ADVANTAGE OF A MIXED DIET. 307 



proteid, which contains 15 per cent of nitrogen. Conse- 

 quently the 133 grams (204S grains) of proteid which 

 would be found in 532 grams (1 Ib. 3 oz.) of lean meat 

 would supply all the nitrogen needed to compensate for a 

 day's losses. But the proteid contains 52 per cent of 

 carbon, so the- amount of it in the above weight of fatless 

 meat would be 69 grams (1062 grams) of carbon, leaving 

 205 grams (3157 grains) to be got either from fats or car- 

 bohydrates. The necessary amount would be contained 

 in about 256 grams (3942 grains) of ordinary fats or 460 

 grams (7084 grams s of starch; hence either of these, with 

 the above quantity of lean meat, would form a far better 

 diet, both for the purse and the system, than the meat alone. 

 As already pointed out, nearly all common foods contain 

 several foodstuffs. Good butcher's meat, for example, 

 contains nearly half its dry weight of fat; and bread, besides 

 proteids, contains starch, fats^ and sugar. In none of them, 

 however, are the foodstuffs mixed in the physiologically 

 best proportions, and the practice of employing several of 

 them at each meal or different ones at different meals 

 during the day, is thus not only agreeable to the palate but 

 in a high degree advantageous to the Body. The strict 

 vegetarians who do not employ even such substances as 

 eggs, cheese, and milk, but confine themselves to a purely 

 vegetable diet (such as is always poor in proteids), daily take 

 far more carbon than they require, and are to be congratu- 

 lated on their excellent digestions which are able to stand 

 the strain. Those who use eggs, cheese, etc., can of course 

 get on very well, since such substances are extremely rich 

 in proteids, and supply the nitrogen needed without the 

 necessity of swallowing the vast bulk of food which must 

 be eaten in order +-o get it from plants directly. 



