How Nature Cures, Comprising a New System of Hygiene, Also the Natural Food of Man; A Statement of the Principal Arguments Against the Use of Bread, Cereals, Pulses, Potatoes, and All Other Starch Foods

"A fat person, at whatever period of life, has not a sound tissue in his body: not only is the entire muscular system degenerated with the fatty particles, but the vital organs--heart, lungs, brain, kidneys, liver, etc.,--are likewise mottled throughout, like rust spots in a steel watch spring, liable to fail at any moment. The gifted Gambetta, whom M. Rochefort styled the fatted satrap died--far under his prime--because of his depraved condition; a slight gunshot wound from which a clean man would have speedily recovered ended this obese diabetic's life. Events sufficiently convincing are constantly occuring on both sides of the Atlantic; every hour men are rolling into ditches of death because they do not learn how to live. These ditches have fictitious names--grief, fright, apoplexy, kidney troubles, heart disease, etc.,--but the true name is chronic self abuse."

Fortunately there is a considerably greater apprehension in the public mind now than a few years ago as to the evils of growing fat. The writings of Mr. Banting, an enthusiastic layman who was greatly helped by a reduction of obesity, and whose interest in his fellow men prompted him to make as widely known as possible some thirty years ago his method of cure, has done much to dispel dense ignorance concerning this topic; and in more recent years the illness of Bismarck, and his restoration through the reduction of his obesity, was also a great help to spread knowledge on this most important subject. 

The exciting cause of obesity is the ingestion of more food that the system requires, together with the weakening of the excretory organs, which results in the failure of the system to adequately throw off its waste matter. But the profound and primal cause of obesity will one day be recognized to be the use of cereal and starch foods. An obese person weighing two, four or six stone, twenty-five, fifty, or eighty pounds, or even a still larger amount, more than is natural, may be given a diet of flesh with water with or without the addition of starchless vegetables, as lettuce, watercress, tomatoes, spinach, and the like, excluding bread, pulses and potatoes, and the patient will be gradually but surely reduced to his normal weight. As soon, however, as the patient returns to his usual diet of bread and potatoes he straightway begins to increase in weight; and while an obese patient can easily be reduced eight pounds per month when placed upon a flesh diet, he will gain fully this much or more upon returning to a free use of bread and starch vegetables. If this patient who has been reduced, and who has again developed obesity, is persuaded to again adopt the exclusive flesh diet, again the reduction is sure to take place; and in the course of our practice this process has been repeated among many patients, and in a few a reduction and return to flesh has been repeated three times. It is plain from such demonstrations that without starch foods corpulency would not exist. Chemically starch foods are chiefly carbon; adipose tissue is also carbon, and it would naturally be expected that a diet of oil and the fat of animal flesh would contribute quite as much to obesity as bread and starch foods. But experience proves that such is not the case. The reason for this is not, in the present state of science, understood; it will likely be found in the fact that starch foods undergo a complicated process of digestion, whereas oils require only emulsion to render them assimilable by the system. 

The courage and strength of conviction possessed by the average family doctor is curious to behold. It will be found to be inversely to the ratio of his knowledge. The less conversant he is with this malady the greater confidence he seems to have in his opinions. During the years that we were in practice some hundreds of patients came to us for assistance in this trouble, a large number of whom were under the control of their family physician. Many of these patients came in defiance of the express orders of their physicians; and while they had assumed courage enough to disobey their orders and come to us, they needed much encouragement to enable them to proceed with any confidence. They were usually told by their medical advisers that in them it was natural to be stout, that they had "better leave well enough alone," and the direst results were prophesied in the event that they had the temerity to proceed. In point of fact these patients quite invariably experienced nothing but the happiest results. many of them came out of an interest in their personal appearance; finding their figures destroyed and their beauty going, they desired restoration to their youthful form and feature. Others, again, were annoyed at clumsiness in getting about, shortness of breath in climbing stairs, and the general awkwardness and inconvenience that result from this "too, too solid flesh." Only a small proportion of these patients came from a knowledge that obesity is a disease, that it encourages other states of inflammation and other diseases, and that its reduction is a great aid in the return of health. But while thees patients as a rule did not come to us with this expectation, it was common for them to testify to geat benefits that had resulted from their treatment. These benefits were quite frequently greater than the patient would readily admit or remember. It was our custom, with all patients beginning treatment, to take the name, age, height, weight, and a list of the infirmities, if any, from which they were suffering. These details were elicited by a series of questions, and the answers duly recorded. Out of sight out of mind is the old adage; and human beings are fortunately so conditioned that when their aches and pains have taken flight they forget not infrequently that they were ever present. many of these patients would have stoutly denied the benefit rendered but for the diagnosis taken at the beginning of treatment, and a reference to wich only would convince them of the coniditon they had been in. 

