The general treatment of auto-intoxication consists of regulation of the diet to suit the condition. The food must be as free as possible from injurious bacterial organisms. It is, of course, impossible to eliminate bacteria from the food. Milk teems with them; a small piece of butter contains millions; a cubic inch of cheese contains an almost innumerable quantity. Meat which has been killed a short time and all other animal foods contain micro-organisms which are not necessarily of a putrefactive character. There are benign as well as malign bacteria. There is no need to destroy the beneficent varieties; indeed, the sour-milk treatment consists of the introduction of such bacteria; but it is essential to exclude the others. Therefore the food should be fresh.

The next point is, the amount of food consumed must be moderate only. In the majority of cases it is necessary to reduce the quantity. The alimentary organs are overtaxed, and the digestion of food is delayed, thereby favouring fermentation and putrefaction. We know that the body can manage for a time with a reduction in the amount of food consumed ; but it is better to reduce all kinds of food rather than run the risk of excluding any kind of food which is not injurious. The amount of protein should be about 80 grammes for a man and 65 to 70 for a woman, and the food should provide a total amount of energy equal to 2000 or 2200 calories, which will suffice, at any rate during the treatment.

It is not necessary to exclude animal food altogether. It has been said that animal proteins are more prone to decomposition than vegetable proteins. But it should be remembered that both kinds of proteins are composed of amino-acids, frequently of the same sort; in fact, the animal proteins of our food were formed out of vegetable proteins; and, in spite of the arguments of vegetarians, it has never been shown that animal proteins behave in the body differently from vegetable proteins. Animal proteins are easily digested and more prone to decomposition. Vegetable proteins are not so easily digested; they are contained in cells which resist the action of the digestive and bacterial enzymes; they are not so easily putrefied; and for the same reasons they are of less value to the body.

In the treatment of these cases we may allow fresh meat or chicken at one meal a day, preferably the mid-day meal, and not a very large helping. We should forbid pork, veal, game, sweetbread, smelt, brain, hashed meat, entrees, stews, meat pies, sausage, potted meat, and other preparations of meat, including soup, broth, rich gravy, and meat extracts. Fish should not be allowed unless it is perfectly fresh. Sole, plaice, whiting, and fresh haddock may usually be permitted; brook trout and other fresh-water fish may be eaten by most people if they are cooked within a few hours of being taken from the water. The patient may be encouraged to get his own proteins by fishing and shooting. Pheasant, wood pigeon, and grouse may be eaten quite fresh, but not after being hung for several days. Eggs should be avoided in bad cases of auto-intoxication, as many people are made bilious thereby, and they are very poisonous to some others. Ripe and old cheese must be forbidden. Peas, beans, lentils, and nuts are the chief vegetable sources of protein ; and may be taken by all patients who can digest them. The legumes must be well cooked, or they can be used in the form of pea-flour or lentil-flour to thicken mutton broth or chicken broth. Nuts should be ground in a mill; they are less likely to cause pain and discomfort when they form a chief portion of a meal than when a few only are eaten at the end of a large repast. The tendency to constipation may be avoided by a large allowance of fruit.

What has already been said about intestinal flatulence holds good now. Rice, sago, tapioca, and arrowroot give rise to little fermentation ; bread, potatoes, sugar, and jam readily ferment; peas, beans, and vegetables are very flatulent. As a general rule the patient may eat boiled rice with the animal food, and fresh vegetables on alternate days, in place of bread and potato. Puddings of rice, sago, tapioca, or arrowroot are usually allowable, but they should not be made very sweet. Fruit and nuts may form part of the diet unless there is diarrhea or some other contra-in-dication. A little red wine, such as Burgundy, in some cases a little brandy or whisky, may be allowed, but one must be careful to whom they are permitted. Tea, coffee, and plain water should form the chief beverages. The following diet list will indicate the quantity of foods which may be taken so that the proper amount of protein and energy is obtained:-

Protein, 10 Grammes In Each Helping

150 calories: Cooked beef, average 1 1/2 oz., without bone.

75 ,, Sirloin of beef, baked, 1 1/2 oz., without bone.

80 „ Steak, broiled, 1 1/2 oz., without bone.

132 „ Mutton, roast leg, 1 1/4 oz., free from bone.

150 „ Mutton, roast loin, fat removed, 1 1/2 oz., without bone.

60 „ Fish, average 2 oz.

54 „ Chicken, without bone, 1 3/4 oz.

205 „ Milk, 1/2 pint.

95 " Egg. one large one-100 „ Egg, one large one, scrambled, buttered or omelette.

80 „ Oysters, 10.

Protein, 5 Grammes in Each Helping.

136 calories: Bread, 2 oz.; half a roll; 1$ oz. crackers or plain biscuits. 150 „ Macaroni or vermicelli, 1 1/2 oz. 150 „ Oatmeal, 1 1/2 oz. 150 „ Pearl barley, 2 oz.

180 ,, Potatoes, three moderate-sized ones, 10 oz. 160 „ Potatoes, mashed and creamed, four tablespoonsful.

95 „ Dried peas, beans, or lentils, two tablespoonsful, 1 oz. 100 „ Boiled rice, sago, or tapioca pudding, 3 1/2 oz.

70 „ Cabbage, cauliflower, mashed turnip, 10 oz.