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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Blake, Joan Salge.
Title: Nutrition & you / Joan Salge Blake.
Other titles: Nutrition and you
Description: Fourth edition. | Hoboken, New Jersey : Pearson, 2016. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015038008 | ISBN 9780134167541
Subjects: LCSH: Nutrition--Textbooks.
Classification: LCC RA784 .B552 2016 | DDC 613.2--dc23 LC record available
at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038008

ISBN 10: 0-13-416754-6; ISBN 13: 978-0-13-416754-1 (Student edition)

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Brief Contents

1 What Is Nutrition?   2
2 Tools for Healthy Eating   30
3 The Basics of Digestion   68
4 Carbohydrates: Sugars, Starches, and Fiber   98
5 Fats, Oils, and Other Lipids   144
6 Proteins and Amino Acids   186
7 Vitamins   226
8 Minerals and Water   282
9 Alcohol   340
10 Weight Management and Energy Balance   368
11 Nutrition and Fitness   416
12 Consumerism and Sustainability: Food from Farm to Table   456
13 Food Safety and Technology   492
14 Life Cycle Nutrition: Pregnancy through Infancy   526
15 Life Cycle Nutrition: Toddlers through the Later Years   566
16 Hunger at Home and Abroad   600

A Calculations and Conversions    A-2

B Organizations and Resources    B-1
Glossary   G-1
References   R-1
Index   I-1
Credits   CR-1

    iii
Contents
Preface: Why I Wrote Nutrition & You   xvi
1
What Is Nutrition?   2
What Drives Our Food Choices?   4
We Need to Eat and Drink to Live   4
We Choose Foods for Many Other Reasons    5
What Is Nutrition and Why Is Good Nutrition So
Important?   8
What Are the Essential Nutrients and
Why Do You Need Them?    9
Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins Provide Energy    9
You Can Calculate the Amount of Energy a Food
Provides   10
Vitamins and Minerals Are Essential for Metabolism    10
Water Is Vital for Many Processes in Your Body    11
How Should You Get These Important
Nutrients?   11
The Best Way to Meet Your Nutrient Needs Is with
a Well-Balanced Diet   11
You Can Meet Some Nutrient Needs with a Supplement    12
How Does the Average American Diet
Stack Up?   12
The Quality of the American Diet    13
Rates of Overweight and Obesity in Americans    13
Improving Americans’ Diets Is One Goal
of Healthy People 2020   14
What’s the Real Deal When It Comes to Nutrition
Research and Advice?   15
Sound Nutrition Research Begins with the Scientific
Method   17
Research Studies and Experiments Confirm Hypotheses    18
You Can Trust the Advice of Nutrition Experts    20
Health Connection: Fast Food City    21
You Can Obtain Accurate Nutrition Information
on the Internet   22
Visual Chapter Summary   26
iv    
2
Tools for Healthy Eating   30
What Is Healthy Eating and What Tools Can Help?    32
What Are the Dietary Reference Intakes?    34
DRIs Tell You How Much of Each Nutrient You Need    34
DRIs Encompass Several Reference Values    34
Focus Figure 2.2 Dietary Reference Intakes    35
How to Use the DRIs    37
What Are the Dietary Guidelines for Americans?   37
What Are MyPlate and ChooseMyPlate.gov?    39
MyPlate and ChooseMyPlate.gov Emphasize Changes in Diet,
Eating Behaviors, and Physical Activity    40
How to Use MyPlate and ChooseMyPlate.gov    42
What Is a Food Label and Why Is It Important?    48
The Food Label Tells You What’s in the Package    49
The Food Label Can Help You Make Healthy Food Choices    51
Focus Figure 2.12 Understanding the Nutrition Facts
Panel   52
Functional Foods: What Role Do They Play in Your
Diet?   60
Are There Concerns Associated with Consuming Functional
Foods?   60
How to Use Functional Foods    61
Health Connection: Functional Foods and Cholesterol    62
Visual Chapter Summary   64
3
The Basics of Digestion   68
What Is Digestion and Why Is It Important?    70
Digestion Occurs in the GI Tract    70
Digestion Is Mechanical and Chemical    70
What Are the Organs of the GI Tract
and Why Are They Important?    73
Digestion Begins in the Mouth    73
Focus Figure 3.3 The Digestive System    74
The Stomach Stores, Mixes, and Prepares Food
for Digestion   75
Most Digestion and Absorption Occurs in the
Small Intestine   76
Focus Figure 3.6 Anatomy of the Small
Intestine   77
The Large Intestine Eliminates Waste and
Absorbs Water and Some Nutrients    78
The Liver, Gallbladder, and Pancreas Are
Accessory Organs   79
How Do Hormones, Enzymes, and Bile Aid
Digestion?   79
Hormones Regulate Digestion   79
Enzymes Drive the Process of Digestion    80
Bile Helps Digest Fat    80
How Are Digested Nutrients Absorbed?    81
Digested Nutrients Are Absorbed by Three Methods    82
What Happens to Nutrients after They Are
Absorbed?   83
The Circulatory System Distributes Nutrients through Your
Blood   83
The Lymphatic System Distributes Some Nutrients through
Your Lymph Vessels   84
Your Body Can Store Some Surplus Nutrients    84
The Excretory System Passes Waste out of the Body    84
What Other Body Systems Affect Your Use
of Nutrients?   84
The Nervous System Stimulates Your Appetite    85
The Endocrine System Releases Hormones That
Help Regulate the Use of Absorbed
Nutrients   85
What Are Some Common
Digestive Disorders?   85
Disorders of the Mouth and
Throat   85
Esophageal Problems   86
Disorders of the Stomach    87
Gallbladder Disease   87
Disorders of the Intestines    88
Health Connection: Tired of
Gluten   89
More Serious Intestinal
Disorders   90
Visual Chapter Summary   94
4
Carbohydrates: Sugars,
Starches, and Fiber   98
What Are Carbohydrates and Why Do
You Need Them?   100
Simple Carbohydrates Contain One or Two Sugar Units    100
Polysaccharides Are Complex Carbohydrates    102
Starch Is the Storage Form in Plants    102
Fiber Is Nondigestible but Important    102
Glycogen Is the Storage Form in Animals    103
What Happens to the Carbohydrates You Eat?    104
You Digest Carbohydrates in Your Mouth and Intestines    104
What Is Lactose Maldigestion and Lactose Intolerance?    104
Focus Figure 4.4 Carbohydrate Digestion and Absorption    105
How Does Your Body Use Carbohydrates?    106
Insulin Regulates Glucose in Your Blood    107
Carbohydrates Fuel Your Body between Meals and Help Spare
Protein for Other Uses    107
Focus Figure 4.6 Hormones Regulate Blood Glucose    108
Carbohydrates Fuel Your Body during Fasting and
Prevent Ketosis   109
How Much Carbohydrate Do You Need and What Are
the Best Food Sources?    110
You Need a Minimum Amount of Carbohydrates Daily    110
The Best Carbohydrates Are Found in These Foods    111
Whole Grains Can Help Meet Starch and Fiber Needs    112
Fruits and Vegetables Provide Simple Sugars, Starch, and Fiber    113
Legumes, Nuts, and Seeds Are Excellent Sources of Carbohy-
drates and Fiber   114
Low-Fat and Fat-Free Dairy Products Provide Some Simple
Sugars   115
Packaged Foods Can Also Provide Carbohydrates    115
What’s the Difference between Natural and Added
Sugars?   115
Foods with Natural Sugars Usually Contain More Nutrients for
Fewer Calories   116
Processed Foods and Sweets Often Contain Added Sugars    117
Are Added Sugars Bad for You?    117
Finding the Added Sugars in Your Foods    117
How Much Added Sugar Is Too Much?    121
Why Is Diabetes a Growing Epidemic?    121
What Are the Forms of Diabetes?    123
Focus Figure 4.12 Diabetes    124
What Effects Does Diabetes Have on Your Body?    125
Health Connection: Destined for Diabetes?    127
How Is Diabetes Treated and Controlled?    128
