LAWS OF HEALTH.
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Undertakers,like physicians and all those who may be called at any time of the day or night to make use of their physical and mental faculties, whose duties compel them to breathe the foul effluvia of the sick chamber, or the noxious gases generated by the dead, even to come into direct contact with every variety of contagious or epidemic disease—such professionals find it to their interest and physical welfare to observe certain rules of living in accordance with the requirements of their calling.
It is a matter of great importance that their diet, clothing and habits be regulated by certain laws, which will, to a great extent, reduce the dangers to which they are exposed in the discharge of their duties.
Man is less uniform in his diet, and suffers more in consequence of it, than any other animal. All other animals are directed by instinct to select only those substances which are best adapted to their wants. Man is endowed with reason to enable him, by the exercise of thought and reflection, to make his choice of food. He should, therefore, select his daily foodwith as much forethought and care as he would select the materials for his dwelling. He should consider, not what will gratify his taste, but what will build up and strengthen his bodily structure, and secure most perfectly the highest and most permanent enjoyment of all his faculties.
The kind of food which each individual should select is by no means uniform; the climate, the season of the year, the occupation, the temperament, the age, the habits of life, and various other circumstances which might be mentioned, demand modifications of diet.
The constituent elements of the body are not found in the same relative proportions at different periods of life, or in different individuals of the same age. In middle life the muscular system predominates, and the body is remarkable for the compactness of its fibres, its strength, and its power of endurance.
In the child there is an excess of fluids, which renders the body more plump and round and the form beautiful, though more frail and delicate than at a later period. In advanced age, the soft tissues become greatly diminished, and the form wrinkled and wasted.
The inhabitants of cold climates require those articles of food which produce the largest amount ofanimal heat, such as oil, tallow and fat meats, which contain from sixty-six to eighty per cent. of carbon. The natives of the arctic regions consume enormous quantities of fat and oil, and seem to relish them as great luxuries; the inhabitants of tropical regions subsist mainly on rice, fruits, vegetables and lean meats. It would be impossible to live in Greenland on the plaintain and rice of the Hindoo, or in Hindostan on the seal fat and whale oil of the Greenlander.
In temperate climates we require different kinds of food at different seasons of the year. In winter we consume larger quantities of fat meat and carbonaceous food, and in summer more fruit and vegetables. Were we to indulge in the summer in the same diet which we might find highly conducive to health in the winter, the system would soon become burdened with an excess of carbonaceous matter, and induce congestion and inflammatory diseases. It is therefore highly important that each person should possess some knowledge of the properties of different articles of diet, and select from time to time those which he may think most suitable to his own organization.
Different substances are nutritious in proportion as they yield, when digested, those elements which are found to exist in the different tissues of the body. Animals do not possess the power of forming new elements, or of converting one element into another, and it necessarily follows that the elements of their growth and nutrition must be derived from the food which they take.
The largest part of nearly all the substances which make up the human body are composed of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon, and different substances are regarded as nutritious in proportion as they furnish these essential elements of our organization. In general, those substances may be regarded as the most important articles of diet which furnish, with the greatest facility of digestion, the largest amount of these elements.
Milk is regarded, perhaps correctly, as the plainest and simplest kind of food. Cow’s milk is composed of:
Milk, being furnished by nature as the only food for the young of the mammalia during a certain period of their existence, contains all the elements necessary to the nutrition and the growth of the body. Out of the casein are formed the albumen and fibrin of the blood. The butter serves for the formation of fat, and contributes, with the sugar, to the support of animal heat, by yielding carbon and hydrogen to be burnt in the lungs. The earthy salts (phosphate of lime, etc.) are necessary for the development of the bones, the iron required for the blood, corpuscles and the hair.
In this country, meat constitutes an important part of the diet of almost every family. As a general rule, animal food is more easily digested, contains a greater amount of nutriment, and is more stimulating than any of the varieties of vegetable food.
