w eating is important not merely as a matter of mastication, but also
as a matter of taste and enjoyment. Food must have a pleasing taste and
flavor and then must be enjoyed in order to be most readily assimilated.

[Sidenote: Increased Enjoyment]

There is a mistaken notion that the hygiene of food means "giving up all
the things that taste good." While it is true that, in many cases,
sacrifices have to be made, the net result of reforming one's diet is
not to diminish but to increase the enjoyment of food. In general, it is
extremely unhygienic to eat foods which are not relished. Experiments by
Pavlov and others have shown that the taste and enjoyment of food
stimulate the flow of digestive juices.

[Sidenote: Choosing Foods]

Finally, slow eating is a great aid in the proper choice of foods. Some
suggestions have already been given as to the wise choice of foods, but
no rules can be formulated which will completely insure such a choice.
Even the wisest physiologist can not depend altogether on his knowledge
of food values, while, to the layman, the problem is so complicated that
his main reliance must be on his own instincts. Animals depend
exclusively on instinct except when under domestication. Civilized man
should not and can not altogether depend upon instinct, but his food
instincts are far more keen and correct if he obeys the rule of eating
slowly than if he bolts his food.

[Sidenote: "Good" and "Bad" Foods]

In the choice of foods it is as difficult to distinguish absolutely
between what are "good" and "bad" foods as it is to classify human
beings into "good" and "bad." All we can say is that some foods are
better than others, remembering that it is usually more important to be
_satisfied_, even if the foods are not "ideal," than to be unsatisfied
with what in the abstract seem "ideal" foods.

Among the best foods for most people are fruits, potatoes, nuts (if well
masticated), milk, sour milk, and vegetables. Among the worst foods are
putrefactive cheeses, sweetbreads, liver, kidneys, "high" game or
poultry.

But a fastidious study of foods will find some faults as well as some
virtues in almost any food. The best way to help the ordinary man choose
his foods is to advise him to use as much as possible of the "better"
and as little as possible of the "worse" without attempting to draw a
hard and fast line between the "good" and "bad."

[Sidenote: Salt, Pepper, Spices]

Salt, pepper, and hot con