New Britain herald., 1922-10-25
HEALTH AND FOOD
 ADVICE IS GIVEN
State Board Bulletin Discusses Disease Prevention

The weekly morbidity report from the state board of health shows New Britain to have reported during the week ending October 23, six cases o1 diphtheria and one of scarlet fever. In Hartford county, nine diphtheria car riers were reported.
 Relative to preventable diseases the bulletin says:
 During the past week, consider able drop occurred in diphtheria cases reported, and incidentally. the total reported was considerably less than the corresponding week in 1920 (s1 cases) and also 1921 (s5 cases.)
 The past week Is the first week this fall in which the total number of cases of measles reported exceeded the corresponding weeks in 1920 (33 cases and 1921 20 cases.) .t
 Scarlet fever. pneumonia and whooping cough are showing the sea- sonal increase in prevalence.
 The number of typhoid cases G cases) compares favorably with the corresponding week in 1921. when J when there were 1G reported.
 Continuing, in an advisory capacity. the state report discusses food Ex- tracts from the report are:
 Food and Disease
 It is necessary to eat proper foods to live a normal life. Proper food consists of all the essentials necessary for a normal physical growth. Occa- sionally, however the lack of proper substances in the food consumed by an individual may cause a physical defect or the presence of contamination may cause disease.
 Contaminated foods are usually caused by the neglect of cleanliness in preparing food for market or at home. Typhoid, diphtheria, septic sore throat and other diseases. can be caused by milk contaminated with the germs of these diseases by persons handling the milk. usually investiga- tion shows the person who milked the COWS or bottled the milk was sick and that he was responsible for the outbreak of disease in families con- suming the milk. Occasionally the person causing the infection was found to be well. but was carrier of disease germs, particularly of typhoid fever or diphtheria.
 Celery. lettuce, radishes and other thought to cause considerable typhoid fever and perhaps did, in the case of farms using human excreta for fertil- izing purposes. Fertilizing in that manner should not be done, when the products are eaten raw No case of typhoid in Connecticut in recent years has been found to be caused by celery or other vegetables eaten raw.
 The cause of physical defects by food is due 10 the absence, in the food consumed by an individual, of certain substances known as "vitamins." The vitamin question is, however. by no means settled at the present time. There are apparently three definite vitamins judged by conditions pro- duced in animals by lack of certain foods in the diet of the animals These yitamins are designated as Vitamin A. B., and c.
 If Vitamin A. is absent from a food, the person will stop growing and de- velop rickets. Vitamin A. apparently Is necessary or the body will cease growing. Incidentally, if absent from the diet, the body becomes susceptible to an infectious eye disease called "xerophthaimia.'
 The function of Nitamin B. is to promote the growth of the body. Its absence will result in neuritic condi- tions and a disease called beri-beri time was quite widespread in Japan, among persons living on the highly milled polished rice diet exclusively. Beri-beri was prevalent in the Japan ese navy until about 1885 due to the diet of polished rice. In 1885 barley was substituted for a part of the pol ished rice and beri-beri practically disappeared from the navy.
 Vitamin c. has been found neces- sary in foods to prevent scurvy In- cidentally, the growth of the body is diminished If food lacks this third vitamin.
 All of the above diseases may be termed food deficiency. except hcTOpHlIdlIHld, WHICH lHNOlNeS a DdC- terial infection, but the food must be deficient in Vitamin A. for the condi- tion to occur.
 Fortunately, most foods contain one or more of the vitamins. Sher- man and Smith in their recent vol ume on 'The- Vitamins' say that if we consider the nutritive require ments i've may group the chief types of food according to the nutritional of each, somewhat as follows
 1, Grain products economical sources of energy and protein, but l not satisfactory in their mineral and | vitamin content.
 2. Sugars and fats-chiefly signi- hcant from the nutritional stand- points as supplementary sources of energy, although some animal fats are important sources of Vitamin A.
 3. Meats, including fish and poul- try-rich in protein or fat. or both, but, in general, showing the same