DIGESTION 143 



50. Strong emotion, whether of excitement or depression, 

 checks digestion, as do also a bad temper, anxiety, business 

 cares, and bodily fatigue. The majority of these conditions 

 make the mouth dry that is, they restrain the flow of the 

 saliva; and without doubt they render the stomach dry also, 

 by preventing the flow of the gastric juice. And, as a general 

 rule, we may decide, from a parched and coated tongue, that 

 the condition of the stomach is not very dissimilar, and that it 

 is unfit for the performance of digestive labor. This is one of 

 the points which the physician bears in mind when he examines 

 the tongue of his patient. (Head Note 11.) 



51. The practice of eating at short intervals, or "between 

 meals," as it is called, has its disadvantage, as well as rapid 

 eating and overeating, since it robs the stomach of its needed 

 period of entire rest, and thus overtasks its power. With the 

 exception of infants and the sick, no persons require food more 

 frequently than once in six hours. Severe exercise, either 

 directly before or directly after eating, retards digestion; a 

 period of repose is most favorable to the proper action of the 

 stomach. The natural inclination to rest after a hearty meal 

 may be indulged, but it should not be carried to the extent of 



economy of the vital powers to take hot meals rather than cold ones. As 

 a rule, hot food is better than cold, in our climate, except in very hot 

 weather ; in tropical climates only can food be taken with advantage 

 when cold, or ice and iced drinks be used with impunity." Lankester's 

 Manual of Health. 



11. On the Demands of Digestion. "The system never does two 

 things well at the same time. No one can meditate a poem and drive a 

 saw simultaneously without dividing his force ; he may poetize fairly 

 and saw poorly ; or he may saw fairly and poetize poorly ; or he may 

 both saw and poetize indifferently. Brain-work and stomach-work inter- 

 fere with each other if attempted together. The digestion of a dinner 

 calls force to the stomach, and temporarily slows the brain : the experi- 

 ment of trying to digest a hearty supper, and to sleep during the process, 

 has sometimes cost the careless experimenter his life. The physiological 

 principle is to do only one thing at a time, if you would do it welL" 

 Dr. E. H. Clarke : Sex in Education. 



50. Strong emotion ? The tongue of the patient ? 



51. Eating between meals ? Severe exercise ? Sleep after meals ? 



