The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-02-15
THE RELATION OF FOOD TO HEALTH
 No. 5
"FRUIT IN THE DIET."

Fruit was a large part of the dietary of our remote ancestors and primate man was known to subsist mainly upon fruit and nuts brawn and strength. Mankind has changed greatly since those days. He has travelled far and become adapted to many changed living habits. And while he has passed out of the raw food stage as regards to the main factors in his diet he seems to have gone too far in the other direction.
 We are now in the cooked fooo stage. We live largely upon con- centrated, cooked canned, or cured foods. It may be that ages off from now we can become adapted to such a change, but nature will exact it's toll and is doing it now for such changing. Man has a very wide range in his selection of foods and as choice can subsist on either vegetable or animal food. But mankind has not the adapta- bility to reach the highest state of health and efficiency on any re- stricted form of diet, there is an ideal diet most perfectly adapted to his structure, to the capacities of his organs and necessary activi- ties.
 To offset the present tendency toward physical inactivity and the over use of concentrated cooked foods is one of the most important tasks of the science of personal hygiene. And it is here that the use of fruits play their important role in the diet.
 Fruit is not a concentrated food as it contains about 75 to s5 per cent water. The balance is largely wood fiber or cellulose, fruit and sugars and minerals. The cellu- lose supplies waste which is so lacking in the modern diet. It supplies no nutriment. It affords simple bulk which is a mechanical stimulation to the movements of the digestive organs. The very nature of the structure of the bow els demands this bulk.
 So we find that the daily use of water and bulk which prevents constipation and .allays thirst. There are other equally important reasons for using fruit. They con- tain to a degree the newly discov- cred food accessory element, name ly the vitamines, and while they do not contain the vitamines to the extent of some other foods, never the-1ess fruits of an acid nature such as oranges, lemons, Hines and berries do contain these vitamines in stable form.
 Still another reason exists why we should use fruits as a dietic safeguard. We find that fruits upon
 
 in the blood. All foods are oxi- dized in the body and whether their ash furnishes acid or alkaline salts in the blood is an important matter to know. The tendency of
 midern diet is to the over use Of acid forming food.
 The foods most favorable for al-. kallne ash formers are potatoes bananas, oranges. apples, canta- IopeS and tomatoes. It may be thought strange why acid fruits prevent acid conditions in the blood The reason is that acid in such fruit exist in combination as acid salts of the alkaline metals and af- | ter being oxydized in the blood they l yield alkaline carbonates of these metals. Iron is a further consti. 1 tuent of fruits and exist in ver-
 convenient form. Fruit acids stim- 1 ulate the flow of saliva and prevent | dental carries, or decays. Fruit
 should be more largely used at the | close of meal thus protecting the teeth. Fruit should be eaten fully | rlpe Bananas are usually eaten | under-ripe. They should be eaten
 when the skin is brown and the | pulp is mellow like a ripe peach; 1 their starch is then changed to su- 1 gar.
 l Cooked fruits, especially peaches l ana pears, are often more agreed 1 ble than raw fruits
 Fruits, then, are valuable for the | following reasons: they prevent | constipation, preserve the teeth. | prevent excess in eating, supply a 1 slight amount of vitamines supply l valuable materials, retain the nor nal reaction of the blood by sun. | plying alkaline elements and they l furnish refreshing supply of wa 1 ter.