Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-02-28
WHAT TO EAT.

| CndTdCIeTS dsk OpOn Wnat meal
doth this, our Caesar, feed that
he hath grown SO great?" The
Philadelphia Age insists that this
shows that Shakespeare, always in
advance of his age, anticipated the
discoveries of modern science in
the art ofliving. The elements are
so combined in food that one kind
may make a man vigorous in body
and mind, while another may make
him as dull and slothful as q pig in
his sty. There is food that will
make a man fat. There is food that
will make man thin. Mr.. Banting,
an Englishman, made himself both
slim and famous by system which
was only this: he ate food that con-
tanned little carbon in it. Chance
rather than science led him to his
discovery, which excited great at
tention in England. He left off
eating fine bread, rice, and all vege-
tables that contain much starch.
He lived chiefly on lean meats, in
which nitrogen predominates, the
element which nourishes the
muscles, and makes a man vigor-
Gus, but not fat. To get fat, re-
verse this practice. Our fell
low-citizens OF Alaska are de-
scribed as plump, good-humored
and greasy, and like the Esqui-
maux, they make a good repast
from q few pounds of tallOw candles,
washed down with a gallon or 80 of
whale oil. To the same class of
ailments belong, however, butter
and lard, which play an important
part in our own cuisine. Another
important element of food is phos-
phorus; for while box of matches
would not enlighten the mind if put
into the stomach, a certain amount
eff phosphorus seems essential to
the brain. 1t is contained largely
in some classes Of food; for instance,
in flesh. Professor Agassiz says
that a fish diet refreshes after intel
lectual fatigue, and supplies intel
lectual deficiencies. Coarse bread,
also, contains phosphorus, which
the refining process eliminates.
There is, in these times, great de-
sire to improve their minds among
Office seekers, if we may judge by
their eagerness for an intellectual
diet Of "loaves and fishes"
Elaborate tables have been pub
lished showing the measures in
which each kind of food contains
the necessary elements. Milk, the
sole food of infancy, contains them
all in just the right proportion.
Generally, various kinds Of food
must be used to obtain the carbon,
the nitrogen and the phosphorus
that are needed TO supply waste of
body and mind. But those who do
not choose to study these matters
too closely, may console themselves
with the fact that common obser-
walton has anticipated science, and
the ordinary food of a family in good
circumstances gives, in one or other
of its components, every element
necessary for the sustenance of life
and strength
1t must be remembered, however,
that it is what he digests, not what
he bolts down his throat, that nour-
ishes a man. He may miss his aim
entirely by eating too much Of the
very food best qualified to supply
his wants. If he cannot digest it,
he can appropriate to himself the
virtues Of neither fish nor flesh. To
be well, a man must follow the gol-
den rule of moderation. A divine
proeept we may call it. Sweden
borg persuaded himself and others
that he lived in constant communi-
cation with celestial visitants. The
first apparition to him, as he re-
lates it, was opportune. While he
was at supper, an angel appeared to
him and said, "eat not too much"
A like messenger admonished our
first parents in Eden, to
Observe the rule by Temperance taught.
of not too much" in what thou eat'st and
drinkst.
Our authority for this is Milton.
Higher authority we have in the
Scriptures and those who, like
Reverdy Johnson, eat and drink fol-
the service of their country, should
remember the counsel of Solomon
/. When thou sittest to eat with &
ruler, consider diligently what is before
1 thee.
, Aud put knife to thy throat, i
thou be man given to appetite.
;. BE not DESTROYS Of his .dainties, fl
they are deceitful meat.
| We have said enough to show Gu,
readers that eating is an important
matter, and-for many good reas'
ons, moral, physical, political anc
even religious-should not b
sighted.
The number of communicates t
the Old School Presbyterian Churc
i'm Ohio. has increased in twenty