Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 275, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 December 1917 — IMPORTANCE OF PROTEIN IN THE DIET [ARTICLE]

IMPORTANCE OF PROTEIN IN THE DIET

(From the United States Department of Agriculture.) Every fanner knows that nitrogen is one of the chemical elements which neither his crops nor his stock can do without. He knows also that it costs more than almost any other element. The same is true of nitrogen in human food. It is absolutely necessary for the building and repairing of body tissues and can be obtained by the body only from the food substance or. nutrient known as A larger proportion of protein is found in eggs, meats, fish, milk, cheese •and the 'dried seeds of the legumes (peas, beans, cowpeas, soy beans, peanuts, etc.) than in most other materials, and these usually are spoken of as foods rich in protein, or the protein group of foods. Except for the dried legumes, these protein-rich foods are all of animal origin and are mostly among the more expensive food materials. Some of the cereals, especially wheat and oats, and some of the nuts are also fairly rich in protein, while smaller amounts are found in the other cereals aud minute quantities in vegetables and fruits. > Milk is the best source of protein for little children and should be the chief item in their diet. Besides furnishing* protein, it provides them with some of the mineral mutter necessary ■to build tissue and with certain other substances which, in tiny quantities at ieast, are indispensable for healthy .growth and development. Like any kind of protein, it can also be used by the body as fuel to provide energy for the work of the muscles. It does not make much difference from which materials Older persons get their supply of protein, though a variety of kinds is usually considered desirable. Not all of it ordinarily comes frqm the protein-rich foods, for wheat and other cereals contribute much protein to the diet. In fact, it is possible to plan perfectly wholesome and appetizing diets in which about half of the necessary protein is furnished by bread and other cereal foods.

The following lists may help to show about how much protein there is in some of the common food materials and how they compare with one another in this respect: There is about one-fourth ounce of protein in—one glass milk; one egg; one and one-half to two ounces medium fat meat; whole-milk cheese (one ounce or one and one-fifth cubic Inches) ; one and three-quarter ounces dried navy beans; three medium-sized slices bread, either white or wholewheat (three ounces). There is about one ounce of protein in—one 1 quart milk; four eggs; six to eight ounces medium fat meat; four ounces whole-milk cheese; six ounces dried navy beans; one small loaf bread, either white or whole-wheat (12 ounces). It is not necessary for a healthy per- , son to measure his food as carefully as a doctor measures the medicines or even the food which he prescribes for an invalid. If the body is in good condition it adapts itself to the ordinary variations in its food supply; when there is a little too much it can store or dispose of what it does not‘need at once, and when there is not enough, it can draw for a time on its own substance to make good the lack. The danger comes when, day in and day out, the body gets too much or too little food, or when the kinds provided are not the most suitable. While there is no need to measure exactly how much protein is obtained with every meal, if the diet as a whole is to be healthful and economical, the person who plans It ought to know in a general way how much protein and other nutrients are needed and how much is contained in the different food materials, and then choose accordingly. According to the standard commonly used in. this country as a practical guide in planning megls about 3% ounces of protein a day is a reasonable quantity for-a young or middle-aged man of average size, weighing about 150 pounds and doing a moderate amount of muscular work —like that of a carpenter. It is believed”that it is wise to obtain this protein from a variety of food materials. Half of this protein (about 1% minces) he might get from a pound loaf of bread and four ounces of oatmeal porridge or other cooked cereal used as a breakfast food. The other 1% ounces probably would be supplied chiefly by one or more of the following: Meats, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, and dried legumes. It might be obtained from an egg at breakfast, onehalf pound of pork chops or mutton chops (weighed with bones and trimmings) at dinner, and three-quarters cupful (six ounces) of baked beans Or cowpeas at lunch or supper. A larger person would have more body tissue to keep in repair, so would require more protein, while a smaller person would require less. Women, in general, are smaller and weigh less than men, and a wo&an of average size, weighing from 120 to 130 pounds. Is commonly said to need about fourfifths as much protein as a 150-pound man. Growing children need more pro- - teinvlu proportion to their size than adults, because they must Increase the amount ofilbelr body tissue as well as keep It in repair. • The more active a person is, the more force or energy he will expend and the more food must be provided ■for this purpose. ' When a person does more muscular work and therefore needs more food, tt is usually wise to increase the use

of materials rich in fat, starch, or sugar rather than of those rich in protein, not only because the former are often cheaper, but because such a diet usually pleases the taste quite as well. It has been found that when a .-diet consisting of the common food materials combined in the usual way provides enough energy, it is almost certain to provide enough protein, too. If the food provides more protein than the body needs for tissue building, the excess may be used by the body as fuel. Unless this excess is unusually great it will not prove harmful ordinarily.