PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 



" W hat a Man Eats He Is." 



Edited byC. F. Lang worthy, Ph.D. 



Author of " On Citraconic, Itaconic and Mesaconic Acids," " Fish as Food," etc. 



FOOD OF THE JAPANESE. 



Professor Kintaro Oshima, of the Impe- 

 rial College, Sapporo, Japan, has spent 

 considerable time in this country studying 

 problems connected with food and diet, and 

 intends to continue this line of work in 

 his own country. Such investigations are 

 by no means unknown in Japan, and while 

 in the United States Professor Oshima 

 devoted a good deal of his time to collect- 

 ing and systematizing the results of Japan- 

 ese investigations for the use of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. 



The data collected represent the results 

 of investigations made by the army and 

 navy of Japan at the Government labora- 

 tories, and by investigators at the Japan- 

 ese universities. Most of the material was 

 in printed form, some of it being in Japan- 

 ese, some in German, and some in English 

 and French. The memoranda regarding 

 experiments made in the army and navy 

 were in manuscript. It would seem desir- 

 able to have the work printed in English 

 that it may reach a larger class of stu- 

 dents who are interested in this question. 



One of the most interesting portions of 

 the compilation, Mr. Oshima states, will 

 relate to the comparative nutritive value of 

 rice and barley. Many experiments have 

 been made in the Japanese army and navy, 

 especially to demonstrate which of these 2 

 foods would be the better ration for the 

 soldiers and sailors. 



Formerly rice was one of the principal 

 articles of food for the army and navy. 

 About 36 per cent of the marines of Japan 

 were afflicted with beri-beri, a disease 

 which is caused by a diet that is not well 

 balanced. It was found that there was not 

 a sufficient quantity of protein in the diet 

 of the soldiers and sailors for a proper 

 nourishment of the body. The question of 

 substituting barley for rice was then dis- 

 cussed and experiments were made. These 

 experiments showed that although barley 

 contained more protein, its nutritive value 

 as a food was not so great as that of rice. 

 A complete change in the rations for the 

 army and navy was then made. Meat and 

 fish were generally introduced into the diet 

 of the men and a substitution of bread for 

 part of the rice was made. With that 

 change in rations came a decided improve- 

 ment in the condition, the efficiency and 

 the health of the soldiers and sailors, and 

 beri-beri rapidly disappeared. 



An erroneous impression prevails, due 

 principally to the writings of those who are 

 superficially informed on the subject, that 

 the Japanese people subsist mainly on rice; 



indeed, that rice is about all they eat at all 

 their meals. This is radically wrong, ac- 

 cording to Professor Oshima, and at abso- 

 lute variance with the conditions as they 

 actually exist in that country, as well in- 

 formed persons should know. Travelers 

 through Japan fail to realize that the labor- 

 ing classes have their principal meal at 

 night, when their hard day's work is fin- 

 ished. They are then away from the ob- 

 servation of these travelers, who do not 

 see their meal. Vegetables form a large 

 part of Japanese diet, especially of those 

 who live in the rural districts, away from 

 the fresh fish districts. Meat is not used by 

 the lower classes a great deal, because of its 

 high price, in the first place, and because 

 it is almost impossible to get it at any 

 price, except in the cities. The different 

 preparations of beans are consumed in large 

 quantities. Fish is abundant and is eaten 

 in large quantities, its nutritive value being 

 about as great as that of meat. The quan- 

 tity of meat consumed in Japan yearly is 

 slowly increasing, but not at the rate that 

 it is increasing in European countries. Of 

 course, the quantity of meat eaten in Japan 

 does not compare at all with that consumed 

 in the United States. 



The Japanese use no ranges for cooking 

 purposes ; simply fireplaces. The adoption 

 of bread for a food would require a large 

 expenditure of money for the reconstruc- 

 tion of their fireplaces or kitchens, and that 

 is a financial outlay that the poorer classes 

 of the Japanese can not stand. The result 

 of all the investigations concerning the diet 

 of the Japanese seems to indicate that there 

 should be an increase in the quantity of 

 protein in the Japanese food. This can be 

 brought about by the use of more fish and 

 more beans by the working classes. The 

 rich people will use meat, but this more ex- 

 pensive food may or may not insure more 

 nutritive value than a plainer fare. The 

 tendency seems to be toward the too re- 

 stricted use of t foods rich in protein, but it 

 is hard to lay down a fixed rule for the best 

 form of diet for the different people of di- 

 verse classes and countries. 



NON-NUTEIENTS IN FOOD. 



It is interesting to consider some of the 

 differences in food materials as shown by 

 their chemical composition. All foods are 

 made up of the nutrients, protein, fat, car- 

 bohydrates and ash, in addition to water, 

 which is not a nutrient, though it is essen- 

 tial. 



Food, as we buy it in the market, or even 



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