Morning journal and courier., 1885-06-23
How Men Should Eat Who Cannot
 Exercise.

Exercise.
 [Sr Henry Thompson in the Nineteenth Century l Those who have little time for exercise and are compelled to live chiefly within doors must endeayor to secure, or should have se- cured for them as far as possible by employ CTS, by way of compensation, regular sup ply of fresh air without draughts, atmos- phere free from dust and other impurities as can be obtained, with a good supply of light and some artificial warmth when need ed. These necessities granted, cereal foods, such as well-made bread in variety and vege- table produce, including fruits, should form great part of the diet consumed, with a fair addition of eggs and milk if no meat is taken, and little of other animal food than fish. On such dietary, and without alco- holie stimulants, thousands of such workers as have briefly indicated may enjoy, with very little exercise, far better health and more strength than at present they experi- ence meat and heavy buildings, beer, ba- kers bread and cheese. Of course there workers who belong to neither of the two extreme classes indicated, and whose habits
 cannot be described as sedentary, but who occupy middle place between the two. For such some corresponding modification of the
 dietary is naturally appropriate. But it is
 vulgar error to regard meat in any form as
 necessary to life; if for any it is necessary it is for the hard-working out door laborers,
 and for these certain proportion is no doubt
 desirable. Animal flesh is useful also as
 concentrated form of nutriment valuable for
 it's portability and for the small space it oc-
 cupies in the stomach-unrivaled in certain
 circumstances Like every other description
 of food, it is highly useful in it's place, but
 is by no means necessary for large propor-
 ton of the population. To many it has be
 come partially desirable only by the force of
 habit and because their digestive organs have
 thus been trained to deal with it, and at first
 resent change. But this being gradually
 made, adaptation takes place, and the lndl-
 vidual who has consumed two or three meat
 meals daily with some little discomfort,
 chiefly from being often indisposed to make
 active exertions, becomes, after sufficient
 time has elapsed, stronger, lighter and hap
 pier, as we'll as better tempered and mani
 festly healthier, on the more delicate dietary
 sketched. People in general have very inad-
 eouate ideas of the great power of habit
 alone in forming what they believe to be in-
 nate personal peculiarities, or in creating
 conditions which are apparently part ot a
 constitutional necessity, laws of thelr na-
 ture and essential to their existence. Many
 of these peculiarities solely due to habit,
 that is, to long continuance in routine of
 action adopted it may be without motive or
 design: and people are apt to forget that if a
 routine of precisely opposite character had
 been adopted, precisely opposite conditions
 would have been established, and opposite peculiarities would have become dominant, as their contraries now. Alterations in the dietary, especially of elderly persons, should. be made gradually and with caution. This condition fulfilled, considerable change may be effected with satisfactory re- suits when circumstances render it necessary. To revert once more to the question of flesh eating, it should be remarked that it appears to be by no means a natural taste with the young. Few children like that part of the ! meal which consists of meat, but prefer the | pudding, the fruit, the vegetables, if well l dressed, which unhappily is often not the ! case Many children manifest great repug- nance to meat at first, and are coaxed and even scolded by anxious mothers until the habit of eating is acquired. Adopting the | insular creed, which regards beef and nut | ton as necessary to health and strength, the | mother often suffers from groundless fore \ bodings about the future of child who re- Il iects flesh and manifests what is regarded as an unfortunate partiality for bread and but ter and pudding. Nevertheless I am satisfied if the children followed their own instinct in that matter the result would be a gain in more ways than one. Certainly if meat did not appear in the nursery until the children sent for it it would be rarely seen there, and I the young ones would a rule thrive on milk and eggs, with the varied produce of | the vegetable kingdom.