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Show PLANT FOR HEALTH "Malnutrition presents a greater danger than any Nazi propaganda" t 8 .: Russel M. Wilder, chairman of the committee on food and nutrition of the National Research council. It is much more dangerous for whether there be world peace or world war, improp- Dr. Nathan S. er food will lower Davis HI standards of health, the efficiency efficien-cy and the strength of the people. A diet lacking in one or more of the elements necessary to health, if it is not great, reduces the resistance resist-ance to disease and may be the cause when continued over a long time of some of the degenerative diseases dis-eases of advancing years; if it is great, it causes diseases such as scurvy, rickets, beriberi or pellagra. Most of the men now being found unfit for military service are disqualified dis-qualified for diseases or conditions that are directly or indirectly due to the nutrition they have received during the past ten years or so. ' The deficient diets that have been responsible for this state of affairs are in part due to poverty and the inability to buy the necessary foods; in part to the methods used in milling, mill-ing, canning, and otherwise treating or preserving foods; in part to the methods used in cooking them; in part to the effect of fads, fancies, I EXPECTATION OF LIFE AT SELECTED AGES FOR TOTAL POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1933 COMPARED WITH 1937 jj ' "TO- . . - ; 193) - -j - - -20- ILrllllm ftTffim lOtfe flVK. 2$Yfr .som.-"-.7ow.. and familial habits in their selection; selec-tion; but to a large extent to a lack of production of certain foods or to their production on ground that is deficient de-ficient in certain mineral or nitrogen containing elements. The secretary of agriculture, Mr. Wickard, has said that in the United States, for the first time in history, it is now possible to produce all of the foods essential to health in quantities sufficient to the needs of the people but this can only be done with the full co-operation of all of the farmers. Others must learn how to mill, can, process pro-cess and preserve foods so that they will retain more of their nutritional value. But unless the farmers grow enough fruit and vegetables, produce pro-duce enough beef, pork, lamb, poultry, poul-try, eggs and dairy products to go around, many will continue to be improperly nourished. The advances in our knowledge of nutrition have been great in recent years. It has developed to a point where for the first time in history it is possible to state what foods should be included in the diet of all the people and the quantities each should have. It may be found as time goes on that the proportions now being recommended are not quite right and that some things are omitted or not specifically included such as citrus fruits or tomatoes. However, if the farmers could be persuaded to plan to produce in 1942, enough fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry poul-try and dairy products to satisfy at least the needs of the people of the United States and if the people will eat what is so provided for them, the nation would be stronger, would have more people fit for peace time or war time work or for military and naval service, would have less disease and a higher standard of health. Will they make this contribution contri-bution to the public welfare and to the health of the nation? Of course they will. While proportionately less numerous than in years gone by, they still constitute the backbone of the nation. "Out health is also determined deter-mined to a large extent by nutrition, nu-trition, not only by the quality qual-ity of the food but also by its quantity. What we consume may not only be good or bad, but also too little or too much." Max von Pettenkoffer. QUESTION BOX Send questions to Dr. Nathan S. Davis III. Winnetka. 111. (Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.) Q. What causes receding gums? F. F. A. Pyorrhoea alveolaris. Improper Im-proper nutrition may be a contribu-tary contribu-tary cause. Q. In the spring and fall my scalp becomes unbearably itchy and the hair falls out freely. What is causing this? C. W. G. A. Probably some change in diet or clothing though the change in wenther murht cause it. |