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Sedentary, Diet for The

The following observations on this subject are drawn from the valuable French work by Tissot on "The Health of Men of Letters." Daily observation proves the force of the mind's action on the stomach; and this every man has an opportunity of experiencing in himself; for the more intensely any man thinks, and the more strongly he excites the reflecting powers of his mind, the more slowly and with the greater difficulty does he digest what he eats; and, on the other hand, the freer a man's mind is from reflection, the more readily and the better he digests. The diet of those of studious and sedentary habits is therefore a subject of the utmost importance. To enumerate all the various aliments which should be chosen and all those that should be avoided would be tedious, but we may mention the principal. All fat viscid aliments and all aliments hardened either by nature or art are hurtful. The ancients condemned all sorts of pulse, and Pythagorus strictly forbade his disciples to eat beans, as these produce extraordinary flatulency, highly destructive to the tranquillity of mind necessary to the investigation of truth. The tender flesh of all young animals is of great service--except that of swine and geese--not when boiled in copious broth, for then they are deprived of their nutritious juices, but when roasted or boiled in a small quantity of water. Such roots are wholesome as consist of light flour, not without a mixture of salt or sugar; and the same is to be said of soft herbs which are neither too acid nor too emollient. Nor should the several sorts of seeds be neglected; nor ripe fruits, concerning the use of which a caution should be observed; for they relax, dissolve, cause acidity, and thereby are the less fit for the sedentary. But it is to be observed that amongst the most severe disorders of the studious and sedentary are reckoned the stagnation, the thickening, and the hardening of the bile, which defects are best remedied by fruits that swell with saponaceous juices, as strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, peaches, grapes, pears, and other fruits of the like nature, which studious, sedentary men cannot well do without, especially in summer. Care should be taken to prevent their being detrimental by eating them when the stomach is empty, either with or without bread, and long before and long after having drunk wine; for thus they neither disturb the digestion of the other aliments, nor, being hardened with wine, prove more difficult of digestion themselves. Eggs properly boiled are very good. Well baked bread and preparations of bread are also of service. Milk is wholesome provided it does not grow acid on the stomach. Chocolate deserves to be recommended, for it soon repairs and restores the strength; it should not, however, be used to excess. Various dishes which may be made out of the aliments already mentioned by judicious and prudent mixture are very wholesome, but it is better to use only simple food either raw or boiled. Relaxed fibres sometimes require a gentle stimulus, therefore a mild seasoning is not to be disapproved of, as salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmegs, and such agreeable aromatics as are generally cultivated--thyme and sweet marjoram, for example; but those are to be avoided which stimulate with a sharp salt or oil that nature can searcely overcome. There are other helps to digestion, and the chief of these is exact mastication, which greatly forwards the work of the stomach; this is highly recommended by physicians, but slighted by others, very foolishly, and greatly to their own prejudice. Digestion is performed slowly by the studious and the sedentary, therefore fresh aliments should seldom be given them. To make three meals a day, one somewhat considerable, and the other two rather slight, will be sufficient. The example of Julius Caesar, who was very moderate in eating, is very properly proposed to the learned, as is likewise that of the illustrious Cornaro, who restored his ruined health by a regular diet alone; and eating but the fourth part of the quantity of victuals eaten by his fellow-citizens, lived to an advanced age, vigorous and cheerful. A regular diet is capable of effecting everything; studious men, however, whilst they take care of their health, ought not to forget that a man who is well should not so confine himself to rules as not to break through them when he thinks proper; for a constant habit is real slavery; and many learned and studious men have been known who were so scrupulous with regard to their hours of eating and going to bed, that their minds seemed to be chained to their bodies, which is the most shameful sort of servitude.