DYSPEPSIA.
This disease does not come by chance. Infection or contagion can never be held responsible for it. It is the penalty which Nature inflicts upon you for violating physiological laws. Do not be deluded by extravagantly worded advertisements into the belief that any nostrum has been or ever will be invented that can possibly effect an immediate cure. You must entirely abandon the habits that induced it. You must masticate your food thoroughly—allowing the saliva to mix with it, not bolt it, and then wash it down with copious draughts of tea, coffee or water. This superabundance of fluid only serves to distend the stomach and impede digestion. A change of diet is necessary, but not so essential as a change in the habit of eating. Dyspepsia is more or less catarrh of the stomach. Its lining becomes coated with a slimy mucus that arrests the action of the glands, coats the food and prevents the gastric juice from acting upon it.
TREATMENT.
For the first week, use the “Cascade” every night, the second week, each alternate night; thereafter, as occasion seems to demand. Drink a glass of hot water, not less than half an hour before each meal, especially before breakfast. The breakfast should commence with a liberal amount of good, ripe fruit, preferably oranges or grape fruit. This may be followed by a small quantity of some good preparation of whole-wheat: possibly, a lightly boiled or poached egg and a slice of crisp, dry toast, or whole-wheat bread. Drink nothing with the food, but take a glass of hot milk half an hour later. Good, lean beef or mutton, broiled or baked, is easily digested, and may be eaten moderately at midday. If faint between meals, take a glass of hot milk, with a raw egg beaten in it. If the stomach is very sensitive, it is better to eat five or six meals a day, of a few ounces, than to overtax the stomach. Masticate every mouthful of food thoroughly, and practice deep breathing assiduously, it is an important aid to digestion. This method of treatment, if faithfully persisted in, will cure the worst case of dyspepsia, with all its attendant misery.
RHEUMATISM.
Both chronic and acute rheumatism are diseases of the blood, due to an excess of uric acid. The presence of this acid is due to excessive and imperfect action of the liver. Imperfect nutrition and deficient excretion are the primary causes, and the result is that the blood becomes loaded with poisonous matter. The trouble manifests itself in the joints, toes, ankles, knees or hands, but the seat of the disease is elsewhere.
TREATMENT.
The first thing to be done is to promote the conversion of acid by oxidation and increased activity of the liver. The best way to accomplish this is by the daily use of the “Cascade,” first with hot water, then with cool water, doubling the antiseptic tonic. Do this twice a day for a week, then once a day for a month. Take a Turkish bath daily for a time to restore the functions of the skin. Rub the disabled joints with hot, oily applications, followed by massage and pressure movements. The diet should consist largely of green vegetables, mutton and whole wheat bread, or toast, eggs, milk and fruit. Avoid pastry and starchy food, such as potatoes, beans and white bread. A cup of hot water, not less than half an hour before breakfast, should not be omitted.