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Diet and Health
_With_
Key to the Calories
By
Lulu Hunt Peters, A.B., M.D.
Ex-Chairman, Public Health Committee
California Federation of Women's Clubs
Los Angeles District
Chicago
The Reilly and Lee Co.
1918
Dedicated
by permission to
Herbert Hoover
Illustrated by
The Author's Small Nephew
Dawson Hunt Perkins
The little rascal
Read This First
I am sorry I cannot devise a key by which to read this book, as well as
a Key to the Calories, for sometimes you are to read the title headings
and side explanations before the text. Other times you are supposed to
read the text and then the headings. It really does not matter much as
long as you read them both. Be sure to do that. They are clever. _I
wrote them myself_.
I have been accused of trying to catch you coming and going, because I
have included in my book the right methods of gaining weight, as well as
those for losing weight. But this is not the reason--though I don't
object to doing that little thing--the reason is that the lack of
knowledge of foods is the foundation for both overweight and
underweight.
I did want my publishers to get this out in a cheaper edition, thinking
that more people could have it, and thus it would be doing more good;
but they have convinced me that that idea was a false claim of my mortal
mind, and that the more you paid for it, the more you would appreciate
it. I have received many times, and without grumbling on my part, ten
dollars for the same advice given in my office. Perhaps on this line of
reasoning we should have ten dollars for the book. Those of you who
think so may send the balance on through my publishers.
L.H.P.
Los Angeles, California
June, 1918
CONTENTS
1 Preliminary Bout 11
2 Key to the Calories 23
3 Review and More Definitions 30
4 More Keys and More Calories 37
5 Vegetarianism vs. Meat Eating 54
6 The Deluded Ones--My Thin Friends 59
7 Exercise 69
8 At Last! How to Reduce 77
9 Autobiographical 88
10 Testimonials 96
11 An Apology and Some Amendments 98
12 Maintenance Diet and Conclusions 102
13 Three Years Later 106
Diet and Health
1
Preliminary Bout
_Rule to Find Ideal Adult Net Weight_
Multiply number of inches over 5 ft. in height by 5-1/2; add 110. For
example: Height 5 ft. 7 in. without shoes.
7 x 5-1/2 = 38-1/2
+ 110
-------
Ideal weight 148-1/2
If under 5 ft. multiply number of inches under 5 ft. by 5-1/2 and
subtract from 110.
_Are You Thin and Do You Want to Gain?_
[Sidenote: _Don't Read This_]
Skip this chapter. It will not interest you in the least. I will come to
you later. I am not particularly interested in you anyway, for I cannot
get your point of view. How any one can want to be anything but thin is
beyond my intelligence. However, knowing that there are such deluded
individuals, I have been constrained to give you advice. You won't find
it spontaneous nor from the heart, but if you follow my directions I
will guarantee that you will gain; providing, of course, you have no
organic trouble; and the chances are that by giving proper attention to
your diet you will gain anyway, and maybe in passing lose your trouble.
Who knows?
[Sidenote: _Bad Business_]
In war time it is a crime to hoard food, and fines and imprisonment have
followed the expose of such practices. Yet there are hundreds of
thousands of individuals all over America who are hoarding food, and
that one of the most precious of all foods! _They have vast amounts of
this valuable commodity stored away in their own anatomy_.
[Illustration: contents noted]
Now fat individuals have always been considered a joke, but you are a
joke no longer. Instead of being looked upon with friendly tolerance and
amusement, you are now viewed with distrust, suspicion, and even
aversion! How dare you hoard fat when our nation needs it? You don't
dare to any longer. You never wanted to be fat anyway, but you did not
know how to reduce, and it is proverbial how little you eat. Why, there
is Mrs. Natty B. Slymm, who is beautifully thin, and she eats twice as
much as you do, and does not gain an ounce. You know positively that
eating has nothing to do with it, for one time you dieted, didn't eat a
thing but what the doctor ordered, besides your regular meals, and you
actually gained.
You are in despair about being anything but fat, and--! how you hate it.
But cheer up. I will save you; yea, even as I have saved myself and
many, many others, so will I save you.
[Sidenote: _Spirituality vs. Materiality_]
[Sidenote: _A Long, Long Battle_]
It is not in vain that all my life I have had to fight the too, too
solid. Why, I can remember when I was a child I was always being
consoled by being told that I would outgrow it, and that when I matured
I would have some shape. Never can I tell pathetically "when I was
married I weighed only one hundred eighteen, and look at me now." No, I
was a delicate slip of one hundred and sixty-five when I was taken.
I never will tell you how much I have weighed, I am so thoroughly
ashamed of it, but my normal weight is one hundred and fifty pounds, and
at one time there was seventy pounds more of me than there is now, or
has been since I knew how to control it. I was not so shameless as that
very long, and as I look back upon that short period I feel like
refunding the comfortable salary received as superintendent of an
hospital; for I know I was only sixty-five per cent efficient, for
efficiency decreases in direct proportion as excess weight increases.
Everybody knows it.
_The Meeting Is Now Open for Discussion_
Jolly Mrs. Sheesasite has the floor and wants some questions answered.
You know Mrs. Sheesasite; her husband recently bought her a pair of
freight scales.
[Sidenote: _Mrs. Sheesasite_]
"Why is it, Doctor, that thin people can eat so much more than fat
people and still not gain?"
[Sidenote: _Me Answering_]
"First: Thin people are usually more active than fat people and use up
their food.
"Second: Thin people have been proved to radiate fifty per cent more
heat per pound than fat people; in other words, fat people are regular
fireless cookers! They hold the heat in, it cannot get out through the
packing, and the food which is also contained therein goes merrily on
with fiendish regularity, depositing itself as fat.
[Illustration: Fireless Cookers.]
"And there are baby fireless cookers and children fireless cookers. The
same dietetic rules apply to them as to the adult."
"I recognize Mrs. Tiny Weyaton; then you, Mrs. Knott Little."
[Sidenote: _Mrs. Weyaton_]
"We have heard you say that fat people eat too much, and still we eat so
little?"
