Old Age Deferred / The causes of old age and its postponement by hygienic and therapeutic measures

IN the previous editions of this book I have attributed premature old age to the degeneration of certain glands of our body, such as the thyroid gland and the ovaries. It is my intention now to show, that precocious old looks can often be caused by certain faulty habits; thus for instance by not drinking daily a sufficient amount of liquids. There are many women, who be it by an unjustified fear of obesity, or for other reasons, scarcely drink any liquids except possibly a cup of tea or coffee for breakfast. They neither drink with their meals nor much at other times. In such cases the tissues of the face will lack the necessary amount of fluids to which is due, mainly, the roundness and fullness of the cheeks which we so much admire in the fresh faces of young girls and children. In consequence the face will appear lean and haggard, the skin shrivelled and folded, and lines and wrinkles will appear already in the faces of young women. Besides, as the sufficient amount of fluids will be wanting, the toxic products formed daily in our bodies is not washed out through those natural channels, the kidneys and the intestines, but will take their way through the skin, and eruptions and pimples will develop, much to the damage of the complexion. An obstinate constipation will be another consequence, which, giving to the skin of the face a dirty yellow-brown hue, naturally contributes to produce an old appearance of the face. More and more, am I convinced that a generous purging, as for instance by certain mineral waters, is a most efficacious remedy to prevent old looks and at any rate to improve them. Drugs as a general rule are far less wholesome and effective for this purpose.

By not drinking sufficiently, such substances as, for example, uric acid, cannot be washed out and their retention will cause a serious damage to health, facilitating the origin of arteriosclerosis, which very frequently is associated with such conditions. Persons suffering from uric acid present frequently an older aspect than corresponds to their years and the falling out of the hair, or the appearance of gray hair, in early years, is often the case with them.

It is erroneous to think that water produces fatness. If this were the case we would advise the poor people to drink plenty of water that costs nothing, to get fat. It is not water that makes fat, but water that is taken with the meals, together with copious food, thus aiding the absorption and assimilation of the same. To avoid obesity after rich food it is therefore advisable not to drink with the meals, but at other times. Copious food must be avoided, especially fat, starchy food and sweets. A diet consisting of plenty of meat, fats, and above all milk and butter and sweets, is the surest road to obesity. They must be avoided and the preference given to a diet of little meat, green vegetables and fruits. For further details of such a diet I must refer to the chapter, “The Treatment of Obesity,” in my book, “Health and Longevity through Rational Diet,” publishers, F. A. Davis Co., Philadelphia. I must emphasize the necessity of great prudence in reducing cures, for, as I know from my practice in Carlsbad, there is scarcely anything, unless a serious disease, that can produce so rapidly the appearance of age in young persons and the more in riper years, than imprudent and reckless obesity cures, causing wrinkles and the hanging and sunken cheeks.

I must certainly blame the eagerness of many ladies to transform their fresh, round and elastic forms into lean and skinny ones, thinking that thus they will look younger. No; I am certain that many young women look considerably older after these atrocious and imprudent diet-cures. Dieting is more permissible with older persons, if not exceeding certain limits; but young women and girls I would strongly advise to eat hearty meals of mixed food, for, as I also show in my above-mentioned book on Diet, we are introducing in our systems very valuable substances, which are in reality useful remedies with certain articles of food. Most important among these are fresh milk (uncooked), numerous fruits, certain kinds of animal food, which all contain considerable quantities of important mineral salts, indispensable to our well-being, and to the freshness and elasticity of mind and body. Besides these salts and valuable ferments these articles of food contain also a most important substance, called vitamines, which, as its name shows, conveys a kind of vitality to the tissues. It is indispensable to the well-being of the nervous system and also of the muscles, and thus also to the most important muscle of the body, the heart. The vitamines are largely represented in the outer coverings of the rice, of the corn, and also in eggs, potatoes, etc. In fine white bread there is scarcely any, but there is far more in the brown bread containing all parts of the grain. Milk also contains them, but mainly fresh, uncooked milk; strong cooking destroys the vitamines in the plants and the animal food, and besides such cooking, as I show in the chapter on “Rational Cooking” of my book on Rational Diet, also destroys other valuable ferments of great importance for our body. It is certain that our looks, the beauty and size of the human body and of animals, and even the color of the feathers of the birds, depend very much, as I show in the same book, on the wise selection of the food which we eat. Not only in young growing persons, but also in the adult and even in aged persons.

Of the different faulty habits there is probably none that would produce so rapidly the premature appearance of old age in young women as smoking.

The Dangers of Smoking in Women.

If excessive smoking is deleterious to man, in the woman moderate smoking may cause serious alterations. We must not forget that the tissues of women are more delicate and tender than those of men, and especially young women can in this respect be put in the same class with children. The woman is not so well protected against the influence of poisons such as nicotine as the man, for in her some of those glands whose duty is to destroy such poisons, as, for instance, the thyroid, are kept in much greater activity on account of the frequent changes in the ovaries with each menstruation, pregnancy, the climacteric, etc., and with their consequent repercussion upon the thyroid gland, with which the ovaries are closely related. If to this comes such extra work by the daily introduction of poisonous substances, although even in small quantities, the gland may the more readily lose its efficiency. After my own observations which I made upon my patients in Carlsbad coming from eastern countries in Europe, I know that smoking women present a much older aspect, if they have indulged in this habit to a large extent and for years. They soon fade, the cheeks are pale, as a rule, and sunk in. The general nutrition suffers, there is loss of appetite, frequently a catarrh of the stomach and very often pains in the stomach; indeed there is often neurasthenia with sleeplessness. With more excessive smoking there will appear all the symptoms which are common to the chronic nicotine poisoning of men.

I am not prepared to maintain that, after the dinner, a cigarette or sometimes two are dangerous to adult women. The aspect of a lady smoking a cigarette after dinner surely cannot be called attractive, and it certainly does hurt the æsthetic feelings of a normal man to see a woman smoking one big cigar after another. It looks too masculine in a woman, as I have observed in a ladies’ club in Copenhagen, where most of the women sat with big cigars in their mouths. Such habits take away all charm even from the finest looking women, and as a normal woman is attracted by all that is manly in man and is repelled by an effeminate man, we men dislike masculine women, just as we dislike a woman having a mustache and whiskers. If I were a married man, I know I would not like to kiss my wife if she strongly smelled of tobacco, just as it would be repulsive to kiss a man; the smell of strong tobacco creating involuntarily the sensation of associating with a man. Until recently women have presented far less frequently the symptoms of arteriosclerosis than men, excessive smoking being rare with them. But as the effects of smoking are more deleterious to them, naturally arteriosclerosis will arise much sooner in them, and as through the hardening of the arteries the nutrition of the tissues suffer, the nourishing blood not rendering them in sufficient amount—necessarily such persons will begin to look old at a comparatively early period of life.

A Few Cosmetic Hints for the Remedying of Old Looks.

In the previous editions of this book I have shown that it is possible to improve old looks through hygienic measures, the use of the extracts of certain glands, like the thyroid and ovaries and also by the employment of certain drugs like arsenic and the preparations of iodine. I would like to add now a few cosmetic hints against old looks some of which I had already published a few years ago, as a collaborator to the handbook of cosmetics of the dermatologist, Prof. M. Joseph, of Berlin (M. Joseph, Handbuch der Kosmetik, Leipzig, 1912).

In persons of certain age and also in younger persons with a fading expression of the face and beginning wrinkles I have found, as efficacious in producing an immediate improvement, the gentle application to the face of any kind of fats of pure quality and the rubbing thereon of some reliable preparation of white powder. The powder should afterward be wiped off very carefully. It should not be put on in thick layers, for then, as after the use of pastes and paints in general, lines may be created where they are not yet present and lines already existing may be hollowed out to veritable wrinkles. No powder should be visible on the face. The object is to add to faces with dry skin the best variety of fat with reference to its animal origin so as to make up for the wanting secretion of the sebaceous glands and to replace, if possible to a certain extent, the fat wanting in the tissues. All kinds of massaging of the skin should be avoided; only a gentle rubbing is allowed. In fact, I consider massage as deleterious to the face, except it is done by a qualified masseur who is an expert in this kind of massage with a correct anatomical knowledge of the muscles of the face and of the direction they are running. Special care must be taken that the massage of the face should never be done with fats, as this would promote the formation of lines and wrinkles and even of deep ones, if done unskillfully. The massage of the face should consist in gentle strokings of the face with the end of the fingers and always following the direction of the muscles.

The powders used should be of the best possible quality. Before all they should not contain any metallic salts and especially not lead. Unhappily some of the very best powders are prepared with it, as lead gives to the powders a specially white and attractive aspect. But I should like to bring home to the ladies the fact, that these powders are the most apt, especially in persons who perspire easily, to create lines and wrinkles and to give to young faces in a short time an old appearance.

The best powders I consider those which consist of fine rice-powder, amylum, or talcum, and they produce the best effect, if they are not visible on the face. I have often seen the finest complexions ruined by the frequent usage of thick powders, pastes, and paints. The above-mentioned procedure of rubbing in fats and thereupon some of the finest hygienic powders should only be done every other day. To give to fading faces a certain tonicity I recommend the use of alcohol, diluted with three times as much water, which, in the same manner as diluted vinegar, will also improve the complexion. I have found that a very strongly diluted solution of the extract of the suprarenal glands has also a marked effect in toning up the muscles of the face, if rubbed in gently. Only small quantities of the diluted solution should be used for this purpose.

As gray hairs create, even in persons still young, an elderly appearance, it might appear to their advantage to color them. It is best to use such coloring only in regions of small extent rather than in a general way. As the most inoffensive coloring of gray hair among dark hair, I would consider the preparations containing nitrate of silver. Those which contain lead or copper should be condemned.

After all the best weapon against old looks is a hygienic life by which we can best avoid the development of a condition which already at an early age gives an old aspect to the tissues, i.e., of arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Rapid and Early Death Through Arteriosclerosis and its Prevention.

For most arteriosclerotic persons there can be only little hope to live up to a green old age, to become 80 or 90 years old or even to pass on to still higher years. But there are exceptions not so very seldom, and it gives comfort to my patients suffering from this disease and apprehension of the future, when I tell them that nearly all the brothers and sisters of both my parents suffered from this disease for many years, which did not prevent them from attaining ages varying between 80 and 96 years and more. My father ever after his forty-fifth year suffered from attacks of asthma. As a child I was often awakened through his nightly asthmas, but in spite of many symptoms of arteriosclerosis he lived to a great age.

One of my aunts is still living, not very far from 100 years old, although suffering in a high degree from arteriosclerosis for many years. Such protracted cases generally happen in families of longevity and they are only due to, as a rule, regular habits, although it is true that my father was a great smoker in his younger years and even in his last years enjoyed one or two light cigars daily.

Such long survivals constitute, however, a great exception in arteriosclerosis, and it usually happens only in cases where there are no symptoms of that most dreaded form of arteriosclerosis, i.e., the sclerosis of the coronary arteries of the heart. These arteries are probably the most important ones of our body, for they provide the muscles of the heart with the nourishing blood without which they could not do their work. It is the sclerosis—the hardening—of these arteries which, causing an obstacle to the passage of the blood, is the most frequent cause of rapid death in arteriosclerosis, often in comparatively young people. It is a sad fact, that such a condition, as so often is the case with arteriosclerosis, can exist without exhibiting any marked symptoms of it being present. A very frequent symptom of sclerosis of the coronary arteries is attacks of genuine angina pectoris (stenocardia),—to be distinguished from the pseudo-attacks of angina pectoris of neurasthenic persons. In such attacks there are strong radiating pains in the heart region, and a feeling of great anxiety, of utter annihilation, and of instantaneous death; and indeed not so seldom such attacks may terminate in death. These attacks may be considered as a warning of nature that such persons stand on the verge of a precipice and thus urging them to the greatest precautions to avoid anything that may bring about such an attack. From my own observations, rapidly fatal attacks of angina pectoris in such cases of arteriosclerosis happen frequently after a heavy dinner. The stomach being distended, the diaphragm is pushed upward and thus impeding the movements of the heart, which has not sufficient space for the play of its muscles. Such a condition may also be often caused by the ingestion of dishes causing flatulence. In consequence heavy dinners and flatulent foodstuffs must carefully be avoided, and I declare any person who presents attacks of genuine angina pectoris as a determined suicide if he continues to indulge in them. There should be taken 5 small meals a day, so as to avoid the keen appetite which results in overloading the stomach. Foodstuffs causing flatulence such as cabbage, fried potatoes, etc., should, above all, be avoided. Food that is rich in cellulose (wood fiber) is strictly forbidden in such cases. For further details on food producing flatulence I must refer to my above-mentioned diet book, which contains a special chapter on the best food in flatulency and also a list on the amount of cellulose (wood fiber) in different articles of food. For the treatment by drugs refer to the chapter of this book on arteriosclerosis. Besides moderate habits, including the use of very light cigars in the smallest possible quantity (if smoking cannot be given up entirely), overexcitement of any kind, especially sexual, as also overexertions (hill climbing), must strictly be avoided. Transgression of these commands, especially hill climbing, may sometimes mean instantaneous death in advanced cases. Persons suffering from coronary sclerosis with attacks of angina pectoris will do very well to give up their positions if heads of companies with great responsibilities and heavy burdens resting upon their shoulders, as any stormy shareholder meeting may prove fatal to them. As already said it is a sad fact, that persons may suffer from coronary sclerosis without even knowing it, as there are also thousands of victims of arteriosclerosis who are utterly ignorant of their condition, as this disease often presents no marked symptoms. I must deplore that most stupid habit of seeking for medical aid only when the ravages of disease have gone so far that reparation is impossible. How often do people forget the wise English proverb: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Just the same as children are sent every three months to the dentist to see if any of the teeth present may be decaying in order to save them, people already before feeling ill ought to at least once a year be examined thoroughly by a doctor to see if anything is wrong in the human machinery. I feel certain that in such a case many thousands of persons, instead of lying in their dark, cold graves below the earth, could still tread the soil enjoying sunshine and the scent of the flowers. There is no doubt that arteriosclerosis and especially coronary sclerosis could be avoided in many cases, through such an examination, for the onset of arteriosclerosis is generally insidious and slow, especially if it develops in the younger years, when due to syphilis, and thus, if in time recognized, it could be cured. But even without the syphilitic infection, cases in young persons are more frequent than we think.

It is to the present terrible war, raging and destroying so many lives, that we owe the observation made by many of the military doctors that a goodly number of young soldiers present symptoms of arteriosclerosis, many of them having never suffered from syphilis. Often it is but a slight elevation of the blood-pressure, but which, if persistent, may indicate a beginning arteriosclerosis.

The Prevention and Treatment of High Blood-pressure and the Prevention of Apoplexy.

Apoplexy is the consequence of a condition, which may be considered as the highest degree of a scale whose lowest step is often a slight elevation of the blood-pressure, when in a younger person. Thus, if before the 45-70 year period the blood-pressure is somewhat elevated and remains so for a certain length of time, we must, if there are no special reasons for this elevation, for instance, kidney trouble, be suspicious of arteriosclerosis. It is true, that there are cases of this disease without a high blood-pressure, but if we find, besides considerably elevated blood-pressure, traces of albumin in the urine and also renal elements, a swelled liver and an accentuated second sound at the aorta, there cannot be much doubt that we have probably to do with arteriosclerosis. A high blood-pressure can most frequently be caused through difficulties in the circulation of the kidneys; therefore in each such case the urine must carefully be examined. By improving the circulation through the kidneys we can also influence favorably the blood-pressure. Certain drugs producing a great flow of urine have indeed given good results in high blood-pressure, like, for instance, diuretin in some cases. I am, however, averse to the use of drugs if there are more natural remedies, and so I would advise the use of a quite harmless one like the juice of lemons. It is very diuretic and, as I have observed, there are also cases of chronic inflammatory conditions of the kidneys which are very favorably influenced through a treatment by lemons, in the same way as also gout and the uric acid ailments in general. I have found that with lemon-juice given in mineral water we obtain still better results if a little glycerin is added. Besides lemon-juice the juice of certain other fruits like grape-fruit, oranges, and grapes can also give good results. Besides a good diuresis, a thorough cleaning of the intestines is desirable, high blood-pressure often being caused by habitual constipation with stagnation of the intestinal contents and subsequent flatulence. I must repeat with emphasis again that daily bowel movements do not prove at all a clean intestine following a good evacuation, and I am sure that the good results obtained in the treatment of arteriosclerosis in certain spas, like Carlsbad, Marienbad, and Kissingen, are not so much due to the action of these waters upon arteriosclerosis, but simply to their eminently purging action. Neither of these springs has a direct effect upon arteriosclerosis, but besides the dietetic advantages of the installation of these spas, the waters from their springs evacuate thoroughly the intestines, ridding them of toxic products most deleterious to the arteries, and at the same time facilitating in a powerful way the circulation of the blood through the abdomen with its most wholesome repercussion upon the whole general circulation. A thorough intestinal evacuation can relieve a high blood-pressure nearly the same way as an extensive venesection. A good perspiration can also give good effects; however, to produce it there would be necessary to take hot-water or air bath, which may prove most deleterious. There are means, however, to avoid this for, as I know it from my own experiences, it is possible to have a profuse perspiration without the sensation of great heat and a red head through application of electric light bath with blue light. In this blue light bath, studying its action, I have myself obtained, after about twenty minutes’ time, the desired effect without the depressive feeling afterward as so often is the case with the usual steam bath. These baths are the more indicated in cases of a nervous heart.

There are also different drugs, which may in many cases prove useful: thus, a French preparation, prepared from the viscus kinds called guipsin, then diuretin prepared by different concerns. Very valuable are the nitrate preparations, especially in cases with coronary sclerosis, also vasotonin, etc. But from my own experiences I give in many cases the preference to preparations of iodine. But I have found that iodine should not be given in too small doses and that they must also be taken for a certain length of time. Besides iodine I have found, as most efficacious in cases with very high blood-pressure, the application of electric currents after the system of D’Arsonval (arsonvalization). In each case of several patients I have seen the dropping of the blood-pressure to the normal. As soon as we find a high blood-pressure in a patient we must do our best to diminish it, for if we allow it to become persistent the high blood-pressure will produce a loss of the elasticity of the walls of the blood-vessels, there will arise pathological alterations and arteriosclerosis may easily establish itself. Aided by persistent, very high blood-pressure the degeneration of the walls of the blood-vessels may in the long run go so far that a destruction of their tissues can arise. Then by any sudden great elevation of the blood-pressure it may come to a rupture of the vessel, to apoplexy. If such a thing happens to a blood-vessel of the brain, then such vital parts of the brain may be destroyed that sudden death will follow. But in many cases, happily, other less important parts are affected, without involving death, and then follows lameness of those regions of the body which are provided with nerves coming or going to these parts. Sclerosis and degeneration of arteries happen most frequently in parts of the body where the circulation is the most copious by hyperfunction of these parts; thus in the legs of country people walking and climbing much (Romberg).

