Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-08-05
FOOD AND DIGESTION.
THE PROPER COMBINATIONS FOR
PERFECT DIGESTION.
Vegetables Not In Favor With This Au-
thority-They Were Given to the Lower
Animals-The Wholesomeness of I%uits
They, Vita Seeds, Intended For Man.

thOrlty-Iney were Given to the Lower
Animals-The Wholesomeness of I>uits
They, WitA Seeds, Intended For Man.
The comparative dietetic value of fruits
and vegetables is matter which seems to
be very little understood Vegetables are
| unquestionably a valuable article of food,
but it needs only superficial study of the
subject of dietetics to make it clear that
vegetables are very greatly inferior to
grains in nutritive value, and in their
composition are far less suited to the hu-
| man stomach than are the seed products
commonly known as fruits and grains An
interesting fact, also, is that, considered
from the standpoint of comparative anat-
omy, mans digestive organs are very diff
ferent in structure from those of animals,
which subsist upon roots, leaves, buds,
twigs, stems and other products included
| under the general term vegetables. An
other fact of very great interest in this
connection is that vegetables We're not in
cluded in the original bill of fare given to
man by his Creator as recorded in the first
chapter Of Genesis. Vegetables We're given
to the lower animals for their sustenancl
and seeds and fruits were reserved for man.
Seeds and fruits are unquestionably the
| most highly elaborated products of the
vegetable kingdom Vegetables are much
| coarser in character and much less per-
fectly elaborated. Nearly all vegetables
contain a large amount of woody matter,
which requires the action of very power
full digestive juices and of strong muscular
| action on tho part of the digestive organs
to reduce them to fluid state and to ex-
tract from them the comparatively small
amount of nourishment which they con-
tain. To much less degree is this the
case with fruits and grains while in the
case of fruits we find food substances more
| nearly prepared for assimilation and in
form moro easily attacked by the digestive
organs of man than any other.
The writer has met many cases in which
invalids were really suffering, and that Sc
riously, in ignorance of these facts. 10 a
person in vigorous health and with strong
digestive powers, these principles may be
ignored with comparative impunity, and
often for q long time but person whose
digestive powers are feeble, and especially
one suffering from dilation of the stomach
an extremely common condition, cspc
cially among women, in consequence of
their injurious mode of dress-often suf-
fers seriously in consequence of the great
labor required of the digestive organs in
the use of such coarse vegetable products
as celery and salads of various sorts. In
some instances the tubcrs-parsnips beets,
turnips and cabbage--arc the only articles
which need to be excluded from the diet
airy, while in Others even potatoes are
source of serious digestive disturbance.
With many persons the principal evils
arising from the use of vegetables arc rem
dered conspicuous only when these articles
are consumed in connection with others
with which they do not well agree. Many
persons havo recognized that various arti-
cles of food can be eaten separately or with
certain others when in other combinations
5hey prove extremely unwholesomc. The
ceason for this is the fact that fruits an6
vegetables require so different a degree
and kind of activity on the part of the di
gestivc organs. a ruling principle in rcla-
ion to the combination of food is this:
those articles of food should be eaten to
gethcr which are digestcd together; in
,thor words the bin of fare should be So
arranged that the combination of food sub
stances will harmonizaswith the action o.
the digestive organs upon those substances.
In applying this principle to vegetables
we find that the starchy vegetables ar,
hard of digestion, and that the large quau-
tity of potash salts which they contain is
according to B,lnpe n source of irritation
tn the stomach and intcrfcres with o,stri,
digestion The coarse woody structure Of
nearly all vegetables also renders nccessar,
the retention of the digcsted mass in tho
stomach for n Iono timc Tins lopgtbopipo
the time of disintegration. Thus we find
tbree reasons for n very corsidorabIa ox-
tension of tho gastric DIGESTION of the vec,c.
tables
In the case of fruits. ON the other hand
when ripe and properly cooked we have
substances which arc dioosted and ossim.
Hated with very grcat ease The time re-.
,,1ired for the DIGESTION of cabbage is he
fween four and five hours. while n rino an.
ole dirests in one hour If these two ar
ticlos arc taken into tho stomach at the
anne time both must remain tbnro until
both are digested AS they will bccome 81
intimately intermingled that thew cannot
possibly be separatcd. The annie. digcstcd
md ready for ABSORPTION. if not absorbed
undereoes fermentation. If is n nrincipl,
which is constantly recornizoblo in rela-
ton TO digestion that the DELAY of the alb
,orption of n food nroduct after il has been
iigcstcd is certain to result in its dcterior
,tion through fermentation and dccompo
,tion. which are set M by the numerous