For the ordinary case, where the digestion is more or less impaired, and particularly where the constipation is present, the fast should continue at least 36 hours, but the patient is allowed to eat ripe fresh and dried fruits (except bananas) in such quantities as may be eaten with a relish, and as much water may be taken as possible with comfort. Diabetics should fast for five days, not even eating fruit. While I have started patients on milk only five or six hours after their last meal, sometimes I have regretted it and found that a day’s fast would have saved time. If there is a class of patients who can do without the fast, it is the thin, weak, anemic people, such as consumptives, neurasthenics, etc., especially those whose bowels are in the habit of moving freely every day. Such patients take milk greedily they soak it up like a sponge, there is no initial constipation nor nausea, and the rapid increase in circulation causes a quick elimination of the impurities in the blood and bowels.

On the other hand, those who are stout, plethoric, rheumatic, gouty, dropsical, constipated, or have had skin or blood disease, diabetes, headaches, coated tongue, prolapsed or dilated stomach, or any displaced organ, should take at least one day’s fast, and many people will be benefited, and gain time in the end, by extending the fast over several days. Those who are not accustomed to fasting periods are usually agreeably surprised to find there is no particular inconvenience to this part of the program, and when the time comes to start in drinking milk, it goes down with a relish; the stomach makes no objection, and the bowels move naturally. Another important consideration is the fact that the organs of digestion are, so to speak, caught at low tide, at their minimum bulk and activity, and building up rapidly in size and function, as they do not on the milk diet, while the mind and body are in a state of as complete rest as possible.

There is a natural tendency to make good cells, good tissues, and healthy organs, and to overcome any abnormal habit or loss of natural function that may have been contracted by any organ. During the fast it is not necessary to take rest, or refrain from the usual work or habits; in fact, I think most patients are benefited by active exercise the day before commencing the milk.

A few months ago, I received a letter from a young lady magazine writer, who had taken a course of milk diet, after a fifteen days’ fast.

She wished me to tell her some way to prevent “decay of the teeth,” which on the milk diet. She claimed that cavities had formed in the teeth, not only in her own case, but also in the cases of a well-known author, and his family, who had all taken the milk diet, after excessively long fasts.

I was glad to be able to inform the lady that whatever deterioration of the teeth she had experienced, was entirely due to the fasting period, and not in the slightest degree to a milk diet. Some of her friends had fasted several weeks, until they were extremely emaciated, and, I believe, they had taken the milk rather irregularly, and usually started on only three or four quarts per day. In all my experience, I never knew of anyone suffering the slightest damage to their teeth, during, or soon after, taking a milk diet.

In my case, my teeth were in bad shape before I took the treatment, and I had had a great deal of dental work done, but for twenty years afterward no dentist saw the inside of my mouth, as it was unnecessary. Several experienced dentists who have taken the milk cure fully agree with me in the belief that it is a great benefit to the teeth, either in young or old people, and that it can cure Riggs disease, or pyorrhea. Milk has all the elements necessary to build teeth with, and in fact, it is on an exclusive milk diet that babies grow teeth more rapidly, and more perfectly, than they ever do afterward, on any diet. Speaking of these long fasts—two, three and even four or five weeks long—I must say that I never saw any case that showed permanent benefit from them, and I certainly have seen a number of people who had hopelessly wrecked their health and even their minds by this unnatural starvation.

Indeed, the mental condition of some of these patients who came from “fasting sanitariums,” was pitifully weak. Perhaps this condition was present before they fasted, and possibly it was owning to this fact that they were induced to continue the fast so long. I think I never ordered a longer fast than five days, but several years ago a young many insisted on taking a two-week fast, under my supervision.

It was interesting and instructive to me, as I have been unable to find out from any book, or publication, recommending long fasts, just what happens to the functions of the faster. This man remained in bed about two-thirds of the time, and at other times was taking rather long walks, about five miles daily. He took some light exercise several times daily, sat in the sun, read, etc.

