We can take our choice about a lot of things, but I really must insist on a glass of milk some time during the day. It doesn’t make any difference whether at breakfast, lunch or dinner, In the case of children a glass is best at each meal. For adults one glass is enough. “The fountain of eternal youth,” Dr. James A. Tobey calls it, and who shall gainsay him? In the dairy countries where milk is the food of all, it has been noted over and over again that men and women live to great ages.
What is it in the milkthis lifegiving property? Is it some vita-min, some substance we have not isolated? Perhaps.
Milk has every nutritional element we do know about in itexcept perhaps some of the vitamins. Especially it has a good supply of mineralsiron, calcium, phosphorus, although less iron than anything else. Vitamins A and B are present in milk, Vitamin C is usually present, but is destroyed by pasteurization. Whether Vitamin D is present or not depends on ircumstances principally the cow’s diet. It can be produced in milk artificially by exposing the milk. to ultra-violet light.
Protein, carbohydrate and fat are all present in milk, and 87 per cent of it is water.
It is easily digested, although for some people the curd is somewhat indigestible. The formation of curd is the first stage in the digestion of milk, and is due to the action of rennin in the stomach. Lime water, or barley water, added to the milk, will tend to prevent a tough curd.
The scoreboard on milk is:
Protein, plus; carbohydrate, plus; fat, plus; energy, (one glass), 100 calories; minerals, plus; vitamins, plus; water, plus; digestibility, plus.
Most of us finish off breakfast with a cup of coffee. What shall we say about that? If so many of us use it, it must have a place in the natural diet. But should it?
I believe it should. It has a bad name among people who regard anything which is a drug as harmful. Of course it is a drug and, of course, it has no food value if taken alone. But the cream and sugar you put in it gives it food value.
Its action as a drug is to improve the tone of the circulation, especially in the heart, kidney and brain. Therefore in middle-aged and elderly people with aging hearts it is really beneficial. Too much of it does make one nervous, but in moderation it is stimulating, and helps to ward off the fatigue of the daily routine.
As to its habit-forming qualities, these are considerably exaggerated. It is a habit easy to get over. I know that from personal experience. About two years ago my wife switched my evening cup of coffee to a caffeineless brand. I didn’t find it out until about a month ago.