Chapter XXI: HIRED HELP (continued) (5)

Almost unique in medical history is the case of a woman typhoid
carrier, who, it is said, will carry the bacilli with her through
life. The case is described by Dr Barbara Cunningham in a report
of the Manchester Medical Officer of Health. In order that the
woman shall cease to be a source of danger--as she has been
keeping lodgers--the health authorities are giving her 7s. a
week, and that, with her old-age pension of 5s., will be
sufficient to keep her without lodgers. The case has aroused much
interest in Manchester. The principal restrictions on the part of
the Health Department are that she must not cook or wash for
anyone. Anyone can, however, cook for her. In discussing the case
Dr Martin, who for 25 years was Medical Officer of Health for
Gorton, remarked that in some cases of typhoid carriers the
infection ceased to exist for a time, but it was unusual for it
to exist year after year. "The reason for the woman referred to
carrying the typhoid bacilli with her through life is," he added,
"because of a peculiarity of constitution. There is no remedy to
be found for it at present, and no means of freeing her from the
germs, hence the reward offered by an American to anyone who can
find a remedy for such cases. The germs themselves are proof
against remedies, and they go on multiplying. The woman is
incurable, and you cannot kill the germs without killing the
woman. It is the first case, to my knowledge, where the health
authorities have taken such measures to prevent a spread of the
infection." The history of the affair is interesting. The woman's
case had been reported to the authorities, and when her lodger
became ill with typhus she was suspected, and was found to be
giving off large numbers of typhoid bacilli. She was placed in
Monsall Hospital for two months, during which time she was
treated with gradually increasing doses of vaccine prepared in
the Public Health Laboratory, York Place. When discharged, three
separate tests were made as regards the typhoid bacilli. For one
week after her discharge the organisms did not reappear, but
during the second week a few colonies were grown, and in the
third and fourth weeks the number increased. Shortly after that
her lodger developed enteric fever.

This case is instructive, because it shows very clearly the utter futility of the modern method of treating infectious diseases by means of drugs and vaccines.

It is well known that the infecting agent or microbe found in cases of typhoid fever originates in man himself, that, in fact, it is essentially a man-made disorder. Dr Budd, who was the first to fully investigate this important subject, brought together the most convincing considerations to show this.

We know further that impure water and milk, shellfish and certain foods which are contaminated with sewage are capable of giving rise to epidemics of this complaint.

This was shown in Paris in May last, when a plumber carelessly connected a pipe along which Seine water flowed to a drinking-water pipe. The typhoid germ is always present in Seine water and this mistake cost the lives of twenty people.

Dr Freeman, an American doctor, who has studied the habits of the typhoid germ, tells us that it does not survive so well outside the human body as does the tubercle microbe, but it can, nevertheless, do an incalculable amount of mischief when the local authorities are careless about the matter of sewage disposal.

A great deal has been heard of late of what are termed Typhoid Carriers. There are apparently numbers of people who, while they appear to be in good health, yet harbour these germs and are thus liable to infect others with them; and the problem is what to do with them.

The orthodox authorities, as happened in the case cited above, would like to isolate them indefinitely and even to pension them off for life, but this seems to be a hopeless way out of the difficulty.

The remedy seems obvious to me. Let us stop the drugs and serums and use common-sense hygiene of the body instead. This must be patent to anyone who has any knowledge of the subject; but why the authorities do not put it into execution I am at a loss to imagine. Surely the right thing to do is to clear away the impurities in which the typhoid germs live. _By depriving them of the material or soil in which they grow and propagate we should practically starve them out of existence._

Moreover, this seems to me to be a perfectly easy procedure. If this woman were handed over to me for treatment I should at once place her on an antiseptic diet consisting solely of salads, grated roots, fresh fruits, sour buttermilk and dextrinised cereals. The effect of this diet would be to cleanse and sterilise the entire digestive tract, and thus break up and clear away the soil in which the microbes are living. Supplementary to this cleansing diet other means could be adopted to effect a general purification of the whole body. Thus vapour baths could be used to promote skin action; beverages could be taken morning and night, consisting of distilled water with lemon juice or suitable herbal "teas" to promote free action of the kidneys; and colon-flushing treatment could be used to fully cleanse the colon, or large bowel.

By combined treatment of this rational order, I am convinced that this woman would speedily become freed from her unpleasant visitors and would be enabled to return to her relations without, as it were, a stain upon her character.

H. VALENTINE KNAGGS.

BURIED TALENT COMPETITION.

The Editors of _The Healthy Life_ are convinced that there are many men and women who can write well and interestingly on subjects relating to health in its many aspects; and they wish to unearth this talent.

They therefore offer a _First Prize_ of _Two Guineas_, a _Second Prize_ of _One Guinea_, and a _Third Prize_ of _Books_ (published at _The Healthy Life_ Office) to the value of Half-a-Guinea, for the best ESSAY, SKETCH or SHORT STORY appropriate to the pages of _The Healthy Life._

Please read the following Conditions carefully:--

CONDITIONS.

1. Each Essay, Short Story, or Sketch must contain _not less than
1000 words_, and _not more than 2000 words._

2. Each Essay, Short Story, or Sketch must be written (or typed)
on one side of the paper only, leaving at least one inch of
margin on which each 100 words must be indicated in figures.

