Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-07-24
Foods and Fads


people have the time or the inclination
to follow the trail OF the food fadist,
for invariably he leads his followers to
believe in some pet theory that is with
out any special advantage or merit, for
his ideas are neither consistent nor ra-
tional The matters in which people
should be interested are not so much
special diets as how to best use the
common food products found on the
markets.
Dietetic doctrines have originated
because of the prevalence of digestive
troubles, and II people exercised good
Judgment in selecting and cooking their
foods, and former correct habits of
eating, the suffering from this source
would be slight, and as a natural
consequence the dietetic fads would
vanish for want of followers However,
there is one redeeming feature about
fads in feeding; they sometimes do
good and rarely result in injury. The
sante compliment cannot be paid to
medicines. Speaking OF medicines. 1t
is difficult to understand why people
will allow themselves to be persuaded
to swallow drugs, unless they are pre-
scribed by a practicing physician. Does
It never occur to them that they may
be swallowing medicines more danger
Gus to their lives than the disease ever
was 1t Is indeed foolish for people 70
experiment upon their bodies with some
patens medicine which an advert Sc
Y ent has recommended as a euro COR
the ailment from which they believe
themselves to be suffering. The symp-
toms which accompany q diseased con-
dition are so varied that even physi-
clans are sometimes mistaken in their
conclusions So it is both foolish and
dangerous for an individual to diagnose
his own case, and then proceed to swal-
low patent pills and nostrums which
may have no relation to the disease
whatever.
There are several dietetic doctrines
in vogue, among them the vegetarian
being the most popular. A number Of
well known physicians and physiolo-
gists are lending their support to this
idea and in consequence the followers
of this theory are numerous. 1t is no
longer a question whether the body
can be nourished upon a vegetarian
regime. The impartial, scientific tests
to which people have been subjected
proves beyond a question of doubt that
they can maintain a normal degree of
health and omit flesh foods. However,
the vegetarian diet presents obstacles
difficult to overcome unless there is in
cluded in the diet few of the protein
foods of animal origin, as milk, eggs
and cheese The protein constituent
can be supplied by using beans, peas,
lentils and nuts, but it would be only
a question of time until the organs of
digestion would succumb to the burden
/ A. - I-
pose upon them If the vegetable pro-
teins were used to the exclusion of all
others.
From purely a humanitarian stand
point it may seem that the vegetarian
has the advantage, but granting this
all physiological evidences point to the
fact that it was intended that man
should depend partly upon flesh foods
for his sustenance. His whole digestive
system brings the impartial investiga-
tor to this conclusion. 1t is highly
probable that most of us depend too
much upon flesh foods for the good of
our health and our pocketbooks. but
the mixed diet to which the inclinations
of man in temperate zones seem to lead
him. when circumstances allow those
inclinations to develop. seems to point
to the fact that the Creator conferred
upon man this wide range OF choice,
and thereby rendered 1t possible for
him to inhabit every corner of the
earth. The vegetarian sometimes points
with pride to the rice eating Chinaman
and holds him up as an example of
strength, but who is the American that
would care to set up the Chinese race
as physical or mental standard?
Brain Foods.
Every day one can read advertise
ments recommending certain foods as
being peculiarly adapted to nourlshing
the brain, and thousands of credulous
people eat these foods daily in the be-
lief that they are consuming material
rich in gray matter No advertisement
could be more misleading or no belief
more unfounded, for there is nc food
rich enough in phosphates to have a
lperceptible influence upon the brain.
The one only way to possess a clear.
active, energetic brain is to keep the
blood stream pure and the body we'll.
With these two conditions the brain
will take care of itself All foods that
are good and suitable for nourishing
the body when used in proportions to
maintain equilibrium are good for the
brain.
We hear more or less about the raw
food diet Nervous dyspeptics in par
ticular are apt to accept this and sim
Iilar dietetic theories in their mad hope
of finding a cure They become even
more reckless in their dietetic' expert
ments than they do in swallowing pat
ent medicines, with the result that in