NECESSARY FOODS 431 



upon raw fruits and raw vegetables for our supply of these 

 substances. Even the slight heat necessary to pasteurize 

 milk drives off the vitamins. 



A study of the few facts that have been presented 

 here will indicate that vegetables and fruit should form a 

 much larger proportion of the American diet than they now 

 do. Men who live almost exclusively on white bread and 

 meat are starving their bodies for certain very necessary 

 substances, and are overworking their systems to throw 

 off poisonous wastes. When the Food Commission asked 

 during the World War that we eat less meat and more of 

 the dark breads containing the outer layers, or brans, of the 

 cereals, they were asking us to do ourselves as well as our 

 soldiers and the Allied peoples a favor. 



Besides the necessary foods, most individuals desire 

 especial additions for relishes and beverages. These com- 

 monly consist of spices, tea .and coffee, and other like ma- 

 terials. When used in moderation, they are usually harm- 

 less. But they should be avoided by children and not used 

 to excess by adults. 



Alcohol, except possibly in exceedingly small quantities, 

 cannot be considered a food, and as a stimulator for the 

 appetite it should not be used. Many careful experiments 

 have shown that while it may stimulate the body tempo- 

 rarily, it does not enable it to do more work. Instead, 

 those using it cannot do as much work, or withstand as 

 great physical or mental strain, as those not using it. 



Even if it were not for the ungovernable appetite which 

 its use almost invariably engenders, and for the degrading 

 influences with which its use is usually surrounded, its 

 physiological action is such as to lessen the body's vitality, 

 decrease its resistance to disease, and dull its nervous and 



