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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1908)
DIET AND HEALTH By DR. J. T. ALLEN food SpmUIUI Author of "Ealtnd for a Purpose." "The ftcto Gospel of Health." Etc. (Copyright, by Joseph JJ. liowlos.) WHA T SHALL WE EA 77 If It Is true, nil many eminent au thorities nay, Hint health, happiness, beauty and ofllcloncy depond upon eating more than on unythlng etso, It In worth while to know what to eat, Heury Ward IJeecher aald Hint n man with a poor liver can't ho n good Christian. Certainly It Is easier to excrclso tho Christian graces whon one Is frco from biliousness. When Illshop Fallows says that "You enn make n mnn good or bad nccordlng lo tho way you feed him," ho Is not denying tho Importanco of tho condition of tho heart, but cm phaslzlng tho Importance of tho statu of tho ntomach. Daniel prepared him self and his companions for tho won dcrful ordeals through which thoy passed by dieting ns well as by prnyor, and tho Master himself by fasting 40 days. Ah wo watch tho amoeba, tho typ ical unicellular organism, which closoly resembles a blood coll, undor tho microscope, wo find It changing Us form, gradually, continually. It Is all stomach', enwrapping Its food and digesting It ns a Blnglo orgnn; and as a nlnglo organ It adapts moans to ends In securing a moal, "ns perfect ly," says Copo, tho omlnent biologist, "as a Btatcsmau-adapts means to ends In organizing a government." Tho body, therefore, is mado up of n myriad of cells, each Booking Its own nutrition, its primary, funda mental function, yet possessing tho power of socialistic, harmonious ac tion, organized ns lungs, liver, heart, etc., subjoct to tho Intluonco of the Bympatltotio nervous eyBtom, which binds all tho bodily organs together, so that if ono Buffers till must suffer in sympathy; carrying on tho vltnl processes Into which tho nutritional function la organized, uncenslugly, while llfo lasts, yet ovor nmonublu to suggestion through tho sovorelgn, con scious will. Digestion Ib not a purely physical process, performed lndopondontly by a Bet of digestive organs. Tho entire organism Is engaged In tho procoss, controlled by tho sub-conscious mind, subject to tho Inllucnco of tho con bcIoub mind, tho sovereign will, And, conversely, tho Influence of feeding Is not confined to tho special dlgontlVo organs, nor to certain effects which wo denominate "physical." Tho intluonco of feeding is all-porvadlng. It is tho mainspring of tho montnl-physlcnl life. In its ossonco spiritual, It mani fests tbo llfo through tho uso of ma terial substance, food. And upon tho quality of tho food and thodogrco of expenditure of vitality in tho process of nutrition, doponds largely tho quali ty of tho llfo, mental, moral and phys ical. Tho question; "What Shall Wo Eat?" bccomcH in this light doubly Important. Tho oasontlal aubslanco of which all animal tissue 1b mado, from tho amoeba to tho brain of man, Is albu men, This albumon Is found in tho food of all animals. Tho whlto of egg Is almost puro albumen; and In milk, tho food of tho young of all tho mam malia, albumen is a largo constituent. Experiments havo boon mado to do tonnlno what foods will alone nupport llfo, determining' that wheat gluton, which is almost puro nlbumon, sup ports llfo Indcllnltoly longor than nny other nlnglo element. Flosh, of which the loan Is principally albumen, will mtpport llfo Indcllnltoly, as will milk, oggs, nuts, beans, whoat, corn, oats, datcB, which contain a largo porcontngo of albumon with othor food elements. Milk has been culled the perfect food beennso It contains, In addition to al bumen, all tho othor elements neces sary to build brain, musclo and bono; and the same Is truo of whoat and of some nuts and fruits. Tho milk of all tho mammalia contains the samo food elements, differing chiefly in tho amount nnd kind of tho albumon. Cow's milk Is not a perfect Infant's food becauso H contains a larger per centage of albumop than Its natural food and of a Bomowhat different char acter. This important subjoct will bo treatod In n subsequent article Albumen is found in largo per centage lu nil nuts, in beans, peas and entire whoat broad. Ponnuta contain about 30 por cent, of nlbumon, with CO per cont. fat not inferior to ollvo oil, and four per cent, mineral. Itecent experiments