Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-24
RAW FOODS HEALTH VALUE
UNLOCKED FRUITS, NUTS AND
SOME VEGETABLES.
Mans Dietary Should Not Be Linn.
tied to Things That Have Been
Cooked-Assimilatio
From the Literary Digest.


That no diet should be without its share
Oh such raw foods as are easily digestible
Is the opinion of DIR. j. II. Kellogg, who
writes on the subject in Good Health.
But while condemning an exclusive diet
or cooked food. DR.. Kellogg does not give
MS approval to the raw-diet ideas as re-
Gently exploited by some persons 1t has,
ne says. something in it Of real value. but
not the things claimed for it by its com.
mercfal advocates. We read:
Cnquestionably. man, with other mem.
bers of the animal kingdom, was orisi-
nally designed to take his food in an ul.
cooked state. The comparative anatom.
lists generally agree that the natural diet.
airy of human beings consists of fruits.
nuts and soft grains, that is grains i'm the
milk state. in which the nutrient portion.
which i'm the ripe. hard grain is found in
the form OF starch, exists i'm the easily as
similable form of starch and dextrin
Experience has shown that adherence
to a diet of cooked food to the entire ex-
clusiOn Of unlocked foods. for some length
OF time, invariably results in great inn
pairment of nutrition: symptoms resem-
bling scurvy make their appear rance, with
other indications of decided malnutrition
This has been especially noted in the
feeding of infants.
Benefits Follow.
1T has also been discovered that the
harmful results which accompany
cooked dietary may be obviated by taking
care to administer with the cooked food
daily certain amount of raw food. Ger
tainly in many of these cases a wonderful
change is brought about by introducing
into the dietary suitable raw foods. such
as fresh juices, whey buttermilk, and
even fruit pulp.
Still another advantage of the un-
cooked dietary is the fact that vegetable
proteins are not readily attacked by the
putrefactive or poison forming organisms.
Whatever may be the reason for this the
fact is recognized and admitted byauthori-
ties in dietetics. There is reason also for
believing that uncOoked or living vege-
table tissues are much more resistant 10
the attack of parasitic bacteria which
abound in the intestine and which feed
upon the undigested and unabSorbed resi-
dues Of foodstuffs. The living cells Of
plants as we'll as those of animal tissues.
have the power to resist the attacks of
invading organisms. This Is why cooked
potato will sour in a few hours. while
raw potato will remain intact for A long
time The same difference exists between
cooked and uncooked vegetable products
of all sorts.
In addition. Dr. Kellogg goes on to say.
it is possible that the body may derive
benefit from certain substances in the raw
juices of fruits and vegetables which are
DESTROYED in cooking. And at any rate. he
is sure that the facts justify us in main
tanning that q wholesome and sufficient
dietary for human beings must include Ia
cooked foodstuffs. He goes on:
Foods to Eat Raw.
The form in which raw food should be
taken is a matter of considerable impor
lance Fresh fruits are most acceptable
and natural form of raw food. Fruits
and nuts are readily digestible when aiken
in the raw state. provided. OF course, that
they are properly mastcated. 1t is a
question indeed. whether sthe nutritive
properties of nuts and fruits are to any
extent improved by cookery. 1t has also
been shown that the freshly formed green
parts of plants. such as the leaves OF let
tuce. the heart of cabbage and the tender
parts of asparagus, are readily and prac-
tically completely digestible. This is not
true, however, of the coarse and fibrous
woody material found In the envelop Of
wheat, oats and other grains. 1t is equal
ly untrue Of the cellulose found in the
coarser vegetables. Experiments have
shown also that raw starch in the form
in which ii occurs in potato and in the
various cereals is not easily digestibe
THE claim made by many raw-food adj
vocates that raw food is better than
cooked food because it contains vital
principle Wnlch the Dody needs ana is aoie
to appropriate. is wholly without founda-
ton. and to urge such an argument nat
urally creates prejudice against the use
of raw foods.
LAS regards the practical application Of
the foregoing facts. sometimes it may be
said that an exclusive dietary of uncook-
ed food may be followed by brief periods
with advantage. For the average indi-
vidual. however it is only necessary 70
exclude flesh foods of all sorts from the
dietary. and to increase to a moderate de-
gree the amount of uncooked food, con-
tained in the form of fresh fruits, nuts.
lettuce, celery and similar products, ana
to take care to make these uncOoked food
stuffs a part Of every meal.