Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-10-30
WHITE FLOUR FOOD.

Ve~S"
"A little learning IL a dangerous thing:
Drink deep. or taste not the f'eriah
There shallow drafts intoxicate the brain.
And drinking largely sobers Us again.
A recent magazine article written by
an expert" on food matters misQuotes
the first line. Of the above and then
gives particular point to the truth OF
the quotation by grossly mtsinterpre'
ing a clean cut, scientific demonstra'
ton of disease resulting from the use
of sophisticated food matter.
The article in question reads as fol-
lows: I'VE are told about biochemical
properties of wheat offals and as PROOF
we are referred to the ravages OF berl-
beri from eating hulled rice. This Is
'jugglery,' something on the order OF
the magician Kellar. To be speclnc'
beri-beri is a disease that has no con-
nection with the whole wheat and
white flour question. 1t Is az remote
as it can be. Beri-beri Is form OF
nervous disease that has affected the
natives of Asia, who live mainly on
rice, and of late years the introduction
of hulled rice has increased the dis
ease. 1t has been found that when rice
polish was used as food along with
the rice the disease was lessened IN IL
tensity.
From this it has been argued that
the rice hulls contained nourishlng
substances which had been removed
from the rice in polishing. This looked
very plausible. From these facts 1t was
argued that wheat bran must also con-
tain nourishing substances and they
should not be removed from the wheat
in the manufacture OF -four. For
tunately, however, the subject OF beri'
beri has been worked out scientifically.
and Funk, of the Lister institute, has
shown that the disease is caused by
some toxic action of rice protein.
This should show the danger OF be-
ing Influenced by the exaggerated &C.
counts of white bread and hulled rico
starvation, statements which have no
foundation in proved facts. White
bread is safe food. Polished rice Is
safe food, as scientific investigation
has proved"
The discerning reader will note that
the matter in the body of the article
controverts the finding stated In the
closing paragraph quoted. The whole
truth ia az follows:
Casimir Funk of the biochemical de-,
partment Lister Institute Of Prevent
i've Medicine, discovered that q sub
stance could be recovered from the
matter ground from the surface Of rice
in polishing it which would in a few
hours cure disease known as poly
neuritis, or beri-heri.
Underlying every happening in this
universe is law or principle, and the
same principle will be found producing
many widely separated results. The
statement that beriberi has no con-
nection with whole wheat and white
-four is not strictly true. because the
same principle applies. Beri-beri Is
caused by a mineral starvation. and
we know many diseases are caused by
the mineral starvation resulting from
the too free use Of demineralized foods.
including -four. The writer personally
knows of large focks of chickens be-
ing killed by feeding them on denim
eralized grain, and Of dogs killed By
feeding them on demineralized meat
and white bread. Every psychologist
OF note states that the vitality of the
individual cell depends on free sup
ply of mineral matter consisting of at
least three elements. It would be rea-
sonable then to expect some definite
deleterious result from q diet COM
posed largely of mineral-free matter,
and the fact that all white bread eat
ing peoples are greatly troubled with
constipation may be considered EVIL
dence to this belief. Further evidence
that white bread is not healthful is
given by Sherman, who states that
washed bran fed to cows was found to
be constipating, indicating that the
laxative property Of ordinary bran and
whole wheat products is dependent not
simply upon mechanical irritation.
1t would be as logical to state that
while you might break your neck fall
ing of a thirty foot brick house, fall
ing of thirty foot frame house over
in the next block is safe because it has
no connection with the brick house.
1T Is as remote as it can be-" That
may be, but nevertheless, the chances
of breaking your neck are equal, be-
cause the principles are Identical.
The too free use of white -four, or OF
any other demineralized foodstuff, no
matter whether it be demineralized by
being processed or by stupid cooking
methods, is detrimental to health.