M624-Foods and
Food Values
WITH SUGGESTIONS HOW TO REDUCE THE
COST OF LIVING
B 398980
Michigan
Dairy and Food
Department
GILMAN M. DAME
Commissioner
FERN L. SHANNON
State Analyst
JAMES W. HELME
Deputy Commissioner
M. J. SMITH
Chief Clerk


CHEMICAL
LIBRARY
TX
351
M
16247
THE VALUE OF FOODS.
Many people fail to realize that the primary use of foods is to supply
the body with warmth, energy and the necessary materials for rebuild-
ing such parts of the body as have been worn out in the act of living.
The pangs of hunger are simply the outcry of nature that necessary
material shall be supplied to repair bodily wastes and furnish fuel
to create energy to run the human machine.
When we satisfy the pangs of hunger we are apt to do so without
nuch regard as to the suitability of the food used or its comparative
Cost with other foods of similar composition.
Years ago the dairyman discovered he must feed a "balanced" ration
to the dairy cow; that is, a ration containing a certain amount of
carbohydrates" to furnish the cow with heat and energy, and a cer-
tain amount of "protein" to repair the muscular system and produce
milk. But the dairyman did not stop here. After examining the
composition of different food stuffs suitable for the cow's consumption,
he found that "carbohydrates" and "protein" were much
pensive in some foods than in others. He thereupon selected such
oods as were the cheapest and yet would "balance" the cows' ration.
In other words he selected not only a "balanced" but an economical
ration.
ex-

THE HIGH COST OF LIVING.
Much discussion is now being had over the high cost of living. The
tremendous advance in the prices of nearly all food stuffs has brought
much hardship to the masses of people.
Both political parties in their platforms promise investigation and
possible relief from the high cost of living. These investigations will
be long drawn out and relief, if any, that can be had by legislation will
be uncertain and long delayed. The object of this bulletin will be an
endeavor to give the consumer immediate partial relief by pointing out
the value and price of various food stuffs, their uses in building up the
body and the cheapest foods that are available for those purposes. A
study of the science of food values and application of the same will
effect large reductions in the cost of living.
THE USES OF FOOD CONSTITUENTS.
We have before stated that some foods supplied warmth and energy
to the body. These are different kinds of force, one of which can be
changed into the other. Many of these foods do not assist in repair-
ing the waste of the body, because they do not contain the necessary
elements of which the body is composed; hence the warmth-and-energy
foods must be supplemented by foods that contain the materials of
which the body is composed. It will be therefore necessary for the
proper understanding of the food question to know the composition of
the body and the foods necessary for it. The constituents of food are
for these purposes divided into five classes: Fat, Carbohydrates, Protein,
Mineral matter and water.
4
Fat is found in animal products such as meat, butter, cheese and
milk; also in the oils of the olive and cotton seed and in various nuts.
Grains like oats and corn also have considerable fat.
These fats or oils furnish force to the body in the form of heat and
energy. A given weight of fat produces more than twice as much energy
as the same weight of sugar or starch foods.
If more fat is taken than the system demands, the surplus fat may
be stored in the body as fat to serve as a source of heat and energy at
some future time if needed.
Fat does not produce muscular tissue but by chemical processes is
virtually "burned" in the body to produce power.
Carbohydrates are substances which are so named because they consist
of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The most common carbohydrates are
the sugars such as milk sugar, cane sugar and grape sugar; starches,
which are the principal parts of wheat, corn and other cereals and
also of vegetables like the potato. Carbohydrates also furnish power
and energy to the body like the fats but only about half as much. They
may be changed in the body to fat and stored up for future use. Like
fat carbohydrates do not produce muscular tissue.
Protein (Pro-te-in) is a name applied to a large class of substances
containing nitrogen such as lean meat, the white of eggs, the casein of
milk, the gluten of flour and other cereals. Protein in foods is used
by the body to repair and grow the muscular tissue. It is the most
important of the food stuffs and generally the most expensive to buy.
It can also be used for heat and power like the fats and carbohydrates
but should not be, as the former are not as expensive.
Mineral matter in food is the ash left after the food is burned. The
mineral matter of the body consists of phosphate of lime, of which
the bones are composed and compounds of sodium, magnesium, Potas-
sium and iron which are found in the blood and the muscular tissue
in small amounts.

Mineral matter occurs more or less in all foods in sufficient quantities
for bodily needs so that but little heed may be given it in formulating
a balanced ration for human consumption.
Water-more than half the weight of the human body is water. It
is absolutely essential to life as it helps perform the processes of diges-
tion, distributes the food material to all parts of the body and maintains
the body at a uniform temperature. It is a natural constituent
of all foods and being abundant in nature no attention is given to it
in formulating a ration.
These different classes of food materials occur combined in nearly
all foods, but the relative amount of the different substances varies and
occasionally in some foods one is entirely absent.
The average human body contains about 15% fat, 18% protein, car-
bohydrates 10%, mineral matter 6% and water 60%.
The charts shown in this bulletin give the relative amount of
different food constituents in our most common foods.
One term given in the illustrations has not been explained. We
have noticed that fat and carbohydrates are actually burned up in the
body to produce heat and power. Every fuel gives out a definite quantity
of heat when it is burned and the value of the fuel is determined by the
amount of heat produced by a pound of it. A "Calory" is the unit for

measuring heat, just as a pound is the unit for measuring weight. A
Calory is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one
liter of water one degree.
The tables following the charts are tabulated from them, and show
in a better form the relative amount of the various constituents in our
common foods. It will be noticed that vegetable foods are generally
high in carbohydrates and animal foods high in fats, while the amounts
of protein in both animal and vegetable foods may run as high as 25%.
Different foods vary greatly in this respect.
It has been estimated that a man at hard work requires 313 ounces
of protein, 31½ ounces of fat and 17% ounces of carbohydrates to meet
the demands of the system each day.
The last two tables have been arranged to show the cheapest source
of protein and the cheapest source of power and energy in the foods
mentioned in the previous tables.
The first table shows the amount of protein in each of these different
foods that can be furnished for one cent, and the foods are arranged in
the order of the amounts supplied at that price as estimated upon the
cost per pound given in the preceding column. The second table is
arranged in a similar manner with reference to the heat and energy
furnished.

