Nature alone is the builder, and will do all that should be _Encyclopedia of Diet: A Treatise on the Food Question, Vol. 2

she only has the proper materials in proper proportions. We may well

stand in awe and admiration of her mysterious atomic masonry, but

let us lay no sacrilegious hand upon her work.

LESSON XI

COMMON DISORDERS--THEIR CAUSE AND CURE

HEALTH AND DIS-EASE DEFINED

Health is that condition of the human body in which the functions

or activities work together in perfect harmony. Any serious

interference with this condition we call dis-ease. Dis-ease,

therefore, in its final analysis, is merely the expression of

violated natural law.

[Sidenote: Three fundamental laws of life]

The harmonious working of the life-processes in the human body

depends upon three things--(1) nutrition; (2) motion and (3)

oxidation. Nutrition is the principal factor that controls the

action of the living cells, for, if the body is kept up to its one

hundred per cent of energy it will demand a certain amount of motion

or exercise, and this will enforce the proper breathing (oxidation).

We can see, therefore, that nutrition is the physical basis of all

activities of life.

By nutrition as here used I mean to include all chemical substances

that may be supplied for the use of the body-cells, also the sum

total of all chemical substances in solution in the circulating

fluid or blood-plasma which bathes the body-cells.

[Sidenote: The phenomenon of death caused by self-poisoning]

The stoppage of the heart beat causes the nutritive fluids of the

body to cease circulating. The cells are then no longer supplied

with nutritive material, and the poisons which they are constantly

throwing off accumulate, cell activity ceases, and the phenomenon we

call death ensues. Suffocation acts in a very similar manner--oxygen

ceases to be supplied to the blood; carbon dioxid accumulates; the

vital fluids cease to flow, and death is the result.

Dis-ease has been defined to be an absence of harmonious activity

in the body. It may result from the inactivity of some particular

function. A stomach which secretes no hydrochloric acid is abnormal

or dis-eased. Again, a dis-ease may be due to an overdevelopment

of some function, because the man whose stomach secretes more

hydrochloric acid than digestion requires is as truly dis-eased as

is the man whose stomach secretes too little.

[Sidenote: Dis-ease is partial death]

[Sidenote: Animals starve when fed on salt-free food]

Dis-ease may also be defined as partial death, for it is the

disturbance or weakening of functions whose complete failure we

call death. Starvation illustrates one side of this process. When

nutritive material ceases to be supplied, the cells have nothing

with which to work, causing disturbance of function (dis-ease), and

then partial, or complete death. The man in a desert under a hot

sun will starve for water in one-tenth the time that he would starve

for solid food. Animals fed on a diet from which all salts have been

chemically removed will die in a shorter time than will those from

which all food is withheld. This rather interesting fact is due to

the rapid utilization of the salts residual in the body during the

digestion and the assimilation of the salt-free foods taken. The

order in which the withdrawal of nutritive substances will produce

starvation is about as follows:

1 Aerial oxygen

2 Water

3 Mineral salts

4 Organic nitrogen

5 Carbohydrates

[Sidenote: Examples of drug poisoning]

Poisoning by drugs is an excellent illustration of dis-ease and

death produced by specific starvation. When a man takes ether, this

substance, passing to the brain, immediately interferes with the

function of that organ. Insensibility to pain results. If ether

is taken in larger quantities, the functions of the brain may be

still further interfered with, and the nervous control of the

heart beat will be lost, and death will ensue. When castor-oil is

taken into the alimentary canal, the irritating substances therein

contained inflame the cells of the mucous membrane, and excite

them to abnormal secretion, thus disturbing the harmony of the

body-activities, and producing dis-ease.

[Sidenote: Scientific definition of dis-ease]

The examples here referred to are not commonly considered dis-ease,

because we know the particular or immediate cause of the physical

disturbance. Modern knowledge now shows us that the most prolific

cause of what is commonly known as dis-ease is but the interference

with cell activities, either by the deficiency or by the excess

of nutritive substances, or by the presence of irritating and

disturbing poisons. This condition may be caused by an unbalanced

diet containing too much of certain nutritive elements, or too

little of others, causing surfeiting on the one hand and starvation

on the other.

