116 THE BANANA 



Carbo- Mineral 

 Moisture Proteid Fat hydrates Matter 



Banana Flour . . 13-0 4-0 0-5 80-0 2-5 



Wheat Flour . . 13-8 7-9 1-4 76-4 0-5 



I have placed alongside of it the composition of good 

 wheat flour, compared with which the banana meal is rich 

 in carbohydrates and mineral matter, but very poor in 

 proteid. If rice, on the other hand, had been taken for 

 comparison, it would have been found that banana flour 

 was about equal to it in nutritious value." 



The Lancet * says : " For some reason not yet explained, 

 the starch of the banana is much more digestible than are 

 the cereal starches, besides which the fruit contains a 

 notable proportion of nitrogenous material." 



At the meeting of the British Medical Association in 

 July 1910, Dr. Eric Pritchardf recommended the use of 

 banana flour in infant feeding. He stated it was cheap and 

 wholesome, rendered the milk more digestible, and pos- 

 sessed a high nutritive value. He has for many years 

 recommended the addition of mashed banana to the milk 

 mixtures with which babies are fed when the natural 

 source is unavailable. As the result of further experiments, 

 he proposes the substitution of banana flour, made into a 

 gruel or decoction, for the more expensive proprietary 

 infant foods. It is of great importance that infants should 

 be trained early to digest cows' milk. This cannot be 

 done by giving them artificial substitutes which are pre- 

 digested. The use of cereal decoctions and solution of 

 gum or gelatine undoubtedly makes the digestion of cows' 

 milk easier, and Dr. Pritchard finds that a decoction of 

 banana gruel has many points of recommendation. It can 

 be made in a few minutes by rubbing up a heaped table- 

 spoonful (1 oz.) of banana flour with a pint of water, and 

 then boiling for five minutes. A gruel made in this way 

 has excellent colloidal properties when added to milk in 

 equal quantity ; it thickens the milk and prevents forma - 



* The Lancet, February 1900. 



f Brit. Med. Jovrn., Oct. 15, 1910. 



