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.
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