He had no serious disorder, was well-muscled and nourished, but had a tendency toward constipation, and some lack of vigor not uncommon in men past 30. About the third day of his fast, he was rather irritable and nervous and felt uncomfortable, but not hungry. After that he seemed fairly contented, except on the days when his bowels did not move, and on these days, or rather the next morning, his temperature and blood pressure would show a considerable drop, while the pulse was usually higher at the same time. He had difficulty in keeping warm, although the weather was mild. I could not see that anything was gained by the fast beyond the fifth day, although he responded quite well to the milk diet that he took following the fast. During his fast he had a daily warm water bath, drank warm or hot water, and slept outdoors, with hot water bottles to make him comfortable. On the tenth day he took the juice of one orange;

on the eleventh day the juice of five oranges, and the next day took two-and-a-half quarts of full milk. Enemas were used several times to move the bowels, until he started on the milk, when the bowels began to move almost too freely.

His vital functions showed the following reactions: <

> In beginning the milk diet, take the weight in the morning, with as little clothing on as possible. Make a list of what you wear, and at the end of the week, wearing the same outfit, weigh at the same hour of the day. More exact results are secured by emptying the bladder each time before weighing. Measurements can be taken of the limbs, hips, waist, neck, and especially the chest, both expanded and contracted, and comparisons made from time to time.

In regard to the amount of milk to be taken, I will make the following statement: The average adult, when consuming daily two or four quarts of milk containing 4 per cent of butter fat, and 9 per cent of other solids, will not lose flesh; with another quart or two he will gain weight, and with still further increase of a pint or two he will secure the necessary energy and stimulation to throw off disease. There are several arbitrary rules as t the quantity necessary, such as taking an ounce-and-a-half of milk for each pound of the normal weight or the highest weight in health, or, taking in a quart of milk for every foot in height, but none of these will fit all cases. They are however, a useful guide, especially in estimating the amount to be given children, when the first rule can be safely followed.

The last 1,000 cases that I have had under observation have averaged about six quarts of milk daily, containing about 2 per cent of butterfat, and 9 per cent of solids no fat. The males usually go over that amount and the average female patient will take slightly less. Lord Bacon in his Aphorisms says, “Many persons declare that they cannot talk milk as a food, and the reason is that they do not take enough.” Dr. Stephen Smith of New York, In “Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette,” says his childhood experience at the farmhouse gave him a clue to the solution of Bacon’s unexplained maxim. Noticing that in making cheese the operator weighted first the milk, then the “rennet,” and recorded the result, he was led to inquire why so much accuracy, and was informed if there was too much “rennet” for the milk the curd would be so hard that it could not be pressed into a cheese, and that if there was too much milk for the “rennet” the curd would be so soft that it likewise could not be formed into shape.

A very soft curd is necessary for digestion, while a hard curd prevents the penetration of the digestive fluids. Hence it is easy to see why it is best to take plenty of milk with this treatment. It is wrong, if not positively dangerous, to attempt the exclusive milk diet on any amount of milk less than that required to noticeably stimulate the circulation and promote body growth. A possible exception might be made in the case of convalescents from severe, acute fevers, where a few glasses of milk daily might keep them going temporarily until the ability to digest solid food was recovered. Even in those cases, water would be a safer drink, and probably would do as much good. There is no halfway method of taking the milk diet for people who have much the matter with them. Enough milk must be taken to create new circulation, new cells, and new tissue growth, and cause prompt elimination of the waste and dead matter that may be poisoning the system.

A patient should start with the full amount of milk; cases that begin on a smaller quantity and try to work up to the proper amount often fail to get the best results. They get the stomach in the notion of taking three or four quarts, and then find it difficult to increase the amount, while those who start on, say, six quarts daily, have little or no trouble after the first day or two. In beginning in this way we take the stomach by surprise, and as the milk keeps coming, the stomach is compelled to dispose of it, and soon does so, in the natural way, without difficulty. It is rather common for patients to say, the afternoon of the first day, that they feel so full that they cannot take another glass, but as they continue taking the regular quantity, ways and means are provided, and the sensation disappears the same day or that night, and does not return.

