MAINTAINING HEALTH

(FORMERLY HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY)

By R. L. ALSAKER, M. D. 

AUTHOR OF "EATING FOR HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY"

 _"When you arise in the morning, think what a precious privilege it is to live, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. "_ --MARCUS AURELIUS. 

 _"Nature Cures"_ --HIPPOCRATES

TO ISAAC T. COOK

WHOSE CRITICISMS, ASSISTANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT HAVE LIGHTENEDTHE LABOR AND ADDED TO THE PLEASURE OF PRODUCING THIS VOLUME. 

CHAPTER CONTENTS

 I PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS Humanity, Health and Healers

 II MENTAL ATTITUDE Correct and Incorrect--Results

 III FOOD General Consideration

 IV OVEREATING

 V DAILY FOOD INTAKE

 VI WHAT TO EAT

 VII WHEN TO EAT

 VIII HOW TO EAT

 IX CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS

 X FLESH FOODS Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations

 XI NUTS Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations

 XII LEGUMES Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations

 XIII SUCCULENT VEGETABLES Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations--Salads

 XIV CEREAL FOODS Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations

 XV TUBERS Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations

 XVI FRUITS Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations--Salads

 XVII OILS AND FATS

 XVIII MILK AND OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS Composition--Utility--Preparation--Combinations

 XIX MENUS Food Combination in General

 XX DRINK Water--Tea--Coffee--Alcohol--Enslaving Drugs

 XXI CARE OF THE SKIN Baths--Friction--Clothing

 XXII EXERCISE

 XXIII BREATHING AND VENTILATION

 XXIV SLEEP

 XXV FASTING Our Most Important Remedy--Symptoms--When and How to Fast--Cases

 XXVI ATTITUDE OF PARENT TOWARD CHILD

 XXVII CHILDREN Prenatal Care--Infancy--Childhood--Mental Training

 XXVIII DURATION OF LIFE Advanced Years--Living to Old Age in Health and Comfort

 XXIX EVOLVING INTO HEALTH How it is Often Done--A Case

 XXX RETROSPECT A Summing-up of the Subject

CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. 

Writings on hygiene and health have been accessible for centuries, butnever before have books and magazines on these subjects been as numerousas they are today. Most of the information is so general, vague andindefinite that only a few have the time and patience to read thethousands of pages necessary to learn what to do to keep well. The truthis to be found in the archives of medicine, in writings covering aperiod of over thirty centuries, but it is rather difficult to find thegrains of truth. 

Health is the most valuable of all possessions, for with health one canattain anything else within reason. A few of the great people of theworld have been sickly, but it takes men and women sound in body andmind to do the important work. Healthy men and women are a nation's mostvaluable asset. 

It is natural to be healthy, but we have wandered so far astray thatdisease is the rule and good health the exception. Of course, mostpeople are well enough to attend to their work, but nearly all aresuffering from some ill, mental or physical, acute or chronic, whichdeprives them of a part of their power. The average individual is ofless value to himself, to his family and to society than he could be. His bad habits, of which he is often not aware, have brought weaknessand disease upon him. These conditions prevent him from doing his bestmentally and physically. 

This abnormal condition has a bad effect upon his descendants, who maynot be born with any special defects, but they have less resistance atbirth than is their due, and consequently fall prey to disease veryeasily. This state of impaired resistance has been passed on fromgeneration to generation, and we of today are passing it on as aheritage to our children. 

About 280, 000 babies under the age of one year die annually in theUnited States. The average lifetime is only a little more than fortyyears. It should be at least one hundred years. This is a veryconservative statement, for many live to be considerably older, and itis within the power of each individual to prolong his life beyond whatis now considered old age. 

Under favorable conditions people should live in comfort and health tothe age of one hundred years or more, useful and in full possession oftheir faculties. Barring accidents, which should be less numerous whenpeople fully realize that unreasonable haste and speed are wasteful andthat life is more valuable than accumulated wealth, human life could andshould be a certainty. There should be no sudden deaths resulting fromthe popular diseases of today. In fact, pneumonia, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, cancer and various other ills that are fatal to the vastmajority of the race, should and could be abolished. This may soundidealistic, but though such results are not probable in the near future, they are possible. 

All civilized nations of which we have record, except the Chinese, havedecayed after growing and flourishing a few centuries, usually about athousand years or less. Many reasons are given for the decline and fallof nations. Rome especially furnishes food for much thought. However, look into the history of each known nation that has risen to prominence, glory and power, and you will find that so long as they kept in closecontact with the soil they flourished. With the advance of civilizationthe peoples change their mode of life from simplicity to luxuriousnessand complexity. Thus individuals decay and in the end there is enoughindividual decay to result in national degeneration. When this processhas advanced far enough these people are unable to hold their own. Inthe severe competitition of nations the strain is too great and theyperish. There is a point of refinement beyond which people can not goand survive. 

From luxury nations are plunged into hardship. Then their renewedcontact with the soil gradually causes their regeneration, if they haveenough vitality left to rise again. Such is the history of the Italians. Many others, like the once great Egyptians, whose civilization was veryfar advanced and who became so dissolute that a virtuous woman was acuriosity, have been unable to recover, even after a lapse of manycenturies. The degenerated nations are like diseased individuals: Somehave gone so far on the road to ruin that they are doomed to die. Otherscan slowly regain their health by mending their ways. 

Nations, like individuals, generally do better in moderate circumstancesthan in opulence. Nearly all can stand poverty, but only the exceptionalindividual or nation can bear up under riches. Nature demands of us thatwe exercise both body and mind. 

Civilization is not inimical to health and long life. In fact, thecontrary is true, for as the people advance they learn to master theforces of nature and with these forces under control they are able tolead better, healthier lives, but if they become too soft and luxuriousthere is decay of moral and physical fibre, and in the end the nationmust fall, for its individual units are unworthy of survival in a worldwhich requires an admixture of brain and brawn. 

Civilization is favorable to long life so long as the people aremoderate and live simply, but when it degenerates to sensuous softness, individual and racial deterioration ensue. Among savages the infantmortality is very great, but such ills as cancer, tuberculosis, smallpoxand Bright's disease are rare. These are luxuries which are generallyintroduced with civilization. Close housing, too generous supply offood, too little exercise and alcohol are some of the fatal blessingswhich civilized man introduces among savages. 

A part of the price we must pay for being civilized is the exercise ofconsiderable self-control and self-denial, otherwise we must suffer. 

The state of the individual health is not satisfactory. There is toomuch illness, too much suffering and too many premature deaths. It isestimated that in our country about three millions of people are illeach day, on the average. The monetary loss is tremendous and theanguish and suffering are beyond estimate. 

The race is losing every year a vast army of individuals who are intheir productive prime. When a part of a great city is destroyed mengive careful consideration to the material loss and plan to prevent arecurrence. But that is nothing compared to the loss we suffer from theannual death of a host of experienced men and women. Destroyed businessblocks can be replaced, but it is impossible to replace men and women. 

We look upon this unnecessary waste of life complacently because we areused to it and consequently think that it is natural. It is neithernecessary nor natural. If we would read and heed nature's writings itwould cease. Then people would live until their time came to fade awaypeacefully and beautifully, as do the golden leaves of autumn or theblades of grass. 

Many dread old age because they think of it in connection withdecrepitude, helplessness and the childish querulousness popularlyassociated with advancing years. This is not a natural old age; it isdisease. Natural old age is sweet, tolerant and cheerful. There are fewthings in life more precious than the memory of parents and grandparentsgrown old gracefully, after having weathered the storms of appetites andpassions, the mind firmly enthroned and filled with the calm tolerationand wisdom that come with the passing years of a well spent life. 

A busy mind in a healthy body does not degenerate. The brain, thoughapparently unstable, is one of the most stable parts of the body. 

We should desire and acquire health because when healthy we are at ourmaximum efficiency. We are able to enjoy life. We have greater capacityfor getting and giving. We live more fully. Being normal, we are inharmony with ourselves and with our associates. We are of greater valueall around. We are better citizens. 

Every individual owes something to the race. It is our duty tocontribute our part so that the result of our lives is not a tendencytoward degeneration, but toward upbuilding, of the race. The part playedby each individual is small, but the aggregate is great. If our childrenare better born and better brought up than we were, and there isgenerally room for improvement, we have at least helped. 

Health is within the grasp of all who are not afflicted with organicdisease, and the vast majority have no organic ills. All that isnecessary is to lead natural lives and learn how to use the mindproperly. Those who are not in sympathy with the views on racial dutycan enhance their personal worth through better living without givingthe race any thought. Every individual who leads a natural life andthinks to advantage helps to bring about better public health. Thenational health is the aggregate of individual health and is improved asthe individuals evolve into better health. National or racialimprovement come through evolution, not through revolution. Theimprovement is due to small contributions from many sources. 

The greatest power for human uplift is knowledge. Reformers oftenbelieve that they can improve the world by legislation. Lasting reformcomes through education. If the laws are very repressive the reaction isboth great and unpleasant. 

It takes about six months to learn stenography. It requires a longapprenticeship to become a first-class blacksmith or horseshoer. Toobtain the rudiments of a physician's art it is necessary to spend fourto six years in college. To learn a language takes an apt pupil at leasta year. A lawyer must study from two to four years to become a novice. Abusinessman must work many years before he is an expert in his line. Notone of these attainments is worth as much as good health, yet anindividual of average intelligence can obtain enough knowledge aboutright living during his spare time in from two to six months to assurehim of good health, if he lives as well as he knows how. Is it worthwhile? It certainly is, for it is one of the essentials of life. Healthwill increase one's earning capacity and productivity and more thandouble both the pleasure and the duration of life. 

Disease is a very expensive luxury. Health is one of the cheapest, though one of the rarest, things on earth. There is no royal road tohealth. If there is any law of health it is this: Only those will retainit permanently who are deserving of it. 

Many prefer to live in that state of uncertainty, which may be calledtolerable health, a state in which they do not suffer, yet are not quitewell. In this condition they have their little ups and downs andoccasionally a serious illness, which too often proves fatal. Even suchpeople ought to acquire health knowledge, for the time may come whenthey will desire to enjoy life to the fullest, which they can do onlywhen they have health. Those who have this knowledge are often able tohelp themselves quickly and effectively when no one else can. 

I am acquainted with many who have been educated out of disease intohealth. Many of them are indiscreet, but they have learned to know thesigns of approaching trouble and they ease up before anything seriousovertakes them. In this way they save themselves and their families frommuch suffering, much anxiety and much expense. Every adult should knowenough to remain well. Every one should know the signs of approachingillness and how to abort it. The mental comfort and ease that come fromthe possession of such knowledge are priceless. 

Everything that is worth while must be paid for in some way and theprice of continued good health is some basic knowledge and self-control. There are no hardships connected with rational living. It means to livemoderately and somewhat more simply than is customary. Simplicityreduces the amount of work and friction and adds to the enjoyment oflife. The cheerfulness, the buoyancy and the tingling with the joy oflife that come to those who have perfect health more than compensate forthe pet bad habits which must be given up. 

Many of the popular teachings regarding disease and its prevention arefalse. The germ theory is a delusion. The fact will some day begenerally recognized, as it is today by a few, that the so-calledpathogenic bacteria or germs have no power to injure a healthy body, that there is bodily degeneration first and then the system becomes afavorable culture medium for germs: In other words, disease comes firstand the pathogenic bacteria multiply afterwards. This view may seem veryridiculous to the majority, for it is a strong tenet of popular medicalbelief today that micro-organisms are the cause of most diseases. 

To most people, medical and lay, the various diseases stand out clearand individual. Typhoid fever is one disease. Pneumonia is an entirelydifferent one. Surely this is so, they say, for is not typhoid fever dueto the bacillus typhosus and pneumonia to the pneumococcus? But it isnot so. Outside of mechanical injuries there is but one disease, and thevarious conditions that we dignify with individual names are butmanifestations of this disease. The parent disease is filthiness, andits manifestations vary according to circumstances and individuals. 

This filthiness is not of the skin, but of the interior of the body. Theblood stream becomes unclean, principally because of indigestion andconstipation, which are chiefly due to improper eating habits. Some ofthe contributory causes are wrong thinking, too little exercise, lack offresh air, and ingestion of sedatives and stimulants which upset theassimilative and excretory functions of the body. In all cases the bloodis unclean. The patient is suffering from autointoxication orautotoxemia. 

If this is true, it would follow that the treatment of all diseases isabout the same. For instance, it would be necessary to give about thesame treatment for eczema as for pneumonia. Basically, that is exactlywhat has to be done to obtain the best results, though the variation inlocation and manifestation requires that special relief measures, oflesser importance, be used in special cases, to get the quickest andbest results. In both eczema and pneumonia the essential thing is to getthe body clean. 

The practice of medicine is not a science. We have drugs that arereputed to be excellent healers, yet these very drugs sometimes producedeath within a few hours of being taken. The practice of medicine is anart, and the outcome in various cases depends more on the personality ofthe artist than on the drugs he gives, for roughly speaking, allmedicines are either sedative or stimulant, and if the dosage is keptbelow the danger line, the patient generally recovers. It seems to makevery little difference whether the medicine is given in the tinyhomeopathic doses, so small that they have only a suggestive effect, orif they are given in doses several hundred times as large by allopathsand eclectics. 

It is true that we have drugs with which we can diminish or increase thenumber of heart beats per minute, dilate or contract the pupils of theeye, check or stimulate the secretion of mucus, sedate or irritate thenervous system, etc. , but all that is accomplished is temporarystimulation or sedation, and such juggling does not cure. The practiceof medicine is today what it has been in the past, largely experimentand guess-work. 

On the other hand, natural healers who have drunk deep of the cup ofknowledge need not guess. They know that withholding of food andcleaning out the alimentary tract will reduce a fever. They know thatthe same measures will clean up foul wounds and stop the discharge ofpus in a short time. They know that the same measures in connection withhot baths will terminate headaches and remove pain. They further knowthat if the patient will take the proper care of himself after the acutemanifestations have disappeared there will be no more disease. After alittle experience, an intelligent natural healer can tell his patients, in the majority of cases, what to expect if instructions are followed. He can say positively that there will be no relapses and nocomplications. 

How different is this from the unsatisfactory practice of conventionalmedicine! However, most physicians refuse to accept the valuableteachings which are offered to them freely, and one of the reasons isthat the natural healers do not present their knowledge in scientificform. The knowledge is scientific but it is simple. Such objection doesnot come with good grace from a profession practicing an art. Life isbut a tiny part science, mixed with much art. 

The true scientist in the healing art is he who can take an invalid andby the use of the means at his command bring him back to health, not inan accidental manner, but in such a knowing way that he can predict theoutcome. In serious cases the natural healer of intelligence andexperience can do this twenty times where the man who relies on drugsdoes it once. The physicians who prescribe drugs are ever on thelook-out for complications and relapses, and they have many of them. Thenatural healers know that under proper treatment neither complicationsnor relapses can occur, unless the disease has already advanced so farthat the vital powers are exhausted before treatment is begun, and thisis generally not the case. In this book many of the medical fallacies oftoday, both professional and lay, will be touched upon in a kindlyspirit of helpfulness and ideas that contain more truth will be offeredin their place. The truth is the best knowledge we have today, accordingto our understanding. It is not fixed, for it may be replaced bysomething better tomorrow. However, one fundamental truth regardinghealth will never change, namely, that it is necessary to conform to thelaws of nature, or in other words, the laws of our being, in order toretain it. 

No one can cover the field of health completely, for though it is verysimple, it is as big as life. The most helpful parts of this book willbe those which point the way for each individual to understand hisrelation to what we call nature, and hence help to enable him to gain abetter understanding of himself. 

By natural living is not meant the discarding of the graces ofcivilization and roaming about in adamic costume, living on the foods asthey are found in forest and field, without preparation. What is meantis the adjustment of each person to his environment, or the environmentto the person, until harmony or balance is established, which meanshealth. 

One of the most difficult things about teaching health is that it is sovery simple. People look for something mysterious. When told that goodold mother nature is the only healer, they are incredulous, for theyhave been taught that doctors cure. When informed that they do not needmedicine and that outside treatment is unnecessary, they find itdifficult to believe, for disease has always called for treatment ofsome kind in the hands of the medical profession. When further told thatthey have to help themselves by living so that they will not put anyobstacles in the way of normal functioning of their bodies, they thinkthat the physician who thinks and talks that way must be a crank, andmany seek help where they are told that they can obtain health frompills, powders and potions or from various inoculations and injections. 

To live in health is so simple that any intelligent person can masterthe art and furthermore regain lost health in the average case, withoutany help from professional healers. There is plenty knowledge and allthat is needed is a discriminating mind to find the truth and thenexercise enough will power to live it. If a good healer is at hand, itis cheaper to pay his fee for personal advice than to try to evolve intohealth without aid, but if it is a burden to pay the price, get theknowledge and practice it and health will return in most cases. The vastmajority of people suffering from chronic ills which are consideredincurable can get well by living properly. 

The more capable and frank the healer is, the less treatment will beadministered. Minute examinations and frequent treatment serve to makethe patient believe that he is getting a great deal for his money. Advice is what the healer has to sell, and if it is correct, it isprecious. The patient should not object to paying a reasonable fee, forwhat he learns is good for life. People gladly pay for prescriptions ordrugs. The latter are injurious if taken in sufficient quantity to havegreat effect. So why object to paying for health education, which ismore valuable than all the drugs in the world? Because of their attitudeon this subject, the people force many a doctor to use drugs, who wouldgladly practice in a more reasonable way if it would bring thenecessities of life to him and his family. The public has to enlightenitself before it will get good health advice. The medical men willcontinue in the future, as they have done in the past, to furnish thekind of service that is popular. 

A good natural healer teaches his patients to get along without him andother doctors. A doctor of the conventional school teaches his patronsto depend upon him. The former is consequently deserving of far greaterreward than the latter. 

The law of compensation may apply elsewhere, thinks the patient, butsurely it is nonsense to teach that it applies in matters of health, fordoes not everybody know that most of our diseases are due to causes overwhich we have no control? That the chief cause is germs and that we cannot control the air well enough to prevent one of these horriblemonsters (about 1/25, 000 of an inch long) from settling in the body andmultiplying, at last producing disease and maybe death? This is untrue, but it is a very comforting theory, for it removes the element ofpersonal responsibility. People do not like to be told that if they areill it is their own fault, that they are only reaping as they havesowed, yet such is the truth. 

Patients often dislike to give up one or more of their bad habits. "Mr. Blank has done this very thing for sixty or seventy years and now at theage of eighty or ninety he is strong and active, " they reply towarnings. This is sophistry, for although an individual occasionallylives to old age in spite of broken health laws, the average person whoattempts it perishes young. Those who do not conform to the rules arenot allowed to sit in the game to the end. 

Another false feeling, or rather hope, deeply implanted in the humanbreast is: "Perhaps others can not do this, but I can. I have done itbefore and can do it again; it will not hurt me for I am strong andpossessed of a good constitution. " The wish is father to the thought, which is not founded on facts. The most common and the most destructiveform of dishonesty is self-deception. Those who are honest withthemselves find it easy to deal fairly and squarely with others. 

The doctors of the dominant school are very distrustful of the naturalhealers, in spite of the fact that the latter obtain the best results. Many of the conditions which the regular physicians treat withoutsatisfactory results, the natural healers are able to remove in a fewmonths. When members of the dominant school of medicine find menleading patients suffering from various skin diseases, Bright's disease, chronic digestive troubles, rheumatism and other ills which theythemselves make little or no impression upon back to health, they areunwilling to believe that such results can be accomplished by means ofhygiene and proper feeding. They think there is some fakery about it, for their professors, books and experience have taught them otherwise. They consider the views of the natural healer unworthy of seriousattention and often call him a quack, which epithet closes thediscussion. They are ethical and do not wish to be mired by contact withquacks. 

The distrust of medical men for healers of the natural school is nothard to explain. Many of the natural healers are men of education andexperience, but others lack both, and no matter how good the latter maybe at heart, they make very serious blunders. For instance: They get outcirculars, listing all prominent diseases known, stating that they curethem. They either are so enthusiastic that they are carried away or theyare so ignorant that they do not know that there is a stage ofdegeneration which will not allow of regeneration, and that when such astage is reached in any chronic disease the end is death. 

Another handicap is that intelligent natural healers have such excellentsuccess that they lose their heads. They educate patients by the hundredinto health who have been given up as incurable by the conventionalphysicians. In their success they forget that modesty is very becomingto the successful and begin to boast. This hurts the cause. Let thenatural healer ever remember that he does not cure, that he is but theinterpreter and that nature is the restorer of health. 

The natural healers must be more careful about their statements if theywould have the respect of intelligent people, and they must labordiligently to be well informed. For their own good regular physicianswill have to be more open-minded, and recognize the fact that it is notnecessary to have a M. D. Degree to accept the truth regarding healing. Medical men are losing their hold on the public largely because theyhave cultivated the class spirit. 

It is a well known fact among natural healers that most cases ofBright's disease are curable, even after they have become chronic. However, a physician who voices this truth will probably be classedamong irresponsible dreamers by other doctors. 

Antagonism of this kind breeds extremists and is therefore harmful tothe public, which pays for all the mistakes made. It is very easy tolose one's mental balance and to begin to play on a harp with but onestring. We have a large army of Christian Scientists. If it were not forthe way in which physicians of the past mistreated the body andneglected the mind, this sect would not exist. The doctors, with theirawful doses of nauseous and destructive drugs, went to one extreme. Thereaction was the formation of a sect that has gone to the other extreme. The Christian Scientists are incomprehensible in spots to us mortals whobelieve in a body as well as a mind, but they have a cheerful andhelpful philosophy which brings enjoyment on earth and they have done animmense amount of good by teaching people to cease thinking and talkingso much about themselves and their ills. Among other demonstrations, they have shown the uselessness of drugs. 

Of late so many varieties of drugless healers have sprung into existencethat it is difficult to remember even their names. There are manypathies. These have a tendency to take one part of the human being, orone procedure of treatment, and to play this up to the elimination ofall the rest. Some do everything with the mind. Others pay no attentionto the mind. Bathing, massage, manipulating the spine, washing out thecolon, baths in mud, sunshine or water, suggestion and many other thingsare separately given credit for being cure-alls. Many of these areexcellent as a part of regenerative treatment, but they are notsufficient of themselves to give permanent results. 

Most healers have too narrow vision. People come to them because theyhave faith. The faith alone will produce temporary improvement, but assoon as the interest is gone and the procedure grows old the patientbecomes worse again unless the treatment possesses genuine merit. Osteopathy is most excellent, as a part of a healing system, but it isnot sufficient. The osteopaths find their patients relapsing over andover again, or taking some other disease. However, they are learning, inincreasing numbers, that if they would keep their patrons well, theyhave to give them education along the line of hygiene and dietetics, with a little mental training thrown in. 

Many chiropractors are learning the same thing. In some chiropracticschools there are professors wise enough to teach their students to bebroad-minded. The true natural healer makes use of air, water, food, exercise, mental training--in fact, all the means nature has put at hisdisposal. He realizes that the best treatment is education of thepatient. In many cases a cure can be greatly hastened by proper localtreatment. 

It is unfortunate that the nature healers are so divided and that manyoperate upon such a narrow basis. If the vast majority of them were wellinformed, broad enough to make use of all helpful natural means, andwere designated by the same name, it would not take them long to gainmore public confidence and respect than they now possess. So long as thenature healers segregate themselves and allow themselves to be narrow, so long will they have to struggle at a disadvantage against the moreunited wielders of scalpels and prescribers of drugs. 

The question of choosing a health guide is sometimes perplexing. Thepatient should select one in whom he has confidence, for confidence is agreat aid in restoring health. It often happens that there is no one inthe town in whom the patient has confidence, for many communities haveno competent natural healers. Then the question is whether or not toseek advice by correspondence. In acute diseases this is generally a badplan, for the family often lacks the poise and equanimity necessary tocarry out directions. In chronic cases it is usually all right. Here allthat is required is correct knowledge put into practice and errors arenot as dangerous as in acute diseases. Curable cases will get well byfollowing the advice given by correspondence. A medical man who educatespeople by correspondence is considered unethical and is severelycensured by the ethical brethren. To prescribe medicine by mail iswithout doubt reprehensible, but to educate people into health is a workof merit, whether it is done face to face or by correspondence. It isadvantageous to meet the physician, talk things over and be examined, but it is not necessary. 

I know of some cases of acute disease treated satisfactorily by letterand telegram, but the patients' families were in sympathy with naturalmethods, of which they had a fair knowledge, and they had unlimitedconfidence in the healer. 

I am personally acquainted with many people who have been educated outof chronic disease and into health by correspondence, after the localphysicians had vainly exhausted all their skill. It is simply a matterof applied knowledge and it works just as well in curable cases if givenby telephone, telegraph or letter as if imparted by word of mouth. However, it seems to me that it is most satisfactory for all concernedwhen the healer and the sufferer can meet. 

My words are not inspired by any ill feeling toward the members of themedical profession. I have found medical men to measure well up in everyway. They are better educated than the average and they are as kind andconsiderate as are other men. As men we can expect no more of them underpresent conditions, but because they are better equipped than theaverage, we have a right to ask for an improvement in their practice, even if they have inherited a great many handicaps from theirpredecessors and it is not easy to throw off the past, which acts as adead weight ever tending to check progress. The tendency of the times isfor fuller, freer and more sincere service in every line, for evolvingout of the useless into the greatest helpfulness. It is not asking toomuch when we demand of the doctors that they rid themselves of theinjurious drug superstition and become health teachers, that instead ofbeing in the rear they come to the front and make progress easier. 

What I say about drugs is founded on intimate observation. I waseducated medically in two of the colleges where medication is stronglyadvocated and well taught, and am a regular M. D. I have watched peoplewho were treated by means of drugs and the biologic products, such asserums, vaccines and bacterines, which are now so popular, and I havewatched many who have been treated by natural methods. Anyone with myexperience and capable of thinking would come to the conclusions givenin this book, that it is a mistake to administer drugs and serums andthat the natural methods give results so much superior to theconventional methods that there is no comparison. Others who havediscarded drugs know from experience that this is true. 

The physicians who are on intimate terms with nature will neither desirenor require drugs. Sound advice, that is, teaching, is the most valuableservice a physician can render. Right living and right thinking alwaysresult in health if no serious organic degeneration has taken place. Ifthe public could only be made to realize that they need a great deal ofknowledge and very little treatment, and that knowledge is very valuableand treatment often worthless the day would soon dawn when healthmatters will be placed on a sound, natural basis. 

Surgery is occasionally necessary, but today from ten to twentyoperations are performed where but one is needed. 

"There is nothing new beneath the sun, " is a popular quotation. It seemsto hold true in the healing art, for the best modern practice was thebest ancient practice. Naturally, people like to make new discoveriesand get credit therefore. Our valuable new discoveries in healing arevery ancient. Though much that appears in these pages may seem strangeand new to many, I claim no originality. My aim is to present workable, helpful facts in such a way that any person of average intelligence andwill power can apply them, and to get the essentials of health withinsuch a compass that no unreasonable amount of time need be employed infinding them. 

According to late discoveries, the ancient Egyptians were more advancedin the art of living than any other people on earth, including themoderns. They taught that overeating is the chief causative factor ofdisease, and so it is. They taught cleanliness, the priests going to theextreme of shaving the entire body daily. It would naturally follow thatthey prescribed moderation in eating, which leads to internalcleanliness. Cleanliness of body, in conjunction with cleanliness ofmind, will put disease to rout. 

The ancient Greek writers commented on the good state of health amongthe Egyptians, and modern medical writers marvel that they made solittle use of drugs. Evidently they found drugs of little value, forthey were taught hygienic living. The admirable health laws laid down byMoses were derived from Egyptian sources. 

The ancient nations were as much influenced by the Egyptians as we aretoday by the Greeks who lived before the Christian era. The Greeks builtcombination temples and sanitaria, to which the afflicted resorted. Thepriests were in charge and these ancient heathens were great rogues. Byfooling the people they got big fees out of them. Their oracular sayingsand miracles were adroitly presented. They did not teach that overeatingis the chief cause of disease, for this did not suit the mystic times. The people liked oracular prescriptions, and they got them. The law ofsupply and demand worked as well then as it does now. The heathenpriests waxed fat and the medical art degenerated. 

About five centuries B. C. , Pythagoras taught that health can bepreserved by means of proper diet, exercise and the right use of themind. He also taught many other truths and some fallacies. In spite ofmuch superstition mixed with his philosophy, it was too pure for thetimes and he perished. 

Hippocrates, born about 470 years B. C. , is one of the bright lights ofthe medical world. He was so far ahead of his time that he still lives. He was the founder of medical art as we know it. He used many drugs, buthe also relied on natural means. He was the first medical man on recordto pay serious attention to dietetics. The following quotations willshow how well his mind grasped the essentials of the healing art: "Oldpersons need less fuel (food) than the young. " "In winter abundantnourishment is wholesome; in summer a more frugal diet. " "Follownature. " "Complete abstinence often acts very well, if the strength ofthe patient can in any way maintain it. " In acute disease he withheldnourishment at first and then he prescribed a liquid diet. He also madeuse of the "milk cure, " which is considered modern, in conjunction withbaths and exercise; this is very efficacious in some chronic diseases. He further spoke the oft-forgotten truth that physicians do not heal. "Natural powers are the healers of disease. " "Nature suffices foreverything under all conditions. "

The next great physician was Galen, who lived in the second and thirdcenturies of our era. He added greatly to medical knowledge, madeextensive use of dietetics, and then in a self-satisfied manner informedhis readers that they need look no further for enlightenment, for he hadgiven them all that was of any value. Perhaps he meant this as a joke, but those who followed him took it seriously, with the result thatmedical advance stopped for several centuries. 

The physicians of the dark ages had some light, as evidenced by thispopular quotation taken from a poem that the faculty of the medicalcollege of Salerno gave to Robert, son of William the Conqueror, in theyear 1101:

 "Salerno's school in conclave high unites To counsel England's king and thus indites: If thou to health and vigor wouldst attain, Shun mighty cares, all anger deem profane; From heavy suppers and much wine abstain; Nor trivial count it after pompous fare To rise from table and to take the air. Shun idle noonday slumbers, nor delay The urgent calls of nature to obey. These rules if thou wilt follow to the end, Thy life to greater length thou may'st extend. "

During recent times but two important discoveries have been madeconcerning matters of health: First, the advantage of cleanliness;second, the approximate chemical composition of various foods. All theother important new discoveries are old. 

Cleanliness, moderation in all things, right thinking and a realizationof the fact that nature cures are some of the most important stones uponwhich to build a healing practice. The most important single therapeuticfactor is to abstain from food during pain and active disease processes. 

Cleanliness of mind and body has been taught for thousands of years, yetcleanliness of body is a new discovery, for which we are greatlyindebted to the great bacteriologist, Pasteur. It has been found thatgerms thrive best in filth; this has been taught so thoroughly that thepublic is somewhat afraid of the germs and as a measure ofself-protection they are cleaning up. Of old, cleanliness meant a cleanskin, but this is the least important part. It is far more necessary tohave a clean alimentary tract and clean blood, with a resultant sweet, healthy body, and this is what cleanliness is beginning to mean. Internal cleanliness necessitates moderation, for an overworkedalimentary tract becomes foul and some of the poisons are taken into theblood. 

Asepsis and antisepsis simply mean cleanliness. 

The benefits of moderation have been known for thousands of years. LouisCornaro, who died in 1566, wrote a delightful book on the subject. People know that it is necessary to be moderate, but they do not seem torealize the meaning of moderation nor is its value well enough implantedin the human mind to produce satisfactory results. 

Right thinking seemed as important to the thinkers of old as it does tothe New Thought people today. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so ishe. "

For the better knowledge of the composition of food we have to thank thechemists. 

Laymen are referred to frequently in this book because their work hasbeen so helpful and important. Herbert Spencer and Alfred Russel Wallacehad very clear conceptions regarding health. See their opinionsregarding vaccination. There is no difference in the mental processes ofphysicians and laymen. Anyone can know about health, though it takesconsiderable experience and observation to get acquainted with the lessimportant subject of disease. One indictment against medical men is thatthey have dwelled almost entirely on disease and paid no attention tohealth. 

A group of modern men deserve great credit for popularizing healthknowledge, which generally results in the loss of professional standingof the teacher. R. H. Trall, M. D. , insisted that drugs are useless andharmful, that the only rational and safe way of healing ordinary ills isto use nature's means. "Strictly speaking, fever and food areantagonistic ideas, " he wrote. In his Hydropathic Encyclopedia, copyrighted in 1851, he puts great stress on natural remedies, such asfood and water. He met with much opposition, but he has left a deepimpression on the minds of men who are now having some influence inshaping public opinion on health and healing. 

Dr. Charles Page of Boston has been writing in advocacy of naturalhealing for over thirty years. He also has emphasized the harmfulness ofdrugs, the necessity of withholding food from fever patients, and simpleliving, remaining in touch with nature. Another important point whichthe doctor has been trying to impress upon the public is that it isnecessary to retain the natural salts of the foods, instead of ruiningthem or throwing them away, as is generally done, especially in thepreparation of vegetables and many cereal products. 

Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey began to present his ideas to the public a fewyears after the Civil War. His little book entitled "The No-BreakfastPlan and the Fasting Cure, " has had a great influence among rationalhealers. The doctor emphasized the importance of going without food inacute diseases so that no one who has read the book can forget it. Hepointed out some of the errors of conventional healing as they had neverbeen shown before, and I believe he was the first one to give thecorrect rules to guide people in the consumption of food. 

For fourteen years Dr. J. H. Tilden of Denver has been a voluminouswriter on health. He teaches that the law of compensation applies tohealth; that all disease is one and the same fundamentally; that"Autotoxemia is the fundamental basic cause of all diseases. " Like allothers who have investigated the subject impartially he believes thatone of the most important factors of health is correct feeding. Heallows all foods, in compatible combinations. Of course, he gives nodrugs. 

Dr. Harry Brook of Los Angeles is unique among the health educators oftoday. He is a brainy journalist with a good stock of fundamental healthknowledge and is endowed with the ability to place his convictionsbefore the public in a striking manner. He has been carrying on hiseducational work for many years. 

Elbert Hubbard has also had a great deal of influence on the thought oftoday. At intervals he publishes an article on health which gets widedistribution. He has the faculty of making people think, and those whoallow themselves to think independently generally evolve intoserviceable knowledge. 

Bernarr Macfadden has a large following. He is a strong advocate ofphysical culture and favors vegetarianism and other changes fromconventional life. He educates his readers away from drugs. He haswritten much that is helpful and his influence is widely felt. Like allothers who have struggled against the fetters of convention, he hasaroused much opposition. 

There are a few good health magazines, and there are many people livingwho deserve credit for their labor to improve the mental and physicalcondition of humanity. Some of these will be mentioned and quoted. 

Some of the teachers have dwelled upon but one idea and some haveadvocated fallacies, but there is good to be found in all of them. Noknowledge assays one hundred per cent. Pure. 

No helpful healing knowledge should be kept away from the public; itshould be as free as possible. The public, when it understands, willingly pays a fair price for it, which is all that should be asked. To take advantage of the sick and helpless is contemptible. The old-timeidea, still prevalent, that medical knowledge is for the doctor only isa mistake. The best patients are the intelligent ones. The office of thephysician should be to educate his clients; his best knowledge and hisbest qualities will be developed in dealing honestly with intelligentpeople. 

The practice of medical secrecy began in ancient times when the healersand the priests believed in fooling the public. Unfortunately, thisprofessional attitude still survives. No one who has not practiced thehealing art can know how tempted a doctor is to fake and humbug a littleto retain and gain patronage. 

Emerson wrote: "He is the rich man who can avail himself of other men'sfaculties. He is the richest man who knows how to draw a benefit fromthe labors of the greatest number of men--of men in distant countriesand past times. " Those who wish to be healthy and efficient arecompelled to advance by taking advantage of other men's faculties. Hewho attempts to learn all by experience does not live long enough totravel far. 

Everyone should try to get a knowledge of the few most fundamental factsof nature governing life. Then it would not be so easy to go astray. Health literature should be read with an open mind. Read in conjunctionwith your knowledge of the laws of nature, and then it will be seen thathealth and disease are according to law, and that by eliminating themistakes disease will disappear. 

All disease is one. It is the manifestation of disobeyed natural law, and whether the mistakes are made knowingly or ignorantly matters butlittle so far as the results are concerned. It is generally considered adisgrace to be imprisoned for transgressing man-made law, which isfaulty and complex. How about being in the fetters of disease fordisregarding nature's law, which is just and simple?

It is my aim to use as simple language as possible. If physicians readthese pages, they will understand them without technicalities, and sowill laymen. This book contains much knowledge that physicians shouldhave, knowledge that will help them when that which they have acquiredfrom conventional sources fails, but in many respects it is so opposedto popular customs and beliefs that many physicians will doubtlesscondemn it on first reading. Doctors are taught otherwise at medicalcolleges, and most of them have such high regard for authority that itis very difficult for them to see matters in a different light. I appealto both laymen and healers with open minds. 

These rambling thoughts will serve to show the reader whether it isworth while to go any further. The following chapters are devoted to anexposition of a workable knowledge of how to retain health, and how toregain lost health in ordinary cases. They will teach how to getdependable health, how to remain well in spite of climatic conditions, bacteria and other factors that are given as causes of disease, and howto more than double the ordinary span of life. 

Good health and long life result in better work, increased earningcapacity and efficiency of body and mind, greater understanding, andmore enjoyment of life. It gives time to cultivate wisdom. 

CHAPTER II. 

MENTAL ATTITUDE. 

On mental questions there is a wide divergence of opinion. At oneextreme some say that all is mind, at the other, that life is entirelyphysical, that the mind is but a refined part of the body. Most of usrecognize both body and mind, and realize that life has a physicalbasis. If some are pleased to be known as mental phenomena, no harm isdone. 

All desire to make a success of life. What would be a success for onewould be a failure for another. It all depends on the point of view. Broadly speaking, all are successful who are helpful, whether it be infurnishing pleasure or necessities to others. The humble may be assuccessful as the great, yes even more so. 

Wealth and success are not synonymous, as many think. Among the failuresmust be counted many of the wealthy. Financial success is not realsuccess unless it has been gained in return for valuable service. Themen of initiative deserve greater rewards than the plodders and theserewards are cheerfully given. 

A little genuine love and affection can bring more beauty and happinessinto life than wealth, and neither can be bought with money. 

The best and most satisfying form of success comes to him who helpshimself by helping others. "It is more blessed to give than to receive, "has passed into common currency; but the more we give the more wereceive. He who loves attracts love. He who hates is repaid in kind. "Hewho lives by the sword shall perish by the sword. "

The enjoyment of the fruits of one's labor is a part of success. Somemake a fetish of success and thus lose out. Others are so ambitious thatin their striving they forget to live. A little ambition is good; toomuch sows the seed of struggle, strife and discontent and defeats itsown ends. Those who do evil because the end justifies the means havealready buried some of the best that is in them. 

To enjoy life, health of body and mind is necessary. The mind can notcome to full fruitage without a good body. Those who strive so hard toreach a certain goal that they neglect the physical become wrecks andafter a few years of discomfort and disease are consigned to prematuregraves. Through proper living and thinking the body and mind are builtup, not only enough to meet ordinary demands upon them, butextraordinary ones. In other words, it is within our power to have alarge margin, balance or reserve of physical and mental force. 

To make the meaning clearer let us illustrate financially: Prudentpeople lay aside a few dollars from time to time, in a savings bank, forinstance. All goes well and the savings grow. At last there are onethousand dollars. Now an emergency arises, and if the saver can notfurnish nine hundred dollars he will lose his home. In this case he musteither borrow or use his reserve, so he takes nine hundred dollars fromthe savings bank and keeps his home. The improvident man loses his homeunder similar circumstances, for his credit is not good and he has nobalance to draw upon. 

And it is the same with physical and mental powers, except that we cannot borrow these, no matter how much good will or credit we may have. Hewho lives well is accumulating a reserve. He has a wide margin. Iftrouble comes he can draw upon his reserve energy or surplus resistanceand bridge it over. He may be tired out, but he escapes with body andmind intact. 

The imprudent liver generally has such a narrow margin that anyextraordinary demand made upon him breaks him down. It is very commonfor men to die after a financial failure. Disease, insanity and deathoften follow family trouble or the loss of a dear one. The reason isthat such people live up to their limit every day. They have no marginto work on. They either overdo or underdo and fail to become balanced. Then a little physical or mental exertion beyond the ordinary oftenmeans a breakage or extinction. 

Equanimity and moderation will help to build up the reserve and give theresistance that is necessary to cope successfully with the unforeseendifficulties that we sometimes have to surmount. 

The physical state depends largely on the mental state and vice versa. Body and mind react upon each other. Bad blood does not only causeabnormal functioning of such organs as the heart, liver, kidneys andlungs, but it interferes with the normal functioning of the brain. Itdiminishes the mental output and causes a deterioration of the quality. An engorged liver makes a man cranky. Indigestion causes pessimism. Physical pain is so disturbing that the sufferer thinks mostly ofhimself and is unable to perform his work well. We never do our bestwhen self-conscious. If there is severe pain the mind can perform nouseful labor. 

On the other hand, anger stops digestion and poisons the secretions ofthe body. Worry does the same. It takes the mind from constructivethoughts and deeds and centers it upon ourselves. An effective mind mustbe tranquil, otherwise it upsets the body and fails to give properdirection to our activities. 

For a real life success we need a proper perspective. We need to bebalanced, poised, adjusted. Most of us are too circumscribed mentally. We live so much by and for ourselves that we consider ourselves, individually, of greater importance than the facts warrant. Others donot agree with us on this point, and this is a source of disturbance. Iam personally acquainted with two surgeons and several physicians whothink they are the greatest in the world, and one considers himself thebest physician of all time. The rest of the world does not appraise themso highly, and some of these professional men are very much annoyedbecause of this lack of appreciation. 

Selfishness and self-esteem to a certain point are virtues. Beyond thatpoint they become vices. Certainly we should think well of ourselves, and then act so that this good opinion is merited. Self-interest andselfishness are the main-springs of progress. Most of us need someinducement to do good work. It is well that it is so. The ones whodeserve the great rewards generally get them, whether they are mental orphysical. 

To obtain a proper perspective of ourselves we must learn to thinkindependently and honestly. It is too common to be conventionallyhonest, but dishonest with ourselves. It is too common to pass unnoticedin ourselves the faults we condemn in others. We should be lenient inour judgment because often the mistakes that others make would have beenours had we but had the opportunity to make them. 

As physical ills are principally caused by bad physical habits, so aremental ills and inefficiency chiefly due to various bad mental habits, which are allowed to fasten themselves upon us. These will be brieflydiscussed so as to focus attention upon them, for the first thingnecessary for the correction of a bad habit is to recognize itspresence. It is as important to think right as it is to give the bodyproper care. A good body with a mind working in the wrong direction isof no use. If we allow our minds to be disturbed and distressed by everylittle unfavorable happening, we shall never have enough tranquility tothink well. 

The proper time to quit our bad habits is now. Why wait until the firstof the month or the first of the year? Every day that we harbor a badhabit it grows greater and strikes deeper and stronger roots. A childone year old can often be broken of a bad habit in a week; a child ofthree, within a month; a child of six, within a few months; but let thehabit grow until the age of twenty, and it may take a year or more tobreak the bonds. Let it continue until the age of thirty, and the victimwill say, "I can quit any time, " but the chances are that the habit willremain for life. After the individual is fifty or sixty years old, he israrely capable of changing. If he is the victim of a very bad habit, ithas generally so sapped his strength of body and mind that he is unableto break away. 

The right time to stop bad habits is now. 

Some people have many pet bad habits. It is often the best policy toattack them one at a time. Those who try to conquer all at once oftenfail. They backslide, lose self-confidence, become discouraged, tellthemselves that it is no use, for it can not be done. Begin with thehabit that is least formidable. After this is conquered, overcomeanother one, and in time most of the bad habits will be subdued. Thefirst conquest builds confidence, and with confidence and determinationit is possible to gain self-mastery in time. 

The greatest evil about bad habits is that they conquer us. They becomemasters, we slaves. Let us be free. "He who conquers himself is greaterthan he who taketh a city. "

The mind grows strong by overcoming obstacles, as the body gains instrength through work and exercise. 

Giving up bad habits is very disagreeable at first. Those who haveconquered the prevalent habit of overeating know that they have been ina fight. The smokers who quit suffer. Those who break away from liquorhave a much greater struggle. Those who attempt to overcome drugaddictions suffer the tortures of the damned. Those who overcome theirbad mental habits have a hard time of it at first, but though it isdifficult it is possible. It is no easy matter to curb a fierydisposition or to quit worrying. It requires time, persistence andperseverance. Fretting, envy, spite, jealousy and hatred are tenacioustenants of the mind they occupy. These harmful emotions are enemieswhich sap our strength and we must thrust them from our lives if wewould live well. This is not all narrow selfishness, for when we havegained mental calm for ourselves we are in position to impart peace ofmind to others and to be more useful than previously. A calm mind is nota stagnant one. It is a mind that is in the best possible condition towork, to think clearly and effectively. 

_Self-pity_ is a very common mental ill. Those who suffer much from thisaffliction usually have very good imagination. They think they areslighted and abused. They know that they do not get their dues. Theyenvy others and are sure that others prosper at their expense. Theyminimize their blessings and magnify their misfortunes. This state ofmind leads to spite and malice. These people become very nervous andirritable and are a nuisance, not only to themselves, but to those whoare unfortunate enough to have to associate with them. 

_Self-consciousness_ and _self-centeredness_ are twin evils. Thesufferers lack perspective. They magnify their own importance. Theybelieve they are the targets of many other minds and eyes. The youthrefuses to take a dip in the ocean because he knows that the rest of thepeople on the beach are watching his spindle shanks or perhaps thebathing suit would reveal his narrow, undeveloped chest. The young manis afraid to go onto the dance floor because everybody is sure to seehis ungainly gyrations. He stammers and stutters when he speaks becauseothers are paying particular attention to his words, when in truth he isattracting little or no attention. Whether working or playing, thosewhose good opinions are worth having are too busy to spend much time infinding fault with others and discovering flaws that do not concernthem. More enjoyment is to be had in looking at fine physiques andgraceful movements than in watching the less favored. 

We always do our best when we are natural. When we become self-consciouswe become artificial and awkward. We can not even breathe properly. Those who are ever thinking about themselves fail to do things wellenough to hold sustained attention, even if they are able to gain it fora while. Those who do their work well will in time gain the attentionand appreciation they require. No one can long occupy a high place inthe public heart without adding to the profit or pleasure of the world. 

Here is a good line of thought for those who are too self-centered andself-important: "There are millions of solar systems in the universe, some of them much greater than ours. There are uncounted planets inspace, beside some of which our little earth is a mere toy. Some ofthese planets are doubtless inhabited. Even on this small earth thereare over a billion people. I am one in a number so great that my mindcan not grasp such a multitude. Countless billions have gone before andthey got along very well before I was born. Countless billions will liveand die after I have passed on, and if they hear of me it will probablybe by accident. And so it will be for ages and ages, so extensive thatmy brain can not grasp the stretch of time, which is without beginningand without end. How much do I, individually, amount to?"

And an honest answer _must_ be, "Personally I am of very smallimportance. "

An individual can not live of himself, for himself and by himself. Onlyas he adds his efforts to those of others does his work count. When werealize that we are but atoms in this vast universe, we get down to abusiness basis. Then it is easy to get adjusted. In order to count atall we must be in harmony with some of the rest of the atoms and when wediscover this we are in a mental state to be of some real use. Buildingfor individual glory is vanity. Sometimes an individual builds so wellthat he is picked out for special attention and honor, but this iscomparatively seldom. As a rule, we can only help a little in shapingthe ends of the race by adding our mite, as privates in the ranks. Thetime we spend in nursing our conceit is wasted. 

This does not mean that we are worms in the dust. A human being is aparadox. He is so little, yet he has great possibilities. Our bodies arekept close to the earth, but our minds can be free and unfettered, soaring through time and space, exploring innumerable worlds of thought. 

But it will not do to be too self-centered or consider one's self of toogreat importance, for this lessens one's chances of meriting the esteemof others. 

The well balanced man is not greatly affected by too great praise orexcessive censure, for he realizes that though the public may be hastyand unjust at times, in the end it renders a fairly just verdict. 

_Fear_ is one of the harmful negative or depressing emotions. Fear, likeall other depressing emotions, poisons the body. This is not said in afigurative sense. It is an actual scientific fact; it has beendemonstrated chemically. Were it not for the fact that the lungs, skin, kidneys and the bowels are constantly removing poisons from the body, anacute attack of fear would prove fatal. 

Fear or fright is largely a habit. The parents are often responsible forthis affliction. It is far too common for them to scare their children. They people the darkness with all kinds of danger and with horribleshapes, and the children, with their vivid imaginations, magnify these. Children should be taught to meet all conditions in life courageouslyand fear should not be instilled into their minds. There is a great dealof difference between fear and the caution which all must learn orperish early. 

The caution that is implanted in the human breast is our heritage fromthe ages and works for our preservation. It was necessary during theinfancy of the race when man had to struggle with the animals forsupremacy. Beyond this point fear is a health-destroyer. 

There are people who cultivate fear until they imagine they are ever indanger. They fear that they may lose their health, their mind, theirgood name. Some are afraid of many things. Others have one pet fear. 

Today the fear of the unseen is strong in the public mind. I refer tothe fear of germs, those tiny plants which are so small that the unaidedeye can not see them. Children are shown moving pictures of these tinybeings, enormously enlarged and very formidable in appearance. They aretold to beware, for these germs are in our food, in our drink, on theearth, in the air, in fact everywhere that man lives. 

It is very harmful to scare the young thus, for it inhibits physicalaction and stunts the mind. How much better it would be to teach thechildren these truths about the germs: "Yes, there are germs in ourfoods and beverages. They are on the earth, in the water and in the air. They are necessary for our existence. If we take good care of our bodiesand direct our minds in proper channels, these germs will not, in fact, can not harm us. If we do not take care of ourselves, but allow ourbodies to fill with debris, the germs try to clean this away; theymultiply and grow into great armies while doing it, for they thrive onwaste. It is our fault, not the fault of the germs, that we allow ourbodies to degenerate. The germs are our good friends and if we treatourselves properly they will do all they can to help keep the water, theearth and the air in fit condition for our use. "

Such teachings have the advantage of being true. They are helpful andhealthful. The popular teachings are disease-producing. The mentaldepression and bodily inhibition caused by fear are injurious. Those whofear a certain kind of disease often bring this ill upon themselves, sopowerful is suggestion. The fear is more dangerous than the thingfeared. 

In fear there is loss of both physical and mental power. Not only thevoluntary muscles become impotent, but the involuntary ones lose ineffectiveness. Digestion is partly or wholly suspended. "Scared stiff"is a popular and truthful expression. The bodily rhythm is lost, thebreathing becomes jerky and the heart beats out of tune. 

Keep fear out of the lives of babes. If children are taught the truth, there will be little fear in adult minds. Children should not be taughtprayers in which there is an element of fear. It is much better to bringchildren up to love other people and God than to fear. 

Those who have cultivated fear should try suggestion. Positivesuggestion is always best. Let them analyze matters thus: "I have feareddaily and nightly. Nothing has happened. I have brought much unnecessarydiscomfort upon myself. There is nothing to fear and I shall be bravehereafter. " Those who fear God have a low conception of Him. Let themremember the beautiful saying that "God is love. " Through repeating themoften enough, such positive suggestions sink so deeply into the mindthat they replace doubts and fears. 

About 2500 years ago Pythagoras wrote: "Hate and fear breed a poison inthe blood, which, if continued, affect eyes, ears, nose and the organsof digestion. Therefore, it is not wise to hear and remember the unkindthings that others may say of us. " Pythagoras was an ancientphilosopher, but his words express modern scientific truths. 

_Worry_: Worrying is perhaps the most common and the worst of ourmental sins. Worry is like a cancer: It eats in and in. It isdestructive of both body and mind. It is due largely to lack ofself-control and is a symptom of cowardice. Much worry is alsoindicative of great selfishness, which most of those afflicted willdeny. Those who worry much are always in poor health, which growsprogressively worse. The form of indigestion accompanied by greatacidity and gas formation is a prolific source of worry, as well as ofother mental and physical troubles. The acidity irritates the nervoussystem and the irritation in time causes mental depression. 

Confirmed worriers will worry about the weather, the past, the present, the future, about work and about play, about food, clothing and drink, about those who are present and those who are absent. Nothing escapesthem and they bring sadness and woe in their wake. 

Worrying is slow suicide. 

Elbert Hubbard says that our most serious troubles are those that neverhappen. 

Worrying is a very futile employment, for it never does any good, and itreacts evilly upon the one who indulges in it, and those with whom heassociates. It is a waste of time and energy. The energy thus used couldbe directed into useful channels. 

Let those who are afflicted with this bad and annoying habit get intogood physical condition. Then many of the worries will take wing. Ifthey persist, it would be well to face the matter frankly and honestly, setting down the advantages of worrying on one side and thedisadvantages on the other. Then take into consideration that not onething in a thousand worried about happens, and if something disagreeabledoes occur, worrying can not prevent it. Besides a disagreeablehappening now and then will not cause half of the discomfort and troublethat a disturbed mind does. 

"And this too shall pass away, " is an ancient saying which it would bewell to remember in conjunction with, "And this will probably neverhappen. "

_Anger_ is a form of temporary insanity. It is an emotion that isunbecoming in strong men, for it is a sign of weakness, and the womenwho indulge in it frequently can not long keep the respect of others. Those who become angry lay themselves open to wounds of all kinds, forthey partly lose their mental and physical faculties temporarily. Anangry man is easily vanquished in any contest where ready wit isnecessary. As the saying is, he makes a fool of himself. To be highstrung and quick to lose one's temper may sound fine in romanticrubbish, but in real life it is folly, for much more can be accomplishedby being calm. 

Like hatred, anger produces poisons in the system. An angry mother'smilk has been known to kill the nursing child. A fit of anger is soserious that the evil effects can be felt for several days, and thosewho indulge in daily or even weekly loss of temper can not enjoy thebest of health, for the anger produces enough toxins to poison all thefluids of the body. 

Fortunately, anger is one of the emotions that can be conquered in areasonable time, if there is a real desire to do so. It should not takean adult more than one or two years to get himself under control. 

During anger there is a tensing of various muscles, those of the faceand hands for instance. If this tensing is not allowed the anger willnot last long. If there is a tendency to become angry, relax and themind will ease up. A perfectly relaxed individual can not harbor anger, for this emotion requires tensing of body and mind. A determination tocontrol the temper and a whole-hearted apology after each display ofanger will prove very effective in reducing the frequency and force ofthe attacks. Mental suggestion is not as powerful as some say, but it issuch a great force for good or evil, depending on its use, that thosewho are wise will not neglect it as a means of self-conquest. 

People who are easily offended and "stand on their dignity, " have a verypoor footing. Those who find it necessary to inform others that they areladies or gentlemen, are very apt to be prejudiced in their own favor. Gentlefolks do not need to advertise, nor do they do so. Othersrecognize their worth intuitively. 

_Fretting_ is anger on a small scale. It is a habit that is easilyformed. The fretter and those about him are made uncomfortable. Thosewho respect themselves and others do not indulge. 

_Hatred_ is one of the most harmful and poisonous of emotions. Fortunately, violent hatred can last but a short time, otherwise itwould prove fatal. Some are chronic haters. He who hates harms himself. The thoughts weave themselves into one's personality and form thecharacter. 

_Jealousy_ is one of the most disagreeable of emotions. The jealousperson insists on suffering. A jealous woman can convert a home into aninferno. Jealousy is sure to kill love in time. The jealous individualoften excuses himself on the ground that he loves. That is not true. There is more fear than love at the base of jealousy. Jealous people areselfish and too indolent mentally to give their thoughts a positivedirection. 

Those who are violently jealous are suffering from mental aberration. The jealous person loses, for he drives away the object of hisaffection. 

There are many jealous men, but women suffer most. Bad health andidleness are two prolific causes of jealousy. It has probably broken upmore homes than any other one thing. It is blighting to all it touches. 

Men and women may feel flattered for a time by producing jealousy, butit is a satisfaction of very short duration. They soon grow weary of thequestions, doubts and reproaches. 

Those who are sensible enough to give freely to others the liberty theycrave for themselves do not suffer much from this emotion. It would helpgreatly if man and wife would look upon the marriage relation more as apartnership and less as a form of bondage. One of the partners can notforce the other one to be "good. " People do the best by others when fullconfidence is given, and even if the confidence should be misplaced, itwould be better than to suffer from this corroding emotion at all times. 

It is not an easy task to overcome jealousy, but it can be done within areasonable time if there is a real desire. First get physical health. Then get busy with interesting, useful work. Get something worth whileto occupy the mind and the hands. Determine to be master of yourself andnot a slave to what is often but figments of the imagination. Unfortunately, jealousy so dwarfs the judgment at times that thesufferers seek only to rule or ruin. Love and hate are so closely akinthat it is hard to find the dividing line. 

_Sorrow_: Some dedicate their lives to a sorrow. They make martyrs ofthemselves. They have suffered a loss and they dwell upon it during allof their waking hours. It may be that it was a very ordinary orworthless husband or child. After death the poor real is converted intoa glorious ideal. With the passing years the virtues of the departedgrow. All the love and tenderness are lavished upon the dead and theliving are neglected. It is generally women who suffer from thispeculiar form of mild insanity, but men are not exempt. 

It is natural to feel the loss of a dear one, but so long as we aremortal we must accept these things as matters of course. 

Related to this form of sorrow is the regretting or brooding over pastactions, especially in connection with the dead. Perhaps something thatshould have been done was neglected, or something was done that shouldhave been left undone. Over this the sufferer broods by the hour, leading to a form of sad resignation that is rather irritating to normalpeople. 

For such people a change of interest and a change of scene will oftenprove very beneficial. 

_Envy_ and _spite_ are closely akin to jealousy and anger. They have thesame effect in lesser degree. 

_Vacillation of mind_ is a common fault. Many small questions have to besettled and a few important ones. Some are in the habit of deferringtheir decisions from time to time, or making and revoking theirdecisions. Then they decide over again, after which there is anotherrevocation. This is repeated until it is absolutely necessary to make afinal decision. By this time the mind is so muddled that the chances arethat the last decision will be inferior to the first one. No one wholeads an active life can be right all the time. He who is right sixtimes out of ten does pretty well, and he who can make a correctdecision three times out of four can command a fine salary as anexecutive or build up a flourishing business of his own, if his mind isactive. 

The doubt and uncertainty which result from unsettled questions, whichshould be promptly decided, are more harmful than an occasional error. The untroubled mind works most quickly and truly. 

Related to this in minor key is the doubtful condition of mind where theindividual has to do things several times before he is sure they areproperly done. For instance, there is the man who must try the officedoor several times to be sure that it is locked and after beingsatisfied on this point he is obliged to unlock it and investigate thecondition of the safe door. Then it is necessary to attend to the officedoor two or three times again. This kind of doubtfulness takes manyforms. It does no special harm except that it leads to much waste oftime. Such people should teach themselves concentration, thinking aboutone thing only at a time, until they learn that when a thing is done itis properly done. 

_Judging_: Many insist on passing judgment on everything and everybodythat come to their notice. Every individual has to be placed with thesheep or the goats. This is a great waste of time. Each one of us canknow so little about the majority of individuals we meet and of the vastvolume of knowledge that is to be had that if we try to judge everyoneand everything, our opinions become worthless. Wise people are neverafraid to say, "I don't know. " If it is necessary to judge, let there bekindness. 

_Volunteering advice_: This is another annoying habit. It is very wellto give advice if it is desired and asked for, otherwise it is a wasteof time. Take a person with a cold, for example: If he meets twentypeople he may be told of fifteen different cures for it, ranging fromgoose grease on a red rag to suggestive therapeutics. If he were to actupon all the advice received there would probably be a funeral. It isbest to be sparing with advice. Those who have any that is worth whilewill be asked for it and paid for their trouble. Free advice isgenerally worth what it costs. 

_Cranks_: Many allow themselves to get into a mental rut with theirthoughts running almost entirely to one subject. This is a mild form ofinsanity, for normal people have many interests. These people are thecranks. They can talk volumes about their favorite topic, often of noimportance. It may be some peculiar religion or ethics; or that Baconwrote the plays of Shakespeare; or some health fad, or almost anysubject. 

Of all the cranks the diet crank is one of the most annoying, for he hasthree good opportunities to air his views each day. With the bestmeaning in the world he does more harm to the cause of food reform thando the advocates of living in the good old way, eating, drinking andbeing merry and dying young. When people become possessed of too muchzeal and enthusiasm regarding a subject, they are sure that theirknowledge is the truth and they insist upon trying to enforce their wayupon others, resent having their old habits interfered with forcibly. Those who are too persistent and insistent produce antagonism andprejudice in the minds of others, and then it is almost impossible toimpart the truth to them, for they will neither see nor hear. 

To be able to influence others for better is a grand and glorious thing, but it is well to remember that we can not force knowledge which iscontrary to popular thought upon others suddenly. Those who change awell rooted opinion generally do so gradually. When they first hear thetruth, they say it is ridiculous. After a while they think there may besomething in it. At last they see its superiority over their formeropinions and accept it. It requires infinite patience on the part of theeducators to impart unpopular knowledge to other adults, no matter howmuch truth it contains. 

The truth about physical well-being is so simple and so self-evidentthat it is exceptionally hard to get an unprejudiced audience. From thetime when the ancient heathen priests were the healers until today theimpression has been that health and healing are beyond the understandingof the common mind, and therefore people are willing to be mystified. The mysterious has such a strong appeal in this world of uncertaintiesthat it is more attractive than the simple truth. Mystery simply demandsfaith. The truth compels thinking and thoughts are often painful. 

By all means, avoid being overinsistent in trying to impart healthknowledge to others. All who have a little knowledge of the fundamentalsof health and growth know that useful men and women are going intodegeneration and premature death constantly, because of violated healthlaws. If these people on the brink, who can yet be saved by naturalmeans, are told how it can be done, they generally either refuse tobelieve it, or they have led such self-indulgent lives that it is beyondtheir power to change. The knowledge often comes too late. 

Those who are anxious to do good in the spreading of health knowledgeamong their friends can serve best by getting health themselves. If aphysical wreck evolves into good health there will be considerablecomment and inquiry. This is the opportunity to tell what nature will doand inform others where to obtain a good interpretation of nature'sworkings. 

A little practicing is worth more than a great deal of preaching. Thetruth is the truth, no matter what the source, but it is more effectiveif it comes from one who lives it. 

I have gone into the subject of health cranks so deeply because thereare so many of them. They get a little knowledge and then they believethey are masters of the subject. The right attitude toward properliving, and especially toward proper eating is: "I shall try to conductmyself so as to be healthy and efficient. If others desire my help, Ishall try to indicate the way to them. Right living is no sign ofsuperior goodness or merit, being a matter of higher selfishness, so Ideserve no credit for it. Although health is very important, I shallrefrain from attempting to force my will on others. "

After conquering ourselves it is time to begin making foreign conquests, but by that time the realization comes that in the end it is best toleave others free to work out their own salvation. The desire is strongto mould others according to our pattern, but those who size themselvesup honestly soon come to the conclusion that they are so imperfect thatperchance some other pattern is fully as good. 

_Postponing happiness_: One peculiar state of mind is to refuse to behappy at present. The romantic girl and boy think they can not be happyuntil they are married. After marriage they find that they have to gaina certain amount of wealth before happiness comes. Then they have topostpone it for social position. They continue postponing happiness fromtime to time and the result is that they never attain it. Happiness isnot a great entity that bursts upon us, transforming us into radiantbeings. It is a comfortable feeling that brings peace and places us inharmony with our surroundings. It can best be gained by doing well eachday the work that is to be done, cheerfully giving in return for what isreceived. Happiness is largely a habit. It is as easy to be bright andcheerful as it is to be sad and doleful, and much more comfortable. Ifwe look for the best we will find beauty even in the most unpromisingplaces. If we are looking for tears and woe, we can easily find them. 

We can get along without happiness, but it adds so much color and beautyto life, it makes us so much better, it helps us so much to be usefulthat it is folly to do without it. It is not gained by narrowselfishness. Those who forget themselves most and are kind andconsiderate find it. By giving it to others we get it for ourselves. Ecstasy and rapture are emotions of short duration. They are soexhilarating that they soon wear out. 

We all have our little troubles and annoyances. These we should acceptas inevitable, and neither think nor talk much about them. They help towear away the rough edges. We are stupid at times and so are others andthen mistakes are made. These should also be accepted as inevitable, andwe should not be more annoyed by those that others make than by our own. Those who go into a rage when their subordinates err waste much time andenergy, erring gravely themselves. 

It is not necessary to notice every unimportant detail that is notpleasing. Fault-finding, carping and nagging destroy harmony. Disagreements about trifles often lead to broken friendship and enmity. Most quarrels are about trifles. 

If mistakes are made, learn the lesson they teach and then forget aboutthem. All live, active beings make mistakes. Sometimes we make seriousones and afterwards regrets come, but these must soon be thrust aside. Brooding has put many into the insane asylums. 

_Introspection_: It is not well to allow the mind to dwell upon one'sself very much. Give yourself enough thought to guide yourself throughlife, and then for the rest apply the mind to work and play. Many ofthose who are too self-centered end up in believing they are somethingor somebody else and then they are shut away from the public. 

Introspection is a very useless employment. Individually we are sosmall, and the mind has such great possibilities, that if we center itupon our tiny physical being, things become unbalanced and the mindceases to work to good advantage. It is useless to go deeply intoself-analysis, for we are very poor judges of ourselves. One of myneighbors delved so deeply into his heart and tried so hard to find outif he was fit to dwell in heaven that he lost his mind and had to beconfined for a long time. He allowed his vision to narrow down to onesubject. There are many subjects that lead to insanity if they areallowed exclusive possession of the mind. 

