The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-03-05
HOME HEALTH CLUB
edited by DR.. David H. Reeder, Chi
caRO.)


edited by DR.. David H. Reeder, Chi
Food: To draw an absolute line
between food and medicine is practi-
cally impossible although that is
what the average physician has been
is only within a comparatively recent
period that cures have been sought
for in a really scientific diet.
Any one of common sense and a
reasonable amount of observation has
from time to time noted favorable or
unfavorab1e effects of various kinds
of food. You have found at certain
times that various articles disagree
with you while at other times there
is a great desire for that article and
when eaten the result was very sat,
isfactory.
Some foods are natural 1axatives
and if eaten to excess and without
another kind of food that will in a
measure neutralize their action they
may prevent the body from receiv-
ing proper nourishment for the sim
pie reason that everything is carried
forward at a rapid rate and evacu-
alton is accomplished before diges-
ton has been completed. Other foods
have the opposite effect and cause
great sluggishness of the bowels I'm
less their action is in a measure
overcome by a proper combination of
the laxative agents. A food ration
that is we'll balanced in neutrative
qualities and at the same time COM
bines the proper elements that will
cause the refuse or waste matter to
be evacuated at the proper time is
not a difficult problem if a little
study is given to the matter.
Just at the present time the mem-
bers of the big medical association
are following out the plans laid down
at their last annual meeting and are
supply the newspapers with articles
about disease, sanitation, etc, but
they say very little about the subject
of diet or foods, but there is one food
remedy upon which they all seem to
be agreed and that is bran. OF
course, they cannot recommend any
certain kind of pills but bran, one
would think, cannot be harmful and
it is not a patent medicine so it is
recommended to one and all.
Now do not, most positively do
not agree that bran is harmless. Bran
the outer covering of wheat, is
hard, woody fibre and contains no
nutritive matter whatever. It is no
more of a food than the same amount
of sawdust, ground to the same fine
ness. It will have practically the
same effect upon the intestines, that
is it will irritate and scratch them
to such an extent that they will dc
their best to get rid of the offensive
and useless matter, thus causing a
movement of the bowels. If, how
ever, the patient who secured such
good results, continued to- use the ir-
ritant he will find that in short time
his trouble is greater than ever. The
tender mucous lining of the bowels
! through repeated scratching and ir-
ritation becomes tntckened and hard
ened or ca1loused and no longer re-
spends to the irritati on.
Pure whole wheat flour, made
from the wheat after the epicarp or
outer covering has been removed. is
as near to a perfect food as we can
find, but civilized man does not live
on bread alone. He very properly
adds to the wheat fruits, nuts and
vegetables as well as meats and when
the combinations is selected accord
ing to the needs and occupation as
well as the physical CONDITIONS, good
health and good appetite follow
naturally.