Eating Between Meals. — In order to have health and efficiency,
the body must be supplied with wholesome food, at regular inter-
vals, and nothing between meals. This is absolutely necessary to
insure the secretion of digestive juices for transforming the food
into healthy blood and tissue. The glands will then form the
habit of pouring out the proper juices into the stomach at meal-
times every day, for nature does everything on time. On the
other hand, eating at untimely seasons and between meals leads
to the disorder of these delicate glands, so they will not perform
their work properly.
80
It is a general custom to serve the meals too closely together.
The stomach should have time to dispose of one meal before
another is introduced, with an interval of rest between ; because
the muscles of the stomach need rest after active work, just as
do the muscles of the arm. The glands must have time to become
recharged with a good quality of digestive juices. At least five or
six hours should intervene between meals.
"// you keep your digestive mill constantly grinding, it will-
soon wear out."
Large Variety. — The researches of Pavlov brought out the
interesting fact that for each kind of food, such as bread, milk,
vegetables, meat, fruit, etc., a different kind of digestive juice is
required. Hence the wisdom of limiting the number of foods at
one meal to a select few. The human body, though intricate and
complicated in its structure, is nevertheless very simple in its
automatic control when adjusted to its original environment of
simplicity in diet. Any tendency toward monotony or sameness
in meals may be avoided by having variety at different meals.
The following words are to the point:
"A disordered stomach produces a disordered, uncertain state
of mind. . . . Many a plan that would have been a blessing to
the world has been set aside, many unjust, oppressive, even cruel
measures have been carried, as the result of diseased conditions
due to wrong habits of eating.
"Here is a suggestion for all whose work is sedentary or chiefly
mental; let those who have sufficient moral courage and self-control
try it: At each meal take only two or three kinds of simple food,
and eat no more than is required to satisfy hunger. Take active
exercise every day, and see if you do not receive benefit."- -"Min-
istry of Healing," page j/o.
The taking of any considerable number of foods at one meal,
even though they be not antagonistic to one another, is bound
to overtax the digestive organs, and so favor fermentation and
poisoning, rather than nourish the system. The Canadian Con-
fectioner and Baker says concerning the use of a large variety
of food at one meal:
81
SCIENCE of FOOD and COOKERY
"The reason why there are so many dyspeptics found, is not
that we work harder nor even worry more than our fathers did,
but we eat too much and too many things. If our grandfathers
could only see what we put into our stomachs at a single sitting,
they would turn in their graves ! Is it any wonder, then, that there
is so little real relish for food?" — Quoted in "Baker's Review,"
October, 1912.
Page 44
Presented as published in 1921. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Eating Between Meals. — In order to have health and efficiency, the body must be supplied with wholesome food, at regular intervals, and nothing between meals. This is absolutely necessary to insure the secretion of digestive juices for transforming the food into healthy blood and tissue. The glands will then form the habit of pouring out the proper juices into the stomach at mealtimes every day, for nature does everything on time. On the other hand, eating at untimely seasons and between meals leads to the disorder of these delicate glands, so they will not perform their work properly.
It is a general custom to serve the meals too closely together. The stomach should have time to dispose of one meal before another is introduced, with an interval of rest between ; because the muscles of the stomach need rest after active work, just as do the muscles of the arm. The glands must have time to become recharged with a good quality of digestive juices. At least five or six hours should intervene between meals.
"If you keep your digestive mill constantly grinding, it will soon wear out."
Large Variety. — The researches of Pavlov brought out the interesting fact that for each kind of food, such as bread, milk, vegetables, meat, fruit, etc., a different kind of digestive juice is required. Hence the wisdom of limiting the number of foods at one meal to a select few. The human body, though intricate and complicated in its structure, is nevertheless very simple in its automatic control when adjusted to its original environment of simplicity in diet. Any tendency toward monotony or sameness in meals may be avoided by having variety at different meals. The following words are to the point:
"A disordered stomach produces a disordered, uncertain state of mind. . . . Many a plan that would have been a blessing to the world has been set aside, many unjust, oppressive, even cruel measures have been carried, as the result of diseased conditions due to wrong habits of eating.
"Here is a suggestion for all whose work is sedentary or chiefly mental; let those who have sufficient moral courage and self-control try it: At each meal take only two or three kinds of simple food, and eat no more than is required to satisfy hunger. Take active exercise every day, and see if you do not receive benefit."- -"Ministry of Healing," page j/o.
The taking of any considerable number of foods at one meal, even though they be not antagonistic to one another, is bound to overtax the digestive organs, and so favor fermentation and poisoning, rather than nourish the system. The Canadian Confectioner and Baker says concerning the use of a large variety of food at one meal:
"The reason why there are so many dyspeptics found, is not that we work harder nor even worry more than our fathers did, but we eat too much and too many things. If our grandfathers could only see what we put into our stomachs at a single sitting, they would turn in their graves ! Is it any wonder, then, that there is so little real relish for food?" — Quoted in "Baker's Review," October, 1912.