PROPER EATING--THE SECRET OF GOOD HEALTH
Very slowly the world is awakening to the fact that no agencies play such
an important part in the preservation of health as the consumption of
reasonable quantities of well-cooked and properly selected food, and the
habitual taking of wholesome drinks. On all sides the observant medical
man sees constant and reckless disregard of the simplest and most
fundamental laws governing this subject. Nothing is more common than to
hear of men in the prime of life being seized with what is called a
"nervous breakdown,"--which generally means a digestive breakdown--to be
followed by an era of misery for the unfortunate subject and his scarcely
happier family. Nervous and irritable, the slightest inconveniences are
magnified into terrible calamities, he constantly fears death, and his
sleepless nights become a saturnalia of gloomy thoughts and abject
fears.
Of course, not everyone guilty of dietetic sins goes through such sad
experiences, for the naturally strong frequently escape the consequences
of their rashness, particularly where they live in the rural districts
and take plenty of out-door exercise. Let not such, however, flatter
themselves that their disregard of hygienic laws will go unpunished.
After indiscretions in eating they will all, at one time or another, have
acute indigestion with diarrhoea; and how often does the previously well
and hearty man after indiscretion in eating wake up with a dull headache,
furred tongue, foul breath, and a general feeling of sluggishness and
mental depression?
Is it his liver? Our unscientific medical ancestors--at a loss to account
for the state of affairs in any other way--answered in the affirmative,
and, believing it was produced by a collection of bile in the liver,
called the condition "biliousness." How absurd modern science has shown
this assumption to be! We now know that the liver is rarely diseased,
and that it furnishes its secretion, called bile, for the purpose of
aiding digestion rather than hindering it, and that this substance is
rarely, if ever, produced in excess. It is undigested, putrefying food in
the intestinal tract that produces the trouble. Under such circumstances
one usually takes a dose of calomel, which, being perhaps the most
satisfactory and perfect purgative that we possess, relieves the
condition promptly by getting rid of the offending material; but the drug
does not act on the liver.
Unfortunately ill results of quite a different and a much more serious
character often follow in the wake of dietetic errors; in those who have
a tendency to consumption, particularly where they overwork, this dread
disease frequently makes its appearance as a consequence of bad eating
and drinking. Many, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that appear
in the latter half of life are produced in this way, and nothing is more
certain than that the peace, happiness and longevity of mankind could be
incalculably increased by the simple observance of what is known
concerning proper eating and drinking.
We will now consider the very important subject of the quantity and
character of foods which should be taken in health, with suggestions as
to those most suitable for dyspeptics.
_Over-eating too Prevalent._--The majority of us take much more food than
is necessary, with the result that we suffer from indigestion.
When we consume more than a reasonable amount of food habitually serious
digestive disturbances are sure to result,--to be often followed at a
later time by tuberculosis, morbid alterations in the blood-vessels,
Bright's disease, and other serious maladies of a chronic nature.
Professor Chittenden, who is America's greatest physiological chemist,
has demonstrated that in all probability previous workers along these
lines have been excessive in their estimates as to the amount of food
required. He showed that a man could live for a period of nine months on
a daily ration which contained about one-third of the usual amount of
proteids generally thought to be necessary, and at the same time the fats
and carbohydrates were reduced to such a degree that the total number of
heat units, or calories, liberated from the food scarcely exceeded in
number one-half of the standard requirements. He also experimented on
thirteen volunteers from the hospital corps of the United States Army, to
whom he daily fed rations of only 2,000 calories, and, notwithstanding
that they engaged in physical work, all were found to be in better
condition at the end of six months than they were at the beginning.
These results strongly point to the conclusion that previous estimates as
to the quantity of food required are erroneous, and that man can not only
live, but may continue in strength and health on much smaller amounts. It
is highly probable that this discrepancy may be accounted for, at least
to a considerable extent, by the assumption that much of the food
ordinarily taken is rejected by the system, and passes out as waste,
while, when small quantities are eaten, it is for the most part absorbed.
_Mastication._--Thorough chewing of the food is absolutely essential for
proper digestion. While it is true that this, like all other good things
in life, may be, and often is, carried to an unnecessary extreme, it is
certainly true that we would be infinitely better off if we were to go
to the extent in this direction of so called "Fletcherism" rather than
perform this most important function in an indifferent manner.
This rule applies with especial force to food of a starchy
nature,--bread, potatoes, oatmeal, rice, etc. In order to digest food of
this character it must be very thoroughly cooked and when finally placed
upon the table it should be of such consistence that it requires chewing
before it can be swallowed. Not only is this necessary from the
standpoint of breaking up the larger particles into smaller ones, thus
permitting the food to pass freely through the stomach and intestine, but
it is of the greatest importance for it to be thoroughly soaked with the
saliva during the process. It is thus of no advantage for starches to be
served in a finely divided form--in fact it is directly the contrary,
since under such circumstances it is almost always the case that such
foods are swallowed without having been insalivated.
What has been said concerning the mastication of starches applies with
almost equal force to other foods. Without exception their digestibility
is much increased by thorough chewing. As the result of recent
experiments carried out by means of the X-ray, it has been shown that
particles of food of any considerable size will not pass from the stomach
into the intestine; as often as an object of this kind attempts to force
its way from the former into the latter the opening between the two
closes, and as a consequence the food is retained in the stomach longer
than it is in health--resulting in the course of time in catarrhal
conditions of the organ just named, and an unnatural relaxation of its
muscular walls. Under such circumstances the patient quickly develops
symptoms of indigestion, and if his habits be not corrected the trouble
gradually grows worse until the sufferer becomes a chronic dyspeptic.