After we have given ourselves proper care, we should think no more aboutourselves. The best way is to get busy in work and play and forgetourselves. It is much better to love others than to center our love uponourselves. If we conduct ourselves well we shall have all the love fromothers that we need. If there is a tendency to be introspective, cure itby becoming active mentally and physically. 

Those who have acquired the bad habit of thinking and talking ill ofothers should break themselves of it. First cease talking ill. Thenbegin to look for the good points and mention them. By and by thethoughts will be good. Those who lack a virtue can often cultivate it byassuming it. 

One of the most helpful things is a sense of humor. Laughter bringsabout relaxation and relaxation gives ease of body and mind. He who cansee his own weaknesses and smile at them is surely safe and sane. If themind is too austere, cultivate a sense of humor. Train yourself toappreciate the ridiculous appearance you make and instead of beingchagrined, smile. When others laugh at you, join them. 

Whatever the mental ill may be, one-half of its cure will be broughtabout by getting physical health. 

Be charitable, tolerant and kind, and the good things in life will cometo you. Be slow to judge and slower still to condemn others. 

Those who give love attract it. Hypatia said: "Express beauty in yourlives and beauty flows to you and through you. To love means to beloved, and to put hate behind is the sum of all loving that is of anyavail. "

The best "New Thought" is the best old thought. If we only would putsome of the beautiful knowledge into common use, what an agreeabledwelling place this world would be. Marcus Aurelius gave us this pearlof wisdom: "When you arise in the morning, think what a preciousprivilege it is to live, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love! God'sspirit is close to us when we love. Therefore it is better not toresent, not to hate, not to fear. Equanimity and moderation are thesecrets of power and peace. "

CHAPTER III. 

FOOD. 

The human body is so wonderfully made that as yet we have only a poorunderstanding of it, but we are learning a little each decade, andperhaps in time we shall have a fair knowledge both of the body and ofthe mind. Body and mind can not be considered as two separate entities, for neither one is of any use without the other. 

The body is not a machine. Those who look upon it as such make themistake of feeding it as they would an engine, thinking that it takes somuch fuel to keep going. The human organism is perhaps never quite alikeon any two consecutive days, for the body changes with our thoughts, actions and environment, and the conditions never quite repeatthemselves and therefore we have to readjust ourselves. 

The most important single item for gaining and retaining physical healthis proper feeding, yet the medical men of this country pay so littleattention to this subject that in some of our best equipped medicalcolleges dietetics are not taught. A total of from sixteen to thirtyhours is considered sufficient to fit the future physicians to guidetheir patients in the selection, combination and preparation of food. Dietetics should be the principal subject of study. It should beapproached both from the scientific and from the empirical side. It isnot a rigid subject, but one which can be treated in a very elastic way. The scientific part is important, but the practical part, which is theart, is vastly more important. A part of the art of feeding and fastingis scientific, for we get the same results every time, under givenconditions. 

When we consider the fact that the body is made up of various tissues, such as connective tissue, blood, nerves and muscles; that these in turnare made up of billions of cells, as are the various glandular organsand membranes; that these cells are constantly bathed in blood andlymph, from which they select the food they need and throw the refuseaway, we must marvel that an organism so complex is so resistant, stableand strong. 

All articles of good quality are made by first-class workmen from finematerials. However, many people fail to realize that in order to havequality bodies they must take quality food, properly cooked or prepared, in the right proportions and combinations. If we feed the body properly, nature is kind enough to do good constructive work without any thoughton our part. 

You will find no rigid rules in these talks on diet, but you will findinformation that will enable you to select foods that will agree withyou. People may well disagree on what to eat, for there are so manyfoods that a person could do without nine-tenths of them and still bewell nourished. In fact, we consume too great a variety of food for ourphysical well-being. Great variety leads to overeating. 

A healthy human body is composed of the following compounds, in aboutthe proportions given:

 Water, 60 to 65 per cent. Mineral matter, 5 to 6 per cent. Protein, 18 to 20 per cent. Carbohydrates, 1 per cent. Fat, 10 per cent. This is perhaps excessive. 

These substances are very complex and well distributed throughout thebody. They are composed of about sixteen or seventeen elements, but apure element is very rarely found in the body, unless it be a foreignsubstance, such as mercury or lead. About 70 per cent of the body isoxygen, which is also the most abundant element of the earth. Then inorder of their weight come carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, fluorine, potassium, iron, magnesium and silicon. 

Because it will be helpful in giving a better idea of the necessity forproper feeding, I shall devote a few words to each of these elements. 

_Oxygen_ is a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas, forming a large partof the atmospheric air, of water, of the earth's crust and of our foods. It is absolutely essential to life, for without oxygen there can be nocombustion in the animal tissues, and without combustion there can be nolife. The union of oxygen with fats, carbohydrates and proteins in thebody results in slow combustion, which produces heat and energy. Ourchief supply of oxygen comes directly from the air, but this issupplemented by the intake in food and water. 

_Carbon_ is the chief producer of energy within the body, being theprincipal constituent of starches, sugars and fats. It is what we relyon for internal heat, as well as for heating our dwellings, for theessential part of coal is carbon. The carbonaceous substances are neededin greater quantity than any other, but if they are taken pure, theycause starvation more quickly than if no food were eaten. This has beenproved through experiments in feeding nothing but refined sugar, whichis practically pure carbon. Salts and nitrogenous foods are essential tolife. 

_Hydrogen_ is a very light gas, without odor, taste or color. It is anecessary constituent of all growing, living things. It is plentifullysupplied in water. All acids contain hydrogen and so does the protoplasmof the body. 

_Nitrogen_ is also a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas. It is anessential constituent of the body, being present in all compounds ofprotein. It is abundant in the atmospheric air, from which it is takenby plants. We get our supply either directly from vegetable foods orfrom animal products, such as milk, eggs and meat. 

_Calcium_ is needed principally for the bones and for the teeth, but itis also necessary in the blood, where it assists in coagulation. We getsufficient calcium salts in fruits, grains and vegetables, provided theyare properly prepared. The conventional preparation of the food oftenresults in the loss of the various salts, which causes tissuedegeneration. If the supply of calcium in the food is too small, thebones and the teeth suffer, for the blood removes the calcium from thesestructures. Growing children need more calcium proportionately than doadults. This is without doubt the reason pregnant women suffer so muchfrom softening of the teeth. They are fed on foods robbed of theircalcium, such as white bread and vegetables that have been drained. 

_Phosphorus_ in some forms is a poison whether taken in solid compoundsor inhaled in fumes, producing phossy jaw. In other forms it isindispensable for bodily development. The compounds of phosphorus arepresent in fats, bones and protein. In natural foods they are abundantlypresent, but when these foods are unduly refined, or are soaked in waterwhich is thrown away, much of the phosphorus is lost. We get phosphorusfrom milk, eggs, cereals, legumes and other foods. Of course, there isphosphorus in fish, but those who eat sea food to make themselves brainywill probably be disappointed. Phosphates are necessary for braindevelopment, but those who eat natural foods never need to go to thetrouble of taking special foods for the brain. If the rest of the bodyis well nourished, the brain will have sufficient food, and if the bodyis poorly nourished the brain will suffer. 

_Sulphur_ is present in protein and we get a sufficient supply frommilk, meat and legumes. The element sulphur is quite inert and harmless, but some of its acids and salts are very poisonous. Sulphur dioxide isfreely used in the process of drying fruits, as a bleacher. In this formit is poisonous, and for that reason it would be well to avoid bleacheddried fruits. We need some sulphur, but not in the form of sulphurdioxide or concentrated sulphurous acid, both of which are used in themanufacture of food. 

_Sodium_, in its elementary state, which is not found in nature, is awhite, silvery metal. It is found in great abundance in the succulentvegetables, and is present in practically all foods. As sodium chloride, or common table salt, it is taken in great quantities by most people. Those who have no salt get along well without it, which shows that it isnot needed in large amounts. If but a little is added to the food, itdoes no perceptible harm, but when sprinkled on everything that iseaten, from watermelons to meat, it is without doubt harmful. By soakingfoods, they are deprived of much of their soda: The two sodium saltsthat are very abundant are sodium chloride, or common salt, and sodiumcarbonate, generally called soda. 

_Chlorine_ is ordinarily combined in our foods with sodium or potash, forming the chlorides. It is essential to life. He who gets enoughsodium also gets enough chlorine. In its elementary form it is anirritating gas, used for bleaching purposes. 

_Fluorine_ is present in small quantities in the body, appearing asfluorides in the bones and teeth. It is supplied by the various foods. In its elementary form it is a poisonous gas. 

_Potassium_ is found in the body in very small quantities, but it isvery important. It is mostly in the form of potassium phosphate in themuscles and in the blood. It is necessary for muscular activity. It isfound in most foods in greater abundance than is sodium, which indicatesthat it plays an important part in development. Like sodium, it iseasily dissolved out of foods which are soaked in water, and this is oneof the reasons that vegetables should not be soaked and the water thrownaway. It is very peculiar in its metallic state, being a silvery metal, very light in weight, which burns when thrown upon water. That is, itdecomposes both itself and the water with the liberation of so much heatthat it fires the escaping hydrogen, which burns with a violet flame. Pure potassium is not found in nature. 

_Iron_ is found in very small quantities in the human body, but it isabsolutely essential to life. Animals deprived of iron die in a fewweeks, and people will do the same under similar circumstances. Iron isobtained principally from fruits and vegetables, but it is also presentin other foods. Man can not make use of inorganic iron. He has to gethis supply from the vegetable and animal kingdoms. The giving ofinorganic iron is folly and helps to ruin the teeth and the stomach ofthe one who takes it. In the form of hemoglobin this element is thechief agent in carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of thebody. In the manufacture of foods, much of the iron is lost. Forinstance, whole wheat flour contains about ten times as much iron asdoes the white flour. Too little iron causes, among other ills, anemia, and if the iron is very low, chlorosis or the green sickness may ensue. 

_Magnesium_ is found principally as phosphate in the bones. It ispresent both in animal and vegetable foods. Its function in the body isnot well understood, but it appears to assist the phosphorus. 

_Silicon_ is found in traces in the human body. It is supplied in smallquantities in nearly all of our foods, and therefore we must take it forgranted that it is necessary, although we are in the dark as to itsuses. It is very abundant in various rocks. The cereals are especiallyrich in silicon. In wheat it is found in the bran and is removed fromthe white flour. 

The elements mentioned are the most important in the body, though othersare found in traces. We do not find the elements present as elements, but in the form of very complex compounds. Under our present conditionsof living, we generally partake of too much carbonaceous and nitrogenousfood, and get too little of the salts, except sodium chloride, which istaken in too great quantity. Salt, to most people, means but one thing, sodium chloride or table salt. However, there are thousands of salts, and when salts are mentioned in this book, all those necessary for theprocesses of life are meant, whether they be compounds of fluorine, sulphur, phosphorus, calcium, iron or magnesium or other metals andminerals. 

Salts are not usually classified as foods, but they are essential tolife. Supply the body with all the protein, sugar, starch and fat thatit requires, but withhold the salts, and it is but a question of a fewweeks before life ceases. This is why it is so important to improve ourmethods of cooking. A potato that is peeled, soaked in cold water andboiled, may lose as much as one-half of its salts, according to one ofthe bulletins sent out by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Othervegetables not only lose their salts by such treatment, but as high as30 per cent of their nutritive value. 

The lesson we should learn from this is that ordinarily if it isnecessary to soak foods, such as beans, they should be cooked in thewater in which they have been soaked. Furthermore, where possible, as itis with nearly all succulent vegetables, we should take the fluid inwhich the vegetables have been cooked as a part of the meal. If thevegetables are properly cooked, there will not be much fluid to take. Topour away the water in which vegetables have been cooked means thatperhaps one-third of the food value and one-third to one-half of thevaluable salts are lost. Why continue impoverishing foods in this way?

Dr. Charles Page deserves much credit for calling our attention to thisfact when most healers neither thought nor talked about it. Now allup-to-date healers with a knowledge of dietetics realize how importantit is to give good food. For those who wish more detailed information onthe composition of the salts, I insert a table which was compiled byOtto Carque and published in "Brain and Brawn, " February, 1913. Thosewho wish still more detailed knowledge can find it in volumes on foodanalysis and in some government reports. 

MINERAL MATTER IN 1000 PARTS OF WATER-FREE FOOD PRODUCTS. ========================================================================== P P M h o a o C t C g s S S h a S a n p u i l s o l e h l l o s d c s I o p i r i i i i r r h c i u u u u o u u o n m m m m n s r n e Total| | | | | | | | | Salts| K2O |Na2O | CaO | MgO |Fe2O3|P2O5 | SO2 |SiO2 | Cl--------------------------------------------------------------------------Human milk 34. 70|11. 73| 3. 16| 5. 80| 0. 75| 0. 07| 7. 84| 0. 33| 0. 07| 6. 38Cow's milk 55. 30|13. 70| 5. 34|12. 24| 1. 69| 0. 30|15. 79| 0. 17| 0. 02| 8. 04Meat (avge) 40. 00|16. 52| 1. 44| 1. 12| 1. 28| 0. 28|17. 00| 0. 64| 0. 44| 1. 56Eggs 41. 80| 6. 27| 9. 56| 4. 56| 0. 46| 0. 17|15. 72| 0. 13| 0. 13| 3. 72Seafish 84. 20|18. 35|12. 55|12. 80| 3. 28| . . . . |32. 13| . . . . | . . . . | 9. 60Cottage Cheese 64. 30| 8. 50| 0. 90|22. 50| 1. 50| 0. 50|24. 35| 0. 10| . . . . |11. 20 | | | | | | | | |Apples 33. 00|11. 78| 8. 61| 1. 35| 2. 89| 0. 46| 4. 52| 2. 01| 1. 42| . . . . Strawberries 65. 00|13. 72|18. 53| 9. 23| . . . . | 3. 73| 7. 97| 2. 05| 7. 82| 1. 10Gooseberries 29. 00|11. 22| 2. 87| 3. 54| 1. 70| 1. 32| 5. 71| 1. 71| 0. 75| 0. 22Prunes 37. 75|18. 28| 3. 41| 4. 34| 1. 36| 0. 94| 6. 03| 1. 21| 1. 19| 0. 15Peaches 17. 60| 9. 63| 1. 50| 1. 41| 0. 92| 0. 18| 2. 67| 1. 00| 0. 26| . . . . Cherries 34. 60|17. 94| 0. 76| 2. 60| 1. 90| 0. 69| 5. 54| 1. 76| 3. 11| 0. 46Grapes 25. 20|14. 16| 0. 35| 2. 72| 1. 06| 0. 45| 3. 93| 1. 41| 0. 70| 0. 38Figs 41. 00|11. 63|10. 77| 7. 75| 3. 78| 0. 60| 0. 53| 2. 77| 2. 43| 1. 10Olives 33. 40|27. 02| 2. 52| 2. 49| 0. 06| 0. 31| 0. 46| 0. 36| 0. 22| 0. 06Apricots 33. 60|19. 68| 3. 76| 1. 08| 2. 89| 0. 46| 4. 52| 2. 01| 1. 42| . . . . Pears 25. 60|14. 00| 2. 17| 2. 05| 1. 52| 0. 25| 3. 90| 1. 45| 0. 38| . . . . Watermelons 40. 00|18. 00| 3. 75| 4. 00| 2. 10| 1. 75| 5. 60| 2. 10| 7. 60| 1. 10Bananas 32. 40|16. 20| 0. 80| 0. 25| 0. 32| 0. 10| 2. 03| 0. 21| . . . . | 2. 47Oranges 38. 15|18. 62| 0. 95| 8. 65| 2. 03| 0. 38| 4. 70| 2. 00| 0. 25| 0. 29 | | | | | | | | |Spinach 191. 00|21. 71|57. 42|22. 73|12. 22| 6. 40|19. 58|13. 18| 8. 60|12. 03Onions 48. 40|12. 10| 1. 55|10. 65| 2. 55| 2. 20| 7. 25| 2. 65| 8. 10| 1. 35Carrots 69. 00|25. 46|14. 63| 7. 80| 3. 04| 0. 70| 8. 83| 4. 45| 1. 66| 3. 18Asparagus 86. 40|20. 74|14. 77| 9. 33| 3. 72| 2. 94|16. 07| 5. 36| 9. 50| 5. 10Radishes 110. 40|35. 33|23. 37|15. 45| 3. 42| 3. 09|12. 03| 7. 18| 1. 00|10. 10Cauliflower 91. 20|40. 46| 5. 38| 5. 10| 3. 37| 0. 91|18. 42|11. 86| 3. 37| 3. 10Cucumbers 100. 00|41. 20|10. 00| 7. 30| 4. 15| 1. 40|20. 20| 6. 90| 8. 00| 6. 60Lettuce 180. 70|67. 94|13. 55|26. 56|11. 20| 9. 40|16. 62| 6. 87|14. 64|13. 82Potatoes 44. 20|26. 56| 1. 33| 1. 15| 2. 18| 0. 48| 7. 47| 2. 89| 0. 88| 1. 55Cabbage 123. 00|45. 33|11. 68|21. 65| 4. 90| 0. 86|11. 07|17. 10| 1. 10|10. 45Tomatoes 176. 00|82. 50|32. 90|11. 35|13. 55| 1. 00|10. 75| 5. 00| 7. 75|18. 00Red Beets 41. 65| 8. 45|21. 60| 2. 50| 0. 10| 1. 00| 2. 55| 0. 50| 2. 00| 2. 95Celery 180. 00|48. 60|65. 25|14. 70| 6. 75| 1. 60|14. 50| 6. 50| 4. 30|17. 80 | | | | | | | | |Walnuts 17. 40| 2. 20| 0. 17| 0. 97| 2. 88| 0. 61|10. 10| 0. 22| 0. 12| 0. 12Almonds 21. 00| 2. 31| 0. 38| 3. 04| 3. 95| 0. 23|10. 10| 0. 96| 0. 04| 0. 06Cocoanuts 18. 70| 8. 21| 1. 57| 8. 60| 1. 76| . . . . | 2. 18| 0. 95| 0. 09| 2. 50 | | | | | | | | |Lentils 34. 70|12. 08| 4. 62| 2. 18| 0. 87| 0. 69|12. 60| . . . . | . . . . | 1. 61Peas 30. 03|13. 06| 0. 30| 1. 45| 2. 42| 0. 24|10. 87| 1. 03| 0. 27| 0. 53Beans 38. 20|15. 85| 0. 42| 1. 91| 2. 73| 0. 19|14. 86| 1. 30| 0. 25| 0. 69Peanuts 24. 30| 9. 27| 0. 21| 0. 95| 2. 29| 0. 27|10. 60| 0. 45| 0. 05| 0. 23 | | | | | | | | |Whole Wheat 23. 10| 7. 20| 0. 50| 0. 75| 2. 80| 0. 30|10. 90| 0. 09| 0. 46| 0. 07White flour 5. 70| 1. 82| 0. 08| 0. 43| 0. 44| 0. 03| 2. 80| . . . . | . . . . | . . . . Rye 21. 30| 6. 84| 0. 31| 0. 61| 2. 39| 0. 25|10. 16| 0. 28| 0. 30| 0. 01Barley 31. 30| 5. 10| 1. 28| 0. 02| 3. 92| 0. 53|10. 27| 0. 93| 8. 98| . . . . Oats 34. 50| 6. 18| 0. 59| 1. 24| 2. 45| 0. 41| 8. 83| 0. 62|13. 52| 0. 03Corn 18. 50| 5. 50| 0. 02| 0. 04| 2. 87| 0. 15| 8. 44| 0. 15| 0. 39| 0. 35Whole Rice 16. 00| 3. 60| 0. 67| 0. 59| 1. 78| 0. 22| 8. 60| 0. 08| 0. 42| 0. 02Rice, polished 4. 00| 0. 87| 0. 22| 0. 13| 0. 45| 0. 05| 2. 15| 0. 03| 0. 11| 0. 01--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please remember that most of the salts must be worked into organic formfor us by vegetation, and that we are able to take but few elements thathave not been thus elaborated. 

We need a moderate amount of food to maintain the body in health, but weshould be careful not to overindulge. 

Perhaps the most injurious errors are made by people who eat becausethey wish to gain in weight. They consider themselves below weight andthey try to force a gain by overeating. This is a serious mistake andleads to much suffering. 

There is no weight that can be called ideal for all people. To get abasis, I copy a table from the literature of an insurance company. Thisis for people twenty years old:

 Height Weight 5--0. . . . . . . . 114 1. . . . . . . . 117 2. . . . . . . . 121 3. . . . . . . . 124 4. . . . . . . . 128 5. . . . . . . . 132 6. . . . . . . . 136 7. . . . . . . . 140 8. . . . . . . . 144 9. . . . . . . . 149 10. . . . . . . . 153 11. . . . . . . . 158 6--0. . . . . . . . 162 1. . . . . . . . 167 2. . . . . . . . 172 3. . . . . . . . 177

If the weight is much above this, it is a sure sign that the individualis building disease. It may be Bright's disease, fatty heart, arteriosclerosis, cancer or any other ill. The muscles can not beincreased in size very much by eating and there is a limit to the amountof fluid that can be stored away. Stout people generally carry about agreat amount of fat. 

Excess of fat is a burden. It replaces other tissues and weakens themuscles. It overcrowds the abdominal and thoracic cavities, thus makingthe breath short and the working of the heart more difficult, alsoproducing a tendency to prolapsus of the various abdominal organs. 

People make the mistake of thinking that stoutness indicates health. Itindicates disease. Going into weight is going into degeneration. Womenlike to be plump for various reasons, some of which are not the mostcreditable to either men or women. Fat people are not good looking. There is not a statue in the world sculptured on corpulent lines that isconsidered beautiful. 

It is natural for some people to be slender and for others to be ratherplump, but fatness is abnormal. Rolling double chins and protrudingabdomens are signs of self-abuse in eating and drinking. As a rule womenare at their right weight at twenty and men at twenty-two ortwenty-three. This weight they should retain. If twenty or thirty poundsare added to it life will be materially shortened. 

Perfect health is impossible for obese people, but it is within thereach of lean ones. In getting well, it is often necessary to becomequite slender, but after the system has cleansed itself, it gains inweight again. It may take from several months to several years to obtaina normal weight after the ravages of disease. A healthy body isself-regulating and will be as heavy as it ought to be. 

Those who eat too much in order to gain weight sometimes wreck theirdigestive and assimilative powers to such an extent that they lose agreat deal of weight, and the more they eat the more they lose. Then itis necessary to reduce the food intake until digestion and assimilationcatch up with supply. Then if the eating is right the individual goes tothe proper weight and retains it. 

The slender people are in the safest physical condition. The vast amountof statistics gathered by the life insurance companies bears this out. Remember that fat is a low grade tissue, which sometimes crowds out highgrade tissue, that an excess indicates degeneration and that obesity isa disease. All fat people eat too much, even though they considerthemselves small eaters. They should regulate their eating and drinkingso that they will return to a normal weight. This is the only safe wayto reduce. 

Pay no attention to underweight. Eat what the body requires and is ableto digest and assimilate, without causing any inconvenience. Theorganism will take care of the rest. To attempt to force weight onto abody at the expense of discomfort, disease, reduced efficiency andpremature death shows poor judgment. 

Losing weight does not matter at all if there is no discomfort ordisease. It is all right to be a little lighter during summer than inwinter. 

In discussing food and its use, two words are frequently employed, digestion and fermentation. Strictly speaking, digestion is largely aprocess of fermentation, consisting of the breaking down of complexsubstances into simple ones, by means of ferments. However, in thepopular mind digestion and fermentation are not synonymous, and will notbe so considered in this book. To make my meaning clear, in this bookthe words will have the following meaning:

Digestion--the normal breaking down of food and formation intosubstances that can be used by the blood for building, repairing andproducing heat and energy. 

Fermentation--the abnormal breaking down of food in the digestive tract, producing discomfort and health impaired. This process manifests invarious ways, such as the production of much gas in the digestive tractor hyperacidity of the body. 

We will consider digestion as a process conducive to health, butfermentation, as one that leads to disease, being an early stage ofdigestive derangement. 

CHAPTER IV. 

OVEREATING. 

All agree that excessive indulgence in alcoholics is harmful physically, mentally and morally. We condemn the too free use of tea and coffee andnearly all other excesses. However, intemperate eating is consideredrespectable. A large part of our social life consists in partaking oftoo much food. 

Medical text-books say that we must eat great quantities of food tomaintain strength and health. Humanity views the subject of eating fromthe wrong angle, and it will perhaps be many years before the majoritygets the right point of view. We should eat to live, but most of us eatto die. Benjamin Franklin said that we dig our graves with our teeth. 

Men and women band themselves into societies and associations for thepurpose of decreasing or doing away with the use of tobacco andalcoholic drinks. They advocate temperance and even abstinence in theuse of those things which do not appeal to their own senses; but most ofthem are far from temperate in their eating. They have very keen visionwhen searching for weaknesses and faults in others, but are quitenear-sighted regarding their own. 

Is excessive indulgence in liquor any worse than overeating? Notaccording to nature's answer. The inebriate deteriorates and so does theglutton. Both cause race deterioration. Gluttony is more common thaninebriety and is responsible for more ills. Gluttony is often the causeof the tea, coffee, alcohol and drug habits. Overeating often causes somuch irritation that food does not satisfy the cravings, and then drugsare used. 

Improper eating, chiefly overeating, causes most of the ills to whichman is heir. If people would learn to be moderate in all things diseaseand early death would be very rare. 

It is quite important to combine foods properly, but the worstcombinations of food eaten in moderation are harmless, as compared tothe damage done by overeating of the best foods. Overeating is with usfrom the cradle to the grave. It shortens our days and fills them withwoe. 

There is a hoary belief that a pregnant woman must eat for two. Themothers have generally obeyed this dictum. The result is that womensuffer greatly during pregnancy and at childbirth. The morning sickness, the aching back, the headache, the swollen legs and all of thediscomforts and diseases from which civilized woman suffers during thisperiod are mostly due to improper eating. Pregnancy and childbirth arephysiologic and are devoid of any great amount of discomfort, pain ordanger when women lead normal lives. 

The overeating affects both mother and child. The mothers are ofteninjured or lose their lives during childbirth. Sometimes labor is soprotracted that the child dies and at other times the baby is so largethat it can not be born naturally. The mother's suffering is frequentlyvery great. In fact, it is at times so great that it is like athreatening storm cloud to many women, and some of them refuse to becomemothers for this reason. 

Babies born of normal mothers, who have lived moderately on anon-stimulating diet during gestation, are small. They rarely weigh morethan six pounds. Their bones are flexible. The skull can easily bemoulded because the bones are very cartilaginous. The result is thatchildbirth is rapid and practically devoid of pain. However, there arevery few normal mothers, and consequently normal babies are also rare. 

A heavy baby is never healthy. Its growth has been forced by excessivematernal feeding. It is no hardier than other growing things whichresult from hot-house methods. Such babies show early signs of catarrhalafflictions, indigestion or skin disease. Their bodies are filled withpoisons before they are born. 

Mothers who overeat invariably overfeed their babies. And why shouldthey do otherwise? Family, friends and physicians give the same advice:The mother must eat much to be able to feed the child, and the childmust be fed frequently in order to grow. It sounds very plausible, butit does not work well in practice. 

Why are babies cross? Why do they soon show catarrhal symptoms? Why dothey vomit so much? Why are they so subject to stomach and intestinaldisorders? Why do they have skin eruptions? Because they are overfed. 

The diseases of babies are almost entirely of digestive origin, and innearly every instance overfeeding is the cause. Statistics show thatabout one-fifth of the babies born die before they are one year old. Innearly every instance the parents are to blame. One's intentions may begood, but good intentions coupled with wrong actions are deadly toinfants. Oscar Wilde wrote, "We kill the thing we love. " Parental lovetoo often takes the form of indulging them and so it happens thathundreds of thousands of little ones are placed in their coffinsannually through love. 

Each year about 280, 000 babies under one year of age perish in theUnited States, according to estimates based on census figures. Outsideof accidental deaths, which are but a small per cent. , the mortalityshould be practically nil. It is natural for children to be well, andhealthy children do not die. If an army of about 280, 000 of our men andwomen were to perish in a spectacular manner each year it would causesuch sorrow and indignation that a remedy would soon be found. But weare so accustomed to the procession of little caskets to the grave thatit hardly arouses comment. It costs too much in every way to producelife to waste it so lavishly. 

Why do little children suffer so much from eruptive diseases, whoopingcough, tonsilitis, adenoids, diphtheria and numerous other diseases?Because they are overfed. The younger the child the greater is the percent. Of disease due to wrong feeding. In adult life overeating andeating improperly otherwise are still the principal causes of disease. But during adult life the causation of disease is more complex than inchildhood, for the senses have been more fully developed and instead ofconfining our physical sins to overeating we fall prey to the abuse ofvarious appetites and passions. 

Vigorous adults are often the victims of pneumonia, typhoid fever andtuberculosis. Overeating is chiefly to blame, not the bacteria which aregiven as the principal cause. 

Rheumatism, kidney disease and diseases that manifest in hardening ofthe various tissues, all being forms of degeneration, are quite common. Again, the principal cause is overeating. 

There are a great number of people who live many years without anyspecial disease, but who are always on the brink of being ill. They arefull-blooded and too corpulent. Although they are often consideredsuccessful, they are never fully efficient either physically ormentally. They do not know what good health is, but they are soaccustomed to their state of toleration that they consider themselveshealthy. They are rather proud of their stoutness and their friendsmistake their precarious condition for health. These people often diesuddenly, and friends and acquaintances are very much surprised. Nohealthy man dies suddenly and unexpectedly except by accident. 

Instead of growing old gracefully, in possession of our senses andfaculties, we die prematurely or go into physical and mental decay. Bleary eyes, pettiness, childishness and lost mental faculties are nopart of nature's plan for advanced years. Those manifestations resultfrom man's improvement on nature!

From birth to death we are victims of this terrible ogre of overeating. It deprives us of friends and relatives. It takes away our strength andhealth. It makes us mentally inefficient and cowardly. At last itdeprives us of life when our work is not half done and our days shouldnot be half run. 

How is it possible, you may ask, that this is true? Of course, overeating is not the only cause, but it is the overwhelming one. It isthe basic cause. Aided by other bad habits it conquers us. We are whatwe are because of our parentage, plus what we eat, drink, breathe andthink, and the eating largely influences the other factors of life. 

Cholera infantum causes the death of many babies. It never occurs inbabies who are fed moderately on natural, clean food, not to exceedthree or four times a day. The child is cross. The mother thinks that itis cross because it is hungry and accordingly feeds. The real cause ofthe irritability is the overfeeding that has already taken place. Thebaby has had so much milk that it is unable to digest all of it. A partof the milk spoils in the digestive tract. This fermented material ispartly absorbed and irritates the whole system. A part of it remains inthe alimentary tract where it acts as a direct local irritant to theintestines. When these are irritated, the blood-vessels begin to pourout their serum to soothe the bowels and the result is diarrhea. Thesick child is fed often. Digestive power is practically absent. Theadditional food given ferments and more serum has to be thrown out toprotect the intestinal walls. Soon there is a well established case ofcholera infantum. 

If only enough food had been given to satisfy bodily requirements, noneof the milk would have spoiled in the alimentary tract. If all feedinghad been stopped as soon as the child became irritable and pinchedlooking about the mouth and nose, and all the water desired had beengiven and the child kept warm, there would have been no serious disease. In these cases, the less food given the quicker the recoveries and thefewer the fatalities. 

Another common disease of childhood is adenoids. To talk of thesemaladies as diseases is rather misleading, for they are merely symptomsof perverted nutrition, but we are compelled to make the best of ourmedical language. 

Adenoids are due to indigestion. The indigestion is due to overeating. This is how it comes about: A child eats more than can be digested, generally bolting the food, which is often of a mushy character. Theexcessive amount of food can not be digested, and as the intestines andthe stomach are moist and have a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, fermentation soon takes place. Some of the results of fermentation inthe alimentary tract are acids, gases and bacterial poisons. Thesedeleterious substances are absorbed into the blood stream and go to allparts of the body, acting as irritants. We do not know why they causeadenoids in one child and catarrh in another. It is easy enough to saythat children are predisposed that way, which is no information at all. It seems that all of us have some weak point, and here disease has atendency to localize. What part the sympathetic nervous system plays, wedo not know. Glandular tissue is rather unstable and therefore itbecomes diseased easily and adenoids are therefore quite frequent. 

A coated tongue, or an irritated tongue, both due to indigestion, is aconcomitant of adenoids. Such diseases do not merely happen. There aregood reasons for their appearance. They are not reflections on thechild, but they are on the parents who should have the right knowledgeand should take time and pains enough to educate and train the childinto health. 

Tuberculosis is one of the results of ruined nutrition. First there isovereating. This causes indigestion. The irritating products of foodfermenting in the alimentary tract are taken up by the blood. The bloodgoes to the lungs where it irritates the delicate mucous membrane. Inself-protection it begins to secrete an excess of mucus and if theirritation is great enough, pus. The various bacteria are incidental. The tubercular bacillus is never able to gain a foothold in healthylungs, but after degeneration of lung-tissue has taken place the lungsfurnish a splendid home for this bacillus. The tubercular bacillus is ascavenger and therefore does not thrive in healthy bodies. It is theresult of disease, not the cause. 

Tubercular subjects never have healthy digestive organs. Unfortunately, nearly all of them are persuaded to eat many times more food than theycan digest, and thus they have no opportunity to recover, for theoverfeeding ruins the digestive and assimilative powers beyondrecuperative ability. A large per cent. Of the human race perishmiserably from this disease, which results principally from theingestion of too much food. The liberal use of such devitalized foods assterilized milk, refined sugar and finely bolted wheat flour isdoubtless a great factor in so reducing bodily resistance that thesystem falls an easy prey to disease. Too little breathing and poor, devitalized air are also important factors. 

There are many causes of rheumatism, but overeating is the chief and itis very doubtful if a case of rheumatism can develop without this maincause. Exposure is often given as the cause, but a healthy man with aclean body does not become rheumatic. 

Rheumatism is due to internal filth. A filthy alimentary tract makesfilthy blood. Some say that the poison in rheumatism is uric acid, andperhaps it is, but there are no uric acid deposits in the body of aprudent eater. The elimination in this disease is imperfect. The skin, the kidneys, the bowels and the lungs do not throw out the debris asthey should. Perhaps only one or two of these organs are actinginadequately. The debris is stored up in the system. 

Why do the organs of elimination fail to act? Because so much work isthrust upon them that they grow weary and worn; also, a part of thematerial furnished them is the product of decay in the alimentary tract, and they can not thrive on poor material. Too much food is eaten. Anexcess of nutritive material, poorly digested, is absorbed. And so wecome back to the principal cause, overeating. 

When the eliminative organs fail to perform their function, the waste isdeposited in those parts of the body which are weakened. The irritationfrom these foreign substances causes inflammation and the result ispain. The extent to which this depositing of material will go is wellillustrated in some cases of multiple articular rheumatism, or arthritisdeformans, where the deposits are so great that many of the jointsbecome fixed (anchylosed). 

We could review all the diseases, and nearly every time we would comeback to disturbed nutrition as the principal factor, and this is true ofnot only physical ills, but the mental ones as well. 

Various foods do not combine well, still if they are eaten in moderationthey do but little harm. If we overeat, the evil results are bound tomanifest, no matter how good the food, though it sometimes takes yearsbefore they are perceptible. The effects are cumulative. Each day thereis a little fermentation with absorption of the poisonous products. Eachday the body degenerates a little. The time always comes when the bodycan continue its work no longer, and then the individual must choosebetween reform on one hand and suffering or death on the other. 

It is very difficult to convince people that they eat too much. Indeed, the average person is a small eater, in his own estimation. We have beeneducated into consuming such vast quantities of food that we hardly knowwhat moderation is. In the past, physiologists and observers havewatched the amount of food that people could coax down and this theyhave called the normal amount of food. This is far from the truth. Theaverage American eats at least two times as much as he can digest, assimilate and use to advantage. Many eat three and four times too much. However, nature is very tolerant for a while. Most of us start out witha fair amount of resistance and are thus enabled to live to the age offorty or fifty in spite of abuses. If we could only dispense with ourexcesses, we could double or treble our life span, live better, get moreenjoyment out of life and give the world more and better work than wecan under present conditions. 

There is much talk of food shortage. The amount of food consumed andwasted annually in the United States is enough to feed 200, 000, 000people. Even with our present knowledge we can easily produce twice asmuch per acre as we are averaging, and we are tilling only aboutone-fourth of the land that could be made productive. If we use ourbrains there is little danger of starving. What is needed now is notmore food, but intelligent distribution and consumption of what weproduce. 

We hear of cases of undernourishment. This doubtless occurs at times inthe congested parts of great centers of populations. But there are notso many cases suffering from want of the proper quantity of food as fromwant of quality of food. Bread of finely bolted white flour isstarvation food, no matter how great the quantity, unless other foodrich in organic salts is also eaten. 

The overeating habit is so common and comes on so insidiously that thesufferers do not realize that they are eating to excess. The resultantdiscomforts are blamed on other things. Babies are fed every two hoursor oftener. They should be fed but three or at most four times a day, and never at night. When able to eat solid foods they get three meals aday and generally two or more lunches. Some children seem to be lunchingat all times. They have fruit or bread and butter with jelly or jam inthe hand almost all the time. They are encouraged to eat much and oftento produce growth and strength. This kind of feeding often does producelarge children, heavy in weight, but they are not healthy. Sad torelate, the excess causes disease and death. 

Such frequent feeding allows the digestive organs no rest. The overworkimposed upon them and the fermentation cause irritation. This irritationmanifests in a constant and almost irresistible desire for food, as doesthe consumption of much alcohol cause a desire for more alcohol, as theuse of morphine or cocaine produces a dominating and ruinous appetitefor more of these drugs. These appetites grow by what they feed upon. Man ceases to be master and becomes the abject slave of his abnormalcravings. 

Slaves of alcohol and the various habit-forming drugs generally lack thestrength of body and mind to assert themselves and to regain mastery ofthemselves. Coffee and tea have their victims, though they are generallynot very firmly enslaved. No one realizes how he is bound by hiscravings for an excessive amount of food until he tries to break thebonds. Such people may eat moderately for days, perhaps for weeks, andthen the old appetite reasserts itself in all its strength and unlessthe sufferer has a very strong will a food debauch follows. I have seenmen go from one restaurant to another, consuming enormous quantities offood to efface the awful craving, just as men go from one saloon toanother to satisfy their desire for alcohol. The gluttons often lookwith the greatest contempt upon the slaves of liquor. But what is thedifference? No matter what appetite, what habit, what passion has gainedthe mastery, we are slaves. The important thing is to keep out ofslavery, or break the bonds and regain freedom. 

Those who eat to excess often eat more than three times a day. They takea little candy now, a little fruit then, or they go to the drug storefor a glass of malted milk or buttermilk, which they call drinks, orthey take a dish of ice cream. The housewife nibbles at cake or bread. If a person is in fair health and wishes to evolve into self-mastery andgood health, he should make up his mind never to eat more than threetimes a day. Nothing but plain water should enter his mouth except atmeal times. 

Next he should limit the number of articles eaten at a meal. Thebreakfast and lunch should each consist of no more than two or threevarieties of food. The dinner should not exceed five or six varieties, and if that many are eaten, they should be compatible. Less would be bebetter. The less variety we have, the better the food digests. Also, eating ten or twelve or more kinds of food, as many people do, alwaysleads to overeating. A little of this added to a little of that soonmakes a too great total. It is easy to eat all one should of a certainarticle of food and feel satisfied, and then change off to somethingelse and before one is through one has eaten three or four times as muchas necessary. If the meal is to consist of starch there is no greatobjection to a small amount of bread, potatoes, rice, macaroni andchestnuts. However, a normal person does not need to coax food down byusing great variety. Those who mix their foods this way invariablyovereat. Besides, the various starches require different periods fordigestion. Rice is more easily disposed of than bread. Each new itemstimulates the desire for more food. It is best, when having potatoes, to have no other starchy food in that meal; or when bread is eaten, tohave no potatoes or other starchy food. The habit of eating meat, potatoes and bread in the same meal is very common and causes muchdisease. 

Next the searcher for health should teach himself to eat foods that arenatural, cooked simply, and with a minimum amount of seasoning anddressing. The various spices and sauces irritate the digestive organsand create a craving for an excessive amount of food. The food should bechanged as little as possible because such denatured foods as whiteflour, polished rice, pasteurized milk, and many of the canned fruitsand vegetables are so lacking in the natural salts that they do notsatisfy one's desire for organic salts. Overeating results. 

Preserves, jellies and jams are open to the same objection. They causean abnormal desire for food. Therefore, they should be used seldom andvery sparingly. So long as apples, oranges, figs, dates, raisins, sweetprunes and various other fruits can be had, there is no excuse for theconsumption of great quantities of the heavily sugared concoctions whichare now so popular. 

Simplicity and naturalness are great aids in breaking away from foodslavery. They are discussed more fully elsewhere. In the next chapterwill be found hints on the solution of the normal amount of food to beeaten. 

CHAPTER V. 

DAILY FOOD INTAKE. 

It is generally believed that the more we eat the better. Physicians saythat it is necessary to eat heartily when well to retain health andstrength. When ill it is necessary to consume much food to regain losthealth and strength. "Eat all you can of nourishing food, " is a commonfree prescription, and it sounds very reasonable. The physicians oftoday are not to blame for this belief in overeating, for they weretaught thus at college, and very few men in any line do originalthinking. It has been a racial belief for centuries and no one nowliving is responsible. When a physician advocates what he honestlybelieves he is doing his best, "and angels can do no more. "

When a child loses its appetite, the parents worry, for they think thatit is very harmful for young people to go without food for a few meals. A lost appetite is nature's signal to quit eating, and it should alwaysbe heeded. If it is, it will prevent much disease and suffering and willsave many lives. 

The present-day mode of preparing food leads to overeating. The sense oftaste is ruined by the stimulants put into the food. Dishes are sonumerous and so temptingly made that more is eaten than can be digestedand assimilated. Refined sugar, salt, the various spices, pickles, sauces and preserves all lead to overeating because of stimulation. Thesame is true of alcohol taken immediately before meals. If we only givenature a chance, and are perfectly frank and honest with ourselves, shewill guard us against the overconsumption of food. Those who eat but fewvarieties of plain food at a meal are not sorely tempted to overeat. Butwhen one savory dish is served after another it takes much will power tobe moderate. 

People generally have had more than sufficient before the last course isserved. However, the various dishes have different flavors and for thisreason the palate is overwhelmed and accepts more food than is good forus. 

Men who like to call their work scientific, figure on the amount of foodwe need to furnish a certain number of heat units--calories. Heat, ofcourse, is a form of energy. Basing the body's food requirements on heatunits expended does not solve the problem. The more food that isingested, the more heat units must be manufactured, and often so muchfood is taken that the body is compelled to go into the heatingbusiness. Then we have fevers. 

A large part of the heat is given off by the skin. Those who overeat arecompelled to do a great deal of radiating. This excessive amount of fueltaken into the system in the form of food, wears out the body. Asfigured by the experts, it gives a result of food need that is at leasttwice as great as necessary. Experience is the only correct guide tofood requirements, and each individual has to settle the matter forhimself. The human body is not exactly a chemical laboratory, nor is itan engine which can be fed so much fuel with the resultant production ofsuch and such an amount of heat and energy. Some bodies are moreefficient than others. It is among human beings as among the loweranimals, some require more food than others. 

We need enough food to repair the waste, to perform our work and tofurnish heat. Every muscle contraction uses up a little energy. Everybreath deprives us of heat and carries away carbon dioxide, the latterbeing formed by oxidation of tissues in the body. Every minute we loseheat by radiation from the skin. Every thought requires a small amountof food. If we worry, the leak of nervous energy is tremendous, but atthe same time we put ourselves in position where we are unable toreplenish our stock, for worry ruins digestion. All this expenditure ofenergy and loss of heat must be made up for by the food intake. Only asmall amount of surplus food can be stored in the body. Some fat can bestored as fat. Some starch and sugar can be put aside as eitherglycogen--animal sugar--or be changed into fat. This storing of excessfood is very limited, except in cases of obesity, which is a disease. 

Overeating invariably causes disease. It may take two or three years, yes even twenty or thirty years, before the overeating results inserious illness, but the results are certain, and in the meanwhile theindividual is never up to par. He can use neither body nor mind to thebest advantage. 

To emphasize and illustrate these remarks, I shall copy a few dietlists, which their authors consider reasonable and correct for theaverage person for one day, and I shall give my comments. The first istaken from Kirke's Physiology, which has been used extensively as atext-book in medical colleges:

 340 grams lean uncooked meat, 600 " bread, 90 " butter, 28 " cheese, 225 " potatoes, 225 " carrots. 

An ounce contains 28. 3 grams; a pound, 453 grams. It is easy to figurethese quantities of food in ounces or pounds, which give a better ideato the average person. 

It is self-evident that this is too much food. Over twelve ounces oflean, uncooked meat, over twenty-one ounces of bread, almost one-half ofa pound each of potatoes and carrots, about an ounce of cheese and overthree ounces of butter make enough food for two days, even for a bigeater. He who tries to live up to a diet of this kind is sure to sufferdisease and early death. 

The average loaf of bread weighs about fourteen ounces. Here we are toldto devour one-half of a pound of carrots (for which other vegetablessuch as turnips, parsnips, beets or cabbage may be substituted), one-half of a pound of potatoes, three-fourths of a pound of lean rawmeat, which loses some weight in cooking, a loaf and one-half of bread, besides butter and cheese. The vast majority of people can not eat morethan one-third of this amount and retain efficiency and health, but manyeat even more. 

The next table is taken from Dr. I. Burney Yeo's book on diet, and isgiven as the food required daily by a "well nourished worker":

 151. 3 grams meat, 48. 1 " white of egg, 450. 0 " bread, 500. 0 " milk, 1065. 9 " beer, 60. 2 " suet, 30. 0 " butter, 70. 0 " starch, 17. 0 " sugar, 4. 9 " salt. 

This worker is too well fed. Often those who are so well fed are poorlynourished, for the excessive amount of food ruins the nutrition, afterwhich the food is poorly digested and assimilated. This worker eats somuch that he will be compelled to do manual labor all his days, for suchfeeding prevents effective thinking. 

The following daily average diet is taken from the book, "Diet andDietetics, " by A. Gauthier, a well known authority on the subject of thenutritive needs of the body. Mr. Gauthier averaged the daily food intakeof the inhabitants of Paris for the ten years from 1890 to 1899, inclusive. He takes it for granted that this is the average daily foodrequirement for a person:

 420. 0 grams bread and cakes, 216. 0 " boned meat, 24. 1 " eggs (weighed with shell), 8. 1 " cheese (dry or cream), 28. 0 " butter, oil, etc. , 70. 0 " fresh fruit, 250. 0 " green vegetables, 40. 0 " dried vegetables, 100. 0 " potatoes, rice, 40. 0 " sugar, 20. 0 " salt, 213. 0 C. C. Milk, 557. 0 C. C. Of various alcoholics, containing 9. 5 C. C. Of pure alcohol. 

So long as the Parisians consume such quantities of food they willcontinue to suffer and die before they reach one-half of the age thatshould be theirs. The French eat no more than do other people, in fact, they seem moderate in their food intake as compared with some of theGermans, English and Americans, but they eat too much for their physicaland mental good. 

The lists given above are from sources that command the respect of themedical profession. They are the orthodox and popular opinions. It wouldbe an easy matter to give many more tables, but they agree so closelythat it would be a waste of time and space. 

Quantitative tables from vegetarian sources are not so common. Thevegetarians say that meat eating is wrong, being contrary to nature. Whether they are right or wrong, they make the same mistakes that theorthodox prescribers do, that is, they advocate overeating. Medicaltextbooks prescribe a too abundant supply of starch and meat inparticular. The vegetarians prescribe a superabundance of starch. Readthe magazines advocating vegetarianism and note their menus, givingnumerous cereals, tubers, peas, beans, lentils, as well as othervegetables, for the same meal. It is as easy to overeat of nuts andprotein in leguminous vegetables as it is to overeat of meat. 

Starch poisoning is as bad as meat poisoning and the results are equallyfatal. 

The following are suggestions offered by a fruitarian. They give thefood intake for two days:

 120 grams shelled peanuts, raw, 1000 " apples, 500 " unfermented whole wheat bread. 

 120 grams shelled filberts, 450 " raisins, 800 " bananas. 

In the first day's menu it will be noted that over two pounds of applesand over one pound of whole wheat bread are recommended, also over fourounces of raw peanuts. The writer says that this food should preferablybe taken in two meals. There are very few people with enough digestiveand assimilative power to care for more than one-half of a pound ofwhole wheat bread twice a day, especially when taken with raw peanuts, which are rather hard to digest. The trouble is made worse by theaddition of more than one pound of apples to each meal, for when applesin large quantities are eaten with liberal amounts of starch, thetendency for the food to ferment is so strong that only a very fewescape. Gas is produced in great quantities, which is both unnatural andunpleasant. Neither stomach nor bowels manufacture any perceptibleamount of gas if they are in good condition and a moderate amount offood is taken. 

Whole wheat bread digests easily enough when eaten in moderation, but itis very difficult to digest when as much as eight ounces are taken at ameal. One can accustom the body to accept this amount of food, but it isnever required under ordinary conditions and the results in the long runare bad. 

The food prescribed for the second day is more easily digested, but itis too much. Raisins are a splendid force food, but no ordinaryindividual needs a pound of raisins in one day, in addition to about oneand three-fourths pounds of bananas, which are also a force food and areabout as nourishing as the same amount of Irish potatoes. 

In all my reading it has not been my good fortune to find a diet tablefor healthy people, giving moderate quantities of food. Diet lists seemscientific, so they appeal to the mind that has not learned to think ofthe subject from the correct point of view. Quantitative diet tables areworthless, for one person may need more than another. Some are short andsome are tall. Some are naturally slender and others of stocky build. There is as much difference in people's food needs as there is in theirappearance. To try to fit the same quantity and even kind of food to allis as senseless as it would be to dress all in garments of identicalsize and cut. 

If we eat in moderation it does not make much difference what we eat, provided our diet contains either raw fruits or raw vegetables enough tofurnish the various mineral salts and the food is fairly well prepared. There are combinations that are not ideal, but they do very little harmif there is no overeating. People who are moderate in their eatinggenerally relish simple foods. Unfortunately, there is but littlemoderation in eating. From childhood on the suggestion that it isnecessary to eat liberally is ever before us. Medical men, grandparents, parents and neighbors think and talk alike. If the parents believe inmoderation, the neighbors kindly give lunches to the children. It isreally difficult to raise children right, especially in towns andcities. 

After such training we learn to believe in overeating and we pass thebelief on to the next generation, as it has in the past been handed downfrom generation to generation. Finally we die, many of us martyrs tooverconsumption of food. Ask any healer of intelligence who has thrownoff the blinders put on at college and who has allowed himself to thinkwithout fear, and he will tell you that at least nine-tenths of our illscome from improper eating habits. It is not difficult to make up menusof compatible foods. No one knows how much another should eat, and hewho prepares quantitative diet tables for the multitude must fail. 

However, every individual of ordinary intelligence can quickly learn hisown food requirements and the key thereto is given by nature. It is notwell to think of one's self much or often. It is not well to beintrospective, but everyone should get acquainted with himself, learningto know himself well enough to treat himself with due consideration. Weare taught kindness to others. We need to be taught kindness toourselves. The average person ought to be able to learn his normal foodrequirements within three or four months, and a shorter time will oftensuffice. 

The following observations will prove helpful to the careful reader:

Food should have a pleasant taste while it is being eaten, but shouldnot taste afterwards. If it does it is a sign of indigestion followingovereating, or else it indicates improper combinations or very poorcooking. Perhaps food was taken when there was no desire for it, whichis always a mistake. Perhaps too many foods were combined in the meal. Or it may be that there was not enough mouth preparation. It isgenerally due to overeating. Cabbage, onions, cucumbers and variousother foods which often repeat, will not do so when properly preparedand eaten in moderation, if other conditions are right. 

Eructation of gas and gas in the bowels are indications of overeating. More food is taken than can be digested. A part of it ferments and gasis a product of fermentation. A very small amount of gas in thealimentary tract is natural, but when there is belching or rumbling ofgas in the intestines it is a sign of indigestion, which may be so mildthat the individual is not aware of it, or it may be so bad that he canthink of little else. When there is formation of much gas it is alwaysnecessary to reduce the food intake, and to give special attention tothe mastication of all starch-containing aliments. Also, if starches andsour fruits have been combined habitually, this combination should begiven up. Starch digests in an alkaline medium, and if it is taken withmuch acid by those whose digestive powers are weak, the result isfermentation instead of digestion. 

People should never eat enough to experience a feeling of languor. Theyshould quit eating before they feel full. If there is a desire to sleepafter meals, too much food has been ingested. When drowsiness possessesus after meals we have eaten so much that the digestive organs requireso much blood that there is not enough left for the brain. This is ahint that if we have work or study that requires exceptional clearnessof mind, we should eat very moderately or not at all immediately before. The digestive organs appropriate the needed amount of blood and thebrain refuses to do its best when deprived of its normal supply ofoxygen and nourishment. 

Serpents, some beasts of prey and savages devour such large quantitiesof food at times that they go into a stupor. There is no excuse for ourpatterning after them now that a supply of food is easily obtained atall times. 

A bad taste in the mouth is usually a sign of overeating. It comes fromthe decomposition following a too liberal food intake. If water has abad taste in the morning or at any other time, it indicates overeating. It may be due to a filthy mouth or the use of alcohol. 

Heartburn is also due to overeating, and so is hiccough; both come fromfermentation of food in the alimentary tract. 

A heavily coated tongue in the morning indicates excessive food intake. If the tongue is what is known as a dirty gray color it shows that theowner has been overeating for years. The normal mucous membrane is cleanand pink. The mucous membrane of the mouth, stomach and the first partof the bowels should not be compelled to act as an organ of excretion, for the normal function is secretory and absorptive. However, when somuch food is eaten that the skin, lungs, kidneys and lower bowel can notthrow off all the waste and excess, the mucous membrane in the upperpart of the alimentary tract must assist. The result is a coated tongue, but the tongue is in no worse condition than the mucous membrane of thestomach. A coated tongue indicates overcrowded nutrition and is nature'srequest to reduce the food intake. How much? Enough to clean the tongue. If the coating is chronic it may take several months before the tonguebecomes clean. 

A muddy skin, perhaps pimply, is another sign of overeating. It showsthat the food intake is so great that the body tries to eliminate toomany of the solids through the skin, which becomes irritated from thiscause and the too acid state of the system and then there isinflammation. Many forms of eczema and a great many other skin diseasesare caused by stomach disorders and an overcrowded nutrition. There is alimit to the skin's excretory ability, and when this is exceeded skindiseases ensue. Some of the so-called incurable skin diseases get wellin a short time on a proper diet without any local treatment. 

Dull eyes and a greenish tinge of the whites of the eyes point towarddigestive disturbances due to an oversupply of food. The green colorcomes from bile thrown into the blood when the liver is overworked. Theliver is never overtaxed unless the consumption of food is excessive. 

Another very common sign of too generous feeding is catarrh, and it doesnot matter where the catarrh is located. It is true that there are othercauses of catarrh, in fact, anything that irritates the mucous membraneany length of time will cause it, but an overcrowded nutrition causesthe ordinary cases. It is the same old story: The mucous membrane isforced to take on the function of eliminating superfluous matter, whichhas been taken into the system in the form of food. Many people dedicatetheir lives to the act of turning a superabundance of food into waste, and as a result they overwork their bodies so that they are never wellphysically and seldom efficient mentally. 

Many people, especially women, say that if they miss a meal or get itlater than usual, they suffer from headache. This indicates that thefeeding is wrong, generally too generous and often too stimulating. Anormal person can miss a dozen meals without a sign of a headache. 

To repeat: No one can tell how much another should eat, but everyone canlearn for himself what the proper amount of food is. Enough is givenabove to help solve the problem. The interpretations presented are notthe popular ones, but they are true for they give good results whenacted upon. 

If bad results follow a meal there has been overeating, either at thelast meal or previously. Undermasticating usually accompanies overeatingand causes further trouble. Those who masticate thoroughly are generallyquite moderate in their food intake. 

Many say that they eat so much because they enjoy their food so. He whoeats too rapidly or in excess does not know what true enjoyment of foodis. Excessive eating causes food poisoning, and food poisoning bluntsall the special senses. To have normal smell, taste, hearing and visionone must be clean through and through, and those who are surfeited withfood are not clean internally. 

The average individual does not know the natural taste of most foods. Heseasons them so highly that the normal taste is hidden or destroyed. Those who wish to know the exquisite flavor of such common foods asonions, carrots, cabbage, apples and oranges must eat them withoutseasoning or dressing for a while. To get real enjoyment from food it isnecessary to eat slowly and in moderation. 

I know both from personal experience and from the experience of othersthat seasoning is not necessary. Instead of giving the foods betterflavor, they taste inferior. A little salt will harm no one, but theconstant use of much seasoning leads to irritation of the digestiveorgans and to overeating. Salt taken in excess also helps to bring onpremature aging. It is splendid for pickling and preserving, but healthand life in abundance are the only preservatives needed for the body. Refined sugar should be classed among the condiments. People who livenormally lose the desire for it. Grapefruit, for instance, tastes betterwhen eaten plain than when sugar is added. 

People who sleep seven or eight hours and wake up feeling unrefreshedare suffering from the ingestion of too much food. A food poisonedindividual can not be properly rested. To get sweet sleep and feelrestored it is necessary to have clean blood and a sweet alimentarytract. 

Much has been said about overeating. Once in a while a person willhabitually undereat, but such cases are exceedingly rare. To undereat isfoolish. At all times we must use good sense. It is a subject upon whichno fixed rules can be promulgated. Be guided by the feelings, forperfect health is impossible to those who lack balance. 

Those who think they need scientific direction may take one of theorthodox diet tables. If it contains alcoholics, remove them from thelist. Then partake of about one-third of the starch recommended, andabout one-third of the protein. Use more fresh fruit and freshvegetables than listed. Instead of eating bread made from white flour, use whole wheat bread. Do not try to eat everything given on thescientific diet list each day. For instance, rice, potatoes and breadare given in many of these tables. Select one of these starches one day, another the next day, etc. If one-third of the amount recommended is toomuch, and it sometimes is, reduce still further. 

Please bear in mind that the orthodox way, the so-called scientific way, has been tried over a long period of time and it has given very poorresults. Moderation has always given good results and always will. 

CHAPTER VI. 

WHAT TO EAT. 

It is very important to eat the right kind of food, but it is even moreimportant to be balanced and use common sense. Those who are moderate intheir habits and cheerful can eat almost anything with good results. Ofcourse, people who live almost entirely on such denatured foods aspolished rice, finely bolted wheat flour products, sterilized milk andmeat spoiled in the cooking, refined sugar and potatoes deprived of mostof their salts through being soaked and cooked will suffer. 

There are many different diet systems, and some of them are very good. If their advocates say that their way is the only way, they are wrong. Many try to force their ideas upon others. They find their happiness inmaking others miserable. They are afflicted with the proselyting zealthat makes fools of people. This is the wrong way to solve the foodproblem. Let each individual choose his own way and allow those whodiffer to continue in the old way. 

Many have changed their dietary habits to their own great benefit. Afterthis they become so enthused and anxious for others to do likewise thatthey wear themselves and others out exhorting them to share in the newdiscovery. This does no good, but it often does harm, for it leads thezealot to think too much of and about himself, and it annoys others. 

Many are like my friend who lunched daily on zwieback and raw carrots. "I think everybody ought to eat some raw carrots every day; don't you?"she said. We can not mold everybody to our liking, and we should nottry. If we conquer ourselves, we have about all we can do. If we succeedin this great work, we will evolve enough tolerance to be willing toallow others to shape their own ends. To volunteer undesired informationdoes no good, for it creates opposition in the mind of the hearers. Ifthe information is sought, the chances are that it may in time do good. It is well enough to indicate how and where better knowledge may beobtained. We should at all times attempt to conserve our energy and useit only when and where it is helpful. Such conduct leads to peace ofmind, effectiveness, happiness and health. 

The tendency to become too enthusiastic about a dietary regime that hasbrought personal benefit is to be avoided, for it brings unnecessaryodium upon the important subject of food reform. People do not like tochange old habits, even if the change would be for the better, and whenan enthusiast tries to force the change his actions are resented. Hemakes no real converts, but as pay for his efforts he gains thereputation of being a crank. 

Those who wish to be helpful in an educational way should be patient. The race has been in the making for ages. Its good habits, as well asits bad ones, have been acquired gradually. If we ever get rid of ourbad habits it will be through gradual evolution, not through a hastyrevolution. We need a change in dietary habits, but those who becomefood cranks, insisting that others be as they, retard this movement. Only a few will change physical and mental habits suddenly. If those whoknow are content to show the benefits more in results than in words, their influence for good will be great. 

What shall we eat? How are we to know the truth among so manyconflicting ideas? We can know the truth because it leads to health. Error leads to suffering, degeneration and premature death. As thehomely saying goes, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating. "

Let us look into some of the diet theories before the public and givethem thoughtful consideration. 

The late Dr. J. H. Salisbury advocated the use of water to drink andmeat to eat, and nothing else. The water was to be taken warm and incopious quantities, but not at or near meal time. The meat, preferablybeef, was to be scraped or minced, made into cakes and cooked in a verywarm skillet until the cakes turned gray within. These meat cakes wereto be eaten three times a day, seasoned with salt and a little pepper. 

The doctor had a very successful practice, which is attested by many whowere benefited when ordinary medical skill failed. His diet was not wellbalanced. In meats there is a lack of the cell salts and force food. Especially are the cell salts lacking when the flesh is drained of itsblood. The animals of prey drink the blood and crunch many of the bonesof their victims, thus getting nearly all the salts. But in spite of hisgiving such an unbalanced diet, the doctor had a satisfactory practiceand good success. Why? Because his patients had to quit using narcoticsand stimulants and they were compelled to consume such simple food thatthey ceased overeating. It is a well known fact that a mono-diet forcesmoderation, for there is no desire to overeat, as there is when livingon a very varied diet. 

Another fact that the Salisbury plan brings to mind is that starch andsugar are not necessary for the feeding of adults, although they areconvenient and cheap foods and ordinarily consumed in large quantities. The fat in the meat takes the place of the starch and sugar. Atomically, starch, sugar and fat are almost identical, and they can be substitutedone for the other. Nature makes broad provisions. 

Dr. Salisbury's career also serves to remind us that a mixed diet is notnecessary for the physical welfare of those who eat to live. Vegetariansdwell upon the toxicity of meat. But Dr. Salisbury fed his patients onnothing but meat and water, and the percentage of recoveries in chronicdiseases was considered remarkable. Meat is very easy to digest and whenprepared in the simple manner prescribed by the doctor and eaten byitself it will agree with nearly everybody. But when eaten with soup, bread, potatoes, vegetables, cooked and raw, fish, pudding, fruit, coffee, crackers and cheese, there will be overeating followed byindigestion and its consequent train of ills. However, it is not fair toblame the meat entirely, for the whole mixture goes into decompositionand poisons the body. 

The cures resulting from Dr. Salisbury's plan also help to disprove themuch heralded theory of Dr. Haig, that uric acid from meat eating is thecause of rheumatism. Overeating of meat is often a contributory cause. We are told that the rheumatics who followed Dr. Salisbury's plan gotwell. They regained physical tone. They lost their gout and rheumatism. They parted company with their pimples and blotches. All of which wouldindicate that the blood became clean. 

The chief lesson derived from Dr. Salisbury's plan and experience is thehelpfulness of simple living and moderation. An exclusive diet of meatis not well balanced. Energy produced from flesh food is too expensive. The good results came from substituting habits of simplicity andmoderation for the habit of overeating of too great variety of food. Thesame results may be obtained by putting a patient on bread and milk. 

Dr. Salisbury's patients had unsatisfied longings, doubtless for varioustissue salts. The addition of fresh raw fruits or vegetables wouldimprove his diet, for apples, peaches, pears, lettuce, celery andcabbage are rich in the salts in which meats are deficient. 

Dr. Emmet Densmore recommended omitting the starches entirely, that is, to avoid such foods as cereals, tubers and legumes. He believed that itis best to live on fruits and nuts. He recommended the sweetfruits--figs, dates, raisins, prunes--instead of the starchy foods. Thedoctor did much good, as everyone does who gets his patients tosimplify. He also had good results before discovering that starch is aharmful food, when he fed his patients bread and milk. 

Starch must be converted into sugar before it can be used by the body. The sugar is what is known as dextrose, not the refined sugar ofcommerce. The sweet fruits contain this sugar in the form of fruitsugar, which needs but little preparation to be absorbed by the blood. Dr. Densmore reasons thus: Only birds are furnished with mills(gizzards); hence the grains are fit food for them only. Other starchesshould be avoided because they are difficult to digest, the doctorwrote. 

Raw starches are difficult to digest, but when they are properly cookedthey are digested in a reasonable time without overburdening the system, provided they are well masticated and the amount eaten is not too greatand the combining is correct. Rice, which contains much starch, digestsin a short time. 

We can do very nicely without starch. We can also thrive on it if we donot abuse it. The two chief starch-bearing staples, rice and wheat, contain considerable protein and salts in their natural state. In fact, the natural wheat will sustain life for a long time. Man has improved onnature by polishing the rice and making finely bolted, bleached wheatflour, deprived of nearly all the salts in the wheat berry. The resultis that both of them have become very poor foods. The more we eat ofthese refined products the worse off we are, unless we partake freely ofother foods rich in mineral salts. 

