Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-09
THINGS THAT TASTE GOOD.
Tongue the Best Guide to Food Needed
by the Body.

From Coed Health. q + .=es7z.s-.-,,J
The function of the taste doubtless sus-
tains much more important relation to
digestion than has been generally. accorded
to 1t. says DIR. Kellogg Food, to be d.
gested. must be appetisfng. Food which
nauseates does not stimulate the secretion
Of the fluid necessary to digest 1t either in
the mouth the stomach. The sense of
taste may be regarded as sort of regula-
tor of digestion, and perhaps also of nutri-
ton. Hence 1t is an important property of
food that the sense Of taste may be slim
ulated. and that 1t may have an opportunity
to exercise it's selective and controlling
functions.
When one has eaten q sufficient amount
of simple, wholesome food, the sense of
taste informs him of the fact by declining
to receive more. A perfect rule for mas
ticatton would be to chew each morsel Of
food until there is left only tasteless rem
nant. 1t Is useless to swallow such a resi-
due, as 1t can have no nutritiye value
When food is taken in this way the sense
of taste has an opportunity to say
enough before too much has been swai-
lowed. and thus affords perfect means
of adapting the amount of food taken to
the needs of the body.
A careful study Of this suggestion will
also show that the sense of taste. II al
lowed to act in a normal way, will select
those substances Of which the body Is in
great need: for example, If the blood is
impoverished and needs an extra supply of
heterogeneous food there will be craving
for such foods as nuts. legumes and posi-
bly, eggs and milk. or some other substance
containing nitrogen.
A curious analogy to this function ia
found In some fnsectivorous plants, which,
as has been shown by recent experiments
refuse to capture insects or pay attention to
fragments of meat placed within their
grasp. except when the soil upon which they
To Ia yrS l.
supplying fertilizer rich in nitrogen these
so-called carnivorous plants cease to be car
ntvorous. and behave wholly like other
plants. The same principle applies to the
use OF fat-making substances, such as
starchy and Oleaginous foods. such as nuts
and cereals. The writer has frequently OBJ
served In thin patients a craving for fats,
which disappeared entirely after the patient
had made a gain of twenty or thirty
pounds.
The taste was no doubt intended by the
Creator to be perfect guide to the guam
uty and quality of food to be taken, and
Unfortunately 1t has been terribly de-
bauched and perverted from its normal
function. Men and women treat the palate
as the pianist treats his instrument, touch
ing 1t in various ways simply for the pur-
pose of provoking pleasurable sensations
with no regard whatever for the possible
needs of the body, or the possible damage
which may be caused. The sense of taste
thus wrongly educated, becomes perverted
and its indications become confused. Abb
normal cravings are developed, which de-
mand satisfaction in the use of tea, coffee
wine and other intoxicants, mustard, pep
per and other condiments. large quaint
ties of salt, pickles and rich and savory
dishes of various sorts, together with
sweets, ices and tidbits of all kinds. The
sense of taste has been dethroned from its
high position as governor Of nutrition, and
has come to be merely the servant of a
capricious and Unsuitable desire for an lille
Ultimate sensation a purely selfish animal
pleasure. This Is gluttony, pure and SIM
pie, and IL the apt tutor and hale COM
panion of alcoholic internperance.
The free use of common salt must like
wise be placed among serious dietetic err
rors. Prof. Bunge of Basel, the leading
physiological chemist of the world, with
many others, has shown that the so-called
rests upon very uncertain and equfvocal,
If not erroneous, basis. and that, at most
salt can be used without injury only in
very minute quantities. The quantity de-
signated by Prof Bunge as within the limits
of possible harmlessness Is about fifteen
grains day, or probably less than one
fourth of the amount usually consumed.
The free use of salt leads to thirst and
copious drinking in connection with meals
of tobacco in any form, must be condemned
as harmful to the digestion through ex-
hausting the function Of the saliyary
glands, that when required to maintain
constant activity, the saliva secreted by
the glands has very little value as diges-
tive agent The glands, as well as the
muscles and other parts of the body, re-
quire rest In which to store up the ele-
ments necessary for their proper function.