It is generally observed, that the most unhealthy are found among those who feed high upon the most delicious dainties, and drink nothing but the strongest and most spirituous liquors; whereas others who want this delicate fare, are seldom sick, except they have such unsatiable appetites as to eat too much; which a man may do of the plainest diet, whose _belly is his god_, as an apostle expresses it. Phil. iii 19. But tho’ men may glut themselves with coarse food, yet coarse food, and long life are very confident, as appears by John Bill, mentioned in the history of _Cold Baths_, p. 408. whose food was bread, cheese, and butter; and drink, whey, butter-milk, or water; and yet he lived 133 years, and was a strong, strait, upright man. And the food of John Bailes, whose age amounted to 128, was for the most part brown bread and cheese; and his drink, water, or small beer and milk, _Cold Bath_, p. 416. He had buried the whole town of Northampton twenty times over, except three or four, and said, _Strong drink killed them all_. [Sidenote: _Small suppers best._] Dr. Pratt adviseth to sup sparingly; for to sup sparingly, he saith, is most healthful, because of the experience of an infinite number of persons who have received the greatest benefit from light suppers. For the stomach being not overburdened, the sleep is more pleasant; and from sparing suppers the breeding of those humours it prevented, which cause defluxions, rheumatisms, gouts, dropsies, giddiness, and corruption in the mouth from the scurvy: And from light suppers a freedom from sickness and reaching in the morning is obtained, and concoction is made perfect, which prevents obstructions. [Sidenote: _Fasting, its benefit._] Another saith, it is well known, that many indispositions are cured by fasting, or a very spare diet; for what is taken into the stomach being no more than can be well digested, the chylous juice, so rightly prepared, is conveyed into the lacteal vessels, and from thence into the blood; so that, nature being duly supplied with well-concocted nourishment, the corrupted blood will free itself from that corruption in time, by throwing it out, through the pores of the skin, in perspiration, and supply itself with the purer juices; and, in this way, consumptions and scurvies, and other chronical distempers, will be overcome. Which way of curing diseases by fasting, swine do naturally betake themselves to, who, when sick, will eat nothing till they recover, as they always do after they injure themselves by over-eating; in which over-eating they are imitated by all who delight in gluttony, tho’ not in using the same means of recovery, by fasting; so that hogs are wiser in that particular than such people. [Sidenote: _A rule in eating._]