The quantity of food eaten has so little relation to strength and weight that we see men eating ravenously and at the same time wasting to skeletons, and growing weaker and weaker; and we have strong men living on a spare and simple diet and increasing in weight. Indeed, we see many patients increase in health and strength during a fast of many days, when no food at all is eaten! The truth is, that the amount of food said to be eaten by navvies and other strong men is not the cause of their strength, but it is their strength which enables them to digest and dispose of such quantities of food. Weak men would break down under the strain. And indeed both weak and strong men do, when the resistance of the body is lowered by disease.
To economise life, which is the great secret of health, we must find just the quantity of food we require—that which will supply (indirectly) the force we need, and will not uselessly take from what we have. Of course, we must keep within the limits of our digestive power; but we must do better than that. A man may be able to digest and dispose of three times as much food as he really requires. One ounce more than he requires is a waste of force, a waste of life. We waste life in eating more food than we need, in digesting it, and then in getting rid of it. Here is a triple waste. “We have other work to do in this world than eating unnecessary food, and spending our strength for nought.”
In an excellent little book entitled “The Stomach and its Difficulties,” by Sir James Eyre, M.D., there is to be found some very good advice on this question of diet, and particularly the quantity of food that man requires. Speaking of this, Sir James says:
“John Hunter, it is recorded, fed an eagle entirely on vegetable, and a sheep on animal food; and yet life and apparent health were sustained. Rabbits, if kept fasting a long time, will eat meat greedily. The teeth, however, were no doubt intended by our Creator to be our main guide on this point.... Eating in excess is the vice of the present day, and so well managed is it that even religious persons will not see its sinfulness—sinful, as absorbing and wasting so much more life and food than the body requires, and which so many absolutely need. Is drunkenness a sin and gluttony not?... Gout, rheumatism and various other disorders are often produced by the injudicious supplies given to the stomach, both in quantity and quality.... We too often charge cold and wet with being the cause of attacks of disease, but these attacks would not have occurred unless the blood had been infected with particles of depraved matter resulting from over-indulgence, or other irregularity of the organs of digestion—first and foremost, from our injudicious supplies to the stomach.... Perhaps we might lay it down as a rule that the majority of men eat twice as much as is really required for the support of health and strength.... No doubt as life advances we really require less food.... According to our mental and bodily employment, so should we eat.... Nature herself often gives notice of over-indulgence, by destroying appetite. Children take the warning and refuse food altogether; but it is so common a notion that we cannot go on without regular meals, that many adults aggravate stomach and liver derangements by persisting in taking food of some sort, but which affords no nourishment at all, because it cannot be digested, and thus acts as any other extraneous substance, by increasing the already deranged powers of the organ. We may rest assured that mischief rarely happens in disease from want of food, although much mischief is often caused by the ignorant in pressing it, against the warnings of nature in depriving us of any desire for it. In the incipient stage of many diseases, abstinence at first, and then a very strict attention to judicious nourishment, will alone cure them.”
After such a simple and clear statement of facts, it seems to me little remains to be said. I cannot emphasise too strongly the importance of limiting the amount of the food supply; and particularly is this warning applicable to vegetarians who are apt to overeat, under the erroneous impression that they must eat more, in order to offset the greater nutritive value of the meat (supposedly)! The fact of the matter is that they should eat less; and the more nourishing and concentrated the food is, the less of it should they eat. Most of the vegetarian dishes are highly concentrated, and exceedingly rich in nutritive values. For that reason they should be eaten sparingly. Nuts are especially rich, and contain a large amount of proteid in a small compass. In his pamphlet “Nuts and their Uses as Food” (Yearbook, U.S. Dept, of Agr.), Professor Jaffa says of such foods:
“The digestibility of protein in 28 experiments with mixed diets, to which were added fruits and nuts, averaged 90 per cent. [see pp. 86-88].... The digestibility of the carbohydrates in nuts, so far as the available data show, is about equal to that of the same ingredients in other foods.... It would appear that, while it is not possible to state the exact digestion co-efficients for all nuts, enough has been done to indicate their high nutritive value and digestibility.... The distress sometimes experienced when nuts are eaten is undoubtedly often due to improper mastication or to over-indulgence. The investigations made at the California station indicate clearly that considerable quantities of nuts properly eaten do not cause distress.... A fruit and nut diet may be arranged to furnish sufficient protein, mainly from nuts, to satisfy the requirements of the body.... When considering nuts, it is readily observed that 10 cents will buy about the same amount of nut protein as of animal protein, except in the case of cheese and skim milk (which furnishes less). If spent for peanuts, it will purchase more than twice the protein and six times the energy that could be bought for the same expenditure for porterhouse steak.... It is of more than passing interest to note that 10 cents’ worth of peanuts will contain about 4 ounces of protein and 2767 calories of energy, which is more protein and energy than is furnished by many rations regarded as adequate for a day.... As a whole, nuts may be classed among the staple foods, and not simply as food accessories.”
I desire only to show in this place that nuts are a very concentrated article of diet, and should be eaten sparingly. The idea that more food should be eaten, when going on to a vegetarian diet, is grossly erroneous, and is the reason why many vegetarians fail. Less, not more, food, should be eaten; and as soon as the stomach has shrunk to its right proportions, and the customary reaction from the stimulation of the meat has worn off, a general feeling of invigoration and well-being will be experienced—and retained, if the diet be properly managed thenceforth. Too great care cannot be taken not to overeat; everyone would be better for a few days’ fast—particularly if they have been in the habit of eating meat!