Not long ago a lady died in England who was a prominent advocate of a"brainy diet. " Her brainy diet consisted largely of excessive quantitiesof meat, pork being a favorite. She died comparatively young, herfriends say from overwork. Such a diet doubtless had a large part inwearing her out. To overeat of meat is dangerous. 

A gentleman is now advocating a diet of nothing but cocoanuts. This is afad, for they are not a balanced food. He has published a book on thesubject. Perhaps his advocacy is influenced by his interest in the saleof cocoanuts. 

The vegetarians condemn the use of meat. Some of them are calledfruitarians. It is very difficult to decide who are the mostrepresentative of them. Some advocate the use of nothing but fruit andnuts. Others add cereals to this. Others use vegetables in addition. Some even allow the use of dairy products and eggs, that is, all foodsexcept flesh. 

They say that meat is an unnatural food for man and condemn its use onmoral grounds. It is difficult to decide what is natural, for we findthat man is very adaptable, being able to live on fruits in the tropicsand almost exclusively on flesh food, largely fat, in the arcticregions. In nature the strong live on the weak and the intelligent onthe dull. There is no sentiment in nature. In her domain might, physicalor mental, makes right. Sentiments of right and justice are not highlydeveloped except among human beings, and even there they are so weaklyimplanted that it takes but little provocation for civilized man to barehis teeth in a wolfish snarl. 

With some vegetarianism is largely a matter of esthetics, ethics andmorality. Morality is based on expediency, so it really is a questionwhether meat is an advantageous food or not. 

Another vegetarian argument is that man's anatomy proves that he was notintended by nature to eat meat. Good arguments have been used on bothsides, but they are not very convincing nor are they conclusive. It ishard to draw any lines fairly. 

Another objection to meat is that it is unclean and full of poisons, that these poisons produce various diseases, such as cancer. We are alsoinformed that refined sugar causes cancer, and the belief in tomatoes asa causative factor is not dead. Cancer is without doubt causedprincipally by dietary indiscretions but it is impossible to single outany one food. 

No matter what foods we eat, we are compelled to be careful or they willbe unclean. Those who wish clean meat can obtain it. The amount ofpoison or waste in a proper portion of meat is so small that we needgive it no thought. Those who eat in moderation can take meat once aday during cold weather and enjoy splendid health. During warm weatherit should be eaten more seldom. 

On the other hand, meat is not necessary. We need a certain amount ofprotein, which we can obtain from nuts, eggs, milk, cheese, peanuts, peas, beans, lentils, cereals and from other food in smaller amounts. The amount of protein needed is small--about one-fifth of what thephysiologists used to recommend. 

Those who think meat eating is wrong should not partake of it. They canget along very well without it. We are consuming entirely too much meatin America. The organism can stand it if the life is active in the freshair, but it will not do for people who are housed. Much meat eatingcauses physical degeneration. The body loses tone. Experiments haveshown that vegetarians have more resistance and endurance than the meateaters, but the meat eaters get so much stimulation from their food thatthey can speed up in spurts. The excretions of meat eaters are morepoisonous than those of vegetarians. 

Eggs produced by hens fed largely on meat scraps do not keep as well asthose laid by hens feeding more on grains. In short, meat eating leadsto instability or degeneration, if carried to excess. Young childrenshould have none of it and it would be a very easy matter for the risinggeneration to develop without using meat, and I believe this would bebetter than our present plan of eating. However, let us give flesh foodthe credit due it. When meat eaters are debilitated no other food seemsto act as kindly as meat, given with fruits or vegetables. When properlyprepared and taken in moderation meat digests easily and is quitecompletely assimilated. 

Many make the mistake of living too exclusively on starch and taking itin excess. The result is fermentation and an acid state of thealimentary tract. Dr. Daniel S. Sager says that, "About all that we haveto fear in eating is excessive use of proteids. " Experience andobservation do not bear out this statement, for it is as easy to findpeople injured by starch as by protein. One form of poisoning is as badas the other. The doctor also warns against nearly all the succulentvegetables, saying that on account of the indigestible fibre, most ofthem are unfit for human consumption. 

Dr. E. H. Dewey condemned the apple as a disease-producer, andinferentially, other fruits. 

Dr. Charles E. Page objects to the use of milk by adults, on the groundthat it is fit food only for the calves for whom nature intended it. Many writers have repeated this opinion. 

Most of the regular physicians have a very vague idea of dietetics andproper feeding. When asked what to eat they commonly say, "Eat plentynourishing food of the kinds that agree with you. " They do not point outthe fundamentals to their patients. Sometimes they advise avoidingcombinations of milk and fruits. Sometimes they say that all starchesshould be avoided and in the next breath prescribe toast, one of thestarchiest of foods. At times they proscribe pork and pickles but theyare seldom able to give a good diet prescription. What people need is afair knowledge of what to do and the don'ts will take care ofthemselves. 

All foods have been condemned as unfit for human consumption by peoplewho should know. However, those who look at these matters with open eyesand open minds will come to the conclusion that man is a very adaptableanimal; that if necessary he can get along without almost all foods, being able to subsist on a very small variety; that he can live for along period on animal food entirely; that he can live all his lifewithout tasting flesh; that he can live on a mixed diet; that he canadopt a great many plans of eating and live in health and comfort onnearly all of them, provided he does not deprive himself of the naturalsalts and gets some protein; and finally and most important, thatmoderation is the chief factor in keeping well, for the best foodsproduce disease in time if taken in excess. 

Those who object to flesh, dairy products, cereals, tubers, legumes, refined sugars, fruits or vegetables, should do without the class whichthey find objectionable, for it is easy to substitute from otherclasses. Eggs, milk or legumes may be taken in place of flesh foods. Thesalts contained in fruits may be obtained from vegetables. The starch, which is the chief ingredient of cereals, is easily obtained from tubersand legumes; fats and sugars will take its place. Commercial sugar isnot a necessity. The force and heat derived from it can be obtained fromstarches and fats. 

Outside of milk in infancy, there is not a single indispensable food. Some people have peculiarities which prevent them from eating certainfoods, such as pork, eggs, milk and strawberries, but with theseexceptions a healthy person can eat any food he pleases, provided he ismoderate. We eat too much flesh, sugar and starch and we suffer for it. This does not prove that these foods are harmful, but that overeating is. 

Sometimes the food question becomes a very trying one in the home. Oneindividual has learned the fact that good results are obtained by usinggood sense and judgment in combining and consuming food, and he tries toforce others to do as he does. This is unfortunate, for most peopleobject to such actions, and though the intention is good, itaccomplishes nothing, but prejudices others against sensible living. Thebest way is to do right yourself and let others sin against themselvesand suffer until they are weary. Then, seeing how you got out of yourtrouble, perhaps they will come to you and accept what you have tooffer. 

The attempt to force people to be good or to be healthy is merely wastedeffort. 

The chapter devoted to Menus gives definite information regarding theproper manner in which to combine foods and arrange meals. Suchinformation is also given in treating of the different classes of food. 

CHAPTER VII. 

WHEN TO EAT. 

Three meals a day is the common plan. This is a matter of habit. Threemeals a day are sufficient and should not be exceeded by man, woman orchild. Lunching or "piecing" should never be indulged in. Children whoare fed on plain, nutritious foods that contain the necessary foodelements do not need lunches. Lunching is also a matter of habit, and wecan safely say that it is a bad habit. 

If three meals a day are taken, two should be light. He who wishes towork efficiently can not eat three hearty meals a day. If it is brainwork, the digestive organs will take so much of the blood supply that aninsufficient amount of blood will be left to nourish the brain. Theworker feels the lack of energy. He is not inclined to do thorough work, that is, to go to the root of matters, and he therefore does indifferentwork. One rule to which there is no exception is that the brain can notdo its best when the digestive organs are working hard. If there is apiece of work to be done or a problem to be solved that requires all ofone's powers it is best to tackle it with an empty stomach, or after avery light meal. 

If the work is physical, it is not necessary to draw the line so fine. But it is well to remember that hard physical work prevents digestion. All experiments prove this. So if the labor is very trying, the eatingshould be light. Those who eat much because they work hard will soonwear themselves out, for hard work retards digestion, and with weakeneddigestion the more that is eaten, the less nourishment is extracted fromit. Those who labor hard should take a light breakfast and the same kindof a noon meal. After the day's work is done, take a hearty meal. Thosewho perform hard physical labor, as well as those who work chiefly withtheir brains, should relax a while after the noon meal. A nap lastingten to twenty minutes is very beneficial, but not necessary ifrelaxation is taken. 

During sleep the activities of the body slow down. Most people who takea heavy meal and retire immediately thereafter feel uncomfortable whenthey wake in the morning. The reason is that the food did not digestwell. It is always well to remain up at least two hours after eating ahearty meal. 

Most people would be better off if they took but two meals a day. Thosewho have sedentary occupations need less fuel than manual laborers, andcould get along very well on two meals a day. However, if moderation ispracticed, no harm will come from eating three times a day. 

In olden times many people lived on one meal a day. Some do so today andget along very well. It is easy to get plenty of nourishment from onemeal, and it has the advantage of not taking so much time. Most of usspend too much time preparing for meals and eating. Once when it wasrather inconvenient to get more meals, I lived for ten months on onemeal a day. I enjoyed my food very much and was well nourished. Fortwelve years I have lived on two meals a day, one of them oftenconsisting of nothing but some juicy fruit. Many others do likewise, notbecause they are prejudiced against three meals per day, but they findthe two meal plan more convenient and very satisfactory. 

Meat, potatoes and bread, with other foods, three times a day is acommon combination. No ordinary mortal can live in health on such adiet. Such feeding results in discomfort and disease, and unless it ischanged, in premature aging and death. The body needs only a certainamount of material. Sufficient can be taken in two meals. If three mealsis the custom less food at a meal should be eaten. However, the generalrule is that those who eat three meals per day eat fully as large onesas those who take only two. 

As a rule, the meal times should be regular. We need a certain amount ofnourishment, and it is well to take it regularly. This reduces friction, and is conducive to health, for the body is easily taught to fall intohabits of regularity and works best when these are observed. 

There should be a period of at least four and one-half to five hoursbetween meals. It takes that long for the body to get a meal out of theway. Stomach digestion is but the beginning of the process, and thisalone requires from two to five hours. 

On the two-meal plan it makes very little difference whether thebreakfast or the lunch is omitted. After going without breakfast for aweek or two, one does not miss it. Miss the meal that it is the mosttroublesome to get. Dr. Dewey revived interest in the no-breakfast planin this country. He considered it very beneficial. The doctor did notgive credit where credit is due, for he insisted on going withoutbreakfast. Omitting lunch or dinner accomplishes the same thing. He gothis beneficial results from reducing the number of meals, andconsequently the amount of food taken, but it is immaterial which mealis omitted. 

Heavy breakfasts are very common in England and in our country. On theEuropean continent they do not eat so much for breakfast, a cup ofcoffee and one roll being a favorite morning meal there. To eat nothingin the morning is better than to take coffee and rolls. To eat enough tosteal one's brain away is a poor way to begin the day. Much better workcould be done on some fruit or a glass of milk, or some cereal andbutter than on eggs, steak potatoes, hot bread and coffee, which is notan uncommon breakfast. 

When we consider the best time to eat, we come back to our old friend, moderation, and find that it is the best solution of the question, forif the meals are moderate we may with benefit take three meals a day, but no more, for there is not time enough during the day to digest morethan three meals. However, it is not necessary to eat three times a day. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

HOW TO EAT. 

It seems that all of us ought to know how to eat, for we have muchpractice; yet the individuals who know the true principles of nourishingthe body are comparatively few. Very few healers are able to give fulland explicit directions on this important subject. Some can give partialinstructions, but we need a full working knowledge. 

In one period of our racial history there were times when it wasdifficult to obtain food, as it is now among some savage people. Then itwas without doubt customary to gorge, as it is among some savages nowwhen they get a plenteous supply of food, especially of flesh food. Evenamong so-called civilized people, the distribution of food is so uneventhat some are in want somewhere, nearly all the time. In parts ofRussia, we are informed, the peasants go into a state ofsemi-hibernation during part of the winter, living on very smallquantities of inferior food. 

With rapid transportation and the extensive use of power-propelledmachinery, famine should be unheard of in civilized countries. In ourland there is a sufficient quantity of food and people seldom sufferbecause they have not enough, but considerable suffering is due toexcessive intake and to poor quality of food. Weight for weight, whitebread is not as valuable as whole wheat bread, though it contains asmuch starch. Measure for measure, boiled milk is inferior as a food tountreated milk, either fresh or clabbered. Such facts make it necessaryfor us to know how to eat. 

The correct principles of taking nourishment to the best advantage havebeen fairly well known for a long time, and perhaps they have been fullydiscussed years ago by some author, but so far as I know Dr. E. H. Deweyis the first one who grouped them and gave them the prominence theydeserve. He employed many pages in explaining clearly and forcibly theseprinciples, which can be briefly stated as follows:

First, Be guided by the appetite in eating. Eat only when there ishunger. 

Second, During acute illness fast, that is, live on water. 

Third, Be moderate in eating. 

Fourth, Masticate your food thoroughly. 

Dr. J. H. Tilden teaches his patients the same in these words:

"Never eat when you feel badly. 

"Never eat when you have no desire. 

"Do not overeat. 

"Thoroughly masticate and insalivate all your food. "

Because these true dietetic principles are so important, probably beingthe most valuable information given in this book, let us give themenough consideration to fix them in the mind. They should be a part ofevery child's education. They should be so thoroughly learned that theybecome second nature, for if they are observed disease is practicallyimpossible. Accidents may happen, but no serious disease can develop andcertainly none of a chronic nature if these rules are observed, providedthe individual gives himself half a chance in other ways. When theeating is correct, it is difficult to fall into bad habits mentally. Correct eating is a powerful aid to health. Health tends to produceproper thinking, which in turn leads the individual to proper acting. 

_First, Eat only when there is hunger_: Hunger is of two kinds, normaland abnormal. The real or normal hunger was given us by nature to makeus active enough to get food. If it were not for hunger, there would beno special incentive for the young to partake of nourishment andconsequently many would die comfortably of starvation, perhaps enough toendanger the life of the race. Normal hunger asks for food, but nospecial kind of food. It is satisfied with anything that is clean andnourishing. It is strong enough to make a decided demand for food, butif there is no food to be had it will be satisfied for the time beingwith a glass of water and will cause no great inconvenience. 

Abnormal hunger is entirely different. It is a very insistent cravingand if it is not satisfied it produces bodily discomfort, perhapsheadache. The gnawing remains and gives the victim no rest. Very oftenit must be pampered. It calls for beefsteak, or toast and tea, orsweets, or some other special food. If not satisfied the results may benervousness, weakness or headache or some other disagreeable symptom. 

When missing a meal or two brings discomfort, it is always a sign of adegenerating or degenerated body. A healthy person can go a day withoutfood without any inconvenience. He feels a keen desire for food at mealtimes, but as soon as he has made up his mind that he is unable to getit or that he is not going to take any the hunger leaves. Normal hungeris a servant. Abnormal hunger is a hard master. 

A person in good condition does not get weak from missing a few meals. One in poor physical condition does, although this is more apparent thanreal. In the abnormal person a part of the food is used as nourishment, but on account of the poor working of the digestive organs, a partdecomposes and this acts as an irritant or a stimulant. The greater theirritation the more food is demanded. The temporary stimulation isfollowed by depression and then the sufferer is wretched. Thisdepression is relieved by more food. Please note that it is relieved, not cured. The relief is only temporary. 

All food stimulates, but only slightly. It is when the food decomposesthat it becomes stimulating enough to cause trouble. It is well toremember that considerable alcoholic fermentation can take place in anabused alimentary tract. The stimulation obtained from too much food isvery much like the stimulation derived from alcohol, tobacco ormorphine. At first there is a feeling of well-being, which is followedby a miserable feeling of depression that demands food, alcohol, tobaccoor morphine for relief, as the case may be, and no matter which habit isobtaining mastery, to indulge it is courting disaster. When a habitbegins to assert itself strongly, break it, for later on it will be verydifficult, so difficult that most people lack the will power to overcomeit. 

If there is abnormal hunger, reduce the food intake. Instead of eatingfive or six times a day, reduce the meals to two or three. It is quitecommon for such people to take lunches, which may consist of candies, ice cream, cakes, milk or buttermilk and various other things which mostpeople do not look upon as real food. Take two or three meals a day, andlet a large part of them be fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. Eat inmoderation and the troublesome abnormal hunger will soon leave. Byindulging it you increase it. 

Many people get into trouble because they believe that they have to haveprotein, starch and fat at every meal. This is not necessary, for theblood takes up enough nourishment to last for quite a while. A supply ofthe various food elements once a day is sufficient, which means thatprotein needs be taken but once a day, starch once a day and fat once aday. Starch and fat serve the same purpose and one can be replaced bythe other. 

Cultivate a normal hunger, then fix two or three periods in which totake nourishment, and partake of nothing but water outside of theseperiods. If there is no desire for food when meal time comes, eatnothing, but drink all the water desired and wait until next meal time. 

_Second, During acute illness fast_: This is so obviously correct thatwe should expect every normal individual to be guided by it. Even thelower animals know this and act accordingly. 

According to this rule we should go without food when ill, but to do sois contrary to the teachings of medical men. They teach that when peopleare ill there is much waste, which is true, and that for this reason itis necessary to partake of a generous amount of nourishing food, so theygive milk, broth, meat, toast and other foods, together with stimulants. Feeding during illness would be all right if the body could take care ofthe food, which it can not. In all severe diseases digestion is almostor quite at a standstill and the food given under the circumstancesdecomposes in the alimentary tract and furnishes additional poison forthe system to excrete. Food under the circumstances is a detriment and aburden to the body. In fevers, the temperature goes up after feeding. This shows that more poison has entered the blood. In fevers little ornone of the digestive fluids is secreted, but the alimentary tract is sowarm that the food decomposes quickly. Feeding during acute attacks ofdisease is one of the most serious and fatal of errors. There is anaversion to food, which is nature's request that none be taken. 

When an animal becomes seriously ill, it wants to fast, and does sounless man interferes. Here we could with advantage do as the animalsdo. Nature made no mistake when she took hunger away in acute diseases, and if we disregard her desires, we invariably suffer for it. 

We should make it a rule to take no food, either liquid or solid, duringacute disease. 

Those who have had no opportunity to watch the rapidity with whichpeople recover from serious illness may take the ground that sick peoplewould starve to death if they were to be treated thus, for some of theseacute diseases last a long time. Typhoid fever, for instance, occasionally lasts two or three months. It never lasts that long whentreated by natural means, and it is very mild, as a rule. The fever willbe gone in from seven to fourteen days in the vast majority of cases, and then feeding can be resumed. 

Chronic disease is often due to neglected acute disease, at other timesto the building of abnormality through errors of life which have notresulted in acute troubles. While acquiring chronic disease, theindividual may be fairly comfortable, but he is never up to par. Mostchronic diseases can be cured quickly by taking a fast, but usually itis not necessary to take a complete fast. The desire for food is notgenerally absent and there is usually fair power to digest. One of themost satisfactory methods, if not the most satisfactory one, of treatingchronic disease is to reduce the food intake, and instead of giving somuch of the concentrated staples, feed more of the succulent vegetablesand the fresh fruits, cooked and raw, using but small quantities offlesh, bread, potatoes and sugar. This gives the body a chance to throwoff impurities. There are always many impurities in a deranged body. 

_Third, Be moderate in your eating_: This is often very difficult, formost people do not know what moderation is. In infancy the too frequentfeeding and the overfeeding begin. The common belief that infants mustbe fed every two hours, or oftener, is acted upon. The result is thatthe child soon loses its normal hunger, which is replaced by abnormalhunger. When food is long withheld it begins to fret. The mother againfeeds and there is peace for an hour or so. When mothers learn to feedtheir children three times a day and no more there will be a greatdecrease in infant ills and a falling off in the infant mortality. Thehealthiest children I have seen are fed but three times a day. Theybecome used to it and expect no more. 

Another thing that makes it difficult to be moderate is impoverishingthe food through refinement and poor cooking. These processes take awaya great part of the mineral salts which are present in foods in organicform. These salts can not be replaced by table salt, for sodium chlorideis but one of many salts that the body needs and an excess of table saltdoes not make up for a deficiency in the others. 

Children fed on refined, impoverished foods are not satisfied with areasonable amount. There is something lacking and this makes itselfknown in cravings, which demand more food than is needed to nourish. Ihave noticed many times that children are satisfied with less of wholewheat bread than of white bread, and that the brown unpolished ricesatisfies them more quickly and completely than the polished rice. Inother words, depriving the foods of their salts is one of the factorsthat leads to overeating. 

Simplicity is a great aid to moderation. It is also necessary toexercise the conservative measure, self-control. Some writers suggest toeat all that is desired and then fast at various intervals to overcomethe effects of overeating. In other words, they advise to eat enough tobecome diseased and then fast to cure the trouble. This is better thanto continue the eating when the evil results of an excessive food intakemake themselves known, but it does not bring the best results. Suchpeople have their spells of sickness, which are unnecessary. If theystop eating as soon as the disease makes itself known, it does not lastlong. By exercising self-control sickness will be warded off. By usingwill power daily it grows stronger and those who force themselves to bemoderate at first, are in time rewarded by having moderation becomesecond nature. 

People should always stop eating before they are full. Those who eatuntil they are uncomfortable are gluttons. They should be classed withdrunkards and drug addicts. 

If discomfort follows a meal it is a sign of overeating. It would bewell to read this in connection with the chapter that treats ofovereating. 

_Fourth, Thoroughly masticate all food_: Horace Fletcher has written avery enthusiastic book on this subject. Enthusiasm is apt to lead oneastray, and even if thorough mastication will not do all that Mr. Fletcher believed, it is very important, and we owe Mr. Fletcher thanksfor calling our attention to the subject forcibly. 

Thorough mastication partially checks overeating. 

Our foods have to be finely divided and subdivided or they can not bethoroughly acted upon by the digestive juices. The stomach is wellmuscled and churns the food about, helping to comminute it, but it cannot take the place of the teeth. All foods should be thoroughlymasticated. While the mastication is going on the saliva becomes mixedwith the food. In the saliva is the ptyalin, which begins to digest thestarch. Starch that is well masticated is not so liable to ferment asthat which gets scant attention in the mouth. Starches and nuts need themost thorough mastication. If thorough mastication were the rule, meatgluttons would be fewer, for when flesh is well chewed large quantitiescause nausea. 

Milk digests best when it is rolled around in the mouth long enough tobe mixed with saliva. To treat milk as a drink is a mistake, for it is avery nourishing food. 

All kinds of nuts must be well masticated. If they are not they can notbe well digested, for the digestive organs are unable to break down bigpieces of the hard nut meats. 

The succulent vegetables contain considerable starch. If mastication isslighted they often ferment enough to produce considerable gas. 

Fruits are generally eaten too rapidly, and therefore often produce badresults. Even green fruits can be eaten with impunity if they are verythoroughly masticated. 

Those who are fond enough of liquors to take an excess should sip theiralcoholic beverages very slowly, tasting every drop before swallowing. This would decrease their consumption of liquor greatly. 

Even water should not be gulped down. It should be taken rather slowly, especially on hot days. During hot weather many drink too much water. This tendency can usually be overcome by avoiding iced water and bydrinking slowly. 

These four rules should be a part of your vital knowledge. If you forgeteverything else in this book, please remember them and try to put theminto practice:

 _Eat only when hungry. During acute illness fast. Be moderate in your eating. Thoroughly masticate all food. _

CHAPTER IX. 

CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS. 

Food is anything which, when taken into the body under properconditions, is broken down and taken into the blood and utilized forbuilding, repairing or the production of heat or energy. 

There are various forms of foods, which can be divided into two classes:First, nitrogenous foods or proteins. Second, carbonaceous, foods, underwhich caption come the sugars, starches and fats. Salts and water arenot usually classified as foods, though they should be, for life isimpossible without either. 

The chief proteins are: First, the albuminoids, which are represented bythe albumin in eggs, the casein in milk and cheese, the myosin of muscleand the gluten of wheat. Second, the gelatinoids, which are representedby the ossein of bones, which can be made into glue, and the collogen oftendons. Third, nitrogen extractives, which are the chief ingredients inbeef tea. They are easily removed from flesh by soaking it while raw incold water. They are rich in flavor and are stimulating. They haveabsolutely no food value. Beef tea, and other related extracts, are notfoods. They are stimulants. In truth they are of no value, and those whopurchase such preparations pay a high price and get nothing in return. 

The sugars and starches are grouped under the name of carbohydrates, which means that they are a combination of water and carbon. There arevarious forms of sugar. About 4 per cent of milk is milk sugar, whichagrees better with the young than any other kind of sugar. It is not sosoluble in water as the refined cane sugar, and therefore not so sweet, but it is fully as nourishing. Honey is a mixture of various kinds ofsugars. Cane sugar is taken principally from sugar beets and sugar cane. There is no chemical difference between the products of canes and beets. Sugars can not be utilized by the blood until it has changed them intoother forms of sugar. 

The use of sugar is rapidly increasing. Several centuries ago it wasused as a drug. It was doubtless as effective as a curing agent as ourdrugs are today. Until within the last sixty or seventy years it has notbeen used as a staple food. Now it is one of our chief foods. Not sovery long ago but ten pounds of sugar per capita were used annually, butnow we are consuming about ninety pounds each annually, that is, aboutfour ounces per day. Many people look upon sugar as a flavoring, whichit is in a measure, but it is also one of our most concentrated foods. 

That this great consumption of sugar is harmful there is no doubt. Physicians who practiced when the use of sugar was increasing veryrapidly called attention to the increasing decay of teeth. Sugar, as itappears upon the table is an unsatisfied compound. It does not appear inconcentrated form in nature, but mixed with vegetable and mineralmatters, and when the pure sugar is put into solution it seeks thesematters. It is especially hungry for calcium and will therefore rob thebones, the teeth and the blood of this important salt, if it can not behad otherwise. The most noticeable effect is the decay of the teeth. 

I have read considerable literature of late blaming sugar for producingmany diseases, among them tuberculosis and cancer. Improper feeding isthe chief cause of these diseases, but to blame sugar for all ills ofthat kind is far from arriving at the truth. Cancer and tuberculosiskilled vast numbers of people before sugar was used as a staple. If wewish to get at the root of any trouble, it is necessary for us to buryour prejudices and be broad minded. 

People who eat much sugar should also partake liberally of fresh rawfruits and vegetables, in order to supply the salts in which sugar isdeficient. Lump sugar is practically pure, and therefore a poorerarticle of diet than any other form of sugar, for man can not live oncarbon without salts. 

Grape sugar and fruit sugar are the same chemically. Another name forthem is dextrose, and in the form of dextrose sugar is ready to be takenup by the blood. 

Children like sweets, but it is just as easy to give them the sweetfruits, such as good figs, dates and raisins, as it is to give themcommercial sugar and candy, and it is much better for their health. Children who get used to the sweet fruits do not care very much forcandies. The sugar in these fruits is not concentrated enough to be anirritant and it contains the salts needed by the body. Hence it does notrob the body of any of its necessary constituents. Because the fruitsugar, taken in fruit form, is not so concentrated and irritating as thecommon sugar, the child is satisfied with less. 

Sugar is an irritant of the mucous membrane and therefore stimulates theappetite. This is true only when it is taken in excess in its artificialform, and it does not matter whether it is sugar, jelly or jam. For thisreason jellies and jams should be used sparingly, because it is notnecessary to stimulate the appetite. Those who resort to stimulationovereat. When much sugar is taken, it not only irritates the stomach, but it even inflames this organ. 

Sugar is a preservative, and like all other preservatives it delaysdigestion, if taken in great quantities, and four ounces per day make agreat quantity. The digestive organs rebel if they are given as much ofsugar as they will tolerate of starch. When taken in excess sugarferments easily, producing much gas, which is followed by seriousresults. 

Sugar is changed into forms less sweet by acids and heat. The fermentinvertin also acts upon sugars. 

Sugar is a valuable food, but we are abusing it, and therefore it isdoing us physical harm. The quantity should be reduced, and families whoare using four ounces per person per day, as statistics indicate thatmost are doing, should reduce the intake to about one-third of thisamount. It would be well to take as much of the sugar as possible in theform of sweet fruits. 

It is a fact that sugar is easy to digest and that one can soon getenergy from it, but feeding is not merely a question of givingdigestible aliments, but a question of using foods that are beneficialin the long run. The moderate use of this food is all right, but excessis always bad. Starches need more change than sugars before they can beabsorbed by the blood, but they give better results. Chemically there isbut small difference between starch and sugar. The starch must bechanged into dextrose, a form of sugar, before it can be utilized by thebody. 

The human body contains a small amount of a substance called glycogen, which is an animal starch or sugar. This glycogen is burned. Sugar is aforce food. It combines with oxygen and gives heat and energy. The wasteproduct is carbonic acid gas, which is carried by the blood to the lungsand then exhaled. 

Honey and maple sugar are good foods, but overconsumption is harmful. 

Sugar eating is largely a habit. Because the sugar has so much of thelife and so many of the necessary salts removed in its refinement it isa good food only when taken in small quantities. Nature demands of usthat we do not get too refined in our habits, for excessive refinementis followed by decay. It is easy to overcome the tendency to overeat ofsugar. 

Some spoil the most delicious watermelon by heaping sugar or salt, orboth, upon it. In this way the flavor is lost. There is not a raw fruiton the market which is as finely flavored after it has been sugared asit was before. True, those who have ruined their sense of taste objectto the tartness and natural acidity of various foods, but they are notjudges and can not be until they have regained a normal taste, which canonly be done by living on natural foods for a while. 

Fats are obtained most plentifully from nuts, legumes, dairy productsand animal foods. They are the most concentrated of all foods, yieldingover twice the amount of heat or energy that we can obtain from the sameweight of pure sugar, starch or protein. Many who think they aremoderate eaters consume enough butter to put them in the glutton class. 

Salts are present in all natural foods of which we partake. 

Water is indispensable, for the body has to have fluids in order toperform its functions. 

Foods are burned in the body. They are valuable in proportion to thecompleteness with which they are digested and assimilated and the easewith which this process is accomplished. It takes energy to digest foodand if the food is very indigestible it takes too much energy. 

The following remarks on digestibility are according to the bestknowledge we have on the subject:

As a general rule, the protein of meat and fish is more completely andmore quickly digested than the protein in vegetable foods. The reason isthat the vegetable protein is found in cells which are protected by theindigestible cellulose which covers each cell. This covering is notalways broken and then the digestive juices are practically powerless. 

The legumes, which are rich in protein, are comparatively hard todigest. If properly prepared and eaten, they give little or no trouble, but they are generally cooked soft and the mastication is slighted. Theresult is fermentation. Beans, peas and lentils should be very wellchewed, and eaten in moderation, for they are rich both in starch andprotein. 

Nuts are as a rule not as completely digested as meats and animal fats, and the principal reason is that they are eaten too rapidly andmasticated too little. Nuts properly masticated, taken in correctcombinations and amounts agree very well. It is not necessary, as manybelieve, to salt them in order to prevent indigestion. 

In the following pages will be found a number of diet tables, givingcompositions and fuel values of various foods which have been groupedfor the sake of convenience, for the foods in each group are quitesimilar. These tables are not complete, for to list every food wouldtake too much space. I have simply selected a representative list fromthe various classes of foods. Under flesh are given fish, meats andeggs. Under succulent vegetables are given both root and top vegetables, because of their similarity. Nuts, cereals, legumes, tubers and fruitsare each grouped because it is easy to gain an understanding of them inthis way. Milk is given a rather long chapter of its own because of itsgreat importance in the morning of life. 

Allow me to repeat that it is impossible to figure out the calories in agiven amount of food and then give enough food to furnish so manycalories and thus obtain good results. I have already given the key tothe amount of food to eat, and it is the only kind of key that workswell. However, it is very helpful to have a knowledge of food values. 

The calorie is the unit of heat, and heat is convertible into energy. Acalorie is the heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram ofwater one degree C. To translate into common terms, it is the heatrequired to raise one pound of water four degrees F. 

 One pound of protein produces 1, 860 calories. One pound of sugar produces 1, 860 calories. One pound of starch produces 1, 860 calories. One pound of oil or fat produces 4, 220 calories. 

For the scientific facts regarding foods I have consulted various works, especially the following: Diet and Dietetics, by Gauthier; Foods, byTibbles; Food Inspection and Analyses, by Leach; Foods and theirAdulteration, by Wiley; Commercial Organic Analysis, by Allan. However, I am most indebted to the numerous bulletins issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. All who make a study of foods and their valueowe a great debt to W. O. Atwater and Chas. D. Wood, who have worked solong and faithfully to increase our knowledge regarding foods. 

As we consider the various groups of foods, directions are given for thebest way of cooking, but no fancy cooking is considered. Those who wishfancy, indigestible dishes should consult the popular cook books. 

The women have it in their power to raise the health standard fifty toone hundred per cent by cooking for health instead of catering tospoiled palates, and by learning to combine foods more sensibly thanthey have in the past. The art of cooking has made its appeal almostentirely to the palate. This art is not on as high level as the scienceof cooking, which gives foods that build healthy bodies. The right wayof cooking is simpler, quicker and easier than the conventional method, and gives food that is superior in flavor. After the normal taste hasbeen ruined, it takes a few months to acquire a natural taste again sothat good foods will be enjoyed. 

CHAPTER X. 

FLESH FOODS. 

 ==================================================================== Pro- Carbohy- Calories Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Beef, average 72. 03 21. 42 5. 41 . . . . 1. 14 . . . . Veal, lean 78. 84 19. 86 . 82 . . . . . 50 . . . . Mutton, average 75. 99 17. 11 5. 77 . . . . 1. 33 . . . . Pork, average fat 47. 40 14. 54 37. 34 . . . . . 72 . . . . Pork, average lean 72. 57 20. 25 6. 81 . . . . 1. 10 . . . . Rabbit 66. 80 22. 22 9. 76 . . . . 1. 17 . . . . Chicken, fat 70. 06 19. 59 9. 34 . . . . . 91 . . . . Turkey 65. 60 24. 70 8. 50 . . . . 1. 20 . . . . Goose 38. 02 15. 91 45. 59 . . . . . 49 . . . . Pigeon 75. 10 22. 90 1. 00 . . . . 1. 00 . . . . Duck, wild 69. 89 25. 49 3. 69 . . . . . 93 . . . . Black bass 76. 7 20. 4 1. 7 . . . . 1. 2 450 Sea bass 79. 3 18. 8 . 5 . . . . 1. 4 370 Cod, steaks 82. 5 16. 3 . 3 . . . . . 9 315 Halibut, steaks 75. 4 18. 3 5. 2 . . . . 1. 1 560 Herring 74. 67 14. 55 9. 03 . . . . 1. 78 . . . . Mackerel 73. 4 18. 2 7. 1 . . . . 1. 3 640 Perch, white 75. 7 19. 1 4. 0 . . . . 1. 2 525 Pickerel 79. 8 18. 6 . 5 . . . . 1. 1 365 Salmon 71. 4 19. 9 7. 4 . . . . 1. 3 680 Salmon trout 69. 1 18. 2 11. 4 . . . . 1. 3 820 Shad 70. 6 18. 6 9. 5 . . . . 1. 3 745 Sturgeon 78. 7 18. 0 1. 9 . . . . 1. 4 415 Trout, brook 77. 8 18. 9 2. 1 . . . . 1. 2 440 Clams, long 85. 8 8. 6 1. 0 2. 00 2. 6 240 Clams, round 86. 2 6. 5 . 4 4. 20 2. 7 215 Lobster 79. 2 16. 4 1. 8 . 40 2. 2 390 Oyster in shell 86. 9 6. 2 1. 2 3. 70 2. 0 230 --------------------------------------------------------------------

The food value of meat depends on the amount of fat and protein itcontains. Lean meat may contain less than four hundred calories perpound, while very fat meat may contain more than one thousand fivehundred calories. 

These foods are eaten because they are rich in protein. Protein is thegreat builder and repairer of the body. It forms the framework for bothbone and muscle. We can get along very well without starch or sugar orfat, but it is absolutely necessary to have proteid foods. They are theonly ones that contain nitrogen, which is essential to animal life. 

Nitrogenous foods are used not only to build and repair, but in the endthey are burned, supplying as much heat as the same weight of sugar orstarch. 

Proteid foods are generally taken to excess. To most people they arevery palatable, and they are generally prepared in a manner that rendersrapid eating easy. Besides, meats contain flavoring and stimulatingprinciples, called extractives, which increase the desire for them. Theconsequence is that those who eat meat often have a tendency to eat toomuch. Excessive meat eating often leads to consumption of largequantities of liquor. Stimulants crave company. 

As will be noted, most fish and meat contain about 20 per cent. Ofprotein, while about 75 per cent. Is water. The fatter the meat, theless water it contains, and the more fuel value it has. The leaner themeat, the more watery the animal, and the more easily is the fleshdigested. Beef is fatter than veal and harder to digest. Also, the fleshof old animals is more highly flavored than that of the young ones, because it contains more salts. For this reason people who have atendency to the formation of foreign deposits, as is the case with thosewho have rheumatism and gout or hardening of the arteries, should takethe flesh of young animals when it is obtainable. 

In the past we have been taught to partake of excessive amounts ofprotein. The prescribed amount for the average adult has been about fiveounces. If we were to obtain all the protein from meat, this wouldnecessitate eating about twenty-five ounces of meat daily. However, inasmuch as there is considerable protein in the cereals and milk, and alittle in most fruits and vegetables, a pound of meat would probablysuffice under the old plan. A few physicians have known that such anintake of protein is excessive, and now the physiologists are learningthe same. It has lately been determined experimentally that the bodyneeds only about an ounce of protein daily, which will be supplied byabout five ounces of flesh. Three or four ounces of flesh daily make aliberal allowance, for it is supplemented by protein in other foods. 

Workers eat large quantities of flesh because they think they need agreat deal. The fact is that very little more protein is needed by thosewho do hard physical labor than by brain workers. The extra energyneeded calls for more carbohydrates, not for protein. 

When the organism is supplied with sugar, starch and fat, or one ofthese, the protein of the body is saved, only a very small amount beingused to replace the waste through wear and tear. Though protein can beburned in the body, it is not an economical fuel, either from aphysiological or financial standpoint. The energy obtained from fleshcosts much more than the same amount of energy obtained fromcarbonaceous foods. Ten acres of ground well cultivated can raise enoughcereals and vegetables to support a number of people, but if this amountof land is used for raising animals, it will support but a few. Theprotein obtained from peas, beans and lentils is cheap, but these foodsdo not appeal to the popular palate as much as flesh. 

Meat immediately after being killed is soft. After a while it goes intoa state of rigidity known as rigor mortis. Then it begins to softenagain. This third stage is really a form of decay, called ripening. Itis believed that the lactic acid formed is one of the principal agentsproducing this softening. Some people enjoy their meats, especially thatof fowls and game, ripe enough to deserve the name of rotten. Theripening produces many chemical changes in the meat, which give theflesh more flavor. Consequently those who indulge are very apt toovereat. It is a fact that those who eat much flesh go into degenerationmore quickly than those who are moderate flesh eaters and depend largelyon the vegetable kingdom for food. 

If an excess of good meat causes degeneration, there is no reason todoubt that partaking of overripe foods is even worse. 

All meat contains waste. If the flesh comes from healthy animals and iseaten in moderation this waste is so small that it will cause noinconvenience, for a healthy body is able to take care of it. If toomuch is eaten, the results are serious. Overeating of flesh is followedby excessive production of urea and uric acid products. Some of thesemay be deposited in various parts of the body, while the urea is mostlyexcreted by the kidneys. The kidneys do not thrive under overwork anymore than other organs. The vast majority of cases of diabetes andBright's disease are caused by overworking the digestive organs. Toomuch food is absorbed into the blood and the excretory organs have towork overtime to get rid of the excess. 

Meats are easily spoiled. They should be kept in a cold place and notvery long. Fresh meat and fish are more easily digested than those whichare salted, or preserved in any other way. Pickled meats should be usedrarely The same is true of fish. 

Ptomaines, or animal poisons, form easily in flesh foods. These are verydangerous, and it is not safe to eat tainted flesh, even after it iscooked. Fish decomposes quickly and fish poisoning is probably even moresevere than meat poisoning. Fish should be killed immediately after itis caught, for experiments have shown that the flesh of fish keptcaptive after the manner of fishers degenerates very rapidly. Fishshould be eaten while fresh. Even when the best precautions have beentaken, it is somewhat risky to partake of fish that has been shippedfrom afar. 

Flesh foods are more easily and completely digested than the proteinderived from the vegetable kingdom. 

From the table it will be noted that some fish is fat and some is lean. The ones containing more than 5 per cent of fat should be considered fatfish. These are somewhat harder to digest than the lean ones, but theyare more nutritious. 

Shell fish is generally low in food value and if taken as nourishment isvery expensive. However, most people eat this food for its flavor. 

COOKING. 

Cooking is an art that should be learned according to correctprinciples. Every physician should be a good cook. He should be able togo into the kitchen and show the housewife how to prepare foodsproperly. Medical men who are well versed in food preparation and ableto make good food prescriptions have no need of drugs. 

The flesh of animals is composed of fibres. These fibres are surroundedby connective tissue which is tough. The cooking softens and breaks downthese tissues, thus rendering it easier for the digestive juices topenetrate and dissolve them. That is, proper cooking does this. Poorcooking generally renders the meats indigestible. 

The simpler the cooking, the more digestible will be the food. Flavorsare developed in the process, but these are hidden if the meats arehighly seasoned. 

_Boiling_: When meats are boiled they lose muscle sugar, flavoringextracts, organic acids, gelatin, mineral matters and soluble albumin. That is, they lose both flavor and nourishment. Therefore the liquid inwhich they are cooked should be used. 

The proper way to boil meat is to plunge it into plain boiling water. Allow the water to boil hard for ten or fifteen minutes. This coagulatesthe outer part of the piece of meat. Then lower the temperature of thewater to about 180 degrees F. And cook until it suits the taste. If itis allowed to boil at a high temperature a long time, it becomes tough, for the albumin will coagulate throughout. 

Salt extracts the water from meat. Therefore none of it should be usedin boiling. The meat should be cooked in plain water with no addition. No vegetables and no cereals are to be added. All meats contain somefat, and this comes into the water and acts upon the vegetables andstarches, making them indigestible. Season the meat after it is cooked, or better still, let everyone season it to suit the taste after serving. 

Meats that are to be boiled should never be soaked, for the cold waterdissolves out some of the salts and some of the flavoring extracts, aswell as a part of the nutritive substances. It is better to simply washthe meat if it does not look fresh and clean enough to appeal to theeye, which it always should be. 

_Stewing_: If meat is to be stewed, cut into small pieces and stew orsimmer at a temperature of about 180 degrees F. Until it is tender. Itis to be stewed in plain water. If a meat and vegetable stew is desired, stew the vegetables in one dish, and the meat in another. When both aredone, mix. By cooking thus a stew is made that will not "repeat" if itis properly eaten. Foods should taste while being eaten, not afterwards. 

_Broths_: If a broth is desired, select lean meat. Either grind it orchop it up fine. There is no objection to soaking the meat in coldwater, provided this water is used in making the broth. Use noseasoning. Let it stew or simmer at about 180 degrees F. Until thestrength of the meat is largely in the water. 

When the broth is done, set it aside to cool. Then skim off all the fatand warm it up and use. One pound of lean meat will produce a quart ofquite strong broth. 

_Broiling_: Cut the meat into desired thickness. Place near intensefire, turning occasionally, until done. Be careful not to burn theflesh. An ordinary steak should be broiled in about ten minutes. Ofcourse, the time depends on the thickness of the cut and whether it isdesired rare, medium or well done, and in this let the individual suithimself, for he will digest the meat best the way he enjoys it most. 

Beefsteak smothered in onions is a favorite dish. It is not a good wayto prepare either the onions or the steak. A better way is to broil boththe steak and the onions, or broil the steak, cut the onions in slicesabout one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick, add a little water andbake them. Beefsteak and onions prepared in this way are both palatableand easy to digest. 

_Roasting_ is just like broiling, that is, cooking a piece of meatbefore an open fire. Here we use a larger piece of meat and it thereforetakes longer. Of old roasting was quite common, but now we seldom roastmeat in this country. 

_Baking_: Here we place the meat in an enclosed oven. Most of ourso-called roast meats are baked. The oven for the first ten or fifteenminutes should be very hot, about 400 degrees F. This heat seals theoutside of the meat up quite well. Then let the heat be reduced to about260 degrees F. If it is kept at a high temperature it will produce atough piece of meat. The time the meat should be in the oven dependsupon the size of the piece of meat and how well done it is desired. 

While baking, some of the juices and a part of the fat escape. Aboutevery fifteen minutes, baste the meat with its own juice. A few minutesbefore the meat is to be removed from the oven it may be sprinkled witha small amount of salt, and so may broiled and roasted meats a littlewhile before they are done. However, many prefer to season their ownfoods or eat them without seasoning and they should be allowed to do so. 

_Steaming_: This is an excellent way of cooking. None of the food valueis lost. Put the meat in the steamer and allow it to remain until done. The cheapest and toughest cuts of meat, which are fully as good as themore expensive ones and often better flavored, can be rendered verytender by steaming. Tough birds can be treated in the same way. Anexcellent way to cook an old hen or an old turkey is to steam untiltender and then put into a hot oven for a few minutes to brown. Somebirds are so tough that they can not be made eatable by either boilingor baking, but steaming makes them tender. 

It is best to avoid starchy dressings, in fact dressings of all kinds. Awell cooked bird needs none, and dressing does not save a poorly cookedone. Most dressings are very difficult to digest. 

_Fireless cooking_: Every household should have either a good steamer ora fireless cooker. Both are savers of time and fuel and food. Theyemancipate the women. Those who have fireless cookers and plan theirmeals properly do not need to spend much time in the kitchen. 

Place the meat in the fireless cooker, following the directions whichaccompany it. However, if they tell you to season the meat, omit thispart. 

_Smothering_ is a modification of baking. Any kind of meat may besmothered, but it is especially fine for chickens. Take a young bird, separate it into joints, place into a pan, add a pint of boiling water. If chicken is lean put in a little butter, but if fat use no butter. Cover the pan tightly and place in oven and let it bake. A chickenweighing two and one-half pounds when dressed will require baking forone hour and fifteen minutes. Keep the cover on the baking pan until thechicken is done, not raising it even once. Gravy will be found in thepan. 

Pressed chicken is very good. Get a hen about a year old. Place it intosteamer or fireless cooker until so tender that the flesh readily fallsfrom the bones. Remove the bones, but keep the skin with the meat. Chopit up. Place in dish or jar, salting very lightly. Over the chopped-upmeat place a plate and on this a weight, and allow it to press overnight. Then it is ready to slice and serve. This is very convenient foroutings. 

Fish should preferably be baked or broiled. It may also be boiled, butit boils to pieces rather easily and loses a part of its food value. Itmust be handled with great care. No seasoning is to be used. When serveda little salt and drawn butter or oil may be added as dressing. 

_Frying_ is an objectionable method of cooking. It is generally held, and with good reason, that when grease at a high temperature is forcedinto flesh, it becomes very indigestible. In fact the crust formed onthe outside of the flesh can not be digested. It is folly to preparefood so that it proves injurious. 

However, there is a way of using the frying pan so that practically noharm is done. Grease the pan very lightly, just enough to prevent theflesh from sticking. Make the pan very hot and place the meat in it. Turn the meat frequently. Fries (young chickens) may be cooked in thisway with good results. The same is true of steaks and chops. 

Avoid greasy cooking. It is an abomination that helps to kill thousandsof people annually. 

_Paper bag cooking_ is all right if it is convenient. Those who havegood steamers or fireless cookers will not find it of special advantage. 

Brown flour gravies are not fit to eat. If there is any gravy serve itas it comes from the pan without mixing it with flour or other starches. It may be put over the meat or used as dressing for the vegetables. Milkgravies are also to be avoided. Use only the natural gravies. 

Oysters may be eaten raw or stewed. Stew the oysters in a little water. Heat the milk and mix. Eat with cooked succulent vegetables and with rawsalad vegetables. It is best to leave the crackers out. The oystersthemselves contain very little nourishment, but when made into a milkstew the result is very nutritious. 

Eggs should be fresh. Some bakers buy spoiled eggs and use them fortheir fancy cakes and cookies. This is a very objectionable practice andmay be one of the reasons that bakers' cookies never taste like those"mother used to make. " Eggs take the place of fish, meat or nuts, forthey are rich in protein. They may be taken raw, rare or well done. 

Eggs may be boiled, poached, steamed or baked. Soft boiled eggs requireabout three and one-half minutes. Hard boiled ones require from fifteento twenty minutes. The albumin of an egg boiled six or seven minutes istough. When boiled longer it becomes mellow. Eggs may be made intoomelettes or scrambled, but the pan should be lightly greased and quitehot so that the cooking will be quickly done. Eggs are variously treatedfor an omelette. Some cooks add nothing but water and this makes adelicate dish. Others use milk, cream or butter, and beat. 

Bacon is a relish and may be taken occasionally with any other food. Itshould be well done, fried or broiled until quite crisp. This is oneplace where frying is not objectionable. 

Pork should rarely be used. It is too fat and rich and requires too longto digest. When eaten it should be taken in the simplest ofcombinations, such as pork and succulent vegetables or juicy fruits, either cooked or raw, and nothing else. 

Flesh may be eaten more freely in winter than in summer. Meat especiallyshould be eaten very sparingly during hot weather, for it is toostimulating and heating. Nuts, eggs and fish are then better forms inwhich to take protein. 

COMBINATIONS. 

Flesh foods combine best with the succulent vegetables and the saladvegetables or with juicy fruits. It is more usual to take vegetableswith flesh than to take fruit, but those who prefer fruit may take itwith equally as good results. Both fruits and vegetables are rich intissue salts, in which flesh foods are rather deficient. The succulentvegetables contain some starch and the juicy fruits some sugar, but notenough to do any harm. They both act as fillers. 

Flesh is quite concentrated and it is customary to take it with otherconcentrated foods, such as bread and potatoes. As a result too muchfood is ingested. It would be a splendid rule to make to avoid bread andpotatoes when flesh food is taken, but if this seems too rigid, make ita rule never to eat all three at the same meal. It is best to eat theflesh foods without bread or potatoes, but if starch is desired, takeonly one kind at a time. 

Most people crave a certain amount of food as filler, and they havefallen into the habit of using bread and potatoes for this purpose. Thisis a mistake. Use the juicy fruits and the succulent vegetables forfilling purposes and thus get sufficient salts and avoid the many illsthat come from eating great quantities of concentrated foods. 

When possible, have a raw salad vegetable or two with the meat or fishmeal. 

Eat only one concentrated albuminous food at a meal. If you have meat, take no fish, eggs, nuts or cheese. 

CHAPTER XI. 

NUTS. 

 ==================================================================== Pro- Carbohy- Calories Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Acorns 4. 1 8. 1 37. 4 48. 0 2. 4 2718 Almonds 4. 8 21. 0 54. 9 17. 3 2. 0 3030 Brazil nuts 5. 3 17. 0 66. 8 7. 0 3. 9 3329 Filberts 3. 7 15. 6 65. 3 13. 0 2. 4 3432 Hickory nuts 3. 7 15. 4 67. 4 11. 4 2. 1 3495 Pecans 3. 0 11. 0 71. 2 13. 3 1. 5 3633 English walnuts 2. 8 16. 7 64. 4 14. 8 1. 3 3305 Chestnuts, dried 5. 9 10. 7 7. 0 74. 2 2. 2 1875 Butternuts 4. 5 27. 9 61. 2 3. 4 3. 0 3371 Cocoanuts 14. 1 5. 7 50. 6 27. 9 1. 7 2986 Pistachio nuts 4. 2 22. 6 54. 5 15. 6 3. 1 3010 Peanuts, roasted 1. 6 30. 5 49. 2 16. 2 2. 5 3177 --------------------------------------------------------------------

Nuts vary a great deal in composition. They are generally the seeds oftrees, enclosed in shells, but other substances are also called nuts. The representative nuts are rich in fat and protein, containing somecarbohydrate (sugar or starch. )

A few nuts, such as the acorn, cocoanut and chestnut, are very rich instarch, and these should be classified as starchy foods. Very few foodscontain as high per cent of starch as the dry chestnut. In southernEurope chestnuts are made into flour, and this is made into bread orcakes. An inferior bread is also made of acorn flour. Chestnuts may beboiled or roasted. They are very nutritious. 

The more representative nuts are pecans, filberts, Brazil nuts andwalnuts. These may be used in place of flesh foods, for they furnishboth protein and fats. If the kernel is surrounded by a tough membrane, as is the case in walnuts and almonds, it should be blanched, whichconsists in putting the kernel in very hot water for a little while andthen removing this membrane. The pecan, though it does not contain verymuch protein, is one of the best nuts, one which can be eaten oftenwithout producing dislike. 

Nuts have the reputation of being hard to digest. If they are not wellmasticated they are very hard to digest indeed, but when they are wellmasticated they digest almost as completely as do flesh foods and theyproduce no digestive troubles. 

One reason that nuts have obtained a bad reputation is that they areoften eaten at the end of a heavy meal, when perhaps two or three timestoo much food has already been ingested. The result is indigestion andthe sufferer swears off on nuts. If he had sense enough to reduce hisintake of bread, potatoes, meat, pudding and coffee, the benefit wouldbe very great. The tendency is for the sufferer from indigestion to pickout a certain food and blame all the trouble on that, when in truth thecombinations and the quantity of food are to blame. 

Some vegetarians make nuts one of their principal foods. We can easilyget along without flesh, for we can obtain all the protein needed frommilk, eggs, nuts and legumes. However, people who are used to flesh areable to digest it when they can take hardly anything else. The foodswhich we prefer are taken largely because we have become accustomed tothem and have formed a liking for them, not because they are the verybest from which to select. 

COOKING. 

_Nut butter_: Take the nut meats, clean away all the skins and grindfine in a nut mill. Then form into a pasty substance with or without theaddition of oil or water, to suit the individual taste. Most nut buttersare very agreeable in flavor. Sometimes the nuts are roasted andsometimes they are not. Almond butter is very good. The nut butters soonspoil if left exposed to the air, for the oils they contain turn rancid. 

Peanut butter can be made by taking clean kernels of freshly roastedpeanuts and grinding fine. Some are very fond of this butter. Cocoanutand cocoa butters are not made in this way. They are purified fats, theformer from cocoanuts, the latter from the cocoa bean. 

_Nut milk_: Take nut butter and mix with water until it is of thedesired consistency. Cocoanuts contain a sweet liquid which is calledcocoanut milk. However, the artificial cocoanut milk is made by pouringa pint of boiling water over the flesh of a freshly grated cocoanut. Letit stand until cold and strain. If it is allowed to stand some hours thefat will rise to the top and form cream. This milk is used by some whoobject to the use of animal products. 

Various meals are made from nuts and made into food for the sick. Thisdoes no harm, nor does it do any special good. These meals contain moreor less starch and the action of starches is much the same, no matterwhat the source. Please remember that there are no health foods. 

COMBINATIONS. 

Nuts are especially fine in combination with fruits. Fresh pecan meatsand mild apples make a meal fit for the gods. Nuts may be used in anycombination in which flesh is used, that is, they take the place offlesh foods. The starchy nuts take the place of starchy foods. 

A good meal is made of a fruit salad, consisting of two or three kindsof fresh fruits and nuts. 

Nuts or nut butter with toast also make a good meal. 

Nuts have such fine flavor that cooks should think twice before spoilingthem. It is very difficult to use them in cookery and get a product thatis as finely flavored as the original nuts. The vegetarians use them incompounding what they call roasts, cutlets, steaks, etc. My experiencewith these imitation products has not been of the best, for though mydigestive organs are strong, they do not take kindly to these mixtures. Some of my friends report the same results, in spite of thoroughmastication and moderation. These imitation roasts and cutlets usuallycontain much starch and there is no reason to believe that it is betterto cook nut oils into starchy foods than it is to use any other form offat for this purpose. Those who like starch and nuts can make a splendidmeal of nut meats and whole wheat biscuits or zwieback. 

In eating nuts, always remember that the mastication must be thorough. It takes grinding to break up the solid nut meats and the stomach andbowels have no teeth. Those who can not chew well should use the nuts inthe form of butter. 

Ordinarily two ounces of nut meats, or less, are sufficient for a meal. 

At present prices, nuts are not expensive, as compared with meat. Meatis mostly water. Lean meat produces from five to seven hundred caloriesto the pound. Nut meats produce from twenty-seven to thirty-threehundred calories per pound. In other words, a pound of nut meats has thesame fuel value as about five pounds of lean meat, but not as greatprotein value. 

Those who are not used to nuts have a tendency to overeat, but this islargely overcome as soon as people become accustomed to them. 

CHAPTER XII. 

LEGUMES. 

 ==================================================================== Pro- Carbohy- Calories Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. -------------------------------------------------------------------- _Fresh Legumes_: String beans . . . . . . . . . 89. 2 2. 3 0. 3 7. 4 0. 8 195 Shelled limas . . . . . . . . 68. 5 7. 1 0. 7 22. 0 1. 7 570 Shelled peas . . . . . . . . . 74. 6 7. 0 0. 5 16. 9 1. 0 465

 _Dried Legumes_:

 Lima beans . . . . . . . . . . . 10. 4 18. 1 1. 5 65. 9 4. 1 1625 Navy beans . . . . . . . . . . . 12. 6 22. 5 1. 8 59. 6 3. 5 1605 Lentils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. 4 25. 7 1. 0 59. 2 5. 7 1620 Dried peas . . . . . . . . . . . 9. 5 24. 6 1. 0 62. 0 2. 9 1655 Soy beans . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. 8 34. 0 16. 8 33. 7 4. 7 1970 Peanuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. 2 25. 8 38. 6 24. 4 2. 0 2560 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Analyses of all foods are approximate. The food value varies with theconditions under which the foods are grown and is not always evenapproximately the same. 

The fresh young legumes may be classed with the succulent vegetables. The matured, dried legumes are to be classed both as starchy and proteidfoods. They are very easily raised and consequently cheap. They are thecheapest source of protein that we have. Peas and beans are veryimportant foods in Europe. In this country we consume enormousquantities of beans. In Mexico they use a great deal of frijoles, thepoor people having this bean at nearly every meal. In China they makethe soy beans into various dishes. The lentil is much used in Europe andis gaining favor here, as it should, for it is splendid food, with aflavor of its own. Peanuts, which are really not nuts, but leguminousplants growing their seeds under the ground, are used extensively asfood for man and beast. 

These foods are much alike in composition, the soy bean beingexceptionally rich in protein. 

These foods have the undeserved reputation of being indigestible and ofproducing flatulence. They are a little more difficult to digest thansome other foods, but they cause no trouble if they are taken in simplecombinations and in moderation, provided they have been properlyprepared. 

It is necessary to masticate these foods very well, and avoidovereating. They are generally so soft that they are swallowed withoutproper mouth preparation. The result is that too much is taken of theserich foods, after which there is indigestion accompanied by gasproduction. 

One rather peculiar food belonging to the legumes is the locust bean orSt. John's bread, which we can sometimes obtain at the candy stores. Itgrows near the Mediterranean and is used in places for cattle feed. Itis so sweet that it is eaten as a confection. Its name is due to thefact that they say St. John lived on this bean and wild honey. If he didhe must have had a sweet tooth. Others say that the saint reallydevoured grasshoppers. It is not easy to decide, but I prefer to believethat he was a vegetarian. 

COOKING. 

The fresh young legumes are to be considered in the same class assucculent vegetables, which are dealt with in the next chapter. 

Ripe peas, beans and lentils may be cooked alike. 

In cooking ripe legumes, try to get as soft water as possible. Hardwater contains salts of lime and magnesia and these prevent thesoftening of the legumes. 

_Bean soup_: Clean the beans and wash them. Let them soak over night. Cook them in the same water in which they have been soaked, untiltender. They are to be cooked in plain water without any seasoning andwith the addition of neither fats, starches nor other vegetables. Whenthe beans are done, meat stock and other vegetables may be added, ifdesired. Pea soup is made in the same way. 

The reason for not draining away the water in which the beans are soakedis that it takes up some of the valuable salts, the phosphates forinstance. The addition of seasoning or fat while they are cooking makesthe beans indigestible. 

_Baked beans_: Clean and wash well. Soak them over night. Let them boilabout three and one-half to four hours, using the water in which theywere soaked. Then put them into the oven to bake. They are to be cookedplain and no fat or seasoning is to be added while they are baking. After they are done you may add some form of fatty dressing, such asbacon, which has been stewed in a separate dish, or you may dress themwith butter and salt when they are served. Cooked this way they digestmuch more easily than when cooked in the ordinary way with tomatoes andgrease. Some prefer to add either sugar or molasses to the beans whenthey are put into the oven. Avoid too much sweetening. Lentils may bebaked in the same way. 

_Boiled beans_: The same as bean soup, except that less water is used. Dressing may be the same as for baked beans. Lentils and peas may betreated in the same way. 

Beans and corn may be cooked together. 

COMBINATIONS. 

The legumes are so very rich that they should be eaten in very simplecombinations. It is best to take them with some of the raw saladvegetables and nothing else, or with the raw salad vegetables and one ofthe stewed succulent vegetables. The legumes contain all the protein andall the force food the body needs, so it is useless to add meat, breadand potatoes. Tomatoes and other acid foods should not be used in thesame meal, yet beans and tomatoes or beans and catsup are very commoncombinations. 

A plate of bean soup makes a good lunch. Bean soup or baked or boiledbeans with succulent vegetables, raw and cooked, give all thenourishment needed in a dinner. 

Pea and bean flours can be purchased on the market. These flours can notbe made into dough, but they may be used for thickening. They containmore protein than ordinary flour. 

Both peas and beans may be roasted, but they are rather difficult tomasticate. Roasted peas have a fine flavor. Roasted peanuts are anutritious food, and may be taken in place of peas or beans. 

More legumes and less flesh foods will help to reduce the cost ofliving. Taken in moderation and well masticated, the legumes areexcellent foods. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

SUCCULENT VEGETABLES. 

 ==================================================================== Pro- Carbohy- Calories Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Asparagus. . . . . . . . 93. 96 1. 83 2. 55 2. 55 . 67 . . . . . Beet. . . . . . . . . . . . . 87. 5 1. 6 . 01 8. 8 1. 10 215 Cabbage. . . . . . . . . . 90. 52 2. 39 . 37 3. 85 1. 40 . . . . . Carrot. . . . . . . . . . . 88. 2 1. 1 . 4 8. 2 1. 00 219 Cauliflower. . . . . . 90. 82 1. 62 . 79 4. 94 . 81 . . . . . Cucumber. . . . . . . . . 95. 4 . 8 . 2 3. 1 . 5 80 Egg plant. . . . . . . . 92. 93 1. 15 . 31 4. 34 . 5 . . . . . Pumpkin. . . . . . . . . . 93. 39 . 91 . 12 3. 93 . 67 . . . . . Lettuce. . . . . . . . . . 94. 17 1. 2 . 3 2. 9 . 9 90 Okra. . . . . . . . . . . . . 87. 41 1. 99 . 4 6. 04 . 74 . . . . . Onion. . . . . . . . . . . . 87. 6 1. 6 . 3 9. 9 . 6 225 Parsnip. . . . . . . . . . 83. 0 1. 6 . 5 13. 5 1. 4 300 Radish. . . . . . . . . . . 91. 8 1. 3 . 3 8. 3 1. 0 135 Squash. . . . . . . . . . . 88. 3 1. 4 . 5 9. 0 . 8 215 Tomato. . . . . . . . . . . 94. 3 . 9 . 4 3. 9 . 5 105 Spinach. . . . . . . . . . 90. 6 2. 50 . 5 3. 8 1. 7 . . . . . Kohlrabi. . . . . . . . . 87. 1 2. 6 . 2 7. 1 1. 7 . . . . . --------------------------------------------------------------------

Lima beans and shelled peas are generally included in this list, thoughthe young lima beans contain about 20 per cent. Starch. 

Look at the cabbage analysis for kale and Brussels sprouts. They aremuch alike. 

Most of the vegetables contain from one-half of one per cent. To two percent. Of indigestible fibre, which is not listed above. 

This is but a partial list of the succulent vegetables. In addition maybe mentioned artichokes of the green or cone variety, chard, stringbeans, celery, corn on the cob, turnips, turnip tops, lotus, endive, dandelion and garlic. 

These vegetables produce but little energy, for most of them are notrich in protein, fat and carbohydrates, but they have considerablesalts, which are given in the tables as ash. Their juices help to keepthe blood alkaline, and it would be well for people to get into thehabit of eating these foods, not only cooked, but some of them raw. Thesalts are very easily disturbed and in cooking they are somewhatchanged. The best salts we get when we consume natural foods, such asraw fruits and raw vegetables and milk. 

Another function of the succulent vegetables is to take up space in thestomach. Many like to eat until they feel comfortably full, but if theyindulge in concentrated foods to this extent they overeat. The succulentvegetables have the merit of taking up much space without furnishingvery much nourishment and they should, therefore, be used asspace-fillers. However, they contain enough nourishment to be well wortheating, and most of them are excellent in flavor. This flavor is notappreciated by those who eat much meat and drink much alcohol. 

The liberal use of these cooked vegetables has a tendency to preventconstipation, and some of them are called laxative foods, such as stewedonions and spinach. 

PREPARATION. 

These vegetables may be either steamed or prepared in a fireless cooker. 

