HEALTH NOTES.

North Otago Times, 13 January 1906, Page 1 (Supplement)

HEALTH NOTES.

Iv"e livo in an ago of discoveries, and'! to pineapple, which at one time was ; j considered to bo a somewhat indiges-,| tihle fruit, is now being recommended' for its medicinal qualities.,* Very few peoplo know that the juico of the pine-! appld is a wonderfully active digestive,; agent, and that a little of the ■fruits tafem. at the end of a meal,.is,ja_Vftlu-i able preventive of dyspepsia.. This di-j gestive pnnoiple is similar to pepsin.;! ft appears, however, that although theij theory of the digestive properties of'! to pineapple is only now beginning'tof bo popularised, "The Lancet" voicedli this opinion seine years ago. for in an i, old uumbor of this journal a writtr says that tho - digestive prmoiplotj Contained in the fruit is termed!! "bromolin," and l ' so powerful' 19; its notion on: prot'didis that it will diftest a thousand times its weightwithin ,i a few hours. • ■; Tlie samo journal e.nlargea upon to 1 subjeot as follow#:-~"With the ooagu-j Jated albulneh of, eggs to aigiestivo pr?-1 cess is slow, whilo with to albumen of i moat its action seemfl toproduoe.' |i pulpy, gelatinous mass, which, how- j oyer, completely dissolves after a short; time. When a slice of fresh pineapple j is placed upon a rwy boef-steak, the! surface of to steak becomes gradually j golatinous, owing to the digestive action i of tho enzyme of to juice. Of oourte, it is well known that- digestivei agents i exist also in other fruits, but when it ! is considered tot biarerage'-Blzed pineapple will Vield "newly two pints of juice, it will be. Been tljiat the digestive aotion of the whole,fruit must be enormous. Tho aotivlty of this peculiar digeatlvo agent is destroyed in to cooked pineapple, but unless the pineapple is preserved by heat, there is no reason j why tho tinned! fruit "should not retain j tho'dig&tive'jower. Tne active aigek-l tive principle may bp obtained froM to! juioe by dissolving" a large quantity; of} common salt In it, when a precipi-1 tate'is/obtained possefesihg'the remark-] able digestive powers just described, j Unlike pepsin,. he digestive principle 1 of to pineapple will operate in an! acid, neutral, or even alkaline medium, : according to the kind of proteid to; which it is presented. It may there-i fore be assumed that to pineapple enzyme would not on V ?id the work' of digestion in the stomach, but wouldcontinue that aotioh In the intestinal; trnot. Pineapple, it may be added,' contains much' indigestible matter of; the nature of to woody fibre, but it! is QjUite possible that tho decidedly; digestive properties of the juice com--pensate for this fact. >■ One Of tlie most nutritious bever-j ages which can be possibly taken is hot milk. It is almost a panacea for many nervous disorders of the stomach. As a remedy for insomnia it is invalu- i able. Many cases of chronic sleepless-; ness yield to tho hot milk cure when j narcotics have proved useless. It lias j the advantage, too, of being perfectly! harmless. Hot milk, however, should; bo eaten—not drunk;' that is to say i it should bo sipped slowly, When the ; casein of the milk comes in contact! with the noid of tho gastric fluid", it ■ coagulates and forms curd, This curd' is very" difficult for to stomach to di-! gest if it forms into large-lumps, as 1 is always the case when milk is drunk' quickly. Tho gastric juice has very i great difficulty in penetrating Jiard masses of curd, whereas if the milk is : taken Blowly, in small sips, the curd] disintegrates easily. A cupful of hot! mijk after excessive physical or mental; exertion acts a restorative and in j neurasthenic rases it has been found; exceedingly beneficial. Delicate children: with highly strung nervous tempera-! mpts should bo given a cupful of hot j milk at eleven in the morning every j day, and a small cupful may be given [ at night at bedtime. It has also a! grateful and soothing effect in bronchial i affections. It is popularly supposed that modern I doctors look upon sugar unfavourably! as an article of diet. This is not al- j together tho case, however. In many; cases of organio disease sugar is, of! course, rightly prohibited. In diabetes, Blights disease, obesity, and; similar affections, sugar in any form should bo avoided, and tho excessive use of sugar is discouraged by the medical profession. On the other hand, many physicians maintain that sugar within tho proper limits is of great ■ servico to tho body, strengthening the digestion and preventing unduo acidity. Sugar excites tho socrotions of the stomach, iuoreases digestion of al-; buminous matters, and of nutritives: containing iron and lime, and helps to ■ form, rioh blood,- This oxplains to or'avunj of many weakly children for; Bugar,(".Many German doctors recamfnend sc/gar as a powerful remedy in! rachitis, (rickets). ! The fashion of eating sweet dishes! after a meal of soup, fish, game or poultry, and meat had undoubtedly a! uißdioal-origin. After participating in! many kinds of food, sugar acts as digester, and prevents the heaviness and ; Sleepiness whioh a hearty meal would | otherwise inevitably. ' produce. Tho' Idea that sugar causes bad teeth is an [ altogether mistaken ono. Tho teeth of' negroes in tho tropics are pioverbially' white and sound, yet negroes consume! a great deal of sugar, Duglish peo-' pie and Americans eat more sugar than ■ Frenchmen - and Germans, yet they have, as a ride, better teeth than the latter. Honey is the best form in which sugar can be taken, and there iare few better or more wholesome foods for young children. The antiseptic properties of honey were known !even in remote antiquity, and the Egyptians and Greeks not only used it 'as a food, but for external applications in cases of serious wounds, It (may, in fact, be safoly said that sugar |iu reason is beneficial rather than (otherwise. It is the abuse, and not tho [use, of sugar which has had the result iof bringing about a reaction, and made Isugar-eating unfashionable. ■