articles to draw upon in selecting a diet for the normal person.
LESSON XVII
NERVOUSNESS ITS CAUSE AND CURE
The nerves of the human body are the most important, the most complex,
and probably the least understood of any part of the human anatomy. In
conditions of health they are never heard from, therefore every
expression of the nervous system is a symptom of some abnormal physical
condition.
[Sidenote: True meaning of nervousness]
The usual term "nervousness" conveys to the mind of the average person
such conditions as sleeplessness, restlessness, lack of mental and
physical tranquillity, but to the trained mind of the food scientist or
physician, it means mental aberration, hallucinations, morbidity, mental
depression, lack of self-confidence, uncertainty, loss of memory, fear
of poverty, anticipation of accident, tragedy, death, insanity, and a
multitude of things that never happen. Language cannot adequately
describe or convey to the mind of another person the strange impressions
that sweep o'er the mind--the mental anguish caused by an ordinary case
of nervous indigestion. Those only who can understand why many good men
and women sometimes take their own lives, or commit some great crime,
are those who have experienced the same affliction.
If we could correctly interpret the various symptoms given to the brain
from the nervous system, and would heed these symptoms, the body might
be kept in almost perfect health under all conditions of civilized life.
[Sidenote: Relation of nutrition to nervousness]
The lack of fresh air and exercise is always told by nervous expression,
but the most important and significant message conveyed by the nerves at
the brain is that concerning food and general nutrition. Instinct often
leads us to fresh air and exercise, but with our food it is vastly
different. We acquire a taste for certain things; the habit grows upon
us, and though the nerves tell the story to our senses over and over, we
heed it not because we are held behind the bars of habit by the tyranny
of appetite. In this respect the tobacco fiend, the drug fiend, and the
food fiend are all in the same class.
CAUSES
Nervousness usually has its origin in disorders of the functions of
metabolism, assimilation and elimination. In other words, somewhere
between the time the food is first taken into the system, and the time
the poisonous débris of the food and the body waste is finally
eliminated, there are some grievous faults of function.
Some deficiency in the activity and in the secreting power of any of
the digestive organs; some defect in the assimilation of the finished
pabulum; some short-coming in the process by which oxygen is carried
through the system to convert the "end-products" into less toxic
substances for final excretion--any or all of these causes may conspire
to produce nervousness. These may again, in their turn, be due to causes
that arise within the mind, inhibiting the proper functional activity of
the body.
But overfeeding, or eating the wrong combinations of food, and lack of
proper elimination, are probably the most frequent causes of
nervousness. When we take into the system more food than the body
requires, there is bound to be a certain amount of it which cannot be
utilized to build tissue, or furnish heat, or supply mineral salts.
This excess food, under the influence of fermentative processes, breaks
down into various poisonous products. This is especially true of the
albuminous elements of the food. For these, in the heat and moisture of
the small intestine, rapidly undergo a process of rotting--this is
exactly what it is--and develop some of the most virulent organic
poisons known to man.
They exercise a profound depression upon all the physiological
functions, and cause an actual toxic degeneration of the nervous
protoplasm. This, in turn, causes nerve irritability, insomnia, and many
of those protean symptoms roughly grouped under the head of
neurasthenia.
To completely relieve the condition means that a thorough reform in
habits,--and particularly in dietetic habits--must be undertaken.
Excesses of every kind--even of play or work--must be stopped. All
possible sources of worry must be removed. Rest and recreation should be
made quite as important--in fact more so, than house-work or business.
Sleep, and plenty of it, should be secured at all costs. Eight hours are
none too many--although ten would be better.
Needless to say, the question of diet is of prime importance. The use of
tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, and all stimulant beverages, as well as
condiments, should be discontinued.
Plain, wholesome food--with an ample supply of lecithin (or nerve fat)
such as eggs, milk, olive oil, etc., should be taken liberally.
All sources of fermentation--especially those forms due to an excess of
starch, sugars, and acids, should be avoided. Careful attention should
be given to securing free bowel movement.
And, above all, an equable frame of mind should be cultivated; the way
to defeat this purpose is to overwork and worry in order to accumulate
the thing called property.
[Sidenote: Working for wealth alone defeats its purpose]
The desire to accumulate property has for its excuse immunity from work
at some future time so that we can enjoy life, but experience teaches
us that the physical cost of this effort defeats the very purpose for
which we are striving.
THE REMEDY
The victim of nervousness should first seek a complete change of
environment, and engage in pleasant, and, if possible, profitable
occupation.
[Sidenote: Therapeutic value of working for the public good]
Thousands of people become nervous wrecks by pursuing work for which
they have no natural taste or ability, and many become nervous from the
monotony of environment. This is especially true with women, and while
it is exceedingly difficult for countless housewives and mothers to
escape from this monotony, yet they can secure relief by becoming
interested in some work of a public or quasi-public nature, or by taking
up a "hobby" that has for its purpose some form of public good.
All people love the plaudits and esteem of their fellow-creatures, and
there is nothing that will relieve the monotony and bring that
satisfaction which all of us desire more quickly than earnest labor in a
worthy cause. Therefore, this is one of the first and the best remedies
for that character of nervousness caused by the monotony and narrowed
life of the average woman.
[Sidenote: The effects of wrong eating and drinking]
The most prolific cause of nervousness, however, is incorrect, unnatural
habits of eating and drinking, therefore, the logical remedy must be
found in simplifying, leveling, and making the diet conform to the
requirements of the body governed, of course, by age, occupation, etc.
The nervous person should eliminate from the diet acids, sweets (see
Lesson VIII, Vol. II, pp. 313 and 332), flesh foods, and all stimulating
beverages.
The following menus, with variations according to the available supply
of fruits and vegetables in season, should be adopted:
SUGGESTIONS FOR SPRING
Choice of the following menus:
MENU I MENU II
BREAKFAST
A cup of hot water Very little farina or oatmeal,
Two baked bananas with cream
Steamed wheat--cream A glass of buttermilk
LUNCHEON
Corn hominy, with butter A white potato, baked
or cream A large, boiled onion
Raisins, nuts, cream cheese Corn bread
One or two glasses of water A glass of milk
DINNER
A pint of junket One egg or a morsel of fish
Bran gems A baked potato
A coddled egg (For bran Choice of carrots, parsnips,
meal and coddled eggs, or onions
see Vol. III, pp. 677 and (A green salad or spinach
683) may be eaten at this
Hot water meal, if desired)
One or two glasses of water should be drunk at each of these meals.
If there is a tendency toward constipation, a liberal portion of wheat
bran, thoroughly cooked, should be taken at both the morning and the
evening meal.
Bran possesses valuable nutritive properties, such as mineral salts,
iron, protein and phosphates, and it harmonizes chemically with all
other foods.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SUMMER
BREAKFAST
Melon, or any mild subacid or non-acid fruit, such as pears, baked
apples, sweet grapes, very ripe peaches, Japanese plums, or
persimmons
Choice of whipped egg or junket
A banana--natural, or baked, if the digestion is slightly impaired
LUNCHEON
A fresh green salad, such as celery or lettuce, with oil or nuts
Onions, uncooked
A whipped egg
Carrots, peas, or beans
DINNER
Corn, carrots, peas, beans, or squash
Half a cup of plain wheat bran, cooked
A baked potato
A glass of water
SUGGESTIONS FOR FALL
In adopting the two-meals-a-day system, the noon meal should be omitted.
This gives the stomach and the irritated nerves a rest, and creates
natural hunger which augments both digestion and assimilation. (See
Lesson XIII, p. 630).
BREAKFAST
Melon or peaches
A very ripe banana, with soaked prunes and cream
A spoonful of nuts
One or two spoonfuls of whole wheat, cooked very thoroughly
One egg, prepared choice--preferably whipped
One glass of water
A green salad or some sweet fruit may be eaten at noon if very hungry.