_Classes of Nutritive Substances._--All substances that are of any
appreciable value in nutrition may be divided into those that are
nitrogenous in character (albumins, legumins), the carbohydrates
(starches and sugars) and compound ethers (fats). Of all these the
nitrogenous foods are the most important, since they contain the material
from which the great bulk of the body is largely composed, and at the
same time there is every evidence that in case of need they may be broken
up into chemical substances that may take the place of any of the other
kinds of foods; upon nitrogenous food, then, a man may live alone, while
this cannot be done on other articles of diet. The fats, starches and
sugars are very closely related to each other, and it is generally
believed that they subserve much the same end in the economy; by
undergoing chemical change they furnish energy (heat and muscular force)
and are undoubtedly largely responsible for the formation of the fats of
the body. While there is some evidence that under certain conditions
alcohol may be a food, its value is certainly very small, and it is not
of sufficient importance to be considered in this connection. The ideal
diet then for a healthy man is a proper proportion of nitrogenous
(albuminous) food, along with a reasonable portion of fats, starches and
sugars. Professors Voight and Atwater have calculated the following
table, which fairly represents the amount of proteids, fats and
carbohydrates that should compose the rations for twenty-four hours for
the ordinary adult male.
ADULT MALE OF AVERAGE WEIGHT.
At Rest. Moderate Labor. Severe Labor.
Proteids 110 grammes 118 grammes 145 grammes.
Fats 50 " 50 " 100 "
Carbohydrates 450 " 500 " 500 "
The tables that follow, which were arranged by Hutchinson, give a very
good idea of the generally accepted views as to the relative quantities
of the different foods that are thought necessary for the average adult
engaged in ordinary muscular work:--
Fuel
Food Materials. Amount. Albumins. Fats. Starches. Value.
1. Ozs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Calories.
Beef, round st'k 13 0.14 0.12 .... 695
Butter 3 .... 0.16 .... 680
Potatoes 6 0.02 .... 0.15 320
Bread 22 0.12 0.02 0.75 1760
-- ---- ---- ---- ----
Totals 44 0.28 0.30 0.90 3455
2.
Pork, salt 4 .... 0.21 .... 880
Butter 2 .... 0.11 .... 450
Beans 16 0.23 0.02 0.59 1615
Bread 8 0.04 0.01 0.28 640
-- ---- ---- ---- ----
Totals 30 0.27 0.35 0.87 3585
3.
Beef, neck 10 0.10 0.09 .... 550
Butter 1 .... 0.05 .... 225
Milk, one pint 16 0.04 0.04 0.05 325
Potatoes 16 0.02 .... 0.15 320
Oatmeal 4 0.04 0.02 0.17 460
Bread 16 0.09 0.02 0.56 1280
Sugar 3 .... .... 0.19 345
-- ---- ---- ---- ----
Totals 66 0.29 0.22 1.12 3505
4.
Beef, up. sh'lder 10 0.09 0.13 .... 800
Ham 6 0.06 0.13 .... 650
Eggs, two 3 0.03 0.02 .... 135
Butter 2 .... 0.11 .... 450
Milk, one pint 16 0.04 0.04 0.05 325
Potatoes 12 0.01 .... 0.11 240
Flour 9 0.05 0.01 0.38 825
Sugar 1 .... .... 0.06 115
-- ---- ---- ---- ----
Totals 59 0.28 0.44 0.60 3540
5.
Sausage 4 0.03 0.11 .... 510
Codfish 14 0.07 .... .... 140
Butter 2 .... 0.11 .... 450
Milk, one pint 16 0.04 0.04 0.05 325
Beans 5 0.01 .... 0.18 505
Rice 2 0.01 .... 0.10 205
Potatoes 16 0.01 .... 0.23 420
Bread 9 0.04 0.01 0.28 640
Sugar 3 .... .... 0.19 345
-- ---- ---- ---- ----
Totals 71 0.27 0.28 1.03 3540
6. Beef 8 0.08 0.10 .... 560
Mackerel, salt 4 0.04 0.04 .... 230
Eggs, two 3 0.03 0.02 .... 135
Butter 2-1/2 .... 0.13 .... 565
Cheese 1 0.02 0.02 .... 130
Milk, one pint 16 0.04 0.04 0.05 325
Potatoes 8 0.01 .... 0.08 160
Rice 2 0.01 .... 0.10 205
Bread 9 0.05 0.01 0.32 720
Sugar 1-1/2 .... .... 0.09 175
-- ---- ---- ---- ----
Totals 55 0.28 0.36 0.64 3205
_Calories Defined._--It should be explained that the term "calorie" is
one which has been adopted as a scientific expression for the fuel-value
of substances undergoing oxidation, and in this connection refers to the
heat-producing capacity of foods. The "calorie" is the amount of heat
required to raise the temperature of one gramme of water 1 deg.C. It has been
estimated that starches, sugars and albumins liberate during combustion
4.1 calories per gramme, while fats produce 9.3 calories. It will be
noted that in the tables just given the total number of calories is in
each instance somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,500, which is
considered to be about the number of heat units required by the average
man at moderate muscular work. The weight of the average woman being less
than that of the adult male, a reduction of about 20 per cent. from the
foregoing figures would approximate the amount of food required by the
former.