STEPS TO HEALTH by E. H. Mathewson

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 18, 1897

STEPS TO HEALTH.

By E. H. Mathewson

Preparation of Foods.

FOOD is cooked to either assist in preparing it for digestion or to make it more palatable. Probably starchy foods require more cooking than any other class. The saliva can only digest starch which can be dissolved, and it must be cooked artificially or so changed in the process of ripening, as in fruits, to make digestion possible. We find the starch granules inclosed by little wrappers, which must be broken and softened by the cooking. The grains should be cooked from one to four hours, that this process may be completed, altho the claims of certain grain-food manufacturers are to the contrary. Green fruits should for the same reason not be used, especially if not cooked.

Digestion.

After selecting the best food and seeing that it is properly prepared, the first part we have to perform as a matter of course is mastication. Good teeth and a clean mouth are essentials. Germs, in order to grow, require a warm, moist place, with some small amount of food to live upon; and there is no better place adapted to this than an unclean mouth. Should we masticate food while the mouth is swimming with germs, we can easily see how the germs become mixed through all the food we take into our body.

Mastication is for some reasons one of the most important of the digestive functions. The thoroughness of the work of any and all of the other organs will depend on the quality of the work done in the mouth. All food entering the mouth should be divided as finely as possible, that the different digestive fluids may do their part in fitting it to be absorbed, and so nourish the body. If the food enters the stomach in masses, the gastric juice can only digest the outer portions, and the digestive work is either delayed, or the food passes on to tax the other organs, which already have their appointed duties.

The Saliva.

The first digestive fluid is the saliva, and its function is to digest cooked starch. Any food, therefore, which contains starch not thoroughly cooked is not affected by it. If starch thoroughly cooked comes in contact with saliva, it is changed into a form of sugar, which is then nearly ready for absorption. Cold substances, vinegar, and alcohol, either wholly impede this action or make it imperfect. Such liquids should not be used, and more especially at meals. The food mass is also mixed with the mucous secretion of the mouth so as to make the food pass easily along the digestive tract. If, therefore, the food is of the proper kind, thoroughly cooked, and then well masticated, it is in proper condition to be digested in the stomach. As mentioned before, good teeth are essential for dividing the food, while decayed teeth are generally swarming with living germs, which increase rapidly in the mouth, giving an offensive odor to the breath, while all the food that passes into the stomach is infected by them. Some who are very cleanly in other ways are very careless with the mouth and teeth. These need to be kept clean.

E. H. MATHEWSON, M.D.