Being HerePage Oh Two Five |
Being HereIntro One Intro Two Intro Three Intro Four Sitemap |
Page Oh Two FiveThe best-known fats are butter, lard, olive oil, and the fats of meats, cheese, and chocolate. When we test fats for fuel values by means of a calorimeter (Fig. 26), we find that they yield twice as much heat as the carbohydrates, but that they burn out more quickly. Dwellers in cold climates must constantly eat large quantities of fatty foods if they are to keep their bodies warm and survive the extreme cold. Cod liver oil is an excellent food medicine, and if taken in winter serves to warm the body and to protect it against the rigors of cold weather. The average person avoids fatty foods in summer, knowing from experience that rich foods make him warm and uncomfortable. The harder we work and the colder the weather, the more food of that kind do we require; it is said that a lumberman doing heavy out-of-door work in cold climates needs three times as much food as a city clerk. Most of our fats, like lard and butter, are of animal origin; some of them, however, like olive oil, peanut butter, and coconut oil, are of plant origin. All of our food comes from either the plant world or the animal world. Broadly speaking, plants furnish the carbohydrates, that is, starch and sugar; animals furnish the fats and proteids. But although vegetable foods yield carbohydrates mainly, some of them, like beans and peas, contain large quantities of protein and can be substituted for meat without disadvantage to the body. Other plant products, such as nuts, have fat as their most abundant food constituent. The peanut, for example, contains 43% of fat, 30% of proteids, and only 17% of carbohydrates; the Brazil nut has 65% of fat, 17% of proteids, and only 9% of carbohydrates. Nuts make a good meat substitute, and since they contain a fair amount of carbohydrates besides the fats and proteins, they supply all of the essential food constituents and form a well-balanced food. |
Copyright © 2006-2007 Bredimus.s5.com. All rights reserved. |