Chapter V: Part 5

The purposes in the cooking of foods are: the development of the flavor, which makes the food appetizing, thus encouraging the flow of gastric juice; the sterilization, thereby killing all parasites and micro-organisms, such as the tape worm in beef, pork, and mutton, and the trichinae in pork; the conversion of the nutrients into a more digestible form, by partially or wholly converting the connective tissue into gelatin.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Cooking of Meats]

The fundamental principle to be observed in the cooking of meat concerns the retention of the juices, since these contain a large part of the nutrition. The heat develops the flavor, and the moisture, together with the heat, dissolves the connective tissue and makes it tender.

A choice piece of meat may be toughened and made difficult of digestion, or a tough piece may be made tender and easy to digest, by the manner of cooking.

* * * * *

=Soups.= To make meat soups, the connective tissue, bone and muscle should be put into cold water, brought _slowly_ to the boiling point and allowed to simmer for hours. It must be remembered that the gelatin from this connective tissue does not contain the tissue building elements of the albuminoids. These are retained in what meat may be about the bones of the boiling piece and in the blood.

The albumin of meat is largely in the blood and it is the coagulated blood which forms the scum on soup, if heated above a certain point; the cook should boil the soup slowly, or much of the nutrition is lost in the coagulated blood, or skum.

* * * * *

=Roasting.= The flavor and juice of the meat is best retained by roasting. If it is put into a hot oven, with a little suet over the top, so as to sear the meat with hot fat, and no water is put in the pan, it will retain the juice and the flavor. Water draws out the extractives.

It is important to remember that the smaller the cut to be roasted, the hotter should be the fire. An intensely hot fire coagulates the exterior and prevents the drying up of the meat juice. After the surface is coagulated and seared it should cook slowly.

Unless the oven is sufficiently hot to sear the surface, the moisture, or juice, will escape into the roasting pan and the connective tissue will be toughened. A roast should be cooked in a covered roaster to retain the moisture.

The roast should be turned as soon as one side is seared and just sufficient water put into the pan to keep it from burning.

Frequent basting of a roast, with the fat, juice, and water in the roasting pan, still further sears the surface, so that the juices do not seep through and keeps the air in the pan moist; the heated moisture materially assists in gelatinizing the connective tissue,—roasting pans are now made which are self-basting.

* * * * *

=Broiling.= The same principle applies to broiling as to roasting. The meat is put over a very hot flame and turned so as to quickly sear both sides, to prevent the juice from oozing out. In fact, the best broiled steaks are turned just as soon as the juice begins to drip, so as to retain all juice in the meat.

Meat containing much connective tissue is not adapted to broiling, because it takes too long for this tissue to become gelatinized.

Steak broiled in a skillet, especially round steak which has been pounded to assist in breaking the connective tissue, is often first dipped in seasoned flour, which is rubbed well into it. The flour absorbs the meat juices so that none of them are lost. All meats broiled in skillets should be put into a very hot skillet and one surface seared, then should be turned so as to sear the other side. The skillet should be kept covered so as to retain the moisture.

* * * * *

=Boiling.= In boiling meat, where the object is to eat the tissue itself, it should be put into hot water, that the albumin on the surface may be immediately coagulated and prevent the escape of the nutrients into the water. It is impossible to make a rich broth and to have a juicy, highly flavored piece of boiled meat at the same time. Meat is best roasted or broiled when the meat tissue is to be eaten.

The boiling cuts contain more connective tissue, therefore they require a much longer time to cook in order to gelatinize this tissue. They are not as rich in protein as the steaks.

Meat soups, bouillons and broths contain very little nutriment, but they do contain the extractives, and the flavors increase the flow of digestive juices and stimulate the appetite. It is for this reason that soups are served before a meal rather than for a dessert; they insure a copious flow of gastric juice and saliva to act upon the crackers or toast eaten with the soup. Many mistake the extractives and flavor for nourishment, feeling that the soups are an easy method of taking food, but the best part of the nutriment remains in the meat or vegetables making the soup.

* * * * *

=Pot Roasts.= In the case of a pot roast, or roast in a kettle, where it is desirable to use both the fibre of the meat and the juice, or gravy, it should be put into a little cold water and raised to about 180 degrees F., where it should be kept for some hours. The juices of the meat seep out in the gravy. The extractives are simmered down and are again poured over the meat in the rich gravy.

* * * * *

=Frying.= This is the least desirable method of cooking. Food cooked by putting a little grease into a frying pan, such as fried potatoes, mush, eggs, french toast, and griddle cakes, are more difficult of digestion than foods cooked by any other means, particularly where the fat is allowed to smoke. The fat is superheated; if a lighted match is placed near the smoke it will catch fire, showing that it is volatilizing, or being reduced to a vapor.

The extreme heat liberates fatty acids. This acrid fat soaks into the food and renders it difficult of digestion. It is wise not to employ this method of cooking.

The objection to frying does not hold so strongly in the case of vegetables, such as potatoes, if fried _slowly_ in fat, that is not over heated, or to griddle cakes cooked slowly without smoke, or to foods immersed in grease (such as saratoga chips, doughnuts, french fried potatoes, etc.), as the large amount of fat does not permit it to get so heated. It does apply, however, if the fat is sufficiently heated to smoke.

The coating of vegetables and cereals with the hot fat prevents the necessary action of saliva upon the starch globules. As previously stated, most of the starches are digested in the mouth and the stomach, while the fats are not emulsified until they reach the intestines.

