Smyrna times., 1858-06-10
One Mans Meat is another Mans
Poison,

Aimentary substances are substances which
serve as nOur. .shment, but a great mistake is
made when II Is imagined that their nulrtive
value can chiefly reside in the amounts of car
bon, nitrogen, hydrogCn,O n,OXygen and salts which
they contain 1t resides IN the relation which
the several substances bear to the organism
they are to nourIsh. Music is not harmonious
to the deaf, nor is color splendid 10 the blind
The substances which nourishes one animal
affords no nourlshment to another, nor Will any
table OF "nutrtIve equivalents" however pre-
else, convince US that substance ourht 10
noursh in virtue of It's composition, when eX-
perence tells US that it does not nouHsh in yir-
tuAOt some defective relation between it and
the organism. That " one mans meat is auo.
ther mans poison " is a proyerb of strict vera
city. There are persons, even IN Europe, to
whom mutton chop would be poisonous. The
celebrated case OF the Able de VIlledien is
rare but not unparalleled example Of animal
food being poisonous: from his earlest years
his repugnunce to it was so decided, that nei-
ther the entreaties of his parents, nor the me-
naccs Of his tutors, could induce him to over
come It, After reaching the age of thirty, ON
regimen of vegetable food he was ovcr-per-
suaded, and tried the effect of meat soups,
which led to his eating both mutton and beef:
but the change was fatal; plethora and s!eepi-
ness interviewed, and he died Of cerebral infa-
nation. In lS44, a French soldier was forced
to quit the service because he could not over
come his violent repugnance aud disgust toward
animal food.
DR.. Prout, whose testimony will be more con.
vincing to English readers, knew person on
whom mutton acted as poison: lie could
not eat mutton in any form. The peculiarity
was supposed to be owing TO caprice, but the
mutton was repeatedly disguised and given to
him unknown, but uniformly with the same re.
suit of producing violent vomiting and diarr-
hGa. All from the severity of the effects,
which were in fact those of a viruIent poison,
there can be little doubt that if the use of mul-
ton had been persisted in, it would soon have
destroyed the life of the individual" Dr. Pc
reira, who quotes this passage, adds: al know
gentlemen who has repeatedly had an attack
OF indigestion after the use of roast mutton"
Some persons, it is known, cannot take coffee
without vomiting others are thrown into
general inhlmallon if they eat cherries or
gooseberries. Hahn relates of himself that
seven or eight strawberries would produce con-
vulsions in him. Tissot says he could never
swallow without vomiting. Many persons are
unable 10 eat eggs and cakes or puddings hav.
ing eggs IN their compOsltion produce serious
disturbances in such persons if they are in
duced to eat them under the lse assurances
of no eggs having been employed, they are soon
undeceived by the unmsta kable effects. Under
less striking forms this difference in the assimi-
latng power of different human beings is ia.
miliar 10 US ALL we see our friends freely in
dulging, with benefit instead of harm, in kinds
of food which experience too painfully assures
US we can eat only with certain injury.
To this fact the attention of parents and guar
dians should seriously be given, that by it they
may learn to avoid the petty tyranny and folly
of insisting on children eating food for which
they manifest repugnance. 1t is too common
to treat the child's repugnance as mere caprice,
to condemn it as stuff and nonsense" when
he refuses to eat fat or eggs, or certain vege-
tables, and " wholesome" puddings. Now even
caprice in such matters should not be altoge-
ther sighted, especially when it takes the form
of refusal; because this caprice is probably
nothing less than the expression of particular
and temporary state of his organism which we
should do wrong TO disregard. And whenever
a refusal is constant, it indicates positive un-
fitness in the food. Only gloss ignorance o
physiology, an ignorance unhappily too widey
spread, can argue that because certain article
is wholesome to many, it must necessarily bC
wholesome to all. Each individual organism
is specifically different from every olher.-
BLackwOOd.