ON HEALTHFUL FOOD.
The person who decides what shall be the food and drink of a family, and
the modes of preparation, is the one who decides, to a greater or less
extent, what shall be the health of that family. It is the opinion of
most medical men, that intemperance in eating is the most fruitful of
all causes of disease and death. If this be so, the woman who wisely
adapts the food and cooking of her family to the laws of health, removes
the greatest risk which threatens the lives of those under her care.
To exhibit this subject clearly, it will be needful to refer, more
minutely, to the organization and operation of the digestive organs.
It is found, by experiment, that the supply of gastric juice, furnished
from the blood, by the arteries of the stomach, is proportioned, not to
the amount of food put into the stomach, but to the wants of the body;
so that it is possible to put much more into the stomach than can be
digested. To guide and regulate in this matter, the sensation called
_hunger_ is provided. In a healthy state of the body, as soon as the
blood has lost its nutritive supplies, the craving of hunger is felt,
and then, if the food is suitable, and is taken in the proper manner,
this sensation ceases, as soon as the stomach has received enough to
supply the wants of the system. But our benevolent Creator, in this, as
in our other duties, has connected enjoyment with the operation needful
to sustain our bodies. In addition to the allaying of hunger, the
gratification of the palate is secured, by the immense variety of food,
some articles of which are far more agreeable than others.
This arrangement of Providence, designed for our happiness, has become,
either through ignorance, or want of self-control, the chief cause of
the various diseases and sufferings, which afflict those classes who
have the means of seeking a variety to gratify the palate. If mankind
had only one article of food, and only water to drink, though they would
have less enjoyment in eating, they would never be tempted to put any
more into the stomach, than the calls of hunger required. But the
customs of society, which present an incessant change, and a great
variety of food, with those various condiments which stimulate appetite,
lead almost every person very frequently to eat merely to gratify the
palate, after the stomach has been abundantly supplied, so that hunger
has ceased.
When too great a supply of food is put into the stomach, the gastric
juice dissolves only that portion which the wants of the system demand.
The remainder is ejected, in an unprepared state; the absorbents take
portions of it into the system; and all the various functions of the
body, which depend on the ministries of the blood, are thus gradually
and imperceptibly injured. Very often, intemperance in eating produces
immediate results, such as colic, headaches, pains of indigestion, and
vertigo. But the more general result, is, a gradual undermining of all
parts of the human frame; thus imperceptibly shortening life, by so
weakening the constitution, that it is ready to yield, at every point,
to any uncommon risk or exposure. Thousands and thousands are passing
out of the world, from diseases occasioned by exposures, which a healthy
constitution could meet without any danger. It is owing to these
considerations, that it becomes the duty of every woman, who has the
responsibility of providing food for a family, to avoid a variety of
tempting dishes. It is a much safer rule, to have only one kind of
healthy food, for each meal, than the abundant variety which is usually
met at the tables of almost all classes in this Country. When there is
to be any variety of dishes, they ought not to be successive, but so
arranged, as to give the opportunity of selection. How often is it the
case, that persons, by the appearance of a favorite article, are tempted
to eat, merely to gratify the palate, when the stomach is already
adequately supplied. All such intemperance wears on the constitution,
and shortens life. It not unfrequently happens, that excess in eating
produces a morbid appetite, which must constantly be denied.
But the organization of the digestive organs demands, not only that food
be taken in proper quantities, but that it be taken at proper times.
It has before been shown, that, as soon as the food enters the stomach,
the muscles are excited by the nerves, and the _peristaltic motion_
commences. This is a powerful and constant exercise of the muscles of
the stomach, which continues until the process of digestion is complete.
During this time, the blood is withdrawn from other parts of the system,
to supply the demands of the stomach, which is laboring hard with all
its muscles. When this motion ceases, and the digested food has
gradually passed out of the stomach, Nature requires that it should have
a period of repose. And if another meal be eaten, immediately after one
is digested, the stomach is set to work again, before it has had time to
rest, and before a sufficient supply of gastric juice is provided.
