Part 34

Milk is very beneficial in this condition--especially when taken in the form of buttermilk, clabbered milk, koumyss or zoolak. The lactic acid ferments in the sour milk help to destroy the germs of putrefaction in the intestines, which are always one of the aggravating causes of Bright's disease.

Sometimes an exclusive acid milk diet for a while works wonders.

If the patient is under treatment in the spring and summer, as many green plants and fresh sweet fruits as possible should be taken, in connection with the milk, eliminating cereal starch entirely. In the fall and winter, the many varieties of apples and autumn vegetables may be taken in liberal quantities.

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR BRIGHT'S DIS-EASE

In the majority of cases it is well to first put the patient on a short fast of about twenty-four hours, and then begin the diet with articles containing a liberal quantity of cellulose, such as the entire wheat, boiled; celery, cooked in casserole dish.

Keep the bowels open by the use of wheat bran, or grapes, if they are in season, swallowing skins, seeds and pulp.

As in all sympathetic disorders, an abundance of pure, cool water should be taken and as much time as possible should be spent in the open air and sunshine.

Care should be taken to limit the diet to the minimum so that the excretory organs can easily eliminate all waste matter, and so that there may be no further poisonous accumulations.

In cases of Bright's Dis-ease:

OMIT EAT

Drugs Abundance of nuts (Italian pine nut) Flesh of every kind Fine cereals--barley, rice Intoxicants Fresh vegetables Rich desserts Green salads Sweets Limited quantity of milk and eggs Sweets in form of fruit-sugar, such as dates, figs, raisins (limited quantity) Subacid fruits Wheat bran with evening meal

The diet should be somewhat restricted.

Drink an abundance of pure water.

DIABETES

This disorder may be described as one of malassimilation from the stomach, liver, kidneys, and intestines, but to the trained student it is better described as a condition in which the capacity of the body to burn or use grape-sugar has become chronically depressed. It is usually supplemented by a lack of physical exercise and elimination of body-poisons.

DIABETES--THE CAUSE

From the above explanation it will be seen that diabetes, like all other dis-eases of the digestive organs, is caused directly by errors in eating--overconsumption of carbohydrates (sweets and starches), and albuminoids. These errors are augmented by inactivity, causing lack of assimilation or utilization of nutritive elements.

DIABETES--THE SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of diabetes are intense thirst and appetite, copious passing of urine and the presence of excessive quantities of sugar and uric acid therein.

DIABETES--THE REMEDY

The selecting, proportioning and balancing of the daily menu, together with an observance of the natural laws hitherto laid out, will prevent diabetes, but after it has made its appearance the remedy lies in simple and limited feeding.

The sufferer should be put upon a rigid diet of fresh vegetables, nuts, fruits, and salads. If the body has not been trained to accept these foods, the diet might consist of the following:

Bloodless (white) meats Eggs Fats--reasonable quantity (Olive-oil, butter, cream) Fish Fresh vegetables Green salads--generous quantity Nuts

If the patient be overweight, the diet should consist largely of subacid fruits and nuts. If underweight, a liberal quantity of sour milk should be given, especially whole soured milk in which the cream is also present.

In extreme cases the patient should be required to subsist upon Pignolia (the pine) nuts, and green or fresh vegetables uncooked. The writer knows of a gentleman suffering from a very advanced case of diabetes, who, in utter despair, adopted a diet consisting entirely of pine nuts, merely because they appealed to his taste, while nothing else did. A noticeable change for the better was seen in a week, especially in regard to the amount of sugar passed in the urine. He adhered rigidly to this diet for nearly three months. He then added green salads and carrots, and the seventh and eighth months a few fresh cooked vegetables, and was pronounced thoroughly cured before the year had expired. This might have been due partly to the limited bill of fare, but undoubtedly it was largely due to the food elements contained in this wonderful product of the Italian pine.

In cases of Diabetes:

OMIT EAT

Condiments All fresh vegetables, cooked-- Confections preferably in casserole dish Irritants Nuts Pastries Baked potatoes Red meats Coarse whole cereals thoroughly Stimulants and narcotics cooked--small quantity Sweets Fish White flour products Milk (sour) Very ripe subacid fruit White meat of fowl