St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1896-10-17
WIEN TO EAT.
Et In . Debatable Question: Says Dy
James H. jackson.

Az ~ y @DebatRDle GWcGkiOhs SaEB ~
james H. jackson. q
A well-known physician, James J
jackson, says: It is debatable que.
ton how often food is required to pre-
serve health or aid in resoring it, but
the important point is gained when suf-
fcient nourishment is applied to make
good the continual waste of tissue, thus
keeping the body in repair and main-
tanning the normal expression Of the
vital forces.
To fnlfill the demands of the system,
she blood should be kept in condition
to nutrify all the tissues of the body,
neither falling below nor rising above
healthful standard of nutritive power.
As the process of nutrition, involving
the removal of waste and the assimila.
ton of new material, take place more
rapidly in some cases than in others, no
absolute rule can be laid down tn. tha-
frequency Of eating, but in general it
may be said that nourishment must be
adequate to prevent deteriation OF the
blood. The average man in active lie
requires daily from 16 to 23 ounces OF
food, free from water, representing be-
tween three or four pounds of the or
binary nutritive substances. Now,
scientifically it would seem to be OF
little consequence when this amount is
taken into the system, but practically
it does make considerable difference.
First, it is necessary to prevent exhaus-
ton of the nutritiye elements in tho
blood, and second to guard against any
functional digestive disturbance, thus
precluding an abnormal manifestation
In the organs of digestion. In other
words, if the demands upon the diges.
tive functions are too frequent there is
liability to irritation, exhaustion, In
fiammation, and the whole train or
functional disorders. Overlooking the
stomach tends to produce the same or
similar conditions. Habit largely con-
trolls the times Of eating, but habit il
often formed without regard to any me-
cessity on the part of the organism, and
may be arranged with equal facility to
conform to longer or shorter intervals
as may be desired.
The quality Of food has also an in-
portant bearing on this subject. Per-
cons who live on stimulating articles of
diet, including tea, coffee, animal flesh
| in considerable quantities, cond ments
or alcoholic stimulants, seem to require
| food oftener than those who choose an
,instimula ting diet. The reason is that
regardless of the nutritise material al
ready IN the blood seeming demand
exists for an additional quantity which
! is expressed by sense of hunger or
! weakness as the result of reaction from
| the stimnlants taken; and this reaction
usually as serts itself more imperatively
| than the natural desire for food, when
there has been no undue stimulation.
True hunger is always a call from the
tissues of the body for nutritive ma
teriaI, while much of the so-called hum
ger is merely an expression of irritation
1 of the nerves of the stomach arising
from inflammation or irritative condi-
tions as The result of reaction from pre-
vious stimulation.
| Persons living on stimulating foods
| when called upon to forego an accus-
toned meal, complain Of weakness,
| "goneness' and hunger, to far greater
| degree than those who live on an un.
| stimulating diet. As 1ule meals re.
cur too frequently, compelling the Or.
gans OF digestion to undergo the ply.
siological congestion which follows the
| introduction of food into the stomach
SO often that after longer or shorter
period Il pathological or abnormal con-
| gestion is set up which results in lack
of secretion or changes the characterof
| the fluid contents of the stomach to
such an extent the fermentation and the
formation of gas follow. UnquestioJ;
ably the majority Of people would b
better in health to take but two meals
a day, breakfast at eight OF nine o'clock
In the morning, and dinner at five or sis
| in the afternoon Western Rural.