The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-08
Faedinr Back to Health

E6SQ1nE BACK TO Health.
Most diseases are uaceable to disor-
dered system; such condition being due
to some interference with a perfect di-
gestive process. Illness may be the re-
suit of outside influences. OF environ
ment, acting upon and initiating the
nervous system, or it may be due to i'm
proper feeding at improper times. i'm
perfect mastication, or any of the many
sins of omission or commission relative
to the laws OF health.
Modes of life in large cities especially
tend more and more to condition US for
attacks of the various maladies that
seem to lie in wait for the needless and
unwary.
Sickness is unavoidable so long as
people ignore the fact that there exists
certain inexora bic laws in nature which
can not be violated with impunity
The ravages of disease are so much
greater than the wear and tear OF the
most strenuous life, while the building
up is far more difficult; for IN some
wasting diseases, like fevers, there is a
period when the loss cannot be equalized
by repair administered in the form of
diet however carefully considered pre-
pared and given. Medicine plays a most
important part during this time mas
much as it fights the insidious foe inch
by inch until the last decisive stand is
reached and the battle won or lost
by medical skill the DANCE; is not
passed-in fact, the crisis is not actu-
ally reached until after the enemy is
fairly routed for this often the lowest
point OF the vital powers, is the turning
place where the patient cannot tarry
long in such an enteebled condition. At
the beginning of the convalescent stage
the physicians work is practically done.
Medicine is not food-not building ma
terial. Therefore his efforts must be
supplemented and the patient carried
safely through this critical period to
renewed health by the proper nourish-
ment. This demands the aid OF the
skilled dietitian If the patient dies
during convalescence you may more
certainly attribute the demise to the
manner OF feeding than dosing.
There is no line of the culinary art
which demands the same exact knoNl-
edge and skill as the preparation of food
for the sick. Special training is i'm
perative, as no ordinary cook may safe
ly be intrusted-however willing she
may be to assume the duty. Her desire
to give the sick one the best in the
house shows a laudable spirit, but is
kindness that often kills. for her idea
of the best IS often the worst possible
for the patient ignorantly selected
selected foods and combinations that
are prepared in defiance to all hygienit
Iaws-rich cOncoctions which would try
the digestion of a person in health.
Then, too, there are fixed traditions in
the minds of many relative to certain
kinds of food being always suitable as
a nourishment in certain diseases. This
general knowledge may be as hurtful as
no knowledge at all If one does not take
into consideration the complications
that not infrequently arise ahd cause
serious disorders in one or more OF the
digestive functions during the progress
: dipfifian
must be prepared to discover certain
bodily or mental peculiarities in her
patient, either prenatal or cultivated,
which made it often impossible to adj
minister certain kinds of food deemed
mostimportant e9urishmentand a.valua-
BILE waste repairer in. certain diseases
Often the list of materials permissible
under such conditions is very limited
The person who prepares the nourlsh-
nent must understand the gravity OF
the situation and be able to note inteIl-
gently what effect the diet, properly
prepared, has on the patient after each
feeding. If not satisfactory it does not
matter whether the cause is due to the
complications, or fan
CIV or some idiosyncrasy, the patient
must never be forced or even allowed TO
take food that is not entirely acceptance
and does not leave him just one step
further on the road to recovery DO
mentally as well as physically Sick.
ness refines and sharpens the sense OF
taste. smell and sight to a surprising
degree. and the caterer must be skilied
not only in her line of cooking, out
have that extra faculty that can season
and flavor to such degree OF nlceey
the super -sensitiveness of the sick one
will be gratified and not offended she
must likewise have a keen eye for ar
tistic effects, must be neat and DAINTY
for much of the success IN teedlhS III
illness is due to the possession OF al
these qualities and the capablhty to use
them. daintily arranged Invalid
trav will tempt the appetite
to the forgetting of imaginary distaste
for, certain foods which are most neces-
sary for them to partake OF.
keen the patients mind absolutely
free from the subject OF eatlng-lnas
should concern the nurse Only-to see
10 If that the nourishment always aD-
nears as a pleasant surprise to the pa
tent with the first premonltlon OF nun
ger Not too much OF It. or TOO many
dishes A crowded tray is an unpar-
donable offense in the mind of the
critical sick. although their eyes gen
orally magnify their capacity for good
digestion The number of preparations
which may be given the very sick are
nof numerous but are restricted to
few LIQUID foods in many instances,
and tax the ingenuity OF the dletlllaH
perhaps more severely, # the patient
IS at all capricious or the disease one o.
MANY considerations With a well Sc
lected list of dishes to choose from
knowledge to prepare them. perfect I'M
Outstanding of the situation, feeding
back health is an interesting and all
a absorbing work, whether the subject oe
a beloved member of your family or
only case Aside from the way the
food Is prepared there are certain i'm
portant points to remember Materials
~4ra1rr a T7H n
finest quality Those that should be
served hot. must be hot. The cold dishes
cold enough to be grateful to the palate
They may be ice cold or frozen in cases
of fever and when a feeding consists Of
a few spoonfuls only. The tray must
be light and not too large. the linen
snow white. silver bright and the dishes
clean. dainty and selected with view
of carrying out delicate color schemes
Flowers are always pleasing. but one
blossom bud or sDra=7 IS sufficient. and