The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-04-22
Hints on Health and Comfort.

Hints on Health and Comfort.
All of the strength, of body and mind,
OF power to move, to work, to think,
comes, must come, and only comes,
from proper food well digested. A few
hours of effort uses up certain elements
in the muscles, in the nerves, in the
brain, which can only be replaced by
digested food. One may go on for some
time consuming elements previously
stored, but exhaustion follows more or
less rapidly, while the frequent supply
of new elements, from food, is essential
to active, efficient effort of muscles or
mind.
Tonics and stimulants may temporar-
lily help the dormant or weak digestive
organs, enabling them to digest food,
but they do not add to the stock of
strength. They may, in the absence of
food, push the muscles and nerves to
activity; but it is only borrowing
strength that must be soon supplied by
food. or weakness and disease will sure
ly follow. At best it is rule, law of
our nature, that any activity excited by
stimulants will surely be followed by
equal depression.
All heat or warmth in the body comes
from food oxidized, slowly burned in
the body, just as much, and in about
the same way that heat in the stove or
furnace comes from fuel Oxidized or
burned there. Warmth is always es-
Gaping from the body, unless it is in an
atmosphere nearly up to 1902 of heat.
Warm clothing, warm houses, stalls,
sheds, that prevent the rapid escape of
heat, save the necessity of taxing the
stomach to digest an excessive amount
of food QueD to keep up the heat of the
body, human or brute.
"Good food, well digested. we said.
That means good deal. Nine-tenths
of all the sickness, the bad or dull feel
ings, the headaches, the depression,
etc., come from Indigestion, though few
people are aware of it, or will believe
it. What is digestion? The food in the
stomach is moistened and largely liqui-
fed by the fluid supplied from the blood,
coming in through myriads of little open
ings on the inner coating of the stomach.
If there is much food to be worked
up, there must be great flow of blood
to supply the digesting fluid, the ''gas-
trio Juice" as it is called. The blood is
then drawn away from other parts of
the body. After heavy meal one feels
dull, sluggish, because there is less gen.
eral circulation of the blood. If violent
or strong exertion of body or mind is
made soon after eating, it draws the
blood from the stomach, and digestion
of the food is retarded.
If there is more food than the stomach
can readily supply gastric juice for,
some of it will be imperfectly worked
over, and will 90 into the system in that
condition. 1t viii disturb the brain and
other organs. 1t will affect and intensi-
~ any local trouble or disease. If one
has weak or diseased lungs, this imper-
fectly digested food will irritate and in
tensify the trouble. For this reason a
great deal of the coughing that occurs
actually and certainly comes from indi-
gestion. just so any and every other
affection of any part of the muscular or
nervous system is intensified by the i'm
perfectly digested food that is passing
through the body.
Nature ordains that to be we'll digest
ed by the gastric juice, the food must
first be mixed with good supply OF
saliua, and this can only be secured by
thoroughly chewing the food-masticat-
ing it-workipg over in the mouth long
enough for the saliva to flow out of the
glands in the sides of the mouth, and
time must be given for it to be collected
from the blood. One may sloaOly eat a
heavy dinner and digest it, when small
repast quickly swallowed viii be slowly
aud imperfectly digested Eat slow,
and keep every portion of food to be
swallowed some time in the mouth, to
get its supply of saliva sure.
As every particle of food must be act
ed upon by the gastric juice, or some of il
will be troublesome afterward, it stands
to reason that the finer food is cut
chewed, masticated, the more easily and
perfectly will it dissolve, or be digested
Meats, vegetables, any food masticated
as fine as small shot, will certainly be di'
gested far more easily, and very much
sooner than if it goes down in Jumps as
large as buck shot, or chestnuts, or wal.
nuts. Masticate the food fine in the
mouth, and mix it well there with saliva
Good teeth are "means of grace, ,
Ill Iud1s IL July uSCus eAOy PiOpcshO INV
for easy digestion, and save much of the
ill-temper and bad health arising from
indigestion. Many a sour disposition
would be modified by well masticated
well digested, good food. Sharp table
knives that make it easy to cut food fine
", and save some teeth-work, and the
danger of :" Jumps" of meat being swal
lowed except jim finely divided condi
ton, are material help to good diges
ton and health. Any hOusekeepel
ought, as one of her first lessons, tx
learn how to sharpen knives, and t.
keep them alUavs sharp.
The natural stomach of q full grow
persons does not hold q bushel, or ;
gallon, and if it did the surface of tn,
stomach requires long time and hare
work to collect enough gastric juic'
from the blood to digest even quart o
food. How about two quarts or more
If you smile at this, just set bowl b,
the side of your plate, and put into
the same amount of solid and liquid foot
that goes into the mouth. What is il
that bowl at the end of the repast i
what the stomach has got to work owe
and perfectly dissolve or digest, or tier
Il