Why Is Diabetes Called an Epidemic?    129
Can Type 2 Diabetes Be Prevented?    129
What Are Sugar Substitutes and What Forms
Can They Take?   130
Polyols Are Sugar Alcohols    130
Contents    v
 Saccharin Is the Oldest Sugar Substitute    132
Aspartame Is Derived from Amino Acids    132
Neotame Is Also Made from Amino Acids    133
Acesulfame-K Contains Potassium   133
Sucralose Is Made from Sucrose    133
Rebaudioside A Is Derived from the Stevia Plant    133
Monk Fruit Is Another Sugar Substitute    134
Advantame Is the Newest Sugar Substitute    134
Why Is Fiber So Important?    134
Fiber Helps Prevent Constipation and Diverticulosis    134
Fiber Helps Prevent Obesity    135
Fiber Helps Prevent Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer    136
Too Much Fiber Can Cause Health Problems    137
Visual Chapter Summary   140
5
Fats, Oils, and Other
Lipids   144
What Are Fats and Why Do You Need Them?    146
Fats Serve Multiple Functions in Foods and in Your Body    146
Fatty Acids Are Found in Triglycerides and Phospholipids    146
Triglycerides Contain Three Fatty Acid Chains    149
Sterols Have a Unique Ring Structure    150
What Happens to the Fat You Eat?    151
You Digest Most Fat in Your Stomach and Small Intestine    151
Focus Figure 5.10 Fat Digestion and Absorption    152
Lipoproteins Transport Fat through the Lymph and Blood    153
How Does Your Body Use Fat and Cholesterol?    154
Fat Provides Energy   154
Fat Helps You Absorb Certain Compounds
and Insulates the Body    154
Focus Figure 5.13 The Roles of Lipoproteins    155
Essential Fatty Acids Help Keep Cells Healthy    156
Cholesterol Has Many Important Roles    157
How Much Fat Do You Need Each Day?    157
You Need to Consume a Specific Percentage of Your Daily
Calories from Fat   157
You Need to Consume a Specific Amount of Essential Fatty
Acids Daily   158
Minimize Saturated and Trans Fats in Your Diet    158
The Impact of Cholesterol in Your Diet    160
What Are the Best Food Sources of Fats?    161
What Are Fat Substitutes and How Can They Be Part
of a Healthy Diet?    164
Fat Substitutes Can Be Carbohydrate, Protein, or
Fat Based   164
Reduced-Fat Products Aren’t Calorie Free    165
What Is Heart Disease and What Increases
Your Risk?   166
Heart Disease Begins with Buildup in the Arteries    167
vi    Contents
What Are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?    167
Focus Figure 5.20 Development of Atherosclerosis    168
What Can You Do to Maintain Healthy Blood
Cholesterol Levels to Reduce Your Risk of
Heart Disease?   170
Minimize Saturated Fats, Trans Fats, and Cholesterol in Your
Diet   171
Include Fish in Your Weekly Choices    173
Health Connection: All Fats Are Not Created Equal    175
Eat Plenty of Plant Foods    175
Routinely Select Foods Rich in Antioxidants and
Phytochemicals   177
Strive for Plenty of Exercise and Manage Your Weight    178
A Word about the Protective Effects of Red Wine    178
The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts    178
Visual Chapter Summary   182
6
Proteins
and Amino Acids   186
What Are Proteins and Why Are They Important?    188
The Building Blocks of Proteins Are Amino Acids    188
Denaturation of Proteins Changes Their Shape    191
What Happens to the Protein You Eat?    192
You Digest and Absorb Dietary Proteins in Your Stomach and
Small Intestine   192
Your Body Degrades and Synthesizes Proteins    192
Focus Figure 6.4 Protein Digestion and Absorption    193
DNA Directs the Synthesis of New Proteins    194
Focus Figure 6.6 Protein Synthesis    195
How Does Your Body Use Proteins?    196
Proteins Provide Structural and Mechanical Support and Help
Maintain Body Tissues   196
Proteins Build Most Enzymes and Many Hormones    197
Proteins Help Maintain Fluid Balance    197
Proteins Help Maintain Acid-Base Balance    198
Proteins Transport Substances throughout the Body    198
Proteins Contribute to a Healthy Immune System    199
Proteins Can Provide Energy    199
Protein Improves Satiety and Appetite Control    199
How Much Protein Do You Need?    200
Healthy Adults Should Be in Nitrogen Balance    200
Not All Protein Is Created Equal    202
You Can Determine Your Personal Protein Needs    203
What Are the Best Food Sources of Protein?    204
What Happens If You Eat Too Much or Too Little
Protein?   209
Eating Too Much Protein Can Be Unhealthy    209
Eating Too Little Protein Can Lead to Poor Health and
Malnutrition   210
How Do Vegetarians Meet Their Protein Needs?    212 Exploring Riboflavin (B2)   250
Health Connection: Running on Empty    213 What Is Riboflavin?   250
The Potential Benefits and Risks of a Vegetarian Diet    216 Functions of Riboflavin   250
How You Can Be a Healthy Vegetarian    216 Daily Needs   250
Athletes Can Follow a Vegetarian Diet    219 Food Sources   250
Visual Chapter Summary   222 Too Much or Too Little    250
Exploring Niacin (B3)   252
What Is Niacin?   252
7 Functions of Niacin   252
Daily Needs   252
Vitamins   226 Food Sources   252
Too Much or Too Little    252
What Are Vitamins?   228 Exploring Vitamin B6   254
Vitamins Are Either Fat-Soluble or What Is Vitamin B6?   254
Water-Soluble   229 Functions of Vitamin B6   254
Some Vitamins Function as Antioxidants    229 Daily Needs   254
Vitamins Differ in Bioavailability    231 Food Sources   254
Vitamins Can Be Destroyed by Air, Water, or Heat    232 Too Much or Too Little    254
Overconsumption of Some Vitamins Can Be Toxic    233
Exploring Folate   255
Provitamins Can Be Converted to Vitamins by the Body    233
What Is Folate?   255
The Storage of Fat-Soluble Vitamins    234 Functions of Folate   255
Daily Needs   256
Exploring Vitamin A   235
Food Sources   256
What Is Vitamin A?    235
Too Much or Too Little    256
Functions of Vitamin A    235
Focus Figure 7.6 Retinal and Its Role in Vision    236 Exploring Vitamin B12   258
Daily Needs   237 What Is Vitamin B12?   258
Food Sources   238 Functions of Vitamin B12   258
Too Much or Too Little    238 Daily Needs   258
Food Sources   258
Exploring Vitamin E   240
Too Much or Too Little    259
What Is Vitamin E?    240
Functions of Vitamin E    240 Exploring Vitamin C   260
Daily Needs   240 What Is Vitamin C?    260
Food Sources   240 Functions of Vitamin C    260
Too Much or Too Little    240 Daily Needs   260
Food Sources   260
Exploring Vitamin K   242
Too Much or Too Little    260
What Is Vitamin K?    242
Functions of Vitamin K    242 Exploring Pantothenic Acid
Daily Needs   242 and Biotin   262
Food Sources   242 What Are Pantothenic Acid and Biotin?    262
Too Much or Too Little    243 Functions of Pantothenic Acid and Biotin    262
Daily Needs   262
Exploring Vitamin D   244
Food Sources   262
What Is Vitamin D?    244
Too Much or Too Little    262
Functions of Vitamin D    244
Daily Needs   244 Are There Other Important Vitamin-Like
Food Sources   245 Nutrients?   263
Too Much or Too Little    245 Choline Is an Essential Nutrient    263
Carnitine, Lipoic Acid, and Inositol Are Vitamin-Like
The Roles of the Water-Soluble B Vitamins Substances   263
and Vitamin C   247
Exploring Thiamin (B1)   248 How Should You Get Your Vitamins?    266
What Is Thiamin?   248 Foods Are Still the Best Way to Meet Your Vitamin Needs    266
Functions of Thiamin   248 Fortified Foods Can Provide Additional Nutrients, but at a Price    267
Daily Needs   248 Vitamin Supplements Are Not a Substitute for Healthy Eating    269
Food Sources   248 Visual Chapter Summary   275
Too Much or Too Little    248

