for it accentuates the vital necessity of imbibing a sufficient
quantity of fluid daily to preserve the proportion in the system
requisite for health! Water is the only known substance that possesses
the power of permeating every cell and fibre of the living organism,
without creating disturbance or irritation. Water is, in
fact, an indispensable necessity for physical existence its excess or
deficit creating abnormal conditions; but the latter is the more
common condition. Being universally present in all the tissues of the
body, water is the principal agent in the elimination of waste
material from the body, according to Nature's plan--hence, for the
preservation of health, every adult should drink from two to three
quarts of water per day, certainly not less than two quarts. One of
the remedial factors in the copious use of water in "flushing the
colon" is that a liberal percentage of it is absorbed through the
walls of the colon, directly into the circulation, thus increasing the
amount in the tissues, and causing more fluid to pass through the
kidneys--cleansing them.
Hot water is, in reality, a "natural scavenger," but its virtues are
only imperfectly known. As a therapeutic agent it is almost without a
peer, and yet it is so little used that it is practically a dead
letter. Chemists are burning the midnight oil in their laboratories
searching for new weapons with which to fight sepsis, while hot,
boiled water, which is one of the best antiseptics in existence, is
almost ignored. It may be asked why (if it is such an invaluable
remedial agent) it is not more extensively used and advocated? In the
first place, its merits are not generally known. In the second place,
physicians who know of its value hesitate to prescribe it, for the
reason that the majority of patients expect the doctor to prescribe
drugs, and are disappointed if he does not. There is a tendency on the
part of the majority of people to slight that which is near at hand
and easily obtained, in favor of those things which are designated by
mysterious titles, or are difficult of attainment. Man has been so
long accustomed to regard with a species of awe the hieroglyphics on
orthodox prescriptions, that he finds it difficult to dissociate from
it the idea of talismanic power.
But to return to its uses. Hot water used as a stomach bath (see
description in the appendix at end of book) is a valuable auxiliary in
the preservation and restoration of health.
By its means the stomach is cleansed of mucous accumulations and
particles of undigested food, thus enabling it to perform its
functions satisfactorily. If, as is often the case (more especially
with dyspeptics) undigested food remains in the stomach, it ferments,
causing what is known as sour stomach, and is productive of many
evils. If we keep the ferment out of the stomach by occasionally
washing it, and prevent the generation of foul gases in the colon, by
regularly flushing it, the bile will effectually prevent any
fermentation in the intestines; and with the body in this cleanly
condition, sickness is well-nigh impossible. But there are external
applications of water, which are equally important for the
preservation of health, and first and foremost is the bath.
It is a matter of authentic history that the most highly enlightened
and prosperous people of the world have been celebrated for their
devotion to the bath as a means of securing health and vigor as a
means of curing disease, and preventing it, by promoting the activity
of the skin. The excavations at Pompeii show the devotion of the
people to luxurious bathing. The Romans are famous to this day for the
magnificence of their lavatories and the universal use of them by the
rich and poor alike. In Russia the bath is general, from the Czar to
the poorest serf, and through all Finland, Lapland, Sweden and Norway,
no hut is so destitute as not to have its family bath. Equally general
is the custom in Turkey, Egypt and Persia, among all classes from the
Pasha down to the poorest camel driver. Pity it is that we cannot say
as much for the people of our own country.
Most people are familiar with the aphorism, "cleanliness is next to
godliness," a statement that by implication relegates cleanliness to
the second place, but we would transpose this stated sequence of
conditions, and assign the premier position to cleanliness; for we
contend that purity of soul presupposes purity of body. It is true
that we sometimes find a "jewel in an Ethiop's ear," but it is the
exception that proves the rule.
But it is not from the moral standpoint that we wish to consider the
subject of physical cleanliness, but from the hygienic. How few people
there are who are really physically clean! The outward semblance of
cleanliness too frequently poses as the real article. Even people who
pride themselves on their cleanliness are frequently guilty of the
unclean practice of sleeping in the underwear they have worn during
the day, and would feel aggrieved if their unclean habit was called by
its right name. Yet, what can be more repulsive to the truly cleanly
individual than the retention, next the body, of garments saturated
with the constant exhalations from the system? Those who think this a
trifling matter, should turn their underwear wrong side outward (after
removing it) when retiring for the night, and in the morning shake it
thoroughly, when they will receive an object lesson in the form of a
cloud of dried effete matter, consisting largely of particles of the
epidermis, removed by abrasion, through the friction of the clothing.
This, being visible, appeals to the sense of sight; but gives no
evidence of the gaseous and liquid refuse matter which was deposited
in the material, and has been allowed to evaporate by the removal of
the clothing. Thus we may see how many so-called cleanly people fall
hopelessly short of true cleanliness. If the individual keeps the
surface of the body clean, by frequent ablutions, the evil is
lessened; but how many people bathe the body daily? As Hamlet says:
"It is a custom more honored in the breach than the observance." Among
the white races of the earth, the English are the greatest devotees of
the daily tub, to which custom their ruddy complexions are largely
due; but Japan is preeminently in the lead in the matter of daily
bathing, for it is doubtful if there could be found in the land of the
"little brown people" a single individual who does not bathe the whole
body daily, unless physically incapacitated.
The skin is such an important excretory organ that the importance of
keeping its innumerable infinitesimal outlets free from obstruction
cannot be overestimated. As the structure of the skin may not be
understood by the average reader, we will briefly describe this
wonderful depurating organ, that the paramount importance of its
functions may be properly appreciated.
The skin consists of two layers, the derma, or true skin, and the
epidermis, or cuticle. It is the principal seat of the sense of touch,
and on the surface of the upper layer are the sensitive papillae,
which receive and respond to impressions; and within, or imbedded
beneath it, are organs with special functions, viz., the sweat glands,
hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Its value as a means of
depuration is incalculable, as by it, vast quantities of the aqueous
and gaseous refuse matter is conveyed from the body. By the aid of a
four diameter magnifying glass applied to the skin of the palm of the
hand, the curiously inclined will observe that it is divided into fine
ridges, which are punctured regularly with minute holes. These are the
mouths of the sweat glands, and generally known as the pores of the
skin. Their function is to bring moisture to the surface of the skin;
which is secreted from the blood, and chemical analysis reveals the
fact that this moisture is always more or less loaded with worn-out
and effete matter. It is estimated that there are 3,800 of these
glands in each square inch of skin, and that their total length, in an
ordinary person, if placed end to end, would be ten miles. Then there
are the sebaceous, or oil glands, which oil the skin and keep it
flexible. Now, as the processes of destruction and upbuilding are
perpetually going on in the body, and the skin being one of the
principal avenues by which the refuse is removed, the vital necessity
of keeping this organ perfectly clean becomes apparent at once; for
this refuse matter, if retained in the system, acts as a poison, and
furnishes food for disease germs to feed upon.
It has been demonstrated by experiment upon dogs from which the hair
had been shorn, that a coat of varnish applied to the body (thus
effectually closing the pores), will cause death in a very short
while. No better object lesson could be given of the imperative
necessity of keeping the skin perfectly clean, if you wish to enjoy
good health.
It is an easy matter to keep all these miles of tubing in a perfectly
natural and active condition, by a strict observance of the
fundamental principle--cleanliness. Bathe the body daily, complete
immersion, if practicable; if this is not possible, then sponge the
body thoroughly, all over; but if both methods are rendered out of the
question by circumstances, then adopt the best substitute,
namely, vigorous friction with a coarse towel.
We know it will be urged that the majority of people have not the time
or convenience for this daily process; but when sickness overtakes
them, they have to find time to submit to medical treatment, and in
this, as in other matters of everyday life, the cleanly individual who
is thoroughly in earnest, will "find a way, or make it."
As to the temperature of the bath, that must, to a great extent,
depend upon the conditions of life, and the predisposition and
susceptibility of the individual; but the cold bath should always be
employed in preference to the warm bath, when conditions permit. The
cold bath is a powerful stimulant to the sympathetic nervous system.
and as that is the great regulator of nutrition, the value of cold
bathing to those afflicted with digestive disturbances will be readily
understood, since all the digestive and assimilative processes are
quickened by it. The glands of the stomach secrete more hydrochloric
acid on account of this stimulus, and a better quality of gastric
juice being thus formed, not only is the digestion improved, but the
system is better enabled to resist microbic invasion. The cold bath
also stimulates the vaso-motor system, which regulates the
circulation, by contracting and dilating the vessels, and increases
the activity of the capillaries or small blood vessels. It thus
increases the resisting power of the skin, by enabling it to reheat
the surface after a chill, and this is the reason why people who
habitually use the cold bath are practically proof against "colds."
People employed in sedentary occupations are especially benefited by
the cold bath, but should employ a hot bath for three or four minutes
beforehand. It is also especially beneficial to women, as, being an
excellent nerve tonic, it successfully combats all forms of nervous
weakness, and is an admirable preventive of hysteria.
Children under seven years of age do not bear the application of cold
water very well, and it is advisable not to use the water at a lower
temperature than 700 Fahr., and to employ friction constantly while
administering it; but after that age the temperature may be gradually
lowered. In old age the neutral bath, from 75 to 850 Fahr. will be
found the best for general use, accompanied
by friction.
