| Lean beef. | Wheaten Bread. | |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 77 | 40 |
| Fibrin or gluten | 19 | 7 |
| Fat | 3 | 1 |
| Starch | 0 | 50 |
| Salt and other minerals | 1 | 2 |
| ———— | ———— | |
| 100 | 100 |
This shows that the main difference between beef and bread is that the meat contains no starch, and nearly three times as much of the muscle making fibrin as the proportion of gluten (which is similar in many respects) in wheaten bread.
The water, climate, season, age, habits, etc., all have to do with the choice of food we eat. Besides the quantity of nourishment contained in the food, there is also the question of the ease and completeness with which it can be digested and assimilated. It is not always fat eaters who are the fattest.
Milk.
Woman’s milk is considered the type of human food when the conditions approach that of the child, as the milk of the mother is the natural food of all young animals. Milk partakes of the nature of both animal and vegetable food. It contains:
| Human milk. | Cow’s milk. | |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 89-1/2 | 87 |
| Casein | 1-2/8 | 4 |
| Butter or milk fat | 2-1/4 | 3-1/2 |
| Sugar of milk | 6-1/8 | 4-3/4 |
| Salts or ash | 1/4 | 3/4 |
| ——————— | —————— | |
| 100 | 100 | |
These are average analyses. The casein is equivalent to the gluten of vegetables or the fibrin of meat, and the sugar to starch.
With these few general observations, let us pass on to consider in detail the Grocer’s Goods.