Neither table shows the relative amount of food value obtained for
the same price. As heat and energy and muscle building material are
all necessary for the support of life, the two tables must be considered
together in determining the relative food values. The fuel value of
food may be determined from the analysis. To determine the number
of calories per pound, multiply the sum of the per cent of carbohydrates
and protein by 18.6. To this product add the product of the per cent
of fat multiplied by 42.2.
THE PALATABILITY OF RATIONS.
The dairyman knows that his milch cow demands 21/2 pounds of protein
and a proportionate amount of carbohydrates. These he gives the cow
from the cheapest foods available but he recognizes one exception, that
is the ration must be palatable. The cow must like it or she will not
do well on it. Likewise palatability is a necessary thing in human
eating. We notice from the tables given that the cheapest thing that
human beings can eat which contain the necessary food constituents
are oats, corn, wheat and rye. But the human stomach is not as large
or powerful as the bovine stomach, and a strictly grain diet would
lack palatability and variety, both of which must be considered in
formulating the human ration.
PROTEIN IN THE RATION.
By far the most important item in human food is the protein part of
the ration. It is this element that must be had to repair the waste
of the muscular tissue of the body. Being the scarcest of the food ele-
ments, it is the highest in price and a material reduction in living cost
can be had if we select those protein foods that are relatively cheap.
The cost of 31/3 oz. of protein in a day's ration in oats, corn or wheat
would be about 213 cents but as these foods are low in protein a man
6

Chart I. Milk and Milk Products.
US Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
IIIIII
Protein
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Fat: 4.0
Ash: 0.7
Fat
WHOLE MILK
Carbohydrates Ash
Fat:0.5
Ash: 0.7
-Protein: 3.3
Carbohydrates: 5.0
D
FUEL VALUE:310 CALORIES PER POUND
BUTTERMILK
Water: 87.0
-Water: 91.0
-Protein: 3.0
Carbohydrates:4.8
D
FUEL VALUE:160 CALORIES PER POUND
Prepared by
C.FLANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
Im
Water
SKIM MILK
Fat:0.3
Ash: 0.7
Fuel Value
4. Sq in. Equals
1000 Calories
CREAM
Fat:18.5
Ash:0.5
-Water: 90.5
Protein:3.4
Carbohydrates:5.1
O
FUEL VALUE:165 CALORIES PER POUND
-Water: 74.0
-Protein: 2.5
Carbohydrates: 4.5
FUEL VALUE:865 CALORIES PER POUND
would have to eat about 2 pounds a day of these foods to secure the
necessary protein. We must, therefore, select foods that are richer in
prtein.
Most people depend on meat for the protein element. But a days'
ration of protein in beef, pork or lamb would cost 18 cents. The com-
mon white or navy bean contains a large amount of protein, and a days'
ration of protein in beans would cost less than 5 cents.
Other cheap sources of protein are as follows: The price in cents
7

Chart 2 Eggs and Cheese.
US Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
AC True: Director
000000
Protein
WHOLE ECC
Water:73.7
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Protein:14.8
Fat.10.5-
Ash:10
FUEL VALUE OF
700 CALORIES
PER POUND
WHOLE EGG:
Fat:33.7
Ash:3.8
Fat Carbohydrates
CREAM CHEESE
Water:34.2
FUEL VALUE:
1950 CALORIES PER POUND
AMMY
Ash
Water: 49.5
Protein: 16.1-
Protein: 25.9
Carbo-
hydrates: 2.4
Fat: 33.3-
Ash: 1.1-
FUEL VALUE OF YOLK
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
1608 CALORIES
PER POUND
‒‒‒‒‒‒
Water
EGC
WHITE AND YOLK
Fuel Value
4. Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
Water: 72.0
Carbo-
hydrates: 4.3
Water: 86.2
Fat: 0.2
Ash:0.6
FUEL VALUE OF WHITE:
Protein:13.0
COTTAGE CHEESE
FUEL VALUE.
265 CALORIES
PER POUND
Protein: 20.9
fat:1.0
Ash: 1.8
510 CALORIES PER POUND
being the price of 313 ounces of protein in the foods named which is
the amount needed by a healthy man at hard work. Cottage cheese,
9 cents; skim milk, 14 cents; cream cheese, 16 cents. The figures here
given should not be entirely relied on for many of the foods having
a high protein cost have also a large value in fats and carbohydrates
and both must be considered in making up a ration. We desire at this
time, however, to call especial attention to the value of beans as food.
They have a very large available quantity of protein exceeding meat
in that respect and the price is very low. Moreover the State of Mich-
8

Chart 3. Meat Fresh and Cured.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
Protein
LAMB CHOP
EDIBLE PORTION
Protein: 17.6
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Ash:1.0
FUEL VALUE:
1540 CALORIES
PER POUND
Water: 61.9
Fat:18.5
Fat Carbohydrates Ash
Water: 53.1
BEEF STEAK
EDIBLE PORTION
Protein: 16.1
Fat:38.8
FUEL
VALUE:
Fat: 28.3
Water: 40.3
SMOKED HAM
EDIBLE PORTION
FUEL.
VALUE:
1130 CALORIES
PER POUND
-Ash: 1.0
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
Protein: 18.6
‒‒‒‒‒‒‒
Water
Water: 52.0
Protein: 16.9
PORK CHOP
EDIBLE PORTION
1940 CALORIES
PER POUND
Fat:6.6
Ash:4.8
Water: 54.3
Fuel Value
4 Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
FUEL
VALUE:
Fat:30.1
-Ash:1.0
FUEL VALUE:
DRIED BEEF
EDIBLE PORTION
1580 CALORIES
PER POUND
Protein:30.0
Ash:9.1
840 CALORIES
PER POUND
igan raises more and better beans than any state in the union and
eating beans not only saves money for the consumer but helps a Mich-
igan industry.
HEAT AND POWER IN THE RATION.
For energy and heat the working man must be supplied with 17% oz.
of carbohydrates. For this the various grains like oats, corn and wheat
rank very high also the sugars, but by far the most available, both from
9

Chart 4. Fish, Fish Products, and Oysters.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
111111
Protein
COD
Lean Fish
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Fat:15.8
Ash:13.2
Fat Carbohydrates Ash
Water:82.6
325 CALORIES PER POUND
Protein:15.8
FUEL VALUE:
Fat: 4
Ash:1.2
SMOKED HERRING
Water:86.9
Carbohydrates: 3.7
Water: 34.6
Protein: 36.4
FUEL VALUE:
OYSTER
1355 CALORIES PER POUND
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
FUEL VALUE.
D
235 CALORIES PER POUND.
um
Water
FUEL VALUE:
O
410 CALORIES PER POUND
Protein: 21.5-
Water: 53.5
Fat:.3
Ash: 24.7
Protein: 6.2
fat:1.2
Ash: 2.0
SALT COD
FUEL VALUE
Water: 73.4
Protein:18.3
645 CALORIES PER POUND
Fuel Value
#Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
MACKEREL
Fat Fish
Fat:7.1
Ash:1.2
cost and the standpoint of health is the potato. The carbohydrates in
the potato are more easily digested than those of the cereals and be-
sides the potato contains a large amount of mineral salts necessary
for the maintenance of bodily health. Michigan produces more bushels
of potatoes than any state in the union with one exception and we
can help our health, our pockets and our state by eating more potatoes.
In this bulletin we reprint an article on the potato as a food by Dr.
J. H. Kellogg, head of the famous Sanitarium at Battle Creek.
We
10

