LADIES' COLUMN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8309, 6 May 1905, Page 3

LADIES' COLUMN.

A JAPANESE HEALTH SECRET. Valuable Medicine Gratis. (English Magazine.) The remarkable physical superiority of the Japanese is largely attributable to their liberal use of water. Not only is this true in regard to the daily bath, but it applies equally tp their use of water internally. their own I testimony of themselves, the Japanese I cannot find a more potent agent for health than the free use of this wholesome fluid. They contend that, if it be generously and intelligently employed, water is AN INFALLIBLE WEAPON ! AGAINST DISEASE. ' Their athletes drink as much as a gallon a day ; and the poorest of their poor aro scrupulously clean because they never neglect a daily bath. Undoubtedly, water is a matchless cleansing agent, and at the same time a valuable medicine ; and what makes a visit to Japan so extremely pleasant is riot only the delicious bathing, but also the inexpensive and agreeable, ' character of their medicinal remedy. Used internally, water is chiefly bene- } ficial as an irrigator of the system, ! since it cleanses and purifies the blood more effectually than any other agent. Its external uses are mainly confined to local applications of various kinds, and its cleansing properties when employed in the daily bath. ,' .. . I Unlike the Japanese, we English people experience an aversion to copious draughts of water. A notion is prevalent among us that water-drinking is undesirable, and frequently fraught with harm. This idea, however, is altogether erroneous, and based upon WANT OF KNOWLEDGE OR LACK OF REASON. Water is Nature's special provision for quenching thirst; and while there are circumstances under which it may be prudent to delay the draught, no sound reason can be urged against its liberal use. r ' . . What, then, are the benefits this interesting people claim to derive from the use of water as a medicine? Doctors in Japan, as well as those of this country, have discovered that the human body is largely composed of water.- Its presence is not permanent, for considerable quantities are hourly lost by means of the lungs, the kidneys, and the skin. To compensate this loss about three pints of the fluid should enter thtrsys--1 tern every twenty-four hours. When this amount is not forthcoming the con-: stituent elements of- our structures become materially altered, their normal composition being so changed that something, somewhere, suffers. Nor is a sufficient supply of water only required by the more solid substances; it is equally necessary to maintain a due proportion of fluids > in the system. Therefore, a deprivation of water, or an inadequate supply, places the whole of the tissues and fluids of the body in an abnormal condition, and thus predisposes them to the onslaught of disease. Take as an example of this the kidneys. Living as we do in England, these organs experience a tendency to the deposit of minute crystals of uric acid; if these are left to accumulate in the tubules they ultimately become calculi or stones. , Numerous specifics are widely advertised as remedies for the. evil, but surely "PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN ; •*• .\.CURE:" . , "/ • Any Japanese of average intelligence knows full well that abstaining entirely from "drugs, by frequent flushirigs of the kidneys by means of copious draughts of water, these dangerous ffo r mations are entirely obviated. This fact isVas soundly based on commonsense as it is upon scientific ..principle, for while the water may be^ acting to some extent as a solvent it carries these harmful deposits to the various outlets .of the system. , Similar beneficial results follow in other organs when'; resort is had to constant flusbing with water. In the liver, for instance, where there is liability to the formation of gall-Btones, the danger is held in check by free irrigations. Solid constituents of the bile are rendered fluid by the diluent action of water, and they flow onwards in the (natural course, instead of* remaining stationary to form hard concretions. Gout and rheumatism, diseases practically unknown in Japan, are to a great extent preventible by an abundant use of water. The poisons that give rise to these diseases are by this means washed out of the system before they accumulate in sufficient quantity to occasion trouble. Another ailment common enough in this country,, but rarely heard of in Japan, is constipation. Jp the majority of esses constipation may be avoided by a ; plentiful use of. Water. Copious and frequent draughts so alter the consistence of the contents of the stomach that progress is facilitated and INJURIOUS OBSTRUCTIONS ARE ENTIRELY OBVIATED. Water being so inexpensive, the idea of its tase as a medicine is frequently disregarded, at least among ourselves, and the customary resort to drugs in this ailment only, intensifies the evil. Whether we belong to a white or yellow race, our tissues and organs crave for water; -first, .because it is an essential element of their composition, liable to daily waste; then because it renders all the assimilative changes mere complete; and, finally, because it is necessJ-ry for proper removal' of effete matter, which, remaining in the* body, would give rise to disease. ■ Consider next the advantages gained by the use^of w_ater externally. It is here that the Japanese rank ahead of all nations. They bathe the entire body once or more every day. Their method of bathing differs materially frorii our own. The Water of the bath is heated 'up <to from HOdeg to 120deg Fahrenheit. After washing the body in a tub, using soap ot not, as may be necessary, the- bather enters the large hot bath, and- sits quietly in the hot> water until he is almost parboiled.! And boast as we may about our *.' cold tub/.' it is questionable whether the Japanese do not surpass, us in healthy cleanliness of ijhe skin, i . Hot water effectually opens the pores, while the application of cold causes their instant contraction ; hence, for purposes of, cleansing the skin, a hot bath is preferable to a cold one. To promote every facility for bathing daily, the Japanese j are liberally, supplied with public baths, the cost of which is but a fraction of a penny. The better classes; are, of jcoiirse, provided for in thier private The importance; ;of such, a thorough and frequent cleansing cannot well be overestimated. This may; readily be realised if we imagjne a person's body to be completely covered with some impervious substance like . gelantine.. What would happen in suciji a case would be this: Perspiration would be arrested; secretibris . which should escape by the pores would colledt in the body and poison the individujal. This is universally admitted; sirioe experiments have proved, that thu£ covering an animal's body invariably brings .about its death. , Plainly ;.there is beneficent wisdorii iri Nature's , provision of this extensive^drainage; a,nd if the excre-' tiori of deleterious matter by this ohannel is thwarted, disaster will sooner or later ensue. ; v ■'.]■- An eff-hand assertien that the pores of 'our skin ; each measuring a, quarter of an inch in length, total up to something like twenty-eight miles is certainly a startling statement} nevertheless, ■--—■-— --^^~r-- -.•■"";' .'"■'." ■--■'- .--/■•

in a human body of average bulk this would be the extent of the tubing if every tiny vessel were placed end to end. Imagine, therefore, the .effect produced when a large number of these pores are blocked. Though not actually fatal, the result would closely resemble that of plastering the body with impervious paste. In other words, *the blockage of any considerable number spells blood-poisoning. And -.although not one among us has the rhole of his respiratory tubing completely choked vp — THOUSANDS OF^PEOPLE SUFFER DMLY from the ill effects of, partial obstruction. Hence it is no matter for surprise that this cleanly people, the Japanese, speak of water as the most potent agent of health. ". Nor is the use of water externally limited to the daily bath. -Its beneficial effects are frequently exemplified when employed in the form of local applications for remedial purposes. It is thus used to reduce an inflammation, oold-water bandages being of great service. When frozen, it is applied as ice to the chest in p-ieumonia or to check an unfortunate hemorrhage. As in the wet 'sheet-pack, it is again useful to induce • perspiration, or to bring down a too high temperature. . To instance but one other example, when heated and applied locally as fomentations, it is invaluable for soothing pain and. for the relief of muscular spasms. Thus might instances easily be multiplied, yet what has already been said will suffice to suggest that a lesg stinted use of water, internally and externally, might,, to some extent, counteract the physical degenration this country deplores. ,