with the diet.
[Sidenote: Foods that reduce fat]
Eliminate meat and animal fat; ascertain as nearly as possible the
amount of carbohydrates necessary for each day and take none in
excess of this quantity. This will stop the accumulation of fatty
tissue. If the body is obese, and a reduction of weight is desired,
the diet should consist of nuts, fruits, salads, fresh vegetables,
and a very limited quantity of eggs, omitting starchy foods
entirely. After a week or two of this diet, discontinue the use of
eggs, reducing the diet entirely to nuts, fruits, fresh vegetables
and salads, which in nearly every case will bring a very substantial
reduction in weight, even if the patient takes but little exercise
and fresh air. If, however, he can be induced to adopt the above
diet, and at the same time take two hours' moderate exercise, either
in gymnastics or useful labor, with a reasonable amount of exposure
to fresh air, the reduction in weight will be greater, and the
muscular tissue and vitality will increase.
Inasmuch as fat contributes no item of strength to its own support,
if the patient will take a reasonable amount of exercise and fresh
air, muscular tissue will increase in the same ratio that fatty
tissue decreases.
[Sidenote: How menus for obesity may be varied]
The menus for obesity may be varied according to the fruits and
vegetables at one's command. Fish is the one article among animal
food that has much to recommend it, insomuch that it contains an
excellent form of proteid and phosphorus. If the taste of the
patient should rebel against natural foods, fish would supply these
elements better than any form of flesh.
The following articles should compose the general diet for the obese
under ordinary conditions:
Buttermilk
Eggs or fish--limited quantity
Fruits
Green salads
Nuts
{ Such as--
{
{ Asparagus
{ Beans
{ Beets
{ Carrots
Fresh vegetables { Celery
{ Parsnips
{ Peas
{ Pumpkins
{ Spinach
{ Squash
{ Turnips
The ordinary obese person should adopt either of the following
menus, varying them according to vegetables in season:
MENU I MENU II
BREAKFAST
An orange, or grapes Choose two of the following:
One or two eggs, whipped Berries, grapes,
peaches, plums, pears,
apples, melons, soaked
evaporated apricots,
peaches, or prunes
LUNCHEON
Choice of two fresh vegetables, One fresh vegetable
cooked A small portion of fish
A baked potato A baked potato
One very ripe banana, with two
tablespoonfuls of nuts
DINNER
A salad of lettuce or romaine Spanish onions
Peas, beans, beets, carrots, or An egg, or a small portion
turnips of fish
Two tablespoonfuls of nuts Tablespoonful of nuts
One egg One or two vegetables
A green salad
[Sidenote: Foods should be selected according to vocation]
If the patient is doing manual labor, the proteid foods, such as
milk, cheese, nuts, fish and eggs should be increased according
to the work. If, however, the labor is sedative, such as followed
by the average business man, the amounts herein prescribed are
sufficient. The breakfast should be taken an hour after rising, and
the luncheon early, not later than 12 noon, and the dinner not later
than 6 p.m.
The symptoms during the first two or three days will be that
of weakness and perhaps hunger, leaving the impression of
under-nourishment. This will disappear after the third or fourth
day, and strength will not only return to normal, but the body will
feel more energetic than before, and there will be a marked increase
in the powers of endurance. If the patient can be induced to "fight
it out" for a week on these lines, favorable symptoms will develop
so fast that the practitioner will be aided in his work by the
mental conviction of the patient, and success will be assured.
In cases of Obesity:
OMIT EAT
Bread products Eggs--limited quantity
Cereals Fish or Lobster
Dried beans Fresh vegetables
Flesh food Fruit
Milk Melons
Sweets Nuts
Succulent vegetables
Wheat bran
Whole wheat thoroughly cooked (sparingly)
Do not drink at meals.
NEURASTHENIA
That disorder of the nerves known as neurasthenia is expressed in
general anemia, or a breaking down of the nervous vitality. This
does not indicate, however, that neurasthenia is wholly a dis-ease
of the nerves; it merely means that through the nerves the symptoms
are given to the brain.
[Sidenote: Neurasthenia a last or final warning]
Neurasthenia is a signal or warning given by the united voice of all
the functions of digestion, secretion, and excretion. Therefore,
this disorder does not appear until the body has given fair warning
in many other ways, and if proper heed had been given the preceding
signals, the nerves would have performed their functions without an
outcry.
