GENERAL SUGGESTIONS.

One of the causes that conduce to digestive disturbances is that of solitary eating. Owing to the strenuousness of modern city life, many people, of both sexes, are compelled to practice the most rigid economy, which, in a large proportion of cases, involves what is known as "light housekeeping," or preparing a part, if not all of their meals over a gas jet in their room. In the case of the male housekeeper, this generally means that when he seats himself to eat he places his book or paper in front of him, to beguile the time; the consequence being that he not only calls the blood away from the stomach, where it is needed, but, engrossed in his reading, he masticates imperfectly, or suddenly coming to himself, he finds that he has been so intent on his reading that his food has become cold, whereupon he devours it in haste. Women are not such great sinners in this respect as men; but are equally culpable in another direction. It is a pretty well-known fact that a woman would just as soon not eat at all as to eat alone, and as a result frequently deprives herself of the necessary amount of nutrition.

In fact, she impairs her digestion by not giving it sufficient work to do, while the man ruins his by spasmodically overtaxing it. For the above reasons, the boarding house (much as it leaves to be desired) is preferable as an abiding place for hundreds of men and women who are too busy by day and too tired at night to pay proper attention to the physical needs of the system. Companionship at meals is a most desirable thing, especially if it is congenial, and light, cheerful conversation, with a little hilarity intermingled, is an excellent aid to digestion.

This is, no doubt, due to mental influence. The whole of the alimentary process is under the control of the nervous system, which has its seat in the brain, consequently, a cheerful mental attitude favors digestion. It is well known that a fit of anger may temporarily stop digestion. The mind exerts such a vast influence over every function that it is impossible to set bounds to it. We are the creatures of habit. We eat so many times a day, from sheer force of habit. We habituate ourselves to partake of articles of food against which, at first, the senses rebel, by the same force; but it is left wholly to mans reasoning powers whether his habits shall be cultivated according to the needs of the system. If they are, perfect nutrition will be established; if they are not, he is worse off than the animal who knows only to follow the instincts of the original habits of the species. A man can exercise his will power to partake of a diet which his taste had not been able to appreciate, yet no will power can ever provide good nutrition out of a diet against which taste constantly rebels. Consciousness of the digestive organs is an offense to them.

The more a man is conscious of his stomach, the less will be its capacity for performing good service; therefore, a dyspeptic should never attempt to follow a course of experimental dietetics with himself, for if he watches his stomach after his carefully selected meal, to see how it will serve him, he will always find abnormal symptoms. It is never wise to expect anything but good results from anything which has been allowed to pass beyond the palate, for that is Nature's infallible safeguard, its province being to reject every objectionable thing.

We would again remind the reader that one of the most important offices of the lungs is to promote the movement of the blood and lymph currents throughout the body. Active respiration assists all forms of lymph absorption, but gives special aid to the absorption of food substances from the stomach and intestines, because these particular lymph vessels are situated so close to the chest cavity that they are more directly under the influence of the suction action of the chest.

A few minutes spent in vigorous deep breathing exercise after each meal is one of the best means of remedying the sense of heaviness and weight of which so many complain after eating.

Thus we see that deep breathing, by favoring absorption, promotes the nourishment of the body will assist in building tissue, in fact. Oxygen is a vital necessity for the body, and it is necessary to absorb a large quantity for the actual needs of the system, while all absorbed over the quantity means added nutrition. Now, deep, or diaphragmatic breathing, infallibly increases the lung capacity, so that the possibility for absorption of oxygen is increased, and health and strength promoted. Deep breathing is as necessary for the proper absorption and assimilation of nutrition as the selection of a well- balanced diet. It has saved thousands of lives, and is a factor in promoting health that cannot be disregarded.

"Order is Heaven's first law," and nowhere is this law better exemplified than in the human body. Order, or regularity, is an essential for success in human affairs—moral, mental, or physical; but especially in the latter. The successful conduct of large business organizations is only possible by regularity in the performance of every detail of duty.

If this be so when only physical results are involved, how much more so is it where vital interests are at stake? The human body is a wonderfully complex piece of mechanism, and if left to itself or rather to natural guidance, its manifold functions are performed with unfailing regularity; and regularity in function means health— irregularity, disease.

Mark the rhythmic regularity of respiration, or of the heart's contractions! Long continued regularity begets habit, which is a form of automatism; hence the necessity of regularity in action along fixed lines, and in consonance with physiological law, that good habits only may be formed.

Good habits are absolutely essential to health, which is equivalent to saying that regularity in living is an imperative necessity to that end. Regularity in rising and retiring; regularity in eating and drinking; regularity in exercise, all are equally important.

