The Washington herald., 1913-09-21
Department of Agriculture
Says Don't Worry About
Your Body"
FREAK AND FAKE CASES
Warning Issued Against Circulars Of
Misinformation Being
Distributed.

ment specialists detained the literature
and recommendations of number of
these people and made careful study
of T. things they recommend as diets.
7 hen the specialists issued the follow
ing statement:
1t seems desirable to warn people
against adopting the dietary recon-
menda ions OF those without real scien-
tific standing in the community. Some
Of the advocates Of freak diets are sin
re, nut are deluded, while others are
takers who seek to make monetary gain
by advising peculiar systems Of diet
Neither ella : can offer trustworthy ad-
vice. In most of the recommendations
Of these self-styled experts there is
hardly a sha Ow OF reason, though they
may seem plausible One Of their meth
DDS of reasoning is to use isolated and
often unrelated facts of science as evil
dence that their peculiar system is of
value. They completely overlook. or do
not see. the importance of discoveries by
scientists which go counter TO what they
want to believe.
Rabbits Used as Test.
AS an example of their methods of
reasoning can be cited their use of the
fact that some one tried 10 raise rabbits
NhOlly on cooked food. The rabbits did
not thrive on such a ration nor could it
De expected that they would OF a diet
purely artificial to sICn animals. From
his the pseudo expert draws the de-
tuction that because the rabbits could
not live wholly on cooked food human
beings should cOnfine themselves to raw
IuOd. No such deduction is warranted.
Raw food is natural TO rabbits and this
$ perhaps 4 fortunate provision of ma
.ure because the average abbit probably
would have a good deal Of trouble light
ing d fire OF gas stove to cook food:
but it docs not follow that man who has
proved cooked food wholesome by un-
counted centuries of use should give II
Ip because OF some ones theory.
Many Of these sO-called diet systems
.ay great emphasis raw foods Now
there IS no objection to any ones eating
raw food if he likes it or finds after
Experiment. that il agrees with him pro
Nided it is OF good quality, free from con-
taminatiOn and wholesome. The truth Of
the matter is, however that mans
chances of health are best when he eats
with moderation diet made up of clean.
wholesome, ordinary foods, well prepared
in the usual ways. Such a diet will in
clude some articles to be cooked and
others to be eaten raw, such as bread,
cereals, fruits, vegetables. meat fish.
milk. butter, cheese, eggs, &c. These
articles should be of good quality. free
pared.
As a general proposition. raw food is
not cleaner than cooked foods. Proper
.oOkng sterilizes foods, and so renders
nnOCuOus pathogenic bacteria and other
organisms possibly harmful. Raw foods
nave TO be very carefully washed and
LEANED before eating. and a general
-ue simple washing. while it will get rid
IF most of the dirt. will not remove all
he bacteria. insect eggs, spores of fungi,
&c, that may adhere to them. II the
systems OF FREDERICKSBURG followed by
some of these diet experts were logical, ii
would be possible to draw the conclusion
that no one should eat lettuce or other
salads. or raw vegetables and fruits.
This would not be warranted BY true sci
.nCe.
Error of Statement.
In some Of the literature circulated
~ the advocates Of raw food their cor
rcspondent- are urged not to eat ami
nal foods. because they say meat is
iIIcd with bacteria This is not true
The surface OF meat is not sterile. bu'
The interior is, except in rare case.
We do not eat raw meat. except dried
DceG. or something similar. but cause
I to be cooked. and this sterilizes it.
In most cases where people have
Uttered. OF think they suffer. from eat
Hs meat or any other normal article
If diet. the trouble lies not with the
:ctuaI article. but either in the imagjna-
.ior of the consumer or in the fact that
he food has not been kept clean or
properly prepared and properly handled
after it is cooked.
Several of these food experts base
their argument for a raw food. or other
specialized diet on the theory that raw
food supplies the body with necessary
enzyms. or that a certain food, such
as whole-wheat bread. supplies lime or
some other special substance. If the /
American people lived wholly on cooked |
food and ate no fruit or drank no raw |
milk, il might be necessary to advise |
them to eat some foods raw, for when |
clean and of good quality, such things |
are wholesome.
The body, however, normally sup
plies all the ferments or enzyms re- \
uuired, and the average mixed diets of
Americans give them all the raw food
that they require. Similarly, il the |
American people ate nothing but wheat
Il might be necessary to advise them
to eat whole wheat rather than fine !
wheat flour in order to get some of the
substances excluded from the flour by
bolting. Recent investigations indicate
that there is a valuable substance in
bran, which is lacking in the interior
Of the wheat kernel. This substance,
called by some vitamin. is, however,
present in many other foods and there
is every reason to believe that an Or
binary mixed diet supplies all of such
material which the body needs
'If the deductions of many food fad
dists accepted as facts were really
operative, it would be difficult to explain
now the human race had survived. The
-ace should have expired very soon after
man had progressed enough in intelli-
his diet and to cook his food. The con-
trary holds true, as civilization had ad-
'anced from the time and when man be-
gan to cook and otherwise prepare his
food.
Exposure of Fake.
Many of the people who offer dietetic
advice for sale undertake to recommend
A diet that will cure diseases without
ever seeing the patient The average
man talking about mis- own illnesses fire.
luently imagines symptoms, or describes
them SO inaccurately that they are not
absolute guides to the physician. In
many cases incipient serious ailments
or local troubles which give no indicationi
OF their presence by pain or discomfort.
are discovered by the physician in his
and relief can be given them
which could not be promised later. Very
lew people indeed would be able to de-
scribe their symptoms I'm words so ac-
cufately that the conscientious physician