Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-05
WHAT'S BEST TO EAT
An Authority Tells Concern
ing Proteids.
EAT SLOWLY ALWAYS
RULES ARE NOT LAID DOWN FOR
THE AVERAGE PERSON.
The Functions Of Food Are to Re
pair Waste and Supply Nutrition
Comparative Values.
EAT SLOWLY ALWAYS

In this article L wish to say something
about the theory of eating starting with the
problem of how to eat For this is the sim
| plest Of all the problems In connection with
| food.
1t has been said Cby DR.. Maudsley) that
he who cannot control his muscles cannot
| control his mind. This is most obvious in
| the case of the muscles of breathing. The
| man who can only breathe the short, sharp,
| shallow surface breath is, / believe, inva-
| riably incapable of controlling his mind.
| The man who can breathe the full deep.
| upward breath through the nose is almost
| always self-possessed and self-controlled.
But the saying applies also to the muscles
| of mastication. He who is Incapable of
| eating slowly is incapable Of controlling
| his mind. Mind. do not say that The who
| does not eat slowly" for there are many
| people who have control OF their mind,
| and can eat slowly, but do not
Eat Leisurely if You Can.
The great exponent of slow eating is Mr..
| Horace Fletcher His theory is that we
| should never make an effort to swallow
! anything; we should chew each mouthful
Of food until it practically swallows Itself.
l have tried this plan. and a mouthful OF
| bread and cheese has taken me from 200
| 10 .10U DlteS A mOutn1ul or 1rOlt mas taken
| less. But to carry out this rule in public
| seems to ME hardly feasible He who tried
| to carry it out would be perpetually kick
| ed in imagination, If not actually, and
| imaginary kicking is in some ways worse
| for the kicker than actual kicking. 1t is
| such a strain to wish to kick a man, and
| not to be able to-
Yet if any one could masticate in this
way for week he would be very far on
| the way toward complete control of his tenn
per, to say nothing of his digestion. IL is
important to be able to eat thus. Not one
| in a hundred in an ordinary city can; and l
| suppose not one in a thousand in New York
city can. Let try to realize few of
| the advantages of this slow eating, not
| carried to such an extent-but let us say,
coming nearer to Gladstone's rule of about
thirty bites For, of course, the number
| will depend on the individual, the teeth,
the food, etc. There may be some who
| should eat their food very fast and mas
ticate it very little. Not long go man
| at the London Aquarium ate oyster shells.
| tin tacks sawdust glass and the heel OF a
| boot. 1t seems that his inside needed some
extra amount of work, perhaps he had the
giZZard of an ostrich.
| And those who do eat fast might also
| justify themselves by comparing them
selves to the omniverous pig, which GER
| tainly does gobble up the slush Of the tub
| at a prodigious rate. But for most OF us
| slow eating is preferable. BY careful
chewing we practice general self-control.
| patience and calmness; we get more taste
| for less money; We break up our food into
| small portions, and so We save digestive
| and -eXcretive energy. The amount OF such
| energy which We waste daily is incalculable.
| By chewing our food we mix with ii saliva,
| which is certainly needed to digest starch,
| and perhaps as shall see. even helps to
| digest milk and other foods, though few
| authorities would admit the truth of this.
| And mastication does help the teeth. Den
| lists seem all to agree about this as the
most important factor in keeping the teeth
] healthy. Besides this, the slower We eat
the less We need, to eat
Eat Your Food Dry.
Yet our tendency is TO swill down our
foods like porridge and vegetables quite
wet. The obvious remedy is to eat them
4 in a dry state, or else to eat with them al
| ternate mouthfuls Of. let us say. dry
| bread or cracker A cracker is admirable
| for this reason, that 1t simply compels US
| to eat slowly
| Some moisture is needed with our food,
| and it may suit certain people to drink in
| sips during their meals. Others may prefer
| fruits or salads; but the general rule for
| most people Is to eat slowly, and not to
drink with the meals; for the drink, espe-
| cially II 1t be cold may hinder the diges-
| ton. 1 know of some cases, however.
| where hot water drunk during the meal Is
| Of the greatest assistance.
| Having now considered how to eat, let
/ us consider the more difficult problem Of
what to eat
A Theory Of Proteid.
Science" at present means the opinions
| Of leading authorities who have made or
who have read about certain experiments.
II you base your opinion on certain other
| experiments you may get a different result
| which is said not to be science" Science"
means the opinion of an accepted authority,
| who generally has to have the word pro
| fessor" before his name-professors GER
| tainly do profess a great deal-and they
| like to put queer letters after their names.
1 say nothing against these scientists,
| except that remarkably few live according
| to their theories, or according to the most
| obvious differences of their theories.
| Concerning proteid Prof. Sir Michael Fos-
| ter writes thus: .Proteid matter we must
| have always. We might, indeed, manage to
| live on proteid matter alone. for it con-
! tains not only nitrogen, but also carbon and
| hydrogen, and out of it, with the help Of a
! few minerals, We might renew our whole
| blood and build up any and every part of
| the body"
| DR.. Robert Hutchinson says: "Proteids
| alone are able to fulfill both the functions
| Of food. A diet rich in proteid seems to
| increase ones power OF resisting disease.
| 1t seems to be necessary for the muscles
| and blood
Food has two functions. First of all, 1t
| has to provide fat and heat, as paper. wood
| and coal provide heat for fire. Secondly.
| 1t has to repair waste. and to make and
| neneW the cells Of the body. 1t Is a great
| error TO compare 1000 CLOSELY WIFI Iuei
\ Look at the fireplace for moment. 1t con-
| sists Of iron work as well as Of coal. II is
| not like the human body. Let the fire in
| the fireplace burn out and the iron remains
| iron Let the fuel In the body burn out.
| and the body proceeds to live upon itself.
To the two functions OF food mentioned
| let US add a third. to get rid Of waste.
| This is, / believe, not to be found in any
| scientific book on the functions Of food.
And yet it obviously belongs to certain
| chemical salts to gather up the waste
| products and help to remove them. The
| acids will be removed by the alkalis to
| some extent. But We will leave the salts"
| for the present and confine ourselves to
| proteid.
What "Proteid" Does.
| Proteid. II It has its proper salts" per-
forms a double function as food; it both
| provides fat and heat, and also repairs
waste and makes and renews the cells of
the body Now fattening and heating ma
| tertal such as oil and starchy foods can
| not perform this second function They
cannot repair waste and make and renew
| the cells of the body. The most that they
] can do Is to save proteid. We hear that a
penny saved is a penny gained The pro-
1 teid provides the pennies which the fats
| may help to save. That is well enough.
| and the fats. etc, may be said to
\ save pennies But unless there were pro-
/ *ntd ha eovod there yUo,,ld ha no naprIes