Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1881-04-22
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. zsAfeu
hours of effort uses up certain e1enlents
b the muscles, in the nerves, in thu
brain. which can only be replaced by
diges,cd food. One may go on for some
time consuming elements previously
stored, but exhaustion follows more OF
less rapidly, while the frequent supply
of new elements, from food, is essential
to active, elticicnt effort of muscles or
mind
Tonics and st;mulants may temporar,
lily help the dormant or weak digestive
organ, enabling them to digest food
but they do not add TO the stock o.
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, a law Of
our nature, that any activity excited by
stimulants will surely be followed by
equal depression.
AL heat or warmth in the body comes
from food oxidized, slowly burned in
the body, Just as much, and in about
tn 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 (iueD to Keep up the heat of the
body, human or brute. ".'l
"Good food, well digested." we said.
That means 4 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
1t. 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 he great flow of blood
to supply the digesting fluid, the "gas-
tric juice as it is called. The blood is
then drawn away from other parts of
the body. After a 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. 4
If there is more food than the stomach
can readily supply gastric juice for,
some of it will be imperfec;ly worked
over, and will 90 into the system in that
condition. 1t will disturb the brain and
other organs. 1t will affect and intensi-
fly 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 rart of the muscular or
nervous system is intensified by the inn
perfectly digested food that is passing
through the body.
Nature ordains that to be well digest
ed by the gastric juice, the food must
first be mixed with a good supply of
sa'iea, aud this can only be secured by
,horon,rb,v cbawipe, .ba food me st;c.t.
in itEworkinr over in the mouth ,ono
p, ougb for the saliva to flow ont Of the
o,4nds in the sides of the month, and
iini,. must he oiven for If TO he collected
fr. m the blood. One may slo,rl,, cot n
hravv dinner and DIGEST II when = small
IT ,.-st quickly swallowed will be slowly
AID imperfec1y digested Eat slow,
swalIowed some lime in The month. tn
gef its simply of saliva sure,
As every particle of food must be act
ed u,on bv the GASTRIC mice or some of.it
will be Troublesome afterward. If stands
to reason that the inner food is cut.
chewed. masfica,ed. the more easily and
perfectly will it dissolve. or be digested.
Meats. vegetables. any food masiica,ed
A. fine as small shot. will certainly be di-
pes,ed far more easily. and yery much
sooner than if it goes down in humps as
Iaroe rs buck shot. or chestnuts. or wal
nuns Mastica,e the food fine in the
mouth, and mix it well there with saliva.
Good teeth are a "means of grace
in that. if fully used, thev prepare food
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, Shnrp table
knives that make it easy to cut food fine
ly. and save some teeth-work. and the
DANGER of " lumps' of meat being swal- |
lowed except in a finely divided condi- |
ton. are material help to good diges-
+;n, .,.3 bool,b Anr bo,,-aLoa,,a
ought. as one of her first lessons, to
learn how to sharpen knives, and to
keep them al,cays sharp.
The natural stomach of a full grown
persons does not hold bushel, or a |
gallon, and if it did the surface of the !
stomach require, :. long time and hald !
work TO collect enough gastric iuice |
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