Fads

What to eat has always been the big and engrossing question with mankind ever since Eve in the garden made her first great mistake and Adam as the result was sentenced to a lifelong earning of his bread in the "sweat of his face." The question has been an absorbing one from the standpoint of the epicurean whose desire was to find some new thing with which to please the palate to the man or woman who in the face of poverty has had the problem to solve with the wolf at the door.

What Shall We Eat?

The primary thought in regard to eating having ever been to please the senses, man has long since reached the place where because of certain discomforts and ailments obviously due to error somewhere in the amount or kind of food taken he asks the question, "What shall I eat?" from the standpoint of one who has come to realize that he must eat to live rather than live to eat.

We hear the question from the man or woman who regards it sanely, sensibly and with a real desire to understand the principles underlying nutrition; and from the fanatic and the hypochondriac, who look upon all food as an enemy and seem to think that the less of it and in the most unpalatable form the better, expecting that everything eaten will cause distress unless it be taken according to the most rigid rules and with the utmost self-denial.

Fads Many And Varied

This question has been carefully investigated from the standpoint of science, more and greater light has gradually been thrown on it until today those interested in this all important subject have only to study the proper literature to learn much in regard to the scientific principles underlying the question of how to supply the body with proper food.

Together with a fund of scientific facts accessible to the investigative mind are various fancies and fads brought forth by those who in their searching have often gotten but a single truth instead of the whole fundamental outline involving body nutrition. Fads in regard to diet are many and varied. The question of eating having become so problematical, men both scientific and otherwise, have advanced many theories as to the practical solution of these dietetic problems.

Fasting

The partaking of food leading to so many ills it has been only a matter of course that some one should come forward with the assertion that, if eating causes such a large proportion of sickness, abstinence from food would undoubtedly prove a cure-all, and so the "fasting" fad has had its day.

Forced Feeding

So much trouble having resulted from faulty and incomplete nutrition it has seemed the natural thing that an effort be made to overcome this condition by forcing an excess of food upon the body. The thought has been that at least a part of the excess must be assimilated and that the body, gaining strength from added nourishment, would be better able to cope with problems due to a weak digestive tract. And so "forced feeding" has played a great part in the treatment of anemic conditions, malnutrition and wasting disease, as tuberculosis, etc.

Low Protein

Abnormal conditions resulting from errors in protein digestion and metabolism being so apparent, the "low protein" idea has been advanced, and many have been led to the extreme of omitting as nearly as possible all protein from the diet - subsisting on a meatless, eggless, milkless diet, with nothing to take the place of these protein foods.

Milk Diet

Protein, however, being such a necessity and the harm resulting from a deficient protein diet so apparent to secure this food in as digestible and assimilable a form as possible has seemed most important, and so the "milk diet" has had, and still holds a great place as a "cure all" for all conditions of disturbed nutrition and chronic disease.

No Breakfast

Others seeing conditions so often resulting from an overworked digestive tract and an excessive body fuel supply have sought to solve the problem and to obtain results by the "no breakfast plan" which has worked admirably in many cases.

Raw Food

Again the prevalence of eating processed, over-cooked, over-seasoned foods having been so evidently a factor in the causation of disease the advantages of the other extreme have been widely heralded and the "raw food" fad has had a great following with much benefit, no doubt, to some.

Combinations

So much of digestive disturbance seemingly due to improper combination of various sorts, many have thought that all dietetic errors might be corrected if a few rules in regard to what foods may be combined, were obeyed, and so many "diet specialists" have confined their dietetic teaching to the questions of "combinations." So we hear that a starch and an acid must not be eaten at the same meal; bread must not be eaten with starchy foods, two starches must not be combined; two kinds of fruits, fruit and vegetables, fruit and milk, are all wrong combinations, until one finds himself so surrounded by a maze of rules that bewilderment results and fear lest some rule be disobeyed takes such a hold that eating becomes a burden and the digestive organs, affected by anxious mental impulse, are unable to care for the simple food that may be taken. These bewildered friends, still suffering ills apparently due to dietetic mistakes, are at loss to know how to solve a problem which becomes more and more a vital one, and in desperation ask the question, "What can we eat?"

"Eat What You Want"

Along with all this comes the theory that it does not make any difference what you eat; "forget it and eat what you want." Build up the general health by exercise, and proper and regular living; maintain the correct mental attitude and eat what your appetite calls for. For those who have long been introspective and have feared to eat, this advice may be very timely.

Many Winds Of Doctrine

We would wish no one to think that we have not the fullest respect for each one of these various rules in regard to eating. Each one has done much good and in selected cases under proper supervision there is no doubt but that each one of these may apply and perhaps in a more or less modified way be used with great success in the treatment of various and sundry abnormal conditions. Every one of these hobbies has had its basis in truth. It is in the application that mistakes have been made. The rule has been advanced, the reason why has been vague and indefinite, and the people, untaught in regard to body processes and food composition, have been tossed about by many winds of dietetic doctrine.