A Comprehensive Guide-Book to Natural, Hygienic and Humane Diet

LABOUR-SAVING APPLIANCES

Domestic work in the kitchen may be very much simplified and lightened if proper utensils are employed, and those who are able to do so should obtain the following appliances, in addition to those which are generally used: —

The 'Dana' Nut-Mill. This is used for making bread crumbs from crusts or stale bread; for flaking nuts and almonds, etc., so as to make them more easy of digestion, and nut-butter so as to make it mix more conveniently with dough when employed for making pastry and cheese – rendering it more readily digestible. This nut-mill may be obtained from G. Savage & Sons, 33, Aldersgate Street, London, E. C., and from Health Food Depôts (price 7/6). It serves the same purpose as a sausage machine as well.

A Frying-Basket is necessary for letting down rissoles, croquettes, cutlets, fritters, potato chips, etc., into the stewpan which is kept for frying purposes. The stewpan should be four or five inches deep, so as to avoid the possibility of the Nutter or vegetable fat bubbling over and catching fire upon the stove. Aluminium or nickel are the best metals.

A Raisin Stoner. It enables one to stone a large quantity of fruit in a very short time. Most ironmongers stock these machines.

A Potato Masher. Necessary for flaking potatoes and preparing haricot beans, peas, etc., for admixture in rissoles or croquettes. By this means the skins can be easily removed after they are cooked.

A Wire Sieve (about 1/8th-inch mesh). Useful for preparing spinach, and in many other ways which will suggest themselves to every cook.

A Duplex Boiler. For scalding milk by means of a steam jacket. It prevents burning, and boiling over. The Gourmet Boiler is a valuable cooking appliance of the same sort. Failing these a double saucepan is necessary.

A Chopping Basin– a wooden bowl with a circular chopper which fits it. This prevents the pieces from jumping off and lessens the time occupied. It is also less noisy and can be used while the operator is seated.

A Vegetable Slicer. The best appliance for this purpose is a combination tool – made so that one can slice carrots, etc., to any size and thickness, and also core apples, peel potatoes and perform other functions with it.

A Metal Frying Pan. A nickel, aluminium, or steel frying pan is almost a necessity. Enamel chips off very soon and is dangerous, as it may cause appendicitis.

MEDICINAL AND DIETETIC QUALITIES

As it is important that those who adopt a reformed diet should know something about the dietetic and medicinal value of the articles they consume, the following information may prove helpful: —

Apples purify the blood, feed the brain with phosphorus, and help to eliminate urates and earthy salts from the system. As they contain a small amount of starch, and a good proportion of grape sugar combined with certain valuable acids, they constitute a most desirable and hygienic food for all seasons. They should be ripe and sweet when eaten. People who cannot digest apples in the ordinary way should scrape them, and thus eat them in pulp rather than in pieces.

Bananas also contain phosphorus, and are consequently suitable for mental workers. They are easily digestible, and nutritious, being almost a food in themselves.

French Plums are judicious food for persons of nervous temperament and for those whose habits are sedentary; they prevent constipation, and are nutritious. They should be well stewed, and eaten with cream, Plasmon snow-cream, or Coconut cream (see recipe 224).

Strawberries contain phosphorus and iron, and are therefore especially desirable for mental workers and anæmic invalids.

Tomatoes are good for those who suffer from sluggish liver. The popular fallacy that they are liable to cause cancer, which was circulated by thoughtless persons some few years since, has been pronounced, by the highest medical authorities, to be unsupported by any evidence whatever, and to be most improbable and absurd. In the Island of Mauritius this fruit is eaten at almost every meal, and Bishop Royston stated that during his episcopate of eighteen years he only heard of one case of the disease.

Lettuce is soothing to the system and purifying to the blood. It should be well dressed with pure olive oil and wine vinegar (2 spoonfuls of oil to 1 of vinegar, well mixed together, with a pinch of sugar). A lettuce salad eaten with bread and cheese makes a nutritious and ample meal. The thin and tender-leaved variety (grown under glass if possible) should always be chosen.

Figs contain much fruit sugar which can be rapidly assimilated, and are very nourishing and easily digestible; when they can be obtained in their green state they are specially desirable. They may be considered one of the most valuable of all fruits, and are most helpful in many cases of sickness on account of their laxative medicinal properties.

