Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-12-17
uO We Eat Foo Much.

Nothirg cOrsu mes tho geueral wealth OF the
world ike tie feeding of lis popuula!lons, aod
i. is by 20 nesns yet completely settled that
the msioity of men. opo, above the Imperative
restric!i1ps Of poverty, do not eat good deal
too much. An idea hes been very generally
spresd that il is healthy to eat often, I'LL Ger
tsin classes, more especially ser7sns eat NE
zines day; and the end OF the mt dIca anbor'
ism, that those who eat often should eat lltle,
is very often forgotten.
The Laucet OF September 6. 10 clrlousy
o,u.ious article, bints that the m)deia world
eats too much in positive tulk OF food-a state
ment cortsiaIy rue of great bread eaters dis
tioct and WI, marked type-snd thinks the
modern regularity OF metl5 has Induced us to
regard appetite as guide rather than hunger,
winch is the true one. Regularity OF meals
develops appetite, not hu1ger. We rather
question the previous proposltlon. as very
Gungry mao il apt to eat too much, but we
believe that the extension Of wealth aod The
,xreme public iguoraIc, upon the subj ct tend
10 foster a habit of taking too mauy meals.
Men aud women eat three 10 ten hours aod
hsl-bresktasi ct 10 q. No., luooh at l:3O p.
90, aud oiouer at 7:30 .. ma division OF the
TWEEN four hours It the day which can hardly
be healthy. l. leaves thirteen hours and a.hslt
without food, while 10 the remaining ten and
a-half there are three meals.
1t would be better, We imagine, for s.dentary
men 10 reduce theirs to two. taken at conslder.
able iot.rvas; or if that is too worrying. 10 oon
f le the ineIca!ary meal to the merest mouthful,
taken without sitting down and with 10 prOvl.
sion 10 tempt the appetite. Lunch fJr those
who Wcrk with tho bralo is the destruction or
.boriousuess and for those who work With the
hands is the least useful OF the meals. 1t Is
yety doubt ul whether the powerfully built
races of Upper India Who eat only tRcs q
day-at 10 a. m. and 10 p. m.-are not in the
right, * ely equaziog, as they do. the periods
of stsioerc,, though it is Tiff ,ult to decide from
the x nple of hereditary teet)tal Vegetsrlats,
the bulk of whose food is out of all proportion
to its nourishneut.
The great evil to be removed ls. however.
not so much the midday meal ss the profound
ignorance, even Of clucatfd men, as to the
ouanti Y of food Indispensable to health and the
o1.nti Y most b. :6cial to it, Ol the first
sutj,c most men kooW nothing, or at best only
the amount CT c>Evicl's ration. which is fixed
at the standard found mcst conducive to stV9re
labor 10 confinement, and is 90 rule for ordlosry
N snkiDd. Can not the dOc'ors tell Us some handy
rule or thumb about this2 They have told US
thst the beneficial q1s.lity Of alcohol is the
tu. W 1t is the beneficial qusntity of food ? 1t
must fer according to diet, nhysique and oc.
cup.tlon but still there must b, some f1rmula
which will convey in inte lig6le fasbl1n Inc
sversga maximum req hired by men of different
We sLts
We believe most men would be surprised to
find h w very low it is and how very much they
exceed it, especi lily in the comsunpt!on OF
met. Veeet ,riunisu, W1icn some IN )ny us
exslt IS q psuscss, has besn tried for thousands
of years. By millions Of people, ant has, on the
whole failed the 4 n eating peoples ouL ii %ht.
| ing. out work!g aud out tbiuking the eaters ot
Vegetables only; but ,lwesn vesetsrisni'm and
| the f .sh eating Atiss of we'll to do Engiihmen,
| there Is wide distance Mr.. Banung. to-,
wrut3 wild ggers,ions, but the way IN wlca
Enxiishmen OF reasonable intellectual ,pact!es
| will swallow crumbs OF bread, often not half
| baked, BY the pound at time. Wcu d acc ult
even 10: sevsrer melancholy than that under
which tnsy labor. We want 50 Ineligible rule
to be obsyei or disob,ved, but to ba remen.
| red-London Spestltor.