THE SECRET OF A LONG LIFE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1990, 21 February 1914, Page 3

THE SECRET OF A LONG LIFE.

ABOUT PARAFFIN Oil.

SIR ARBUTENOT LANE'S EXPERIMENTS.

Ever since own., began to think at all tliew) has been a never-ending search lor something that would put off tile hour of death,-or banish it altogether. fhe searchers-have been diviciecl. into two classes: those who sought to extend life by improving upon Nature, and ttmso who sought to find .out-Nature's laws and apply theiu; v Tj.ie first class embraces a.H those old philosophers who searched for "The Etisir of Life," and all modern quacks who.' annouuoo that they hftvo found it, fhe sosond class consists of a band of scientists in all parts of the woritl whose eotabineci work is actually laying bare Na/tui&'ii secrets', <mo by one; for tea benefit and kappmess of mankind. ' In "Life" for March. is. given the: story of the work of one such scientist —a- story so interesting and umisiial that we quote a generous extract:— : Or. Lane, qf "Cay's. ,, : "Guyy , : ia the great-.Hospital of Lon- ■ don, and Sir Arbtffchnot Lane' is one- «f ■ the most famous surgeons in the' world Through the wards of "Guy's" pass an* lraaljy thousands of .people, and no hospital in the world attWfe bettor oppoi--tiinitiea for the study' , of manttod and ! its ailments. Dr. La»e exafflined mi. recorded hunfeds mi tliousaiide of cases; and his .judgment was that the, ,; great majority of men and women suffer trom Eotao internal weakness It seeins to be one. of the penalties qf eWfisatioa that What we call -better food (that is* be-tte tasting food, and richer ' food) b-riflgs wi(jh it troubles in the digestire toacamery) as it ig bo n-utritious that it leaves litfrle residue. Gγ. Lane's investigations led him to believs that not only k internal .trouble very common, but that scores o£ bodily alls, not apparently connected wftli the stomach and bowels, are reallj; due to jn that regies ■ ■ Operating for Melancholia, A woman came to Guy's, Hospital in. a deplorable state of health, apparently dying. She was thin, could take no tood, and was covered.with opeit sores. Sho was. moreover, not a cheerful invalid, Wt was terribly depressed .'Severa! d.octors had failed to diagnose her case, hut Dr. Lane decided that the trouble lay in fer intestines. Ho operated, and found that part of her colon (sometimes known as the os4ow) was in a bad way; fig ho cut it clean away and joined up the eeds, Within twentyfour hours the patieiifc ceased to he melancholic. In a short, White the natural prdfiesses began again,- and. she improved rapidly. Meanwhile, her sores Hiiteti had not heen treated at oil, healed up, her spirits ros.e., and by and by she departed) happy and well. Hsr ease, and others ef tire Same order which followed, became famota.

An Alternative to operations. . Dr. La.no iad meantime Seen pursuing another Ireo of investigation. Realising that the whole of suffering humanity could; not be operated en,' ho set out to W some asent. that would render the operation unnecessary, and at tho same time ediieve- the beneficial ■results. In brief, ho wanted' something tliai' would take the.putsanoas waste out of the intestines without •intDrie-nng with the natural factions oi tlw bDdy. Ho .found thai agent in a' specially purified fertt. of paraffin oil, I Inis was as.f«r back as 1908. Other doctors .hearing, of the euros, bogaH to re.al.sq tbat Dr. Laue fed wafe a groat! yet sroipto discovery— namely, that a certain oil, speciaUy i-efi-ned "for internal use, would do what t* other oil in tho realm .or' Mature wonld do-that is would act as ft In Wean* ana remove waste pjodufits without acting as a rnirsatiTO and weakening the natural -festive fl«id,s. ..Physicians fmWefote--1;V began to prescribe purified paraffin oil (veemlly prepared'for inWal u™ tor patients , suffering f rem iwtestins trouble, a-fld m course fl f time the boot spread to tlie Continent, wliore physicians quickly discovered tile value of puhfied paraffin, and adopted it. It is r.ew a common tui'ag to treat people of all ages, from infants of a few niojifclis to old men ana women, witi purified paraffin oil. ■■.'■■ qr. lane's theory. Ekpfeinott. yp*r a ropresentative of eue cf tlve leattnas- American maa;aaines met .Dr. Lane, and interviewed .?»m on the subject. Dr. Lano hhnseK had pm-sto-ally taken Up tho regular useVrf ptirifiecl paraffin, and he, with liimdreds of Lis friends to ivii#m ho had rceommendw} it, had been taking a doswt-spoonf'ii] niglttly ivit.li lienelcml results. To the jamiialist Br. Lano explained that when Jits mind iu.med to tho study of lubrkaiits as an alternative of oßerotsons lie tackled the oils. that wore at hand. At once ho encountered twe I difficulties. Olive oil fe an excellent lubricant; but if only a small d:©ss ha giveni it is absorbed Jong before 'jt reaches the lower botfol, where it is most Hcedeij and if a largo doso be given, tho liver is overworked in tryin." to digest it. Tiio probto speedily. developed into the task of finding a lubricant that tho body would not absorb. Eventually, it owmrrod to him to try purified paraffin oil. Paraffin oil, or white mineral oil as it is sometimes called, is is, petroleum product. It is as white as j?a«o----lane. In conaistency, it n Eeiublfis lieavy blivo oil. It is all but tasteless and odourless, a slight suggestion of potroJeum being its only distilngmsliipg ectoristic. J't is not, however, in the slightest degree repulsive to tfie tsste, a pufe mineral oil, it contains nothing .that the body'can . aesim-ikto. It is neither a dfiig,.!i jwison,- nor a food but a pure hibfie'ant. TSio jaterviowej- quotes Dr. Lane as saying; "There is ne.tlotibt that if tho use of paraffin oil were a daily habit, tho health of Ww human raco would be wenderi'tdly improved.. Almost every* hod,* suffers flio-fe or less from autointoxicatien. First come headaches, 'flicn camo a variety of other annoying symptoms that eventually develop into some distinct form of disease. In nty apinioi)' a largo pcrceiitage of hum.tii diseases nro caused by. awtonntosica-' tion. ... . "Proper drainage is-precisely as im-jsorta-ot in a human '.body as it is in a house. Few houses,.- h.oTvevWj -ate equipped with so tecclitiiiieaily, imperfect a. drainage system .as the intcstinal tf act of a human- beingl It h iinsuited to ail except those who take the most vigorous physical _eXeroi.Se. 'ftio universal use of laxatives, and purgatives proves the -inefßciehey of the in-tes-tin-al, tract to meet the "demands, of modern We. Unfortunately,' too, fea.tjre* and purgatives jjiv-e ' only the minrmum ol relief Wjirlft doing tho maximum oi harm. They never entipbly halt the process 'of ac?<i%toxKa-t-Ion» hit they always -weaken tho sys* torn,' They cannot help but wea-ken the system. No set of mffsefos can bo ex* cited to iimisu-al activity without bringing about- a- torofespsttijiog reaction, Iks tlw ya-luo of pa.raffin oil. It excites no jnMscis nor sthnulatos any nervo. It s'nnpty -hibriea-tftS a sJefeotivo drainage system until it becoftcfi effective. Cltiklren nsay teko it as safely ns adults. Most chjldren sheiiicl taki ii Wdiiicu m iwfticiilar should toi« pflWffm oil. VvomeJij as a class, ai'e inore fikoh' than niftn to bueoßw- ait4o-. intoxicat-ed."