364 



DIGESTION AND ABSORPTION 



mastication of food. The message of Mr. Fletcher in bringing 

 before us the need of proper mastication of food and the attendant 

 evils of overeating is one which we cannot afford to ignore. It is 

 a good rule to go away from the table feeling hungry. Eating 

 too much overtaxes the digestive organs and prevents their working 

 to the best advantage. Still another cause of dyspepsia is eating 

 when in a fatigued condition. It is always a good plan to rest a 

 short time before eating, especially after any hard manual work. 

 Eating between meals is also condemned by physicians because it 

 calls the blood to the digestive organs at a time when it should be 

 in other parts of the body. 



Effect of Alcohol on Digestion. It is a well-known fact that 

 alcohol extracts water from tissues with which it is in contact. 

 This fact works much harm to the interior surface of the food tube, 

 especially the walls of the stomach, which in the case of a hard 

 drinker are likely to become irritated and much toughened. In 

 small amounts alcohol stimulates the secretion of the salivary 

 and gastric glands, and thus seems to aid in digestion. It is 

 doubtful, however, whether this aid is real. 



The following results of experiments on dogs, published in the 

 American Journal of Physiology, Vol. I, Professor Chittenden of 

 Yale University gives as " strictly comparable," because " they 

 were carried out in succession on the same day." They show 

 that alcohol retards rather than aids in digestion: 



