Omaha daily bee., 1919-09-28
Home Health Hints
Reliable advice given in this
column on prevention and
cure Of disease. Put your ques-
tion In plain language. Your
name will not be printed.
Ask The Bee to Help You.

ton In plain language. Your
name will not be printed.
Ask The Bee to Help You.
Why People Grow Fat.
There are very few really anus
ing articles on diet In fact, the
subject is so dreary that at the mere
mention Of a proteid or q carbohy-
drate the ordinary man shudders.
The thing seems to lack common
sense; man does not eat carbohy-
drates and proteins; he does not
want to, says the London Times.
This view has at last found an ex-
| ponent. who dares in the pages of
| the Practitioner to declare boldly:
you. cannot chew the end Of cook
ed foods any more than you can ru-
inmate raw flesh" This is addressed
to "obese" persons; it comes with
astonishing humor and good nature
from the pen Of DIR. Leonard Will
liams. His doctrine is that every fat
| person is the victim OF some poison
| present in the body. 1t is known,
for example. that arsenic will cause
obesity. So will a hundred other
| pOisons, and SO will the toxins of
disease. Fatness is thus an indica-
zion Of failure to deal with the in
take. The cure Of fairness is the cure
OF the poisoning which causes it or
the, increase Of bodily resistance to
that poison.
This is reasonable and interest
Ing standpoint. The writer declares
Toxins gain the upper hand, and
the subject becomes an object Of
caustic congratulations from his
tailor and his traitorous friends on
his increasingly benevolent appear
ance"
The cure suggested. however, is
another matter. 1t is the free use
OF uncooked food, which for some
OF US, at any rate, is nearly as bad
as the carbohydrates and the pro-
teids Uncooked foods-fruits, dairy
produce, salads. and nuts--contain
what are known as vitamines, prin-
ciples essential to life. These are
said to be less plentiful in cooked
foods. In the presence of the
vitamines, according to DIR. Will
liams. the toxins, described by him
as princes of the blood" anguish.
Infection in Bristles.
Thorough disinfection Of every
thing new in the shape of brush,
before 1t is used on the person,
seems to be called for. Especially
Is this true OF the shaving brush,
which Is likely to come in contact
with abraded or scratched skin.
Laxity of inspection and preliminary
treatment during the war resulted.
we are told by an editorial writer in
the journal Of the American Medi-
cal Association Chicago, August
So), IN the importation of some in
fected animal material from Asia
and South America. Anthrax, or
malignant postule, fatal disease,
mas been increasing Of late; partly.
at least 1t is thought, from this
cause. Distinction is easily ac-
complished by boiling or steaming.
and any one who is infected in this
or a similar fashion after due warn
ing has only himself to blame Says
the writer in The Journal:
During the last Is months atten-
ton has been especially directed to
anthrax in this country by the con-
siderable number of shaving brush
cases reported from various army
camps. But for some years before
the United States entered the war
anthrax had apparently been gain
ing in frequency and had been a
cause of increasing concern to
health officers in many places. In
Massachusetts, rs cases were re-
ported in 1915 during a period of
little over four months, and in
Louisiana in the same year 10 cases
were reported in a single month.
Other recent cases have occurred in
Mississippi, Wisconsin, New JERSEY.
Connecticut and Kansas. In the
whole United States there have been
probably at least so deaths a year
from anthrax since the beginning of
1915. AS is well known, anthrax
is primarily disease Of herbivorous
animals and Is communicated to
man chiefly through contact with
hides and other animal products. 1t
IS believed that the disturbance of
the usual channels II import by the
war, combined with the scarcity of
labor. has led to a less efficient pre-
liminary disinfection, and SO has
permitted the introduction of an
thrax-. contaminated hides, bristles,
ETC., from all parts of Asia and
South America. The present in
creased scarcity Of leather is likely
to draw still further on out-of-the-
way and uncontrolled sources. There
are only about 20 establishments in
the United States that manufacture
shaving brushes, and the United
States public health service has
found the widest range of practical
efficiency in their methods of steriI-.
iizing the hair. or bristles. Safety,
however, can. be very simply at
tanned. Boiling or steaming the
nalr mas been found satisfactory
means Of treatment. The apparent
increase Of anthrax cases due to
contaminated shaving brushes raises
the question whether there has been
real increase infection or whether
the better opportunities for early
diagnosis and bacterial examination
are responsible for bringing to light
q larger proportion Of cases. The
increase in anthrax that occurred
before our own mobilization sug-
gests that the infection may have
been even more widespread than
was recognized. At all events, the
future development Of this danger
GUS disease should be watched with
care"