Fish

Though poor in vitamine content, fish is rich in protein and fat, and in that respect compares favorably with meat.

Meat

Where dairy products are plentiful - where milk and butter and cheese abound - meat is of little importance. This has already been discussed. The amount of meat consumed is unnecessarily high in many cases.

Sugar

This carbohydrate may be put to several uses. Its commonest use is as a sweetener, whether added to coffee and tea, or to candy. Most of us crave for sugar; the sweet we prefer to the bitter. There is an important psychological factor here that cannot be overlooked, for sugar in moderate quantities stimulates the appetite of most of us. But sugar is really more than a flavoring material; it is a very good food. The cane sugar that we use, and even the cheaper glucose that finds its way into confectioneries of various kinds, is very nearly 100 per cent carbohydrate.

As a conserver of fruits and in cooking of foods, sugar also finds constant use.

Table Beverages

Tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate and the now forbidden alcohol in its various guises, are not as a rule taken to increase the nutrient value of our foods. They act as stimulants. Here again the psychological factor comes into play. Of course a cup of chocolate which, let us say, consists of three-quarters milk or one-half cream and two or three pieces of sugar, is a very nutritious drink; but remember that the nutritive value is not derived from the chocolate, but from the milk or cream and the sugar. For those disliking milk, an excellent method is to add a few teaspoonsful of coffee or cocoa to it, together with perhaps a little bit of sugar.