast is the +quickest way out of the trouble, but it is at times very unpleasant. By +taking longer time the result can be obtained by proper living and the +patient is being educated while he is recovering. In chronic cases it is +especially important to eat properly. + +The only disease of which I know that seems to be unfavorably influenced +by fasting is pulmonary tuberculosis in well advanced stages. Such +patients quickly lose weight and strength on a fast, and they have great +difficulty in regaining either. Perhaps others have had different +experiences and have made observations that do not agree with this, for +cases of tuberculosis have been reported cured through fasting. It is +well to bear in mind that every case that is diagnosed pulmonary +tuberculosis is not tuberculosis. Many supposed-to-be cases of +tuberculosis, some of them so diagnosed by most reputable specialists, +are nothing more than lung irritation due to the absorption of gas and +acid from the digestive tract. When the indigestion is cured, the +so-called tuberculosis disappears. These are the only tubercular cases +that I have seen benefited by fasts, and the improvement is both quick +and sure. + +Doubtless tuberculosis in the first stages could be cured by fasting, +followed by proper hygienic and dietetic care, for at first tuberculosis +is a localized symptom of disordered nutrition. In this stage the +disease is no more dangerous than many other maladies that are not +considered fatal. The subjects brought to the dissecting table show +plainly that a large proportion of them have at some time had pulmonary +tuberculosis, the lesions of which were healed, and they afterwards died +of some other affliction. However, if a patient is received after the +manifestation of profuse night sweats, great flushing of the cheeks, +high fever daily, emaciation, expulsion of much mucus from the lungs, +and the presence of great lassitude and weakness, the rule is that the +nutrition is so badly impaired that nothing will bring the patient back +to normal. Under such circumstances fasting hastens death. The family +and friends are not reticent about placing the blame on the healer. +Moderate feeding will prolong life and add to the comfort of the +sufferer. The customary overfeeding hastens the end. + +Cancer is said to be cured by fasting, but this is very, very doubtful. +It is often difficult to differentiate between cancer and benignant +tumors at first. Benignant tumors frequently disappear on a limited +diet. I have seen many tumors disappear under rational treatment, +without resorting to the knife, but I have never seen an undoubted case +of cancer do so, though some of the tumors in question had been +diagnosed cancer. Cancers, in the advanced stages, end in the death of +the patient in spite of any kind of treatment. By being very careful +about the diet, cancer patients can escape nearly all the pain and +discomfort that generally accompany this disease. Moderation would +prevent nearly every case of cancer, and especially moderation in meat +eating. It is a disease that should be prevented, for its cure is very +doubtful. + +Colds leave in a few days, with no bad after effects, if no food is +taken. + +Typhoid fever treated rationally from the start generally disappears in +from one week to twelve days if nothing but water is given, and fails to +develop the severity that it attains under the giving of foods and +drugs. There are no complications. + +Appendicitis is of longer duration, if it is a severe attack, lasting +from two to four weeks, but after the first few days the patient is +comfortable, under a no-food, let-alone treatment. Operation is not +necessary. + +In cases of gall-stones, accompanied by jaundice and colic, it is not +necessary to operate. Fasting and bathing will bring the body back to +normal in a short time. In such cases it is necessary to give the baths +as hot as they can be borne, and prolong them until the body is relaxed. + +It would be easy to enumerate many diseases, telling the benefits to be +derived from fasting, but these point the way and are sufficient. + +The one unfailing symptom of a fast is the loss of weight. This loss is +natural and there is nothing alarming about it. As soon as eating is +resumed the loss of weight stops. For a while the weight may then remain +stationary, but the gain is generally prompt. In time the weight will +become normal again. + +According to Chosat, the loss sustained by the various tissues in +starvation is as follows: + + Fat..................... 93 per cent. + Blood................... 75 " + Spleen.................. 71 " + Pancreas................ 64 " + Liver................... 52 " + Muscles................. 43 " + Nervous tissues.......... 2 " + +This table was made from animal experimentation, but agrees very well +with other observations, except in the loss of blood, which others have +found to be less than 20 per cent. It will be noticed that the highest +tissue, nervous tissue, is hardly affected, but the lowest tissue, fat, +almost disappears. + +When an individual needs to fast, his body is suffering from the +ingestion of too much food and poor elimination. He overworks his +nutrition and overdraws on his nervous energies so much in other lines +that the body is unable to throw off the debris which should leave by +way of the kidneys, the bowels, the skin and the lungs. He is poisoned +by his retained excretions, suffering from what is called +autointoxication or self-poisoning. He is filthy internally and needs a +cleaning. If he has abused himself so that he lacks the power to +assimilate food and throw off waste at the same time, obviously it is +proper to stop eating until the lost power is regained. In cases of +fever it is a physical crime to eat, for the glands cease secreting the +normal juices. The mouth becomes parched for lack of saliva, and the +gastric and intestinal juices are not secreted in proper amount or +quality. Food eaten under such circumstances is not digested. The +internal temperature in fever is above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and it +does not take long for food to decay in such temperature, especially +such aliments as milk and broth, which are the favorite foods for fever +patients. These alimentary substances are excellent for growing nearly +all the germs that are found in the body in disease. + +When in pain, it is harmful to eat, for the secretions are then +perverted and digestion is interfered with. All violent emotions, such +as hatred, jealousy, and anger, mean that no food should be taken until +the body has had the opportunity to relax and regain some of its tone. +Such emotions do not thrive so well in healthy individuals as among the +sick, but then perfect health is a rarity. + +When going without food people are subject to various symptoms, which +depend as much on the temperament as on the physical conditions. A +hysterical woman can scare inexperienced attendants into doing her will +by her antics. She may make them believe that she is dying. On the other +hand, well balanced, fearless people can fast for weeks with very little +annoyance. Fasting is not always pleasant and there are a number of +symptoms that are often present. + +The faster loses weight, at first often as much as two pounds a day. +This is mostly water. After the first ten days the loss may be but +one-half of a pound, or less, per day. The loss of weight is greatest in +heavy people and in those who have high fevers. + +The tongue becomes badly coated, and the breath foul, showing that the +mucous membrane is busy throwing out waste. The tongue remains coated +until the system is clean, and then it clears off. Most people feel weak +when they attempt to walk or work, but they feel strong when resting. +Others, who are badly food-poisoned, gain strength as the system +eliminates the harmful substances from the body. For a day or two the +craving for food may be quite insistent and persistent. Then hunger +generally leaves and does not return until the tongue is clean. The mind +becomes clearer as the body becomes cleaner. This benefit to the spirit, +or the soul, has been recognized by religious organizations for +centuries. + +A little discharge of blood from the bowels at first should cause no +alarm. In some cases a great deal of yellow mucus is thrown into the +lower bowel. The liver at times throws off so much bile that it makes +the patient alarmed. This should cause no uneasiness. When the bile is +forced upward into the stomach it is very disagreeable. The discharges +from the bowels are often very dark. + +There is a tendency toward chilliness, especially to have cold hands and +feet. Skin eruptions and heart palpitations are occasional symptoms. +Nervous, irritable and fearful people have symptoms too numerous to +mention. The more they are sympathized with the worse they become. + +Many medical men have misinterpreted the symptoms of the fast, and hence +they have condemned the procedure. They see the foul coating on the +tongue, the loss of weight and at times peculiar mental manifestations. +They can smell the foul breath and the disagreeable odor from the skin +and from the bowel discharges. These they interpret as signs of physical +deterioration and degeneration. These manifestations indicate that the +entire body is cleansing itself, throwing out impurities that have +accumulated, because the system has had so much work to do that it has +lacked the power to be self-cleansing. Nothing is needed to prove this +fact except to continue the fast until the odors disappear and the +tongue becomes clean. + +The bad odors given off by the body resemble the odors in severe fevers +with much wasting, and hence they alarm those who have had little or no +experience with protracted fasts. These odors are often bad at the end +of about one week of fasting, though there is no fixed period for their +appearance. They should cause no alarm for they simply indicate that the +body is cleansing itself, and that is exactly what is desired. Under +proper conditions I have neither seen nor heard of a fatality coming +from a short fast. Those who are in such physical shape that they will +die if fasted from five to ten days would die if they were fed. + +Another symptom that may alarm the attendant is the lowered blood +pressure. This is natural and should cause no anxiety. Eating and +drinking keep the blood pressure up. When the food intake is decreased, +the blood pressure is reduced. When the food intake is stopped, the +blood pressure is still further reduced. This fact should give the +intelligent healer the hint to reduce the food intake in such abnormal +conditions as arteriosclerosis and apoplexy. During prolonged fasts the +blood pressure generally becomes quite low. + +Some fasting people can continue with light work, and when they are able +to do this, it is best, for it keeps them from thinking about themselves +all the time. If there is a lack of energy, dispense with work and +vigorous exercise. In acute diseases there is no choice. One is +compelled to cease laboring. In chronic diseases it depends on the +patient and the adviser. + +Dismiss fear from the mind and do not discuss the fast or any of the +symptoms with anyone except the adviser. It is best not to tell any +outsiders about the fast, for the public has some queer ideas on the +subject. If you are afraid, or if you have to fight with neighbors, +friends, relatives, or perhaps with the health authorities, as sometimes +happens, it is better not to take the fast. + +Drink all the water desired. At first the more one drinks the more +quickly the system cleanses itself. A glass of water every hour during +the day, or even every half hour is all right. The water may be warm or +cold, but it should not be ice-cold nor should it be hot. Both extremes +produce irritation. + +In acute inflammation of the stomach, nothing should be given by mouth. +Small quantities of water may be given by rectum every two or three +hours. In appendicitis only very small quantities of water are to be +given by mouth at first, until the acute symptoms have subsided. Large +quantities of fluid may excite violent peristalsis with resulting pain. +In all eases of nausea, give nothing by mouth, not even water, until the +nausea is gone. Symptoms are nature's sign language, and when properly +interpreted they tell us what to do and what not to do. + +Even though there be no thirst or desire for water, some should be +taken. If it can be taken by mouth give at least a glassful every two +hours, not necessarily all at once. Some are so sensitive that one-half +of a glass of water is all they can tolerate. If the stomach objects to +water, give it by rectum. Always do this in cases of much nausea. After +a few days the water intake may be reduced. + +Take a quick sponge bath every day and if there is any inclination +toward chilliness, the water should be tepid or warm. Follow with a few +minutes of dry towel friction. People who are overweight, with good +heart and kidney action, can take prolonged hot baths, if they wish. An +olive oil rub immediately after the bath, about twice a week, is +grateful. However, this is not necessary. + +The colon is to be washed out every day. No definite amount of water can +be prescribed. Occasionally enemas are taken under difficulties, for +some cramp when water is introduced into the bowel. Those who are not +accustomed to enemas should use water about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. One +quart is a small enema. Two quarts make a fairly large one. Introduce +the water, lie still for a few minutes and then allow it to pass out. If +the bowels are very foul, use two or three washings. If there is much +fermentation, use some soda in the water. Salt, about a tablespoonful to +two quarts of water, stimulates the bowels, but its disadvantage is that +it draws water from the intestinal walls, thus robbing the blood of a +part of its fluid. The same is true of glycerin. Perhaps the least +harmful ingredient that can be put into the water to stimulate action is +enough pure castile soap to render the water opaque. The soap, however, +has a tendency to wash away too much of the mucus which lubricates the +bowel. On the whole, nothing is better than plain water. If it gives +good results use nothing else. + +Those who are very sensitive and weak often find that the expulsion of +water from the bowel not only further weakens them, but causes pain. In +such cases Dr. Hazzard recommends a rectal tube (not a colon tube), +which is very good, for it allows the emptying of the bowel without any +cramping. The tube is to be inserted about six inches. + +To take the enema, assume either the knee-chest position (kneeling with +the shoulders close to the floor) or lie on the right side with the hips +elevated. These positions allow water to flow into colon by aid of +gravity. + +When it is necessary to supply liquid to the body by rectum, simply +introduce a pint or less of plain water, moderately warm. Repeat as +often as necessary to keep away thirst, which will rarely be more than +every three hours. + +Keep the body warm at all times. If it is difficult to keep warm, go to +bed and use enough covers, having the windows open enough to supply +fresh air. At night use artificial heat in the foot of the bed. If +hot-water bottles, warm bricks or stones are used, they should be quite +large; otherwise they become cold by two or three o'clock in the +morning, when heat is most needed. If a large receptacle, such as a jug, +is used to keep the water in, the bed clothes are lifted off the +patient's feet, and this is often a great relief. + +No special food is suited to break all fasts on. It is necessary to +begin with plain food in moderation. Overeating or eating of +indigestible food at this time may result in sickness and even in death. +If the faster lacks self-control, the food should be brought to him in +proper quantities by the attendant. + +If the fast has lasted but two or three days, no special precautions are +necessary, except that the first few meals should be smaller than usual. + +As indiscretions in eating compel nearly all fasts it is necessary to do +a little better than previously, or the fast must be repeated. It is +best to live so that fasts are not necessary. + +If the fast has been prolonged it is best to begin feeding liquid foods. +What shall we feed? That depends on the patient and circumstances. The +juice of the concord grape is not good for it ferments too easily. Many +of those who are compelled to fast or else die have been so +food-poisoned, and their digestive organs have been in such horrible +condition for years that they have been unable to eat acid fruits. This +is especially true of those who consume large quantities of starch. +Sometimes they are unable to eat fruit for a while after the fast. At +other times the irritability of the digestive organs disappears while +food is withheld. For such people broths and milk may be employed. + +The juice of oranges, pineapples, California grapes, cherries, +blackberries or tomatoes may be given. The tomatoes may be made into +broth and strained, but nothing is to be added to this broth except +salt. Stout people should do well on fruit juices. They are not to be so +highly recommended for very thin, nervous people, for fruit juices are +both thinning and cooling. Milk is very useful, and may be given either +sweet or clabbered or in the form of buttermilk. + +Thin, nervous people can safely be given broths, preferably of lamb, +mutton or chicken. Trim away all the fat, grind up the lean meat, and +allow it to simmer (not boil) until all the juices are extracted from +the meat. Strain and put away to cool. When cold, skim off the fat. Then +warm the broth and serve. This broth is not to be seasoned while it is +being cooked, but a little salt may be added when it is ready to serve. +To one pound of lean meat there should be about one quart of broth. A +teacupful to begin with is enough for a meal, and it is often necessary +to give less than this. The gravest mistake is to be in a hurry about +returning to full meals. The remarks about moderate feeding also apply +to milk and fruit juices. + +Ordinarily, fasts are not broken on starchy foods, but this may be done +at times to advantage, especially in cases that have been accustomed to +large quantities of starch and but little of the fresh raw foods. The +starch must, however, be in an easily digestible state and should be in +the form of a very thin gruel made of oatmeal or whole wheatmeal. It +should be cooked four to six hours and dressed with nothing but a little +salt. A few can break the fast on a full meal without any bad results, +but most people can not do it without suffering and the results may be +fatal. So it is a safe rule to break the fast on simple liquid food, +taken in moderation. + +Four or five days after breaking the fast, one should be able to eat the +ordinary foods. The following is a suggestion of the manner in which to +feed immediately after a fast of about two weeks: + +First day: Tomato broth once; mutton broth twice. + +Second day: Breakfast, orange juice. Lunch, buttermilk. Dinner, sliced +tomatoes. + +Third day: Breakfast, buttermilk. Lunch, salad of lettuce and tomatoes, +dressed with salt. Dinner, poached egg, celery. + +Fourth day: Breakfast, baked apple and milk. Lunch, toasted bread and +butter. Dinner, lamb chops, stewed green peas, celery. + +If a meal causes distress, omit the next one and continue omitting meals +until comfort and ease have returned. If the digestion is very weak, or +if the illness has been protracted, do not feed solids as soon as +recommended above. In all cases it is necessary to exercise +self-control, moderation and common sense. + +The meals must be moderate. Gradually increase until the amount of food +taken is sufficient to do the necessary bodily rebuilding. The longer +the fast, the more care should be exercised in the beginning. It is no +time to experiment. + +If the fast is to be of permanent benefit it is necessary to learn how +to eat properly afterwards, and to put this knowledge into practice. +This is the most important part to emphasize, yet all the books I have +read on the subject have failed to pay any attention to it. In nearly +every case the fast is necessary because of repeated mistakes in eating +and drinking. Those mistakes built bodily ills in the first place and if +the faster goes back to them they will do it again. The disease does not +always take on the same type as it did in the first place, but it is the +same old disease. During a fast there is recuperation because the body +has a chance to become clean, and a clean body can not long remain +unbalanced, provided there are no organic faults. By making mistakes in +eating after the fast is over, the body again becomes foul and full of +debris and that means more disease. Perhaps it may not require more than +one-third as much abuse to cause a second break-down as it did to bring +about the first one. + +Some people fast repeatedly, and are somewhat proud of it. They should +be ashamed of the fact that they must fast time after time, for it shows +either ignorance or a weak, undeveloped will power. The fast should +teach every intelligent being that it is an emergency measure, and +emergencies are but seldom encountered in a well regulated life. + +Food debauches following fasts should be avoided. A little will power +properly applied will prevent them. Gross eating may compel another +fast. We must eat and it is better to eat so that we can take sustenance +regularly than to be compelled to go without food at various intervals. +He who is moderate in his eating, uses a fair degree of intelligence in +the selection of his food, is temperate in other ways and considerate +and kind in his dealings with others will not be ill. + +A fast is efficacious in clearing up a brain that is unable to work well +because it is bathed in unclean blood. It is remarkable how well the +brain works when the stomach is not overworked. Overfeeding the body +causes underfeeding of the brain. On a correct diet the brain is +efficient and clear and able to bear sustained burdens. + +There is no question but that a fast, followed by a light diet, +containing less of the heavily starchy and proteid foods and more of the +succulent vegetables and fresh fruits, with their cleansing juices and +health-imparting salts, would result in the recovery of over one-half of +the insane. Most of them are suffering functionally and here the outlook +is very hopeful. Christ cured a lunatic "by prayer and fasting." Proper +feeding would work wonders in prisons. It would also be very beneficial +for wayward girls and young men who are passion's slaves. St. Peter +recommended fasting as an aid to morality, which is another evidence of +the profundity of his wisdom. + +How long should a fast last? Until its object has been accomplished. It +is rarely necessary to fast a month, but sometimes it is advisable to +continue the fast for forty days, or even longer. If the fast is taken +on account of pain, continue until the pain is gone. If for fever, until +there is no more fever. In chronic cases it is not always necessary to +continue the fast until the tongue is clean. When the patient is free +from pain and fever and comfortable in every way, start feeding lightly. +People who are thin and have sluggish nutrition, one symptom of which is +dirty-gray mucous membrane in mouth and throat, should not be fasted any +longer than it is absolutely necessary, for they generally react slowly +and poorly. + +If people would miss a meal or two or three as soon as they begin to +feel bad, no long fasts would be necessary, because when the system +first begins to be deranged it very quickly rights itself when food is +withheld. It is impossible for a serious disease to develop in a fasting +person, unless he is in an exceptionally bad physical condition at the +beginning of the fast, for when food is withheld there is nothing for +disease to feed upon. No new disease can originate during a fast. + +Fasts often bring people back to health, who can not recover through any +other means known to man, unless it be eating almost nothing--a +semi-fast. Occasionally a patient dies while on a long fast or +immediately thereafter, but please remember that millions die +prematurely on this earth every year who never missed their meals for +one day. Also remember that those who go on prolonged fasts are +generally "hopeless cases," who have been given up to die by medical +men. People who fast generally become comfortable, so why envy a few men +and women an easy departure when they are no longer able to live, and +why heap undeserved censure on those who are doing their best to ease +the sufferers by means of our most valuable therapeutic measure, +fasting? + +There is much prejudice against fasting, but a calm study of the facts +will remove this. Typhoid fever, conventionally treated, often proves +fatal in 15 per cent. or more of the cases and those who survive have +to undergo a long, uncomfortable illness which often leaves them so +weakened and with such degenerated bodies that the end is frequently a +matter of a few months or years. Pneumonia and tuberculosis find a +favorable place to develop and in these cases prove very fatal. On the +other hand, cases of typhoid treated by the fast, and the other hygienic +measures necessary, recover in a short time, there are no evil sequels +and the body is in better condition than it was before the onset of the +disease. I have never seen a fatality in a properly treated case, and +the mortality is conspicuous by its absence. It is the same in curable +chronic diseases. Where feeding and medicating add to the ills, fasting +with proper living afterwards brings health. + +It is also well to remember that where one individual dies while fasting +(not from the effects of fasting, but from the disease for which the +fast was begun), perhaps one hundred thousand starve because they have +too much to eat. Silly as this may sound, it is the truth, and this is s +the explanation: Overfeeding causes digestive troubles and a breakdown +of the assimilative and excretory processes. The more food that is taken +while this condition exists the less nourishment is extracted from it. +The food ferments pathologically, instead of physiologically, and +poisons the body. The more that is eaten under the circumstances, the +worse is the poisoning and at last the tired body wearily gives up the +fight for existence, perhaps after a long chronic ailment has been +suffered, or perhaps during the attack of an acute disease. The chief +cause of death is too much food. + +Avicena, the great Arabian physician, treated by means of prolonged +fasts. + +For the benefit of those who fear the effects of fasts of a few days' +duration a few quotations are given from various sources: + +"My next marked case is a wonderful illustration of the self-feeding +power of the brain to meet an emergency, and a revelation, also, of the +possible limitations of the starvation period. This was the case of a +frail, spare boy of four years, whose stomach was so disorganized by a +drink of solution of caustic potash that not even a swallow of water +could be retained. He died on the seventy-fifth day of his fast, with +the mind clear to the last hour, and with apparently nothing of the body +left but bones, ligaments, and a thin skin; and yet the brain had lost +neither weight nor functional clearness. + +"In another city a similar accident happened to a child of about the +same age, in whom it took three months for the brain to exhaust entirely +the available body-food."--Dr. E. H. Dewey. + +This shows the groundlessness of the fear parents have of allowing their +children to fast when necessary. It is beneficial for even the babies +who need it. In the cases quoted above the conditions were very +unfavorable, for the children were suffering from the effects of lye +burns, yet they lived without food seventy-five and ninety days, +respectively. If necessary, deprive the children of food, and keep them +warm. Then comfort yourself with the fact that they are being treated +humanely and efficiently. + +Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard, in the latest edition of her book, Fasting +for the Cure of Disease, states that she has treated almost two thousand +five hundred people by this method, the fasts varying in duration from +eight to seventy five days, many of them being over a month. Sixteen of +her patients have died while fasting and two on a light diet. This is +far from being a mortality of 1 per cent. When the fact is taken into +consideration that the people she treated were of the class for whom the +average medical man can do nothing the mortality is surprisingly small. +However, she has lost a few, and as she is a fighter for her beliefs the +prejudice against her and her method of treating disease have proved +strong enough to cause her to be imprisoned. Dr. Hazzard has perhaps the +widest experience with fasting of any mortal, living or dead. Her book +is well worth reading. + +Upton Sinclair has also written a book on this subject, entitled the +Fasting Cure. He writes from the viewpoint of an intelligent layman +whose observations are not very extensive. The book contains many good +ideas. This is from page fifty-seven: + +"The longest fast of which I had heard when my article was written was +seventy eight days; but that record has since been broken, by a man +named Richard Fausel. Mr. Fausel, who keeps a hotel somewhere in North +Dakota, had presumably partaken too generously of the good cheer +intended for his guests, for he found himself at the inconvenient weight +of three hundred and eighty-five pounds. He went to a sanatorium in +Battle Creek and there fasted for forty days (if my recollection serves +me), and by dint of vigorous exercise meanwhile, he got rid of one +hundred and thirty pounds. I think I never saw a funnier sight than Mr. +Fausel at the conclusion of this fast, wearing the same pair of trousers +that he had worn at the beginning of it. But the temptations of +hotel-keepers are severe, and when he went back home, he found himself +going up in weight again. This time he concluded to do the job +thoroughly, and went to Macfadden's place in Chicago, and set out upon a +fast of ninety days. That is a new record--though I sometimes wonder if +it is quite fair to call it 'fasting' when a man is simply living upon +an internal larder of fat." + +Bernarr Macfadden has also written considerable about fasting. C. C. +Haskell is an advocate and director of such treatment. Many physicians +employ this healing method. Some day the entire medical profession will +realize the worth of fasting as a curative agent. + +As a reminder, please allow me to repeat: When reading and studying +about the subject of fasting, do not think of it as a complete cure, for +those who return to their improper mode of living will again build +disease. After the fast, live right. + +The efficient body is clean internally. An unclean skin is bad. A foul +alimentary tract is worse. But the worst of all is a foul condition of +all the tissues, including the blood-stream, a condition in which much +of the body's waste is stored up, instead of being excreted. + +If such a condition can not be remedied through moderation and +simplicity in eating, the only thing that will prove of value is +temporary abstinence. + +It would be an easy matter to enumerate many long fasts, such as that of +Dr. Tanner, who proved to an astonished country that fasting for a month +or more is not fatal, but on the contrary may be beneficial. Or we could +cite cases like the fasts carried on by classes under the direction of +Bernarr Macfadden. Or we could refer to the experiments of Professors +Fisher and Chittenden of Yale. + +However, we will only look into one more case, that of Dr. I. J. Eales, +whose fast created considerable interest several years ago. The doctor +was too heavy, so he decided to take a fast to reduce his weight, also +for scientific purposes. For thirty days he lived on nothing but water +with an occasional glass of lemonade and one cup of coffee. At the end +of thirty days he broke his fast on a glass of malted milk. + +The doctor worked hard during all this period, losing weight all the +time, being thirty pounds lighter at the end of his fast than at the +beginning. However, he did not lose strength, being able to do as much +work and lift as heavy weights at the end of the fast as at the +beginning. Anyone who is much over weight can with benefit do as the +doctor did, for the body will use the stored up fat to produce heat and +energy. This fast is fully detailed in Dr. Eales' book called +Healthology. + +Fasting is the quickest way to produce internal cleanliness, which is +health. When the system is clean the cravings, longings and appetites +are not so strong as when the body is full of poisons. For this reason a +fast is the best way to destroy the cravings for tobacco, coffee, tea, +alcohol and other habit-forming drugs. If, after the fast is over, the +individual lives moderately and simply, and is fully determined not to +return to the use of these drugs, a permanent cure will be the reward. +However, it is very easy to drift back into the old habits. A permanent +cure requires that there be no compromise, no saying, "I shall do it +this time, but never again." Once the old habit is resumed, it is almost +certain to be continued. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +ATTITUDE OF PARENT TOWARD CHILD. + +Healthy, happy children are the greatest of all rewards. All parents can +have such children, and it is a duty they owe themselves, the children +and the race. It is a most pleasant duty, for the returns are far +greater than the cost. + +In order to have first-class children parents must be in good physical +condition and be controlled mentally. Chaotic parents can not have +orderly children. The young people learn quickly from their elders and +they usually take after one of the parents. They intuitively learn what +they can do and what they can not do and how to get their way while we +consider them too young to have any understanding. + +Therefore it is important that their first impressions are correct. +Begin to train the child in the way it should go from the day of birth. +The first training will have to do with feeding and sleeping. These +points are covered more fully in the next chapter. They are touched upon +here to give them emphasis. + +Feed the child three times a day, but never wake it to be fed. If you +give the three feeds, the child will soon become accustomed to them and +wake when it is time. If the child squirms and frets, it may be +uncomfortable from being overfed or it may be thirsty. Offer it water +but not food. + +Let the child alone. Do not bounce it or carry it about. During the +first few months the baby needs heat, nourishment and rest, and should +have no excitement. It should not be treated as a plaything. After a few +months it begins to take notice of things and then you can have much fun +with it. + +The right kind of love consists in doing what is necessary for the +infant and no more. + +Obedience to the reasonable requests of the parents is of the greatest +importance in the successful raising of children. Parents should realize +this even before the children are born. From the first, be firm, though +gentle, with the little ones. Children should be so trained that when +they are requested to do a thing, they do it immediately without any +repetition. This will save both them and the parents many an unhappy +hour. + +The lives of many parents and many children are made miserable from lack +of a little parental firmness at the start. + +There are many little graces that are not vital, yet they are important, +and these should be taught children early, for then they become second +nature. Among these are good table manners. Ungainly table manners have +no bearing on the health, but they give an unfavorable impression to +others. We are partly judged by the presence or absence of such little +graces. + +Training children is like training trees. A sapling can be made to grow +in the desired way, but after a few years it will not respond to +training. The period of infancy is plastic, and then is the time to +plant the seeds in the child's mind and teach good habits. + +It is not difficult to train the children. If the parents are orderly +and firm, instead of wavering, the children almost intuitively fall into +line. Teach them to obey and they will later be able to command +intelligently and considerately. + +The babies are helpless at first. This softens the hearts of the parents +toward them until they become very indulgent. Indulging and pampering +children are bad for them. Kindness consists in doing for them what is +for their good, which is not always what they desire. + +If the children are properly trained at first, they need very little +training later on. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +CHILDREN. + +Statistics are generally very dry and uninteresting, but at times they +take on a tragic interest, and the importance of the few submitted here +is so great that they should command careful attention. + +The definite figures used are taken from the Mortality Statistics, +United States Census, and they cover the year 1912, which is the last +year for which we have definite information. Reliable mortality +statistics are given only in a part of the country, which is not to our +credit. The population is reported in the volume as 92,309,348. The +registration area, which is the area giving mortality statistics, +contains 53,843,896 people. In this area the total deaths are as +follows: + + Under one year.............. 154,373 + Under ten years............. 235,262 + +Taking it for granted that the infant and child mortality among the +unregistered people is the same, we get the following number of deaths +annually among children in the United States, in round numbers: + + Under one year.............. 280,000 + Under ten years............. 425,000 + +This is a very conservative estimate and 300,000 is usually given as the +number of deaths annually among babies under the age of one year. + +Even under ideal conditions a baby would occasionally die, but the +deaths would be so rare that they would be the cause of surprised +comment. Some become parents who have no right to be, and they bring +children into the world who are not physically fit to survive, and these +generally die within a few days or weeks of birth. However, these babies +are but a small minority and at least ninety-nine out of a hundred +should survive. Not one baby born physically fit would die if +intelligently cared for, and the fact that each year we lose over +one-fourth million infants under one year of age in the United States is +an indictment of our lives and intelligence, and a challenge to better +our ways. + +Every child that is brought into the world should be given an +opportunity to live. This is far from the case today. Children are so +handicapped that they are stunted in body and blunted in mind, if they +survive. + +Suppose that every ten years an army of 4,250,000 men and women between +the ages of twenty and thirty were destroyed at one time in this +country! The indignation, sorrow and horror would be so great that a +means would soon be found to end the periodic slaughter. + +But we allow this many children under ten to be destroyed every ten +years. The slaughter of the innocents does not bring forth much protest, +because we are so used to it, and the babies go one by one, all over the +country. The procession to the grave gives rise to this thought: "The +little one is better off. Now he will suffer no more. It is the will of +Providence." This is a libel on Providence, for this enormous mortality +is due to parental mistakes, mistakes made mostly through ignorance, but +blamable all the same. It behooves parents to obtain knowledge that will +prevent such costly and fatal errors. Nature's law is the same as man's +rule in this that ignorance of the law excuses no one. The results are +the same whether we err knowingly or ignorantly. + +It is difficult to teach people to treat their babies properly, because +nearly all the information on the subject is so erroneous. When a +teacher brings forth the truth but few accept it, for the vast majority +are on the other side. Those parents who accept the truth find it +difficult, to put it into practice, for every hand is against them. It +takes more strength of character and moral courage than the average +individual possesses to withstand the criticism of neighbors, friends, +relatives and medical advisers. + +The few who have the courage of their convictions and the right +knowledge reap a rich harvest. They have babies who are well. They see +their children grow up with sound bodies and clear minds. They are saved +much of the worry which is the lot of parents of children raised +according to conventional standards. Last, but by no means least, they +have the satisfaction of giving to the race individuals who are better +than their parents or the grandparents. There is much opportunity for +human improvement, and the improvement will take place automatically, if +we do not prevent it by going contrary to nature. + +Healthy babies spring from normal, healthy parents. If they can have +normal grandparents, so much the better, but inasmuch as we can not +alter the past, let us give our attention to the present. If we take +care of the present, the future will bring forth a population of healthy +parents and grandparents, and then the babies will have full +opportunity. The past has great influence, for the child of today is +heir of the past, modified by the present. He who influences the present +leaves his mark on the future. As individuals we do not usually +accomplish much during a lifetime, but if we influence our time for the +better it is hard to tell where the improvement will cease or what will +be the aggregate result. A truth imparted to others acts much like a +pebble cast into the water. Its influence is felt in ever widening +circles. + +Infancy and youth are plastic. Both body and mind are susceptible to +surrounding influences. If the heredity is unfavorable it can be largely +modified by favorable environments. If a child is born of unhealthy +parents, but without any serious defect, and is intelligently cared for +after birth, it will grow up to be healthy. On the other hand, a child +born of healthy parents that is improperly cared for will become ill and +perhaps die young. + +In early years the habits are formed that will largely influence and +control the years of maturity. Most children learn bad habits from +birth. It is as easy to acquire good habits as bad ones, and as people +are largely creatures of habits, every parent should aim to give his +children a good start. Parents seldom do wrong intentionally, but they +are careless and many of the parental habits of the race are bad, and +for this the future generations must suffer. + +It is easier and more economical to have healthy babies than to have +sickly ones. The healthy way is the simple way. It merely means +self-control, common sense and constructive knowledge on the part of the +parents. + + +PRENATAL CARE. + +It is commonly believed that a pregnant woman must eat for two. The wise +woman will not increase her food intake. If she is not up to par +physically at the time of conception she will generally find it +advantageous to decrease the food allowance. + +A healthy baby should not weigh to exceed six, or at most seven, pounds +at birth. Five pounds would be better. It does not take much food to +nourish an infant of that weight, and the baby does not weigh that much +until shortly before birth. Most of the food is used for fuel but the +amount of fuel required to heat a baby that is kept warm within the +mother's body is almost negligible. + +One of the first and most important requisites for having healthy +children is to avoid the eating-for-two fallacy. Most people overeat, +anyway, and there should be no encouragement in this line. + +The results of overeating are many and serious. The mother grows too +heavy or else she becomes dyspeptic. Overeating and partaking of food of +poor quality are the chief causes of the ills of pregnancy. Prospective +mothers can be comfortable. Pregnancy and childbirth are physiological. +Normal women suffer very little inconvenience or pain. The suffering +during pregnancy, the pain and accidents at childbirth are measures of +the mother's abnormality. The greater the inconvenience the farther has +the individual strayed from a natural life. The women who live normally +from the time of conception, or before, until the birth of the baby will +be surprised how little inconvenience there is. + +For ideal results the father must be kind, considerate and +self-controlled. It is a disagreeable fact that many men are brutal and +inconsiderate of wives and unborn children. The extent of this brutality +can hardly be realized by those who have had no medical experience. +Perhaps the women are partly to blame, for they do not teach their boys +to be considerate and kind and they leave them in ignorance of subjects +that are important and that can best be taught by parents. + +A pregnant woman should be mistress of her body. During this period the +husband has morally no marital rights. If boys were educated by their +parents on this subject they would be reasonable later on, and the +average boy of fourteen or fifteen is old enough to receive such +education. + +Gestation should be a period of calm. All excitement and passion are +harmful. The mother should be as free from annoyance as possible. +Cheerfulness should be the rule. Those who are not naturally cheerful +should cultivate this desirable state of mind. Gruesome and horrible +topics should not be discussed. The reading should not be along tragic +lines. The study of nature and the philosophy of men who have found life +sweet are among the helpful mental occupations. The mental attitude has +its effect, not only on the mother, but on the unborn babe. That the +seed for good or evil is often planted in the child's brain before +birth, according to the mental and physical condition of the mother, can +hardly be doubted. Mothers who live naturally can dismiss all worry on +the subject of harm coming to themselves through maternity, for there +will be none. The absence of worry has a good effect on both mother and +child. + +The various ills from which mothers suffer are largely caused by eating +for two. The overeating causes overweight in those whose nutrition is +above par and indigestion in those who have but ordinary digestive +capacity. Those who are overweight have too high blood pressure and +those who have indigestion absorb some of the poisonous products of +decomposition from the bowels. Headache is a common result. Palpitation +of the heart comes from gas pressure. The abnormal blood pressure may +result in albuminurea, swelling of the lower extremities and overweight +of both mother and child. The morning sickness is nearly always due to +excessive food intake. If this proves troublesome, reduce the amount of +food and simplify the combinations. Instead of taking heavy, rich +dishes, increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. + +The birth of a large baby is fraught with danger to mother and child. +Sometimes one or both are injured and sometimes one or both die. Many +women are afraid to become mothers for this reason. It would be +difficult to estimate how often this fear causes law breaking, for all +large cities have their medical men who grow rich through illegal +practices among these women. Sometimes these doctors are among the +respected members of the profession, eminent enough to have a national +reputation. The financial reward is great enough to tempt men to break +the law and they will continue to do so, so long as present conditions +exist. + +It is important for the prospective mother to be moderate in her eating. +Three meals a day are sufficient. Between meals nothing but water should +be swallowed. Lunching always leads to overeating. + +One meal each day can consist of starchy food, but not more than one +meal. Any one of the starches may be selected, the cereal products, +rice, potatoes, chestnuts. If the digestion is good, take matured beans, +peas or lentils occasionally, but these are so heavy that they should +not be eaten very frequently and always in moderation. With the starchy +food selected, take either butter or milk, or a moderate quantity of +both. Sometimes it is all right to take some fruit with the starchy +food, but this should be the exception, not the rule. Fruit should +generally be eaten by itself or taken with non-starchy foods. Starch +eating should be limited to one meal a day because an excessive amount +of this food causes hardening of the tissues. The baby's bones, which +should be very soft, flexible and yielding at birth, will become too +hard if much starch is eaten. + +Once a day some kind of proteid food may be taken, but this should also +be eaten in moderation, for if it is not, degenerative changes will take +place, which will manifest in some one of the disorders common to +pregnancy. Eggs and the lighter kinds of meats, or nuts or fresh fish +may be selected. Whatever kind of protein is taken, it should be as +fresh as possible. Pork should not be used. With the protein, have +either fruit or vegetables, and it does not make much difference which. +No one could ask for a better meal than good apples and pecans. + +Be sure to eat enough of the raw salad vegetables and of raw fruits to +supply the salts needed by the body. + +For the third meal have fruit. Cottage cheese, sweet or clabbered milk +or buttermilk may be taken with the fruit. Do not take milk twice a day, +for if it is taken twice and other proteid food once a day, too much +protein is ingested. + +A glass or two of buttermilk will make a good meal at any time. Dr. +Waugh, who has had over forty years of experience and is well and +favorably known on both sides of the Atlantic, recommends buttermilk +very highly during pregnancy. Buttermilk and clabbered milk are better +than the sweet milk. The lactic acid seems to have a sweetening effect +on the alimentary tract. Sweet milk is constipating for many people. The +buttermilk and the clabbered milk are not constipating to the same +degree. + +The use of fruit and vegetables has a tendency to prevent constipation. +The only internal remedies for which there is any excuse are cathartics, +and normal people do not need them. However, it is better to take a mild +cathartic or an enema than to allow the colon to become loaded with +waste. Constipation among eaters of much meat is rather a serious +condition, for the waste in the colon of heavy meat eaters is very +poisonous. The colonic waste in vegetarians is not so toxic. + +Desserts should be used sparingly and seldom. They are not a necessity, +but a habit, and if they are consumed daily they are a bad habit. + +For the sake of the unborn child, avoid all stimulants and narcotics. +Alcoholics and coffee should not be used. And it is best to avoid strong +spices and rich gravies. A little self-denial and self-control in this +line will pay great dividends in healthy, happy, contented babies, and +there are no greater blessings. + +The mother should be active, but should not take any violent exercise. +Light work is good, but no mother should Be asked to do house-cleaning +or to stand over the wash-tub. She should have the opportunity of being +in the open every day, and of this opportunity she should avail herself. +Why some women are ashamed of pregnancy is hard for normal-minded people +to understand, for the praise of motherhood has been sung by the +greatest poets and its glory depicted by the greatest painters of the +world. + +This sense of false modesty is responsible for much of the tight lacing +during pregnancy. This is injurious to both the mother and the child, +and is one of the reasons for various uncomfortable sensations. It helps +to bring on the morning sickness. It is nature's intention that the +young should be free and comfortable previous to birth, and for this +reason a double bag is supplied between the walls of which there is +fluid. The baby lies within the inner bag. + +The tight lacing prevents the intended freedom, besides weakening the +mother's muscles. It also aggravates any tendency there may be toward +constipation and swelling of the legs. It prolongs childbirth and makes +it more painful. This is too high a price to pay for false modesty and +vanity. + +If it is necessary to support the abdomen and the breasts for the sake +of comfort, this can be done without compressing them and the support +should come from the shoulders. + +The skin should be given good attention, for an active skin helps to +keep the blood pure and the circulation normal. Take a vigorous dry +rubbing at least once a day, and twice a day would be better. A quick +sponging off with cool water followed with vigorous dry rubbing is good, +but the rubbing is of greater importance than the sponging. An olive oil +rub is often soothing and may be taken as frequently as desired. + +If there is a tendency to be ill and nervous, take a good hot bath, +staying in the water until there is a feeling of ease, even if it should +take more than thirty minutes, provided the heart and the kidneys are +working well. Defective heart and kidney action contraindicate prolonged +hot baths, but such ills will not appear if the mother lives properly. +Under such conditions missing a few meals can only have good results. +When eating is resumed, partake of only enough food to nourish the body, +for anything beyond that builds discomfort and disease. + +These hints, simple as they are, contain enough information to rob +gestation and childbirth of their horrors, if they are intelligently +observed. If civilized woman desires to be as painfree as the savage, +she must lead the simple life. + + +INFANCY. + +If the baby lives to be one year old, its chances of surviving are +fairly good, but during the first year the mortality is appalling. +Complete statistics are not available, but in places one-fifth or even +one-fourth of the babies born perish during this time. The mortality is +chiefly due to overfeeding and giving food of poor quality. + +The average parent loves his baby. He loves the helpless little thing to +death. In Oscar Wilde's words, "We kill the thing we love." The babies +are killed by too much love, which takes the form of overindulgence. +About thirty years ago the well known physician, Charles B. Page, wrote: + +"How many healthy-born infants die before their first year is +reached--babies that for months are mistakenly regarded as pictures of +health--'never knew a sick day until they were attacked' with cholera +infantum, scarletina, or something else. They are crammed with food, +made gross with fat, and for a time are active and cunning, the delight +of parents and friends--and then, after a season of constipation, a +season of chronic vomiting, and a season of cholera infantum, the little +emaciated skeletons are buried in the ground away from the sight of +those who have literally loved them to death. This is the fate of +one-third of all the children born. As a rule, babies are fed as an +ignorant servant feeds the cook-stove--filling the fire-box so full, +often, that the covers are raised, the stove smokes and gases at every +hole, and the fire is either put out altogether, or, if there is +combustion of the whole body of coals, the stove is rapidly burned out +and destroyed. With baby, overheating means the fever that consumes him, +and, in putting out the fire, too often the fire of life goes out also." + +Fat babies are thought to be healthy babies. This is a mistake, for the +fatter the baby, the more liable it is to fill an early grave. +Thoughtful, knowing people realize that a child that weighs eight pounds +or more at birth is an indication of maternal law breaking. Both the +mother and the child will have to pay for this sooner or later. +Overweight is a handicap. It prevents complete internal cleansing and +combustion, without which health is impossible. + +Because of the false ideas prevalent regarding weight of infants, it is +well to put a little emphasis on the subject. If the mother has lived +right during pregnancy, the child is often light at birth, sometimes +five pounds or less. The average doctor will shake his head and say that +the baby's chance to live is very small. The friends, neighbors and +relatives will say the same. They are wrong. Let the parents remember +that light children are not encumbered with fat, and rarely with +disease. A light baby is generally all healthy baby, and if properly +cared for and not overfed will thrive. Parents of such babies should be +thankful, instead of being alarmed. + +It is not natural for babies to weigh nine or ten pounds at birth, and +when they do it is a sign of maternal wrong doing, whether she has been +cognizant of it or not. Babies should not be fat, nor should they be fat +when they grow older, if the best results are desired. + +In babies it is better to strive for quality than for quantity. + +Every mother who is capable of doing so should nurse her baby. There is +no food to take the place of the mother's milk. The babies build greater +strength and resistance when they are fed naturally than when they are +brought up on the bottle. Babies thrive wonderfully in an atmosphere of +love, and they draw love from the mother's breast with every swallow. + +From the information available, which is not as complete and definite as +could be desired, it appears that from six to thirteen bottle-babies die +during the first year where only one breast-fed child perishes. The +bottle-baby does not get a fair start. If a mother is ill and worn out +she should not be asked to nurse the baby. If the mother has fever she +should not risk the baby's health through nursing. Some mothers do not +have enough milk to feed the baby. Nearly all who live properly give +enough milk to nourish their infants at first. If there is not enough +milk, the child should be allowed to take what there is in the breasts +and this should be supplemented with cow's milk. + +Dr. Thomas F. Harrington said recently: + +"From 80 to 90 per cent. of all deaths from gastrointestinal disease +among infants takes place in the artificially fed; or ten bottle-babies +die to one which is breast-fed. In institutions it has been found that +the death rate is frequently from 90 to 100 per cent. when babies are +separated from their mothers. During the siege of Paris (1870-71) the +women were compelled to nurse their own babies on account of the absence +of cow's milk. Infant mortality under one year fell from 33 to 7 per +cent. During the cotton famine of 1860 women were not at work in the +mills. They nursed their babies and one-half of the infant mortality +disappeared." + +These are remarkable facts and bring home at least two truths. First, +they confirm the superiority of natural feeding over that of artificial +feeding. Second, they show that when the mother is not overfed the +infants are healthier. During the siege of Paris food was scarce in that +city. People of all classes had to live quite frugally. They could not +overeat as in the untroubled time of peace and prosperity, and the +result was that both the mothers and the babies were healthier. The +infant mortality was only a little over one-fifth of what it was +previously. If the French people had heeded the lesson the statesmen and +philosophers of that nation would not today have to worry about its +almost stationary population. + +It would be much better if fewer children were born and those few were +healthier. What good does the birth of the army of 425,000 children +which perishes annually accomplish? It leaves the nation poorer in every +way. A mother tired and worn with wakeful vigils, and at last left with +an aching heart through the loss of her child, is not worth as much as +she who has a crooning infant to love, and through her mother-love +radiates kindness and good cheer to others. The conditions that weed out +so many of our infants tend to weaken the survivors. + +It costs too much to bring children into the world to waste them so +lavishly. This may sound peculiar, but it is enlightened selfishness, +which is the highest good, for it brings blessings upon all. + +Artificial feeding lays the foundation for many troubles which may not +manifest for several years. The bottle-fed babies are often plump, even +fat, but they are not as strong as those who are fed naturally. They +take all kinds of children's diseases very quickly. The glandular +system, which is so readily disturbed in children, is more easily +affected in bottle-fed babies. And so it comes about that they often +have swollen salivary glands, or swelling of the glands of the neck or +of the tonsils. + +Do not be in a hurry to feed the baby after birth. Nature has so +arranged that the infant does not require immediate feeding. It is a +good plan to wait at least twenty-four hours after birth before placing +the baby at the breast, for then all the tumult and excitement have had +a chance to subside. + +Many give the baby a cathartic within a few hours after birth. This is a +mistake. Cathartics are irritants and it is a very poor beginning to +abuse the mucous membrane of the intestinal tract immediately. This +mucous membrane is delicate and in children the digestive apparatus is +easily upset. Before birth there was no stomach or bowel digestion, all +the nutritive processes taking place in the tissues of the little body. +Gentle treatment is necessary to bring the best results. Cathartics with +their harsh action on the delicate membranes are contraindicated. The +mother's first milk is cathartic enough to stimulate the bowels to act, +but it is nature's cathartic and does no harm. + +As a rule the baby is fed too often and too much from the time of birth. +If the child appears healthy the physician's recommendation will +probably be to feed every two hours day and night, or every two hours +during the day and every three hours at night. If the little one appears +weakly these feedings are increased in number. From ten to twenty-four +feedings in twenty-four hours are not uncommon and sometimes infants are +nursed or given the bottle two and even three times an hour. The excuse +for this is that the baby's stomach is small and cannot hold much food +at a time and must for this reason be filled often, for the baby has to +grow, and the more food it gets the faster it grows. The baby's stomach +is small, because the little one needs very little food. The human +being grows and develops for twenty to twenty-five years. This growth is +slow and during babyhood the amount of nourishment needed is not great. +The child, if properly taken care of, is kept warm. Hence it needs but +little fuel. The ideas on food needs are so exaggerated that it is hard +for parents to realize what moderate amount of food will keep a baby +well nourished. + +An adult in the best of health would be unable to stand such frequent +food intake. He would be ill in a short time. Babies stand it no +better, and the only proof of this fact needed is that in the United +States at least 280,000 babies under one year of age perish annually. +During babyhood nearly all troubles are nutritive ones. With the stomach +and bowels in excellent condition baby defies all kinds of diseases, +provided it is given the simple, commonsense attentions needed +otherwise, such as being kept warm and clean in a well ventilated room. +With a healthy alimentary canal, which comes with proper feeding, the +little one can withstand the attack of the vast horde of germs which so +trouble adult minds, also adult bodies, when people fail to give +themselves proper care. + +The results of too frequent feeding and overfeeding are appalling. The +first ill effect is digestive disturbance. Then one or more of the ills +of childhood make their appearance. These are called diseases, but they +are only symptoms of perverted nutrition, though we insist on giving +them names. + +A healthy baby is one that is absolutely normal and well in every way. +However, babies today pass for healthy when they are fat and suffering +from all kinds of troubles, provided these ills can be tolerated. We +need a new standard of health. Perfect health is a gift that every +normal parent can bestow upon his children, and we should be satisfied +with nothing short of this. Babies can and should be raised without +illness, but, sad to relate, babies, who are always healthy are so rare +that they are curiosities. + +Many babies show signs of maternal overfeeding within a few hours or +days of birth. One of the common signs is the discharge from the nose. +This is aggravated by overfeeding the infant. And thus is laid the +foundation, perhaps, for a lifelong catarrh. In due time various +diseases such as rickets, swollen glands, formerly called scrofulous, +mumps, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, pimples, eczema and cholera +infantum, make their appearance. Parents have been taught to look for +these diseases. They have been told that they belong to childhood. This +is a libel on nature, for she tends in the direction of health. + +The prevalent idea at present is that various germs, which are found in +water, food, air and earth, are responsible for these diseases, but they +are not. The fact that infants properly cared for do not develop one of +them is proof enough that germs per se are unable to cause these ills. +The germs play their part in most of these diseases, but it is a kindly +part. They are scavengers, and attempt to rid the body of its debris and +poisons. Through false reasoning they are blamed for causing disease, +when in fact their multiplication is an effect. They are a by-product of +disease. The so-called pathogenic bacteria never thrive in the baby's +body until the infant has been overfed or fed on improper food long +enough to break down its resistance. + +The improper feeding not only kills an army of babies each year, but it +handicaps the survivors very seriously. The degenerated condition of the +system leaves every child with some kind of weakness. The foundation may +be laid for indigestion, catarrhal troubles, which may or may not be +accompanied with adenoids and impeded breathing, glandular troubles, +often precursors of tuberculosis, in fact children may be acquiring any +disease during infancy from chronic catarrh to rheumatism. + +Mental ills are also results of senseless feeding. A healthy baby is +happy. A sick baby is cross. Crossness and anger are mental perversions. +Anger is temporary insanity. Enough overfeeding often results in mental +perversity, epilepsy and even in real insanity. A healthy body gives a +healthy mind. If people would care for their bodies properly, especially +in the line of eating, the asylums for the insane would not be needed +for their present purposes. + +Another serious trouble that takes root from infant overfeeding is an +abnormal craving for stimulants. This craving may later on be satisfied +in many ways. Some use coffee, alcohol, habit-forming drugs. Others try +to satisfy it by overeating. No matter how the sufferer proceeds to +satisfy this craving, he does not cure it, for it grows upon what it is +fed. Morphine calls for more morphine. Tobacco calls for more tobacco. +An oversupply of food calls for more food or alcohol. The victim at last +dies a martyr to his abnormal appetites. + +Comparatively few of those who see the error of their ways have the will +power to thrust off the shackles of habit. Very few think clearly enough +and go far enough back to realize that disease and early death are so +largely due to the habits formed for the infant or unborn babe by the +parents. And the parents received the same kind of undesirable legacy +from their parents, and so it goes, the children suffering for the sins +of the parents. The cheerful part of such a retrospect is that there is +much room for improvement, that we need not continue this seemingly +unending chain of physical bondage to the next generation, and that if +the children are not born right or treated right during infancy, there +is still time to make a change for the better. Nature is kind and with +will and determination a change can be made at any time that will result +in betterment, provided such grave diseases have not taken hold of the +body that recuperation is impossible. This is no excuse for making +delays, for the longer errors are permitted the harder they are to +overcome. + +Three or four feedings a day are sufficient for any baby. The feedings +should be arranged so that they are evenly distributed during the day, +and nothing is to be given at night except water. Get a nursing bottle +or two. Keep the bottles and the nipples scrupulously clean. These are +to be used as water bottles. The water must also be clean. Heat it to +103 or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, so that it will be from 98 to 100 degrees +warm when it enters the baby's mouth Let the baby have some water three +or four times during the day, and perhaps it will want some once or +twice during the night, but give it no milk at night. + +Overfed babies are irritable and cry often. The mothers interpret this +as a sign of hunger. Most babies do not know what hunger is. Like adults +they become thirsty, but instead of getting water to quench their thirst +they are given milk. This satisfies for a little while, then the +irritability due to milk spoiled, in the alimentary tract causes more +restlessness and crying, and they are fed again. The comedy of errors +continues until it is turned into a tragedy. + +How much should the baby be fed at a time? When the parents are healthy +and the baby is born right and then fed but three times a day, the food +intake will regulate itself. The child will not usually want more than +it should have of milk, supplemented with water. The best way to begin +is to let the infant take what it desires. That is, let the nursing +continue while the infant manifests great pleasure and zest. When the +child begins to fool with the breast or bottle, the source of +nourishment should be removed immediately. The child will increase its +intake gradually. + +Some of the babies will take too much. The evil results will soon be +evident, and then the mother must not compromise, but reduce the intake +at once. The signs of over-consumption of food by the infants are the +same as those shown by adults. They are discomfort and disease. The +former manifests in crossness and irritability. The disease may be of +any kind, ranging from a rash to a high fever. + +The baby's stomach is sensitive and resents the excessive amount of food +supplied. So the infant often vomits curdled milk, and some times vomits +before the milk has time to curdle. This is a form of self-protection. +If the mother would heed this sign by withdrawing all food until the +stomach is settled, substituting water in the meanwhile, and then reduce +the baby's food to within digestive capacity, there would be no more +trouble. Vomiting is the infant's way of saying, "Please do not feed me +until my stomach becomes normal again, and then don't give me more than +I need, and that is less than I have been getting." Remember that it is +nature's sign language, which never misleads, and it is so plain that +any one with ordinary understanding should get its meaning, in spite of +the erroneous popular teachings. After the child has vomited, feed +moderately and increase its food supply as its digestive ability +increases. + +If the vomiting is wrongly interpreted and overfeeding is continued, +either the baby dies or the stomach establishes a toleration, passing +the trouble on to other parts of the body. One organ never suffers long +alone. The circulation passes the disease on to other parts, assisted by +the sympathetic nerves, which are present in all parts of the body. + +When the stomach has established its toleration, several things may +happen, only a few of which will be discussed, for the process is +essentially the same, though the results appear so different. In infants +whose digestive power is not very strong the excessive amount of milk +curdles, as does the part that is digested. The water of the milk is +absorbed, but the curds pass into the colon without being digested and +they are discharged in the stool as curds. They are partly decomposed on +the journey through the alimentary canal, producing poisons, a part of +which is absorbed. A part remains in the colon, making the bowel +discharges very offensive. + +The passage of curds in the stool is a danger signal indicating +overfeeding and should be heeded immediately. If it is not, the chances +for a ease of cholera infantum, especially in warm weather, are great. +Cholera infantum is due to overfeeding, or the use of inferior milk, or +both. It is a form of milk poisoning, in which the bowels are very +irritable. As a matter of self-protection they throw out a large +quantity of serum, which soon depletes the system of the poor little +sufferer, and death too often claims another young life. If cholera +infantum makes its appearance the baby is given its best chance to live +if feeding is stopped immediately, warm water given whenever desired, +but not too large quantities at a time. Give no cathartics, for they +irritate an already seriously disturbed mucous membrane, but give a +small enema of blood-warm water once or twice a day. Keep the baby +comfortable, seeing that the feet and abdomen are kept warm, but give +plenty of fresh air. Medicines only aggravate a malady that is already +serious enough. This disease is produced by abuse so grave that in spite +of the best nursing, the baby often dies. It is easily prevented. + +Strong babies with great digestive power are often able to digest and +assimilate enormous quantities of milk, several quarts a day. They can +not use all this food. If they could their size would be enormous within +a short time. They do not find it so easy to excrete the excess as to +assimilate it. The skin, kidneys, lungs and the bowels find themselves +overtaxed. Often the mucous membrane of the nose and throat are called +upon to assist in the elimination. These are the babies who are said to +catch cold easily. Their colds are not caught. They are fed to them. +This constant abuse of the mucous membrane results in inflammation, +subacute in nature, or it may be so mild that it is but an irritation. +The result in time may be chronic catarrh or thickening of the mucous +membrane of nose and throat. While the catarrh is being firmly +established adenoids are quite common. + +In other cases too much of the work of excretion is thrown upon the +skin. The same thing happens to this structure as happens to the mucous +membrane. It is made for a limited amount of excretion and when more +foreign matter, much of it of a very irritating nature, is deposited for +elimination through the skin, it becomes inflamed. It itches. In a +little while there is an attack of eczema. The baby scratches, digging +its little nails in with a will. The infant soon has its face covered +with sores and the scalp is scaly. The proper thing to do is to reduce +the feeding greatly. Then the acid-producing fermentation in stomach and +bowels will cease, but enough food to nourish the body will be absorbed, +the skin will have but its normal work to perform, the cause of the +irritation is gone and the effects will disappear in a short time. Two +weeks are often sufficient to bring back the smooth, soft skin that +every baby should have. The sufferers from these troubles are almost +invariably overweight, and the parents wonder why their babies, who are +so healthy, should be troubled thus! + +Mothers owe it to their nursing babies to lead wholesome, simple lives. +It is not always possible to live ideally, but every mother can eat +simply and control her temper. Wholesome food and equanimity will go far +toward producing healthful nourishment for the child. Stimulants and +narcotics should be avoided. Meat should not be eaten more than once a +day, and it would be better to use less meat and more eggs or nuts. +Fresh fruits and vegetables should be partaken of daily. They are the +rejuvenators and purifiers. The cereal foods should be as near natural +as possible. The bread should be made of whole wheat flour mostly. If +rice is eaten it should be unpolished. Refined sugar should be taken in +moderation, if at all. The potatoes are best baked. Pure milk is as good +for the mother as it is for the child. Highly seasoned foods or rich +made dishes should be avoided. In short, the mother should live as near +naturally as possible. + +The importance of cheerfulness can hardly be overestimated. A nervous +mother who frets or worries, or becomes mastered by any of the negative, +depressing passions, poisons her babe a little with each drop of milk +the child takes. + +Some mothers are unable to nurse their babies. This is so because of +lack of knowledge principally, for women who give themselves proper care +are nearly always able to furnish nourishment for their infants. It may +be that this function will be largely lost if the present preponderance +of artificial feeding continues, and if various inoculations are not +stopped. Some mothers find it a great pleasure to nurse their babies. +Others refuse to do so for fear of ruining their figures. + +No matter what the reason is for depriving the infant of its natural +food, the parents should realize that its chances for health and life +are diminished by this act. If intelligence and care are used in raising +the bottle-fed babies only a few will die, in fact none will die under +the circumstances, provided they were born with a normal amount of +resistance. So it behooves parents of such babies to be extremely +careful. That there are difficulties in the way, or rather +inconveniences, can not be denied, but there are no insurmountable +obstacles. + +The best common substitute for mother's milk is cow's milk. If clean and +given in moderation it will agree with the child and produce no untoward +results. + +Instead of using the same bottle all the time, there should be a number, +so that there will be plenty of time to clean them. If three feeds are +given each day, there should be six bottles. If four feeds are given, +eight bottles. Use a set every other day. The bottles should be rinsed +out after being used. Then boil them in water containing soda or a +little lye, rinse in several waters and set them aside. If it is sunny, +let them stand in the sun. Before using, rinse again in sterile water. +The nipples should have equally good care. In feeding babies cleanliness +comes before godliness. + +Each bottle is to be used for but one feeding, and as many bottles are +to be prepared as there are to be feedings for the day. + +If the people live in the country it is easy to get pure milk. If in the +city one should make arrangements with a reliable milk man possessed of +a conscience. It is well to get the milk from a certain cow, instead of +taking a mixture coming from many cows. Select a healthy animal that +does not give very rich milk, such as the Holstein. She should have what +green food she wants every day, grass in summer, and hay of the best +quality and silage in winter. The grain ration should be moderate, for +cows that are forced undergo quick degeneration. They are burned out. +The cow should not be worried or whipped. She should be allowed to be +happy, and animals are happy if they are treated properly. The water +supply should be clean, not from one of the filthy tubs or troughs which +disgrace some farms. The barn should be light and well ventilated. It +should be kept clean and free from the ammonia fumes which are found in +filthy stables. The cow should be brushed and the udder washed before +each milking. The milker should wash his hands and have on clothes from +which no impurities will fall. The first part of the milk drawn should +not be put in with that which is to supply the baby. The milk should be +drawn into a clean receptacle and immediately strained through sterile +surgeon's cotton into glass bottles. These are to be put aside to cool, +the contents not exposed to the dust falling from the air. Or the milk +may be put directly into the nursing bottles and put aside in a cold +place until needed. Then warm milk to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. + +Pardon a little repetition: If possible let the child nurse. If there is +not enough milk, let the baby take what there is and give cow's milk in +addition. If it is impossible to feed the baby at the breast, get the +milk from a healthy cow that is kept clean, well fed and well treated. +The cow's milk should be prepared as follows: Take equal parts of milk +and water. Or take two parts of milk and one part of water. Mix, and to +this may be added sugar of milk in the proportion of one level +teaspoonful to the quart. Before feeding raise the temperature of the +milk to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, so that it will be about 100 +degrees when fed. It is best to do the warming in a water bath. + +Milk should not be kept long before being used. Limit the age to +thirty-six hours after being drawn from the cow. Twenty-four hours would +be better. The evening milk can safely be given to the infant the next +day, if proper precautions have been taken. Ordinary milk is quite +filthy and upon this babies do not thrive. Make an effort to get clean +milk for the baby. + +The composition of human milk and cow's milk is about as follows: + + ==================================================================== + Water Albumin Fat Sugar Salts + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Human .......... 87.58 2.01 3.74 6.37 .30 + Cow's .......... 87.27 3.39 3.68 4.97 .72 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The albumin in human milk is largely of a kind which is not coagulated +by souring, while nearly all the albumin in cow's milk coagulates. The +uncoagulated albumin is digested and taken up more easily by the baby's +nutritive system than that which is coagulated. This is one of the +reasons that babies do not thrive so well on cow's milk as on their +natural food. + +The sugar of milk is not like refined sugar. Although it is not so +easily dissolved in water, and therefore does not taste as sweet as +refined sugar, it is better for the child. If sugar is added to the +milk, milk sugar should be used. The druggists have it in powder form. + +The addition of barley water and lime to the baby's milk is folly. The +various forms of modified milk do not give as good results as the +addition of water and a little milk sugar, as previously described. If +you believe in such modifications as the top milk method and the +addition of starchy substances and lime water, I refer you to your +family physician or text-books on infant feeding. + +It is difficult to improve on good cow's milk. It is well to remember +that the human organism is very adaptable, even in infancy. The +principal factors in infant feeding are cleanliness and moderation. + +Bottle-fed babies should be given fruit or vegetable juices, or both, +very early and it would be well to give a little of these juices to +breast-fed babies too. The latter do not require as much as the former. +Begin during the first month with a teaspoonful of orange juice put into +the drinking bottle once a day. Increase gradually until at four or five +months the amount may be from one to two tablespoonfuls. Do not be +afraid to give the orange juice because it is acid, for it splits up +quickly in the stomach and is rearranged, forming alkaline salts. It is +the fruit that can be obtained at nearly all seasons. It is best to get +mild oranges and strain the juice. The fruit is to be in prime +condition. Instead of orange juice, the juice of raw celery, spinach, +cabbage, apples, blackberries and other juicy fruits and vegetables may +be employed, but these juices must all come from fruits or vegetables +that are in prime condition. No sugar is to be added to either the fruit +or the vegetable juices. + +The mother's milk coagulates in small flakes, easily acted upon by the +digestive juices, after which they are readily absorbed. Cow's milk +coagulates into rather large pieces of albumin which are tough and +therefore rather difficult to digest. This happens when the milk is +taken rapidly and undiluted. However, when diluted and taken slowly this +tendency is overcome to a great degree. For this reason it is best to +get nipples with small perforations. + +Either pasteurization or sterilization of milk is almost universally +recommended by medical men. Even those who do not believe in such +procedures generally fail to condemn them without qualifying statements. +For a discussion of this fallacy I refer you to the chapter on milk. + +Do not give the little ones any kinds of medicines. They always do harm +and never any good. If any exception is made to this, it is in the line +of laxatives or mild cathartics, such as small doses of castor oil, +cascara segrada or mineral waters, but there is no excuse for giving +metallic remedies, such as calomel. If the babies are fed in moderation +on good foods they will not become constipated. If they are imprudently +handled and become constipated it is necessary to resort to either the +enema or some mild cathartic. Bear in mind that such remedies do not +cure. They only relieve. The cure will come when the errors of life are +corrected so that the body is able to perform its work without being +obstructed. + +Inoculations and vaccinations are serious blunders, often fatal. The +animal products that are rubbed or injected into the little body are +poisonous. They are the result of degenerative changes--diseases--in the +bodies of rabbits, horses, cows and other animals. Nature's law is that +health must be deserved or earned. Health means cleanliness, so it +really is absurd to force into the body these products of animal decay. +Statistics can be given, showing how beneficial these agents are, but +they are misleading. In the days of public and official belief in +witchcraft it was not difficult to prove the undoubted existence of +witches. Whatever the public accepts as true can with the utmost ease be +bolstered up with figures. + +The use of serums, bacterins, vaccines and other products of the +biologic laboratory is almost an obsession today. Their curative and +preventive values are taken for granted. Most of the time the children +are strong enough to throw off the poisons without showing prolonged or +pronounced effects, but every once in a while a child is so poisoned +that it takes months for it to regain health and too often death is the +end. Sometimes the death takes place a few minutes after the injection, +but we are informed that the medication had nothing to do with it. To +poison the baby's blood deliberately is criminal. Give the little one a +fair chance to live in health. A properly cared for baby will not be ill +for one single day. Knowledge and good care will prevent sickness. + +A baby that is able to remain well a month or a week or a day can remain +well every day. + +At first a normal baby sleeps nearly all the time, from twenty to +twenty-two hours a day. The infant should not be disturbed. All that +should be done for it is to feed it three times a day, give it some +water from the bottle three or four times a day, and keep it clean, dry +and warm, but not hot. + +Most babies are bathed daily. This is all right, but the baths are to be +given quickly. The water should be about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The +soap should be of the mildest, such as a good grade of castile, and it +should be well rinsed off, for soap permitted to remain in the pores +acts as an irritant. Dry the skin so well with a soft cloth that there +will be no chapping or roughness. Sores, eruptions and inflammations are +signs of mismanagement. Use no powders that are metallic in character, +such as zinc oxide. A dusting powder of finely ground talcum is good. If +the child is kept dry and dean and moderately fed the skin will remain +in good condition. + +Babies do not thrive without good air. Keep the room well ventilated at +all times by admitting fresh air from a source that will produce no +draughts. It is not necessary to have the baby's room warm. In fact a +cool room is better. When the child is to be exposed to the air, take it +into a warm room. Soft coverings will keep the infant warm. The limbs +should be free so that exercise can be had through unrestricted +movements. + +The baby should not be bothered unnecessarily. Young parents make the +mistake of using the baby for show purposes. For the sake of politeness, +others praise the "only baby in the world" unduly, though there are +millions of others just as good. Let the child alone, thus giving it an +opportunity to become as superior as the parents think it is. The +showing off process creates excitement and lays the foundation for +fretfulness, irritability and nervousness. The child thrives in a +peaceful atmosphere. When it is awake it is well to talk to it quietly +and soothingly, for thus the infant begins to learn its mother's tongue. +Good language should be employed. Those who teach their children +baby-talk are handicapping them, for they will soon have to unlearn this +and learn real language. Baby-talk may be "cute" at eighteen months, but +when children retain that mode of expression beyond the age of four or +five it sounds silly. + +At about the age of nine or ten months the breast-fed babe should be +weaned. Gradual weaning is perhaps the best. First give one feeding of +cow's milk a day and two breast feeds; then two feedings of cow's milk +and one at the breast, and at last cow's milk entirely. Between the ages +of nine and twelve months begin giving starchy foods. At first the child +will take very little, and gradually increase. Give bread so stale that +the child has to soak it with its saliva before it can swallow the +bread. Working away this way, sucking the stale bread, the child learns +to go through the motions of chewing, and this is valuable training. +Never give bread soaked in milk and never feed milk while bread is being +eaten. If the meal is to be bread and milk, give the bread either before +any milk is taken, or afterwards. Starches are not to be washed down +with liquids. Instead of giving stale bread, zwieback may be used. +Occasionally feed a few spoons of very thin and well cooked oatmeal or +whole wheat gruel, but the less sloppy food given the better, for it +does not get the proper mouth treatment. The wheat products fed the +child should be made from whole wheat flour, or at least three-fourths +whole wheat and only one-fourth of the white flour. The refined flour is +lacking in the salts that the child needs for health and growth. + +Many mothers begin feeding starches when the baby is four or five months +old. The child is given potatoes, bread or any other starchy food that +may be on the table. This is a mistake, for the child is not prepared to +digest starches at that early age. Some of the digestive ferments are +practically absent during the first few months of life. Such feeding +will invariably cause trouble. The baby should not be taken to the +table. + +It is quite generally believed that a baby should cry to exercise its +lungs. A healthy, comfortable baby will do little or no crying, and it +is not necessary. It is not difficult to give the little ones some +exercise to fill their lungs. Babies can hang on to a finger or a thin +rod tenaciously. Elevate the infant that does not cry thus a few times +above the bed and let it hang for a few seconds each time. This throws +the chest forward and exercises the lungs. What is more, this small +amount of gymnastic work is thoroughly enjoyed. It helps to build +strength and good temper. The crying helps to make the baby ill-tempered +and fretful. A little crying now and then is all right, but much +indicates discomfort, disease or a spoiled child. It would surprise most +mothers how good babies are when they have a chance to be good. + +After reading this, some are sure to ask how many ounces to feed the +baby. I don't know. No one else knows. Different babies have different +requirements. The key is given above. If the babies become ill it is +nearly always due to overfeeding and poor food, so the proper thing to +do is to reduce the food intake. + +A healthy baby is a source of unending joy, while a sick one saps the +mother's vitality. It is too bad that the art of efficient child culture +is so little known. + + +CHILDHOOD. + +Children may roughly be divided into two types, the robust and the more +delicate or nervous ones. The robust children can stand almost all kinds +of abuse with no apparent harm resulting, but the immunity is only +apparent. The growing child naturally throws off disease influences +easily and quickly, but if the handicap is too great the child loses out +in the race. + +The nervous type can not be abused with impunity, for the bodies of +these delicately balanced children are easily disturbed. They must have +more intelligent care than is usually bestowed upon the robust type. If +the care is not forthcoming they become weak in body, with an unstable +nervous system, or perish early. + +Some parents complain because other people's children can do what their +own can not and they wonder why. No time should be wasted in making such +comparisons, for no two children are exactly alike, as no two leaves and +not even two such apparently similar objects as grains of wheat are +exactly alike. Therefore the care necessary varies somewhat, though it +is basically the same. + +If the nervous type is given proper care, good health will be the +result. These children do not tolerate as much exposure or as much food +as do the robust children. The important thing is to learn what they +require and then see that there is no excess, and in this way allow the +child to grow physically strong and mentally efficient. + +The delicate children are perhaps more fortunate than the stronger ones, +for they learn early in life that they have limitations. If they commit +excesses the results are so disagreeable that they soon learn to be +prudent. This prudence serves as protection so long as life lasts. + +The robust children on the other hand soon learn that they are strong. +They hear their parents boast about it. They get the idea that because +they are strong they will always remain so, that nothing will do them +any serious harm. By living up to this fallacy they undermine their +constitutions. Parents should teach their children about the law of +compensation as applied to health, that is, he has permanent health who +deserves it, and no one else. The children will not always heed true +teachings after they have left the parental influence, but the parents +have at least done the best they could. + +The robust children have their troubles, such as chicken-pox, mumps, +fevers and measles, but these are thrown off so quickly and with so +little inconvenience that they are soon forgotten. As a rule the parents +do not realize that these diseases are due to faulty nutrition, and that +faulty nutrition is caused by improper feeding. It is generally believed +that children must have all the so-called children's diseases. Some +mothers expose their infants to all of these that may happen to be in +the neighborhood, hoping that the children will take them and be through +with them. + +Every time a child is sick it is a reflection on either the intelligence +or the performance of the parents. It is natural for children to be +perfectly well, and they will remain in that happy state if they are +given the opportunity. If they are properly fed they will not take any +of the children's diseases in spite of repeated exposure. There is not a +disease germ known to medical science strong enough to establish itself +in the system of an uninjured, healthy child and do damage. The child's +health must first be impaired, through poor care, and then the so-called +disease germs will find a hospitable dwelling place. If children are +given natural food in normal quantities they are disease-proof. Feeding +them on refined sugar and white flour products, pasteurized or +sterilized milk, potatoes fried in grease pickled meats, and various +other ruined foods breaks down their resistance and then they fall an +easy prey to disease. + +Some parents make the mistake of believing that they can feed their +children improperly and ward off disease by vaccinations or inoculations +of the products of disease taken from various animals. This is contrary +to reason, common sense and nature and it is impossible. Any individual +who is continually abused in any way, be he infant or adult, will +deteriorate. If the disease is not the one that has been feared, it will +be some other one. + +The robust children generally develop into careless adults. That is why +so many of them, in fact the vast majority, die before they are fifty +years old, although they are equipped with constitutions that were +intended to last over a century. They are shining marks for typhoid +fever, Bright's disease, various forms of heart and liver troubles, +rheumatism and pneumonia, all of which are largely caused by too hearty +eating. These diseases often come without apparent warning. That is, the +victims have thought themselves healthy. However, they have not known +what real health is. They have been in a state of tolerable health, not +suffering any very annoying aches or pains, but they have lacked the +normal state of body which results in a clear, keen mind. As a rule +there is enough indigestion present to cause gas in the bowels and a +coated tongue. Enough food is generally eaten to produce excessive blood +pressure. + +The foundation for such a state of affairs is laid in childhood, yes, +often before the child is born. It can readily be seen how important it +is for parents to impart a little sound health information to the +children. At least, they should teach them what health really is, which +many people do not know. + +When these strong people become sick it is often difficult, or even +impossible, to do anything for them, for their habits are so gross and +have gained such a mastery that the patients will not or can not change +their ways. + +The weaklings have a better chance to survive to old age, because many +of them learn to be careful early in life. In reading the lives of +eminent men who have lived long it is common to find that they were +never strong. + +At the age of one year the baby is generally weaned. The ordinary child +needs the mother's milk no longer, for by this time the digestive power +is great enough to cope with cow's milk and various starches. The most +important problem now is how to feed the child. If no errors of +importance are made it will enjoy uninterrupted growth and health. If +the errors are many and serious there will surely be disease and too +often the abuse is so great that death comes and ends the suffering. + +Until the child reaches the age of two years the best foods are milk, +whole wheat products and fruits. No other foods are necessary. The +simpler the baby's food, and the more naturally and plainly prepared, +the better. Adults who overeat until they suffer from jaded appetites, +may think that they need great variety of food, but it is never +necessary for infants or normal adults. Milk, whole wheat and fruits +contain all the elements needed for growth and strength and health. By +all means feed simply. Children are perfectly satisfied with bread and +milk or simply one kind of fruit at a meal, if they are properly +trained. The craving for a great variety of foods at each meal is due to +parental mismanagement. + +Children should not be fed more than three times a day. There should be +no lunching. The children will get all that is good for them, all they +need in three meals. Candy should not be given between meals, and fruit +is to be looked upon as a food, not as a dainty to be consumed at all +hours of the day. If they are not accustomed to lunching, there will be +no craving for lunches. If children are used to four or five meals a day +they want them and raise annoying objections when deprived of one or two +of them. It is easy to get children into bad habits. We can not blame +the average mother for giving her children lunches, for she knows no +better and sees other mothers doing the same. + +The children who do not get lunches thrive better than those who always +have candy, fruit or bread and jam at their command. It is the same with +adults. In the Dakotas and Minnesota are many Scandinavians and Germans. +During the haying and harvest these people, who are naturally very +strong, eat four and five times a day. The heat, the excessive amount of +food and the great quantities of coffee consumed cause much sickness +during and after the season of hard work and heroic eating. The +so-called Americans in these communities are generally satisfied with +three meals a day, and they are as well nourished and capable of working +as those who eat much more. + +Refined sugar made from cane and beets should be given to children +sparingly. Refined sugar is the chemical which is largely responsible +for the perversion of children's tastes. A normal taste is very +desirable, for it protects the possessor. A perverted taste, on the +contrary, leads him into trouble. Sugar is not a good food. It is an +extract. It is easy to cultivate a desire for sugar, but to people who +are not accustomed to it, concentrated sugar has an unpleasant taste. + +The perversion of the sense of taste, generally begun with sugar, is +made worse by the use of much salt, pepper and various condiments and +spices. If the child is fed on unnatural food, highly seasoned, at the +age of a few years its taste is so perverted that it does not know how +most of the common foods really taste, and refuses to eat the best of +them when the health-destroying concoctions to which it has been +accustomed can be had. + +It is natural for children to relish fruit, but some are so perverted in +taste that they object to a meal of it if they can get pancakes or +waffles with butter and syrup, mushes with sugar and cream, ham or bacon +with fried potatoes, or fresh bread and meat with pickles. Many parents +allow their children to live on this class of food to the exclusion of +all natural foods. Children need a great deal of the natural salts, and +when they live so largely on denatured foods there is always physical +deterioration. It is true that to the average eye such children may +appear healthy, but they are not in one-half as good physical condition +as they could be. + +Tea and coffee should never be given to children. They are bad enough +for adults. In children they retard bodily development. The stimulation +and sedation are bad for the nervous system. Coffee is as harmful as +tobacco for the growing child. + +To warn against alcohol may seem foolish, but some parents really give +beer and whiskey to their infants. The beer is given as a beverage and +the whiskey as medicine to kill pain and soothe the children. Those who +have not seen children abused in this way may find it difficult to +believe that there is such a profundity of ignorance. These children die +easily. + +Others quiet their children with the various soothing syrups. The last +analyses that came under my eyes showed that these remedies contained +considerable opium, laudanum, morphine and other deadly poisons. +Morphine and opium are not well borne by children and these "mother's +friends" have soothed many a baby into the sleep from which there is no +waking. Make it a rule to give the children no medicines, either patent +or those prescribed by physicians. Please remember that any remedy that +quiets a child is poisonous. Children who get proper care require no +medical quieting. + +Condiments should not be used. Salt is not necessary despite the popular +belief to the contrary, though a small amount does no harm. Salt eating +is a habit and when carried to excess it is a bad one. Salt is a good +preservative, but there is little excuse for our using preserved foods +extensively. There are so many foods that can be had without being +preserved in this country that it would not be difficult to exclude +these inferior foods from the dietary. Children whose foods are not +seasoned do not desire seasoning, provided they are fed on natural foods +from the start. They want the seasoning because they are taught to eat +their food that way. If they are given fresh fruit every day, such as +apples, oranges, cherries, grapes and berries, they get all the +seasoning they need and they get it in natural form. + +The objection is made that such feeding deprives children of many of the +good things of life. This is not true. Natural foods taste better than +the doctored ones every time. Nature imparts a flavor to food products +which man has never been able to equal, to say nothing of surpassing it. +Children are taught to like abnormal foods. What is better, to give +children good foods upon which they thrive, or denatured foods which +taste well to a perverted palate, but are injurious? + +Instead of giving sugar or candy, give raisins, figs, dates or sweet +prunes. Small children may be given the strained juices of these fruits, +obtained either by soaking the raw fruits several hours or by stewing +them. Children who are given these fruits do not crave refined sugar. +They like these natural sugars better than the artificial extract. These +sweet fruits take the place of starchy food. + +Very few people know anything definite about food values. Those who have +studied foods and their values in order to be able to feed children +properly generally make the mistake of believing that they should have +all the necessary elements at each meal in about the proper proportion. +This is a grave mistake and leads to trouble. The child needs salts, +protein, sugar and fat, and in the absence of sugar some starch. Milk +contains all these substances except starch. Give one fruit meal and two +meals of starch daily. Milk may be given with all the meals or it may be +given but once or twice. Do not overfeed on milk, for it is a rich food. + +Until the child is two years old, confine it in its starch eating pretty +much to the products of whole wheat. Give no white bread. White bread is +an unsatisfying form of food. It is so tasteless and insipid and so +deprived of the natural wheat salts that too much has to be eaten to +satisfy. Children who would be satisfied with a reasonable amount of +whole wheat bread eat more white bread and still do not feel satisfied. +The same is true of rice, the natural brown rice being so superior to +the polished article that there is no comparison. + +The bread should be toasted in the oven until it is crisp clear through, +or else it should be stale. Let the bread for toast get stale, and then +place it in the oven when this is cooling off. Make the slices +moderately thin. This is an easy and satisfactory way of making toast. +Scorched bread--what is usually called toast--is not fit food for young +children. + +After the second year is completed gradually increase the variety of +starch. Some of the better forms of starch that are easy to obtain are: +Puffed rice or puffed wheat; brown, unpolished rice; triscuit or +shredded wheat biscuit; the prepared corn and wheat flakes; baked +potatoes; occasionally well cooked oatmeal or whole wheatmeal gruel. +Mushes are to be given seldom or never. Children seldom chew them well, +and they require thorough mastication. The rice is not to be sugared but +after the child has had enough, milk may be given. A small amount of +butter may be served with either rice or baked potato. The cereal foods +should be eaten dry. Let the children masticate them, as they should, +and as they will not if the starches are moistened with milk. When they +have had sufficient of these starches, and but one kind is to be served +at a meal, give milk, if milk is to be a part of the meal. To observe +the suggestions here given for the manner of feeding starches to +children may mean the difference between success and failure in raising +them. It is the little things that are important in the care of +children. + +The acid fruits should not be given in the meals containing starchy +foods. Strong children who have plenty of opportunity to be in the fresh +air and who are very active can stand this combination, but it is +injurious to the nervous type. It is not a good thing to make such +combinations habitually for robust children. A good meal can be made of +fruit followed by milk. Do not slice the fruit, sprinkle it with sugar +and cover it with cream. Give the child the fruit and nothing else. +Neither oranges nor grapefruits are to be sugared. Their flavor is +better without. If the children want sweets, give them a meal of sweet +fruits. + +When the child is eighteen months old it should have learned to +masticate well enough to eat various fruits. Apples, oranges, +grapefruits, berries, cherries, grapes and melons are among the foods +that may be given. If the child does not masticate well, either grind +the fruit or scrape it very fine. The sweet fruits require so much +mastication that only their juices should be fed until the child is old +enough to masticate thoroughly. Bananas should also be withheld until +there is no doubt about the mastication. They must be thoroughly ripe, +the skin being dark in spots and the flesh firm and sweet. A green +banana is very starchy, but a ripe one contains hardly any starch and +digests easily. + +At first the meal is fruit, followed with milk. Buttermilk or clabbered +milk may be substituted for sweet milk. A little later, begin giving +cottage cheese occasionally in place of milk, if the child likes it. + +The succulent vegetables may be given quite early. At the age of two +years stewed onions, green peas, cauliflower, egg plant and summer +squash may be given. Gradually increase the variety until all the +succulent vegetables are used. At first it may be necessary to mash +these vegetables. + +The longer children go without meat the better, and if they never +acquired the meat-eating habit it would be a blessing. If the parents +believe in feeding their children meat, they should wait until the +little ones are at least four years old before beginning. Meats are +digestible enough, but too stimulating for young people. Chicken and +other fowls may be used at first, and it is best to use young birds. +Beef and pork should not be on the children's menu. At the age of seven +or eight the variety may be increased. However, parents who wish to do +the best by their children will give them little or no meat. Many of the +sorrows that parents suffer through their wayward children would be done +away with if the young people were fed on less stimulating foods. + +Eggs are better for children than meat. However, it is not necessary to +give them. The children get enough milk to supply all the protein they +need. Eggs may be given earlier than meat. At the age of two and +one-half years an egg may be given occasionally. At three they may be +given every other day, one egg at a meal. At five or six years of age, +an egg may be given daily, but not more than one at a time. If they are +soft boiled, three and one-half minutes will suffice. If hard boiled, +cook them fifteen to twenty minutes. An egg boiled seven or eight +minutes is not only hard but tough. Longer boiling makes the albumin +mellow. Always prepare eggs simply without using grease. + +Eggs may be given in combination with either fruits or vegetables. Milk +is not to be taken in the egg meal, for if such combinations are made +the child gets more protein than necessary. Eggs are easy to digest and +the chief objection to their free use in feeding children is that the +protein intake will be too great, which causes disease. + +Nuts should not be given until the children are old enough to masticate +them thoroughly. The best combination is the same as for eggs. Children +under six years of age should not have much more than one-half of an +ounce of nut meats at a meal. The pecans are the best. Children rarely +chew nuts well enough, so they should seldom be used. They may be ground +very fine and made into nut butter, which may be substituted for +ordinary butter. + +Give no butter until the child has completed his second year. The whole +milk contains all the fat necessary. Butter should always be used in +moderation, for although it digests easily, it is a very concentrated +food. + +Again the question will be asked: "How much shall I feed my child?" I do +not know, but I do know that most children get at least three times as +much food as is good for them. People can establish a toleration to a +certain poison, and seemingly take it with impunity for a while. Some +arsenic eaters and morphine addicts take enough of their respective +drugs daily to kill a dozen normal men. However, the drugs, if not +stopped, always ruin the user in the end. It is the same way with food. +Children seem to establish a toleration for an excess for a shorter or +longer period of time, but the overeating always produces discomfort and +disease in the end, and if it is continued it will cause premature +death. + +About one-third or one-fourth of what children eat is needed to nourish +them. The rest makes trouble. Read the chapters in this book on +overeating and on normal food intake. They give valuable pointers. +Parents know their children best, and the mother can, or should be able +to tell when there are signs of impending danger. If there is a decided +change in the child's disposition it generally denotes illness. Some +children become very sweet when they are about to be ill, but most of +them are so cranky that they make life miserable for the family. A foul, +feverish breath nearly always comes before the attack. A common danger +signal is a white line around the mouth. Another one is a white, pinched +appearance of the nose. A flushed face is quite common. The tongue never +looks normal. Except the abnormal tongue, these symptoms are not all +present before every attack, but one or more of them generally are. No +matter what the signs of trouble may be, stop all feeding immediately. +If this is done, the disease generally fails to develop, but if feeding +is continued there is sure to be illness. These symptoms indicate that +the digestion is seriously disturbed. It is folly to feed when there is +an acute attack of indigestion. Besides, it is very cruel, for it causes +much suffering. + +Such symptoms in children are caused by improper eating, and overeating +is generally the chief fault. The remedy is very simple: Feed less. + +A coated tongue indicates too much food. A clean tongue shows that the +digestive organs are working well. If the tongue is not smooth and a +pretty pink in color, it means that the child has had too much food and +the meals must be reduced in quantity until the tongue does become +normal, which may take a few months in chronic cases. Peculiar little +protruding spots when red and prominent on the tip and edges of the +tongue indicate irritation of the alimentary tract and call for +reduction of food intake. + +The parents can soon learn how much to feed the children if they will be +guided by these hints. Poor health in the children indicates parental +failure, and this is one place where they can not afford to fail. +Parents must be honest with themselves and not put the blame where the +doctors put it--on bacteria, draughts, the weather, etc. Sometimes the +climate is very trying on the babies, but it never kills those who have +intelligent care. + +If it is found that the child next door, of the same age, eats three or +four times as much as your child, do not become alarmed about your +little one, but give the neighbor's child a little silent sympathy +because its parents are ignorant enough to punish the little one so +cruelly. + +For those who desire more definite hints regarding feeding of children, +an outline has been prepared for several days. This is very simple +feeding, but it is the kind of feeding that will make a rose bloom in +each cheek. The child will be happy and contented and bring joy to the +hearts of the parents. + +Breakfast: Whole wheat toast, butter and a glass of milk. + +Lunch: A baked apple and a dish of cottage cheese. + +Supper: Steamed or boiled brown rice and milk. + + +Breakfast: Puffed wheat and milk. + +Lunch: Oranges and milk. + +Supper: An egg, parsnips and onions, both stewed. + + +Breakfast: Oatmeal or whole wheat porridge and milk. + +Lunch: Berries and milk. + +Supper: Baked potato, spinach and a plate of lettuce. + + +Breakfast: Shredded wheat biscuit and milk. + +Lunch: Stewed prunes and milk or cottage cheese. + +Supper: Whole wheat toast and milk. + + +These are merely hints. Where one juicy fruit is suggested, another may +be substituted. In place of the succulent vegetables named, others may +be used. Any of the starches may be selected in place of the ones given. +However, no mistake will be made in using the whole wheat products as +the starch mainstay. + +Desserts should not be fed to children often. Rich cakes and all kinds +of pies should be omitted from the bill of fare. It is true that some +children can take care of them, but what is the use of taking chances? A +plain custard, lightly flavored, may be given with toast. If ice cream +is above suspicion a moderate dish of this with some form of starch may +be given, but milk is not to be taken in the same meal with either ice +cream or custard. + +At the end of the third year it is time enough to begin to feed the +salad vegetables, though they may be given earlier to children who +masticate well. The dressing should be very plain, nothing more than a +little salt and olive oil, or some clabbered cream. No dressing is +necessary. The salad vegetables may be eaten with the meal containing +eggs and the stewed succulent vegetables. + +At the age of about seven or eight the child may be put on the same diet +as the parents, provided they live simply. Otherwise, continue in the +old way a little longer. For the best results in raising children, +simplicity is absolutely necessary. + +Children who are early put on a stimulating diet develop mental and +sexual precocity, both of which are detrimental to physical welfare. The +first desideratum is to give the children healthy bodies, and then there +will be no trouble in giving them what knowledge they need. + +In overfed boys the sex urge is so strong that they acquire secret +habits, and sometimes commit overt acts. Too much protein is especially +to blame. These facts are not understood by many and the result is that +the parents fail in their duty to their children. + +It is best not to bring young children to the table, if there is +anything on it that they should not have, for it nearly always results +in improper feeding. The children are curious and they beg for a little +of this and a little of that. Unthinkingly the parents give them little +tastes and bites and before the meal is over they have had from six to +twelve different kinds of food, some of them not fit for adult +consumption. If the child understands that it is not to ask for these +things and abides by this rule, it is all right, but such children are +rare. A child that fretfully begs for this and that at the table upsets +itself and the parents. + +Make no sudden changes in the manner of feeding, unless the feeding is +decidedly wrong. + +Active children get all the exercise they need. They should spend a +large part of the day in the open, and this is even more important for +the delicate ones. The bedroom should be well ventilated, but the +children must be kept cozy and warm or they do not sleep well. + +After the child is old enough not to soil itself, one or two baths a +week are sufficient. There is no virtue in soaking. Swimming is +different, for here the child is active in the water and it does not +weaken him so. Swimming should be a part of every child's education. + +Bed time should be early. The children should be tucked in and the light +turned off by 8 o'clock, and 7 o'clock is better for children under +five. If they want to get up early in the morning, let them, but put +them to bed early at night. + +Infants should not be exposed long to the direct rays of the summer sun, +for it is liable to cause illness. It upsets the stomach and then there +is a feverish spell. If nothing is fed that will generally be all, but +it is unnecessary to make babies ill in this way. They should not be +chilled either. + +Husband and wife do not agree at all times, but they make a mistake when +they disagree in the presence of their children. Young people are quick +to take advantage of such a state of affairs and they begin to play the +parents against each other. When a point comes up where there is a +difference of opinion, the decision of the parent who speaks first +should stand, at least for the time being. Then when they are by +themselves, man and wife can discuss the matter if it is not +satisfactory, and even quarrel about it, if that gives them pleasure. +Parents who do not control themselves can not long retain the full +respect of their children. Lost respect is not very far distant from +lost love. + +People often object to a change in methods, for, they say, the new plan +will cause too much trouble. The plan here outlined causes less trouble +than the conventional method of caring for children. It is simpler and +gives better results. If it were followed out the mortality of children +under ten years of age in this country would be reduced from over +400,000 annually to less than 25,000. In spite of everything, a number +of young people will get into fatal pranks. + +There are difficulties in the way of raising children properly, but a +healthy child is such a great reward that the efforts are paid for a +hundred times over. Nothing wears the parents out more quickly than a +child who is always fretting and crying, always on the brink of disease +or in its grasp. In raising children the best way is the easiest way. + + +THE CHILD'S MENTAL TRAINING. + +A healthy body is the child's first requirement. However, if the mental +training is poor, giving wrong views of life, a good physique is of but +little service. + +It is quite generally agreed among observers that the first seven years +of life leave the mental impressions which guide the whole life, and +that after the age of fourteen the mental trend rarely changes. There +are a few individuals with strength enough to make themselves over +mentally after reaching adult life, but these are so few that they are +almost negligible, and even they are largely influenced by their youth +and infancy. It is as easy to form good mental habits as bad ones. It is +within the power of all parents to give their children healthy bodies +and healthy minds, and this is a duty, which should prove a pleasure. +The reason such heritage is so rare is that it requires considerable +self-control and most parents live chaotic lives. + +Upon the mentality depends the success in life. "It is the mind that +makes the body rich." No matter how great an individual's success may +seem in the eyes of the public, if the person lacks the proper +perspective, the proper vision and the right understanding, his success +is an empty thing. Wealth and success are considered synonymous, but I +have found more misery in the homes of the rich than among the poor. +Physical wants can be supplied and the suffering is over, but mental +wants can only be satisfied through understanding, which should be +cultivated in childhood. + +"All our problems go back to the child--corrupt politics, dishonesty and +greed in commerce, war, anarchism, drunkenness, incompetence and +criminality."