Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-06-08
Milk Diet.

Now, the truth is, that for adults as well
as children, milk combines more of the
elements our bodies need, and in more
nicely balanced proportions, than any
other food whatever. 1t is just as true
for the man as for the child that milk, in
its chemical composition, is an eminently
proper article of diet, and on this score
there is no reason, but the contrary, why
it should not be used. The experience in
all medical practice in great hospitals as
we'll as in private practice is that milk is
equal or superior to any other diet for con-
serving the strength and building up the
bodies of the sick; and this on account of
the rare adjustment of the alimentary sub
stances needed, and the ease with which
they are digested. 1t is then the hight of
things ridiulous to say that milk is neces-
sarily unadapted to the wants of the well.
But why does milk disagree with so
many? Evidently chiefly because it is
usually taken in considerable quantity at
once and the acid of the stomach, greater
in the adult than the child, coaguiates it
quickly, making hard mass, difficult of
digestion; this mass in the stomach pre-
sents much the same obstacle to digestion
that the hard-boiled egg does, the gastric
juice finds much difficulty in getting
through it and reducing it.
The remedy for this is, in the first place,
to eat milk in such a way that when it
coagulates it shall be in small PARTICLES;
this is accomplished by taking it with the
other food, especially coarse food. People
take it often as a drink, whereas, tits food ;
it should be eaten admiAed with coarse
bread, Graham bread or that made of
corn, and with large amount OF the lat
ter, as much in bulk as there is of the
milk. With this precaution carefully OBJ
served milk could be taken with impunity
and profit by one-half of those with whom
it now disagrees. Nine tenths of the
other half will find themselves able to take
it if they will dissolve in it small guam
tity of baking soda or other alkali to pre-
veet its too rapid coagulation. The guam
tity of this to be regulated by experience,
in each case can easily be learned by ex-
pertinent. The popular notion that the
soda is injurious-because it is an alkali
and common lye is an alkali, and
will, when swallowed clear, destroy
the mucous membrane of the
mouth and throat-is entirely mis-
taken one. Even granting that theoreti-
cally it is injurious, the benefit from full
milk diet would so far overbalance 1t that
this is not to be thought Of
A person taking one or two pints of
good milk each day could easily dispense
with all meat that is not digestible, and so
avoid the evil We have referred to; he
would not find either that after little
time the milk would disagree with him it
is proper constant diet.
Milk is very nourishing, wholesome, and
digestible food, and was it used twice as
much as it is in the country, dyspepsia
and sick headaches even, with the precau-
tions we have suggested carefully observed
would be materially lessened; its use is
to be encouraged.
Furthermore, as a matter of economy il
ought to be used it is one of the cheap
est equally nourishing and proper article
people can eat, and we submit that it is
more profitable to devour the milk while il
is sweet and good, than to wait until it is
sour, then give it to the pigs and then eat
the pigs.-A Physician, IN Prairie Farmer.