The Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life Part 3

Would to Heaven that a Cook could help our Stomachs, as much as an Optician can our Eyes: our Existence would be as much more perfect than it now is, as our Sight is superior to our other Senses.

"The vigour of the Mind decays with that of the Body--and not only Humour and Invention, but even Judgment and Resolution, change and languish, with ill const.i.tution of Body and of Health."--Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE.

The following account of the successful REDUCTION OF CORPULENCE AND IMPROVEMENT OF HEALTH, the Editor can vouch for being a faithful statement of Facts.

30 January, 1821.

MY DEAR SIR,

In consequence of the Conversation I had with you, upon the advantages I had derived from Exercise and attention to Diet in the reduction of Weight, and your desire that I should communicate as far as I recollect them, the particulars of my Case; I have great pleasure in forwarding to you the following Statement.

I measure in height six Feet and half an Inch,--possess a sound Const.i.tution and considerable activity.--At _the age of_ _Thirty_ I weighed about 18 Stone--two years afterwards I had reached the great weight of nineteen Stone, in perfect Health, always sleeping well and enjoying good Appet.i.te and Spirits--soon after, however, I began to experience the usual attendants on fullness of Habit, a disinclination to rise in the morning from drowsiness, heaviness about the Forehead after I had risen, and a disposition to Giddiness;--I was also attacked by a complaint in one of my Eyes, the Symptoms of which it is unnecessary to describe, but it proved to be occasioned by fullness of blood, as it was removed by cupping in the temple. I lost four ounces of blood from the temple; and thinking that the loss of a little more might be advantageous, I had eight ounces taken from the back; and in order to prevent the necessity, as far as possible, of future bleeding, I resolved to reduce the system--by increasing my Exercise and diminishing my Diet.

I therefore took an early opportunity of seeing Mr. Jackson, (whose respectability and skill as a teacher of sparring is universally acknowledged,) and after some Conversation with him, determined upon acting under his Advice.

I accordingly commenced _Sparring_, having provided myself with flannel Dresses, which I always used, being extremely careful on changing them to avoid the risk of cold, and I recollect no instance in which I was not successful.

I also had recourse to _Riding_ Schools, riding without stirrups, so as to have the advantage of the most powerful exercise the Horse could give;--these exercises I took in the morning in the proportion probably of sparring twice a week, and riding three or four times.

Frequently at night I resumed my Exercise,--_Walking_ and sometimes _Running_, generally performing about five miles an hour, till I again produced perspiration; every other Opportunity I could resort to of bodily exercise I also availed myself of.

In respect to diet, I had accustomed myself to Suppers and drinking excellent Table Beer in large quant.i.ties, and for probably ten Years, had indulged myself with Brandy and Water after Supper:--this practice I entirely discontinued, subst.i.tuting Toast and Water with my Dinner, and Tea and a good allowance of Toast for Supper, always avoiding copious Draughts.

I left off drinking malt Liquor as a habit, and indeed, very seldom drank it at all.--I took somewhat less meat at Dinner, avoiding Pies and Puddings as much as possible, but always took three or four Gla.s.ses of Port after dinner.

During the time I was under this training, I took the opinion of an eminent Physician upon the subject, who entirely approved of my Plan, and recommended the occasional use of Aperient medicine, but which I seldom resorted to.

_The Result of all this, was a reduction of my Weight of upwards of three Stone_, or about Forty-five Pounds, _in about six or seven months_.--I found my activity very much increased, and my wind excellent, but, I think, my Strength not quite so great, though I did not experience any material Reduction of it: my Health was perfect throughout.

I then relaxed my System a little, and have up to the present time, being a period of ten Years, avoided the necessity of bleeding, and have enjoyed an almost uninterrupted continuance of good Health, although my Weight has gradually increased; sometimes, however, fluctuating between 7 or 8 Pounds and a Stone, according to my means of Exercise,--always increasing in Winter, and losing in Summer;--and at this moment (January 29th, 1821,) I am about a Stone more than I ought to be, having ascertained, that my best bodily Strength, is at sixteen Stone and a half.

