| Composition of Food Products | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PER CENT. | |||||
| I | II | III | IV | V | |
| Water | Protein (Albumen) | Fat | Carbo- Hydrates (Sugar, Starch) | Mineral Matter | |
| Human Milk | 87.02 | 2.36 | 3.94 | 6.23 | 0.45 |
| Cow’s Milk | 87.20 | 3.55 | 3.70 | 4.88 | 0.71 |
| Meat (Average) | 72.00 | 20.00 | 5.00 | 0.40 | 1.10 |
| Blood of the Ox | 80.80 | 18.10 | 0.20 | 0.03 | 0.85 |
| Eggs | 73.70 | 12.55 | 12.10 | 0.55 | 1.10 |
| Seafish | 81.00 | 17.10 | 0.34 | — | 1.60 |
| Fruits. | |||||
| Apples | 84.80 | 0.40 | — | 13.00 | 0.50 |
| Strawberries | 87.70 | 0.50 | — | 7.70 | 0.80 |
| Gooseberries | 85.70 | 0.50 | — | 8.40 | 0.40 |
| Prunes | 81.20 | 0.80 | — | 11.05 | 0.71 |
| Peaches | 83.00 | 0.40 | — | 11.80 | 0.30 |
| Blueberries | 78.40 | 0.80 | — | 5.90 | 1.00 |
| Cherries | 79.80 | 0.70 | — | 12.00 | 0.70 |
| Grapes | 78.20 | 0.60 | — | 16.30 | 0.50 |
| German Prunes | 84.90 | 0.40 | — | 8.20 | 0.66 |
| Dried Figs | 31.20 | 1.34 | 1.45 | 65.90 | 2.86 |
| Olives | 30.07 | 5.24 | 51.90 | — | 2.34 |
| Nuts. | |||||
| Walnuts | 4.70 | 16.40 | 62.90 | 7.90 | 2.03 |
| Chestnuts, Dried | 7.30 | 10.80 | 2.90 | 73.80 | 3.00 |
| Almonds | 6.00 | 23.50 | 53.00 | 7.80 | 3.10 |
| Cocoanuts | 46.60 | 5.50 | 35.90 | 8.10 | 1.00 |
| Beechnuts | 9.09 | 21.70 | 42.50 | 19.20 | 3.86 |
| Vegetables. | |||||
| Spinach | 88.50 | 3.50 | 0.60 | 4.44 | 2.10 |
| Savoy-Cabbage | 87.10 | 3.30 | 0.70 | 6.00 | 1.64 |
| Red-Cabbage | 90.06 | 1.83 | 0.20 | 5.86 | 0.77 |
| Onions | 76.00 | 1.70 | 0.10 | 10.80 | 0.70 |
| Carrots | 87.05 | 1.00 | 0.20 | 9.40 | 0.90 |
| Horse Radish | 76.70 | 2.70 | 0.35 | 16.00 | 1.50 |
| Asparagus | 93.75 | 1.80 | 0.25 | 2.60 | 0.54 |
| Radishes | 93.30 | 1.20 | 0.15 | 3.80 | 0.74 |
| Cauliflower | 90.90 | 2.50 | 0.30 | 4.55 | 0.83 |
| Cucumbers | 95.60 | 1.20 | 0.10 | 2.30 | 0.44 |
| Lettuce | 94.30 | 1.40 | 0.30 | 2.20 | 1.03 |
| Potatoes | 75.09 | 2.08 | 0.15 | 21.00 | 1.10 |
| Legumes & Cereals. | |||||
| Lentils | 12.35 | 25.70 | 1.90 | 53.30 | 3.04 |
| Peas | 15.00 | 22.85 | 1.80 | 52.40 | 2.58 |
| Beans | 14.76 | 24.30 | 1.60 | 49.00 | 3.26 |
| Whole Wheat | 13.40 | 13.60 | 1.90 | 69.10 | 2.00 |
| Superfine Flour | 12.60 | 10.20 | 0.90 | 74.70 | 0.50 |
| Rye | 15.06 | 11.50 | 1.80 | 67.80 | 1.81 |
| Barley | 13.80 | 11.10 | 2.20 | 64.90 | 2.70 |
| Oats | 12.40 | 10.40 | 5.20 | 57.80 | 3.02 |
| Corn | 13.10 | 9.85 | 4.60 | 68.50 | 1.51 |
| Key to Mineral Matter | |||||
| K | Potassium | P | Phosphorous | S | Sulphur |
| Na | Sodium | Mg | Magnesium | Si | Silicon |
| Ca | Calcium | Fe | Iron | Cl | Chlorine |
| Composition of Mineral Matter | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS GIVEN IN THE 5th COLUMN, | |||||||||
| PER CENT. | |||||||||
| K | Na | Ca | Mg | Fe | P | S | Si | Cl | |
| (K2O) | (Na2O) | (CaO) | (MgO) | (Fe2O3) | (P2O5) | (SO3) | (SiO2) | (Cl) | |
| Human Milk | 33.80 | 9.12 | 16.70 | 2.16 | 0.22 | 22.66 | 0.95 | 0.02 | 18.38 |
| Cow’s Milk | 24.67 | 9.70 | 22.05 | 3.05 | 0.55 | 28.45 | 0.30 | 0.04 | 14.28 |
| Meat (Average) | 41.30 | 3.60 | 2.80 | 3.21 | 0.70 | 42.50 | 1.60 | 1.10 | 3.85 |
| Blood of the Ox | 7.60 | 45.00 | 1.10 | 0.60 | 9.40 | 5.25 | 3.05 | 0.8 | 34.40 |
