diments should be used very sparingly, if at
all.

[Sidenote: Sugar and Candy]

A great cause of ill health is overuse of sugar in concentrated form,
candy, etc., especially by the sedentary. One reason why sugar has a
high food value is that it is readily utilized for combustion, and if
taken between meals greatly increases the calories and may lead to
_overnourishment_.

[Sidenote: Water with Meals]

There is, for normal people, no objection to drinking a moderate amount
of water at meals--say one or two glassfuls--provided it is not taken
when food is in the mouth and used for washing it down.

[Sidenote: The Digestibility of So-called "Indigestible" Foods]

The science of dietetics will develop rapidly in the future, and in a
few years it will probably be possible to be more definite than we have
been here. At present there is much unknown, especially as to how far
our rules have to be modified for the particular individual. Personal
idiosyncrasies have to be taken into account. Sometimes "What is one
man's meat is another man's poison." On the other hand, many have
mistaken ideas as to their own idiosyncrasies. For instance, many people
think that nuts never agree with them, when the trouble really is that
they do not masticate them properly. Many think peanuts indigestible,
not realizing either the importance of mastication or the importance of
avoiding over-roasting. The ordinary peanuts are over-roasted. Peanuts
very slightly roasted and very thoroughly masticated seldom disagree
with one. Others believe that bananas never agree with them, when the
fact is they eat them too green. The banana vender usually finds that
the ignorant public buys his fruit best when its color is an even
yellow, and he puts aside for himself the only bananas ripe and fit to
eat, namely those which are mottled with black.

[Sidenote: Avoidance of Fads]

Each individual must use his own intelligence and common sense, avoiding
so far as he can the mistake of following a "fad" and accepting a theory
without sufficient evidence; and the opposite mistake of accepting as
hygienic the customs about him simply because they are customs, and thus
mistaking for fads any conclusions of science which are discordant with
current custom.

[Sidenote: Necessity of Medical Examination]

It is a good idea to consult a physician in regard to one's diet, and
endeavor intelligently to follow his advice and not insist on one's own
diet, selected