principal one, perhaps, is excessive indulgence in alcohol. Thus the
disease is frequently called "hob-nailed liver," "gin-liver," etc.
Cirrhosis of the liver is a disease that is almost invariably
fatal in from one to two years--although, if the process is not
far advanced, and the cause is removed, the patient may recover
tolerable health.
It is absolutely necessary that further irritation of the liver,
caused by the drinking of alcohol, be stopped. Close attention
should be paid to the catarrhal condition of the stomach and bowels,
which is usually associated with cirrhosis. (See chapter on Catarrh.)
CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms are usually pain in the epigastrium; nausea and
sometimes vomiting in the morning; general loss of vitality and
ambition; sallow complexion. A dull aching or a throbbing pain is
often experienced, followed by a heavy, sluggish feeling, especially
on rising in the morning. Alternate constipation and diarrhea, and
enlargement of the liver are frequent symptoms. In the atrophic
variety, however, the liver shrinks in size.
CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER--THE TREATMENT
The diet should be nutritious, yet simple, so as to put as little
labor as possible upon the already impaired digestion. Fats should
be restricted, and starchy foods should be closely limited, so as
not to set up additional fermentation.
A liberal service of plain wheat bran should be taken at least twice
a week in order to insure active intestinal peristalsis.
All stimulants, narcotics, sweets, condiments and irritating foods
of every character should be omitted. The patient should drink
copiously of pure water at meals, omitting all other beverages.
In cases of Cirrhosis of the Liver:
OMIT EAT
Acid fruits, except the All legumes
citrus fruits Edible succulent plants
Condiments Fresh vegetables
Fats Green corn
Gravies Liberal quantity of wheat
Red meats bran
Stimulants and narcotics Limited quantity of--
Sweets Apples Oranges
White bread Bananas Peaches
Grapes Pears
Grape fruit Plums
Lemons
Nuts
Potatoes
Salads
Whole wheat thoroughly cooked
Cirrhosis of the liver is always aggravated by the overconsumption
of sweets, starches, fats and intoxicating beverages. Sweet and
starchy foods should be limited and intoxicants of all kinds should
be entirely omitted. An abundance of pure water should be taken at
meals.
PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS
THE CAUSE
Piles or hemorrhoids are usually the result of chronic constipation;
or, they may occur from violent exercise, or a shock. The straining
at stool when constipated has a most potent influence in causing
piles, as well as the passage of hard, dry feces. In both of these
cases the rectal mucous surfaces are torn loose or detached from the
supporting walls, and the cells fill with blood, thereby becoming
very greatly distended.
PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS--THE SYMPTOMS
The first symptoms are usually itching of the mucous membrane of the
anus. In the second stage a bloody discharge will appear with the
feces, and in the more advanced cases the rectal mucous membrane
will protrude.
PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS--THE TREATMENT
[Sidenote: How to relieve the strain upon the rectal lining]
When it is first discovered that there is a slight protrusion of the
rectal mucous membrane from the anus, great care should be taken in
evacuation of the feces. The first or direct cause of this condition
is usually congestion; that is, the feces in the rectal cavity forms
into a hard mass. When this condition appears, just before each
evacuation, inject into the rectum, with a small rectal syringe, a
tablespoonful of olive-oil, followed by a pint or two of lukewarm
water, taken as an ordinary enema, and retain two or three minutes.
Then place the first and the middle fingers, one on each side of the
anus, and press gently so as to relieve the strain upon the rectal
lining. The feces, if very hard, can be worked back and forth until
broken up, and evacuation made easy. By this means I have known many
cases of bleeding piles or hemorrhoids to be permanently cured.
It is exceedingly difficult to cure chronic cases in which the
membrane has been torn from the walls for many years. However,
Nature never tires of doing her work of repair, and if these
suggestions are religiously observed, even chronic cases can be
greatly relieved, and sometimes permanently cured.
For diet, see menus for constipation and fermentation.
Every night, just before retiring, take a light enema and retain it
over night; also, take an enema just after rising.
DIARRHEA
THE CAUSE
Diarrhea is in reality not a dis-ease, but a symptom behind which
there are always primary causes, usually--
1 Overeating
2 Irritating condiments
3 Wrong combinations of food at meals
4 Poisonous laxative drugs
5 Excess of acids
6 Excess of sweets
7 Sometimes nervous excitement
Diarrhea caused by the last-named condition is usually of temporary
duration. Sudden attacks of diarrhea are often caused by exposure,
by changes of diet, or by the overconsumption of acids in the form
of berries.
