MEATS, SUGARS AND MILK
First in the list of foods the writer would place those nitrogenous
substances commonly eaten that belong to the class of albumins. That
these substances are in reality the most important of all food-stuffs
there can be no sort of question, since they, of all things eaten by the
human being, are alone absolutely essential for his well being and even
his existence. They are the substances that almost exclusively go to make
up the muscle and tendons. Along with the lime-salts they enter largely
into the composition of the bones and cartilages, brain, spinal cord and
nerves. Other foods are incapable of taking the place of the albumins, so
that they are absolutely essential for normal life in the human being.
The amount of albumin necessary for the normal adult has been variously
estimated, the tendency at the present time being to place the quantity
needed somewhat lower than was at one time done. It is probable that
about two ounces of pure albumins is somewhere near the amount required
in twenty-four hours by a normal adult.
It is well, since we are so dependent on foods of this class, that we
have two quite distinct sources from which they may be taken. The great
bulk comes to us in the form of meats, including poultry, game, oysters
and fish of various kinds, in addition to beef, mutton, and hog-meat in
its several forms. Of animal origin also we have eggs, which are among
the most valuable of all foods of this class on account of their high
digestibility.
From the vegetable world we get albumins known as legumins, which differ
somewhat from those obtained from animal sources, though taking their
place in the economy in all essential particulars. Unfortunately the
legumins are usually so mixed with starches and other vegetable
substances less digestible, that it is necessary to take a large bulk of
foods of this latter class in order to secure anything like the requisite
amount of the former.
Before taking up individually the various albuminous foods, the writer
would again direct attention to the chapter on cooking, and would
strongly urge upon the reader the proper methods of preparing nitrogenous
foods therein stated. Where the albumins are in a nearly pure state, as
in milk and eggs, they are slightly more digestible when raw, but all
meats should be cooked until only the faintest tinge of red remains if we
wish to have them prepared in the most wholesome way for those with
delicate digestions. Meats are, as a rule, most wholesome when cooked
"very done."
It has long been the cry of sentimentalists that no living being
should die in order that man might exist. Unfortunately for such
theories, the stern and unbending edict of nature has negatived
views of this kind ages before the altruistic philosopher came on
the scene, and we are daily constrained to bow to this mandate of
one of the primal laws of existence. However much we might desire
it otherwise, it has been written that "only in death is there
life;" nor may any animal being disobey and continue to exist. As
has been already explained, the human being cannot thrive on
vegetable substances alone; from them he may get a certain amount
of nitrogen in the form of legumin, but there is not enough to
make up for the waste of this substance that constantly goes on in
the body.
Theoretically it is of very little importance which of the meats are
selected to supply our nitrogenous food, but it is unfortunately true
that such foods vary much in digestibility, and it will therefore be
necessary to consider them separately.
_Beef._--When tender and cooked to a proper degree, beef is considered
one of our most wholesome of meats. Like other foods of this kind, it
should not be fried, but should be broiled or roasted, and a certain
amount of fat may be eaten along with the lean portions without injury,
and in many persons unquestionably with benefit.
_Mutton._--Of all the coarser meats, mutton is unquestionably the most
digestible, and when cooked in the same way as directed for beef is
eminently wholesome.
_Hog-meats._--On account of the large portion of fat between the
muscle-fibers, hog-meat, particularly when fresh, is not usually regarded
as being digestible. Some persons eat it with impunity, but for the vast
majority it should be taken only in small quantities. It should not be
fried. In the form of ham, hog meat is more wholesome than when fresh,
but even in this condition many dyspeptics find much difficulty in
digesting it. The best method of cooking it is to boil thoroughly. After
being cooked in this way and then broiled, it is most appetizing, and is
much more wholesome than when broiled without being previously cooked. As
bacon, hog-meat enters largely into the dietary of a great portion of the
laborers of this country, and there can be no doubt that on the whole it
answers the purpose of a staple food admirably. It contains even more fat
than nitrogenous substances, and may therefore be looked upon as a
mixture of butter and meat. Dyspeptics cannot eat it with impunity in
many instances, though it agrees far better with them than does ham or
the fresh meat. If it were generally eaten boiled it would provoke less
trouble than when fried. At this point the writer would repeat his
warning concerning the indigestible character of melted grease, of which
the gravy from bacon is a striking example.
