Page:Linda Hazzard - Fasting for the cure of disease.djvu/187

 Perhaps this departure from natural law and normal instinct can be illustrated in convincing form by contemplating the sensual delight of the epicure in cheeses of doubtful age but of indubitable rottenness.

The fallacy of attempting practical application of a theory of food selection based upon taste and smell alone is easily demonstrated. The question resolves itself into one concerning the needs of the body, but, after a fast, taste and smell are restored to normal acuteness and, so long as they remain in this state, they may be used as partial indicators. At this time all wholesome food gives delight and is desired with a hunger created in a clean, healthy system that asks for nourishment and that fully enjoys its ingestion. Simple foods, properly prepared and correctly proportioned as to the relative amounts of fats, carbo-hydrates, and protein, with the necessary mineral salts, are what the dietitian and the patient should endeavor to supply. The fast is ended, the system cleansed, and the digestive organs are in full vigor, waiting to form pure blood and pure tissue from pure food.

No further detail is needed to show that mankind habitually overeats and that, as a