I have been using in my family a well-known
preparation of wheat. It is sold for ten cents a i
package, which is supposed to contain one pound;
but on the package in small letters, it is stated; i
"This package contains five ounces net weight."
At this rate a pound costs thirty-two cents.
Wh^t costs about two cents a pound.
CHAPTER XIV
Why Folks Grow Fat
People are too stout mainly for two reasons :
They eat too much and exercise too little ; there
is some defect in their oxidation apparatus.
Such persons have an abnormally powerful
"sweet tooth"; but a fondness for sweets is a
symptom of and not a cause of the obesity.
For normal individuals sugar is a good digest-
ible food. In healthy children a fondness for it
does not cause obesity or indigestion. Normally
sugar is too easily oxidized to be stored up as
fat or adipose tissue.
Fat in the body is not derived so much from
the consumption of fats and oils in the food as
from carbohydrates, like starch and sugar.
The consumption of one ounce a day more than
the system requires for actual expenditure of
energy, would, in six months' time, increase the
bodily weight about ten pounds.
However this may be, the most common cause
of obesity is excessive eating together with a lack
of sufficient or real exercise. As a rule this class
of individuals does not know how to take exercise.
64 TRUE FOOD VALVES
That form of obesity coming on after forty,
associated with florid cheeks, due to the dilated
blood vessels of the face, should serve as a
warning signal of approaching arteriosclerosis ■
(hardening of the arteries).
It is a difficult matter to make people realize
the danger of overheating, and the penalties
incurred, namely, high blood pressure, hardening
of the arteries, and premature old age, often ,
called the A, B, C of prosperity — ^apoplexy,
Bright's disease, and cardiac degeneration.
Active physical exertion that brings into play i
the muscles of the body is the rational and only '
method for oxidation, and this must be kept up
to prevent the accumulation of piled-up fuel. For
the average person four miles a day, rain or shine,
should be the rule — -not a lazy man's walk, but
a quick, energetic movement that will start the
perspiration. A regularly laid-out course of gym-
nastics, or physical culture exercises, is particu-
larly adapted to the reduction of the excessive fat
desposits about the hips, back, chest, and abdo-
men. Of course, if there is any marked weakness
about the heart muscles, the exercises must be
carefully graduated by the physician according
to the heart's efficiency.
Another very efficacious measure is to keep the
AND THEIR LOW COSTS
6S
bowels open, and to see that the liver is perform-
ing its functions properly. Many, if not most,
persons have the false notion that if the bowels
are kept open by dosing with physic, the liver will
take care of itself. If the judicious use of fruit
and the proper diet do not remedy the constipa-
tion, instead of resorting to active cathartics, it
is better to seek the aid of Nature's remedy in
some of the natural spring waters, such as Con-
gress Springs, Hunyadi Janos, Pluto Water, etc.
Another very decided help in these cases is
fasting. The human stomach is none the worse
for a complete rest for three or four days, not-
withstanding the foolish notion that it is danger-
ous to skip over a few meals now and then.
One good scheme of reducing weight is to eat
but one kind of food at a meal. This is not rec-
ommended for any one in poor health, but for the
hearty obese.
It is much easier to get along with a small
amount of starches and sugars if a little fat food
is taken than if not. Crisp bacon is one of the
most digestible forms of fat to eat, and is cer-
tainly one of the most satisfying.
CHAPTER XV
Useful Hints
Page 18
Presented as published in 1916. 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
I have been using in my family a well-known preparation of wheat. It is sold for ten cents a i package, which is supposed to contain one pound; but on the package in small letters, it is stated; i "This package contains five ounces net weight." At this rate a pound costs thirty-two cents. Wheat costs about two cents a pound.
CHAPTER XIV Why Folks Grow Fat
People are too stout mainly for two reasons : They eat too much and exercise too little ; there is some defect in their oxidation apparatus.
Such persons have an abnormally powerful "sweet tooth"; but a fondness for sweets is a symptom of and not a cause of the obesity.
For normal individuals sugar is a good digestible food. In healthy children a fondness for it does not cause obesity or indigestion. Normally sugar is too easily oxidized to be stored up as fat or adipose tissue.
Fat in the body is not derived so much from the consumption of fats and oils in the food as from carbohydrates, like starch and sugar.
The consumption of one ounce a day more than the system requires for actual expenditure of energy, would, in six months' time, increase the bodily weight about ten pounds.
However this may be, the most common cause of obesity is excessive eating together with a lack of sufficient or real exercise. As a rule this class of individuals does not know how to take exercise.
That form of obesity coming on after forty, associated with florid cheeks, due to the dilated blood vessels of the face, should serve as a warning signal of approaching arteriosclerosis ■ (hardening of the arteries).
It is a difficult matter to make people realize the danger of overheating, and the penalties incurred, namely, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, and premature old age, often , called the A, B, C of prosperity — ^apoplexy, Bright's disease, and cardiac degeneration.
Active physical exertion that brings into play i the muscles of the body is the rational and only ' method for oxidation, and this must be kept up to prevent the accumulation of piled-up fuel. For the average person four miles a day, rain or shine, should be the rule — -not a lazy man's walk, but a quick, energetic movement that will start the perspiration. A regularly laid-out course of gymnastics, or physical culture exercises, is particularly adapted to the reduction of the excessive fat desposits about the hips, back, chest, and abdomen. Of course, if there is any marked weakness about the heart muscles, the exercises must be carefully graduated by the physician according to the heart's efficiency.
Another very efficacious measure is to keep the
6S
bowels open, and to see that the liver is performing its functions properly. Many, if not most, persons have the false notion that if the bowels are kept open by dosing with physic, the liver will take care of itself. If the judicious use of fruit and the proper diet do not remedy the constipation, instead of resorting to active cathartics, it is better to seek the aid of Nature's remedy in some of the natural spring waters, such as Congress Springs, Hunyadi Janos, Pluto Water, etc.
Another very decided help in these cases is fasting. The human stomach is none the worse for a complete rest for three or four days, notwithstanding the foolish notion that it is dangerous to skip over a few meals now and then.
One good scheme of reducing weight is to eat but one kind of food at a meal. This is not recommended for any one in poor health, but for the hearty obese.
It is much easier to get along with a small amount of starches and sugars if a little fat food is taken than if not. Crisp bacon is one of the most digestible forms of fat to eat, and is certainly one of the most satisfying.
CHAPTER XV Useful Hints