MEAT IN DAILY DIET

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 61, 4 December 1937, Page 12

MEAT IN DAILY DIET

Some Consider it Essential; Others Condemn It CASES FOR AND AGAINST (Oontributed by tbe Sarab Awne Hhodes Fellmvship in Home Science.) Some people regard meat as an essential food. Others condemn it as definitely harmful. As is usually the case, there are two sides to the controversy. To satisfy our needs, authorities tell use that we should have one serving of meat daily (equal to about onefourth pound in qpantity) and no more. We shall consider some of the arguments on both sides. On tlie one side, meat is beneficial to the body hecause (1) it stimulates the appetite and is easily digested; (2) it helps to build musples; and (3) it helps to build red blood cells. On the other hand, we should guard against having too mueh meat in the dict because (1) it is expensive and is likely. to displace the needed amounts of vegetables, fruits, eggs, and millc; (2) it makes extra wprk for the kidneys, which may eventually interfere with their normal action; (3) it is so completely digested that, by crowding out the other foods, it may be conducive to constipation; (4) it is low in limc, an important mineral for bones aud teeth; and (5) it produces acid-forming materials in the body which when present in too large quantity cause digestive disturbanees. i ' New Zealanders eat a great deal of meat, and their chief reason for so doing is simply that they like it and it is readily obtained. The odour and taste of properly cooked meat readily stimuiate the fiow of digestive juices. Meat is' so palatable that it has not only gained an important place in the diet on its own account hut is also used, as is well-known, in combination with other foods to make them more appetizing. Examples of this may be found in the tipie-honoured stew, hash soup, anrl the like. But the very palatability of meat may — and often timcs does work to the undoing of our health. For, hecause it is liked so well, so muck of it may be eaten that other neeessary foods go beggiag. Meat is very easily digested. Moreover, its contents are so completely used by the body that little is loft as waste. Meat consists almost entirelv of muscle-building material (protein) and fat. Some 97 per cent or 98 per eent of the muscle building material is digested. while 95 per eent of the fat is used.