Supposing his tastes to be scholarly, and a college and
professional career to be chosen, the time has come for
slight changes in the system of diet, — very slight, how-
ever. It has become a popular saying among thinkers
upon these questions, " Without phosphorus, no think-
ing ; " and like all arbitrary utterances it has done more
harm than good. The amount of phosphorus passing
through the system bears no relation whatever to the
intensity of thought. "A captive lion," to quote from
Dr. Chambers, one of the most distinguished living au-
thorities on diet, " a leopard, or hare, which can have
wonderfully little to think about, assimilates and parts
with a greater quantity of phosphorus than a professor of
chemistry working hard in his laboratory ; while a beaver,
who always seems to be contriving something, excretes so
little phosphorus that chemical analysis cannot detect it"
THE RELATIONS OF FOOD TO HEALTH. 87
Phosphatic salts are demanded, but so are other salts,
fat, and water ; and the dietaries that order students to live
upon fish, eggs, and 03'sters, because they are rich in phos-
phorus, without which the brain starves, err just so far as
they make this the sole reason, — the real reason being that
these articles are all easily digested, and that the student,
leading an inactive muscular life, does not require the
heavy, hearty food of the laborer.
The most perfect regimen for the intellectual life is
precisely what would be advised for the growing boy :
frequent small supplies of easily-digested food, that the
stomach may never be overloaded, or the brain clouded
by the fumes of half-assimilated food. If our boy trains
for a foot-race, rows with the college crew, or goes in for
base-ball, his power as a brain-worker at once diminishes.
Strong muscular action and development hinder continu-
ous mental work ; and the literary life, as a rule, allows no
extremes, demanding only mild exercise and temperance
as its foundation-stones. But our boy can well afford to
develop his muscular system so perfectly that his mild
exercise would seem to the untrained man tolerably heavy
work.
The rower in a college crew requires six weeks of train-
ing before his muscular power and endurance have reached
their height. Every particle of superfluous fat must be
removed, for fat is not strength, but weakness. There is
a vast difference between the plumpness of good muscular
development and the flabby, heavy overloading of these
muscles with rolls of fat. The chest must be enlarged,
that the lungs may have full play, and be capable of long-
continued, extra draughts upon them ; and special diet
and special exercise alone can accomplish these ends.
88 THE RELATION'S OF FOOD TO HEALTH.
Page 43
Presented as published in 1881. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Supposing his tastes to be scholarly, and a college and professional career to be chosen, the time has come for slight changes in the system of diet, — very slight, however. It has become a popular saying among thinkers upon these questions, " Without phosphorus, no thinking ; " and like all arbitrary utterances it has done more harm than good. The amount of phosphorus passing through the system bears no relation whatever to the intensity of thought. "A captive lion," to quote from Dr. Chambers, one of the most distinguished living authorities on diet, " a leopard, or hare, which can have wonderfully little to think about, assimilates and parts with a greater quantity of phosphorus than a professor of chemistry working hard in his laboratory ; while a beaver, who always seems to be contriving something, excretes so little phosphorus that chemical analysis cannot detect it"
Phosphatic salts are demanded, but so are other salts, fat, and water ; and the dietaries that order students to live upon fish, eggs, and 03'sters, because they are rich in phosphorus, without which the brain starves, err just so far as they make this the sole reason, — the real reason being that these articles are all easily digested, and that the student, leading an inactive muscular life, does not require the heavy, hearty food of the laborer.
The most perfect regimen for the intellectual life is precisely what would be advised for the growing boy : frequent small supplies of easily-digested food, that the stomach may never be overloaded, or the brain clouded by the fumes of half-assimilated food. If our boy trains for a foot-race, rows with the college crew, or goes in for base-ball, his power as a brain-worker at once diminishes. Strong muscular action and development hinder continuous mental work ; and the literary life, as a rule, allows no extremes, demanding only mild exercise and temperance as its foundation-stones. But our boy can well afford to develop his muscular system so perfectly that his mild exercise would seem to the untrained man tolerably heavy work.
The rower in a college crew requires six weeks of training before his muscular power and endurance have reached their height. Every particle of superfluous fat must be removed, for fat is not strength, but weakness. There is a vast difference between the plumpness of good muscular development and the flabby, heavy overloading of these muscles with rolls of fat. The chest must be enlarged, that the lungs may have full play, and be capable of longcontinued, extra draughts upon them ; and special diet and special exercise alone can accomplish these ends.