Constipation, long continued, is by no means a trifling matter. It represents a constant and cumulative tax which often ends in very serious consequences. [Sidenote: Water-Drinking] Free water-drinking when the stomach is empty, especially before breakfast, is beneficial in constipation. Free water-drinking at meals may prove constipating. Excess of water should be avoided by the very feeble or those suffering from heart trouble or dropsy. [Sidenote: Laxative Foods] The best regulators of the bowels are foods. Foods should possess sufficient bulk to promote the action of the intestines and should contain a due amount of laxative elements. Foods which are especially laxative are prunes, figs, most fruits except bananas, fruit juices, all fresh vegetables, especially greens of all sorts, wheat, bran, and the whole grain cereals. Oils and fats are also laxative but can not be used in sufficiently large quantities to produce very laxative effects without producing loss of appetite. Foods which have the opposite tendency are rice, boiled milk, fine wheat-flour in bread, corn-starch, white of egg. [Sidenote: Bran and Agar-Agar] The use of wheat-bran in cereals, in bread, and even in vegetables is a preventive of constipation, as is also the use of agar-agar, a Japanese seaweed product. This is not digested and absorbed, but acts as a water-carrier and a sweep to the intestinal tract. It should be taken without admixture with laxative drugs. [Sidenote: Mineral Oils] Paraffin oil is especially good as an intestinal lubricant to assist the food to slip through the intestinal tube at the proper rate of progress, provided the oil is first freed, by long-continued shaking with water, from certain dangerous impurities. Many refined preparations are on the market for use in constipation. Underweight people should not use these oils unless properly prescribed by a physician. [Sidenote: Avoiding Drugs] It is advisable, in general, to avoid cathartics except under medical supervision, since certain drugs are often very harmful when their use is long continued and the longer they are used the more dependent on them the user becomes. Laxative drugs, even mineral waters, should never be used habitually. [Sidenote: Enemas] The occasional, but not habitual, use of an enema (with warm water followed always by a second enema of cool water, to prevent relaxation) is a temporary expedient. [Sidenote: Massage of the Colon] Massage of the abdomen, deep and thorough, with a creeping movement of the ends of the fingers on the left side of the abdomen from above downward, also promotes the process of defecation. The normal man and woman should find no difficulty in having complete movements regularly two or three times a day by merely living a reasonable life, being careful especially to avoid overfatigue, to include sufficient bulk in the food, to take regular exercise, including, in particular, breathing exercises, and to maintain an erect carriage.