# The Simple Life in a Nutshell

The Simple Life in a Nutshell
The purpose of this booklet is to present a few simple rules, the careful following of which the writer believes will promote physical and mental efficiency, mental and moral equipoise and equanimity, and will prolong life and useful activity.
As space is too limited to permit of the full presentation of arguments or reasons, these rules are expected to be of chief service to those who are already persuaded of the correctness of the general propositions of the "simple life," "right living" or "return to nature" movement.
It is proper, however, to say, for the encouragement of those to whom the ideas presented are altogether new, that of the various suggestions made, not one is presented which has not been thoroughly tried and tested in the experience of hundreds, even thousands, of persons; nor is a single proposition offered which does not rest upon a sound basis of scientific fact.
The "simple life" is not an innovation. It is a return to the "old paths" from which the perversions ​of our modern civilization have gradually diverted millions of men and women, perversions that are responsible for the multitudinous maladies and degeneracies which yearly multiply in number and gravity.
Modern medical research has demonstrated that most maladies from which human beings suffer, chronic as well as actue, are due to infection of the alimentary canal with poison-forming germs. Many scores of such germs are known. The poisons are absorbed, and give rise to a great variety of distressing maladies and symptoms. Unnatural foods and unwholesome habits of life encourage infection of the intestine by introducing poison-forming bacteria and promoting their growth. Natural food and natural habits of life combat these disease-producing infections. Hence the "simple life" is an antitoxic life, a clean life in the largest sense.
GENERAL RULES.
1. Give attention daily to cultivating health. It will pay. Study the conditions and the surroundings of the home and the business, and give careful thought to personal habits and practices with special reference to their bearing on health.
2. Recognizing that health of mind and body is ​one of the most valuable of all personal assets, make every reasonable effort to maintain intact, and, if possible, increase the capital of physical and mental strength.
3. Give to the body and its functions that care and study which you would accord to any other valuable and costly mechanism, so as to become familiar with its needs and the best means of supplying them.
EATING FOR HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY.
4. Eat only natural foods; that is, those which are naturally adapted to the human constitution. The natural dietary includes fruits, nuts, cooked grains, legumes, and vegetables. Natural food imparts to the body the greatest amount of energy, and maintains normal conditions of life. No animals but scavengers and men eat everything. We should follow our nearest relatives, the orang and chimpanzee, in diet.
5. Avoid meats of all sorts (flesh, fowl, fish, including "sea food"). These are unnatural foods. They are all likely to contain deadly parasites of various kinds, and always contain countless numbers of noxious germs, "meat bacteria" or "wild germs," ​which infect the intestines, cause putrefaction and other poison-forming processes, and inoculate the body with colitis and many other diseases. These germs are not destroyed by ordinary cooking, such as stewing, broiling, frying, and roasting.
6. Take care to avoid an excess of protein, that is, the albuminous element which is represented by lean meat, the white of eggs, and the curd of milk. An excess of protein promotes putrefaction, and thus intestinal autointoxication, the chief cause of "biliousness," colitis, appendicitis, gall-stones, arteriosclerosis, possibly cancer, Bright's disease, and premature old age. Ordinary bread contains a sufficient amount of protein, as do also other cereals. Most nuts, also peas and beans, contain an excess of protein, and should be eaten sparingly.
7. Eggs should be eaten in great moderation, if at all. They encourage autointoxication, and thus often cause "biliousness." The yolk of the egg is more wholesome than the white.
8. Cow's milk is not altogether suited for human food. A large proportion of invalids—nearly half, perhaps—suffer from "casein dyspepsia," and cannot take milk without suffering from constipation, headache, "biliousness," coated tongue, or other unpleasant symptoms which indicate intestinal ​autointoxication. Such persons may sometimes make use of fresh buttermilk, sour milk, cottage cheese, yogurt cheese or yogurt buttermilk, with less difficulty, and even with benefit. Excellent substitutes for milk may be prepared from nuts (Almond cream. Malted Nuts).
9. Animal fats, such as lard, suet, and ordinary butter, should be avoided. They are difficult of digestion, and promote intestinal autointoxication, and thus cause "biliousness." Vegetable fats are more easily digestible, and do not encourage intestinal autointoxication. To be wholesome, butter must be perfectly sweet, and should be made from sterilized cream.
Persons who are not subject to casein dyspepsia are often able to digest sterilized cream more easily than butter. Persons who suffer from hyperpepsia— "sour stomach"—may take sterilized butter and cream more freely than those who suffer from slow digestion. When butter and cream produce pimples on the face, a coated tongue, or a bad taste in the mouth, they must be diminished in quantity, or omitted altogether. Nuts, Malted Nuts, ripe olives and olive oil are excellent substitutes for butter and cream.
