Sugar is completely absorbed by the system, while starch holds second place. The proteid of meat and eggs is well absorbed, only three per cent being lost; in milk the loss is eight per cent. Fat, when taken in the form of butter, is almost completely absorbed, while in the absorption of fat in the form of milk, eggs, and cheese, there is a loss of six per cent; in the fat of meat, a loss of seventeen per cent. Bacon furnishes an exception to this rule, as it ranks next to the fat of butter and cream.
The nurse should be a student of the classification of foods, their fuel value and digestibility, thus being able to determine and regulate the needed rations for her patients.
In feeding the sick, strict economy should be considered only when necessary. That which the patient really needs should be furnished always, if possible. Even in homes where the income is limited, there is a general self-denial for the one who is ill. It is a too-frequent error to overindulge a patient, for it weakens rather than strengthens. From this fact, together with lack of knowledge and appliance, those who are treated and cared for in a fine hospital are very apt to recover more quickly than those treated and cared for at home. In hospitals, where large numbers are to be fed, many of whom are not able to contribute towards the support of the institution and still others who cannot pay their proportionate part, strict economy in food supplies becomes imperative. Many cheap foods are equally nutritious to the more expensive ones, and if well cooked and served are gratifying to all the senses to which one wishes to appeal.
In hospitals the dietaries are classified by the doctors, to assist the nurses in caring for their patients, as house, soft solid, soft diet, and liquid.
1. House, including:—soups, meat, fish, eggs, cereals, vegetables, fruit, desserts, etc.
2. Soft solid, including:—creamed sweetbreads, eggs, creamed toast, asparagus, baked custards, etc.
