_Lettuce._
Lettuce is noted for its sedative properties, although these are not great in the large, highly-manured, commercial specimens. It is very easily digested, and may, therefore, be eaten by those with whom salads disagree in the ordinary way.
_Nettle._
The tender tops of young nettles picked in the spring make a delicious vegetable, somewhat resembling spinach. They are excellent for sufferers from gout and skin eruptions.
Fresh nettle juice is prescribed in doses of from 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls for loss of blood from the lungs, nose, or internal organs.
_Nuts._
Nuts are the true subst.i.tute for flesh meat. They contain everything in the way of nourishment that meat contains, minus the poisonous const.i.tuents of the latter. They are very rich in proteid (flesh and muscle former) and fat. In addition they possess all the const.i.tuents that go to make up a perfect food. Nuts and water form a complete dietary, although I do not suggest that any reader should try it. If he did so he would probably eat too many nuts, not realising how great an amount of nourishment is contained in a concentrated form. No one should eat more than a quarter of a pound of nuts per day, in addition to other food. A pound per day would be more than sufficient if no other food were taken. I have little doubt but that the diet of the future will consist solely of nuts and fresh fruit. After all it is the food most favoured by monkeys, and our teeth and digestive apparatus more nearly resemble those of the monkey than the carnivorous and herbivorous animals so many of us seemingly prefer to imitate.
The chief objection to nuts is supposed to be on account of their indigestibility. But this has its foundation, not in the nut, but in the manner of eating it. I recommend all those people who find nuts indigestible to pay a visit to the Zoo and see how the monkey eats his nuts. He chews and chews and chews. And after that he chews!
I know, alas! that the majority of people do not possess teeth like the monkey, and to these I can only suggest that they macerate their nuts in a nut b.u.t.ter machine. There are several of these machines on the market, and they are stocked by all large "Food-Reform" provision dealers. They cost anything from six or seven shillings. The daily allowance of nuts may be thoroughly macerated and eaten with fruit in the place of cream.
Ordinary people may use a nut-mill, which flakes, not macerates, the nuts. But people with bad teeth and a weak digestion will do better to invest in a nut b.u.t.ter machine. I may add that the nuts will not macerate properly unless they are crisp, and to this end they must be put in a warm oven for a short time, just before grinding. I have found new, English-grown walnuts crisp enough without this preparation. But if the nuts are _not_ crisp enough they will simply clog the machine.
Now to our nuts! Almonds are the most nourishing. Next in order come walnuts, hazel or cob nuts, and Brazil nuts. The proteid value of these three does not differ much. After these come the chestnut and cocoanut, and lastly we have the pine kernel. Speaking very roughly, we may liken walnuts, hazel nuts, and Brazil nuts to beef for flesh and muscle-forming value, while pine kernels correspond more nearly to fish.
Almonds are nearly double the value of beef.
_Nut Cream._
Doctor Fernie recommends the following nut-cream for brain-workers.
Pound in a mortar, or mince finely, 3 blanched almonds, 2 walnuts, 2 ounces of pine kernels. Steep overnight in orange or lemon juice.
It should be made fresh daily, and may be used in place of b.u.t.ter.
_Oat._
The oat is generally cited as the most nourishing of all the cereals, and a good nerve food. The fine oatmeal gruel of our grandmothers has gone almost entirely out of fashion, but its use might be revived with advantage. Like wheat, it is a complete food. A good preparation of groats (ground oats from which the husk has been entirely removed) may be taken by those who find other preparations indigestible.
Some persons seem unable to take oatmeal, its use being followed by a skin eruption. This is supposed to be due to a special const.i.tuent called "avenin," the existence of which, however, is denied by some authorities.
There is little doubt but that persons of weak digestive powers and sedentary habits cannot digest porridge comfortably. In any case quickly-cooked porridge is an abomination.
