The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-04-11
DIET FOR THE BICK.
New York Times.1

III.
have often published what important factors
are the ailments given to an Invalid, and how,
II In proper quantity and OF improved quality,
Che kitchen helps the cure more than the
apothecary's shop. Some doctors are fortu-
nate enough to combine with their phar-
maceutical lore q certain amount OF culinary
acquaintance II were great pity that they
| many Of item, did not know more OF the lat
| ter. A doctor may say to the wife, who is all
| anxiety In regard to this health OF her ailing
husband, "give the sick man something light
and nourishing" Now, what does the ordinary
wife know about such thsngs2 She could
sing for her husbands amusement, possibly
dance for him, but as to making him
a ass b nao't e. b 1r s ngae even
| q tight rope. 1t is not beneath the dignity of
| the most learned Escuiaplus to unbend at
times and teach the various methods how food
should be prepared for invalids. Relative
values OF food and their digestibility ply
sician should have by heart, and 1t is his
duty to impart his knowledge whenit Is neces-
sary. Now. as to methods Of preparing food
| for invalids DR.. Kane says: "Fried food OF
any kind should never be admitted to the
| sick room. The process renders the food very
hard OF digestion, rs 1t gives 1t to US cased In
| dark outside OF Drowned material and fat"
A leading authority, DR.. Baird, writes about
| frying as follows: "rhis Is method Of cook
| than convenience. 1t Is rude method,
adapted for coarse natures, and disappears
| before civilization" We wish we thought
DR.. Baird was right as to Its disappearance.
Frying, like original sin, is, we are afraid,
everlasting. and not to be stamped out. II
| meat has to be given to an Invalid, 1t must be
broiled. Even precaution should be used as
to the materials with which the fire Is made.
Hot Goals often smoke and flavor the meat
disagreeabfy. III possible, broll with a wood
meat or chicken and wrap it In buttered
piece of paper, and thus place 1t on the grid
iron. Baking meat is not as good process,
Though often resorted to-. Tie tendency OF
those strengthening juices found In the
flesh. Boiling meat, II attended to properly.
La not bad method, as the beef retains
large amount OF nutriment, the fatty portions
being dissolved by the heat. But the trouble
about the boiling process lie that, unless great
intelligence is used, the meat Ia overlooked,
and the nutritious elements are found more
In the broth than In the meat. Then again,
as the appetite has to be SOIL ewhat stimu-
lated, boiled meats are q trifls iusipid and
tasteless The process of boiling poultry
being shorter than that used In cooking beef,
the boiled chicken can be, however, most ad-
vantageously used In this sick-room. Stew
ing, when the broth is made rich In extraetive
matter, when the selection OF the material has
been judiclous, is excellent food for invalids,
providing the fats have been taken away.
In "Diet for the Sick" the remark In re-
gard to fats should be remembered, that
bS Jua OhTuOIS dIt uothb pIUuuCeISs WuSu bu6
patient has inclinations to feverss they are
prone to give recurrence OF them. Fats d.
gest slowly, and In delicate constitutions may
disorder the stomach. Ii portion OF the
battle over illness has been won by the prop
or selection and dressing Of the food, Ii 1t be
sloveniy or carelessiy served, 1t often does
more harm than good. Nothing Is more dis
tasteful than to hand an Ill person
smeary dish or sloppy cup. The senses are
SO delicate that often an overcharge OF food
is revolving to the slight and deadens the ap-
petite. 1t Is better, then, to make two trips
between the kitchen and the sick room than
to disgust q patient with an overabundance
There Is no preeaution which should not be
taken to make the meal inviting. Have al
ways clean napkin, change 1t every time
food is partaken of. Ii the patient is too
weak to use spoon or fork himself, be care
full not to cram. and remember that the inva-
cage, and that your sole object is to increase
the size OF his or her liver. 1t Is
wise, eminently wise TO humor q pa
tent. Never talk much about
what you are going to administer In the way
Of food. just as the eyes. nose and ears are
stimulated by disease, SO does the imaRina-
ton Of the patient become eccentric. Some
tunes expectations are raised too high; at
other periods simply to. mention food ts to
pail the appetite. Ostentimes 1t is better to
produce your neatly-eoyered tray without
any advice Of Its coming to the patient We
all OF us must know OF patients In our own
experience who would rather starve than say
that they were hungry. This Is to be forgiven.
Firmness is all we'll enough, an In
telligent invalid may be coaxed into eating,
but to bully about food Isl mistake, and often
results most unfortunately. II, with lanxuid
bid you "begone" with all your nicely-pre-
some other time. The great thing Is
patience, and always patience. This 10 what
Miss Nightingale says: MANY patient can
fault lies in the fact OF your not having got
him the thing that he fancies." But another
patient does not care for grapes and turnips;
everything Is equally distasteful to him.. He
would try to eat anything which woun do
him good; but everything makes aim worse
The fault generally lies with the cooking. 1t
Is not his appetite which requires tempting;
1t Ia his digestion which requires spariRg. A
good cook for the sick will save the digestion
half Its work. There may DO four causes,
any one Of which will produce the same re-
suit. VIZ: the patient slowly starving to
death from want OF nutrition: /. Defect of
cooking. O. Defect In choice Of dist. 8. De-
feet Of appetite OF patient. Yet all these are
generally comprehended In one sweeping as
sertion that the patient has ''no appetite"
Now what are the remediss2 For the first 1t
is to cook better; for the second to select the
diet; for the third to watch carefully the pa
tient, and for the fourth and last to show
him what he llkes-and sometimes, to work
In the most unexpected way.
In treating Of beef extracts, "Diet for the
Sick" quite upholds the views entertained In
our Household Column some months ago.
Beef extracts are, as rule, OF absolutely no
value In the sick-room. 10 the process OF
preparation the greater part OF the nutriment
Is left behind, anG most Of the salts are pre-
served. While acting as occasional davorers
OF soups and additions to regular diet, they
ntfaFfJ fSf
article of food" In fact, they are sligbtly
stimulating. as much 30, about, as tea, but
give hardly any nutrimeIt. What you want
10 the beef, In finely -divlded particles. cooked
| ia the beef extract; then you get the stiml-
! liant and the food This is an essence Of beei
and not a beef extract. Il has been exceed.
insly difficult to stamp out this dietary here