364 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY 



they produce nervousness and disturbances of the heart 

 action. 



The choice of a diet containing an unusual quantity 

 of protein has been recommended for the purpose of 

 cutting down the weight. The old theory was that 

 protein could make muscle but not fat, an idea favored 

 by the leanness of carnivorous animals. We have been 

 brought to believe that fat can be made from protein, 

 with sugar as an intermediate stage. The effect of a 

 high protein diet can be explained as due to two factors. 

 In the first place, it is likely to be satiating and the 

 amount eaten is automatically reduced without any 

 suffering from hunger and faintness. In the second 

 place, protein, more than other types of food, stimulates 

 the rate of oxidation. The technical expression is 

 that "it has a marked specific dynamic effect. " 



One system of treating obesity depends on the rather 

 heroic principle of giving drugs which keep the patient 

 in a qualmish condition and abolish his appetite. Fast- 

 ing is thus made easy, but it does not seem as though the 

 after-effect upon the organs of digestion could be good. 

 One might choose to be fat rather than dyspeptic. 



The great trouble with most of the methods employed 

 to reduce weight is that the constitutional tendency is 

 unaltered by them and results are apt to be temporary. 

 The subject faithfully follows a routine at the cost of 

 much self-sacrifice and rapidly regains the loathed adi- 

 pose tissue when he changes his mode of life. Perhaps 

 the most practical suggestion for a line of conduct that 

 can be kept up indefinitely is that bulk rather than 

 nutriment be sought after. The clamors of the stomach 

 can be stilled by filling it with fruit, green vegetables, 

 pop corn, etc., instead of with bread and butter, potato, 

 pastry, and candy. It is a policy of self-deception but 

 warranted in a good cause. 



The Teeth. Digestion and nutrition depend to a 

 considerable degree upon mastication. It is probable 

 that too much virtue has been claimed for the chewing 



