The philosophy of eating. By Albert J. Bellows, M.D.

300 NECESSITY FOR VARIETY OF FOOD.

for his faithfulness, he gave him, in addition to his bill
of fare, " every beast of the earth and every fowl of the
air," " and all the fishes of the sea," and told him that
"every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for him,
even as the green herb."
This would enable him to fulfil his destiny, and have
dominion over all other creatures, and to live with the
polar bear almost at the north pole, or with the monkey
at the equator, having in each of these extremes of
temperature food adapted to his wants. Wherever he
chooses to live, in a cold, or hot, or temperate climate,
he finds prepared at his hand the kind of food best
adapted to his wants, and has a relish for just the article best fitted to supply his wants. If he lives in
Greenland, he desires and has the heat-producing fat
of whales and seals, the very thought of which would
disgust him in Africa; and if in Africa, he desires and
has the cooling fruits and vegetables which would
freeze him to death in Greenland; and in the climate
where cold and heat alternate, he has all the variety
best adapted to his changing circumstances.
To comprehend the necessity of this variety of food,
and to understand the principle on which we can adapt
our food to the different conditions and employments
of life, it will be necessary first to understand the
physiological necessity for food. Besides the necessity
of providing for the growth of the young, food is necessary, principally, for three essential purposes:1. To supply the waste which is constantly going on
in the tissues, especially in the muscular or moving
part of the system.