320 THE FOODS WE EAT 



The latest addition to the list of vitamins is vitamin G, 

 or PP y as it is sometimes called. This vitamin is found 

 in milk, yeast, lean meat, and some other foods and is 

 believed to prevent pellagra, which has been known in 

 many parts of the South, where people lived, during the 

 winter, on a restricted diet of corn meal, molasses, and 

 fat pork. 



The Value of Bulky or Coarse Foods. Vegetables have 

 another value besides that of giving a source of vitamins. 

 It has been found that roughage or coarse, fibrous, and 

 indigestible parts of foods may be of great value in stimu- 

 lating the lower part of the food tube to pass out the 

 wastes left there. Frequent movement of the bowels is 

 necessary for health, because the waste material kept in 

 the body passes off poisons, which cause us to lose our 

 "pep" and feel constantly tired and out of sorts. Such 

 bulky foods are (a) cereals from which the outer coat or 

 bran has not been removed ; (6) vegetables such as cab- 

 bage, lettuce, celery, onions, parsnips, turnips, and the 

 skin of potatoes ; (c) fruits such as apples, prunes, pears, 

 peaches, raisins, and all fruits in which you can eat the 

 skins. 



Values of Fruit in the Daily Diet. There are a good 

 many reasons why we should eat plenty of fresh fruit. 

 In the first place, fruits give us a much better source of 

 sugar than candy because one can satisfy the craving 

 for sweets without danger of overeating. They are good 

 sources of our essential mineral elements and they also 

 contain vitamins A, B, C, and G. We have already said 

 that they help prevent scurvy, and that certain fruits 

 help prevent an acid condition. Fruits also give flavor and 

 palatability to diets and have a laxative effect, thus aiding 

 in elimination of decayed material in the lower bowels. 

 Rather recently fruits have been found to help prevent 

 decay of the teeth. All of these reasons and more can be 