The bath, to be thoroughly beneficial, should be taken at one of the
three following portions of the day, immediately upon rising, about
ten o'clock, or just before going to bed. The early morning bath is,
however, immeasurably the best, and if cold, will be found a wonderful
aid in promoting health and vigor, and being such a necessity,
especially in the preservation of health, and the constant practice of
it, strongly urged, we append the following useful suggestions for
guidance:
A full meal should not be taken in less than half an hour after
bathing. Nor should a bath be taken in less than an hour and a half
after eating a full meal.
You can bathe with impunity in cold water when the body is perspiring
freely, as long as the breathing is not disturbed, nor the body
exhausted by over-exertion.
Never bathe in cool or cold water when the body is cold. First restore
warmth by exercise.
Always wet the head before taking a plunge bath, and the chest also,
if the lungs are weak.
In cases of sickness, where it becomes necessary to assist Nature in
ridding the system of impurities through the medium of the sweat
glands, the "wet sheet pack" will be found invaluable. It is usually
regarded by those imperfectly acquainted, with its action as simply the
chief factor in a sweating process, but it is more than that. Not only
does it open up the pores and soften the scales of the skin, but it
"draws" the morbid matter from the interior of the body, through the
surface to the pores. It is of immense value in all cases of fever,
especially bilious fever.
It should be borne in mind that "flushing the colon" should always
precede the use of the "pack."
If any one doubts the purifying efficacy of this process he can have a
"demonstration strong" by the following experiment: Take any man in
apparently fair health, who is not accustomed to daily bathing, who
lives at a first-class hotel, takes a bottle of wine at dinner, a
glass of brandy and water occasionally, and smokes from three to six
cigars per day. Put him in a pack and let him soak one or two hours.
On taking him out the intolerable stench will convince all persons
present that his blood and secretions were exceedingly befouled and
that a process of depuration is going on rapidly.
Full directions for the use of the pack will be found at the end of
this work.
It will be necessary to take into consideration the vitality of the
patient and regulate the temperature of the sheet accordingly. The
best time to use it is about ten in the morning, or nine in the
evening.
The Turkish bath (see last page) is another important factor in
treating disease, also the hot foot bath, for all disturbances of the
circulation, cramps, spasms and affections of the head and throat. Hot
fomentations, which draw the blood to the seat of pain, thereby
raising the local temperature and affording relief, and wet bandages
for warming and cooling purposes will likewise be found valuable aids.
Humanity at large has never estimated water at its true value, yet all
the gifts in Pandora's fabled box could never equal that one
inestimable boon of the Creator to the human race. Apart from its
practical value, there is nothing in all the wide domain of Nature
more beautiful, for in all its myriad forms and conditions it appeals
equally to the artistic sense. In the restless ocean, now sleeping
tranquilly in opaline beauty beneath the summer sun, now rising in
foam-crested mountainous waves beneath the winter's biting blast, its
sublimity awes us, In the mighty river, rolling majestically on its
tortuous course, impatient to unite itself with mother ocean, its
resistless energy fascinates us. In the gigantic iceberg, with its
translucent sides of shimmering green, its weird grandeur enthralls
us. In the pearly dew drop, glittering on the trembling leaf, or the
hoar frost, sparkling like a wreath of diamonds in the moon's silvery
rays: in the brawling mountain torrent, or the gentle brook--meandering
peacefully through verdant meadows, in the mighty cataract or the
feathery cascade, in the downy snowflake, or the iridescent icicle--in
each and all of its many witching forms it is beautiful beyond
compare. But its claims to our admiration rest not alone upon its ever
varying beauty. When consumed with thirst, what beverage can equal a
draught of pure, cold water? In sickness its value is simply
incalculable especially in fevers; in fact, the famous lines of Sir
Walter Scott, in praise of woman, might be justly transposed in favor
of water to read thus:
"When pain and sickness wring the brow,
A health-restoring medium thou."
And, if we admire it for its beauty and esteem it as a beverage, how
inconceivably should these feelings be intensified by the knowledge
that its remedial virtues are in nowise inferior to its other
qualities!
The next in importance of the great health agencies is Fresh Air.
Perhaps we ought to class it as the most important, for although
people have been known to live for days without water, yet without air
their hours would be quickly numbered. Air is a vital necessity to the
human organism, and the fresher the better--it cannot be too fresh. The
oxygen gas in the air is the vitalizing element. The blood corpuscles
when they enter the lungs through the capillaries are charged with
carbonic acid gas (which is a deadly poison), but when brought into
contact with the oxygen, for which they have a wonderful affinity,
they immediately absorb it, after ejecting the carbonic acid gas. The
oxygen is at once carried to the heart, and by that marvelous pumping
machine sent bounding through the arteries to contribute to the animal
heat of the body.
When it is taken into account that the lungs of an average sized man
contain upwards of six hundred millions of minute air cells, the
surface area of which represents many thousands of square feet, the
danger of exposing such a vast area of delicate tissue to the action
of vitiated air can be readily estimated. No matter how nutritious the
food may be that is taken into the stomach, no matter how perfect the
processes of digestion and assimilation are, the blood cannot be
vitalized without fresh air.
It is estimated that the blood is pumped through the lungs at the rate
of eight hundred quarts per hour, and that during that period it rids
itself of about thirty quarts of carbonic acid gas, and absorbs about
the same amount of oxygen. Think for a moment of the madness of
obstructing this interchange of elements which is perpetually going on
and on which life depends!
It is more especially during the hours of sleep that fresh, pure air
is needed, for that is when Nature is busiest, repairing and building
up, and calls for larger supplies of oxygen to keep up the internal
fires, but her efforts at repairing waste are rendered futile if you
diminish the supply of the vitalizing element and compel her to use
over again the refuse material she has already cast off.
The late Prof. Willard Parker, in a lecture delivered before a class
of medical students, made a very forcible illustration of how the air
of a room was vitiated, in the following impressive words: "If,
gentlemen, instead of air you suppose this room filled with pure,
clean water, and that instead of air you were exhaling twenty times a
minute a pint of milk, you can see how soon the water, at first clear
and sparkling, would become hazy and finally opaque; the milk
diffusing itself rapidly through the water, you will thus be able,
also, to appreciate how, at each fresh inspiration you would be taking
in a liquid that grew momentarily more impure. Were we able to
see the air as we see the water, we would at once appreciate how
thoroughly we are contaminating it, and that unless there be some vent
for the air thus vitiated, and some opening large enough to admit a
pure supply of this very valuable material, we will be momentarily
poisoning ourselves, as surely as if we were taking sewage matter into
our stomachs." Don't leave the matter of a good supply of air to
servants. See to it yourself and see that you are not robbed of it. It
would be better to trust your eating to an attendant than your
breathing. Do that yourself.
In spite of the amount of literature devoted to sanitary matters, it
is astonishing how little is understood of the principles of
ventilation, and its supreme importance to the general welfare. We do
not, of course, refer to ventilation in its broadest scientific sense,
such as the securing of an adequate air supply in large auditoriums,
for it is a melancholy fact that even our prominent architects not
only display a pitiably deficient grasp of that phase of the subject,
but of the simple, yet fundamental principles of the science, which
every intelligent adult should be familiar with. How many heads of
families, for instance, can intelligently ventilate a sleeping room?
They will open a window for a few minutes in the morning, without
opening the door also, to create a current, and think that is amply
sufficient to displace the accumulated carbon dioxide and other
substances inimical to health. No wonder so many people are tormented
by bad dreams! In sleeping apartments the bed should be in the center
of the room--never near a wall. A current of air should be maintained,
but without a draught upon the bed. It is better to open the window
two inches at the bottom, and the same distance at the top, than to
have it open for a foot either at the top or bottom only. If, through
inclemency of the weather, or other causes, the window can only be
opened for a few minutes, then by waving the door back and forth
rapidly ten or a dozen times, the displacement of the vitiated air
will be infinitely more rapid and thorough. Considering the length of
time that is spent in the sleeping apartment, the paramount importance
of a constant supply of fresh air is readily perceived. No matter how
perfect digestion and assimilation may be, if the blood is not
thoroughly oxygenated, the best of foods fail of their intended
effect. Even the least fastidious would object to drinking water that
had been used for washing purposes by others; yet it is quite as
objectionable to breathe air that is charged with the waste products
of bodies that may even be diseased. It is impossible to overestimate
the importance of ventilation.
Better let in cold air and put on more bedclothes, as long as you do
not sleep in a draught.
Oxygen keeps up the animal heat of the body, and you can really keep
warmer in a room with plenty of fresh air than in a close room where
the air is vitiated.
But in the sick room fresh air is of paramount importance, not only
for the patient, but for the attendants, who are otherwise compelled
to inhale the poisonous exhalations from the diseased body.
Let no consideration blind you, either in sickness or in health, to
the imperative necessity of plenty of fresh air.
The next great natural agency, and one to which scant attention is
paid, compared with its hygienic importance, is Light, but more
especially Sunlight.
Light is essential to life. If by some monstrous cataclysm the sun was
suddenly extinguished, it is impossible to conceive the misery that
would follow. In the event of such a fearful calamity it would require
but a very short time to depopulate the earth. We repeat, light is a
necessity of existence, and it behooves us all to allow it free access
to our dwellings. What if it does bleach carpets and draperies! Its
beneficent effects are not to be measured by yards of wool and silk.
