These pains occur chiefly in those who take little exercise and use improper food, which does not give the correct proportion of the needed elements to the system.
Exercise, as the body is usually weak, should be begun moderately but as soon as possible be made brisk and active to stimulate the vital organs to a more perfect performance of their function.
Plenty of oxygen must be secured by day and night and thorough elimination be maintained.
The diet must be nutritious and richer than is ordinarily taken. Milk, butter, cream, bacon, olive oil, and all fatty food should be freely used if assimilated. Beefsteak, roast beef, fresh vegetables, and eggs are valuable. Cocoa or chocolate, a glass of milk with a beaten egg, or a cup of broth into which an egg has been beaten may be regularly taken between meals.
If the digestion is feeble, light foods should first be taken and increased as the system becomes able to assimilate more hearty food.
Coffee, tea, highly spiced foods, alcohol, fried food, rich pastry, and much candy or sweet stuffs should be avoided.
Pain referred to the liver, if not caused by gall-stones, usually indicates overwork of that organ, and fats, sweets, and starches should be avoided to give the liver rest.
Pain referred to the stomach is often caused by tobacco smoking or improper food, as too much candy or preserves, or too strong tea or coffee. Attention to the diet will usually relieve this variety of pain. If the pain comes on when the stomach is empty, due to a disorder of the nerves, the food should be lessened in quantity, be light, easily digested, and taken at shorter intervals.
Many conditions of the system due to dietetic errors which result in impoverished blood are accompanied by pains in the stomach. These are often neuralgic.
Poor assimilation of foods or indigestion produces pain because the tone of the nervous system is affected from the poor blood.