E65 



FOOD. 



FOOD. 



866 



The substances used as food which we have called medicinal are 

 very numerous. They include acids, volatile oils, and the vegetabl 

 alkaloids. 



The acids are eaten in fruits, such A3 the citric, malic, tartaric, ant 

 oxalic acids. It is possible they may be decomposed in the system 

 and furnish the materials of animal heat. They seem however t( 

 perform a more important part in dissolving up the mineral ingre- 

 dients taken into the system as food. This seems one way in which 

 carbonic acid acts beneficially when taken in wines, beera, anc 

 effervescing waters. Acetic acid, or vinegar, acts probably in the same 

 manner as the other acids. 



The volatile oils are added to other kinds of food, and, as condi 

 menta and spices, form a conspicuous feature in diet. We may class 

 these, with alcohol, as stimulants of the mucous membrane of the 

 stomach. 



The use of tea, coffee, chocolate, and Paraguay tea [THEA; 

 COFFEE ; ILEX ; THEOBROMA] in infusion constitutes a curious class 

 of alimentary substances. In tea, coffee, and Paraguay tea, a principle 

 is found identical in every instance, to which the name Thein or 

 Caffein has been given. A substance very similar, Theobromine, is 

 found in chocolate. It is undoubtedly upon the action of these 

 substances that the dietetical uses of these plants depend. 



Two theories have been advanced to explain the action of this 

 principle. Liebig suggested that the taurin found in the bile was 

 formed from the waste tissues of the body carried into the blood; and 

 that this taurin was necessary for the production of carbonic acid gas, 

 or rather to get rid of the carbonaceous matter in the system in the 

 form of carbonic acid gas. The taurin must be constantly formed, 

 otherwise the heat of the body ig not maintained, the carbonaceous 

 matter not got rid of, and disease is engendered. If persons have not 

 sufficient food, or if the digestive organs do not enable them to carry 

 a sufficient quantity of nutriment to the system, the tissues of the 

 body are consumed to form taurin. Liebi? found that thein had a 

 composition identical with taurin, or so nearly as to render it a suffi- 

 cient substitute for taurin, and thus by the use of thein he supposed 

 we were actually preventing the waste of the body, and so maintaining 

 health at less expense than we could by taking more solid food. 



Persons who cannot consume a sufficient quantity of food to 

 yield the carbon necessary for generating animal heat, have recourse 

 to tea, and find it actually a nutritious article of diet ; and it is 

 only, says Liebiv, "by such means as this that it can act as a 

 nutritious agent." But another theory has been advanced by Dr. 

 Pluyfair. He says thein has a composition very similar to nervous 

 matter. Now, seeing that every operation of the mind must be 

 attended with a loss of nervous matter, there is a necessity for a 

 supply of that nervous matter to enable the mind to carry on its 

 operations. A large quantity of proteinaceous matter would be 

 required to be supplied to form the nervous matter with proper con- 

 stituents if taken in by means of meat or bread. But these alkaloids at 

 once become a constituent of nervous matter ; and this accounts for 

 the agreeable stimulus and permanent effect on the mind produced 

 by the use of tea and coffee, particularly by studious persons, as 

 well as those whose nervous systems are exhausted from various 

 causes. 



In any just estimate of diet the mineral ingredients should be consi- 

 dered. The forms which they assume in the system are not well-known, 

 but we have a capital instance in the phosphate of lime, which, forming 

 a part of the bones, we know must be supplied through the diet. 

 This substance is found in the cereal grasses, and perhaps one reason 

 that man takes these grasses every where for the substantive articles 

 of his diet is the possession of this substance. Iron is another sub- 

 stance which is frequently deficient in the blood. It is naturally 

 xii|>plied in the food ; but this failing, iron is given medicinally. Potash 

 in combination with vegetable acids seems to have the power of 

 preventing scurvy. [SCURVY, in ARTS AND Sc. Div.] Chloride of 

 sodium is another well-known instance of the necessity of mineral 

 ingredients in the food. 



A few plain rules for taking food will properly conclude this 

 article. 



In the first place, food should be properly cooked. Many substances 

 which are very indigestible when in the raw state are rendered 

 perfectly digestible by cooking. Although the stomach is capable of 

 digesting fruits and some kinds of seeds without any exposure to 

 heat, yet, as a general rule, the breaking down of the tissues which 

 eccurs in cooking greatly facilitates the digestion of both animal and 

 vegetable food. But whilst that cooking is proper which enables the 

 stomach more easily to reduce the food to the condition of chyle, 

 :ire extremes of preparation which however palatable are to be 

 avoided. Food that is much prepared, so as to reduce it to a fluid 

 condition, as soups, stews, and various made dishes, do not present 

 sufficient solid matter for the healthy process of digestion to be 

 carried on. When the object is to prevent the stomach from doing 

 duty such food is proper. It may also be taken occasionally with 

 advantage as a variety in diet, but food taken long together in this 

 furin ifl iiijuriou-*. 



