The Postum Cereal Company

“ Clean, fresh air is essential to health.
Deep breathing in the fresh air, whenever opportunity affords, helps to keep the lungs clean and healthy. In normal breathing only about one-tenth of the air contained in the lungs is changed with each breath. It is a good plan at least once a day to go forth into the fresh air and take a dozen deep breaths. We will feel much better for it.
The air in our living quarters should never be allowed to become stagnant. When there is no natural motion in the air, it should be stirred to action by a fan. It is bad to sleep in a stuffy bedroom. ”

“ Preparing for the Journey
hile the right kinds of food, in balanced amounts, are necessary to sound health, they alone cannot produce it. The body must be in such condition to receive these foods that it can make use of them properly. Right eating is, perhaps, the most important health consideration, but there are a few simple laws of hygiene which cannot be ignored by those who would journey on to Wellville. ”

“ Even the telephone and radio tend to bring everything to us where we are, and the difference between the exercise we need and the exercise we get becomes greater and greater.
We work our brains and nerves and let our bodies loaf. That is why constipation with its long train of ills (headache, fatigue, tense nerves, indigestion, bad complexion) is chargeable with a large percentage of modern ill health. ”

“ Food HabitsIf we want to be well we should learn how to select our food and how to eat it. Our rations should be balanced. The meal should contain the right proportions of the various foods the body requires to keep it healthy. Then the right choices should be made from the table’s offerings. If father devotes himself to meat and potatoes and neglects salads and desserts, if mother indulges in coffee and eats no cereals for breakfast, it need not cause surprise if children fail to understand why milk and vegetables should be their portion. ”

“ The kind of exercise to take depends upon age, habits, and individual peculiarities. There are plenty of good books on this subject. See Appendix.
Posture, how we carry ourselves, is also important. It affects digestion, circulation, and health every minute of the day. If we hold our heads high, our backs straight, our chests up, and our abdomens flat, our bodies and their organs are in position to perform their work normally.
Fresh Air and SunlightWe breathe air to live. We can live for days without food or water, but for only a few minutes without air. ”

“ Today modern science is placing much stress upon the cleanliness of the mouth. It is through the mouth that the body gets its food and nourishment. The teeth and gums should be brushed regularly at least twice a day with a cleansing, purifying dentifrice. ”

“ Inner CleanlinessOf great importance to health is the regular and prompt elimination of body wastes. This elimination covers not only the indigestible portions of food, but the waste products of digestion as well. Constipation is one of the crimes of civilization. ”

“ Also, food thoroughly mixed with saliva digests faster in the stomach than food not so mixed. In chewing fibrous and hard foods, pressure is exerted on the teeth, which stimulates circulation and is an important factor in maintaining the health of teeth and gums.
Exercise and PostureIf we would travel on to Wellville, we should not neglect our exercise. Muscles that are not used grow flabby. Muscles that are used become strong and supple. We are old at any age if lack of exercise keeps our muscles puny and unable to bear us buoyantly along the broad highway of Health. ”

“ MasticationIn order to get full value from food we must masticate it thoroughly. Digestion begins in the mouth with the action of the saliva, hence the necessity of thorough chewing. If the saliva is thoroughly mixed with the food, salivary digestion continues for some time in the stomach. ”

“ It must have rest, or it will wear out. To deprive ourselves of proper sleep and rest is to make serious inroads on our reserve strength. It may be years before our account is overdrawn, but sooner or later we must pay the overdraft. ”

“ For the infant and child, through the period of adolescence, rest is even more important than for the adult. The baby, with its rapid body-building program, needs twenty hours of sleep out of every twenty-four, the “run-about” child twelve to fourteen hours, and the older school child at least ten hours. ”

“ The windows should be kept up at the bottom and down at the top. Fresh air helps to prevent colds and infections.
Sunlight also is a germ-killer. It is good to spend as many hours as possible out-of-doors where we can get its benefits. ”

“ The body itself should be kept clean. Frequent bathing rids the body’s pores of clogging dirt and lets them do their important work of eliminating the body’s waste. A warm bath two or three times each week may serve, but a tepid bath each day followed by a cold sponge or shower is better. ”

“ It is well to use a good antiseptic mouth wash and throat gargle regularly and to see a dentist at least twice a year, so that he can detect the first signs of tooth decay or gum infection and prevent serious trouble which often has its beginnings in the mouth. ”

“ We over-refine and over-cook our foods, mince them, and soften them. This lessens their bulk and causes them to lose roughage and mineral salts, which are necessary to regular evacuation. Add to these too much sitting at home, in office, motor car, and train. ”

“ Physical DefectsPhysical defects that can be corrected are unnecessary handicaps on the Road to Wellville. Eyes that need glasses cause headaches and nervous strain. Bad tonsils and infected teeth cause disorders which may poison the blood stream. Adenoids prevent purifying air from reaching the lungs. ”