Every so-called dis-ease of the human body, especially of the
nervous system, is in reality the voice of Nature telling us of our
mistakes, and giving us the opportunity to correct them. Dis-ease,
therefore, is not an enemy to the race, but a friend. It is an
effort, as it were, in our behalf, of provident Nature to prevent
race extinction.
Nearly every seeming misfortune with which we are afflicted can be
turned to our benefit. We never take a step upward until we are
mentally prepared for it; we never become mentally prepared until we
have passed through a certain amount and kind of experience.
[Sidenote: Education defined]
Education reduced to its last analysis is merely the accumulation
and co-ordination of useful knowledge; useful knowledge is
accumulated only by and through the art of comparison. The more
experience we have, the more comparisons we can make.
[Sidenote: Ability to make comparisons, measures, ability to enjoy]
Country-raised people control the great industries of the city and
lead in the nation's great work because they never become _blase_.
They have always their homely and primitive child life to draw
upon for comparisons. Every good thing, every invention, every step
forward and upward, every advancement is appreciated and realized
exactly according to their ability to compare these things with
their opposites.
If the patient should be suffering from mental disturbances called
worry, he should be reminded that he is merely a floating mote in
the abyss of space, and if the matter composing his form should
change from organic to inorganic, from active to inactive; in other
words, if he should die, the great planets would move on in their
majestic courses and the cosmic scheme would in nowise be interfered
with.
NEURASTHENIA--THE CAUSE
Neurasthenia is caused by a violation of the laws of nutrition,
such as overeating, taking intoxicants, tea, coffee, tobacco,
stimulating and sedative drugs; an oversupply of certain elements
of nourishment and an undersupply of others; failure to eliminate
waste; a lack of activity or motion, and improper oxidation.
These causes removed, nervousness and all neurasthenic tendencies
disappear, and Nature asserts herself and produces physical
normality.
NEURASTHENIA--THE SYMPTOMS
Neurasthenic symptoms are excitability, irritability, mental
depression, insomnia, fatigue, exhaustion, emaciation and sometimes
hysteria, which very often result in other local disorders, such as
extreme constipation or chronic hyperchlorhydria, with a tendency
toward weakened sexuality.
NEURASTHENIA--THE REMEDY
In medical literature there are hundreds of alleged remedies for
nervous disorders, yet not one of them attempts to ascertain the
causes and to suggest their removal. Drugs only paralyze and
stupify the delicate, sensitive nerve fibers that are conveying the
intelligence to the brain that something is wrong, and the average
man mistakes this for a remedy or a cure.
[Sidenote: Unbalanced diet, a primary cause]
In the opinion of the writer, neurasthenia would be almost
impossible if the body were thoroughly nourished, and the daily
bill of fare kept level, or, as we would say in our cash system,
"balanced." But when one labors under heavy mental strains,
especially that character of burden called worry, and is not
properly fed and nourished, the expenditure of force on one side and
the lack of supplying it on the other, are very likely to result
in an abnormal physical condition called neurasthenia. It is safe
to say that all cases of neurasthenia can be traced to improper
nourishment on the one hand and abnormal mental tension on the
other.
[Sidenote: Diet more important than rest]
The rest cure has been employed quite successfully for these
conditions for many years, and if the proper diet, or what might
be called a counteractive or remedial diet, were employed in all
the rest cure establishments, they undoubtedly would meet with
greater success, but unfortunately some of the best institutions
in the country--those best equipped to take care of neurasthenic
patients--do not attach any great importance to diet. This comes, no
doubt, from the universal lack of information concerning the natural
laws governing Food Chemistry, and their particular application to
animal life.
[Sidenote: Suggestions for the neurasthenic]
Neurasthenic patients should first be given rest, which means
complete or total diversion from business cares, worry, financial
or social responsibility. They should be induced, if possible, to
become interested in some special eleemosynary work; some "hobby"
that has for its purpose the uplifting of people. The best remedy
for the weary or discouraged mind, or the neurasthenic body, is the
praise and esteem of people.
