Staple Food
Our ancestors had not chosen uncommon unavailable grains as the staple food of the people. Each province will have preponderance in production of some type of grain. This available material only has been adopted as the primary food. Other articles had been selected for consumption to supplement the primary food. There are places where only Ragi is grown. It would have been folly to prescribe Sambarice and allow the people to live in an eternal dilemma. South India and Bengal produce mostly paddy. This has to be the primary article of food. The polished rice is deficient in protein, fat, minerals, salt and vitamin. Other articles supplying the deficiencies have to be used for a proper balance. Then only the music of life will be in undisturbed harmony!
Auxiliary Items
With great forethought, selection and regulation of diet have been ordained by our forefathers. The advancement of modern research throws an ever brightening halo on their wisdom. They have not fixed the same or a particular proportion for all people. They have differentiated according to age and occupation and special needs. The householder, the recluse, the Sanyasin, the labourer, the child, the youth, the adult, the old man and the soldier have been asked to feed with different additions in different proportions at differing intervals to make them fulfil their purposes and professions in life. These immemmorial habits and conventions, show clearly how each requires a particular unit of heat energy and also the quantity of protein, fat, sugar etc., to produce the same.
Unbalanced Diet
The rules demonstrate that dhal, millets, and milk are to supplement the protein deficiency in polished rice; vegetables, green leaves, fruits, to supply minerals, salts, iron, calcium, phosphorous and vitamin. Even in South India food habits clearly followed these rules to procure a daily balanced diet. The shadows and skeletons of those rules can be seen even now in the various courses ordinarily eaten in South India.
People do add dhal, curds, milk, leafy and other vegetables in their menu. But with what a difference! The additions made now are purely nominal. They neither fulfil the letter or the spirit behind the food injunctions. A watery pale faced broken substitute takes the place of the ancient addition of solid, pasty curds. Instead of thick butter milk, sweet smelling and tasty, some tamarind—juiced rice water serves the purpose. The only milk that gets into the stomach is that heavy boiled, high-watered something, darkly metamorphosed in the all-killing coffee or tea. The green leafy vegetable, called keerai in South India, has become untouchable in fashion’s domain. Who cares for low classed vegetables when highly fried liver and kidneys are available in Cafe-de-Luxes? Dignity would get hurt to make mention of these products of mother earth! Why worry over fruits at all when the tinned jam from foreign lands reigns supreme!
Pearl and flower soup
Poverty is the excuse for some. ‘Old-fashioned country brute’ exclaim others. ‘Stingy!’ will call out a third. “Oh, my husband will eat his food with a simple look-on at the pickles!” will boast a different set. These cheat the stomach. Do they remember how this money kept away becomes the tribute to the Doctor? There are those greedy money-huggers. They will dignify their distaste to spend for even vegetables by calling their menu, ‘pearl soup, and flower soup!’ Not those brilliant pearls blinding the eyes with their lustre! But those bitter vegetables balls rolling uncared for in the water courses of South India, dried and black and moth eaten ! Neither does this so called flower soup represent the essences of beautiful rose or sweet smelling jasmine! But the soup is adorned by these faded bunches hanging freely on margosa trees! Sweet indeed will be this ‘rasam’ (watery soup)!
For the seven days in the week there will be seven varieties of dried seeds for the soup and the side! The omnipresent one will be that notorious dried burner, the ‘chillies’! No wonder, the men, women and the children in the family are equally dried and sapped! As for fruits, it would be a God-send if the members secure at least the plantain fruit. Even this will neither be numerous nor a daily affair. The lady of the house once on Friday will offer to the chosen deity two of the plantains and make it into twenty bits as morsels for twenty mouths! The tragedy may also be due to poverty. But there are crores and crores of people who out of petty parsimony, rebellious tongue, bad habits or ignorance, do not eat the necessary or any quantity of protective food stuffs.
Take the case of the labourer. The little that he earns is robbed by the toddy shop. He is prevented from getting the protective foods dictated by ancient rules. How then can there be any room for complaint for those who earn well and hoard their money?
KING ‘TONGUE
The deficiency of protein in the rice diet must be made up. The means can be found according to ancient food habits, in dhals and other millets. The first course, for instance in the South Indian meal, consists of dhal and rice. Perhaps our forefathers knew the rebellious nature of the tongue! They have not asked us to eat again and again mere rice. With the rice the menu contains, soups, vegetable stews, ghee etc.
