Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1884-05-08
FOOD FOE HEALTH.
Lecture Before the Unity Club by
DR.. IL. X. wilson.


lecture Of the course, before the Unity
Club last evening week, upon the subjec
"Food for Health" He said, it would mo-
be wise man who would ask no queation
for conscience sake, ss to what he should
eat or what he should drink. The advo
Gates OF animal food and the vegetsrians
will always be at war. Some advocate q
medium diet, oompromise-but 1t is the
meat eaters the oyster eaters, the fish
eaters, who do the work Of the world,
whether Of contriving or performing it.
But there are doughty vigorous
champions for both sides. TIC
the vegstariaps the reply is made
that we have teeth to bite aud tear and
We can eat vegetables IS well. The great
question still remains, what must we
eat 7 We take from the animal world
and the vegetable world We eat the
bivalve, the muscle, the lobster. A GER
tain orator oone declared that the pig is
actually necessary to the building up and
development OF the American citizen.
Although Bismarck condemned the home
article on account Of the dreaded triohins,
the speaker questioned the taot OF the
American pig being pre- eminently in
tested with the disease. Scientists are
unanimous In the decision that the con-
tinued use Of pork is deleterious TO
health. A wit speaking Of roast pig said ::
Delicious infant swine, the feast for saint or
sinner,
II could always call thee mine, I'd ask no
other dinner
The speaker considered 1t more
judioious to give preference to the
bovines, the OK and sheep being less
liable to disease. The pig has very
unphysioloSica way Of feeding or being
fed, just before it il killed 1t would
superind ucs diseass in any animal. The
object OF food ia to repair waste. Al
every thought, every action, there 10
waste OF tissue. What We take up in
food Is the income, what We u4s
up is the expenditure. what We
assimilate is the profit. The profit
enables us to build ships, bricg-s,
railroads, and whatever We do for the
help OF our fellow man. The animal
takes the grasses, hence we have beef
and mutton. We sssimilate 1t into blood
which makes muscle, sinsw, hair, and
every part Of the human body. The
question is can we take the primary CON-
dition Of the food, in its vegetable state,
and obtain the same results. A vege-
tartan, who had abstained from the use
of animal food for two years, testified
in the affirmative. At first there was
lack Of power and stimulus, but,
after eight months, strength and vivacity
returned. All human animal food oon-
tains hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and
nitrogen. There are the structure
building elements in the food, the
elements that form bones aud teeth, snd
the heat forming elements. Milk has
these conditions in the exact ratio to
which they are needed for the building
up of the system Three parts for
structure building, six parts for heat or
force producing, Que pert for bone
formation and 80 parts water. Fish as u
food is within s per cent Of the value of
beef. There ID proportionately no more
phosphorus in it than in beef,
but it is less heating hence it's
suitability as q diet for those
following sedentary life. Maize is
a perfeo. representative OF what goes to
build up the human frame. Tue average
Englisbman consumss from as to so
ounces of solids and SO TO 55 oun ,es Of
liquids (including bser) In every "a hours
lie takes just twice what he needs. A
soldier In perfect health does not need
more than 35 ounces of solid toud. The
speaker then cited the we'll known case
of the Italian, Cornaro, who was near
dying from dyspepsia and gout at the age
of so, but through reducing his diet to
II ounces a day found his health return
and lived hale and vigorous for 5S years
more.
The lecturer eulogized the fasting
theory as an excellent preventive of
disease. Nature uses mp the material II
the body, the NOR bid matter and fat until
at last every possible harmful condition
has disappeared. Properly cooking the
food is the first step in digestion. One OF
the greatest mistakes ever made is to
claim that raw meat is healthtul. Disease
in food ia not limited to animal matter
1000 people died in Germany from using
bread made from grain which had been
attacked by certain insect. Gross food
will make us gross in thought and
tendency. Almost everything we do de-
ponds for its success upon the proper
assimilation of our food. Cooks should
be paid a good salary and be well trained.
Bonaparte lost one OF his greatest battles
through the medium OF bad suppsr the
night before.