The suggestions hitherto given for all kindred disorders will apply
in most cases of neurasthenia. (See also "Nervousness--Its Cause and
Cure," Vol. V, p. 1211.) The patient should be advised to spend at
least from three to four hours a day in the open air and sunshine,
when the weather will permit, in some quiet way, walking, driving,
or in moderate exercise.
Most important of all is the diet. It should be balanced according
to age, labor, and temperature of the atmosphere, and should consist
of--
Such foods as will cause normal action of the bowels
Green corn
Nuts
Rich fresh milk
Yolks of eggs
Young beans, peas, or any legume before it hardens
Immature starch composes the best form of carbohydrate food, which
is exceedingly necessary in most cases of neurasthenia, unless
the patient be obese, in which event it should be reduced to meet
only the requirements of the body, and nitrogenous foods should
predominate.
A passive form of exercise is very highly recommended, such as all
forms of Swedish or mechanical electrical massage. In connection
with this the body should be given an olive-oil rub at least twice a
week.
In cases of Neurasthenia:
OMIT EAT
Confections All legumes
Desserts Cheese
Fatty foods Eggs (yolk)
Hot drinks Fish--very tender
Fresh milk Fresh vegetables
Pastries Green corn
Rich gravies Nuts
Red meat Potatoes
Stimulants
Tea and coffee
White flour products
MALNUTRITION
CAUSE AND REMEDY
Malnutrition is caused mainly by errors in eating, sedentary habits,
and lack of fresh air. The remedy, therefore, suggests itself. Level
or balance the diet according to the patient's requirements, and
advise from two to three hours' vigorous exercise every day, and
deep breathing in the open air.
All the causes as well as the cure of malnutrition were discussed
under the subject of emaciation. (See "Emaciation," p. 477.)
LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA
THE CAUSE
The principal cause of locomotor ataxia is syphilis, the
treatment of which has not been sufficiently thorough. So,
after lying latent--sometimes for as long a period as twenty
years--the disease breaks out again, the germs (which are called
_spirochaeta pallida_) assume new virulence, and attack the nervous
system--usually the posterior column of the spinal cord.
Not infrequently, the optic nerve is also affected, developing what
is known as gray atrophy of the nerves. This causes a gradual loss
of vision, and finally, relative blindness.
Locomotor ataxia may occasionally be brought on by long-continued
exposures to wet and cold, injuries to the spinal column,
and by excesses of various kinds. But its chief origin is in
syphilis--indeed, most European authorities claim that this is its
only origin.
LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA--THE SYMPTOMS
Among the earliest symptoms of ataxia are the so-called lightning
or lancinating pains--which come on in paroxyms of varying
duration--lasting for hours, or even days at a time. These pains
may be burning, tearing, cutting or boring in their nature--and
usually affect only the upper half of the body.
There is generally, also, a sense of constriction in the throat--as
of a choking by the clutch of a hand--and sometimes regurgitation
of food, intense pains around the heart or in the epigastrium--with
flatulence, eructations, and hiccough.
A very common symptom is the so-called "girdle," a sensation
as though a rope or band were tightly drawn around the body at
the waist. One of the earliest noticeable symptoms is the want
of co-ordination--ataxia. This is most pronounced in the lower
extremities, and is responsible for the unsteadiness of ataxics in
walking or standing.
The gait in ataxia is staggering--resembling somewhat the
inco-ordination of a man under the influence of alcohol, and there
is an exaggerated lifting of the feet and legs with each step. The
normal "knee-jerk" reflex--that quick jerk of the foot and lower leg
that follows a sharp blow struck below the knee when the leg is held
free--is generally abolished. In fact, this failure of the reflexes
is usually one of the earliest diagnostic symptoms.
Later in the disease the sphincters of the bladder and the anus lose
their power to contract, and there is incontinence of both urine and
feces.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DIET
As with any other disease in which there are serious trophic
changes, and the generation within the system of toxic products from
food decay, it is absolutely indispensable in ataxia to observe the
utmost care in the selection of the diet. The food should be light,
but nutritious--nourishing and strengthening the system, without, at
the same time, putting too great a tax upon the organs of digestion
and assimilation.
Particular care should be taken to insure daily movements of the
bowels, and to see that the kidneys are flushed with a plentiful
supply of water drunk each day.
LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA--THE REMEDY
The generally accepted opinion among medical men is that locomotor
ataxia is an incurable disease, and that there is little or nothing
that any form of treatment can accomplish that will tend to restore
function--or even to arrest the course of the disease, and postpone
its fatal termination.
With this opinion I beg leave to differ. I am convinced that, by
the proper regulation of the diet, limiting the system only to
that which it requires for its complete nourishment--giving ample
quantities of those foods that are rich in lecithin (or nerve-fat)
and phosphorus--such as eggs, milk, whole wheat bread, fish, roe,
etc.--much may be done to arrest the progress of the disease.
This, in combination with the proper kind of exercise--particularly
those forms of which the "Fraenkel Movement System" is an
example,--will do a wonderful amount of good in re-educating such
groups of nerves in the spinal column as have not yet suffered
degenerative changes.
The following diet is a mere suggestion, subject to change in order
to meet the conditions of temperature, age, and activity.
Immediately on rising, the patient should take a few spoonfuls of
strained orange juice and drink a cup of hot water. He should also
devote a few minutes to deep breathing, and such moderate exercises
as he is able to endure.
BREAKFAST
The whites of four eggs and the yolks of two (If digestion is
good, the whites of six eggs may be taken--one yolk to each two
whites)
A glass of milk
A tablespoonful of nuts
One very ripe banana with cream
Three or four dates
LUNCHEON
Three or four eggs whipped eight minutes; to each egg add one
teaspoonful of lemon juice, and a heaping teaspoonful of sugar;
whip this mixture into a quart of milk; drink slowly
DINNER
Smelts, or any small fish
A Spanish onion, baked in casserole dish
Corn bread
Buttermilk or skimmed milk
One fresh vegetable, cooked plain
In addition to this diet, there should be a regular daily schedule
of exercise and deep breathing, which the patient should be required
to carry out with rigid precision and regularity.
[Sidenote: Value of exercise and massage]
In nearly all cases of locomotor ataxia the body is unable to cast
off the generated poisons, or used-up tissue, the result being that
the new building material (food) taken in is not appropriated.
This condition of atrophy must be overcome by exercise, massage,
fomentation (wrapping the patient in a hot, wet blanket), or by
anything that will induce excessive superficial circulation.
If one afflicted with locomotor ataxia can be induced to arise
from his lethargy and exert himself, following the methods herein
suggested, a gradual increase in strength is very likely to be
experienced inside of two or three months, and sometimes a complete
arrest of the process may be expected in time.
The writer had a patient, a retired ship captain, who came under his
treatment after suffering for twelve years with locomotor ataxia,
and after twelve months declared himself cured. The only evidence
remaining of his former condition at this writing is shown when he
attempts to turn around suddenly, and his control of the lumbar
and motor muscles are undergoing such improvement that even this
symptom, it seems, will finally disappear.
In cases of Locomotor Ataxia:
OMIT EAT
Drugs of every character Carbohydrates--limited quantity
Intoxicants Corn hominy
Sex indulgence Dates, figs, honey
Stimulants and narcotics
{Beans
{Buckwheat
Foods {Cheese
rich in {Eggs
proteids {Fresh corn
and {Fish
albuminoids {Milk
such as {Nuts
{Peas
{Potatoes
{Whole wheat
Rice
Rye
COLDS, CATARRH, HAY FEVER, ASTHMA, INFLUENZA
[Sidenote: Overeating a common cause of capillary congestion]
These disorders are grouped under a general heading because there
are a few fundamental laws that affect them all alike. Capillary
congestion is a common cause in all these disorders, and anything
that will produce this condition will cause, or at least augment
catarrh, hay fever, asthma, influenza, and colds. As overeating is
the primary cause of congestion throughout the capillary system,
it, rather than exposure, is the most common cause of all these
disorders. The treatment that will remove or prevent this form
of congestion will, therefore, remove a primary cause, when such
remedial measures may be employed as each case demands.
COLDS--THE CAUSE
That condition commonly known as a cold is merely a congestion of
effete matter and toxic substances in the body-cells, coming from
two causes, and, so far as my experience has been able to guide me,
from two causes only, namely:
1 Overeating
2 Exposure to violent atmospheric changes
COLDS--THE SYMPTOMS
The symptoms from both causes manifest themselves in exactly the
same way, therefore it becomes very necessary to ascertain what the
sufferer has been eating, both as to quantity and as to kind of
foods during the previous forty-eight hours.
