the time when it will be as “ bad form ” to eat more than is necessary as it is now to drink more than is good for one. Those, however, who have suffered much on the old diet, and are willing and anxious to try this treat- ment, will, the writers hope, be helped by their experience to find a diet amongst the various recipes, suitable to their needs. A little patience will be re- quired before the patient becomes accustomed to the change of food ; but this will be well rewarded by the freedom from pain and discomfort, as the diet gradually improves the state of the blood. This improvement naturally takes a little time to effect ; for a state of things that has taken long to bring about, cannot be expected to be cured in a few weeks. One lady who was suffering from troubles, which this diet is known to relieve, was persuaded to give up tea as a preparation for eventually going upon the diet ; she did so for two days , and finding it depressing w’ent back to her old habits, because “ she was sure the diet would not suit her ! ” She must have been either one of the strange mortals who “enjoy” bad health, or her sufferings could not have been very acute, if they were easier to bear than a few days of depression. This book is simply a cookery book for the diet ; it is not its province to explain the medical foundations of the “Uric-acid-free” diet, which are explained in the scientific writings of its Originator. The writers have, however, thought it advisable and helpful to give the following ex- tracts from a useful leaflet by the Author of the System : "It is just as impossible to keep up strength and nutrition without nitrogen as without oxygen. XIV THE APSLEY COOKERY BOOK “We generally depend for our nitrogen upon substances containing albumens, and it is the habit of this country at the present day to get it almost entirely from animal albumens, in ignorant disregard of the poison that animal tissues contain. “ It can be calculated from the data given in works on Physiology that a man, in order to get enough nitrogen, must be supplied with from 8 to 11 grs. of albumen per day for each pound of body weight. Children require more ; thus a child of 35 lbs. weight may require as much as an adult three times its weight, and this gradually diminishes until the adult standard is reached, while old and sedentary people may require considerably less than the adult allowance. “ And now, applying the rule of the relation of albumen to body weight : u A young adult weighing (after deducting weight of clothing) ten stone, or 140 lbs., and leading a hard-working life, would have to consume 140 x 10 = 1400 grs. of albumen per day, and these might be got as follows : “17 ozs. bread (8 per cent, albu- mens =34 grs. per oz.) . “ 2 pints milk (3 per cent, albu- mens = 13 grs. per oz.) . “ J oz. cheese (33 per cent, al- bumens = 140 grs. per oz.) “ 2 ozs. rice (5 per cent, albu- mens = 21 grs. per oz.) . “12 oz. vegetables and fruit (2 per cent, albumens = 8 grs. per oz.) . = 578 grs. . =* 525 grs. . = 140 grs. . = 43 grs. . = 114 grs. 1400 grs. INTRODUCTION XV

AI-modernized reading of the original text

the time when it will be as “ bad form ” to eat more than is necessary as it is now to drink more than is good for one. Those, however, who have suffered much on the old diet, and are willing and anxious to try this treatment, will, the writers hope, be helped by their experience to find a diet amongst the various recipes, suitable to their needs. A little patience will be required before the patient becomes accustomed to the change of food ; but this will be well rewarded by the freedom from pain and discomfort, as the diet gradually improves the state of the blood. This improvement naturally takes a little time to effect ; for a state of things that has taken long to bring about, cannot be expected to be cured in a few weeks. One lady who was suffering from troubles, which this diet is known to relieve, was persuaded to give up tea as a preparation for eventually going upon the diet ; she did so for two days, and finding it depressing went back to her old habits, because “ she was sure the diet would not suit her ! ” She must have been either one of the strange mortals who “enjoy” bad health, or her sufferings could not have been very acute, if they were easier to bear than a few days of depression. This book is simply a cookery book for the diet ; it is not its province to explain the medical foundations of the “Uric-acid-free” diet, which are explained in the scientific writings of its Originator. The writers have, however, thought it advisable and helpful to give the following extracts from a useful leaflet by the Author of the System : "It is just as impossible to keep up strength and nutrition without nitrogen as without oxygen. “We generally depend for our nitrogen upon substances containing albumens, and it is the habit of this country at the present day to get it almost entirely from animal albumens, in ignorant disregard of the poison that animal tissues contain. “ It can be calculated from the data given in works on Physiology that a man, in order to get enough nitrogen, must be supplied with from 8 to 11 grs. of albumen per day for each pound of body weight. Children require more ; thus a child of 35 lbs. weight may require as much as an adult three times its weight, and this gradually diminishes until the adult standard is reached, while old and sedentary people may require considerably less than the adult allowance. “ And now, applying the rule of the relation of albumen to body weight : u A young adult weighing (after deducting weight of clothing) ten stone, or 140 lbs., and leading a hard-working life, would have to consume 140 x 10 = 1400 grs. of albumen per day, and these might be got as follows : “17 ozs. bread (8 per cent, albumens =34 grs. per oz.) . “ 2 pints milk (3 per cent, albumens = 13 grs. per oz.) . “ J oz. cheese (33 per cent, albumens = 140 grs. per oz.) “ 2 ozs. rice (5 per cent, albumens = 21 grs. per oz.) . “12 oz. vegetables and fruit (2 per cent, albumens = 8 grs. per oz.) . = 578 grs. . =* 525 grs. . = 140 grs. . = 43 grs. . = 114 grs. 1400 grs.

The Apsley cookery book