3. Each attempt must be accompanied by the front cover (or top
part of cover showing date) of either the December or January
numbers. (Where more than one MS. is sent in by one contributor,
extra covers in proportion must be enclosed.)

4. The full name and address of the competitor must be written at
the foot of last page, in addition to the competitor's _nom de
plume_ (if any).

5. All Essays, Short Stories or Sketches must be sent in not
later than the 31st of January 1914, addressed _Buried Talent_,
_The Healthy Life_, 3 Tudor Street, London, E.C.

6. No one who is at present, or has ever been, a regular
contributor to _The Healthy Life_ is eligible for a prize.

7. The Editors reserve the right to publish any contribution sent
in under this Competition.

8. The decision of the Editors will be final and no
correspondence can be entered into with unsuccessful competitors.

Competitors are asked to note that legibility of handwriting will carry weight as well as intrinsic merit.

HEALTHY LIFE RECIPES.

SOUPS.

Many cases of ill-health demand that the meals should be as dry as possible. Having granted this, it will be admitted that there is quite a proper place for soups in ordinary everyday food reform catering.

The chief objection to ordinary soups is that they are made on a basis of meat stock and flavoured with one of various "meat extract" preparations. Meat stock, meat gravy and meat extract all alike represent the least desirable elements in flesh food, namely, the acids and tissue-wastes of the living animal at the moment of its death--acids and tissue-debris which were on their way to normal excretion via the lymph channels, veins, etc.

It is therefore only common-sense to avoid such soup-bases, especially as the most excellent soups can be made without recourse to any animal product.

The juices of vegetables, being rich in alkaline "salts" and other organic elements, are the natural cleansing agents in a rational diet. Hence to obtain a maximum _remedial_ effect, vegetable soup should be taken in the form of a clear, unflavoured broth, quite apart from the solid meals, and preferably on retiring. But for the dinner or supper soup, some richness of flavour and creaminess of substance are pleasing and legitimate.

The following recipes explain, first, how to prepare vegetable "stock," and then how to make rich, creamy nourishing soups, on the basis of that "stock." Each recipe will, of course, suggest variations.

HOW TO MAKE VEGETABLE STOCK.

Put any fresh vegetables in season in a large stewpot--being careful not to include _overmuch_ cabbage or other coarse green leaves, as these give a rather strong flavour--with a quart or more of water, cover, and simmer gently for at least two hours. The outer leaves discarded when preparing vegetables for the table, the stalks and stems, and the peelings of apples, potatoes, etc., should all be used for stock, care being taken, of course, to cleanse them well first, cutting out any insect-eaten or decayed parts.

ALMOND CREAM SOUP.

Mix two tablespoonfuls of fine wholemeal or good "standard" flour into a smooth paste with a little water, add this to the hot stock (as above), and stir till soup is thickened. Just before serving stir in a tablespoonful of Almond Cream (either "P.R." or Mapleton's).

_The addition of the almond cream gives the above a nutritive value, apart from the tonic and cleansing elements in the stock._

NOURISHING ARTICHOKE SOUP.

Pare, scrub and cut into small pieces, 1 lb. of artichokes and put immediately into a pan with a pint of water or milk and water. Boil till soft, then rub through a wire sieve, using a wooden spoon. Put back in pan, add a little more water, a little chopped parsley, and a small piece of butter (or nut butter). Bring to the boil, stirring well; stir in a tablespoonful of Pinekernel Cream ("P.R." or Mapleton's), and serve at once.

LEEK AND CELERY SOUP.

Put four well-cleansed medium-sized leeks (cut up small), the outer parts of a head of celery (chopped), a quart of water and 2 oz. unpolished Japan rice, into a pan and simmer for two hours. Rub through wire sieve, return to pan, bring to the boil, and serve.

_This soup is not so much nutritive as cleansing and antiseptic._

TASTE OR THEORY?

FRUIT AND THE OXALIC ACID BOGEY.

Many and varied are the creeds of Health Reformers, but all may be included within two main camps. And the opposing battle-cries are Instinct _versus_ Intellect, Taste _versus_ Theory, _a priori versus a posteriori_, Motives _versus_ Purposes. Some overlapping and confusion of creed may be found in both camps, but in the main one is filled with lovers of Nature, the other with devotees of Science.

"We believe in simplicity," cries the Nature-lover from the meadow where he is taking a sun-bath; "you are so complex, so artificial."

"We believe in being 'sensible,'" retorts the devotee of Science from the cabinet where he is taking an electric light bath, "you are so extreme."

"Not extreme--consistent. Your treatment varies every month as the decrees of 'Science' change."

"But your treatment varies every minute as the wind and clouds change. I can keep mine constant with mathematical accuracy, or vary the light to a nicety by pressing a button."

And so also is it with regard to diet. The person who talks learnedly about germs and calories (though he never saw a germ or measured a calorie in his life) will be found in the same camp with the electric light advocate, while this other who cultivates a taste in harmony with Nature by consuming what he likes best of her unaltered products, he is found arm in arm with the sun-bather. But Science will by no means allow him to eat his uncooked food in peace. "If we all adopt _that_ diet," her pseudo-disciples cry, "what is to become of the potatoes?"