When the object is _to Reduce Weight_, rest and moderate Food will always sufficiently restore the exhaustion arising from Exercise;--if an additional quant.i.ty of Food and nourishing Liquors be resorted to, the Body will in general be restored to the weight it was before the Exercise.

I have sometimes lost from ten ounces to a Pound in weight by an Hour's sparring. If the object be not to reduce the weight, the Food may safely be proportioned to the Exercise.

You will readily perceive, that the plan I adopted, ought only to be resorted to by Persons of sound Const.i.tution and of athletic bodily Frame,--it would be absurd to lay down a general rule for the adoption of all fat men.

I think, with all l.u.s.ty men, the drinking of malt Liquor of any kind is injurious,--Meat taken more than once a day is liable to the same Objection. I still persevere in the disuse of malt Liquors and Spirits, and Suppers, seldom taking more than four Gla.s.ses of Wine as a habit,--although I do not now deem it necessary to make myself so far the Slave of habit, as to refuse the Pleasures of the Table when they offer.

I am, dear Sir,

Yours very truly,

The following are the most interesting Facts in Dr. Bryan Robinson's Essay on the Food and Discharges of the Human Body, 8vo. 1748, which has become scarce.

"I am now, in _May_ 1747, in the 68th year of my age. The length of my Body is 63 Inches: I am of a sanguine but not robust const.i.tution--and am at present neither lean nor fat. In the year 1721 the Morning weight of my body without Clothes, was about 131 Avoirdupois pounds, the daily weight of my food at a medium was about 85 Avoirdupois ounces, and the proportion of my Drink to my Meat, I judge was at that time about 2.5--to 1.

"At the latter end of _May_ 1744, my weight was above 164 pounds, and the proportion of my Drink to my Meat was considerably greater than before, and had been so for some time. I was then seized with a Paralytic disorder, which obliged me to make an alteration in my diet.

In order to settle the proportion of my Drink to my Meat, I considered what others have said concerning this proportion.

"According to _Sanctorius_, though he reckons it a disproportion, the drink to the meat in his time, was about 10 to 3 in temperate bodies.

CORNARO'S drink to his Meat, was as 7 to 6.

Mr. RYE'S, in winter, as 4 to 3.

Dr. LINING'S, at a medium 11 to 3.

And my drink to my meat 5 to 2.

A mean taken from all these makes the Drink to the Meat--about 2 to 1.

B. ROBINSON _on Food and Discharges_, p. 34.

"At the age of 64, by lessening my food, and increasing the proportion of my meat to my drink, _i. e._ by lessening my drink about a third part, (_i. e._ to 20 ounces) and my meat about a sixth, (_i. e._ 38 ounces) of what they were in 1721, I have freed myself for these two years past from the returns of a _Sore throat_ and _Diarrha_,--Disorders I often had, though they were but slight, and never confined me. I have been much more costive than I was before, when I lived more fully, and took more Exercise, and have greatly, for my age, recovered the paralytic weakness I was seized with three years ago.

"Hence we gather, that good and constant Health consists in a just quant.i.ty of food; and a just proportion of the meat to the drink: and that to be freed from chronical disorders contracted by Intemperance--the quant.i.ty of food ought to be lessened; and the proportion of the meat to the drink increased--more or less, according to the greatness of the disorders, p. 61.

"I commonly ate four ounces of Bread and b.u.t.ter, and drank half a pound of a very weak infusion of Green Tea for _Breakfast_. For _Dinner_ I took two ounces of Bread, and the rest Flesh-meat,--Beef, Mutton, Pork, Veal, Hare, Rabbit, Goose, Turkey, Fowl tame and wild, and Fish. I generally chose the strongest meats as fittest, since they agreed well with my stomach, to keep up the power of my body under this great diminution of my food; I seldom took any _Garden stuff_--finding that it commonly lessened perspiration and _increased my weight_.--I drank four ounces of water with my meat and a pound of Claret after I had done eating. At night I ate nothing, but drank 12 ounces of water with a pipe of Tobacco, p. 63.

