Page:Food and cookery for the sick and convalescent.djvu/363

Rh recommended, with moderate exercise, and cold-water baths are usually found to be beneficial.

Foods rich in extractives are avoided, also tea, coffee, and alcohol in all its forms. Beef is considered more stimulating than lamb or chicken, and is excluded from the dietary. Sweetbreads give rise to uric acid in the system, therefore they must be condemned by the sufferer from rheumatism.

Cereals, milk, eggs, fresh fruit, and vegetables should form the principal part of the diet, and above all, good eating habits should be established, which consist of regularity of meals as well as a sufficient time for eating the same. Late suppers always should be avoided.

Bright's disease is a disease of the kidneys, and is recognized by the persistent presence of albumen in the urine, and the wasting of the affected organ. Bright's disease may be acute or chronic, and in either case rest the organ as far as possible. This may be accomplished by avoiding work or irritants for the kidney. The physician recognizes the fact that the kidney is but a small part of the body, therefore does not forget to consider the body as a whole.

In acute cases of Bright's disease the use of water is restricted to a moderate supply. Formerly, in chronic cases, water was given freely, with the thought that thereby waste products might be more readily excreted. Van Noorden claims that waste products are excreted quite as well in a small as in a large quantity of urine, and his theory is verified by other noted authorities. Therefore at the present time, a moderate supply of water is given in chronic cases.

A milk diet, in extreme cases, is considered usually a safe one to follow. At the present time nine hospitals out of ten adhere quite closely to this method of feeding. Van Noorden asserts that too much albumen is given if