DIGESTION.
In the preceding article we said that the rapid conversion and waste of
the blood is the main point in nutrition. In the examination of food,
only such articles ought to be pronounced good and healthy, as are
capable of _rapidly_ replacing the blood lost by work and vital
activity. It follows from this, that our chemists do not do enough, when
they examine the food and determine its worth merely according to its
contents; articles of food must be studied also in reference to the
rapidity and ease with which they may be converted into blood.
An article that contains little of what the blood needs, but which
converts that little rapidly and easily into blood, is much preferable
to food which contains many of the constituent parts of the blood, but
turns into blood very slowly and with difficulty.
An example will illustrate this better:
It has been proved chemically, that the husks of grain, the pure bran,
contain a remarkably large quantity of vegetable albumen and fat; in
this particular, bran is richer than even flour, and a distinguished
chemist, Millon, in Paris, in 1849, created quite a sensation by his
earnest admonition to use bran no longer only to feed cattle, but to use
it mixed with flour, as food for man. He calculated minutely and proved
irrefutably, that such food must be considered a great advantage, a real
blessing.
Although his investigations and computations were correct, it has since
been shown that his proposition is false. In his capacity of a chemist
he was right; but the stomach has not as much time and patience as a
studious chemist. Notwithstanding bran contains much that the blood can
use, yet it is of no avail so long as our digestive apparatus is not
organized to perform the change of the bran into blood _rapidly_ and
_easily_. If bran leaves our body undigested, which happens even to the
strongest, then it is certainly more judicious to give it to cattle;
they can digest it well, grow fat and strong upon it, and give us meat,
fat, and milk in return.
There is another truth we must constantly keep in view; it is this: Of
two like articles of food, the better and more advantageous one to us is
that which is digested, or better, converted into blood, the more easily
and quickly.
And there is a third truth, which must not be omitted. Let no one for a
moment believe, that a great variety of food is something unimportant
and indifferent; on the contrary, investigations have shown that uniform
food is hurtful, while a constant change is very beneficial to nutrition
and health.
Nor must we neglect, by way of conclusion, to mention a very important
item, viz.: that taste comes in for a large share, and that a judicious
assortment and seasoning of the food is an essential part of good
nutrition. The husband provides for his wife, it is true; but, on the
other hand, the good housewife who prepares healthy, tasteful meals,
does in truth perform a great service, and contributes more to the
working power of her husband, than most of men are aware.
After these few preliminaries, we will speak now of the articles
themselves; in doing so, we shall keep within the limits of practical
life, though we run the risk of transgressing here and there into the
domain of our good housewives, and of meddling with what, according to
their idea, is not our business.