The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-07-09
TONE AND HYPERTENsIoN

TONE AND APPREHENSION
 A medical authority writing on arterial hypertension thigh blood pressure) tells of tho marked inc provement brought about by lacto. vegetarian diet In such cases. He observes that complicatlng obesity calls for reduction. Without allu. sion to the famous controversy of the priority of chicken or egg the distinguished physician makes this cryptic remark: Indications for itS diesetlc treatment are presented by pathological and physiological coa- ditlons which more immediately cause or invite it (high blood pres- suFe), and are consequent upon It." You just can't pick Q fight with . fellow like that. Chicken or egg, it's ell the same Co him.
 I fancy the trouble with many good doctors is that they have too much respect for mere authority. They cherish old traditions. They keep on thinking % their teachers thorught, that there is Q dividing linO between functional" trouble and "organio" disease. This Is what ailed pr. Walter o. AlvateH, author of that fine book on "NervouS 1ndl. gestion" (izoeber) when ho got of that silly crack last year to the ef- feet that c physician who has Q large practice sees only Q few cases Q year in which he suspects any. thing like Q vitamin shortage. If that is 30, then the physician owes 1t to his clientele to take Q Vaca- ton and brush up bit on the new. or knowledge of nutrition. Defis ciency of one or more vitamins In tho daily intake accounts for Q con. siderable part of the functional troubles which may not bring the victims under medical observation until something serious develops.
 The word "tone" Is derived from Q Latin or Greek root meaning . stretching. The tone of the mus cles means healthy or normal eles. ticity. The tone of the body means that state of the organs and tissues or glands or cells In which the fufic. tions are performed with vigor. Re- siliency. Vitality. Perfect health. It Is largely question of nutrition. A good many readers who follow suggestions they find in this column can testify to the effect of an ade- Quate vitamin intake upon body tone-the tonic effect.
 Tn the Red Book-of the Little LeS- sons series ("Building Vitallty'D l call attention to the fact that 69s of cases of arteriosclerosis occur be- fore the age of thirty years, l6% from 30 to 70, and 30% before the age of 50. But try and get Q youth interested in the causes of caroio- vascular degeneration (CVD,) pre- mature breakdown, prematuresenil. ity) when he or she is in the stage of dissipation; or even in the stage of hesitation. Not until they react the stage of resignation do they be- gin to pay any attention to bla-bls about diet, vitamins or iodin ration
 Who cares whether the hyper tension (high blood pressure) de yelops from 'unhygienic living ans produces hardening of the arteries or whether the arteries begin t harden and with loss of elasticlt. fail to carry the circulation on eiii
 ciently, so that a compensatory ris
 in blood pressure is necessary t maintain circuIation2 Or in 0the
 words, what difference does 1t mak
 whether the condition is rune
 tionar' or "organic"a Preventive
 palliative or curative treatment 1
 the the same in any case. It is tim
 for the medical profession to forge
 some fine old traditions and revis
 the whole field of therapeutics.