Food and Drink 85 



beans, distinguished from all other vegetables by their large 

 amount of proteids, excel in this respect even beef, mutton, 

 and fish. They take the place of meats with those who 

 believe in a vegetable diet. fc 



128. Non-Proteid Vegetable Foods. The common potato 

 is the best type of non-proteid vegetable food. When properly 

 cooked it is easily digested and makes an excellent article of 

 diet. It is unfit for an exclusive food, but is best used with 

 milk, meat, and other foods richer in proteid substances. 

 Sweet potatoes, of late years extensively used as food, are 

 rich in starch and sugar. Arrowroot, sago, tapioca, and 

 similar foods are nutritious, and easily digested. 



129. Non-Proteid Animal Foods. Butter is one of the 

 most digestible of animal fats, wholesome, agreeable, and 

 delicate in flavor, and is on this account much used as 

 a food. Various substitutes have of late years come into 

 use. These are made from animal fat, chiefly that of 

 beef, and are known as butterine, oleomargarine, and by 

 other trade names. These preparations, if properly made, 

 are wholesome, and may be useful substitutes for butter. 



130. Garden Vegetables. Various green, fresh, and suc- 

 culent vegetables, such as celery, cabbages, beets, lettuce, and 

 turnips, form an important part of our diet. They are of 

 use not so much on account of their proteids, carbohy- 

 drates, or fats, which are usually small in quantity, as for 

 the salts they supply, especially the salts of potash. The 

 long-continued use of a diet without fresh vegetables often 

 leads to a disease known as scurvy. 



Vegetables are also used for the agreeable flavor pos- 

 sessed by many, and the pleasant variety and relish they 

 give to the food. The undigested residue left by all 

 green vegetables affords a useful stimulus to intestinal 

 contraction. 



