To illustrate the prevailing ignorance relative to this most important
necessity of self-care, and also a traditional prejudice, even among
physicians, the following extract from a letter just received is given:
"You ask me to define more exactly what I mean by constipation; this
is not at all difficult; I mean skipping a day in having a call to
stool. There was no trouble about it, and the quantity was not large,
but when I mentioned it to my doctor he advised me to stop chewing
if it interfered with the regular daily stools. I must confess that
I never felt so well as while I was chewing and sipping, instead of
the hasty bolting and gulping which one is apt to do on thoughtless
or busy occasions, but I don't think it is worth while for a chap to
monkey with his hygienic department when he is employing a professional
regularly to tell him the latest kink about health." To this surprising
state of ... the evidence of "professionals" like Van Someren, Kellogg,
Higgins, and Dewey, as well as that of the great men of physiology who
have spoken herein, and in the "A.B.-Z. of Our Own Nutrition," gives
hopeful answer, but suggests a warning.
The author has noticed that immediately folk begin to give attention
to any new _régime_ relative to diet, exercise, mental discipline,
or whatever else, they begin to charge all unusual happenings to
the change of habit, whereas before the same things were common but
unnoticed. Even among men of scientific habit of thought, unduly
constipated by stale conservatism, the old, old corpse of tradition,
"The accumulated experience of the whole race must be correct," is
revived and used in argument contentiously; but to this relapse
into non-scientific reasoning comes the reply: "If the accumulated
experience of the human race is evidence that crime and disease are
natural, then disease and crime are good things and should not be
discouraged."
There are many sorts of constipation, the worst of which are
constipation of affection, of appreciation, of gratitude, and of all
the constructive virtues which constitute true altruism. Let us avoid
sinning in this regard! In pursuit of this thought the following is
_àpropos_:
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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