When "cured" in a somewhat different way hog-meat as "breakfast-bacon"
is very generally used throughout the civilized world, and is one of its
most wholesome forms. This when broiled is both appetizing and wholesome,
and should form a part of the daily dietary of everyone able to afford
it.
_Poultry and Game._--Among the more delicate and most wholesome forms in
which albumins are taken we find poultry and game well up toward the head
of the list. Meats of this character should be very thoroughly cooked by
being either baked, smothered or broiled.
_Fish._--Fish of almost all kinds are wholesome provided they be fresh
and properly cooked. The culinary artist prepares of them most appetizing
and nutritious dishes, and they are therefore properly to be recommended
as among the best of the albuminous foods.
_Oysters and Clams._--Oysters and clams are usually considered somewhat
apart from the generality of the foods of this character. When fresh they
are wholesome and delicious when eaten raw, and may be cooked in a great
variety of ways. The reader should be especially warned that fried
oysters are not so wholesome as when they are prepared by other methods,
for the reason that they are surrounded by a batter containing quantities
of melted grease.
_Eggs._--Among the most delicate, digestible, and nutritious of all foods
we may place eggs. Though somewhat more digestible when raw, they agree,
as a rule, even with the most fastidious stomach, however cooked, even
when hard-boiled. Eggs lend themselves readily to the formation of many
delicious dishes, such as omelets, souffles, etc.; but unfortunately they
do not contain nutriment in a very concentrated form, and where an adult
is living on them alone it requires from one and a half to two dozen
daily to furnish the necessary amount of food.
_Fats._--Under the term "fats" are included all oily substances, such as
butter, lard, olive and cotton-seed oils, and to a great extent the fat
contained in meats. These substances are closely related to starches and
sugars, and undoubtedly play a more or less similar role when taken into
the body as food. From the standpoint of heat-producing capacity they
more than double, weight for weight, meats and starches, and are,
therefore, instinctively highly prized by dwellers in cold countries
where much heat is necessary. In warmer countries the necessity for
excessive heat-production in the body does not exist.
While oily substances are certainly capable of adding to the
cushion of fat commonly found beneath the skin in normal
individuals, they are not looked upon as being to any extent
tissue-builders, resembling in this particular the starches and
sugars.
When fats are to be eaten, care should be taken that they be as
fresh as possible, or, if this is not feasible, they should be
preserved in such a way as to prevent their becoming rancid--a
condition which is the result of the formation of fatty acids,
lending a peculiarly unpleasant odor and taste, and producing a
decided decrease in food-value. This alteration may be largely
prevented by keeping fats in a refrigerator at a low temperature,
and may also be greatly retarded by the addition of salt. In this
country butter is usually treated with a very considerable amount
of salt, but in Europe it is universally served fresh. Within
recent years facts have been established that show that Americans
use an excessive amount of this substance--possibly causing disease
in some cases; and doubtless we would be better off if we were to
follow the European practice.
Oily substances when in good condition are certainly of high value
as foods, but should be taken more or less with an eye to the
climate, and to the season of the year. When placed on cold bread
and eaten along with it they are extremely palatable, and may be
taken in reasonable amounts with decided benefit to the whole body.
In temperate climates it is generally estimated that about three
ounces is a desirable amount for the average adult. In this
connection it may not be out of place to mention that the various
preparations of cod-liver oil, advertised so freely in the lay
press, in some instances actually do not contain a single particle
of the substance that they are supposed to be principally composed
of; and it may be further stated that there is no good reason to
believe that bulk for bulk oils of this kind are in any way
superior to those fats commonly eaten. The writer often recalls the
saying of a very wise old physician of his acquaintance that
"cod-liver oil is nearly as good as butter."
