Strength imparted by tea, the teapot in many homes stand-
ing on the stove all day, and the weary housewife takes a
drink now and then to arouse her lagging energies, which
is very much like applying the lash to a weary, over-
worked animal. This excessive tea drinking may be
economy, for very little solid food is eaten by these
devotees of the teapot, and are they not tea-topers and
mild inebriates } When people declare they cannot work
without the stimulus these drinks impart, they are so
"faint and gone" or "good for nothing,'* or that it is
impossible to prepare a sermon, a lecture, or address an
audience except under the influence of a strong cup of
tea or coffee, are they not proceeding along the path of
the inebriate, whose reasons are as valid as theirs ?
Indulgence by one class bears the stamp of respectability
because popular, while in the other it is condemned as a
terrible vice.
Rest, and not stimulation, is nature's call when weary.
Excessive drinking of anything is an unforfunate habit,
and those who live plainly, with food in suitable combina-
tions, will be supplied with all, or nearly all, the liquids
necessary to carry on the vital functions.
Coffee was introduced later than tea, and met with the
most strenuous opposition. Loude, a distinguished French
writer on health, says : " Coffee accelerates the f unctionsi
only by shortening their duration. It doubles the energy
of the organs only by doubling the debility which follows.'*
Professor Hitchcock, in his " Dyspepsia Forestalled," saysr
" The bewitching influence of both tea and coffee lies in
their narcotic properties, the same principle to which
opium and tobacco owe their attraction." Daily experi-
ence fully corroborates all past and present statements
15
2l8 THE FAT OF THE LAND.
regarding the injurious effects of tea and coffee ; yet in
spite of facts, millions of pounds of these poisons are
yearly consumed by an intelligent people.
Cocoa and chocolate are also injurious and contain
poison similar to theine found in tea and coffee. The
chocolate tree is a native of Mexico, and is not the cocoa
palm from which we obtain the cocoanuts. Chocolate is
prepared from the seeds of the tree, which are very oily,
and the refuse after the oil is extracted is made into
" cocoa." These articles are often of inferior quality and
chocolate is adulterated with animal fats, causing it to
become rancid and too oily for digestion, These drinks
may not prove as injurious to some people as tea and
coffee. Nervous people should not use tea, "bilious"
people should abstain from coffee, cocoa and chocolate,
as excitability, dullness and stupidity follow the use of
these drinks in different temperaments. One cannot be
too cautious in their selection of these goods, as there are
very few unadulterated.
These popular beverages may soon be outrivaled by
the kola nut, which is being discussed with reference to
its nutritious and stimulating qualities as a beverage. It
is said to have been "largely in use for centuries among
the natives of Africa, who consider it so valuable that those
who have no trees on their own territory will pay by barter
for the nuts, either dry or in powder, even their weight in
gold dust." It is already used as a medicine in nervous
diseases, but when we are no longer the victims of inju-
rious dietetic habits, we shall be free from the idea that
nature requires artificial stimulants, either in the form of
food, drink or medicine.
Drinking at meals is an injurious habit, but if consid-
THE DRINK QUESTION. 219
Page 87
Presented as published in 1896. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Strength imparted by tea, the teapot in many homes standing on the stove all day, and the weary housewife takes a drink now and then to arouse her lagging energies, which is very much like applying the lash to a weary, overworked animal. This excessive tea drinking may be economy, for very little solid food is eaten by these devotees of the teapot, and are they not tea-topers and mild inebriates } When people declare they cannot work without the stimulus these drinks impart, they are so "faint and gone" or "good for nothing,'* or that it is impossible to prepare a sermon, a lecture, or address an audience except under the influence of a strong cup of tea or coffee, are they not proceeding along the path of the inebriate, whose reasons are as valid as theirs ? Indulgence by one class bears the stamp of respectability because popular, while in the other it is condemned as a terrible vice.
Rest, and not stimulation, is nature's call when weary. Excessive drinking of anything is an unfortunate habit, and those who live plainly, with food in suitable combinations, will be supplied with all, or nearly all, the liquids necessary to carry on the vital functions.
Coffee was introduced later than tea, and met with the most strenuous opposition. Loude, a distinguished French writer on health, says: "Coffee accelerates the functionsi only by shortening their duration. It doubles the energy of the organs only by doubling the debility which follows.'* Professor Hitchcock, in his " Dyspepsia Forestalled," says: " The bewitching influence of both tea and coffee lies in their narcotic properties, the same principle to which opium and tobacco owe their attraction." Daily experience fully corroborates all past and present statements
regarding the injurious effects of tea and coffee ; yet in spite of facts, millions of pounds of these poisons are yearly consumed by an intelligent people.
Cocoa and chocolate are also injurious and contain poison similar to theine found in tea and coffee. The chocolate tree is a native of Mexico, and is not the cocoa palm from which we obtain the cocoanuts. Chocolate is prepared from the seeds of the tree, which are very oily, and the refuse after the oil is extracted is made into " cocoa." These articles are often of inferior quality and chocolate is adulterated with animal fats, causing it to become rancid and too oily for digestion, These drinks may not prove as injurious to some people as tea and coffee. Nervous people should not use tea, "bilious" people should abstain from coffee, cocoa and chocolate, as excitability, dullness and stupidity follow the use of these drinks in different temperaments. One cannot be too cautious in their selection of these goods, as there are very few unadulterated.
These popular beverages may soon be outrivaled by the kola nut, which is being discussed with reference to its nutritious and stimulating qualities as a beverage. It is said to have been "largely in use for centuries among the natives of Africa, who consider it so valuable that those who have no trees on their own territory will pay by barter for the nuts, either dry or in powder, even their weight in gold dust." It is already used as a medicine in nervous diseases, but when we are no longer the victims of injurious dietetic habits, we shall be free from the idea that nature requires artificial stimulants, either in the form of food, drink or medicine.
Drinking at meals is an injurious habit, but if consid-