Appendix 4 - The Laws of Health

William A Alcott

Comment – Some of his points are correct and others are not.

Score – Verified

Why 46 – Rickets (What 33) Rickets is caused by foul air.

Page 53-277 – “It is not severe labor, so much as that which is performed in unnatural positions, which stunts, deforms, or weakens the human frame. .... The farmer, whose exercise is chiefly in the sunlight and open air, may work hard twelve or fourteen hours a day, all his lifetime, and yet never suffer much from deformities or infirmities,”

Page 58-301 – “It may not be easy to say, in a few words, Why those bones and muscles of the human body which are formed in the open air should be so much more firm than those which are formed within doors, and amid bad gases or foul exhalations; but the fact that it is so is quite undeniable.”

Comment – He came close to making an historic observation, but chose the air and not the light.

Score - Unverified

Why 47 – Respiration (What 33)

Respiration is required for making and restoring blood, and warming the body.

Page 230-1191 – “There are three great objects accomplished in breathing or respiration, beside other of minor importance. These are - 1. The change of chyle into blood. 2. The renovation or depuration of the blood already made, but partly spoiled during its circulation in the body. 3. The calorification or warming of the whole body, especially the lungs themselves.”

Score - Verified

Why 48 – Rotting vegetables (What 33)

Methane given off by rotting vegetables is a dangerous poison that causes typhoid.

Page 241-1255 – “On arrival, he (doctor) found two or three members of the family with a species of typhoid dysentery;” (1256) – “The cellar..... had not been cleaned for years. It was, as it were, full of putrefying cabbage, potatoes, apples .... half putrefied flesh and fish, and animal matters still more offensive. In short, it was a great manufactory of carburetted hydrogen.”

Score - Unverified

What 34 – Over-Use of the Lungs

Too much deep breathing can damage the lungs.

Page 281-1462 – “But, then, the exciting cause of lung disease are ..... Excessive …. use of the lungs,”

Comment - Other factors for the lungs in this quote are covered in whats elsewhere.

Score – Unverified

What 35 – Speaking 1

For healthy lungs, children should never speak when the lungs are nearly deflated.

Page 183-1478 – “Children should, from the very first, - whether in speaking, singing, or reading, - be accustomed to keep their lungs inflated. They should never be suffered to use these organs while at the bottom of their condition.”

Score – Unverified

What 36 – Speaking 2

It is wrong for children to drop the pitch of their voice during a sentence.