Food should be solid. The digestive juices are fluids, and an excess of liquid, with the food, tends to dilute these gastric juices, and consequently to interfere with their converting action. If fluids be drunk with any meal they will dilute the power of concentrated action of the gastric juice, and other digestive juices; and will, further, have a tendency to wash the food through the stomach into the intestines before it has undergone proper stomach-digestion. Water, therefore, should not be drunk at meals, but shortly before, or an hour or so afterwards. In this way the requisite amount of fluid is supplied to the system, without interfering with digestion in the manner indicated.
Another result of drinking at meals is to prevent thorough mastication of the foods. When these are dry, they should be thoroughly insalivated before being swallowed, for any liquid taken at the time softens these foods artificially, and will also cause more food to be eaten than would be the case, were it eaten dry.
Dr Latson, in his “Food Value of Meat,” says:
“Fresh fruits all combine well with one another. As a rule fruits, fresh or cooked, combine well with bread or cooked cereals, and with nuts or nuts foods. Fruits do not, as a rule, combine well with cooked vegetables, nor with meat, eggs, cheese, milk, or cream. Milk and cream are so liable to decomposition that, if only for that reason, they are not desirable foods. Milk or cream with cereals, fruit, sugar, or cooked vegetables is apt to cause difficulty.... In arranging meals in which flesh-meat is not to be included, it is only necessary to remember that the nuts and the legumes (peas, beans and lentils) contain the same food elements as flesh-meat, and may always be eaten in its place with advantage.... The best breakfast is one that consists of fresh ripe fruit, and nothing else. To this may be added, if desired, whole-wheat bread, or some cereal. The cereal may be served with fruit juice.”
The following are a few sample meals arranged, according to merit—only those foods being taken which will combine well together.
Breakfast No. 1.—Raw fruit, cereal with fruit juice, whole-wheat bread.
Breakfast No. 2.—Stewed apples, whole-wheat bread.
Breakfast No. 3.—Cereal with fruit juice, soft boiled eggs, whole-wheat bread.
The following are one or two sample luncheons:—
Luncheon No. 1.—Stewed fruit, nuts or nut-butter, whole-wheat bread.