Chapter III: Part 3

The light in the burning of wood is caused by the rapid combustion of the carbonic acid gas. The same combustion occurs within the body continuously, though more slowly, hence no light is produced.

The carbon in the body is liberated and brought into contact with more oxygen in the blood through exercise and full breathing, just as a fire is fanned to flame by bringing more oxygen into contact with the fire, by means of a draught of air. Keep all air away from a fire and it “goes out,” or ceases to unite with the oxygen, and no heat is produced; keep all air from within the body, by cessation of breathing, and it also becomes cold. A room in which the air is impure, containing insufficient oxygen, is heated with difficulty,—the body which is not constantly supplied with pure air generates very little body heat. The effect of oxygen in the creation of heat is practically demonstrated by repeatedly filling the lungs with air while out in the cold. The body will become quickly warmed on the coldest day by this practice.

Deep breathing aids digestion and assimilation, not alone because of the regular exercise given to the pancreas, the spleen, the stomach, and the liver by the correct movement of the diaphragm, but because of the latent heat which the oxygen liberates within the digestive organs and out among the tissues.

While the chemical action of food creates activity within, this activity is materially aided by exercise, and oxygen is imperative, as shown above. Exercise and oxygen are also necessary for chemical action in tearing down waste and in putting raw material into condition to be appropriated to the body needs.

_Two glasses of water in the morning and fifteen minutes’ brisk exercise of well selected movements, to start a forceful circulation and to surge the water through the vital organs, are a daily necessity if one is to keep clean and strong within. It is as important to cleanse the body within as without. It is the method employed by all men and women who would retain strong vital forces to a ripe old age. They fully enjoy the mere_ LIVING.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: “Tired” or Disturbed Balance]

Since the condition of the body so materially affects the digestion, absorption, and metabolism of food, as well as the elimination of waste, it is not amiss to discuss it here.

The habit of eating when too tired and then at once going to work, so that the blood is called from the stomach, is almost sure to result in indigestion.

The average person is tired because the brain and nerves are more active than the muscles and is rested by muscular exercise, or change of work.

The regular work of the body in keeping up the heart action and the circulation and in renewing and relieving waste, requires a certain quantity of oxygen to liberate energy. This energy the system, in normal condition, with normal breathing, readily furnishes, but when that used in undue muscular work is more than that being liberated at the time, through combustion, the energy required for the constant bodily needs is called upon, and the muscles, nerves and tissues are then in the state termed “tired.” They remain so until sufficient oxygen has liberated more potential energy than is needed for the work constantly going on in the body. When a sufficient supply of oxygen has been consumed to equal the demand, the body is in a state of rest.

In mental work the nerves and the brain call for the surplus energy, while in muscular work the tissues require it, hence undue work, either mental or physical, expresses itself in bodily fatigue, until the oxygen equals the demand in all parts of the body.

A torpid condition of body, producing inertness, means that the waste of the system is not relieved. It may be that by reason of insufficient breathing of pure air, sufficient oxygen is not consumed to put the waste in condition to be eliminated. This poisonous carbon dioxid being hoarded, dulls the nerve sensation and the brain action and produces more or less of stupor. It may be because the circulation in some part of the body is clogged (most often the portal circulation through the liver), so that sufficient oxygen is not carried to that part.

Relief from this “inertness” is experienced most quickly by exercise in the fresh air, that the circulation may be quickened and the oxygen more freely carried to each part. Exercise in one’s room by the open window, or at least with the air in the room pure, is often preferable to outdoor exercise, because the body can be nude, or so loosely clothed that the oxygen may not only enter the lungs but also circulate about the pores of the skin. Fifteen minutes of brisk exercise in one’s room is better than a five-mile walk, because if the exercises be intelligently selected, every organ and tissue is used, while walking exercises only about one-fourth of the muscles. If the circulation is clogged, the exercising must be kept up persistently, until the obstruction is removed and particular attention must be given to the supply of fresh air in the room.

After sleeping in a room with impure air, one arises fatigued, because of insufficient oxygen to liberate the energy required for circulation and catabolism, and because the carbonic acid gas cannot be relieved without oxygen to cause combustion. As stated above, if the poisonous carbonic acid gas remains in the system, it deadens the nerve sensation and produces a semi-stupor.

The relief, then, from the state of body we call “tired,” is in the distribution of the circulation, calling the blood from the unduly distended capillaries, and supplying the normal quantity of oxygen. Rightly directed physical exercise renews the circulation to all parts, incites deep breathing, and puts the body in the state of harmony called “rest.”

_Harmony_, either mental or physical, _is rest_.

With a little more intelligence in keeping up the supply and demand of oxygen, in establishing correct breathing habits, and in understanding the law of distribution of circulation, which means the harmony of forces, this tired world could draw a deep, restful breath.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Influence of the Mind]

The state of the mind has much to do in regulating the digestive system. Cheerful thoughts put the nerves of the entire organism in a natural state, while disagreeable thoughts put the nerves in a tense, unnatural condition. The nerves to the digestive system are affected by the tensity of the mind, just as the nerves to any other part of the body. As an illustration of this;—if one thinks ugly, disagreeable thoughts for a continuous period, actual illness results. These thoughts affect the digestion in such a manner that the appetite sometimes entirely wanes. All so-called “new thoughts,” “ologies,” or “isms,” conducive to the formation of the habit of looking upon the bright side of life, or of looking for good and joy in life, put the nerves in a natural state, affecting the digestion and consequently the health. The practice is Christian _Sense_.

The nerves control, to a great degree, the peristaltic movements of the stomach and the action of the absorption cells, as well as the cells which secrete the digestive juices. Thus it is that a food which one likes is not only more palatable, but it will digest more readily, because the digestive juices flow more freely.

