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Show : ! HOME HINTS j AND DIET i x By INEZ SEARLES WILLSON .. V, Ji--i, Wusiei u N two payer Luioq.) ENERGY VALUE OF FOODS During the last fifty years, experiments experi-ments have been conducted to show the energy value and chemical composition compo-sition of our common food materials. By means of elaborate apparatus, It has become possible to measure with complete accuracy, the amount of energy and heat which the different foods furnish to the body. These experiments are of Inestimable Inestima-ble value in providing analysis of all the articles of food which go to make up the daily diet. The unit of measure meas-ure is the calorie. The housewife should have nt least a general Idea of the fuel value and the composition of the foods which she serves to her family. In no other way Is It possible for her to provide, economically, the proper foods In the proper amounts. According to the latest results of reliable research, only the material which Is actually digested and whose energy Is available to the body Is taken Into account. These results give a lower energy value than the figures formerly accepted. The new figures given are: Protein yields 1.S20 calories per pound. Carbohydrates yield 1.S20 calories per pound. Fat yields 4,040 calories per pound. The energy value of any article of food depends upon the actual amount of nourishment which It cpntalns and the greater the proportion of fat the greater the fuel value. Fat Is the most concentrated form of human food and It Is In the form of fat that nature stores the excess food taken Into the body. This is why over-fed persons become fat. The body Is able to use this stored energy for fuel In case of need. Another consideration In figuring the actual nourishment derived from our foods, Is the amounts of refuse and water present In them. Obviously, Obvious-ly, these do not contribute to their energy value and therefore must be considered in buying economically. Strawberries which are 5 per cent waste and more than 85 per cent water wa-ter offer a good example of an expensive expen-sive way to furnish the body with liquid In February. W. O. Atwater, an expert In the science of nutrition has very aptly applied ap-plied the following definitions to food: "1. Food is that which, taken into the body, builds tissue or yields energy. "2. The most healthful food Is that which Is best fitted to the needs of the user. "3. The cheapest food Is that which furnishes the largest amount of nutriment nutri-ment at the least cost. "The best food Is that which Is both healthful and cheapest." |