ABSORPTION DIGESTION COMPLETED. 193 



as well as health, and properly may be considered an 

 evidence of culture. 



Time of Eating. Probably our almost universal custom 

 of three meals a day, resulting from experience, is well 

 adapted to the needs of our people. Theoretically the 

 chief meal should be near the middle of the day, as is the 

 custom in the country; for the bodily powers are higher 

 than later in the day. But for city people, and others who 

 are very busy in the middle of the day, it is undoubtedly 

 better to take the chief meal after the rush of the day's 

 work is over, when there is time for a deliberate meal and 

 when the mind is free from business cares. For many, too, 

 this is the only time when the whole family can leisurely 

 meet at the table. 



Eating between Meals. The stomach should have 

 time to rest and prepare for the work of digesting another 

 meal. Many find two meals a day sufficient. There are 

 some persons, however, for whom it would be better to 

 have more meals, with less food at each meal. Meals 

 should be regular. 



Amount of Food Needed. This varies greatly with the 

 individual, age, the kind and amount of labor, etc., so that 

 no very helpful rule can be given. Each person must find 

 by experience what is best for himself. It is the opinion 

 of many leading physicians that the majority of man- 

 kind eat too much. The fasting enjoined upon some is 

 undoubtedly hygienic ; and it would be a valuable lesson 

 for more persons to experiment in the line of fasting. 



Errors of Diet. Sir Henry Thompson, one of the 

 foremost authorities in the world on the subject of foods, 

 says : " I have come to the conclusion that more than half 



