108 STUDIES IN PHYSIOLOGY 



great care to prevent boys and girls from eating indiges- 

 tible compounds. It is of course impossible in a few 

 words to give anything like a complete account of the rela- 

 tion of food to the needs of various individuals. One person 

 finds, for instance, that for some reason he cannot eat straw- 

 berries or cucumbers. Since these foods act like a poison 

 in his system, they must of course be avoided. The regula- 

 tion of diet in time of sickness is a most important aid 

 to recovery. In certain diseases it is necessary that some 

 kinds of food should be forbidden, Whenever the functions 

 of the body are not carried pn with their accustomed vigor, 

 the physician prescribes foods that are easily digested, for 

 example, milk, raw oysters, toasted bread, and soft-boiled 

 eggs. 



Prevention of Constipation. Constipation, or the stoppage 

 of the refuse of the food in the intestine, is one of the most 

 frequent causes of discomfort, and to insure a state of health 

 the useless residue should be expelled from the large in- 

 testine regularly each day. Constipation may usually be 

 counteracted by liberal drinking of water, especially a half 

 hour before breakfast, and by eating foods with laxative 

 effect, for example, ripe fruits (especially figs), green 

 vegetables, and breads made of the coarser graham and 

 rye flours. 



The Use of Patent Medicines. The enormous sale of patent 

 medicines, soothing sirups, and " pain killers " in our country 

 is a source of incalculable harm. It is easy enough for the 

 makers of these nostrums to describe the symptoms of the 

 disease which the medicine is warranted to cure, and so 

 create a greater demand for it. Too often, as we have seen 

 (p. 39), these compounds contain alcohol, morphine, or 

 other dangerous ingredients. They should never be given, 

 however highly recommended, without the advice of a com- 

 petent physician. When an attack of sickness does not 

 readily yield to a treatment of diet and rest, it is always 

 safer and more economical in the end to consult the family 



