Because of the presence of these waste and poisonous sub- stances, flesh foods stimulate and excite the nerves. The effort on the part of nature to rid the system of poisons is commonly mistaken for real energy; but in reality, the action upon the body is the same as when tea, coffee, and alcohol are taken. For this reason, a patient with gout or inflammatory rheumatism is ordered by the physician to discontinue at once the eating of any kind of meat. The system, being already laden with poisons, cannot tol- erate the burden of additional quantities of uric acid ingested with meat. All the nourishment that is found in the world to-day was made by the plants. This is evident when we consider that the greater quantity of vegetable food ingested by the animal is burned as fuel, leaving within the flesh of animal or fowl, only a remnant of the energy and food elements originally obtained from plants. This remnant amounts to about 25%, with 75% waste; whereas in our cereal grains, we receive 75% of nourishing properties, with only 25% waste. This so-called waste in whole meal cereals is not waste at all as compared with that found in meat; for the 42 SCIENCE of FOOD and COOKERY 12% of water in wheat is of the purest, and the rough part, when ground with the wheat entire, furnishes a necessary bulk, and is rich in mineral and vitamine. As a further illustration, we compare the following analyses of fresh perch and sweet apple.1 It will be seen that the fish under consideration contains about 90.9% of water and refuse, with 9.1% of nourishing properties, as against 88.3% of water and refuse in FRESH PERCH SWEET APPLE ripe apple, with 11.7% of nutriment. This comparison shows, moreover, that we receive a greater total of food units in a pound of fruit than in the pound of fish. Water and Refuse Protein Fat Fresh Perch 90.9 7.3 1.5 Sweet Apple 88.3 .3 .3 Carbohy- Mineral Total drate Matters Calories .4 2OO 10.8 .3 220 Some may dispute the above reasoning, on account of the re- puted value of fish protein. However, it is well known that for persons using a variety of vegetable and cereal foods, together with a moderate proportion of dairy products, this high percentage of protein in fish and meats not only is useless, but actually over- burdens the system with a dead weight of surplus material. On the other hand (from the standpoint of purity), the advantage is altogether on the side of the fruit, as in fruit we receive of the purest distilled water, charged with most cleansing acids, while the water found in the animal's body 'is filled with refuse material, 1 Bulletin No. 28, United States Department of Agriculture. 43 SCIENCE of FOOD ancf COOKERY which must be expelled from the system at a great expense to the excretory organs. A further study of the analysis of food, shows that in nutritive value, each pound of corn is equal to about two and one half pounds of beef. Consequently, it would seem the very height of wisdom to get the nutriment direct, by eating the corn or other cereal in good bread or other delicacy, rather than feed it to the animal and then eat it in the form of steer or hog.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Because of the presence of these waste and poisonous substances, flesh foods stimulate and excite the nerves. The effort on the part of nature to rid the system of poisons is commonly mistaken for real energy; but in reality, the action upon the body is the same as when tea, coffee, and alcohol are taken. For this reason, a patient with gout or inflammatory rheumatism is ordered by the physician to discontinue at once the eating of any kind of meat. The system, being already laden with poisons, cannot tolerate the burden of additional quantities of uric acid ingested with meat. All the nourishment that is found in the world to-day was made by the plants. This is evident when we consider that the greater quantity of vegetable food ingested by the animal is burned as fuel, leaving within the flesh of animal or fowl, only a remnant of the energy and food elements originally obtained from plants. This remnant amounts to about 25%, with 75% waste; whereas in our cereal grains, we receive 75% of nourishing properties, with only 25% waste. This so-called waste in whole meal cereals is not waste at all as compared with that found in meat; for the 12% of water in wheat is of the purest, and the rough part, when ground with the wheat entire, furnishes a necessary bulk, and is rich in mineral and vitamine. [illustration: FRESH PERCH / SWEET APPLE] As a further illustration, we compare the following analyses of fresh perch and sweet apple.1 It will be seen that the fish under consideration contains about 90.9% of water and refuse, with 9.1% of nourishing properties, as against 88.3% of water and refuse in ripe apple, with 11.7% of nutriment. This comparison shows, moreover, that we receive a greater total of food units in a pound of fruit than in the pound of fish. Water and Refuse Protein Fat Fresh Perch 90.9 7.3 1.5 Sweet Apple 88.3 .3 .3 Carbohy- Mineral Total drate Matters Calories .4 2OO 10.8 .3 220 Some may dispute the above reasoning, on account of the reputed value of fish protein. However, it is well known that for persons using a variety of vegetable and cereal foods, together with a moderate proportion of dairy products, this high percentage of protein in fish and meats not only is useless, but actually overburdens the system with a dead weight of surplus material. On the other hand (from the standpoint of purity), the advantage is altogether on the side of the fruit, as in fruit we receive of the purest distilled water, charged with most cleansing acids, while the water found in the animal's body 'is filled with refuse material, 1 Bulletin No. 28, United States Department of Agriculture. which must be expelled from the system at a great expense to the excretory organs. A further study of the analysis of food, shows that in nutritive value, each pound of corn is equal to about two and one half pounds of beef. Consequently, it would seem the very height of wisdom to get the nutriment direct, by eating the corn or other cereal in good bread or other delicacy, rather than feed it to the animal and then eat it in the form of steer or hog.

Science of food & cookery