The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-12-17

the greater part of the phosphorus, calcium, iron and other essential nutritive elements are removed. The fine white flour which remains as the finished product contains little vitamin B, only trace of vitamin G and none of the vitamin A or vitamin E which grew in the wheat. It contains less than one-flfth of the iron, less than one-fourth of the phosphorus and less than half of the calcium of the original wheat. These essential nutritive factors are con- tained chiefly in the bran and the germ removed by milling.
 Why remove the germ, which constitutes about 5% of the wheat kernel? The fat or oil in the germ does not keep long, and flour con- taining the germ cannot be trans ported long distances and stored for months before it is used. There seems to be no other reason for re- moving the germ.
 Why remove the bran? Flour containing the bran is not so fine or so white, and besides there is a popular tradition, shared by some physicians, that wheat bran is not digestible in the human alimentary tract. Too much bran may not be well digested by certain invalids, but there, is no foundation for the mo- ton that normal persons cannot di- gest bran. Psychologists who have investigated the question, notably Hindhede, have found that the bran of wheat is well digetsde and assim- Hated by normal persons. Indeed, actual tests indicate that normal persons thrive well on diet of whole wheat bread, oleo and toma- toes, for instance, whereas if white bread is substituted for the whole wheat bread the same persons soon feel weaker and suffer with various symptoms of faulty nutrition. So 1t would seem that the assumption that bran is not digestible is a gra- tuitous one. The error of this mor- bid notion has been shown by care- full physiological investigation. It is none the less absurd to cling to such wrong notions long after they have been proved false and discard- ed, even if here and there some fine old medical gentlemen of literary or social eminence still harbor the delusion, too. In medicine we can still get away with a good deal of weird hocus-pocus by pronouncing things so, but we carry the joke too far when we put the seal of ap- proval on a defective staff of life.
 Odor From OH Heater
 Had our coal burning hot air fur mace converted to oil burning. It gives of an unpleasant odor which causes me to have 8 headache =. (Ndrs. W)
 Answer-Properly constructed and used oil burners give oil no odor and are perfectly healthful. Perhaps the ventilation is faulty or perhaps there is some leakage from pipe or fiue which requires repair. No doubt the firm or man who installed the new equipment will be glad to advise you.
 Raw Food
 Please express your view of the practice of eating raw food, which some health experts recommend (R. S. O.
 Answer-Raw fruit, raw vegeta- bles, chewing raw oats or wheat drinking pure ra wmilk if you can get 1t, eating raw nuts, raw lettuce cabbage, onions, celery, carrots. oys- ters if you like 'em that way, eggs if you prefer them raw. fine. But do not think it is healthful. safe oi advisable to eat meat. game, fish raw or underdore. mainly because of the risk of trichinosis. tapeworm infestation, and from raw fish the flathead tapeworm infestation. Copyright 1sS5. John F. Dilie Col