The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-05-17

80 NAS Va AAo ldAN AGNNAAGu Jul
bursts of independence, will you
find such horses and such men ?"
DR.. Clendening will answer
questions of general interest
only, and then only through
his column.
This was in response 10 DR.. john
sons sneer that oats were given TO
horses in England, but in Scotland
were food for men. Oh, Marry
1oats and Scotzedoats!
Porridge, indeed, was for long
the staple, if not the sole article
Of the Scotch diet. And cereals,
such as the oats of porridge, have
in many lands been the mainstay
of human fuel. The maize, or
Indian corn, of the Mexican and
Central American population is
an example. as well as the rice
diet of the Oriental, the millet Of
Negroes Of the upper Nile. Wheat
in the form of bread is. the staff Of
life.
From the botanists' point of
view the cereals belong TO the
grasses. In Palestine | have seen
wild wheat growing on the hill
sides. That was a great day for
mankind when some wistful ORR
entail innovater decided to pillow a
plot of ground and sow the seeds
of the wild wheat, so that he could
have it all in one place and gather
his winter supply easily instead Of
wandering over the countryside
depending on the accidental boun-
~ of Nature.
Widely Used By Man
What virtues have these cereals
that they have become the main or
the sole diet of mankind in so
many parts Of the world?
To begin with they have plenty
of protein, and protein is the build
ing block of living structure. Any
complete food must have protein.
The protein molecule is made up of
smino-acids. There are many Of
these, but 10 have been found to
be absolutely indispensable. We
know their names and structures.
They have never been synthesized
in any chemical laboratory. We
must depend on Nature for them.
Nine Of them are necessary 10
maintain life and one, arginine, is
necessary for growth.
The proteins of the cereals are
classified as partially complete.
They will maintain life, but not
growth. The gliadin protein of
wheat is in this class, also the hor-
dein of barley, and the prolamin
Of rye. The zein protein of corn is
incapable Of maintaining life or
growth if fed as the sole protein.
In people who live exclusively on a
cereal they begin to do so only in
early adult life. The milk they get
in infancy and childhood supplies
the growth factor to start them
of: after growth is finished they
can live without tiff their pro-
tein contains the other factors.
Cereal grains are quite ccmp!ets
in other ways as foods. They have
plenty of starch and some fat to
supply fuel. They are quite rich
in minerals. Oats have calcium
(.08), phosphorus (.365) sulphur
CID, and iron (.003). Wheat has
calcium (.05), phosphorus (.10),
sulphur (.05), and iron (0009).
The figures represent basic per-
cottages. Notice how much richer
in mineral content oatmeal would
be than bread.
As to vitamins, theyare all lack
ing in C. The Orientals must sup
plement their rice diet with fresh
fruits or greens in order to avoid
scurvy. But they are strong in B
yitamin, although it is largely in
e the musk. The widespread occur
renee Of the Vitamin B deficiency
disease, beri-beri, or neuritis in
Java and Japan, was due TO the
habit many Oriental people
acquired Of polishing the rice,
which resulted in removing the
shell. The cereals have some G vi
tamin which prevents pellagra,
almost no A vitamin.
Oats is a fine breakfast dish be-
cause it is the most nutritious Of
all cereals, being peculiarly rich
in fat Rolling oats is a very ad-
vantageous procedure, because it
ruptures the cell walls, and fat
tens the grains out so that they are
more easily softened by cooking.
1t also alters the fat so that it is
less likely to become rancid and
preserves the natural flavor of the
grain.