DINNER
Squash or pumpkin, cooked en casserole
Fresh string beans
A baked sweet potato
One or two tablespoonfuls of nuts--choice
Junket or gelatin
A glass of water
SUGGESTIONS FOR WINTER
FIRST DAY: On rising, drink two cups of cool water, and devote from five
to ten minutes to vigorous exercises and deep breathing.
BREAKFAST
A cup of hot water or thin chocolate
A small portion of boiled wheat
One exceedingly ripe banana, eaten with cream
One or two eggs, whipped--cream and sugar added
One or two figs, with cream and either nuts or nut butter
LUNCHEON
Two eggs, whipped; add a flavor of sugar, orange juice, and a glass
of milk
A cup of hot water
DINNER
Turnips, carrots, parsnips, onions--any two of these
A baked potato or baked beans
A small portion of fish, white meat of chicken, or an egg
Just before retiring, take exercises as prescribed for the morning, and,
if constipated, two or three tablespoonfuls of wheat bran.
SECOND DAY: The same as the first, slightly increasing the quantity of
food if hungry.
THIRD DAY: The same as the second, adding one or two baked bananas to
the morning meal, and varying the vegetables according to the appetite
for the noon and the evening meal. Nearly all vegetables such as
turnips, beets, carrots and parsnips may be substituted for one
another.
FOURTH DAY:
BREAKFAST
Tokay or Malaga grapes
A cup of hot water
Two eggs, lightly poached, or a very rare omelet
A whole wheat muffin or a bran gem
A cup of chocolate
A liberal portion of wheat bran (one-fourth oatmeal), cooked and
served as an ordinary cereal, eaten with butter
LUNCHEON
Choice of either _a_ or _b_:
_a_ Two eggs, prepared as follows: Break into a bowl. Add a
teaspoonful of sugar to each egg. Whip five minutes very rapidly
with a rotary egg beater. Add a glass of milk and a teaspoonful of
orange juice to each egg
_b_ A quart of milk and half a cup of bran
One baked banana
DINNER
Any green salad--celery or shredded cabbage (very little), with salt and
nuts
Choice of any two fresh vegetables
Choice of:
_a_ One or two exceedingly ripe bananas, baked, eaten with butter or
cream
_b_ Figs or raisins, with cream
A glass of water
Exercise the same as prescribed for the first day.
FIFTH DAY: The same as the fourth day.
SIXTH DAY: The same as the first, repeating these menus for a period of
three or four weeks.
The nervous person should eat very sparingly of bread and cereal
products, with the exception of bran and a few coarse articles, such as
flaked or whole wheat or rye, and these should be taken sparingly while
under treatment.
A generous quantity of water should be drunk at meals, and mastication
should be very thorough.
If the body is overweight or inclined toward obesity, the diet should
consist of fewer fat-producing foods, such as grains, potatoes, milk,
eggs, and an excess of vegetable proteids. If underweight or inclined
toward emaciation, the fat-producing foods should predominate.
Under all conditions of nervousness the patient should take an abundance
of exercise and deep breathing in the open air, and sleep out of doors,
if possible. An abundance of fresh air breathed into the lungs is the
best blood purifier known, and if the blood is kept pure, and forced
into every cell and capillary vessel of the body by exercise, the
irritated nerves will share in the general improvement.
The cool shower or sponge bath in the morning, preceded and followed by
a few minutes' vigorous exercise, is a splendid sedative for irritated
nerves.
RECREATION
The nervous person should divide the day as nearly as possible into
three equal parts--eight hours' pleasant but useful work; eight hours'
recreation, and eight hours' sleep.
[Sidenote: Necessity for true recreation]
Under modern civilized conditions the majority of people do not seem to
understand recreation. The summer seashore resorts, with their expensive
attractions and whirling life, the great hostelries in the hills and
mountains, and the lakes where thousands of people congregate, entail
upon them certain duties, anxieties, expectations, disappointments, and
often financial strain that deprive these places of all features of
recreation, and make the sojourn there one of labor and strife. The real
purpose that takes most people to these resorts is to be seen; to "star"
themselves before the multitude, which in its last analysis is a kind of
vanity, and it is obvious that from any effort in this direction no
recreation can be obtained.
