Old Age Deferred: The Causes of Old Age and Its Postponement by Hygienic and Therapeutic Measures

IN the previous editions of this book I have attributed premature old age to the degeneration of certain glands of our body, such as the thyroid gland and the ovaries. It is my intention now to show, that precocious old looks can often be caused by certain faulty habits; thus for instance by not drinking daily a sufficient amount of liquids. There are many women, who be it by an unjustified fear of obesity, or for other reasons, scarcely drink any liquids except possibly a cup of tea or coffee for breakfast. They neither drink with their meals nor much at other times. In such cases the tissues of the face will lack the necessary amount of fluids to which is due, mainly, the roundness and fullness of the cheeks which we so much admire in the fresh faces of young girls and children. In consequence the face will appear lean and haggard, the skin shrivelled and folded, and lines and wrinkles will appear already in the faces of young women. Besides, as the sufficient amount of fluids will be wanting, the toxic products formed daily in our bodies is not washed out through those natural channels, the kidneys and the intestines, but will take their way through the skin, and eruptions and pimples will develop, much to the damage of the complexion. An obstinate constipation will be another consequence, which, giving to the skin of the face a dirty yellow-brown hue, naturally contributes to produce an old appearance of the face. More andmore, am I convinced that a generous purging, as for instance by certain mineral waters, is a most efficacious remedy to prevent old looks and at any rate to improve them. Drugs as a general rule are far less wholesome and effective for this purpose.

By not drinking sufficiently, such substances as, for example, uric acid, cannot be washed out and their retention will cause a serious damage to health, facilitating the origin of arteriosclerosis, which very frequently is associated with such conditions. Persons suffering from uric acid present frequently an older aspect than corresponds to their years and the falling out of the hair, or the appearance of gray hair, in early years, is often the case with them.

It is erroneous to think that water produces fatness. If this were the case we would advise the poor people to drink plenty of water that costs nothing, to get fat. It is not water that makes fat, but water that is taken with the meals, together with copious food, thus aiding the absorption and assimilation of the same. To avoid obesity after rich food it is therefore advisable not to drink with the meals, but at other times. Copious food must be avoided, especially fat, starchy food and sweets. A diet consisting of plenty of meat, fats, and above all milk and butter and sweets, is the surest road to obesity. They must be avoided and the preference given to a diet of little meat, green vegetables and fruits. For further details of such a diet I must refer to the chapter, “The Treatment of Obesity,” in my book, “Health and Longevity through Rational Diet,” publishers, F. A. Davis Co., Philadelphia. I must emphasize the necessity of great prudence in reducing cures, for, as I know from my practice in Carlsbad, there is scarcely anything, unless a serious disease, that can produce so rapidly the appearance of age in young persons and the more in riper years, than imprudent and reckless obesity cures, causing wrinkles and the hanging and sunken cheeks.

I must certainly blame the eagerness of many ladies to transform their fresh, round and elastic forms into lean and skinny ones, thinking that thus they will look younger. No; I am certain that many young women look considerably older after these atrocious and imprudent diet-cures. Dieting is more permissible with older persons, if not exceeding certain limits; but young women and girls I would strongly advise to eat hearty meals of mixed food, for, as I also show in my above-mentioned book on Diet, we are introducing in our systems very valuable substances, which are in reality useful remedies with certain articles of food. Most important among these are fresh milk (uncooked), numerous fruits, certain kinds of animal food, which all contain considerable quantities of important mineral salts, indispensable to our well-being, and to the freshness and elasticity of mind and body. Besides these salts and valuable ferments these articles of food contain also a most important substance, called vitamines, which, as its name shows, conveys a kind of vitality to the tissues. It is indispensable to the well-being of the nervous system and also of the muscles, and thus also to the most important muscle of the body, the heart. The vitamines are largely represented in the outer coverings of the rice, of the corn, and also in eggs, potatoes, etc. In fine white bread there is scarcely any, but there is far more in the brown bread containing all parts of the grain. Milk also contains them, but mainly fresh, uncooked milk; strong cooking destroys the vitamines in the plants and the animal food, and besides such cooking, as I show in the chapter on “Rational Cooking” of my book on Rational Diet, also destroys other valuable ferments of great importance for our body. It is certain that our looks, the beauty and size of the human body and of animals, and even the color of the feathers of the birds, depend very much, as I show in the same book, on the wise selection of the food which we eat. Not only in young growing persons, but also in the adult and even in aged persons.