Page:Strength from Eating.djvu/20

14 If one would use his brains a trifle, and obey the natural instincts of his body, as does the dog and all other lower animals, the stomach would be allowed to rest until it cries out for the privilege of working. Then it is ready to work, to digest. It has all the digestive juices prepared in advance and the food is attacked by these juices immediately upon its entrance to the stomach, and is quickly dissolved, or reduced to that condition necessary for its absorption by the various glands with which it comes in contact during passage through the alimentary canal. The existence of an appetite for food indicates not only that the food is needed by the body, but also that the digestive organs are ready to receive it. It is the enjoyment of food, "eating with appetite," which makes the salivary glands, and the glands that furnish the gastric and other digestive juices, pour forth their liquids in copious quantities. Under no other circumstances are these digestive liquids, necessary to proper digestion, furnished in the proper quantities or in proper strength. Therefore