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Show I . j War Time Food Problems j i ' The Weil-Balanced Diet. - The question is asked: "Hovr is It that such matters as food-values and diet are in any way connected Tvith war-time food problems? People eat in peace as well as war-time, don't : they? And their health demands cor- r tain foods. Of course soldiers have to have special foods, that is understood. But as for the people at homo, their bodily needs are surely no different just because a country is at war." A second thought, however, shows not only how necessary it is to save ' certain foods for the army and allies, i but also in these "times which try men's souls," how one's strength, poise, and capacity for work should be kept at the maximum. In this way all .working together may help this coun try to prove that democracy must and shall prevail. ; To accomplish this it Is necessary to have our bodily-health as a nation k as near perfection as is humanly pos- I sible. And this can neyer occur un- i less the diet is well planned and wlse- I ! y eaten. A football squad, anxious to gain the greatest amount of strength, adopt a regular course of training. They eat at the "training table." Today this country should be at its training table, all the more so as the contest is not a mere football match, but a strugglo to determine whether this world Is going to remain a place worth living it. 'That is why our every-day diet and our habits of eating have become be-come a war-time problem. Food-Materials Necessary to Good Health Any sort of food is composed of materials included among the following: fol-lowing: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, mineral salts, and vitamines. Whole books have been written on these. Scientists have held widely varying opinions about them. In fact, so extensive is the whole subject that in a brief article like this it is not possible pos-sible to discuss them in detail. All thai can be done here is to present certain main facts. The Two Functions of Proteins Protein is both a body-building and body-repairing food-material, and, excepting ex-cepting water, it forms a part of more different kinds of food than any other constituent In fact, no living things, plant or animal, are without it White of egg is practically pure protein. Other Oth-er foods which are especially rich in proteins aro milk, lean meat, fish, peas and beans. Chief among the functions of protein is its importance as a builder of bodily bod-ily tissues. It is structural. The part It plays is like that of iron in a locomotive. loco-motive. Of course the locomotive needs its other metals, its water and coal, but without iron and steel there can be no structure insido of "which en-cry en-cry can be goneratod. In the article on fats, the uselessness of an automobile automo-bile without gasoline was used as an illustration; but it is just as true to say that gasoline can not produce motion mo-tion without having an engine inside which it can ignite. This, then, is the special mission of proteins: to make the body a suitable structure in which that mysterious power called life can do its best work. Because of this, you can readily see that protein Is all-important not merely mere-ly in building, but also in keeping the body constantly In good repair. The Value of Fats Fats are, as you have learned, chiefly valuable as fuel for the body. But in addition to being consumed and turned to energy, fats are also readily stored away by the body, alongside muscle and bone, to "serves as a reserve in times of Illness or extra physical exertion. Moreover, in cookery, a certain amount of fat serves the practical purpose pur-pose of rendering food appetizing and rich-tasting. But people ought not to allow that to lead them into habits of eating too much fat Vegetable and animal f3ts arc equally equal-ly valuable as fuel. Butter is more than -n fat; it contains the growth stimulant for children. The Value of Carbohydrates Carbohydrates, Carbo-hydrates, like fats, aro very valuable as body fuels. The two most important impor-tant carbohydrates are starch and sugar. sug-ar. The majority of fruits and vegetables vege-tables contain a large proportion of carbohydrates. Sugar Is like fat in serving to make food more palatable and In being a body fuel. But as a fuel, sugar is consumed (and thus used- by the body far more rapidly than fat The Value of Mineral Salts and Vita-mines Vita-mines Mineral salts aro very necessary neces-sary in forming the body's bones, and for keeping tho system in good all-round all-round running order. These mineral salts abound in fruits and vegetables, one reason ivhy those foods aro necessary neces-sary as part of the diet Finally, the -vitamines which have not up to the present been thoroughly understood; but it is now recognized that they are present In many foods and are essential in keeping up good health. Milk contains vitamines In abundance. It must be clearly understood that all these food-materials, proteins, fats, carboyhydrates, mineral salts, and vitamines are necessary for good health. We must have all of them to get tho necessary well-balanced diet One reason why milk is so perfect a food for old and young "is because -whole milk contains all theso various -materials. Yet only babies and Invalids Inva-lids live altogether on milk. It is essential essen-tial for us to make our diets well balanced bal-anced by wise selection among various sorts of food. Here is a classification of food into five groups, each of which should be represented every day: 2. Milk, cheese, eggs, meat, fish. The Well-Balanced Diet 1. Fruits and vegetables, especially valuable for their mineral salts. and dried peas and beans, all of which are rich in proteins. 3. Cereals (wheat, corn, oats, ryo. barley, and rice), which contain much starch, tho cheapest of body fuels. 1. Sugar (molasses, syrups, honey and other sweets). 5. Fats (butter, lard, meat fats; and olive, cotton seed, corn and peanut oils), which, like sugar, aro valuable in providing fuel and a satisfying taste to. food. In the normal diet of tho adult (and all this discussion of food values is about the adult) each of theso groups should be represented. In normal times, with normal people, the food proportions (speaking in terms of nutritional units rather than bulk) ought to be divided about as follows fol-lows among thoso fivo groups: 1. 15 per cent 2. 30 per- cent 3. 30 per cent -1. 10 per cent 5. 15 per cent That would give a well-balanced diet, and is worth observing. Importance of Substitutes But it should be remembered, that in theso days many substitutions are advisable for the sake of gaining the extra food for shipment overseas. Therefore, substitute sub-stitute as you have been advised 1n previous articles. But in substituting, try to replace each food which you go without with another from the same group. In that way service may be rendered without the sacrifice of health. Here, therefore, is the problem today to-day for all: to eat less of tho foods which are needed to win the war, and at the same time to keep up health with a diet which, shall be well balanced. bal-anced. Questions for Discussion. 1. Name some ways in which poorly nourished civilians handicap their soldiers sol-diers at the front 2. Name five foods in which proteins predominate. Fats. Carbohydrates. 3. Write a brief paper on how food builds and repairs tho body, giving illustrations il-lustrations of what foods do "this most effectively. 4. With the aid of some member of your family, plan a day's food-sched, ule (which might actually be used at your home) in which each of tho five food-classes mentioned above are represented, rep-resented, so as to give a well-balanced diet, and which at the same timo conforms con-forms to the principles of conservation and substitution explained in previous articles. |