FOOD 2O3 



with the greatest precision. Any reasonable excess will 

 either pass through the canal unabsorbed, or be excreted 

 from the blood, without great injury to the body. A want 

 of any of the necessary elements will be well tolerated for 

 a time until a craving for a certain kind of food will lead 

 later to the supply of the elements needed. If a person 

 feels bad, or the digestion seems weak, some will advise 

 dieting. There is a tendency among certain writers on 

 hygiene to overrate the importance of this subject. If 

 the laws of health in regard to fresh air, muscular 

 exercise, sleep, cleanliness, temperature, and the use of 

 stimulants be observed, our appetites will be a suffi- 

 cient guide in the matter of diet. These matters should 

 first be looked to, and dieting then will probably become 

 unnecessary. 



360. It is an instructive and important fact, that too 

 much consciousness of what is eaten and too much dwell- 

 ing on what might be the consequence of eating this food 

 or that food, will bring about serious derangement of the 

 digestion. If we do not abuse our tastes, but give the 

 proper heed to them, we may keep a delicate indicator 

 which will, in a more perfect way than any scientific table 

 has yet done, tell us what is needed. 



In this Chapter alcohol and other narcotics have not 

 been mentioned as they are not to be classed as true foods. 

 Professor Atwater recently found proof of what has 

 always been believed by physiologists, namely ; that alcohol 

 is oxidized in the body and that it may to a slight extent for 

 a few days take the place of carbohydrates. Yet alcohol 

 causes the lining of the stomach to become unnaturally 

 congested, and habitual drinking causes it to become 

 inflamed and even ulcerated. A true food must be capable 

 of nourishing the body without injuring it. 