The starch globules in cereals and vegetables are in the form of cells, the covering of these cells being composed largely of nitrogenous matter. The protein is not acted upon by the saliva, and the nitrogenous matter is largely digested in the stomach. It is more easily dissolved if it is broken or softened by cooking, so that the carbohydrates can come in contact with the saliva, but if encased in fried fat, the gastric juices cannot digest the protein covering and the saliva cannot reach the starch until the fat is emulsified in the intestines. This means that wherever starch globules are surrounded with fat, the digestive ferments reach these globules with difficulty and fried foods must be digested mostly in the intestines.

Fats are readily absorbed in their natural condition, but when subject to extreme heat, as in frying, they are irritants. For this reason, eggs, poached, boiled or baked are more easily digested than fried.

_Boiling, broiling and roasting are preferable to foods cooked in fats._

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Cooking of Cereals]

One safe rule for the cook is, that it is better to cook most foods too much than too little; overcooking is uncommon and harmless, while _under_cooked foods are common and difficult of digestion.

In partially cooked cereals, one does not know how much of the cooking has been done, but it is safe to cook all such foods at least as long as specified in the directions.

One reason why breakfast foods, such as rolled oats, are partially cooked, is because they keep longer.

As has been stated, the nutrients of the grain are found inside the starch-bearing and other cells, and the walls of these cells are made of crude fiber, on which the digestive juices have little effect. Unless the cell walls are broken down, the nutrients can not come under the influence of the digestive juices until the digestive organs have expended material and energy in trying to get at them. Crushing the grain in mills, and making it still finer by thorough mastication breaks many of the cell walls, and the action of the saliva and other digestive juices also disintegrates them more or less, but the heat of cooking accomplishes the object much more thoroughly. The invisible moisture in the cells expands under the action of heat, and the cell walls burst. The water added in cooking also plays an important part in softening and rupturing them. Then, too, the cellulose itself may be changed by heat to more soluble form. Heat also makes the starch in the cells at least partially soluble, especially when water is present. The solubility of the protein is probably, as a rule, somewhat lessened by cooking, especially at higher temperatures. Long, slow cooking is therefore better, as it breaks down the crude fiber and changes the starch to soluble form without materially decreasing the solubility of the protein.

“In experiments made with rolled oats at the Minnesota Experiment Station, it appeared that cooking (four hours) did not make the starch much more soluble. However, it so changed the physical structure of the grains that a given amount of digestive ferment could render much more of it soluble in a given time than when it was cooked for only half an hour.

“On the basis of the results obtained, the difficulty commonly experienced in digesting imperfectly cooked oatmeal was attributed to the large amounts of glutinous material which surrounds the starch grains and prevent their disintegration. When thoroughly cooked the protecting action of the mucilaginous protein is overcome, and the compound starch granules are sufficiently disintegrated to allow the digestive juices to act. In other words, the increased digestibility of the thoroughly cooked cereal is supposed to be largely due to a physical change in the carbohydrates, which renders them more susceptible to the action of digestive juices.”

* * * * *

=Pastry.= Pastry owes its harmful character to the interference of fat as shown on page 198, with the proper solution of the starch,—at least such pastry as requires the mixing of flour with fat; the coating of these granules with fat prevents them from coming in contact with liquids; the cells cannot absorb water, swell and burst so that they may dissolve. The fat does not furnish sufficient water for this and so coats the starch granules as to prevent the absorption of water in mixing, or of the saliva in mastication. This coating of fat is not relieved until late in the process of digestion, or until the food reaches the intestines. This same objection applies to rich gravies, unless the flour be dissolved in water and heated before being mixed with the fats. The objection, therefore, is to such pastry as is made by mixing flour with fat, as in pie crust; it does not apply to most puddings.

Heat, in cooking, causes a combustion of the carbonic acid gas and the effort of this gas to escape, as well as the steam occasioned by the water in the food, causes the bubbles. When beaten eggs are used, the albuminoids in the bubbles expand the walls, which stiffen with the heat and cause the substances containing eggs to be porous.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Cooking of Vegetables]

Since the root vegetables contain a large proportion of carbohydrates, they should be well cooked, in order that the cells may be fully dissolved, and the crude fibre broken.

Vegetables are best cooked in soft water, as lime or magnesia, the chemical ingredients which make water “hard”, make the vegetables less soluble.

Vegetables and fruits become contaminated with the eggs of numerous parasites from the fertilizers used; hence they should be thoroughly washed.

The objection to frying meats are equally strong in regard to vegetables. The coating of vegetables with the hot fat retards digestion, as shown on page 198.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Cooking of Fruit]

“In different countries opinions differ markedly regarding the relative wholesomeness of raw and cooked fruit. The Germans use comparatively little raw fruit and consider it far less wholesome than cooked fruit. On the other hand, in the United States raw fruit of good quality is considered extremely wholesome, and is used in very large quantities, being as much relished as cooked fruit, if indeed it is not preferred to it. It has been suggested that the European prejudice against raw fruit may be an unconscious protest against unsanitary methods of marketing or handling and the recognition of cooking as a practical method of preventing the spread of disease by fruit, accidentally soiled with fertilizers in the fields or with street dust.