The usual way is to cook them in water. Clean the vegetables. Then putthem on to cook in enough water to keep from burning, but use noseasoning. When the vegetables are tender there should be only a littlefluid left and those who eat of the vegetables should take their shareof this fluid, for it may contain as high as one-half to two-thirds ofthe salts. When served, let each one season to taste. Avoid the use ofvinegar and all other products of fermentation as much as possible. Lemon juice will furnish all the acid needed for dressing. 

The vegetables may be dressed with salt, or salt and butter, or salt andolive oil, and at times with cream, or with the natural gravy frommeats, but avoid the use of flour and milk dressings, usually calledcream gravy. These vegetables may also be eaten without any dressing. 

The water is drained off from corn on the cob, asparagus, artichokes andunpeeled beets. 

Vegetables should not be soaked in water, for they lose a part of theirvalue if this is done. Cucumbers may be soaked in water to remove a partof the rank flavor, before being peeled. 

_Spinach_ is prepared as follows: Wash thoroughly. Put about twotablespoonfuls of water in the bottom of the kettle. Put over the fireand let the spinach wilt. Its juice will then begin to pour out and thespinach will cook in its own juice. Let it cook slowly until tender. Serve the spinach with its proportion of the juice. At first this willtaste rather strong, but after a while a person will not want the dry, tasteless mess that is drained, usually served in hotels andrestaurants. If some of the roots are left on the spinach, it tastesmilder. The roots contain sugar. 

Some of these vegetables, such as summer squash, onions and parsnips maybe baked. Onions are very good sliced and broiled, but they should neverbe fried. Beets are good baked, and especially is this true of sugarbeets. Radishes are very delicate and delicious when peeled and boiled, but their preparation is tedious. Egg plant is to be stewed, but notfried. As usually served, dipped in egg, rolled in crumbs and fried itis very indigestible. 

Beet greens are excellent. They are best if the beets are pulled veryyoung and both the roots and the leaves are used. Turnip tops, dandelion, mustard and Swiss chard are other greens that are good. Allof them are prepared like spinach, except that more water is necessary. However, do not use much water. 

Those who say that the various vegetables are unfit to eat and actaccordingly are missing some good food. The vegetables all contain crudefibre, but they hurt the stomach and intestinal walls no more than theyhurt the mucous membrane of the tongue. They furnish some bulk for theintestines to act upon, which is good and proper. All animals need somebulky food, otherwise they become constipated. 

Tomatoes are best raw. If they are stewed they are to be cooked plain. Adding crackers and bread crumbs is a mistake. They taste all rightwithout sugar, but a little may be used as dressing. 

_Vegetable soup_: Take equal parts of about four vegetables, any thatyou like. Slice and cook in plain water until tender. When done addenough water or hot milk to make it of the right consistency. Season totaste. One of the constituents may be starchy, such as potatoes, barleyor rice, but the rest should be succulent vegetables. 

COMBINATIONS. 

The succulent vegetables may be combined with all other foods. They gowell with flesh or milk or nuts or starchy foods. With flesh or nutsthey make a very satisfying meal. They may be taken with fruit. Thetomato grows as a vegetable, but for practical purposes it is a fruit. The tomato combines well with protein, but not so well with the starchyfoods. 

SALAD VEGETABLES. 

If possible, salads should be made entirely of raw vegetables and rawfruits. The chief salad vegetables are celery, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, onions and garlic, the two last mentioned being usedfor flavoring. 

Dr. Tilden, who has done much to popularize raw vegetable salads, has afavorite, which he calls by his own name. It is equal parts of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, with a small piece of onion. Chop up coarse anddress with salt and olive oil and lemon juice. This is all right forthose who like it, but many do not care for such a complex salad withsuch dressing. Some of the combination salads that are served arewonderful mixtures, containing as many as seven or eight vegetables anda complex dressing. 

Raw onions are too irritating to use in large quantities, and the sameis true of garlic. The best salads contain but two or three ingredients. Take any two of the vegetables mentioned, such as lettuce and tomatoes;lettuce and cucumbers; cabbage and celery; celery and tomatoes, or eatsimply one of these green vegetables raw. It is a good thing to eat someof those salad vegetables daily. If your digestion is excellent, youmay occasionally take raw carrots or turnips, and a few raw spinachleaves are tasty for a change. Never mind if people tease you abouteating grass, for it helps you to keep well. 

Dress the raw vegetables as your taste allows. Most people want somesalt, or salt and lemon juice, or a little sugar, or cream, or salt andolive oil, or salt, olive oil and lemon juice, or mayonnaise on theirsalad vegetables. Some eat them without any dressing and the flavor isexcellent. Tasty salad can be made of fruit and vegetables, using nodressing, but strewing some nuts over the dish. On warm days, such asalad makes a satisfactory lunch. 

It is all right to make a fruit and vegetable salad. Instead of usingtomatoes, take strawberries, apples, grapes, or any other acid fruit. These fruits may be combined with cabbage, lettuce, celery or cucumbers. Do not mix too many foods in a meal, for to do so is indicative of poortaste. Those with refined palates like simple meals, and there is noreason for making salads so complex, when simplicity is a requirementfor building health. However, a complex salad made of raw vegetables andraw juicy fruits does not play so much havoc as a mixture ofconcentrated foods. 

Lettuce and celery are the most satisfactory salad vegetables to mixwith fruits. 

People who eat raw fruits do not need to eat the raw salad vegetables, for fruits and vegetables supply the same salts. Those who avoid bothraw fruits and raw vegetables are not treating their bodies fairly. 

The vegetable salads are most satisfactory when taken in combinationwith flesh, nuts or eggs, together with cooked succulent vegetables. They may be eaten with starchy foods, but then they should containlittle or no acid. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

CEREAL FOODS. 

 ==================================================================== Carbohy- Water Protein Fat drates Ash -------------------------------------------------------------------- Barley. 10. 9 12. 4 1. 8 72. 5 2. 4 Buckwheat. 12. 6 10. 0 2. 2 73. 2 2. 0 Corn. 9. 3 9. 9 2. 8 76. 3 1. 5 Kafir corn. 16. 8 6. 6 3. 8 70. 6 2. 2 Oats. 11. 0 11. 8 5. 0 69. 2 3. 0 Rice. 12. 4 7. 4 . 4 79. 4 . 4 Rye. 11. 6 10. 6 1. 0 73. 7 1. 9 Wheat, spring. 10. 4 12. 5 2. 2 73. 0 1. 9 Wheat, winter. 10. 5 11. 8 2. 1 73. 8 1. 8 First patent flour. 10. 55 11. 08 1. 15 76. 85 0. 37 Whole wheat flour. 10. 81 12. 26 2. 24 73. 67 1. 02 Graham flour. 8. 61 12. 65 2. 44 74. 58 1. 72 Bread, ordinary white. 37. 65 10. 13 . 64 51. 14 . 44 Bread, whole wheat. 41. 31 10. 60 1. 04 46. 11 . 94 Bread, Graham. 42. 20 10. 65 1. 12 44. 58 1. 45 --------------------------------------------------------------------

The cereal foods are important because of their wide distribution andthe ease with which they can be prepared and utilized as food. They arevery productive and need but little care and hence are a cheap food. Thebody can digest and absorb sugar and starch more completely than anyother kind of food. 

All civilized people have a favorite cereal. The Chinese and Japaneseuse rice very extensively, and this grain is growing in favor with us. White people generally prefer wheat, which is an excellent grain thathas been used by man for thousands of years. It has been found inancient Egyptian tombs, and it is so retentive of life that it hasstarted to grow after lying dormant for several thousand years. Truly itis a worthy food for man. 

The table of cereals should be carefully studied. It will be seen thatthe grains contain much starch, a little fat, and considerable protein. They also carry sufficient of salts, but only a small amount of water. 

Please note further that patent flour loses nearly all of its salts. Patent flour is the product that is left after all the bran andpractically all of the germ have been removed from the wheat. Wholewheat flour, or entire wheat flour, is the name given to the flour thathas had a great part of the outer covering of the wheat kernel removed. It is a misnomer. Graham flour, named after Dr. Graham, is the productof the whole wheat kernel, and it will be noted that it is richer insalts and protein than the white flour and the whole wheat flour. Thewhole wheat flour and Graham flour we find on the market are often theresult of blending, which is also true of the patent flour. 

As we would expect, the various breads are rich or poor in saltsaccording to the flours from which they are made. 

All the cereals are good foods, but inasmuch as wheat and rice are usedmost extensively, they will receive more attention than the rest. 

Wheat is perhaps the best and most balanced of all our cereals. Thewhole wheat with the addition of a little milk is sufficient to supportlife indefinitely. It is one of the foods of which people never seem totire. Tiring of food is often an indication of excess. It is with foodas with amusement, if we get too much we become blase. Those who eat inmoderation are content with simple foods, but those who eat too muchwant a great variety, as a rule. There are beef gluttons, who aresatisfied with their flesh and liquor, but this is because the meats areso stimulating. 

Inasmuch as we use so much wheat, it is important that we use itproperly. Today people want refined foods, and in refining they spoilmany of our best food products. Sugar is too refined for health, ricesuffers through refinement, and so does wheat. The wheat kernel containsall the elements needed to support life. In making fine white flour ofit, at least three-fourths of the essential salts are removed. This robsthe wheat of a large part of its life-imparting elements, and makes ofit starvation food. If much white bread is consumed it is necessary tosupplement it by taking large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, not necessarily in the same meal, in order to get the salts that havebeen removed in the process of milling. 

The salts are found principally in the coats of the wheat, and inremoving these coats and the germ, not only the salts, but considerableprotein is lost. In other words, we remove most of the essential saltsand a considerable part of the building material of the wheat, and thenwe eat the inferior product. The finer and whiter the flour, the poorerit is. 

White flour has a very high starch content. The products made from itare quite tasteless and lacking in flavor, unless flavoring is added. Those who are used to whole wheat products find the white bread flat. Itis possible to consume large quantities of white bread, and yet not besatisfied. There is something lacking. Whole wheat bread is moresatisfying and therefore the danger of overeating of it is not so great. 

The advocates of white flour say that the bran is too irritating for thebowels and for this reason it should be rejected. There is no danger ineating the entire kernel, after it is ground up. The particles of branare so fine that they do no harm. The intestines were evidently intendedfor a little roughage, and it might as well come partly from wheat asfrom other sources. The gentle stimulation produced by the bran helps tokeep the intestines active. It is noticeable that consumption of veryrefined foods leads to constipation. 

Bran bread and bran biscuits are prescribed for constipation. This isjust as bad as removing the bran entirely. Man has never been able toimprove on the composition of the wheat berry. When an excess of bran iseaten, it causes too great irritation and in the end the individual isworse off than before. The after effect of irritation is alwaysdepression and sluggishness. Recent experiments seem to show that it isnot the coarseness of the bran that causes activity of the bowels, butthat some of the contained salts are laxative, for the same results havebeen obtained by soaking the bran in water and drinking the liquid. 

The products of refined flour are more completely and easily digestedthan the whole wheat products. However, by eating in moderation andmasticating well every normal person is able to take good care of wholewheat products, and the benefit of using the entire grain is so greatthat we should hesitate about continuing the use of the refined floursand white breads. 

In the French army it has been found that when the soldiers are fed onrefined flour products they are not so well nourished as when they havewhole wheat products, and that they must have more of other foods tosupplement the impoverished breadstuffs. It is difficult to get peopleto realize how important it is to give the tissue salts with the foods. Salts are absolutely essential to vital activity, and a lack of saltsalways results in mental and physical depression and even in disease. 

No matter what adults are given, children should not be fed on whiteflour products. They need all the salts in the wheat. Depriving them ofsalts retards their development and results in decaying teeth and poorbone formation, among other things. They do not feel satisfied withtheir white flour foods. Therefore they overeat and get indigestion, catarrh, adenoids and various other ills. It is not difficult for peoplewith observing eyes to note the difference in satisfaction of childrenafter they get impoverished foods and the natural foods. 

Anemia is very common among children, especially among the girls. Thechief reason is impoverished foods. Salts can be used by the animalorganism only after they have been elaborated by the vegetable kingdom. To remove all the iron from wheat and then give inorganic iron, whichcan not be assimilated, in its stead, is the height of folly. By allmeans, use less of the white flour and more of the entire wheat flour. If the white flour habit can not be given up, take enough raw fruit andvegetables to make up for the loss of salts in milling. 

When rice is properly prepared it digests very easily. It is a littlepoor in protein, but this can be remedied by taking some milk in thesame meal. 

The rice we ordinarily get is inferior to the natural product. Firstthey remove the bran. Then the flour is taken off. Then it is coatedwith a mixture of glucose and talcum and polished. All this trouble istaken to make it appeal to the eye. This impoverished rice is lacking insalts. It will not support people in health. In the countries wherepolished rice is fed in great quantities, they suffer a great deal fromdegenerative diseases. One of these is beri-beri, in which there aremuscular weakness and degeneration, indigestion, disturbances of theheart and often times anasarca. When people suffering from this diseaseare given those parts of the rice grain lost in making polished rice, they recover. This is proof enough that the cause of the disease is theimpoverished food. 

The rice that should be used is brown and unpolished. When it is cookedit looks quite white. It is very satisfying. 

Rye is extensively used in some lands. The bread is very good. Oats arelargely devoured in Scotland. Corn bread is a favorite food in thesouthern part of our country. The negroes are fond of corn and pork withmolasses, which is far from an ideal combination in warm climates. 

PREPARATIONS. 

Wheat makes the best bread because it contains gluten. Among proteinsgluten is unique, because it is so elastic and after it has stretched ithas a tendency to retain its place. This is what makes bread so porous. There are various meals or flours that can not be made into bread, oreven dough, because they lack compounds which will act as frame work. 

Bread can be made in many ways. The chief question for the housewife todecide is whether to make the bread from entire wheat flour or frompatent flour. They are so different in value that a decision should notbe difficult. It is also necessary to decide whether to use yeast breador some other kind. 

Yeast bread is made essentially from flour, water and yeast in thepresence of heat. There are so many ways of making bread of this kindthat a recipe is not necessary. The amount of salt to be added dependsupon individual taste. Some like to set their yeast working in partpotato, part flour. Others use milk instead of water. Some addshortening. And nearly all women believe that their own bread is thebest. 

Yeast is made up of myriads of little plants or fungi, which thrive onthe sugary part of the flour. They convert this into alcohol andcarbonic acid gas. The alcohol is practically all gone before the breadis brought to the table. The gas raises the bread, assisted by theexpansion of the water in the dough when it is placed in a hot oven. 

The yeast consumes a great deal of the nutritive part of the flour. Thismay amount to from 5 to 8 per cent. Of the food value, and I have readthat sometimes it is as high as 20 per cent. Liebig said that thefermentation destroyed enough food material daily in Germany to supply400, 000 people with bread. However, yeast bread is very agreeable to thetaste and therefore is probably worth more than the unfermented product. 

One objection to yeast bread is that all the yeast is not killed inbaking, and the alcoholic fermentation may start again in the stomach. If the bread is turned into zwieback this is remedied. Fresh bread isnot fit to eat, for it is very rarely properly masticated and if it ismerely moistened and converted into a soggy mass in the mouth it is hardto digest. 

Unleavened bread is made by making the flour into a paste, rolling outthin and baking well. Any kind of flour may be used. This is thepassover bread of the Jews. 

Dr. Graham's bread was made by mixing Graham flour with water, withoutany leavening, mixing the dough thoroughly, putting this aside severalhours and baking. 

Macaroni and spaghetti are made by mixing durum wheat flour with water, without any leavening. With the addition of eggs we get commercialnoodles. The paste is moulded as desired. 

All bread stuffs should be well baked. . The baking turns part of thestarch into dextrine, which is easy to digest. Biscuits should be placedinto a hot oven, but bread should be put into an oven moderately heated, otherwise the crust forms too quickly. 

Whenever a light product is desired, whether it is bread, biscuit orcake, sift the flour over and over again to get it well impregnated withair. The more air it contains the more porous will be the finishedproduct. Five or six siftings will suffice. 

Unleavened breads of excellent flavor can be made by using either creamor butter as shortening, rolling the bread very thin, like crackers, andbaking thoroughly. 

Shredded wheat biscuits, puffed wheat and puffed rice, flaked wheat andflaked corn are some of the good foods we can purchase ready made. Mostof them should be placed in a warm oven long enough to crisp. Masticatethoroughly and take them with either butter or milk, or both. It is bestto take the milk either before or after eating the cereal. Sugar shouldnot be added to these foods. Those who are not hungry enough to eat themwithout sugar should fast until normal hunger returns. 

_Baking powder bread_ is very good. The essentials are well siftedflour, liquid, good baking powder, quick mixing and a hot oven. Thefollowing recipe, recommended by Dr. Tilden, is good: To a quart of verybest flour, which has been sifted two or three times, add a little saltand a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. Sift again three times. Thenadd one or two tablespoonfuls of soft butter. Mix rapidly into a ratherstiff dough with unskimmed milk. The dough should be rolled thin, andcut into small biscuits or strips. Put into a pan and bake in a hot ovenuntil there is a crisp crust on bottom and top, which will take abouttwenty minutes. The more thoroughly and quickly the dough is mixed, thebetter the result. 

These biscuits or bread sticks are good, always best when made ratherthin, not to exceed an inch in thickness after being baked. When anattempt is made to bake in the form of a fairly thick loaf it isgenerally a failure. Use the proportions of white and whole wheat floursdesired. 

If more butter or some cream is added and it is rolled out thin, itserves very well for the bread part of shortcake. 

_Toast_: Slice any kind of bread fairly thin, preferably stale bread. Place the slices into a moderately hot oven and let them remain thereuntil they are crisp through and through. The scorched bread that isgenerally served as toast is no better than untoasted bread. 

_Whole wheat muffins_: One cup whole wheat flour; one cup white flour;one-fourth cup sugar; one teaspoonful salt; one cup milk; one egg; twotablespoonfuls melted butter; four teaspoonfuls baking powder. Mix dryingredients; add milk gradually, then eggs and melted butter. Put intogem pans and bake in hot oven for twenty-five minutes. 

_Ginger bread_: One cup molasses; one and three-fourths teaspoons soda;one-half cup sour milk; two cups flour; one-half teaspoon salt;one-third cup butter; two eggs; two teaspoonfuls ginger. Put butter andmolasses in sauce pan and heat until boiling point is reached. Removefrom fire, add soda and beat vigorously. Then add milk, egg well beaten, and remaining ingredients mixed and sifted. Bake twenty-five minutes inbuttered, shallow pan in moderate oven. 

_Custard_: Three cups milk; three eggs; one-half cup sugar; one-halfteaspoonful vanilla; pinch of salt. Beat eggs, add sugar and salt; thenadd scalded milk and vanilla; mix well. Pour into cups, place them in apan of hot water in oven and bake twenty to twenty-five minutes. Servecold. 

Custard may also be cooked in double boiler or baked in a large pan. 

This is not a cereal dish, but the next one is. 

_Rice custard_: To well cooked rice add a few raisins and a small amountof sugar. The raisins can be cooked with the rice or separately. Placethe rice and raisins in a baking dish, pour over an equal amount of rawcustard and bake as directed for custard. Bake in either individual cupsor pan. When done the layer of custard is on top and the rice andraisins on the bottom. 

_Macaroni and cheese_: Three-fourths cup macaroni broken in pieces; twoquarts boiling water; one-half table-spoonful salt. Cook macaroni insalted water twenty minutes, or longer if necessary to make it tender;drain. Put layer of macaroni in buttered baking dish; sprinkle withcheese, and repeat, making the last or top layer of cheese. Pour in milkto almost cover. Put into oven and bake until the top layer of cheese isbrown. 

_Corn bread_: Two cups corn meal; one-half cup wheat flour; onetablespoonful sugar; one-half teaspoonful salt; two teaspoonfuls bakingpowder; two eggs; one and three-fourths cups milk. Sift corn meal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together four or five times; addeggs and milk; stir well, pour into a hot buttered pan; smooth the topwith a little melted butter to crisp the crust. Bake a good brown in hotoven. 

Another recipe for corn bread is: To one cup of wheat flour, add twocups of corn flour; two eggs; one heaping teaspoonful butter orcottolene; one heaping teaspoonful baking powder; one pinch soda, ascant fourth teaspoonful; one-half teaspoonful salt. Prepare and makeinto batter with milk and bake as directed in first recipe. 

_Corn mush_: Cook corn meal in plain water until it is done. It may becooked over the fire, in a fireless cooker or in a double boiler. Servewith rich milk; add a little salt if desired. 

_Oatmeal_: Put into a double boiler and let it cook until it is verytender. It can also be cooked in a fireless cooker over night. Itrequires several hours cooking before it is fit to eat. All foods ofthis nature should be thoroughly cooked, and they may all be made intoporridge, which is better. 

The objection to all mushy foods is that they are hardly ever properlymasticated. The result is that they ferment in the alimentary tract, especially when they are eaten with sugar, as they generally are. It isbest to take the mushy foods with milk and a little salt or withbutter. Eaten in this way there is not such tendency to overeat as whensugar is used. Children especially eat more of these foods than is goodfor them if they are allowed to take them with sweets. Porridge is morediluted than the mushes and hence the danger of overeating is not sogreat. 

_Boiled rice_: The best way to cook it is in a double boiler or afireless cooker. Every grain should be tender. Cook it in plan water. Itis not necessary to stir, but if the rice becomes dry add some morewater. If rice and milk are desired, warm the milk and add when the riceis done. Serve like oatmeal. Putting sugar on cereals is nonsense. Theyare very rich in starch and sugar is about the same as starch. Sugarstimulates the appetite, and consequently people who use it on cerealsovereat of this concentrated food. 

_Rice and raisins_: This is prepared the same as boiled rice, exceptthat raisins are added to the rice and water when first put on to cook. With milk this makes a good breakfast or lunch. 

COMBINATIONS. 

Starches of the cereal order may be eaten in combination with fats, suchas cream, butter, olive oil and other vegetable oils. 

They combine well with all the dairy products, such as milk and cheese. 

Starches combine well with nuts. Take a piece of whole wheat zwiebackand some pecans, chew both the bread and the nuts well and you will findthis an excellent meal. 

There is nothing incompatible about eating cereals with flesh, but itgenerally leads to trouble, for people eat enough meat for a meal, andthen they eat enough starch for a full meal. This overeating isinjurious. Besides, starch digestion and meat digestion are differentand carried on in different parts of the alimentary tract, so it is bestto eat starchy foods and meats at different meals. Those who eat inmoderation may eat starch and flesh in the same meal without gettinginto trouble. 

In winter it is all right to take starch with the sweet fruits. 

It is best to avoid mixing acid fruits and cereals. Even healthy peoplefind that a breakfast of oranges and bread does not agree as well as oneof milk and bread. The saliva, which contains ptyalin, is secreted inthe mouth. The ptyalin starts starch digestion, but it does not work inthe presence of acid. Eating acid fruits makes the mouth acidtemporarily, and consequently the starch does not receive the benefit itshould from mouth digestion. The result is an increased liability tofermentation in the alimentary tract. 

To get the best results it is absolutely necessary to masticate allstarchy foods well. If this is not done it is merely a question of timeuntil there is indigestion, generally accompanied by much acidity andgas production. This condition is a builder of many ills. 

Recipes for pies and cakes are not given in this book. The less thesecompounds are used the better. They are very popular and can be madeaccording to directions in conventional cook books. Pies should be madewith thin crusts, which should be baked crisp both on bottom and top. The best cakes are the plain ones. 

When desserts are eaten, less should be taken of other foods. Mostpeople make the mistake of eating more than enough of staple foods andthen they add insult to injury by partaking of dessert. 

CHAPTER XV. 

TUBERS. 

 ==================================================================== Pro- Carbohy- Calories Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Potato. . . . . . . . . . . . 78. 3 2. 2 0. 1 18. 0 1. 0 375 Sweet potato. . . . . . 51. 9 3. 0 2. 1 42. 1 . 9 925 Jerusalem artichoke. 78. 7 2. 5 0. 2 17. 5 1. 1

The two tubers that are of chief interest are the Irish potato and thesweet potato. The former is easily and cheaply grown on vast areas ofland and therefore forms a large part of the food of many people. Properly prepared it is easily digested and very nourishing. 

The sweet potato is a richer food than the Irish potato, but on accountof its high sugar contents people soon weary of it. The southern negroesare very fond of this food. 

Like all other starches, potatoes must be thoroughly masticated, or theywill disagree in time. Potatoes are of such consistency that they areeasily bolted without proper mouth preparation. In time the digestiveorgans object. 

A new tuber is receiving considerable attention. It is the dasheen. Itis said to be of very agreeable flavor, mealy after cooking, andproduces tops that can be used in the same manner as asparagus. Thedasheen requires a rather warm climate for its growth. 

PREPARATION. 

_Baking_: All the tubers may be baked. Clean and place in the oven; bakeuntil tender. A medium sized potato will bake in about an hour. If thepotatoes are soggy after being baked they are not well flavored. Toremedy this, run a fork into them after they have been in the oven for awhile; this allows some of the steam to escape and the potatoes becomemealy. When a fork can easily be run into the potato, it is well enoughdone. 

If the potatoes are well cleaned, there is no objection to eating a partof the jacket after they are baked. The finest flavoring is right underthe jacket. This part contains a large portion of the salts. 

_Boiling_: All tubers may be boiled. It is best to keep the jacket on, otherwise a great deal of both the salts and the nourishment is lost. Ifthe potatoes boiled in the jacket seem too highly flavored, cut off oneof the ends before placing them in the water. It takes about thirty orforty minutes to boil a medium sized Irish potato. Test with a fork, thesame as baked potato, to find if done. 

Potatoes should never be peeled and soaked. If they are to be boiledwithout the jacket, they should be cooked immediately after beingpeeled. 

Steamed potatoes are good. 

There is no objection to mashing potatoes and adding milk, cream orbutter, provided they are thoroughly masticated when eaten. If thepotatoes are mashed, this should be so thoroughly done that not a lumpis to be found. 

Potatoes cooked in grease are an abomination. The grease ruins a part ofthe potato and makes the rest more difficult to digest. Potato chips, French fried potatoes and German fried potatoes are too hard to digestfor people who live mostly indoors. They should be used very seldom. 

COMBINATIONS. 

Potatoes are best eaten in combinations such as given for cereals. Theyare commonly taken with meat and bread. This combination is one of thecauses of overeating. Occasionally they may be eaten with flesh, butthis should not be a habit. Take them as the main part of the meal. Baked potatoes and butter with a glass of milk make a very satisfyingmeal. A good dinner can be made of potatoes with cooked succulentvegetables and one or two of the raw salad vegetables, with the usualdressings. It is best not to eat potatoes and acid fruits in the samemeal. 

In selecting food it is well to remember that as a general rule but oneheavy, concentrated food should be eaten at a meal, for when two, threeor even four concentrated foods are partaken of, the appetite is sotempted and stimulated by each new dish that before one is aware of itan excessive amount of food has been ingested. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

FRUITS. 

 ==================================================================== Pro- Etherial Carbohy- Calories Water tein Extracts drates Ash per lb. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Apples. . . . . . . . . . . 84. 6 0. 4 0. 5 14. 2 0. 3 290 Bananas. . . . . . . . . . 75. 3 1. 3 0. 6 22. 0 0. 8 460 Figs, fresh. . . . . . 79. 1 1. 5 . . . 18. 8 0. 6 380 Lemons. . . . . . . . . . . 89. 3 1. 0 0. 7 8. 5 0. 5 205 Muskmelons. . . . . . . 89. 5 0. 6 . . . 9. 3 0. 6 185 Oranges. . . . . . . . . . 86. 9 0. 8 0. 2 11. 6 0. 5 240 Peaches. . . . . . . . . . 89. 4 0. 7 0. 1 9. 4 0. 4 190 Pears. . . . . . . . . . . . 80. 9 1. 0 0. 5 17. 2 0. 4 . . . Persimmons. . . . . . . 66. 1 0. 8 0. 7 31. 5 0. 9 630 Rhubarb, stalk. . . 94. 4 0. 6 0. 7 3. 6 0. 7 105 Strawberries. . . . . 90. 4 1. 0 0. 6 7. 4 0. 6 180 Watermelon. . . . . . . 92. 4 0. 4 0. 2 6. 7 0. 3 140

 _Dried Fruits_:

 Apples. . . . . . . . . . . 26. 1 1. 6 2. 2 68. 1 2. 0 1350 Apricots. . . . . . . . . 29. 4 4. 7 1. 0 62. 5 2. 4 1290 Citrons. . . . . . . . . . 19. 0 0. 5 1. 5 78. 1 0. 9 1525 Dates. . . . . . . . . . . . 15. 4 2. 1 2. 8 78. 4 1. 3 1615 Figs. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18. 8 4. 3 0. 3 74. 2 2. 4 1475 Prunes. . . . . . . . . . . 22. 3 2. 1 . . . 73. 3 2. 3 1400 Raisins. . . . . . . . . . 14. 6 2. 6 3. 3 76. 1 3. 4 1605 Currants. . . . . . . . . 17. 2 2. 4 1. 7 74. 2 4. 5 1495 --------------------------------------------------------------------

Apricots, avocados, blackberries, cherries, cranberries, currants, gooseberries, grapes, huckleberries, mulberries, nectarines, olives, pineapples, plums, raspberries and whortleberries are some of the otherjuicy fruits. They are much like the apple in composition, containingmuch water and generally from 6 to 15 per cent of carbohydrates (sugar). Olives and avocados are rich in oil. 

You may classify rhubarb, watermelons and muskmelons as vegetables, ifyou wish. On the table they seem more like fruit, which is the reasonthey are given here. Melons are fine hot weather food. They are mostlywater, which is pure. During hot weather it is all right to make a mealof melons and nothing else, at any time. The melons are so watery thatthey dilute the gastric juice very much. The result is that when eatenwith concentrated foods they are liable to repeat, which indicatesindigestion. 

Fruits are not generally eaten for the great amount of nourishment to beobtained from them. They are very pleasant in flavor and contain saltsand acids which are needed by the body. 

The various fluids of the body are alkaline, and the fruits furnish thesalts that help to keep them so. A few secretions and excretions arenaturally acid. Sometimes the body gets into a too acid state, but thatis very rarely due to overeating of fruit. It is generally caused bypathological fermentation of food in the alimentary tract. The salts andacids of fruits are broken up in the stomach and help to form alkalinesubstances. 

The water of the fruit is very pure, distilled by nature. The acidfruits are refreshing and helpful to those who have a tendency to bebilious. Fruits are cleansers, both of the alimentary tract and of theblood. 

Fruits grow most abundantly in warm climates and that is where theyshould be used most. In temperate climates they should be eaten mostfreely during warm weather. 

Young, vigorous people can eat all the fruit they wish at all seasons, within reason. Thin, nervous people, and those who are well advanced inyears should do most of their fruit eating in summer. In winter there isa tendency to be chilly after a meal of acid fruit. In summer such mealsdo not add to the burden of life by making the partaker unduly warm. 

The apple is perhaps the best all-round fruit of all. It is grown inmany lands and climates. It is possible to get apples of various kinds, from those that are very tart to those that are so mild that the acid ishardly perceptible to the taste. Stout people can eat sour apples withbenefit. Thin, fidgety ones should use the milder varieties. The juicefrom apples, sweet cider, freshly expressed, is a very pleasant drink, and may be taken with fruit meals. 

The avocado is a good salad fruit. It is quite oily. A combination ofavocado and lettuce makes a good salad. 

Thanks to rapid transportation, the banana has become a staple. It isquite commonly believed that bananas are very starchy and ratherindigestible. This may be true when they are green, but not when theyare ripe. Green bananas are no more fit for food than are green apples. Ripe bananas are neither starchy nor indigestible. When the banana isripe it contains a trace of starch, all the rest having been changed tosugar. A ripe banana is mellow and sweet, but firm. The skin is eitherentirely black, or black in spots, but the flesh is unspotted. The bestbananas can often be purchased for one-half of the price of those thatare not yet fit to eat. 

Bananas are a rich food. Weight for weight they contain more nourishmentthan Irish potatoes. A few nuts or a glass of milk and bananas make agood meal. Bananas contain so much sugar that it is not necessary toeat bread or other starches with them. Those with normal taste will notspoil good bananas by adding sugar and cream. When well masticated theflavor is excellent and can not be improved by using dressings. 

Be sure that the children have learned to masticate well before givingbananas, and then give only ripe ones. The flesh of the banana is sosmooth and slippery that children often swallow it in big lumps, andthen they frequently suffer. 

Lemonade may be taken with fruit or flesh meals. As usually made it isquite nourishing, for it contains considerable sugar. Those who aretroubled with sluggish liver may take it with benefit, but the lesssugar used the better. Other fruit juices may be used likewise, but theyshould be fresh. If they are bottled, be sure that no fermentation istaking place in them. These juices may be served with the same kind ofmeals as lemonade. Most of them require dilution. Grape juice is veryrich and a large glassful of the pure juice makes a good summer lunch. It should be sipped slowly. Those who like the combination may make ameal of fruit juice mixed with milk, half and half. 

Grapes and strawberries, which are relished by most, disagree with somepeople. The skin of the Concord grape should be rejected, for itirritates many. If they are relished, the skins of most fruits may beeaten. When peeled apples lose a part of their flavor. 

Olives are generally eaten pickled. The fruit in its natural statetastes very disagreeable to most people. The ripe olive is superior inflavor to the green, which is not usually relished at first. 

The sweet fruits, by which we mean dried currants, raisins, figs anddates, and bananas should be classed with them, serve the body in thesame way as do the breadstuffs, and may be substituted for starches atany time. They may be eaten at all seasons of the year, but are usedmost during cold weather. A moderate amount of them may be eaten withbreadstuffs, or they may be taken alone, or with milk, or with nuts, orwith acid fruit. They are very nourishing so it does not take much ofthem to make a meal. To get the full benefit, masticate thoroughly. Theycontain sugar in its best form, sugar that not impoverished by beingdeprived of its salts. Grape sugar needs very little preparation beforeit enters the blood. Starch and sugar are of equal value as nourishment. It seems that the sugar is available for energy sooner than the starch. Americans generally weary quickly of sweet foods, though they consumeenormous quantities of refined sugar, but in tropical countries figs anddates are staple in many places and the inhabitants relish them day inand day out as we relish some of out staples. It is a matter of habit. Those who do not surfeit themselves do not weary quickly of anyparticular article of diet. 

PREPARATION

Most fruits are best raw. Then their acids and salts are in their mostavailable form. Those who become uncomfortable after eating acid fruitmay know that they have abused their digestive organs and they shouldtake it as an indication to reduce their food intake, simplify theirdiet, masticate better and eat more raw food. Those who overeat ofstarch or partake of much alcohol cultivate irritable stomachs, whichobject to the bracing fruit juices. 

For the sake of a change fruits may be cooked. The more plainly they arecooked the better. Always use sugar in moderation, no matter whether thefruit is to be stewed or baked. 

To stew fruit, clean and if necessary peel. Stew in sufficient wateruntil tender. When almost done add what sugar is needed. When stewedthus less sugar is required than if the sweetening is done at the start. 

Stewed fruit can be sweetened by adding raisins, figs or dates. This isrelished by many. Figs and dates stewed by themselves are too sweet formany tastes. This can be remedied by making a sauce of figs or dateswith tart apples or any other acid fruit that appeals in suchcombinations. 

_Baked apple_: Place whole apples in large, deep pan; add aboutone-third cup of water and one and one-half teaspoonfuls sugar to eachapple. Put into oven and bake until skins burst and the apples are welldone. Serve with all the juice. 

_Boiled apple_: Place whole apples in a stewing pan; add twoteaspoonfuls sugar and one cup or more of water to each apple; use lesssugar if desired. Cover the vessel tightly and boil moderately until theskins burst and the apples are well done. 

All stewed fruits should be well done. Avoid making the fruit sauces toosweet. 

_Stewed prunes_: A good prune needs no sweetening. Stew until tender. Itis a good plan to let the prunes soak a few hours before stewing them. Raisins may be treated in the same way. 

Prunes may be washed and put into a dish; then add hot water enough toabout half cover them; cover the dish very tightly and put aside overnight. The prunes need no further preparation before being eaten. If thecovering is not tight it will be necessary to use more water. Raisinsand sundried figs may be treated in the same way. 

Unfortunately, most of our dried fruit is sulphured. Sulphurous acidfumes are employed, and you may be sure that this does the fruit nogood. If you can get unsulphured fruit, do so. The sulphuring process ispopular because it acts as a preservative and it is profitable becauseit allows the fruit to retain more water without spoiling than would bepossible otherwise. 

_Canning fruit_: It is very easy to can fruit, but it requires care. Select fruit that is not overripe. The work room should be clean and soshould the cans and covers. It is not sufficient to rinse the cans inclean water. Both the jars and the covers should be taken from boilingwater immediately before being used. 

Use only sound fruit, cook it sufficiently, adding the sugar when thefruit is almost done. If you cook the fruit in syrup, do not have aheavy syrup. Put into jar while piping hot, filling the jar as full aspossible, put on the cover immediately, turning until it fits snugly;turn jar upside down for a few hours to see if it leaks; tighten againand put in cool place. 

An even better way, especially for berries, is to fill the jar withfruit, pour syrup over them, put the jars into a receptacle containingwater and let this water boil until the berries are done; then fill thejars properly and seal. Some berries that lose their color when cookedin syrup retain it when treated this way. 

Canned fruits are not as good as the fresh ones, but better than none. Be sure that they are not fermenting when opened. When proper care isexercised a spoiled jar is a rarity. If there is any doubt about thefruit, scald and cool before using. This destroys the ferments. 

Fresh fruit is the best. Next comes fruit recently stewed or baked. Ifother fruit can not be obtained, get good dried fruit and stew it. 

COMBINATIONS. 

Fruits may be combined with almost any food, except that which is richin starch, and even that combination may be used occasionally, althoughit is not the best. I have seen people who were supposed to be incurableget well when their breakfasts were mostly apple sauce and toast. However, sick people should avoid such combining entirely and healthyones most of the time. Breakfasting on cereals and fruit is a mistake. Those who eat thus may say that they feel no bad results, but time willtell. Nowhere in our manner of feeding does nature demand of a healthyhuman being that he walk the chalk line. All she asks is that he bereasonable. So if you feel fine and want a shortcake for dinner take it. But the shortcake should be the meal, not the end of one that hasalready furnished too much food. 

Fruit combines well with both milk and cheese. The impression to thecontrary that has been gained from both medical and lay writers is dueto false deductions based on premises not founded on facts. Milk andfruit, and nothing else, make very good meals in summer. 

_Fruit salads_: A great variety of these salads can be made. Take two orthree of the juicy fruits, slice and mix. Dress with a little sugar, orsalt and olive oil, or simply olive oil, or no dressing. Some like adressing of sour cream or of cottage cheese rather well thinned out. Raisins and other sweet fruits may also be used. Ripe banana may be oneof the ingredients. 

Such a salad may be eaten with a flesh or nut meal, or it may be used asa meal by itself. Fruit and cottage cheese make a meal that is bothdelicious and nourishing. A fruit salad strewed with nuts does the same. 

Strawberries and sliced tomatoes dressed with cottage cheese make a goodmeal. 

Lettuce, celery and tomatoes may be used in fruit salads. 

A few fruit salads to serve as examples are: Apples, grapes and lettuce;peaches, strawberries and celery; bananas, pineapples and nuts;strawberries, tomatoes and lettuce. Combine to suit taste and dresslikewise, but avoid large quantities of cream and sugar, not only onyour salads, but on all fruits. No acid should be necessary, but if itis desired, use lemon juice or incorporate oranges as a part of thesalad. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

OILS AND FATS. 

Oils and fats are the most concentrated foods we have. Weight forweight, they contain more than twice as much fuel or energy value as anyother food. Taken in moderation they are easily digested, but if takenin excess they become a burden to the system. About 7 or 8 per cent ofthe weight of a normal body is fat, and this fat is formed chiefly fromthe fatty foods taken into the system, supplemented by the sugar andstarch. 

When the body becomes very fat, it is a disease, called obesity. Fatpeople are never healthy. The fat usurps the place that should beoccupied by normal tissues and organs. It crowds the heart and thelungs, and even replaces the muscle cells in the heart. The result isthat the heart and lungs are overcrowded and overworked and the bloodgets insufficient oxygen. Not only the lungs pant for breath after alittle exercise, but the entire body. Much fat is as destructive ofhealth as it is of beauty. Those who find themselves growing corpulentshould decrease their intake of concentrated foods and increase theirphysical activity. 

Our chief sources of fat supply are cream and butter, vegetable oils, nuts and the flesh of animals. Most meats, especially when mature, contain considerable fat. When the fat is mixed in with the meat, it ismore difficult to digest than the lean flesh. Fresh fish, most of whichcontains very little fat, is digested very easily, while the fattest ofall flesh, pork, is tedious of digestion. 

There is an instinctive craving for fat with foods that contain littleor none of it. That is why we use butter with cereals and lean fish, andoil dressings on vegetables. In moderation this is all right. Fats arenot very rich in salts, which must be supplied by other foods. 

Because of their great fuel value, more fats are naturally consumed incold than in hot climates. The Esquimeaux thrive when a large part oftheir rations is fat. Such a diet would soon nauseate people in milderclimes. 

Fats and oils are used too much in cooking. Fried foods and those cookedin oil are made indigestible. Sometimes we read directions not to useanimal fats, but to use olive oil or cotton seed oil for frying. It ispoor cooking, no matter whether the grease is of animal or vegetableorigin. 

So far as food value and digestibility are concerned, there is nodifference between animal and vegetable fats. Fresh butter is very good, and so is olive oil. Some vegetable oils contain indigestiblesubstances. Cotton seed oil and peanut oil are much used. Sometimes theyare sold in bottles under fancy lables as olive oil. The olive oils fromCalifornia are fully as good as those imported from Spain, Italy andFrance and are more likely to be what is claimed for them than theforeign articles. In the past, much of our cotton seed oil has beenbought by firms in southern Europe and sent back to us as fine oliveoil! Such imposture is probably more difficult under our present lawsthan it was in the past. 

Most oils become rancid easily and then are unfit for consumption. Iftaken in excess as food they have a splendid opportunity to spoil in thedigestive tract, and then they help to poison the system. Taken inmoderate quantities they are digested in the intestines and taken intothe blood by way of the lymphatics. They may be stored in the body for awhile, but finally they are burned, giving up much heat and energy. 

Taking oils between meals as medicine or for fattening purposes isfolly. People get all they need to eat in their three daily meals. Lunching is to be condemned. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

MILK AND OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS. 

 ==================================================================== Pro- Carbohy- Calories Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Whole milk 87. 00 3. 3 4. 0 5. 0 0. 7 325 Cream 74. 00 2. 5 18. 5 4. 5 0. 5 910 Buttermilk 91. 00 3. 0 0. 5 4. 8 0. 7 165 Butter . . . . . . . . 82. 4 . . . . . . 3475 Cheese, whole milk 33. 70 26. 0 34. 2 2. 3 3. 8 1965 " skimmed milk 45. 70 31. 5 16. 4 2. 2 4. 2 1320 --------------------------------------------------------------------

The dairy products vary greatly. Some cows give richer milk than others. Butter may be almost pure fat, or it may contain much water and salt. The cheeses are rich or poor in protein and fats according to method ofmaking. Cottage cheese may be well drained or quite watery. Therefore, this table gives only approximate contents. 

Milk is not a beverage. It is a food. A quart of milk contains as muchfood and fuel value as eight eggs or twelve ounces of lean beef. Thatis, a cupful (one-half of a pint) is equal to two eggs or three ouncesof lean beef. This shows that milk should not be taken to quench thirst, but to supply nourishment. Milk is one of our most satisfactory andeconomical albuminous foods, even at the present high prices. In manyfoods from 5 to 10 per cent of the protein goes to waste. In milk thewaste does not ordinarily amount to more than about 1 per cent. Thisfluid generally leaves the stomach within one or one and one-half hoursafter being ingested. 

In spite of its merits as a food some writers on dietetics advocate thatadults stop using it, giving it only to the young. 

Milk is an excellent food when properly used. When abused it tends tocause discomfort, disease and death, and so does every other food knownto man. Milk is given in fevers and in other diseases, when thedigestive and assimilative processes are suspended. This is a seriousmistake and has caused untold numbers of deaths. When the digestion hasgone on a strike all feeding is destructive. Milk and meat broths, whichare generally given, are about the worst foods that could be selectedunder the circumstances, for they decay very easily, and are excellentfood for the numerous bacteria that thrive in the digestive tract duringdisease. These foods must decay when they are not digested, for theinternal temperature of the body during fevers is over one hundreddegrees Fahrenheit. 

When bacteria are present in excess they give off considerable poison, which makes the patient worse. If circumstances are such that it isnecessary to feed during acute disease, which is always injurious to thepatient, let the food be the least harmful obtainable, such as fruitjuices. Even they do harm. 

In our country cow's milk is used almost exclusively, and that is thevariety that will be discussed in this chapter. In other lands the milkof the mare, the ass, the sheep, the goat and of other animals is used. Human milk is discussed in detail in the chapter on Infancy. 

The objection voiced against cow's milk is that it is an unnatural foodfor man, only fit for the calf, which is equipped with several stomachsand is therefore able to digest the curds which are larger and tougherthan the curds formed from human milk. It is said that the curds ofcow's milk are so indigestible that the human stomach can not preparethem for entry into the blood. This is probably true, but it is alsotrue of other protein-bearing foods. The digestion and assimilation ofproteins are begun in the stomach and completed in the intestines, andthe protein in milk is one of the most completely utilized of allproteins. 

To call a food unnatural means nothing, for we can call nearly all foodsunnatural and defend our position. A natural food is presumably anutritious and digestible aliment that is produced in the locality whereit is consumed, one that can be utilized without preparation orpreservation. So we may say that a resident of New York should not usefigs, dates, bananas and other products of tropical and semi-tropicalclimates, for they are not natural in the latitude of New York. We cantake the position that it is unnatural for people to eat grains, whichneed much grinding, for the birds are the only living beings suppliedwith mills (gizzards). We can further say that it is unnatural to eatall cooked and baked foods. But such talk is not helpful. The more aperson uses his brain the less power he has left for digestion andtherefore it is necessary to prepare some of the foods so that they willbe easy to digest. Man is such an adaptable creature that we are notsure what he subsisted on before he became civilized and are thereforeunable to say what his natural food is. We know that in the tropicsfruits play an important part in nourishing savages, while in the frozennorth fat flesh is the chief food. Perhaps there is no natural food forman. 

Some of those who advocate the disuse of milk have a substitute orimitation to take its place, nut milk made from finely ground nuts andwater. Like all other imitations, it is inferior to the original. It ismore difficult to digest than real milk and the flavor is quitedifferent. 

The objection that milk is indigestible is not borne out by theexperience of those who give it under proper conditions. It is true thatmilk disagrees with a few, but so do such excellent foods as eggs, strawberries and Concord grapes, and many other aliments which are notdifficult to digest. This is a matter of individual peculiarity. Somecan take boiled milk, but are unable to take it fresh, and vice versa. Outside of the few exceptions, milk digests in a reasonable time andquite completely. It is easier to digest than the legumes (peas, beans, lentils) which are rich in protein. It is also easier to digest thannuts, which contain much protein. The milk sugar causes no trouble andcream is one of the easiest forms of fat to digest, if taken inmoderation. The protein in milk will cause no inconvenience if the milkis eaten slowly, in proper combinations and not to excess. The rennet inthe stomach curdles the casein. The hydrochloric acid and the pepsin inthe gastric juice then begin to break down and dissolve the clots, andthe process of digestion is completed in the small intestines. 

Those who overeat of milk in combination with other foods will derivebenefit from omitting the milk. They will also be benefitted if theycontinue using milk and omit either the starch or the meat. When foodsdisagree, in nearly every instance it is due to the fact that too muchhas been eaten and too many varieties partaken of at a meal. Some maysingle out the milk or the meat as the offenders. Others may point tothe starches, and still others to the vegetables with their large amountof indigestible residue. They are all right and all wrong, for all thefoods help to cause the trouble. However, such reasoning does not solvethe problem. If the meals cause discomfort and disease, reduce theamount eaten, take fewer varieties at a meal and simplify the cooking. Those who eat simple meals and are moderate are not troubled withindigestion. 

Those who eat such mushy foods as oatmeal and cream of wheat usuallytake milk or cream and sugar with them. This should not be done, forsuch dressing stimulates the appetite and leads to undermastication. Neither children nor adults chew these soft starchy foods enough. Theresult is that the breakfast ferments in the alimentary tract. After afew months or years of such breakfasts, some kind of disease is sure todevelop. Mushy starches dressed with rich milk and sugar are responsiblefor a large per cent. Of the so-called diseases of children, which areprimarily digestive disturbances. Colds, catarrhs and adenoids are, ofcourse, due to improper eating extending over a long period of time. Nothing should be eaten with mushy starches except a little butter andsalt. After enough starch has been taken, a glass of milk may be eaten. If parents would only realize that they are jeopardizing the health andlives of their dear ones when they feed them habitually on these softmesses, which ferment easily, there would be a remarkable decrease inthe diseases of childhood and in the disgraceful infant and childhoodmortality, for several hundred thousand children perish annually in thiscountry. 

Milk is often referred to as a perfect food, and it is the perfect foodfor infants. The young thrive best on the healthy milk given by a femaleof their own species. Every baby should be fed at the breast. The milkcontains the elements needed by the body. 

The table at the head of this chapter shows that milk contains allessential aliments. The ash is composed of the various salts necessaryfor health, containing potassium, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, iron, silicon and other elements. For the nourishment of the body we needwater, protein, fat, carbohydrates and salts, so it will be seen thatmilk is really a complete food. However, as the body grows the nutritiverequirements change and milk is therefore not a balanced food foradults. 

It may be interesting to note that there is no starch in milk and thatinfants fed at the breast exclusively obtain no starchy food. Manybabies get no starch for nine, ten or even twelve months, and this iswell, for they do not need it. They grow and flourish best without it. 

Milk is an emulsion. It is made up of numerous tiny globules floating inserum. The size of the globules varies, but the average is said to beabout 1/10, 000 of an inch in diameter. These globules are fatty bodies. There are other small bodies, containing protein and fat, which haveindependent molecular movement. The milk is a living fluid. When it istampered with it immediately deteriorates. Without doubt, natureintended that the milk should go directly from the mammary gland intothe mouth of the consumer, but this is not practicable when we take itaway from the calf. However, if we are to use sweet milk it is best toconsume it as nearly like it is in its natural state as possible. 

It is quite common to drink milk rapidly. This should not be done. Takea sip or a spoonful at a time and move it about in the mouth until it ismixed with saliva. It is not necessary to give it as much mouthpreparation as is given to starchy food. If it is drunk rapidly likewater large curds from in the stomach. If it is insalivated itcoagulates in smaller curds and is more easily digested, for thedigestive juices can tear down small soft curds more easily than thelarge tough ones. 

Milk should not form a part of any meal when other food rich in proteinis eaten. Our protein needs are small, and it is easy to get too much. Whole wheat bread and milk contain all the nourishment needed. On such adiet we can thrive indefinitely. This is information, not arecommendation. The bread should be eaten either before or afterpartaking of the milk. Do not break the bread into the milk. If this isdone, mastication will be slighted. Bread needs much mastication andinsalivation. When liquid is taken with the bread, the saliva does notflow so freely as when it is eaten dry. 

Fruit and milk make a good combination, but no starchy foods are to betaken in this meal. Take a glass of milk, either sweet or sour, and whatfruit is desired, insalivating both the fruit and the milk thoroughly. If you have read that the combination of fruit and milk has provedfatal, rest assured that those who made such reports only looked at thesurface, for other foods and other influences were having their effectson the system. Many people die of food-poisoning and apoplexy. These badresults are due to wrong eating covering a long period and it is follyto blame the last meal. It would be queer if fruit and milk were notoccasionally a part of the last meal. 

In winter, figs, dates or raisins with milk make an excellent lunch orbreakfast. These fruits take the place of bread, for though they are notstarchy, they contain an abundance of fruit sugar, which is more easilydigested than the starch. Starch must be converted into sugar before thesystem can use it. 

On hot days milk and acid fruit make a satisfying meal. Many believethat milk and acid fruit should not be taken in the same meal, becausethe acid curdles the milk. As we have already seen, the milk must becurdled before it can be digested. If this step in digestion isperformed by the acid in the fruit no more harm is done than when it isperformed by the lactic acid bacteria. Fruit juices and milk do notcombine to form deadly poisons. If fruit and milk are eaten inmoderation and no other food is taken at that meal the results are good. However, if fruit, milk, bread, meat, cake and pickles make up the meal, the results may be bad. Such eating is very common. But do not blame thefruit and the milk when the whole meal is wrong. 

Likewise, if a hearty meal has been eaten and before this has had timeto digest a lunch is made of fruit and milk, trouble may ensue. All thefoods may be good, but a time must come when the body will object tobeing overfed. In summertime much less food is needed than during thecold months. Nevertheless, barring the Christmas holidays andThanksgiving, people overeat more in summer than at any other time ofthe year. Picnics often degenerate into stuffing matches. We shouldexpect many cases of serious illness to follow them, and such is thecase. 

Sometimes the milk is so carelessly handled that it becomes poisonousand at other times the fruit is tainted, but generally bad combinationsand overeating are the factors that cause trouble when the fruit andmilk combination is blamed. 

Buttermilk and clabbered milk are more easily digested by many than isthe fresh milk. In Europe sour milk is a more common food than in thiscountry. Here many do not know how excellent it is. Two glasses of milk, or less, make a good warm-weather lunch. 

Those who have a tendency to be bilious should use cream very sparingly. Bilious people always overeat, otherwise their livers would not be inrebellion. The fat, in the form of cream, arouses decided protest on thepart of overburdened livers. 

A theory has found its way into dietetic literature, sometimes disguisedas a truth, to the effect that boiled or hot milk is absorbed directlyinto the blood stream without being digested. This is contrary toeverything we know about digestion and assimilation, and although it isa fine enough theory it does not work out in practice. I have seen badresults when nothing but a small amount of the hot milk was fed topatients with weak digestive power. Perhaps others have had betterresults. When the system demands a rest from food, nothing but watershould be given. Boiled or natural milk is then as bad as any otherfood, and worse than most, for in the absence of digestive power it soonbecomes a foul mass, swarming with billions of bacteria. The system iscompelled to absorb some of the poisons given off by the micro-organismsand the results are disastrous. 

Every food we take must be modified by our bodies before entering thecirculation, and milk is no exception. 

When milk is allowed to stand for a while the sugar ferments, throughthe action of the lactic acid bacteria. The sugar is turned into lacticacid, which combines with the casein and when this process has continuedfor a certain length of time the result is clabbered milk or sour milk. The length of time varies with the temperature and the care given themilk. If milk remains sweet for a long time during warm weather, discharge the milkman and patronize one whose product sours morequickly, for milk that remains sweet has been subjected to treatment. All kinds of preservative treatment cause deterioration. Ifextraordinary care is taken with the milk and it is kept at atemperature of about forty-two degrees Fahrenheit, it may remain sweetfive or six weeks, provided it is not exposed to the air, but such careis at present not practicable in commercial dairies. The milk containsunorganized ferments which spoil it in time without exposure tobacterial influences. These ferments cause digestion or decay of themilk. 

Fresh butter is a palatable form of fat, which digests easily. Like allother milk products, it must be kept clean and cold, or it will soonspoil. Butter absorbs other flavors quickly and should therefore not beplaced near odorous substances. It is best unsalted and in Europe it isvery commonly served thus. When people learn to demand unsalted butterthey will get good butter, for no one can palm off oleomargarine orother imitations under the guise of fresh unsalted butter. Unsaltedbutter must be fresh or it will be refused by the nose and the palate. Salt and other preservatives often conceal age and corruption of foods. 

Butter combines well with starches and vegetables, in fact, it can beused in moderation with any other food, when the body needs fat. Buttershould not be used to cook starches or proteins in. Greasy cookingshould be banished from our kitchens. 

Milk is a complex food, highly organized, and therefore is easilyinjured or spoiled. The general rule is that the more complex a food is, the more easily it spoils. It is rather difficult at present to getwholesome milk enough to supply the people of our large cities. When itis boiled, the milk keeps longer, but boiled milk is spoiled milk. Thefine flavor is lost, the casein, which is the principal protein of milk, is toughened, the milk, which is normally a living liquid, is killed, the chemical balance is lost, the organic salts being rendered partlyinorganic. Milk that is unfit to eat without being boiled is not fit toeat afterwards, for the poisonous end products of bacterial life remain. 

The milk is soured by the bacteria it contains. The lactic acid bacteriaare harmless. When there is a lack of care and cleanliness, otherbacteria get into the milk, and these are also harmless to people ingood health, and most of them are not injurious to sick people. Thebacteria (germs) do not cause disease, but when disease has beenestablished, they offer their kindly offices as scavengers. Bacteriathrive in sick people, especially when they are fed when digestive poweris lacking. Boiling retards the souring of milk, but when fat andprotein are boiled together the protein becomes hard to digest. Milk isrich in both fat and protein. Excessive heat turns the milk brown, themilk sugar being carameled. 

Babies do not thrive on boiled milk. They may look fat, but instead ofhaving the desirable firmness of normal children, they are puffy. Children fed on denatured milk fall victims to diseases very easily, especially to diseases which are due to lack of organic salts, such asrickets and malnutrition. 

Pasteurization of milk is very popular. This is objectionable for thesame reasons that boiling is condemned, though not to the same extent. Pasteurization is heating the milk to about 140 to 150 degreesFahrenheit. This kills many of the bacteria, but many escape and whenthe milk is cooled off they begin to multiply and flourish again. It isestimated that pasteurized milk contains one-fourth as many bacteria asnatural milk. So nothing is gained, and the milk is partly devitalized. The advocates of pasteurization give statistics showing that milk sotreated has been instrumental in decreasing infant mortality. But pleasebear in mind that previously a great deal of milk unfit for consumptionwas fed to the babies. Those who pasteurize milk generally are carefulenough to see that they get a good product in the first place. 

If we can't get good milk we can do without it, for it is not anecessary food, but we can get good milk if we make the effort. If themilk is filthy, boiling or pasteurizing does not remove the dirt. Gauthier says of pasteurization: "Sometimes it is heated up to 70degrees (Centigrade) with pressure of carbonic acid. But even in thiscase pasteurization does not destroy all germs, particularly those oftuberculosis, peptonizing bacteria of cowdung, and the dust of housesand streets, etc. "

Even boiling does not kill the spores of bacteria unless it is continueduntil the milk is rendered entirely unfit for food. To kill these sporesit is necessary to boil the milk several times. The spores are smallround or oval bodies which form within the bacterial envelope when thesemicro-organisms are subjected to unfavorable conditions. The sporesresist heat and cold that would kill almost any other form of life. Whenconditions are favorable they develop into bacteria again. 

After heating, the cream does not rise so quickly nor does it separateso completely as it does in natural milk. This is due to the tougheningof the casein in the milk. 

Heating partly disorganizes the delicately balanced salts contained inthe milk. The result is that they can not be utilized so easily andcompletely by the body, for the human organism demands its food in anorganic state, that is, in the condition built up by vegetation or byanimals. We may consume iron filings and remain anemic, in fact, theeffect the iron medication has is to ruin the teeth, digestive organsand other parts of the body as a consequence. But if we partake of suchfoods as apples, cabbage, lettuce and spinach, the necessary salt istaken into the blood. 

Heating milk also makes it constipating. True, normal people can takeboiled milk without becoming constipated, but how many normal people arethere? We are sorely enough afflicted in this way now. Let us have asupply of natural milk or go without it. It is not my desire to conveythe impression that it does any harm to scald or boil milk occasionally, but if done daily it does harm, especially to the young. Scalded milkhas its proper place in dietetics. Occasionally we find a person who haspersistent chronic diarrhea. If he is in condition to eat anything, thisannoying affliction is usually overcome in a reasonable time if thepatient will take boiled or scalded milk in moderation three times aday, and nothing else except water. 

How are we to obtain good milk? We can do it by using common sense, careand cleanliness. 

It is well to remember that there are bacteria in all ordinary milk, andthat if the milk is from healthy cows and is kept clean and cold thesebacteria are harmless. Most of them are the lactic acid bacteria, whichchange the milk sugar into acid. When the milk has attained a certaindegree of acidity, the lactic acid bacteria are unable to thrive and thesouring process is slowed up and finally stopped. Most of the otherbacteria in milk perish when lactic acid is formed. This is why stalesweet milk is often harmful, when the same kind of milk allowed to sourcan be taken with impunity. 

If the milk is kept in a cold place the bacteria multiply slowly. If itis kept in a warm place they increase in numbers at a rate that ismarvelous, and consequently the milk sours much sooner. Even if the milkis kept cold, bacterial growth will soon take place, but it will perhapsnot be lactic acid bacteria. It may be a form that causes the milk tobecome ropy and slimy or one that gives it a bad odor. 

Bacteria are like other forms of vegetation, such as grass, weeds, flowers and trees, in that some flourish best under one condition andothers under dissimilar conditions, and they struggle one against theother for subsistence and existence. Like flowers there are thousands ofdifferent forms of bacteria and they vary according to their food andenvironment. 

Peculiar odors in milk generally come from certain kinds of food givento the cows, such as turnips; from bacterial action; or from flavorsabsorbed from other foods or from odors in the air. Milk should not beexposed to odorous substances, for it becomes tainted very quickly. Sometimes yeast finds its way into milk and causes decomposition of thesugar with the formation of carbon dioxide and alcohol. 

A count of the bacteria in milk often serves a good purpose, for itshows whether it is good and has had proper care. The consumers have aright to demand milk low in bacteria, for if no preservatives have beenused, that means clean milk. If we could live in our pristine state ofbeatific bliss, if such it was, we would not have to use milk afterchildhood is past, but our present condition demands the use of easilydigested foods and to many milk is almost a necessity. 

The milk in the udder of a healthy cow is almost surely free frombacteria, but the moment it is exposed to the air these little beingsstart to drop into the fluid. 

The bacterial standards given by various city health departments vary. Those who are mathematically inclined may find the following figuresinteresting: In some great cities they allow 500, 000 bacteria to thecubic centimeter of milk. A cubic centimeter contains about twenty-fivedrops. In other words, they allow 20, 000 bacteria per drop. This mayseem very lively milk, but these bacteria are so small that about 25, 000of them laid end to end measure only about an inch, and it would take17, 000, 000, 000, 000 of them to weigh an ounce, according to estimates. These are the tiny vegetables we hear and read so much about, that weare warned against and fear so much. Truly the pygmies are having theirinnings and making cowards of men. The bacteria multiply by the simpleprocess of growing longer and splitting into two, fission, as it iscalled, and the process is so rapid that within an hour or two afterbeing formed a bacterium may be raising a family of its own. 

Some of the milk brought to the cities contains as many as 15, 000, 000bacteria per cubic centimeter, that is, about 600, 000 per drop. Thismilk is either very filthy or it has been poorly cared for and shouldnot be given to babies and young children. The filthiest milk maycontain several billion bacteria to the cubic centimeter. 

By using care milk containing but 100, or even fewer, bacteria per dropcan be produced. From the standpoint of cleanliness this is excellentmilk. Of course, the dairyman who takes pride enough in his work toproduce such milk will sell nothing but what is first-class, and if hehas business acumen he can always get more than the market price for hisproduct. 

The talk about germs has been overdone, but no one can deny that thestudy of bacteriology has made people more careful about foods. Thefilthy dairies that were the rule a few years ago are slowly beingreplaced by dairies that are comfortable, well lighted and clean. Do notallow the germs to scare you, for if ordinary precautions are taken nomore of them will be present than are necessary, and they are necessary. They thrive best in filth, and they are dangerous only to those who liveso that they have no resistance. 

Wholesome milk can be produced only by healthy animals. Bovine healthcan be secured by the same means as human health. The cows must beproperly fed and housed. They must have both ventilation and light. Theymust not be unduly worried. If a nursing of an angry mother's milk is attimes poisonous enough to kill a baby, you may be sure that the milkfrom an abused, irritated and angry cow is also injurious. If theanimals are kept comfortable and happy they will do the best producing, both in quality and quantity. It may sound far-fetched to some toadvocate keeping animals happy in order to get them to produce much andgive quality products, but it is good science and good sense. Happy cowsgive more and better milk than the mistreated ones. The singing hens arethe best layers. 

Cows should have fresh green food all the year, and this can be obtainedin winter time by using silage. It is a mistake to give cows too much ofconcentrated foods, such as oil meals and grains. Cattle can not longremain well on exclusive rations of too heating and stimulating foods. When fed improperly they soon fall prey to various diseases, such asrheumatism and tuberculosis. It is the same with other domestic animals. The horse when overfed on grain develops stiff joints. The hogs that arecompelled to live exclusively on concentrated, heating rations areliable to die of cholera. Young turkeys that have nothing but corn andwheat to eat die in great numbers from the disease known as blackhead. It is the same law running all through nature, applying to the high andto the low, that improper nourishment brings disease and death. 

When cattle roam wild, the green grasses (sundried in winter) are theirprincipal source of food. Man should be careful not to deviate too much, for forced feeding is as harmful to animals as it is to man. 

The following excellent recommendations for the care of milk are givenby Dr. Charles E. North of the New York City Milk Commission:

"No coolers, aerators, straining cloths or strainers should be used. 

"The hot milk should be taken to the creamery as soon as possible. 

"The night's milk should be placed in spring or iced water higher thanthe milk on the inside of the can. It should not be stirred, and the topof the can should be open a little way to permit ventilation. 

"The milking pails and cans will be sterilized and dried at thecreamery, and should be carefully protected until they are used. 

"Brush the udder and wipe with a clean cloth; wash with clean water anddry with a clean towel. 

"Whitewash the cow stable at least twice yearly. 

"Feed no dusty feed until after milking. 

"Remove all manure from cow stable twice daily. 

"Keep barnyard clean and have manure pile at least 100 feet from thestable. 

"Have all stable floors of cement, properly drained. 

