For instance, a diet consisting of an excess of acid fruits, or sweets and starches, and at the same time an insufficient quantity of other nutrients 3 By poisoning from the use of tea or coffee, liquor, tobacco, and the various stimulating and narcotic drugs used by civilized man 4 An excess of hydrochloric acid SUPERACIDITY--THE SYMPTOMS So far as the symptoms are concerned, all the above causes may be considered together, since the ultimate result is the same. The symptoms are named in the order of their various stages or the time acidity has endured: 1 [1]Irritation of the mucous lining of the stomach, expressed by a burning sometimes called "heartburn" 2 Abnormal appetite caused by the irritation of too much hydrochloric acid in the irritated cells of the stomach Many people mistake these symptoms for evidence of good health, until overeating produces nervous indigestion, and sometimes a complete breakdown. 3 Fevered mouth, and so-called fever-sores on the lips and tongue, both of which are a true mirror of the condition of the stomach 4 [1]A sour fluid rising in the throat from one to two hours after meals 5 White coating on the tongue 6 Faintness, emptiness; in the language of the layman a "hollowness and an all-gone caved-in" feeling [1] (See "Fermentation--The Symptoms," p. 426) SUPERACIDITY--THE REMEDY In all cases of superacidity all fruit, especially that of an acid character, except citrus fruits, should be omitted, and also all sweets except a very limited quantity of maple-sugar and sweet fruits--and these never in conjunction with the meal. Foods containing proteids (nitrogen, albumin and casein), together with fresh green vegetables, should form the principal part of the diet. [Sidenote: One acid will not counteract another] It has been the theory with dietitians that those afflicted with hyperchlorhydria (supersecretion of hydrochloric acid) should not take sweets, but should take acids liberally. This is one of the few instances in which medical guesswork seems to have a foundation of fact. For there is no doubt but that the giving of hydrochloric acid, the normal stomach acid, _before_ a meal, tends to retard and restrict the development of hydrochloric acid _during_ the meal. It remains true, on the other hand, that the giving of hydrochloric acid after the meal tends always to increase the supply of free and combined hydrochloric acid in the stomach during the process of stomach digestion. For list of foods to be eaten and omitted in cases of overeating, superacidity, fermentation and gas dilatation, see p. 433. For the importance of water-drinking, see p. 434. FERMENTATION Fermentation is the effort of Nature to dispose of or to dissolve things it cannot use; it is the first step in the process of decay. FERMENTATION--THE CAUSE