THE STORY OF OUR FOODS 29 



nitrogenous foods come to the front as energy- 

 producing substances. The popular idea that the 

 best food on which to feed a man having a fair 

 amount of physical work to do is beef-steak or other 

 form of meat, is shown to be erroneous. The meat 

 is valuable enough as a tissue-former, but as shown 

 by Dr. Frankland's table, the working-power which 

 the meat affords can only be got out of the fat it 

 contains; and in the case of lean meat a large 

 quantity of this substance would require to be eaten 

 to afford the necessary supply. These researches 

 also teach us economy in the use of food. The 

 combinations of food already alluded to are economi- 

 cal in that one food supplies what another food 

 lacks. A man fed on a proper quantity of bread and 

 meat would diet himself more economically than if 

 he took meat alone, or bread alone economically, 

 that is, in respect of his obtaining sufficient material 

 for his support. The bread and meat together in 

 suitable quantities would supply him with both body- 

 building food and with energy-producing food in the 

 shape of the starch of the bread, as well as the fat 

 of the meat. If he took meat alone to gain sufficient 

 working-power, he would over-load his body with 

 nitrogenous matter to obtain the bare amount of fat 

 for energy-production. If, on the other hand, he 

 elected to subsist on bread alone, he would greatly 

 over-load himself with starch in order to obtain 

 just sufficient body-building substance found in the 

 gluten of the bread. Teachings of such a kind are 

 of great importance to the nation as showing forth 

 the basis of economical feeding and as tending to 

 prevent the large amount of waste of food which, 

 it is to be feared, is too commonly represented in 

 our midst. 



