ACTION OF BEVERAGES ON DIGESTION

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1643, 23 August 1887, Page 3

ACTION OF BEVERAGES ON DIGESTION

1 Di James W. Ffaser. has lately put--1 liehect the results cf an interesting Beriea • of experiments on the it fluence of some \ of our common beverages on digestion. ' From the3e it appears that tea, o ffee and 1 cocoa retard digestion and the absorp'ion ' t of nitrogenised principles when peptic ' and pancreatin digestion are tiken together, and f that none of them cmpArd 1 advantageously wit?} wat^r as a standard beverage for cxpe imental investigations. ■ The results, of c ursp, leave cut of consideration individual variations of human ' digestion and the influence of the glands '' whloh prepare the gaßtric and other juices, but, a f tor Bumm*riß?ing his obse vvioDS, 1 Dr F aser h,s b c i bbla to deduoa certain ' rales, from which we have mado the 1 following ncit^a : 1 It is better not to eat albuminoid fcod-jluffa At the same time as infused beveragos are taken ; 1 absorption tmy be more rapid, but them will by a loss of nutritive substance. 2] • The digestion of starch food ia assisted by tea and coffee. 3 Bread is the natural aooompaniaoent of tea aid creoa, 4. The digestion of meat is not much retarded by coffee, aod it is suggosted that perhaps this is the reason why it Is usual'y denial breakfast m this county, a* this meal usually oonslßts largely c f meat, or of eggs- and salt meats, the digestion of 1 which is not much retarded by ccff<n 6. Bggs are tha best foira of animal food i to be taken with infuard beverage*. 6 The butter used wnh bread nuder^ es digestion more slowly m presence of tee, and probably mrre qaiokly m preaeqee of ctiffae or coc^a. - -■ .