Contents    vii
 8 Food Sources   313
Too Much or Too Little    313

Minerals Exploring Chloride   315

What Is Chloride?   315
and Water   282 Daily Needs   315
Food Sources   315
Why Is Water So Important?    284 Too Much or Too Little    315
Water Is the Universal Solvent    284 Exploring Sulfur   315
Water Is a Transport Medium    285 What Is Sulfur?   315
Water Helps Maintain Body Temperature    285 Food Sources   315
Water Is a Lubricant and a Protective Cushion    286 Daily Needs and Too Much or Too Little    315

What Is Water Balance and How Do You Exploring Iron   316

Maintain It?   286 What Is Iron?   316
You Take in Water through Beverages and Food    286 Daily Needs   316
You Lose Water through Your Kidneys, Large Intestine, Lungs, Food Sources   317
and Skin   287 Too Much or Too Little    318
Losing Too Much Water Can Cause Dehydration    287 Exploring Copper   319
Consuming Too Much Water Can Cause Hyponatremia    289 What Is Copper?   319
Focus Figure 8.7 Fluid Balance during Exercise    290 Daily Needs   319
Food Sources   319
How Much Water Do You Need and What Are the Best Too Much or Too Little    319
Sources?   291 Exploring Zinc   320
What Are Minerals and Why Do You Need Them?    295 What Is Zinc?   320
Bioavailability Affects Mineral Absorption    296 Daily Needs   320
You Need Major Minerals in Larger Amounts    296 Food Sources   320
The Trace Minerals Are Needed in Small Amounts    296 Too Much or Too Little    321
Overconsumption of Minerals Can Be Toxic    298 Exploring Selenium   322
Other Minerals: Arsenic, Boron, Nickel, Silicon, What Is Selenium?   322
and Vanadium   298 Daily Needs   322
Exploring Sodium   301 Food Sources   322
What Is Sodium?   301 Too Much or Too Little    323
Daily Needs   301 Exploring Fluoride   324
Food Sources   301 What Is Fluoride?   324
Too Much or Too Little    302 Daily Needs   324
Health Connection: A High-Pressure Situation    303 Food Sources   324
Exploring Potassium   305 Too Much or Too Little    325
What Is Potassium?   305 Exploring Chromium   326
Daily Needs   305 What Is Chromium?   326
Food Sources   305 Daily Needs   326
Too Much or Too Little    305 Food Sources   326
Exploring Calcium   307 Too Much or Too Little    327
What Is Calcium?   307 Exploring Iodine   327
Daily Needs   307 What Is Iodine?   327
Food Sources   307 Daily Needs   327
Too Much or Too Food Sources   327
Little   308 Too Much or Too Little    328
Exploring Exploring Manganese   329
Phosphorus   311 What Is Manganese?   329
What Is Daily Needs   329
Phosphorus?   311 Food Sources   329
Daily Needs   311 Too Much or Too Little    329
Food Sources   311
Exploring Molybdenum   330
Too Much or Too
What Is Molybdenum?   330
Little   311
Daily Needs   330
Exploring Magnesium   313 Food Sources   330
What Is Magnesium?   313 Too Much or Too Little    330
Daily Needs   313
Visual Chapter Summary   333
viii    Contents
 9 What Factors Are Likely to Affect
Alcohol   340
What Is Alcohol and How Is It
Made?   342
Why Do People Drink Alcohol?    342
People Drink to Relax, Celebrate, and Socialize    343
Moderate Alcohol Consumption May Have Health
Benefits   343
What Happens to Alcohol in the Body?    344
You Absorb Alcohol in Your Stomach and Small
Intestine   345
You Metabolize Alcohol Primarily in Your Liver    346
Alcohol Circulates in Your Blood    346
The Effects of Alcohol on Your Brain    346
How Can Alcohol Be Harmful?    349
Alcohol Can Disrupt Sleep and Cause Hangovers    349
Alcohol Can Interact with Hormones    351
Alcohol May Lead to Overnutrition and Malnutrition    351
Alcohol Can Harm Your Digestive Organs, Heart,
and Liver   353
Alcohol Can Put a Healthy Pregnancy at Risk    355
What Is Alcohol Use Disorder?    356
Binge Drinking, Drinking and Driving, and Underage Drinking
is Harmful   357
Health Connection: Smashed:
Story of a Drunken Girlhood    358
How to Get Help for AUD    361
Some People Should Avoid
Consuming Alcohol   361
Visual Chapter Summary   364
10
Weight Management
and Energy Balance   368
What Is a Healthy Weight and Why Is Maintaining It
Important?   370
How Do You Know If You’re at a Healthy Weight?    372
BMI Measurements Can Provide a General Guideline    372
Measure Your Body Fat and Its Location    374
What Is Energy Balance and What Determines
Energy Needs?   376
Energy Balance Is Calories In versus Calories Out    376
Focus Figure 10.5 Energy Balance and Imbalances    377
Energy Needs Are Different for Everyone    378
Calculating Your Energy Needs    379
Energy Imbalances over Time Can Lead to Changes
in Body Weight   380
Body Weight?   380
Hunger and Appetite Affect What You Eat    381
Physiological Mechanisms Help Regulate Hunger    381
Focus Figure 10.7 Your Brain Controls Hunger and Satiation    382
Genetics Partially Determine Body Weight    383
Environmental Factors Can Increase Appetite and Decrease
Physical Activity   384
How Can You Lose Weight Healthfully?    387
Eat Smart, Because Calories Count    387
Move to Lose   393
Break Bad Habits   394
Dealing with Extreme
Obesity   395
Health Connection: Extreme
Measures   398
The Bottom Line   398
How Can You Maintain Weight Loss?    399
How Can You Gain Weight Healthfully?    399
What Is Disordered Eating and What Are
the Warning Signs?   401
No Single Factor Causes Eating Disorders    401
Anorexia Nervosa Results from Severe Calorie Restriction    403
Bulimia Nervosa Involves Cycles of Binge Eating
and Purging   405
Binge Eating Disorder Involves Compulsive Overeating    405
Other Disordered Eating Behaviors Can Be Harmful    406
There Are Some Common Signs of Disordered Eating    406
What Can You Do If You Suspect a Friend Has an
Eating Disorder?   407
Eating Disorders Can Be Treated    407
Visual Chapter Summary   411
11
Nutrition and
Fitness   416
What Is Physical Fitness and Why Is It
Important?   418
Physical Fitness Has Five Basic
Components   418
Physical Fitness Provides Numerous Benefits    419
What Does a Physical Fitness Program Look Like?    420
Cardiorespiratory Exercise Can Improve Cardiorespiratory
Endurance and Body Composition    420
Strength Training Can Improve Muscle Strength, Muscle
Endurance, and Body Composition    421
Stretching Can Improve Flexibility    422
The FITT Principle Can Help You Design a Fitness Program    422
The Progressive Overload Principle Can Help Improve Fitness
over Time   424
Contents    ix
How Are Carbohydrate, Fat, and Protein Used during Food Production Outside the United States    465
Exercise?   425
Carbohydrate Is the Primary Energy Source during High-Intensity
What Is a Sustainable Food System?    466
Exercise   426 Sustainable Food Systems Are Environmentally Friendly,
Economically Viable, and Socially Equitable    467
Focus Figure 11.3 What Fuels Our Activities?    427
The Most Sustainable Foods Are Locally Grown and Plant
Fat Is the Primary Energy Source during Low-Intensity
Based   469
Exercise   429
Protein Is Primarily Needed to Build and Repair Muscle    433 How Do We Balance the World Population’s Demand
Total Calorie Needs Depend on the Type and Schedule for Food with Sustainability?    473
of Exercise   433 Costs and Benefits of Using Hormones in Our Food Supply    473
Health Connection: What Is the Female Athlete Triad?    434 Costs and Benefits of Using Antibiotics in Our Food Supply    474
Components of the Female Athlete Triad    434 Costs and Benefits of Using Pesticides in Our Food Supply    474
Signs and Treatment   434
What Are the Risks and Benefits of Using
How Does the Timing of Meals Affect Fitness and Biotechnology in Agriculture?   477
Athletic Performance?   435 Genetic Engineering   478
Optimal Foods before Concerns and Regulations Associated with GE Foods    479
Exercise   435
Optimal Foods during How Does Food Policy Affect the Foods Available to
Exercise   436 You to Buy and Consume?    481
Optimal Foods after Food Policy Can Help Encourage Food Producers to Create
Exercise   436 Healthier Products   481
Food Policy Can Lead to Relabeling and Reformulating without
What Vitamins and Providing a Healthier Food Product    482
Minerals Are Important What Are the Politics of the Food Industry?    483
for Fitness?   437
Antioxidants Can Help Protect Cells from Damage Caused How Do You Know How Foods Were Produced?    484
by Exercise   437 Label Terms Provide Information about How Foods Were
Some Minerals Can Be of Concern in Highly Produced   484
Active People   438 Understand the Meaning of the Term Organic   485
Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Are Generally Not Visual Chapter Summary   488
Necessary   439

How Does Fluid Intake Affect Fitness?    439

Fluid and Electrolyte Balance and Body Temperature Are 13
Affected by Exercise   440
You Need Fluids before, during, and after Exercise    441 Food Safety and
Some Beverages Are Better than Others    441
Consuming Too Little or Too Much Fluid Can Be Harmful    442
Technology   492
Can Dietary Supplements Contribute to Fitness?    444 What Causes Foodborne Illness?    494
Foodborne Illnesses
Dietary Supplements and Ergogenic Aids May Improve
Are Often Caused by
Performance, but Can Have Side Effects    444
Pathogens   494
Sports Bars, Shakes, and Meal Replacers May Provide
Chemical Agents and
Benefits   447
Toxins Can Also Cause
Visual Chapter Summary   452
Illness   500
Some People Are at Higher

