Physiology of Digestion
295
there is taken with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to
digest; for the liquid must be absorbed before digestion can begin.
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 51-52
Many make a mistake in drinking cold water with their meals.
Food should not be washed down. Taken with meals, water diminishes
the flow of the saliva; and the colder the water, the greater the injury
to the stomach. Ice-water or ice-lemonade, taken with meals, will
arrest digestion until the system has imparted sufficient warmth to the
stomach to enable it to take up its work again. Masticate slowly, and
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allow the saliva to mingle with the food.
The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the
more difficult it is for the food to digest; for the liquid must first be
absorbed....
In order to secure healthy digestion, food should be eaten slowly.
Those who wish to avoid dyspepsia, and those who realize their obli-
gation to keep all their powers in a condition which will enable them to
render the best service to God, will do well to remember this. If your
time to eat is limited, do not bolt your food, but eat less, and masticate
slowly. The benefit derived from food does not depend so much on
the quantity eaten, as on its thorough digestion; nor the gratification of
taste so much on the amount of food swallowed, as on the length of
time it remains in the mouth. Those who are excited, anxious, or in a
hurry, would do well not to eat until they have found rest or relief; for
the vital powers, already severely taxed, can not supply the necessary
digestive fluids.
The Ministry of Healing, 306
Another serious evil is eating at improper times, as after violent
or excessive exercise, when one is much exhausted or heated. Imme-
diately after eating there is a strong draft upon the nervous energies;
and when mind or body is heavily taxed just before or just after eating,
digestion is hindered. When one is excited, anxious, or hurried, it is
better not to eat until rest or relief is found.
The stomach is closely related to the brain; and when the stomach
is diseased, the nerve power is called from the brain to the aid of the
weakened digestive organs. When these demands are too frequent,