It is poor economy to allow valuable mineral salts to be removed from flour by milling, from rice by polishing, and from vegetables by wrong methods of cooking. These minerals are necessary for the development of the child, for the preservation of teeth and bones, for high efficiency in the nervous system, and for a proper functioning of the various organs in the body. There is no economy in buying denatured grain, even though it is put up in cartons, at ten times the price of the natural grain.
"Put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite." Stop the immense waste of strength, energy, money, and time due to mere gratification of appetite. Stop preparing food that is intended simply to coax the appetite to the point where eating becomes gluttony. In the words of an eminent authority, "Most men would attain better health and greater efficiency if they would reduce their rations by twenty-five per cent or more." The celebrated Dr. Osler tells us that "we eat too much after forty years of age," and he advises every wise man to restrict his eating as he grows older, "and at last descend out of life as he ascended into it, even into a child's diet."
Overeating
Food economy is not a call to a starvation diet, but to a balanced ration of wholesome, well prepared food. Overeating of even the best food produces poisons that injure the tissues, overwork the organs of digestion, and in time may bring the body to actual starvation conditions.
A man's appetite is not always a safe guide. Artificial surroundings in childhood make the normal appetite the exception rather than the rule. Few children are taught, by parents, teachers, or preachers, the importance of restricting the appetite. The seeds of intemperance sown by those who prepare food for the family table bring a larger harvest than does the work of all the devil's agencies in saloons and tobacco shops combined. Millions of dollars are worse than wasted by the conversion of food materials into strong drinks to satisfy appetites perverted by wrong habits of eating. Why are our schools and churches more interested in the maintenance of a worn-out, traditional educational system, and an abstract, impractical religion, than in some of these vital teachings? We look to legislation to cure degenerate appetites for which we are largely responsible through false education in home and school and church. Starving ones of earth are deprived of food when we convert it into strong drink; the process requires the time and strength of a great army of workers; and transportation facilities now used for carrying whisky, tobacco, and other body- and mind-destroying substances, might be used in transporting the foods we waste. It is estimated that we waste enough in our kitchens to feed ten million people. "Blessed art thou, O land, when ... thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!"
Some Economies
Dr. Osler has said that "pie north of the Mason and Dixon line, and hot bread south of it, have done more harm than alcohol." The best breads contain the whole grain; they are well baked, require considerable chewing, resist the pressure of the teeth, and save dental bills. Thorough mastication neutralizes an abnormal appetite.
Rich pastries, harmful condiments, tea and coffee,—narcotics recognized as extravagant, harmful, and useless beverages,—are being discarded for the sake of both health and economy. Remove the cream and the sugar from tea and coffee, and they have no food value.