Since the elements are seldom, if ever, found in the proper proportion in any food substances, it becomes necessary to exercise judgment in selecting them, so that something like a well-balanced diet may be obtained; so as a further aid to enable the reader to make his selection judiciously, we would call attention to Table A on page 139 and Table B below. Table A shows the proportion of various foods that is ordinarily digested, while Table B points out the time required for different articles of food to digest.
LENGTH OF TIME REQUIRED FOR DIGESTION OF DIFFERENT ARTICLES OF FOOD.
Hours. Apples, raw 2:00 Barley, boiled 2:00 Beef, roasted 3:00 Beefsteak, broiled 3:00 Beef, boiled 4:00 Beets, boiled 3:45 Brains, animal, boiled 1:45 Bread, corn, baked 3:15 Bread, wheat, baked 3:30 Butter, melted 3:30 Cabbage, raw 2:30 Cabbage, with vinegar 2:00 Cabbage, boiled 4:30 Cake, corn, baked 3:00 Cake, sponge, baked 2:30 Catfish, fried 3:30 Cheese, old strong 3:30 Chicken, fricasseed 2:45 Corn and beans, boiled 3:45 Custard, baked 2:45 Duck, roasted 4:00 Dumpling, apple, boiled 3:00 Eggs, hard boiled 3:30 Eggs, soft boiled 3:00 Eggs, fried 3:30 Eggs, roasted 2:15 Eggs, raw 2:00 Fowls, boiled 4:00 Fowls, roasted 4:00 Goose, roasted 2:30 Lamb, boiled 2:30 Milk, boiled 2:00 Milk, raw 2:15 Mutton, roasted 3:15 Mutton, broiled 3:00 Mutton, boiled 3:00 Oysters, raw 2:55 Oysters, roasted 3:15 Oysters, stewed 3:30 Pig, roasted 2:30 Pigs’ feet, soused 1:00 Pork, roasted 5:15 Pork, salted and fried 4:15 Potatoes, Irish, boiled 3:30 Potatoes, Irish, roasted 2:30 Rice, boiled 1:00 Salmon, salted 4:00 Soup, barley, boiled 1:30 Soup, bean 3:30 Soup, chicken 3:00 Soup, mutton 3:30 Soup, oyster 3:30 Tapioca, boiled 2:00 Tripe, soused 1:00 Trout, salmon, boiled 1:30 Trout, salmon, fried 1:30 Turkey, roast 2:30 Turkey, boiled 2:30 Turnips, boiled 3:30 Veal, broiled 4:00 Veal, fried 4:30 Vegetables and meat, hashed 2:30 Venison steak 1:35
We have seen that certain elements are necessary in our food for the proper replenishment of the waste that is perpetually going on, and that they must be combined in proper proportions, so that no one part of the body shall be over-nourished at the expense of the others--no organ overtaxed, but that all may be harmoniously developed.