On the contrary, if you humor the stomach, and stop when it desires you to, you will likely have to repeat the whole process the next day. It must be remembered that stomachs of this kind are not normal, and have been out of condition so long that they are not competent judges of what is best for them. When milk continues to come in and the stomach becomes overdistended, the lower outlet opens and allows some of the contents to pass into the intestine. This is desirable because milk can be perfectly digested in the intestine and the process stimulates and improves intestinal activity. Undoubtedly this action goes on in the case of suckling babe and assists in rapidly developing its dormant digestive functions. If other food were taken with the milk this intestinal action would not take place satisfactorily, but with milk alone, digestion and assimilation may go on throughout practically the whole length of the alimentary canal. The addition of even a cracker to the milk seems to cause the stomach to hold all its contents for hours without discharging much into the intestine.

Fruit does not have the same deterrent effect when eaten with milk, but it is not advisable to use fruit during the first few days of the start. On the morning the milk diet is commenced, the patient remains in bed and takes the first drink as soon as the milk is available, but starting on the even hour, or half hour, and takes the same amount every half hour. The following day’s drinking begins as soon as the patient is awake in the morning, using the milk supplied the previous evening.

The amount of milk taken in twenty-four hours is calculated from the time the first glass of the new day’s supply is taken, until the same time the next morning. If six quarts is the daily amount, use a glass marked to contain six ounces; if seven quarts is the allowance, take seven ounces in a drink. If five-and-a-half quarts are taken, the glass should hold five-and-a-half ounces, and so on. Using these amounts there will be thirty-two drinks taken in twenty-four hours. If the first drink is taken at 6 a.m., and none are missed, by 8:30 p.m., thirty drinks will have been taken, two to be taken any time in the night when awake.

This is the only way that such an amount of milk can be absorbed by a weak stomach and it IS always absorbed, digested, or discharged, where the directions here given are followed. It is necessary to be exact as to the time and quantity taken. Each glass should be sipped slowly, taking several minutes to finish it. The milk must be mixed with the secretions of the mouth. Do not gulp it, or let it run down the throat, as you might water. Now and then, I come across a patient who will take long draughts of milk, say two ounces at a pull, but drawn into the mouth in a rather small stream. They are young people with active salivary glands, and doubtless the action of sucking the milk through a small mouth opening at the same time draws saliva into the mouth.

Such patients say the milk tastes better to them taken in that manner than it does taken in small swallows and “swished” around in the mouth by the tongue, but the latter is the safest way to start on. A straw, or glass tube, or drinking cup may be used. Many patients sleep more than half the time. If asleep when drinking time comes, take your glass when you awaken, but do not try to make up for lost time. Continue thirty minutes apart. Milk is supposed to require about one-and-a-half hours digestion, and all dietetic plans before this have allowed at least that much time between meals. I use the half-hour interval because it gives the best results. Milk is probably curdled as soon as it arrives in the stomach; the sugar, albumen, salts and water begin to be absorbed immediately, other portions are passed on to the intestines, where the fat is quickly absorbed by the lacteals. The nitrogenous portions may not be taken up into the blood for twenty-four hours. So it is useless to set any particular time for the digestion of milk or other food. Doubtless a part of the milk will still be in the stomach at the end of thirty minutes, but its mixture with a fresh portion has no bad effect. On the contrary, it works well in practice. A patient, in describing the effect, once said: “After fairly started, the first glasses seem to pull the others after them by suction.” If an invalid’s stomach is very weak, or particularly deficient in the digestive juices, and especially if the milk is taken too rapidly, tough curds, which are slow and hard to digest, may be formed in the stomach at first. In the vomit of persons who were drinking quantities of milk too quickly, or at too low a temperature, I have seen these cheesy bodies so large and firm that it seemed impossible that they could have come up through the oesophagus. Where the conditions that I recommend as to rest, bathing, air and the small frequent and regular drinks of milk have been followed, I have never known of these curds being formed in such amounts as to prevent their digestion, with the exception of a few very weak people who were attempting to take their milk too cold. It would be a sad mistake if we were to give up the idea of a milk diet because of a few curds in the stomach at first. It is also a mistake to peptonize the milk, or to add anything to it, to make it easier to digest. Let the fact be recognized that the fault is with the stomach and not with the milk.

