Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-06-30
Effects Of Eating too Much.

Prof. Hitchcock, under this head,
says:
"But men do not perceive the bad eff
fects of overfeeding, because in general
they are ignorant of their character, and
contine their attention to the more inn
mediate effects instead OF looking Mt
those which are remote. They generally
say that, il the stomach or any other in
ternal organ be oppressed or disordered,
pain will be produced in the organ itself,
whereas, the measiness and pain are
most commonly in some other part, not
unfrequently remote part, ofthe body.
And, oftentimcs, food which ultimately
does the man great deal of injury
gives to the stomach y transient relief,
just rs piling q large quantity of wood
upon a fire seems for time almost to
sStingush it. Thus, the dyspeptic is
oppressed with sense of gnawing and
faintness at his stomach previous to his
meals. The immediate consequence of
eating to safety is to remove this uncom-
Portable sensation, and to produce glow
in the system which ut first is not disa-
greeable. Hence such man concludes
that his hearty meal has done him good.
True, he feels an indisposition to bodily
or mental effort, and perhaps drow-
siness and sleep come over him for two
or three hours; but this he considers no
bad omen; indeed his nap rcfreshes him
for the time, and, although the thought
may enter his mind that perhaps he has
eaten too much, should headache or
heartburn come on, yet, by cup of tea
or q little exercise, he gets rid of these,
and fancies that when he forces the food
from his stomach, no farther bad effects
will result from little excess in quanti-
ty. Should he have disturbed sleep and
restlessness, nightmare or unpleasant
dreams the following night he SCARCELY
thinks of referring the mischief to the
dietetic excesses of the preceding day
His appetite is good the next day, and
he takes the same course, viz, to eat as
much as his stomach Graves; and although
overloaded nature raises those signals of
distress which l have mentioned, he is
ignorant of their meaning until after
few weeks or months, when gloom and
jealousy enshroud the mind as forerun-
ners of the storm that is about to burst.
"A man never thinks of imputing
these feelings to his excess in eating,
although in fact they are the direct con-
sequences; and indeed, am more and
more convinced that most of the de-
preston of spirits which accompanies
nervous complaints might be prevented
by rigid abstemiousness in diet.
"Another remote consequence of eat
ing too much is uneasiness and irritabil-
ity of temper, especially in the morning,
which most men never regard as having
an origin. The greatest gluttons we
ever beheld Except one,) says a medical
reviewer, We're meagre men, whose tenn
pers became so grabbed that even their
children have wished them dead. That
these are real dyspeptics is proved by
their cure being practicable, if they are
subjected to the same regimen which
dyspeptics require"
"Dr. johnson mentions a curious case
illustrative of this effect of excessive eat
ing upon the mind. He had hypo-
chondriacal patient, who 'swas every
second day affected with such an exas-
peration of his melancholy forebodings
that he did nothing but walk about his
room, ringing his hands, and assuring
his servants that the hand of death was
upon him, and that he could not posi-
bly, survive more than few hours. I'm
der these gloomy impressions he would
refuse food and drink, and in fact, give
himself up for lost. The succeeding sun,
however, would find him quite an altered
man. The cloud had broken away,
hope was rekindled, and the appetite for
food and drink was indulged ad libitum.
Next morning all would be despair, and
nothing but death could be thought of.
So he went on as regularly as light and
darkness. But if, on the good day, he
could be kept on very small portion of
food and the bottle unopened the next
would be good also. This, however,
could seldom be done, for as soon us he
felt little respite from his miscres,
procured by one days abstinence, he re-
turned to his indulgencies and again IT.
ritated his stomach and bowels, and
through them reproduced the blue devils
in the mind"