Chart 5. Butter and other Fat-Yielding Foods.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
TOULD
Protein
OLIVE OIL
4080
FUEL VALUE:
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Ash.3.0
Fat Carbohydrates
Fat:85.0
Fat:100.0
CALORIES PER POUND
BUTTER
Fat:81.8
FUEL VALUE:
3510
Water:11.0
3410 CALORIES PER POUND
A
Protein: 1.0
Ash
BEEF SURT
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
FUEL VALUE:
-----
Water
Protein: 9.4
Water: 18.8
CALORIES PER POUND
Ash:0.3
Water:13.2
Protein: 4.7
Fuel Value
4.Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
BACON
Fat:100.0
Fat:67.4
FUEL VALUE
3030 CALORIES PER POUND
LARD
Ash: 4.4
FUEL VALUE
4080 CALORIES PER POUND
ask a careful perusal of the same as it is probably the best article that
has ever been written on the subject.
SOME SUGGESTIONS AS TO WASTE IN FOODS.
In recent years many foods have been put up by the manufacturer
in paper packages; while these packages are both convenient and sani-
tary, the purchase of food therein is often very expensive to the con-
11
Chart 6. Cereal Grains.

U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
111111
Protein
Fat: 4.3
Ash: 1.5
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
CORN
FUEL VALUE
Fat: 5.0-
Ash: 30
Fat Carbohydrates
1800 CALORIES
PER POUND
OAT
Carbohydrates: 73.4
Water: 10.8
Protein: 10.0
FUEL VALUE'
Water: 11.0
Protein: 11.8
1720 CALORIES
PER POUND
Carbo-
hydrates: 69.2
Carbo-
hydrates: 73.2
BUCKWHEAT
AL
Ash
Protein: 10.0 Water: 12.6
Fat: 2.2
Ash: 2.0
Fat:1.5
A
FUEL VALUE
Carbo-
hydrates: 73.9
1600 CALORIES
PER POUND
RYE
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
Carbohydrates: 73.7
III
Water
FUEL VALUE
Water: 10.6
Protein: 12.2
1750 CALORIES
PER POUND
Ash: 1.9
Water:10.5
Protein: 12.2
WHEAT
Fuel Value
.Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
FUEL VALUE
Water: 12.0
Protein: 8:0
Carbo-
hydrates: 77.0
1750 CALORIES
PER POUND
RICE
Fat: 1.7
Ash: 1.8
fat: 2.0
-Ash. 1.0
FUEL VALUE
1720 CALORIES
PER POUND
sumer.
Take the breakfast foods for example. The net weight of a
package of corn flakes is about 10 ounces. Now the package is simply
corn and its food values can not be of any greater value than an equal
amount of corn meal. When the consumer gives ten cents for a package
of corn flakes he is simply paying $320 a ton for corn meal.
Take the wheat breakfast foods. The net weight of a package of
wheat breakfast food is 12 to 16 ounces and it sells for 10 cents a pack-
age. It contains no more food value than an equal amount of wheat
121

Chart 7 Bread and other Cereal Foods.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
FIILID
Protein
Fat: 1.3
WHITE BREAD
Ash: 1.1
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Fat Carbohydrates
Fat: 1.6
Ash: 1.7
111111
FUEL VALUE:
1215 CALORIES
PER POUND
FUEL VALUE:
Water: 35.3
Protein:9.2
1420 CALORIES
PER POUND
Carbo-
hydrates: 53.1
TOASTED BREAD Ash:0.7
Water: 84.5
Protein: 2.8
Water: 24.0
Protein: 11.5
Carbo-
hydrates: 61.2
Fat:1.5
FUEL
VALUE:
Ash: 1.3
Carbohydrates: 15.8
OAT
BREAKFAST FOOD
ALLY
Ash
COOKED
FUEL
VALUE:
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
D
-‒‒‒‒‒
Water
Water: 38.4
Protein: 9.7
WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
Carbo-
hydrates: 49.7
MACARONI
COOKED
Protein: 3.0
285 CALORIES
PER POUND
Water: 38.9
Protein: 7.9
Fat: 0.5
Carbohydrates: 11.5
Carbo-
hydrates:46.3
Fuel Value
4. Sq in. Equals
1000 Calories
FUEL VALUE:
415 CALORIES
PER POUND
1140 CALORIES
PER POUND
!!!!!!!!!
Water: 78.4
CORN BREAD
Fat:0.9
FUEL VALUE
Ash: 1.3
Fat:4.7
Ash: 2.2
1205 CALORIES
PER POUND
and at this price the consumer is paying $4.50 to $6.00 a bushel for
wheat. In these foods the package costs more than the food, yet we
throw the package away and wonder at the high cost of living.
The net weight of a package of biscuit crackers is 5 ounces for which
you pay 5 cents or 16 cents a pound. Crackers of equal food value
can be purchased for 8 cents a pound in bulk.
Bulletin No. 2 of the Kansas State Board of Health, says:
"The statements so often made in the advertisements of breakfast
13

Chart 8. Sugar and Similar Foods.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations.
A.C.True: Director
||||||
Protein
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Fat
SUCAR
GRANULATED
FUEL VALUE:
1860 CALORIES
PER POUND
Ash: 0.9-
MAPLE SUGAR
FUEL VALUE
AW
Carbohydrates Ash
Carbohydrates: 100.0
Water: 3.0
1540 CALORIES PER POUND
Water:16.3
FUEL VALUE:
Carbo-
hydrates:82.8
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
STICK CANDY
Carbohydrates:96.5
1785 CALORIES
PER POUND
-‒‒‒‒‒
Water
Protein: 24
Carbohydrates:69.3
Water:18.2
Protein: 0.4
Ash:0.5
Carbo-
hydrates:81.2
Fuel Value
Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
MOLASSES
Water: 25.1
FUEL VALUE:
1290 CALORIES
PER POUND
HONEY
FUEL VALUE:
Ash:32
Ash: 0.2
1520 CALORIES PER POUND
foods, that their particular product has a special nutritive value not
found in the grain or cereal from which it is made is on its face entirely
false. The retail price of these products is from two to five times the
price of meal or flour made from the same grains. From a standpoint
of economy, therefore, these products have no legitimate ground for exist-
ence."
The Bulletin of the Main Agricultural Experiment Station for 1906
quotes the cost in cents per pound of some of these cereal foods: Quaker
14

