With few exceptions, the corpulent, both male and female, drink a great
deal with their meals; and I am more and more convinced, by daily
experience, that the large amount of fluid thus imbibed has powerfully
contributed to produce their present condition. It may be said that it
is constitutional with them to require so much drink. I grant that many
persons are in the habit of drinking a great deal more than others, and
even that they are constitutionally so inclined; but I cannot allow
that they are compelled to drink as much as they do. Habit exercises
a powerful influence over all our actions; and I have no doubt that,
notwithstanding the existence of a natural predisposition to drink a
great deal at meal time, the inclination might be held in check, by
not yielding too easily to the desire. Many people, without thinking,
increase and stimulate their thirst by making use of highly seasoned
dishes; it would be well that they should exercise caution in this
respect. Even when using a moderate amount of beverage, a selection as
to kind is necessary. Beer and cider being especially rich in aqueous
and mucilaginous matter, are by virtue of these elements particularly
prone to the production of corpulence. All kinds of drink, when taken
in excess, act rather as depressants than stimulants of the nervous
centres, and a want of physical and mental activity, alike predisposes
to obesity.
Alcoholic drinks of every kind tend to the development of fat, owing
to the large amount of the carbonaceous element they contain. Men who
use brandy in excess are frequently so puffy and soft that you can
scarcely discover the presence of muscular tissue beneath the skin.
When blood is abstracted from such persons, it is found to be thin,
and to contain a less amount of the most important of the sanguineous
elements. We must not deceive ourselves; fat is not to be taken always
as an evidence of strength, but, on the contrary, should be regarded
as indicative of want of tone and of vital power, as in the case of
the aged, who are frequently corpulent though infirm; young chlorotic
females; persons deprived of a due supply of fresh air; and such as
make use of an excessive amount of alcoholic drink. With respect to the
last, it may be said, perhaps, that some are to be met with who, far
from being corpulent, are excessively thin, in consequence of drinking
large quantities of brandy; and such is indeed sometimes the case,
but it is due to the fact that some essential organ of the body is
suffering under the pernicious influence. And although the person may
have been, at a former period, fat and lusty, the body finally becomes
wearied with this continued excess, the stomach is diseased, nutrition
is impeded or wholly suspended, and a complete destruction of the vital
organism results.
It will scarcely be believed, yet it is nevertheless true, that females
can bear these excesses for a longer period than men, and that when
they do unfortunately yield to them, they indulge to even a greater
extent.
Observation and experience fully corroborate the assertion. Among a
great number of cases that could be cited, one must suffice. A young
lady, a creole, living in Paris, was in the habit of taking daily a
pint of brandy, without its producing any disturbance of her faculties,
and, it might be almost said, without committing any excess. When
she took a larger quantity,--which indeed was often the case,--she
became loquacious and troublesome to her attendants: complained of
headache and hallucinations, which deprived her of sleep, and said
that she dreaded an attack of apoplexy. During four or five years of
professional attendance upon her, I have been witness to several
of these fits of excess. She rarely or ever walked, but made use of
her carriage, rose late, and seldom partook of meat unless strongly
seasoned with red pepper. She became excessively obese under this
system of living, and when I lost sight of her she was an utter
deformity. Her complexion, however, was still good, and I could
attribute her obesity only to her extreme intemperance.
Water is the natural beverage of man; but being no longer in a state
of nature, that which was at first destined to assuage his thirst, is
not found to be in accordance with his changed habit,--his altered mode
of life consequent upon civilization. To the water a small quantity
of wine may be advantageously added, producing a tonic and slightly
stimulating drink, suitable to such stomachs as may stand in need of it
as an adjunct to digestion.
Pure wine is not suitable for ordinary beverage, but will rather excite
thirst than allay it, and at the same time may induce irritation, or
even inflammation of the stomach. Those only who use a great deal of
exercise in the open air can tolerate pure wine with impunity.
Many of the white wines produce a diuretic effect, and are less apt to
induce corpulence than the red wines.
Champagne is certainly most agreeable to the palate, and on account of
its stimulating effect, even when taken in small quantity, is much in
vogue; yet it is not suited to such as have a tendency to make fat. A
young lady under my care, who was enormously fat, acknowledged that
she lived exclusively on pastry and sweetmeats, and drank nothing but
champagne. A change both of food and beverage effected a speedy cure.
In some cases this wine gives rise to indigestion, owing to the large
amount of free carbonic acid gas which it contains, acting injuriously
upon the nerves which are distributed to the stomach.
A strong infusion of tea is one of those beverages having a tendency to
oppose the formation of fat; it is nevertheless nutritious, inasmuch
as it prevents the disintegration of tissue. Moreover, its action on
the nervous system is exhilarating. On account of these properties it
is much used in England by all classes. A weak infusion of tea, with
a superabundance of milk and sugar, is, on the other hand, highly
conducive to the formation of fat, and therefore should be avoided.
The beneficial effects of tea and coffee are due to substances
heretofore named "_theine_" and "_caffeine_," according to the source
whence they were obtained. These substances are now known to be
identical, although derived from plants of entirely different families.
An infusion of coffee produces effects similar to those induced by tea.
If weak, it is favourable to the development of corpulence; but if
strong, it acts as a powerful stimulant upon the nervous system, and
assists digestion. A very strong infusion of coffee, more particularly
when taken upon an empty stomach, is powerfully anti-obesic in its
effects.
It has been alleged that coffee must be nutritious, because labourers
are enabled to support life upon a small amount of solid food when
supplied with an abundance of coffee. Now the fact is, that coffee has
all the properties of tea, and, like it, prevents waste of tissue,
thereby economizing food to the utmost, and enabling the labourer to do
a large amount of bodily work with a comparatively slight expenditure
of the organized tissues of the living body.
W. C. CHEWETT & CO., PRINTERS, KING STREET EAST, TORONTO.