M'n-li indigestible food at a time should be avoided. Many of the 

 articles of our diet are less digestible than others, and when taken in 

 small quantities are not injurious. It is when such substances are 

 HAT. H18T. DIV. VOI. II. 



made the principal constituents of a meal that danger is likely to 

 arise. To mention only a few of the less digestible kinds of foods : 

 Unfermented bread and biscuits, uncooked vegetables eaten as salad, 

 unripe fruits, cheese, pie-crust, fat meats smoked, as bacon, and the 

 fat of meat, some kinds of fishes, especially the Crustacea, crabs, 

 lobsters, &e. Heavy meals of any one of these articles of diet, or 

 mixtures of them, may be very injurious, and produce serious attacks 

 of indigestion, if not other diseases. 



Solid food should be well masticated before it is swallowed. The 

 teeth are organs given us on purpose to perform this function, and its 

 accomplishment is attended also with the mixture of the saliva with 

 the food, which seems to be au important step in the process of 

 digestion. Although by hasty mastication persons in business hope 

 to save their time, they should know that at least it is a loss of food, 

 if not immediately a loss of health. Much more food is digested 

 when it is well masticated than when it is swallowed very hastily in 

 large masses. Food that is imperfectly masticated is digested with 

 difficulty, and remains sometimes so long in the stomach as to produce 

 irritation of the stomach, and remaining unacted upon it putrifies, 

 producing pain and tainting the breath. 



Even where mastication is very complete it is always better to 

 swallow slowly, as by this means every part of the food is brought 

 more fully under the influence of the gastric acid of the stomach, by 

 which it is prepared for absorption into the blood. 



Full and heavy meals should be avoided. It is better to get up 

 from table with an appetite than to feel that no more food could be 

 taken. It is always difficult to say how much should be with pro- 

 priety taken. Some systems will bear twice as much food as others, 

 whilst there are those who require twice as much food as others. 

 Scales and weights are dangerous instruments at table, as some men 

 will starve on what others will thrive. There is an instinct which, if 

 obeyed, constantly cries " Hold, enough ; " which if men would listen 

 to would always guide them right. The feelings after eating should be 

 those of refreshment and comfort feelings that are not often present 

 when too large a meal has been eaten. All food taken into the sys- 

 tem and not wanted is likely to be in the way, and the processes 

 adopted by nature for getting rid of the incubus are not unfrequeutly 

 attended by disease and death. 



Persons who habitually over-eat are frequently obliged to have 

 recourse to medicines to correct the errors of their indulgence. Such 

 an unnatural way of correcting the evils of an unnatural habit is itself 

 likely to produce disease in the system. 



Active bodily exertion should not be taken immediately after the 

 principal meal. The stomach requires a supply of blood to perform 

 ts functions. If the current is diverted to other organs digestion is 

 prevented. On this account reading at meals is an objectionable 

 practice. The brain in this process gets the blood which the stomach 

 Requires. Long walks and hard study should both be avoided after a 

 'nil meal. 



Long fasting is bad. It is bad when the body is resting; it is much 

 worse when the body is actively engaged. The stomach, like all other 

 organs, performs its functions in virtue of the stimulus afforded it by 

 ;he blood. If the blood is allowed to go a long time without a 

 renewal of its constituents it no longer supplies the nervous system 

 with energy ; the stomach, ami even other organs, flag in the perform- 

 ance of their duty, and as a consequence digest^n is imperfectly 

 >erformed. How often should man eat iu the day ? In the morning, 

 at noon, and at night, is the answer given by the instincts of man. 



The body can go longer without food whilst resting than when 

 awake; hence persons may with safety go a longer number of hours 

 >etween the night and morning meal than between the morning and 

 noon, or the noon and night meals. 



There are no rules without exceptions in certain cases, and there 

 are many circumstances which must modify the application of the 

 "oregoing rules, as well as in other ways regulate the taking of food. 



Age is a perpetually modifying influence. The new-born infant 

 requires the food which nature has provided for its use every hour or 

 >. As it grows older the intervals at which it takes its food 

 >ecome longer ; but it should be always recollected, that as a rule 

 children should have more eating times than adults. Grown-up 

 leople are too apt to assume that what is good for themselves is good 

 or children ; hence as great an amount of suffering is entailed on 

 :hildren by restricting the quantity and times of taking their diet 

 amongst the rich as come upon them from absolute want amongst the 

 K>or. The craving appetite of children is no vice of fallen human 

 lature, but the incessant demands of an ever-wasting yet ever-growing 

 lumau body. Bread and butter, or treacle, or common cake, should 

 always be allowed if asked for by rapidly growing boys and girls 

 between the hours which adults find convenient for their meals. An 

 vil however arising out of the healthy appetite of youth should be 

 'uarded against; it is, that whilst growing a habit is acquired of 

 ating large quantities of food which aro no longer required when 

 growth has ceased. If the appetite is not checked by reason at this 

 oeriod of life, the habit of eating more than is necessary may be 

 reductive of evil results. 



Old age requires a more frequent recourse to food than the adult, 

 hough not in so large a quantity. "A little and often" is a maxim 

 hat enables many age:l persons to continue their influence in the 



3 K 



