The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1942-03-05
TODAY
A N D
Tomorrow
|VTTAMINS
Ey
Frank Parker StOckridge
mysteries

| nGdUuIlGU la COu1lIAGoo OANSA eASO
ments. I have been made vaguely
aware of the fact that my health
my energy, my stamina and my
! freedom from disease are Deepen
dent upon a proper diet Of these
alphabetical mysteries.
But, like so many people who
let their good health depend or
luck, 1 have gone on eating wha
I pleased and hoping that If vita
minis are necessary my appetite
would be my guide in leading me
to the proper sources for them.
Now, however, with the govern
ment insisting that we can al
help win the war by improving
our health, I decided that it was
more or less of a patriotic duty tc
find out whether vitamins were
bird, beast or fowl-and what, il
anything, an occasional side-dish
of vitamins might do tow ar d
making me a better citizen.
USE uncertainty
One of the first things I learned
about vitamins was that most OF
my friends were almost as igno-
rant about them as I am.
One woman told me that she
gives her daughter cod liver oil
because of it's vitamin content,
but she didn't seem to KIN o.
whether it contained vitamins
ABC or OPM. Another went on
at length about the sunshine vi
| tamin, but she wasn't quite sure
whether that was the one which
prevented ricketts, or pyorrhea. A
third was taking vitamin B cap
sules to stimulate her appetite,
knew that carrots were rich in
something-or-othe and was gen.
orally convinced that vitamlns
were wonderful.
But among quite a group l
questioned, no one could sit down
and list the purpose of each vita
min or just how it could be in
culcated into a diet.
Next I looked in a dictionary
and learned that the word vita
min comes from "vita" meaning
life. and from anime, h avin 6
something to do with chemistry.
Vitamin is defined as: "One OF a
class of obscure soluble substan-
ces, which are present in living
tissues and foods, but the exact
composition of which is unknown
and the absence of which inter-
feres with the normal processes
of animal growth or may produce
disease" -
That sounded rather discourage
ing. But since the government
was responsible for inspiring my
search for vitamin knowledge. !
turned to Washington for enlight-
eminent.
Probably some readers of this
column are vitamin experts. But
for the benefit of those who rival
me in their ignorance of the sub
iect, here is brief summary of
what the department of agricul-
ture has to say about the seven
vitamins which are all essential
to our health.
Vitamin A stimulates growth
and protects the body against bac-
terial infections. Absence of it is
most apt to lead to infections of
the eyes, nose, throat, ears or 81
muses.. You can get vitamin A in
cod liver oil, butter, milk, cheese
and green and yellow vegetables.
Vitamin B preserves the appe-
tite. It's available in milk, liver,
eggs, kidney, oysters-and if you
can name a vegetable which does
MT contain it, I'll eat it!
Vitamin G protects the teeth,
joints and energy. Best source is
raw fruit and raw vegetables.
Vitamin ID CHATS the sunshine
one) prevents ricketts, and stimu-
lates healthy growth. You can get
it from cod liver oil, eggs, milk
and foods enriched by irradiation
with ultraviolet light.
Vitamin G seems to have lot
to do with preserving youth-or
at least preventing premature old
age. Essential to people of all
ages. Best sources are bananas,
green vegetables, wheat germ and
milk
MILK A, b, G, D., E
There are all sorts of other an
giles to this vitamin set-up-such
as what ones are destroyed by
cooking, how much of each is nee
essary to a healthful diet and how
you can tell when you have had
enough.
It all seems to boil down to the
fact that if you are feeling below
par you should check with your
doctor and the chances are he will
tell you to eat more greens, drink
a quart of milk a day or take