Salt Lake Telegram | 1937-08-06 | Page 6 | Health Advice

HEALTH ADVICE By Morris Hshbein . Edits. JewiMl ef Hie Americas Medical Med-ical Aawciatioa In addition to rickets, which Is the obvious effect of lack of vitamin vita-min D, the human being may show relative lack of this substance sub-stance in various ways. For long it has been felt that the loss of teeth by pregnant wo- men was due to the fact that the growing child absorbed from the mother the necessary substances which she required in her own body in order to maintain it In a normal state. Thus, expectant mothers and especially those nursing babies, are now urged to take extra amounts of vitamin D regularly. They are also urged to take proper prop-er amounts of calcium and phosphorus phos-phorus in order to keep up the supply. This is particularly Important for the nursing mother, since calcium cal-cium and phosphorus are given off in the milk for the baby, and the mother suffer from a lack of these elements if she fails to take an extra aupply during the nursing nurs-ing period. No one knows now whether the human being requires much extra ex-tra vitamin D after he has "reached adult age. For a- lung time it has been recognized that miners who work much of the time underground, and therefore do not come in contact with sunshine, sun-shine, do not seem to show any . symptoms or evidence of a lack of vitamin D. However, it must be remembered remem-bered that the miner is an adult and that even the miner is likely to come up at least once a week for an afternoon in the sunshine. In his case, he may develop enough vitamin D in that ens afternoon to carry him for the remainder of the week. It is safer, of course, te add enough cod liver oil. cheese, butter but-ter or cream to get the extra vitamin vita-min D that ia needed. With each of the vitamins, as well as with vitamin A, it is recognised recog-nised that a deficiency will lower the resistance of the body; and there may be secondary infections indicating lack of resistance te infectious in-fectious diseases. Thus everyone should examine his diet to make certain that it contains sufficient amounts of calcium, cal-cium, phosphorus and of vitamin D to prevent rickets, Inhibit bone deformities, control defects and caries of the teeth, and to control the secondary symptoms of vita-, min D deficiency that have been mentioned. If the average person eats a well balanced diet containing particularly par-ticularly milk, butter and eggs, he need worry little about vitamin D deficiency. This does not apply, however, to the growing child, and particularly to the growing infant, since they require additional vitamin vita-min D. If they do not get sufficient vitamin D, they are likely to develop de-velop sooner or later the ugly symptoms associated with rickets and have the general weaknesa and a tendency toward early death which severe rickets inevitably implies. Next: Eye inflammation, caused by lack of vitamin A.