The San Francisco call., 1896-05-10

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considered is Diet.
1t is impossible to overestimate the i'm
portance of proper eating and drinking.
Most people eat too fast; in fact, it is the
one great characteristic of Americans. 1t
must be remembered that the food, even
milk, must be thoroughly mixed with the
saliva before it is swallowed, or the gastric
juice in the stomach may not be able to
perform the duty assigned to it.
1t must be kept strictly in mind that a
man has not a stomach like boa-con-
strictor; he cannot swallow his food whole
and expect it to take care of itself. My
dentist recently stated that my teeth
showed unmistakable signs of hard usage,
especially the molars, and to that cause L
ascribe my excellent digestion, for grind
everything fine before l swallow. More
over, eat slowly, even at the risk OF being
the last to finish IN company.
In this connection two things should be
borne in mind: First, that the food is de
signed to nourish the body, not to tickle
the appetite; second, care should be taken
that it does not cause trouble after it Is
down. Suppose you build "a fire and it
smokes, what does it mean? Simply that
there is imperfect bustion-that the
fuel is smoldering, not blazing and giving
out heat as it should.
Now there is a sense in which the
stomach can smoke-that is you can take
a great deal of food in the sys tenn that will
pass along without nourishing the blood.
This is a serious matter. and the subject
of dieting should be carefully studied by
the ambitious athlete.
Perhaps | cannot take better time than
the present to impress q principle upon
the aspiring athlete and to say person
ally:
You must study yourself closely. Re-
member that while physicians and trainers
can do a great deal IN pointing out your
weaknesses and help you remedy them,
it is impossible 10 know how you
feel and physicians will tell you that feel
ing is everything in diagnosing case
that is, 10 analyZe it. Great athletes
can possibly know them. In this respect
the first year is always hardest
on the racer because he has symp-
toms, aches and pains that he does not
understand. Perhaps he will imagine he
has heart disease; or dream he is going
into quick consumption. To-day he will
have Brights disease, and tomorrow it
will be white swelling in the knee. But
never mind all these things; pursue the
even tenor OF your way and do not be dis
turbed by trifes. l would strongly sug-
gest that physiology and hygiene be
studied, until all the muscles and vitals
are understood, their functions and their
weaknesses thoroughly known.
You would like to know how soon after
eating you may exercise. Now that de-
pends great deal upon the person. Some
people can actually race for a mile or so
within an hour after a good meal, but
could not; it was necessary for me to have
two hours and half at the least before /
would be fit for a race. This is q matter
each athlete should decide for himself.
You would like to know how much you
should eat. That depends largely on the
individual, also. Some people suffer
greatly if they eat too much, or even if
they have what is generally known as a
square meal. 1t is necessary for such peo-
pie to be very careful, and stop eating
before they feel that they have had enough.
On the ontrary, there are some who
can eat great deal and not mind it. One
person of my acquaintance can eat in such
a way as to gauge pretty accurately when
he will be hungry again. II he has mod
crate meal he knows that it will be five
hours before he will be hungry If he
eats quite heartily it will be six hours be-
fore he will feel the necessity of food But
if he eats until he begins to feel uncom-
Portable he can go for seven hours without
being distressed by hunger. This is ac-