While the tendency of Nature is to maintain normality by casting the debris out of the body, she demands that we obey the laws of motion and oxidation. If we do not observe these laws, the debris or matter she cannot use will accumulate, and congestion and constipation will take place. The excess of food thus actually clogs the system and generates in the intestines the poisons which cause autointoxication.
THE EFFECTS OF OVEREATING
The effects of overeating are so far-reaching, and so common among civilized people that a volume might be devoted to this habit and the subject not exhausted. Here, however, I will review only that which is of most importance to the student of dietetics, namely, the causes and a few of the effects of overeating.
Overeating is due to three specific causes:
1 Eating several articles of food at the same meal which are incompatible
2 Taking stimulants at meals
3 Eating too many things at the same meal
(1) Incompatible foods:
When foods are eaten together that are incompatible they usually result in superacidity and sometimes cause a gnawing sensation in the stomach.
(2) Stimulants with meals:
When one takes stimulants such as beer, liquor or wine with meals, the stomach-cells secrete a deficient amount of hydrochloric acid, causing food to leave the stomach too slowly, thereby allowing fermentation to take place and acid conditions to develop.