Make The Change To The Natural Diet As Abruptly And Fully As Your Circumstances Permit.

There need be no transition period. Nothing is gained by "tapering off" of the old diet and "tapering on" the new. There is no danger in an abrupt change. The quicker and more fully you get away from the harmfulness of the latter and begin to receive the benefits of the former the more satisfactory the outcome.

Whether you abandon a stimulating diet for a non-stimulating one or abandon overeating for moderation in eating, you will at first, in almost every case, feel a want of "sufficient" food. There is likely to be faintness and a feeling of weakness. There may be a loss of flesh although, there is a frequent gain. There are often discomforts and unpleasant sensations in the stomach, headache and other symptoms that may alarm the reformer and his friends. All of these symptoms may occur while you are still taking much more than enough food to meet all the demands of your body.

But if you will continue with your efforts until the body has had time to re-adjust itself and repair the damages of the prior unwholesome food or excessive quantities of food you will not be long in realizing the actual and lasting benefits of your change of eating.

I am convinced from years of experience that the easiest way to make the transition from the old and unwholesome mode of eating to the new and hygienic mode of eating is to first undergo a fast. Cleansing of the system, nervous readjustment, repair of damages and fading away of cultivated and abnormal longings and cravings are much more rapid in the fast than while eating.

It is not easy for the habitual user of salt, pepper and other condiments to learn to relish unseasoned foods if he stops using condiments and goes on eating. But after a fast he finds keen relish in uncondimented foods and does not miss the condiments. He can overcome his craving for stimulating foods, coffee, tea, etc., quicker by fasting just as by fasting he can more easily and quickly get away from his cravings for tobacco, alcohol, opium, etc. Fasting not only speeds up the systemic readjustments, it makes them easier and more bearable. If the fast lasts long enough, even the old desire for large quantities of food comes to a natural end.

No reader should get the idea from this that he should put off reforming his eating habits until some time in the future, when he can find time to undergo a fast. There is no time like the present to change from unwholesome to wholesome habits and anyone can do it who is determined. It is as difficult as pictured above in only the worst cases and will become more difficult the longer the old habits are persisted in.

Young people can adjust themselves to a change of habits much more readily and in less time than old people, not alone because their bodies are more pliable but also, because they have not, as a rule, become so thoroughly enslaved to the habits that they need to break. Break your bad habits early and cultivate good ones that will sustain you in health and strength throughout a long, happy and useful life.

In the great main the difficulties that one encounters in breaking bad habits are determined by the condition of the body. The less enervated and enslaved the body, the easier the transition to good habits. For this reason, also, the sooner you abandon your imprudent eating habits and begin to cultivate habits that are in harmony with your highest and best physiological requirements, the easier will be the switch-over.