This section is from the book "The Relation Of Food To Health And Premature Death", by Geo. H. Townsend, Felix J. Levy, Geo. Clinton Crandall. Also available from Amazon: Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You.
"Yes, it is very bad, for it keeps food in the stomach too long and very likely causes it to decay, because part of the amount previously eaten will probably be retained until the fresh food has been added. This necessitates the retention of the previous meal until the second is digested, and therefore causes increased delay. The practice cannot be too strongly condemned,"
' This is a matter which requires judgement, In such a case, a ten o'clock lunch should consist of some fruit that is easily dissolved, like a baked apple. If good fruit cannot be had, then a little milk, sugar, or even bread in small quantities."
"Extremely so; no liquor (if it is to be drunk at all) should be taken on an empty stomach, but to do so and to eat pickles and salads besides, is a species of folly so great that it is difficult to understand how a rational person can do it."
"Well, for most people the principal meal should be in the middle of the day, although breakfast may be a heavy meal, if not convenient to eat anything but a lunch in the middle of the day. The evening meal should always be the lightest, because the system is most relaxed and the least capable of digestion."
"If there has been active exercise and the hour for retiring late, a little food may be beneficial. To persons who have an inclination to insomnia (sleeplessness,) a little food will often be conducive to sleep and there is nothing we could more strongly recommend than Horlick's Malted Milk."
"Taking a little food at bed-time has a tendency to draw the circulation from the head to the stomach, and whenever the excessive flow of blood to the head is diverted, then sleeplessness will be supplanted by restful sleep."
"There is some truth in this - depends upon the quantity and kind of food. A hearty meal always has a tendency to make one go to sleep, but if the meal is of such a character that it is a struggle to digest it, it almost naturally follows that the circulation will be disturbed much more than it ought to be; hence, the weird dreams and 'night mares' so called, are common incidents to late suppers of rich and indigestible food."
"Well, if there be great drowsiness after meals, it indicates either weak digestion or nervous exhaustion."
"Exercise aids by increasing the circulation and in that way clearing the system of waste, and by burning up the food, thus creating a demand for a new supply."
"Not at all, exercise to the extent of great fatigue weakens very much and if such be unavoidable, it is much better to take some rest before eating and also after."
"Lack of sleep in some way disturbs the nervous system and weakens its tone. It follows then that inasmuch as every organ of the body is controlled by the nervous system, when it is disturbed every other organ will most likely be so,"
"Some contend that the use of tobacco aids digestion."
"If it aids one, it hurts ten thousand, for it both depresses the action of the heart and affects the nervous system, and is therefore an unmitigated evil and universally injurious to all persons in normal condition, although it might be useful in some cases as a drug."
 
Continue to: