Know More About the Constituents of Your Body

Know More About the Constituents of Your Body

A healthy human body is composed of the following compounds, in about
the proportions given:

Water, 60 to 65 per cent.
Mineral matter, 5 to 6 per cent.
Protein, 18 to 20 per cent.
Carbohydrates, 1 per cent.
Fat, 10 per cent. This is perhaps excessive.

These substances are very complex and well distributed throughout the
body. They are composed of about sixteen or seventeen elements, but a
pure element is very rarely found in the body, unless it be a foreign
substance, such as mercury or lead. About 70 per cent of the body is
oxygen, which is also the most abundant element of the earth. Then in
order of their weight come carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium,
phosphorus, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, fluorine, potassium, iron,
magnesium and silicon.

Because it will be helpful in giving a better idea of the necessity for
proper feeding, I shall devote a few words to each of these elements.

Oxygen is a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas, forming a large part
of the atmospheric air, of water, of the earth's crust and of our foods.
It is absolutely essential to life, for without oxygen there can be no
combustion in the animal tissues, and without combustion there can be no
life. The union of oxygen with fats, carbohydrates and proteins in the
body results in slow combustion, which produces heat and energy. Our
chief supply of oxygen comes directly from the air, but this is
supplemented by the intake in food and water.

Carbon is the chief producer of energy within the body, being the
principal constituent of starches, sugars and fats. It is what we rely
on for internal heat, as well as for heating our dwellings, for the
essential part of coal is carbon. The carbonaceous substances are needed
in greater quantity than any other, but if they are taken pure, they
cause starvation more quickly than if no food were eaten. This has been
proved through experiments in feeding nothing but refined sugar, which
is practically pure carbon. Salts and nitrogenous foods are essential to
life.

Hydrogen is a very light gas, without odor, taste or color. It is a
necessary constituent of all growing, living things. It is plentifully
supplied in water. All acids contain hydrogen and so does the protoplasm
of the body.

Nitrogen is also a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas. It is an
essential constituent of the body, being present in all compounds of
protein. It is abundant in the atmospheric air, from which it is taken
by plants. We get our supply either directly from vegetable foods or
from animal products, such as milk, eggs and meat.

Calcium is needed principally for the bones and for the teeth, but it
is also necessary in the blood, where it assists in coagulation. We get
sufficient calcium salts in fruits, grains and vegetables, provided they
are properly prepared. The conventional preparation of the food often
results in the loss of the various salts, which causes tissue
degeneration. If the supply of calcium in the food is too small, the
bones and the teeth suffer, for the blood removes the calcium from these
structures. Growing children need more calcium proportionately than do
adults. This is without doubt the reason pregnant women suffer so much
from softening of the teeth. They are fed on foods robbed of their
calcium, such as white bread and vegetables that have been drained.

Phosphorus in some forms is a poison whether taken in solid compounds
or inhaled in fumes, producing phossy jaw. In other forms it is
indispensable for bodily development. The compounds of phosphorus are
present in fats, bones and protein. In natural foods they are abundantly
present, but when these foods are unduly refined, or are soaked in water
which is thrown away, much of the phosphorus is lost. We get phosphorus
from milk, eggs, cereals, legumes and other foods. Of course, there is
phosphorus in fish, but those who eat sea food to make themselves brainy
will probably be disappointed. Phosphates are necessary for brain
development, but those who eat natural foods never need to go to the
trouble of taking special foods for the brain. If the rest of the body
is well nourished, the brain will have sufficient food, and if the body
is poorly nourished the brain will suffer.

Sulphur is present in protein and we get a sufficient supply from
milk, meat and legumes. The element sulphur is quite inert and harmless,
but some of its acids and salts are very poisonous. Sulphur dioxide is
freely used in the process of drying fruits, as a bleacher. In this form
it is poisonous, and for that reason it would be well to avoid bleached
dried fruits. We need some sulphur, but not in the form of sulphur
dioxide or concentrated sulphurous acid, both of which are used in the
manufacture of food.

Sodium in its elementary state, which is not found in nature, is a
white, silvery metal. It is found in great abundance in the succulent
vegetables, and is present in practically all foods. As sodium chloride,
or common table salt, it is taken in great quantities by most people.
Those who have no salt get along well without it, which shows that it is
not needed in large amounts. If but a little is added to the food, it
does no perceptible harm, but when sprinkled on everything that is
eaten, from watermelons to meat, it is without doubt harmful. By soaking
foods, they are deprived of much of their soda: The two sodium salts
that are very abundant are sodium chloride, or common salt, and sodium
carbonate, generally called soda.

Chlorine is ordinarily combined in our foods with sodium or potash,
forming the chlorides. It is essential to life. He who gets enough
sodium also gets enough chlorine. In its elementary form it is an
irritating gas, used for bleaching purposes.

Fluorine is present in small quantities in the body, appearing as
fluorides in the bones and teeth. It is supplied by the various foods.
In its elementary form it is a poisonous gas.

Potassium is found in the body in very small quantities, but it is
very important. It is mostly in the form of potassium phosphate in the
muscles and in the blood. It is necessary for muscular activity. It is
found in most foods in greater abundance than is sodium, which indicates
that it plays an important part in development. Like sodium, it is
easily dissolved out of foods which are soaked in water, and this is one
of the reasons that vegetables should not be soaked and the water thrown
away. It is very peculiar in its metallic state, being a silvery metal,
very light in weight, which burns when thrown upon water. That is, it
decomposes both itself and the water with the liberation of so much heat
that it fires the escaping hydrogen, which burns with a violet flame.
Pure potassium is not found in nature.

Iron is found in very small quantities in the human body, but it is
absolutely essential to life. Animals deprived of iron die in a few
weeks, and people will do the same under similar circumstances. Iron is
obtained principally from fruits and vegetables, but it is also present
in other foods. Man can not make use of inorganic iron. He has to get
his supply from the vegetable and animal kingdoms. The giving of
inorganic iron is folly and helps to ruin the teeth and the stomach of
the one who takes it. In the form of hemoglobin this element is the
chief agent in carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the
body. In the manufacture of foods, much of the iron is lost. For
instance, whole wheat flour contains about ten times as much iron as
does the white flour. Too little iron causes, among other ills, anemia,
and if the iron is very low, chlorosis or the green sickness may ensue.

Magnesium is found principally as phosphate in the bones. It is
present both in animal and vegetable foods. Its function in the body is
not well understood, but it appears to assist the phosphorus.

Silicon is found in traces in the human body. It is supplied in small
quantities in nearly all of our foods, and therefore we must take it for
granted that it is necessary, although we are in the dark as to its
uses. It is very abundant in various rocks. The cereals are especially
rich in silicon. In wheat it is found in the bran and is removed from
the white flour.

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