The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-13
THE SCIENCE OF DIGESTION.

offer and abide by some good reSolu-
tions for the future
THE SCIENCE OF DIGESTION.
Science begins to be really interested
in food at about the point where It
ceases to worry the average man, I'M
less he happens to be dyspeptic With
most, the previous question in the mat
ter Of individual food supply is the
source of the proteids and carbohy-
drates rather than the precise mission
of each in furnishing heat and energy.
Not so with the modern scientist. He
desires to know not only what food does
in keeping the body alive, but how the
work is accomplished and what part
each Of the chemical elements plays in
the continuous performance which goes
on uninterruptedly from the cradle to
the grave. Until recently this passion
for exact knowledge was confined to
Europe, where there has been series
OF experiments covering several years.
OF late it has spread to America, and
the results Of the first exact tests in
this country, along this line Of investi-
CATION are given in popular maya
zine article by Mr. Atwater; who de-
scribes, with all the graphic vividness
possible to a subject that cannot be
stripped entirely Of technical termfnol-
ogy, what will happen if YOU shut a
man up for number Of days in cop
per box and permit him to have moth
ing, not even air, that has not been
weighed and analysed
The conclusion tentatively reached
for, as the author states, it is as vet
too early for broad generalizing, is in
teresting enough; for men will be glad
to know that they eat too much and
that the average diet, from a scientific
standpoint, is all out of drawing; but
it is the possibilities Of such expert
| ments, only vaguely limited at, that
| possess real fascination. AS is truly
| remarked, "one of the most interesting
questions for study is that of the sourc-
es Of intellectual activity" Unfortu-
nately it is question not yet solved ::
but, if science can follow a. certain
number of grams Of fats and sugar and
starches as they are transformed into
caiorics and so on into energy, why, in
time, after years of patient experiment,
may not the investigator Of the future
follow the chemical elements into the
body and then trace them until they
emerge as ideas?
1t is here that the fascination of the
subject comes into play. When enough
men have been shut up in copper boxes
and given only air that has been weigh
ed, masterpieces of art and literature
will be only matters Of good digestion.
| On such day he who desires a Para
disc Lost" a Madonna or Venus de
Milo will have only to order the proper
| dinner from the scientific chef and
write Or paint or chisel as the case
may be. Or, perhaps, by making his
meal banquet in courses, he may be
able to do all three in turn. Then the
only difference between a poem and
| picture may be but the sauce serv
garnish the steak. But the dream Is
not all one Of roses. Dark dangers Turk
In the possibilities Of the developed
idea. Who can picture the results of
indigestion In such event? Imagine the
suffering Of the dyspeptfc of that future
day who orders Homer luncheon only
to become minor poet. or the valiant
| warrior who selects Napoleon bill Of
| fare, and whose treacherous stomach
turns it's carefully selected compounds
into Weyler pink tea. AS Mark
| Twain once remarked, in substance.
one beauty Of science is that you can
| get such startling dividends of coniec
ture on a very trifiing investment of
fact.
1t would not be fair to the importance
of the serious investigation which Is
being seriously prosecuted, to dismiss
it with a smile. It aims at tremendous
results, both from a physiological and
economic standpoint, and even with the
little that has so far been achieved
enough Of success is assured to promise
benefit to the race. It can be only a
question of years and effort when the
scientific data which the patient ex-
pertinent of today is accommodating will
| appear in the practical and benefcent
| result of the future