The Royal Road to Health Part 6

Let no consideration blind you, either in sickness or in health, to the imperative necessity of plenty of fresh air.

The next great natural agency, and one to which scant attention is paid, compared with its hygienic importance, is Light, but more especially Sunlight.

Light is essential to life. If by some monstrous cataclysm the sun was suddenly extinguished, it is impossible to conceive the misery that would follow. In the event of such a fearful calamity it would require but a very short time to depopulate the earth. We repeat, light is a necessity of existence, and it behooves us all to allow it free access to our dwellings. What if it does bleach carpets and draperies! Its beneficent effects are not to be measured by yards of wool and silk.

Love of light is as instinctive as the aversion to darkness. Plants growing in a dark cellar, where but one struggling ray of light enters, will instinctively grow in the direction of that ray. It is questionable whether defective lighting is not productive of as much physical deterioration in the crowded tenement districts as defective ventilation--certainly it is only secondary in degree. Light is necessary. Light is free to all, and why human beings endowed with reason should attempt to exclude it from their dwellings is a thing that pa.s.ses comprehension. Give the light free access to your dwelling. "Let there be light," is as imperative now as when the fiat went forth at the dawn of creation.

But Sunlight is the great health-giving agent. The sun is the great source of life. Its rays stimulate the growth of every living organism, and there is no doubt but they exert a chemical action upon living tissue with which we are as yet but imperfectly acquainted.

This fact has been recognized of late years, hence our winter resorts are liberally supplied with sun parlors, in which those in quest of health may enjoy the rejuvenating effect of solar heat without exposing themselves to the inclemency of wintry weather. This is a revival of an old Roman custom, for the more opulent of that nation had sun baths on the roofs of their dwellings. Suns.h.i.+ne is as necessary to robust, vigorous health as either air or water. Then seize the full enjoyment of it whenever opportunity offers! It is a stimulant and tonic that has no superior. Go forth into the sunlight on every possible occasion! It is one of Nature's greatest therapeutic agents, and she bestows it ungrudgingly, without money and without price. If you are wise you will avail yourself of her bounty.

Do not be afraid to let the sunlight penetrate your dwellings, especially the morning sun. Thrifty housewives are p.r.o.ne to regard the actions of the sun's rays on their carpets and draperies as disastrous in the extreme, but its exclusion from their dwelling is far more disastrous to the health of the inmates. There is, of course, a happy medium in all things, and, therefore, it is not necessary to have the sun's rays streaming in through every door and window during the whole day; but the entire dwelling should be (as far as possible) thrown open to the vivifying beams of old Sol for a couple of hours in the morning, which at the same time will thoroughly ventilate the building. There is more virtue in sunlight than most people are aware of. Its bactericidal effects are only just beginning to be understood; but if you desire a healthful dwelling, let G.o.d's bright suns.h.i.+ne freely and frequently penetrate every corner of it.

It is astonis.h.i.+ng how few people there are who properly estimate the hygienic value of the sun's rays. A valuable lesson on this point may be learned by observing the lower animals, none of which ever neglect an opportunity to bask in the sun And the nearer man approaches to his primitive condition the more he is inclined to follow the example of the animals. It is a natural instinct which civilization has partially destroyed in the human race.

The effect of suns.h.i.+ne is not merely thermal, to warm. and raise the heat of the body; its rays have chemical and electric functions. As a clever physician lately explained, it is more than possible that suns.h.i.+ne produces vibrations and changes of particles in the deeper tissues of the body, as effective as those of electricity. Many know by experience that the relief it affords to wearing pain, neuralgic and inflammatory, is more effective and lasting than that of any application whatever.

Those who have faceache should prove it for themselves, sitting in a sunny window where the warmth falls full on the cheek.

For nervous debility and insomnia the treatment of all others is rest in suns.h.i.+ne. Draw the bed to the window and let the patient lie in the sun for hours. There is no tonic like it--provided the good effects are not neutralized by ill-feeling. To restore a withered arm, a palsied or rheumatic limb, or to bring a case of nervous prostration up speedily, a most efficient part of the treatment would be to expose the limb or the person as many hours to direct sunlight as the day would afford. With weak lungs let the sun fall on the chest for hours.

If internal tumor or ulceration is suspected, let the sun burn through the bear skin directly on the point of disease for hours daily. There will be no doubt left in the mind that there is a curative power in the chemical rays of the sun.

For the chilliness which causes blue hands and bad color, resort to the sun; let it almost blister the skin, and the circulation will answer the attraction. It is a finer stimulous than wine, electricity or ma.s.sage, and we are on the verge of great therapeutic discoveries concerning it.

Some years ago a London surgeon, by using the sun's rays (presumably with a lens), removed a wine mark from a lady's face, and destroyed a malignant growth in the same way.

