Doctor Corrects Belief That Men Need Much Food

Chronicle (Levin), 31 October 1949, Page 3

Doctor Corrects Belief That Men Need Much Food

LONDON, Oct. 29. One way of acliieving keaithier and longer lii'e is to fast' for tliree days a moutk, aeeording to Dr. Josia Oldfiffid, an 85-year-old Harley Street expert in dietetics, writing in the medieal Press. "Rightly used," he deelares, ' ' fasting is a means of eure for a high pereentage of ailmcnts conneeted with the alimentary canal. Fasting ' teaehes us that it is not quantiiy but quality which is essential for human health. The popular idea as to food and fasting, is that if a man wants to be strong he rnust eat much; aud the history of women teaehes us that in the early days, when man went out hunting, it was the woman who stayed behind to prepare the food for his return. He* always demanded food. .Today, therefore, it" is ingrained in every wife that her first duty is to feed her man! She is quite right about tliis. Her mistake is that she tkinks men need much food. "What the human body needs," Dr. Oldfield continues, "is a small amount of many substances. It is well to remember that whetker man lives sparingly or gluttonously, he keeps his weight fairly level. It is generally thor amount he drinks whieh eauses him to, gain or lose weight irregularly. " Dr_ Oldfield, when a student, shared diggings with one of the well-known self-fasters, Ghandi. He says: "In all his fasts, Gandhi always reserved the right to drink water and to take some fruit juice. With these two things human life can pel'sist for very long periods of time."