Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1910-02-04

as fats. The latter are more thar
three-fourths carbon. This fact at
once proves that fat in some form is
the food to be eaten when heat is re-
Quired Ii is the food which appeals
to the appetite more strongly In winter
than in sumI1er and is liked better in
cold climates than In warm. If 1t were
impossible to have both fat and sugar
In the diet no great harm would result
to the body for some time. because
both contain the same elements and
both perform the sa me function name
ly. give heat and energy. Not so with
the proteids. however. because. being
the only class which contains nitrogen,
no other can substitute for them.
Danger In overeating.
After learning of the Importance of
proteid foods the first conclusion may
be that they should form the greater
part of the diet and should largely
compose the daily bill of fare. This is
a ommon mistake and one TO be care
fully avoided. The intake OF food
should not be greater than the needs
of the body and to preserve its normal
equilibrium. Too much food of my
kind necessitates too much work on
the organs of digestion and eIemina-
ton and produces certain irregularities
of the body functions. Too much pro-
teid-that is. too liberal an allowance
of meat. fish. eggs. cheese. ETC.. in the
meals will clog the system with urea.
throw too much work on the kidneys
In their effort to carry off this inal
product In the digestion of proteid
Too much proteid in the diet induces
rheumatism ana similar disorders.
When too much fat. or carbohydrates.
is eaten 1t Is stored up in the body
as fat. and the individual inds himself
putting on adipose tissue to perhaps an
uncomfortable degree. There is more
danger In this country from overeating
than there is from lack of food, just as
the engine is likely to wear out more
quickly because OF too hard firing
than from lack of fuel.
The amount of food required to prop
erly develop the body aud keep 1t in
normal condition depends oD different
conditions. such as the occupation OF
the individual. the age of the individ-
ual. sex. climate and personal idiosyn-
crasies.
The man or woman engaged In bard
physical work requires more Of the
foods which repair tissues than does
the person living a ~sedentary life. The
amount of fresh air in which the in
dividual lives will also determine
largely the rapidity with which food
will be oxidized in the body. For In
stance, the farmer, working in the
fields, will require more nourishing
foods than the man who sits In his Of
fee all day. The farmers lungs are
constantly filed with fresh air: his
blood is filled with oxygen. He is per
forming work which requires much
physical energy; hence his food Isl rap
idly burned in his body in order to
r-Eiald@the- necessary Yan2mf Aei9
hungry. He has a good appetite for
hearty food, and he digesrs 1t with
ease. The man of sedentary habits
finds his stomach rebelling and him
self in general discomfort If he at
tempts to follow the example of the
farmer for any length of time.
How Much to Eat.
Occasionally we hear the question.
How much should we eat% Yet, as
a rule. the average person does not
trouble himself very much on that
score and eats what a pampered appe-
tite demands rather than the amount
he actually needs. Dietary specialists
have found from many experiments
that an average nan doing average
work requires each day about four and
a half ounces of proteid, two ounces of
fat and sixteen ounces of carbohy-
drate. An average woman doing the
work of an average h~ousekeeper re-
qulres a little less. probably about
three ounces of proteid, me and a half
ounces of fat and twelve ounces of
carbohydrate. The boy fourteen to
sixteen years of age requires four-ifths
as much food as his father, and the
boy or girl OF twelve years should
have half as much food as an adult.
hSScutlJ Ncilulu Specialists AVE Dcch
able to reduce the amount of proteid
still lower than the above standards.
which are less than those given ten or
twelve years ago. But as long as the
present habit of "bolting'' food with
insufficient mastication Is common in
the country 1t is not safe to reduce the
amount of proteid TO the lowest posi-
Bile figure. The amount of food con
stituents which | have suggested al
be easily obtained from standard food
materials; less of these will be re-
quired If the foods are properly cook
ed. Just here the ho~usekeeper's skill
is called into account. No matter how
nutritious and easy of digestion foods
may be in their uncooked state, they
may be almost, If moi entirely, ruined
as far as digestion and assimilation
are concerned in the process of cook
ing.
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