Says Dr. Thayer, of San Francisco:

"During a practice of more than a quarter of a century I have found no caustic or cautery to compare with solar heat in its beneficial results. Unlike other caustics, it can be applied with safety on the most delicate tissues and the system receives this treatment kindly.

The irritation and inflammation following are surprisingly slight and of short duration, the pain subsiding immediately on removal of the lens. There is a curative power in the chemical rays of the sun yet unexplained."

Women especially need to make systematic trial of the sun's healing and rejuvenating rays. The woman who wants a cheek like a rose should pull her sofa pillows into the window and let the sun blaze first on one cheek and then on the other, and she will gain color warranted not to wash off.

Thus it will be seen that the curative properties of sunlight are in nowise overestimated, but in cases of sickness its beneficial action is purely supplementary. The system must first be thoroughly cleansed by "flus.h.i.+ng the colon," then, the ground work of improvement being laid, Fresh Air and Sunlight will prove themselves worthy and efficient colleagues in the task of restoring health.

Singly, each is of intrinsic value, but inadequate to cope with disease single-handed (although they may mitigate it), but combined they form a Trinity so powerful that disease can never successfully oppose them.

The other two factors in Nature's great Health curriculum, namely, Exercise and Diet, will be considered under separate headings.

PART VI.

EXERCISE.

Motion is life. The health of both body and mind depend upon it.

Inaction means stagnation, a condition fatal to health. Hence the necessity of exercise. As before stated, disuse is as fatal to a piece of machinery as excessive use; in fact, it is far more likely to rust out than to wear out. Activity is essential to life and health and can never be prejudicial, provided that moderation is observed and the muscular system not strained or overworked.

There are thousands of miles of minute tubing in the human body--the arterioles, veins, capillaries and lymphatic vessels. They ramify through every portion of the body tissues, the first carrying the vitalized blood for nourishment of the parts, the second returning the impure blood, charged with the waste of the structures, the third being the intermediate stage between the first and second, while the fourth and last, the lymphatic vessels, collect the surplus nutrition and return it to the circulation. In addition the lymphatics a.s.sist in the conveyance of effete matter. Whenever disease germs are present in the system, they first manifest themselves in the lymph, but this fluid being densely populated with phagocyctes (white blood corpuscles), the micro-organisms are speedily destroyed, if the body is in a healthy, vigorous condition.

In view of the vital character of the fluids, activity of motion is indispensable for the best performance of their separate functions and exercise supplies the desired stimulus. Whenever a muscle is contracted the blood is wholly or partially expelled from it proportionately to the force of the contraction, and in its escape it carries with it the waste material; but as soon as the muscle is relaxed fresh blood from the arterial supply re-enters the structure, bearing fresh nutrition.

By a wise provision of Nature, the amount of nutrition supplied is always in excess of the waste products removed; that is, all things being equal, so that the more exercise a part is subjected to the more nutrition it receives. This explains the unusual development of certain parts of the body which are called into excessive use in certain occupations. But this unsymmetrical development is a thing to be avoided, as it is usually productive of certain deformities, such as stoop shoulders and certain peculiarities of gait, which are plainly noticeable in men employed in certain avocations.

The reason for this is perfectly simple, and may be expressed in two words--unequal nutrition--for the muscles that are unduly exercised appropriate the nutriment that should be equally distributed, so that the neglected muscles become weakened and stiff. Hence, any system of exercises designated to develop the body should be so arranged as to call into play every muscle in the individual, thus insuring harmonious development in every direction.

Muscular activity stimulates all the functions of the body. It has a most beneficial effect upon all the vital processes, digestion, a.s.similation and nutrition. The digestive powers work more briskly to prepare the needed nourishment, and the blood circulates more rapidly to carry the material for repair to the parts that need it, so that by moderate physical exercise, judiciously distributed, the whole body is built up and strengthened, and the result is a suppleness of frame and a clearness of head that makes life indeed worth living.

To the invalid it is, of course, idle to talk of active exercise, but there are certain forms of pa.s.sive exercise accessible to such people.

Ma.s.sage, for instance, which, judiciously administered, will do for the sick, in a modified degree, what active exercise does for the comparatively well. It will stimulate the circulation in the deeper tissues, and set the various fluids of the body moving in a beneficial manner. There is also a mild form of active exercise which may be practised by those who have the misfortune to be confined to bed, and that is by tensing the muscles; such as clenching the hands and contracting the toes, also by gentle contraction of the arms and legs alternately.

But one of the most important factors in quickening and stimulating the movement of the fluids is exercising the lungs, and that can be accomplished with a fair measure of success even by the bed-ridden.

Every time the chest cavity is emptied by the expiration of the breath a partial vacuum is created which exerts a tremendous suction power.

It is one of the princ.i.p.al forces concerned in the return of the venous blood to the heart, but it also exerts a like effect upon the lymphatic current, hence deep breathing is a valuable exercise for those unable to take any other.

