The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-27
HOME HEALTH CLUB

Is it worth while to pay attention to diet? (Continuation of pr. H. IsindIahr's special series on dietetrics) No matter what we try to produce, whether it be an apple pie, picture, a locomotive, or a photograph, we all know that in the making of these or any other things we require certain materials in certain well-defned pro- portions. But how many people ap- 4ply this seIf-evident principle in the management of their bodies!
 The wonderfully constructed hu- man machine is also composed of cer- tain elements in well-defned propor- tions of which, so far, seventeenqhave been discovered by chemical ksc1ence. If any of these are present in over abundance and others are deficient or wholly lacking, there will surely re- suit abnormal structure and function, in other words: disease.
 The normal composition of vital fluids and tissues depends upon the food and drink that is taken into the system Therefore the elements of nutrition must be provided in right proportions in order to supply the needs of the body. But isTit not fact that most people pay no atten- ton whatever to these obvious truths? They stuff into thAir lOng-sumering stomachs any and every combination of food materials without the slight est consideration as to whether or not
 
 ments of the human organism.
 The only question in the selection of food seems to be: Does it taste good?'' Then people wonder why they are afflicted with dyspepsia, chronic constipation, appendicitis, cancer and the multitude of other ailments re- suiting from ma1-nutrition and auto intoxication-
 The majority of medical practition- CTS do not. know any more about the
 k1zCa the laity. This useful science has not yet penetrated the Chinese Walls surrounding our medical schools. Their advice diet runs about as follows: DO not pay any attention to food faddists-there4 is no exact science of dietetics-what is one mans food is another mans poison eat what agrees with you-talxe plen- ty of good, nourishing food-the only safe guide in food selection is appe- tite and instinct, etc."
 Such Is the wisdom dispensed by writers on hygiene and dietetics of the Hutchinson type, who blessed with more conceit than scientific knowl- edge, ridicu1e the idea and deny the possibility of an exact science of die tetics teEat what agrees with you.'' If this be good and true advice, then caffeine must be good for the cof- fee toper, nicotine for the smoker, alcohol for the drunkard, and mor-
 
 dope dend- For these poisons seem to agree exceedingly well with the people halbitually addicted to their use. If suddenly deprived of their favorite stimulants or narcotics, they suffer great distress, become very i'll, and may even die as the result of such deprivation. These are the people who say: 'I never eat fruits and vegetables They taste flat, they do not agree with me, they actually sick en me- This would seem to indicate that for the majority of human beings taste, appetite and instinct are not safe guides. The following explains why it is so:
 The animal living in freedom is guided in the selection of it's food as well as in all other life habits and functions by instinct, that is, by the wisdom of Mother Nature. There fore it acts in accordance with the laws of it's being and, as a result of this, possesses perfect health, strength and beauty, preserves it's faculties, capacities and powers almost to the very end of it's life, and then dies an easy, painless. "naturaP' death.
 Guided by Nature, the animal se- Iects and partakes of only those foods which are best suited to it's particu- lar constitution. The lion does not eat grass, nor does the COW devour the bleeding carcass of a lamb Each an tr1lai adheres uo d limited combina- +j<se. of foods best adapted to it's fn- elvidua1 needs. The only exception to this are a few omnivorous scaven- gers, such as the hyena, Nulture, hog, and chicken. for which nothing seems too vile to swallow The nobIer car ->ixorous animals as the lion, tiger,