The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-11-25

only, and then only through
his column.
will be a long list and | will need
a dictionary and plenty of men,
DRY prodding.
It will start alphabetically with
alcohol, of course. That is really
a debatable subject. Then it will
go on to bathing, cigarettes, candy,
coffee, finally getting down to
meat, tobacco and ending up at
the foot of the alphabet with suck.
ing the thumbs.
Faddists' Statements
OF course some of these are ue-
batable, as ! say, as health habits.
But the real reason for the warn
ings is a deep rooted feeling in
many peoples minds that any
thing anyone enjoys is ipso facto
and automatically bad for you.
They don't want you to do any
thing that they themselves do not
enjoy. These croakers have no
scientific data on which TO base
their statements.
When you take time to pin them
down and ask them for a reason
able account of their objections
they usually reply something in
the line of "they say" or they re
cite the terrible example of some
person who did one or the other Of
these things and he died. Well,
lots of people die who have not
had any habits TO speak of at all
except to get up in the morning
and go to work and come home and
go to bed at night. Every once in
a while some bloke passes on and
his friends say in awed whispers
he never used tobacco or beer or
wine or was seen in night clubs
and for once the funeral sermon
'an be literally true.
Take, for instance, the subject
of coffee. The DIRECTORS say it is a
drug. All right, that does not nee
essarily condemn it. A drug is
simply a chemical that is not q
food and not found regularly as
part Of the chemistry of the human
body. 1t may be good or it may
be bad. Just calling it a drug does
not necessarily condemn it.
Effect of Coffee
The worst that can be said 1oi
coffee is that it keeps one awake.
What Of it? Lots of people would
be better off awake. Contrary to
all argument it is simple fact,
provable by the simplest physi-
ologic experiment, that coffee does
not raise blood pressure. 1t does
not harm the heart. On the con-
trary for elderly hearts it is bene-
fetal. Its drug action is to dilate
the blood vessels of the heart, kid
neys and brain Chats why it
keeps you awake. Ard if it dilates
blood vessels it brings more blood
through them, and blood nourishes,
so it actually nourishes the heart.
Those are the plain medical facts
about coffee. OF course il you
averdo it, that is another question.
Again as to meat. The prejudice
against meat is as mysterious as 1t
is terrific. The vegetarians foster
il. Yet there was once q treat
ment for disease, way Of keep
ing healthy, that had for its basis
the eating of meat alone, and es-
chewing vegetables. 1t was called
tie Salisbury treatment, and the
name Salisbury steak was named
after its founder. And so far as /
know the devotees Of the Sails
bury treatment we're just as
healthy and lived Just as long as
the vegetarians. They claimed 1t
took a great load off the stomach,
liver, bowels and digestion gen.
orally and was good for those
people who had habitually over
loaded themselves with cabbages
and straw and beets and garGen
truck.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
J. WI just found l had .
mitral murmur. What effects
would this have on my health? ]
am 81 years old.
Answer: Many people with nit
raj trouble live busy, happy, USE
full lives for many years. You
should probably select sedentary
employment and go a little easy
on strenuous exercise. Otherwise
there no treatment in the quiescent
stage Of the trouble.