rts or more a day,
you can rest assured that you will not crave meat.

CHAPTER XIV: Foods in the Cure of Chronic Constipation

Constipation is probably the beginning of nearly all human ailments.
There are a few exceptions but not many. It is a tremendous foe
to vitality. Pure blood is absolutely impossible when one is suffering
from this complaint. Active functioning of the alimentary canal
is absolutely essential if the blood stream is to contain those elements
essential to superior vital vigor. The regimen which I suggested in
the chapter on Cleansing and Stimulating the Alimentary Canal will
undoubtedly be sufficient to overcome any trouble of this character
provided there are not dietetic causes that are serious in nature. Where
the disorder is chronic, and especially when it has extended over a term
of many years, a comprehensive dietetic regimen may be necessary in
addition to the adoption of measures previously suggested.

The direct cause of constipation is a relaxed and weakened condition of
the muscular walls of the stomach and intestines. A certain degree of
strength of these muscular structures is essential properly to
facilitate digestion, assimilation and elimination. The lack of tone
in these muscles is chiefly due in nearly all cases to what might be
termed a concentrated diet. Our foods have been too much refined. As
previously stated they are not eaten as they were created, but have been
put through a prolonged milling process or other method of preparation
which not only eliminates many elements of nourishment but also breaks
up the food into the most minute particles, thus eliminating the rough,
coarse and fibrous material in the food which ordinarily arouses what
is known as the peristaltic activity of the bowels. Our methods of food
preparation also materially lessen the necessity for prolonged and
thorough mastication. The habit of hurriedly swallowing our food
undoubtedly lessens its vitality-building possibilities, besides
materially affecting the strength and general hardiness of the teeth.

Constipation is also caused in numerous instances by a lack of liquids.
Men and women do not use sufficient water. One frequently loses what
might be termed the water-drinking habit, usually as a result of
sedentary occupations. The method of remedying constipation referred
to in Chapter VI pointedly illustrates the amazing value of water in
remedying conditi