--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Widtsoe, John A. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 4 number: 10 published: 1901-08 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'John A. Widtsoe, "The Food of Man," *Improvement Era* 4, no. 10 (August 1901): 769–773.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0410unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0410unse start_page: 769 end_page: 773 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1901-08) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0410unse publication_year: 1901 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1901, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Food of Man THE FOOD OF MAN, BY DR. JOHN A. WIDTSOE, DIRECTOR EXPERIMENT STATION, STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, LOGAN, UTAH. Among the many things that every man and woman should know, the subject of food in its relation to bodily health stands in the front rank. It is, therefore, a deplorable fact that almost everything that the human mind has penetrated is better under- stood by the mass of mankind, than the true nature, use, and effect of the food we eat. During the early part of last century, many able men realized that for successful stock-raising, and for the production of the fattest meat, and the largest amount of first- class milk, it was very necessary that the animals which were to furnish the flesh or the milk, be fed for that purpose. Experi- ments were undertaken to determine the nutritive values of vari- ous foods, and to determine the manner in which foods and their constituents are used by the animal. A great deal of such work, long continued, resulted in the establishment of a science of stock- feeding, the laws of which are followed today by all successful stockmen. In the large barns and stables of this country and of Europe, cattle feeds are weighed out with extreme accuracy, and are combined according to elaborate analyses and formulas fur- nished to the practical farmer by physiological chemists. The careful obedience to the established laws of animal nutrition re- sults in better health of the animals, and in larger profits; the slightest variation from these laws results just as surely in a diminution of health and of income. No system of rules followed by farmers has better proved its value than has the system popu- larly known as rational stock-feeding. 770 IMPROVEMENT ERA. Now, it is a grimly humorous fact that the farmer who weighs out just so many pounds of timothy, and so many pounds of oats, for his horse, in order that he can get the greatest amount of work out of the animal, will go into the house and eat his dinner with no thought of the nutritive value of the food placed before him, provided it tastes good. If the farmer be asked why it is not just as necessary that the food for man should be weighed out for him, as it is that the horse receive neither more nor less than the right amount, he will probably answer that man has intelligence and feels what kind of food, and how much, is good for him. Judging from the suffering due to digestive derangements, with which the human race is afflicted, it is perhaps safe to say that, in the matter of eating, human intelligence, unaided by the results of science, is no greater than animal instinct. It is not altogether the fault of science that the knowledge of human foods is not more widely spread. Soon after the study of the best combinations of foods for the lower animals was begun, human nutrition were also parallel investigations into the laws of undertaken. Many facts have been gathered, and general laws have been drawn out of them, until now, a tolerably accurate science of the feeding of man exists. The majority of civilized men, both educated and ignorant, have been slow to accept the new light, for it involves, when it is first adopted, some change of old habits, and a certain amount of restraint of appetite. The thought that "what our fathers and grandfathers ate and found agreeable is good enough for us," has been the main obstacle to the making of our eating a rational process. The makers of text- books and the faculties that arrange courses of instruction in schools, academies and colleges, have for many years ignored the great subject of human food; and our boys and girls have grown up to pass blindly into the crowd that wails and ails with rheuma- tism, and headache, and indigestion, and liver trouble, and general misery, as a result of improper feeding. So strong did the need of more rational feeding among hu- mankind appear to the thinkers, that in 1894, Congress was pre- vailed upon to make an appropriation of $10,000 for investigations into the quality and quantity of food eaten by the American peo- ple. The year following, this appropriation was increased to THE FOOD OF MAN. 771 $15,000; and it has been continued since that time. The nutri- tion investigations of the government have been carried out under the supervision of Professor W. 0. Atwater, of Middleton, Con- necticut, who has been a life-long worker in the domain of food chemistry, and who is an enthusiastic advocate of the dissemina- tion among the people of the results of all food investigations. The work of the government has been, up to the present, an inquiry into the dietaries of various classes of people in the United States. Some very interesting results have been obtained. For instance, it has been shown that many families with light work eat meals that are better suited for blacksmiths and other people doing hard manual labor; that other families, the members of which lead active, outdoor lives, eat meals just suited for students; that many families, with limited incomes, could live for one-half or two-thirds of their present cost of living, did they only understand the relative nutritive values of foods. It has also been observed that farmers, who in most cases have' a full control of the food they eat, usually suffer from the want of balanced meals. The government has published the results