Now, with regard to uncooked foods, it would seem that as little fault can be found with ripe fruit in its natural state as with any article of diet. Yet even here "Science" holds up a warning hand and is succeeding in scaring people away from one of the most harmless, most wholesome and most neglected of foods.

Leaving generalities, let us come to a specific case, an actual difficulty propounded to me by a sufferer, one who had spent her substance till she could spend no more in having various parts of herself examined and in learned prescriptions and processes of cure, but who found herself as far from health as ever. Obsessed by certain theories of "Science," this lady had acquired a dread of sugar _in every form_. Hence her query addressed to me: "In your book, _No Rheumatism_, you say that sugar is to be avoided. Why, then, do you recommend fruit, which is mostly sugar?"

I replied as follows: "The reason I recommend ripe uncooked fruit--in spite of its containing a certain quantity of sugar--is that it contains also purifying salts, and that for most people it is the pleasantest form in which these salts can be taken. Moreover, fruit sugar appears to be more wholesome than that formed from starch. When you say that 'fruit is mostly sugar,' are you not leaving the water of the fruit out of account? As the water often amounts to 90 per cent. this makes all the difference. Taking the fruits generally grown in this country the average proportion of sugar is seven per cent.

[This statement is based on the following figures given in Goodale's Physiological Botany:--

Apples contain 7.73 per cent. sugar
Pears " 8.26 " "
Plums " 3.56 " "
Strawberries 6.28 " "
Gooseberries 7.03 " "

Grapes are stated to contain 24.36 per cent, but often contain much less and sometimes even more.]

"Now a person eating fruit _ad lib._, but allowed other foods, will hardly ever eat more than a pound or two a day (generally less). But suppose him to eat two pounds. Seven per cent. of this is 2+1/4 oz. If he eats only 1 lb. he takes 1+1/8 oz. sugar. Now compare this with the amount he gets from starchy foods, say, bread, which contains fifty per cent. of starch and sugar. As the starch, if it is to be assimilated, must be (and as a general rule practically all is) converted into sugar during digestion, we get from 1 lb. of bread 8 oz. of sugar (to be exact, nearly 9 oz., because starch forms rather more than its own weight of sugar). But the weight of bread allowed for daily food, if no other starchy or sugary food is taken, is--according to orthodox physiology books--1 lb., 11 oz., yielding over 14 oz. of sugar. Now I reduce the starchy food to 8 oz. or less (_No Rheumatism_, p. 34), yielding at most about 4+1/2 oz. of sugar. You see, then, that the patient can now afford to take even 2 lbs. of fruit, because this will bring his total of sugar up to only 6+3/4 oz., as against 14 oz. allowed by the orthodox. And if, as I recommend (p. 33), fruits containing but little sugar (especially cucumbers) are taken, his total sugar under my regime will be even less than 6+3/4 oz.

"As so many people fail to distinguish between fruit sugar occurring naturally in fruit and ordinary separated and concentrated cane sugar, or even beet sugar separated by various chemicals--'shop sugar,' in fact--I translate for you a passage from Dr Carton's _Trois Aliments Meurtriers_[20]:--

[20] _Some Popular Foodstuffs Exposed_, translated by D.M. Richardson. 1s. net. Daniel.

"'Let us proceed now to the study of the third deadly food. The sugar contained in vegetables and raw fruits is a living aliment, physiologically combined with the protoplasm of the vegetable cells, associated with ferments and with vitalised chemical salts. The absorption of this natural sugar is effected by a harmonious contact, by an exchange of energy between the living vegetable cells and our living digestive cells.

"'The sugar of commerce, on the contrary, is a dead food which has lost all association with vegetable protoplasm, with vitalised mineral salts and with oxidising ferments which would render it physiological. It is nothing more than a drug, a dangerous chemical, because Nature has nowhere presented it to us in this form.... Its absorption involves an anti-physiological irritation which over-excites the viscera, and when repeated ends by profoundly altering them.'"

"This is all very well," cries Pseudo-Science, "but people may eat too much fruit."

"Certainly, but then I warn them at once," quoth Taste.

"But they have an idea it is good for them, and they disregard your warnings."

"If they 'have an idea' which runs counter to my warnings and my penalties, to say nothing of my promises and my rewards, then they can only get that idea from you, Mr Pseudo-Science, with your theories and your figures and your long words."

"Why not from your relative, Unnatural Taste? Anyhow, it is my duty to warn them."

"If they don't heed my warning, they certainly won't heed yours," says Taste.

"But I can paint such a picture of the trouble they store up for the future if they persist in excessive fruit eating!"

"Never mind about persisting and storing up for the future. I punish excess in fruit eating as in everything else by prompt discomfort and pain."

"But what do you know about oxalic acid?"

"Enough to avoid it. Like every other poison it is repugnant to me."

"Yet fruit which is so nice in the mouth may ferment in the intestines and form that very poison. Then what are you going to do about it?"

"Take care that not too much fruit is eaten another time."

"But in the meantime the oxalic acid already formed must be neutralised at once."

"No, no! It would be a pity to do that. Oxalic acid is the latest fashion. What would your patients do without it? And what would you do without your patients?"

"It must be neutralised at once. It can only be neutralised at the cost of abstracting lime from the system. Result: oxalate of lime, forming calculus, or 'stone,' which you don't want, and tissues depleted of lime which you do want."