10. Avoid poison-containing foods. Tea, coffee, chocolate and cocoa contain poisonous alkaloids ​which impair digestion, damage the nerves, and promote disease of the liver, kidneys, and blood-vessels. Cereal beverages and hot fruit juices are wholesome substitutes for tea and coffee.
11. Condiments—mustard, pepper, pepper sauce, cayenne, capsicum, vinegar, hot, irritating sauces, and spices of all kinds—must be wholly discarded. They irritate the stomach and cause gastric and intestinal catarrh and gastric ulcer, colitis, and damage to the liver and kidneys.
12. Common salt, or chlorid of sodium, should be used sparingly. According to Richet and others, the food naturally contains all the chlorid of sodium actually required by the body, so that the addition of salt to the food is necessary only to please a cultivated taste. A safe rule is, The less the better.
Persons who have dropsy, Bright's disease, arteriosclerosis, gastric ulcer, hyperacidity, obese persons and epileptics should discard salt.
13. Food combinations should be such as to give the proper proportion of the several elements,—proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Fruits and vegetables, as well as other combinations of natural foodstuffs, agree perfectly when mastication is sufficiently thorough to reduce the food to a liquid state in the mouth. ​14. The quantity of food should be adapted to the size of the person and the amount of work which he does. Never eat to satiety. A person of average height and moderately active requires 200 calories of protein (1/10), 600 calories of fat (3/10) and 1,200 calories of carbohydrates (6/10), or a total of 2,000 calories, or food units, daily. This is furnished by the following: Bread, 10½ oz.; milk, 6 oz.; potatoes, 8 oz.; butter, ¼ oz.; rice flakes, 1¼ oz.; cream, 2¼ oz.; apples, 7 oz. The proper quantities for any bill of fare may be easily figured out by aid of the Battle Creek Sanitarium Diet List. Be careful to eat enough to maintain normal weight (see table in the Diet List). The body can dispose of a small excess, but cannot make up a deficiency. Weigh once a month. To reduce weight, eat less and exercise more. Eat one-third more when doing hard muscular work. Mental work requires no more food than loafing.
15. Food must be well relished to be well digested. According to Pawlow, "appetite juice," which is produced by stimulation of the nerves of taste by palatable food, is the most important factor in gastric digestion. Eat when hungry, never because it is meal-time, or because invited to eat.
16. Cane-sugar should be eaten only in ​small quantity. Large quantities cause acidity and give rise to gastric catarrh and indigestion. Sweet fruits, such as raisins and figs, honey and meltose or malt sugar, are natural and wholesome sweets and may be eaten freely.
17. A sedentary life tends to produce intestinal inactivity, that is, slow digestion and constipation; hence, the ordinary daily bill of fare should supply an adequate amount of laxative foodstuffs, fresh sweet fruits (not preserves), especially figs and prunes, acid fruits and fruit juices, fresh vegetables, bran, whole-grain preparations.
18. Some fresh, uncooked food should be eaten at each meal in the form of fresh fruits or fruit juices, lettuce, raw cabbage, cucumber and other salads.
19. Fresh vegetables and whole-grain cereals are needed to supply lime, potash and other salts. The blood and all living cells require these salts, as do the teeth and the bones. The free use of cane-sugar and meats leads to lime starvation, because of the deficiency in lime. Avoid white bread. Eat baked potatoes freely.
20. Avoid complicated dishes and great ​variety at one meal, but vary the diet from day to day, as the appetite may indicate.
21. Eat at regular hours, so as to maintain the normal intestinal rhythm which secures the daily movements of the bowels. Rather than omit a meal entirely, eat some fruit or a cake of Colax (agar-agar) with fruit juice, or some other simple nutrient which will keep up the peristaltic procession and rhythm.
Never take food into the stomach when remains of a previous meal are present.
22. The best meal plan is to eat twice a day. Eight to nine A. M. and three to four P. M. are the best hours; or eleven A. M. and six P. M., if the retiring hour is necessarily very late. When breakfast is omitted or taken very late, it is an excellent plan to take some fruit soon after rising.
23. If three meals are eaten, the heartiest meal should be taken at midday. The breakfast should be substantial, the evening meal very light, especially avoiding pastry, fats, rich sauces, and hearty foods. The evening meal should consist chiefly of ripe or cooked fruits, liquid foods, and such cereals as boiled rice or cereal flakes.