| Eggs | 17.40 | 22.90 | 10.90 | 1.10 | 0.40 | 37.60 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 9.00 |
| Seafish | 21.80 | 14.90 | 15.20 | 3.90 | — | 38.16 | — | — | 11.40 |
| Fruits. | |||||||||
| Apples | 35.70 | 26.10 | 4.10 | 8.75 | 1.40 | 13.70 | 6.10 | 4.30 | — |
| Strawberries | 21.10 | 28.50 | 14.20 | — | 5.90 | 13.80 | 3.15 | 12.05 | 1.70 |
| Gooseberries | 38.65 | 9.90 | 12.20 | 5.85 | 4.56 | 19.70 | 5.90 | 2.60 | 0.75 |
| Prunes | 48.50 | 9.05 | 11.50 | 3.60 | 2.50 | 16.00 | 3.20 | 3.15 | 0.40 |
| Peaches | 54.70 | 8.50 | 8.00 | 5.20 | 1.00 | 15.20 | 5.70 | 1.50 | — |
| Blueberries | 57.10 | 5.16 | 8.00 | 6.10 | 1.10 | 17.40 | 3.10 | 0.90 | — |
| Cherries | 51.85 | 2.20 | 7.50 | 5.50 | 2.00 | 16.00 | 5.10 | 9.00 | 1.35 |
| Grapes | 56.20 | 1.40 | 10.80 | 4.20 | 0.40 | 15.60 | 5.60 | 2.75 | 1.52 |
| German Prunes | 59.20 | 0.50 | 10.00 | 5.50 | 3.20 | 15.10 | 3.70 | 2.40 | — |
| Dried Figs | 28.36 | 26.27 | 18.91 | 9.21 | 1.46 | 1.30 | 6.75 | 5.93 | 2.70 |
| Olives | 80.90 | 7.53 | 7.46 | 0.18 | 0.92 | 1.33 | 1.05 | 0.65 | 0.18 |
| Nuts. | |||||||||
| Walnuts | 31.10 | 2.25 | 8.60 | 13.00 | 1.32 | 43.70 | — | — | — |
| Chestnuts, Dried | 56.70 | 7.12 | 3.87 | 7.47 | 0.14 | 18.10 | 3.80 | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Almonds | 28.00 | 0.20 | 8.80 | 17.66 | 0.50 | 43.60 | 0.37 | — | — |
| Cocoanuts | 43.90 | 8.40 | 4.60 | 9.40 | — | 17.00 | 5.09 | 0.50 | 13.40 |
| Beechnuts | 17.15 | 5.20 | 18.40 | 14.15 | 1.00 | 30.50 | 2.45 | 2.70 | 2.44 |
| Vegetables. | |||||||||
| Spinach | 16.60 | 35.30 | 11.90 | 6.40 | 3.35 | 10.25 | 6.90 | 4.50 | 6.30 |
| Savoy-Cabbage | 27.50 | 10.20 | 21.40 | 3.60 | 1.70 | 14.75 | 8.20 | 4.78 | 7.90 |
| Red-Cabbage | 22.10 | 12.10 | 27.90 | 4.44 | 0.10 | 3.90 | 15.30 | 0.50 | 13.65 |
| Onions | 34.00 | 2.50 | 22.90 | 4.65 | 2.30 | 17.35 | 5.68 | 8.50 | 2.40 |
| Carrots | 36.90 | 21.20 | 11.30 | 4.40 | 1.00 | 12.80 | 36.45 | 2.40 | 4.60 |
| Horse Radish | 30.76 | 4.00 | 8.20 | 2.90 | 1.94 | 7.70 | 30.80 | 12.70 | 0.90 |
| Asparagus | 24.00 | 17.10 | 10.85 | 4.30 | 3.40 | 18.60 | 6.20 | 10.10 | 5.90 |
| Radishes | 32.00 | 21.15 | 14.00 | 3.10 | 2.80 | 10.90 | 6.50 | 0.90 | 9.15 |
| Cauliflower | 44.36 | 5.90 | 5.60 | 3.70 | 1.00 | 20.20 | 13.00 | 3.70 | 3.40 |
| Cucumbers | 41.20 | 10.00 | 7.30 | 4.15 | 1.40 | 20.00 | 6.90 | 8.00 | 6.60 |
| Lettuce | 37.60 | 7.50 | 14.70 | 6.20 | 5.20 | 9.20 | 3.80 | 8.10 | 7.65 |
| Potatoes | 60.01 | 3.00 | 2.60 | 4.93 | 1.10 | 16.90 | 6.53 | 2.00 | 3.50 |
| Legumes & Cereals. | |||||||||
| Lentils | 34.80 | 13.50 | 6.30 | 2.50 | 2.00 | 36.30 | — | — | 4.63 |
| Peas | 43.10 | 1.00 | 4.80 | 8.00 | 0.80 | 35.90 | 3.40 | 0.90 | 1.60 |
| Beans | 41.50 | 1.10 | 5.00 | 7.15 | 0.50 | 38.90 | 3.40 | 0.65 | 1.80 |
| Whole Wheat | 31.20 | 2.10 | 3.25 | 12.10 | 1.30 | 47.20 | 0.40 | 2.00 | 0.30 |
| Superfine Flour | 34.40 | 0.80 | 7.50 | 7.70 | 0.60 | 49.40 | — | — | — |
| Rye | 32.10 | 1.50 | 2.90 | 11.22 | 1.20 | 47.70 | 1.30 | 1.40 | 0.50 |
| Barley | 16.30 | 4.10 | 0.70 | 12.50 | 1.70 | 32.80 | 3.00 | 28.70 | — |
| Oats | 17.90 | 1.70 | 3.60 | 7.10 | 1.20 | 25.60 | 1.80 | 39.20 | 0.90 |
| Corn | 29.80 | 1.10 | 2.20 | 15.50 | 0.80 | 45.60 | 0.80 | 2.10 | 1.90 |
| Rice, Unpolished | 25.00 | 4.20 | 3.70 | 11.10 | 1.40 | 53.76 | 0.50 | 2.60 | 0.10 |
