would
materially retard the absorption of the caffein by the body, spread the
action over a longer period of time, and hence decrease the maximum
stimulation attained.

In a few instances, a small fraction of one percent of coffee users,
there is a certain type of distress, localized chiefly in the alimentary
tract, caused by coffee, which can not be blamed upon the much-maligned
caffein. The irritating elements may be generally classified as
compounds formed upon the addition of cream or milk to the coffee
liquor, volatile constituents, and products formed by hydrolysis of the
fibrous part of the grounds. It may be generally postulated that the
main causation of this discomfort is due to substances formed in the
incorrect brewing of coffee, the effect of which is accentuated by the
addition of cream or milk, when the condition of individual idiosyncrasy
is present.

Without enlarging upon his reason, Lorand[218] concludes that neither
tea nor coffee is advisable for weak stomachs. Nalpasse,[219] however,
believes that coffee taken after meals makes the digestion more perfect
and more rapid, augmenting the secretions, and that it agrees equally
well with people inclined to embonpoint and heavy eaters whose digestion
is slow and difficult. Thompson[220] also observes that coffee drunk in
moderation is a mild stimulant to gastric digestion.

Eder[221] reported, as the result of an inquiry into the action of
coffee on the activity of the stomachs of ruminants, that coffee
infusions produced a transitory increase in the number and intensity of
the movements of the paunch, but that the influence exercised was very
irregular.

An elaborate investigation of the action of tea and coffee on digestion
in the stomach was made by Fraser,[222] in which he found that both
retard peptic digestion, the former to a greater degree than the latter.
The digestion of white of egg, ham, salt beef, and roast beef was much
less affected than that of lamb, fowl, or bread. Coffee seemed actually
to aid the digestion of egg and ham. He attributed the retarding effect
to the tannic acid of the tea and the volatile constituents of the
coffee--the caffein itself favoring digestion rather than otherwise. Tea
increased the production of gas in all but salt foods, whereas coffee
did not. Coffee is, therefore, to be preferred in cases of flatulent
dyspepsia.

Hutchinson, in his _Food and Dietetics_, opines:

As regards the practical infere