Love of light is as instinctive as the aversion to darkness. Plants
growing in a dark cellar, where but one struggling ray of light
enters, will instinctively grow in the direction of that ray. It is
questionable whether defective lighting is not productive of as much
physical deterioration in the crowded tenement districts as defective
ventilation--certainly it is only secondary in degree. Light is
necessary. Light is free to all, and why human beings endowed with
reason should attempt to exclude it from their dwellings is a thing
that passes comprehension. Give the light free access to your
dwelling. "Let there be light," is as imperative now as when the fiat
went forth at the dawn of creation.
But Sunlight is the great health-giving agent. The sun is the great
source of life. Its rays stimulate the growth of every living
organism, and there is no doubt but they exert a chemical action upon
living tissue with which we are as yet but imperfectly acquainted.
This fact has been recognized of late years, hence our winter resorts
are liberally supplied with sun parlors, in which those in quest of
health may enjoy the rejuvenating effect of solar heat without
exposing themselves to the inclemency of wintry weather. This is a
revival of an old Roman custom, for the more opulent of that nation
had sun baths on the roofs of their dwellings. Sunshine is as
necessary to robust, vigorous health as either air or water. Then
seize the full enjoyment of it whenever opportunity offers! It is a
stimulant and tonic that has no superior. Go forth into the sunlight
on every possible occasion! It is one of Nature's greatest therapeutic
agents, and she bestows it ungrudgingly, without money and without
price. If you are wise you will avail yourself of her bounty.
Do not be afraid to let the sunlight penetrate your dwellings,
especially the morning sun. Thrifty housewives are prone to regard the
actions of the sun's rays on their carpets and draperies as disastrous
in the extreme, but its exclusion from their dwelling is far more
disastrous to the health of the inmates. There is, of course, a happy
medium in all things, and, therefore, it is not necessary to have the
sun's rays streaming in through every door and window during the whole
day; but the entire dwelling should be (as far as possible) thrown
open to the vivifying beams of old Sol for a couple of hours in the
morning, which at the same time will thoroughly ventilate the
building. There is more virtue in sunlight than most people are aware
of. Its bactericidal effects are only just beginning to be understood;
but if you desire a healthful dwelling, let God's bright sunshine
freely and frequently penetrate every corner of it.
It is astonishing how few people there are who properly estimate the
hygienic value of the sun's rays. A valuable lesson on this point may
be learned by observing the lower animals, none of which ever neglect
an opportunity to bask in the sun And the nearer man approaches to his
primitive condition the more he is inclined to follow the example of
the animals. It is a natural instinct which civilization has partially
destroyed in the human race.
The effect of sunshine is not merely thermal, to warm. and raise the
heat of the body; its rays have chemical and electric functions. As a
clever physician lately explained, it is more than possible that
sunshine produces vibrations and changes of particles in the deeper
tissues of the body, as effective as those of electricity. Many know
by experience that the relief it affords to wearing pain, neuralgic
and inflammatory, is more effective and lasting than that of any
application whatever.
Those who have faceache should prove it for themselves, sitting in a
sunny window where the warmth falls full on the cheek.
For nervous debility and insomnia the treatment of all others is rest
in sunshine. Draw the bed to the window and let the patient lie in the
sun for hours. There is no tonic like it--provided the good effects are
not neutralized by ill-feeling. To restore a withered arm, a palsied
or rheumatic limb, or to bring a case of nervous prostration up
speedily, a most efficient part of the treatment would be to expose
the limb or the person as many hours to direct sunlight as the day
would afford. With weak lungs let the sun fall on the chest for hours.
If internal tumor or ulceration is suspected, let the sun burn through
the bear skin directly on the point of disease for hours daily. There
will be no doubt left in the mind that there is a curative power in
the chemical rays
of the sun.
For the chilliness which causes blue hands and bad color, resort to
the sun; let it almost blister the skin, and the circulation will
answer the attraction. It is a finer stimulous than wine, electricity
or massage, and we are on the verge of great therapeutic discoveries
concerning it.
Some years ago a London surgeon, by using the sun's rays (presumably
with a lens), removed a wine mark from a lady's face, and destroyed a
malignant growth in the same way.
Says Dr. Thayer, of San Francisco:
"During a practice of more than a quarter of a century I have found no
caustic or cautery to compare with solar heat in its beneficial
results. Unlike other caustics, it can be applied with safety on the
most delicate tissues and the system receives this treatment kindly.
The irritation and inflammation following are surprisingly slight and
of short duration, the pain subsiding
immediately on removal of the lens. There is a curative power in the
chemical rays of the sun yet unexplained."
Women especially need to make systematic trial of the sun's healing
and rejuvenating rays. The woman who wants a cheek like a rose should
pull her sofa pillows into the window and let the sun blaze first on
one cheek and then on the other, and she will gain color warranted not
to wash off.
Thus it will be seen that the curative properties of sunlight are in
nowise overestimated, but in cases of sickness its beneficial action
is purely supplementary. The system must first be thoroughly cleansed
by "flushing the colon," then, the ground work of improvement being
laid, Fresh Air and Sunlight will prove themselves worthy and
efficient colleagues in the task of restoring health.
Singly, each is of intrinsic value, but inadequate to cope with
disease single-handed (although they may mitigate it), but combined
they form a Trinity so powerful that disease can never successfully
oppose them.
The other two factors in Nature's great Health curriculum, namely,
Exercise and Diet, will be considered under separate headings.
PART VI.
EXERCISE.
Motion is life. The health of both body and mind depend upon it.
Inaction means stagnation, a condition fatal to health. Hence the
necessity of exercise. As before stated, disuse is as fatal to a piece
of machinery as excessive use; in fact, it is far more likely to rust
out than to wear out. Activity is essential to life and health and can
never be prejudicial, provided that moderation is observed and the
muscular system not strained or overworked.
There are thousands of miles of minute tubing in the human body--the
arterioles, veins, capillaries and lymphatic vessels. They ramify
through every portion of the body tissues, the first carrying the
vitalized blood for nourishment of the parts, the second returning the
impure blood, charged with the waste of the structures, the third
being the intermediate stage between the first and second, while the
fourth and last, the lymphatic vessels, collect the surplus nutrition
and return it to the circulation. In addition the lymphatics assist in
the conveyance of effete matter. Whenever disease germs are present in
the system, they first manifest themselves in the lymph, but this
fluid being densely populated with phagocyctes (white blood
corpuscles), the micro-organisms are speedily destroyed, if the body
is in a healthy, vigorous condition.
In view of the vital character of the fluids, activity of motion is
indispensable for the best performance of their separate functions and
exercise supplies the desired stimulus. Whenever a muscle is
contracted the blood is wholly or partially expelled from it
proportionately to the force of the contraction, and in its escape it
carries with it the waste material; but as soon as the muscle is
relaxed fresh blood from the arterial supply re-enters the structure,
bearing fresh nutrition.
By a wise provision of Nature, the amount of nutrition supplied is
always in excess of the waste products removed; that is, all things
being equal, so that the more exercise a part is subjected to the more
nutrition it receives. This explains the unusual development of
certain parts of the body which are called into excessive use in
certain occupations. But this unsymmetrical development is a thing to
be avoided, as it is usually productive of certain deformities, such
as stoop shoulders and certain peculiarities of gait, which are
plainly noticeable in men employed in certain avocations.
The reason for this is perfectly simple, and may be expressed in two
words--unequal nutrition--for the muscles that are unduly exercised
appropriate the nutriment that should be equally distributed, so that
the neglected muscles become weakened and stiff. Hence, any system
of exercises designated to develop the body should be so arranged as
to call into play every muscle in the individual, thus insuring
harmonious development in every direction.
Muscular activity stimulates all the functions of the body. It has a
most beneficial effect upon all the vital processes, digestion,
assimilation and nutrition. The digestive powers work more briskly to
prepare the needed nourishment, and the blood circulates more rapidly
to carry the material for repair to the parts that need it, so that by
moderate physical exercise, judiciously distributed, the whole body is
built up and strengthened, and the result is a suppleness of frame and
a clearness of head that makes life indeed worth living.
To the invalid it is, of course, idle to talk of active exercise, but
there are certain forms of passive exercise accessible to such people.
Massage, for instance, which, judiciously administered, will do for
the sick, in a modified degree, what active exercise does for the
comparatively well. It will stimulate the circulation in the deeper
tissues, and set the various fluids of the body moving in a beneficial
manner. There is also a mild form of active exercise which may be
practised by those who have the misfortune to be confined to bed, and
that is by tensing the muscles; such as clenching the hands and
contracting the toes, also by gentle contraction of the arms and legs
alternately.
But one of the most important factors in quickening and stimulating
the movement of the fluids is exercising the lungs, and that can be
accomplished with a fair measure of success even by the bed-ridden.
Every time the chest cavity is emptied by the expiration of the breath
a partial vacuum is created which exerts a tremendous suction power.
It is one of the principal forces concerned in the return of the
venous blood to the heart, but it also exerts a like effect upon the
lymphatic current, hence deep breathing is a valuable exercise for
those unable to take any other.
In commencing the development of the body by any system of physical
culture, the first and most important thing to do is to develop the
lungs. Good lungs and good digestion go together. Before food can be
assimilated it must undergo oxygenation, which is neither more nor
less than chemical combustion. For this oxygen is necessary, which,
uniting with the carbon of the food, results in oxidation, and as the
amount of oxygen inhaled depends upon the capacity of the lungs, it
will readily be seen how much depends upon those organs. We cannot
inhale too much oxygen, while we can take too much food; therefore,
the greater the lung capacity the better the digestion.
