Appetite: The Only Guide
The appetite is absolutely the only guide as to quantity and character of food needed to nourish the body at different times, and if the delicate sensibility of this guide has been dulled and deadened by failure to acknowledge and follow its dictates, by crowding the stomach with food against the natural inclination just because it is meal time, the only indication that sufficient food has been eaten will be that the stomach can hold no more, and there will be no natural craving to indicate the particular character of food especially required to nourish the body at that time.
The unperverted appetite always craves most keenly that particular food element that is most needed by the system to nourish the body. Therefore, if the appetite is in a normal condition, the food that tastes the best will be that which is richest in the nourishment mostly needed.
“Taste, in its normal condition, when allowed to direct or advise, craves the kind of nourishment the body needs, invites to eating, gives enjoyment during the whole time needed for the fluids of the mouth to do their part of the assimilating process, ceases when the food is ready for the stomach, and thereafter fails to recognize the indigestible sediment which remains in the mouth after nutriment has been extracted; and, in these services, if consulted and obeyed, prevents indigestible matter from entering the system to burden and clog the lower intestines.
“Appetite and taste are the sense functions that are most important to health, and hence, are the most important to study and understand. They are the guide in nutrition and the guard of the body.
“Taste is also dependent on supply of the mouth juices, usually called saliva, and these differ materially in individuals, necessitating self-study, self-understanding and self-care to insure prevention of disease. Whatever does not taste, such as glass or stone, is not nutritious. The juices of the mouth have the power to transform anything that excites taste into a substance suitable for the body. If we swallow only the food which excites the sense of taste, and swallow it only after the taste has been extracted from it, removing from the mouth the tasteless residue, complete and easy digestion will be assured and perfect health maintained.”–Horace Fletcher.