“As in the case with all vegetable foods, the heat of cooking breaks down the carbohydrate walls of the cells which make up the fruit flesh, either because the moisture or other cell contents expand and rupture the walls or because the cell wall is itself softened or dissolved. Texture, appearance, and flavor of fruit are materially modified by cooking, and, if thorough, it insures sterilization, as in the case of all other foods. The change in texture often has a practical advantage, since it implies the softening of the fruit flesh so that it is more palatable and may be more readily acted upon by the digestive juices. This is obviously of more importance with the fruits like the quince, which is so hard that it is unpalatable raw, than it is with soft fruits like strawberries. When fruits are cooked without the addition of water or other material, as is often the case in baking apples, there is a loss of weight, owing to the evaporation of water, and the juice as it runs out carries some carbohydrates and other soluble constituents with it, but under ordinary household conditions this does not imply waste, as the juice which cooks out from fruits is usually eaten as well as the pulp. Cooking in water extracts so little of the nutritive material present that such removal of nutrition is of no practical importance.

“The idea is quite generally held that cooking fruit changes its acid content, acid being sometimes increased and sometimes decreased by the cooking process. Kelhofer showed that when gooseberries were cooked with sugar, the acid content was not materially changed, these results being in accord with his conclusions reached in earlier studies with other fruits. The sweeter taste of the cooked product he believed to be simply due to the fact that sugar masks the flavor of the acid.

“It is often noted that cooked fruits, such as plums, seem much sourer than the raw fruit, and it has been suggested that either the acid was increased or the sugar was decreased by the cooking process. This problem was studied by Sutherst, and, in his opinion, the increased acid flavor is due to the fact that cooked fruit (gooseberries, currants, plums, etc.) usually contains the skin, which is commonly rejected if the fruit is eaten raw. The skin is more acid than the simpler carbohydrates united to form a complex carbohydrate. In some fruits, like the apple, where the jelly-yielding material must be extracted with hot water, the pectin is apparently united with cellulose as a part of the solid pulp. As shown by the investigations of Bigelow and Gore at the Bureau of Chemistry, 40 per cent of the solid material of apple pulp may be thus extracted with hot water, and consists of two carbohydrates, one of which is closely related to gum arabic. That such carbohydrates as these should yield a jelly is not surprising when we remember that they are similar to starch in their chemical nature, and, as every one knows, starch, though insoluble in cold water, yields when cooked with hot water a large proportion of paste, which jellies on cooling.

“When fruits are used for making pies, puddings, etc., the nutritive value of the dish is, of course, increased by the addition of flour, sugar, etc., and the dish as a whole may constitute a better balanced food than the fruit alone.”[8]

FOOTNOTES:

[8] C. F. Langworthy, Ph. D.—In charge of Nutritive Investigations of the United States Experiment Station.

DIETS

As previously stated, the object of foods is to supply the needs of the body in building new tissue in the growing child; in repairing tissue which the catabolic activity of the body is constantly tearing down and eliminating; and in supplying heat and energy. This heat and energy is not alone for muscular activity in exercise or movement; it must be borne in mind that the body is a busy work-shop, or chemical laboratory, and heat and energy are needed in the constant metabolism of tearing down and rebuilding tissue and in the work of digestion and elimination.

In this chapter, a few points given in the preceding pages are repeated for emphasis. The proteins, represented in purest form in lean meat, build tissue and the carbonaceous foods, starches, sugars and fats, supply the heat and energy. An excess of proteins, that is more than is needed for building and repair, is also used for heat and energy; the waste products of the nitrogenous foods are broken down into carbon dioxid, sulphates, phosphates, and other nitrogenous compounds and excreted through the kidneys, skin, and the bile, while the waste product of carbonaceous foods is carbon dioxid alone and is excreted mostly through the lungs.

Since the foods richest in protein are the most expensive, those who wish to keep down the cost of living, should provide, at most, no more protein than the system requires. The expensive meat may be eliminated and proteins be supplied by eggs, milk, legumes, nuts and cereals.

The most fundamental thing is to decide upon the amount of protein—two to four ounces, nearly a quarter of a pound a day—and then select a dietary which shall provide this and also supply heat and energy sufficient for the day. If the diet is to include meat, a goodly proportion of protein will be furnished in the lean meat. This will vary greatly with the different cuts of meat as shown on Table IV, page 128. If, as often happens, one does not care for fats, then the starches and sugars must provide the heat. If one craves sweets, less starches and fats are needed.

The normally healthy individual is more liable to supply too much protein than too little, even though he abstain from meat. Yet, as will be shown later, our strongest races, who have lent most to the progress of the world, live upon a mixed diet.

If the diet is to include meat, it will consist of less bulk, because the protein is more condensed; for the same reason, if it includes animal products of eggs and milk and a fair proportion of legumes, it will be less bulky than a vegetable diet. This point is important for busy people, who eat their meals in a hurry and proceed at once to active, mental work. Those who engage in physical labor are much more likely to take a complete rest for a half hour, to an hour, after eating. The _thinkers_ seldom rest, at least after a midday meal, and those who worry seldom relax the mental force during any waking hours.

Where the system shows an excess of uric acid, the chances are that the individual has not been living on a diet with too large a proportion of protein, but that he has been eating more than he requires of all kinds of foodstuffs. His system thus becomes weakened and he does not breathe deeply nor exercise sufficiently to oxidize and throw off the waste. Let it be recalled here that the theory that rheumatism is caused by an excess of uric acid is disputed by the highest authorities. It is _accompanied_ by uric acid, but not supposed to be caused by it.

