CHAPTER XVIII 

 THE INFLUENCE OF FOODS ON THE BODY 



In order to understand the influence of food on the body, 

 it will be necessary to consider briefly the simpler features of 

 digestion. 



The process of digestion begins with the mouth, where the 

 food is broken up and softened. The fluid called saliva flows 

 from small glands at the base of the tongue, and the mixing 

 of this with the food in the mouth is called insalivation. 

 This fluid contains substances which act on the starch in 

 the food and help change it to sugar, so that it may be 

 absorbed more readily. In swallowing, the food passes from 

 the mouth through the aesophagus, or gullet, into the stom- 

 ach. The horse and hog have but one stomach, but cattle, 

 sheep, and other animals that chew the cud, have four. 

 The process of digestion, however, is similar in all stomachs. 

 The cow chews a mouthful of grass very imperfectly at first 

 and swallows it into the paunch, which is the largest of the 

 four stomachs. From here, after more or less mixing, the 

 food is forced into a second and smaller stomach, called the 

 honeycomb. After it has been churned about and softened 

 in these two stomachs, the animal forces back into the mouth 

 as frequently as desired, a small amount of food called 

 the "cud," for further chewing. The cattle-man calls 

 this operation "chewing the cud." After a bit this is re- 

 turned, and by a special movement, passes into the 

 manyplies, or small third stomach, from which it passes on 

 into the fourth, or true stomach. While in the true 

 stomach the food is churned about and mixed with 



