"Most persons in America eat much more protein than this. But that ten calories out of every one hundred is not too small an allowance is evidenced by the analysis of human milk. The growing infant needs the maximum proportion of protein. . . . Consequently an analysis of human mothers' milk affords a clue to the maximum protein suitable for human beings. Of this milk, seven calories out of every one hundred calories are protein. If all protein were as thoroughly utilized as milk protein or meat protein, seven calories out of one hundred would be ample; but 54 FOOD VALUES _ . [Nitrogenous PROTEIN Tissue-forming Substances 0rganiClNon-nitroeenousI CARBOHYDRATES 1,, , , _ FATS jHeat and Energy Min. Matter Wate Inorganic Salts — Mineral Matters, Water Protein Fat« Carbohydrate 55 SCIENCE of FOOD and COOKERY all vegetable proteins are not so completely available. Making proper allowance for this fact, we reach the conclusion that ten calories out of every one hundred are sufficient." — "How to Live," by Professor Irving Fisher and Lyman Fisk, pages 36, 38. The fact that protein is absolutely essential for the growth and repair of the body — there being no other food principle that can take its place in furnishing muscle-building material — has a tend- ency to lead people to believe that they might be benefited by the consumption of large quantities of protein foods, when the fact is that the body can use but a limited amount for the development and repair of tissue. Proteins cannot be stored up in the body for future use, as can the carbohydrates and the fats; therefore any excess of protein must be eliminated, at great expense to the vitality of the system. Flesh meat is very high in protein, and contains no carbohydrate. Notwithstanding this*, many persons have been accustomed to look upon flesh meat as the backbone of the meal, thus increasing the danger from excess of nitrogenous material. In the vegetable kingdom, the food elements are so combined that the protein aver- age is low. In other words, when we combine the nutritious grains with the bulky vegetables, or the juicy fruits with the concentrated pecan or walnut, the diet is already balanced. Although protein, when oxidized in the body, is capable of yielding a certain amount of heat, it is inferior for this purpose to carbohydrates and fats, because, on being burned in the body, it also yields certain deleterious products, which throw upon the liver and the kidneys an unnecessary amount of labor, thus weak- ening them and rendering them more susceptible to the attacks of disease. Many of the ailments so prevalent to-day, such as rheumatism, gout, gastrointestinal disturbances, indigestion, and liver troubles, have been found to be closely associated with the habitual overeating of protein foods. We would not, however, recommend the measuring and weigh- ing of the foods eaten, in order to be sure of exact proportions. If natural, unprocessed foods, containing all their mineral salts and essential vitamines, are eaten intelligently, with regularity in meals, the calories will take care of themselves. 56 VI. ROOD ECONOMICS "Economy is not saving but wisely spending." — Ruskin.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

"Most persons in America eat much more protein than this. But that ten calories out of every one hundred is not too small an allowance is evidenced by the analysis of human milk. The growing infant needs the maximum proportion of protein. . . . Consequently an analysis of human mothers' milk affords a clue to the maximum protein suitable for human beings. Of this milk, seven calories out of every one hundred calories are protein. If all protein were as thoroughly utilized as milk protein or meat protein, seven calories out of one hundred would be ample; but FOOD VALUES _ . [Nitrogenous PROTEIN Tissue-forming Substances 0rganiClNon-nitroeenousI CARBOHYDRATES 1,, , , _ FATS jHeat and Energy Min. Matter Wate Inorganic Salts — Mineral Matters, Water Protein Fat« Carbohydrate all vegetable proteins are not so completely available. Making proper allowance for this fact, we reach the conclusion that ten calories out of every one hundred are sufficient." — "How to Live," by Professor Irving Fisher and Lyman Fisk, pages 36, 38. The fact that protein is absolutely essential for the growth and repair of the body — there being no other food principle that can take its place in furnishing muscle-building material — has a tendency to lead people to believe that they might be benefited by the consumption of large quantities of protein foods, when the fact is that the body can use but a limited amount for the development and repair of tissue. Proteins cannot be stored up in the body for future use, as can the carbohydrates and the fats; therefore any excess of protein must be eliminated, at great expense to the vitality of the system. Flesh meat is very high in protein, and contains no carbohydrate. Notwithstanding this, many persons have been accustomed to look upon flesh meat as the backbone of the meal, thus increasing the danger from excess of nitrogenous material. In the vegetable kingdom, the food elements are so combined that the protein average is low. In other words, when we combine the nutritious grains with the bulky vegetables, or the juicy fruits with the concentrated pecan or walnut, the diet is already balanced. Although protein, when oxidized in the body, is capable of yielding a certain amount of heat, it is inferior for this purpose to carbohydrates and fats, because, on being burned in the body, it also yields certain deleterious products, which throw upon the liver and the kidneys an unnecessary amount of labor, thus weakening them and rendering them more susceptible to the attacks of disease. Many of the ailments so prevalent to-day, such as rheumatism, gout, gastrointestinal disturbances, indigestion, and liver troubles, have been found to be closely associated with the habitual overeating of protein foods. We would not, however, recommend the measuring and weighing of the foods eaten, in order to be sure of exact proportions. If natural, unprocessed foods, containing all their mineral salts and essential vitamines, are eaten intelligently, with regularity in meals, the calories will take care of themselves. ROOD ECONOMICS "Economy is not saving but wisely spending." — Ruskin.

Science of food & cookery