New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1920-12-11
DANGERS OF OVERLOOKING.

! Scurvy may be contracted by
eating overlooked vegetables, as
wei as by emitting vegetables al
to9ether from the de-. In April,
1919, there was an outbreak of
scurvv in the children's clinic of
| Vienna University, forty out of
sixty-four inmates being affected.
Marriette Click and Elsie J.
Dalyell, in a report to the Medi-
cal Research Council, London,
state that the diet Of the children
was correct both in quality and in
quality; and they attribute the
outbreak entirely to the over
cooking Of the vegetables. They
say in their report, as printed in
The British Medical Journal Lion
DOM:
The explanation seems to lie in
| the method of cooking; this pro-
cess destroys the antiscOrbutic
vitamin in proportion to the time
and temperature of heating. The
time Of cooking is in general more
important than the temperature,
and it has been shown that quick
heating at 100 degree c.. entails
less destruction than prolonged
simmering at 70 degree to 90 de-
Gree c. Outbreaks Of scurvy inI
which excessive cooking Of the
vegetable ration has been consid-j
cred an important contributOry
cause have been already placed
on record. BY the kindness of
Prof. Y. Pirquet, and with the
help Of the sister in charge of the
kitchen. we were enabled to study
the methods of cooking employed
in the kitchen Of the Kinderklinik.
In cooking for institutions, where
large numbers of people are con
cernpd and large quantities OF
food have to be manipulated, the
time taken in cooking must of
necessity be much longer than is
The case in small households I'M
Vienna. moreover. the usual me-
thod of preparing vegetables in
wolves two separate cooking pro-
cpsses: they are first boiled ill
soft, and afterWard cooked again
before serving, in an Ein6renn
made from flour and fat. This
double cooking involves a two
fold destruction Of antiscorbuticl
vitamin. Similar methods Of
cooking vegetables have been en-
n'cvnd in the kitchen of the Kin
derkIinik. Even potatoes are fire.
oupntlv cooked tWice-fr5t
boiled or cooked in steam at 100
degree c.. the nsliced and cooked
| again with fried fat and onions.
In the making Of soups the root
vegetables. tomatoes, green veg
etables. etc, are subjected to a
temperature of 90 degree to 100
degree G.. for as long as three to
four hours as a general rule. Foi-
lowing such methods Of cooking,
/ the loss of antiscorbutic value
must be very extensive, if not al
most complete. 1t is probable,
therefore, that during the period
September, 1918. to February,
1919 when an adequate amount
fresh vegetables was provided,
the diet nevertheless was a scurvy
producing one, due to loss of anti.
scorbutic vitamin during the cook
ing. The conditions as regards
scurvy were apparently less sat
| isfactory in hospital than among
the general population. Among
| the latter there was certainly no
general outbreak of scurvy, and
the children who had been but
short time in hospital were less
disposed to develop to disease
when the acute shortage Of anti
sorbutic came than those who had
been in longer. The presumption
is that during the six months or
50 preceding the outbreak the
general population were getting
more antiscorbutic than these hos