It is an error to suppose that children especially, need large quantities
of fat and su^ar. The opinion has been gaining of late, that fat and sugar
are preventitives of consumption when fed to children so as to increase their
fat. From some considerable observation on the subject, we are decidedly
of the opinion that the practice is a bad one and the theory upon which it is
based wholly erroneous. These substances are themselves difficult of di-
gestion (this is especially* true of fat) and hinder the digestion of food., thus
producing dyspepsia which causes decay of the teeth and doubtless an equally
marked deterioration in other parts of the system. The notion that the ap-
Setite for sugar is a natural one is shown to be false by the fact stated by
►r. Anthony Carlisle, the Artie traveler. According to Mr. Carlisle, the lit-
tle folks in the vicinity of the North Pole are not fond of sweets. He says
that when sugar was placed in their mouths they made very vrry faces and
spattered it out with disgust. There is no evidence whatever that it "pre-
HINTS FOR THE WELL. 659
serves the teeth," "aids digestion," ''promotes growth" or "prevents con-
sumption/' as many persons believe.
It is an error to suppose that many varietieB of food are essential to
good digestive nutrition. The common sense of most people who suffer with
weak digestion has taught them that one or two kinds of food at a meal are
more easilv digested than a large variety, notwithstanding the erroneous
teaching of some popular authors on this subject. It is true that the appe-
tite sometimes refuses food when its use is long continued without change,
but the variety should be obtained by employing different foods or dishes at
different meals rather than at the same meal. There is no doubt that dys-
pepsia is not unfrequently the result of the indiscriminate gormandizing in
which people indulge whose chief aim in eating is to satisfy the palate.
It is a very great error to suppose that brain-workers, students, cler^-
men, lawyers and other persons whose vocation is largelv sedentary, require
but little food. The very opposite is true. A brain worker uses up as much
blood in three hours of intense labor as the muscle worker in ten hours of
ordinarv toil. Brain workers should be well fed, but they must not be over-
fed. Many of the cases of apoplexy in professional men, set down to over-
work, are really attributable to overeating. A brain worker needs as much
food and as nutritious food as a muscle worker, but he is compelled to be
more careful in its selection, and cannot exceed with impunity the limits of
his actual needs. This point is often neglected with reference to school-
children, especially girls, who are not unfrequentlv allowed to make the at-
tempt to live and study hard on a slice or two of wneat bread and a cup of
coffee for breakfast, bread and butter ^nd pickles for dinner and a morsel
chiefly made up of "dessert" at night, when dinner is taken at six, as in
many of the large cities. In many female boarding schools the dietarv is
neglected, an insufficient amount of nourishing elements being furnishea to
support the vigorous mental effort required of students. Under such a regi-
me it is no wonder that many young women break down just when they
ought to be enjoying the highest degree of health and strength.
Page 577
Presented as published in 1890. 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
It is an error to suppose that children especially, need large quantities of fat and sugar. The opinion has been gaining of late, that fat and sugar are preventives of consumption when fed to children so as to increase their fat. From some considerable observation on the subject, we are decidedly of the opinion that the practice is a bad one and the theory upon which it is based wholly erroneous. These substances are themselves difficult of digestion (this is especially true of fat) and hinder the digestion of food, thus producing dyspepsia which causes decay of the teeth and doubtless an equally marked deterioration in other parts of the system. The notion that the appetite for sugar is a natural one is shown to be false by the fact stated by Dr. Anthony Carlisle, the Artie traveler. According to Mr. Carlisle, the little folks in the vicinity of the North Pole are not fond of sweets. He says that when sugar was placed in their mouths they made very very faces and spattered it out with disgust. There is no evidence whatever that it "pre-
HINTS FOR THE WELL. 659
serves the teeth," "aids digestion," ''promotes growth" or "prevents consumption/' as many persons believe.
It is an error to suppose that many varieties of food are essential to good digestive nutrition. The common sense of most people who suffer with weak digestion has taught them that one or two kinds of food at a meal are more easilv digested than a large variety, notwithstanding the erroneous teaching of some popular authors on this subject. It is true that the appetite sometimes refuses food when its use is long continued without change, but the variety should be obtained by employing different foods or dishes at different meals rather than at the same meal. There is no doubt that dyspepsia is not unfrequently the result of the indiscriminate gormandizing in which people indulge whose chief aim in eating is to satisfy the palate.
It is a very great error to suppose that brain-workers, students, clergymen, lawyers and other persons whose vocation is largelv sedentary, require but little food. The very opposite is true. A brain worker uses up as much blood in three hours of intense labor as the muscle worker in ten hours of ordinarv toil. Brain workers should be well fed, but they must not be overfed. Many of the cases of apoplexy in professional men, set down to overwork, are really attributable to overeating. A brain worker needs as much food and as nutritious food as a muscle worker, but he is compelled to be more careful in its selection, and cannot exceed with impunity the limits of his actual needs. This point is often neglected with reference to schoolchildren, especially girls, who are not unfrequentlv allowed to make the attempt to live and study hard on a slice or two of wheat bread and a cup of coffee for breakfast, bread and butter and pickles for dinner and a morsel chiefly made up of "dessert" at night, when dinner is taken at six, as in many of the large cities. In many female boarding schools the dietarv is neglected, an insufficient amount of nourishing elements being furnishea to support the vigorous mental effort required of students. Under such a regime it is no wonder that many young women break down just when they ought to be enjoying the highest degree of health and strength.