It is well, therefore, to begin the meal with something which tastes particularly good, that the flow of these digestive juices may be incited. For this reason, if one cares for fruit, it is an excellent custom to begin the meal with fruit, or with soup, containing protein extractives, which stimulate the flow of digestive juices. The habit of finishing a meal with some tasty dessert, is based upon the scientific principle that by so doing the gastric juices will flow more freely after the meal, thus aiding in its digestion.

Dainty service in a sick-room, because of the psychic effect of a meal daintily served, is of utmost importance. Because of the effect upon the mind the sight of a meal served upon soiled linen will almost stop the flow of gastric juice and destroy the desire for food, while a meal daintily served upon dainty linen, with garnishings and tasteful table decorations, incites the flow of gastric juices.

The careful wife and mother, who notes the appetites of members of her family failing, should attend carefully to the garnishing of her dishes and to serving them in a neat, attractive manner; also to changing her table decorations, as far as may be consistent, so that the eye as well as the sense of smell and taste may be pleased.

It is strange, but it is true, that just a fresh flower, or a new table decoration, may so put the mind of one who is afflicted with nervous indigestion in a receptive state that the meal more readily digests, while an untidy table, or a lot of food served untidily would retard digestion. One may be able to control the thoughts under most circumstances but the above is a physiological fact.

Sometimes the sight of quantities of food turns one against it. The custom among hearty eaters, of serving a plate too plentifully, destroys the appetite of one whose digestion is not so hearty.

Our grandmothers’ overloaded tables, with sufficient food of various kinds to serve many times the number of participants, might stimulate the appetite of hearty, strong men, while the very sight of so much might turn the appetite of one more delicate, whose system did not crave food.

FOOTNOTES:

[6] Editor’s Note.—Measurements of eighteen thousand women show that sixty-two per cent of women use only about one-half of their lung capacity and less than nine per cent use their full capacity.

CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS

In the previous chapters, we have given the classification of the elements in foods which supply the body needs. Below we classify the foods commonly used, according to the predominance of these elements.

Carbonaceous Foods

While all foods contain a combination of elements, the foods described below contain a greater proportion of carbohydrates and fats, and are classed as _carbonaceous_.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Roots and Tubers]

Of the carbohydrates, next in importance to the sugars and to the starches in their purest form (corn starch, tapioca, sago, and arrowroot), come the roots and tubers, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips, turnips and onions.

The following table shows the proportion of various foodstuffs in these vegetables:

TABLE I—ROOTS AND TUBERS

——————————————+————————+————————+————————+————————+————————+——————————
| | | | Carbo- | |Food Value
| Water |Protein | Fat |hydrates| Ash |per pound
Food Materials|Per Cent|Per Cent|Per Cent|Per Cent|Per Cent| Calories
——————————————+————————+————————+————————+————————+————————+——————————
Sweet Potatoes| 69.4 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 26.2 | 2.6 | 440
White Potatoes| 75.0 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 22.0 | 0.7 | 295
Parsnips | 64.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 10.8 | 1.1 | 230
Onions | 86.0 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 11.3 | 0.7 | 225
Beets | 87.0 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 7.3 | 0.7 | 160
Carrots | 88.2 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 8.2 | 6.0 | 210
Turnips | 92.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 120

* * * * *

=Potatoes.= It will be noted from the above table that sweet potatoes have a larger percentage of carbohydrates, hence they produce more heat and energy, than any other vegetable; next to the sweet potato, the Irish potato.

In the above table, the skins of the vegetables are included, and while the white potato contains two per cent protein, this is almost all located in a very thin layer immediately beneath the skin, so that when the potato is peeled in the ordinary way, the protein is removed. This holds true in many vegetables. They lose their distinctive flavor, as well as their value as tissue building foods, when the skins are removed. In baking a potato, the outer skin is readily separated from a less perceptible covering containing the protein, and this second skin should be eaten to get the full value and flavor.

In the white potato, of the twenty-two per cent carbohydrates three and two-tenths per cent is sugar and eighteen and eight-tenths per cent is starch. In the sweet potato, ten and two-tenths per cent is sugar and sixteen per cent is starch. Since sugar digests more quickly than starch, the sweet potato digests more quickly than the white. Because of the large per cent or carbohydrates in each, it is a mistake to serve these two vegetables at the same meal. For the same reason, bread and potatoes should not be eaten, to any extent, at the same meal, unless by one who is doing heavy manual labor, requiring much energy.

* * * * *

=Onions.= Only about four per cent of the onion represents nourishment; the eleven per cent of carbohydrates is made up of two and eight-tenths per cent sugar and the rest extractives. Of the extractives the volatile oil, which causes the eyes to water when peeling, is the most important. The onion is not, therefore, so important for its actual nourishing qualities as for its relish and flavor, and for this it is to be commended. It is a diuretic, encouraging a free action of the kidneys. Because of its diuretic value it is commonly called a healthy food. An onion and lettuce sandwich stimulates the action of the kidneys and is a nerve sedative.

The volatile oil makes the onion difficult for some to digest and, in that case, should be omitted from the diet.

* * * * *

=Beets.= There is no starch in beets, the seven and three-tenths per cent carbohydrates being sugar; they possess, therefore, more nutritive value than onions, and they are easily digested. It will be noted that it takes many beets to make a pound of sugar.

There are no more delicious nor nutritive greens than the stem and leaf of the beet. These greens contain much iron and are valuable aids in building up the iron in the blood, thus correcting anaemia.