Every housewife, to intelligently select the daily menus for her family, needs a thorough knowledge of dietetics. She must understand the chemistry of food that she may know food values. The difficulty which confronts the housewife, is to provide one meal suited to the needs, tastes, or idiosyncracies of various members of her household. Peculiarities of taste, unless these peculiarities have been intelligently acquired, may result in digestive disturbances. As an illustration: one may cultivate a dislike for meat, milk, or eggs, as is often the case, and the proteins for the family being largely supplied by these, the individual is eating too much of starches and sugars and not sufficient protein,—legumes, nuts, etc., not being provided for one member. Such an one’s blood becomes impoverished and she becomes anaemic.

The relief lies in _cultivating a taste_ for blood building foods. Foods which are forced down, with a mind arrayed against them, do not digest as readily, because the displeasure does not incite the flow of gastric juices. One fortunate provision of nature lies in the ability to cultivate a taste for _any_ food. Likes and dislikes are largely mental. There are certain foods which continuously disagree and they should be avoided; but many abstain from wholesome food because it has disagreed a _few_ times. It may be that it was not the particular food but the weakness of the stomach at this time. Any food fails of prompt digestion when the nerves controlling the stomach are weak.

Many foods disagree at certain times because of the particular conditions regulating the secretion of digestive juices. Where this condition has continued for some time it becomes chronic and a special diet is required, together with special exercises to bring a better blood supply to stomach and intestines and to regulate the nerves controlling them.

Dr. W. S. Hall estimates that the average man at light work requires, each day,

106.8 grams of protein[9]
57.97 grams of fat
398.84 grams of carbohydrates

These elements, in proper proportions, may be gained through many food combinations. He gives the following:

Bread 1 lb.
Lean Meat ½ lb.
Oysters ½ lb.
Cocoa 1 oz.
Milk 4 oz.
Sugar 1 oz.
Butter ½ oz.

A medium sized man at out of door work, fully oxidizes all waste of the system and he requires a higher protein diet,—125 grams. In such event he does not require so much starch and sugar. If on the other hand he were to take but 106.8 grams of protein, as above, he would require more carbohydrates. One working, or exercising in the fresh air, breathes more deeply and oxidizes and eliminates more waste, hence he has a better appetite, which is simply the call of nature for a re-supply of the waste.

In active work, one also liberates more heat, thus more fat, starches, and sugar are required for the re-supply. If one has an excess of starch (glycogen) stored in the liver, or an excess of fat about the tissues, this excess is called upon to supply the heat and energy when the fats and carbohydrates daily consumed are not sufficient for the day’s demand. This is the principle of reduction of flesh.

It is interesting to note that habits of combining foods are unconsciously based upon dietetic principles. Meats rich in protein are served with potatoes, or with rice, both of which are rich in starch. Bread, containing little fat, is served with butter. Beans, containing little fat, are cooked with pork. Starchy foods of all kinds are served with butter or cream. Macaroni, which is rich in starch, makes a well balanced food cooked with cheese.

Pork and beans,
bread and butter,
bread and milk,
chicken and rice,
macaroni and cheese,
poached eggs on toast, and
custards, form balanced dishes.

A knowledge of such combinations is important when one must eat a hasty luncheon and wishes to supply the demands of the body in the least time, giving the least thought to the selection; but hasty luncheons, with the mind concentrated upon other things, are to be strongly condemned. The mind must be relaxed and directed to pleasant themes during a meal or the nerves to the vital organs will be held too tense to permit a free secretion of digestive juices. Chronic indigestion is sure to result from this practice. Dinner, or the hearty meal at night, rather than at noon, is preferable for the business or professional man or woman, because the cares of the day are over and the brain force relaxes. The vital forces are not detracted from the work of digestion.

Experiments in the quantity of food actually required for body needs, made by Prof. R. H. Chittenden of the Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University, have established, beyond doubt, the fact that the average individual consumes very much more food than the system requires. In fact, most tables of food requirements, in previous books on dietetics, have been heavy.

Prof. Chittenden especially established the fact that the average person consumes more protein than is necessary to maintain a nitrogenous balance. It was formerly held that the average daily metabolism and excretion of nitrogen through the kidneys was 16 grams, or about 100 grams of protein or albuminoid food. Prof. Chittenden’s tests, covering a period of six months, show an average daily excretion of 5.86 grams of nitrogen, or a little less than one-third of that formerly accepted as necessary; 5.86 grams of nitrogen corresponds to 36.62 grams of protein or albuminoid food.

Prof. Chittenden’s experiments of the foodstuffs actually required by three groups of men, one group of United States soldiers, a group from the Yale College athletic team, and a group of college professors, all showed that the men retained full strength, with a higher degree of physical and mental efficiency, when the body was not supplied with more protein than was liberated by metabolic activity, and when the quantity of carbonaceous food was regulated to the actual requirement to retain body heat and furnish energy.

It may be well to call attention here to the fact that the food elements, called upon for work, are not from those foods just consumed or digested, but from those eaten a day or two previous, which have been assimilated in the muscular tissues.

In selecting a diet, the individual must be considered as to age, sex and physical condition, also whether active in indoor or outdoor work, and whether he or she breathes deeply, so as to take plenty of fresh air into the lungs.

The following tables, published through the courtesy of Dr. W. S. Hall, give the rations for different conditions.

TABLE XI.

