Maintaining Health (Formerly Health and Efficiency) Part 4

To be able to influence others for better is a grand and glorious thing, but it is well to remember that we can not force knowledge which is contrary to popular thought upon others suddenly. Those who change a well rooted opinion generally do so gradually. When they first hear the truth, they say it is ridiculous. After a while they think there may be something in it. At last they see its superiority over their former opinions and accept it. It requires infinite patience on the part of the educators to impart unpopular knowledge to other adults, no matter how much truth it contains.

The truth about physical well-being is so simple and so self-evident that it is exceptionally hard to get an unprejudiced audience. From the time when the ancient heathen priests were the healers until today the impression has been that health and healing are beyond the understanding of the common mind, and therefore people are willing to be mystified.

The mysterious has such a strong appeal in this world of uncertainties that it is more attractive than the simple truth. Mystery simply demands faith. The truth compels thinking and thoughts are often painful.

By all means, avoid being overinsistent in trying to impart health knowledge to others. All who have a little knowledge of the fundamentals of health and growth know that useful men and women are going into degeneration and premature death constantly, because of violated health laws. If these people on the brink, who can yet be saved by natural means, are told how it can be done, they generally either refuse to believe it, or they have led such self-indulgent lives that it is beyond their power to change. The knowledge often comes too late.

Those who are anxious to do good in the spreading of health knowledge among their friends can serve best by getting health themselves. If a physical wreck evolves into good health there will be considerable comment and inquiry. This is the opportunity to tell what nature will do and inform others where to obtain a good interpretation of nature's workings.

A little practicing is worth more than a great deal of preaching. The truth is the truth, no matter what the source, but it is more effective if it comes from one who lives it.

I have gone into the subject of health cranks so deeply because there are so many of them. They get a little knowledge and then they believe they are masters of the subject. The right att.i.tude toward proper living, and especially toward proper eating is: "I shall try to conduct myself so as to be healthy and efficient. If others desire my help, I shall try to indicate the way to them. Right living is no sign of superior goodness or merit, being a matter of higher selfishness, so I deserve no credit for it. Although health is very important, I shall refrain from attempting to force my will on others."

After conquering ourselves it is time to begin making foreign conquests, but by that time the realization comes that in the end it is best to leave others free to work out their own salvation. The desire is strong to mould others according to our pattern, but those who size themselves up honestly soon come to the conclusion that they are so imperfect that perchance some other pattern is fully as good.

_Postponing happiness_: One peculiar state of mind is to refuse to be happy at present. The romantic girl and boy think they can not be happy until they are married. After marriage they find that they have to gain a certain amount of wealth before happiness comes. Then they have to postpone it for social position. They continue postponing happiness from time to time and the result is that they never attain it. Happiness is not a great ent.i.ty that bursts upon us, transforming us into radiant beings. It is a comfortable feeling that brings peace and places us in harmony with our surroundings. It can best be gained by doing well each day the work that is to be done, cheerfully giving in return for what is received. Happiness is largely a habit. It is as easy to be bright and cheerful as it is to be sad and doleful, and much more comfortable. If we look for the best we will find beauty even in the most unpromising places. If we are looking for tears and woe, we can easily find them.

We can get along without happiness, but it adds so much color and beauty to life, it makes us so much better, it helps us so much to be useful that it is folly to do without it. It is not gained by narrow selfishness. Those who forget themselves most and are kind and considerate find it. By giving it to others we get it for ourselves.

Ecstasy and rapture are emotions of short duration. They are so exhilarating that they soon wear out.

We all have our little troubles and annoyances. These we should accept as inevitable, and neither think nor talk much about them. They help to wear away the rough edges. We are stupid at times and so are others and then mistakes are made. These should also be accepted as inevitable, and we should not be more annoyed by those that others make than by our own.

Those who go into a rage when their subordinates err waste much time and energy, erring gravely themselves.

It is not necessary to notice every unimportant detail that is not pleasing. Fault-finding, carping and nagging destroy harmony.

Disagreements about trifles often lead to broken friends.h.i.+p and enmity.

Most quarrels are about trifles.

If mistakes are made, learn the lesson they teach and then forget about them. All live, active beings make mistakes. Sometimes we make serious ones and afterwards regrets come, but these must soon be thrust aside.

Brooding has put many into the insane asylums.

