The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1908-12-23
CJRI0SITIES OF DIET,

ClJR|0S|TIES OF DIET.
How Nature kdapts Food 10 Man
and Man to Food.
GREAT VALUE OF CEREALS.
Why People Can Eat Bread at Every
Meal Without Getting Tired OF 1t.
The Fruits OF the Burning Tropics
and the Fats of the Frozen Arctic.
Modern science has shown that ma
ture provides food for mankind with
marvellous care and foresight. The hu-
man system requires q certain amount
OF proteid daily to replace wornout
muscle and tissue. Fish and meat sup
ply this in large quantities. In hot
climates. however, these spoil so quick-'
" that their use is limited. Nature,
as il to compensate for this, has given
to certain tropical fruits L much larger
quantity Of proteid than northern fruits
contain Thus government analysis
shows that figs have five units or calo-
rics to the ounce, dates two and five
tenths and bananas one and fvetenths.
Apples have fve-tenths peaches nine
tenths and pears seven-tenths. Prob
ably the figs and dates tested had lost
part of their moisture, and some allow
ance should be made for this.
The Arab can, therefore, maintain his
vigor on diet chiefly plucked from
trees. Henry NJ. Stanley and his white
companions subsisted almost entirely
Oh banana -four for two years in the
African jungle. Their freedom from
disease was il part attributed to the
wtolesomeness Of this diet The dried
banana contains 20 per cent of proteid,
about double that Of ordinary wheat
-four
At the opening of the mango season
in Jamaica many Of the natives prac-
tically live on this fruit for two or
three weeks. They fairly revel IN it.
IN Englishman who was familiar with
TIE science of diet could not under
stand how they could not only main
tain their health on this fare, but
actually grow sleek and fat, He knew
that an effort to live on the fruits Of
his native country would result IN
weakness, sickness and eventual death.
Chemical analysis showed, however,
that the mango contained enough pro-
ted to supply the bodily needs.
II nature has been thus kind in
adapting food to mans uses, she has
been equally so in adapting man to his
food. You may have wondered why
people can eat bread az every meal
without firing of it. The difficulty Of
eating one quail day for thirty days
is well known. Even such delicacies as
asparagus and strawberries cause an
aversion when served too frequently.
Nature sends men a never failing ap-
petite for cereals because they are alto
sether the most valuable Of foods.
They contain considerable amount of
proteid, their salts are Of Importance
to the organism, they are readily dl-
gested when properly cooked, and they
furnish great deal Of nourishment in
small bulk.
Thus wheat -four, cornmeal, oatmeal
dry and rice dry have more than
100 units to the ounce. Baked potatoes
have 32.7 units. cabbage has 90, spin
ach I, aspara gus 6.5, apples 1S.4, straw
berries ia, spring chicken 1915 and
terderloin Of beef broiled SO. If man
tried to get even half Of his nutrition
from the coarse vegetables. which have
a considerable indigestible residue, he
would have to eat pounds Of them
daily, and his stomach would be sadly
overburdened. Nature gives US the de-
sire for L varied diet. and science
shows that this is altogether the best
for US.
In the arctic regions there is little
vegetation. Man must live almost
wholly On animal foods. Fish and
meat would rot suffice, because they
contain only proteids These would re-
place wornout muscle and tissue, but
could not be burned il the body to
generate heat and energy. Fats, how
ever, consist Of carbon and hydrogen,
which are the chief components Of the
foods Of vegetable origin and supply
the fuel needed by the body. The po-
lar animals have fat in abuadance, but
residents Of tie temperate and torcid
zones can eat it only in limited guam
titles. To them the mere thought Of
chewing chunks Of grease is nause-
ating.
The children of the frozen north,
however, are endowed not only with
the ability to eat and to digest large
quantities of fat, but with / keen ap-
petite for it. One who is sensitive to
such impressions must turn away
when he sees the natives OF southern
Alaska, the Thlinlits. swallowing seal
oil favored by salmon berries With the
susto Of. 9 boy over ice cream. The
Eskimos, farther north. will eat bluo-
Der, slightly cooked in the flames. to
an indefinite number Of pounds.-New
York Tribune.
Her Object Attained.
Forgive me, my dear said the gos-