Help Yourself to Health

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 254, 3 November 1939, Page 3 (Supplement)

Help Yourself to Health

By PENROD TERRY, D.D.L., Dietitian.

0T no time in history has there been such an interest in matters pertaining to health; it is safe to say that all the civilised world is, to use an Americanism, “health conscious. The reason is clear. This interest is forced upon us by the fact that our health, individual and national, is steadily becoming worse. Alarm then is felt by most people, for such a state is deplorable in modern times, when we have so much chance of being well, in many ways. Greater leisure, due to shorter working hours, more chance of being out of doors, with speedier methods of transport to and from places of recreation, should result in a fitter nation, but unfortunately this is not the case.

bad have been' observed among the children of the wealthy. The author of these articles knows of many such cases himself, here in Auckland. Once the significance of the importance of diet is realised the next step is an attempt to plan one’s meals so as to include all the “ protective ” foods and maintain a balance, but a difficulty arises here. To the layman it may seem quite simple for him to arrange a “ balanced ” diet for himself. Students of dietetics, however, know that it requires scientific knowledge of a very specialised kind to do this; controversy is still raging as to just what does constitute a balance, and* the many books written on the subject, together with articles in magazines, ofteironly bewilder the reader. A further source of puzzlement is the direct result of advertising put out by firms with food products to sell. Semiscientific facts are given, analyses, often quite false, arc printed, and ridiculous claims as to vitamin values are made. To read some of these one would believe it necessary only to take some of these “ health ” foods, eat anything otherwise, and a protection against all deficiencies would be assured. Unfortunately the needs of the body are so varied, that unless greater care is taken, then a lack willresult, and this will make itself felt by any one of the numerous symptoms to cure which, Ave have been taught to consult the medical profession.

The all important question of food must be considered; are we eating in such a way as to promote and maintain health, or are we through ignorance handicapping ourselves at the outset, by a misuse of foods. It is a sad fact, but in 90 per cent. of. cases, the latter is true. Experiments in feeding children suffering from malnutrition in the slum districts of London confirm in a startlingly clear manner just how rapidly the health can be improved by following a balanced regimen. Malnutrition, by the way, is not confined to people living on the bread-line as regards income, as cases equally as

The Surest Way to be Healthy is a Correct Diet. One of New Zealand’s Leading Dietitians will Conduct a Column of Helpful Advice in this Paper Every Week.

It is safe to say that all disease has its beginning in faulty nutrition. Study of healthy races, a good example being the Hunza tribe in the Himalayas, has shown us that where the intake consists of wholesome, vital foods, then the health of the people is excellent. Conversely, where the diet is indifferent, lacking in certain necessary factors, then real disease is the common lot. Those people living in Tennesee Valley in America afford good proof of this. There, the main’ food supply consists of maize, fat pork, sugar and lard, and the commonest symptom of deficiency is pellagra, a dreadful disease, but one that yields very rapidly to a correction of the dietary. A concentrate of vitaman B2 achieves amazing results in a very short time, as this is tlje chief factor lacking there. To build a healthy nation, then, our first concern must be with the use of food; it is to make clear in the minds of our readers certain fundamental facts, that these articles are written. Correspondent's are invited to write and ask questions on the subject, and these will be replied to through this column. Queries on the treatment of specific disease cannot be answered, as this requires treatment by a qualified dietitian or a doctor with know- - ledge of this new science. Next week we will discuss the subject of our daily bread, since this is an item most commonly used in our dietary.