As minuteness of division and tenderness of fibre facilitate digestion, young meats are more tender than old; thus, roasted pig is more speedily digested than broiled pork; steak and boiled lamb sooner than boiled mutton. Still, there are some exceptions to the digestibility of young meats, veal, and with some persons lamb, are slower of digestion than beef or mutton.
The vegetable kingdom greatly exceeds the animal in the number and variety of the aliments which it furnishes to man. It is well known that the four essential elements, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, which form an important part of all animal compounds, are also to be found in great abundance in all vegetable compounds; it is owing to this fact that different animals are nourished equally well on an exclusive diet of either. The lion, tiger and other animals which live exclusively on animal food, give no evidence of being better nourished than the deer, the ox, and animals which subsist wholly on vegetable food; but the apparatus for digestion in each class is constructed with an evident adaptation to the kind of diet on which the different animals subsist.
In man the digestive apparatus is more extensive than in flesh-eating animals, but is less complicatedthan in those which are confined to vegetable food alone. Man is therefore omnivorous, both in his structure and in his habits.
But the universal tendency of mankind gives preference to a mixed diet. The most perfect development and the greatest individual vigor are to be found among those races in which a mixed diet is the prevalent habit.
During the warm season vegetables and fruits may be made the means of great mischief or of great good. Perfectly ripe fruits or vegetables are highly useful and well adapted to the wants of the system at that season of the year; yet they may become, and often are, a prolific source of disease. So frequently is this kind of food a cause of bowel complaint that city physicians discard it wholly from the diet of children not under their immediate supervision.
Vegetables and early fruits that have been long exposed, in a malarious or filthy market, or in transportation, are unquestionably dangerous articles of food for all persons. But the injurious consequences which follow the use of ripe and wholesome vegetables and fruit are, in almost all cases, the results of imprudence. They are either in an improper condition to be used as food, or the quantity is too great, or they are taken at improper hours.
In either case there is a great change in the usual diet. Instead of a lack of refrigerant food, there is now an excess of it. Active fermentation takes place in the process of digestion, and results in seriousderangement in the alimentary canal, which leads to cholera morbus, diarrhœa or dysentery.
During warm weather vegetables and fruit are to be regarded as safe only when used as an accompaniment to other food; they are not adapted to meet all the wants of the system, and therefore should not constitute a full meal at any time. In the country, where this kind of food is enjoyed daily in a proper condition to be eaten, injurious consequences are quite rare, and then they are the result of an excess, or of an indulgence of an appetite at irregular hours.
Much care is also requisite to prevent imperfect mastication of this kind of food. Orange peel and the skins and stones of cherries, plums and grapes are wholly indigestible, and often cause serious mischief when swallowed. Cucumbers, green potatoes, green fruit of all kinds should be wholly discarded from the diet.
Water in some form is more essential to our existence than any of the solid aliments we have yet considered, and is next in importance, in the performance of the vital process, to the air we breathe. Water enters into the formation of all the various tissues of the body, and constitutes a very large proportion of the human system. The blood contains about eighty per cent., the flesh about seventy-six per cent., of water; and of the entire human body, at least seventy-five per cent., or three-fourthsof its weight, is water. The most important purposes in the animal economy are accomplished through this medium.
In the blood, the solid vital elements are transported by the medium of water from one part of the body to another, in a form and condition to promote the vital changes which are constantly taking place.
In exhalation, secretion and absorption, the presence of water is indispensable. It acts as a solvent of various alimentary substances, and thus assists the stomach in the act of digestion; though when taken in large quantities immediately after eating it dilutes the gastric juice and hinders digestion.
Water enters more or less largely into the composition of all alimentary substances, and is taken into the stomach in a pure state, or forms the principal part of the various kinds of drinks in use.
Water is unquestionably the natural drink of adults, and meets the wants of the body more perfectly than any of the artificial liquids which are regarded as improvements on water. Whenever a man is left to the cravings of instinct, unbiased by a vicious appetite, he invariably resorts to water as the natural means to quench his thirst, cool his system, and invigorate his wasting strength.
