Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/529

 505 MEDICAL indigestible materials, the stomach and digestion become " disordered." The gastric juice is not perfectly healthy. It may contain too much or too little hydrochloric acid. It may be deficient in pepsin, which is the natural ferment. The digestion is consequently interfered with. The food may act as an irritant to the smooth lining membrane of the stomach, which becomes inflamed. It can easily be imagined that digestion is now probably painful — that is, the patient suffers from " dyspepsia," or difficult digestion. She may begin to dose herself with stomach mixtures containing hydrochloric acid or pepsin, which do very little good, unless the cause of the indi- gestion is first removed. It is only by studying the process of digestion that one can really understand how healthy digestion depends upon the proper choice of food, the arrangement of meals, and thorough mastication. If you suffer from pain after eating, from headache, and other evidences of a weak stomach, say to yourself, " "Why ? " There must be some reason, and you should discover that reason immediately. First, do you eat more than your digestive apparatus is capable of digesting ? Many people who suffer from the ill-effects of imperfect digestion declare they " have always had a good appetite." But a good appetite may be a danger. It tempts one to eat too much, to swallow more food, perhaps, than the stomach can digest. Again, even if digestion in the stomach is quite satisfactory, the blood may not be able to utilise the large amount of nourishment provided for it. When the blood contains an excess of proteid matter there is a strain upon the organs which have to get rid of this superabundance of nourishment the body does not require. It is a fact that people with weak stomachs and poor appetites often reach a hearty old age, the reason being that they are compelled to eat sparsely and so escape the ills of an overloaded blood. The student of sensible dietetics realises the danger of too many courses. From a phy- siological point of view the best dinner consists of one or two dishes. One of the wisest writers has said, " Beware of those foods which tempt you to eat when you are not hungry, and that tempt you to drink when you are not thirsty." The risk with an elaborate meal of many courses is that you eat more food than you could possibly consume if only one course, or, at the most two, had been provided. Let us consider a few useful precepts which might be associated with the gospel of sensible dietetics. Be chary of yielding to the temptations of the table. Eat rather less than what the appetite desires. Take three simple meals a day, with four or five hours interval between, to allow the stomach time to do its work. Let butcher's meat once a day be the rule, and regard alcohol as a medicine, and strong tea and coffee as poisonous to the di|^estion. Go in for modified vegetarianism m the sense of increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables. Regard milk and eggs as ideal foods, and remember that, weight for weight, cheese is more nourishing than butcher's meat. Rules to Remember Do not expect to be able to digest your food if you neglect muscular exercise, which keeps the digestive system in tone, and -helps to get rid of the waste matters from the blood. Remember that you will digest your food better if you chew it thoroughly, eating it quietly, without worrying or giving way to depressing emotions. It' has been demonstrated by X-ray photographs that anger or worry will cause the stomach to drop more than an inch, from losing muscular tone. Music and cheerful conversation, on the contrary, elevate the stomach by increas- ing its tone and vitality. Never eat when you are tired, physically or mentally, until you have had ten minutes' absolute rest of mind and body. You will get more benefit from your food if it is consumed whilst you are breathing fresh air. Do not imagine that you can ever have a perfect digestion unless your teeth are in good order and free from decay. The care of the teeth is so closely related to health that the subject will be considered in detail in a later article. Regulate 3'our hours of rest, sleep, and recreation. Do not eat when you are not hungry, and remember the advige of " Let good digestion wait on appetite and health on both." If, however, you are having only three simple meals a day the difficulty will be, not to find an appetite, but to satisfy it and at the same time follow your programme of moderation. If these rules are faithfully adhered to, " digestion " will very soon cease to trouble you, or even interest you, because it will be normal, therefore unconscious. mome; nursing Coi-.tinued -^rotii pai;e j6i. Part ; THE PROCESS OF DIGESTION The Emulsifying Action of the Bile— The Absorption oE Digested Foods— The Work of the Blood — The Function of the Liver FROM what has already been said of digestion in the mouth and stomach it can readily be understood that digestion is a complicated process divided into several stages. We have con- sidered the first two stages in the previous nursing article, and we have reached the stage when the food leaves the stomach and enters the small intestine. It is now acted upon by the juices of the intestine, the bile from the liver, and the pancreatic juice secreted by the pancreas. Up to the present time the fatty matters in the food have not been dealt with at all. They undergo no change in the mouth and stomach. As soon as they pass into the intestine, forming part of the chyme from the stomach, they meet the bile, which is a golden brown fluid secreted by the liver, a large organ situated on the right side of the abdomen. The action of the bile on the fatty matters in the food is to emulsify them — i.e., the large globules of oil are broken up into very tiny globules or drops so small that they can pass through the living membrane. This emulsifying action of the bile is due to the presence of soda salts, and a simple experi- ment which anyone can try will give a practical illustration of what takes place. Take half XL