HEALTH ON THE MENU

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 153, 25 March 1937, Page 7

HEALTH ON THE MENU

Food Calories Are The Meter Units By Which Women Can Check i & The Value Of Meals

(By The Dietitian—Series No. 11.) AACHEN your feet have been placed on the road to good ’ health, you will want to know how to keep them going straight along the track. To do this, a knowledge of the correct amount of food to eat is desirable, and the only way to obtain it is to reduce your meals into calories.

is a standard unit of nutritional heat. Just as there are so many units of heating power in a foot of gas, so there are so many units, or calories, of heating power in the food we eat. Different people, naturally, require more or less food than do others. This does not so much depend on appetite, which can be controlled, as on the amount of work performed. A bricklayer or navvy, for instance, requires much more food than a woman who has her own ear, drives everywhere, and perforins no housework. In the first case, a huge amount of energy is being consumed, with a corresponding large number of heat units. Children, who are always consuming energy, therefore require practically as many calories as does an adult, f pilE following chart will give an idea of the number of calories which should be consumed daily to ensure . good health Calories. Child, 2 to 6 rears 1.000 to 1.600 Child, 6 to 12 1,600 to 2,500 Child, 12 to 18 2,500 to 3,000 Woman, at rest 1,600 to 2,100 Typiste, or worker in other sedentary occupation 2,000 to 2.300 General housework .... 2.300 to 2,600 Hard work 3,000 If you are below average height, then slightly less than the above number of calories will be needed. Providing you

keep within the bounds of your calorific needs, you can regulate your weight and improve your health. JIERE is a list of the most common and principal foods, showing their j value in calories for the average help- i ing:--Meats. Calories. I Beefsteak 185 i Roast beef 150 Chicken (one slice) ISO Chop 150-300 Bacon, one rasher 100 Ham 300 I Sausage, one 60 I Fish 135 I Salmon 200 Lobster 100 I Oysters 100 I Soups. Thick 125 j Thin 15 j Vegetables. | Asparagus 5 i Beetroot 30 : Beans 15 Cabbage 10 ' Cauliflower 20 Carrots 20 Celery 15 Onions 100 Parsnips 25 Peas 100 Potatoes 100 I Spinach 25 Tomato 50 I,

Single Fruits. Apple 50 Banana 100 Cherries (lib.) IGO I Grapes (lib.) IGO Lemons 30 | Orange 100 i Peach 50 I Pear 00 Plum 30 Dairy Produce and Cereals. Butter (loz.) 100 | .Milk, one glass 160 I Egg ....'. SO Breakfast cereals 100 From the above chart you should be able to make a satisfactory choice ' of foodstuffs, covering your tastes and | giving the necessary .amount of calories I Io assure good health. It should govern | your menu. FINAL word : Sleep should be regu- | ' lar and unbroken, and a tranquil i outlook on life must be yours. No matter how much you may worry, it will not make things easier for you, whereas ' freedom from this nervous state will aid the digestion. Make up your mind now to be healthy. Cut out the above ehart and paste it in a prominent place, and follow it regularly for your meals. In this way you will know the satisfaction of perfect health. The .series will conclude with a description of the 18-day diet.