Feliciana sentinel., 1891-01-24
FRE8H AIR AND OY8PEPolA.

Extract ffom . Lecture BY J. n. k01o9g,
n. D.. Of the Battle Creek sanltafium.
It Ia popular error that . peraon can
be healthy even If he is not strong, for
It is actually necessary to have good
muscles II ono il to have strong heart
vigorous brain. We ordinarily breathe
once for every four heart beats. Exer.
else increases respiration, and relatively,
the action of the heart. A strong heart
is able to empty itself completely and
send the blood coursing through tho
bloodvessels, but q weak heart II like
an old pump-it has to labor vigorously
to crowd the blood along. The heart Il
great muscle and il made strong by
exercise. The blood is tho life, and the
activity of an organ depends upon the
amount of blood sent to it. The mus
cles need blood for force, the
brain for thought. By means of the
lungs oxygen is introduced, which
is the vital agent for the entire
bodily activity. The difference between
frog with its slow motions and low
temperature and the bird with its warm
blood and the velocity of the lightning
express il in the amount Of oxygen
consumed. The one has little bag in
which it swallows q small amount of
air and the other has enormous lungs
in proportion to its size. The stomach
can not make good gastric juice with
out oxygen, nor can the liver do its rem
dering work or its poison-destroying
work. Asking the liver to work with
out oxygen is something like asking
tho Israelites to make bricks without
straw.
Another thing to be considered with
reference to the liver and stomach, as
regards exercise, is that the~Process of
breathing in itself helPs the work of
digestion. Did ysI ever stop to think
how food apkdrink get into the blood?
A persontak glass of hot water and
In five minutes he is in profuse perspira-
tion. the water coming out through the
pores of the skin. The millions Of little
papillse hanging out into the In
lying in the stomach are each
with that great pump, the diaphragm
behind them, fluids are speedily drawn
into the blood. Suppose you stop
breathing by holding your nose. You
feel a sense of something pulling clear |
down to the ends of your fingers. 1t is |
the suction force of the pump drawing |
the blood from the extremities and from |
the liver. You see what a beautiful ar
this is. The chest is the
pump which draws the blood from all
these organs, and after the food is di-
gested, the little Will dip into the food
and draw it into the blood by the same
great general movement.
Breathing, then, is of the utmost i'm
portance with regard to the process of
digestion. The liver has a constant
to stagnation and torpidity,
but if the breathing is normal, by its
position under the diaphragm, it gets
good, hearty squeeze with every breath,
and besides that is pressed upon by the
abdominal muscles from without It
s thus emptied of its contents, and
;he newly-digestcd food can be
aiken in. Deep breathing helps the
iver in three ways-it brings in fresh
supply of oxygen, it helps circulation
through the liver and it squeezes the
iver and empties it out. We can not
lave good livers without good lungs.
Exercise has very important rela-
ion to the muscles of the trunk. as well
Is of the arms and legs. Without ex-
'rcise they become weak and relaxed.
instead of being tense and strong. as they
hould be to hold the abdominal viscera
n place. The liver of n man who takes
10 exercise is just as heavy or little I
eavier than that of a man who exer-
ises; his bowels are likely to become
logged and the contents of the whole :
bdomen heavier than they should be,
1hile the muscles whose duty it is to 3
upport them are weaker. 1t is very [
ommon to find persons with their chests r
attened, the abdomen protruding and
IL the internal organs more or less out
Z place, as the result of weakness of
le abdominal muscles.
Grace, beauty and health agree. The
ealy beautiful are always healthful. I
ature's laws and arrangements are
You can not find such Q t
ling as beauty and health unallied.-
eported by Helen L. Manning