CHAPTER XVIL THE IMMORALITY OF FLESH-EATING. 

In these days of vegetarianism and theosophy a phy- sician is often met with objection on the part of patients to a diet of flesh, which objection will usually be found to be based on the conviction — a growing one through-out civilization — that it is wrong to slaughter animals, and therefore wrong to use their flesh as food. What- ever may be the ultimate decision of humanity in regard to this question, at the present time it is not infrequently a very serious one to the physician. A patient comes to him much out of health, earnestly desiring to follow the necessary course and practice the necessary self-denial to gain health, and the physician is fully impressed that the patient's digestive apparatus and general system is in such condition that flesh is well-nigh indispensable in a dietary system that will restore the patient to health, — under such circumstances this question will be found of grave importance. 

What constitutes morality in diet ? Manifestly, many animals are intended by nature to live upon other animals. To our apprehension the intention of nature, when it can be ascertained, authoritatively disposes of this matter. If it could be shown, as many physicians believe, that man is by nature omnivorous, and designed to eat flesh among other foods, this would be a conclu- sive demonstration that it was right for him to eat flesh. If, as we believe, nature intended man should subsist upon sweet fruits and nuts, there is not only no license for flesh-eating, but the reverse, — there is presumptive evidence that it is wrong to eat flesh. Physiological law must be the court of last resort in which to try this question. 

Vegetarians and others scruple at the purchase of a beef-steak on the ground that the money so expended encourages the butcher in the slaughter of the animal, and thereby identifies the one who expends the money with the slaughter. If this reason be given in earnest it should be binding, and its logic followed under all circumstances. While it is true that the purchase of a pound of beef identifies the purchaser with the slaughter of the animal, the purchase of a dozen eggs or a quart of milk as clearly identifies the purchaser with the slaughter of animals; for the reason that the laws governing the production of agricultural products are such that the farmer cannot profitably produce milk or eggs except he sell for slaughter some of the cocks and male calves, as well as those animals that have passed the productive period. True, there is no particular animal slain to produce a given quart of milk or a dozen of eggs, as there is in the production of a pound of beef-steak; but the sin is not in the slaughter of a given animal, but in the slaughter of animals, and it must therefore be acknowledged that animals are as surely slaughtered for the production of milk and eggs as for the production of beef-steak. And hence, since this is a question of ethics, we may as well be honest while dealing with it; and if an ethical student honestly refrains from the purchase of flesh because it identifies him with the slaughter of animals, there is no escaping, if he be logical and ethical, from the obligation to refuse also to purchase milk and eggs. This law applies as well to wool and leather, and to everything made from these materials; because, as before shown, agriculture is at present so conducted that the farmer cannot profitably produce wool and leather unless he sells the flesh of animals to be used as food. 

Looking at the matter in this light, almost all of us will be found in a situation demanding compromise. If a delicate patient be allowed eggs, milk, and its products, and the patient is able to digest these foods, so far as physiological needs are concerned there is no serious difficulty in refraining from the use of flesh as food; but if these ethical students hew to the line, have the courage of their convictions, accept the logic of their position, and refrain from the use of animal products altogether, there will be a breakdown very soon. There are a few isolated cases where individuals have lived upon bread and fruit to the exclusion of animal products, but such cases are rare, and usually end in disaster. 

We are, after all, in a practical world, and must bring common sense to bear upon the solution of practical problems. The subject of the natural food of man will be found treated somewhat at length in Part III. In this chapter it is designed only to point out some of the difficulties that inevitably supervene upon an attempt to live a consistent life, and at the same time refuse to use flesh on the ground that such use identifies the eater with the slaughter of animals. There seems to us good ground for the belief that fruit and nuts constituted the food of primitive man, and are the diet intended by nature for him. Remember, primitive man was not engaged in the competitive strife incident to modern life ; the prolonged hours of labour and excessive toil that are necessary to success in competitive pursuits in these times were not incidental to that life. Undoubtedly an individual with robust digestive powers, who is not called upon to expend more vitality than is natural and healthful, will have no difficulty whatever in being adequately nourished on raw fruits and nuts. When, however, a denizen of a modern city, obliged to work long hours and perform excessive toil, can only succeed in such endeavors by a diet that will give him the greatest amount of nourishment for the least amount of digestive strain, it will be found that the flesh of animals usually constitutes a goodly portion of such diet. It may be said to be a pre-digested food, and one that requires the minimum expenditure of vital force for the production of the maximum amount of nutrition. However earnest a student of ethics may be, however such a student may desire to live an ideal life, if he finds himself so circumstanced that a wife and family are dependent upon his exertions for a livelihood, and if it be necessary, in order adequately to sustain him in his work, that he shall have resort to a diet in which the flesh of animals is an important factor, there is no escape, in our opinion, from the inevitable conclusion that it is his duty to adopt that diet which enables him to meet best the obligations resting upon him. 

