Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-12-26
THE BnRAD WE EAT.
0ome Facts Relating 20 the StaR oa


oome Facts Relating 10 the StAH 01
Life.
II h commonly supposed that whole
meal bread Is more nOurishing than
cG1nary white bread because 1t CON
.akns a lAgher proportion of nitro
senouS and mineral substances. But,
Us we have frequently pointed out, the
heterogeneous value of given food is
not necessarily indicated by an en-
pi1fcal chemical analysis. Not all
heterogeneous substances are feeding
Stuffs, and further, DIT does not fol-
low that the quality of food partaken
of rs the quantity of food assimilated.
In other words eating is not neces--
sanely feeding. There are many SUBJ
stances containing a very high pro-
portion of nitrogen which are valulesa
ais food stuffs, and on the contrary
there are many edible materials which
contain comparatively small proper
tiom of niuogenous substances which,
however, are completely available for
nouriShing the organism. We now
know that 1T is not enough for chem.
ical analysis to record merely the pro-
portion of heterogeneous substances;
the mature of these substances must
value of given substance cannot be
estimated.
1t was formerly assumed that whole
meal bread contained contained more
nitrogen than white bread, but in the
light of recent analyses this is not
true. Whether or not, however, who,e.
meal bread is superior as regards its
heterogeneous contents, it is certainly
inferior avs regards it's digestibiity.
This may be attributed in a large
measure to the fact that whole-mea]
bread contains comparatively large
indigestble and irrirat ting PARTICLES OF
huSk. There seems, however, no rea-
son for doubling that whole-m meal
bread would be much more digestible
6f the branny particles were finely
com mdnuted. In several patient breads
THE germ of the wheat is detained,
which adds considerably to the nitro
gemous value of the bread. But the
germ of wheat tends to excite fer
memtative changes I'M the sponge,
and produce an unpaGaItable loaf. Sew.
eral processes, however, have been de
Nised which avert the possibility OF
this undesirable effect.
We do not believe that with the i'm
provements in machinery generally
the dieteI;ic value of bread has par
passu increased. We stiDl hold that 9
more nourishable particle, as it is
certainly more palairable, is the old
fashioned farmhouse loaf, which pre-.
sents gold wheaton color rather than
the bIanched appearance which seems
to be looked upon as a guarantee OF
quaGty i'm the modern loaf. Our owl
laboratory experience, aIb amy rate
shows that probably on account of the
increased employment of roller-mill
ing process the important mineral CON
stituents of white bread have very
materially diminished. When it il
considered that these constituent
play a. not unfmportant part in sup
plying the bone forming factors Of
the organism this fact assumes a ser
ious Importance and may now throw
hight upon the prevalence of denIta.
decay. On the other hand, whole
meal bread and germ contain an en-
HANGED proportion of mineral salts
such as phosphates of lime and pot
ash, which are necessary in the build
ing up of the entire human FRAME
| LANCET