When we say that water is the only fitting drink for man’s daily and habitual use, we are sustained by the facts of the case. Water is the only liquid which is necessary to the formation, development and support of his frame; it is equal to all the exigencies ofthirst, for the relief of present inconvenience, and of dilution, by mixing with his blood and other fluids, to prevent further sufferings and disease.
The facility with which alimentary substances are digested, depends on a variety of circumstances. Some kinds of food are naturally more difficult of digestion than others. This is especially the case with oily and fatty substances, which contain a large amount of nutritive matter in a concentrated form. Tenderness of fibre renders the digestive process more easy; and, therefore, all those circumstances which affect the texture of flesh have an influence on its digestibility. Violent muscular exertion previous to the death of the animal renders the flesh more easy of digestion. The flesh of young animals, though more tender than the flesh of adult animals, is frequently not so easily digested. Of adult animals, the youngest will be found more tender and digestible than old animals. Vegetables are generally more slowly digested than meat. Minute division facilitates digestion; hence, if food is properly masticated, the process of digestion will be more rapid than otherwise.
Some variety of food is unquestionably more agreeable and more conducive to health than a diet limited to one or a few simple articles. Accordingly, we findthat, whenever the condition of men will admit of it, they universally make use of more or less variety of alimentary substances, and that variety increases very much in proportion to the wealth and ability which exists to gratify the desires of the palate.
Too great a variety of alimentary substances is always injurious when it becomes a temptation to excess. Thus, a much larger amount of food is taken than the wants of the body require, and more than the digestive organs have the capacity to dispose of.
It is impossible to point out to each individual the kind of diet which will suit best. This, to some extent, must be a matter of personal observation and experience. Peculiarities of constitution, habits of life, age, sex, etc., require modifications of diet in accordance with the natural wants of each individual.
Abstinence from all that is found or suspected to be injurious, uniform hours and temperate indulgence should be observed by all who value lasting health more than the mere temporary gratification of the palate.
Dress does not make the man, but it is often indicative of his character. Some men dress in such a manner as to indicate that they estimate themselves by the cost per yard of the garments they wear; others dress so as to carry an impression of perfect indifference to the feelings and sentiments of thosearound them. Both are wrong. Our personal appearance, which depends to a great extent on dress, is a matter of some consequence; and the man who wholly disregards the customs and habits of others in this respect will be very likely to be indifferent to the sentiments and feelings of society in other particulars, and at least may be in danger of passing for less than his true worth. But the fop, whose only accomplishment is the dress he wears, is usually despised as thoughtless and vain.
The style of dress which is most to be commended is that which will not draw attention either for its gaudiness or its plainness. The external appearance of our clothing should always be regarded as less important than its practical uses, inasmuch as bodily health is infinitely more important than personal appearance.
During the warm season we require clothing which will protect the body without retaining too large an amount of heat. For this purpose we prefer, in summer, materials which are good conductors of heat. Cotton and worsted, though not as good conductors as linen, are usually found sufficiently cool for the temperature of the Northern States, where the climate is so changeable that there are but few days in the season when linen can be worn with safety.
Winter clothing should correspond somewhat with the exposure, both in quality and amount. The object to be sought in winter clothing is, not to produce heat, but to retain the heat which the body is constantly evolving.
Woolen is one of our best non-conductors of heat, and all garments formed from this material are regarded as warm clothing. All kinds of furs are good non-conductors, but they are liable to two serious objections: First, furs are too warm for ordinary exposure, and cause too great a change of temperature when they are removed; second, they prevent the escape of perspiration, and confine it within the garments usually worn inside of the fur.
The amount of clothing should depend on the constitutional vigor and the exposure of each individual. Indoors we require less than during an outdoors exposure; less when taking active exercise than when inactive. The amount of clothing, therefore, should be sufficient to insure a constant and uniform protection against sudden changes.
It is especially injurious to bundle up the face and neck with fur collars and shawls, which are so warm that colds will be induced when they are removed.
In a changeable climate, the constant wearing of flannel under garments next to the skin should be recommended. Flannel absorbs the perspiration and preserves a uniform temperature of the surface of the body, and prevents that sense of chilliness which we are liable to experience without flannels.