The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-07-18
PUTTING OFF OLD AGE.
lNev YOsk San.l

Ihe poSSacaAty ot pF0tongtDg Ftfe AA4 received the attention vf thinkers thEo1gh- out ail ages. and was eoasidered Tea. sonahle subject foT investigation by Bacon. as ID eAIlieE days II had fascsnAped the alchemlsis and Rosicracians. in these days of wider and more accurate physiological investig atioaA the ques~ ton ot snspendlng physical decay may properly be considered aS resting upon a substantial basis of facts The pEinet- pies derived from these are necessarily imperfect as yet, bat they are rA;ionAi and are not easily controveFted. As such they are receiving attention.
 One of the clearcst statements of the more obvlous of the ideas involved in the subject IS presen.ed in a recen, Ar- ticle by Dr W Caldwell, in the Mem- phiS Ms6ieal .ASslkiy. The principal causes ot old age, says the writer. arc a deposition ot horinous. geaatiaeus and eaithy mAtenAl in the synem. Every organ ot the body danng old age s especially prone to os>lhc deposits The carthy deposasS consist pum. fily efI phosphAtcs and cArboaates oi lime con- oined wsth other cAlcsreous sAlsS- Man. in tact, begins Ia selasinous and eads n au o.seous or bony cendi,ion. From the cradle to the grave . gradual process of osSshcatlon Is present. but after middle age the tendency becomes more marked, and ends n senile decsep,I nde These earshy deposits interterc wi,h the due perform Ance of function by the or- gAns- hence ~e hH d imperfect circulation in the aged the heart gradually becomes ossi6ed. the large blood vessels ae blocked up with calcareous matter, aad nutrition IS hindered. The majority oi alt who pass sixty ave years suder from these deposi,t, the structure of every organ IS altered, and elasticity Rive~ way to sen,le ngidity. The blockage ot the organs has thea commenced, and sooass
 oI later a vital part becomes involved. The ideA that old age is SJouSA; s5ca, i by decline of the vital principle has long $ince been discarded by scientists. ! The true cause Is found to be diantegra- ton ot the tissues because ef the inade- qua;e supply of blood and this process , IS believed to be of a chemical nature.
 and caused by the above stated Accumu- la,ions. The origin of the depos,s winch.
 If we understand Dr. Caldwell angh,. are
 primarily of a hotInous and gelAiinous ! nAAQtCf 2aOs NAtlhGO0Hf " ! found .n the destiuction of atmospheric
 oxygen in the body Lie IS a process of
 constant waste through ox.d rtion and
 reparaiion by food. Oxygen converts al oumen In,o 6orin and nourishes the
 organs, but ID the evening of lIie 1t IS ac-
 cumulated more rapidly than il can be
 eliminated. and becomes obstructive 1 Water holes the salts ln solution, put lhe
 blood finally deposits them through lack
 ot the elminative powef. In early lite
 they had no tune to accumulate.
 The dec,eF traces the oriain nf the
 chemical changes and mechanical ob-
 structious to alimentAry substances 1 Food provides the requis.,e elements Of
 nutrition, but 1t contains the caicafeoos
 salts, which. upon being deposited in the
 arieries. veins, and capillAues, become
 the pronmAie csuAe of osAlhcation and
 old age Lewis says, in the PAyii0logy
 of ( nnsos Li/s:
 Moreover. Tn food we are constantly
 introducing different substances, which produce variations in the nutrition of the
 parts These different accumulations ex- 4 ert their influence in the changes named age, and they eliminate m the hnA
 change named death"
 | In considering the possibility Of sus- 1 pending the advent ot old age 1t is con- sequen,ly matter ef the highest moment to ascertain what foods contain the
 smallest comparative quantity of those
 salts which tend to accumulate in the sys- 1 tenn and obstruct the vital processes The cereals are found to be richest in them
 bre d. therefore, the SO called staff of life,
 except when used m great modeS asson, fAvors the de eposition of these salts in the
 system. The more nitroseDous our food
 the greater its percentage of ealcareous
 matter. Hence diet composed psiHci-
 pally Of Hu,t, from its lack of nitrogen, is
 best adapted for preventing O. susPeodine oss,fcation.
 1 Moderation in eating m ust ever be of great value in retArding the advent of
 senile decay. Large eaters more rapidly
 bung on osseous depossts by taking 10
 more food than IS utiired or excreted, thus blocking the vesseb and impairing their functions. The wntes cites as what seem to be the best articles Of food ior
 delaying the deposits. fruit, Ssh, poultry, l flesh Of young m utton and beef Fluids,
 as part of the diet, have a special im- l postasoe- All well and sprisg water con- taips considessble Of the earthly salts,
 and should therefore be avoided and re- 1 placed by cisierp water. Water clear of foreign matter IS the better prepared to
 dsssoive the earthy salts ard convey them out Of the system. The addition of ! fifteen or twenty drops of dilute phos- phorlc acid to a glass of water and drunk three times day win, in Dr. Caldvens { 0oaut0m add in ihR anlu n lffw 0f thMMM eaTthy Salts. and thus tend to suspend the
 advent of old age by assisting in the re- moval of those substances which mark