Evening star., 1926-03-31
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY WINIFRED STUART GIBBS.
Food Specialist.

| A busy young secretary was asked
| her idea of bananas as a food. In
stantly came back the reply, They
are filling and that's about all"
This represents the usual popular
idea about bananas as food, and fol-
lowing our plan of showing that to
make one statement about a food does
not do 1t justice, why not think about
the banana as filler and something
else besides.
Not that filler foods are unimport-
ant. Far from it. Bulk is very neces-
| sary, and in this connection one re-
members the lf.starved woman who
expended her few pennies for potatoes,
because they fill you So" A stomach
that does not have this important ele-
| ment of bulk is a stomach that Will
| sooner or later go on strike. The di-
gestiVe system as a whole requires
bulk and vegetables end some fruit.
Particularly. the banana furnishes
| this in generous proportion.
But If we stop with the statement
| that bananas are good as filters, or as
bulk furnishers, we are not doing
justice to a very valuable food. In
the first place, bananas afford a very
| pleasant way of helping to maintain
| alkalinity of the blood. They are one
of the base-forming foods and as such
enter into the diet as a ''balancer"
| for the acid forming foods. Those
of us who live in large cities can
| frequently secure delicious bananas at
| corner fruit stands or even from push
| carts for only a few cents apiece.
| The precaution to observe here is to
be very careful not to buy fruit that
has been broken from the stem and
| allowed to stay out in dust laden air
for any length of time.
AS Lafayette Mendel of Yale Uni
versity has pointed out, nature has
| provided q germ-proof package for the
banana, and it is important to see
that both ends are kept intact If it is
| necessary to use fruit that has been
torn from the stem, then we must
| see to it that it has not been kept
under conditions where contamination
| might have been possible.
Bananas shine as an energy giver,
by reason of the large proportion of
| starch they contain. Another pre-
caution is in order here. Unless the
fruit is completely ripe, as shown by
| skins beginning to turn brown, or
even, with some varieties, almost
black, the starch is not ready for di-
gestion.
Bananas also furnish certain
| proportion of bodybuilding material,
l
us 5.3 calories composed Of protein
or body building food.
When we come TO the question of
body regulation. bananas are still high
on the list. There is an appreciable
| quantity of lime, the element required
| for sound bones and teeth; even more
phosphorus, without which the body
| cells cannot function, and even a trace
of iron. So it will be seen that ba-
nanas give a. very good account of
| themselves in more ways than one
To sum up, they furnish bulk; lime
is provided for bones and teeth; phos-
phorus is provided for the body cells
alkaline ash is provided to help keep
the body in it's properly alkaline
state; energy is provided to keep the
vigorous body driving along its way
to efficient work and pleasant play
Another advantage in the use of ba.
nanas is that they lend themselves to
a considerable variety of simple dishes
Served whole in the skin, at breakfast
they are very satisfying when simply
eaten with a fork. Sliced and served
with cream and sugar, they make an
equally good breakfast dish. AS one
of the component parts of fruit
| salad. they are nourishing and de
| licious for luncheon, and they could
also serve as the filling for cake OF
some other dinner dessert. Bananas
themselves are SO high in food value
that simplicity in their service is i'm
portant. Finally, when bananas are
| given to children or those of delicate
digestion, scrape the astringent, puck
cry principle that lies just under the
| skin. This should be done lightly
with a silver fruit knife or the edge
of a silver spoon, so as not to break
too deeply into the body of the fruit