* * * * *

=Carrots.= Carrots are valuable as food chiefly on account of their sugar. They are somewhat more difficult of digestion than beets and they contain more waste. They make a good side dish, boiled and served with butter or cream.

* * * * *

=Turnips.= Turnips have little value as a food. Their nutriment consists in the sugar they contain. For those who enjoy the flavor they are a relish, serving as an appetizer, and, like the onion, are to be recommended as a side dish for this purpose.

* * * * *

=Parsnips.= Like carrots, parsnips are chiefly valuable for their sugar and for the extractives which act as appetizers.

Since turnips, carrots, onions, and parsnips owe a part of their value in nutrition to the extractives which whet the appetite for other foods, it follows that, if one does not enjoy the flavor or the odor, these vegetables lose in value to that individual as a food. If one does enjoy the flavor, it adds to their food value.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Green Vegetables]

The question may be asked with reason: “Why do we eat green vegetables?” They contain only about four per cent nutrition, as will be seen by the chemical analysis in the following table, and are mostly made up of water and pulp. It will be noted from the table that they are distinctly lacking in protein (nitrogenous matter) and in carbohydrates; hence, they have little food value. Some of them have strong acids, thus increasing the alkalinity of the blood.

Their merit lies in the fact that they have distinct flavors and thus whet the appetite. Another reason why green vegetables are thoroughly enjoyed is because they come fresh in the spring, when the appetite is a little surfeited with the winter foods and one looks for green things.

TABLE II—GREEN VEGETABLES

————————————————+———————+——————+—————+————————+———————+—————+————————
| |Nitro-| | | |Cell-| Fuel
| Water |genous| Fat | Carbo- |Mineral|ulose| Value
Food Materials | per |Matter| per |hydrates| Matter| per | per
| cent | per | cent| per | per | cent| pound
| | cent | | cent | cent | |Calories
————————————————+———————+——————+—————+————————+———————+—————+————————
Cabbage | 89.6 | 1.80| 0.4 | 5.8 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 165
Spinach | 90.6 | 2.50| 0.5 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 120
Vegetable Marrow| 94.8 | 0.06| 0.2 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 120
Tomatoes | 91.9 | 1.30| 0.2 | 5.0 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 105
Lettuce | 94.1 | 1.40| 0.4 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 105
Celery | 93.4 | 1.40| 0.1 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 85
Rhubarb | 94.6 | 0.70| 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 105
Water Cress | 93.1 | 0.70| 0.5 | 8.7 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 110
Cucumbers | 95.9 | 0.80| 0.1 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 10
Asparagus | 91.7 | 2.20| 0.2 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 110
Brussels Sprouts| 93.7 | 1.50| 0.1 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 95
Beans (string) | 8.92 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 7.4 | 0.8 | 7.0 | 195
Beans (dried) | 12.6 | 22.5 | 1.8 | 59.6 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 1605
Peas (green, | | | | | | |
shelled) | 74.6 | 7.0 | 0.5 | 16.9 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 465
————————————————+———————+——————+—————+————————+———————+—————+————————

All fresh vegetables should be masticated to almost a fluid consistency; otherwise, they are difficult of digestion, containing, as they do, so much pulp.

They are diuretic, helping the kidneys and the skin to rid the system of waste, and they are more laxative to the intestines than the root vegetables, partly because of the salts which they contain and partly because of the undigested vegetable fibre, which helps to move along the waste in the intestines. This vegetable fibre, being coarse, assists in cleansing the mucous lining of stomach and intestines, and, if for no other reason than for this cleansing of kidneys and intestines in the spring, when the system is most sluggish, the use of green vegetables is to be commended.

In larger cities, fresh vegetables are in the markets the year around, but if they are raised in greenhouses, or in any way forced, they lack the matured flavor and they also lack the iron which the rays of the sun give. If raised in the south and shipped for a distance, they are not fresh and they do not have as good an effect upon the system as when fresh and fully matured by the sun.

All greens, as spinach, chard, dandelions and beet tops, as previously stated, contain iron and build red blood corpuscles.

It is well, then, to eat freely of fresh vegetables in their season, even though they do not appreciably build tissue or furnish energy. By their effect upon the blood, the kidneys, skin, and intestines, they make sluggish vital organs more efficient.

Tomatoes and rhubarb are often, and with reason, classed under fruits.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Fruits]

Technically speaking, fruits include all plant products which bear or contain a seed. They are valuable for their acids and organic salts—citrates, malates, or tartrates of potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium. In the juices of citrous fruits, are citrates of above minerals.

The fruit juices are readily absorbed and carried at once to the liver, where the sodium, magnesium, and potassium are released and the acids oxidized and changed to carbonates. They increase the alkalinity of the blood. These alkalis are soon eliminated through the kidneys, which accounts for the diuretic effect of fruits.

The seeds in the small fruits are not digested, but they serve the purpose of increasing intestinal peristalsis and of assisting the movement of the contents of the intestines. The skin and the fibre of fruits also assist the intestines in this way, just as the fibre in vegetables does. Fruits may be classified into acid and sweet fruits. Under _acid fruits_ are the citrous group—lemons, limes, grape fruit, oranges, cranberries, gooseberries, whortleberries, pineapples, currants, and rhubarb—if rhubarb is to be classed as a fruit.

There has been a commonly accepted theory that where a blood test shows evidence of too much uric acid, acid fruits are to be avoided, but the reverse is true. It has been fully demonstrated that the use of acid fruits increases the alkalinity,—or neutralizes the acids in the blood.

In case of an excess of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, lemon, or citrous fruits are valuable about half an hour before a meal as they decrease the secretion of the hydrochloric acid into the stomach. Where hydrochloric acid is limited, acids are given after a meal to supplement the deficient amount.