[Sidenote: _Me Again_]
"Yes, you eat too much, _no matter how little it is_, even if it be only
one bird-seed daily, _if you store it away as fat_. For, hearken; food,
and food only (sometimes plus alcohol) maketh fat. Not water--not
air--verily, nothing but food maketh fat. (And between you and me, Mrs.
Weyaton, just confidential like--don't tell it--we know that the small
appetite story is a myth.)"
[Sidenote: _Mrs. Knott Little_]
"But, Doctor, is it not true that some individuals inherit the tendency
to be fat, and can not help it, no matter what they do?"
[Sidenote: _Doctor_]
"Answer to first part--Yes.
"Answer to second part--No! It is not true that they cannot help it;
they have to work a little harder, that is all. It is true that being
fat is a disease with some, due to imperfect working of the internal
secretory glands, such as the thyroid, generative glands, etc.; but that
is not true fat such as you have. Yours, and that of the other members
who are interested, is due to overeating and underexercising.
[Sidenote: _Not_?]
"Those diseased individuals should be under the care of a physician.
Probably the secretory glands are somewhat inactive or sluggish in the
healthy fat individual. I use the word _healthy_ here in
contradistinction to the other type. In reality, individuals very much
overweight are not really healthy, and they should also visit their
physician."
"Yes, Mrs. Ima Gobbler?"
[Sidenote: _Mrs. Ima Gobbler_]
[Sidenote: _Doctor Dear_]
"But, Doctor dear, what's the use of dieting? I only get fatter after I
stop."
(Answering delicate like, for I'm fond of her and she is sensitive):
"You fat--! You make me fatigued! _You never diet long enough_ to get
out of the fireless cooker class. _If you did, you wouldn't."_
"Is there anyone else who would like to be recognized? No?"
[Sidenote: _Nothing That I Don't Know_]
It is well. I will probably answer more as I go along, for there is
nothing that I don't know or haven't studied or tried in the reducing
line. I know everything you have to contend with--how you no sooner
congratulate yourself on your will power, after you have dragged
yourself by the window with an exposure of luscious fat chocolates with
curlicues on their tummies, than another comes into view, and you have
it all to go through with again, and how you finally succumb.
I hope sometime it will be a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment, to
display candy as shamelessly as it is done.
Many fond parents think that candy causes worms. It doesn't, of course,
unless it is contaminated with worm eggs, but, personally, I wish every
time I ate a chocolate I would get a worm, then I would escape them. The
chocolates, I mean. I will tell you more about worms when I discuss
meat.
[Sidenote: _Vampires_]
[Sidenote: _Malicious Animal Magnetism?_]
I know how you go down to destruction for peanuts, with their awful fat
content. It is terrible, the lure a peanut has for me. Do you suppose
Mr. Darwin could explain that?
Perhaps I was a little too delicate like in my answer to Mrs. Gobbler's
question,--What's the use of dieting, she only gets fatter after she
stops?
So many ask me that question, with the further pathetic addition,--Will
they always have to keep it up? And it ever irritates me.
The answer is,--Yes! You will always have to keep up dieting, just as
you always have to keep up other things in life that make it worth
living--being neat, being kind, being tender; reading, studying, loving.
You will not have to be nearly so strenuous after you get to normal;
_but you might as well recognize now, and accept it as a fact, that
neither you nor anybody else will be able to eat beyond your needs
without accumulating fat or disease, or both._
I love Billy Sunday's classical answer to the objection that his
conversions were not permanent. He responded: "Neither is a bath!"
WHEN YOU START TO REDUCE you will have the following to combat:
[Sidenote: _A Combat_]
First: Your husband, who tells you that he does not like thin women. I
almost hate my husband when I think how long he kept me under that
delusion. Now, of course, I know all about his jealous disposition, and
how he did not want me to be attractive.
[Illustration: _Green!_]
Second: Your sister, who says, "Goodness, Lou, but you look old today;
you looked lots better as you were."
[Illustration: _Sweet Peace_]
Third: Your friends, who tell you that you are just right now; don't
lose another pound! And other friends who tell you cheerful tales of
people they have known who reduced, and who went into a decline, and
finally died.
[Sidenote: _To Avoid Slack in Your Neck, Double and Triple Chins,
Massage Vigorously Up and Down, Not Crossways_]
[Sidenote: _I Am Interesting_]
But you must not mind them. Smile, and tell them that you know all about
it, and don't worry. Go serenely on your way, confident in your heart
that you will look fully ten years younger when you get down to normal,
no matter how you look in the interim. I don't see why women, and men,
too, (secretly) worry so much about wrinkles. If the increased wrinkles
on the face are accompanied by increased wrinkles in the gray matter,
'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. I'm sure I am much more
interesting with wrinkles than I was without. I am to myself, anyway.
However, you will not be any more wrinkled if you reduce gradually, as I
advise, and keep up your exercises at least fifteen minutes daily.
[Sidenote: _I Have a Beautiful Complexion_]
[Sidenote: _I Attended an Art School Six Months Once_]
Take care of your face, alternate hot and cold water, glycerine
one-quarter, rose water three-quarters, cold cream packs, massage
gently, a little ice--you know what to do--you need not fear. You will
not only look ten years younger and live twenty years longer--I assert
it boldly--but your complexion and efficiency will be one hundred per
cent better.
[Sidenote: _Joy_!]
If there is anything comparable to the joy of taking in your clothes, I
have not experienced it. And when you find your corset coming closer and
closer together (I advise a front lace, so this can be watched), and
then the day you realize that you will have to stitch in a tuck or get a
new one!
But don't be in a hurry to make your clothes smaller now. If they are
loose they will show to the world that you are reducing. A fat person in
a tight suit, unless it is perfectly new, should be interned.
[Sidenote: _Food Only_]
[Sidenote: _Impossible_]
I have said that food, and food only, causes fat. That gives you the cue
to what you must do to get rid of it. No anti-fat medicines unless under
the supervision of your scientific, educated physician. They are
dangerous; most of them contain thyroid extract, arsenic, or mercury.
Even the vendors of these harmful compounds in their advertisements are
now saying to "stop harmful drugging," but urge you to adopt their
particular delightful product, and, "without dieting or exercises, you
will positively reduce," and so forth.
