The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-31
EATING AND DRINKING.
Speaking of changes in matters con- nected with eating and drinking. The Manchester Union says:


 One by one old and cherished ideas application of practical tests. Perhaps spread ana more persistent than that it Is injurious to drink water at meals. The old medical rule against eating before going to bed has been discoun- self for long time now. and 1t has been repeatedly shown that a reason able amount of food taken before re- tiring Is beneficial to many nervous people and is not frequently Q cure for insomnia. The rule against drinking at meals has been more persistent. but professors in the physiological chemis-- try department of the university of Illinois have set about making expert ments to prove the digestive value of eating. One quart of water at each and # was found that the subject ac- that tS the water. by diiuting the saliva. "causes the digestive fluid to assume greater digestive activity" There are not few p,ps,or,sg people already wn4 sa9 hans ans drink much as they had a mind to. in spite Of tlie so-called rules of health, but 1t may be some satisfaction, even to them, not to be constantly assured bys weli-meaninE persons whose health IS not so good as their own that, they mustn't
 These statements are of interest as showing the changes that have been and are going on In human dietary customs. Many of us can remember when the eating of a hearty meal just before retiring for the night was re- garded as a mild form of suicide, and there were those who would as soon have thought of taking a live snake to bed with them as to go to sleep. or att tempt to sleep, with a full stomach. They were sure that "goblins. hydras and chimeras dire," besides. numerous other unpleasant things, lay In wait for any one who ate heartily and went to sleep immediately.
 | And something of the same ideas prevailed respecting the drinking of water or any other fluid with our meals. People were told that to drink even water while eating would stop or impede digestion, disorganize the stom- ach and in various other ways set the eater back. The strange part of the matter was that they could give plen- ty of scientific and medical authority to sustain their position. They could quote medical men. ancient and mod ern. to prove that it was exceedingly and dangerously wrong to drink at meals or to eat just before sleeping.
 Now, as The Union points out, all of have been abandoned or so modified as to place them out of service. We are told that for the healthy person 1t is good and proper to eat good square meal before going to bed. Eat all you can, they practically tell us. and then '1ie down to pleasant dreams" as We are assured that the best way to pro- mote digestion and get best results from what we eat Is to remain perfect | ly quiet after eating, and this quiet can only come through sleep; theVe- fore, eat and go to bed, Is about the thing. Ii also appears from the ex- periments and tests made that drink ing freely of water while eating pro- notes digestion and a healthy condi- ton of the internal apparatus, instead of being a retarding influence.
 Thus 1t Is that human beliefs and habits change as time passes. and what would have been looked on as dangerous. if not suicidal. century ago or less. is now considered the right