"So you get your patients after all. In fact, having 'neutralised their oxalic acid' to escape you, they come back to you with two diseases instead of one. It seems to me you are a very profitable investment, Mr Pseudo-Science."

"Really, Mr Taste, you would not, I presume, have me suppress the truth simply because it happens to be profitable?"

"But is it the truth? What proof have you?"

"I presume you are ignorant of the fact that animals have died with all the symptoms of oxalic acid poisoning, simply through taking too much sugar."

"What kind of animals? You chose such as are used to taking shop sugar as part of their ordinary food, of course?"

"Well--no; not in that form. The subjects of the experiment were rabbits."

"Ah! And from these you draw deductions about man who has been eating artificial sugar for ages. How like a vivisectionist! But what doses of sugar did the rabbits get?"

"About one-fortieth of the body-weight."

"That would be as if a man of 150 lbs. weight should take 3+3/4 lbs. sugar at a meal! And since it is excessive fruit you are warning us against, can you tell me how many pounds of fruit--say, apples--one must take in order to get that amount of sugar in a day? No less than sixty pounds. Really your warning seems a little superfluous."

"It is all very well for you to scoff, Mr Taste, but if it were not for me you would know nothing about the latest diseases. I really believe you would be content to go right through life without knowing that you had a duodenum or an appendix."

"Quite" assented Taste cheerfully.

ARNOLD EILOART, B.SC.

A SYMPOSIUM ON UNFIRED FOOD.

_In November, 1912, we published a letter from a reader containing the excellent suggestion that readers who had experimented to any fair extent with unfired diet should be invited to contribute to a conference on the subject in_ THE HEALTHY LIFE, _and that the symposium should be gathered round the following points:--_

(1) The effect of the diet in curing chronic disease.

(2) Its effect on children so brought up--_e.g._ do they get the so-called "inevitable" diseases of chicken-pox, measles, etc., and especially have they good (_i.e._ perfect) teeth?

(3) The effect of the diet in childbirth.

(4) The cost of maintaining a household in this way, as compared with the cost under ordinary conditions.

(5) Is the diet satisfying, or is there a longing for conventional dietary (often found amongst food reformers)?

(6) Is the diet quite satisfactory in winter?

_A number of interesting letters have been published this year, and we shall be glad to receive a large number of personal experiences, but they must be brief, and classified under the above heads as far as possible. The following is a striking piece of personal evidence._--[EDS.]

BUCKHURST HILL, ESSEX,

_28th April 1913._

To the Editors of _The Healthy Life._

DEAR SIRS,

As a slight contribution to the interesting discussion which is
taking place in your magazine, will you allow me to give you a
short summary of nearly sixty years experience of the effects,
in my own case, of flesh eating, vegetarianism and the uncooked
food diet.

This is not a fairy tale, as some may be inclined to think, but a
plain unvarnished statement of facts.

The flesh-eating period lasted for seventeen years. When three
months old I was the unfortunate victim of vaccination poisoning,
and for years afterwards was continually in the doctor's hands.
The best medical men in this country and America were consulted;
for months daily visits were paid to a noted Chicago specialist
in the hope that he might be able to effect a cure, but it was a
case of "love's labour lost," and, instead of improving, my
condition grew steadily worse.

During all these years, drugging was constantly going on, the
pills and potions ordered were religiously swallowed, and,
strange as it may seem, the ordeal was survived. Flesh meat was
eaten daily, and, of all the members of the medical profession
consulted, not one of them ever hinted that a change of diet
might be beneficial.

When 17 years of age my attention was drawn to an article in _The
Phonetic Journal_ on the advantages of a non-flesh diet. By this
time, being thoroughly tired of taking endless quantities of
useless, poisonous and expensive drugs, I decided, there and
then, to throw "physic to the dogs," making up my mind that if
death did come, and it seemed to be staring me in the face, I
would, at any rate, die a vegetarian.

Within six months the most dangerous symptom had completely
disappeared and has never recurred, but, although greatly
benefitting by the new diet, and enjoying on the whole fairly
good health, yet there were frequent attacks of rheumatism,
lumbago and neuralgia; dyspepsia, with its attendant pain and
flatulence, often made life miserable; now and again the liver
would rise up in rebellion, bringing in its train vertigo,
blurred vision and severe headaches; constipation, that bane of
modern life, was a source of endless trouble, in fact, for many
years the enema had to be used once or twice a week, and last,
but worst of all, came those sharp, shooting, lancinating pains,
one of the premonitory symptoms of cancer.

Obviously, there was still something radically wrong somewhere,
and on retiring from practice, a great deal of time and attention
was devoted to the subject, innumerable experiments were made,
and, ultimately, results obtained, the value of which cannot be
exaggerated.

Five years ago the uncooked food diet was commenced, and from the
very first week a steady improvement took place. The constipation
vanished as if by magic; there has not been the slightest touch
of rheumatism or neuralgia for at least three years the liver is
now an unknown quantity, the dyspepsia is a thing of the past,
and, most important of all, the cancer symptoms are entirely
gone, and in their place has come an abounding health, vigour and
vitality that is marvellous. The years seem to have "rolled back
in their flight"; all the centres of life are rejuvenated; and
the hopes, feelings and aspirations of youth sway me now as they
did nearly half-a-century ago. Work, mental or physical, is a
perfect pleasure, and to feel fatigue is almost unknown.

