The first remedy lies in the selection and the combination of foods which are readily soluble and assimilable, and which contain the best flesh and cell-building properties. The chemical properties or elements most necessary are albumin, phosphorus, casein, proteids and carbohydrates. These elements are supplied best by milk, eggs, nuts, sweet fruits and coarse cereals, followed by a limited quantity of fresh green vegetables.

The nutriment contained in the egg is all that is required for the young chick, while the nutrient contents of milk is all that is necessary for the young animal. Therefore these two articles contain the most reliable and speedy counteractive elements known to chemistry, but in dealing with the adult they should be supplemented by fresh vegetables, coarse grain, wheat bran, raisins, and the seeds and skins of grapes.

It must be remembered that milk has a constipating tendency when taken in ordinary quantities—from one to two glasses at a meal. Therefore in laying out the diet for the emaciated, it is vitally important to avoid constipation, which may be done by giving milk during the first two or three days in quantities ranging from two and one-half to three and one-half quarts a day, together with a liberal quantity of coarse cereal. (See "Constipation—The Remedy," p. 436.)

These remedial methods may be repeated day by day until a substantial gain in weight is noticed, when the diet may be normalized—such articles selected as will give to the body all the required elements of nourishment in the right proportions.

It sometimes happens that the body is thrown into a chronic state of emaciation on account of a catarrhal formation over the mucous membrane of the intestines, which closes the "winking valves" that take up nutriment from the alimentary tract. In such cases coarse cereal or wheat bran, the seeds and skins of fruit, especially grapes, together with milk and eggs, form the best foods known. The milk and the eggs may be forced, not only beyond the limitations of hunger, but beyond the normal needs of the body. By thus forcing them for a short period of time (twenty to thirty days) a physical "trial balance" can be reached, and the body brought to its normal weight, which can be maintained for an indefinite period of time, if the bill of fare is again balanced or leveled according to the chemical requirements governed by the three natural laws, namely, age, temperature of environment, and work.

There is another condition of chronic emaciation which, in the beginning, should sometimes be treated in exactly the opposite way. For instance, when the forcing of casein proteids, albumin and nitrogen (the principal nutrient elements in milk and eggs) produces complications, such as extreme constipation, it becomes necessary to put the patient on a diet composed of coarse cellulose articles and fruit for a period of from three to six days. This should be done in the following manner:

Immediately on rising drink two or three cups of water—lime-free.

BREAKFAST

(One hour later)

The strained juice of two or three sweet oranges, or a bunch of grapes; grapes preferred

A cup of wheat bran, cooked; serve hot, with thin cream

LUNCHEON

Plain wheat and an equal quantity of coarse wheat bran, cooked until very soft; preferably simmered over night

A salad of celery, lettuce and tomatoes, with nuts

DINNER

About four tablespoonfuls of boiled wheat; also one of bran

A baked potato

One fresh vegetable

Drink copiously of water at all meals.

Just before retiring, eat half a pound of grapes, when in season.

After the first or second day this bill of fare may be increased in quantity, and heavier fruits added, such as pears, prunes, and very ripe bananas. After the fourth or fifth day, a salad and a few of the lighter vegetables, such as onions, romaine or cabbage, celery, carrots, or other fibrous vegetables may be included.

After the first week the diet should be composed of fresh vegetables, coarse cereals, eggs, bananas, nuts, salads, and wheat bran.

Those who are emaciated should drink an abundance of water immediately on rising and at meals. They should also take a sufficient quantity of plain wheat bran, or grapes if in season (Concord preferred), eating skins, seeds, and pulp, in order to keep the bowels in normal condition.

In cases of extreme emaciation, loss of appetite, or fermentation, the patient should, for a time, adopt a diet of milk and eggs, alternating as follows:

The first, second, and third days, drink from two and a half to four quarts of milk, in small quantities—one glass at a time. For the next three days, reduce the quantity of milk, and begin taking six eggs a day, increasing the number, until twelve eggs are taken. Alternate between the milk and the eggs, for a month or more, unless the patient responds in weight in a shorter time. When there is a perceptible gain in weight, and normal hunger has been restored, reduce the milk and the eggs, and add the solid foods already suggested.

In cases of Emaciation:

OMIT	EAT
Acid fruits	Bananas
Coffee	Cheese
Condiments	Coarse cereals
Tea	Eggs
Tobacco	Fruits
Wines and liquors	Dates, figs, raisins
	Milk
	Sweet milk or buttermilk
	Nuts
	Vegetables, such as—
	Beets	Lettuce
	Cabbage	Parsnips
	Carrots	Potatoes
	Celery	Spinach
	Cauliflower	Turnips
	Green beans	Green peas

The proteid and the carbohydrate foods should predominate in the diet.

