The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-21


very day about proper and improper sum-
mer foods has just been determined as
result of the most exhaustive and most
careful research ever made by a scientific
dietitian, says the st. Louis Globe Demo-
crat. 1t came about this way: Uncle
Sam has been worried as to how best to
feed his soldiers stationed beneath the
burning heat of the tropics. Hence he
has had to officially pry, for the first
time into the hitherto unanswered qles-
ton, What is the best diet for hot
weather." To aid things a bit, DR.. Louis
L. Seaman late major surgeon United
States volunteer engineers, offered hum
dred dollars in gold a prize for the
best thesis on the subject. A board Of
award, headed by Commissary General
Weston, was appointed, and all papers re-
ceived were written under MONS de plume.
Capt Edward L. Munson, assistant sur
geon. United States army, won the pr,Ze,
it becoming evident that what he doesn
know about foods which cool and foods
which heat is not worth knowing by a
long shot.
First of all, here IS what summer
weather does to you and your stomach,
according to DR.. Nun on A loss Of
weight is suffered by the average Ameri-
can in his own country in summer as
well as by the average AmerlC an who
goes from his zone into the tropics. La
borers in the cooler part of the temper
ate zone average 145 pounds in weight;
in the warmer part, 125 pounds; among
the native tropical races lis pounds. IN
other words, the hotter the climate the
lighter men grow. This decrease is
found to be greater when the air is laCen
with excessive moisture and as labor he
comes harder. Dr. Munson believes this
falling off of our weight in hot weather
to be due to the destructive influence OF
heat upon the cells of our bodies, also
to the decrease of oxygen in the air we
breathe.
A hot climate strips us of our fat just
as cold one put more on our bodies.
This decrease of fat in hot weather is al
together normal and beneficial Even
artificial fattening of animals is difficult
in a heated climate. On the other hand,
animal flesh of the far North, as seal,
bear and walrus meat, is rich in fats.
The whales thick layer of blubber is it's
chief protection against the frozen tsm-
perature of the arctic seas Hence, to
be fat is to be warm and to be lean
is to be cool
summer heat lowers mans pulse beat,
which is less by two and a half throbs
per minute in the tori than in the tenn
perate zone. With increased heat, the
pulse beats diminish, not only in frequen-
cy but in force. We perspire more in
SIAAA4ACA dS q result OF our relaxed caD1-
laIies. We take fewer breaths in tropi-
cal weather, but breathe in a greater
quantity Of air at each heaVing of our
chests. Men have been put in heated
air chambers for experiment, and it has
been found that their respiration becomes
slower as the temperature rises. But
the greater quantity OF air taken in at
each breath in a hos climate does not
make up in oxygen supply for the dlnoin
n
greater in volume for every degree of
neat, and hence in hot weather We get
less oxygen from a given bulk than in
cooler We ather. Each breath therefore.
becomes of less value the hotter il gets
Tor oXy gen is what we need most from
air. Hot weather also decreases cur
saliva and digestive juices dries orr
Threats, eXaggerates our thirsts, weakens
our appeti,es and impaIrs our digestive
powers
To learn what man should eat I'm hot
weather, DR.. Munson first investigated
the natural appetites of tropical native
races. The digestive system of a man is
a compact chemical shop, and it is a
Chemical instinct which leads the ma
tives of the tropics to choose their diet.
White men born in not countries intu-
itively adopt it and thrive Tropical
man removed to a cold climate soon
adopts the food customs of the new re-
gion.
Here are foods which tropical man
mas found to agree with him most: The
Malay in day eats 800 to 1,2OO grams
OF poile d rice, $50 to 800 grams of ducks
eggs, $50 to 250 grams of pastry free from
fat or grease, and only 60 grams of
meat or fish. With these he devours a
varying amount of fresh fruit.
Inc native Abyssinian soldiers in the
Italian service subsist almost entirely
upon the native kaff1r corn, made into
cakes without fat; sharp-tasting sauces
ana ground beans or lentils. They eat
meat only once a week and regard it as
a condiment rather than staple food.
The coolie of British India rarely tastes
an NAL food, but subs'sts almost entirely
upon rice and soy beans The natives
or Guiana and Guadeloupe diet almost
wholly upon vegetables, particularly
yams, cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas.
mangoos and other fruits
Before going further we must consider
man as an engine. His food is his fuel.
RMS burned in the furnace of the diges-
tive system, is transferred into heat and
motion. But the human engine has Dron
critics not present in the ordinary engine
or IRON and steel. Portions of it's fuel
are transformed to build up and repair
It's own parts 1t is, furthermore. an
automatic engine, which regulates and
goes to furnish this directive force
brain energy. This fuel of the human
engine consists Of protein, which is found
IN the whites Of eggs, the lean Of mea,
the curd Of milk the substance of cheese
ana the gluten or sticky portion of wheat
hour; Of fat found in fats. grease ann
OILS; OF carbo hydrates, found especially
~ IN sugars and starches, therefore in
potatoes, other vegetable and cereals
JrOniC9l Io1f
much protein, one-third as much fat and
nVe-siNths as much carbohydrates as
man living and working in the northern
or cooler portion of the temperate zone
IN other words, he eats less of every
1000 but particularly of fat and pro
tein P'o-
Now. here in nutshell are DR.. Nun
son not weather eating lessons for per-
spring, tanning, sunburned, tanned.
freckled, mosquito bitten and hv-tickled
americans. His researches had primarily
IN view the American soldier subjected to
tIop-cai cat, but they apply Just as well
10 you and to me. They are based upon
eNI erimeLts with human beings and care
IuI analyses of all ordinary food stuffs.
IN the first place, eat less of every
thing these hot days. Prolonged heat
mnders d ges.ion and assimilation. There
fore, diet should be restricted.
Reduce your fatty foods to q minimum
rat Is heating food of the highest de-
gree. 1t should be largely replaced Nv
sugars and starches. A hundred parts
OF fat taken into your stomach gives Off
as much eat as 2S2 parts Of starch or
cane sugar
Mans natural distaste for fat in sum-
mer is an unconscious but instinctive
recognition of its Embellishments Our
troois IN Cuba. Porto Rico and the Phil
lppines Rave manifested a sudden aver