FoodNet

Foods, their selection and preparation

1935

Page 13

Presented as published in 1935. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
’These are pantothenic acid, pyredoxine, para- amino benzoic acid, folic acid, bioten, choline, and inositol. [14] poor in both quantity and quality. Ade¬ quate amounts of this vitamin in the moth¬ er’s diet provide the amounts needed for nursing infants. The list of foods containing thiamine is long, since a large number of foods contain small quantities of this vitamin. Pork is the richest natural source of thiamine; most fruits and vegetables contain some, and all seeds are rich sources of this vitamin. In cereals thiamine is most abundant in the germ and other portions removed in milling. Thiamine is destroyed by heat more readily than vitamin A, especially in solutions with an alkaline reaction. Long cooking and cooking at high temperatures tend to destroy thiamine. Since this vitamin is very soluble in water, it may be washed out in cooking when much water is used. Riboflavin, the second member of the vi- tamin-B group, is similar in function to thi¬ amine. It plays an important part in the formation and functioning of oxidative en¬ zymes in body tissue that are responsible for release of energy. It is essential for well-being at all ages. A continued deficiency of ribo¬ flavin causes loss of weight and premature appearance of old age. Riboflavin occurs in many foods in mod¬ erate or small quantities. The best sources are glandular organs, lean meat, eggs, milk (either whole or skimmed, fresh, canned, or dried), green leaves, the germ portion of cereals, and yeast. Like thiamine, riboflavin is very soluble in water. It withstands heat of cooking much better than thiamine. Table III lists the important food sources of thiamine and riboflavin and the approxi¬ mate amounts contained in 100-gram edible portions of these foods. Niacin, or nicotinic acid, the third impor¬ tant member of the B group, is sometimes designated as the "antipellagra” vitamin. Niacin is an important factor in the cure of pellagra, but complete recovery requires other important nutrients. Pellagra, a de¬ ficiency disease, is apparently a multiple deficiency in which the absence of niacin plays an important part. Early work by the United States Public Health Service and the United States De¬ partment of Agriculture indicated that pel¬ lagra is prevented by including in the diet each day a quart of milk or buttermilk, or a pint of evaporated milk, six to eight ounces of dry skim milk, lean meat, canned salmon, peanut meal, or one pound of fresh or canned collards, kale, green peas, or turnip greens. The usefulness of these foods in the prevention of pellagra is probably due in part to the presence of other factors along with the niacin. It can be assumed that when the diet sup¬ plies adequate amounts of thiamine and riboflavin from natural food sources, the need for niacin as an antipellagra factor has been met.