--Moxom. + +Given a healthy body and a good mind, every individual is able to become +a useful member of society, and that is all that can be expected of the +average individual. All can not be eminent, and it is not necessary. + +Upon the child's mental impressions and the habits formed in infancy and +youth depend the mental workings and the habits of later life. Therefore +it is necessary to nurture the little people in the right kind of +atmosphere. If the child is trained properly from infancy there will be +no serious bad habits to overcome during later years, and, as all know, +habits are the hardest of all bonds to break. To overcome the coffee and +alcohol habits is hard, but to overcome bad mental habits is even more +difficult. + +First of all, let the infant alone most of the time. Some mothers are so +full of love and nonsense that they take their babies up to cuddle and +love them at short intervals, and then there are the admiring relatives +who like to flatter the parents by telling them that the baby is the +finest one they have seen; it is an exceptional baby. So the relatives +have to bother the infant and kiss it. This should not be. The child +should be kept in a quiet room and should not be disturbed. There are no +exceptional babies. They are all much alike, except that some are a +little healthier than others. If they are let alone, they have the best +opportunity to develop into exceptional men and women. + +Paying too much attention to babies makes them cross and irritable. They +soon learn to like and then to demand attention. If they do not get it +at once they become ill-tempered and cry until attention is given. Thus +the foundation of bad temper is laid in the very cradle. They gain their +ends in infancy by crying. Later on they develop the whining habit. When +they grow older they fret and worry. Such dispositions are the faults of +the parents. + +It does not take long for children to learn how to get their way, and if +they can do it by being disagreeable, you may be sure that they will +develop the worst side of their nature. Let the child understand that +being disagreeable buys nothing, and there will soon be an end of it. +Children who are well and well cared for are happy. They cause their +elders almost no trouble. To lavish an excessive amount of care on a +baby may be agreeable to the mother at first, but it is different when +it comes to caring for an ill-tempered, spoiled child of eight or nine +years. + +Many crimes are committed in the name of love. Many babies are killed by +love. Unless love is tempered by understanding it is as lethal as +poison. Many parents think they are showing love when they indulge their +children, but instead they are putting them onto the road that leads to +physical and mental decay. True love is helpful, kind and patient. The +spurious kind is noisy, demonstrative and impatient. + +Do what is necessary for children, but do not allow them to cause +unnecessary work. What they can do for themselves they should do. They +can be taught to be helpful very early. They should be taught to be neat +and tidy. They should learn to dress themselves and how to keep their +rooms and personal effects in good order early in life, no matter how +many servants there may be. These little things are reflected in their +later lives. They help to form the individual's character. It is what we +do that largely make us what we are, and every little act and every +thought has a little influence in shaping our lives. An orderly body +helps to make an orderly mind and vice versa. + +Many of the rich children are unfortunate indeed. Some times poor +parents have so many children that each one gets scant attention, but +the children of many of the rich get no parental attention. The parents +are too busy accumulating or preserving a fortune and climbing a social +ladder to bother with their children. Their raising is delegated to +servants. At times the little ones are put on display for a few minutes +and then the parents are as proud of them as they are of the expensive +paintings that adorn the walls or the blooded dogs and horses in kennels +and stables. No amount of paid service can compensate for the lack of +parental love. + +The ideal today, especially for female children, seems to be to make +ornaments of them, to train them to be useless. Girls, as well as boys, +should be taught to be useful. They should be taught that those who do +not labor are parasites. If some do not work, others have to work too +hard. The story is told of Mark Twain that he dined with an English +nobleman who boasted that he was an earl and did not labor. "In our +country," said Mark Twain, "we do not call people of your class earls; +we call them hoboes." + +It does not matter how wealthy parents are, they should teach their +children how to earn a living, and they should instill into them the +ideal of service, for a life of idleness is a failure. The shirkers and +wasters are not happy. The greatest contentment in life comes from the +performance of good work. Ecstatic love and riotous pleasure can not +last. Work with love and pleasure is good. But love and pleasure without +work are corroding. + +Children who are waited upon much become selfish. They soon become +grafters, expecting and taking everything and giving nothing. This is +immoral, for life is a matter of compensation, and consists in giving as +well as in taking. Children should be taught consideration for others, +and should not be allowed to order the servants around; not that it +harms the servants, but it has a bad effect on the children. + +Because the child's period of development is so long, it is important to +have a proper adjustment in the home between parents and the children. +Lack of adjustment wears out the parents, especially the mother, and +gives false impressions to the young people. To prevent friction and get +good results, children should be taught obedience. Obedience is one of +the stepping stones to ability to command. + +In those homes where the words of the parents are law there is but +little friction. Obedience should be taught from the very start. As soon +as the child realizes that the parents mean what they say and that it is +useless to fret and complain about a command, that is the end of the +matter. How different it is with disobedient children! The parents have +to tell them what to do several times and then the bidding often remains +undone. + +Begin to teach obedience and promptness as soon as the children +understand, for it is more difficult later. The older the children the +harder it is. Children know so little and are so conceited that they do +not realize that because of lack of experience, observation and +reflection they can not safely guide themselves at all times. When they +are allowed to act so that they are a nuisance to others and harmful to +themselves, they do not give up this license with good grace. There are +times to be firm and then firmness should be used. It is necessary for +the parents to cooperate. + +Various parents have different ways of correcting their children, and it +is not difficult to make them realize that obedience is a part of the +plan of early life. To illustrate: If the children are called for a +meal, they should come promptly. If there is a tendency to lag, tell +them that if they do not come when called they will get nothing to eat +until next mealtime, and act accordingly. This is no cruelty, for no one +is harmed by missing a meal. It generally proves very effective. + +At the table, serve the children what your experience has told you they +can take with benefit, without saying anything about it. If they ask for +anything else, give it if you think proper. If not, say no. If they +start to beg and whine, tell them that such conduct will result in their +being sent away from the table, and if they still continue, do as you +have said, and let there be no weakening. This may cause a few very +disagreeable experiences at first, but it is much better to have a few +of them and be through, than to continue year after year to have such +trouble. Some children can eat everything with apparent impunity and +their parents usually pay no attention to what they eat. But there are +others who become ill if they are improperly fed. Children who are often +feverish and take all the diseases peculiar to the young, are +maltreated. They are not properly fed. Those who are prone to +convulsions must be fed with great care, or there is danger of their +becoming epileptics. Firmness in such cases generally means the +difference between health and disease or even death. + +By all means be firm in such matters. Indulging the children to excess +is invariably harmful. When your children become ill and die, you can +truly say, "Behold my handiwork." + +In the same way teach the children to do promptly whatever they are told +to do. If they are told to go to bed, it should be done without delay or +protest. All the little duties that fall to their lot should likewise be +accomplished promptly. However, the parents should be reasonable and +they should avoid bombarding their children with commands to do or not +to do a thousand and one things that do not matter at all. Let the +children alone except when it is really necessary to direct them. + +Unfortunately, most of the parents are blind to their own faults, but +see very clearly those of others. The mistakes they make in their own +families open their eyes to those of others, and then they are often +very impatient. I know one gentleman who has excellent knowledge of the +proper training of the young, but as a parent he is a total failure. He +is so explosive and lacking in patience and firmness, perhaps also in +love, that his knowledge has not helped him. It is not what we know, but +what we apply, that makes or mars. + +Obedience reduces friction and trains the children into habits of +efficiency. It is not only valuable in preserving the health of the +parents, but in increasing the child's earning capacity when the time +comes to labor in earnest. + +Plato said that democracies are governed as well as they deserve to be. +Likewise, parents get as much obedience, respect, affection and love as +they deserve, and the three latter are largely dependent upon the +former. It would be difficult to overemphasize the importance of +obedience. + +In nature we find that the animals teach their young how to live +independently as soon as they have the strength to care for themselves. +This is what parents should teach their children. This may cause the +mother pain, for many mothers like to keep their children helpless, +dependent and away from contact with the world as long as possible. Wise +mothers do not handicap their children thus. The best parents are those +who teach their children early how to make their own way. + +Doubtless the greatest happiness is to be found in a congenial family, +where the parents understand and love each other and their children. +Those parents who are so busy that they lack the time to become +acquainted with their infants and keep up this intimacy, are losing a +part of life that neither money nor social position can give them. Many +wait until too late to get on intimate terms with their children. When +young, the children are naturally loving and then the beautiful ties +which neither time nor misfortune can sunder are formed. When the +children are grown it is too late to establish such a relation. Then +they look at their parents with as critical eyes as they use toward +other people, and though they may become very good friends, the tender +love is lacking. Love between man and woman is unstable, but the +beautiful love that springs from companionship of children and parents +lasts until the end. + +While some mothers neglect their children, many become too absorbed in +them. The children become all of the mother's life. As the young people +become older, their horizon naturally widens. During infancy the parents +can fill the child's whole life, but soon other interests crave +attention. There is always a tragedy in store for the mother who refuses +to see that her children, as they grow older, will demand the human +experience necessary for individual growth and development. If the +mother has no other interest than her children she will one day be left +with a heart as empty as the home from which the children are gone. +There are so many interesting things in this world, and every mother +should have her hobby. She should have at least one hour each day sacred +to herself, in which she can relax and cultivate the mind. This will +help to fill the coming years, which too often prove barren. Loving +parents get all the reward they should expect from the beautiful +intimacy that exists between them and their growing children. So-called +ungrateful children have incompetent parents. Parents have no right to +demand gratitude. They do no more for their children than was done for +themselves in the morning of their lives. The right kind of parents +never want for rewards. They are repaid every day so long as they live. +Children grow under the care of their parents, but the parents also grow +and expand in understanding, sympathy and love through association with +their children. + +Today society does not treat the mothers with the proper consideration. +The mothers deserve well, for they have to give many of their best years +to the children. These are the productive years, and generally unfit the +women to go into economic competition with the rest of the world +afterwards. Society owes it to the mothers of the race to see that they +are not made to suffer for fulfilling their destiny. Motherhood today is +as dangerous as the soldier's life, though it ought not to be, and it is +more difficult to raise children than to conduct a successful business. +However, the financial rewards for motherhood are generally nil. The +least society can do is to see that these women do not want for the +necessities of life. + +Most children are interrogation points. This is well, for they learn +through curiosity. The questions should be answered honestly, or not at +all. It is common to give untrue answers. This is poor policy, for the +answers are a part of the child's education and untruths make the young +people ignorant and superstitious. It takes considerable patience to +raise a child and he who is unwilling to exercise a little patience has +no right to become a parent. + +Whether to use corporeal punishment or not is a question that the +parents must decide for themselves. Many parents are in the habit of +nagging their children. It is, "Don't do this," and "Don't do that," +until the little ones feel as exasperated as the Americans in Berlin, +where everything that one has an impulse to do is "Verboten." The +children have not yet acquired caution, nor are they able to think of +more than one or two things at a time. Consequently they forget what +they are not to do, and then parental wrath descends upon them. Parents +can well afford to be deaf and blind to many things that happen. Those +mothers who are ever shouting prohibitions soon cultivate a fretful, +irritable tone that is bad for all concerned, and which does not breed +respect and obedience. Make it a rule not to interfere with the children +except when it is necessary, and tell them to do but one thing at a +time. + +If too many commands and prohibitions are issued, the children are prone +to forget them all. If they are talked to less, what is said is more +deeply impressed on their minds, and the chances are that they will +remember. Boisterousness is not badness, but indicates a state of +well-being, which results in bodily activity, including the use of the +vocal cords. It is common to all young animals, and the human animal is +the only one that is severely punished for manifesting happiness. + +If the parents decide that corporeal punishment is necessary, they +should be sure that it has been deserved, for a child resents being +punished unjustly, and undeserved punishment is always harmful. Many +parents become so angry that they inflict physical punishment to relieve +their own feelings, and this is very wrong. If a parent calmly decides +that his child needs punishment, perhaps this is the case. The +punishment should be given calmly. Nothing can be more cowardly and +disgusting than the brutal assault of an angry parent upon a defenseless +child, and such parents always regret their actions if they have any +conscience, but they are generally of such poor moral fibre and so full +of false pride that they fail to apologize to the children for the +injustice done. These parents inflict suffering upon their children, but +they punish themselves most of all, for they kill filial regard and +love. Children have a very keen sense of fair play. + +If it is decided to administer corporeal punishment, it should have +enough sting to it so that it will be remembered. Parents who temper +their justice with patience and love are not compelled to resort to +corporeal punishment often. + +Children should never be hit on the head. Pulling or boxing the ears +should not be recognized as civilized warfare. Blows on the head may +partly destroy the hearings and affect the brain. + +Another thing that may not come under the head of punishment in the +strictest sense, is lifting children by one of the arms. Women are prone +to do this. Often it partly dislocates the elbow joint. The children +whine and no one knows exactly what is the matter. If one arm is +occupied and the child has to be lifted from curb to street or over a +puddle, stoop and pass the unoccupied arm about the child's body and no +harm will be done. + +No one should suggest to the child that it is bad. It is better to dwell +upon goodness. If a child is often told that it is bad, it will soon +begin to live up to its name and reputation, just as adults often do. + +Many parents are in the habit of scaring their children. If the little +ones cry or disobey, they are told that the boogy-man is coming after +them, or they are threatened with being put out into the dark, or +perhaps some animal or bad person is coming to get them. Fear is +injurious to everybody, being ruinous to both the body and the mind, and +it is especially bad for growing children. The fear instilled in them +during childhood remains with some people to the end of life. It is not +uncommon to find people who dare not go out alone after dark because +they were scared in childhood. Children like exciting stories that would +naturally inspire fear, but it is not difficult for the reader or story +teller to inform the little ones that there are no big black bears or +bold robbers in the neighborhood, and that now there is nothing to fear +in the darkness. + +Many teach the children to be ashamed of their bodies. Every part of the +body has its use and whatever is useful is good. Those who do not abuse +their bodies have nothing of which to be ashamed. + +The education of children in the past has been along wrong lines. It has +been the aim to cram them full of isolated facts, many of them untrue. +We are slowly outgrowing this tendency, but too much remains. Thanks +largely to Froebel and Doctor Montessori, our methods are growing more +natural. The adult learns by doing and so does the child. Doctor +Montessori teaches the children to use all their senses. She gives them +fabrics of various textures and objects of different shapes and colors. +Thus they learn colors, forms, smoothness, roughness, etc. She teaches +them how to dress and undress and how to take their baths. She lets them +go about the schoolroom instead of compelling them to sit still at their +desks in cramped positions. In this way they get knowledge that they +never forget. They learn to read and write and figure in playful ways +through the proper direction of their curiosity. Little tots of four, or +even younger, are often able to read, and there has been no forcing. All +has come about through utilizing the child's curiosity. + +If children are delicate, they should not be put into a schoolroom with +thirty or forty other children. Keep such children outdoors when the +weather permits and allow them to become strong. The education will take +care of itself later. There is nothing to be gained by overtaxing a +delicate child in the schoolroom, which too often is poorly ventilated, +and having a funeral a little later. + +Children should be taught the few simple fundamental rules of nutrition +until they are second nature. A thorough knowledge of the fact that it +is very injurious to eat when there is bodily or mental discomfort is +worth ten thousand times as much to a child as the ability to extract +cube root or glibly recite, "Arma virumque cano Trojae," etc. The +realization that underchewing and overeating will cause mental and +physical degeneration is much more valuable than the ability to +demonstrate that a straight line is the shortest distance between two +points. This knowledge can be given so unobtrusively that the child does +not realize that it is learning, for there are many opportunities. + +When a child gets sick and is old enough to understand, instead of +sympathizing with it explain how the illness came about, and please +remember that in explaining you can leave the germs out of the question, +for diseases of childhood are almost entirely due to improper feeding. +The value of education like that is beyond any price, for it is a form +of health insurance. Reforming the race, means that we must begin with +the children. + +In parts of Europe cultured people have a working knowledge of two or +three languages. This is certainly convenient. Those who wish their +children to know one or two tongues beside English should remember that +in infancy two tongues are learned as readily as one, if they are +spoken. Those who can use three languages when they are four years old +are not infant prodigies. They have had the opportunity to learn, and +languages are simply absorbed. The language teaching in the public +schools is a joke. After taking several years of French or German the +school children can not speak about the common things of life in those +tongues, though they may know more about the grammar than the natives. +In other words, they know the science of the language, but not the +language itself. + +A time comes when the child wants to know about the origin of life. If +the parents have been companions, they can impart this knowledge better +than anyone else. If they are unable to explain, the family doctor +should be able to impart the knowledge with delicacy. I do not believe +that such knowledge should be imparted to mixed classes in the public +schools, as advocated by some. If the parents do their duty, there will +be no need of public education in sex hygiene. + +The doctor should be an educator, so he merits consideration here. +Nearly all families have their medical advisers, and these professional +people have it in their power to bring more sunshine into the homes than +their fees will pay for. On the other hand, they can, and too often do, +give both advice and remedies that are harmful They should sow seeds of +truth. If the infant is properly cared for, it is never ill. Inasmuch as +there are but few families with sufficient knowledge to keep their +babies healthy at all times, there are many calls for the doctor. +Parents are generally unduly alarmed about their infants. Nearly always +the trouble is primarily in the alimentary tract, due to improper +feeding, and the doctor with his wide experience can relieve the +parental anxiety, and at the same time tell them where they have made +their mistakes and how they have brought suffering upon their little +ones. + +Of course, there should be no dosing with medicine and no injections of +foreign matter into the blood stream. Rest, quiet, cleanliness and +warmth are what the children need to restore them to health. The right +kind of physician when acting as adviser to intelligent parents who wish +to do the best by their children will see to it that there is little or +no disease. + +If the parents do not know what to do, the most economical procedure is +to consult a physician who has understanding of and confidence in +nature. Pay no attention to the women of many words who give advice +"because they have had many children and have buried them all." + +It is not as difficult to raise healthy children as sickly ones. It is +so simple that it takes many pages to explain it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +DURATION OF LIFE. + +Old age today brings to mind a picture of decrepitude and decay. This is +because there is practically no natural old age. Those who live so that +they are unhealthy during the early years of life will not be well if +they reach advanced years. Old people can be well in body and sound in +mind. In order to attain this desirable end, it is necessary to live +properly during the first part of life. It is true that people may +dissipate and reform and then live long in comfort, but usually those +who spend too lavishly destroy their capital and go into physical or +mental bankruptcy. + +There are many who during their prime say that they do not wish to grow +old. Their desire for a short life can easily be satisfied. All that is +necessary is to live in the conventional manner and the chance of dying +before reaching the age of fifty or sixty is good. A few live to be +seventy or more in spite of dissipation, but these are the exceptions. +They were endowed with excellent constitutions to begin with, +constitutions that were made to last over one hundred years. Where we +find one who has lived long in spite of intemperance, thousands have +died from it. + +Most people desire to remain on earth long and they can have their wish. +They can advance in years healthy in body and with growing serenity of +mind. Physical and mental well-being are necessary to attain one's +life's expectancy. Old age should not be considered as apart from the +rest of life. It is but one of the natural phases. Those who do not live +to be old have failed to live completely. + +Those who express their desire to die young generally change their mind +when they face death. Man clings to life. + +Old age is a desirable condition. The physical tempests have been +subdued, if the life has been well spent. On the other hand, the faults +and foibles of the self-indulgent are accentuated and in such cases old +age is a misfortune. + +No one knows what man's natural length of life is. Anatomists and +physiologists compare the human body with the bodies of various animals. +In this they are justified, for we all develop according to the same +laws. Most of the animals, when allowed to live as nature intended them +to live, reach an age of from five to six times the length of the period +of their growth. Human beings, with their ability to control their +environment, should be able to do even better than that. Man reaches +physical maturity between twenty and twenty-five years of age. This +would make his natural age one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred +and fifty years. There are cases on record that have lived longer and it +may be that if man would cease going in the way of self-destruction and +spend more thought and time on the welfare of the race, life would be +prolonged beyond even one hundred and fifty years. R. T. Trall, M. D., +thought that man should live to be two hundred years old. + +"What man has done man can do." If long life is worth while, doubtless a +time will come when long life will be enjoyed. The worry, fretting and +foolish haste of today will doubtless be partly done away with some +time. Then men and women will have time to live, instead of merely +existing, as most people do today. Men have lived long and found life +good. Long life for its own sake is perhaps not to be desired, but the +benefit that can be bestowed upon the race by those advanced in years is +desirable. Occasionally a brilliant individual appears on the scene, +doing superior work in life's morning, but most of the work that has +been found worthy of the consideration of the ages has been done by men +of mature years. + +Galen, the famous physician, is said to have lived to a great age. It is +hard to tell exactly how old he was, but he was probably well past the +century mark at his death. His long life gave him time to do work that +is appreciated after the lapse of eighteen centuries. For many hundred +years after his death he dominated the practice of medicine and he is +today spoken of as often as any living medical man. + +Thomas Parr, an Englishman, died at the age of one hundred and +fifty-two. He was hale and hearty to the very end. Unfortunately, his +reputation traveled far. He was brought to the English court, where he +was wined and dined, and as a consequence he died. Before this he had +always led the simple life. An autopsy was performed and the physicians +found his organs in excellent condition. The only reason they could give +for his death was his departure from the simple life which he had led in +his home. + +Henry Jenkins, also an Englishman, lived to the age of one hundred and +sixty-nine years. He lived very frugally and was always on friendly +terms with nature. His favorite drink was water, though he partook in +moderation of "hop bitters." He was moderate in all things, and it is +said that he was never really ill until near the end of life. He was not +shriveled and shrunken, but a wholesome looking man. King Charles II. +sent a carriage to bring Mr. Jenkins to London, when he was one hundred +and sixty years old. The old gentleman declined to ride and walked the +two hundred miles to the metropolis. The king questioned him regarding +his life and desired to know the reason for his longevity. Mr. Jenkins +replied that he had always been sober and temperate and that this was +the reason for his many years. The Merry Monarch was neither sober nor +temperate, and you may be sure that this reply did not please him. Mr. +Jenkins was wiser than Mr. Parr had been, refusing to dissipate, even +though he was old. Consequently he returned to his home to enjoy life +nine years longer. + +These two cases are authentic. + +All are familiar with the records given in the Bible. Whether they are +figurative or not it is hard to tell. However, so many cases of +longevity are recorded that they in all probability have a basis in +fact. The Hebrews of old must have been a long-lived people. One hundred +and twenty years was not an extreme age. In Genesis is the record of +many over five hundred years old, and a few over nine hundred years of +age. At the time of the apostles the life span of the Hebrews had grown +shorter and hence the dictum of three score years and ten. Between the +time of Moses and that of the apostles the Hebrews had advanced--or +shall we say degenerated?--from a semi-barbarous people to one that had +the graces and also the vices of a higher civilization. The Hebrews of +old were husbandmen, who lived simply and got their vigor from the soil. + +The cause of so much unnecessary suffering and of the premature deaths +has been discussed elsewhere in this book. In short, it is wrong living +and wrong thinking. Impure air and bad food kill no more surely than +does worry. + +The bodies of children are composed largely of water. The structures are +flexible and elastic. The bones are made up mostly of cartilaginous +structure. As the children grow older more solids are deposited in the +body and the proportion of solid matter to water grows greater. Lime is +deposited in the bones. When they are limy throughout they are said to +be ossified. After this process is complete no more growth can take +place. Bone formation continues until about the age of twenty-five. At +this age the body is efficient. The fluids circulate without +obstruction. Could this condition be maintained, there would be no +decay. + +During the early years of life the food intake in proportion to the +weight of the body is great. The child is active and uses much fuel to +produce power and to repair the waste. Considerable food is required for +body building. At this time a broken bone mends quickly and cuts heal in +a short time. With advancing years come slowness and sluggishness of the +various vital activities. The slowing up can be retarded almost +indefinitely by proper care of the body. + +If the circulation could be maintained and the purity of the blood +stream guarded, old age would be warded off. A healthy body is able to +cleanse itself under favorable conditions and so long as the body is +clean through and through there is no opportunity for disease to take +place and there can be no aging. By aging I mean not so much the number +of years one has lived as the amount of hardening and degeneration of +the body that take place. + +Some are as old at forty as others are at seventy. + +When people have reached physical maturity they should begin to reduce +their food intake. There is no need for building material then. All that +is necessary is enough to repair the waste and to keep up the +temperature. The individual at twenty-seven should eat a little less +than when he was twenty and by the age of thirty-five he should have +reduced his food still more and made his meals very simple. Children +enjoy the gratification of the sense of taste, but at the age of +thirty-five a man has lived enough and experienced enough so that he +should know that the overgratification of appetites is an evanescent and +unprofitable pleasure, always costing more than it is worth. It is best +to grow into good habits while young, for it is difficult to do so after +one has grown old. The man who reforms after fifty is the exception. + +Children are fond of cereal foods and sugars. They can eat these foods +two or three times a day and thrive. A man of thirty-five should make it +a general rule to limit his starch eating to once a day. Various +physiologists say that as much as sixteen ounces of dry starch +(equivalent to about thirty ounces of ordinary bread) are necessary each +day. This is entirely too much. Very few people can profitably eat more +than four ounces of dry starch a day, and for many this is too much. +Through eating as much as is popularly and professionally advocated, +early decay and death result. + +The arteries are normally pliable and elastic. When too much food is +taken, the system is unable to cleanse itself. Debris is left at various +points. One of the favorite lodging places is in the coats of the +arteries. After considerable deposits have been formed the arteries lose +their elasticity. They become hard and unyielding. A normal radial +artery can easily be compressed with one finger. Sometimes the radial +artery becomes so hard that it is difficult to compress it with three +fingers. As the arteries grow harder they become more brittle and +sometimes they break, often a fatal accident. + +This hardness of the arteries impedes the circulation, for the tone and +natural elasticity of the vessel walls is one of the aids to a normal +circulation. + +So long as the arteries are normal all parts of the body are bathed in a +constantly changing stream of blood. The muscles, the nerves, the bones, +in fact all parts of the body, remove from the blood stream those +elements that are necessary for repairing or building the various +tissues. They also throw into the blood stream the refuse and waste due +to the constant repair and combustion going on all over the body. The +blood then leaves this refuse with the skin, lungs, kidneys and bowels, +which throw it out of the body. + +So long as there are enough fuel and food, but not too much, and so long +as all the debris is carried away, there is health. But let this process +be thrown out of balance and there will be disease. The food intake is +seldom too small, though the digestion is frequently so poor that not +enough good food gets into the blood. Old age is largely due to +overeating and eating the wrong kinds of food. This is how overeating +causes premature aging, when it does not kill more quickly: When too +much food is taken, too much is absorbed into the blood, provided the +nutritive processes are active. Then all the food in the blood can not +be used for repair and fuel. The balance must either be excreted or +stored away in the body as deposits. If this storing takes place in the +joints, the result may be rheumatism or gout and at times even a +complete locking of the joints (anchylosis). If it is stored in the +walls of the blood-vessels they become hard and unyielding. No matter +where deposits take place, some of them will be found in the walls of +the blood-vessels. When these vessels grow hard they decrease in +caliber. The result is that the heart is compelled to work very hard, +but even then enough blood is not forced through the vessels. The +circulation becomes sluggish. The blood in the various parts becomes +stagnant. + +Then insufficient good oxygen and first-class nourishment are brought to +the parts and not enough waste is carried away. Now the billions of +cells of which the body is composed are constantly bathed in poisonous +blood. The result is lowering of physical tone, or degeneration, of the +whole body. The hands and the feet suffer most at first from the poor +blood supply and become cold easily. Those who suffer constantly from +cold hands and feet should know that they are aging, although they may +be but twenty years old. + +Such a condition as this often gives rise to varicose veins in the legs. +The feet are so far away from the heart, and it is such a long upgrade +return of the blood, that the circulation in the lower extremities +easily becomes sluggish. The flabby, relaxed tissues and the hardened +blood-vessels allow the blood to stagnate. This is why senile gangrene +is so common in the feet and so often fatal. + +The brain gets a copious blood supply, yet the hardening of the arteries +often deprives this organ of its necessary nourishment. Then the higher +faculties begin to abdicate. If the hardening is extensive senile +softening of the brain may take place. This is always due to a lack of +pure blood. Sometimes the arteries are brittle enough to break. Baldness +is another symptom of physical decay. The hair follicles are not +properly nourished, for the arteries have become so contracted and the +tissues of the scalp so hardened that there is not enough blood to feed +the hair roots. Baldness begins on top of the head, generally the only +part affected, because it is farthest away from the blood supply. +Baldness is also partly due to man's headwear. Women are rarely bald. +There is a saying that there are no bald men in the poorhouse. Even if +this were true, it would not be very consoling, for the bald heads on +the street cleaning forces are numerous. + +Overeating also causes premature aging because if results in +fermentation in the alimentary tract. The acids produced cause +degeneration of various tissues, having an especially bad effect on the +nervous system, which reflects the evil to other parts of the body. + +It is well to bear in mind how this comes about: First there is +overeating; too much food improperly prepared is taken into the blood +stream; this makes the blood impure; deposits, causing hardening of the +tissues and reduction of the lumen of the vessels, are formed; the blood +grows more impure and the circulation sluggish; the tissues are +constantly bathed in impure blood, causing further degeneration. When a +certain point is reached nature can tolerate no more and life flits +away. + +Those who wish to remain young must give some thought to the selection +of their food, especially if they are hearty eaters. If only sufficient +food is taken to keep the body well nourished it does not make much +difference what is eaten, provided it contains sufficient of fresh +foods, for when only enough food is taken to supply fuel and repairing +material, the food will all be used and none is left to ferment in the +digestive tract and form deposits in the body. The body will then keep +itself clean, or at least the formation of deposits takes place so +slowly that it is hardly perceptible. This can be compared with the +process taking place in the flues of a boiler. Stoke properly and they +remain clean. Choke the firebox with an excess of coal and the +combustion is so incomplete that the flues are soon filled up and the +grates are often burned out. Just so with the body: Feed too heavily and +the digestive organs are burned by the abnormal amount of acid produced +and the blood-vessels are filled with debris. + +As most people lack the self-control to eat a normal amount of food, +they should select foods that are compatible and that are not too +concentrated. Too much meat causes degeneration of all parts of the body +and hardening. Too much starch causes acidity and hardening. The fruits +and the light vegetables have a tendency to overcome these degenerating +processes. + +Starch is surely the chief offender in aging people. It is such a +concentrated food that overeating is easy, especially when it is taken +in the soft forms, such as mushes, fresh bread, griddle cakes and mashed +potatoes. If people would masticate their starchy foods thoroughly it +would greatly reduce the danger of overeating. It is common to eat bread +three times a day and in addition to take potatoes once or twice a day. +Those who consume so much starch carry into the system more food than +can be used and more of the mineral salts than can be excreted. The +result is the formation of deposits, chiefly of lime carbonate and lime +phosphate; fatty deposits are also common. + +In order to live long and comfortably it would be well to reduce the +starch intake to once a day. The meats also are objectionable when taken +in excess. To them can be attributed the chief blame for the formation +of gelatinous deposits in the body. However, they do not carry so much +earthy matter into the blood stream as do the starches. It is best to +partake of meat but once a day, or even more seldom. Meat should +certainly not be taken more than twice a day even by those who are +advanced in years. People who care enough for starch to take it three +times a day, or are compelled to live chiefly upon it, grow old and +homely more quickly than do those who are able to partake more +plentifully of the more expensive proteins. The flesh obtained from +young animals and birds is not so heavily charged with earthy matters as +is that which is obtained from old animals and birds. + +Fruits and nuts do not carry so much earthy matter as do the starches +and meats. The sweet fruits could with profit partly take the place of +the starchy foods. The sugar they contain, which has the same nutritive +value as starches, needs very little preparation before entering the +blood stream. Thus a large part of the energy required for starch +digestion is saved. On the other hand, the use of too much refined sugar +is even worse than an excessive intake of starch. Nuts are not difficult +to digest if they are well masticated.. + +The objection to acid fruits during the latter years of life is that +they thin the blood and cause chilliness. This is true if they are +partaken of too liberally. It is not necessary to refrain from eating +acid fruits, but they should be taken in moderation and the mild ones +should be selected. Pears, mild apples and grapes are better than +oranges, grapefruits and apricots. Those who have learned moderation can +eat all the fruit desired, for they will not be harmed by what a normal +appetite craves. + +Vegetables carry considerable earthy matter, but on account of their +helpfulness in keeping the blood sweet they should be eaten several +times a week. + +Those who think that overeating of starch is too harshly condemned are +referred to the horse. When he is allowed to roam about and partake of +his natural food, grass, he stays well and lives to be forty or more +years old. When compelled to eat great quantities of corn and oats, +which are very rich in starch, the horse becomes listless and slow at an +early age. He is old at fifteen and before twenty he is generally dead. +When horses suffer from stiffness in the joints a few weeks spent in +pasture, where they have nothing but green grass and water, remove the +stiffness and make them younger. This shows what partaking of nature's +green salad does for them. Any good stock man will tell you that feeding +too much grain "burns a cow out." It does exactly the same for a human +being, burns him out and fills him with clinkers. Many people think that +it is a hardship to be moderate in eating and drinking, but it is not. +It brings such a feeling of well-being and comfort that it is +unbelievable to those who have not experienced it. + +Many envy the rich, thinking that they can and do live riotously. Rich +men must live as simply as though they were poor or else they soon lose +the mental efficiency that brought them their fortunes, for when health +is gone mental power is reduced. + +According to information in the Saturday Evening Post, the eating habits +of many of our most influential business men are very simple and the +amount of food partaken of small. John D. Rockefeller could hardly live +more simply and plainly than he does. William Rockefeller, George F. +Baker, James Stillman, Otto H. Kahn, Thomas Fortune Ryan, George W. +Perkins, J. Ogden Armour, John H. Patterson, Jacob H. Schiff and Andrew +Carnegie, all business giants with money enough to subsist on the most +expensive delicacies, are said to live more plainly than does the +average American who is complaining of the high cost of living. It is +the price they have had to pay for success and it is the price that you +and I will have to pay to live successfully, though our success may not +take the form of financial power. + +The one conspicuous exception among the financially great to the rule of +simplicity was J. P. Morgan. His eating habits were somewhat gross, but +on account of his rugged constitution he lived to be more than +seventy-five years old. If he had given himself just a little more care +he would be alive today. They say that his strong black cigars did him +no apparent harm, but those who read of his last illness understandingly +cannot agree to that statement. Mr. Morgan started with enough vitality +to live and work far beyond the century mark. John D. Rockefeller was +not physically strong when young. He has been compelled to take good +care of himself and to be moderate. Now he is past seventy and enjoying +good health. + +John W. Gates died a martyr to excess, partly excess of food. He lacked +balance. His son followed in his footsteps and died young. + +Frank A. Vanderlip, who is looming large on the financial horizon takes +but two meals a day, from which he gets enough sustenance to do good +work and he says that this plan makes for efficiency. Perhaps now that +such men as Mr. Vanderlip live well on two meals a day, it is time to +cease calling those who live thus faddists. Eating three meals a day is +a habit and many can and do get along very well on two meals, and a few +take only one meal daily. + +E. H. Harriman also lived simply. He illustrates the evil of a poorly +controlled mind. He died when but little past sixty, probably because +his frail body was too weak to harbor his great ambition. He took his +business wherever he went. When ill and business was forbidden by his +physician, Mr. Harriman had a telephone concealed in his bedroom and as +soon as the doctor was gone, he was on the wire. + +Another cause of premature aging is the drinking of very hard water. The +earthy matter is absorbed into the blood stream with the water, and a +part of it is deposited in the various tissues. People beyond middle age +should drink water containing only a small portion of salts. Those who +partake of fresh fruits or fresh vegetables daily get all the salts that +the system needs. Even the young should not drink water that is +exceedingly hard. We can well illustrate the harm that comes from the +excessively hard water by referring to the disease known as cretinism. +This disease is quite prevalent in some parts of Europe. They say that +the disease is hereditary, which is questionable. What is inherited is +the environment and the habits of the parents. The chief cause is +without doubt the superabundance of earthy matter in the drinking water. +The cretins are ill-favored in face and figure. They do not reach normal +mental or physical maturity. They are old long before the normal person +has reached his prime. They die young, rarely living to be over thirty +years old. The bones are completely ossified early, which is the cause +of their small stature and their stupidity. The bones of the skull +harden so early that the brain has no room to expand. + +There is no need of suffering, even in a mild degree, from the disease +of cretinism. If the water is very hard it is easy to distill what is +needed for drinking purposes. Such water should at least be boiled. It +is much better to have a teakettle lined with earthy matters than to +have such a lining in our arteries. + +The excessive use of table salt is another cause of early aging. It is a +good preservative and pickles meat very well. People have long used salt +as a preservative and perhaps they got the salt-eating habit in this +way, first using it on the foods to be preserved, and then on nearly all +foods. Salts to excess, especially table salt, help to mummify or pickle +those who partake of them too liberally. The addition of sodium chloride +to foods is unnecessary. We get all we need of this salt in our fruits, +vegetables and cereals. Salt should be used in moderation. + +Alcohol, tobacco and coffee are harmful. However, it will be found that +most of the old people have used one or more of these drugs for many +years and this is often largely responsible for their reaching old age. +Overeating causes more deaths than any other single factor. The use of +tobacco, coffee or alcohol has a tendency to reduce the desire for food +and thus these drugs at times prove to be conservers of individual +lives, though they are undoubted racial evils. They never can or will +take the place of self-control. The senses were given us to use for our +protection, but most people abuse them for temporary gratification, and +thus they go in the way of self-destruction. + +Other things being equal, a healthy child will live longer than a weakly +one. But other things are not equal, so it often happens that a weakling +has as much chance to survive as a healthy person. Strong people +frequently squander their inheritance by the time they are forty or +fifty years old. Healthy people are very imprudent. They are well so +they think they will always remain well. What a surprise it is when +after thirty they discover that they cannot do with impunity what they +could do before with apparently no bad results! When warned about their +eating habits they boast that they can "eat tacks". Smoking and drinking +are harmless, they say! But the day of reckoning always comes and the +account is often so great that under the conventional treatment of today +they die. + +The weakling has been compelled to be careful. Habits of moderation grew +upon him in youth, and his health has improved as he has advanced in +years. He may never be strong, but great physical strength is not +essential to health. Thus the strong often perish and the weak survive. +If both classes lived with equal care the strong would outlive and +outwork the weak every time. + +It is necessary to give the skin some care if continued good health is +desired during the latter part of life. The skin has a tendency to grow +hard, which should not be allowed. It will always remain soft if it is +properly cared for. When our ancestors roved forests and plains with +scarcely any attire, the skin exposed to the rain and the sunshine, +there was no need to give it special care. It served its purpose of +protecting their bodies and was exercised through its immediate contact +with the elements in all kinds of weather. Now the skin has little +opportunity to exercise its protective function and the result is that +it is not as active as it should be. The skin must be active to rid +itself of the waste that the blood-vessels leave with it. The best +exercise for this important organ is rubbing. The whole body should be +rubbed every day and it would be well to do this twice a day. An +occasional olive oil rub is also good. The rubbings make the body +hardier. They also help to keep the circulation active and the skin +smooth and soft. The blood is brought near the surface. The tendency as +we grow older is for the circulation to grow less and less near the +surface and in the extremities. This is slow death. + +The daily rub is more important than the daily bath. If we have enough +rubbing very little bathing is necessary, for an active skin cleans +itself. + +There are many men who have lived in the conventional way until the age +of forty, fifty or sixty. They have been healthy, which means that they +have been able to work most of the time, but have had their share of +ills, which have incapacitated them for work or business at various +times. They find after reaching a certain age that they are surely going +down hill physically and that they are not as active mentally as +previously. The question is, can anything be done under the +circumstances? Very few of these people are in such a bad physical state +that death is inevitable within the next few years. If they seek the +right advice and follow it, they can generally continue to live in +improved health for thirty to sixty years more. + +A celebrated case in point is that of Louis Cornaro, an Italian, who +died in the year 1566 at the age of one hundred and two years. In his +youth he was very indiscreet and dissipated. He lived riotously until he +was forty years old, and then he found himself in such poor physical +condition that it was only a question of a few months until the end +would come. He had everything to make life worth living, except health, +so he decided to attempt to regain health and prolong his life. He quit +his old life, began to live simply and instead of being a waster he +became a useful citizen. We are unable to get much definite information +about his habits from what he wrote but we learn that he reduced the +quantity of food taken and used fewer varieties. Also, he drank +sparingly of wine. He did not have any definite ideas regarding diet +except that it is best to eat moderately and avoid the foods that +disagree with one. In his own words: "Little by little I began to draw +myself away from my disorderly life, and, little by little, to embrace +the orderly one. In this manner I gave myself up to the temperate life, +which has not since been wearisome to me; although, on account of the +weakness of my constitution, I was compelled to be extremely careful +with regard to the quality and quantity of my food and drink. However, +those persons who are blessed with strong constitutions may make use of +many other kinds and qualities of food and drink, and partake of them, +in greater quantities, than I do; so that, even though the life they +follow be the temperate one, it need not be as strict as mine, but much +freer." + +These sentences were written fifty or sixty years after he changed his +mode of life, and show how well Mr. Cornaro realized the important fact +that all people need not be treated alike. They also show that after +making the change, Mr. Cornaro did not find it difficult to live simply +enough to enjoy health. In nearly every instance it is temporarily +disagreeable to forsake the path that is leading to death and take the +one that leads to life, but after one gets used to the new way, it +appears more beautiful and is more pleasant than the old. + +If Cornaro had died at forty, as nearly every person situated as he was +would have done, his life would have been a total loss. A few of those +who were his boon companions and dissipated with him would have thought +of him for a few years and regretted his early passing, for "he was a +jolly good fellow." He lived a useful life, for over sixty years +thereafter, and has left us in his debt for his beautiful exhortations +to be temperate. + +Many of the physical wrecks we meet, who will probably live from a few +months to a few years more, if they continue in the old way, are in the +same boat as Mr. Cornaro was at forty. They have had enough experience +to begin to do good work, to be of some benefit to humanity. Instead of +living and giving the world their best, they die. The world has had to +educate these people, and it is expensive. Instead of living on and +doing their work, they leave us when they ought to begin to repay us for +what we have done for them. They are quitters. + +Suppose Andrew Carnegie had died at the time he sold out his steel +business. To most people he would have left an unsavory memory, for +though we should have considered him successful from the business +standpoint, many of us would say that the means were not justified by +the end. However, Mr. Carnegie has spent many years since in furthering +the cause of the spread of knowledge and in working for universal peace. +Perhaps when Carnegie, the man of business, is well nigh forgotten, +Carnegie, the educator, will be held in tender and thankful memory. He +is now influencing the times for good and this influence will go down +the ages. + +A man has no right to say that he is weary of life and that he wants to +die. The race has a claim on him. We learn through our mistakes. The +race in general has to pay and suffer for every individual's education. +When a man has acquired a measure of wisdom through experience, we have +a right to claim it as our own. + +Many men are wise in their own lines, but they have been so busy +attending to the affairs that brought them success that they have +omitted to learn how to have health. These people owe it to themselves +and to humanity to take enough time to learn how to live so that they +can work in health. The better the health the finer their product. +Health and efficiency go hand in hand. + +What is a man to do when he has reached middle age and finds himself +degenerating? A man ought to know how to live at forty, but if he does +not he should immediately learn. It may be true that "a man is a fool or +a physician at forty," yet there is time and if a man lacks wisdom at +forty he should immediately acquire some. Such an individual should get +the best health adviser possible, avoiding any man who would have him +take drugs. What he needs is not medicine, but to learn how to live. I +am confident that the careful reader will find enough knowledge in this +book to give him the key to the situation. + +If the sufferer uses narcotics and stimulants, they must be stopped +immediately. Even the least harmful of these, such as beer and light +wine, should be avoided until good health has been won. These beverages +need never be used. If they are taken rarely and in moderation they do +no harm. + +In every case that has come under my observation it has been necessary +to simplify the food intake, that is, to reduce the quantity and the +number of articles of food taken at each meal, also to simplify the +cooking. The result is that the individual gets less food, but it is of +better quality, for the conventional cooking spoils much of the food. + +Most of these men neglect to exercise. It is necessary to be active and +in the open, also to take good care of that important organ, the skin. +Constipation is common, and it is a very annoying symptom, which +disappears in time under proper living. The absorption of poisons from a +constipated lower bowel is one of the factors that causes premature +aging. When the constipation is overcome there are a feeling of physical +well-being and a mental clearness which are impossible in the presence +of constipation. + +The treatment of such a condition is very much the same as the treatment +of catarrh or any other curable disease, that is, find the errors of +living and correct them. + +It is really surprising how little food people need after they are fifty +or sixty years old. If such people eat enough to be well nourished, but +not enough to produce any bad feelings there will be no disease. People +who die from disease are physical failures, for the natural end does not +come in a physical upheaval. Those who live as they should will pass +away without any pain. The organism simply grows weary and goes into the +last sleep. + +There are people who say that there needs be no physical death. Harry +Gaze wrote an entertaining book on the subject some years ago and gave +lectures in this country. It will not convince the average student of +nature that people can live forever, for in nature there is constant +change. The order of life is birth, development, reproduction, decline +and death. It is not likely that man is an exception. + +It is believed that in olden times men were larger and lived longer than +they do today. There is not much foundation for such a belief to rest +upon, except in a few cases. The last census shows that there are +several thousand centennarians in the United States. In the Technical +World for March, 1914, appeared an article by Byron C. Utecht, entitled, +"When is Man Old?" This magazine is careful in gathering its facts. I +shall quote a few paragraphs: + +"Abraham Wilcox, of Fort Worth, Texas, is one hundred and twelve years +old, but he takes keen enjoyment in life. He walks two miles or more +every day as a constitutional and, occasionally, he even takes a small +glass of beer. He looks forward with all the enthusiasm of a boy to a +visit to the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. Mr. Wilcox reads the +newspapers every day and is interested in everything about him, from the +food being prepared for his dinner to the latest feats by aeroplanes. +This aged man looks forty or fifty years younger than he really is. His +skin is white but not deeply lined. His vision is excellent and he walks +nearly erect. Thirty years ago he gave up smoking, as his doctors warned +him he was near death from old age and that the use of tobacco would +only hasten the end." + +"In the Ozark Mountains of Marion County, Arkansas, just across the +Missouri line, lives Mrs. Elmyra Wagoner. She, too, is one hundred and +twelve years old. There are a thousand wrinkles in her face and she +looks her age, but in her actions she is sixty. Up until a very few +years ago, when still past the hundred-year mark, Mrs. Wagoner kept a +large garden and was able to work in the fields. While she has given up +outdoor work, she is still active. On inclement days she sits by the +fireplace in her mountain home and spins. On pleasant days she may be +found walking about the yard. Recently her great-great-granddaughter was +married at Protein, Missouri, six miles from the Wagoner home. This +woman of one hundred and twelve years walked to the wedding, enjoyed it, +and then walked back home, a distance that would tire many persons half +that age. There are scores of persons at Protein who vouch for this and +they tell of similar feats by Mrs. Wagoner showing remarkable physical +power. + +"Asked to give the causes of her longevity, the aged woman smiled and +said that she hated to admit she was getting old. 'Clean, honest living, +plenty of work, plenty of good food, and a desire to help others when +sick or in trouble, I think gave me my long lease of life. I was always +so busy caring for others and thinking of them that I never had time to +worry whether I was getting old or not.'" + +"Asa Goodwin, of Serrett, Alabama, is one hundred and six years old. His +endurance powers are even more remarkable than those of Mrs. Wagoner or +Abraham Wilcox. He walks five miles every day. He works several hours +daily in his garden, eats anything he likes, and reads without glasses. +His family is probably the largest in the United States. A reunion +recently held in his honor was attended by eight hundred and fifty +persons, three hundred and fifty being blood relatives. Goodwin has been +a hunter all his life and he frequently takes down his rifle and proves +that his aim is still good. He ascribes his length of life and vitality +to his great interest in outdoor sport and hunting, when a young man, +developing a rugged constitution that lasted him many years after he was +forced to quit strenuous work because of 'old age.' He asserts that he +was so busy living that he reached one hundred and six years before he +realized it and wants to live fifty years more if possible. 'I feel as +if I could do it, too,' he declares. 'I now can take my ease and comfort +and the world looks good to me. I have always lived a temperate life, +never drank, never kept late hours, and still have had as much or more +fun than the average man, I think. It is only now when I have nothing to +do that I get to worrying and when I find myself in that condition I +take a walk or weed the garden and then feel better.'" + +These people are not in what some call the higher walks of life, but +they have succeeded in living, where almost all fail. They have been +useful members of society, satisfied to take life as it comes, and thus +they have gathered much of the sweet. They have enjoyed life, and those +who enjoy give enjoyment to others. It takes an audience to make even +the best of plays. + +Mrs. Wagoner is not rich, but she has a philosophy that is riches +enough. She knows that she receives through giving. She has lived this +knowledge, which has brought blessings upon her. + +These people have all led simple lives and they have worked. There is no +secret about growing old gracefully. It means self-control, simple +living, work for body and mind, cleanliness of body and mind, and the +most important part of physical cleanliness is a clean colon. It is +necessary to have a tranquil mind most of the time, for anger and worry +are injurious to health. + +The average span of life is lengthening. In the sixteenth century the +average European did not live to be twenty years old. Now he lives to be +about forty. The same increase has taken place in America. In India and +China the average of life is still below twenty-four years. As +civilization advances the tendency is for the average of life to +lengthen, provided life does not grow so complex that knowledge is +antidoted by too great artificiality. + +However, it is well to note that it is not the last part of life that is +being lengthened. We are allowing less and less infants to die as the +years roll on. The proportion of the adult population that reaches +advanced age is no greater than in the past. Our mode of life is so +wrong that tuberculosis, typhoid fever, cancer, kidney diseases, +pneumonia and circulatory degeneration carry off immense numbers of +those whom we call middle aged, but who are really young people. These +are diseases of degeneration. It is to our interest to reduce these +diseases. Proper living will do it. + +The life expectancy of people over fifty is even less than it was thirty +years ago. Middle aged people die from diseases caused by bad habits, +extended over a period of years. Therefore, these people should learn to +live well if they would live longer. + +The diet of the old can be about the same as that of an adult in the +prime of life, except that less should be eaten. Those who live +correctly have no digestive disturbances. It will be noted by those who +are normal that there is not a desire for as much food as earlier in +life, and this should be a guide. Old people get all the nourishment +they need in two moderate meals a day. If the three-meal-a-day plan is +preferred, it is all right, but then less should be taken at each meal. + +White flour products are easier to digest than the whole wheat products, +but normal people can digest the latter very well and it is a better +food than white flour. I know one gentleman in his eighth decade of life +who has grown stronger and younger by abandoning the conventional eating +habits and living mostly on moderate meals of milk and whole wheat +biscuits. As Cornaro said, some need more than others, but all should be +moderate. + +One meal a day of milk and biscuits is all right. These biscuits should +be well baked and well masticated. The milk should be taken slowly. + +Another meal can be meat or eggs or fish with some of the cooked and raw +succulent vegetables. + +If a third meal is taken, it may consist of clabbered milk or +buttermilk; or of one of the sweet fruits, and the sweet fruits may be +used any time in place of bread or biscuits. Cottage cheese is a good +food at any time, and may be taken with fruits, either acid or sweet. + +As often as desired, in summer, take fruit. Because the very acid, juicy +fruits have a tendency to cause chilliness and to thin the blood, it is +well to take them in moderation during advanced years, but that does not +mean that those who like them should avoid them. In winter time the +sweet fruit is best. Mild apples and bananas may be used as often as +there is a desire for them. Oranges should be taken more rarely, as well +as grapefruit, pineapples and other fruits that are heavily charged with +acid. + +As a general rule, the starchy foods should be eaten but once a day, but +those who are very moderate may take them twice a day without bad +results. Vegetarians have eggs and milk to take the place of flesh +foods. They also have lentils, peas, beans and the protein in the whole +wheat and other cereals. Lentils, peas and beans must be taken in +moderation, for they are rich in nutriment and if too much is eaten they +soon cause disease. Nuts, if well masticated, are also all right. + +The general basis of feeding should be starch once a day and protein +once a day in moderation. All kinds of starch and all kinds of protein +may be used. Fruits more moderately than during the earlier years of +life is best. All the succulent vegetables that are desired may be +partaken of. By cooking the foods simply, as recommended in this book, +they are rendered easier to digest than under the conventional manner of +cooking. Simple cooking will help to preserve health and prolong life. + +Work is one of the greatest blessings of life. Those who would live long +and be useful must exercise both body and mind. Like all other +blessings, if it is carried to excess it is injurious. It is unfortunate +that some people must work too hard because there is a class of people +who do nothing useful, being content to be wasters. + +Work has been looked upon as a curse. This is a mistake. Those who live +in the hope and expectation that they may some day cease working in +order to enjoy life, will find when they reach the goal that life +without work is not worth while. Those who can afford it can with +benefit lessen the amount of productive work they do and evolve more +into cultural lines, but it is dangerous to cease working. The human +being is so constituted that without activity of body and mind there is +degeneration. What is sadder than to see a capable individual who has +won a competence and then has retired to enjoy it! He does not enjoy it. +Either he has to get into some line of work, physical or mental, or he +soon dies. We must have a lively interest in something or there is +stagnation. + +There are many beautiful things in life, and we should cultivate them +while we are young enough to be able to learn to enjoy them. The +loftiest spirits of the ages have left their inspirations and their +aspirations with us in poetry, prose, music, painting, statuary and in +other forms. We should try to cultivate understanding of these subjects, +not necessarily all of them, but of one or more, for with understanding +come the elevation and broadening of mind that are always present when +there is sympathy, and sympathy is closely related to understanding. +Culture along one or more lines broadens the mind and makes a person +more worth while not only to himself, but to others. We can not estimate +the value of the beauty in life in dollars and cents, but he is poor +indeed who is rich in worldly goods alone. + +It is necessary to be interested in the activities about us. Those who +think of nothing or no one except themselves are almost dead to the +world, even though they go through the same physical activities as other +people. The tendency is to get into a rut with advancing years and +remain there. It is easy to keep both a pliable mind and a pliable body +in spite of age, and this can be done by intelligent use. A short time +daily should be spent in becoming informed of what is happening +throughout the world and thinking it over. A mental hobby is most +excellent. A garden or a few birds can furnish an almost inexhaustible +source of interest. Those who doubt this should read of the comedy and +tragedy among such humble beings as the spider, the fly and the beetle. +J. H. Fabre has written charmingly about these, investing them with an +interest rarely to be found in good fiction. This naturalist is a good +example of what can be accomplished when one has years to do it in and +is content to labor along from day to day without giving too much +thought for the morrow. At fifty Mr. Fabre was practically unknown. Now, +at about ninety, he is one of the most admired and best loved of men. +His recognition came late and he has done much of his best work during +his later years. If Mr. Fabre had died at the average age of forty, the +world would have been deprived of his beautiful insight. + +Another cause of old age is getting mentally old. An individual begins +to grow old by dwelling on the subject. The girl of thirteen must cease +romping and racing about because it is not lady-like. At twenty-five it +is very, very undignified to run a little. At forty a woman must be +rather sedate, for being natural would mean frivolity. People are +continually growing too old to do this and that, not because they have +lost the desire and the ability, but because it is unbecoming at their +age. This is folly. Keep a young heart all through life. A heartfelt +laugh is one of nature's best tonics. There is no more harm in dancing +at fifty than at fifteen and not so much danger. + +The relaxation of muscles and sagging of the face are as much the result +of mental attitude as of loss of tonicity. Thinking young and +associating with children are helpful and healthful. People who are very +stiff and dignified are mentally sterile. The charming people are the +ones who are willing and able to understand and sympathize with the aims +and aspirations of others, and in order to do so it is necessary to thaw +out. + +The art of life is delightful if properly developed. + +Worry is such a detriment that its victims can neither live nor work as +they should. It is necessary to overcome this bad habit. Most of the +worry is due to narrow selfishness. Much of it is caused by the fact +that others will not do as we do. To try to make others accept our +standards and then worry and fret because they will not is folly. When +force is employed to convert anyone the conversion is but superficial +and lasts only so long as the converted individual's hypocrisy holds +out. To get the best out of life we have to be broad, forbearing, +patient and forgiving. + +A normal old age is beautiful. It is the privilege, nay more, the duty +of every intelligent being to attain it. When we adjust ourselves we +shall live longer. + +It is with old age as it is with health. We can have it if we wish it. +Accidents alone can deprive us of either. Let us hope that the day will +come when men and women will not be satisfied to die as life is but +beginning, but that they will live as they should and could live, thus +proving a blessing to the race. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +EVOLVING INTO HEALTH. + +By the time most people are twenty years old they have some kind of +disease. It may be only a slight catarrh, a touch of indigestion, +trouble with the eyes, defective hearing, or some other ill. Very seldom +do we meet a person of this age who is perfectly well. + +Most people are taught to believe that health is something mysterious +which may come to them or may pass them by, but that they have little or +nothing to do with it. If they are well, they are fortunate, but if they +are ill they are not to blame. + +Most of them go to conventional physicians when they are ill, expecting +to be cured. They take medicine or injections of serums or they are +operated upon. When they are through with the doctors they are no wiser +than they were before. + +A few have friends who tell them that they must change their mode of +living if they would have health. They are interested enough to go to a +healer who believes in nature. He tells them that they are well or ill +according to their desserts, that they can be well at all times, if they +wish, for if they live as they should health is a natural consequence. + +This sounds like nonsense at first. It is different from anything else +they have heard. The sufferer often makes up his mind that the healer is +a fool or a faker. He remembers that when he went to the conventional +physicians they sounded and thumped him and examined all his excretions. +They were very thorough and scientific. The natural healer does not +generally go into so many details. He asks enough and examines enough to +find the trouble and then he stops. This the patient charges against +him, for he takes for granted that the healer is brief from lack of +knowledge. + +So he goes back to his old physician. As his trouble is due to deranged +nutrition, he does not get well. He thinks over what the natural healer +said, and the more he thinks about it the more reasonable it sounds, and +he returns again. This time he gets instructions, and he follows them +enough to get benefit, but not faithfully enough to get well. He is +convinced that the conventional physicians are wrong, but still believes +that the natural healer can hardly be right. + +After a while he makes up his mind to get down to business and he goes +to the healer for instructions and follows them. The results are +surprising. The trouble he has had for years may disappear within a +month or two, or it may become less and less apparent, but take +considerable time before it leaves entirely. + +The healer gives instructions. The most important ones are those +concerning the diet. A plan is given that brings good results. The +healer fails to explain that this is but one correct method of feeding, +that there are other good ones. The patient is enthused over the +benefits derived, he makes up his mind that he is living the only +correct life, and he too often becomes a food crank, trying to force his +ideas upon all about him. Here the healer is at fault, for he should +explain that some method is necessary, but that there is no one and only +method of feeding. + +If the patient is fairly intelligent, in time he realizes that it is not +so much what he eats as his manner of eating and moderation that are +helpful, and that any plan in which moderation and simplicity are +followed is better than the ordinary way of eating. + +As the patient evolves into health and gets a broader view of the art of +living, he gets a better perspective of life. He learns that under like +conditions like causes always produce like effects, that the law of +compensation is always operative, and we therefore get what we deserve. +He loses his fear of many things that caused him grave concern +previously. He sees in sickness and death the working of natural law, +not of chance. + +Some patients realize that healers who work in accordance with nature +are right, at the very start, but most people are not so logically +constructed. It often takes from one to three years before people make +up their mind to order their lives so that they can have health at their +command. + +In the old way, the doctor was supposed to cure, which was impossible. +In the new way, the healer educates people and then if they live their +knowledge they get health. + +The healer must instruct in the care of all parts of the body, weeding +out bad habits and trying to instill good ones in their place. + +Eating according to correct principles is the most helpful and powerful +aid in regaining health. The patient finds that as the years pass his +tastes change, becoming more simple and more moderate. He is well +nourished on one-half to one-third of what he used to consume and +consider necessary. + +The following is the last half of a month's record of food intake for a +man in the thirties. Some years ago he changed his manner of living in +order to regain health, in which he succeeded. Now he takes only one or +two meals a day, according to his desires, not that he has any objection +to three meals a day, but he finds it best to eat more seldom. He is in +good physical condition, as heavy as he ought to be, and he has not had +any real physical trouble for a number of years. His work is mental, but +he walks considerably and swims from three to six times a week, besides +taking a few set exercises. + +It was taken in spring, the weather averaging cool. This is a little +lighter than usual, because the record was taken during a period of +exceptionally hard mental work. In cold weather heavier foods are taken. + +Lunch: Nothing. + +Dinner: Three slices of rye toast, very thin, celery, three slices +broiled onion, dish of peas, glass of beer. + + +Dinner at noon: Roast lamb, dish of spinach, one and one-half dishes +summer squash, lettuce and tomato salad. + +Supper: Nothing. + + +Lunch: Dish of baked lentils, vegetable soup, lettuce. + +Dinner: Two small oranges, cottage cheese. + + +Lunch: Piece of gingerbread, cup of cocoa, two lumps of sugar. + +Dinner: Two small oranges, cottage cheese. + + +Lunch: Dish of stewed prunes, tablespoonful cottage cheese. + +Dinner: Two eggs, two slices buttered toast. + + +Lunch: Small grapefruit. + +Dinner: Vegetable soup, dish of stewed turnips, dish of peas. + + +Lunch: Nothing. + +Dinner: Half a grapefruit, three stewed figs, glass of milk. + + +Lunch: Dish of strawberries, large dish of rhubarb with grapefruit juice +in it and cream on the side; half serving cream cheese. + +Dinner: Two small baked apples. + + +Lunch: Small grapefruit. + +Dinner: Two eggs, dish of turnips, dish of spinach, sliced tomatoes. + + +Lunch: One raw apple. + +Dinner: Two shredded wheat biscuits, glass of milk. + + +Lunch: Dish of rhubarb. + +Dinner: Vegetable soup, one egg, a boiled potato. + + +Lunch: Dish of rhubarb. + +Dinner: Sweet potato, dish of parsnips, stewed peas. + + +Lunch: Dish of ice cream, piece of white cake. Dinner: Cheese cake, dish +of fruit salad. + + +Lunch: One hard boiled egg, about one and one-half slices white bread, +two big radishes, one young onion, butter. + +Dinner: Nothing. + + +The servings are the ordinary restaurant servings. No dressings were +used except the ones mentioned. This man used to be very fond of sweets +and employed salt freely. Now he finds his foods more agreeable when +taken plain, for they have a better flavor. He rarely uses salt or +pepper. He has simplified his food intake because he finds he feels +better and stronger and is able to think to better advantage than he did +when he partook of a greater variety and amount of food at each meal. + +Food scientists say that from two thousand, seven hundred to three +thousand, three hundred calories are needed daily, but you will note +that this man generally keeps below one-half of this, if you are able to +figure food values. + +People who are trying to get well are often called fools and cranks when +they treat themselves properly, but this does not matter, for such fools +generally live to see their wise critics prematurely consigned to the +earth. + +When taking health advice, try to keep your balance. Get thoroughly well +before you try to guide others. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +RETROSPECT. + +Several hundred pages have been devoted to those matters which must +receive attention in order to have good physical and mental health, so +as to be able to get the most out of life and give the most, that is, in +order to live fully. The basis of health is internal cleanliness, and to +attain this it is necessary to exercise self-control and moderation, as +well as to cultivate good will and kindliness towards others. Kindness +and love lubricate life and make the running smooth. Envy, spite, hatred +and the other negative emotions act like sand in the bearings, producing +friction in the vital machinery, which they destroy in the end. + +Success in life means balance, poise, adjustment. We must adjust +ourselves so as to be in harmony with others, and we must be in harmony +with nature. Our minds will at times be in opposition to the laws of +nature. Then we must exercise enough self-control to bring them into +harmony again, for natural laws are no respecters of persons. It is said +that we break these laws, but that is not true. If we disregard them +often enough they break us. We must realize our unity with nature, our +at-one-ment. We must realize that we are a part of nature, not above it, +and hence that we are governed by the same fixed laws that govern the +rest of nature. These laws are for our good. Attempts to escape from +their workings indicate a lack of understanding. + +Discord produces disease and death. Harmony leads to health and long +life. + +The adjustment must be both physical and mental. + +The physical part means to live or adjust ourselves so that all the +functions of the body are carried on normally. The body is +self-regulating and if we do nothing harmful health will be our portion. +However, life under our present civilization is so complex that the +demands upon our nervous systems are excessive. It is easy to live so +that we can have health, but to do so is not conventional, and hence not +very popular. + +In order to have good physical health under present conditions, it is +necessary to make some effort. The effort is not great enough to be +onerous and does not require much time. It is important to get health +knowledge, which the majority lacks today. This knowledge is most +excellent, but it does not benefit the individual unless it is applied. +We all wish to have health, but this is not enough. We must will to have +it. When we say that we cannot, it should generally be interpreted to +mean that we will not. + +Some important subjects regarding which special knowledge should be +secured are: Food, drink, exercise, care of the skin, sleep, work and +play, breathing, clothing, and mental attitude. + +These subjects, as well as others, have been quite extensively +discussed. It is impossible to give full information in tabloid form. It +is also impossible to read a book of this character once and get all the +information it contains. Those who are in earnest will study the +subject, instead of merely reading it. + +Allow me to remind you that nearly all of our diseases are due to faulty +dietary habits. So it was in the time of Hippocrates, according to that +sage, and so it is today. It is a common statement that about 90 per +cent. of our physical ills come from improper diet, and this is the +truth. It follows from this that it is most important to know about +correct feeding habits, and put them in practice. Improper diet results +in faulty nutrition, after which physical and mental ills make their +appearance. + +There are many systems of feeding, and nearly all of them will bring +good results if the most important prescription is followed, namely, +moderation. Simplicity leads to moderation. + +Those who are reasonable about their food intake often serve as targets +for the shafts of ridicule launched at them by those who are ignorant of +the subject or too self-indulgent to exercise a little self-control. +Ridicule is one of the most deadly of weapons, but it never harms those +who have the hardihood of getting down to basic facts and classifying +things and ideas according to their true value. Why should we be guided +by the wit and sarcasm of indolent voluptuaries who daily desecrate +their bodies through ruinous indulgences? + +There is no need of becoming harsh and austere, nor is it necessary to +fall into deadly habits of self-indulgence. Sometimes we can go with the +current with benefit, but at times it is also necessary to paddle +up-stream. Life demands a certain amount of hardihood from those who +would live in health, and this comes not from self-indulgence, but from +self-denial. It is necessary to do almost daily something that we are +not inclined to do. + +It is well to remember that if the eating is correct, it is difficult to +become physically deranged, and consequently to become mentally +deranged. Allow me to repeat four short sentences which are helpful and +most important guides, sentences which ought to form a part of every +child's education: + +If ill, eat nothing, but live on water. + +Eat only when there is a desire for food. + +Masticate all foods thoroughly. + +Always be moderate in your food intake. + +These are the four golden rules regarding eating, and if they were +adhered to, they would save us from an incalculable amount of sin and +suffering. They would increase the duration of life and the joy of +living. They would add to our physical and mental prosperity. Hence they +are worthy of the emphasis given them. + +In brief: Physical health is based on internal cleanliness, which can be +attained only through moderation, that is, by not habitually +overburdening the system, especially with food. Our bodies thrive when +used, but not when abused. It is necessary for our physical well-being +to get air, sunshine, water, food, sleep, rest, exercise, work and play +in proper proportion, and in addition cultivate a kindly, balanced +spirit. Drugs, such as alcohol, coffee, morphine, bromine, and hundreds +of others which could be named, are not only unnecessary, but harmful. + +The mental side is as important as the physical side. With a healthy +body it is easy to have a happy outlook. Indigestion and biliousness can +make a dreary waste out of the most beautiful landscape. The body and +mind react and interact, one upon the other. When one is poised it is +easy to get the other into balance. It requires a poised body to produce +the best fruitage--a fine spirit. + +It is necessary to be honest with one's self. Face life courageously and +honestly. If you do, you will soon realize that the physical and mental +ills from which you suffer are mostly of your own making. Then you can +choose whether to let them continue or to end them, but if you choose to +remain ill, bear your cross uncomplainingly, for you have no right to +afflict others with your self-imposed sufferings. + +On the other hand, try to see life from the view point of others, and +you will often find that what you think is the highest good and most +desirable in life does not seem worthy of great effort to them. Variety +adds spice to life. To impose one's own views and ways on others has +always seemed desirable to the majority of people, but it is the height +of folly and stupidity. So long as the race exists there will be many +men of many minds, and it is best so. We can not force any benefit, such +as health or goodness, upon others. Instead of attracting, the process +of forcing repels. + +What we can do mentally to benefit ourselves and others is to get +adjusted, to cultivate kindness and charity, to be broad-minded and +forgiving, to be slow to take and give offense, to accept the little +buffetings that fate has in store for us all with good grace, and +through it all to possess our souls in patience. + +Physically, be moderate. + +Mentally, cultivate equanimity. + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maintaining Health, by R. L. 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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Maintaining Health + +Author: R. L. Alsaker + +Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8521] +[This file was first posted on July 19, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, MAINTAINING HEALTH *** + + + + +E-text prepared by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Yvonne Dailey, David +Garcia, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +MAINTAINING HEALTH + +(FORMERLY HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY) + +By R. L. ALSAKER, M. D. + +AUTHOR OF "EATING FOR HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY" + + + + + + + + _"When you arise in the morning, think what a precious privilege + it is to live, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."