The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-06-28

coffee, so many Jumps of sugar. Such
a practice would seem to many Of us
intolerably niggardly, but there is nc
reason for going to the other extreme
by putting on the table or on the in
dividual plate more than will be eat
en-. The food that is left on the plate
is a total loss, and even that which is
left on the platter is often thrown
away though it can be made to ap
pear again in as ATTRACTIVE a form
if the ~housekeeper knows how to use
il. Poor cookery means waste for
if food does not appeal to the palata.
in all probability il Will not be eaten;
and in that case il is a total loss. This
is also true of food that has suffered
from bad seasoning. To ovorsalt or
burn a dish may be as wasteful as to
throw it into the garbage pail.
The serving of excessively large
helpings usually springs from a mis-
taken idea of generosity. AS a mat
ter of fact. however, a great many of
Us probably often eat more than We
need or really want rather than leave
food on our plates. And it is always
possible by giving another helping 70
satisfy anyone who is really hungry
without forcing on the others more
than they care for. This does mo-
mean that it is good economy for the
housewife to supply her family with
less than it actually needs. That would
be a sign of very poor management or
else of desperation.
Just how much food the human body
really does need is a complicated
problem to which in recent years
scientists have been devoting much
attention. Food is the source from
which the body derives both its en-
ergy. or fuel, and the substances it
uses to build and replace its worn
out tissues. 1t also provides small
amounts of recently discovered sub
stances needed to regulate growth and
other bodily functions. As a unit for
measuring the energy supplied, scien-
lists have adopted what is known a
the c%alorie, and il is estimated that
for a full-grown man engaged in mod
crate physical work 5000 c~alories a
day are needed. OF these from 500
to 400 should be supplied in the form
of protein, the chief substance utiliz-
ed by the body in tissue building.
vegetables which supply mineral mat
ters needed for building tissues and
help in various ways to keep the body
machinery in good working order; al
so fat and starches and sugars which
are valuable sources Of energy The
energy supplied by the foods as =
whole is consumed by the body in run
ming itself and performing its daily
work.
The number of calories and the
amounts of nutrients contained in
stated quantities of different kinds of
food have been worked out by scien-
lists and afford a basis for comparins
the nutritivc value ot various dishes.
The matter rs so complicated that the
ordinary housewife probably has Meth
er the time nor the inclination to make
a mathematical calculation of the
nourishmcnt her meals afford. II will.
however. help her to know that by
observing a few fundamental prin-
ciples she can alter her bills of fare
to suit changing conditions at home
or in the market without any risk OF
underfeeding the family. First among
these is the fact that an adequate diet
should contain articles from each of
the five groups into which the CON
mon food materials may be divided.
These are: % Vegetables and
fruits, which supply acids and other
substances that the body needs to
keep it in proper working order, As
wei DIS SOlub DullbIlS Hidi'I diS 'iHf
energy CO meats, fish, eggs, milk,
legumes, etc. in which the proportion
of protein to other substances is hiGl
in comparison with the other groups
CD starchy foods like potatoes, rice,
-four, and other grain products, etc,
which furnish much energy and some
protein and mineral matters; (4D
foods rich in sugar. an excellent
source of body fuel, the pleasant fa
vor Of which makes the diet more al
tractive; and 60 the fats, like butter
bacon. cream, lard. etc, which are
valuable sources of energy.
No one of these groups can prof
tably be omitted altogether. 1t is
nevertheless possible to avoid from a