Eating Too Little Food

Many people, who are somewhat dyspeptic, eat too little food. Upon finding that many foods disagree with them, they restrict their diet until it barely sustains life. This increases their constipation, weakens the system and aggravates their dyspeptic troubles. (See Dietaries, for quantity required.)

Foods may irritate the stomach: (1) Because of their chemical composition. Such foods as raw onions and strong radishes are examples. Also such condiments as pepper, sage, curry, horse radish, mustard, and other pungent substances. But few people would care to blister the outside of their bodies; yet they have no hesitation about blistering the inside.

(2) Foods may irritate, because insoluble. Examples: Green fruits, raw, tough vegetables, pieces of nut kernels, lumps of meat or any other coarse, hard substance.

(3) Probably the most irritating of all foods, are those that contain poisonous ptomaines. The most common foods of this class are decaying fruits, decomposing milk-products and poorly-prepared canned goods. Both fresh and canned fish are frequent sources of violent gastric attacks, because they are often tainted.

(4) Foods frequently contain mineral poisons from the vessels in which they have been kept.

Irritating Drugs

The abuse of drugs is one of the most common and potent causes of disease; especially constipation and dyspepsia. It is putting it mildly to say that not a few have drug mania. Cathartics act by irritating the mucous mem-bran of the digestive tract, and every time it is irritated, it is likely to become less sensitive, until finally the ordinary contents of the intestines do not stimulate it to action, which necessitates a constant repetition of irritating cathartics.

Irregular Eating

Nature has method in everything, and we are naturally inclined to sleep and eat at regular periods. If we eat irregularly we break the rhythm of nature, and it is just as bad for the stomach to delay eating as it is for the quality of the dinner to delay after it is prepared. The stomach cannot keep an adequate amount of digestive fluids to be drawn on at any or all times. But this is not all. Going an extra long period without meals causes acute hunger and an overloading of the stomach; and an extra short period does not give time for the stomach to empty. Many people eat regularly during the week, but on Sunday they disturb the regularity of the system by eating a hearty breakfast from one to three hours later than usual, and then an extra large dinner within four or five hours. It is this pernicious practice that makes people so uncomfortable and dull on Sunday and unre-freshed to begin a week's work on Monday. Evacuation of the Bowels.

A frequent cause of disease in the cities is neglect to evacuate the bowels. Pressure of work and laziness is assigned as a reason. The calls of Nature should always be promptly met.

Loss Of Sleep

Sleep and rest are both necessary; without them the nervous system has no tone and there is general languor. Late hours burn the candle of life at both ends, and night revelers sooner or later pay a fearful penalty, for late-hour gaiety.

Excesses

All excesses disturb the system. This is especially true of those of a private character.

Tobacco

The use of tobacco is both vile and pernicious; and the physical wrecks, directly or indirectly due to tobacco, would astonish the world if all were bunched together. Dyspeptics should quit tobacco.

Dress

A distinguished New York specialist reports that his books show that thirty-four per cent, of the women treated have displaced stomachs, while only six per cent, of the men were so afflicted. Of the females treated, the principal factor in the displacement was the corset. Of the males, probably the excessive use of beer and other liquids was responsible for their condition. Figure II shows side-view of female form. The dotted lines show the outline of a "neat waist" and "fine form," after the adominal organs have been displaced by the corset.

Fig III shows front view. The outside waist lines represent the natural waist; the middle dotted waist line the waist of the ordinary corset-wearer, who says that she does not "lace;" the inside dotted waist line shows how much the corset can improve Nature.

Figure IV shows natural position of abdominal organs.

Figure V is a front view of female, showing abdominal organs as displaced by corset-wearing.

Heredity

No one can doubt the tendencies of heredity. Where both parents are weak their children will likely be so too; and if there be many children, some will be stronger and some weaker than their parents. The chief crime of parents against Nature is in transmitting nervous tendencies that make the child seek stimulants. How could it be otherwise, when parents use stimulants from the time they could talk? Can you blame the child-of such parents who cries for strong coffee? By beginning early in life, hereditary weakness can, in the main, be overcome, so that personal responsibility can not be ignored, because of the transgression of our parents.

Local and General Diseases. Local and general diseases are often most strongly manifested by disorders of the stomach. This is especially true of lung diseases - bronchitis and consumption. In these diseases, repugnance to fats is often one of the first symptoms.

Fig. II. Side view - female form, showing natural outlines. Dotted lines represent the change due to lacing.

Fig. III. Front view - female form.

A. Outline of natural waist.

B. Outline of ordinary form, "not laced."

C. Common outline of fashionable waist.

Fig. IV. Front view - female form, showing natural position of abdominal organs, lungs, etc.

Fig. V. Front view of female, showing displecement of abdominal and other organs, due to corset wearing.

Heart Disease

Indigestion from diseases of the heart is doubtless due to disturbance in circulation; but it should be borne in mind that the heart is much more likely to be affected from the stomach, than the stomach is from the heart. Diseases of the Liver.

The stomach is probably more in sympathy with the liver than any other organ; not so much from the assistance it gives in digestion, but because it is the chief organ for removing poison from the blood, which may cause indigestion in two ways: (1) From imperfect elimination of nitrogenous waste. (2). Reflexly, by constant irritation. Of the latter, painters, workers in lead, people living in newly painted houses, are the ones chiefly affected. Formerly, lead water pipes were sources of poisoning, but are not so as now made; but the same cannot be said of face powders. These arrest digestive secretions, and greatly diminish the churning movements of the stomach.

Diseases Of The Intestines

Diseases of the intestines are almost certain to affect the stomach, probably because excessive activity hurries the food out of the stomach before it is digested, and lack of activity has the opposite effect. It may still have another effect, resulting from imperfect digestion. Intestinal digestion being very important, if it fails, the blood will not be supplied with necessary elements, and the stomach may show the ill effect.

Malaria

Malaria is likely to affect digestion from several causes.

Fever of any kind diminishes digestive secretions of the stomach. In addition to this, if the liver is overworked, it cannot perform its functions perfectly.

Diseases of the Throat.

These may affect the stomach in two ways: by reflex irritation and from pus, or mucus, being carried to the stomach.

Anything that irritates the fauces may cause vomiting and tickling the throat has long been practiced for that purpose.

Pregnancy And Female Disorders

Pregnancy is frequently accompanied by stomach disturbance; especially nausea, vomiting and craving for particular, and often peculiar, articles of diet. With female diseases, there is frequently associated some stomach trouble which results from the particular disease and disappears with it. Thus the physician, in treating women for stomach trouble, should ascertain whether or not it is simply stomach disease, or secondary to some other female disorder.

Heat And Cold

Excessive heat and overexertion cause general collapse; but the indigestion, common to hot weather, is mainly due to cold drinks and use of decaying fruits. Cold, chills the surface and disturbs the circulation, causes congestion, and partially arrests the elimination of waste. Pressure on the Stomach.

This is common in occupations requiring a stooping attitude. It restrains the natural activity of the stomach and interferes with digestion.

Light

The importance of light is often overlooked. Man was never inteded to live in a cave or dungeon and work by artificial light, and those who do so pay a severe penalty. Ordinarily, people are not seriously affected by slight violations of the principles of good living, if not too long continued, nor too many of them. In most cases of illness it will be found that several causes operate together to produce the disease.