No drastic purges, no violent exercises, especially at first, and not
too frequent nor prolonged Turkish baths. Epsom salts baths have little
effect. If salts are used habitually internally, they are harmful. All
of these are unscientific and unsuccessful, and the things they bring on
are worse than the fat.
Now, if food is the only source of body substance, you see that you must
study that question, and that is what I will give you--some lessons on
foods and their values.
[Sidenote: _Candy Cake, Pie, Rich Meats, Thick Gravy, Bread, Butter,
Nuts, Ice Cream_]
[Sidenote: _Whipped Cream, Candied Sweet Potatoes_]
Heretofore you have known only in a dumb, despairing sort of way that
all the foods you like are fattening, and all the advice you read and
hear is that you must avoid them as a pestilence. And you settle down to
your joyless fatness, realizing that it is beyond human strength to do
that forever, and that you would rather die young and fat, anyway, than
to have nothing to eat all your life but a little meat, fish, and sloshy
vegetables. Study on, and you will find the reason your favorite foods
are fattening.
But cast off your dejection. _You don't have to avoid them_!
Eat what you like and grow thin? Yes; follow me. I know it will be an
exertion, but you must persist and go through with it. Nothing in life
worth while is attained without some effort. So begin now; it is the
price of liberty.
_Review_
1. Give rule for normal weight.
2. How much excess food have you stored away?
3. Why more important than ever to reduce?
4. Why are fat individuals fireless cookers?
5. Give causes of excess fat.
_NOTE: The Reviews which follow the chapters are important and the
questions should be answered. To get the full benefit, Little Book must
be studied, for it is the only authorized textbook of the "Watch Your
Weights_."
2
Key to the Calories
Some one page the thin? They come back here.
[Sidenote: _Don't Skip This_]
Definition to learn:
CALORIE; symbol C.; a heat unit and food value unit; is that amount of
heat necessary to raise one pound of water 4 degrees Fahrenheit.
[Sidenote: _Pronounced Kal'-o-ri_]
There is a good deal of effort expended by many semi-educated
individuals to discredit the knowledge of calories, saying that it is a
foolish food science, a fallacy, a fetish, and so forth.
They reason, or rather say, that because there are no calories in some
of the very vital elements of foods--the vitamines and the mineral
salts--therefore it is not necessary to know about them. They further
argue that their grandfathers never heard of calories and they got along
all right. That grandfather argument always enrages my mortal mind.
[Sidenote: _A Unit of Measure_]
Now you know that a calorie is a unit of measuring heat and food. It is
not heat, not food; simply a unit of measure. And as food is of supreme
importance, certainly a knowledge of how it should be measured is also
of supreme importance.
[Sidenote: _Yes, They Are Kosher_]
You should know and also use the word calorie as frequently, or more
frequently, than you use the words foot, yard, quart, gallon, and so
forth, as measures of length and of liquids. Hereafter you are going to
eat calories of food. Instead of saying one slice of bread, or a piece
of pie, you will say 100 Calories of bread, 350 Calories of pie.
The following is the way the calorie is determined:
An apparatus known as the bomb calorimeter has two chambers, the inner,
which contains the dry food to be burned, say a definite amount of
sugar, and an outer, which is filled with water. The food is ignited
with an electric connection and burned. This heat is transferred to the
water. When one pound of water is raised 4 degrees Fahrenheit, the
amount of heat used is arbitrarily chosen as the unit of heat, and is
called the Calorie.
Food burned (oxydized) in the body has been proved to give off
approximately the same amount of heat or energy as when burned in the
calorimeter.
[Sidenote: _Approximate Measures_]
1 oz. Fat = 275 C.
--about 255 in the body.
1 oz. Protein (dry) = 120 C.
--about 113 in the body.
1 oz. Carbohydrates (dry) = 120 C.
--about 113 in the body.
(ROSE.)
Can you see now why fats are valuable? Why they make fat more than any
other food? They give off more than two and one-fourth times as much
heat, or energy, as the other foods.
[Sidenote: _See Next Chapter for Definitions_]
Notice that protein and carbohydrates have the same food value as to
heat or energy, each 113 Calories to the dry ounce. However, they are
not interchangeable; that is, carbohydrates will not take the place of
protein for protein is absolutely necessary to build and repair tissue,
and carbohydrates cannot do that. But fats and carbohydrates are
interchangeable as fuel or energy foods.
_Calories Needed per Day for Normal Individuals_
[Sidenote: _Business of Growing_]
This depends upon age, weight, and physical activities; the baby and the
growing child needing many more calories per pound per day than the
adult, who has to supply only his energy and repair needs. The aged
require still less than the young adult. As to weight; I have told you
why overweight individuals need so little. As to physical activities;
the more active, obviously the more calories needed, for every movement
consumes calories.
[Sidenote: _Many Know Nothing of This_]
The Maine lumbermen, for instance, while working during the winter
months, consume from 5000 to 8000 Calories per day. But they do a
tremendous amount of physical work.
_Mental work does not require added nourishment._ This has been proved,
and if an excess be taken over what is needed at rest (if considerable
exercise is not taken while doing the mental work) the work is not so
well done.
[Sidenote: _Calories Required for Normal_]
Per pound
per day
Infants require 40-50 C.
Growing Children 30-40 C.
Adults (depending upon activity) 15-20 C.
Old age requires 15 or less C.
_In Round Numbers for the Day_
Child 2-6 1000 to 1600 C. per day
Child 6-12 1600 to 2500 C. per day
Youth 12-18 2500 to 3000 C. per day
[Sidenote: _Growth Demands_]
(Remember that in general the boy needs as much as his father, and the
girl as much as her mother.)
MAN (per day):
At rest 1800 to 2000 C.
Sedentary 2200 to 2800 C.
Working 3500 to 4000 C.
WOMAN (per day):
At rest 1600 to 1800 C.
Sedentary occupations
(bookkeeper, etc.) 2000 to 2200 C.
Occupations involving
standing, walking, or
manual labor (general
housekeeping, etc.) 2200 to 2500 C.
