Beverages
T he use of beverages in quantities with food at mealtime is prejudicial to digestion, because they delay the action of the gastric juice upon solid foods. The practice of washing down food by copious draughts of water, tea, or coffee is detrimental, not only because it introduces large quantities of fluid into the stomach, which must be absorbed before digestion can begin, but also because it offers temptation to careless and imperfect mastication, while tea and coffee also serve as a vehicle for an excessive use of sugar, thus becoming a potent cause of indigestion and dyspepsia. It is best to drink but sparingly, if at all, at mealtimes. Consideration should also be given to the nature of the beverage, since many in common use are far from wholesome. Very cold fluids, like iced water, iced tea, and iced milk, are harmful, because they cool the contents of the stomach to a degree at which digestion is checked. If drunk at all, they should be taken only in small sips and retained in the mouth until partly warmed.
Tea is often spoken of as the "cup that cheers but not inebriates." "The cup that may cheer yet does injury" would be nearer the truth, for there is every evidence to prove that this common beverage is exceedingly harmful, and that the evils of its excessive use are second only to those of tobacco and alcohol. Tea contains two harmful substances, theine and tannin,—from three to six per cent of the former and more than one fourth its weight of the latter. Theine is a poison belonging to the same class of poisonous alkaloids, and is closely allied to cocaine. It is a much more powerful poison than alcohol, producing death in less than one hundredth part the deadly dose of alcohol; and when taken in any but the smallest doses, it produces all the symptoms of intoxication. Tannin is an astringent exercising a powerful effect in delaying salivary and stomach digestion, thus becoming one of the most common causes of digestive disorders. It is also a matter of frequent observation that sleeplessness, palpitation of the heart, and various disorders of the nervous system frequently follow the prolonged use of tea. Both theine and tannin are more abundant in green than in black tea.
The dependence of the habitual tea-drinker upon the beverage, and the sense of loss experienced when deprived of it, are among the strongest proofs of its evil effects, and should be warnings against its use. No such physical discomfort is experienced when deprived of any article of ordinary food. The use of tea makes one feel bright and fresh when really exhausted; but, like all other stimulants, it is by exciting vital action above the normal without supplying extra force to support the extra expenditure. The fact that a person feels tired is evidence that the system demands rest, that his body is worn and needs repair; but the relief experienced after a cup of tea is not recuperation. Instead, it indicates that his nerves are paralyzed so that they are insensible to fatigue.
Some people suppose the manner of preparing tea has much to do with its deleterious effects, and that by infusion for two or three minutes only, the evils resulting from the tannin will be greatly lessened. This, however, is a delusion, if the same amount of tea be used proportionate to the water; for tannin in its free state, the condition in which it is found in tea is one of the most readily soluble of substances; and tea infused for two minutes is likely to hold nearly as much tannin in solution as that infused for a longer period.
Tea is not a food, and it can in no wise take the place of food, as so many people attempt to make it, without detriment to health in every respect.
Coffee, cocoa, and chocolate rank in the same category with tea, as beverages which are more or less harmful. Coffee contains caffein, a principle identical with theine and a modified form of tannin, though in less quantity than tea. Cocoa and chocolate contain substances similar to theine and equally harmful, though usually present in much less proportion than in tea.
Custom has made the use of these beverages so common that most people seldom stop to inquire into their nature. Doubtless the question arises in many minds; If these beverages contain such poisons, why do they not more commonly produce fatal results?—Because a tolerance of the poison is established in the system by use, as in the case of tobacco and other narcotics and stimulants; but that the poisons surely though insidiously are doing their work is attested by the prevalence of numerous disorders of the digestive and nervous systems, directly attributable to the use of these beverages.
Both tea and coffee are largely adulterated with other harmful substances, thus adding another reason why their use should be discarded. It is stated on good authority that it is almost impossible to obtain unadulterated ground coffee.
In view of all these facts, it certainly seems wisest if a beverage is considered essential, to make use of one less harmful. Hot milk, hot water, hot lemonade, caramel coffee, or some of the various grain coffees, recipes for which are give in the following pages, are all excellent substitutes for tea and coffee, if a hot drink is desired.