12 Risk for Foodborne

Illness   500

Consumerism and What Can You Do to Prevent Foodborne Illness?    501

Clean Your Hands and Produce    502
Sustainability: Food Combat Cross-Contamination   503
from Farm to Table   456 Cook Foods Thoroughly   504
Chill Foods at a Low Enough Temperature    505
How Do Advertising and Marketing Influence Your Health Connection: Getting the Lowdown on Listeria   507
Food Choices?   458 Who Protects Your Food and How Do
Where Does Your Food Come From?    459 They Do It?   510
Food Comes from Farms, Not Stores    459 Several Government Agencies Police the Food Supply    510

x    Contents
 Food Manufacturers Use Preservation Techniques to Destroy
Contaminants   512
Irradiation   513
Product Dating Can Help You Determine Peak Quality    514
What Are Food Additives and How Are They
Used?   515
Preservatives Prevent Spoilage and Increase Shelf Life    515
Some Additives Enhance Texture and Consistency    516
Some Additives Improve Nutrient Content    516
Color and Flavor Enhancers Improve the Appeal of Foods    516
Food Additives Are Closely Regulated by the FDA    517
Some Food Additives Are Unintentional    518
What Are Toxins and Chemical Agents?    518
Toxins Occur Naturally   518
Contamination Is Sometimes Due to Pollution    520
What Special Concerns Might Younger or Older
Mothers-to-Be Face?   542
What Is Breast-Feeding and Why Is It
Beneficial?   543
Breast-Feeding Provides Physical, Emotional, and Financial
Benefits for Mothers   544
Breast-Feeding Provides Nutritional and Health Benefits for
Infants   545
What Are the Best Dietary and Lifestyle Habits for a
Breast-Feeding Mother?   547
When Is Infant Formula a Healthy Alternative to Breast
Milk?   548
Some Women May Not Be Able to Breast-Feed    549
Formula Can Be a Healthy Alternative to Breast-Feeding    549

What Is Bioterrorism and How Can You What Are the Nutrient Needs of an Infant
Protect Yourself?   521 and Why Are They So High?    550
Visual Chapter Summary   523 Infants Grow at an Accelerated Rate    551
Monitoring Infant Growth   551
Infants Have Higher Nutrient Needs    552
14 When Are Solid Foods Safe to Feed
a Baby?   553
Life Cycle Nutrition: Solid Foods May Be Introduced Once Certain Milestones
Pregnancy through Are Met   553
Solid Foods Should Be Introduced Gradually    554
Infancy   526 Some Foods Are Dangerous and Should Be Avoided    555

What Nutrients and Behaviors Are Important before Putting It All Together    558
Attempting a Healthy Pregnancy?    528 Visual Chapter Summary   561
A Man’s Diet and Lifestyle Affect the Health of His
Sperm   528
Women Need to Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle before
Conception   528
15
Health Connection: The Stress of Infertility    531 Life Cycle Nutrition: Toddlers
What Nutrients and Behaviors Are Important through the Later Years   566
in the First Trimester?    532
During the First Trimester, the Fertilized Egg Develops into a What Are the Issues Associated with Feeding Young
Fetus   532 Children?   568
“Morning Sickness” and Cravings Are Common    533 Young Children Need to Eat Frequent, Small Meals with
Adequate Weight Gain Supports the Baby’s Growth    534 Nutrient-Rich Foods   568
The Need for Certain Nutrients Increases    534 Young Children Have Special
Pregnancy Increases the Risk for Foodborne Illness    537 Nutrient Needs   570
Pregnant Women Should Avoid Many Other Substances    537 Picky Eating and Food Jags
The Importance of Critical Periods    538 Are Common in Small
Children   571
What Nutrients and Behaviors Are Important in the Raising a Vegetarian Child    572
Second Trimester?   539
Pregnant Women Need to Consume Adequate Calories, What Are the Nutritional Needs and Issues
Carbohydrate, and Protein to Support Growth    539 of School-Aged Children?   572
Exercise Is Important for Pregnant Women    539 High Obesity Rates in School-Aged Children    574
Potential Complications: Gestational Diabetes and Daily Food Plans For Kids Help Guide Food Choices    575
Hypertension   540 The Importance of Breakfast    576
School Meals Contribute to a Child's Nutritional Status    578
What Nutrients and Behaviors Are Important in the
Third Trimester?   542 What Are the Nutritional Needs and Issues
of Adolescents?   579

Contents    xi
 Peer Pressure and Other Factors Influence Teen
Eating Behaviors   579
Adolescents Need Calcium and Vitamin D for
Bone Growth   580
Teenage Girls Need More Iron    580
Adolescents: At Risk for Disordered Eating    581
What Are the Nutritional Needs of Older
Adults?   581
Older Adults Need Fewer Calories, Not Less Nutrition    582
Older Adults Need Adequate Fiber and Fluid    582
Older Adults Should Monitor Their Micronutrients    583
What Additional Challenges Do Older
Adults Face?   585
Eating Right for Health and to Prevent and Manage Chronic
Disease   585
Economic and Emotional Conditions Can Affect Nutritional
Health   591
Health Connection: A Wake-Up Call    593
Staying Physically Active   595
Visual Chapter Summary   597
16
Hunger at Home
and Abroad   600
What Are Food Insecurity, Food Security,
and Hunger?   602
Many People Experience Food Insecurity in the United
States and Worldwide   602
What Causes Food Insecurity in the United
States?   604
In the United States, Food Insecurity Is Often Caused
by Poverty   604
xii    Contents
Health Connection: Overweight and Undernourished    606
Health Problems Contribute to Food Insecurity among
Americans   606
What Causes Food Insecurity and Poverty Around
the Globe?   607
Discrimination and Inequality Promote Poverty    608
Political Sanctions and Armed Conflicts    608
Crop Failure, Natural Disasters, and Wasteful Agricultural
Practices   608
Population Overgrowth   610
Who Is at Increased Risk for Undernutrition?    610
What Are the Effects of Chronic Malnutrition?    611
Children Suffer Impaired Growth and Development    611
Impaired Immunity Can Result in Disease    612
Infant and Child Mortality Rates Increase    613
What Can Be Done to Reduce Food Insecurity?    614
Better Land Management and Proper Sanitation    614
Fortification of Foods   616
Education Is Key   616
You Can Help Reduce Food Insecurity    616
Visual Chapter Summary   619
Appendices
Appendix A
Calculations and Conversions    A-2
Appendix B
Organizations and Resources    B-1
Glossary   G-1
References   R-1
Index   I-1
Credits   CR-1
Special Features

The Mediterranean Diet: What Do People Living Near the

Mediterranean Do Differently? 172
Protein Supplements: Are They Necessary? 206
Figure 2.2 Dietary Reference Intakes 35
Gesundheit! Myths and Facts about the Common Cold 266
Figure 2.12 Understanding the Nutrition Facts Panel 52
Alcohol and Advertising 350
Figure 3.3 The Digestive System 74
Evaluating Popular Diets 388
Figure 3.6 Anatomy of the Small Intestine 77
The Truth about the Fat-Burning Zone 432
Figure 4.4 Carbohydrate Digestion and Absorption 105
Nutrition and Developmental Disabilities 573
Figure 4.6 Hormones Regulate Blood Glucose 108
Figure 4.12 Diabetes 124
Figure 5.10 Fat Digestion and Absorption 152
Figure 5.13 The Roles of Lipoproteins 155
Figure 5.20 Development of Atherosclerosis 168
IN THE
Figure 6.4 Protein Digestion and Absorption 193
Figure 6.6 Protein Synthesis 195 Poor, Obese, and Malnourished: A Troubling Paradox 14
Figure 7.6 Retinal and Its Role in Vision 236 Don’t Be Scammed! 23
Figure 8.7 Fluid Balance during Exercise 290 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans at a Glance 38
Figure 10.5 Energy Balances and Imbalances 377 When a Portion Isn’t a Portion 46
Figure 10.7 Your Brain Controls Hunger and Satiation 382 Tinkering with Your Body’s Digestive Process 72
Figure 11.3 What Fuels Our Activities? 427 Grains, Glorious Whole Grains 112
Avoiding a Trip to the Dentist 118
Mercury and Fish 176
The Joy of Soy 214
A C ase study
C Tap Water or Bottled Water: Is Bottled Better? 292
Co nn
ON Ne
EcCt
T iIo
OnN
A Closer Look at Body Image 404
Fast-Food City 21 Carbohydrate Loading 430
Functional Foods and Cholesterol 62 You as a Sustainable Farmer: Growing Vegetables in
Tired of Gluten 89 a Container 472
Destined for Diabetes? 127 Sushi: A Cautionary Tale 501
All Fats Are Not Created Equal 175 Breast-Feeding at Work Can Work 547
Running on Empty 213 Feeding the Baby 555
A High-Pressure Situation 303 Drug, Food, and Drug-Herb Interactions 588
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood 358 Natural Disasters and Food Insecurity: A Dire Combination 609
Extreme Measures 398 Food Insecurity among Us—and How You Can Help! 617
What Is the Female Athlete Triad? 434
Getting the Lowdown on Listeria 507
The Stress of Infertility 531
A Wake-Up Call 593
Overweight and Undernourished 606
Do Outside Factors Influence Your Food Choices? 7
What Does the Health of Your Family Tree Look Like? 8
Examining the Evidence
Does Your Diet Have Proportionality? 41
Are You at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes? 126
How Can I Evaluate Nutrition News? 16 How Much Fat Is in Your Diet? 161
Does the Time of Day You Eat Impact Your Health? 48 Do You Have a Protein-Friendly Diet? 208
Do Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Cause Obesity? 122 Are You Getting Enough Fat-Soluble Vitamins in Your Diet? 234

