Thought for Food

A fat encyclopedia of food by a diet expert who loves to eat was published last week by Dr. Asa Crawford Chandler of Rice Institute, Houston, Tex. Dr. Chandler seldom counts calories, is never finicky. He claims that the flesh of rattlesnakes is "delicious and nutritious," that "grasshoppers, caterpillars and termites . . . afford wholesome food if there is no acquired aversion." Besides these odd chips of information, Dr. Chandler's book (The Eater's Digest, Farrar & Rinehart; $2.75) is packed with practical discussions on such things as digestion, nutritional diseases, bellyaches, diet during pregnancy, ravenous children, vitamins (if you don't like spinach, don't eat it, but be sure to buy your vitamins in the drugstore).

Calories and Figures. Most healthy adults keep the same weight year after year, whether they live on salads or steak and apple pie. The body adjusts its processes automatically to conform to the amount of food taken in. A heavy meal does not ordinarily lay down an extra pound or two, because a large quantity of food stimulates metabolism.

Like other food experts. Dr. Chandler believes that reducers should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, avoid sugar and starchy foods that have no vitamins, only calories. Best way to get thin, he advises, is to eat as much fish, meat, chicken and eggs as the heart desires. The theory that protein is hard on the kidneys, says Dr. Chandler, is nonsense; it is almost impossible for a normal person to eat too much meat. Vegetarianism is not only "silly" but "unsafe,'' for beans, peas, nuts and other high-protein vegetables do not contain all the necessary compounds for making human flesh.

Poisons. Most food poisoning, popularly known as ptomaine poisoning, comes from eating custards, ice cream or sausages which contain staphylococcus germs, usually occurs in the summer, if these foods are not kept on ice.

Says Dr. Chandler: "There are no beasts of the field, or birds of the air, whose flesh is known to be poisonous." Although there are a number of poisonous water animals, almost all reported cases of fish poisoning are due to bacteria. Only poisonous vegetables commonly found in the U.S.: 1) some 80 varieties of mushrooms; 2) some rhubarb leaves.

Sometimes foods become poisoned by contact with certain metals. Leaving food in a tin can is perfectly safe, provided it is kept in the icebox. But acid foods should not be prepared in galvanized iron utensils. Although arsenic sprays are not strong enough to cause immediate poisoning, Dr. Chandler suggests soaking all fruits and vegetables which are eaten without peeling in a crock of 1% hydrochloric acid for a few minutes. This dunking should be followed by a thorough washing.

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