HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2173, 17 October 1895, Page 49

HEALTH COLUMN.

Tarions Causes of Indigestion. BI A LADY DOCTOIt. When we are in perfect health the process of digestion goes on unconsciously, and we never experience any symptoms, disagreeable or otherwise, when once the food has left the mouth. But unhappily to most of us the time comes when digestion is accompanied by distressful pyn poms and paioc, and then wa learn how very dependent on the due assimilation of the food we eat are our health ■and happiness. The causes of indigestion are numerous and varied. We may be Buffering from conBtitntional defects. The quantity of the diges'ive juices may be either in excess or insufficient in amount, the quality may be poor, or other faulty conditions may have been inherited. But even in these instances great amelioration, if nob a reduction to the normal oonditioD, is possible by sliiot attention to a diet suited to the individual requirements of the case. Indigestion can frequently be traced to our own personal want of appreciation of the natural laws which govern h\ gicnio life. j Usually we eat too much. An adult in 1 health needs to e&t ia the 24 hours lib meat and 21b bread, or their equivalents. That quantity is sufficient to repair the waste always g< iog on in the body and to renew the supply of energy, 1 but where habitually the supply is greater than the demands of nature the digestive functions are overtaxed, and a '. strain which sometimes they are unable to meet is thrown upon the functions whose duty it is to eliminate waste matters from the system. When thia occurs disease is the inevitable result. Where too little is eaten the evil, though of a different character, is equally 6erious in ite nature. The body being imperfectly nourished tho stomech with it bt comes weakened, and in const que-nce is unable to perform its duties of digestion. Food may bo equally- imperfectly digested when too email as when too large a quantity be eaten. Insufficient mastication of food is another most prul>fic eourco of indigestion. When food is eaten too quickly it means that the various particles are not broken np euffioieutly b mall to be easy of digestion, and that later on the gastric juices will not mix properly with it. Tne culinary art snd digestion. — When the teeth nro in sound condition it is unwise to partake too freelj or frequently of fooda which by the art of the cook have been reduced to a consistency that renders mastication an unnecessary effort. Foods should be mashed or pounded in the mouth, not in the kitchen. It is only in the process of biting through and through that they can be properly mingled with the saliva. Aud it is important to remember that the act of biting is the normal stimulus to the flow of gastric juice. Bo if food be not properly bitten up by the teeth the amount of saliva 6ecreted is insufficient for the proper working of the digestive organs. Wnen pounded or chopped meats, mashed vegetables or fruits, and scft fatinaceoua foods are* eaten, they should alwajs be retained a moment lorgor in the mouth, in order to cover them well with saliva, than is necessary for the mere act of swallowiog. Exercise before and after meals. — Never — and I wieh it could be written in capital letters— partake of a heavy meal "when exhausted by bodily exercise. The physical energy expended diminishes to a serious degree the powers normally used in the process of digestion. Wben hungry and fagged the most it is safe to indulge in is a small quantity of warm soup, beef tea, cocoa, or Other light food. Rest should then be taken until the feeling of extreme exhaustion has passed away. The healthy man or woman will most probably have sufficiently recuperated the exhausted energies after 20min or SOoain, and then a^hearty meal may ba enjoyed. Again, never immediately after a full meal jbould violent exercise of any description be undergone. Indigestion is also due to exhaustion or lack of nerve power. In this form of dyspepsia the solvent force of the stomach is bo seriously impaired that when food is taken it iB almost sure to be followed by flatulence, headache, or other painful symptoms. The excessive competition and mental activity, the haste to become rich, and the Btrnggle for existence of our day, seriously tend to weaken the digestive functions, and make it more than ever necessary, it we would avoid dyspepsia, that we not only pay attention to diet, but eat with care and discrimination.

— Cornwall used to hayo a language of it 9 own, and many Cornish words are s4ll current in the wea<e:n conn'y. A woman named Dorothy Pe»trentb, who diud in 1777, IB generally supposed to have been the lasb person able to speak the language.

Mr Peter Vermett, Hochelagi, F.Q., writes : •• Canadian Healing Oil cured me of Rheumatism after I tried rrnny remedies to no purpose. It ia a good medicine." Just think of ib— you c*n relieve the' twinges of Rheumatism or the most paiufnl attack of Neuralgia — you can check » cough and heal bruised and broken skin with a bottle of Canadian Healing Oil, costing but a small amount.