[Vegetables]
The first wealth is health.—Emerson.
Vegetarians suffer little from thirst.—Hygienic Review.
Let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.—Daniel.
Sir Isaac Newton, when writing his great work, “Principia,” lived wholly upon a vegetable diet.
Body and mind are much influenced by the kind of food habitually depended upon.—O. W. Holmes.
While not furnishing the most nutritious diet, vegetables contain many nutritive elements in moderate degree, are rich in mineral substances, and being composed largely of water, perfectly supply many of the needs of the human system. Such vegetables, however, as peas, beans, and lentils, properly termed legumes, are highly nutritious. They are commonly understood to be of the nature of the “pulse” upon which Daniel the prophet subsisted in preference to the king’s meat. While an exclusive diet of ordinary vegetables might fail to give sufficient nourishment to meet the demands of the entire system, their use is valuable in furnishing it with a large quantity of organic fluids, and in giving bulk to the food. It is best to combine their use with other foods, such as grains, which supply the qualities lacking in the vegetables.