Human Foods and Their Nutritive Value, Harry Snyder [free e books to read TXT] 📗

3. Ash.—The ash, or mineral matter, is that portion obtained by burning or igniting the dry matter at the lowest temperature necessary for complete combustion. The ash in vegetable foods ranges from 2 to 5 per cent and, together with the nitrogen, represents what was taken from the soil during growth. In animal bodies, the ash is present mainly in the bones, but there is also an appreciable amount, one per cent or more, in all the tissues. Ash is exceedingly variable in composition, being composed of the various salts of potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, as sulphates, phosphates, chlorides, and silicates of these elements. There are also other elements in small amounts. In the plant economy these elements take an essential part and are requisite for the formation of plant tissue and the production in the leaves of the organic compounds which later are stored up in the seeds. Some of the elements appear to be more necessary than others, and whenever withheld plant growth is restricted. The elements most essential for plant growth are potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and sulphur.[1]

In the animal body minerals are derived, either directly or indirectly, from the vegetable foods consumed. The part which each of the mineral elements takes in animal nutrition is not well understood. Some of the elements, as phosphorus and sulphur, are in organic combination with the nitrogenous compounds, as the nucleated albuminoids, which are very essential for animal life. In both plant and animal bodies, the mineral matter is present as mineral salts and organic combinations. It is held that the ash elements which are in organic combination are the forms mainly utilized for tissue construction. While it is not known just what part all the mineral elements take in animal nutrition, experiments show that in all ordinary mixed rations the amount of the different mineral elements is in excess of the demands of the body, and it is only in rare instances, as in cases of restricted diet, or convalescence from some disease, that special attention need be given to increasing the mineral content of the ration. An excess of mineral matter in foods is equally as objectionable as a scant amount, elimination of the excess entailing additional work on the body.

The composition of the ash of different food materials varies widely, both in amount, and form of the individual elements. When for any reason it is necessary to increase the phosphates in a ration, milk and eggs do this to a greater extent than almost any other foods. Common salt, or sodium chloride, is one of the most essential of the mineral constituents of the body. It is necessary for giving the blood its normal composition, furnishing acid and basic constituents for the production of the digestive fluids, and for the nutrition of the cells. While salt is a necessary food, in large amounts, as when the attempt is made to use sea water as a beverage, it acts as a poison, suggesting that a material may be both a food and a poison. When sodium chloride is entirely withheld from an animal, death from salt starvation ensues. Many foods contain naturally small amounts of sodium chloride.

4. Organic Matter.—That portion of a food material which is converted into gaseous or volatile products during combustion is called the organic matter. It is a mechanical mixture of compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur, and is composed of various individual organic compounds, as cellulose, starch, sugar, albumin, and fat. The amount in a food is determined by subtracting the ash and water from 100. The organic matter varies widely in composition; in some foods it is largely starch, as in potatoes and rice, while in others, as forage crops consumed by animals, cellulose predominates. The nature of the prevailing organic compound, as sugar or starch, determines the nutritive value of a food. Each has a definite chemical composition capable of being expressed by a formula. Considered collectively, the organic compounds are termed organic matter. When burned, the organic compounds are converted into gases, the carbon uniting with the oxygen of the air to form carbon dioxide, hydrogen to form water, sulphur to form sulphur dioxide, and the nitrogen to form oxides of nitrogen and ammonia.

5. Classification of Organic Compounds.—All food materials are composed of a large number of organic compounds. For purposes of study these are divided into classes. The element nitrogen is taken as the basis of the division. Compounds which contain this element are called nitrogenous, while those from which it is absent are called non-nitrogenous.[2] The nitrogenous organic compounds are composed of the elements nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulphur, while the non-nitrogenous compounds are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. In vegetable foods the non-nitrogenous compounds predominate, there being usually from six to twelve parts of non-nitrogenous to every one part of nitrogenous, while in animal foods the nitrogenous compounds are present in larger amount.

6. Occurrence.—The non-nitrogenous compounds of foods consist mainly of cellulose, starch, sugar, and fat. For purposes of study, they are divided into subdivisions, as carbohydrates, pectose substances or jellies, fats, organic acids, essential oils, and mixed compounds. In plants the carbohydrates predominate, while in animal tissue