The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in Hygiene

by Anna M. Galbraith

Common salt in moderate quantity is essential, but all highly spiced or seasoned foods should be avoided, also pickles and vinegar. All "sweets" are harmful, because they destroy the appetite for other things and upset the digestion. Tea and coffee should be tabooed, as well as all alcoholic beverages.

Good digestion depends for the most part on serving the meals at the same hour every day, eating leisurely, and masticating the food well. There is a great tendency on the part of the school girl to sleep late in the morning, then "bolt" her breakfast in order to get to school in time. Nothing could be more pernicious to the digestion, unless it is the eternal nibbling of candy.

A healthy girl needs nothing between meals. A delicate girl will be the better for a glass of milk in the middle of the morning and at bed-time; or pure beef juice may be given instead.

Water.— Water is needed to keep the kidneys properly flushed. The amount of urine secreted during the twenty-four hours should be three pints. Of course it will be less than this if the quantity of water is insufficient. In addition to the urine about ten ounces of water are lost from the surface of the lungs, and eighteen ounces from the skin, making a total of about five pints; and this quantity of water must be taken daily in order to maintain the equilibrium of the body. The solid food of a mixed diet contains from fifty to sixty per cent. of water, so that about twenty-five ounces of water are taken into the system daily as an integral part of the food. In addition, three pints more should be taken as plain water. The bladder acts as a reservoir for the urine, and should be emptied at least three or four times a day.

Constipation.— In order to keep the digestive system in good condition, the refuse matter which collects in the lower bowel must be evacuated every day. And in order to secure this regular bowel movement, regularity in the time of going to the toilet is a prime necessity. And now is the time when the habits of a lifetime are being formed. If a tendency to constipation exists, it can almost always be overcome by increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables eaten, also by eating cracked wheat, oatmeal, corn and graham bread; all of which increase the peristaltic action of the intestines. The small amount of water taken by girls and women is another fertile source of constipation.

School Life.— When it is considered that fully one-half of the girl's waking hours are spent in school or in study preparing for school, it becomes evident that the girl's attitude at her desk should be the correct one. The malpositions at the desk are the most frequent cause of lateral curvatures, round shoulders, and flat chests. And these deformities are more common in girls than they are in boys.

The common faults of the desk and seat leading to these malpositions are unsuitable shape of the back of the seat, too great a distance between the seat and the desk, and the incorrect slope of the desk.

The edge of the desk should slightly project over the edge of the chair. The top of the desk should incline downward about ten degrees toward the student, and be low enough to allow the forearm to rest on it without raising the shoulder. The seat should be sufficiently deep to support almost the entire thigh, and close enough to the floor to allow the soles of the feet to rest firmly on it. The back of the chair should be arched so as to support the hollow of the back, and should reach just above the lower part of the shoulder-blades, and so make it easy and comfortable for even a weakly child to sit upright.

If the seat is too high, the feet do not rest on the floor, and so the girl does not get the proper aid from the legs and feet to maintain an erect position. If the desk is too high, the elbow can rest on it only by curving the spine and raising the shoulder. The work is brought too close to the eyes and causes extra strain. If the desk is too low, the child stoops over it and becomes round-shouldered, and there is a tendency to become short-sighted.

The pupil should sit erect with the weight equally borne by both buttocks; the legs should be straight before the trunk, and the feet firmly resting on the floor. The book should be held about twelve inches from the eyes.