Invalid Foods

—The term “invalid foods” is applied to almost every kind of a concoction containing a food substance which is administered to an invalid or convalescent, often for medical purposes rather than for real nutrition. Chief among these invalid foods may be mentioned the meat extracts containing that portion of the meat soluble in hot water. These bodies consist chiefly of meat bases together with certain soluble salts and it has long been recognized that they have very little nutritive value. They are also found in concentrated or even a dry state. The unconcentrated invalid foods of this class sometimes contain glycerol (glycerine) or alcohol as a preservative. There are also many forms of meat juice supposed to be the direct extract by pressure or otherwise of the natural juice of the meat. Since these bodies could not be preserved otherwise than by sterilization, which would coagulate the albuminous portion, they are often preserved by the addition of glycerine or some other antiseptic substance. It is doubtful if any of these preserved bodies are proper food for a deranged stomach either in the case of a real invalid or of a convalescent.

In addition to these there are a great many so-called predigested or precooked foods which are largely advertised for certain forms of deranged digestion or malnutrition. The market is flooded with brain foods, nerve foods, etc., which, if they were as poor as their advertising claims are exaggerated, would be sorry substitutes for the natural food which grown people eat. Fortunately these foods are often far better than one would suppose and many of them are wholly unobjectionable in character in so far as composition is concerned, though the price which one must pay for these nutrients seems out of all proportion to the actual cost of the raw material. Following are data showing the composition of some of the more important foods which are advertised as having curative or medicinal qualities or as suitable for infants and invalids, and thus are brought prominently to the attention of the invalid or convalescent.

Water. Ash. Fat. Pro-
teids. Re-
ducing
Sugar. Cold
Water
Ex-
tract. Dex-
trin.

Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent.

No. 1, 3.76 3.02 6.30 9.21 52.50 78.76 Much

No. 2, 2.12 4.34 8.70 14.02 49.02 75.80 „

No. 3, 1.96 3.85 0.60 11.06 57.96 81.10 „

No. 4, 3.25 2.20 5.65 8.66 ... 82.00 11.50

No. 5, 1.37 1.63 4.75 9.13 ... 46.57 11.02

No. 6, 7.09 0.42 0.23 14.48 ... 3.58 1.74

No. 7, 5.73 0.86 1.00 10.41 26.32 34.57 7.30

No. 8, 1.55 1.20 1.10 5.69 57.57 50.05 Much

The above data give a general view of the relations of nutrient in foods of this class. The percentage of mineral matter varies chiefly in proportion to the varying content of common salt. The fat varies from one to about nine percent. Protein exists in quantities from nearly six to 15 percent. Sugar constitutes the predominant nutritive component of almost all these bodies, only one showing a small percentage thereof. It is evident that if any one of these types of food be regarded as a standard nearly all the others would prove objectionable. The foods in the following table are largely farinaceous in composition.

COMPOSITION OF INFANTS’ AND INVALIDS’ FOODS.
(As determined by A. McGill, Bulletin 59, Laboratory of Inland Revenue, Ottawa, Canada).

Mean Results of Analysis.—Group I.—Farinaceous Foods.

Num-
ber. Number
of
Samples
Analyzed. Moisture. Fat by
Petro-
leum
Ether. Loss to
Alco-
hol. Loss to
Water. Sum of
Losses
to
Alco-
hol
and
Water. Total
Albumi-
noids
from
Nitrogen
× 6.25. Ash. Starch,
Fiber,
etc. (by
Differ-
ence). Starch,
Fiber,
Ash,
etc. (by
Differ-
ence). Sugar. Remarks.

Reducing. Cane
Sugar.

Expressed
as Percent.

Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent.

1 2 13.96 0.29 .. 3.21 3.21 1.24 0.06 81.28 .. .. .. .. Arrowroot starch.

2 5 9.61 0.64 4.91 2.91 7.82 10.38 1.48 67.35 72.00 Invert. 5 .. Wheat starch.

3 5 9.44 0.27 0.73 3.91 4.64 9.49 0.96 75.14 76.29 A trace. .. Cereal starches.

4 4 9.71 0.14 9.95 3.60 13.55 8.54 0.80 67.46 67.88 Maltose. 3 10 Cereal starch.

5 5 6.04 0.72 .. 3.94 3.94 13.77 0.49 76.60 .. .. .. .. Wheat starch.

6 2 9.99 0.13 .. .. 8.83 8.60 2.08 69.24 .. .. .. 3 Maize and wheat starches.

7 9 8.12 0.48 0.34 4.67 5.02 13.83 0.53 .. 72.01 .. .. .. Wheat starch.

8 7 9.41 0.41 0.65 2.26 2.91 7.46 0.94 78.66 79.41 .. .. .. Barley starch.

9 2 8.65 0.85 5.90 3.77 9.67 12.18 0.88 68.62 .. .. .. 5 Wheat starch.

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Group II.—Mixed Foods.

10 2 6.84 1.17 .. .. 25.96 8.75 0.76 56.83 .. Invert. 3 20 Wheat starch.

11 5 4.22 3.49 27.89 6.00 33.89 7.19 1.05 .. 49.31 Lactose. 1 30 Wheat starch.

12 2 5.38 0.57 .. .. 29.59 10.43 1.06 53.62 54.28 Maltose. 20 .. Wheat starch.

13 2 4.26 1.60 35.28 4.73 40.01 11.38 2.82 40.51 42.10 .. .. 35

14 9 2.55 1.41 .. .. 63.87 14.00 3.57 .. 15.68 Maltose. 49 8

15 12 5.77 0.48 28.24 4.27 32.90 10.01 2.57 47.72 50.50 Lactose. 30 Trace. Wheat starch.

16 8 4.72 0.30 .. .. 82.06 10.10 3.50 .. .. Maltose. 50 to 60 ..

17 4 2.89 22.26 .. .. 60.10 12.19 3.85 1.45 4.44 Lactose. 50 ..

18 2 4.92 8.10 .. .. 46.30 9.00 2.08 31.02 .. Lactose. 30 15 Cereal starches.

19 9 2.18 4.45 39.54 4.30 43.84 10.72 1.60 35.34 38.80 Lactose. 8.96 36.34 Wheat starch.

20 2 5.89 3.17 42.54 1.82 44.36 3.62 0.42 42.70 .. .. .. 40 Maize starch and cocoa.

21 3 0.80 0.04 .. .. 96.60 1.13 0.90 .. .. Lactose. 80 to 90 ..

22 2 5.69 2.18 .. .. 38.21 16.60 2.78 34.54 .. Lactose. 30 8 to 9

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