The nervous person should seek a few congenial and thoughtful
companions, and get back into the great heart of nature where
everything moves in obedience to supreme law. Associate intimately with
animals; study their habits, and notice how they respond to kindness;
admire their honesty; analyze the love and fidelity of a dog. This is
true diversion and recreation. This defines the purpose of life, if
there be purpose behind it. This draws a sharp distinction between the
condition that makes nervousness and the condition that makes honest,
thoughtful, useful human beings.
LESSON XVIII
POINTS ON PRACTISE
INTRODUCTION TO POINTS ON PRACTISE
The preceding lessons were written through a period of many years'
active practise in treating dis-eases by scientific feeding. They were
intended as a normal course to qualify doctors, nurses, and those who
wished to treat dis-ease by this method. However, the demand for this
class of information has come from people in every walk of life,
therefore the lessons, and all technical matter composing this entire
work have been most carefully revised and rewritten in simple language
so that any person of ordinary intelligence can comprehend them.
The following lesson is intended for the guidance of the practitioner in
beginning his work in this branch of the healing art.
Inasmuch as nearly all human ills are caused by errors in eating, the
preceding lessons have been confined almost wholly to dis-eases that
originate in the digestive organs.
Lesson XVIII
POINTS ON PRACTISE
[Sidenote: Dietetic treatment is reconstructive]
There are a great many abnormal conditions of the human body classed as
dis-eases that bear a very remote relation to diet, but in practise the
student will soon learn that many of these conditions, which have not
been considered in these lessons, will entirely disappear when the diet
is perfected. This is true because dietetic treatment, based upon the
fundamental laws of nutrition, is reconstructive, hence every part of
the anatomy shares in the general improvement.
[Sidenote: Scope of scientific feeding]
There are many logical arguments to support the theory that there are no
incurable dis-eases. There are many cases, however, where the vitality
has become so low that recovery from dis-ease is impossible, but if the
patient could be taken in time, the correct diagnosis made, and the
proper food, air, and exercise given, Nature would begin her work of
rebuilding at once. In view of these facts it is somewhat difficult to
fix a limit to the scope of scientific feeding.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PRACTITIONER
[Sidenote: The value of letters]
The science of prescribing diet is a work that can be best conveyed to
the patient in writing, hence one of the first and most important things
for the new practitioner to do is to study the art of polemics--acquire
the ability to write plain, convincing literature and letters. This is
one of the greatest arts within the scope of human learning, and is
probably susceptible of greater development than any other branch of
human endeavor.
Every person has his own individual method of expression that should be
preserved and cultivated. Select some good author and copy his logic,
but not his language. For this purpose I would recommend the works of
Henry George, the great economic philosopher--and probably one of the
greatest polementitians that ever lived.
[Sidenote: Writing is mental calisthenics]
The student should begin by taking up some simple branch or certain
subject of his work, and writing a short argument or essay upon it,
using every fact that he can possibly command to convince imaginary
readers of the correctness of his theories. Select a new subject and
write something on it every day. This is merely mental calisthenics, and
after a month's training the thoughts and the language will flow with a
freedom that will enable the student to write just as he feels.
[Sidenote: A booklet describing your work]
It would be well to arrange an argument based upon each lesson
separately, dividing it into short chapters. These arguments or essays
should be logically arranged to form a booklet, with proper title, as
such representative literature is vitally necessary to the growth and
the success of your work. It will also be found that this will be
splendid mental exercise, and will serve well in presenting your work,
either orally, or by letter.
[Sidenote: The personality of the writer]
Every one should endeavor to be original in his literature; in other
words, no special effort should be made to quote any "authority" or to
copy the style of other writers. Put your own personality into your
work, for the most successful writer is not always the one who uses the
most learned, polished or scholarly language, but the one who can convey
his thoughts to the minds of others in the simplest and the most
comprehensive language.