[Sidenote: Errors in eating the cause of diarrhea]
There is no abnormal condition of the alimentary tract that is more
directly traceable to errors in eating and drinking than diarrhea
and all forms of dysentery. This condition is most generally caused
by chronic fermentation, or by the presence of some non-nutritive or
foreign substance. It matters not whether this condition comes from
the use of poisonous drugs called laxative remedies, or from foods
containing foreign or non-nutritive substances, the result is the
same.
The habitual taking of drugs sufficiently poisonous to cause the
intestinal machinery to exert enough action to cast them out, is a
painful and slow process of self-destruction. It frequently happens
that the peristaltic muscles become relaxed and give way completely
from the habitual use of poisonous cathartics, and chronic diarrhea
or dysentery is the result.
DIARRHEA--THE TREATMENT
In ordinary cases of diarrhea one can pursue his usual work provided
he observes the suggestions in regard to diet, given below, but in
severe cases one should avoid labor or exercise, and remain most of
the time in a reclining position. Drink copiously of pure water, and
eat very sparingly.
OMIT EAT
Acid fruits Boiled rice (thoroughly cooked)
All green salads Boiled sweet milk
Coarse foods, such as cabbage, Cottage cheese
celery, turnips, spinach Ordinary white bread
Condiments Potatoes--
Desserts, pastry, etc. Sweet (baked)
Pickles and all foods preserved in White
acids Puree of rice
Red meat and flesh food of ever Sweet clabbered milk, including
kind except very tender fish the cream
and white meat of chicken and Very tender white meat of chicken,
turkey or turkey, or fish
Relishes
Sweets
Tuber vegetables except
sweet and white potatoes
Omit all beverages at meals except plain water, taking only about
one glass.
EMACIATION OR UNDERWEIGHT
Underweight, or lack of adipose tissue, is a condition with which
the practitioner will often have to deal, as under nearly all
abnormal conditions of the body, called dis-ease, the first result
or evidence is loss of weight.
The tendency of a perfectly normal body, after it passes the
forty-fifth year, is to become muscular, or what is termed "thin."
In all countries those who have lived to a very great age have been
termed emaciated. However, there is a normal body-weight that can be
maintained, and which indicates normal health.
[Sidenote: Effects of emaciation]
Emaciation is usually followed by general anemia and a weakening of
nearly all the functions of the body. The memory, sight, hearing,
all become impaired, while the taste or appetite usually becomes
keener or more sensitive. This is caused by irritation of the mucous
membrane of the stomach and the consequent presence of too much
blood therein, the same as when intoxicating liquors are taken just
before meals.
Overwork, loss of sleep, unbalanced diet, worry, grief, or a period
of extreme emotional tension, all have a tendency to disturb and
derange the processes of metabolism. Under these conditions the body
is very likely to lose weight, but there is always a fundamental
cause which should be discovered and removed.
EMACIATION OR UNDERWEIGHT--THE CAUSE
There are a number of things which usually conspire to cause
emaciation. Named in the order of their generality, they are as
follows:
[Sidenote: Physical causes of emaciation]
1 Overeating
2 Superacidity
3 Stomach and intestinal fermentation
4 Constipation
5 Autointoxication
6 Under-drinking of pure water
7 The use of tobacco, coffee and tea
All of these things tend to cause malassimilation, which is the
secondary cause of emaciation. In a majority of cases the loss of
weight begins while the body is surfeited with food. In fact, it is
nothing uncommon for those suffering most from this condition to
consume from three to four times the necessary quantity of food;
overeating becomes a habit, and consequent fermentation and toxic
substances, usually known as autointoxication, are the results.
The causes of emaciation, according to most authorities, are
impoverished blood and malnutrition. With these opinions the
writer fully agrees, but the intelligent reader will naturally
inquire--What are the causes of impoverished blood and malnutrition?
The answer goes directly back to the food question.
[Sidenote: Mental causes of emaciation]
All mental influences, business, social, or financial worry,
contribute their share toward physical emaciation, but when the body
is perfectly nourished it is more capable of withstanding these
drains because it is made fearless by perfect health. Behind all
forms of business and financial trouble is the demon "fear," and
fear rests on the uncertainty of our ability to provide creature
comforts and necessities; therefore when we have mastered the
science of feeding our bodies, and have learned how simply and
cheaply this may be done, the mere possession of such knowledge
does more than all else to make of us philosophers and students,
eliminating fear and worry of every kind, as in health the mind is
usually in a state of optimism and tranquillity.