   xiii
Another random document with
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on our arrival there. Three short, black Arabs of the Bishàree tribe,
with immense bushy heads of twisted and greased hair, were
presented to me as the camel-drivers. After receiving their share of
the money (for the camels belonged to them), they squatted down
together and occupied an hour or two in counting and dividing it. One
of them then took a long palm-rope, and went into the desert to catch
the animals, while the others remained to assist in arranging the
baggage into separate loads.
The caravan from Sennaar brought twelve giraffes, which had
been captured in the forests of the Blue Nile, as a present from Lattif
Pasha, Governor of Soudân, to Abbas Pasha. They were in good
condition, notwithstanding the toilsome march across the Nubian
Desert. The officer who had them in charge informed me that they
made frequent efforts to escape, and one of them, which broke from
its keeper’s hold, was only recaptured after a chase of several hours.
Four large trading-boats were in readiness, to convey them to
Assouan, and the graceful creatures stood on the bank, with their
heads almost touching the crowns of the date-trees, looking with
wonder on the busy scene below. For a long time they refused to
enter the unsteady barges, but at last, trembling with fear, they were
forced on board and floated away, their slim necks towering like
masts in the distance.
There was a small tent on the bank, pitched not far from mine. Its
occupant, a one-eyed, olive-faced young man, in Egyptian costume,
came to pay me a visit, and I found that he was a son of M. Linant,
by a former Abyssinian wife. He was then making his second trip to
Soudân, as a merchant, on a capital of twenty-five thousand
piastres, which his father had given him. Although he only required
twelve camels, he had been eight days in Korosko waiting for them,
and was still waiting when I left. He was accompanied by a young
Frenchman, who was one of the grandest liars I ever met. He told
me with a grave face, that he had travelled from Algiers to Egypt
through the Great Sahara, and had on one occasion gone eight days
without water, and the thermometer one hundred and twenty-five
degrees in the shade! The son of the former Mek (king) of Shendy—
the same fierce old savage who burned to death Ismaïl Pasha and
his soldiers—was also in Korosko, and visited me during the day. He
held some office under Government, which made him responsible for
the security of travellers and merchandise in the Desert, and his
presence probably facilitated my arrangements. He was a strikingly
handsome man, and wore a superb Cashmere shawl twisted around
his head as a turban.
The water-skins were soaked in the Nile all day, to prepare them
for use. Achmet, backed by the Governor’s authority, ransacked the
village for further supplies of provisions, but the place was miserably
poor, and he only succeeded in procuring two pounds of butter, a few
fowls, and some bread. There were pigeons in abundance, however,
and he cooked a sufficient number to last us two or three days. The
fowls were placed in a light cafass, or coop, to be carried on the top
of the baggage. Ali, proud of his new station, worked faithfully, and
before night all our preparations were completed. I then sent for a
barber, had my hair shorn close to the skin, and assumed the
complete Egyptian costume. I was already accustomed to the
turban, and shawl around the waist, and the addition of a light silk
sidree, or shirt, and trowsers which contained eighteen yards of
muslin, completed the dress, which in its grace, convenience, and
adaptation to the climate and habits of the East, is immeasurably
superior to the Frank costume. It allows complete freedom of the
limbs, while the most sensitive parts of the body are thoroughly
protected from changes of temperature. The legs, especially, are
even less fettered by the wide Turkish trowsers than by a Highland
kilt, and they fold themselves under you naturally and comfortably in
the characteristic attitude of the Orientals. The turban which appears
so hot and cumbrous, is in reality cool, and impervious to the fiercest
sun that ever blazed.
After dinner, I seated myself at the tent door, wrapped in my
capote, and gave myself up to the pipe of meditation. It was a
splendid starlit evening. Not a blade of the palm-leaves was stirring,
and the only sounds I heard were the melancholy drone of sakias
along the river, and the cry of the jackal among the hills. The Nile
had already become my home, endeared to me not more by the
grand associations of its eldest human history than by the rest and
the patience which I had breathed in its calm atmosphere. Now I was
to leave it for the untried Desert, and the strange regions beyond,
where I should find its aspect changed. Would it still give me the
same health of body, the same peace and contentment of soul?
“Achmet,” said I to the Theban, who was sitting not far off, silently
smoking, “we are going into strange countries—have you no fear?”
“You remember, master,” he answered, “that we left Cairo on a lucky
day, and why should I fear, since all things are in the hands of
Allah?”
Eyoub, the Ababdah Guide.
 CHAPTER XIV.
THE GREAT NUBIAN DESERT.

The Curve of the Nile—Routes across the Desert—Our Caravan starts—

Riding on a Dromedary—The Guide and Camel-drivers—Hair-
dressing—El Biban—Scenery—Dead Camels—An Unexpected Visit
—The Guide makes my Grave—The River without Water—
Characteristics of the Mirage—Desert Life—The Sun—The Desert Air
—Infernal Scenery—The Wells of Mûrr-hàt—Christmas—Mountain
Chains—Meeting Caravans—Plains of Gravel—The Story of Joseph
—Djebel Mokràt—The Last Day in the Desert—We see the Nile
again.

“He sees the snake-like caravan crawl

O’er the edge of the Desert, black and small,
And nearer and nearer, till, one by one.
He can count its camels in the sun.”—Lowell.