Occupations requiring
strength (laundress,
etc.) 2500 to 3000 C.
(ROSE.)
_Example of Finding Number of Calories Needed_
1. Determine normal weight by rule.
2. Multiply normal weight by number of calories needed per pound per
day.
For example, say you weigh 220 or 125 lbs., but by the rule for your
height your weight should be 150 lbs.; then 150 would be the number you
would use.
[Sidenote: _Work Out Your Requirements_]
By the rule I have given, adults require 15-20 Calories per pound per
day, depending upon activity. For example, if you have no physical
activities, then take the lowest figure, 15. 150x15--2250. Therefore
your requirement, if your weight should be 150, is 2250 Calories per
day.
Now, if you want to lose, cut down 500-1000 Calories per day from that.
Five hundred Calories equal approximately 2 ounces of fat. Two ounces
per day would be about 4 pounds per month, or 48 pounds per year.
Cutting out 1000 Calories per day would equal a reduction of
approximately 8 pounds per month, or 96 pounds per year. These pounds
you can absolutely lose by having a knowledge of food values (calories)
and regulating your intake accordingly. You can now see the importance
of a knowledge of calories.
[Sidenote:
_1 lb. fat 4000 C_
_1/2 lb. fat 2000 C_
_1/4 lb. fat 1000 C_
_1/8 lb. fat 500 C_ ]
If you want to gain, add gradually 500-1000 Calories per day.
_Review_
1. Define Calorie, and tell how determined.
2. How many C. in 1 oz. fat? of carbohydrates? of protein?
3. Why are fats so fattening?
4. How many C. per day do you require? do mental workers?
5. Upon what do C. needed per day for normal individuals depend?
Discuss.
3
Review and More Definitions
[Sidenote: _This Is Dry but Important_]
FOOD: That which taken into the body builds and repairs tissue and
yields energy in heat and muscular power.
[Sidenote: _Approx. %'s if Normal_]
CLASSES OF FOOD:
1. Protein, 18% of body weight.
2. Fats, 16% of body weight.
3. Carbohydrates, 1% of body weight.
4. Mineral matter, 5% of body weight.
5. Vitamines.
6. Water, 60% of body weight.
[Sidenote: _Nitrogenous Food Compounds_]
PROTEIN: Builds tissue, repairs waste, yields energy, and may help store
fat. One-half, at least, of your protein should be from the vegetable
kingdom.
A large percentage of protein is contained in
Eggs Meat Fowl Fish Nuts
Milk Cheese Gluten of Wheat
Legumes (beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, etc.)
[Sidenote: _Protein 113 C. Per Oz._]
There is about one-fourth ounce protein in
1 egg
1 glass milk (skim, butter, or whole)
1-1/2 oz. lean meat, or fish or fowl
1 oz. (1-1/5 cu. in.) whole milk cheese
2 slices of bread, 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 x 1/2
(white, whole wheat, corn, etc.)
3 heaping tablespoonfuls canned baked beans or lima beans
17 peanuts
[Sidenote: _255 C. Per Oz._]
FATS: Yield energy and are stored as fat.
Animal Fat: Cream, Butter, Lard
Oils: Cottonseed, Olive Almonds, Peanuts, Walnuts Chocolate, etc.
[Sidenote: _113 C. Per Oz._]
CARBOHYDRATES: Yield energy and are stored as fat.
Sugars (candy, honey, syrup, sweet fruits)
Starches (breads, cereals, potatoes, corn, legumes, nuts)
Vegetable fibre, or cellulose
MINERAL MATTER: Shares in forming bones and teeth, and is necessary for
proper functioning.
Carbon Lime Sodium Potassium,
Sulphur Iron Phosphorus Etc.
[Sidenote: _Whole Grain Products Not Devitalized_]
These elements are contained largely in the outer coatings of grains,
fruits, and vegetables, and in animal foods and their products. Do not
pare potatoes before cooking. Cook vegetables in a small amount of
water, saving the water for soups and sauces.
WATER: The universal solvent, absolutely necessary for life.
Contained in purest form in all vegetables and fruits. The average
person needs, in addition, from three to five pints taken as a drink. If
not sure of the purity, boil. Do not drink while food is in the mouth.
[Sidenote: _Absolutely Necessary for Growth_]
VITAMINES: Health preservers. Vital substances necessary for growth. The
chemistry of these products is at present not thoroughly understood, but
their importance has been demonstrated by experiments (not torture) on
animals. By this work we know that diseases like beri-beri, scurvy,
rickets, and probably pellagra, are due to a lack of these vital
elements in the food, and from that fact these are called "deficiency"
diseases.
[Sidenote: _Guinea Pigs vs. Babies_]
Of course I realize that nations can be saved from horrible diseases,
and hundreds and thousands of babies saved from death, through this
experimentation on a few guinea pigs and other animals; but what is the
life of a baby compared with the happiness of a guinea pig? Down with
animal experimentation! Let us do everything in our power to hamper
scientific work of this kind. We are giving up our husbands, fathers,
sons, perhaps to die, for the cause of humanity, but a guinea pig!
Horrors!
It has been found that the vitamines, like the minerals, are most
abundant in the outer coverings and the germ of grains, and in fruits
and vegetables. They are also present in fresh milk, butter, meat and
eggs. Babies fed pasteurized or boiled milk should have fruit juices and
vegetable purees early. Begin with one-half teaspoonful, well diluted,
and gradually increase the feeding to an ounce or more between meals
once or twice daily.
Most animal fats have the vitamines, but vegetable fats are deficient in
them. That is the reason cod liver oil is better for some therapeutic
uses than olive oil.
[Sidenote: _Balanced Diet_]
BALANCED DIET: Should contain
10-15% Protein
(children may need more)
25-30% Fat
60-65% Carbohydrates
[Sidenote: _To Get the Elements Necessary for Health_]
For example, suppose you are a fairly active woman and need 2500
calories per day. Then for a balanced diet you would need:
10% Protein, or 250 C.
25% Fat, or 625 C.
65% Carbohydrates 1625 C.
