But that is not the worst of it. The heart should rest and sleep when we do. During sleep, the character of the beats is different from what it is during our waking hours—the beats are made singly and deliberately, with a pause between, for the heart is taking its necessary rest, to fit it for its functions on the morrow; but, if we take alcohol into the system before retiring, then the heart works harder during sleep than a healthy man’s when he is awake.
Is it any wonder that we hear of so many cases of heart failure? Is it strange that the average duration of human life is steadily and surely growing shorter? Three-score and ten was the average number of years for man to sojourn here, it is now thirty-eight, and will inevitably become still less if man persists in wilfully violating the laws that govern his being.
Tea and coffee are substances which neither form tissue nor serve as fuel, and may be banished from the table with decided advantage. Few people realize that the difference between the drinking of alcohol and tea is simply a question of degree. It is true that the consequences of excessive tea drinking are not as severe as those from over-indulgence in ardent spirits, but the pernicious effects of the constant drinking of strong infusions of tea justify us in calling the practice a serious menace to health. Tea leaves contain from 2 to 4 per cent. of caffeine, or theine, which is an alkaloid, and always found in combination with tannin. They also contain a volatile oil, which is the source of the aroma, and in addition possess a sedative quality. Tannin is a powerful astringent, and hence is strongly provocative of constipation. Its action upon the mucous surface of the stomach is highly detrimental to that organ, as it arrests the excretion of the gastric juice by its contractile effect upon the glands. Its constant use will almost invariably result in digestive disturbances, and will certainly aggravate such troubles, if previously existing. It is true that a cup of hot tea is a refreshing beverage, but not more so than a cup of hot milk—in fact, it is the heat that imparts the sense of comfort experienced on drinking it. Children should never be allowed to drink either tea or coffee, as the seeds of a baneful habit may be sown, for in tea, as in dram drinking, it is a habit easily acquired.
The above remarks apply in a less degree to the frequent use of coffee. The constant use of these substances produce the following results—first, increase of circulation, rise in pulse, a desire to frequently pass urine, and an exhilaration resembling intoxication. Tea tasters, as is well known, are subject to headache and giddiness, and prone to attacks of paralysis. The votaries of the tea and coffee cup by far outnumber those of Bacchus, so that granting that the drinking of these beverages is a little less severe in its constitutional effects, yet the greater prevalence of the habit renders them equal to alcohol in their destructive effects.
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.