CHAPTER IV
FOOD AND HEALTH
Meats.—Beef is the best of all meat for food. Nearly one fifth of it can be used to repair the worn-out parts of the body. Mutton, the meat of sheep, is almost as good for food as beef. Veal and pork also contain much body-building matter, but the stomach must work hard to prepare them for use.
Fish is an excellent food, but it has only little more than one half as much flesh-building matter as good beef. Poultry is a healthful food, especially for the weak and sick, but it is more expensive than the other meats. Oysters are largely made of water and do not contain much to strengthen the body.
In all meat there is some waste matter. This may harm the body if we eat too much meat. It is no longer thought healthful for most persons to eat meat more than once a day. Too much meat used daily for several years is likely to cause disease.
Fig. 12 —Each of these articles costs the same, but the bread will furnish four times as much food for the body as the cabbage, more than twice as much as the fish, and nearly twice as much as the milk.
The Cooking of Meat.—The best meat if poorly cooked is unfit for eating. Broiled and roasted meats are more healthful than boiled or fried meat. Meat is broiled by holding it in a wire frame over a flame or hot coals. It is roasted by placing it in a covered pan in a hot oven for two or three hours. It is boiled by keeping it in hot water several hours.
Meat is fried by cooking it in lard or other fat in a pan. Only those who have strong bodies should eat fried meat.
The cheap cuts of meat from the neck, breast, and legs have about as much food matter in them as the more costly parts. Such meat may be made more tender by boiling than by roasting.
Soup.—Soup, broth, and beef tea furnish but little food for the body. They are very useful in giving us a good appetite for the real food to be eaten later. They make the stomach go to work more quickly than other food. Soup or broth is made from meat by placing it on the stove in cold water, gradually heating it, and then keeping it hot several hours.
Fig. 13 —Either group of foods will give the body the same strength and nourishment for work and growth.
Vegetables.—Some persons never eat meat of any kind because they enjoy better health when using only vegetables, milk, and eggs. Peas and beans contain much matter for making new flesh and blood and also much starch to give heat and power to the body. Potatoes form a valuable food. Roasted potatoes are more healthful than those boiled or fried.
Fig. 14 —The amount of real food in these articles.
Radishes, onions, and cucumbers are made largely of water. Only a small amount of these should be eaten at one meal as the stomach must work hard to make use of them. Young beets, lettuce, and ripe tomatoes may be eaten by young and old. They contain useful minerals and help keep the body in a healthful condition.
The Cereals or Grain Foods.—These foods are eaten in the form of bread, oatmeal, corn meal, rice, and breakfast foods. All of these furnish much matter to strengthen the body and make it grow. Bread and butter with rice are excellent foods for children.
Fig. 15 —A bottle of beer. The dotted part at the top shows how much body-building food it contains.
Fruits.—Very few people can remain well long without eating fruit of some kind. Ripe apples, pears, plums, peaches, berries, and cherries furnish useful salts to the body and also help the stomach and food tube do their work in a more healthful way. Fruits also increase the appetite. Green fruit and fruit which is overripe should never be eaten.
Eggs.—Eggs form a good food for nearly everybody, but they are specially needed by the young and other persons with weak bodies. They can repair the worn-out parts of the body and also help it do its work.
Eggs are most healthful when eaten raw or soft cooked. The best way to cook them through evenly is to put them in a pan off the stove and add about a quart of boiling water for every three eggs. Cover and let them cook fifteen minutes.
Eggs should be kept in a cold room or cellar until used. They become stale in less than a week when left in a warm living room and may get a bad taste when only three or four days old.
Salt, Pepper, and Vinegar.—Eating much salt is harmful. A small quantity of salt and pepper increases the appetite and makes the stomach do its work better. Children should use very little pepper and almost no vinegar and mustard.
Tobacco.—Some people think tobacco is a food because it is made from the leaves of a plant. Other people think tobacco is a food because they do not feel hungry after smoking or chewing it. The truth is that tobacco is of no use to the body as a food and may do it much harm because of the poison it contains. Tobacco satisfies hunger somewhat by deadening the parts of the body that are calling for food.
Beer.—The people who make beer and sell it say that it is a food. Men who have no interest in selling beer, and have experimented with it to find out whether it strengthens the body, say that beer should never be used as a food. It often tends to weaken the body. Children should never use beer at any time, and older people can sometimes avoid disease by letting it alone.
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
1. Which are the best meats for food?
2. Why should we not eat meat at every meal?
3. How should meat be cooked to make it most tender?
4. How is soup or broth made?
5. Name the best vegetables for food.
6. Name some good grain foods.
7. Of what use are fruits?
8. What can you say of the use of eggs?
9. How should eggs be cared for?
10. What can you say of the use of salt and pepper?
11. Why does tobacco satisfy hunger?
12. Of what value is beer for food?