Where’s the Beef?

lllustration of different food quantities with the same caloric value, from “The Wonders of Diet”

Excerpt from “The Wonders of Diet,” Fortune magazine, May 1936

FOOD LEGENDS
More food notions flourish in the U.S. than in any other civilized country on earth, and most of them are wrong. They thrive in the minds of the same people who talk about their operations; and like all mythology, they are a blend of fear, coincidence, and advertising. Examples:

Tomato juice is the best cure for a hangover.

Celery and fish cannot be eaten together.

Green fruits are poisonous.

Meat makes you sensual and belligerent.

Six-day bicycle racers need beefsteak.

Garlic purifies the blood.

Cream or milk should not be eaten with lobster or pickles.

“Heavy” foods are indigestible.

Smoking aids digestion.

Fruit juice should start the breakfast.

Soft foods will make your teeth decay.

Raw eggs are more digestible than cooked eggs.

Clear coffee is less harmful than that sugared and creamed.

Excessive meat eating causes high blood pressure, rheumatism, gout.

Belching means indigestion, bicarbonate of soda cures it.

Acidosis means acid stomach.