The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1908-12-04

tanned from flesh because 1t is nee
essary constituent of the flesh of all
animals, including fish. But flesh con
tains small percentage of waste mat
ter of the animals system. 1t has been
repeatedly shown that flesh foods may
communicate disease, despite the in
spection; and the human alimentary
canal is not as well adapted to the
digestion of flesh as is the organism
of the carnivora, in which the stomach
and liver are relatively much larger
and the intestines much shorter than
in man. The well-known tests of en-
durance recently made at Yale uni
versity proved that non-flesh eaters
had much greater sustaining power.
In all the great walking contests in
Germany and America the winners
have been abstainers from flesh meat.
The best sources of albumen, aside
from meat, are nuts, beans, eggs and
whole wheat or graham bread.
But the character of the albumen is
important. Albumen coagulates at a
temperature of 160 F., and is then
assimilated with difficulty. 1t is for
this reason, partly, that the egg is
found to be more nutritious uncooked
than cooked. And it is for this reason,
chiefly, that such apparently wonderful
results have been obtained from the
use of raw cereal foods, despite the
indigestibility of raw cereal starch.
Understanding, then, that the essen
tial element of food is albumen, in it's
natural state, the question arises:
What is it's best and most economical
source? Considering economic con-
ditions, which exclude the pecan, wal
nut, and other expensive nuts, the
answer is: The peanut, which fur
nishes an abundant supply of easily
assimilable albumen together with fat,
which vies in nutritiVe value with
olive oil. This, with a small amount
of graham bread, gives the ideal pro-
ted and fat ration. The state of
Texas alone can furnish the staple
food of our people. The rapidly in.
creasing consumption of the peanut
with the corresponding rise in price
should induce the planting of a still
larger crop the coming season. The
incoming crop is the largest ever pro-
duced in this country.
Certain minerals or earth salts are
necessary to all animal life. Milk and
the yolk of egg contain lime, phos-
phorus, sulphur, sodium, etc., and
these are also found in the outer shell
of wheat and other grains and in the
peanut, peas, beans, nuts, potatoes,
etc. The bean is especially rich in
these mineral elements of food, as is
the peanut, which combines in a re-
markable degree the food qualities of
the nut and of the legumes. The finer
grades of white -four unfortunately
exclude most of this important ele.
ment of food, but this will be fully con-
sidered in later article.
Not less than 80 per cent. of the
solid part Of our food should be that
which supports combustion, maintain.
ing heat and muscular energy. This
ID IdhCu do lclI VI Ol1, vi sugar
A certain percentage of fat is neces-
sary for the best nutrition If 1t be
true, as many careful students of diet
believe, that nuts and fruits are the
most natural food of man, this per
centage of fat should be large. Animal
fats, even milk fat when separated
are assimilated with difficulty and
they, particularly lard, are open to 9th
er objections. The consumption OF
olive oil has increased rapidly during
the past few years. 1t is not general
ly known that peanut fat, as in the un
cooked nut or in peanut butter in
which fatty acid has not been de-
veloped by excessive dry roasting, is
equal, if not superior, in nutritive quail
tiles to olive oil, being assimilated
with wonderful facility, as the ex
IRENE degree of it's solubility in waite,
would indicate.
There are serious objections to
cereal starch as the major element OF
food, which it now is in the dietary OF
the American people. The potato, es
pecially if baked, is much to be pre-
ferred to fine white bread Rice is
far superior to the ordinary cereals as
a source of carbon, as the example OF
the Japanese would indicate.
Sugars are the most easily assimilat
ed of foods (including honey, and
fruit sugar should be substituted for
a large part of our cereal food, cane
sugar being inferior. And the best
sources of fruit sugar are the ripe
banana (almost unknown in this coun
try figs, dates and prunes.
Fruits are better eaten separately
from other foods. Nuts and meat
digest in the stomach, chiefly, requir
ing about three hours there; fruits
digest in about one hour, in the in
testine chiefly. There is as much OBJ
lection to mixing them as there is to
eating and drinking at the same mo
ment.
Now without here considering fur
Their the requirements of an ideal diet
does it not seem evident that we have
already a knowledge of facts that
would enable us to make a wonderful
gain in good feeling and efficiency by
improving the nutritive supply and
saving a large part of the vital energy
daily wasted in digesting and eliminat
ing improper and unnecessary food, il
not for the average person who is
slow to realize the benefit to be OBJ
tanned, at least for the athlete who can
quickly demonstrate gain in efficien
cy by right diet, for the invalid who
needs to conserve his vitality and for