The general rule, then, is, that three hours be given to the stomach for
labor, and two for rest; and in obedience to this, five hours, at least,
ought to elapse between every two regular meals. In cases where exercise
produces a flow of perspiration, more food is needed to supply the loss;
and strong laboring men may safely eat as often as they feel the want of
food. So, young and healthy children, who gambol and exercise much, and
whose bodies grow fast, may have a more frequent supply of food. But, as
a general rule, meals should be five hours apart, and eating between
meals avoided. There is nothing more unsafe, and wearing to the
constitution, than a habit of eating at any time, merely to gratify the
palate. When a tempting article is presented, every person should
exercise sufficient self-denial, to wait till the proper time for eating
arrives. Children, as well as grown persons, are often injured, by
eating between their regular meals, thus weakening the stomach, by not
affording it any time for rest.
In deciding as to _quantity_ of food, there is one great difficulty to
be met by a large portion of the community. It has been shown, that the
exercise of every part of the body is indispensable to its health and
perfection. The bones, the muscles, the nerves, the organs of digestion
and respiration, and the skin, all demand exercise, in order properly to
perform their functions. When the muscles of the body are called into
action, all the blood-vessels entwined among them are frequently
compressed. As the arteries are so contrived, that the blood cannot run
back, this compression hastens it forward, through the veins, towards
that organ. The heart is immediately put in quicker motion, to send it
into the lungs; and they, also, are thus stimulated to more rapid
action, which is the cause of that panting which active exercise always
occasions. The blood thus courses with greater celerity through the
body, and sooner loses its nourishing properties. Then the stomach
issues its mandate of hunger, and a new supply of food must be
furnished. Thus it appears, as a general rule, that the quantity of
food, actually needed by the body, depends on the amount of muscular
exercise taken. A laboring man, in the open fields, probably throws off
from his skin ten times the amount of perspirable matter, which is
evolved from the skin of a person of sedentary pursuits. In consequence
of this, he demands a far greater amount of food and drink.
Those persons, who keep their bodies in a state of health, by sufficient
exercise, can always be guided by the calls of hunger. They can eat when
they feel hungry, and stop when hunger ceases; and then they will
calculate exactly right. But the difficulty is, that a large part of
the community, especially women, are so inactive in their habits, that
they seldom feel the calls of hunger. They habitually eat, merely to
gratify the palate. This produces such a state of the system, that they
have lost the guide which Nature has provided. They are not called to
eat, by hunger, nor admonished, by its cessation, when to stop. In
consequence of this, such persons eat what pleases the palate, till they
feel no more inclination for the article. It is probable, that three
fourths of the women, in the wealthier circles, sit down to each meal
without any feeling of hunger, and eat merely on account of the
gratification thus afforded them. Such persons find their appetite to
depend almost solely upon the kind of food on the table. This is not the
case with those, who take the exercise which Nature demands. They
approach their meals in such a state that almost any kind of food is
acceptable.
The question then arises, how are persons, who have lost the guide which
Nature has provided, to determine as to the proper amount of food they
shall take?
The only rules they can adopt, are of a general nature; founded on the
principles already developed. They should endeavor to proportion their
food to the amount of the exercise they ordinarily take. If they take
but little exercise, they should eat but little food in comparison with
those who are much in the open air and take much exercise; and their
food should be chiefly vegetable, and not animal. But how often is it
seen, that a student, or a man who sits all day in an office, or a lady
who spends the day in her parlor and chamber, will sit down to a loaded
table, and, by continuing to partake of the tempting varieties, in the
end load the stomach with a supply, which a stout farmer could scarcely
digest.
But the health of a family depends, not merely on the _quantity_ of food
taken; but very much, also, on the _quality_. Some kinds of food are
very pernicious in their nature, and some healthful articles are
rendered very injurious by the mode of cooking. Persons who have a
strong constitution, and take much exercise, may eat almost any thing,
with apparent impunity; but young children, who are forming their
constitutions, and persons who are delicate, and who take but little
exercise, are very dependent for health, on a proper selection of food.
There are some general principles, which may aid in regulating the
judgement on this subject.
It is found, that there are some kinds of food which afford nutriment to
the blood, and do not produce any other effect on the system. There are
other kinds, which are not only nourishing, but _stimulating_, so that
they quicken the functions of the organs on which they operate. The
condiments used in cookery, such as pepper, mustard, and spices, are of
this nature. There are certain states of the system, when these
stimulants are beneficial; but it is only in cases where there is some
debility. Such cases can only be pointed out by medical men. But persons
in perfect health, and especially young children, never receive any
benefit from such kind of food; and just in proportion as condiments
operate to quicken the labors of the internal organs, they tend to wear
down their powers. A person who thus keeps the body working under an
unnatural excitement, _lives faster_ than Nature designed, and the
sooner the constitution is worn out. A woman, therefore, should provide
dishes for her family, which are free from these stimulating condiments,
and as much as possible prevent their use. It is also found, by
experience, that animal food is more stimulating than vegetable. This is
the reason why, in cases of fevers, or inflammations, medical men forbid
the use of meat and butter. Animal food supplies chyle much more
abundantly than vegetable food does; and this chyle is more stimulating
in its nature. Of course, a person who lives chiefly on animal food, is
under a higher degree of stimulus than if his food was chiefly composed
of vegetable substances. His blood will flow faster, and all the
functions of his body will be quickened.
This makes it important to secure a proper proportion of animal and
vegetable diet. Some medical men suppose, that an exclusively vegetable
diet is proved, by the experience of many individuals, to be fully
sufficient to nourish the body; and bring, as evidence, the fact, that
some of the strongest and most robust men in the world, are those, who
are trained, from infancy, exclusively on vegetable food. From this,
they infer, that life will be shortened, just in proportion as the diet
is changed to more stimulating articles; and that, all other things
being equal, children will have a better chance of health and long life,
if they are brought up solely on vegetable food.
But, though this is not the common opinion of medical men, they all
agree, that, in America, far too large a portion of the diet consists of
animal food. As a nation, the Americans are proverbial for the gross and
luxurious diet with which they load their tables; and there can be no
doubt that the general health of the Nation would be increased, by a
change in our customs in this respect. To take meat but once a day, and
this in small quantities, compared with the common practice, is a rule,
the observance of which would probably greatly reduce the amount of
fevers, eruptions, headaches, bilious attacks, and the many other
ailments which are produced or aggravated by too gross a diet.
The celebrated Roman physician, Baglivi, (who, from practising
extensively among Roman Catholics, had ample opportunities to observe,)
mentions, that, in Italy, an unusual number of people recover their
health in the forty days of Lent, in consequence of the lower diet which
is required as a religious duty. An American physician remarks, "For
every reeling drunkard that disgraces our Country, it contains one
hundred gluttons;--persons, I mean, who eat to excess, and suffer in
consequence." Another distinguished physician says, "I believe that
every stomach, not actually impaired by organic disease, will perform
its functions, if it receives reasonable attention; and when we perceive
the manner in which diet is generally conducted, both in regard to
_quantity_ and _variety_ of articles of food and drink, which are mixed
up in one heterogeneous mass,--instead of being astonished at the
prevalence of indigestion, our wonder must rather be, that, in such
circumstances, any stomach is capable of digesting at all."
In regard to articles which are the most easily digested, only general
rules can be given. Tender meats are digested more readily than those
which are tough, or than many kinds of vegetable food. The farinaceous
articles, such as rice, flour, corn, potatoes, and the like, are the
most nutritious, and most easily digested. The popular notion, that meat
is more nourishing than bread, is a great mistake. Good bread contains
one third more nourishment than butcher's meat. The meat is more
_stimulating_, and for this reason is more readily digested. A perfectly
healthy stomach can digest almost any healthful food; but when the
digestive powers are weak, every stomach has its peculiarities, and what
is good for one, is hurtful to another. In such cases, experiment,
alone, can decide, which are the most digestible articles of food. A
person, whose food troubles him, must deduct one article after another,
till he learns, by experience, which is the best for digestion. Much
evil has been done, by assuming that the powers of one stomach are to be
made the rule in regulating every other.