We referred to the suction power of the empty chest cavity and its
stimulating effect upon the fluids of the body. Now, the greater the
lung capacity the greater the chest expansion and the vacuum produced
by expiration; consequently the stimulating effect upon the fluids is
correspondingly augmented.
Test your lungs by inhaling a full breath--inflate them to their full
capacity--if it makes you dizzy you are in danger and should proceed at
once to strengthen them. The following simple exercises will speedily
result in improvement and are easy to practice:
HOW TO EXERCISE THE LUNGS.
1. When in the open air, walk erect, head up, chin drawn in, shoulders
thrown back, thoroughly inflate the lungs and retain the air for a
second or two, then expel it gently. Practice this several times a
day, and if your employment keeps you in, make time and go out.
2. The first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, when
you have nothing on but your underclothing, stand with your back
against the wall and fill the lungs to their utmost capacity, then,
retaining the breath gently tap the chest all over with the open
hands. Do this regularly every morning and night, gently at first, but
gradually increasing the length of time for holding
the breath and the force of the blows as the lungs grow stronger.
3. Stand upright, heels touching, toes turned out. Place the hands on
the hips, the fingers resting on the diaphragm, the thumbs in the soft
part of the back. Now, inflate the lungs and force the air down into
the lower back part of the lungs, forcing out the thumbs. Do this half
a dozen times at first, gradually increasing the number. Women seldom
use this part of the lungs--tight dresses and corsets prevent them.
4. While in the same position, fill the upper part of the lungs full,
then force the air down into the lower part of the lungs and back
again by alternately contracting the upper and lower muscles of the
chest. Do this repeatedly, for, besides being a good lung developer,
it is an excellent exercise for the liver.
5. Stand erect, the arms hanging close by the sides, then slowly raise
the arms until they are in
the same position, at the same time gradually taking in a full breath
until the lungs are completely filled, then, after holding the breath
for a few seconds, gradually lower the arms, at the same time
gradually expelling the breath. After doing this a few times while the
lungs are full raise and lower the arms several times quickly.
6. Hold the arms straight out, then slowly throw them back behind you
as far as possible, at the same time taking a full breath, then bring
them slowly back to the front, as at first, expelling
the breath while doing so. Do this several times, then fully inflate
the lungs, and while holding the breath move the arms backward and
forward, in the same way, but quickly. It is important to inflate and
empty the lungs fully and completely during this exercise.
COMBINATION LUNG AND MUSCLE EXERCISES.
7. First rotate the right arm in a circle, downward in front of you a
few times, then reverse the movement. Next, thrust the shoulder back
as far as it will go and rotate the arm in the same
manner. Follow with the left arm in the same manner, then both
alternately, but at the same time relax the arms completely, allowing
them to become perfectly limp, at the same time filling and emptying
the lungs completely.
8. Lie flat on the floor, face downward, with the elbows bent and the
palms of the hands flat on the floor by the sides, body fully
extended. Then, keeping the body perfectly rigid, raise it up by the
muscles of the arms alone, until it only rests on the arms and toes,
then lower the body gradually until the chest touches the floor, at
the same time exercising the lungs to their fullest extent. This may
be practiced on a bed or couch to commence with, and should be taken
slowly at first, until it can be done half a dozen times without
discomfort.
9. Stand with the lungs completely and force the air down into the
lower part of the lungs. Then, keeping the lower limbs perfectly
stiff, with muscles tensed, bend the body forward from the middle of
the trunk and while doing this empty the lungs quickly. Then
straighten up again, at the same time filling the lungs. This should
be repeated from 6 to 12 times. Then repeat the operation, but bending
backward instead of forward, paying careful attention to the emptying
and filling of the lungs. Then, with the lungs full and breath
retained, move the body backward and forward quickly several times.
10. Retaining the same position as in last exercise, move the upper
part of the body to the right a few times, then a few times to the
left, after each movement returning to the upright position. Then move
in the same manner from right to left, alternately. Study and you will
readily understand the nature of these movements, which not only
benefit the lungs, but impart grace
and suppleness to the body.
11. Still retaining the attitude press the arms and elbows forward as
far as possible, at the same time expelling the breath; then press
them backward as far as possible to force them, at the same time
inflating the lungs to their fullest extent.
ARM AND FINGER EXERCISES.
Completely relax the muscles of the fingers and hands, letting the
hands hang limply from the wrists, then shake them up and down and
from side to side, as if cracking a whip. Then rotate them from the
wrists. These movements should all be made with great rapidity, the
hands being rendered as near lifeless as possible.
12. Next, with the upper part of the arm held out at a right angle
from the body, and the forearm hanging downward, completely relax the
muscles of the elbow. Then shake and rotate the whole of the forearm
in the same manner as described for the hands.
13. Allow the arms to hang by the side, now press the shoulder as far
back as it will go, then as high as it will go, then forward as far as
it will go, and drop it again, then rotate it several times. Do the
same with the left, then both together. Strike out with the right
hand, tightly clenched, then the left, then both together. Repeat
horizontally, right and left, then straight up overhead, then down by
the sides.
EXERCISES FOR THE NECK.
14. The principal thing to be observed is to keep the body rigid and
use the muscles of the neck only. It is a most valuable exercise and
should be carefully and faithfully practiced.
15. Now, without bending the knees, bend the body forward as far as
you can several times, then backward several times, then to each side
successively. Make bending movements several times in each direction,
and be careful not to relax the muscles other than those of the hips;
and to conclude the exercise rotate the hips round and round.
16. Relax the muscles of the right leg, keeping all the other muscles
firmly tensed. Then swing the leg from the hip joint, like a pendulum,
backward and forward. Try to do this without support, balanced on the
one leg, as it materially assists in developing the muscles. Then
repeat with the left leg. Next, relax the muscles of the leg from the
knee downward, keeping the muscles of the thigh rigid, and swing the
leg backward and forward from the knee only, and increase the number
of movements each day, as the muscles gain strength and you gain
experience.
ANKLE AND FOOT EXERCISE.
17. Stand upright, holding yourself firmly and stiffly, then raise
yourself up and down on your toes.
WHOLE BODY EXERCISE.
1. Raise the arms above the head, alongside the ears, then bring them
down with a steady sweep, without bending the knees, until the fingers
touch the floor. Be sure to relax the muscles of the neck and allow
the head to hang.
2. Place the hands upon the breast and drop the head backward, a
little to one side, then bend the body backward as far as possible.
3. Curve the right arm above the head, toward the left shoulder, and
allow the weight of the body to rest on the left leg, the right foot
being carried slightly outward. Allow the body to bang down as far as
possible on the left side, without straining too much. Then verse the
movement.
STRETCHING.
Is quite a luxury, but few people know how to do it.
Stand upright in position, then raise raise yourself on the tips of
your toes and try your best to touch the ceiling. You will appreciate
this exercise as a relaxation.
THE ART OF STANDING PROPERLY.
Is only imperfectly understood by the majority of people, and yet it
is the key to a graceful carriage, an accomplishment that most people
desire to possess, especially ladies. Observe the difference between
the correct and the incorrect methods.
THE ART OF GRACEFUL WALKING.
Is the natural sequence of correct attitude in standing and may be
readily acquired by attention. Stand against the wall, with the heels,
limbs, hips, shoulders and head all touching and draw the chin inward
to the chest. When in this position you will find it uncomfortable,
mainly because it is incorrect. Gently free yourself from the wall by
swaying the body forward, from the ankles only, keeping the heels
touching. You will then be in the correct position, and should walk
off, carefully maintaining it. This exercise, if constantly practiced,
will give you an easy and graceful carriage that will be the envy of
your less fortunate acquaintances.
In the foregoing list of exercises we have carefully omitted all those
requiring apparatus of any kind, selecting only such as can be
practiced in the privacy of your own room, without assistance from an
instructor or paraphernalia of any kind. Dumb bells, Indian clubs,
etc., are valuable after a certain degree of muscular improvement has
been attained, but when that point is reached we should advise the
individual to join a gymnasium and practice further development under
a competent instructor.
All the exercises given have been proved of great value in building up
the system, and are designed as aids to the preservation of health and
the upbuilding of weakly people--not to develop trained athletes. These
exercises bring into play a number of muscles that are not called into
general use, and thus promote harmonious development of the whole
body.
PART VII.
THE DIET QUESTION.
As we have already stated, the human system is in a state of constant
change. Disintegration of tissue is taking place during every moment
of existence, and the preservation of health depends upon the prompt
elimination of the waste material. But the destruction of tissue, due
to the daily friction of life, must be made good, and this replacement
of substance is effected by the food we eat. It becomes a matter of
vital importance, therefore, to every individual to consider the
question of eating from the rational standpoint. Owing to the
increased prosperity of recent years and the luxurious mode of living
rendered possible by it, people have been betrayed into many
reprehensible gastronomic practices. In the olden days, when man
toiled hard for existence, food was produced within his own immediate
radius and luxuries were unknown; but now, with rapid ocean
transportation, the ends of the earth are ransacked and laid under
tribute to furnish delicacies to tempt the palate. The ease with which
food may now be procured and the almost illimitable variety offered to
man for his selection has tempted him into indulgences that have been
productive of much evil. Although over indulgence in eating is a very
ancient offense, yet, as before stated, the multiplicity of foods has
given an impetus to this injurious habit, in combination with the
cunningly devised methods of preparation which the modern cook has
evolved.
It is a grave mistake to suppose that it is necessary to eat a large
quantity of food to become healthy and strong. The system only needs
sufficient nourishment to repair the waste that has taken place.
