eggs, oysters, green corn, cabbage, pork, watermelons, grains, crabs, fish, white or Irish potatoes, yams, tomatoes.
 | An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|First course in biology (IA firstcourseinbio00bailrich).pdf/578}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |  |
Fig. 101.—Blackboard Diagram. Amount of nourishment (black) and waste (white) in several foods. (After Latson.)
The Order in which Man increased his Bill of Fare.—Flesh-eating animals have a short
food tube, as their food is digested quickly;
they have long, pointed teeth for tearing, sharp
claws for holding, and a rough tongue for rasping
meat from the bones. Man's even teeth,
long food tube, soft and smooth tongue, and
flattened nails, indicate that he is suited for a
diet largely vegetable (see Table, p. 111). The race at first probably ate tree fruits,[1] both nuts
and fleshy fruits (Fig. 101). Because of
famine, or after migration to colder climates,
and after learning the use of fire, the race probably
began to use flesh for food. Afterward
the hunters became farmers and learned to
cultivate grain, which formed a most important
addition to the food supply, and made possible
a dense population. Coarse, woody foods, like
the leaves and stems of herbs, were probably
added last of all. Woody fiber (cellulose) can
be digested by cattle, but it cannot be digested
by man.
The Natural Guide in Eating is Taste. Man should preserve his taste uncorrupted as, next to his conscience, his wisest counselor and friend. It has been developed and transmitted through countless ages as a precious heritage. Simple food is more delicious to people with natural tastes than the most artificial concoctions are to those with perverted taste.
Animal Food.—The flesh of animals
furnishes proteid and fat (Fig. 102).
As cooking coagulates and hardens
- ↑ See Genesis i. 29. Some raw food should be eaten daily. Pecans are the most digestible of all nuts. A half dozen or more eaten regularly for breakfast will prevent constipation or cure it in ten days or less.