"Have abundant windows in cowstables to permit sunlight to reach thefloor. 

"Arrange a proper system of ventilation. 

"Do not use milk from any cows suspected of gargot or of any udderinflammation. Such milk contains enormous numbers of bacteria. 

"Brush and groom cows from head to foot as horses are groomed. 

"Use no dusty bedding; wood shavings or sawdust give least dust. 

"Use an abundance of ice in water tank for cooling milk. "

Perhaps some will take issue with the doctor on the first paragraph ofhis recommendation. If straining cloths are used they should be wellrinsed in tepid water, washed and then boiled. However, if hisrecommendations are carried out in letter and spirit no straining isnecessary. 

Herr Klingelhofer near Dusseldorf, Germany. , runs a model dairy. Thecows, stables, milkers, containers, in fact, all things connected withthe dairy are scrupulously clean. The milkers do not even touch the milkstools, carrying them strapped to their backs. The milk is strainedthrough sterilized cotton and cooled. 

The cows are six and seven years old and are milked for ten or twelvemonths and they are not bred during this time. The first part of themilk drawn from each teat is not used, for that part is not clean, containing dirt and bacteria. 

This milk is practically free from bacteria, for without addingpreservatives it will remain sweet, for as long as thirteen days. Ifordinary milk fails to sour in two or three days it shows that it hasbeen treated. 

According to the Country Gentleman, it will cost from one cent and aquarter to one cent and three-quarters extra per quart to produce cleanmilk. Healthy adults can take milk teeming with bacteria without harm, but for babies it is best to have very few or none in the milk. AtDusseldorf the babies used to die as they do here when fed unclean milk. Herr Klingelhofer says that when fed on his product "sterben keine. "(None die. )

This is submitted to those who advocate pasteurizing the milk. Denaturedmilk makes sickly babies. Clean natural milk makes healthy babies. Theextra cost of less than two cents a quart is not prohibitive. Mostfathers, no matter how poor, waste more than that daily on tobacco andalcoholics. The extra cost would be more than saved in lessened doctorbills, to say nothing of funeral expenses. The recompense that comesfrom the satisfaction of having thriving, sturdy, healthy children cannot be figured in dollars and cents. 

Dr. Robert Mond, of London, after investigating for years, has come tothe conclusion that sterilized milk predisposes to tuberculosis, insteadof preventing it. He believes that milk so treated is so inferior thathe would not personally use it. That sterilized milk predisposes totuberculosis, as well as to other diseases which can attack the bodyonly when it is run down, is natural. Any food that has been renderedinferior can not build the robust health that comes to those who live onnatural food. Adults who use sterilized milk should counteract its badeffects by partaking liberally of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

If the milk is clean, put into clean containers by careful milkers andis then kept cold until delivered, it will reach the consumers in goodcondition. Do not let the fact that when you consume a glass of milk youare also engulfing some millions of bacteria bother you, for bacteriaare necessary to our existence. If all the bacteria on earth shouldperish, it would also mean the end of the human race. 

Today the progressive farmer is coming to the fore. He is a man who isjustly proud of his work, so it will probably not be long before allcity people who desire clean milk can get it. 

The milk cure consists in feeding sick people on nothing but milk forvarying periods. Generally the patient is told to either take greatquantities three or four times a day, or to take smaller quantitiesperhaps every half hour. The milk cure has no special virtue, exceptthat it is a monotonous diet. The body soon rebels if forced to subsiston an excessive amount of but one kind of food. The individual loses hisdesire for food and even becomes nauseated. If the advocates of the milkcure would prescribe milk in moderation, instead of in excess, theywould have better success. (It is fully as harmful to partake of toomuch milk as it is to eat excessively of other foods. )

The benefit derived from the milk cure comes from the simplicity, notfrom the milk. A grape cure, an orange cure or a bread and milk curewould be as beneficial. The milk cure is ancient. It was employedtwenty-five centuries ago. 

_Clabbered milk_: Clabbered milk or sour milk needs no specialpreparation. Put the milk into an earthen or china dish. Do not usemetal dishes, for the lactic acid acts upon various metals. Cover thedish so as to keep particles of matter in the air away, but the coveringis not to be airtight. Put the dish in a warm place, but not in the sun. Milk that sours in the sun or in an air-tight bottle is generally ofpoor flavor. Clabbered milk is a good food. It does not form big, toughcurds in the stomach, it is easy to digest, and the lactic acid helps tokeep the alimentary tract sweet. The various forms of milk may be usedin similar combinations. 

_Buttermilk_: The real buttermilk is what remains of the cream after thefat has been removed by churning. It is slightly acid and has acharacteristic taste, to most people very agreeable. The flavor isdifferent from that of artificially made buttermilk. In composition itis almost like whole milk, except that it contains very little fat. 

Many people make buttermilk by beating the clabbered milk thoroughly, until it becomes light. The buttermilk made from sweet milk and thevarious brands of bacterial ferments obtainable at the drug stores isall right. These ferments have as their basis the lactic acid bacteria, and if the manufacturers wish to call their germs by other names, suchas Bacillus Bulgaricus, no harm is done. It is unnecessary to add any ofthese ferments, for the milk clabbers about as quickly without them. 

Buttermilk is an excellent food. The casein can be seen in fine flakesin the real buttermilk. Adults usually digest buttermilk and clabberedmilk more easily than the sweet milk. The lactic acid seems to be quitebeneficial. Metchnikoff thought for a while that he had discovered howto ward off decay and old age by means of the lactic acid bacteria inmilk. 

Milk can be clabbered quickly by adding lemon juice to sweet milk. 

_Junket_: Add rennet to milk and let it stand until it thickens. Themilk is not to be disturbed while coagulation takes place, for agitationwill cause a separation of the whey. The rennet can be bought at thedrug stores. 

_Whey_ contains milk sugar, some salts, and a little albumin. It iseasily digested, but not very nourishing. It is what is left of the milkafter the fat and almost all of the protein are removed. 

_Cottage cheese_: This is sometimes called Dutch cheese or white cheese. It is a delicious and nutritious dairy product that is easy to digest. Put the clabbered milk in a muslin bag, hang the bag up and allow themilk to lose its whey through drainage. In summer this bag must be keptin a cool place. After draining, beat the curds. Then add enoughclabbered milk to make the curds soft when well beaten. A small amountof cream may also be added. Cottage cheese made in this way is superiorin flavor and digestibility to that which has been scalded. No seasoningis needed. A little salt is allowable, but sugar and pepper should notbe used. Fruit and cottage cheese make a satisfying as well asnutritious meal. 

Delicious cottage cheese is also made by using the whole clabbered milk. Hang it up to drain in a bag until it has lost a part of its whey. Thenbeat it until the curds are rather small, but not fine. No milk or creamis to be added to this, for it contains all the fat that is in the wholemilk. Do not drain this cheese so long that it becomes dry. 

_Other cheeses_: The various cheeses on the market are made principallyfrom ripened curds, with which more or less fat has been mixed. Theripening is a form of decay, and it is no exaggeration to say that someof the very ripe cheeses on the market are rotten. The flavors are dueto ferments, molds and bacteria, which split up the proteins and thefats. 

The mild cheeses are generally good and may be eaten with fruits orvegetables or with bread. Two or three ounces are sufficient for theprotein part of the meal, taking the place of flesh. Use less if less isdesired. 

When cheese becomes very odorous and ripe, no one with normal nose andpalate will eat it. People who partake of excessive amounts of meats oralcoholic beverages are often fond of these foul cheeses. One perversionleads to another. 

Cheese of good quality, eaten in moderation, is a nutritious food, easily digested. Gauthier says of cheese: "Indeed, this casein, whichhas the composition of muscular tissue, scarcely produces duringdigestion either residue or toxins. "

Because good cheese is concentrated and of agreeable flavor, it isnecessary to guard against overeating. An excess of rich cheese sooncauses trouble with the liver or constipation or both. 

Cheese should not be eaten in the same meal with fish, meat, eggs, nutsor legumes, for such combining makes the protein intake too great. There is nothing incompatible about such combinations, but it is safestnot to make them. The course dinners, ending up with a savory cheese, crackers and coffee, are abominations. They are health-destroyers. Theylead to overeating. As nearly everybody overeats, and because overeatingis the greatest single factor in producing disease and premature death, it is advisable not to eat cheese and other foods rich in protein in thesame meal. The greater the variety of food, the more surely the dinerwill overeat. 

The term, "full cream cheese" is misleading, for cheeses are not made ofwhole cream. The cream does not contain enough protein (casein) for themanufacture of cheese. Some cheeses are made of skimmed milk. Others aremade of milk which contains part, or even all, of the cream. Some havecream added. The cheeses containing but a moderate amount of fat are thebest. 

The popular Roquefort cheese is made of a mixture of goat's milk andsheep's milk. The savor is due to bacterial action and fatsaponification, which result in ammonia, glycerine, alcohol, fatty acidsand other chemicals in very small quantities. 

The peculiar colorings which run in streaks through some cheeses thatare well ripened are due to molds, bacteria and yeasts. Gentlemen whowould discharge the cook if a moldy piece of bread appeared on thetable, eat decaying, moldy cheese with relish. 

The best cheese of all is cottage cheese. People of normal taste willsoon weary of the frequent consumption of strong cheese, but they cantake cottage cheese every other day with relish. Occasionally put a fewcaraway seeds in it if this flavor is agreeable. 

Cottage cheese may be eaten plain or with bread, or with fruit orvegetables. It may be used as dressing both on fruit and vegetablesalads. 

Cheese should play no part in the alimentation of the sick, with theexception of cottage cheese, which may be given to almost anyone who isin condition to eat anything. The other cheeses are too concentrated forsick people. In acute disease nothing is to be fed. 

_Skimmed milk_ is about the same in composition as buttermilk. It isinferior in flavor, but a good food. It is used a great deal in cooking. Milk should not be used very much in cooking. When cooked it does notdigest very readily and it has a tendency to make other foodsindigestible. 

_Sour cream_ or clabbered cream is best when it is taken from clabberedmilk. It may be used as dressing on fruits and salads. Sweet cream willclabber, but it is not as delicious as when it clabbers on the milk. 

_Clotted cream_ is made by putting the milk aside in pans in a coolplace until the cream rises. Then, without disturbing the cream, scaldthe milk. Put the pan aside until the contents are cold and remove thecream, which has a rich, agreeable flavor. This may be used as adressing. 

Whipped cream and ice cream are so familiar that they hardly needcomment. Cream is such a rich food that it must be eaten in moderation. Otherwise it will cause discomfort and disease. Ice cream is made ofmilk and cream, in varying proportions, flavored to taste and frozen. Itis not necessary to add eggs and cornstarch. If eaten slowly it is agood food, but taken in too large quantities and too rapidly it maycause digestive troubles. It is not best to chill the stomach. Thosewith weak digestion should be very careful not to do so. 

Buttermilk is sometimes flavored and frozen. This ice is easy to digest. Some doctors recommend this dish to their convalescents. It is anagreeable change, and can be eaten by many who are unable to take careof the rich ice cream. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

MENUS. 

For a balanced dietary we need some building food, protein; some forcefood, starch, sugar and fat; some of the mineral salts in organic form, best obtained from raw fruits and vegetables; and a medium in which thefoods can be dissolved, water. 

We need a replenishment of these food stuffs at intervals, but it is notnecessary to take all of them at the same meal, or even during the sameday. Those who believe that all alimentary principles must enter intoevery meal must necessarily injure themselves through too complexeating. In talking of these alimentary principles, reference is made tothem only when they are present in appreciable quantities. 

To have the subject better in hand, let us again classify the mostimportant foods:

Flesh foods, which are rich in protein. 

Nuts, which contain considerable protein and fat. 

Milk and cheese, which contain much protein. 

Eggs, taken principally for their protein. 

Cereals, the most important contents being starches. 

Tubers, containing much starch. 

Legumes, rich in protein and starch. 

Fresh fruits, well flavored and high in salt contents. 

Sweet fruits, containing much fruit sugar. 

Succulent vegetables, chiefly valuable because of salts and juices. 

Fats and oils, no matter what their source, are concentrated foods whichfurnish heat and energy when burned in the body. 

When people are free and active in the fresh air they can eat in a waythat would soon ruin the digestive powers of those who lead moreartificial lives. It is a well known fact that we can go hunting, fishing, tramping or picnicking and eat mixtures and quantities of foodsthat would ordinarily give us discomfort. The freedom and activity, thechange and the better state of mind give greater digestive power. 

Those who wish to live their best must pay some attention to thecombination of food. It is true that very moderate people, those whotake no more food than the body demands, can combine about as theyplease. These moderate people do not care to mix their foods much. Theyare satisfied with very plain fare. Much as we dislike to acknowledgethe fact, nearly all of us take too much food, even those who moststrongly preach moderation. By combining properly much of the harmfuleffect of overeating can be overcome. 

FRUITARIANS. 

I class as fruitarians those who eat only cereals, fruits and nuts. Thismay not be a correct definition, but after reading much literature ondietetics it is the best I can do. Their combinations should present nodifficulties. 

They should take cereals once or twice a day; nuts once or twice a day;fruit once a day in winter and once or twice a day in summer. The winterfruit should be sweet part of the time. In summer it can be the juicyfruit and berries at all times. 

The fruitarians should be careful to avoid the habitual combination ofacid fruits with their cereals. 

One meal a day can be made of one or two varieties of fruit and nothingelse. Nuts may be added to the fruit at times. 

Another meal may be made of some cereal product with nut butter or somekind of vegetable oil. 

A third meal may be some form of sweet fruit, with which may be eateneither bread or nuts, or better still, combine one sweet fruit with anacid one. 

Most people would consider such a diet very limited, but it is easy tothrive on it, and it is not a tiresome one. There are so many varietiesof fruits, nuts and cereals that it is easy to get variety. These foodsdo not become monotonous when taken in proper amounts. On such a diet itdoes not make much difference which meal is breakfast, lunch or dinner. The rule should be to take the heartiest meal after the heavy work isdone, for hearty meals do not digest well if either mind or body is hardat work. 

It is not difficult to get all the food necessary in two meals, butinasmuch as the three meal a day plan is prevalent the menus here giveninclude that number of meals. 

Breakfast: Apples, baked or raw. 

Lunch: Brown rice and raisins. 

Dinner: Whole wheat zwieback with nut butter. 

Breakfast: Oranges or grapefruit. 

Lunch: Pecans and figs. 

Dinner: Bread made of rye or whole wheat flour, with nut butter or oliveoil. 

Breakfast: Any kind of berries. 

Lunch: Dates. 

Dinner: Whole wheat bread, with or without oil, Brazil nuts. 

These combinations are indeed simple, but these foods are verynourishing and most of them concentrated, so it is best not to mix toomuch. They are natural foods, which digest easily when taken inmoderation, but if eaten to excess they soon produce trouble. 

It is no hardship to live on simple combinations. We have so much foodthat we have fallen into the bad habit of partaking of too great varietyat a meal. The fact is that those who combine simply enjoy their foodsmore than those who coax their appetite with too great variety. There isno physical hardship connected with simple eating, and as soon as themind is made up to it, neither is there any mental hardship. 

VEGETARIANS. 

It is difficult to give an acceptable definition for vegetarianism. Fora working basis we shall take it for granted that those are vegetarianswho reject flesh foods. Those who wish can also reject dairy productsand eggs. It is largely a matter of satisfying the mind. 

The chief trouble with the vegetarians is that they believe that thefact that they abstain from flesh will bring them health. So theycombine all kinds of foods and take several kinds of starches and fruitsat the same meal. The consequence is that they soon get an acidcondition of the digestive organs and a great deal of fermentation. Among vegetarians, prolapsus of the stomach and bowels is quite common, and this is due to gas pressure displacing the organs. 

Their foods are all right, but their combinations, as a rule, are bad. The various vegetarian roasts, composed of nuts, cereals, legumes andsucculent vegetables are hard to digest. It would be much better forthem not to make such dishes. 

A few suggestions for vegetarian combining follow:

Breakfast: Berries and a glass of milk. 

Lunch: Baked potatoes and lettuce with oil. 

Dinner: Nuts, cooked succulent vegetables, one or two varieties, slicedtomatoes. 

Breakfast: Cottage cheese and oranges. 

Lunch: Nuts and raisins. 

Dinner: Whole wheat bread, stewed onions, butter, salad of lettuce andcelery. 

Breakfast: Cantaloupe. 

Lunch: Buttermilk, bread and butter. 

Dinner: Nuts, stewed succulent vegetables, lettuce and sliced tomatoes, with or without oil. 

Breakfast: Boiled brown rice with raisins and milk. 

Lunch: Grapes. 

Dinner: Cooked lentils or baked beans, lettuce and celery. 

OMNIVOROUS PEOPLE. 

In this country, most people are omnivorous. The food is plentiful andpeople believe in generous living. They put upon their tables at eachmeal enough variety for a whole day and the custom is to eat some ofeach. Some breakfasts are heavy enough for dinners. Three heavy meals aday are common. Some can eat this way for years and be in condition towork most of the time, but they are never 100 per cent. Efficient. Theyare never as able as they could be. Besides, they have their times ofillness and grow old while they should be young. They generally diewhile they should be in their prime, leaving their friends and familiesto mourn them when they ought to be at their best. They are worn out bytheir food supply, plus other conventional bad habits. 

One of the best plans that has been proposed for omnivorous people isthat which has been worked out by Dr. J. H. Tilden. Its skeleton is, fruit once a day, starchy food once a day, flesh or other protein withsucculent vegetables once a day. I shall make up menus for a few daysbased on this plan:

Breakfast: Baked apples, a glass of milk. 

Lunch: Boiled rice with butter. 

Dinner: Roast mutton, spinach and carrots, salad of raw vegetables. 

Breakfast: Cantaloupe. 

Lunch: Biscuits or toast with butter, buttermilk. 

Dinner: Pecans, two stewed succulent vegetables, salad of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, dressing. 

Breakfast: Peaches, cottage cheese. 

Lunch: Baked potatoes, butter, lettuce. 

Dinner: Fresh fish baked, liberal helping of one, two or three of theraw salad vegetables. 

Breakfast: Shredded wheat or puffed wheat sprinkled with melted butter, glass of milk. 

Lunch: Watermelon. 

Dinner: Roast beef, boiled cabbage, stewed onions, butter dressing, sliced tomatoes with salt and oil. 

The doctor allows considerable dessert. That generally goes with thedinner. 

It is nonsense to write, "So and so shalt thou eat and not otherwise. "The menus here given simply serve as suggestions. Where one succulentvegetable is mentioned another may be substituted. One cereal may besubstituted for another. One juicy fruit for another. One sweet fruitfor another. One legume for another. One food rich in protein foranother. 

In combining food the principal things to remember are:

Use only a few foods at a meal; use only one hearty, concentrated foodin a meal, as a rule, with the exception that various fats and oils inmoderation are allowable as dressings for fruits, vegetables andstarches; that much fat or oil retards the digestion of the rest of thefood; that the habitual combining of acid food with foods heavy instarch is a trouble-maker; that concentrated starchy foods should betaken not to exceed twice a day; that the heating, stimulating foodsrich in protein, which include nearly all meats, should be taken onlyonce a day in winter, and less in summer; that either raw fruit or rawvegetables should be a part of the daily food intake, because the saltsthey contain are essential to health; that fats should be used sparinglyin summer, but more freely in winter; that juicy fruits are to be usedliberally in summer and sparingly in winter, when the sweet fruits areto take their place a part of the time. 

The dried sweet fruits are quite different from the fresh juicy ones. The former serve more the purpose of the starches than that of fruits. They are rich in sugar, which produces heat and energy. The same is trueof the banana, which is about one-fifth sugar. It is not as sweet aswould be expected from this fact. Some sugars are sweeter than others. This you can easily verify by tasting some milk sugar and then takingthe same amount of commercial sugar made of cane or beets. 

The food need in summer is surprisingly small, so small that the averageperson will scarcely believe it. Some writers on dietetics advise eatingas much in summer as in winter. How they can do so it is difficult tounderstand, for reason tells us that in summertime practically no foodis needed for heating purposes, and that is how most of the food isused. A little experience and experiment show that reason is right. Nature herself confirms this fact, for at the tropics she has made iteasy for man to subsist on fruits, while in the polar regions shefurnishes him the most heating of all foods, fats. 

Because fats are so concentrated it is very easy to take too much ofthem. An ounce of butter contains as much nourishment as abouttwenty-five ounces of watermelon. Those who simplify their cooking andtheir combining and partake of food in moderation are repaid many timesover in improved health. It is necessary to supply good buildingmaterial in proper form if we would have health. 

CHAPTER XX. 

DRINK. 

There is but one real beverage and that is water. The other so-calledbeverages are foods, stimulants or sedatives. Milk is a rich food, oneglass having as much food value as two eggs. Coffee, tea, chocolate andcocoa are stimulants, with sedative after-effects. Their food valuedepends largely on the amount of milk, cream and sugar put into them. Chocolate and cocoa are both drugs and foods. Alcohol is a stimulant atfirst, afterwards a sedative, and at all times an anesthetic. 

When we think of drinking for the sake of supplying the bodily need offluid, we should think of water and nothing else. If other liquids aretaken, they should be taken as foods or drugs. 

Water is the best solvent known. The alchemists of old spent much timeand energy trying to find the universal solvent, believing thatthereafter it would be easy to discover a method of making base metalsnoble. But they never found anything better than water. Water is thecompound that in its various forms does most to change the earth uponwhich we live, and it is more necessary for the continuation of lifethan anything else except air. 

Pure water does not exist in nature, that is, we have never found acompound of the composition H2O. Water always contains other matter. Thevarious salts are dissolved in it and it absorbs gases. The nearest wecome to pure water is distilled. Pure water is an unsatisfied compound, and as soon as it is exposed it begins to absorb gases and take up saltsand organic matter. 

Pure water differs from clean water. Clean or potable water is acompound which contains a moderate amount of salts, but very little oforganic matter. Bacteria should be practically absent. Water thatcontains much of nitrogenous substances is unfit to use. 

If the water is very hard, heavily loaded with salts, it should not beused extensively as a drink, for if too much of earthy and mineralmatter is taken into the system, the body is unable to get rid of all ofthem. The result is a tendency for deposits to form in the body. Inplaces where the water is excessively charged with lime it has beennoticed that the bones harden too early, which prevents full developmentof the body. If the bones of the skull are involved, it means that therewill not be room enough for the brain. Such diseases are rare in thiscountry, but in parts of Europe they are not uncommon. If the water isvery hard, a good plan is to distill it and then add a little of thehard water to the distilled water. 

People who partake of an excessive amount of various salts can perhapsdrink distilled water to advantage, but those who take but a normalamount of the salts in their foods should have natural water. 

Water forms three-fourths of the human body, more or less. It is neededin every process that goes on within the body. "To be dry is to die. "Water keeps the various vital fluids in solution so that they canperform their function. Without water there would be no sense of taste, no digestion, no absorption of food, no excretion of debris, and henceno life. The water is the vehicle through which the nutritive elementsare distributed to the billions of cells of the body, and it is also thevehicle which carries the waste to the various excretory organs. 

We can live several weeks without food, but only a few days withoutwater. 

Hot water and ice-cold water are both irritants. Water may be takeneither warm or cool. It is best to avoid the extremes. 

The amount of water needed each twenty-four hours varies according tocircumstances. Two quarts is a favorite prescription. Those who eatfreely of succulent fruits and vegetables do not need as much as thosewho live more on dry foods. Salt in excess calls for an abnormal amountof water, for salt is a diuretic, robbing the tissues of their fluidsand consequently more water has to be taken to keep up the equilibrium. 

Naturally, more water is required when the weather is hot than when itis cool. On hot days warm water is more satisfying and quenches thirstmore quickly than ice water. Warm water also stimulates kidney action, which is often sluggish in summer. Ice water is the least satisfactoryof all, for the more one drinks the more he wants. 

A normal body calls for what water it needs, and no more. An abnormalbody is no guide for either the amount of food or drink necessary. Manypeople do not like the taste of water, especially in the morning. Thismeans that the body is diseased. To a normal person cool water is alwaysagreeable when it is needed, and it is needed in the morning. Peoplewith natural taste do not care for ice water, but other water isrelished. 

The common habit of drinking with meals is a mistake. Man is the onlyanimal that does this, and he has to pay dearly for such errors. Takinga bite of food and washing it down with fluid lead to undermasticationand overeating, and then the body suffers from autointoxication. Amouthful of food followed by a swallow of liquid forces the contents ofthe mouth into the stomach before the saliva has the opportunity to act. 

The best way is to drink one or two glasses of water in the morningbefore breakfast. Partake of the breakfast, and all other meals, withouttaking any liquid. Sometimes there is a desire for a drink immediatelyafter the meal is finished. If so, take some water slowly. If it istaken slowly a little will satisfy. If it is gulped down it may benecessary to take one or two glasses of water before being satisfied. 

Those who have a tendency to drink too much during warm weather willfind very slow drinking helpful in correcting it. If there is anydigestive weakness, the liquid taken immediately after a meal should bewarm and should not exceed a cupful. Those with robust digestion maytake cool water. 

Cold water chills the stomach. Digestion will not take place until thestomach has reached the temperature of about one hundred degreesFahrenheit again, and if the stomach contents are chilled repeatedly thetendency is strong for the food to ferment pathologically, instead ofbeing properly digested. For this reason it is not well to drink whilethere is anything left in the stomach to digest. As stomach digestiongenerally takes two or three hours at least, it is well to wait thislong before taking water after finishing a meal, and then drink all thatis desired until within thirty minutes of taking the next meal. If thethirst should become very insistent before two or three hours haveelapsed since eating, take warm water. Those who eat food simplyprepared and moderately seasoned are not troubled much with excessivethirst. 

Two quarts of water daily should be sufficient for the adults underordinary conditions. Here, as in eating, no exact amount will fiteverybody. Make a habit of drinking at least a glass of water beforebreakfast, cleaning the teeth and rinsing the mouth before swallowingany, and then take what water the body asks for during the rest of theday. Taking too much water is not as injurious as overeating, butwaterlogging the body has a weakening effect. 

To drink with the meals is customary, not because it is necessary, butbecause we have a number of drinks which appeal to many people. Water isthe drink par excellence. 

A food-beverage that is used by many is cambric tea, which is made ofhot water, one-third or one-fourth of milk and a little sweetening. Children generally like this on account of the sweetness. It may betaken with any meal, when fluid is needed, but the amount should belimited to a cupful. It is not well to dilute the digestive juices toomuch. 

The water taken in the morning helps to start the body to cleanseitself. Water drinking is a great aid in overcoming constipation. Constipated people generally overeat. Less food and more water willprove helpful in overcoming the condition. 

Unfortunately for the race, we have accustomed ourselves to partake ofbeverages containing injurious, poisonous substances. Inasmuch as thisis the place to discuss the drugs contained in coffee and tea, I shalltake the liberty of dwelling upon other habit-forming substances in thesame chapter. They are all a part of the drug addictions of the race. For scientific discussion of these various substances I refer you totechnical works. In this chapter will be found only a discussion oftheir relation to people's welfare, that is, to health and efficiency. 

Coffee, tea and chocolate contain a poisonous alkaloid which isgenerally called caffeine. The theine in tea and the theobromine incocoa are so similar to caffeine that chemists can not differentiatethem. These drinks when first taken cause a gentle stimulation underwhich more work can be done than ordinarily, but this is followed by areaction, and then the powers of body and mind wane so much that theaverage output of work is less than when the body is not stimulated. Thetemporary apparently beneficial effect is more than offset by thereaction and therefore partaking of these beverages makes peopleinefficient. Coffee is very hard on the nerves, causing irritation, which is always followed by premature physical degeneration. 

Experiments of late indicate that children who use coffee do not come upto the physical and mental standard of those who abstain. The effect onthe adults is not so marked because adults are more stable thanchildren. 

Those who are not used to coffee will be unable to sleep for severalhours after partaking of a cup. Some people drink so much of it thatthey become accustomed to it. 

Coffee is not generally looked upon as one of the habit-forming drugs, but it is. However, of all the drugs which create a craving in thesystem for a repetition of the dose, coffee makes the lightest fetters. It is surprising how often health-seekers inform the adviser that they"can not get along without coffee. " If they would take a cup a few timesa year, it would do no harm, but the daily use is harmful to all, evenif they feel no bad effects and make it "very weak, " which is a favoritestatement of the women. 

Smoking, drinking beer and drinking coffee have a tendency to overcomeconstipation in those who are not accustomed to these things, but theiraction can not be depended upon for any length of time and the cure isworse than the disease. 

Tea drinking has much the same effect as coffee drinking, except that itis decidedly constipating. Perhaps this is because there is considerableof the astringent tannin in the tea leaves. 

Chocolate is a valuable food. Those who eat of other aliments inmoderation may partake of chocolate without harm, but if chocolate isused in addition to an excess of other food, the results are bad. Thechocolate is so rich that it soon overburdens some of the organs ofdigestion, especially the liver. The Swiss consume much of this food andit is valuable in cases where it is necessary to carry concentratedrations. 

Alcohol in some form seems to have been consumed by even very primitivepeople as far back as history goes. The Bible records an early case ofintoxication from wine, and beer was brewed by the ancient Egyptians. Somuch has been consumed that some people have a subconscious craving forit. There are cases on record where the very first drink caused anuncontrollable demand for the drug. Fortunately these cases are veryrare. 

Alcohol is really not a stimulant, though it gives a feeling of glow, warmth and well-being at first, but this is followed by a great loweringof physical power, which gives rise to disagreeable sensations. Then thedrinker needs more alcohol to stimulate him again. Then there is anotherdepression with renewed demand: There is no end to the craving for thedrug once it has mastered the individual. The lungs, heart, digestiveorgans, muscles, in fact, every structure in the body loses workingcapacity. Alcohol seems to have a special affinity for nervous tissue. 

A glass of beer or wine taken daily is no more harmful than a cup ofcoffee per day, but the coffee drinker does not make of himself such apublic nuisance and menace as the man often does who drinks alcohol toexcess. 

Formerly it was respectable to drink. Some of our most noted public menwere drunkards. Now a drunkard could not maintain himself in a prominentpublic position very long. To drink like a gentleman was no disgrace. Now real gentlemen do not get drunk. 

In backward Russia they are becoming alarmed about the inroads of vodka, and are trying to decrease its consumption. France is trying to teachtotal abstinence to its young men because it disqualifies so many ofthem from military service to drink. Scandinavia is temperanceterritory. The German Kaiser has recently given a warning againstdrinking. The United States discourages drinking in the army and navy. Field armies are not supplied with alcoholics. Drinking is becomingdisreputable. 

It is very difficult to prove the harm done by excessive drinking of teaand coffee, also by the use of much tobacco, even if we do know that itis so. Everyone knows something about the deleterious effect of alcoholupon the consumer. Solomon wrote: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink israging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Who hath woundswithout cause? Who hath redness of eyes?"

Alcohol permanently impairs both body and mind. Depending on how much istaken, it may cause various ills, ranging from inflammation of thestomach to insanity. It reduces the power of the mind to concentrate andit diminishes the ability of the muscles to work. It reduces theresistance of the body and shortens life. Its first effect is to lullthe higher faculties to sleep. 

Most drunkards do not recover from their disease, for drunkenness is adisease. The various drugs given to cure the afflictions are delusions. Strengthening the body, mind and the will and instilling higher idealsare the best methods of cure. Suggestive therapeutics, and the awakeningof a strong resolve for a better life are powerful aids. Proper feedingshould not be overlooked, for bad habits do not flourish in a healthybody. 

Civilization necessitates self-control and considerable self-denial. Those who go in the line of least resistance are on the road todestruction. It is often necessary to overcome habits which producetemporary gratification of the senses. 

According to Warden Tynan of the Colorado Penitentiary, 96 per cent. Ofthe prisoners are brought there because they use alcohol. It is alsowell known that moral lapses are most common when the will is weakenedthrough the use of liquor. Those who have the welfare of the race atheart are therefore compelled to give considerable thought to thissubject. According to past experience, it will not help to try tolegislate sobriety into the people. Education and industrialism are thefactors which it seems to me will be most potent in solving the alcoholproblem. Morality, which in the last analysis is a form of selfishness, will teach many that it is poor policy to reduce one's efficiency andthereby reduce the earning capacity and enjoyment of life. 

More and more the employers of labor will realize that the use ofalcohol decreases the reliability and worth of the worker. Many willtake steps like the following:

"In formal recognition of the fact, established beyond dispute by thetests of the new psychology, that industrial efficiency decreases withindulgence in alcohol and is increased by abstinence from it, themanagers of a manufacturing establishment in Chester, Penn. , haveattacked the temperance problem from a new angle. 

"Unlike many railways and some other corporations, they do not forbidtheir employees to drink, but they offer 10 per cent. Advance in wagesto all who will take and keep--the teetotaler's pledge. Incidentally, abreaking of the promise will mean a permanent severance of relations, but there is no emphasizing of that point, it being confidently expectedthat the advantage of perfect sobriety will be as well realized on oneside as on the other. "

Business has during the past two centuries been the great civilizer, thegreat moral teacher. It has found that honesty and righteousness pay andthat injustice is folly. Business has led the way to the acceptance of anew ethics, and new morals. 

What has been said about alcohol applies to tobacco in a much smallerdegree. The use of tobacco seems to lead to the use of alcohol. Itretards the development of children. It is surely one of the causes ofvarious diseases. Tobacco heart, sore throat and indigestion are wellknown to physicians. 

Tobacco contains one of the deadliest of poisons known. One-sixteenth ofa grain of nicotine may prove fatal. The reason there are so few deathsfrom acute tobacco poisoning is that but very little of the nicotine isabsorbed. 

Men who chew tobacco make themselves disagreeable to others. Smoking ofcigarettes is to be condemned not only because it poisons the body, butcauses inattention and inability to concentrate on the part of thesmoker, as well. Every little while he feels the desire to take a smoke, and if smoking is forbidden he devises means of getting away. He robshis employer of time for which he is paid and injures himself. 

The ability to work is decreased by indulgence in smoking. Recentexperiments show that for a short time there is increased activity aftera smoke, but the following depression is greater than the stimulation, so there is an actual loss. 

A few years ago, according to Mr. Wilson, who was then Secretary ofAgriculture, there were about 4, 000, 000 drug addicts or "dope fiends" inthe United States. Without doubt this estimate was too high, for theproportion of addicts in the country is not as great as in the largecities. The drugs chiefly used are cocaine, opium, laudanum, morphineand heroin. These drugs are much more destructive than alcohol. Cocaineand heroin are the worst. It is very difficult to stop using any of themonce the habit has been formed. Nearly every "fiend" dies directly orindirectly from the effect of his particular drug. Every one weakens thebody so that there is not much resistance to offer to acute diseases. Every one destroys the will power so that a cure is exceedinglydifficult. 

It is well to bear in mind that all are not possessed of strong enoughwill power to resist their cravings and that some take to cocaine whenthey can not get liquor. Cocaine is far worse than alcohol. 

People should be very careful about taking patent medicines. There is noexcuse for taking them. The most popular ones have as their basis one ofthe habit-forming drugs. 

Most of the soothing syrups contain opium in some form. To give babiesopiates is a grave error, to speak mildly. It weakens the child, may laythe foundation for a deadly habit later in life, and often an overdosekills outright. Well informed mothers avoid such drugs and keep theirchildren reasonably quiet by means of proper care. 

Many of the remedies for nasal catarrh and hay fever contain muchcocaine. Cocaine is an astringent and a painkiller and people mistakethe temporary lessening of discharge from the nose and disappearance ofpain for curative effects. But there is nothing curative about it. In ashort time the mucous membrane relaxes again and then the discharge isre-established. The nerves which were put out of commission resume theirfunction and then the pain reappears. 

Opium or one of its derivatives is generally present in the patentmedicines given for coughs. Opium is also an astringent and willsuppress secretions, but this is not a cure. Excessive secretions are anindication that the body is surcharged with poison and food. Let themescape and then live so that there will be internal cleanliness and thenthere will be no more coughs and colds. 

The unfortunate people who get into the habit of using these drugsdegenerate physically, mentally and morally. They need more and more oftheir drug to produce the desired effect until they at last take enoughdaily to kill several normal men. Sometimes they are able to keepeverybody in ignorance of what they are doing for years. They developslyness and secretiveness. They become very suspicious. They are nearlyalways untruthful, and those who deal with them are surprised and wonderwhy those who used to be open and above-board now are furtive anddishonest. They often lie when there is not the slightest excuse for it. The moral disintegration is often the first sign noticed. 

After habitually using any of these drugs for a while the body demandsthe continuation and if the victim is deprived of his accustomed portionthere will be a collapse with intense suffering. Every tortured nerve inthe body seems to call out for the drug. The victim will do anything toget his drug. He will lie, steal, and he may even attack those who arecaring for him. For the time being he is insane. 

Many professional men use cocaine. It is a favorite with writers. Itoften shows in their work. Those who write under the inspiration of thisdrug often do some good work, but they are unable to keep to theirsubject. Their writings lack order. We have enough of such writings tohave them classified as "cocaine literature. "

If there are 4, 000, 000, or even fewer, of these people in our land, itis a serious problem, for every one is a degenerate, to a certaindegree. If the medical profession and the druggists would co-operate itwould be easy enough to prevent the growth of a new crop of dope fiends. Of course, people would have to stop taking patent medicines, whichoften start the victims on the road to degeneration. Then the physiciansshould stop prescribing habit-forming drugs, as well as all other drugs, and teach the people that physical, mental and moral salvation comethrough right living and right thinking. 

Unfortunately the medical profession is careless and is responsible forthe existence of many of the drug addicts. A patient has a severe pain. What is the easiest way to satisfy him? To give a hypodermic injectionof some opiate. The patient, not realizing the danger, demands apain-killer every time he suffers. He soon learns what he is getting andthen he goes to the drug store and outfits himself with a hypodermicoutfit and drugs, and the first thing he knows he is a slave, in bondagefor life. This is no exaggeration. There are hundreds of thousands ofvictims to the drug habit who trace their downfall to the treatmentreceived at the hands of reputable physicians, who do not look upontheir practice with the horror it should inspire because it is socommon. Doctors do not always bury their mistakes. Some of them walkabout for years. 

In spite of laws against the sale of various drugs, they can beobtained. There are doctors and druggists of easy conscience who arevery accommodating, for a price. 

There is no legitimate need for the use of one-hundredth of the amountof these drugs that is now consumed. A local injection of cocaine for aminor operation is justifiable, but none of the habit-forming drugsshould be used in ordinary practice to kill pain, for the properapplication of water in conjunction with right living will do it betterand there are no evil after effects. Massage is often sufficient. 

To show a little more clearly how some people become addicted to drugs, let us consider one of the latest, heroin: A few years ago this drug, which is an opium derivative, was practically unknown. It is muchstronger than morphine and consequently the effect can be obtained morequickly by means of a smaller dose. Physicians thought at first that itwas not a habit-forming drug, for they could use it over a longer periodof time than they could employ morphine, without establishing thecraving and the habit. So they began to prescribe heroin instead ofmorphine, and many a morphine addict was advised to substitute heroin. All went well for a short while, until the victims found that they wereenslaved by a drug that was even worse than morphine. Now, thankschiefly to the medical profession, it is estimated that we have in ourland several hundred thousand heroin addicts. Sallow of face, gaunt offigure, looking upon the world through pin-point pupils, with all oflife's beauty, hope and joy gone, they are marching to premature death. 

The medical profession furnishes more than its proportion of drugaddicts. They know the danger of the drugs, but familiarity breedscontempt. If the public but knew how many of their medical advisers, whoshould always be clear-minded, are befuddled by drugs, there would be agreat awakening. One eminent physician who has now been in practiceabout forty-five years and has had much experience with drug addicts, has said that according to his observations, about one physician in fourcontracts the drug habit. I believe this is exaggerated, but I amacquainted with a number of physicians who are addicts. 

Physicians who smoke do not condemn the practice. Those who drink arelikely to prescribe beer and wine for their patients. Those who areaddicted to drugs use them too liberally in their practice. 

Those who have watched the effects of the various drugs, from coffee toheroin, must condemn their use. It is true that an occasional cup ofcoffee or tea, a glass of wine or beer does no harm. A cigarette a weekwould not hurt a boy, nor would on occasional cigar harm a man. But howmany people are willing to indulge occasionally? The rule is that theyindulge not only daily, but several times a day, and the results arebad. One bad habit leads to another, and the time always comes when itis a choice between disease and early death on one hand, and the givingup of the bad habits on the other, and when this time comes the bonds ofhabits are often so strong that the victim is unable to break them. 

I realize that knowledge will not always keep people out of temptationand that some individuals will take the broad way that leads todestruction in spite of anything that may be said. Youth is impatient ofrestraint and ever anxious for new experiences. Regarding this seriousmatter of destructive drug use, much could be done by teaching peopletheir place in society: That is, what they owe to themselves, theirfamilies and the public in general. In other words, teach the youngpeople the higher selfishness, part of which consists of considerableself-control, self-denial and self-respect. 

Drugs are too easy to obtain today. Some day people will be soenlightened that they will not allow themselves to be medicated. This isthe trend of the times. Until such a time comes, society should protectitself by making it very difficult to get any of the habit-formingdrugs. If necessary, the free hand of the physician should be stayed. Much of the confidence blindly given him is misplaced. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

CARE OF THE SKIN. 

The skin is neglected and abused. Very few realize how important it isto give this organ the necessary attention. If we were living today asour ancestors doubtless lived, we could neglect the skin, as they did. They wore little or no clothing. The skin, which formerly was veryhairy, served as protection. It was exposed to the elements, whichtoughened it and kept it active. 

Today most people give the skin too great protection, and thus weakenit. The result is that it degenerates and partly loses its function withconsequent detriment to the individual's health. 

A normal skin has a very soft feel, imparting to the fingers a pleasant, vital sensation. It either has color or suggests color. An abnormal skinpleases neither the sense of seeing nor feeling. It may feel inert or itmay be inflamed. 

The skin is a beautiful and complex structure. It is made up of an outerlayer called the epidermis and an inner layer, the true skin or corium, which rests upon a subcutaneous layer, composed principally of fat andconnective tissue. 

The epidermis is divided into four layers. It has no blood-vessels andno nerves, but is nourished by lymph which escapes from the vesselsdeeper in the skin. It is simply protective in nature. 

The true skin is made up of two indistinct layers, which harbor a vastmultitude of nerves, blood-vessels and lymph-vessels. 

In the skin there are two kinds of glands, the sebaceous and the sweatglands. The sebaceous glands are, as a general rule, to be found ingreatest numbers on the hairiest parts of the body and are absent fromthe palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. They throw off asecretion known as sebum, which is made up principally of dead cellsthat have undergone fatty degeneration and of other debris. The sebumserves as lubricant. It is generally discharged near or at the shaft ofa hair. 

The sweat glands discharge on the average from one and one-half to twopounds of perspiration per day, more in hot weather and much less whenit is cool. They are distributed over the whole external surface of thebody. According to Krause there are almost 2, 400, 000 of them. They carryoff water and carbonic acid gas chiefly. 

The functions of the skin are: To protect the underlying structures; toregulate the heat; to serve as an organ of respiration; to serve as anorgan of touch and thermal sensation; to secrete and eliminate varioussubstances from the body; to absorb. 

The heat regulation is quite automatic. When the external temperature ishigh there is a relaxation of the skin. The pores open, the perspirationgoes to the surface and evaporates, thus cooling the body. When thesurface is cool the skin contracts, closing the pores and conserving theheat. Radiation always takes place, except when the temperature is veryhigh. 

The sensation of touch and the ability to feel heat and cold protect usfrom untold numbers of dangers. They are a part of the equipment whichenables us to adjust our selves to our environment. 

The secretions and excretions are perspiration and sebum. These containwater, carbonic acid, urea, buturic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, salts, the chief being sodium chloride, and many other substances. 

The respiratory function consists in the absorption of a small amount ofoxygen and the giving off of some carbonic acid. 

A small amount of water can be absorbed by the skin. Oils can also beabsorbed. In case of malnutrition in children, olive-oil rubs are oftenhelpful. This absorptive function is taken advantage of by physicianswho rub various medicaments into the skin. Mercury enough to producesalivation can be absorbed in this way. 

From the above it will be seen that the skin is not only complex instructure, but has many functions. It is impossible to have perfecthealth without a good skin. Under civilized conditions a healthy skincan not be had without giving it some care. The average person has askin that shows lack of care. Fortunately, but little care is needed. 

A bath should be taken often enough to ensure cleanliness. Warm waterand soap need not be used more than once or twice a week under ordinaryconditions. If the soap causes itching, it is well to use a small amountof olive oil on the body afterwards, rubbing it in thoroughly, and goingover the body with a soft cloth after the oil rub, thus removing the oilwhich would otherwise soil the clothes. If the skin is not kept clean, the millions of pores are liable to be partly stopped up, which resultsin the retention of a part of the excretory matter within the skin, where it may cause enough irritation to produce some form of cutaneousdisorder, or the skin may through disuse become so inactive that toomuch work is thrown upon the other excretory organs, which may alsobecome diseased from overwork and excessive irritation. 

Soaps are irritants. Tallow soaps and olive oil soaps are lessirritating than other varieties. Whatever kind of soap is used, itshould be rinsed off thoroughly, for if some of it is left in the poresof the skin roughness or even mild inflammation may ensue. Be especiallycareful about the soap used for babies, avoiding all highly colored andcheap perfumed soaps. 

Whether to take a daily sponge bath or not is a matter of no greatimportance, and each individual can safely suit himself. If there isquick reaction and a feeling of warmth and well-being following a coldsponge, it is all right. If the skin remains blue and refuses to reactfor a long time, the cold sponge bath is harmful. The cold plunge isalways a shock, and no matter how strong a person may be, frequentrepetition is not to be recommended. People who take cold plunges saythat they do no harm, but it is well to remember that life is not merelya matter of today and tomorrow, but of next year, or perhaps forty, fifty or sixty years from today. A daily shock may cause heart diseasein the course of twenty or thirty years. 

A good way to take a cold bath is to get under a warm shower andgradually turn off the warm water. Then stand under the cold shower longenough to rinse well the entire surface of the body. 

Those who take cold sponge baths in winter and find them severe, shouldprecede the sponging in cold water with a quick sponging off with tepidwater, and they should always take these baths in a warm room. 

After all baths give the body a good dry rubbing, using brisk movements. Bath towels, flesh brushes or the open hands may be used for the dryrubbing. 

The sponge bath has practically no value as a cleanser. Its chief virtueconsists in stimulating the circulation of the blood and the lymph inthe skin. In summer it is cooling. It is important to have good surfacecirculation, but this can be attained as well by means of dry rubbing. The rubbing is more important than wetting the skin. A skin that isrubbed enough becomes so active that it practically cleans itself, andit protects against colds and other diseases. Some advocate dispensingwith the bath entirely, but that is going to extremes. Cleanliness isworth while for the self-respect it gives the individual. 

Hot baths are weakening and relaxing, hence weak people should not staylong in the hot bath. Cold baths are stimulating to strong people anddepressing to those who do not react well from them. Swimming is fardifferent from taking a cold bath. A person who can swim with benefitand comfort for twenty minutes would have a chill, perhaps, if heremained for five minutes in the bath tub in water of the sametemperature. Swimming is such an active exercise that it aids thecirculation, keeping the blood pretty well to the surface in spite ofthe chilling effect of the water. 

If a very warm bath is taken, there should be plenty of fresh air in thebath room and it is well to sip cold water while in the bath and keep acloth wrung out of cold water on the forehead. People who are threatenedwith a severe cold or pneumonia can give themselves no better treatmentthan to take a hot bath, as hot as they can stand it, lasting forone-half hour to an hour, drinking as much warm water as can be takenwith comfort both before and after getting into the tub. This bath mustbe taken in very warm water, otherwise it will do no good. It isweakening and relaxing, but through its relaxing influence it equalizesthe circulation of the blood, bringing much to the surface that wascrowding the lungs and other internal organs, thus causing the dangerouscongestion that so often ends in pneumonia. After the bath wrap up wellso that the perspiration will continue for some time. When the sweatingis over, get into dry clothes and remain in bed for six to eight hours. To make assurance doubly sure, give the bowels a good cleaning out witheither enemas or cathartics, or both. Then eat nothing until you arecomfortable. Such treatment would prevent much pneumonia and manydeaths. The best preventive is to live so that sudden chilling does notproduce pneumonia or other diseases, which it will not do in goodhealth. 

People with serious diseases of the heart, arteries or of the kidneysshould not take protracted or severe baths. 

To sum up the use of water on the skin: Use enough to be clean. No moreis necessary. The application of water should be followed by thoroughdrying and dry rubbing. If the reaction is poor, do not remain in coldwater long enough to produce chilling. As a rule thin people should usebut little cold water, and they should never remain long in cold water. 

Water intelligently applied to the skin in disease is a splendid aid incleansing the system. It is surprising what a great amount of impuritycan be drawn from the body by means of wet packs. However, this is atreatise on health, so we shall not go into details here regardinghydrotherapy. 

No matter what one's ideas may be on the subject of bathing, there canhardly be more than one opinion regarding the application of dryfriction to the skin. Those who have noted its excellent results feelthat it should be a daily routine. It should be practiced either morningor evening, or both. From five to ten minutes spent thus daily will payhigh dividends in health. A vigorous rubbing is exercise not only forthe skin, but for nearly every muscle in the body. 

The dry rubbing keeps the surface circulation vigorous. The surfacecirculation, and especially the circulation in the hands and the feet, is the first part that begins to stagnate. Blood stagnation means thebeginning of the process which results in old age. In other words, dryfriction to the skin helps to preserve health and youth. Skin that isnot exercised often becomes very hard and scales off particles ofmineral matter. 

If women would put less dependence on artificial beautifiers and more onscientific massage, they would get much better results. They would avoidmany a wrinkle and save their complexions. The neck and the face shouldnever be massaged downwards. The strokes should be either upwards orfrom side to side, the side strokes generally being toward the medianline. Such massaging will prevent the sagging of the face muscles foryears and help to keep the face free from wrinkles and young inappearance. The massaging should be rather gentle, for if it is toovigorous the tendency is to remove the normal amount of fat that padsand rounds out the face. Men can do the same thing, but most men have noobjection to wrinkles. 

However, most men do object to baldness, which can be prevented innearly every case. To produce hair on a polished pate is a differentproposition. It is indeed difficult. If you will look at a picture ofthe circulation of the blood in the scalp, you will notice that thearteries supplying it come from above the eye sockets in front, frombefore and behind the ears on the sides, and from the nape of the neckin the rear. They spread out and become smaller and smaller as theytravel toward the top of the head, and especially toward the back. Thescalp is well supplied with blood, but it is not given much exercise. The tendency is for the blood stream to become sluggish, depositsgradually forming in the walls of the blood-vessels, which make themless elastic and decrease the size of the lumen. The result is less foodfor the hair roots and food of inferior quality. 

This process of cutting off the circulation in the scalp is largelyaided by the tight hats and caps worn by men, which compress theblood-vessels. It is quite noticeable that people with round heads havea greater tendency to become bald than those with more irregular heads. The reason is probably that the hats fit more snugly on the round-headedpeople. There are many exceptions. Women are not so prone to baldness asmen, because they wear hats that do not exclude the air from the hairnor do they compress the blood-vessels. 

Let those men who dislike to lose their hair massage the scalp for ashort while daily, beginning above the eyes, in front of the ears and atthe nape of the neck and going to the top of the head. Then let themwear as sensible hats as possible, avoiding those that exert greatpressure on the blood-vessels that feed the scalp. Thus they will notonly be able to retain their hair much longer than otherwise, but thehair that is well fed does not fade as early as that which lives on halfrations. 

In the case of preserving the hair, an ounce of prevention is worth aton of cure. The man who can produce a satisfactory hair restorer thatwill give results without any effort on the part of the men can become amillionaire in a short time. 

The hair is a modified form of skin. Each hair is supplied with blood, and the reason that the hair stands up during intense fear is that tothe lower part of the shaft is attached a little muscle. During fearthis contracts, as do other involuntary muscles, and then the hairstands up straight instead of being oblique. 

As a rule people protect the skin too much. The best protection theyhave against cold is a good circulation. With a poor circulation it isdifficult to keep warm in spite of much clothing. Coldness is alsolargely a state of mind. People get the idea of cold into the head andthen it is almost impossible for them to keep warm. On the same winterday we may see a man in a thick overcoat trying to shrink into himself, shivering, while a lady passes blithely by, with her bosom bared to thewind. 

The face tolerates the cold, because it is used to it, the neck and theupper part of the chest likewise, and so it would be with the skin ofthe entire body if we accustomed it to be exposed. We use too heavyclothes. It is a mistake to hump the back and draw in the shouldersduring cold weather, for this reduces the lung capacity, thus deprivingthe body of its proper amount of oxygen. The result is that there is notenough combustion to produce the necessary amount of heat. 

Wool is warm covering, the best we have. However, it is very irritatingto the skin and has a tendency to make the wearer too warm. It does notdry out readily. Consequently the wearer remains damp a long time afterperspiring. The result is a moist, clammy skin. A skin thus pampered indamp warmth becomes delicate, and like other hot-house products unableto hold its own when exposed to inclement weather. A good way to takecold easily is to wear wool next to the skin. The best recipe forgetting cold feet is to wear woolen stockings. Wear cotton or linen orsilk next to the skin. Cotton is satisfactory and cheap. Linen isexcellent, but a good suit of linen underwear is too costly for theaverage purse. Remie, said to be the linen of the Bible, is highlyrecommended by some. 

Those working indoors should wear the same kind of underwear summer andwinter, and it should be very light. If people use heavy underwear inheated rooms, they become too warm. The consequence is that when they goout doors they are chilled, and if they are not in good physicalcondition colds and other diseases generally result. By wearing outergarments according to climatic conditions one can easily get all theprotection necessary. Those who take the proper food and enough exerciseand dry friction of the skin will not require or desire an excessiveamount of clothing. The feel of the wintry blast on the skin is notdisagreeable. 

If we would only give the skin more exercise, through rubbing, and morefresh air, we would soon discard much of our clothing, and wear butenough to make a proper and modest appearance in public, with extracovering on cold days. Nothing can be much more ridiculous anduncomfortable than a man in conventional attire on a hot summer's day. 

Of course, thin, nervous people should not expose themselves too much tothe cold. 

Most of the diseases known by the name of skin diseases, are digestivetroubles and blood disorders manifesting in the skin. As soon as thesystemic disease upon which they depend disappears, these so-called skindiseases get well. Erysipelas is one of the so-called germ diseases, butit is controlled very quickly by a proper diet. It can not occur inpeople until they have ruined their health by improper living. Pureblood will not allow the development of the streptococcus erysipelatisin sufficient numbers to cause trouble. First the disease develops andthen the germ comes along and multiplies in great numbers, giving ittype. 

Acne, which is very common for a few years after puberty, shows a badcondition of the blood. Even during the changes that occur at puberty nodisease will manifest in healthy boys and girls. About this time theyoung people eat excessively, the result being indigestion and impureblood. The changes that occur in the skin make it a favorable place forirritations to manifest. Let the boys and girls eat so that they havebright eyes and clean tongues and there will be very little trouble fromdisfiguring pimples. 

Eczema is generally curable by means of proper diet and the same is trueof nearly all skin diseases that afflict infants. 

There are diseases of the skin due to local irritants, such as thevarious forms of trade eczema, scabies (itch), and pediculosis(lousiness), but the fact remains that nearly all skin diseases fail todevelop if the individual eats properly, and most of them can be cured, after they have developed, by proper diet and attention to hygienegenerally. If the diet is such that irritants are manufactured in thealimentary tract and absorbed into the blood, and then excreted throughthe skin, where enough irritation is produced to cause disease, it isuseless to treat with powders and salves. 

Correct the dietetic errors and the skin will cure itself. Specialistsin skin diseases often fail because they treat this organ as anindependent entity, instead of considering it as a part of the bodywhose health depends mostly upon the general health. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

EXERCISE. 

Nature demands of us that we use our mental and physical powers in orderto get the best results. Man was made to be active. In former times hehad to earn his bread in the sweat of his face or starve. Now we haveevolved, or is it a partial degeneration, into a state where a sharpmind commands much more of the means of sustenance than does physicalexertion. The consequence is that many of those equipped with thekeenest minds fail to keep their bodies active. This helps to lessentheir resistance and produces early death. 

Some exercise is needed and the question is, how much is necessary andhow is it to be taken so that it will not degenerate into drudgery?There are very few with enough persistence to continue certainexercises, no matter how beneficial, if they become a grind. 

The amount required depends upon the circumstances. Ordinarily, a fewminutes of exercise each day, supplemented with some walking and deepbreathing will suffice. About five minutes of vigorous exercise nightand morning are generally enough to keep a person in good physicalcondition, if he is prudent otherwise. 

Many strive to build up a great musculature. This is a mistake, unlessthe intention is to become an exhibit for the sake of earning one'sliving. Big muscles do not spell health, efficiency and endurance. Evena dyspeptic may be able to build big muscles. What is needed for thework of life is not a burst of strength that lasts for a few moments andthen leaves the individual exhausted for the day, but the endurancewhich enables one to forge ahead day after day. 

It is generally dangerous to build up great muscles, for if theexercises that brought them into being are stopped, they begin todegenerate so fast that the system with difficulty gets rid of thepoisons. Then look out for one of the diseases of degeneration, such asinflammation of the kidneys or typhoid fever. 

The great muscles exhibited from time to time upon the variety stage andin circuses are not normal. Man is the only animal that develops them, and they are not brought about by ordinary circumstances. Once acquired, they prove a burden, for they demand much daily work to be kept incondition. 

Good muscles are more serviceable than extraordinary ones. Vigorousexercise is better than violent exercise. It is well known that many ofour picked athletes, men with great original physical endowment, dieyoung. The reason is that they have either been overdeveloped, or atsome time they have overtaxed their bodies so in a supreme effort atvanquishing their opponents that a part of the vital mechanism has beenseriously affected. Then when they settle down to business life theyfail to take good care of themselves and they degenerate rapidly. 

Exercising should not be a task, for then it is work. It should be of akind that interests and pleases the individual, for then it isaccompanied by that agreeable mental state from which great good willcome to the body. It is necessary for us to think enough of our bodiesto supply them with the activity needed for their welfare and we shoulddo this with good grace. 

Exercise enough to bring the various muscles into play and the heartinto vigorous action. Office workers should take exercises for the partof the body above the waist, plus some walking each day. All should takeenough exercise to keep the spine straight and pliable. Bendingexercises are good for this purpose, keeping the knees straight andtouching the floor with the fingers. Then bend backward as far aspossible. Then with hands on the hips rotate the body from the waist. 

It is very desirable to keep the body erect, for this gives the greatestamount of lung space, and gives the individual a noble, courageousappearance and feeling. The forward slouch is the position of the ape. It is not necessary to pay any attention to the shoulders, if the spineis kept in proper position, for the shoulders will then fall into theright place. Being straight is a matter of habit. No one can maintainthis position without some effort. At least, one has to make the effortto get and retain the habit. Most round-shouldered people could schoolthemselves in two or three months to be straight. 

Those who are moderate in eating need less exercise than others. Toogreat food intake requires much labor to work it off. When the food isbut enough to supply materials for repair, heat and energy, there is noneed of great effort to burn up the excess. To exercise much and long, then eat enough to compel more exercise, is a waste of good food, timeand energy. Be moderate in all things if you would have the best thatlife can give you. 

Always make deep breathing a part of the exercise. No matter what one'sphysical troubles may be, deep breathing will help to overcome them. Itwill help to cure cold feet by bringing more oxygen into the blood. Itwill help to drive away constipation by giving internal massage to thebowels. It will help to overcome torpid liver by the exercise given thatorgan. It will help to cure rheumatism by producing enough oxygen toburn up some of the foreign deposits in various parts of the body. As aneye-opener deep breathing has alcohol distanced. It costs nothing andhas only good after effects. Moreover, deep breathing takes no time. Adozen or more deep breaths can be taken morning and night, and everytime one steps into the fresh air, without taking one second from one'sworking time. To have health good blood is necessary, and this can notbe had without taking sufficient fresh air into the lungs. 

Proper clothing must also be taken into consideration in connection withbreathing and exercise. The clothes must be loose enough to allow freeplay to limbs, chest and abdomen. Men and women were not shaped to weartwo and three inch heels. Those who persist in this folly must pay theprice in discomfort and an unbalanced body. 

The time to take exercise depends upon circumstances. It is best not toindulge for at least one or two hours after a hearty meal, for exerciseinterferes with digestion. A very good plan is to take from five totwenty-five minutes of exercise, according to one's requirement, beforedressing in the morning and after undressing at night. Those who takeexercises in a gymnasium or have time for out door games will have nodifficulty in selecting proper time. 

Dumbbells, Indian clubs, weights, patent exercisers and gymnasium stuntsare all right for those who enjoy them. One thing to bear in mind isthat short, choppy movements are not as good as the larger movementsthat bring the big muscles into play. 

It is well to exercise until there is a comfortable feeling of fatigue. If this is done the heart works vigorously, sending the blood rapidly toall parts of the body, and the lungs also come into full play to supplythe needed oxygen. This acts as a tonic to the entire system. 

The body must be used to keep it from degenerating. A healthy body givescourage and an optimistic outlook upon life. A sluggish liver can hidethe most beautiful sunrise, but a healthy body gives the eye power tosee beauty on the most dreary day. 

Those who are not accustomed to exercise will be very, sore at first, ifthey begin too vigorously. The soreness can be avoided by taking but twoor three minutes at a time at first, and increasing until the desiredamount is taken daily. 

If the muscles get a little sore and stiff at first, do not quit, for bycontinuing the exercises, the soreness soon leaves. Many begin withgreat enthusiasm, which soon burns itself out. Excessive enthusiasm islike the burning love of those who "can't live" without the object oftheir affection. It burns so brightly that it soon consumes itself. Goto work at a rate that can be kept up. To exercise hard for a few weeksor a few months and then give it up will do no good in the end. However, a person may occasionally let a day or two pass by without takingexercise with benefit. Avoid getting into a monotonous grind. 

I believe that the very best exercises are those which are taken in thespirit of play. No matter who it is, if he or she will make the effort, time enough can be found occasionally to spend at least one-half of aday in the open, and this is very important. We can not long flourishwithout getting into touch with mother nature, and we need a few hourseach week without care and worry in her company. Many immediately say, "I can't. " Get rid of that negative attitude and say, "I can and Iwill. " See how quickly the obstacles melt away. There are many who areslaves to duty. They believe that they must grind away. They think theyare indispensable. The world got along very well before they were bornand it will roll on in the same old way after they are gathered to theirfathers. The thing to do is to break the bonds of the wrong mentalattitude and then both time and opportunity will be forthcoming. 

I shall comment on only a few of the outdoor exercises that areexcellent. 

Swimming is one of the finest. There is a great deal of differencebetween swimming and taking a bath in a tub. Some people cannot remainin the water long, but if they have any resistance at all and areactive, there will be no bad results. In swimming it is well to takevarious strokes, swimming on the back, on the side, and on the face. This brings nearly every muscle in the body into play and if the swimmerdoes not stay in too long it makes him feel fine. If a feeling ofchilliness or weariness is experienced, it is time to quit the water, dry off well and take a vigorous dry rub. Swims should always befollowed with considerable rubbing. The use of a little olive oil on thebody, and especially on the feet, is very grateful. No special rule canbe laid down for the duration of a swim, but very thin people shouldgenerally not remain in the water more than fifteen minutes, and stout, vigorous ones not over an hour. It is best not to go swimming until twohours have elapsed since the last meal. 

Every boy and every girl should be taught to swim, for it may be themeans of preserving their lives. It is not difficult. For the benefit ofthose who start the beginners with the rather tedious and tiresomebreast stroke, will say that the easiest way to teach swimming is to getthe learner to float on his back. I have taught boys to float in aslittle as three minutes, and after that everything else is easy. Whenthe beginner can float, he can easily start to paddle a little and makesome progress. Then he can turn on his side and learn the side stroke, which is one of the best. Then he can turn on the face and learn variousstrokes. This is not the approved way of learning to swim, but it is theeasiest and quickest way. 

To float simply means to get into balance in the water. It is necessaryto arch the body, making the spine concave posteriorly, and bending theneck well backward at first. In the beginning it is a great aid to fillthe lungs well and breathe rather shallow. This makes the body light inthe water. Tell the beginner that it does not make any differencewhether the feet sink or stay up. It is only necessary to keep the faceabove water while floating. If there is the slightest tendency to sink, bend the neck a little more, putting the head, farther back in thewater, instead of raising it, as most of the learners want to do. Remember that the trunk and neck must be kept well arched, the head wellback in the water. The moment the beginner doubles up at waist or hipsor bends the neck forward, raising the head, he sinks. 

For speed and fancy swimming professional instruction should beobtained. Swimming is one of the best all-round developers, as well asone of the most pleasant of exercises. 

Golf is no longer a rich man's game. The large cities have public links. For an office man it is a splendid game. Women can play it with equalbenefit. The full vigorous strokes, followed with a walk after the ball, then more strokes, exercise the entire body. It is good for young andold, and for people in all walks of life. 

Tennis is splendid for some people. Those who are very nervous andexcitable should play at something else, for they are apt to play toohard and use up too much energy. Overexercising is just as harmful asexcesses in other lines. Tennis requires quickness and is a good gamefor those who are inclined to be sluggish, for it wakes them up. 

Horseback riding is also a fine exercise. The companionship with anintelligent animal, the freedom, the fresh air, the scenery, all giveenjoyment of life, and the constant movement acts as a most delicioustonic. There is only one correct way to ride for both sexes, and that isastride. The side saddle position keeps the spine twisted so that ittakes away much of the benefit to be derived from riding. Out west theapproved manner of riding for women is astride. The women of the westmake a fine appearance on horseback. 

