The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-07-08

hhdt nc has a. SluludCH, LlldL 80 SOCu
as he finds out that his food digests,
there is Indigestion. How often we
hear man say, Il wish | could eat
anything, just as l used to eat, with
out giving 1t thought" The physi-
clan is often called upon to deal with
cases in which people have destroyed
their digestion by thinking about it;
as the story goes
The centipede was happy quite,
Till the frog for mischief asked him,
Pray which foot comes after which?
And ever after he rolled helpless in
the ditch.
The man who eats because he likes
to eat has much In his favor. If there
Is only one reason for eating he Is
fortunate in having chosen 1t, despite
the adage, formulated In some hermi-
tage or monastry, centuries ago,
Live not to eat, but eat to live"
The latest word from the physiolog-
ical chemist is that appetite juice"
is one of the chief requirements OF
good digestion.
. - o.
But there is another side to the
question, Why do we eat? The ath-
lete who eats what he likes, as he
likes and when he likes, cannot win
the race. Paul advised taking a lit.
tie wine for the stomach's sake, even.
presumably, though 1t might be dis
tasteful, and the highest medical au-
thorities are unanimous in prescribing
certain diet to be eaten under certain
circumstances. Evidently 1t is not
always best to eat as one feels dis
posed. "s4. -. ...a .ysf aG. .#
The lower animals are able to Sc
lect their food by instinct, but man
has lost this power to large extent,
and 1t must be supplemented by rea-
son, by science. By living in unnat-
ural conditions imposed by civiliza-
ton, we have acquired unnatural APP
petites that are destructive OF health,
physical and moral. "A man may
drink pint of brandy because he
wants It, but who will say that that
is reason sufficient? We have an ap-
petite for flesh, but are we sure that
such appetite is normal, that we are
the better for eating meat because
we feel disposed to eat 1t? Is 1t, as
vegetarians claim, an acquired appe.
tite. like that for tea and coffee,
which are said, by most authorities,
to be injurious?
II would seem that the obvious an
swer to the question, Why do you
eat? is, Because am hungry" Yet
one who habitually eats too much can
not be hungry. The desire for food
arises frequently from that gnawing
sensation resulting from the fer
mentation of superfluous food. pro-
ducing a condition of aufo-intoxica-
ton. In fasting there is an almost
irresistible desire for food the first
two or three days; then the az petite
leaves one for several days: Their, is a
gain in strength with loss in weight;
and when q distinct desire for food
returns It is natural hunger, easily
satisfied; but this natural appetite in
many caRes does not come for 80 days
or more, showing that the former APP
petite was unnatural.
We do not feed horse on the the
DRY that he should be guided solely
by his inclinations in eating and drink
ing, but largely by our knowledge Of
what is best for him under the arti
fetal conditions under which he lives
and that he may be able to do his
best work. And why should not a
human being have the benefit OF such
knowledge? Should not the child, es.
pecially, have the benefit of right feed
ing?
With all due allowance for the fact
hat one mans meat may be another
mans poison, that authorities are not
unanimous on foods and feeding, yet,
it Is true that there is a science of
human feeding, that we have lost our
instinct for determining what the sys-
tenn needs for nutrition and therefore
lppetite should be to some extent
SuidCd by reason. Certainly one
should eat becau-e he enjoys it, but
also, whc.Ic- he be an athlete, Ia
borer or a professional man, because,
eating largely determines efficiency,
and because health depends upon food
more than upon anything else except
pure air, pure water, and right think
ing which is fundamental.