Evening star., 1926-05-07
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY WINIFRED STUART GIBB
Food Specialist.

AS n nation we are far from being
devoid of the power OF doing orlgl-
nal thinking. but, largely through
intellectual laZineSs, we allow our
selves to drift into habits or parrot
like repetition of some word or phase
that chances to have popular ap'
peal!
IAN apple a day keeps the doctor
away!'
Could anything be more idiotic, slip
shod, Inaccurate? At the same time.
could anything do a larger injustice
to an invaluable food?
On the face of 1t, no one foodstufr,
important as 1t may be In the scheme
of nutrition, can keep the doctor
away" Such statement IS as
absurd as one that bans some one
wholesome food as dangerous be
cause Indulgence at the wrong time
has made one individual Ill. The little
cheap and foolish rhyme ut the end
of the apple statement not only does
not tell the whole story about TINS
fruit, but il makes al absolute mis-
statement of facts.
OF it's entire weight the apple is
about oue-SeYenth solid. In this one
seventh, however, we find a specially
digestible form of sugar and Somo
protein or body building material.
There is malic acid, and, of course.
the well known peCtin, or substance
which causes the telling" Of fruit.
But 1t is with the actual accom-
plishment OF apples in the body that
we are concerned il we arc to revise
intelligently the silly old adage.
Apple Juice should be a moro fre-
quent accompaniment to our meals
than at present. III its unfermented
form there IS no other fruit juice
more seryiceable in the preservation
of health. Malic. the apples own
special acid, is more quickly utilized
than even the wholesome tartartC
as found in grapes Apple juice is
laxative il helps the body fight any
tendency to acidosis, it is good for
gastric and Intestinal catarrh, "hil-
BUSINESS" " liver and kidney trouble"
and malnutrition.
Is not this Il record sufficiently
cood TO place apples where they be-
long, as valuable healthg giving food,
without asking them to carry the en-
tire burden OF keeping the body in per
feet health?
There arc other food Slogans"
classical and recently coined. In fact,
the tendency of the age is to be ex.
treme and our present.day publicity
methods, commendable as many Of
IUelli HAY bt, tiI0 SuCl as llldhc II
quite pertinent to call attention to
the need for dispassionate caution
when adopting any one of them. TO
eat more" OF this and that may be
cmiuently good advice for Mrs. Jones
and quito the reverse for her neigh
boz.
The illustration Of the apple adage
is offered by way of showing the
necessity for using common sense he
fore taking L. our hOsoms the latest
or even the oldest bits of advice about
what they" say in regard 10 special
virtues Of special food. \ long course
of physiological chemistry is not re-
quired 10 show that just as one disease
requires one form of treatment. so
one food, while it has its own place
in the feeding scheme, must not be
regarded in the light Of Il panaCea.
Learn to read the popular interpre-
tations of diet lore with a seeing eye
Apply the result Of your reading with
common sense, and there will be a
gradual decrease of such foolish state
ments as AN apple "a day keeps the
doctor away