Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-01-24


From the recent book by Dr. Bellows, OF
the Philosophy of Eating, We extract the
following
Experience sustains fully the chemical and
! Physiological deductions of the preceding
chapters Animals have been fed on pure
starch, or sugar, or fat alone, and they
! gradually pined away and died the nj
trates in all the fine -four bread which the
animal can eat viii not sustain life beyond
! fifty days but others, fed on unbolted flour
! bread would continue to thrive for an indef-
mite period All the food, therefore, beyond
the amount necessary to supply the prin-
! ciple that is deficient, is not only wasted,
! but burdens the system with efforts TO dis
| pose oft. Food, therefore. containing the
right proportion ofheaters and muscle max
ers is not only best, but most economical.
To make this statement plain. suppose we
have a meal composed of roast beef, rare,
with potatoes and dish gravy, and as much
| Of unbolted wheat bread. or rye and Indian.
and fruits, and cheese, and perhaps, if the
| beef be lean, or with green vegetables, but
ter or fat pork to give them their heating
principles OF such a meal the appetite
N''lA NC H1tioiitu Win JUST llit dHpuuJ q
food necessary to supply either the heating
or the muscle making principles, and they
wonld be taken in right proportions.
But suppose, instead, we tried to satisfy
the appetite with a meal composed fried fat
pork and potatoes, fine wheat bread and but
ter, griddlecakes and syrup-articles almost
destitute of food for muscle or brain When
the stomach was filed with these articles
there would still be a demand for the nitrates
and phosphates, and we should still crave some
article TO supply the deficiency, and all the
carh0nates above those which the system re
quired would be wasted.
On the other hand. if we ate only lean
meat, or fish, and green vegetables and fruits
which are deficient in carbonates, We should
| require quantity Of those articles in pro-
portion to that deficiency, or the lungs
would not be supplied with fuel sufficient to
. run the machine. But in Boston, and
probably in all American cities, a large part
| of the expenses of the table are for butter,
superfne -four, and sugar, neither of which
| contains enough Of the muscle or brain feed,
ing element 10 sustain life over fifty DAYS. as
has been proved by experiment with -four
while butter and sugar would not sustain
life a single month without other food
As far rs we have articles Of food deficient
in carbonates, we can use, without loss, but
ter or sugar to supply the deficiency but
most Of our natural food, both animal and
vegetable, contains a due proportion, and if
with them we use butter or sugar, they can
not be appropriated by the system, and are
therefore lost.
All meats, fat and lean together, all grains
and milk, contain all the carbOnates that are
needed or can be used to furnish heat in mod
crate weather All the butter or sugar,
therefore, that is added to either Of these
common articles of food, as they are used in
making cakes, custards, pies etc, are not
only lost, but by adding too much fuel, in
crease the tendency to inhanmations, en-
barrass the stomach, and induce dyspepsia,
congestion, distractions, etc.
With beefsteak, or any lean meats, or fish,
or potatoes, or any green vegetables, or dried
beans or peas, some oily substance seems TO
be needed, as all these articles are deficient
in carbon, and in common use We have the
choice between lard, sweet oil, or butter, or
perhaps fat pork, all of which are precisely
alike in chemical construction, and that one
is most wholesome which is best relished.
Sugar also is needed with the acid fruits
anu heITIce, ana es Ittldily WIN dpplee' Nhlch
in New England are the most valuable Of all
fruits, either with or without cooking, and
which, with sugar, furnish excellent food,
especially in winter and spring, when other
fruit cannot be had But to find good use
for superfne flour, out of which has been and
nine-tenths Of It's food for muscle or brains, is
exceedingly difficult, indeed, impossible in
health and it can only be useful in disease
where the irritability of the stomach or bow
els forbids the use Of their natural stimulant,
Just as Inflammation Of the eye makes it ne
cessary to exclude the light.