[Sidenote: Man still in the childhood state of development]

[Sidenote: Hunger, thirst, and taste are Nature's language]

Health is the normal condition, and in spite of Ingersoll's

witticism, it is more "catching than dis-ease." Were it not so,

the race would long since have become extinct. With reference

to body-health, however, we are still in the childhood stage of

development, and the science, therefore, of building man to his

highest estate--of lifting his mental, moral, and physical faculties

to their highest possible attainment, is worthy the labor of the

greatest minds. That person, then, who enjoys the best health, the

keenest mentality and power of perception, the highest physical

and emotional organism, is he who can select such articles of food

as will supply all the constituent parts of the body most nearly

in the right or natural proportions. The science of feeding, upon

which this mainly depends, becomes possible only when food is taken

in accordance with certain fixed, natural laws. These laws are not

complicated--they are simple and easy to comprehend. Nature is

constantly endeavoring to aid us in their solution. Hunger, thirst,

taste--all the instincts and natural desires of the body are merely

Nature's language. To interpret this language, and to obey the laws

it lays down is man's highest duty to himself and to his race.

There are very few true dis-eases. Nearly all of the abnormal

physical expressions given off by the body can be traced to a

few primary causes, and most of these causes can be removed by

ascertaining and removing other causes that precede them.

[Sidenote: Classification of dis-ease, a matter of convenience]

The classification of dis-eases is merely a matter of convenience,

and is of no practical importance between the food scientist and

the patient. It merely enables the one who has studied these

classifications to convey his knowledge or information to the lay

mind.

The dis-eases which will most interest the student will be those

caused by a lack of nutrition, or by a surfeit of nutrition; that is

to say, a form of starvation caused by a lack of certain nutritive

elements, and overingestion caused by an excess of certain other

nutritive elements.

The only practical method of describing dis-ease is by indicating

the organs afflicted and the impairment of their functions.

Beginning with the stomach, in which, as previously stated,

originates probably ninety-one per cent of all human disorders,

I will first take up the question of the abnormal action of food

caused by overeating.

OVEREATING

[Sidenote: The resourcefulness of Nature]

Fortunately Nature does not demand exactness. She has made wonderful

provision for our errors or our lack of precision. If we eat too

much now and then she will cast out the excess. If, however, we

habitually overeat, she will store away the surplus in the form of

useless fat, or she will decompose it; that is, make an effort to

volatilize it and cast it out through the pores of the skin. If our

diet is unbalanced, Nature has the power to convert one chemical

into another--a secret yet unknown to modern science.

[Sidenote: Injurious effects of congested waste matter]

While the tendency of Nature is to maintain normality by casting the

debris out of the body, she demands that we obey the laws of motion

and oxidation. If we do not observe these laws, the debris or matter

she cannot use will accumulate, and congestion and constipation will

take place. The excess of food thus actually clogs the system and

generates in the intestines the poisons which cause autointoxication.

THE EFFECTS OF OVEREATING

The effects of overeating are so far-reaching, and so common among

civilized people that a volume might be devoted to this habit and

the subject not exhausted. Here, however, I will review only that

which is of most importance to the student of dietetics, namely, the

causes and a few of the effects of overeating.

Overeating is due to three specific causes:

1 Eating several articles of food at the same meal which are

incompatible

2 Taking stimulants at meals

3 Eating too many things at the same meal

(1) Incompatible foods:

When foods are eaten together that are incompatible they usually

result in superacidity and sometimes cause a gnawing sensation in

the stomach.

(2) Stimulants with meals:

When one takes stimulants such as beer, liquor or wine with meals,

the stomach-cells secrete a deficient amount of hydrochloric acid,

causing food to leave the stomach too slowly, thereby allowing

fermentation to take place and acid conditions to develop.

(3) Too many things at same meal:

Too many things eaten at the same meal may exhaust the digestive

juices and cause a condition of subacidity (lack of acid), which is

true indigestion, or it may cause just the reverse, too much acid,

and therefore produce the same result as in taking stimulants with

meals. (See "Causes of Superacidity," item 2, p. 420).

ABNORMAL APPETITE

[Sidenote: The cycle of cause and effect]

In nearly all cases of overeating Nature's only weapon with which to

defend herself is hydrochloric acid, thus the stomach-cells become

over-trained in the secretion of acid, and the constant irritation

caused by acid fermentation produces abnormal appetite. The desire

to satisfy this abnormal craving produces more acid, therefore the

cycle of overeating and superacidity is complete.

[Sidenote: Disorders originating in the stomach]

Standard medical works give about sixty different disorders arising

from what is termed dis-eases of nutrition. These include diabetes,

gout, arthritis, rheumatism, rickets, scurvy, obesity, emaciation,

adiposis dolorosa, and various disorders of the liver, heart, and

the circulatory system; also constipation and dozens of disorders

under the broad term of autointoxication.

The first step in the practise of scientific eating should be to

limit the quantity of food, or, in many cases, to take a complete

fast for a brief time.

