Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-12-08
" Pork UnMllolesomc !

Some thirty odd years ago, New England
was all agog withnew isms that claimed to be
based upon science. The chief of these were
Phrenology and Grahamism, of neither Of
which is much now left. except an occasional
humorous reference to bumps" in the
one case, and a name for unbolted flour in
the other
Sylvester Graham, a dyspcptic as thin as
rail, went about the land declaiming against
a meat dict, and praising bran bread as
specific for all ills. lie denounced pork, es-
pecially, as the cause of scrofula and con
sumption, yet died out Of the last, in spite Of
his vegetarianism.
Yet this notion about pork still prevails,
and probably will prevail as a popular SUI
perstition, long after this generation is under
the sod. 1t is no use to say that jews sui
fer from scrofula aud die Of consumption,
though they have eaten no pork since the
days Of Moses. II is no use 10 point 10 both
negroes and whites in the South and West,
bred up on hog and hominy, yet suffering
far less from scrofulous and tuberculous dis
ease than the mincing Yankees. 1t is
no use to compare families and show the un-
healthy condition of those that study every
quackish publication upon diet, and regulate
themselves accordingly, alongside Of others
that take no heed Of anything but having
enough to eat, C. and that which is good, ="
..F
air and who are plump, vigorous and rosy
The theory will remain bigger than all OPP
posing facts with those who are once brought
to believe in the specious talk Of the diet
quacks.
There has never been particle OF scien-
tic evidence that pork is any more unwhole-
some than any other article Of diet. There
is some proof that fat meat is somewhat
harder OF digestion than that which is both
lean and tender. But pork is not so hard to
digest, with most people, as many vegetables
beans aud cabbage particularly. It's such
sweet and tender meat that people are Of
ten tempted to over-eat of it, and over-eating
is injurious.
Science shows that fat and -four, cooked TO-
gether, as in pies, doughnuts shortened
bread, and various fried dishes, are very diff
fcult Of digestion because the fat, which
cannot be digested in the stomach, prevents
the flour, etc, from being dgested there
enyeloping as it does every particle with a
thin coating Of grease Fat is digested in
the bowels below the stomach, and should
never be so intimately incorporated with
any food that it will not separate and flow
off, when subjected to the heat and move
ment of the stomach, leaving the farinaceous
saccharine and albuminous portions of tn,
food free to be acted upon 10y the fluids Of
that organ.
An abundance of fat food is essential tC
health in every cold climate and those who
refuse it as food will usually have a chance
TO try it as a medicine, under the form Of
codliver oil. The prejudice against fat
that exists among us is, far more than our
climate, the cause Of consumption in New
England. Plenty of fat, properly eaten
plenty of wooden clothing, and enough out
door exercise, would Danish consumption
from all our rural districts. And pork-fat
is the healthest of all the animal fats (cxcept
cream and butter) because it becomes fluid
at low tempetature-much lower than that
of mutton or heef-and is therefore more
easily emulsionised, or digested, by the in
testinal fluids TO which that duty is assigned
We are not advocating the use of diseased
pork. We believe that too many hogs ar,
kept in way that makes the meat unfit t.
be eaten. But the same is true of cattle
sheep and poultry Swine should be FED
with clean food from clean troughs-shoulC
have access to running water, and hav,
clean, dry and warm sleeping quarters
They should not be over-fcd, especially il
warm weather, aud the meat should not b,
injured by over-salting, oyersmoking OF
tainting. Observe these points, and snaI
your fingers at the diet quacks.