24. Avoid iced foods and drinks. Very cold foods or drinks, if taken at all, should be ​
* OLD PARR
* At the age of 152 Years
* LEWIS CORNARO
* At the Age of 100 Years
25. Chew every morsel until reduced to liquid in the mouth. Thorough chewing develops "appetite juice" in the stomach and combats intestinal autointoxication, a most prolific cause of disease. Careful mastication affords opportunity for the nutritive instincts to select the food and food elements adapted to the body needs, and to say, "Enough," at the proper moment. Hence, give preference to dry foods. Sip liquid foods slowly, taking care to insalivate thoroughly.
26. Dismiss work, worries, business cares and annoyances while eating. Good cheer promotes good digestion. Anger, worry, irritation, stop digestion.
27. What we eat today will be walking about and talking tomorrow; hence all foods not known to be pure and wholesome should be avoided. Especially avoid rich and so-called hearty (hard to digest) foods, and such indigestibles as pickles, green olives, and preserves.
28. Take three or four pints of water a day, including liquid food.
Do not drink much at nor immediately after meals. Take a few sips whenever thirsty. ​Drink a glassful of water on rising in the morning, on retiring at night, an hour before each meal, and two or three hours after eating.
EXERCISE FOR HEALTH.
29. Live as much as possible in the open air. If compelled to work indoors, be sure that the living and work rooms have an ample, continual supply of fresh air. The lower the temperature the better, so long as the body is kept comfortably warm. Temperatures above 70° are depressing. The breathing of cold air is a continuous tonic; every breath is a tonic bath, a vital lift. A thousand breaths an hour count greatly toward health or disease, according as the air breathed is pure and cool, or impure and hot.
30. Working in the open air is one of the best forms of exercise, especially working in the garden, digging, hoeing, pruning, etc. Do some good, hard, muscular work every day, enough to produce slight muscular fatigue and free prespiration; but avoid exhaustion. Exercise out of doors is most beneficial.
Swimming in water at 76° to 78° is the best of all special health exercises. Rapid walking and hill climbing are excellent; stair climbing is good. ​31. One need not degenerate physically because his occupation is sedentary. Always sit erect, with chest held high and the small of the back supported. Sit as little as possible. Standing and lying are more natural and healthful positions than sitting. One may exercise while sitting at work by deep breathing and by stiffening the muscles of first one limb a few seconds, then the other. All the muscles in the body may be exercised in this way.
32. Deep breathing aids digestion, encourages liver and bowel action, develops the lungs, and purifies the blood. The only directions needed are: Hold the chest high and breathe as deep as you can ten or twenty times every hour, or oftener. The best "breath" gymnastics are swimming, hill- or stair-climbing, and rapid walking or running. Always breathe through the nose.
33. In walking, always hold the chest high and carry it well to the front. Swing the arms moderately, and walk fast enough to hasten the breathing a little. Nine miles walking a day at the rate of three miles an hour is the necessary amount for the average adult. Most housekeepers and laborers do more.
34. Develop the abdominal muscles by some simple exercises, such as walking on tiptoe with ​chest held high, or running round the room on all fours; or lie on the back, hold the legs straight and raise them to the perpendicular, repeating thirty to forty times three times a day.
Lying on the back, raise the body from the lying to the sitting position with the hands placed upon the back of the neck. Repeat ten to twenty times three times a day, gradually increasing the number.
35. If the abdominal muscles are weakened, so that the lower abdomen bulges forward, a tight flannel bandage, or more substantial support, should be worn about the lower abdomen when on the feet, until the muscles have been strengthened by exercise.
THE TOILET.
36. Cleanse the mouth and teeth thoroughly before and after each meal, on rising and on retiring. A foul tongue and decaying teeth indicate mouth infection and intestinal autointoxication and general low resistance.
37. Bathe daily at night in warm weather. Twice a week in winter, take a warm cleansing bath before retiring. Apply olive oil or fine vaseline after the bath if the skin is dry. ​If the skin is irritated apply Dr. Buckley's skin cream, of which the following is the formula:
If the skin irritation is very great add five grains of carbolic acid and ten grains of menthol to the above. Apply after bathing in cold weather, especially when using hard water.
Rub the scalp with the finger tips dipped in cold water twice a day.
38. Take a short cold bath every morning on rising. This is an excellent tonic. Or take a cool air bath morning and night, rubbing the skin with a dry towel.
39. The hands, nose, and scalp also require sanitary attention. For the hands, use a good soap and rinse well with soft water. If rough, apply skin cream (see above).