Chart 9. Roots and Succulent Vegetables.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
e. Director
!!!!!!
Protein
FUEL VALUE:
0
230 CALORIES
PER POUND
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Fat: 0.1
Ash: 1.0
Fat Carbohydrates
PARSNIP
POTATO
Protein: 2.2
Carbohydrates: 18.4
Protein: 1.6
Water: 83.0
Water: 78:3
A
Fat:0.5
Carbohydrates: 13.5
Ash: 1.4
FUEL VALUE
D
385 CALORIES PER POUND
Ash
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
Water: 87.6
Protein: 1.6
Carbohydrates: 9.9
Water: 94.5
------
Water
Protein: 11
Carbohydrates: 3.4
Ash: 1.0
Fuel Value
t. Sq in. Equals
1000 Calories
ONION
FUEL VALUE
D
Fat: 0.3
Ash: 0.6
225 CALORIES
PER POUND
CELERY
FUEL VALUE
85 CALORIES
PER POUND
Oats, 3 cents; Cream of Wheat, 8.8 cents; Grape Nuts, 14 cents;
Shredded Whole Wheat, 15 cents; Force, 16 cents; Flaked Rice, 18
cents; Granula, 27 cents, and Prof. E. H. S. Bailey, food analyst for
the State Board of Health, in an article in December Popular Science
Monthly, adds the following: Quaker Corn Flakes, 13 cents per pound;
Kellogg's Corn Flakes, 13 cents; Maple Corn Flakes, 14 cents; Post
Toasties, 14 cents; Grape Sugar Flakes, 17 cents; Malta Vita, 18 cents;
Sugar Corn Flakes, 20 cents; Holland Rusk, 22 cents, and Puffed Wheat,
田
​15

Chart 10. Legumes, and Corn.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A C.True: Director
ADOBEE
Protein
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
SHELLED BEAN FRESH.
Water: 58.9
Fat:0.6
Protein: 9.4-
Fat Carbohydrates Ash
Carbohydrates: 29.1
-Ash: 2.0
FUEL VALUE
740 CALORIES PER POUND
Water: 89.2
Water: 75.4
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
Carbohydrates: 7.4
FUEL
VALUE:
Protein:22.5
Carbohydrates:59.6
CORN, GREEN
EDIBLE PORTION
------
Water
STRING BEAN, GREEN.
FUEL VALUE:
0
195 CALORIES PER POUND
Protein: 3.1
NAVY BEAN, DRY,
Water:12.6
1600 CALORIES PER POUND
Ash:0.8
fat:0.3
Protein: 2.3
BORE
500 CALORIES
PER POUND
Fuel Value
Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
FUEL VALUE:
Fat:1.8
Ash: 3.5
90
OR
Carbohydrates:19.7
Fat:1.1
-Ash:0.7
29 cents. Professor Bailey then comments as follows: "At this rate a
bushel of wheat, which might be originally worth one dollar, would when
a made into a breakfast food cost the housekeeper from five to twelve
dollars, calculating that 75 per cent of the grain is available as food,
as is the case in making wheat flour. Oatmeal in bulk sells at five
cents a pound, and simple preparations of other grains at from five
to seven cents."
"These are a few of the illustrations to show 'where the money goes,'
16

Chart 11. Fresh and Dried Fruit
US Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
!!!!!!
Protein
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Water: 84.6
APPLE
EDIBLE PORTION
Fat
Carbohydrates: 14.2
FUEL
VALUE:
Water: 90.4
FUEL
VALUE
D
Fat: 0.6
Carbohydrates: 7.4
STRAWBERRY
EDIBLE PORTION
Carbohydrates Ash
Ash: 0.3
290 CALORIES
PER POUND
ים
Protein: 0.4
Fat: 0.5
-
Protein: 1.0
Ash: 0.6
180 CALORIES
PER POUND
$5
Prepared by
C.FLANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
-----
Water
DRIED FIG
EDIBLE PORTION
Protein: 4.3-
Carbohydrates:74.2
FUEL
VALUE
Water: 75.3
BANANA
EDIBLE PORTION
Carbohydrates: 22.0
Fuel Value
4. Sq In Equals
1000 Calories
FUEL
VALUE:
Water:18.8
fat: 0.3
Ash: 2.4
1475 CALORIES
PER POUND
Protein: 1.3
Fat:0.6
Ash: 0.8
460 CALORIES
PER POUND
or at least some of it, expended in the ordinary household. Some of
us are living on the luxuries of the market, and use them as food to
furnish the proteids and carbohydrates and fat for daily consumption.
Instead of using the oak and maple and pine for fuel, we are feeding
the fire with mahogany and Circassian walnut and rare imported woods."
CHEAP CEREALS.
Cereals for the breakfast table seem to be necessary and they are
17

Chart 12. Fruit and Fruit Products.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
W
Protein
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Water: 77.4
Protein: 1.3
Fat: 1.6-
Ash: 0.5
GRAPES
EDIBLE PORTION
Water: 77.2
FUEL VALUE
CANNED
450 CALORIES
PER POUND
FRUIT
Fat Carbohydrates Ash
Ash: 0.5
FUEL VALUE:
415 CALORIES
PER POUND
Carbo-
hydrates:19.2
Water: 92.2
Protein: 0.2
Protein: 1.1
-Fat: 0.1
GRAPE JUICE
Carbo.
hydrates: 21.1
UNFERMENTED
Prepared by
C.F.LANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
Water: 14.6 M
Fat: 3.3
FUEL VALUE:
0
‒‒‒‒‒‒
Water
150 CALORIES
PER POUND
RAISINS
EDIBLE PORTION
FUEL VALUE.
Carbo-
hydrates: 7.4
Ash: 0.2
1605 CALORIES
PER POUND
Fuel Value
Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
4
Carbo
hydrates:78.3
Protein: 2.6
Carbo-
hydrates:76.1
Ash: 3.4
FRUIT
JELLY
Water: 21.0
Ash: 0.7
FUEL VALUE:
1,455 CALORIES
PER POUND
A
very cheap when obtained directly from the grain itself. Plain Oatmeal
and cracked wheat make the best of cereals at a very small expense.
much greater food value is obtained in these forms at much less expense
than in the manufactured products.
Millionaire food manufacturers and electric signs in every city are
all paid for by the consumer and do him little if any good.
The wife of the writer recently went out and bought a bushel of
wheat (60) pounds of a farmer for $1.00. She procured a small grinder
3
18
Chart 13. Nuts and Nut Products.

