FOOD AND HEALTH
=Meats.=--Beef is the best of all meat for food. Nearly one fifth of
it can be used to repair the worn-out parts of the body. Mutton, the
meat of sheep, is almost as good for food as beef. Veal and pork also
contain much body-building matter, but the stomach must work hard to
prepare them for use.
Fish is an excellent food, but it has only little more than one half
as much flesh-building matter as good beef. Poultry is a healthful
food, especially for the weak and sick, but it is more expensive than
the other meats. Oysters are largely made of water and do not contain
much to strengthen the body.
In all meat there is some waste matter. This may harm the body if we
eat too much meat. It is no longer thought healthful for most persons
to eat meat more than once a day. Too much meat used daily for several
years is likely to cause disease.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Each of these articles costs the same, but
the bread will furnish four times as much food for the body as the
cabbage, more than twice as much as the fish, and nearly twice as much
as the milk.]
=The Cooking of Meat.=--The best meat if poorly cooked is unfit for
eating. Broiled and roasted meats are more healthful than boiled or
fried meat. Meat is broiled by holding it in a wire frame over a
flame or hot coals. It is roasted by placing it in a covered pan in a
hot oven for two or three hours. It is boiled by keeping it in hot
water several hours.
Meat is fried by cooking it in lard or other fat in a pan. Only those
who have strong bodies should eat fried meat.
The cheap cuts of meat from the neck, breast, and legs have about as
much food matter in them as the more costly parts. Such meat may be
made more tender by boiling than by roasting.
=Soup.=--Soup, broth, and beef tea furnish but little food for the
body. They are very useful in giving us a good appetite for the real
food to be eaten later. They make the stomach go to work more quickly
than other food. Soup or broth is made from meat by placing it on the
stove in cold water, gradually heating it, and then keeping it hot
several hours.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Either group of foods will give the body the
same strength and nourishment for work and growth.]
=Vegetables.=--Some persons never eat meat of any kind because they
enjoy better health when using only vegetables, milk, and eggs. Peas and
beans contain much matter for making new flesh and blood and also much
starch to give heat and power to the body. Potatoes form a valuable
food. Roasted potatoes are more healthful than those boiled or fried.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--The amount of real food in these articles.]
Radishes, onions, and cucumbers are made largely of water. Only a
small amount of these should be eaten at one meal as the stomach must
work hard to make use of them. Young beets, lettuce, and ripe tomatoes
may be eaten by young and old. They contain useful minerals and help
keep the body in a healthful condition.
=The Cereals or Grain Foods.=--These foods are eaten in the form of
bread, oatmeal, corn meal, rice, and breakfast foods. All of these
furnish much matter to strengthen the body and make it grow. Bread and
butter with rice are excellent foods for children.
=Fruits.=--Very few people can remain well long without eating fruit of
some kind. Ripe apples, pears, plums, peaches, berries, and cherries
furnish useful salts to the body and also help the stomach and food
tube do their work in a more healthful way. Fruits also increase the
appetite. Green fruit and fruit which is overripe should never be eaten.
=Eggs.=--Eggs form a good food for nearly everybody, but they are
specially needed by the young and other persons with weak bodies. They
can repair the worn-out parts of the body and also help it do its work.
Eggs are most healthful when eaten raw or soft cooked. The best way to
cook them through evenly is to put them in a pan off the stove and add
about a quart of boiling water for every three eggs. Cover and let
them cook fifteen minutes.
Eggs should be kept in a cold room or cellar until used. They become
stale in less than a week when left in a warm living room and may get
a bad taste when only three or four days old.
=Salt, Pepper, and Vinegar.=--Eating much salt is harmful. A small
quantity of salt and pepper increases the appetite and makes the
stomach do its work better. Children should use very little pepper and
almost no vinegar and mustard.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--A bottle of beer. The dotted part at the top
shows how much body-building food it contains.]
=Tobacco.=--Some people think tobacco is a food because it is made from
the leaves of a plant. Other people think tobacco is a food because they
do not feel hungry after smoking or chewing it. The truth is that
tobacco is of no use to the body as a food and may do it much harm
because of the poison it contains. Tobacco satisfies hunger somewhat by
deadening the parts of the body that are calling for food.
=Beer.=--The people who make beer and sell it say that it is a food.
Men who have no interest in selling beer, and have experimented with
it to find out whether it strengthens the body, say that beer should
never be used as a food. It often tends to weaken the body. Children
should never use beer at any time, and older people can sometimes
avoid disease by letting it alone.
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
1. Which are the best meats for food?
2. Why should we not eat meat at every meal?
3. How should meat be cooked to make it most tender?
4. How is soup or broth made?
5. Name the best vegetables for food.
6. Name some good grain foods.
7. Of what use are fruits?
8. What can you say of the use of eggs?
9. How should eggs be cared for?
10. What can you say of the use of salt and pepper?
11. Why does tobacco satisfy hunger?
12. Of what value is beer for food?