Chapter 5

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.