_Rations for Different Conditions._

———————————————————————————+—————————+————+—————————————+—————————
|Proteins | |Carbohydrates|Energy in
Conditions +————+————|Fats|—————+———————+ Calories
|Low |High| | Low | High |
———————————————————————————+—————————+————+—————————————+—————————
Man at light indoor work | 60| 100| 60| 390 | 450 | 2764
Man at light outdoor work | 60| 100| 100| 400 | 460 | 2940
Man at moderate outdoor | | | | | |
work | 75| 125| 125| 450 | 500 | 3475
Man at hard outdoor work | 100| 150| 150| 500 | 550 | 4000
Man at very hard outdoor | | | | | |
winter work | 125| 180| 200| 600 | 650 | 4592
U. S. Army rations | 64| 106| 280| 460 | 540 | 4896-5032
U. S. Navy rations | | 143| 292| 557 | | 5545
Football team (old regime) | | 181| 292| 557 | | 5697
College football team (new)| 125| 125| 125| 500 | | 3675
———————————————————————————+—————————+————+—————————————+—————————

TABLE XII.

_Rations Varied for Sex and Age._

———————————————————————————+—————————+————+—————————————+—————————
|Proteins | |Carbohydrates|Energy in
Variations +————+————|Fats|—————+———————+ Calories
of Sex and Age |Low |High| | Low | High |
———————————————————————————+—————————+————+—————————————+—————————
Children, two to six | 36 | 70 | 40 | 250 | 325 |1520-1956
Children, six to fifteen | 50 | 75 | 45 | 325 | 350 |1923-2123
Women, with light exercise | 50 | 80 | 80 | 300 | 330 |2272
Women, at moderate work | 60 | 92 | 80 | 400 | 432 |2720
Aged women | 50 | 80 | 50 | 270 | 300 |1870
Aged men | 50 |100 |400 | 300 | 350 |2258
———————————————————————————+—————————+————+—————————————+—————————

The unit of measurement for the calories of energy is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of energy to 1° centigrade.

In estimating the number of calories of energy given off by the different foods, Dr. Hall represents

1 gram of carbohydrates as 4.0 calories
” ” ” fats ” 9.4 ”
” ” ” proteins ” 4.0 ”

To determine the relative energy which a food represents, it is only necessary to multiply the number of grams of protein in that food by 4, the fat by 9.4 and the carbohydrates by 4, and add the results.

Thus according to the food required for the average man at light work given on page 211.

106.8 grams of proteins × 4 = 427.20 calories of energy
57.97 ” ” fat × 9.4 = 544.94 ” ” ”
398.84 ” ” carbohydrates × 4 = 1595.36 ” ” ”
———————
2567.51 = the calories of
energy required for the average man at light work.

Dr. Chittenden’s experiments show that a man leading a very active life, and above the average in body weight, can maintain his body in equilibrium indefinitely with a daily intake of 36 to 40 grams of protein, or albuminoid food, and with a total fuel value of 1600 calories. Authorities, however differ upon the amount of food required.

Dr. Hall suggests 106 grams of protein
Ranke suggests 100 grams of protein
Hultgren and Landergren suggests 134 grams of protein
Schmidt suggests 105 grams of protein
Forster and Moleschott suggests 130 grams of protein
Atwater suggests 125 grams of protein

In order to bring oneself to as limited a diet as Prof. Chittenden’s men followed, however, it would be necessary to have all food weighed so as to be sure of the correct proportions; otherwise the actual needs would not be supplied and the body would suffer. A wise provision of nature enables the body to throw off an excess of food above the body needs without injury, within limitations; but, as stated, there is no doubt that the average person exceeds these limits, exhausting the digestive organs and loading the system with more than it can eliminate; the capacity for mental work is restricted, and the whole system suffers.

Prof. Chittenden’s experiments have been a wonderful revelation to dietitians and scientists. They have demonstrated beyond doubt that the average person eats much more than the system requires and thus overworks the digestive organs.

[Sidenote: Mixed Diet versus a Vegetable Diet]

From the fact that only from two to four ounces of nitrogenous food is required to rebuild daily tissue waste, it is apparent that this amount can readily be supplied from the vegetable kingdom, since nuts, legumes, and cereals are rich in proteins; yet there is a question whether a purely vegetable diet is productive of the highest physical and mental development. Natives of tropical climates live upon vegetables, fruits, and nuts, and it may be purely accidental or be due to climatic or other conditions, that these nations have not been those who have made the greatest progress in the world. Neither have the Eskimos, who live almost entirely upon meat, attained the highest development. The greatest progress and development, both as nations and as individuals, have been made by inhabitants of temperate climates, who have lived upon a mixed diet of meat, eggs, milk, grains, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. They have shown more creative force, which means reserve strength.

The Eskimo has demonstrated, however, that an entire meat diet supplies all physical needs; the meat tissue providing growth and repair and the fat supplying all of the carbonaceous elements. The fat, as previously stated, yields more heat than starches and sugars, and Nature provides this heat for climates where most warmth is required. It may be the natural reason why natives of warm climates have formed the habit of using vegetables and grains for their heat and energy rather than meat. It is also a natural reason why man, in temperate climates, eats more meat in winter than in summer.

