Rules for Planning the Family Dietary 151 7 



Those cereals and cereal foods that contain the larger part of the grain 

 should be given preference in the dietary. 



While such a cereal food as white flour retains all the original energy- 

 yielding ingredients and most of the muscle-building materials, it has 

 lost in the milling process the substances occurring in the outer 

 layers which stimulate the activity of the intestines and which help 

 in such body functions as bone-building and the formation of red 

 blood corpuscles. 



White bread is entirely wholesome if thought is given to including, 

 in forms other than bread, the substances lost by the flour during 

 the milling process. This may be accomplished by using fruits and 

 vegetables for their laxative properties, milk for its lime, and eggs for 

 their iron. 



Sweets in the dietary are unquestionably desirable, but they should be 

 served in such a manner as not to reduce the appetite for other foods and 

 not to satisfy the appetite with sweet foods only. 



Fruits and vegetables, simple desserts of various kinds, jam with bread 

 at the close of the meal, and candy occasionally in place of other desserts, 

 are the best ways of using sugar. The craving for sugar between meals 

 generally indicates a badly controlled appetite or a poorly fed individual ; 

 or it may be the outcome of some diseased condition of the body. 



Candy or other sweet foods when eaten between meals result in poor 

 appetite. Sugar is an abundant source of energy, is easily digested and 

 absorbed, and has its place in the dietary; it is not a bone- and muscle- 

 building food and, if used in large quantities, is very irritating to the 

 mucous membrane. Therefore it should not be eaten to the exclusion 

 of other foods. The candy-fed child, refusing as it does other foods at 

 meal times, is very likely to have poor, decayed teeth, weak bones, flabby 

 muscles, and a disordered stomach. The rule should be to use sugar with 

 other foods and at the close of the meal. 



Enough water should be consumed to maintain the body in clean, whole- 

 some condition. It is just as necessary to bathe the body inside as it is 

 out. Many cases of serious bodily disorder are directly traceable to 

 neglect of the needs of the body for water. Constipation is frequently 

 the result of insufficient water in the dietary. 



The dietary should be planned so as to meet the needs of all members of 

 the family. The main part of the meal may be made suitable for all, and 

 to this the foods especially needed by each individual may be added. 

 Little children should not eat all foods that are allowable to adults, nor 

 should the grown members of the family be limited to the same simplicity 

 of diet as the children, for children have undeveloped digestive organs 

 that will be overtaxed by heavy foods. The strength of food in 



