_Medicinal Value of Fruit_
NATURE has made fruit beautiful that it should please us in one way. It has been made odorous to please us in another way, and the most delicate and delightful flavors have been imparted to it from Nature’s laboratory of essences that it may be a joy to our palates. In the sick room fruit fills an important place. Fruits cause effects which are in no way unnatural; they simply encourage natural processes. Under the head of laxatives we find oranges, figs, tamarinds, prunes, mulberries, dates, nectarines, and plums. Taken in the morning, an orange acts as a very decided laxative, sometimes amounting to a purgative. It is much better than any kind of cathartic. As astringents, we have pomegranates, cranberries, blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, barberries, quinces, pears, and wild cherries. Singers and speakers who are troubled with relaxed throat and uvula use a pomegranate for its astringent properties. Diuretics, or substances which induce elimination by way of the kidneys, are grapes, peaches, strawberries, and black currants. Gooseberries and red and white currants are refrigerants; that is, they reduce abnormal temperature of the body. Apples, limes, and lemons are stomachic sedatives. Apples especially are often a very great relief to people who are troubled with insomnia. Figs split open form excellent poultices for boils and small abscesses. The acid of lemons applied locally will remove tartar from the teeth. Frequently in fever, when there is a desire for liquid, water has a bad taste, which is most trying. The patient’s taste may always be relied upon in such cases to suggest fruit juices to drink. Then after a fast before the stomach is ready to attack any more formidable meal, oranges, grapes, or figs may be wanted. A patient convalescing from measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, or any acute trouble which has necessitated a fast, doesn’t call for toast and eggs first. What the patient really wants is fruit. The appetite is a guide which ought to be respected. If people would only realize that nature is quite well aware what she is about when she calls for certain things, convalescence would be accomplished more quickly and more easily and good health established sooner than when every natural taste is repressed.—The Christian Herald.