A MEDICAL JUDGMENT OF THE JAPANESE.
THE Japanese have taught Europeans and Americans a lesson, and quenched, in some degree, the conceit of the Caucasian in his superior capacity to do all things. Even in the matter of diet, our long-cherished theory that the energy and vitality of the white man are largely due to the amount of animal food consumed, must undergo revision. The Japanese are allowed to be among the very strongest people on the earth. They are strong mentally and physically, and yet practically they eat no meat at all. The diet which enables them to develop such hardy frames and such well-balanced and keen brains, consists wholly of rice, steamed or boiled, while the better-to-do, add to this Spartan fare, fish, eggs, vegetables, and fruit. For beverages they use weak tea, without sugar or milk, and pure water, alcoholic stimulants being but rarely indulged in. Water is imbibed in what we should consider prodigious quantities—to an Englishman, indeed, the drinking of so much water would be regarded as madness. The average Japanese individual swallows about a gallon daily, in divided doses. The Japanese recognize the beneficial effect of flushing the system through the medium of the kidneys, and they also cleanse the exterior of their bodies to an extent undreamed of in Europe or in America. The Japanese have proved that a frugal manner of living is consistent with great bodily strength—indeed, is perhaps more so than the meat diet of the white man. As to the water-drinking habit, which is so distinctive a custom to them, it is probably an aid to keeping the system free from blood impurities, and might be followed with advantage in European countries to a far greater extent than is at present the case. Hydropathy and exercise seem to be the sheet anchors of the Japanese training regimen, and, judging from results, have been eminently satisfactory.—Medical Record.