86 



nisc.()Vi:uY 



It may be accepted as a general statement that fresh 

 animal and vegetable food, before treatment of any 

 kind — but including butter and whole-milk cheese — 

 usually contains the fat-soluble A and water-soluble B 

 factors, while the antiscorbutic factor is not quite so 

 generally or abundantly present, except in the juice of 

 many kinds of fresh fruit and in cabbage. Potatoes 

 form one of the cheapest and most practical sources 

 of vitamines. 



In the present stage of the theory very many more 

 or less conflicting opinions have been expressed re- 

 specting vitamines and their susceptibility to change 

 or destruction under varying conditions, so that it is 

 probably unwise to generalise. It may, however, be 

 safely inferred from the table of results that fresh food 

 in its natural condition is more conducive to growth 

 and health than the manufactured and ofttimes 

 sophisticated article, however palatable it may be. 

 Further, that excessive cooking is prejudicial to the 

 vitamine-content of the food, since vitamines are some- 

 what readily destroyed at temperatures above ioo° C, 

 especially in alkaline reactions. It also appears from 

 experiments that free oxidation during heating is 

 conducive to their destruction. They are more stable 

 in acid mediums, hence the value of lemon juice, 

 oranges, and many other fruits. 



It would appear as though nature had furnished 

 human beings with an appetite instinctive for food 

 containing the full complement of vitamines, and that 

 civilisation has been doing her best to eradicate that 

 instinct, to the detriment of the human race. And if 

 instinct, operating through the taste, means anything 

 in respect of food, it surely should be considered, in 

 the natural and healthy individual, as prompting a 

 selective action for those kinds which contain the 

 special factors provided by nature for growth and 

 health. 



Moreover, the theor}- confirms certain prevalent 

 dietetic principles. It does not depose cod-liver oil. 

 fresh fruit, green vegetables, milk, or fresh meat. It 

 certainly advocates less highly cooked food, and in that 

 respect it is supported by dentists, who refer the 

 modern inferiority of teeth to their diminished use on 

 account of the highly cooked — and therefore softer — 

 condition of present-day food. 



In one direction it does certainly advocate a com- 

 plete revolution, and that is in the case of cereals. It 

 is not the first time that wholemeal bread has been 

 advocated, but what was little more than a predilection 

 before is now supported by a well-founded theory. 



A short description of the various parts of a grain of 

 wheat may perhaps scr\'e to remove the odium attach- 

 ing to wholemeal flour and bread created by the 

 unfortunate use of the word " offal " in connection 

 with those portions of the wheat rejected during 



milling. At the same time, it may afford some insight 

 into the structure of cereals generally. 



-P 



I-IG. I.— LONGITUDIN.U, SECTION THROUGH A WHEAT GRAIN. 

 FOR SUtPLICITY, THE CRE.-VSE IS NOT IN-DIC.\TED. 



Ep-( .^oBnr 



m- 



En- 



T 



N 





mwB&m 



I-IC. J.— CROSSSECTIOX TIIROIGH THE BR.\XNY ENVELOPE 

 AND OUTER PORTION OF THE ENDOSPERM OF THE GRAIN 

 JL^GNIFIED ABOUT l6o TIMES. 



The references for both figures are : 



p. Pericarp forming with (t) the testa and (n) the 

 nucellus the branny envelope of the grain, and com- 

 prising : 



ep. lipicarp ; m. Mcsocarp ; en. Endocarp. 



N. Nucellus. 



T. Testa. 



E. Endosperm, comprising : 



a. Aleurone cells ; p. Parench^nnatous cells. 



G. Germ or embryo. 