Tramping is possible for all. If there are hills to be climbed, ormountains, so much the better. Put on old clothes and old shoes and havean enjoyable time. Fine apparel under the circumstances spoils more thanhalf of the pleasure. 

Playing ball or bicycle riding may be indulged in with benefit. It isnot fashionable to ride on bicycles today, yet it is a pleasant mode ofcovering ground, and if the trunk is kept erect it is a good exercise. Jumping rope, playing handball, tossing the medicine ball and sawingwood are good forms of exercise and great fun. The spirit of play andgood will easily double the value of any exercise that is taken. 

Dancing is also good if the ventilation is adequate and the hours arereasonable. 

Under various conditions vicarious exercises are valuable, and by that Imean such forms of exercise as massage, osteopathic treatment orvibratory treatment. If anything is wrong with the spine, get anosteopath or a chiropractor. They can help to remedy such defects morequickly than anyone else. They are experts in adjustments and thrusts. 

Some people take exercises while lying in bed or on the floor. One goodexercise to take while lying on the back is to go through the motions ofriding a bicycle. Another is to lie down, then bend the body at thehips, getting into a sitting position; repeat a few times. Another is toface the floor, holding the body rigid, supported on the toes and thepalms of the hands; slowly raise the body until the arms are straightand slowly lower it again until the abdomen touches the floor; repeatseveral times. 

It is impossible to go into detail regarding various exercises here. Those who wish to take care of themselves can easily devise a number ofgood ones, or they can employ a physical culture teacher to give thempointers. Here as elsewhere, good sense wins out. It is not necessary togive much time to exercise, but a little is valuable. Those who laborwith their hands often use but few muscles, and it would be well forthem to take corrective exercises so that the body will remain in goodcondition. 

There is no excuse for round shoulders and sunken chests. A few weeks, or at most a few months, will correct this in young people. The olderthe individual, the longer it takes. If the vertebrae have growntogether in bony union no correction is possible. 

It is as necessary to relax as it is to exercise. When weary, take a fewminutes off and let go physically and mentally. A little training willenable you to drop everything, and even if it is for but five minutes, the ease gives renewed vigor. It does not matter what position isassumed, if it is comfortable and allows the muscles to lose alltension. At such times it is well to let the eyelids gently close, giving the eyes a rest. Eye strain is very exhausting to the whole bodyand often results in serious discomfort. 

Many do not know how to relax. They think they are relaxed, yet theirbodies are in a state of tension. When relaxed any part of the body thatmay be raised falls down again as though it were dead. People who domuch mental work are at times so aroused by ideas that refuse to releasetheir hold until they have been worked out or given expression that theycan not sleep for the time being. A few minutes of relaxation then givesrest. When the problem has been solved, the worker is rewarded withsweet slumbers. An occasional night of this kind of wakefulness does noharm, provided no such drugs as coffee, alcohol, strychnine and morphineare used. 

We are undoubtedly intended to be useful. Normal men and women are notcontent unless they are helpful. Hence we have our work or vocation. However, people who get into a rut, and they are liable to if they workall the time at one thing, lose efficiency. Therefore it is well to havean avocation or a hobby to sharpen mind and body. 

It does not make much difference what the hobby is, provided it isinteresting. We waste much time that could give us more pleasure if itwere intelligently employed. An hour a day given to a subject for a fewyears in the spirit of play will give a vast fund of information and mayin time be of inestimable benefit. 

Those who labor much with the hands would do well to take some time eachday for mental recreation, and those who work in mental channels shouldget joy and benefit from physical efforts. A few hobbies, depending uponcircumstances, may be: Photography, music, a foreign language, thedrama, literature, history, philosophy, painting, gardening, raisingchickens, dogs or bees, floriculture, and botany. Some people havebecome famous through their hobbies. They are excellent for keeping themind fluid, which helps to retain physical youth. 

There is something peculiarly beneficial about tending and watchinggrowing and unfolding things. It is well known that women remain younglonger than men. We have good reason to believe that one of the causesis their intimate relation with children. Growing flowers, vegetables, chickens and pups have the same influence in lesser degree. Tender, helpless things bring out the best qualities in our natures. We can notbe on too intimate terms with nature, so, if possible, select a hobbythat brings you closely in contact with her and her products. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

BREATHING AND VENTILATION. 

The respiratory apparatus is truly marvelous in beauty and efficiency. Medical men complain about nature's way of constructing the alimentarycanal, saying that it is partly superfluous, but no such complaint islodged against the lungs and their accessories. 

The respiratory system may be likened in form to a well branched tree, with hollow trunk, limbs and leaves: The trachea is the trunk; the twobronchi, one going to the right side and the other to the left side, arethe main branches; the bronchioles and their subdivisions are thesmaller branches and twigs; the air cells are the leaves. 

The trachea and bronchi are tubes, furnished with cartilaginous rings tokeep them from collapsing. They are lined with mucous membrane. Thebronchi give off branches, which in turn divide and subdivide, untilthey become very fine. Upon the last subdivisions are clustered manycells or vesicles. These are the air cells and here the exchange takesplace, the blood giving up carbonic acid gas and receiving from theinspired air a supply of oxygen. This exchange takes place through avery thin layer of mucous membrane, the air being on one side and theblood capillaries on the other side. 

The whole respiratory tract is lined with mucous membrane. This membraneis ciliated, that is, it is studded with tiny hairlike projections, extending into the air passages. These are constantly in motion, muchlike the grain in a field when the wind is gently blowing. Theirfunction is to prevent the entry of foreign particles into the aircells, for their propulsive motion is away from the lungs, toward theexternal air passages. 

In some of the large cities where the atmospheric conditions areunfavorable and the air is laden with dust and smoke, the cilia areunable to prevent the entrance of all the fine foreign particles in theair. Then these particles irritate the mucous membrane, which secretesenough mucus to imprison the intruders. Consequently there isoccasionally expulsion of gray or black mucus, which should alarm no oneunder the circumstances, if feeling well. Normally the mucous membranesecretes only enough mucus to lubricate itself, and when there is muchexpulsion of mucus it means that either the respiratory or the digestivesystem, or both, are being abused. At such times the sufferer shouldtake an inventory of his habits and correct them. 

The air cells are made up of very thin membrane. So great is theirsurface that if they could be flattened out they would form a sheet ofabout 2, 000 square feet. We can not explain satisfactorily why it isthat through their walls there is an exchange of gases, nor how therespiratory system can act so effectively both as an exhaust of harmfulmatter and a supply of necessary elements. The distribution of the bloodcapillaries, so tiny that the naked eye can not make them out, iswonderful. Under the microscope they look like patterns of delicate, complex, beautiful lace. 

The lungs are supplied with more blood than any other, part of the body. A small part of it is for the nourishment of the lung structure, butmost of it comes to be purified. After the blood has traveled to variousparts of the body to perform its work as a carrier of food, and oxygenand gatherer of waste, it returns to the heart and from the heart it issent to the lungs. There it gives up its carbonic acid gas and receivesa supply of oxygen. Then it returns to the heart again and once more itis sent to all parts of the body to distribute the vital element, oxygen. 

The lungs give off watery vapor, a little animal matter and considerableheat, but their chief function is to exchange the carbonic acid gas ofthe blood for the oxygen of the air. When the fats, sugars and starches, in their modified form, are burned in the body to produce heat andenergy, carbonic acid gas and water are formed. The gas is taken up bythe blood stream, which is being deprived of its oxygen at the sametime. This exchange turns the blood from red into a bluish tinge. Thered color is due to the union of oxygen with the iron in the bloodcorpuscles, forming rust, roughly speaking. 

The fine adjustment that exists in nature can be seen by taking intoconsideration that animals give off carbon dioxide and breathe inoxygen, while vegetation exhales oxygen and inhales carbon dioxide. Inother words, animal life makes conditions favorable for plant growth, and vegetation makes possible the existence of animals. 

An animal of the higher class can live several days without water, several weeks without food, but only a very few minutes without oxygen. When the blood becomes surcharged with carbonic acid gas, and oxygen isrefused admittance to the lungs, life ceases in about five or sixminutes. From this it can easily be seen how important it is to have aproper supply of oxygen. Acute deprivation of this element isimmediately fatal, and chronic deprivation of a good supply helps toproduce early deterioration and premature death. The lungs can easily bekept in good condition, and when we ponder on the beautiful andeffective way in which nature has equipped us with a respiratoryapparatus and an inexhaustible store of oxygen, surely we mustunderstand the folly of not helping ourselves to what is so vital, yetabsolutely free. 

Wrong eating and impure air are largely responsible for all kinds ofrespiratory troubles, from a simple cold to the most aggravated form ofpulmonary tuberculosis. Exercise and deep breathing will to a greatextent antidote overeating, but there is a limit beyond which the lungsrefuse to tolerate this form of abuse. 

Experiments have shown that if the carbonic acid gas thrown off daily byan adult male were solidified, it would amount to about seven ounces ofsolid carbon, which comes from fats, sugars and starches that are burnedin the body. It is well to remember that there are various forms ofburning or combustion. Rapid combustion is exemplified in stoves andfurnaces, where the carbon of coal or wood rapidly and violently uniteswith oxygen. Slow combustion takes place in the rotting of wood, therusting of iron and steel and the union of oxygen with organic matter inanimal bodies. Both processes are the same, varying only in rapidity andintensity. 

People who daily give off seven ounces of carbon are overworking theirbodies. They take in too much food and consequently force too greatcombustion. This forcing has evil effects on the system, for underforced combustion the body is not able to clean itself thoroughly. Someof the soot remains in the flues (the blood-vessels) and is deposited inthe various parts of the engine (the body). Result: Hardening, whichmeans loss of elasticity and aging of the body. Aging of the bodyresults in deterioration of the mind. Proper breathing is fine, butunless it is also accompanied by proper eating it does not bring thebest results. 

The atmospheric air contains about four parts of carbonic acid gas to10, 000 parts of air. The exhaled air becomes quite heavily charged withthis gas, about 400 to 500 parts in 10, 000. It does not take long beforethe air in a closed, occupied room is so heavily charged with this gasand so poor in oxygen that its constant rebreathing is detrimental. Theblood stream becomes poisoned, which immediately depresses the physicaland mental powers. Warning is often given by a feeling of languor andperhaps a slight headache. People accustom themselves to impure air sothat they apparently feel no bad effects, but this is always at theexpense of health. The senses may be blunted, but the evil resultsalways follow. To keep a house sealed up as tightly as possible in orderto keep it warm saves fuel bills, but the resultant bodily deteriorationand disease cause enough discomfort and result in doctor bills whichmore than offset this saving. It is poor economy. 

A constant supply of the purest air obtainable must be furnished to thelungs; otherwise the blood becomes so laden with poison that health, inits best and truest sense, is impossible. 

The air should be inhaled through the nose. It does not matter much howit is exhaled. The nose is so constructed that it fits the air for thelungs. The inspired air is often too dry, dusty and cold. The normalnose remedies all these defects. The mucous membrane in the nasalpassages contains cilia, which catch the dust. The nasal passages arevery tortuous so that during its journey through them the air is warmedand takes up moisture. 

Habitual mouth breathing is one of the causes of the hardening andtoughening of the mucous membrane of the respiratory passages, for themouth does not arrest the irritating substances floating in the air, nordoes it sufficiently warm and moisten the inspired air. Irritationproduces inflammation and this in turn causes thickening of themembranes. Then it is very easy to acquire some troublesome afflictionsuch as asthma. Very cold air is irritating, but the passage through thenose warms it sufficiently. 

The evil results of mouth breathing are well seen in children, in whomit raises the roof of the mouth and brings the lateral teeth too closetogether. Then the dentists have to correct the deformity and thechildren are forced to suffer protracted inconvenience. This mouthbreathing is mostly due to wrong feeding, especially overfeeding, whichcauses swelling of the mucous membrane, thus impeding the intake of theair through the nose and forcing it through the mouth. The chiefcurative measure is obvious. Cut down the child's food supply and givefood of better quality. Remember that children should not be fat. 

Normal breathing is rhythmical, with a slight rise of the abdomen andchest during inspiration and a slight falling during expiration. Watch asleeping baby, and you will understand what is meant. The ratio ofbreathing to the beating of the heart is about one to four or five. Whatever accelerates the heart causes more rapid breathing and viceversa. Breathing is practically automatic, and were we living undernatural conditions we should need to pay no attention to it, butinasmuch as our mode of life prevents the full use of the lungs a littleintelligent consideration is necessary to attain full efficiency. 

The body should be left as free as possible by the clothes andespecially is this true of the chest and waist line. Women sin muchagainst themselves in this respect. Most of them find it absolutelynecessary for their mental welfare to constrict the lower part of thechest and the waist line a great part of the time, for really it wouldnot do to be out of fashion. The statue of Venus de Milo is generallyconsidered to represent the highest form of female beauty and perfectionin sculptural art. If living women would consent to remain beautiful, instead of being slaves to fashion, it would be much better forthemselves and for the race. A corseted woman can not breathe properly, even if she can introduce her hand between the body and her corset toprove that she is not constricted. The natural curves of women are moregraceful than those produced by the corset. It would be an easy matterto give the breasts sufficient support, if they need support, withoutconstricting the body, and then take enough exercise to keep the waistand abdomen firm and in shape to accord with a normal sense of what isbeautiful and proper. 

Woman does right in being as good looking as possible, and it would doman no harm to imitate her in this, for truly, "Beauty is its own excusefor being. " But beauty and fashion seldom go hand in hand. Look at themodes which were the fashion, and you will be compelled to say that manyof them are offensive to people of good taste. American women shouldcease imitating the caprice of the women of the underworld of Paris. There are indications that women are liberating themselves somewhat fromthe chains of fashions, as well as from other ridiculous things, so letus hope that they will soon be brave enough to look as beautiful asnature allows them to be, both in face and figure. 

The lungs, like every other part of the body, become weakened when notused. The chest cavity enlarges during inspiration, but this enlargementis prevented if there is constriction of the lower ribs and the waist. The normal breathing is abdominal. Such breathing is health-imparting. It massages the liver gently with each breath and is mildly tonic to thestomach and the bowels. It truly gives internal exercise. It helps toprevent constipation. 

Shallow breathing causes degeneration of lung tissue, and indirectlydegeneration of every tissue in the body, for it deprives the blood ofenough oxygen to maintain health. It also prevents the internal exerciseof the abdominal organs, which is a necessary activity of the normalorganism. Shallow breathers only use the upper parts of the lungs. It isnot to be wondered at that the lower parts easily degenerate. Inpneumonia, for instance, the lower part is usually first affected, andin tuberculosis one often can get the physical indications in the lowerpart of the lungs posteriorly before they can be found any other place. The upper parts have to be used and consequently they get more exerciseand more blood and hence become more resistant. It is well known thatwhen the upper part of the lungs become affected the disease is verygrave. 

Men, as well as women, are guilty of shallow breathing. Many men arevery inactive and their breathing becomes sluggish. This can be remediedby taking vigorous exercise and a few breathing exercises. Becauseabdominal breathing is the correct way, some physical culturists, whomix the so-called New Thought with their system, advocate exercising andconcentrating the mind on the abdomen at the same time. This isunnecessary, for the proper exercises and the right attitude will causeabdominal breathing without giving the abdomen special thought. 

Man was evidently intended to earn his food through physical exertionand exercise, and so long as he did this the lungs were compelled toexpand. A few running exercises or hill or mountain climbs will sufficeto prove the truth of this statement. However, now that man can ride ona street car and earn, or at least get, his daily bread by sitting in anoffice, it is necessary to exercise a little in order to get goodresults. The farmer who sits crouched up on a plow, mower or binder alsofails to use his lungs, but if he gets out and pitches hay or bundles ofgrain, he is sure to get what oxygen he needs. 

Everyone should get into the habit of breathing deeply several times aday. Upon rising in the morning, go to the open window or out of doorsand take at least a dozen slow, deep breaths, inhaling slowly, holdingthe air in the lungs a few moments and exhaling slowly. This should berepeated noon and night. Every time when one is in the fresh air, it iswell to take a few full breaths. By and by the proper breathing willbecome a habit, to the great benefit of one's health. 

There are many breathing exercises, but every intelligent being can makehis own exercises, so I shall describe but one. Have the hands hangingat the sides, palms facing each other. Inhale slowly and at the sametime bring the arms, which are to be held straight, forward and upward, or outward and upward, carrying them as far up and back over the head aspossible. The arm motion is also to be slow. About the time the arms arein the last position a full inspiration has been taken. Hold theposition of the arms and the breath a few seconds and then slowly exhaleand slowly bring the arms back to the first position. Repeat ten ortwelve times. If while one is inhaling and raising the arms, one alsoslowly rises on the toes and slowly resumes a natural foot positionwhile exhaling, the exercise will be even better. 

Hollow-chested young people can attain a good lung capacity and goodchest contour in a very reasonable time. Persistence in proper breathingand proper exercise will have remarkable results in even two or threemonths, and at the same time nature will be painting roses on pallidcheeks. It is easy to increase the chest expansion several inches. Thosewho expand less than three and one-half inches should not be satisfieduntil they have gone beyond this mark. Elderly people can also increasetheir chest expansion and breathing capacity, but it takes more time, for with the years the chest cartilages have a tendency to harden andeven to ossify. The less breathing the sooner the ossification comes. 

Many people are afraid of night air, for which there is no reason. Theabsence of sunshine at night does no more harm than it does on cloudydays. During the night, of all times, fresh air is needed, for less isused, and what little is breathed should be of as good quality ascircumstances permit. Open the windows wide enough to have the airconstantly changing in the bedroom. During the winter it will benecessary to put additional clothes on the bed, for no one can obtainthe best of slumbers while chilled. Some may find it a better plan touse artificial heat in the foot of the bed. At any rate, during coldweather better covering is required for the legs and for the feet thanfor any other part of the body. People with good resistance can sleep ina draught without the least harm, but ordinary people should not sleepin a draught. It is easy to use screens so that the wind does not blowupon the face. If the air is kept stirring in the chamber the sleepergets enough without being in a current. 

Some are in the habit of closing their bedroom windows and doors atnight and opening them for a thorough airing during the day. If thebedrooms must be closed, close them during the day and open them wide atnight, for that is when the pure air is needed. It does not make muchdifference whether they are open or closed while being unoccupied. It isactually sickening to enter some bedrooms and be compelled to breathethe foul air. 

When people are ill the rooms should have fresh air entering at alltimes. Sick people give off more poisons than do those in good healthand they need the oxygen to burn up the deposits in the system. 

An early morning stroll while most people are in bed is veryinstructive. It will be found that some houses are shut up as tightly aspossible and that only a few are properly ventilated. A person whoinsists on keeping his window open in winter is often looked upon as afreak. What is the result of this close housing? The first result isthat the blood is unable to obtain the required amount of oxygen and ispoisoned by the rebreathing of the air in the room. In the morning thesleeper wakes feeling only half rested, and it takes a cup of coffee orsomething else to produce complete awakening. The evil results arecumulative, and after a while the bad habit of breathing impure air atnight will be a great factor in building disease of some kind. 

One reason why some are so afraid of fresh air, especially at night, isthat they become so autotoxemic through bad habits, especially impropereating habits, that a slight draught causes them to sneeze and oftencatch cold and they believe that the fresh air causes the irritation. This is not so. The irritability comes from within, not from without. 

After becoming accustomed to good ventilation at night it is almostimpossible to enter into restful slumbers in a stuffy room. 

Savages are singularly free from respiratory diseases, and the reason iswithout doubt that they do not house themselves closely. In some partsof the world they fear to let civilized men enter their abodes, for theymay bring respiratory diseases. 

Not only the homes, but public places, such as street cars, theaters, schools and churches are too often poorly ventilated. Sleeping, orrather dozing in church is so common that it is a matter of jest. Myexperience has been that drowsiness comes not from the dullness ofsermons, but from the impossibility of getting a breath of good air inmany churches. 

Please remember that exhaled air is excretory matter, and that it isboth unclean and unwholesome to consume it over and over again. 

Draughts do not cause colds. Cold air does not cause colds. Wet clothesdo not cause colds: These things may be minor contributory factors, butthe body must be in poor condition before one can catch cold. Colds aregenerally caught at the table. Lack of fresh air also helps to producecolds, as well as other diseases. 

The tendency in our country is to heat buildings too much. Europeans areboth surprised and uncomfortable when they first enter our dwellings orpublic meeting places. The temperature in a dwelling should not beforced above seventy degrees Fahrenheit by means of artificial heating. The temperature required depends very much upon one's mental attitudeand habits. Those who take enough exercise have good circulation of theblood in the extremities, and therefore do not need so much artificialheat. The best heating is from within. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

SLEEP. 

A young baby should sleep almost all the time, and it will ifintelligently cared for. Overfeeding is the bane of the baby's life andis the cause of most of its restlessness. The first few months the babyshould be awake enough to take its food, and then go to sleep again. Asit grows older it sleeps less and less. 

There is no fixed time for an adult to sleep. The amount varies withdifferent individuals. The idea is quite prevalent that eight hoursnightly are necessary. This may be true for some. Many do very well onseven hours' sleep, and even less. The great inventor, Thomas Edison, issaid to have had but very little sleep for many years, and it isreported that when interested in some problem he would miss a night ortwo. Yet he has lived longer than the average individual and is now ingood health. Very few have done as much constructive work as he. Manyother prominent people have been light sleepers. 

As people grow older they require less sleep than they did in youth. Itis not uncommon for septuagenarians to sleep but five hours nightly. 

Although we can not say how much sleep any individual may require, eachperson can find out for himself, and this is much better than to try tolive by rules, which are often erroneous. 

Those who live as they should otherwise and select a definite hour forretiring and adhere to it, except on special occasions, get all thesleep that is necessary. They awake in the morning refreshed, ready todo a good day's work. 

During sound sleep all conscious endeavors cease. The vital organs doonly enough work to keep the body alive. The breathing is lighter, thecirculation is slower and in sound sleep there is no thinking. Thisletting up in the great activity of body and mind gives an opportunityfor the millions of cells, of which the body is composed, to take fromthe blood what is needed to restore them to normal. During the day manyof these cells become worn and weary. At night they recuperate. Henceundisturbed sleep is very important. 

Many believe that "early to bed and early to rise" is the proper way, that the hours of sleep before midnight are more refreshing andinvigorating than those after. This is merely a belief, perhaps a goodone. Early retiring leads to regularity, which is very desirable. Lateretiring often means loose mental and physical habits. Those who areregular about their time of retiring and live well otherwise feelrefreshed whether they go to bed early or late. Children should alwaysretire early, otherwise they do not get enough sleep. The night is thenatural sleeping time for most creatures, as well as for man. This is aheritage of ages. There was no artificial illumination during the stoneage. Man could do nothing during the darkness, so he rested. However, those who must work at night find no trouble in sleeping during the day. The tendency among men is the same as among animals, to sleep more inwinter than in summer, not that more sleep is required, but because thewinter nights are longer. 

Children should go to bed early. They require more sleep than adultsbecause of the greater cell activity. Also, children who stay up lategenerally become irritable and nervous. 

It is not well to eat immediately before retiring. The sleep following alate meal is generally interrupted, and there is not that feeling ofbrightness and clearness of mind, with which one should awake, nextmorning. 

Lunching before going to bed is a bad habit. Some believe they must havean apple, or perhaps a glass of milk, before retiring, for they thinkthat this will bring sleep. The body should not be burdened with extrafood to digest during the sleeping hours. This time should be dedicatedto the restoring of the body, and the blood contains ample material. 

Dreaming is largely a bad habit. A normal individual rarely dreams, andthen generally following some imprudence. Dreams begin in childhood andare then due principally to excessive food intake. As a producer ofnightmares overfeeding has no equal. During adult life dreaming iscaused by bad physical and mental conduct, plus the habit which wasformed in childhood. Fear, anger, worry, stimulants, too much food, impure air and too warm clothes are some of the causes that producedreams. Like other bad habits, dreaming is difficult to overcome once itis firmly established. The cure consists in righting one's other badhabits and in not thinking about the dreams. A sleep that is disturbedby dreams is not as sound as it should be and consequently not asrefreshing as normal sleep. The conscious mind is not completely at restand, the subconscious mind is running riot. Normal sleep is completeunconsciousness. This is the sleep of the just and must be earned. 

Before retiring all the clothes worn during the day should be removed. The night apparel should be light--cotton, linen or silk. The bedshould be comfortable, but not too soft. There should be enough coveringto keep the sleeper comfortably warm, but not hot. Those who coverthemselves with so many quilts or blankets that they perspire during thenight are not properly refreshed. It prevents sound sleep and makes theskin too sensitive. It reduces a person's resistance to climaticchanges. The feet should be kept warm, even if necessary to putartificial heat in the foot of the bed. During cold weather the feet andthe legs should have more covering than the rest of the body. From thewaist up the covering should be rather light. 

Sound sleep is dependent on relaxation of mind and body. Those who livethe day over after going to bed do not go to sleep quickly or easily. This habit should be overcome. Do business at the business place, duringbusiness hours, if you would have the mind fresh. There are days so fullof cares that the night does not bring mental relaxation, but those whohave begun early in life to practice self-control find these daysgrowing fewer as the years roll by. When they learn their truerelationship to the rest of humanity, to the universe and to eternity, they are generally willing and able to let the earth rotate and revolvefor a few hours without their personal attention. They realize thatworry and anxiety waste time and energy. 

Many complain that they can not sleep. This they repeat to themselvesand to others many times a day. At night they ask themselves why theycan not sleep. They do it so often that it becomes a powerful negativesuggestion frequently strong enough to prevent their going to sleep. Itis an obsession. Real insomnia exists only in the mind of the sufferer. Every physician, sooner or later, has experience with people who saythat they can not sleep. The doctors who give such patients sleepingpowders or potions make a grave mistake. These drugs are taken at theexpense of some of the physical structures, and the day of settlementalways comes. Perhaps it will find the patient with bankrupted nerves ora failing heart. To be effective, the size of the dose must be increasedfrom time to time. At last the result will be some disease, eitherphysical or mental. 

Those who insist that they "do not sleep at all, " or that they sleep"but a few minutes" each night, sleep a few hours, but they makethemselves believe that they do not sleep. We are compelled to sleep, and even those who "do not sleep at all" can not remain awakeindefinitely. 

Those who are troubled with the no-sleep obsession will soon realizethat they sleep as well as others if they cease thinking and talking somuch about the subject. I have seen people suffering from this bad habitrecover in one week. Those who have been taking drugs to induce sleepgenerally have a few bad nights when they give them up, after which thenervous storm subsides and sleep becomes normal. All drugs should bediscarded. The physician who understands more about the working ofnature than about the giving of drugs will have the best success inthese cases. Soothing sleep always comes to people possessed of acontrolled mind in a healthy body. 

If the day has been exhausting and the nerves are so alive and wroughtup that sleep will not come, do not allow the mind to delve into worryabout it. Do not say to yourself: "I wish I could sleep. Why can't Isleep?" Such fretful thinking produces mental tension, which drivessleep away. Instead, say to yourself: "I am very comfortable. I amhaving a refreshing rest. It does not matter whether I sleep or not. " Byall means relax the body. Choose a comfortable position and remainquiet, having the muscles relaxed. It is remarkable how soon a relaxedbody brings tranquility to a disturbed mind. Let a man in pugnaciousmood relax his face and his fists and in a very short time his angervanishes. It makes no difference whether a person sleeps eight hours ona certain night. If he is fairly regular about going to bed he will getenough sleep. Those who realize this truth do not complain of insomnia. 

Most people who think much have an occasional night when an idea takessuch strong possession of the brain and demands so forcibly to be putinto proper shape, that they can not sleep. Under such circumstances itis as well to to get up and work out the idea. Three or four nights likethat in the course of a year will do no harm. 

People rarely sleep well when lying on the back. If the theory ofevolution is correct, we were not intended to lie on our backs duringsleep. A good position is to lie on the right side, the right leg beinganterior to the left, both being flexed. Another position that isrestful to many is to lie on the abdomen, the arms extended away fromthe body. 

The breathing should be entirely nasal. It will not be nasal if there isobstruction in the nose. A healthy person who breathes through his mouthat night must use autosuggestion to overcome the habit. He shouldsuggest to himself, "I will breathe through the nose; I will keep mylips together. " If he persists in this, closes the mouth when he goes tosleep, in time the mouth-breathing will cease, and with it thedisagreeable habit of snoring. The harmfulness of mouth-breathing isexplained in another chapter. 

At all times the bedroom should be well ventilated. Some people are inthe habit of sleeping in unventilated bedrooms, but upon rising in themorning they throw the windows open and give the room a good airing. Theventilation does not do much good except when there is someone in theroom. During the day the bedroom could be closed with very little harmensuing, though it is best to have it sunned and aired as much aspossible. 

The sleeping porch is excellent. Outdoor sleeping is all right and it isnot a modern fad. Where Benjamin Franklin got his information I do notknow, but he has this to say about outdoor sleeping: "It is recordedthat Methusaleh, who, being the longest liver, may be supposed to havebest preserved his health, that he slept always in the open air; forwhen he had lived five hundred years an angel said to him: 'Arise, Methusaleh, and build thee an house, for thou shalt live five hundredyears longer. ' But Methusaleh answered, and said: 'If I am to live butfive hundred years longer, it is not worth while to build me an house; Iwill sleep in the air as I have been used to do. '" This may partlyaccount for some of his many years. His alleged conversation with theangel indicates that he was a man of equanimity. 

Under ordinary circumstances those who sleep indoors should have onesash of window fully open for each person in the chamber, or more. It iswell to have plenty of fresh air, but it is not best to sleep in adraught. When the wind is blowing through the windows it is notnecessary to have them wide open, for an aperture of four inches willthen give as much fresh air as a sash opening in calmer weather. 

It is best to get up promptly upon awakening in the morning. Remainingin bed half asleep is productive of slothfulness. Too much sleeping anddozing make one dull. 

Those who overeat require more sleep than moderate people. Thesluggishness and sleepiness following a too heavy meal are familiar toall. Animals that do not get food regularly, but are dependent on thevicissitudes of preying for their nourishment, often gorge themselves sothat they can not stay awake, but fall into a stupor, which may last fordays. Man, who is generally assured of three meals a day, has no excusefor this form of self-abuse, but unfortunately he practices it toooften. It is a gross habit, one in which people of refinement will notcontinue to indulge. 

Young children should take a nap each day. They are so active that theyneed this rest. Adults can with profit take a short nap, not to exceedthirty minutes, after lunch. Those who are nervous owe it to themselvesto take a nap. Those who use the brain a great deal will find the middaynap a great restorer. If sleep will not come, they should at least closetheir eyes and remain relaxed for a short time. A long nap makes onefeel stupid. 

Those unfortunate people who are addicted to various enslaving drugs, such as cocaine and morphine, often are very light sleepers. They aredeteriorating physically, mentally and morally. Such people are ill andare no guides to the needs of healthy people. 

Coffee drinking is a destroyer of sound sleep. At first the coffee seemsto soothe the nerves, but in a few hours it has the opposite effect. Thehabitual use of coffee helps to bring on premature nervous instabilityand physical degeneration. 

Sleep is self-regulating. If we are normal otherwise we need give thesubject no thought except to select a regular time to go to bed and getup promptly in the morning upon awaking. 

It is easy to drive away sleep. Those who wish to enjoy this sweetrestorer at its best must be regular. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

FASTING. 

Fasting is one of the oldest of remedial measures known to man, not onlyfor the ills of the body, but for those of the soul. Oriental lore andliterature make frequent reference to fasts. From the Bible we learnthat Moses, Elijah and Christ each fasted forty days, and no bad effectsare recorded. 

Addison knew the value of fasting and temperance. He wrote that, "Abstinence well-timed often kills a sickness in embryo and destroys theseeds of a disease. " Unfortunately, he did not live as well as he knewhow. Hence his brilliant mind had but a short time in which to work andthe world is the loser. 

Our own great philosopher, Benjamin Franklin, had the same knowledge, for he wrote, "Against disease known, the strongest fence is thedefensive virtue, abstinence. "

There is much prejudice against fasting, because people do notunderstand what fasting is and what it accomplishes. Fasting is notstarving. To fast is to go without food when the body is in suchcondition that food can not be properly digested and assimilated. Tostarve is to go without food when the body is in condition to digest andassimilate food and needs nourishment. 

It is quite generally believed that if food is withheld for six or sevendays the result will be fatal. Under proper conditions one can gowithout food for two or three months. Perhaps most people could not dowithout food for the latter period, but fasts of that duration are onrecord. Fat people can live on their tissues for a long time before theyare reduced to normal weight, and slender ones can live on water for anextended period. 

Prolonged fasts should not be taken unless necessary, and then theyshould be taken under the guidance of someone who has had experience andis possessed of common sense. If a person is fearful or surrounded byothers who instill fear into him, he should not take a prolonged fast. The gravest danger during the fast is fear. It takes many weeks to diefrom lack of food, but fear is capable of killing in a few days, or evenin a few hours. The healer who undertakes to direct fasts against thewishes of the patient's friends and relatives, who have more influencethan he has, injures himself professionally and throws doubt upon thevaluable therapeutic measure he advocates. 

The indications that a fast is needed are pain and fever and acuteattacks of all kinds of diseases. Some of the more common diseases thatcall for a complete cessation of eating are: The acute stage ofpneumonia, appendicitis, typhoid fever, neuralgia, sciatica, peritonitis, cold, tonsilitis, whooping cough, croup, scarlet fever, smallpox and all other eruptive diseases; colics of kidneys, liver orbowels; all acute alimentary tract disturbances, whether of the stomachor of the bowels. 

Sometimes it is necessary to fast in chronic diseases, especially whenthere is pain, but as a rule chronic diseases yield to proper hygienicand dietetic treatment without a fast, provided they are curable. Hereis where many people who advocate fasting go to extremes. A fast is thequickest way out of the trouble, but it is at times very unpleasant. Bytaking longer time the result can be obtained by proper living and thepatient is being educated while he is recovering. In chronic cases it isespecially important to eat properly. 

The only disease of which I know that seems to be unfavorably influencedby fasting is pulmonary tuberculosis in well advanced stages. Suchpatients quickly lose weight and strength on a fast, and they have greatdifficulty in regaining either. Perhaps others have had differentexperiences and have made observations that do not agree with this, forcases of tuberculosis have been reported cured through fasting. It iswell to bear in mind that every case that is diagnosed pulmonarytuberculosis is not tuberculosis. Many supposed-to-be cases oftuberculosis, some of them so diagnosed by most reputable specialists, are nothing more than lung irritation due to the absorption of gas andacid from the digestive tract. When the indigestion is cured, theso-called tuberculosis disappears. These are the only tubercular casesthat I have seen benefited by fasts, and the improvement is both quickand sure. 

Doubtless tuberculosis in the first stages could be cured by fasting, followed by proper hygienic and dietetic care, for at first tuberculosisis a localized symptom of disordered nutrition. In this stage thedisease is no more dangerous than many other maladies that are notconsidered fatal. The subjects brought to the dissecting table showplainly that a large proportion of them have at some time had pulmonarytuberculosis, the lesions of which were healed, and they afterwards diedof some other affliction. However, if a patient is received after themanifestation of profuse night sweats, great flushing of the cheeks, high fever daily, emaciation, expulsion of much mucus from the lungs, and the presence of great lassitude and weakness, the rule is that thenutrition is so badly impaired that nothing will bring the patient backto normal. Under such circumstances fasting hastens death. The familyand friends are not reticent about placing the blame on the healer. Moderate feeding will prolong life and add to the comfort of thesufferer. The customary overfeeding hastens the end. 

Cancer is said to be cured by fasting, but this is very, very doubtful. It is often difficult to differentiate between cancer and benignanttumors at first. Benignant tumors frequently disappear on a limiteddiet. I have seen many tumors disappear under rational treatment, without resorting to the knife, but I have never seen an undoubted caseof cancer do so, though some of the tumors in question had beendiagnosed cancer. Cancers, in the advanced stages, end in the death ofthe patient in spite of any kind of treatment. By being very carefulabout the diet, cancer patients can escape nearly all the pain anddiscomfort that generally accompany this disease. Moderation wouldprevent nearly every case of cancer, and especially moderation in meateating. It is a disease that should be prevented, for its cure is verydoubtful. 

Colds leave in a few days, with no bad after effects, if no food istaken. 

Typhoid fever treated rationally from the start generally disappears infrom one week to twelve days if nothing but water is given, and fails todevelop the severity that it attains under the giving of foods anddrugs. There are no complications. 

Appendicitis is of longer duration, if it is a severe attack, lastingfrom two to four weeks, but after the first few days the patient iscomfortable, under a no-food, let-alone treatment. Operation is notnecessary. 

In cases of gall-stones, accompanied by jaundice and colic, it is notnecessary to operate. Fasting and bathing will bring the body back tonormal in a short time. In such cases it is necessary to give the bathsas hot as they can be borne, and prolong them until the body is relaxed. 

It would be easy to enumerate many diseases, telling the benefits to bederived from fasting, but these point the way and are sufficient. 

The one unfailing symptom of a fast is the loss of weight. This loss isnatural and there is nothing alarming about it. As soon as eating isresumed the loss of weight stops. For a while the weight may then remainstationary, but the gain is generally prompt. In time the weight willbecome normal again. 

According to Chosat, the loss sustained by the various tissues instarvation is as follows:

 Fat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 per cent. Blood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 " Spleen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 " Pancreas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 " Liver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 " Muscles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 " Nervous tissues. . . . . . . . . . 2 "

This table was made from animal experimentation, but agrees very wellwith other observations, except in the loss of blood, which others havefound to be less than 20 per cent. It will be noticed that the highesttissue, nervous tissue, is hardly affected, but the lowest tissue, fat, almost disappears. 

When an individual needs to fast, his body is suffering from theingestion of too much food and poor elimination. He overworks hisnutrition and overdraws on his nervous energies so much in other linesthat the body is unable to throw off the debris which should leave byway of the kidneys, the bowels, the skin and the lungs. He is poisonedby his retained excretions, suffering from what is calledautointoxication or self-poisoning. He is filthy internally and needs acleaning. If he has abused himself so that he lacks the power toassimilate food and throw off waste at the same time, obviously it isproper to stop eating until the lost power is regained. In cases offever it is a physical crime to eat, for the glands cease secreting thenormal juices. The mouth becomes parched for lack of saliva, and thegastric and intestinal juices are not secreted in proper amount orquality. Food eaten under such circumstances is not digested. Theinternal temperature in fever is above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and itdoes not take long for food to decay in such temperature, especiallysuch aliments as milk and broth, which are the favorite foods for feverpatients. These alimentary substances are excellent for growing nearlyall the germs that are found in the body in disease. 

When in pain, it is harmful to eat, for the secretions are thenperverted and digestion is interfered with. All violent emotions, suchas hatred, jealousy, and anger, mean that no food should be taken untilthe body has had the opportunity to relax and regain some of its tone. Such emotions do not thrive so well in healthy individuals as among thesick, but then perfect health is a rarity. 

When going without food people are subject to various symptoms, whichdepend as much on the temperament as on the physical conditions. Ahysterical woman can scare inexperienced attendants into doing her willby her antics. She may make them believe that she is dying. On the otherhand, well balanced, fearless people can fast for weeks with very littleannoyance. Fasting is not always pleasant and there are a number ofsymptoms that are often present. 

The faster loses weight, at first often as much as two pounds a day. This is mostly water. After the first ten days the loss may be butone-half of a pound, or less, per day. The loss of weight is greatest inheavy people and in those who have high fevers. 

The tongue becomes badly coated, and the breath foul, showing that themucous membrane is busy throwing out waste. The tongue remains coateduntil the system is clean, and then it clears off. Most people feel weakwhen they attempt to walk or work, but they feel strong when resting. Others, who are badly food-poisoned, gain strength as the systemeliminates the harmful substances from the body. For a day or two thecraving for food may be quite insistent and persistent. Then hungergenerally leaves and does not return until the tongue is clean. The mindbecomes clearer as the body becomes cleaner. This benefit to the spirit, or the soul, has been recognized by religious organizations forcenturies. 

A little discharge of blood from the bowels at first should cause noalarm. In some cases a great deal of yellow mucus is thrown into thelower bowel. The liver at times throws off so much bile that it makesthe patient alarmed. This should cause no uneasiness. When the bile isforced upward into the stomach it is very disagreeable. The dischargesfrom the bowels are often very dark. 

There is a tendency toward chilliness, especially to have cold hands andfeet. Skin eruptions and heart palpitations are occasional symptoms. Nervous, irritable and fearful people have symptoms too numerous tomention. The more they are sympathized with the worse they become. 

Many medical men have misinterpreted the symptoms of the fast, and hencethey have condemned the procedure. They see the foul coating on thetongue, the loss of weight and at times peculiar mental manifestations. They can smell the foul breath and the disagreeable odor from the skinand from the bowel discharges. These they interpret as signs of physicaldeterioration and degeneration. These manifestations indicate that theentire body is cleansing itself, throwing out impurities that haveaccumulated, because the system has had so much work to do that it haslacked the power to be self-cleansing. Nothing is needed to prove thisfact except to continue the fast until the odors disappear and thetongue becomes clean. 

The bad odors given off by the body resemble the odors in severe feverswith much wasting, and hence they alarm those who have had little or noexperience with protracted fasts. These odors are often bad at the endof about one week of fasting, though there is no fixed period for theirappearance. They should cause no alarm for they simply indicate that thebody is cleansing itself, and that is exactly what is desired. Underproper conditions I have neither seen nor heard of a fatality comingfrom a short fast. Those who are in such physical shape that they willdie if fasted from five to ten days would die if they were fed. 

Another symptom that may alarm the attendant is the lowered bloodpressure. This is natural and should cause no anxiety. Eating anddrinking keep the blood pressure up. When the food intake is decreased, the blood pressure is reduced. When the food intake is stopped, theblood pressure is still further reduced. This fact should give theintelligent healer the hint to reduce the food intake in such abnormalconditions as arteriosclerosis and apoplexy. During prolonged fasts theblood pressure generally becomes quite low. 

Some fasting people can continue with light work, and when they are ableto do this, it is best, for it keeps them from thinking about themselvesall the time. If there is a lack of energy, dispense with work andvigorous exercise. In acute diseases there is no choice. One iscompelled to cease laboring. In chronic diseases it depends on thepatient and the adviser. 

Dismiss fear from the mind and do not discuss the fast or any of thesymptoms with anyone except the adviser. It is best not to tell anyoutsiders about the fast, for the public has some queer ideas on thesubject. If you are afraid, or if you have to fight with neighbors, friends, relatives, or perhaps with the health authorities, as sometimeshappens, it is better not to take the fast. 

Drink all the water desired. At first the more one drinks the morequickly the system cleanses itself. A glass of water every hour duringthe day, or even every half hour is all right. The water may be warm orcold, but it should not be ice-cold nor should it be hot. Both extremesproduce irritation. 

In acute inflammation of the stomach, nothing should be given by mouth. Small quantities of water may be given by rectum every two or threehours. In appendicitis only very small quantities of water are to begiven by mouth at first, until the acute symptoms have subsided. Largequantities of fluid may excite violent peristalsis with resulting pain. In all eases of nausea, give nothing by mouth, not even water, until thenausea is gone. Symptoms are nature's sign language, and when properlyinterpreted they tell us what to do and what not to do. 

Even though there be no thirst or desire for water, some should betaken. If it can be taken by mouth give at least a glassful every twohours, not necessarily all at once. Some are so sensitive that one-halfof a glass of water is all they can tolerate. If the stomach objects towater, give it by rectum. Always do this in cases of much nausea. Aftera few days the water intake may be reduced. 

Take a quick sponge bath every day and if there is any inclinationtoward chilliness, the water should be tepid or warm. Follow with a fewminutes of dry towel friction. People who are overweight, with goodheart and kidney action, can take prolonged hot baths, if they wish. Anolive oil rub immediately after the bath, about twice a week, isgrateful. However, this is not necessary. 

The colon is to be washed out every day. No definite amount of water canbe prescribed. Occasionally enemas are taken under difficulties, forsome cramp when water is introduced into the bowel. Those who are notaccustomed to enemas should use water about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Onequart is a small enema. Two quarts make a fairly large one. Introducethe water, lie still for a few minutes and then allow it to pass out. Ifthe bowels are very foul, use two or three washings. If there is muchfermentation, use some soda in the water. Salt, about a tablespoonful totwo quarts of water, stimulates the bowels, but its disadvantage is thatit draws water from the intestinal walls, thus robbing the blood of apart of its fluid. The same is true of glycerin. Perhaps the leastharmful ingredient that can be put into the water to stimulate action isenough pure castile soap to render the water opaque. The soap, however, has a tendency to wash away too much of the mucus which lubricates thebowel. On the whole, nothing is better than plain water. If it givesgood results use nothing else. 

Those who are very sensitive and weak often find that the expulsion ofwater from the bowel not only further weakens them, but causes pain. Insuch cases Dr. Hazzard recommends a rectal tube (not a colon tube), which is very good, for it allows the emptying of the bowel without anycramping. The tube is to be inserted about six inches. 

To take the enema, assume either the knee-chest position (kneeling withthe shoulders close to the floor) or lie on the right side with the hipselevated. These positions allow water to flow into colon by aid ofgravity. 

When it is necessary to supply liquid to the body by rectum, simplyintroduce a pint or less of plain water, moderately warm. Repeat asoften as necessary to keep away thirst, which will rarely be more thanevery three hours. 

Keep the body warm at all times. If it is difficult to keep warm, go tobed and use enough covers, having the windows open enough to supplyfresh air. At night use artificial heat in the foot of the bed. Ifhot-water bottles, warm bricks or stones are used, they should be quitelarge; otherwise they become cold by two or three o'clock in themorning, when heat is most needed. If a large receptacle, such as a jug, is used to keep the water in, the bed clothes are lifted off thepatient's feet, and this is often a great relief. 

No special food is suited to break all fasts on. It is necessary tobegin with plain food in moderation. Overeating or eating ofindigestible food at this time may result in sickness and even in death. If the faster lacks self-control, the food should be brought to him inproper quantities by the attendant. 

If the fast has lasted but two or three days, no special precautions arenecessary, except that the first few meals should be smaller than usual. 

As indiscretions in eating compel nearly all fasts it is necessary to doa little better than previously, or the fast must be repeated. It isbest to live so that fasts are not necessary. 

If the fast has been prolonged it is best to begin feeding liquid foods. What shall we feed? That depends on the patient and circumstances. Thejuice of the concord grape is not good for it ferments too easily. Manyof those who are compelled to fast or else die have been sofood-poisoned, and their digestive organs have been in such horriblecondition for years that they have been unable to eat acid fruits. Thisis especially true of those who consume large quantities of starch. Sometimes they are unable to eat fruit for a while after the fast. Atother times the irritability of the digestive organs disappears whilefood is withheld. For such people broths and milk may be employed. 

The juice of oranges, pineapples, California grapes, cherries, blackberries or tomatoes may be given. The tomatoes may be made intobroth and strained, but nothing is to be added to this broth exceptsalt. Stout people should do well on fruit juices. They are not to be sohighly recommended for very thin, nervous people, for fruit juices areboth thinning and cooling. Milk is very useful, and may be given eithersweet or clabbered or in the form of buttermilk. 

Thin, nervous people can safely be given broths, preferably of lamb, mutton or chicken. Trim away all the fat, grind up the lean meat, andallow it to simmer (not boil) until all the juices are extracted fromthe meat. Strain and put away to cool. When cold, skim off the fat. Thenwarm the broth and serve. This broth is not to be seasoned while it isbeing cooked, but a little salt may be added when it is ready to serve. To one pound of lean meat there should be about one quart of broth. Ateacupful to begin with is enough for a meal, and it is often necessaryto give less than this. The gravest mistake is to be in a hurry aboutreturning to full meals. The remarks about moderate feeding also applyto milk and fruit juices. 

Ordinarily, fasts are not broken on starchy foods, but this may be doneat times to advantage, especially in cases that have been accustomed tolarge quantities of starch and but little of the fresh raw foods. Thestarch must, however, be in an easily digestible state and should be inthe form of a very thin gruel made of oatmeal or whole wheatmeal. Itshould be cooked four to six hours and dressed with nothing but a littlesalt. A few can break the fast on a full meal without any bad results, but most people can not do it without suffering and the results may befatal. So it is a safe rule to break the fast on simple liquid food, taken in moderation. 

Four or five days after breaking the fast, one should be able to eat theordinary foods. The following is a suggestion of the manner in which tofeed immediately after a fast of about two weeks:

First day: Tomato broth once; mutton broth twice. 

Second day: Breakfast, orange juice. Lunch, buttermilk. Dinner, slicedtomatoes. 

Third day: Breakfast, buttermilk. Lunch, salad of lettuce and tomatoes, dressed with salt. Dinner, poached egg, celery. 

Fourth day: Breakfast, baked apple and milk. Lunch, toasted bread andbutter. Dinner, lamb chops, stewed green peas, celery. 

If a meal causes distress, omit the next one and continue omitting mealsuntil comfort and ease have returned. If the digestion is very weak, orif the illness has been protracted, do not feed solids as soon asrecommended above. In all cases it is necessary to exerciseself-control, moderation and common sense. 

The meals must be moderate. Gradually increase until the amount of foodtaken is sufficient to do the necessary bodily rebuilding. The longerthe fast, the more care should be exercised in the beginning. It is notime to experiment. 

If the fast is to be of permanent benefit it is necessary to learn howto eat properly afterwards, and to put this knowledge into practice. This is the most important part to emphasize, yet all the books I haveread on the subject have failed to pay any attention to it. In nearlyevery case the fast is necessary because of repeated mistakes in eatingand drinking. Those mistakes built bodily ills in the first place and ifthe faster goes back to them they will do it again. The disease does notalways take on the same type as it did in the first place, but it is thesame old disease. During a fast there is recuperation because the bodyhas a chance to become clean, and a clean body can not long remainunbalanced, provided there are no organic faults. By making mistakes ineating after the fast is over, the body again becomes foul and full ofdebris and that means more disease. Perhaps it may not require more thanone-third as much abuse to cause a second break-down as it did to bringabout the first one. 

Some people fast repeatedly, and are somewhat proud of it. They shouldbe ashamed of the fact that they must fast time after time, for it showseither ignorance or a weak, undeveloped will power. The fast shouldteach every intelligent being that it is an emergency measure, andemergencies are but seldom encountered in a well regulated life. 

Food debauches following fasts should be avoided. A little will powerproperly applied will prevent them. Gross eating may compel anotherfast. We must eat and it is better to eat so that we can take sustenanceregularly than to be compelled to go without food at various intervals. He who is moderate in his eating, uses a fair degree of intelligence inthe selection of his food, is temperate in other ways and considerateand kind in his dealings with others will not be ill. 

A fast is efficacious in clearing up a brain that is unable to work wellbecause it is bathed in unclean blood. It is remarkable how well thebrain works when the stomach is not overworked. Overfeeding the bodycauses underfeeding of the brain. On a correct diet the brain isefficient and clear and able to bear sustained burdens. 

There is no question but that a fast, followed by a light diet, containing less of the heavily starchy and proteid foods and more of thesucculent vegetables and fresh fruits, with their cleansing juices andhealth-imparting salts, would result in the recovery of over one-half ofthe insane. Most of them are suffering functionally and here the outlookis very hopeful. Christ cured a lunatic "by prayer and fasting. " Properfeeding would work wonders in prisons. It would also be very beneficialfor wayward girls and young men who are passion's slaves. St. Peterrecommended fasting as an aid to morality, which is another evidence ofthe profundity of his wisdom. 

How long should a fast last? Until its object has been accomplished. Itis rarely necessary to fast a month, but sometimes it is advisable tocontinue the fast for forty days, or even longer. If the fast is takenon account of pain, continue until the pain is gone. If for fever, untilthere is no more fever. In chronic cases it is not always necessary tocontinue the fast until the tongue is clean. When the patient is freefrom pain and fever and comfortable in every way, start feeding lightly. People who are thin and have sluggish nutrition, one symptom of which isdirty-gray mucous membrane in mouth and throat, should not be fasted anylonger than it is absolutely necessary, for they generally react slowlyand poorly. 

If people would miss a meal or two or three as soon as they begin tofeel bad, no long fasts would be necessary, because when the systemfirst begins to be deranged it very quickly rights itself when food iswithheld. It is impossible for a serious disease to develop in a fastingperson, unless he is in an exceptionally bad physical condition at thebeginning of the fast, for when food is withheld there is nothing fordisease to feed upon. No new disease can originate during a fast. 

Fasts often bring people back to health, who can not recover through anyother means known to man, unless it be eating almost nothing--asemi-fast. Occasionally a patient dies while on a long fast orimmediately thereafter, but please remember that millions dieprematurely on this earth every year who never missed their meals forone day. Also remember that those who go on prolonged fasts aregenerally "hopeless cases, " who have been given up to die by medicalmen. People who fast generally become comfortable, so why envy a few menand women an easy departure when they are no longer able to live, andwhy heap undeserved censure on those who are doing their best to easethe sufferers by means of our most valuable therapeutic measure, fasting?

There is much prejudice against fasting, but a calm study of the factswill remove this. Typhoid fever, conventionally treated, often provesfatal in 15 per cent. Or more of the cases and those who survive haveto undergo a long, uncomfortable illness which often leaves them soweakened and with such degenerated bodies that the end is frequently amatter of a few months or years. Pneumonia and tuberculosis find afavorable place to develop and in these cases prove very fatal. On theother hand, cases of typhoid treated by the fast, and the other hygienicmeasures necessary, recover in a short time, there are no evil sequelsand the body is in better condition than it was before the onset of thedisease. I have never seen a fatality in a properly treated case, andthe mortality is conspicuous by its absence. It is the same in curablechronic diseases. Where feeding and medicating add to the ills, fastingwith proper living afterwards brings health. 

It is also well to remember that where one individual dies while fasting(not from the effects of fasting, but from the disease for which thefast was begun), perhaps one hundred thousand starve because they havetoo much to eat. Silly as this may sound, it is the truth, and this is sthe explanation: Overfeeding causes digestive troubles and a breakdownof the assimilative and excretory processes. The more food that is takenwhile this condition exists the less nourishment is extracted from it. The food ferments pathologically, instead of physiologically, andpoisons the body. The more that is eaten under the circumstances, theworse is the poisoning and at last the tired body wearily gives up thefight for existence, perhaps after a long chronic ailment has beensuffered, or perhaps during the attack of an acute disease. The chiefcause of death is too much food. 

Avicena, the great Arabian physician, treated by means of prolongedfasts. 

For the benefit of those who fear the effects of fasts of a few days'duration a few quotations are given from various sources:

"My next marked case is a wonderful illustration of the self-feedingpower of the brain to meet an emergency, and a revelation, also, of thepossible limitations of the starvation period. This was the case of afrail, spare boy of four years, whose stomach was so disorganized by adrink of solution of caustic potash that not even a swallow of watercould be retained. He died on the seventy-fifth day of his fast, withthe mind clear to the last hour, and with apparently nothing of the bodyleft but bones, ligaments, and a thin skin; and yet the brain had lostneither weight nor functional clearness. 

"In another city a similar accident happened to a child of about thesame age, in whom it took three months for the brain to exhaust entirelythe available body-food. "--Dr. E. H. Dewey. 

This shows the groundlessness of the fear parents have of allowing theirchildren to fast when necessary. It is beneficial for even the babieswho need it. In the cases quoted above the conditions were veryunfavorable, for the children were suffering from the effects of lyeburns, yet they lived without food seventy-five and ninety days, respectively. If necessary, deprive the children of food, and keep themwarm. Then comfort yourself with the fact that they are being treatedhumanely and efficiently. 

Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard, in the latest edition of her book, Fastingfor the Cure of Disease, states that she has treated almost two thousandfive hundred people by this method, the fasts varying in duration fromeight to seventy five days, many of them being over a month. Sixteen ofher patients have died while fasting and two on a light diet. This isfar from being a mortality of 1 per cent. When the fact is taken intoconsideration that the people she treated were of the class for whom theaverage medical man can do nothing the mortality is surprisingly small. However, she has lost a few, and as she is a fighter for her beliefs theprejudice against her and her method of treating disease have provedstrong enough to cause her to be imprisoned. Dr. Hazzard has perhaps thewidest experience with fasting of any mortal, living or dead. Her bookis well worth reading. 

Upton Sinclair has also written a book on this subject, entitled theFasting Cure. He writes from the viewpoint of an intelligent laymanwhose observations are not very extensive. The book contains many goodideas. This is from page fifty-seven:

"The longest fast of which I had heard when my article was written wasseventy eight days; but that record has since been broken, by a mannamed Richard Fausel. Mr. Fausel, who keeps a hotel somewhere in NorthDakota, had presumably partaken too generously of the good cheerintended for his guests, for he found himself at the inconvenient weightof three hundred and eighty-five pounds. He went to a sanatorium inBattle Creek and there fasted for forty days (if my recollection servesme), and by dint of vigorous exercise meanwhile, he got rid of onehundred and thirty pounds. I think I never saw a funnier sight than Mr. Fausel at the conclusion of this fast, wearing the same pair of trousersthat he had worn at the beginning of it. But the temptations ofhotel-keepers are severe, and when he went back home, he found himselfgoing up in weight again. This time he concluded to do the jobthoroughly, and went to Macfadden's place in Chicago, and set out upon afast of ninety days. That is a new record--though I sometimes wonder ifit is quite fair to call it 'fasting' when a man is simply living uponan internal larder of fat. "

Bernarr Macfadden has also written considerable about fasting. C. C. Haskell is an advocate and director of such treatment. Many physiciansemploy this healing method. Some day the entire medical profession willrealize the worth of fasting as a curative agent. 

As a reminder, please allow me to repeat: When reading and studyingabout the subject of fasting, do not think of it as a complete cure, forthose who return to their improper mode of living will again builddisease. After the fast, live right. 

The efficient body is clean internally. An unclean skin is bad. A foulalimentary tract is worse. But the worst of all is a foul condition ofall the tissues, including the blood-stream, a condition in which muchof the body's waste is stored up, instead of being excreted. 

If such a condition can not be remedied through moderation andsimplicity in eating, the only thing that will prove of value istemporary abstinence. 

It would be an easy matter to enumerate many long fasts, such as that ofDr. Tanner, who proved to an astonished country that fasting for a monthor more is not fatal, but on the contrary may be beneficial. Or we couldcite cases like the fasts carried on by classes under the direction ofBernarr Macfadden. Or we could refer to the experiments of ProfessorsFisher and Chittenden of Yale. 

However, we will only look into one more case, that of Dr. I. J. Eales, whose fast created considerable interest several years ago. The doctorwas too heavy, so he decided to take a fast to reduce his weight, alsofor scientific purposes. For thirty days he lived on nothing but waterwith an occasional glass of lemonade and one cup of coffee. At the endof thirty days he broke his fast on a glass of malted milk. 

The doctor worked hard during all this period, losing weight all thetime, being thirty pounds lighter at the end of his fast than at thebeginning. However, he did not lose strength, being able to do as muchwork and lift as heavy weights at the end of the fast as at thebeginning. Anyone who is much over weight can with benefit do as thedoctor did, for the body will use the stored up fat to produce heat andenergy. This fast is fully detailed in Dr. Eales' book calledHealthology. 

Fasting is the quickest way to produce internal cleanliness, which ishealth. When the system is clean the cravings, longings and appetitesare not so strong as when the body is full of poisons. For this reason afast is the best way to destroy the cravings for tobacco, coffee, tea, alcohol and other habit-forming drugs. If, after the fast is over, theindividual lives moderately and simply, and is fully determined not toreturn to the use of these drugs, a permanent cure will be the reward. However, it is very easy to drift back into the old habits. A permanentcure requires that there be no compromise, no saying, "I shall do itthis time, but never again. " Once the old habit is resumed, it is almostcertain to be continued. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

ATTITUDE OF PARENT TOWARD CHILD. 

Healthy, happy children are the greatest of all rewards. All parents canhave such children, and it is a duty they owe themselves, the childrenand the race. It is a most pleasant duty, for the returns are fargreater than the cost. 

In order to have first-class children parents must be in good physicalcondition and be controlled mentally. Chaotic parents can not haveorderly children. The young people learn quickly from their elders andthey usually take after one of the parents. They intuitively learn whatthey can do and what they can not do and how to get their way while weconsider them too young to have any understanding. 

Therefore it is important that their first impressions are correct. Begin to train the child in the way it should go from the day of birth. The first training will have to do with feeding and sleeping. Thesepoints are covered more fully in the next chapter. They are touched uponhere to give them emphasis. 

Feed the child three times a day, but never wake it to be fed. If yougive the three feeds, the child will soon become accustomed to them andwake when it is time. If the child squirms and frets, it may beuncomfortable from being overfed or it may be thirsty. Offer it waterbut not food. 

Let the child alone. Do not bounce it or carry it about. During thefirst few months the baby needs heat, nourishment and rest, and shouldhave no excitement. It should not be treated as a plaything. After a fewmonths it begins to take notice of things and then you can have much funwith it. 

The right kind of love consists in doing what is necessary for theinfant and no more. 

Obedience to the reasonable requests of the parents is of the greatestimportance in the successful raising of children. Parents should realizethis even before the children are born. From the first, be firm, thoughgentle, with the little ones. Children should be so trained that whenthey are requested to do a thing, they do it immediately without anyrepetition. This will save both them and the parents many an unhappyhour. 

The lives of many parents and many children are made miserable from lackof a little parental firmness at the start. 

There are many little graces that are not vital, yet they are important, and these should be taught children early, for then they become secondnature. Among these are good table manners. Ungainly table manners haveno bearing on the health, but they give an unfavorable impression toothers. We are partly judged by the presence or absence of such littlegraces. 

Training children is like training trees. A sapling can be made to growin the desired way, but after a few years it will not respond totraining. The period of infancy is plastic, and then is the time toplant the seeds in the child's mind and teach good habits. 

It is not difficult to train the children. If the parents are orderlyand firm, instead of wavering, the children almost intuitively fall intoline. Teach them to obey and they will later be able to commandintelligently and considerately. 

The babies are helpless at first. This softens the hearts of the parentstoward them until they become very indulgent. Indulging and pamperingchildren are bad for them. Kindness consists in doing for them what isfor their good, which is not always what they desire. 

If the children are properly trained at first, they need very littletraining later on. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

CHILDREN. 

Statistics are generally very dry and uninteresting, but at times theytake on a tragic interest, and the importance of the few submitted hereis so great that they should command careful attention. 

The definite figures used are taken from the Mortality Statistics, United States Census, and they cover the year 1912, which is the lastyear for which we have definite information. Reliable mortalitystatistics are given only in a part of the country, which is not to ourcredit. The population is reported in the volume as 92, 309, 348. Theregistration area, which is the area giving mortality statistics, contains 53, 843, 896 people. In this area the total deaths are asfollows:

 Under one year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154, 373 Under ten years. . . . . . . . . . . . . 235, 262

Taking it for granted that the infant and child mortality among theunregistered people is the same, we get the following number of deathsannually among children in the United States, in round numbers:

 Under one year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280, 000 Under ten years. . . . . . . . . . . . . 425, 000

This is a very conservative estimate and 300, 000 is usually given as thenumber of deaths annually among babies under the age of one year. 

Even under ideal conditions a baby would occasionally die, but thedeaths would be so rare that they would be the cause of surprisedcomment. Some become parents who have no right to be, and they bringchildren into the world who are not physically fit to survive, and thesegenerally die within a few days or weeks of birth. However, these babiesare but a small minority and at least ninety-nine out of a hundredshould survive. Not one baby born physically fit would die ifintelligently cared for, and the fact that each year we lose overone-fourth million infants under one year of age in the United States isan indictment of our lives and intelligence, and a challenge to betterour ways. 

Every child that is brought into the world should be given anopportunity to live. This is far from the case today. Children are sohandicapped that they are stunted in body and blunted in mind, if theysurvive. 

Suppose that every ten years an army of 4, 250, 000 men and women betweenthe ages of twenty and thirty were destroyed at one time in thiscountry! The indignation, sorrow and horror would be so great that ameans would soon be found to end the periodic slaughter. 

But we allow this many children under ten to be destroyed every tenyears. The slaughter of the innocents does not bring forth much protest, because we are so used to it, and the babies go one by one, all over thecountry. The procession to the grave gives rise to this thought: "Thelittle one is better off. Now he will suffer no more. It is the will ofProvidence. " This is a libel on Providence, for this enormous mortalityis due to parental mistakes, mistakes made mostly through ignorance, butblamable all the same. It behooves parents to obtain knowledge that willprevent such costly and fatal errors. Nature's law is the same as man'srule in this that ignorance of the law excuses no one. The results arethe same whether we err knowingly or ignorantly. 

It is difficult to teach people to treat their babies properly, becausenearly all the information on the subject is so erroneous. When ateacher brings forth the truth but few accept it, for the vast majorityare on the other side. Those parents who accept the truth find itdifficult, to put it into practice, for every hand is against them. Ittakes more strength of character and moral courage than the averageindividual possesses to withstand the criticism of neighbors, friends, relatives and medical advisers. 

The few who have the courage of their convictions and the rightknowledge reap a rich harvest. They have babies who are well. They seetheir children grow up with sound bodies and clear minds. They are savedmuch of the worry which is the lot of parents of children raisedaccording to conventional standards. Last, but by no means least, theyhave the satisfaction of giving to the race individuals who are betterthan their parents or the grandparents. There is much opportunity forhuman improvement, and the improvement will take place automatically, ifwe do not prevent it by going contrary to nature. 

