Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-07-04
/. ADVICE ABOUT EATING.
Eminent Physicians Smashing Some Old
L Time Superstitlons.

eminent Ihyelcl1nS Sm1Shing Some Old.
Time superstitlons.
b Some recent remarks by James c.
White, professor of dermatology in;
Harvard University, are directly in line;
with an article published only fewl
days ago on the subject of sensible eat.
ing: There is, of course, no subject
concerning which people need informa.
ton more than they do about eating
and there arc very few subjects on
which more ridiculous notions are ex-
tant. Zone mans meat is another
mans poison is an old and true say
ing. yet great majority of mankind
have ideas of diet that are formed FROM
the experience of other people, and,
these ideas are very commonly absurd.
Dr. White disposes of some of these.
notions, by the authoritative utterance:
of thorough scientist For example.
he touches on the old wives fable that
butter in liberal quantities will cause
children's faces to break out with '.but-
tor sores" He declares, what intelli-
gent people have long known, that good
butter uncooked is perfectly harmless
food so far as the skin is concerned,
and he might have gone much farther.
for the limitation was unnecessary.
He says, however, that the notion al
luded to probably came from the fact
that the use of impure butter in food
otherwise indigestible, may have dis
turbed the stomach and produced i'm
pure blood in some cases. 1t is more
likely to have come from the efforts of
parents of limited means to curb their
children's indulgence in an expensive
dainty. 1t is certain that much of the
prejudice against candy came from
this particular cause, though with cam
dy as with butter, the prejudice is en-
tirely justifiable in reference to adul-
terated and impure grades. Nothing
is more common than to hear parents
tell their children that eating candy
will ruin their teeth, but it is most
likely to be an utterance dictated by
economy. At all events. no educated
dentist will endorse the statement.
The notion that buckwheat cakes and
oatmeal are productive of skin diseases
is also attacked, and pretty thoroughly
demolished by Prof White, as we'll as
that absurdity about tomatoes, which
was started by Dio Lewis generation
or so ago. He said that tomatoes were
productive of cancer, and that they
Rosened and destroyed the teeth. DR..
White declares tomatoes and oatmeal
to be harmless and valuable foods, and
points at the simple fact that the only
danger in eating buckwheat lies in the
fact that it is apt to be served up hot in
the form of improperly cooked cakes.
These may, and are very likely to up
set the digestion. He declares, more
over, that a good digestion and a
healthy appetite will take care of the
skin, SO far as the effects of food are
concerned, and that it matters little
what kind of food is used so long ae it
is pure, of good quality and properly
prepared. The healthy stomach will
turn it into good blood. This, it will
be seen, is similar utterance to that
of DR.. Austin Flint, recently quoted,
only that DR.. White, treating as he did
on the skin only, did not make so
sweeping statement as DR.. Flint, who
said: Eat what you like, when you
like, and eat as much as you like. You
may get govt that way, but not dys-
pepsia- IN y Mail and Express.