lmvo shown that tho porcontngo of albumen re quired for porfect nutrition Is much less than waa formerly .supposed, Tlo growing child requires probably throo tlmoB as much as tho mature man be cause it must build new tissue besides repairing wnsto. An lusufllolont sup ply of albumen for tho child, If long continued, loads to serious results, A case was recently brought to our at tention in which an Infant had boon fed for several weeks on frosh cream, because it was found that tho stomach retained that while tho entlro milk was pbrslitontly rojoctod, At first there was an apparently satisfactory gain in flesh, but thlt) gnvo pluco to extreme weakness and wasting. Tho cream was mixed with a part of' tho balance of the milk, gradually lncroas-1 Ing tho amount of albumen nnd other necessary elements of nutrition, and normal conditions soon returned. And hero it may bo remarked that excess of fatty tlsnuo Is an Indication of dis ease, not of health. Tho necessary albumen can bo ob tained from flesh becauso It Is a noc ossary constituent of tho flesh of all animals, Including fish. Hut flesh con tains a Binall percentage of wasto mat ter of the animal's system, It has been repcatodly shown that flesh foods may communlcato disease, desplto tho in spection; nnd tho human alimentary canal Is not as woll adapted to tho digestion of flesh ns Ib tho organism of tho enrnivora, In which tho stomach nnd liver nro relatively much larger nnd tho intestines much shorter than In man. Tho well-known tests of en durance recently made at Yalo uni versity proved that non-flesh eaters had mur.h greater sustaining power. In nil tho great walking contests In dormnny and America tho winners havo been nbstnlncrs from flesh meat. The best sources of albumen, nsldo from meat, nro nuts, beans, eggs nnd wholo whoat or graham bread. Hut tho character of the albumen is Important. Albumen coagulates at a tcmpcraturo of ICO V and Is thon aBslmllated with difficulty. It is for this reason, partly, that tho egg is found to bo more nutritious uncooked than COOkcd. And It in for thin rnnnnn. chiefly, Hint such npparently wondorftil results navo been obtained from tho uso of rnw coroal foods, desplto tho Indlgostlblllty of raw cereal starch. Understanding, thon, Hint tho essen tial elomont of food Is albumen, In Its natural state, tho question arises: What Ib Its best and most economical soiirco? Considering economic con ditions, which oxcludo tho pecan, wal nut, nnd other cxpcnslvo nuts, tho answer lo: Tho pennut, which fur nlshos an abundant supply of easily nsslmllablo albumen togcthor with fat, which vies In nutrltlvo vnluo with ollvo oil. This, with n small amount of graham bread, glveB tho Ideal pro told and fat ration. Tho atato of Texas alono enn furnish tho stuplo food of our people. Tho rapidly In creasing consumption of tho peanut with the corresponding rlso In prlco should Induce the planting of a still larger crop tho coming season. Tho Incoming crop Is tho largest ovor pro duced in this country. Not loss than 80 per cont. of tho solid part of our food should bo that which oupportB combustion, maintain ing heat and muscular cnorgy. This 1b tnkon ns fat or oil, starch or sugar. A certain porcontngo of fat Ib necca Hary for tho best nutrition. If it bo truo, na many careful students of dlot bellovo, that nuts and fruits nro tho most natural food of mnn, this por contngo of fat nhould bo largo. Animal fats, oven milk fnt when separated, nro aBslmllntod with dlfllculty nnd thoy; particularly lard, nro opon tooth or objections. Tho consumption of ollvo oil has Increased rnpidly during tho past few years. It la not general ly known that poanut fat, as In Hio un cooked nut or in poanut buttor lu which fatty acid has not been do volopod by oxcosslvo dry roasting, la equal, If not suporior, in nutrltlvo qual ities to ollvo oil, being assimilated with wortdorrul facility, no tho ox tremo dogrco of Its solubility In water would indicate. ThQro nro serious objections to coronl starch as tho mnjor elomont or food, which it now is In tho dietary of tho American pooplo. Tho potato, es pecially if baked, la much to bo pre ferred to lino whlto broad. Rico Is far suporior to tho ordlnnry coroals as a Hourco of carbon, hb tho oxamplo of tho Japanese would ludicato." Sugars aro tho most easily assimilat ed df