Page:Linda Hazzard - Fasting for the cure of disease.djvu/96

 bone of the teeth, are wholly corrected. Finger and toe nails are sometimes replaced from beneath with complete new growth, the old horny covering being forced from position and cast off. All these indications demonstrate not only renewal of secretion and of cell-structure, but purification as well. In the rebuilding period perfect replacement occurs.

Emaciation in the fast cannot properly be regarded as a symptom. It is the result of the elimination of toxic products, together with the loss occasioned by the use by brain and nerves of the reserve food-supply stored in tissue interstices. Diminution of weight due to the latter cause is, however, very slight in comparison with that arising from elimination. Wasting of the body is greater in cases where the organs are atrophied or cirrhosed than in other forms of disease, but the loss is less in these instances than in those of functional disease or of organic hypertrophy.

Delirium in disease is not necessarily an alarming symptom. A temporary condition of mental aberration apparent in confusion of thought, incoherency of speech, and, in some instances, unconsciousness, is characteristic of certain natures, whenever the body