| Show The Idle e Stomach Stomach Our Our Most I Serious Unemployment Problem 1 31 By E E. E V. V McCollum PhD Ph.D. t Author of 01 The Newer Knowledge of Jf Nutrition Food Nutrition J and acid Health c j c Professor of School of Hygiene and and- andt t Public Health Johns mt Hopkins University LIVING T IVING as we do no now nowadays ays oa oil a diet consisting largely of B concentrated and highly refined foods many persons too often overlook the absolute need for a certain quantity of food food food that ke keeps ps the digestive tract healthfully healthfully healthfully health health- fully at work and provides the excess hulk bulk so necessary to promote well being being- It is is a recognized law W ti of Nature th that t the digestive tract of of oi any creature is adapted to suit the kind of diet to which the species long has been accustomed And in order to obtain a clear picture of the importance of roughage in the human dietary it might be well Yell for us to review briefly the three types of creatures crea crea- tures including lures including m man that man that compose the animal Kingdom I First there Is the species known as who subsist entirely upon food of or vegetable on origin in T These liese have stomachs of or enormous capacity c and nd intestines which are aro large lane enough to contain the great residues of ot indigestible matter malter which result from a diet of oC coarse herbage Tho The lining membranes o of the stomach and intestines of ot nd herbivorous animals too are highly resistant to mechanical Injury inJury injury in- in Jury and tolerate without damage the friction of the coarse oarse residues as the they pass along tho the digestive e tr tract ct Flesh Eating Animals Next Nett in the tho scale of ot animal species species cies des we ve find the tile carnivore v. v who ho ilo restrict restrict re re- re strict their food solely to the tho flesh of other animals In this group we find that the digestive tract is of ot much smaller capacity as a result no doubt of ot long a adherence her her- 0 ence once to food of ot exclusively animal origin Meat glandular organs and fat we know are highly conZ con- con Z ct t feeds s and even a small 5 balk buik sulfites suffices to tJ provi provide e ample Ay nutrients for growth an and the J maintenance ance of If weight even E when much of at the food fond consumed is burned fur the tho performance of 01 v work ork orL- or t the production of i heat seat l 0 While the digestive o tract in L th these so eating Hesh-eating animals functions tune tune- NO bons satisfactorily without much in indigestible sU IJ material on OIl which to tow w nl or k t ft b 1 d that ft n. n I i. i must LUU 1 ut a remember i u u th the ulder natural con conditions conditions con con- take tako a gr great gnat at d deal al of ot and that the residue from their thuir food rood Is quite smoot Jt smooth in tex tex- ture lure Even BU so many of It f these thes nn fl as as tho Uw dot dog cat lion a arid and d tiger tiger at t much bone substance which is changed by the strong acidity of the stomach ach to form lorm insoluble and t irly bulky bully material material material ma ma- of or a mss ns favorable ta to tin the I 1 4 I h I o A f Y rw w y p. p i I l 1 Wi X i- i Y f tl Y r N. N A 1 tir Y i r f fl I l h i l. l fi fI Jf H i l 6 v W i t 3 ili 1 f I fi f. WJ VJ r M Ji I i iz W 1 z Viz fn 1 pt t J J 4 f J l Jit I I I s 1 j x K f. f o 7 N ti Zi t f J i t. t I 0 1 I I tf d s I tM 1 J m y I tf 1 ti ia 4 f f f. f f s r r to 2 v PJ r 1 t v. v ti t 1 t i 1 fi i i ti a r t rt ko I 11 J. J P- P J. J B J lJ l. l vr l o 1 i 1 W J kr v JJ Mf t. t 6 l fik X M U t rt 4 mm f t II IS I I C v V. V McCollum mechanical functioning of tho the Intestine intestine In in- and thus makes elimination elimina elimina- elimination tion possible at a n. rate which is cono stent with health Coming now to man the man the third type of ot species in the tho animal kingdom kingdom we we find that ho he Is omnivorous Except in tho the far North where no vegetable food Is human beings draw their nutriment from both plant and animal life Nevertheless man cannot eat very vory bulky vegetable vegetable vegetable vege vege- table food ia in uny any cun considerable I quantity because his lils digestive tract is of or small capacity I Neither can ho he h safety sarey eau eat o ot of the coarser vegetables because the lining membranes of or his stomach and intestines are too delicate to withstand the scraping of ot the thel l coarser particles particle of indigestible matter without injury What Cooking Docs Does