FRESH AND RAW

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20109, 1 December 1939, Page 8

FRESH AND RAW

importance in food ATTENTION TO DIET ADVICE BY DOCTOR WOMEN’S INSTITUTE TALK Eighty per cent of the food we eat should be fresh and as much as possible should be eaten raw, if people are to secure the greatest benefit from diet. This advice was given by Dr. Nina Muir in a talk to the Poverty Bay Federation of Women’s Institutes, which held its half-yearly meeting today. Dr. Muir said that preserved foods could not be avoided altogether, but they should not bulk largely in the diet. Dr. Muir said that diet was one of the fundamentals of life, not only from the health point of view but also in the matter of making life pleasant. If people were fed properly from infancy onwards, there would be little or no illness in the world. That ideal could not be secured in one generation, but would have its effect on future generations. Many diseases were vanishing already, and many of the things that troubled us now would not be prominent if proper diet was attended to. No Belief in Fads

She did not believe in fads in diet, and if people did not have sufficient balance to avoid fads, they might do themselves much harm.

The feeding of the human body was not merely a question of fuel for an engine, but of building up and replacing the tissues. V/hat one ate depended much on the nature of the soil, and if there was a grave deficiency in the soil, the food and consequently the human bodies, were affected. Thyroid troubles, for instance, might be the result cif a lack of iodine, while elements such as calcium in the soil were also important. All country people should have their soil analysed, and if anything was lacking the deficiency could be made good. Proper breathing to take adequate oxygen and fresh air was also important, and Dr. Muir considered (.hat people required training in proper breathing. Rest, sleep and recreation also must receive proper attention to keep up the circulation, for the removal of poisons from the blood, and for mental stimulation. Our diet was wasted if these things were not functioning normally. Deep natural and quiet inhalation and slow exhalation should be adopted. Intense muscular action was not required for breathing. Individual Requirements

Each person’s food requirements differed, and each one must be treated individually. A large proportion of protein (animal food) was required by people doing manual work. Carbohydrates (starches and sugars, and also fruits and vegetables) were important for growing children, land necessary for energy. Sugar was required by children, the (best form being the simpler types, such as in honey. Excess of starches was bad, but a certain quantity was required. Fats were concentrated forms of food, and were necessary particularly for children. Fats were required more by women than by men, because women must have stores of energy for reproduction. Fats were complicated kinds of food, and threw a much bigger strain on the system, and the amount of fats should be reduced as a woman grew older.

Much mineral • food was required, more particularly during child-bearing periods. Water was more important than most people thought, and people generally took too little fluid. Freshness in Food Explaining vitamins, the speaker said that they were really the freshness of the food. Man was meant, so far as food was concerned, to live from day to day. At least 80 per cent of the diet should be fresh perishable food. A lettuce, for instance, freshly cut and on the spot, was more rich in vitamins than one left for a time after (being cut. Butter and eggs also should be eaten as soon as possible. It was impossible to avoid some preserved foods, but 80 per cent should be fresh and as much, as possible should be eaten raw. If possible, everyone should have a raw salad every day. Puddings such as junket, which did not require much cooking, preserved the vitamins quite well. Individuality in feeding was stressed, Dr. Muir making use of the adage “one man’s meat is another man’s poison.” So long as the fundamentals regarding natural foods were observed, however, the average person could not go far wrong.

The question of quantity of food varied regarding age and the nature of the work a person was doing. Young children ate more food in proportion to adults', for they had to build up new tissues, as well as replacing worn ones. At the close of. the talk, Dr. Muir was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, the chairman, Mrs. R. H. Wicksteed, remarking that the address was a most interesting one and given in simple language which all could understand.