THE HYGIENE OF NUTRITION 359 



damage being done by such meat we see that two dis- 

 tinct results may follow: the same disease that the 

 animal had may be transmitted to man, or there may be 

 a poisoning from the abnormal state of the tissues. 

 Thorough cooking will protect against the infection, 

 but it is not at all certain to neutralize the poisonous 

 properties of the flesh. 



We hear it said that "one man's meat is another 

 man's poison." This is rather an extreme statement as 

 related to the cases it is usually intended to cover, but 

 it may be literally true. There are the most curious 

 idiosyncrasies toward particular foods on the part of 

 individuals. Some cannot eat eggs, others are made 

 sick by lobster or crab meat. Certain persons are 

 poisoned seriously by potato. Strawberries cause skin 

 eruptions in many subjects. It has been surmised that 

 some of these unfortunate reactions are due to suggestion, 

 the painful memory of a past illness making a fresh trial 

 with normal confidence out of the question. It is certain 

 that some are of a more fundamental sort, the food pro- 

 ducing its effect however perfectly it has been disguised. 



Constipation. Much is written of this condition. 

 A great part of that which comes before the average 

 reader is designed to promote the sale of cathartics. 

 It has to be discounted accordingly, and yet there is no 

 doubt that constipation does much harm. Those who 

 are most nearly immune to evil consequences are the 

 small eaters. The " Fletcherite " who practises pro- 

 longed mastication and subsists on the lowest possible 

 ration may have only one or two evacuations a week 

 and still feel well and make a creditable showing when 

 tested for mental and muscular capacity. He is saved 

 from auto-intoxication by the small amount and dry 

 character of the intestinal content. 



The more liberal feeder is safer if he adheres to the 

 time-honored rule of one movement a day. Regularity 

 is not an absolute disproof of a constipated condition 

 for there may be an undesirable lag in the progress of 



