The Royal Road to Health; or, the Secret of Health Without DrugsTyrrell, Chas. A. (Charles Alfred)
Science
The Royal Road to Health; or, the Secret of Health Without Drugs
Tyrrell, Chas. A. (Charles Alfred)
Enema; Health; Health -- Popular works; Health promotion; Hygiene
This is, no doubt, due to mental influence. The whole of the alimentary
process is under the control of the nervous system, which has its seat
in the brain, consequently, a cheerful mental attitude favors digestion.
It is well known that a fit of anger may temporarily stop digestion. The
mind exerts such a vast influence over every function that it is
impossible to set bounds to it. We are the creatures of habit. We eat so
many times a day, from sheer force of habit. We habituate ourselves to
partake of articles of food against which, at first, the senses rebel,
by the same force; but it is left wholly to man’s reasoning powers
whether his habits shall be cultivated according to the needs of the
system. If they are, perfect nutrition will be established; if they are
not, he is worse off than the animal who knows only to follow the
instincts of the original habits of the species. A man can exercise his
will power to partake of a diet which his taste had not been able to
appreciate, yet no will power can ever provide good nutrition out of a
diet against which taste constantly rebels. Consciousness of the
digestive organs is an offense to them. The more a man is conscious of
his stomach, the less will be its capacity for performing good service;
therefore, a dyspeptic should never attempt to follow a course of
experimental dietetics with himself, for if he watches his stomach after
his carefully selected meal, to see how it will serve him, he will
always find abnormal symptoms. It is never wise to expect anything but
good results from anything which has been allowed to pass beyond the
palate, for that is Nature’s infallible safeguard, its province being to
reject every objectionable thing.
We would again remind the reader that one of the most important offices
of the lungs is to promote the movement of the blood and lymph currents
throughout the body. Active respiration assists all forms of lymph
absorption, but gives special aid to the absorption of food substances
from the stomach and intestines, because these particular lymph vessels
are situated so close to the chest cavity that they are more directly
under the influence of the suction action of the chest.
A few minutes spent in vigorous deep breathing exercise after each meal
is one of the best means of remedying the sense of heaviness and weight
of which so many complain after eating.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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