The Colorado statesman., 1909-01-23
WHAT MAKES
GOOD BREAD

Bread is the Oldest of prepared
foods. Long before fire was dis
covered II was quite natural to
pulveriZe the hard grains between
stones, to moisten the meal thus made,
press ii into cakes and dry it in the
sun. This was the original unleavened
bread. Only the application of fire
to cakes accidentally fermented by
moisture and temperature was neces-
sary to produce the modern staff of
life.
Good bread will, alone. support life
indefinitely. Thousands of our sturdy
foreign laborers maintain good health
and strength chiefly on coarse bread.
l had an opportunity lately to examine
Dutch laborer, about 20 years old,
who said he had lived all his life on
rye bread and coffee, and he was In
perfect health-in spite of the coffee.
Thomas Parr, an English farmer
lived more than $50 year on coarse
bread, cheese, small beer and whey"
The bread was probably rye, wheat
being then used only by the wealthy
Bread has one advantage over nuts
as the chief staple food-bulk. The
to the digestive process; it is merely
a receptacle for the mass of food
taken at a meal, but has added the
capacity for reducing the mass to
fine liquid before passing it on to the
intestine or second stomach. where
the work of digestion is completed.
A German experimepter some years
ago removed the stomach of dog,
after which it lived for several years,
regaining most of its lost weight.
The stomach has also developed the
capacity for converting proteid, of
which flesh, nuts and grains largely
consist, into soluble peptone, the sub
stance from which all the tissues are
built. The same process is continued
in the intestine, if all the proteid is
not broken up and made soluble in
the stomach. The conversion of
starch into sugar by the action of the
saliva, begun in the mouth, continues
in the stomach till the mass becomes
saturated with the hydrochloric acid
,of the gastric fluid, secreted by the
Stomach, after which any starch re-
naming must run the risk of fermen-
tation before its digestion is com
pleted in the intestine.
Experimenters who have lived on
nut and fruit diet for short times
report a Craving" for other foods
and this is the invariable experience,
for a time, of those who adopt the
scientific" diet. Now man of ma
ture years and on whose word l can
rely, who has been living on the sim
pie diet for seven months, working as
merchant, full hours informs me
that this craving" has entirely disap-
peared. Another, a manufacturer,
says that he now after about three
months, enjoys a meal of whole
wheat bread and peanuts or of prunes
as well as he formerly enjoyed, while
eating, mixed meal, and of course
never regrets it afterwards, as he for
merely regretted overeating. The
Italian laborer, working hard phys
ically on rye bread, 'macaroni, garlic
and beer, has no craving for oysters
or pie or pork.
The merchant above referred to
commonly had craving, formerly, on
coming home from church or opera
late, and would eat a second supper
and suffer.
If all the elements necessary for the
bodys nutrition are supplied, there
will be no desire for some unnatural
food. We know that one who is eat
ing a few slices of whole wheat, rye
or corn bread and fruit at separate
meal, can not suffer for lack of any
nutritive element, even if he eats no
nuts or does not drink the glass of
buttermilk before retiring.
Oats is the richest of the cereals
1t contains more fat and more min
eral salts than wheat, but it's starch
cells are encased in coarse cellulose
fibers, so that it must be very thor
oughly cooked to make its starch di-
gestible. The rolled oats are pref
cradle to the steel cut.
Rye contains less mineral matter
than wheat, but its starch is equal
to that of rice. Artificial digestive
tests showed it to be IL times more
digestible than wheat starch. 1t fol-
lows that the objections urged against
fine wheat starch bread do not apply
to rye bread The starch of rye bread
is practically digested beyond the dan
ger of fermentation. No doubt this
explains the superior health of those
who live on rye breat The Roman
gladiators were fed on rye, wheat and
corn.
Now, considering the peculiar fea-
lures of corn, rye and wheat, it is ev-
ident that a much better bread could
be made from a combination of these
than from either separately.
Bread should be cut into slices and
allowed to dry to some extent at
least before being eaten. The less
soft cereal food is eaten the better