_Introspection_: It is not well to allow the mind to dwell upon one's self very much. Give yourself enough thought to guide yourself through life, and then for the rest apply the mind to work and play. Many of those who are too self-centered end up in believing they are something or somebody else and then they are shut away from the public.

Introspection is a very useless employment. Individually we are so small, and the mind has such great possibilities, that if we center it upon our tiny physical being, things become unbalanced and the mind ceases to work to good advantage. It is useless to go deeply into self-a.n.a.lysis, for we are very poor judges of ourselves. One of my neighbors delved so deeply into his heart and tried so hard to find out if he was fit to dwell in heaven that he lost his mind and had to be confined for a long time. He allowed his vision to narrow down to one subject. There are many subjects that lead to insanity if they are allowed exclusive possession of the mind.

After we have given ourselves proper care, we should think no more about ourselves. The best way is to get busy in work and play and forget ourselves. It is much better to love others than to center our love upon ourselves. If we conduct ourselves well we shall have all the love from others that we need. If there is a tendency to be introspective, cure it by becoming active mentally and physically.

Those who have acquired the bad habit of thinking and talking ill of others should break themselves of it. First cease talking ill. Then begin to look for the good points and mention them. By and by the thoughts will be good. Those who lack a virtue can often cultivate it by a.s.suming it.

One of the most helpful things is a sense of humor. Laughter brings about relaxation and relaxation gives ease of body and mind. He who can see his own weaknesses and smile at them is surely safe and sane. If the mind is too austere, cultivate a sense of humor. Train yourself to appreciate the ridiculous appearance you make and instead of being chagrined, smile. When others laugh at you, join them.

Whatever the mental ill may be, one-half of its cure will be brought about by getting physical health.

Be charitable, tolerant and kind, and the good things in life will come to you. Be slow to judge and slower still to condemn others.

Those who give love attract it. Hypatia said: "Express beauty in your lives and beauty flows to you and through you. To love means to be loved, and to put hate behind is the sum of all loving that is of any avail."

The best "New Thought" is the best old thought. If we only would put some of the beautiful knowledge into common use, what an agreeable dwelling place this world would be. Marcus Aurelius gave us this pearl of wisdom: "When you arise in the morning, think what a precious privilege it is to live, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love! G.o.d's spirit is close to us when we love. Therefore it is better not to resent, not to hate, not to fear. Equanimity and moderation are the secrets of power and peace."

CHAPTER III.

FOOD.

The human body is so wonderfully made that as yet we have only a poor understanding of it, but we are learning a little each decade, and perhaps in time we shall have a fair knowledge both of the body and of the mind. Body and mind can not be considered as two separate ent.i.ties, for neither one is of any use without the other.

The body is not a machine. Those who look upon it as such make the mistake of feeding it as they would an engine, thinking that it takes so much fuel to keep going. The human organism is perhaps never quite alike on any two consecutive days, for the body changes with our thoughts, actions and environment, and the conditions never quite repeat themselves and therefore we have to readjust ourselves.

The most important single item for gaining and retaining physical health is proper feeding, yet the medical men of this country pay so little attention to this subject that in some of our best equipped medical colleges dietetics are not taught. A total of from sixteen to thirty hours is considered sufficient to fit the future physicians to guide their patients in the selection, combination and preparation of food.

Dietetics should be the princ.i.p.al subject of study. It should be approached both from the scientific and from the empirical side. It is not a rigid subject, but one which can be treated in a very elastic way.

The scientific part is important, but the practical part, which is the art, is vastly more important. A part of the art of feeding and fasting is scientific, for we get the same results every time, under given conditions.

When we consider the fact that the body is made up of various tissues, such as connective tissue, blood, nerves and muscles; that these in turn are made up of billions of cells, as are the various glandular organs and membranes; that these cells are constantly bathed in blood and lymph, from which they select the food they need and throw the refuse away, we must marvel that an organism so complex is so resistant, stable and strong.

All articles of good quality are made by first-cla.s.s workmen from fine materials. However, many people fail to realize that in order to have quality bodies they must take quality food, properly cooked or prepared, in the right proportions and combinations. If we feed the body properly, nature is kind enough to do good constructive work without any thought on our part.

You will find no rigid rules in these talks on diet, but you will find information that will enable you to select foods that will agree with you. People may well disagree on what to eat, for there are so many foods that a person could do without nine-tenths of them and still be well nourished. In fact, we consume too great a variety of food for our physical well-being. Great variety leads to overeating.

A healthy human body is composed of the following compounds, in about the proportions given:

Water, 60 to 65 per cent.