The sweetening of acid fruits does not detract from the value of the acids or of organic salts.

All acid fruits stimulate the action of the kidneys and the skin,—particularly lemons, limes, grape fruit, and oranges, and wherever the kidneys and skin are not sufficiently active, these fruits should be eaten freely.

It is difficult to make a decided distinction between sweet and acid fruits. The best guide is in the amount of sugar required to make them palatable. Some species of cherry are distinctly sour, while others are sweet. The same is true of apples, peaches, plums, etc.

Under _sweet_ or _bland_ fruits are pears, raspberries, grapes, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, melons, apricots, and some peaches, apples, and plums.

The large majority of fruits do not contain sufficient sugar to make them valuable for nourishment. Their chief value is in their appetizing flavor, and in the acids, and salts. Dates, figs, prunes, and dried grapes (raisins) are exceptions. As will be noted by the following table, these fruits contain a large amount of carbohydrates in the form of sugar. The larger amount of protein in these sweet fruits is largely in the seeds and, as the seeds are not digested, they have no real food value to the individual.

Figs and prunes are laxative,—probably the laxative effect of figs is due to the seeds, and of prunes to the salts and acids. However, prunes are free from tannic acid.

TABLE III—FRUITS

————————————————+———————+———————+———————+————————+—————+—————+—————
| | | Ether | Carbo- | |Cell-|
| Water |Protein|Extract|hydrates| Ash |ulose|Acids
Food Materials | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per
| Cent | Cent | Cent | Cent | Cent| Cent| Cent
————————————————+———————+———————+———————+————————+—————+—————+—————
Acid: | | | | | | |
Apples | 82.50 | 0.40 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 0.4 | 2.7| 1.0
Apricots | 85.00 | 1.10 | 0.6 | 12.4 | 0.5 | 3.1| 1.0
Peaches | 88.80 | 0.50 | 0.2 | 5.8 | 0.6 | 3.4| 0.7
Plums | 78.40 | 1.00 | 0.2 | 14.8 | 0.5 | 4.3| 1.0
Cherries | 84.00 | 0.80 | 0.8 | 10.0 | 0.6 | 3.8| 1.0
Gooseberries | 86.00 | 0.40 | 0.8 | 8.9 | 0.5 | 2.7| 1.5
Currants | 85.20 | 0.40 | 0.8 | 7.9 | 0.5 | 4.6| 1.4
Strawberries | 89.10 | 1.00 | 0.5 | 6.3 | 0.7 | 2.2| 1.0
Whortleberries| 76.30 | 0.70 | 3.0 | 5.8 | 0.4 |12.2| 1.6
Cranberries | 86.50 | 0.50 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 0.2 | 6.2| 2.2
Oranges | 86.70 | 0.90 | 0.6 | 8.7 | 0.6 | 1.5| 1.8
Lemons | 89.30 | 1.00 | 0.9 | 8.3 | 0.5 | 1.5| 1.8
Pineapples | 89.30 | 0.04 | 0.3 | 9.7 | 0.3 | 1.5| 7.0
| | | | | | |
Pears | 83.90 | 0.40 | 0.6 | 11.5 | 0.4 | 3.1| 0.1
Blackberries | 88.90 | 0.90 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 5.2| 1.6
Raspberries | 84.40 | 1.00 | 2.1 | 5.2 | 0.6 | 7.4| 1.4
Mulberries | 84.70 | 0.30 | 0.7 | 11.4 | 0.6 | 0.9| 1.8
Grapes | 79.00 | 1.00 | 1.0 | 15.5 | 0.5 | 2.5| 0.5
Watermelons | 92.90 | 0.30 | 0.1 | 6.5 | 0.2 | 1.0| 0.5
Bananas | 74.00 | 1.50 | 0.7 | 22.9 | 0.9 | 0.2| 0.5
| | | | | | |
Sweet: | | | | | | |
Dates, dried | 2.08 | 4.40 | 2.1 | 65.1 | 1.5 | 5.5| 7.0
Figs, dried | 2.00 | 5.50 | 0.9 | 62.8 | 2.3 | 7.3| 1.2
Prunes, dried | 2.64 | 2.40 | 0.8 | 66.2 | 1.5 | 7.3| 2.7
Raisins | 10.60 | 2.50 | 4.7 | 74.7 | 3.1 | 1.7| 2.7
————————————————+———————+———————+———————+————————+—————+—————+—————

Care should be exercised in selecting ripe fruits and those which have not started to decay. The difficulty with so many fruits, which must be shipped from a distance, is, that, in order to reach their destination in fair condition, outwardly, they are picked before ripe and there is too much tannic acid in them. When fruits are allowed to ripen on the trees, the tannic acid is changed to sugar and fruit juices. One test of a ripened apple is to cut it with a steel knife—if the blade turns black, or if the cut surface of the apple turns brown in a few minutes, it should not be eaten, for it indicates an excess of tannin. It is this tannin which gives the small boy, with his green apples, excruciating pains. It will be recalled that the tannin from the bark of trees, so toughens the elastic skin of animals that we can wear this skin for shoes. The effect upon the live skin of the stomach and intestines, from the tannin in food, is not pronounced in toughening the skin, because of the activity and resistance of live matter.

Bananas are commonly picked green, because they decay so quickly that if they were picked ripe they would spoil before reaching the northern markets. The above table shows that bananas contain nearly twenty-three per cent of carbohydrates, which, in an immature state, are largely starches. The natural ripening process changes the starch to sugar, thus making them more easily digested. The starch globules, when not matured on the tree, are not easily broken and are thus difficult of digestion. Baking breaks the globules; a baked banana is thus more readily digested.

