How to Eat: A Cure for "Nerves"Hinkle, Thomas C. (Thomas Clark)
Science
How to Eat: A Cure for "Nerves"
Hinkle, Thomas C. (Thomas Clark)
Diet in disease; Nervous system -- Diseases; Nervous system -- Hygiene
Apples, apples, apples! Eat them no matter what the price. You remember
how good Adam found the apple--or at least we presume it was an apple
that he found so good--and I can think of no other single thing that
would tempt a man to make all the trouble he did. If he had to sin, then
I'm for Adam every time, for I think had I been in his place and Eve had
offered me a big juicy red apple, I should have taken it and eaten it. I
don't know but that I might even have eaten it without the invitation. I
think that Adam's great mistake was not so much in eating the apple as
in trying to lay the blame on the woman. Nobody should ever apologize
for having eaten an apple.
Now, generally speaking, there is one thing a nervous parent--or any
other kind of parent for that matter--should never say to a child. Never
tell him he is nervous. If we realize that our children are the
offspring of nervous parents, it is, as I have already suggested, much
better for all concerned, for we cannot avoid a danger unless we know
what or where the danger is. When we know the child is nervous we should
plan carefully, leaving out of his diet all pastries and rich greasy
foods, and keep him largely on a vegetarian diet. But, as I have already
suggested, we do not need to diet a nervous child as strictly as we do a
nervous adult where infinite harm has already been done. Give the
nervous child meat only a part of the time, and if he goes without eggs
it will be all the better for him. I wish from the bottom of my heart
that I had never tasted an egg!
What a fine thing it would be if we so trained our children that they
would never suffer from "nerves"! And usually it could be done. The
belief that because nervous parents have broken down their children
sooner or later must break down, is our greatest curse. But such a
belief is absurd, for if dieting, outdoor exercise, and a few other
simple rules are observed, there is no danger that it will happen. To be
sure, these rules must be definitely understood and strictly adhered to.
If we treat this misfortune in the manner I shall mention later, we can
make our lives more successful and infinitely happier than the lives of
those who have never learned self-control. For instance, I am far
healthier than men all around me who seem to be able to eat three
Christmas dinners each day. They sit at the table and boast about being
"good feeders," then later they come to me for pills, saying, "There is
nothing the matter with me, doctor, but I thought I had better take a
little medicine so I won't get ill." But they don't fool me. I know
exactly what is the matter with them. They are so full of pork they
can't think. To tell the truth, we people who have suffered from a
nervous breakdown or some illness akin to it, and have learned that we
must eat right or die, are of all people the most fortunate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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