The Coolidge examiner., 1935-01-18

This Is because when these per.
sons were children. doctors did not
know so much about ricketts, as we
do today. And II Is to be hoped
that no child within the reach OF
modern medical knowledge Will
ever have To endure the physical
handicap caused by this disease.
The only prevention and the only
cure for rickets is an adequate sup
ply OF vitamin ID. Sunshine is a
great source of this important vita
min.
IL Is for this reason that sun
suits are ideal clothing for small
children whenever the temperature
permits, and why II is good even In
zero weather for a child 10 have Its
nap on sunny porch-the child OF
course to be kept warm, and It's
face protected from the direct glare
OF the sun. Ultra violet light, too.
is a source OF vitamin d, but, ex-
cept In few instances. this Is ex-
penslve and impractical.
The other great source OF Vita
min d is in a very limited list OF
foods. The oil from fish liver leads
cod liver oil Is the one with which
we are most familiar; next comes
egg yolk: and there is some Vitamln
ID In butter fat. and just trace
OF II In mothers milk.
These foods also contain Yltamln
A. very important health promot-
Ing and general anti-infective vita
min.
IL might be interesting to note
here that ricketts, first manifested
Itself In Europe In the Sixteenth
century when people were more and
more attracted to living in cities.
with their dark houses and dark.
narrow streets, and when people
generally were living more OF an
indoor life, and babies were kept
more and more In the house.
In this connection II might be In
teresting also TO note an old folk
remedy that is stin used In England
and Ireland DR.. Langdon Porter.
child specialist, tells OF visiting the
rural districts OF England and Ire
land and finding a concoction there
that the grandmother In the family
puts up every autumn for the
grandchildren. She fills a Jar with
whole raw eggs and then covers II
with sour wine. When the calcium
In the shells is dissolved. she stirs
the mixture vigorously. strains out
the membrane OF the egg, and then
feeds a spoonful OF the concoction
10 the children once or twice a day
throughout the winter.
Modern science approves this
remedy. There is calcium In the egg
she'll. vltamins in the egg yolk, and
the acid OF the wine acts as pre-
servative.
Since milk is so generally a good
food. health authorities In this
country are now experimenting with
four methods OF increasing Vitamin
d In milk to the point where milk
so treated will have sufficient
amount of this yitamin TO prevent
ricketts,. The first, is TO treat yeast
with ultraviolet light, which In
creases the amount of Vitamln ID
several hundred times. This acti-
waited yeast is fed to dairy cattle.
and they In turn secrete In the milk
enough vitamin d for II to be anti
rachitic. Visitors to the 1894 Cen
tury of Progress saw a demonstra-
ton OF this vitamin d milk In a
dairy herd at the south end OF the
grounds.
A second method Is to expose the
dairy cows themselves to ultra
violet light so that they build UP
their own vitamin D. and give milk
with a higher percentage OF this
important vitamln. A third method
Is to treat the milk Itself with ultra.
violet light. and a fourth method is
10 add TO the milk in concentrated
form a tasteless cod-liver oil.
n is difficult TO say as yet which
OF these methods will prove the
hest. and II will he interesting to
watch their development. All Of
them. necessarily hut unfortunate
ly. add TO the cost of the milk.
But unless you can get this vita
min D milk, give your children a
teaspoonful Of cod liver oil and see
that they are out every sunlight
day. Older children may have the
yolk of an egg. Children with rick
cts not only have softening of the
bones but they are more liable to
pneumonia and other diseases.
These measures should be for the
dark months. beginning with Octo-
Der or November and through April.
Rlckets occur most frequently
during the second half Of the drst
year of life and the first half Of
the second year.
a waa,arn NawsnanAx IynLon