Curiosities of common water, or the advantages thereof in preventing and curing many diseases : gathered from the writings of several eminent physicians and also from more than forty years' experience : to which are added some rules for preserving health by diet / by John Smith ; with additions by Joel Shew.

  • Smith, John, 1647 or 1648-1727?
Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Curiosities of common water, or the advantages thereof in preventing and curing many diseases : gathered from the writings of several eminent physicians and also from more than forty years' experience : to which are added some rules for preserving health by diet / by John Smith ; with additions by Joel Shew. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    ZIMMERMAN. who consults us for the first fit of the gout, to orink wa- ter for the rest of his life, to take exercise, and to di- minish by half the amount of animal food he is in the habit of taking, there would be but little chance of a return of the attack. Zimmerman, the author of the well-known work on Solitude, and physician to Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, strongly recommended water. Water, says he, does not chill the ardor of genius. He instances Demosthenes, whose sole drink was water. Pure soft water is the most suitable drink for man.] GOUT AND HYPOCHONDRIAC MELANCUOLY Water-drinking is also said by Dr. Allen to be gcod to prevent two deplorable distempers; the gout and the hypochondriac melancholy. For, says he, the gout is generally caused by the too great drinking of fermented liquors, and is never said to have assaulted any drinker of water ; and he saith also, that melancholy hypochon- dria is kept off longest by drinking water instead of strong drink. To which let me add, that I once knew a o-outy gentleman, who, to avoid his drinking compan- ions in London, retired to New Brentford, where I then lived ; in which town, by a very temperate diet of one meal a day, and drinking only water, he lived two whole vcars free from pain. But being visited by one who came that way, and invited to drink but one bottle of claret between them, he fell next day into a terrible fit of the gout, which held above a month after ; of which being recovered, he, by the same course, continued well till I left the place, which was about a year and a half after.