330 DIET FOR DYSPEPSIA. 



than beef. Roasted meats are better than boiled. Meat should not 

 be ovjr-seasoned, nor baked in a close oven, nor cooked a second 

 time. All fat should be rejected. Boiled chicken, venison, and soft 

 boiled eggs are most digestible. Then come roast fowl, lean turkey, 

 partridge and pheasant, Guinea-fowl, pigeons, followed by lamb, 

 oysters and boiled white fish (except cod). The last may be ren- 

 dered more digestible and tasty by a few drops of lemon-juice. Rich 

 and oily fishes, and those of firm texture, should not be ventured 

 upon. Of all kinds of fresh meat, that which is broiled is the most 

 wholesome, nutritious and easy of digestion. The lean of a tender 

 round steak, about an inch and a half thick, and broiled over a quick 

 tire from five to ten minutes without being cut or pricked so as to 

 let the gravy out; or a loin-chop, stripped of all skin and fat and 

 broiled over a quick fire from five to eight minutes, will prove a 

 tempting and nourishing morsel. The usual joints of fresh meat, 

 especially the juicy, lean portions, come next in digestibility ; if they 

 be taken the dyspeptic has a sufficient range. Greasy meats, such as 

 pork, duck, goose, fatted turkey and salted or preserved meats, are 

 to be avoided. Soups, and other liquid food, are only slo\vly acted 

 upon by the stomach, and if the diet consist chiefly of them, they 

 seldom fail to produce dyspepsia and should therefore be avoided or 

 thickened with bread, rice or pearl-barley, in order that there may be 

 something solid to stimulate the muscular coat of the stomach. 



Vegetables are more slowly digested than animal and farina- 

 ceous food, and are therefore more likely to undergo fermentation in 

 feeble stomachs and thus occasion acidity and flatulence. They should 

 therefore be taken with caution and discrimination; still they should 

 not be altogether omitted from the dietary, or disease in some form 

 will ensue. Potatoes should be old and mealy, not young nor waxy ; 

 peas and beans must be very young and soft. Spinach can generally 

 be taken; of cauliflower only the head is eatable. Cabbages of all 

 kinds are usually objectionable, especially where there is a tendency 

 to flatulence. Rice and other farinaceous articles, either in the form 

 of porridges or light puddings, are generally found to agree with 

 weak stomachs ; but starchy and saccharine matters, in certain debil- 

 itated stages of the digestive organs, appear to be transformed into 

 lactic acid and to occasion acid eructations (belchings) ; oatmeal is in 

 this respect the greatest offender, rice the least. Roasted apples 

 with a little cream and a very little sugar may serve for dessert, but 

 raw fruit should never be eaten at the close of a substantial meal. 

 Between such meals, or as a separate meal, ripe fruits in season, 

 such as oranges, strawberries, raspberries, currants, grapes, peaches, 

 nectarines, apples or other freshly gathered fruit, will be found to 

 agree with most persons, if eaten in moderation and if skins and 

 seeds be studiously rejected ; indeed, if taken with a slice of stale 

 bread they will often aid digestion. Plums uncooked should sel- 

 dom be eaten by persons subject to indigestion, but when cooked the 

 pulp is not objectionable. Dried fruits, whether cooked or uncooked, 



