DIGESTION AND FOOD. 47 



CHAPTER X. 



Appetite affected by State of Mind. No Digestion without Appe- 

 tite. Appetite not always a Sign of digestive Power. Appetite 

 and Taste not identical. Great Privation of Appetite. 



90. The appetite is affected by the state of health both of 

 the body and of the mind. In fever, in pain, and in certain 

 dyspeptic states, the stomach craves little or no food. So, 

 in mental distress, in times of great fear or sorrow, .or ex- 

 treme anxiety, the appetite fails. Even in a single moment 

 the appetite may be suspended by any sudden mental affec- 

 tion or emotion. If any one sit down at a tattle with even a 

 strong desire of food, and if, when about' to eat what seems 

 to him inviting, he should be told of ine death or extreme 

 danger of a near friend, at once all appetite is gone.* 



91. Hunger is given to us as a guide to our duty in the 

 work of sustenance; and when properly regarded, it is a 

 safe guide. It indicates the wants of the system for more 

 nutriment. Even in a good state of health, these wants vary 



* Dr. Dalton says, " The secretion of the gastric juice is much influ- 

 enced by nervous conditions. It was noticed by Dr. Esaumont, in his 

 experiments upon St. Martin, that irritation of the tenper, and other 

 moral causes, would frequently diminish, or altogether suspend, the sup- 

 ply of the gastric fluids. Any febrile action in the system, or any un- 

 usual fatigue, was liable to exert a similar effect. Eve ry one is aware 

 how readily any mental disturbance, such as anxiety, ar jer, or vexation, 

 will take away the appetite, and interfere with digestion. Any nervous 

 impression of this kind, occurring at the commencement of digestion, 

 seems moreover to produce some change which has a Ir. sting effect upon 

 the process ; for it is very often noticed that, when any r.unoyance, hurry, 

 or anxiety occurs soon after the food has been taken, though it may last 

 only for a few moments, the digestive process is not only liable to be sus- 

 pended for the time, but to be permanently disturbed during the entire 

 day. In order that digestion, therefore, may go on properly in the stom- 

 ach, food must be taken only when the appetite demands it; it should 

 also be thoroughly masticated at the outset ; and, finally, belli mind i.n J 

 body, particularly during the commencement of the process, should be 

 free from any unusual or disagreeable excitement." Physiology, p. 149. 