One Ono way In which man has baa attempted attempted at at- tempted anti and with WILh success to tu tat oat safely the coarser root and leaf leafy vegetables is through softening an and disintegrating the cellulose of ot those foods by cooking them decomposes decomposes de cle- The cooking process not only composes some of or their substances classed as cellulose but makes the tho remainder of or the food more digestible and thus averts the after after after af af- af- af ter distress of oC eating When some of the smaller an and fugitive tribes of American Indians were forced into I localities ties In which game was scarce and food plants cot abundant they were compelled compelled compelled com com- by circumstance to eat grass seed acorns and other vegetable vegetable vegetable vege vege- table foods which arc are coarser than humans are accustomed to cat eat They suffered greatly from Indigestion and doubtless injured their digestive tracts by taking cellulose which was too coarse and Irritating They had not nt le lethan less than titan a a. score of ot grandmother remedies for Indigestion to attest attest attest at at- test these experiences Common knowledge tells us un that indigestible things arc are dangerous dangerous dangerous dan dan- if eaten freely yet it ft Is equally clear that our OUi intestines do not function properly unless there is a certain amount of or Indigestible indigestible In in- digestible matter to distend them to the right degree and to form forma a mass which is fn favorable for forthe tho the muscular contractions ions of ot the Intestine to move mme loag with the peristaltic waves Between the tIle extremes of ot having bavins in the inte Intestine too tiro much an and 1 too I coarse on the he one hand I and too little bulky matter on the oth other r lies lieR the tho happy hap hrIp- happy py medium which is favorable t both huth to comfort and health There lire are man many kinds of cellulose c in indifferent different ve vegetable getable products U It forms the framework and anil filters ur of plants the walls wall of or vegetable cells ceil and the coverings o of seeds in most inot of its forms cellulose cellulose- 1 ia is insoluble In il boiling water and nul it is IB not acted upon by any of the tho digestive juices though certain km kinds s of or bacteria ar are o of fermenting an and digesting the tho cellulose cellulose cel cel- of certain plants pants Bran Uran is probably the tho form cS ct cellulose which has been most discussed in connection with WILh theL tho the L improvement IS ot of intestinal bygie hy- hy gie giono no through facilitating elim elini- There re is good reason leason fr fir I believing Ie however r. r that at when bran uran is eaten ivet for or no ro meting inciting intestinal hygiene It generally gen ben is caton eaten too freely If properly properly prop prop- eI erly softened through cooking and talon taken In amounts no greats greater than are afforded ed by eating the whole hole cereal as lS a u breakfast food it is undoubtedly an excellent source of or What has s been said ol of bran brae and ami its benefits ts Is even more maIO particularly true of the cellulose of ot the rice rico kernel Rico Rice is the tho principal cereal grain gram In tho the dietary of more than half the hu human man race Those who have been brought up on a diet constantly containing rice like c It bettor better than nn any other cereal We have in America long been accustomed to eating small amounts of rice 0 occasionally oc oc- but hut we generally never have eaten oaten it as freel freely aa us wo we have either wheat or corn Cellulose of Rice Softest The cellulose of or the corn key key- nol nul Is considerably niece moie to di digest est and more moro Irritating than the tho cellulose of ot either wheat wheaL or rice nee Of or the three the cellulose of rice Is the softest and smoothest smooth smooth- est cst and for regulating the elimination elimination elim eUm- of or children or of adults with delicate digestive vo systems it it Is almost Ideal l as a source of ot bulky matter A few faddists faddist doubtless eat too ranch much of ot rich cellulose fods particularly green leafy lealy vege vege- ve c. c tables While we never sho should become extremists about any feature of the tho diet It is u a fart fact fact that tho the modern tooth food i 1 1 1 often orten Is 13 lacking in sufficient J rr and this matter of an i- i t. t 1 stomach and digestive tract Is quo one 13 of the most serious unemployment it that tint confronts the the l-ii l hu man mrm race nop today i |
