Water to Cure Nervousness.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 24 July 1914, Page 2

Water to Cure Nervousness.

Dr. Harvey Boughton, a notable nerve specialist, recently said, in an address, that all neurasthenics— that is, people with unhealthy nerves—have nothing more than nerves that are dry, and suffer from an in- I sufficiency of fluid in the tissues of the body, which really go to make ! up the body's lubrication. Most | people, he says, probably sulTer in a I degree from this, even though they i are not conscious of any definite j symptoms. He -.believes i this disease could easily be eradicated if people would only supply their systems with plenty of good, clear, cold water. The human body is so adjusted that one part cannot suffer without all | other parts suffering. If by neg- I lect our nerves are dried up through lack, of fluid, then it is a j certainty that the wheels of our j intricate body machinery are being ' clogged by reason of wnste matter j which is not washed away. It can be readily seen that by the use of water a threefold service is j done. It feeds, it washes, and it i

carries away the cinders of the j body furnace, and through the want | of it we are exposed to many and ! great dangers. The tissues become I too dry, the blood becomes thick, i unhealthy and flows sluggishly, and ! the retained waste of the body sets j up a' condition which the doctors call'"autointoxication," or self-poi-soning. , [ This condition may give rise to ! almost any known symptoms, from ; the simple pimple to heart failure, and is really responsible for most of the semi-invalids with whom the world is largely peopled. Dr. Boughton then gave certain rules which he said would tend to make a healthy set of nerves and a healthier and happier body. He observed that people do not all need the same amount of water, and it may take a little experimenting to find out just how much should be taken in each case. It has been stated by physicians that five or six pints should be taken during the twenty-four hours. Of this, he said, only a moderate quantity should be taken with the meals, but it was a great mistake to take no water with the meals, but that it was a greater

mistake to wash food down with water, and especially with ice water. Dr. Boughton said the best time for water drinking is at night time and early in the morning, and it is well to form the habit of slowly sipping during the bath and while dressing, two or three glasses of cold —though not ice-cold—water, and then to sip two or three more glasses at bedtime, and again two or three more glasses an hour or two before luncheon and before dinner. Then the doctor assured his audience that in a. very short sime tlie value of this habit would become apparent in the general improvement in digestion, temper, and appearance.