The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1903-11-13
VALUE OF GREEN STUFF.
v.-so.. pr,uerties Of New Vegetables
and Their Eject On the
Human System.

Green vegetable foods. with the not
able exception of the pea and bean-are
not to be valued chiefly for the amount
of proteids, fats and carbohydrates OBJ
tanned from them, for these are small.
They are more digestible when eaten
tender and green than are the older veg
etab,es in which the cellulose Decoms
incrusted and intergrown with SUD
stance of q mineral nature-hard anu
woody-which resists the action OF the
digestive juices and makes 1t impossi0ie
for us to separate and appropriate to our
needs the proteids, sugars and starcnes'
The well-informed cook Will treat THIS
substance in such . manner that u 10
softened, broken up and, II necessary'
completely separated from the useful et-
ements. says the Washington Star.
Green vegetables. generally speakins'
are composed of . large per cent OF wa
ter and the chief value they possess a
food depends on the amount OF mineral
matter which they contain-whicn y
relatively large. In cooking green
vegetables, however, they lose much OF
their mineral substance - well - the
greater part OF their already poor stock
of nutrients. On the other hand. they
gain water. They require the most
careful treatment, therefore. In order 70
retain the small amount Of valuable con-
stituents they hold. Vegetable leaves,
shoots, stalks, even cabbages. are TOO
often cooked without much thought In
regard to why the new" vegetables cook
tender 90 much sooner than the older
ones. and to this lack Of knowledge 10
due the loss of very large per cent
Of the whole amount of nutritive value.
Green vegetables. whether served raw
or cooked. may be made the means OF
conveying fat into the body in form OF
butter. oil or cream, and with many
cooked green vegetables can be served
sauce that will greatly enrich and In
crease their worth.
The presence Of green vegetables In
our diet il . necessity Of life; the amount
and kind to be eaten must be deter
mined by the individual. Generally their
free use IL to be recommended. espe-
cially in some diseases Of the skin. mi
nor forms of scurvy and for patients suf-
fering from gravel. Rhubarb, contain-
ing . considerable amount Of oxalic
acid. should. however, be avoided by
those 80 AFFLICTED. a. oxalic acid In food
may cause the production Of oxalic cal
culus This acid may also produce acid
dyspepsia The sour taste of the tomato
il supposed to be due to to the presence
In large amount OF oxalic acid. While
it II existent in the tomato. the sour
taste is said to be due to citric acid.
Green vegetables do not contain much
IRON; this element II present, varies
greatly with amount Of iron in the soil,
and il found In traces in the green col
oring matter. spinach, perhaps. beina
the richest in its amount In an or.
binary mixed diet Of the weil-fed indi-
| vidual there should be . suf1cient guam
tity OF this mineral constituent to salts.
~ all physiological demands. The
amount Of sodium chloride, or common
salt. necessary for our needs, should b
supplied in natural form in green veg.
etables. but when much Of this ID lost In
process Of cooking. the craving for 1
moderate amount Of an extra addition Of
artificial salt to these foods should b
satisfied. a. 1t has favorable influences
in the absorption Of the food.