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Otago Witness, Issue 2968, 1 February 1911, Page 76

Our ISelisli for Food. Everyone knows that, in oases of illness it is common to find! the patient craving for some special article of food, often the last thing one would give, and 1 yet sometimes the doctor will say, “Lot him have what ho fancies.” The food supplied, the patient eats with relish, and, strange to say, suffers no discomfort from it. Tho reason is that the digestive organ® are controlled by the nervous system, and this in turn is acted upon, by the brain in such a way as to promote or to restrain the secretion of the digestive juices. This is a most important point, and one which is very little understood. You will bear people argue, for example, that a certain quantity of beans contain more nourishment than a large quantity of far more expensive meat. In theory they are perfectly right, yet if you were to feed a man who was accustomed to meat solely on beans he would be unable to assimilate 1 tho proteids they contain, his digestive organs would refuse to work, and be might become ill-nourished and sickly, if not seriously ill. Robust people, as long as they get what suits their own taste, are apt to make light of what they call fancies or fads about food, but to more acute sensibilities the way in which the food is served 1 , the accessories, and so on, are often quite as important as the meal itself. The housewife would do well to remember that food well cooked and served in an appetising fashion actually does one more good than the same amount would do if unskilfully prepared. An effort should be made toward cheerful conversation daring dinner; the table should be inviting in appearance—even a plant or glass of flowers will do something to aid digestion; variety as far as may be should be aimed at, because all these have their eifect on the physical state. Food which is wisely presented is worth more to our bodies than a greater quantity wrongly .given, simply because we are better able to assimilate or make use of the former. Rheumatic Arthritis.

Among elderly people, especially women, this is a disease frequently met with. The tissues of certain joints (most often the hip) become altered; the lining membrane being thickened and the cartilages removed, the bone becoming ‘bare, dense, and hard, and its surface polished. At the same time the head of the bone gets flattened out in the joint, new masses of bone grow out and surround it, often producing great deformity. The pain to which alteration gives rise is very severe, and is worse in cold weather, or with some patients in windly weather. The deformity of the joint and the masses of bone projecting from it can gradually be felt, but before that the joint feels stiff, and as it moves a creaking, grating sound is heard. . The best remedy that can be applied is heat in the form of baths. Turkish baths are often beneficial, but must only be taken on medical advice. A course of a dozen arsenical baths is strongly recoin.mendted by the eminent French authority, M. Gueneau de Mussy, and sulpha ret of potasdi will often give relief. Where possible, sulphur ointment may be applied to the joint, or a lotion of equal parts or ■dvoerine and tincture of iodine may be rubbed on, the joint being afterwards wrapped in flannel. . , , No one who is troubled with chronic rheumatic inflammation should live m a ,house that is at all damp; woollen clothing must always be worn, summer and winter, and the patient Should keep warm. Careful attention to diet is also necessary, plain food being most suitable; no pastry or heavy indigestible puddings are ip to© eaten, but plenty of vegetables and stewed fruit should find a place in the. menu These will help to. regulate the action ot the bowels, a point that must receive most careful attention. For this jmriwse Carlsbad salts may be 'recommended, either in the form of the water imported from the soring or the artificial salts to be bought from the druggist and taken by the spoonful in ordinary water. FriedrichshalL water or Hunyadi Janos are also good., and may be taken instead of Carlsbad water. Health-giving' Perfumes. Perfumes are health-giving as well as beauty-giving, and their use therefore is not wholly a matter of taste. Nearly all perfumes have antiseptic qualities, and are valuable in keeping away infection. Ihe perfumes which are the most agreeable to the sense are not always the most helpful to the nerves. Ambergris, for instance, is positively offensive to many, yet it is said to possess a wonderful power in clearing the brain and driving away the blues On the other hand, attar of roses, with the suggestion of glowing suns and gorgeous Eastern colours, predisposes to tears. A faint odour of musk acts _as a tonic, for which the best antidote is the odour pi sandalwood. The fragrance of citron is as soothing to nervous folk as the sound of far-off music. The scent of orange flower is so -depressing to the action of the heart that it is not safe for anyone with disease of that organ to inhale it for any length of time. Reviving perfumes come from "herbaceous plants, largely fiom the odours of mignonette, rosemary, ana lavender, and soothe the nerves. Th.. per fumes of lilies, jasmine, and acacia arc pleasant and soothing to a sense, n" gSn f“e^s enJ Wght closer in clusters of blossom, their odour is narcotic and. depressing, so that persons grow faint at the smell of them and may be put into heavy -slumber, as if dinged, by their odour. Spare a Hinute for tlie Eyes. u . e

If you will spare a minute every halfhour to the eyes they may be spared to veil rmamv vea-rs in consequence. 7 A well-Tcnown. oculist declares that nothing gives the eyes such complete rest as the hVbit of closing them occasionally for a Srte or two. "in threatened cases of.eyestrain he has sometimes advised no other cure," and the patient has recovered Da Where one uses the eyes constantly, especially for close work, as the. woman who does fine sewing, wibroidery, or painting the relief to eyes of lifting them from the work and closing them while on© slowly counts 25 cannot be overestimated. Another rest is *o change the point of vision from time to time. Look away from what you are doing and gaze blankly into i space. Bo not attempt to concentrate on

anything; merely look out of the window or into a distant corner of the room. Do not begrudge the time for this eye resting. It is the best writ of investment vou can make, and will not take haLt as much time or money as visits to the oculist,