The white of egg should be diluted with four or five times its volume of water; to beef juice add an equal volume of water. The yolk of egg contains too much oil to absorb readily. Fats are not absorbed through the rectum. If egg and beef juice are used without milk, a little sugar may be added. Milk contains sugar in proportion.
It is not advisable to inject wine as it interferes with absorption of other foods.
The nutriment should be forced eight to ten inches up into the rectum to insure absorption. This can be done by using a small injection point on a rubber tube and gently and patiently turning it as it is inserted. The tube may be oiled to prevent irritation.
Derangements of the Liver
The liver is not, in a strict sense. a digestive organ, but it is very dependent upon them, as all products of digestion must pass through it and the starches, sugars and proteins, after they enter the blood, undergo chemical changes here.
For a fuller understanding of the reasons for the following suggestions regarding diet for the liver, the writer would request a re-reading, at this point, of the chapter upon the “Work of the Liver” upon pages 81 to 92.
It will be recalled that the liver acts, not only upon proteins, sugars, and starches,—the nourishing foods, but it also stands guard over poisonous ferments, due to putrefactions absorbed from the intestines, rendering them harmless; to a limited extent it also oxidizes the poisons of alcohol. The fats also pass through the liver.
Since all products of digestion must pass through this organ, it is easy to see how it may be overworked, for it is an undisputed fact that most people eat more food than is required to maintain the body in nitrogenous equilibrium and to supply the necessary heat and energy.
After the gorging of a heavy meal, the overloaded blood and liver express themselves in a sluggish brain and one feels mentally, as well as physically, logy, or overloaded.