sins, most
fruit juices (blackberries excepted), rhubarb, tomatoes, cauliflower,
spinach, onions, honey, and molasses; senna leaves likewise have a
distinct action upon the peristaltic movement of the intestines, hence
are included here.

~Precautions.~--Emphasis should be placed upon the dangers of (1)
overeating any of the foods indicated in the above list and thus
bringing about conditions more dangerous in result than the original
disturbance; (2) the taking of drugs to move bowels on account of the
ease with which the habit is acquired and the consequent inability of
the bowels to move without such whips; (3) the taking of too little
water, thereby allowing a too concentrated condition of the food mass
and a consequent accumulation of substances which inhibit peristaltic
action.

~Use of Fats and Mineral Oils.~--Olive and other vegetable oils, if
not completely absorbed, are advised on account of their lubricating
effects. The same can be said of the mineral oils which have no food
value but in many cases furnish the lubricant necessary in certain
individuals suffering from sluggish intestinal peristalsis.

PROBLEMS

(a) List the food used in the treatment of enterocolitis; outline the
method of administering the diet.

(b) Formulate a convalescent diet for diarrheal cases.

(c) List the foods used in chronic constipation; list the avoidable
ones.

FOOTNOTE:

[94] Malted foods are contraindicated, as malt exerts a very laxative
effect.

CHAPTER XIII

FEVERS IN GENERAL

Fever is an abnormal condition characterized by an elevation of body
temperature, quickened respiration and circulation, and a certain
amount of tissue waste. This elevation of temperature may be due to
various conditions, such as local inflammation, infectious diseases,
disturbed metabolism and food poisoning (ptomaine).

~Tissue Waste in Fevers.~--Fevers of short duration, such as accompany
colds, tonsillitis, chicken pox and intermittent fever, remittent
fever, and at times malarial fever, do not cause sufficient tissue
waste to make the nutrition the important feature of the treatment. In
ptomaine poisoning the tissue waste may be great, but it is the result
of the poisoning, as is the fever, so that the diet needs to be
adjusted only after the disturbance has abated. In the beginning,
starvation is instituted and the fever disappears when the poisoning
is controlled.

~Treatment of Fevers of Short Duration.~--In a