A Simple but Valuable Aid.—All such persons will obtain relief by drinking a cupful of hot water at least half an hour before breakfast each morning; and if the case is very bad, then the hot water may be repeated before each meal. The water should be as hot as can be comfortably taken.
Useful Hints.—I would strongly urge the necessity of thoroughly chewing the food and eating slowly. If this rule alone were observed there would be far less dyspeptics in the country. Drink should be used sparingly at meal-time, also, for while the body requires a great deal of liquid during the day, yet this should be taken between meals rather than during meals.
The stomach should certainly have time to rest from its work of digesting the food, hence nothing should be eaten between meals. The habit so many girls have of eating before retiring is very injurious to the health, and should be corrected at once. Meals should be taken at regular intervals and not at any time when most convenient.
Diet for Dyspeptics.—The chronic dyspeptic should use soups sparingly, for, as a rule, they are quite difficult of digestion, while they do not contain much nourishment. Plain mutton and beef soup without much fat are the least harmful. Such fish as pickerel, trout, shad, and white fish may be used moderately; while oysters, especially when raw, are easily digested. The best kinds of meat are roasted or broiled beef, lamb chops, and some fowl, as chicken.
Eggs are easily digested, and are exceedingly valuable as an article of diet for the dyspeptic. They may be cooked in almost any form except hard-boiled. They are highly nourishing, can be prepared in many delicate ways, and are, as I have said, as valuable an article of diet as the dyspeptic can have.
Persons with chronic dyspepsia do not digest vegetables well, as a rule, although such green vegetables as lettuce, green peas, asparagus, celery, and spinach may be used. Potatoes often ferment in the stomach, producing gases, and should be used sparingly.
Toast is always well borne, but should never be buttered while hot. Bread should not be used until it is at least a day old. Rolled oats, cracked wheat, etc., may be taken, although with many they cause fermentation. Nearly all cooked fruits are well borne by the stomach, and so are nearly all ripe fruits. Puddings made from rice and custard are easily digested.
Milk is valuable at all times, and if the chronic dyspeptic bears it well, this diet alone will frequently make a marked cure. If it rests heavy on the stomach, a little lime water may be added to it in the proportion of a tablespoonful of lime water to a cupful of milk.
Forbidden Diet.—There are certain articles of diet which the dyspeptic should not use under any circumstances. Among such are fried foods of all kinds, pork, liver, veal, rich soups, turkey, goose, duck, mackerel, lobster, cucumbers, cabbage, turnips, parsnips, string beans, pies and cakes, cheese and nuts.
Constipation.—As we have already stated, constipation is productive of the most serious evils. When the lower bowel is distended, pressure is made upon the surrounding blood-vessels, and thus the circulation seriously interfered with.