A Summary of the Milk Diet

1. A proper preparatory treatment is necessary for most satisfactory results. Fruit juice only, an absolute fast, or a combination of these two prepares the digestive and assimilative organs for the new diet.


2. Use the purest milk attainable, and from Holstein, or at least some other breed of cows than Jersey or Guernsey if possible. The flavor is improved by aerating it – by pouring from pitcher to pitcher, or shaking it in some other way.


3. Unpasteurized milk is preferable, though pasteurized milk may be used when necessary.


4. The proper method of taking the milk is the method used by the nursing baby in sucking its milk from the bottle. This is done by placing the edge of the lips close to the rim of the glass and making the opening between the lips so small that considerable suction will be required to draw the milk into the mouth. This process not only mixes the saliva with the milk but very greatly improves the flavor.


5. In regards to quantity, the average case may use to best advantage a quart of milk to each twenty-five to thirty-five pounds of body weight. Another guide is one quart of milk for each foot in height, for men, and three or four ounces less for women. Roughly, five quarts daily for women of average size and six quarts daily for men of average size will be approximately correct.


6. Constipation is not infrequently produced at the beginning of the milk diet. Do not discontinue the milk, but take a small enema of about half a pint of warm or cool water each morning or, if necessary, each morning and evening.


7. Diarrhea also is sometimes induced by the milk diet. This is because of abnormal body conditions and is not due to the milk directly. It may be remedied by simply lessening the quantity of milk. Reducing the cream or diluting the milk will sometimes be all that is necessary. In some cases a high, warm, full enema is valuable. In others the difficulty does not respond satisfactorily to any of the above methods. In these it may be advisable to use a few dates a day – as many as two to four with each glass of milk. In other obstinate cases it will be necessary to take the milk until noon, and an ordinary meal in the evening, or, take a breakfast, and then take milk all afternoon, beginning at twelve or one.


8. Nausea is not infrequently caused by the milk. This can be remedied by taking acid fruits or their juices, preferably lemon, or grape-fruit or orange, either just before or just after the milk, or at any time that nausea is experienced. Removal of some of the cream or diluting the milk may help, also.


9. A sense of fullness in the abdominal region is nearly always produced by the milk diet. This need occasion no alarm. It is only natural that a large quantity of nourishing liquid should produce a fullness and stretching of the digestive tract and abdominal tissues. It will usually subside before the completion of the diet, and always on the return to the regular diet.


10. A coated tongue, unpleasant taste in the mouth, and unpleasant breath, are often noticeable when first beginning the diet, especially on rising in the morning. The symptoms should cause no worry, as they usually disappear in a short time. In some cases the tongue is coated during the entire milk diet period, without interfering in the least with the benefits.


11. A milk diet means a milk diet – nothing else. Don’t add other foods promiscuously. The only exceptions are in cases of some disagreement of the milk, due to an abnormal condition of the digestive channel, when fruits or fruit juices may be taken as fully explained. Combinations of milk and other foods, usually fruits, may be valuable in many cases, but do not consider this the milk diet.


12. Water is rarely required when on the milk diet, except the first thing in the morning. But if at any time of the day or night there is a genuine thirst for water only, there will be no harm whatever in taking any amount desired.


13. The warm, neutral bath, 98 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, can usually be taken with advantage while on this diet. Start the water at 95 degrees and gradually increase it to that desired, up to 99 degrees. Remain in the water, fully relaxed, from half an hour to an hour.


14. Exercise is sometimes to be rigidly avoided. If you are taking a fairly large quantity of milk it is sometimes desirable to be lazy – to have little or no physical activity. Many cases, however, do better while exercising. The most satisfactory time is the first thing in the morning, before taking any milk.


15. The length of time required to secure desired results on the milk diet varies greatly – from three to four weeks to as many months – or even as many years in a few serious organic diseases. The average is probably five to six weeks. Much depends upon inherent vitality, age, nature, extent and duration of the disorder, previous treatment, previous surgical interference, preparation for an application of the treatment, etc. Do not be discouraged if marked improvement is not noticed within a few days. Adhere to the treatment, modifying it only when necessary, and results will come if they can be secured at all.


16. Old symptoms, long ago suppressed and forgotten, may return after a few weeks or even after a few days of the milk. These are due to the healing nature of the diet, which flushes the tissues, carries out diseased cells and waste, brings repair nourishment to the affected parts, and increases the circulation and nerve action to and through the region formerly diseased. These symptoms should not worry you – they pass off as the structures and functions are returned to more nearly normal.


17. Changing from a milk diet to the regular diet requires caution, regardless of the improvement made on the diet. The digestive and all other functions are greatly improved and, because more nearly normal than before, they are more easily and quickly affected by an abnormal or unnatural influence. The benefits derived from the milk diet régime may be retained and even added to by using care in selecting a wholesome diet and mode of living generally.


[The End]