The record-union., 1896-03-21
THE STOMACH AND FooD.

American disease" then 1t ought to be
the one thing to have American atten-
ton. Close observation and counsel
with learned physicians convinces us
that six-tenths of all physical ills are
traceable directly to disregard of the
laws of being related to nutrition and
digestion. We do not believe that this
will be seriously disputed.
We have been told for years that the
American people eat too fast; that they
rest too little after eating; that they
are indiscreet in the matter of proceed
ing to work on full stomachs, and in
"stufing'' themselves, and SO on. But
these warnings seem to have had no
effect. Dyspepsia is on the increase.
Diseases of the stomach are more and
more common, and while along all san
itary lines we are promoting longevity
and good health, in the matter of the
stomach we are not one whit improving.
Our bad habits continue and we search
only for remedies for the results of our
SHINING. So it comes about that the
newspapers are fairly crowded with ad-
vertisements of nostrums for the relief
and cure of the stomach.
Prof Thomas Grant Allen has just
been writing onthis subject and SO clear
ly, intelligently and sensibly that we dc
our readers kindness to quote and con-
dense from his paper in the 'Chautau-
quan" for March Professor Allen says
there are as many kinds of dyspepsia
as there are kinds of food to be digested
a statement with which most dyspeptics
will concur If it is not so, it seems to
be so to them, we are assured by some
of the sufferers. There is starchy, sali-
vary, proteid or peptic, fatty or intes-
tinal dyspepsia, but rarely do all these
forms begin in the same Individual at
the same time.
To ascertain just what form of at
tack one suffers under, let him eat but
one kind of food at a time until he as
certains which disagrees with him
then by avoiding that article he can
give that part of the digestive appara-
tus concerned needed rest, for under
rest the digestive function soon resumes
its normal activity.
However, Professor Allen believes
prevention to be better than cure, and
he therefore ventures to offer some ad-
vice to the people as to causes and cure
of dyspepsia, thus:
! Ql One of the most fruitful causes
Of starchy indigestion is insufficient
mastication and insalivation. The eff
cheney of after digestion depends large
ly upon the thoroughness with which
the food is chewed and mixed with
| saliva. No amount of pepsin taken as
a medicine will compensate for the lacl
of this.
(2) Fresh bread or any food which is
| apt to form into a doughty or glueJ
mass is impervious to the digestive
Juices and should be avoided.
80 The diastase of the saliva is inca
pable of changing starch to sugar il
either the starch is uncooked or the sa'
| Iva. not alkaline. Breakfast foods and
other starchy cereals, therefore, should
| he well cooked, ami vinegar pickle:
should be sparing1y used or salivary di
eestion will be impaired.
IA The thinner the gastric juice th'
more rapid and efficient will be the di
| restion of meats and other proteins
| The- presence of digested food in th'
stomach hinders the action of the gas
| tric Juice on the undigested por
fion. Digested food should there
| fore be removed as quickly as pos
| sible. Nothing accomplishes this s.
we'll as water. Hence it is good to drinl
p1enty of water with our meals. Don
wash down the food with it. Swallow
the food and then drink as much waite
as you like.
No hard and fast lines can be draw
as to what is wholesome food, foi
healthy people differ widely in abilit!
to digest what are in general held Il
be wholesome foods. With some mill
is easily digested, while it causes Others
serious disturbance. So we are t
avoid food which common experience
teaches us is unwholesome. Of whole
some foods we must eat only those tha
agree with us. no matter what peopl
tell us about the value of others, nutri
tive and otherwise. It is in large par
true that foods which make our mouth
water" which excite the flow of di
gestive juices, are the more easily di
gested.
A moderately full stomach digest
} food far better than an overloaded or
crowded one, for it is a muscular orgal
and must not be given tasks in exces
of it's capacity. 1t must have room, $
to speak, to move its elbows. So, toe
a stomach nearly empty cannot worl
out digestive tasks easily, any NOR
than one that is handicapped by load
we should vary our diet rather thai
make it monotonous, for monotony
repulsive to the stomach and repul
sion is an enemy to digestion Bu
there is such a thing as having TO
great variety at one time. Let tn