A new and needful treatise of spirits and wind offending mans body wherein are discovered their nature, causes and effects / by the learned Dr. Fienns ; and Englished by William Rowland ...

CHAP. XII.

Of Diet to be observed by windy Bodies.

TO prevent breeding of wind by diet, or dis∣cuss it when bred, four things are to be observed, chiefly in such as have bodies apt to breed it; Order, Manner, Time, and Substance. The Order is, that they begin not dinner nor supper with drink, nor drink a great draught, as the custom is after they have eaten a bit or two: Drink is best, when you have taken most part of the food. Also let liquid things be eaten

before hard, and loosners before astringents, and those of easie concoction before those of hard. The Manner is, that more food be not taken then can be concocted without difficulty, by rising with an appetite, and not drinking more then to quench thirst, and wash down the meat, which will make the body lazy, and oppress the native heat. Some are never satisfied, except they carouse exceedingly when they eat; some drink so, that they can eat little or nothing: this causeth fluctuation and inflation, because the stomach cannot embrace the quantity. Time also must be observed, that they drink not fast∣ing nor between meals, or after supper, or in bed. nor eat before the former is digested, nor sit long at meat. They must abstain from gross meats, they stop the narrow passages, such as produce a clammy juyce, hard of concoction, salt Beef and Pork, from cold, and sowre, and sharp things; and all Summer-fruits, crude or boiled, Pulse, Sallets, Milk, and all Milk-meats, all Junkets, as Fritters, Pancakes, Sweet-cakes, &c. chiefly that which our women call White∣pots, or that made of Eggs, Butter, and Honey in a Frying-pan or an Oven: And from that of green Cheese, Beets, Paste, Eggs, and Oyl, which the Italians call a Tart. Also the Italian Dishes are very hurtful, Turtellae, Lasaniae, Macaroons, Worms, and the like, made fit for the palate. These fill the body with gross humours, and

so oppress the natural heat, that the stomach concocts worse after, being not able to overcome the tough and clammy humours. But some will devour such trash and junkets, and contemn better food, and yet find no inconvenience, or very little. To which I answer: That all food made of paste causeth gross and clammy hu∣mours, and many excrements, and obstructions, and matter fit to breed wind. But if they be taken by a good and firm stomach, and well concocted (which I think scarce can be) and they find no hurt thereby worth notice; it doth not therefore follow, that they are of themselves without harm: For all know, that to drink great draughts is an enemy to Nature; and that a medicine of Hemlock presently killed Socrates. Therefore he concludes nothing that saith, therefore these things are not hurtful, and not to be dispraised; because some Drunkards will drink off great bowls, and the Athenian old Woman used to eat Hemlock, and because one or two make food of paste that nourisheth. For the stomach embraceth sweet things, and such as are eaten with great delight, more close, and easier digests them. Therefore three things make food, which is of its own nature hurtful, to be innocent and milder; use or custom, plea∣sure, and a strong firm stomach: For the best nourishing food hurts the stomach, if it loath it; and Brook-fish cause trouble to it, if it be weak.

And let these men, if they will not be admo∣nished by me, be moved with the threatning▪ of Constantine, with which he affrighteth Glut∣tons, let them not rejoyce when they eat bad food; for though they are not hurt by them at the present, afterwards they will not escape. To this belongs variety of meats, which causeth many crudities and winds in the body: For many things of divers natures are confounded, and these being unequally concocted and distri∣buted, the natural heat must needs be put to it. You must avoid all great and Fen-fish, and such as live in mud on putrefaction; their flesh is slimy and clammy, cold, and hath much excre∣ment. Also let windy people abstain from wine too much cooled, from water, and from great draughts of drink drawn from a cool Cellar, chiefly when they are hot out wardly, or weary after exercise or labour, and from all excess of air, chiefly cold, which presently reacheth the stomach, if not kept warm-clothed; and from cold and moisture at the feet. Sitting long upon cold stones hath often caused great Sym∣ptoms from wind. Let him avoid idleness also and sleeping in the day; these raise vapours, but discuss them not; set upon concoction, but bring it not to perfection: whence comes crude flegm, the true material cause of flegm. When the stomach or guts are distended or stretcht with wind, let them abstain from meat and

drink, and feed very stenderly, and be sober. For when the usual diet is taken from the body, or abated, the native heat is not so put to it to alter and concoct food; but is active, and flou∣risheth, and spreads it self, and shews its strength: first it concocts crudities, and atte∣nuates the gross humours, cleanseth the tough, takes away the cause that will breed wind, sends them for that the right passages, and dis∣perseth such wind as is bred, and keeps it from breeding. And to be short, fasting alone is suf∣ficient to cure any disease from crudity or wind. It is true that there is more trouble from the fly∣ing about of wind in the body that is empty, in such as fast and use a spare diet; but this will not be long, for they will presently break forth, and free the patient from all pain, and the sooner by use of exercise. For it is the Doctrine of Hippocrates Epid. 6. agreeable to this my opi∣nion, fit to be written in gold in every house, That we ought not to eat to fulness, and to be ready to take pains. And Galen de sanit. tuend. lib. 2. reckons up many sorts of exercises, Wrastling, Fencing, Running, &c. which we shall not speak of, only let this suffice, that mo∣derate exercise at ball or fencing, running or walking, fasting, and after the body hath dis∣charged the excrements, doth wonderfully re∣create all the faculties, and spread the native heat through the body, concoct humours, and make

the members active for their duties, loofens the belly, and sends forth wind so powerfully, that there is no remedy like it, and nothing safer nor better then seasonable exercise with a spare diet. Eat therefore little, and that with mustard, or other attenuating and heating sauce (except the constitution be sanguine or cholerick) Sage, Hy∣sop, Savory, Fennel, Marjoram, Pennyroyal, Calamints are to be used, and roasted meat with Spices, Sage or Rosemary. Let his bread be well leavened, and with Fennel, Anise, Parsley or Gith seeds. His Wine strong, when wind breeds from weak heat. If the body be cholerick or plethorick, drink little wine, and that with water. Let the powders following be taken after meat presently, they do very much good: They strengthen and constringe the stomach, and suffer not the vapours of the food to flye into the head, stir up the natural heat, quicken con∣coction, digest the Chyle, drive excrements downwards, and discuss wind exceedingly. As, Take Aniseeds candied three ounces, Fennel seed an ounce and half, Coriander prepared an ounce, Cummin, Caraway, Seseli steept in white Wine, each a dram; dryed Citron peel, gross Cinnamon, each four scruples; white Sugar twice as much. Take a spoonful after meat, and drink not after.

Or thus, Take Coriander prepared, Caraway, Aniseeds, each an ounce; red Roses, Mastich, each a dram and half; dryed Mints a dram,

Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cubebs, each half a dram; make a fine Powder, and add Sugar of Roses eight ounces: give a spoonful after meat.

At night when concoction is almost finished, chew Elicampane candied, or Ginger a dram, and swallow it, or Gentian roots, or Masterwort, candied Cubebs, or two or three grains of white Pepper, only broken, they wonderfully help a slow, weak concoction, and expel wind; and they do the like in the morning fasting after going to stool. If the belly be bound, give Leni∣tives, as three drams of Turpentine washed in white Wine, in Wafers before dinner, or half a dram of Rhubarb chewed and swallowed, or a scruple of washed Aloes an hour afore supper; or Carthamus seeds husked with Figs: I allow not Cassia, it is windy. Thus much for Diet; if it be tedious, and do not cure, take these medi∣cines.