foods (Including honey), nnd fruit sugar should bo substituted for a largo part of our cereal food, cano Biignr being Inferior. And tho boBt bouicos of fruit augnr nro tho ripo bitnnnn (almost unknown in this coun try) figs, dates and prunos. Fruits nro bottor onton 8oparntoly from othor foods. Nuts nnd mont dlgOBt in tho Btomnoh, cblolly, requir ing about throo hours thoro; fruits digest In nbout ono hour, In tho In tostlno chlofly. Thoro Is ns much ob jection to mixing thorn us thoro is to ontlng nnd drlnklug at tho aamo mo ment. Npw without bore considering fur ther tho roqulromonta of an ideal dlot, doca It not Boom ovldcnt that wo havo already n knowlodgo of fnctB that would onablo us to mnko a wondorful gain In good feeling and ofllcloncy by Improving tho nutrltlvo Biipply nnd Bnving n largo part of tho vital onorgy dally wasted In dlgoBling and eliminat ing Improper nnd unnccoBBnry food, It not for tho nvcrngo porson who Is alow to rohllzo tho bonollt to bo oh tnlncd, ut least for tho nthloto who enn quickly demonstrate u gnln In elllclon cy by right dlot, for tho Invalid who noeda. to coiisorvo his vitality and for tho ngod whoso stock la low (but who ban, alns, lost to a great degree tho powor of ndnptatlon)? Hundreds of lnvnllds who havo gradually changed tholr dlot lmvo found now llfo. Many who havo hnd only tho doslro for grontor ofllcloncy and Immunity from disease havo mado tho change. A well-known morchnnt of Aurora, HI., for oxamplo, who hns for nearly a year followed an excluslvo diet of Juicy fruits In tho morning, peanuts with a sllco of Graham broad nt noon and prunes only In tho ovonlng, drinking only water botweon meals, declares that nothing could tompt him to go back to tho old way. Ho says, and his clerks corroborate tho stutomont, that ho Is worth thrco tlmos as much In his busluoBs; ho can wrlto n bot tor advortlBomont, a bottor lottor; his mind Is clear, his conception brllllnnt, his Judgment prompt, . his execution sharp, decisive Ho rlsda two houra earlier than formorly nnd enJoyB hla work us nover beforo. DEMAtiDFOF? THE UANT Y IEATqS YC?fi4cfftr SQl A fc?Sw YATR JWJt-S PROTUM OB rAr t3f VTAJKHSUCAqcK XSOK CRUDCrDCft 21 ASH PRC&YTAGe COrtPOJrOtf Of Iff orARCM y MJT (CH&STMUr) Tho constantly Increasing consump tion of nuts throughout tho United 8tntcs augurs well for n bottor appre ciation of their food value, Tho tlmo when nuto woro considered woroly ns a luxury, or as something to bo onten out of hnnd nt odd times, In rnpidly passing away, lu carllor :lays tho nntlvo hickories, butternutB, walnuts, chestnutB. neenna. nnd mnnv othor nuts found In tho United States woro to bo had In country regions for tho gathering nnd woro of no com mercial Importance On dm oiiinr hand, tho English wnlnuts (to glvo mom tholr most common mime), al monds, cocounuts, etc., brought from othor countries, woro rolatlvolv ox- ponslvo luxuries. Somo mitB, llko tho nntlvo hnzolnut and beechnut, still hnvo nrnctlcallv no commercial vnluo and, though pal- uiuuie, aro almost nevor offored for sale, doubtless because thoy aro so Binall nnd .difficult to gather In quan tity. Tho chinquapin, n Binall nut al lied to tho chestnut, flndB a limited Bnlo In southern cities, but is doubt Iosb Boldom If ovor uoon In othor mnikotB. In gonornl, howovor, condi tions nnvo changed nnd our principal nntlvo nuts nro now Btnplo market commodities nnd brlnir lrnnil tho samo time, owing to chnngeB lu mnrkot conditions, nnd to tho urowlmr of forolgn nuts lu quantity in this country, tho prlco of tho Imported nuts hns dropped bo Hint thoy nro well within tho reach of tho majority. From avallablo statistics It appears that In 1005 tho totnl quantity of al inouds, cocunnuta, Ilrnzll nuts, fllborts, peanuts, wnlnuta nnd othor nutB, Bhollod nnd unaholled, Imported Into tho United States wns, In round num bers, 80,238,000 pounds, wth a vnluo of $0,138,000. In 1905 tho totnl almond crop In Cnllfornln renchod 4,200,000 pounds nnd tho walnut crop 12,800,000 pounds. Tho richest yield of penuuts was reported from tho Bouthorn states, chiefly Virginia, Georgln nnd Tonnes boo, nnd umountod to 225,000,000 pounds. Tho total quantity of homo-grown nuts, including both nntlvo nnd Intro duced varieties, must far exceed tho quantities Imported, but in tho nature of tho cubo no oBtlmntes of tho total quantltlcB