The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1945-01-25

especially, food chemists brood
over a concentrated ration, so an
army can 60 forward and not have
10 be held back to live on its
kitchen wagons. The dream Of
Berthelot, the French chemist, is
always before them. "The day will
come" he said, "when each person
will carry his little heterogeneous
tablets, his pat Of fat, his package
Of starch and sugar, his vial Of
aromatic spices suited to his per-
sonal taste-all free of pathogenic
germs and sufficient for his full
days nutriment."
Berthelot Forgot Vitamins
Berthelot said that a long time
ago and it has not come true yet.
| doubt if it ever will. One reason
is evident when we remember that
Berthelot knew nothing about the
utamins and did not include them
in his list. How much do we still
not know about the exact chemical
composition Of a complete and bal
Anced diet?
All animals and especially the
human animal have adjusted
themselves through several hun
dreds of thousands OF years 10 the
digestion and absorption Of the
food which suits the needs of their
organisms. The digestive processes
alone require many glands and
many feet of stomach and intes-
tines. They are designed to take
care Of a good deal Of bulk in the
form Of food. Heaven knows how
We would throw them off balance
with "a little heterogeneous tablet
and a pat of fat" etc. It is likely
that the waste would be terrific
and the heterogeneous tablet and the
pat of fat would have to get bigger
and bigger to replace the amount
that flowed away unused.
Tnen our digestive glanos are
stimulated by the sights and smells
Of food we are used to. 1t is hard to
imagine the salivary glands gush-
ing at the contemplation Of small
package of concentrated starch. So
there would be more waste. As TO
the pat Of fat, we have the testi-
mony of the Johns Hopkins surgeon
who had gall-bladder operation, Of
his delight and rise in spirits when
his bile finally began to flow again
into his intestines and he could
again enjoy gravies and salad
dressings and cream and butter.
Then, as c. C. Furnas says in his
book "The Next Hundred Years"
"A days supply of energy for .
man does not come in such small
capsules" The most concentrated
Fat we can obtain weighs nearly
a pound to equal an average
adults daily caloric requirement.
Berthelot's pat OF fat grows to
q quarter or an eighth OF : pound.
Flu re at the Dinner Table
One of the features Of the fu-
ture that seems to me the most
certain is that we are all going to
have more leisure. And what bet
ter way to spend it than at table
over a well-cooked meal? With
agreeable companions dining is
certainly one Of the most civilized
of occupations. "a good dinner and
feasting recsnciles everybody"
quoth Mr.. Pepys. And DR.. Johnson
averred that-"A man seldom
thinks with more earnestness of
anything than he does of hi. din
ner." 1t would be hard to convince
me that human nature will change
much in this respect
do not know of anyone ! hate
enough to want to share with him
"a little heterogeneous tablet, a pat
of fat and a package Of starch
and sugar" If that is the plan for
the future am glad I lived in
less scientific past.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
c. M.:-What is q list of toys
suitable for a two year old girl
and a diet?
Answer: Under both headings
you had better leave it largely to
the two year old. The diet can be
more and more liberal in the Sec
ond year-besides milk, give eggs,
oatmeal, mashed potatoes, orange
Juice, vegetables, meat, bread and
butter.