EMACIATION OR UNDERWEIGHT--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of emaciation, of course, are so apparent that it
is only necessary to say that when the above-named errors are
corrected, and the following symptoms are observed, the normal
weight can nearly always be maintained.
So-called cold-sores, fevered lips and canker-sores on the tongue,
intestinal congestion, torpidity of the liver, slight headaches,
fullness after eating, alternate constipation and diarrhea, are all
symptoms that point to the causes of emaciation.
EMACIATION OR UNDERWEIGHT--THE REMEDY
Emaciation is sometimes caused by organic or hereditary dis-eases,
but the usual causes are to be found within the field of dietetics.
The remedy, therefore, is first to naturalize or normalize the diet
as to quantity, selection, proportion, and combinations of food.
In the majority of cases, those who come to the food scientist for
treatment will be those who have tried every conceivable remedy
except the natural one, therefore they come in a chronic state of
emaciation, poisoned by overeating. Never having been instructed
in regard to diet, exercise, breathing, bathing, or any other
hygienic law, they will, in most cases, require a counteractive or
remedial diet. There may be a number of supplementary causes to be
considered, but the most important things for the practitioner to
ascertain are:
1 Time the patient rises
2 Hour the first meal is eaten
3 Of what that meal consists
4 Time the second meal is eaten
5 Of what the second meal consists
6 Time the third meal is eaten
7 Of what this meal consists
8 All mental influences under which the patient is laboring,
especially fear or worry
9 The condition of the bowels as to congestion
10 The amount of liquid taken during the day and at meals
In nearly all emaciated cases it will be found that the patient
is suffering from premature fermentation, intestinal and stomach
gas, and a congested condition of the bowels commonly known as
constipation.
[Sidenote: Foods that are necessary in the treatment of emaciation]
The first remedy lies in the selection and the combination of foods
which are readily soluble and assimilable, and which contain the
best flesh and cell-building properties. The chemical properties or
elements most necessary are albumin, phosphorus, casein, proteids
and carbohydrates. These elements are supplied best by milk, eggs,
nuts, sweet fruits and coarse cereals, followed by a limited
quantity of fresh green vegetables.
[Sidenote: Value of milk and eggs in the remedial diet]
The nutriment contained in the egg is all that is required for the
young chick, while the nutrient contents of milk is all that is
necessary for the young animal. Therefore these two articles contain
the most reliable and speedy counteractive elements known to
chemistry, but in dealing with the adult they should be supplemented
by fresh vegetables, coarse grain, wheat bran, raisins, and the
seeds and skins of grapes.
[Sidenote: Constipation must be overcome in cases of emaciation]
It must be remembered that milk has a constipating tendency when
taken in ordinary quantities--from one to two glasses at a meal.
Therefore in laying out the diet for the emaciated, it is vitally
important to avoid constipation, which may be done by giving milk
during the first two or three days in quantities ranging from two
and one-half to three and one-half quarts a day, together with a
liberal quantity of coarse cereal. (See "Constipation--The Remedy,"
p. 436.)
These remedial methods may be repeated day by day until a
substantial gain in weight is noticed, when the diet may be
normalized--such articles selected as will give to the body all the
required elements of nourishment in the right proportions.
[Sidenote: Chronic emaciation--its cause and remedy]
It sometimes happens that the body is thrown into a chronic state
of emaciation on account of a catarrhal formation over the mucous
membrane of the intestines, which closes the "winking valves" that
take up nutriment from the alimentary tract. In such cases coarse
cereal or wheat bran, the seeds and skins of fruit, especially
grapes, together with milk and eggs, form the best foods known. The
milk and the eggs may be forced, not only beyond the limitations of
hunger, but beyond the normal needs of the body. By thus forcing
them for a short period of time (twenty to thirty days) a physical
"trial balance" can be reached, and the body brought to its normal
weight, which can be maintained for an indefinite period of time,
if the bill of fare is again balanced or leveled according to the
chemical requirements governed by the three natural laws, namely,
age, temperature of environment, and work.
[Sidenote: Diet for extreme constipation in emaciated cases]
There is another condition of chronic emaciation which, in the
beginning, should sometimes be treated in exactly the opposite way.
