The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1881-04-14
Health Hints.

ect., come from indigestion, though
few people are aware of it, or win
believe it. What is digestione The
food IN the stomach is mOistened and
largely liquifed by the fluid su pplied
from the blood, coming in through
myriads OF little openings 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 ssgas
trio 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 general circulation of the blood.
1t 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 imperfect
~ worked over, and will go into the
system in that condition. 1t will
disturb the brain and other organs.
1t will effect and tensify any local
trouble or disease. If one has weak
or diseased lungs, this imperfectly
digested food will irritate and in
tensify the trouble. For this reason
a great deal Of the coughing that oc-
ours, actually and certainly comes
from indigestion. Just so any and
every other affection Of any part of
the muscular or nervous system, is in
tensified by the imperfectly digested
food that is passing through the body.
Nature ordains that to be well di-
gested by the gastric juice, the food
must first be mixed with good sup.
ply of Saliva, and this can only be Sc
cured by thoroughly chewing the food
-masticati1g it-working it 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 sloacly eat heavy dinner
and digest it, when a small repast
quickly swallowed will be slowly and
imperfectly digested. Eat slow, and
keep every portion Of food to be swal-
LEVIED, some time in the mouth, to get
its supply of saliva, sure.
AS every particle of food must be
acted upon by the gastric juice, or
some of it will be troublesome after
wards, it stands to reason that the
finer food is cut, cheWed, masticated,
the more easily and perfectly will it
dissolve or be digested. Meats, vege-
tables, any food masticated as fine as
small shot, will certainly be digested
far more easily than if it goes down
in Jumps as large as buckshot, or
chestnuts, or walnuts. Masticate the
food fine in the mouth, and mix it
we'll there with saliva.
Good teeth are a s. means of grace. -
in that, if fully used, they prepare
food for easy digestion, and save much
of the ill-temper and bad health aris-
ing from Indigestion. Many sour
disposition would be modified by well
masticated, well digested, good food.
Sharp table knives that make it easy
to cut food finely, and save some teeth
work and the danger Of Jumps of meat
being swallowed except in finely
divided condition, are material help
to good digestion and health. Any
housekeeper ought, as one of her first
lessons, to learn how to sharpen
knives, and to keep them always
sharp. p
The natural stomach of "a full grown
person does not hold a bushel, or a
gallon, and if it did, the surface of the
stomach requires long time and hard
work to collect enough gastric JUICE
from the blood to digest even a quart
of food. How about two quarts OF
more? If you smile at this, just set
a bowl by the side of your plate, and
put into it the same amount of solid
and liquid food that goes into the
mouth. What is in that bowl at the
end of the repast, is what the stomach
has to work over and perfectly dis.
solve or digest, or there is to be trou.
BILE somewhere. a small quantity OF
food well masticated and digested will
give more real nourishment, and less
trouble, than any very large meal.
Broil meat or any kind of food long
enough, and it will change to charcoal
After meat is heated through, every
further addition Of heat advances it's
condition towards the charcoal state
But charcoal is entirely indigestible
Rare cooked, fresh meats are far moro
easily digested, and furnish much
more real nutriment than those s'wel1
done.' Habit will make one enjoy
the rare cooked steak as more juicy
and palatable, and it is certainly bet.
ter as food.
Spices, condiments, etc, in small
quantity when needed by the weak, in.
firm, or aged, stimulate the flow OF
saliva, and Of the gastric juice. and
these may help digestion. But the
young and strong should reserve the
use of these until infrmity or age
makes them partially necessary, and
then they will be all the more useful,
because the system has not become SO
habituated to them that they will
have little effect.
Any stimulants containing alcohol
as liquors, beers, wines, ETC., are bad,
because, though they excite the sail
vary and gastric glands, the alcohol
in them is absorbed directly into the
blood, injuring it's natural composition
and it not only weakens these organs,
but disorganizes the entire blood, and
headache, depression actual disease
lis the positive, invariable result. A
strong constitution may recover again
and again, but the evil effects are
rn;nr IN oil tho 4;ron ord ,o+ or1r