The most unhealthful kinds of food, are those, which are made so by bad
cooking; such as sour and heavy bread, cakes, pie-crust, and other
dishes consisting of fat, mixed and cooked with flour; also rancid
butter, and high-seasoned food. The fewer mixtures there are in cooking,
the more healthful is the food likely to be.
There is one caution, as to the _mode_ of eating, which seems peculiarly
needful to Americans. It is indispensable to good digestion, that food
be well chewed and taken slowly. It needs to be thoroughly chewed, in
order to prepare it for the action of the gastric juice, which, by the
_peristaltic motion_, will be thus brought into universal contact with
the minute portions. It has been found, that a solid lump of food
requires much more time and labor of the stomach, than divided
substances. It has also been found, that, as each bolus, or mouthful,
enters the stomach, the latter closes, until the portion received has
had some time to move around and combine with the gastric juice; and
that the orifice of the stomach resists the entrance of any more, till
this is accomplished. But, if the eater persists in swallowing fast, the
stomach yields; the food is then poured in more rapidly than the organ
can perform its duty of digestion; and evil results are sooner or later
developed. This exhibits the folly of those hasty meals, so common to
travellers, and to men of business, and shows why children should be
taught to eat slowly.
After taking a full meal, it is very important to health, that no great
bodily or mental exertion be made, till the labor of the stomach is
over. Intense mental effort draws the blood to the head, and muscular
exertions draw it to the muscles; and in consequence of this, the
stomach loses the supply which it requires when performing its office.
When the blood is thus withdrawn, the adequate supply of gastric juice
is not afforded, and indigestion is the result. The heaviness which
follows a full meal, is the indication which Nature gives of the need of
quiet. When the meal is moderate, a sufficient quantity of gastric juice
is exuded in an hour, or an hour and a half; after which, labor of body
and mind may safely be resumed.
When undigested food remains in the stomach, and is at last thrown out
into the bowels, it proves an irritating substance, producing an
inflamed state in the lining of the stomach and other organs. The same
effect is produced by alcoholic drinks.
It is found, that the stomach has the power of gradually accommodating
its digestive powers to the food it habitually receives. Thus, animals,
which live on vegetables, can gradually become accustomed to animal
food; and the reverse is equally true. Thus, too, the human stomach can
eventually accomplish the digestion of some kinds of food, which, at
first, were indigestible.
But any changes of this sort should be gradual; as those which are
_sudden_, are trying to the powers of the stomach, by furnishing matter
for which its gastric juice is not prepared.
In regard to the nature of the meals prepared, the breakfast should
furnish a supply of liquids, because the body has been exhausted by the
exhalations of the night, and demands them more than at any other
period. It should not be the heartiest meal, because the organs of
digestion are weakened by long fasting, and the exhalations. Dinner
should be the heartiest meal, because then the powers of digestion are
strengthened, by the supplies of the morning meal. Light and amusing
employments should occupy mind and body for an hour or more after a full
meal.
But little drink should be taken, while eating, as it dilutes the
gastric juice which is apportioned to each quantity of food as it enters
the stomach. It is better to take drink after the meal is past.
Extremes of heat or cold are injurious to the process of digestion.
Taking hot food or drink, habitually, tends to debilitate all the organs
thus needlessly excited. In using cold substances, it is found that a
certain degree of warmth in the stomach is indispensable to their
digestion; so that, when the gastric juice is cooled below this
temperature, it ceases to act. Indulging in large quantities of cold
drinks, or eating ice-creams, after a meal, tends to reduce the
temperature of the stomach, and thus to stop digestion. This shows the
folly of those refreshments, in convivial meetings, where the guests are
tempted to load the stomach with a variety, such as would require the
stomach of a stout farmer to digest, and then to wind up with
ice-creams, thus destroying whatever ability might otherwise have
existed, to digest the heavy load. The fittest temperature for drinks,
if taken when the food is in the digesting process, is blood heat. Cool
drinks, and even ice, can be safely taken at other times, if not in
excessive quantity. When the thirst is excessive, or the body weakened
by fatigue, or when in a state of perspiration, cold drinks are
injurious. When the body is perspiring freely, taking a large quantity
of cold drink has often produced instant death.
