Evening star., 1926-04-20
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY WlNIFRED STUART GIBBS.
Food Specialist.

Iron and raisins? Yes. indeed. But
| there is so much else besides.
In spite of ourselves we pick up
! facts about some one food, and one
particular fact seems to form peg
| on which to hang all that we know
about that food. The peg on which
we hang our knowledge Of raislns IS
| apt 10 be iron.
| In fact, raisins are eighteenth on
! the list OF iron-hearinG foods. SPIN
! ach, string beans, cabbage. lean beer
! celery, egg yolk, strawberries, beans.
| eggs, tomatoes, carrots. dried peas.
! potatoes. beets, turnips. graham
| bread. grapes and onions all have
| what the children used to call head
| start" in the matter Of iron content.
| Does this fact discourage us about
| the food value of raisins? Not In the
| least.
T,aisins have. besides iron, .0e grams
! of calcium or lime. .04 Of magnesium.
! .03 of otassium, .05 of sodium, .0S of
| phosphorus, .02 of chlorine and .02 of
; sulphur. A pound Of raisins yields
! 1852 calories of energy and besides
| all this richness. we find that raisins
! are good sources of the chief three
elements protein or bodybuilding
material, fat and carbohydrate.
So we are not cast down about the
| iron being comparatively limited in
! quantity Each of these valuable min
! erals exists normally in very small
| quantities and, in fact. only very
| small quantities are required daily in
the body.
The fact that any one food contains
! so many of these body-regulating ele-
| ments makes it very important in
deed. To preparee Jacks cream of
| wheat or other porridge, let it be dot
ted with raisins. You are providing
him bone material. You are giving
him help to keep all the cells of his
very active body in good working
order You are providing. besides,
mineral salts that act on practically
every one of the many processes going
on within Jacks body.
SO no one need worry about having
only one peg on which to hang our in
formation about raisins. Just count
the pegs that we have enumerated
and you will see that YOU may easily
have a whole row. Hang your facts
about each of these food elements on
it's own peg and remember that the
story of raisins to be complete must
tell of many things besides iron. inn
Dortant as that is.
The dried-fruit group. Of which the
raisin is distinguished member, oc-
cupleS place all ltS own IN tne
scheme of nutrition. Other fruits, the
Juicy ones. offer invaluable salts acids
and vitsmins, but the dried fruits do
all this and a bit more besides. Be
cause of their sugars and other carbo-
hydrates. they are energy givers also.
This means that when the diet is
low in that first or al-important at
tributes. when. perhaps. there is
condition in which the individual can
not digest ordinary forms Of carbo-
hydrate. it is sometimes possible TO
bring up the actual food value Of the
ration by the addition Of dried fruits.
Fresh fruits are not asked to do this.
but their office is equally important.
that of regulating the body. but dried
fruits are always ready to take their
place among the carbohydrate foods.
When the food allowance is low and
fresh fruits are temporarily beyond
the family purse. these very dried
fruits are a comparatively ineXpen-
sive addition. bringing up the dietary
from the standpoint of both minerals
and carbohydrate.
Long live the raisn and his brother
fruits.
(Copyright 1o26.l
Because of traffic jams in London
many Independent omnibus owners
are being barred from the busiest