"There is but one Weight, under which a grown body can enjoy the best and most uninterrupted Health. p. 91. That Weight is such as enables the Heart to supply the several parts of the body with just quant.i.ties of Blood. p. 100.

"The weight under which an Animal has the greatest strength and activity--which I shall call its _Athletic weight_,--is that weight under which the Heart--and the proportion of the weight of the Heart to the weight of the body are greatest: the strength of the Muscles is measured by the strength of the Heart, p. 117.

"If the weight of the body of an Animal be greater than its _Athletic Weight_, it may be reduced to that weight by evacuations, dry food and exercise. These lessen the weight of the Body, by wasting its fat, and lessening its Liver; and they increase the weight of the Heart, by increasing the quant.i.ty and motion of the blood. Thus a game c.o.c.k in ten days is reduced to his athletic weight, and prepared for fighting.

"If the Food, which with Evacuations and Exercise, reduced the c.o.c.k to his athletic weight in ten days, be continued any longer, the c.o.c.k will not have that strength and activity which he had before under his athletic weight; which may be owing to the loss of weight going on after he arrives at his athletic weight.

"It is known by experiment, that a c.o.c.k cannot stand above 24 hours at his athletic weight, and that a c.o.c.k has changed very much for the worse in 12 hours.

"When a c.o.c.k is at the top of his condition, that is, when he is at his athletic weight, his Head is of a glowing red colour, his Neck thick, and his Thigh thick and firm;--the day after his complexion is less glowing, his Neck thinner, and his Thigh softer;--and the third day his Thigh will be very soft and flaccid. p. 119.

"If the increase of weight in a small compa.s.s of time, rise to above a certain quant.i.ty, it will cause disorders.

"I can bear an increase of above a pound and a half in one day, and an increase of three or four pounds in six or seven days, without being disordered; but think I should suffer from an increase of five or six pounds in that time.

"An increase of weight may be carried off by lessening the Food,--or by increasing the Discharges.--The discharges may be increased either by exercise, or by evacuations procured by art.

"By lessening the daily quant.i.ty of my food to 23 ounces, I have lost 26 ounces;--by fasting a whole day, I lost 48 ounces, having gained 27 the day before.

"Mr. Rye was a strong, well set, corpulent man, of a sanguine complexion; by a brisk walk for one hour before breakfast he threw off, by insensible perspiration, one pound of increased weight; by a walk of three hours, he threw off two pounds of increased weight. The best way to take off an increase of weight which threatens a distemper, is either by fasting or exercise. p. 84.

"The mean loss of weight by several grown bodies caused by a purging medicine composed of a drachm of _Jalap_ and ten grains of _Calomel_, was about 2-3/4 Avoirdupois pounds; and the mean quant.i.ty of Liquor, drank during the time of Purging, was about double the loss of Weight."--ROBINSON _on the Animal Economy_, p. 458.

"I have lost, by a spontaneous _Diarrha_, two pounds in twenty-four hours; and Mr. Rye lost twice that quant.i.ty in the same time."--_On the Food and Discharges of Human Bodies_, by B. ROBINSON, p. 84.

"Most _Chronic Diseases_--arise from too much _Food_ and too little _Exercise_,--both of which lessen the weight of the Heart and the quant.i.ty of Blood;--the first by causing fatness; the second by a diminution of the blood's motion.

"Hence, when the LIVER is grown too large by Intemperance and Inactivity, it may be lessened and brought to a healthful magnitude by Temperance and Exercise.--It may be emptied other ways by art; but nothing can prevent its filling again, and consequently secure good and constant Health--but an exact Diet and Exercise. Purging and Vomiting may lessen the Liver, and reduce it to its just magnitude;--but these evacuations cannot prevent its increasing again, so long as persons live too fully, and use too little exercise--and can only be done by lessening the Food and increasing the Exercise."