Fluids taken into the stomach are not subject to the slow process of
digestion, but are immediately absorbed and carried into the blood. This
is the reason why drink, more speedily than food, restores from
exhaustion. The minute vessels of the stomach inhale or absorb its
fluids, which are carried into the blood, just as the minute extremities
of the arteries open upon the inner surface of the stomach, and there
exude the gastric juice from the blood.
When food is chiefly liquid, (soup, for example,) the fluid part is
rapidly absorbed. The solid parts remain, to be acted on by the gastric
juice. In the case of St. Martin,[F] in fifty minutes after taking soup,
the fluids were absorbed, and the remainder was even thicker than is
usual after eating solid food. This is the reason why soups are deemed
bad for weak stomachs; as this residuum is more difficult of digestion
than ordinary food. In recovering from sickness, beef-tea and broths are
good, because the system then demands fluids to supply its loss of
blood.
Highly-concentrated food, having much nourishment in a small bulk, is
not favorable to digestion, because it cannot be properly acted on by
the muscular contractions of the stomach, and is not so minutely
divided, as to enable the gastric juice to act properly. This is the
reason, why a certain _bulk_ of food is needful to good digestion; and
why those people, who live on whale oil, and other highly-nourishing
food, in cold climates, mix vegetables and even sawdust with it, to make
it more acceptable and digestible. So, in civilized lands, bread,
potatoes, and vegetables, are mixed with more highly-concentrated
nourishment. This explains why coarse bread, of unbolted wheat, so often
proves beneficial. Where, from inactive habits, or other causes, the
bowels become constipated and sluggish, this kind of food proves the
appropriate remedy. One fact on this subject is worthy of notice. Under
the administration of William Pitt, for two years or more, there was
such a scarcity of wheat, that, to make it hold out longer, Parliament
passed a law, that the army should have all their bread made of unbolted
flour. The result was, that the health of the soldiers improved so much,
as to be a subject of surprise to themselves, the officers, and the
physicians. These last came out publicly, and declared, that the
soldiers never before were so robust and healthy; and that disease had
nearly disappeared from the army. The civic physicians joined and
pronounced it the healthiest bread; and, for a time, schools, families,
and public institutions, used it almost exclusively. Even the nobility,
convinced by these facts, adopted it for their common diet; and the
fashion continued a long time after the scarcity ceased, until more
luxurious habits resumed their sway. For this reason, also, soups,
gellies, and arrow-root, should have bread or crackers mixed with them.
We thus see why children should not have cakes and candies allowed them
between meals. These are highly-concentrated nourishments, and should be
eaten with more bulky and less nourishing substances. The most
indigestible of all kinds of food, are fatty and oily substances;
especially if heated. It is on this account, that pie-crust, and
articles boiled and fried in fat or butter, are deemed not so healthful
as other food.
The following, then, may be put down as the causes of a debilitated
constitution, from the misuse of food. Eating _too much_, eating _too
often_, eating _too fast_, eating food and condiments that are _too
stimulating_, eating food that is _too warm_ or _too cold_, eating food
that is _highly-concentrated_, without a proper admixture of less
nourishing matter, and eating food that is _difficult of digestion_.
FOOTNOTE:
[F] The individual here referred to,--Alexis St. Martin,--was a young
Canadian, of eighteen years of age, of a good constitution, and robust
health, who, in 1822, was accidentally wounded by the discharge of a
musket, which carried away a part of the ribs, lacerated one of the
lobes of the lungs, and perforated the stomach, making a large aperture,
which never closed; and which enabled Dr. Beaumont, (a surgeon of the
American army, stationed at Michilimackinac, under whose care the
patient was placed,) to witness all the processes of digestion and other
functions of the body, for several years. The published account of the
experiments made by Dr. B., is highly interesting and instructive.