An unperverted, natural instinct will always be found to have a sound physiological basis. For example,—if, by reason of some digestive disturbance, one has become emaciated, all of the fat having been consumed, and the cause of the disturbance is removed by an operation or otherwise, one is seized with an almost insatiable desire for fat, often eating large chunks of the fat of meat or large quantities of butter or cream at a meal. When obstructions are removed, Nature makes immediate effort to adjust her forces.

Those who object to eating meat should study carefully and know that the proper proportion of protein is supplied with each day’s rations. The legumes—peas, beans, nuts, and grains—must be supplied with the vegetables. While the wheat kernel contains twelve per cent of protein, the white flour does not contain as large a percentage and it will be noted by reference to Tables II and III, that the majority of fruits and vegetables contain little nitrogenous substance.

Unless the whole of the grain and the legumes form a goodly proportion of the diet the danger is in consuming too large a bulk of waste and too much starch in a purely vegetable diet. In a vegetarian diet, one is liable to eat too freely of cereals; as a result, the liver becomes clogged and torpid and the stomach and intestines are deranged and rendered incapable of full digestion and absorption. The clogged system refuses to assimilate more food.

It follows, therefore, that, unless one is a thorough student of dietetics, the mixed diet is by far the safest to follow. One can better run short of starch or fat in one day’s rations than to be short of protein, because if the two to four ounces daily requirement is not provided the tissues are consumed and the blood is impoverished. It is a rare condition in which a reserve of glycogen and fat is not stored in the system. On the other hand an excess of nitrogenous foods calls for a very active circulation and plenty of oxygen in the system.

It has been held that the vegetarian has a clearer brain, and, if this be true, it may be due to the fact that he is not eating too much and thus his system is not overloaded.

Experience, however, does not prove that he has greater mental, physical, and moral power and efficiency. One’s brain, in fasting, is at first clear and forceful, but the reason is unbalanced if the fast be too prolonged.

_A complete diet may be selected without animal flesh, but including animal products of eggs, milk, cream, and butter, together with vegetables, fruits, cereals, and nuts, yet if the vegetable diet be selected the legumes, the whole of the grains, and nuts must be given their share in each day’s rations._

FOOTNOTES:

[9] For table of weights see Appendix.

MENUS

_Before giving any menus, let me first of all impress upon the reader the importance of eating slowly, of good cheer, of light conversation during a meal, and of thoroughly masticating the food. Remember it is the food_ ASSIMILATED, _which nourishes_.

The following menus allow sufficient food for average conditions, when the vital organs are normal.

Fruit, as previously stated, contains a very small quantity of nutrition. It is more valuable for its diuretic effect; and to stimulate the appetite; for this reason it may well be eaten before a meal.

The citrous fruits tend to neutralize too strong acids of the blood, increasing its alkalinity. For this reason, also, they are best before a meal, particularly before breakfast; they have a more laxative and cleansing effect if eaten before the other food. The custom has been, however, to eat fruits after dinner for dessert and they are so given on the following menus.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Sedentary Occupation]

The following diet is for one who has attained full growth and who walks a few blocks a day. The diet may seem light, but where one is sitting indoor most of the time, and has little outdoor exercise, less waste protein is oxidized and less starch, fat and sugar are required for heat and energy. If too much carbonaceous food is consumed, one will store up too much and become too large. If more protein is consumed than is oxidized and eliminated one is liable to neuralgic or rheumatic difficulties.

Every person at sedentary employment should, without fail, exercise each day as suggested on pages 104 to 107.

In nearly all of the following menus coffee and tea have been omitted because, as before stated, they are not foods, but _stimulants_ and the caffein and thein may overstimulate the nerves and the heart. They retard digestion. Some other warm drink should be substituted where there is digestive disturbance, or where the digestion is weak. They should never at any time be used strong. They are used for their pleasing flavor and where one has difficulty in governing the desire for them, sufficient may be used to flavor the water.

The following is a suggestive diet for one who is not active:

BREAKFAST

Fruit,

Cereal or Toast Coffee,

Dry toast (two slices), or two muffins or two gems.

If one has taken brisk exercise, as suggested above, or is to take a brisk walk of a mile or two, a dish of oatmeal or some other cereal with cream and sugar, may be added.

LUNCH

Creamed soup, or pureé with crackers or dry toast.

Sandwich and fruit, or two slices of bread and butter with fruit.

Cup of custard or one piece of cake and milk or two cookies.

A glass of milk or buttermilk.

If pureé of peas or beans is used the sandwich may be omitted and one slice of bread is sufficient.

DINNER

Meat, gravy, potatoes or rice.

One vegetable, green peas, green beans, cauliflower, greens, corn. (Do not use dried baked beans or dried peas with lean meat.)

Salad or fruit.

Pudding, easily digested, such as bread, rice, tapioca, cornstarch or chocolate.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: The Young Child]

After one year, the child should be given solid food _very gradually_ to develop his digestive functions as well as his teeth. The ferment, which enables him to digest starches is beginning to form, and he needs some cereal. A piece of dry toast or a dry cracker will do. The year old child may also begin to drink cow’s milk. One or two glasses a day may be given, until the child is at least thirteen or fourteen years old.

The child must build muscle, bone and sinew and more protein is required as soon as he begins to walk. Milk, eggs and cereals will furnish this. The heavier protein diet is best given at eighteen months to two years, in eggs, cooked soft. These soft cooked eggs are best when mixed with broken, dry toast or broken crackers, because if dry food is served with them, they will be better masticated, hence more saliva be mixed with them. The habit of thorough mastication should be cultivated at this period.

