The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-07-26
THE VALUE OF FOOD.
Work of Sanitary Chemists For the
Health of the Race.

The old theory that the best food for
man is that which his appetite de-
mands is still considered good enough
for the government of people in the
ordinary walks of life, although dis
carded as worthless when any definite
call is made upon the human machine.
The training table, for example, has
shown that when some special effort is
expected from the college athlete in
telligent discrimination in the selec-
ton of his daily food means an i'm
mense gain in physical strength and
endurance, and upon the same prin-
ciple a special hospital diet is ordered
by the physician in order that his pa
tients may have the best possible
| chance of recovery.
Although the public is generally in
different to the advantage of food re-
form, students of the subject are con-
fdent that the reform will eventually
come, and they are preparing the way
by an exhaustive analysis of all sorts
of materials and foodstuffs which are
likely to be utilized for the sustenance
of the race. The study of sanitary
chemistry, as it is undertaken. for ex-
ample, at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, not only establishes the
comparativ value of foodstuffs, but
also determines, by the chemical an
alysis of air and water, how these
factors may be made most efficient in
the maintenance of public health.
AS a typical food milk contains all
the elements necessary for sustaining
life and is used as the basis in the
| calculations of comparative values. 1t
| has been found by experiment that
milk contains certain definite proper
tions of heterogeneous substances, fats
| and carbohydrates. These elements
| can be measured and tabulated as they
appear in other foods, so that sani-
tary dietary becomes merely matter
! of mathematics. By reference to tables
it is learned that butter, which con-
tains SO per cent of fat, contains no
| carbohydrates and only per cent of
heterogeneous substance, while dried
peas, which may contain less than 2
per cent of fat, may have 81 per cent
of carbohydrates and % per cent of
heterogeneous substance, so that butter
and peas may be logically combined.
Walnuts contain but 2 per cent of
water and no refuse while in beets,
cabbages, carrots and green corn the
water and refuse amount to more than
80 per cent.
Even in potatoes there is 20 per
cent of refuse and 60 per cent of water,
which gives them nutritive value
far below that of figs and practically
the same as that of bananas. Yet po-
tatoes and other similar vegetables are
valuable forms of food, though less
concentrated than is generally sup
posed. In list of 100 sorts of food
materials the watermelon is placed at
the bottom, as containing but per
cent of nutritive elements.
All such determinations, however,
deal with foods of standard quality,
and no sooner has the sanitary chemist
established dietary laws than he must
in his own justification. expose the
adulteration, deterioration and mis-
| representation of the materials to be
used and finally see that they are pro-
erly prepared for the table. While the
| public is slow to accept the results of
such Investigations, friends of the re-
form movement find comfort in the
fact that sanitary chemistry has be-
come recognized course of study at
the leading educational institutions of
| the country.