The Virginia enterprise., 1909-02-12

Ihey are richer than any other food
In minerals, except few of the nuts,
though the excessive roasting to
which they are usually submitted to
make them palatable and to make
their starch digestible, largely precipi-
tates the mineral elements and co.
agulates the albumen in them. 1t
would hardly be possible to find
better diet for hard physical or men,
tai work than beans. Few other
foods, except brown bread, are COM
patible with them, and especially not
fruit, milk or eggs. The addition of
fat is an advantage, but olive or pea
nut oil would be better than pork
Peas, beans and lentils, contain
vigorous physical and mental life. 1t
is no mere coincidence that they are
used, commonly, as staple in the
logging camp and have come to be as
sociated with the name of the Athens
of America. The bean is especially
rich in potash and phosphorus, two
leading brain foods, besides having
larger percentage of iron than milk.
l have had an opportunity to watch
the physical and mental effects of an
exclusive 60-days' diet of beans, which
clearly proved them a most complete
and substantial diet for physical or
mental worker, even though they are
not included in the ideal dietary.
Bean starch is much more easily
digestible than wheat starch and is
troubles as appendicitis. An exclusive
diet of beans, long continued is, how
ever, liable to cause rheumatism and
kidney troubles, owing to the excess
of albumen they contain. Peas and
lentils differ little from beans. the
former being the richest of this class
OF foods. A few slices of toast or
acid fruits only in the morning and
uncooked cabbage, lettuce, cucum-
bers, ETC., alternating with prunes,
dates or figs, for the evening meal,
would be an ideal dietary for labor
er eating beans with coarse bread for
the principal meal, at noon.
Bananas are the most nourishing of
fruits, except raisins and currants
Properly ripened they are easily d.
gested. But as we ordinarily find
them in our northern market they are
difficult of digestion and likely to
cause constipation. Banana flour is
superior to superfine wheat -four and
could be produced more cheaply, if
transportation facilities were ade-
quate. The ripened banana, with the
peanut, form perfect ration, on
which the population of the world
could be fed by the product of Texas
and the other gulf states and the
tropics. Only a suitable method Of
preserving the banana and an mex
pensive method of transportation be-
ing necessary, to solve the food prob
lem.
Bacon is almost pure fat and is,
therefore, good source of heat,
muscular energy and fat, but it is in
ferior to olive or peanut oil, which are
purer and more easily assimilated.
It should be eaten only in winter, in
cold climates, if at all. Pork products,
in general are the most Objectionable
of the flesh foods. The flesh of wild
animals, the goat, sheep and fresh
water fish, fresh are the best of ami
NAL foods. Fish spoils quickly and
may become more poisonous than
meat. Vegetable-cooking oils are pre-
ferable to lard.
Oysters (the edible portion, mean,
for it is as necessary to clean oysters
as chicken or fish,, are comparatively
nutritious raw, but fried they are in
digestible. They contain nothing that
cannot be obtained from vegetable
foods, eggs or fish. Often they are
dangerous, causing serious bowel
trouble and even typhoid and typhus
fever.
Eggs, eaten in their natural state or
only slightly cooked in water, not
fried in fat, are very nutritious and
easily digested. They are, however,
stimulating and undesirable unless
eaten sparingly. A whipped egg with
zwieback is suitable meal for an in
valid; but the curative use of foods
will be dealt with in subsequent arti-
cles.
Figs, dates and prunes are the most
substantial of the fruits, next to the
banana. Either of these, or all, makes
suitable evening meal. The chief
objection to them is, they are very
liable to be spoiled, by fermentation
and worms. Prunes can be obtained
in cans free from contamination or
the Objectionable chemicals used in
the dried fruit, and as they are chiefly
sugar the injury done by cooking is
immaterial, as compared with the dan
ger in fermentation in the spoiled fruits
Cocoa is less Objectionable than tea
or coffee, being only slightly stimulat-
ing. 1t contains considerable fat,
more than chocolate. Cereal coffee is
harmless.
Grapes are, next to the apple, for
all general purposes, the best fruit
There should be grape arbor in
every garden. Unfermented grape
juice is a delicious and highly-nutri-
tious drink, of which we shall have
more to say in treating of the cura-
tive values of foods.
Pine apple is true fruit medicine,
very valuable in some digestive disor-
ders.
Potatoes are chiefly water and
starch, but are rich in the mineral
elements of food. They are best
baked slowly, at a low temperature:
they should not be fried in fat or
boiled slowly. If they must be boiled,
they should be dropped in boiling wa
ter and when cooked allowed to dry on