What to eat and when

by Susanna Cocroft

Fruits and nuts contain the least amount of these salts, and meats, vegetables, and cereals follow in the order named, cereals, that is the whole of the grain—not the white flour—containing the most. Any diet, therefore, which recommends the use of fruits and nuts to the exclusion of other foods, depletes the system of some of the body-building elements. The system may seem to thrive for a time on such food because, perhaps, of the rest given to overworked organs, but eventually the body lack will manifest itself; anemia may appear or malnutrition become evident.

Milk furnishes salts in proper proportion for building the bones and teeth of the baby; because of the lime which it contains it is a good food for the growing child. After the child is one year old, eggs may be added to the diet. During the first year the albumin and fats in the egg are not well digested. It is especially essential that children be furnished milk and eggs that they may be assured of the proper proportion and quantity of calcium salts for growth.

Sodium chlorid (common salt) has been for ages recognized as an important element in food, so important that in Eastern countries it is the symbol of hospitality and friendship.

When taken in moderate quantities, salt increases the activity of the gastric secretion and aids the appetite. When taken in excess, as many who have formed the salt-eating habit do, it is an irritant to the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines and may interfere with nutrition, causing dyspepsia, gastroenteritis or diarrhea from the continued irritation.

The habit indulged by some of nibbling at salted nuts of various kinds, at and between meals, may for a short time satisfy the needs of the body for more salt than is usually taken with the food, but such a habit persisted in will cause acidity of the stomach from overstimulation of the hydrochloric acid producing glands; it will also decrease the fluidity of the blood by causing the water to be drawn from the blood for the use of the tissues. Irritative action is also exerted on the kidney, as any excess of salt is excreted by this organ. For this reason salt is often prohibited for those suffering from any inflammation of the kidney, in Bright’s disease, etc.

When chemical tests show an excess of hydrochloric acid, salt should be omitted from the diet.

A diet consisting largely of vegetables needs the addition of sodium chlorid to supply sufficient salt for body uses; likewise more salt than is contained in grass and fodder is needed for animals, particularly for those producing milk. The scientific farmer salts his cattle regularly, while wild animals travel miles and form beaten paths to springs containing salt.

In rectal feeding, it is known that food absorbs more readily through the large intestine if salted. It is probable that salt, in normal proportions, also aids absorption in the stomach and small intestine.

Potassium is next in importance to sodium as it constitutes the chief salt in the muscles. It also aids the action of the digestive secretions and the maintenance of the reaction of the urine. Potatoes and apples are valuable foods on account of the potassium they contain.

Calcium, if in excess, may cause the formation of calculi, renal or biliary. It is also found in the tartar which accumulates on the teeth, in the hardening walls of the arteries in arteriosclerosis, etc. All of the cabbage family are rich in calcium. Many mineral waters and the water from many wells contain it in excess.