A glance at the map will explain the necessity of my Desert

journey. The Nile, at Korosko (which is in lat. 22° 38′), makes a sharp
bend to the west, and in ascending his current, one travels in a
south-westerly direction nearly to Dongola, thence south to Edabbe,
in lat. 18°, after which his course is north-east as far as lat. 19° 30′,
where he again resumes the general southern direction. The termini
of this immense curve, called by the ancients the “elbows” of the
Nile, are Korosko and Abou-Hammed, in southern Nubia. About
ninety miles above the former place, at Wadi Haifa, is the second
cataract of the Nile, the Southern Thule of Egyptian tourists. The
river, between that point and Dongola, is so broken by rapids, that
vessels can only pass during the inundation, and then with great
difficulty and danger. The exigencies of trade have established, no
doubt since the earliest times, the shorter route through the Desert.
The distance between Korosko and Abou-Hammed, by the river, is
more than six hundred miles, while by the Desert, it is, according to
my reckoning, only two hundred and forty-seven miles. The former
caravan route led directly from Assouan to Berber and Shendy, and
lay some distance to the eastward of that from Korosko. It is the
same travelled by Bruce and Burckhardt, but is now almost entirely
abandoned, since the countries of Soudân have been made tributary
to Egypt. It lies through a chain of valleys, inhabited by the Ababdeh
Arabs, and according to Burckhardt, there are trees and water, at
short intervals, for the greater part of the way. The same traveller
thus describes the route from Korosko: “On that road the traveller
finds only a single well, which is situated midway, four long days
distant from Berber and as many from Sebooa [near Korosko]. A
great inconvenience on that road is that neither trees nor shrubs are
anywhere found, whence the camels are much distressed for food,
and passengers are obliged to carry wood with them to dress their
meals.”
On the morning of the 21st of December, the water-skins were
filled from the Nile, the baggage carefully divided into separate
loads, the unwilling camels received their burdens, and I mounted a
dromedary for the first time. My little caravan consisted of six
camels, including that of the guide. As it was put in motion, the
Governor and Shekh Abou-Mohammed wished me a safe journey
and the protection of Allah. We passed the miserable hamlet of
Korosko, turned a corner of the mountain-chain into a narrow stony
valley, and in a few minutes lost sight of the Nile and his belt of
palms. Thenceforth, for many days, the only green thing to be seen
in all the wilderness was myself. After two or three hours’ travel, we
passed an encampment of Arabs, where my Bishàrees added
another camel for their own supplies, and two Nubians, mounted on
donkeys, joined us for the march to Berber. The first day’s journey
lay among rugged hills, thrown together confusedly, with no apparent
system or direction. They were of jet black sandstone, and
resembled immense piles of coke and anthracite. The small glens
and basins inclosed in this chaos were filled with glowing yellow
sand, which in many places streamed down the crevices of the black
rocks, like rivulets of fire. The path was strewn with hollow globes of
hard, black stones, precisely resembling cannon-balls. The guide
gave me one of the size of a rifle-bullet, with a seam around the
centre, as if cast in a mould. The thermometer showed a
temperature of eighty degrees at two p. m., but the heat was
tempered by a pure, fresh breeze. After eight hours’ travel, I made
my first camp at sunset, in a little hollow inclosed by mountains,
where a gray jackal, after being twice shot at, came and looked into
the door of the tent.
I found dromedary-riding not at all difficult. One sits on a very lofty
seat, with his feet crossed over the animal’s shoulders or resting on
his neck. The body is obliged to rock backward and forward, on
account of the long, swinging gait, and as there is no stay or fulcrum
except a blunt pommel, around which the legs are crossed, some
little power of equilibrium is necessary. My dromedary was a strong,
stately beast, of a light cream color, and so even a gait, that it would
bear the Arab test: that is, one might drink a cup of coffee, while
going on a full trot, without spilling a drop. I found a great advantage
in the use of the Oriental costume. My trowsers allowed the legs
perfect freedom of motion, and I soon learned so many different
modes of crossing those members, that no day was sufficient to
exhaust them. The rising and kneeling of the animal is hazardous at
first, as his long legs double together like a carpenter’s rule, and you
are thrown backwards and then forwards, and then backwards
again, but the trick of it is soon learned. The soreness and fatigue of
which many travellers complain, I never felt, and I attribute much of it
to the Frank dress. I rode from eight to ten hours a day, read and
even dreamed in the saddle, and was at night as fresh and
unwearied as when I mounted in the morning.
My caravan was accompanied by four Arabs. The guide, Eyoub,
was an old Ababdeh, who knew all the Desert between the Red Sea
and the Nile, as far south as Abyssinia. The camel-drivers were of
the great Bishàree tribe, which extends from Shendy, in Ethiopia,
through the eastern portion of the Nubian Desert, to the frontiers of
Egypt. They owned the burden camels, which they urged along with
the cry of “Yo-ho! Shekh Abd-el Kader!” and a shrill barbaric song,
the refrain of which was: “O Prophet of God, help the camels and
bring us safely to our journey’s end!” They were very susceptible to
cold, and a temperature of 50°, which we frequently had in the
morning, made them tremble like aspen leaves, and they were
sometimes so benumbed that they could scarcely load the camels.
They were proud of their enormous heads of hair, which they wore
parted on both temples, the middle portion being drawn into an
upright mass, six inches in height, while the side divisions hung over
the ears in a multitude of little twists. These love-locks they anointed
every morning with suet, and looked as if they had slept in a hard
frost, until the heat had melted the fat. I thought to flatter one of them
as he performed the operation, by exclaiming “Beautiful!”—but he
answered coolly: “You speak truth: it is very beautiful.” Through the
central mass of hair a wooden skewer was stuck, in order to scratch
the head without disturbing the arrangement. They wore long
swords, carried in a leathern scabbard over the left shoulder, and
sometimes favored us with a war-dance, which consisted merely in
springing into the air with a brandished sword and turning around
once before coming down. Their names were El Emeem, Hossayn
and Ali. We called the latter Shekh Ali, on account of his hair. He
wore nothing but a ragged cotton clout, yet owned two camels, had a
tent in the Desert, and gave Achmet a bag of dollars to carry for him.
I gave to El Emeem, on account of his shrill voice, the nickname of
Wiz (wild goose), by which he was thenceforth called. They were all
very devout, retiring a short distance from the road to say their
prayers, at the usual hours and performing the prescribed ablutions
with sand, instead of water.
On the second morning we passed through a gorge in the black
hills, and entered a region called El Biban, or “The Grates.” Here the
mountains, though still grouped in the same disorder, were more
open and gave room to plains of sand several miles in length. The
narrow openings, through which the road passes from one plain to
another, gave rise to the name. The mountains are higher than on
the Nile, and present the most wonderful configurations—towers,
fortresses, walls, pyramids, temples in ruin, of an inky blackness
near at hand, but tinged of a deep, glowing violet hue in the distance.
Towards noon I saw a mirage—a lake in which the broken peaks
were reflected with great distinctness. One of the Nubians who was
with us, pointed out a spot where he was obliged to climb the rocks,
the previous summer, to avoid being drowned. During the heavy
tropical rains which sometimes fall here, the hundreds of pyramidal
hills pour down such floods that the sand cannot immediately drink
them up, and the valleys are turned into lakes. The man described
the roaring of the waters, down the clefts of the rocks, as something
terrible. In summer the passage of the Desert is much more arduous
than in winter, and many men and camels perish. The road was
strewn with bones and carcasses, and I frequently counted twenty
dead camels within a stone’s throw. The stone-heaps which are seen
on all the spurs of the hills, as landmarks for caravans, have become
useless, since one could find his way by the bones in the sand. My
guide, who was a great believer in afrites and devils, said that
formerly many persons lost the way and perished from thirst, all of
which was the work of evil spirits.
My next camp was in the midst of a high circular plain, surrounded
by hundreds of black peaks. Here I had an unexpected visit. I was
sitting in my tent, about eight o’clock, when I heard the tramp of
dromedaries outside, and a strange voice saying: ana wahed Ingleez
(I am an Englishman). It proved to be Capt. Peel, of the British Navy,
(son of the late Sir Robert Peel), who was returning from a journey to
Khartoum and Kordofan. He was attended by a single guide, and
carried only a water-skin and a basket of bread. He had travelled
nearly day and night since leaving Berber, and would finish the
journey from that place to Korosko—a distance of four hundred miles
—in seven days. He spent an hour with me, and then pushed
onward through “The Gates” towards the Nile. It had been his
intention to penetrate into Dar-Fūr, a country yet unvisited by any
European, but on reaching Obeid, the Capital of Kordofan, his
companion, a Syrian Arab, fell sick, and he was himself attacked with
the ague. This decided him to return, and he had left his baggage
and servants to follow, and was making for England with all speed.
He was provided with all the necessary instruments to make his
travel useful in a scientific point of view, and the failure of his plans is
much to be regretted. I was afterwards informed by M. Linant that he
met Capt. Peel on the following day, and supplied him with water
enough to reach the Nile.
 Towards noon, on the third day, we passed the last of the “Gates,”
and entered the Bahr bela Ma (River without Water), a broad plain of
burning yellow sand. The gateway is very imposing, especially on
the eastern side, where it is broken by a valley or gorge of Tartarean
blackness. As we passed the last peak, my guide, who had ridden in
advance dismounted beside what seemed to be a collection of
graves—little ridges of sand, with rough head and foot stones. He
sat by one which he had just made. As I came up he informed me
that all travellers who crossed the Nubian Desert, for the first time,
are here expected to pay a toll, or fee to the guide and camel-men.
“But what if I do not choose to pay?” I asked. “Then you will
immediately perish, and be buried here. The graves are those of
persons who refused to pay.” As I had no wish to occupy the
beautiful mound he had heaped for me, with the thigh-bones of a
camel at the head and foot, I gave the men a few piastres, and
passed the place. He then plucked up the bones and threw them
away, and restored the sand to its original level.[1]
The Bahr bela Ma spread out before us, glittering in the hot sun.
About a mile to the eastward lay (apparently) a lake of blue water.
Reeds and water-plants grew on its margin, and its smooth surface
reflected the rugged outline of the hills beyond. The Waterless River
is about two miles in breadth, and appears to have been at one time
the bed of a large stream. It crosses all the caravan routes in the
desert, and is supposed to extend from the Nile to the Red Sea. It
