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Many factors enter into the food problem as
it appears in everyday life. In the same household there are
generally persons of different food requirements. The baby cannot
be fed like the 15-year old high school girl is fed. The dainty
fare which best suits the school teacher is held in scorn by
the farm worker whose energy needs are twice as high. To use
the same food resources for all and make adjustments which assure
for each a palatable, digestible, and adequate diet call for
knowledge and skill in the apportionment of the various items
on the menu.
Milk
is a great protector of the diet in almost every point: of unique
importance for calcium, an outstanding source of riboflavin
and phosphorus, and a significant source of vitamins A and B.
Even in adult life, therefore, a liberal amount of milk should
be included at all times, at least a pint a day.
Vegetables
and fruits deserve a definite place in the diet because of the
mineral salts which they furnish, and also because of their
laxative properties. Green vegetables, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes,
cabbage and citrus fruits are particularly valuable and should
be used frequently.
The amount
of eggs, meat and other flesh foods to be used is determined
partly by their nutritive value, partly by their flavor and
ease of preparation for the table, and partly by their cost.
Meats are relatively expensive in comparison with their nutritive
return. Eggs give a higher nutritive return than meat, being
rich in vitamin A and a good source of vitamin B, D and G, while
ordinary muscle meat is a poor source of vitamin A and D and
good source of vitamins B & G.
The foods
from cereal grains are valuable as sources of energy and protein,
and if whole grain or enriched, of iron and vitamins B &
G. They are the most economical items in the diet, and the proportion
used depends largely upon the amount of money available for
food. As much as one half of the total calories of an adult
man’s diet may be secured from this group of foods.
Fats and
oils, because of their flavor and “staying power” as well as
their high content of calories per pound, are important in a
good diet. When other sources of vitamin A are limited, it is
desirable that much of the fat be butter or fortified oleomargarine
unless cod liver oil is used regularly.
Sugars,
while adding much to the palatability of the diet, contribute
fuel only and must not constitute a high proportion of the total
calories or there will be danger of shortage of ash constituents
and vitamins, and also danger of digestive disturbances. |