Healthy babies spring from normal, healthy parents. If they can havenormal grandparents, so much the better, but inasmuch as we can notalter the past, let us give our attention to the present. If we takecare of the present, the future will bring forth a population of healthyparents and grandparents, and then the babies will have fullopportunity. The past has great influence, for the child of today isheir of the past, modified by the present. He who influences the presentleaves his mark on the future. As individuals we do not usuallyaccomplish much during a lifetime, but if we influence our time for thebetter it is hard to tell where the improvement will cease or what willbe the aggregate result. A truth imparted to others acts much like apebble cast into the water. Its influence is felt in ever wideningcircles. 

Infancy and youth are plastic. Both body and mind are susceptible tosurrounding influences. If the heredity is unfavorable it can be largelymodified by favorable environments. If a child is born of unhealthyparents, but without any serious defect, and is intelligently cared forafter birth, it will grow up to be healthy. On the other hand, a childborn of healthy parents that is improperly cared for will become ill andperhaps die young. 

In early years the habits are formed that will largely influence andcontrol the years of maturity. Most children learn bad habits frombirth. It is as easy to acquire good habits as bad ones, and as peopleare largely creatures of habits, every parent should aim to give hischildren a good start. Parents seldom do wrong intentionally, but theyare careless and many of the parental habits of the race are bad, andfor this the future generations must suffer. 

It is easier and more economical to have healthy babies than to havesickly ones. The healthy way is the simple way. It merely meansself-control, common sense and constructive knowledge on the part of theparents. 

PRENATAL CARE. 

It is commonly believed that a pregnant woman must eat for two. The wisewoman will not increase her food intake. If she is not up to parphysically at the time of conception she will generally find itadvantageous to decrease the food allowance. 

A healthy baby should not weigh to exceed six, or at most seven, poundsat birth. Five pounds would be better. It does not take much food tonourish an infant of that weight, and the baby does not weigh that muchuntil shortly before birth. Most of the food is used for fuel but theamount of fuel required to heat a baby that is kept warm within themother's body is almost negligible. 

One of the first and most important requisites for having healthychildren is to avoid the eating-for-two fallacy. Most people overeat, anyway, and there should be no encouragement in this line. 

The results of overeating are many and serious. The mother grows tooheavy or else she becomes dyspeptic. Overeating and partaking of food ofpoor quality are the chief causes of the ills of pregnancy. Prospectivemothers can be comfortable. Pregnancy and childbirth are physiological. Normal women suffer very little inconvenience or pain. The sufferingduring pregnancy, the pain and accidents at childbirth are measures ofthe mother's abnormality. The greater the inconvenience the farther hasthe individual strayed from a natural life. The women who live normallyfrom the time of conception, or before, until the birth of the baby willbe surprised how little inconvenience there is. 

For ideal results the father must be kind, considerate andself-controlled. It is a disagreeable fact that many men are brutal andinconsiderate of wives and unborn children. The extent of this brutalitycan hardly be realized by those who have had no medical experience. Perhaps the women are partly to blame, for they do not teach their boysto be considerate and kind and they leave them in ignorance of subjectsthat are important and that can best be taught by parents. 

A pregnant woman should be mistress of her body. During this period thehusband has morally no marital rights. If boys were educated by theirparents on this subject they would be reasonable later on, and theaverage boy of fourteen or fifteen is old enough to receive sucheducation. 

Gestation should be a period of calm. All excitement and passion areharmful. The mother should be as free from annoyance as possible. Cheerfulness should be the rule. Those who are not naturally cheerfulshould cultivate this desirable state of mind. Gruesome and horribletopics should not be discussed. The reading should not be along tragiclines. The study of nature and the philosophy of men who have found lifesweet are among the helpful mental occupations. The mental attitude hasits effect, not only on the mother, but on the unborn babe. That theseed for good or evil is often planted in the child's brain beforebirth, according to the mental and physical condition of the mother, canhardly be doubted. Mothers who live naturally can dismiss all worry onthe subject of harm coming to themselves through maternity, for therewill be none. The absence of worry has a good effect on both mother andchild. 

The various ills from which mothers suffer are largely caused by eatingfor two. The overeating causes overweight in those whose nutrition isabove par and indigestion in those who have but ordinary digestivecapacity. Those who are overweight have too high blood pressure andthose who have indigestion absorb some of the poisonous products ofdecomposition from the bowels. Headache is a common result. Palpitationof the heart comes from gas pressure. The abnormal blood pressure mayresult in albuminurea, swelling of the lower extremities and overweightof both mother and child. The morning sickness is nearly always due toexcessive food intake. If this proves troublesome, reduce the amount offood and simplify the combinations. Instead of taking heavy, richdishes, increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

The birth of a large baby is fraught with danger to mother and child. Sometimes one or both are injured and sometimes one or both die. Manywomen are afraid to become mothers for this reason. It would bedifficult to estimate how often this fear causes law breaking, for alllarge cities have their medical men who grow rich through illegalpractices among these women. Sometimes these doctors are among therespected members of the profession, eminent enough to have a nationalreputation. The financial reward is great enough to tempt men to breakthe law and they will continue to do so, so long as present conditionsexist. 

It is important for the prospective mother to be moderate in her eating. Three meals a day are sufficient. Between meals nothing but water shouldbe swallowed. Lunching always leads to overeating. 

One meal each day can consist of starchy food, but not more than onemeal. Any one of the starches may be selected, the cereal products, rice, potatoes, chestnuts. If the digestion is good, take matured beans, peas or lentils occasionally, but these are so heavy that they shouldnot be eaten very frequently and always in moderation. With the starchyfood selected, take either butter or milk, or a moderate quantity ofboth. Sometimes it is all right to take some fruit with the starchyfood, but this should be the exception, not the rule. Fruit shouldgenerally be eaten by itself or taken with non-starchy foods. Starcheating should be limited to one meal a day because an excessive amountof this food causes hardening of the tissues. The baby's bones, whichshould be very soft, flexible and yielding at birth, will become toohard if much starch is eaten. 

Once a day some kind of proteid food may be taken, but this should alsobe eaten in moderation, for if it is not, degenerative changes will takeplace, which will manifest in some one of the disorders common topregnancy. Eggs and the lighter kinds of meats, or nuts or fresh fishmay be selected. Whatever kind of protein is taken, it should be asfresh as possible. Pork should not be used. With the protein, haveeither fruit or vegetables, and it does not make much difference which. No one could ask for a better meal than good apples and pecans. 

Be sure to eat enough of the raw salad vegetables and of raw fruits tosupply the salts needed by the body. 

For the third meal have fruit. Cottage cheese, sweet or clabbered milkor buttermilk may be taken with the fruit. Do not take milk twice a day, for if it is taken twice and other proteid food once a day, too muchprotein is ingested. 

A glass or two of buttermilk will make a good meal at any time. Dr. Waugh, who has had over forty years of experience and is well andfavorably known on both sides of the Atlantic, recommends buttermilkvery highly during pregnancy. Buttermilk and clabbered milk are betterthan the sweet milk. The lactic acid seems to have a sweetening effecton the alimentary tract. Sweet milk is constipating for many people. Thebuttermilk and the clabbered milk are not constipating to the samedegree. 

The use of fruit and vegetables has a tendency to prevent constipation. The only internal remedies for which there is any excuse are cathartics, and normal people do not need them. However, it is better to take a mildcathartic or an enema than to allow the colon to become loaded withwaste. Constipation among eaters of much meat is rather a seriouscondition, for the waste in the colon of heavy meat eaters is verypoisonous. The colonic waste in vegetarians is not so toxic. 

Desserts should be used sparingly and seldom. They are not a necessity, but a habit, and if they are consumed daily they are a bad habit. 

For the sake of the unborn child, avoid all stimulants and narcotics. Alcoholics and coffee should not be used. And it is best to avoid strongspices and rich gravies. A little self-denial and self-control in thisline will pay great dividends in healthy, happy, contented babies, andthere are no greater blessings. 

The mother should be active, but should not take any violent exercise. Light work is good, but no mother should Be asked to do house-cleaningor to stand over the wash-tub. She should have the opportunity of beingin the open every day, and of this opportunity she should avail herself. Why some women are ashamed of pregnancy is hard for normal-minded peopleto understand, for the praise of motherhood has been sung by thegreatest poets and its glory depicted by the greatest painters of theworld. 

This sense of false modesty is responsible for much of the tight lacingduring pregnancy. This is injurious to both the mother and the child, and is one of the reasons for various uncomfortable sensations. It helpsto bring on the morning sickness. It is nature's intention that theyoung should be free and comfortable previous to birth, and for thisreason a double bag is supplied between the walls of which there isfluid. The baby lies within the inner bag. 

The tight lacing prevents the intended freedom, besides weakening themother's muscles. It also aggravates any tendency there may be towardconstipation and swelling of the legs. It prolongs childbirth and makesit more painful. This is too high a price to pay for false modesty andvanity. 

If it is necessary to support the abdomen and the breasts for the sakeof comfort, this can be done without compressing them and the supportshould come from the shoulders. 

The skin should be given good attention, for an active skin helps tokeep the blood pure and the circulation normal. Take a vigorous dryrubbing at least once a day, and twice a day would be better. A quicksponging off with cool water followed with vigorous dry rubbing is good, but the rubbing is of greater importance than the sponging. An olive oilrub is often soothing and may be taken as frequently as desired. 

If there is a tendency to be ill and nervous, take a good hot bath, staying in the water until there is a feeling of ease, even if it shouldtake more than thirty minutes, provided the heart and the kidneys areworking well. Defective heart and kidney action contraindicate prolongedhot baths, but such ills will not appear if the mother lives properly. Under such conditions missing a few meals can only have good results. When eating is resumed, partake of only enough food to nourish the body, for anything beyond that builds discomfort and disease. 

These hints, simple as they are, contain enough information to robgestation and childbirth of their horrors, if they are intelligentlyobserved. If civilized woman desires to be as painfree as the savage, she must lead the simple life. 

INFANCY. 

If the baby lives to be one year old, its chances of surviving arefairly good, but during the first year the mortality is appalling. Complete statistics are not available, but in places one-fifth or evenone-fourth of the babies born perish during this time. The mortality ischiefly due to overfeeding and giving food of poor quality. 

The average parent loves his baby. He loves the helpless little thing todeath. In Oscar Wilde's words, "We kill the thing we love. " The babiesare killed by too much love, which takes the form of overindulgence. About thirty years ago the well known physician, Charles B. Page, wrote:

"How many healthy-born infants die before their first year isreached--babies that for months are mistakenly regarded as pictures ofhealth--'never knew a sick day until they were attacked' with cholerainfantum, scarletina, or something else. They are crammed with food, made gross with fat, and for a time are active and cunning, the delightof parents and friends--and then, after a season of constipation, aseason of chronic vomiting, and a season of cholera infantum, the littleemaciated skeletons are buried in the ground away from the sight ofthose who have literally loved them to death. This is the fate ofone-third of all the children born. As a rule, babies are fed as anignorant servant feeds the cook-stove--filling the fire-box so full, often, that the covers are raised, the stove smokes and gases at everyhole, and the fire is either put out altogether, or, if there iscombustion of the whole body of coals, the stove is rapidly burned outand destroyed. With baby, overheating means the fever that consumes him, and, in putting out the fire, too often the fire of life goes out also. "

Fat babies are thought to be healthy babies. This is a mistake, for thefatter the baby, the more liable it is to fill an early grave. Thoughtful, knowing people realize that a child that weighs eight poundsor more at birth is an indication of maternal law breaking. Both themother and the child will have to pay for this sooner or later. Overweight is a handicap. It prevents complete internal cleansing andcombustion, without which health is impossible. 

Because of the false ideas prevalent regarding weight of infants, it iswell to put a little emphasis on the subject. If the mother has livedright during pregnancy, the child is often light at birth, sometimesfive pounds or less. The average doctor will shake his head and say thatthe baby's chance to live is very small. The friends, neighbors andrelatives will say the same. They are wrong. Let the parents rememberthat light children are not encumbered with fat, and rarely withdisease. A light baby is generally all healthy baby, and if properlycared for and not overfed will thrive. Parents of such babies should bethankful, instead of being alarmed. 

It is not natural for babies to weigh nine or ten pounds at birth, andwhen they do it is a sign of maternal wrong doing, whether she has beencognizant of it or not. Babies should not be fat, nor should they be fatwhen they grow older, if the best results are desired. 

In babies it is better to strive for quality than for quantity. 

Every mother who is capable of doing so should nurse her baby. There isno food to take the place of the mother's milk. The babies build greaterstrength and resistance when they are fed naturally than when they arebrought up on the bottle. Babies thrive wonderfully in an atmosphere oflove, and they draw love from the mother's breast with every swallow. 

From the information available, which is not as complete and definite ascould be desired, it appears that from six to thirteen bottle-babies dieduring the first year where only one breast-fed child perishes. Thebottle-baby does not get a fair start. If a mother is ill and worn outshe should not be asked to nurse the baby. If the mother has fever sheshould not risk the baby's health through nursing. Some mothers do nothave enough milk to feed the baby. Nearly all who live properly giveenough milk to nourish their infants at first. If there is not enoughmilk, the child should be allowed to take what there is in the breastsand this should be supplemented with cow's milk. 

Dr. Thomas F. Harrington said recently:

"From 80 to 90 per cent. Of all deaths from gastrointestinal diseaseamong infants takes place in the artificially fed; or ten bottle-babiesdie to one which is breast-fed. In institutions it has been found thatthe death rate is frequently from 90 to 100 per cent. When babies areseparated from their mothers. During the siege of Paris (1870-71) thewomen were compelled to nurse their own babies on account of the absenceof cow's milk. Infant mortality under one year fell from 33 to 7 percent. During the cotton famine of 1860 women were not at work in themills. They nursed their babies and one-half of the infant mortalitydisappeared. "

These are remarkable facts and bring home at least two truths. First, they confirm the superiority of natural feeding over that of artificialfeeding. Second, they show that when the mother is not overfed theinfants are healthier. During the siege of Paris food was scarce in thatcity. People of all classes had to live quite frugally. They could notovereat as in the untroubled time of peace and prosperity, and theresult was that both the mothers and the babies were healthier. Theinfant mortality was only a little over one-fifth of what it waspreviously. If the French people had heeded the lesson the statesmen andphilosophers of that nation would not today have to worry about itsalmost stationary population. 

It would be much better if fewer children were born and those few werehealthier. What good does the birth of the army of 425, 000 childrenwhich perishes annually accomplish? It leaves the nation poorer in everyway. A mother tired and worn with wakeful vigils, and at last left withan aching heart through the loss of her child, is not worth as much asshe who has a crooning infant to love, and through her mother-loveradiates kindness and good cheer to others. The conditions that weed outso many of our infants tend to weaken the survivors. 

It costs too much to bring children into the world to waste them solavishly. This may sound peculiar, but it is enlightened selfishness, which is the highest good, for it brings blessings upon all. 

Artificial feeding lays the foundation for many troubles which may notmanifest for several years. The bottle-fed babies are often plump, evenfat, but they are not as strong as those who are fed naturally. Theytake all kinds of children's diseases very quickly. The glandularsystem, which is so readily disturbed in children, is more easilyaffected in bottle-fed babies. And so it comes about that they oftenhave swollen salivary glands, or swelling of the glands of the neck orof the tonsils. 

Do not be in a hurry to feed the baby after birth. Nature has soarranged that the infant does not require immediate feeding. It is agood plan to wait at least twenty-four hours after birth before placingthe baby at the breast, for then all the tumult and excitement have hada chance to subside. 

Many give the baby a cathartic within a few hours after birth. This is amistake. Cathartics are irritants and it is a very poor beginning toabuse the mucous membrane of the intestinal tract immediately. Thismucous membrane is delicate and in children the digestive apparatus iseasily upset. Before birth there was no stomach or bowel digestion, allthe nutritive processes taking place in the tissues of the little body. Gentle treatment is necessary to bring the best results. Cathartics withtheir harsh action on the delicate membranes are contraindicated. Themother's first milk is cathartic enough to stimulate the bowels to act, but it is nature's cathartic and does no harm. 

As a rule the baby is fed too often and too much from the time of birth. If the child appears healthy the physician's recommendation willprobably be to feed every two hours day and night, or every two hoursduring the day and every three hours at night. If the little one appearsweakly these feedings are increased in number. From ten to twenty-fourfeedings in twenty-four hours are not uncommon and sometimes infants arenursed or given the bottle two and even three times an hour. The excusefor this is that the baby's stomach is small and cannot hold much foodat a time and must for this reason be filled often, for the baby has togrow, and the more food it gets the faster it grows. The baby's stomachis small, because the little one needs very little food. The humanbeing grows and develops for twenty to twenty-five years. This growth isslow and during babyhood the amount of nourishment needed is not great. The child, if properly taken care of, is kept warm. Hence it needs butlittle fuel. The ideas on food needs are so exaggerated that it is hardfor parents to realize what moderate amount of food will keep a babywell nourished. 

An adult in the best of health would be unable to stand such frequentfood intake. He would be ill in a short time. Babies stand it nobetter, and the only proof of this fact needed is that in the UnitedStates at least 280, 000 babies under one year of age perish annually. During babyhood nearly all troubles are nutritive ones. With the stomachand bowels in excellent condition baby defies all kinds of diseases, provided it is given the simple, commonsense attentions neededotherwise, such as being kept warm and clean in a well ventilated room. With a healthy alimentary canal, which comes with proper feeding, thelittle one can withstand the attack of the vast horde of germs which sotrouble adult minds, also adult bodies, when people fail to givethemselves proper care. 

The results of too frequent feeding and overfeeding are appalling. Thefirst ill effect is digestive disturbance. Then one or more of the illsof childhood make their appearance. These are called diseases, but theyare only symptoms of perverted nutrition, though we insist on givingthem names. 

A healthy baby is one that is absolutely normal and well in every way. However, babies today pass for healthy when they are fat and sufferingfrom all kinds of troubles, provided these ills can be tolerated. Weneed a new standard of health. Perfect health is a gift that everynormal parent can bestow upon his children, and we should be satisfiedwith nothing short of this. Babies can and should be raised withoutillness, but, sad to relate, babies, who are always healthy are so rarethat they are curiosities. 

Many babies show signs of maternal overfeeding within a few hours ordays of birth. One of the common signs is the discharge from the nose. This is aggravated by overfeeding the infant. And thus is laid thefoundation, perhaps, for a lifelong catarrh. In due time variousdiseases such as rickets, swollen glands, formerly called scrofulous, mumps, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, pimples, eczema and cholerainfantum, make their appearance. Parents have been taught to look forthese diseases. They have been told that they belong to childhood. Thisis a libel on nature, for she tends in the direction of health. 

The prevalent idea at present is that various germs, which are found inwater, food, air and earth, are responsible for these diseases, but theyare not. The fact that infants properly cared for do not develop one ofthem is proof enough that germs per se are unable to cause these ills. The germs play their part in most of these diseases, but it is a kindlypart. They are scavengers, and attempt to rid the body of its debris andpoisons. Through false reasoning they are blamed for causing disease, when in fact their multiplication is an effect. They are a by-product ofdisease. The so-called pathogenic bacteria never thrive in the baby'sbody until the infant has been overfed or fed on improper food longenough to break down its resistance. 

The improper feeding not only kills an army of babies each year, but ithandicaps the survivors very seriously. The degenerated condition of thesystem leaves every child with some kind of weakness. The foundation maybe laid for indigestion, catarrhal troubles, which may or may not beaccompanied with adenoids and impeded breathing, glandular troubles, often precursors of tuberculosis, in fact children may be acquiring anydisease during infancy from chronic catarrh to rheumatism. 

Mental ills are also results of senseless feeding. A healthy baby ishappy. A sick baby is cross. Crossness and anger are mental perversions. Anger is temporary insanity. Enough overfeeding often results in mentalperversity, epilepsy and even in real insanity. A healthy body gives ahealthy mind. If people would care for their bodies properly, especiallyin the line of eating, the asylums for the insane would not be neededfor their present purposes. 

Another serious trouble that takes root from infant overfeeding is anabnormal craving for stimulants. This craving may later on be satisfiedin many ways. Some use coffee, alcohol, habit-forming drugs. Others tryto satisfy it by overeating. No matter how the sufferer proceeds tosatisfy this craving, he does not cure it, for it grows upon what it isfed. Morphine calls for more morphine. Tobacco calls for more tobacco. An oversupply of food calls for more food or alcohol. The victim at lastdies a martyr to his abnormal appetites. 

Comparatively few of those who see the error of their ways have the willpower to thrust off the shackles of habit. Very few think clearly enoughand go far enough back to realize that disease and early death are solargely due to the habits formed for the infant or unborn babe by theparents. And the parents received the same kind of undesirable legacyfrom their parents, and so it goes, the children suffering for the sinsof the parents. The cheerful part of such a retrospect is that there ismuch room for improvement, that we need not continue this seeminglyunending chain of physical bondage to the next generation, and that ifthe children are not born right or treated right during infancy, thereis still time to make a change for the better. Nature is kind and withwill and determination a change can be made at any time that will resultin betterment, provided such grave diseases have not taken hold of thebody that recuperation is impossible. This is no excuse for makingdelays, for the longer errors are permitted the harder they are toovercome. 

Three or four feedings a day are sufficient for any baby. The feedingsshould be arranged so that they are evenly distributed during the day, and nothing is to be given at night except water. Get a nursing bottleor two. Keep the bottles and the nipples scrupulously clean. These areto be used as water bottles. The water must also be clean. Heat it to103 or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, so that it will be from 98 to 100 degreeswarm when it enters the baby's mouth Let the baby have some water threeor four times during the day, and perhaps it will want some once ortwice during the night, but give it no milk at night. 

Overfed babies are irritable and cry often. The mothers interpret thisas a sign of hunger. Most babies do not know what hunger is. Like adultsthey become thirsty, but instead of getting water to quench their thirstthey are given milk. This satisfies for a little while, then theirritability due to milk spoiled, in the alimentary tract causes morerestlessness and crying, and they are fed again. The comedy of errorscontinues until it is turned into a tragedy. 

How much should the baby be fed at a time? When the parents are healthyand the baby is born right and then fed but three times a day, the foodintake will regulate itself. The child will not usually want more thanit should have of milk, supplemented with water. The best way to beginis to let the infant take what it desires. That is, let the nursingcontinue while the infant manifests great pleasure and zest. When thechild begins to fool with the breast or bottle, the source ofnourishment should be removed immediately. The child will increase itsintake gradually. 

Some of the babies will take too much. The evil results will soon beevident, and then the mother must not compromise, but reduce the intakeat once. The signs of over-consumption of food by the infants are thesame as those shown by adults. They are discomfort and disease. Theformer manifests in crossness and irritability. The disease may be ofany kind, ranging from a rash to a high fever. 

The baby's stomach is sensitive and resents the excessive amount of foodsupplied. So the infant often vomits curdled milk, and some times vomitsbefore the milk has time to curdle. This is a form of self-protection. If the mother would heed this sign by withdrawing all food until thestomach is settled, substituting water in the meanwhile, and then reducethe baby's food to within digestive capacity, there would be no moretrouble. Vomiting is the infant's way of saying, "Please do not feed meuntil my stomach becomes normal again, and then don't give me more thanI need, and that is less than I have been getting. " Remember that it isnature's sign language, which never misleads, and it is so plain thatany one with ordinary understanding should get its meaning, in spite ofthe erroneous popular teachings. After the child has vomited, feedmoderately and increase its food supply as its digestive abilityincreases. 

If the vomiting is wrongly interpreted and overfeeding is continued, either the baby dies or the stomach establishes a toleration, passingthe trouble on to other parts of the body. One organ never suffers longalone. The circulation passes the disease on to other parts, assisted bythe sympathetic nerves, which are present in all parts of the body. 

When the stomach has established its toleration, several things mayhappen, only a few of which will be discussed, for the process isessentially the same, though the results appear so different. In infantswhose digestive power is not very strong the excessive amount of milkcurdles, as does the part that is digested. The water of the milk isabsorbed, but the curds pass into the colon without being digested andthey are discharged in the stool as curds. They are partly decomposed onthe journey through the alimentary canal, producing poisons, a part ofwhich is absorbed. A part remains in the colon, making the boweldischarges very offensive. 

The passage of curds in the stool is a danger signal indicatingoverfeeding and should be heeded immediately. If it is not, the chancesfor a ease of cholera infantum, especially in warm weather, are great. Cholera infantum is due to overfeeding, or the use of inferior milk, orboth. It is a form of milk poisoning, in which the bowels are veryirritable. As a matter of self-protection they throw out a largequantity of serum, which soon depletes the system of the poor littlesufferer, and death too often claims another young life. If cholerainfantum makes its appearance the baby is given its best chance to liveif feeding is stopped immediately, warm water given whenever desired, but not too large quantities at a time. Give no cathartics, for theyirritate an already seriously disturbed mucous membrane, but give asmall enema of blood-warm water once or twice a day. Keep the babycomfortable, seeing that the feet and abdomen are kept warm, but giveplenty of fresh air. Medicines only aggravate a malady that is alreadyserious enough. This disease is produced by abuse so grave that in spiteof the best nursing, the baby often dies. It is easily prevented. 

Strong babies with great digestive power are often able to digest andassimilate enormous quantities of milk, several quarts a day. They cannot use all this food. If they could their size would be enormous withina short time. They do not find it so easy to excrete the excess as toassimilate it. The skin, kidneys, lungs and the bowels find themselvesovertaxed. Often the mucous membrane of the nose and throat are calledupon to assist in the elimination. These are the babies who are said tocatch cold easily. Their colds are not caught. They are fed to them. This constant abuse of the mucous membrane results in inflammation, subacute in nature, or it may be so mild that it is but an irritation. The result in time may be chronic catarrh or thickening of the mucousmembrane of nose and throat. While the catarrh is being firmlyestablished adenoids are quite common. 

In other cases too much of the work of excretion is thrown upon theskin. The same thing happens to this structure as happens to the mucousmembrane. It is made for a limited amount of excretion and when moreforeign matter, much of it of a very irritating nature, is deposited forelimination through the skin, it becomes inflamed. It itches. In alittle while there is an attack of eczema. The baby scratches, diggingits little nails in with a will. The infant soon has its face coveredwith sores and the scalp is scaly. The proper thing to do is to reducethe feeding greatly. Then the acid-producing fermentation in stomach andbowels will cease, but enough food to nourish the body will be absorbed, the skin will have but its normal work to perform, the cause of theirritation is gone and the effects will disappear in a short time. Twoweeks are often sufficient to bring back the smooth, soft skin thatevery baby should have. The sufferers from these troubles are almostinvariably overweight, and the parents wonder why their babies, who areso healthy, should be troubled thus!

Mothers owe it to their nursing babies to lead wholesome, simple lives. It is not always possible to live ideally, but every mother can eatsimply and control her temper. Wholesome food and equanimity will go fartoward producing healthful nourishment for the child. Stimulants andnarcotics should be avoided. Meat should not be eaten more than once aday, and it would be better to use less meat and more eggs or nuts. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be partaken of daily. They are therejuvenators and purifiers. The cereal foods should be as near naturalas possible. The bread should be made of whole wheat flour mostly. Ifrice is eaten it should be unpolished. Refined sugar should be taken inmoderation, if at all. The potatoes are best baked. Pure milk is as goodfor the mother as it is for the child. Highly seasoned foods or richmade dishes should be avoided. In short, the mother should live as nearnaturally as possible. 

The importance of cheerfulness can hardly be overestimated. A nervousmother who frets or worries, or becomes mastered by any of the negative, depressing passions, poisons her babe a little with each drop of milkthe child takes. 

Some mothers are unable to nurse their babies. This is so because oflack of knowledge principally, for women who give themselves proper careare nearly always able to furnish nourishment for their infants. It maybe that this function will be largely lost if the present preponderanceof artificial feeding continues, and if various inoculations are notstopped. Some mothers find it a great pleasure to nurse their babies. Others refuse to do so for fear of ruining their figures. 

No matter what the reason is for depriving the infant of its naturalfood, the parents should realize that its chances for health and lifeare diminished by this act. If intelligence and care are used in raisingthe bottle-fed babies only a few will die, in fact none will die underthe circumstances, provided they were born with a normal amount ofresistance. So it behooves parents of such babies to be extremelycareful. That there are difficulties in the way, or ratherinconveniences, can not be denied, but there are no insurmountableobstacles. 

The best common substitute for mother's milk is cow's milk. If clean andgiven in moderation it will agree with the child and produce no untowardresults. 

Instead of using the same bottle all the time, there should be a number, so that there will be plenty of time to clean them. If three feeds aregiven each day, there should be six bottles. If four feeds are given, eight bottles. Use a set every other day. The bottles should be rinsedout after being used. Then boil them in water containing soda or alittle lye, rinse in several waters and set them aside. If it is sunny, let them stand in the sun. Before using, rinse again in sterile water. The nipples should have equally good care. In feeding babies cleanlinesscomes before godliness. 

Each bottle is to be used for but one feeding, and as many bottles areto be prepared as there are to be feedings for the day. 

If the people live in the country it is easy to get pure milk. If in thecity one should make arrangements with a reliable milk man possessed ofa conscience. It is well to get the milk from a certain cow, instead oftaking a mixture coming from many cows. Select a healthy animal thatdoes not give very rich milk, such as the Holstein. She should have whatgreen food she wants every day, grass in summer, and hay of the bestquality and silage in winter. The grain ration should be moderate, forcows that are forced undergo quick degeneration. They are burned out. The cow should not be worried or whipped. She should be allowed to behappy, and animals are happy if they are treated properly. The watersupply should be clean, not from one of the filthy tubs or troughs whichdisgrace some farms. The barn should be light and well ventilated. Itshould be kept clean and free from the ammonia fumes which are found infilthy stables. The cow should be brushed and the udder washed beforeeach milking. The milker should wash his hands and have on clothes fromwhich no impurities will fall. The first part of the milk drawn shouldnot be put in with that which is to supply the baby. The milk should bedrawn into a clean receptacle and immediately strained through sterilesurgeon's cotton into glass bottles. These are to be put aside to cool, the contents not exposed to the dust falling from the air. Or the milkmay be put directly into the nursing bottles and put aside in a coldplace until needed. Then warm milk to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Pardon a little repetition: If possible let the child nurse. If there isnot enough milk, let the baby take what there is and give cow's milk inaddition. If it is impossible to feed the baby at the breast, get themilk from a healthy cow that is kept clean, well fed and well treated. The cow's milk should be prepared as follows: Take equal parts of milkand water. Or take two parts of milk and one part of water. Mix, and tothis may be added sugar of milk in the proportion of one levelteaspoonful to the quart. Before feeding raise the temperature of themilk to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, so that it will be about 100degrees when fed. It is best to do the warming in a water bath. 

Milk should not be kept long before being used. Limit the age tothirty-six hours after being drawn from the cow. Twenty-four hours wouldbe better. The evening milk can safely be given to the infant the nextday, if proper precautions have been taken. Ordinary milk is quitefilthy and upon this babies do not thrive. Make an effort to get cleanmilk for the baby. 

The composition of human milk and cow's milk is about as follows:

 ==================================================================== Water Albumin Fat Sugar Salts -------------------------------------------------------------------- Human . . . . . . . . . . 87. 58 2. 01 3. 74 6. 37 . 30 Cow's . . . . . . . . . . 87. 27 3. 39 3. 68 4. 97 . 72 --------------------------------------------------------------------

The albumin in human milk is largely of a kind which is not coagulatedby souring, while nearly all the albumin in cow's milk coagulates. Theuncoagulated albumin is digested and taken up more easily by the baby'snutritive system than that which is coagulated. This is one of thereasons that babies do not thrive so well on cow's milk as on theirnatural food. 

The sugar of milk is not like refined sugar. Although it is not soeasily dissolved in water, and therefore does not taste as sweet asrefined sugar, it is better for the child. If sugar is added to themilk, milk sugar should be used. The druggists have it in powder form. 

The addition of barley water and lime to the baby's milk is folly. Thevarious forms of modified milk do not give as good results as theaddition of water and a little milk sugar, as previously described. Ifyou believe in such modifications as the top milk method and theaddition of starchy substances and lime water, I refer you to yourfamily physician or text-books on infant feeding. 

It is difficult to improve on good cow's milk. It is well to rememberthat the human organism is very adaptable, even in infancy. Theprincipal factors in infant feeding are cleanliness and moderation. 

Bottle-fed babies should be given fruit or vegetable juices, or both, very early and it would be well to give a little of these juices tobreast-fed babies too. The latter do not require as much as the former. Begin during the first month with a teaspoonful of orange juice put intothe drinking bottle once a day. Increase gradually until at four or fivemonths the amount may be from one to two tablespoonfuls. Do not beafraid to give the orange juice because it is acid, for it splits upquickly in the stomach and is rearranged, forming alkaline salts. It isthe fruit that can be obtained at nearly all seasons. It is best to getmild oranges and strain the juice. The fruit is to be in primecondition. Instead of orange juice, the juice of raw celery, spinach, cabbage, apples, blackberries and other juicy fruits and vegetables maybe employed, but these juices must all come from fruits or vegetablesthat are in prime condition. No sugar is to be added to either the fruitor the vegetable juices. 

The mother's milk coagulates in small flakes, easily acted upon by thedigestive juices, after which they are readily absorbed. Cow's milkcoagulates into rather large pieces of albumin which are tough andtherefore rather difficult to digest. This happens when the milk istaken rapidly and undiluted. However, when diluted and taken slowly thistendency is overcome to a great degree. For this reason it is best toget nipples with small perforations. 

Either pasteurization or sterilization of milk is almost universallyrecommended by medical men. Even those who do not believe in suchprocedures generally fail to condemn them without qualifying statements. For a discussion of this fallacy I refer you to the chapter on milk. 

Do not give the little ones any kinds of medicines. They always do harmand never any good. If any exception is made to this, it is in the lineof laxatives or mild cathartics, such as small doses of castor oil, cascara segrada or mineral waters, but there is no excuse for givingmetallic remedies, such as calomel. If the babies are fed in moderationon good foods they will not become constipated. If they are imprudentlyhandled and become constipated it is necessary to resort to either theenema or some mild cathartic. Bear in mind that such remedies do notcure. They only relieve. The cure will come when the errors of life arecorrected so that the body is able to perform its work without beingobstructed. 

Inoculations and vaccinations are serious blunders, often fatal. Theanimal products that are rubbed or injected into the little body arepoisonous. They are the result of degenerative changes--diseases--in thebodies of rabbits, horses, cows and other animals. Nature's law is thathealth must be deserved or earned. Health means cleanliness, so itreally is absurd to force into the body these products of animal decay. Statistics can be given, showing how beneficial these agents are, butthey are misleading. In the days of public and official belief inwitchcraft it was not difficult to prove the undoubted existence ofwitches. Whatever the public accepts as true can with the utmost ease bebolstered up with figures. 

The use of serums, bacterins, vaccines and other products of thebiologic laboratory is almost an obsession today. Their curative andpreventive values are taken for granted. Most of the time the childrenare strong enough to throw off the poisons without showing prolonged orpronounced effects, but every once in a while a child is so poisonedthat it takes months for it to regain health and too often death is theend. Sometimes the death takes place a few minutes after the injection, but we are informed that the medication had nothing to do with it. Topoison the baby's blood deliberately is criminal. Give the little one afair chance to live in health. A properly cared for baby will not be illfor one single day. Knowledge and good care will prevent sickness. 

A baby that is able to remain well a month or a week or a day can remainwell every day. 

At first a normal baby sleeps nearly all the time, from twenty totwenty-two hours a day. The infant should not be disturbed. All thatshould be done for it is to feed it three times a day, give it somewater from the bottle three or four times a day, and keep it clean, dryand warm, but not hot. 

Most babies are bathed daily. This is all right, but the baths are to begiven quickly. The water should be about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Thesoap should be of the mildest, such as a good grade of castile, and itshould be well rinsed off, for soap permitted to remain in the poresacts as an irritant. Dry the skin so well with a soft cloth that therewill be no chapping or roughness. Sores, eruptions and inflammations aresigns of mismanagement. Use no powders that are metallic in character, such as zinc oxide. A dusting powder of finely ground talcum is good. Ifthe child is kept dry and dean and moderately fed the skin will remainin good condition. 

Babies do not thrive without good air. Keep the room well ventilated atall times by admitting fresh air from a source that will produce nodraughts. It is not necessary to have the baby's room warm. In fact acool room is better. When the child is to be exposed to the air, take itinto a warm room. Soft coverings will keep the infant warm. The limbsshould be free so that exercise can be had through unrestrictedmovements. 

The baby should not be bothered unnecessarily. Young parents make themistake of using the baby for show purposes. For the sake of politeness, others praise the "only baby in the world" unduly, though there aremillions of others just as good. Let the child alone, thus giving it anopportunity to become as superior as the parents think it is. Theshowing off process creates excitement and lays the foundation forfretfulness, irritability and nervousness. The child thrives in apeaceful atmosphere. When it is awake it is well to talk to it quietlyand soothingly, for thus the infant begins to learn its mother's tongue. Good language should be employed. Those who teach their childrenbaby-talk are handicapping them, for they will soon have to unlearn thisand learn real language. Baby-talk may be "cute" at eighteen months, butwhen children retain that mode of expression beyond the age of four orfive it sounds silly. 

At about the age of nine or ten months the breast-fed babe should beweaned. Gradual weaning is perhaps the best. First give one feeding ofcow's milk a day and two breast feeds; then two feedings of cow's milkand one at the breast, and at last cow's milk entirely. Between the agesof nine and twelve months begin giving starchy foods. At first the childwill take very little, and gradually increase. Give bread so stale thatthe child has to soak it with its saliva before it can swallow thebread. Working away this way, sucking the stale bread, the child learnsto go through the motions of chewing, and this is valuable training. Never give bread soaked in milk and never feed milk while bread is beingeaten. If the meal is to be bread and milk, give the bread either beforeany milk is taken, or afterwards. Starches are not to be washed downwith liquids. Instead of giving stale bread, zwieback may be used. Occasionally feed a few spoons of very thin and well cooked oatmeal orwhole wheat gruel, but the less sloppy food given the better, for itdoes not get the proper mouth treatment. The wheat products fed thechild should be made from whole wheat flour, or at least three-fourthswhole wheat and only one-fourth of the white flour. The refined flour islacking in the salts that the child needs for health and growth. 

Many mothers begin feeding starches when the baby is four or five monthsold. The child is given potatoes, bread or any other starchy food thatmay be on the table. This is a mistake, for the child is not prepared todigest starches at that early age. Some of the digestive ferments arepractically absent during the first few months of life. Such feedingwill invariably cause trouble. The baby should not be taken to thetable. 

It is quite generally believed that a baby should cry to exercise itslungs. A healthy, comfortable baby will do little or no crying, and itis not necessary. It is not difficult to give the little ones someexercise to fill their lungs. Babies can hang on to a finger or a thinrod tenaciously. Elevate the infant that does not cry thus a few timesabove the bed and let it hang for a few seconds each time. This throwsthe chest forward and exercises the lungs. What is more, this smallamount of gymnastic work is thoroughly enjoyed. It helps to buildstrength and good temper. The crying helps to make the baby ill-temperedand fretful. A little crying now and then is all right, but muchindicates discomfort, disease or a spoiled child. It would surprise mostmothers how good babies are when they have a chance to be good. 

After reading this, some are sure to ask how many ounces to feed thebaby. I don't know. No one else knows. Different babies have differentrequirements. The key is given above. If the babies become ill it isnearly always due to overfeeding and poor food, so the proper thing todo is to reduce the food intake. 

A healthy baby is a source of unending joy, while a sick one saps themother's vitality. It is too bad that the art of efficient child cultureis so little known. 

CHILDHOOD. 

Children may roughly be divided into two types, the robust and the moredelicate or nervous ones. The robust children can stand almost all kindsof abuse with no apparent harm resulting, but the immunity is onlyapparent. The growing child naturally throws off disease influenceseasily and quickly, but if the handicap is too great the child loses outin the race. 

The nervous type can not be abused with impunity, for the bodies ofthese delicately balanced children are easily disturbed. They must havemore intelligent care than is usually bestowed upon the robust type. Ifthe care is not forthcoming they become weak in body, with an unstablenervous system, or perish early. 

Some parents complain because other people's children can do what theirown can not and they wonder why. No time should be wasted in making suchcomparisons, for no two children are exactly alike, as no two leaves andnot even two such apparently similar objects as grains of wheat areexactly alike. Therefore the care necessary varies somewhat, though itis basically the same. 

If the nervous type is given proper care, good health will be theresult. These children do not tolerate as much exposure or as much foodas do the robust children. The important thing is to learn what theyrequire and then see that there is no excess, and in this way allow thechild to grow physically strong and mentally efficient. 

The delicate children are perhaps more fortunate than the stronger ones, for they learn early in life that they have limitations. If they commitexcesses the results are so disagreeable that they soon learn to beprudent. This prudence serves as protection so long as life lasts. 

The robust children on the other hand soon learn that they are strong. They hear their parents boast about it. They get the idea that becausethey are strong they will always remain so, that nothing will do themany serious harm. By living up to this fallacy they undermine theirconstitutions. Parents should teach their children about the law ofcompensation as applied to health, that is, he has permanent health whodeserves it, and no one else. The children will not always heed trueteachings after they have left the parental influence, but the parentshave at least done the best they could. 

The robust children have their troubles, such as chicken-pox, mumps, fevers and measles, but these are thrown off so quickly and with solittle inconvenience that they are soon forgotten. As a rule the parentsdo not realize that these diseases are due to faulty nutrition, and thatfaulty nutrition is caused by improper feeding. It is generally believedthat children must have all the so-called children's diseases. Somemothers expose their infants to all of these that may happen to be inthe neighborhood, hoping that the children will take them and be throughwith them. 

Every time a child is sick it is a reflection on either the intelligenceor the performance of the parents. It is natural for children to beperfectly well, and they will remain in that happy state if they aregiven the opportunity. If they are properly fed they will not take anyof the children's diseases in spite of repeated exposure. There is not adisease germ known to medical science strong enough to establish itselfin the system of an uninjured, healthy child and do damage. The child'shealth must first be impaired, through poor care, and then the so-calleddisease germs will find a hospitable dwelling place. If children aregiven natural food in normal quantities they are disease-proof. Feedingthem on refined sugar and white flour products, pasteurized orsterilized milk, potatoes fried in grease pickled meats, and variousother ruined foods breaks down their resistance and then they fall aneasy prey to disease. 

Some parents make the mistake of believing that they can feed theirchildren improperly and ward off disease by vaccinations or inoculationsof the products of disease taken from various animals. This is contraryto reason, common sense and nature and it is impossible. Any individualwho is continually abused in any way, be he infant or adult, willdeteriorate. If the disease is not the one that has been feared, it willbe some other one. 

The robust children generally develop into careless adults. That is whyso many of them, in fact the vast majority, die before they are fiftyyears old, although they are equipped with constitutions that wereintended to last over a century. They are shining marks for typhoidfever, Bright's disease, various forms of heart and liver troubles, rheumatism and pneumonia, all of which are largely caused by too heartyeating. These diseases often come without apparent warning. That is, thevictims have thought themselves healthy. However, they have not knownwhat real health is. They have been in a state of tolerable health, notsuffering any very annoying aches or pains, but they have lacked thenormal state of body which results in a clear, keen mind. As a rulethere is enough indigestion present to cause gas in the bowels and acoated tongue. Enough food is generally eaten to produce excessive bloodpressure. 

The foundation for such a state of affairs is laid in childhood, yes, often before the child is born. It can readily be seen how important itis for parents to impart a little sound health information to thechildren. At least, they should teach them what health really is, whichmany people do not know. 

When these strong people become sick it is often difficult, or evenimpossible, to do anything for them, for their habits are so gross andhave gained such a mastery that the patients will not or can not changetheir ways. 

The weaklings have a better chance to survive to old age, because manyof them learn to be careful early in life. In reading the lives ofeminent men who have lived long it is common to find that they werenever strong. 

At the age of one year the baby is generally weaned. The ordinary childneeds the mother's milk no longer, for by this time the digestive poweris great enough to cope with cow's milk and various starches. The mostimportant problem now is how to feed the child. If no errors ofimportance are made it will enjoy uninterrupted growth and health. Ifthe errors are many and serious there will surely be disease and toooften the abuse is so great that death comes and ends the suffering. 

Until the child reaches the age of two years the best foods are milk, whole wheat products and fruits. No other foods are necessary. Thesimpler the baby's food, and the more naturally and plainly prepared, the better. Adults who overeat until they suffer from jaded appetites, may think that they need great variety of food, but it is nevernecessary for infants or normal adults. Milk, whole wheat and fruitscontain all the elements needed for growth and strength and health. Byall means feed simply. Children are perfectly satisfied with bread andmilk or simply one kind of fruit at a meal, if they are properlytrained. The craving for a great variety of foods at each meal is due toparental mismanagement. 

Children should not be fed more than three times a day. There should beno lunching. The children will get all that is good for them, all theyneed in three meals. Candy should not be given between meals, and fruitis to be looked upon as a food, not as a dainty to be consumed at allhours of the day. If they are not accustomed to lunching, there will beno craving for lunches. If children are used to four or five meals a daythey want them and raise annoying objections when deprived of one or twoof them. It is easy to get children into bad habits. We can not blamethe average mother for giving her children lunches, for she knows nobetter and sees other mothers doing the same. 

The children who do not get lunches thrive better than those who alwayshave candy, fruit or bread and jam at their command. It is the same withadults. In the Dakotas and Minnesota are many Scandinavians and Germans. During the haying and harvest these people, who are naturally verystrong, eat four and five times a day. The heat, the excessive amount offood and the great quantities of coffee consumed cause much sicknessduring and after the season of hard work and heroic eating. Theso-called Americans in these communities are generally satisfied withthree meals a day, and they are as well nourished and capable of workingas those who eat much more. 

Refined sugar made from cane and beets should be given to childrensparingly. Refined sugar is the chemical which is largely responsiblefor the perversion of children's tastes. A normal taste is verydesirable, for it protects the possessor. A perverted taste, on thecontrary, leads him into trouble. Sugar is not a good food. It is anextract. It is easy to cultivate a desire for sugar, but to people whoare not accustomed to it, concentrated sugar has an unpleasant taste. 

The perversion of the sense of taste, generally begun with sugar, ismade worse by the use of much salt, pepper and various condiments andspices. If the child is fed on unnatural food, highly seasoned, at theage of a few years its taste is so perverted that it does not know howmost of the common foods really taste, and refuses to eat the best ofthem when the health-destroying concoctions to which it has beenaccustomed can be had. 

It is natural for children to relish fruit, but some are so perverted intaste that they object to a meal of it if they can get pancakes orwaffles with butter and syrup, mushes with sugar and cream, ham or baconwith fried potatoes, or fresh bread and meat with pickles. Many parentsallow their children to live on this class of food to the exclusion ofall natural foods. Children need a great deal of the natural salts, andwhen they live so largely on denatured foods there is always physicaldeterioration. It is true that to the average eye such children mayappear healthy, but they are not in one-half as good physical conditionas they could be. 

Tea and coffee should never be given to children. They are bad enoughfor adults. In children they retard bodily development. The stimulationand sedation are bad for the nervous system. Coffee is as harmful astobacco for the growing child. 

To warn against alcohol may seem foolish, but some parents really givebeer and whiskey to their infants. The beer is given as a beverage andthe whiskey as medicine to kill pain and soothe the children. Those whohave not seen children abused in this way may find it difficult tobelieve that there is such a profundity of ignorance. These children dieeasily. 

Others quiet their children with the various soothing syrups. The lastanalyses that came under my eyes showed that these remedies containedconsiderable opium, laudanum, morphine and other deadly poisons. Morphine and opium are not well borne by children and these "mother'sfriends" have soothed many a baby into the sleep from which there is nowaking. Make it a rule to give the children no medicines, either patentor those prescribed by physicians. Please remember that any remedy thatquiets a child is poisonous. Children who get proper care require nomedical quieting. 

Condiments should not be used. Salt is not necessary despite the popularbelief to the contrary, though a small amount does no harm. Salt eatingis a habit and when carried to excess it is a bad one. Salt is a goodpreservative, but there is little excuse for our using preserved foodsextensively. There are so many foods that can be had without beingpreserved in this country that it would not be difficult to excludethese inferior foods from the dietary. Children whose foods are notseasoned do not desire seasoning, provided they are fed on natural foodsfrom the start. They want the seasoning because they are taught to eattheir food that way. If they are given fresh fruit every day, such asapples, oranges, cherries, grapes and berries, they get all theseasoning they need and they get it in natural form. 

The objection is made that such feeding deprives children of many of thegood things of life. This is not true. Natural foods taste better thanthe doctored ones every time. Nature imparts a flavor to food productswhich man has never been able to equal, to say nothing of surpassing it. Children are taught to like abnormal foods. What is better, to givechildren good foods upon which they thrive, or denatured foods whichtaste well to a perverted palate, but are injurious?

Instead of giving sugar or candy, give raisins, figs, dates or sweetprunes. Small children may be given the strained juices of these fruits, obtained either by soaking the raw fruits several hours or by stewingthem. Children who are given these fruits do not crave refined sugar. They like these natural sugars better than the artificial extract. Thesesweet fruits take the place of starchy food. 

Very few people know anything definite about food values. Those who havestudied foods and their values in order to be able to feed childrenproperly generally make the mistake of believing that they should haveall the necessary elements at each meal in about the proper proportion. This is a grave mistake and leads to trouble. The child needs salts, protein, sugar and fat, and in the absence of sugar some starch. Milkcontains all these substances except starch. Give one fruit meal and twomeals of starch daily. Milk may be given with all the meals or it may begiven but once or twice. Do not overfeed on milk, for it is a rich food. 

Until the child is two years old, confine it in its starch eating prettymuch to the products of whole wheat. Give no white bread. White bread isan unsatisfying form of food. It is so tasteless and insipid and sodeprived of the natural wheat salts that too much has to be eaten tosatisfy. Children who would be satisfied with a reasonable amount ofwhole wheat bread eat more white bread and still do not feel satisfied. The same is true of rice, the natural brown rice being so superior tothe polished article that there is no comparison. 

The bread should be toasted in the oven until it is crisp clear through, or else it should be stale. Let the bread for toast get stale, and thenplace it in the oven when this is cooling off. Make the slicesmoderately thin. This is an easy and satisfactory way of making toast. Scorched bread--what is usually called toast--is not fit food for youngchildren. 

After the second year is completed gradually increase the variety ofstarch. Some of the better forms of starch that are easy to obtain are:Puffed rice or puffed wheat; brown, unpolished rice; triscuit orshredded wheat biscuit; the prepared corn and wheat flakes; bakedpotatoes; occasionally well cooked oatmeal or whole wheatmeal gruel. Mushes are to be given seldom or never. Children seldom chew them well, and they require thorough mastication. The rice is not to be sugared butafter the child has had enough, milk may be given. A small amount ofbutter may be served with either rice or baked potato. The cereal foodsshould be eaten dry. Let the children masticate them, as they should, and as they will not if the starches are moistened with milk. When theyhave had sufficient of these starches, and but one kind is to be servedat a meal, give milk, if milk is to be a part of the meal. To observethe suggestions here given for the manner of feeding starches tochildren may mean the difference between success and failure in raisingthem. It is the little things that are important in the care ofchildren. 

The acid fruits should not be given in the meals containing starchyfoods. Strong children who have plenty of opportunity to be in the freshair and who are very active can stand this combination, but it isinjurious to the nervous type. It is not a good thing to make suchcombinations habitually for robust children. A good meal can be made offruit followed by milk. Do not slice the fruit, sprinkle it with sugarand cover it with cream. Give the child the fruit and nothing else. Neither oranges nor grapefruits are to be sugared. Their flavor isbetter without. If the children want sweets, give them a meal of sweetfruits. 

When the child is eighteen months old it should have learned tomasticate well enough to eat various fruits. Apples, oranges, grapefruits, berries, cherries, grapes and melons are among the foodsthat may be given. If the child does not masticate well, either grindthe fruit or scrape it very fine. The sweet fruits require so muchmastication that only their juices should be fed until the child is oldenough to masticate thoroughly. Bananas should also be withheld untilthere is no doubt about the mastication. They must be thoroughly ripe, the skin being dark in spots and the flesh firm and sweet. A greenbanana is very starchy, but a ripe one contains hardly any starch anddigests easily. 

At first the meal is fruit, followed with milk. Buttermilk or clabberedmilk may be substituted for sweet milk. A little later, begin givingcottage cheese occasionally in place of milk, if the child likes it. 

The succulent vegetables may be given quite early. At the age of twoyears stewed onions, green peas, cauliflower, egg plant and summersquash may be given. Gradually increase the variety until all thesucculent vegetables are used. At first it may be necessary to mashthese vegetables. 

The longer children go without meat the better, and if they neveracquired the meat-eating habit it would be a blessing. If the parentsbelieve in feeding their children meat, they should wait until thelittle ones are at least four years old before beginning. Meats aredigestible enough, but too stimulating for young people. Chicken andother fowls may be used at first, and it is best to use young birds. Beef and pork should not be on the children's menu. At the age of sevenor eight the variety may be increased. However, parents who wish to dothe best by their children will give them little or no meat. Many of thesorrows that parents suffer through their wayward children would be doneaway with if the young people were fed on less stimulating foods. 

Eggs are better for children than meat. However, it is not necessary togive them. The children get enough milk to supply all the protein theyneed. Eggs may be given earlier than meat. At the age of two andone-half years an egg may be given occasionally. At three they may begiven every other day, one egg at a meal. At five or six years of age, an egg may be given daily, but not more than one at a time. If they aresoft boiled, three and one-half minutes will suffice. If hard boiled, cook them fifteen to twenty minutes. An egg boiled seven or eightminutes is not only hard but tough. Longer boiling makes the albuminmellow. Always prepare eggs simply without using grease. 

Eggs may be given in combination with either fruits or vegetables. Milkis not to be taken in the egg meal, for if such combinations are madethe child gets more protein than necessary. Eggs are easy to digest andthe chief objection to their free use in feeding children is that theprotein intake will be too great, which causes disease. 

Nuts should not be given until the children are old enough to masticatethem thoroughly. The best combination is the same as for eggs. Childrenunder six years of age should not have much more than one-half of anounce of nut meats at a meal. The pecans are the best. Children rarelychew nuts well enough, so they should seldom be used. They may be groundvery fine and made into nut butter, which may be substituted forordinary butter. 

Give no butter until the child has completed his second year. The wholemilk contains all the fat necessary. Butter should always be used inmoderation, for although it digests easily, it is a very concentratedfood. 

Again the question will be asked: "How much shall I feed my child?" I donot know, but I do know that most children get at least three times asmuch food as is good for them. People can establish a toleration to acertain poison, and seemingly take it with impunity for a while. Somearsenic eaters and morphine addicts take enough of their respectivedrugs daily to kill a dozen normal men. However, the drugs, if notstopped, always ruin the user in the end. It is the same way with food. Children seem to establish a toleration for an excess for a shorter orlonger period of time, but the overeating always produces discomfort anddisease in the end, and if it is continued it will cause prematuredeath. 

About one-third or one-fourth of what children eat is needed to nourishthem. The rest makes trouble. Read the chapters in this book onovereating and on normal food intake. They give valuable pointers. Parents know their children best, and the mother can, or should be ableto tell when there are signs of impending danger. If there is a decidedchange in the child's disposition it generally denotes illness. Somechildren become very sweet when they are about to be ill, but most ofthem are so cranky that they make life miserable for the family. A foul, feverish breath nearly always comes before the attack. A common dangersignal is a white line around the mouth. Another one is a white, pinchedappearance of the nose. A flushed face is quite common. The tongue neverlooks normal. Except the abnormal tongue, these symptoms are not allpresent before every attack, but one or more of them generally are. Nomatter what the signs of trouble may be, stop all feeding immediately. If this is done, the disease generally fails to develop, but if feedingis continued there is sure to be illness. These symptoms indicate thatthe digestion is seriously disturbed. It is folly to feed when there isan acute attack of indigestion. Besides, it is very cruel, for it causesmuch suffering. 

Such symptoms in children are caused by improper eating, and overeatingis generally the chief fault. The remedy is very simple: Feed less. 

A coated tongue indicates too much food. A clean tongue shows that thedigestive organs are working well. If the tongue is not smooth and apretty pink in color, it means that the child has had too much food andthe meals must be reduced in quantity until the tongue does becomenormal, which may take a few months in chronic cases. Peculiar littleprotruding spots when red and prominent on the tip and edges of thetongue indicate irritation of the alimentary tract and call forreduction of food intake. 

The parents can soon learn how much to feed the children if they will beguided by these hints. Poor health in the children indicates parentalfailure, and this is one place where they can not afford to fail. Parents must be honest with themselves and not put the blame where thedoctors put it--on bacteria, draughts, the weather, etc. Sometimes theclimate is very trying on the babies, but it never kills those who haveintelligent care. 

If it is found that the child next door, of the same age, eats three orfour times as much as your child, do not become alarmed about yourlittle one, but give the neighbor's child a little silent sympathybecause its parents are ignorant enough to punish the little one socruelly. 

For those who desire more definite hints regarding feeding of children, an outline has been prepared for several days. This is very simplefeeding, but it is the kind of feeding that will make a rose bloom ineach cheek. The child will be happy and contented and bring joy to thehearts of the parents. 

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast, butter and a glass of milk. 

Lunch: A baked apple and a dish of cottage cheese. 

Supper: Steamed or boiled brown rice and milk. 

Breakfast: Puffed wheat and milk. 

Lunch: Oranges and milk. 

Supper: An egg, parsnips and onions, both stewed. 

Breakfast: Oatmeal or whole wheat porridge and milk. 

Lunch: Berries and milk. 

Supper: Baked potato, spinach and a plate of lettuce. 

Breakfast: Shredded wheat biscuit and milk. 

Lunch: Stewed prunes and milk or cottage cheese. 

Supper: Whole wheat toast and milk. 

These are merely hints. Where one juicy fruit is suggested, another maybe substituted. In place of the succulent vegetables named, others maybe used. Any of the starches may be selected in place of the ones given. However, no mistake will be made in using the whole wheat products asthe starch mainstay. 

Desserts should not be fed to children often. Rich cakes and all kindsof pies should be omitted from the bill of fare. It is true that somechildren can take care of them, but what is the use of taking chances? Aplain custard, lightly flavored, may be given with toast. If ice creamis above suspicion a moderate dish of this with some form of starch maybe given, but milk is not to be taken in the same meal with either icecream or custard. 

At the end of the third year it is time enough to begin to feed thesalad vegetables, though they may be given earlier to children whomasticate well. The dressing should be very plain, nothing more than alittle salt and olive oil, or some clabbered cream. No dressing isnecessary. The salad vegetables may be eaten with the meal containingeggs and the stewed succulent vegetables. 

At the age of about seven or eight the child may be put on the same dietas the parents, provided they live simply. Otherwise, continue in theold way a little longer. For the best results in raising children, simplicity is absolutely necessary. 

Children who are early put on a stimulating diet develop mental andsexual precocity, both of which are detrimental to physical welfare. Thefirst desideratum is to give the children healthy bodies, and then therewill be no trouble in giving them what knowledge they need. 

In overfed boys the sex urge is so strong that they acquire secrethabits, and sometimes commit overt acts. Too much protein is especiallyto blame. These facts are not understood by many and the result is thatthe parents fail in their duty to their children. 

It is best not to bring young children to the table, if there isanything on it that they should not have, for it nearly always resultsin improper feeding. The children are curious and they beg for a littleof this and a little of that. Unthinkingly the parents give them littletastes and bites and before the meal is over they have had from six totwelve different kinds of food, some of them not fit for adultconsumption. If the child understands that it is not to ask for thesethings and abides by this rule, it is all right, but such children arerare. A child that fretfully begs for this and that at the table upsetsitself and the parents. 

Make no sudden changes in the manner of feeding, unless the feeding isdecidedly wrong. 

Active children get all the exercise they need. They should spend alarge part of the day in the open, and this is even more important forthe delicate ones. The bedroom should be well ventilated, but thechildren must be kept cozy and warm or they do not sleep well. 

After the child is old enough not to soil itself, one or two baths aweek are sufficient. There is no virtue in soaking. Swimming isdifferent, for here the child is active in the water and it does notweaken him so. Swimming should be a part of every child's education. 

Bed time should be early. The children should be tucked in and the lightturned off by 8 o'clock, and 7 o'clock is better for children underfive. If they want to get up early in the morning, let them, but putthem to bed early at night. 

Infants should not be exposed long to the direct rays of the summer sun, for it is liable to cause illness. It upsets the stomach and then thereis a feverish spell. If nothing is fed that will generally be all, butit is unnecessary to make babies ill in this way. They should not bechilled either. 

Husband and wife do not agree at all times, but they make a mistake whenthey disagree in the presence of their children. Young people are quickto take advantage of such a state of affairs and they begin to play theparents against each other. When a point comes up where there is adifference of opinion, the decision of the parent who speaks firstshould stand, at least for the time being. Then when they are bythemselves, man and wife can discuss the matter if it is notsatisfactory, and even quarrel about it, if that gives them pleasure. Parents who do not control themselves can not long retain the fullrespect of their children. Lost respect is not very far distant fromlost love. 

People often object to a change in methods, for, they say, the new planwill cause too much trouble. The plan here outlined causes less troublethan the conventional method of caring for children. It is simpler andgives better results. If it were followed out the mortality of childrenunder ten years of age in this country would be reduced from over400, 000 annually to less than 25, 000. In spite of everything, a numberof young people will get into fatal pranks. 

There are difficulties in the way of raising children properly, but ahealthy child is such a great reward that the efforts are paid for ahundred times over. Nothing wears the parents out more quickly than achild who is always fretting and crying, always on the brink of diseaseor in its grasp. In raising children the best way is the easiest way. 

THE CHILD'S MENTAL TRAINING. 

A healthy body is the child's first requirement. However, if the mentaltraining is poor, giving wrong views of life, a good physique is of butlittle service. 

It is quite generally agreed among observers that the first seven yearsof life leave the mental impressions which guide the whole life, andthat after the age of fourteen the mental trend rarely changes. Thereare a few individuals with strength enough to make themselves overmentally after reaching adult life, but these are so few that they arealmost negligible, and even they are largely influenced by their youthand infancy. It is as easy to form good mental habits as bad ones. It iswithin the power of all parents to give their children healthy bodiesand healthy minds, and this is a duty, which should prove a pleasure. The reason such heritage is so rare is that it requires considerableself-control and most parents live chaotic lives. 

Upon the mentality depends the success in life. "It is the mind thatmakes the body rich. " No matter how great an individual's success mayseem in the eyes of the public, if the person lacks the properperspective, the proper vision and the right understanding, his successis an empty thing. Wealth and success are considered synonymous, but Ihave found more misery in the homes of the rich than among the poor. Physical wants can be supplied and the suffering is over, but mentalwants can only be satisfied through understanding, which should becultivated in childhood. 

"All our problems go back to the child--corrupt politics, dishonesty andgreed in commerce, war, anarchism, drunkenness, incompetence andcriminality. "--Moxom. 

Given a healthy body and a good mind, every individual is able to becomea useful member of society, and that is all that can be expected of theaverage individual. All can not be eminent, and it is not necessary. 

Upon the child's mental impressions and the habits formed in infancy andyouth depend the mental workings and the habits of later life. Thereforeit is necessary to nurture the little people in the right kind ofatmosphere. If the child is trained properly from infancy there will beno serious bad habits to overcome during later years, and, as all know, habits are the hardest of all bonds to break. To overcome the coffee andalcohol habits is hard, but to overcome bad mental habits is even moredifficult. 

First of all, let the infant alone most of the time. Some mothers are sofull of love and nonsense that they take their babies up to cuddle andlove them at short intervals, and then there are the admiring relativeswho like to flatter the parents by telling them that the baby is thefinest one they have seen; it is an exceptional baby. So the relativeshave to bother the infant and kiss it. This should not be. The childshould be kept in a quiet room and should not be disturbed. There are noexceptional babies. They are all much alike, except that some are alittle healthier than others. If they are let alone, they have the bestopportunity to develop into exceptional men and women. 

Paying too much attention to babies makes them cross and irritable. Theysoon learn to like and then to demand attention. If they do not get itat once they become ill-tempered and cry until attention is given. Thusthe foundation of bad temper is laid in the very cradle. They gain theirends in infancy by crying. Later on they develop the whining habit. Whenthey grow older they fret and worry. Such dispositions are the faults ofthe parents. 

It does not take long for children to learn how to get their way, and ifthey can do it by being disagreeable, you may be sure that they willdevelop the worst side of their nature. Let the child understand thatbeing disagreeable buys nothing, and there will soon be an end of it. Children who are well and well cared for are happy. They cause theirelders almost no trouble. To lavish an excessive amount of care on ababy may be agreeable to the mother at first, but it is different whenit comes to caring for an ill-tempered, spoiled child of eight or nineyears. 

Many crimes are committed in the name of love. Many babies are killed bylove. Unless love is tempered by understanding it is as lethal aspoison. Many parents think they are showing love when they indulge theirchildren, but instead they are putting them onto the road that leads tophysical and mental decay. True love is helpful, kind and patient. Thespurious kind is noisy, demonstrative and impatient. 

Do what is necessary for children, but do not allow them to causeunnecessary work. What they can do for themselves they should do. Theycan be taught to be helpful very early. They should be taught to be neatand tidy. They should learn to dress themselves and how to keep theirrooms and personal effects in good order early in life, no matter howmany servants there may be. These little things are reflected in theirlater lives. They help to form the individual's character. It is what wedo that largely make us what we are, and every little act and everythought has a little influence in shaping our lives. An orderly bodyhelps to make an orderly mind and vice versa. 

Many of the rich children are unfortunate indeed. Some times poorparents have so many children that each one gets scant attention, butthe children of many of the rich get no parental attention. The parentsare too busy accumulating or preserving a fortune and climbing a socialladder to bother with their children. Their raising is delegated toservants. At times the little ones are put on display for a few minutesand then the parents are as proud of them as they are of the expensivepaintings that adorn the walls or the blooded dogs and horses in kennelsand stables. No amount of paid service can compensate for the lack ofparental love. 

