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Show l HOME HINTS AND DIET i I .;. By INEZ SEARLES WILLSON -j. L. iJ2i, Western Newapaycr Union.) DIGESTIBILITY OF CHEESE Is cheese as indigestible as it Is ordinarily credited with being? Experiments Ex-periments carried on by the Department Depart-ment of Agriculture In co-operation with the Bureau of Animal Husbandry seem to show that this Is not the case. These experiments were conducted with young men as subjects. They were given a diet consisting of bread, American cheese and fruit. The results re-sults proved that over 00 per cent of the protein was digested and that 90 per eent of the energy was available and there were no evidences of digestive diges-tive difficulties. The digestion of the protein of cheese takes place in the Intestines rather than In the stomach and this may be the cause of the general opinion opin-ion that cheese Is a "heavy" food. There Is a large amount of fat present in cheese and it forms a coating coat-ing around the protein. This makes It difficult for the digestive juices to reach the protein and thus the digestive diges-tive processes In the stomach are retarded. re-tarded. Distress, due to eating cheese, has been attributed to the presence of free fatty acids which are produced during dur-ing the ripening process. The same condition may be brought about by cooking cheese at a temperature so high that the fat is decomposed and fatty acids freed. Further experiments, In which the energy required to digest cheese was measured, prove that the same amount of meat is assimilated no more easily. In order to lessen the length of time that cheese remains In the stomach, it should be taken in as finely a divided a state as possible. Careful chewing will help. The practice of eating crackers with cheese, especially soft cheese, is a great aid in separating the particles. Hard cheese is more readily reduced to small pieces. Melting Melt-ing cheese and mixing it with other foods is the very best way of making it possible for the digestive juices to teach the protein. The use of baking soda and other like alkalies has been recommended for making the cheese more digestible In that it renders the protein soluble. Experiment does not bear out this claim. The alkali does neutralize the fatty acids which may or may not be an advantage as it affects the flavor of the cheese. Many experiments have been conducted con-ducted to prove the value of cheese as a food. T.'ie results have been very satisfactory. Not only is it a highly nutritive food, but It Is in a form which can be assimilated by the body without the expenditure of undue energy. en-ergy. It does not cause digestive disturbances. dis-turbances. It may be combined in numberless num-berless ways with other foods to make attractive and palatable dishes in which both fat and protein are furnished fur-nished in an economical form. |