Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-01-26
WATERS VIRTUES.

America has a Worldwide reputa-
ton as Il land of food faddists. No
ditch digger is too ignorant but that he
is lab to develop a food fad, and no
manufacturer is so busy but that he
has time to speculate on questions Of
digestion and absorption of food. Many
cures for horse collie are d sure sign
that there is no cure for horse collie
except the nature cure. A multiplicity
of food fads is a sure sign of general
ignorance. 1t means that not enoug'!
careful studying has been lone and not
enough effort has been made to get the
results of such research as has been
done to the people.
one OF the few who have worked
earnestly for many years on the prob
lens of digestion is Prof. p. h. Hawk,
now connected with the Jefferson Med
lral college. One Of the subjects that
he has especially studied is that of
drinking water. Some of his conclu-
sions are as follows:
Considerable water should be ON
su'ned, and especially should water be
taken with meals. The saliva is not
much of a digestive agent. 1t has no
capacity for digesting lean or fat meat
..-protelds, or fats. or sugars. 1t does
nave a little power to digest starch or
to begin the digestion of starch. TIL.
really powerful digesters of starches
are the juices found in the small in
testines. Besides this power to digest
starch the saliva is Of service in assist
ing In breaking up the food and in get
ting il ready for the stomach Juices by
moistening it.
Hawk found that 10 sip water with
the meals improved salivary digestion.
n ferments of saliva digested starch
better when the saliva was somewhat
diluted. Full strength saliva is not the.
best digestive agent.
Reducing this conclusion to terms OF
me table .one gets the best effects from
his saliva when he chews his food care
fully and slowly n sips a little soup,
coffee. milk, or, better still. water, as
he eats.
Nor is the effect limited to the influ-
ences ON the saliva. Drinking water
stimulates the gastric secretion. PEG
pie who frequently eat heavy meals
are commonly aware of the gain from
drinking water an hour or so after
meals. The stomach, wearied by its
overload, digests slowly, and there is q
leel1ng of discomfort. A glass of wa
ter supplies some necessary FLUID, slim
ulates the secretion of more gastric
juice. and the task Of stomach diges-
ton is speedily accomplished.
i1awk found that a glass of water
1or a meal was A good plan. 1t disap-
peared by absorption in about 20 min
utes, but it stimulated the secretion Of
f. gastric Juice. His findings show the
reason Tor thinking a glass of water
on arising as q part Of the mornings
toilet nj as a preparation for break
fast. The best preparation for break
fast is some work or some exercise, but
a very good substitute is a glass Of
water.
Because a glass Of water does stimu-
late he gastric secretion Hawk does
not advocate drinking much water be-
tween meals. Nothing is gained, in
fact something is lost. by stimulating
the stomach juices when there is no
work for those juices. The drinking of
water assists in the digestion Of starch
by other lei than by assisting the
saliva. A glass of water increases the
secretion Of the pancreas. The pam
create secretion is the very powerful
agent for the digestion Of starch. Fur
thermore, If there is not enough water
in the contents OF the large intestines
constipation ISL and symptoms
Of what is called auto in%toxication fol-
low.