Show Advice on Your Health By Morris Fishbein Editor J Journal urn 1 American Medical Association Since human beings are credulous credulous lous lout they are susceptible to all sorts of queer notions until scientific scientific scientific study establishes facts When tomatoes were first introduced into the diet many people insisted insist ed cd that they were poison polson and there are still people who think that the eating of tomatoes is associated associated associated as as- with rheumatism For years there was a common impression that a banana was hard to digest and that it should never be eaten by Invalids babies babies babies ba ba- ba- ba bies or old people With more recent scientific studies in the field of dietetics the banana has come to be a favorite article of I diet Now a specialist in diseases of children reports that for two years the ripe banana has been used as the first solid food fod for babies six weeks of age and older In the New York Foundling hospi hospi- tal tai Moreover he submits the records records records rec rec- of babies ies chosen at random random random ran ran- dom to show what eHe effects ts the feeding of the banana has had on the infants In prescribing the banana for tor babies it is customary to specify the amount of ot banana in inches Generally speaking an inch of an ordinary banana will yield approximately approximately approximately ap ap- ap- ap proximately 18 to 20 calories of food value Infants at the hospital were all started with one inch of banana and as they showed appetite additional additional additional ad ad- amounts were given They were usually given in the form of a ripe banana which was was- va completely mashed and fed to the infant with a spoon or a tongue depressor c The infants were not given any other solid food tood while taking the banana They did of course re receive receive receive re- re their regular milk formulas and also awo cod liver oil and orange oringe juice Dr John D. D Craig who studied these cases points out that some of the Infants were observed over overa a period of one to two and a half months and some even longer The bowel movements movements' of the infants taking bananas were quite satisfactory The average dosage was two to three inches of banana banana banana ba ba- ba- ba nana daily although some took as much as a whole banana each day In fact one small infant weighing 9 pounds 8 ounces took two bananas daily for foi four weeks This did not tend to cut the appetite appetite appetite ap ap- ap- ap petite for the regular formula of ot course was given to the Infants along with the bananas As a result of this extensive study investigators are convinced that the banana because of ot Its digestibility is an ideal first solid Mod food to offer otter to infants to make them accustomed to solid Slid food When given with cod liver oil it seems to ease administering of the oil Il to small infants I The number of intestinal gastro upsets of infants who received this food was less than in the av average rage It was found that ripe mashed banana was easily di diges digested di- di ed by infants six weeks of age or older that it was easily assimilated assimilated assimilated assim assim- and that it did not tend to increase the weight but did sometimes sometimes sometimes some some- times help to control the weight curve |