poorly cared for teeth. They should be brushed at least twice daily and
the mouth afterwards rinsed with a mild antiseptic solution. The teeth
should be thoroughly examined by a good dentist at least every six
months.

Another assistant that the stomach has is the intestines or bowels,
which not only help to digest the food but also carry off the waste
material. The bowels are very good, and will tell us when they have
waste material to be disposed of, but sometimes people are too busy and
do not pay attention. If we neglect them many times the bowels get tired
of telling us, and then their work is not done. We think they are lazy
and so we try to whip them up by taking a laxative. This seems to help
at first, but we soon find we have to do the same thing every day.
All this time the fault was our own, for we did not understand. The
best way is to have a regular time of going to the toilet, say, right
after breakfast. If we always go at the same time the bowels will
remember it. Then we need have no trouble with constipation nor take any
horrid medicine to whip the bowels. A regular daily action of the bowels
is necessary to health. Constipation often may be relieved by drinking
a glass of cold water upon rising, at intervals during the day, and
upon retiring. Fruit at breakfast or figs taken after meals often will
relieve a tendency to constipation. Regularity in going to the toilet is
one of the most important measures in treating constipation. Laxatives
or cathartics should not be taken except for an occasional dose or
during illness, upon the advice of a physician. So common is the
practice of taking daily laxatives that it has become a "national
curse." People do not realize that they are slaves to this habit. So
cleverly worded are the advertisements of many of the laxatives that
people are led to believe that if they drink certain "waters" or "teas"
they are avoiding medicine, while often these same teas and waters