Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1914-11-06
WHITE FLOUR FOOD.

EDTlUE.
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 misinterpret-
ing a clean cut, scientific demonstra-
tion of a 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 beri-
beri from eating hulled rice. This is
'jugglery,' something on the order of
the magician Kellar. To be specific,
beri-beri is a disease that has no con-
nection with the whole wheat and
white -four question. 1t is as remote
as it can be. Beriberi is a 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 in
tensity.
From this 1t has been argued that
the rice hulls contained nourishing
substances which had been removed
from the rice in polishing. This looked
very plausible. From these facts it 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 rice
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 IL the
closing paragraph quoted. The whole
| truth is as follows:
| Casimir Funk of the biochemical de-
partment, Lister Institute of Prevent
i've Medicine, discovered that a sub
| stance could be recovered from the
matter ground from the surface of rice
in polishing it which would in a few
hours cure a disease known as poly
neuiitis, or beri-beri. In the Journal
Of Physiology, August, 1912, page Is,
under the title, The Preparation from
Yeast and Certain Foodstuffs of the
Substance the Deficiency of Which in
Diet Occasions Polyneuritis in Birds"
will be found his last report known to
the present writer. In this article
Funk shows that he obtained a sub
stance from rice polishings which in
doses of 0.02 gram (0.3 grain rapidly
cured polyneuritis in large number
of pigeons
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 beri-beri has no con-
nection with whole wheat and white
-four is not strictly true, because the
same principle applies. Beri-beri is
caused by mineral starvation, and
we know many diseases are caused by
tho mineral starvation resulting from
the too free use of demineralized foods,
including -four The writer personally
knows Of large flocks 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. 1t would be rea-
sonable then to expect some definite
deleterious result from 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 evi
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 off a thirty foot brick house, fall.
ing off thirty foot frame house over
in the next block is cafe because it has
no connection with the brick house
"lt is as remote as 1t can be-" That
may be, but nevertheless the chances
; of breaking your neck are equal, be-
cavse the principles are identical.
The too free use OF white flour, or OF
any other demineralized foodstuff, nc
matter whether 1t be demineralized by
being processed or by stupid COOKING
methods, is detrimental to health