What a glorious gift life really is has never been realised till
now, and the wealth of the Indies would not induce me to go back
to the flesh-pots, or live on cooked foods again. This diet gives
two important advantages: firstly, the elimination of all excess
of starchy matter prevents the formation of needless fat, and,
secondly, the entire absence of artificially sweetened food
removes one of the main causes of over-eating.

Will people ever learn that fat, instead of being a sign of
health, is the very reverse, that every ounce of superfluous
adipose tissue means more work for the heart, diminished
vitality, lessened energy, and, when excessive, is not only a
distinct menace to longevity, but to life itself?

I never take more than two meals a day and very often only one,
which consists of raw vegetables, nuts, olive oil and unfired
bread; the second meal, when required, is a simple fruit salad.

When a vegetarian the writer lived for years on a shilling a
week; it costs rather more now, the oil, nuts, fruit and bread
being more expensive than beans, rice, meal, etc., but the
difference is so trifling that it is not worth talking about.

Whilst "Fletcherising," deep breathing, distilled water, olive
oil, fasting, saltless food, the open-air life, regular exercise,
etc., were valuable allies, it was not until the powerful aid of
uncooked food was invoked that the real benefits began to appear
and life became a real joy. Yours, etc.,

JOHN REID, M.B., C.M.

HEALTH QUERIES.

_Under this heading our contributor, Dr Valentine Knaggs, deals briefly month by month, and according as space permits, with questions of general interest to health seekers and others._

_In all Queries relating to health difficulties it is essential that full details of the correspondent's customary diet should be clearly given._

_Correspondents are earnestly requested to write on _one side only of the paper_, giving full name and address, not for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. When an answer is required by post a stamped addressed envelope must be enclosed._--[EDS.]

_Every inquiry must be accompanied by the front cover (or upper part of same showing date) of a recent number_ of _The Healthy Life_.

ONION JUICE AS HAIR RESTORER.

Mrs M. McC. writes:--In your book, _Onions and Cress_,[21] on p.
49, it is stated that the juice of onions mixed with honey will
change the colour of hair from grey to black. Will you be kind
enough to tell me in what proportion these should be mixed, as,
of course, if not in a proper mixture, the hair would become so
clogged. And will you also kindly tell me how one is to extract
the juice from the onions, whether they are to be boiled or
squeezed when raw.

With regard to the use of a mixture of onion juice and honey as a hair restorative the reader of my little book must remember that it is largely a compilation of quotations from old herbal books, and it gives the history, use and folklore of these interesting edibles. I am not responsible for this recipe and cannot therefore vouch for its utility. We know, however, that onions contain a wonderful sulphured oil and that sulphur in one form or another is an important ingredient of most hair preparations which restore colour. The raw juice evidently should be used, and this can be extracted either by pounding and grating and then extracting the juice under pressure, or it can be readily obtained in any quantity by putting onions through the Enterprise Juice Press. The amount of honey, I think, to be added to this juice should be very small, otherwise, as our correspondent surmises, the preparation would be very sticky and objectionable. Would any reader care to try this and report upon it?

[21] _Onions and Cress_, 6d. net (postage 1d).

SCIATICA.

Mrs M.G. writes:--My husband is a sufferer from sciatica; has had
it for some years, on and off, but just lately he seems is to get
it constantly--sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. He has been
taking some salicylate of soda, and I have tried to persuade him
to give it up. His age is 42. For his meals he takes, on rising,
an apple or a cup of apple tea; an hour afterwards his breakfast,
which consists of two tablespoonfuls of a proteid food mixed with
distilled water, and a hard biscuit, two slices of whole meal
brown bread, nut butter, and watercress or lettuce. During the
morning he drinks barley water. For dinner, a salad and a few
ground nuts and hard biscuits and an apple; sometimes home-made
nut meat and spinach, hard biscuits and dried or fresh fruit.
For tea, a salad or lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cress, and
Shredded Wheat and wholemeal bread. Last thing at night, a few
steamed onions and distilled water. His bowels are in good
condition, very regular, but he has this constant gnawing pain.
If you can help me in any way as to a change in his diet, it will
be a relief to me. I do not mind the trouble of preparing things
for him. It is about two months ago that he has taken to drinking
distilled water, which I make myself. His occupation is very
sedentary, with long hours, sometimes from six in the morning
till nine at night. He has a bicycle, and gets as much exercise
as possible.

From the description given one would assume that the sedentary occupation and long hours of work have caused this correspondent to fall into bad postural habits of sitting and standing, coupled with excessive depletion of his nervous energy. The diet given is on good lines and, with the addition of home-made curd cheese and eggs as proteid, might certainly be continued as it stands, especially as the bowel action is regular. What the correspondent does need is less hours of work; more physical exercises of a brisk back-stretching nature, and certain spinal stretching manipulations of an Osteopathic nature. Full deep breathing in fresh air will also be beneficial. The lower part of the spine, from which the sciatic nerves originate, needs the most attention.

REFINED PARAFFIN AS A CONSTIPATION REMEDY.

Mr E.H. writes:--Will Dr Knaggs very kindly say whether Refined
Paraffin, now being given so generally for the relief of
constipation, may be regarded as a harmless method of overcoming
this trouble or whether its use might lead to harmful results. I
am told that this preparation of oil is not assimilated, and is
therefore harmless, but I should much appreciate Dr Knaggs'
opinion on this matter.

