DIGESTION AND FOOD. 89 



the, and digested his small portions of food with difficulty. 

 He left his studies, and went, as a common sailor, to South 

 America. At first, he performed little of the light labor of 

 the ship, and ate sparingly, as he had on land ; but his 

 strength of body and power of digestion increased, and, after 

 a few months, he was able to do a sailor's work, and eat a 

 sailor's allowance. He ate the heavy and stimulating food* 

 of the ship, the salt meat and hard bread, with good 

 relish and good digestion, and felt no oppression afterward. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



Digestibility and Nutritiousness of Food not identicaj. Food easily 

 digested not always best for Invalids. Condiments excite and 

 exhaust. Sensibility of Stomach. Alcohol and Wines exhaust 

 still more. No single Rule of Diet to govern all Men. 



192. THERE are two things to be considered in regard to 

 all kinds of food; these are, 1st, the digestibility the ease 

 or the difficulty of being converted, by the stomach arid its 

 gastric juice, into chyle; and, %d,the quantity of nutriment 

 contained in them. And these are not necessarily one and 

 the same. One article of diet may be very easily digested, 

 but contain very little nutriment. On the other hand, some 

 articles are highly nutritious, yet are very difficult to be 

 digested. Perhaps no food contains more of the nutritive 

 principle than oil, yet few kinds require longer time to be 

 converted into chyme. 



193. That food which is most easily digested is not 

 always the most suitable for the sick and feeble. Beef and 

 mutton are much more readily changed by the action of the 

 stomach than gruel. But they are-also much more stimulat- 

 ing to the system ; and, if eaten by the sick and the convales- 

 cent, they might excite fever, perhaps a return of the disease. 

 But gruel, and bread, which may require a longer time and 

 a greater labor of the stomach to digest them, do not excite 



