Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1908-12-03

rug lne dulouHt OF alDumen ana other
necessary elements OF nutrition. and
normal conditions soon returned. And
here it may be remarked that excess
OF fatty tissue is an indication OF dis
ease. not OF health.
The necessary albumen can be OBJ
tanned from flesh because it is a nec-
essary constituent of the flesh of all
animals, including fish. But flesh con-
tains small percentage of waste mat
ter OF the animals system. 10 has been
repeatedly shown that flesh foods may
communicate disease, despite the In
spection; and the human alimentary
canal is rot as well adapted to the
digestion of flesh as is the organism
and liver are relatively much larger
and the intestines much shorter than
in man. The well-known tests of ell
durance recently made at Yale uni
versity proved that non-fesh 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
temperature Of 100 f.. and is then
asslmilated 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 its
natural state, the question arises
What is its 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
Ia a oirU The
incoming crop is the largest ever pro-
duced in this country
Not less than so per cent. Of the
solid part of our food should be that
which supports combustion, maintain
ing heat and muscular energy. This
is taken as fat or oil, starch or sugar.
A certain percentage OF fat is neces-
sary for the best nutrition. II II 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
ly known that peanut fat, as in the UNI
cooked nut or In peanut butter in
which fatty acid has not been de,
veloped by excessive dry roasting, Is
equal, II not superior, in nutritive quail
tiles to olive OIL being assimilated
with wonderful facility, as the ex-
IRENE degree of it's solubility in water
would indicate.
There are serious objections to
cereal starch as the major element of
food, which 1t now is in the dietary OF
the American people. The potato, es-
pecially IL baked, is much To be pre-
ferred to fine white bread. Rice is
far superior to the ordinary cereals as
source Of carbon, as the example OF
the Japanese would indicate.
Sugars are the most easily assimilat-
ed OF foods (incluo:ng honey, and
fruit sugar should be substituted for
a large part of our cereal food, cane
sugar being inferior. And the best
sources Oh lIUll sugar arc luS isFS
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 1t 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, II
not for the average person who is
slow TO realize the benefit TO be OBJ
tanned. at least for the athlete who can
,,gnlr1r dau,opstrata "a gain in etflcipu-