SOME LESSONS ON THE HUMAN BODY 7 



a condition of the mucous lining of the stomach and intestines 

 unfavorable to the secretion of digestive fluids. In such 

 cases one should eat sparingly till normal conditions are 

 restored. Only those foods should be eaten which have been 

 found from experience to be easily digested. 



Perhaps no one condition connected with the digestion of 

 food is followed by such a train of bodily ills as constipation, 

 especially where it persists during infancy, childhood, and 

 youth. The whole system becomes disordered by reason 

 of any retention and reabsorption of bodily wastes. Igno- 

 rance of what it signifies, and of the course to be pursued 

 permanently to relieve it, spares no one of its evil conse- 

 quences. Dullness of mind, headache, dizziness, a coated 

 tongue, and a foul breath, with more or less of a tired feeling 

 all the time, are some of the common results of constipation. 

 A full easy movement of the bowels daily as an established 

 habit from childhood contributes largely toward health and 

 efficiency for life. Insufficient activity of the muscles of 

 the intestines, a lack in vigor of their wavelike or peristaltic 

 movements, is the immediate cause of constipation. 



To maintain the conditions favorable for a healthy activity 

 of the bowels may require constant care. Sufficient exer- 

 cise for the muscles of the trunk and abdomen, deep breath- 

 ing, use of plenty of water as a drink between meals 1 , and 

 enough sleep, all contribute to the general health and to a 

 satisfactory elimination of the bodily wastes. Food which 

 repeatedly causes indigestion is to be avoided. Regularity 

 in action of the bowels should, under all ordinary circum- 

 stances, be maintained without recourse to medicines. 

 Meats, eggs, milk, beans, and wheat bread are some of the 



1 In addition to the water taken with food at meal times, the habitual prac- 

 tice of drinking between meals a half dozen glasses (three pints) of water daily 

 aids in keeping the body in a healthy condition. 



