DIGESTION AND ABSORPTION 



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distress known as dyspepsia is due to too hasty meals with con- 

 sequent lack of proper mastication of food. Another cause is 

 overeating. It is a good rule to go away from the table feeling 

 hungry. Eating too much overtaxes the digestive organs and 

 prevents their working to the best advantage. Still another 

 cause of dyspepsia is eating when in a fatigued condition. It 

 is always a good plan to rest a short time before eating, especially 

 after any hard manual work. Eating between meals is also 

 condemned by physicians because it calls the blood to the 

 digestive organs at a time when it should be in other parts 

 of the body. 



Effect of Alcohol on Digestion. — It is a well-known fact that 

 alcohol extracts water from tissues with which it is in contact. 

 This fact works much harm to the interior surface of the food tube, 

 especially the walls of the stomach, which in the case of a hard 

 drinker are likely to become irritated and much toughened. In 

 small amounts alcohol is believed to stimulate the secretion of 

 the salivaric and gastric glands, and thus it seems to aid in diges- 

 tion. It is doubtful, however, if this aid is real. 



The following results of experiments on dogs, published in the 

 American Journal of Physiology, Vol. I, Professor Chittenden gives 

 as "strictly comparable," because '' they were carried out in succes- 

 sion on the same day " : — 



