Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 October 1883 — THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN. [ARTICLE]

THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN.

DYSPEPSIA —THE CAUSE AND' CUKE. To give the plainest and most manifest definition Of the term dyspepsia is to say that it is the condition of one whose food is not well digested, or that it is not so changed as to afford good blood for the reconstruction of the wasted tissues of the body, caused by exercise. The stomach, the most conspicuous of the digestive organs, becomes enfeebled, like any of the organs of the system, by overwork, by work under unfavorable circumstances, by processes which are too difficult or unnatural, by too continuous labor, with too little time fbr adequate rest. When we remember that our food is taken—or should be—that good blood may be made, such as will well sustain the body, eating becomes a matter of no little importance. It should be membered, in this connection, that some kinds pf food tax the digestive organs much more than others do, and that the time of digestion ranges .from one hour, for a few articles, to more than five hours under ordinary circumstances. Of course, the stomach like other organs, will be in a good condition, or otherwise, on the 1 treatment received, the amount of exhausting labor. —This principle is well illustrated by a reference to two articles of food, rice and pork, the former demanding, under ordinary circumstances, but one hour for digestion, while the latter is exceedingly taxing, requiring live and a fourth hours! Now, admitting that the stomach, like all parts of the body, must have some rest, or utterly fail, lose its power of action, it is manifest, with the usual customs, that it will have but little or no real rest, when pork is eaten at two meals in succession. To use pork, therefore, will tax the stomach about as much, as the body would be exhausted by the labor of twenty hours each day, instead of ten, of course diminishing its effective power, laying the foundation for dyspepsia, Nor is this all. This food, demanding so great an outlay of digestive power, does not yield a fair return of nourishment, not enough to compensate for the force expended that the needed nourishment may be obtained. The hog is a scavenger, intended to devour the filth of the world, as the most expeditions way of disposing of it, and the flesh is so filthy that the average beast of prey will not touch it till driven to desperation by intolerable hunger! The fat liog, almost without exception, has a fatty, diseased oftener than otherwise ulcerated. Not provided with the usual means of excretion of the higher orders of animals, the hog has streams of filth flowing out near the joint of the fore feet, constituting a part of the delicious articles galled souse! When, this swine’s flesh is salted and smoked it is still more difficult of digestion, still more dyspeptic-producing,, It is not strange, therefore, that Moses, instructed and inspired by the great Jehovah, should call this beast an “abomination,” forbidding its use as food to all people, at all times, as he did profanity! Similar objections may by raised to most of our complicated dishes—well represented by the mince pie, -when fashionable, containing from twenty to thirty different ingredients—so taxing or ruining the digestive organs, even in early life, that proper appropriation of the nourishment oi-food cannot be made. Nature loves simplicity, as may be seen in the limited “bill of fare” of tlie ox, and that giant in strength, the elephant, the grasses and a few of the grains, Indeed, the human body is composed pf but few elements, mostly of four! Hence, just to the extent that we depart from this simplicity, we are prodisposed to dyspepsia.— Dr. J. H. Hanaford.