The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-03-17
YOUR CLASS AND MINE

YOUR CLASS AND MINE
 Most Americans get from two- fifths to one-half of their calories from white flour and sugar. These two highly nutritious foods are free from or relatively poor in vitamins, particularly vitamin B1 (thiamine).
 Still some who think they know what they're talking about terate and reiterate that people who are able to select and enjoy a well balanced" diet including a liberal variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs. meat etc., get plenty of vitamins in their food. This glib assurance is based largely upon the widely published dictum of the head barker for the best advertised "clinic" that
 "The medical profession would probably do well to point out to worried dietitians and mothers of families that disease which can be definitely ascribed to avitami- nosis (lack of vitaminS) is very rarely seen among American adults of the middle and upper classes"
 The mouthpiece of the best ad- vertised clinic, having conceived and given birth to that dictum without benefit of scientific in- vestigation, endeavored to make it unanimous by adding this modest confession of diagnostic inepti- tude:
 'Even the physician with a ve- " large practice will see only few cases a year in which he will suspect that the symptoms are due to too great a narrowing of diet"
 ct is only fair to mention herS that the loguacious one went over- board on this seven or eight years ago, and no doubt has learned bet ter since).
 This easy assumption that vita min deficiency is rare in this coun- try is based upon the ignorance of medical "authorities" and the rank and file of the medical profession ignorance which was perhaps ex- cuSable eight or ten years ago, since the newer knowledge of the function of vitamins in nutrition had not then got into medical text books.
 It is indeed true that the severer degrees of vitamin deficiency d1- sease such as beri beri (Singhalese term meaning extreme Weakness) due to prolonged deprivation of vi- tamin B1 thiamine) is not common here, but mild and usually unrec- ognized beri beri is so widely pre- valent as a health impairment by itself or a serious complication of various chronic diseases, that the practitioner who fails to keep it in mind in everyday practice is just ten or twenty years behind the times.
 The clinic trumpeter took pains to impress upon the prospects that he referred exclusively to middle and upper class people. I belonG to the other class and I wouldn't know how middle and upper class people live or what their favorite ailments may be aside from coron" ary thrombosis, apoplexy, alcohol" ism and, when other dodges fail, neurasthenia.
 However 1t is safe to estimate and I challenge physicians to con- trovert this estimate - that there are today at least half million cases of mild rickets in growing youths and young adults and at least hundred thousand cases of mild scurvy in mature adults in the continental United States, that eS- cape recognition if the patients come under medical observation af all.
 QUESTIONS and ANSWERS
 Tea
 Is very strong green tea harnf- full to the kidneys? I also eat tea leaves, seem to just crave them.
 (Mrs. F. c. TD
 AnSWer-Tea or tea leaves has tho same effect as coffee or coffe beans. only tea is about one third or one- half as strong in the caffeine or caffeine like alkaloid in the cup full. This alkaloid is diuretic-stim- ulates the kidney function. Whether your green tea drinking or eating is harmful t othe kidneys depends on how much you drink and eat. I believe moderate use of tea or cof- fee is not only harmless but rather beneficial to most adults.
 The Calcium Shortage
 Our dentist is follower of yours he says sometimes you pick on dentists but fundamentally your teachings are fine, He advised me to send for your calcium pamphlet and follow the suggestion in it, rfor our children's teeth.
 (Mrs. E. L.)
 AnsWer-Send ten cents and stamped envelope bearing your ad- dress, for "The Calcium Shortage" Copyright 1945, John F. Dille Col