Food and the principles of dietetics / by Robert Hutchison.

  • Hutchison, Robert, Sir, 1871-1960.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Food and the principles of dietetics / by Robert Hutchison. 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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    what more scientific data, and has been adopted by some eminent authorities, but the discussion of the subject cannot be undertaken here. One practical outcome of this belief has been the abolition of fish from tbe dietary of the patients in the St. Louis Hospital for Skin Diseases in Paris. Economic Value of Fish.—In the case of fish, even more than in that of most foods, the market-price is no indication of the true economic value. I have already illustrated this fact by pointing out (p. 17) that although such fishes as haddock and sole are of practically the same nutritive value, yet the price of the latter may be four or five times that of the former. On the other hand, it by no means follows that none of the dearer varieties of fish is worth the money. Salmon, for example, contains nearly three times as much nutriment as an equal weight of cod, and thus a pound of . the former at is. 6d. may not really be any dearer than a pound of cod at 6d. The amount of waste in fish is also of great importance from the economic point of view. We have seen that the inedible parts of fish as pur- chased may amount in some cases to as much as 70 per cent, of the whole, and allowance must be made for this in calculating the real cost. For this reason it may be worth while to pay a rather high price for canned or tinned fish, for in these preparations almost the whole of the material paid for is in an edible form. As a general rule, it may be said that the cheaper varieties of the fat fishes offer most nutriment for any given sum. Salted white fish probably rank next to these. An average herring contains about 15 grammes of edible proteid (nearly ^ ounce) and from 5 to 10 grammes of fat, and it has been truly remarked by Dr. Smith ^ that the despised bloater ‘offers the largest amount of nutriment for a given sum of any animal food,’ and two salt herrings contain as much animal proteid as need enter into the daily dietary of an ordinary working man. The justice of these remarks is borne out by the following calcula- tions, taken from several made by Langworthy,^ English prices being substituted for American : COMPARATIVE COSTS OF PROTEID AND ENERGY AS FURNISHED BY DIFFERENT KINDS OF FISH. Price per lb. Cost of Proteid Cost of 1,000 Calories per lb. of Energy. d. s. d. s. d. Cod.. .. 3 3 II 2 0^ Halibut 9 4 9 I 7 Salt cod 3i I 10 0 II Salt mackerel 5 2 10 0 5h Tinned salmon 6 2 3i - 0 6i Round of beef 7 3 24 0 8 Milk .. 3d. per quart. 3 9i 0 4i * • Foods,' p. no. “ ‘ Fish as Food,’ p. 18.