This is a subject of vast and vital importance. It comprises the science of alimentation, which forms one of the indispensable functions of life; it is thus, of necessity, a serious preoccupation under all conditions.
I have treated this important subject in my greater work with the minute detail, which it deserves; thus, in following the advice given, therein, in chapter XVIII, the reader will be able to ascertain the foods that are best suited to various conditions, and how to prepare them in the most sensible way.
At present, I can treat it only in a short and general way, giving the principal groups of diet prescribed, with more or less variation, in each case of disease as a part of the general treatment.
A few words may show why diet plays so important a part in this system of healing.
In the body there is a laboratory which produces spontaneously everything necessary to maintain life.
This laboratory has various branches which are busy day and night without interruption.
Here the life blood is created.
Prominent amongst these branches are:
The stomach with its prolonged intestines;
The liver;
The kidneys;
The lungs, and
The skin.
Each one of these branches has a distinct part, or function to perform.