Effects of Eating Too Much
By Claud E. Steen
MANY persons think that when they have laid aside meat, coffee, tea, and some of the other deleterious things, then they are at liberty to use without limit the abundance of perfectly good food with which the Lord has blessed us. But as surely as they do, they will have to suffer. The Lord said through Paul, in 1 Cor. 9:25, “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.” What is temperance? It has been defined as the absolute nonuse of all things injurious, and the moderate use of things good. The affection of any one of the numerous organs and tissues of the body spells the name of a disease. The primary cause — overeating — explains the beginning of most of them. Science has as yet failed to disprove the results of the many experiments carried on by Professor Chittenden; that is, that man eats far in excess of what he should for the best of health and happiness, not mentioning the greater amount of work accomplished when one eats less, and the saving on the pocketbook. Many people say, “We will store up food and energy for future work.” But this is not so, for the body can use only enough for immediate requirements. All above this amount must be handled as waste. Man does not live on what he eats, but on what he digests. Overeating may be (1) temporary — the result of an occasional “feed” or “drunk,” as we might call it — or (2) chronic. Temporary overeating may apply to the excessive consumption (a) of a mixed diet, or (b) of particular articles of food. Many troubles may follow either one or both of these causes. Chronic overeating brings in its train Bright’s disease, gout, rheumatism, appendicitis, congestion of the liver, biliousness, constipation, and many other diseases. It is proper to depend upon a normal appetite to give information as to when to stop eating. The appetite is the conscious call of the body for food. The body will call for food until it is satisfied. But how shall we know when the needs of the body are supplied? One cannot eat until the stomach digests food enough to supply these needs, although this is what most people try to do. The appetite sends out its signals through the taste. In other words, when the taste has been obtained from enough food, the desire for food is gone. Nine persons out of every ten — yes, possibly ninety-nine out of every hundred — swallow food, taste, and all, and of course only lack of capacity cuts short their pleasant repast. In the acute form mentioned above, the body generally has some reserve power to help digest and throw off the excess; but in the chronic form, a constant stress is placed upon the eliminative organs, which sooner or later give way under the strain. Let each one study these principles, and apply them to his own life, and all will recognize the wisdom of the Creator in the words recorded in 1 Cor. 10:31: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”