-------
2500 C.
250 C. of P. = 2-1/5 oz. dry protein
(250 / 113 = 2-1/5, approximately)
625 C. of F. = 2-1/2 oz. of fat
(625 / 255 = 2-1/2, approximately)
1625 C. of CH. = 14-1/2 oz. dry carbohydrates
(1625 / 113 = 14-1/2, approximately)
Two and one-fifth ounces dry protein equals the approximate amount of
protein in 10 ounces lean meat, fish, or fowl, or 9 ounces cheese, or 9
eggs. (You should not take all of your proteins in any of these single
forms.) Two and one-half ounces fat equals approximately 5 pats of
butter.
[Sidenote: _If Appetite Not Perverted_]
But listen! You don't have to bother with all this fussy stuff. _Be
careful not to over-or under-eat of the proteins_, and your tastes will
be a fair standard for the rest. You should remember that a balanced
diet contains some of all these foods, in about the proportions given,
and that, while _watery vegetables and fruits contain very few calories,
they contain very important mineral salts, vitamines, and cellulose._
The latter is good for the daily scrub of the intestinal tract.
[Sidenote: _A Pretty Nearly Universal Error_]
CONSTIPATION is many times caused by a too concentrated diet, or one
containing too little roughage. It has also been discovered that some
individuals who are troubled with faulty elimination digest this
cellulose, and only the more resistant, like bran, is not absorbed. For
those, the Japanese seaweed called agaragar in the laboratory, but more
familiarly known as agar by the layman, is excellent. The most
industrious digestive tract apparently can not digest that. It has the
further property of absorbing a large amount of water, thus increasing
its bulk.
[Sidenote: _C.S._]
[Sidenote: _Have Enough Water, Else You'll Choke to Death. I Did Once_]
Mineral oils (refined paraffine) also are not absorbable, and they act
with benefit in some cases. About the worst thing to do, in general, is
to take physics constantly. These are not physics, however; they act
mechanically. Even the C.S. (common-sense?) individual can take these.
The agar may be taken two or three heaping teaspoonfuls in a large glass
of water before retiring, or in the morning before breakfast, or in lieu
of 4 o'clock tea. Drink it down rapidly--for goodness' sake, don't try
to chew it.
Mineral oil will make fine mayonnaise dressing. It has little or no food
value, so the constipated overweight individual may indulge freely. For
faulty elimination, then--
1. Correct diet.
2. Exercise--especially brisk walking.
3. Regularity of habit.
4. Possibly the addition of bran, agar, or mineral oils.
5. Sweet disposition. Mean people are always constipated.
_Review_
1. Give classes of food, with examples of each.
2. What are vitamines? How importance discovered?
3. Where most abundant?
4. What is a balanced diet?
5. What should be done for faulty elimination?
4
More Keys and More Calories
[Sidenote: _List of Foods to Follow_]
The following list probably does not contain all of the foods you might
like and want to know about, but from those named you can judge of the
food value of others. In general, the caloric value, and therefore the
fattening value, depends upon the amount of fat and the degree of
concentration.
[Sidenote: _Important_]
But remember this point: _Any food eaten beyond what your system
requires for its energy, growth, and repair, is fattening, or is an
irritant, or both_.
[Sidenote: _A Moderate Sized Chocolate Cream_]
If a food contains much fat, you will know that it is high in food
value, for fat has two and one-quarter times the caloric value that
proteins and carbohydrates have. Dry foods are high in value, for they
are concentrated and contain little water. Compare the quantity of two
heaping teaspoonfuls of sugar, a concentrated food, and one and one-half
pounds of lettuce, a watery vegetable, each having the same caloric
value. A moderate sized chocolate cream is not only concentrated but
has considerable fat in the chocolate.
[Sidenote: _Enuf Sed_]
It is not necessary to know accurately the caloric values. In fact,
authorities differ in some of their computations. The list is not
mathematically correct, but it will give you a good idea of the relative
values, and is accurate enough for our purposes. I have purposely given
round numbers, where possible, in order to make them more easily
remembered.
In reckoning made dishes, such as puddings and sauces, you must compute
the different ingredients approximately. About how much sugar it has,
how much fat to the dish, and so on. In reckoning any food, if you are
reducing, give it the benefit of the doubt on the high count; and if
trying to gain, count it low.
It is well, if you are much overweight or underweight, to have some of
these foods that are given weighed, so that you can judge approximately
what your servings will total.
[Sidenote: _A Mixture_]
A mixture of foods should be used, in order to get the different
elements which are necessary for the human machine. It is not wholesome
to have many foods at a meal; but the menu should be varied from day to
day.
Any regimen which does not allow some carbohydrates and fats for the
fuel foods is injurious if persisted in for a length of time.
[Sidenote: _Thoroughly Masticate Everything_]
As to harmful combinations; there are not many, and if your food is
thoroughly masticated you need not concern yourself very much about
them. However, if you find a food disagrees with you, or that certain
combinations disagree, do not try to use them. Underweight individuals
sometimes have to train their digestive tracts for some of the foods
they need.
Coffee, tea and other mild stimulants are not harmful to the majority;
but, like everything else, in excess they will cause ill health.
Alcoholic drinks make the fat fatter and the thin thinner, and both more
feeble mentally.
[Sidenote: _I Love Her_]
I hope I have stimulated you to an interest in dietetics. There are many
books which go into the subject much more deeply. I recommend,
especially, "The Home Dietitian," written by my beloved colleague and
classmate, Dr. Belle Wood-Comstock.
Others I have read that are especially suitable for the home are
"Feeding the Family," by Mary Schwartz Rose, and "Dietary Computer," by
Pope. There are doubtless many other good ones. The Department of
Agriculture publishes free bulletins on the subject. Farmers' Bulletin
No. 142, by Atwater, is very comprehensive.
Other authorities I have consulted are Lusk, Friedenwald and Ruhraeh,
Gautier, Sherman, Buttner, Locke and Von Noorden.
Measuring Table
1 teaspoon (tsp.) fluid 1/6 oz.
1 dessertspoon (tsp.) 1/3 oz.
1 tablespoon (tbsp.) 1/2 oz.