U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True: Director
||||||
Protein
Fat: 63.4
Ash: 1.4
Water: 2.5
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.
Fat:46.5
Water: 2.1
Ash: 5.0-
Fat
WALNUT
FUEL VALLE
3285 CALORIES
PER POUND
FUEL VALUE:
Chr
Carbohydrates Ash
PEANUT BUTTER
Protein 16.6
Carbo
hydrates:16.1
Protein:25.8
PEANUT
2825 CALORIES PER POUND
Water: 9.2 Carbohydrates:
22.4
Ash: 2.0
Protein: 29.3.
Prepared by
C.FLANGWORTHY
Expert in Charge of Nutrition Investigations
Carbo-
hydrates: 17.1
2500 CALORIES
PER POUND
Carbo-
hydrates: 74.2
Fat: 38.6
FUEL VALUE
[…]
Water
Protein 10.7
CHESTNUT
Fuel Value
Sq In. Equals
1000 Calories
Protein: 6.3
Carbo-
hydrates: 31.5
Ash: 1.3-
Water: 5.9
Fat: 7.0
FUEL VALUE
1875 CALORIES
PER POUND
COCOANUT
DESICCATED
-Ash: 2.2
FUEL VALUE:
Water: 3.5
Fat:57.4
3125 CALORIES PER POUND
and grinds it coarse for breakfast food, and fine for graham gems. The
breakfast food is cooked for 48 hours, a fireless cooker being used part
of the time; in this way she has a superior article of food at a minimum
cost.
A loaf of bakers' bread weighs 14 ounces and sells for five cents. The
cost of the raw material in the bread is 21/4 cents. The bread averages
from 57 to 62% water. Whether the housewife can save by making
her own bread is a question for each to decide. The cost of 214 cents
is for raw material at wholesale price.
19

Chart 14. Composition, Functions, And Uses Of Food.
US Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True. Director.
FOOD AS PUR-
CHASED CONTAINS
FUNCTIONS AND USES OF FOOD.
CONSTITUENTS OF FOOD.
FATS--
EDIBLE PORTION
Flesh of meat,yolk
and white of eggs,
wheat flour, etc.
REFUSE
PROTEIN--
White (albumen) of eggs,
curd (casein) of milk,
lean meat gluten of wheat.etc..
6
Fat of meat, butter,
olive oil, oils of corn
and wheat, etc
Prepared by
C.F. LANGWORTHY
Expert in charge of Nutrition Investigations
Are stored as fat
Water
Nutrients<
Bones, entrails,
shells, bran, etc.
USE OF FOOD IN THE BODY.
Builds and repairs tissue
Protein
Fats
Carbohydrates
Mineral Matter Or Ash
All serve as fuel to
yield energy in the forms
of heat and muscular
power.
CARBOHYDRATES----Are transformed into fat
Sugar, starch, etc.
MINERAL MATTER OR ASH--- Share in forming bone,
Phosphates of lime.
potash, soda, etc.
Food is that which, taken into the body, builds tissue or yields energy
assists in digestion, etc.
White bread should be avoided as it lacks the bran which contains
all the mineral elements of the wheat. The bran contains phosphate
of lime, which builds up the bone. We give the following receipt for
BRAN CAKES.
First mix together one cupful white flour and three cupfuls wheat
bran. Beat together one egg, two tablespoons molasses, a pinch of salt,
a cupful of sour cream, a teaspoon soda, and stir into this sufficient
20

Chart 15' Dietary Standards.
U.S.Department of Agriculture
Office of Experiment Stations
A.C.True. Director.
DIETARY STANDARDS.
Condition considered
DIETARY STANDARD FOR MAN IN FULL VIGOR
AT MODERATE MUSCULAR WORK.
Food as purchased
Food eaten
Food digested
Potassium oxid
Prepared by
C.F. LANGWORTHY
Expert in charge of Nutrition Investigations
Sodium oxid
ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF MINERAL MATTER
2t03
Protein
REQUIRED PER MAN PER DAY.
Grams
4106
Grams
115
100
95
Phosphoric acid (POs) 3to4
Sulphuric acid (S0,) 2 to 3.5 Magnesium oxid 0.3
Energy
Calories
3,800
3,500
3,200
Grams
Calcium oxid 0.7 to 1.0
Iron
Chlorin
6
0.5
0.006 to 0.012
to 8
of the bran flour to make a batter that will run on the tins when dropped
from the spoon. Sour milk and a small piece of butter may be used
instead of the sour cream, and sweet milk with baking powder may also
be used, but care must be taken not to stir them too stiff.
FRUITS AS FOOD.
It will be noticed in the tables that fruits and certain vegetables have
a very low food value. They should not for this reason be discarded.
21
Their large bulk and the various acids in the fruits aid greatly in
processes of digestion and are natures' remedies in the curing of many
derangements of the digestive system. The citric acid of the lemon
and orange is good for liver derangement and the malic acid of the
apple is an invigorator of bowel action.
As the best remedy to take fat off the system, Dr. Kellogg advises a
fruit diet. The bulkiness of the fruit allays the hunger craving while
its low nutritive food value does not tend to pile up flesh or fat on the
body no matter in how large quantities it is consumed.
THE VALUES OF MILK AS FOOD.
One of the most valuable of foods for human consumption is milk
and it may be largely used as a substitute for meat. A quart of milk
(cost 8 cents) furnished .016 pounds of protein and 78 calories of fuel
value for each cent invested. A pound of beefsteak costing 17 cents
gives .011 pounds of protein and 67 calories of fuel value for each cent
expended. It will be seen that a quart of milk has a greater food value
than a pound of beefsteak and costs less than half as much.
Considered from the standpoint of food values, one of the cheapest
and best foods is ice cream although by most people it is considered a
luxury. Cottage cheese has also a high food value and can be used
as a substitute for meat.

We give below a table showing the relative values of a large number
of foods as compared with milk at 8 cents per quart.
Each of these foods contains the same amount of nutritive material
as one quart of milk.
Milk
*Cheese.
Eggs..
†Meat..
Codfish..
Bread..
Corn meal.
$Potatoes.
Cabbage..
Dried beans
Oranges..
Apples.
Bananas.
Prunes..
Nuts..
Kind of Food.
*Full cream cheese.
† Meat, fat round beef.
Codfish, boneless.
Cost.
AMOUNT.
$0.08 per qt..
0.22 per lb.
0.35 per doz.
0.22 per lb.
0.15 per lb.
0.03 per lb.
1.00 per bu.
0.025 per lb.
0.06 per lb.
0.40 per doz....
0.60 per pk
0.20 per doz.
0.15 per lb.
0.60 per lb.
No. or
Weight
measure. grams.
1 quart...
10
7
1 head...
825
12
976
193.3
566
307.7
428.5
188.6
137.7
722.7
1875
143
1304
1052.6
774
187.5
128.7
|| Bread, white.
§ Potatoes, 60 lb. to bushel.
Weight.
Pounds.
2
1
4
221
Ounces.
2
6.8
3.9
10.8
15.1
6.6
4.9
9.4
2.2
5.05
14.0
5.1
11.3
6.62
4.5
Total cost.
$0.08
0.093
0.29
0.148
0.141
0.025
0.009
0.026
0.10
0.018
0.226
0.092
0.10
0.061
0.168
22
Olive oil
Bacon..
Beef suet.
Butter.
Lard...
Whole milk.
Skim milk.
Buttermilk.
Cream..
Whole egg.
White of egg.
Yolk of egg.
Cream cheese.
Cottage cheese.
Lamb chop...
Pork chop...
Smoked ham
Beef steak.
Dried beef.
Cod lean fish.
Salt cod..
Oyster...
Smoked herring.
Mackerel, fresh.
Shelled bean..
Navy bean, dry green..
String bean.
Corn, green.
Apple..
Dried fig.
Strawberry...
Banana..
Corn.
Wheat.
Buckwheat.
Oat....
Rice...
Rye.
White bread.
Whole wheat bread, oat.
Kind of Food.
Breakfast food (cooked)..
Toasted bread.
Corn bread...
Macaroni, cooked.
Sugar, granulated.
Molases....
Stick candy
Maple Sugar
Honey.
Parsnip..
****
Onion...
Potato.
Celery.
Grapes.
Raisins
Canned fruit.
Fruit jelly.
Grape juice..
Walnut...
Chestnut.
Peanut...
Peanut butter
Cocoanut (desiccated).
COMPOSITION OF FOOD MATERIALS.

