Hyperacidity of the Stomach
THERE are four things that cause the body to fall below its normal or natural weight. Named in the order of their importance they are:— - Hyperacidity, commonly called sour stomach.
- Malassimilation (bad digestion).
- Intestinal fermentation.
- Intestinal congestion, known as constipation.
All these conditions are in reality from the same general cause, and to the mind of the food scientist mean substantially the same thing, but for centuries they have been classed and treated as different disorders; therefore, we shall examine them separately and link them together as we go. Sour stomach, that is, too much acid in the stomach, is a true disease. All the other conditions above named are merely symptoms. Sour stomach causes the food to digest or leave the stomach too quickly. This causes congestion in the intestines (constipation). This in its turn causes inactive or torpid liver, headache, etc. The entire intestinal tract is over thirty feet long, and when food passes out of the stomach containing too much acid, it irritates this entire thirty-foot canal, causing inflammation, and sometimes serious or even fatal disorders. The nutrition is absorbed from our food through millions of little tubes, sometimes called “winking valves,” and when the mucous membrane (inside lining) is swollen and irritated from acid, these little valves are closed, the blood becomes impoverished, and the body emaciated or reduced in weight. As all the faculties are fed by or dependent upon the physical, both the body and mind share in the general decline. This excess of acid causes fermentation in both the stomach and the intestines; fermentation produces gas; the gas distends the stomach and the intestines, and presses against the arteries that lead into and out of the heart. This causes irregular heart action, or so-called valvular heart trouble. This excess of acid also irritates the mucous membrane, or lining, of both the stomach and the intestines, and causes abnormal appetite, which leads to overeating, and overeating causes autointoxication (food poisoning), which is expressed by many different symptoms, one of which is emaciation, or underweight. The millions of little canals and nerve-fibers leading out from this thirty feet of irritated intestines to every part of the body also become irritated, and this causes worry, nervousness, insomnia, loss of memory, and loss of weight. There is a direct nerve connection between the stomach and the brain, and when the stomach is overloaded, irritated with acids, liquors, sweets, and bad combinations of food, the brain shares the trouble with the stomach, and lack of concentration, forgetfulness, irritability, insomnia, etc., result. All the symptoms herein given are generally classed and treated as separate disorders, in fact, emaciation or underweight is often treated as a specific disease. The error may be in diagnosis, or it may be a lack of knowledge in regard to the chemistry of food and the chemistry of digestion, but in any event it is obvious that the logical, and I might say the only, remedy is to remove the primary cause, which is acidity of the stomach. Stomach acidity, often called fermentation, may be caused by any one of the following errors or a combination of them all:— Eating too much cereal starch, such as white bread and mushy breakfast cereals, too much acid fruit, too many sweets, tea, coffee, tobacco, liquor, beer, or overeating of all foods. Knowing the causes the remedy suggests itself. First, limit the quantity of food to the actual demand of the body, regardless of appetite. (There is a very sharp distinction between appetite and hunger.) Second, omit white bread and mushy cereals. Third, omit all acid fruits. Fifth, omit tea, coffee, tobacco, liquors, etc. Confine the diet to milk and eggs, fresh vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, cabbage, parsnips, onions, squash, corn, and beans; also bread made from the entire wheat or plain wheat boiled five or six hours, served with butter or cream. The latter to be taken instead of oatmeal or breakfast cereal. The plain wheat berry when boiled until thoroughly done is one of the most delicious articles of food to be had, and when eaten with cream or butter is well balanced and very nutritious. A healthful, fat-producing meal could be made entirely upon this, and the cost would not exceed two cents. One desiring to gain weight should drink an abundance of water, especially with meals, but should carefully avoid the “washing-down” process, because thorough mastication is very important in order to produce healthful assimilation. The human body is sixty-eight per cent water, and water, in order to enter the blood, must pass into the circulation with the food, and the food in order to be normal must carry at least sixty-eight per cent of water. Copious water drinking with meals, therefore, is of triple importance to those who are under weight. - It dilutes the gastric juice and prevents hyperacidity.
- It aids digestion by relieving irritation in the digestive tract.
- It supplies the blood with the requisite amount of moisture, which promotes both purity and circulation.
If the people would give to the food question the amount of thought commensurate with its importance, both the health and morals of the nation would undergo a great revolution, for it is well known among scientists that good health leads toward good morals, and good morals make better government and better institutions.—New York American.