Overeating

It has been coinputed by some one fond of mathematical calculations and antithettcal conceits that if the food which is consumed in Great Britain not only in excess of need, but to the actual hai-m of the eaters, could be saved and sent to India, it would more than supply the wants of the starving thousands in that country. This computation is oí course little more than a guess, but it serves to emphasize the tact that many, perhaps he majority of mankind above the ranks oL the very poor, sin against themselves daily by overeatlng. An English hygiënist oL repute says thatalarge proportion of the Hls which afflict men past the middle of Ufe are due to errors in diet, chiefly in the direction of exces3 in quantity. He even goes so far as to make the delibérate assertion that more mlschief in the shape of lessened. resistlng powers, actual disease and shortened Ufe comes to the lnhabitants of Northern Europe from their habits of eating than from their abuse of alcoholic liquors. And what is said of Bngllshmen applies wlth equal force to Americans. We not only eat too much and too often, but we eat food that is too nutritious in. proportion to its bulk; in other words, we eat too much meat. Not only are gout and rheumatism tavored, or, as some eminent authorities con'tend, solely oaused by too much meat, but even certain tumors are thought by many to be hástened in their growth by the same means. For the majority of city dwellers, especially brain-workers, three mcat meáis a day are too many, two are allsufficient for most people, and mauy are better off with meat oniy once in the twenty-four hours. The other meáis should be slight, consisting of bread, butter, cheese, mük, green vegetables and fruit. There is an unfounded prejudice against nuts, which are regarded as indigestible, but that is because they are oaten at the wrong time. Both fruit and nuts are excellent ioods, but they should be taken at the beginning of breakfast or luncheon, instead of at the end of the meal. The dietary rules for lenten observance which the Catholic Church imposes upon lts members are hygienically irreproachable, and it would be better for nearly all of us- unless the doctors be exepted- if these rules were followed, not only by Catholics during lent, but by everybody all the year round.