64 SCIENCE OF HOME AND COMMUNITY 



protein and fat with small proportions of carbohydrates, 

 while vegetable foods, excepting nuts, contain large pro- 

 portions of carbohydrates, but little fat, and some contain 

 large proportions of protein. 



Water. Water forms a large proportion of nearly all 

 foods. The amount varies greatly. Vegetables and fruits 

 contain the largest proportion, ranging from eighty to ninety- 

 five per cent. (See figure 25.) Nuts and dried foods, like 

 peas, beans, wheat, and corn contain the smallest propor- 

 tion, ranging from five to fifteen per cent. (See figure 28.) 

 Meats contain a medium amount, ranging from fifty to 

 seventy per cent. (See figure 20.) 



Mixed diet. In selecting food to furnish the protein 

 which we must have, we may choose from meats, fish, beans, 

 peas, cereals, and nuts. The carbohydrates we get almost 

 entirely from vegetable foods, and the fats largely from 

 animal foods, and to a minor extent from nuts. It will be 

 seen from this that it is possible to obtain all the nutrients 

 that the body needs from vegetable foods alpne. There are 

 some people, called vegetarians, who maintain that this is a 

 more healthful diet than one composed of both animal and 

 vegetable foods. The agitation aroused by these people has 

 undoubtedly had beneficial results in showing that people 

 generally use more animal food than the body requires and 

 that a diet with a larger proportion of vegetable food and a 

 smaller proportion of animal food would be more healthful. 

 But the consensus of common experience and of medical ad- 

 vice is that for most people a mixed diet is preferable to a 

 vegetarian diet. A mixed diet allows a greater variety of 

 foods and makes it easier to select foods containing the 

 proper proportions of nutrients. (See figure 24.) 



Fruits and vegetables. (See figure 25.) In the foregoing 

 discussion little mention has been made of fruits and vege- 

 tables. While these do not contain large proportions of solid 

 nutrients and are not among the cheaper foods, they are 



