HOME MAKERS' CORNER

White Ribbon, Volume 20, Issue 10, 1 November 1948, Page 8

HOME MAKERS' CORNER

BY LYNETTE”

During.the Middle Ages, the English had \cry different eating habits from our>, l>otli in regard to table manners, and what was eaten. The food taken was conditioned by their agrisystem and by what they considered to be good food value. Townspeople had to eat meat which had been killed in the country, and a> the result of slow transportation, strongly flavoured sauces were needed to mask the flavour. All stock, except that required for breeding, was killed in ihe autumn, and during the winter the country lived on salt, or pickled, meats and bread, with little or no dairy produce, and practically no fruit <»r vegetables. The more satisfying the food, the greater its supposed virtue in the diet, and for this reason, even in summer, fruit and vegetables were eaten only sparingly. Towards springtime, large numbers of the people were suffering front lassitude, lack of appetite. loosened teeth and bleeding gums, occasional small haemorrhages under the skin, and scurvy, and this was so common as to be considered normal. We read with admiration of the ailventurous explorers of the 16th century; how they sailed beyond the horizon to push out the frontiers of the known world, but we too often fail to realise the horrors oi those voyages when scurvy was like an evil spirit on the ship—putrid fever, they called it. When V asco de Gama sailed round the Cape of (food Hope he lost 100 out oi 160 men from scurvy. Magellan was more fortunate, losing only about one in ten, but Sir Richard Hawkins claimed that in twenty years of long sea voyages, he lost 10,000 men. The English and Dutch, as two seafaring nations, anxiously sought for the cause and cure. Many internal conditions were blamed, and also the “unwholesome sea air"—“The sea is natural for fish, the land tor men,” and one surgeon even classed among the causes "want of wine, beere, and .other good waters to comfort and warm the stomaches ” Popular, but ineffective, remedies were vinegar and distilled oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid).

Yet, through the vear>, there were some captains, surgeons, and even native medicine men, who held that fresh herbs, grasses and iruits, especially lemons, were the cure. This belief was finally put to the test in 1600, when the newly-formed Ea>t India Company chartered three ships to sail from Woolwich to India. On his own ship, the Commander ordered a daily ratiou of lemon juice and had practically no scurvy, while on the other two ships it was rife. After that, all the East India ships provided lemon juice for their crews, with dramatic results, hut the remedy was apparently too simple, and many other "cures” were tried, but finally, about two hundred years later, the Royal Navy adopted the citrus fruit ration, frequently giving the men limejuice. Hence the name "limies" for British sailors. The Board of Trade eventually compelled the merchant ships to do tlie same. Scurvy was still prevalent among the English people, however, and was here regarded as a different type of the disease. Elorence Nightingale claimed that more British soldiers died from scurvy in the Crimean War than from any other cause. The French soldiers there were not affected, and thinking this v\as due to the coffee, sugar and rice in their ration, these foods were given the British soldiers, with, of course, no improvement. What was not realised as the answer was that the French, loving vegetables, commandeered all v egetables near their camps.

Eventually it was scientifically proved that adequate fruit and vegetables were necessary for health, and when these are denied people today, from economic or military causes, and the daily intake of Vitamin C—ascorbic acid—is too low, the same symptoms appear. Even in minor deficiency, the appetite wanes, and resistance to common ailments is lowered. In cases ot colds and other infections, large doses of Vitamin C have proved beneficial. I have heard it said that perhaps it was possible tb take too much of the various vitamins, with adverse results, but this is not so. The body absorbs as much as it requires, stores some in the liver, and the kidneys eliminate any excess. The Eskimos get sufficient Vitamin C by eating raw fish liver.

New Zealanders are fortunate in having a year-round supply of fruit ami vegetables rich in Vitamin C —oranges, grapefruit, lemons, tree tomatoes, also guavas, raisins, bananas and most berries. potatoes, spinach, Brussels r.prouts, cabbage, broccoli, mustard, watercress, parsley and cucumber. Unfortunately, long exposure to air and heating cause the Vitamins to oxidise, and in the oxidised form its effectiveness is nil. Therefore, never squeeze juice for orange or lemon drink till the last minute, never let salads stand, and always cook greens very lightly. Above all, never regard fruits and vegetables as mere relishes or appetizers. They are essential factors in the diet.