Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-01-16
Big SUNDAY MEALS
CAUSE |LL.AEALT Tn
Noted British Physician Warns
MIddIs.Agsd Against oorg-
Ing on Day Of Rest.

= |
A factor Of henlth--individual. ma
tional or Of even wider extent--which
hitherto has escaped general attention
arises from The wsll-nigh universal
habit Of eating heavy meals on SUM-
day. This habit upsets tho physical
system, an English physicisu points
out. and. coupled with reduction In /
tho amount of exercise taken, forms 4
combination which not only detracts
from the Joy OF LIVING. but actually
Is the background for gloomy out
look.
The physician Ia the medical CORE
spondent of The London Times and. of
course, his statements are directed TO
the British public; nevertheless, they
scem to have worldwide application.
He says that instead OF surfeiting our
selves on Sunday we might better give
our digestive system rest. This IL
particularly true OF those OF middle
age and beyond. Tho man who does
not overtax the digestive organs lives
long and keeps WELL he remarks.
BUSINESS mon, as a clsss, are re9u-
lar In their habits, tho physician Gays. |
| They are specially regular In the hab-
1t OF eating. But there IL one great |
exception. On Sunday the majority OF |
them radically alter their dletetic hab-
Its. The alteration extends throughout |
the day. Breakfast Ia later, heavier.
This IL a small matter because the
additional hour of sleep Ia advanta-
geous. Lunch becomes heavy dinner.
Tea In indulged in rather more freely
than usual. and finally. supper, a meal
which often includes moro tea, re-
places dinner.
| We are oil so accustomed to this ar
rangcment that few Of M take the
| trouble 10 relate II to the sense OF gas
tronomic ill-being which very often
characterlzes Sunday evening or 4.
carried into Monday. varIbua domestic
exigencies render tho change convent
emit. IL Ia assumed that, at tho worst.
no great harm IL likely TO result. OBJ
serves the physician. Nor would any
great harm result. he says, were II
not that the change n almost invari-
ably characterized by excess. We eat
more on Sunday, much more as a rule.
than we eat on any other day in the
week.
This is the main point In the indict-
ment. The other points are that. on
that day op which we eat more. we
also eat at unacoustomed times. Very
OTTER too, especially.in winter. we have
nc exercise.
Now every doctor knows, say. the
physician, that middle age brings N |
tendency 10 cat too much rather than |
too little. There Is, therefore, a good |
case for a weekly estarvs;" there Il
no case whatever for weekly surfeit.
on the contrary, II takes many men
The w..ole OF Monday and sometimes
Tuesday also to set free OF the consc-
quences OF their Sunday eating.
We have only TO consider for n mo-
ment the physiological aspect OF the
case to see that such n consequence is
inevitable, he says. There is no better
time keeper In the body than the
stomach. There Is no organ which |
performs it's work with a greater
economy Of effort. Regularly, at GER
tain times each day, our systems Eek |
pect meals, The sense OF hunger,
which we now know originates in
movements Of the muscular coat OF
the stomach, is experienced Gastric
\ juice II prepared.
Not only. is there an expectation In
time; there is also an expectation In
amount. We expect certain kinds OF
meals, light or heavy. These habits"
once formed, endure. the physician as
serts; so much so, indeed. that appe-
tite VIII not, as a rule, serve sas well
II we attempt 10 break them. English
men, for example. never get used 70
Contineptal methods OF meal arrange
, mani and feyv L'ropcbtpon t.Lo Ltrd,,,
TO the English breakfast.
Speaking generally, then, a change
OF meal hours should. II II be neces-
sary, be always accompanied by great
moderation In eating. We are setting
our digestive organs to fresh task
for which they are not prepared. We
ought To give them a chance" On
Sunday, however. we seem TO pursue
an exactly opposite policy. We eat
largely, at unaccustomed hours, OF
food not easy to digest.
Naturally enough, the physician
says. this food, In a great many in
stances, Is not digested. Instead, In
digestion and dyspepsia occur, with
resulting depression and ill-nature.
Sunday, he declares, is too frequent
thc hcoHiicSt udy OI tne week.
Nor is this ALL For the "upsetp
does not end with its cause. Badly di-
gested food discrepancies every system
in the body. The fermentation products
TO which IL gives rise are absorbed into
the blood and carried to- the nervous
system. poisoning Is frequently
set up. In middle age, according TO the
writer, brain Poisoning is constant
danger. II is that which renders men
In responsible positions anxious and
irritable. so that their judgments are
clouded and their decisions unreliable
The need, at this period OF life is
for weekly gastric. rest"--a day
in which nature, insdfflcientiy re-
lieved Of her waste products may re-
cover herself. Sunday should be such
day, the writer declares. Increased
exercise and decreased food ought TO
characterize It.
The view may sound revolutionary
enough, the physician admits for
Sunday dinner" Tin Eng,snd), with
its roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
5 is a national institution. Yet. he says,
, common sense will certainly endorse
. II.
: Indeed, he goes on. IL Sunday were
changed from a day Of eating to a day