Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/222

204 204 DIETETICS it is not at the expense of the mind that the body is culti vated, for this roll of athletes is adorned with the names of bishops, poets, queen s counsel, &c Training greatly increases the vital capacity of the chest, so that much more air can be blown in and out of the lungs, and with greater force, than previously. And this vital capacity endures longer than the other improvements. It is evidence of the permanent elasticity of the pul monary tissue, and an efficient protection against asthma, emphysema, and other degenerations of the organ of breathing. Indigestion, sleeplessness, nervous indecision, palpitation of heart, and irregularity of bowels disappear under train ing ; but if they exist, the regimen should be entered upon with more than usual caution. An important modification of training is that which contemplates the reduction of CORPULENCE (q. v.), which has increased to the extent of interfering with comfort and preventing active exercise. If an exhausting amount of muscular effort is enforced, the digestion of meat is interfered with, while at the same time there still goes on the absorption of such fat as is unavoidably present in the victuals, so that the muscles and nerves lose strength, while the adipose tissue grows. Besides this, if by violent means the weight is worked down, then, to keep it down, those violent means must be persisted in ; and if they be neglected for more interesting occupations, the burden rapidly increases to a greater degree than ever. Many uncomfortably obese persons are very active in mind and body, and could not add to their muscular exercise without risk of harm. Regimen, then, is more essentially important to them than to other trainers, and they will probably be more induced to attend to it if they understand the principles on which it is based. This is simply to exclude from the bill of fare all those articles which contain fat or which by the chemical actions of the digestive viscera may be con verted into fat. For the reduction of corpulence the following rules may be observed for a three weeks course : Rise at 7, rub the body well with horse-hair gloves, have a cold bath, and take a short turn in the open air. Breakfast (alone) at 8 or 8.30, on the lean of beef or mutton (cutting off the fat and skin), dry toast, biscuit or oat cake, a tumbler of claret and water, or tea without milk or sugar, or made in the Russian way with a slice of lemon. Lunch at one on bread or biscuit, Dutch cheese, salad, water-cresses, or roasted apples, hung beef or anchovies, or red- herring, or olives, and similar relishes. After eating, drink claret and water, or unsweetened lemonade, or plain water, in moderation. Dine at any convenient hour. Avoid soup, fish, or pastry, but eat plain meat of any sort except pork, rejecting the fat and skin. Spinach, haricots, or any other green vegetable may be taken, but no potatoes, made dishes, or sweets. A jelly, or a lemon- water-ice, or a roast apple, must suffice in their place. Take claret and water at dinner, and one glass of sherry or Madeira afterwards. Between meals, as a rule, exercise must always be taken to the extent of inducing perspiration. Running, when practicable, is the best form in which to take it. Seven or eight pounds is as much as it is prudent to lose during the three weeks. If this loss is arrived at sooner, or indeed later, the severe parts of the treatment may be gradually omitted, &quot;but it is strongly recommended to modify the general habits in accordance with the principle of taking as small a quantity as possible of fat and sugar, or of substances which form fat and sugar, and sustaining the respiratory function. By this means the weight may be gradually reduced for a few months with safety. Small quantities of dilute alcoholic liquids taken with meals slightly increase the activity of the renewal of the nitrogenous tissues, mainly muscle ; that is to say, there is a more rapid reconstruction of those parts, as is shown by the augmented formation of urea and the sharpened appetite. Life is fuller and more complete, old flesh is removed and food appropriated as new flesh somewhat more quickly, than when no alcohol is ingested. There appeai-s to be a temporary rise in the digestive powers of the stomach, which is probably the initiative act. The nerve functions are blunted, and a lessened excretion of phosphorus exhibits a temporary check in the wear and renewal of the nerve tissue. The &quot; vital capacity &quot; of the lungs, as indicated by the spirometer, is reduced, showing a diminished oxidation of the blood. The effect on a healthy man of taking with a meal such a quantity of fermented liquor as puts him at ease with himself and the world around, without untoward exhilara tion, is to arrest the wear of the nervous system, especially that part employed in emotion and sensation. Just as often, then, as the zest for food is raised to its normal standard by a little wine or beer with a meal, the moderate consumer is as much really better as he feels the better for it. Where the food is as keenly enjoyed without it, the consumption of a stimulant is useless. But alcohol is not a source of force, and its direct action is an arrest of vitality. Diet for Menial Work. An expression of Biichner s &quot; No thinking without phosphorus&quot; 1 has gained an un happy notoriety. Strictly speaking, it is a groundless assumption, for we cannot say that intellectual being may not exist joined to any form of matter, or quite independent of matter. We certainly do not know enough of the sub ject to lay down such a negative statement. And if it be held to mean that the amount of phosphorus passing through the body bears a proportion to the intensity of thought, it is simply a mis-statement. A captive lion, tiger, leopard, or hare assimilates and parts with a greater amount of phosphorus than a hard-thinking man; while a beaver, noted for its powers of contrivance, excretes so little phosphorus that chemical analysis cannot find it in the excreta. All that the physiologist is justified in assert ing is that for the mind to energize in a living body that body must be kept living up to a certain standard, and that forthe continuous renewal of life a supply of phosphatic salts is required. The same may be said with equal justice of water, fat, nitrogen, chloride of sodium, oxygen, &c. The phosphates are wanted indeed, but wanted by pinches, whereas water is required by pailfuls. A few days without water, or a few minutes without oxygen, will ter minate the train of consciousness. The practical points taught us by physiology are that for the integrity of thought integrity of the nervous tissue is requisite, and for the integrity of the nervous tissue a due quantity of such food as contains digestible phosphatic salts. The most perfect regimen for the healthy exercise of thought is such as would be advised for a growing boy, viz., frequent small supplies of easily soluble mixed food, so as to furnish the greatest quantity of nutriment without overloading the stomach, or running the risk of generating morbid half-assimilated products. For it is essential to the intellectual direction of the nervous system that it should not be oppressed by physical impediments. The presence in the stomach or blood of imperfectly assimilated nutriment impedes its functions in close proportion to their amount, so that not only the constituents, but the mode of administering food, must come into the calculation. &quot; Repletus venter non studet libenter &quot; is an old proverb, the application of which saves many a brain and many a stomach from being worked against the grain. Rest from brain-work for twenty minutes before meals, entire abstinence from it during meals, and rest again till the weight has passed from the stomach, are essential to the reconcilement of psychical exertion with bodily health. The physiology of the action of alcohol has a very important bearing on the physical management of the mental functions. Alcohol has the power of curbing, arresting, and suspending all the manifestations of tho Ohne Phosphor kein Gedenke. Kraft und Sto/, sect. T22.