As we approach the holiday season, we sometimes forget to treat our stomachs kindly. Here are four hundred-year-old questions that I need to remember to regularly ask myself:
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Have I eaten too much? Most digestive troubles are brought about by a systematic habit of overeating.
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Do I eat hurriedly? Don’t eat with your eyes of the clock. Chew your food thoroughly and eat slowly. Lay aside the worries of business and pressure of social engagements at meal time. Take time, and plenty of it.
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Do I take proper exercise? Physical activity increases the digestive powers and stimulates all the organs of the body, while sedentary habits favor a slow digestion and a sluggish condition of the system.
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Do I eat improper food? Eat only food that agrees with you. If you find a certain food always produces ill results, let it alone. Why suffer innumerable torments for a fleeting pleasure of tasting something good?
National Food Magazine (February, 1914)
A Hundred Years Ago 
I love this. The best advice usually is the simplest. My biggest problem is that no foods give me trouble! I tend not to overeat, but I can do too much snacking. I’m still working on that.
I’m working on trying not to do too much snacking, too. 🙂
Good to know that these problems aren’t new — they are the problem of every robust economy with overly sufficient food distribution.
I hadn’t thought about it quite this way, but you’re right. This article provides strong evidence that the U.S. was prosperous and had an abundant food supply a hundred years ago.
I think that’s right, pre-Depression.
Simple, easy and wise! Thank you!
I’m glad you liked it.
I love these old fashioned beautiful nuggets of common sense.
Great advice! I’m rather sluggish at the proper exercise, so many more interesting things to do.
I like the verb you selected–“sluggish.” It works perfectly in this context.
Ahhh the simple life… today this would include a very long list of obscure allergies, sensitives, special diets and what not! 🙂
Back then the focus would have been more on temporarily eliminating a food from your diet to see if it disagreed with you.
These good old rules live forever!
I had similar thoughts. There have been a lot of changes over the past hundred years, but many of the basics haven’t changed.
Very little changes, just recycles.
How true. 🙂
Excellent, timeless advice! I need to work on all four pointers, I’m afraid…
I think that I probably do, too. 🙂
I already try and follow all, reminding myself to slow down. It amazes me at how many people when serving something I know I can’t eat, push me to have a small piece, they won’t take no for an answer. I actually had one lady tell me, after I told her my blood sugar was running a bit higher usual, not bad but still higher that it is not that important as long as I was not over 200. I told her I am diabetic and on medication and I like keeping my blood sugar around 100 and don’t want problems later on and she just poo poo’d me! I also have acid reflux and the comments are sometimes rude.
I really don’t understand people like that. It seems totally inappropriate to encourage you to eat things that aren’t good for you.
I know – I just keep politely saying no, they just don’t understand. I received your email today how exciting for you…I will reply later been sick, well not really sick, just a reaction to a new med the dr put me on. Needless to say I am calling him tomorrow. Again, great news on the article, your grandmother would be tickled I am sure.
I’m sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. Hopefully the doctor will get the meds adjusted tomorrow, and you’ll be feeling much better very soon. It is exciting to read the article. I enjoyed talking with the reporter, and it’s wonderful to see how nicely it turned out.
If people would take this advice, there wouldn’t be all those stomach settling medications that have numerous bad side effects. I remember how we sat around my grandmother Cleage’s dinner table long after the meal was over, talking and talking and talking. I miss those days.
I have similar memories. I miss those days, too.
Great advice that is still relevant! A great find!
It’s nice to hear that you liked it.
Sensible advice that is still important today!
Sometimes good advice doesn’t change across the years. 🙂
That picture looks like an audacious bowl of banana pudding! Mom used to make that, but I haven’t had it in years.
You comment sent me back to the magazine where I found the picture to see what it was associated with. It was part of an ad for Dr. Price’s Vanilla Extract. I selected it because the woman in the drawing reminded me of distant relatives at family reunions who were very insistent that I try a dish when I was already full and trying to say “no.”
I have major problems in that area, and I concurr this is good advice!!!! Xi
This advice can be difficult to consistently carry out–especially around the holiday season. 🙂
That advice may be over one hundred years old, but it sure rings true today!
I agree–I’m glad you liked it.
Yes. Yes. No. Yes. 😦
🙂 I think that I would have to answer “sometimes” for most of them.
Hmmmm. I don’t do any of those things properly. I need to go back in time………
I wonder how much difficulty people had back then following the advice. 🙂
Lol this is amazing… wish I could be more diligent about following these )
So do I. It seems like it would be easy to follow these four simple rules, but it’s really difficult. 🙂
Good advice stands the test of time. These four points sure do. I’m reasonably good in relation to all of them
I try to basically follow them, but don’t always succeed. 🙂
I don’t always succeed either, but I have good intentions!
What a treasure!
There are some wonderful, timeless nuggets in hundred-year-old magazines and books.
What good advice. Very sensible.
I agree–It was good advice in 1915 and it’s good advice in 2015. 🙂