Green vegetables furnish a large amount of easily digested carbohydrates and contain much mineral matter in which meats and cereals are deficient. That they add to the highest purity of our blood has been proven by the fact that many blood and skin diseases have been cured by the application of specific greens alone. However, no matter how valuable an article is, it should be used according to the needs of the individual. As vegetables also contain a large amount of water, it is not wise for one who has to perform active mental or physical labor to indulge in a large amount of cooked, especially underground, vegetables at the noon meal. At this time of the day the system requires the most nutritious foods in the form of proteid elements, no matter whether the meal consists of cooked food, cold or warmed over. Green peas and corn are best eaten at the noon meal, as they are rich in proteid elements. Asparagus, tomatoes, string beans and leaf greens are also suitable at this time of the day, provided some nutritious food of the proteid class is served with them. For further combinations, see “Left Overs” and Menus. The blanching of vegetables, as advised by some authorities, will always remove valuable constituents of the plant. The blanching and ventilation of vegetables during the process of cooking is advised, in order to make them more wholesome. All artificially prepared foods will lose certain constituents through the process of cooking, and this loss is generally made up by additional flavoring or sauces. Vegetables which are cooked in very little water and kept well covered (not ventilated), will lose less of their natural qualities, and the injurious gases which do not escape by this process can be made harmless through the addition of fats, in the emulsified form, as sauces, the yolk of an egg, lemon or cream. In the consumption of food, as well as the custom of dress and education, some people have reached that stage of refinement where degeneration begins. We cannot refine natural food without paying the penalty for it, which means the producing of disease and the shortening of life. The excessive use of refined sugar, alcohol and other artificial stimulants, has produced a dislike for fatty foods by many people, so that they refuse to eat sauces, or fat meats in any form, the only fat they use being butter. While the latter is a valuable food, it often cannot be assimilated by the system if spread on white bread, or mixed with cooked vegetables; it generally serves only as a lubricant. If butter is eaten in excess, especially in the summer, it clogs the system. Some people prepare vegetables and soups with melted butter for the sake of convenience. This is a waste, since a tablespoonful of butter or other fat properly emulsified as directed under butter sauces will often give more nutriment than one-quarter of a pound of butter wasted by soaking into toast or other cooked foods.