The true natural appetite is a calling of the tissues of the body for sustenance, not the gnawing of an ill-fed stomach. When one is constantly overfed, naturally the appetite flags. A fast of three or four days, drinking plenty of water, will bring about satisfactory results.

Do not tempt the appetite when it flags; give it a rest.

Do not resort to tonics or stimulants, for in nine out of ten cases, the pricking up of a flagging appetite is dangerous. Natural conditions are cast aside; tonics, stimulants and appetizing foods are temptations. Appetites thus created are unnatural; you overtax your digestion and are now really sick - not because you ought to be, but because you have not listened to Nature's warning.

Light breakfasts are always desirable; they prevent the appetite from flagging. A cup of black coffee, early in the morning, with no food until twelve o'clock, is an excellent cure. The "torpid liver" becomes active, and the ever-present headache disappears. Cut off all sweets at the end of meals. Do not drink tea and coffee, except the one cup early in the morning. Do not eat until food tastes good. One can take the "appetite cure," as well as the "tuberculosis cure," within the four walls of his own home, if he will only obey Nature's calling. Use the money spent for traveling, on food and conveniences, and cures will come easily. There never was a more foolish fashion than trying to get well traveling from pillar to post. Stay in comfortable quarters, build your own outdoor sleeping rooms, and later you may take a journey for pleasure, not for health.

Avoid pies, cakes, preserves, dishes of rich meats, highly-seasoned sauces and soups. A half pint of hot, scalded, not boiled, milk, sipped before going to bed, will relieve hunger and induce sleep.

As a rule, foods that are pleasant to the palate, and do not give discomfort, are not injurious. This does not mean that the nurse or caretaker must listen to the notions of the sick: Even in health, habit and early training decide the appetite. The mother likes and dislikes things, and in bringing up her children she teaches them her own shortcomings.

Sightly foods, with pleasant odors, nicely served, frequently induce a patient to eat, but as a rule, the sick will never overeat unless they are mentally deranged. Complete satisfaction of the appetite comes from the stomach, not from the palate. Palate appetites frequently create disturbances which complicate after feedings. The sick, more than the well, take note of results, and when once overfed they mark the discomfort and remember it, and frequently refuse even plain foods that heretofore were acceptable.

Monotony will destroy even a good appetite. When only one or two articles are admissible, change the flavor by some simple method. Seek new ways of serving; use new flowers for decorations; change the china in the service. Even a new doily, or a new tray, will attract attention.

Appetite is a useful, but not an infallible guide to a correct diet.