Mental exertions produce a great afflux of blood toward the brain each time, with deep thinking more blood arrives to the brain and it is therefore not surprising, as I show in my book on “Human Intellect and its Improvement through Hygienic and Therapeutic Measures.” Such an appalling number of prominent brain workers, men of science and of business, are suffering from hardening of the brain-vessels and are struck by apoplexy of the brain, sometimes even at early ages, before or shortly after their fiftieth year. Indeed a vast majority of the great men of science and business are thus afflicted, as I show in this book, apoplexy being very frequent amongst them. It is reckless overwork, unhygienic methods of mental work that may with surety produce a hardening of the arteries of the brain. It would exceed the short space allowed to this chapter if I should enter here upon the hygienics of mental work, which I am treating in several chapters of my book on the “Human Intellect,” but it will suffice here to emphasize the necessity of interpolating resting days between days of mental overexertion. It would be too much for me to demand that a successful man of business retire entirely from his affairs, but what he could do, especially if the head of the business, is to leave the city on Saturday for the country, with the custom of walking about in the fresh air, returning Monday with fresh strength; and, further, to avoid anything that produces high blood-pressure, hill climbing, hot or cold drinks, strong coffee, tea, and above all tobacco, which is one of the very surest means to increase the blood-pressure. There is no condition where smoking can produce such fatal effects as in arteriosclerosis, and especially if the arteries of the brain, as so often in brain workers, are affected. In inveterate smokers, perhaps a few de-nicotinized cigarettes or cigars may be allowed. In place of regular coffee or tea, coffee without caffeine and the Brazilian tea, maté, whose properties I have described in my book on Rational Diet, may be allowed, but also not in indiscriminate quantities. If too much of them is taken, they may prove not less harmful, therefore also caffeine-free coffee and maté should be taken with wise moderation. Against the troublesome symptoms of arteriosclerosis of the brain like dizziness, loss of memory, difficulty of reasoning, headaches, feeling of pressure upon the brain, etc., I have seen, as I described in special chapters of my book “The Human Intellect,” very good results through the combined use of preparations of iodine and extracts of the thyroid gland. The dizziness disappeared and also the headaches, the memory got much better and also the reasoning power. These effects were, however, obtained in cases not too advanced. As a preventive against arteriosclerosis of the brain and as a remedy against headaches and feeling of pressure in the head I am recommending snuffing in my book on Intellect, showing that through its use the circulation of the congested brain is much relieved. In confirmed cases of arteriosclerosis of the brain, however, snuffing should be avoided, for it may have fatal results. Excessive snuffing is also deleterious to healthy men, especially when tobacco is used. To prevent apoplexy the hygienic advice we have given in the beginning of this chapter to avoid high blood-pressure must strictly be followed. I should like to add to them hot foot-baths for about five minutes, to which mustard powder could be added. There should also be a special care for a wise diet, avoiding constipation; of meat only very little should be taken, fish should be preferred, and of meat only chicken and veal allowed. The best food against arteriosclerosis and heart trouble consists of a milk and egg diet, with vegetables and fruit, to which fish and cheese may be added. As a most valuable food for overwork of the heart and the general circulation, I recommend honey, whose merits I show in next chapter.

There is one muscle in our body that never takes a rest. It never ceases to work, either day or night, and the better for us, for if it should stop it would mean the end of life. This muscle is the heart. Of course we must feed well such a hard-working organ, and have special care to select such a food that is the most genial for it and can the best promote its activity. As the heart is a muscle we must give the food that is best indicated for muscular activity. Observations have shown that the muscles of our body are doing their work at the expense of a certain sweet stuff (glycogen) contained in them. Experiments also prove this, for it has been found that the heart of animals removed from the body will survive for days the death of their owner if kept in a salt solution, with grape- or fruit-sugar added. The addition of certain mineral salts like lime and carbonate of sodium is also able to prolong the survival of the cut-out heart of dead animals. So there can be no doubt that the same elements must also prove useful to the heart of the living, as is indeed the case.

As I have shown in my diet book the ingestion of sweets promotes muscular activity and fatigues from bodily exertion are better borne. And this also holds good for our most important muscle the heart. I have seen in my heart patients very good results through the addition of a generous amount of sweets to their ordinary diet. On the other hand, I have, as a rule, observed a weak activity of the heart with my patients in Carlsbad suffering from the graver forms of diabetes who were kept on a diet strictly excluding sweets and starchy food in general. Indeed a weak heart is most frequent in severe diabetes, as in such a condition the sugar ingested cannot be utilized and entirely eliminated in the urine. For this reason I consider it unwise to place severe cases of diabetes on a strict diet and I recommend to them the use of fruit sugar (levulose), which is often well utilized and especially in a case of diabetes with heart-failure I like to do this. Such persons should never be strongly dieted. As the best food for the heart I recommend honey on the base of the above-mentioned observations. Honey is easily digested and assimilated; it is the best sweet food, as it does not cause flatulence and can even prevent it, to a certain extent promoting the activity of the bowels. It can easily be added to the 5 meals a day I recommend in cases of arteriosclerosis and of weak heart. As it would be unwise to leave such a hard-working organ as the heart without any food over the long hours of the night, I recommend heart patients to take before going to bed a glass of water with honey and lemon-juice in it and also to take it when awaking at night (honey dissolves in warm water).

