58 ENDOCRINE THERAPEUTICS 



digest, of more waste products than we can 

 properly excrete. So the vicious circle goes on 

 till the tragic snap breaks it. 



I am not contending that every case of sclerosis 

 is due to overstrain or to over-indulgence, but the 

 great majority come more or less under this 

 heading. We do not only produce this condition, 

 but we hand it on to our children, for we see it 

 occurring in generation after generation in families 

 who are leading lives of no particular intensity. 

 This disease of the arteries is far more common 

 in brain-workers than in muscle-workers. This is 

 partly due to lack of proper exercise and partly 

 to the lack of oxygen hi the atmosphere in which 

 they work. 



Still, a man may learn to use his brain to the 

 full and yet keep perfect health. Another cause, 

 that is almost national, lies in our diet habits and 

 ideas. They are altering for the better, but our 

 forefathers consumed animal food far in excess 

 of the body's needs, and thought that it was 

 certainly requisite for health and work ; the same 

 statement must be made about alcohol in almost 

 all its forms. I am not preaching vegetarianism, 

 but there can be no doubt that an animal diet 

 puts a much greater strain on our excretory 

 organs than a vegetable one, and this excretory 