For instance, when the forcing of casein proteids, albumin and
nitrogen (the principal nutrient elements in milk and eggs) produces
complications, such as extreme constipation, it becomes necessary to
put the patient on a diet composed of coarse cellulose articles and
fruit for a period of from three to six days. This should be done in
the following manner:
Immediately on rising drink two or three cups of water--lime-free.
BREAKFAST
(One hour later)
The strained juice of two or three sweet oranges, or a bunch of
grapes; grapes preferred
A cup of wheat bran, cooked; serve hot, with thin cream
LUNCHEON
Plain wheat and an equal quantity of coarse wheat bran, cooked
until very soft; preferably simmered over night
A salad of celery, lettuce and tomatoes, with nuts
DINNER
About four tablespoonfuls of boiled wheat; also one of bran
A baked potato
One fresh vegetable
Drink copiously of water at all meals.
Just before retiring, eat half a pound of grapes, when in season.
After the first or second day this bill of fare may be increased
in quantity, and heavier fruits added, such as pears, prunes,
and very ripe bananas. After the fourth or fifth day, a salad
and a few of the lighter vegetables, such as onions, romaine or
cabbage, celery, carrots, or other fibrous vegetables may be
included.
After the first week the diet should be composed of fresh
vegetables, coarse cereals, eggs, bananas, nuts, salads, and
wheat bran.
Those who are emaciated should drink an abundance of water
immediately on rising and at meals. They should also take a
sufficient quantity of plain wheat bran, or grapes if in season
(Concord preferred), eating skins, seeds, and pulp, in order to keep
the bowels in normal condition.
In cases of extreme emaciation, loss of appetite, or fermentation,
the patient should, for a time, adopt a diet of milk and eggs,
alternating as follows:
The first, second, and third days, drink from two and a half to
four quarts of milk, in small quantities--one glass at a time.
For the next three days, reduce the quantity of milk, and begin
taking six eggs a day, increasing the number, until twelve eggs
are taken. Alternate between the milk and the eggs, for a month
or more, unless the patient responds in weight in a shorter
time. When there is a perceptible gain in weight, and normal
hunger has been restored, reduce the milk and the eggs, and add
the solid foods already suggested.
In cases of Emaciation:
OMIT EAT
Acid fruits Bananas
Coffee Cheese
Condiments Coarse cereals
Tea Eggs
Tobacco Fruits
Wines and liquors Dates, figs, raisins
Milk
Sweet milk or buttermilk
Nuts
Vegetables, such as--
Beets Lettuce
Cabbage Parsnips
Carrots Potatoes
Celery Spinach
Cauliflower Turnips
Green beans Green peas
The proteid and the carbohydrate foods should predominate in the
diet.
OBESITY OR OVERWEIGHT
[Sidenote: Diet, the governing law of body-weight]
It is generally supposed that obesity is a natural result of modern
civilization. This theory has no foundation in fact or physiology.
Man can be genuinely modern without being obese. The law that
governs the growth and graceful symmetry of the human body is based
upon dietetics, and the indispensable adjuncts of diet are exercise,
oxidation and elimination. A body that is filled with vitality by
a perfectly balanced diet will experience the same appetite for
motion or exercise that it does for food or drink. Exercise forces
more blood to the lungs, and more thorough oxidation is the result.
The properly fed young animal, whether brute or human, plays and
exercises involuntarily, and the older animal, adequately nourished
without being overfed, does not lose its youthful instincts. An
observance of the above laws will prevent the accumulation of an
excess of fatty tissue.
