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Extremes in Diet
227
guest can be made welcome without burdening the housewife to
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make extra preparation.
All should learn what to eat and how to cook it. Men, as well as
women, need to understand the simple, healthful preparation of food.
Their business often calls them where they cannot obtain wholesome
food; then, if they have a knowledge of cookery, they can use it to
good purpose.
Carefully consider your diet. Study from cause to effect. Culti-
vate self-control. Keep appetite under the control of reason. Never
abuse the stomach by overeating, but do not deprive yourself of the
wholesome, palatable food that health demands.
The narrow ideas of some would-be health reformers have been
a great injury to the cause of hygiene. Hygienists should remember
that dietetic reform will be judged, to a great degree, by the provision
they make for their tables; and instead of taking a course that will
bring discredit upon it, they should so exemplify its principles as
to commend them to candid minds. There is a large class who will
oppose any reform movement, however reasonable, if it places a
restriction on the appetite. They consult taste instead of reason or
the laws of health. By this class, all who leave the beaten track of
custom and advocate reform will be accounted radical, no matter
how consistent their course. That these persons
“And every man that striveth for the mastery is tem-
perate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a cor-
ruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
1 Corinthians
9:25
.
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may have no ground for criticism, hygienists should not try to see
how different they can be from others, but should come as near to
them as possible without the sacrifice of principle.
When those who advocate hygienic reform go to extremes, it is
no wonder that many who regard these persons as representing health
principles reject the reform altogether. These extremes frequently
do more harm in a short time than could be undone by a lifetime of
consistent living.
Hygienic reform is based upon principles that are broad and far-
reaching, and we should not belittle it by narrow views and practices.