THE HYGIENE OF NUTRITION 205 



her husband. People who are seasick some hours after a 

 meal often vomit undigested food. Apprehension of 

 being sick has probably inhibited the gastric activities. 



Just as a single occasion of painful emotion may lead to 

 a passing digestive disturbance, so continued mental de- 

 pression, worry, or grief may permanently impair the 

 working of the tract and undermine the vigor and capacity 

 of the sufferer. Homesickness is not to be regarded lightly 

 as a cause of malnutrition. Companionship is a powerful 

 promoter of assimilation. The attractive serving of food, 

 a pleasant room, and good ventilation are of high import- 

 ance. The lack of all these, so commonly faced by the 

 lonely student or the young man making a start in a strange 

 city, may be to some extent counteracted by the cultiva- 

 tion of optimism and the mental discipline which makes it 

 possible to detach one's self from sordid surroundings. 

 Alcohol works to the same end, but is a perilous resource 

 under these circumstances. 



Children are very often the victims of sharp attacks of 

 indigestion. Their sicknesses, which are accepted with 

 little surprise in many families, are almost always held to be 

 due to injudicious eating. While this is a reasonable belief 

 in many cases, it may be asked whether emotional causes 

 of indigestion in children are considered as much as they 

 should be. How common it is to see children made to cry 

 while at the table by ill-timed rebukes. The quick temper 

 and thoughtlessness of parents destroys the happiness of 

 many a meal. Granting that instruction in table-manners 

 ought to be given at suitable times, one may still protest 

 against the downright rudeness of elders toward children 

 when it is shown in the infliction of ridicule and humilia- 

 tion. Consideration of others' feelings is the finest element 

 in deportment. 



Moreover, it is probably fair to claim that children may 

 be injured by being forced to eat food which they dislike. 

 The aversions of early life are singularly strong. What 

 passes for a foolish whim may be an instinctive loathing. 

 There is an element of hypocrisy in the attitude of parents 