40. The bowels should move thoroughly three times a day, most naturally soon after each meal. Many persons move the bowels soon after rising. Train the bowels by trying to move them on rising and after meals.
41. Putrid, foul-smelling stools are an indication of intestinal autointoxication, and are due to an ​excess of protein in the form of meat, eggs, or to decay (stasis or stagnation) in some part of the colon. Such a condition always breeds disease and indicates need for a "change of flora."
SLEEP AND REST.
42. Sleep eight hours each night. If not strong, or if neurasthenic, take a nap before dinner. Growth, assimilation, and repair are most active during sleep.
43. Surroundings at night should be quiet. Sleep amid noise is not normally refreshing.
On the side is the best position during sleep for most persons. Change sides.
44. The bed should be neither too hard nor too soft. Avoid feather. The covers should be dry, warm, light and porous. Avoid overheating by excess of clothing. Use a thin pillow and discard bolsters.
45. When asleep, always breathe outdoor air supplied by means of wide open windows, a window tent, a fresh-air tube, or a sleeping balcony. Do not sleep within two hours after eating.
46. Make the weekly Sabbath a day of complete rest from work. Spend most of the day out of doors if possible. Take a half-day off for an outing in the middle of the week. ​
CLOTHING.
47. The clothing should be loose, comfortable, light and porous. Restrictive clothing is necessarily damaging, for the trunk of the body is continually changing in form and size. Wear porous, cotton or linen underclothing next to the skin.
48. Avoid waterproofs except for temporary protection. Clothe the extremities so as to keep them warm and dry. Avoid too much clothing.
MENTAL HYGIENE.
49. Do not worry. The Power that made us can and does take care of us. There is no need to worry. The Intelligence that controls and energizes heart and lungs can rule our destinies and with our cooperation will lead our lives in ways where "all things work together for good" to us. Worry kills. Hope inspires, uplifts. Cheer up.
50. Do not become self-centered. Avoid thinking or talking about ailments or other unpleasant things. Cultivate altruistic ideals and wholesome and optimistic thoughts.
51. Exercise self-control and restraint in all ​things. Work uses energy moderately, the passions and the emotions enormously.
52. Take a vacation when you dream about your work.
53. Discard tobacco, alcoholic beverages, "tonic drugs" and other nerve foolers. They are poisons which lessen efficiency and shorten life.
54. Avoid nostrums and patent medicines. The habitual use of any drug is harmful. The most eminent physicians are now agreed that very few drugs have any real curative value. The essential thing is right habits of life.
SUGGESTIONS.
55. For inactive bowels, knead the abdomen well with the hands night and morning, especially the lower side parts. Eat laxative foods, especially fruits and nuts, and whole-grain "cereals." Drink a glass of cold water or eat an orange on rising and retiring. Exercise the abdominal muscles. If necessary use a cool enema (80°F.) within an hour after breakfast daily for a week or two. Use one and a half to two ounces of sterilized bran daily. Use Colax biscuit (agar-agar) at each meal. Take one to three tablespoonfuls of Para-lax (emulsion of ​Russian paraffine oil) at night. Visit the closet regularly after each meal to train the bowels. When a "call" is experienced respond immediately. Five minutes may postpone action indefinitely. Support the feet on a stool before the closet seat.
56. For a cold, take an electric light or other sweating bath on retiring; drink three quarts of water or weak lemonade daily and eat little but fruit for a day or two; and stay out of doors. Live in the fresh air and avoid colds.
57. If sleepless or nervous, take a warm bath at 102° F. for one or two minutes, then cool to 93° to 95°; continue half an hour to two hours if necessary. This rarely fails.
58. If "bilious," take several enemas until the bowels are thoroughly emptied. Drink two or three quarts of water daily. Eat freely of fresh fruits and green vegetables. Avoid fats almost wholly for a few days, and diminish the amount of fats in the regular diet. Discard milk. Make the bowels move three or four times a day by the use of bran, Colax, or Para-lax, or all three, if necessary. Use besides if required a daily enema at 80° F.
59. The best foods in the order of excellence: Fresh, ripe fruits, cooked fresh fruits, cooked dried fruits, nuts, graham bread, rice, zwieback, ​toasted wheat flakes, potato, cauliflower, carrots, greens and other fresh vegetables, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, honey, meltose, malted nuts, yogurt butter-milk, sterilized milk and cream, peas, beans, lentils, raised bread, sterilized butter.
55. Eat, drink, sleep, exercise,—do all for efficiency. Said Paul, "Whether ye eat or drink, whatsoever ye do, do all for the glory of God." A man can do credit to his Creator only in following the natural order of life intended for him.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1943, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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