1906.] DIETETIC VALUE OF FOODS. 26/ 



times a day this cramming- process takes place and with a sense 

 of duty well done man rises from the table without a thought 

 of wrong doing or that a physical sin has been committed. 



But not only have we formed the habit of bolting our food, 

 but we have also formed the habit of taking tea and cofifee 

 \\nth our meals. The use of tea and cofifee with food doubt- 

 less originated from the fact that they are stimulating, but now 

 this thought is greatly overlooked and their greatest virtue 

 seems to consist in the fact that they are useful in washing 

 food down the digestive tract. Tliis does away, in a measure, 

 with the necessity for mastication. When the necessity for a 

 thorough mastication of food is ignored the first step in the 

 process of digestion is also ignored, which I shall endeavor to 

 show you later, and although kindly nature may endeavor to 

 endure this abuse for a while she nevertheless resents it and 

 with good reason. 



The best beverage that I know of is cold water. It should 

 be drunk freely between meals, but not so as to interfere with 

 food's digestion. The free use of water is to life a necessity. 

 That of tea and cofifee is not and the less one drinks of these 

 stimulating beverages the better it is for them. Americans 

 need no stimulant, as they are far too nervous a race of people 

 to use them. What they do require is more hours for rest and 

 sleep, which does away with the necessity. Hot milk, but not 

 that which has been boiled, if sipped slowly, will stimulate and 

 refresh tired nature when solid food would prove objectionable. 

 It is always advisable, in using milk, to think of it as a food 

 and the jaws should work in a manner similar to the masti- 

 cating of a solid substance. This is necessary in order that 

 the digestive secretions may flow to act upon the solids which 

 milk contains. 



When milk is hurriedly drank, or taken into the stomach 

 in an ice cold condition, there is danger of severe digestive 

 disturbance. The secretions of the stomach being acid and 

 milk being of an alkaline nature it is at once converted into a 

 curd, while the more hurriedly it is drank the larger the curds. 

 If it is taken when in an ice-cold condition, it checks the flow 

 of the digestive secretions and continues to do so until heated 

 to the body's temperature. 



Cocoa is also a liquid food and should be masticated just 

 the same as milk. As cocoa powder contains a large per- 



