Show WHAT to EAT and WHY 0 woud ton I 1 lalni of dina f food fads and fallacies nationally known food authority explains how they may endanger health by C HOUSTON GOUDISS 6 east st new york city AS SCIENCE and civilization have progressed painstaking 21 investigators have sought to replace ignorance with knowledge to substitute truth for superstition but in spite of their efforts our eating habits are still influenced by a multitude of food fads and fancies which should have no place in this enlightened age some of these are harmless others may endanger health and the homemaker must learn to distinguish between fact and fancy fish Is 1 not a brain food one of the most persistent fallacies is the notion that certain kinds of food are especially ally beneficial for certain parts of the body many people believe that fish is is a brain food and celery a nerve tonic let tuce is thought to be a soporific none of these things is true the idea regarding regard mg fish probably arose aros e because fish contains phosphorus and the brain also contains phosphorus how simple it would be if one could increase brain power merely by eating fish unfortunate ly there is is nothing to it the brain like other parts of the body requires a balan balanced c e d diet no case has ever been rc reported p arted of a man soothing the irritated nerves of C f his wife by feeding her celery and is as for lettuce it is a fine source of minerals vitamins and gentle roughage but it does not co contain etain any narcotic drug that in in duces sleep other fallacies disproved science has exploded many man common notions about vegetables which may change your our ideas of what Is best to buy and eat man many y homemakers prefer lettuce that is j s light green in color and they be lieve that string beans aich which snap are superior in quality but it has been demonstrated that deep green lettuce is is much richer in in vitamins and that a snap in in string beans merely indicates that the beans have been kept in a cold moist place false notions about fruit A score of superstitions cling to the eating of fruits there is a false notion that acid tasting fruits cause or aggravate rheumatism because they produce acidity the truth is is that mo most st fruits re gard less of their acid taste leave leav e an alkaline ash following digestion one often hears that fruit should not be taken at the same time as milk because the fruit acids will cause the milk to curdle but the fact is that milk is always curdled in the stomach by the hydrochloric acid not necessary to sip milk another false idea is the wide spread notion that milk must be sipped slowly or it will be difficult to digest this has been refuted by a widely known investigator who made many tests one day ay he fed a man a pint of milk in 10 seconds the next day the same man was fed the same amount of milk in 10 minutes on both occasions the contents of the stomach were examined a half hour later it was discovered that the milk which was drunk in 10 seconds had formed smaller curds than the milk which was sipped in 10 mm min utes and in both cases the curds were of 0 practically the same consistency sl sis S tency water wafer with meals it is widely held that water should not be taken with meals the argument being that it dilutes the gastric juice and thus interferes with digestion this sounds logical and many people have been fooled but the truth of the matter is that water stimulates the flow of the digestive juices and careful research has established that normally water taken with meals in reasonable quantities aids digestion k danger of half truth the most insidious food fallacies are those which contain some portion of truth for ecamp example e the belief that cooked fruit is 19 more wholesome than raw fruit it is true that cooking increases increases th the e d digestibility I 1 of some fruits and also has a sterilizing effect on the other hand most fruits are easily digested in in the raw state are more palatable and richer in in vitamins A widespread belief which has a small portion but only a small portion of truth is is that whole wheat bread is is vastly superior to white bread whole wheat bread contains more minerals v vitamins and roughage than white bread but the minerals and vitamins lacking in in white bread can aas easily I 1 y be supplied by other common foods and there is is no justi justification fica tion for going to the extreme of omit ting white broad bread entirely from the ti ie diet fad diets lack balance far more harmful than the fallacies regarding individual foods are the fad diets constantly p put u t forth by those who seek to exploit the homemakers desire for dietetic knowledge foods not incompatible A fad diet which has gained a large number of adherents in in recent fe years is is based on the notion that certain foods notably starches and proteins are incompatible and should not be consumed s at the same meal be because c ause they cannot be digested a at t the same time it is interesting to note that this fad has been condemned by the medical profession and that a physician of the highest standing has proved clinically that starches and proteins do not interfere with one another in the stomach the fallacy of this theory is further furher appreciated when one realizes lz es that there are few pure proteins or pure carbohydrates most foods containing varying proportions of protein carbohydrate and fat such foods as dried peas and beans and whole gram grain cereals contain a substantial percentage of both starch and protein dangers of fasting fasting is urged by some fad dests as a means of detoxifying detoxify ing the body advocates of this practice claim that it is natures method of housecleaning house cleaning As a matter of fact fasting for any length of time may be dangerous to health because it may result in the accumulation of incomplete oxidation products of fat and the development of acidosis homemakers must put aside superstitions half truths and food fallacies if they are to nourish their families properly put your faith only in established food facts remember that hat upon your knowledge and breadth of vision depend to a great degree not only the health but the happiness of your family |