_ + --MARCUS AURELIUS. + + _"Nature Cures"_ + --HIPPOCRATES + + + +TO ISAAC T. COOK + +WHOSE CRITICISMS, ASSISTANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT HAVE LIGHTENED +THE LABOR AND ADDED TO THE PLEASURE OF PRODUCING THIS VOLUME. + + + + +CHAPTER CONTENTS + + I PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS + Humanity, Health and Healers + + II MENTAL ATTITUDE + Correct and Incorrect--Results + + III FOOD + General Consideration + + IV OVEREATING + + V DAILY FOOD INTAKE + + VI WHAT TO EAT + + VII WHEN TO EAT + + VIII HOW TO EAT + + IX CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS + + X FLESH FOODS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XI NUTS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XII LEGUMES + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XIII SUCCULENT VEGETABLES + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations--Salads + + XIV CEREAL FOODS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XV TUBERS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XVI FRUITS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations--Salads + + XVII OILS AND FATS + + XVIII MILK AND OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS + Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations + + XIX MENUS + Food Combination in General + + XX DRINK + Water--Tea--Coffee--Alcohol--Enslaving Drugs + + XXI CARE OF THE SKIN + Baths--Friction--Clothing + + XXII EXERCISE + + XXIII BREATHING AND VENTILATION + + XXIV SLEEP + + XXV FASTING + Our Most Important Remedy--Symptoms--When and How to Fast--Cases + + XXVI ATTITUDE OF PARENT TOWARD CHILD + + XXVII CHILDREN + Prenatal Care--Infancy--Childhood--Mental Training + + XXVIII DURATION OF LIFE + Advanced Years--Living to Old Age in Health and Comfort + + XXIX EVOLVING INTO HEALTH + How it is Often Done--A Case + + XXX RETROSPECT + A Summing-up of the Subject + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. + +Writings on hygiene and health have been accessible for centuries, but +never before have books and magazines on these subjects been as numerous +as they are today. Most of the information is so general, vague and +indefinite that only a few have the time and patience to read the +thousands of pages necessary to learn what to do to keep well. The truth +is to be found in the archives of medicine, in writings covering a +period of over thirty centuries, but it is rather difficult to find the +grains of truth. + +Health is the most valuable of all possessions, for with health one can +attain anything else within reason. A few of the great people of the +world have been sickly, but it takes men and women sound in body and +mind to do the important work. Healthy men and women are a nation's most +valuable asset. + +It is natural to be healthy, but we have wandered so far astray that +disease is the rule and good health the exception. Of course, most +people are well enough to attend to their work, but nearly all are +suffering from some ill, mental or physical, acute or chronic, which +deprives them of a part of their power. The average individual is of +less value to himself, to his family and to society than he could be. +His bad habits, of which he is often not aware, have brought weakness +and disease upon him. These conditions prevent him from doing his best +mentally and physically. + +This abnormal condition has a bad effect upon his descendants, who may +not be born with any special defects, but they have less resistance at +birth than is their due, and consequently fall prey to disease very +easily. This state of impaired resistance has been passed on from +generation to generation, and we of today are passing it on as a +heritage to our children. + +About 280,000 babies under the age of one year die annually in the +United States. The average lifetime is only a little more than forty +years. It should be at least one hundred years. This is a very +conservative statement, for many live to be considerably older, and it +is within the power of each individual to prolong his life beyond what +is now considered old age. + +Under favorable conditions people should live in comfort and health to +the age of one hundred years or more, useful and in full possession of +their faculties. Barring accidents, which should be less numerous when +people fully realize that unreasonable haste and speed are wasteful and +that life is more valuable than accumulated wealth, human life could and +should be a certainty. There should be no sudden deaths resulting from +the popular diseases of today. In fact, pneumonia, typhoid fever, +tuberculosis, cancer and various other ills that are fatal to the vast +majority of the race, should and could be abolished. This may sound +idealistic, but though such results are not probable in the near future, +they are possible. + +All civilized nations of which we have record, except the Chinese, have +decayed after growing and flourishing a few centuries, usually about a +thousand years or less. Many reasons are given for the decline and fall +of nations. Rome especially furnishes food for much thought. However, +look into the history of each known nation that has risen to prominence, +glory and power, and you will find that so long as they kept in close +contact with the soil they flourished. With the advance of civilization +the peoples change their mode of life from simplicity to luxuriousness +and complexity. Thus individuals decay and in the end there is enough +individual decay to result in national degeneration. When this process +has advanced far enough these people are unable to hold their own. In +the severe competitition of nations the strain is too great and they +perish. There is a point of refinement beyond which people can not go +and survive. + +From luxury nations are plunged into hardship. Then their renewed +contact with the soil gradually causes their regeneration, if they have +enough vitality left to rise again. Such is the history of the Italians. +Many others, like the once great Egyptians, whose civilization was very +far advanced and who became so dissolute that a virtuous woman was a +curiosity, have been unable to recover, even after a lapse of many +centuries. The degenerated nations are like diseased individuals: Some +have gone so far on the road to ruin that they are doomed to die. Others +can slowly regain their health by mending their ways. + +Nations, like individuals, generally do better in moderate circumstances +than in opulence. Nearly all can stand poverty, but only the exceptional +individual or nation can bear up under riches. Nature demands of us that +we exercise both body and mind. + +Civilization is not inimical to health and long life. In fact, the +contrary is true, for as the people advance they learn to master the +forces of nature and with these forces under control they are able to +lead better, healthier lives, but if they become too soft and luxurious +there is decay of moral and physical fibre, and in the end the nation +must fall, for its individual units are unworthy of survival in a world +which requires an admixture of brain and brawn. + +Civilization is favorable to long life so long as the people are +moderate and live simply, but when it degenerates to sensuous softness, +individual and racial deterioration ensue. Among savages the infant +mortality is very great, but such ills as cancer, tuberculosis, smallpox +and Bright's disease are rare. These are luxuries which are generally +introduced with civilization. Close housing, too generous supply of +food, too little exercise and alcohol are some of the fatal blessings +which civilized man introduces among savages. + +A part of the price we must pay for being civilized is the exercise of +considerable self-control and self-denial, otherwise we must suffer. + +The state of the individual health is not satisfactory. There is too +much illness, too much suffering and too many premature deaths. It is +estimated that in our country about three millions of people are ill +each day, on the average. The monetary loss is tremendous and the +anguish and suffering are beyond estimate. + +The race is losing every year a vast army of individuals who are in +their productive prime. When a part of a great city is destroyed men +give careful consideration to the material loss and plan to prevent a +recurrence. But that is nothing compared to the loss we suffer from the +annual death of a host of experienced men and women. Destroyed business +blocks can be replaced, but it is impossible to replace men and women. + +We look upon this unnecessary waste of life complacently because we are +used to it and consequently think that it is natural. It is neither +necessary nor natural. If we would read and heed nature's writings it +would cease. Then people would live until their time came to fade away +peacefully and beautifully, as do the golden leaves of autumn or the +blades of grass. + +Many dread old age because they think of it in connection with +decrepitude, helplessness and the childish querulousness popularly +associated with advancing years. This is not a natural old age; it is +disease. Natural old age is sweet, tolerant and cheerful. There are few +things in life more precious than the memory of parents and grandparents +grown old gracefully, after having weathered the storms of appetites and +passions, the mind firmly enthroned and filled with the calm toleration +and wisdom that come with the passing years of a well spent life. + +A busy mind in a healthy body does not degenerate. The brain, though +apparently unstable, is one of the most stable parts of the body. + +We should desire and acquire health because when healthy we are at our +maximum efficiency. We are able to enjoy life. We have greater capacity +for getting and giving. We live more fully. Being normal, we are in +harmony with ourselves and with our associates. We are of greater value +all around. We are better citizens. + +Every individual owes something to the race. It is our duty to +contribute our part so that the result of our lives is not a tendency +toward degeneration, but toward upbuilding, of the race. The part played +by each individual is small, but the aggregate is great. If our children +are better born and better brought up than we were, and there is +generally room for improvement, we have at least helped. + +Health is within the grasp of all who are not afflicted with organic +disease, and the vast majority have no organic ills. All that is +necessary is to lead natural lives and learn how to use the mind +properly. Those who are not in sympathy with the views on racial duty +can enhance their personal worth through better living without giving +the race any thought. Every individual who leads a natural life and +thinks to advantage helps to bring about better public health. The +national health is the aggregate of individual health and is improved as +the individuals evolve into better health. National or racial +improvement come through evolution, not through revolution. The +improvement is due to small contributions from many sources. + +The greatest power for human uplift is knowledge. Reformers often +believe that they can improve the world by legislation. Lasting reform +comes through education. If the laws are very repressive the reaction is +both great and unpleasant. + +It takes about six months to learn stenography. It requires a long +apprenticeship to become a first-class blacksmith or horseshoer. To +obtain the rudiments of a physician's art it is necessary to spend four +to six years in college. To learn a language takes an apt pupil at least +a year. A lawyer must study from two to four years to become a novice. A +businessman must work many years before he is an expert in his line. Not +one of these attainments is worth as much as good health, yet an +individual of average intelligence can obtain enough knowledge about +right living during his spare time in from two to six months to assure +him of good health, if he lives as well as he knows how. Is it worth +while? It certainly is, for it is one of the essentials of life. Health +will increase one's earning capacity and productivity and more than +double both the pleasure and the duration of life. + +Disease is a very expensive luxury. Health is one of the cheapest, +though one of the rarest, things on earth. There is no royal road to +health. If there is any law of health it is this: Only those will retain +it permanently who are deserving of it. + +Many prefer to live in that state of uncertainty, which may be called +tolerable health, a state in which they do not suffer, yet are not quite +well. In this condition they have their little ups and downs and +occasionally a serious illness, which too often proves fatal. Even such +people ought to acquire health knowledge, for the time may come when +they will desire to enjoy life to the fullest, which they can do only +when they have health. Those who have this knowledge are often able to +help themselves quickly and effectively when no one else can. + +I am acquainted with many who have been educated out of disease into +health. Many of them are indiscreet, but they have learned to know the +signs of approaching trouble and they ease up before anything serious +overtakes them. In this way they save themselves and their families from +much suffering, much anxiety and much expense. Every adult should know +enough to remain well. Every one should know the signs of approaching +illness and how to abort it. The mental comfort and ease that come from +the possession of such knowledge are priceless. + +Everything that is worth while must be paid for in some way and the +price of continued good health is some basic knowledge and self-control. +There are no hardships connected with rational living. It means to live +moderately and somewhat more simply than is customary. Simplicity +reduces the amount of work and friction and adds to the enjoyment of +life. The cheerfulness, the buoyancy and the tingling with the joy of +life that come to those who have perfect health more than compensate for +the pet bad habits which must be given up. + +Many of the popular teachings regarding disease and its prevention are +false. The germ theory is a delusion. The fact will some day be +generally recognized, as it is today by a few, that the so-called +pathogenic bacteria or germs have no power to injure a healthy body, +that there is bodily degeneration first and then the system becomes a +favorable culture medium for germs: In other words, disease comes first +and the pathogenic bacteria multiply afterwards. This view may seem very +ridiculous to the majority, for it is a strong tenet of popular medical +belief today that micro-organisms are the cause of most diseases. + +To most people, medical and lay, the various diseases stand out clear +and individual. Typhoid fever is one disease. Pneumonia is an entirely +different one. Surely this is so, they say, for is not typhoid fever due +to the bacillus typhosus and pneumonia to the pneumococcus? But it is +not so. Outside of mechanical injuries there is but one disease, and the +various conditions that we dignify with individual names are but +manifestations of this disease. The parent disease is filthiness, and +its manifestations vary according to circumstances and individuals. + +This filthiness is not of the skin, but of the interior of the body. The +blood stream becomes unclean, principally because of indigestion and +constipation, which are chiefly due to improper eating habits. Some of +the contributory causes are wrong thinking, too little exercise, lack of +fresh air, and ingestion of sedatives and stimulants which upset the +assimilative and excretory functions of the body. In all cases the blood +is unclean. The patient is suffering from autointoxication or +autotoxemia. + +If this is true, it would follow that the treatment of all diseases is +about the same. For instance, it would be necessary to give about the +same treatment for eczema as for pneumonia. Basically, that is exactly +what has to be done to obtain the best results, though the variation in +location and manifestation requires that special relief measures, of +lesser importance, be used in special cases, to get the quickest and +best results. In both eczema and pneumonia the essential thing is to get +the body clean. + +The practice of medicine is not a science. We have drugs that are +reputed to be excellent healers, yet these very drugs sometimes produce +death within a few hours of being taken. The practice of medicine is an +art, and the outcome in various cases depends more on the personality of +the artist than on the drugs he gives, for roughly speaking, all +medicines are either sedative or stimulant, and if the dosage is kept +below the danger line, the patient generally recovers. It seems to make +very little difference whether the medicine is given in the tiny +homeopathic doses, so small that they have only a suggestive effect, or +if they are given in doses several hundred times as large by allopaths +and eclectics. + +It is true that we have drugs with which we can diminish or increase the +number of heart beats per minute, dilate or contract the pupils of the +eye, check or stimulate the secretion of mucus, sedate or irritate the +nervous system, etc., but all that is accomplished is temporary +stimulation or sedation, and such juggling does not cure. The practice +of medicine is today what it has been in the past, largely experiment +and guess-work. + +On the other hand, natural healers who have drunk deep of the cup of +knowledge need not guess. They know that withholding of food and +cleaning out the alimentary tract will reduce a fever. They know that +the same measures will clean up foul wounds and stop the discharge of +pus in a short time. They know that the same measures in connection with +hot baths will terminate headaches and remove pain. They further know +that if the patient will take the proper care of himself after the acute +manifestations have disappeared there will be no more disease. After a +little experience, an intelligent natural healer can tell his patients, +in the majority of cases, what to expect if instructions are followed. +He can say positively that there will be no relapses and no +complications. + +How different is this from the unsatisfactory practice of conventional +medicine! However, most physicians refuse to accept the valuable +teachings which are offered to them freely, and one of the reasons is +that the natural healers do not present their knowledge in scientific +form. The knowledge is scientific but it is simple. Such objection does +not come with good grace from a profession practicing an art. Life is +but a tiny part science, mixed with much art. + +The true scientist in the healing art is he who can take an invalid and +by the use of the means at his command bring him back to health, not in +an accidental manner, but in such a knowing way that he can predict the +outcome. In serious cases the natural healer of intelligence and +experience can do this twenty times where the man who relies on drugs +does it once. The physicians who prescribe drugs are ever on the +look-out for complications and relapses, and they have many of them. The +natural healers know that under proper treatment neither complications +nor relapses can occur, unless the disease has already advanced so far +that the vital powers are exhausted before treatment is begun, and this +is generally not the case. In this book many of the medical fallacies of +today, both professional and lay, will be touched upon in a kindly +spirit of helpfulness and ideas that contain more truth will be offered +in their place. The truth is the best knowledge we have today, according +to our understanding. It is not fixed, for it may be replaced by +something better tomorrow. However, one fundamental truth regarding +health will never change, namely, that it is necessary to conform to the +laws of nature, or in other words, the laws of our being, in order to +retain it. + +No one can cover the field of health completely, for though it is very +simple, it is as big as life. The most helpful parts of this book will +be those which point the way for each individual to understand his +relation to what we call nature, and hence help to enable him to gain a +better understanding of himself. + +By natural living is not meant the discarding of the graces of +civilization and roaming about in adamic costume, living on the foods as +they are found in forest and field, without preparation. What is meant +is the adjustment of each person to his environment, or the environment +to the person, until harmony or balance is established, which means +health. + +One of the most difficult things about teaching health is that it is so +very simple. People look for something mysterious. When told that good +old mother nature is the only healer, they are incredulous, for they +have been taught that doctors cure. When informed that they do not need +medicine and that outside treatment is unnecessary, they find it +difficult to believe, for disease has always called for treatment of +some kind in the hands of the medical profession. When further told that +they have to help themselves by living so that they will not put any +obstacles in the way of normal functioning of their bodies, they think +that the physician who thinks and talks that way must be a crank, and +many seek help where they are told that they can obtain health from +pills, powders and potions or from various inoculations and injections. + +To live in health is so simple that any intelligent person can master +the art and furthermore regain lost health in the average case, without +any help from professional healers. There is plenty knowledge and all +that is needed is a discriminating mind to find the truth and then +exercise enough will power to live it. If a good healer is at hand, it +is cheaper to pay his fee for personal advice than to try to evolve into +health without aid, but if it is a burden to pay the price, get the +knowledge and practice it and health will return in most cases. The vast +majority of people suffering from chronic ills which are considered +incurable can get well by living properly. + +The more capable and frank the healer is, the less treatment will be +administered. Minute examinations and frequent treatment serve to make +the patient believe that he is getting a great deal for his money. +Advice is what the healer has to sell, and if it is correct, it is +precious. The patient should not object to paying a reasonable fee, for +what he learns is good for life. People gladly pay for prescriptions or +drugs. The latter are injurious if taken in sufficient quantity to have +great effect. So why object to paying for health education, which is +more valuable than all the drugs in the world? Because of their attitude +on this subject, the people force many a doctor to use drugs, who would +gladly practice in a more reasonable way if it would bring the +necessities of life to him and his family. The public has to enlighten +itself before it will get good health advice. The medical men will +continue in the future, as they have done in the past, to furnish the +kind of service that is popular. + +A good natural healer teaches his patients to get along without him and +other doctors. A doctor of the conventional school teaches his patrons +to depend upon him. The former is consequently deserving of far greater +reward than the latter. + +The law of compensation may apply elsewhere, thinks the patient, but +surely it is nonsense to teach that it applies in matters of health, for +does not everybody know that most of our diseases are due to causes over +which we have no control? That the chief cause is germs and that we can +not control the air well enough to prevent one of these horrible +monsters (about 1/25,000 of an inch long) from settling in the body and +multiplying, at last producing disease and maybe death? This is untrue, +but it is a very comforting theory, for it removes the element of +personal responsibility. People do not like to be told that if they are +ill it is their own fault, that they are only reaping as they have +sowed, yet such is the truth. + +Patients often dislike to give up one or more of their bad habits. "Mr. +Blank has done this very thing for sixty or seventy years and now at the +age of eighty or ninety he is strong and active," they reply to +warnings. This is sophistry, for although an individual occasionally +lives to old age in spite of broken health laws, the average person who +attempts it perishes young. Those who do not conform to the rules are +not allowed to sit in the game to the end. + +Another false feeling, or rather hope, deeply implanted in the human +breast is: "Perhaps others can not do this, but I can. I have done it +before and can do it again; it will not hurt me for I am strong and +possessed of a good constitution." The wish is father to the thought, +which is not founded on facts. The most common and the most destructive +form of dishonesty is self-deception. Those who are honest with +themselves find it easy to deal fairly and squarely with others. + +The doctors of the dominant school are very distrustful of the natural +healers, in spite of the fact that the latter obtain the best results. +Many of the conditions which the regular physicians treat without +satisfactory results, the natural healers are able to remove in a few +months. When members of the dominant school of medicine find men +leading patients suffering from various skin diseases, Bright's disease, +chronic digestive troubles, rheumatism and other ills which they +themselves make little or no impression upon back to health, they are +unwilling to believe that such results can be accomplished by means of +hygiene and proper feeding. They think there is some fakery about it, +for their professors, books and experience have taught them otherwise. +They consider the views of the natural healer unworthy of serious +attention and often call him a quack, which epithet closes the +discussion. They are ethical and do not wish to be mired by contact with +quacks. + +The distrust of medical men for healers of the natural school is not +hard to explain. Many of the natural healers are men of education and +experience, but others lack both, and no matter how good the latter may +be at heart, they make very serious blunders. For instance: They get out +circulars, listing all prominent diseases known, stating that they cure +them. They either are so enthusiastic that they are carried away or they +are so ignorant that they do not know that there is a stage of +degeneration which will not allow of regeneration, and that when such a +stage is reached in any chronic disease the end is death. + +Another handicap is that intelligent natural healers have such excellent +success that they lose their heads. They educate patients by the hundred +into health who have been given up as incurable by the conventional +physicians. In their success they forget that modesty is very becoming +to the successful and begin to boast. This hurts the cause. Let the +natural healer ever remember that he does not cure, that he is but the +interpreter and that nature is the restorer of health. + +The natural healers must be more careful about their statements if they +would have the respect of intelligent people, and they must labor +diligently to be well informed. For their own good regular physicians +will have to be more open-minded, and recognize the fact that it is not +necessary to have a M. D. degree to accept the truth regarding healing. +Medical men are losing their hold on the public largely because they +have cultivated the class spirit. + +It is a well known fact among natural healers that most cases of +Bright's disease are curable, even after they have become chronic. +However, a physician who voices this truth will probably be classed +among irresponsible dreamers by other doctors. + +Antagonism of this kind breeds extremists and is therefore harmful to +the public, which pays for all the mistakes made. It is very easy to +lose one's mental balance and to begin to play on a harp with but one +string. We have a large army of Christian Scientists. If it were not for +the way in which physicians of the past mistreated the body and +neglected the mind, this sect would not exist. The doctors, with their +awful doses of nauseous and destructive drugs, went to one extreme. The +reaction was the formation of a sect that has gone to the other extreme. +The Christian Scientists are incomprehensible in spots to us mortals who +believe in a body as well as a mind, but they have a cheerful and +helpful philosophy which brings enjoyment on earth and they have done an +immense amount of good by teaching people to cease thinking and talking +so much about themselves and their ills. Among other demonstrations, +they have shown the uselessness of drugs. + +Of late so many varieties of drugless healers have sprung into existence +that it is difficult to remember even their names. There are many +pathies. These have a tendency to take one part of the human being, or +one procedure of treatment, and to play this up to the elimination of +all the rest. Some do everything with the mind. Others pay no attention +to the mind. Bathing, massage, manipulating the spine, washing out the +colon, baths in mud, sunshine or water, suggestion and many other things +are separately given credit for being cure-alls. Many of these are +excellent as a part of regenerative treatment, but they are not +sufficient of themselves to give permanent results. + +Most healers have too narrow vision. People come to them because they +have faith. The faith alone will produce temporary improvement, but as +soon as the interest is gone and the procedure grows old the patient +becomes worse again unless the treatment possesses genuine merit. +Osteopathy is most excellent, as a part of a healing system, but it is +not sufficient. The osteopaths find their patients relapsing over and +over again, or taking some other disease. However, they are learning, in +increasing numbers, that if they would keep their patrons well, they +have to give them education along the line of hygiene and dietetics, +with a little mental training thrown in. + +Many chiropractors are learning the same thing. In some chiropractic +schools there are professors wise enough to teach their students to be +broad-minded. The true natural healer makes use of air, water, food, +exercise, mental training--in fact, all the means nature has put at his +disposal. He realizes that the best treatment is education of the +patient. In many cases a cure can be greatly hastened by proper local +treatment. + +It is unfortunate that the nature healers are so divided and that many +operate upon such a narrow basis. If the vast majority of them were well +informed, broad enough to make use of all helpful natural means, and +were designated by the same name, it would not take them long to gain +more public confidence and respect than they now possess. So long as the +nature healers segregate themselves and allow themselves to be narrow, +so long will they have to struggle at a disadvantage against the more +united wielders of scalpels and prescribers of drugs. + +The question of choosing a health guide is sometimes perplexing. The +patient should select one in whom he has confidence, for confidence is a +great aid in restoring health. It often happens that there is no one in +the town in whom the patient has confidence, for many communities have +no competent natural healers. Then the question is whether or not to +seek advice by correspondence. In acute diseases this is generally a bad +plan, for the family often lacks the poise and equanimity necessary to +carry out directions. In chronic cases it is usually all right. Here all +that is required is correct knowledge put into practice and errors are +not as dangerous as in acute diseases. Curable cases will get well by +following the advice given by correspondence. A medical man who educates +people by correspondence is considered unethical and is severely +censured by the ethical brethren. To prescribe medicine by mail is +without doubt reprehensible, but to educate people into health is a work +of merit, whether it is done face to face or by correspondence. It is +advantageous to meet the physician, talk things over and be examined, +but it is not necessary. + +I know of some cases of acute disease treated satisfactorily by letter +and telegram, but the patients' families were in sympathy with natural +methods, of which they had a fair knowledge, and they had unlimited +confidence in the healer. + +I am personally acquainted with many people who have been educated out +of chronic disease and into health by correspondence, after the local +physicians had vainly exhausted all their skill. It is simply a matter +of applied knowledge and it works just as well in curable cases if given +by telephone, telegraph or letter as if imparted by word of mouth. +However, it seems to me that it is most satisfactory for all concerned +when the healer and the sufferer can meet. + +My words are not inspired by any ill feeling toward the members of the +medical profession. I have found medical men to measure well up in every +way. They are better educated than the average and they are as kind and +considerate as are other men. As men we can expect no more of them under +present conditions, but because they are better equipped than the +average, we have a right to ask for an improvement in their practice, +even if they have inherited a great many handicaps from their +predecessors and it is not easy to throw off the past, which acts as a +dead weight ever tending to check progress. The tendency of the times is +for fuller, freer and more sincere service in every line, for evolving +out of the useless into the greatest helpfulness. It is not asking too +much when we demand of the doctors that they rid themselves of the +injurious drug superstition and become health teachers, that instead of +being in the rear they come to the front and make progress easier. + +What I say about drugs is founded on intimate observation. I was +educated medically in two of the colleges where medication is strongly +advocated and well taught, and am a regular M. D. I have watched people +who were treated by means of drugs and the biologic products, such as +serums, vaccines and bacterines, which are now so popular, and I have +watched many who have been treated by natural methods. Anyone with my +experience and capable of thinking would come to the conclusions given +in this book, that it is a mistake to administer drugs and serums and +that the natural methods give results so much superior to the +conventional methods that there is no comparison. Others who have +discarded drugs know from experience that this is true. + +The physicians who are on intimate terms with nature will neither desire +nor require drugs. Sound advice, that is, teaching, is the most valuable +service a physician can render. Right living and right thinking always +result in health if no serious organic degeneration has taken place. If +the public could only be made to realize that they need a great deal of +knowledge and very little treatment, and that knowledge is very valuable +and treatment often worthless the day would soon dawn when health +matters will be placed on a sound, natural basis. + +Surgery is occasionally necessary, but today from ten to twenty +operations are performed where but one is needed. + +"There is nothing new beneath the sun," is a popular quotation. It seems +to hold true in the healing art, for the best modern practice was the +best ancient practice. Naturally, people like to make new discoveries +and get credit therefore. Our valuable new discoveries in healing are +very ancient. Though much that appears in these pages may seem strange +and new to many, I claim no originality. My aim is to present workable, +helpful facts in such a way that any person of average intelligence and +will power can apply them, and to get the essentials of health within +such a compass that no unreasonable amount of time need be employed in +finding them. + +According to late discoveries, the ancient Egyptians were more advanced +in the art of living than any other people on earth, including the +moderns. They taught that overeating is the chief causative factor of +disease, and so it is. They taught cleanliness, the priests going to the +extreme of shaving the entire body daily. It would naturally follow that +they prescribed moderation in eating, which leads to internal +cleanliness. Cleanliness of body, in conjunction with cleanliness of +mind, will put disease to rout. + +The ancient Greek writers commented on the good state of health among +the Egyptians, and modern medical writers marvel that they made so +little use of drugs. Evidently they found drugs of little value, for +they were taught hygienic living. The admirable health laws laid down by +Moses were derived from Egyptian sources. + +The ancient nations were as much influenced by the Egyptians as we are +today by the Greeks who lived before the Christian era. The Greeks built +combination temples and sanitaria, to which the afflicted resorted. The +priests were in charge and these ancient heathens were great rogues. By +fooling the people they got big fees out of them. Their oracular sayings +and miracles were adroitly presented. They did not teach that overeating +is the chief cause of disease, for this did not suit the mystic times. +The people liked oracular prescriptions, and they got them. The law of +supply and demand worked as well then as it does now. The heathen +priests waxed fat and the medical art degenerated. + +About five centuries B. C., Pythagoras taught that health can be +preserved by means of proper diet, exercise and the right use of the +mind. He also taught many other truths and some fallacies. In spite of +much superstition mixed with his philosophy, it was too pure for the +times and he perished. + +Hippocrates, born about 470 years B. C., is one of the bright lights of +the medical world. He was so far ahead of his time that he still lives. +He was the founder of medical art as we know it. He used many drugs, but +he also relied on natural means. He was the first medical man on record +to pay serious attention to dietetics. The following quotations will +show how well his mind grasped the essentials of the healing art: "Old +persons need less fuel (food) than the young." "In winter abundant +nourishment is wholesome; in summer a more frugal diet." "Follow +nature." "Complete abstinence often acts very well, if the strength of +the patient can in any way maintain it." In acute disease he withheld +nourishment at first and then he prescribed a liquid diet. He also made +use of the "milk cure," which is considered modern, in conjunction with +baths and exercise; this is very efficacious in some chronic diseases. +He further spoke the oft-forgotten truth that physicians do not heal. +"Natural powers are the healers of disease." "Nature suffices for +everything under all conditions." + +The next great physician was Galen, who lived in the second and third +centuries of our era. He added greatly to medical knowledge, made +extensive use of dietetics, and then in a self-satisfied manner informed +his readers that they need look no further for enlightenment, for he had +given them all that was of any value. Perhaps he meant this as a joke, +but those who followed him took it seriously, with the result that +medical advance stopped for several centuries. + +The physicians of the dark ages had some light, as evidenced by this +popular quotation taken from a poem that the faculty of the medical +college of Salerno gave to Robert, son of William the Conqueror, in the +year 1101: + + "Salerno's school in conclave high unites + To counsel England's king and thus indites: + If thou to health and vigor wouldst attain, + Shun mighty cares, all anger deem profane; + From heavy suppers and much wine abstain; + Nor trivial count it after pompous fare + To rise from table and to take the air. + Shun idle noonday slumbers, nor delay + The urgent calls of nature to obey. + These rules if thou wilt follow to the end, + Thy life to greater length thou may'st extend." + +During recent times but two important discoveries have been made +concerning matters of health: First, the advantage of cleanliness; +second, the approximate chemical composition of various foods. All the +other important new discoveries are old. + +Cleanliness, moderation in all things, right thinking and a realization +of the fact that nature cures are some of the most important stones upon +which to build a healing practice. The most important single therapeutic +factor is to abstain from food during pain and active disease processes. + +Cleanliness of mind and body has been taught for thousands of years, yet +cleanliness of body is a new discovery, for which we are greatly +indebted to the great bacteriologist, Pasteur. It has been found that +germs thrive best in filth; this has been taught so thoroughly that the +public is somewhat afraid of the germs and as a measure of +self-protection they are cleaning up. Of old, cleanliness meant a clean +skin, but this is the least important part. It is far more necessary to +have a clean alimentary tract and clean blood, with a resultant sweet, +healthy body, and this is what cleanliness is beginning to mean. +Internal cleanliness necessitates moderation, for an overworked +alimentary tract becomes foul and some of the poisons are taken into the +blood. + +Asepsis and antisepsis simply mean cleanliness. + +The benefits of moderation have been known for thousands of years. Louis +Cornaro, who died in 1566, wrote a delightful book on the subject. +People know that it is necessary to be moderate, but they do not seem to +realize the meaning of moderation nor is its value well enough implanted +in the human mind to produce satisfactory results. + +Right thinking seemed as important to the thinkers of old as it does to +the New Thought people today. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is +he." + +For the better knowledge of the composition of food we have to thank the +chemists. + +Laymen are referred to frequently in this book because their work has +been so helpful and important. Herbert Spencer and Alfred Russel Wallace +had very clear conceptions regarding health. See their opinions +regarding vaccination. There is no difference in the mental processes of +physicians and laymen. Anyone can know about health, though it takes +considerable experience and observation to get acquainted with the less +important subject of disease. One indictment against medical men is that +they have dwelled almost entirely on disease and paid no attention to +health. + +A group of modern men deserve great credit for popularizing health +knowledge, which generally results in the loss of professional standing +of the teacher. R. H. Trall, M. D., insisted that drugs are useless and +harmful, that the only rational and safe way of healing ordinary ills is +to use nature's means. "Strictly speaking, fever and food are +antagonistic ideas," he wrote. In his Hydropathic Encyclopedia, +copyrighted in 1851, he puts great stress on natural remedies, such as +food and water. He met with much opposition, but he has left a deep +impression on the minds of men who are now having some influence in +shaping public opinion on health and healing. + +Dr. Charles Page of Boston has been writing in advocacy of natural +healing for over thirty years. He also has emphasized the harmfulness of +drugs, the necessity of withholding food from fever patients, and simple +living, remaining in touch with nature. Another important point which +the doctor has been trying to impress upon the public is that it is +necessary to retain the natural salts of the foods, instead of ruining +them or throwing them away, as is generally done, especially in the +preparation of vegetables and many cereal products. + +Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey began to present his ideas to the public a few +years after the Civil War. His little book entitled "The No-Breakfast +Plan and the Fasting Cure," has had a great influence among rational +healers. The doctor emphasized the importance of going without food in +acute diseases so that no one who has read the book can forget it. He +pointed out some of the errors of conventional healing as they had never +been shown before, and I believe he was the first one to give the +correct rules to guide people in the consumption of food. + +For fourteen years Dr. J. H. Tilden of Denver has been a voluminous +writer on health. He teaches that the law of compensation applies to +health; that all disease is one and the same fundamentally; that +"Autotoxemia is the fundamental basic cause of all diseases." Like all +others who have investigated the subject impartially he believes that +one of the most important factors of health is correct feeding. He +allows all foods, in compatible combinations. Of course, he gives no +drugs. + +Dr. Harry Brook of Los Angeles is unique among the health educators of +today. He is a brainy journalist with a good stock of fundamental health +knowledge and is endowed with the ability to place his convictions +before the public in a striking manner. He has been carrying on his +educational work for many years. + +Elbert Hubbard has also had a great deal of influence on the thought of +today. At intervals he publishes an article on health which gets wide +distribution. He has the faculty of making people think, and those who +allow themselves to think independently generally evolve into +serviceable knowledge. + +Bernarr Macfadden has a large following. He is a strong advocate of +physical culture and favors vegetarianism and other changes from +conventional life. He educates his readers away from drugs. He has +written much that is helpful and his influence is widely felt. Like all +others who have struggled against the fetters of convention, he has +aroused much opposition. + +There are a few good health magazines, and there are many people living +who deserve credit for their labor to improve the mental and physical +condition of humanity. Some of these will be mentioned and quoted. + +Some of the teachers have dwelled upon but one idea and some have +advocated fallacies, but there is good to be found in all of them. No +knowledge assays one hundred per cent. pure. + +No helpful healing knowledge should be kept away from the public; it +should be as free as possible. The public, when it understands, +willingly pays a fair price for it, which is all that should be asked. +To take advantage of the sick and helpless is contemptible. The old-time +idea, still prevalent, that medical knowledge is for the doctor only is +a mistake. The best patients are the intelligent ones. The office of the +physician should be to educate his clients; his best knowledge and his +best qualities will be developed in dealing honestly with intelligent +people. + +The practice of medical secrecy began in ancient times when the healers +and the priests believed in fooling the public. Unfortunately, this +professional attitude still survives. No one who has not practiced the +healing art can know how tempted a doctor is to fake and humbug a little +to retain and gain patronage. + +Emerson wrote: "He is the rich man who can avail himself of other men's +faculties. He is the richest man who knows how to draw a benefit from +the labors of the greatest number of men--of men in distant countries +and past times." Those who wish to be healthy and efficient are +compelled to advance by taking advantage of other men's faculties. He +who attempts to learn all by experience does not live long enough to +travel far. + +Everyone should try to get a knowledge of the few most fundamental facts +of nature governing life. Then it would not be so easy to go astray. +Health literature should be read with an open mind. Read in conjunction +with your knowledge of the laws of nature, and then it will be seen that +health and disease are according to law, and that by eliminating the +mistakes disease will disappear. + +All disease is one. It is the manifestation of disobeyed natural law, +and whether the mistakes are made knowingly or ignorantly matters but +little so far as the results are concerned. It is generally considered a +disgrace to be imprisoned for transgressing man-made law, which is +faulty and complex. How about being in the fetters of disease for +disregarding nature's law, which is just and simple? + +It is my aim to use as simple language as possible. If physicians read +these pages, they will understand them without technicalities, and so +will laymen. This book contains much knowledge that physicians should +have, knowledge that will help them when that which they have acquired +from conventional sources fails, but in many respects it is so opposed +to popular customs and beliefs that many physicians will doubtless +condemn it on first reading. Doctors are taught otherwise at medical +colleges, and most of them have such high regard for authority that it +is very difficult for them to see matters in a different light. I appeal +to both laymen and healers with open minds. + +These rambling thoughts will serve to show the reader whether it is +worth while to go any further. The following chapters are devoted to an +exposition of a workable knowledge of how to retain health, and how to +regain lost health in ordinary cases. They will teach how to get +dependable health, how to remain well in spite of climatic conditions, +bacteria and other factors that are given as causes of disease, and how +to more than double the ordinary span of life. + +Good health and long life result in better work, increased earning +capacity and efficiency of body and mind, greater understanding, and +more enjoyment of life. It gives time to cultivate wisdom. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +MENTAL ATTITUDE. + +On mental questions there is a wide divergence of opinion. At one +extreme some say that all is mind, at the other, that life is entirely +physical, that the mind is but a refined part of the body. Most of us +recognize both body and mind, and realize that life has a physical +basis. If some are pleased to be known as mental phenomena, no harm is +done. + +All desire to make a success of life. What would be a success for one +would be a failure for another. It all depends on the point of view. +Broadly speaking, all are successful who are helpful, whether it be in +furnishing pleasure or necessities to others. The humble may be as +successful as the great, yes even more so. + +Wealth and success are not synonymous, as many think. Among the failures +must be counted many of the wealthy. Financial success is not real +success unless it has been gained in return for valuable service. The +men of initiative deserve greater rewards than the plodders and these +rewards are cheerfully given. + +A little genuine love and affection can bring more beauty and happiness +into life than wealth, and neither can be bought with money. + +The best and most satisfying form of success comes to him who helps +himself by helping others. "It is more blessed to give than to receive," +has passed into common currency; but the more we give the more we +receive. He who loves attracts love. He who hates is repaid in kind. "He +who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword." + +The enjoyment of the fruits of one's labor is a part of success. Some +make a fetish of success and thus lose out. Others are so ambitious that +in their striving they forget to live. A little ambition is good; too +much sows the seed of struggle, strife and discontent and defeats its +own ends. Those who do evil because the end justifies the means have +already buried some of the best that is in them. + +To enjoy life, health of body and mind is necessary. The mind can not +come to full fruitage without a good body. Those who strive so hard to +reach a certain goal that they neglect the physical become wrecks and +after a few years of discomfort and disease are consigned to premature +graves. Through proper living and thinking the body and mind are built +up, not only enough to meet ordinary demands upon them, but +extraordinary ones. In other words, it is within our power to have a +large margin, balance or reserve of physical and mental force. + +To make the meaning clearer let us illustrate financially: Prudent +people lay aside a few dollars from time to time, in a savings bank, for +instance. All goes well and the savings grow. At last there are one +thousand dollars. Now an emergency arises, and if the saver can not +furnish nine hundred dollars he will lose his home. In this case he must +either borrow or use his reserve, so he takes nine hundred dollars from +the savings bank and keeps his home. The improvident man loses his home +under similar circumstances, for his credit is not good and he has no +balance to draw upon. + +And it is the same with physical and mental powers, except that we can +not borrow these, no matter how much good will or credit we may have. He +who lives well is accumulating a reserve. He has a wide margin. If +trouble comes he can draw upon his reserve energy or surplus resistance +and bridge it over. He may be tired out, but he escapes with body and +mind intact. + +The imprudent liver generally has such a narrow margin that any +extraordinary demand made upon him breaks him down. It is very common +for men to die after a financial failure. Disease, insanity and death +often follow family trouble or the loss of a dear one. The reason is +that such people live up to their limit every day. They have no margin +to work on. They either overdo or underdo and fail to become balanced. +Then a little physical or mental exertion beyond the ordinary often +means a breakage or extinction. + +Equanimity and moderation will help to build up the reserve and give the +resistance that is necessary to cope successfully with the unforeseen +difficulties that we sometimes have to surmount. + +The physical state depends largely on the mental state and vice versa. +Body and mind react upon each other. Bad blood does not only cause +abnormal functioning of such organs as the heart, liver, kidneys and +lungs, but it interferes with the normal functioning of the brain. It +diminishes the mental output and causes a deterioration of the quality. +An engorged liver makes a man cranky. Indigestion causes pessimism. +Physical pain is so disturbing that the sufferer thinks mostly of +himself and is unable to perform his work well. We never do our best +when self-conscious. If there is severe pain the mind can perform no +useful labor. + +On the other hand, anger stops digestion and poisons the secretions of +the body. Worry does the same. It takes the mind from constructive +thoughts and deeds and centers it upon ourselves. An effective mind must +be tranquil, otherwise it upsets the body and fails to give proper +direction to our activities. + +For a real life success we need a proper perspective. We need to be +balanced, poised, adjusted. Most of us are too circumscribed mentally. +We live so much by and for ourselves that we consider ourselves, +individually, of greater importance than the facts warrant. Others do +not agree with us on this point, and this is a source of disturbance. I +am personally acquainted with two surgeons and several physicians who +think they are the greatest in the world, and one considers himself the +best physician of all time. The rest of the world does not appraise them +so highly, and some of these professional men are very much annoyed +because of this lack of appreciation. + +Selfishness and self-esteem to a certain point are virtues. Beyond that +point they become vices. Certainly we should think well of ourselves, +and then act so that this good opinion is merited. Self-interest and +selfishness are the main-springs of progress. Most of us need some +inducement to do good work. It is well that it is so. The ones who +deserve the great rewards generally get them, whether they are mental or +physical. + +To obtain a proper perspective of ourselves we must learn to think +independently and honestly. It is too common to be conventionally +honest, but dishonest with ourselves. It is too common to pass unnoticed +in ourselves the faults we condemn in others. We should be lenient in +our judgment because often the mistakes that others make would have been +ours had we but had the opportunity to make them. + +As physical ills are principally caused by bad physical habits, so are +mental ills and inefficiency chiefly due to various bad mental habits, +which are allowed to fasten themselves upon us. These will be briefly +discussed so as to focus attention upon them, for the first thing +necessary for the correction of a bad habit is to recognize its +presence. It is as important to think right as it is to give the body +proper care. A good body with a mind working in the wrong direction is +of no use. If we allow our minds to be disturbed and distressed by every +little unfavorable happening, we shall never have enough tranquility to +think well. + +The proper time to quit our bad habits is now. Why wait until the first +of the month or the first of the year? Every day that we harbor a bad +habit it grows greater and strikes deeper and stronger roots. A child +one year old can often be broken of a bad habit in a week; a child of +three, within a month; a child of six, within a few months; but let the +habit grow until the age of twenty, and it may take a year or more to +break the bonds. Let it continue until the age of thirty, and the victim +will say, "I can quit any time," but the chances are that the habit will +remain for life. After the individual is fifty or sixty years old, he is +rarely capable of changing. If he is the victim of a very bad habit, it +has generally so sapped his strength of body and mind that he is unable +to break away. + +The right time to stop bad habits is now. + +Some people have many pet bad habits. It is often the best policy to +attack them one at a time. Those who try to conquer all at once often +fail. They backslide, lose self-confidence, become discouraged, tell +themselves that it is no use, for it can not be done. Begin with the +habit that is least formidable. After this is conquered, overcome +another one, and in time most of the bad habits will be subdued. The +first conquest builds confidence, and with confidence and determination +it is possible to gain self-mastery in time. + +The greatest evil about bad habits is that they conquer us. They become +masters, we slaves. Let us be free. "He who conquers himself is greater +than he who taketh a city." + +The mind grows strong by overcoming obstacles, as the body gains in +strength through work and exercise. + +Giving up bad habits is very disagreeable at first. Those who have +conquered the prevalent habit of overeating know that they have been in +a fight. The smokers who quit suffer. Those who break away from liquor +have a much greater struggle. Those who attempt to overcome drug +addictions suffer the tortures of the damned. Those who overcome their +bad mental habits have a hard time of it at first, but though it is +difficult it is possible. It is no easy matter to curb a fiery +disposition or to quit worrying. It requires time, persistence and +perseverance. Fretting, envy, spite, jealousy and hatred are tenacious +tenants of the mind they occupy. These harmful emotions are enemies +which sap our strength and we must thrust them from our lives if we +would live well. This is not all narrow selfishness, for when we have +gained mental calm for ourselves we are in position to impart peace of +mind to others and to be more useful than previously. A calm mind is not +a stagnant one. It is a mind that is in the best possible condition to +work, to think clearly and effectively. + +_Self-pity_ is a very common mental ill. Those who suffer much from this +affliction usually have very good imagination. They think they are +slighted and abused. They know that they do not get their dues. They +envy others and are sure that others prosper at their expense. They +minimize their blessings and magnify their misfortunes. This state of +mind leads to spite and malice. These people become very nervous and +irritable and are a nuisance, not only to themselves, but to those who +are unfortunate enough to have to associate with them. + +_Self-consciousness_ and _self-centeredness_ are twin evils. The +sufferers lack perspective. They magnify their own importance. They +believe they are the targets of many other minds and eyes. The youth +refuses to take a dip in the ocean because he knows that the rest of the +people on the beach are watching his spindle shanks or perhaps the +bathing suit would reveal his narrow, undeveloped chest. The young man +is afraid to go onto the dance floor because everybody is sure to see +his ungainly gyrations. He stammers and stutters when he speaks because +others are paying particular attention to his words, when in truth he is +attracting little or no attention. Whether working or playing, those +whose good opinions are worth having are too busy to spend much time in +finding fault with others and discovering flaws that do not concern +them. More enjoyment is to be had in looking at fine physiques and +graceful movements than in watching the less favored. + +We always do our best when we are natural. When we become self-conscious +we become artificial and awkward. We can not even breathe properly. +Those who are ever thinking about themselves fail to do things well +enough to hold sustained attention, even if they are able to gain it for +a while. Those who do their work well will in time gain the attention +and appreciation they require. No one can long occupy a high place in +the public heart without adding to the profit or pleasure of the world. + +Here is a good line of thought for those who are too self-centered and +self-important: "There are millions of solar systems in the universe, +some of them much greater than ours. There are uncounted planets in +space, beside some of which our little earth is a mere toy. Some of +these planets are doubtless inhabited. Even on this small earth there +are over a billion people. I am one in a number so great that my mind +can not grasp such a multitude. Countless billions have gone before and +they got along very well before I was born. Countless billions will live +and die after I have passed on, and if they hear of me it will probably +be by accident. And so it will be for ages and ages, so extensive that +my brain can not grasp the stretch of time, which is without beginning +and without end. How much do I, individually, amount to?" + +And an honest answer _must_ be, "Personally I am of very small +importance." + +An individual can not live of himself, for himself and by himself. Only +as he adds his efforts to those of others does his work count. When we +realize that we are but atoms in this vast universe, we get down to a +business basis. Then it is easy to get adjusted. In order to count at +all we must be in harmony with some of the rest of the atoms and when we +discover this we are in a mental state to be of some real use. Building +for individual glory is vanity. Sometimes an individual builds so well +that he is picked out for special attention and honor, but this is +comparatively seldom. As a rule, we can only help a little in shaping +the ends of the race by adding our mite, as privates in the ranks. The +time we spend in nursing our conceit is wasted. + +This does not mean that we are worms in the dust. A human being is a +paradox. He is so little, yet he has great possibilities. Our bodies are +kept close to the earth, but our minds can be free and unfettered, +soaring through time and space, exploring innumerable worlds of thought. + +But it will not do to be too self-centered or consider one's self of too +great importance, for this lessens one's chances of meriting the esteem +of others. + +The well balanced man is not greatly affected by too great praise or +excessive censure, for he realizes that though the public may be hasty +and unjust at times, in the end it renders a fairly just verdict. + +_Fear_ is one of the harmful negative or depressing emotions. Fear, like +all other depressing emotions, poisons the body. This is not said in a +figurative sense. It is an actual scientific fact; it has been +demonstrated chemically. Were it not for the fact that the lungs, skin, +kidneys and the bowels are constantly removing poisons from the body, an +acute attack of fear would prove fatal. + +Fear or fright is largely a habit. The parents are often responsible for +this affliction. It is far too common for them to scare their children. +They people the darkness with all kinds of danger and with horrible +shapes, and the children, with their vivid imaginations, magnify these. +Children should be taught to meet all conditions in life courageously +and fear should not be instilled into their minds. There is a great deal +of difference between fear and the caution which all must learn or +perish early. + +The caution that is implanted in the human breast is our heritage from +the ages and works for our preservation. It was necessary during the +infancy of the race when man had to struggle with the animals for +supremacy. Beyond this point fear is a health-destroyer. + +There are people who cultivate fear until they imagine they are ever in +danger. They fear that they may lose their health, their mind, their +good name. Some are afraid of many things. Others have one pet fear. + +Today the fear of the unseen is strong in the public mind. I refer to +the fear of germs, those tiny plants which are so small that the unaided +eye can not see them. Children are shown moving pictures of these tiny +beings, enormously enlarged and very formidable in appearance. They are +told to beware, for these germs are in our food, in our drink, on the +earth, in the air, in fact everywhere that man lives. + +It is very harmful to scare the young thus, for it inhibits physical +action and stunts the mind. How much better it would be to teach the +children these truths about the germs: "Yes, there are germs in our +foods and beverages. They are on the earth, in the water and in the air. +They are necessary for our existence. If we take good care of our bodies +and direct our minds in proper channels, these germs will not, in fact, +can not harm us. If we do not take care of ourselves, but allow our +bodies to fill with debris, the germs try to clean this away; they +multiply and grow into great armies while doing it, for they thrive on +waste. It is our fault, not the fault of the germs, that we allow our +bodies to degenerate. The germs are our good friends and if we treat +ourselves properly they will do all they can to help keep the water, the +earth and the air in fit condition for our use." + +Such teachings have the advantage of being true. They are helpful and +healthful. The popular teachings are disease-producing. The mental +depression and bodily inhibition caused by fear are injurious. Those who +fear a certain kind of disease often bring this ill upon themselves, so +powerful is suggestion. The fear is more dangerous than the thing +feared. + +In fear there is loss of both physical and mental power. Not only the +voluntary muscles become impotent, but the involuntary ones lose in +effectiveness. Digestion is partly or wholly suspended. "Scared stiff" +is a popular and truthful expression. The bodily rhythm is lost, the +breathing becomes jerky and the heart beats out of tune. + +Keep fear out of the lives of babes. If children are taught the truth, +there will be little fear in adult minds. Children should not be taught +prayers in which there is an element of fear. It is much better to bring +children up to love other people and God than to fear. + +Those who have cultivated fear should try suggestion. Positive +suggestion is always best. Let them analyze matters thus: "I have feared +daily and nightly. Nothing has happened. I have brought much unnecessary +discomfort upon myself. There is nothing to fear and I shall be brave +hereafter." Those who fear God have a low conception of Him. Let them +remember the beautiful saying that "God is love." Through repeating them +often enough, such positive suggestions sink so deeply into the mind +that they replace doubts and fears. + +About 2500 years ago Pythagoras wrote: "Hate and fear breed a poison in +the blood, which, if continued, affect eyes, ears, nose and the organs +of digestion. Therefore, it is not wise to hear and remember the unkind +things that others may say of us." Pythagoras was an ancient +philosopher, but his words express modern scientific truths. + +_Worry_: Worrying is perhaps the most common and the worst of our +mental sins. Worry is like a cancer: It eats in and in. It is +destructive of both body and mind. It is due largely to lack of +self-control and is a symptom of cowardice. Much worry is also +indicative of great selfishness, which most of those afflicted will +deny. Those who worry much are always in poor health, which grows +progressively worse. The form of indigestion accompanied by great +acidity and gas formation is a prolific source of worry, as well as of +other mental and physical troubles. The acidity irritates the nervous +system and the irritation in time causes mental depression. + +Confirmed worriers will worry about the weather, the past, the present, +the future, about work and about play, about food, clothing and drink, +about those who are present and those who are absent. Nothing escapes +them and they bring sadness and woe in their wake. + +Worrying is slow suicide. + +Elbert Hubbard says that our most serious troubles are those that never +happen. + +Worrying is a very futile employment, for it never does any good, and it +reacts evilly upon the one who indulges in it, and those with whom he +associates. It is a waste of time and energy. The energy thus used could +be directed into useful channels. + +Let those who are afflicted with this bad and annoying habit get into +good physical condition. Then many of the worries will take wing. If +they persist, it would be well to face the matter frankly and honestly, +setting down the advantages of worrying on one side and the +disadvantages on the other. Then take into consideration that not one +thing in a thousand worried about happens, and if something disagreeable +does occur, worrying can not prevent it. Besides a disagreeable +happening now and then will not cause half of the discomfort and trouble +that a disturbed mind does. + +"And this too shall pass away," is an ancient saying which it would be +well to remember in conjunction with, "And this will probably never +happen." + +_Anger_ is a form of temporary insanity. It is an emotion that is +unbecoming in strong men, for it is a sign of weakness, and the women +who indulge in it frequently can not long keep the respect of others. +Those who become angry lay themselves open to wounds of all kinds, for +they partly lose their mental and physical faculties temporarily. An +angry man is easily vanquished in any contest where ready wit is +necessary. As the saying is, he makes a fool of himself. To be high +strung and quick to lose one's temper may sound fine in romantic +rubbish, but in real life it is folly, for much more can be accomplished +by being calm. + +Like hatred, anger produces poisons in the system. An angry mother's +milk has been known to kill the nursing child. A fit of anger is so +serious that the evil effects can be felt for several days, and those +who indulge in daily or even weekly loss of temper can not enjoy the +best of health, for the anger produces enough toxins to poison all the +fluids of the body. + +Fortunately, anger is one of the emotions that can be conquered in a +reasonable time, if there is a real desire to do so. It should not take +an adult more than one or two years to get himself under control. + +During anger there is a tensing of various muscles, those of the face +and hands for instance. If this tensing is not allowed the anger will +not last long. If there is a tendency to become angry, relax and the +mind will ease up. A perfectly relaxed individual can not harbor anger, +for this emotion requires tensing of body and mind. A determination to +control the temper and a whole-hearted apology after each display of +anger will prove very effective in reducing the frequency and force of +the attacks. Mental suggestion is not as powerful as some say, but it is +such a great force for good or evil, depending on its use, that those +who are wise will not neglect it as a means of self-conquest. + +People who are easily offended and "stand on their dignity," have a very +poor footing. Those who find it necessary to inform others that they are +ladies or gentlemen, are very apt to be prejudiced in their own favor. +Gentlefolks do not need to advertise, nor do they do so. Others +recognize their worth intuitively. + +_Fretting_ is anger on a small scale. It is a habit that is easily +formed. The fretter and those about him are made uncomfortable. Those +who respect themselves and others do not indulge. + +_Hatred_ is one of the most harmful and poisonous of emotions. +Fortunately, violent hatred can last but a short time, otherwise it +would prove fatal. Some are chronic haters. He who hates harms himself. +The thoughts weave themselves into one's personality and form the +character. + +_Jealousy_ is one of the most disagreeable of emotions. The jealous +person insists on suffering. A jealous woman can convert a home into an +inferno. Jealousy is sure to kill love in time. The jealous individual +often excuses himself on the ground that he loves. That is not true. +There is more fear than love at the base of jealousy. Jealous people are +selfish and too indolent mentally to give their thoughts a positive +direction. + +Those who are violently jealous are suffering from mental aberration. +The jealous person loses, for he drives away the object of his +affection. + +There are many jealous men, but women suffer most. Bad health and +idleness are two prolific causes of jealousy. It has probably broken up +more homes than any other one thing. It is blighting to all it touches. + +Men and women may feel flattered for a time by producing jealousy, but +it is a satisfaction of very short duration. They soon grow weary of the +questions, doubts and reproaches. + +Those who are sensible enough to give freely to others the liberty they +crave for themselves do not suffer much from this emotion. It would help +greatly if man and wife would look upon the marriage relation more as a +partnership and less as a form of bondage. One of the partners can not +force the other one to be "good." People do the best by others when full +confidence is given, and even if the confidence should be misplaced, it +would be better than to suffer from this corroding emotion at all times. + +It is not an easy task to overcome jealousy, but it can be done within a +reasonable time if there is a real desire. First get physical health. +Then get busy with interesting, useful work. Get something worth while +to occupy the mind and the hands. Determine to be master of yourself and +not a slave to what is often but figments of the imagination. +Unfortunately, jealousy so dwarfs the judgment at times that the +sufferers seek only to rule or ruin. Love and hate are so closely akin +that it is hard to find the dividing line. + +_Sorrow_: Some dedicate their lives to a sorrow. They make martyrs of +themselves. They have suffered a loss and they dwell upon it during all +of their waking hours. It may be that it was a very ordinary or +worthless husband or child. After death the poor real is converted into +a glorious ideal. With the passing years the virtues of the departed +grow. All the love and tenderness are lavished upon the dead and the +living are neglected. It is generally women who suffer from this +peculiar form of mild insanity, but men are not exempt. + +It is natural to feel the loss of a dear one, but so long as we are +mortal we must accept these things as matters of course. + +Related to this form of sorrow is the regretting or brooding over past +actions, especially in connection with the dead. Perhaps something that +should have been done was neglected, or something was done that should +have been left undone. Over this the sufferer broods by the hour, +leading to a form of sad resignation that is rather irritating to normal +people. + +For such people a change of interest and a change of scene will often +prove very beneficial. + +_Envy_ and _spite_ are closely akin to jealousy and anger. They have the +same effect in lesser degree. + +_Vacillation of mind_ is a common fault. Many small questions have to be +settled and a few important ones. Some are in the habit of deferring +their decisions from time to time, or making and revoking their +decisions. Then they decide over again, after which there is another +revocation. This is repeated until it is absolutely necessary to make a +final decision. By this time the mind is so muddled that the chances are +that the last decision will be inferior to the first one. No one who +leads an active life can be right all the time. He who is right six +times out of ten does pretty well, and he who can make a correct +decision three times out of four can command a fine salary as an +executive or build up a flourishing business of his own, if his mind is +active. + +The doubt and uncertainty which result from unsettled questions, which +should be promptly decided, are more harmful than an occasional error. +The untroubled mind works most quickly and truly. + +Related to this in minor key is the doubtful condition of mind where the +individual has to do things several times before he is sure they are +properly done. For instance, there is the man who must try the office +door several times to be sure that it is locked and after being +satisfied on this point he is obliged to unlock it and investigate the +condition of the safe door. Then it is necessary to attend to the office +door two or three times again. This kind of doubtfulness takes many +forms. It does no special harm except that it leads to much waste of +time. Such people should teach themselves concentration, thinking about +one thing only at a time, until they learn that when a thing is done it +is properly done. + +_Judging_: Many insist on passing judgment on everything and everybody +that come to their notice. Every individual has to be placed with the +sheep or the goats. This is a great waste of time. Each one of us can +know so little about the majority of individuals we meet and of the vast +volume of knowledge that is to be had that if we try to judge everyone +and everything, our opinions become worthless. Wise people are never +afraid to say, "I don't know." If it is necessary to judge, let there be +kindness. + +_Volunteering advice_: This is another annoying habit. It is very well +to give advice if it is desired and asked for, otherwise it is a waste +of time. Take a person with a cold, for example: If he meets twenty +people he may be told of fifteen different cures for it, ranging from +goose grease on a red rag to suggestive therapeutics. If he were to act +upon all the advice received there would probably be a funeral. It is +best to be sparing with advice. Those who have any that is worth while +will be asked for it and paid for their trouble. Free advice is +generally worth what it costs. + +_Cranks_: Many allow themselves to get into a mental rut with their +thoughts running almost entirely to one subject. This is a mild form of +insanity, for normal people have many interests. These people are the +cranks. They can talk volumes about their favorite topic, often of no +importance. It may be some peculiar religion or ethics; or that Bacon +wrote the plays of Shakespeare; or some health fad, or almost any +subject. + +Of all the cranks the diet crank is one of the most annoying, for he has +three good opportunities to air his views each day. With the best +meaning in the world he does more harm to the cause of food reform than +do the advocates of living in the good old way, eating, drinking and +being merry and dying young. When people become possessed of too much +zeal and enthusiasm regarding a subject, they are sure that their +knowledge is the truth and they insist upon trying to enforce their way +upon others, resent having their old habits interfered with forcibly. +Those who are too persistent and insistent produce antagonism and +prejudice in the minds of others, and then it is almost impossible to +impart the truth to them, for they will neither see nor hear. + +To be able to influence others for better is a grand and glorious thing, +but it is well to remember that we can not force knowledge which is +contrary to popular thought upon others suddenly. Those who change a +well rooted opinion generally do so gradually. When they first hear the +truth, they say it is ridiculous. After a while they think there may be +something in it. At last they see its superiority over their former +opinions and accept it. It requires infinite patience on the part of the +educators to impart unpopular knowledge to other adults, no matter how +much truth it contains. + +The truth about physical well-being is so simple and so self-evident +that it is exceptionally hard to get an unprejudiced audience. From the +time when the ancient heathen priests were the healers until today the +impression has been that health and healing are beyond the understanding +of the common mind, and therefore people are willing to be mystified. +The mysterious has such a strong appeal in this world of uncertainties +that it is more attractive than the simple truth. Mystery simply demands +faith. The truth compels thinking and thoughts are often painful. + +By all means, avoid being overinsistent in trying to impart health +knowledge to others. All who have a little knowledge of the fundamentals +of health and growth know that useful men and women are going into +degeneration and premature death constantly, because of violated health +laws. If these people on the brink, who can yet be saved by natural +means, are told how it can be done, they generally either refuse to +believe it, or they have led such self-indulgent lives that it is beyond +their power to change. The knowledge often comes too late. + +Those who are anxious to do good in the spreading of health knowledge +among their friends can serve best by getting health themselves. If a +physical wreck evolves into good health there will be considerable +comment and inquiry. This is the opportunity to tell what nature will do +and inform others where to obtain a good interpretation of nature's +workings. + +A little practicing is worth more than a great deal of preaching. The +truth is the truth, no matter what the source, but it is more effective +if it comes from one who lives it. + +I have gone into the subject of health cranks so deeply because there +are so many of them. They get a little knowledge and then they believe +they are masters of the subject. The right attitude toward proper +living, and especially toward proper eating is: "I shall try to conduct +myself so as to be healthy and efficient. If others desire my help, I +shall try to indicate the way to them. Right living is no sign of +superior goodness or merit, being a matter of higher selfishness, so I +deserve no credit for it. Although health is very important, I shall +refrain from attempting to force my will on others." + +After conquering ourselves it is time to begin making foreign conquests, +but by that time the realization comes that in the end it is best to +leave others free to work out their own salvation. The desire is strong +to mould others according to our pattern, but those who size themselves +up honestly soon come to the conclusion that they are so imperfect that +perchance some other pattern is fully as good. + +_Postponing happiness_: One peculiar state of mind is to refuse to be +happy at present. The romantic girl and boy think they can not be happy +until they are married. After marriage they find that they have to gain +a certain amount of wealth before happiness comes. Then they have to +postpone it for social position. They continue postponing happiness from +time to time and the result is that they never attain it. Happiness is +not a great entity that bursts upon us, transforming us into radiant +beings. It is a comfortable feeling that brings peace and places us in +harmony with our surroundings. It can best be gained by doing well each +day the work that is to be done, cheerfully giving in return for what is +received. Happiness is largely a habit. It is as easy to be bright and +cheerful as it is to be sad and doleful, and much more comfortable. If +we look for the best we will find beauty even in the most unpromising +places. If we are looking for tears and woe, we can easily find them. + +We can get along without happiness, but it adds so much color and beauty +to life, it makes us so much better, it helps us so much to be useful +that it is folly to do without it. It is not gained by narrow +selfishness. Those who forget themselves most and are kind and +considerate find it. By giving it to others we get it for ourselves. +Ecstasy and rapture are emotions of short duration. They are so +exhilarating that they soon wear out. + +We all have our little troubles and annoyances. These we should accept +as inevitable, and neither think nor talk much about them. They help to +wear away the rough edges. We are stupid at times and so are others and +then mistakes are made. These should also be accepted as inevitable, and +we should not be more annoyed by those that others make than by our own. +Those who go into a rage when their subordinates err waste much time and +energy, erring gravely themselves. + +It is not necessary to notice every unimportant detail that is not +pleasing. Fault-finding, carping and nagging destroy harmony. +Disagreements about trifles often lead to broken friendship and enmity. +Most quarrels are about trifles. + +If mistakes are made, learn the lesson they teach and then forget about +them. All live, active beings make mistakes. Sometimes we make serious +ones and afterwards regrets come, but these must soon be thrust aside. +Brooding has put many into the insane asylums. + +_Introspection_: It is not well to allow the mind to dwell upon one's +self very much. Give yourself enough thought to guide yourself through +life, and then for the rest apply the mind to work and play. Many of +those who are too self-centered end up in believing they are something +or somebody else and then they are shut away from the public. + +Introspection is a very useless employment. Individually we are so +small, and the mind has such great possibilities, that if we center it +upon our tiny physical being, things become unbalanced and the mind +ceases to work to good advantage. It is useless to go deeply into +self-analysis, for we are very poor judges of ourselves. One of my +neighbors delved so deeply into his heart and tried so hard to find out +if he was fit to dwell in heaven that he lost his mind and had to be +confined for a long time. He allowed his vision to narrow down to one +subject. There are many subjects that lead to insanity if they are +allowed exclusive possession of the mind. + +After we have given ourselves proper care, we should think no more about +ourselves. The best way is to get busy in work and play and forget +ourselves. It is much better to love others than to center our love upon +ourselves. If we conduct ourselves well we shall have all the love from +others that we need. If there is a tendency to be introspective, cure it +by becoming active mentally and physically. + +Those who have acquired the bad habit of thinking and talking ill of +others should break themselves of it. First cease talking ill. Then +begin to look for the good points and mention them. By and by the +thoughts will be good. Those who lack a virtue can often cultivate it by +assuming it. + +One of the most helpful things is a sense of humor. Laughter brings +about relaxation and relaxation gives ease of body and mind. He who can +see his own weaknesses and smile at them is surely safe and sane. If the +mind is too austere, cultivate a sense of humor. Train yourself to +appreciate the ridiculous appearance you make and instead of being +chagrined, smile. When others laugh at you, join them. + +Whatever the mental ill may be, one-half of its cure will be brought +about by getting physical health. + +Be charitable, tolerant and kind, and the good things in life will come +to you. Be slow to judge and slower still to condemn others. + +Those who give love attract it. Hypatia said: "Express beauty in your +lives and beauty flows to you and through you. To love means to be +loved, and to put hate behind is the sum of all loving that is of any +avail." + +The best "New Thought" is the best old thought. If we only would put +some of the beautiful knowledge into common use, what an agreeable +dwelling place this world would be. Marcus Aurelius gave us this pearl +of wisdom: "When you arise in the morning, think what a precious +privilege it is to live, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love! God's +spirit is close to us when we love. Therefore it is better not to +resent, not to hate, not to fear. Equanimity and moderation are the +secrets of power and peace." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +FOOD. + +The human body is so wonderfully made that as yet we have only a poor +understanding of it, but we are learning a little each decade, and +perhaps in time we shall have a fair knowledge both of the body and of +the mind. Body and mind can not be considered as two separate entities, +for neither one is of any use without the other. + +The body is not a machine. Those who look upon it as such make the +mistake of feeding it as they would an engine, thinking that it takes so +much fuel to keep going. The human organism is perhaps never quite alike +on any two consecutive days, for the body changes with our thoughts, +actions and environment, and the conditions never quite repeat +themselves and therefore we have to readjust ourselves. + +The most important single item for gaining and retaining physical health +is proper feeding, yet the medical men of this country pay so little +attention to this subject that in some of our best equipped medical +colleges dietetics are not taught. A total of from sixteen to thirty +hours is considered sufficient to fit the future physicians to guide +their patients in the selection, combination and preparation of food. +Dietetics should be the principal subject of study. It should be +approached both from the scientific and from the empirical side. It is +not a rigid subject, but one which can be treated in a very elastic way. +The scientific part is important, but the practical part, which is the +art, is vastly more important. A part of the art of feeding and fasting +is scientific, for we get the same results every time, under given +conditions. + +When we consider the fact that the body is made up of various tissues, +such as connective tissue, blood, nerves and muscles; that these in turn +are made up of billions of cells, as are the various glandular organs +and membranes; that these cells are constantly bathed in blood and +lymph, from which they select the food they need and throw the refuse +away, we must marvel that an organism so complex is so resistant, stable +and strong. + +All articles of good quality are made by first-class workmen from fine +materials. However, many people fail to realize that in order to have +quality bodies they must take quality food, properly cooked or prepared, +in the right proportions and combinations. If we feed the body properly, +nature is kind enough to do good constructive work without any thought +on our part. + +You will find no rigid rules in these talks on diet, but you will find +information that will enable you to select foods that will agree with +you. People may well disagree on what to eat, for there are so many +foods that a person could do without nine-tenths of them and still be +well nourished. In fact, we consume too great a variety of food for our +physical well-being. Great variety leads to overeating. + +A healthy human body is composed of the following compounds, in about +the proportions given: + + Water, 60 to 65 per cent. + Mineral matter, 5 to 6 per cent. + Protein, 18 to 20 per cent. + Carbohydrates, 1 per cent. + Fat, 10 per cent. This is perhaps excessive. + +These substances are very complex and well distributed throughout the +body. They are composed of about sixteen or seventeen elements, but a +pure element is very rarely found in the body, unless it be a foreign +substance, such as mercury or lead. About 70 per cent of the body is +oxygen, which is also the most abundant element of the earth. Then in +order of their weight come carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, +phosphorus, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, fluorine, potassium, iron, +magnesium and silicon. + +Because it will be helpful in giving a better idea of the necessity for +proper feeding, I shall devote a few words to each of these elements. + +_Oxygen_ is a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas, forming a large part +of the atmospheric air, of water, of the earth's crust and of our foods. +It is absolutely essential to life, for without oxygen there can be no +combustion in the animal tissues, and without combustion there can be no +life. The union of oxygen with fats, carbohydrates and proteins in the +body results in slow combustion, which produces heat and energy. Our +chief supply of oxygen comes directly from the air, but this is +supplemented by the intake in food and water. + +_Carbon_ is the chief producer of energy within the body, being the +principal constituent of starches, sugars and fats. It is what we rely +on for internal heat, as well as for heating our dwellings, for the +essential part of coal is carbon. The carbonaceous substances are needed +in greater quantity than any other, but if they are taken pure, they +cause starvation more quickly than if no food were eaten. This has been +proved through experiments in feeding nothing but refined sugar, which +is practically pure carbon. Salts and nitrogenous foods are essential to +life. + +_Hydrogen_ is a very light gas, without odor, taste or color. It is a +necessary constituent of all growing, living things. It is plentifully +supplied in water. All acids contain hydrogen and so does the protoplasm +of the body. + +_Nitrogen_ is also a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas. It is an +essential constituent of the body, being present in all compounds of +protein. It is abundant in the atmospheric air, from which it is taken +by plants. We get our supply either directly from vegetable foods or +from animal products, such as milk, eggs and meat. + +_Calcium_ is needed principally for the bones and for the teeth, but it +is also necessary in the blood, where it assists in coagulation. We get +sufficient calcium salts in fruits, grains and vegetables, provided they +are properly prepared. The conventional preparation of the food often +results in the loss of the various salts, which causes tissue +degeneration. If the supply of calcium in the food is too small, the +bones and the teeth suffer, for the blood removes the calcium from these +structures. Growing children need more calcium proportionately than do +adults. This is without doubt the reason pregnant women suffer so much +from softening of the teeth. They are fed on foods robbed of their +calcium, such as white bread and vegetables that have been drained. + +_Phosphorus_ in some forms is a poison whether taken in solid compounds +or inhaled in fumes, producing phossy jaw. In other forms it is +indispensable for bodily development. The compounds of phosphorus are +present in fats, bones and protein. In natural foods they are abundantly +present, but when these foods are unduly refined, or are soaked in water +which is thrown away, much of the phosphorus is lost. We get phosphorus +from milk, eggs, cereals, legumes and other foods. Of course, there is +phosphorus in fish, but those who eat sea food to make themselves brainy +will probably be disappointed. Phosphates are necessary for brain +development, but those who eat natural foods never need to go to the +trouble of taking special foods for the brain. If the rest of the body +is well nourished, the brain will have sufficient food, and if the body +is poorly nourished the brain will suffer. + +_Sulphur_ is present in protein and we get a sufficient supply from +milk, meat and legumes. The element sulphur is quite inert and harmless, +but some of its acids and salts are very poisonous. Sulphur dioxide is +freely used in the process of drying fruits, as a bleacher. In this form +it is poisonous, and for that reason it would be well to avoid bleached +dried fruits. We need some sulphur, but not in the form of sulphur +dioxide or concentrated sulphurous acid, both of which are used in the +manufacture of food. + +_Sodium_, in its elementary state, which is not found in nature, is a +white, silvery metal. It is found in great abundance in the succulent +vegetables, and is present in practically all foods. As sodium chloride, +or common table salt, it is taken in great quantities by most people. +Those who have no salt get along well without it, which shows that it is +not needed in large amounts. If but a little is added to the food, it +does no perceptible harm, but when sprinkled on everything that is +eaten, from watermelons to meat, it is without doubt harmful. By soaking +foods, they are deprived of much of their soda: The two sodium salts +that are very abundant are sodium chloride, or common salt, and sodium +carbonate, generally called soda. + +_Chlorine_ is ordinarily combined in our foods with sodium or potash, +forming the chlorides. It is essential to life. He who gets enough +sodium also gets enough chlorine. In its elementary form it is an +irritating gas, used for bleaching purposes. + +_Fluorine_ is present in small quantities in the body, appearing as +fluorides in the bones and teeth. It is supplied by the various foods. +In its elementary form it is a poisonous gas. + +_Potassium_ is found in the body in very small quantities, but it is +very important. It is mostly in the form of potassium phosphate in the +muscles and in the blood. It is necessary for muscular activity. It is +found in most foods in greater abundance than is sodium, which indicates +that it plays an important part in development. Like sodium, it is +easily dissolved out of foods which are soaked in water, and this is one +of the reasons that vegetables should not be soaked and the water thrown +away. It is very peculiar in its metallic state, being a silvery metal, +very light in weight, which burns when thrown upon water. That is, it +decomposes both itself and the water with the liberation of so much heat +that it fires the escaping hydrogen, which burns with a violet flame. +Pure potassium is not found in nature. + +_Iron_ is found in very small quantities in the human body, but it is +absolutely essential to life. Animals deprived of iron die in a few +weeks, and people will do the same under similar circumstances. Iron is +obtained principally from fruits and vegetables, but it is also present +in other foods. Man can not make use of inorganic iron. He has to get +his supply from the vegetable and animal kingdoms. The giving of +inorganic iron is folly and helps to ruin the teeth and the stomach of +the one who takes it. In the form of hemoglobin this element is the +chief agent in carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the +body. In the manufacture of foods, much of the iron is lost. For +instance, whole wheat flour contains about ten times as much iron as +does the white flour. Too little iron causes, among other ills, anemia, +and if the iron is very low, chlorosis or the green sickness may ensue. + +_Magnesium_ is found principally as phosphate in the bones. It is +present both in animal and vegetable foods. Its function in the body is +not well understood, but it appears to assist the phosphorus. + +_Silicon_ is found in traces in the human body. It is supplied in small +quantities in nearly all of our foods, and therefore we must take it for +granted that it is necessary, although we are in the dark as to its +uses. It is very abundant in various rocks. The cereals are especially +rich in silicon. In wheat it is found in the bran and is removed from +the white flour. + +The elements mentioned are the most important in the body, though others +are found in traces. We do not find the elements present as elements, +but in the form of very complex compounds. Under our present conditions +of living, we generally partake of too much carbonaceous and nitrogenous +food, and get too little of the salts, except sodium chloride, which is +taken in too great quantity. Salt, to most people, means but one thing, +sodium chloride or table salt. However, there are thousands of salts, +and when salts are mentioned in this book, all those necessary for the +processes of life are meant, whether they be compounds of fluorine, +sulphur, phosphorus, calcium, iron or magnesium or other metals and +minerals. + +Salts are not usually classified as foods, but they are essential to +life. Supply the body with all the protein, sugar, starch and fat that +it requires, but withhold the salts, and it is but a question of a few +weeks before life ceases. This is why it is so important to improve our +methods of cooking. A potato that is peeled, soaked in cold water and +boiled, may lose as much as one-half of its salts, according to one of +the bulletins sent out by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Other +vegetables not only lose their salts by such treatment, but as high as +30 per cent of their nutritive value. + +The lesson we should learn from this is that ordinarily if it is +necessary to soak foods, such as beans, they should be cooked in the +water in which they have been soaked. Furthermore, where possible, as it +is with nearly all succulent vegetables, we should take the fluid in +which the vegetables have been cooked as a part of the meal. If the +vegetables are properly cooked, there will not be much fluid to take. To +pour away the water in which vegetables have been cooked means that +perhaps one-third of the food value and one-third to one-half of the +valuable salts are lost. Why continue impoverishing foods in this way? + +Dr. Charles Page deserves much credit for calling our attention to this +fact when most healers neither thought nor talked about it. Now all +up-to-date healers with a knowledge of dietetics realize how important +it is to give good food. For those who wish more detailed information on +the composition of the salts, I insert a table which was compiled by +Otto Carque and published in "Brain and Brawn," February, 1913. Those +who wish still more detailed knowledge can find it in volumes on food +analysis and in some government reports. + + +MINERAL MATTER IN 1000 PARTS OF WATER-FREE FOOD PRODUCTS. +========================================================================== + P + P M h + o a o C + t C g s S S h + a S a n p u i l + s o l e h l l o + s d c s I o p i r + i i i i r r h c i + u u u u o u u o n + m m m m n s r n e + Total| | | | | | | | | + Salts| K2O |Na2O | CaO | MgO |Fe2O3|P2O5 | SO2 |SiO2 | Cl +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- +Human milk 34.70|11.73| 3.16| 5.80| 0.75| 0.07| 7.84| 0.33| 0.07| 6.38 +Cow's milk 55.30|13.70| 5.34|12.24| 1.69| 0.30|15.79| 0.17| 0.02| 8.04 +Meat (avge) 40.00|16.52| 1.44| 1.12| 1.28| 0.28|17.00| 0.64| 0.44| 1.56 +Eggs 41.80| 6.27| 9.56| 4.56| 0.46| 0.17|15.72| 0.13| 0.13| 3.72 +Seafish 84.20|18.35|12.55|12.80| 3.28| ....|32.13| ....| ....| 9.60 +Cottage Cheese 64.30| 8.50| 0.90|22.50| 1.50| 0.50|24.35| 0.10| ....|11.20 + | | | | | | | | | +Apples 33.00|11.78| 8.61| 1.35| 2.89| 0.46| 4.52| 2.01| 1.42| .... +Strawberries 65.00|13.72|18.53| 9.23| ....| 3.73| 7.97| 2.05| 7.82| 1.10 +Gooseberries 29.00|11.22| 2.87| 3.54| 1.70| 1.32| 5.71| 1.71| 0.75| 0.22 +Prunes 37.75|18.28| 3.41| 4.34| 1.36| 0.94| 6.03| 1.21| 1.19| 0.15 +Peaches 17.60| 9.63| 1.50| 1.41| 0.92| 0.18| 2.67| 1.00| 0.26| .... +Cherries 34.60|17.94| 0.76| 2.60| 1.90| 0.69| 5.54| 1.76| 3.11| 0.46 +Grapes 25.20|14.16| 0.35| 2.72| 1.06| 0.45| 3.93| 1.41| 0.70| 0.38 +Figs 41.00|11.63|10.77| 7.75| 3.78| 0.60| 0.53| 2.77| 2.43| 1.10 +Olives 33.40|27.02| 2.52| 2.49| 0.06| 0.31| 0.46| 0.36| 0.22| 0.06 +Apricots 33.60|19.68| 3.76| 1.08| 2.89| 0.46| 4.52| 2.01| 1.42| .... +Pears 25.60|14.00| 2.17| 2.05| 1.52| 0.25| 3.90| 1.45| 0.38| .... +Watermelons 40.00|18.00| 3.75| 4.00| 2.10| 1.75| 5.60| 2.10| 7.60| 1.10 +Bananas 32.40|16.20| 0.80| 0.25| 0.32| 0.10| 2.03| 0.21| ....| 2.47 +Oranges 38.15|18.62| 0.95| 8.65| 2.03| 0.38| 4.70| 2.00| 0.25| 0.29 + | | | | | | | | | +Spinach 191.00|21.71|57.42|22.73|12.22| 6.40|19.58|13.18| 8.60|12.03 +Onions 48.40|12.10| 1.55|10.65| 2.55| 2.20| 7.25| 2.65| 8.10| 1.35 +Carrots 69.00|25.46|14.63| 7.80| 3.04| 0.70| 8.83| 4.45| 1.66| 3.18 +Asparagus 86.40|20.74|14.77| 9.33| 3.72| 2.94|16.07| 5.36| 9.50| 5.10 +Radishes 110.40|35.33|23.37|15.45| 3.42| 3.09|12.03| 7.18| 1.00|10.10 +Cauliflower 91.20|40.46| 5.38| 5.10| 3.37| 0.91|18.42|11.86| 3.37| 3.10 +Cucumbers 100.00|41.20|10.00| 7.30| 4.15| 1.40|20.20| 6.90| 8.00| 6.60 +Lettuce 180.70|67.94|13.55|26.56|11.20| 9.40|16.62| 6.87|14.64|13.82 +Potatoes 44.20|26.56| 1.33| 1.15| 2.18| 0.48| 7.47| 2.89| 0.88| 1.55 +Cabbage 123.00|45.33|11.68|21.65| 4.90| 0.86|11.07|17.10| 1.10|10.45 +Tomatoes 176.00|82.50|32.90|11.35|13.55| 1.00|10.75| 5.00| 7.75|18.00 +Red Beets 41.65| 8.45|21.60| 2.50| 0.10| 1.00| 2.55| 0.50| 2.00| 2.95 +Celery 180.00|48.60|65.25|14.70| 6.75| 1.60|14.50| 6.50| 4.30|17.80 + | | | | | | | | | +Walnuts 17.40| 2.20| 0.17| 0.97| 2.88| 0.61|10.10| 0.22| 0.12| 0.12 +Almonds 21.00| 2.31| 0.38| 3.04| 3.95| 0.23|10.10| 0.96| 0.04| 0.06 +Cocoanuts 18.70| 8.21| 1.57| 8.60| 1.76| ....| 2.18| 0.95| 0.09| 2.50 + | | | | | | | | | +Lentils 34.70|12.08| 4.62| 2.18| 0.87| 0.69|12.60| ....| ....| 1.61 +Peas 30.03|13.06| 0.30| 1.45| 2.42| 0.24|10.87| 1.03| 0.27| 0.53 +Beans 38.20|15.85| 0.42| 1.91| 2.73| 0.19|14.86| 1.30| 0.25| 0.69 +Peanuts 24.30| 9.27| 0.21| 0.95| 2.29| 0.27|10.60| 0.45| 0.05| 0.23 + | | | | | | | | | +Whole Wheat 23.10| 7.20| 0.50| 0.75| 2.80| 0.30|10.90| 0.09| 0.46| 0.07 +White flour 5.70| 1.82| 0.08| 0.43| 0.44| 0.03| 2.80| ....| ....| .... +Rye 21.30| 6.84| 0.31| 0.61| 2.39| 0.25|10.16| 0.28| 0.30| 0.01 +Barley 31.30| 5.10| 1.28| 0.02| 3.92| 0.53|10.27| 0.93| 8.98| .... +Oats 34.50| 6.18| 0.59| 1.24| 2.45| 0.41| 8.83| 0.62|13.52| 0.03 +Corn 18.50| 5.50| 0.02| 0.04| 2.87| 0.15| 8.44| 0.15| 0.39| 0.35 +Whole Rice 16.00| 3.60| 0.67| 0.59| 1.78| 0.22| 8.60| 0.08| 0.42| 0.02 +Rice, polished 4.00| 0.87| 0.22| 0.13| 0.45| 0.05| 2.15| 0.03| 0.11| 0.01 +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +Please remember that most of the salts must be worked into organic form +for us by vegetation, and that we are able to take but few elements that +have not been thus elaborated. + +We need a moderate amount of food to maintain the body in health, but we +should be careful not to overindulge. + +Perhaps the most injurious errors are made by people who eat because +they wish to gain in weight. They consider themselves below weight and +they try to force a gain by overeating. This is a serious mistake and +leads to much suffering. + +There is no weight that can be called ideal for all people. To get a +basis, I copy a table from the literature of an insurance company. This +is for people twenty years old: + + Height Weight + 5--0........114 + 1........117 + 2........121 + 3........124 + 4........128 + 5........132 + 6........136 + 7........140 + 8........144 + 9........149 + 10........153 + 11........158 + 6--0........162 + 1........167 + 2........172 + 3........177 + +If the weight is much above this, it is a sure sign that the individual +is building disease. It may be Bright's disease, fatty heart, +arteriosclerosis, cancer or any other ill. The muscles can not be +increased in size very much by eating and there is a limit to the amount +of fluid that can be stored away. Stout people generally carry about a +great amount of fat. + +Excess of fat is a burden. It replaces other tissues and weakens the +muscles. It overcrowds the abdominal and thoracic cavities, thus making +the breath short and the working of the heart more difficult, also +producing a tendency to prolapsus of the various abdominal organs. + +People make the mistake of thinking that stoutness indicates health. It +indicates disease. Going into weight is going into degeneration. Women +like to be plump for various reasons, some of which are not the most +creditable to either men or women. Fat people are not good looking. +There is not a statue in the world sculptured on corpulent lines that is +considered beautiful. + +It is natural for some people to be slender and for others to be rather +plump, but fatness is abnormal. Rolling double chins and protruding +abdomens are signs of self-abuse in eating and drinking. As a rule women +are at their right weight at twenty and men at twenty-two or +twenty-three. This weight they should retain. If twenty or thirty pounds +are added to it life will be materially shortened. + +Perfect health is impossible for obese people, but it is within the +reach of lean ones. In getting well, it is often necessary to become +quite slender, but after the system has cleansed itself, it gains in +weight again. It may take from several months to several years to obtain +a normal weight after the ravages of disease. A healthy body is +self-regulating and will be as heavy as it ought to be. + +Those who eat too much in order to gain weight sometimes wreck their +digestive and assimilative powers to such an extent that they lose a +great deal of weight, and the more they eat the more they lose. Then it +is necessary to reduce the food intake until digestion and assimilation +catch up with supply. Then if the eating is right the individual goes to +the proper weight and retains it. + +The slender people are in the safest physical condition. The vast amount +of statistics gathered by the life insurance companies bears this out. +Remember that fat is a low grade tissue, which sometimes crowds out high +grade tissue, that an excess indicates degeneration and that obesity is +a disease. All fat people eat too much, even though they consider +themselves small eaters. They should regulate their eating and drinking +so that they will return to a normal weight. This is the only safe way +to reduce. + +Pay no attention to underweight. Eat what the body requires and is able +to digest and assimilate, without causing any inconvenience. The +organism will take care of the rest. To attempt to force weight onto a +body at the expense of discomfort, disease, reduced efficiency and +premature death shows poor judgment. + +Losing weight does not matter at all if there is no discomfort or +disease. It is all right to be a little lighter during summer than in +winter. + +In discussing food and its use, two words are frequently employed, +digestion and fermentation. Strictly speaking, digestion is largely a +process of fermentation, consisting of the breaking down of complex +substances into simple ones, by means of ferments. However, in the +popular mind digestion and fermentation are not synonymous, and will not +be so considered in this book. To make my meaning clear, in this book +the words will have the following meaning: + +Digestion--the normal breaking down of food and formation into +substances that can be used by the blood for building, repairing and +producing heat and energy. + +Fermentation--the abnormal breaking down of food in the digestive tract, +producing discomfort and health impaired. This process manifests in +various ways, such as the production of much gas in the digestive tract +or hyperacidity of the body. + +We will consider digestion as a process conducive to health, but +fermentation, as one that leads to disease, being an early stage of +digestive derangement. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +OVEREATING. + +All agree that excessive indulgence in alcoholics is harmful physically, +mentally and morally. We condemn the too free use of tea and coffee and +nearly all other excesses. However, intemperate eating is considered +respectable. A large part of our social life consists in partaking of +too much food. + +Medical text-books say that we must eat great quantities of food to +maintain strength and health. Humanity views the subject of eating from +the wrong angle, and it will perhaps be many years before the majority +gets the right point of view. We should eat to live, but most of us eat +to die. Benjamin Franklin said that we dig our graves with our teeth. + +Men and women band themselves into societies and associations for the +purpose of decreasing or doing away with the use of tobacco and +alcoholic drinks. They advocate temperance and even abstinence in the +use of those things which do not appeal to their own senses; but most of +them are far from temperate in their eating. They have very keen vision +when searching for weaknesses and faults in others, but are quite +near-sighted regarding their own. + +Is excessive indulgence in liquor any worse than overeating? Not +according to nature's answer. The inebriate deteriorates and so does the +glutton. Both cause race deterioration. Gluttony is more common than +inebriety and is responsible for more ills. Gluttony is often the cause +of the tea, coffee, alcohol and drug habits. Overeating often causes so +much irritation that food does not satisfy the cravings, and then drugs +are used. + +Improper eating, chiefly overeating, causes most of the ills to which +man is heir. If people would learn to be moderate in all things disease +and early death would be very rare. + +It is quite important to combine foods properly, but the worst +combinations of food eaten in moderation are harmless, as compared to +the damage done by overeating of the best foods. Overeating is with us +from the cradle to the grave. It shortens our days and fills them with +woe. + +There is a hoary belief that a pregnant woman must eat for two. The +mothers have generally obeyed this dictum. The result is that women +suffer greatly during pregnancy and at childbirth. The morning sickness, +the aching back, the headache, the swollen legs and all of the +discomforts and diseases from which civilized woman suffers during this +period are mostly due to improper eating. Pregnancy and childbirth are +physiologic and are devoid of any great amount of discomfort, pain or +danger when women lead normal lives. + +The overeating affects both mother and child. The mothers are often +injured or lose their lives during childbirth. Sometimes labor is so +protracted that the child dies and at other times the baby is so large +that it can not be born naturally. The mother's suffering is frequently +very great. In fact, it is at times so great that it is like a +threatening storm cloud to many women, and some of them refuse to become +mothers for this reason. + +Babies born of normal mothers, who have lived moderately on a +non-stimulating diet during gestation, are small. They rarely weigh more +than six pounds. Their bones are flexible. The skull can easily be +moulded because the bones are very cartilaginous. The result is that +childbirth is rapid and practically devoid of pain. However, there are +very few normal mothers, and consequently normal babies are also rare. + +A heavy baby is never healthy. Its growth has been forced by excessive +maternal feeding. It is no hardier than other growing things which +result from hot-house methods. Such babies show early signs of catarrhal +afflictions, indigestion or skin disease. Their bodies are filled with +poisons before they are born. + +Mothers who overeat invariably overfeed their babies. And why should +they do otherwise? Family, friends and physicians give the same advice: +The mother must eat much to be able to feed the child, and the child +must be fed frequently in order to grow. It sounds very plausible, but +it does not work well in practice. + +Why are babies cross? Why do they soon show catarrhal symptoms? Why do +they vomit so much? Why are they so subject to stomach and intestinal +disorders? Why do they have skin eruptions? Because they are overfed. + +The diseases of babies are almost entirely of digestive origin, and in +nearly every instance overfeeding is the cause. Statistics show that +about one-fifth of the babies born die before they are one year old. In +nearly every instance the parents are to blame. One's intentions may be +good, but good intentions coupled with wrong actions are deadly to +infants. Oscar Wilde wrote, "We kill the thing we love." Parental love +too often takes the form of indulging them and so it happens that +hundreds of thousands of little ones are placed in their coffins +annually through love. + +Each year about 280,000 babies under one year of age perish in the +United States, according to estimates based on census figures. Outside +of accidental deaths, which are but a small per cent., the mortality +should be practically nil. It is natural for children to be well, and +healthy children do not die. If an army of about 280,000 of our men and +women were to perish in a spectacular manner each year it would cause +such sorrow and indignation that a remedy would soon be found. But we +are so accustomed to the procession of little caskets to the grave that +it hardly arouses comment. It costs too much in every way to produce +life to waste it so lavishly. + +Why do little children suffer so much from eruptive diseases, whooping +cough, tonsilitis, adenoids, diphtheria and numerous other diseases? +Because they are overfed. The younger the child the greater is the per +cent. of disease due to wrong feeding. In adult life overeating and +eating improperly otherwise are still the principal causes of disease. +But during adult life the causation of disease is more complex than in +childhood, for the senses have been more fully developed and instead of +confining our physical sins to overeating we fall prey to the abuse of +various appetites and passions. + +Vigorous adults are often the victims of pneumonia, typhoid fever and +tuberculosis. Overeating is chiefly to blame, not the bacteria which are +given as the principal cause. + +Rheumatism, kidney disease and diseases that manifest in hardening of +the various tissues, all being forms of degeneration, are quite common. +Again, the principal cause is overeating. + +There are a great number of people who live many years without any +special disease, but who are always on the brink of being ill. They are +full-blooded and too corpulent. Although they are often considered +successful, they are never fully efficient either physically or +mentally. They do not know what good health is, but they are so +accustomed to their state of toleration that they consider themselves +healthy. They are rather proud of their stoutness and their friends +mistake their precarious condition for health. These people often die +suddenly, and friends and acquaintances are very much surprised. No +healthy man dies suddenly and unexpectedly except by accident. + +Instead of growing old gracefully, in possession of our senses and +faculties, we die prematurely or go into physical and mental decay. +Bleary eyes, pettiness, childishness and lost mental faculties are no +part of nature's plan for advanced years. Those manifestations result +from man's improvement on nature! + +From birth to death we are victims of this terrible ogre of overeating. +It deprives us of friends and relatives. It takes away our strength and +health. It makes us mentally inefficient and cowardly. At last it +deprives us of life when our work is not half done and our days should +not be half run. + +How is it possible, you may ask, that this is true? Of course, +overeating is not the only cause, but it is the overwhelming one. It is +the basic cause. Aided by other bad habits it conquers us. We are what +we are because of our parentage, plus what we eat, drink, breathe and +think, and the eating largely influences the other factors of life. + +Cholera infantum causes the death of many babies. It never occurs in +babies who are fed moderately on natural, clean food, not to exceed +three or four times a day. The child is cross. The mother thinks that it +is cross because it is hungry and accordingly feeds. The real cause of +the irritability is the overfeeding that has already taken place. The +baby has had so much milk that it is unable to digest all of it. A part +of the milk spoils in the digestive tract. This fermented material is +partly absorbed and irritates the whole system. A part of it remains in +the alimentary tract where it acts as a direct local irritant to the +intestines. When these are irritated, the blood-vessels begin to pour +out their serum to soothe the bowels and the result is diarrhea. The +sick child is fed often. Digestive power is practically absent. The +additional food given ferments and more serum has to be thrown out to +protect the intestinal walls. Soon there is a well established case of +cholera infantum. + +If only enough food had been given to satisfy bodily requirements, none +of the milk would have spoiled in the alimentary tract. If all feeding +had been stopped as soon as the child became irritable and pinched +looking about the mouth and nose, and all the water desired had been +given and the child kept warm, there would have been no serious disease. +In these cases, the less food given the quicker the recoveries and the +fewer the fatalities. + +Another common disease of childhood is adenoids. To talk of these +maladies as diseases is rather misleading, for they are merely symptoms +of perverted nutrition, but we are compelled to make the best of our +medical language. + +Adenoids are due to indigestion. The indigestion is due to overeating. +This is how it comes about: A child eats more than can be digested, +generally bolting the food, which is often of a mushy character. The +excessive amount of food can not be digested, and as the intestines and +the stomach are moist and have a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, +fermentation soon takes place. Some of the results of fermentation in +the alimentary tract are acids, gases and bacterial poisons. These +deleterious substances are absorbed into the blood stream and go to all +parts of the body, acting as irritants. We do not know why they cause +adenoids in one child and catarrh in another. It is easy enough to say +that children are predisposed that way, which is no information at all. +It seems that all of us have some weak point, and here disease has a +tendency to localize. What part the sympathetic nervous system plays, we +do not know. Glandular tissue is rather unstable and therefore it +becomes diseased easily and adenoids are therefore quite frequent. + +A coated tongue, or an irritated tongue, both due to indigestion, is a +concomitant of adenoids. Such diseases do not merely happen. There are +good reasons for their appearance. They are not reflections on the +child, but they are on the parents who should have the right knowledge +and should take time and pains enough to educate and train the child +into health. + +Tuberculosis is one of the results of ruined nutrition. First there is +overeating. This causes indigestion. The irritating products of food +fermenting in the alimentary tract are taken up by the blood. The blood +goes to the lungs where it irritates the delicate mucous membrane. In +self-protection it begins to secrete an excess of mucus and if the +irritation is great enough, pus. The various bacteria are incidental. +The tubercular bacillus is never able to gain a foothold in healthy +lungs, but after degeneration of lung-tissue has taken place the lungs +furnish a splendid home for this bacillus. The tubercular bacillus is a +scavenger and therefore does not thrive in healthy bodies. It is the +result of disease, not the cause. + +Tubercular subjects never have healthy digestive organs. Unfortunately, +nearly all of them are persuaded to eat many times more food than they +can digest, and thus they have no opportunity to recover, for the +overfeeding ruins the digestive and assimilative powers beyond +recuperative ability. A large per cent. of the human race perish +miserably from this disease, which results principally from the +ingestion of too much food. The liberal use of such devitalized foods as +sterilized milk, refined sugar and finely bolted wheat flour is +doubtless a great factor in so reducing bodily resistance that the +system falls an easy prey to disease. Too little breathing and poor, +devitalized air are also important factors. + +There are many causes of rheumatism, but overeating is the chief and it +is very doubtful if a case of rheumatism can develop without this main +cause. Exposure is often given as the cause, but a healthy man with a +clean body does not become rheumatic. + +Rheumatism is due to internal filth. A filthy alimentary tract makes +filthy blood. Some say that the poison in rheumatism is uric acid, and +perhaps it is, but there are no uric acid deposits in the body of a +prudent eater. The elimination in this disease is imperfect. The skin, +the kidneys, the bowels and the lungs do not throw out the debris as +they should. Perhaps only one or two of these organs are acting +inadequately. The debris is stored up in the system. + +Why do the organs of elimination fail to act? Because so much work is +thrust upon them that they grow weary and worn; also, a part of the +material furnished them is the product of decay in the alimentary tract, +and they can not thrive on poor material. Too much food is eaten. An +excess of nutritive material, poorly digested, is absorbed. And so we +come back to the principal cause, overeating. + +When the eliminative organs fail to perform their function, the waste is +deposited in those parts of the body which are weakened. The irritation +from these foreign substances causes inflammation and the result is +pain. The extent to which this depositing of material will go is well +illustrated in some cases of multiple articular rheumatism, or arthritis +deformans, where the deposits are so great that many of the joints +become fixed (anchylosed). + +We could review all the diseases, and nearly every time we would come +back to disturbed nutrition as the principal factor, and this is true of +not only physical ills, but the mental ones as well. + +Various foods do not combine well, still if they are eaten in moderation +they do but little harm. If we overeat, the evil results are bound to +manifest, no matter how good the food, though it sometimes takes years +before they are perceptible. The effects are cumulative. Each day there +is a little fermentation with absorption of the poisonous products. Each +day the body degenerates a little. The time always comes when the body +can continue its work no longer, and then the individual must choose +between reform on one hand and suffering or death on the other. + +It is very difficult to convince people that they eat too much. Indeed, +the average person is a small eater, in his own estimation. We have been +educated into consuming such vast quantities of food that we hardly know +what moderation is. In the past, physiologists and observers have +watched the amount of food that people could coax down and this they +have called the normal amount of food. This is far from the truth. The +average American eats at least two times as much as he can digest, +assimilate and use to advantage. Many eat three and four times too much. +However, nature is very tolerant for a while. Most of us start out with +a fair amount of resistance and are thus enabled to live to the age of +forty or fifty in spite of abuses. If we could only dispense with our +excesses, we could double or treble our life span, live better, get more +enjoyment out of life and give the world more and better work than we +can under present conditions. + +There is much talk of food shortage. The amount of food consumed and +wasted annually in the United States is enough to feed 200,000,000 +people. Even with our present knowledge we can easily produce twice as +much per acre as we are averaging, and we are tilling only about +one-fourth of the land that could be made productive. If we use our +brains there is little danger of starving. What is needed now is not +more food, but intelligent distribution and consumption of what we +produce. + +We hear of cases of undernourishment. This doubtless occurs at times in +the congested parts of great centers of populations. But there are not +so many cases suffering from want of the proper quantity of food as from +want of quality of food. Bread of finely bolted white flour is +starvation food, no matter how great the quantity, unless other food +rich in organic salts is also eaten. + +The overeating habit is so common and comes on so insidiously that the +sufferers do not realize that they are eating to excess. The resultant +discomforts are blamed on other things. Babies are fed every two hours +or oftener. They should be fed but three or at most four times a day, +and never at night. When able to eat solid foods they get three meals a +day and generally two or more lunches. Some children seem to be lunching +at all times. They have fruit or bread and butter with jelly or jam in +the hand almost all the time. They are encouraged to eat much and often +to produce growth and strength. This kind of feeding often does produce +large children, heavy in weight, but they are not healthy. Sad to +relate, the excess causes disease and death. + +Such frequent feeding allows the digestive organs no rest. The overwork +imposed upon them and the fermentation cause irritation. This irritation +manifests in a constant and almost irresistible desire for food, as does +the consumption of much alcohol cause a desire for more alcohol, as the +use of morphine or cocaine produces a dominating and ruinous appetite +for more of these drugs. These appetites grow by what they feed upon. +Man ceases to be master and becomes the abject slave of his abnormal +cravings. + +Slaves of alcohol and the various habit-forming drugs generally lack the +strength of body and mind to assert themselves and to regain mastery of +themselves. Coffee and tea have their victims, though they are generally +not very firmly enslaved. No one realizes how he is bound by his +cravings for an excessive amount of food until he tries to break the +bonds. Such people may eat moderately for days, perhaps for weeks, and +then the old appetite reasserts itself in all its strength and unless +the sufferer has a very strong will a food debauch follows. I have seen +men go from one restaurant to another, consuming enormous quantities of +food to efface the awful craving, just as men go from one saloon to +another to satisfy their desire for alcohol. The gluttons often look +with the greatest contempt upon the slaves of liquor. But what is the +difference? No matter what appetite, what habit, what passion has gained +the mastery, we are slaves. The important thing is to keep out of +slavery, or break the bonds and regain freedom. + +Those who eat to excess often eat more than three times a day. They take +a little candy now, a little fruit then, or they go to the drug store +for a glass of malted milk or buttermilk, which they call drinks, or +they take a dish of ice cream. The housewife nibbles at cake or bread. +If a person is in fair health and wishes to evolve into self-mastery and +good health, he should make up his mind never to eat more than three +times a day. Nothing but plain water should enter his mouth except at +meal times. + +Next he should limit the number of articles eaten at a meal. The +breakfast and lunch should each consist of no more than two or three +varieties of food. The dinner should not exceed five or six varieties, +and if that many are eaten, they should be compatible. Less would be be +better. The less variety we have, the better the food digests. Also, +eating ten or twelve or more kinds of food, as many people do, always +leads to overeating. A little of this added to a little of that soon +makes a too great total. It is easy to eat all one should of a certain +article of food and feel satisfied, and then change off to something +else and before one is through one has eaten three or four times as much +as necessary. If the meal is to consist of starch there is no great +objection to a small amount of bread, potatoes, rice, macaroni and +chestnuts. However, a normal person does not need to coax food down by +using great variety. Those who mix their foods this way invariably +overeat. Besides, the various starches require different periods for +digestion. Rice is more easily disposed of than bread. Each new item +stimulates the desire for more food. It is best, when having potatoes, +to have no other starchy food in that meal; or when bread is eaten, to +have no potatoes or other starchy food. The habit of eating meat, +potatoes and bread in the same meal is very common and causes much +disease. + +Next the searcher for health should teach himself to eat foods that are +natural, cooked simply, and with a minimum amount of seasoning and +dressing. The various spices and sauces irritate the digestive organs +and create a craving for an excessive amount of food. The food should be +changed as little as possible because such denatured foods as white +flour, polished rice, pasteurized milk, and many of the canned fruits +and vegetables are so lacking in the natural salts that they do not +satisfy one's desire for organic salts. Overeating results. + +Preserves, jellies and jams are open to the same objection. They cause +an abnormal desire for food. Therefore, they should be used seldom and +very sparingly. So long as apples, oranges, figs, dates, raisins, sweet +prunes and various other fruits can be had, there is no excuse for the +consumption of great quantities of the heavily sugared concoctions which +are now so popular. + +Simplicity and naturalness are great aids in breaking away from food +slavery. They are discussed more fully elsewhere. In the next chapter +will be found hints on the solution of the normal amount of food to be +eaten. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +DAILY FOOD INTAKE. + +It is generally believed that the more we eat the better. Physicians say +that it is necessary to eat heartily when well to retain health and +strength. When ill it is necessary to consume much food to regain lost +health and strength. "Eat all you can of nourishing food," is a common +free prescription, and it sounds very reasonable. The physicians of +today are not to blame for this belief in overeating, for they were +taught thus at college, and very few men in any line do original +thinking. It has been a racial belief for centuries and no one now +living is responsible. When a physician advocates what he honestly +believes he is doing his best, "and angels can do no more." + +When a child loses its appetite, the parents worry, for they think that +it is very harmful for young people to go without food for a few meals. +A lost appetite is nature's signal to quit eating, and it should always +be heeded. If it is, it will prevent much disease and suffering and will +save many lives. + +The present-day mode of preparing food leads to overeating. The sense of +taste is ruined by the stimulants put into the food. Dishes are so +numerous and so temptingly made that more is eaten than can be digested +and assimilated. Refined sugar, salt, the various spices, pickles, +sauces and preserves all lead to overeating because of stimulation. The +same is true of alcohol taken immediately before meals. If we only give +nature a chance, and are perfectly frank and honest with ourselves, she +will guard us against the overconsumption of food. Those who eat but few +varieties of plain food at a meal are not sorely tempted to overeat. But +when one savory dish is served after another it takes much will power to +be moderate. + +People generally have had more than sufficient before the last course is +served. However, the various dishes have different flavors and for this +reason the palate is overwhelmed and accepts more food than is good for +us. + +Men who like to call their work scientific, figure on the amount of food +we need to furnish a certain number of heat units--calories. Heat, of +course, is a form of energy. Basing the body's food requirements on heat +units expended does not solve the problem. The more food that is +ingested, the more heat units must be manufactured, and often so much +food is taken that the body is compelled to go into the heating +business. Then we have fevers. + +A large part of the heat is given off by the skin. Those who overeat are +compelled to do a great deal of radiating. This excessive amount of fuel +taken into the system in the form of food, wears out the body. As +figured by the experts, it gives a result of food need that is at least +twice as great as necessary. Experience is the only correct guide to +food requirements, and each individual has to settle the matter for +himself. The human body is not exactly a chemical laboratory, nor is it +an engine which can be fed so much fuel with the resultant production of +such and such an amount of heat and energy. Some bodies are more +efficient than others. It is among human beings as among the lower +animals, some require more food than others. + +We need enough food to repair the waste, to perform our work and to +furnish heat. Every muscle contraction uses up a little energy. Every +breath deprives us of heat and carries away carbon dioxide, the latter +being formed by oxidation of tissues in the body. Every minute we lose +heat by radiation from the skin. Every thought requires a small amount +of food. If we worry, the leak of nervous energy is tremendous, but at +the same time we put ourselves in position where we are unable to +replenish our stock, for worry ruins digestion. All this expenditure of +energy and loss of heat must be made up for by the food intake. Only a +small amount of surplus food can be stored in the body. Some fat can be +stored as fat. Some starch and sugar can be put aside as either +glycogen--animal sugar--or be changed into fat. This storing of excess +food is very limited, except in cases of obesity, which is a disease. + +Overeating invariably causes disease. It may take two or three years, +yes even twenty or thirty years, before the overeating results in +serious illness, but the results are certain, and in the meanwhile the +individual is never up to par. He can use neither body nor mind to the +best advantage. + +To emphasize and illustrate these remarks, I shall copy a few diet +lists, which their authors consider reasonable and correct for the +average person for one day, and I shall give my comments. The first is +taken from Kirke's Physiology, which has been used extensively as a +text-book in medical colleges: + + 340 grams lean uncooked meat, + 600 " bread, + 90 " butter, + 28 " cheese, + 225 " potatoes, + 225 " carrots. + +An ounce contains 28.3 grams; a pound, 453 grams. It is easy to figure +these quantities of food in ounces or pounds, which give a better idea +to the average person. + +It is self-evident that this is too much food. Over twelve ounces of +lean, uncooked meat, over twenty-one ounces of bread, almost one-half of +a pound each of potatoes and carrots, about an ounce of cheese and over +three ounces of butter make enough food for two days, even for a big +eater. He who tries to live up to a diet of this kind is sure to suffer +disease and early death. + +The average loaf of bread weighs about fourteen ounces. Here we are told +to devour one-half of a pound of carrots (for which other vegetables +such as turnips, parsnips, beets or cabbage may be substituted), +one-half of a pound of potatoes, three-fourths of a pound of lean raw +meat, which loses some weight in cooking, a loaf and one-half of bread, +besides butter and cheese. The vast majority of people can not eat more +than one-third of this amount and retain efficiency and health, but many +eat even more. + +The next table is taken from Dr. I. Burney Yeo's book on diet, and is +given as the food required daily by a "well nourished worker": + + 151.3 grams meat, + 48.1 " white of egg, + 450.0 " bread, + 500.0 " milk, + 1065.9 " beer, + 60.2 " suet, + 30.0 " butter, + 70.0 " starch, + 17.0 " sugar, + 4.9 " salt. + +This worker is too well fed. Often those who are so well fed are poorly +nourished, for the excessive amount of food ruins the nutrition, after +which the food is poorly digested and assimilated. This worker eats so +much that he will be compelled to do manual labor all his days, for such +feeding prevents effective thinking. + +The following daily average diet is taken from the book, "Diet and +Dietetics," by A. Gauthier, a well known authority on the subject of the +nutritive needs of the body. Mr. Gauthier averaged the daily food intake +of the inhabitants of Paris for the ten years from 1890 to 1899, +inclusive. He takes it for granted that this is the average daily food +requirement for a person: + + 420.0 grams bread and cakes, + 216.0 " boned meat, + 24.1 " eggs (weighed with shell), + 8.1 " cheese (dry or cream), + 28.0 " butter, oil, etc., + 70.0 " fresh fruit, + 250.0 " green vegetables, + 40.0 " dried vegetables, + 100.0 " potatoes, rice, + 40.0 " sugar, + 20.0 " salt, + 213.0 C. C. milk, + 557.0 C. C. of various alcoholics, containing + 9.5 C. C. of pure alcohol. + +So long as the Parisians consume such quantities of food they will +continue to suffer and die before they reach one-half of the age that +should be theirs. The French eat no more than do other people, in fact, +they seem moderate in their food intake as compared with some of the +Germans, English and Americans, but they eat too much for their physical +and mental good. + +The lists given above are from sources that command the respect of the +medical profession. They are the orthodox and popular opinions. It would +be an easy matter to give many more tables, but they agree so closely +that it would be a waste of time and space. + +Quantitative tables from vegetarian sources are not so common. The +vegetarians say that meat eating is wrong, being contrary to nature. +Whether they are right or wrong, they make the same mistakes that the +orthodox prescribers do, that is, they advocate overeating. Medical +textbooks prescribe a too abundant supply of starch and meat in +particular. The vegetarians prescribe a superabundance of starch. Read +the magazines advocating vegetarianism and note their menus, giving +numerous cereals, tubers, peas, beans, lentils, as well as other +vegetables, for the same meal. It is as easy to overeat of nuts and +protein in leguminous vegetables as it is to overeat of meat. + +Starch poisoning is as bad as meat poisoning and the results are equally +fatal. + +The following are suggestions offered by a fruitarian. They give the +food intake for two days: + + 120 grams shelled peanuts, raw, + 1000 " apples, + 500 " unfermented whole wheat bread. + + 120 grams shelled filberts, + 450 " raisins, + 800 " bananas. + +In the first day's menu it will be noted that over two pounds of apples +and over one pound of whole wheat bread are recommended, also over four +ounces of raw peanuts. The writer says that this food should preferably +be taken in two meals. There are very few people with enough digestive +and assimilative power to care for more than one-half of a pound of +whole wheat bread twice a day, especially when taken with raw peanuts, +which are rather hard to digest. The trouble is made worse by the +addition of more than one pound of apples to each meal, for when apples +in large quantities are eaten with liberal amounts of starch, the +tendency for the food to ferment is so strong that only a very few +escape. Gas is produced in great quantities, which is both unnatural and +unpleasant. Neither stomach nor bowels manufacture any perceptible +amount of gas if they are in good condition and a moderate amount of +food is taken. + +Whole wheat bread digests easily enough when eaten in moderation, but it +is very difficult to digest when as much as eight ounces are taken at a +meal. One can accustom the body to accept this amount of food, but it is +never required under ordinary conditions and the results in the long run +are bad. + +The food prescribed for the second day is more easily digested, but it +is too much. Raisins are a splendid force food, but no ordinary +individual needs a pound of raisins in one day, in addition to about one +and three-fourths pounds of bananas, which are also a force food and are +about as nourishing as the same amount of Irish potatoes. + +In all my reading it has not been my good fortune to find a diet table +for healthy people, giving moderate quantities of food. Diet lists seem +scientific, so they appeal to the mind that has not learned to think of +the subject from the correct point of view. Quantitative diet tables are +worthless, for one person may need more than another. Some are short and +some are tall. Some are naturally slender and others of stocky build. +There is as much difference in people's food needs as there is in their +appearance. To try to fit the same quantity and even kind of food to all +is as senseless as it would be to dress all in garments of identical +size and cut. + +If we eat in moderation it does not make much difference what we eat, +provided our diet contains either raw fruits or raw vegetables enough to +furnish the various mineral salts and the food is fairly well prepared. +There are combinations that are not ideal, but they do very little harm +if there is no overeating. People who are moderate in their eating +generally relish simple foods. Unfortunately, there is but little +moderation in eating. From childhood on the suggestion that it is +necessary to eat liberally is ever before us. Medical men, grandparents, +parents and neighbors think and talk alike. If the parents believe in +moderation, the neighbors kindly give lunches to the children. It is +really difficult to raise children right, especially in towns and +cities. + +After such training we learn to believe in overeating and we pass the +belief on to the next generation, as it has in the past been handed down +from generation to generation. Finally we die, many of us martyrs to +overconsumption of food. Ask any healer of intelligence who has thrown +off the blinders put on at college and who has allowed himself to think +without fear, and he will tell you that at least nine-tenths of our ills +come from improper eating habits. It is not difficult to make up menus +of compatible foods. No one knows how much another should eat, and he +who prepares quantitative diet tables for the multitude must fail. + +However, every individual of ordinary intelligence can quickly learn his +own food requirements and the key thereto is given by nature. It is not +well to think of one's self much or often. It is not well to be +introspective, but everyone should get acquainted with himself, learning +to know himself well enough to treat himself with due consideration. We +are taught kindness to others. We need to be taught kindness to +ourselves. The average person ought to be able to learn his normal food +requirements within three or four months, and a shorter time will often +suffice. + +The following observations will prove helpful to the careful reader: + +Food should have a pleasant taste while it is being eaten, but should +not taste afterwards. If it does it is a sign of indigestion following +overeating, or else it indicates improper combinations or very poor +cooking. Perhaps food was taken when there was no desire for it, which +is always a mistake. Perhaps too many foods were combined in the meal. +Or it may be that there was not enough mouth preparation. It is +generally due to overeating. Cabbage, onions, cucumbers and various +other foods which often repeat, will not do so when properly prepared +and eaten in moderation, if other conditions are right. + +Eructation of gas and gas in the bowels are indications of overeating. +More food is taken than can be digested. A part of it ferments and gas +is a product of fermentation. A very small amount of gas in the +alimentary tract is natural, but when there is belching or rumbling of +gas in the intestines it is a sign of indigestion, which may be so mild +that the individual is not aware of it, or it may be so bad that he can +think of little else. When there is formation of much gas it is always +necessary to reduce the food intake, and to give special attention to +the mastication of all starch-containing aliments. Also, if starches and +sour fruits have been combined habitually, this combination should be +given up. Starch digests in an alkaline medium, and if it is taken with +much acid by those whose digestive powers are weak, the result is +fermentation instead of digestion. + +People should never eat enough to experience a feeling of languor. They +should quit eating before they feel full. If there is a desire to sleep +after meals, too much food has been ingested. When drowsiness possesses +us after meals we have eaten so much that the digestive organs require +so much blood that there is not enough left for the brain. This is a +hint that if we have work or study that requires exceptional clearness +of mind, we should eat very moderately or not at all immediately before. +The digestive organs appropriate the needed amount of blood and the +brain refuses to do its best when deprived of its normal supply of +oxygen and nourishment. + +Serpents, some beasts of prey and savages devour such large quantities +of food at times that they go into a stupor. There is no excuse for our +patterning after them now that a supply of food is easily obtained at +all times. + +A bad taste in the mouth is usually a sign of overeating. It comes from +the decomposition following a too liberal food intake. If water has a +bad taste in the morning or at any other time, it indicates overeating. +It may be due to a filthy mouth or the use of alcohol. + +Heartburn is also due to overeating, and so is hiccough; both come from +fermentation of food in the alimentary tract. + +A heavily coated tongue in the morning indicates excessive food intake. +If the tongue is what is known as a dirty gray color it shows that the +owner has been overeating for years. The normal mucous membrane is clean +and pink. The mucous membrane of the mouth, stomach and the first part +of the bowels should not be compelled to act as an organ of excretion, +for the normal function is secretory and absorptive. However, when so +much food is eaten that the skin, lungs, kidneys and lower bowel can not +throw off all the waste and excess, the mucous membrane in the upper +part of the alimentary tract must assist. The result is a coated tongue, +but the tongue is in no worse condition than the mucous membrane of the +stomach. A coated tongue indicates overcrowded nutrition and is nature's +request to reduce the food intake. How much? Enough to clean the tongue. +If the coating is chronic it may take several months before the tongue +becomes clean. + +A muddy skin, perhaps pimply, is another sign of overeating. It shows +that the food intake is so great that the body tries to eliminate too +many of the solids through the skin, which becomes irritated from this +cause and the too acid state of the system and then there is +inflammation. Many forms of eczema and a great many other skin diseases +are caused by stomach disorders and an overcrowded nutrition. There is a +limit to the skin's excretory ability, and when this is exceeded skin +diseases ensue. Some of the so-called incurable skin diseases get well +in a short time on a proper diet without any local treatment. + +Dull eyes and a greenish tinge of the whites of the eyes point toward +digestive disturbances due to an oversupply of food. The green color +comes from bile thrown into the blood when the liver is overworked. The +liver is never overtaxed unless the consumption of food is excessive. + +Another very common sign of too generous feeding is catarrh, and it does +not matter where the catarrh is located. It is true that there are other +causes of catarrh, in fact, anything that irritates the mucous membrane +any length of time will cause it, but an overcrowded nutrition causes +the ordinary cases. It is the same old story: The mucous membrane is +forced to take on the function of eliminating superfluous matter, which +has been taken into the system in the form of food. Many people dedicate +their lives to the act of turning a superabundance of food into waste, +and as a result they overwork their bodies so that they are never well +physically and seldom efficient mentally. + +Many people, especially women, say that if they miss a meal or get it +later than usual, they suffer from headache. This indicates that the +feeding is wrong, generally too generous and often too stimulating. A +normal person can miss a dozen meals without a sign of a headache. + +To repeat: No one can tell how much another should eat, but everyone can +learn for himself what the proper amount of food is. Enough is given +above to help solve the problem. The interpretations presented are not +the popular ones, but they are true for they give good results when +acted upon. + +If bad results follow a meal there has been overeating, either at the +last meal or previously. Undermasticating usually accompanies overeating +and causes further trouble. Those who masticate thoroughly are generally +quite moderate in their food intake. + +Many say that they eat so much because they enjoy their food so. He who +eats too rapidly or in excess does not know what true enjoyment of food +is. Excessive eating causes food poisoning, and food poisoning blunts +all the special senses. To have normal smell, taste, hearing and vision +one must be clean through and through, and those who are surfeited with +food are not clean internally. + +The average individual does not know the natural taste of most foods. He +seasons them so highly that the normal taste is hidden or destroyed. +Those who wish to know the exquisite flavor of such common foods as +onions, carrots, cabbage, apples and oranges must eat them without +seasoning or dressing for a while. To get real enjoyment from food it is +necessary to eat slowly and in moderation. + +I know both from personal experience and from the experience of others +that seasoning is not necessary. Instead of giving the foods better +flavor, they taste inferior. A little salt will harm no one, but the +constant use of much seasoning leads to irritation of the digestive +organs and to overeating. Salt taken in excess also helps to bring on +premature aging. It is splendid for pickling and preserving, but health +and life in abundance are the only preservatives needed for the body. +Refined sugar should be classed among the condiments. People who live +normally lose the desire for it. Grapefruit, for instance, tastes better +when eaten plain than when sugar is added. + +People who sleep seven or eight hours and wake up feeling unrefreshed +are suffering from the ingestion of too much food. A food poisoned +individual can not be properly rested. To get sweet sleep and feel +restored it is necessary to have clean blood and a sweet alimentary +tract. + +Much has been said about overeating. Once in a while a person will +habitually undereat, but such cases are exceedingly rare. To undereat is +foolish. At all times we must use good sense. It is a subject upon which +no fixed rules can be promulgated. Be guided by the feelings, for +perfect health is impossible to those who lack balance. + +Those who think they need scientific direction may take one of the +orthodox diet tables. If it contains alcoholics, remove them from the +list. Then partake of about one-third of the starch recommended, and +about one-third of the protein. Use more fresh fruit and fresh +vegetables than listed. Instead of eating bread made from white flour, +use whole wheat bread. Do not try to eat everything given on the +scientific diet list each day. For instance, rice, potatoes and bread +are given in many of these tables. Select one of these starches one day, +another the next day, etc. If one-third of the amount recommended is too +much, and it sometimes is, reduce still further. + +Please bear in mind that the orthodox way, the so-called scientific way, +has been tried over a long period of time and it has given very poor +results. Moderation has always given good results and always will. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +WHAT TO EAT. + +It is very important to eat the right kind of food, but it is even more +important to be balanced and use common sense. Those who are moderate in +their habits and cheerful can eat almost anything with good results. Of +course, people who live almost entirely on such denatured foods as +polished rice, finely bolted wheat flour products, sterilized milk and +meat spoiled in the cooking, refined sugar and potatoes deprived of most +of their salts through being soaked and cooked will suffer. + +There are many different diet systems, and some of them are very good. +If their advocates say that their way is the only way, they are wrong. +Many try to force their ideas upon others. They find their happiness in +making others miserable. They are afflicted with the proselyting zeal +that makes fools of people. This is the wrong way to solve the food +problem. Let each individual choose his own way and allow those who +differ to continue in the old way. + +Many have changed their dietary habits to their own great benefit. After +this they become so enthused and anxious for others to do likewise that +they wear themselves and others out exhorting them to share in the new +discovery. This does no good, but it often does harm, for it leads the +zealot to think too much of and about himself, and it annoys others. + +Many are like my friend who lunched daily on zwieback and raw carrots. +"I think everybody ought to eat some raw carrots every day; don't you?" +she said. We can not mold everybody to our liking, and we should not +try. If we conquer ourselves, we have about all we can do. If we succeed +in this great work, we will evolve enough tolerance to be willing to +allow others to shape their own ends. To volunteer undesired information +does no good, for it creates opposition in the mind of the hearers. If +the information is sought, the chances are that it may in time do good. +It is well enough to indicate how and where better knowledge may be +obtained. We should at all times attempt to conserve our energy and use +it only when and where it is helpful. Such conduct leads to peace of +mind, effectiveness, happiness and health. + +The tendency to become too enthusiastic about a dietary regime that has +brought personal benefit is to be avoided, for it brings unnecessary +odium upon the important subject of food reform. People do not like to +change old habits, even if the change would be for the better, and when +an enthusiast tries to force the change his actions are resented. He +makes no real converts, but as pay for his efforts he gains the +reputation of being a crank. + +Those who wish to be helpful in an educational way should be patient. +The race has been in the making for ages. Its good habits, as well as +its bad ones, have been acquired gradually. If we ever get rid of our +bad habits it will be through gradual evolution, not through a hasty +revolution. We need a change in dietary habits, but those who become +food cranks, insisting that others be as they, retard this movement. +Only a few will change physical and mental habits suddenly. If those who +know are content to show the benefits more in results than in words, +their influence for good will be great. + +What shall we eat? How are we to know the truth among so many +conflicting ideas? We can know the truth because it leads to health. +Error leads to suffering, degeneration and premature death. As the +homely saying goes, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." + +Let us look into some of the diet theories before the public and give +them thoughtful consideration. + +The late Dr. J. H. Salisbury advocated the use of water to drink and +meat to eat, and nothing else. The water was to be taken warm and in +copious quantities, but not at or near meal time. The meat, preferably +beef, was to be scraped or minced, made into cakes and cooked in a very +warm skillet until the cakes turned gray within. These meat cakes were +to be eaten three times a day, seasoned with salt and a little pepper. + +The doctor had a very successful practice, which is attested by many who +were benefited when ordinary medical skill failed. His diet was not well +balanced. In meats there is a lack of the cell salts and force food. +Especially are the cell salts lacking when the flesh is drained of its +blood. The animals of prey drink the blood and crunch many of the bones +of their victims, thus getting nearly all the salts. But in spite of his +giving such an unbalanced diet, the doctor had a satisfactory practice +and good success. Why? Because his patients had to quit using narcotics +and stimulants and they were compelled to consume such simple food that +they ceased overeating. It is a well known fact that a mono-diet forces +moderation, for there is no desire to overeat, as there is when living +on a very varied diet. + +Another fact that the Salisbury plan brings to mind is that starch and +sugar are not necessary for the feeding of adults, although they are +convenient and cheap foods and ordinarily consumed in large quantities. +The fat in the meat takes the place of the starch and sugar. Atomically, +starch, sugar and fat are almost identical, and they can be substituted +one for the other. Nature makes broad provisions. + +Dr. Salisbury's career also serves to remind us that a mixed diet is not +necessary for the physical welfare of those who eat to live. Vegetarians +dwell upon the toxicity of meat. But Dr. Salisbury fed his patients on +nothing but meat and water, and the percentage of recoveries in chronic +diseases was considered remarkable. Meat is very easy to digest and when +prepared in the simple manner prescribed by the doctor and eaten by +itself it will agree with nearly everybody. But when eaten with soup, +bread, potatoes, vegetables, cooked and raw, fish, pudding, fruit, +coffee, crackers and cheese, there will be overeating followed by +indigestion and its consequent train of ills. However, it is not fair to +blame the meat entirely, for the whole mixture goes into decomposition +and poisons the body. + +The cures resulting from Dr. Salisbury's plan also help to disprove the +much heralded theory of Dr. Haig, that uric acid from meat eating is the +cause of rheumatism. Overeating of meat is often a contributory cause. +We are told that the rheumatics who followed Dr. Salisbury's plan got +well. They regained physical tone. They lost their gout and rheumatism. +They parted company with their pimples and blotches. All of which would +indicate that the blood became clean. + +The chief lesson derived from Dr. Salisbury's plan and experience is the +helpfulness of simple living and moderation. An exclusive diet of meat +is not well balanced. Energy produced from flesh food is too expensive. +The good results came from substituting habits of simplicity and +moderation for the habit of overeating of too great variety of food. The +same results may be obtained by putting a patient on bread and milk. + +Dr. Salisbury's patients had unsatisfied longings, doubtless for various +tissue salts. The addition of fresh raw fruits or vegetables would +improve his diet, for apples, peaches, pears, lettuce, celery and +cabbage are rich in the salts in which meats are deficient. + +Dr. Emmet Densmore recommended omitting the starches entirely, that is, +to avoid such foods as cereals, tubers and legumes. He believed that it +is best to live on fruits and nuts. He recommended the sweet +fruits--figs, dates, raisins, prunes--instead of the starchy foods. The +doctor did much good, as everyone does who gets his patients to +simplify. He also had good results before discovering that starch is a +harmful food, when he fed his patients bread and milk. + +Starch must be converted into sugar before it can be used by the body. +The sugar is what is known as dextrose, not the refined sugar of +commerce. The sweet fruits contain this sugar in the form of fruit +sugar, which needs but little preparation to be absorbed by the blood. +Dr. Densmore reasons thus: Only birds are furnished with mills +(gizzards); hence the grains are fit food for them only. Other starches +should be avoided because they are difficult to digest, the doctor +wrote. + +Raw starches are difficult to digest, but when they are properly cooked +they are digested in a reasonable time without overburdening the system, +provided they are well masticated and the amount eaten is not too great +and the combining is correct. Rice, which contains much starch, digests +in a short time. + +We can do very nicely without starch. We can also thrive on it if we do +not abuse it. The two chief starch-bearing staples, rice and wheat, +contain considerable protein and salts in their natural state. In fact, +the natural wheat will sustain life for a long time. Man has improved on +nature by polishing the rice and making finely bolted, bleached wheat +flour, deprived of nearly all the salts in the wheat berry. The result +is that both of them have become very poor foods. The more we eat of +these refined products the worse off we are, unless we partake freely of +other foods rich in mineral salts. + +Not long ago a lady died in England who was a prominent advocate of a +"brainy diet." Her brainy diet consisted largely of excessive quantities +of meat, pork being a favorite. She died comparatively young, her +friends say from overwork. Such a diet doubtless had a large part in +wearing her out. To overeat of meat is dangerous. + +A gentleman is now advocating a diet of nothing but cocoanuts. This is a +fad, for they are not a balanced food. He has published a book on the +subject. Perhaps his advocacy is influenced by his interest in the sale +of cocoanuts. + +The vegetarians condemn the use of meat. Some of them are called +fruitarians. It is very difficult to decide who are the most +representative of them. Some advocate the use of nothing but fruit and +nuts. Others add cereals to this. Others use vegetables in addition. +Some even allow the use of dairy products and eggs, that is, all foods +except flesh. + +They say that meat is an unnatural food for man and condemn its use on +moral grounds. It is difficult to decide what is natural, for we find +that man is very adaptable, being able to live on fruits in the tropics +and almost exclusively on flesh food, largely fat, in the arctic +regions. In nature the strong live on the weak and the intelligent on +the dull. There is no sentiment in nature. In her domain might, physical +or mental, makes right. Sentiments of right and justice are not highly +developed except among human beings, and even there they are so weakly +implanted that it takes but little provocation for civilized man to bare +his teeth in a wolfish snarl. + +With some vegetarianism is largely a matter of esthetics, ethics and +morality. Morality is based on expediency, so it really is a question +whether meat is an advantageous food or not. + +Another vegetarian argument is that man's anatomy proves that he was not +intended by nature to eat meat. Good arguments have been used on both +sides, but they are not very convincing nor are they conclusive. It is +hard to draw any lines fairly. + +Another objection to meat is that it is unclean and full of poisons, +that these poisons produce various diseases, such as cancer. We are also +informed that refined sugar causes cancer, and the belief in tomatoes as +a causative factor is not dead. Cancer is without doubt caused +principally by dietary indiscretions but it is impossible to single out +any one food. + +No matter what foods we eat, we are compelled to be careful or they will +be unclean. Those who wish clean meat can obtain it. The amount of +poison or waste in a proper portion of meat is so small that we need +give it no thought. Those who eat in moderation can take meat once a +day during cold weather and enjoy splendid health. During warm weather +it should be eaten more seldom. + +On the other hand, meat is not necessary. We need a certain amount of +protein, which we can obtain from nuts, eggs, milk, cheese, peanuts, +peas, beans, lentils, cereals and from other food in smaller amounts. +The amount of protein needed is small--about one-fifth of what the +physiologists used to recommend. + +Those who think meat eating is wrong should not partake of it. They can +get along very well without it. We are consuming entirely too much meat +in America. The organism can stand it if the life is active in the fresh +air, but it will not do for people who are housed. Much meat eating +causes physical degeneration. The body loses tone. Experiments have +shown that vegetarians have more resistance and endurance than the meat +eaters, but the meat eaters get so much stimulation from their food that +they can speed up in spurts. The excretions of meat eaters are more +poisonous than those of vegetarians. + +Eggs produced by hens fed largely on meat scraps do not keep as well as +those laid by hens feeding more on grains. In short, meat eating leads +to instability or degeneration, if carried to excess. Young children +should have none of it and it would be a very easy matter for the rising +generation to develop without using meat, and I believe this would be +better than our present plan of eating. However, let us give flesh food +the credit due it. When meat eaters are debilitated no other food seems +to act as kindly as meat, given with fruits or vegetables. When properly +prepared and taken in moderation meat digests easily and is quite +completely assimilated. + +Many make the mistake of living too exclusively on starch and taking it +in excess. The result is fermentation and an acid state of the +alimentary tract. Dr. Daniel S. Sager says that, "About all that we have +to fear in eating is excessive use of proteids." Experience and +observation do not bear out this statement, for it is as easy to find +people injured by starch as by protein. One form of poisoning is as bad +as the other. The doctor also warns against nearly all the succulent +vegetables, saying that on account of the indigestible fibre, most of +them are unfit for human consumption. + +Dr. E. H. Dewey condemned the apple as a disease-producer, and +inferentially, other fruits. + +Dr. Charles E. Page objects to the use of milk by adults, on the ground +that it is fit food only for the calves for whom nature intended it. +Many writers have repeated this opinion. + +Most of the regular physicians have a very vague idea of dietetics and +proper feeding. When asked what to eat they commonly say, "Eat plenty +nourishing food of the kinds that agree with you." They do not point out +the fundamentals to their patients. Sometimes they advise avoiding +combinations of milk and fruits. Sometimes they say that all starches +should be avoided and in the next breath prescribe toast, one of the +starchiest of foods. At times they proscribe pork and pickles but they +are seldom able to give a good diet prescription. What people need is a +fair knowledge of what to do and the don'ts will take care of +themselves. + +All foods have been condemned as unfit for human consumption by people +who should know. However, those who look at these matters with open eyes +and open minds will come to the conclusion that man is a very adaptable +animal; that if necessary he can get along without almost all foods, +being able to subsist on a very small variety; that he can live for a +long period on animal food entirely; that he can live all his life +without tasting flesh; that he can live on a mixed diet; that he can +adopt a great many plans of eating and live in health and comfort on +nearly all of them, provided he does not deprive himself of the natural +salts and gets some protein; and finally and most important, that +moderation is the chief factor in keeping well, for the best foods +produce disease in time if taken in excess. + +Those who object to flesh, dairy products, cereals, tubers, legumes, +refined sugars, fruits or vegetables, should do without the class which +they find objectionable, for it is easy to substitute from other +classes. Eggs, milk or legumes may be taken in place of flesh foods. The +salts contained in fruits may be obtained from vegetables. The starch, +which is the chief ingredient of cereals, is easily obtained from tubers +and legumes; fats and sugars will take its place. Commercial sugar is +not a necessity. The force and heat derived from it can be obtained from +starches and fats. + +Outside of milk in infancy, there is not a single indispensable food. +Some people have peculiarities which prevent them from eating certain +foods, such as pork, eggs, milk and strawberries, but with these +exceptions a healthy person can eat any food he pleases, provided he is +moderate. We eat too much flesh, sugar and starch and we suffer for it. +This does not prove that these foods are harmful, but that overeating is. + +Sometimes the food question becomes a very trying one in the home. One +individual has learned the fact that good results are obtained by using +good sense and judgment in combining and consuming food, and he tries to +force others to do as he does. This is unfortunate, for most people +object to such actions, and though the intention is good, it +accomplishes nothing, but prejudices others against sensible living. The +best way is to do right yourself and let others sin against themselves +and suffer until they are weary. Then, seeing how you got out of your +trouble, perhaps they will come to you and accept what you have to +offer. + +The attempt to force people to be good or to be healthy is merely wasted +effort. + +The chapter devoted to Menus gives definite information regarding the +proper manner in which to combine foods and arrange meals. Such +information is also given in treating of the different classes of food. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +WHEN TO EAT. + +Three meals a day is the common plan. This is a matter of habit. Three +meals a day are sufficient and should not be exceeded by man, woman or +child. Lunching or "piecing" should never be indulged in. Children who +are fed on plain, nutritious foods that contain the necessary food +elements do not need lunches. Lunching is also a matter of habit, and we +can safely say that it is a bad habit. + +If three meals a day are taken, two should be light. He who wishes to +work efficiently can not eat three hearty meals a day. If it is brain +work, the digestive organs will take so much of the blood supply that an +insufficient amount of blood will be left to nourish the brain. The +worker feels the lack of energy. He is not inclined to do thorough work, +that is, to go to the root of matters, and he therefore does indifferent +work. One rule to which there is no exception is that the brain can not +do its best when the digestive organs are working hard. If there is a +piece of work to be done or a problem to be solved that requires all of +one's powers it is best to tackle it with an empty stomach, or after a +very light meal. + +If the work is physical, it is not necessary to draw the line so fine. +But it is well to remember that hard physical work prevents digestion. +All experiments prove this. So if the labor is very trying, the eating +should be light. Those who eat much because they work hard will soon +wear themselves out, for hard work retards digestion, and with weakened +digestion the more that is eaten, the less nourishment is extracted from +it. Those who labor hard should take a light breakfast and the same kind +of a noon meal. After the day's work is done, take a hearty meal. Those +who perform hard physical labor, as well as those who work chiefly with +their brains, should relax a while after the noon meal. A nap lasting +ten to twenty minutes is very beneficial, but not necessary if +relaxation is taken. + +During sleep the activities of the body slow down. Most people who take +a heavy meal and retire immediately thereafter feel uncomfortable when +they wake in the morning. The reason is that the food did not digest +well. It is always well to remain up at least two hours after eating a +hearty meal. + +Most people would be better off if they took but two meals a day. Those +who have sedentary occupations need less fuel than manual laborers, and +could get along very well on two meals a day. However, if moderation is +practiced, no harm will come from eating three times a day. + +In olden times many people lived on one meal a day. Some do so today and +get along very well. It is easy to get plenty of nourishment from one +meal, and it has the advantage of not taking so much time. Most of us +spend too much time preparing for meals and eating. Once when it was +rather inconvenient to get more meals, I lived for ten months on one +meal a day. I enjoyed my food very much and was well nourished. For +twelve years I have lived on two meals a day, one of them often +consisting of nothing but some juicy fruit. Many others do likewise, not +because they are prejudiced against three meals per day, but they find +the two meal plan more convenient and very satisfactory. + +Meat, potatoes and bread, with other foods, three times a day is a +common combination. No ordinary mortal can live in health on such a +diet. Such feeding results in discomfort and disease, and unless it is +changed, in premature aging and death. The body needs only a certain +amount of material. Sufficient can be taken in two meals. If three meals +is the custom less food at a meal should be eaten. However, the general +rule is that those who eat three meals per day eat fully as large ones +as those who take only two. + +As a rule, the meal times should be regular. We need a certain amount of +nourishment, and it is well to take it regularly. This reduces friction, +and is conducive to health, for the body is easily taught to fall into +habits of regularity and works best when these are observed. + +There should be a period of at least four and one-half to five hours +between meals. It takes that long for the body to get a meal out of the +way. Stomach digestion is but the beginning of the process, and this +alone requires from two to five hours. + +On the two-meal plan it makes very little difference whether the +breakfast or the lunch is omitted. After going without breakfast for a +week or two, one does not miss it. Miss the meal that it is the most +troublesome to get. Dr. Dewey revived interest in the no-breakfast plan +in this country. He considered it very beneficial. The doctor did not +give credit where credit is due, for he insisted on going without +breakfast. Omitting lunch or dinner accomplishes the same thing. He got +his beneficial results from reducing the number of meals, and +consequently the amount of food taken, but it is immaterial which meal +is omitted. + +Heavy breakfasts are very common in England and in our country. On the +European continent they do not eat so much for breakfast, a cup of +coffee and one roll being a favorite morning meal there. To eat nothing +in the morning is better than to take coffee and rolls. To eat enough to +steal one's brain away is a poor way to begin the day. Much better work +could be done on some fruit or a glass of milk, or some cereal and +butter than on eggs, steak potatoes, hot bread and coffee, which is not +an uncommon breakfast. + +When we consider the best time to eat, we come back to our old friend, +moderation, and find that it is the best solution of the question, for +if the meals are moderate we may with benefit take three meals a day, +but no more, for there is not time enough during the day to digest more +than three meals. However, it is not necessary to eat three times a day. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +HOW TO EAT. + +It seems that all of us ought to know how to eat, for we have much +practice; yet the individuals who know the true principles of nourishing +the body are comparatively few. Very few healers are able to give full +and explicit directions on this important subject. Some can give partial +instructions, but we need a full working knowledge. + +In one period of our racial history there were times when it was +difficult to obtain food, as it is now among some savage people. Then it +was without doubt customary to gorge, as it is among some savages now +when they get a plenteous supply of food, especially of flesh food. Even +among so-called civilized people, the distribution of food is so uneven +that some are in want somewhere, nearly all the time. In parts of +Russia, we are informed, the peasants go into a state of +semi-hibernation during part of the winter, living on very small +quantities of inferior food. + +With rapid transportation and the extensive use of power-propelled +machinery, famine should be unheard of in civilized countries. In our +land there is a sufficient quantity of food and people seldom suffer +because they have not enough, but considerable suffering is due to +excessive intake and to poor quality of food. Weight for weight, white +bread is not as valuable as whole wheat bread, though it contains as +much starch. Measure for measure, boiled milk is inferior as a food to +untreated milk, either fresh or clabbered. Such facts make it necessary +for us to know how to eat. + +The correct principles of taking nourishment to the best advantage have +been fairly well known for a long time, and perhaps they have been fully +discussed years ago by some author, but so far as I know Dr. E. H. Dewey +is the first one who grouped them and gave them the prominence they +deserve. He employed many pages in explaining clearly and forcibly these +principles, which can be briefly stated as follows: + +First, Be guided by the appetite in eating. Eat only when there is +hunger. + +Second, During acute illness fast, that is, live on water. + +Third, Be moderate in eating. + +Fourth, Masticate your food thoroughly. + +Dr. J. H. Tilden teaches his patients the same in these words: + +"Never eat when you feel badly. + +"Never eat when you have no desire. + +"Do not overeat. + +"Thoroughly masticate and insalivate all your food." + +Because these true dietetic principles are so important, probably being +the most valuable information given in this book, let us give them +enough consideration to fix them in the mind. They should be a part of +every child's education. They should be so thoroughly learned that they +become second nature, for if they are observed disease is practically +impossible. Accidents may happen, but no serious disease can develop and +certainly none of a chronic nature if these rules are observed, provided +the individual gives himself half a chance in other ways. When the +eating is correct, it is difficult to fall into bad habits mentally. +Correct eating is a powerful aid to health. Health tends to produce +proper thinking, which in turn leads the individual to proper acting. + +_First, Eat only when there is hunger_: Hunger is of two kinds, normal +and abnormal. The real or normal hunger was given us by nature to make +us active enough to get food. If it were not for hunger, there would be +no special incentive for the young to partake of nourishment and +consequently many would die comfortably of starvation, perhaps enough to +endanger the life of the race. Normal hunger asks for food, but no +special kind of food. It is satisfied with anything that is clean and +nourishing. It is strong enough to make a decided demand for food, but +if there is no food to be had it will be satisfied for the time being +with a glass of water and will cause no great inconvenience. + +Abnormal hunger is entirely different. It is a very insistent craving +and if it is not satisfied it produces bodily discomfort, perhaps +headache. The gnawing remains and gives the victim no rest. Very often +it must be pampered. It calls for beefsteak, or toast and tea, or +sweets, or some other special food. If not satisfied the results may be +nervousness, weakness or headache or some other disagreeable symptom. + +When missing a meal or two brings discomfort, it is always a sign of a +degenerating or degenerated body. A healthy person can go a day without +food without any inconvenience. He feels a keen desire for food at meal +times, but as soon as he has made up his mind that he is unable to get +it or that he is not going to take any the hunger leaves. Normal hunger +is a servant. Abnormal hunger is a hard master. + +A person in good condition does not get weak from missing a few meals. +One in poor physical condition does, although this is more apparent than +real. In the abnormal person a part of the food is used as nourishment, +but on account of the poor working of the digestive organs, a part +decomposes and this acts as an irritant or a stimulant. The greater the +irritation the more food is demanded. The temporary stimulation is +followed by depression and then the sufferer is wretched. This +depression is relieved by more food. Please note that it is relieved, +not cured. The relief is only temporary. + +All food stimulates, but only slightly. It is when the food decomposes +that it becomes stimulating enough to cause trouble. It is well to +remember that considerable alcoholic fermentation can take place in an +abused alimentary tract. The stimulation obtained from too much food is +very much like the stimulation derived from alcohol, tobacco or +morphine. At first there is a feeling of well-being, which is followed +by a miserable feeling of depression that demands food, alcohol, tobacco +or morphine for relief, as the case may be, and no matter which habit is +obtaining mastery, to indulge it is courting disaster. When a habit +begins to assert itself strongly, break it, for later on it will be very +difficult, so difficult that most people lack the will power to overcome +it. + +If there is abnormal hunger, reduce the food intake. Instead of eating +five or six times a day, reduce the meals to two or three. It is quite +common for such people to take lunches, which may consist of candies, +ice cream, cakes, milk or buttermilk and various other things which most +people do not look upon as real food. Take two or three meals a day, and +let a large part of them be fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. Eat in +moderation and the troublesome abnormal hunger will soon leave. By +indulging it you increase it. + +Many people get into trouble because they believe that they have to have +protein, starch and fat at every meal. This is not necessary, for the +blood takes up enough nourishment to last for quite a while. A supply of +the various food elements once a day is sufficient, which means that +protein needs be taken but once a day, starch once a day and fat once a +day. Starch and fat serve the same purpose and one can be replaced by +the other. + +Cultivate a normal hunger, then fix two or three periods in which to +take nourishment, and partake of nothing but water outside of these +periods. If there is no desire for food when meal time comes, eat +nothing, but drink all the water desired and wait until next meal time. + +_Second, During acute illness fast_: This is so obviously correct that +we should expect every normal individual to be guided by it. Even the +lower animals know this and act accordingly. + +According to this rule we should go without food when ill, but to do so +is contrary to the teachings of medical men. They teach that when people +are ill there is much waste, which is true, and that for this reason it +is necessary to partake of a generous amount of nourishing food, so they +give milk, broth, meat, toast and other foods, together with stimulants. +Feeding during illness would be all right if the body could take care of +the food, which it can not. In all severe diseases digestion is almost +or quite at a standstill and the food given under the circumstances +decomposes in the alimentary tract and furnishes additional poison for +the system to excrete. Food under the circumstances is a detriment and a +burden to the body. In fevers, the temperature goes up after feeding. +This shows that more poison has entered the blood. In fevers little or +none of the digestive fluids is secreted, but the alimentary tract is so +warm that the food decomposes quickly. Feeding during acute attacks of +disease is one of the most serious and fatal of errors. There is an +aversion to food, which is nature's request that none be taken. + +When an animal becomes seriously ill, it wants to fast, and does so +unless man interferes. Here we could with advantage do as the animals +do. Nature made no mistake when she took hunger away in acute diseases, +and if we disregard her desires, we invariably suffer for it. + +We should make it a rule to take no food, either liquid or solid, during +acute disease. + +Those who have had no opportunity to watch the rapidity with which +people recover from serious illness may take the ground that sick people +would starve to death if they were to be treated thus, for some of these +acute diseases last a long time. Typhoid fever, for instance, +occasionally lasts two or three months. It never lasts that long when +treated by natural means, and it is very mild, as a rule. The fever will +be gone in from seven to fourteen days in the vast majority of cases, +and then feeding can be resumed. + +Chronic disease is often due to neglected acute disease, at other times +to the building of abnormality through errors of life which have not +resulted in acute troubles. While acquiring chronic disease, the +individual may be fairly comfortable, but he is never up to par. Most +chronic diseases can be cured quickly by taking a fast, but usually it +is not necessary to take a complete fast. The desire for food is not +generally absent and there is usually fair power to digest. One of the +most satisfactory methods, if not the most satisfactory one, of treating +chronic disease is to reduce the food intake, and instead of giving so +much of the concentrated staples, feed more of the succulent vegetables +and the fresh fruits, cooked and raw, using but small quantities of +flesh, bread, potatoes and sugar. This gives the body a chance to throw +off impurities. There are always many impurities in a deranged body. + +_Third, Be moderate in your eating_: This is often very difficult, for +most people do not know what moderation is. In infancy the too frequent +feeding and the overfeeding begin. The common belief that infants must +be fed every two hours, or oftener, is acted upon. The result is that +the child soon loses its normal hunger, which is replaced by abnormal +hunger. When food is long withheld it begins to fret. The mother again +feeds and there is peace for an hour or so. When mothers learn to feed +their children three times a day and no more there will be a great +decrease in infant ills and a falling off in the infant mortality. The +healthiest children I have seen are fed but three times a day. They +become used to it and expect no more. + +Another thing that makes it difficult to be moderate is impoverishing +the food through refinement and poor cooking. These processes take away +a great part of the mineral salts which are present in foods in organic +form. These salts can not be replaced by table salt, for sodium chloride +is but one of many salts that the body needs and an excess of table salt +does not make up for a deficiency in the others. + +Children fed on refined, impoverished foods are not satisfied with a +reasonable amount. There is something lacking and this makes itself +known in cravings, which demand more food than is needed to nourish. I +have noticed many times that children are satisfied with less of whole +wheat bread than of white bread, and that the brown unpolished rice +satisfies them more quickly and completely than the polished rice. In +other words, depriving the foods of their salts is one of the factors +that leads to overeating. + +Simplicity is a great aid to moderation. It is also necessary to +exercise the conservative measure, self-control. Some writers suggest to +eat all that is desired and then fast at various intervals to overcome +the effects of overeating. In other words, they advise to eat enough to +become diseased and then fast to cure the trouble. This is better than +to continue the eating when the evil results of an excessive food intake +make themselves known, but it does not bring the best results. Such +people have their spells of sickness, which are unnecessary. If they +stop eating as soon as the disease makes itself known, it does not last +long. By exercising self-control sickness will be warded off. By using +will power daily it grows stronger and those who force themselves to be +moderate at first, are in time rewarded by having moderation become +second nature. + +People should always stop eating before they are full. Those who eat +until they are uncomfortable are gluttons. They should be classed with +drunkards and drug addicts. + +If discomfort follows a meal it is a sign of overeating. It would be +well to read this in connection with the chapter that treats of +overeating. + +_Fourth, Thoroughly masticate all food_: Horace Fletcher has written a +very enthusiastic book on this subject. Enthusiasm is apt to lead one +astray, and even if thorough mastication will not do all that Mr. +Fletcher believed, it is very important, and we owe Mr. Fletcher thanks +for calling our attention to the subject forcibly. + +Thorough mastication partially checks overeating. + +Our foods have to be finely divided and subdivided or they can not be +thoroughly acted upon by the digestive juices. The stomach is well +muscled and churns the food about, helping to comminute it, but it can +not take the place of the teeth. All foods should be thoroughly +masticated. While the mastication is going on the saliva becomes mixed +with the food. In the saliva is the ptyalin, which begins to digest the +starch. Starch that is well masticated is not so liable to ferment as +that which gets scant attention in the mouth. Starches and nuts need the +most thorough mastication. If thorough mastication were the rule, meat +gluttons would be fewer, for when flesh is well chewed large quantities +cause nausea. + +Milk digests best when it is rolled around in the mouth long enough to +be mixed with saliva. To treat milk as a drink is a mistake, for it is a +very nourishing food. + +All kinds of nuts must be well masticated. If they are not they can not +be well digested, for the digestive organs are unable to break down big +pieces of the hard nut meats. + +The succulent vegetables contain considerable starch. If mastication is +slighted they often ferment enough to produce considerable gas. + +Fruits are generally eaten too rapidly, and therefore often produce bad +results. Even green fruits can be eaten with impunity if they are very +thoroughly masticated. + +Those who are fond enough of liquors to take an excess should sip their +alcoholic beverages very slowly, tasting every drop before swallowing. +This would decrease their consumption of liquor greatly. + +Even water should not be gulped down. It should be taken rather slowly, +especially on hot days. During hot weather many drink too much water. +This tendency can usually be overcome by avoiding iced water and by +drinking slowly. + +These four rules should be a part of your vital knowledge. If you forget +everything else in this book, please remember them and try to put them +into practice: + + _Eat only when hungry. + During acute illness fast. + Be moderate in your eating. + Thoroughly masticate all food._ + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS. + +Food is anything which, when taken into the body under proper +conditions, is broken down and taken into the blood and utilized for +building, repairing or the production of heat or energy. + +There are various forms of foods, which can be divided into two classes: +First, nitrogenous foods or proteins. Second, carbonaceous, foods, under +which caption come the sugars, starches and fats. Salts and water are +not usually classified as foods, though they should be, for life is +impossible without either. + +The chief proteins are: First, the albuminoids, which are represented by +the albumin in eggs, the casein in milk and cheese, the myosin of muscle +and the gluten of wheat. Second, the gelatinoids, which are represented +by the ossein of bones, which can be made into glue, and the collogen of +tendons. Third, nitrogen extractives, which are the chief ingredients in +beef tea. They are easily removed from flesh by soaking it while raw in +cold water. They are rich in flavor and are stimulating. They have +absolutely no food value. Beef tea, and other related extracts, are not +foods. They are stimulants. In truth they are of no value, and those who +purchase such preparations pay a high price and get nothing in return. + +The sugars and starches are grouped under the name of carbohydrates, +which means that they are a combination of water and carbon. There are +various forms of sugar. About 4 per cent of milk is milk sugar, which +agrees better with the young than any other kind of sugar. It is not so +soluble in water as the refined cane sugar, and therefore not so sweet, +but it is fully as nourishing. Honey is a mixture of various kinds of +sugars. Cane sugar is taken principally from sugar beets and sugar cane. +There is no chemical difference between the products of canes and beets. +Sugars can not be utilized by the blood until it has changed them into +other forms of sugar. + +The use of sugar is rapidly increasing. Several centuries ago it was +used as a drug. It was doubtless as effective as a curing agent as our +drugs are today. Until within the last sixty or seventy years it has not +been used as a staple food. Now it is one of our chief foods. Not so +very long ago but ten pounds of sugar per capita were used annually, but +now we are consuming about ninety pounds each annually, that is, about +four ounces per day. Many people look upon sugar as a flavoring, which +it is in a measure, but it is also one of our most concentrated foods. + +That this great consumption of sugar is harmful there is no doubt. +Physicians who practiced when the use of sugar was increasing very +rapidly called attention to the increasing decay of teeth. Sugar, as it +appears upon the table is an unsatisfied compound. It does not appear in +concentrated form in nature, but mixed with vegetable and mineral +matters, and when the pure sugar is put into solution it seeks these +matters. It is especially hungry for calcium and will therefore rob the +bones, the teeth and the blood of this important salt, if it can not be +had otherwise. The most noticeable effect is the decay of the teeth. + +I have read considerable literature of late blaming sugar for producing +many diseases, among them tuberculosis and cancer. Improper feeding is +the chief cause of these diseases, but to blame sugar for all ills of +that kind is far from arriving at the truth. Cancer and tuberculosis +killed vast numbers of people before sugar was used as a staple. If we +wish to get at the root of any trouble, it is necessary for us to bury +our prejudices and be broad minded. + +People who eat much sugar should also partake liberally of fresh raw +fruits and vegetables, in order to supply the salts in which sugar is +deficient. Lump sugar is practically pure, and therefore a poorer +article of diet than any other form of sugar, for man can not live on +carbon without salts. + +Grape sugar and fruit sugar are the same chemically. Another name for +them is dextrose, and in the form of dextrose sugar is ready to be taken +up by the blood. + +Children like sweets, but it is just as easy to give them the sweet +fruits, such as good figs, dates and raisins, as it is to give them +commercial sugar and candy, and it is much better for their health. +Children who get used to the sweet fruits do not care very much for +candies. The sugar in these fruits is not concentrated enough to be an +irritant and it contains the salts needed by the body. Hence it does not +rob the body of any of its necessary constituents. Because the fruit +sugar, taken in fruit form, is not so concentrated and irritating as the +common sugar, the child is satisfied with less. + +Sugar is an irritant of the mucous membrane and therefore stimulates the +appetite. This is true only when it is taken in excess in its artificial +form, and it does not matter whether it is sugar, jelly or jam. For this +reason jellies and jams should be used sparingly, because it is not +necessary to stimulate the appetite. Those who resort to stimulation +overeat. When much sugar is taken, it not only irritates the stomach, +but it even inflames this organ. + +Sugar is a preservative, and like all other preservatives it delays +digestion, if taken in great quantities, and four ounces per day make a +great quantity. The digestive organs rebel if they are given as much of +sugar as they will tolerate of starch. When taken in excess sugar +ferments easily, producing much gas, which is followed by serious +results. + +Sugar is changed into forms less sweet by acids and heat. The ferment +invertin also acts upon sugars. + +Sugar is a valuable food, but we are abusing it, and therefore it is +doing us physical harm. The quantity should be reduced, and families who +are using four ounces per person per day, as statistics indicate that +most are doing, should reduce the intake to about one-third of this +amount. It would be well to take as much of the sugar as possible in the +form of sweet fruits. + +It is a fact that sugar is easy to digest and that one can soon get +energy from it, but feeding is not merely a question of giving +digestible aliments, but a question of using foods that are beneficial +in the long run. The moderate use of this food is all right, but excess +is always bad. Starches need more change than sugars before they can be +absorbed by the blood, but they give better results. Chemically there is +but small difference between starch and sugar. The starch must be +changed into dextrose, a form of sugar, before it can be utilized by the +body. + +The human body contains a small amount of a substance called glycogen, +which is an animal starch or sugar. This glycogen is burned. Sugar is a +force food. It combines with oxygen and gives heat and energy. The waste +product is carbonic acid gas, which is carried by the blood to the lungs +and then exhaled. + +Honey and maple sugar are good foods, but overconsumption is harmful. + +Sugar eating is largely a habit. Because the sugar has so much of the +life and so many of the necessary salts removed in its refinement it is +a good food only when taken in small quantities. Nature demands of us +that we do not get too refined in our habits, for excessive refinement +is followed by decay. It is easy to overcome the tendency to overeat of +sugar. + +Some spoil the most delicious watermelon by heaping sugar or salt, or +both, upon it. In this way the flavor is lost. There is not a raw fruit +on the market which is as finely flavored after it has been sugared as +it was before. True, those who have ruined their sense of taste object +to the tartness and natural acidity of various foods, but they are not +judges and can not be until they have regained a normal taste, which can +only be done by living on natural foods for a while. + +Fats are obtained most plentifully from nuts, legumes, dairy products +and animal foods. They are the most concentrated of all foods, yielding +over twice the amount of heat or energy that we can obtain from the same +weight of pure sugar, starch or protein. Many who think they are +moderate eaters consume enough butter to put them in the glutton class. + +Salts are present in all natural foods of which we partake. + +Water is indispensable, for the body has to have fluids in order to +perform its functions. + +Foods are burned in the body. They are valuable in proportion to the +completeness with which they are digested and assimilated and the ease +with which this process is accomplished. It takes energy to digest food +and if the food is very indigestible it takes too much energy. + +The following remarks on digestibility are according to the best +knowledge we have on the subject: + +As a general rule, the protein of meat and fish is more completely and +more quickly digested than the protein in vegetable foods. The reason is +that the vegetable protein is found in cells which are protected by the +indigestible cellulose which covers each cell. This covering is not +always broken and then the digestive juices are practically powerless. + +The legumes, which are rich in protein, are comparatively hard to +digest. If properly prepared and eaten, they give little or no trouble, +but they are generally cooked soft and the mastication is slighted. The +result is fermentation. Beans, peas and lentils should be very well +chewed, and eaten in moderation, for they are rich both in starch and +protein. + +Nuts are as a rule not as completely digested as meats and animal fats, +and the principal reason is that they are eaten too rapidly and +masticated too little. Nuts properly masticated, taken in correct +combinations and amounts agree very well. It is not necessary, as many +believe, to salt them in order to prevent indigestion. + +In the following pages will be found a number of diet tables, giving +compositions and fuel values of various foods which have been grouped +for the sake of convenience, for the foods in each group are quite +similar. These tables are not complete, for to list every food would +take too much space. I have simply selected a representative list from +the various classes of foods. Under flesh are given fish, meats and +eggs. Under succulent vegetables are given both root and top vegetables, +because of their similarity. Nuts, cereals, legumes, tubers and fruits +are each grouped because it is easy to gain an understanding of them in +this way. Milk is given a rather long chapter of its own because of its +great importance in the morning of life. + +Allow me to repeat that it is impossible to figure out the calories in a +given amount of food and then give enough food to furnish so many +calories and thus obtain good results. I have already given the key to +the amount of food to eat, and it is the only kind of key that works +well. However, it is very helpful to have a knowledge of food values. + +The calorie is the unit of heat, and heat is convertible into energy. A +calorie is the heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of +water one degree C. To translate into common terms, it is the heat +required to raise one pound of water four degrees F. + + One pound of protein produces 1,860 calories. + One pound of sugar produces 1,860 calories. + One pound of starch produces 1,860 calories. + One pound of oil or fat produces 4,220 calories. + +For the scientific facts regarding foods I have consulted various works, +especially the following: Diet and Dietetics, by Gauthier; Foods, by +Tibbles; Food Inspection and Analyses, by Leach; Foods and their +Adulteration, by Wiley; Commercial Organic Analysis, by Allan. However, +I am most indebted to the numerous bulletins issued by the U. S. +Department of Agriculture. All who make a study of foods and their value +owe a great debt to W. O. Atwater and Chas. D. Wood, who have worked so +long and faithfully to increase our knowledge regarding foods. + +As we consider the various groups of foods, directions are given for the +best way of cooking, but no fancy cooking is considered. Those who wish +fancy, indigestible dishes should consult the popular cook books. + +The women have it in their power to raise the health standard fifty to +one hundred per cent by cooking for health instead of catering to +spoiled palates, and by learning to combine foods more sensibly than +they have in the past. The art of cooking has made its appeal almost +entirely to the palate. This art is not on as high level as the science +of cooking, which gives foods that build healthy bodies. The right way +of cooking is simpler, quicker and easier than the conventional method, +and gives food that is superior in flavor. After the normal taste has +been ruined, it takes a few months to acquire a natural taste again so +that good foods will be enjoyed. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +FLESH FOODS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Beef, average 72.03 21.42 5.41 .... 1.14 .... + Veal, lean 78.84 19.86 .82 .... .50 .... + Mutton, average 75.99 17.11 5.77 .... 1.33 .... + Pork, average fat 47.40 14.54 37.34 .... .72 .... + Pork, average lean 72.57 20.25 6.81 .... 1.10 .... + Rabbit 66.80 22.22 9.76 .... 1.17 .... + Chicken, fat 70.06 19.59 9.34 .... .91 .... + Turkey 65.60 24.70 8.50 .... 1.20 .... + Goose 38.02 15.91 45.59 .... .49 .... + Pigeon 75.10 22.90 1.00 .... 1.00 .... + Duck, wild 69.89 25.49 3.69 .... .93 .... + Black bass 76.7 20.4 1.7 .... 1.2 450 + Sea bass 79.3 18.8 .5 .... 1.4 370 + Cod, steaks 82.5 16.3 .3 .... .9 315 + Halibut, steaks 75.4 18.3 5.2 .... 1.1 560 + Herring 74.67 14.55 9.03 .... 1.78 .... + Mackerel 73.4 18.2 7.1 .... 1.3 640 + Perch, white 75.7 19.1 4.0 .... 1.2 525 + Pickerel 79.8 18.6 .5 .... 1.1 365 + Salmon 71.4 19.9 7.4 .... 1.3 680 + Salmon trout 69.1 18.2 11.4 .... 1.3 820 + Shad 70.6 18.6 9.5 .... 1.3 745 + Sturgeon 78.7 18.0 1.9 .... 1.4 415 + Trout, brook 77.8 18.9 2.1 .... 1.2 440 + Clams, long 85.8 8.6 1.0 2.00 2.6 240 + Clams, round 86.2 6.5 .4 4.20 2.7 215 + Lobster 79.2 16.4 1.8 .40 2.2 390 + Oyster in shell 86.9 6.2 1.2 3.70 2.0 230 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The food value of meat depends on the amount of fat and protein it +contains. Lean meat may contain less than four hundred calories per +pound, while very fat meat may contain more than one thousand five +hundred calories. + +These foods are eaten because they are rich in protein. Protein is the +great builder and repairer of the body. It forms the framework for both +bone and muscle. We can get along very well without starch or sugar or +fat, but it is absolutely necessary to have proteid foods. They are the +only ones that contain nitrogen, which is essential to animal life. + +Nitrogenous foods are used not only to build and repair, but in the end +they are burned, supplying as much heat as the same weight of sugar or +starch. + +Proteid foods are generally taken to excess. To most people they are +very palatable, and they are generally prepared in a manner that renders +rapid eating easy. Besides, meats contain flavoring and stimulating +principles, called extractives, which increase the desire for them. The +consequence is that those who eat meat often have a tendency to eat too +much. Excessive meat eating often leads to consumption of large +quantities of liquor. Stimulants crave company. + +As will be noted, most fish and meat contain about 20 per cent. of +protein, while about 75 per cent. is water. The fatter the meat, the +less water it contains, and the more fuel value it has. The leaner the +meat, the more watery the animal, and the more easily is the flesh +digested. Beef is fatter than veal and harder to digest. Also, the flesh +of old animals is more highly flavored than that of the young ones, +because it contains more salts. For this reason people who have a +tendency to the formation of foreign deposits, as is the case with those +who have rheumatism and gout or hardening of the arteries, should take +the flesh of young animals when it is obtainable. + +In the past we have been taught to partake of excessive amounts of +protein. The prescribed amount for the average adult has been about five +ounces. If we were to obtain all the protein from meat, this would +necessitate eating about twenty-five ounces of meat daily. However, +inasmuch as there is considerable protein in the cereals and milk, and a +little in most fruits and vegetables, a pound of meat would probably +suffice under the old plan. A few physicians have known that such an +intake of protein is excessive, and now the physiologists are learning +the same. It has lately been determined experimentally that the body +needs only about an ounce of protein daily, which will be supplied by +about five ounces of flesh. Three or four ounces of flesh daily make a +liberal allowance, for it is supplemented by protein in other foods. + +Workers eat large quantities of flesh because they think they need a +great deal. The fact is that very little more protein is needed by those +who do hard physical labor than by brain workers. The extra energy +needed calls for more carbohydrates, not for protein. + +When the organism is supplied with sugar, starch and fat, or one of +these, the protein of the body is saved, only a very small amount being +used to replace the waste through wear and tear. Though protein can be +burned in the body, it is not an economical fuel, either from a +physiological or financial standpoint. The energy obtained from flesh +costs much more than the same amount of energy obtained from +carbonaceous foods. Ten acres of ground well cultivated can raise enough +cereals and vegetables to support a number of people, but if this amount +of land is used for raising animals, it will support but a few. The +protein obtained from peas, beans and lentils is cheap, but these foods +do not appeal to the popular palate as much as flesh. + +Meat immediately after being killed is soft. After a while it goes into +a state of rigidity known as rigor mortis. Then it begins to soften +again. This third stage is really a form of decay, called ripening. It +is believed that the lactic acid formed is one of the principal agents +producing this softening. Some people enjoy their meats, especially that +of fowls and game, ripe enough to deserve the name of rotten. The +ripening produces many chemical changes in the meat, which give the +flesh more flavor. Consequently those who indulge are very apt to +overeat. It is a fact that those who eat much flesh go into degeneration +more quickly than those who are moderate flesh eaters and depend largely +on the vegetable kingdom for food. + +If an excess of good meat causes degeneration, there is no reason to +doubt that partaking of overripe foods is even worse. + +All meat contains waste. If the flesh comes from healthy animals and is +eaten in moderation this waste is so small that it will cause no +inconvenience, for a healthy body is able to take care of it. If too +much is eaten, the results are serious. Overeating of flesh is followed +by excessive production of urea and uric acid products. Some of these +may be deposited in various parts of the body, while the urea is mostly +excreted by the kidneys. The kidneys do not thrive under overwork any +more than other organs. The vast majority of cases of diabetes and +Bright's disease are caused by overworking the digestive organs. Too +much food is absorbed into the blood and the excretory organs have to +work overtime to get rid of the excess. + +Meats are easily spoiled. They should be kept in a cold place and not +very long. Fresh meat and fish are more easily digested than those which +are salted, or preserved in any other way. Pickled meats should be used +rarely The same is true of fish. + +Ptomaines, or animal poisons, form easily in flesh foods. These are very +dangerous, and it is not safe to eat tainted flesh, even after it is +cooked. Fish decomposes quickly and fish poisoning is probably even more +severe than meat poisoning. Fish should be killed immediately after it +is caught, for experiments have shown that the flesh of fish kept +captive after the manner of fishers degenerates very rapidly. Fish +should be eaten while fresh. Even when the best precautions have been +taken, it is somewhat risky to partake of fish that has been shipped +from afar. + +Flesh foods are more easily and completely digested than the protein +derived from the vegetable kingdom. + +From the table it will be noted that some fish is fat and some is lean. +The ones containing more than 5 per cent of fat should be considered fat +fish. These are somewhat harder to digest than the lean ones, but they +are more nutritious. + +Shell fish is generally low in food value and if taken as nourishment is +very expensive. However, most people eat this food for its flavor. + + +COOKING. + +Cooking is an art that should be learned according to correct +principles. Every physician should be a good cook. He should be able to +go into the kitchen and show the housewife how to prepare foods +properly. Medical men who are well versed in food preparation and able +to make good food prescriptions have no need of drugs. + +The flesh of animals is composed of fibres. These fibres are surrounded +by connective tissue which is tough. The cooking softens and breaks down +these tissues, thus rendering it easier for the digestive juices to +penetrate and dissolve them. That is, proper cooking does this. Poor +cooking generally renders the meats indigestible. + +The simpler the cooking, the more digestible will be the food. Flavors +are developed in the process, but these are hidden if the meats are +highly seasoned. + +_Boiling_: When meats are boiled they lose muscle sugar, flavoring +extracts, organic acids, gelatin, mineral matters and soluble albumin. +That is, they lose both flavor and nourishment. Therefore the liquid in +which they are cooked should be used. + +The proper way to boil meat is to plunge it into plain boiling water. +Allow the water to boil hard for ten or fifteen minutes. This coagulates +the outer part of the piece of meat. Then lower the temperature of the +water to about 180 degrees F. and cook until it suits the taste. If it +is allowed to boil at a high temperature a long time, it becomes tough, +for the albumin will coagulate throughout. + +Salt extracts the water from meat. Therefore none of it should be used +in boiling. The meat should be cooked in plain water with no addition. +No vegetables and no cereals are to be added. All meats contain some +fat, and this comes into the water and acts upon the vegetables and +starches, making them indigestible. Season the meat after it is cooked, +or better still, let everyone season it to suit the taste after serving. + +Meats that are to be boiled should never be soaked, for the cold water +dissolves out some of the salts and some of the flavoring extracts, as +well as a part of the nutritive substances. It is better to simply wash +the meat if it does not look fresh and clean enough to appeal to the +eye, which it always should be. + +_Stewing_: If meat is to be stewed, cut into small pieces and stew or +simmer at a temperature of about 180 degrees F. until it is tender. It +is to be stewed in plain water. If a meat and vegetable stew is desired, +stew the vegetables in one dish, and the meat in another. When both are +done, mix. By cooking thus a stew is made that will not "repeat" if it +is properly eaten. Foods should taste while being eaten, not afterwards. + +_Broths_: If a broth is desired, select lean meat. Either grind it or +chop it up fine. There is no objection to soaking the meat in cold +water, provided this water is used in making the broth. Use no +seasoning. Let it stew or simmer at about 180 degrees F. until the +strength of the meat is largely in the water. + +When the broth is done, set it aside to cool. Then skim off all the fat +and warm it up and use. One pound of lean meat will produce a quart of +quite strong broth. + +_Broiling_: Cut the meat into desired thickness. Place near intense +fire, turning occasionally, until done. Be careful not to burn the +flesh. An ordinary steak should be broiled in about ten minutes. Of +course, the time depends on the thickness of the cut and whether it is +desired rare, medium or well done, and in this let the individual suit +himself, for he will digest the meat best the way he enjoys it most. + +Beefsteak smothered in onions is a favorite dish. It is not a good way +to prepare either the onions or the steak. A better way is to broil both +the steak and the onions, or broil the steak, cut the onions in slices +about one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick, add a little water and +bake them. Beefsteak and onions prepared in this way are both palatable +and easy to digest. + +_Roasting_ is just like broiling, that is, cooking a piece of meat +before an open fire. Here we use a larger piece of meat and it therefore +takes longer. Of old roasting was quite common, but now we seldom roast +meat in this country. + +_Baking_: Here we place the meat in an enclosed oven. Most of our +so-called roast meats are baked. The oven for the first ten or fifteen +minutes should be very hot, about 400 degrees F. This heat seals the +outside of the meat up quite well. Then let the heat be reduced to about +260 degrees F. If it is kept at a high temperature it will produce a +tough piece of meat. The time the meat should be in the oven depends +upon the size of the piece of meat and how well done it is desired. + +While baking, some of the juices and a part of the fat escape. About +every fifteen minutes, baste the meat with its own juice. A few minutes +before the meat is to be removed from the oven it may be sprinkled with +a small amount of salt, and so may broiled and roasted meats a little +while before they are done. However, many prefer to season their own +foods or eat them without seasoning and they should be allowed to do so. + +_Steaming_: This is an excellent way of cooking. None of the food value +is lost. Put the meat in the steamer and allow it to remain until done. +The cheapest and toughest cuts of meat, which are fully as good as the +more expensive ones and often better flavored, can be rendered very +tender by steaming. Tough birds can be treated in the same way. An +excellent way to cook an old hen or an old turkey is to steam until +tender and then put into a hot oven for a few minutes to brown. Some +birds are so tough that they can not be made eatable by either boiling +or baking, but steaming makes them tender. + +It is best to avoid starchy dressings, in fact dressings of all kinds. A +well cooked bird needs none, and dressing does not save a poorly cooked +one. Most dressings are very difficult to digest. + +_Fireless cooking_: Every household should have either a good steamer or +a fireless cooker. Both are savers of time and fuel and food. They +emancipate the women. Those who have fireless cookers and plan their +meals properly do not need to spend much time in the kitchen. + +Place the meat in the fireless cooker, following the directions which +accompany it. However, if they tell you to season the meat, omit this +part. + +_Smothering_ is a modification of baking. Any kind of meat may be +smothered, but it is especially fine for chickens. Take a young bird, +separate it into joints, place into a pan, add a pint of boiling water. +If chicken is lean put in a little butter, but if fat use no butter. +Cover the pan tightly and place in oven and let it bake. A chicken +weighing two and one-half pounds when dressed will require baking for +one hour and fifteen minutes. Keep the cover on the baking pan until the +chicken is done, not raising it even once. Gravy will be found in the +pan. + +Pressed chicken is very good. Get a hen about a year old. Place it into +steamer or fireless cooker until so tender that the flesh readily falls +from the bones. Remove the bones, but keep the skin with the meat. Chop +it up. Place in dish or jar, salting very lightly. Over the chopped-up +meat place a plate and on this a weight, and allow it to press over +night. Then it is ready to slice and serve. This is very convenient for +outings. + +Fish should preferably be baked or broiled. It may also be boiled, but +it boils to pieces rather easily and loses a part of its food value. It +must be handled with great care. No seasoning is to be used. When served +a little salt and drawn butter or oil may be added as dressing. + +_Frying_ is an objectionable method of cooking. It is generally held, +and with good reason, that when grease at a high temperature is forced +into flesh, it becomes very indigestible. In fact the crust formed on +the outside of the flesh can not be digested. It is folly to prepare +food so that it proves injurious. + +However, there is a way of using the frying pan so that practically no +harm is done. Grease the pan very lightly, just enough to prevent the +flesh from sticking. Make the pan very hot and place the meat in it. +Turn the meat frequently. Fries (young chickens) may be cooked in this +way with good results. The same is true of steaks and chops. + +Avoid greasy cooking. It is an abomination that helps to kill thousands +of people annually. + +_Paper bag cooking_ is all right if it is convenient. Those who have +good steamers or fireless cookers will not find it of special advantage. + +Brown flour gravies are not fit to eat. If there is any gravy serve it +as it comes from the pan without mixing it with flour or other starches. +It may be put over the meat or used as dressing for the vegetables. Milk +gravies are also to be avoided. Use only the natural gravies. + +Oysters may be eaten raw or stewed. Stew the oysters in a little water. +Heat the milk and mix. Eat with cooked succulent vegetables and with raw +salad vegetables. It is best to leave the crackers out. The oysters +themselves contain very little nourishment, but when made into a milk +stew the result is very nutritious. + +Eggs should be fresh. Some bakers buy spoiled eggs and use them for +their fancy cakes and cookies. This is a very objectionable practice and +may be one of the reasons that bakers' cookies never taste like those +"mother used to make." Eggs take the place of fish, meat or nuts, for +they are rich in protein. They may be taken raw, rare or well done. + +Eggs may be boiled, poached, steamed or baked. Soft boiled eggs require +about three and one-half minutes. Hard boiled ones require from fifteen +to twenty minutes. The albumin of an egg boiled six or seven minutes is +tough. When boiled longer it becomes mellow. Eggs may be made into +omelettes or scrambled, but the pan should be lightly greased and quite +hot so that the cooking will be quickly done. Eggs are variously treated +for an omelette. Some cooks add nothing but water and this makes a +delicate dish. Others use milk, cream or butter, and beat. + +Bacon is a relish and may be taken occasionally with any other food. It +should be well done, fried or broiled until quite crisp. This is one +place where frying is not objectionable. + +Pork should rarely be used. It is too fat and rich and requires too long +to digest. When eaten it should be taken in the simplest of +combinations, such as pork and succulent vegetables or juicy fruits, +either cooked or raw, and nothing else. + +Flesh may be eaten more freely in winter than in summer. Meat especially +should be eaten very sparingly during hot weather, for it is too +stimulating and heating. Nuts, eggs and fish are then better forms in +which to take protein. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Flesh foods combine best with the succulent vegetables and the salad +vegetables or with juicy fruits. It is more usual to take vegetables +with flesh than to take fruit, but those who prefer fruit may take it +with equally as good results. Both fruits and vegetables are rich in +tissue salts, in which flesh foods are rather deficient. The succulent +vegetables contain some starch and the juicy fruits some sugar, but not +enough to do any harm. They both act as fillers. + +Flesh is quite concentrated and it is customary to take it with other +concentrated foods, such as bread and potatoes. As a result too much +food is ingested. It would be a splendid rule to make to avoid bread and +potatoes when flesh food is taken, but if this seems too rigid, make it +a rule never to eat all three at the same meal. It is best to eat the +flesh foods without bread or potatoes, but if starch is desired, take +only one kind at a time. + +Most people crave a certain amount of food as filler, and they have +fallen into the habit of using bread and potatoes for this purpose. This +is a mistake. Use the juicy fruits and the succulent vegetables for +filling purposes and thus get sufficient salts and avoid the many ills +that come from eating great quantities of concentrated foods. + +When possible, have a raw salad vegetable or two with the meat or fish +meal. + +Eat only one concentrated albuminous food at a meal. If you have meat, +take no fish, eggs, nuts or cheese. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +NUTS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Acorns 4.1 8.1 37.4 48.0 2.4 2718 + Almonds 4.8 21.0 54.9 17.3 2.0 3030 + Brazil nuts 5.3 17.0 66.8 7.0 3.9 3329 + Filberts 3.7 15.6 65.3 13.0 2.4 3432 + Hickory nuts 3.7 15.4 67.4 11.4 2.1 3495 + Pecans 3.0 11.0 71.2 13.3 1.5 3633 + English walnuts 2.8 16.7 64.4 14.8 1.3 3305 + Chestnuts, dried 5.9 10.7 7.0 74.2 2.2 1875 + Butternuts 4.5 27.9 61.2 3.4 3.0 3371 + Cocoanuts 14.1 5.7 50.6 27.9 1.7 2986 + Pistachio nuts 4.2 22.6 54.5 15.6 3.1 3010 + Peanuts, roasted 1.6 30.5 49.2 16.2 2.5 3177 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Nuts vary a great deal in composition. They are generally the seeds of +trees, enclosed in shells, but other substances are also called nuts. +The representative nuts are rich in fat and protein, containing some +carbohydrate (sugar or starch.) + +A few nuts, such as the acorn, cocoanut and chestnut, are very rich in +starch, and these should be classified as starchy foods. Very few foods +contain as high per cent of starch as the dry chestnut. In southern +Europe chestnuts are made into flour, and this is made into bread or +cakes. An inferior bread is also made of acorn flour. Chestnuts may be +boiled or roasted. They are very nutritious. + +The more representative nuts are pecans, filberts, Brazil nuts and +walnuts. These may be used in place of flesh foods, for they furnish +both protein and fats. If the kernel is surrounded by a tough membrane, +as is the case in walnuts and almonds, it should be blanched, which +consists in putting the kernel in very hot water for a little while and +then removing this membrane. The pecan, though it does not contain very +much protein, is one of the best nuts, one which can be eaten often +without producing dislike. + +Nuts have the reputation of being hard to digest. If they are not well +masticated they are very hard to digest indeed, but when they are well +masticated they digest almost as completely as do flesh foods and they +produce no digestive troubles. + +One reason that nuts have obtained a bad reputation is that they are +often eaten at the end of a heavy meal, when perhaps two or three times +too much food has already been ingested. The result is indigestion and +the sufferer swears off on nuts. If he had sense enough to reduce his +intake of bread, potatoes, meat, pudding and coffee, the benefit would +be very great. The tendency is for the sufferer from indigestion to pick +out a certain food and blame all the trouble on that, when in truth the +combinations and the quantity of food are to blame. + +Some vegetarians make nuts one of their principal foods. We can easily +get along without flesh, for we can obtain all the protein needed from +milk, eggs, nuts and legumes. However, people who are used to flesh are +able to digest it when they can take hardly anything else. The foods +which we prefer are taken largely because we have become accustomed to +them and have formed a liking for them, not because they are the very +best from which to select. + + +COOKING. + +_Nut butter_: Take the nut meats, clean away all the skins and grind +fine in a nut mill. Then form into a pasty substance with or without the +addition of oil or water, to suit the individual taste. Most nut butters +are very agreeable in flavor. Sometimes the nuts are roasted and +sometimes they are not. Almond butter is very good. The nut butters soon +spoil if left exposed to the air, for the oils they contain turn rancid. + +Peanut butter can be made by taking clean kernels of freshly roasted +peanuts and grinding fine. Some are very fond of this butter. Cocoanut +and cocoa butters are not made in this way. They are purified fats, the +former from cocoanuts, the latter from the cocoa bean. + +_Nut milk_: Take nut butter and mix with water until it is of the +desired consistency. Cocoanuts contain a sweet liquid which is called +cocoanut milk. However, the artificial cocoanut milk is made by pouring +a pint of boiling water over the flesh of a freshly grated cocoanut. Let +it stand until cold and strain. If it is allowed to stand some hours the +fat will rise to the top and form cream. This milk is used by some who +object to the use of animal products. + +Various meals are made from nuts and made into food for the sick. This +does no harm, nor does it do any special good. These meals contain more +or less starch and the action of starches is much the same, no matter +what the source. Please remember that there are no health foods. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Nuts are especially fine in combination with fruits. Fresh pecan meats +and mild apples make a meal fit for the gods. Nuts may be used in any +combination in which flesh is used, that is, they take the place of +flesh foods. The starchy nuts take the place of starchy foods. + +A good meal is made of a fruit salad, consisting of two or three kinds +of fresh fruits and nuts. + +Nuts or nut butter with toast also make a good meal. + +Nuts have such fine flavor that cooks should think twice before spoiling +them. It is very difficult to use them in cookery and get a product that +is as finely flavored as the original nuts. The vegetarians use them in +compounding what they call roasts, cutlets, steaks, etc. My experience +with these imitation products has not been of the best, for though my +digestive organs are strong, they do not take kindly to these mixtures. +Some of my friends report the same results, in spite of thorough +mastication and moderation. These imitation roasts and cutlets usually +contain much starch and there is no reason to believe that it is better +to cook nut oils into starchy foods than it is to use any other form of +fat for this purpose. Those who like starch and nuts can make a splendid +meal of nut meats and whole wheat biscuits or zwieback. + +In eating nuts, always remember that the mastication must be thorough. +It takes grinding to break up the solid nut meats and the stomach and +bowels have no teeth. Those who can not chew well should use the nuts in +the form of butter. + +Ordinarily two ounces of nut meats, or less, are sufficient for a meal. + +At present prices, nuts are not expensive, as compared with meat. Meat +is mostly water. Lean meat produces from five to seven hundred calories +to the pound. Nut meats produce from twenty-seven to thirty-three +hundred calories per pound. In other words, a pound of nut meats has the +same fuel value as about five pounds of lean meat, but not as great +protein value. + +Those who are not used to nuts have a tendency to overeat, but this is +largely overcome as soon as people become accustomed to them. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +LEGUMES. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + _Fresh Legumes_: + String beans ......... 89.2 2.3 0.3 7.4 0.8 195 + Shelled limas ........ 68.5 7.1 0.7 22.0 1.7 570 + Shelled peas ......... 74.6 7.0 0.5 16.9 1.0 465 + + _Dried Legumes_: + + Lima beans ........... 10.4 18.1 1.5 65.9 4.1 1625 + Navy beans ........... 12.6 22.5 1.8 59.6 3.5 1605 + Lentils .............. 8.4 25.7 1.0 59.2 5.7 1620 + Dried peas ........... 9.5 24.6 1.0 62.0 2.9 1655 + Soy beans ............ 10.8 34.0 16.8 33.7 4.7 1970 + Peanuts .............. 9.2 25.8 38.6 24.4 2.0 2560 + --------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Analyses of all foods are approximate. The food value varies with the +conditions under which the foods are grown and is not always even +approximately the same. + +The fresh young legumes may be classed with the succulent vegetables. +The matured, dried legumes are to be classed both as starchy and proteid +foods. They are very easily raised and consequently cheap. They are the +cheapest source of protein that we have. Peas and beans are very +important foods in Europe. In this country we consume enormous +quantities of beans. In Mexico they use a great deal of frijoles, the +poor people having this bean at nearly every meal. In China they make +the soy beans into various dishes. The lentil is much used in Europe and +is gaining favor here, as it should, for it is splendid food, with a +flavor of its own. Peanuts, which are really not nuts, but leguminous +plants growing their seeds under the ground, are used extensively as +food for man and beast. + +These foods are much alike in composition, the soy bean being +exceptionally rich in protein. + +These foods have the undeserved reputation of being indigestible and of +producing flatulence. They are a little more difficult to digest than +some other foods, but they cause no trouble if they are taken in simple +combinations and in moderation, provided they have been properly +prepared. + +It is necessary to masticate these foods very well, and avoid +overeating. They are generally so soft that they are swallowed without +proper mouth preparation. The result is that too much is taken of these +rich foods, after which there is indigestion accompanied by gas +production. + +One rather peculiar food belonging to the legumes is the locust bean or +St. John's bread, which we can sometimes obtain at the candy stores. It +grows near the Mediterranean and is used in places for cattle feed. It +is so sweet that it is eaten as a confection. Its name is due to the +fact that they say St. John lived on this bean and wild honey. If he did +he must have had a sweet tooth. Others say that the saint really +devoured grasshoppers. It is not easy to decide, but I prefer to believe +that he was a vegetarian. + + +COOKING. + +The fresh young legumes are to be considered in the same class as +succulent vegetables, which are dealt with in the next chapter. + +Ripe peas, beans and lentils may be cooked alike. + +In cooking ripe legumes, try to get as soft water as possible. Hard +water contains salts of lime and magnesia and these prevent the +softening of the legumes. + +_Bean soup_: Clean the beans and wash them. Let them soak over night. +Cook them in the same water in which they have been soaked, until +tender. They are to be cooked in plain water without any seasoning and +with the addition of neither fats, starches nor other vegetables. When +the beans are done, meat stock and other vegetables may be added, if +desired. Pea soup is made in the same way. + +The reason for not draining away the water in which the beans are soaked +is that it takes up some of the valuable salts, the phosphates for +instance. The addition of seasoning or fat while they are cooking makes +the beans indigestible. + +_Baked beans_: Clean and wash well. Soak them over night. Let them boil +about three and one-half to four hours, using the water in which they +were soaked. Then put them into the oven to bake. They are to be cooked +plain and no fat or seasoning is to be added while they are baking. +After they are done you may add some form of fatty dressing, such as +bacon, which has been stewed in a separate dish, or you may dress them +with butter and salt when they are served. Cooked this way they digest +much more easily than when cooked in the ordinary way with tomatoes and +grease. Some prefer to add either sugar or molasses to the beans when +they are put into the oven. Avoid too much sweetening. Lentils may be +baked in the same way. + +_Boiled beans_: The same as bean soup, except that less water is used. +Dressing may be the same as for baked beans. Lentils and peas may be +treated in the same way. + +Beans and corn may be cooked together. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +The legumes are so very rich that they should be eaten in very simple +combinations. It is best to take them with some of the raw salad +vegetables and nothing else, or with the raw salad vegetables and one of +the stewed succulent vegetables. The legumes contain all the protein and +all the force food the body needs, so it is useless to add meat, bread +and potatoes. Tomatoes and other acid foods should not be used in the +same meal, yet beans and tomatoes or beans and catsup are very common +combinations. + +A plate of bean soup makes a good lunch. Bean soup or baked or boiled +beans with succulent vegetables, raw and cooked, give all the +nourishment needed in a dinner. + +Pea and bean flours can be purchased on the market. These flours can not +be made into dough, but they may be used for thickening. They contain +more protein than ordinary flour. + +Both peas and beans may be roasted, but they are rather difficult to +masticate. Roasted peas have a fine flavor. Roasted peanuts are a +nutritious food, and may be taken in place of peas or beans. + +More legumes and less flesh foods will help to reduce the cost of +living. Taken in moderation and well masticated, the legumes are +excellent foods. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +SUCCULENT VEGETABLES. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Asparagus........ 93.96 1.83 2.55 2.55 .67 ..... + Beet............. 87.5 1.6 .01 8.8 1.10 215 + Cabbage.......... 90.52 2.39 .37 3.85 1.40 ..... + Carrot........... 88.2 1.1 .4 8.2 1.00 219 + Cauliflower...... 90.82 1.62 .79 4.94 .81 ..... + Cucumber......... 95.4 .8 .2 3.1 .5 80 + Egg plant........ 92.93 1.15 .31 4.34 .5 ..... + Pumpkin.......... 93.39 .91 .12 3.93 .67 ..... + Lettuce.......... 94.17 1.2 .3 2.9 .9 90 + Okra............. 87.41 1.99 .4 6.04 .74 ..... + Onion............ 87.6 1.6 .3 9.9 .6 225 + Parsnip.......... 83.0 1.6 .5 13.5 1.4 300 + Radish........... 91.8 1.3 .3 8.3 1.0 135 + Squash........... 88.3 1.4 .5 9.0 .8 215 + Tomato........... 94.3 .9 .4 3.9 .5 105 + Spinach.......... 90.6 2.50 .5 3.8 1.7 ..... + Kohlrabi......... 87.1 2.6 .2 7.1 1.7 ..... + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Lima beans and shelled peas are generally included in this list, though +the young lima beans contain about 20 per cent. starch. + +Look at the cabbage analysis for kale and Brussels sprouts. They are +much alike. + +Most of the vegetables contain from one-half of one per cent. to two per +cent. of indigestible fibre, which is not listed above. + +This is but a partial list of the succulent vegetables. In addition may +be mentioned artichokes of the green or cone variety, chard, string +beans, celery, corn on the cob, turnips, turnip tops, lotus, endive, +dandelion and garlic. + +These vegetables produce but little energy, for most of them are not +rich in protein, fat and carbohydrates, but they have considerable +salts, which are given in the tables as ash. Their juices help to keep +the blood alkaline, and it would be well for people to get into the +habit of eating these foods, not only cooked, but some of them raw. The +salts are very easily disturbed and in cooking they are somewhat +changed. The best salts we get when we consume natural foods, such as +raw fruits and raw vegetables and milk. + +Another function of the succulent vegetables is to take up space in the +stomach. Many like to eat until they feel comfortably full, but if they +indulge in concentrated foods to this extent they overeat. The succulent +vegetables have the merit of taking up much space without furnishing +very much nourishment and they should, therefore, be used as +space-fillers. However, they contain enough nourishment to be well worth +eating, and most of them are excellent in flavor. This flavor is not +appreciated by those who eat much meat and drink much alcohol. + +The liberal use of these cooked vegetables has a tendency to prevent +constipation, and some of them are called laxative foods, such as stewed +onions and spinach. + + +PREPARATION. + +These vegetables may be either steamed or prepared in a fireless cooker. + +The usual way is to cook them in water. Clean the vegetables. Then put +them on to cook in enough water to keep from burning, but use no +seasoning. When the vegetables are tender there should be only a little +fluid left and those who eat of the vegetables should take their share +of this fluid, for it may contain as high as one-half to two-thirds of +the salts. When served, let each one season to taste. Avoid the use of +vinegar and all other products of fermentation as much as possible. +Lemon juice will furnish all the acid needed for dressing. + +The vegetables may be dressed with salt, or salt and butter, or salt and +olive oil, and at times with cream, or with the natural gravy from +meats, but avoid the use of flour and milk dressings, usually called +cream gravy. These vegetables may also be eaten without any dressing. + +The water is drained off from corn on the cob, asparagus, artichokes and +unpeeled beets. + +Vegetables should not be soaked in water, for they lose a part of their +value if this is done. Cucumbers may be soaked in water to remove a part +of the rank flavor, before being peeled. + +_Spinach_ is prepared as follows: Wash thoroughly. Put about two +tablespoonfuls of water in the bottom of the kettle. Put over the fire +and let the spinach wilt. Its juice will then begin to pour out and the +spinach will cook in its own juice. Let it cook slowly until tender. +Serve the spinach with its proportion of the juice. At first this will +taste rather strong, but after a while a person will not want the dry, +tasteless mess that is drained, usually served in hotels and +restaurants. If some of the roots are left on the spinach, it tastes +milder. The roots contain sugar. + +Some of these vegetables, such as summer squash, onions and parsnips may +be baked. Onions are very good sliced and broiled, but they should never +be fried. Beets are good baked, and especially is this true of sugar +beets. Radishes are very delicate and delicious when peeled and boiled, +but their preparation is tedious. Egg plant is to be stewed, but not +fried. As usually served, dipped in egg, rolled in crumbs and fried it +is very indigestible. + +Beet greens are excellent. They are best if the beets are pulled very +young and both the roots and the leaves are used. Turnip tops, +dandelion, mustard and Swiss chard are other greens that are good. All +of them are prepared like spinach, except that more water is necessary. +However, do not use much water. + +Those who say that the various vegetables are unfit to eat and act +accordingly are missing some good food. The vegetables all contain crude +fibre, but they hurt the stomach and intestinal walls no more than they +hurt the mucous membrane of the tongue. They furnish some bulk for the +intestines to act upon, which is good and proper. All animals need some +bulky food, otherwise they become constipated. + +Tomatoes are best raw. If they are stewed they are to be cooked plain. +Adding crackers and bread crumbs is a mistake. They taste all right +without sugar, but a little may be used as dressing. + +_Vegetable soup_: Take equal parts of about four vegetables, any that +you like. Slice and cook in plain water until tender. When done add +enough water or hot milk to make it of the right consistency. Season to +taste. One of the constituents may be starchy, such as potatoes, barley +or rice, but the rest should be succulent vegetables. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +The succulent vegetables may be combined with all other foods. They go +well with flesh or milk or nuts or starchy foods. With flesh or nuts +they make a very satisfying meal. They may be taken with fruit. The +tomato grows as a vegetable, but for practical purposes it is a fruit. +The tomato combines well with protein, but not so well with the starchy +foods. + + +SALAD VEGETABLES. + +If possible, salads should be made entirely of raw vegetables and raw +fruits. The chief salad vegetables are celery, lettuce, tomatoes, +cucumbers, cabbage, onions and garlic, the two last mentioned being used +for flavoring. + +Dr. Tilden, who has done much to popularize raw vegetable salads, has a +favorite, which he calls by his own name. It is equal parts of lettuce, +tomatoes and cucumbers, with a small piece of onion. Chop up coarse and +dress with salt and olive oil and lemon juice. This is all right for +those who like it, but many do not care for such a complex salad with +such dressing. Some of the combination salads that are served are +wonderful mixtures, containing as many as seven or eight vegetables and +a complex dressing. + +Raw onions are too irritating to use in large quantities, and the same +is true of garlic. The best salads contain but two or three ingredients. +Take any two of the vegetables mentioned, such as lettuce and tomatoes; +lettuce and cucumbers; cabbage and celery; celery and tomatoes, or eat +simply one of these green vegetables raw. It is a good thing to eat some +of those salad vegetables daily. If your digestion is excellent, you +may occasionally take raw carrots or turnips, and a few raw spinach +leaves are tasty for a change. Never mind if people tease you about +eating grass, for it helps you to keep well. + +Dress the raw vegetables as your taste allows. Most people want some +salt, or salt and lemon juice, or a little sugar, or cream, or salt and +olive oil, or salt, olive oil and lemon juice, or mayonnaise on their +salad vegetables. Some eat them without any dressing and the flavor is +excellent. Tasty salad can be made of fruit and vegetables, using no +dressing, but strewing some nuts over the dish. On warm days, such a +salad makes a satisfactory lunch. + +It is all right to make a fruit and vegetable salad. Instead of using +tomatoes, take strawberries, apples, grapes, or any other acid fruit. +These fruits may be combined with cabbage, lettuce, celery or cucumbers. +Do not mix too many foods in a meal, for to do so is indicative of poor +taste. Those with refined palates like simple meals, and there is no +reason for making salads so complex, when simplicity is a requirement +for building health. However, a complex salad made of raw vegetables and +raw juicy fruits does not play so much havoc as a mixture of +concentrated foods. + +Lettuce and celery are the most satisfactory salad vegetables to mix +with fruits. + +People who eat raw fruits do not need to eat the raw salad vegetables, +for fruits and vegetables supply the same salts. Those who avoid both +raw fruits and raw vegetables are not treating their bodies fairly. + +The vegetable salads are most satisfactory when taken in combination +with flesh, nuts or eggs, together with cooked succulent vegetables. +They may be eaten with starchy foods, but then they should contain +little or no acid. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +CEREAL FOODS. + + ==================================================================== + Carbohy- + Water Protein Fat drates Ash + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Barley. 10.9 12.4 1.8 72.5 2.4 + Buckwheat. 12.6 10.0 2.2 73.2 2.0 + Corn. 9.3 9.9 2.8 76.3 1.5 + Kafir corn. 16.8 6.6 3.8 70.6 2.2 + Oats. 11.0 11.8 5.0 69.2 3.0 + Rice. 12.4 7.4 .4 79.4 .4 + Rye. 11.6 10.6 1.0 73.7 1.9 + Wheat, spring. 10.4 12.5 2.2 73.0 1.9 + Wheat, winter. 10.5 11.8 2.1 73.8 1.8 + First patent flour. 10.55 11.08 1.15 76.85 0.37 + Whole wheat flour. 10.81 12.26 2.24 73.67 1.02 + Graham flour. 8.61 12.65 2.44 74.58 1.72 + Bread, ordinary white. 37.65 10.13 .64 51.14 .44 + Bread, whole wheat. 41.31 10.60 1.04 46.11 .94 + Bread, Graham. 42.20 10.65 1.12 44.58 1.45 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The cereal foods are important because of their wide distribution and +the ease with which they can be prepared and utilized as food. They are +very productive and need but little care and hence are a cheap food. The +body can digest and absorb sugar and starch more completely than any +other kind of food. + +All civilized people have a favorite cereal. The Chinese and Japanese +use rice very extensively, and this grain is growing in favor with us. +White people generally prefer wheat, which is an excellent grain that +has been used by man for thousands of years. It has been found in +ancient Egyptian tombs, and it is so retentive of life that it has +started to grow after lying dormant for several thousand years. Truly it +is a worthy food for man. + +The table of cereals should be carefully studied. It will be seen that +the grains contain much starch, a little fat, and considerable protein. +They also carry sufficient of salts, but only a small amount of water. + +Please note further that patent flour loses nearly all of its salts. +Patent flour is the product that is left after all the bran and +practically all of the germ have been removed from the wheat. Whole +wheat flour, or entire wheat flour, is the name given to the flour that +has had a great part of the outer covering of the wheat kernel removed. +It is a misnomer. Graham flour, named after Dr. Graham, is the product +of the whole wheat kernel, and it will be noted that it is richer in +salts and protein than the white flour and the whole wheat flour. The +whole wheat flour and Graham flour we find on the market are often the +result of blending, which is also true of the patent flour. + +As we would expect, the various breads are rich or poor in salts +according to the flours from which they are made. + +All the cereals are good foods, but inasmuch as wheat and rice are used +most extensively, they will receive more attention than the rest. + +Wheat is perhaps the best and most balanced of all our cereals. The +whole wheat with the addition of a little milk is sufficient to support +life indefinitely. It is one of the foods of which people never seem to +tire. Tiring of food is often an indication of excess. It is with food +as with amusement, if we get too much we become blase. Those who eat in +moderation are content with simple foods, but those who eat too much +want a great variety, as a rule. There are beef gluttons, who are +satisfied with their flesh and liquor, but this is because the meats are +so stimulating. + +Inasmuch as we use so much wheat, it is important that we use it +properly. Today people want refined foods, and in refining they spoil +many of our best food products. Sugar is too refined for health, rice +suffers through refinement, and so does wheat. The wheat kernel contains +all the elements needed to support life. In making fine white flour of +it, at least three-fourths of the essential salts are removed. This robs +the wheat of a large part of its life-imparting elements, and makes of +it starvation food. If much white bread is consumed it is necessary to +supplement it by taking large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, +not necessarily in the same meal, in order to get the salts that have +been removed in the process of milling. + +The salts are found principally in the coats of the wheat, and in +removing these coats and the germ, not only the salts, but considerable +protein is lost. In other words, we remove most of the essential salts +and a considerable part of the building material of the wheat, and then +we eat the inferior product. The finer and whiter the flour, the poorer +it is. + +White flour has a very high starch content. The products made from it +are quite tasteless and lacking in flavor, unless flavoring is added. +Those who are used to whole wheat products find the white bread flat. It +is possible to consume large quantities of white bread, and yet not be +satisfied. There is something lacking. Whole wheat bread is more +satisfying and therefore the danger of overeating of it is not so great. + +The advocates of white flour say that the bran is too irritating for the +bowels and for this reason it should be rejected. There is no danger in +eating the entire kernel, after it is ground up. The particles of bran +are so fine that they do no harm. The intestines were evidently intended +for a little roughage, and it might as well come partly from wheat as +from other sources. The gentle stimulation produced by the bran helps to +keep the intestines active. It is noticeable that consumption of very +refined foods leads to constipation. + +Bran bread and bran biscuits are prescribed for constipation. This is +just as bad as removing the bran entirely. Man has never been able to +improve on the composition of the wheat berry. When an excess of bran is +eaten, it causes too great irritation and in the end the individual is +worse off than before. The after effect of irritation is always +depression and sluggishness. Recent experiments seem to show that it is +not the coarseness of the bran that causes activity of the bowels, but +that some of the contained salts are laxative, for the same results have +been obtained by soaking the bran in water and drinking the liquid. + +The products of refined flour are more completely and easily digested +than the whole wheat products. However, by eating in moderation and +masticating well every normal person is able to take good care of whole +wheat products, and the benefit of using the entire grain is so great +that we should hesitate about continuing the use of the refined flours +and white breads. + +In the French army it has been found that when the soldiers are fed on +refined flour products they are not so well nourished as when they have +whole wheat products, and that they must have more of other foods to +supplement the impoverished breadstuffs. It is difficult to get people +to realize how important it is to give the tissue salts with the foods. +Salts are absolutely essential to vital activity, and a lack of salts +always results in mental and physical depression and even in disease. + +No matter what adults are given, children should not be fed on white +flour products. They need all the salts in the wheat. Depriving them of +salts retards their development and results in decaying teeth and poor +bone formation, among other things. They do not feel satisfied with +their white flour foods. Therefore they overeat and get indigestion, +catarrh, adenoids and various other ills. It is not difficult for people +with observing eyes to note the difference in satisfaction of children +after they get impoverished foods and the natural foods. + +Anemia is very common among children, especially among the girls. The +chief reason is impoverished foods. Salts can be used by the animal +organism only after they have been elaborated by the vegetable kingdom. +To remove all the iron from wheat and then give inorganic iron, which +can not be assimilated, in its stead, is the height of folly. By all +means, use less of the white flour and more of the entire wheat flour. +If the white flour habit can not be given up, take enough raw fruit and +vegetables to make up for the loss of salts in milling. + +When rice is properly prepared it digests very easily. It is a little +poor in protein, but this can be remedied by taking some milk in the +same meal. + +The rice we ordinarily get is inferior to the natural product. First +they remove the bran. Then the flour is taken off. Then it is coated +with a mixture of glucose and talcum and polished. All this trouble is +taken to make it appeal to the eye. This impoverished rice is lacking in +salts. It will not support people in health. In the countries where +polished rice is fed in great quantities, they suffer a great deal from +degenerative diseases. One of these is beri-beri, in which there are +muscular weakness and degeneration, indigestion, disturbances of the +heart and often times anasarca. When people suffering from this disease +are given those parts of the rice grain lost in making polished rice, +they recover. This is proof enough that the cause of the disease is the +impoverished food. + +The rice that should be used is brown and unpolished. When it is cooked +it looks quite white. It is very satisfying. + +Rye is extensively used in some lands. The bread is very good. Oats are +largely devoured in Scotland. Corn bread is a favorite food in the +southern part of our country. The negroes are fond of corn and pork with +molasses, which is far from an ideal combination in warm climates. + + +PREPARATIONS. + +Wheat makes the best bread because it contains gluten. Among proteins +gluten is unique, because it is so elastic and after it has stretched it +has a tendency to retain its place. This is what makes bread so porous. +There are various meals or flours that can not be made into bread, or +even dough, because they lack compounds which will act as frame work. + +Bread can be made in many ways. The chief question for the housewife to +decide is whether to make the bread from entire wheat flour or from +patent flour. They are so different in value that a decision should not +be difficult. It is also necessary to decide whether to use yeast bread +or some other kind. + +Yeast bread is made essentially from flour, water and yeast in the +presence of heat. There are so many ways of making bread of this kind +that a recipe is not necessary. The amount of salt to be added depends +upon individual taste. Some like to set their yeast working in part +potato, part flour. Others use milk instead of water. Some add +shortening. And nearly all women believe that their own bread is the +best. + +Yeast is made up of myriads of little plants or fungi, which thrive on +the sugary part of the flour. They convert this into alcohol and +carbonic acid gas. The alcohol is practically all gone before the bread +is brought to the table. The gas raises the bread, assisted by the +expansion of the water in the dough when it is placed in a hot oven. + +The yeast consumes a great deal of the nutritive part of the flour. This +may amount to from 5 to 8 per cent. of the food value, and I have read +that sometimes it is as high as 20 per cent. Liebig said that the +fermentation destroyed enough food material daily in Germany to supply +400,000 people with bread. However, yeast bread is very agreeable to the +taste and therefore is probably worth more than the unfermented product. + +One objection to yeast bread is that all the yeast is not killed in +baking, and the alcoholic fermentation may start again in the stomach. +If the bread is turned into zwieback this is remedied. Fresh bread is +not fit to eat, for it is very rarely properly masticated and if it is +merely moistened and converted into a soggy mass in the mouth it is hard +to digest. + +Unleavened bread is made by making the flour into a paste, rolling out +thin and baking well. Any kind of flour may be used. This is the +passover bread of the Jews. + +Dr. Graham's bread was made by mixing Graham flour with water, without +any leavening, mixing the dough thoroughly, putting this aside several +hours and baking. + +Macaroni and spaghetti are made by mixing durum wheat flour with water, +without any leavening. With the addition of eggs we get commercial +noodles. The paste is moulded as desired. + +All bread stuffs should be well baked.. The baking turns part of the +starch into dextrine, which is easy to digest. Biscuits should be placed +into a hot oven, but bread should be put into an oven moderately heated, +otherwise the crust forms too quickly. + +Whenever a light product is desired, whether it is bread, biscuit or +cake, sift the flour over and over again to get it well impregnated with +air. The more air it contains the more porous will be the finished +product. Five or six siftings will suffice. + +Unleavened breads of excellent flavor can be made by using either cream +or butter as shortening, rolling the bread very thin, like crackers, and +baking thoroughly. + +Shredded wheat biscuits, puffed wheat and puffed rice, flaked wheat and +flaked corn are some of the good foods we can purchase ready made. Most +of them should be placed in a warm oven long enough to crisp. Masticate +thoroughly and take them with either butter or milk, or both. It is best +to take the milk either before or after eating the cereal. Sugar should +not be added to these foods. Those who are not hungry enough to eat them +without sugar should fast until normal hunger returns. + +_Baking powder bread_ is very good. The essentials are well sifted +flour, liquid, good baking powder, quick mixing and a hot oven. The +following recipe, recommended by Dr. Tilden, is good: To a quart of very +best flour, which has been sifted two or three times, add a little salt +and a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. Sift again three times. Then +add one or two tablespoonfuls of soft butter. Mix rapidly into a rather +stiff dough with unskimmed milk. The dough should be rolled thin, and +cut into small biscuits or strips. Put into a pan and bake in a hot oven +until there is a crisp crust on bottom and top, which will take about +twenty minutes. The more thoroughly and quickly the dough is mixed, the +better the result. + +These biscuits or bread sticks are good, always best when made rather +thin, not to exceed an inch in thickness after being baked. When an +attempt is made to bake in the form of a fairly thick loaf it is +generally a failure. Use the proportions of white and whole wheat flours +desired. + +If more butter or some cream is added and it is rolled out thin, it +serves very well for the bread part of shortcake. + +_Toast_: Slice any kind of bread fairly thin, preferably stale bread. +Place the slices into a moderately hot oven and let them remain there +until they are crisp through and through. The scorched bread that is +generally served as toast is no better than untoasted bread. + +_Whole wheat muffins_: One cup whole wheat flour; one cup white flour; +one-fourth cup sugar; one teaspoonful salt; one cup milk; one egg; two +tablespoonfuls melted butter; four teaspoonfuls baking powder. Mix dry +ingredients; add milk gradually, then eggs and melted butter. Put into +gem pans and bake in hot oven for twenty-five minutes. + +_Ginger bread_: One cup molasses; one and three-fourths teaspoons soda; +one-half cup sour milk; two cups flour; one-half teaspoon salt; +one-third cup butter; two eggs; two teaspoonfuls ginger. Put butter and +molasses in sauce pan and heat until boiling point is reached. Remove +from fire, add soda and beat vigorously. Then add milk, egg well beaten, +and remaining ingredients mixed and sifted. Bake twenty-five minutes in +buttered, shallow pan in moderate oven. + +_Custard_: Three cups milk; three eggs; one-half cup sugar; one-half +teaspoonful vanilla; pinch of salt. Beat eggs, add sugar and salt; then +add scalded milk and vanilla; mix well. Pour into cups, place them in a +pan of hot water in oven and bake twenty to twenty-five minutes. Serve +cold. + +Custard may also be cooked in double boiler or baked in a large pan. + +This is not a cereal dish, but the next one is. + +_Rice custard_: To well cooked rice add a few raisins and a small amount +of sugar. The raisins can be cooked with the rice or separately. Place +the rice and raisins in a baking dish, pour over an equal amount of raw +custard and bake as directed for custard. Bake in either individual cups +or pan. When done the layer of custard is on top and the rice and +raisins on the bottom. + +_Macaroni and cheese_: Three-fourths cup macaroni broken in pieces; two +quarts boiling water; one-half table-spoonful salt. Cook macaroni in +salted water twenty minutes, or longer if necessary to make it tender; +drain. Put layer of macaroni in buttered baking dish; sprinkle with +cheese, and repeat, making the last or top layer of cheese. Pour in milk +to almost cover. Put into oven and bake until the top layer of cheese is +brown. + +_Corn bread_: Two cups corn meal; one-half cup wheat flour; one +tablespoonful sugar; one-half teaspoonful salt; two teaspoonfuls baking +powder; two eggs; one and three-fourths cups milk. Sift corn meal, +flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together four or five times; add +eggs and milk; stir well, pour into a hot buttered pan; smooth the top +with a little melted butter to crisp the crust. Bake a good brown in hot +oven. + +Another recipe for corn bread is: To one cup of wheat flour, add two +cups of corn flour; two eggs; one heaping teaspoonful butter or +cottolene; one heaping teaspoonful baking powder; one pinch soda, a +scant fourth teaspoonful; one-half teaspoonful salt. Prepare and make +into batter with milk and bake as directed in first recipe. + +_Corn mush_: Cook corn meal in plain water until it is done. It may be +cooked over the fire, in a fireless cooker or in a double boiler. Serve +with rich milk; add a little salt if desired. + +_Oatmeal_: Put into a double boiler and let it cook until it is very +tender. It can also be cooked in a fireless cooker over night. It +requires several hours cooking before it is fit to eat. All foods of +this nature should be thoroughly cooked, and they may all be made into +porridge, which is better. + +The objection to all mushy foods is that they are hardly ever properly +masticated. The result is that they ferment in the alimentary tract, +especially when they are eaten with sugar, as they generally are. It is +best to take the mushy foods with milk and a little salt or with +butter. Eaten in this way there is not such tendency to overeat as when +sugar is used. Children especially eat more of these foods than is good +for them if they are allowed to take them with sweets. Porridge is more +diluted than the mushes and hence the danger of overeating is not so +great. + +_Boiled rice_: The best way to cook it is in a double boiler or a +fireless cooker. Every grain should be tender. Cook it in plan water. It +is not necessary to stir, but if the rice becomes dry add some more +water. If rice and milk are desired, warm the milk and add when the rice +is done. Serve like oatmeal. Putting sugar on cereals is nonsense. They +are very rich in starch and sugar is about the same as starch. Sugar +stimulates the appetite, and consequently people who use it on cereals +overeat of this concentrated food. + +_Rice and raisins_: This is prepared the same as boiled rice, except +that raisins are added to the rice and water when first put on to cook. +With milk this makes a good breakfast or lunch. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Starches of the cereal order may be eaten in combination with fats, such +as cream, butter, olive oil and other vegetable oils. + +They combine well with all the dairy products, such as milk and cheese. + +Starches combine well with nuts. Take a piece of whole wheat zwieback +and some pecans, chew both the bread and the nuts well and you will find +this an excellent meal. + +There is nothing incompatible about eating cereals with flesh, but it +generally leads to trouble, for people eat enough meat for a meal, and +then they eat enough starch for a full meal. This overeating is +injurious. Besides, starch digestion and meat digestion are different +and carried on in different parts of the alimentary tract, so it is best +to eat starchy foods and meats at different meals. Those who eat in +moderation may eat starch and flesh in the same meal without getting +into trouble. + +In winter it is all right to take starch with the sweet fruits. + +It is best to avoid mixing acid fruits and cereals. Even healthy people +find that a breakfast of oranges and bread does not agree as well as one +of milk and bread. The saliva, which contains ptyalin, is secreted in +the mouth. The ptyalin starts starch digestion, but it does not work in +the presence of acid. Eating acid fruits makes the mouth acid +temporarily, and consequently the starch does not receive the benefit it +should from mouth digestion. The result is an increased liability to +fermentation in the alimentary tract. + +To get the best results it is absolutely necessary to masticate all +starchy foods well. If this is not done it is merely a question of time +until there is indigestion, generally accompanied by much acidity and +gas production. This condition is a builder of many ills. + +Recipes for pies and cakes are not given in this book. The less these +compounds are used the better. They are very popular and can be made +according to directions in conventional cook books. Pies should be made +with thin crusts, which should be baked crisp both on bottom and top. +The best cakes are the plain ones. + +When desserts are eaten, less should be taken of other foods. Most +people make the mistake of eating more than enough of staple foods and +then they add insult to injury by partaking of dessert. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +TUBERS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Potato............ 78.3 2.2 0.1 18.0 1.0 375 + Sweet potato...... 51.9 3.0 2.1 42.1 .9 925 + Jerusalem artichoke. 78.7 2.5 0.2 17.5 1.1 + +The two tubers that are of chief interest are the Irish potato and the +sweet potato. The former is easily and cheaply grown on vast areas of +land and therefore forms a large part of the food of many people. +Properly prepared it is easily digested and very nourishing. + +The sweet potato is a richer food than the Irish potato, but on account +of its high sugar contents people soon weary of it. The southern negroes +are very fond of this food. + +Like all other starches, potatoes must be thoroughly masticated, or they +will disagree in time. Potatoes are of such consistency that they are +easily bolted without proper mouth preparation. In time the digestive +organs object. + +A new tuber is receiving considerable attention. It is the dasheen. It +is said to be of very agreeable flavor, mealy after cooking, and +produces tops that can be used in the same manner as asparagus. The +dasheen requires a rather warm climate for its growth. + + +PREPARATION. + +_Baking_: All the tubers may be baked. Clean and place in the oven; bake +until tender. A medium sized potato will bake in about an hour. If the +potatoes are soggy after being baked they are not well flavored. To +remedy this, run a fork into them after they have been in the oven for a +while; this allows some of the steam to escape and the potatoes become +mealy. When a fork can easily be run into the potato, it is well enough +done. + +If the potatoes are well cleaned, there is no objection to eating a part +of the jacket after they are baked. The finest flavoring is right under +the jacket. This part contains a large portion of the salts. + +_Boiling_: All tubers may be boiled. It is best to keep the jacket on, +otherwise a great deal of both the salts and the nourishment is lost. If +the potatoes boiled in the jacket seem too highly flavored, cut off one +of the ends before placing them in the water. It takes about thirty or +forty minutes to boil a medium sized Irish potato. Test with a fork, the +same as baked potato, to find if done. + +Potatoes should never be peeled and soaked. If they are to be boiled +without the jacket, they should be cooked immediately after being +peeled. + +Steamed potatoes are good. + +There is no objection to mashing potatoes and adding milk, cream or +butter, provided they are thoroughly masticated when eaten. If the +potatoes are mashed, this should be so thoroughly done that not a lump +is to be found. + +Potatoes cooked in grease are an abomination. The grease ruins a part of +the potato and makes the rest more difficult to digest. Potato chips, +French fried potatoes and German fried potatoes are too hard to digest +for people who live mostly indoors. They should be used very seldom. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Potatoes are best eaten in combinations such as given for cereals. They +are commonly taken with meat and bread. This combination is one of the +causes of overeating. Occasionally they may be eaten with flesh, but +this should not be a habit. Take them as the main part of the meal. +Baked potatoes and butter with a glass of milk make a very satisfying +meal. A good dinner can be made of potatoes with cooked succulent +vegetables and one or two of the raw salad vegetables, with the usual +dressings. It is best not to eat potatoes and acid fruits in the same +meal. + +In selecting food it is well to remember that as a general rule but one +heavy, concentrated food should be eaten at a meal, for when two, three +or even four concentrated foods are partaken of, the appetite is so +tempted and stimulated by each new dish that before one is aware of it +an excessive amount of food has been ingested. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +FRUITS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Etherial Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Extracts drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Apples........... 84.6 0.4 0.5 14.2 0.3 290 + Bananas.......... 75.3 1.3 0.6 22.0 0.8 460 + Figs, fresh...... 79.1 1.5 ... 18.8 0.6 380 + Lemons........... 89.3 1.0 0.7 8.5 0.5 205 + Muskmelons....... 89.5 0.6 ... 9.3 0.6 185 + Oranges.......... 86.9 0.8 0.2 11.6 0.5 240 + Peaches.......... 89.4 0.7 0.1 9.4 0.4 190 + Pears............ 80.9 1.0 0.5 17.2 0.4 ... + Persimmons....... 66.1 0.8 0.7 31.5 0.9 630 + Rhubarb, stalk... 94.4 0.6 0.7 3.6 0.7 105 + Strawberries..... 90.4 1.0 0.6 7.4 0.6 180 + Watermelon....... 92.4 0.4 0.2 6.7 0.3 140 + + _Dried Fruits_: + + Apples........... 26.1 1.6 2.2 68.1 2.0 1350 + Apricots......... 29.4 4.7 1.0 62.5 2.4 1290 + Citrons.......... 19.0 0.5 1.5 78.1 0.9 1525 + Dates............ 15.4 2.1 2.8 78.4 1.3 1615 + Figs............. 18.8 4.3 0.3 74.2 2.4 1475 + Prunes........... 22.3 2.1 ... 73.3 2.3 1400 + Raisins.......... 14.6 2.6 3.3 76.1 3.4 1605 + Currants......... 17.2 2.4 1.7 74.2 4.5 1495 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Apricots, avocados, blackberries, cherries, cranberries, currants, +gooseberries, grapes, huckleberries, mulberries, nectarines, olives, +pineapples, plums, raspberries and whortleberries are some of the other +juicy fruits. They are much like the apple in composition, containing +much water and generally from 6 to 15 per cent of carbohydrates (sugar). +Olives and avocados are rich in oil. + +You may classify rhubarb, watermelons and muskmelons as vegetables, if +you wish. On the table they seem more like fruit, which is the reason +they are given here. Melons are fine hot weather food. They are mostly +water, which is pure. During hot weather it is all right to make a meal +of melons and nothing else, at any time. The melons are so watery that +they dilute the gastric juice very much. The result is that when eaten +with concentrated foods they are liable to repeat, which indicates +indigestion. + +Fruits are not generally eaten for the great amount of nourishment to be +obtained from them. They are very pleasant in flavor and contain salts +and acids which are needed by the body. + +The various fluids of the body are alkaline, and the fruits furnish the +salts that help to keep them so. A few secretions and excretions are +naturally acid. Sometimes the body gets into a too acid state, but that +is very rarely due to overeating of fruit. It is generally caused by +pathological fermentation of food in the alimentary tract. The salts and +acids of fruits are broken up in the stomach and help to form alkaline +substances. + +The water of the fruit is very pure, distilled by nature. The acid +fruits are refreshing and helpful to those who have a tendency to be +bilious. Fruits are cleansers, both of the alimentary tract and of the +blood. + +Fruits grow most abundantly in warm climates and that is where they +should be used most. In temperate climates they should be eaten most +freely during warm weather. + +Young, vigorous people can eat all the fruit they wish at all seasons, +within reason. Thin, nervous people, and those who are well advanced in +years should do most of their fruit eating in summer. In winter there is +a tendency to be chilly after a meal of acid fruit. In summer such meals +do not add to the burden of life by making the partaker unduly warm. + +The apple is perhaps the best all-round fruit of all. It is grown in +many lands and climates. It is possible to get apples of various kinds, +from those that are very tart to those that are so mild that the acid is +hardly perceptible to the taste. Stout people can eat sour apples with +benefit. Thin, fidgety ones should use the milder varieties. The juice +from apples, sweet cider, freshly expressed, is a very pleasant drink, +and may be taken with fruit meals. + +The avocado is a good salad fruit. It is quite oily. A combination of +avocado and lettuce makes a good salad. + +Thanks to rapid transportation, the banana has become a staple. It is +quite commonly believed that bananas are very starchy and rather +indigestible. This may be true when they are green, but not when they +are ripe. Green bananas are no more fit for food than are green apples. +Ripe bananas are neither starchy nor indigestible. When the banana is +ripe it contains a trace of starch, all the rest having been changed to +sugar. A ripe banana is mellow and sweet, but firm. The skin is either +entirely black, or black in spots, but the flesh is unspotted. The best +bananas can often be purchased for one-half of the price of those that +are not yet fit to eat. + +Bananas are a rich food. Weight for weight they contain more nourishment +than Irish potatoes. A few nuts or a glass of milk and bananas make a +good meal. Bananas contain so much sugar that it is not necessary to +eat bread or other starches with them. Those with normal taste will not +spoil good bananas by adding sugar and cream. When well masticated the +flavor is excellent and can not be improved by using dressings. + +Be sure that the children have learned to masticate well before giving +bananas, and then give only ripe ones. The flesh of the banana is so +smooth and slippery that children often swallow it in big lumps, and +then they frequently suffer. + +Lemonade may be taken with fruit or flesh meals. As usually made it is +quite nourishing, for it contains considerable sugar. Those who are +troubled with sluggish liver may take it with benefit, but the less +sugar used the better. Other fruit juices may be used likewise, but they +should be fresh. If they are bottled, be sure that no fermentation is +taking place in them. These juices may be served with the same kind of +meals as lemonade. Most of them require dilution. Grape juice is very +rich and a large glassful of the pure juice makes a good summer lunch. +It should be sipped slowly. Those who like the combination may make a +meal of fruit juice mixed with milk, half and half. + +Grapes and strawberries, which are relished by most, disagree with some +people. The skin of the Concord grape should be rejected, for it +irritates many. If they are relished, the skins of most fruits may be +eaten. When peeled apples lose a part of their flavor. + +Olives are generally eaten pickled. The fruit in its natural state +tastes very disagreeable to most people. The ripe olive is superior in +flavor to the green, which is not usually relished at first. + +The sweet fruits, by which we mean dried currants, raisins, figs and +dates, and bananas should be classed with them, serve the body in the +same way as do the breadstuffs, and may be substituted for starches at +any time. They may be eaten at all seasons of the year, but are used +most during cold weather. A moderate amount of them may be eaten with +breadstuffs, or they may be taken alone, or with milk, or with nuts, or +with acid fruit. They are very nourishing so it does not take much of +them to make a meal. To get the full benefit, masticate thoroughly. They +contain sugar in its best form, sugar that not impoverished by being +deprived of its salts. Grape sugar needs very little preparation before +it enters the blood. Starch and sugar are of equal value as nourishment. +It seems that the sugar is available for energy sooner than the starch. +Americans generally weary quickly of sweet foods, though they consume +enormous quantities of refined sugar, but in tropical countries figs and +dates are staple in many places and the inhabitants relish them day in +and day out as we relish some of out staples. It is a matter of habit. +Those who do not surfeit themselves do not weary quickly of any +particular article of diet. + + +PREPARATION + +Most fruits are best raw. Then their acids and salts are in their most +available form. Those who become uncomfortable after eating acid fruit +may know that they have abused their digestive organs and they should +take it as an indication to reduce their food intake, simplify their +diet, masticate better and eat more raw food. Those who overeat of +starch or partake of much alcohol cultivate irritable stomachs, which +object to the bracing fruit juices. + +For the sake of a change fruits may be cooked. The more plainly they are +cooked the better. Always use sugar in moderation, no matter whether the +fruit is to be stewed or baked. + +To stew fruit, clean and if necessary peel. Stew in sufficient water +until tender. When almost done add what sugar is needed. When stewed +thus less sugar is required than if the sweetening is done at the start. + +Stewed fruit can be sweetened by adding raisins, figs or dates. This is +relished by many. Figs and dates stewed by themselves are too sweet for +many tastes. This can be remedied by making a sauce of figs or dates +with tart apples or any other acid fruit that appeals in such +combinations. + +_Baked apple_: Place whole apples in large, deep pan; add about +one-third cup of water and one and one-half teaspoonfuls sugar to each +apple. Put into oven and bake until skins burst and the apples are well +done. Serve with all the juice. + +_Boiled apple_: Place whole apples in a stewing pan; add two +teaspoonfuls sugar and one cup or more of water to each apple; use less +sugar if desired. Cover the vessel tightly and boil moderately until the +skins burst and the apples are well done. + +All stewed fruits should be well done. Avoid making the fruit sauces too +sweet. + +_Stewed prunes_: A good prune needs no sweetening. Stew until tender. It +is a good plan to let the prunes soak a few hours before stewing them. +Raisins may be treated in the same way. + +Prunes may be washed and put into a dish; then add hot water enough to +about half cover them; cover the dish very tightly and put aside over +night. The prunes need no further preparation before being eaten. If the +covering is not tight it will be necessary to use more water. Raisins +and sundried figs may be treated in the same way. + +Unfortunately, most of our dried fruit is sulphured. Sulphurous acid +fumes are employed, and you may be sure that this does the fruit no +good. If you can get unsulphured fruit, do so. The sulphuring process is +popular because it acts as a preservative and it is profitable because +it allows the fruit to retain more water without spoiling than would be +possible otherwise. + +_Canning fruit_: It is very easy to can fruit, but it requires care. +Select fruit that is not overripe. The work room should be clean and so +should the cans and covers. It is not sufficient to rinse the cans in +clean water. Both the jars and the covers should be taken from boiling +water immediately before being used. + +Use only sound fruit, cook it sufficiently, adding the sugar when the +fruit is almost done. If you cook the fruit in syrup, do not have a +heavy syrup. Put into jar while piping hot, filling the jar as full as +possible, put on the cover immediately, turning until it fits snugly; +turn jar upside down for a few hours to see if it leaks; tighten again +and put in cool place. + +An even better way, especially for berries, is to fill the jar with +fruit, pour syrup over them, put the jars into a receptacle containing +water and let this water boil until the berries are done; then fill the +jars properly and seal. Some berries that lose their color when cooked +in syrup retain it when treated this way. + +Canned fruits are not as good as the fresh ones, but better than none. +Be sure that they are not fermenting when opened. When proper care is +exercised a spoiled jar is a rarity. If there is any doubt about the +fruit, scald and cool before using. This destroys the ferments. + +Fresh fruit is the best. Next comes fruit recently stewed or baked. If +other fruit can not be obtained, get good dried fruit and stew it. + + +COMBINATIONS. + +Fruits may be combined with almost any food, except that which is rich +in starch, and even that combination may be used occasionally, although +it is not the best. I have seen people who were supposed to be incurable +get well when their breakfasts were mostly apple sauce and toast. +However, sick people should avoid such combining entirely and healthy +ones most of the time. Breakfasting on cereals and fruit is a mistake. +Those who eat thus may say that they feel no bad results, but time will +tell. Nowhere in our manner of feeding does nature demand of a healthy +human being that he walk the chalk line. All she asks is that he be +reasonable. So if you feel fine and want a shortcake for dinner take it. +But the shortcake should be the meal, not the end of one that has +already furnished too much food. + +Fruit combines well with both milk and cheese. The impression to the +contrary that has been gained from both medical and lay writers is due +to false deductions based on premises not founded on facts. Milk and +fruit, and nothing else, make very good meals in summer. + +_Fruit salads_: A great variety of these salads can be made. Take two or +three of the juicy fruits, slice and mix. Dress with a little sugar, or +salt and olive oil, or simply olive oil, or no dressing. Some like a +dressing of sour cream or of cottage cheese rather well thinned out. +Raisins and other sweet fruits may also be used. Ripe banana may be one +of the ingredients. + +Such a salad may be eaten with a flesh or nut meal, or it may be used as +a meal by itself. Fruit and cottage cheese make a meal that is both +delicious and nourishing. A fruit salad strewed with nuts does the same. + +Strawberries and sliced tomatoes dressed with cottage cheese make a good +meal. + +Lettuce, celery and tomatoes may be used in fruit salads. + +A few fruit salads to serve as examples are: Apples, grapes and lettuce; +peaches, strawberries and celery; bananas, pineapples and nuts; +strawberries, tomatoes and lettuce. Combine to suit taste and dress +likewise, but avoid large quantities of cream and sugar, not only on +your salads, but on all fruits. No acid should be necessary, but if it +is desired, use lemon juice or incorporate oranges as a part of the +salad. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +OILS AND FATS. + +Oils and fats are the most concentrated foods we have. Weight for +weight, they contain more than twice as much fuel or energy value as any +other food. Taken in moderation they are easily digested, but if taken +in excess they become a burden to the system. About 7 or 8 per cent of +the weight of a normal body is fat, and this fat is formed chiefly from +the fatty foods taken into the system, supplemented by the sugar and +starch. + +When the body becomes very fat, it is a disease, called obesity. Fat +people are never healthy. The fat usurps the place that should be +occupied by normal tissues and organs. It crowds the heart and the +lungs, and even replaces the muscle cells in the heart. The result is +that the heart and lungs are overcrowded and overworked and the blood +gets insufficient oxygen. Not only the lungs pant for breath after a +little exercise, but the entire body. Much fat is as destructive of +health as it is of beauty. Those who find themselves growing corpulent +should decrease their intake of concentrated foods and increase their +physical activity. + +Our chief sources of fat supply are cream and butter, vegetable oils, +nuts and the flesh of animals. Most meats, especially when mature, +contain considerable fat. When the fat is mixed in with the meat, it is +more difficult to digest than the lean flesh. Fresh fish, most of which +contains very little fat, is digested very easily, while the fattest of +all flesh, pork, is tedious of digestion. + +There is an instinctive craving for fat with foods that contain little +or none of it. That is why we use butter with cereals and lean fish, and +oil dressings on vegetables. In moderation this is all right. Fats are +not very rich in salts, which must be supplied by other foods. + +Because of their great fuel value, more fats are naturally consumed in +cold than in hot climates. The Esquimeaux thrive when a large part of +their rations is fat. Such a diet would soon nauseate people in milder +climes. + +Fats and oils are used too much in cooking. Fried foods and those cooked +in oil are made indigestible. Sometimes we read directions not to use +animal fats, but to use olive oil or cotton seed oil for frying. It is +poor cooking, no matter whether the grease is of animal or vegetable +origin. + +So far as food value and digestibility are concerned, there is no +difference between animal and vegetable fats. Fresh butter is very good, +and so is olive oil. Some vegetable oils contain indigestible +substances. Cotton seed oil and peanut oil are much used. Sometimes they +are sold in bottles under fancy lables as olive oil. The olive oils from +California are fully as good as those imported from Spain, Italy and +France and are more likely to be what is claimed for them than the +foreign articles. In the past, much of our cotton seed oil has been +bought by firms in southern Europe and sent back to us as fine olive +oil! Such imposture is probably more difficult under our present laws +than it was in the past. + +Most oils become rancid easily and then are unfit for consumption. If +taken in excess as food they have a splendid opportunity to spoil in the +digestive tract, and then they help to poison the system. Taken in +moderate quantities they are digested in the intestines and taken into +the blood by way of the lymphatics. They may be stored in the body for a +while, but finally they are burned, giving up much heat and energy. + +Taking oils between meals as medicine or for fattening purposes is +folly. People get all they need to eat in their three daily meals. +Lunching is to be condemned. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +MILK AND OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS. + + ==================================================================== + Pro- Carbohy- Calories + Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Whole milk 87.00 3.3 4.0 5.0 0.7 325 + Cream 74.00 2.5 18.5 4.5 0.5 910 + Buttermilk 91.00 3.0 0.5 4.8 0.7 165 + Butter ..... ... 82.4 ... ... 3475 + Cheese, whole milk 33.70 26.0 34.2 2.3 3.8 1965 + " skimmed milk 45.70 31.5 16.4 2.2 4.2 1320 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The dairy products vary greatly. Some cows give richer milk than others. +Butter may be almost pure fat, or it may contain much water and salt. +The cheeses are rich or poor in protein and fats according to method of +making. Cottage cheese may be well drained or quite watery. Therefore, +this table gives only approximate contents. + +Milk is not a beverage. It is a food. A quart of milk contains as much +food and fuel value as eight eggs or twelve ounces of lean beef. That +is, a cupful (one-half of a pint) is equal to two eggs or three ounces +of lean beef. This shows that milk should not be taken to quench thirst, +but to supply nourishment. Milk is one of our most satisfactory and +economical albuminous foods, even at the present high prices. In many +foods from 5 to 10 per cent of the protein goes to waste. In milk the +waste does not ordinarily amount to more than about 1 per cent. This +fluid generally leaves the stomach within one or one and one-half hours +after being ingested. + +In spite of its merits as a food some writers on dietetics advocate that +adults stop using it, giving it only to the young. + +Milk is an excellent food when properly used. When abused it tends to +cause discomfort, disease and death, and so does every other food known +to man. Milk is given in fevers and in other diseases, when the +digestive and assimilative processes are suspended. This is a serious +mistake and has caused untold numbers of deaths. When the digestion has +gone on a strike all feeding is destructive. Milk and meat broths, which +are generally given, are about the worst foods that could be selected +under the circumstances, for they decay very easily, and are excellent +food for the numerous bacteria that thrive in the digestive tract during +disease. These foods must decay when they are not digested, for the +internal temperature of the body during fevers is over one hundred +degrees Fahrenheit. + +When bacteria are present in excess they give off considerable poison, +which makes the patient worse. If circumstances are such that it is +necessary to feed during acute disease, which is always injurious to the +patient, let the food be the least harmful obtainable, such as fruit +juices. Even they do harm. + +In our country cow's milk is used almost exclusively, and that is the +variety that will be discussed in this chapter. In other lands the milk +of the mare, the ass, the sheep, the goat and of other animals is used. +Human milk is discussed in detail in the chapter on Infancy. + +The objection voiced against cow's milk is that it is an unnatural food +for man, only fit for the calf, which is equipped with several stomachs +and is therefore able to digest the curds which are larger and tougher +than the curds formed from human milk. It is said that the curds of +cow's milk are so indigestible that the human stomach can not prepare +them for entry into the blood. This is probably true, but it is also +true of other protein-bearing foods. The digestion and assimilation of +proteins are begun in the stomach and completed in the intestines, and +the protein in milk is one of the most completely utilized of all +proteins. + +To call a food unnatural means nothing, for we can call nearly all foods +unnatural and defend our position. A natural food is presumably a +nutritious and digestible aliment that is produced in the locality where +it is consumed, one that can be utilized without preparation or +preservation. So we may say that a resident of New York should not use +figs, dates, bananas and other products of tropical and semi-tropical +climates, for they are not natural in the latitude of New York. We can +take the position that it is unnatural for people to eat grains, which +need much grinding, for the birds are the only living beings supplied +with mills (gizzards). We can further say that it is unnatural to eat +all cooked and baked foods. But such talk is not helpful. The more a +person uses his brain the less power he has left for digestion and +therefore it is necessary to prepare some of the foods so that they will +be easy to digest. Man is such an adaptable creature that we are not +sure what he subsisted on before he became civilized and are therefore +unable to say what his natural food is. We know that in the tropics +fruits play an important part in nourishing savages, while in the frozen +north fat flesh is the chief food. Perhaps there is no natural food for +man. + +Some of those who advocate the disuse of milk have a substitute or +imitation to take its place, nut milk made from finely ground nuts and +water. Like all other imitations, it is inferior to the original. It is +more difficult to digest than real milk and the flavor is quite +different. + +The objection that milk is indigestible is not borne out by the +experience of those who give it under proper conditions. It is true that +milk disagrees with a few, but so do such excellent foods as eggs, +strawberries and Concord grapes, and many other aliments which are not +difficult to digest. This is a matter of individual peculiarity. Some +can take boiled milk, but are unable to take it fresh, and vice versa. +Outside of the few exceptions, milk digests in a reasonable time and +quite completely. It is easier to digest than the legumes (peas, beans, +lentils) which are rich in protein. It is also easier to digest than +nuts, which contain much protein. The milk sugar causes no trouble and +cream is one of the easiest forms of fat to digest, if taken in +moderation. The protein in milk will cause no inconvenience if the milk +is eaten slowly, in proper combinations and not to excess. The rennet in +the stomach curdles the casein. The hydrochloric acid and the pepsin in +the gastric juice then begin to break down and dissolve the clots, and +the process of digestion is completed in the small intestines. + +Those who overeat of milk in combination with other foods will derive +benefit from omitting the milk. They will also be benefitted if they +continue using milk and omit either the starch or the meat. When foods +disagree, in nearly every instance it is due to the fact that too much +has been eaten and too many varieties partaken of at a meal. Some may +single out the milk or the meat as the offenders. Others may point to +the starches, and still others to the vegetables with their large amount +of indigestible residue. They are all right and all wrong, for all the +foods help to cause the trouble. However, such reasoning does not solve +the problem. If the meals cause discomfort and disease, reduce the +amount eaten, take fewer varieties at a meal and simplify the cooking. +Those who eat simple meals and are moderate are not troubled with +indigestion. + +Those who eat such mushy foods as oatmeal and cream of wheat usually +take milk or cream and sugar with them. This should not be done, for +such dressing stimulates the appetite and leads to undermastication. +Neither children nor adults chew these soft starchy foods enough. The +result is that the breakfast ferments in the alimentary tract. After a +few months or years of such breakfasts, some kind of disease is sure to +develop. Mushy starches dressed with rich milk and sugar are responsible +for a large per cent. of the so-called diseases of children, which are +primarily digestive disturbances. Colds, catarrhs and adenoids are, of +course, due to improper eating extending over a long period of time. +Nothing should be eaten with mushy starches except a little butter and +salt. After enough starch has been taken, a glass of milk may be eaten. +If parents would only realize that they are jeopardizing the health and +lives of their dear ones when they feed them habitually on these soft +messes, which ferment easily, there would be a remarkable decrease in +the diseases of childhood and in the disgraceful infant and childhood +mortality, for several hundred thousand children perish annually in this +country. + +Milk is often referred to as a perfect food, and it is the perfect food +for infants. The young thrive best on the healthy milk given by a female +of their own species. Every baby should be fed at the breast. The milk +contains the elements needed by the body. + +The table at the head of this chapter shows that milk contains all +essential aliments. The ash is composed of the various salts necessary +for health, containing potassium, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, iron, +silicon and other elements. For the nourishment of the body we need +water, protein, fat, carbohydrates and salts, so it will be seen that +milk is really a complete food. However, as the body grows the nutritive +requirements change and milk is therefore not a balanced food for +adults. + +It may be interesting to note that there is no starch in milk and that +infants fed at the breast exclusively obtain no starchy food. Many +babies get no starch for nine, ten or even twelve months, and this is +well, for they do not need it. They grow and flourish best without it. + +Milk is an emulsion. It is made up of numerous tiny globules floating in +serum. The size of the globules varies, but the average is said to be +about 1/10,000 of an inch in diameter. These globules are fatty bodies. +There are other small bodies, containing protein and fat, which have +independent molecular movement. The milk is a living fluid. When it is +tampered with it immediately deteriorates. Without doubt, nature +intended that the milk should go directly from the mammary gland into +the mouth of the consumer, but this is not practicable when we take it +away from the calf. However, if we are to use sweet milk it is best to +consume it as nearly like it is in its natural state as possible. + +It is quite common to drink milk rapidly. This should not be done. Take +a sip or a spoonful at a time and move it about in the mouth until it is +mixed with saliva. It is not necessary to give it as much mouth +preparation as is given to starchy food. If it is drunk rapidly like +water large curds from in the stomach. If it is insalivated it +coagulates in smaller curds and is more easily digested, for the +digestive juices can tear down small soft curds more easily than the +large tough ones. + +Milk should not form a part of any meal when other food rich in protein +is eaten. Our protein needs are small, and it is easy to get too much. +Whole wheat bread and milk contain all the nourishment needed. On such a +diet we can thrive indefinitely. This is information, not a +recommendation. The bread should be eaten either before or after +partaking of the milk. Do not break the bread into the milk. If this is +done, mastication will be slighted. Bread needs much mastication and +insalivation. When liquid is taken with the bread, the saliva does not +flow so freely as when it is eaten dry. + +Fruit and milk make a good combination, but no starchy foods are to be +taken in this meal. Take a glass of milk, either sweet or sour, and what +fruit is desired, insalivating both the fruit and the milk thoroughly. +If you have read that the combination of fruit and milk has proved +fatal, rest assured that those who made such reports only looked at the +surface, for other foods and other influences were having their effects +on the system. Many people die of food-poisoning and apoplexy. These bad +results are due to wrong eating covering a long period and it is folly +to blame the last meal. It would be queer if fruit and milk were not +occasionally a part of the last meal. + +In winter, figs, dates or raisins with milk make an excellent lunch or +breakfast. These fruits take the place of bread, for though they are not +starchy, they contain an abundance of fruit sugar, which is more easily +digested than the starch. Starch must be converted into sugar before the +system can use it. + +On hot days milk and acid fruit make a satisfying meal. Many believe +that milk and acid fruit should not be taken in the same meal, because +the acid curdles the milk. As we have already seen, the milk must be +curdled before it can be digested. If this step in digestion is +performed by the acid in the fruit no more harm is done than when it is +performed by the lactic acid bacteria. Fruit juices and milk do not +combine to form deadly poisons. If fruit and milk are eaten in +moderation and no other food is taken at that meal the results are good. +However, if fruit, milk, bread, meat, cake and pickles make up the meal, +the results may be bad. Such eating is very common. But do not blame the +fruit and the milk when the whole meal is wrong. + +Likewise, if a hearty meal has been eaten and before this has had time +to digest a lunch is made of fruit and milk, trouble may ensue. All the +foods may be good, but a time must come when the body will object to +being overfed. In summertime much less food is needed than during the +cold months. Nevertheless, barring the Christmas holidays and +Thanksgiving, people overeat more in summer than at any other time of +the year. Picnics often degenerate into stuffing matches. We should +expect many cases of serious illness to follow them, and such is the +case. + +Sometimes the milk is so carelessly handled that it becomes poisonous +and at other times the fruit is tainted, but generally bad combinations +and overeating are the factors that cause trouble when the fruit and +milk combination is blamed. + +Buttermilk and clabbered milk are more easily digested by many than is +the fresh milk. In Europe sour milk is a more common food than in this +country. Here many do not know how excellent it is. Two glasses of milk, +or less, make a good warm-weather lunch. + +Those who have a tendency to be bilious should use cream very sparingly. +Bilious people always overeat, otherwise their livers would not be in +rebellion. The fat, in the form of cream, arouses decided protest on the +part of overburdened livers. + +A theory has found its way into dietetic literature, sometimes disguised +as a truth, to the effect that boiled or hot milk is absorbed directly +into the blood stream without being digested. This is contrary to +everything we know about digestion and assimilation, and although it is +a fine enough theory it does not work out in practice. I have seen bad +results when nothing but a small amount of the hot milk was fed to +patients with weak digestive power. Perhaps others have had better +results. When the system demands a rest from food, nothing but water +should be given. Boiled or natural milk is then as bad as any other +food, and worse than most, for in the absence of digestive power it soon +becomes a foul mass, swarming with billions of bacteria. The system is +compelled to absorb some of the poisons given off by the micro-organisms +and the results are disastrous. + +Every food we take must be modified by our bodies before entering the +circulation, and milk is no exception. + +When milk is allowed to stand for a while the sugar ferments, through +the action of the lactic acid bacteria. The sugar is turned into lactic +acid, which combines with the casein and when this process has continued +for a certain length of time the result is clabbered milk or sour milk. +The length of time varies with the temperature and the care given the +milk. If milk remains sweet for a long time during warm weather, +discharge the milkman and patronize one whose product sours more +quickly, for milk that remains sweet has been subjected to treatment. +All kinds of preservative treatment cause deterioration. If +extraordinary care is taken with the milk and it is kept at a +temperature of about forty-two degrees Fahrenheit, it may remain sweet +five or six weeks, provided it is not exposed to the air, but such care +is at present not practicable in commercial dairies. The milk contains +unorganized ferments which spoil it in time without exposure to +bacterial influences. These ferments cause digestion or decay of the +milk. + +Fresh butter is a palatable form of fat, which digests easily. Like all +other milk products, it must be kept clean and cold, or it will soon +spoil. Butter absorbs other flavors quickly and should therefore not be +placed near odorous substances. It is best unsalted and in Europe it is +very commonly served thus. When people learn to demand unsalted butter +they will get good butter, for no one can palm off oleomargarine or +other imitations under the guise of fresh unsalted butter. Unsalted +butter must be fresh or it will be refused by the nose and the palate. +Salt and other preservatives often conceal age and corruption of foods. + +Butter combines well with starches and vegetables, in fact, it can be +used in moderation with any other food, when the body needs fat. Butter +should not be used to cook starches or proteins in. Greasy cooking +should be banished from our kitchens. + +Milk is a complex food, highly organized, and therefore is easily +injured or spoiled. The general rule is that the more complex a food is, +the more easily it spoils. It is rather difficult at present to get +wholesome milk enough to supply the people of our large cities. When it +is boiled, the milk keeps longer, but boiled milk is spoiled milk. The +fine flavor is lost, the casein, which is the principal protein of milk, +is toughened, the milk, which is normally a living liquid, is killed, +the chemical balance is lost, the organic salts being rendered partly +inorganic. Milk that is unfit to eat without being boiled is not fit to +eat afterwards, for the poisonous end products of bacterial life remain. + +The milk is soured by the bacteria it contains. The lactic acid bacteria +are harmless. When there is a lack of care and cleanliness, other +bacteria get into the milk, and these are also harmless to people in +good health, and most of them are not injurious to sick people. The +bacteria (germs) do not cause disease, but when disease has been +established, they offer their kindly offices as scavengers. Bacteria +thrive in sick people, especially when they are fed when digestive power +is lacking. Boiling retards the souring of milk, but when fat and +protein are boiled together the protein becomes hard to digest. Milk is +rich in both fat and protein. Excessive heat turns the milk brown, the +milk sugar being carameled. + +Babies do not thrive on boiled milk. They may look fat, but instead of +having the desirable firmness of normal children, they are puffy. +Children fed on denatured milk fall victims to diseases very easily, +especially to diseases which are due to lack of organic salts, such as +rickets and malnutrition. + +Pasteurization of milk is very popular. This is objectionable for the +same reasons that boiling is condemned, though not to the same extent. +Pasteurization is heating the milk to about 140 to 150 degrees +Fahrenheit. This kills many of the bacteria, but many escape and when +the milk is cooled off they begin to multiply and flourish again. It is +estimated that pasteurized milk contains one-fourth as many bacteria as +natural milk. So nothing is gained, and the milk is partly devitalized. +The advocates of pasteurization give statistics showing that milk so +treated has been instrumental in decreasing infant mortality. But please +bear in mind that previously a great deal of milk unfit for consumption +was fed to the babies. Those who pasteurize milk generally are careful +enough to see that they get a good product in the first place. + +If we can't get good milk we can do without it, for it is not a +necessary food, but we can get good milk if we make the effort. If the +milk is filthy, boiling or pasteurizing does not remove the dirt. +Gauthier says of pasteurization: "Sometimes it is heated up to 70 +degrees (Centigrade) with pressure of carbonic acid. But even in this +case pasteurization does not destroy all germs, particularly those of +tuberculosis, peptonizing bacteria of cowdung, and the dust of houses +and streets, etc." + +Even boiling does not kill the spores of bacteria unless it is continued +until the milk is rendered entirely unfit for food. To kill these spores +it is necessary to boil the milk several times. The spores are small +round or oval bodies which form within the bacterial envelope when these +micro-organisms are subjected to unfavorable conditions. The spores +resist heat and cold that would kill almost any other form of life. When +conditions are favorable they develop into bacteria again. + +After heating, the cream does not rise so quickly nor does it separate +so completely as it does in natural milk. This is due to the toughening +of the casein in the milk. + +Heating partly disorganizes the delicately balanced salts contained in +the milk. The result is that they can not be utilized so easily and +completely by the body, for the human organism demands its food in an +organic state, that is, in the condition built up by vegetation or by +animals. We may consume iron filings and remain anemic, in fact, the +effect the iron medication has is to ruin the teeth, digestive organs +and other parts of the body as a consequence. But if we partake of such +foods as apples, cabbage, lettuce and spinach, the necessary salt is +taken into the blood. + +Heating milk also makes it constipating. True, normal people can take +boiled milk without becoming constipated, but how many normal people are +there? We are sorely enough afflicted in this way now. Let us have a +supply of natural milk or go without it. It is not my desire to convey +the impression that it does any harm to scald or boil milk occasionally, +but if done daily it does harm, especially to the young. Scalded milk +has its proper place in dietetics. Occasionally we find a person who has +persistent chronic diarrhea. If he is in condition to eat anything, this +annoying affliction is usually overcome in a reasonable time if the +patient will take boiled or scalded milk in moderation three times a +day, and nothing else except water. + +How are we to obtain good milk? We can do it by using common sense, care +and cleanliness. + +It is well to remember that there are bacteria in all ordinary milk, and +that if the milk is from healthy cows and is kept clean and cold these +bacteria are harmless. Most of them are the lactic acid bacteria, which +change the milk sugar into acid. When the milk has attained a certain +degree of acidity, the lactic acid bacteria are unable to thrive and the +souring process is slowed up and finally stopped. Most of the other +bacteria in milk perish when lactic acid is formed. This is why stale +sweet milk is often harmful, when the same kind of milk allowed to sour +can be taken with impunity. + +If the milk is kept in a cold place the bacteria multiply slowly. If it +is kept in a warm place they increase in numbers at a rate that is +marvelous, and consequently the milk sours much sooner. Even if the milk +is kept cold, bacterial growth will soon take place, but it will perhaps +not be lactic acid bacteria. It may be a form that causes the milk to +become ropy and slimy or one that gives it a bad odor. + +Bacteria are like other forms of vegetation, such as grass, weeds, +flowers and trees, in that some flourish best under one condition and +others under dissimilar conditions, and they struggle one against the +other for subsistence and existence. Like flowers there are thousands of +different forms of bacteria and they vary according to their food and +environment. + +Peculiar odors in milk generally come from certain kinds of food given +to the cows, such as turnips; from bacterial action; or from flavors +absorbed from other foods or from odors in the air. Milk should not be +exposed to odorous substances, for it becomes tainted very quickly. +Sometimes yeast finds its way into milk and causes decomposition of the +sugar with the formation of carbon dioxide and alcohol. + +A count of the bacteria in milk often serves a good purpose, for it +shows whether it is good and has had proper care. The consumers have a +right to demand milk low in bacteria, for if no preservatives have been +used, that means clean milk. If we could live in our pristine state of +beatific bliss, if such it was, we would not have to use milk after +childhood is past, but our present condition demands the use of easily +digested foods and to many milk is almost a necessity. + +The milk in the udder of a healthy cow is almost surely free from +bacteria, but the moment it is exposed to the air these little beings +start to drop into the fluid. + +The bacterial standards given by various city health departments vary. +Those who are mathematically inclined may find the following figures +interesting: In some great cities they allow 500,000 bacteria to the +cubic centimeter of milk. A cubic centimeter contains about twenty-five +drops. In other words, they allow 20,000 bacteria per drop. This may +seem very lively milk, but these bacteria are so small that about 25,000 +of them laid end to end measure only about an inch, and it would take +17,000,000,000,000 of them to weigh an ounce, according to estimates. +These are the tiny vegetables we hear and read so much about, that we +are warned against and fear so much. Truly the pygmies are having their +innings and making cowards of men. The bacteria multiply by the simple +process of growing longer and splitting into two, fission, as it is +called, and the process is so rapid that within an hour or two after +being formed a bacterium may be raising a family of its own. + +Some of the milk brought to the cities contains as many as 15,000,000 +bacteria per cubic centimeter, that is, about 600,000 per drop. This +milk is either very filthy or it has been poorly cared for and should +not be given to babies and young children. The filthiest milk may +contain several billion bacteria to the cubic centimeter. + +By using care milk containing but 100, or even fewer, bacteria per drop +can be produced. From the standpoint of cleanliness this is excellent +milk. Of course, the dairyman who takes pride enough in his work to +produce such milk will sell nothing but what is first-class, and if he +has business acumen he can always get more than the market price for his +product. + +The talk about germs has been overdone, but no one can deny that the +study of bacteriology has made people more careful about foods. The +filthy dairies that were the rule a few years ago are slowly being +replaced by dairies that are comfortable, well lighted and clean. Do not +allow the germs to scare you, for if ordinary precautions are taken no +more of them will be present than are necessary, and they are necessary. +They thrive best in filth, and they are dangerous only to those who live +so that they have no resistance. + +Wholesome milk can be produced only by healthy animals. Bovine health +can be secured by the same means as human health. The cows must be +properly fed and housed. They must have both ventilation and light. They +must not be unduly worried. If a nursing of an angry mother's milk is at +times poisonous enough to kill a baby, you may be sure that the milk +from an abused, irritated and angry cow is also injurious. If the +animals are kept comfortable and happy they will do the best producing, +both in quality and quantity. It may sound far-fetched to some to +advocate keeping animals happy in order to get them to produce much and +give quality products, but it is good science and good sense. Happy cows +give more and better milk than the mistreated ones. The singing hens are +the best layers. + +Cows should have fresh green food all the year, and this can be obtained +in winter time by using silage. It is a mistake to give cows too much of +concentrated foods, such as oil meals and grains. Cattle can not long +remain well on exclusive rations of too heating and stimulating foods. +When fed improperly they soon fall prey to various diseases, such as +rheumatism and tuberculosis. It is the same with other domestic animals. +The horse when overfed on grain develops stiff joints. The hogs that are +compelled to live exclusively on concentrated, heating rations are +liable to die of cholera. Young turkeys that have nothing but corn and +wheat to eat die in great numbers from the disease known as blackhead. +It is the same law running all through nature, applying to the high and +to the low, that improper nourishment brings disease and death. + +When cattle roam wild, the green grasses (sundried in winter) are their +principal source of food. Man should be careful not to deviate too much, +for forced feeding is as harmful to animals as it is to man. + +The following excellent recommendations for the care of milk are given +by Dr. Charles E. North of the New York City Milk Commission: + +"No coolers, aerators, straining cloths or strainers should be used. + +"The hot milk should be taken to the creamery as soon as possible. + +"The night's milk should be placed in spring or iced water higher than +the milk on the inside of the can. It should not be stirred, and the top +of the can should be open a little way to permit ventilation. + +"The milking pails and cans will be sterilized and dried at the +creamery, and should be carefully protected until they are used. + +"Brush the udder and wipe with a clean cloth; wash with clean water and +dry with a clean towel. + +"Whitewash the cow stable at least twice yearly. + +"Feed no dusty feed until after milking. + +"Remove all manure from cow stable twice daily. + +"Keep barnyard clean and have manure pile at least 100 feet from the +stable. + +"Have all stable floors of cement, properly drained. + +"Have abundant windows in cowstables to permit sunlight to reach the +floor. + +"Arrange a proper system of ventilation. + +"Do not use milk from any cows suspected of gargot or of any udder +inflammation. Such milk contains enormous numbers of bacteria. + +"Brush and groom cows from head to foot as horses are groomed. + +"Use no dusty bedding; wood shavings or sawdust give least dust. + +"Use an abundance of ice in water tank for cooling milk." + +Perhaps some will take issue with the doctor on the first paragraph of +his recommendation. If straining cloths are used they should be well +rinsed in tepid water, washed and then boiled. However, if his +recommendations are carried out in letter and spirit no straining is +necessary. + +Herr Klingelhofer near Dusseldorf, Germany., runs a model dairy. The +cows, stables, milkers, containers, in fact, all things connected with +the dairy are scrupulously clean. The milkers do not even touch the milk +stools, carrying them strapped to their backs. The milk is strained +through sterilized cotton and cooled. + +The cows are six and seven years old and are milked for ten or twelve +months and they are not bred during this time. The first part of the +milk drawn from each teat is not used, for that part is not clean, +containing dirt and bacteria. + +This milk is practically free from bacteria, for without adding +preservatives it will remain sweet, for as long as thirteen days. If +ordinary milk fails to sour in two or three days it shows that it has +been treated. + +According to the Country Gentleman, it will cost from one cent and a +quarter to one cent and three-quarters extra per quart to produce clean +milk. Healthy adults can take milk teeming with bacteria without harm, +but for babies it is best to have very few or none in the milk. At +Dusseldorf the babies used to die as they do here when fed unclean milk. +Herr Klingelhofer says that when fed on his product "sterben keine." +(None die.) + +This is submitted to those who advocate pasteurizing the milk. Denatured +milk makes sickly babies. Clean natural milk makes healthy babies. The +extra cost of less than two cents a quart is not prohibitive. Most +fathers, no matter how poor, waste more than that daily on tobacco and +alcoholics. The extra cost would be more than saved in lessened doctor +bills, to say nothing of funeral expenses. The recompense that comes +from the satisfaction of having thriving, sturdy, healthy children can +not be figured in dollars and cents. + +Dr. Robert Mond, of London, after investigating for years, has come to +the conclusion that sterilized milk predisposes to tuberculosis, instead +of preventing it. He believes that milk so treated is so inferior that +he would not personally use it. That sterilized milk predisposes to +tuberculosis, as well as to other diseases which can attack the body +only when it is run down, is natural. Any food that has been rendered +inferior can not build the robust health that comes to those who live on +natural food. Adults who use sterilized milk should counteract its bad +effects by partaking liberally of fresh fruits and vegetables. + +If the milk is clean, put into clean containers by careful milkers and +is then kept cold until delivered, it will reach the consumers in good +condition. Do not let the fact that when you consume a glass of milk you +are also engulfing some millions of bacteria bother you, for bacteria +are necessary to our existence. If all the bacteria on earth should +perish, it would also mean the end of the human race. + +Today the progressive farmer is coming to the fore. He is a man who is +justly proud of his work, so it will probably not be long before all +city people who desire clean milk can get it. + +The milk cure consists in feeding sick people on nothing but milk for +varying periods. Generally the patient is told to either take great +quantities three or four times a day, or to take smaller quantities +perhaps every half hour. The milk cure has no special virtue, except +that it is a monotonous diet. The body soon rebels if forced to subsist +on an excessive amount of but one kind of food. The individual loses his +desire for food and even becomes nauseated. If the advocates of the milk +cure would prescribe milk in moderation, instead of in excess, they +would have better success. (It is fully as harmful to partake of too +much milk as it is to eat excessively of other foods.) + +The benefit derived from the milk cure comes from the simplicity, not +from the milk. A grape cure, an orange cure or a bread and milk cure +would be as beneficial. The milk cure is ancient. It was employed +twenty-five centuries ago. + +_Clabbered milk_: Clabbered milk or sour milk needs no special +preparation. Put the milk into an earthen or china dish. Do not use +metal dishes, for the lactic acid acts upon various metals. Cover the +dish so as to keep particles of matter in the air away, but the covering +is not to be airtight. Put the dish in a warm place, but not in the sun. +Milk that sours in the sun or in an air-tight bottle is generally of +poor flavor. Clabbered milk is a good food. It does not form big, tough +curds in the stomach, it is easy to digest, and the lactic acid helps to +keep the alimentary tract sweet. The various forms of milk may be used +in similar combinations. + +_Buttermilk_: The real buttermilk is what remains of the cream after the +fat has been removed by churning. It is slightly acid and has a +characteristic taste, to most people very agreeable. The flavor is +different from that of artificially made buttermilk. In composition it +is almost like whole milk, except that it contains very little fat. + +Many people make buttermilk by beating the clabbered milk thoroughly, +until it becomes light. The buttermilk made from sweet milk and the +various brands of bacterial ferments obtainable at the drug stores is +all right. These ferments have as their basis the lactic acid bacteria, +and if the manufacturers wish to call their germs by other names, such +as Bacillus Bulgaricus, no harm is done. It is unnecessary to add any of +these ferments, for the milk clabbers about as quickly without them. + +Buttermilk is an excellent food. The casein can be seen in fine flakes +in the real buttermilk. Adults usually digest buttermilk and clabbered +milk more easily than the sweet milk. The lactic acid seems to be quite +beneficial. Metchnikoff thought for a while that he had discovered how +to ward off decay and old age by means of the lactic acid bacteria in +milk. + +Milk can be clabbered quickly by adding lemon juice to sweet milk. + +_Junket_: Add rennet to milk and let it stand until it thickens. The +milk is not to be disturbed while coagulation takes place, for agitation +will cause a separation of the whey. The rennet can be bought at the +drug stores. + +_Whey_ contains milk sugar, some salts, and a little albumin. It is +easily digested, but not very nourishing. It is what is left of the milk +after the fat and almost all of the protein are removed. + +_Cottage cheese_: This is sometimes called Dutch cheese or white cheese. +It is a delicious and nutritious dairy product that is easy to digest. +Put the clabbered milk in a muslin bag, hang the bag up and allow the +milk to lose its whey through drainage. In summer this bag must be kept +in a cool place. After draining, beat the curds. Then add enough +clabbered milk to make the curds soft when well beaten. A small amount +of cream may also be added. Cottage cheese made in this way is superior +in flavor and digestibility to that which has been scalded. No seasoning +is needed. A little salt is allowable, but sugar and pepper should not +be used. Fruit and cottage cheese make a satisfying as well as +nutritious meal. + +Delicious cottage cheese is also made by using the whole clabbered milk. +Hang it up to drain in a bag until it has lost a part of its whey. Then +beat it until the curds are rather small, but not fine. No milk or cream +is to be added to this, for it contains all the fat that is in the whole +milk. Do not drain this cheese so long that it becomes dry. + +_Other cheeses_: The various cheeses on the market are made principally +from ripened curds, with which more or less fat has been mixed. The +ripening is a form of decay, and it is no exaggeration to say that some +of the very ripe cheeses on the market are rotten. The flavors are due +to ferments, molds and bacteria, which split up the proteins and the +fats. + +The mild cheeses are generally good and may be eaten with fruits or +vegetables or with bread. Two or three ounces are sufficient for the +protein part of the meal, taking the place of flesh. Use less if less is +desired. + +When cheese becomes very odorous and ripe, no one with normal nose and +palate will eat it. People who partake of excessive amounts of meats or +alcoholic beverages are often fond of these foul cheeses. One perversion +leads to another. + +Cheese of good quality, eaten in moderation, is a nutritious food, +easily digested. Gauthier says of cheese: "Indeed, this casein, which +has the composition of muscular tissue, scarcely produces during +digestion either residue or toxins." + +Because good cheese is concentrated and of agreeable flavor, it is +necessary to guard against overeating. An excess of rich cheese soon +causes trouble with the liver or constipation or both. + +Cheese should not be eaten in the same meal with fish, meat, eggs, nuts +or legumes, for such combining makes the protein intake too great. +There is nothing incompatible about such combinations, but it is safest +not to make them. The course dinners, ending up with a savory cheese, +crackers and coffee, are abominations. They are health-destroyers. They +lead to overeating. As nearly everybody overeats, and because overeating +is the greatest single factor in producing disease and premature death, +it is advisable not to eat cheese and other foods rich in protein in the +same meal. The greater the variety of food, the more surely the diner +will overeat. + +The term, "full cream cheese" is misleading, for cheeses are not made of +whole cream. The cream does not contain enough protein (casein) for the +manufacture of cheese. Some cheeses are made of skimmed milk. Others are +made of milk which contains part, or even all, of the cream. Some have +cream added. The cheeses containing but a moderate amount of fat are the +best. + +The popular Roquefort cheese is made of a mixture of goat's milk and +sheep's milk. The savor is due to bacterial action and fat +saponification, which result in ammonia, glycerine, alcohol, fatty acids +and other chemicals in very small quantities. + +The peculiar colorings which run in streaks through some cheeses that +are well ripened are due to molds, bacteria and yeasts. Gentlemen who +would discharge the cook if a moldy piece of bread appeared on the +table, eat decaying, moldy cheese with relish. + +The best cheese of all is cottage cheese. People of normal taste will +soon weary of the frequent consumption of strong cheese, but they can +take cottage cheese every other day with relish. Occasionally put a few +caraway seeds in it if this flavor is agreeable. + +Cottage cheese may be eaten plain or with bread, or with fruit or +vegetables. It may be used as dressing both on fruit and vegetable +salads. + +Cheese should play no part in the alimentation of the sick, with the +exception of cottage cheese, which may be given to almost anyone who is +in condition to eat anything. The other cheeses are too concentrated for +sick people. In acute disease nothing is to be fed. + +_Skimmed milk_ is about the same in composition as buttermilk. It is +inferior in flavor, but a good food. It is used a great deal in cooking. +Milk should not be used very much in cooking. When cooked it does not +digest very readily and it has a tendency to make other foods +indigestible. + +_Sour cream_ or clabbered cream is best when it is taken from clabbered +milk. It may be used as dressing on fruits and salads. Sweet cream will +clabber, but it is not as delicious as when it clabbers on the milk. + +_Clotted cream_ is made by putting the milk aside in pans in a cool +place until the cream rises. Then, without disturbing the cream, scald +the milk. Put the pan aside until the contents are cold and remove the +cream, which has a rich, agreeable flavor. This may be used as a +dressing. + +Whipped cream and ice cream are so familiar that they hardly need +comment. Cream is such a rich food that it must be eaten in moderation. +Otherwise it will cause discomfort and disease. Ice cream is made of +milk and cream, in varying proportions, flavored to taste and frozen. It +is not necessary to add eggs and cornstarch. If eaten slowly it is a +good food, but taken in too large quantities and too rapidly it may +cause digestive troubles. It is not best to chill the stomach. Those +with weak digestion should be very careful not to do so. + +Buttermilk is sometimes flavored and frozen. This ice is easy to digest. +Some doctors recommend this dish to their convalescents. It is an +agreeable change, and can be eaten by many who are unable to take care +of the rich ice cream. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +MENUS. + +For a balanced dietary we need some building food, protein; some force +food, starch, sugar and fat; some of the mineral salts in organic form, +best obtained from raw fruits and vegetables; and a medium in which the +foods can be dissolved, water. + +We need a replenishment of these food stuffs at intervals, but it is not +necessary to take all of them at the same meal, or even during the same +day. Those who believe that all alimentary principles must enter into +every meal must necessarily injure themselves through too complex +eating. In talking of these alimentary principles, reference is made to +them only when they are present in appreciable quantities. + +To have the subject better in hand, let us again classify the most +important foods: + +Flesh foods, which are rich in protein. + +Nuts, which contain considerable protein and fat. + +Milk and cheese, which contain much protein. + +Eggs, taken principally for their protein. + +Cereals, the most important contents being starches. + +Tubers, containing much starch. + +Legumes, rich in protein and starch. + +Fresh fruits, well flavored and high in salt contents. + +Sweet fruits, containing much fruit sugar. + +Succulent vegetables, chiefly valuable because of salts and juices. + +Fats and oils, no matter what their source, are concentrated foods which +furnish heat and energy when burned in the body. + + +When people are free and active in the fresh air they can eat in a way +that would soon ruin the digestive powers of those who lead more +artificial lives. It is a well known fact that we can go hunting, +fishing, tramping or picnicking and eat mixtures and quantities of foods +that would ordinarily give us discomfort. The freedom and activity, the +change and the better state of mind give greater digestive power. + +Those who wish to live their best must pay some attention to the +combination of food. It is true that very moderate people, those who +take no more food than the body demands, can combine about as they +please. These moderate people do not care to mix their foods much. They +are satisfied with very plain fare. Much as we dislike to acknowledge +the fact, nearly all of us take too much food, even those who most +strongly preach moderation. By combining properly much of the harmful +effect of overeating can be overcome. + + +FRUITARIANS. + +I class as fruitarians those who eat only cereals, fruits and nuts. This +may not be a correct definition, but after reading much literature on +dietetics it is the best I can do. Their combinations should present no +difficulties. + +They should take cereals once or twice a day; nuts once or twice a day; +fruit once a day in winter and once or twice a day in summer. The winter +fruit should be sweet part of the time. In summer it can be the juicy +fruit and berries at all times. + +The fruitarians should be careful to avoid the habitual combination of +acid fruits with their cereals. + +One meal a day can be made of one or two varieties of fruit and nothing +else. Nuts may be added to the fruit at times. + +Another meal may be made of some cereal product with nut butter or some +kind of vegetable oil. + +A third meal may be some form of sweet fruit, with which may be eaten +either bread or nuts, or better still, combine one sweet fruit with an +acid one. + +Most people would consider such a diet very limited, but it is easy to +thrive on it, and it is not a tiresome one. There are so many varieties +of fruits, nuts and cereals that it is easy to get variety. These foods +do not become monotonous when taken in proper amounts. On such a diet it +does not make much difference which meal is breakfast, lunch or dinner. +The rule should be to take the heartiest meal after the heavy work is +done, for hearty meals do not digest well if either mind or body is hard +at work. + +It is not difficult to get all the food necessary in two meals, but +inasmuch as the three meal a day plan is prevalent the menus here given +include that number of meals. + +Breakfast: Apples, baked or raw. + +Lunch: Brown rice and raisins. + +Dinner: Whole wheat zwieback with nut butter. + + +Breakfast: Oranges or grapefruit. + +Lunch: Pecans and figs. + +Dinner: Bread made of rye or whole wheat flour, with nut butter or olive +oil. + + +Breakfast: Any kind of berries. + +Lunch: Dates. + +Dinner: Whole wheat bread, with or without oil, Brazil nuts. + + +These combinations are indeed simple, but these foods are very +nourishing and most of them concentrated, so it is best not to mix too +much. They are natural foods, which digest easily when taken in +moderation, but if eaten to excess they soon produce trouble. + +It is no hardship to live on simple combinations. We have so much food +that we have fallen into the bad habit of partaking of too great variety +at a meal. The fact is that those who combine simply enjoy their foods +more than those who coax their appetite with too great variety. There is +no physical hardship connected with simple eating, and as soon as the +mind is made up to it, neither is there any mental hardship. + + +VEGETARIANS. + +It is difficult to give an acceptable definition for vegetarianism. For +a working basis we shall take it for granted that those are vegetarians +who reject flesh foods. Those who wish can also reject dairy products +and eggs. It is largely a matter of satisfying the mind. + +The chief trouble with the vegetarians is that they believe that the +fact that they abstain from flesh will bring them health. So they +combine all kinds of foods and take several kinds of starches and fruits +at the same meal. The consequence is that they soon get an acid +condition of the digestive organs and a great deal of fermentation. +Among vegetarians, prolapsus of the stomach and bowels is quite common, +and this is due to gas pressure displacing the organs. + +Their foods are all right, but their combinations, as a rule, are bad. +The various vegetarian roasts, composed of nuts, cereals, legumes and +succulent vegetables are hard to digest. It would be much better for +them not to make such dishes. + +A few suggestions for vegetarian combining follow: + +Breakfast: Berries and a glass of milk. + +Lunch: Baked potatoes and lettuce with oil. + +Dinner: Nuts, cooked succulent vegetables, one or two varieties, sliced +tomatoes. + + +Breakfast: Cottage cheese and oranges. + +Lunch: Nuts and raisins. + +Dinner: Whole wheat bread, stewed onions, butter, salad of lettuce and +celery. + + +Breakfast: Cantaloupe. + +Lunch: Buttermilk, bread and butter. + +Dinner: Nuts, stewed succulent vegetables, lettuce and sliced tomatoes, +with or without oil. + + +Breakfast: Boiled brown rice with raisins and milk. + +Lunch: Grapes. + +Dinner: Cooked lentils or baked beans, lettuce and celery. + + +OMNIVOROUS PEOPLE. + +In this country, most people are omnivorous. The food is plentiful and +people believe in generous living. They put upon their tables at each +meal enough variety for a whole day and the custom is to eat some of +each. Some breakfasts are heavy enough for dinners. Three heavy meals a +day are common. Some can eat this way for years and be in condition to +work most of the time, but they are never 100 per cent. efficient. They +are never as able as they could be. Besides, they have their times of +illness and grow old while they should be young. They generally die +while they should be in their prime, leaving their friends and families +to mourn them when they ought to be at their best. They are worn out by +their food supply, plus other conventional bad habits. + +One of the best plans that has been proposed for omnivorous people is +that which has been worked out by Dr. J. H. Tilden. Its skeleton is, +fruit once a day, starchy food once a day, flesh or other protein with +succulent vegetables once a day. I shall make up menus for a few days +based on this plan: + +Breakfast: Baked apples, a glass of milk. + +Lunch: Boiled rice with butter. + +Dinner: Roast mutton, spinach and carrots, salad of raw vegetables. + + +Breakfast: Cantaloupe. + +Lunch: Biscuits or toast with butter, buttermilk. + +Dinner: Pecans, two stewed succulent vegetables, salad of lettuce, +tomatoes and cucumbers, dressing. + + +Breakfast: Peaches, cottage cheese. + +Lunch: Baked potatoes, butter, lettuce. + +Dinner: Fresh fish baked, liberal helping of one, two or three of the +raw salad vegetables. + + +Breakfast: Shredded wheat or puffed wheat sprinkled with melted butter, +glass of milk. + +Lunch: Watermelon. + +Dinner: Roast beef, boiled cabbage, stewed onions, butter dressing, +sliced tomatoes with salt and oil. + + +The doctor allows considerable dessert. That generally goes with the +dinner. + +It is nonsense to write, "So and so shalt thou eat and not otherwise." +The menus here given simply serve as suggestions. Where one succulent +vegetable is mentioned another may be substituted. One cereal may be +substituted for another. One juicy fruit for another. One sweet fruit +for another. One legume for another. One food rich in protein for +another. + +In combining food the principal things to remember are: + +Use only a few foods at a meal; use only one hearty, concentrated food +in a meal, as a rule, with the exception that various fats and oils in +moderation are allowable as dressings for fruits, vegetables and +starches; that much fat or oil retards the digestion of the rest of the +food; that the habitual combining of acid food with foods heavy in +starch is a trouble-maker; that concentrated starchy foods should be +taken not to exceed twice a day; that the heating, stimulating foods +rich in protein, which include nearly all meats, should be taken only +once a day in winter, and less in summer; that either raw fruit or raw +vegetables should be a part of the daily food intake, because the salts +they contain are essential to health; that fats should be used sparingly +in summer, but more freely in winter; that juicy fruits are to be used +liberally in summer and sparingly in winter, when the sweet fruits are +to take their place a part of the time. + +The dried sweet fruits are quite different from the fresh juicy ones. +The former serve more the purpose of the starches than that of fruits. +They are rich in sugar, which produces heat and energy. The same is true +of the banana, which is about one-fifth sugar. It is not as sweet as +would be expected from this fact. Some sugars are sweeter than others. +This you can easily verify by tasting some milk sugar and then taking +the same amount of commercial sugar made of cane or beets. + +The food need in summer is surprisingly small, so small that the average +person will scarcely believe it. Some writers on dietetics advise eating +as much in summer as in winter. How they can do so it is difficult to +understand, for reason tells us that in summertime practically no food +is needed for heating purposes, and that is how most of the food is +used. A little experience and experiment show that reason is right. +Nature herself confirms this fact, for at the tropics she has made it +easy for man to subsist on fruits, while in the polar regions she +furnishes him the most heating of all foods, fats. + +Because fats are so concentrated it is very easy to take too much of +them. An ounce of butter contains as much nourishment as about +twenty-five ounces of watermelon. Those who simplify their cooking and +their combining and partake of food in moderation are repaid many times +over in improved health. It is necessary to supply good building +material in proper form if we would have health. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +DRINK. + +There is but one real beverage and that is water. The other so-called +beverages are foods, stimulants or sedatives. Milk is a rich food, one +glass having as much food value as two eggs. Coffee, tea, chocolate and +cocoa are stimulants, with sedative after-effects. Their food value +depends largely on the amount of milk, cream and sugar put into them. +Chocolate and cocoa are both drugs and foods. Alcohol is a stimulant at +first, afterwards a sedative, and at all times an anesthetic. + +When we think of drinking for the sake of supplying the bodily need of +fluid, we should think of water and nothing else. If other liquids are +taken, they should be taken as foods or drugs. + +Water is the best solvent known. The alchemists of old spent much time +and energy trying to find the universal solvent, believing that +thereafter it would be easy to discover a method of making base metals +noble. But they never found anything better than water. Water is the +compound that in its various forms does most to change the earth upon +which we live, and it is more necessary for the continuation of life +than anything else except air. + +Pure water does not exist in nature, that is, we have never found a +compound of the composition H2O. Water always contains other matter. The +various salts are dissolved in it and it absorbs gases. The nearest we +come to pure water is distilled. Pure water is an unsatisfied compound, +and as soon as it is exposed it begins to absorb gases and take up salts +and organic matter. + +Pure water differs from clean water. Clean or potable water is a +compound which contains a moderate amount of salts, but very little of +organic matter. Bacteria should be practically absent. Water that +contains much of nitrogenous substances is unfit to use. + +If the water is very hard, heavily loaded with salts, it should not be +used extensively as a drink, for if too much of earthy and mineral +matter is taken into the system, the body is unable to get rid of all of +them. The result is a tendency for deposits to form in the body. In +places where the water is excessively charged with lime it has been +noticed that the bones harden too early, which prevents full development +of the body. If the bones of the skull are involved, it means that there +will not be room enough for the brain. Such diseases are rare in this +country, but in parts of Europe they are not uncommon. If the water is +very hard, a good plan is to distill it and then add a little of the +hard water to the distilled water. + +People who partake of an excessive amount of various salts can perhaps +drink distilled water to advantage, but those who take but a normal +amount of the salts in their foods should have natural water. + +Water forms three-fourths of the human body, more or less. It is needed +in every process that goes on within the body. "To be dry is to die." +Water keeps the various vital fluids in solution so that they can +perform their function. Without water there would be no sense of taste, +no digestion, no absorption of food, no excretion of debris, and hence +no life. The water is the vehicle through which the nutritive elements +are distributed to the billions of cells of the body, and it is also the +vehicle which carries the waste to the various excretory organs. + +We can live several weeks without food, but only a few days without +water. + +Hot water and ice-cold water are both irritants. Water may be taken +either warm or cool. It is best to avoid the extremes. + +The amount of water needed each twenty-four hours varies according to +circumstances. Two quarts is a favorite prescription. Those who eat +freely of succulent fruits and vegetables do not need as much as those +who live more on dry foods. Salt in excess calls for an abnormal amount +of water, for salt is a diuretic, robbing the tissues of their fluids +and consequently more water has to be taken to keep up the equilibrium. + +Naturally, more water is required when the weather is hot than when it +is cool. On hot days warm water is more satisfying and quenches thirst +more quickly than ice water. Warm water also stimulates kidney action, +which is often sluggish in summer. Ice water is the least satisfactory +of all, for the more one drinks the more he wants. + +A normal body calls for what water it needs, and no more. An abnormal +body is no guide for either the amount of food or drink necessary. Many +people do not like the taste of water, especially in the morning. This +means that the body is diseased. To a normal person cool water is always +agreeable when it is needed, and it is needed in the morning. People +with natural taste do not care for ice water, but other water is +relished. + +The common habit of drinking with meals is a mistake. Man is the only +animal that does this, and he has to pay dearly for such errors. Taking +a bite of food and washing it down with fluid lead to undermastication +and overeating, and then the body suffers from autointoxication. A +mouthful of food followed by a swallow of liquid forces the contents of +the mouth into the stomach before the saliva has the opportunity to act. + +The best way is to drink one or two glasses of water in the morning +before breakfast. Partake of the breakfast, and all other meals, without +taking any liquid. Sometimes there is a desire for a drink immediately +after the meal is finished. If so, take some water slowly. If it is +taken slowly a little will satisfy. If it is gulped down it may be +necessary to take one or two glasses of water before being satisfied. + +Those who have a tendency to drink too much during warm weather will +find very slow drinking helpful in correcting it. If there is any +digestive weakness, the liquid taken immediately after a meal should be +warm and should not exceed a cupful. Those with robust digestion may +take cool water. + +Cold water chills the stomach. Digestion will not take place until the +stomach has reached the temperature of about one hundred degrees +Fahrenheit again, and if the stomach contents are chilled repeatedly the +tendency is strong for the food to ferment pathologically, instead of +being properly digested. For this reason it is not well to drink while +there is anything left in the stomach to digest. As stomach digestion +generally takes two or three hours at least, it is well to wait this +long before taking water after finishing a meal, and then drink all that +is desired until within thirty minutes of taking the next meal. If the +thirst should become very insistent before two or three hours have +elapsed since eating, take warm water. Those who eat food simply +prepared and moderately seasoned are not troubled much with excessive +thirst. + +Two quarts of water daily should be sufficient for the adults under +ordinary conditions. Here, as in eating, no exact amount will fit +everybody. Make a habit of drinking at least a glass of water before +breakfast, cleaning the teeth and rinsing the mouth before swallowing +any, and then take what water the body asks for during the rest of the +day. Taking too much water is not as injurious as overeating, but +waterlogging the body has a weakening effect. + +To drink with the meals is customary, not because it is necessary, but +because we have a number of drinks which appeal to many people. Water is +the drink par excellence. + +A food-beverage that is used by many is cambric tea, which is made of +hot water, one-third or one-fourth of milk and a little sweetening. +Children generally like this on account of the sweetness. It may be +taken with any meal, when fluid is needed, but the amount should be +limited to a cupful. It is not well to dilute the digestive juices too +much. + +The water taken in the morning helps to start the body to cleanse +itself. Water drinking is a great aid in overcoming constipation. +Constipated people generally overeat. Less food and more water will +prove helpful in overcoming the condition. + +Unfortunately for the race, we have accustomed ourselves to partake of +beverages containing injurious, poisonous substances. Inasmuch as this +is the place to discuss the drugs contained in coffee and tea, I shall +take the liberty of dwelling upon other habit-forming substances in the +same chapter. They are all a part of the drug addictions of the race. +For scientific discussion of these various substances I refer you to +technical works. In this chapter will be found only a discussion of +their relation to people's welfare, that is, to health and efficiency. + +Coffee, tea and chocolate contain a poisonous alkaloid which is +generally called caffeine. The theine in tea and the theobromine in +cocoa are so similar to caffeine that chemists can not differentiate +them. These drinks when first taken cause a gentle stimulation under +which more work can be done than ordinarily, but this is followed by a +reaction, and then the powers of body and mind wane so much that the +average output of work is less than when the body is not stimulated. The +temporary apparently beneficial effect is more than offset by the +reaction and therefore partaking of these beverages makes people +inefficient. Coffee is very hard on the nerves, causing irritation, +which is always followed by premature physical degeneration. + +Experiments of late indicate that children who use coffee do not come up +to the physical and mental standard of those who abstain. The effect on +the adults is not so marked because adults are more stable than +children. + +Those who are not used to coffee will be unable to sleep for several +hours after partaking of a cup. Some people drink so much of it that +they become accustomed to it. + +Coffee is not generally looked upon as one of the habit-forming drugs, +but it is. However, of all the drugs which create a craving in the +system for a repetition of the dose, coffee makes the lightest fetters. +It is surprising how often health-seekers inform the adviser that they +"can not get along without coffee." If they would take a cup a few times +a year, it would do no harm, but the daily use is harmful to all, even +if they feel no bad effects and make it "very weak," which is a favorite +statement of the women. + +Smoking, drinking beer and drinking coffee have a tendency to overcome +constipation in those who are not accustomed to these things, but their +action can not be depended upon for any length of time and the cure is +worse than the disease. + +Tea drinking has much the same effect as coffee drinking, except that it +is decidedly constipating. Perhaps this is because there is considerable +of the astringent tannin in the tea leaves. + +Chocolate is a valuable food. Those who eat of other aliments in +moderation may partake of chocolate without harm, but if chocolate is +used in addition to an excess of other food, the results are bad. The +chocolate is so rich that it soon overburdens some of the organs of +digestion, especially the liver. The Swiss consume much of this food and +it is valuable in cases where it is necessary to carry concentrated +rations. + +Alcohol in some form seems to have been consumed by even very primitive +people as far back as history goes. The Bible records an early case of +intoxication from wine, and beer was brewed by the ancient Egyptians. So +much has been consumed that some people have a subconscious craving for +it. There are cases on record where the very first drink caused an +uncontrollable demand for the drug. Fortunately these cases are very +rare. + +Alcohol is really not a stimulant, though it gives a feeling of glow, +warmth and well-being at first, but this is followed by a great lowering +of physical power, which gives rise to disagreeable sensations. Then the +drinker needs more alcohol to stimulate him again. Then there is another +depression with renewed demand: There is no end to the craving for the +drug once it has mastered the individual. The lungs, heart, digestive +organs, muscles, in fact, every structure in the body loses working +capacity. Alcohol seems to have a special affinity for nervous tissue. + +A glass of beer or wine taken daily is no more harmful than a cup of +coffee per day, but the coffee drinker does not make of himself such a +public nuisance and menace as the man often does who drinks alcohol to +excess. + +Formerly it was respectable to drink. Some of our most noted public men +were drunkards. Now a drunkard could not maintain himself in a prominent +public position very long. To drink like a gentleman was no disgrace. +Now real gentlemen do not get drunk. + +In backward Russia they are becoming alarmed about the inroads of vodka, +and are trying to decrease its consumption. France is trying to teach +total abstinence to its young men because it disqualifies so many of +them from military service to drink. Scandinavia is temperance +territory. The German Kaiser has recently given a warning against +drinking. The United States discourages drinking in the army and navy. +Field armies are not supplied with alcoholics. Drinking is becoming +disreputable. + +It is very difficult to prove the harm done by excessive drinking of tea +and coffee, also by the use of much tobacco, even if we do know that it +is so. Everyone knows something about the deleterious effect of alcohol +upon the consumer. Solomon wrote: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is +raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Who hath wounds +without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?" + +Alcohol permanently impairs both body and mind. Depending on how much is +taken, it may cause various ills, ranging from inflammation of the +stomach to insanity. It reduces the power of the mind to concentrate and +it diminishes the ability of the muscles to work. It reduces the +resistance of the body and shortens life. Its first effect is to lull +the higher faculties to sleep. + +Most drunkards do not recover from their disease, for drunkenness is a +disease. The various drugs given to cure the afflictions are delusions. +Strengthening the body, mind and the will and instilling higher ideals +are the best methods of cure. Suggestive therapeutics, and the awakening +of a strong resolve for a better life are powerful aids. Proper feeding +should not be overlooked, for bad habits do not flourish in a healthy +body. + +Civilization necessitates self-control and considerable self-denial. +Those who go in the line of least resistance are on the road to +destruction. It is often necessary to overcome habits which produce +temporary gratification of the senses. + +According to Warden Tynan of the Colorado Penitentiary, 96 per cent. of +the prisoners are brought there because they use alcohol. It is also +well known that moral lapses are most common when the will is weakened +through the use of liquor. Those who have the welfare of the race at +heart are therefore compelled to give considerable thought to this +subject. According to past experience, it will not help to try to +legislate sobriety into the people. Education and industrialism are the +factors which it seems to me will be most potent in solving the alcohol +problem. Morality, which in the last analysis is a form of selfishness, +will teach many that it is poor policy to reduce one's efficiency and +thereby reduce the earning capacity and enjoyment of life. + +More and more the employers of labor will realize that the use of +alcohol decreases the reliability and worth of the worker. Many will +take steps like the following: + +"In formal recognition of the fact, established beyond dispute by the +tests of the new psychology, that industrial efficiency decreases with +indulgence in alcohol and is increased by abstinence from it, the +managers of a manufacturing establishment in Chester, Penn., have +attacked the temperance problem from a new angle. + +"Unlike many railways and some other corporations, they do not forbid +their employees to drink, but they offer 10 per cent. advance in wages +to all who will take and keep--the teetotaler's pledge. Incidentally, a +breaking of the promise will mean a permanent severance of relations, +but there is no emphasizing of that point, it being confidently expected +that the advantage of perfect sobriety will be as well realized on one +side as on the other." + +Business has during the past two centuries been the great civilizer, the +great moral teacher. It has found that honesty and righteousness pay and +that injustice is folly. Business has led the way to the acceptance of a +new ethics, and new morals. + +What has been said about alcohol applies to tobacco in a much smaller +degree. The use of tobacco seems to lead to the use of alcohol. It +retards the development of children. It is surely one of the causes of +various diseases. Tobacco heart, sore throat and indigestion are well +known to physicians. + +Tobacco contains one of the deadliest of poisons known. One-sixteenth of +a grain of nicotine may prove fatal. The reason there are so few deaths +from acute tobacco poisoning is that but very little of the nicotine is +absorbed. + +Men who chew tobacco make themselves disagreeable to others. Smoking of +cigarettes is to be condemned not only because it poisons the body, but +causes inattention and inability to concentrate on the part of the +smoker, as well. Every little while he feels the desire to take a smoke, +and if smoking is forbidden he devises means of getting away. He robs +his employer of time for which he is paid and injures himself. + +The ability to work is decreased by indulgence in smoking. Recent +experiments show that for a short time there is increased activity after +a smoke, but the following depression is greater than the stimulation, +so there is an actual loss. + +A few years ago, according to Mr. Wilson, who was then Secretary of +Agriculture, there were about 4,000,000 drug addicts or "dope fiends" in +the United States. Without doubt this estimate was too high, for the +proportion of addicts in the country is not as great as in the large +cities. The drugs chiefly used are cocaine, opium, laudanum, morphine +and heroin. These drugs are much more destructive than alcohol. Cocaine +and heroin are the worst. It is very difficult to stop using any of them +once the habit has been formed. Nearly every "fiend" dies directly or +indirectly from the effect of his particular drug. Every one weakens the +body so that there is not much resistance to offer to acute diseases. +Every one destroys the will power so that a cure is exceedingly +difficult. + +It is well to bear in mind that all are not possessed of strong enough +will power to resist their cravings and that some take to cocaine when +they can not get liquor. Cocaine is far worse than alcohol. + +People should be very careful about taking patent medicines. There is no +excuse for taking them. The most popular ones have as their basis one of +the habit-forming drugs. + +Most of the soothing syrups contain opium in some form. To give babies +opiates is a grave error, to speak mildly. It weakens the child, may lay +the foundation for a deadly habit later in life, and often an overdose +kills outright. Well informed mothers avoid such drugs and keep their +children reasonably quiet by means of proper care. + +Many of the remedies for nasal catarrh and hay fever contain much +cocaine. Cocaine is an astringent and a painkiller and people mistake +the temporary lessening of discharge from the nose and disappearance of +pain for curative effects. But there is nothing curative about it. In a +short time the mucous membrane relaxes again and then the discharge is +re-established. The nerves which were put out of commission resume their +function and then the pain reappears. + +Opium or one of its derivatives is generally present in the patent +medicines given for coughs. Opium is also an astringent and will +suppress secretions, but this is not a cure. Excessive secretions are an +indication that the body is surcharged with poison and food. Let them +escape and then live so that there will be internal cleanliness and then +there will be no more coughs and colds. + +The unfortunate people who get into the habit of using these drugs +degenerate physically, mentally and morally. They need more and more of +their drug to produce the desired effect until they at last take enough +daily to kill several normal men. Sometimes they are able to keep +everybody in ignorance of what they are doing for years. They develop +slyness and secretiveness. They become very suspicious. They are nearly +always untruthful, and those who deal with them are surprised and wonder +why those who used to be open and above-board now are furtive and +dishonest. They often lie when there is not the slightest excuse for it. +The moral disintegration is often the first sign noticed. + +After habitually using any of these drugs for a while the body demands +the continuation and if the victim is deprived of his accustomed portion +there will be a collapse with intense suffering. Every tortured nerve in +the body seems to call out for the drug. The victim will do anything to +get his drug. He will lie, steal, and he may even attack those who are +caring for him. For the time being he is insane. + +Many professional men use cocaine. It is a favorite with writers. It +often shows in their work. Those who write under the inspiration of this +drug often do some good work, but they are unable to keep to their +subject. Their writings lack order. We have enough of such writings to +have them classified as "cocaine literature." + +If there are 4,000,000, or even fewer, of these people in our land, it +is a serious problem, for every one is a degenerate, to a certain +degree. If the medical profession and the druggists would co-operate it +would be easy enough to prevent the growth of a new crop of dope fiends. +Of course, people would have to stop taking patent medicines, which +often start the victims on the road to degeneration. Then the physicians +should stop prescribing habit-forming drugs, as well as all other drugs, +and teach the people that physical, mental and moral salvation come +through right living and right thinking. + +Unfortunately the medical profession is careless and is responsible for +the existence of many of the drug addicts. A patient has a severe pain. +What is the easiest way to satisfy him? To give a hypodermic injection +of some opiate. The patient, not realizing the danger, demands a +pain-killer every time he suffers. He soon learns what he is getting and +then he goes to the drug store and outfits himself with a hypodermic +outfit and drugs, and the first thing he knows he is a slave, in bondage +for life. This is no exaggeration. There are hundreds of thousands of +victims to the drug habit who trace their downfall to the treatment +received at the hands of reputable physicians, who do not look upon +their practice with the horror it should inspire because it is so +common. Doctors do not always bury their mistakes. Some of them walk +about for years. + +In spite of laws against the sale of various drugs, they can be +obtained. There are doctors and druggists of easy conscience who are +very accommodating, for a price. + +There is no legitimate need for the use of one-hundredth of the amount +of these drugs that is now consumed. A local injection of cocaine for a +minor operation is justifiable, but none of the habit-forming drugs +should be used in ordinary practice to kill pain, for the proper +application of water in conjunction with right living will do it better +and there are no evil after effects. Massage is often sufficient. + +To show a little more clearly how some people become addicted to drugs, +let us consider one of the latest, heroin: A few years ago this drug, +which is an opium derivative, was practically unknown. It is much +stronger than morphine and consequently the effect can be obtained more +quickly by means of a smaller dose. Physicians thought at first that it +was not a habit-forming drug, for they could use it over a longer period +of time than they could employ morphine, without establishing the +craving and the habit. So they began to prescribe heroin instead of +morphine, and many a morphine addict was advised to substitute heroin. +All went well for a short while, until the victims found that they were +enslaved by a drug that was even worse than morphine. Now, thanks +chiefly to the medical profession, it is estimated that we have in our +land several hundred thousand heroin addicts. Sallow of face, gaunt of +figure, looking upon the world through pin-point pupils, with all of +life's beauty, hope and joy gone, they are marching to premature death. + +The medical profession furnishes more than its proportion of drug +addicts. They know the danger of the drugs, but familiarity breeds +contempt. If the public but knew how many of their medical advisers, who +should always be clear-minded, are befuddled by drugs, there would be a +great awakening. One eminent physician who has now been in practice +about forty-five years and has had much experience with drug addicts, +has said that according to his observations, about one physician in four +contracts the drug habit. I believe this is exaggerated, but I am +acquainted with a number of physicians who are addicts. + +Physicians who smoke do not condemn the practice. Those who drink are +likely to prescribe beer and wine for their patients. Those who are +addicted to drugs use them too liberally in their practice. + +Those who have watched the effects of the various drugs, from coffee to +heroin, must condemn their use. It is true that an occasional cup of +coffee or tea, a glass of wine or beer does no harm. A cigarette a week +would not hurt a boy, nor would on occasional cigar harm a man. But how +many people are willing to indulge occasionally? The rule is that they +indulge not only daily, but several times a day, and the results are +bad. One bad habit leads to another, and the time always comes when it +is a choice between disease and early death on one hand, and the giving +up of the bad habits on the other, and when this time comes the bonds of +habits are often so strong that the victim is unable to break them. + +I realize that knowledge will not always keep people out of temptation +and that some individuals will take the broad way that leads to +destruction in spite of anything that may be said. Youth is impatient of +restraint and ever anxious for new experiences. Regarding this serious +matter of destructive drug use, much could be done by teaching people +their place in society: That is, what they owe to themselves, their +families and the public in general. In other words, teach the young +people the higher selfishness, part of which consists of considerable +self-control, self-denial and self-respect. + +Drugs are too easy to obtain today. Some day people will be so +enlightened that they will not allow themselves to be medicated. This is +the trend of the times. Until such a time comes, society should protect +itself by making it very difficult to get any of the habit-forming +drugs. If necessary, the free hand of the physician should be stayed. +Much of the confidence blindly given him is misplaced. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +CARE OF THE SKIN. + +The skin is neglected and abused. Very few realize how important it is +to give this organ the necessary attention. If we were living today as +our ancestors doubtless lived, we could neglect the skin, as they did. +They wore little or no clothing. The skin, which formerly was very +hairy, served as protection. It was exposed to the elements, which +toughened it and kept it active. + +Today most people give the skin too great protection, and thus weaken +it. The result is that it degenerates and partly loses its function with +consequent detriment to the individual's health. + +A normal skin has a very soft feel, imparting to the fingers a pleasant, +vital sensation. It either has color or suggests color. An abnormal skin +pleases neither the sense of seeing nor feeling. It may feel inert or it +may be inflamed. + +The skin is a beautiful and complex structure. It is made up of an outer +layer called the epidermis and an inner layer, the true skin or corium, +which rests upon a subcutaneous layer, composed principally of fat and +connective tissue. + +The epidermis is divided into four layers. It has no blood-vessels and +no nerves, but is nourished by lymph which escapes from the vessels +deeper in the skin. It is simply protective in nature. + +The true skin is made up of two indistinct layers, which harbor a vast +multitude of nerves, blood-vessels and lymph-vessels. + +In the skin there are two kinds of glands, the sebaceous and the sweat +glands. The sebaceous glands are, as a general rule, to be found in +greatest numbers on the hairiest parts of the body and are absent from +the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. They throw off a +secretion known as sebum, which is made up principally of dead cells +that have undergone fatty degeneration and of other debris. The sebum +serves as lubricant. It is generally discharged near or at the shaft of +a hair. + +The sweat glands discharge on the average from one and one-half to two +pounds of perspiration per day, more in hot weather and much less when +it is cool. They are distributed over the whole external surface of the +body. According to Krause there are almost 2,400,000 of them. They carry +off water and carbonic acid gas chiefly. + +The functions of the skin are: To protect the underlying structures; to +regulate the heat; to serve as an organ of respiration; to serve as an +organ of touch and thermal sensation; to secrete and eliminate various +substances from the body; to absorb. + +The heat regulation is quite automatic. When the external temperature is +high there is a relaxation of the skin. The pores open, the perspiration +goes to the surface and evaporates, thus cooling the body. When the +surface is cool the skin contracts, closing the pores and conserving the +heat. Radiation always takes place, except when the temperature is very +high. + +The sensation of touch and the ability to feel heat and cold protect us +from untold numbers of dangers. They are a part of the equipment which +enables us to adjust our selves to our environment. + +The secretions and excretions are perspiration and sebum. These contain +water, carbonic acid, urea, buturic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, +salts, the chief being sodium chloride, and many other substances. + +The respiratory function consists in the absorption of a small amount of +oxygen and the giving off of some carbonic acid. + +A small amount of water can be absorbed by the skin. Oils can also be +absorbed. In case of malnutrition in children, olive-oil rubs are often +helpful. This absorptive function is taken advantage of by physicians +who rub various medicaments into the skin. Mercury enough to produce +salivation can be absorbed in this way. + +From the above it will be seen that the skin is not only complex in +structure, but has many functions. It is impossible to have perfect +health without a good skin. Under civilized conditions a healthy skin +can not be had without giving it some care. The average person has a +skin that shows lack of care. Fortunately, but little care is needed. + +A bath should be taken often enough to ensure cleanliness. Warm water +and soap need not be used more than once or twice a week under ordinary +conditions. If the soap causes itching, it is well to use a small amount +of olive oil on the body afterwards, rubbing it in thoroughly, and going +over the body with a soft cloth after the oil rub, thus removing the oil +which would otherwise soil the clothes. If the skin is not kept clean, +the millions of pores are liable to be partly stopped up, which results +in the retention of a part of the excretory matter within the skin, +where it may cause enough irritation to produce some form of cutaneous +disorder, or the skin may through disuse become so inactive that too +much work is thrown upon the other excretory organs, which may also +become diseased from overwork and excessive irritation. + +Soaps are irritants. Tallow soaps and olive oil soaps are less +irritating than other varieties. Whatever kind of soap is used, it +should be rinsed off thoroughly, for if some of it is left in the pores +of the skin roughness or even mild inflammation may ensue. Be especially +careful about the soap used for babies, avoiding all highly colored and +cheap perfumed soaps. + +Whether to take a daily sponge bath or not is a matter of no great +importance, and each individual can safely suit himself. If there is +quick reaction and a feeling of warmth and well-being following a cold +sponge, it is all right. If the skin remains blue and refuses to react +for a long time, the cold sponge bath is harmful. The cold plunge is +always a shock, and no matter how strong a person may be, frequent +repetition is not to be recommended. People who take cold plunges say +that they do no harm, but it is well to remember that life is not merely +a matter of today and tomorrow, but of next year, or perhaps forty, +fifty or sixty years from today. A daily shock may cause heart disease +in the course of twenty or thirty years. + +A good way to take a cold bath is to get under a warm shower and +gradually turn off the warm water. Then stand under the cold shower long +enough to rinse well the entire surface of the body. + +Those who take cold sponge baths in winter and find them severe, should +precede the sponging in cold water with a quick sponging off with tepid +water, and they should always take these baths in a warm room. + +After all baths give the body a good dry rubbing, using brisk movements. +Bath towels, flesh brushes or the open hands may be used for the dry +rubbing. + +The sponge bath has practically no value as a cleanser. Its chief virtue +consists in stimulating the circulation of the blood and the lymph in +the skin. In summer it is cooling. It is important to have good surface +circulation, but this can be attained as well by means of dry rubbing. +The rubbing is more important than wetting the skin. A skin that is +rubbed enough becomes so active that it practically cleans itself, and +it protects against colds and other diseases. Some advocate dispensing +with the bath entirely, but that is going to extremes. Cleanliness is +worth while for the self-respect it gives the individual. + +Hot baths are weakening and relaxing, hence weak people should not stay +long in the hot bath. Cold baths are stimulating to strong people and +depressing to those who do not react well from them. Swimming is far +different from taking a cold bath. A person who can swim with benefit +and comfort for twenty minutes would have a chill, perhaps, if he +remained for five minutes in the bath tub in water of the same +temperature. Swimming is such an active exercise that it aids the +circulation, keeping the blood pretty well to the surface in spite of +the chilling effect of the water. + +If a very warm bath is taken, there should be plenty of fresh air in the +bath room and it is well to sip cold water while in the bath and keep a +cloth wrung out of cold water on the forehead. People who are threatened +with a severe cold or pneumonia can give themselves no better treatment +than to take a hot bath, as hot as they can stand it, lasting for +one-half hour to an hour, drinking as much warm water as can be taken +with comfort both before and after getting into the tub. This bath must +be taken in very warm water, otherwise it will do no good. It is +weakening and relaxing, but through its relaxing influence it equalizes +the circulation of the blood, bringing much to the surface that was +crowding the lungs and other internal organs, thus causing the dangerous +congestion that so often ends in pneumonia. After the bath wrap up well +so that the perspiration will continue for some time. When the sweating +is over, get into dry clothes and remain in bed for six to eight hours. +To make assurance doubly sure, give the bowels a good cleaning out with +either enemas or cathartics, or both. Then eat nothing until you are +comfortable. Such treatment would prevent much pneumonia and many +deaths. The best preventive is to live so that sudden chilling does not +produce pneumonia or other diseases, which it will not do in good +health. + +People with serious diseases of the heart, arteries or of the kidneys +should not take protracted or severe baths. + +To sum up the use of water on the skin: Use enough to be clean. No more +is necessary. The application of water should be followed by thorough +drying and dry rubbing. If the reaction is poor, do not remain in cold +water long enough to produce chilling. As a rule thin people should use +but little cold water, and they should never remain long in cold water. + +Water intelligently applied to the skin in disease is a splendid aid in +cleansing the system. It is surprising what a great amount of impurity +can be drawn from the body by means of wet packs. However, this is a +treatise on health, so we shall not go into details here regarding +hydrotherapy. + +No matter what one's ideas may be on the subject of bathing, there can +hardly be more than one opinion regarding the application of dry +friction to the skin. Those who have noted its excellent results feel +that it should be a daily routine. It should be practiced either morning +or evening, or both. From five to ten minutes spent thus daily will pay +high dividends in health. A vigorous rubbing is exercise not only for +the skin, but for nearly every muscle in the body. + +The dry rubbing keeps the surface circulation vigorous. The surface +circulation, and especially the circulation in the hands and the feet, +is the first part that begins to stagnate. Blood stagnation means the +beginning of the process which results in old age. In other words, dry +friction to the skin helps to preserve health and youth. Skin that is +not exercised often becomes very hard and scales off particles of +mineral matter. + +If women would put less dependence on artificial beautifiers and more on +scientific massage, they would get much better results. They would avoid +many a wrinkle and save their complexions. The neck and the face should +never be massaged downwards. The strokes should be either upwards or +from side to side, the side strokes generally being toward the median +line. Such massaging will prevent the sagging of the face muscles for +years and help to keep the face free from wrinkles and young in +appearance. The massaging should be rather gentle, for if it is too +vigorous the tendency is to remove the normal amount of fat that pads +and rounds out the face. Men can do the same thing, but most men have no +objection to wrinkles. + +However, most men do object to baldness, which can be prevented in +nearly every case. To produce hair on a polished pate is a different +proposition. It is indeed difficult. If you will look at a picture of +the circulation of the blood in the scalp, you will notice that the +arteries supplying it come from above the eye sockets in front, from +before and behind the ears on the sides, and from the nape of the neck +in the rear. They spread out and become smaller and smaller as they +travel toward the top of the head, and especially toward the back. The +scalp is well supplied with blood, but it is not given much exercise. +The tendency is for the blood stream to become sluggish, deposits +gradually forming in the walls of the blood-vessels, which make them +less elastic and decrease the size of the lumen. The result is less food +for the hair roots and food of inferior quality. + +This process of cutting off the circulation in the scalp is largely +aided by the tight hats and caps worn by men, which compress the +blood-vessels. It is quite noticeable that people with round heads have +a greater tendency to become bald than those with more irregular heads. +The reason is probably that the hats fit more snugly on the round-headed +people. There are many exceptions. Women are not so prone to baldness as +men, because they wear hats that do not exclude the air from the hair +nor do they compress the blood-vessels. + +Let those men who dislike to lose their hair massage the scalp for a +short while daily, beginning above the eyes, in front of the ears and at +the nape of the neck and going to the top of the head. Then let them +wear as sensible hats as possible, avoiding those that exert great +pressure on the blood-vessels that feed the scalp. Thus they will not +only be able to retain their hair much longer than otherwise, but the +hair that is well fed does not fade as early as that which lives on half +rations. + +In the case of preserving the hair, an ounce of prevention is worth a +ton of cure. The man who can produce a satisfactory hair restorer that +will give results without any effort on the part of the men can become a +millionaire in a short time. + +The hair is a modified form of skin. Each hair is supplied with blood, +and the reason that the hair stands up during intense fear is that to +the lower part of the shaft is attached a little muscle. During fear +this contracts, as do other involuntary muscles, and then the hair +stands up straight instead of being oblique. + +As a rule people protect the skin too much. The best protection they +have against cold is a good circulation. With a poor circulation it is +difficult to keep warm in spite of much clothing. Coldness is also +largely a state of mind. People get the idea of cold into the head and +then it is almost impossible for them to keep warm. On the same winter +day we may see a man in a thick overcoat trying to shrink into himself, +shivering, while a lady passes blithely by, with her bosom bared to the +wind. + +The face tolerates the cold, because it is used to it, the neck and the +upper part of the chest likewise, and so it would be with the skin of +the entire body if we accustomed it to be exposed. We use too heavy +clothes. It is a mistake to hump the back and draw in the shoulders +during cold weather, for this reduces the lung capacity, thus depriving +the body of its proper amount of oxygen. The result is that there is not +enough combustion to produce the necessary amount of heat. + +Wool is warm covering, the best we have. However, it is very irritating +to the skin and has a tendency to make the wearer too warm. It does not +dry out readily. Consequently the wearer remains damp a long time after +perspiring. The result is a moist, clammy skin. A skin thus pampered in +damp warmth becomes delicate, and like other hot-house products unable +to hold its own when exposed to inclement weather. A good way to take +cold easily is to wear wool next to the skin. The best recipe for +getting cold feet is to wear woolen stockings. Wear cotton or linen or +silk next to the skin. Cotton is satisfactory and cheap. Linen is +excellent, but a good suit of linen underwear is too costly for the +average purse. Remie, said to be the linen of the Bible, is highly +recommended by some. + +Those working indoors should wear the same kind of underwear summer and +winter, and it should be very light. If people use heavy underwear in +heated rooms, they become too warm. The consequence is that when they go +out doors they are chilled, and if they are not in good physical +condition colds and other diseases generally result. By wearing outer +garments according to climatic conditions one can easily get all the +protection necessary. Those who take the proper food and enough exercise +and dry friction of the skin will not require or desire an excessive +amount of clothing. The feel of the wintry blast on the skin is not +disagreeable. + +If we would only give the skin more exercise, through rubbing, and more +fresh air, we would soon discard much of our clothing, and wear but +enough to make a proper and modest appearance in public, with extra +covering on cold days. Nothing can be much more ridiculous and +uncomfortable than a man in conventional attire on a hot summer's day. + +Of course, thin, nervous people should not expose themselves too much to +the cold. + +Most of the diseases known by the name of skin diseases, are digestive +troubles and blood disorders manifesting in the skin. As soon as the +systemic disease upon which they depend disappears, these so-called skin +diseases get well. Erysipelas is one of the so-called germ diseases, but +it is controlled very quickly by a proper diet. It can not occur in +people until they have ruined their health by improper living. Pure +blood will not allow the development of the streptococcus erysipelatis +in sufficient numbers to cause trouble. First the disease develops and +then the germ comes along and multiplies in great numbers, giving it +type. + +Acne, which is very common for a few years after puberty, shows a bad +condition of the blood. Even during the changes that occur at puberty no +disease will manifest in healthy boys and girls. About this time the +young people eat excessively, the result being indigestion and impure +blood. The changes that occur in the skin make it a favorable place for +irritations to manifest. Let the boys and girls eat so that they have +bright eyes and clean tongues and there will be very little trouble from +disfiguring pimples. + +Eczema is generally curable by means of proper diet and the same is true +of nearly all skin diseases that afflict infants. + +There are diseases of the skin due to local irritants, such as the +various forms of trade eczema, scabies (itch), and pediculosis +(lousiness), but the fact remains that nearly all skin diseases fail to +develop if the individual eats properly, and most of them can be cured, +after they have developed, by proper diet and attention to hygiene +generally. If the diet is such that irritants are manufactured in the +alimentary tract and absorbed into the blood, and then excreted through +the skin, where enough irritation is produced to cause disease, it is +useless to treat with powders and salves. + +Correct the dietetic errors and the skin will cure itself. Specialists +in skin diseases often fail because they treat this organ as an +independent entity, instead of considering it as a part of the body +whose health depends mostly upon the general health. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +EXERCISE. + +Nature demands of us that we use our mental and physical powers in order +to get the best results. Man was made to be active. In former times he +had to earn his bread in the sweat of his face or starve. Now we have +evolved, or is it a partial degeneration, into a state where a sharp +mind commands much more of the means of sustenance than does physical +exertion. The consequence is that many of those equipped with the +keenest minds fail to keep their bodies active. This helps to lessen +their resistance and produces early death. + +Some exercise is needed and the question is, how much is necessary and +how is it to be taken so that it will not degenerate into drudgery? +There are very few with enough persistence to continue certain +exercises, no matter how beneficial, if they become a grind. + +The amount required depends upon the circumstances. Ordinarily, a few +minutes of exercise each day, supplemented with some walking and deep +breathing will suffice. About five minutes of vigorous exercise night +and morning are generally enough to keep a person in good physical +condition, if he is prudent otherwise. + +Many strive to build up a great musculature. This is a mistake, unless +the intention is to become an exhibit for the sake of earning one's +living. Big muscles do not spell health, efficiency and endurance. Even +a dyspeptic may be able to build big muscles. What is needed for the +work of life is not a burst of strength that lasts for a few moments and +then leaves the individual exhausted for the day, but the endurance +which enables one to forge ahead day after day. + +It is generally dangerous to build up great muscles, for if the +exercises that brought them into being are stopped, they begin to +degenerate so fast that the system with difficulty gets rid of the +poisons. Then look out for one of the diseases of degeneration, such as +inflammation of the kidneys or typhoid fever. + +The great muscles exhibited from time to time upon the variety stage and +in circuses are not normal. Man is the only animal that develops them, +and they are not brought about by ordinary circumstances. Once acquired, +they prove a burden, for they demand much daily work to be kept in +condition. + +Good muscles are more serviceable than extraordinary ones. Vigorous +exercise is better than violent exercise. It is well known that many of +our picked athletes, men with great original physical endowment, die +young. The reason is that they have either been overdeveloped, or at +some time they have overtaxed their bodies so in a supreme effort at +vanquishing their opponents that a part of the vital mechanism has been +seriously affected. Then when they settle down to business life they +fail to take good care of themselves and they degenerate rapidly. + +Exercising should not be a task, for then it is work. It should be of a +kind that interests and pleases the individual, for then it is +accompanied by that agreeable mental state from which great good will +come to the body. It is necessary for us to think enough of our bodies +to supply them with the activity needed for their welfare and we should +do this with good grace. + +Exercise enough to bring the various muscles into play and the heart +into vigorous action. Office workers should take exercises for the part +of the body above the waist, plus some walking each day. All should take +enough exercise to keep the spine straight and pliable. Bending +exercises are good for this purpose, keeping the knees straight and +touching the floor with the fingers. Then bend backward as far as +possible. Then with hands on the hips rotate the body from the waist. + +It is very desirable to keep the body erect, for this gives the greatest +amount of lung space, and gives the individual a noble, courageous +appearance and feeling. The forward slouch is the position of the ape. +It is not necessary to pay any attention to the shoulders, if the spine +is kept in proper position, for the shoulders will then fall into the +right place. Being straight is a matter of habit. No one can maintain +this position without some effort. At least, one has to make the effort +to get and retain the habit. Most round-shouldered people could school +themselves in two or three months to be straight. + +Those who are moderate in eating need less exercise than others. Too +great food intake requires much labor to work it off. When the food is +but enough to supply materials for repair, heat and energy, there is no +need of great effort to burn up the excess. To exercise much and long, +then eat enough to compel more exercise, is a waste of good food, time +and energy. Be moderate in all things if you would have the best that +life can give you. + +Always make deep breathing a part of the exercise. No matter what one's +physical troubles may be, deep breathing will help to overcome them. It +will help to cure cold feet by bringing more oxygen into the blood. It +will help to drive away constipation by giving internal massage to the +bowels. It will help to overcome torpid liver by the exercise given that +organ. It will help to cure rheumatism by producing enough oxygen to +burn up some of the foreign deposits in various parts of the body. As an +eye-opener deep breathing has alcohol distanced. It costs nothing and +has only good after effects. Moreover, deep breathing takes no time. A +dozen or more deep breaths can be taken morning and night, and every +time one steps into the fresh air, without taking one second from one's +working time. To have health good blood is necessary, and this can not +be had without taking sufficient fresh air into the lungs. + +Proper clothing must also be taken into consideration in connection with +breathing and exercise. The clothes must be loose enough to allow free +play to limbs, chest and abdomen. Men and women were not shaped to wear +two and three inch heels. Those who persist in this folly must pay the +price in discomfort and an unbalanced body. + +The time to take exercise depends upon circumstances. It is best not to +indulge for at least one or two hours after a hearty meal, for exercise +interferes with digestion. A very good plan is to take from five to +twenty-five minutes of exercise, according to one's requirement, before +dressing in the morning and after undressing at night. Those who take +exercises in a gymnasium or have time for out door games will have no +difficulty in selecting proper time. + +Dumbbells, Indian clubs, weights, patent exercisers and gymnasium stunts +are all right for those who enjoy them. One thing to bear in mind is +that short, choppy movements are not as good as the larger movements +that bring the big muscles into play. + +It is well to exercise until there is a comfortable feeling of fatigue. +If this is done the heart works vigorously, sending the blood rapidly to +all parts of the body, and the lungs also come into full play to supply +the needed oxygen. This acts as a tonic to the entire system. + +The body must be used to keep it from degenerating. A healthy body gives +courage and an optimistic outlook upon life. A sluggish liver can hide +the most beautiful sunrise, but a healthy body gives the eye power to +see beauty on the most dreary day. + +Those who are not accustomed to exercise will be very, sore at first, if +they begin too vigorously. The soreness can be avoided by taking but two +or three minutes at a time at first, and increasing until the desired +amount is taken daily. + +If the muscles get a little sore and stiff at first, do not quit, for by +continuing the exercises, the soreness soon leaves. Many begin with +great enthusiasm, which soon burns itself out. Excessive enthusiasm is +like the burning love of those who "can't live" without the object of +their affection. It burns so brightly that it soon consumes itself. Go +to work at a rate that can be kept up. To exercise hard for a few weeks +or a few months and then give it up will do no good in the end. However, +a person may occasionally let a day or two pass by without taking +exercise with benefit. Avoid getting into a monotonous grind. + +I believe that the very best exercises are those which are taken in the +spirit of play. No matter who it is, if he or she will make the effort, +time enough can be found occasionally to spend at least one-half of a +day in the open, and this is very important. We can not long flourish +without getting into touch with mother nature, and we need a few hours +each week without care and worry in her company. Many immediately say, +"I can't." Get rid of that negative attitude and say, "I can and I +will." See how quickly the obstacles melt away. There are many who are +slaves to duty. They believe that they must grind away. They think they +are indispensable. The world got along very well before they were born +and it will roll on in the same old way after they are gathered to their +fathers. The thing to do is to break the bonds of the wrong mental +attitude and then both time and opportunity will be forthcoming. + +I shall comment on only a few of the outdoor exercises that are +excellent. + +Swimming is one of the finest. There is a great deal of difference +between swimming and taking a bath in a tub. Some people cannot remain +in the water long, but if they have any resistance at all and are +active, there will be no bad results. In swimming it is well to take +various strokes, swimming on the back, on the side, and on the face. +This brings nearly every muscle in the body into play and if the swimmer +does not stay in too long it makes him feel fine. If a feeling of +chilliness or weariness is experienced, it is time to quit the water, +dry off well and take a vigorous dry rub. Swims should always be +followed with considerable rubbing. The use of a little olive oil on the +body, and especially on the feet, is very grateful. No special rule can +be laid down for the duration of a swim, but very thin people should +generally not remain in the water more than fifteen minutes, and stout, +vigorous ones not over an hour. It is best not to go swimming until two +hours have elapsed since the last meal. + +Every boy and every girl should be taught to swim, for it may be the +means of preserving their lives. It is not difficult. For the benefit of +those who start the beginners with the rather tedious and tiresome +breast stroke, will say that the easiest way to teach swimming is to get +the learner to float on his back. I have taught boys to float in as +little as three minutes, and after that everything else is easy. When +the beginner can float, he can easily start to paddle a little and make +some progress. Then he can turn on his side and learn the side stroke, +which is one of the best. Then he can turn on the face and learn various +strokes. This is not the approved way of learning to swim, but it is the +easiest and quickest way. + +To float simply means to get into balance in the water. It is necessary +to arch the body, making the spine concave posteriorly, and bending the +neck well backward at first. In the beginning it is a great aid to fill +the lungs well and breathe rather shallow. This makes the body light in +the water. Tell the beginner that it does not make any difference +whether the feet sink or stay up. It is only necessary to keep the face +above water while floating. If there is the slightest tendency to sink, +bend the neck a little more, putting the head, farther back in the +water, instead of raising it, as most of the learners want to do. +Remember that the trunk and neck must be kept well arched, the head well +back in the water. The moment the beginner doubles up at waist or hips +or bends the neck forward, raising the head, he sinks. + +For speed and fancy swimming professional instruction should be +obtained. Swimming is one of the best all-round developers, as well as +one of the most pleasant of exercises. + +Golf is no longer a rich man's game. The large cities have public links. +For an office man it is a splendid game. Women can play it with equal +benefit. The full vigorous strokes, followed with a walk after the ball, +then more strokes, exercise the entire body. It is good for young and +old, and for people in all walks of life. + +Tennis is splendid for some people. Those who are very nervous and +excitable should play at something else, for they are apt to play too +hard and use up too much energy. Overexercising is just as harmful as +excesses in other lines. Tennis requires quickness and is a good game +for those who are inclined to be sluggish, for it wakes them up. + +Horseback riding is also a fine exercise. The companionship with an +intelligent animal, the freedom, the fresh air, the scenery, all give +enjoyment of life, and the constant movement acts as a most delicious +tonic. There is only one correct way to ride for both sexes, and that is +astride. The side saddle position keeps the spine twisted so that it +takes away much of the benefit to be derived from riding. Out west the +approved manner of riding for women is astride. The women of the west +make a fine appearance on horseback. + +Tramping is possible for all. If there are hills to be climbed, or +mountains, so much the better. Put on old clothes and old shoes and have +an enjoyable time. Fine apparel under the circumstances spoils more than +half of the pleasure. + +Playing ball or bicycle riding may be indulged in with benefit. It is +not fashionable to ride on bicycles today, yet it is a pleasant mode of +covering ground, and if the trunk is kept erect it is a good exercise. +Jumping rope, playing handball, tossing the medicine ball and sawing +wood are good forms of exercise and great fun. The spirit of play and +good will easily double the value of any exercise that is taken. + +Dancing is also good if the ventilation is adequate and the hours are +reasonable. + +Under various conditions vicarious exercises are valuable, and by that I +mean such forms of exercise as massage, osteopathic treatment or +vibratory treatment. If anything is wrong with the spine, get an +osteopath or a chiropractor. They can help to remedy such defects more +quickly than anyone else. They are experts in adjustments and thrusts. + +Some people take exercises while lying in bed or on the floor. One good +exercise to take while lying on the back is to go through the motions of +riding a bicycle. Another is to lie down, then bend the body at the +hips, getting into a sitting position; repeat a few times. Another is to +face the floor, holding the body rigid, supported on the toes and the +palms of the hands; slowly raise the body until the arms are straight +and slowly lower it again until the abdomen touches the floor; repeat +several times. + +It is impossible to go into detail regarding various exercises here. +Those who wish to take care of themselves can easily devise a number of +good ones, or they can employ a physical culture teacher to give them +pointers. Here as elsewhere, good sense wins out. It is not necessary to +give much time to exercise, but a little is valuable. Those who labor +with their hands often use but few muscles, and it would be well for +them to take corrective exercises so that the body will remain in good +condition. + +There is no excuse for round shoulders and sunken chests. A few weeks, +or at most a few months, will correct this in young people. The older +the individual, the longer it takes. If the vertebrae have grown +together in bony union no correction is possible. + +It is as necessary to relax as it is to exercise. When weary, take a few +minutes off and let go physically and mentally. A little training will +enable you to drop everything, and even if it is for but five minutes, +the ease gives renewed vigor. It does not matter what position is +assumed, if it is comfortable and allows the muscles to lose all +tension. At such times it is well to let the eyelids gently close, +giving the eyes a rest. Eye strain is very exhausting to the whole body +and often results in serious discomfort. + +Many do not know how to relax. They think they are relaxed, yet their +bodies are in a state of tension. When relaxed any part of the body that +may be raised falls down again as though it were dead. People who do +much mental work are at times so aroused by ideas that refuse to release +their hold until they have been worked out or given expression that they +can not sleep for the time being. A few minutes of relaxation then gives +rest. When the problem has been solved, the worker is rewarded with +sweet slumbers. An occasional night of this kind of wakefulness does no +harm, provided no such drugs as coffee, alcohol, strychnine and morphine +are used. + +We are undoubtedly intended to be useful. Normal men and women are not +content unless they are helpful. Hence we have our work or vocation. +However, people who get into a rut, and they are liable to if they work +all the time at one thing, lose efficiency. Therefore it is well to have +an avocation or a hobby to sharpen mind and body. + +It does not make much difference what the hobby is, provided it is +interesting. We waste much time that could give us more pleasure if it +were intelligently employed. An hour a day given to a subject for a few +years in the spirit of play will give a vast fund of information and may +in time be of inestimable benefit. + +Those who labor much with the hands would do well to take some time each +day for mental recreation, and those who work in mental channels should +get joy and benefit from physical efforts. A few hobbies, depending upon +circumstances, may be: Photography, music, a foreign language, the +drama, literature, history, philosophy, painting, gardening, raising +chickens, dogs or bees, floriculture, and botany. Some people have +become famous through their hobbies. They are excellent for keeping the +mind fluid, which helps to retain physical youth. + +There is something peculiarly beneficial about tending and watching +growing and unfolding things. It is well known that women remain young +longer than men. We have good reason to believe that one of the causes +is their intimate relation with children. Growing flowers, vegetables, +chickens and pups have the same influence in lesser degree. Tender, +helpless things bring out the best qualities in our natures. We can not +be on too intimate terms with nature, so, if possible, select a hobby +that brings you closely in contact with her and her products. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +BREATHING AND VENTILATION. + +The respiratory apparatus is truly marvelous in beauty and efficiency. +Medical men complain about nature's way of constructing the alimentary +canal, saying that it is partly superfluous, but no such complaint is +lodged against the lungs and their accessories. + +The respiratory system may be likened in form to a well branched tree, +with hollow trunk, limbs and leaves: The trachea is the trunk; the two +bronchi, one going to the right side and the other to the left side, are +the main branches; the bronchioles and their subdivisions are the +smaller branches and twigs; the air cells are the leaves. + +The trachea and bronchi are tubes, furnished with cartilaginous rings to +keep them from collapsing. They are lined with mucous membrane. The +bronchi give off branches, which in turn divide and subdivide, until +they become very fine. Upon the last subdivisions are clustered many +cells or vesicles. These are the air cells and here the exchange takes +place, the blood giving up carbonic acid gas and receiving from the +inspired air a supply of oxygen. This exchange takes place through a +very thin layer of mucous membrane, the air being on one side and the +blood capillaries on the other side. + +The whole respiratory tract is lined with mucous membrane. This membrane +is ciliated, that is, it is studded with tiny hairlike projections, +extending into the air passages. These are constantly in motion, much +like the grain in a field when the wind is gently blowing. Their +function is to prevent the entry of foreign particles into the air +cells, for their propulsive motion is away from the lungs, toward the +external air passages. + +In some of the large cities where the atmospheric conditions are +unfavorable and the air is laden with dust and smoke, the cilia are +unable to prevent the entrance of all the fine foreign particles in the +air. Then these particles irritate the mucous membrane, which secretes +enough mucus to imprison the intruders. Consequently there is +occasionally expulsion of gray or black mucus, which should alarm no one +under the circumstances, if feeling well. Normally the mucous membrane +secretes only enough mucus to lubricate itself, and when there is much +expulsion of mucus it means that either the respiratory or the digestive +system, or both, are being abused. At such times the sufferer should +take an inventory of his habits and correct them. + +The air cells are made up of very thin membrane. So great is their +surface that if they could be flattened out they would form a sheet of +about 2,000 square feet. We can not explain satisfactorily why it is +that through their walls there is an exchange of gases, nor how the +respiratory system can act so effectively both as an exhaust of harmful +matter and a supply of necessary elements. The distribution of the blood +capillaries, so tiny that the naked eye can not make them out, is +wonderful. Under the microscope they look like patterns of delicate, +complex, beautiful lace. + +The lungs are supplied with more blood than any other, part of the body. +A small part of it is for the nourishment of the lung structure, but +most of it comes to be purified. After the blood has traveled to various +parts of the body to perform its work as a carrier of food, and oxygen +and gatherer of waste, it returns to the heart and from the heart it is +sent to the lungs. There it gives up its carbonic acid gas and receives +a supply of oxygen. Then it returns to the heart again and once more it +is sent to all parts of the body to distribute the vital element, +oxygen. + +The lungs give off watery vapor, a little animal matter and considerable +heat, but their chief function is to exchange the carbonic acid gas of +the blood for the oxygen of the air. When the fats, sugars and starches, +in their modified form, are burned in the body to produce heat and +energy, carbonic acid gas and water are formed. The gas is taken up by +the blood stream, which is being deprived of its oxygen at the same +time. This exchange turns the blood from red into a bluish tinge. The +red color is due to the union of oxygen with the iron in the blood +corpuscles, forming rust, roughly speaking. + +The fine adjustment that exists in nature can be seen by taking into +consideration that animals give off carbon dioxide and breathe in +oxygen, while vegetation exhales oxygen and inhales carbon dioxide. In +other words, animal life makes conditions favorable for plant growth, +and vegetation makes possible the existence of animals. + +An animal of the higher class can live several days without water, +several weeks without food, but only a very few minutes without oxygen. +When the blood becomes surcharged with carbonic acid gas, and oxygen is +refused admittance to the lungs, life ceases in about five or six +minutes. From this it can easily be seen how important it is to have a +proper supply of oxygen. Acute deprivation of this element is +immediately fatal, and chronic deprivation of a good supply helps to +produce early deterioration and premature death. The lungs can easily be +kept in good condition, and when we ponder on the beautiful and +effective way in which nature has equipped us with a respiratory +apparatus and an inexhaustible store of oxygen, surely we must +understand the folly of not helping ourselves to what is so vital, yet +absolutely free. + +Wrong eating and impure air are largely responsible for all kinds of +respiratory troubles, from a simple cold to the most aggravated form of +pulmonary tuberculosis. Exercise and deep breathing will to a great +extent antidote overeating, but there is a limit beyond which the lungs +refuse to tolerate this form of abuse. + +Experiments have shown that if the carbonic acid gas thrown off daily by +an adult male were solidified, it would amount to about seven ounces of +solid carbon, which comes from fats, sugars and starches that are burned +in the body. It is well to remember that there are various forms of +burning or combustion. Rapid combustion is exemplified in stoves and +furnaces, where the carbon of coal or wood rapidly and violently unites +with oxygen. Slow combustion takes place in the rotting of wood, the +rusting of iron and steel and the union of oxygen with organic matter in +animal bodies. Both processes are the same, varying only in rapidity and +intensity. + +People who daily give off seven ounces of carbon are overworking their +bodies. They take in too much food and consequently force too great +combustion. This forcing has evil effects on the system, for under +forced combustion the body is not able to clean itself thoroughly. Some +of the soot remains in the flues (the blood-vessels) and is deposited in +the various parts of the engine (the body). Result: Hardening, which +means loss of elasticity and aging of the body. Aging of the body +results in deterioration of the mind. Proper breathing is fine, but +unless it is also accompanied by proper eating it does not bring the +best results. + +The atmospheric air contains about four parts of carbonic acid gas to +10,000 parts of air. The exhaled air becomes quite heavily charged with +this gas, about 400 to 500 parts in 10,000. It does not take long before +the air in a closed, occupied room is so heavily charged with this gas +and so poor in oxygen that its constant rebreathing is detrimental. The +blood stream becomes poisoned, which immediately depresses the physical +and mental powers. Warning is often given by a feeling of languor and +perhaps a slight headache. People accustom themselves to impure air so +that they apparently feel no bad effects, but this is always at the +expense of health. The senses may be blunted, but the evil results +always follow. To keep a house sealed up as tightly as possible in order +to keep it warm saves fuel bills, but the resultant bodily deterioration +and disease cause enough discomfort and result in doctor bills which +more than offset this saving. It is poor economy. + +A constant supply of the purest air obtainable must be furnished to the +lungs; otherwise the blood becomes so laden with poison that health, in +its best and truest sense, is impossible. + +The air should be inhaled through the nose. It does not matter much how +it is exhaled. The nose is so constructed that it fits the air for the +lungs. The inspired air is often too dry, dusty and cold. The normal +nose remedies all these defects. The mucous membrane in the nasal +passages contains cilia, which catch the dust. The nasal passages are +very tortuous so that during its journey through them the air is warmed +and takes up moisture. + +Habitual mouth breathing is one of the causes of the hardening and +toughening of the mucous membrane of the respiratory passages, for the +mouth does not arrest the irritating substances floating in the air, nor +does it sufficiently warm and moisten the inspired air. Irritation +produces inflammation and this in turn causes thickening of the +membranes. Then it is very easy to acquire some troublesome affliction +such as asthma. Very cold air is irritating, but the passage through the +nose warms it sufficiently. + +The evil results of mouth breathing are well seen in children, in whom +it raises the roof of the mouth and brings the lateral teeth too close +together. Then the dentists have to correct the deformity and the +children are forced to suffer protracted inconvenience. This mouth +breathing is mostly due to wrong feeding, especially overfeeding, which +causes swelling of the mucous membrane, thus impeding the intake of the +air through the nose and forcing it through the mouth. The chief +curative measure is obvious. Cut down the child's food supply and give +food of better quality. Remember that children should not be fat. + +Normal breathing is rhythmical, with a slight rise of the abdomen and +chest during inspiration and a slight falling during expiration. Watch a +sleeping baby, and you will understand what is meant. The ratio of +breathing to the beating of the heart is about one to four or five. +Whatever accelerates the heart causes more rapid breathing and vice +versa. Breathing is practically automatic, and were we living under +natural conditions we should need to pay no attention to it, but +inasmuch as our mode of life prevents the full use of the lungs a little +intelligent consideration is necessary to attain full efficiency. + +The body should be left as free as possible by the clothes and +especially is this true of the chest and waist line. Women sin much +against themselves in this respect. Most of them find it absolutely +necessary for their mental welfare to constrict the lower part of the +chest and the waist line a great part of the time, for really it would +not do to be out of fashion. The statue of Venus de Milo is generally +considered to represent the highest form of female beauty and perfection +in sculptural art. If living women would consent to remain beautiful, +instead of being slaves to fashion, it would be much better for +themselves and for the race. A corseted woman can not breathe properly, +even if she can introduce her hand between the body and her corset to +prove that she is not constricted. The natural curves of women are more +graceful than those produced by the corset. It would be an easy matter +to give the breasts sufficient support, if they need support, without +constricting the body, and then take enough exercise to keep the waist +and abdomen firm and in shape to accord with a normal sense of what is +beautiful and proper. + +Woman does right in being as good looking as possible, and it would do +man no harm to imitate her in this, for truly, "Beauty is its own excuse +for being." But beauty and fashion seldom go hand in hand. Look at the +modes which were the fashion, and you will be compelled to say that many +of them are offensive to people of good taste. American women should +cease imitating the caprice of the women of the underworld of Paris. +There are indications that women are liberating themselves somewhat from +the chains of fashions, as well as from other ridiculous things, so let +us hope that they will soon be brave enough to look as beautiful as +nature allows them to be, both in face and figure. + +The lungs, like every other part of the body, become weakened when not +used. The chest cavity enlarges during inspiration, but this enlargement +is prevented if there is constriction of the lower ribs and the waist. +The normal breathing is abdominal. Such breathing is health-imparting. +It massages the liver gently with each breath and is mildly tonic to the +stomach and the bowels. It truly gives internal exercise. It helps to +prevent constipation. + +Shallow breathing causes degeneration of lung tissue, and indirectly +degeneration of every tissue in the body, for it deprives the blood of +enough oxygen to maintain health. It also prevents the internal exercise +of the abdominal organs, which is a necessary activity of the normal +organism. Shallow breathers only use the upper parts of the lungs. It is +not to be wondered at that the lower parts easily degenerate. In +pneumonia, for instance, the lower part is usually first affected, and +in tuberculosis one often can get the physical indications in the lower +part of the lungs posteriorly before they can be found any other place. +The upper parts have to be used and consequently they get more exercise +and more blood and hence become more resistant. It is well known that +when the upper part of the lungs become affected the disease is very +grave. + +Men, as well as women, are guilty of shallow breathing. Many men are +very inactive and their breathing becomes sluggish. This can be remedied +by taking vigorous exercise and a few breathing exercises. Because +abdominal breathing is the correct way, some physical culturists, who +mix the so-called New Thought with their system, advocate exercising and +concentrating the mind on the abdomen at the same time. This is +unnecessary, for the proper exercises and the right attitude will cause +abdominal breathing without giving the abdomen special thought. + +Man was evidently intended to earn his food through physical exertion +and exercise, and so long as he did this the lungs were compelled to +expand. A few running exercises or hill or mountain climbs will suffice +to prove the truth of this statement. However, now that man can ride on +a street car and earn, or at least get, his daily bread by sitting in an +office, it is necessary to exercise a little in order to get good +results. The farmer who sits crouched up on a plow, mower or binder also +fails to use his lungs, but if he gets out and pitches hay or bundles of +grain, he is sure to get what oxygen he needs. + +Everyone should get into the habit of breathing deeply several times a +day. Upon rising in the morning, go to the open window or out of doors +and take at least a dozen slow, deep breaths, inhaling slowly, holding +the air in the lungs a few moments and exhaling slowly. This should be +repeated noon and night. Every time when one is in the fresh air, it is +well to take a few full breaths. By and by the proper breathing will +become a habit, to the great benefit of one's health. + +There are many breathing exercises, but every intelligent being can make +his own exercises, so I shall describe but one. Have the hands hanging +at the sides, palms facing each other. Inhale slowly and at the same +time bring the arms, which are to be held straight, forward and upward, +or outward and upward, carrying them as far up and back over the head as +possible. The arm motion is also to be slow. About the time the arms are +in the last position a full inspiration has been taken. Hold the +position of the arms and the breath a few seconds and then slowly exhale +and slowly bring the arms back to the first position. Repeat ten or +twelve times. If while one is inhaling and raising the arms, one also +slowly rises on the toes and slowly resumes a natural foot position +while exhaling, the exercise will be even better. + +Hollow-chested young people can attain a good lung capacity and good +chest contour in a very reasonable time. Persistence in proper breathing +and proper exercise will have remarkable results in even two or three +months, and at the same time nature will be painting roses on pallid +cheeks. It is easy to increase the chest expansion several inches. Those +who expand less than three and one-half inches should not be satisfied +until they have gone beyond this mark. Elderly people can also increase +their chest expansion and breathing capacity, but it takes more time, +for with the years the chest cartilages have a tendency to harden and +even to ossify. The less breathing the sooner the ossification comes. + +Many people are afraid of night air, for which there is no reason. The +absence of sunshine at night does no more harm than it does on cloudy +days. During the night, of all times, fresh air is needed, for less is +used, and what little is breathed should be of as good quality as +circumstances permit. Open the windows wide enough to have the air +constantly changing in the bedroom. During the winter it will be +necessary to put additional clothes on the bed, for no one can obtain +the best of slumbers while chilled. Some may find it a better plan to +use artificial heat in the foot of the bed. At any rate, during cold +weather better covering is required for the legs and for the feet than +for any other part of the body. People with good resistance can sleep in +a draught without the least harm, but ordinary people should not sleep +in a draught. It is easy to use screens so that the wind does not blow +upon the face. If the air is kept stirring in the chamber the sleeper +gets enough without being in a current. + +Some are in the habit of closing their bedroom windows and doors at +night and opening them for a thorough airing during the day. If the +bedrooms must be closed, close them during the day and open them wide at +night, for that is when the pure air is needed. It does not make much +difference whether they are open or closed while being unoccupied. It is +actually sickening to enter some bedrooms and be compelled to breathe +the foul air. + +When people are ill the rooms should have fresh air entering at all +times. Sick people give off more poisons than do those in good health +and they need the oxygen to burn up the deposits in the system. + +An early morning stroll while most people are in bed is very +instructive. It will be found that some houses are shut up as tightly as +possible and that only a few are properly ventilated. A person who +insists on keeping his window open in winter is often looked upon as a +freak. What is the result of this close housing? The first result is +that the blood is unable to obtain the required amount of oxygen and is +poisoned by the rebreathing of the air in the room. In the morning the +sleeper wakes feeling only half rested, and it takes a cup of coffee or +something else to produce complete awakening. The evil results are +cumulative, and after a while the bad habit of breathing impure air at +night will be a great factor in building disease of some kind. + +One reason why some are so afraid of fresh air, especially at night, is +that they become so autotoxemic through bad habits, especially improper +eating habits, that a slight draught causes them to sneeze and often +catch cold and they believe that the fresh air causes the irritation. +This is not so. The irritability comes from within, not from without. + +After becoming accustomed to good ventilation at night it is almost +impossible to enter into restful slumbers in a stuffy room. + +Savages are singularly free from respiratory diseases, and the reason is +without doubt that they do not house themselves closely. In some parts +of the world they fear to let civilized men enter their abodes, for they +may bring respiratory diseases. + +Not only the homes, but public places, such as street cars, theaters, +schools and churches are too often poorly ventilated. Sleeping, or +rather dozing in church is so common that it is a matter of jest. My +experience has been that drowsiness comes not from the dullness of +sermons, but from the impossibility of getting a breath of good air in +many churches. + +Please remember that exhaled air is excretory matter, and that it is +both unclean and unwholesome to consume it over and over again. + +Draughts do not cause colds. Cold air does not cause colds. Wet clothes +do not cause colds: These things may be minor contributory factors, but +the body must be in poor condition before one can catch cold. Colds are +generally caught at the table. Lack of fresh air also helps to produce +colds, as well as other diseases. + +The tendency in our country is to heat buildings too much. Europeans are +both surprised and uncomfortable when they first enter our dwellings or +public meeting places. The temperature in a dwelling should not be +forced above seventy degrees Fahrenheit by means of artificial heating. +The temperature required depends very much upon one's mental attitude +and habits. Those who take enough exercise have good circulation of the +blood in the extremities, and therefore do not need so much artificial +heat. The best heating is from within. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +SLEEP. + +A young baby should sleep almost all the time, and it will if +intelligently cared for. Overfeeding is the bane of the baby's life and +is the cause of most of its restlessness. The first few months the baby +should be awake enough to take its food, and then go to sleep again. As +it grows older it sleeps less and less. + +There is no fixed time for an adult to sleep. The amount varies with +different individuals. The idea is quite prevalent that eight hours +nightly are necessary. This may be true for some. Many do very well on +seven hours' sleep, and even less. The great inventor, Thomas Edison, is +said to have had but very little sleep for many years, and it is +reported that when interested in some problem he would miss a night or +two. Yet he has lived longer than the average individual and is now in +good health. Very few have done as much constructive work as he. Many +other prominent people have been light sleepers. + +As people grow older they require less sleep than they did in youth. It +is not uncommon for septuagenarians to sleep but five hours nightly. + +Although we can not say how much sleep any individual may require, each +person can find out for himself, and this is much better than to try to +live by rules, which are often erroneous. + +Those who live as they should otherwise and select a definite hour for +retiring and adhere to it, except on special occasions, get all the +sleep that is necessary. They awake in the morning refreshed, ready to +do a good day's work. + +During sound sleep all conscious endeavors cease. The vital organs do +only enough work to keep the body alive. The breathing is lighter, the +circulation is slower and in sound sleep there is no thinking. This +letting up in the great activity of body and mind gives an opportunity +for the millions of cells, of which the body is composed, to take from +the blood what is needed to restore them to normal. During the day many +of these cells become worn and weary. At night they recuperate. Hence +undisturbed sleep is very important. + +Many believe that "early to bed and early to rise" is the proper way, +that the hours of sleep before midnight are more refreshing and +invigorating than those after. This is merely a belief, perhaps a good +one. Early retiring leads to regularity, which is very desirable. Late +retiring often means loose mental and physical habits. Those who are +regular about their time of retiring and live well otherwise feel +refreshed whether they go to bed early or late. Children should always +retire early, otherwise they do not get enough sleep. The night is the +natural sleeping time for most creatures, as well as for man. This is a +heritage of ages. There was no artificial illumination during the stone +age. Man could do nothing during the darkness, so he rested. However, +those who must work at night find no trouble in sleeping during the day. +The tendency among men is the same as among animals, to sleep more in +winter than in summer, not that more sleep is required, but because the +winter nights are longer. + +Children should go to bed early. They require more sleep than adults +because of the greater cell activity. Also, children who stay up late +generally become irritable and nervous. + +It is not well to eat immediately before retiring. The sleep following a +late meal is generally interrupted, and there is not that feeling of +brightness and clearness of mind, with which one should awake, next +morning. + +Lunching before going to bed is a bad habit. Some believe they must have +an apple, or perhaps a glass of milk, before retiring, for they think +that this will bring sleep. The body should not be burdened with extra +food to digest during the sleeping hours. This time should be dedicated +to the restoring of the body, and the blood contains ample material. + +Dreaming is largely a bad habit. A normal individual rarely dreams, and +then generally following some imprudence. Dreams begin in childhood and +are then due principally to excessive food intake. As a producer of +nightmares overfeeding has no equal. During adult life dreaming is +caused by bad physical and mental conduct, plus the habit which was +formed in childhood. Fear, anger, worry, stimulants, too much food, +impure air and too warm clothes are some of the causes that produce +dreams. Like other bad habits, dreaming is difficult to overcome once it +is firmly established. The cure consists in righting one's other bad +habits and in not thinking about the dreams. A sleep that is disturbed +by dreams is not as sound as it should be and consequently not as +refreshing as normal sleep. The conscious mind is not completely at rest +and, the subconscious mind is running riot. Normal sleep is complete +unconsciousness. This is the sleep of the just and must be earned. + +Before retiring all the clothes worn during the day should be removed. +The night apparel should be light--cotton, linen or silk. The bed +should be comfortable, but not too soft. There should be enough covering +to keep the sleeper comfortably warm, but not hot. Those who cover +themselves with so many quilts or blankets that they perspire during the +night are not properly refreshed. It prevents sound sleep and makes the +skin too sensitive. It reduces a person's resistance to climatic +changes. The feet should be kept warm, even if necessary to put +artificial heat in the foot of the bed. During cold weather the feet and +the legs should have more covering than the rest of the body. From the +waist up the covering should be rather light. + +Sound sleep is dependent on relaxation of mind and body. Those who live +the day over after going to bed do not go to sleep quickly or easily. +This habit should be overcome. Do business at the business place, during +business hours, if you would have the mind fresh. There are days so full +of cares that the night does not bring mental relaxation, but those who +have begun early in life to practice self-control find these days +growing fewer as the years roll by. When they learn their true +relationship to the rest of humanity, to the universe and to eternity, +they are generally willing and able to let the earth rotate and revolve +for a few hours without their personal attention. They realize that +worry and anxiety waste time and energy. + +Many complain that they can not sleep. This they repeat to themselves +and to others many times a day. At night they ask themselves why they +can not sleep. They do it so often that it becomes a powerful negative +suggestion frequently strong enough to prevent their going to sleep. It +is an obsession. Real insomnia exists only in the mind of the sufferer. +Every physician, sooner or later, has experience with people who say +that they can not sleep. The doctors who give such patients sleeping +powders or potions make a grave mistake. These drugs are taken at the +expense of some of the physical structures, and the day of settlement +always comes. Perhaps it will find the patient with bankrupted nerves or +a failing heart. To be effective, the size of the dose must be increased +from time to time. At last the result will be some disease, either +physical or mental. + +Those who insist that they "do not sleep at all," or that they sleep +"but a few minutes" each night, sleep a few hours, but they make +themselves believe that they do not sleep. We are compelled to sleep, +and even those who "do not sleep at all" can not remain awake +indefinitely. + +Those who are troubled with the no-sleep obsession will soon realize +that they sleep as well as others if they cease thinking and talking so +much about the subject. I have seen people suffering from this bad habit +recover in one week. Those who have been taking drugs to induce sleep +generally have a few bad nights when they give them up, after which the +nervous storm subsides and sleep becomes normal. All drugs should be +discarded. The physician who understands more about the working of +nature than about the giving of drugs will have the best success in +these cases. Soothing sleep always comes to people possessed of a +controlled mind in a healthy body. + +If the day has been exhausting and the nerves are so alive and wrought +up that sleep will not come, do not allow the mind to delve into worry +about it. Do not say to yourself: "I wish I could sleep. Why can't I +sleep?" Such fretful thinking produces mental tension, which drives +sleep away. Instead, say to yourself: "I am very comfortable. I am +having a refreshing rest. It does not matter whether I sleep or not." By +all means relax the body. Choose a comfortable position and remain +quiet, having the muscles relaxed. It is remarkable how soon a relaxed +body brings tranquility to a disturbed mind. Let a man in pugnacious +mood relax his face and his fists and in a very short time his anger +vanishes. It makes no difference whether a person sleeps eight hours on +a certain night. If he is fairly regular about going to bed he will get +enough sleep. Those who realize this truth do not complain of insomnia. + +Most people who think much have an occasional night when an idea takes +such strong possession of the brain and demands so forcibly to be put +into proper shape, that they can not sleep. Under such circumstances it +is as well to to get up and work out the idea. Three or four nights like +that in the course of a year will do no harm. + +People rarely sleep well when lying on the back. If the theory of +evolution is correct, we were not intended to lie on our backs during +sleep. A good position is to lie on the right side, the right leg being +anterior to the left, both being flexed. Another position that is +restful to many is to lie on the abdomen, the arms extended away from +the body. + +The breathing should be entirely nasal. It will not be nasal if there is +obstruction in the nose. A healthy person who breathes through his mouth +at night must use autosuggestion to overcome the habit. He should +suggest to himself, "I will breathe through the nose; I will keep my +lips together." If he persists in this, closes the mouth when he goes to +sleep, in time the mouth-breathing will cease, and with it the +disagreeable habit of snoring. The harmfulness of mouth-breathing is +explained in another chapter. + +At all times the bedroom should be well ventilated. Some people are in +the habit of sleeping in unventilated bedrooms, but upon rising in the +morning they throw the windows open and give the room a good airing. The +ventilation does not do much good except when there is someone in the +room. During the day the bedroom could be closed with very little harm +ensuing, though it is best to have it sunned and aired as much as +possible. + +The sleeping porch is excellent. Outdoor sleeping is all right and it is +not a modern fad. Where Benjamin Franklin got his information I do not +know, but he has this to say about outdoor sleeping: "It is recorded +that Methusaleh, who, being the longest liver, may be supposed to have +best preserved his health, that he slept always in the open air; for +when he had lived five hundred years an angel said to him: 'Arise, +Methusaleh, and build thee an house, for thou shalt live five hundred +years longer.' But Methusaleh answered, and said: 'If I am to live but +five hundred years longer, it is not worth while to build me an house; I +will sleep in the air as I have been used to do.'" This may partly +account for some of his many years. His alleged conversation with the +angel indicates that he was a man of equanimity. + +Under ordinary circumstances those who sleep indoors should have one +sash of window fully open for each person in the chamber, or more. It is +well to have plenty of fresh air, but it is not best to sleep in a +draught. When the wind is blowing through the windows it is not +necessary to have them wide open, for an aperture of four inches will +then give as much fresh air as a sash opening in calmer weather. + +It is best to get up promptly upon awakening in the morning. Remaining +in bed half asleep is productive of slothfulness. Too much sleeping and +dozing make one dull. + +Those who overeat require more sleep than moderate people. The +sluggishness and sleepiness following a too heavy meal are familiar to +all. Animals that do not get food regularly, but are dependent on the +vicissitudes of preying for their nourishment, often gorge themselves so +that they can not stay awake, but fall into a stupor, which may last for +days. Man, who is generally assured of three meals a day, has no excuse +for this form of self-abuse, but unfortunately he practices it too +often. It is a gross habit, one in which people of refinement will not +continue to indulge. + +Young children should take a nap each day. They are so active that they +need this rest. Adults can with profit take a short nap, not to exceed +thirty minutes, after lunch. Those who are nervous owe it to themselves +to take a nap. Those who use the brain a great deal will find the midday +nap a great restorer. If sleep will not come, they should at least close +their eyes and remain relaxed for a short time. A long nap makes one +feel stupid. + +Those unfortunate people who are addicted to various enslaving drugs, +such as cocaine and morphine, often are very light sleepers. They are +deteriorating physically, mentally and morally. Such people are ill and +are no guides to the needs of healthy people. + +Coffee drinking is a destroyer of sound sleep. At first the coffee seems +to soothe the nerves, but in a few hours it has the opposite effect. The +habitual use of coffee helps to bring on premature nervous instability +and physical degeneration. + +Sleep is self-regulating. If we are normal otherwise we need give the +subject no thought except to select a regular time to go to bed and get +up promptly in the morning upon awaking. + +It is easy to drive away sleep. Those who wish to enjoy this sweet +restorer at its best must be regular. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +FASTING. + +Fasting is one of the oldest of remedial measures known to man, not only +for the ills of the body, but for those of the soul. Oriental lore and +literature make frequent reference to fasts. From the Bible we learn +that Moses, Elijah and Christ each fasted forty days, and no bad effects +are recorded. + +Addison knew the value of fasting and temperance. He wrote that, +"Abstinence well-timed often kills a sickness in embryo and destroys the +seeds of a disease." Unfortunately, he did not live as well as he knew +how. Hence his brilliant mind had but a short time in which to work and +the world is the loser. + +Our own great philosopher, Benjamin Franklin, had the same knowledge, +for he wrote, "Against disease known, the strongest fence is the +defensive virtue, abstinence." + +There is much prejudice against fasting, because people do not +understand what fasting is and what it accomplishes. Fasting is not +starving. To fast is to go without food when the body is in such +condition that food can not be properly digested and assimilated. To +starve is to go without food when the body is in condition to digest and +assimilate food and needs nourishment. + +It is quite generally believed that if food is withheld for six or seven +days the result will be fatal. Under proper conditions one can go +without food for two or three months. Perhaps most people could not do +without food for the latter period, but fasts of that duration are on +record. Fat people can live on their tissues for a long time before they +are reduced to normal weight, and slender ones can live on water for an +extended period. + +Prolonged fasts should not be taken unless necessary, and then they +should be taken under the guidance of someone who has had experience and +is possessed of common sense. If a person is fearful or surrounded by +others who instill fear into him, he should not take a prolonged fast. +The gravest danger during the fast is fear. It takes many weeks to die +from lack of food, but fear is capable of killing in a few days, or even +in a few hours. The healer who undertakes to direct fasts against the +wishes of the patient's friends and relatives, who have more influence +than he has, injures himself professionally and throws doubt upon the +valuable therapeutic measure he advocates. + +The indications that a fast is needed are pain and fever and acute +attacks of all kinds of diseases. Some of the more common diseases that +call for a complete cessation of eating are: The acute stage of +pneumonia, appendicitis, typhoid fever, neuralgia, sciatica, +peritonitis, cold, tonsilitis, whooping cough, croup, scarlet fever, +smallpox and all other eruptive diseases; colics of kidneys, liver or +bowels; all acute alimentary tract disturbances, whether of the stomach +or of the bowels. + +Sometimes it is necessary to fast in chronic diseases, especially when +there is pain, but as a rule chronic diseases yield to proper hygienic +and dietetic treatment without a fast, provided they are curable. Here +is where many people who advocate fasting go to extremes. A fast is the +quickest way out of the trouble, but it is at times very unpleasant. By +taking longer time the result can be obtained by proper living and the +patient is being educated while he is recovering. In chronic cases it is +especially important to eat properly. + +The only disease of which I know that seems to be unfavorably influenced +by fasting is pulmonary tuberculosis in well advanced stages. Such +patients quickly lose weight and strength on a fast, and they have great +difficulty in regaining either. Perhaps others have had different +experiences and have made observations that do not agree with this, for +cases of tuberculosis have been reported cured through fasting. It is +well to bear in mind that every case that is diagnosed pulmonary +tuberculosis is not tuberculosis. Many supposed-to-be cases of +tuberculosis, some of them so diagnosed by most reputable specialists, +are nothing more than lung irritation due to the absorption of gas and +acid from the digestive tract. When the indigestion is cured, the +so-called tuberculosis disappears. These are the only tubercular cases +that I have seen benefited by fasts, and the improvement is both quick +and sure. + +Doubtless tuberculosis in the first stages could be cured by fasting, +followed by proper hygienic and dietetic care, for at first tuberculosis +is a localized symptom of disordered nutrition. In this stage the +disease is no more dangerous than many other maladies that are not +considered fatal. The subjects brought to the dissecting table show +plainly that a large proportion of them have at some time had pulmonary +tuberculosis, the lesions of which were healed, and they afterwards died +of some other affliction. However, if a patient is received after the +manifestation of profuse night sweats, great flushing of the cheeks, +high fever daily, emaciation, expulsion of much mucus from the lungs, +and the presence of great lassitude and weakness, the rule is that the +nutrition is so badly impaired that nothing will bring the patient back +to normal. Under such circumstances fasting hastens death. The family +and friends are not reticent about placing the blame on the healer. +Moderate feeding will prolong life and add to the comfort of the +sufferer. The customary overfeeding hastens the end. + +Cancer is said to be cured by fasting, but this is very, very doubtful. +It is often difficult to differentiate between cancer and benignant +tumors at first. Benignant tumors frequently disappear on a limited +diet. I have seen many tumors disappear under rational treatment, +without resorting to the knife, but I have never seen an undoubted case +of cancer do so, though some of the tumors in question had been +diagnosed cancer. Cancers, in the advanced stages, end in the death of +the patient in spite of any kind of treatment. By being very careful +about the diet, cancer patients can escape nearly all the pain and +discomfort that generally accompany this disease. Moderation would +prevent nearly every case of cancer, and especially moderation in meat +eating. It is a disease that should be prevented, for its cure is very +doubtful. + +Colds leave in a few days, with no bad after effects, if no food is +taken. + +Typhoid fever treated rationally from the start generally disappears in +from one week to twelve days if nothing but water is given, and fails to +develop the severity that it attains under the giving of foods and +drugs. There are no complications. + +Appendicitis is of longer duration, if it is a severe attack, lasting +from two to four weeks, but after the first few days the patient is +comfortable, under a no-food, let-alone treatment. Operation is not +necessary. + +In cases of gall-stones, accompanied by jaundice and colic, it is not +necessary to operate. Fasting and bathing will bring the body back to +normal in a short time. In such cases it is necessary to give the baths +as hot as they can be borne, and prolong them until the body is relaxed. + +It would be easy to enumerate many diseases, telling the benefits to be +derived from fasting, but these point the way and are sufficient. + +The one unfailing symptom of a fast is the loss of weight. This loss is +natural and there is nothing alarming about it. As soon as eating is +resumed the loss of weight stops. For a while the weight may then remain +stationary, but the gain is generally prompt. In time the weight will +become normal again. + +According to Chosat, the loss sustained by the various tissues in +starvation is as follows: + + Fat..................... 93 per cent. + Blood................... 75 " + Spleen.................. 71 " + Pancreas................ 64 " + Liver................... 52 " + Muscles................. 43 " + Nervous tissues.......... 2 " + +This table was made from animal experimentation, but agrees very well +with other observations, except in the loss of blood, which others have +found to be less than 20 per cent. It will be noticed that the highest +tissue, nervous tissue, is hardly affected, but the lowest tissue, fat, +almost disappears. + +When an individual needs to fast, his body is suffering from the +ingestion of too much food and poor elimination. He overworks his +nutrition and overdraws on his nervous energies so much in other lines +that the body is unable to throw off the debris which should leave by +way of the kidneys, the bowels, the skin and the lungs. He is poisoned +by his retained excretions, suffering from what is called +autointoxication or self-poisoning. He is filthy internally and needs a +cleaning. If he has abused himself so that he lacks the power to +assimilate food and throw off waste at the same time, obviously it is +proper to stop eating until the lost power is regained. In cases of +fever it is a physical crime to eat, for the glands cease secreting the +normal juices. The mouth becomes parched for lack of saliva, and the +gastric and intestinal juices are not secreted in proper amount or +quality. Food eaten under such circumstances is not digested. The +internal temperature in fever is above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and it +does not take long for food to decay in such temperature, especially +such aliments as milk and broth, which are the favorite foods for fever +patients. These alimentary substances are excellent for growing nearly +all the germs that are found in the body in disease. + +When in pain, it is harmful to eat, for the secretions are then +perverted and digestion is interfered with. All violent emotions, such +as hatred, jealousy, and anger, mean that no food should be taken until +the body has had the opportunity to relax and regain some of its tone. +Such emotions do not thrive so well in healthy individuals as among the +sick, but then perfect health is a rarity. + +When going without food people are subject to various symptoms, which +depend as much on the temperament as on the physical conditions. A +hysterical woman can scare inexperienced attendants into doing her will +by her antics. She may make them believe that she is dying. On the other +hand, well balanced, fearless people can fast for weeks with very little +annoyance. Fasting is not always pleasant and there are a number of +symptoms that are often present. + +The faster loses weight, at first often as much as two pounds a day. +This is mostly water. After the first ten days the loss may be but +one-half of a pound, or less, per day. The loss of weight is greatest in +heavy people and in those who have high fevers. + +The tongue becomes badly coated, and the breath foul, showing that the +mucous membrane is busy throwing out waste. The tongue remains coated +until the system is clean, and then it clears off. Most people feel weak +when they attempt to walk or work, but they feel strong when resting. +Others, who are badly food-poisoned, gain strength as the system +eliminates the harmful substances from the body. For a day or two the +craving for food may be quite insistent and persistent. Then hunger +generally leaves and does not return until the tongue is clean. The mind +becomes clearer as the body becomes cleaner. This benefit to the spirit, +or the soul, has been recognized by religious organizations for +centuries. + +A little discharge of blood from the bowels at first should cause no +alarm. In some cases a great deal of yellow mucus is thrown into the +lower bowel. The liver at times throws off so much bile that it makes +the patient alarmed. This should cause no uneasiness. When the bile is +forced upward into the stomach it is very disagreeable. The discharges +from the bowels are often very dark. + +There is a tendency toward chilliness, especially to have cold hands and +feet. Skin eruptions and heart palpitations are occasional symptoms. +Nervous, irritable and fearful people have symptoms too numerous to +mention. The more they are sympathized with the worse they become. + +Many medical men have misinterpreted the symptoms of the fast, and hence +they have condemned the procedure. They see the foul coating on the +tongue, the loss of weight and at times peculiar mental manifestations. +They can smell the foul breath and the disagreeable odor from the skin +and from the bowel discharges. These they interpret as signs of physical +deterioration and degeneration. These manifestations indicate that the +entire body is cleansing itself, throwing out impurities that have +accumulated, because the system has had so much work to do that it has +lacked the power to be self-cleansing. Nothing is needed to prove this +fact except to continue the fast until the odors disappear and the +tongue becomes clean. + +The bad odors given off by the body resemble the odors in severe fevers +with much wasting, and hence they alarm those who have had little or no +experience with protracted fasts. These odors are often bad at the end +of about one week of fasting, though there is no fixed period for their +appearance. They should cause no alarm for they simply indicate that the +body is cleansing itself, and that is exactly what is desired. Under +proper conditions I have neither seen nor heard of a fatality coming +from a short fast. Those who are in such physical shape that they will +die if fasted from five to ten days would die if they were fed. + +Another symptom that may alarm the attendant is the lowered blood +pressure. This is natural and should cause no anxiety. Eating and +drinking keep the blood pressure up. When the food intake is decreased, +the blood pressure is reduced. When the food intake is stopped, the +blood pressure is still further reduced. This fact should give the +intelligent healer the hint to reduce the food intake in such abnormal +conditions as arteriosclerosis and apoplexy. During prolonged fasts the +blood pressure generally becomes quite low. + +Some fasting people can continue with light work, and when they are able +to do this, it is best, for it keeps them from thinking about themselves +all the time. If there is a lack of energy, dispense with work and +vigorous exercise. In acute diseases there is no choice. One is +compelled to cease laboring. In chronic diseases it depends on the +patient and the adviser. + +Dismiss fear from the mind and do not discuss the fast or any of the +symptoms with anyone except the adviser. It is best not to tell any +outsiders about the fast, for the public has some queer ideas on the +subject. If you are afraid, or if you have to fight with neighbors, +friends, relatives, or perhaps with the health authorities, as sometimes +happens, it is better not to take the fast. + +Drink all the water desired. At first the more one drinks the more +quickly the system cleanses itself. A glass of water every hour during +the day, or even every half hour is all right. The water may be warm or +cold, but it should not be ice-cold nor should it be hot. Both extremes +produce irritation. + +In acute inflammation of the stomach, nothing should be given by mouth. +Small quantities of water may be given by rectum every two or three +hours. In appendicitis only very small quantities of water are to be +given by mouth at first, until the acute symptoms have subsided. Large +quantities of fluid may excite violent peristalsis with resulting pain. +In all eases of nausea, give nothing by mouth, not even water, until the +nausea is gone. Symptoms are nature's sign language, and when properly +interpreted they tell us what to do and what not to do. + +Even though there be no thirst or desire for water, some should be +taken. If it can be taken by mouth give at least a glassful every two +hours, not necessarily all at once. Some are so sensitive that one-half +of a glass of water is all they can tolerate. If the stomach objects to +water, give it by rectum. Always do this in cases of much nausea. After +a few days the water intake may be reduced. + +Take a quick sponge bath every day and if there is any inclination +toward chilliness, the water should be tepid or warm. Follow with a few +minutes of dry towel friction. People who are overweight, with good +heart and kidney action, can take prolonged hot baths, if they wish. An +olive oil rub immediately after the bath, about twice a week, is +grateful. However, this is not necessary. + +The colon is to be washed out every day. No definite amount of water can +be prescribed. Occasionally enemas are taken under difficulties, for +some cramp when water is introduced into the bowel. Those who are not +accustomed to enemas should use water about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. One +quart is a small enema. Two quarts make a fairly large one. Introduce +the water, lie still for a few minutes and then allow it to pass out. If +the bowels are very foul, use two or three washings. If there is much +fermentation, use some soda in the water. Salt, about a tablespoonful to +two quarts of water, stimulates the bowels, but its disadvantage is that +it draws water from the intestinal walls, thus robbing the blood of a +part of its fluid. The same is true of glycerin. Perhaps the least +harmful ingredient that can be put into the water to stimulate action is +enough pure castile soap to render the water opaque. The soap, however, +has a tendency to wash away too much of the mucus which lubricates the +bowel. On the whole, nothing is better than plain water. If it gives +good results use nothing else. + +Those who are very sensitive and weak often find that the expulsion of +water from the bowel not only further weakens them, but causes pain. In +such cases Dr. Hazzard recommends a rectal tube (not a colon tube), +which is very good, for it allows the emptying of the bowel without any +cramping. The tube is to be inserted about six inches. + +To take the enema, assume either the knee-chest position (kneeling with +the shoulders close to the floor) or lie on the right side with the hips +elevated. These positions allow water to flow into colon by aid of +gravity. + +When it is necessary to supply liquid to the body by rectum, simply +introduce a pint or less of plain water, moderately warm. Repeat as +often as necessary to keep away thirst, which will rarely be more than +every three hours. + +Keep the body warm at all times. If it is difficult to keep warm, go to +bed and use enough covers, having the windows open enough to supply +fresh air. At night use artificial heat in the foot of the bed. If +hot-water bottles, warm bricks or stones are used, they should be quite +large; otherwise they become cold by two or three o'clock in the +morning, when heat is most needed. If a large receptacle, such as a jug, +is used to keep the water in, the bed clothes are lifted off the +patient's feet, and this is often a great relief. + +No special food is suited to break all fasts on. It is necessary to +begin with plain food in moderation. Overeating or eating of +indigestible food at this time may result in sickness and even in death. +If the faster lacks self-control, the food should be brought to him in +proper quantities by the attendant. + +If the fast has lasted but two or three days, no special precautions are +necessary, except that the first few meals should be smaller than usual. + +As indiscretions in eating compel nearly all fasts it is necessary to do +a little better than previously, or the fast must be repeated. It is +best to live so that fasts are not necessary. + +If the fast has been prolonged it is best to begin feeding liquid foods. +What shall we feed? That depends on the patient and circumstances. The +juice of the concord grape is not good for it ferments too easily. Many +of those who are compelled to fast or else die have been so +food-poisoned, and their digestive organs have been in such horrible +condition for years that they have been unable to eat acid fruits. This +is especially true of those who consume large quantities of starch. +Sometimes they are unable to eat fruit for a while after the fast. At +other times the irritability of the digestive organs disappears while +food is withheld. For such people broths and milk may be employed. + +The juice of oranges, pineapples, California grapes, cherries, +blackberries or tomatoes may be given. The tomatoes may be made into +broth and strained, but nothing is to be added to this broth except +salt. Stout people should do well on fruit juices. They are not to be so +highly recommended for very thin, nervous people, for fruit juices are +both thinning and cooling. Milk is very useful, and may be given either +sweet or clabbered or in the form of buttermilk. + +Thin, nervous people can safely be given broths, preferably of lamb, +mutton or chicken. Trim away all the fat, grind up the lean meat, and +allow it to simmer (not boil) until all the juices are extracted from +the meat. Strain and put away to cool. When cold, skim off the fat. Then +warm the broth and serve. This broth is not to be seasoned while it is +being cooked, but a little salt may be added when it is ready to serve. +To one pound of lean meat there should be about one quart of broth. A +teacupful to begin with is enough for a meal, and it is often necessary +to give less than this. The gravest mistake is to be in a hurry about +returning to full meals. The remarks about moderate feeding also apply +to milk and fruit juices. + +Ordinarily, fasts are not broken on starchy foods, but this may be done +at times to advantage, especially in cases that have been accustomed to +large quantities of starch and but little of the fresh raw foods. The +starch must, however, be in an easily digestible state and should be in +the form of a very thin gruel made of oatmeal or whole wheatmeal. It +should be cooked four to six hours and dressed with nothing but a little +salt. A few can break the fast on a full meal without any bad results, +but most people can not do it without suffering and the results may be +fatal. So it is a safe rule to break the fast on simple liquid food, +taken in moderation. + +Four or five days after breaking the fast, one should be able to eat the +ordinary foods. The following is a suggestion of the manner in which to +feed immediately after a fast of about two weeks: + +First day: Tomato broth once; mutton broth twice. + +Second day: Breakfast, orange juice. Lunch, buttermilk. Dinner, sliced +tomatoes. + +Third day: Breakfast, buttermilk. Lunch, salad of lettuce and tomatoes, +dressed with salt. Dinner, poached egg, celery. + +Fourth day: Breakfast, baked apple and milk. Lunch, toasted bread and +butter. Dinner, lamb chops, stewed green peas, celery. + +If a meal causes distress, omit the next one and continue omitting meals +until comfort and ease have returned. If the digestion is very weak, or +if the illness has been protracted, do not feed solids as soon as +recommended above. In all cases it is necessary to exercise +self-control, moderation and common sense. + +The meals must be moderate. Gradually increase until the amount of food +taken is sufficient to do the necessary bodily rebuilding. The longer +the fast, the more care should be exercised in the beginning. It is no +time to experiment. + +If the fast is to be of permanent benefit it is necessary to learn how +to eat properly afterwards, and to put this knowledge into practice. +This is the most important part to emphasize, yet all the books I have +read on the subject have failed to pay any attention to it. In nearly +every case the fast is necessary because of repeated mistakes in eating +and drinking. Those mistakes built bodily ills in the first place and if +the faster goes back to them they will do it again. The disease does not +always take on the same type as it did in the first place, but it is the +same old disease. During a fast there is recuperation because the body +has a chance to become clean, and a clean body can not long remain +unbalanced, provided there are no organic faults. By making mistakes in +eating after the fast is over, the body again becomes foul and full of +debris and that means more disease. Perhaps it may not require more than +one-third as much abuse to cause a second break-down as it did to bring +about the first one. + +Some people fast repeatedly, and are somewhat proud of it. They should +be ashamed of the fact that they must fast time after time, for it shows +either ignorance or a weak, undeveloped will power. The fast should +teach every intelligent being that it is an emergency measure, and +emergencies are but seldom encountered in a well regulated life. + +Food debauches following fasts should be avoided. A little will power +properly applied will prevent them. Gross eating may compel another +fast. We must eat and it is better to eat so that we can take sustenance +regularly than to be compelled to go without food at various intervals. +He who is moderate in his eating, uses a fair degree of intelligence in +the selection of his food, is temperate in other ways and considerate +and kind in his dealings with others will not be ill. + +A fast is efficacious in clearing up a brain that is unable to work well +because it is bathed in unclean blood. It is remarkable how well the +brain works when the stomach is not overworked. Overfeeding the body +causes underfeeding of the brain. On a correct diet the brain is +efficient and clear and able to bear sustained burdens. + +There is no question but that a fast, followed by a light diet, +containing less of the heavily starchy and proteid foods and more of the +succulent vegetables and fresh fruits, with their cleansing juices and +health-imparting salts, would result in the recovery of over one-half of +the insane. Most of them are suffering functionally and here the outlook +is very hopeful. Christ cured a lunatic "by prayer and fasting." Proper +feeding would work wonders in prisons. It would also be very beneficial +for wayward girls and young men who are passion's slaves. St. Peter +recommended fasting as an aid to morality, which is another evidence of +the profundity of his wisdom. + +How long should a fast last? Until its object has been accomplished. It +is rarely necessary to fast a month, but sometimes it is advisable to +continue the fast for forty days, or even longer. If the fast is taken +on account of pain, continue until the pain is gone. If for fever, until +there is no more fever. In chronic cases it is not always necessary to +continue the fast until the tongue is clean. When the patient is free +from pain and fever and comfortable in every way, start feeding lightly. +People who are thin and have sluggish nutrition, one symptom of which is +dirty-gray mucous membrane in mouth and throat, should not be fasted any +longer than it is absolutely necessary, for they generally react slowly +and poorly. + +If people would miss a meal or two or three as soon as they begin to +feel bad, no long fasts would be necessary, because when the system +first begins to be deranged it very quickly rights itself when food is +withheld. It is impossible for a serious disease to develop in a fasting +person, unless he is in an exceptionally bad physical condition at the +beginning of the fast, for when food is withheld there is nothing for +disease to feed upon. No new disease can originate during a fast. + +Fasts often bring people back to health, who can not recover through any +other means known to man, unless it be eating almost nothing--a +semi-fast. Occasionally a patient dies while on a long fast or +immediately thereafter, but please remember that millions die +prematurely on this earth every year who never missed their meals for +one day. Also remember that those who go on prolonged fasts are +generally "hopeless cases," who have been given up to die by medical +men. People who fast generally become comfortable, so why envy a few men +and women an easy departure when they are no longer able to live, and +why heap undeserved censure on those who are doing their best to ease +the sufferers by means of our most valuable therapeutic measure, +fasting? + +There is much prejudice against fasting, but a calm study of the facts +will remove this. Typhoid fever, conventionally treated, often proves +fatal in 15 per cent. or more of the cases and those who survive have +to undergo a long, uncomfortable illness which often leaves them so +weakened and with such degenerated bodies that the end is frequently a +matter of a few months or years. Pneumonia and tuberculosis find a +favorable place to develop and in these cases prove very fatal. On the +other hand, cases of typhoid treated by the fast, and the other hygienic +measures necessary, recover in a short time, there are no evil sequels +and the body is in better condition than it was before the onset of the +disease. I have never seen a fatality in a properly treated case, and +the mortality is conspicuous by its absence. It is the same in curable +chronic diseases. Where feeding and medicating add to the ills, fasting +with proper living afterwards brings health. + +It is also well to remember that where one individual dies while fasting +(not from the effects of fasting, but from the disease for which the +fast was begun), perhaps one hundred thousand starve because they have +too much to eat. Silly as this may sound, it is the truth, and this is s +the explanation: Overfeeding causes digestive troubles and a breakdown +of the assimilative and excretory processes. The more food that is taken +while this condition exists the less nourishment is extracted from it. +The food ferments pathologically, instead of physiologically, and +poisons the body. The more that is eaten under the circumstances, the +worse is the poisoning and at last the tired body wearily gives up the +fight for existence, perhaps after a long chronic ailment has been +suffered, or perhaps during the attack of an acute disease. The chief +cause of death is too much food. + +Avicena, the great Arabian physician, treated by means of prolonged +fasts. + +For the benefit of those who fear the effects of fasts of a few days' +duration a few quotations are given from various sources: + +"My next marked case is a wonderful illustration of the self-feeding +power of the brain to meet an emergency, and a revelation, also, of the +possible limitations of the starvation period. This was the case of a +frail, spare boy of four years, whose stomach was so disorganized by a +drink of solution of caustic potash that not even a swallow of water +could be retained. He died on the seventy-fifth day of his fast, with +the mind clear to the last hour, and with apparently nothing of the body +left but bones, ligaments, and a thin skin; and yet the brain had lost +neither weight nor functional clearness. + +"In another city a similar accident happened to a child of about the +same age, in whom it took three months for the brain to exhaust entirely +the available body-food."--Dr. E. H. Dewey. + +This shows the groundlessness of the fear parents have of allowing their +children to fast when necessary. It is beneficial for even the babies +who need it. In the cases quoted above the conditions were very +unfavorable, for the children were suffering from the effects of lye +burns, yet they lived without food seventy-five and ninety days, +respectively. If necessary, deprive the children of food, and keep them +warm. Then comfort yourself with the fact that they are being treated +humanely and efficiently. + +Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard, in the latest edition of her book, Fasting +for the Cure of Disease, states that she has treated almost two thousand +five hundred people by this method, the fasts varying in duration from +eight to seventy five days, many of them being over a month. Sixteen of +her patients have died while fasting and two on a light diet. This is +far from being a mortality of 1 per cent. When the fact is taken into +consideration that the people she treated were of the class for whom the +average medical man can do nothing the mortality is surprisingly small. +However, she has lost a few, and as she is a fighter for her beliefs the +prejudice against her and her method of treating disease have proved +strong enough to cause her to be imprisoned. Dr. Hazzard has perhaps the +widest experience with fasting of any mortal, living or dead. Her book +is well worth reading. + +Upton Sinclair has also written a book on this subject, entitled the +Fasting Cure. He writes from the viewpoint of an intelligent layman +whose observations are not very extensive. The book contains many good +ideas. This is from page fifty-seven: + +"The longest fast of which I had heard when my article was written was +seventy eight days; but that record has since been broken, by a man +named Richard Fausel. Mr. Fausel, who keeps a hotel somewhere in North +Dakota, had presumably partaken too generously of the good cheer +intended for his guests, for he found himself at the inconvenient weight +of three hundred and eighty-five pounds. He went to a sanatorium in +Battle Creek and there fasted for forty days (if my recollection serves +me), and by dint of vigorous exercise meanwhile, he got rid of one +hundred and thirty pounds. I think I never saw a funnier sight than Mr. +Fausel at the conclusion of this fast, wearing the same pair of trousers +that he had worn at the beginning of it. But the temptations of +hotel-keepers are severe, and when he went back home, he found himself +going up in weight again. This time he concluded to do the job +thoroughly, and went to Macfadden's place in Chicago, and set out upon a +fast of ninety days. That is a new record--though I sometimes wonder if +it is quite fair to call it 'fasting' when a man is simply living upon +an internal larder of fat." + +Bernarr Macfadden has also written considerable about fasting. C. C. +Haskell is an advocate and director of such treatment. Many physicians +employ this healing method. Some day the entire medical profession will +realize the worth of fasting as a curative agent. + +As a reminder, please allow me to repeat: When reading and studying +about the subject of fasting, do not think of it as a complete cure, for +those who return to their improper mode of living will again build +disease. After the fast, live right. + +The efficient body is clean internally. An unclean skin is bad. A foul +alimentary tract is worse. But the worst of all is a foul condition of +all the tissues, including the blood-stream, a condition in which much +of the body's waste is stored up, instead of being excreted. + +If such a condition can not be remedied through moderation and +simplicity in eating, the only thing that will prove of value is +temporary abstinence. + +It would be an easy matter to enumerate many long fasts, such as that of +Dr. Tanner, who proved to an astonished country that fasting for a month +or more is not fatal, but on the contrary may be beneficial. Or we could +cite cases like the fasts carried on by classes under the direction of +Bernarr Macfadden. Or we could refer to the experiments of Professors +Fisher and Chittenden of Yale. + +However, we will only look into one more case, that of Dr. I. J. Eales, +whose fast created considerable interest several years ago. The doctor +was too heavy, so he decided to take a fast to reduce his weight, also +for scientific purposes. For thirty days he lived on nothing but water +with an occasional glass of lemonade and one cup of coffee. At the end +of thirty days he broke his fast on a glass of malted milk. + +The doctor worked hard during all this period, losing weight all the +time, being thirty pounds lighter at the end of his fast than at the +beginning. However, he did not lose strength, being able to do as much +work and lift as heavy weights at the end of the fast as at the +beginning. Anyone who is much over weight can with benefit do as the +doctor did, for the body will use the stored up fat to produce heat and +energy. This fast is fully detailed in Dr. Eales' book called +Healthology. + +Fasting is the quickest way to produce internal cleanliness, which is +health. When the system is clean the cravings, longings and appetites +are not so strong as when the body is full of poisons. For this reason a +fast is the best way to destroy the cravings for tobacco, coffee, tea, +alcohol and other habit-forming drugs. If, after the fast is over, the +individual lives moderately and simply, and is fully determined not to +return to the use of these drugs, a permanent cure will be the reward. +However, it is very easy to drift back into the old habits. A permanent +cure requires that there be no compromise, no saying, "I shall do it +this time, but never again." Once the old habit is resumed, it is almost +certain to be continued. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +ATTITUDE OF PARENT TOWARD CHILD. + +Healthy, happy children are the greatest of all rewards. All parents can +have such children, and it is a duty they owe themselves, the children +and the race. It is a most pleasant duty, for the returns are far +greater than the cost. + +In order to have first-class children parents must be in good physical +condition and be controlled mentally. Chaotic parents can not have +orderly children. The young people learn quickly from their elders and +they usually take after one of the parents. They intuitively learn what +they can do and what they can not do and how to get their way while we +consider them too young to have any understanding. + +Therefore it is important that their first impressions are correct. +Begin to train the child in the way it should go from the day of birth. +The first training will have to do with feeding and sleeping. These +points are covered more fully in the next chapter. They are touched upon +here to give them emphasis. + +Feed the child three times a day, but never wake it to be fed. If you +give the three feeds, the child will soon become accustomed to them and +wake when it is time. If the child squirms and frets, it may be +uncomfortable from being overfed or it may be thirsty. Offer it water +but not food. + +Let the child alone. Do not bounce it or carry it about. During the +first few months the baby needs heat, nourishment and rest, and should +have no excitement. It should not be treated as a plaything. After a few +months it begins to take notice of things and then you can have much fun +with it. + +The right kind of love consists in doing what is necessary for the +infant and no more. + +Obedience to the reasonable requests of the parents is of the greatest +importance in the successful raising of children. Parents should realize +this even before the children are born. From the first, be firm, though +gentle, with the little ones. Children should be so trained that when +they are requested to do a thing, they do it immediately without any +repetition. This will save both them and the parents many an unhappy +hour. + +The lives of many parents and many children are made miserable from lack +of a little parental firmness at the start. + +There are many little graces that are not vital, yet they are important, +and these should be taught children early, for then they become second +nature. Among these are good table manners. Ungainly table manners have +no bearing on the health, but they give an unfavorable impression to +others. We are partly judged by the presence or absence of such little +graces. + +Training children is like training trees. A sapling can be made to grow +in the desired way, but after a few years it will not respond to +training. The period of infancy is plastic, and then is the time to +plant the seeds in the child's mind and teach good habits. + +It is not difficult to train the children. If the parents are orderly +and firm, instead of wavering, the children almost intuitively fall into +line. Teach them to obey and they will later be able to command +intelligently and considerately. + +The babies are helpless at first. This softens the hearts of the parents +toward them until they become very indulgent. Indulging and pampering +children are bad for them. Kindness consists in doing for them what is +for their good, which is not always what they desire. + +If the children are properly trained at first, they need very little +training later on. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +CHILDREN. + +Statistics are generally very dry and uninteresting, but at times they +take on a tragic interest, and the importance of the few submitted here +is so great that they should command careful attention. + +The definite figures used are taken from the Mortality Statistics, +United States Census, and they cover the year 1912, which is the last +year for which we have definite information. Reliable mortality +statistics are given only in a part of the country, which is not to our +credit. The population is reported in the volume as 92,309,348. The +registration area, which is the area giving mortality statistics, +contains 53,843,896 people. In this area the total deaths are as +follows: + + Under one year.............. 154,373 + Under ten years............. 235,262 + +Taking it for granted that the infant and child mortality among the +unregistered people is the same, we get the following number of deaths +annually among children in the United States, in round numbers: + + Under one year.............. 280,000 + Under ten years............. 425,000 + +This is a very conservative estimate and 300,000 is usually given as the +number of deaths annually among babies under the age of one year. + +Even under ideal conditions a baby would occasionally die, but the +deaths would be so rare that they would be the cause of surprised +comment. Some become parents who have no right to be, and they bring +children into the world who are not physically fit to survive, and these +generally die within a few days or weeks of birth. However, these babies +are but a small minority and at least ninety-nine out of a hundred +should survive. Not one baby born physically fit would die if +intelligently cared for, and the fact that each year we lose over +one-fourth million infants under one year of age in the United States is +an indictment of our lives and intelligence, and a challenge to better +our ways. + +Every child that is brought into the world should be given an +opportunity to live. This is far from the case today. Children are so +handicapped that they are stunted in body and blunted in mind, if they +survive. + +Suppose that every ten years an army of 4,250,000 men and women between +the ages of twenty and thirty were destroyed at one time in this +country! The indignation, sorrow and horror would be so great that a +means would soon be found to end the periodic slaughter. + +But we allow this many children under ten to be destroyed every ten +years. The slaughter of the innocents does not bring forth much protest, +because we are so used to it, and the babies go one by one, all over the +country. The procession to the grave gives rise to this thought: "The +little one is better off. Now he will suffer no more. It is the will of +Providence." This is a libel on Providence, for this enormous mortality +is due to parental mistakes, mistakes made mostly through ignorance, but +blamable all the same. It behooves parents to obtain knowledge that will +prevent such costly and fatal errors. Nature's law is the same as man's +rule in this that ignorance of the law excuses no one. The results are +the same whether we err knowingly or ignorantly. + +It is difficult to teach people to treat their babies properly, because +nearly all the information on the subject is so erroneous. When a +teacher brings forth the truth but few accept it, for the vast majority +are on the other side. Those parents who accept the truth find it +difficult, to put it into practice, for every hand is against them. It +takes more strength of character and moral courage than the average +individual possesses to withstand the criticism of neighbors, friends, +relatives and medical advisers. + +The few who have the courage of their convictions and the right +knowledge reap a rich harvest. They have babies who are well. They see +their children grow up with sound bodies and clear minds. They are saved +much of the worry which is the lot of parents of children raised +according to conventional standards. Last, but by no means least, they +have the satisfaction of giving to the race individuals who are better +than their parents or the grandparents. There is much opportunity for +human improvement, and the improvement will take place automatically, if +we do not prevent it by going contrary to nature. + +Healthy babies spring from normal, healthy parents. If they can have +normal grandparents, so much the better, but inasmuch as we can not +alter the past, let us give our attention to the present. If we take +care of the present, the future will bring forth a population of healthy +parents and grandparents, and then the babies will have full +opportunity. The past has great influence, for the child of today is +heir of the past, modified by the present. He who influences the present +leaves his mark on the future. As individuals we do not usually +accomplish much during a lifetime, but if we influence our time for the +better it is hard to tell where the improvement will cease or what will +be the aggregate result. A truth imparted to others acts much like a +pebble cast into the water. Its influence is felt in ever widening +circles. + +Infancy and youth are plastic. Both body and mind are susceptible to +surrounding influences. If the heredity is unfavorable it can be largely +modified by favorable environments. If a child is born of unhealthy +parents, but without any serious defect, and is intelligently cared for +after birth, it will grow up to be healthy. On the other hand, a child +born of healthy parents that is improperly cared for will become ill and +perhaps die young. + +In early years the habits are formed that will largely influence and +control the years of maturity. Most children learn bad habits from +birth. It is as easy to acquire good habits as bad ones, and as people +are largely creatures of habits, every parent should aim to give his +children a good start. Parents seldom do wrong intentionally, but they +are careless and many of the parental habits of the race are bad, and +for this the future generations must suffer. + +It is easier and more economical to have healthy babies than to have +sickly ones. The healthy way is the simple way. It merely means +self-control, common sense and constructive knowledge on the part of the +parents. + + +PRENATAL CARE. + +It is commonly believed that a pregnant woman must eat for two. The wise +woman will not increase her food intake. If she is not up to par +physically at the time of conception she will generally find it +advantageous to decrease the food allowance. + +A healthy baby should not weigh to exceed six, or at most seven, pounds +at birth. Five pounds would be better. It does not take much food to +nourish an infant of that weight, and the baby does not weigh that much +until shortly before birth. Most of the food is used for fuel but the +amount of fuel required to heat a baby that is kept warm within the +mother's body is almost negligible. + +One of the first and most important requisites for having healthy +children is to avoid the eating-for-two fallacy. Most people overeat, +anyway, and there should be no encouragement in this line. + +The results of overeating are many and serious. The mother grows too +heavy or else she becomes dyspeptic. Overeating and partaking of food of +poor quality are the chief causes of the ills of pregnancy. Prospective +mothers can be comfortable. Pregnancy and childbirth are physiological. +Normal women suffer very little inconvenience or pain. The suffering +during pregnancy, the pain and accidents at childbirth are measures of +the mother's abnormality. The greater the inconvenience the farther has +the individual strayed from a natural life. The women who live normally +from the time of conception, or before, until the birth of the baby will +be surprised how little inconvenience there is. + +For ideal results the father must be kind, considerate and +self-controlled. It is a disagreeable fact that many men are brutal and +inconsiderate of wives and unborn children. The extent of this brutality +can hardly be realized by those who have had no medical experience. +Perhaps the women are partly to blame, for they do not teach their boys +to be considerate and kind and they leave them in ignorance of subjects +that are important and that can best be taught by parents. + +A pregnant woman should be mistress of her body. During this period the +husband has morally no marital rights. If boys were educated by their +parents on this subject they would be reasonable later on, and the +average boy of fourteen or fifteen is old enough to receive such +education. + +Gestation should be a period of calm. All excitement and passion are +harmful. The mother should be as free from annoyance as possible. +Cheerfulness should be the rule. Those who are not naturally cheerful +should cultivate this desirable state of mind. Gruesome and horrible +topics should not be discussed. The reading should not be along tragic +lines. The study of nature and the philosophy of men who have found life +sweet are among the helpful mental occupations. The mental attitude has +its effect, not only on the mother, but on the unborn babe. That the +seed for good or evil is often planted in the child's brain before +birth, according to the mental and physical condition of the mother, can +hardly be doubted. Mothers who live naturally can dismiss all worry on +the subject of harm coming to themselves through maternity, for there +will be none. The absence of worry has a good effect on both mother and +child. + +The various ills from which mothers suffer are largely caused by eating +for two. The overeating causes overweight in those whose nutrition is +above par and indigestion in those who have but ordinary digestive +capacity. Those who are overweight have too high blood pressure and +those who have indigestion absorb some of the poisonous products of +decomposition from the bowels. Headache is a common result. Palpitation +of the heart comes from gas pressure. The abnormal blood pressure may +result in albuminurea, swelling of the lower extremities and overweight +of both mother and child. The morning sickness is nearly always due to +excessive food intake. If this proves troublesome, reduce the amount of +food and simplify the combinations. Instead of taking heavy, rich +dishes, increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. + +The birth of a large baby is fraught with danger to mother and child. +Sometimes one or both are injured and sometimes one or both die. Many +women are afraid to become mothers for this reason. It would be +difficult to estimate how often this fear causes law breaking, for all +large cities have their medical men who grow rich through illegal +practices among these women. Sometimes these doctors are among the +respected members of the profession, eminent enough to have a national +reputation. The financial reward is great enough to tempt men to break +the law and they will continue to do so, so long as present conditions +exist. + +It is important for the prospective mother to be moderate in her eating. +Three meals a day are sufficient. Between meals nothing but water should +be swallowed. Lunching always leads to overeating. + +One meal each day can consist of starchy food, but not more than one +meal. Any one of the starches may be selected, the cereal products, +rice, potatoes, chestnuts. If the digestion is good, take matured beans, +peas or lentils occasionally, but these are so heavy that they should +not be eaten very frequently and always in moderation. With the starchy +food selected, take either butter or milk, or a moderate quantity of +both. Sometimes it is all right to take some fruit with the starchy +food, but this should be the exception, not the rule. Fruit should +generally be eaten by itself or taken with non-starchy foods. Starch +eating should be limited to one meal a day because an excessive amount +of this food causes hardening of the tissues. The baby's bones, which +should be very soft, flexible and yielding at birth, will become too +hard if much starch is eaten. + +Once a day some kind of proteid food may be taken, but this should also +be eaten in moderation, for if it is not, degenerative changes will take +place, which will manifest in some one of the disorders common to +pregnancy. Eggs and the lighter kinds of meats, or nuts or fresh fish +may be selected. Whatever kind of protein is taken, it should be as +fresh as possible. Pork should not be used. With the protein, have +either fruit or vegetables, and it does not make much difference which. +No one could ask for a better meal than good apples and pecans. + +Be sure to eat enough of the raw salad vegetables and of raw fruits to +supply the salts needed by the body. + +For the third meal have fruit. Cottage cheese, sweet or clabbered milk +or buttermilk may be taken with the fruit. Do not take milk twice a day, +for if it is taken twice and other proteid food once a day, too much +protein is ingested. + +A glass or two of buttermilk will make a good meal at any time. Dr. +Waugh, who has had over forty years of experience and is well and +favorably known on both sides of the Atlantic, recommends buttermilk +very highly during pregnancy. Buttermilk and clabbered milk are better +than the sweet milk. The lactic acid seems to have a sweetening effect +on the alimentary tract. Sweet milk is constipating for many people. The +buttermilk and the clabbered milk are not constipating to the same +degree. + +The use of fruit and vegetables has a tendency to prevent constipation. +The only internal remedies for which there is any excuse are cathartics, +and normal people do not need them. However, it is better to take a mild +cathartic or an enema than to allow the colon to become loaded with +waste. Constipation among eaters of much meat is rather a serious +condition, for the waste in the colon of heavy meat eaters is very +poisonous. The colonic waste in vegetarians is not so toxic. + +Desserts should be used sparingly and seldom. They are not a necessity, +but a habit, and if they are consumed daily they are a bad habit. + +For the sake of the unborn child, avoid all stimulants and narcotics. +Alcoholics and coffee should not be used. And it is best to avoid strong +spices and rich gravies. A little self-denial and self-control in this +line will pay great dividends in healthy, happy, contented babies, and +there are no greater blessings. + +The mother should be active, but should not take any violent exercise. +Light work is good, but no mother should Be asked to do house-cleaning +or to stand over the wash-tub. She should have the opportunity of being +in the open every day, and of this opportunity she should avail herself. +Why some women are ashamed of pregnancy is hard for normal-minded people +to understand, for the praise of motherhood has been sung by the +greatest poets and its glory depicted by the greatest painters of the +world. + +This sense of false modesty is responsible for much of the tight lacing +during pregnancy. This is injurious to both the mother and the child, +and is one of the reasons for various uncomfortable sensations. It helps +to bring on the morning sickness. It is nature's intention that the +young should be free and comfortable previous to birth, and for this +reason a double bag is supplied between the walls of which there is +fluid. The baby lies within the inner bag. + +The tight lacing prevents the intended freedom, besides weakening the +mother's muscles. It also aggravates any tendency there may be toward +constipation and swelling of the legs. It prolongs childbirth and makes +it more painful. This is too high a price to pay for false modesty and +vanity. + +If it is necessary to support the abdomen and the breasts for the sake +of comfort, this can be done without compressing them and the support +should come from the shoulders. + +The skin should be given good attention, for an active skin helps to +keep the blood pure and the circulation normal. Take a vigorous dry +rubbing at least once a day, and twice a day would be better. A quick +sponging off with cool water followed with vigorous dry rubbing is good, +but the rubbing is of greater importance than the sponging. An olive oil +rub is often soothing and may be taken as frequently as desired. + +If there is a tendency to be ill and nervous, take a good hot bath, +staying in the water until there is a feeling of ease, even if it should +take more than thirty minutes, provided the heart and the kidneys are +working well. Defective heart and kidney action contraindicate prolonged +hot baths, but such ills will not appear if the mother lives properly. +Under such conditions missing a few meals can only have good results. +When eating is resumed, partake of only enough food to nourish the body, +for anything beyond that builds discomfort and disease. + +These hints, simple as they are, contain enough information to rob +gestation and childbirth of their horrors, if they are intelligently +observed. If civilized woman desires to be as painfree as the savage, +she must lead the simple life. + + +INFANCY. + +If the baby lives to be one year old, its chances of surviving are +fairly good, but during the first year the mortality is appalling. +Complete statistics are not available, but in places one-fifth or even +one-fourth of the babies born perish during this time. The mortality is +chiefly due to overfeeding and giving food of poor quality. + +The average parent loves his baby. He loves the helpless little thing to +death. In Oscar Wilde's words, "We kill the thing we love." The babies +are killed by too much love, which takes the form of overindulgence. +About thirty years ago the well known physician, Charles B. Page, wrote: + +"How many healthy-born infants die before their first year is +reached--babies that for months are mistakenly regarded as pictures of +health--'never knew a sick day until they were attacked' with cholera +infantum, scarletina, or something else. They are crammed with food, +made gross with fat, and for a time are active and cunning, the delight +of parents and friends--and then, after a season of constipation, a +season of chronic vomiting, and a season of cholera infantum, the little +emaciated skeletons are buried in the ground away from the sight of +those who have literally loved them to death. This is the fate of +one-third of all the children born. As a rule, babies are fed as an +ignorant servant feeds the cook-stove--filling the fire-box so full, +often, that the covers are raised, the stove smokes and gases at every +hole, and the fire is either put out altogether, or, if there is +combustion of the whole body of coals, the stove is rapidly burned out +and destroyed. With baby, overheating means the fever that consumes him, +and, in putting out the fire, too often the fire of life goes out also." + +Fat babies are thought to be healthy babies. This is a mistake, for the +fatter the baby, the more liable it is to fill an early grave. +Thoughtful, knowing people realize that a child that weighs eight pounds +or more at birth is an indication of maternal law breaking. Both the +mother and the child will have to pay for this sooner or later. +Overweight is a handicap. It prevents complete internal cleansing and +combustion, without which health is impossible. + +Because of the false ideas prevalent regarding weight of infants, it is +well to put a little emphasis on the subject. If the mother has lived +right during pregnancy, the child is often light at birth, sometimes +five pounds or less. The average doctor will shake his head and say that +the baby's chance to live is very small. The friends, neighbors and +relatives will say the same. They are wrong. Let the parents remember +that light children are not encumbered with fat, and rarely with +disease. A light baby is generally all healthy baby, and if properly +cared for and not overfed will thrive. Parents of such babies should be +thankful, instead of being alarmed. + +It is not natural for babies to weigh nine or ten pounds at birth, and +when they do it is a sign of maternal wrong doing, whether she has been +cognizant of it or not. Babies should not be fat, nor should they be fat +when they grow older, if the best results are desired. + +In babies it is better to strive for quality than for quantity. + +Every mother who is capable of doing so should nurse her baby. There is +no food to take the place of the mother's milk. The babies build greater +strength and resistance when they are fed naturally than when they are +brought up on the bottle. Babies thrive wonderfully in an atmosphere of +love, and they draw love from the mother's breast with every swallow. + +From the information available, which is not as complete and definite as +could be desired, it appears that from six to thirteen bottle-babies die +during the first year where only one breast-fed child perishes. The +bottle-baby does not get a fair start. If a mother is ill and worn out +she should not be asked to nurse the baby. If the mother has fever she +should not risk the baby's health through nursing. Some mothers do not +have enough milk to feed the baby. Nearly all who live properly give +enough milk to nourish their infants at first. If there is not enough +milk, the child should be allowed to take what there is in the breasts +and this should be supplemented with cow's milk. + +Dr. Thomas F. Harrington said recently: + +"From 80 to 90 per cent. of all deaths from gastrointestinal disease +among infants takes place in the artificially fed; or ten bottle-babies +die to one which is breast-fed. In institutions it has been found that +the death rate is frequently from 90 to 100 per cent. when babies are +separated from their mothers. During the siege of Paris (1870-71) the +women were compelled to nurse their own babies on account of the absence +of cow's milk. Infant mortality under one year fell from 33 to 7 per +cent. During the cotton famine of 1860 women were not at work in the +mills. They nursed their babies and one-half of the infant mortality +disappeared." + +These are remarkable facts and bring home at least two truths. First, +they confirm the superiority of natural feeding over that of artificial +feeding. Second, they show that when the mother is not overfed the +infants are healthier. During the siege of Paris food was scarce in that +city. People of all classes had to live quite frugally. They could not +overeat as in the untroubled time of peace and prosperity, and the +result was that both the mothers and the babies were healthier. The +infant mortality was only a little over one-fifth of what it was +previously. If the French people had heeded the lesson the statesmen and +philosophers of that nation would not today have to worry about its +almost stationary population. + +It would be much better if fewer children were born and those few were +healthier. What good does the birth of the army of 425,000 children +which perishes annually accomplish? It leaves the nation poorer in every +way. A mother tired and worn with wakeful vigils, and at last left with +an aching heart through the loss of her child, is not worth as much as +she who has a crooning infant to love, and through her mother-love +radiates kindness and good cheer to others. The conditions that weed out +so many of our infants tend to weaken the survivors. + +It costs too much to bring children into the world to waste them so +lavishly. This may sound peculiar, but it is enlightened selfishness, +which is the highest good, for it brings blessings upon all. + +Artificial feeding lays the foundation for many troubles which may not +manifest for several years. The bottle-fed babies are often plump, even +fat, but they are not as strong as those who are fed naturally. They +take all kinds of children's diseases very quickly. The glandular +system, which is so readily disturbed in children, is more easily +affected in bottle-fed babies. And so it comes about that they often +have swollen salivary glands, or swelling of the glands of the neck or +of the tonsils. + +Do not be in a hurry to feed the baby after birth. Nature has so +arranged that the infant does not require immediate feeding. It is a +good plan to wait at least twenty-four hours after birth before placing +the baby at the breast, for then all the tumult and excitement have had +a chance to subside. + +Many give the baby a cathartic within a few hours after birth. This is a +mistake. Cathartics are irritants and it is a very poor beginning to +abuse the mucous membrane of the intestinal tract immediately. This +mucous membrane is delicate and in children the digestive apparatus is +easily upset. Before birth there was no stomach or bowel digestion, all +the nutritive processes taking place in the tissues of the little body. +Gentle treatment is necessary to bring the best results. Cathartics with +their harsh action on the delicate membranes are contraindicated. The +mother's first milk is cathartic enough to stimulate the bowels to act, +but it is nature's cathartic and does no harm. + +As a rule the baby is fed too often and too much from the time of birth. +If the child appears healthy the physician's recommendation will +probably be to feed every two hours day and night, or every two hours +during the day and every three hours at night. If the little one appears +weakly these feedings are increased in number. From ten to twenty-four +feedings in twenty-four hours are not uncommon and sometimes infants are +nursed or given the bottle two and even three times an hour. The excuse +for this is that the baby's stomach is small and cannot hold much food +at a time and must for this reason be filled often, for the baby has to +grow, and the more food it gets the faster it grows. The baby's stomach +is small, because the little one needs very little food. The human +being grows and develops for twenty to twenty-five years. This growth is +slow and during babyhood the amount of nourishment needed is not great. +The child, if properly taken care of, is kept warm. Hence it needs but +little fuel. The ideas on food needs are so exaggerated that it is hard +for parents to realize what moderate amount of food will keep a baby +well nourished. + +An adult in the best of health would be unable to stand such frequent +food intake. He would be ill in a short time. Babies stand it no +better, and the only proof of this fact needed is that in the United +States at least 280,000 babies under one year of age perish annually. +During babyhood nearly all troubles are nutritive ones. With the stomach +and bowels in excellent condition baby defies all kinds of diseases, +provided it is given the simple, commonsense attentions needed +otherwise, such as being kept warm and clean in a well ventilated room. +With a healthy alimentary canal, which comes with proper feeding, the +little one can withstand the attack of the vast horde of germs which so +trouble adult minds, also adult bodies, when people fail to give +themselves proper care. + +The results of too frequent feeding and overfeeding are appalling. The +first ill effect is digestive disturbance. Then one or more of the ills +of childhood make their appearance. These are called diseases, but they +are only symptoms of perverted nutrition, though we insist on giving +them names. + +A healthy baby is one that is absolutely normal and well in every way. +However, babies today pass for healthy when they are fat and suffering +from all kinds of troubles, provided these ills can be tolerated. We +need a new standard of health. Perfect health is a gift that every +normal parent can bestow upon his children, and we should be satisfied +with nothing short of this. Babies can and should be raised without +illness, but, sad to relate, babies, who are always healthy are so rare +that they are curiosities. + +Many babies show signs of maternal overfeeding within a few hours or +days of birth. One of the common signs is the discharge from the nose. +This is aggravated by overfeeding the infant. And thus is laid the +foundation, perhaps, for a lifelong catarrh. In due time various +diseases such as rickets, swollen glands, formerly called scrofulous, +mumps, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, pimples, eczema and cholera +infantum, make their appearance. Parents have been taught to look for +these diseases. They have been told that they belong to childhood. This +is a libel on nature, for she tends in the direction of health. + +The prevalent idea at present is that various germs, which are found in +water, food, air and earth, are responsible for these diseases, but they +are not. The fact that infants properly cared for do not develop one of +them is proof enough that germs per se are unable to cause these ills. +The germs play their part in most of these diseases, but it is a kindly +part. They are scavengers, and attempt to rid the body of its debris and +poisons. Through false reasoning they are blamed for causing disease, +when in fact their multiplication is an effect. They are a by-product of +disease. The so-called pathogenic bacteria never thrive in the baby's +body until the infant has been overfed or fed on improper food long +enough to break down its resistance. + +The improper feeding not only kills an army of babies each year, but it +handicaps the survivors very seriously. The degenerated condition of the +system leaves every child with some kind of weakness. The foundation may +be laid for indigestion, catarrhal troubles, which may or may not be +accompanied with adenoids and impeded breathing, glandular troubles, +often precursors of tuberculosis, in fact children may be acquiring any +disease during infancy from chronic catarrh to rheumatism. + +Mental ills are also results of senseless feeding. A healthy baby is +happy. A sick baby is cross. Crossness and anger are mental perversions. +Anger is temporary insanity. Enough overfeeding often results in mental +perversity, epilepsy and even in real insanity. A healthy body gives a +healthy mind. If people would care for their bodies properly, especially +in the line of eating, the asylums for the insane would not be needed +for their present purposes. + +Another serious trouble that takes root from infant overfeeding is an +abnormal craving for stimulants. This craving may later on be satisfied +in many ways. Some use coffee, alcohol, habit-forming drugs. Others try +to satisfy it by overeating. No matter how the sufferer proceeds to +satisfy this craving, he does not cure it, for it grows upon what it is +fed. Morphine calls for more morphine. Tobacco calls for more tobacco. +An oversupply of food calls for more food or alcohol. The victim at last +dies a martyr to his abnormal appetites. + +Comparatively few of those who see the error of their ways have the will +power to thrust off the shackles of habit. Very few think clearly enough +and go far enough back to realize that disease and early death are so +largely due to the habits formed for the infant or unborn babe by the +parents. And the parents received the same kind of undesirable legacy +from their parents, and so it goes, the children suffering for the sins +of the parents. The cheerful part of such a retrospect is that there is +much room for improvement, that we need not continue this seemingly +unending chain of physical bondage to the next generation, and that if +the children are not born right or treated right during infancy, there +is still time to make a change for the better. Nature is kind and with +will and determination a change can be made at any time that will result +in betterment, provided such grave diseases have not taken hold of the +body that recuperation is impossible. This is no excuse for making +delays, for the longer errors are permitted the harder they are to +overcome. + +Three or four feedings a day are sufficient for any baby. The feedings +should be arranged so that they are evenly distributed during the day, +and nothing is to be given at night except water. Get a nursing bottle +or two. Keep the bottles and the nipples scrupulously clean. These are +to be used as water bottles. The water must also be clean. Heat it to +103 or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, so that it will be from 98 to 100 degrees +warm when it enters the baby's mouth Let the baby have some water three +or four times during the day, and perhaps it will want some once or +twice during the night, but give it no milk at night. + +Overfed babies are irritable and cry often. The mothers interpret this +as a sign of hunger. Most babies do not know what hunger is. Like adults +they become thirsty, but instead of getting water to quench their thirst +they are given milk. This satisfies for a little while, then the +irritability due to milk spoiled, in the alimentary tract causes more +restlessness and crying, and they are fed again. The comedy of errors +continues until it is turned into a tragedy. + +How much should the baby be fed at a time? When the parents are healthy +and the baby is born right and then fed but three times a day, the food +intake will regulate itself. The child will not usually want more than +it should have of milk, supplemented with water. The best way to begin +is to let the infant take what it desires. That is, let the nursing +continue while the infant manifests great pleasure and zest. When the +child begins to fool with the breast or bottle, the source of +nourishment should be removed immediately. The child will increase its +intake gradually. + +Some of the babies will take too much. The evil results will soon be +evident, and then the mother must not compromise, but reduce the intake +at once. The signs of over-consumption of food by the infants are the +same as those shown by adults. They are discomfort and disease. The +former manifests in crossness and irritability. The disease may be of +any kind, ranging from a rash to a high fever. + +The baby's stomach is sensitive and resents the excessive amount of food +supplied. So the infant often vomits curdled milk, and some times vomits +before the milk has time to curdle. This is a form of self-protection. +If the mother would heed this sign by withdrawing all food until the +stomach is settled, substituting water in the meanwhile, and then reduce +the baby's food to within digestive capacity, there would be no more +trouble. Vomiting is the infant's way of saying, "Please do not feed me +until my stomach becomes normal again, and then don't give me more than +I need, and that is less than I have been getting." Remember that it is +nature's sign language, which never misleads, and it is so plain that +any one with ordinary understanding should get its meaning, in spite of +the erroneous popular teachings. After the child has vomited, feed +moderately and increase its food supply as its digestive ability +increases. + +If the vomiting is wrongly interpreted and overfeeding is continued, +either the baby dies or the stomach establishes a toleration, passing +the trouble on to other parts of the body. One organ never suffers long +alone. The circulation passes the disease on to other parts, assisted by +the sympathetic nerves, which are present in all parts of the body. + +When the stomach has established its toleration, several things may +happen, only a few of which will be discussed, for the process is +essentially the same, though the results appear so different. In infants +whose digestive power is not very strong the excessive amount of milk +curdles, as does the part that is digested. The water of the milk is +absorbed, but the curds pass into the colon without being digested and +they are discharged in the stool as curds. They are partly decomposed on +the journey through the alimentary canal, producing poisons, a part of +which is absorbed. A part remains in the colon, making the bowel +discharges very offensive. + +The passage of curds in the stool is a danger signal indicating +overfeeding and should be heeded immediately. If it is not, the chances +for a ease of cholera infantum, especially in warm weather, are great. +Cholera infantum is due to overfeeding, or the use of inferior milk, or +both. It is a form of milk poisoning, in which the bowels are very +irritable. As a matter of self-protection they throw out a large +quantity of serum, which soon depletes the system of the poor little +sufferer, and death too often claims another young life. If cholera +infantum makes its appearance the baby is given its best chance to live +if feeding is stopped immediately, warm water given whenever desired, +but not too large quantities at a time. Give no cathartics, for they +irritate an already seriously disturbed mucous membrane, but give a +small enema of blood-warm water once or twice a day. Keep the baby +comfortable, seeing that the feet and abdomen are kept warm, but give +plenty of fresh air. Medicines only aggravate a malady that is already +serious enough. This disease is produced by abuse so grave that in spite +of the best nursing, the baby often dies. It is easily prevented. + +Strong babies with great digestive power are often able to digest and +assimilate enormous quantities of milk, several quarts a day. They can +not use all this food. If they could their size would be enormous within +a short time. They do not find it so easy to excrete the excess as to +assimilate it. The skin, kidneys, lungs and the bowels find themselves +overtaxed. Often the mucous membrane of the nose and throat are called +upon to assist in the elimination. These are the babies who are said to +catch cold easily. Their colds are not caught. They are fed to them. +This constant abuse of the mucous membrane results in inflammation, +subacute in nature, or it may be so mild that it is but an irritation. +The result in time may be chronic catarrh or thickening of the mucous +membrane of nose and throat. While the catarrh is being firmly +established adenoids are quite common. + +In other cases too much of the work of excretion is thrown upon the +skin. The same thing happens to this structure as happens to the mucous +membrane. It is made for a limited amount of excretion and when more +foreign matter, much of it of a very irritating nature, is deposited for +elimination through the skin, it becomes inflamed. It itches. In a +little while there is an attack of eczema. The baby scratches, digging +its little nails in with a will. The infant soon has its face covered +with sores and the scalp is scaly. The proper thing to do is to reduce +the feeding greatly. Then the acid-producing fermentation in stomach and +bowels will cease, but enough food to nourish the body will be absorbed, +the skin will have but its normal work to perform, the cause of the +irritation is gone and the effects will disappear in a short time. Two +weeks are often sufficient to bring back the smooth, soft skin that +every baby should have. The sufferers from these troubles are almost +invariably overweight, and the parents wonder why their babies, who are +so healthy, should be troubled thus! + +Mothers owe it to their nursing babies to lead wholesome, simple lives. +It is not always possible to live ideally, but every mother can eat +simply and control her temper. Wholesome food and equanimity will go far +toward producing healthful nourishment for the child. Stimulants and +narcotics should be avoided. Meat should not be eaten more than once a +day, and it would be better to use less meat and more eggs or nuts. +Fresh fruits and vegetables should be partaken of daily. They are the +rejuvenators and purifiers. The cereal foods should be as near natural +as possible. The bread should be made of whole wheat flour mostly. If +rice is eaten it should be unpolished. Refined sugar should be taken in +moderation, if at all. The potatoes are best baked. Pure milk is as good +for the mother as it is for the child. Highly seasoned foods or rich +made dishes should be avoided. In short, the mother should live as near +naturally as possible. + +The importance of cheerfulness can hardly be overestimated. A nervous +mother who frets or worries, or becomes mastered by any of the negative, +depressing passions, poisons her babe a little with each drop of milk +the child takes. + +Some mothers are unable to nurse their babies. This is so because of +lack of knowledge principally, for women who give themselves proper care +are nearly always able to furnish nourishment for their infants. It may +be that this function will be largely lost if the present preponderance +of artificial feeding continues, and if various inoculations are not +stopped. Some mothers find it a great pleasure to nurse their babies. +Others refuse to do so for fear of ruining their figures. + +No matter what the reason is for depriving the infant of its natural +food, the parents should realize that its chances for health and life +are diminished by this act. If intelligence and care are used in raising +the bottle-fed babies only a few will die, in fact none will die under +the circumstances, provided they were born with a normal amount of +resistance. So it behooves parents of such babies to be extremely +careful. That there are difficulties in the way, or rather +inconveniences, can not be denied, but there are no insurmountable +obstacles. + +The best common substitute for mother's milk is cow's milk. If clean and +given in moderation it will agree with the child and produce no untoward +results. + +Instead of using the same bottle all the time, there should be a number, +so that there will be plenty of time to clean them. If three feeds are +given each day, there should be six bottles. If four feeds are given, +eight bottles. Use a set every other day. The bottles should be rinsed +out after being used. Then boil them in water containing soda or a +little lye, rinse in several waters and set them aside. If it is sunny, +let them stand in the sun. Before using, rinse again in sterile water. +The nipples should have equally good care. In feeding babies cleanliness +comes before godliness. + +Each bottle is to be used for but one feeding, and as many bottles are +to be prepared as there are to be feedings for the day. + +If the people live in the country it is easy to get pure milk. If in the +city one should make arrangements with a reliable milk man possessed of +a conscience. It is well to get the milk from a certain cow, instead of +taking a mixture coming from many cows. Select a healthy animal that +does not give very rich milk, such as the Holstein. She should have what +green food she wants every day, grass in summer, and hay of the best +quality and silage in winter. The grain ration should be moderate, for +cows that are forced undergo quick degeneration. They are burned out. +The cow should not be worried or whipped. She should be allowed to be +happy, and animals are happy if they are treated properly. The water +supply should be clean, not from one of the filthy tubs or troughs which +disgrace some farms. The barn should be light and well ventilated. It +should be kept clean and free from the ammonia fumes which are found in +filthy stables. The cow should be brushed and the udder washed before +each milking. The milker should wash his hands and have on clothes from +which no impurities will fall. The first part of the milk drawn should +not be put in with that which is to supply the baby. The milk should be +drawn into a clean receptacle and immediately strained through sterile +surgeon's cotton into glass bottles. These are to be put aside to cool, +the contents not exposed to the dust falling from the air. Or the milk +may be put directly into the nursing bottles and put aside in a cold +place until needed. Then warm milk to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. + +Pardon a little repetition: If possible let the child nurse. If there is +not enough milk, let the baby take what there is and give cow's milk in +addition. If it is impossible to feed the baby at the breast, get the +milk from a healthy cow that is kept clean, well fed and well treated. +The cow's milk should be prepared as follows: Take equal parts of milk +and water. Or take two parts of milk and one part of water. Mix, and to +this may be added sugar of milk in the proportion of one level +teaspoonful to the quart. Before feeding raise the temperature of the +milk to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, so that it will be about 100 +degrees when fed. It is best to do the warming in a water bath. + +Milk should not be kept long before being used. Limit the age to +thirty-six hours after being drawn from the cow. Twenty-four hours would +be better. The evening milk can safely be given to the infant the next +day, if proper precautions have been taken. Ordinary milk is quite +filthy and upon this babies do not thrive. Make an effort to get clean +milk for the baby. + +The composition of human milk and cow's milk is about as follows: + + ==================================================================== + Water Albumin Fat Sugar Salts + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + Human .......... 87.58 2.01 3.74 6.37 .30 + Cow's .......... 87.27 3.39 3.68 4.97 .72 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The albumin in human milk is largely of a kind which is not coagulated +by souring, while nearly all the albumin in cow's milk coagulates. The +uncoagulated albumin is digested and taken up more easily by the baby's +nutritive system than that which is coagulated. This is one of the +reasons that babies do not thrive so well on cow's milk as on their +natural food. + +The sugar of milk is not like refined sugar. Although it is not so +easily dissolved in water, and therefore does not taste as sweet as +refined sugar, it is better for the child. If sugar is added to the +milk, milk sugar should be used. The druggists have it in powder form. + +The addition of barley water and lime to the baby's milk is folly. The +various forms of modified milk do not give as good results as the +addition of water and a little milk sugar, as previously described. If +you believe in such modifications as the top milk method and the +addition of starchy substances and lime water, I refer you to your +family physician or text-books on infant feeding. + +It is difficult to improve on good cow's milk. It is well to remember +that the human organism is very adaptable, even in infancy. The +principal factors in infant feeding are cleanliness and moderation. + +Bottle-fed babies should be given fruit or vegetable juices, or both, +very early and it would be well to give a little of these juices to +breast-fed babies too. The latter do not require as much as the former. +Begin during the first month with a teaspoonful of orange juice put into +the drinking bottle once a day. Increase gradually until at four or five +months the amount may be from one to two tablespoonfuls. Do not be +afraid to give the orange juice because it is acid, for it splits up +quickly in the stomach and is rearranged, forming alkaline salts. It is +the fruit that can be obtained at nearly all seasons. It is best to get +mild oranges and strain the juice. The fruit is to be in prime +condition. Instead of orange juice, the juice of raw celery, spinach, +cabbage, apples, blackberries and other juicy fruits and vegetables may +be employed, but these juices must all come from fruits or vegetables +that are in prime condition. No sugar is to be added to either the fruit +or the vegetable juices. + +The mother's milk coagulates in small flakes, easily acted upon by the +digestive juices, after which they are readily absorbed. Cow's milk +coagulates into rather large pieces of albumin which are tough and +therefore rather difficult to digest. This happens when the milk is +taken rapidly and undiluted. However, when diluted and taken slowly this +tendency is overcome to a great degree. For this reason it is best to +get nipples with small perforations. + +Either pasteurization or sterilization of milk is almost universally +recommended by medical men. Even those who do not believe in such +procedures generally fail to condemn them without qualifying statements. +For a discussion of this fallacy I refer you to the chapter on milk. + +Do not give the little ones any kinds of medicines. They always do harm +and never any good. If any exception is made to this, it is in the line +of laxatives or mild cathartics, such as small doses of castor oil, +cascara segrada or mineral waters, but there is no excuse for giving +metallic remedies, such as calomel. If the babies are fed in moderation +on good foods they will not become constipated. If they are imprudently +handled and become constipated it is necessary to resort to either the +enema or some mild cathartic. Bear in mind that such remedies do not +cure. They only relieve. The cure will come when the errors of life are +corrected so that the body is able to perform its work without being +obstructed. + +Inoculations and vaccinations are serious blunders, often fatal. The +animal products that are rubbed or injected into the little body are +poisonous. They are the result of degenerative changes--diseases--in the +bodies of rabbits, horses, cows and other animals. Nature's law is that +health must be deserved or earned. Health means cleanliness, so it +really is absurd to force into the body these products of animal decay. +Statistics can be given, showing how beneficial these agents are, but +they are misleading. In the days of public and official belief in +witchcraft it was not difficult to prove the undoubted existence of +witches. Whatever the public accepts as true can with the utmost ease be +bolstered up with figures. + +The use of serums, bacterins, vaccines and other products of the +biologic laboratory is almost an obsession today. Their curative and +preventive values are taken for granted. Most of the time the children +are strong enough to throw off the poisons without showing prolonged or +pronounced effects, but every once in a while a child is so poisoned +that it takes months for it to regain health and too often death is the +end. Sometimes the death takes place a few minutes after the injection, +but we are informed that the medication had nothing to do with it. To +poison the baby's blood deliberately is criminal. Give the little one a +fair chance to live in health. A properly cared for baby will not be ill +for one single day. Knowledge and good care will prevent sickness. + +A baby that is able to remain well a month or a week or a day can remain +well every day. + +At first a normal baby sleeps nearly all the time, from twenty to +twenty-two hours a day. The infant should not be disturbed. All that +should be done for it is to feed it three times a day, give it some +water from the bottle three or four times a day, and keep it clean, dry +and warm, but not hot. + +Most babies are bathed daily. This is all right, but the baths are to be +given quickly. The water should be about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The +soap should be of the mildest, such as a good grade of castile, and it +should be well rinsed off, for soap permitted to remain in the pores +acts as an irritant. Dry the skin so well with a soft cloth that there +will be no chapping or roughness. Sores, eruptions and inflammations are +signs of mismanagement. Use no powders that are metallic in character, +such as zinc oxide. A dusting powder of finely ground talcum is good. If +the child is kept dry and dean and moderately fed the skin will remain +in good condition. + +Babies do not thrive without good air. Keep the room well ventilated at +all times by admitting fresh air from a source that will produce no +draughts. It is not necessary to have the baby's room warm. In fact a +cool room is better. When the child is to be exposed to the air, take it +into a warm room. Soft coverings will keep the infant warm. The limbs +should be free so that exercise can be had through unrestricted +movements. + +The baby should not be bothered unnecessarily. Young parents make the +mistake of using the baby for show purposes. For the sake of politeness, +others praise the "only baby in the world" unduly, though there are +millions of others just as good. Let the child alone, thus giving it an +opportunity to become as superior as the parents think it is. The +showing off process creates excitement and lays the foundation for +fretfulness, irritability and nervousness. The child thrives in a +peaceful atmosphere. When it is awake it is well to talk to it quietly +and soothingly, for thus the infant begins to learn its mother's tongue. +Good language should be employed. Those who teach their children +baby-talk are handicapping them, for they will soon have to unlearn this +and learn real language. Baby-talk may be "cute" at eighteen months, but +when children retain that mode of expression beyond the age of four or +five it sounds silly. + +At about the age of nine or ten months the breast-fed babe should be +weaned. Gradual weaning is perhaps the best. First give one feeding of +cow's milk a day and two breast feeds; then two feedings of cow's milk +and one at the breast, and at last cow's milk entirely. Between the ages +of nine and twelve months begin giving starchy foods. At first the child +will take very little, and gradually increase. Give bread so stale that +the child has to soak it with its saliva before it can swallow the +bread. Working away this way, sucking the stale bread, the child learns +to go through the motions of chewing, and this is valuable training. +Never give bread soaked in milk and never feed milk while bread is being +eaten. If the meal is to be bread and milk, give the bread either before +any milk is taken, or afterwards. Starches are not to be washed down +with liquids. Instead of giving stale bread, zwieback may be used. +Occasionally feed a few spoons of very thin and well cooked oatmeal or +whole wheat gruel, but the less sloppy food given the better, for it +does not get the proper mouth treatment. The wheat products fed the +child should be made from whole wheat flour, or at least three-fourths +whole wheat and only one-fourth of the white flour. The refined flour is +lacking in the salts that the child needs for health and growth. + +Many mothers begin feeding starches when the baby is four or five months +old. The child is given potatoes, bread or any other starchy food that +may be on the table. This is a mistake, for the child is not prepared to +digest starches at that early age. Some of the digestive ferments are +practically absent during the first few months of life. Such feeding +will invariably cause trouble. The baby should not be taken to the +table. + +It is quite generally believed that a baby should cry to exercise its +lungs. A healthy, comfortable baby will do little or no crying, and it +is not necessary. It is not difficult to give the little ones some +exercise to fill their lungs. Babies can hang on to a finger or a thin +rod tenaciously. Elevate the infant that does not cry thus a few times +above the bed and let it hang for a few seconds each time. This throws +the chest forward and exercises the lungs. What is more, this small +amount of gymnastic work is thoroughly enjoyed. It helps to build +strength and good temper. The crying helps to make the baby ill-tempered +and fretful. A little crying now and then is all right, but much +indicates discomfort, disease or a spoiled child. It would surprise most +mothers how good babies are when they have a chance to be good. + +After reading this, some are sure to ask how many ounces to feed the +baby. I don't know. No one else knows. Different babies have different +requirements. The key is given above. If the babies become ill it is +nearly always due to overfeeding and poor food, so the proper thing to +do is to reduce the food intake. + +A healthy baby is a source of unending joy, while a sick one saps the +mother's vitality. It is too bad that the art of efficient child culture +is so little known. + + +CHILDHOOD. + +Children may roughly be divided into two types, the robust and the more +delicate or nervous ones. The robust children can stand almost all kinds +of abuse with no apparent harm resulting, but the immunity is only +apparent. The growing child naturally throws off disease influences +easily and quickly, but if the handicap is too great the child loses out +in the race. + +The nervous type can not be abused with impunity, for the bodies of +these delicately balanced children are easily disturbed. They must have +more intelligent care than is usually bestowed upon the robust type. If +the care is not forthcoming they become weak in body, with an unstable +nervous system, or perish early. + +Some parents complain because other people's children can do what their +own can not and they wonder why. No time should be wasted in making such +comparisons, for no two children are exactly alike, as no two leaves and +not even two such apparently similar objects as grains of wheat are +exactly alike. Therefore the care necessary varies somewhat, though it +is basically the same. + +If the nervous type is given proper care, good health will be the +result. These children do not tolerate as much exposure or as much food +as do the robust children. The important thing is to learn what they +require and then see that there is no excess, and in this way allow the +child to grow physically strong and mentally efficient. + +The delicate children are perhaps more fortunate than the stronger ones, +for they learn early in life that they have limitations. If they commit +excesses the results are so disagreeable that they soon learn to be +prudent. This prudence serves as protection so long as life lasts. + +The robust children on the other hand soon learn that they are strong. +They hear their parents boast about it. They get the idea that because +they are strong they will always remain so, that nothing will do them +any serious harm. By living up to this fallacy they undermine their +constitutions. Parents should teach their children about the law of +compensation as applied to health, that is, he has permanent health who +deserves it, and no one else. The children will not always heed true +teachings after they have left the parental influence, but the parents +have at least done the best they could. + +The robust children have their troubles, such as chicken-pox, mumps, +fevers and measles, but these are thrown off so quickly and with so +little inconvenience that they are soon forgotten. As a rule the parents +do not realize that these diseases are due to faulty nutrition, and that +faulty nutrition is caused by improper feeding. It is generally believed +that children must have all the so-called children's diseases. Some +mothers expose their infants to all of these that may happen to be in +the neighborhood, hoping that the children will take them and be through +with them. + +Every time a child is sick it is a reflection on either the intelligence +or the performance of the parents. It is natural for children to be +perfectly well, and they will remain in that happy state if they are +given the opportunity. If they are properly fed they will not take any +of the children's diseases in spite of repeated exposure. There is not a +disease germ known to medical science strong enough to establish itself +in the system of an uninjured, healthy child and do damage. The child's +health must first be impaired, through poor care, and then the so-called +disease germs will find a hospitable dwelling place. If children are +given natural food in normal quantities they are disease-proof. Feeding +them on refined sugar and white flour products, pasteurized or +sterilized milk, potatoes fried in grease pickled meats, and various +other ruined foods breaks down their resistance and then they fall an +easy prey to disease. + +Some parents make the mistake of believing that they can feed their +children improperly and ward off disease by vaccinations or inoculations +of the products of disease taken from various animals. This is contrary +to reason, common sense and nature and it is impossible. Any individual +who is continually abused in any way, be he infant or adult, will +deteriorate. If the disease is not the one that has been feared, it will +be some other one. + +The robust children generally develop into careless adults. That is why +so many of them, in fact the vast majority, die before they are fifty +years old, although they are equipped with constitutions that were +intended to last over a century. They are shining marks for typhoid +fever, Bright's disease, various forms of heart and liver troubles, +rheumatism and pneumonia, all of which are largely caused by too hearty +eating. These diseases often come without apparent warning. That is, the +victims have thought themselves healthy. However, they have not known +what real health is. They have been in a state of tolerable health, not +suffering any very annoying aches or pains, but they have lacked the +normal state of body which results in a clear, keen mind. As a rule +there is enough indigestion present to cause gas in the bowels and a +coated tongue. Enough food is generally eaten to produce excessive blood +pressure. + +The foundation for such a state of affairs is laid in childhood, yes, +often before the child is born. It can readily be seen how important it +is for parents to impart a little sound health information to the +children. At least, they should teach them what health really is, which +many people do not know. + +When these strong people become sick it is often difficult, or even +impossible, to do anything for them, for their habits are so gross and +have gained such a mastery that the patients will not or can not change +their ways. + +The weaklings have a better chance to survive to old age, because many +of them learn to be careful early in life. In reading the lives of +eminent men who have lived long it is common to find that they were +never strong. + +At the age of one year the baby is generally weaned. The ordinary child +needs the mother's milk no longer, for by this time the digestive power +is great enough to cope with cow's milk and various starches. The most +important problem now is how to feed the child. If no errors of +importance are made it will enjoy uninterrupted growth and health. If +the errors are many and serious there will surely be disease and too +often the abuse is so great that death comes and ends the suffering. + +Until the child reaches the age of two years the best foods are milk, +whole wheat products and fruits. No other foods are necessary. The +simpler the baby's food, and the more naturally and plainly prepared, +the better. Adults who overeat until they suffer from jaded appetites, +may think that they need great variety of food, but it is never +necessary for infants or normal adults. Milk, whole wheat and fruits +contain all the elements needed for growth and strength and health. By +all means feed simply. Children are perfectly satisfied with bread and +milk or simply one kind of fruit at a meal, if they are properly +trained. The craving for a great variety of foods at each meal is due to +parental mismanagement. + +Children should not be fed more than three times a day. There should be +no lunching. The children will get all that is good for them, all they +need in three meals. Candy should not be given between meals, and fruit +is to be looked upon as a food, not as a dainty to be consumed at all +hours of the day. If they are not accustomed to lunching, there will be +no craving for lunches. If children are used to four or five meals a day +they want them and raise annoying objections when deprived of one or two +of them. It is easy to get children into bad habits. We can not blame +the average mother for giving her children lunches, for she knows no +better and sees other mothers doing the same. + +The children who do not get lunches thrive better than those who always +have candy, fruit or bread and jam at their command. It is the same with +adults. In the Dakotas and Minnesota are many Scandinavians and Germans. +During the haying and harvest these people, who are naturally very +strong, eat four and five times a day. The heat, the excessive amount of +food and the great quantities of coffee consumed cause much sickness +during and after the season of hard work and heroic eating. The +so-called Americans in these communities are generally satisfied with +three meals a day, and they are as well nourished and capable of working +as those who eat much more. + +Refined sugar made from cane and beets should be given to children +sparingly. Refined sugar is the chemical which is largely responsible +for the perversion of children's tastes. A normal taste is very +desirable, for it protects the possessor. A perverted taste, on the +contrary, leads him into trouble. Sugar is not a good food. It is an +extract. It is easy to cultivate a desire for sugar, but to people who +are not accustomed to it, concentrated sugar has an unpleasant taste. + +The perversion of the sense of taste, generally begun with sugar, is +made worse by the use of much salt, pepper and various condiments and +spices. If the child is fed on unnatural food, highly seasoned, at the +age of a few years its taste is so perverted that it does not know how +most of the common foods really taste, and refuses to eat the best of +them when the health-destroying concoctions to which it has been +accustomed can be had. + +It is natural for children to relish fruit, but some are so perverted in +taste that they object to a meal of it if they can get pancakes or +waffles with butter and syrup, mushes with sugar and cream, ham or bacon +with fried potatoes, or fresh bread and meat with pickles. Many parents +allow their children to live on this class of food to the exclusion of +all natural foods. Children need a great deal of the natural salts, and +when they live so largely on denatured foods there is always physical +deterioration. It is true that to the average eye such children may +appear healthy, but they are not in one-half as good physical condition +as they could be. + +Tea and coffee should never be given to children. They are bad enough +for adults. In children they retard bodily development. The stimulation +and sedation are bad for the nervous system. Coffee is as harmful as +tobacco for the growing child. + +To warn against alcohol may seem foolish, but some parents really give +beer and whiskey to their infants. The beer is given as a beverage and +the whiskey as medicine to kill pain and soothe the children. Those who +have not seen children abused in this way may find it difficult to +believe that there is such a profundity of ignorance. These children die +easily. + +Others quiet their children with the various soothing syrups. The last +analyses that came under my eyes showed that these remedies contained +considerable opium, laudanum, morphine and other deadly poisons. +Morphine and opium are not well borne by children and these "mother's +friends" have soothed many a baby into the sleep from which there is no +waking. Make it a rule to give the children no medicines, either patent +or those prescribed by physicians. Please remember that any remedy that +quiets a child is poisonous. Children who get proper care require no +medical quieting. + +Condiments should not be used. Salt is not necessary despite the popular +belief to the contrary, though a small amount does no harm. Salt eating +is a habit and when carried to excess it is a bad one. Salt is a good +preservative, but there is little excuse for our using preserved foods +extensively. There are so many foods that can be had without being +preserved in this country that it would not be difficult to exclude +these inferior foods from the dietary. Children whose foods are not +seasoned do not desire seasoning, provided they are fed on natural foods +from the start. They want the seasoning because they are taught to eat +their food that way. If they are given fresh fruit every day, such as +apples, oranges, cherries, grapes and berries, they get all the +seasoning they need and they get it in natural form. + +The objection is made that such feeding deprives children of many of the +good things of life. This is not true. Natural foods taste better than +the doctored ones every time. Nature imparts a flavor to food products +which man has never been able to equal, to say nothing of surpassing it. +Children are taught to like abnormal foods. What is better, to give +children good foods upon which they thrive, or denatured foods which +taste well to a perverted palate, but are injurious? + +Instead