We are told that the Japanese people eat cooked rice without even salt. After this they eat vegetables etc. as if they are extra dishes absolutely unnecessary and unconnected with rice eating . This perhaps is the uncivilised, uncultured habits of a highly vital, independent race of people! How can ths befit the great present day Indian who has lost his country to the foreigner and his senses to the boastful western civilisation? The first ruler of the Indian is ‘King Tongue’! After this only comes, God, Country, Dharma and the rest!
Protein proportion
The dhal is mixed with rice in order to increase the protein content of the daily food. The proportion of this protein requirement will vary according to age of the consumer. The Coonoor publication contains notes and analysis of various food-stuffs. It is impossible to add and subtract and procure the need through weighing scales. The truths given out in this useful booklet, should be carefully studied and with the guidance of a dietetic student the daily individual and family requirements fixed up. The protein proportion for all ages is given below.
For one day – Age – Grams – weight
For man – 18 – 60 – 65
” woman – 18 – 60 – 55
” a boy – 10 – 17 – 80
” a girl – 10 – 17 – 70
” a child – 6 – 8 – 60
” a child – 2 – 6 – 40-50
(The Coonoor Publication)
Youths and growing children require a greater quantity of protein than the adult in proportion. During pregnancy and lactation, the mother requires a greater quantity of protein. If this protein comes from animal protein, it would be the best. Milk gives the same best result as the animal food. It contains amino-acid, which renews the wasted tissues and builds up fresh ones. In other respects also milk is to be preferred to get protein.
The gramme of the English measure can be easily converted to the equivalent in other measures from the conversion table. One will get only 6.85 grammes of protein by eating 100 grammes of machine rice according to the Coonoor Publication. 874 grammes of rice should be used daily to get the needed 60 grammes of protein. This will be equivalent to one and one-sixteenth Madras measure of rice. Half a measure at least of rice should be cooked and eaten each time, if the man is accustomed to two regular meals a day.
Can any one ordinarily eat as much or even quarter as much rich for one meal? There are persons who eat with a vengeance to ravage the kitchen of the hotel-wala. But those who could carry out this successfully may be one in a million. One may force oneself to eat and undesired quantity. But the digestive organs intended to last for a hundred-year-functioning, will get spoilt in a few years. Life will be cut short. A man on an average, if he is not a labourer in the fields, can eat about 110 grammes of rice, equivalent to one-eight Madras measure of rice, for a single meal. Those who eat only once a day can be expected to consume, quarter or a little more of Madras measure of rice. One-fourth of the protein need only will be secured by even this quantity of rice consumed. Machine rice is denoted here.
Calories of heat
The food must give to the consumer, at least 2,600 calories of heat units per day. From this rice diet not even 1,000 calories of heat units are obtained. It is necessary therefore to mix in the food other articles with a greater protein content calculated to give more units of heat energy in proportion. Life will go on well, only if this is done. The stomach at any rate is of small capacity. Dhal and other articles capable of giving higher protein are not added either due to miserliness or ignorance. The flesh does not grow. The South Indians at any rate are liable to be classified as belonging to a nation of underweights.
Protein Items
There is in black gram 24 per cent protein, in dhal 22 1/2 per cent in Bengal gram 22 1/2 per cent and in soya beans 43 per cent. We can get enough protein per day if some of the above articles are mixed into the daily diet in the needed proportion, without inflation of the stomach or the expense. The necessary calories of heat energy could also be secured. Fried groundnuts are rice in protein, containing 32 per cent. This is cheaper than rice.
Protein in milk
While discussing protein, milk should never be forgotten. Buffalo milk contains 4 3/4% per cent of the valuable animal protein and the cow’s milk 3 1//2 per cent. This protein has got a food value, six times that of the grain, or vegetable protein.
A steady refinement
One should not take to grinding away groundnuts and soyabeans, according to fancy, on ascertaining the protein contents of the various articles! Nor can an all-mixture stuff be munched day in and day out! The vision must rest, on the needs of fat, vitamin and other essentials also. An understanding must result as to what mixture in which proportion will give the needed quantity of 2,600 calories of heat units per day.
Our belly will protest, even vociferously if the food in changed all of a sudden. It may strike work. The nature of eating and the variety of food-stuffs, must be suitably adopted to the needs created by the daily occupation of the consumer. The same rule of diet cannot stand for the Judge and the manual labourer.