Protein.
9.4
4.7
1.0
3.3
3.4
3.0
2.5
14.8
13.0
16.1
25.9
20.9
17.6
16.9
16.1
18.6
30.0
15.8
21.5
6.2
36.4
18.3
9.4
22.5
2.3
3.1
0.4
4.3
1.0
1.3
10.0
12.2
10.0
11.8
8.0
12.2
9.2
9.7
2.8
11.5
7.9
3.0
2.4
0.4
1.6
1.6
2.2
1.1
1.3
2.6
1.1
0.2
16.6
10.7
25.8
29.3
6.3
Fat.
100.0
67.4
81.8
85.0
100.0
4.0
0.3
0.5
18.5
10.5
0.2
33.3
33.7
1.0
28.3
30.1
38.8
18.5
6.6
.4
.3
1.2
15.8
7.1
0.6
1.8
0.3
1.1
0.5
0.3
0.6
0.6
4.3
1.7
2.2
5.0
2.0
1.5
1.3
0.9
0.5
1.6
4.7
1.5
0.5
0.3
0.1
1.6
3.3
0.1
63.4
7.0
38.6
46.5
57.4
Carbohy-
drates.
5.0
5.1
4.8
4.5
2.4
4.3
3.7
29.1
59.6
7.4
19.7
14.0
74.2
7.4
22.0
73.4
73.7
73.2
69.2
77.0
73.9
53.1
49.7
11.5
61.2
46.3
15.8
100.0
69.3
96.5
82.8
81.2
13.5
9.9
18.4
3.4
19.2
76.1
21.1
78.3
7.4
16.1
74.2
22.4
17.1
31.5
Ash.
4.4
0.3
3.0
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.5
1.0
0.6
1.1
3.8
1.8
1.0
1.0
4.8
1.0
9.1
1.2
24.7
2.0
13.2
1.2
2.0
3.5
0.8
0.7
0.3
2.4
0.6
0.8
1.5
1.8
2.0
30.0
1.0
1.9
1.1
1.3
0.7
1.7
2.2
1.3
3.2
0.5
0.9
0.2
1.4
0.6
1.0
1.0
0.5
3.4
0.5
0.7
0.2
1.4
2.2
2.0
5.0
1.3
Water.
18.8
13.2
11.0
87.0
90.5
91.0
74.0
73.7
86.2
49.5
34.2
72.0
53.1
52.0
40.3
61.9
54.3
82.6
53.5
86.9
34.6
73.4
58.9
12.6
89.2
75.4
84.6
18.8
90.4
75.3
10.8
10.6
12.6
11.0
12.0
10.5
35.3
38.4
84.5
24.0
38.9
78.4
25.1
3.0
16.3
18.2
83.0
87.6
78.3
94.5
77.4
14.6
77.2
21.0
92.2
2.5
5.9
9.2
2.1
3.5
Fuel value
calories
per pound.
4080
3030
3510
3410
4080
310
165
160
865
700
265
1608
1950
510
1540
1580
1940
1130
840
325
410
235
1355
645
740
1600
195
500
290
1475
180
460
1800
1750
1600
1720
1720
1750
1215
1140
285
1420
1205
415
1860
1290
1785
1540
1520
230
225
385
85
450
1,605
415
1,455
150
3285
1875
2500
2825
3125
23
Kind of Food..
Oat..
Corn.
Wheat.
Rye.
Buckwheat.
Navy bean, dry..
Corn bread...
Whole wheat bread.
Toasted bread..
White bread..
Cottage cheese.
Peanuts (shelled).
Potato..
Smoked herring.
Skim milk...
Salt cod.
Buttermilk.
Cream cheese.
Peanut butter.
Fresh shelled beans.
Beefsteak..
Pork chops.
Mackerel.
Dried beef.
Cod fish (lean)
Smoked ham..
Lamb chop.
Whole milk.
Rice...
Yolk of egg.
Whole egg.
RELATIVE PROTEIN VALUE OF FOODS.

Cost per
pound-
Cents.
1.75
1.5
2.5
3
2.5
64505 25-22 22 222
12
15
1.3
2.5
16
2.5
25
8
17
16
18
30
16
18
20
10
20
20
Protein
for 1 cent
1-1000
pound.
67.4
66.7
48.8
40.7
40.0
37.5
19.8
19.4
19.1
18.4
17.4
17.2
16.9
14.5
13.6
13.4
12.0
11.8
11.7
11.7
10.9
10.6
10.2
10.0
9.9
8.9
8.8
8.2
8.0
8.0
7.4
Kind of Food.
Chestnut (shelled).
White of egg..
Macaroni, cooked..
Parsnip..
Onion.
Bacon..
Beef suet.
Molasses
English walnut (shelled)
Dessicated cocoanut..
Oysters...
Oat breakfast food
Raisins
Banana.
Green string bean.
Dried fig..
Corn, green.
Canned fruit.
Strawberry.
Apple..
Celery.
Grapes..
Butter.
Honey.
Grape juice.
Granulated sugar.
Lard....
Stick candy
Olive oil..
Maple sugar.
Fruit jelly..
Cost per
pound-
Cents.
4204 228 229 2999 FOR ENRO
15
5
3
22.5
12
6.3
50
19
20
10
10
10
22
15
10
10
15
20
37
22
25
17
15
52
23
30
Protein
for 1 cent
1-1000
pound.
7.1
6.5
6.0
5.3
5.3
4.2
3.9
3.8
3.3
3.3
3.1
2.8
26
2.6
2.3
2.0
2.0
1.1
1.0
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
24
RELATIVE HEAT AND ENERGY VALUES OF FOODS.