of giving sugar or candy, give raisins, figs, dates or sweet +prunes. Small children may be given the strained juices of these fruits, +obtained either by soaking the raw fruits several hours or by stewing +them. Children who are given these fruits do not crave refined sugar. +They like these natural sugars better than the artificial extract. These +sweet fruits take the place of starchy food. + +Very few people know anything definite about food values. Those who have +studied foods and their values in order to be able to feed children +properly generally make the mistake of believing that they should have +all the necessary elements at each meal in about the proper proportion. +This is a grave mistake and leads to trouble. The child needs salts, +protein, sugar and fat, and in the absence of sugar some starch. Milk +contains all these substances except starch. Give one fruit meal and two +meals of starch daily. Milk may be given with all the meals or it may be +given but once or twice. Do not overfeed on milk, for it is a rich food. + +Until the child is two years old, confine it in its starch eating pretty +much to the products of whole wheat. Give no white bread. White bread is +an unsatisfying form of food. It is so tasteless and insipid and so +deprived of the natural wheat salts that too much has to be eaten to +satisfy. Children who would be satisfied with a reasonable amount of +whole wheat bread eat more white bread and still do not feel satisfied. +The same is true of rice, the natural brown rice being so superior to +the polished article that there is no comparison. + +The bread should be toasted in the oven until it is crisp clear through, +or else it should be stale. Let the bread for toast get stale, and then +place it in the oven when this is cooling off. Make the slices +moderately thin. This is an easy and satisfactory way of making toast. +Scorched bread--what is usually called toast--is not fit food for young +children. + +After the second year is completed gradually increase the variety of +starch. Some of the better forms of starch that are easy to obtain are: +Puffed rice or puffed wheat; brown, unpolished rice; triscuit or +shredded wheat biscuit; the prepared corn and wheat flakes; baked +potatoes; occasionally well cooked oatmeal or whole wheatmeal gruel. +Mushes are to be given seldom or never. Children seldom chew them well, +and they require thorough mastication. The rice is not to be sugared but +after the child has had enough, milk may be given. A small amount of +butter may be served with either rice or baked potato. The cereal foods +should be eaten dry. Let the children masticate them, as they should, +and as they will not if the starches are moistened with milk. When they +have had sufficient of these starches, and but one kind is to be served +at a meal, give milk, if milk is to be a part of the meal. To observe +the suggestions here given for the manner of feeding starches to +children may mean the difference between success and failure in raising +them. It is the little things that are important in the care of +children. + +The acid fruits should not be given in the meals containing starchy +foods. Strong children who have plenty of opportunity to be in the fresh +air and who are very active can stand this combination, but it is +injurious to the nervous type. It is not a good thing to make such +combinations habitually for robust children. A good meal can be made of +fruit followed by milk. Do not slice the fruit, sprinkle it with sugar +and cover it with cream. Give the child the fruit and nothing else. +Neither oranges nor grapefruits are to be sugared. Their flavor is +better without. If the children want sweets, give them a meal of sweet +fruits. + +When the child is eighteen months old it should have learned to +masticate well enough to eat various fruits. Apples, oranges, +grapefruits, berries, cherries, grapes and melons are among the foods +that may be given. If the child does not masticate well, either grind +the fruit or scrape it very fine. The sweet fruits require so much +mastication that only their juices should be fed until the child is old +enough to masticate thoroughly. Bananas should also be withheld until +there is no doubt about the mastication. They must be thoroughly ripe, +the skin being dark in spots and the flesh firm and sweet. A green +banana is very starchy, but a ripe one contains hardly any starch and +digests easily. + +At first the meal is fruit, followed with milk. Buttermilk or clabbered +milk may be substituted for sweet milk. A little later, begin giving +cottage cheese occasionally in place of milk, if the child likes it. + +The succulent vegetables may be given quite early. At the age of two +years stewed onions, green peas, cauliflower, egg plant and summer +squash may be given. Gradually increase the variety until all the +succulent vegetables are used. At first it may be necessary to mash +these vegetables. + +The longer children go without meat the better, and if they never +acquired the meat-eating habit it would be a blessing. If the parents +believe in feeding their children meat, they should wait until the +little ones are at least four years old before beginning. Meats are +digestible enough, but too stimulating for young people. Chicken and +other fowls may be used at first, and it is best to use young birds. +Beef and pork should not be on the children's menu. At the age of seven +or eight the variety may be increased. However, parents who wish to do +the best by their children will give them little or no meat. Many of the +sorrows that parents suffer through their wayward children would be done +away with if the young people were fed on less stimulating foods. + +Eggs are better for children than meat. However, it is not necessary to +give them. The children get enough milk to supply all the protein they +need. Eggs may be given earlier than meat. At the age of two and +one-half years an egg may be given occasionally. At three they may be +given every other day, one egg at a meal. At five or six years of age, +an egg may be given daily, but not more than one at a time. If they are +soft boiled, three and one-half minutes will suffice. If hard boiled, +cook them fifteen to twenty minutes. An egg boiled seven or eight +minutes is not only hard but tough. Longer boiling makes the albumin +mellow. Always prepare eggs simply without using grease. + +Eggs may be given in combination with either fruits or vegetables. Milk +is not to be taken in the egg meal, for if such combinations are made +the child gets more protein than necessary. Eggs are easy to digest and +the chief objection to their free use in feeding children is that the +protein intake will be too great, which causes disease. + +Nuts should not be given until the children are old enough to masticate +them thoroughly. The best combination is the same as for eggs. Children +under six years of age should not have much more than one-half of an +ounce of nut meats at a meal. The pecans are the best. Children rarely +chew nuts well enough, so they should seldom be used. They may be ground +very fine and made into nut butter, which may be substituted for +ordinary butter. + +Give no butter until the child has completed his second year. The whole +milk contains all the fat necessary. Butter should always be used in +moderation, for although it digests easily, it is a very concentrated +food. + +Again the question will be asked: "How much shall I feed my child?" I do +not know, but I do know that most children get at least three times as +much food as is good for them. People can establish a toleration to a +certain poison, and seemingly take it with impunity for a while. Some +arsenic eaters and morphine addicts take enough of their respective +drugs daily to kill a dozen normal men. However, the drugs, if not +stopped, always ruin the user in the end. It is the same way with food. +Children seem to establish a toleration for an excess for a shorter or +longer period of time, but the overeating always produces discomfort and +disease in the end, and if it is continued it will cause premature +death. + +About one-third or one-fourth of what children eat is needed to nourish +them. The rest makes trouble. Read the chapters in this book on +overeating and on normal food intake. They give valuable pointers. +Parents know their children best, and the mother can, or should be able +to tell when there are signs of impending danger. If there is a decided +change in the child's disposition it generally denotes illness. Some +children become very sweet when they are about to be ill, but most of +them are so cranky that they make life miserable for the family. A foul, +feverish breath nearly always comes before the attack. A common danger +signal is a white line around the mouth. Another one is a white, pinched +appearance of the nose. A flushed face is quite common. The tongue never +looks normal. Except the abnormal tongue, these symptoms are not all +present before every attack, but one or more of them generally are. No +matter what the signs of trouble may be, stop all feeding immediately. +If this is done, the disease generally fails to develop, but if feeding +is continued there is sure to be illness. These symptoms indicate that +the digestion is seriously disturbed. It is folly to feed when there is +an acute attack of indigestion. Besides, it is very cruel, for it causes +much suffering. + +Such symptoms in children are caused by improper eating, and overeating +is generally the chief fault. The remedy is very simple: Feed less. + +A coated tongue indicates too much food. A clean tongue shows that the +digestive organs are working well. If the tongue is not smooth and a +pretty pink in color, it means that the child has had too much food and +the meals must be reduced in quantity until the tongue does become +normal, which may take a few months in chronic cases. Peculiar little +protruding spots when red and prominent on the tip and edges of the +tongue indicate irritation of the alimentary tract and call for +reduction of food intake. + +The parents can soon learn how much to feed the children if they will be +guided by these hints. Poor health in the children indicates parental +failure, and this is one place where they can not afford to fail. +Parents must be honest with themselves and not put the blame where the +doctors put it--on bacteria, draughts, the weather, etc. Sometimes the +climate is very trying on the babies, but it never kills those who have +intelligent care. + +If it is found that the child next door, of the same age, eats three or +four times as much as your child, do not become alarmed about your +little one, but give the neighbor's child a little silent sympathy +because its parents are ignorant enough to punish the little one so +cruelly. + +For those who desire more definite hints regarding feeding of children, +an outline has been prepared for several days. This is very simple +feeding, but it is the kind of feeding that will make a rose bloom in +each cheek. The child will be happy and contented and bring joy to the +hearts of the parents. + +Breakfast: Whole wheat toast, butter and a glass of milk. + +Lunch: A baked apple and a dish of cottage cheese. + +Supper: Steamed or boiled brown rice and milk. + + +Breakfast: Puffed wheat and milk. + +Lunch: Oranges and milk. + +Supper: An egg, parsnips and onions, both stewed. + + +Breakfast: Oatmeal or whole wheat porridge and milk. + +Lunch: Berries and milk. + +Supper: Baked potato, spinach and a plate of lettuce. + + +Breakfast: Shredded wheat biscuit and milk. + +Lunch: Stewed prunes and milk or cottage cheese. + +Supper: Whole wheat toast and milk. + + +These are merely hints. Where one juicy fruit is suggested, another may +be substituted. In place of the succulent vegetables named, others may +be used. Any of the starches may be selected in place of the ones given. +However, no mistake will be made in using the whole wheat products as +the starch mainstay. + +Desserts should not be fed to children often. Rich cakes and all kinds +of pies should be omitted from the bill of fare. It is true that some +children can take care of them, but what is the use of taking chances? A +plain custard, lightly flavored, may be given with toast. If ice cream +is above suspicion a moderate dish of this with some form of starch may +be given, but milk is not to be taken in the same meal with either ice +cream or custard. + +At the end of the third year it is time enough to begin to feed the +salad vegetables, though they may be given earlier to children who +masticate well. The dressing should be very plain, nothing more than a +little salt and olive oil, or some clabbered cream. No dressing is +necessary. The salad vegetables may be eaten with the meal containing +eggs and the stewed succulent vegetables. + +At the age of about seven or eight the child may be put on the same diet +as the parents, provided they live simply. Otherwise, continue in the +old way a little longer. For the best results in raising children, +simplicity is absolutely necessary. + +Children who are early put on a stimulating diet develop mental and +sexual precocity, both of which are detrimental to physical welfare. The +first desideratum is to give the children healthy bodies, and then there +will be no trouble in giving them what knowledge they need. + +In overfed boys the sex urge is so strong that they acquire secret +habits, and sometimes commit overt acts. Too much protein is especially +to blame. These facts are not understood by many and the result is that +the parents fail in their duty to their children. + +It is best not to bring young children to the table, if there is +anything on it that they should not have, for it nearly always results +in improper feeding. The children are curious and they beg for a little +of this and a little of that. Unthinkingly the parents give them little +tastes and bites and before the meal is over they have had from six to +twelve different kinds of food, some of them not fit for adult +consumption. If the child understands that it is not to ask for these +things and abides by this rule, it is all right, but such children are +rare. A child that fretfully begs for this and that at the table upsets +itself and the parents. + +Make no sudden changes in the manner of feeding, unless the feeding is +decidedly wrong. + +Active children get all the exercise they need. They should spend a +large part of the day in the open, and this is even more important for +the delicate ones. The bedroom should be well ventilated, but the +children must be kept cozy and warm or they do not sleep well. + +After the child is old enough not to soil itself, one or two baths a +week are sufficient. There is no virtue in soaking. Swimming is +different, for here the child is active in the water and it does not +weaken him so. Swimming should be a part of every child's education. + +Bed time should be early. The children should be tucked in and the light +turned off by 8 o'clock, and 7 o'clock is better for children under +five. If they want to get up early in the morning, let them, but put +them to bed early at night. + +Infants should not be exposed long to the direct rays of the summer sun, +for it is liable to cause illness. It upsets the stomach and then there +is a feverish spell. If nothing is fed that will generally be all, but +it is unnecessary to make babies ill in this way. They should not be +chilled either. + +Husband and wife do not agree at all times, but they make a mistake when +they disagree in the presence of their children. Young people are quick +to take advantage of such a state of affairs and they begin to play the +parents against each other. When a point comes up where there is a +difference of opinion, the decision of the parent who speaks first +should stand, at least for the time being. Then when they are by +themselves, man and wife can discuss the matter if it is not +satisfactory, and even quarrel about it, if that gives them pleasure. +Parents who do not control themselves can not long retain the full +respect of their children. Lost respect is not very far distant from +lost love. + +People often object to a change in methods, for, they say, the new plan +will cause too much trouble. The plan here outlined causes less trouble +than the conventional method of caring for children. It is simpler and +gives better results. If it were followed out the mortality of children +under ten years of age in this country would be reduced from over +400,000 annually to less than 25,000. In spite of everything, a number +of young people will get into fatal pranks. + +There are difficulties in the way of raising children properly, but a +healthy child is such a great reward that the efforts are paid for a +hundred times over. Nothing wears the parents out more quickly than a +child who is always fretting and crying, always on the brink of disease +or in its grasp. In raising children the best way is the easiest way. + + +THE CHILD'S MENTAL TRAINING. + +A healthy body is the child's first requirement. However, if the mental +training is poor, giving wrong views of life, a good physique is of but +little service. + +It is quite generally agreed among observers that the first seven years +of life leave the mental impressions which guide the whole life, and +that after the age of fourteen the mental trend rarely changes. There +are a few individuals with strength enough to make themselves over +mentally after reaching adult life, but these are so few that they are +almost negligible, and even they are largely influenced by their youth +and infancy. It is as easy to form good mental habits as bad ones. It is +within the power of all parents to give their children healthy bodies +and healthy minds, and this is a duty, which should prove a pleasure. +The reason such heritage is so rare is that it requires considerable +self-control and most parents live chaotic lives. + +Upon the mentality depends the success in life. "It is the mind that +makes the body rich." No matter how great an individual's success may +seem in the eyes of the public, if the person lacks the proper +perspective, the proper vision and the right understanding, his success +is an empty thing. Wealth and success are considered synonymous, but I +have found more misery in the homes of the rich than among the poor. +Physical wants can be supplied and the suffering is over, but mental +wants can only be satisfied through understanding, which should be +cultivated in childhood. + +"All our problems go back to the child--corrupt politics, dishonesty and +greed in commerce, war, anarchism, drunkenness, incompetence and +criminality."--Moxom. + +Given a healthy body and a good mind, every individual is able to become +a useful member of society, and that is all that can be expected of the +average individual. All can not be eminent, and it is not necessary. + +Upon the child's mental impressions and the habits formed in infancy and +youth depend the mental workings and the habits of later life. Therefore +it is necessary to nurture the little people in the right kind of +atmosphere. If the child is trained properly from infancy there will be +no serious bad habits to overcome during later years, and, as all know, +habits are the hardest of all bonds to break. To overcome the coffee and +alcohol habits is hard, but to overcome bad mental habits is even more +difficult. + +First of all, let the infant alone most of the time. Some mothers are so +full of love and nonsense that they take their babies up to cuddle and +love them at short intervals, and then there are the admiring relatives +who like to flatter the parents by telling them that the baby is the +finest one they have seen; it is an exceptional baby. So the relatives +have to bother the infant and kiss it. This should not be. The child +should be kept in a quiet room and should not be disturbed. There are no +exceptional babies. They are all much alike, except that some are a +little healthier than others. If they are let alone, they have the best +opportunity to develop into exceptional men and women. + +Paying too much attention to babies makes them cross and irritable. They +soon learn to like and then to demand attention. If they do not get it +at once they become ill-tempered and cry until attention is given. Thus +the foundation of bad temper is laid in the very cradle. They gain their +ends in infancy by crying. Later on they develop the whining habit. When +they grow older they fret and worry. Such dispositions are the faults of +the parents. + +It does not take long for children to learn how to get their way, and if +they can do it by being disagreeable, you may be sure that they will +develop the worst side of their nature. Let the child understand that +being disagreeable buys nothing, and there will soon be an end of it. +Children who are well and well cared for are happy. They cause their +elders almost no trouble. To lavish an excessive amount of care on a +baby may be agreeable to the mother at first, but it is different when +it comes to caring for an ill-tempered, spoiled child of eight or nine +years. + +Many crimes are committed in the name of love. Many babies are killed by +love. Unless love is tempered by understanding it is as lethal as +poison. Many parents think they are showing love when they indulge their +children, but instead they are putting them onto the road that leads to +physical and mental decay. True love is helpful, kind and patient. The +spurious kind is noisy, demonstrative and impatient. + +Do what is necessary for children, but do not allow them to cause +unnecessary work. What they can do for themselves they should do. They +can be taught to be helpful very early. They should be taught to be neat +and tidy. They should learn to dress themselves and how to keep their +rooms and personal effects in good order early in life, no matter how +many servants there may be. These little things are reflected in their +later lives. They help to form the individual's character. It is what we +do that largely make us what we are, and every little act and every +thought has a little influence in shaping our lives. An orderly body +helps to make an orderly mind and vice versa. + +Many of the rich children are unfortunate indeed. Some times poor +parents have so many children that each one gets scant attention, but +the children of many of the rich get no parental attention. The parents +are too busy accumulating or preserving a fortune and climbing a social +ladder to bother with their children. Their raising is delegated to +servants. At times the little ones are put on display for a few minutes +and then the parents are as proud of them as they are of the expensive +paintings that adorn the walls or the blooded dogs and horses in kennels +and stables. No amount of paid service can compensate for the lack of +parental love. + +The ideal today, especially for female children, seems to be to make +ornaments of them, to train them to be useless. Girls, as well as boys, +should be taught to be useful. They should be taught that those who do +not labor are parasites. If some do not work, others have to work too +hard. The story is told of Mark Twain that he dined with an English +nobleman who boasted that he was an earl and did not labor. "In our +country," said Mark Twain, "we do not call people of your class earls; +we call them hoboes." + +It does not matter how wealthy parents are, they should teach their +children how to earn a living, and they should instill into them the +ideal of service, for a life of idleness is a failure. The shirkers and +wasters are not happy. The greatest contentment in life comes from the +performance of good work. Ecstatic love and riotous pleasure can not +last. Work with love and pleasure is good. But love and pleasure without +work are corroding. + +Children who are waited upon much become selfish. They soon become +grafters, expecting and taking everything and giving nothing. This is +immoral, for life is a matter of compensation, and consists in giving as +well as in taking. Children should be taught consideration for others, +and should not be allowed to order the servants around; not that it +harms the servants, but it has a bad effect on the children. + +Because the child's period of development is so long, it is important to +have a proper adjustment in the home between parents and the children. +Lack of adjustment wears out the parents, especially the mother, and +gives false impressions to the young people. To prevent friction and get +good results, children should be taught obedience. Obedience is one of +the stepping stones to ability to command. + +In those homes where the words of the parents are law there is but +little friction. Obedience should be taught from the very start. As soon +as the child realizes that the parents mean what they say and that it is +useless to fret and complain about a command, that is the end of the +matter. How different it is with disobedient children! The parents have +to tell them what to do several times and then the bidding often remains +undone. + +Begin to teach obedience and promptness as soon as the children +understand, for it is more difficult later. The older the children the +harder it is. Children know so little and are so conceited that they do +not realize that because of lack of experience, observation and +reflection they can not safely guide themselves at all times. When they +are allowed to act so that they are a nuisance to others and harmful to +themselves, they do not give up this license with good grace. There are +times to be firm and then firmness should be used. It is necessary for +the parents to cooperate. + +Various parents have different ways of correcting their children, and it +is not difficult to make them realize that obedience is a part of the +plan of early life. To illustrate: If the children are called for a +meal, they should come promptly. If there is a tendency to lag, tell +them that if they do not come when called they will get nothing to eat +until next mealtime, and act accordingly. This is no cruelty, for no one +is harmed by missing a meal. It generally proves very effective. + +At the table, serve the children what your experience has told you they +can take with benefit, without saying anything about it. If they ask for +anything else, give it if you think proper. If not, say no. If they +start to beg and whine, tell them that such conduct will result in their +being sent away from the table, and if they still continue, do as you +have said, and let there be no weakening. This may cause a few very +disagreeable experiences at first, but it is much better to have a few +of them and be through, than to continue year after year to have such +trouble. Some children can eat everything with apparent impunity and +their parents usually pay no attention to what they eat. But there are +others who become ill if they are improperly fed. Children who are often +feverish and take all the diseases peculiar to the young, are +maltreated. They are not properly fed. Those who are prone to +convulsions must be fed with great care, or there is danger of their +becoming epileptics. Firmness in such cases generally means the +difference between health and disease or even death. + +By all means be firm in such matters. Indulging the children to excess +is invariably harmful. When your children become ill and die, you can +truly say, "Behold my handiwork." + +In the same way teach the children to do promptly whatever they are told +to do. If they are told to go to bed, it should be done without delay or +protest. All the little duties that fall to their lot should likewise be +accomplished promptly. However, the parents should be reasonable and +they should avoid bombarding their children with commands to do or not +to do a thousand and one things that do not matter at all. Let the +children alone except when it is really necessary to direct them. + +Unfortunately, most of the parents are blind to their own faults, but +see very clearly those of others. The mistakes they make in their own +families open their eyes to those of others, and then they are often +very impatient. I know one gentleman who has excellent knowledge of the +proper training of the young, but as a parent he is a total failure. He +is so explosive and lacking in patience and firmness, perhaps also in +love, that his knowledge has not helped him. It is not what we know, but +what we apply, that makes or mars. + +Obedience reduces friction and trains the children into habits of +efficiency. It is not only valuable in preserving the health of the +parents, but in increasing the child's earning capacity when the time +comes to labor in earnest. + +Plato said that democracies are governed as well as they deserve to be. +Likewise, parents get as much obedience, respect, affection and love as +they deserve, and the three latter are largely dependent upon the +former. It would be difficult to overemphasize the importance of +obedience. + +In nature we find that the animals teach their young how to live +independently as soon as they have the strength to care for themselves. +This is what parents should teach their children. This may cause the +mother pain, for many mothers like to keep their children helpless, +dependent and away from contact with the world as long as possible. Wise +mothers do not handicap their children thus. The best parents are those +who teach their children early how to make their own way. + +Doubtless the greatest happiness is to be found in a congenial family, +where the parents understand and love each other and their children. +Those parents who are so busy that they lack the time to become +acquainted with their infants and keep up this intimacy, are losing a +part of life that neither money nor social position can give them. Many +wait until too late to get on intimate terms with their children. When +young, the children are naturally loving and then the beautiful ties +which neither time nor misfortune can sunder are formed. When the +children are grown it is too late to establish such a relation. Then +they look at their parents with as critical eyes as they use toward +other people, and though they may become very good friends, the tender +love is lacking. Love between man and woman is unstable, but the +beautiful love that springs from companionship of children and parents +lasts until the end. + +While some mothers neglect their children, many become too absorbed in +them. The children become all of the mother's life. As the young people +become older, their horizon naturally widens. During infancy the parents +can fill the child's whole life, but soon other interests crave +attention. There is always a tragedy in store for the mother who refuses +to see that her children, as they grow older, will demand the human +experience necessary for individual growth and development. If the +mother has no other interest than her children she will one day be left +with a heart as empty as the home from which the children are gone. +There are so many interesting things in this world, and every mother +should have her hobby. She should have at least one hour each day sacred +to herself, in which she can relax and cultivate the mind. This will +help to fill the coming years, which too often prove barren. Loving +parents get all the reward they should expect from the beautiful +intimacy that exists between them and their growing children. So-called +ungrateful children have incompetent parents. Parents have no right to +demand gratitude. They do no more for their children than was done for +themselves in the morning of their lives. The right kind of parents +never want for rewards. They are repaid every day so long as they live. +Children grow under the care of their parents, but the parents also grow +and expand in understanding, sympathy and love through association with +their children. + +Today society does not treat the mothers with the proper consideration. +The mothers deserve well, for they have to give many of their best years +to the children. These are the productive years, and generally unfit the +women to go into economic competition with the rest of the world +afterwards. Society owes it to the mothers of the race to see that they +are not made to suffer for fulfilling their destiny. Motherhood today is +as dangerous as the soldier's life, though it ought not to be, and it is +more difficult to raise children than to conduct a successful business. +However, the financial rewards for motherhood are generally nil. The +least society can do is to see that these women do not want for the +necessities of life. + +Most children are interrogation points. This is well, for they learn +through curiosity. The questions should be answered honestly, or not at +all. It is common to give untrue answers. This is poor policy, for the +answers are a part of the child's education and untruths make the young +people ignorant and superstitious. It takes considerable patience to +raise a child and he who is unwilling to exercise a little patience has +no right to become a parent. + +Whether to use corporeal punishment or not is a question that the +parents must decide for themselves. Many parents are in the habit of +nagging their children. It is, "Don't do this," and "Don't do that," +until the little ones feel as exasperated as the Americans in Berlin, +where everything that one has an impulse to do is "Verboten." The +children have not yet acquired caution, nor are they able to think of +more than one or two things at a time. Consequently they forget what +they are not to do, and then parental wrath descends upon them. Parents +can well afford to be deaf and blind to many things that happen. Those +mothers who are ever shouting prohibitions soon cultivate a fretful, +irritable tone that is bad for all concerned, and which does not breed +respect and obedience. Make it a rule not to interfere with the children +except when it is necessary, and tell them to do but one thing at a +time. + +If too many commands and prohibitions are issued, the children are prone +to forget them all. If they are talked to less, what is said is more +deeply impressed on their minds, and the chances are that they will +remember. Boisterousness is not badness, but indicates a state of +well-being, which results in bodily activity, including the use of the +vocal cords. It is common to all young animals, and the human animal is +the only one that is severely punished for manifesting happiness. + +If the parents decide that corporeal punishment is necessary, they +should be sure that it has been deserved, for a child resents being +punished unjustly, and undeserved punishment is always harmful. Many +parents become so angry that they inflict physical punishment to relieve +their own feelings, and this is very wrong. If a parent calmly decides +that his child needs punishment, perhaps this is the case. The +punishment should be given calmly. Nothing can be more cowardly and +disgusting than the brutal assault of an angry parent upon a defenseless +child, and such parents always regret their actions if they have any +conscience, but they are generally of such poor moral fibre and so full +of false pride that they fail to apologize to the children for the +injustice done. These parents inflict suffering upon their children, but +they punish themselves most of all, for they kill filial regard and +love. Children have a very keen sense of fair play. + +If it is decided to administer corporeal punishment, it should have +enough sting to it so that it will be remembered. Parents who temper +their justice with patience and love are not compelled to resort to +corporeal punishment often. + +Children should never be hit on the head. Pulling or boxing the ears +should not be recognized as civilized warfare. Blows on the head may +partly destroy the hearings and affect the brain. + +Another thing that may not come under the head of punishment in the +strictest sense, is lifting children by one of the arms. Women are prone +to do this. Often it partly dislocates the elbow joint. The children +whine and no one knows exactly what is the matter. If one arm is +occupied and the child has to be lifted from curb to street or over a +puddle, stoop and pass the unoccupied arm about the child's body and no +harm will be done. + +No one should suggest to the child that it is bad. It is better to dwell +upon goodness. If a child is often told that it is bad, it will soon +begin to live up to its name and reputation, just as adults often do. + +Many parents are in the habit of scaring their children. If the little +ones cry or disobey, they are told that the boogy-man is coming after +them, or they are threatened with being put out into the dark, or +perhaps some animal or bad person is coming to get them. Fear is +injurious to everybody, being ruinous to both the body and the mind, and +it is especially bad for growing children. The fear instilled in them +during childhood remains with some people to the end of life. It is not +uncommon to find people who dare not go out alone after dark because +they were scared in childhood. Children like exciting stories that would +naturally inspire fear, but it is not difficult for the reader or story +teller to inform the little ones that there are no big black bears or +bold robbers in the neighborhood, and that now there is nothing to fear +in the darkness. + +Many teach the children to be ashamed of their bodies. Every part of the +body has its use and whatever is useful is good. Those who do not abuse +their bodies have nothing of which to be ashamed. + +The education of children in the past has been along wrong lines. It has +been the aim to cram them full of isolated facts, many of them untrue. +We are slowly outgrowing this tendency, but too much remains. Thanks +largely to Froebel and Doctor Montessori, our methods are growing more +natural. The adult learns by doing and so does the child. Doctor +Montessori teaches the children to use all their senses. She gives them +fabrics of various textures and objects of different shapes and colors. +Thus they learn colors, forms, smoothness, roughness, etc. She teaches +them how to dress and undress and how to take their baths. She lets them +go about the schoolroom instead of compelling them to sit still at their +desks in cramped positions. In this way they get knowledge that they +never forget. They learn to read and write and figure in playful ways +through the proper direction of their curiosity. Little tots of four, or +even younger, are often able to read, and there has been no forcing. All +has come about through utilizing the child's curiosity. + +If children are delicate, they should not be put into a schoolroom with +thirty or forty other children. Keep such children outdoors when the +weather permits and allow them to become strong. The education will take +care of itself later. There is nothing to be gained by overtaxing a +delicate child in the schoolroom, which too often is poorly ventilated, +and having a funeral a little later. + +Children should be taught the few simple fundamental rules of nutrition +until they are second nature. A thorough knowledge of the fact that it +is very injurious to eat when there is bodily or mental discomfort is +worth ten thousand times as much to a child as the ability to extract +cube root or glibly recite, "Arma virumque cano Trojae," etc. The +realization that underchewing and overeating will cause mental and +physical degeneration is much more valuable than the ability to +demonstrate that a straight line is the shortest distance between two +points. This knowledge can be given so unobtrusively that the child does +not realize that it is learning, for there are many opportunities. + +When a child gets sick and is old enough to understand, instead of +sympathizing with it explain how the illness came about, and please +remember that in explaining you can leave the germs out of the question, +for diseases of childhood are almost entirely due to improper feeding. +The value of education like that is beyond any price, for it is a form +of health insurance. Reforming the race, means that we must begin with +the children. + +In parts of Europe cultured people have a working knowledge of two or +three languages. This is certainly convenient. Those who wish their +children to know one or two tongues beside English should remember that +in infancy two tongues are learned as readily as one, if they are +spoken. Those who can use three languages when they are four years old +are not infant prodigies. They have had the opportunity to learn, and +languages are simply absorbed. The language teaching in the public +schools is a joke. After taking several years of French or German the +school children can not speak about the common things of life in those +tongues, though they may know more about the grammar than the natives. +In other words, they know the science of the language, but not the +language itself. + +A time comes when the child wants to know about the origin of life. If +the parents have been companions, they can impart this knowledge better +than anyone else. If they are unable to explain, the family doctor +should be able to impart the knowledge with delicacy. I do not believe +that such knowledge should be imparted to mixed classes in the public +schools, as advocated by some. If the parents do their duty, there will +be no need of public education in sex hygiene. + +The doctor should be an educator, so he merits consideration here. +Nearly all families have their medical advisers, and these professional +people have it in their power to bring more sunshine into the homes than +their fees will pay for. On the other hand, they can, and too often do, +give both advice and remedies that are harmful They should sow seeds of +truth. If the infant is properly cared for, it is never ill. Inasmuch as +there are but few families with sufficient knowledge to keep their +babies healthy at all times, there are many calls for the doctor. +Parents are generally unduly alarmed about their infants. Nearly always +the trouble is primarily in the alimentary tract, due to improper +feeding, and the doctor with his wide experience can relieve the +parental anxiety, and at the same time tell them where they have made +their mistakes and how they have brought suffering upon their little +ones. + +Of course, there should be no dosing with medicine and no injections of +foreign matter into the blood stream. Rest, quiet, cleanliness and +warmth are what the children need to restore them to health. The right +kind of physician when acting as adviser to intelligent parents who wish +to do the best by their children will see to it that there is little or +no disease. + +If the parents do not know what to do, the most economical procedure is +to consult a physician who has understanding of and confidence in +nature. Pay no attention to the women of many words who give advice +"because they have had many children and have buried them all." + +It is not as difficult to raise healthy children as sickly ones. It is +so simple that it takes many pages to explain it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +DURATION OF LIFE. + +Old age today brings to mind a picture of decrepitude and decay. This is +because there is practically no natural old age. Those who live so that +they are unhealthy during the early years of life will not be well if +they reach advanced years. Old people can be well in body and sound in +mind. In order to attain this desirable end, it is necessary to live +properly during the first part of life. It is true that people may +dissipate and reform and then live long in comfort, but usually those +who spend too lavishly destroy their capital and go into physical or +mental bankruptcy. + +There are many who during their prime say that they do not wish to grow +old. Their desire for a short life can easily be satisfied. All that is +necessary is to live in the conventional manner and the chance of dying +before reaching the age of fifty or sixty is good. A few live to be +seventy or more in spite of dissipation, but these are the exceptions. +They were endowed with excellent constitutions to begin with, +constitutions that were made to last over one hundred years. Where we +find one who has lived long in spite of intemperance, thousands have +died from it. + +Most people desire to remain on earth long and they can have their wish. +They can advance in years healthy in body and with growing serenity of +mind. Physical and mental well-being are necessary to attain one's +life's expectancy. Old age should not be considered as apart from the +rest of life. It is but one of the natural phases. Those who do not live +to be old have failed to live completely. + +Those who express their desire to die young generally change their mind +when they face death. Man clings to life. + +Old age is a desirable condition. The physical tempests have been +subdued, if the life has been well spent. On the other hand, the faults +and foibles of the self-indulgent are accentuated and in such cases old +age is a misfortune. + +No one knows what man's natural length of life is. Anatomists and +physiologists compare the human body with the bodies of various animals. +In this they are justified, for we all develop according to the same +laws. Most of the animals, when allowed to live as nature intended them +to live, reach an age of from five to six times the length of the period +of their growth. Human beings, with their ability to control their +environment, should be able to do even better than that. Man reaches +physical maturity between twenty and twenty-five years of age. This +would make his natural age one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred +and fifty years. There are cases on record that have lived longer and it +may be that if man would cease going in the way of self-destruction and +spend more thought and time on the welfare of the race, life would be +prolonged beyond even one hundred and fifty years. R. T. Trall, M. D., +thought that man should live to be two hundred years old. + +"What man has done man can do." If long life is worth while, doubtless a +time will come when long life will be enjoyed. The worry, fretting and +foolish haste of today will doubtless be partly done away with some +time. Then men and women will have time to live, instead of merely +existing, as most people do today. Men have lived long and found life +good. Long life for its own sake is perhaps not to be desired, but the +benefit that can be bestowed upon the race by those advanced in years is +desirable. Occasionally a brilliant individual appears on the scene, +doing superior work in life's morning, but most of the work that has +been found worthy of the consideration of the ages has been done by men +of mature years. + +Galen, the famous physician, is said to have lived to a great age. It is +hard to tell exactly how old he was, but he was probably well past the +century mark at his death. His long life gave him time to do work that +is appreciated after the lapse of eighteen centuries. For many hundred +years after his death he dominated the practice of medicine and he is +today spoken of as often as any living medical man. + +Thomas Parr, an Englishman, died at the age of one hundred and +fifty-two. He was hale and hearty to the very end. Unfortunately, his +reputation traveled far. He was brought to the English court, where he +was wined and dined, and as a consequence he died. Before this he had +always led the simple life. An autopsy was performed and the physicians +found his organs in excellent condition. The only reason they could give +for his death was his departure from the simple life which he had led in +his home. + +Henry Jenkins, also an Englishman, lived to the age of one hundred and +sixty-nine years. He lived very frugally and was always on friendly +terms with nature. His favorite drink was water, though he partook in +moderation of "hop bitters." He was moderate in all things, and it is +said that he was never really ill until near the end of life. He was not +shriveled and shrunken, but a wholesome looking man. King Charles II. +sent a carriage to bring Mr. Jenkins to London, when he was one hundred +and sixty years old. The old gentleman declined to ride and walked the +two hundred miles to the metropolis. The king questioned him regarding +his life and desired to know the reason for his longevity. Mr. Jenkins +replied that he had always been sober and temperate and that this was +the reason for his many years. The Merry Monarch was neither sober nor +temperate, and you may be sure that this reply did not please him. Mr. +Jenkins was wiser than Mr. Parr had been, refusing to dissipate, even +though he was old. Consequently he returned to his home to enjoy life +nine years longer. + +These two cases are authentic. + +All are familiar with the records given in the Bible. Whether they are +figurative or not it is hard to tell. However, so many cases of +longevity are recorded that they in all probability have a basis in +fact. The Hebrews of old must have been a long-lived people. One hundred +and twenty years was not an extreme age. In Genesis is the record of +many over five hundred years old, and a few over nine hundred years of +age. At the time of the apostles the life span of the Hebrews had grown +shorter and hence the dictum of three score years and ten. Between the +time of Moses and that of the apostles the Hebrews had advanced--or +shall we say degenerated?--from a semi-barbarous people to one that had +the graces and also the vices of a higher civilization. The Hebrews of +old were husbandmen, who lived simply and got their vigor from the soil. + +The cause of so much unnecessary suffering and of the premature deaths +has been discussed elsewhere in this book. In short, it is wrong living +and wrong thinking. Impure air and bad food kill no more surely than +does worry. + +The bodies of children are composed largely of water. The structures are +flexible and elastic. The bones are made up mostly of cartilaginous +structure. As the children grow older more solids are deposited in the +body and the proportion of solid matter to water grows greater. Lime is +deposited in the bones. When they are limy throughout they are said to +be ossified. After this process is complete no more growth can take +place. Bone formation continues until about the age of twenty-five. At +this age the body is efficient. The fluids circulate without +obstruction. Could this condition be maintained, there would be no +decay. + +During the early years of life the food intake in proportion to the +weight of the body is great. The child is active and uses much fuel to +produce power and to repair the waste. Considerable food is required for +body building. At this time a broken bone mends quickly and cuts heal in +a short time. With advancing years come slowness and sluggishness of the +various vital activities. The slowing up can be retarded almost +indefinitely by proper care of the body. + +If the circulation could be maintained and the purity of the blood +stream guarded, old age would be warded off. A healthy body is able to +cleanse itself under favorable conditions and so long as the body is +clean through and through there is no opportunity for disease to take +place and there can be no aging. By aging I mean not so much the number +of years one has lived as the amount of hardening and degeneration of +the body that take place. + +Some are as old at forty as others are at seventy. + +When people have reached physical maturity they should begin to reduce +their food intake. There is no need for building material then. All that +is necessary is enough to repair the waste and to keep up the +temperature. The individual at twenty-seven should eat a little less +than when he was twenty and by the age of thirty-five he should have +reduced his food still more and made his meals very simple. Children +enjoy the gratification of the sense of taste, but at the age of +thirty-five a man has lived enough and experienced enough so that he +should know that the overgratification of appetites is an evanescent and +unprofitable pleasure, always costing more than it is worth. It is best +to grow into good habits while young, for it is difficult to do so after +one has grown old. The man who reforms after fifty is the exception. + +Children are fond of cereal foods and sugars. They can eat these foods +two or three times a day and thrive. A man of thirty-five should make it +a general rule to limit his starch eating to once a day. Various +physiologists say that as much as sixteen ounces of dry starch +(equivalent to about thirty ounces of ordinary bread) are necessary each +day. This is entirely too much. Very few people can profitably eat more +than four ounces of dry starch a day, and for many this is too much. +Through eating as much as is popularly and professionally advocated, +early decay and death result. + +The arteries are normally pliable and elastic. When too much food is +taken, the system is unable to cleanse itself. Debris is left at various +points. One of the favorite lodging places is in the coats of the +arteries. After considerable deposits have been formed the arteries lose +their elasticity. They become hard and unyielding. A normal radial +artery can easily be compressed with one finger. Sometimes the radial +artery becomes so hard that it is difficult to compress it with three +fingers. As the arteries grow harder they become more brittle and +sometimes they break, often a fatal accident. + +This hardness of the arteries impedes the circulation, for the tone and +natural elasticity of the vessel walls is one of the aids to a normal +circulation. + +So long as the arteries are normal all parts of the body are bathed in a +constantly changing stream of blood. The muscles, the nerves, the bones, +in fact all parts of the body, remove from the blood stream those +elements that are necessary for repairing or building the various +tissues. They also throw into the blood stream the refuse and waste due +to the constant repair and combustion going on all over the body. The +blood then leaves this refuse with the skin, lungs, kidneys and bowels, +which throw it out of the body. + +So long as there are enough fuel and food, but not too much, and so long +as all the debris is carried away, there is health. But let this process +be thrown out of balance and there will be disease. The food intake is +seldom too small, though the digestion is frequently so poor that not +enough good food gets into the blood. Old age is largely due to +overeating and eating the wrong kinds of food. This is how overeating +causes premature aging, when it does not kill more quickly: When too +much food is taken, too much is absorbed into the blood, provided the +nutritive processes are active. Then all the food in the blood can not +be used for repair and fuel. The balance must either be excreted or +stored away in the body as deposits. If this storing takes place in the +joints, the result may be rheumatism or gout and at times even a +complete locking of the joints (anchylosis). If it is stored in the +walls of the blood-vessels they become hard and unyielding. No matter +where deposits take place, some of them will be found in the walls of +the blood-vessels. When these vessels grow hard they decrease in +caliber. The result is that the heart is compelled to work very hard, +but even then enough blood is not forced through the vessels. The +circulation becomes sluggish. The blood in the various parts becomes +stagnant. + +Then insufficient good oxygen and first-class nourishment are brought to +the parts and not enough waste is carried away. Now the billions of +cells of which the body is composed are constantly bathed in poisonous +blood. The result is lowering of physical tone, or degeneration, of the +whole body. The hands and the feet suffer most at first from the poor +blood supply and become cold easily. Those who suffer constantly from +cold hands and feet should know that they are aging, although they may +be but twenty years old. + +Such a condition as this often gives rise to varicose veins in the legs. +The feet are so far away from the heart, and it is such a long upgrade +return of the blood, that the circulation in the lower extremities +easily becomes sluggish. The flabby, relaxed tissues and the hardened +blood-vessels allow the blood to stagnate. This is why senile gangrene +is so common in the feet and so often fatal. + +The brain gets a copious blood supply, yet the hardening of the arteries +often deprives this organ of its necessary nourishment. Then the higher +faculties begin to abdicate. If the hardening is extensive senile +softening of the brain may take place. This is always due to a lack of +pure blood. Sometimes the arteries are brittle enough to break. Baldness +is another symptom of physical decay. The hair follicles are not +properly nourished, for the arteries have become so contracted and the +tissues of the scalp so hardened that there is not enough blood to feed +the hair roots. Baldness begins on top of the head, generally the only +part affected, because it is farthest away from the blood supply. +Baldness is also partly due to man's headwear. Women are rarely bald. +There is a saying that there are no bald men in the poorhouse. Even if +this were true, it would not be very consoling, for the bald heads on +the street cleaning forces are numerous. + +Overeating also causes premature aging because if results in +fermentation in the alimentary tract. The acids produced cause +degeneration of various tissues, having an especially bad effect on the +nervous system, which reflects the evil to other parts of the body. + +It is well to bear in mind how this comes about: First there is +overeating; too much food improperly prepared is taken into the blood +stream; this makes the blood impure; deposits, causing hardening of the +tissues and reduction of the lumen of the vessels, are formed; the blood +grows more impure and the circulation sluggish; the tissues are +constantly bathed in impure blood, causing further degeneration. When a +certain point is reached nature can tolerate no more and life flits +away. + +Those who wish to remain young must give some thought to the selection +of their food, especially if they are hearty eaters. If only sufficient +food is taken to keep the body well nourished it does not make much +difference what is eaten, provided it contains sufficient of fresh +foods, for when only enough food is taken to supply fuel and repairing +material, the food will all be used and none is left to ferment in the +digestive tract and form deposits in the body. The body will then keep +itself clean, or at least the formation of deposits takes place so +slowly that it is hardly perceptible. This can be compared with the +process taking place in the flues of a boiler. Stoke properly and they +remain clean. Choke the firebox with an excess of coal and the +combustion is so incomplete that the flues are soon filled up and the +grates are often burned out. Just so with the body: Feed too heavily and +the digestive organs are burned by the abnormal amount of acid produced +and the blood-vessels are filled with debris. + +As most people lack the self-control to eat a normal amount of food, +they should select foods that are compatible and that are not too +concentrated. Too much meat causes degeneration of all parts of the body +and hardening. Too much starch causes acidity and hardening. The fruits +and the light vegetables have a tendency to overcome these degenerating +processes. + +Starch is surely the chief offender in aging people. It is such a +concentrated food that overeating is easy, especially when it is taken +in the soft forms, such as mushes, fresh bread, griddle cakes and mashed +potatoes. If people would masticate their starchy foods thoroughly it +would greatly reduce the danger of overeating. It is common to eat bread +three times a day and in addition to take potatoes once or twice a day. +Those who consume so much starch carry into the system more food than +can be used and more of the mineral salts than can be excreted. The +result is the formation of deposits, chiefly of lime carbonate and lime +phosphate; fatty deposits are also common. + +In order to live long and comfortably it would be well to reduce the +starch intake to once a day. The meats also are objectionable when taken +in excess. To them can be attributed the chief blame for the formation +of gelatinous deposits in the body. However, they do not carry so much +earthy matter into the blood stream as do the starches. It is best to +partake of meat but once a day, or even more seldom. Meat should +certainly not be taken more than twice a day even by those who are +advanced in years. People who care enough for starch to take it three +times a day, or are compelled to live chiefly upon it, grow old and +homely more quickly than do those who are able to partake more +plentifully of the more expensive proteins. The flesh obtained from +young animals and birds is not so heavily charged with earthy matters as +is that which is obtained from old animals and birds. + +Fruits and nuts do not carry so much earthy matter as do the starches +and meats. The sweet fruits could with profit partly take the place of +the starchy foods. The sugar they contain, which has the same nutritive +value as starches, needs very little preparation before entering the +blood stream. Thus a large part of the energy required for starch +digestion is saved. On the other hand, the use of too much refined sugar +is even worse than an excessive intake of starch. Nuts are not difficult +to digest if they are well masticated.. + +The objection to acid fruits during the latter years of life is that +they thin the blood and cause chilliness. This is true if they are +partaken of too liberally. It is not necessary to refrain from eating +acid fruits, but they should be taken in moderation and the mild ones +should be selected. Pears, mild apples and grapes are better than +oranges, grapefruits and apricots. Those who have learned moderation can +eat all the fruit desired, for they will not be harmed by what a normal +appetite craves. + +Vegetables carry considerable earthy matter, but on account of their +helpfulness in keeping the blood sweet they should be eaten several +times a week. + +Those who think that overeating of starch is too harshly condemned are +referred to the horse. When he is allowed to roam about and partake of +his natural food, grass, he stays well and lives to be forty or more +years old. When compelled to eat great quantities of corn and oats, +which are very rich in starch, the horse becomes listless and slow at an +early age. He is old at fifteen and before twenty he is generally dead. +When horses suffer from stiffness in the joints a few weeks spent in +pasture, where they have nothing but green grass and water, remove the +stiffness and make them younger. This shows what partaking of nature's +green salad does for them. Any good stock man will tell you that feeding +too much grain "burns a cow out." It does exactly the same for a human +being, burns him out and fills him with clinkers. Many people think that +it is a hardship to be moderate in eating and drinking, but it is not. +It brings such a feeling of well-being and comfort that it is +unbelievable to those who have not experienced it. + +Many envy the rich, thinking that they can and do live riotously. Rich +men must live as simply as though they were poor or else they soon lose +the mental efficiency that brought them their fortunes, for when health +is gone mental power is reduced. + +According to information in the Saturday Evening Post, the eating habits +of many of our most influential business men are very simple and the +amount of food partaken of small. John D. Rockefeller could hardly live +more simply and plainly than he does. William Rockefeller, George F. +Baker, James Stillman, Otto H. Kahn, Thomas Fortune Ryan, George W. +Perkins, J. Ogden Armour, John H. Patterson, Jacob H. Schiff and Andrew +Carnegie, all business giants with money enough to subsist on the most +expensive delicacies, are said to live more plainly than does the +average American who is complaining of the high cost of living. It is +the price they have had to pay for success and it is the price that you +and I will have to pay to live successfully, though our success may not +take the form of financial power. + +The one conspicuous exception among the financially great to the rule of +simplicity was J. P. Morgan. His eating habits were somewhat gross, but +on account of his rugged constitution he lived to be more than +seventy-five years old. If he had given himself just a little more care +he would be alive today. They say that his strong black cigars did him +no apparent harm, but those who read of his last illness understandingly +cannot agree to that statement. Mr. Morgan started with enough vitality +to live and work far beyond the century mark. John D. Rockefeller was +not physically strong when young. He has been compelled to take good +care of himself and to be moderate. Now he is past seventy and enjoying +good health. + +John W. Gates died a martyr to excess, partly excess of food. He lacked +balance. His son followed in his footsteps and died young. + +Frank A. Vanderlip, who is looming large on the financial horizon takes +but two meals a day, from which he gets enough sustenance to do good +work and he says that this plan makes for efficiency. Perhaps now that +such men as Mr. Vanderlip live well on two meals a day, it is time to +cease calling those who live thus faddists. Eating three meals a day is +a habit and many can and do get along very well on two meals, and a few +take only one meal daily. + +E. H. Harriman also lived simply. He illustrates the evil of a poorly +controlled mind. He died when but little past sixty, probably because +his frail body was too weak to harbor his great ambition. He took his +business wherever he went. When ill and business was forbidden by his +physician, Mr. Harriman had a telephone concealed in his bedroom and as +soon as the doctor was gone, he was on the wire. + +Another cause of premature aging is the drinking of very hard water. The +earthy matter is absorbed into the blood stream with the water, and a +part of it is deposited in the various tissues. People beyond middle age +should drink water containing only a small portion of salts. Those who +partake of fresh fruits or fresh vegetables daily get all the salts that +the system needs. Even the young should not drink water that is +exceedingly hard. We can well illustrate the harm that comes from the +excessively hard water by referring to the disease known as cretinism. +This disease is quite prevalent in some parts of Europe. They say that +the disease is hereditary, which is questionable. What is inherited is +the environment and the habits of the parents. The chief cause is +without doubt the superabundance of earthy matter in the drinking water. +The cretins are ill-favored in face and figure. They do not reach normal +mental or physical maturity. They are old long before the normal person +has reached his prime. They die young, rarely living to be over thirty +years old. The bones are completely ossified early, which is the cause +of their small stature and their stupidity. The bones of the skull +harden so early that the brain has no room to expand. + +There is no need of suffering, even in a mild degree, from the disease +of cretinism. If the water is very hard it is easy to distill what is +needed for drinking purposes. Such water should at least be boiled. It +is much better to have a teakettle lined with earthy matters than to +have such a lining in our arteries. + +The excessive use of table salt is another cause of early aging. It is a +good preservative and pickles meat very well. People have long used salt +as a preservative and perhaps they got the salt-eating habit in this +way, first using it on the foods to be preserved, and then on nearly all +foods. Salts to excess, especially table salt, help to mummify or pickle +those who partake of them too liberally. The addition of sodium chloride +to foods is unnecessary. We get all we need of this salt in our fruits, +vegetables and cereals. Salt should be used in moderation. + +Alcohol, tobacco and coffee are harmful. However, it will be found that +most of the old people have used one or more of these drugs for many +years and this is often largely responsible for their reaching old age. +Overeating causes more deaths than any other single factor. The use of +tobacco, coffee or alcohol has a tendency to reduce the desire for food +and thus these drugs at times prove to be conservers of individual +lives, though they are undoubted racial evils. They never can or will +take the place of self-control. The senses were given us to use for our +protection, but most people abuse them for temporary gratification, and +thus they go in the way of self-destruction. + +Other things being equal, a healthy child will live longer than a weakly +one. But other things are not equal, so it often happens that a weakling +has as much chance to survive as a healthy person. Strong people +frequently squander their inheritance by the time they are forty or +fifty years old. Healthy people are very imprudent. They are well so +they think they will always remain well. What a surprise it is when +after thirty they discover that they cannot do with impunity what they +could do before with apparently no bad results! When warned about their +eating habits they boast that they can "eat tacks". Smoking and drinking +are harmless, they say! But the day of reckoning always comes and the +account is often so great that under the conventional treatment of today +they die. + +The weakling has been compelled to be careful. Habits of moderation grew +upon him in youth, and his health has improved as he has advanced in +years. He may never be strong, but great physical strength is not +essential to health. Thus the strong often perish and the weak survive. +If both classes lived with equal care the strong would outlive and +outwork the weak every time. + +It is necessary to give the skin some care if continued good health is +desired during the latter part of life. The skin has a tendency to grow +hard, which should not be allowed. It will always remain soft if it is +properly cared for. When our ancestors roved forests and plains with +scarcely any attire, the skin exposed to the rain and the sunshine, +there was no need to give it special care. It served its purpose of +protecting their bodies and was exercised through its immediate contact +with the elements in all kinds of weather. Now the skin has little +opportunity to exercise its protective function and the result is that +it is not as active as it should be. The skin must be active to rid +itself of the waste that the blood-vessels leave with it. The best +exercise for this important organ is rubbing. The whole body should be +rubbed every day and it would be well to do this twice a day. An +occasional olive oil rub is also good. The rubbings make the body +hardier. They also help to keep the circulation active and the skin +smooth and soft. The blood is brought near the surface. The tendency as +we grow older is for the circulation to grow less and less near the +surface and in the extremities. This is slow death. + +The daily rub is more important than the daily bath. If we have enough +rubbing very little bathing is necessary, for an active skin cleans +itself. + +There are many men who have lived in the conventional way until the age +of forty, fifty or sixty. They have been healthy, which means that they +have been able to work most of the time, but have had their share of +ills, which have incapacitated them for work or business at various +times. They find after reaching a certain age that they are surely going +down hill physically and that they are not as active mentally as +previously. The question is, can anything be done under the +circumstances? Very few of these people are in such a bad physical state +that death is inevitable within the next few years. If they seek the +right advice and follow it, they can generally continue to live in +improved health for thirty to sixty years more. + +A celebrated case in point is that of Louis Cornaro, an Italian, who +died in the year 1566 at the age of one hundred and two years. In his +youth he was very indiscreet and dissipated. He lived riotously until he +was forty years old, and then he found himself in such poor physical +condition that it was only a question of a few months until the end +would come. He had everything to make life worth living, except health, +so he decided to attempt to regain health and prolong his life. He quit +his old life, began to live simply and instead of being a waster he +became a useful citizen. We are unable to get much definite information +about his habits from what he wrote but we learn that he reduced the +quantity of food taken and used fewer varieties. Also, he drank +sparingly of wine. He did not have any definite ideas regarding diet +except that it is best to eat moderately and avoid the foods that +disagree with one. In his own words: "Little by little I began to draw +myself away from my disorderly life, and, little by little, to embrace +the orderly one. In this manner I gave myself up to the temperate life, +which has not since been wearisome to me; although, on account of the +weakness of my constitution, I was compelled to be extremely careful +with regard to the quality and quantity of my food and drink. However, +those persons who are blessed with strong constitutions may make use of +many other kinds and qualities of food and drink, and partake of them, +in greater quantities, than I do; so that, even though the life they +follow be the temperate one, it need not be as strict as mine, but much +freer." + +These sentences were written fifty or sixty years after he changed his +mode of life, and show how well Mr. Cornaro realized the important fact +that all people need not be treated alike. They also show that after +making the change, Mr. Cornaro did not find it difficult to live simply +enough to enjoy health. In nearly every instance it is temporarily +disagreeable to forsake the path that is leading to death and take the +one that leads to life, but after one gets used to the new way, it +appears more beautiful and is more pleasant than the old. + +If Cornaro had died at forty, as nearly every person situated as he was +would have done, his life would have been a total loss. A few of those +who were his boon companions and dissipated with him would have thought +of him for a few years and regretted his early passing, for "he was a +jolly good fellow." He lived a useful life, for over sixty years +thereafter, and has left us in his debt for his beautiful exhortations +to be temperate. + +Many of the physical wrecks we meet, who will probably live from a few +months to a few years more, if they continue in the old way, are in the +same boat as Mr. Cornaro was at forty. They have had enough experience +to begin to do good work, to be of some benefit to humanity. Instead of +living and giving the world their best, they die. The world has had to +educate these people, and it is expensive. Instead of living on and +doing their work, they leave us when they ought to begin to repay us for +what we have done for them. They are quitters. + +Suppose Andrew Carnegie had died at the time he sold out his steel +business. To most people he would have left an unsavory memory, for +though we should have considered him successful from the business +standpoint, many of us would say that the means were not justified by +the end. However, Mr. Carnegie has spent many years since in furthering +the cause of the spread of knowledge and in working for universal peace. +Perhaps when Carnegie, the man of business, is well nigh forgotten, +Carnegie, the educator, will be held in tender and thankful memory. He +is now influencing the times for good and this influence will go down +the ages. + +A man has no right to say that he is weary of life and that he wants to +die. The race has a claim on him. We learn through our mistakes. The +race in general has to pay and suffer for every individual's education. +When a man has acquired a measure of wisdom through experience, we have +a right to claim it as our own. + +Many men are wise in their own lines, but they have been so busy +attending to the affairs that brought them success that they have +omitted to learn how to have health. These people owe it to themselves +and to humanity to take enough time to learn how to live so that they +can work in health. The better the health the finer their product. +Health and efficiency go hand in hand. + +What is a man to do when he has reached middle age and finds himself +degenerating? A man ought to know how to live at forty, but if he does +not he should immediately learn. It may be true that "a man is a fool or +a physician at forty," yet there is time and if a man lacks wisdom at +forty he should immediately acquire some. Such an individual should get +the best health adviser possible, avoiding any man who would have him +take drugs. What he needs is not medicine, but to learn how to live. I +am confident that the careful reader will find enough knowledge in this +book to give him the key to the situation. + +If the sufferer uses narcotics and stimulants, they must be stopped +immediately. Even the least harmful of these, such as beer and light +wine, should be avoided until good health has been won. These beverages +need never be used. If they are taken rarely and in moderation they do +no harm. + +In every case that has come under my observation it has been necessary +to simplify the food intake, that is, to reduce the quantity and the +number of articles of food taken at each meal, also to simplify the +cooking. The result is that the individual gets less food, but it is of +better quality, for the conventional cooking spoils much of the food. + +Most of these men neglect to exercise. It is necessary to be active and +in the open, also to take good care of that important organ, the skin. +Constipation is common, and it is a very annoying symptom, which +disappears in time under proper living. The absorption of poisons from a +constipated lower bowel is one of the factors that causes premature +aging. When the constipation is overcome there are a feeling of physical +well-being and a mental clearness which are impossible in the presence +of constipation. + +The treatment of such a condition is very much the same as the treatment +of catarrh or any other curable disease, that is, find the errors of +living and correct them. + +It is really surprising how little food people need after they are fifty +or sixty years old. If such people eat enough to be well nourished, but +not enough to produce any bad feelings there will be no disease. People +who die from disease are physical failures, for the natural end does not +come in a physical upheaval. Those who live as they should will pass +away without any pain. The organism simply grows weary and goes into the +last sleep. + +There are people who say that there needs be no physical death. Harry +Gaze wrote an entertaining book on the subject some years ago and gave +lectures in this country. It will not convince the average student of +nature that people can live forever, for in nature there is constant +change. The order of life is birth, development, reproduction, decline +and death. It is not likely that man is an exception. + +It is believed that in olden times men were larger and lived longer than +they do today. There is not much foundation for such a belief to rest +upon, except in a few cases. The last census shows that there are +several thousand centennarians in the United States. In the Technical +World for March, 1914, appeared an article by Byron C. Utecht, entitled, +"When is Man Old?" This magazine is careful in gathering its facts. I +shall quote a few paragraphs: + +"Abraham Wilcox, of Fort Worth, Texas, is one hundred and twelve years +old, but he takes keen enjoyment in life. He walks two miles or more +every day as a constitutional and, occasionally, he even takes a small +glass of beer. He looks forward with all the enthusiasm of a boy to a +visit to the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. Mr. Wilcox reads the +newspapers every day and is interested in everything about him, from the +food being prepared for his dinner to the latest feats by aeroplanes. +This aged man looks forty or fifty years younger than he really is. His +skin is white but not deeply lined. His vision is excellent and he walks +nearly erect. Thirty years ago he gave up smoking, as his doctors warned +him he was near death from old age and that the use of tobacco would +only hasten the end." + +"In the Ozark Mountains of Marion County, Arkansas, just across the +Missouri line, lives Mrs. Elmyra Wagoner. She, too, is one hundred and +twelve years old. There are a thousand wrinkles in her face and she +looks her age, but in her actions she is sixty. Up until a very few +years ago, when still past the hundred-year mark, Mrs. Wagoner kept a +large garden and was able to work in the fields. While she has given up +outdoor work, she is still active. On inclement days she sits by the +fireplace in her mountain home and spins. On pleasant days she may be +found walking about the yard. Recently her great-great-granddaughter was +married at Protein, Missouri, six miles from the Wagoner home. This +woman of one hundred and twelve years walked to the wedding, enjoyed it, +and then walked back home, a distance that would tire many persons half +that age. There are scores of persons at Protein who vouch for this and +they tell of similar feats by Mrs. Wagoner showing remarkable physical +power. + +"Asked to give the causes of her longevity, the aged woman smiled and +said that she hated to admit she was getting old. 'Clean, honest living, +plenty of work, plenty of good food, and a desire to help others when +sick or in trouble, I think gave me my long lease of life. I was always +so busy caring for others and thinking of them that I never had time to +worry whether I was getting old or not.'" + +"Asa Goodwin, of Serrett, Alabama, is one hundred and six years old. His +endurance powers are even more remarkable than those of Mrs. Wagoner or +Abraham Wilcox. He walks five miles every day. He works several hours +daily in his garden, eats anything he likes, and reads without glasses. +His family is probably the largest in the United States. A reunion +recently held in his honor was attended by eight hundred and fifty +persons, three hundred and fifty being blood relatives. Goodwin has been +a hunter all his life and he frequently takes down his rifle and proves +that his aim is still good. He ascribes his length of life and vitality +to his great interest in outdoor sport and hunting, when a young man, +developing a rugged constitution that lasted him many years after he was +forced to quit strenuous work because of 'old age.' He asserts that he +was so busy living that he reached one hundred and six years before he +realized it and wants to live fifty years more if possible. 'I feel as +if I could do it, too,' he declares. 'I now can take my ease and comfort +and the world looks good to me. I have always lived a temperate life, +never drank, never kept late hours, and still have had as much or more +fun than the average man, I think. It is only now when I have nothing to +do that I get to worrying and when I find myself in that condition I +take a walk or weed the garden and then feel better.'" + +These people are not in what some call the higher walks of life, but +they have succeeded in living, where almost all fail. They have been +useful members of society, satisfied to take life as it comes, and thus +they have gathered much of the sweet. They have enjoyed life, and those +who enjoy give enjoyment to others. It takes an audience to make even +the best of plays. + +Mrs. Wagoner is not rich, but she has a philosophy that is riches +enough. She knows that she receives through giving. She has lived this +knowledge, which has brought blessings upon her. + +These people have all led simple lives and they have worked. There is no +secret about growing old gracefully. It means self-control, simple +living, work for body and mind, cleanliness of body and mind, and the +most important part of physical cleanliness is a clean colon. It is +necessary to have a tranquil mind most of the time, for anger and worry +are injurious to health. + +The average span of life is lengthening. In the sixteenth century the +average European did not live to be twenty years old. Now he lives to be +about forty. The same increase has taken place in America. In India and +China the average of life is still below twenty-four years. As +civilization advances the tendency is for the average of life to +lengthen, provided life does not grow so complex that knowledge is +antidoted by too great artificiality. + +However, it is well to note that it is not the last part of life that is +being lengthened. We are allowing less and less infants to die as the +years roll on. The proportion of the adult population that reaches +advanced age is no greater than in the past. Our mode of life is so +wrong that tuberculosis, typhoid fever, cancer, kidney diseases, +pneumonia and circulatory degeneration carry off immense numbers of +those whom we call middle aged, but who are really young people. These +are diseases of degeneration. It is to our interest to reduce these +diseases. Proper living will do it. + +The life expectancy of people over fifty is even less than it was thirty +years ago. Middle aged people die from diseases caused by bad habits, +extended over a period of years. Therefore, these people should learn to +live well if they would live longer. + +The diet of the old can be about the same as that of an adult in the +prime of life, except that less should be eaten. Those who live +correctly have no digestive disturbances. It will be noted by those who +are normal that there is not a desire for as much food as earlier in +life, and this should be a guide. Old people get all the nourishment +they need in two moderate meals a day. If the three-meal-a-day plan is +preferred, it is all right, but then less should be taken at each meal. + +White flour products are easier to digest than the whole wheat products, +but normal people can digest the latter very well and it is a better +food than white flour. I know one gentleman in his eighth decade of life +who has grown stronger and younger by abandoning the conventional eating +habits and living mostly on moderate meals of milk and whole wheat +biscuits. As Cornaro said, some need more than others, but all should be +moderate. + +One meal a day of milk and biscuits is all right. These biscuits should +be well baked and well masticated. The milk should be taken slowly. + +Another meal can be meat or eggs or fish with some of the cooked and raw +succulent vegetables. + +If a third meal is taken, it may consist of clabbered milk or +buttermilk; or of one of the sweet fruits, and the sweet fruits may be +used any time in place of bread or biscuits. Cottage cheese is a good +food at any time, and may be taken with fruits, either acid or sweet. + +As often as desired, in summer, take fruit. Because the very acid, juicy +fruits have a tendency to cause chilliness and to thin the blood, it is +well to take them in moderation during advanced years, but that does not +mean that those who like them should avoid them. In winter time the +sweet fruit is best. Mild apples and bananas may be used as often as +there is a desire for them. Oranges should be taken more rarely, as well +as grapefruit, pineapples and other fruits that are heavily charged with +acid. + +As a general rule, the starchy foods should be eaten but once a day, but +those who are very moderate may take them twice a day without bad +results. Vegetarians have eggs and milk to take the place of flesh +foods. They also have lentils, peas, beans and the protein in the whole +wheat and other cereals. Lentils, peas and beans must be taken in +moderation, for they are rich in nutriment and if too much is eaten they +soon cause disease. Nuts, if well masticated, are also all right. + +The general basis of feeding should be starch once a day and protein +once a day in moderation. All kinds of starch and all kinds of protein +may be used. Fruits more moderately than during the earlier years of +life is best. All the succulent vegetables that are desired may be +partaken of. By cooking the foods simply, as recommended in this book, +they are rendered easier to digest than under the conventional manner of +cooking. Simple cooking will help to preserve health and prolong life. + +Work is one of the greatest blessings of life. Those who would live long +and be useful must exercise both body and mind. Like all other +blessings, if it is carried to excess it is injurious. It is unfortunate +that some people must work too hard because there is a class of people +who do nothing useful, being content to be wasters. + +Work has been looked upon as a curse. This is a mistake. Those who live +in the hope and expectation that they may some day cease working in +order to enjoy life, will find when they reach the goal that life +without work is not worth while. Those who can afford it can with +benefit lessen the amount of productive work they do and evolve more +into cultural lines, but it is dangerous to cease working. The human +being is so constituted that without activity of body and mind there is +degeneration. What is sadder than to see a capable individual who has +won a competence and then has retired to enjoy it! He does not enjoy it. +Either he has to get into some line of work, physical or mental, or he +soon dies. We must have a lively interest in something or there is +stagnation. + +There are many beautiful things in life, and we should cultivate them +while we are young enough to be able to learn to enjoy them. The +loftiest spirits of the ages have left their inspirations and their +aspirations with us in poetry, prose, music, painting, statuary and in +other forms. We should try to cultivate understanding of these subjects, +not necessarily all of them, but of one or more, for with understanding +come the elevation and broadening of mind that are always present when +there is sympathy, and sympathy is closely related to understanding. +Culture along one or more lines broadens the mind and makes a person +more worth while not only to himself, but to others. We can not estimate +the value of the beauty in life in dollars and cents, but he is poor +indeed who is rich in worldly goods alone. + +It is necessary to be interested in the activities about us. Those who +think of nothing or no one except themselves are almost dead to the +world, even though they go through the same physical activities as other +people. The tendency is to get into a rut with advancing years and +remain there. It is easy to keep both a pliable mind and a pliable body +in spite of age, and this can be done by intelligent use. A short time +daily should be spent in becoming informed of what is happening +throughout the world and thinking it over. A mental hobby is most +excellent. A garden or a few birds can furnish an almost inexhaustible +source of interest. Those who doubt this should read of the comedy and +tragedy among such humble beings as the spider, the fly and the beetle. +J. H. Fabre has written charmingly about these, investing them with an +interest rarely to be found in good fiction. This naturalist is a good +example of what can be accomplished when one has years to do it in and +is content to labor along from day to day without giving too much +thought for the morrow. At fifty Mr. Fabre was practically unknown. Now, +at about ninety, he is one of the most admired and best loved of men. +His recognition came late and he has done much of his best work during +his later years. If Mr. Fabre had died at the average age of forty, the +world would have been deprived of his beautiful insight. + +Another cause of old age is getting mentally old. An individual begins +to grow old by dwelling on the subject. The girl of thirteen must cease +romping and racing about because it is not lady-like. At twenty-five it +is very, very undignified to run a little. At forty a woman must be +rather sedate, for being natural would mean frivolity. People are +continually growing too old to do this and that, not because they have +lost the desire and the ability, but because it is unbecoming at their +age. This is folly. Keep a young heart all through life. A heartfelt +laugh is one of nature's best tonics. There is no more harm in dancing +at fifty than at fifteen and not so much danger. + +The relaxation of muscles and sagging of the face are as much the result +of mental attitude as of loss of tonicity. Thinking young and +associating with children are helpful and healthful. People who are very +stiff and dignified are mentally sterile. The charming people are the +ones who are willing and able to understand and sympathize with the aims +and aspirations of others, and in order to do so it is necessary to thaw +out. + +The art of life is delightful if properly developed. + +Worry is such a detriment that its victims can neither live nor work as +they should. It is necessary to overcome this bad habit. Most of the +worry is due to narrow selfishness. Much of it is caused by the fact +that others will not do as we do. To try to make others accept our +standards and then worry and fret because they will not is folly. When +force is employed to convert anyone the conversion is but superficial +and lasts only so long as the converted individual's hypocrisy holds +out. To get the best out of life we have to be broad, forbearing, +patient and forgiving. + +A normal old age is beautiful. It is the privilege, nay more, the duty +of every intelligent being to attain it. When we adjust ourselves we +shall live longer. + +It is with old age as it is with health. We can have it if we wish it. +Accidents alone can deprive us of either. Let us hope that the day will +come when men and women will not be satisfied to die as life is but +beginning, but that they will live as they should and could live, thus +proving a blessing to the race. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +EVOLVING INTO HEALTH. + +By the time most people are twenty years old they have some kind of +disease. It may be only a slight catarrh, a touch of indigestion, +trouble with the eyes, defective hearing, or some other ill. Very seldom +do we meet a person of this age who is perfectly well. + +Most people are taught to believe that health is something mysterious +which may come to them or may pass them by, but that they have little or +nothing to do with it. If they are well, they are fortunate, but if they +are ill they are not to blame. + +Most of them go to conventional physicians when they are ill, expecting +to be cured. They take medicine or injections of serums or they are +operated upon. When they are through with the doctors they are no wiser +than they were before. + +A few have friends who tell them that they must change their mode of +living if they would have health. They are interested enough to go to a +healer who believes in nature. He tells them that they are well or ill +according to their desserts, that they can be well at all times, if they +wish, for if they live as they should health is a natural consequence. + +This sounds like nonsense at first. It is different from anything else +they have heard. The sufferer often makes up his mind that the healer is +a fool or a faker. He remembers that when he went to the conventional +physicians they sounded and thumped him and examined all his excretions. +They were very thorough and scientific. The natural healer does not +generally go into so many details. He asks enough and examines enough to +find the trouble and then he stops. This the patient charges against +him, for he takes for granted that the healer is brief from lack of +knowledge. + +So he goes back to his old physician. As his trouble is due to deranged +nutrition, he does not get well. He thinks over what the natural healer +said, and the more he thinks about it the more reasonable it sounds, and +he returns again. This time he gets instructions, and he follows them +enough to get benefit, but not faithfully enough to get well. He is +convinced that the conventional physicians are wrong, but still believes +that the natural healer can hardly be right. + +After a while he makes up his mind to get down to business and he goes +to the healer for instructions and follows them. The results are +surprising. The trouble he has had for years may disappear within a +month or two, or it may become less and less apparent, but take +considerable time before it leaves entirely. + +The healer gives instructions. The most important ones are those +concerning the diet. A plan is given that brings good results. The +healer fails to explain that this is but one correct method of feeding, +that there are other good ones. The patient is enthused over the +benefits derived, he makes up his mind that he is living the only +correct life, and he too often becomes a food crank, trying to force his +ideas upon all about him. Here the healer is at fault, for he should +explain that some method is necessary, but that there is no one and only +method of feeding. + +If the patient is fairly intelligent, in time he realizes that it is not +so much what he eats as his manner of eating and moderation that are +helpful, and that any plan in which moderation and simplicity are +followed is better than the ordinary way of eating. + +As the patient evolves into health and gets a broader view of the art of +living, he gets a better perspective of life. He learns that under like +conditions like causes always produce like effects, that the law of +compensation is always operative, and we therefore get what we deserve. +He loses his fear of many things that caused him grave concern +previously. He sees in sickness and death the working of natural law, +not of chance. + +Some patients realize that healers who work in accordance with nature +are right, at the very start, but most people are not so logically +constructed. It often takes from one to three years before people make +up their mind to order their lives so that they can have health at their +command. + +In the old way, the doctor was supposed to cure, which was impossible. +In the new way, the healer educates people and then if they live their +knowledge they get health. + +The healer must instruct in the care of all parts of the body, weeding +out bad habits and trying to instill good ones in their place. + +Eating according to correct principles is the most helpful and powerful +aid in regaining health. The patient finds that as the years pass his +tastes change, becoming more simple and more moderate. He is well +nourished on one-half to one-third of what he used to consume and +consider necessary. + +The following is the last half of a month's record of food intake for a +man in the thirties. Some years ago he changed his manner of living in +order to regain health, in which he succeeded. Now he takes only one or +two meals a day, according to his desires, not that he has any objection +to three meals a day, but he finds it best to eat more seldom. He is in +good physical condition, as heavy as he ought to be, and he has not had +any real physical trouble for a number of years. His work is mental, but +he walks considerably and swims from three to six times a week, besides +taking a few set exercises. + +It was taken in spring, the weather averaging cool. This is a little +lighter than usual, because the record was taken during a period of +exceptionally hard mental work. In cold weather heavier foods are taken. + +Lunch: Nothing. + +Dinner: Three slices of rye toast, very thin, celery, three slices +broiled onion, dish of peas, glass of beer. + + +Dinner at noon: Roast lamb, dish of spinach, one and one-half dishes +summer squash, lettuce and tomato salad. + +Supper: Nothing. + + +Lunch: Dish of baked lentils, vegetable soup, lettuce. + +Dinner: Two small oranges, cottage cheese. + + +Lunch: Piece of gingerbread, cup of cocoa, two lumps of sugar. + +Dinner: Two small oranges, cottage cheese. + + +Lunch: Dish of stewed prunes, tablespoonful cottage cheese. + +Dinner: Two eggs, two slices buttered toast. + + +Lunch: Small grapefruit. + +Dinner: Vegetable soup, dish of stewed turnips, dish of peas. + + +Lunch: Nothing. + +Dinner: Half a grapefruit, three stewed figs, glass of milk. + + +Lunch: Dish of strawberries, large dish of rhubarb with grapefruit juice +in it and cream on the side; half serving cream cheese. + +Dinner: Two small baked apples. + + +Lunch: Small grapefruit. + +Dinner: Two eggs, dish of turnips, dish of spinach, sliced tomatoes. + + +Lunch: One raw apple. + +Dinner: Two shredded wheat biscuits, glass of milk. + + +Lunch: Dish of rhubarb. + +Dinner: Vegetable soup, one egg, a boiled potato. + + +Lunch: Dish of rhubarb. + +Dinner: Sweet potato, dish of parsnips, stewed peas. + + +Lunch: Dish of ice cream, piece of white cake. Dinner: Cheese cake, dish +of fruit salad. + + +Lunch: One hard boiled egg, about one and one-half slices white bread, +two big radishes, one young onion, butter. + +Dinner: Nothing. + + +The servings are the ordinary restaurant servings. No dressings were +used except the ones mentioned. This man used to be very fond of sweets +and employed salt freely. Now he finds his foods more agreeable when +taken plain, for they have a better flavor. He rarely uses salt or +pepper. He has simplified his food intake because he finds he feels +better and stronger and is able to think to better advantage than he did +when he partook of a greater variety and amount of food at each meal. + +Food scientists say that from two thousand, seven hundred to three +thousand, three hundred calories are needed daily, but you will note +that this man generally keeps below one-half of this, if you are able to +figure food values. + +People who are trying to get well are often called fools and cranks when +they treat themselves properly, but this does not matter, for such fools +generally live to see their wise critics prematurely consigned to the +earth. + +When taking health advice, try to keep your balance. Get thoroughly well +before you try to guide others. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +RETROSPECT. + +Several hundred pages have been devoted to those matters which must +receive attention in order to have good physical and mental health, so +as to be able to get the most out of life and give the most, that is, in +order to live fully. The basis of health is internal cleanliness, and to +attain this it is necessary to exercise self-control and moderation, as +well as to cultivate good will and kindliness towards others. Kindness +and love lubricate life and make the running smooth. Envy, spite, hatred +and the other negative emotions act like sand in the bearings, producing +friction in the vital machinery, which they destroy in the end. + +Success in life means balance, poise, adjustment. We must adjust +ourselves so as to be in harmony with others, and we must be in harmony +with nature. Our minds will at times be in opposition to the laws of +nature. Then we must exercise enough self-control to bring them into +harmony again, for natural laws are no respecters of persons. It is said +that we break these laws, but that is not true. If we disregard them +often enough they break us. We must realize our unity with nature, our +at-one-ment. We must realize that we are a part of nature, not above it, +and hence that we are governed by the same fixed laws that govern the +rest of nature. These laws are for our good. Attempts to escape from +their workings indicate a lack of understanding. + +Discord produces disease and death. Harmony leads to health and long +life. + +The adjustment must be both physical and mental. + +The physical part means to live or adjust ourselves so that all the +functions of the body are carried on normally. The body is +self-regulating and if we do nothing harmful health will be our portion. +However, life under our present civilization is so complex that the +demands upon our nervous systems are excessive. It is easy to live so +that we can have health, but to do so is not conventional, and hence not +very popular. + +In order to have good physical health under present conditions, it is +necessary to make some effort. The effort is not great enough to be +onerous and does not require much time. It is important to get health +knowledge, which the majority lacks today. This knowledge is most +excellent, but it does not benefit the individual unless it is applied. +We all wish to have health, but this is not enough. We must will to have +it. When we say that we cannot, it should generally be interpreted to +mean that we will not. + +Some important subjects regarding which special knowledge should be +secured are: Food, drink, exercise, care of the skin, sleep, work and +play, breathing, clothing, and mental attitude. + +These subjects, as well as others, have been quite extensively +discussed. It is impossible to give full information in tabloid form. It +is also impossible to read a book of this character once and get all the +information it contains. Those who are in earnest will study the +subject, instead of merely reading it. + +Allow me to remind you that nearly all of our diseases are due to faulty +dietary habits. So it was in the time of Hippocrates, according to that +sage, and so it is today. It is a common statement that about 90 per +cent. of our physical ills come from improper diet, and this is the +truth. It follows from this that it is most important to know about +correct feeding habits, and put them in practice. Improper diet results +in faulty nutrition, after which physical and mental ills make their +appearance. + +There are many systems of feeding, and nearly all of them will bring +good results if the most important prescription is followed, namely, +moderation. Simplicity leads to moderation. + +Those who are reasonable about their food intake often serve as targets +for the shafts of ridicule launched at them by those who are ignorant of +the subject or too self-indulgent to exercise a little self-control. +Ridicule is one of the most deadly of weapons, but it never harms those +who have the hardihood of getting down to basic facts and classifying +things and ideas according to their true value. Why should we be guided +by the wit and sarcasm of indolent voluptuaries who daily desecrate +their bodies through ruinous indulgences? + +There is no need of becoming harsh and austere, nor is it necessary to +fall into deadly habits of self-indulgence. Sometimes we can go with the +current with benefit, but at times it is also necessary to paddle +up-stream. Life demands a certain amount of hardihood from those who +would live in health, and this comes not from self-indulgence, but from +self-denial. It is necessary to do almost daily something that we are +not inclined to do. + +It is well to remember that if the eating is correct, it is difficult to +become physically deranged, and consequently to become mentally +deranged. Allow me to repeat four short sentences which are helpful and +most important guides, sentences which ought to form a part of every +child's education: + +If ill, eat nothing, but live on water. + +Eat only when there is a desire for food. + +Masticate all foods thoroughly. + +Always be moderate in your food intake. + +These are the four golden rules regarding eating, and if they were +adhered to, they would save us from an incalculable amount of sin and +suffering. They would increase the duration of life and the joy of +living. They would add to our physical and mental prosperity. Hence they +are worthy of the emphasis given them. + +In brief: Physical health is based on internal cleanliness, which can be +attained only through moderation, that is, by not habitually +overburdening the system, especially with food. Our bodies thrive when +used, but not when abused. It is necessary for our physical well-being +to get air, sunshine, water, food, sleep, rest, exercise, work and play +in proper proportion, and in addition cultivate a kindly, balanced +spirit. Drugs, such as alcohol, coffee, morphine, bromine, and hundreds +of others which could be named, are not only unnecessary, but harmful. + +The mental side is as important as the physical side. With a healthy +body it is easy to have a happy outlook. Indigestion and biliousness can +make a dreary waste out of the most beautiful landscape. The body and +mind react and interact, one upon the other. When one is poised it is +easy to get the other into balance. It requires a poised body to produce +the best fruitage--a fine spirit. + +It is necessary to be honest with one's self. Face life courageously and +honestly. If you do, you will soon realize that the physical and mental +ills from which you suffer are mostly of your own making. Then you can +choose whether to let them continue or to end them, but if you choose to +remain ill, bear your cross uncomplainingly, for you have no right to +afflict others with your self-imposed sufferings. + +On the other hand, try to see life from the view point of others, and +you will often find that what you think is the highest good and most +desirable in life does not seem worthy of great effort to them. Variety +adds spice to life. To impose one's own views and ways on others has +always seemed desirable to the majority of people, but it is the height +of folly and stupidity. So long as the race exists there will be many +men of many minds, and it is best so. We can not force any benefit, such +as health or goodness, upon others. Instead of attracting, the process +of forcing repels. + +What we can do mentally to benefit ourselves and others is to get +adjusted, to cultivate kindness and charity, to be broad-minded and +forgiving, to be slow to take and give offense, to accept the little +buffetings that fate has in store for us all with good grace, and +through it all to possess our souls in patience. + +Physically, be moderate. + +Mentally, cultivate equanimity. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, MAINTAINING HEALTH *** + +This file should be named mntnn10.txt or mntnn10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, mntnn11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, mntnn10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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