The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-06-28
How to Attain Old Age.

The Psalmist David allowed seventy
years al the natural duration o. Ii Q,
Pythagoras placed the Limit ut eighty.
London's hygienic Philosopher, DIR.
Richardson, gives us ten more, while
Flourens believed that man ought to
live one hundred years,
There is no doubt that the physio-
logical Limit of human life has been
slightly increased in the present Gems
tury, and hundred years later 1t may
be found that old age comes on still
more slowly and gently,
The physiological chemist tells us
that after the age of forty or forty-ifve,
dss initiation gradually begins to ex-
coed assimilation, and the structures of
the body slowly waste. Muscle and
nerve, which ave the master tissues"
feel this fl st. rhe dynamic eoeilicient
of b9th striped and unstriped muscle
decreases after forty; the limbs be ONE
less less sup lie, and the hollow viscera
have ieeber eNpulsivo force; the
nervous system is less sensitive and
plastic; impulses travel between center
and periphery with more difficulty.
The individual loses spontaneity, and
becomes m ne automatic, more crea-
ture of determined habits.
The lower tissues also undergo un-
dergn very marked and characteristic
changes The fibrin- fGctors of he
blood increase in amount, the bones be-
come dr,er, the cartilages os lily, aud
the arteries especially become the seat
of fatty degenerat on and calcareous
deposits.
DR.. II richardson announced that "hs
exper ments show that the colloidal
matter ilrotoplasm of the bady in
old age contains less water, and that
It's particles are consequently more CO.
hesive. 1t Is true, at anY rate, that the
total amount of water in the body is
less.
The essential fast as regards senile
changes is that the metabolic function
is weakened Conse uently the food,
instead of being built up into goo It's
sue, is oxid zed into less complex sub
stances. The protoplasm turns out fa'
instead of new protoplasm, the circula
tory apparatus becomes weaker, The
blood stagnates, carbonic q id pre- 5ipi
tates. and earthly salts, which is KEEP
in solution, are deposited.
Now, certain recent philosopher
have thought that by preventing these
fatty and ealcareOus changes, old ag'
could be delayed. A Swiss physician
4 a few years ago, argued that lemons
l. c., citric acid, would accomplish Thu
end, and aw Immortality in lemonade
More recently, writer in Ktso,cie tge
Mr.. w. o. Dawson, has presented
new regimen SAM ats, which he claim
is the most rational and certain mean
of retarding old age. 1t consists II
avoiding all food rich in earthly salts
and in taking daily, two or three tum
bler-fuls of distilled water with ten 0
fifteen drops Of dilute phosphoric aci'
in each glassful. The food lreest o
earthly salts is, fruits, fish, and poultry
young mutton and veal.
W e can test fly with Mr.. lawson tina
this kind of diet is harmless, but WI
are profoundly skeptlcal as to its eli
cheney
Old age is part of the life history o
the organism. There is that in tn
child at birth which determines var,
nearly when old age shah appear
Senilty is q failure of nutfition. w
can only delay its appearance by Twin,
life which puts undue strain on tn
organism, and by furnishing 1t with tn
easiest means of working. We can no
expect to accomplish this end simpl
by cutting off Ger ain deleterious sup
plies. Ii one would live long, let hin
especially take care of his master tis
suasn-the muscle and nerve -whe
young. This means rational exercise q
body and well balanced cultivation \
mind. Brain workers live long, brai
and muscle workers longer still. n
one has yet given better advice for th
retarding of old age than did Christie
pher Hufeland, a century ago. Ia
those who wish old age study him, an
put no trust in distilled water.--Med
cal RecOrd.