Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-05-12
Exchanges
Eating Habits
OfAmerica
Nutrition Science Goes
Ahead Since Last One
BY DIR. LOGAN CLENDENING

TN THE 20 years between
World War / and World War
II the science OF nutrition grew
to manhood.
In 1900 nobody knew any
thing about food-man's re-
quirements.
About 1850 the word "calorie"
was born in the sense that II
came to be defined as unit OF
food requirement.
In 1911 the word "vitamin"
was born, but no real applica-
ton of the scientific knowledge
OF vitamins was made until
about 1920.
Since then we have, OF course,
become very vitamin conscious.
With wartime conditions we
are forced by necessity to make
adjustments in our food habits.
Only one feature of this has
really hit us yet. which is sugar
rationing.
1t often has been suggested
by official sources within the
past few weeks that substitutes
for sugar can be used. such as
corn syrup, molasses, honey,
etc.
This is a perfectly sensible
suggestion so far as science is
concerned.
CORN syrup has for many
~ years been advocated by
childrens specialists 10 be
added to formulate for bottle
feeding because infants can di-
gest il better than table sugar
and IL fits all nutritional re-
quirements.
The practical objections 10
these substitutes is that the
supply is even more limited
than that OF ordinary table
sugar,
am told by wholesale grocers
that the economic structure OF
the country has not been geared
10 the manufacture of molasses.
corn syrup or honey in any
quantity.
incidentally, our ancestors
never knew what our table
sugar tasted like.
Their sweetening was in the
form Of honey.
To show this. the words "dia-
betes mellitus" were attached
to the disease in the day when
there was no such thing as
sugar. "Mellitus" means, liter
ally honey.
WE ALSO are being advised
w that we eat too much
sugar and that the rationing
will have healthy effect.
We are told this by the same
people who told us a few months
ago that IS million Americans
were in a state Of semi-starva-
ton.
Nevertheless. we are in for a
number OF changes in our eating
habits.
In an interview with one Of
the recognized authorities on
nutrition in the United States,
he told me that undoubtedly
the American people are going
10 have 10 get used 10 processed
foods. and when the word
processed is used II really
means that.
We can not afford. with our
limited rolling stock and ship
ping. TO transport water around
the world. so we will have 70
use dried foods 10 which water
will be added before they are
put on the table.
THE average person, left 10
Il his instincts. selects a diet
with considerable scientific ac-
curacy.
AS matter OF fact. science
learned what the dietary re-
quirements OF the average man
were by watching the average
man eat.
You were not told by science
what you should eat. but on the
contrary. you told science.
You probably eat about 5000
Galleries a day.
The foods you eat are two
thirds carbohydrates. one-sixth
proteins and one-sixth fat by
weight.
You select instinctively foods
which contain the requisite min
eral salts and vitamins as well
as the requisite caloric content.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS
J. w. H.-Besides being pain
full, is pleurisy serious? Is there
any remedy for relieving IL
other than heat?
Answer-Pleurisies. in = GER
tain number of cases. turn into
tuberculosis and 10 that extent
they are dangerous.
Besides the treatment by heat,
II is helpful to healing and COM
fort to have the side strapped
no with adhesive tape so that
the amount OF motion is dimin-
ished.