Public School Domestic Science | Page 8

from consumption. "The most healthful food is that which is best fitted to the wants of the user: the cheapest food is that which furnishes the largest amount of nutriment at the least cost: the best food is that which is both healthful and cheap." By referring to the various charts a fair estimate of food values may be obtained.
As will be noticed, the animal foods contain the most protein and fats, while the vegetable foods are rich in carbohydrates. A pound of cheese may have 0.28 pound of protein, as much as a man at ordinary work needs for a day's sustenance, while a pound of milk would have only 0.04, and a pound of potatoes 0.02 pound of protein. The materials which have the most fats and carbohydrates have the highest fuel value. The fuel value of a pound of fat pork may reach 2.995 calories, while that of a pound of salt codfish would be only .315 calories. On the other hand, the nutritive material of the codfish would consist almost entirely of protein, while the pork contains very little. Among the vegetable foods, peas and beans have a high proportion of protein. Oatmeal contains a large proportion also. Potatoes are low in fuel value as well as in protein, because they are three-fourths water. For the same reason milk, which is seven-eights water, ranks low in respect to both protein and fuel value, hence the reason why it is not so valuable as food for an adult as many of the other food materials.
These few illustrations will help to show the need of an intelligent idea of food values before attempting to purchase the supplies for family use. As one-half a laboring man's income goes towards providing food, it must follow that such knowledge will help the housewife very materially in securing the best results from the amount expended.
The average daily diet of an adult should contain (Church):--
----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUTRIENTS. | IN 100 PARTS. | EACH 24 HOURS. --------------------------------|-----------------|-------------------- | | lb. oz. gr. Water | 81.5 | 5 8 .320 Albuminoids | 3.9 | 0 4 .178 Fat | 3.0 | 0 3 .337 Common salt | 3.7 | 0 0 .325 Phosphates, potash, salts, etc. | 0.3 | 0 0 0.170 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Quantity of Food Required.
The quantity of food required to maintain the body in a vigorous condition depends upon the following conditions:--(1) Climate and season, (2) clothing, (3) occupation, (4) age and sex. In civilized countries more food is eaten, as a rule, than is necessary to maintain health and strength. Climate and seasons influence the quantity of food eaten. A cold, bracing atmosphere stimulates the appetite, tempts one to exercise, while a hot climate has the contrary effect; hence the need for more or less food. Abundant clothing in cold weather conserves the body heat; less food is therefore required to maintain life. Exercise and muscular work cause greater oxidation in the tissues and greater waste of the muscles; this must be replaced by proper food. Outdoor work requires more food than indoor, and physical labor more than mental. It has been estimated "that a child of ten years requires half as much food as a grown woman, and one of fourteen an equal amount. The rapidly growing active boy often eats as much as a man, and the middle-aged man requires more than the aged. A man of seventy years may preserve health on a quantity which would soon starve his grandson."
Just what ingredients of the food serve for nourishment of the brain and nerves, and how they do that service, are mysteries which have not yet been solved. Brain and nerve contain the elements nitrogen and phosphorus, which are found in protein compounds but not in the true fats, sugars, and starches, which contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. We naturally infer that the protein compounds must be especially concerned in building up brain and nerve, and keeping them in repair. Just how much food the brain worker needs is a question which has not yet been decided. In general it appears that a man or a woman whose occupation is what we call sedentary, who is without vigorous exercise and does but little hard muscular work, needs much less than the man at hard manual labor, and that the brain worker needs comparatively little of carbohydrates or fats. Many physicians, physiologists and students of hygiene have become convinced that well-to-do people, whose work is mental rather than physical, eat too much; that the diet of people of this class as a whole is one-sided as well as excessive, and that the principal evil is the use of too much fat, starch and sugar. It is well to remember that it is the quantity of food digested which builds the body, and