26 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 342 



FOOD LEGENDS 



One of the best popular food articles of recent date published in Fortune, 48 

 May 1936, and later reviewed by Readers Digest should be read by everyone 

 interested in the subject. The author comments that: 



More food notions flourish in the United States than in any other 

 civilized country on earth, and most of them are wrong. They thrive in 

 the minds of the same people who talk about their operations; and like 

 all mythology, they are a blend of fear, coincidence, and advertising. 



Possibly some of your own pet theories are included among these food legend 

 gathered from hither and yon and briefly answered here. 



1. Q. Are celery and fish special brain or nerve foods? 



A. No! There is no such thing as a brain food. Even in starvation, 

 nerve tissue is the last to be deprived of necessary nourishment. 



2. 



2. Q. Is it dangerous to eat ice cream or milk and sea foods at the same 

 meal? 

 A. No! — provided the foods themselves are fresh and in good con- 

 dition. Spoiled sea food alone may cause serious indigestion. 



3. Q. Is it safe to eat acid fruits and milk at the same time? 



A. Yes! Milk is curdled as soon as it comes in contact with the acid 

 gastric juice anyway and the combination of fruit and milk forms 

 a more easily digested curd. 



4. Q. Are green fruits poisonous? 



A. No! They may be digested more slowly than ripe fruits but they 

 are not poisonous. 



5. Q. Are bananas indigestible? 



A. No! A ripe banana (yellow flecked with brown) is well digested 

 even by small children. 



6. Q. Do fruit seeds cause appendicitis? 



A. No! Some people may find that certain fruit seeds aggravate 

 constipation. 



7. Q. Is milk constipating! 



A. No! Milk is not constipating in itself . It is so completely digestible 

 that when it is the sole article of the diet, lack of bowel movement 

 may result from lack of roughage. When green vegetables, fruits, 

 and cereals are included in the diet in reasonable amounts, milk is 

 a most wholesome and valued food. 



8. Q. Are honey or brown sugar good sources of vitamins and minerals? 

 A. No! Honey and brown sugar carry certain harmless impurities 



which give flavor and color. The small amount of mineral in brown 

 sugar is relatively insignificant. There is no vitamin present in 

 either honey or brown sugar. 



9. Q. Are raw eggs more digestible than cooked eggs? 



A. No! Quite the opposite. Soft or hard cooked (not boiled) eggs 

 are more digestible than raw eggs. 



Fortune, May 1936, page 86. 



