The production of heat and the expenditure of vital force necessarily involve the wear and breaking down of tissue. There is never an act, as the movement of a muscle, or a thought of the mind, but wears out many a living cell ; and thus it is evident that unless continually repaired, the body machinery could last but a short time. But the One who made the machine, knowing this need, in infinite wisdom, prepared especially for it the particular kinds of food needed for repairing and building purposes. These are known as protein and mineral matters. Protein is that element in our food which builds new tissues and repairs the worn parts of the body. It is found in milk, es- pecially in the curd (the part utilized in cottage cheese) ; in the white of egg; in dried peas, beans, and lentils; and in the various nuts, most of which are rich in protein. It is found in lesser quantities in all our common foods except sugar and pure fat; for instance, the gluten of wheat (that part which is gummy when chewed). Wheat gives us, in a loaf of good bread, about ten calories of protein in one hundred calories of food, which is the recognized dietary requirement in normal health. Mineral Matters are those substances in our food which are used to build up the bones and the teeth, and which enter into the formation of the blood and the tissues ; hence they are included 12 SCIENCE of FOOD and COOKERY in the building foods. They are, found in small quantities in all natural foods, especially in whole grain cereals and fresh fruits and vegetables. HEAT AND ENERGY FOODS As our houses are warmed, so also our bodies are maintained at a certain temperature, about 98.4° to 98.6°. In our homes, the fires are kept burning in our furnaces ; so in our bodies, heat is generated by a process similar to fire, the fire being essentially the same as any other fire, — the union of the oxygen of the air with the carbon of the fuel. No matter how rapidly or how slowly these ' elements unite, whether in the furnace, or in the body, or in the decaying log, heat is given off. In the body, food is the fuel that furnishes the carbon, and the breath is the air that furnishes the oxygen. The union of carbon and oxygen does not take place in the stomach or in the lungs, but in the various tissues to which they are carried by the blood. The body is thus, as it were, all on fire. To satisfy the demand for heat, we have a certain class of foods especially rich in carbon, and therefore well suited to the maintaining of normal temperature. This class is known as the "carbonaceous group," and includes starches, fats, and sugars. While our bodies must be supplied with heat, it is quite as im- portant that they possess an ample store of energy for work and exercise, in. order that we may perform life's duties. In physics, we are taught that heat is one form or manifestation of force, and that heat may at will be converted into force, and force into heat. This is true of the heat and energy furnished by our carbonaceous foods. The fats are the great heat producers, while the starches furnish most of the energy. Starch comes from vegetable foods, — chiefly the cereal grains, but also the potato and the banana. Fats are found in olives ; in nuts ; in milk and cream ; in butter ; in vegetable oils, and other solid vegetable fats.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The production of heat and the expenditure of vital force necessarily involve the wear and breaking down of tissue. There is never an act, as the movement of a muscle, or a thought of the mind, but wears out many a living cell ; and thus it is evident that unless continually repaired, the body machinery could last but a short time. But the One who made the machine, knowing this need, in infinite wisdom, prepared especially for it the particular kinds of food needed for repairing and building purposes. These are known as protein and mineral matters. Protein is that element in our food which builds new tissues and repairs the worn parts of the body. It is found in milk, especially in the curd (the part utilized in cottage cheese) ; in the white of egg; in dried peas, beans, and lentils; and in the various nuts, most of which are rich in protein. It is found in lesser quantities in all our common foods except sugar and pure fat; for instance, the gluten of wheat (that part which is gummy when chewed). Wheat gives us, in a loaf of good bread, about ten calories of protein in one hundred calories of food, which is the recognized dietary requirement in normal health. Mineral Matters are those substances in our food which are used to build up the bones and the teeth, and which enter into the formation of the blood and the tissues ; hence they are included in the building foods. They are, found in small quantities in all natural foods, especially in whole grain cereals and fresh fruits and vegetables. HEAT AND ENERGY FOODS As our houses are warmed, so also our bodies are maintained at a certain temperature, about 98.4° to 98.6°. In our homes, the fires are kept burning in our furnaces ; so in our bodies, heat is generated by a process similar to fire, the fire being essentially the same as any other fire, — the union of the oxygen of the air with the carbon of the fuel. No matter how rapidly or how slowly these ' elements unite, whether in the furnace, or in the body, or in the decaying log, heat is given off. In the body, food is the fuel that furnishes the carbon, and the breath is the air that furnishes the oxygen. The union of carbon and oxygen does not take place in the stomach or in the lungs, but in the various tissues to which they are carried by the blood. The body is thus, as it were, all on fire. To satisfy the demand for heat, we have a certain class of foods especially rich in carbon, and therefore well suited to the maintaining of normal temperature. This class is known as the "carbonaceous group," and includes starches, fats, and sugars. While our bodies must be supplied with heat, it is quite as important that they possess an ample store of energy for work and exercise, in. order that we may perform life's duties. In physics, we are taught that heat is one form or manifestation of force, and that heat may at will be converted into force, and force into heat. This is true of the heat and energy furnished by our carbonaceous foods. The fats are the great heat producers, while the starches furnish most of the energy. Starch comes from vegetable foods, — chiefly the cereal grains, but also the potato and the banana. Fats are found in olives ; in nuts ; in milk and cream ; in butter ; in vegetable oils, and other solid vegetable fats.

Science of food & cookery