St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-01-09

selves, including milk and that near
est the perfect food, wheat?
Necessarily the infants food must
contain all the elements essential to
life and growth; but these are harmo-
niously combined as are all the ele-
ments Of nutrition, except fat, in
wheat. Yet skinned milk (from
which the animal fat, not easily assim-
Hated, has been extracted) is more
easily digested than entire milk
White bread, from which the preteid
has been largely removed, digests
more easily than entire wheat Hour
bread, toasted white bread without
butter) being a common diet for In
valids; yet cornmeal bread, which is
almost pure proteid, is easily d.
gested.
It is admitted that, from the scien-
t!fic viewpoint, the Chinese are the
best fed people in the world. Only
their mind-dwarfing system of educa-
ton has prevented their dominating
the world. The Japanese, living large
ly on a monodiet of rice, with better
mental conditions, bid fair to become
a ruling race. The Scotch, living
largely on oatmeal, have won distinc-
ton in science, invention and philos-
ophy for centuries. The worlds mas
terpieces originate never in the ban
quet hall, but often in the garnet, fed
by dry crusts.
During the past IL months I have
eaten almost exclusively but one ar
ticle at meal-rice, whole-Wheat
bread, peanuts, bananas, beans, pota-
toes (baked), apples, and, as a rule,
nuts at noon and fruit in the evening
my regular diet-and have enjoyed
perfect health and increased eff
cheney.
The human system has developed a
wonderful power of adaptation to en-
vironment, food included. Evolution
has produced in man an inhabitant Of
all climates, capable of subsisting on a
great variety of foods. The diet of the
average American is not a uniform
one, but continually changing diet.
This is true not of the traveller only
who may lunch in Chicago and dine in
\ Kalamazoo, but equally Of the society
woman who may dine at home to-day
and tomorrow at the church, and OF
the business man or woman who eats
at a restaurant or hotel The only
system the average person has in eat
ing is that Of having no system, com,
paratively speaking.
If. however, one has long been in
the habit of drinking cup or two OF
coffee in the morning, for instance
the dropping Of that stimulant will
cause, for awhile, the same incon
Venience that the habitual user Of in
toxicants finds on discontinuing his
daily two or three glasses of beer
wine or whisky, or that the smoker
finds for time after he stops smok
ing.
often hear people say they are
convinced that coffee, for instance
is injurious, but when they tried
to leave of using it, they suf
fered from nervous headache SO much
that they were obliged to resume its
use to be in fit condition for theil
work. Persons who have tried to d.
without meat often conclude that they
are the better for eating it, because
they do not feel so well when they
discontinue it-for few days.
Eating or drinking any particula'
food or drink becomes in time a habit
and even though it may be injurious
it is hard to discontinue it. Even thu
substitution of better habit is irk
some.
Natures way is to change gradually
as we see in the weaving of the young
as we may see when at times the foo
of our domestic animals. is changed.
Suppose, for instance, that you de
eide to discontinue the use of coffee
mix with the coffee one-fourth cerea
coffee for the first week or two, mex
one-ha1f, then three-fourths, and finall
use pure cereal coffee, which may b
continued as substitute drink o
not.
In living on one article of diet, eve
; milk, or wheat, or fruits, which ma
supply every element of material nj
triton needed by the system, there
a craving for something else for
time. It does not necessarily follo7
that something else is really needed
but only that the habit of eating NOR
than one thing is calling for satisfat
ton. 1t is well known that there is
crying demand for food during tn
first few days Of fast, but that afte
the fourth day there may be no ca
for food for 80 days or more.
In adopting a complete new diet, tn
!, law of gradual change applies as i
dealing with single article, like CO
, fee. The manner of effecting tn
change, in detail, should be dete
mined by age, temperament, and othe
particulars. The longer the habit ha
been established the more gradus
should be the change. A person {
nervous temperament should chang
more slowly than a phelgmatic perso
: Of iron will.
Occasionally after one has becom
established in the better way and b.
ing fully convinced that the chang
has proved beneficial, an overwheln
ing desire will take possessio
! of one to return, temporarily,
: the old way believe it is hes
in such cases, to yield, for one mea
or even for day or two. Coffee doe
not become deadly poison the ia
!. one forswears it. One must be car
: full, however, lest "the last state b
come worse than the first"