To give any comprehensive information of value in reference to cooking would require a book in itself. But, I would like to call attention to the usual inclination to cook every article of food until a large portion of its nourishing, life-giving qualities are actually deor-ganized and destroyed. Now, no deorganized element can be used as a food. All foods for men and animals must come from either animal or vegetable life. For instance, a grain of wheat furnishes all the elements necessary to feed the body. A chemist may mix the exact chemical elements, in the same proportion, contained in this grain of wheat, but his mixture would be valueless as food.

Excessive cooking, also, so softens the food that it is swallowed without mastication, and the injurious effects of such a practice has been described at length in a previous chapter. A food should be cooked only so long as is necessary to bring out its richest flavor. It should never be allowed to assume the consistency of mush. Foods of this character are of little value to nourish the body, as they are hurriedly bolted, and but a small proportion is ever taken up by the absorbent glands as it passes through the alimentary canal. I am aware that almost every one desires his food so tender that it will "melt in his mouth," but, unfortunately for those who always insist on eating such mushy foods, teeth were made to use, and not only does the retainment of teeth depend upon the amount of service they get, but the general health depends almost to an equal extent, upon their use. Bad teeth - bad health. They are nearly always companions. Use your teeth properly and you preserve not only the teeth, but the body as well.

There is but little, if any, danger in eating foods not sufficiently cooked, provided the necessity for thorough mastication is not overlooked. For, mastication, if sufficiently prolonged, can actually be made to take the place of cooking. The changes that take place in food during the process of prolonged mastication are very similar to those brought about by cooking.

Another grave fault in cooking is the habit of boiling out all the flavor of vegetables in the process. When cooking vegetables only use sufficient water to avoid burning; never so much that it will be necessary to pour off a quantity when the food is ready to serve. With this water that is poured off, usually goes not only the best flavor of the food, but the vegetable salts also. These saline elements that are a part of all vegetable life, are usually absorbed, or dissolved in this liquid, and a much larger quantity of mineral salts - which many hygien-ists claim cannot become a part of the body, - are required to give the food the proper flavor.

Fried foods, too, are almost universally condemned by hygienic experts, and though the theory on which they base their conclusions appears sound, I have never in my experience found that wholesome foods, when fried, were any more difficult to digest than when cooked in other ways. Of course, batter-cakes, and foods of that character are not fit for food, and even a dog- would not eat them, if made with white flour, as is usual. Batter-cakes can, however, be made from graham or whole wheat flour, and such are quite satisfactory as food.

High seasoning, and elaborate combinations of foods are to be condemned. Every means should be adopted to bring out the natural flavor of the food, but it is not at all infrequent to find different articles of food so disguised by seasoning that its character is difficult to determine. Such a practice is of course, injurious; for, as mentioned in a previous chapter, the appetite cannot be depended upon to indicate the proper quantity, when benumbed by pepper and other stimulating seasoning.

The importance of good cooking can hardly be overestimated, and it is usually considered of about the least importance of anything in life; for, it is often left to the ignorant and unskilful servants, who no doubt swell the income of medical men quite materially by the influence of their dishes upon the household.

"A poor cook in a family is a worse enemy to the health, the comfort, and even the morals of the household, than would be a swamp generating malaria a half-mile away, a cesspool fever-nest at the back door, small-pox across the street, or a Chinese Joss house in the next block." - J. H. Kellogg, M.D.

Be Far superior to that which can be obtained from the same food by high seasoning or prolonged cooking. Furthermore, such a condition of the appetite where it depends upon this character of food is not normal, and it can not always be depended upon to indicate when sufficient has been eaten. At any rate, the degree of enjoyment that can be secured from any food substance depends altogether upon comparison, and upon how hungry one may be. You may sit down to the most sumptuous meal that ever man tasted, and it will not be enjoyed if the appetite is lacking, but if sufficiently hungry a meal of raw turnips would taste like "food for the gods."

There are some digestive ailments where these partly digested "health foods" may be of value as a temporary aid, but they should never be depended upon as a permanent diet. Where this is done the result in nearly every case will be far from satisfactory. If the stomach is weak and unable to digest more hardy foods, let it rest for a time and it will soon accumulate enough strength to digest whatever is needed to nourish the body. The only true health foods are those furnished by Nature, and if you adhere to them in all their natural simplicity, and refrain from eating beyond your power to digest, there will be no occasion for any one to search for other means of nourishment.