FOOD HABITS WISE AND OTHERWISE 91 



and custard better for a person who is not feeling well 

 than coffee, boiled potatoes, fried meat, new bread, 

 and cake ? Because broth furnishes both stimulant 

 and nourishment, while coffee only stimulates. Baked 

 potatoes are more easily digested than boiled, and 

 broiled meat than fried meat. Toast is the form of 

 bread that is the easiest to digest, while new bread is 

 the most difficult. Custard, being composed largely 

 of eggs and milk, is both nutritious and easy to digest, 

 while pie and cakes are bulky and more difficult. 



In leaving the question of food as building material, 

 we must remember that the kind and quantity best for 

 our bodies depend upon both our state of health and 

 our occupation. One who is strong and vigorous will 

 properly digest more food than one who is delicate. 

 Neither is it necessary for a vigorous person to be as 

 particular about what and how he eats, though the 

 simpler his food and the better his mastication, the 

 longer will his fullest strength be retained. A person 

 leading an active out-of-door life requires more food 

 and digests food more readily than one whose work 

 is indoors. A person doing mental work indoors 

 naturally requires less food, and especially less hearty 

 food, than one doing physical work. 



The reason why so many brain workers suffer from 

 indigestion is because they eat sausage, fried meats, 

 pancakes, doughnuts, pie, and cakes, just as if they 

 were living an active, out-of-door life, in which their 

 bodies would need abundant heat and energy. If, 



