412 New 1 oek at the World's Columbian Exposition. 



The five food principles are water, salts, proteids, fats and carbo- 

 hydrates. In a ration in which the three last principles are in proper 

 proportions the two first will generally take care of themselves. The 

 proteids are those constituents of our food which are composed chem- 

 ically of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, sulphur and phospho_rus._ They 

 occur in white of egg, lean of meat, and in smaller quantities in gram 

 and vegetables. They make new tissues, muscles, tendons, etc. The 

 fats contain no nitrogen, being complex compounds of carbon, hydro- 

 gen and oxygen. They are found in fat meats, butter, milk, etc. They 

 form the fa'tty tissues. The carbohydrates, which are found chiefly 

 as starch and sugar, occur most abundantly in grains and vegetables. 

 They can be transformed into fat, but their principal use is as fuel, for 

 which purpose all three can serve and thus yield energy in the form of 

 heat and muscular strength. 



The term calorie has been adopted as the unit, not only of heat in 

 general physics, but also in the study of foods. So used, it is the unit 

 of heat or energy producing power of our food. It is equal to the 

 amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one kilogram of 

 water one degree centigrade. 



Yoit's daily standard for the German laborer is : 



Man at hard work. — Proteids, 145 grams ; fats, 100 grams ; carbo- 

 hydrates, 450 grams ; calories, 3,370. 



Man at moderate work. — Proteids, 118 grams; fats, 56 grams; car- 

 bohydrates, 500 grams ; calories, 3,055. 



Prof. Wm. 0. Atwater's standard, modified for the American 

 laborer, is : 



Man at hard work. — Proteids, 150 grams ; fats, 150 grams ; carbo- 

 hydrates, 500 grams ; calories, 4,060. 



Man at moderate work. — Proteids, 125 grams ; fats, 125 grams ; car- 

 bohydrates, 450 grams ; calories, 3,520. 



The American laborer demands and habitually consumes more food 

 than the European working man, the excess being largely fat. 



It is believed that one cannot, for any length of time, fall below 

 these standards and still be sufficiently well nourished to do efficient 

 work. It is also believed that any great constant variation in the rela- 

 tive proportions of the food principles used, will, in the end, prove 

 disastrous to health, taking into consideration what is now known and 

 practiced in the art of preparing food. There is very little to be gained 

 by telling the average woman, poor or otherwise, " You must feed your 

 family daily so many gra'bis of proteids, etc., if you wish them to be 

 well nourished." More information and different must be given if the 

 masses are to profit by studies already made.* 



Konig and others furnish us tables in which are given the analyses of 

 almost every article of food in common use, showing the relative pro- 

 portions of the food principles in the raw material. With the aid of 

 the American standard and these tables, it is not difficult to construct 



* To spread this information lias been the work of such investigators, lecturers 

 and writers as Prof. Wm. O. Atwater, Mrs. Ellen H. Richards and Mrs. Mary Hinn- 

 man Ahel, and such also is the object of the New England kitchens and of such 

 educational institutions as the Pratt and the Drexel institutes, where domestic science 

 and economics is an important course. 