Before and after muscular exertion honey should be given in a generous dose; no coachman would allow his horses to run for hours without giving them food at the resting intervals. Only man is so unreasonable as to undertake heavy exertions often with an empty stomach. No wonder that so many sportsmen get a weak heart simply for just such a reason. The use of sugar cannot well replace honey. In the same amount sugar is chemically irritating to the stomach. At any rate the preference should be given to cane-sugar; sugar of beet-root is chemically pure, although through modern civilization it is, unhappily, deprived of the important mineral salts the beet-root contains, and it has also been shown that through the use of chemically pure sugar the body loses in lime, which is eliminated in larger quantities. If honey is alone taken in larger dose it is better borne if water is drunk afterward. Besides honey I like to recommend grapes, as containing much sugar and also valuable mineral salts like lime. If grape cures as conducted, for instance, in Meran (Tyrol) give good results in arteriosclerosis and heart cases, the results I think could be explained by the above observations. We can best introduce lime in our bodies through milk, cheese, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. The latter, especially fruits, are also rich in sodium and potassium, which are also valuable elements for the activity of the heart. I would especially insist upon the fact that the heart-muscle is rich in lime, as it contains about seven times as much of it as the other muscles. If we introduce in our system fresh, uncooked milk and eggs we also introduce a very valuable substance of which we have spoken before, vitamines. I believe that these substances must be very valuable for the activity of the heart because in all the diseased conditions, the deficiency diseases, arising, we have found, a want of this substance (Funck). Besides, in nervous troubles a weakness of the heart and muscles is common. If in one of this class of diseases, like beriberi, even in the latent cases, strong muscular exertions are made, then cardiac attacks will appear with great weakness of the heart. According to Funck, chief of the laboratory of the London Cancer Research Institute, muscular exertions are apt to make these diseases break out at once in cases, until then latent, without any symptoms. He also impresses upon the fact that when vitamines are wanting in the food, it is the vitamine stores of the muscles which are attacked first (Funck, “Die Vitamine,” Wiesbaden, 1914). But as the best proof for my opinion that food containing vitamines is indisplaceable for the heart-muscle I mention the fact, determined by Cooper and quoted by Funck, Journal of Hygienics, 1913, that the heart-muscle is very rich in vitamines. Beriberi and other deficiency diseases are the highest degree of a condition that is due to the entire want of vitamines in the blood. But no doubt there may be lower degrees due to the insufficient amount of vitamines, in which may simply show symptoms of neurasthenia with nervous heart troubles, as an expression of the craving of our system after these substances. Milk containing vitamines, and also containing a considerable amount of sugar and lime, it must be considered as the most valuable food for the heart. But only fresh milk, for by boiling it the vitamines are lost. Boiling above 100° C, and especially in large apparatus under high pressure like in the autoclave used in many of the large institutions and some of the big hotels, destroys the vitamines. I have already in my diet book, in the chapter on rational cooking, insisted upon the dangers of overcooking our food. Another rich source of vitamines, the bran of wheat and rye, is taken from us through another invention of our so-called modern civilization, the machine milling, simply for technical reasons. Forty or fifty years ago there was no cases of beriberi in the far east; the natives ate rice with its wholesome outer layers; then modern civilization introduced machine mills instead of the old hand mills, robbing the rice of the silver fleece rich in vitamines, and beriberi appeared. It is true that the bran presents obstacles to our intestinal juices, but there exist certain methods by which it can be ground to a fine flour and all its valuable parts assimilated and introduced in our body. We have quoted here several instances of the fateful influence of our modern progress upon our health. What is the good of the great progress of medicine if, on the other hand, our modern progress through reckless inventions separates us from Mother Nature and, inducing us to unnatural habits and ways, exposes us to disease and untimely death. No wonder, then, if arteriosclerosis and old age appear in relatively young people.