Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1909-09-24
G AS A FOOD.
The Hunger for Candy a Natural
Cravins-Sweets Regarded as
uxtirN
From the Literary Digest.
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From the Literary Digest.
1t may be said that sugar has not
generally been taken seriously as q
food substance. Apparently on the
principle that what is liked Is usually
injurious, the passionate craving for
sugar seems to have been regarded as
a sign hat 1t should be avoided. When
the craving was satisfied II vas done
by eating the to excess n the
logical result was looked upon as q
confirmation of the injurious charac-
ter of the food Recently, however, the
food value Of the substance has come
to be recognized by scientific men, and
a writer in the Dietetic and Hygienio
Gazette urges that we cease regarding
1t as a luxury ard use it seriously in
proper quantities. We read:
Sugar as a substance marketed in
approximately chemically pure form is
a comparatively recent addition to hui
man foOdstuffs. Indeed, 1t Ia probable
that maple sugar WaS used by the
American aborigines earlier h a any
sugar Of the same grade was known to
the inhabitants of the old world.
I'VE have not yet become accustomed
to taking sugar seriously as a food, but
persist in regarding 1t as a luxury
which appeals to the palate. Undoubt-
eddy a good deal OF the sugar consumed
is X by those who need IL least and
who are least able to assimilate it. Peo-
PIE III lair circumstances, not SAcTCLS~
ing much, generally use 130-150 grams
a day, estimated from grocery bills, to
say nothing of the of fruits n
that eaten as candy. Candy Is usually
eaten between meals, and Is not re-
garded as a food. Yet, not infrequent-
ly, a pound a day is eaten. thus supply
ing a source of energy equal to a re-
quired by the system, supplementary to
that eaten al the table. There is no
question but that sugar ingested In
considerable amounts at n time irrt-
tates the mucous membrane by It's con-
c~entration: disturbs osmotiC currents;
end to ferment and o~Vertaxes the gy-
colytiC and g~lycogenic functions.
"On the other hand, 1t has been well
established that il used nationally
regularly, sugar is easily cared for by
the nutritive gan produces no harm
full results, and supplies a large amount
Of neat and energy. A good a If not
the most of the trouble produced by
sugar is due to the notion that 1t Is not
a food. but a luxury. Hence, the per-
fectly natural appetite for it is resisted
until it becomes a craving to which the
individual eventually yields by a die
tetic excess which deserves the term
spree The same abstinence and Elk
cessive ingestion of any other food, be
tween meals n in addition to a full
diet. would produce harm"
At the present retail price Of about
80 cents a pound, the author goes on to
say, the average consumption of sugar
represents about IA cents a day. If
food were equally cheap, the total
daily cost Of raw food material would
be c. to rs cents Per capita. In gen
eral, Is less expensive to prepare
for eating than most other foodstuffs.
Says the writer:
Even the higher grades OF candy
could be prepared with no greater trou-
BILE than many other recognized des-
serts. If cooks took the trouble to learn
this branch of their art, while the re-
suit would be, on the average, more ap-
petizing, more easily digestibie, and
more nutritious. This point I'm dietetic
economies has recently been impressed
on us by inspecting tine extremely sim
pie equipment of a candy kitchen,
whose output is retaiied at 80 cents a
pound, including considerable paper"