Evening star., 1926-04-03
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY WINIFRED STUART GIBBS.
Food Specialist

In one sense the seeing eye in diet
planning is only another way Of say.
! ing that we should exercise imagi
nation when planning diets; but. when
all Is said and done. to possess the see.
| ing eye does imply a bit beyond this
point. Imagination is a divine at.
tribute, one apable Of enhancing the
interest and appeal OF diets or des-
| TIMES, but in ordinary usage the term
| stands for the one thing beyond the
essential that gives the vital touch.
! TIE dietitian instantly visualiZes, not
! alone the frills and furbelows, but the
| fundamentals also.
! How does the possession Of the see
| ing eye help the diet planner actually
to feed her charges better?
| In the first place, the one who has
| the responsibility of feeding people
| takes care Of the essentials quite auto
matically and as a matter of routine.
| She sees to IL that grandmother has
dishes suited 20 her slowing-down ma
| chinery. and that the 3-year-old has
those which are suitable for his, so to
speak, slowing-up mechanism.
In other words, granny requires less
| food because she is less active, and the
baby requires less because his diges
tive organs have not reached the dig
nifty Of maturity. The fate that each
requires approximately the same type
Of food makes the task of the dietitian
just 80 much the easier. Then she
goes on to the consideration of the
needs of big brother, big sister. daddy
and mother, and so on round the fam.
lily.
What we are getting at is this: The
experienced diet planner comes TO the
place where her seeing eye at once
places each food or dish in relation TO
it's possible service to each member OF
the family, or to several. or to all. as
the case may be. She uses her seeing
eye somewhat after this wise:
Beginning with the family milk
supply, the diet planner, TO use a
less formal term than "dietitian.'
| fixes her seeing eye on certain facts.
! She visualizes the hole" the milk
| will make in the family food allow.
ance and she asks herself what the
family will get for value received. To
| make a long story short. for each
| family must work out the problem
! for itself, the diet planner finds that
| she literally cannot afford not to buy
! sufficient milk, q quart for each
child and i pint for each adult. She
realizes that a luncheon OF bread and
milk, to cite but one illustration, will
give so large a share of the required
| food for a strong man" each day
| that the seemingly large milk bill Is
actually saving money while II Is
building health.
Next the diet planner lets her sec
| ing eye light" on the fruit and veg
etable supply as purchased the pre-
yious month. She has perhaps an
uneasy feeling that she may have
spent too much for these foods, I'M
portant as she knows them to be,
so she Is relieved TO find that there
is n definite standard here also.
Authorities, notably DR.. Henry e.
Sherman. have worked out the fol.
lowing guide: Spend as much. ;"
saws Dr. Sherman, for fruit and
vegetables as for meat and fish, and
as much for milk as for meat" So
our diet planner has once more used
| her seeing eye to good advantage,
and finds that she has formed the
habit of distributing the money set
aside for the major items of the food
budget according to the most ap.
| proved methods.
The seeing eye in diet planning
then sees far beyond the individual
foodstuffs, or even the irdiVtdual
meal. 1t takes into account the re
ouirements of each member of the
| family, as well as their relations one
| to the other. 1t visualizes the month
| ly food bills as they will turn UP
| promptly on the first of the follow
! ing month, and makes certain that
here to there is evidence of sound
| Judgment, both dietetic and financial.
| In short, the seeing eye OF the diet
planner makes 1t business to help
its owner to procure 100 cents worth
| of food for every dollar expended,
and 100 per cent returns from a
| health standard as well.
Worth cultivating, this seeing eye.
tCor wright. 1926.)