Besides, the digestive fluids are not secreted in an indefinite
quantity, but in proportion to the immediate need. Hence, food taken
in excess of requirements, being only partially digested, acts as a
foreign substance; i. e., a poison, and in addition unduly taxes the
system to dispose of the unnecessary waste.
Hunger is the natural expression of the needs of the system for
nutrition. Appetite is the index as to the quantity of food that
should be taken to replace the loss by waste. It should never be
overruled. Appetite is a wise provision of Nature. Gluttony is a
degrading habit. Yet numbers of people attempt to justify the
gratification of their gluttonous proclivities by the statement that
they are "blessed with a good appetite," while the truth of the matter
is, they are cursed with an inordinate lust for food. If people were
more temperate in the pleasures of the table, the purveyors of
remedies for dyspepsia would find their incomes considerably lessened.
Satisfy your hunger, by all means, but do not pander to the vice of
gluttony.
Instead of "eating to live," a large proportion of people simply "live
to eat." But sooner or later Nature exacts the penalty for violation
of one of her cardinal laws, which is "temperance." An outraged
stomach will not always remain quiescent, and when the reaction comes,
the offender realizes that "they who sow the wind shall reap the
whirlwind."
But people may, and do, continually do violence to that long suffering
organ, the stomach, without being gluttons--we refer to the habit, so
universally practiced in this country, of bolting the food without
properly masticating it. So long as this iniquitous practice is
persisted in, and the equally hurtful one of swallowing large
quantities of liquids with the meals, and so long as sufficient time
is not given the food to digest, just so long will you suffer from a
disordered stomach. Speaking generally, Americans are a nation of
dyspeptics, because they are perpetually in a hurry. The acquisition
of wealth, in moderation, is a commendable pursuit, but it is the
height of folly to sacrifice the priceless jewel of health to acquire
it. But it is a fact, nevertheless, that the average American
considers eating an unprofitable interference with business, without
stopping to weigh the advantages of sound health against the almighty
dollar.
This habit must be abandoned by those who are addicted to it, before
they can expect to regain health or preserve it. Strange, is it not,
that a race, proverbial for having an eye to the main chance, should
fail to recognize the financial wisdom of husbanding their health, a
factor so important in successful business enterprises! They might,
with advantage, copy the example of John Bull in the matter of eating.
The average Englishman regards his meals as a solemn responsibility,
and tarries long at the table. The consequence is that with them
dyspepsia is the exception and not, as with Americans, the rule.
What to eat, when to eat and how to eat are questions more nearly
involving the health and happiness of humanity than is generally
recognized.
WHAT TO EAT.
From the days of Pythagoras down to the present time it has been a
moot question whether a vegetable or meat diet was best for man. Each
side can present equally strong arguments; each can point to
exceptional instances of physical development under the different
methods; each can point to ill results that follow rigid adherence to
one method or the other, so that the natural inference would be that a
happy mean between the two extremes presents the only rational
solution of the question.
Even the most rabid partisan of the meat diet will readily admit that
the flesh of animals is not indispensable to existence; while, on the
other hand, the fact that the Indians in this country would subsist
for months (without apparent discomfort) solely upon a diet of
"pemmican" (dried buffalo flesh) affords ample proof that a meat diet
is not without its advantages.
Diet is largely a matter of latitude. The whale blubber diet of the
Esquimaux would be impossible at the equator, while the fruit and
pulse diet of the tropics would prove totally inadequate to support
life at the North Pole. Nature always prompts the individual to select
the articles of food best adapted to his bodily needs, according to
the climatic conditions; hence, when a man endeavors to live on the
same dietary in the tropics that he has been accustomed to in the
temperate zone, digestive disturbances are sure to follow.
It is one thing to sit at home theorizing about dietetics and settling
all the food problems (on paper) to one's entire satisfaction; but it
is quite a different matter to practically test the effects of
different dietary tables under varying climatic conditions. The writer
does not claim to be an expert dietetician, but there are few spots on
the habitable globe that he has not visited; scarcely an edible
article that he has not partaken of; scarcely a known species of human
being that he has not eaten with, except the Patagonians and the
Esquimaux; so that he is not entirely without experience, and it may
be just possible that practical experience thus gained may be as
valuable as statistics compiled in an from data collected from
different sources.
We often have the Eastern peoples (notably the Japanese and Hindoos)
quoted as examples of physical health and endurance, and the adoption
of a vegetarian diet urged on those grounds; but these extremists seem
to lose sight of the fact that these peoples are the descendants of
vegetarians for centuries past; that they have inherited the tastes of
their progenitors, and have evolved their present physical condition
through a long period of development along those lines. To say nothing
of the impracticability of suddenly converting a nation to the
principles of vegetarianism, radical changes abruptly undertaken are
always productive of ill effects.
It will help us to a proper understanding of the food question to
consider right here what causes old age, or, rather, the physical
signs of bodily infirmity that almost invariably accompany it. We are
all familiar with the wrinkled body surface, the shrunken limbs and
the stiffness of joints that particularly affect the aged, and are so
accustomed to regard these outward manifestations of infirmity as
inevitable, that few stop to inquire whether it is natural that this
should be so. Undoubtedly, these are natural effects, being the result
of the operation of natural law, but if mankind lived more in harmony
with Nature, these symptoms should not manifest themselves before the
age of ninety or a hundred, if even then.
What is termed old age is simply ossification (solidification of the
tissues), and this is due to the constant deposition in the system of
earthy substances. The result of these deposits being retained in the
system is: that there is an excess of mineral matter in the bone
tissue, which renders it brittle, and accounts for the susceptibility
to fracture in advanced life; it causes a change in the structure of
all the blood vessels, great and small, thickening their walls and
thus reducing their calibre and also rendering them brittle. With
diminished capacity the blood vessels fail to convey the requisite
nutrition to the tissues, and a general lowering of the vitality
follows. The capillaries no longer supply the skin with its needed
pabulum, hence it loses its elasticity and color--grows yellow and
forms in furrows. The circulation being sluggish, the deposition of
these earthy substances in the neighborhood of the various joints and
the muscular structures is facilitated, and we have the stiffness of
joints and muscular pains that usually accompany age. The supply of
blood to the brain and nerve substance is curtailed in the same
manner, and for lack of sustenance these structures commence to decay,
which accounts for diminished mental activity and sensory impressions.
As the process continues there may be almost complete obliteration of
the capillaries, while the larger vessels may become so thickened that
their capacity is sometimes reduced three-fifths. Then comes death.
Then, since old age is due to the cause just described, it follows, as
a perfectly logical deduction, that if we can prevent the introduction
of these substances into the system, or even check them, then the
duration of life and preservation of function should be
proportionately prolonged.
What are these substances and whence are they obtained? They consist
of carbonate and phosphate of lime, principally, with small quantities
of the sulphates of lime and magnesia, and a small percentage of other
earthy matters. These substances are taken into the system in the food
we eat and the water we drink, and it has been estimated that enough
lime salts are taken into the system during an average lifetime to
form a statue the size of the individual. Of course, the greater part
is eliminated by the natural processes, but enough is retained to make
ossification a formidable fact. Of the disastrous effects of a
preponderance of these mineral salts in the system we have a notable
example in the Cretins, a people in the Swiss Alps, who are the
victims of premature ossification, their bodies being stunted, rarely
attaining a greater height than four feet, and exhibiting all the
signs of old age at thirty years; in fact, they seldom live longer
than that. In this case the cause is directly traceable to the excess
of calcium salts in the drinking water, for although heredity plays an
important part in this matter, yet children from other parts, if
brought into the region at an early age, soon manifest the symptoms
and speedily become Cretins in fact.
Most people are familiar with what is known among housewives as the
formation of "fur" in the common tea kettle. This is nothing more nor
less than the precipitation of the lime salts by evaporation. Four and
five pounds' weight of this substance has been known to collect in
this manner in a single vessel in twelve months. Many people are under
the mistaken impression that boiling the water removes the lime. Not
so. The precipitation only relates to that proportion of the water
that has been evaporated; the remainder (in all probability) possesses
a slightly higher percentage of solids than it originally did. So
great is the proportion of mineral substance taken into the system in
drinking water that it is safe to assert that, if after maturity was
reached only distilled or other absolutely pure water was partaken of,
life would be prolonged fully ten years. Up to the mature age it would
be inadvisable, as the salts are necessary for bone formation. Good
filtered rain water, or melted snow, are entirely free from mineral
deposits, but if they have stood for any length of time it is
advisable to boil them before using, to destroy any organic matter.
But it is not in water alone that these pernicious earthy matters are
found. All food substances contain them to a greater or lesser extent.
The order in which foods stand in the matter of freedom from earthy
impurities is as follows: Fruits, fish, animal flesh (including eggs),
vegetables, cereals; so that the advocates of a strictly vegetable
diet find themselves confronted by the formidable fact that their
mainstay is that class of foods that contain the largest proportion of
those substances that hasten ossification. Ample proof is at hand that
a strictly vegetable diet results in what is known as atheroma (chalky
deposit), an affection of the arteries. Dr. Winckler, an enthusiastic
food reformer, who wrote extensively on the subject under the nom de
plume of Dr. Alanus, and practised a strict vegetarian diet for some
years, was compelled to abandon it, on account of the above disease
manifesting itself. Numerous similar cases were observed by Raymond,
in a monastery of vegetarian friars, and among the poorer Hindoos, who
live almost exclusively on rice, this trouble is of frequent
occurrence.