Mineral matter, 5 to 6 per cent.

Protein, 18 to 20 per cent.

Carbohydrates, 1 per cent.

Fat, 10 per cent. This is perhaps excessive.

These substances are very complex and well distributed throughout the body. They are composed of about sixteen or seventeen elements, but a pure element is very rarely found in the body, unless it be a foreign substance, such as mercury or lead. About 70 per cent of the body is oxygen, which is also the most abundant element of the earth. Then in order of their weight come carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, fluorine, pota.s.sium, iron, magnesium and silicon.

Because it will be helpful in giving a better idea of the necessity for proper feeding, I shall devote a few words to each of these elements.

_Oxygen_ is a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas, forming a large part of the atmospheric air, of water, of the earth's crust and of our foods.

It is absolutely essential to life, for without oxygen there can be no combustion in the animal tissues, and without combustion there can be no life. The union of oxygen with fats, carbohydrates and proteins in the body results in slow combustion, which produces heat and energy. Our chief supply of oxygen comes directly from the air, but this is supplemented by the intake in food and water.

_Carbon_ is the chief producer of energy within the body, being the princ.i.p.al const.i.tuent of starches, sugars and fats. It is what we rely on for internal heat, as well as for heating our dwellings, for the essential part of coal is carbon. The carbonaceous substances are needed in greater quant.i.ty than any other, but if they are taken pure, they cause starvation more quickly than if no food were eaten. This has been proved through experiments in feeding nothing but refined sugar, which is practically pure carbon. Salts and nitrogenous foods are essential to life.

_Hydrogen_ is a very light gas, without odor, taste or color. It is a necessary const.i.tuent of all growing, living things. It is plentifully supplied in water. All acids contain hydrogen and so does the protoplasm of the body.

_Nitrogen_ is also a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas. It is an essential const.i.tuent of the body, being present in all compounds of protein. It is abundant in the atmospheric air, from which it is taken by plants. We get our supply either directly from vegetable foods or from animal products, such as milk, eggs and meat.

_Calcium_ is needed princ.i.p.ally for the bones and for the teeth, but it is also necessary in the blood, where it a.s.sists in coagulation. We get sufficient calcium salts in fruits, grains and vegetables, provided they are properly prepared. The conventional preparation of the food often results in the loss of the various salts, which causes tissue degeneration. If the supply of calcium in the food is too small, the bones and the teeth suffer, for the blood removes the calcium from these structures. Growing children need more calcium proportionately than do adults. This is without doubt the reason pregnant women suffer so much from softening of the teeth. They are fed on foods robbed of their calcium, such as white bread and vegetables that have been drained.

_Phosphorus_ in some forms is a poison whether taken in solid compounds or inhaled in fumes, producing phossy jaw. In other forms it is indispensable for bodily development. The compounds of phosphorus are present in fats, bones and protein. In natural foods they are abundantly present, but when these foods are unduly refined, or are soaked in water which is thrown away, much of the phosphorus is lost. We get phosphorus from milk, eggs, cereals, legumes and other foods. Of course, there is phosphorus in fish, but those who eat sea food to make themselves brainy will probably be disappointed. Phosphates are necessary for brain development, but those who eat natural foods never need to go to the trouble of taking special foods for the brain. If the rest of the body is well nourished, the brain will have sufficient food, and if the body is poorly nourished the brain will suffer.

_Sulphur_ is present in protein and we get a sufficient supply from milk, meat and legumes. The element sulphur is quite inert and harmless, but some of its acids and salts are very poisonous. Sulphur dioxide is freely used in the process of drying fruits, as a bleacher. In this form it is poisonous, and for that reason it would be well to avoid bleached dried fruits. We need some sulphur, but not in the form of sulphur dioxide or concentrated sulphurous acid, both of which are used in the manufacture of food.

_Sodium_, in its elementary state, which is not found in nature, is a white, silvery metal. It is found in great abundance in the succulent vegetables, and is present in practically all foods. As sodium chloride, or common table salt, it is taken in great quant.i.ties by most people.

Those who have no salt get along well without it, which shows that it is not needed in large amounts. If but a little is added to the food, it does no perceptible harm, but when sprinkled on everything that is eaten, from watermelons to meat, it is without doubt harmful. By soaking foods, they are deprived of much of their soda: The two sodium salts that are very abundant are sodium chloride, or common salt, and sodium carbonate, generally called soda.