26 



MORE SURPRISING STILL IS THE FACT 



that potatoes and fruit contain protein. Potatoes contain just over 1 per 

 cent, of protein, so much of which is habitually lost owing to careless peeling 

 and cooking that it has been calculated that the loss of this nutriment from 

 a bushel of potatoes, peeled arid soaked before cooking, is about the equivalent 

 of a pound of beef-steak. Consequently, the careful housewife and intelligent 

 cook steam or otherwise prepare potatoes "in their jackets," that "nothing 

 be lost." 



Apricots, strawberries, grapes, raspberries, and bananas all contain about 

 1 per cent, of protein; while in dried fruit the amount varies from 5.5 per 

 cent, in figs and 4.4 per cent, in dates to 2.5 per cent, in prunes and raisins. 

 This explains why these dried fruits form so usual and sufficient a substitute 

 for meat in hot climates, such as Arabia, where meat is either difficult to 

 procure or to keep wholesome for even a few hours, owing to the intense heat. 



THE LARGE AMOUNT OF FAT IN NUTS 



will also excite interest. When thoroughly dn-weil or ground in a machine, 

 nuts are among our most nutritious foods: for which reason they are a fruitful 

 source of indigestion when eaten at the close of a full meal or at odd moments 

 during the day. 



The average composition of nuts, such as walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, 

 filberts, etc., is as follows: 



Protein 15 to 20 per cent. 



Fat 50 to 60 



Carbohydrates 9 to 12 



Salts 1 



Water 4 to 5 - 



What further do nuts contain, you will ask, to complete the hundred 

 parts? The question is most timely, for it enables reference again to be made 

 to the substance cellulose found in all vegetable foods; a substance which. 

 though wholly indigestible, is nevertheless of great imi>ortance and value, for 

 cellulose is the "ballast" mentioned on page 20. It is a fibrous substanr... 

 which serves as a framework to support the juices, rich in carbohydrates and 

 salts, of which the bulk of vegetables and fruits are composed. 



THE DELICATE, TISSUE-PAPER-LIKE SUBSTANCE 



remaining in a " squeezed " lemon is cellulose. It encloses, fragile as it 

 appears, all the nutrients in this class of foods, and locks them most effectively 

 JUVM.V from the digestive juices, unless the framework be broken down and 

 crushed by the teeth or softened by cooking or by acids, such as vinegar. It 

 is for this reason that old or slowly grown vegetables call for prolonged, slow 

 cooking, as these cellulose envelopes have become toughened and almost woody 

 in consistency. Under any circumstances, this framework is particularly dense 

 in nuts, which is another reason why they are so generally difficult of 

 digestion. A third cause is found in their high proportion of fat, and a 

 fourth in their extreme concentration. 

 All the same, 



THIS FACT MUST NOT BE LOST SIGHT OF: 



Indigestible as cellulose is, it constitutes, if well chewed and well cooked, a 

 most important element in our diet. Food, such as eggs or milk, which can 

 be almost entirely absorbed, results in constipation, because there is not enough 