Nitrogenous Foods

As previously stated, in a mixed diet meat and eggs are the chief sources of nitrogenous foods. Next to these come the legumes.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Meat]

Meat is almost all digested in the stomach by the gastric juice, which changes it into peptone. It is needless to say that it should be thoroughly masticated that there may be no delay in the prompt action of the gastric juice upon it. If any part passes into the intestine undigested, the process is continued by the trypsin of the pancreatic juice. The peptone is absorbed as peptone and after it passes through the inner coating of the intestines, it is changed back to protein and carried by the blood and lymph to all tissues of the body, where it is used for growth and repairs. As stated, any excess of protein above that needed for growth and repair, is oxidized in the blood, yielding energy and heat, and the waste is eliminated through the kidneys and the bile. The red blood corpuscles, which are nitrogenous, are broken down in the liver and discharged through the bile.

TABLE IV—ANIMAL FOODS

————————————————————+——————+———————+——————+—————————+——————+————————
| | | | Carbo- | | Fuel
|Water |Protein| Fat |hydrates | Ash | Value
Food Materials | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per
| Cent | Cent | Cent | Cent | Cent | Pound
| | | | | |Calories
————————————————————+——————+———————+——————+—————————+——————+————————
Beef, Fresh | 54.0 | 17.0 | 19.0 | ...... | O.7 | 1,105
Flank | 54.0 | 17.0 | 19.0 | ...... | 0.7 | 1,105
Porterhouse | 52.4 | 19.1 | 17.9 | ...... | 0.8 | 1,100
Sirloin steak | 54.0 | 16.5 | 16.1 | ...... | 0.9 | 975
Round | 60.7 | 19.0 | 12.8 | ...... | 1.0 | 890
Rump | 45.0 | 13.8 | 20.2 | ...... | 0.7 | 1,090
Corned beef | 49.2 | 14.3 | 23.8 | ...... | 4.6 | 1,245
Veal: | | | | | |
Leg cutlets | 68.3 | 20.1 | 7.5 | ...... | 1.0 | 695
Fore quarter | 54.2 | 15.1 | 6.0 | ...... | 0.7 | 535
Mutton: | | | | | |
Leg, hind | 51.2 | 15.1 | 14.7 | ...... | 0.8 | 890
Loin Chops | 42.0 | 13.5 | 28.3 | ...... | 0.7 | 1,415
Lamb | 49.2 | 15.6 | 16.3 | ...... | 0.85| 967
Ham: | | | | | |
Loin chops | 41.8 | 13.4 | 24.2 | ...... | 0.8 | 1,245
Ham, smoked | 34.8 | 14.2 | 33.4 | ...... | 4.2 | 1,635
Sausage: | | | | | |
Frankfurter | 57.2 | 19.6 | 18.6 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 1,155
Fowls | 47.1 | 13.7 | 12.3 | ...... | O.7 | 765
Poultry: | | | | | |
Goose | 38.5 | 13.4 | 29.8 | ...... | 0.7 | 1,475
Turkey | 42.4 | 16.1 | 18.4 | ...... | 0.8 | 1,060
Animal Viscera: | | | | | |
Liver (sheep) | 61.2 | 23.1 | 9.0 | 5.0 |......| ......
Sweetbreads | 70.9 | 16.8 | 12.1 | ...... | 1.6 | ......
Tongue, smoked | | | | | |
and salted | 35.7 | 24.3 | 31.6 | ...... | 8.5 | ......
Brain: | 80.6 | 8.8 | 9.3 | ...... | 1.1 | ......
Fresh Fish | | | | | |
Bass large-mouthed| | | | | |
Black, dressed | 41.9 | 10.3 | 0.5 | ...... | 0.6 | 215
Cod steaks | 72.4 | 16.9 | 0.5 | ...... | 1.0 | 335
Shad roe | 71.2 | 23.4 | 3.8 | ...... | 1.6 | 595
Whitefish, dressed| 46.1 | 10.2 | 1.3 | ...... | 0.7 | 245
Preserved Fish: | | | | | |
Halibut, salted, | | | | | |
smoked and dried| 46.0 | 19.1 | 14.0 | ...... | 1.9 | 945
Sardines, canned | 53.6 | 24.0 | 12.1 | ...... | 5.3 | 955
Salmon, canned | 59.3 | 19.3 | 15.3 | ...... | 1.2 | 1,005
Mollusks: | | | | | |
Oysters, solid | 88.3 | 6.1 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 235
Round clams | | | | | |
removed from | | | | | |
shell | 80.8 | 10.6 | 1.1 | 5.1 | 2.3 | 340
Mussels | 42.7 | 4.4 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 140
Crustaceans: | | | | | |
Lobster, in shell | 31.1 | 5.5 | 0.7 | ...... | 0.6 | 130
Crab, in shell | 34.1 | 7.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 185
Shrimp, canned | 70.8 | 25.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 520
Terrapin, turtle, | | | | | |
etc. | 17.4 | 4.2 | 0.7 | ...... | 0.2 | 105
————————————————————+——————+———————+——————+—————————+——————+————————

In the composition of meat, of course there is more or less fat, varying from two to forty per cent, according to the animal and to the condition at the time of killing.

It is possible to combine the fat and the lean of meat so as to meet the requirements of the body without waste. About ninety-seven per cent of the meat consumed is assimilated by the system, while a large part of the vegetable matter consumed is excreted as refuse. The compounds contained in the animal foods are much like those of the body, therefore, they require comparatively little digestion to prepare them for assimilation—this work having been done by the animal—while the vegetable compounds require much change by the digestive system before they can be used in the body.

