The Dietetic Uses of Fat.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 177, 28 July 1888, Page 10 (Supplement)

The Dietetic Uses of Fat.

Thkhk onoo prevailed, mid to nn extent still provails, ft popular superstition Mint fnt- food, of whatever nort, in injurious, nnd should bu avoided. This (writes ti pliyri" cinu) iH great nonsorso ;is fur ns theory ftoci", nnd incalculably nii-c!iicvous when redttced to practice In thu human body tho blood contains J pcrcoiit. of fat, the inuaolcs nioro than 3 per cent., tho brain 0 per cent., And tho nerves 22 per cent. Unless this proportion is maintained by proper nourishment, tIiCHO organs of tlio body suffer, each in its doßree, nnd disease ia tho result. Much nervous troublo may bo traced to tho distaste for fat foods, and the consequent Ptnrvation of the nervous syßtom ; nnd n systematic consumption of fat food will often bo of amazing uso to norvoiiH invnlids. The popular objection to fat comos largely from its bcinir taken in forms either unpalatable or indigestible To bo pnlfttablo, fat must bo taken with such admixture? as will dtaguißC its L'roasy flavour. Butter may ho spread thickly on broad, for ins'anco ; or bacon fat, which is mOst excellently wholesome and nourishing, mny havo broad eoaked in it ft* in a gravy. Cream, when obtainable, is an excellent form of fat. Children t» whom fufc moat is repugnant will i^illy object to butter-scotch, and this given not undiscriminatcly, between meftls, but as n toothfomo addition to tho musory dessert, is a commendable form for tho administration of fat. Dr. Milner Fothorgill goes so far as to say that he knows of at least one child whose life has been saved by tile nourishment contained in butterscotch. Tho old custom of bribing children not to cat butter was a barbarous way of persuading them to buy ill-health. When fat in indigestible, it is usually because it is not sufficiently subdivided to be quickly assimilated. A lump of butter will anise nausea, whilo tho same quantity spread on bread will be readily assimilated. Persons inclined either lo consumption or to nervous diseases arc especially in need of fat foods, and should take them us a matter of conscience, if not as a matter of taste. God liver oil is more useful as a preventive than as a cure, and should bo resorted to before lung disease has time to develop it is the most easily digostiblo of fats, and if taken from one to two hours after eating, when tho fopd is passing out of tlio stomach, will rarely oauso unpleasant eructations. Nerve food i.s vastly preferable to nerve stimulants, and, systematically pursued, tho eating of fats would help to banish those destroyers of good health and good temper—the teapot and tho whisky bottle. . Nervous strain can be endured with less harm to the organisation on a breakfast of brend, fat bacon, oatmeal and cream, followed lifter a:i hour or po by a tublespooriful of cod-liver oil, than on coffee and wine <«/ libitum, Children to whom fats aro systematically given, and stimulants systemaoxolly denied, will, all things being equal, do in after-life the maximum of work, with the minimum of wear and tear. Mrs Parkinson, Victoriastreet, Auckland, is well-known as an extensive manufacturer of butter-scotch in this city. .