MH page 325

Under the head of stimulants and narcotics is classed a great variety of articles that, altogether used as food or drink, irritate the stomach, poison the blood, and excite the nerves. Their use is a positive evil. Men seek the excitement of stimulants, because, for the time, the results are agreeable. But there is always a reaction. The use of unnatural stimulants always tends to excess, and it is an active agent in promoting physical degeneration and decay.

Unnatural stimulants and narcotics cause physical degeneration and provoke a rebound reaction of exhaustion. The paragraph makes direct empirical assertions regarding the physiological effects of stimulants and narcotics on digestion, blood, and nerves.

In this fast age, the less exciting the food, the better. Condiments are injurious in their nature. Mustard, pepper, spices, pickles, and other things of a like character, irritate the stomach and make the blood feverish and impure. The inflamed condition of the drunkard's stomach is often pictured as illustrating the effect of alcoholic liquors. A similarly inflamed condition is produced by the use of irritating condiments. Soon ordinary food does not satisfy the appetite. The system feels a want, a craving, for something more stimulating.

Spicy and irritating condiments inflame the stomach and create an unnatural craving for more stimulation. The text asserts specific physiological consequences from consuming spices and condiments.