Evening star., 1941-05-27

the same time meet all the needs
of the British Isles In the form
Of dried or evaporated products.
The production of canned toma-
toes is to be increased 50 per cent
and Of all types Of dried beans IS
per cent.
Surpluses Pointed Out.
The Nation, he pointed out, still
has large surpluses of cotton, wheat
and tobacco which would not be abb
sorbed even by a restored world
market. Much land now producing
these surpluses, the Secretary said,
could profitably be turned over to
crops which would adda essential
minerals and vitamins to the diet
Of the American people.
The startling prediction that the
average length of human life may
be increased as much as 10 years
by universal diets sufficiently rich in
vitamins, minerals and proteins was
made last night by Prof. Henry G.
Sherman, professor of nutrition at
Columbia University, who played a
leading part in formulating the new
minimum adequate diet announced
yesterday by the Nutrition Commit
tee Of the National Research
Council.
Prof. Sherman, one of the pioneers
in nutrition experimentation in this
country, works with rats-animals,
he said, whose diet requirements are
quite similar to those of man. He
expected at the outset, he ex-
planned, better general health, but
the increased length of life genera
ton after generation in his ami
mails was complete surprise.
The longer life span of the ami
mails, if the same holds true of man,
means a decade longer average hu-
man life. Best of all, he said,
these extra years are not added to
old age. They are inserted at the
apex of the prime of life. Life is
longer because it is lived on a
higher plane throughout"
The results of thoroughly ade-
quate diets may be even greater in
men than in rats, Prof. Sherman
believes, because the lower animal
seems much less sensitive to de-
f1ciencies in vitamin C, the pre-
ventative of scurvy, and nicotine
acid, the preventative of pellagra.
1t also is notable, he said, that
the increased efficiency of life seems
as great in the mental as in the
physical plane.
Wallace Is Chief Speaker.
The chief speaker at the meet
ing at the Departmental Auditorium
last night was Vice President Wal
lace, who declared that proper
nutrition is essential to preserve
the health and morale of the peo.
pie during the present emergency.
The major goal of the conference
was outlined by Vice President Wal
lace as that Of making sure that
every one in the United States
has in his diet enough energy,
enough bone, blood and muscle
building food, enough vitamins, to
give that feeling of health plus
We do not want merely to wipe
out peliagra, rickets and scurvy and
reduce death losses from tubercu-
losis, but we want to make sure
that our millions are so fed that
their teeth are good, their digestive
systems healthy, their resistance to
premature old age enhanced through
strong bodis and alert minds.
THE people of the United States
enjoy a higher average rate of
nutritional well-being than the peo-
pie Of any other large country in
the world Comparing ourselves
with certain nations, we find the
difference so startling as to make
us feel this country is truly blessed.
And yet when we study the facts
d-nloodedly We find that at least
three-fourths Of the people of the
United States do not have what
can be called good diets by any
reasonable standards. At least 40
millions are suffering from very
bad diets.
Reason for Reflections.
1T is not surprising that 40 per
cent OF the young men examined for