WAY TO HEALTH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 180, 2 August 1938, Page 12

WAY TO HEALTH.

COMMON DIETETICS.

LECTURE BY MEDICAL MAN.

FAULTS AND EXCESSES. Facts of common interest and importance about diet were explained by Dr. E. J. Cronin, speaking last night in the hall of the Auckland University College at the annual lecture arranged by the Auckland Branch of the British Medical Association in the series of the Auckland Institute and museum. Dr. Frank Macky, chairman of the branch, presided. The needs of the individual for fowls differed considerably said Dr. Cronin. variations being according to age, sex and the. kind of work done. The speaker outlined the essential points of a diet, and stated that as proteins could not be stored 'by the body an excess of them led to overwork on the part of the liver and kidneys. Carbo-hydrates, be said, were fuel foods. They could be stored by the body; but those who. wished to reduce their weight ought not to take .too much food, rich in carbo-hydrates.

Calcium, he said, made bone, hair, nails, teeth and a healthy blood. Calcium was necessary for -nervous stability. Phosphorus went with calcium, and those who wished to pass examinations might with advantage eat such things as cheese, eggs, fish, meat, and legumes. Iron, another necessary element, was found particularly in .grapes and'apricots. . A ' lack of iodine could to, an extent, be counteracted by eating oysters and shellfish. 'p\i- : Subject of Vitamins. - The speaker dealt for a considerable time' on the subject of vitamins. Those were very complex in nature, and not properly understood. A lack of them caused what were known as deficiency diseases, which were not uncommon in the - Dominion. One vitamin was found in green vegetables, and such vegetables should be eaten raw if the best advantage was to be taken of it. That;was because the particular vitamin was destroyed by heat, and therefore by cooking.

' . Certain important foods were too dear, Dr. Cronin said. "We cannot hope to see an adequate diet enjoyed by all," added Dr. Cronin, "until the price of protective green vegetables, fruits, milk and eggs,, is brought within the range .of the family purse. Meats, which are protein foods, are also highly priced, .but the. economical housewife 4 does not cut down on this less essential food. The amount of meat consumed in New Zealand is still too high."

r A .reasonable estimate of the daily allowance .of milk, continued the lecturer, was one-half to one pint for adults,, and. a pint and a half lor children, part to be cooked in various foods. When .it was realised that' the present average consumption in New Zealand was half a pint, it was no wonder that many of the population were classed C 3. Skimmilk was a valuable food, but, unfortunately, very little was available for sate in liquid form. - '.. . Warning By Lecturer. The lecturer issued a warning that unwholesome "food consumption" should not be allowed to replace common sense. A daily diet gave great opportunities for quackery and pseudo-science. Aβ an example of this, he remarked that one dietary expert whose writings had received wide publication during recent months dogmatised that proteins and starches should not be taken together at the same meal. This. statement had no scientific reasoning behind it, and was actually impossible of accomplishment, because with very few exceptions all foods were mixtures of two or more food, elements. Furthermore, Nature had provided a perfect digestive mechanism for dealing with three types of food together.