Smyrna times., 1890-03-19
WHOLE NO. 1908.
DO NOT EAT TOO MUCH,
PROFESSOR ATWATER's LECTURE
ON A VERY PRACTICAL TOPIC.

Atwater, on Food and Health" Itwas
uhuer the auspices of the scientific socie-
Ties OF Washington and the Smithsonian
institution. The principal point of the lee.
ture was the adaptation of food to The
demands of the body, and Of the evils os
overeating and insufficient nutrition.
The eating of bread and meat is simnla
matter, but the way in which the differ
ent constituents of the food perform their
oIhces IN the maintenance of life are Drob-
lens as profound rs any with which pbv-
slcal science has to deal. The works of
nature culminate in man. In his organ.
ism her operations are most complex and
recondlte. The laws which regulate our
physical being are discovered but slowly
and by the most ingenious and profound
research. Those which govern the nutri-
ton OF our bodies have been shrouded in
mystery, which only the inves..s +ion OF
later time has begun to unveil. But the
crude theories of the past are being grad.
ually replaced by the more certain knovvl-
edge of the present.
But this evil of overeating, be IL
great or small, is, of course. confined To
the classes to whom generous fortune.
unchecked by reasonable restraint al
lows it. There are countless sufFerers
from dietary habits into which self in
dulgence has not tempted, but relentless
late have forced them. The overfed ONLY
! pay Tor pleasure the penalty of main.
Inc greater misery Of the underfed, their
hunger, with its inseparable attendants
! Ignorance, selfishness, crime and depra.
datlOn, are things of terrible moment
1he lecturer referred to the income and
! expenditure of the body, as follows;
The body receives food drinl, and
oxygen, which constitute its income
Fart OF this material is transformed into
flesh, fat, bone and other tissues of the
body. The remainder, together with the
tissues worn out by use, is transformed
INTO urea, carbOnic acid, water. etc.
IheSe products are given off from the
oody and constitute its expenditure.
Illustrated maps were used to show
the dletaries of different people engaged
III different occupations, and he proved
that although people in this country
work harder and need to have more and
better food than those Of corresponding
classes in Europe, yet that many persons
OF sedentary habits, who really need but
little, consume as much as would be ra-
CURED If they were engaged in severe
muscular labor.
a certain amount of food is necessary
to keep the machinery moving. A large
number of well to do people of this conn
try eat much more than is necessary
af
meats We ransack the four quarters Of
the earth for materials to excite the an
petite, and thus increase the amount Of
food consumed. Most people of this
country are engaged in occupations
"Illch require comparatively little mus
cular exercise, and the result is we i'm
pose upon our bodies the task of GETTING
rid OF large amount of material in ex-
cess OF its needs at fearful cost to health
and happiness.
The cheapest food is that which SUD-
plies the most nutriment for the least
money. The most economical food is
that which is cheapest and best ADAPTED
to the wants of the user. But the maxim
That "the best is the cheapest" does not
apply to food The best food. in the
sense of that which has the finest an
pearance and flavor and is sold at the
hlShest price, Is not generally the chea5-
est nor the most economical, nor is il al.
ways the most healthful. 1t is important
that people be taught about their food.
out the first requisite is the information
to give them. The subject is, however,
new. In its investigation we stand upon
the borders of a continent of which but
a small part has yet been explored. In
the great European universities investi-
CATION IS active. In our own country
eSfremly little has been done, and that
little IS dependent almost entirely upon
private muniticence for its support.
w hat" said the speaker, ''is to be
done about it2 In the first place wa
ought to find what flaws there are. il
sny, in the conclusions to which the best
research of the time seems to force
us. Then we must see how these con-
Hluslons are to be supplemented. This
sill require abstruse and costly expert
mentlng. But at the same time the pub
lc needs to be educated. People need
10 understand the fundamental princi-
pies The laws of a large number of
states and territories require that physi-
ology be taught in the public schools.
out unfortunately the teachers them
selves are deficient in training, and manv
OF the text books are sadly defective"
In referring to the importance of pains
taking research, the speaker cited the
experience with the respiration appar-
atus. This in its best form has been used
IN few European universities and ex-
pertinent station laboratories, but not in
TINS country. The greatest difficulties
aVend It's management. Professor Hem
neoerg, of the University of Goettingen.
began work of this kind over twenty
years ago and has only lately, and after
the expenditure of many thousands of
dollars. succeeded in getting his respira-
ton apparatus into condition for experi-
ments OF the desired accuracy. But the
great problem now before the student of
animal nutrition is that of the income
and expenditure of energy in the animal
oody. 1t will require the keenest. most
elaborate and most painstaking efforts of
the chemist, the physicist, and the biolo-
HiSt, but the effort toward its solution
must be made.
- 'BTSAHlHS VI researches IN this line
ID the United States it was that we are
very Tar behind European investigators.
mat indeed, we have hardly made be.
ginning. What we most need is trained
" ''' "i.t' ,.is .. scholarly ideas, enthusi-
asa devotion, and abundant means at
-hrif command. That we shall some
I'm" I'M nave these there is good grOEMd to
ope.-"a@hington Post
We Live Longer.
The average length of life is greater
lnd the standard of bodily health higher
han auar hnfnrn nrI Il q ........ -. -.