OBESITY OR OVERWEIGHT

It is generally supposed that obesity is a natural result of modern civilization. This theory has no foundation in fact or physiology. Man can be genuinely modern without being obese. The law that governs the growth and graceful symmetry of the human body is based upon dietetics, and the indispensable adjuncts of diet are exercise, oxidation and elimination. A body that is filled with vitality by a perfectly balanced diet will experience the same appetite for motion or exercise that it does for food or drink. Exercise forces more blood to the lungs, and more thorough oxidation is the result. The properly fed young animal, whether brute or human, plays and exercises involuntarily, and the older animal, adequately nourished without being overfed, does not lose its youthful instincts. An observance of the above laws will prevent the accumulation of an excess of fatty tissue.

The following table gives the normal weight of natural healthy adults according to height, also the weights considered thin and obese:

OBESITY—THE CAUSE

A very exhausting treatise could be written upon the cause of obesity, but, summing it all up briefly, corpulency is invariably induced through a direct or indirect violation of the laws of nutrition, as exemplified in their wonderful processes of transforming material called food into pulsating life.

A combination of commissions and omissions generally conspire to produce the obese body. They may be mentioned in the order of their importance:

1 Overingestion of fat-producing foods

2 Omission of the proper amount of motion or exercise

3 Imperfect oxidation (breathing)

4 The overconsumption of fluids

In every case of obesity, one or more of these causes are present. If one is blessed with good digestion and good assimilation, or, in other words, if all the nutriment taken into the body is absorbed into the tissues, then the quantity must be regulated by one's work or labor, otherwise any excess of fat-producing food is stored up by provident Nature, contemplating future use; and if it is not used, by actual work, the result is a gradual accumulation of fatty tissue. Again, if a quantity of food commensurate only with the requirements of mental labor be consumed, and only ordinary body-activity indulged in, there is likely to be a gradual decrease in weight, because a considerable percentage of energy is consumed by the mere carrying on of the vital processes.

The worst form of obesity, however, is that caused by overconsumption of fermented wines or malted liquors. This form of enlarged tissue contributes no strength whatever to its own support. It is as much of a dead weight as a hod of mortar, and much more useless; in fact, all forms of obesity are not only useless weight, but dangerous to life. The obese body is much more liable to contagious and infectious dis-eases, and when once affected, less able to defend itself than the normal body.

OBESITY—THE REMEDY

The control of body-weight rests upon three distinct and separate laws, the first and most important of which is nutrition, the second exercise, and the third oxidation.

While at the outset body-weight may be controlled by increasing the amount of activity sufficiently to use the surplus which Nature is storing away, if however, the activity ceases and the surplus is not used, then the storing process becomes chronic, and radical remedies both in regard to dietetics and activity must be applied in order to bring the body back to normal.

A man of normal weight, say 150 pounds, doing ordinary work in a tropical country, would not need to consume more than an ounce of fat each twenty-four hours, while the same man in a northern climate, where the thermometer ranges from zero to 20 below, could use up, with similar labor, from three to four ounces of pure fat daily. Fats, however, do not produce fat in the human body unless taken largely in excess of its needs. Their primary purpose is to keep up the temperature of the body.

Where the weight is only from ten to fifteen pounds above normal, a substantial reduction can be made by merely balancing the diet, but where the accumulation of adipose tissue has become chronic, and the body has taken on from twenty to fifty pounds, or more, above normal, then a diet composed largely of non-acid fruits and fresh vegetables should be adopted for a period of from twenty to thirty days.

Carbohydrates, that is to say starch and sugar, are the principal fat-making nutrients, and all people inclined to take on abnormal weight, as a rule, are very fond of, and eat an excess of starchy foods. A great amount of the casein in milk and the phosphorus in eggs are converted into fat, especially if a quantity be taken in excess of the amount used in effort or work. The fat-producing staple foods are:

All cereal products
All legumes
Bread
Eggs
Milk
Potatoes

In order, therefore, to remove the causes of obesity, one must begin with the diet.

Eliminate meat and animal fat; ascertain as nearly as possible the amount of carbohydrates necessary for each day and take none in excess of this quantity. This will stop the accumulation of fatty tissue. If the body is obese, and a reduction of weight is desired, the diet should consist of nuts, fruits, salads, fresh vegetables, and a very limited quantity of eggs, omitting starchy foods entirely. After a week or two of this diet, discontinue the use of eggs, reducing the diet entirely to nuts, fruits, fresh vegetables and salads, which in nearly every case will bring a very substantial reduction in weight, even if the patient takes but little exercise and fresh air. If, however, he can be induced to adopt the above diet, and at the same time take two hours' moderate exercise, either in gymnastics or useful labor, with a reasonable amount of exposure to fresh air, the reduction in weight will be greater, and the muscular tissue and vitality will increase.