The ideal today, especially for female children, seems to be to makeornaments of them, to train them to be useless. Girls, as well as boys, should be taught to be useful. They should be taught that those who donot labor are parasites. If some do not work, others have to work toohard. The story is told of Mark Twain that he dined with an Englishnobleman who boasted that he was an earl and did not labor. "In ourcountry, " said Mark Twain, "we do not call people of your class earls;we call them hoboes. "

It does not matter how wealthy parents are, they should teach theirchildren how to earn a living, and they should instill into them theideal of service, for a life of idleness is a failure. The shirkers andwasters are not happy. The greatest contentment in life comes from theperformance of good work. Ecstatic love and riotous pleasure can notlast. Work with love and pleasure is good. But love and pleasure withoutwork are corroding. 

Children who are waited upon much become selfish. They soon becomegrafters, expecting and taking everything and giving nothing. This isimmoral, for life is a matter of compensation, and consists in giving aswell as in taking. Children should be taught consideration for others, and should not be allowed to order the servants around; not that itharms the servants, but it has a bad effect on the children. 

Because the child's period of development is so long, it is important tohave a proper adjustment in the home between parents and the children. Lack of adjustment wears out the parents, especially the mother, andgives false impressions to the young people. To prevent friction and getgood results, children should be taught obedience. Obedience is one ofthe stepping stones to ability to command. 

In those homes where the words of the parents are law there is butlittle friction. Obedience should be taught from the very start. As soonas the child realizes that the parents mean what they say and that it isuseless to fret and complain about a command, that is the end of thematter. How different it is with disobedient children! The parents haveto tell them what to do several times and then the bidding often remainsundone. 

Begin to teach obedience and promptness as soon as the childrenunderstand, for it is more difficult later. The older the children theharder it is. Children know so little and are so conceited that they donot realize that because of lack of experience, observation andreflection they can not safely guide themselves at all times. When theyare allowed to act so that they are a nuisance to others and harmful tothemselves, they do not give up this license with good grace. There aretimes to be firm and then firmness should be used. It is necessary forthe parents to cooperate. 

Various parents have different ways of correcting their children, and itis not difficult to make them realize that obedience is a part of theplan of early life. To illustrate: If the children are called for ameal, they should come promptly. If there is a tendency to lag, tellthem that if they do not come when called they will get nothing to eatuntil next mealtime, and act accordingly. This is no cruelty, for no oneis harmed by missing a meal. It generally proves very effective. 

At the table, serve the children what your experience has told you theycan take with benefit, without saying anything about it. If they ask foranything else, give it if you think proper. If not, say no. If theystart to beg and whine, tell them that such conduct will result in theirbeing sent away from the table, and if they still continue, do as youhave said, and let there be no weakening. This may cause a few verydisagreeable experiences at first, but it is much better to have a fewof them and be through, than to continue year after year to have suchtrouble. Some children can eat everything with apparent impunity andtheir parents usually pay no attention to what they eat. But there areothers who become ill if they are improperly fed. Children who are oftenfeverish and take all the diseases peculiar to the young, aremaltreated. They are not properly fed. Those who are prone toconvulsions must be fed with great care, or there is danger of theirbecoming epileptics. Firmness in such cases generally means thedifference between health and disease or even death. 

By all means be firm in such matters. Indulging the children to excessis invariably harmful. When your children become ill and die, you cantruly say, "Behold my handiwork. "

In the same way teach the children to do promptly whatever they are toldto do. If they are told to go to bed, it should be done without delay orprotest. All the little duties that fall to their lot should likewise beaccomplished promptly. However, the parents should be reasonable andthey should avoid bombarding their children with commands to do or notto do a thousand and one things that do not matter at all. Let thechildren alone except when it is really necessary to direct them. 

Unfortunately, most of the parents are blind to their own faults, butsee very clearly those of others. The mistakes they make in their ownfamilies open their eyes to those of others, and then they are oftenvery impatient. I know one gentleman who has excellent knowledge of theproper training of the young, but as a parent he is a total failure. Heis so explosive and lacking in patience and firmness, perhaps also inlove, that his knowledge has not helped him. It is not what we know, butwhat we apply, that makes or mars. 

Obedience reduces friction and trains the children into habits ofefficiency. It is not only valuable in preserving the health of theparents, but in increasing the child's earning capacity when the timecomes to labor in earnest. 

Plato said that democracies are governed as well as they deserve to be. Likewise, parents get as much obedience, respect, affection and love asthey deserve, and the three latter are largely dependent upon theformer. It would be difficult to overemphasize the importance ofobedience. 

In nature we find that the animals teach their young how to liveindependently as soon as they have the strength to care for themselves. This is what parents should teach their children. This may cause themother pain, for many mothers like to keep their children helpless, dependent and away from contact with the world as long as possible. Wisemothers do not handicap their children thus. The best parents are thosewho teach their children early how to make their own way. 

Doubtless the greatest happiness is to be found in a congenial family, where the parents understand and love each other and their children. Those parents who are so busy that they lack the time to becomeacquainted with their infants and keep up this intimacy, are losing apart of life that neither money nor social position can give them. Manywait until too late to get on intimate terms with their children. Whenyoung, the children are naturally loving and then the beautiful tieswhich neither time nor misfortune can sunder are formed. When thechildren are grown it is too late to establish such a relation. Thenthey look at their parents with as critical eyes as they use towardother people, and though they may become very good friends, the tenderlove is lacking. Love between man and woman is unstable, but thebeautiful love that springs from companionship of children and parentslasts until the end. 

While some mothers neglect their children, many become too absorbed inthem. The children become all of the mother's life. As the young peoplebecome older, their horizon naturally widens. During infancy the parentscan fill the child's whole life, but soon other interests craveattention. There is always a tragedy in store for the mother who refusesto see that her children, as they grow older, will demand the humanexperience necessary for individual growth and development. If themother has no other interest than her children she will one day be leftwith a heart as empty as the home from which the children are gone. There are so many interesting things in this world, and every mothershould have her hobby. She should have at least one hour each day sacredto herself, in which she can relax and cultivate the mind. This willhelp to fill the coming years, which too often prove barren. Lovingparents get all the reward they should expect from the beautifulintimacy that exists between them and their growing children. So-calledungrateful children have incompetent parents. Parents have no right todemand gratitude. They do no more for their children than was done forthemselves in the morning of their lives. The right kind of parentsnever want for rewards. They are repaid every day so long as they live. Children grow under the care of their parents, but the parents also growand expand in understanding, sympathy and love through association withtheir children. 

Today society does not treat the mothers with the proper consideration. The mothers deserve well, for they have to give many of their best yearsto the children. These are the productive years, and generally unfit thewomen to go into economic competition with the rest of the worldafterwards. Society owes it to the mothers of the race to see that theyare not made to suffer for fulfilling their destiny. Motherhood today isas dangerous as the soldier's life, though it ought not to be, and it ismore difficult to raise children than to conduct a successful business. However, the financial rewards for motherhood are generally nil. Theleast society can do is to see that these women do not want for thenecessities of life. 

Most children are interrogation points. This is well, for they learnthrough curiosity. The questions should be answered honestly, or not atall. It is common to give untrue answers. This is poor policy, for theanswers are a part of the child's education and untruths make the youngpeople ignorant and superstitious. It takes considerable patience toraise a child and he who is unwilling to exercise a little patience hasno right to become a parent. 

Whether to use corporeal punishment or not is a question that theparents must decide for themselves. Many parents are in the habit ofnagging their children. It is, "Don't do this, " and "Don't do that, "until the little ones feel as exasperated as the Americans in Berlin, where everything that one has an impulse to do is "Verboten. " Thechildren have not yet acquired caution, nor are they able to think ofmore than one or two things at a time. Consequently they forget whatthey are not to do, and then parental wrath descends upon them. Parentscan well afford to be deaf and blind to many things that happen. Thosemothers who are ever shouting prohibitions soon cultivate a fretful, irritable tone that is bad for all concerned, and which does not breedrespect and obedience. Make it a rule not to interfere with the childrenexcept when it is necessary, and tell them to do but one thing at atime. 

If too many commands and prohibitions are issued, the children are proneto forget them all. If they are talked to less, what is said is moredeeply impressed on their minds, and the chances are that they willremember. Boisterousness is not badness, but indicates a state ofwell-being, which results in bodily activity, including the use of thevocal cords. It is common to all young animals, and the human animal isthe only one that is severely punished for manifesting happiness. 

If the parents decide that corporeal punishment is necessary, theyshould be sure that it has been deserved, for a child resents beingpunished unjustly, and undeserved punishment is always harmful. Manyparents become so angry that they inflict physical punishment to relievetheir own feelings, and this is very wrong. If a parent calmly decidesthat his child needs punishment, perhaps this is the case. Thepunishment should be given calmly. Nothing can be more cowardly anddisgusting than the brutal assault of an angry parent upon a defenselesschild, and such parents always regret their actions if they have anyconscience, but they are generally of such poor moral fibre and so fullof false pride that they fail to apologize to the children for theinjustice done. These parents inflict suffering upon their children, butthey punish themselves most of all, for they kill filial regard andlove. Children have a very keen sense of fair play. 

If it is decided to administer corporeal punishment, it should haveenough sting to it so that it will be remembered. Parents who tempertheir justice with patience and love are not compelled to resort tocorporeal punishment often. 

Children should never be hit on the head. Pulling or boxing the earsshould not be recognized as civilized warfare. Blows on the head maypartly destroy the hearings and affect the brain. 

Another thing that may not come under the head of punishment in thestrictest sense, is lifting children by one of the arms. Women are proneto do this. Often it partly dislocates the elbow joint. The childrenwhine and no one knows exactly what is the matter. If one arm isoccupied and the child has to be lifted from curb to street or over apuddle, stoop and pass the unoccupied arm about the child's body and noharm will be done. 

No one should suggest to the child that it is bad. It is better to dwellupon goodness. If a child is often told that it is bad, it will soonbegin to live up to its name and reputation, just as adults often do. 

Many parents are in the habit of scaring their children. If the littleones cry or disobey, they are told that the boogy-man is coming afterthem, or they are threatened with being put out into the dark, orperhaps some animal or bad person is coming to get them. Fear isinjurious to everybody, being ruinous to both the body and the mind, andit is especially bad for growing children. The fear instilled in themduring childhood remains with some people to the end of life. It is notuncommon to find people who dare not go out alone after dark becausethey were scared in childhood. Children like exciting stories that wouldnaturally inspire fear, but it is not difficult for the reader or storyteller to inform the little ones that there are no big black bears orbold robbers in the neighborhood, and that now there is nothing to fearin the darkness. 

Many teach the children to be ashamed of their bodies. Every part of thebody has its use and whatever is useful is good. Those who do not abusetheir bodies have nothing of which to be ashamed. 

The education of children in the past has been along wrong lines. It hasbeen the aim to cram them full of isolated facts, many of them untrue. We are slowly outgrowing this tendency, but too much remains. Thankslargely to Froebel and Doctor Montessori, our methods are growing morenatural. The adult learns by doing and so does the child. DoctorMontessori teaches the children to use all their senses. She gives themfabrics of various textures and objects of different shapes and colors. Thus they learn colors, forms, smoothness, roughness, etc. She teachesthem how to dress and undress and how to take their baths. She lets themgo about the schoolroom instead of compelling them to sit still at theirdesks in cramped positions. In this way they get knowledge that theynever forget. They learn to read and write and figure in playful waysthrough the proper direction of their curiosity. Little tots of four, oreven younger, are often able to read, and there has been no forcing. Allhas come about through utilizing the child's curiosity. 

If children are delicate, they should not be put into a schoolroom withthirty or forty other children. Keep such children outdoors when theweather permits and allow them to become strong. The education will takecare of itself later. There is nothing to be gained by overtaxing adelicate child in the schoolroom, which too often is poorly ventilated, and having a funeral a little later. 

Children should be taught the few simple fundamental rules of nutritionuntil they are second nature. A thorough knowledge of the fact that itis very injurious to eat when there is bodily or mental discomfort isworth ten thousand times as much to a child as the ability to extractcube root or glibly recite, "Arma virumque cano Trojae, " etc. Therealization that underchewing and overeating will cause mental andphysical degeneration is much more valuable than the ability todemonstrate that a straight line is the shortest distance between twopoints. This knowledge can be given so unobtrusively that the child doesnot realize that it is learning, for there are many opportunities. 

When a child gets sick and is old enough to understand, instead ofsympathizing with it explain how the illness came about, and pleaseremember that in explaining you can leave the germs out of the question, for diseases of childhood are almost entirely due to improper feeding. The value of education like that is beyond any price, for it is a formof health insurance. Reforming the race, means that we must begin withthe children. 

In parts of Europe cultured people have a working knowledge of two orthree languages. This is certainly convenient. Those who wish theirchildren to know one or two tongues beside English should remember thatin infancy two tongues are learned as readily as one, if they arespoken. Those who can use three languages when they are four years oldare not infant prodigies. They have had the opportunity to learn, andlanguages are simply absorbed. The language teaching in the publicschools is a joke. After taking several years of French or German theschool children can not speak about the common things of life in thosetongues, though they may know more about the grammar than the natives. In other words, they know the science of the language, but not thelanguage itself. 

A time comes when the child wants to know about the origin of life. Ifthe parents have been companions, they can impart this knowledge betterthan anyone else. If they are unable to explain, the family doctorshould be able to impart the knowledge with delicacy. I do not believethat such knowledge should be imparted to mixed classes in the publicschools, as advocated by some. If the parents do their duty, there willbe no need of public education in sex hygiene. 

The doctor should be an educator, so he merits consideration here. Nearly all families have their medical advisers, and these professionalpeople have it in their power to bring more sunshine into the homes thantheir fees will pay for. On the other hand, they can, and too often do, give both advice and remedies that are harmful They should sow seeds oftruth. If the infant is properly cared for, it is never ill. Inasmuch asthere are but few families with sufficient knowledge to keep theirbabies healthy at all times, there are many calls for the doctor. Parents are generally unduly alarmed about their infants. Nearly alwaysthe trouble is primarily in the alimentary tract, due to improperfeeding, and the doctor with his wide experience can relieve theparental anxiety, and at the same time tell them where they have madetheir mistakes and how they have brought suffering upon their littleones. 

Of course, there should be no dosing with medicine and no injections offoreign matter into the blood stream. Rest, quiet, cleanliness andwarmth are what the children need to restore them to health. The rightkind of physician when acting as adviser to intelligent parents who wishto do the best by their children will see to it that there is little orno disease. 

If the parents do not know what to do, the most economical procedure isto consult a physician who has understanding of and confidence innature. Pay no attention to the women of many words who give advice"because they have had many children and have buried them all. "

It is not as difficult to raise healthy children as sickly ones. It isso simple that it takes many pages to explain it. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

DURATION OF LIFE. 

Old age today brings to mind a picture of decrepitude and decay. This isbecause there is practically no natural old age. Those who live so thatthey are unhealthy during the early years of life will not be well ifthey reach advanced years. Old people can be well in body and sound inmind. In order to attain this desirable end, it is necessary to liveproperly during the first part of life. It is true that people maydissipate and reform and then live long in comfort, but usually thosewho spend too lavishly destroy their capital and go into physical ormental bankruptcy. 

There are many who during their prime say that they do not wish to growold. Their desire for a short life can easily be satisfied. All that isnecessary is to live in the conventional manner and the chance of dyingbefore reaching the age of fifty or sixty is good. A few live to beseventy or more in spite of dissipation, but these are the exceptions. They were endowed with excellent constitutions to begin with, constitutions that were made to last over one hundred years. Where wefind one who has lived long in spite of intemperance, thousands havedied from it. 

Most people desire to remain on earth long and they can have their wish. They can advance in years healthy in body and with growing serenity ofmind. Physical and mental well-being are necessary to attain one'slife's expectancy. Old age should not be considered as apart from therest of life. It is but one of the natural phases. Those who do not liveto be old have failed to live completely. 

Those who express their desire to die young generally change their mindwhen they face death. Man clings to life. 

Old age is a desirable condition. The physical tempests have beensubdued, if the life has been well spent. On the other hand, the faultsand foibles of the self-indulgent are accentuated and in such cases oldage is a misfortune. 

No one knows what man's natural length of life is. Anatomists andphysiologists compare the human body with the bodies of various animals. In this they are justified, for we all develop according to the samelaws. Most of the animals, when allowed to live as nature intended themto live, reach an age of from five to six times the length of the periodof their growth. Human beings, with their ability to control theirenvironment, should be able to do even better than that. Man reachesphysical maturity between twenty and twenty-five years of age. Thiswould make his natural age one hundred and twenty-five to one hundredand fifty years. There are cases on record that have lived longer and itmay be that if man would cease going in the way of self-destruction andspend more thought and time on the welfare of the race, life would beprolonged beyond even one hundred and fifty years. R. T. Trall, M. D. , thought that man should live to be two hundred years old. 

"What man has done man can do. " If long life is worth while, doubtless atime will come when long life will be enjoyed. The worry, fretting andfoolish haste of today will doubtless be partly done away with sometime. Then men and women will have time to live, instead of merelyexisting, as most people do today. Men have lived long and found lifegood. Long life for its own sake is perhaps not to be desired, but thebenefit that can be bestowed upon the race by those advanced in years isdesirable. Occasionally a brilliant individual appears on the scene, doing superior work in life's morning, but most of the work that hasbeen found worthy of the consideration of the ages has been done by menof mature years. 

Galen, the famous physician, is said to have lived to a great age. It ishard to tell exactly how old he was, but he was probably well past thecentury mark at his death. His long life gave him time to do work thatis appreciated after the lapse of eighteen centuries. For many hundredyears after his death he dominated the practice of medicine and he istoday spoken of as often as any living medical man. 

Thomas Parr, an Englishman, died at the age of one hundred andfifty-two. He was hale and hearty to the very end. Unfortunately, hisreputation traveled far. He was brought to the English court, where hewas wined and dined, and as a consequence he died. Before this he hadalways led the simple life. An autopsy was performed and the physiciansfound his organs in excellent condition. The only reason they could givefor his death was his departure from the simple life which he had led inhis home. 

Henry Jenkins, also an Englishman, lived to the age of one hundred andsixty-nine years. He lived very frugally and was always on friendlyterms with nature. His favorite drink was water, though he partook inmoderation of "hop bitters. " He was moderate in all things, and it issaid that he was never really ill until near the end of life. He was notshriveled and shrunken, but a wholesome looking man. King Charles II. Sent a carriage to bring Mr. Jenkins to London, when he was one hundredand sixty years old. The old gentleman declined to ride and walked thetwo hundred miles to the metropolis. The king questioned him regardinghis life and desired to know the reason for his longevity. Mr. Jenkinsreplied that he had always been sober and temperate and that this wasthe reason for his many years. The Merry Monarch was neither sober nortemperate, and you may be sure that this reply did not please him. Mr. Jenkins was wiser than Mr. Parr had been, refusing to dissipate, eventhough he was old. Consequently he returned to his home to enjoy lifenine years longer. 

These two cases are authentic. 

All are familiar with the records given in the Bible. Whether they arefigurative or not it is hard to tell. However, so many cases oflongevity are recorded that they in all probability have a basis infact. The Hebrews of old must have been a long-lived people. One hundredand twenty years was not an extreme age. In Genesis is the record ofmany over five hundred years old, and a few over nine hundred years ofage. At the time of the apostles the life span of the Hebrews had grownshorter and hence the dictum of three score years and ten. Between thetime of Moses and that of the apostles the Hebrews had advanced--orshall we say degenerated?--from a semi-barbarous people to one that hadthe graces and also the vices of a higher civilization. The Hebrews ofold were husbandmen, who lived simply and got their vigor from the soil. 

The cause of so much unnecessary suffering and of the premature deathshas been discussed elsewhere in this book. In short, it is wrong livingand wrong thinking. Impure air and bad food kill no more surely thandoes worry. 

The bodies of children are composed largely of water. The structures areflexible and elastic. The bones are made up mostly of cartilaginousstructure. As the children grow older more solids are deposited in thebody and the proportion of solid matter to water grows greater. Lime isdeposited in the bones. When they are limy throughout they are said tobe ossified. After this process is complete no more growth can takeplace. Bone formation continues until about the age of twenty-five. Atthis age the body is efficient. The fluids circulate withoutobstruction. Could this condition be maintained, there would be nodecay. 

During the early years of life the food intake in proportion to theweight of the body is great. The child is active and uses much fuel toproduce power and to repair the waste. Considerable food is required forbody building. At this time a broken bone mends quickly and cuts heal ina short time. With advancing years come slowness and sluggishness of thevarious vital activities. The slowing up can be retarded almostindefinitely by proper care of the body. 

If the circulation could be maintained and the purity of the bloodstream guarded, old age would be warded off. A healthy body is able tocleanse itself under favorable conditions and so long as the body isclean through and through there is no opportunity for disease to takeplace and there can be no aging. By aging I mean not so much the numberof years one has lived as the amount of hardening and degeneration ofthe body that take place. 

Some are as old at forty as others are at seventy. 

When people have reached physical maturity they should begin to reducetheir food intake. There is no need for building material then. All thatis necessary is enough to repair the waste and to keep up thetemperature. The individual at twenty-seven should eat a little lessthan when he was twenty and by the age of thirty-five he should havereduced his food still more and made his meals very simple. Childrenenjoy the gratification of the sense of taste, but at the age ofthirty-five a man has lived enough and experienced enough so that heshould know that the overgratification of appetites is an evanescent andunprofitable pleasure, always costing more than it is worth. It is bestto grow into good habits while young, for it is difficult to do so afterone has grown old. The man who reforms after fifty is the exception. 

Children are fond of cereal foods and sugars. They can eat these foodstwo or three times a day and thrive. A man of thirty-five should make ita general rule to limit his starch eating to once a day. Variousphysiologists say that as much as sixteen ounces of dry starch(equivalent to about thirty ounces of ordinary bread) are necessary eachday. This is entirely too much. Very few people can profitably eat morethan four ounces of dry starch a day, and for many this is too much. Through eating as much as is popularly and professionally advocated, early decay and death result. 

The arteries are normally pliable and elastic. When too much food istaken, the system is unable to cleanse itself. Debris is left at variouspoints. One of the favorite lodging places is in the coats of thearteries. After considerable deposits have been formed the arteries losetheir elasticity. They become hard and unyielding. A normal radialartery can easily be compressed with one finger. Sometimes the radialartery becomes so hard that it is difficult to compress it with threefingers. As the arteries grow harder they become more brittle andsometimes they break, often a fatal accident. 

This hardness of the arteries impedes the circulation, for the tone andnatural elasticity of the vessel walls is one of the aids to a normalcirculation. 

So long as the arteries are normal all parts of the body are bathed in aconstantly changing stream of blood. The muscles, the nerves, the bones, in fact all parts of the body, remove from the blood stream thoseelements that are necessary for repairing or building the varioustissues. They also throw into the blood stream the refuse and waste dueto the constant repair and combustion going on all over the body. Theblood then leaves this refuse with the skin, lungs, kidneys and bowels, which throw it out of the body. 

So long as there are enough fuel and food, but not too much, and so longas all the debris is carried away, there is health. But let this processbe thrown out of balance and there will be disease. The food intake isseldom too small, though the digestion is frequently so poor that notenough good food gets into the blood. Old age is largely due toovereating and eating the wrong kinds of food. This is how overeatingcauses premature aging, when it does not kill more quickly: When toomuch food is taken, too much is absorbed into the blood, provided thenutritive processes are active. Then all the food in the blood can notbe used for repair and fuel. The balance must either be excreted orstored away in the body as deposits. If this storing takes place in thejoints, the result may be rheumatism or gout and at times even acomplete locking of the joints (anchylosis). If it is stored in thewalls of the blood-vessels they become hard and unyielding. No matterwhere deposits take place, some of them will be found in the walls ofthe blood-vessels. When these vessels grow hard they decrease incaliber. The result is that the heart is compelled to work very hard, but even then enough blood is not forced through the vessels. Thecirculation becomes sluggish. The blood in the various parts becomesstagnant. 

Then insufficient good oxygen and first-class nourishment are brought tothe parts and not enough waste is carried away. Now the billions ofcells of which the body is composed are constantly bathed in poisonousblood. The result is lowering of physical tone, or degeneration, of thewhole body. The hands and the feet suffer most at first from the poorblood supply and become cold easily. Those who suffer constantly fromcold hands and feet should know that they are aging, although they maybe but twenty years old. 

Such a condition as this often gives rise to varicose veins in the legs. The feet are so far away from the heart, and it is such a long upgradereturn of the blood, that the circulation in the lower extremitieseasily becomes sluggish. The flabby, relaxed tissues and the hardenedblood-vessels allow the blood to stagnate. This is why senile gangreneis so common in the feet and so often fatal. 

The brain gets a copious blood supply, yet the hardening of the arteriesoften deprives this organ of its necessary nourishment. Then the higherfaculties begin to abdicate. If the hardening is extensive senilesoftening of the brain may take place. This is always due to a lack ofpure blood. Sometimes the arteries are brittle enough to break. Baldnessis another symptom of physical decay. The hair follicles are notproperly nourished, for the arteries have become so contracted and thetissues of the scalp so hardened that there is not enough blood to feedthe hair roots. Baldness begins on top of the head, generally the onlypart affected, because it is farthest away from the blood supply. Baldness is also partly due to man's headwear. Women are rarely bald. There is a saying that there are no bald men in the poorhouse. Even ifthis were true, it would not be very consoling, for the bald heads onthe street cleaning forces are numerous. 

Overeating also causes premature aging because if results infermentation in the alimentary tract. The acids produced causedegeneration of various tissues, having an especially bad effect on thenervous system, which reflects the evil to other parts of the body. 

It is well to bear in mind how this comes about: First there isovereating; too much food improperly prepared is taken into the bloodstream; this makes the blood impure; deposits, causing hardening of thetissues and reduction of the lumen of the vessels, are formed; the bloodgrows more impure and the circulation sluggish; the tissues areconstantly bathed in impure blood, causing further degeneration. When acertain point is reached nature can tolerate no more and life flitsaway. 

Those who wish to remain young must give some thought to the selectionof their food, especially if they are hearty eaters. If only sufficientfood is taken to keep the body well nourished it does not make muchdifference what is eaten, provided it contains sufficient of freshfoods, for when only enough food is taken to supply fuel and repairingmaterial, the food will all be used and none is left to ferment in thedigestive tract and form deposits in the body. The body will then keepitself clean, or at least the formation of deposits takes place soslowly that it is hardly perceptible. This can be compared with theprocess taking place in the flues of a boiler. Stoke properly and theyremain clean. Choke the firebox with an excess of coal and thecombustion is so incomplete that the flues are soon filled up and thegrates are often burned out. Just so with the body: Feed too heavily andthe digestive organs are burned by the abnormal amount of acid producedand the blood-vessels are filled with debris. 

As most people lack the self-control to eat a normal amount of food, they should select foods that are compatible and that are not tooconcentrated. Too much meat causes degeneration of all parts of the bodyand hardening. Too much starch causes acidity and hardening. The fruitsand the light vegetables have a tendency to overcome these degeneratingprocesses. 

Starch is surely the chief offender in aging people. It is such aconcentrated food that overeating is easy, especially when it is takenin the soft forms, such as mushes, fresh bread, griddle cakes and mashedpotatoes. If people would masticate their starchy foods thoroughly itwould greatly reduce the danger of overeating. It is common to eat breadthree times a day and in addition to take potatoes once or twice a day. Those who consume so much starch carry into the system more food thancan be used and more of the mineral salts than can be excreted. Theresult is the formation of deposits, chiefly of lime carbonate and limephosphate; fatty deposits are also common. 

In order to live long and comfortably it would be well to reduce thestarch intake to once a day. The meats also are objectionable when takenin excess. To them can be attributed the chief blame for the formationof gelatinous deposits in the body. However, they do not carry so muchearthy matter into the blood stream as do the starches. It is best topartake of meat but once a day, or even more seldom. Meat shouldcertainly not be taken more than twice a day even by those who areadvanced in years. People who care enough for starch to take it threetimes a day, or are compelled to live chiefly upon it, grow old andhomely more quickly than do those who are able to partake moreplentifully of the more expensive proteins. The flesh obtained fromyoung animals and birds is not so heavily charged with earthy matters asis that which is obtained from old animals and birds. 

Fruits and nuts do not carry so much earthy matter as do the starchesand meats. The sweet fruits could with profit partly take the place ofthe starchy foods. The sugar they contain, which has the same nutritivevalue as starches, needs very little preparation before entering theblood stream. Thus a large part of the energy required for starchdigestion is saved. On the other hand, the use of too much refined sugaris even worse than an excessive intake of starch. Nuts are not difficultto digest if they are well masticated. . 

The objection to acid fruits during the latter years of life is thatthey thin the blood and cause chilliness. This is true if they arepartaken of too liberally. It is not necessary to refrain from eatingacid fruits, but they should be taken in moderation and the mild onesshould be selected. Pears, mild apples and grapes are better thanoranges, grapefruits and apricots. Those who have learned moderation caneat all the fruit desired, for they will not be harmed by what a normalappetite craves. 

Vegetables carry considerable earthy matter, but on account of theirhelpfulness in keeping the blood sweet they should be eaten severaltimes a week. 

Those who think that overeating of starch is too harshly condemned arereferred to the horse. When he is allowed to roam about and partake ofhis natural food, grass, he stays well and lives to be forty or moreyears old. When compelled to eat great quantities of corn and oats, which are very rich in starch, the horse becomes listless and slow at anearly age. He is old at fifteen and before twenty he is generally dead. When horses suffer from stiffness in the joints a few weeks spent inpasture, where they have nothing but green grass and water, remove thestiffness and make them younger. This shows what partaking of nature'sgreen salad does for them. Any good stock man will tell you that feedingtoo much grain "burns a cow out. " It does exactly the same for a humanbeing, burns him out and fills him with clinkers. Many people think thatit is a hardship to be moderate in eating and drinking, but it is not. It brings such a feeling of well-being and comfort that it isunbelievable to those who have not experienced it. 

Many envy the rich, thinking that they can and do live riotously. Richmen must live as simply as though they were poor or else they soon losethe mental efficiency that brought them their fortunes, for when healthis gone mental power is reduced. 

According to information in the Saturday Evening Post, the eating habitsof many of our most influential business men are very simple and theamount of food partaken of small. John D. Rockefeller could hardly livemore simply and plainly than he does. William Rockefeller, George F. Baker, James Stillman, Otto H. Kahn, Thomas Fortune Ryan, George W. Perkins, J. Ogden Armour, John H. Patterson, Jacob H. Schiff and AndrewCarnegie, all business giants with money enough to subsist on the mostexpensive delicacies, are said to live more plainly than does theaverage American who is complaining of the high cost of living. It isthe price they have had to pay for success and it is the price that youand I will have to pay to live successfully, though our success may nottake the form of financial power. 

The one conspicuous exception among the financially great to the rule ofsimplicity was J. P. Morgan. His eating habits were somewhat gross, buton account of his rugged constitution he lived to be more thanseventy-five years old. If he had given himself just a little more carehe would be alive today. They say that his strong black cigars did himno apparent harm, but those who read of his last illness understandinglycannot agree to that statement. Mr. Morgan started with enough vitalityto live and work far beyond the century mark. John D. Rockefeller wasnot physically strong when young. He has been compelled to take goodcare of himself and to be moderate. Now he is past seventy and enjoyinggood health. 

John W. Gates died a martyr to excess, partly excess of food. He lackedbalance. His son followed in his footsteps and died young. 

Frank A. Vanderlip, who is looming large on the financial horizon takesbut two meals a day, from which he gets enough sustenance to do goodwork and he says that this plan makes for efficiency. Perhaps now thatsuch men as Mr. Vanderlip live well on two meals a day, it is time tocease calling those who live thus faddists. Eating three meals a day isa habit and many can and do get along very well on two meals, and a fewtake only one meal daily. 

E. H. Harriman also lived simply. He illustrates the evil of a poorlycontrolled mind. He died when but little past sixty, probably becausehis frail body was too weak to harbor his great ambition. He took hisbusiness wherever he went. When ill and business was forbidden by hisphysician, Mr. Harriman had a telephone concealed in his bedroom and assoon as the doctor was gone, he was on the wire. 

Another cause of premature aging is the drinking of very hard water. Theearthy matter is absorbed into the blood stream with the water, and apart of it is deposited in the various tissues. People beyond middle ageshould drink water containing only a small portion of salts. Those whopartake of fresh fruits or fresh vegetables daily get all the salts thatthe system needs. Even the young should not drink water that isexceedingly hard. We can well illustrate the harm that comes from theexcessively hard water by referring to the disease known as cretinism. This disease is quite prevalent in some parts of Europe. They say thatthe disease is hereditary, which is questionable. What is inherited isthe environment and the habits of the parents. The chief cause iswithout doubt the superabundance of earthy matter in the drinking water. The cretins are ill-favored in face and figure. They do not reach normalmental or physical maturity. They are old long before the normal personhas reached his prime. They die young, rarely living to be over thirtyyears old. The bones are completely ossified early, which is the causeof their small stature and their stupidity. The bones of the skullharden so early that the brain has no room to expand. 

There is no need of suffering, even in a mild degree, from the diseaseof cretinism. If the water is very hard it is easy to distill what isneeded for drinking purposes. Such water should at least be boiled. Itis much better to have a teakettle lined with earthy matters than tohave such a lining in our arteries. 

The excessive use of table salt is another cause of early aging. It is agood preservative and pickles meat very well. People have long used saltas a preservative and perhaps they got the salt-eating habit in thisway, first using it on the foods to be preserved, and then on nearly allfoods. Salts to excess, especially table salt, help to mummify or picklethose who partake of them too liberally. The addition of sodium chlorideto foods is unnecessary. We get all we need of this salt in our fruits, vegetables and cereals. Salt should be used in moderation. 

Alcohol, tobacco and coffee are harmful. However, it will be found thatmost of the old people have used one or more of these drugs for manyyears and this is often largely responsible for their reaching old age. Overeating causes more deaths than any other single factor. The use oftobacco, coffee or alcohol has a tendency to reduce the desire for foodand thus these drugs at times prove to be conservers of individuallives, though they are undoubted racial evils. They never can or willtake the place of self-control. The senses were given us to use for ourprotection, but most people abuse them for temporary gratification, andthus they go in the way of self-destruction. 

Other things being equal, a healthy child will live longer than a weaklyone. But other things are not equal, so it often happens that a weaklinghas as much chance to survive as a healthy person. Strong peoplefrequently squander their inheritance by the time they are forty orfifty years old. Healthy people are very imprudent. They are well sothey think they will always remain well. What a surprise it is whenafter thirty they discover that they cannot do with impunity what theycould do before with apparently no bad results! When warned about theireating habits they boast that they can "eat tacks". Smoking and drinkingare harmless, they say! But the day of reckoning always comes and theaccount is often so great that under the conventional treatment of todaythey die. 

The weakling has been compelled to be careful. Habits of moderation grewupon him in youth, and his health has improved as he has advanced inyears. He may never be strong, but great physical strength is notessential to health. Thus the strong often perish and the weak survive. If both classes lived with equal care the strong would outlive andoutwork the weak every time. 

It is necessary to give the skin some care if continued good health isdesired during the latter part of life. The skin has a tendency to growhard, which should not be allowed. It will always remain soft if it isproperly cared for. When our ancestors roved forests and plains withscarcely any attire, the skin exposed to the rain and the sunshine, there was no need to give it special care. It served its purpose ofprotecting their bodies and was exercised through its immediate contactwith the elements in all kinds of weather. Now the skin has littleopportunity to exercise its protective function and the result is thatit is not as active as it should be. The skin must be active to riditself of the waste that the blood-vessels leave with it. The bestexercise for this important organ is rubbing. The whole body should berubbed every day and it would be well to do this twice a day. Anoccasional olive oil rub is also good. The rubbings make the bodyhardier. They also help to keep the circulation active and the skinsmooth and soft. The blood is brought near the surface. The tendency aswe grow older is for the circulation to grow less and less near thesurface and in the extremities. This is slow death. 

The daily rub is more important than the daily bath. If we have enoughrubbing very little bathing is necessary, for an active skin cleansitself. 

There are many men who have lived in the conventional way until the ageof forty, fifty or sixty. They have been healthy, which means that theyhave been able to work most of the time, but have had their share ofills, which have incapacitated them for work or business at varioustimes. They find after reaching a certain age that they are surely goingdown hill physically and that they are not as active mentally aspreviously. The question is, can anything be done under thecircumstances? Very few of these people are in such a bad physical statethat death is inevitable within the next few years. If they seek theright advice and follow it, they can generally continue to live inimproved health for thirty to sixty years more. 

A celebrated case in point is that of Louis Cornaro, an Italian, whodied in the year 1566 at the age of one hundred and two years. In hisyouth he was very indiscreet and dissipated. He lived riotously until hewas forty years old, and then he found himself in such poor physicalcondition that it was only a question of a few months until the endwould come. He had everything to make life worth living, except health, so he decided to attempt to regain health and prolong his life. He quithis old life, began to live simply and instead of being a waster hebecame a useful citizen. We are unable to get much definite informationabout his habits from what he wrote but we learn that he reduced thequantity of food taken and used fewer varieties. Also, he dranksparingly of wine. He did not have any definite ideas regarding dietexcept that it is best to eat moderately and avoid the foods thatdisagree with one. In his own words: "Little by little I began to drawmyself away from my disorderly life, and, little by little, to embracethe orderly one. In this manner I gave myself up to the temperate life, which has not since been wearisome to me; although, on account of theweakness of my constitution, I was compelled to be extremely carefulwith regard to the quality and quantity of my food and drink. However, those persons who are blessed with strong constitutions may make use ofmany other kinds and qualities of food and drink, and partake of them, in greater quantities, than I do; so that, even though the life theyfollow be the temperate one, it need not be as strict as mine, but muchfreer. "

These sentences were written fifty or sixty years after he changed hismode of life, and show how well Mr. Cornaro realized the important factthat all people need not be treated alike. They also show that aftermaking the change, Mr. Cornaro did not find it difficult to live simplyenough to enjoy health. In nearly every instance it is temporarilydisagreeable to forsake the path that is leading to death and take theone that leads to life, but after one gets used to the new way, itappears more beautiful and is more pleasant than the old. 

If Cornaro had died at forty, as nearly every person situated as he waswould have done, his life would have been a total loss. A few of thosewho were his boon companions and dissipated with him would have thoughtof him for a few years and regretted his early passing, for "he was ajolly good fellow. " He lived a useful life, for over sixty yearsthereafter, and has left us in his debt for his beautiful exhortationsto be temperate. 

Many of the physical wrecks we meet, who will probably live from a fewmonths to a few years more, if they continue in the old way, are in thesame boat as Mr. Cornaro was at forty. They have had enough experienceto begin to do good work, to be of some benefit to humanity. Instead ofliving and giving the world their best, they die. The world has had toeducate these people, and it is expensive. Instead of living on anddoing their work, they leave us when they ought to begin to repay us forwhat we have done for them. They are quitters. 

Suppose Andrew Carnegie had died at the time he sold out his steelbusiness. To most people he would have left an unsavory memory, forthough we should have considered him successful from the businessstandpoint, many of us would say that the means were not justified bythe end. However, Mr. Carnegie has spent many years since in furtheringthe cause of the spread of knowledge and in working for universal peace. Perhaps when Carnegie, the man of business, is well nigh forgotten, Carnegie, the educator, will be held in tender and thankful memory. Heis now influencing the times for good and this influence will go downthe ages. 

A man has no right to say that he is weary of life and that he wants todie. The race has a claim on him. We learn through our mistakes. Therace in general has to pay and suffer for every individual's education. When a man has acquired a measure of wisdom through experience, we havea right to claim it as our own. 

Many men are wise in their own lines, but they have been so busyattending to the affairs that brought them success that they haveomitted to learn how to have health. These people owe it to themselvesand to humanity to take enough time to learn how to live so that theycan work in health. The better the health the finer their product. Health and efficiency go hand in hand. 

What is a man to do when he has reached middle age and finds himselfdegenerating? A man ought to know how to live at forty, but if he doesnot he should immediately learn. It may be true that "a man is a fool ora physician at forty, " yet there is time and if a man lacks wisdom atforty he should immediately acquire some. Such an individual should getthe best health adviser possible, avoiding any man who would have himtake drugs. What he needs is not medicine, but to learn how to live. Iam confident that the careful reader will find enough knowledge in thisbook to give him the key to the situation. 

If the sufferer uses narcotics and stimulants, they must be stoppedimmediately. Even the least harmful of these, such as beer and lightwine, should be avoided until good health has been won. These beveragesneed never be used. If they are taken rarely and in moderation they dono harm. 

In every case that has come under my observation it has been necessaryto simplify the food intake, that is, to reduce the quantity and thenumber of articles of food taken at each meal, also to simplify thecooking. The result is that the individual gets less food, but it is ofbetter quality, for the conventional cooking spoils much of the food. 

Most of these men neglect to exercise. It is necessary to be active andin the open, also to take good care of that important organ, the skin. Constipation is common, and it is a very annoying symptom, whichdisappears in time under proper living. The absorption of poisons from aconstipated lower bowel is one of the factors that causes prematureaging. When the constipation is overcome there are a feeling of physicalwell-being and a mental clearness which are impossible in the presenceof constipation. 

The treatment of such a condition is very much the same as the treatmentof catarrh or any other curable disease, that is, find the errors ofliving and correct them. 

It is really surprising how little food people need after they are fiftyor sixty years old. If such people eat enough to be well nourished, butnot enough to produce any bad feelings there will be no disease. Peoplewho die from disease are physical failures, for the natural end does notcome in a physical upheaval. Those who live as they should will passaway without any pain. The organism simply grows weary and goes into thelast sleep. 

There are people who say that there needs be no physical death. HarryGaze wrote an entertaining book on the subject some years ago and gavelectures in this country. It will not convince the average student ofnature that people can live forever, for in nature there is constantchange. The order of life is birth, development, reproduction, declineand death. It is not likely that man is an exception. 

It is believed that in olden times men were larger and lived longer thanthey do today. There is not much foundation for such a belief to restupon, except in a few cases. The last census shows that there areseveral thousand centennarians in the United States. In the TechnicalWorld for March, 1914, appeared an article by Byron C. Utecht, entitled, "When is Man Old?" This magazine is careful in gathering its facts. Ishall quote a few paragraphs:

"Abraham Wilcox, of Fort Worth, Texas, is one hundred and twelve yearsold, but he takes keen enjoyment in life. He walks two miles or moreevery day as a constitutional and, occasionally, he even takes a smallglass of beer. He looks forward with all the enthusiasm of a boy to avisit to the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. Mr. Wilcox reads thenewspapers every day and is interested in everything about him, from thefood being prepared for his dinner to the latest feats by aeroplanes. This aged man looks forty or fifty years younger than he really is. Hisskin is white but not deeply lined. His vision is excellent and he walksnearly erect. Thirty years ago he gave up smoking, as his doctors warnedhim he was near death from old age and that the use of tobacco wouldonly hasten the end. "

"In the Ozark Mountains of Marion County, Arkansas, just across theMissouri line, lives Mrs. Elmyra Wagoner. She, too, is one hundred andtwelve years old. There are a thousand wrinkles in her face and shelooks her age, but in her actions she is sixty. Up until a very fewyears ago, when still past the hundred-year mark, Mrs. Wagoner kept alarge garden and was able to work in the fields. While she has given upoutdoor work, she is still active. On inclement days she sits by thefireplace in her mountain home and spins. On pleasant days she may befound walking about the yard. Recently her great-great-granddaughter wasmarried at Protein, Missouri, six miles from the Wagoner home. Thiswoman of one hundred and twelve years walked to the wedding, enjoyed it, and then walked back home, a distance that would tire many persons halfthat age. There are scores of persons at Protein who vouch for this andthey tell of similar feats by Mrs. Wagoner showing remarkable physicalpower. 

"Asked to give the causes of her longevity, the aged woman smiled andsaid that she hated to admit she was getting old. 'Clean, honest living, plenty of work, plenty of good food, and a desire to help others whensick or in trouble, I think gave me my long lease of life. I was alwaysso busy caring for others and thinking of them that I never had time toworry whether I was getting old or not. '"

"Asa Goodwin, of Serrett, Alabama, is one hundred and six years old. Hisendurance powers are even more remarkable than those of Mrs. Wagoner orAbraham Wilcox. He walks five miles every day. He works several hoursdaily in his garden, eats anything he likes, and reads without glasses. His family is probably the largest in the United States. A reunionrecently held in his honor was attended by eight hundred and fiftypersons, three hundred and fifty being blood relatives. Goodwin has beena hunter all his life and he frequently takes down his rifle and provesthat his aim is still good. He ascribes his length of life and vitalityto his great interest in outdoor sport and hunting, when a young man, developing a rugged constitution that lasted him many years after he wasforced to quit strenuous work because of 'old age. ' He asserts that hewas so busy living that he reached one hundred and six years before herealized it and wants to live fifty years more if possible. 'I feel asif I could do it, too, ' he declares. 'I now can take my ease and comfortand the world looks good to me. I have always lived a temperate life, never drank, never kept late hours, and still have had as much or morefun than the average man, I think. It is only now when I have nothing todo that I get to worrying and when I find myself in that condition Itake a walk or weed the garden and then feel better. '"

These people are not in what some call the higher walks of life, butthey have succeeded in living, where almost all fail. They have beenuseful members of society, satisfied to take life as it comes, and thusthey have gathered much of the sweet. They have enjoyed life, and thosewho enjoy give enjoyment to others. It takes an audience to make eventhe best of plays. 

Mrs. Wagoner is not rich, but she has a philosophy that is richesenough. She knows that she receives through giving. She has lived thisknowledge, which has brought blessings upon her. 

These people have all led simple lives and they have worked. There is nosecret about growing old gracefully. It means self-control, simpleliving, work for body and mind, cleanliness of body and mind, and themost important part of physical cleanliness is a clean colon. It isnecessary to have a tranquil mind most of the time, for anger and worryare injurious to health. 

The average span of life is lengthening. In the sixteenth century theaverage European did not live to be twenty years old. Now he lives to beabout forty. The same increase has taken place in America. In India andChina the average of life is still below twenty-four years. Ascivilization advances the tendency is for the average of life tolengthen, provided life does not grow so complex that knowledge isantidoted by too great artificiality. 

However, it is well to note that it is not the last part of life that isbeing lengthened. We are allowing less and less infants to die as theyears roll on. The proportion of the adult population that reachesadvanced age is no greater than in the past. Our mode of life is sowrong that tuberculosis, typhoid fever, cancer, kidney diseases, pneumonia and circulatory degeneration carry off immense numbers ofthose whom we call middle aged, but who are really young people. Theseare diseases of degeneration. It is to our interest to reduce thesediseases. Proper living will do it. 

The life expectancy of people over fifty is even less than it was thirtyyears ago. Middle aged people die from diseases caused by bad habits, extended over a period of years. Therefore, these people should learn tolive well if they would live longer. 

The diet of the old can be about the same as that of an adult in theprime of life, except that less should be eaten. Those who livecorrectly have no digestive disturbances. It will be noted by those whoare normal that there is not a desire for as much food as earlier inlife, and this should be a guide. Old people get all the nourishmentthey need in two moderate meals a day. If the three-meal-a-day plan ispreferred, it is all right, but then less should be taken at each meal. 

White flour products are easier to digest than the whole wheat products, but normal people can digest the latter very well and it is a betterfood than white flour. I know one gentleman in his eighth decade of lifewho has grown stronger and younger by abandoning the conventional eatinghabits and living mostly on moderate meals of milk and whole wheatbiscuits. As Cornaro said, some need more than others, but all should bemoderate. 

One meal a day of milk and biscuits is all right. These biscuits shouldbe well baked and well masticated. The milk should be taken slowly. 

Another meal can be meat or eggs or fish with some of the cooked and rawsucculent vegetables. 

If a third meal is taken, it may consist of clabbered milk orbuttermilk; or of one of the sweet fruits, and the sweet fruits may beused any time in place of bread or biscuits. Cottage cheese is a goodfood at any time, and may be taken with fruits, either acid or sweet. 

As often as desired, in summer, take fruit. Because the very acid, juicyfruits have a tendency to cause chilliness and to thin the blood, it iswell to take them in moderation during advanced years, but that does notmean that those who like them should avoid them. In winter time thesweet fruit is best. Mild apples and bananas may be used as often asthere is a desire for them. Oranges should be taken more rarely, as wellas grapefruit, pineapples and other fruits that are heavily charged withacid. 

As a general rule, the starchy foods should be eaten but once a day, butthose who are very moderate may take them twice a day without badresults. Vegetarians have eggs and milk to take the place of fleshfoods. They also have lentils, peas, beans and the protein in the wholewheat and other cereals. Lentils, peas and beans must be taken inmoderation, for they are rich in nutriment and if too much is eaten theysoon cause disease. Nuts, if well masticated, are also all right. 

The general basis of feeding should be starch once a day and proteinonce a day in moderation. All kinds of starch and all kinds of proteinmay be used. Fruits more moderately than during the earlier years oflife is best. All the succulent vegetables that are desired may bepartaken of. By cooking the foods simply, as recommended in this book, they are rendered easier to digest than under the conventional manner ofcooking. Simple cooking will help to preserve health and prolong life. 

Work is one of the greatest blessings of life. Those who would live longand be useful must exercise both body and mind. Like all otherblessings, if it is carried to excess it is injurious. It is unfortunatethat some people must work too hard because there is a class of peoplewho do nothing useful, being content to be wasters. 

Work has been looked upon as a curse. This is a mistake. Those who livein the hope and expectation that they may some day cease working inorder to enjoy life, will find when they reach the goal that lifewithout work is not worth while. Those who can afford it can withbenefit lessen the amount of productive work they do and evolve moreinto cultural lines, but it is dangerous to cease working. The humanbeing is so constituted that without activity of body and mind there isdegeneration. What is sadder than to see a capable individual who haswon a competence and then has retired to enjoy it! He does not enjoy it. Either he has to get into some line of work, physical or mental, or hesoon dies. We must have a lively interest in something or there isstagnation. 

There are many beautiful things in life, and we should cultivate themwhile we are young enough to be able to learn to enjoy them. Theloftiest spirits of the ages have left their inspirations and theiraspirations with us in poetry, prose, music, painting, statuary and inother forms. We should try to cultivate understanding of these subjects, not necessarily all of them, but of one or more, for with understandingcome the elevation and broadening of mind that are always present whenthere is sympathy, and sympathy is closely related to understanding. Culture along one or more lines broadens the mind and makes a personmore worth while not only to himself, but to others. We can not estimatethe value of the beauty in life in dollars and cents, but he is poorindeed who is rich in worldly goods alone. 

It is necessary to be interested in the activities about us. Those whothink of nothing or no one except themselves are almost dead to theworld, even though they go through the same physical activities as otherpeople. The tendency is to get into a rut with advancing years andremain there. It is easy to keep both a pliable mind and a pliable bodyin spite of age, and this can be done by intelligent use. A short timedaily should be spent in becoming informed of what is happeningthroughout the world and thinking it over. A mental hobby is mostexcellent. A garden or a few birds can furnish an almost inexhaustiblesource of interest. Those who doubt this should read of the comedy andtragedy among such humble beings as the spider, the fly and the beetle. J. H. Fabre has written charmingly about these, investing them with aninterest rarely to be found in good fiction. This naturalist is a goodexample of what can be accomplished when one has years to do it in andis content to labor along from day to day without giving too muchthought for the morrow. At fifty Mr. Fabre was practically unknown. Now, at about ninety, he is one of the most admired and best loved of men. His recognition came late and he has done much of his best work duringhis later years. If Mr. Fabre had died at the average age of forty, theworld would have been deprived of his beautiful insight. 

Another cause of old age is getting mentally old. An individual beginsto grow old by dwelling on the subject. The girl of thirteen must ceaseromping and racing about because it is not lady-like. At twenty-five itis very, very undignified to run a little. At forty a woman must berather sedate, for being natural would mean frivolity. People arecontinually growing too old to do this and that, not because they havelost the desire and the ability, but because it is unbecoming at theirage. This is folly. Keep a young heart all through life. A heartfeltlaugh is one of nature's best tonics. There is no more harm in dancingat fifty than at fifteen and not so much danger. 

The relaxation of muscles and sagging of the face are as much the resultof mental attitude as of loss of tonicity. Thinking young andassociating with children are helpful and healthful. People who are verystiff and dignified are mentally sterile. The charming people are theones who are willing and able to understand and sympathize with the aimsand aspirations of others, and in order to do so it is necessary to thawout. 

The art of life is delightful if properly developed. 

Worry is such a detriment that its victims can neither live nor work asthey should. It is necessary to overcome this bad habit. Most of theworry is due to narrow selfishness. Much of it is caused by the factthat others will not do as we do. To try to make others accept ourstandards and then worry and fret because they will not is folly. Whenforce is employed to convert anyone the conversion is but superficialand lasts only so long as the converted individual's hypocrisy holdsout. To get the best out of life we have to be broad, forbearing, patient and forgiving. 

A normal old age is beautiful. It is the privilege, nay more, the dutyof every intelligent being to attain it. When we adjust ourselves weshall live longer. 

It is with old age as it is with health. We can have it if we wish it. Accidents alone can deprive us of either. Let us hope that the day willcome when men and women will not be satisfied to die as life is butbeginning, but that they will live as they should and could live, thusproving a blessing to the race. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

EVOLVING INTO HEALTH. 

By the time most people are twenty years old they have some kind ofdisease. It may be only a slight catarrh, a touch of indigestion, trouble with the eyes, defective hearing, or some other ill. Very seldomdo we meet a person of this age who is perfectly well. 

Most people are taught to believe that health is something mysteriouswhich may come to them or may pass them by, but that they have little ornothing to do with it. If they are well, they are fortunate, but if theyare ill they are not to blame. 

Most of them go to conventional physicians when they are ill, expectingto be cured. They take medicine or injections of serums or they areoperated upon. When they are through with the doctors they are no wiserthan they were before. 

A few have friends who tell them that they must change their mode ofliving if they would have health. They are interested enough to go to ahealer who believes in nature. He tells them that they are well or illaccording to their desserts, that they can be well at all times, if theywish, for if they live as they should health is a natural consequence. 

This sounds like nonsense at first. It is different from anything elsethey have heard. The sufferer often makes up his mind that the healer isa fool or a faker. He remembers that when he went to the conventionalphysicians they sounded and thumped him and examined all his excretions. They were very thorough and scientific. The natural healer does notgenerally go into so many details. He asks enough and examines enough tofind the trouble and then he stops. This the patient charges againsthim, for he takes for granted that the healer is brief from lack ofknowledge. 

So he goes back to his old physician. As his trouble is due to derangednutrition, he does not get well. He thinks over what the natural healersaid, and the more he thinks about it the more reasonable it sounds, andhe returns again. This time he gets instructions, and he follows themenough to get benefit, but not faithfully enough to get well. He isconvinced that the conventional physicians are wrong, but still believesthat the natural healer can hardly be right. 

After a while he makes up his mind to get down to business and he goesto the healer for instructions and follows them. The results aresurprising. The trouble he has had for years may disappear within amonth or two, or it may become less and less apparent, but takeconsiderable time before it leaves entirely. 

The healer gives instructions. The most important ones are thoseconcerning the diet. A plan is given that brings good results. Thehealer fails to explain that this is but one correct method of feeding, that there are other good ones. The patient is enthused over thebenefits derived, he makes up his mind that he is living the onlycorrect life, and he too often becomes a food crank, trying to force hisideas upon all about him. Here the healer is at fault, for he shouldexplain that some method is necessary, but that there is no one and onlymethod of feeding. 

If the patient is fairly intelligent, in time he realizes that it is notso much what he eats as his manner of eating and moderation that arehelpful, and that any plan in which moderation and simplicity arefollowed is better than the ordinary way of eating. 

As the patient evolves into health and gets a broader view of the art ofliving, he gets a better perspective of life. He learns that under likeconditions like causes always produce like effects, that the law ofcompensation is always operative, and we therefore get what we deserve. He loses his fear of many things that caused him grave concernpreviously. He sees in sickness and death the working of natural law, not of chance. 

Some patients realize that healers who work in accordance with natureare right, at the very start, but most people are not so logicallyconstructed. It often takes from one to three years before people makeup their mind to order their lives so that they can have health at theircommand. 

In the old way, the doctor was supposed to cure, which was impossible. In the new way, the healer educates people and then if they live theirknowledge they get health. 

The healer must instruct in the care of all parts of the body, weedingout bad habits and trying to instill good ones in their place. 

Eating according to correct principles is the most helpful and powerfulaid in regaining health. The patient finds that as the years pass histastes change, becoming more simple and more moderate. He is wellnourished on one-half to one-third of what he used to consume andconsider necessary. 

The following is the last half of a month's record of food intake for aman in the thirties. Some years ago he changed his manner of living inorder to regain health, in which he succeeded. Now he takes only one ortwo meals a day, according to his desires, not that he has any objectionto three meals a day, but he finds it best to eat more seldom. He is ingood physical condition, as heavy as he ought to be, and he has not hadany real physical trouble for a number of years. His work is mental, buthe walks considerably and swims from three to six times a week, besidestaking a few set exercises. 

It was taken in spring, the weather averaging cool. This is a littlelighter than usual, because the record was taken during a period ofexceptionally hard mental work. In cold weather heavier foods are taken. 

Lunch: Nothing. 

Dinner: Three slices of rye toast, very thin, celery, three slicesbroiled onion, dish of peas, glass of beer. 

Dinner at noon: Roast lamb, dish of spinach, one and one-half dishessummer squash, lettuce and tomato salad. 

Supper: Nothing. 

Lunch: Dish of baked lentils, vegetable soup, lettuce. 

Dinner: Two small oranges, cottage cheese. 

Lunch: Piece of gingerbread, cup of cocoa, two lumps of sugar. 

Dinner: Two small oranges, cottage cheese. 

Lunch: Dish of stewed prunes, tablespoonful cottage cheese. 

Dinner: Two eggs, two slices buttered toast. 

Lunch: Small grapefruit. 

Dinner: Vegetable soup, dish of stewed turnips, dish of peas. 

Lunch: Nothing. 

Dinner: Half a grapefruit, three stewed figs, glass of milk. 

Lunch: Dish of strawberries, large dish of rhubarb with grapefruit juicein it and cream on the side; half serving cream cheese. 

Dinner: Two small baked apples. 

Lunch: Small grapefruit. 

Dinner: Two eggs, dish of turnips, dish of spinach, sliced tomatoes. 

Lunch: One raw apple. 

Dinner: Two shredded wheat biscuits, glass of milk. 

Lunch: Dish of rhubarb. 

Dinner: Vegetable soup, one egg, a boiled potato. 

Lunch: Dish of rhubarb. 

Dinner: Sweet potato, dish of parsnips, stewed peas. 

Lunch: Dish of ice cream, piece of white cake. Dinner: Cheese cake, dishof fruit salad. 

Lunch: One hard boiled egg, about one and one-half slices white bread, two big radishes, one young onion, butter. 

Dinner: Nothing. 

The servings are the ordinary restaurant servings. No dressings wereused except the ones mentioned. This man used to be very fond of sweetsand employed salt freely. Now he finds his foods more agreeable whentaken plain, for they have a better flavor. He rarely uses salt orpepper. He has simplified his food intake because he finds he feelsbetter and stronger and is able to think to better advantage than he didwhen he partook of a greater variety and amount of food at each meal. 

Food scientists say that from two thousand, seven hundred to threethousand, three hundred calories are needed daily, but you will notethat this man generally keeps below one-half of this, if you are able tofigure food values. 

People who are trying to get well are often called fools and cranks whenthey treat themselves properly, but this does not matter, for such foolsgenerally live to see their wise critics prematurely consigned to theearth. 

When taking health advice, try to keep your balance. Get thoroughly wellbefore you try to guide others. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

RETROSPECT. 

Several hundred pages have been devoted to those matters which mustreceive attention in order to have good physical and mental health, soas to be able to get the most out of life and give the most, that is, inorder to live fully. The basis of health is internal cleanliness, and toattain this it is necessary to exercise self-control and moderation, aswell as to cultivate good will and kindliness towards others. Kindnessand love lubricate life and make the running smooth. Envy, spite, hatredand the other negative emotions act like sand in the bearings, producingfriction in the vital machinery, which they destroy in the end. 

Success in life means balance, poise, adjustment. We must adjustourselves so as to be in harmony with others, and we must be in harmonywith nature. Our minds will at times be in opposition to the laws ofnature. Then we must exercise enough self-control to bring them intoharmony again, for natural laws are no respecters of persons. It is saidthat we break these laws, but that is not true. If we disregard themoften enough they break us. We must realize our unity with nature, ourat-one-ment. We must realize that we are a part of nature, not above it, and hence that we are governed by the same fixed laws that govern therest of nature. These laws are for our good. Attempts to escape fromtheir workings indicate a lack of understanding. 

Discord produces disease and death. Harmony leads to health and longlife. 

The adjustment must be both physical and mental. 

The physical part means to live or adjust ourselves so that all thefunctions of the body are carried on normally. The body isself-regulating and if we do nothing harmful health will be our portion. However, life under our present civilization is so complex that thedemands upon our nervous systems are excessive. It is easy to live sothat we can have health, but to do so is not conventional, and hence notvery popular. 

In order to have good physical health under present conditions, it isnecessary to make some effort. The effort is not great enough to beonerous and does not require much time. It is important to get healthknowledge, which the majority lacks today. This knowledge is mostexcellent, but it does not benefit the individual unless it is applied. We all wish to have health, but this is not enough. We must will to haveit. When we say that we cannot, it should generally be interpreted tomean that we will not. 

Some important subjects regarding which special knowledge should besecured are: Food, drink, exercise, care of the skin, sleep, work andplay, breathing, clothing, and mental attitude. 

These subjects, as well as others, have been quite extensivelydiscussed. It is impossible to give full information in tabloid form. Itis also impossible to read a book of this character once and get all theinformation it contains. Those who are in earnest will study thesubject, instead of merely reading it. 

Allow me to remind you that nearly all of our diseases are due to faultydietary habits. So it was in the time of Hippocrates, according to thatsage, and so it is today. It is a common statement that about 90 percent. Of our physical ills come from improper diet, and this is thetruth. It follows from this that it is most important to know aboutcorrect feeding habits, and put them in practice. Improper diet resultsin faulty nutrition, after which physical and mental ills make theirappearance. 

There are many systems of feeding, and nearly all of them will bringgood results if the most important prescription is followed, namely, moderation. Simplicity leads to moderation. 

Those who are reasonable about their food intake often serve as targetsfor the shafts of ridicule launched at them by those who are ignorant ofthe subject or too self-indulgent to exercise a little self-control. Ridicule is one of the most deadly of weapons, but it never harms thosewho have the hardihood of getting down to basic facts and classifyingthings and ideas according to their true value. Why should we be guidedby the wit and sarcasm of indolent voluptuaries who daily desecratetheir bodies through ruinous indulgences?

There is no need of becoming harsh and austere, nor is it necessary tofall into deadly habits of self-indulgence. Sometimes we can go with thecurrent with benefit, but at times it is also necessary to paddleup-stream. Life demands a certain amount of hardihood from those whowould live in health, and this comes not from self-indulgence, but fromself-denial. It is necessary to do almost daily something that we arenot inclined to do. 

It is well to remember that if the eating is correct, it is difficult tobecome physically deranged, and consequently to become mentallyderanged. Allow me to repeat four short sentences which are helpful andmost important guides, sentences which ought to form a part of everychild's education:

If ill, eat nothing, but live on water. 

Eat only when there is a desire for food. 

Masticate all foods thoroughly. 

Always be moderate in your food intake. 

These are the four golden rules regarding eating, and if they wereadhered to, they would save us from an incalculable amount of sin andsuffering. They would increase the duration of life and the joy ofliving. They would add to our physical and mental prosperity. Hence theyare worthy of the emphasis given them. 

In brief: Physical health is based on internal cleanliness, which can beattained only through moderation, that is, by not habituallyoverburdening the system, especially with food. Our bodies thrive whenused, but not when abused. It is necessary for our physical well-beingto get air, sunshine, water, food, sleep, rest, exercise, work and playin proper proportion, and in addition cultivate a kindly, balancedspirit. Drugs, such as alcohol, coffee, morphine, bromine, and hundredsof others which could be named, are not only unnecessary, but harmful. 

The mental side is as important as the physical side. With a healthybody it is easy to have a happy outlook. Indigestion and biliousness canmake a dreary waste out of the most beautiful landscape. The body andmind react and interact, one upon the other. When one is poised it iseasy to get the other into balance. It requires a poised body to producethe best fruitage--a fine spirit. 

It is necessary to be honest with one's self. Face life courageously andhonestly. If you do, you will soon realize that the physical and mentalills from which you suffer are mostly of your own making. Then you canchoose whether to let them continue or to end them, but if you choose toremain ill, bear your cross uncomplainingly, for you have no right toafflict others with your self-imposed sufferings. 

On the other hand, try to see life from the view point of others, andyou will often find that what you think is the highest good and mostdesirable in life does not seem worthy of great effort to them. Varietyadds spice to life. To impose one's own views and ways on others hasalways seemed desirable to the majority of people, but it is the heightof folly and stupidity. So long as the race exists there will be manymen of many minds, and it is best so. We can not force any benefit, suchas health or goodness, upon others. Instead of attracting, the processof forcing repels. 

What we can do mentally to benefit ourselves and others is to getadjusted, to cultivate kindness and charity, to be broad-minded andforgiving, to be slow to take and give offense, to accept the littlebuffetings that fate has in store for us all with good grace, andthrough it all to possess our souls in patience. 

Physically, be moderate. 

Mentally, cultivate equanimity.