An invalid with no family to support, and with independent means, may nevertheless find himself in a similar situation with regard to the problem of flesh-eating. We have found many persons whose inherited vitality was small at the outset, and whose course of life had been such as to greatly weaken the digestive powers, and who when they came to us were in such a state of prostration as to require, like the competitive worker, the greatest amount of nourishment for the least amount of digestive strain ; and yet such persons have duties in life to perform, and are not privileged knowingly to pursue any course that necessarily abbreviates their life or diminishes their usefulness. The conviction is clear to us that the plain duty of persons so circumstanced is to use that diet which will best contribute to a restoration of their digestive powers and the development of a fair share of vital energy. When this result has been reached, these persons may easily be able to dispense with flesh food and even animal products, and to obtain satisfactory results from a diet of fruit and nuts. 

A true physician must make every effort to overcome the illness of his patients, and to put them on the road to a recovery of health. To our mind there is, in the solution of this problem, a clear path for the ethical student to follow. We believe that health is man's birthright, and that it becomes his bounden duty to use all efforts within his power to obtain and maintain it. We believe that sickness is a sin; that it unfits the victim for his duties in life ; that through illness our life becomes a misery to ourselves, and a burden to our fellows ; and where this result is voluntarily incurred it becomes a shame and a disgrace. Manifestly the body is intended for the use of the spirit, and its value depends upon its adaptability for such use. In the ratio that the body is liable to be invaded by disease is its usefulness impaired. The old saying, "a sound mind in a sound body," is the outcome of a perception of this truth. The saying that cleanliness is next to godliness is based upon the perception that cleanliness is necessary for the health of the body, and that the health of the body is necessary for the due expression of a godly life. When this truth is adequately understood it will be seen by the vegetarian, the theosophist, and the ethical student that health is the first requisite ; that it becomes a religious duty to create and conserve this condition, and that whatever diet, exercise, vocation, or course in life is calculated to develop the greatest degree of health is the one that our highest duty commands us to follow. In short, the favorite maxim of one of Britain's most famous statesmen might wisely be taken for the guiding principle of all : Sanitas omnia sanitas.

Important as the hot water treatment is, the meat diet is far more so. The Salisbury treatment may be said to consist of two factors : first, the practice of taking a large amount of hot water on an empty stomach ; and second, confining the patient to lean flesh, preferably beef, minced or scraped to thoroughly break down and as far as possible remove the connective tissue. The leg or ham of beef — that portion usually sold as round or buttock steak — is the part preferred. It is recommended in the case of very delicate stomachs that the fat, gristle, and like parts be removed, and that the lean flesh be run through a meat-chopper two or three times to insure a thorough breaking down of the connective tissue. This minced meat should be loosely made up into round balls from half an inch to an inch or more in thickness, and three or four inches in diameter. Let a frying-pan be made very hot, and the meat balls placed in it, shaking the frying-pan to keep the meat from burning; when the surface has been browned, turn the ball over, cover- ing the frying-pan to keep in the steam, and set it back where the meat will cook gently but continuously. It should be cooked until all the red color has disappeared. A small portion of salt, and when desired a very little pepper, may be added. All persons taking this treatment who are not too stout are advised to add fresh butter to the meat ; and when the butter is salted no further addition of salt is necessary. When preferred, the meat cakes can be placed on a common grill or broiler, turning the grill often until the red has disappeared from the center of the balls. 

Mrs. Stuart prefers a preparation of stewed meat, as follows : In preparing beef for a Salisbury steak, a considerable portion of valuable meat must be discarded. This is utilized by slow and long boiling until the value of the meat is extracted in soup. Then to one and a half pounds of the minced meat add about a pint of the meat soup, which has first been allowed to cool and the fat removed. Add a little salt and pepper, and stew over a gentle fire until the redness of the meat has disappeared. It will be found that it is not necessary to boil the meat; boiling dissipates some of the valuable elements, and distinctly damages it, but it can be thoroughly cooked without boiling. Many people prefer this method of cooking to the broiled cakes, and it affords a variety to those who care for it. 

Most persons reading these directions for the first time will think at once that such a diet would be very repulsive and cloying to the appetite. Surprising as it may seem, a majority of those who confine themselves to this food come to relish it greatly, and not particularly to miss the lack of bread or other usual foods. It has long been known that hunger is the best sauce ; and when an adequate food is furnished to a hungry man, the food is relished, digested, assimilated, and passed off, leaving the system with a good appetite when the time comes for more food. 

