Peas, Beans, Lentils, etc.—It can be seen by referring to the tables of foods that these articles of diet contain a large amount of proteid, and are consequently good substitutes for meat; and, if the ordinary vegetarian diet be adhered to, they should form the staple foods in place of the meat that has been omitted. They are very hearty articles of diet, however, and contain a large amount of proteid in a concentrated form, and for that reason should be eaten in the winter months, if at all. These articles of food, moreover, all contain a certain percentage of uric acid-forming materials, and for this reason should be avoided whenever possible. Dr Haig, throughout his writings, has argued very strongly against the legumes as food for man, and has shown that an excessive consumption of such foods tends to create uric acid—and results in the evil consequences which follow from its presence, whenever eaten in large quantities. He recommends in their place nuts, cheese, and milk. Cheese and milk we have already considered, and the value of nuts we shall ascertain when we come to the chapter on the fruitarian diet. On the whole, then, it cannot be said that peas, beans, and lentils are desirable articles of food, whenever they can be avoided. Their chief value consists in the amount of proteid they contain, and this can be supplied by nuts, as we have seen, and shall see further. In addition to this, we now know that large amounts of proteid are not required by the system, and are detrimental rather than beneficial to it.

Although vegetables are capable of supporting life, and contain many of the nutritious properties most necessary for bodily sustenance, there are, nevertheless, objections to be raised against almost every one of these foods. Personally, I do not believe that they are suitable articles of diet for the human race. When we come to the chapter on the fruitarian diet, I shall endeavour to show that fruits and nuts in their uncooked, primitive form, are the suitable and proper diet for mankind; and I believe that, although he can subsist upon vegetables, and even maintain a certain degree of health upon the ordinary vegetarian diet, I do not think that it begins to compare in excellence with the fruitarian or raw-food diet. Throughout this book, I have been used to speaking of “vegetarian” as opposed to a “mixed” diet—including meat—and I certainly think it preferable to that generally followed; but the diet I would advocate is as far superior to the ordinary vegetarian diet as that is superior to the mixed diet. It consists almost exclusively of fruits and nuts. The fruitarian diet, then, is, in my estimation, the ideal diet, and the reasons for this I shall endeavour to give in full in Chapter XII.

All vegetables, to be rendered fit articles for human food, must be cooked, in the first place, and this fact alone renders the ordinary vegetarian diet less nutritious and less wholesome than the fruitarian or raw-food diet. With few exceptions, moreover, the vegetables contain but little nutritive matter. Those which do contain a high percentage of proteid are open to the same objections as were raised against meat—namely, that they create uric acid. But the majority of vegetables supply nothing that cannot be derived in simpler and in better form from the fruit and nut dietary; and they contain, moreover, a large percentage of indigestible and fibrous material—refuse—from which the other foods are free. A brief glance at each of the vegetables individually will confirm this. Potatoes are nearly all starch; they contain practically no proteid, fats, or mineral substances of value, and are, generally speaking, constipating articles of food. The objections to peas, beans and lentils we have discussed. Asparagus, spinach, and similar vegetables contain but little nutriment, and much waste, and on the whole can be considered little better than weeds. Cabbages of various sorts, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, etc., are also open to these objections. They contain a large amount of fibrous, indigestible matter, with but a small amount of nutriment. Cabbage, eaten raw, is not such a bad article of diet, but cooked in the way in which it usually is, the iron, and its valuable salts, pass into the water in which it is cooked—so that there is, in one sense, more nutriment in the water than there is in the mere “skeleton” that is left, and which we eat! Onions, leeks, and garlics may have their uses in certain diseases, when eaten raw, but they would doubtless lose these properties when cooked, and many persons cannot eat them. They are very strong articles of food, and it is doubtful if they are intended for human aliment at all. Turnips and parsnips consist almost entirely of water, and are practically valueless as food. They contain a very small percentage of carbohydrates, but they are spongy and fibrous, and frequently hard to digest. The same objections would apply more or less to carrots, beetroots, and artichokes. Mushrooms should by all means be avoided. They are exceedingly indigestible, in a large number of cases, and there is, in addition, a great danger of becoming poisoned by toadstools, or other fungi. Corn is an exceedingly indigestible food—especially if insufficiently masticated, as it invariably is. The proteid it contains can be supplied in many other more wholesome foods. Celery consists almost entirely of fibre, and cannot rightly be considered as suitable for human food. Endives, cresses, capers, dandelions, radishes, etc., are all weeds, and, if uncultivated, would be totally unfit for the human stomach. Lettuce contains a certain amount of opium; and cucumber is widely known for its great indigestibility.

Summing up the nutritive values of these various vegetables, then, we can fairly say that none of them contain the essential properties suitable for human food. The majority of them are indigestible and are, by their innate composition, improper foods for the human race. All the nutritive materials which they contain can be supplied in a purer and better form by the various fruits and nuts, while the tough, fibrous nature of most of the vegetables necessitates an enormous outlay of the energy of digestion, which should be conserved and utilised for other and better purposes. The fact, further, that these various food-stuffs have to be cooked in order to render them palatable and edible, is another objection to their use. Even Dr Tibbles, who strongly insists on the value of vegetables as human food, is forced to write in his “Food and Hygiene,” p. 193:

In other words, it is practically admitted that vegetables are hard to digest at all times, and that as soon as the energy of digestion is lowered, this fact is immediately apparent! This is evident from the directions that are given to remove the skin and tough fibres. On the fruitarian diet none of these objections would be encountered—the bland, soothing, cooling, antiseptic properties of the fruit juices being readily seen, and practically never cause indigestion, no matter how enfeebled it may be, or how sick the patient—provided eating be possible at all—and provided that they do not contain an excess of acids and other substances injurious to the body in its then state of health. Vegetables are, further, a very bulky food, and for this reason, also, I consider them objectionable.