1 ordinary cup 8 oz.
1 ordinary glass 8 oz.
Average helping a.h.
_One Hundred Calorie Portions and Average Helpings_
(Approximate Measures)
(ATWATER, LOCKE, ROSE)
MEATS
Beefsteak, lean round..............2 oz. 100 C.
A.h....... 3-1/2 oz., 185 C.
Beefsteak, tenderloin..............1 oz. 100 C.
A.h.................. 285 C.
Beef, roast, very lean.............3 oz. 100 C.
A.h.................. 150 C.
Chicken, roast..................1-2/3oz. 100 C.
1 slice.............. 180 C.
Frankfurters, 1 sausage............1 oz. 100 C.
Chops, lamb or mutton..........1-1/2 oz. 100 C.
Average chops.... 150-300 C.
Pork:
Bacon, crisp...................1/2 oz. 100 C.
1 small slice, crisp 25 C.
Chop.........................1-1/2 oz. 100 C.
Medium..........160-300 C.
Ham, boiled..................1-1/3 oz. 100 C.
A.h..........3 oz., 250 C.
Ham, fried.....................3/4 oz. 100 C.
A.h..........3 oz., 400 C.
Sausage..........................1 oz. 100 C.
1 small, crisp.......60 C.
Turkey.........................1-1/3 oz. 100 C.
A.h........3-1/3 oz., 260 C.
[Sidenote: _Fish Boiled or Broiled_]
FISH
Fish, Lean, Cod, Halibut...........3 oz. 100 C.
A.h........... 4 oz., 135 C.
Fish, fat, salmon, sardines ...1 1/2 oz. 100 C.
A.h........... 4 oz., 260 C.
Lobster............................4 oz. 100 C.
A.h.................. 100 C.
Oysters.......................... 12 100 C.
1 oyster............... 8 C.
Clams, long....................... 8 100 C.
1 clam................ 12 C.
SOUPS
Cream soups, average...............3 oz. 100 C.
A.h........... 4 oz., 125 C.
Consommes, no fat.................30 oz. 100 C.
A.h........... 4 oz., 15 C.
DAIRY PRODUCTS AND EGGS
Butter, 1 level tbsp. scant .... 1/2 oz. 100 C.
1 ball............... 120 C.
Cheese (American, Roquefort,
Swiss, etc.)..... 1-1/8 cu. in 3/4 oz. 100 C.
Cottage Cheese.................... 3 oz. 100 C.
A.h.................. 100 C.
Whole Milk........................ 5 oz. 100 C.
1 glass.............. 160 C.
Skim Milk........................ 10 oz. 100 C.
1 glass............... 80 C.
Malted Milk (dry).............1 h. tbsp. 100 C.
Buttermilk, natural.............. 10 oz. 100 C.
1 glass............... 80 C.
Koumiss........................... 6 oz. 100 C.
1 glass.............. 130 C.
Condensed, unsweetened............ 2 oz. 100 C.
1 tbsp................ 35 C.
Condensed, sweetened, 1-1/4 tbsp....... 100 C.
Cream, average.................1-1/3 oz. 100 C.
1 tbsp................ 50 C.
Cream, whipped................ 1-1/3 oz. 100 C.
1 h. tbsp............ 100 C.
Eggs, 1 large..................... 1 100 C.
Average egg........... 80 C.
Boiled or poached; if fried, C. depend upon
fat adhering.
VEGETABLES
When not otherwise indicated, the method of cooking is by boiling. The
caloric value of sauces served with them not included.
Asparagus, large stalks........... 20 100 C.
1 stalk................ 5 C.
Beets........................... 1 lb. 100 C.
2 h. tbsp............. 30 C.
Beans, Baked, home.............1-1/2 oz. 100 C.
3 h. tbsp............ 300 C.
Beans, Baked, canned...........2-1/2 oz. 100 C.
3 h. tbsp............ 150 C.
Beans, Lima....................... 3 oz. 100 C.
3 h. tbsp............ 130 C.
Beans, String..................... 1 lb. 100 C.
2 h. tbsp............. 15 C.
Cabbage....................... 1-1/2 lb. 100 C.
3 h. tbsp............. 10 C.
Carrots........................... 1 lb. 100 C.
3 h. tbsp............. 20 C.
Cauliflower....................... 1 lb. 100 C.
3 h. tbsp............. 20 C.
Celery, uncooked.................. 1 lb. 100 C.
6 stalks.............. 15 C.
Corn, canned.................. 3-1/3 oz. 100 C.
2 h. tbsp............ 100 C.
Corn, green, 1 ear............ 3-1/3 oz. 100 C.
Medium size.
Cucumber...................... 1-1/2 lb. 100 C.
10 to 12 thin slices.. 10 C.
Lettuce....................... 1-1/2 lb. 100 C.
A.h................. 5-10 C.
Mushrooms......................... 8 oz. 100 C.
Onions, 2 large................... 8 oz. 100 C.
Parsnips.......................... 8 oz. 100 C.
A.h............ 2 oz., 25 C.
Peas, green....................... 3 oz. 100 C.
A.h., 3 h. tbsp...... 100 C.
Potatoes, sweet............... 1-1/2 oz. 100 C.
1 medium............. 200 C.
Potatoes, white................... 3 oz. 100 C.
1 medium............. 100 C.
Potato Chips......scant........... 1 oz. 100 C.
A.h., 8-10 pieces.... 100 C.
Radishes.......................... 1 lb. 100 C.
A.h., 6 red button.... 15 C.
Spinach....................... 1-1/2 lb. 100 C.
A.h., 1/2 cup......... 25 C.
Squash............................ 1 lb. 100 C.
A.h., 2h. tbsp........ 25 C.
Tomatoes.......................... 1 lb. 100 C.
A.h., 1 large......... 50 C.
Turnips........................... 1 lb. 100 C.
A.h., 2 h. tbsp....... 25 C.
FRUITS
Apple............................. 7 oz. 100 C.
1 average size......... 50 C.
Banana............................ 5 oz. 100 C.
1 small............... 100 C.
Berries.............average....... 5 oz. 100 C.