The reason of this is obvious. Vegetable food is richer in mineral
salts than animal food, and consequently, more are introduced into the
blood. There are exceptions, for instance, fruits, which are an ideal
food, for several excellent reasons. To commence with, they contain
less earthy matter than any other known organic substance; they
contain upward of 70 per cent. of the purest kind of distilled water--
distilled in Nature's laboratory; and distilled water is an admirable
solvent, and is ready for immediate absorption into the blood, and,
lastly, the starch of the fruit has, by the sun's action, been
converted into glucose, and is practically ready for assimilation.
in order as follows: Dates, figs, bananas, prunes, apples, grapes.
Bread has long been known as the "staff of life," and although it
forms the main dietary staple for large numbers of people, that does
not in any way prove its eligibility as an article of food. We have
seen that cereals contain a very large proportion of inorganic matter
(the mineral salts), and wheat is as richly endowed in this respect as
any of its fellows. Wheat is rich in heat producing
qualities, which is due to the quantity of starch it contains. Now,
this starch must be converted into glucose before the system can
appropriate it, and as exhaustive experiments have shown that not more
than four per cent. of the starch is converted by the ptyalin in the
saliva, the principal work of dealing with the starch devolves upon
the duodenum, or second stomach, the fluids of the main stomach having
no action upon it.
Now, this extra and unnecessary work falling upon the duodenum entails
a delay in the process of digestion, and a corresponding delay in
assimilation, so a habit of intestinal inactivity is induced, and the
seeds of constipation are sown, because the starchy foods, being slow
in giving up their nutritive elements, the refuse is proportionately
backward in being eliminated. Fruits, on the contrary, although
equally rich in heat producing qualities, yet on account of the
previous natural transmutation of starch into glucose, are in a
condition for immediate appropriation by the system, and consequently
absorption of nutrition and elimination of waste are equally prompt.
This partially explains the aperient action of fruits, although there
is a chemical reason also. For the reasons above stated, lightly baked
bread should never be eaten; it should be toasted thoroughly brown
first, by which the first step in the conversion of the starch is
accomplished.
Regarding the relative digestibility of white and brown (whole wheat)
bread there is considerable diversity of opinion, but in a series of
experiments described by Dr. John B. Coppock, in the "Herald of
Health," England, it was shown that in equal portions of 100 ounces,
1/4 ounce more of the white bread was digested, than of the brown; but
the proportion of Proteids (muscle and tissue forming constituents)
digested, was as follows: white bread, 85 1/2 ounces; brown bread, 88
3/4 ounces, or 3 1/4 ounces more nutrition obtained from the brown
bread than from the white. In any event, we are forced to the
conclusion that as an article of food, bread has hitherto had a value
placed upon it to which it was not legitimately entitled.
Nature has designed albumen as the staple of nutrition for man, and
primarily, vegetable albumen; hence fruits form as nearly as possible
a perfect food, containing, as they do, this important constituent in
addition to the advantages previously mentioned.
Nuts are an excellent article of diet, as they contain a large
percentage of proteid (muscle-forming) substance, and fats--both in a
state of almost absolute purity, but are somewhat deficient in starch.
To those who feel that they really cannot do without meat, nuts
certainly offer the best substitute. There are preparations of nuts on
the markets now, called nut-meats, but our advice would be, to eat all
nuts without preparation, only being careful to masticate them
thoroughly. The peanut is the first in rank for nutritive value, next
comes the chestnut, and third, the walnut.
Our objection to nut-meats applies to all forms of concentrated foods,
that is, that they do not give the digestive functions the proper
amount of exercise. They do not afford sufficient opportunity for
mastication, hence the food is not properly insalivated. And, again,
in normal conditions, Nature demands a certain amount of bulk, that
the digestive organs may have something to contract upon. It is the
nature of the muscular structures to grow if exercised, and there is
no reason to doubt that the stomach and intestinal muscles respond to
this stimulus. Bulk is especially necessary in the intestinal canal,
to supply a certain amount of irritative stimulation, for the purpose
of exciting peristalsis. That is one reason why whole wheat bread is
preferable to white, on account of the bran, which not only supplies
the bulk, but favors elimination by its irritative action.
Before proceeding any further we would call attention to the following
table, showing the nutritive ingredients in food substances, and their
several functions. The ingredients are classified in four divisions:
1, Proteids; 2, Fats; 3, Starches, or carbohydrates; 4, Mineral
matters. This is the main classification; but to enable it to be
better understood, we subdivide it as follows:
Protein.
a. Albuminoids: e. g. albumen (white of egg); casein (curd) of milk;
myosin, the basis of muscle (lean meat); gluten of wheat, etc.
b. Gelatinoids: e. g. collagen of tendons; ossein of bones, which
yield gelatin or glue. Meats and fish contain very small quantities of
so-called "extractives." They include kreatin and allied compounds,
and are the chief ingredients of beef tea and meat extract. They
contain nitrogen, and hence are commonly classed with protein.)
Fats.
e. g. fat of meat; fat (butter) of milk; olive oil; oil of corn,
wheat, etc.
Carbohydrates.
e. g. sugar, starch, cellulose (woody fibre).
Mineral Matters.
e. g. calcium phosphate or phosphate of lime; sodium chloride (common
salt).
In this classification, water is not taken into account, for the
reason that it is not a true nutrient, although of vital importance to
the body. Now, let us consider what ultimately becomes of these
substances--how Nature utilizes them in the physical economy. Protein
is used to build up the solid tissues of the body, the muscles and
tendons. It is also a source of nutrition for brain and nerve
substance, and partially serves as fuel. Fats simply form fatty tissue
and serve as fuel to maintain the heat of the body, by combustion or
oxidation. Carbohydrates mainly serve as fuel, owing to the large
percentage of carbon they contain, which readily unites with the
oxygen. The mineral matters, which are also largely obtained from
water, are employed in the formation of bone, and are also utilized in
the blood and in other ways.
Thus we see that each constituent of the food substance fulfills a
specific purpose, and the secret of a correct and nutritious diet lies
in the selection of such foods as will furnish the proper proportion
of each constituent to serve the purpose for which it is designed. Any
deviation from this rule must of necessity result in digestive
disturbance, more or less, and although one or two digressions from
the path of correct alimentation may not result in anything worse than
a slight inconvenience, yet persistence in dietetic errors will
inevitably terminate in physical demoralization.
Authorities differ as to the actual proportion the nutritive
ingredients should bear to each other in the daily ration; but after
comparing the statements advanced by different food experts. We think
the following figures will represent a fair average of the various
tables. The reader will see that 100 parts of carbo-hydrates is taken
as the basis of calculation, the figures opposite the other
ingredients representing the proportion they should bear to the basic
figure.
Carbo-hydrates (carbonaceous material, starch, sugar, etc.), fat, and
heat formers, 100 parts.
Proteids (nitrogenous material) muscle, tissue and brain formers 40
parts.
Fats (animal fats, butter, etc.), fuel formers 32 parts.
Mineral salts, 6 parts.
Water 670 parts.
With the above table in mind, it will be easy to select foods that will
furnish, when combined, the proper proportion of each ingredient--that
is--approximately, and to assist in the selection, we subjoin a
condensed list of the more important articles of food, showing the
percentage of each ingredient, as proved by analysis. We would call
attention to the fact that animal foods may slightly differ in the ratio
of the ingredients, owing to the food upon which the animal has been
raised, and its physical condition; and, owing to peculiarities of soil,
vegetable foods may differ in like manner, but for practical purposes it
will be found sufficiently correct.
IN 100 PARTS.