In the slow stages of human development, Nature seems to have

accommodated herself to man's omnivorous habits of eating. She will

accept many things that are wholly unfit for food without apparent

harm if the quantity is not too great. On the contrary, the results

of the most scientific dieting will be injurious if a quantity be

taken in excess of that which the body can use.

SUPERACIDITY

We will first consider superacidity because it is usually the first

disorder that appears in consequence of wrong eating. It is commonly

known as "sour stomach."

The chief cause of superacidity is a wrong combination of foods; and

particularly an excess of starchy foods and sugars. The starch and

sugar breaks down under the action of fermentation, and develops

lactic acid. This further inhibits--or prevents--the normal

secretion of hydrochloric acid, and, as a consequence, the albumen

molecule is insufficiently converted--the transformation of the

protein into peptones and proteoses is incomplete.

As with all acid fermentation, gases are produced in the stomach,

which give rise to belching and eructations. This fermentation

sometimes occasions a feeling as though there were a solid lump

in the stomach. This may come on immediately after eating. And

then again, it may not come on for two or three hours after the

meal--depending entirely upon the activity of the enzymes that are

responsible for the fermentation.

HYPERCHLORHYDRIA

Occasionally the hyperacidity is caused by the presence of a

superabundance of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This condition

is called hyperchlorhydria, and gives rise to a boring, gnawing

sensation in the pit of the stomach, together with an abnormal

desire for food.

SUPERACIDITY--THE CAUSE

The chief causes of superacidity are--

1 Too great a quantity of food

2 Wrong combinations and wrong proportions of food

For instance, a diet consisting of an excess of acid fruits,

or sweets and starches, and at the same time an insufficient

quantity of other nutrients

3 By poisoning from the use of tea or coffee, liquor, tobacco,

and the various stimulating and narcotic drugs used by civilized

man

4 An excess of hydrochloric acid

SUPERACIDITY--THE SYMPTOMS

So far as the symptoms are concerned, all the above causes may be

considered together, since the ultimate result is the same. The

symptoms are named in the order of their various stages or the time

acidity has endured:

1 [1]Irritation of the mucous lining of the stomach, expressed

by a burning sometimes called "heartburn"

2 Abnormal appetite caused by the irritation of too much

hydrochloric acid in the irritated cells of the stomach

Many people mistake these symptoms for evidence of good health,

until overeating produces nervous indigestion, and sometimes a

complete breakdown.

3 Fevered mouth, and so-called fever-sores on the lips and

tongue, both of which are a true mirror of the condition of the

stomach

4 [1]A sour fluid rising in the throat from one to two hours

after meals

5 White coating on the tongue

6 Faintness, emptiness; in the language of the layman a

"hollowness and an all-gone caved-in" feeling

[1] (See "Fermentation--The Symptoms," p. 426)

SUPERACIDITY--THE REMEDY

In all cases of superacidity all fruit, especially that of an

acid character, except citrus fruits, should be omitted, and also

all sweets except a very limited quantity of maple-sugar and

sweet fruits--and these never in conjunction with the meal. Foods

containing proteids (nitrogen, albumin and casein), together with

fresh green vegetables, should form the principal part of the diet.

[Sidenote: One acid will not counteract another]

It has been the theory with dietitians that those afflicted with

hyperchlorhydria (supersecretion of hydrochloric acid) should not

take sweets, but should take acids liberally. This is one of the

few instances in which medical guesswork seems to have a foundation

of fact. For there is no doubt but that the giving of hydrochloric

acid, the normal stomach acid, _before_ a meal, tends to retard and

restrict the development of hydrochloric acid _during_ the meal.

It remains true, on the other hand, that the giving of hydrochloric

acid after the meal tends always to increase the supply of free and

combined hydrochloric acid in the stomach during the process of

stomach digestion.

For list of foods to be eaten and omitted in cases of overeating,

superacidity, fermentation and gas dilatation, see p. 433. For the

importance of water-drinking, see p. 434.

FERMENTATION

Fermentation is the effort of Nature to dispose of or to dissolve

things it cannot use; it is the first step in the process of decay.

FERMENTATION--THE CAUSE

The common causes of fermentation are the same as those of

superacidity (see p. 420), the difference being that superacidity

originates in the stomach, and is confined chiefly to it, while

fermentation may take place throughout the entire intestinal tract.

The causes are--

1 Overeating

2 Too much acid fruit

3 An excess of sweets

4 Stimulants of the alkaloid group

5 Overeating of cereal products

FERMENTATION--THE SYMPTOMS

[Sidenote: Difference between superacidity and fermentation]

The first evidence of fermentation is a burning sensation in the

stomach, almost exactly as in superacidity, the difference being

that in cases of fermentation the symptoms appear later after

eating. Superacidity may appear immediately after eating, and the

symptoms such as a lump in the stomach, or a sour fluid rising

in the throat may also appear within an hour after meals, but

fermentation, which produces the same symptoms, does not manifest

itself until the acid has acted upon the food, which requires from

two to four hours, governed by the time required to digest the

different articles of which the meal is composed.

