Indigestion.—­ The chief causes of indigestion are:  eating rapidly, eating at irregular hours, eating indigestible foods, constipation, and lack of exercise.  No one who values her good health will allow herself to be hurried through a meal, nor will she allow the perplexities of life to be thrust upon her at the table for solution.  The first requisite for the digestion of foods is that they should be well masticated, so that the digestive fluids may act on the finely divided particles to the greatest possible advantage.  And while digestion is going on all mental labor should be held in abeyance, in order to avoid drawing the blood away from the stomach to the brain.  Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that digestion is best performed when the meals are served at regular hours.

Constipation leads to the formation of gases in the intestines, to fermentation, and to the absorption of toxic materials by the blood.

Through lack of exercise, the appetite fails, the liver becomes torpid, and the muscular and nervous systems lose their tone.

The exercise which the housekeeper gets in going around her house is not sufficient.  Daily exercise in the open air is essential to health; as this is to supplement the indoor exercise, the amount taken will vary in proportion to the former.  For teachers or those who have a sedentary occupation an hour’s active exercise in the open air—­ a three-mile walk—­ should be supplemented by active gymnastic exercise.

For people in good health, a mixed diet—­ that is to say, a diet consisting of meat, vegetables, and fruit—­ is the best.  If the individual is not well, then the diet must be adapted to meet the needs of that particular case.

Hot breads, all articles of food fried in fats, salads, and pastry are difficult to digest.  Tea is very constipating, and when taken in excessive quantities renders the individual nervous.  An excess of coffee leads to congestion of the liver.

Where indigestion exists, the simplest and most sensible remedies are to regulate the diet, and avoid eating between meals.  By drinking a glass of water as hot as it can be sipped one hour before each meal, the mucus is washed out of the stomach, the stomach is empty on coming to the table, and in the best possible condition for the gastric juice to act on the food-stuffs.

Constipation.—­ Constipation is the rule with the average American woman; the causes are their corsets, the tight bands of their clothing, lack of exercise, and the fact that they drink too little water and too much tea.  The most rational means to overcome it is to drink more water; at least three pints a day should be taken, in addition to soups, tea and coffee, and so forth; the water must be taken into the system as such.  Then attention must be given to the diet; plenty of fruit should be eaten, vegetables, and coarse bread.

Regularity in this, as in all other habits of life, is most essential, and the individual should go to the toilet at the same hour every day, even if there is no inclination to have a bowel movement, and thus the habit will be established; the most convenient time is directly after breakfast.