Science. The Possible Suspension of Old

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2090, 28 November 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

Science. The Possible Suspension of Old

Dr. S. V\. C ildwell thus writes in the Mhsiisippi Vjllrij M'dicil Monthly : lv bygone timci those \>r( found myster;o and n< tap'iy icnuc, tho R sicrcci <ns, n-iJ still later the AlohemHt*, chimed to havedis covered the elixir of lifo. They asserted that old nj',o might be retarded an'l life consider r.hly prolong! by means of an elixir, prevent ins; or rß.thprr B .thpr pucpendinß physical decay. The ce'i b rated Koiicrucian, be. Ilood, whosp writings brcimp famous, ia said to have reached a hunJied yo.rp. Modern science has recently mado more startling discoveries than were those dxf uin?<! of by iho alchemist. The possibility of prolonging life Ins throughout all sge^ been decmcrl wortDy of notice by g'eat thinker?, among whose number the illustrious Baoon and Holland are enrolled. In the following remark 1 ? I shall endeavour to give tho latest soiorit.fic knowledge relative to this intewating r.nd, in some redacts, novel subject. Premature ag°, m engendered by various merit il and physical cinaes, exercises, etc.. does not come within the fcope of this short paper. The principal characteristics of old aye, as demonstrated by anatomical researon, are a deposition of fibrinou-, gt-laiincu.3, and earthly material in the Byetem. Every organ of tho booy, during old age, is oapoeially pron*? to o hlUc deposits. The earthly deposits have beea found to consist primarily of phosphates an I carbonates of litnos combined with other onlcarcoua gaits. A'icor ling to th3n?oaTohes of Dr. Williams of Euglavid, man bepun in a gelatinous and encb in an ot-^eoua or bony oondition. From the cradlo to the grave a gradual process of o«s-(i' > aMon 13 uadoubtsdly present ; but after piling middle a^e tha-ossific tendency becomes more markedly developed until it finally u -there in senile deoreptiLudo. These earthly deposits during oM age materially interfere with the due performance of function by the organs ; hei;c3 we find imp9rfec« cncula'iou in the aged; ihe heart gradually hpcornea ossified, the large blood vessels blocked up with calcareous matter, and nutrition hindered. A distinguished physiologist cays ; " If repair wi<? always equal to wa^to, life would orly teirainalG by accident." And it is the opinion of eminent rcientif ts that the majority of a'l who piss sixty five year 3 aulltr more or lesa from the^p oanific deposits. Therefore, bearing these facts in mind, we plainly see that tho rc&l change which produces ohi ape ia in truth nothing more or lees than a slow but steady accumulation of calcareous matter throughout tho system; and it is owing to these deposits that the structure of every organ ia filtered, thus elasticity giving way to senile rigidity. Blockage of various organs thu3 commenced, and sooner or later a vital part becomes involved, and death of neceaity follows. The idea that old ape was brought about simply, or at all, by a decline of the \ital principle has long since been discarded by (scientists, and the truo cause found to be that of gradual dif-intcgration of tho tissues beoauso of tho inadequate supply of blood. A o 'ain, quoting from Dt. Williams, thia process is believed to bo of a chemical nature, consisting in tho concretion and accumulation of calcareous salt", phosphates, and carbonates of lime. Tho erases of old og^ therefore being nothing moro nor less than ossific deposits, let U 3 for a moment look for the causes and influences leading to the condition we have described ; for having arrivvd at the prsdjspo' irjg causes of roralc decay, it yet lemam3 for us to go still further, and seek out their origin. The two principal cauws of old ago rje, fir3t, fibrinouß and gelatinous substances ; and, second, calcareous deposits. According to recent rrs'arohes of ]) Kny E7iv, tho oiig'n of the tirst, Ihe fibnnous and p^latm ous may unloubteriiy bs traced to tua destruction of iittuosphLric oxvjjei., aa^ ciKhionBtrabie by the following aigjuifr.t: In the air we breathe the relative proportion of oxygen to nitrogen in '22 to 73; and although oxygen ia in far "mailfi- bulk, jet