The times., 1899-04-23
COFFEE Is AL R1aHr
Its Value Cannot he Overestimatcd
for BRAIN WorLer~

COFFEE Is ALL RIGHT
its value Cannot he Overestimatcd
for brain Workers.
About once in so often the question of
coffee drinking being injurious is agitated
for awhile, then the agitation subsidies and
people so on drinking it, According TO
the best authorities, coffee taken in mod
Grafton is not only harmless, but highly
beneficial Its value as a stimulant has
ai~ays been recognized, and the fact that
~ Is SO highly priced as beverage, if
there were no other reason, would 20 far
to prove that it has powerful influence
on the nervous system. The action i'm
parted TO the nerves, however is natural
and healthy, and habitual coffee drinkers
generally enjoy good health and live to
good old age.
For brain workers its ,value cannot be
overestimated. 1t has seen called the
mental beverage" and. unlike alcohol,
the gentle exhilaration it produces is not
followed by any harmful reaction. 1t
| causes contentment of mind, allays hunger
and bodily weakness, and increases the
capacity for work. The mental exhiiara-
ton and physical activity it causes explain
the fondness for 1t which has been shown
by so many scientists. poets, scholars, and
others devoted TO thought. Its effect on
the imagination is remarkable, without
causing any subsequent depression, as in
the case of narcotics. Balzac, the great
French novelist, declared that he could
not have written the Comedie Humane
without its aid.
Ii is said that coffee drinkers are hap
pier and more contented than those who
abstain from its use and drink like
quantity of tea. Taken in moderation,
coffee aids digestion, and to those not in
the habit of using it, it is often valu-
able temporary remedy for paroxysmal
headaches, the peculiar headache Of
Bright's disease and that produced by de-
fects in the eye. The fashionable after
dinner coffee not only enables the stomach
to perform its function with comparative
ease, but relieves that sense of oppression
SO often experienced after hearty meal.
1t is not generally known that coffee is
often a valuable temporary remedy. In
certain prostrating diseases 1t is also of
great value. II sustains the system, and
one doctor has said that cup Of good cof
fee contains as much nutriment as the
same quantity of SOUP The nutritive
properties OF coffee have been the subject
of considerable dispute, but it is now quite
generally recognized that coffee contains
essential properties of nutrition far ex-
ceeding its exhilarating properties. 1t
enables those who use il to remain 4 long
time without food, as soldiers are often
obliged to do in time of war. 1t also de-
creases the sensibility OF physical discon-
forts.
Its best results are obtained when 1t is
mixed with an equal quantity OF pu:e
cream or milk, which forms an alimentary
drink containing all the elements of good
food with the additional stimulating eff
feet on the mind and nervous system.
Many people have an idea that strong cof-
fee is injurious and that it should be made
weak. This is mistake. Weak coffee is
bad, as 1t contains no nourishment, dis
tends the stomach with liquid and pre-
vents digestion. 1t should always be taken
warm. Iced coffee, like all other iced
drinks. is injurious.
While coffee should never be taken in
the place of food as it is sometimes by
the poorer classes. rich cafe au lait. W tn
bread, makes a good and sufficiently sub
stantial breakfast for people of seden;ary
occupations. No other meal. howev5r,
should be composed of either tea Or coffee
with bread alone.
Coffee is especially drink for adults OF
sedentary habits, rather than lahoring peo-
pie or children, as its stimulating effect
on the mind and imagination is not re-
quired by the laboring man, and is decid-
edly harmful to the growing child. Chill
dren should not be INDUCED in even so
mild stimuiant as coffee. for the activity
OF their little brains more than keeps pace
with the growth of their bodies. Whatever
tends to excite, to render irritable, or to
develop unduly the cerebral Structure of
children is OF necessity Injurious
The use of coffee, like that Of every other
blessing, may be abused There is no
doubt that excess in coffee drinking NAV
give rise to many evils To say at Just
what point excess begins would be ex-
tremely difficult for any physician, rs il
is not the quantity taken, but the peculiar
susceptibility of the person, which IS the
direct cause of the injury. Women are
generally more susceptible. to excess in
coffee drinking than men, and the suscepti-
bility of the system changes with in
creasing age.
Among the troubles either produced or
aggravated by the excessive drinking of
coffee are insomnia, dizziness, gout acid
dyspepsia, kidney trouble, biliousness, and
palpitation of the heart. When symptoms
of this kind exist and are not manifestly
due TO other causes, the person suffering
would do well TO abstain from drinking
coffee for few weeks. Instead of stop
ping abruptly, it is better for one who has
the coffee habit TO gradually decrease the