HOME EEMEDIES FOR COMMON DISEASES 733 



Cane sugar used in the ordinary form of preserves, 

 sweet desserts, confectionery, etc., is often productive 

 of serious mischief. It is one of the most common 

 causes of sour stomach, not, however, through fermen- 

 tation as was formerly supposed, but through irrita- 

 tion of the gastric mucous membrane. The use of cane 

 sugar should be, as far as possible, dispensed with. 

 Sweet fruits, such as stewed raisins, prunes, figs, dates, 

 etc., may be substituted. 



Butter should be eaten very sparingly, and other 

 animal fats should be avoided altogether, for the rea- 

 son that fats hinder the secretion of gastric juice and 

 delay the passage of food from the stomach, as shown 

 by the experiments of Pawlow. 



Meat should not be eaten by a person with a dilated 

 stomach. The muscles of the stomach being in a re- 

 laxed condition, the stomach cannot empty itself of 

 food, and hence no food should be taken but that which 

 can be readily dissolved and rendered a pulp. 



Peas and beans are hard to digest, unless the skins 

 have been removed. This may be done by a colander, 

 or they may be purchased ready prepared. 



A person with a dilated stomach has necessarily a 

 slow digestion, and for this reason should take the food 

 that is most quickly digested. 



Another important point is to give the stomach as 

 long an interval between meals as is required by the 

 food for digestion. There should also be a little time 

 between meals, after the food is digested, for the stom- 

 ach to rest. An interval of five to seven hours should 

 be allowed between meals, that the stomach may have 

 time to digest all the food properly, and then to rest 

 a little before any more is introduced. This may give 



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