Oatmeal, thoroughly cooked, and shredded wheat, with cream and sugar, ripe fruit, bread and butter, milk, soft cooked eggs (poached, baked or boiled) constitute a rational diet.

If the child is hungry between meals, he should be fed at a regular period, midway between breakfast and luncheon and between luncheon and the evening meal. The food should be dry (toast or a dry cracker) to require thorough and slow mastication.

Many object to “piecing” between meals, but if this piecing be done at hours as regular as his meal hour, and the food be dry and well masticated, it will readily digest and will not interfere with his meals. The growing child needs more frequent meals than the adult. His stomach is not so large, he is active in out door exercise, and eliminates waste freely. He also requires much heat and energy. The active child at outdoor play uses almost as much energy as the laboring man.

The growing child craves sweets.

Candy should not be taken at any time during the day, because the digestive system needs rest. It is quickly converted into heat and is best eaten immediately following a meal. Sugar may be spread upon bread for the four o’clock lunch or a little candy may be eaten at this time. Two to three pieces of candy an inch square are sufficient.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: The Developing, or the Adolescent Period]

This period begins with a girl, usually near the thirteenth year, and with a boy about fourteen. There is no time in life when a mother needs to be so watchful of the diet. Growth is very rapid and much easily digested protein is needed to build tissue, particularly to build the tissue of red corpuscles.

The red meats, eggs, spinach and all kinds of greens are important articles of diet at this time, because of the iron which they contain. They should be supplied freely, particularly for developing girls, or they may otherwise be inclined to anaemia, at this time. Butter and milk are valuable and _regular exercises with deep breathing are imperative_.

BREAKFAST.

Fruit.

Oatmeal or some other cereal, well cooked, with cream and sugar.

One egg, boiled, poached or baked (cooked soft), or chipped beef in cream gravy.

Cereal coffee, toast coffee or hot water with cream and sugar.

Buttered toast, shredded wheat biscuit or triscuit.

LUNCH

Cream soup, bean soup, or pureé with crackers or dry toast.

Bread and butter.

Fruit and cake, or rice pudding, or bread, tapioca, cocoanut or cereal pudding of any kind, or a cup of custard.

DINNER

An ample portion of meat, (preferably red meat).

Potatoes.

Vegetables, preferably spinach, or greens of some kinds, or beets boiled with the tops.

Graham bread.

Fruit with triscuit, graham bread toasted or graham wafers.

Candy. (small quantity)

A growing child is usually hungry upon returning from school, and it is well to take a little easily digested food regularly but not sufficient to destroy the appetite for the evening meal. An egg lemonade is easily digested and satisfying. If active and exercising freely, craving for sweets should be gratified, to a limited extent.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: The Athlete]

The young man, active in athletics, needs the same food as given for the adolescent, yet more in quantity. He needs to drink water before his training and at rest periods during the game. If he is too fat, he should train off the superfluous amount by exercise and by judiciously abstaining from much sugars, starches and fats. Diets for reductions must be governed by the condition of the kidneys and the digestive organs.

Deep breathing habits are imperative and he must be careful not to overtax lungs or heart.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: The Laboring Man]

The man engaged in muscular work requires plenty of food; he can digest foods which the professional or business man, or the man of sedentary habits, cannot. He will probably be able to drink coffee and tea without any disturbance to nerves or to digestion. In his muscular work he liberates the waste freely and needs fats, starches and sugars to supply the heat and energy. This is especially true of men who work in the fresh air; the muscular action liberates waste and heat and the full breathing freely oxidizes the waste, putting it in condition to be excreted through lungs, skin, kidneys and intestines.

He should have more meat, eggs and nitrogenous foods, and he also needs more carbonaceous foods to supply heat and energy. Three hearty meals a day are necessary.

His muscular movements of the trunk keeps the circulation forceful and the vital organs strong so that his diet may be almost as heavy as that of the football player. Meat or eggs, two or even three times a day, with tea or coffee, and even _pie_ may be eaten with impunity. He needs a good nourishing breakfast of bacon and eggs or meat, also potatoes, or a liberal allowance of bread and butter, corn bread, muffins, etc.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: The Aged]

The term aged is not governed entirely by years. If one stops physical and mental activity, the vital forces recede, muscles and vital organs become weak and inactive, the waste of the system is not fully relieved and such a man at fifty-five is physically and mentally older than the man who is in active business or is taking daily vigorous exercise, at seventy or eighty. The latter may follow the same diet which he follows at fifty, while the former should follow the diet of the old man who has stopped active work. It should be simple, easily digested and nutritious, and should be reduced in quantity.

BREAKFAST

Cereal, well cooked, with cream or sugar. Oatmeal is preferred because
it is laxative.
One egg, boiled, poached or baked (soft).
One slice of toast.
Cereal coffee.

DINNER

Bouillon or soup.
Meat—small portion.
Potato (preferably baked).
Vegetable.
Cup custard, or bread, rice or cornmeal pudding with lemon cream sauce.

SUPPER

Soup.
Bread and butter.
Stewed fruit.
Tea.

An old person needs little meat. The food should be masticated to a pulp. Tea and coffee are best omitted, but if used to tea, one small cup, prepared by turning boiling water on the leaves and served immediately, may be included. The tea should not be strong and, for reasons given on page 183, should never be allowed to steep.

