Cellulose is lacking in concentrated foods, as cheese, nuts, sugar, butter; refined foods, as white flour, cream of wheat, cornstarch; in liquid foods.
Laxative Foods:
Figs
Dates
Prunes
Orange
Apple
Raisins
Peach
Plum
Rhubarb
Grapes
Whole wheat cereals
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat crackers
Corn meal
Bran muffins
Peanut butter
Pecan nuts
Gingerbread
Molasses
Honey
Onions
Spinach
Olive oil
Cottonseed oil
Purin Bodies in Common Foods. Purin bodies are found in some protein foods. Purins are uric-acid forming. The poisons of purins are believed to be productive of gout, rheumatism, migraine and periodic headaches, bilious attacks, catarrhs, neurasthenia, and general ill-health of an indefinite nature.
| Foods Containing High Per Cent. Purins[19] | Grains Per Pound | Foods Containing 2 Grains or Less[19] | Purin-free Foods[19] |
| Sweetbreads | 70 | Peas | Milk |
| Liver | 19 | Potatoes | Cheese |
| Kidney | Onions | Butter | |
| Beef | 14-7 | Carrots | Flour |
| Pork | 8 | Turnips | Rice |
| Chicken | 9 | Parsnips | Macaroni |
| Veal | 8 | Asparagus | Tapioca |
| Salmon | 8 | Rhubarb | Sugar |
| Halibut | 7 | Spinach | Cauliflower |
| Mutton | 7 | Dates | Cabbage |
| Figs | Lettuce | ||
| Codfish (4) | Strawberries | ||
| Flounder |
Acid-forming and Alkali-forming Foods. The blood contains some acids and some alkalies. For physical efficiency, the balance should be slightly alkaline. In the process of digestion minerals are oxidized into their chemical constituents of acids or alkalies. An excess of acid interferes with the normal alkalinity of the blood and secretions, prevents the normal absorption of oxygen and elimination of carbonic acid gas by the blood, hinders the work of the white blood corpuscles, irritates the nerves, lowering, therefore, the resistance and vitality, and irritates the kidneys. In the dietary, care should be taken to include alkali as Well as acid-forming foods.
| Acid-forming:[20] | Alkali-forming:[20] | |
| Meat | Milk | |
| Eggs | Fruits | |
| Grains | Vegetables, especially: | |
| Rice | Spinach | Lettuce |
| Tapioca | Celery | Cress |
| Sugar | Potatoes | Radishes |
The Question of Meat. Some authorities on dietetics now advise against giving meat in early childhood. Wiley and Mendel advise waiting until about four years, Sherman and Lorand until about eight.
The following objections are made to meat in children’s diet:
(1) It has a high percentage of purin bodies, which the child’s organism is less fitted to dispose of.