Physiological Chemistry declares that an important function of saliva
is turning the starch of foods into dextrose--sugar--which is one of
the high forms of nutrition.
An eminent physiological chemist, who is a friend of the author,
and who has been experimenting with the suggestions offered by the
discovery of new uses for Taste in securing perfect economic nutrition,
says that the inexpressibly sweet flavour which comes with the last
expression of Taste in connection with a morsel of food, especially dry
breads, which are largely starch, is evidence of perfect conversion of
the starch to sugar by the action of the saliva.
The sweet taste spoken of begins to be apparent in dry French bread
after about twenty movements of the mouth, and increases until the
whole morsel is dissolved and disappears into the stomach, leaving
behind it a most delicious after-flavour. According to the quantity in
the mouthful this process will take from fifty to one hundred movements
of the mouth and require from half a minute to one minute.
In this connection remember, please, that if you bolt a whole slice,
or a whole loaf of bread in the meantime, as soon as it is wet enough
to swallow, you will get little, if any, more nutriment out of it, and
none of the exquisite taste that Nature's way offers as an allurement
for obeying her beneficent demands. The way of Nature is the epicurean
way; the other way is nothing less than piggish gluttony.
Even if time for eating is limited, nothing is gained by bolting food.
Thirty mouthfuls of bread thoroughly dissolved in the mouth will supply
nutriment for a strong man for twenty-four hours, and the eating of it
in the way recommended will give pleasure unknown in hurry.
My physiological chemist friend assures me that I am right in asserting
that man should _not drink anything_ but pure water, and _that_ for the
purpose of quenching thirst. If anything is good enough to drink at
all it is too good to waste on an unwilling stomach when grateful and
hungry taste-buds are eager for it.
Don't drink soup! Don't drink milk! Don't drink beer! Don't drink wine!
Don't drink syruped sodas for the taste of the syrups! _Sip everything
that has taste_ so that Taste can inspect it and get the good out of it
for you!