Evening star., 1926-01-29
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY wINIFRED STUART GIBBS.
Food Specialist.

With more or less accuracy, the
food chemists are able to tell us how
much starch. how much fat and how
much body building food or protein Wa
! require. There is an approximate
measure for each of these elements
Not so with the vita Minis. In the hrst
place these latest arrivals in our die
tionary Of dietary terms have not been
isolated. No one has seen them nor
has any one worked with them as ac'
tual. tangible substances. II is only
by their lack that they are known.
Rather an Alice in Wonderland
state Of affairs. but one which has de
veloped during the last decades
through keen observation of indiN1d
uals suffering from evident defclen-
Cies.
So we cannot count the vitamins
Nutrition specialists have worked out
various methods of establishing the
minimum amount required 10 keep
An individual in health or TO restore
him to health. once a condition of de-
ficiency has been set up. The disea ses.
for example. that are caused by lack
of vitamin B. beriheri and its rela-
tions. may be cured by definitely
fixed quantety of food containing vita
min r. ii is true, but s to the exact
quantity Of the vitamin itself we are
more or less uncertain.
Fortunately, it is not often neces-
sary to limit our intake of vitamfn
supply to the minimum amount of the
food containing it. During the great
war usch limt tations were often
necessary for the children of Euro
pean countries, and to this fact we
may attribute the lamentable preva-
lence Of malnutrition. For our own
ha, II h,-x l,iII nHl
vide not alone the minimum require
ments of food containing vitamin r.
hnt enough to allow for shortage
in the system Of that which is not a.
once utilized.
One fact may he stored away in
ones mind-that is is safe to assume
that il we will but eat the average
portions of vitamin- bearing foods as
represented by mixed diet We need
not fear Vitamin starvation nor even
deficiency. SO far as vitamin is con
"erned. we shall ind II in milk eggs.
Yea st. kidneys. liver. sweetbread. spin
ach. whole wheat and brains.
An experienced housekeeper knows
at once how to let these foods appear
so as to afford an attractive dietary.
She serves milk every day. eggs as
many times a week her purse Will
allow. spinach as often as IL is in
market, and the animal organs. sweet
breads. liver and brains. by way Of
judicious variation Of the palmer
steak. roast beef. lamb, mutton or
chicken.
Nitamin c makes for nervous sta
bility and If entirely lacking scurvy
| follows. Liver. milk. oranges. lemons.
apples. hama mas. potatoes. tomatoes
and raw cabbage will supply It, and,
again. housewife who knows her
business will know how much OF each
! of these foods to serve.
Yeast. wheat and fruits are the
! special carriers OF vitamin y. and
| long before the vitamin theory had
! been enunciated Yeast was known As
specific for certain forms of blood
disoi ders. The appearance of hollis
was signal for many physicians 10
| prescribe the eating of Yeast. The
| actual quantity that MAY safely be
=, eaten depends entirely on the indi-
! vidual and Ia matter for the phvsi-
| clan.
/ We come hack TO the original propo
! sition-that is. the quantities of vita
| Minis may not he fixed hut that to
! eat A rea sonahle amount of vita min
/ bearing foods is a fairly safe method
! Of assuring ourselves that we are re-
/ ceiving sufficient vitamins.