The Shasta courier., 1865-10-28

Great Eaters.

Great eaters never live long. A voraclous
appetite so far from being a sign OF health.
is certain indication Of disease. Some
dyspeptics are always hungry; feel best
when they are eating, but as soon as they
have eaten they endure torments 50 distress
ing in their nature. as to make the unhappy
victim wish for death. The appetite OF
health is that which iHclines moderately to
eat when eating time comes, and which,
when satisfied, leaves no unpleasant re.
minders Multitudes measure their health
by the amount they can eat and OF any ten
persons, nine are gratfed at an increase OF
weight, as if mere bulk were an index OF
health when, in reality, an excess OF lat
ness is, in proportion, decisive proof OF ex-
isting disease; showing that the absorbents
OF the body are too weak to discharge their
duty and the tendency to fatness, to obesity
increases, until existence is a burden, and
sudden death closes the history. Particular
inquiry will almost unvaryingly elicit the
fact, that fat person, however rubicund
and jolly, is never well, and yet they are
envied.
While great eaters never live to an old age,
and are never for a single day without some
"symptom, some feeling sufficiently dis
agreeable to attract the minds attention
unpleasantly, snail eaters, those who eat
regularly of plain food, usually have no
spare fesh," are wiry and enduring, and
live to an active old age. Remarkable ex
emplifcations of these statements are to be
found in the lives of centenarians Of past
age. Gaen. one of the most distinguished
physicians among the ancients lived very
sparinglv after the age of twenty weight, and
died in his hundred and fortieth year
Ketigern, who never tasted spirits or wine,
and worked hard all his life, reached a hun
dred and eighty-fve years. Jenkins, poor
Yorkshire fisherman, who lived on the
coarsert diet. was one hundred and sixty
nine when he died Old Parr lived to a
hundred and ffty-three his diet being milk
cheese, whey, small beer and coarse bread.
The favorite diet of Henry Francisco, who
lived to one hundred and forty, was tea,
bread and butter and baked apples
Ephriam Pratt, of Shutesbury, Massachu-
setts, who died aged one hundred and seven
teen. lived chiefly on milk, and even that in
small quantity; his son Michael by similar
means, lived to be hundred and three
wears old. Father Gull, Methodist clergy
man, died last year at the age of hundred
and five. the main diet of his life having
been salted swine's flesh (bacon) and bread
made of Indian meal. From these state
ments, nine general readers out of ten will
jump to the conclusion that milk Is healthy.
as are baked apples and bacon. These CON
clusions do not legitimately follow. The
only inference that can be safely drawn is
from the only fact running through all these
cases-that plain food and steady labor tend
to life of great age. As to the healthful
ness and life protracting qualities of any
article Of diet named. nothing can be inferr
ed. for no two men lived on the same kind of
food: all that can be nationally and safely
said is, either that they lived so long in spite
of the quality of food they ate, or that their
instinct called for particular kind of food /;
and the qualification of that instinct instead
of its peryersion, with a life of steady labor
directly cause healthfulness and great length
of davs. We must not expect to live long by
doing any one thing which an old man did
and omit all others, but by doing all he did,
and that is, work steadily, as well as eat
mainly particular dish.-HaHs Journal Of
Health.