Dates are very similar to figs, and are both sustaining and warming; they are easily digested if the skins are thin.

Gooseberries, Raspberries, Currants and Grapes are cooling and purifying food for hot weather; but, if unripe, they will often upset the liver. This type of fruit should not be eaten unless ripe and sweet.

Walnuts, Hazel and Brazil Nuts contain a considerable amount of oil, and are consequently useful for warming the body and feeding and strengthening the nerves. Vegetable fat in this form is emulsified and more easily assimilated than free animal fats, as in butter, etc. Nuts are also rich in proteid matter. Where people find that they cannot masticate nuts, owing to impairment of teeth, the difficulty may be removed by passing the nuts through a 'Dana' nut-mill. When thus flaked and spread between thin slices of bread and butter, with honey, they make delicious sandwiches for lunch. A pinch of curry powder (instead of the honey) makes them taste savoury.

Chestnuts contain a larger proportion of starch, but are digested without difficulty when boiled in their jackets until fairly soft. If eaten with a pinch of salt they make a nice dish.

Pineapples are valuable for cases of diphtheria and sore-throat, as the juice makes an excellent gargle. This fruit is considered to aid digestion in certain cases.

Cheese is very rich in protein – far more so than lean beef. If well chosen, and new, it is a most valuable article of diet, and feeds brain, nerves, and muscles; but as it is a concentrated food it should not be taken in excessive quantity. Half a pound of cheese is almost equal to a pound of average flesh meat. The best varieties are Wenslet, Gruyère (very rich in phosphorus), Port Salut, Milk (155), Wensleydale, Cheshire and Cheddar.

Protose, Nuttose, and similar malted nut-meats, are more than equivalent to lean beef – minus water, waste products, and disease germs. The International Health Association first invented these valuable substitutes for animal food, and has an able advisory medical staff, therefore they may be regarded as results of modern dietetic research. Protose contains 25 % protein and 14 % fat.

White Haricots are rich in protein (far more so than lean meat), and should be eaten in moderation. Brown haricots contain iron in addition to their large percentage of protein.

Lentils are almost identical in composition, but are more suitable for those who do not have much physical toil.

Peas are slightly less nitrogenous than lentils and haricots, but otherwise very similar; they are best when eaten in a green form, and when young and tender. When they are old the peas should always be passed through a potato masher, as the skins are very indigestible.

Macaroni contains starch and a certain amount of the gluten of wheat. Some of the best varieties are made with eggs as well as flour. Tomato sauce is the best accompaniment to it, with Parmesan or grated and melted cheese (see recipes 71).

Rice as usually sold consists chiefly of starch, but if unglazed and once milled, it is much more nourishing, as the cuticle of the cereal (which is rich in gluten and protein) is then left on it. The addition of cheese or eggs, makes it a more complete food (see recipes 72 to 80).

Potatoes consist principally of starch and water, with a certain amount of potash. Their dietetic value is not high.

Wholewheat Bread contains, in addition to its starch, much vegetable albumen, and a large supply of mineral salts, such as phosphates, etc. It is, therefore, when light and well cooked, of high dietetic value both for flesh-forming and nerve feeding. Physical workers should use it as a staple article of food, and mental workers will also find it most helpful. The coarser the brown flour, the more laxative is the influence of the bread. This is point worth noting.

Eggs are nutritive chiefly on account of the albumen which they contain in the white portion, but they are liable to cause digestive trouble, and they must not be taken too freely by those who are subject to biliousness and constipation. Such persons often find it advantageous to have them boiled quite hard.

Emprote (Eustace Miles proteid Food) contains the proteids of wheat and milk (35 %), with digestible Carbohydrates (45.2 %), fat (6.6 %), and assimilable salts (7.9 %). It makes a good addition to soups, beverages, and dishes lacking in protein.

Nuto-Cream Meat is a modern substitute for white meat and poultry, containing 19.7 % protein, 48 % fat, and 23 % Carbohydrates. It is made from nuts and corn, and is useful for invalids and young children.