may have been the outlet for the river, before its waters forced a
passage through the primitive chains which cross its bed at Assouan
and Kalabshee. A geological exploration of this part of Africa could
not fail to produce very interesting results. Beyond the Bahr bela Ma
extends the broad central plateau of the Desert, fifteen hundred feet
above the sea. It is a vast reach of yellow sand, dotted with low,
isolated hills, which in some places are based on large beds of light-
gray sandstone of an unusually fine and even grain. Small towers of
stone have been erected on the hills nearest the road, in order to
guide the couriers who travel by night. Near one of them the guide
pointed out the grave of a merchant, who had been murdered there
two years previous, by his three slaves. The latter escaped into the
Desert, but probably perished, as they were never heard of
afterwards. In the smooth, loose sand, I had an opportunity of
reviving my forgotten knowledge of trackography, and soon learned
to distinguish the feet of hyenas, foxes, ostriches, lame camels and
other animals. The guide assured me that there were devils in the
Desert, but one only sees them when he travels alone.
On this plain the mirage, which first appeared in the Biban,
presented itself under a variety of wonderful aspects. Thenceforth, I
saw it every day, for hours together, and tried to deduce some rules
from the character of its phenomena. It appears on all sides, except
that directly opposite to the sun, but rarely before nine a. m. or after
three p. m. The color of the apparent water is always precisely that of
the sky, and this is a good test to distinguish it from real water, which
is invariably of a deeper hue. It is seen on a gravelly as well as a
sandy surface, and often fills with shining pools the slight
depressions in the soil at the bases of the hills. Where it extends to
the horizon there is no apparent line, and it then becomes an inlet of
the sky, as if the walls of heaven were melting down and flowing in
upon the earth. Sometimes a whole mountain chain is lifted from the
horizon and hung in the air, with its reflected image joined to it, base
to base. I frequently saw, during the forenoon, lakes of sparkling blue
water, apparently not a quarter of a mile distant. The waves ripple in
the wind; tall reeds and water-plants grow on the margin, and the
Desert rocks behind cast their shadows on the surface. It is
impossible to believe it a delusion. You advance nearer, and
suddenly, you know not how, the lake vanishes. There is a grayish
film over the spot, but before you have decided whether the film is in
the air or in your eyes, that too disappears, and you see only the
naked sand. What you took to be reeds and water-plants probably
shows itself as a streak of dark gravel. The most probable
explanation of the mirage which I could think of, was, that it was
actually a reflection of the sky upon a stratum of heated air, next the
sand.
I found the Desert life not only endurable but very agreeable. No
matter how warm it might be at mid-day, the nights were always
fresh and cool, and the wind blew strong from the north-west, during
the greater part of the time. The temperature varied from 50°-55° at
6 a. m. to 80°-85° at 2 p. m. The extremes were 47° and 100°. So
great a change of temperature every day was not so unpleasant as
might be supposed. In my case, Nature seemed to make a special
provision in order to keep the balance right. During the hot hours of
the day I never suffered inconvenience from the heat, but up to 85°
felt sufficiently cool. I seemed to absorb the rays of the sun, and as
night came on and the temperature of the air fell, that of my skin
rose, till at last I glowed through and through, like a live coal. It was a
peculiar sensation, which I never experienced before, but was rather
pleasant than otherwise. My face, however, which was alternately
exposed to the heat radiated from the sand, and the keen morning
wind; could not accommodate itself to so much contraction and
expansion. The skin cracked and peeled off more than once, and I
was obliged to rub it daily with butter. I mounted my dromedary with
a “shining morning face,” until, from alternate buttering and burning,
it attained the hue and crispness of a well-basted partridge.
I soon fell into a regular daily routine of travel, which, during all my
later experiences of the Desert, never became monotonous. I rose at
dawn every morning, bathed my eyes with a handful of the precious
water, and drank a cup of coffee. After the tent had been struck and
the camels laden, I walked ahead for two hours, often so far in
advance that I lost sight and hearing of the caravan. I found an
unspeakable fascination in the sublime solitude of the Desert. I often
beheld the sun rise, when, within the wide ring of the horizon, there
was no other living creature to be seen. He came up like a god, in
awful glory, and it would have been a natural act, had I cast myself
upon the sand and worshipped him. The sudden change in the
coloring of the landscape, on his appearance—the lighting up of the
dull sand into a warm golden hue, and the tintings of purple and
violet on the distant porphyry hills—was a morning miracle, which I
never beheld without awe. The richness of this coloring made the
Desert beautiful; it was too brilliant for desolation. The scenery, so
far from depressing, inspired and exhilarated me. I never felt the
sensation of physical health and strength in such perfection, and was
ready to shout from morning till night, from the overflow of happy
spirits. The air is an elixir of life—as sweet and pure and refreshing
as that which the first Man breathed, on the morning of Creation. You
inhale the unadulterated elements of the atmosphere, for there are
no exhalations from moist earth, vegetable matter, or the smokes
and steams which arise from the abodes of men, to stain its purity.
This air, even more than its silence and solitude, is the secret of
one’s attachment to the Desert. It is a beautiful illustration of the
compensating care of that Providence, which leaves none of the
waste places of the earth without some atoning glory. Where all the
pleasant aspects of Nature are wanting—where there is no green
thing, no fount for the thirsty lip, scarcely the shadow of a rock to
shield the wanderer in the blazing noon—God has breathed upon
the wilderness his sweetest and tenderest breath, giving clearness to
the eye, strength to the frame, and the most joyous exhilaration to
the spirits.
Achmet always insisted on my taking a sabre as a protection
against the hyenas, but I was never so fortunate as to see more than
their tracks, which crossed the path at every step. I saw occasionally
the footprints of ostriches, but they, as well as the giraffe, are scarce
in this Desert. Towards noon, Achmet and I made a halt in the
shadow of a rock, or if no rock was at hand, on the bare sand, and
took our breakfast. One’s daily bread is never sweeter than in the
Desert. The rest of the day I jogged along patiently beside the
baggage camels, and at sunset halted for the night. A divan on the
sand, and a well-filled pipe, gave me patience while dinner was
preparing, and afterwards I made the necessary entries in my
journal. I had no need to court sleep, after being rocked all day on
the dromedary.
At the close of the third day, we encamped opposite a mountain
which Eyoub called Djebel Khattab (the Mountain of Wood). The
Bahr Khattab, a river of sand, similar to the Bahr bela Ma, and
probably a branch of it, crossed our path. I here discovered that the
water-skins I had hired from Shekh Abou-Mohammed were leaky,
and that our eight skins were already reduced to four, while the
Arabs had entirely exhausted their supply. This rendered strict
economy necessary, as there was but a single well on the road. Until
noon the next day we journeyed over a vast plain of sand,
interrupted by low reefs of black rock. To the south-east it stretched
unbroken to the sky, and looking in that direction, I saw two
hemispheres of yellow and blue, sparkling all over with light and
heat, so that the eye winked to behold them. The colocynth (called
by the Arabs murràr), grew in many places in the dry, hot sand. The
fruit resembles a melon, and is so intensely bitter that no animal will
eat it. I made breakfast under the lee of an isolated rock, crowned
with a beacon of camel-bones. We here met three Ababdehs, armed
with long spears, on their way to Korosko. Soon after mid-day the
plain was broken by low ranges of hills, and we saw in front and to
the east of us many blue mountain-chains. Our road approached one
of them—a range, several miles in length, the highest peak of which
reached an altitude of a thousand feet. The sides were precipitous
and formed of vertical strata, but the crests were agglomerations of
loose stones, as if shaken out of some enormous coal-scuttle. The
glens and gorges were black as ink; no speck of any other color
relieved the terrible gloom of this singular group of hills. Their aspect
was much more than sterile: it was infernal. The name given to them
by the guide was Djilet e’ Djindee, the meaning of which I could not
learn. At their foot I found a few thorny shrubs, the first sign of
vegetation since leaving Korosko.
We encamped half an hour before sunset on a gravelly plain,
between two spurs of the savage hills, in order that our camels might
browse on the shrubs, and they were only too ready to take
advantage of the permission. They snapped off the hard, dry twigs,
studded with cruel thorns, and devoured them as if their tongues
were made of cast-iron. We were now in the haunts of the gazelle
and the ostrich, but saw nothing of them. Shekh Ali taught me a few
words of the Bishàree language, asking for the English words in
return, and was greatly delighted when I translated okam (camel),
into “O camel!” “Wallah!” said he, “your language is the same as
ours.” The Bishàree tongue abounds with vowels, and is not
unmusical. Many of the substantives commence with o—as omek, a
donkey; oshà, a cow; ogana, a gazelle. The plural changes o into a,
as akam, camels; amek, donkeys, &c. The language of the
Ababdehs is different from that of the Bishàrees, but probably sprang
from the same original stock. Lepsius considers that the Kenoos
dialect of Nubia is an original African tongue, having no affinity with
any of the Shemitic languages.
On the fifth day we left the plain, and entered a country of broken
mountain-ranges. In one place the road passed through a long, low
hill of slate rock, by a gap which had been purposely broken. The
strata were vertical, the laminæ varying from one to four inches in
thickness, and of as fine a quality and smooth a surface as I ever
saw. A long wady, or valley, which appeared to be the outlet of some
mountain-basin, was crossed by a double row of stunted doum-
palms, marking a water-course made by the summer rains. Eyoub
pointed it out to me, as the half-way station between Korosko and
Abou-Hammed. For two hours longer we threaded the dry wadys,
shut in by black, chaotic hills. It was now noonday, I was very hungry,
and the time allotted by Eyoub for reaching Bir Mûrr-hàt had passed.
He saw my impatience and urged his dromedary into a trot, calling
out to me to follow him. We bent to the west, turned the flank of a
high range, and after half an hour’s steady trotting, reached a side-
valley or cul-de-sac, branching off from the main wady. A herd of
loose camels, a few goats, two black camel’s-hair tents, and half a
dozen half-naked Ababdehs, showed that we had reached the wells.
A few shallow pits, dug in the centre of the valley, furnished an
abundance of bitter, greenish water, which the camels drank, but
which I could not drink. The wells are called by the Arabs el morra,
“the bitter.” Fortunately, I had two skins of Nile-water left, which, with
care, would last to Abou-Hammed. The water was always cool and
fresh, though in color and taste it resembled a decoction of old
shoes.
 The Wells of Mûrr-hàt.

