Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-18
PROPER FOOD AND LONG LIFE.

heAaaVe ouc, IL oepenos not Dy any WoShse
upon the actual number Of years man or
woman may have lived. The familiar saying
that one is only as old as he feels appears to be
not only true of the heart but also Of the physi-
| cal changes to which time dooms the body.
These changes depend so much upon the
habits Of life, the amount of exercise, the tenn
perate use of food and drink, as well rs upon
| climate and heredity, that the onset Of age in
Its physical sense may be ten or more years de-
layed in one who has lived a rational existence
While with the incorporate, the sedentary or
the overworker the changes that herald the
passing OF youths boundary may antedate their
natural period by the same number Of years.
The habit Of taking regular and varied exer-
else appears to be especially conducive to the
preservation of youthfulness and vigor. We
have striking evidence of this in men like Glad
| stone and Bismarck, and in women like Mary
Wordsworth and Maria Mitchell whose love for
| fresh air and exercise unquestionably prolonged
their vigorous lives. Such habit, by keeping
ones joints supple and the muscles hardy. and
| assisting nature to throw off the waste mate
| rails Of the body, is one Of the methods Of
cheating Time Of his prey.
The influence of temperance in food and
drink and the adaptation of nourishment to
the individual life is no less marked than that
Of systematic exercise.
l have now in mind two patients, both over
seventy years of age, who present vivid con-
trast to each other as regards the influence OF
habits upon the onset of age. Their physical
powers widely different as though they
were separated by twenty years instead of two.
One, always moderate liver, has been
obliged by the chances of fortune TO ''li'e on q
shilling day and to earn it, as the English
surgeon once urged a patient to do. Plain
fare, plenty of exercise, because a carriage was
beyond his means, and early hours-these have
brought.him to his present hearty condition at
seventy-three-a red-cheeked, active old gentle
man, the physical superior Of many a careless
liver of fifty.
The second patient, always using his carriage
from early manhood and indulgihg for most of
his days in the pleasures of the table with more
or less Incorporate use of stimulants. the same
age finds broken-down old man, too feeble to
walk without stout stick and practically a
physical wreck.
These things explainable on scientific
grounds. Old age is. after all, only the result
of retrograde processes in bones and joints and
arteries and nerves, gradually approaching
permanent interference with their functions,
and which should slowly and painlessly conduct
the pilgrim to the end of life.
But, as these changes are in the main the re-
suit of changed nutrition. it is plain to see that
within certain limits they may be fastened or
delayed by anything that will respectively pro-
mote or retard the normal waste and gain Of
the body.
Relative as the term sold age may be- how
ever, many households number in their circle
one or more who has unquestionably reached
this period and whose food requirements &C
cordingly demand some special care.
For although old people are said to re-
semble children very much in their physical
needs we recognize the grand difference that
they have no longer any body building to carry
on, that there is no more constructing on their
part, nor is there any great expenditure of en-
ergy, as in the prime of life.
Consequently they do not require the amount
OF food that those do who must constantly add
new tissues to their bodies. The heart Of an
elderly person beats slower than that of a child.
his respirations are slower, his movements are
slower and, in general the life fires are less &C.
tive.
Now it is evident that the food Of such per-
son should be very different from that of hard
working man, whose expenditure of muscular
energy demands constant reinforcement from
his diet, and 60 tally different from that of
growing child. who is manufacturing new bone
and brain stuff daily. 1t is therefore quite in
the course Of nature that the appettes Of elderly
people should be less sharp than those of their
juniors, while their digestive powers resemble
those of children in being easily overtaxed
What We would naturally do for elderly
people is to provide them nourishing but not
same time easy Of digestion. Moreover. as the
vital powers are at a rather low ebb. food that
Will easily generate heat would seem to be
what they require.
heterogeneous food is certainly required, bat
IN less proportion than in the prime of life, per-
haps not more than twO-thirds much as is
required by strong man at rest. Fats must
be given but something like three-quarters as
much as the strong man eats would answer for
the grandparent. while of the other class Of
food the carbohydrates (starch and sugars)
about half as much is required. These esti-
mates are given by 1t German expert as suitable
for an aged woman.
Now there is "a choice to be made in the kind
of food that will best furnish the heterogeneous
elements commonly called proteids) to old
people; and women having the weaker diges-
tive powers we shall try to provide this ele-
ment in the most digestible form.
The needed heterogeneous element is generally
found to be animal food. For such as have not
lost their teeth tender bit of steak or a deli
cate chop ought to be furnished once daily
These may be finely chopped for those who
cannot otherwise properly masticate them;
and chopped chicken, as il chicken hash, may
also be used.
Tripe is very digestible and nourishing arti-
Gle if ii is relshed.
Soft boiled or dropped eggs also offer the
proteid element, with considerable fat. in a
most digestible form. Custards also, either
hard or soft, will form an excellent food
Soups should always be furnished at least
once daily. Soups are not so nourishing as
they are appetizing, assisting in that way by
their various hayors the digestion of other
food. Very little of the proteid element from
the meat passes into the liquid in which it is
cooked: in fact, the apparently tas.eless soup
meat which we throw away (but should not has
retained in its fbers almost all of the albu-
men.
But it has parted with its flavor and some
salts, and these, with the fresh vegetables
which are generally introduced. offer a most
valuable addition to a routine meal. and may
protitably be provided for two meals in the day
for children well as for the aged. Made with
milk for the basis as cream of celery or potato
soups, they are doubly nutritious and are gen.
orally well digested.
The high nutritive value of beans may be
taken advantage Of in using them for soups
beans containing IA per cent of proteids),
because in thus preparing them the less di-
gestible fiber cellulose Ia strained out
through the sieve, and the proteid elements
largely remain.
The proteid element in fish is very high; salt
Goldfish contains much as 80 per cent Of it.
Salt Goldfish cooked with cream or milk is an
excellent type Of nutritious and digestibDe food
for this class.
Fats should form a large part Of the dietary
Of the aged on account of their important
functions in the body. Their Matchmaking