The use of refined paraffin as a remedy for constipation is just now all the rage with the orthodox medical profession. There is nothing really to be said against its right use, provided it is made to serve as one of the means to an end. It has been proved that this paraffin, which is quite tasteless, odourless and easy to swallow, is not absorbed by the system but passes unchanged and unaltered through it. It acts therefore as a mere mechanical lubricant. The one thing to remember is that its use should be combined with a curative diet, so that it need not be taken indefinitely.

(1) DRY THROAT; (2) SACCHARINE; (3) DILATED HEART.

Mr L.S. writes:--I have read _The Healthy Life_ from the
appearance of the first number, and I have studied the Answers to
Correspondents, but have not observed a case identical with my
own, hence my reason for troubling you.

(1) The back part of mouth next throat has a curious glazed
appearance--no cough or expectoration. I am inclined to think it
extends to and includes the stomach. I have always a good
appetite, but am not well nourished; much under weight. Age 44
years; school officer; cycle 25 miles a week.

Eat meat sparingly, not a pound a week. Live principally upon
eggs and bread and butter--(three eggs a day): "Digestive Tea"
two and three times a day.

2. Is saccharine less harmful than sugar for sweetening?

3. As the result of a nervous breakdown I had five years ago I
suffer from a dilated heart, consequently--I suppose--I have
palpitation occasionally, oftener when in bed. I don't think my
heart is really normal since my breakdown five years ago.

4. Would bathing myself with cold water over the region of the
heart strengthen the muscles? Would you please suggest anything
for strengthening heart. Are lemons or eggs injurious to the
heart?

1. The throat symptoms indicate a dry, irritable, heated condition of the mouth and throat which, as the correspondent surmises, equally affects the stomach and the rest of the digestive organs. He should have a breakfast of fresh fruit only, take salads and grated raw roots with his meals and stop tea altogether. He can drink distilled water and vegetable or lemon drinks (unsweetened) instead.

2. Saccharine is a mineral substance, a fossilised product of putrefactive action in the coal age. It is closely analogous to carbolic acid, which equally originates from microbic action. By leaving off sugar and replacing it by saccharine our correspondent gains nothing. He is simply leaping from the frying pan into the fire. It is best for him to cultivate a taste for unsweetened or even acid drinks.

3. A dilated heart is usually an after effect of a dilated stomach, which strains it, just as it does every other organ, whether in the chest or the abdomen.

4. Bathing the chest with cold water is not desirable. What is needed is that the correspondent should drink as little fluid as possible and pay close attention to the condition of his digestive mechanism. If the organs are dilated or misplaced he should wear a belt and take suitable gentle Osteopathic exercises.

TREATMENT FOR STAMMERING.

A.M.D. writes:--Could you kindly give in _The Healthy Life_
magazine some suggestions as to the best method to follow in a
case of stammering (slight) in a boy of ten or eleven years who
has been rather left to himself, the hesitancy in speech being
regarded as incurable?

This boy should be trained by someone who understands how to cure stammering. The correspondent would do well to consult Miss Behncke of 18 Earl's Court Square, S.W., who makes a speciality of treating such cases.

WHY THE RED CORPUSCLES ARE DEFICIENT IN ANAEMIA.

A.M.D. writes:--Is there any way, independent of diet, of
increasing the red corpuscles in the blood? I have tried walking
nine miles a day, thus getting up free perspirations. What of
this method? I did imagine that this resulted in a better
condition of the skin, the latter losing in a measure the white
and parched appearance.

A deficiency of red corpuscles in the blood, which shows in anaemia, is usually caused by self-poisoning. When food ferments or putrifies in the colon, owing to faulty diet and other causes, certain toxins are created. These become absorbed into the blood and there destroy the red corpuscles. Walking is a good form of exercise, but it will not suffice alone to remedy this type of anaemia unless the diet and general habits of the patient are so arranged that the unsanitary condition of the colon is also remedied. The correspondent will find, if she studies the replies to others in this magazine, many details as to diet, etc., for rectifying bad conditions in the bowels.

THE CORRECT BLENDING OF FOODS.

T.B.W. writes:--Is it inadvisable for a dyspeptic (and sufferer
from constipation) to eat salad, or cooked vegetables, and stewed
fruit at the same meal; also, do I do right in eating bread and
butter (preferably crust) or hard biscuits with stewed fruit or
soft vegetables, etc.? Would you please inform me the best Still
that I can obtain--preferably one that does not require much
attention, and is fairly portable, and that does not cost much to
work?

I do not believe that it is right to mix salads or cooked vegetables with stewed fruits. It is better to take them at separate meals.

It is, in my view, equally bad to take cereals (_i.e._ bread, biscuits, etc.) with stewed fruits. The reason is that cereals call for an alkaline form of digestion in the mouth which the acid fruits or the added sugar greatly retard.

I believe strongly in the all-fruit breakfast or all-fruit supper, when fresh, dried, or even stewed dried fruits (possibly with some fresh cream) can be taken alone, without either cereals or vegetables.

Cereals go best with salads and cooked vegetables, because of the alkalinity of the latter which harmonises with the salivary secretion intended for the digestion of grains.

