QUEER FOOD THEORIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 590, 2 August 1913, Page 7

QUEER FOOD THEORIES.

——— Nowadays eating has become a veritable science, and there are those who assert that a man can alter his very character if he will only indulge in the right kind of diet. The other day the private secretary of the Maharajah o f Jhalwar gave a lecture on food in London, in the course of which ho stated that the eating of onions is conducive to "darkness of spirit." He also averred that the caste system in India is largely regulated by diet. Thus, those of the highest caste only eat vegetarian meals in order to keep their souls pure. Members of another caste are allowed to eat meat so that thev may be become fitted to ba warriors; while the lowest casts of all eat "stale, flat foods," which suit their unspiritual nature?. Two noted German professors gave it as their opinion not long ago that if people would eat plenty of chalk they would not only have more energy and happiness, but considerably increased brain power. A doctor in Philadelphia recently stated that no one who eats a pound of macaroni daily will ever become a drunkard, but he also stipulated that the would-be teetotaller should live pntirely on a vegetarian diet, and never touch meat in any circumstances.

In direct contradiction to the "Vegetarianism for soultulne3s" theory is that of a Airs Parker, of New York. This lady believes that there is nothing like fine chops and "lasses of beer to inspire poets and writers, and slie opened a restaurant for the expres3 purpose of providing those who would win the muse with the proper kind of diet She has no patience with people who would become "BJulful" on prunes and lentils, and her "inn for Bohemians. ' as her establishment is called, has certainly been well patronised by budding Tennysons and the future Merediths. The belief is gaining ground in many quarters that it you wish to stave off old age and to have the feeling of perennial youth and gaiety, no matte* what your actual years may be, you cannot do better than eat plenty of sugar. One of the pioneers ol this theory is Professor Metchnikoff, who has made exhaustive experiments to prove his statements. There are some who even assert that rot only does the frequent eating of sugar keep one from growing old, but that if a man or woman will begin ihe sugar treatment, even after senility has set in, the effect will be so great as to amount to a complete change in his or her character.