This section is from the book "The Relation Of Food To Health And Premature Death", by Geo. H. Townsend, Felix J. Levy, Geo. Clinton Crandall. Also available from Amazon: Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You.
"The peanut. The consumption of peanuts has grown to be enormous, and is destined to be many times greater than it is."
"Because the peanut is a palatable and rich food, and it supplies most of the necessary elements to sustain life."
"The largest ingredient of the peanut is its oil, amounting to about fifty per cent. It has, in addition, considerable gum, the equivalent of starch. The mineral mat-cent, waste material." ter amounts to nearly two per cent., and about four per
"The nitrogenous part of the peanut is high, amounting to twenty-four per cent or more."
"But, Doctor, it is said to be a great source of dyspepsia."
"It is at least fair to say that it is very difficult to digest."
"Because it is really a concentrated food; practically, it has no water, and consequently it is exceedingly solid. It naturally follows that the digestive juices will not penetrate the particles very quickly. Very few persons will masticate the peanut to finer particles than cracked wheat.'"
"Only by grinding. Extraordinary care in masticating peanuts by keeping them in the mouth as long as possible, overcomes part of their objectionable texture."
"Because nearly everybody likes it, and it supplies nearly everything necessary to live on, and is comparatively cheap. It is only a question of time until it is better prepared and furnished to us so that it can be used with other foods; for it seems admirably adapted to furnish both the necessary oil and flavor for the cereals, which are deficient in both."
 
Continue to: