Food Matters

Many may suppose that food is nothing more than something with which we fill the emptiness of our stomachs three or four times each day; but the fact is that our bodies are made up of the food we eat — or, in other words, "we are what we eat."

When we speak of food, we know that it performs three tasks:

First: it builds the muscles, the bones, the teeth, and the blood.

Second: it supplies the body with energy for work and play.

Third: it keeps the body supple and preserves its flexibility.

Let us now consider the making and building of the body... If we wish to build a strong, sound body that will stand up to life's hardship and toil, we must choose the foods that supply that body with the best materials of building and construction.

For its growth, human flesh needs what we call the protein foods. These are made up of small elements which the body turns to account in this regard. Now, the best foods that supply the body with all it needs of building materials are those the animal provides us — such as meat, laban, cheese, and eggs. This is quite natural, for the flesh of our bodies closely resembles the flesh of animals. Certain plants also supply us with something of those materials — such as peas, beans, lentils, and broad beans. But since the composition of plants differs from the composition of our bodies, they do not contain all the elements it needs; and for this reason we ought to draw our food from animal and plant alike, to assure our muscles of growth and health.

For our bones and teeth to be strong and sound, they need a substance that plays the part cement plays in the building of houses; we call it "calcium." If our food does not include enough of this substance, our bones soften and become easy to bend — which leads to bowed legs, slack knees, and decayed teeth.

Finally, the system of the blood's circulation must be sound, for it is the blood that carries nourishment to all the extremities of the body; if its circulation is disturbed, nourishment does not reach all those extremities in sufficient quantities. This means that the body as a whole does not receive an adequate share of nourishment: a person's color grows pale and he feels tired and oppressed. Now, the substance that preserves for the blood its redness and its soundness is iron; and the best kinds of food that supply us with this substance are the green vegetables, fruits, bread made of bran and flour together, and the red meats — chief among them liver and kidneys.