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aai' afi^a ftafaWefl, I a^qi-e'1%cn, ^ S74 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE ation of diet improves his complexion and increas¬ es his vigor.” Charaha I 6. 2 Seasonal variation of food is conducive to health and vitality. In the summer one does not need so much fat as in the winter, as the caloric needs of the organism is much less, owing to the less radiation of heat from the body surface to the surrounding atmosphere. And as the cold air contains more oxygen, the increased oxygen- intake naturally enhances metabolism, and there¬ fore one has in the winter better appetite, and can digest a large quantity of meat and other nitrogenous food, which in the summer may easily cause gastro intestinal troubles. Carbo¬ hydrate needs of the body are also increased, as to keep the body warm, one is apt to move and to take exercise, which naturally consumes more glycogen than in the summer, and therefore an increased intake of carbohydrates becomes neces¬ sary. “Due to the contact of the cold air, digest¬ ive fire is confined, and consequently its vitality ( metabolism ) is increased ; for this reason in 233.(a) I * =^-gf%cjT, < I HYGIENE 575 ■winter, one can digest much more heavy stuffs ■( than in the summer ).” Charaha I. 6. 9 Not to eat rapidly : Do not eat too rapidly. For if eaten too rapidly, the ingesta does not give adequate savor, nor is it properly fixed ( masti¬ cated and saturated with salivary ferments), and is abnormal in its course in tlie alimentary canal, and its normal reactions are not perceived; there¬ fore one should not eat too rapidly.’’ Charaha III. 1. 19 A lean person has more vitality than a fat person : “To make a fat person lean, indigest¬ ible food (which is insufficiently assimilated, hut only given to satiate hunger ) and fasting should be prescribed. And to make a lean man fat, easily digestible food to satiation should be given,” Charaka I. 21. 16 “But though both lean¬ ness and fatness have their inconvenience, be¬ tween them, leanness is preferable, for in a 254. I 255. I ft H firacTT, I ft^i, \ I . 256. TO ^Tcw'’!I^Jtft I 576 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICTNI disease, a fat individual suffers more ( accumu' lation of fat in the body is due to fundamentals : ( 1 ) Eitlier excess of food is taken, especially carbohydrates, beyond tlie bodily needs, and with good digestion, the surplus of converted glycogen above the eurrent expenditure is stored in the- body as fat; to a moderate extent, this is very becoming, as it beautifies the form of the body but in excess it is apt to interfere with tlie action : of the heart and other vital organs by pressure as well as fatty infiltration. However, the dys- ^ peptics do not get fat and remain lean with- i excessive amount of food, for the ingesta can be ^ only partly absorbed, due to deficiency, quanti- I tatively and qualitatively, of digestive enzymes. ( 2 ) Fatty accumulation and degeneration takes place in hypo-metabolism,due to glandular defici¬ ency as in myxedema. On the other hand^ hyper- i metabolism causes gradual emaciation. As vita- ® . I litv is I’elated with metabolism, so leanness not i V i associated with nutritional insufficiency or wast- I ing diseases, has more resisting power against ' pathogenic micro-organisms ).” Charaka I. 21. Z56. (a) ft eft 1 =q^-rt’ftcTr, T THERAPEUTICS 577 Mental excitement interferes with Digestion : '“Worry, sorrow, fear, anger, sadness, perplexity and vigilance (sleeplessness ) interfere with digestion, even if the food be good and taken in right quantity ( mental excitement arrests the digestive secretions, and by raising the blood pressure by excessive secretion of adrenalin, the sympathetic nervous system becomes irritated y’ Charaka III. 2. 6"’^. Mouth Hygiene ; “After eating, one should repeatedly gargle, and wash out the mouth ( to wash out the food particles that may be in the buccal cavity, to prevent their harboringof micro¬ organisms which cause decomposition and foul odor of the mouth ).” Susruta I. 46. 520^®*. "Food particles sticking in or within the (crevices of) teeth, should be taken out slowly with tooth¬ picks ; for otherwise they cause foulness of the mouth ( The negligence of these two simple oral hygienic rules, is spreading fast in India, as in 237. ^ I 258. < 37 578 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE Europe, the Dental Caries ).” Sim'uta I. 46. 