It is purely a functional fault and must be corrected, and, when the stomach is able to handle the milk right, it will also be able to digest ordinary foods as well. There is seldom any difficulty in taking the milk after the first day or two if the start is made under proper conditions, and, after that, all that is necessary is to continue building up the digestive organs and the system generally by three or four weeks of this plan of treatment. I usually start patients on milk which is near room temperature, or at least not below 60 degrees F., but if there are symptoms within the first two or three days of indigestion, distress in stomach, nausea, or vomiting of thick curds, the patient goes on warm milk immediately and does not take any cold milk for several days. In cold weather, if any trouble of this kind is anticipated, it is better to start on warm milk at the beginning, but in most cases, especially in mild weather, it is unnecessary to warm the milk. On cold nights, if drinking the cold milk prevents the patient getting to sleep again, provision should be made to warm the milk. The most satisfactory way of warming the milk is to have a pan containing about three inches of warm, almost hot, water, and set each glass of milk in it for two or three minutes until it is warmed through. The milk ought to be about blood heat, although it can be heated in this way to 115 degrees without harming it, but the milk must not be left long in the water, and must be taken immediately. No more than one glass can be heated at a time. The most convenient way of keeping the pan of water hot is a small oil stove, kept burning continuously at such a heat as may be necessary. An electric plate can be used to heat the water. If the patient has not nurse the whole arrangement must be set near the bed so the patient can prepare the milk without getting up. Taking this warmed milk, according to the other directions, indigestible curds are never formed. Do not take a glass of cold milk early in the morning, as it effects might last all day.

It is not practicable to use thermos or vacuum bottles to keep warm milk in all night because the milk would spoil, but a bottle of hot water, or several of them, can be arranged for the night, and a glass of milk warmed at any time by emptying in the hot water into a small pan, and setting the glass in it. Never warm milk directly over gas or hot stove. The secretions of the mouth may have no digestive action on milk as there is no starch in the latter, but the mechanical effect of the addition of the fluids is important. Outside of the milk cure, some weak stomachs can take milk diluted with water, and assimilate it, where straight milk disagrees. Infants are usually given milk largely diluted with water, but a healthy infant can generally take pure milk without trouble. In any case, the water should be gradually reduced and omitted as soon as possible. Skimmed milk is easier for a weak stomach to digest than full milk.

Milk from which the cream has been extracted by a centrifugal separator just after milking, is better for dietetic purposes than ordinary skim milks (except for diabetics) and either is preferable to milk diluted with water. The taking of at least one or two drinks during the night is a valuable assistance in getting down the necessary quantity of milk. Constipated people should never omit this. It is not necessary to give the stomach a rest while taking the milk cure. It does not need a rest on an exclusive milk diet and more than a baby’s stomach does. Other organs are resting, but the stomach is being built up to a state of maximum efficiency. It is very unwise to omit drinking the milk at a regular time because you don’t feel like taking it. If the stomach has been out of order for a long time, there may be a good many disagreeable symptoms, such as bad taste in the mouth, thick coat on the tongue, gas on the stomach, with considerable pain, nausea, and even vomiting, but none of these should prevent the patient from taking the regular drinks. The omission of a glass or two, instead of making one feel more comfortable, really has the opposite effect, because the constant, regular procession of milk through the alimentary canal is interfered with, and it begins to “come back,” when, if the milk was kept going down, it would carry the gas down with it into the intestines, where it belongs.

The acidity of the stomach is also increased by interrupting the regular drinking. If, in a case of this kind, the milk is stopped for some hours, all disagreeable symptoms cease, and the patient will find he has a better stomach than he had before starting the treatment, but the cure has only been a partial one, and it may be even harder to get over the critical point next time. It takes a long experience in this work to give one the necessary confidence to tell a patient to continue the treatment under these circumstances, but it is an absolute fact that I have never seen any harm result from sticking to the diet (while resting), and the troubles are only the natural explosions due to the revolution going on in the stomach. If there is any better way to cure an old chronic case of indigestion, with a shriveled up, weakened and almost juiceless stomach, I have never discovered it. If the patient is lacking in will power, and cannot, or will not take the regular amount of milk each time, it is a great deal better to take half a glass than none, and resume the full amount at the earliest possible opportunity. Fortunately, there are very few people who have such a hard time on the milk diet, and they are most all elderly people who have been in ill health for many years. But even in this class of patients, less than two per cent have failed to carry on the treatment to a satisfactory result. The patient must have a warm bath daily, and it is usually taken in the forenoon. When there is any tendency to insomnia the bath can be given in the evening, and usually has a good effect in overcoming that trouble. The first bath should last only fifteen or twenty minutes, increasing the time about fifteen minutes every day until the patient is staying in the water at least one hour. Use no soap in the bath. These three items in regard to the temperature of the bath water must be remembered: Start slightly below body temperature. Increase to the body temperature. Finish almost hot (but never hot enough to cause dizziness). The bath should be prepared with a temperature of 94 or 95 F., and as soon as the bather becomes accustomed to this sudden change from the air temperature, he should gradually add hot water until he feels perfectly comfortable, neither hot nor cold. The thermometer will then indicate about 98 or 99, although people differ several degrees in their sensations. The temperature must be kept at this point until nearly ready to leave the bath; then hot water should be added to produce a thoroughly warm feeling throughout the body. In very hot weather I have found it wise to reduce the temperature of the bath at the start a few degrees—to abstract heat from the body instead of adding it. The principle to be followed is to keep the patient entirely comfortable, and if, for any reason, he is not comfortable, he should get out of the bath.

Having the water too hot on entering will cause a slight attack of indigestion, in the same way that a hot bath affects one when taken too soon after a full meal, because the blood is drawn to the skin, and away from internal organs. The bathroom must be ventilated in every way possible, and the milk taken at the regular time while bathing. Ladies who object to wetting the hair can wear rubber bathing caps, but it is better to do without them. The circulation of the blood in the scalp is so much greater than usual that the warm skin dries the head rapidly and there is no discomfort where the hair does not have to be “put up” immediately. With very serious cases it is better to cut the hair to a convenient length; it grows rapidly and will be much stronger. In any case, the hair ceases to fall out, for it responds quickly to the general condition of the body. Regarding bathing by females during the menstrual period, I will say that I hve never known of any harmful result from the practice, but if ladies prefer, the baths may be omitted for a few days at this time. The following item in this connection is from the Nursing Times: A cold bath or sea-bathing will sometimes cause the suppression of the menses, but this does not apply to the ordinary warm bath which so may women quite erroneously consider should not be taken during the progress of a menstrual period. There is not the slightest justification for depriving oneself of this source of comfort and cleanliness.

It can do no possible harm. – Nursing Times. One need not be afraid of putting the ears under water. If the eardrum is perforated the ear can be plugged temporarily with cotton. I have seen deafness unexpectedly cured by the combined diet and bathing while undergoing treatment for other diseases. The proper way to take the bath is to have enough water to submerge all of the body except the face and lie at perfect ease with all muscles relaxed and the shoulders supported by the sloping head f the tub, or some contrivance such as a water bad, air cushion or canvas strap. Do not keep the head bent forward at an unnatural angle to keep it out of the water. Breathe deeply, and occasionally sink the face under water, closing nostrils, if necessary, with the thumb and finger. On finishing the bath do not use cold water or the shower bath, and if possible avoid draughts of cold air, not from any danger of “catching cold,” but to prevent the stimulation to the skin. I would not undertake to give the milk and rest cure without the aid of these baths. On getting out of the tub, the patient should dry himself with a soft towel, without unnecessary rubbing or exercise, put on his bathrobe, and return at once to bed.

Weak patients may have the aid of a nurse in drying the skin and returning to their apartments. I think the minimum time for a milk diet course should be four weeks. Three weeks should be devoted to the rest cure, and the remaining week will be sufficient to gradually get the patient up, and on solid food. In a considerable number of cases patients may continue using milk as a diet, if their circumstances permit, after resuming their occupations or ordinary habits. I have letter from different people who state that they have lived on milk for long periods, often several years, in one case twenty-one years, in another fifty years. All these persons began the use of milk for some serious ailment, and yet every one of them seems to be in a state of vigorous health and vitality now. The case of Dr. Herman Schwartz, an Australian physician, who has lived on milk exclusively for twenty-three years, is interesting, as from all accounts he is in the best of health and strength. He is said to take three gallons daily. One of the best public speakers on the Pacific Coast has lived wholly on milk for four years. I have just received (1913) the following letter from Mr. W.F. Kitzele, of North Third Street, Burlington, Iowa: “I have lived on a strictly milk diet for the past forty-two years, not as a matter of choice, but from the fact that I am unable to take solid food of any kind, even a crumb of bread.

“At the age of two years, I took a dose of concentrated lye, which caused a stricture of the food pipe, and since then have lived on a milk diet, and I believe have gotten along better than the man who eats. I am five-feetsix-inches tall, weigh one-hundred-forty pounds, and am married and have four strong, healthy children. I take one quart at each mealtime and none between meals. My health is good; in fact, I have never been ill in bed in forty-two years.” This case is so interesting and instructive that, in preparing the tenth edition of my book in 1921, I wrote to Mr. Kitzele, who occupies a responsible position in his city, and asked him for more particulars of his case. He has very kindly given me the following data: He is still living on an exclusive milk diet, and will do so for the balance of his life.

It is now fifty years since he has tasted solid food of any kind, his only diet being one quart of milk, three times a day. He never took more than this amount; may have taken less when a child. He does not drink much water, not a gallon a year; never gets dry. In the fifty years, he has never been confined to bed by illness, and, physically, is as strong as any man doing office work.

Mr. Kitzele is convinced that most of the ills of life are caused from eating improper food. (And I agree with him). Regarding his bowels, he states that he has absolutely no trouble. They move twice each day as regular as the clock. At one time, Mr. K. was acquainted with a Mr. Castel, of Chicago, who was in the same condition, from the same cause, and also living exclusively on milk.

I would like to hear from Mr. Castel. The small amount of milk that Mr. Kitzele finds ample for his needs is surprising to me. As he began the diet when an infant, he accustomed himself to an amount that would, according to my experience, be inadequate for an adult. Or, are adults using too much food? If milk can be taken often enough one can endure more cold than on any other diet. I have lived in open air in winter with patients where we had to thaw the milk before we could use it. You can get more energy and heat out of a quart of milk than an Eskimo can out of a pound of blubber.

I can state here as a positive fact that an immense amount of physical or mental labor may be done on a milk diet. A young friend of mine lived on about five quarts of milk per day during two terms of college just before graduation, and won second honors in a class of over 300, and finished in fine physical condition. His board cost him about $10 per month. Professor Weir Mitchell in “Fat and Blood,” page 125, says: “I have seen several times active men, even laboring men, live for long periods on milk, with no loss of weight; but large quantities have to be used—two-anda-half to three gallons daily. A gentleman, a diabetic, was under my observation for 15 years, during the whole of which time he took no other food but milk, and carried on a large and prosperous business.

