124 OUR BODIES AND HOW WE LIVE 



and simplest diet is the best. It is much better for a child 

 to go to bed on a supper of oatmeal, baked apples, or bread 

 and milk than after one of cake, pie, and fried meat. 



Students must also attend carefully to their diet. It is 

 much better to begin a day's study with a breakfast of oat- 

 meal, stale bread, a soft-boiled egg, and a glass of milk 

 . than with one of strong coffee, sausage, and hot biscuit. 



175. When to eat. Three meals a day should be eaten 

 at regular times. These should be arranged according to 

 one's occupation as far as possible. The stomach, like 

 other organs, does its work best when its tasks are done 

 at regular periods. Hence regularity in eating is of the 

 utmost importance. 



Eating between mealtimes should be strictly avoided, 

 for it robs the stomach of its needed rest. Food eaten 

 when the body and mind are tired, is not well digested. 



Rest, even for a few minutes, should be taken before 

 eating a full meal. It is a good plan to lie down, or sit 

 quietly and read, for fifteen minutes before eating. 



The state of the mind has a great deal to do with diges- 

 tion. Sudden fear or joy, or unexpected news, may take 

 away the appetite at once. Hence, so far as we can, we 

 should laugh and talk at our meals, and drive away all 

 anxious thoughts and unpleasant topics of discussion. If 

 hunger is a good sauce, so also is a hearty laugh. 



176. The Time to eat. We should not eat a hearty meal 

 for at least two hours before going to bed. We should 

 make it a point not to omit a meal unless forced to do so. 

 Children, and even grown-up people, often have the bad 

 habit of going to school or to work in a hurry, without 

 eating any breakfast. There is sure to be an "all-gone" 

 feeling at the stomach before another mealtime. 