*Lean Beef
Proteids. 20.2
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 3.6
Salts. 2.0
*Fat
Proteids. 16.9
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 3.6
Salts. 2.0
*Mutton
Proteids. 17.1
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 5.7
Salts. 1.3
*Veal
Proteids. 18.8
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 4.4
Salts. 0.5
*Pork
Proteids. 14.5
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 37.3
Salts. 0.8
*Poultry
Proteids. 21.0
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 3.8
Salts. 1.2
*Smoked Ham
Proteids. 24.0
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 36.5
Salts. 10.1
*Mackerel
Proteids. 23.5
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 6.7
Salts. 1.0
*Cod
Proteids. 27.0
Starches.0.0
Fats.0.3
Salts.22.0
*White of Egg
Proteids. 20.4
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 0.0
Salts. 1.6
*Yolk of Egg
Proteids. 16.0
Starches. 0.0
Fats. 30.7
Salts. 1.3
*Cow's Milk
Proteids. 4.2
Starches. 4.5
Fats. 3.7
Salts. 0.7
*Cheese
Proteids. 28.0
Starches. 1.0
Fats. 23.0
Salts. 7.0
*Butter
Proteids. 2.0
Starches. 1.0
Fats. 85.0
Salts. 1.0
*Cabbage
Proteids. 5.0
Starches. 7.8
Fats. 0.5
Salts. 1.2
*Asparagus
Proteids. 1.9
Starches. 2.7
Fats. 0.2
Salts. 0.5
*Mushrooms
Proteids. 2.5
Starches. 4.7
Fats. 0.2
Salts. 0.7
*Potatoe
Proteids. 2.2
Starches. 21.8
Fats. 0.2
Salts. 1.0
*Sweet Potatoe
Proteids. 1.0
Starches. 25.2
Fats. 0.2
Salts. 2.7
*Celery
Proteids. 1.5
Starches. 0.8
Fats. 0.4
Salts. 0.8
*French Beans
Proteids. 23.7
Starches. 55.6
Fats. 2.2
Salts. 3.7
*Lima Beans
Proteids. 21.9
Starches. 60.0
Fats. 1.9
Salts. 2.9
*Green Peas
Proteids. 6.3
Starches. 12.0
Fats. 0.5
Salts. 0.8
*Lentils
Proteids. 24.8
Starches. 54.7
Fats. 1.8
Salts. 2.4
*Wheat Flour
Proteids. 11.6
Starches. 71.0
Fats. 1.3
Salts. 1.6
*Barley Flour
Proteids. 10.5
Starches. 66.7
Fats. 2.4
Salts. 2.6
*Oatmeal
Proteids. 12.8
Starches. 65.6
Fats. 5.6
Salts. 3.6
*Lentil Flour
Proteids. 25.4
Starches. 57.3
Fats. 1.8
Salts. 2.6
*Arrowroot
Proteids. 0.8
Starches. 83.5
Fats. 0.0
Salts. 0.3
*Chestnut
Proteids. 14.6
Starches. 60.0
Fats. 2.4
Salts. 3.3
*Sweet Almond
Proteids. 23.5
Starches. 7.8
Fats. 53.0
Salts. 3.0
*Peanut
Proteids. 28.3
Starches. 1.8
Fats. 46.2
Salts. 3.3
*Walnut
Proteids. 15.8
Starches. 13.0
Fats. 57.4
Salts. 2.0
*Apple
Proteids. 0.4
Starches. 7.2
Fats. 0.0
Salts. 0.5
*Cherry
Proteids. 0.7
Starches. 10.2
Fats. 0.0
Salts. 0.7
*Grape
Proteids. 0.6
Starches. 14.2
Fats. 0.0
Salts. 0.5
*Banana
Proteids. 4.9
Starches. 19.2
Fats. 0.6
Salts. 1.1
*Dates
Proteids. 6.6
Starches. 54.0
Fats. 0.2
Salts. 1.6
*Figs
Proteids. 6.1
Starches. 60.5
Fats. 0.9
Salts. 2.3
*Honey
Proteids. 0.8
Starches. 74.6
Fats. 0.9
Salts. 0.2
TABLE A.
Showing the relative digestibility of various foods.
* Beef, round
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 23.0
Undigestible. 0.0
FATS.
Digestible. 8.1
Undigestible. 0.9
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 0.0
Undigestible. 0.0
MINERAL MATERS. 1.3
WATER. 66.7
* Beef, sirloin
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 20.0
Undigestible. 0.0
FATS.
Digestible. 17.1
Undigestible. 1.9
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 0.0
Undigestible. 0.0
MINERAL MATERS. 1.0
WATER. 60.0
*Pork, very fat.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 3.0
Undigestible. 0.0
FATS.
Digestible. 74.5
Undigestible. 6.0
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. -
Undigestible. -
MINERAL MATERS. 6.5
WATER. 10.0
*Haddock.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 17.1
Undigestible. 0.0
FATS.
Digestible. 0.3
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 0.0
Undigestible. 0.0
MINERAL MATERS. 1.2
WATER. 81.4
*Mackerel
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 18.8
Undigestible. 0.0
FATS.
Digestible. 7.4
Undigestible. 0.8
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 0.0
Undigestible. 0.0
MINERAL MATERS. 1.4
WATER. 71.6
*Hen's eggs
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 13.4
Undigestible. 0.0
FATS.
Digestible. 9.4
Undigestible. 2.4
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 0.7
Undigestible. 0.0
MINERAL MATERS. 1.0
WATER. 73.1
*Cow's Milk
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 3.4
Undigestible. 0.0
FATS.
Digestible. 3.6
Undigestible. 0.1
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 4.8
Undigestible. 0.0
MINERAL MATERS. 0.7
WATER. 87.4
*Cheese, whole milk
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 27.1
Undigestible. 0.0
FATS.
Digestible. 34.6
Undigestible. 0.9
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 2.3
Undigestible. 0.0
MINERAL MATERS. 3.9
WATER. 31.2
*Butter
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 1.0
Undigestible. -
FATS.
Digestible. 85.8
Undigestible. 1.7
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 0.5
Undigestible. -
MINERAL MATERS. 2.0
WATER. 9.0
*Oleomargarine
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 0.4
Undigestible. -
FATS.
Digestible. 83.9
Undigestible. 3.3
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 0.0
Undigestible. -
MINERAL MATERS. 2.1
WATER. 10.3
*Sugar
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 0.3
Undigestible. -
FATS.
Digestible. -
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 96.7
Undigestible. 0.0
MINERAL MATERS. 0.8
WATER. 2.2
*Wheat flour (very fine).
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 7.6
Undigestible. 1.3
FATS.
Digestible. 1.0
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 74.4
Undigestible. 0.8
MINERAL MATERS. 0.3
WATER. 14.6
* Wheat flour (Medium)
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 9.5
Undigestible. 2.1
FATS.
Digestible. 0.8
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 70.4
Undigestible. 1.8
MINERAL MATERS. 0.4
WATER. 15.0
*Wheat flour (coarse whole wheat)
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 8.2
Undigestible. 2.7
FATS.
Digestible. 1.8
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 66.4
Undigestible. 5.3
MINERAL MATERS. 1.2
WATER. 14.4
* Wheat Bread.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 7.7
Undigestible. 1.2
FATS.
Digestible. 1.9
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 54.9
Undigestible. 0.6
MINERAL MATERS. 1.0
WATER. 32.7
*Black bread.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 4.5
Undigestible. 1.6
FATS.
Digestible. 1.8
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 43.3
Undigestible. 5.3
MINERAL MATERS. 1.5
WATER. 43.8
*peas.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 19.7
Undigestible. 3.2
FATS.
Digestible. -
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 55.7
Undigestible. 2.1
MINERAL MATERS. 2.5
WATER. 15.0
*Corn (maize) Meal.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 7.9
Undigestible. 1.2
FATS.
Digestible. 3.8
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 68.7
Undigestible. 2.3
MINERAL MATERS. 1.6
WATER. 14.5
*Rice.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 6.2
Undigestible. 1.2
FATS.
Digestible. 0.4
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 78.7
Undigestible. 0.7
MINERAL MATERS. 0.4
WATER. 12.4
*Potatoes.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 1.5
Undigestible. 0.5
FATS.
Digestible. 0.2
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 19.7
Undigestible. 1.6
MINERAL MATERS. 1.0
WATER. 75.5
*Turnips.
PROTEIN.
Digestible. 0.7
Undigestible. 0.3
FATS.
Digestible. 0.2
Undigestible. -
CARBOHYDRATES.
Digestible. 5.6
Undigestible. 1.3
MINERAL MATERS. 0.7
WATER. 91.2
Since the elements are seldom, if ever, found in the proper proportion
in any food substances, it becomes necessary to exercise judgement in
selecting them, so that something like a well balanced diet may be
obtained; so as a further aid to enable the reader to make his
selection judiciously, we would call attention to Table A and Table B
below. Table A shows the proportion of various foods that is
ordinarily digested, while Table B points out the time required for
different articles of food to digest.
TABLE B.
LENGTH OF TIME REQUIRED FOR DIGESTION OF DIFFERENT ARTICLES OF FOOD.
Hours.
Apples, raw, 2:00
Barley, boiled, 2:00
Beef, roasted, 3:00
Beefsteak, broiled, 3:00
Beef, broiled, 4:00
Beets, boiled, 3:45
Brains, animal, boiled, 1:45
Bread, corn, baked, 3:15
Bread, wheat, baked, 3:30
Butter, melted, 3:30
Cabbage, raw, 2:30
Cabbage, with vinegar, 2:00
Cabbage, boiled, 4:30
Cake, corn, baked, 3:00
Cake, sponge, baked, 2:30
Catfish, fried, 3:30
Cheese, old strong, 3:30
Chicken, fricasseed, 2:45
Corn and beans, boiled, 3:45
Custard, baked, 2:45
Duck, roasted, 4:00
Dumpling, apple, boiled, 3: 00
Eggs, hard boiled, 3:30
Eggs, soft boiled, 3:00
Eggs, fried, 3:30
Eggs, roasted, 2:15
Eggs, raw, 2:00
Fowls, boiled, 4: 00
Fowls, roasted, 4: 00
Goose, roasted, 2: 30
Lamb, boiled, 2: 30
Milk, boiled, 2: 00
Milk, raw, 2: 15
Mutton, roasted, 3:15
Mutton, broiled, 3:00
Mutton, boiled, 3:00
Oysters, raw, 2:55
Oysters, roasted, 3:15
Oysters, stewed, 3:30
Pig, roasted, 2:30
Pigs' feet, soused, 1:00
Pork, roasted, 5:15
Pork, salted and fried, 4:15
Potatoes, Irish, boiled, 3:30
Potatoes, Irish, roasted, 2:30
Rice, boiled, 1:00
Salmon, salted, 4:00
Soup, barley, boiled, 1:30
Soup, bean, 3:30
Soup, chicken, 3:00
Soup, mutton, 3:30
Soup, oyster, 3:30
Tapioca, boiled, 2:00
Tripe, soused, 1:00
Trout, salmon, boiled, 1:30
Trout, salmon, fried, 1:30
Turkey, roast, 2:30
Turkey, boiled, 2:30
Turnips, boiled, 3:30
Veal, broiled, 4:00
Veal, fried, 4:30
Vegetables and meat hashed, 2:30
Venison steak, 1:35
We have seen that certain elements are necessary in our food for the
proper replenishment of the waste that is perpetually going on, and
that they must be combined in proper proportions, so that no one part
of the body shall be over-nourished at the expense of the others--no
organ overtaxed, but that all may be harmoniously developed.