Fish and sea foods are, many of them, rich in protein, as seen by the above table. Note that sardines contain the largest proportion of protein and next to these, shad roe.

There is a prevalent idea that fish is brain food. In so far as fish is easily digested, it builds brain tissue, but no more so than beef, or any food containing a goodly proportion of protein, easily digested, absorbed, and assimilated.

Lobsters are difficult of digestion and they contain little nutrition, so they are not valuable as a food.

Oysters, raw, are easier to digest than when cooked. Oysters should not be eaten during the spawning season from May to September.

Roasted flesh seems to be more completely digested than boiled meat, but raw meat is more easily digested than cooked. Roasted chicken and veal are tender, easily masticated, and easily and rapidly digested in the stomach. This is one reason why the white meats are considered a good diet for the sick-room, especially in the case of stomach difficulty. Fat meats remain in the stomach a much longer time than lean meats; thus, gastric digestion of pork, which is largely fat, is especially difficult. Fried pork, in which the fat is heated to a very high degree, is very difficult of digestion. (See page 197).

The chief objection to pork, however, is that hogs are scavengers and live upon all sorts of refuse. Another objection is that in preparing hogs for the market, the effort of the farmer is to force the feeding and get them as fat as possible. This excess of fat may result in degeneration of the meat tissue. The latter objection does not hold, however, for hogs carefully fatted for home consumption, or for hogs which run in the forests and live upon nuts, as do the beech fed hogs of the south.

The best meats are from young animals which have been kept fat and have not been subjected to any work to toughen the muscles.

Preserved and canned meats should be eaten with the utmost caution, not only because of the inferior meat used in the preparation of these foods, but also from the fact that they may become putrid after being canned.

The proportion of _albuminoids_, _gelatinoids_ and _extractives_ in meat vary with different meats and with different cuts of the same meat.

The _albuminoids_ of meat include the meat tissue, or the muscle cells. These constitute by far the greater part of the meat.

The _gelatinoids_ are the connective tissue forming the sheath of the muscle and of bundles of muscles, the skin, tendons, and the casein of bone. Gelatines are made from these and, if pure and prepared in a cleanly manner, they are wholesome.

Gelatin is distinguishable in rich meat soups, which jelly upon cooling.

While the gelatinoids are not muscle, they keep the muscles from being consumed when starches, sugars, and fats are lacking, and, in this sense, may be considered more in the nature of carbohydrates.

The _extractives_ consist of a substance within the lean meat, known as creatin. This creatin is not a food; it is an appetizer, and gives to cooked meats, broths, etc., their pleasing flavor. In case of anaemia where it is necessary to build up red blood corpuscles, it is desirable to have the patient take the blood of beef, the thought of which is usually repellant, but it may be made very palatable if it is heated sufficiently to bring out the extractives, or flavor, and then seasoned.

Unless the beef extracts on the market contain the blood tissue in addition to the extractives, they are not particularly nourishing and are only valuable in soups, etc., as appetizers.

One reason why meat soups constitute the first course at dinner is because the extractives stimulate the appetite and start the flow of gastric juices. Bouillons contain no nourishment, because the proteins have been coagulated by the vigorous boiling, but they may be used as a basis for vegetables, rice, or barley to give them flavor.

The best method is to make one’s own soup from the connective tissues (gelatinoids) and meat tissue.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Eggs]

Eggs consist chiefly of two nutrients,—protein, and fat (ten per cent), combined with water, phosphorous, and ash. Eggs are a wholesome source of protein and are, therefore, classed as nitrogenous foods.

The fat and the iron are in the yolk, which is about one-third fat. The yolk also contains phosphorous and some ash. The white is practically free from fat but contains sulphur, phosphorous and a very little ash. The white and the yolk contain almost equal quantities of protein.

The white of the egg is said to be pure albumen; the chief ash constituent is common salt. The total phosphorous in the white of the egg is equivalent to about two per cent phosphoric acid and the total phosphorous in the yolk is equivalent to one per cent.

The dark stain made by eggs on silver is due to the sulphur contained in them. The iron in the egg is valuable to assist in building red corpuscles.

The large part of the egg, as other proteins, is changed, mostly in the stomach, into peptone, absorbed as peptone and then changed back again into protein after absorption. That not digested in the stomach is changed in the intestine, as is the case with other proteins.

Eggs are, no doubt, excellent articles of food for nutrition and for tissue building. They contain more water than cheese, but are more concentrated than milk or oysters. They have practically the same relative value in the diet as meat, and make a very good substitute for meat. Egg yolk in abundance is often prescribed where it is necessary to supply a very nutritious and easily assimilated diet.

One of the best methods of preparing eggs, which is especially valuable for those having delicate stomachs or for those who need to build up red blood corpuscles with the iron in the yolk, is in egg lemonade or orangeade. Thoroughly beat the egg, add the juice of half a lemon or orange, sugar to taste, and fill the glass with water.

The citric acid in these fruits partly digests the egg, changing it into egg albumin,—the egg becomes limpid, no longer stringy. From this condition the gastric juice quickly changes it to peptone.

Grape juice, cream, and cocoa may be used in place of lemon or orange, in order to give variety where it is necessary to take many of them, but the grape juice acid does not partially digest the egg as the juice of the lemon does.

Eggnog is another means of taking raw eggs.

One method which any housewife can use to test the freshness of eggs is to drop them into a strong, salt brine made of two ounces of salt to a pint of water. A fresh egg will at once sink to the bottom. After the third day the surface of the shell will be even with the surface of the water and with increasing age they will rise still higher.

