The Republican., 1935-08-15
FRUIT JUICES NECESSARY
IN BABY'S REGULAR DIET
Scurvy Caused By Deficiency In
Diet; Disease Not Catching

Asked about scurvy, among babies,
and the reports of it's temperance in
some parts Of the country, DR.. J. H. NJ.
Knox, Jr., Chief of the Bureau of Child
Hygiene of the State Department of
Health, said: Improper feeding, par
ticularly the failure to include certain
fruit juices, as a necessary part of the
baby's regular diet, is felt to be respon-
sible for the recurrence of this disease,
which has become so rare that it was
believed to have been conquered. The
reports that have come to the State
Department of Health from the sec
tions in which it has been discovered
seem to indicate that the disease has
developed in families that had to bud
get their expenses very carefully, and
that thought they could not afford to
buy the necessary fruits and vegeta-
bles because they regarded them as
luxuries-not necessities.
"Scurvy," DR.. Knox continued, ais
not catching. 1t is not germ disease.
It is what is known as deficiency
disease. That is, it is due to the lack
of certain necessary elements in the
diet. Orange juice and fresh or canned
tomato juice are particularly rich in
these elements. Unless otherwise ad-
vised by the family doctor, every baby
should be given certain amount of
either orange juice or tomato juice
or the juice of some other fruit or veg
etable known to possess the same quail
ities-every day. If oranges are in sea-
son, teaspoonful of orange juice
should be added twice day to the reg
ular feelings. This can be increased at
the end of a week or so to two tea
spoonfuls twice day. The amount of
orange juice can gradually be increased
to Tablespoon twice day.
''If orange juice is not available, to-
mato juice, fresh or canned, carefully
strained to remove any seeds, can be
substituted for it, using twice the guam
tity of tomato juice as of orange juice.
Two teaspoonfuls of the strained to-
mato juice can be added twice day to
the regular feedings when the baby is
a month old. The amount can be gradu-
ally increased after several months to
two tablespoonsful twice a day.
Babies who are nursed by their
mothers usually have a certain amount
of natural protection against scurvy.
Bottle-fed babies lack this protection.
Those who depend upon boiled, pas
teurized, dried or evaporated milk
must have certain amount of fruit
juice every day, as a preventive
against scurvy. Even when money for
food supplies has to be expended with
the utmost care, due allowance should
be made for the purchase of these ad-
ditions to the baby's diet. The fruit
or vegetable juice is an absolute ne
cessity-not a luxury.
Fruits and vegetables are not only
a protection against scurvy, but they
contain other elements that are nee
essary for growth and development.
By the time the baby is six months
old vegetable broth can be usually
substituted for one of the regular milk
feelings. The vegetables should be
boiled slowly and then strained. A
soup bone or chopped meat may be ad-
ded if desired. Finely chopped liver
or kidney may be substituted fol
other forms of meat in the broth. Care
should be taken to skim off the fat.
"For older infants, little Of the
vegetable pulp may be pressed through
a sieve and one or more teaspoonfuls
of the pulp may be added to the
broth. A little later carefully cooked
egetabes-such as spinach, carrots,
string beans, peas, caulifower-thor-
oughly cooked and then pressed thru
sieve, can be used instead of the
broth. Some green vegetables and
some fresh or cooked fruits should be
given every day to all young children.
These are necessities for the Older
children also-not luXuries."