Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-05-02
from the fraternity and less practice
from the community.

from the fraternity ana less practice
from the community,
No one will controvert this statement;
yet we find manufacturers OF baking
powders claiming superior hygienic viz
tue for their productions and urging their
continuous use because they are alleged
to carry the phosphate used in making
tartar, procured from the bones of dead
animals) into the food, although we'll
aware, as they must be of the fact that
with the constant use of such article
this drug must pass into our systems
daily, no matter what may he our physi-
cal conditions or requirements, or wheth.
er or not we may be suffering from some
allment wherein. the use Of such drug
would be positively detrimental. Both
alum and phOsphates are useful medical
ments in certain diseases; but they should
no more be taken indiscriminately day
after day and without the prescription of
physician, than arsenic. aconite or cal.
omel; indeed, there are conditions of the
system. particularly with women, when
the prudent physician would be loath to
permit the use of lime phosphates even
as medicine.
The fallacity of this claim of the man.
ufacturers of phosphate baking powders
will be apparent to all when the fact.
we'll known to physicians, is stated, that
in average health and with ordinary food
the body gets more phosphates than are
required or can be assimilated, as is evil
denced by the fact that they are con-
stantly being expelled in the excrctions,
both solid and liquid; likewise the state
ment that 1t is necessary to add phos-
pilates to the baking powder to restore
hn hnc vxy1,s 1oo ~
the milling. for it IS true that fine -four
as at present made actually contains
larger percentage of phosphates than the
grain of wheat itself.
Tire object of baking powders is not
to provide the body with medicine, but
simply to vesiculatc or make light the
mixture of flour, so as to render it when
baked easy of mastication and perfectly
dlgestlble. The most celebrated experts
in the business have worked for the per-
lection of an article that should do this
mechanically, adding to or taking from
the flour nothing. nor in any way effect
ing change in its properties or constit-
uents. When this has been done the per-
feet leavening agent has been discovered
The manufacturers of the Royal Baking
Powder have succeeded in this so far as
to make leavening agent that vesicu-
lates and raises the loaf most perfectly,
and without changing the properties Of
the flour, while the reslduum from it has
been reduced to a minimum. The acid
employed, however, to produce this re
suit is not phosphate, but the acid of
highly refined cream of tartar, which, the
health authorities agree, rcnders!that pow
der perfectly pure and more reliable and
healthful than any other. The recent Of
al @~<~ o1~ IL
the hest the phosphate baking powder
manufacturers can do is to produce ar
article that is one. third or more rcsiduum
or impurity.
We want our food pure; especially do
we not wish to take alum, lime and phes.
pilates with 1t at the dictum of manufac-
turers who may find it cheaper to claim
a virtue for the impurities than to remove
them.