Rocky Ford enterprise., 1914-08-14
(copyrisht. 1914. by A S. Gray)
WALKING TO BE WELL.


Insomnia, "biliousness' and "rheu-
matism" are trinity of widely dis
tributed troubles inextricably associat-
cd in the public mind with brain
work" food and indigestion. As is
usually the case in conclusions reached
through purely empirical channels.
the association is substantially cor
rect. but the theory for the correction
Of the distressing conditions is wrong.
Probably the most destructive idea
we have is that for every physical
distress there exists some miraculous
remedy. our problem as we see 1t be-
ing solely to find the man wise enough
to determine correctly the cause OF
our trouble and advise the proper rem
edy-and In our belief 1t must always
be something to take. to rub in. or to
squirt into our bodies through hol-
low needle.
We know that everything in this
universe is in constant mutation. that
decay follows reproduction and repro
duction follows decay in an endless
chain Of sequence. the rearrangement
evolving in an orderly way more COM
plex and higher types through uni
versal centralizing tendency, and that
we are but part of this endless life
chain. All animal life is perpetually
taking In food consisting of some
eighty elements. built up by the uni
versal energy. Now, since energy has
been consumed in the building up of
the compounds. It will again be freed
II they are broken down or split into
simpler compounds: and we find 1t to
be a fact that during their whole life
animals work and give OF heat and
that when they cease to do these two
things they sicken and die
The energy spent in work and heat
Is derived from the potential energy
stored in the food. and throughout the
entire process neither matter nor en-
ergy is either gained or lost. The
fundamental principles of. the conser-
walton of energy and of matter hold
good in all living things as they do
in Inorganic nature. All energy taken
in must be balanced by work done
and heat given of.
Food taken into our bodies does not
for the most part pass through as fuel
alone, but also serves to build up COM
plex living material. which in turn is
perpetually breaking down again into
nonliving matter. There is a double
process continually going on in meta
bolism-a building up into higher and
higher compounds in the making OF
which energy is absorbed. and a cor.
responding breaking down OF these
higher compounds into simpler ones
and into waste products, during which
process energy is freed. For these
reason we cannot live on carbon
foods alone; at the present time COM
binations OF sixteen elements that we
know and undoubtedly some that we
do not yet know are necessary to
maintain the human body and are
therefore foods. Hence multitudes are
starving In the midst of plenty and
we make futile efforts to cure the
result.
From this brief survey It will be
seen that human life is a highly COM
plex proposition and that II we desire
to remain in the life current IT is ad-
visable that We give the matter some
personal thought and learn not to in
terfere so recklessly with the funda-
mental requirements.
We have noted that work is essen
tial to all animal life, and man Is no
exception to the rule. This brings us
to the point Of our subject-the physi-
| ology OF the walk. The muscles in
| every part Of the body are tensely
stretched between the point Of origin
and insertion. and in general are in
opposing sets and maintained in a
balanced state of tension by a con-
tinuous contraction kept up by the
action OF the nervous system.
Music is elastic, a small force being
| sufficient to change its shape, but
when the distorting force is removed
It returns completely to Its original
shape. provided the distortion has not
| passed the limits OF elasticity. Mus
cles remain at rest Indefinitely until
stimulated to contract, and when we
| desire to contract muscle certain
| changes occur in our brain: these set
up changes in the nerves passing to
the part and the muscles contract
BY means of the erograph, an in
| strument which enables the response
OF a muscle to stimuli to be recorded,
It is shown that the continued action
of the nerve muscular mechanism
leads to fatigue; that II a muscle be
voluntarily" or rehexly stimulated
again and again. 1t finally ceases to
react. Fatigue is due to the accumu-
lation Of the products of the activity
of the muscles. and 1t may be induced
in a normal animal by injecting into
II the blood from an animal which has
| been fatigued: muscular fatipue in