LET'S HAVE BREAKFAST

New Zealand Listener, Volume 7, Issue 176, 6 November 1942, Page 10

LET'S HAVE BREAKFAST

(Written for "The Listener’ by DR.

MURIEL

BELL

Nutritionist to the Health Department)

\ ; 71TH one ear on the radio’s time signals? -- wondering whether you have time to catch the tram or train that gets you to work in time, gulping down your porridge or egg, hastily wiping off the latter from your mouth as you make a dash down.-the steps? No, that is not the way, though many of us are guilty of this method of rush and bustle at breakfast time. True, our habit of having to take our turn in the family bathroom has its disadvantages; we are a little too inclined to jeer at the obsolete method of bathing in the bedroom basin. Our household arrangements often force us into this evil state of hurry, which does us repeated injury; the cumulative effects include poor mastication, anxiety and its effect on digestion, and the tendency that the early-morning scurry has to produce habitual ‘constipation. Emphatically, it is more desirable to arise early, drink plenty of fluid, and have a little exercise before breakfast.

Of the ways of having breakfast, there are many, and much depends on habit and individual preference. There is nothing against the Continental method of having a light breakfast, provided that in Continental fashion we follow it up after a short interval ky a substantial mid-morning sandwich. But for the conditions that prevail in our country, a fairly generous breakfast is preferable. In Favour of Porridge Speaking with a view to suiting the average purse, there is much to be said for a good-sized helping of porridge. There are those who raise the objection that at this time of the year it is "heating to the blood’-which is probably. their way of saying that they are slightly allergic or sensitive to oatmeal, a sensitiveness which shows up in the form of spots when the skin is warmer than usual. Such people may possibly get along more happily with a wheat product instead of oatmeal; or they may find that all is well if they have the oatmeal cooked for a longer period. © — =

Regarding the choice that is open to us of breakfast cereals, we cannot make tules to cover everybody’s tastes or economic circumstances. Plain, coarse oatmeal has its adherents. The fact that I am one of them does not deter me from realising that the pre-cooked cereals may, in some cases, be the only way of encouraging the children to take their full quota of milk. Many people have asked about the vitamin values of pre-cooked breakfast cereals. On this, we have the statement made by the Australian Nutrition Committee in a recent report; they draw attention to the fact that cereals which require no further cooking have usually had most of their Vitamin B1 destroyed during the processing they receive in the factory; cereals that still require ‘cooking are stated to be a valuable source of this vitamin. 7 For the majority of those who are inclined to suffer from constipation, it is as well to get as much Vitamin B1 in their food and as much roughage as they can. That is why, in the opinion of many doctors, the plain, unrefined oatmeal comes out top of the list. At the present time, it would seem an unnecessary strain upon our sugar ration to advocate cooked fruit. For most of us, it is also more expensive. Nor is it possible to advocate, in lordly fashion, that bacon or egg or fish ees

might follow; for even if we could all afford them, this is war time, and ‘supplies are not what they used to be! Let us, however, nip in the bud any tendencies there are of extending our cake-eating habits even to the breakfast meal. According to doctors and nurses, such tendencies are not unknown. (Next week: "Undulant Fever," by Dr, Turbott). ‘