We found at the wells Capt. Peel’s Syrian friend, Churi, who was
on his way to Korosko with five camels, carrying the Captain’s
baggage. He left immediately after my arrival, or I might have sent by
him a Christmas greeting to friends at home. During the afternoon
three slave-merchants arrived, in four days from Abou-Hammed.
Their caravan of a hundred and fifty slaves was on the way. They
were tall, strong, handsome men, dark-brown in complexion, but with
regular features. They were greatly pleased with my sketch-book,
but retreated hastily when I proposed making a drawing of them. I
then called Eyoub into my tent, who willingly enough sat for the
rough sketch which heads this chapter. Achmet did his best to give
me a good Christmas dinner, but the pigeons were all gone, and the
few fowls which remained were so spiritless from the heat and jolting
of the camel, that their slaughter anticipated their natural death by a
very short time. Nevertheless, I produced a cheery illumination by
the tent-lanterns, and made Eyoub and the Bishàrees happy with a
bottle of arakee and some handfulls of tobacco. The wind whistled
drearily around my tent, but I glowed like fire from the oozing out of
the heat I had absorbed, and the Arabs without, squatted around
their fire of camel’s dung, sang the wild, monotonous songs of the
Desert.
We left Mûrr-hàt at sunrise, on the morning of the sixth day. I
walked ahead, through the foldings of the black mountains, singing
as I went, from the inspiration of the brilliant sky and the pure air. In
an hour and a half the pass opened on a broad plain of sand, and I
waited for my caravan, as the day was growing hot. On either side,
as we continued our journey, the blue lakes of the mirage glittered in
the sun. Several isolated pyramids rose above the horizon, far to the
East, and a purple mountain-range in front, apparently two or three
hours distant, stretched from east to west. “We will breakfast in the
shade of those mountains,” I said to Achmet, but breakfast-time
came and they seemed no nearer, so I sat down in the sand and
made my meal. Towards noon we met large caravans of camels,
coming from Berber. Some were laden with gum, but the greater part
were without burdens, as they were to be sold in Egypt. In the
course of the day upwards of a thousand passed us. Among the
persons we met was Capt. Peel’s cawass, or janissary (whom he
had left in Khartoum), on his return, with five camels and three
slaves, which he had purchased on speculation. He gave such a
dismal account of Soudân, that Achmet was quite gloomy for the rest
of the day.
The afternoon was intensely hot, the thermometer standing at
100°, but I felt little annoyance from the heat, and used no protection
against it. The sand was deep and the road a weary one for the
camels, but the mountains which seemed so near at hand in the
morning were not yet reached. We pushed forward; the sun went
down, and the twilight was over before we encamped at their base.
The tent was pitched by the light of the crescent moon, which hung
over a pitchy-black peak. I had dinner at the fashionable hour of
seven. Achmet was obliged to make soup of the water of Mûrr-hàt,
which had an abominable taste. I was so drowsy that before my pipe
was finished, I tumbled upon my mattress, and was unconscious
until midnight, when I awoke with the sensation of swimming in a
river of lava. Eyoub called the mountain Kab el Kafass—an absurd
name, without meaning—but I suspect it is the same ridge which
crosses the caravan route from Shendy to Assouan, and which is
called Djebel Shigre by Bruce and Burckhardt.
The tent was struck in the morning starlight, at which time the
thermometer stood at 55°. I walked alone through the mountains,
which rose in conical peaks to the height of near a thousand feet.
The path was rough and stony until I reached the outlet of the pass.
When the caravan came up, I found that the post-courier who left
Korosko two days after us, had joined it. He was a jet-black, bare-
headed and barelegged Bishàree, mounted on a dromedary. He
remained with us all day, and liked our company so well that he
encamped with us, in preference to continuing his journey. On
leaving the mountain, we entered a plain of coarse gravel,
abounding with pebbles of agate and jasper. Another range, which
Eyoub called Djebel Dighlee, appeared in front, and we reached it
about noon. The day was again hot, the mercury rising to 95°. It took
us nearly an hour to pass Djebel Dighlee, beyond which the plain
stretched away to the Nile, interrupted here and there by a distant
peak. Far in advance of us lay Djebel Mokràt, the limit of the next
day’s journey. From its top, said Eyoub, one may see the palm-
groves along the Nile. We encamped on the open plain, not far from
two black pyramidal hills, in the flush of a superb sunset. The ground
was traversed by broad strata of gray granite, which lay on the
surface in huge boulders. Our camels here found a few bunches of
dry, yellow grass, which had pierced the gravelly soil. To the south-
east was a mountain called by the Arabs Djebel Nogàra (the
Mountain of the Drum), because, as Eyoub declared, a devil who
had his residence among its rocks, frequently beat a drum at night,
to scare the passing caravans.
The stars were sparkling freshly and clearly when I rose, on the
morning of the eighth day, and Djebel Mokràt lay like a faint shadow
on the southern horizon. The sun revealed a few isolated peaks to
the right and left, but merely distant isles on the vast, smooth ocean
of the Desert. It was a rapture to breathe air of such transcendent
purity and sweetness. I breakfasted on the immense floor, sitting in
the sun, and then jogged on all day, in a heat of 90°, towards Djebel
Mokràt, which seemed as far off as ever. The sun went down, and it
was still ahead of us. “That is a Djebel Shaytan,” I said to Eyoub; “or
rather, it is no mountain; it is an afrite.” “O Effendi!” said the old man,
“don’t speak of afrites here. There are many in this part of the
Desert, and if a man travels alone here at night, one of them walks
behind him and forces him to go forward and forward, until he has
lost his path.” We rode on by the light of the moon and stars—silently
at first, but presently Shekh Ali began to sing his favorite song of
“Yallah salaàmeh, el-hamdu lillàh fôk belàmeh,” and one of the
Kenoos, to beguile the way, recited in a chanting tone, copious
passages from the Koran. Among other things, he related the history
of Joseph, which Achmet translated to me. The whole story would be
too long to repeat, but portions of it are interesting.
“After Joseph had been thrown into the well,” continued the
Kenoos, “a caravan of Arabs came along, and began to draw water
for the camels, when one of the men said: ‘O Shekh, there is
something in the well.’ ‘Well,’ said the Shekh, ‘if it be a man, he
belongs to me, but if it be goods, you may have them.’ So they drew
it up, and it was Joseph, and the Shekh took him to Cairo and sold
him to Azeez (Potiphar).’ [I omit his account of Potiphar’s wife, which
could not well be repeated.] When Joseph was in prison, he told
what was the meaning of the dreams of Sultan Faraoon’s baker and
butler, who were imprisoned with him. The Sultan himself soon
afterwards had a dream about seven fat cows eating seven lean
ones, which nobody could explain. Then the jailer went to Faraoon,
and said: ‘Here is Joseph, in jail—he can tell you all about it.’
Faraoon said: ‘Bring him here, then.’ So they put Joseph in a bath,
washed him, shaved his head, gave him a new white turban, and
took him to the Sultan, who said to him: ‘Can you explain my
dream?’ ‘To be sure I can,’ said Joseph, ‘but if I tell you, you must
make me keeper of your magazines.’ ‘Very well:’ said Faraoon. Then
Joseph told how the seven fat cows meant seven years when the
Nile would have two inundations a year, and the seven lean cows,
seven years afterwards when it would have no inundation at all; and
he said to Faraoon that since he was now magazine-keeper, he
should take from all the country as far as Assouan, during the seven
fat years, enough wheat and dourra and beans, to last during the
seven lean ones.” The narrator might have added that the breed of
fat kine has never been restored, all the cattle of Egypt being
undoubted descendants of the lean stock.
Two hours after sunset, we killed Djebel Mokràt, as the Arabs say:
that is, turned its corner. The weary camels were let loose among
some clumps of dry, rustling reeds, and I stretched myself out on the
sand, after twelve hours in the saddle. Our water was nearly
exhausted by this time, and the provisions were reduced to hermits’
fare—bread, rice and dates. I had, however, the spice of a savage
appetite, which was no sooner appeased, than I fell into a profound
sleep. I could not but admire the indomitable pluck of the little
donkeys owned by the Kenoos. These animals not only carried
provisions and water for themselves and their masters, the whole
distance, but the latter rode them the greater part of the way; yet
they kept up with the camels, plying their little legs as ambitiously the
last day as the first. I doubt whether a horse would have
accomplished as much under similar circumstances.
The next morning we started joyfully, in hope of seeing the Nile,
and even Eyoub, for the first time since leaving Korosko, helped to
load the camels. In an hour we passed the mountain of Mokràt, but
the same endless plain of yellow gravel extended before us to the
horizon. Eyoub had promised that we should reach Abou-Hammed
in half a day, and even pointed out some distant blue mountains in
the south, as being beyond the Nile. Nevertheless, we travelled
nearly till noon without any change of scenery, and no more
appearance of river than the abundant streams of the mirage, on all
sides. I drank my last cup of water for breakfast, and then continued
my march in the burning sun, with rather dismal spirits. Finally, the
Desert, which had been rising since we left the mountain, began to
descend, and I saw something like round granite boulders lying on
the edge of the horizon. “Effendi, see the doum-trees!” cried Eyoub. I
looked again: they were doum-palms, and so broad and green that
they must certainly stand near water. Soon we descended into a
hollow in the plain, looking down which I saw to the south a thick
grove of trees, and over their tops the shining surface of the Nile.
“Ali,” I called to my sailor-servant, “look at that great bahr shaytan!”
The son of the Nile, who had never before, in all his life, been more