SUCCULENT EOOTS AND THEIR USE AS FOOD. 7 



In respect to final alkalinity, beets and carrots make the best 

 showing of the succulent roots and are superior to all our common 

 food materials except some of the green vegetables and fruits. Par- 

 snips and radishes outrank potatoes; while turnips, which stand 

 below potatoes, are yet higher than sweet potatoes.^ 



Though many vegetables are more economical sources of protein 

 and energy than is sometimes realized, they are probably of even 

 greater value for their ash constituents than for the carbohydrates 

 and other organic substances which they contain. 



Furthermore, in considering the food value of vegetables, as of 

 fruits, some of which are regarded merely as luxuries, one must not 

 overlook the fact that they possess an actual advantage in enabling 

 us to round out our dietary, as regards both bulk and palatability, 

 without making the protein or energy intake excessive or compelling 

 BS to restrict the consumption of foods already in use. It can be said 

 then, that a more liberal use of vegetables is to be encouraged ; and 

 if the cost of the diet must be strictly limited, it is often wise to re- 

 strict the use of some other food rather than this group. It should 

 not be forgotten, however, that the cheaper vegetables are fully as 

 valuable for the purposes mentioned as are the expensive and out- 

 of-season sorts. 



To sum up what has been said regarding the food value of the 

 succulent roots, tubers, and bulbs, they are much less important 

 food materials^ when considered from the standpoint of the protein, 

 fat, and carbohydrates which they supply, than are the concentrated 

 cereal foods or even the starchy roots and tubers. They are, how- 

 ever, very valuable in the diet for other reasons. They furnish some 

 nutritive material, and are appetizing and generally relished, and 

 their use often makes palatable an otherwise flavorless dish or meal. 

 Perhaps the most important function of these roots, etc., as indeed of 

 most of our common vegetables and fruits, is to supply the body with 

 mineral salts which are needed for the building and repair of tissue, 

 for the proper carrying out of the physiological functions, and 

 particularly, to insure the alkalinity of the tissues and fluids. 



Not many experiments have been made to test the digestibility of 

 this group of vegetables. What definite technical information there 

 is indicates that they are much like other vegetables and fruits in 

 this respect, being neither more nor less well assimilated than they 

 are. Thus it has been found in the case of beets that 72 per cent of 

 the protein, 97 per cent of the carbohydrates, and 90 per cent of the 

 total energy were utilized by the body. 



lU. S. Dept. AgT., OflSce Expt. Stas. Buls. 185 (1907); 227 ( «10). Chemistry of 

 Food and Nutrition. By H. C. Sherman. New York, 1911. Food Products. By H, C» 

 Sherman. New York, 1914. 