_Sugars._--This term includes the large number of different substances of
a more or less sweetish taste that belong to the group of carbohydrates.
They are closely related to the starches, and it is generally assumed
that they play much the same part after being taken into the body. Some
of these are of animal and some of vegetable origin--but except the sugar
found in milk, the only ones commonly consumed are those derived from
cane, beets, and fruits; the sugar from the first two is known as cane
sugar or dextrose, and that from the latter as grape sugar or glucose.
Like albumins they may be eaten without having been previously cooked,
and are unique in that they undergo no chemical change whatever as a
result of ordinary degrees of heat.
While the consumption of sugars in all civilized nations is rapidly
increasing, there can be no question that, irrespective of fruits, they
are, of all foods, the most frequent causes of digestive disturbances. It
is only within comparatively recent times that mankind has possessed
means of separating sugars in any great bulk from the plants containing
them, and as a consequence they have only entered prominently into our
every-day diet for a relatively short period of time. Before this, it is
true, they were consumed to a greater or less extent in various fruits,
but the quantity was insignificant as compared with the amount now
universally eaten. As a result of this we are now confronted with a new
dietetic problem. For ages the human stomach has been accustomed to deal
with only small quantities of these substances, and developed
accordingly a capacity to digest them proportionate to the amounts then
eaten. Now, however, we constantly call upon our digestive organs to deal
with large quantities of such foods, and it is not strange that there has
been more or less rebellion on their part.
Experiments have shown that a small amount of sugar assists in the
normal chemical changes that go on in the body, and it is,
therefore, obvious that nature intends us to take a certain
quantity of it. Moreover it is true that sugars while being burned
in the body give off much energy--mainly manifested in muscular
power; where then we are taking active physical exercise foods of
this kind are peculiarly appropriate. It would, therefore, not be
wise for us to leave this food entirely out of the dietetic list,
but to use it only in small amounts--particularly where we lead
sedentary lives. Sugar and alcohol play a more or less similar role
in the animal economy. It is well known that those who do not use
alcohol are peculiarly prone to consume considerable quantities of
sugar; and it is equally a matter of common observation that those
who habitually take alcohol rarely eat sweets to any extent.
When sugar is properly assimilated, as seems to be done most easily
by children, it is an excellent food, but where sweets are
over-eaten, and not properly digested, they give rise to a great
accumulation of gas in the intestine, and produce in many persons
a marked acidity of the stomach, frequently accompanied by severe
insomnia. Nothing so quickly relieves such sleeplessness, caused by
a "sour stomach," as allowing ten or fifteen grains of ordinary
cooking-soda to slowly dissolve in the mouth and swallowing the
saliva rendered alkaline in this way.
_Milk._--Milk may be looked upon as an ideal food, it being composed of
water carrying in solution the three great natural foods--albumins in the
form of casein, carbohydrates as milk-sugar or lactose, and fat. Mixed in
the proportion in which they here occur, they are most admirably adapted
to the delicate digestive apparatus of the infant--the relative
proportion of the different substances even gradually changing as the
assimilative powers of the youthful organism increase; it is thus seen
that milk itself is not of constant composition, even in the same animal,
and that it alters in such a manner as to meet best the needs of the
delicate being depending upon it for proper sustenance. It is also the
case that the composition of milk varies in different animals--showing
again how admirably nature exerts its powers in meeting desired ends.
The lesson of practicable importance that we learn from this is that the
milk of one of the lower animals is not in its natural state quite suited
to the delicate stomach of the growing infant, and that if it be
substituted for the mother's milk it must be more or less altered,
depending upon the age of the child. It is particularly important that
sweet milk be taken slowly, as otherwise large curds, difficult of
digestion, form as soon as it gets into the stomach.