LIFE EXTENSION 



3414 



LIFE EXTENSION 



tives, even those commonly considered harmless, 

 such as laxative salts and mineral waters, are 

 often very distinctly harmful, causing a chronic 

 inflammatory condition of the bowels or aggra- 

 vating the already existing inflammation that is 

 present in certain types of constipation. 



The chief error in diet that induces constipa- 

 tion is the use of concentrated food. Such food 

 leaves little residue or waste to stimulate the 

 bowel movement. Another dietetic error is the 

 use of white flour and of grains that have 

 been deprived of their shell or coating. A meat 

 and potato and white-bread diet is ideal for in- 

 ducing constipation. Lack of "roughage," or 

 coarse vegetables, and of fruit, is harmful, in that 

 it deprives the bowels of stimulus and the body 

 of elements necessary to health that are found in 

 certain vegetables, in the skin of cereals and in 

 fresh fruit. 



The average uncomplicated case of constipa- 

 tion will yield readily to the regulation of diet 

 along very 'simple lines. Water should be taken 

 sparingly at meals, but quite freely between 

 meals, as well as early in the morning. Fruit 

 and fruit juices are laxative and helpful. A 

 couple of apples eaten in the evening will often 

 prove effective. Other desirable fruits are citrous 

 fruits, figs, dates and prunes. The use of Gra- 

 ham or whole-wheat or corn bread and whole 

 cereals is important. The amount of meat taken 

 should be strictly limited not more than once 

 daily. But such vegetables as peas, beans, let- 

 tuce, parsnips, carrots, turnips, celery, oyster 

 plant, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, sal- 

 sify, Spanish onions, asparagus and spinach 

 should be freely taken. Liberal portions of at 

 least two of these vegetables should be taken at 

 luncheon and dinner. 



Always, however, the digestive capacity and 

 personal peculiarities of the individual should be 

 taken into consideration. In some cases certain 

 vegetables disagree, and a diet containing "rough- 

 age" is not well borne, especially if the dietetic 

 habits are suddenly changed. There are few 

 people, however, who cannot take fruit, whole 

 cereals and Graham bread. In lieu of bulky vege- 

 tables, purified agar-agar, a Japanese seaweed, 

 may be taken in teaspoonful doses two or three 

 times a day, mixed with cereals or other food, as 

 it is tasteless and inert. This preparation adds 

 to the mass in the intestines and gives the bulk 

 necessary to bring about activity in the bowels. 

 It is not a drug, and has no habit-forming dan- 

 gers. 



Another preparation now much used is mineral 

 oil. This oil is not absorbed or digested, but 

 passes through the bowels and softens their con- 

 tents, so that they are able to slip through more 

 rapidly. It has no drug effects, and hence is not 

 open to the objections that obtain against ordi- 

 nary purgatives. Sterilized bran is another 

 preparation that is useful in cases of constipa- 

 tion. It Vnay be taken in cereals, in equal parts, 

 or made into biscuits with one part bran and two 

 parts flour. When used in this way the bran 

 should be carefully sifted, to remove all foreign 

 substances, and then sterilized by boiling or bak- 

 ing. 



In cases where there is any question of relaxed 

 or fallen bowels, which is often the case in thin 



and anemic people who show bad posture, exer- 

 cise on an inclined plane, such as an ironing 

 board tilted up at one end, is helpful in restoring 

 a normal position of the bowels and improving 

 the abdominal muscles. Lack of regular atten- 

 tion to the bowel function is perhaps the most 

 common cause of constipation. Under a normal 

 physiological diet, the bowels should move after 

 each meal. It is probably seldom that one hasty 

 movement a day thoroughly evacuates the large 

 bowel. A sufficient time should be given for a 

 thorough evacuation. 



11. Stand, sit and walk erect. 



To set the shoulders back and square them 

 evenly, to keep the chest high well arched for- 

 ward, the stomach in and the neck perpendicular, 

 like a column, and the chin in, are simple funda- 

 mental principles that most people know and many 

 people disregard. Whether sitting, standing or 

 walking, these principles, involving a correct and 

 pleasing carriage and a healthful relation of the 

 organs and structures of the body, should be 

 observed by both men and women. 



In walking, the most common error' is to 

 slump, with the shoulders rounded, the stomach 

 thrust out, the head thrust forward, chin up and 

 the arms hanging in front of the body. This is 

 a slump characteristic of those with weak mus- 

 cular and nervous systems. It has even been 

 held that neurasthenia, nervous prostration and 

 mental despondency can be caused by faulty 

 posture, through its effects upon the relation of 

 organs and the circulation of the blood. How- 

 ever that may be, there is no doubt that a droop- 

 ing posture aggravates the condition of neuras- 

 thenia and the various forms of displacement of 

 the stomach and abdominal organs, and that the 

 correction of faulty posture aids in the cure of 

 these conditions. Special exercises are beneficial 

 in correcting faulty posture. See NEURASTHENIA. 

 It is not enough to have a correct carriage and 

 a well-poised head. We must have well-directed 

 feet. Weak feet are gradually converted into 

 flat feet by faulty standing and walking posture. 

 Toeing out, whether walking or standing, so 

 commonly noted among girls and women, places 

 a certain strain upon the arches of the foot. The 

 correction of this fault by persistent toeing in, 

 Indian fashion, and daily exercise of the leg 

 muscles (rising on the toes twenty or forty times 

 night and morning), will do much to prevent 

 flat foot. When standing, do not keep the heels 

 together and toes out, the ordinary attitude pre- 

 scribed by athletic manuals as the military atti- 

 tude of "attention," but keep the heels apart, 

 like the military attitude "at rest," with toes 

 straight forward, the sides of the feet forming 

 two sides of a square. This attitude gives sta- 

 bility and poise and insures a proper distribution 

 of the weight of the body upon the structures 

 of the feet. 



Those who stand a great deal should avoid dis- 

 torted positions, such as resting on one foot and 

 sagging to one side. The body weight should be 

 kept evenly supported on both feet. When the 

 condition of flat foot is found, it should be first 

 considered by a physician or a surgeon, before it 

 is treated by a shoemaker. The ordinary arches 

 supplied by shoemakers, do not cure flat foot. 