1 small cup........... 100 C.
Cantaloupe........................ 1 lb. 100 C.
A.h., 1/2 melon....... 100 C.
Cherries.......................... 5 oz. 100 C.
A.h., 1 small cup..... 100 C.
Grapes............................ 5 oz. 100 C.
A.h., 1 small bunch... 100 C.
Lemons (5 oz. each)............... 2 100 C.
They won't make you thin.
Average size........... 30 C.
Oranges (9 oz. each).............. 1 100 C.
Peaches (5 oz. each).............. 2 100 C.
Average size........... 50 C.
Pears (6 oz. each)................ 1 100 C.
Average size........... 90 C.
Pineapple, fresh.................. 7 oz. 100 C.
2 slices, 1 in. thick. 100 C.
Plums, large..................... 3 or 4 100 C.
1 plum................. 30 C.
Watermelon.................... 1-1/2 lb. 100 C.
Large slice............ 15 C.
Dates (dry), large................ 3-4 100 C.
1 large................ 25 C.
Figs (dry), large................. 1-1/2 100 C.
1 large................ 65 C.
Prunes (dry), large............... 3 100 C.
1 large................ 35 C.
Stewed, 4 medium, with
4 tbsp. juice....... 200 C.
BREAD AND CRACKERS
Brown Bread, 1 slice, 3 in. in diam., 3/4 in. thick 100 C.
Corn Bread, 3 x 2 x 3/4 1-1/2 oz. 100 C.
Victory Bread, 1 slice, 3 x 4 x 1/2 in. 100 C.
White, gluten, rye, whole wheat, etc., practically same caloric value
per same weight. There is so little difference between the caloric value
of gluten bread and other breads that it is not necessary for reducing
to try to get it. (Toasted bread has the same caloric value that it had
before toasting. It is more easily digested, but just as fattening.
Advised, however, because it makes you chew.)
1 French or Vienna roll 100 C.
Zweiback 3/4 oz. 100 C.
1 slice, 3-1/4 x 1-1/4 x 1/2 in., 35 C.
Graham Crackers 3 100 C.
1 c., 3 in. sq. 35 C.
Oyster Crackers 24 100 C.
Soda Crackers 4 100 C.
1 c. 25 C.
Pretzels 5 100 C.
1 p. 20 C.
BREAKFAST FOODS, ETC.
Farina or Cream of Wheat 6 oz. 100 C.
2 h. tbsp 60 C.
Force 1 oz. 100 C.
5 h. tbsp 65 C.
Grapenuts scant 1 oz. 100 C.
2 tbsp 100 C.
Griddle Cakes, 4-1/2 in. in diam. 100 C.
A.h., 3 cakes 300 C.
(This does not include butter and syrup, remember.)
Hominy 4 oz. 100 C.
2 h. tbsp 85 C.
Macaroni, plain 4 oz. 100 C.
2 h. tbsp 90 C.
Macaroni and cheese (depends on amt. cheese)
2 h. tbsp 200-300 C.
Muffin, average 3/4 m. 100 C.
1 muffin 125 C.
Oatmeal 5 oz. 100 C.
1 small cup 100 C.
Puffed Rice 1 oz. 100 C.
5 h. tbsp 50 C.
Popcorn (cups) 1-1/2 100 C.
A.h. depends on butter added.
Rice, boiled 4 oz. 100 C.
1/2 cup 100 C.
Shredded Wheat Biscuit 1 100 C.
Triscuits (_2_) 100 C.
Waffles scant 1/2 w. 100 C.
1 waffle 225 C.
CANDY, PASTRIES AND SWEETS
Chocolate creams, medium. 1 100 C.
Chocolate, 1 lb 2880 C.
Cherries, candied 10 100 C.
Cup Custard, 1/3 cup 100 C.
Chocolate Nut Caramels
1 x 1 x 4/5 in. 100 C.
Other candies, reckon sugar, nuts, etc.
Cookies, plain, diam. 3 in. 2 100 C.
1 cookie 50 C.
If raisins or nuts in them, count extra.
Doughnut scant 2/3 100 C.
1 average size 160 C.
Ginger-snap 5 100 C.
1 gingersnap 20 C.
Honey h. tbsp. 1 100 C.
Thick syrups approximately the same.
Ladyfingers scant 1 oz. 100 C.
1 ladyfinger 35-50 C.
Macaroons 2 100 C.
1 macaroon 50 C.
Pie with top crust, about 1/4
ordinary slice, or 1-1/4 in. 100 C.
A.h., 1/6 pie 350 C.
Pie without top crust, 2 in. 100 C.
Custard, lemon, squash, etc.
A.h., 1/6 pie. 250-300 C.
Puddings, average cup 1/4 100 C.
A.h. 200-350 C.
Depends upon richness.
Ice Cream h. tbsp. 1 100 C.
A.h. 200-350 C.
Depends upon richness.
Cakes 1 oz. 100 C.
A.h. 200-350 C.
Depends upon size, icing, fruit, nuts, etc.;
compute approximately.
Sugar cubes 3 100 C.
Granulated h. tsp. 2 100 C.
Saccharine, a coal tar product 300 to 500 times sweeter than sugar, but
of no food value. Not advisable to use habitually. Better learn to like
things unsweetened--it can be done.
CONDIMENTS AND SAUCES
Mayonnaise m. tbsp. 1 100 C.
A.h. 200 C.
Olive oil and other oils. dsp. 1 100 C.
Olives, green or ripe 6-8 100 C.
1 olive 10-15 C.
Tomato Catsup 6 oz. 100 C.
1 tbsp. 10 C.
Thick Gravies tbsp. 3 100 C.
NUTS
Almonds, large 10 100 C.
1 almond 10 C.
Brazil, large 2-1/2 100 C.
1 Brazil nut 45 C.
Chestnuts, small 20 100 C.
1 chestnut 5 C.
Peanuts, large double 10 100 C.
1 bag 250-300 C.
Pecans, large 5 100 C.
1 pecan 20 C.
Walnuts, large 3-1/3 100 C.
1 walnut 30 C.
Cocoanut, prepared 1/2 oz. 100 C.