The Gem Still is the best to buy. It is well made and does not need much attention. The large automatic commercial size is, however, the best if any quantity is needed, as it works throughout the day with practically no attention when properly adjusted.

DIFFICULTIES IN CHANGING TO NON-FLESH DIET.

F.C.W. writes:--I shall be glad if you will inform me from your
experience whether, after one has broken from the customary meat
diet and adopted a "reform" diet, there is any real difficulty in
reverting to the former state. I have seen it stated that
vegetarian diet did not call into action all the natural powers
of the digestive organs, and, this being so, the tendency was for
them to become weakened so that the food reformer eventually
found himself unable to digest meat. I believe some health
culturists make practice of taking meat twice a week. I have been
about seven or eight weeks on reform diet, and though better in
some ways have to confess to a feeling of deficient energy and
nerve power. I was once told by a doctor that I could not afford
to do without the stimulating effect derived from meat. I
propose making a test of the two methods, but should like to hear
from you in reply to the above query. Another new feature I have
noticed on the new diet is a thinness of the teeth and a feeling
of weakness in them generally.

This correspondent omitted to supply his amended diet, so this was asked for and is as follows:--

_On rising_ (6.40).--Cup of cold water.

_Breakfast_ (8 A.M.).--Porridge, boiled egg or white fish done in
oven. Turog brown bread and butter; a banana; cup of coffee.

_Lunch_ (12.45, _at The Home Restaurant_)--Nut or cheese savoury
and one vegetable, a sweet dish, a few dates or a nut and fruit
cake.

_Tea meal (in office at 5)._--Bread and butter, piece of cake,
large cup of cocoa.

_Supper._--One of following:--

(a) "Force" with stewed prunes and junket; small piece of cheese
with wholemeal biscuit.

(b) Milk pudding and stewed fruit; small piece of cheese and
biscuit.

(c) Vegetable soup with toast.

(d) Bread and milk and fruit cake.

_On retiring_ (10 P.M.).--Cup of hot milk.

The correspondent adds further:--

I have only been about eight weeks on food reform and the general
result, so far, is less susceptibility to draughts and ability to
sleep with windows open top and bottom, which I could not do
before, and a feeling of lightness and freshness. On the other
hand, I have not the same nerve force or power. I am of a highly
sensitive nervous disposition, and the latest trouble is with my
teeth. I was told yesterday by a dentist that a non-flesh diet is
harmful to them and that were one to eat meat only, there would
be no trouble! Perhaps it is owing to the dates and nut-and-fruit
cakes which I have been eating, or to a general weakened
condition due to want of finding my natural diet. I have a friend
who is a fine specimen of physical development, and on his going
on to food reform he had to have his teeth seen to. I suppose it
would not be the softer diet giving his teeth less to do. I am at
a disadvantage as I can get nothing specially prepared at home
and can only add to my diet articles which I can prepare myself.
I like my liquids fairly sweet and I like liquid foods. I am a
catarrhal subject and when this starts at the back of the nose
the hearing is affected.

Whenever a person changes from a meat diet to one that is of the non-flesh order the digestive organs have to learn how to adjust their secretions to the altered diet. This applies just as forcibly when a food reformer wishes to return to the "flesh-pots." After a long course of abstinence from meat the food reformer does find it difficult to return to it. This is due not so much to the difficulty in digesting it as to the violent stimulation and grossening of the body which it induces.

I have never heard of any food reformer who discarded meat for ethical or humane reasons who willingly returned to meat so that he could if necessary be in a position to digest it.

With regard to the loss of energy and nerve power the correspondent must distinguish between real weakness and absence of stimulation. The first effects of discarding meat show a deficient energy due to the absence of stimulation. When this has passed it gives place to a feeling of buoyancy and energy which is permanent.

The dental weakness is aggravated, if indeed it is not actually _caused_, by the milk puddings, porridge, cake and sugared beverages which are a feature of this correspondent's diet, and to the absence of salad vegetables. If he amended his diet somewhat as follows he should make steady progress in energy and general fitness:--

_On rising._--Tumblerful of cold water.

_Breakfast_ (7.15).--One lightly boiled, baked or poached egg; Veda bread and butter, a little watercress or other salad. A small cup of Hygiama in place of the sugared cocoa.

_Lunch_ (12.45).--Nut or cheese savoury and one vegetable; baked pudding by preference for second course, or simply a nut and fruit cake; no dates.

_Or_ salad with grated cheese or cream cheese, or flaked pine nuts; followed by a piece of the excellent wholemeal cake supplied at the restaurant this correspondent frequents.

_Tea meal._--One cup of Salfon cocoa (unsweetened), preferably without other food.

_Supper_ (6 to 7) (This meal is at present far too mushy).--Cream cheese, Veda bread with fresh butter or nut butter, salad, tomatoes, cucumber, etc., with dressing of pure oil and lemon juice.

_Or_ simply fresh ripe fruit, with dried fruit and cream; no cereals.

_On retiring._--Cupful of hot unsweetened lemon water, or weak barley water; no milk.

H. VALENTINE KNAGGS.

CORRESPONDENCE.

_All Correspondence should be addressed (and all contributions submitted) to the Editors, _THE HEALTHY LIFE_, 3 Tudor Street, London, E.C._

COTTAGE CHEESE.