gathered nnd eaten aro pro curable Whon wo consider tho con stantly Increasing demand for nutB and tho largo quantity which wo Im port from other countries,' tho possi bilities of tho Industry for tho Amorl enn nut grower aro obvious. An tho uso of nuts hns lncronsed, many per sona havo turned tholr nttcntlon to tho growing of nntlvo and forolgn nutB on n commercial scnlo. This work has boon forwarded by tho dopnrtmont of agrlcultnro, through tho burcnu of plant industry, and by tho California, Florida, Michigan and othor agricul tural experiment Btntlona. With nuts, as with othor crops, It has boon found that, by selection and brooding, Im proved varieties nro obtnlnnblo, of larger slzo, bottor flavor, thinner shollB, or othor doslrablo character istics, Tho Increased demand for nuts Ib duo In tho main to two causes, namely, a hotter appreciation of their appetiz ing qualities nnd tho numorous wnya In which thoy form n pnlutablo nddl Hon to tho dlot of tho averago family, nnd, secondly, to their use by tho vogo tnrlans nnd porsons of similar bollcf- a group Biunll in proportion to tho total population, but still fairly lnrge numerically who uso nuts, and moro pnrtlculnrly tho usnnut, bb n Biibatltuto for meat nnd ntoar nltrogonoua nnd fatty foods, Even a cursory examination of tho Journnla devoted to cookery nnd other branches of homu economics nnd of tho various books which aro published on tho BUbJect will ahow tho fnlrly Konoral usu of nuts for mnklug aoupa, for stuffing poultry, for nut buttera, uut salads, enkea. salted nuts, and -t- 9 ESM IF T3f MmM iJ3x - as r WArrn 107 f. wortv - 7.0 n rAr f, STAffCHSUGAJZOt s?7s atuocriacn -SSy, ASH OLYWrftMLtiUT) and a mm other dishes, nnd Indeed scvernl vol umes dovoted exclusively to nut cook ery lmvo been published. ; Mnny spoclnl nut foods, Buch as mnlted nuts, meat substitutes, etc., havo boon devised and extensively nd vortlsed by tho manufacturers for gen eral uso In tho diet and for tho spoclol needs of vegetarians and fruitnrlans. It Is said that somo of theso American nut products contain aoy beans, but apparently tho peanut plays a very Important part In their composition. In either' ense, since tho peanut, llko tho soy bean, la n logumo, theso prepara tions might moro properly bo com pared with tho bean cheese and othor soy-benn products, so much used in China, Japan nnd other eastern coun tries, than with such nuts ub tho wal nut, almond or coconnut. Tho ediblo portion of nuts, with fow exceptions, la very concentrated food, containing Uttlo watof nnd much fnt. In gonornl, nuts nro nlso rich In pro tein. Thoso rnnklmr liidmHt in th Inutrlont, tho nlgnolla, n variety of tlttin nllf lrvtn4n.1 tf. .... I t.i. ....v iiuiiuiku 1IUUI OllUIll, Willi 33.9 per cont, tho peannt with 29.8 por cent., nnd tho butternut with 27.9 per cent, protoln, surpass moat ordlnnry nnlmnl or vegetnblo foods In this re spect. Tho nlmond, beechnut, nnd pis tachio, with 21.1 per cont., 21.8 ppr cont., nnd 22.0 por cent., respectively, comparo favorably with dried legumes. Tho Urazll nut contains 17.4 per cent, prottln, tho Albert ICG per cent, tho vTflnut 18.2 por cont., tho hickory nut. 15.4, por .cont, tho plncnut 14.0 per cont, tho pecan 12.1 per cont, nnd tho' dry chestnut but 10.7 por cent Tho dry ncom, fresh chestnut and cocoa nut, with C.I, G.4 and C.6 por cont, re spectively, are not lis rich In protein na bread. Of tho nuta hero included tho rich eat In fat Is tho pecan, with nn averago of 70.7 por cont, but soven othor va rieties tho Urazll nut, buttornut, enn dlenut, fllbort, hickory nut, plncnut and walnut contain upward of CO per cont. Tho nlmond, coconnut nnd platnchlo yield botweon CO and CO per cent, of this nutrient Tho beechnut, poanut, and plgnolla contnln nbout CO por cont. In other words, In 13 of tho varieties of nutB appearing In tho fore going tnblo, half or moro of tho edible' portion la fat or oil. Only n fow of tho commonly used nutB yield any notablo nmounta of totnl enrbohydrato matter, tho dry chestnut, with 73 per cent, rating highest . llcochnuts, plnenuts nnd pea nut b hnvo nbout 18 per cont. Tho qunntlty of stnrch found Is, with somo oxceptlons, quite amnll, ranging from three por cont. in tho beechnut to 27 'per cont. In tho chestnut. Tho llnvor of nuto In vory largely de pendent upon tho oils which thoy