Yet it is also true that many of our eating habits are bad. Sugar on rice used as a vegetable, butter for seasoning fat meats, oil dressings or rich sauces on meat or fish, sirup on griddlecakes, ice cream as a sauce for pies, whipped cream on chocolate, bonbons during a meal — all may be relished by the epicure, but should be indulged in only by those whose diges- tions are excellent. And any combination is difficult to digest if, as in fried food or pastry, starchy materials are coated with fat. These should not necessarily be'wholly excluded from the diet, but should be served infrequently and eaten in moderation. For the second point to be considered in the choice of food, namely, that it should meet the needs of the individual as to quantity and composition, some standard for estimating those needs is essential. It is not enough that food should build and repair the tissues and framework of the body, it must also fur- nish heat to maintain the body temperature and supply energy for its work ; that is, it must have a caloric ^ value. And while the building and repairing of the tissues and framework of the body can be done only by protein and mineral salts respectively, ' A calorie is the unit by which heat is measured. It is commonly reckoned as the amount of heat required to raise one kilogram of water one degree d,:...l,CjOO^:;Ic 140 THE PRACTICAL COOKBOOK all foods except mineral salts may yield heat. Protein and carbo- hydrates supply 4 calories per gram, while fats and oils furnish 9 calories per gram. Protein should not be depended on too largely as a source of energy, not only because it is generally an expensive source of heat, but because the body can care for only a moderate amount of it. From one eighth to one tenth of the amount of heat required by the body may generally be furnished by the protein in the diet without harm. Scientists have demonstrated that an average daily need is for food that will supply 2400 to 3500 calories, the smaller amount being required by a woman at light muscular work, the larger by a man at moderately active muscular work. Age and sex modify the requirement, which is reduced by a sedentary occupation and increased by vigorous out-of-door life. Children under sixteen require from three tenths to eight tenths of the larger number of calories. Dr. Langworthy says in the Scientific Monthly for March, rgr6 : A consideration of the results of American experiments and other data has led us to conclude that, with our ordinary food habits, involving, as they do, the use of a considerable variety of foods in reasonably liberal quantities, one is justified for many purposes in discussing dietetics on a basis of energy only, since a diet which supplies 3000 to 3500 calories of energy per man per day, as ours very commonly does, almost inevitably supplies the needed protein, ash, and other constituents also. Particularly is this the case when one takes pains to include in the diet a reasonable amount of milk, green vegetables, and fruit.' The daily menus given at the end of this section are based on the needs of a man requiring 3500 calories per day, giving due consideration to the inclusion in those menus of a proper amount of each foodstuff, namely, protein, fat, starch, sugar, and ash (mineral salts). To supply the latter the housekeeper ' The reader is referred to a reprint of this article issued by the Journal of Homf Economics, Baltimore, Md., for further valuable information; also to a . publication of the American School of Home Economics, Chicago, III, entiUed " Food Values," which gives an excellent list of loo-calorie portions. L>,,...L,C.oo8lc SELECTION OF FOOD 141

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Yet it is also true that many of our eating habits are bad. Sugar on rice used as a vegetable, butter for seasoning fat meats, oil dressings or rich sauces on meat or fish, sirup on griddlecakes, ice cream as a sauce for pies, whipped cream on chocolate, bonbons during a meal — all may be relished by the epicure, but should be indulged in only by those whose digestions are excellent. And any combination is difficult to digest if, as in fried food or pastry, starchy materials are coated with fat. These should not necessarily be wholly excluded from the diet, but should be served infrequently and eaten in moderation. For the second point to be considered in the choice of food, namely, that it should meet the needs of the individual as to quantity and composition, some standard for estimating those needs is essential. It is not enough that food should build and repair the tissues and framework of the body, it must also furnish heat to maintain the body temperature and supply energy for its work ; that is, it must have a caloric ^ value. And while the building and repairing of the tissues and framework of the body can be done only by protein and mineral salts respectively, ' A calorie is the unit by which heat is measured. It is commonly reckoned as the amount of heat required to raise one kilogram of water one degree all foods except mineral salts may yield heat. Protein and carbohydrates supply 4 calories per gram, while fats and oils furnish 9 calories per gram. Protein should not be depended on too largely as a source of energy, not only because it is generally an expensive source of heat, but because the body can care for only a moderate amount of it. From one eighth to one tenth of the amount of heat required by the body may generally be furnished by the protein in the diet without harm. Scientists have demonstrated that an average daily need is for food that will supply 2400 to 3500 calories, the smaller amount being required by a woman at light muscular work, the larger by a man at moderately active muscular work. Age and sex modify the requirement, which is reduced by a sedentary occupation and increased by vigorous out-of-door life. Children under sixteen require from three tenths to eight tenths of the larger number of calories. Dr. Langworthy says in the Scientific Monthly for March, rgr6 : A consideration of the results of American experiments and other data has led us to conclude that, with our ordinary food habits, involving, as they do, the use of a considerable variety of foods in reasonably liberal quantities, one is justified for many purposes in discussing dietetics on a basis of energy only, since a diet which supplies 3000 to 3500 calories of energy per man per day, as ours very commonly does, almost inevitably supplies the needed protein, ash, and other constituents also. Particularly is this the case when one takes pains to include in the diet a reasonable amount of milk, green vegetables, and fruit.' The daily menus given at the end of this section are based on the needs of a man requiring 3500 calories per day, giving due consideration to the inclusion in those menus of a proper amount of each foodstuff, namely, protein, fat, starch, sugar, and ash (mineral salts). To supply the latter the housekeeper ' The reader is referred to a reprint of this article issued by the Journal of Homf Economics, Baltimore, Md., for further valuable information; also to a . publication of the American School of Home Economics, Chicago, III, entiUed " Food Values," which gives an excellent list of loo-calorie portions.

The practical cookbook