WILDERTON, BOURNEMOUTH.
BOURNEMOUTH.

_To the Editors_,

DEAR SIRS,

_Re_ Mrs C.E.J.'s letter and the reply thereto: I should be
inclined to doubt the wisdom of making this from unboiled or
uncooked milk unless one had it from one's own cows and could
supervise the dairy oneself. The average milk that comes into
towns from country farms is--well, it's unthinkable. There's a
saying that what the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't grieve
over, but that doesn't alter the fact that the average cow is
none too clean, the average milker's hands and clothes (to say
nothing of his face, hat and head) none too clean, the
milking-place none too clean, and the circumstances of transit
such as don't make for cleanliness. I have put it very
moderately, as those who know country dairy farms will admit.
Those who particularly want clean cheese from uncooked milk
should buy it from a County Council dairy farm or similar
institution. Yours truly,

B.C. FORDER.

WILL OTHER READERS DO LIKEWISE?

Mrs E. BUMPUS writes (7th October 1913):--

I am ordering two copies each month from my local newsagent.... I
thought he might be induced to show copies of your publication in
his window.

[An attractive blue poster is supplied each month free by the Publishers to all genuine agents who apply for the same.--EDS.]

_THE HEALTHY LIFE_ IN THE LIBRARIES.

Mr C.H. GRINLING writes (25th October 1913):--

I note the suggestion on p. 580 of the October number of _The
Healthy Life_. A friend enables me to ask you to send _The
Healthy Life_ regularly for one year to the Woolwich Public
Library, William Street, Woolwich. I enclose 2s. The librarian
will see that it appears on the magazine-room table regularly.

[There is every reason why _The Healthy Life_ should be known and read in every public library in the United Kingdom. In this we are entirely dependent upon those readers who are ready to follow the excellent example of the above and other correspondents. A year's subscription--2s.--is a very small price to pay for bringing the message of this magazine before the public in this way. We should like to hear from readers in all parts.--EDS.]

FRUIT-OILS AND NUTS.

WESTCLIFF-ON-SEA, 22nd Oct. 1913.

_To the Editors_,

SIRS,

With reference to the last paragraph of "Phosphorus and the
Nerves" on p. 579 of the October number, I should be obliged if I
could be informed through your correspondence columns (1) what
are the "fruit oils" recommended therein and (2) how they are to
be taken. (3) Is olive oil good to take? (4) Is it good for
children? If so how is it to be administered? (5) What nuts are
richest in phosphorus? I enclose my card, and remain, yours
truly,

W.W.

(1) Any olive oil that bears a thorough guarantee of purity (such as "Minerva" Olive Oil, "Creme d'Or" Olive Oil, etc.); also any pure nut oil (such as supplied by Mapleton's or The London Nut Food Co.); also the pure blended oil sold as "Protoid Fruit Oil." Our advertisement pages should be studied for further details.

(2) Suggestions were given on pp. xxxiii and xxxv of the November number.

(3) Yes, excellent.

(4) Yes, they usually take it more readily than adults, for the latters' palates are generally spoilt. For its use see _Right Diet for Children_, by Edgar J. Saxon, 1s. net.

(5) Almonds and walnuts. If the nuts are found difficult to digest try them in a finely prepared form, as in Mapleton's Almond Cream, "P.R." Walnut Butter, or "Protoid" Almond Butter.--[EDS.]

PICKLED PEPPERCORNS.

Lady Cheylesmore was wearing a magnificent cock pheasant's plume.
The eagle eye of the customs official caught sight of it and
handed her a pair of scissors to help her detach it.--_Daily
News._

Now we know what a really well-trained eagle eye can do.

* * * * *

Perhaps the only remnant of the awful sameness characteristic of
the typically English kitchen is the bacon and egg breakfast to
which the average Briton clings with wonderful tenacity. The mere
possibility of infidelity to that national dish is enough to make
one shudder. No one could be such an iconoclast as to suggest a
variant from the traditional breakfast; it would be table-treason
of the worst kind.--_Daily Telegraph._

A middle-aged Briton named Leary,
Of bacon and eggs got so weary,
That for no other reason
He committed high treason--
But whether he shuddered's a query.

* * * * *

Silver-fox furs are rapidly becoming more and more rare, and this
fact lends a special interest to the wonderful collection of
these skins now being shown this week by Revillon Freres at 180
Regent Street. These beautiful silver foxes, to the number of
over a hundred, are grouped in eight large showcases on the
ground floor, and represent the latest arrivals from Revillon's
Canadian outposts, where they have special facilities for
securing these rare skins.--_Daily Chronicle._

A ninth large showcase containing specimens of the steel traps in which "these beautiful silver foxes" are caught, and in which they remain till "collected," would give added interest to the collection at 180 Regent Street.

* * * * *

Sixty-six persons banqueted at Gorleston on a single "sea-pie,"
which weighed 200 lbs. Prepared by an old smack skipper, it was
built in three stories. The foundation consisted of beef bones,
and inside were six large rabbits, half-a-dozen kidneys, thirty
pounds of beef steak.--_Daily Chronicle._

Not to be confused with the Gorleston Mausoleum.

PETER PIPER.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Healthy Life, Vol. V, Nos. 24-28, by Various