Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1914-12-12
Live Simply if You'd shun the Malady of
Civilization.


Civilization.
Bright's disease has been called "the
malady of civilization" and the name
is not unmerited. 1t is, beyond every
thing else, a disease of civilized white
men, and it is due almost entirely to
those habits of life which best distin-
guish the white man from the savage
of the Jungle. Nine times out of ten
it is the result, more or less direct, of
disorders of the digestive tract, and
nine times out of ten these disorders
are due to too much eating and drink
ing, too much overwork, oYerworry
and too little fresh air.
Sometimes the trouble starts in the
Kidneys themselves-as, for instance,
when they are crippled by alcohol
and sometimes it starts in the stom-
ach or elsewhere. But, in any case,
the blame lies with faulty methods of
living, and it is the kidneys that
suffer the final damage. And when
they falter or fail in their business
the body fills up with poisons, and
death is not far away. Bright's dis
ease, in fact, may be called auto
poisoning. It's victim dies of poisons
generated within his own body.
The Ehicient's Malady.
Late government reports indicate
that the malady kills about $4,000
Americans of the highest quality ana
usefulness-the very men, indeed,
whose strenuous energy makes up the
national spirit. Most of them are brain
workers in the full flush of manhood,
and their value to the nation Is be-
yond estimation. And yet 1t Is this
very determination to accomplis
something big and lasting which cuts
short their lives. A mollycoddle sell
dom dies of Bright's disease, but 1t
kills more millionaires than any other
single malady.
No one knows the exact nature Of
the poisons which are the actual
cause OF death in Bright's disease.
few years ago it was the fashion
to nut the blame upon uric acid, but
among advanced physicians the uric
acid theory, as it is generally un-
derstood, is now little more than a
joke. There is good reason to be-
lieve. indeed, that the poison which
does the damage varies greatly In IN
dividual cases, and that some day
great many varieties of Bright's dis
ease will be differentiated and de-
scribed. All that is known definitely
is that the poisonous substances con-
tain nitrogen, and that when, upon
a. normal diet, the amount OF nitro
gen excreted by the kidneys is below
normal there is good reason to look
for the appearance of the familiar
late symptoms such as uremic coma.
Causes and Symptoms.
IT would be Improbable, in this
place, to attempt a description or the
changes which take place in the
kidneys during the course of Bright's
disease Suffice 1t to say that their
structure changes in manner easily
recognized by the practiced eye, and
that they gradually become less and
less able to discharge their normal
functions. Therefore. even suppos-
ing that the other organs are rune
tioning normally and so are secreting
no unnatural poisons, the amount OF
poisonous waste products in the body
gradually grows larger and larger.
In the end a fatal amount of poison
is present, and the vital organ which
happens to be most vulnerable gives
Way. The result, of course, is death.
Bright's disease is caused, now and
then. by the presence OF malignant
organisms in the kidneys, or as re-
suit of infections in other organs.
only too often Bright's disease may
be traced with little effort to over
eating and overdrinhns, overcoddlipg
or too little exercise.
There are no specifics for this
malady, and modern physicians en-
ploy few drugs in combating 1t, and
then only in an endeavor to relieve
the crippled kidneys of their burden
and to stimulate other organs to help
them out.
The only course of treatment which
Is of avail is that which attempts
complete reform in the diet and
habits of the sufferer. He must get
fresh air, and he must eat simple
foods. He must take no more food
and drink than Is absolutely neces-
sary for the nourishment of the body,
and he must forswear forever all ,en-
course dinners, highballs and late
suppers.
Foods to Avoid.
Alcohol must be eschewed entirely
and a ban must be put upon all food"
which are apt to produce alcohol in
the process of digestion or by fer
mentation in the stomach or intes-
| tines.
In severe cases starvation is often
advised. To relieve the crippled kid
neys of as much work as possible, the
modern physician adopts devices to
| increase the activity of the skin.
That is to say, sweating is induced.
| Purging, too, has it's uses.
The only certain way to avoid
| Bfight's disease is to eat and live
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