FOODS NUTRITION. 275 



are the most fermentable and itrodnce sulphurretted gaseous products during diges- 

 tion. . . . 



"Tiie nutrients in beans are different in t-liaracter from the same class of nutrients 

 in cereal foods. The protein in beans is mainly in the form of legumin, while that 

 in the cereals is in the form of glutens. Bean-starch granules are larger in size and 

 differ in microscopic structure from the cereal-starch granules. Beans contain only 

 a small amount of ether extract, a portion of which is in the form of lecithin and free 

 fatty acids. The ether extract from beans, however, has about the same caloric or 

 heat-producing jiower [which was on an average found to be 9.-1 calories per gram] 

 as the ether extract from other foods. 



"In these exjjeriments, over a pound of baked beans was consumed per day by 

 men engaged, part of the time, in active outdoor work. It is believed, however, 

 that not more than 4 oz. of vmcooketl beans or 6 oz. of baked beans should be con- 

 sumed in the daily ration, ^^'■hile beans are slow of digestion, they can not be con- 

 sideied as indigestible when the availability or total amount of nutrients actually 

 utilized by the body is considered. In these experiments, over 90 per cent of the 

 dry matter in the beans was digested and utilized by the body." 



In a study of the comparative digestibility of oleomargarine and butter as pail of 

 an otherwise uniform ration, it was found that the average digestibility of the latter 

 ration was protein, 89.66; fat, 95.54; and carbohydrates, 96.97 per cent; available 

 energy, 92.06 per cent. The digestibility of the ration with oleomargarine was pro- 

 tein, 87.90; fat, 94.20; and carbohydrates, 97.01 per cent; available energy, 91.30 per 

 cent. 



Several experiments were undertaken in which a considerable amount of cheese 

 was eaten. Only one of these was satisfactorily completed. It was found in this 

 case that cheese consumed with a bread and milk ration had the following coefUcient 

 of digestibility: Protein, 93.36; fat, 94.5, while the availabile energy was 92.59 per 

 cent. When samples of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and New York idieese were subjected 

 to the pepsin and pancreatin digestion processes it was found that from 47.4 to 52.9 

 per cent of the total protein, luunely, casein, was digested and rendered soluble by 

 the action of the peptic ferments (in acid solution), and that from 44 to 49.2 percent 

 of the remaining i)rotein was dissolved in the alkaline pancreatin solution. 



"The digestion with pepsin and pancreatin solutions show that a large part of the 

 work is carried on by the pancreatin solution. If the peptones piesent in the cheese 

 were deducted it would be found that the larger part of the work of digestion takes 

 place in the alkaline pancreatin solution. These artificial digestion trials emphasize 

 the fact that the main j^jortion of the work of digestion of cheese is carried on in the 

 intestines rather than in the stomach. This is probably the reason why cheese is 

 characterized as a 'hearty food' and frequently causes digestion troubles when eaten. 

 In such cases the amount of cheese consumed should be reduced to correspond with 

 the digestive capacity of the individual. Cheese should be consumed in small 

 amounts, and by so doing the digestive powers of an individual can be strengthened 

 and not impaired." 



Two experiments on the comparative digestibility of bread and toast are reported. 

 On an average, 87.1 percent protein and 97.5 percent carbohydrates of the bread 

 were digested, as compared with 84.7 per cent protein and 97.3 per cent carbohy- 

 drates of toast. The comparative digestibility of bread and toast was also studied 

 with diastase ferments. When 10 gm. of sterilized dry toast was treated for 45 min- 

 utes with a dilute solution of malt, 14.68 per cent of starch was rendered digestible. 

 Under the same circumstances 21.38 per cent of the starch of toast was rendered 

 digestible. According to the author, the experiments show that toast is more readily 

 acted upon by a diastase ferment than bread, and that by toasting a food is produced 

 which is more readily though not quite as completely digested as bread. This, in 



