yb THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



by condiments, and tempted to excess by culinary refinements. 1 Dys- 

 pepsia is not the worst result of this. Gout, and still more serious 

 maladies connected with an impure state of blood, closely follow. 



Infringements of the laws of digestion are constantly and in many 

 instances unconsciously committed. One man digests with ease an 

 amount of food which would be %tal to the comfort of another. Ani- 

 mal food is easily digested by some persons twice, or even three times 

 daily ; while, if taken by others more than once, it is sure to induce 

 suffering. Nevertheless, the diet of persons associated together is apt 

 to be the same, and a sufficient individuality in matters of eating and 

 drinking is seldom observed. 



When the general health is impaired from any cause, digestion in- 

 fallibly suffers. In many instances it is sought to prop up the one by 

 overtaxing the powers of the other, and dyspepsia is often thus perma- 

 nently added to the old disorder. The proverb, " Custom is second 

 nature," applies to the human constitution. Health may be maintained, 

 by gradual usage, under circumstances which would be disastrous to 

 the novice. In this country, great faults are committed in the relative 

 amount and distribution of meals. Breakfast frequently consists of tea 

 or coffee, with a small proportion of plain bread or toast. This allays 

 the appetite, but is insufficient for the supply of bodily waste during 

 the long interval between breakfast and a late dinner ; during which, 

 in many instances, no luncheon is taken. It also often happens that 

 no solid food is taken from dinner-time until the following morning, 

 which is an additional reason for a more substantial breakfast. 



Experience shows that the delicate stomach suffers severely from 

 these causes. In some instances, the long-unemployed organ secretes 

 an excess of mucus, which greatly interferes with digestion. A suffi- 

 cient amount of food at breakfast has a direct influence on the diges- 

 tion of dinner ; in which process, large quantities of gastric juice a 

 fluid charged with nitrogenous and other materials must be suddenly 

 extracted from the blood. No argument is needed to prove that the 

 blood will be better fitted for these demands upon it, if replenished by 

 the absorption of a substantial breakfast. If gastric juice, insufficient 

 in quantity or of bad quality, be supplied, the appetite for dinner ex- 

 ceeds the digestive power, and another material cause of dyspepsia 

 arises. Long: abstinence thus causes the amount of food taken at 

 dinner to be relatively, as well as absolutely, in excess. When a suffi 

 cient quantity of nutriment has been taken in the morning, less will be 

 requisite at a later period, and less will be desired. 



The distribution of meals in point of time is by many regarded as 

 quite unimportant. Dinner, as has been said, comes late, quickly 

 followed by tea, and sometimes by supper also. This approximation 



1 Abernethy, in his peculiar style, insists that civilized man " eats and drinks an enor- 

 mous deal more than is necessary for his wants or welfare. He fills his stomach and 

 bowels with food which actually putrefies in those organs." 



