Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-01-31
Hygenic Value of Foods

out. Evaporated milk, highly pro-
cessed flour, and certain. preserved
foods do not have the nutritive value
the natural foods do for this reason. |
The leaders of the physical culture
hydrates-Starch and sugar, includ-
ing most of our vegetables, which
supply energy and heat, and (3) fats
to form the fatty tissues and supply
heat and energy as needed. Minerals
! also play a large part IN helping to
! form the bones and aid in digestion.
To provide a well-balanced nourish-
| ing meal these foods should each
have part and not one or two to the
exclusion of the others. Bread and
milk, supplying all these essentials,
are in themselves a Well-balanced
meal, yet we do not care for that as
steady diet.
While a certain amount of protein
is absolutely necessary perhaps most
of our bodily ills come from eating
too much. The length of time taken
for its digestion, greatly increases
the possibility of decomposition and
so makes our bodies more susceptible
to disease.
We have had it thoroughly drilled
into our minds that we ought not to
serve potatoes and rice at the same
time and so give our bodies an over
supply of stach foods. Perhaps we
may have wondered how the Japanese
thrive so well on their proverbial
dish of rice. The rice the Jananese
eat is not so thoroughly cleaned as
ours and much of the hull and such
parts are left on. These parts con-
tain comparatively large stores of It's
sue-building material In refining
fnfA
value is lost and it is purely a starch
food whereas to the japanese 1t is
both meat and potatoes.
Though we may be entirely un-
aware of minerals in our foods, yet
movement who denounce the constant
use of white bread as curse and
urge a more general use of the coar-
ser breads have this as one of their
arguments. Because of their bulk,
the coarser breads also aid in diges-
ton. Then, too, the raisins which
tempts us to eat the graham or bran
bread together with the molasses so
often used helps to place these
breads above our staple white bread
in health value.
One of the most important phases
of our subject has to do with malnu-
, triton of children. From six to
nourished Data secured from 1900
school children in the smaller cities
and towns of Minnesota showed that
sixty-five per cent had breakfast with
} no protein, eighty-five per cent with
no fruit, and sixty per cent without
either fruit or protein food. The
toast and coffee breakfast may sat
isfy the adult, but it is absolutely in
sufficient for the child. Regularity
of meals and care in the selection
and preparation of a child's food can
not be too strongly emphasized, and
J parents in comfortable homes are of
ten at fault in these matters. Chill
dren pay the penalty when mothers
have not been properly. educated.
From the fact that one-half as many
cases Of malnutrition come from
homes of the well-to-do, as from
poorer homes, the problem is about
. one-third economic and two-thirds
educational. Children need much more
i food than adults in proportion to
, their size The child of six is less
, than one-third of the adult weight,
! but requires one-half as much food.
, Almost as much food is required for
child of twelve as for an adult en-
J gagged in moderate labor. Given the
: proper variety of food and required
to masticate thoroughly the child
, should show normal growth. The
body which lacks nourishment has no
extra tissue-building material for
, growth and is sub-normal in this re-
! spect. Because of this he is also de-
, fective in various other ways. Nearly
/ all the defects in children are trac-
/ ed to malnutrition. DR.. Warner
found that twenty-eight per cent of
, dull children are ill-nourished and
{ about the same number of ill-nour-
ished are dull.
Far from the least Of the i'll effects
, of malnutrition, however, is the sus-
ceptibility of the child to "take" dis
I eases. Malnutrition is the forerun-
ner of tuberculosis and many other
{ diseases because the power of resist
r ence to infection is markedly de-
) creased.
[ Nearly all our large cities are pro-
viding some way of feeding their
5 school children, but as yet, little has
: done in reaching those who need 1t
: most. The child is indeed fortunate
t who comes from the home where
5 there are the means to provide and
5 the ability to prepare nourishing
r foods.
In the case of growing children the
: danger seems to be in understanding
!, rather than over-feeding. With the
: adult the reverse seems to be true.
l There is on doubt but that most OF us
e would be better and freer from the
e use of medicine if we ate more OF
: the plain coarse foods than of the fin
!, er, richer ones. However, just as
] our temperments differ so do our
4 needs differ. The foods which one
e person may be able to assimilate may
: mot be sufficient for another. Variety
/ and moderation IN our diet and food
!, that is properly prepared are the best
!, guides to safe and sane feeding. IL
s Is the restricted diet that is question