Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1914-11-27
Copyright. 1914. by A. S. Gray)
THE DIET QUESTION.

Inquiries received prove that large
numbers Of persons grasp only with
great difficulty the fundamental princt
pies Of nutrition and do not readily
discriminate between pure food and
wholesome food. The demand is for
some specific guide or chart as to
what to eat. This is not the road to
good health and happiness, but quite
the contrary; because until self
knowledge and self-reliance are at
tained the individual is subject to all
kinds Of vague and unreasoning fears
and fancies and is, therefore, continu'
ously in danger Of exploitation by any
plausible faddist, with all the attend
ant dangers.
Next to rice, wheat is the most uni
versally used cereal and in this coun
try 1t leads; therefore, more than any
other plant, wheat becomes q constitu
ent part Of our bodies.
Wheat begins to grow at Al degrees
Fahrenheit and when the aggregate
temperature as represented by the
sum Of the daily average equals 1S5
degrees the germ begins to "hatch" OF
escape from the husks II not too deep
ly buried. II too deeply buried, q
greater amount of heat is required pro
portionate to the depth, and II the seed
lies at a depth lower than one foot
1t rarely terminates Seedlings cease
to grow IL the average temperature
for the day remains below AZ degrees
Fahrenheit. When young plants have
been subjected to an aggregate tenn
perature Of 1896 degrees Fahrenheit
from the time when sown, or OF Ills
degrees from the time of termination
branching goes on freely and the
young ears form. Under the stimulus
OF an average temperature Of 55 de
grees Fahrenheit, or little above
the flowers are produced. But still
higher daily average temperature Is
required for the full development and
ripening Of the grain. An average Of
rs degrees is most favorable to ma
turity. with abundance of sunlight and
rain.
Given a matured wheat berry, what
has happened is that under the vitaliz
ing stimulus Of sunlight the enzymes
and bacteria In the soil and the
plant have taken these elements, and
many others not here mentioned, Out
Of the soil and the air and bound
nd Et
Of the sun into molecules OF protein
carbohydrate, fat, ETC., the wheat berry
serving as a reservoir OF potential en-
ergy until a suitable machine again
converts It into kinetic energy. As
suming that the wheat plant had the
power to modify its environment by
eliminating from its diet In the soil
one or more of the elements on which
its growth and vitality depend. We
should call It stupid and think 1t justly
deserving Of the smut disease and the
blight that would inevitably attack II
because OF the weakness resulting
from the ensuing starvation.
By reason Of ancestral adjustments
our digestive organs are able easily
to digest, transform and utilize this
wheat energy. The wheat berry ii
food for US because 1t is developed
practically in the same scale that we
are. But for some strange reason we
insist on radically changing our en-
vlronment by eliminating from oui
diet the most important and vital part
of the berry. thereby throwing oui
ancestral habits out of gear and Great
ing trouble.
Blythe states that modern milling
produces nine varieties OF our foui
and three brans from the wheat berry
the original wheat showing 200 pei
cent ash, the -four showing .55 pei
cent ash. fine bran showing 6.55 pei
cent ash, medium bran showing 6.ss
per cent ash. coarse bran showing S.01
per cent ash. This ash consists Of: