A consultant wrote that his case was diagnosed
as dyspepsia due to an excited condition of the
nerves.* In order to strengthen his nerves/ he was
being given injections of vitamin B. I wrote to him
that the excited state of his nerves was not the cause
but a symptom or effect of dyspepsia, that he must
get cured of his digestive trouble first and that his
nervous trouble will vanish automatically.

SOME MISCONCEPTIONS

I wish to remove some misconceptions of the
relation of food and Life which, thanks to the
influence of medical teachings on the subject of
nutrition, have rooted themselves in the minds
of the educated.

Nutrition experts of the allopathic school always
lay the emphasis on abundance. But the Naturopath*
stresses the need for economy.

To bring out the marked contrast between the
allopathic and Naturopathic approach to the subject
of nutrition, I shall cite some examples.

Chittenden demonstrated experimentally that
about 40 to 50 grams of protein a day is quite
sufficient for the maintenance of their full vigour and
fitness even for athletes. (Many of the athletes even
excelled their old records when they were on this
low-protein ration*) We Naturopaths accept
Chittenden's conclusions as being consistent w'fth
our principle of economy. The allopath on the
other hand, while he admits the genuineness of
Chittenden's experiments, recommends the taking

* Strictly speaking, I should say Naturopath of the Lakshman
School; for the principle of Vital Economy, which was just
hinted et by pioneers of the west like Dr. Dewey, was fully
developed for the first time by Sri K Lakshmana Sarma- The
central idea of his system of "Nature-Cure, as explained in his
Practical Nature-Cure, is Vital Economy.