Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-03-24
T FOOD vs.. MEDICINE. z
IMPORTANCE OF DlETETlcS IN THE
TREATMENT OF DISEASE.

fec,cd without prngginG and Dosing.
Ignorance Of the People.
In the treatment Of many diseases drugs
nrc, of course, indispensable, but, as n
rule, no less important, IL not more inn
portant, are the hygienic and supporting
measures These relate TO pure air, tenn
peraturc, diet, drinks, cleanliness, exer-
else, rest, sleep, etc. As their Importance
have been better understood, tbedepend-
cnce upon drugs has lessened, and today
the intelligent physician may be known
by the small amount Of medicine which
he prescribes and by the larg amount Of
instruction he gives relative 90 the nature
OF the disease and the personal conduct OF
the patient. The people as n whole arc
slow 10 accept this new order OF things, so
different from that In the times Of their
fathers. Physicians nrc obstructed and
their efforts are, too, sometimes defeated
by the ignorance OF those in whose behalf
they labor.
Only the most intelligent classes Of to-
day are even beginning TO realize that 700
| much faith has been put in medicine. Tho
other classes still feel that the paramount
| duty Of the physician is the selection and
| administration Of drugs Enlightenment
| among them must necessarily be slow
| They must acquire n better knowledge OF
| disease In general, and appreciate the fnct
| that the intrinsic tendency Of many dis
| eases Is to recovery, and that drugging is
| not always necessary even In those which
| were formerly supposed to tend TO q fatal
| result unless very active measures were
| employed. Undoubtedly honorable ply
| sicans assist all they can In the general
| education Of people on this vital subject
| Yet they are so hampcred by the general
| confidence In efTctc theories and tho
| prevalence of popular fallacics, which
| threaten to exist until the end OF time,
| they can do but little compared to what
| they might do were the conditions favor
| able--if the people did not resist enllghten-
| ment. Let n physician be called TO
| patient suffering from mn affection that u
sure to end in recovery il left alone. lie
| gives proper instructions rs Ventilation,
| temperature, diet, etc, and leaves the
| cure to nature. a very few people would
| DC content with such advice; more would
| feel that the money paid for It had actually
been thrown away, and no incOnsidcrable
| number would insist upon sending for
| another physician, believing that In all
| cases of sickness medicine alone can in
| sure recovery.
Sucl notions do people entertain, and so
| ignorant are they generally, doctors really
| cannot afford to bc perfectly candid, for
l III iulllA lalllll'b HDitSlN Is Nl " NlS'bullt,
| and there is penalty fixed for the same.
| 1t IL true that if II physician, every timo
| lac made call, were to remain with the
| patient an hour or more and deliver
medical lecture, occasionally one would be
| encountered who could appreciate such
an effort and understand the subject dis
| cusscd. On the majority Of patients,
however, it would fall fiat Again, there
IL the mental influence 10 consider. Pa
ticnts who hive such steadfast falth in
| medicine, nS u rule really do better If some
| simple although absolutely inert mixture
| IL given them. SO it will bO seen that rs
u public instructor, the physician who
ought and willingly would do much can
can do but comparatively little, and his
| sphere l. almost limited To the most intel
| ligent clsssas. As n consequence of this
| condition of things, he is, in certain fami-
| lies, obliged To give something in the way
of medicine, even il he feels that the same
is not absolutely needed.
That people are so grossly ignorant on
the most vital of subjects Is no fault Of
tho reputable physician 1t is purely their
own. They not only do not try to learn,
but they actually resist enlightenment.
But we have wandered from our subject.
IL was our purpose 10 point out some Of
the valuable remedial effects which result
from notifications Of diet, and the judi
Ciuus increase or diminHtion in the
| quantity Of food, in not u few affections
| special forms of diet nre all that Is re-
| quircd TO effect cure. Take, for in
| stance, n disorder Of the organs Of digcs-
ton, such as dyspepsia. II person suf-
fcring from that has fortitudc, and can
practice self .cnial, lie may, in nearly all
| instances, cure himself il he properly Sc
lects and restricts his diet. But few care
| l.. al. ~. %, ptst
in ii long enough. IL is easier and far
more agreeable for them TO take mcdi-
cine, and SO they go on eating and dosing
until the disease becomes chronic, for
| rarely can it he cured by drugs alone.
Diabetes is n disease which only can be
controlled by restriction To special form
| Of diet. a cure is even possible but the
remedy lies with the patient. No medical
agent has yet been discovered which can
stay the disease. There are some which
assist recovery when the diet is properly
restricted, but they are comparatively
valucless unless that is done While in
some diseases the treatment demands n
modification in diet aud dminution in
quantity, there are many in which judi
| CiOus increase IL necessary. In inilamma-
tory conditions Of all kinds in which the
| starvation treatment was formerly en-.
ployed, the general principle now rccog-
niacd is to encourage and maintain q
healthy condition of the blood by nourish-
ment If sufficient food is given, the
blood soon becomes unfit in its vital and
physical properties for the healing process
| of nature.
So, since all diseases tend to weaken
and wear out the system, to feed the pa,
ticnt is one of the first Importance. While
they exist, what is needed Is to "rcstorc
the life that is being drained, build upthC
tissues that are being wasted" As q
sign Of medical progress, physicians nj
the present time largely substitute food
for medicine in the treatment of disease
, and without doubt upon the valuable
r | therapeutic effects of food they will in tho
, future more than ever depend As has
been said, twenty five years ago our ole
, | fashioned drugs were counted by thou
, sands, our elegant pharmaceutical pro
, ducts by tens, dietctic preparations b,
[ units, If the change goes on in the neNt
two decades rs rapidly rs it has in tn,
last two, the coming century practice vii
4 see this order reversed. The Calumcl, tn,
t Jalap, the Epson salts, the tuCturc a
| iron - these classics and Vcucrahles
: though still in use doubtlcss-wiu fin,
very little favor Even now their rcgu
. lar employment seems to he a Kind of re
. proach, cXcusablc only on the ground u
p, the great age of the physician or the pnv
Y crty Of the patient. Boston Herald.
a Magnetic Properties OF Iron.
t The magnetic properties Of iron hay
Y been found 10y VI, Il, Ledcbocr To be IN