con tnln, though In somo thero nro nlso upcclflo llnvorlng bodies. Tho nut oils readily beeomo rancid, tho vory dls ngrooablo llnvor of Bpolled nuts being duo to this proporty. Somo nuts (for lnstnnco, tho chostnut) lmvo n starchy flavor as woll aa n "nutty" tnate. Tho Bmnll nntlvo nut la much moro highly flavored than tho lnrgo Itnllan or tho ' Jnpnneso chestnut Tho almond pos sesses tho cyanlc-ncld flavor, which Is olmrantorlstlo of pencil pits, plum pits, etc., nnd this mfght bo oxpocted when It Ib remoniborcd that tho nlmond Is tho dried pit of an Inedible- fruit somo what resombllng tho peach In appear nnco and closoly related to It botanical ly. Most almonds nro mild flavored. Tho Bo cnlled bitter nlmonds nre, how ovor, vory strong, tho cyanic ncld yielding glucosld bolng present In con siderable qunntlty. In raw peanuts there Is a decided flavor resembling tlyit of tho closoly rolntod beans and peas, nnd to somo persona this la not unpalatable, lu the roaatod poanut, which moat of us prefer to tho raw, tho flavor Is largely dopendont upon tho browned oils and starchos or other carbohydrates. GOOD PEN IN WHICH TO Arrangement Which Obviates Necessity of Going Into the Stall of the Animal. i "y,' r ' ;' "ill The In the Illustrations accompanying this artlclo wo show tho elevation rind ground plan of tho building nnd ynrd In which tho herd bull on tho Hoard's Dairyman farm is kept. It does not tako much explaining to Indicate how tho animal Ib handled and fed In such a placo. Everything la so arranged that It Is Ground Plan not necessary for a man to go Into from his pon to tho runway ralscB up tho Btull with tho bull. From tho ,feod room tho feed Is put Into tho feeding U-ough and slid through tho partition Into his stall. Ho Is watered In tho - "i iiiWWWWj. a TKe Quality The Illustration herewith shown Ib of Stink Grass, scientifically known as ranrostls multlflora. It Is some times called candy grass. It Is a na tive of the old world, but has now be come naturalized In mnnv Darts of the United States. The grass is coarse nd weedy, and has such a disagree hie odor when freih that animals do not relish It. On drying, the grass MAGNITUDE OF DAIRY INDUSTRY Tho clean-mlllt problem Is a vital ono, ffoctlnir the nroductlon nnd consump tion of 9,000,000,000 gallons In tho iTnttml States nor venr. bolnc an an- uual supply of ovor 100 gallons for every mun, woman nnd child In tho country. This nmount nffords 1.1 quarts a day for ovory Individual, which includes tho milk used In ma king buttor nnd chceso. The actual ninmint at wholo milk consumed each day nvoragos about .G5 of a pint for every individual. Tbo value of this product for n year at rotall is tho startling sum of $2,500,000,000. This ' tcto t ft...., ! I -HI SET j f 11 iiiiiii ii ii ii'iT- 1) . ii ii . i i, i ii ,,n , .. .. Viini't KEEP THE BULL 31 Bull Pen. camo manner. Tho door which leads when opened and this is dono by a pulley and a rope. Tho pulley Is at tached to tho peak of tho barn nbovo tho doorway and tho ropo attached to tho door extends to It nnd to tho feed room whero tho door mny bo opened or cloBcd. The door between the breeding pon nnd runway Is nlways kopt closed, ox- of the Bull Pen. cept whon it la opened to lot tho bull Into this plnco. Tho cow Is led In bofora this la dono nnd tho mnn atopa out beforo lotting tho bull enter. Tho hny Is stored above tho feed room und bull stall. of Stink Grass loses this odor and the hay Is more palatable. As It Is an annual, It is easily killed out, If it s not wanted. Tho alr-drlcd plant car ries about 13 per cent, protein, and has a nitrogen content of about 2.15. This should make a valuable feed, but It Is not largely used at the present time. ia uijuui. finn-iirnnf ii nr . i. ..... w . wl i ii u n nf fro wealth ol tbo nation, five times tl o ,IUU Ut yj.,,,., crop, rfearly twice tho value 0f the com crop, and over ono-thlrd of he entlro value of farm products for 1907 which Is estimated at $7,100 000 nnn' The wholesale value of dairy S'S last year was estimated at f son Toon 000, which would allow a p iCo oHosa lalry. An average retail prlco or seven cents art wna J,0 f which is probably a Uttlo below Hm averago price. UIU Tho best ration for laying hons ae cording to oxperimsnh, Is aboJt one to four, or ono part of protein o four parts of carbonaceous foods