HAVING described the various foods used by civilised man, and the processes in the human economy by which these foods are digested, I propose now to consider the deflections from the normal in the long and elaborate process of digestion, and the treatment or rectification of these abnormal conditions by diet. In treating, however, of the question of dietetics I do not intend to simply state the foods which must be avoided or which may be allowed, but also to arrange daily menus for the patient and to give practical instructions how the dishes are to be prepared. Dyspepsia, diabetes, gout, Bright's disease, etc., their physiological causes, and their dietetic treatment, will be taken in order; and I trust to be able to make it plain that a suitable dietary and an intelligent cook are more valuable to patients suffering from these complaints than all the drugs of the pharmacopoeia.

Indigestion is the most universal of complaints. It afflicts alike the rich and the poor, those who eat too much, and those others who eat too little; the idle and the busy; the young and the old. When, however, the length and the complication of the process of digestion are considered, and when it is remembered that the slightest deflection from the normal will cause pain and discomfort, it is not surprising that indigestion is such a common complaint; still less so when it is borne in mind that in order to please the palate by agreeable flavours and sensations, the average civilised man in well-to-do circumstances taxes the long-enduring powers of digestion to the very utmost. The organs concerned in the process of digestion are the mouth, the stomach, the liver, and the pancreas; disturbance or impaired action of one or any of these may be the cause of indigestion.

Causes of indigestion: in the mouth. - The food may be insufficiently masticated, owing to the teeth being decayed or deficient. If the food remains too short a time in the mouth it is not properly ground into a pulp by the grinders, and is not sufficiently mixed with the saliva. If introduced into the stomach in an unmasticated condition, the food takes a much longer time to be broken up by the action of the muscular movements of the stomach and submitted to the action of the gastric juice. The saliva, being alkaline, stimulates the secretion of the acid gastric juice, and thereby exercises a considerable influence in quickening and aiding digestion; it is therefore important that the food should be well mixed with saliva before being swallowed, and that those who have a tendency to indigestion should masticate their food slowly and thoroughly.