It will be found by all persons who try this diet that it is not difficult if they resolutely abstain from the use of all other foods. If, however, they indulge themselves at the outset by tasting, in what may seem to be trifling quantities, other and accustomed kinds of food, the appetite for the beef is very likely to vanish, and the patient will find considerable difficulty in sticking to it. Fortunately, for all those not obese and who are not taking this diet largely for effecting a reduction of their weight, it is not necessary to be wholly confined, as Dr. Salisbury recommends, to the minced beef. We have found that all the conditions that may be obtained from a strict adherence to the beef and hot water regime are obtained by the addition of some food-fruits to this diet. These fruits may be dates, stewed figs, prunes, raisins, sultanas, and — when thoroughly ripe and of good quality before drying — peaches or apricots. If too much of this fruit be eaten it will cause acidity and flatulence ; on the other hand, if those persons confining themselves to the Salisbury diet will gradually add such food-fruits, they will find a distinctly better relish with the meals, the removal of more or less longing that is inevitable with those who are eating only the meat, and a greatly improved tendency toward the removal of constipation. 

At the same time, it must be borne in mind that to some patients there appears to be nothing so easily digested, that at the same time gives anything like so much nourishment and vitality, as the pulp of lean meat; and if the addition of fruits even when made cautiously produces flatulence, heartburn, or other evidences that there is fermentation instead of digestion, to such very weak stomachs it is best to rely for the time upon beef alone, and until the stomach is so far restored that such fruits may be safely added. 

The rationale of the beef and hot water treatment is easily understood; that of the hot water is already given. Health depends upon nourishment; a food may be rich in all the elements of nutrition, and yet be valueless to a person either because it is of itself unfitted to human digestion, or because the digestion of such person has been weakened by wrong habits, or by heredity, or by both, and is thus rendered unable to get nourishment from such ill-adapted food. All persons out of health, and all whose digestion is weak, and whose nervous system has been overstrained — and this classification includes vast numbers, a great majority in civilization — are in need of a food which will give greatest nourishment for the least expenditure of vital force. The lean meat of our domestic animals, and of some kinds of game, and especially that of beef, answers this demand in a remarkable degree. A good quality of beef or mutton, roasted or broiled, to the average stomach will be found quite easy of digestion, and is more conveniently obtained than the minced meat, though flesh that has been well chopped or minced has its connective tissue largely destroyed, and this connective tissue offers the chief obstacle in the way of digestion. This can also be broken down by continuous cooking for hours in succession. A simple method of accomplishing this is to put the meat into a covered tin or copper vessel, and place this in a large stewing vessel. Insert a piece of brick, coal or like substance between the bottom of the vessel containing the meat and the bottom of the stewpan or boiler; fill with water that will surround the inside vessel but not enter it; cover also the larger vessel, bring it to a boil, and keep it gently boiling for about five hours. No water is to be placed in the vessel containing the meat; and it will be found after long cooking that the connective tissue is substantially destroyed, the meat is exceedingly tender, its juices are all retained, and many of the advantages secured that result from mincing the beef. A good way of cooking such meat, also, is to boil in an ordinary boiler with but little water until thoroughly done — from four to six hours. In whatever way meat is cooked, skin, gristle, and indigestible lumps must not be eaten; these substances are very difficult to digest, and must be avoided. 

If this food be taken only in such quantities as the needs of the system demand, it will be found to be less liable to fermentation than most foods, and persons troubled with flatulence or any other evidence of a weakened state of the stomach and bowels will find this food especially favourable to the recovery of strength and vigorous digestive power. 

All persons who are at all corpulent, having more adipose tissue or fat than is natural, will find this diet of special value; and all such will do well to exclude, until they are reduced to a normal weight, the fat portions of the meat, and refrain from the use of butter or sweet fruits. A continuous exclusive diet of lean beef in quantities barely sufficient for the needs of the systern, with the addition of stewed tomatoes or spinach and a moderate amount of lettuce and like salads, is sure to reduce almost any obese person to their normal weight. When such weight is reached, butter and oil may be gradually added to the dietary, and also the food fruits. One great advantage of a diet composed of a moderate amount of animal flesh, as beef and mutton, and a considerable portion of the food-fruits — dates, figs, prunes, sultanas, apples, etc. — is that these fruits are distinctly aperient, and overcome the tendency to constipation which is quite sure to be induced by an exclusive meat diet. When for any reason these fruits are excluded from the dietary, recourse must be had to a mild aperient. A leading symptom by which to differentiate between health and illness is the color and appearance of the skin. Persons accustomed to a free use of cereals and starchy vegetables, when out of health are quite apt to have a pale or anaemic color, and a rough and blotchy skin. All such persons who will adopt the diet herein recommended will be gratified to see in a few weeks' time improvement in their complexion. A pink, healthy hue takes the place of the pale color, and the skin becomes soft and pliable. Many persons in middle life have more or less accumulations of dandruff in the head and hair, which is sometimes so plentiful as to need brush- ing from the clothes several times a day. This condition is frequently changed by the adoption of this diet, and sometimes entirely overcome.