Inasmuch as fat contributes no item of strength to its own support, if the patient will take a reasonable amount of exercise and fresh air, muscular tissue will increase in the same ratio that fatty tissue decreases.

The menus for obesity may be varied according to the fruits and vegetables at one's command. Fish is the one article among animal food that has much to recommend it, insomuch that it contains an excellent form of proteid and phosphorus. If the taste of the patient should rebel against natural foods, fish would supply these elements better than any form of flesh.

The following articles should compose the general diet for the obese under ordinary conditions:

Buttermilk
Eggs or fish—limited quantity
Fruits
Green salads
Nuts
{ Such as—
{
{ Asparagus
{ Beans
{ Beets
{ Carrots
Fresh vegetables       { Celery
{ Parsnips
{ Peas
{ Pumpkins
{ Spinach
{ Squash
{ Turnips

The ordinary obese person should adopt either of the following menus, varying them according to vegetables in season:

If the patient is doing manual labor, the proteid foods, such as milk, cheese, nuts, fish and eggs should be increased according to the work. If, however, the labor is sedative, such as followed by the average business man, the amounts herein prescribed are sufficient. The breakfast should be taken an hour after rising, and the luncheon early, not later than 12 noon, and the dinner not later than 6 p.m.

The symptoms during the first two or three days will be that of weakness and perhaps hunger, leaving the impression of under-nourishment. This will disappear after the third or fourth day, and strength will not only return to normal, but the body will feel more energetic than before, and there will be a marked increase in the powers of endurance. If the patient can be induced to "fight it out" for a week on these lines, favorable symptoms will develop so fast that the practitioner will be aided in his work by the mental conviction of the patient, and success will be assured.

In cases of Obesity:

Do not drink at meals.

NEURASTHENIA

That disorder of the nerves known as neurasthenia is expressed in general anemia, or a breaking down of the nervous vitality. This does not indicate, however, that neurasthenia is wholly a dis-ease of the nerves; it merely means that through the nerves the symptoms are given to the brain.

Neurasthenia is a signal or warning given by the united voice of all the functions of digestion, secretion, and excretion. Therefore, this disorder does not appear until the body has given fair warning in many other ways, and if proper heed had been given the preceding signals, the nerves would have performed their functions without an outcry.

Every so-called dis-ease of the human body, especially of the nervous system, is in reality the voice of Nature telling us of our mistakes, and giving us the opportunity to correct them. Dis-ease, therefore, is not an enemy to the race, but a friend. It is an effort, as it were, in our behalf, of provident Nature to prevent race extinction.

Nearly every seeming misfortune with which we are afflicted can be turned to our benefit. We never take a step upward until we are mentally prepared for it; we never become mentally prepared until we have passed through a certain amount and kind of experience.

Education reduced to its last analysis is merely the accumulation and co-ordination of useful knowledge; useful knowledge is accumulated only by and through the art of comparison. The more experience we have, the more comparisons we can make.

Country-raised people control the great industries of the city and lead in the nation's great work because they never become blase. They have always their homely and primitive child life to draw upon for comparisons. Every good thing, every invention, every step forward and upward, every advancement is appreciated and realized exactly according to their ability to compare these things with their opposites.

If the patient should be suffering from mental disturbances called worry, he should be reminded that he is merely a floating mote in the abyss of space, and if the matter composing his form should change from organic to inorganic, from active to inactive; in other words, if he should die, the great planets would move on in their majestic courses and the cosmic scheme would in nowise be interfered with.

NEURASTHENIA—THE CAUSE

Neurasthenia is caused by a violation of the laws of nutrition, such as overeating, taking intoxicants, tea, coffee, tobacco, stimulating and sedative drugs; an oversupply of certain elements of nourishment and an undersupply of others; failure to eliminate waste; a lack of activity or motion, and improper oxidation. These causes removed, nervousness and all neurasthenic tendencies disappear, and Nature asserts herself and produces physical normality.

NEURASTHENIA—THE SYMPTOMS

Neurasthenic symptoms are excitability, irritability, mental depression, insomnia, fatigue, exhaustion, emaciation and sometimes hysteria, which very often result in other local disorders, such as extreme constipation or chronic hyperchlorhydria, with a tendency toward weakened sexuality.