Opinions may, and do, differ as to the source from which this
sustenance for the body should be obtained whether from the animal or
vegetable kingdoms, or both, and while admitting that vegetarianism
and flesh-eating both have their advantages and disadvantages, our own
conscientious conviction is, that the true solution of the question is
to be found in the happy medium--that a mixed diet is the best for
mankind under existing conditions.
The main argument of our vegetarian friends against the practice of
flesh-eating is the humanitarian one. We are familiar with all the
objections urged--the brutalizing effect upon the human mind of so much
ruthless bloodshed--of the sacredness of life, and of man's presumption
in daring to deprive a living creature of existence; but with all due
respect to the sensibilities of these worthy people, we are inclined
to think that the argument is scarcely tenable. We do not wish to be
understood as defending the cruelties that are said to be practised in
the abattoirs; but the taking of life is inseparable from existence.
It is simply a question of degree. There is a sect in India, the
members of which are so scrupulous regarding the sanctity of life that
they carefully brush every step of the path in front of them, lest
they should inadvertently step upon any creeping thing. In this, they
lift the burden of responsibility from themselves for any wanton
injury; but the microscope has shown us that there is a countless
world of infinitesimal life all around us, and that it is practically
impossible to draw a breath, or drink a mouthful of water, without
destroying some living thing. If we accept the teaching of the
Scriptures, that not a sparrow falls to the ground without the
knowledge of the Creator, then we must conclude that the life of the
ant is of as much importance in His eyes as that of the ox or sheep.
We repeat, we are not posing as advocates of indiscriminate and wanton
slaughter, but on utilitarian grounds, we consider the use of the
flesh of animals, as a food, justifiable.
If we needed any scriptural authority for the practice, we could point
to the Hebrews, who (according to Holy Writ) received through Moses
not only permission to use meat as an article of diet, but
instructions for the killing of the selected animals, together with
injunctions to avoid the flesh of certain kinds; and they may be cited
as a striking example of the value of a mixed diet.
Here we have one of the most ancient races of the earth--a race that
has endured the most terrible persecutions that ever befell a people,
yet have survived it all, and are to-day a robust and unusually
prolific race; while intellectually and morally they are surpassed by
none. They are a greater power in the world than any other race, by
reason of their finance and business instincts. There is no question
but that the sanitary system of living established by Moses has been
the principle factor in perpetuating this hardy race; and a mixed diet
was and is an integral part of that system. It may also be confidently
claimed that the teachings of the Bible, along these lines, have been
in a large degree responsible for the position occupied by the
Christian nations in the world to-day.
However, we have no desire to impose our views upon our readers, and
having given expression to our sentiments, we return to the main
question.
Having disposed of the question, "what to eat," we will consider
another matter, almost equally important, and that is:
How To Eat.
The one fundamental principle underlying this question is thorough
mastication, and we cannot too strongly impress upon our readers the
necessity for its proper observance. We have already stated that
digestion cornmences in the mouth--that by the action of the saliva,
the starchy matter in food is converted into glucose. It is therefore
necessary that the saliva should be brought into intimate contact with
every part of the bolus; and for that purpose thorough mastication is
absolutely necessary. In addition, the separation of the food into
small fragments, by the teeth, assists stomach digestion, by
permitting the gastric juice freer access to the food. It is stated
that Mr. Gladstone formed the habit of thorough mastication by making
it a rule to count thirty two while masticating each mouthful.
Mastication need not be slow to be thorough, although there is an
impression to that effect, for, as a matter of fact, quick and
vigorous chewing excites the salivary glands to more energetic action.
Drinking at meals should be avoided as much as possible, and whenever
any digestive trouble is present, not only should no liquids accompany
the meal, but nothing in the form of fluids should be partaken of
within half an hour preceding or following a meal, The philosophy of
this is apparent, when we reflect that all digestive disturbances are
accompanied by imperfect secretion of the gastric juices, and to
dilute them with an excess of fluid is to weaken its power of action
on the food. It is as if a man, when attempting to dissolve a piece of
metal in a powerful acid, should deliberately add water to the acid,
and thereby arrest, wholly or in part, the process of decomposition.
It is plain, therefore, that although the practice of drinking at
meals may help the food to pass more easily down the aesophagus, yet
it must inevitably retard digestion when it reaches the stomach.
But the most pernicious practice of all is that of drinking ice water
at meals, since, in addition to the ill effects described above, it
temporarily paralyzes the stomach-driving the blood away from that
organ when it is needed most of all. A fact which should not be lost
sight of is, that no physical operation, however slight, can be
accomplished without the expenditure of force (nervous energy), even
though it be only the winking of an eyelid; and the labor entailed
upon the system, of raising the temperature of the stomach to normal
figures, after deluging it with ice water, involves a ruinous waste of
vital force, in addition to the other reasons urged against it.
It cannot be doubted that this essentially American habit is
responsible for a large proportion of the dyspepsia that sits like an
incubus upon the nation. Every substance taken into the stomach,
whether fluid or solid, should be about the same temperature as the
body, to be in harmony with natural principles.
All condiments promote indigestion. They over stimulate the stomach,
exciting the secreting glands to abnormal action, and irritating the
sensitive mucous surface. In addition, they overheat the blood, excite
the nervous system, inflame the passions, and are largely responsible
for many of the excesses into which men plunge under this unnatural
stimulation.
WHEN TO EAT
Is a question that has excited a great deal of discussion of late
years. The publication of Dr. Dewey's book, extolling the no-breakfast
plan, caused the subject to be debated, with considerable fervor for a
time, but the matter remains practically where it was. It is
impossible to lay down a hard and fast rule that shall govern all
cases, a fact that most theorists seem to lose sight of--hence the
collapse of so many promising and alluring schemes. For people in
health, we strongly advise the three meals a day system, which
experience has shown to be successful. They should be moderate in
quantity, and should be eaten as follows: The first, from half an hour
to an hour after rising (having previously bathed and exercised); the
second, not less than four hours afterwards; the third, not less than
five hours later.
This gives the stomach time to rid itself of one meal before the next is
introduced, otherwise the undigested food remaining in the stomach
prevents that organ from acting properly on the fresh food. It is for
this reason that it is unwise to eat between meals, as, when the stomach
is occupied by articles of food in various stages of digestion,
undigested portions will pass out with the digested food; not only
entailing a serious loss of energy and nutrition, but irritating the
intestinal canal and creating unnecessary waste to be eliminated.
The above rules, as stated, apply to people in ordinarily good health.
In wasting disease it may be necessary to supply nutrition even as
often as every half hour; and in all serious digestive troubles it is
wiser to eat six times a day than three, the meals to be light,
nutritious in quality, and small in quantity, so as not to impose too
great a burden at one time on the weakened digestive apparatus.
We will now consider the action of several substances, in common use,
that are inimical to health, and that have an especially demoralizing
effect upon digestion.
The first of these is alcohol, which only serves as fuel, but does not
form tissue. Its best friends in the medical profession no longer
claim anything for it but a stimulating effect. Its action on the
digestive organs (especially the stomach) is disastrous in the
extreme. It destroys the appetite, although it temporarily sustains
vigor by unnatural excitation.
Without going so far as to say that a man is lost to all sense of
decency because he takes an occasional drink, we will say that it is
in nowise necessary to the system--that the habit, indulged in to
excess, is the most fatal that can be contracted, and that inasmuch as
the majority of people have not sufficient will-power to curb their
appetites, the wisest plan is to avoid the use of alcoholic beverages
altogether.
The man who is addicted to the excessive use of alcoholic stimulants
is over-taxing the vital organs of his body in the most outrageous
manner, and although Nature incessantly enters protest against being
overworked, he either ignorantly fails to recognize the warnings, or
wantonly disregards them. Let us for a few moments consider the work
which the heart is called upon to do, and the amount of extra labor
imposed upon it by the unwise use of alcohol. The average life of a
man is thirty-eight years, and, in a healthy man, the number of heart-
beats per minute is seventy, or during an average life,
76,536,740,000. Now, the use of alcohol in anything like an excessive
quantity increases the action of the heart ten beats per minute,
making 600 extra beats per hour, 14,400 per day, 482,000 per month,
9,784,000 per year, 195,568,000 in twenty years, and 372,793,000 in a
lifetime of thirty-eight years. Or, supposing a man should live fifty
years, the number of pulsations of the heart during that period, at
the normal rate, would be 917, 239,680. Now, if ten extra beats be
added to this, for, say the last twenty-five years, we find that the
heart is called upon to make 91,840,000 extra beats. Think of that
enormous amount of additional work imposed upon a delicate, complex
piece of mechanism like the human heart!
But that is not the worst of it. The heart should rest and sleep when we
do. During sleep, the character of the beats is different from what it
is during our waking hours--the beats are made singly and deliberately,
with a pause between, for the heart is taking its necessary rest, to fit
it for its functions on the morrow; but, if we take alcohol into the
system before retiring, then the heart works harder during sleep than a
healthy man's when he is awake.