My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

•FRIENDSAND OCCUPATIONS 309founded on theory or empirical treatment, but theresult of thirty years' experiment on the effects ofvarious articles of food upon men and animals, bythe only scientific method of studying each foodseparately and exclusively, I determined to try it.The result was, that in a week I felt much better, ina month I felt quite well, and during the ten yearsthat have elapsed no attack of asthma or of severepalpitation has recurred, and I have been able to domy literary work as well as before I became subjectto the malady.I may say that I have long been, and am still, inprmciple, a vegetarian, and believe that, for manyreasons, it will certainly be the diet of the future.But for want of adequate knowledge, and even morefrom the deficiencies of ordinary vegetable cookery, itoften produces bad effects. Dr. Salisbury proved byexperiment that it was the consumption of too muchstarch foods that produces the set of diseases whichhe especially cures ; and that when these diseaseshave become chronic, the only cure is the almostcomplete abstention from starchy substances, especiallypotatoes,bread, and most watery vegetables, and, inplace of them, to substitute the most easily digestiblewell-cooked meat, with fruits and nuts in moderation,and eggs, milk, etc., whenever they can be digested.Great sufferers find immediate relief from an exclusivediet of the lean of beef. I myself live upon wellcookedbeef with a fair proportion of fat (which I candigest easily), a very small proportion of bread orvegetables, fruit, eggs, and light milk puddings. Thecurious thing is that most English doctors declarethat a meat diet is to be avoided in all these diseases,and many order complete abstinence from meat, but,so far as I can learn, on no really scientific grounds.