Not only does this regularity of conduct conduce to the attainment and maintenance of perfect health, but it enables the individual to accomplish more within the limits of the day, partly by economizing time, and partly by the added vigor due to improved health.

First, regularity in the hours of rising and retiring, namely, regulating the minimum period to be devoted to sleep. There is much conflict of opinion as to the amount of sleep necessary for the average adult. We have in mind an old saying which runs as follows: "Six hours' sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and eight for a fool." This is somewhat arbitrary, and, moreover, is not in harmony with physiological law. In the first place, no hard and fast rule can be laid down that will cover all cases. Apart from the difference of sex, there are temperamental conditions which vary with every case. We are decidedly of the opinion that eight hours' sleep is necessary for the adult individual. It has been affirmed by some authorities that the more the individual sleeps the longer he will live, which is a perfectly rational claim, in view of the fact that night is Nature's repair time, when she is busy at work replacing the ravages committed by wear and tear during the day. It is a well known fact that nearly all growth takes place during sleep.

Again, it is a fact not generally known that the heart receives no nourishment during the period of contraction, owing to the pressure upon the arteries which supply it with nutriment. It is only during the infinitesimal pause between the contractions that these arteries can carry blood to the heart tissue; hence during sleep the heart- beats differ from those of our waking hours, being fewer in number, and with a more decided pause between. Now, the heart being to the body what the mainspring is to a watch, the necessity of affording it ample time for recuperation becomes apparent.

Having stated that eight hours' sleep is the minimum amount for the individual, the question of regularity presents itself, and this should be understood to refer especially to the time of rising, which, unless the individual is in ill health, should be at 6 A. M. This not only proves invaluable in economizing time, but paves the way for regularity in eating, which we will now consider.

There is much diversity of opinion as to the number of meals that should be eaten during the day, and recently the practice of eating only two meals a day has largely obtained. This, although preferable to the practice of eating four and five meals a day, or of indiscriminate lunching between meals, is yet (we consider) running into the other extreme. Unless an exceedingly hearty breakfast is eaten, the tax upon the vitality before the next meal hour arrives is too severe. Our rule, which we commend to our readers, is as follows: Rise at six, then take your bath, either plunge or sponge bath, followed by ten to fifteen minutes of moderate exercise. This, we will say, occupies until seven; then eat a light meal of juicy fruit, such as oranges, grapes or berries, followed by the perusal of the morning newspaper, or, if you are a student, devote an hour to study. At eight o'clock take your proper breakfast, which should consist of some preparation of wheat (with milk or fruit juice), followed by toast, boiled or poached eggs, and a glass of milk. Take a light lunch at 1 P. M., and a moderately good dinner at 7 P. M.

If regularity in the hours for meals be strictly observed, and the quantity and character of the meals carefully considered, the system will rapidly acquire the habit of expecting sustenance at those hours, and regularity, like virtue, will be its own reward.

Next comes the question of exercise. Too little attention is paid to this matter, more especially by those engaged in sedentary occupations; yet it is in the highest degree important that the balance between the mental and physical energies should be maintained. To preserve this balance while the mind is active and the body untaxed, artificial exercise must be practiced, for physical strength cannot be promoted without some kind of bodily exercise. Unused muscles soon become flabby, as athletes and their trainers well know. The best time for taking exercise is, as stated above, just after the morning bath, and it is astonishing what results can be obtained from fifteen minutes of intelligently directed exercise each morning. Here, again, regularity will work wonders. It may be a week or two before you will notice any marked improvement in the muscular condition, but you will be amply repaid by the glow of health which pervades the system as the result of stimulated circulation.

Last, but by no means least, comes the matter of solicitation of the bowels. In this case regularity in solicitation will invariably produce regularity in movement The bowels should be solicited every morning, soon after rising, and every night just before retiring. We only wish that we could impress every one of our readers with the importance of this practice, and of the immense benefit of regularity in the pursuance of it. Just as the stomach acquires the habit of expecting food when regularly supplied to it at stated intervals, even so will the bowels respond to solicitation if regularity be persisted in.

Nature is inexorably opposed to caprice. She executes all her processes in an orderly manner, and if not interfered with, with the greatest regularity, and if man will only co-operate with her by strict regularity in the important duties previously mentioned, the result will be a surprise to him in the form of renewed health and vigor. He will have an unclouded mind, and be ready to face the trials of everyday existence with a courage that nothing can daunt.

But Nature demands an accurate accounting. Man thinks but little of the drafts he is continually making upon his vitality, but sooner or later the account will be presented, and payment exacted in full. There is no such thing as vicarious payment. The debtor must pay in person, and it therefore behooves every man to watch the debit side of his life's ledger, and make a daily balance of his account with Nature.