[Sidenote: Colds caused by overeating]
It often occurs that colds from overeating are cumulative, that
is, the patient habitually takes too much fat, sweets, or meat,
especially the two latter articles, and these may have been
digested, and their nutritive elements may have passed into the
circulation, but the body being unable to use them, they finally
begin to decompose and are converted into alcohol and other
decomposition products. An excess of this effete matter brought to
the lungs is called a "cold."
If one who is blessed with good digestion and assimilation should
habitually take an amount of nutrition in excess of his needs,
it will manifest itself first, perhaps, in the growth of adipose
tissue, and later in the various disorders called autointoxication,
among which are colds, catarrh, etc.
[Sidenote: Colds caused by exposure]
If the body be exposed to a violent draft of cold air, and
sufficient motion is not exerted to keep the circulation active,
or if the feet be exposed to cold and wet, Nature, in obedience to
the law of self-defense, closes the pores of the skin against the
intrusion, hence the poisonous and effete matter that is constantly
passing off through these openings cannot escape, but it is picked
up by the blood and carried to the lungs to be oxidized or burned in
the process of breathing.
[Sidenote: Colds from overeating and exposure, identical]
If the amount of poisons thus brought to the lungs be in excess of
the amount that can be consumed or burned, a form of congestion
will take place (in the lungs) causing first irritation, then
suppuration, which must be thrown off in the form of mucus. It
matters not whether the congestion is caused by exposure or
overeating, the effects are identically the same, and Nature's
method of ridding the body of these poisons is the same in either
case. The only difference between an ordinary cold and pneumonia is
one of degree.
COLDS--THE REMEDY
Since colds are merely a form of congestion, first in the capillary
vessels and next in the lungs, the first thing to be done is to
cease eating. The misunderstanding of the old adage "stuff a cold
and starve a fever" has killed thousands of ignorant but innocent
people. Its real meaning is, if you stuff a cold, you will have to
starve an internal fever.
In the treatment of colds, I would suggest the following method of
procedure:
1 (a) Omit all food except--
{Such as--
{Apples
Juice of subacid fruits {Grapes
{Peaches
{Plums
This should be continued until the congestion is relieved,
whether it be one day or a week. (For list of subacid fruits,
see Lesson VIII, p. 313.)
(b) Drink copiously of pure, cool water
2 Select a light diet of--
Nuts
Salads
White of eggs
Fresh watery vegetables
Limited quantity of carbohydrates
If the cold is severe, a Turkish bath or any treatment that will
produce liberal perspiration, will aid in the elimination of
body-poisons and the relief of congestion.
[Sidenote: Remedial value of fresh air and exercise]
Inasmuch as the blood is conveying an excessive amount of poisons to
the lungs for oxidation, much depends upon the amount of pure air
that is breathed and the cell capacity of the lungs for oxidation;
therefore the sufferer, if unable to be out of doors, should be
warmly clad and placed before an open window, or on a veranda in the
sunshine, if possible, where every breath will be of fresh air. If,
however, the patient is able to go out, every moment possible should
be spent walking briskly in the open air. Every morning the patient
should be given a vigorous "sponge" with a towel dipped in cold
water, and rubbed down with a dry one. This should be done in a warm
room, with the body well protected from undue exposure. The room
should be thoroughly ventilated at night, and in severe cases all
garments and sheets used during the day should be thoroughly aired
or changed at night.
The old methods of drugging and of excluding the air and sunshine,
which is in reality poisoning the patient both within and without,
is little less than criminal.
A cool shower, or a sponge bath, together with a vigorous rub
every morning immediately on rising, and a normal quantity of
natural food, render the body almost entirely immune from colds, la
grippe, and all forms of capillary congestion and effete and toxic
(poisonous) substances.
(For diet, see volume of Menus, p. 917.)
In cases of Colds:
OMIT EAT
Confections Coarse cereals (very little)
Desserts Fresh vegetables
Fatty foods Fruit (See p. 524)
Flesh foods Light vegetable soups
Heavy starchy foods Nuts
Intoxicants Wheat bran
Whites of eggs
CATARRH--THE CAUSE
[Sidenote: Decomposition of unused food the primary cause of catarrh]