It is evident that, making all allowances for a smaller total ash percentage, these articles of diet contain a far greater percentage of iron than does meat, and the same is true of practically all other salts, as can be seen by referring to the tables. It is evident, therefore, that other food-stuffs, and particularly fruits, will supply us with more mineral matter than will the best of meats, and are to be preferred in consequence.
It will not be necessary for us to compare the columns headed “Refuse” and “Water,” since these are practically the same in all food-stuffs, on the average, and they do not effect, appreciably, the food-value of any article of diet.
There remains only one valid objection to my argument, and that is based upon the supposed fact that a larger percentage of animal proteid is appropriated by the system than is the case in vegetable foods. That is, given a certain quantity of animal and vegetable foods, both containing an equal amount of proteid, more will be appropriated from the animal than from the vegetable food-stuffs. A great many writers, such as Miss Leppel, in England, have taken this ground. But I would point out, first of all, that, even if it were true, it would not invalidate the argument in the least, for the reason that a far larger percentage of proteid is contained in a smaller amount of non-flesh food, such as nuts; and for that reason it would be easy enough to supply the system with the same amount of proteid from an equal, or even a lesser, bulk of food—even granting the validity of the argument. But I dispute the fact itself. Professor Russell H. Chittenden, of Yale University, one of the most famous physiologists in America, and director of the Sheffield Scientific School, writes in his “Nutrition of Man” as follows:—
“In the digestion of proteid food-stuffs by the combined action of gastric and pancreatic juice in the alimentary tract, a large proportion of the proteid is destined to undergo complete conversion into amino-acids; and, from these fragments, the body, by a process of synthesis, can construct its own peculiar type of proteid. This latter suggestion is worthy of a moment’s further consideration; as is well known, every species of animal has its own peculiar type of proteid, adapted to its particular needs. The proteids of one species directly injected into the blood of another species are incapable of serving as nutriment to the body, and frequently act as poison.... The availability or digestibility of food can be determined only by physiological experiment. By making a comparison, for a definite period of time, of the amount of the different food ingredients, and the amount that passes unchanged through the intestines, an estimate of its digestibility can be made.... In a general way it may be stated that with animal foods, such as meats, eggs, and milk, about 97 per cent. of the contained proteid is digested, and thereby rendered available to the body. With ordinary vegetables, on the other hand, as they are usually prepared for consumption, only about 85 per cent. of the proteid is made available. With a mixed diet, with a variable admixture of animal and vegetable foods, it is usually considered that about 92 per cent. of the proteid contained therein will undergo digestion.”