Food : its adulterations, and the methods for their detection / by Arthur Hill Hassall.

  • Hassall, Arthur Hill, 1817-1894.
Date:
1876
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Food : its adulterations, and the methods for their detection / by Arthur Hill Hassall. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

    18/968 (page 6)
    A few words in conclusion may be bestowed on the relative digesti- bility of dilferent articles of food. It appears from Dr. Beaumont's experiments on Alexis St. Martin that ' animal food is digested sooner than farinaceous, and, possibly, meat might therefore replace more quickly the wasted nitrogenous tissue than bread or peas; and it may be true, as asserted, that the change of tissue is more quick in meat-eaters, who require, therefore, more frequent supphes of food.' ' Rice, tripe, whipped eggs, sago, tapioca, barley, boiled milk, raw eggs, lamb, parsnips, mashed and baked potatoes, and fricasseed chicken, are the most easily digested substances in the order here given, the lice disappearing from the stomach in one horn-, and the fricasseed chicken in 2f hours. Beef, pork, mutton, oysters, butter, bread, veal, boiled and roast fowls are rather less digestible, roast beef disappearing from the stomach in three hom-s, and roast fowl in four hours. Salt beef and pork disappeared in 4:^ hours.'—ParJces. The admixtm-e of the difterent classes of food aids digestibility, and fat taken with meat helps the digestion of the meat. ' According to the best Avriters on diet, it is not enough to give the proximate dietetic substances in proper amount. Variety must be introduced into the food, and diflerent substances of the same class must be alternately employed. It may appear singular _ that this shoiild be necessary; and certainly many men and most animals have perfect health on a very imiform diet. Yet there appears no doubt of the good effect of variety, and its action is probably on primary diges- tion. Sameness cloys; and vsdth variety more food is taken, and a larger amomit of nutriment is introduced. It is im-possible, with rations, to introduce any great variety of food; but the same object appears to be secm-ed by having a variety of cooking.'—ParJces.