Kind of Food.
Corn.
Oat..
Wheat.
Buckwheat.
Rye...
Granulated sugar.
Corn bread..
Potato.
Beef suet..
Navy bean, dry.
White bread..
Lard...
Toasted bread.
Whole wheat bread.
Molasses..
Rice...
Peanuts (shelled).
Dessicated cocoanut.
Raisins...
Bacon..
Chestnuts (shelled).
Stick candy..
Peanut butter.
Smoked ham.
Pork chops..
Fresh shelled beans.
Banana..
Butter.
Cream cheese..
Macaroni, cooked..
Yolk of egg.
Olive oil.
Cost per
pound-
Cents.
1.5
1.75
2.5
2.5
3
Sõukia -558ua o N NNO
12
17
6.3
22.5
Fuel value
for 1 cent-
Calories.
1200
983
700
640
583
310
301
296
292
267
243
240
237
228
205
172
167
164
161
135
125
119
113
108
99
93
92
92
89
81
80
79
Kind of Food.
Whole milk.
Lamb chops.
Parsnips
Onion..
Honey.
Dried fig...
Maple sugar.
Beefsteak.
Skim milk.
English walnut (shelled)..
Buttermilk.
Apple.
Cream (18.5 per cent).
Smoked herring..
Fruit jelly....
Cottage cheese.
Canned fruit..
Mackerel.
Whole egg.
Green corn.
Oat breakfast food...
Dried beef..
Salt cod..
Grapes..
Codfish (lean)..
Green string beans.
Strawberry.
White of egg.
Oysters..
Grape juice.
Celery.
Cost per
pound-
Cents.
422 22 23 24 8999 23
20
3
23
17
2.5
50
தமழில்
2.5
15
25
30
12
10
18
20
15
10
30
16
20
16
10
10
20
20
25
15
Fuel value
for 1 cent-
Calories.
CERRO * 33 2522 83266
78
77
77
75
69
67
67
67
66
66
64
58
58
54
48
43
41
36
35
29
28
27
23
20
19
18
13
12
25
THE POTATO AS A FOOD.
One of the greatest authorities on food in the world is Dr. J. H.
Kellogg, superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, Battle Creek,
Mich. He has spent a lifetime in the study of the various articles of
food, his investigations covering all possible sources of information, not
only in America, but in Europe. The following articles on the "The
Special Dietetic Virtues of the Potato," by this foremost authority, is
one of the best ever written about the potato:
"Soon after the potato was introduced into Europe in the sixteenth
century the ridiculous notion somehow got afloat that the use of the
potato was the cause of leprosy, which at that time was quite prevalent
in most European countries. The prejudice which was thus created
against this most valuable of all garden vegetables has never been quite
overcome. Various malicious libels against the good name of this most
innocent and wholesome of foodstuffs are still afloat. Multitudes believe
the potato to be difficult of digestion. Even physicians often prohibit
its use on the supposition that it is likely to ferment in the stomach-a
mistaken notion, as the writer will show. The belief is quite general
that the potato especially promotes fat-making, and hence that its use
must be avoided by persons who have a tendency to obesity. This is
also an error. All foods tend to produce obesity when taken in excessive
quantity; that is, more than the individual needs to maintain his nutri-
tion on equilibrium. No foods produce excess of fat when limited in
quantity to actual daily bodily needs.
"The potato is truly a most remarkable product. It contains within
its aseptic covering a rich store of one of the most easily digestible of all
forms of starch. The observations of Mosse, Van Noorden and others
have shown most conclusively that the starch of the potato is more
easily digested and appropriated by the body than the starches of
wheat, corn and most other cereals. In laboratory tests made by the
writer it was found that potato starch digested in less than one-sixth
of the time of cereal starches. The experience of hundreds of physicians
in the treatment of diabetes has shown that in many cases the starch of
the potato is more easily assimilated or better utilized than other forms
of starch.

"Potato gruel made from specially prepared potato meal or the pulp
of baked potatoes has been found in Germany of very great service in
the feeding of infants and invalids. Potato starch is far better for this
purpose than cornstarch, arrowroot and similar substances, which are
pure starch and cannot be properly considered as foods. The long con-
tinued use of these starches in the feeding of young infants often results
more disastrously.
"The potato is not only an easily digestible foodstuff but possesses
much higher nutritive value than is generally supposed. According to
Gautier, about one-fourth of the weight of the potato is food substance,
consisting chiefly (nine-elevenths) of starch. Of the remainder, three-
fifths are protein, the tissue-building element, and two-fifths alkaline salts
26
in combination with citric and malic acids, the acids of the lemon
and the apple.
"From a dietetic standpoint, the potato is perhaps slightly deficient
in protein, though this statement would be disputed by some physiolo-
gists whose experiments appear to demonstrate that the amount of
protein contained in the potato is quite sufficient for ordinary bodily
needs.
"The potato is certainly deficient in fats, of which it contains almost
none, because of the fact that it is not, like so many of our vegetable
foods, a seed, but a curiously modified and enormously fleshy tuber. This
deficiency in fat must always be remembered in the use of the potato,
and the lack must be made up by the addition of cream, butter, or some
other foodstuff rich in fat.

"What the potato lacks in fat and protein, however, it makes up in
salts, which constitute nearly 5 per cent of its dry substance and are
perhaps its most characteristic quality from a dietetic standpoint and
one of its chief excellences. These salts consist chiefly of potash, and in
the ordinary form in which they are supplied do a most important ser-
vice in maintaining the alkaline condition of the blood, which is essential
to good health and resistance to disease. Meats contain very great
excess of acid-forming elements and tend to acidify the blood. Cereals
have some tendency in the same direction. The lowering of the alkalinity
of the blood by acid-forming foods, especially by the free use of
meats, is unquestionably one of the chief causes of the rapid increase
in chronic diseases, the mortality from which has doubled within thirty
years, causing a loss annually of 350,000 more lives than would occur
if the average citizen was as healthy as he was thirty years ago. This
is probably also one of the chief causes of arteriosclerosis, or harden-
ing of the arteries, gout, rheumatism, Bright's disease, apolexy, and
other degenerative maladies. The alkaline salts of vegetables are need-
ed to balance the dietary. If the consumption of potatoes in this coun-
try could be quadrupled, the result would undoubtedly be the saving
of many thousands of lives annually and an incalculable amount of
suffering from disease.
"The great nutritive value of the potato, notwithstanding the fact
that it is three-fourths water, may be best shown by comparing it with
other known foods. A study of the nutritive value of various common
foodstuffs shows that one pound of baked potato is equivalent in total
nutritive value to the quantities of various foods shown in the following
table:
Food equivalent in total food value to one pound of baked potato:
15% pounds of boiled potato.
5% ounces boiled beef.
1 pound of chicken.
11½ pounds of codfish.
214 pints of oysters (solids).
4 pints of clams (in shell).
42 pints of beef juice.
10 pints bouillon or beef tea.
11% pints whole milk.
3 pints skimmed milk.
27
8 eggs.
9 ounces baked beans.
7 ounces bread.
134 pints oatmeal or cornmeal mush.
11% pints hominy (cooked).
1 pint boiled rice.
1 pound of bananas.
2 pounds parsnips (cooked).
1 pound green peas (cooked).
3 pounds beets (cooked).
4 pounds boiled cabbage.
4 pounds radishes.
5 pounds tomatoes.
5 pounds turnips (cooked).
61½ pounds cucumbers.
"From the above table it will readily appear that the potato is one of
the most nourishing of our common foods. Its value is still further
emphasized by the fact that steamed or mashed potato digests in two
or three hours, whereas roast beef requires four or five hours, or double
the time (Gautier).
"As already noted, the potato is not rich in protein, although the
amount of this element in the baked potato reaches the Chittenden
standard, 10 per cent of the total nutritive values a proportion which
in feeding many thousands of persons, those in health, as well as in-
valids, at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, we have found amply sufficient.
The writer adopted personally a very low protein standard in early life
and has adhered to it for more than forty-six years, and with great
benefit. Nevertheless, if a larger amount of protein is required, it may
easily be obtained by the addition of milk or eggs, substances which
while increasing the proportion of protein also add the fat necessary
to render the potato a complete food. Half a pint of rich milk will
thus balance a pound of baked potato; or an equally good balance may
be made by adding to a pound of potato two ounces of white bread (two
ordinary slices) and an ounce of butter.
"Bunge, the world's greatest authority on the chemistry of foods,
has called special attention to the importance of the alkaline salts that
are found in vegetables, and in a much larger proportion in the potato
than in any other vegetable used as food, the potato containing nearly
forty times as much of this useful element as some cereal foods. No
farmer would think of feeding his horses or cattle on grain alone. Cer-
eals of all sorts contain a considerable excess of acid-forming elements.
Grass and herbage of all sorts, as well as fresh vegetables, contain an
abundance of alkaline salts, and hence are a necessary part of the
diet of animals. Human beings, as Bunge has clearly shown, require
such vegetables for the same reason, and the potato is the most valuable
of all known foods as a source of these essential elements. This is per-
haps the reason why the potato is an almost invariable accompaniment
of meat dishes. Meat contains an enormous excess of acid-forming
substances, which are to some extent neutralized and antidoted by the
basic salts of the potato.
"Graham bread with butter, or beans with butter, however, are much


