A brief outline of how the food is changed into flesh and bone will
be helpful.
The food, when taken into the mouth, undergoes two changes. One
is a physical change. This is brought about through the mastication of
28 A
28 B WELL-BALANCED MEAL
the food in the mouth, and as it passes on to the stomach, a churning
process there. The last physical action brought to bear on it is the process
which takes place in the intestines, called peristalsis. This is the con-
traction of the intestinal walls, one ring at a time, pushing the food
continually forward. The food is thus broken up into fine particles, so
that it may be easily acted upon.
The other change is a chemical one. When we begin to chew food,
saliva is poured into the mouth from the glands of the cheek. This saliva
contains an element, in solution, called an enzyme, which mixes with the
food and divides the starchy food present into very fine particles — too
small to be detected by the eye. As the food passes on to the stomach,
another fluid is mixed with it here — the gastric juice. It also has enzymes
in it which act upon the food, dividing the particles into still finer pieces.
Here the action which was started on starchy foods in the mouth is con-
tinued, and different foods are started to be broken up. As they leave
the stomach and enter the intestines, still another fluid is mixed with
them, and the food particles which have not been made small enough in
the mouth or stomach have a last chance here. Not until the food reaches
the intestines are the fat particles acted upon.
The walls of the intestines are porous, that is, they contain very
tiny passages through which the food, when broken into small enough
particles may pass into the blood. The blood in its circulation carries
the food through the body to the cells which need it, building it up again
into tissue form. If there is an excess of starchy food present it is taken
out by the liver as the blood passes through it, and stored for future
use. An excess of starchy foods may also be changed to fat and stored
under the skin.
The lungs are also porous enough to allow the oxygen from the air
we breathe to pass into the blood, thus purifying it, and when uniting
with the carbon element of the food causing heat to be formed.
LESSON II
THE FIVE FOOD PRINCIPLES
In the previous lesson we stated that not all foods performed the
same function in the body. Foods are divided into five classes for the
purpose of studying them. These are proteids, or flesh-building foods;
carbohydrates, that is, starchy and sugar foods, which furnish heat and
energy; fats, which do the same; mineral matter, or bone building and
fluid regulating food ; and water, which regulates the general working of
the machinery of the body.
WELL-BALANCED MEAL 28 C
We will take them up separately, treating them as to best method
of preparation, food value of each, and examples of food in which each
is found in abundance.
Proteid. "A diet should contain proteid enough to build and repair
the tissues of the body." More proteid is needed for growing children
than for the full-grown person, because in addition to the worn-down
cells which have to be built up, still other new ones must be formed.
Page 18
Presented as published in 1917. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A brief outline of how the food is changed into flesh and bone will be helpful.
The food, when taken into the mouth, undergoes two changes. One is a physical change. This is brought about through the mastication of
28 A
28 B WELL-BALANCED MEAL
the food in the mouth, and as it passes on to the stomach, a churning process there. The last physical action brought to bear on it is the process which takes place in the intestines, called peristalsis. This is the contraction of the intestinal walls, one ring at a time, pushing the food continually forward. The food is thus broken up into fine particles, so that it may be easily acted upon.
The other change is a chemical one. When we begin to chew food, saliva is poured into the mouth from the glands of the cheek. This saliva contains an element, in solution, called an enzyme, which mixes with the food and divides the starchy food present into very fine particles — too small to be detected by the eye. As the food passes on to the stomach, another fluid is mixed with it here — the gastric juice. It also has enzymes in it which act upon the food, dividing the particles into still finer pieces. Here the action which was started on starchy foods in the mouth is continued, and different foods are started to be broken up. As they leave the stomach and enter the intestines, still another fluid is mixed with them, and the food particles which have not been made small enough in the mouth or stomach have a last chance here. Not until the food reaches the intestines are the fat particles acted upon.
The walls of the intestines are porous, that is, they contain very tiny passages through which the food, when broken into small enough particles may pass into the blood. The blood in its circulation carries the food through the body to the cells which need it, building it up again into tissue form. If there is an excess of starchy food present it is taken out by the liver as the blood passes through it, and stored for future use. An excess of starchy foods may also be changed to fat and stored under the skin.
The lungs are also porous enough to allow the oxygen from the air we breathe to pass into the blood, thus purifying it, and when uniting with the carbon element of the food causing heat to be formed.
THE FIVE FOOD PRINCIPLES
In the previous lesson we stated that not all foods performed the same function in the body. Foods are divided into five classes for the purpose of studying them. These are proteids, or flesh-building foods; carbohydrates, that is, starchy and sugar foods, which furnish heat and energy; fats, which do the same; mineral matter, or bone building and fluid regulating food ; and water, which regulates the general working of the machinery of the body.
WELL-BALANCED MEAL 28 C
We will take them up separately, treating them as to best method of preparation, food value of each, and examples of food in which each is found in abundance.
Proteid. "A diet should contain proteid enough to build and repair the tissues of the body." More proteid is needed for growing children than for the full-grown person, because in addition to the worn-down cells which have to be built up, still other new ones must be formed.