HEALTH PAPERS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 24, 18 June 1908, Page 30

HEALTH PAPERS

— ! ♦ . (By Dr. J. P. HASTINGS, DUNEDIN)

ll:— The Digestion of Food. 'We eat to live,' says the wise man. I am sorely afraid the saying, ' we live to eat,' would very often come a good deal nearer the truth. Some philoso-' phers have held the seat of the soul is the solar plexus. It- is here that the nervous functions of the stomach are largely regulated. Poor solar plexus, too often has your importance been slighted ! In order to comprehend the functions of the stomach we must know something about its structure. I would assure my readers that its lining membrane is very delicate— too delicate by far to tolerate with impunity the daily assault of hastily swallowed pieces of meat. The stomach secretes various juices, which help in the digestion of the food. Its main function is to churn up its contents into a soft pultaceous mass. The food so treated passes on into the intestine, and it is here that most of the absorption occurs. The question now arises, ' What happens to the absorbed food material ? ' The answer may be given ' under two headings— (l) It goes to build up the body ; (2) it gives off energy and heat. Therefore, the best food is' that which complies in the highest degree with these two conditions of utility. The human body has been often compared to a steam engine, but the comparison is not strictly correct. In the human body the same kind of food can at one time be used as fuel, and at another time for building up purposes. What engine is there which does not require constant attention ? But if we only give our various parts a. fair chance we need seldom, if ever, lie up for repairs. If we only give it a fair chance nature will, in most instances, do all this for us. Most people do not treat their bodies fairly. They discuss very learnedly the question of supply and demand in so far as it affects the labor or money market, but seldom do they apply the same principles to the political economy of their own physical states. Rarely do they stop to consider whether they are glutting their local stomach or liver market at every meal they cat to full satisfaction. These are the people whose overgrown gastric organs may be three times the natural size. A schoolboy once went to visit his aunt, and during the dinner he displayed an amazing capacity for storing away food. At last except a few templing dainties, he had demolished .everything. With an aspect of sadness he sat gazing silently on the dessert. His dear aunt contemplated with no small terror the idea of providing for such a voracious appetite during the remaining days of his visit. Yet the good woman mustered sufficient courage to murmur faintly : ' Are you quite sure you've had •sufficient, Tom ; couldn't you manage any more ? ' A ■sudden gleam of hope flashed from the youthful hero's ■eyes as he replied, ' Well yes, thank you, Aunt Mary I believe I could if I stood up to it.' And the historian records he did so. It is a great mistake to eat to full satisfaction. Always rise from the table feeling you could eat more. Do not force yourself to sit down to a meal for which you have no appetite. If you have been feeling a distaste for food go without one or more of your usual meals. The rapidity with which your relish for food will return will surprise you. As far as possible take your meals dry ; drink between meals. The practice of taking a bite followed by a sip of fluid is a very bad one, as the fluid so taken dilutes the saliva in the mouth, and the efficacy of this secretion is therefore considerably impaired. The food now passes prematurely from the mouth to the stomach. It has been neither sufficiently chewed nor insalivated ; hence it is not in a 1 proper condition to be treated by the stomach. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly.

Good digestion, necessitates the possession of a good set of teeth. Their value cannot be too strongly impressed upon the public. All parents should see that their children's teeth are kept in good condition". We take it- for granted that every adult who possesses the fangs, which nature adorned him with will, as far as possible, preserve them intact. It is a good general rule never to have a tooth extracted which can be ■saved by stopping.. 'Carious teeth, if too far gone, must be removed. The foul matter from such teeth mingles with the food and passes on into the stomach, and good digestion is thereby impeded. Moreover, the .poisonous products are absorbed into thq blood, producing various constitutional diseases. If you have "lost. most of your teeth it is absolutely necessary for the preservation of your health that you have artificial ones supplied. With the spread of civilisation the teeth are being lost earlier in the life history of the individual. This is largely owing to the kind of food

taken, and the way in which it is eaten. Our meats and cereals are softened by prolonged cooking. We. do not, like our ancestors,, tear off -with our teeth the half-nsook-ed tough flesh from the bones. To do so* would W considered highly improper. Hence we humor- the , whims of our age. Good breeding demands of us to use a knife and fork in preference to our teeth. But disuse is death. Therefore the human teeth of the present age die early. The constitutional vitality of the individual is also an important factor.