Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1888-08-02
NO PRrslC wI7H ORR F0oD.
A Phosphaiic Baking Powder Theory
that Is Dangerous II not Ridiculous.

A Phoslhaiic Baking Powder Theory
that Is Dangerous II not Ridiculous.
| That is rather dangerous psoposi.
tion. put forth by the manufacturers
of some OF the patented or propric,a-
ry articles Of food. that their products
possess superior wholeaomeness be-
cause they contain drug of some
particular medicinal property. Phos.
pilates. slnm. lime, arsenic, calomel.
etc, have their places a. specifics Cor
different diseases, and are available
mesiical remedies. each In it, place.
Dat they arenst cufrsatIs Taw rhy.
sicisn who should prescribe either
calomel, or strychnine, or rhubarb
three times day to man, woman and
child, sick or well because either Of
such drugs is we'll known remedy
for some certain disease. would receive
but little honor from the fraternity
and less practice from ;hc communi.
ty.
No one will controvert this state
meat yet We find manufacturers of
baking powders claiming superior hy-
gisnic virtue for their productions
and urging their continuous use be.
cause they are alleged to carry the
phosphate used in making them "a
cheap substitute for cream of tartar,
procured from the homes Of dead ami
mals) into the food, although we'll
aware, as they must be, o! the fact
that with the constant use of such ar
ticle this drug must pass into our sys-
TENS daily no matter what may be
our physical conditions or whether or
not we may be suffering from some all
ment wherein the use OF such drug
would oe positively detrimental. Both
alum and phosphates are useful med
icaments in certain diseases but they
should no more be taken indiscrimin.
ately day after day and without the
prescription of physician, than ar
senic, aconite or calomel indeed,
there are conditions of the system,
particularly with women, whom the
prudent physician would be loath to
permit the use of lime phosphatcs
even as a medicine.
The fallacy of this claim of the
manufacturers Of phosphate baking
powders will be apparent to all when
the fact, well known to physicians, is
stated, that in average health and
ordinary food the body gets more
phosphates than are required or can
be assimilated, as is evidenced by the
fact that they are constantly boing
expelled in the excretions, both solid
and liquid ; likewise the statement
that it is necessary to add rhosphates
to the baking powder to restore to the
flour those which have been lost in
the milling, for it is trne that fine
flour as at present made actually con.
tains a larger percentage of phos-
pilates than the grain of wheat itself.
The object of baking powders is
not TO provide the body with medi.
cine, but simply to visiculate or make
light the mixture of flour, 80 as 10
render ii when baked easy of masti.
cation and perfectly digestible. The
most celebrated experts in the bnsi-
ness have worked for the perfection
of an article that should do this me-
chanically, adding to or taking from
the flour nothing, nor in any way ef-
fecting change IN its properties or
constituents. When this has been
done the perfect leavening agent has
been discovered. The manufacturers
of the Royal Baking Powder have
succeeded in this so far As to make
a leavening agent that vesiculstes and
raises the loaf most perfectly, and
without changing the properties Of
the flour while the residuum from it
has been reduced to a minimum. The
acid employed, however, TO produce
this result is not phosphate, but the
acid of highly refined cream of tar
tar, which, the health authorities
agree, renders that powder perfectly
pure and more reliable and healthful
than any other. The recent official
tests show, on the other hand, that
the best the phosphate baking pow
der makers can DO is To produce an
article that is one-third or more resi-.
dunn or impurity.
We want our food pure especially
do we not wish TO take alum, lime
and phesphates with it at the dictum
of manufacturers who may find it
cheaper to claim virtue for the inn
purities than to remove them.
- "Pa, what's a mirage p