Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-10-09
IS DYSPEPSIA A MYTH
A DISEASE NOBODY SEEMS ABLE TO
 DEFINE OR LOCATE.

It May Moan Worry, Too Much Imagined
 Goodncss or Twenty Other ThIngs-Hard Workers and Rough Eaters Do Not Have It-Don't Blame It on the Stomach. Some time ago we read something in one | of our exchanges in which the writer held that it was all wrong that we should even for moraent entertain the idea that there existed srch n thing, as progressive phys | ical racial deterioration, and this optimis- | tic writer would make ds believe that the | generally accepted idea that we are fast be coming nation of dyspeptics had no foun- | dation in fact, but that, on the contrary, | evidence would show that dyspepsia was much more prevalent 50 years ago than now.
 We hate to undecpive any cheerful human being, but we cannot but feel that the op- timistic writer is laborng under fond de fusion, which it is our unpleasant task to dispel. What is this disagreeable and i'll behaved condition that renders the lord of creation so miserable, robs him of all spirit and makes ham feel like the wicked and re pentant Nebuchadnezzar as he crawled on all fours?
 The discovery of the art of cookery may have given larger list of food whence man might make up his bill of fare, and many imagine that tue art has greatly contribut- ed toward health and the lengtheninC of human life. There are many good reasons to make us doubt these conclusions. Prim- itive man living on grapes, berries, nuts and grasshoppers, with milk and honey for relishes and wild onions for appetizers must have been the very soul of optimism and health. Those evil Gcnii, the distiller, brewer and cook, had not begun their inter minable duel with the apothecary and the doctor, with poor, miserable man and his stomach for a battlefield, and primitive man was consequently not dyspeptic, Gouty nor uremic. Has the stomach of man changed since those happy days, and what has the stomach really to do with dyspepsiaS It has been asserted. and not without reason, that the Caucasian has more en- durance than any other race, and that in comparison with contemporary animals he excels in capacity for work and endurance There is no doubt but that his stomach has endurance and capabilities that nearly e9nal those of the ostrich, rhincceros or camel
 The Scotch highlander swallows his un- derdone oatreal porridge, feeling that its rawness will rCtard it's digestion, and not compel him to rcplenish bis furnace for many hours. On the same principle the 1rishman sw slows his Rational mess of Do- tatoes boil. | with a stone in the center''- that is, only Ire outer layer of the potato being boil .. at all-also an expedient learned by sy. rricnce that n half raw pota- to will last long as three well cooked ones The r ach peasant makes his meals of bread E',le of n mixture of peas, rye, beans or wl' flour ground up, husks and all, into one ;ss. This, with the addition of little chc. SC of questionable age and some acrid wine, may serve for breakfast, dinner or supper. Now, what is of particu- lar interest to us is the fact that none of the examples given are troubled with dys- pepsia- It is well known that Ireland and Scotland present the greatest number of past centcnnrians, while for an all round long liver there is no nation on earth that eXcels the French.
 The German can take down his regular government length or allowance of pea meal, sausage, sauCrkraut, sour milk and home breycd lager beer, handle the fail all day and dance in his hobnailcd shoes all night, filling in the interval with lunches of anything that comes handy.
 The African stomach seems more to as simulate to that of the ostrich or the rhi- noceros. The amount required to satisfy the ordinary appetite of the son of Ham is something incredible The more he eats the shiuicr his skin ciowS, We never knew one to require any pcpsin even after n din ner of n 3-pound fish, pound of roast, half n dozen eggs, olives, pickles, potatoes, beets, turnips and other things, with some dessert and coffee.
 Evidently dyspepsia cannot be said to depend on ovcrtilinG the stomach with odds and ends as if it were a secondhand junkshop or some back yard swilltub.
 By discarding the idea of stomach com plicatlon in any connection when treating dyspepsia we will be more likely to reach the true origin, cause or seat of thedisease. Some cases have yielded up 10 exercise sys- tematically employed, while others recover under few days of absolute rest The numbers of SO called dyspepsisp that arc cured by the disappearance of business, do- mestic or social annoyance are nearly un- limited An overdue note in the possession of q bottle noscd and beetle eyed creditor is more productive of dyspepsia than q meal of secondhand carpet tacks. In fact, it may be a safe thing to assume that in dys- pepsia we had better look in the garret, closet or cellar of the dyspeptic's house, or among his business or social relations rather than to his stomach for the solution of the difficulty.
 With Americans dyspepsia has several factors The silly habit Of treating or be ing treated in the saloons is a fruitful source of renal disuasc. toNocmia, and rc- sulting dyspepsia. There is no doubt that in our system cf education we obtain pro life source Of dyspepsia.
 There k ore education that Is sadly neg lected in AmelicH-that of the palate or stomach. NIa the trying American climate man must either cat sufficiently CT suffer the couScquUucos ef not doing SO Incom plete nutrition and consequent enervation must be the Inevitable results of the mrager diet OF which too any of our people nc custom themselves to live.
 Another source of our dyspepsia is our civilized and enforced antipathy to all in noccnt and hcalthful amusements. Tosuch as sec only evil in amusements, dyspep- sia-mcntal, moral and physical-must be A natural and inCurablc condition unless their natures arc so intensely animal that they are unconscious of their loss on the same principle that Caunibal is uncon- scious of his nHkcdness.
 A cheerful soul that believes in the wis dom of the Creator and is not at every turn thinking how much better he might have made the world, who now and then churns up the region below the diaphragm with heNrty laugh or sends a cheerful message to the solar pleXus dcnoting that he is in harmony with God and nature, living in peace and good will with the rest of man. kind-who is, in fact, an optimist and practical philanthropic Christian-can nev- CT become a dyspeptic-P. C. RemOndino in National Popular Review.