WHAT INFLUENCES DIGESTION.

Patea Mail, 5 April 1881, Page 4

WHAT INFLUENCES DIGESTION.

There are certain substances upon which the gastric juice exerts no action, and it should he remembered that whatever goes through the stomach untouched, passes undissolved through the whole of the alimentary canal. The frequency with which such substances as dried currants and apple-pips are passed unaltered is familiar enough to all. Indigestible substances are occasionally retained in the stomach, causing pain, indigestion, and irritation for days and days together. There are many circumstances, besides the nature of the food, which exert an influence on the process of digestion. First and foremost among these is the quantity of food taken ; for the efficient performance of digestion the stomach should be fairly filled, but not distended. Dr Beaumont’s experiments showed that a certain bulk was necessary for the performance of healthy digestion. This fact has long been known by practical experience to uncivilised nations. Thus the Kamschatdales arc in the habit of mixing earth or saw-dust with the train oil on which alone they are frequently reduced to live, and the Veddahs, or wild hunters of Ceylon, on the same principle, mingled the pounded fibre of soft and decayed wood with the honey on which they feed when meat is not procurable. The time which has elapsed since the last meal was taken should, for the effectual performance of digestion, be sufficient to ensure the stomach being quite clear of food. The amount of exercise taken previous and subsequent to the meal is not without

its influence, gentle exercise being favorable and over-exertion injurious to digestion. Then there is the state ol mind, tranquillity of temper being apparently essential to quick and easy digestion. In addition may be mentioned the state of bodily health, and the state of the weather. —Family Physician.

Earl Beaconsfield gives the following advice in “ Endymion ” to those who wish to succeed in “ working the oracle” with statesmen or ministers :—“ You will find it of the first importance in public life to know personally those who are carrying on the business of the world ; so much depends on the character of an individual, his habits of thought, his prejudices, his superstitions, his social weaknesses, his health. Conducting affairs without this advantage is, in effect, an affair of stationery ; it is pens and paper which are in communication, not human beings.”