Food and freedom

It is further necessary for body health that these food principles and accessory factors be used in connection with some bulk or indiges- tible ''waste" material, known as cellulose, and popularly spoken of as "roughage." Cellulose is "the material which composes the cell walls and woody fiber of plants." Its value to the body is largely mechanical, providing normal stimulation and exercise for the muscles of the intestines. Fortunately, these chemical combinations or food principles, as well as the accessory substances and bulk material required by the body, are dis- tributed throughout the world, in both plant and animal life, in the form of our commonly recognized food materials — grains, meats, milk, fruits, vegetables. There we find ready-made by nature, all the foods, combining all the ele- ments properly compounded, which the body re- quires, and can utilize as fuel, building, and regu- lating materials. They are all there. We must choose aright, that is all. For identification, to help us make wise selec- tions, foods have been variously classified, grouped, and named by food authorities, accord- * See L. B. Mendel, Nutrition and Growth. Also, Tibbies, Food in Health and Disease, chap, xxiii. Also, Kellogg and Taylor, The Food Problem, chaps, v and vi. Also "Ten Lessons on Food Conservation," United States Food Administration, Lesson ix. IMPORTANT FOOD FACTS 57 ing to their chemical composition or predomi- nating usefulness to the body. Thus we have: I. "Fuel Foods," which include: Carbohydrates, represented by- Sugars, syrups, honey, jams and jellies, figs, dates, raisins, dried currants, and starchy foods such as tapioca, corn- starch, arrowroot, potatoes, bananas. Milk, bread, cereal foods — ^such as wheat and wheat products, com, rye, oats, barley, rice, buckwheat, dried lentils, beans, peas, also some vege- tables containing much sugar, such as beets and old carrots, also sweet fruits, belong, in part, to this class, as they contain a large proportion of car- bohydrate material; they contain, in addition, however, valuable varying amounts of the other needed materials. Fats, represented by Butter, cream, nut oils and fats, olive oil and other vegetable fats, bacon and other meat fats. Milk, nuts, fat meats, Qgg yolks, choco- late also belong, in part, to this class, as they contain a large percentage of fat; they also contain, however, valuable varying amounts of other food ma- terials. 58 FOOD AND FREEDOM Proteins,^ represented by Lean meats, poultry and game, fish, eggs, cheese, milk. With the exception of milk, which contains only 31^ per cent., these foods all contain a large proportion of protein material, varying, approximately, from 13 to 32 per cent.; they are known as -'balanced," ''per- fect," or "efficient" proteins. Cereals, breads, dried lentils, peas and beans, nuts, cocoa also belong, in part, to this class, as they contain a definite, even large, percentage of protein ma- terial; they are not "complete" pro- teins, however; they also contain valu- able varying amounts of other food materials. 2. "BuiLDiNG-FooDS," which include: Proteins, represented by (as listed above).