Milk contains nearly all the elements necessary for repairing bodily waste. It should be scalded for half-an-hour in a double saucepan – to destroy tubercular and other germs. If then allowed to stand for 12 hours, clotted cream can be skimmed off (as in Devonshire) and the milk can be used next day. It keeps much longer after being thus scalded. Dried milk is now procurable in such forms as 'Lacvitum' and 'Plasmon.'

Celery is a useful blood purifier, and is valuable in all cases of rheumatism, gout, &c. Celery salt is a valuable addition to soups and savoury dishes, and is preferable to common salt.

Spinach contains a considerable quantity of iron in a readily assimilable form, and is, therefore, good for anæmic persons.

Onions have a wonderfully improving effect upon the skin and complexion if eaten raw, and they act powerfully as diuretics.

HYGIENIC INFORMATION

How to Keep Young. Old age is accompanied by the accumulation in the body of certain earthy salts which tend to produce ossification. The deposit of these in the walls of the arteries impedes the circulation, and produces senility and decrepitude. Flesh-food accelerates this process, but the juices of fruits, and distilled or soft water, dissolve out these deposits. The older one becomes the more freely should one partake of fruit and soft water.

The more juicy fruit we consume, the less drink of any kind we require, and the water contained in fruit is of Nature's purest and best production.

Frequent bathing and the occasional use of the vapour bath also help to eliminate these deposits, and those whose skins are never made to perspire by wholesome exercise in the open air must cause this healthful operation to take place by other means – or pay the penalty which Nature exacts.

Food and Climate. Vegetable oils and fats produce heat and build up the nerves. We require a much larger amount of food containing fat in cold weather and in cold climates than in warm weather and in warm climates. By producing fruits in profusion in the summer-time Nature provides for the satisfaction of our instinctive desire for such simple and cooling diet when the temperature is high. But in winter-time more cheese, butter, olive oil, or nuts, should be eaten every day.

Cancer and Flesh-eating. The latest declarations of some of the principal British medical authorities on 'Cancer' are to the effect that people become afflicted with this disease through the excessive consumption of animal flesh. The alimentary canal becomes obstructed with decomposing matter, toxic elements are generated and absorbed in the system, and cancerous cellular proliferation ensues. It is noteworthy that fruitarians are scarcely ever afflicted with this disease, and that a strict fruitarian dietary (uncooked) has often proved curative. See pages 133.

How to avoid Dyspepsia. If the digestive process is unduly delayed by overloading the stomach, or by drinking much at meal-times so as to dilute the gastric juice, fermentation, flatulence and impaired health are likely to result. Raw sugar if taken very freely with starch foods is also apt to produce fermentation.

It is a mistake to mix acid fruits and vegetables by eating them together at the same meal. Fermentation is often thus caused, as vegetables take a long time to digest. A very safe rule to observe, and one which would save many from physical discomfort and suffering, is this – only eat fruits which are palatable in the natural uncooked state. Before Man invented the art of cooking, he must have followed this rule.

Those who suffer from dyspepsia will, in most instances, derive benefit by taking two meals a day instead of three – or at any rate by substituting a cup of coffee or of hot skimmed milk and a few brown biscuits for the third meal. Hard workers are the only persons who can really get hungry three times a day, and we ought not to take our meals without "hunger sauce." Fruit alone, for the third meal is better still.

The last meal of the day should not be taken after seven o'clock at night. Disturbed rest and the habit of dreaming are an almost certain indication of errors in diet having been committed, or of this rule having been infringed.

Probably the most valuable prescription ever given to a patient was that given by Dr. Abernethy to a wealthy dyspeptic, "Live on sixpence a day and earn it."

Constipation can nearly always be cured by adding stewed figs, French plums, salads, etc., to one's menu, by eating brown instead of white bread, and by taking less proteid food.

Tea is detrimental to many persons. The tannin contained in it toughens albuminous food, and is liable to injure the sensitive lining of the stomach. China tea is the least harmful.

Rest after Meals. Those who work their brains or bodies actively, immediately after a solid meal, simply invite dyspepsia. The vital force required for digestion is diverted and malnutrition follows. The deluded business-man who "cannot spare the time" for a short rest or stroll after lunch, often damages his constitution and finds that he has been "penny wise and pound foolish."