The following table gives the normal weight of natural healthy
adults according to height, also the weights considered thin and
obese:
-----------+-------------------+-------------------
| MALES | FEMALES
-----------+-------------------+-------------------
Height | Weight | Weight
-----------+-----+------+------+-----+------+------
Feet Inches| Thin| Fat |Normal| Thin| Fat |Normal
-----------+-----+-----+-------+-----+------+------
5-- -- | 95 | 126 | 110 | 93 | 122 | 111
5-- 1 | 98 | 132 | 115 | 94 | 128 | 116
5-- 2 | 100 | 138 | 120 | 96 | 134 | 118
5-- 3 | 106 | 144 | 125 | 102 | 140 | 121
5-- 4 | 110 | 149 | 130 | 105 | 145 | 126
5-- 5 | 114 | 155 | 135 | 109 | 151 | 131
5-- 6 | 116 | 158 | 138 | 112 | 154 | 134
5-- 7 | 118 | 161 | 140 | 114 | 157 | 136
5-- 8 | 121 | 164 | 143 | 117 | 160 | 140
5-- 9 | 126 | 173 | 150 | 123 | 169 | 145
5-- 10 | 131 | 178 | 155 | 126 | 173 | 150
5-- 11 | 133 | 184 | 160 | 128 | 179 | 155
6-- -- | 136 | 190 | 165 | 131 | 185 | 160
6-- 1 | 140 | 192 | 170 | 135 | 187 | 165
6-- 2 | 148 | 201 | 175 | 143 | 196 | 170
6-- 3 | 152 | 207 | 180 | 147 | 200 | 175
-----------+-----+------+------+-----+------+------
OBESITY--THE CAUSE
A very exhausting treatise could be written upon the cause of
obesity, but, summing it all up briefly, corpulency is invariably
induced through a direct or indirect violation of the laws
of nutrition, as exemplified in their wonderful processes of
transforming material called food into pulsating life.
A combination of commissions and omissions generally conspire to
produce the obese body. They may be mentioned in the order of their
importance:
1 Overingestion of fat-producing foods
2 Omission of the proper amount of motion or exercise
3 Imperfect oxidation (breathing)
4 The overconsumption of fluids
[Sidenote: Obesity caused by overeating]
In every case of obesity, one or more of these causes are present.
If one is blessed with good digestion and good assimilation, or, in
other words, if all the nutriment taken into the body is absorbed
into the tissues, then the quantity must be regulated by one's work
or labor, otherwise any excess of fat-producing food is stored
up by provident Nature, contemplating future use; and if it is
not used, by actual work, the result is a gradual accumulation of
fatty tissue. Again, if a quantity of food commensurate only with
the requirements of mental labor be consumed, and only ordinary
body-activity indulged in, there is likely to be a gradual decrease
in weight, because a considerable percentage of energy is consumed
by the mere carrying on of the vital processes.
[Sidenote: Obesity caused by drinking malted liquors]
The worst form of obesity, however, is that caused by
overconsumption of fermented wines or malted liquors. This form
of enlarged tissue contributes no strength whatever to its own
support. It is as much of a dead weight as a hod of mortar, and much
more useless; in fact, all forms of obesity are not only useless
weight, but dangerous to life. The obese body is much more liable to
contagious and infectious dis-eases, and when once affected, less
able to defend itself than the normal body.
OBESITY--THE REMEDY
The control of body-weight rests upon three distinct and separate
laws, the first and most important of which is nutrition, the second
exercise, and the third oxidation.
[Sidenote: The storing of fat regulated by labor or activity]
While at the outset body-weight may be controlled by increasing the
amount of activity sufficiently to use the surplus which Nature is
storing away, if however, the activity ceases and the surplus is
not used, then the storing process becomes chronic, and radical
remedies both in regard to dietetics and activity must be applied in
order to bring the body back to normal.
[Sidenote: Amount of fat required daily in different climates]
A man of normal weight, say 150 pounds, doing ordinary work in a
tropical country, would not need to consume more than an ounce
of fat each twenty-four hours, while the same man in a northern
climate, where the thermometer ranges from zero to 20 below, could
use up, with similar labor, from three to four ounces of pure fat
daily. Fats, however, do not produce fat in the human body unless
taken largely in excess of its needs. Their primary purpose is to
keep up the temperature of the body.
[Sidenote: Dietetic suggestions for chronic obesity]
Where the weight is only from ten to fifteen pounds above normal, a
substantial reduction can be made by merely balancing the diet, but
where the accumulation of adipose tissue has become chronic, and
the body has taken on from twenty to fifty pounds, or more, above
normal, then a diet composed largely of non-acid fruits and fresh
vegetables should be adopted for a period of from twenty to thirty
days.
[Sidenote: Foods that produce fat]
Carbohydrates, that is to say starch and sugar, are the principal
fat-making nutrients, and all people inclined to take on abnormal
weight, as a rule, are very fond of, and eat an excess of starchy
foods. A great amount of the casein in milk and the phosphorus in
eggs are converted into fat, especially if a quantity be taken in
excess of the amount used in effort or work. The fat-producing
staple foods are:
All cereal products
All legumes
Bread
Eggs
Milk
Potatoes