include in one form or another in nearly every meal. The child who is so
young that it cannot take any solid food may have fruit juices included
in its diet to decided advantage; but children who are slightly older
and adults may take the fruits cooked or raw instead of in the form
of juices.

3. As far as the composition of fruits is concerned, it is such that
most fresh fruits are not particularly high in food value. However, they
are characterized by other qualities that make up for what they lack in
this respect; then, too, what they contain in the way of heat-producing
or tissue-building material is easily digestible. Most fruits contain
considerable acid, and this food substance makes them stimulating to the
appetite. Advantage of this fact is taken when fruits are served at the
beginning of a breakfast or when several of them are combined in a fruit
cocktail and served before luncheon or dinner. This acid produces real
stimulation in the stomach, resulting in a flow of gastric juice from
the glands of the stomach walls. In addition, the delightful color, the
fragrant odor, or the pleasant taste of fruit, although a mental effect,
is just as real and just as valuable as the actual stimulation of
the acids.

4. Many fruits are eaten raw, while others are cooked either because
they require cooking to make them appetizing or because it is desired
not to use them in their raw state. The cooking of fruits has a variety
of effects on them, being sometimes advantageous and other times
detrimental. The flavor is always changed by the application of heat,
and in some cases the acid that fruit contains becomes stronger. On the
other hand, the fibrous material, or cellulose, of fruits is softened by
cooking and thus becomes more digestible. Then, too, the sugar that is
usually added to fruits in their cooking increases their food value.