W.T. writes:—Having tried a diet, recommended in The Healthy Life, for a month I find the nuts and cheese are far too heavy for the apparent weak condition of my stomach, also that the salads and casserole-baked vegetables are too irritating to the membrane of the stomach. I have no desire to return to flesh food and ordinary feeding, which I feel would not be good for me. From eggs I cannot obtain any good results. The continuance of loss of weight is worrying me, being down to eight stone from eleven stone in twelve months. I feel satisfied it is only a question of diet, if I could only strike the correct one. I am naturally most anxious to regain some of my lost strength and weight. I am at present taking bread and butter, cooked fruit, and occasionally an egg, boiled rice, vegetables and a little dried fruit. No matter how light I make my diet I still suffer after every meal with dilated stomach and irregular working of the heart. Blood circulation is still bad and constipation is gradually getting worse. As before stated, I am anxious to succeed with the reformed diet, but I am really at a loss to know which way to proceed to make any progress. As I was in South Africa twenty years, and only returned to England just before this catarrh set in, is the climate here against my progress, do you think? I am so sorry to take up so much of your time, but shall be grateful for any help you can give me which will be greatly appreciated.
It is difficult to advise how best to proceed in this case as our correspondent really ought to seek medical advice. Only in this way can he obtain really satisfactory guidance. For without knowing the state of his blood and the organs generally it is impossible to advise correctly. Speaking generally, until salads and casserole-cooked vegetables can be taken freely there can be no possible permanent cure.
In many such cases the best way to train the digestive organs into a healthy state is to keep to a diet consisting chiefly of dextrinised cereals, which must be eaten dry, with some vegetables and as little fresh fruit as possible. This to be continued until little by little the raw salad vegetables are found to agree; then the rest is easy.
A diet on the following lines would probably be a good temporary measure:—
Breakfast.—One egg lightly boiled, poached or baked, with two Granose biscuits and fresh butter, eaten dry.
Dinner.—Brusson Jeune bread (one or two rolls) with butter, and small helping of vegetables, cooked at first in the orthodox way.
Supper.—Plateful of boiled rice (cooked dry in the Indian fashion[4]) with a tablespoonful of good malt extract.
No sugar, honey, stewed fruit, or dried fruit should be taken until improvement has set in. As little fluid as possible should be taken until the stomach has regained more tone and become more normal in size.
[4] See The Healthy Life Cook Book. 1s. net (post free, 1s. 1½d.).