28
better combinations with potato than meat, for the reason that both
meat and potato are lacking in lime. The body requires about thirteen
grains of lime a day. Meat contains but half a grain of lime to the
pound. The potato contains only a grain and a half to the pound.
Wheat flakes and other whole wheat preparations contain four grains
of lime to the pound, and peas and beans contain eight grains of lime
to the pound Cow's milk contains fourteen grains of lime to the pint.
The American people are losing their teeth, and bone diseases are in-
creasing, as a result of this deficiency of lime. Professor Sherman of
Columbia University declares that half the people of the United States
are suffering from lime starvation. This is in part because of the meat
diet and free use of cane sugar. Less meat, a larger proportion of
potatoes, combined with wheat preparations and other cereals, beans,
peas, and cow's milk would help to check this degenerative tendency.
THE POTATO AS A FOOD REMEDY.
"The potato is of immense service as a food remedy in the treatment
of a large number of diseases. It is especially valuable in cases of
chronic intestinal auto-intoxication or 'biliousness.' It affords bulk for
the intestines to act upon, and so antagonizes constipation. The large
proportion of starch and other carbohydrates encourages the growth
of friendly bacteria in the intestines, thus preventing putrefaction.
For the same reason the free use of potatoes combats rheumatism and
gout, which are results of chronic intertinal poisoning.
"The potato is valuable in the treatment of anemia, because it com-
bats the growth in the intestine of the germs which produce blood-
destroying poisons. The death rate from diabetes, according to the
mortality statistics of the United States census bureau, has increased
nearly 50 per cent in ten years. The freer use of potatoes as an article
of diet and the lessened consumption of meat would perhaps do more
than any other thing to suppress the alarming increase of this fatal
malady.
"Arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, a disease which causes
apoplexy and is associated with Bright's disease and various forms of
heart disease besides being the cause of premature old age, is often
directly the result of chronic poisoning, the course of which is the
putrefaction of undigested remnants of animal substances which have
been eaten, which undergo decay with the absorption of poisonous prod-
ucts. The free use of the potato as an article of diet in place of the
excessive consumption of meat and fish, a practice widely prevalent,
would unquestionably check the alarming rapid development of this
disease, which, according to the United States mortality reports has
increased four hundred per cent in the last ten years.
"The potato, buttermilk, and oatmeal diet of the Irish has developed
one of the most sturdy and enduring races of men to be found any-
where. The proportion of centenarians in Ireland is more than ten
times as great as in England. There can be no doubt that the free
use of potatoes by the Irish is in large measure responsible for the re-
markable longevity of this nation.
"The idea that the potato is difficult of digestion and thus gives rise
to fermentation in the stomach is entirely erroneous. The fault is not

29
with the potato but with the manner of eating. When acted upon by the
saliva, the starch of the potato is converted into maltoes and dextrin,
which Palow of St. Petersburg has shown to be powerful stimulants
of the glands of the stomach. Properly cooked and well chewed, the
potato is thus not only a good food but an aid to the digestion of
other foods. In persons whose stomachs have a tendency to produce
excessive acids the stimulating effect of the potato may be great as
to produce the syptoms characteristic of hyperacidity, heartburn, tender-
ness of the stomach, regurgitation of gas and acid liquid, and other
well known symptoms. This difficulty is not at all due to fermentation
but an excessive amount of acid and the resulting spasmodic contrac-
tion of the pylorus, so the stomach is stimulated to violent contraction.
The gas contained in the stomach cannot be forced downward in the
proper direction, and so escapes upward. The difficulty is not likely to
occur, however, except when chewing is neglected. The gastric juice
has little action upon the potato. Coarse particles of potato may remain
in the stomach many hours, causing excessive acid fermentation, irrita-
tion and eructations. In eating potato every morsel must be chewed
until reduced to a smooth paste in which no coarse particles can
be detected by the tongue.
"The remedy is simple. Palow has shown that fats lessen the
activity of the stomach in the secretion of gastric juice. Hence, it is
only necessary to increase the amount of fat eaten with the potato. In
extreme cases the potato should be eaten in the form of a puree with
the addition of butter or rich cream. This difficulty is especially notice-
able in persons who have habitually eaten large quantities of meat
when they undertake to change their eating habits, taking less meat
and more cereals and potatoes. With a change in eating habit, the
unpleasant symptoms usually disappear in a short time.
"Some persons find it necessary to avoid the use of tomatoes and
acid fruits and potatoes. The apparent disagreement of the potato with
acid fruits is chiefly due to neglect to thoroughly masticate the food.
If the potato is eaten in the form of puree or well mashed, and if the
fruit is also in the form of puree or if pains are taken to masticate
it very thoroughly inconvenience from the combination will be rarely,
if ever, experienced.
"The potato should always be cooked with the 'jacket' on. The mineral
salts of the potato so valuable to health are just under the skin and
if the potato is pealed before cooking the salts are thrown away."

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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