394 



♦ KNOWLEDGE 



[Dec. 28, 1883. 



l)locked with calcareous matter interfering with that free 

 passage of lilodd up 'ii which nutrition depends, so the 

 repair of the body naturally becomes impaired thereby. 



Mr. G. H. Lewes, in his luminous work, "The Physio- 

 logy of Common Life," truly observes : " If the repair 

 were always identical with the waste, life would then only 

 be terminated by accident, tieve.r by old age. Both Bichat 

 and Baillie considered that the greater number of persons 

 over sixty isufler more or less from arterial ossification. 

 When the heart's valves become cartilaginous, they con- 

 sequently fail to pro|}el the blood to its destinations, this 

 fluid being further obstructed by the ossified and contracted 

 condition of the arteries themselves. 



In youth, on the other hand, nutrition is perfectly 

 carried out, there being no blockages to impede the circu- 

 lating system upon the due performance of which physical 

 reparation depends. 



Bearing the above facts in mind, we plainly perceive 

 that the real change which produces old age is, in truth, 

 nothing more or less than a slow hut steady accumulation of 

 calcareous matter ihrou ghout the system. 



It is owing to these depositions that the structure of 

 every organ is altered, their elasticity giving way to senile 

 rigidity. Blockages of various organs then commence, 

 until, at last, one of the vital organs becomes impeded, 

 causing death. The idea that old age was brought about 

 by failure of the so-called vital principle has long since 

 been discarded by science. Now in reality the true cause 

 of gradual disintegration in the various organs is the fact 

 that they become inadequately supplied with blood, upon 

 which the renovation of their structures depends. 



While speaking of calcareous and osseous degenerations, 

 that eminent authority. Dr. C. T. B. Williams, F.R.S., 

 observes at page 2.52 of his splendid work, " The Principles 

 of Medicine, " This process is there given to be viewed as 

 almost entirely of a chemical nature, consisting in the con- 

 cretion and accumulation of calcareous salts, phosphate and 

 carbonate of lime." The causes of old age bring, therefore, 

 nothing more or less than ossific deposits. We will now 

 proceed to elucidate the principal influences leading to the 

 condition we have described. 



Having arrived at the predisposing causes of senile 

 decay, it yet remains for us to go still further, and seek 

 out their origin. The two principal sources of old age are 

 fibrinous and gelatinous substances ; secondly, calcareous 

 depositions. According to the recent researches of Mr. de 

 Lacy Evans, the origin of the former may undoubtedly be 

 traced to the destructive action of atmospheric oxygen, and 

 this proposition is demonstrated Ijy the following argument. 



In the air we breathe, the relative proportions of oxygen 

 to nitrogen are 22 to 78. Although oxygen is in far 

 smaller bulk, yet it is the most active element Now, 

 oxygen has an affinity for every other element except 

 fluorine, thereby forming the oxides. Oxygen plays by far 

 the most important part in those chemical changes con- 

 stantly at work within the animal economy, life itself 

 being but a constant waste by oxidation, and reparation 

 by food. In the blood exists albumen and fibrine, them- 

 selves resolved into component elements — carbon, hydrogen, 

 nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and phosphorus. Fibrine has 

 been said to contain 1-5 per cent, more oxygen than 

 albumen. Now, oxidation converts albumen into fibrine, 

 fibrine itself being but an oxide of albumen. 



Although unquestionably fibrine nourishes the organs of 

 our bodies by repairing their waste, yet a great deal of this 

 substance accumulates in course of time, lessening the calibre 

 oj the blood-vessels, and thereby causing their iiulv.ration. 



It therefore follows that, as time goes on (old age), fibri- 

 nous and gelatinous depositions become noticeable. Con- 



sequently, as fibrine is an oxide of albumen, so also is 

 gelatine an oxide of fibrine, due to the action of oxygen on 

 the fibrine deposited by the blood. A further efiect of 

 oxidation causes part of these substances to be decom- 

 posed, and subsequently eliminated through the kidneys as 

 compounds of ammonia and urea. There is always a con- J 



tinual struggle progressing in our systems between accu- I 



mulation and elimination. Thus it is that the fibrinous 

 and gelatinous accumulations of old age are chiefly trace- 

 able to the chemical action of atmospheric oxygen. 



The calcareous deposits next claim our attention, being 

 proved by anatomical investigation to be peculiarly cha- 

 racteristic of old age. j 



In the human body water forms 70 per cent of its I 



aggregate weight, in fact there is not a single tissue which 1 



does not contain water as a necessary ingredient. Now 

 water holds certain salts in solution, which become more 

 or less deposited, notwithstanding the large proportion 

 eliminated through the secretions. Nevertheless it is only 

 a matter of time before these minute particles deposited by 

 the blood have a marked eflect in causing the stifiness and 

 aridity of advancing life. The reason why in early life the 

 deposit of earthy salts is so infinitesimal is simply because 

 they have not had time to accumulate. It is the old 

 kitchen boiler which is found full of incrustations, not the 

 new one, time not having been sufficient for their deposit 

 M. Le Canu proved by analysis that human blood contains 

 compounds of lime, magnesia, and iron, averaging 2 1 in 

 every 1,000 parts. This clearly demonstrates that in the 

 blood itself are contained the earth salts, which gradually- 

 become deposited in the system. 



Blood being made from the assimilation of food, it is 

 therefore to food itself we must primarily look for the 

 origin of these earthy deposits. Besides providing the 

 requisite elements of nutrition, food contains calcareous 

 salts, which, upon being deposited in the arteries, veins, 

 and capillaries, become the proximate cause of ossification 

 and old age. Mr. G. H. Lewes says with truth in his 

 " Physiology of Common Life," " Moreover, in food we are 

 constantly introducing different substances which produce 

 variations in the nutrition of the parts. These differences 

 accumulate their influence in those changes named ages, 

 and they culminate in the final change named death." 



Having now traced the primary existence of calcareous 

 matter to food itself, it is consequently a subject of no 

 small moment to ascertain those varieties of dietetic articles 

 containing these salts. As a matter of fact, everything we 

 eat does contain them to a greater or less degree. The 

 cereals have been found most rich in earth salts ; so bread 

 itself, the so-called stafl' of life, except in great moderation, 

 assuredly favours the deposition of these salts in the 

 system. The more nitrogenous our food, the greater its 

 percentage in calcareous matter ; thus a diet composed 

 principally of fruit, from its lack of nitrogen, is best adapted 

 for suspending ossific deposits. Moderation in eating must 

 ever be of great value as an agent for retarding the advent 

 of senility. Large eaters more rapidly bring about these 

 ossific deposits, owing to having taken more food into the 

 stomach than it is able to utilize or excrete, the result 

 being naturally a more rapid Vjlockage. According to the 

 researches of Mr. de Lacy Evans it would appear that the 

 following articles of food contained least of the earth's 

 salts : — 1st. Fruits (chiefly owing to their lack of nitrogen). 

 2nd. Fish and poultry. 3rd. Young mutton and veal. 

 Old mutton and beef from age contain a large quantity of 

 earthy matter. 



It becomes self-evident, therefore, that living moderately 

 and as much as possible on a diet containing a minimum 

 amount of earthy particles is clearly most suitable in order 