525* = ®. Foods to be avoided : “The food that is dis¬ colored, contaminated, left over ( from the plate of some one else ), mixed with pebbles, grass or similar substances, repulsive in appearance, kept over night, insipid, or decomposed, should not be taken; nor the food that is cooked for a long time ( vitamine is destroyed by over-cooking or cooking at a high temperature), is hardened (digestive ferments can not penetrate through hardened masses ), cold ( the injesta has to be heated to the body temperature before the digestive ferments can act energetically upon them and they can be absorbed ), cooked again,, porridge having uneven cooked grains, and what is cooked at a high temperature.” Suiriita I. 46. 518 ®=“. II .—General Hygiene Not to interfere ivitli the natural call of Nature : “An intelligent person should not 259. I H I 260 ; { THERAPEUTICS 579 retain (interfere with the passage by the voluntary contraction of the muscles) feces, urine, intestinal gas, vomiting, sneezing, yawning, hunger, thirst, tears, sleep or the fatigued breath (carbon dioxide ).” Cliaraka I. 7. Periodic Cleaning of the System : “In the spring, in the rainy season, and the autumn, one should cleanse his system. First he should use oint¬ ment, then sweating, and after that emetics and purgatives. Later enemata and errhines should be given ( The periodic flushing of the intestines by enemata or purgatives, is now recognized by all as a good hygienic prophylaxis. In weakness of the kidney, Turkish bath twice or thrice a year is also very desirable, to throw out of the system the accumulated toxins through the skin, which the kidney has failed to eliminate or as a relief to the over-worked kidneys ).” Charaha I. 7. 35"®®. 261. 5T stiffur ; i 51 If I 5f 51 t5ir5i i 5t 5f fifigre^ II 262. *nftr 5Tff nsft • nw Hsit ^ II 'TOr-R*f%cnj ^^^1515^,'&! 580 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE Physical Exercise 2 Exercise is the exerti to iuvigorate and to increase the strength of the body; one should take physical exercise measuredly. Eor it induces lightness, agility, vigor, endurance,removes flatulence, and increases metabolism. But if it be don c in excess, it brings about lassitude, fati? spermatorrhea, gastrorrhagia, dyspnea, bi onchitis, fever and vomiting”. Qharaka I. 7. 24-26*®®. Excess to be avoided : “An intelligent person, even if necessary, should not indulge in excess of exercise, laughing, speaking, travelling, sexual intercourse and vigilance.” Charaha 1. 7. 27*®*. “A person who takes regular exercise, and eats after his previous meal has been digested, and takes barley and wheat, does not suffer from 263. VI UT V VT siisd I ^ 11 ’qTf. IB?!; HctT^iqT: 1 'q^qi-v'fvctT, I 264. 1 ^f^vuirq ttci if^iii^ifiwiaqT II =qi;qi-v l%cTT, 'S > THERAPEDTICS 581 over-eating, and he loses bis adiposis. “Charaka L 23. 10"“^ Vtirgatives and Purgation : “The best of root purgatives is Ipomoea turpethum, of the barks— Syniplocos racemosa, of the fruits—Terminalia chcbula, of the oils—-Ricinus eommunis ( castor oil ), of the juice—Cleome pentaphylla, and of the milky exudations—that of Euphorbias antiqu¬ orum.” Snsruta I. 44. 2"®®. “The effectiveness of purgation is marked by subsidence of weakness, emaciation (loss of body weight ), fatigue and the course of the disease, the improvement of the heart’s action, clearness of complexion, normal appetite and thirst, normal inclination for evacuation of feces and urine, improvement in the sense perceptions and 265. 266 . 582 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE the mind, passage of the intestinal gas, and the increased metabolism.” Charalca I. 16. Do not sneece before covering your mouth : ‘‘Without covering your mouth, do not yawn, sneeze or laugh ( to prevent the spreading of pathogenic germs, especially the Bacilli tuberculosis).” Charalca I. 8. 17“®®. Treatment against Poisoning ; In the first poisoning, the patient should be made to vomit (the poison that has been ingested by an emetic ) and then after giving cold water (to dissolve the poison that may be sticking to the wall of the alimentary canal ), a detoxicant mixed with butter and honey should be given (to neutralize the toxins, and to make them comparatively innocuous by chemical combinations )” Susruta V. 2. 25“®®. Treatment against venomous snahe-bite : 267. i ^ I fvcTT, <= I 268 . THERAPEUTICS .583 ■“If the arm or leg is bitten by a snake (if it be subcutaneous, the poisoning is slow, but if intravascular, it is rapid ), a tight ligature should be made about four fingers’ breadth above the wound, to prevent the poison flowing upward ( with the, blood or lymph ) by cord, leather-band or tree bark ( tourniquet, to com¬ press the blood and the lymphatic vessels). Where tight ligature is not possible, free inci¬ sions should be made near the bite (to drain out the poisoned blood and the lymph) and the affect¬ ed area cauterized (preferably by a liquid caustic, permanganate of potash—3 p. c. solution— which can penetrate deep into the tissues quickly).