If inclined to constipation, or if the kidneys are inactive, grapes or an apple, or some fruit may be eaten just before retiring.

MENUS FOR ABNORMAL CONDITIONS.

Where the body is not in normal condition, because elements are lacking in the blood, these elements must be supplied in larger proportions with the food, and the case is one for a food chemist, or for one who has made food conditions a study. When medical colleges broaden their curriculum, or physicians employ methods other than medicine and the knife, for correction of physical ailments, the relief will be with this profession. If they do not, professional schools for the education of the physical culturist and food specialists, for the correction of deranged conditions of the system, due to poor circulation and abnormal blood conditions, which have so long been controlled entirely through medicine, will spring up and replace much of the correction previously left entirely to the medical fraternity.

In case of an abnormal condition, the food must be regulated according to the case. This also applies to a diet where one carries an abnormal amount of fat.

In the early stage of various diseases, where toxins are hoarded in the system, it is often advisable to abstain from food for from one to three days, according to conditions. As previously stated, where the system is not properly eliminating the waste, it is wise to abstain from food, to take brisk exercise, breathe deeply and drink freely of water, until the waste is eliminated. A laxative is also desirable.

The above suggestions are for abnormal conditions. To _keep_ the body in health, eat at regular periods.

It is the purpose here to give diets for chronic cases, which the average person attempts to regulate without a physician in regular attendance.

The foundation education in regard to foods, belongs in the public schools. How many lives are lost on account of the lack of knowledge of food values will never be known.

The system readily excretes an excess of vegetable products, and, as a rule, no acute difficulties result; however, such chronic difficulties, as Constipation, Torpid Liver and Indigestion, frequently result from an excess of starch, over that consumed in energy. On account of the readiness to putrefaction of protein products, care should be taken not to consume these in too great proportion.

Broadly speaking, a diet largely of protein, which is digested in the stomach, rests the intestines, and a diet largely of carbohydrates, rests the stomach, because the gastric juice is not active in starch digestion. In case sufficient saliva is not swallowed with the food to digest the starches and sugars in the stomach they are passed into the intestines for digestion. In the absence of sufficient saliva, water with the food is desirable to dissolve the starches, that they may more readily pass the pylorus.

A study of the habitual taste for foods, in connection with the physical ailments of eighteen thousand women, shows that by the constituents in the blood, and the condition of the different organs of the digestive system, one can usually determine which food the individual has formed a habit of eating, because the blood will show a lack of the elements which that patient has denied himself on account of his likes and dislikes.

It is necessary to change the mental attitude toward certain foods before the system will assimilate them; thus _a taste for the foods which the body requires should be cultivated_.

Every mother, with growing children, should be a thorough student of the chemistry of food. If the child’s bones do not grow to sufficient size and strength, care in the selection of foods, rich in proteins, lime, magnesium and phosphates, may correct it. Such a child should have meat, whole wheat bread and eggs.

Where the child stores up too much fat, care in the amount of exercise, and of oxygen consumed, as well as the regulation of diet, are of vital importance. If one is thin and undernourished, chemical analysis of the contents of stomach, intestines and kidneys should be made, the nerves be rested and proper food, exercise and breathing should accompany medical treatment, if medicine is needed.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Anaemia]

Regular exercise and deep breathing are fully as important as the regulation of diet for the anaemic. In anaemia the red blood corpuscles are lacking, or there is not sufficient blood. The red corpuscles not being sufficient in number to carry the necessary quantity of oxygen to the tissues to oxidize the waste, the system becomes clogged with waste, which affects the nerves and brain cells. The patient is tired and disinclined to exercise, thus the decreased number of red corpuscles are not kept in forceful circulation and the carbonic acid gas is not freely thrown off by the lungs; this further aggravates the condition.

Pus formation, in abscesses, are frequent in anaemic cases.

There is little desire for food when the system is clogged, and there is little use in forcing food.

The red corpuscles are made in the red marrow of the bones and free action of the joints is desirable.

The initial work, therefore in the correction of anaemia, lies in brisk, every day exercise and deep breathing of fresh air. Such exercise should be intelligently directed to the joints and to the vital organs, particularly to the liver, that it may be kept in normal condition to break down the protein waste. The windows at night should admit of a good circulation of air through the sleeping room. These habits being established, the diet should consist of foods containing iron, such as red meat, eggs and the green leaves of vegetables. Milk sipped slowly and a free use of butter are desirable.

It will usually be found that the anaemic individual has no taste for vegetables containing iron, or for meats rich in albuminoids,—or, that these foods have been denied because of their scarcity; therefore, the elements necessary for red blood corpuscles have been deficient.

The following is a suggestive diet:

BREAKFAST

Fruit, in plenty.
Two eggs, soft boiled, poached or baked.
Cereal coffee or cambric tea.
Toast, graham bread or graham or corn muffins.

MIDDLE OF THE FORENOON

Lemonade with spoonful of beef =juice= (not beef extract) or with a
beaten egg.

LUNCH

Split pea or bean soup with dry toast.
Fruit and nut salad (no vinegar).
Fruit, fresh or stewed.
Cake.
Glass of milk.

MIDDLE OF AFTERNOON

Egg lemonade or eggnog.

DINNER

Bouillon.
Tenderloin steak or lamb chops.
Baked potato.
Spinach, beet or dandelion greens.
Custard, fruit gelatin, or cornstarch pudding, or rice with lemon
cream sauce.
Glass milk.