Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-06-30
The Proper Dinner Hour.

A good deal of attention has lately
been attracted by a declaration made in
a paper devoted to the study of proper
food for man that good health could
only be secured by taking a hearty meal
at midday. The writer went on to say
it was better for business men to take
time for substantial meal at midday
than to snatch the hasty lunch that is
usual, for the latter proceeding was sim
ply inviting fate. This opinion attracted
the attention of some of our morning CO.
temporaries, who seemed to agree with
it. Therefore, Commercial reporter
was sent on tour among well known
physicians of this city to ascertain
whether it is advisable and healthful for
active, pushing men to stop in the midst
of their days work and consume a
hearty meal. The majority of those
spoken to laughed at the theory thus
propounded. An eminent physician llv-
ing in the upper part of the city said the
reason why heavy midday meal would
be injurious, while the evening dinner
was really healthy, was that business
and professional men were generally in
such hurry in the middle of the day
that they could not spare time to masti-
cate the food they ate, much less allow
it to digest, before rushing again to their
work. He had visited restaurants in the
lower part of the city between twelve
and one O'Clock in the day and had seen
respectable men grabbing and swallow
ing food the same as hogs at a trough.
This method of eating was decidedly un-
healthy, and it would be far better if
they would merely nibble hard
cracker during the middle of the day,
for they would have to masticate that
and take a little time over it. It was
far healthier, in his opinion, for profess
sional men to dispose of hearty break
fast, say from seven to eight O'Clock in
the morning, eat lightly during the mid
die of the day, then take time to their
dinners after their days labors were
over. A dinner at about five or six
O'Clock, eaten slowly and enjoyed amid
pleasant family surroundings; inter-
spersed with cheerful conversation, was
more productive to health than all the
midday meals which could be thought
of. A heavy midday meal would unfit
professional men for carrying on any
business in the afternoon, as it would
make them heavy and sleepy, for nature
requires some kind of repose to aid di-
gestion.
Another well-known physician said
the system of eating in this country was
ridiculous, as any person of common
sense would see. The majority of per-
sons thrust three heavy meals into about
ten hours, and leave the body without
a fresh supply of food for the remaining
fourteen hours of the day and night.
He thought two good meals, morning
and evening, would be the proper plan,
with perhaps light lunch of crackers
at about one O'Clock in the day. This
would allow both of the heavy meals to
digest before the next was taken. As to
a heavy midday meal for men who have
to tear around as if the next moment
were to be their last, it is perfectly ridic-
ulous, as the food, instead of digesting
and forming blood, muscle and brain,
would act as block to those forces of
nature-choking up sewer, as it were.
Other physicians expressed similar
opinions, the same ideas being given,
only in different phrases and modes of
expression.-NewY York Commercial.