Language at best is but a vehicle for conveying the thoughts of one
person to the mind of another, and while there are accepted standards in
literature and letters, from which one should not make too radical a
departure, yet the ability to present one's convictions, or position
convincingly should be of first consideration.
The most important thing in writing is to have something to say; then to
say it so that it can be understood.
VALUE OF EXPERIENCE
Experience is the only method by which theory can be converted into
knowledge. The best possible source of information, therefore, is
personal experimentation. If the student should have any disorder,
especially of digestion and assimilation of food, or elimination of
waste, he should experiment upon himself along the lines laid out in
this course. He should keep an accurate record of selections,
combinations, and proportions of food, with results or symptoms. He may
thus be able to arrange menus for himself, even more effective than
those given as examples or guides throughout the course.
If there are no personal disorders that will permit of such experiments,
then they should be made upon some other person with whom the student is
sufficiently familiar in order that accurate information concerning the
results may be secured.
Though the student may be normal and healthy, it is possible to make
many valuable experiments in regard to special adaptations of diet, such
as combinations to induce natural sleep; to produce and to relieve
constipation and diarrhea; to produce excessive body-heat when exposed
to cold, or the minimum of heat in summer, or in warm climates.
VALUE OF DIAGNOSIS
Correct diagnosis is one of the most important factors in the practise
of applied food chemistry, and when a correct diagnosis has been made
the remedy will suggest itself if the student has a thorough
understanding of causes.
[Sidenote: Causes sometimes very remote]
In diagnosis it is often necessary to ascertain the patient's general
habits of eating during the few years prior to the appearance of the
disorders. As an example, rheumatic conditions are often superinduced by
an overconsumption of starch, usually cereal starch and acids. This
overindulgence may have continued for several years before the
appearance of any rheumatic symptoms. The primary causes being residual
in the body, exposure, low vitality, or extreme climatic changes may
give expression to them in the form of rheumatism, or some kindred
trouble.
[Sidenote: Value of limited feeding]
After determining the causes, a diet should be designed which will
counteract existing conditions. This may usually be accomplished by
limiting the quantity of food somewhat below the demands of normal
hunger. This will give the digestive organs less work to do, and the
body an opportunity to take up or consume any excess of food matter that
may have become congested. In cases accompanied by loss of hunger, it is
sometimes necessary to put the patient upon an absolute fast from one to
three days, but in the majority of cases a semi-fast is best,
prescribing light, nutritious foods of a remedial character.
EDUCATE YOUR PATIENT
In beginning treatment each patient should be made acquainted with the
fact that the radical change in diet may bring slight discomfort. While
the system is adjusting itself to the new regimen, there is usually a
slight loss of weight and a feeling of weakness or lassitude.
[Sidenote: Curing a slow process]
It should be impressed upon the mind of the patient that regaining
health and strength is in reality a process of growth or evolution,
hence slow and gradual; that when one has violated the laws of health
for many years, Nature will not, or probably cannot forgive all these
sins and repair all these wrongs in a month or two. However, when one
gets in harmony with the physical universe, and conforms to the laws of
his organization, Nature will construct (cure) much more rapidly than
she formerly destroyed (produced dis-ease).
[Sidenote: The patient should agree with the diet]
The practitioner may have many cases that for some seemingly mysterious
reason will not respond to a perfectly natural diet and will, therefore,
be called upon to change the diet from time to time in the vain hope of
finding combinations of food that will agree. In these cases the student
should not be led to deviate too far from what he knows to be a natural
and chemically harmonious regimen. If such a diet does not produce the
desired results, it is not always the fault of the food, but the fault
of the patient. If the food is right, and does not agree, it is the
patient that is wrong, hence the logical thing to do is to make the
rebellious patient agree with the food, instead of searching for a food
to agree with the patient.
These facts should be impressed strongly upon the mind of the one under
treatment, and he should be prevailed upon, if possible, to conform
strictly to a correct diet until Nature is given time and opportunity to
bring about an adjustment between the individual and his food.