These are the most common of all diseases in the United States, except colds. Very few people escape occasional gastric attacks, although they may not be willing to admit the fact. It is indeed a strange thing that people will insist that almost anything ails them except some form of indigestion or mal-nutrition.

Gastritis, or catarrh of the stomach, is the every-day dyspepsia of the world. Its causes, briefly re-stated, are as follows:

Excess of food, incompatible, irritating or decomposing food, poison taken in or originating in the body, excessive heat, and disease of other organs, especially the intestines.

Symptoms

In the ordinary catarrh of the stomach any of the following symptoms may be felt:

Headache, offensive breath, "bad taste" in the mouth, drowsiness, nausea, loss of appetite, great thirst, vertigo, vomiting, belching some hours after meals, constipation or diarrhoea, lassitude, aching limbs, cramps of the muscles of the leg, pain after eating, flatulence, heartburn, difficult breathing, palpitation of the heart, stomach feels like it had a weight in it, tenderness of the stomach, eruption on the lips, tongue raw, red or coated, lack of energy, chilly sensations and coldness or numbness of hands and feet.

The acute attacks are generally called "bilious attacks," and occur most frequently in the night. The patient will usually be wakened by pain, and in some cases there is a feeling of nausea, followed by vomiting and relief. They may occur from only slight or accidental causes, butwhen the ailment becomes more or less continuous they are then termed chronic. Gastric attacks are often so severe that the patient thinks death imminent, although in no danger whatever. Acute gastritis occurs at all ages, while chronic gastritis usually occurs in middle age or late in life, due to slowly-progressive indigestion. In acute cases there is only congestion; but when chronic, there are structural changes in the stomach, deficiency in digestive secretions, an excessive secretion of mucus, loss of absorptive power and muscular activity. When this condition exists, foods difficult to dissolve, like salt lean meat, especially when fried, and coarse vegetables, will disagree. This will also be true of foods that ferment quickly, such as custard puddings, tapioca, sweet and sweetened fruits, vinegar with starch of any kind.

Milk, without any alteration, will usually disagree, because the stomach is not sufficiently active to break up the curds.

Diet

In extremely severe cases it may be necessary for the patient to live on milk, diluted with gelatine, or barley water, or it may be malted and used to great advantage with malted gluten. All fried foods must be eschewed, and except in acute attacks, all soups, mushes and gruels must be sparingly used. The diet must consist mainly of dry foods, thoroughly masticated. Saliva and thorough mastication will do more for a damaged stomach than almost all other remedies. The stomach must be strengthened, by giving it as much work as it can do and no more. It can never get strong without plenty of nourishing food, and "slops" will not do. The curse of the American stomach is slops, water and chunks. This unfavorable mention of water would probably please a Kentucky colonel, but the objection is only in the manner of using it. Dyspeptics need to eat as great variety of food as possible, but it must be done discreetly. Foods that ferment quickly, must be avoided, or when used, it must be on an empty stomach, or with easily-digested foods. If the digestive secretions are deficient, meat will be poorly tolerated, and an exclusive diet of meat and eggs for two or three days will determine this.

The cereals are the best reliance, although if complicated with severe intestinal disorders, only gluten should be used, with such foods as meat, milk and eggs. As an aid to curing constipation, there is nothing equal to the bran of cereals, when finely ground. If not convenient to take foods containing fine bran, it will be advisable to boil it for three hours, then roast until brown. It should then be ground as fine as possible. If desired, flavoring matter may be added to make it palatable. Graham bread is objectionable, because the bran is too coarse. Where the stomach is greatly inflamed, sour fruits are not allowable, but in chronic cases of mere sluggishness they are of great benefit, if eaten at proper time, without sugar. It 100 sour, a little bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) may be added while cooking. Sweet fruits may be eaten when the stomach is empty, but if it contains the residue of a meal that has soured, they will quickly produce flatulence. When the stomach is very weak, it will be necessary to take small quantities of food every two or three hours during the day; but in chronic cases, where the stomach will do its work, if given plenty of time, two meals a day, eight or nine hours apart, will be far better than three or more.

The patient must early learn that a suitable diet will do far more to effect a cure than any drugs. As an artificial aid to digestion, very good results are sometimes obtained from malt tea. It may be made as follows:

Take three or four large tablespoonfuls of malt and steep it in a half-pint of cold water ten or twelve hours. Decant, bottle, and keep in cold place. One or two table-spoonfuls may be used at meals with a little milk and hot water.