What is the meaning of the term "in­testinal autointoxication" and what are its symptoms?

Intestinal Autointoxication

Q. What is the meaning of the term "in­testinal autointoxication" and what are its symptoms?

A. Intestinal autointoxication is a grave condition of the body which results from the absorption of poisons from the intestines. The source of the poison is putrefaction of undi­gested remnants of protein foodstuffs. Things which will putrefy outside the body will also undergo decay in the body. The conditions of the intestine are, in fact, specially favorable to promote putrefaction. A piece of raw meat applied next to the skin and covered will decay rapidly, and become extremely offensive within a few hours. The same piece of meat lying undigested in the colon or the lower part of the small intestine, will undergo the same change. The poisons produced are absorbed into the body and produce disturbances of various sorts. Intestinal autointoxication, resulting from the combined influence of chronic intestinal inac­tivity and the free use of flesh foods, is doubt­less responsible for a great share of the chronic diseases which are daily increasing in number and fatality and threatening to destroy the very race.

The following symptoms of intestinal auto­ intoxication are mentioned by Combe in his excellent work on this subject: "Drawn features, a sad expression, skin yellow or pale, dryness of the hair, ends of the hair split, scaly scalp, sunken eyes, whites of the eyes yellow or dingy, brown discoloration of the eyelids, cheeks, or other portions of the skin; lips red and congested, redness increased during acute attacks, some­ times swollen and hot; chest emaciated, abdo­men bulging or contracted; nails soft and brittle, transverse notches indicating acute attacks of toxemia, sometimes white patches on the skin of the neck or armpits; glands in the groin en­larged, movable but not sensitive; general per­spiration or perspiration of the hands and feet, especially during sleep. Loss of appetite, irregular appetite, abnormal appetite, often dis­gust for meat, desire for plaster, sand, twine, earth, ravenous appetite; feeling of tightness at the waist after meals; colic, abdomen swol­len, veins of the abdomen dilated, especially about the ninth and tenth ribs. In young chil­dren, liver often enlarged. Sometimes con­traction of the pylorus; often contraction of the colon. Attacks of vomiting and diarrhea, bilious attacks, attacks of jaundice, pain in the region of the liver, hardening of the liver, hem­orrhoids, abdominal dropsy, gall-stones, rapid pulse, symptoms resembling angina pectoris, pulsations throughout the body, sensations of heat, palpitation of the heart, abnormally slow pulse, subnormal temperature, swelling of the eyelids on awakening in the morning, swelling of the ankles, neurasthenic symptoms, migraine, sick headache, loss of memory, especially for proper names. Epileptoid attacks, tetany, mental disturbance, impoverished blood, perni­cious anemia, senility, premature whiteness of the hair and beard, incapacity for muscular ex­ercise, dwarfed growth; various skin diseases, especially prurigo, itching, eczema, and other eruptions, urticaria, acne, and boils.''

More recent studies of the effects of intestinal toxemia indicate that this condition is a factor in nearly all forms of chronic disease. Even dis­eases of the eye, both acute and chronic are known to be caused by toxins or infections de­rived from the colon. Premature aging of the eye has been cured in many cases by correcting a condition of intestinal toxemia. Doctor Bulkley, of New York, has shown that many skin diseases disappear when flesh foods are discarded from the diet.