NEURASTHENIA—THE REMEDY

In medical literature there are hundreds of alleged remedies for nervous disorders, yet not one of them attempts to ascertain the causes and to suggest their removal. Drugs only paralyze and stupify the delicate, sensitive nerve fibers that are conveying the intelligence to the brain that something is wrong, and the average man mistakes this for a remedy or a cure.

In the opinion of the writer, neurasthenia would be almost impossible if the body were thoroughly nourished, and the daily bill of fare kept level, or, as we would say in our cash system, "balanced." But when one labors under heavy mental strains, especially that character of burden called worry, and is not properly fed and nourished, the expenditure of force on one side and the lack of supplying it on the other, are very likely to result in an abnormal physical condition called neurasthenia. It is safe to say that all cases of neurasthenia can be traced to improper nourishment on the one hand and abnormal mental tension on the other.

The rest cure has been employed quite successfully for these conditions for many years, and if the proper diet, or what might be called a counteractive or remedial diet, were employed in all the rest cure establishments, they undoubtedly would meet with greater success, but unfortunately some of the best institutions in the country—those best equipped to take care of neurasthenic patients—do not attach any great importance to diet. This comes, no doubt, from the universal lack of information concerning the natural laws governing Food Chemistry, and their particular application to animal life.

Neurasthenic patients should first be given rest, which means complete or total diversion from business cares, worry, financial or social responsibility. They should be induced, if possible, to become interested in some special eleemosynary work; some "hobby" that has for its purpose the uplifting of people. The best remedy for the weary or discouraged mind, or the neurasthenic body, is the praise and esteem of people.

The suggestions hitherto given for all kindred disorders will apply in most cases of neurasthenia. (See also "Nervousness—Its Cause and Cure," Vol. V, p. 1211.) The patient should be advised to spend at least from three to four hours a day in the open air and sunshine, when the weather will permit, in some quiet way, walking, driving, or in moderate exercise.

Most important of all is the diet. It should be balanced according to age, labor, and temperature of the atmosphere, and should consist of—

Such foods as will cause normal action of the bowels
Green corn
Nuts
Rich fresh milk
Yolks of eggs
Young beans, peas, or any legume before it hardens

Immature starch composes the best form of carbohydrate food, which is exceedingly necessary in most cases of neurasthenia, unless the patient be obese, in which event it should be reduced to meet only the requirements of the body, and nitrogenous foods should predominate.

A passive form of exercise is very highly recommended, such as all forms of Swedish or mechanical electrical massage. In connection with this the body should be given an olive-oil rub at least twice a week.

In cases of Neurasthenia:

MALNUTRITION

CAUSE AND REMEDY

Malnutrition is caused mainly by errors in eating, sedentary habits, and lack of fresh air. The remedy, therefore, suggests itself. Level or balance the diet according to the patient's requirements, and advise from two to three hours' vigorous exercise every day, and deep breathing in the open air.

All the causes as well as the cure of malnutrition were discussed under the subject of emaciation. (See "Emaciation," p. 477.)

LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA

THE CAUSE

The principal cause of locomotor ataxia is syphilis, the treatment of which has not been sufficiently thorough. So, after lying latent—sometimes for as long a period as twenty years—the disease breaks out again, the germs (which are called spirochaeta pallida) assume new virulence, and attack the nervous system—usually the posterior column of the spinal cord.

Not infrequently, the optic nerve is also affected, developing what is known as gray atrophy of the nerves. This causes a gradual loss of vision, and finally, relative blindness.

Locomotor ataxia may occasionally be brought on by long-continued exposures to wet and cold, injuries to the spinal column, and by excesses of various kinds. But its chief origin is in syphilis—indeed, most European authorities claim that this is its only origin.

LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA—THE SYMPTOMS

Among the earliest symptoms of ataxia are the so-called lightning or lancinating pains—which come on in paroxyms of varying duration—lasting for hours, or even days at a time. These pains may be burning, tearing, cutting or boring in their nature—and usually affect only the upper half of the body.

There is generally, also, a sense of constriction in the throat—as of a choking by the clutch of a hand—and sometimes regurgitation of food, intense pains around the heart or in the epigastrium—with flatulence, eructations, and hiccough.

A very common symptom is the so-called "girdle," a sensation as though a rope or band were tightly drawn around the body at the waist. One of the earliest noticeable symptoms is the want of co-ordination—ataxia. This is most pronounced in the lower extremities, and is responsible for the unsteadiness of ataxics in walking or standing.

