stimulants during the meal. It is spoiled in
children by too free indulgence in sweetmeats. By cultivating the natural
appetite and heeding its suggestions, one has at his command an almost
infallible guide in the taking of food.

*Preparation of Meals.*--The cooking of food serves three important
purposes. It renders the food more digestible, relieving the organs of
unnecessary work; it destroys bacteria that may be present in the food,
diminishing the likelihood of introducing disease germs into the body; and
it makes the food more palatable, thereby supplying a necessary stimulus
to the digestive glands. While the methods employed in the preparation of
the different foods have much to do with the ease with which they are
digested and with their nourishing qualities, the scope of our subject
does not permit of a consideration of these methods.

*Quantity of Food.*--Overeating and undereating are both objectionable from
a hygienic standpoint. Overeating, by introducing an unnecessary amount of
food into the body, overworks the organs of digestion and also the organs
of excretion. It may also lead to the accumulation of burdensome fat and
of harmful wastes. On the other hand, the taking of too little food
impoverishes the blood and weakens the entire body. As a rule, however,
more people eat too much than too little, and to quit eating before the
appetite is fully satisfied is with many persons a necessary precaution.
The power of self-control, valuable in all phases of life, is
indispensable in the avoidance of overeating.

*Frequency of Taking Food.*--Eating between meals is manifestly an
unhealthful practice. The question has also been raised as to whether the
common habit of eating three times a day is best suited to all classes of
people. Many people of weak digestive organs have been benefited by the
plan of two meals a day, while others adopt the plan of eating one heavy
meal and two light ones. Either plan gives the organs of digestion more
time to rest and diminishes the liability of overeating. On the other
hand, those doing heavy muscular work can hardly derive the energy which
they need from less than three good meals a day. Though no definite rule
can be laid down, there is involved a hygienic principle which all should
follow: _Meals should not overlap_. The stomach should be free from food
taken at a previous meal before more is introduced into it. When this
principle is not observed, material ferments