For list of foods to be eaten and omitted in cases of overeating, superacidity, fermentation and gas dilatation, see p. 433. For the importance of water-drinking, see p. 434.
FERMENTATION
Fermentation is the effort of Nature to dispose of or to dissolve things it cannot use; it is the first step in the process of decay.
FERMENTATION—THE CAUSE
The common causes of fermentation are the same as those of superacidity (see p. 420), the difference being that superacidity originates in the stomach, and is confined chiefly to it, while fermentation may take place throughout the entire intestinal tract. The causes are—
1 Overeating
2 Too much acid fruit
3 An excess of sweets
4 Stimulants of the alkaloid group
5 Overeating of cereal products
FERMENTATION—THE SYMPTOMS
Difference between superacidity and fermentation
The first evidence of fermentation is a burning sensation in the stomach, almost exactly as in superacidity, the difference being that in cases of fermentation the symptoms appear later after eating. Superacidity may appear immediately after eating, and the symptoms such as a lump in the stomach, or a sour fluid rising in the throat may also appear within an hour after meals, but fermentation, which produces the same symptoms, does not manifest itself until the acid has acted upon the food, which requires from two to four hours, governed by the time required to digest the different articles of which the meal is composed.