The book of diet / by Chalmers Watson.

  • Watson, Chalmers.
Date:
[1913]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The book of diet / by Chalmers Watson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    THE BOOK OF DIET. Chapter I. THE CHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF NUTRITION. Food Constituents—Digestion and Absorption of Food—Food Requirements and Factors modify- ing Them. Introduction. — All animate nature, both animal and vegetable, is constantly changing. The tissues of plants and animals are continuously built up and at the same time gradually broken down by a process of wasting. The wasted tissues have to be replaced, and this is effected through the food we eat. Constant chemical changes are involved in these processes, these chemical changes supplying a large amount of energy, which produces both body heat and work. In the human body the rate of change varies in the different organs and tissues according to age and activity. Thus the rate of growth from infancy to youth and on to manhood is enormous; in adult life, growth and repair take place much more slowly. The liver and other digestive glands are in a chronic state of rapid change, as they are intimately concerned in the chemical processes involved in breaking down the food-stuffs. The muscles of the body are also