This is really a great pity, for beans and peas are both nourishing and cheap.

Nuts also contain much protein, but are both difficult of digestion and expensive.
Virtues and Drawbacks of Meats.

Taken all together, the proteins, or meats, are the most nutritious and wholesome single class of foods.
Their chief drawback is their expense, which, in proportion to their fuel value, is greater than that of the starches.

Then, on account of their attractiveness, they may be eaten at times in too large amounts.
They are also somewhat more difficult to keep and preserve than are either the starches or the fats.

The old idea that, when burned up in the body, they give rise to waste products, which are either more poisonous or more difficult to get rid of than those of vegetable foods, is now regarded as having no sufficient foundation.