Page:Linda Hazzard - Fasting for the cure of disease.djvu/87

 the fast are always inclined to obesity and at death display a liver disintegrated or softened. Of the two types the chances for recovery are greater with the latter.

Bile thrown into the stomach may produce, through irritation of its walls, spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm, i. e., hiccoughs. They may also occur as the result of other abnormal stimulation of the diaphragmatic nerve, and this happens frequently in cases of any affection of the liver or of the intestines. When merely functional disturbance causes this annoying symptom, it may quickly be relieved by vomiting qr by the drinking of cold water; but, if it persists, it points to serious conditions, and in the later stages of disease, it is proof of organic defects beyond repair and heralds the approach of death.

In the earlier stages of the fast there will probably be fermentation and consequent formation of gas in the intestines, which may continue for days, depending upon the amount of solid material clinging to bowel walls, and also upon what may be termed the virulence of the bile and other waste deposited in the alimentary canal. The gas formed is often the cause of colicky pains, and is always a source of uncomfortable