SPRING TONICS

NZ Truth, Issue 1239, 29 August 1929, Page 10

SPRING TONICS

Eat, Don 't Drink Them, Is The Advice

(Plunket Society Articles— No. 14) The following little article is. we think, appropriate after our remarks last week about winter and its effects and how to counteract them. It was written by acknowledged authorities on the sub- ; ject of food and nutrition. They say:

* 'THERE are many of us who remember having to take every spring a course of sulphur and molasses, or sassafras tea or slippery elm bitters, or some other household remedy. "Our elders looked on winter as an unhealthful season, when poisons accumulated m the system because of poor elimination or bad colds or other Infections, which had to be gotten rid of by taking drugs. "They believed that the blood became thick during the winter, and that a spring , tonic or blood purifier was necessary to assist Nature m making its spring house -cleaning.

"Our pioneer ancestors did feel less well at the end of the winter than they did at other seasons of the year. With little capital and no reserve food supply, their diet was necessarily very simple and monotonous and entirely inadequate."

"They relied on 'quack* medicines and tonics, and when fresh spring foods were eaten with relish and when their tired feelings disappeared the "tonics" were given the credit! People much prefer to believe' m * the mysterious potency of drugs than to put their faith m simple everyday foods.

"Nowadays, gone is that tired feeling m spring! And with it has gone the demand for the sarsaparillas, medical discoveries, blood purifiers, and tonics! Research and rational living have proved that where there is less difference between Avinter and summer diets there* is correspondingly less difference m the way people feed m different seasons of the year.

"Since the most important times m

the life of the individual are infancy and childhood, when the physical development is largely determined, the winter diet should be kept as satisfactory as possible during these critical periods, so as not to interfere with the child's growth and progress. "And what is necessary for the child is necessary for the adult, to conserve the vitality and maintain health. . "We cannot advise' too strongly that those who live m villages or on farms away from the city markets should grow this year and every year such root vegetables as turnips, carrots, and such leafy vegetables as celery, cabbages, and onions, which can be preserved for months m a dry place. "Apples can be kept practically all winter. These foods, m addition to the regular .winter diet and with plenty^ of milk, ensure a satisfactory and satisfying diet. "It is not necessary for these foresighted people to spend much money for fresh green foods m winter; they have, on hand everything they need to avoid a run-down condition m spring."