THE BODY TEMPLE 49 



Proper exercise strengthens the heart. If you count 

 the pulse while lying down, you will find it to be about 

 sixty. On sitting up, the beats increase to sixty-six or 

 sixty-eight. On standing up, the pulse rate rises to 

 seventy-four or seventy-five. On taking active exer- 

 cise, as in running or jumping, the pulse may be quick- 

 ened to one hundred beats per minute, or even more. 

 The heart is a muscle, and proper exercise, by thus 

 increasing its activity, may increase its vigor. Exer- 

 cise, by increasing the activity of the heart, also secures 

 a more rapid distribution of the blood, and thus quick- 

 ens all the vital processes of the body. 



loo violent exercise may injure the heart by over- 

 taxing it, and may even cause rupture of one of the 

 delicate ligaments by which its valves are controlled. 



The effects of tobacco, alcohol, and all kinds of 

 stimulants are particularly serious upon the heart, 

 weakening it, at first temporarily and afterward per- 

 manently, by causing degeneration of its tissues into 

 fat. A great share of the deaths from so-called heart 

 disease may fairly be charged to alcohol and tobacco. 



Bad Blood,— The blood may be poor in quality be- 

 cause of impurities gathered from the tissues and not 

 removed with sufficient rapidity, or injurious sub- 

 stances which have been taken in with the food, or from 

 indulgence in stimulants or narcotics. It may be im- 

 poverished by having an insufficient supply of the ele- 

 ments required to nourish the tissues. To keep the 

 blood pure and of good quality, one must be careful 

 to keep in good active operation the skin, lungs, liver, 

 kidneys, and bowels,— channels through which its im- 

 purities are removed,— and must carefully avoid tak- 

 ing into the system substances which cannot be used 

 and which must be removed. Of this class, alcohol, 



