It is evident that a variety of food is necessary for health. Animals
fed exclusively upon one class, or upon a single article of diet, droop
and die; and in the human family we know that the constant use of one
kind of diet causes disgust, even when not very long continued.
Consequently, we infer that the welfare of man demands that his food be
of sufficient variety to supply his body with all of its component
parts. If this is not done the appetite is deranged, and often craves
the very article which is necessary to supply the deficiency. After the
component parts of the organism have assimilated the nutritious elements
of particular kinds of food for a certain length of time, they lose the
power of effecting the necessary changes for proper nutrition, and a
supply of other material is imperatively demanded. When the diet has
been long restricted to proteids, consisting largely of salt meats,
fresh vegetables and fruits containing the organic acids, become
indispensable; otherwise, the scorbutic condition, or scurvy, is almost
sure to be developed. Fresh vegetables and fruits should be eaten in
considerable quantities at the proper seasons.

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