The gait in ataxia is staggering—resembling somewhat the inco-ordination of a man under the influence of alcohol, and there is an exaggerated lifting of the feet and legs with each step. The normal "knee-jerk" reflex—that quick jerk of the foot and lower leg that follows a sharp blow struck below the knee when the leg is held free—is generally abolished. In fact, this failure of the reflexes is usually one of the earliest diagnostic symptoms.

Later in the disease the sphincters of the bladder and the anus lose their power to contract, and there is incontinence of both urine and feces.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DIET

As with any other disease in which there are serious trophic changes, and the generation within the system of toxic products from food decay, it is absolutely indispensable in ataxia to observe the utmost care in the selection of the diet. The food should be light, but nutritious—nourishing and strengthening the system, without, at the same time, putting too great a tax upon the organs of digestion and assimilation.

Particular care should be taken to insure daily movements of the bowels, and to see that the kidneys are flushed with a plentiful supply of water drunk each day.

LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA—THE REMEDY

The generally accepted opinion among medical men is that locomotor ataxia is an incurable disease, and that there is little or nothing that any form of treatment can accomplish that will tend to restore function—or even to arrest the course of the disease, and postpone its fatal termination.

With this opinion I beg leave to differ. I am convinced that, by the proper regulation of the diet, limiting the system only to that which it requires for its complete nourishment—giving ample quantities of those foods that are rich in lecithin (or nerve-fat) and phosphorus—such as eggs, milk, whole wheat bread, fish, roe, etc.—much may be done to arrest the progress of the disease.

This, in combination with the proper kind of exercise—particularly those forms of which the "Fraenkel Movement System" is an example,—will do a wonderful amount of good in re-educating such groups of nerves in the spinal column as have not yet suffered degenerative changes.

The following diet is a mere suggestion, subject to change in order to meet the conditions of temperature, age, and activity.

Immediately on rising, the patient should take a few spoonfuls of strained orange juice and drink a cup of hot water. He should also devote a few minutes to deep breathing, and such moderate exercises as he is able to endure.

BREAKFAST

The whites of four eggs and the yolks of two (If digestion is good, the whites of six eggs may be taken—one yolk to each two whites)

A glass of milk

A tablespoonful of nuts

One very ripe banana with cream

Three or four dates

LUNCHEON

Three or four eggs whipped eight minutes; to each egg add one teaspoonful of lemon juice, and a heaping teaspoonful of sugar; whip this mixture into a quart of milk; drink slowly

DINNER

Smelts, or any small fish

A Spanish onion, baked in casserole dish

Corn bread

Buttermilk or skimmed milk

One fresh vegetable, cooked plain

In addition to this diet, there should be a regular daily schedule of exercise and deep breathing, which the patient should be required to carry out with rigid precision and regularity.

In nearly all cases of locomotor ataxia the body is unable to cast off the generated poisons, or used-up tissue, the result being that the new building material (food) taken in is not appropriated. This condition of atrophy must be overcome by exercise, massage, fomentation (wrapping the patient in a hot, wet blanket), or by anything that will induce excessive superficial circulation.

If one afflicted with locomotor ataxia can be induced to arise from his lethargy and exert himself, following the methods herein suggested, a gradual increase in strength is very likely to be experienced inside of two or three months, and sometimes a complete arrest of the process may be expected in time.

The writer had a patient, a retired ship captain, who came under his treatment after suffering for twelve years with locomotor ataxia, and after twelve months declared himself cured. The only evidence remaining of his former condition at this writing is shown when he attempts to turn around suddenly, and his control of the lumbar and motor muscles are undergoing such improvement that even this symptom, it seems, will finally disappear.

In cases of Locomotor Ataxia:

COLDS, CATARRH, HAY FEVER, ASTHMA, INFLUENZA

These disorders are grouped under a general heading because there are a few fundamental laws that affect them all alike. Capillary congestion is a common cause in all these disorders, and anything that will produce this condition will cause, or at least augment catarrh, hay fever, asthma, influenza, and colds. As overeating is the primary cause of congestion throughout the capillary system, it, rather than exposure, is the most common cause of all these disorders. The treatment that will remove or prevent this form of congestion will, therefore, remove a primary cause, when such remedial measures may be employed as each case demands.

COLDS—THE CAUSE

That condition commonly known as a cold is merely a congestion of effete matter and toxic substances in the body-cells, coming from two causes, and, so far as my experience has been able to guide me, from two causes only, namely:

1 Overeating

2 Exposure to violent atmospheric changes

COLDS—THE SYMPTOMS

The symptoms from both causes manifest themselves in exactly the same way, therefore it becomes very necessary to ascertain what the sufferer has been eating, both as to quantity and as to kind of foods during the previous forty-eight hours.