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Show We Get Stomach Ache ! Worry or Fatigue Puts Nerve System Out of Kilter Failure of Gastric Fluids Starts Attack of Indigestion By CLAUD NORTH CIIRISMAN, M.D. "THE TERM indigestion means a great many things. Indi-gestion Indi-gestion is something about which everyone knows something, some-thing, and no one knows enough. 1 have been trying to make rlain to you how our internal organisms work together and what it means to have any one of them get out of order. Whatever happens influences digestion di-gestion to some extent for good or for bad. If eacli step of digestion diges-tion is properly taken and U you realize how vital is each movement for the satisfactory satis-factory trans-for trans-for mation ot food into nutrition, nu-trition, then you will under-stand under-stand that normally each digestive fluid is thrown out just, when and as it is needed It is partly the chemical demands f.nd nartly the central cen-tral ner v o u s or. chrisman system which controls the entire process. If yon could only be convinced that yon cannot expect good results if you do not observe the rules! Unless the food is well chewed unless it is well mixed with the saliva and the digestive ferments it will not be in the proper condition condi-tion when it enters the stomach and the stomach will in turn have to do a double duty. If any of the digestive organs, or those which provide the digestive ferments, fail to do their share of the work, some sort of disaster will follow. And whatever happens is likely to be called indigestion. Stomach Takes Abuse It is remarkable that the stomach stom-ach can take so much abuse without with-out quitting on its job. It just goes ahead with anything you choose to put in it. and does the best it can. The truth is - that it takes something radical, or some real stoppage of an auxiliary organ, which prevents the secretions of gastric juice, to start real mischief. It is probably safe to say that it the digestion is well started in the mouth, the carrier nerves can be i expected to send the proper sort of I message to the stomach and the ! food will get the right sort of re- ; ccption when it gets there. j Furthermore it .s just as true that ordinary indigestion is not the result of organic conditions. Usually Usu-ally the imbalance is found in some sensory or secretory, or even j motor, situation which is unfavor- ii able. j Suppose some outside condition, j such as worry, or grief, or anger ', should trouble us, then we can expect ex-pect that the regular motor activ- I ity of the stomach walls will be retarded. Who has not said at some time or other that a sight or sound or happening has given you a "sinking" feeling in your stomach? stom-ach? You might as well have said it was a "shrinking" feeling. For that was what the circumstance did to you. It made the stomach walls constrict and the outflow of i gastric juice wfas checked. i Suppose it is just a case of tin- ; usual weariness, that has handicapped handi-capped you. You say, "Oh, I am ; too tired to eat." This time the stomach walls have sagged and again the inactivity of the tissues has interfered with the usual supply sup-ply of ferments from the normal ij source. Secretions Balanrrtl The various secretions should be fairly well balanced and this balance bal-ance can only be maintained by the proper selection of foods, foods that are varied in their chemical content and the amount of nutriment. nutri-ment. This phase of the process is controlled by the several organs which must aid in supplying the digestive juices. Anyone of these may be injured by accident, by cold, by infection, and when this happens, there should be at once a limit put upon the work expected of the entire digestive tract. All the organs depend upon the central nervous system to tell them what and when work is expected of them. After a length of time, during which any of several of these organs have been under par, it may happen that the system ot nervous control gets out of order. When this point is reached, you may expect to see the beginnings of genuine trouble in the shape ot inflammation of the gastric walls, i a hyperacidity, or subacidity. and I a fluctuation in the supply of fer- ments that will mean real indigestion. indi-gestion. It was time, long ago. to see your physician to learn where the trouble wras brewing. |