Appetite: Craving Food
Of course the needs of the body vary greatly at different periods. At one time one might especially crave an article of food that would not be at all appetizing on another occasion. This accounts, in a measure, for one becoming tired of any special article of food when eaten too frequently. The body is surfeited with the elements of nourishment which it contains, and hence all desire for it disappears. And, again, it will be noticed that those foods, like whole wheat bread, which contains all the elements needed to feed the body in almost perfect proportions, can be eaten with relish at nearly all times when an appetite for anything exists
But the reader may ask, “How am I to know if my appetite is normal or abnormal?” About the only condition that can be depended on absolutely to indicate as to whether or not one is living according to the dictates of the normal appetite, is the enjoyment of that high degree of health which makes every moment in life seem full of joy from the very exuberance of one’s own feelings. This condition, one and all will easily admit, is rarely met with today, and it indicates quite clearly the usual abnormal state of civilized human beings.
The question will now naturally arise if the appetite is abnormal, how can it be made normal?
There is but one way of creating a normal appetite and that is by fasting. One must fast until he has a clear unmistakable craving for food, then the instinct will have no difficulty in selecting those foods most needed, if a choice of wholesome and nutritious foods are given. As to the length of time one should fast in order to bring about these results it will of course depend entirely on the physical condition. If the appetite has been outraged in the usual way, year after year, and no attention has been given to the necessity for physical exercise, it would no doubt take a fast of several weeks to bring about an absolutely normal condition. I am fully aware that there are but few of my readers who would dare attempt a fast of such duration, and, in fact, practically the same results can be achieved without resorting to such extremes, though these results will of course not appear so speedily as they would if a total fast could be endured.
