<h2 class='c004'>LAWS OF DIET.</h2></div>
<p class='c010'>Reasons why food in its natural state would be the best.
Concentrated nutriment. Interesting experiments on animals.
Mixtures of food. Leavened and unleavened bread.
Qualifications of the best bread.</p>
<p class='c007'>If man were to subsist wholly on alimentary
substances in their natural state,
or without any artificial preparation by
cooking, then he would be obliged to use
his teeth freely in masticating his food;
and by so doing, not only preserve his
teeth from decay, and keep them in sound
health, but at the same time, and by the
same means, would he thoroughly mix
his food with the fluid of his mouth, and
thus prepare it both for swallowing and
for the action of the stomach, and by the
same means also, he would be made to
swallow his food slowly, as the welfare
of the stomach and of the whole system
requires he should.</p>
<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>Again, if man were to subsist wholly
on uncooked food, he would never suffer
from the improper temperature of his aliment.
Hot substances taken into the
mouth, serve more directly and powerfully
to destroy the teeth, than any other cause
which acts immediately upon them; and
hot food and drink received into the stomach,
always in some degree debilitate
that organ, and through it, every other
organ and portion of the whole system;
diminishing, as an ultimate result, the
vital power of every part—impairing every
function, and increasing the susceptibility
of the whole body to the action of disturbing
causes, and predisposing it to
disease. Again, if man were to subsist
entirely on food in a natural state, he
would never suffer from concentrated aliment.
Every substance in nature which
God has prepared for the food of man,
consists of both nutritious and innutritious
matter. The proportions vary in different
kinds of food. Thus in a hundred pounds
of potatoes, there are about twenty-five
pounds of nourishing matter; while in a
<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>hundred pounds of good wheat there are
about eighty pounds of nourishing matter.
There are a few products of the vegetable
kingdom which are still higher in the
scale of nutriment, than wheat; and on
the other hand there is a boundless variety
ranging below wheat, extending down to
three or four per cent. of nourishment.
But nature, without the aid of human art,
produces nothing for the alimentary use of
man which is purely a concentrated nutrient
substance. And God has constructed
man in strict accordance with this general
economy of nature. He has organized
and endowed the human body with reference
to the condition and qualities of those
substances in nature, which He designed
for the food of man. And consequently,
while man obeys the laws of constitution
and relation which should govern him in
regard to his food, he preserves the health
and integrity of his alimentary organs,
and through them of his whole nature;
and so far as his dietetic habits are concerned,
secures the highest and best condition
of his nature. But, if he disregards
<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>these laws, and by artificial means greatly
departs from the natural adaptation of
things, he inevitably brings evil on himself
and on his posterity.</p>
<p class='c008'>It has been fully proved that “bulk, or
a due proportion of innutritious matter in
our food, is quite as important to health as
nourishment.” Human beings may subsist
from childhood to extreme old age on
good potatoes and pure water alone, and
enjoy the best and most uninterrupted
health, and possess the greatest muscular
power and ability to endure protracted
fatigue and exposure. But if the purely
nutrient matter of the potato be separated
out by artificial means, and human beings,
fed exclusively on this concentrated form
of aliment and pure water, they will soon
perish, because the alimentary organs of
man are not constituted and endowed for
such kinds of food. And this is true of
all animals, in the higher orders, at least.</p>
<p class='c008'>We know that dogs fed on sugar and
water, gum and water, fine flour bread
and water, or any other kind of concentrated
aliment, will soon languish, and
<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>droop, and emaciate, and die; but if a
due proportion of proper innutritious substance
be mixed with these concentrated
forms of aliment, the dogs will subsist on
them and remain healthy. So if horses,
cows, deer, sheep, and other grass-eating
animals be fed on grain alone, they will
soon lose their appetite and begin to droop,
and will shortly perish; but if a due proportion
of straw or shavings of wood be
given them with their grain, they will continue
to do well. Man is affected in the
same manner. He cannot long subsist on
purely nutritious substances. And the
reason is not because these substances
have no azote or nitrogen in them; nor
is it because man <i>necessarily</i> requires a
variety of alimentary substances, but simply
and exclusively because the anatomical
construction and vital powers of the
alimentary organs, are constitutionally
adapted to alimentary substances which
consist of both nutritious and innutritious
matter; and therefore a due proportion of
innutritious matter in the food of man is
as essential to the welfare of his alimentary
<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>organs, as a due proportion of nourishment
is to the support of his body.</p>
<p class='c008'>Again, if man subsisted wholly on uncooked
food, he would not only be preserved
from improper concentrations, but
also from pernicious combinations of alimentary
substances. The alimentary organs
of man, like those of the horse, ox,
sheep, dog, cat, and most or all other
animals of the higher orders, if not in fact,
of all other animals without limitation,
possess the vital capability of so accommodating
themselves to emergencies, that
they can be made to digest almost every
vegetable and animal substance in nature;
and they can, by long training, be educated
to digest a mixture of these substances at
the same time. Nevertheless it is incontestibly
true, that the alimentary organs
of man and of all other animals, can manage
one kind of food at a time better than
a mixed ingestion; for it is impossible
that the solvent fluids secreted by the
stomach and other organs belonging to the
alimentary apparatus, should be at the
<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>same time equally well adapted to entirely
different kinds of food.</p>
<p class='c008'>I do not say that the alimentary organs
of man cannot, by long habit, be brought
into such a condition as that, while that
condition remains, they will not manage a
mixed ingestion of animal and vegetable
food, with more immediate comfort and
satisfaction to themselves and the individual,
than they will an ingestion of
pure vegetable food. But this does not
militate against the general principle in
the least; for it is nevertheless true, that
the same organs are capable of being
brought into a condition in which they
