It is particularly important that those who are forced
to practice rigid economy should know just what will
best supply the needs of a family and how the most nour-
ishment may be had at a minimum of expense. We are
told by scientists that an adult requires daily eight
and a-quarter pounds of dry food and water, with air
necessary for respiration. The same amount is thrown
off as waste, or in other words eight and a-quarter
pounds is used up as fuel to keep the machinery of life in
motion, and if that fuel is not forthcoming, death ensues.
The better the oil, the better the light ; and the more
perfectly suited the food is to the wants of the system,
the more vigorous will be the body, the more perfect the
working of muscle, nerve and brain.
Food is first masticated, then digested. When it
reaches the stomach it is at once acted upon by the gas-
tric juice, which pours from the walls of the stomach.
Consequently, anything that dilutes this fluid tends to
retard digestion, and sickness follows. Therefore, it is a
mistake to drink freely during mastication, or until some
little time has elapsed after eating to allow the stomach to
do its work unhindered. As the juices of the stomach act
only upon the surface of the food which passes into it,
it can readily be seen why light bread is more whole-
some than heavy bread. Light, spongy bread is acted
upon in every part because the gastric juice is able to
penetrajte it; and if all housewives knew this, they would
not place the heavy, stale loaf on the table, *' to save it."
Truly, many a mother gives a stone when asked by her
child for bread !
Fats of all kinds do not digest in the stomach, but
require the action of the bile and pancreatic juice
THE CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 1 9
to make them available as carbon for living combus-
tion. Only as fat is combined with other food is it a
benefit to the system, and the use of more than can be
perfectly blended brings on indigestion and often exces-
sive " heart-burning," to use a domestic term.
Food has primarily two functions — the repair of muscu-
lar waste, and the supply of the body with fuel to keep the
temperature up to 98° ; and each is indispensable to health
and strength. The chief part of our food goes to keep up
this living warmth, and the balance, except small portions
of mineral substances, such as sulphur and potash, goes
to muscle and brain production. The secret of healthy
food is to adapt it to the present needs of those for whom
it is prepared. Foods are divided into three classes:
the Nitrogeneous, in which nitrogen is the chief element,
and which feed the muscles only ; the Non-nitrogeneous
or Carbonaceous, which produce heat chiefly ; and those
in which the first two are combined.
Page 4
Presented as published in 1890. 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
It is particularly important that those who are forced to practice rigid economy should know just what will best supply the needs of a family and how the most nourishment may be had at a minimum of expense. We are told by scientists that an adult requires daily eight and a-quarter pounds of dry food and water, with air necessary for respiration. The same amount is thrown off as waste, or in other words eight and a-quarter pounds is used up as fuel to keep the machinery of life in motion, and if that fuel is not forthcoming, death ensues. The better the oil, the better the light ; and the more perfectly suited the food is to the wants of the system, the more vigorous will be the body, the more perfect the working of muscle, nerve and brain.
Food is first masticated, then digested. When it reaches the stomach it is at once acted upon by the gastric juice, which pours from the walls of the stomach. Consequently, anything that dilutes this fluid tends to retard digestion, and sickness follows. Therefore, it is a mistake to drink freely during mastication, or until some little time has elapsed after eating to allow the stomach to do its work unhindered. As the juices of the stomach act only upon the surface of the food which passes into it, it can readily be seen why light bread is more wholesome than heavy bread. Light, spongy bread is acted upon in every part because the gastric juice is able to penetrate it; and if all housewives knew this, they would not place the heavy, stale loaf on the table, *' to save it." Truly, many a mother gives a stone when asked by her child for bread !
Fats of all kinds do not digest in the stomach, but require the action of the bile and pancreatic juice
to make them available as carbon for living combustion. Only as fat is combined with other food is it a benefit to the system, and the use of more than can be perfectly blended brings on indigestion and often excessive " heart-burning," to use a domestic term.
Food has primarily two functions — the repair of muscular waste, and the supply of the body with fuel to keep the temperature up to 98° ; and each is indispensable to health and strength. The chief part of our food goes to keep up this living warmth, and the balance, except small portions of mineral substances, such as sulphur and potash, goes to muscle and brain production. The secret of healthy food is to adapt it to the present needs of those for whom it is prepared. Foods are divided into three classes: the Nitrogeneous, in which nitrogen is the chief element, and which feed the muscles only ; the Non-nitrogeneous or Carbonaceous, which produce heat chiefly ; and those in which the first two are combined.