Peanut Butter 2-1/2 tsp. 100 C.
_Key to Key_
[Sidenote: _Remember This_]
If you will remember the following portions of food, you will have a
standard by which to compute your servings:
Lean Meat: a piece 3 x 2 x 1/2 (2 oz.) 100 C.
Now if your serving of meat or fish is fat,
mentally cut in two for same value. If very
lean, you should add a little.
White Bread: slice 3 x 4x 1/2 100 C.
Compute other breads by this.
Butter: 1 scant tablespoonful 100 C.
Sugar: 1 heaping teaspoonful 50 C.
Potatoes: 1 medium, boiled or baked. 100 C.
Watery Vegetables: 1 helping 15-35 C.
If food is fried, or butter, oil, or cream sauces are added, the C.
value increases markedly.
_Review_
1. Why is a mixture of foods necessary?
2. Give the caloric value of the following: 1 glass of milk, skim;
buttermilk; 10 chocolate creams; 1 bag peanuts; 1 pat butter; 1 piece
pie.
3. Name foods low in caloric value. Why are they valuable?
4. How many calories of bread and butter do you daily consume?
5. Reckon your usual caloric intake. How much of it is in excess of your
needs?
6. Memorize caloric value of foods you are fond of.
_This Table of Foods, With the C Given Per Oz. Will Help You_
The caloric value of pure fat is 255 C per oz., dry starches and sugars
(carbohydrates), and protein (the meat element), is 113. This means fats
are 2-1/4 times more fattening than other foods. Most foods contain
considerable water, so the following is an approximate table of foods
'as is.' I have given round numbers in the table so you can more easily
remember them. _Memorize it_.
Calories per oz.
Fats 255
Nuts, edible part 200
Sugar 115
Cream cheese 110
Cottage cheese (no fat) 30
Breads 75
Lean meats 50
Lean fish 35
Eggs (per oz.) 40
Milk, whole 20
Milk, skim and buttermilk
(no fat) 10
Milk, condensed, sweet 100
Milk, condensed, unsweet. 50
Cream, thin 60
Cream, thick 110
Fruits: Dried 100
Sweet 25
Acid 15
Vegetables: Potatoes,
plain (oz.) 30
Cooked Legumes, (peas,
beans, etc.) 20-35
Watery and leafy 5-15
5
Vegetarianism vs. Meat Eating
[Sidenote: _Protein_]
As protein is the only food which builds and repairs tissue, it is the
food which has caused the most controversy.
First: As to the amount needed.
Second: As to whether animal flesh protein is necessary.
[Sidenote: _Chittenden_]
AMOUNT NEEDED: It was thought for many years that 150 grams or 5 ounces
of dry protein (equivalent to about 1-1/2 pounds lean meat) per day was
necessary. But experiments of Chittenden and others have proved that
considerably less is sufficient, and that the health is improved if less
is taken.
Chittenden's standard is 50 grams, or 1-2/3 ounces, dry protein
(equivalent to 1/2 pound meat per day). This is considered by many as
insufficient. A variation from 1-2/3 to 3 ounces dry protein per day
will give a safe range. (ROSE.)
[Sidenote: _Approx. 240 to 360 C Per Day_]
_The amount of protein needed is comparatively independent of the amount
of physical exertion_, thus differing from the purely fuel foods,
carbohydrates and fats, which should vary in direct proportion to the
amount of physical exertion. In general, 10 to 15 per cent of the total
calories per day should be taken as protein. An excess is undoubtedly
irritant to the kidneys, blood vessels, and other organs, and if too
little is taken the body tissues will suffer.
Not all of the protein should be taken in the form of animal protein; at
least one-half should be taken from the vegetable kingdom.
_Animal Flesh Protein_
[Sidenote: _Necessary?_]
The following are a few of the chief reasons given by those who object
to its use:
[Sidenote: _The Negative Side_]
First: The animal has just as much right to life, liberty, and pursuit
of happiness as we have.
Second: They may be diseased, and there is the possibility of their
containing animal parasites, such as tapeworms and trichinae. I would
like to tell you more about worms, they are so interesting, but He says
not to try to tell all I know in this little book; that maybe he will
let me write another sometime, although it is a terrible strain on him,
and that I have given enough of the family history, anyway.
[Sidenote: _Some Word_]
Third: The tissues of animals contain excrementitious material, which
may cause excess acidity, raise the blood pressure, and so forth.
Fourth: More apt to putrefy and thus give ptomaine poisoning.
Fifth: Makes the disposition more vicious.
(Honest,--animals eating meat exclusively are more vicious.)
[Sidenote: _The Affirmative Side_]
Those who believe that animal protein should be eaten answer these
points as follows:
First: Survival of the fittest.
Second: If you give decent support to your health departments they can
furnish enough inspectors to prevent the marketing of diseased meat; and
if some should slip through, if you thoroughly bake, boil, or fry your
animal parasites they will lose their pep.
Third: Most of the harmful products are destroyed by the intestines and
liver.
Fourth: True, but see that you get good meat, and don't eat it in
excess.
Fifth: Unanswerable--to be proved later by personal experiments.
In addition, they say that animal protein is more easily digested, that
97 per cent is assimilated because it is animal, and so it is much more
to be desired, especially by children and convalescents; that vegetable
protein is enclosed in cellulose, and only 65 to 75 per cent is used by
the system; thus the diet is apt to be too bulky if the proper amount is
taken.
[Sidenote: _Strong Vegetarians_]
It has been proved, however, by several endurance tests, that the
vegetarian contestants had more strength and greater endurance than
their meat-eating competitors, so there is no reason why we should be
worried by one or two, or even more, meatless days, especially when
animal product protein, such as milk, eggs, cheese, and the vegetable
proteins, as in the legumes and the nuts, are available.
[Sidenote: _A Confession_]
I confess that for quite a while after studying vegetarian books I took
a dislike to meat, but now I am in the comfortable state described by
Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography. It seems that he had been
converted to vegetarianism and had decided that he never again would eat
the flesh of animals that had been ruthlessly slaughtered, when they so
little deserved that fate.