it is the most active element. Now, oxygen has an aflinity for ov ( ry other clomjnt except ll'iorine ; and as oxygen plays by far tho most important part in thtce ohemical changes constantly at work in tho economy, life itself 13 bus p. constant waste by oxidation and reparation by food. In tho blood exists alb'Jtoon pnd florin, thems<.lve3 resolvod into component parts, oaibon, hydrogen, ni'rogen, oxygen, su'phur, and phocjj'ioru- 1 . Fibrin, it is"ehim«d, contama cue nnd fivo-fiflhs more oxjgm than albumen. No?:, cxygca converts albumen info fibrin, fibrin it«eif being but an oxid? of albutncn. Although unquestionably fibrin nourishes tho organs of our body, yot it beoomei at tisnes, as we reach the cool and shady walks in the evenirq of life, accumulated in redundant quin'ity, blockading the streams of life as doth the chilling winds of winter the mountain rivu- • lets. There is always a ?lru{!gip going on in our bodies between accumulation and elimination, and th'ii it is that the flbrinous and* gelatinous accumulations of old age are chiefly traceable to chemioal action of almospherio oxvgeu. The calcaroou3 deposits nctt clnim our attention, being proved by an anfttomiool inve=tigation to bo peculiaily characteristic of old age. In the human body watpr forms seventy per cent, of its ar^regato weight ; in fact, thera ii not a single tissue but contains w>\tor a" a necessary ingredient. Now, water holds certain salts in solution, which become more or less deposited, notwithstanding the largo proportion eliminated through the fcccretions. Iseverthelesp, it is but a question of time before theso minuto particles deposited by the blood have a marked effect in caubiug the stiffness and aridity of p.dvanced life. The rea&ori why in early life the deposit of earthy matter or salts iaßo infinitesimal is pimply becauee they havo not had time to accumulate. Besides providing the requisite elements of nutrition, food eon tains calcareous salts, which, upon being deposited in the arteries, veins, and capillaries, become the proximate cause of ossification end old age. Mr. Lewi?, an eminfat Er.gii«h scientist, in his Physiology of Common Life, says : "-Moreover, in food we aro constantly introducing different subscancrs which pro'lnco variation in the nutrition cf the parts. Thcfo different accumulations exert their iniluenca in those changes named ago, and they culrniuate in the final change named death." IlaviDg now tracsd the primiry existence of calcareous matter to food it''olf, it ia consequently a subject of no small moment to ascertain thevariousdietetio art'olos containing theso salts. As a matter of fact, everything we eat does contain thpm to a greater or leas degree. Tho cereil3 p.re found most rich in them ; so bread itself, the so-callod staff of life, except in great moderation, most assuredly favors the deposition of theso salts in the system^ Tho more nitrogenous our food, the groater its percentage of calcareous matter ; thug a diet composed principally of fmit, from its lack of nitrogen, is best adapted for preventing or suspending ossification. Moderation in eating must ever ba o«. great value as an agont for retarding tho advent of Fcuile d-'cay. Lirge eaters more iapMly brin^ on oesific deposits by taking in more ihan in" utilized or cv>cinted, naturally wuHng in blockading tho vessel and destroying their normal functions. Acoordiug to the bcßt authority I have been able to consult, the following aeom to bo the beat articles of food, aa containing tho least of earthly calls : Fruit, fish, poultry, flpah of young mutton and beef, becauso, as before stated, of their boinit lets nitrogenous Fluids, aa part of the dnt, are of special import. All v/ell and spring water contains considerable of the earthly salts, and should therefore bn avoiJed, and cistprn water used in its steud, beoause water is tho most universal solvent known. Therefore, if when takon into tha system clear of foreign matter, it is to that extent the better prepared to dis-

poUo and take up those earthly Ealti, and con '•ey them out of the system. The addition c ' fifteen or twenty drop 3 of dilute pho-pforic acid to the glass of water, and drank tluec tinirs a day, will add to tbe solubility of Ae-r earthly palta.