_Olive._
The chief use of the olive, at least in this country, consists in the oil expressed from it. Unfortunately our so-called olive oil is generally cotton-seed oil. Captain Diamond of San Francisco, aged 111, and the oldest living athlete in the world, attributes much of his health to the use of olive oil. But he lays great stress upon the importance of obtaining it pure. Cotton-seed oil consists partly of an indigestible gum, and its continued ingestion tends to produce kidney trouble and heart failure.
A simple test for purity is to use, the suspected sample for oiling floors or furniture. If pure, it will leave a beautiful polish minus grease. But if it contains cotton-seed oil, part of it will evaporate, leaving the gummy portion behind.
When pure olive oil is shaken in a half-filled bottle, the bubbles formed thereby rapidly disappear, but if the sample is adulterated the bubbles continue some time before they burst.
Pure olive oil is pale and a greenish yellow.
If equal volumes of strong nitric acid (this may be obtained from any chemist) and olive oil are mixed together and shaken in a flask the resulting product has a greenish or orange tinge which remains unchanged after standing for ten minutes. But if cotton-seed oil is present, the mixture is reddish in colour, and becomes brown or black on standing.
Olive oil is slightly laxative, and therefore useful to sufferers from constipation. It is also an excellent vermifuge.
Olive oil has been used with great success in the treatment of gall stones. A Dr. Rosenberg reported that of twenty-one cases treated by "the ingestion of a considerable quant.i.ty of olive oil, only two failed of complete recovery."
_Onion._
The uses of the onion are many and varied. Fresh onion juice promotes perspiration, relieves constipation and bronchitis, induces sleep, is good for cases of scurvy and sufferers from lead colic. It is also excellent for bee and wasp stings.
Onions are noted for their nerve-soothing properties. They are also beautifiers of the complexion. But moderation must be observed in their use or they are apt to disagree. Not everyone can digest onions, although I believe them to be more easily digested raw than cooked.
A raw onion may be rubbed on unbroken chilblains with good results. If broken, the onion should be roasted. The heart of a roasted onion placed in the ear is an old-fashioned remedy for earache.
Raw onions are a powerful antiseptic. They also attract disease germs to themselves, and for this reason may be placed in a sickroom with advantage. Needless to say, they should afterwards be burnt or buried.
Culpeper, the ancient herbalist, says that they "draw corruption unto them." It is possibly for this reason that the Vedanta forbids them to devout Hindoos.
Garlic possesses the same properties as the onion, but in a very much stronger degree. Leeks are very much milder than the onion.
_Onion Juice._
The following prescription is excellent for sufferers from bronchitis or coughs: Slice a Spanish onion; lay the slices in a basin and sprinkle well with pure cane sugar. Cover the basin tightly and leave for twelve hours. After this time the basin should contain a quant.i.ty of juice.
Give a teaspoonful every now and then until relief is afforded. If too much be taken it may induce headache and vomiting.
_Onion Poultice._
An excellent poultice for the chest may be made by placing one or two English onions in a muslin bag and pounding them to a pulp. This should be renewed every three or four hours, and the chest washed. I have been told that, at the age of six weeks old, I was saved from dying of bronchitis by such an onion poultice applied to the soles of my feet.
_Orange._
The orange possesses most of the virtues of the lemon, but in a modified form. But it has the advantage of being more palatable.
The juice of oranges has been observed to exert such a beneficial influence on the blood as to prevent and cure influenza. Taken freely while the attack is on they seemingly prevent the pneumonia that so often follows. By far the quickest way to overcome influenza is to subsist solely on oranges for three or four days. Hot distilled water may be taken in addition.
The peel of the bitter Seville orange is an excellent tonic and remedy in cases of malaria and ague. A drink may be prepared from it according to the prescription under the heading "Lemon."
The "orange cure" is used with great success for consumptive patients, for chest affections of all kinds, for asthma, and some stomach complaints. Oranges are taken freely at every meal. The "navel" kind are generally used.
Herbalists sell dried orange pips to be crushed to a powder and taken in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful to a cup of hot water. This is a harmless sedative, and useful in hysterical affections.
_Marmalade Tonic._