Some intelligence in selection, however, is necessary. There are a few articles of food that it would always be well to avoid. For instance, nearly all white-flour products are to be condemned. This means not only bread but biscuits, cakes, crackers, and pastries made of white flour. Unquestionably, if one is using meat freely, white-flour products are not nearly so harmful as when taken with a vegetarian diet. The meat supplies some of the deficiencies, though not all. At one time I had an experiment made which proved in a striking manner the defective character of white flour as a food. The subject tested the results of a fast of two weeks. He weighed himself before and after the fast and several times during its progress. He accurately determined his strength at all times, before, during, and at the completion of the fast. A considerable time thereafter he experimented with a diet of white-flour products for the same period of two weeks, eating white flour as commonly prepared, in the form of bread, cakes, etc. The result showed that he lost more weight and more strength while following the white-flour regimen than he had while fasting absolutely. This would seem to indicate that, in this case, at least, white-flour products were not a food, but a slow- acting poison.
Among foods especially valuable I would call attention to green salads. If possible one should eat some food of this kind each day, more especially during warm weather. They are of great value as blood purifiers and they supply to a very large extent the mineral salts. Various combinations can be used in the form of salads, and the most satisfactory dressing is probably a combination of olive oil and lemon juice. I do not recommend vinegar partly because it is seldom pure, and one never can tell what combination of chemicals it contains. Lemon juice is preferable even to the best vinegar for the purpose of salad dressing. Celery, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, water-cress, parsley, cucumbers, and other foods of this character are suitable for salad purposes. Spinach, dandelion leaves, and other greens can be recommended in their cooked form, and it is unnecessary to add that virtually all cooked vegetables are of value.
Fruits of all kinds can be recommended for the same reasons that make the green salads so useful to the body. They are of the very greatest value where there is any tendency toward biliousness. In many cases of this kind where it is undesirable to undertake an absolute fast as a means of setting the stomach right and where there is a lack of appetite, a fruit fast can be highly recommended. This is simply an exclusive diet of fresh acid fruits, such as oranges, grapefruit, grapes, cherries, apples and other fresh fruits in season. It is especially important to know in such a case that these fruits should be eaten in their strictly natural condition, properly ripened and without the addition of sugar. As a general thing a sufficient allowance of fruit and green salads will so balance the diet that one is not likely to have any trouble even if he eats heartily of the foods served at the ordinary table.
It would be well also to remember that acid fruits have valuable antiseptic (cleansing) qualities. They keep the mouth and teeth as well as the alimentary canal in a wholesome state. In fact the frequent use of acid fruit, more especially the orange, is of great value in counteracting the effects of digestive difficulties on the mouth and teeth. If a small piece of orange is taken whenever there is an unpleasant taste in the mouth it will destroy the germ life that is being rapidly propagated under such circumstances, though such symptoms indicate also the need of acid fruit of some sort by the stomach. Especially is this required if there is a craving for fruit of this sort. In such cases the rule against eating between meals may be disregarded. Whenever you have a strong desire for acid fruits between meals you are usually safe in using them. In fact they are often sorely needed under such circumstances to assist in digesting a meal that may have been eaten some hours previously. Indigestion which leaves the mouth with a foul, unpleasant taste is often noticed on awakening at night after a hearty meal the evening before. On such occasions a few swallows of water, or whatever is needed to satisfy thirst, and a small quantity of acid fruit, like the orange, are of great value. They should be well mixed and moved about in the mouth until the acid comes in contact with every part of the mouth and teeth.
When there is the slightest sign of digestive difficulties I would advise that each meal be completed with a small quantity of fruit. If you stop your meal at a time when you can enjoy the taste of acid fruit it is usually a definite proof that you have not overeaten.
Remember too that the orange, lemon and any fruit with a strong acid flavor is a splendid tooth or mouth wash, and it need not be ejected as an ordinary wash. It can be enjoyed and swallowed after mouth and teeth have been cleansed. Therefore the frequent use of oranges as a dentifrice is a habit of great value. Use them on retiring and on rising and the results will be unusually pleasing.
What foods can be used as substitutes for meat? This is a question that assumes considerable importance to those desirous of testing the vegetarian diet. I may say that almost any food that is wholesome and hearty in character and which is craved by your appetite will make a satisfactory meat substitute. Those containing a large percentage of protein are particularly desirable for this purpose. The following list will give one a general idea as to the nature of these foods: Cereals of all kinds, either in the whole grain or in the form of flaked grain, contain a fair percentage of protein and may be recommended for the purpose, although refined flour or polished grains are of no value in this way. Bread made from the whole wheat or any of the whole grains may be recommended. The "war bread" used in Europe since the outbreak of the great war is of this type. The pumpernickel and "black breads" used in various parts of Europe are so valuable from a nutritive standpoint that one can live on them entirely. Many of the farming and peasant classes of Europe live almost exclusively on breads of this type. Nearly all the prepared foods ordinarily referred to as breakfast foods, and which are made up of whole grains of wheat, corn, oats or barley would come under this class. No breakfast food made of only a part of the wheat would be recommended for this purpose.
All kinds of beans are splendid meat substitutes, including navy beans, lima beans and kidney beans. They are what one may call hearty foods and as a rule one should lead a fairly active life to enjoy and digest them satisfactorily. The same may be said of dried peas. Lentils belong in the same class and are very similar to the bean in its nourishing elements. Beans, peas and lentils form a class known as the legumes, and contain a high percentage of protein.
Nuts of all kinds make splendid meat substitutes, though they may sometimes be found rich for a weak stomach. They need to be used in small quantities and should be eaten only at meal-time. Peanuts really belong to the legume family, but are quite as good as any kind of nuts. The only mistake in their use lies in the habit of eating them between meals. Peanut butter and nut butters are of value. When nuts are easily digested they are satisfactory in every way.
Perhaps the most popular meat substitute is the egg. Do not, however, entertain the idea that you are not eating any meat products when eggs are included in your diet. Eggs must be classed as animal food, but they are very nourishing. They contain a good supply of lime, sulphur, iron, phosphorus and other mineral salts in addition to their protein and fats. It may also be said that milk should be classed as animal food, though it is of special value from a nutritive standpoint. Milk, cheese and other milk products naturally make good substitutes for meat. Butter is a practically pure fat and will not take the place of meat in supplying protein, although it will take the place of the fatty portions of the meat. Cheese is often appropriately placed at the last part of the meal, and the statement that it will to a certain extent help to digest a hearty meal if but a small quantity is taken has been proven accurate in numerous cases.