In seasoning such foods as hash or baked dressing, where the cooked potato in the hash and the soaked bread in the dressing readily absorb fat, and thus tend to make the food difficult of digestion, let the free fat first be used in making a sauce or a gravy, and then add this to the food. In this manner, the fat is not liberated to coat the starch granules, as is the case when free fat by itself is mixed with the starch and baked. Brazilian Coffee Pickers X. DIETETIC ERRORS "Now good digestion waits on appetite and health on both." INSTINCT originally guided man in the choice of foods best suited to his individual necessities, as also in choosing the time most suitable for the taking of such food; but civilization has created for man certain artificial environments, habits, and appe- tites, in the confusion of which his instincts are largely lost, which makes it incumbent upon him to be guided by rule and reason, rather than by impulse, in these matters. Certain dietetic indiscretions are set forth here, which, if in- dulged, would minimize any lasting benefit that might be realized from a strict conformity to rules of combination. These are hasty eating, eating between meals, too large a variety at one meal, over- eating, drinking at meals, and the use of artificial stimulants. Hasty Eating. — Digestion begins in the mouth. But when food is improperly masticated, it enters the stomach with only slight alteration. The ptyalin of saliva is not present in sufficient quantity, under such conditions, to produce any effect on the 79 SCIENCE of FOOD and COOKERY preliminary digestion of starches, with the result that the food passes through the duodenum practically unchanged, and in coarse particles, where it is likely to produce irritation. One authority says : "Although much of the mechanical preparation and mixing of foods is of a necessity done in the stomach, some of it may ad- vantageously be done in the mouth. The stomach should not be required to perform the function of the gizzard of a fowl." — "Human Foods," page 227. Hasty eating, or bolting of food, is a fruitful cause of over- eating. The food does not remain in the mouth long enough, under this condition, to give the satisfaction that it gives when thoroughly masticated ; so, in an effort to satisfy the craving for food, more is taken than the body requires. This habit leads, moreover, to the taking of too large a quantity in too short a time, which serves to paralyze, as it were, the nerve impulses that communicate with the brain, and as a result, the important message "Enough" does not reach the brain until an excess of food has been consumed. When farinaceous foods (breads, cereals, potato, etc.) are well chewed and intimately mixed with saliva, they are more efficiently digested, and go farther, less food being required than when not well digested. Bread made from the entire grain requires more mastication before it can be swallowed than does spongy white bread, and itself promotes good digestion. Dry foods, which in- duce mastication, should have a prominent place in the dietary.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

In seasoning such foods as hash or baked dressing, where the cooked potato in the hash and the soaked bread in the dressing readily absorb fat, and thus tend to make the food difficult of digestion, let the free fat first be used in making a sauce or a gravy, and then add this to the food. In this manner, the fat is not liberated to coat the starch granules, as is the case when free fat by itself is mixed with the starch and baked. Brazilian Coffee Pickers DIETETIC ERRORS "Now good digestion waits on appetite and health on both." INSTINCT originally guided man in the choice of foods best suited to his individual necessities, as also in choosing the time most suitable for the taking of such food; but civilization has created for man certain artificial environments, habits, and appetites, in the confusion of which his instincts are largely lost, which makes it incumbent upon him to be guided by rule and reason, rather than by impulse, in these matters. Certain dietetic indiscretions are set forth here, which, if indulged, would minimize any lasting benefit that might be realized from a strict conformity to rules of combination. These are hasty eating, eating between meals, too large a variety at one meal, overeating, drinking at meals, and the use of artificial stimulants. Hasty Eating. — Digestion begins in the mouth. But when food is improperly masticated, it enters the stomach with only slight alteration. The ptyalin of saliva is not present in sufficient quantity, under such conditions, to produce any effect on the preliminary digestion of starches, with the result that the food passes through the duodenum practically unchanged, and in coarse particles, where it is likely to produce irritation. One authority says : [illustration: Brazilian Coffee Pickers] "Although much of the mechanical preparation and mixing of foods is of a necessity done in the stomach, some of it may advantageously be done in the mouth. The stomach should not be required to perform the function of the gizzard of a fowl." — "Human Foods," page 227. Hasty eating, or bolting of food, is a fruitful cause of overeating. The food does not remain in the mouth long enough, under this condition, to give the satisfaction that it gives when thoroughly masticated ; so, in an effort to satisfy the craving for food, more is taken than the body requires. This habit leads, moreover, to the taking of too large a quantity in too short a time, which serves to paralyze, as it were, the nerve impulses that communicate with the brain, and as a result, the important message "Enough" does not reach the brain until an excess of food has been consumed. When farinaceous foods (breads, cereals, potato, etc.) are well chewed and intimately mixed with saliva, they are more efficiently digested, and go farther, less food being required than when not well digested. Bread made from the entire grain requires more mastication before it can be swallowed than does spongy white bread, and itself promotes good digestion. Dry foods, which induce mastication, should have a prominent place in the dietary.

Science of food & cookery