There is a prevalent opinion that if an egg is boiled hard it is difficult of digestion, but this depends entirely upon the mastication. If it is masticated so that it is a pulp before swallowed, a hard boiled egg is digested as readily as a soft boiled one. If it is not thoroughly masticated, then an egg should not be boiled longer than three to four minutes, or should be put into boiling water and allowed to remain in the water for six minutes without actively boiling. The latter method cooks the egg through more evenly. Another method of cooking the yolk evenly with the whites is to put the egg in cold water, let it come to a boil, and then again immerse in cold water. Or the egg may be put in cold water, let come almost to a boil, removed from the stove, and let stand ten to twelve minutes in the hot water. Any one of the last three methods cooks the white and the yolk evenly.

Carbo-Nitrogenous Foods

Under this class come cereals, legumes, nuts, milk, and milk products. In these foods the nitrogenous and carbonaceous elements are more evenly proportioned than in either the carbonaceous or nitrogenous groups. The different food elements in this group are so evenly divided that one could live for a considerable length of time upon any one food. Some animals build flesh from nuts alone, while the herbivorous animals live upon cereals and plants.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Cereals]

Under cereals, used by man for food, come wheat, oats, rye, barley, rice, and corn. As will be noted by the table below, cereals contain a large proportion of starch and are therefore to be used largely for heat and energy. Rice contains the largest proportion and next to rice, wheat flour.

TABLE V—CEREALS

—————————————————————+——————+———————+——————+—————————————+————
| | | |Carbohydrates|
|Water |Protein|Fat +——————+——————+Ash
Food Materials |Per |Per |Per |Starch|Crude |Per
|Cent |Cent |Cent |etc. |Fiber |Cent
| | | |Per |Per |
| | | |Cent |Cent |
—————————————————————+——————+———————+——————+—————————————+————
Wheat | 10.4 | 12.1 | 2.1 | 71.6 | 1.8 | 1.9
Rice | 12.4 | 7.4 | 0.4 | 79.2 | 0.2 | 0.4
Oats | 11.0 | 11.8 | 5.0 | 59.7 | 9.5 | 3.0
Rye | 11.6 | 10.6 | 1.7 | 72.0 | 1.7 | 1.9
Breads and Crackers: | | | | | |
Wheat bread | 32.5 | 8.8 | 1.9 | 55.8 | .....| 1.0
Graham bread | 34.2 | 9.5 | 1.4 | 53.3 | .....| 1.6
Rye bread | 30.0 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 59.7 | .....| 1.4
Soda crackers | 8.0 | 10.3 | 9.4 | 70.5 | .....| 1.8
Graham crackers | 5.0 | 9.8 | 13.5 | 69.7 | | 2.0
Oatmeal crackers | 4.9 | 10.4 | 13.7 | 69.6 | .....| 1.4
Oyster crackers | 3.8 | 11.3 | 4.8 | 77.5 | .....| 2.6
Macaroni | 13.1 | 9.0 | 0.3 | 76.8 | .....| 0.8
Flours and Meals: | | | | | |
Flour, wheat | 12.5 | 11.0 | 1.0 | 74.9 | .....| 0.5
Corn Meal | 15.0 | 9.2 | 3.8 | 70.6 | .....| 1.4
Oatmeal | 7.6 | 15.1 | 7.1 | 68.2 | .....| 2.0
—————————————————————+——————+———————+——————+—————————————+————

There is no part of the world, except the Arctic regions, where cereals are not extensively cultivated. From the oats and rye of the north, to the rice of the hot countries, grains of some kind are staple foods.

“An idea of the importance of cereal foods in the diet may be gathered from the following data, based upon the results obtained in dietary studies with a large number of American families:—Vegetable foods, including flour, bread, and other cereal products, furnished fifty-five per cent of the total food, thirty-nine per cent of the protein, eight per cent of the fat, and ninety-five per cent of the carbohydrates of the diet. The amounts which cereal foods alone supplied were twenty-two per cent of the total food, thirty-one per cent of the protein, seven per cent of the fat and fifty-five per cent of the total carbohydrates—that is, about three-quarters of the vegetable protein, one-half of the carbohydrates, and seven-eighths of the vegetable fat were supplied by the cereals. Oat, rice, and wheat breakfast foods together furnished about two per cent of the total food in protein, one per cent of the total fat, and four per cent of the carbohydrates of the ordinary mixed diet, as shown by the statistics cited. These percentage values are not high in themselves, but it must be remembered that they represent large quantities when we consider the food consumed by a family in a year.”[7]

If one’s work calls for extreme muscular exertion, the cereals may be eaten freely, but if one’s habits are sedentary, and the cereals are used in excess, there is danger of clogging the system with too much glycogen, or converted starch. Indeed, for one whose occupation is indoors and requires little muscular activity, a very little cereal food will suffice; the carbohydrates will be supplied, in sufficient quantity, in vegetables. Mineral matter is supplied in sufficient quantity in almost all classes of foods.

The power of the system to throw off food, over and above the needs of the body, is a wise provision of Nature, because where foods are not supplied in the proper proportions, a more liberal diet enables the system to select such foods as it needs from the abundance.

Cereals and legumes supply nutrients cheaper than any class of foods; therefore a vegetarian diet involves less expense than the mixed diet. Meat, eggs and milk, which usually supply the proteins, are the most expensive foods, and where these are eliminated, a large proportion of proteins should be supplied by the legumes.

* * * * *

=Wheat.= Perhaps no food is as commonly used as wheat, in its various forms. It is composed of:

First—The nitrogenous or protein compound, chiefly represented in the cerealin and the gluten of the bran.