If the brain or body has been severely taxed, an interval of rest should be secured before food is taken. It is not what we eat that nourishes us, but what we are able to assimilate. Recreation, occasional amusement, and an interest in life are necessary. Thousands of women die from monotony and continuous domestic care; multitudes of men succumb to mental strain and incessant business anxiety. Chronic dyspeptics should reflect on these facts.

Abstainers from animal-food who get into any difficulty about their diet should seek advice from those who have experience, or should consult a fruitarian physician. The local names and addresses of doctors who both practice and advise this simple and natural system of living, will be supplied upon application to the Hon. Secretary of The Order of the Golden Age. Such are increasing in number every month.

Physical Vitality. The human body is a storage battery consisting of millions of cells in which the vital electricity that produces health, and makes life enjoyable, is accumulated.

Every manifestation of physical and mental power depends upon the force stored up in this battery. The more fully charged the cells the higher the voltage, and, consequently, the greater the physical vitality and power. This voltage is always fluctuating. Expenditure of force lessens it; recuperation, through rest, sleep, the in-breathing of oxygen, and the assimilation of vital uncooked food increases it.

Fruits, nuts, and root vegetables contain electrical potency – they will deflect the needle of a highly sensitive Kelvin galvanometer. But when cooked, their vital electricity is destroyed – they become lifeless, like flesh-food.

The accumulation of vital force is a possibility if natural and vital food is selected.

The Great Healer. All the medicines in the world are as the small dust of the balance, potentially, when weighed against this Life-force – which "healeth all our diseases and redeemeth our life from destruction." Its therapeutic phenomena are truly wonderful.

When our bodies are invaded by malevolent microbes, the defensive corpuscles within us, if in fit condition, destroy them. But if not fed with those elements which are needful for their sustenance, they soon "run down" – just as we ourselves get "below par." We are then liable to become the prey of those ceaseless microscopic enemies that are ever ready to pounce upon the unfit.

If our corpuscles are weaker than the invading foes, no drugs can save us – we are doomed. Hence the importance of keeping ourselves and our nerve centres well charged and in vigorous condition.

How to Accumulate Vitality.To accumulate vitality our food must contain all the chemical elements which we need. None must be permanently omitted. If, for instance, we entirely exclude organic phosphorus from the food of a man of great intellect, he will, in due time, be reduced to imbecility. This is obtained in such foods as cheese, milk, wholemeal bread, peas, apples, strawberries, and bananas.

We must live by method, and take some trouble. Nature's greatest gift is not to be obtained without thought or effort. We must eat, breathe, and live wisely; and the closer to Nature we get, the better it will be for us.

The habit of deep breathing, like that of living much in the open air, yields important results. The atmosphere consists of oxygen and nitrogen – the very elements of which our bodies are chiefly constructed. Life and vigour can be inhaled, but few persons have learnt the art.

Cheerfulness tends to promote the assimilation of food. Exercise – of an intelligent and healthful sort – is needful to make the life-current pulsate through our tissues. Without it our organs do not get properly nourished and rebuilt: stiffness and atrophy set in. Worry and care must be banished, and unwise or excessive expenditure of nerve force avoided; for these things deplete the human storage battery of its vitality.

Mankind is slowly gaining greater knowledge of vital, mental, and spiritual truth. Ultimately, "Life more abundant" will become the heritage of the many instead of the few.

Self-emancipation from weakness and disability is an achievement that will repay much effort on the part of each one of us; and we can all render beneficent social service by exemplifying the art of living wisely.

By promoting hygienic and humane education, we can prevent much suffering, and greatly increase the sum of happiness in this world!

All readers who feel that they have derived helpful and useful knowledge by reading this book, are respectfully invited to make it known to their friends and neighbours, or to present copies to them. All financial profit arising from its sale is devoted to the philanthropic work of The Order of the Golden Age and the exaltation of its hygienic and humane Ideals.

Booksellers, Secretaries of Food-Reform, Physical Culture, and other Societies (and readers requiring quantities for distribution) can be supplied at a discount of 25 per cent. for cash, carriage forward, if they apply directly to the above Society.