of these investigations in the form of bulletins which are free, and may be obtained by ad- dressing the Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C. This question concerning correct eating is of special interest to all Latter-day Saints. The Lord, by a revelation known as the Word of Wisdom, has indicated the importance, in a correct life, of careful attention to the food which is taken into the system. In the Word of Wisdom lie the germs of many important princi- ples that will be developed by the workers in science, and then be brought into our daily lives to give health and strength to our bodies. There is, likewise, an important set of rules governing foods and eating that has been handed down to us from the days of Moses. Science is slowly awakening to the scientific soundness of the laws of Moses concerning foods, suitable and unsuitable, for the use of man; and showing, besides, the general application of these laws to all peoples, of all countries. This fact, that from the earliest times, the Lord has directed His people in correct habits of feeding, emphasizes the need that we all have of looking carefully after our foods and eating. There are many good peo- ple who feel that eating is a necessary earthly condition to which 772 IMPROVEMENT ERA. as little attention as possible should be given. Persons, however, who persistently neglect the feeding of their bodies soon diminish in spiritual power, for the frailty of their bodies makes it impos- sible for the spirit to exert its full power; and, in addition, the pains that are ever present in such a mistreated body, hold the attention, and prevent any serious contemplation of loftier sub- jects. The well fed, but temperate body, may be compared to a well-kept, oiled, machine that runs without noise or jarring; such a machine does its work properly and without interruption; such a body performs it3 functions with no distracting concomitant phenomena. In such a healthy body may the healthy mind and pure spirit work their will together, until the way of the Lord be- comes the way of man. For the purpose of keeping our bodies in the best condition, the Word of Wisdom, as generally interpreted, is not sufficient. To keep out of the body injurious substances is one thing; to bring into the system nutritious materials is quite another. Because coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco may not be used, it does not fol- low that all other known foods are desirable. What is needed is a clear comprehension of the needs of the body; of the compo- sition of the ordinary foods, and their special value to the human body. For instance, it is generally known that the food we eat is used in the body to produce heat and to restore the broken down tissues of the body. It is almost as well known that there are five great classes of food principles: first, water, which is used to dissolve the food and to carry it from place to place in the body; second, mineral matter, which is used to build bones and to assist various organs in their functional activities; third, fat, which is burned within the body to produce heat, and is also stored up in the body as fat; fourth, carbohydrates, consisting of starches and sugars which are also burned in the body, or, are converted into fat; fifth, protein, which replaces the broken down muscular tissues, and thus keeps the body in proper repair. For the best health, a person should eat with every part of protein 5.5 to 6.5 parts of carbohydrates and fat. Now, bread contains all these food principles, but the proportion of protein is too small; a per- son could not, therefore, live on bread alone and feel well. Meat, on the other hand, contains too much protein and too little of the THE FOOD OF MAN. 773 other ingredients. An examination of the whole list of ordinary foods will reveal the fact that there are very few perfect foods; and the whole art of proper feeding consists in the proper combi- nation of the food at our disposal, so that the body may receive the right proportion of the great food principles. At times, persons appear among us who advocate special methods of living. One holds that only vegetables should be eaten; another, that milk should be the great ba3is of our diet; an other, that salt must not be touched — and so on. Such doctrines are always harmful, unless based on the well-established laws of science. The only safe method to follow in these matters is to study the few underlying principles of human nutrition, and thus be independent of any well-meaning but uninformed person, with a single idea, who may come among us. Here, young men of Zion, is a subject worthy of our most serious thought and effort. We are preparing the way for the coming of Jesus Christ. Shall he come and find us with no at- tempt made toward physical uplifting and purification of our bodies? Will he come under such conditions? Shall we, the peo- ple with the most important mission of any people now on earth, permit our bodies, from a lack of information, to be weakened so that we cannot magnify our glorious missions? Think of it! One little error in diet may be committed at each meal; three meals are eaten a day; there are three hundred and sixty-five days in a year; the error is repeated more than one thousand times each year. No system can withstand such incessantly repeated attacks upon its health. Is it a wonder that men die young; or that age is full of weakness and pain? I plead for the cause of better feeding; I plead for our God- given bodies that labor so well to keep in good condition; I plead for our body-bound spirits that can act only as the body is in good health. I plead for the art of cooking that it may be re- spected, and for the art of feeding that it may be dignified by be- ing made rational. The whole secret of health does not lie in proper eating; but, in our age, the greater part of the secret may be found there. That would be mutual improvement indeed, could the young men of Zion unite in the study of rational feeding, and in the encouragement of its practice.