Second—The carbon extracts,—the largest contributor to the flour.

Third—The fats, occurring chiefly in the germ of the grain.

Fourth—The phosphorous compounds, iron and lime, found in the bran.

The kernel of wheat consists of the bran or covering, which surrounds the white, pulpy mass of starch within. In the lower end of the kernel is the germ.

_Flour._ In the old time process of making flour the wheat was crushed between stones and then sifted, first, through a sieve, which separated the outer shell of the bran; then through bolting cloth, which separated the white pulp from the inner bran coating. It was not ground as fine as in the present process, thus the gluten, phosphorous, and iron (valuable foods) were, in the old process, nearly all left out of the white flour. The second bran coating, left by the second sifting, was not so coarse as the outer shell but coarser than the inner. Care was not formerly observed in having the grain clean before grinding, the bran containing chaff and dirt, so that it was not used as food but was considered valuable for stock and was called “middlings.”

The modern process of crushing the wheat between steel rollers, crushes it so fine that the white flour of to-day contains more of the protein from the inner coat of the bran than the white flour of the old process; hence, it is more nutritious.

_Bran._ Objection is sometimes made to bran because the cellulose shell is not digested, but bran contains much protein and mineral matter and, even though it is crude fiber, as stated above, this fiber has a value as a cleanser for the lining of stomach and intestines, and for increasing peristalsis, thus encouraging the flow of digestive juices and the elimination of waste. In bread or breakfast foods, it is desirable to retain it for its laxative effect.

The bran has three coats,—the tough, glossy outside, within this a coat containing most of the coloring matter, and a third coat, containing a special kind of protein, known as cerealin. The two outer layers contain phosphorous compounds, lime, and iron. All three coats contain gluten.

Of course there is more waste in bread made with bran and in consequence, there is a smaller _proportion_ of the nutrition in graham bread. It is held by some, however, that more of the nutrition is digested than in white bread.

_Gluten flour_ is made of the gluten of wheat. It is a valuable, easily digested food, containing a large proportion of protein.

_Whole wheat_ flour does not contain the whole of the wheat, as the name implies; it, however, does contain all the proteins of the endosperm and the gluten and oil of the germ, together with all of the starch. As a flour, therefore, it is more valuable than the white flour, containing more nitrogenous elements.

_Graham flour_ is the entire wheat kernel; with the exception of the outermost scale of the bran. It contains the starch, gluten, phosphorous compounds, iron and lime. It is the most desirable of the flours because, containing the bran, it assists in digestion and elimination, and the phosphorous, iron and lime are valuable for body building.

_Nutri meal_ is much the same as Graham flour, the chief difference being that the bran is ground finer. The wheat is ground between hot rollers, the heat bringing out the nutty flavor of the bran. It contains all of the nutrition of the wheat.

_Bread._ As must be implied from the above, the “whole wheat,” nutri meal, or graham flours are necessary if bread is to be a complete food.

There is perhaps no form of prepared food which has been longer in vogue. It has been known since history began. It probably maintains and supports life and strength better than any single food. The ease with which it is digested depends very largely upon its porous condition. When full of pores, it is more readily mixed with the digestive juices.

The pores in bread are produced by the effort of the gas, released by the yeast, to escape. When mixed with water, the flour forms a tenacious body which, when warm, expands under the pressure of the gas from the yeast, until the dough is full of gas-filled holes. The walls of the gluten do not allow the gas to escape, and thus the dough is made light and porous. The more gluten the flour holds, the more water it will take up in the dough, and the greater will be the yield of bread; hence, the more gluten, the more valuable the flour. If the bread is not porous, the fermentation is not complete, and the bread is heavy.

Yeast is a plant fungus. In its feeding, the plant consumes sugar, changing it into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. If the bread contains no sugar the yeast plant will change the starch in the flour into sugar for its feeding. Many housewives, realizing that the bread begins to “rise” quicker if it contains sugar, put a little into the sponge. Unless a large quantity of sugar is put in, the yeast will consume it and the bread will not have an unduly sweet taste.

As the yeast causes fermentation, alcohol forms in the dough. This is driven off in the baking. If the bread is not thoroughly done, the alcohol continues to ferment and the bread turns sour. Bread is not thoroughly baked until fermentation ceases. It is claimed that fermentation does not entirely cease with once baking; this is the basis of the theory, held by some, that bread should be twice baked. The average housekeeper bakes an ordinary loaf one hour.

Time must be given for the products of fermentation to evaporate, in the cooling of the bread, before it is eaten and it is not ready to eat for eight to ten hours after baking. Hot or insufficiently cooked bread is difficult of digestion, because it becomes more or less soggy upon entering the mouth and the stomach, and the saliva and gastric juices cannot so readily mix with it.

The best flour for bread is that made from the spring wheat, grown in cooler climates, because it is richer in gluten than the winter wheat. The winter wheat flour is used more for cakes and pastries.

Bread made from milk, is, of course, richer and more nutritious than that made from water and bread made from potato water contains more starch; both of these retain their moisture longer than bread made with water.

Mould, which sometimes forms upon bread, is, like the yeast, a minute plant. It is floating about everywhere in the air, ready to settle down wherever it finds a suitable home. Moisture and heat favor its growth, hence bread should be thoroughly cooled before it is put into a jar or bread box and the bread box should be kept in a cool place.

_Rye bread_ contains a little more starch and less protein than wheat bread. It contains more water and holds its moisture longer.

_Biscuits._ The objection to eating hot bread, does not hold for baking powder or soda biscuits, if well cooked, because these cool more rapidly and they do not contain the yeast plant; hence, they do not ferment as does the bread.