6. All foods rich in cellulose: Wheat flakes, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, sweet potatoes, green corn and popcorn, graham flour, oatmeal foods, whole-wheat preparations, bran bread, apples, blackberries, cherries, cranberries, melons, oranges, peaches, pineapples, plums, whortleberries, raw cabbage, celery, greens, lettuce, onions, parsnips, turnips, lima beans, and peanuts.
White bread should be tabooed, and in its place a well-made bran bread should be used. Two recipes for bran bread follow, one sweetened and containing fruit, the other unsweetened:
BRAN BREAD RECIPES
1. Two eggs, beaten separately; three-fourths cup of molasses, plus one round teaspoon of soda; one cup of sour cream; one cup of sultana seedless raisins; one cup of wheat flour, plus one heaping teaspoon baking powder; two cups of bran; stir well and bake one hour.
2. One cup of cooking molasses; one teaspoon of soda; one small teaspoon of salt, one pint of sour milk or buttermilk, one quart of bran, one pint of flour. Stir well, and bake for one hour in a very slow oven. It may be baked in loaf, or in gem pans, as preferred. The bread should be moist and tender, and may be eaten freely, day after day, and is quite sure to have a salutary effect if used persistently.
The drinking of one-half glass of cold water on rising in the morning often aids in keeping the bowels active. Of the laxative drugs which may be used at such a time, cascara sagrada and senna are among the least harmful. Two recipes of senna preparation follow, and may be tried in obstinate cases:
1. Senna Prunes. Place an ounce of senna leaves in a jar and pour over them a quart of boiling water. After allowing them to stand for two hours strain, and to the clear liquid add a pound of well-washed prunes. Let them soak over night. In the morning cook until tender in the same water, sweetening with two tablespoons of brown sugar. Both the fruit and the sirup are laxative. Begin by eating a half-dozen of the prunes with sirup at night, and increase or decrease the amount as may be needed.
2. Senna with prunes and figs. This recipe does not call for cooking. Take a pound of dried figs and a pound of dried prunes, wash well. Remove the stones from the prunes and if very dry soak for an hour. Then put both fruits through the meat chopper, adding two ounces of finely powdered senna leaves. Stir into this mixture two tablespoons of molasses to bind it together, the result being a thick paste. Begin by eating at bedtime an amount equal to the size of an egg, and increase or decrease as may be necessary. Keep the paste tightly covered in a glass jar in a cool place. If the senna is distasteful a smaller quantity may be used at first.
CARE OF THE BREASTS
The breasts are usually neglected during the months of pregnancy, and as a result complications occur after the baby comes which cause no end of discomfort to the mother. If, during the pregnancy, the breasts are washed daily with liquid soap and cold water, and rubbed increasingly until all sensitiveness has disappeared, they may be toughened to the extent that no pain whatsoever is experienced by the mother when the babe begins to nurse. During the last month of pregnancy a solution of tannin upon a piece of cotton may be applied after the usual vigorous bathing. If the nipples are retracted they should be massaged until visible results are attained.