Pine kernels are very suitable for those who have any difficulty in masticating or digesting the harder nuts, such as the brazil, filbert, etc. They are quite soft and can easily be ground into a soft paste with a pestil and mortar, making delicious butter. They vary considerably in nitrogenous matter, averaging about 25 per cent. and are very rich in fat, averaging about 50 per cent. Chestnuts are used largely by the peasants of Italy. They are best cooked until quite soft when they are easily digested. Chestnut meal is obtainable, and when combined with wheatmeal is useful for making biscuits and breadstuffs. Protein in chestnuts averages 10 per cent. Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Filberts, Brazils, Pecans, Hickory nuts, Beechnuts, Butternuts, Pistachio nuts and Almonds average 16 per cent. protein; 52 per cent. fat; 20 per cent. carbohydrates; 2 per cent. mineral salts. As each possesses a distinct flavour, one can live on nuts alone and still enjoy the pleasure of variety. A man weighing 140 lbs. would, at moderately active labour, require, to live on almonds alone—11 ozs. per day. 10 ozs. of nuts per day together with some fresh fruit or green salad in summer, and in winter, some roots, as potato, carrot, or beetroot, would furnish an ideal diet for one whose taste was simple enough to relish it.
Fruits are best left alone in winter. They are generally acid, and the system is better without very acid foods in the cold weather. But fruits are health-giving foods in warm and hot weather, and living under natural, primitive conditions, this is the only time of the year we should have them, for Nature only provides fruit during the months of summer. The fraction of protein fruit contains, 1 per cent. or less, is too small to be of any account. The nutritive value of fruits consists in their mineral salts, grape-sugar and water.
Much the same applies to green vegetables. In cooking vegetables care should be taken that the water they are cooked in is not thrown away as it contains nearly all the nutrient properties of the vegetable; that is to say, the various salts in the vegetable become dissolved in the water they are boiled in. This water can be used for soup if desired, or evaporated, and with flour added to thicken, served as sauce to the vegetable. Potatoes are a salutary food, especially in winter. They contain alkalies which help to lessen the accumulation of uric acid. They should be cooked with skins on: 16 grains per lb. more of valuable potash salts are thus obtained than when peeled and boiled in the ordinary way. The ideal method, however, of taking most vegetables is in the form of uncooked salads, for in these the health-giving, vitalising elements remain unaltered.
If man is to be regarded, as many scientists regard him, as a frugivore, constitutionally adapted and suited to a nut-fruit diet, then to regain our lost original taste and acquire a liking for such simple foods should be our aim. It may be difficult, if not impossible, to make a sudden change after having lived for many years upon the complex concoctions of the chef's art, for the system resents sudden changes, but with proper care, changing discreetly, one can generally attain a desired end, especially when it involves the replacing of a bad habit by a good one.
In the recipes that follow no mention is made of condiments, i.e., pepper, salt, mustard, spice, et hoc genus omni. Condiments are not foods in any sense whatever, and the effect upon the system of 'seasoning' foods with these artificial aids to appetite, is always deleterious, none the less because it may at the time be imperceptible, and may eventually result in disease. Dr. Kellogg writes: 'By contact, they irritate the mucous membrane, causing congestion and diminished secretion of gastric juice when taken in any but quite small quantities. When taken in quantities so small as to occasion no considerable irritation of the mucous membrane, condiments may still work injury by their stimulating effects, when long continued.... Experimental evidence shows that human beings, as well as animals of all classes, live and thrive as well without salt as with it, other conditions being equally favorable. This statement is made with a full knowledge of counter arguments and experiments, but with abundant testimony to support the position taken.... All condiments hinder natural digestion.'
Condiments, together with such things as pickles, vinegar, alcohol, tea, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, opium, are all injurious, and undoubtedly are the cause of an almost innumerable number of minor, and, in some cases, serious, complaints. Theine, caffeine, and theobromine, all stimulant drugs, are present in tea, coffee, and cocoa, respectively. Tea also contains tannin, a substance which is said to seriously impair digestion.
Alcohol, tea, coffee, etc., are stimulants. Stimulants do not produce force and should never be mistaken for food. They are undoubtedly injurious, as they are the cause, among other evils, of loss of force. They cause an abnormal metabolism which ultimately weakens and exhausts the whole system. While these internal activities are taking place, artificial feelings of well-being, or, at least, agreeable sensations, are produced, which are unfortunately mistaken for signs of benefit. Speaking of alcohol Dr. Haig writes: 'It introduces no albumen or force, it merely affects circulation, nutrition, and the metabolism of the albumens already in the body, and this call on the resources of the body is invariably followed by a corresponding depression or economy in the future.... It has been truly said that the man who relies upon stimulants for strength is lost, for he is drawing upon a reserve fund, which is not completely replaced, and physiological bankruptcy must inevitably ensue. This is what the stimulants such as tea, coffee, alcohol, tobacco, opium and cocaine do for those who trust in them.'
He who desires to enjoy life desires to possess good physical health, for a healthy body is almost essential to a happy life; and he who desires to live healthily does not abuse his body with poisonous drugs. It may require courage to reform, but he who reforms in this direction has the satisfaction of knowing that his good health will probably some day excite the envy of his critics.
The chemical composition of all the common food materials can be seen from tables of analyses. It would be to the advantage of everyone to spend a little time examining these tables. It is not a difficult matter, and the trouble to calculate the quantity of protein in a given quantity of food, when once the modus operandi is understood, is trifling. As it has not unwisely been suggested, if people would give, say, one-hundredth the time and attention to studying the needs of the body and how to satisfy them as they give to dress and amusement, there is little doubt that there would be more happiness in the world.
The amount of protein in any particular prepared food is arrived at in the following manner: In the first place those ingredients containing a noticeable amount of protein are carefully weighed. Food tables are then consulted to discover the protein percentage. Suppose, for instance, the only ingredient having a noticeable quantity of protein is rice, and 1 lb. is used. The table is consulted and shows rice to contain eight per cent. protein. In 1 lb. avoirdupois there are 7,000 grains; eight per cent. of 7,000 is 70.00 × 8 = 560 grains. Therefore, in the dish prepared there are 560 grains of protein. It is as well after cooking to weight the entree or pudding and divide the number of ounces it weighs into 560, thus obtaining the number of grains per ounce. Weighing out food at meals is only necessary at first, say for the first week or so. Having decided about how many grains of protein to have daily, and knowing how many grains per ounce the food contains, the eye will soon get trained to estimate the quantity needed. It is not necessary to be exact; a rough approximation is all that is needed, so as to be sure that the system is getting somewhere near the required amount of nutriment, and not suffering from either a large excess or deficiency of protein.