In commencing the development of the body by any system of physical culture, the first and most important thing to do is to develop the lungs. Good lungs and good digestion go together. Before food can be a.s.similated it must undergo oxygenation, which is neither more nor less than chemical combustion. For this oxygen is necessary, which, uniting with the carbon of the food, results in oxidation, and as the amount of oxygen inhaled depends upon the capacity of the lungs, it will readily be seen how much depends upon those organs. We cannot inhale too much oxygen, while we can take too much food; therefore, the greater the lung capacity the better the digestion.

We referred to the suction power of the empty chest cavity and its stimulating effect upon the fluids of the body. Now, the greater the lung capacity the greater the chest expansion and the vacuum produced by expiration; consequently the stimulating effect upon the fluids is correspondingly augmented.

Test your lungs by inhaling a full breath--inflate them to their full capacity--if it makes you dizzy you are in danger and should proceed at once to strengthen them. The following simple exercises will speedily result in improvement and are easy to practice:

HOW TO EXERCISE THE LUNGS.

1. When in the open air, walk erect, head up, chin drawn in, shoulders thrown back, thoroughly inflate the lungs and retain the air for a second or two, then expel it gently. Practice this several times a day, and if your employment keeps you in, make time and go out.

2. The first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, when you have nothing on but your underclothing, stand with your back against the wall and fill the lungs to their utmost capacity, then, retaining the breath gently tap the chest all over with the open hands. Do this regularly every morning and night, gently at first, but gradually increasing the length of time for holding the breath and the force of the blows as the lungs grow stronger.

3. Stand upright, heels touching, toes turned out. Place the hands on the hips, the fingers resting on the diaphragm, the thumbs in the soft part of the back. Now, inflate the lungs and force the air down into the lower back part of the lungs, forcing out the thumbs. Do this half a dozen times at first, gradually increasing the number. Women seldom use this part of the lungs--tight dresses and corsets prevent them.

4. While in the same position, fill the upper part of the lungs full, then force the air down into the lower part of the lungs and back again by alternately contracting the upper and lower muscles of the chest. Do this repeatedly, for, besides being a good lung developer, it is an excellent exercise for the liver.

5. Stand erect, the arms hanging close by the sides, then slowly raise the arms until they are in the same position, at the same time gradually taking in a full breath until the lungs are completely filled, then, after holding the breath for a few seconds, gradually lower the arms, at the same time gradually expelling the breath. After doing this a few times while the lungs are full raise and lower the arms several times quickly.

6. Hold the arms straight out, then slowly throw them back behind you as far as possible, at the same time taking a full breath, then bring them slowly back to the front, as at first, expelling the breath while doing so. Do this several times, then fully inflate the lungs, and while holding the breath move the arms backward and forward, in the same way, but quickly. It is important to inflate and empty the lungs fully and completely during this exercise.

COMBINATION LUNG AND MUSCLE EXERCISES.

7. First rotate the right arm in a circle, downward in front of you a few times, then reverse the movement. Next, thrust the shoulder back as far as it will go and rotate the arm in the same manner. Follow with the left arm in the same manner, then both alternately, but at the same time relax the arms completely, allowing them to become perfectly limp, at the same time filling and emptying the lungs completely.

8. Lie flat on the floor, face downward, with the elbows bent and the palms of the hands flat on the floor by the sides, body fully extended. Then, keeping the body perfectly rigid, raise it up by the muscles of the arms alone, until it only rests on the arms and toes, then lower the body gradually until the chest touches the floor, at the same time exercising the lungs to their fullest extent. This may be practiced on a bed or couch to commence with, and should be taken slowly at first, until it can be done half a dozen times without discomfort.

9. Stand with the lungs completely and force the air down into the lower part of the lungs. Then, keeping the lower limbs perfectly stiff, with muscles tensed, bend the body forward from the middle of the trunk and while doing this empty the lungs quickly. Then straighten up again, at the same time filling the lungs. This should be repeated from 6 to 12 times. Then repeat the operation, but bending backward instead of forward, paying careful attention to the emptying and filling of the lungs. Then, with the lungs full and breath retained, move the body backward and forward quickly several times.

10. Retaining the same position as in last exercise, move the upper part of the body to the right a few times, then a few times to the left, after each movement returning to the upright position. Then move in the same manner from right to left, alternately. Study and you will readily understand the nature of these movements, which not only benefit the lungs, but impart grace and suppleness to the body.

11. Still retaining the att.i.tude press the arms and elbows forward as far as possible, at the same time expelling the breath; then press them backward as far as possible to force them, at the same time inflating the lungs to their fullest extent.

ARM AND FINGER EXERCISES.

Completely relax the muscles of the fingers and hands, letting the hands hang limply from the wrists, then shake them up and down and from side to side, as if cracking a whip. Then rotate them from the wrists. These movements should all be made with great rapidity, the hands being rendered as near lifeless as possible.