QUANTITY OF FOOD. 237 



in academies and colleges, that the students who suffer from impaired 

 digestion are those who have experienced this transition from labor to 

 comparative repose. 



Heat This is produced in the system, at least partly, by the 

 union of oxygen with carbon and hydrogen, in the minute vessels 

 of the various organs. This union is accomplished by food and 

 drink. The volume of heat is greatest when it is most required, 

 i. <?., in cold weather. Every one nas noticed that he eats with better 

 appetite in winter than in summer. Where any deficiency of food 

 occurs a corresponding increase of clothing is required. The prin- 

 ciple shows the propriety of lessening the amount of food as the 

 warm season approaches. If this were regularly practiced the tone 

 of the stomach would not so often need restoration by means of 

 "tonic bitters," etc. Men minister to the lower animals more wisely 

 than to themselves; thus all who have the care of live-stock soon 

 learn by experience that when the warm season begins their charges 

 require less food. 



Quantity to be Gauged by Condition If the diges- 

 tive organs are weakened or diseased, that amount of food only 

 should be taken which they can easily digest. Unchanged by di- 

 gestion, food weakens rather than invigorates the system. The 

 anxiety of a mother should never induce her to give food to her 

 sick child, unless she believe it to be actually needed. If she be in 

 doubt, let her consult a physician. 



Habit This has much to do with the quantity of food re- 

 quired. Some take more than is necessary and the excess is removed 

 by the waste outlets. If then food is not taken in the usual 

 quantity, there will be a feeling of emptiness, resembling hunger, 

 from the want of the usual distention of the stomach. This feeling 

 may result from disease, but it is oftener the effect of inordinate 

 indulgence in eating. 



Effect of too Much Food Large quantities oppress the 

 stomach and produce languor of the whole system. The system 

 makes an extraordinary demand for blood and nervous fluid, to 

 enable the stomach to dispose of its burden. If an unusual effort is 

 intended, either mental or physical, soon after meal-time, we should 

 eat less than usual rather than more. 



Appetite and Taste Satisfaction of the appetite is the 

 best usual test of the right quantity of food. This is the natural 

 desire, arising from the wants of the system. Taste, on the other 

 hand, is an artificial desire to gratify the palate. 



No Certain Rule Though many things may aid us in fix- 

 ing the right quantity of food, - there is no certain guide. Some 

 think that hunger may be relied upon for this purpose; but this is 

 evidently an error, since an artificial appetite may be induced by 

 stimulants or gormandizing. So, on the other hand, the brain, 

 when diseased, may not take cognizance of the sensations of the 

 stomach, though the system may actually require nourishment. 