will manage an ingestion of unmixed food
of either kind, with less embarrassment
and injury to themselves and the whole
system, than they can the mixed food in
any condition. Hence it is a general law
of nature, concerning the dietetic habits of
man, that simplicity of food at each meal
is essential to the highest well-being of the
individual and of the race.</p>
<p class='c008'>God has unquestionably provided a
great and rich variety of substances for
<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>man’s nourishment and enjoyment; but it
is equally certain that he did not design
that man should partake of all this variety
at a single meal, nor in a single day, nor
season—but from meal to meal, from day
to day, and from season to season, varying
his enjoyment in strictest consistency with
the great laws of his nature. And hence
all artificial combinations of alimentary
substances, and particularly those of a
heterogeneous kind, and yet more especially
the concentrated forms, must be more or
less pernicious to the alimentary organs,
and through them to the whole system.</p>
<p class='c008'>Finally, if man subsisted wholly on
uncooked food, the undepraved integrity
of his appetite, his thorough mastication
and slow swallowing, and his simple meal,
would greatly serve to prevent his overeating,
and thus save him from the ruinous
effects of one of the most destructive
causes operating in civic life.</p>
<p class='c008'>Whatever may be the material, therefore,
from which bread is made, when the
artificial preparation is of that simple
character which leaves the proportions of
<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>nutritious and innutritious properties, as
nature combined them, and effects little
change in the nutritious principles, and
retains the natural requisition for the function
of the teeth, and thus secures the
proper chewing of the food and the mixing
of it with the fluids of the mouth, and
swallowing of it slowly, the artificial process
militates very little, if at all, against
any of the physiological or vital interests
of the body. But if our artificial process
of bread-making, concentrates the nutrient
properties, and destroys the due proportion
between the bulk and nourishment, and
forms improper changes and combinations
in the nutrient elements, and does away
the necessity for mastication or chewing,
and presents the food in too elevated a
temperature, or too hot, and enables us to
swallow it too rapidly, with little or no
exercise of the teeth, and without properly
mixing it with the fluids of the mouth,
the artificial process or cooking is decidedly
and often exceedingly inimical, not
only to the vital interests of the alimentary
organs, but of the whole human system.</p>
<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>In all civilized nations, and particularly
in civic life, bread, as I have already
stated, is far the most important article of
food which is artificially prepared; and in
our country and climate, it is the most
important article that enters into the diet
of man; and therefore it is of the first
consideration, that its character should, in
every respect, be as nearly as possible,
consistent with the laws of constitution
and relation established in our nature; or
with the anatomical construction and vital
properties and powers and interest of our
systems.</p>
<p class='c008'>If we contemplate the human constitution
in its highest and best condition,—in
the possession of its most vigorous and
unimpaired powers—and ask, what must
be the character of our bread in order to
preserve that constitution in that condition?
the answer most indubitably is, that
the coarse unleavened bread of early times,
when of proper age, was one of the least
removes from the natural state of food,—one
of the simplest and most wholesome
forms of artificial preparations, and best
<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>adapted to fulfil the laws of constitution
and relation; and therefore best adapted
to sustain the most vigorous and healthy
state of the alimentary organs, and the
highest and best condition of the whole
nature of man, as a general and permanent
fact; and hence it is very questionable
whether loaf or raised bread can be
made equally conducive to all the interests
of our nature, with the simple unleavened
bread.</p>
<p class='c008'>I am aware that many professional men
entertain a very different opinion on this
subject, and speak of unleavened bread
as being less nourishing and less easily
digested. This may be true to a limited
extent, in special cases of impaired and
debilitated alimentary organs; but I am
confident that as a general fact the notion
is entirely erroneous.</p>
<p class='c008'>“The whole people of Asia,” says Dr.
Cullen, “live upon unfermented rice. The
Americans, before they became acquainted
with the Europeans, employed, and for
the most part, still employ their maize in
the same condition. Even in Europe, the
<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>employment of unfermented bread, and unfermented
farinaceæ in other forms, is still
very considerable, and we are ready to
maintain that the morbid consequences of
such a diet are very seldom to be observed.
In Scotland, nine tenths of the
lower classes of people—and that is the
greater part of the whole—live upon unfermented
bread and unfermented farinaceæ
in other forms, and at the same time, I
am of opinion that there are not a more
healthy people anywhere to be found.
We give it to all classes and both sexes
with advantage.”</p>
<p class='c008'>It is incontestibly true, that if two portions
of the same kind of wheat meal be
taken and made, the one into unleavened
and the other into leavened bread, and
both be eaten warm from the oven, the
leavened bread will prove much more
oppressive and difficult to manage in the
stomach than the unleavened. But aside
from the changes that are produced by the
process of fermentation, there are many
other considerations why unleavened bread
of a proper quality and age, is better
<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>adapted to sustain the alimentary organs
and general constitution of man, in their
highest and best condition.</p>
<p class='c008'>Nevertheless, it is very certain, that loaf
or raised bread can be made so nearly in
accordance with the vital laws and interests
of our bodies, as scarcely to militate
against them in any perceptible or appreciable
degree. And when I say this, I
mean not merely its effects on the health
and longevity of a single individual, but
its effects upon the human constitution,
through successive generations, for a thousand
years or more.</p>
<p class='c008'>As a general criterion or rule, then, in
regard to the character of bread, we perceive
that the most perfect loaf or raised
bread, is that which, being made of the
best material, is light, and sweet, and well
baked, and still most nearly retains all the
natural proportions and properties of the
original material.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>
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