THE HYGIENE OF THE DINING ROOM 65 



among the best foods and should occupy a place in every 

 diet. They are composed largely of water. Of the nutrients 

 present, carbohydrates are the most common. These carbo- 

 hydrates help to furnish a well-balanced diet when used in 



FIG. 23. Carbohydrate foods. 



connection with the protein foods. But in addition to their 

 direct food value, they serve other important uses. The 

 pleasant flavors of fruits and vegetables serve to make other 

 foods more palatable and so aid in their digestion. They 

 furnish also some of the mineral salts needed by the body, 

 and, by the bulk of material which they contain, they assist 

 in the proper working of the digestive organs. Fruits and 

 vegetables are valuable also because they contain small 

 quantities of substances called vitamines, which are essential 

 to the well-being of the body. Cooking either diminishes or 



FIG. 24. Food elements in a sandwich. 



destroys these vitamines, and some uncooked fruits and veg- 

 etables should be eaten. 



Fruits and vegetables can be easily raised in the home 

 garden at slight expense and with but little labor. This is 

 especially true of vegetables which can be raised from seed 

 in one season. The fruits, excepting fall strawberries, re- 

 quire longer to mature, varying from two to ten years. 

 Vegetables have good keeping qualities, and, of the surplus 