Milk may, therefore, be safely asserted to be a sufficient food in itself, even for an adult, if only enough of it be taken. The gifted writer, Mrs. Ella Wheeler Wilcox, wrote me as follows in 1905: “I believe in the milk diet, becase I have taken it with results so marvelous, and so beneficial, that all Mr. Rockefeller’s money could not repay me, were I deprived of the knowledge that I gained by the experience. A man of my acquaintance who destroyed his digestion be years of wrong habits, has lived for the last five years in perfect health and strength on milk alone. He is able to work more hours with less fatigue, than any of his acquaintances.

He possesses a marvelous complexion and is never ill. “Another friend who has been a hopeless invalid for ten years, through complications of diseases, has lived on milk for three years, and finds herself perfectly well unless she attempts to return to solid foods. A dozen skilled physicians failed to give her even three days of health, until she gave up foods for milk. Seventeen other personal friends restored their health, and the ability to digest a natural, varied diet, by taking the milk treatment for a few weeks.” Where it is the intention of patients to keep on with the milk diet for very long after stopping the rest cure, it is advisable for them to take larger doses, at less frequent intervals. Some patients who had been a long time on a half-hour schedule, with a corresponding amount of milk, have said that they found it difficult to eat enough food at one time to last them until the next meal. There is usually no difficulty in taking twice the regular quantity of milk every hour instead of half as much every half hour. This gives more time between drinks for exercise, or business affairs, and I think tends to fit the stomach better for the distension of a regular meal, when ordinary diet is resumed.

Businessmen often carry a handbag full of pint Mason fruit jars, containing milk, and drink one of these at convenient times. Quite a number of former patients have been able to rink a quart of milk at one sitting. But these experiments must not be tried until the stomach is taking the small and frequent doses without any discomfort, and the bowels are moving regularly. If the stomach is not handling easily the smaller drinks, it will be of no use to attempt the larger ones. A course of four weeks should ordinarily be sufficient to cure any of the following diseases:

Nervous prostration, general debility, autointoxification, mild skin troubles, such as pimples, eczema, sallowness, wrinkles, etc., simple anemia, catarrh, biliousness, ringing in the ears, pleurisy, constipation, dyspepsia, indigestion, asthma, hay fever, piles, insomnia, ulcer of the stomach, colitis, or ulceration of the bowels, goiter, malaria, arterioscerosis (hard arteries), neuralgia, neurasthenia, acidity of the stomach, chronic appendicitis, arthritis, urticaria or hives, cystitis, carbuncles, diarrhea or dysentery, dilation of stomach, gastritis, gout, impotence, neuritis, lumbago, sciatica, migraine, leucorrhea, enlargement of prostate gland, tobacco, morphine and cocaine habits, gallstones, and liver disorders, rheumatism, kidney disease, and the first stage of consumption. In colitis, if the condition of stools does not indicate that the bowels are perfectly healed at the end of four weeks, the diet and rest should be continued longer, but the amount of milk taken may be decreased about onethird, and buttermilk may be substituted for some of the sweet milk, if it agrees.

In more advanced cases of consumption or other chronic organic diseases the diet can be continued as long as visible improvement is made, or until cured. It may be well to say here that there are crises that come on in the course of the treatment, due to the revolution that is taking place in the body. None of them is an indication to stop the milk, quite the contrary.

The most common formerly was an eruption on the skin of the face, body or limbs, usually coming out during the second or third week. I have seen large pimples and boils, but none that ever left a scar. Since I have been using the Holstein milk exclusively these eruptions do not occur except in patients who have previously been afflicted with them. Rheumatic patients nearly always have some of the customary symptoms or pains in the parts affected, but usually only once. I wish to speak particularly of crises occurring in special organs that are or have been the seat of disease.

You may think there is a recurrence of the disease, but do not have the slightest fear. After the inflammation or excitement has subsided the part is always in a better condition and probably entirely healed for the first time.

Continue to Chapter v

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