The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1909-07-20

unless very thoroughly washed. Rye
starch Is next to rice In digestibility.
A few years ago l made a test Of
starch. cooked and uncooked, using
corn starch. because 1t was easiest to
get that pure. There IL, however, a
great difference in starches. Cooked
rye starch Is almost as easily digest
ed as rice. The accepted theory Is
that cereals must be cooked because
the starch granules are encased In
fibrOus sacs, which prevents access of
the digestive fluids This indicates the
Importance of thorough mastication.
The wheat should be chewed to a fine.
smooth paste.
The cooking of the albumen and
germ in the cereals materially changes
the digestive problem. The germ of
wheat which is thrown out in making
wheat -four. contains an engine
which enables the germ to digest the
starch until the grain Is capable Of
taking nourishment from the soil.
Cooking destroys the germ and this
delicate engine, thus changing COM
pletely the digestive quality OF the en-
tire grain. The most powerful digestOr
Of starch yet discovered is diastase,
developed from the bran Of wheat.
This is thrown away in making white
-four, and in the whole wheat is de-
stroyed by cooking.
Wheat Is nearer the ideal food than
any other except milk (for infants)
Nut h.v% <n{~ Ill
no fat
R. Y, zone Mans Meat" Etc.-Is it
true that "one mans meat is another
mans poison?" Some say that this
rule excludes the possibility of pre-
scribing set diet for anyone and that
the natural rule is, Eat anything you
like and that agrees with your"
Ans.-It is true, to certain extent
necessarily, because temperaments diff
fer and temporary conditions require at
times, the eating Of a particular food
adapted to the requirements OF the
case, just as dog will sometimes eat
a little grass, or coarse grain refuse.
But the desire to eat some unusual
food at times is nearly always abnor-
NAL. 1t has been found that when a
person Is living on one or two sub
stantial foods containing all the ele-
ments of nutrition, and eats moderate
ly and regularly, that this desire en-
tirely disappears. See answers to l.
H. A. and w. H. S.
w. s., Roasted Peanuts.-After read
ing your explanation Of the difference
between the value of roasted and un-
roasted peanuts, l ate handful Of the
unrOasted twice and each time they
acted like common cathartic. Why?
Ans-The digestion of nuts is differ
ent from the digestion of the mixture
of ordinary food stuffs. II the system
adapts itself to the digestion of nuts,
it will not be fully adapted to the d.
gestion of other foods and in a com
paratively healthy person, with the d.
gestive system in abnormal condition,
as result of eating unnatural food
the result you obtained Is to be ex-
pected. Nuts are better not mixed
with other foods, except perhaps
coarse whole wheat bread. Wheat re-
sembles nuts more closely than any
other food. Roasted peanuts are
more like cooked meat and cooked
cereals than are the natural nuts and
while they are not natural food, they,
in many cases, do not cause the dis
turbances that the natural food does
for while until the system becomes
adapted. Changes in food for the bet
ter should always be made gradually.
for the same reason that the use Of to-
bacco, coffee, and alcohol should be
broken of slowly. not suddenly.
| Copyright. 1909. by Joseph B. Bowles)