130 A STUDY OF FOODS AND DIETARIES 



The agreement or disagreement of food with an individual is 

 largely a personal matter. Jack Spratt, for example, cannot eat 

 raw tomatoes without suffering from indigestion, while Mrs. Spratt 

 can digest tomatoes but not strawberries. Each individual should 

 learn early in life the foods that disagree with him and leave such 

 foods out of his dietary. For " what is one man's meat may be 

 another man's poison." 



The Relation of Appetite to Diet. — Every one likes some things 

 to eat better than others. It is certain that foods which are en- 

 joyed cause a flow of digestive juices, not only in the mouth but 

 also in the stomach. The sight, odor, and taste of food we Uke 

 actually aids in digestion. '' Digestion waits on appetite." If we 

 use common sense in the selection of foods, taking care to avoid 

 foods that we cannot easily digest, we shall find that the appetite 

 is often a guide in the selection of foods. 



The Relation of Cost of Food to Diet. — It is a mistaken notion 

 that the best foods are always the most expensive. A study of 

 the tables on pages 125 and 122 will show us that fuel and tissue- 

 building materials as well as vitamins are present in foods from 

 vegetable sources, as well as in those from animal sources; and 

 the vegetable foods are usually cheaper. The American people 

 are far less economical in their purchase of food than most other 

 nations. A comparison of the daily diets of persons in various 

 occupations in this and other countries shows that as a rule we eat 

 more than is necessary to supply materials for fuel and repair. 

 Another waste of money by Americans is in the false notion that 

 a large proportion of the daily dietary should be meat. Many 

 people thiak that the most expensive cuts of meat are the most 

 nutritious. The falsity of this idea may be seen by a careful 

 study of the table on page 131. 



The Nutritive Ratio. — Inasmuch as all living substance con- 

 tains nitrogen, it is evident that protein food must form a part of 

 the dietary ; but protein alone is not a safe choice. If more pro- 

 tein is eaten than the body requires, then immediately the liver 

 and kidneys have to work overtime to get rid of the excess of 

 protein which forms a poisonous waste harmful to the body. We 

 must take foods that will give us, as nearly as possible, the propor- 

 tion of the different chemical elements as they are contained in 