The patient may also experience a fullness; an unpleasant and

sometimes painful distention of the bowels.

[Sidenote: Results of fermentation]

The gas generated by fermentation sometimes passes along down

the intestinal tract into the ascending colon, accumulating at

the highest point, which is in the transverse colon. This causes

the transverse colon to become very much distended and seriously

interferes with the blood flow, both into and out of the heart and

the lungs.

(See "Gastritis," p. 447; also "Heart Trouble," p. 569).

In considering the symptoms of fermentation, it might be well to

return to the question of causes. The primary cause of nearly

all conditions of fermentation, either in the stomach or in the

intestinal tract, is overeating, or an unbalanced dietary.

This practise indulged in from day to day causes two specific

conditions:

1 Fermentation followed by various disorders, usually toxic

substances, and catarrh, and ulceration of the stomach

2 Intestinal congestion and physical emaciation

If the stomach and other digestive organs are capable of

assimilating this superabundance of food, they force into the

tissues an excess which Nature stores up in the form of fat, and if

work or activity is not increased, or the food diminished, excessive

fat or chronic obesity is the result.

If the first warnings are not observed, and the remedy applied,

Nature gives to the disobedient one more impressive signals in the

form of nervousness, irritability, abnormal appetite, and sometimes

mental depression, which indicates one of the most advanced stages

of superacidity.

FERMENTATION--THE REMEDY

The remedy for fermentation is first to eat only such foods as are

in chemical harmony, and second to limit the quantity to the actual

needs of the body. If the patient is _under_ normal weight, all acid

fruits should be eliminated, and the diet should be about as follows:

BREAKFAST

Three or four egg whites and one yolk, whipped five or six

minutes; add a large spoonful of sugar and one of cream while

whipping

A baked white potato or boiled wheat

A tablespoonful of wheat bran

LUNCHEON

One whole egg whipped five minutes; add sugar and cream to taste

while whipping, mix with a glass of milk

A large boiled onion

A baked potato, with butter

Two tablespoonfuls of bran

DINNER

Two fresh vegetables--choice of carrots, corn, turnips, peas,

beans, or squash

Spinach, or a salad of lettuce and celery

The whites of two or three eggs, whipped; add sugar and cream

while whipping

A baked potato

Wheat bran, cooked as a cereal

From two to three glasses of cool water should be drunk at each meal.

It will be noticed that this bill of fare is composed largely of

vegetables, which is right in cases of fermentation.

[Sidenote: Despondency, the result of superacidity]

The foods named in the above menus will remove the primary causes

of fermentation, which in turn is the most prolific cause of that

abnormal mental condition called despondency. Under the most

favorable social and financial conditions, when every environment

is pleasant and seemingly conducive to the highest degree of

pleasure and interest in life, the one afflicted with superacidity

and fermentation has been known to destroy himself; all life seems

gloomy, all effort useless, and the thought "Why should I desire to

live?" enters the mind unbidden, until it often takes tangible shape

in some rash act. Possibly within the memory of every individual one

of these rash acts can be recalled.

The practitioner should make it a special point to ascertain any

adverse or depressed mental conditions of his patient and remove

them, if possible, by encouragement, sympathetic counsel and

optimistic views, all of which have a splendid psychological effect,

and which, in nearly all cases of mental depression, are very

important.

As the supersecretion of hydrochloric acid becomes less and less,

fermentation will gradually disappear; the patient will at once

begin to gain weight; the mental conditions will show an immediate

improvement, and every part of the anatomy will share in the general

upbuilding.

GAS DILATATION

So closely related are gas dilatation, fermentation and superacidity

that it might be said they all come from common causes, such

as excessive eating, over-consumption of sweets, acid fruits,

starches, and the use of tobacco, stimulating beverages and drugs.

GAS DILATATION--THE SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of gas dilatation are practically the same as those

given for fermentation, page 426. In addition thereto, however,

there is often belching, loss of appetite, a weighty or draggy

feeling, and vomiting sometimes an hour or two after meals, or late

at night.

Scanty urine and constipation are frequently the results of gas

dilatation. In severe cases the stomach drops down below its normal

level, causing permanent stomach prolapsus.

To the trained eye, in severe cases, the stomach may be outlined,

especially when it is much distended.

For remedy, see "Fermentation," page 428.

Nature alone is the builder, and will do all that should be done if