HEALTH NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 39, 14 August 1926, Page 15

HEALTH NOTES

FOOD

WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES

THE HUMAN ENGINE AND ITS FUEL.

(Contributed by Department of Health")

The uses of food are threefold, viz.; to provide for growth, energy, and maintenance. An illustration from the now familiar motor-car will perhaps make theso terms clear. A motor engine in course of construction requires tho supply of iron, steel, copper, porcelain, insulation material, etc. In the same way the body, during growth, must bo provided with certain building materials. When tho engine is completed fuel must be given in order that work may be done by it. Tho fuel does not enter as a constituent of the fabric, and corresponds to that part of our food which is used for the giving of energy. If the motor is kept at work certain parts require renewal and replacement. In the same way a fraction of tho food is needed for maintenance of the human engine, or for repair of tissue waste resulting from the wear and tear of ordinary life.

Before leaving this analogy let us sec if we can find any further resemblances between the human engine and tho petrol motor. There are certain very necessary constituents of a dietary known as vitamins. If these are absent or in any way deficient, diseases such as scurvy, rickets, and beri-beri may result, goiug on in extreme cases to death. The vitamins have been likened to the spark which explodes the mixture in the cylinder of the motor. Water and salts again are indispensable for the proper working of tho human machine, although they afford no energy. Their function may be likened perhaps to that of a lubricant. REPAIR FOCnS. There is one great difference between the petrol motor and the human engine. .The human body is doing some work all the time, even when resting or asleep. The muscles concerned with breathing and circulation of the blood, for instance, are never at rest. It is obvious then that full health and vigour cannot be maintained without proper food. Food falls into certain groups, each of which has its own special functions. We will now look at each of these in turn. It must be realised, however, that these groups occur in many natural foods in combination. Milk, for instance, is an example of a food which

is complete in itself, although it is not to be recommended as the sole food for adult use. PROTEINS OR BUILDINO AND REPAIR FOODS. Proteins have been compared to building bricks. They build up broken down tissues, form new tissues, and can. also be used as a source of heat and muscular energy. Examples of protein foods are—from the animal kingdommeat, fish, eggs, cheese, and milk, and from the vegetable kingdom—wheat, peas, beans, lentils, etc; Proteins are not of equal value, those in milk, meat, and eggs being the best. CARBOHYDRATES AND TATS OR PUEL FOODS. Carbohydrates and fats . are fuel foods, that is, they cannot be used to build up th 6 tissues, but merely serve as a source of heat and muscular energy. For this reason carbohydrates and fats will not maintain life alone, but must always be used in combination with proteins. Carbohydrates include starchy foods such as potatoes, rice, bread, cereals, etc., and sugars such as ordinary cane sugar, lioncy, sugar of fruits, etc. Examples of fats are butter, cream, fat of- meat, olive oil, etc. Carbohydrates and fats are more or less interchangeable. Fats give more heat than carbohydrates, and for this reason we find a natural desire for more fat to be included in. the diet during the winter months, and in the diet of people living in cold climates. MINERAL SALTS. Mineral iiKi^er is essential for health. It is absolutely necessary in the blood, and is needed also to build up strong bones and teeth. Minerals are found in varying amounts in many foods, but more particularly in milk,'eggs, green vegetables, fresh fruits, and cereals made from whole grain (oatmeal, brown bread, etc.). Those foods are import- ' ant constituents of the diet, particularly in the growing child. ! WATER. Water ia most important. It regulates the temperature, aids digestion, ;ind, indeed, is needed by the blood and overy tissue of the body. It is also tho vehicle for carrying oC certain of the waste products of the body. Few people drink too much wate: f, but may fail to drink enough. A glass in the morning on rising, one before or at each meal, and another on going Co bed is a good, health rule. ' BALLAST OR BULK. So far we have been dealing with foods only from the point of view of : growth, energy, and maintenance. Somothing should be said about the laxative quality of food. Often the diet does not contain enough bulky or indigestible fibroin-iubstaness to stimulate the muscular movement of tho intestines, constipation bein- the result. This will be avoided by to free use of vegetables, especially green vegetables, coarse (brown) breads, and fruits, which furnish the nscessary ballast or buik. The use of f/ieso articles of diet also serves the additional puvposo of giving adequate work to teeth an<} jaws. SOME SIMPLE RULES. Eat foods with a high protein con-

tent (meat, fish, fowl, and eggs), only once ;i clay in moderate amount. Have some green vegetables, somo fruit, and some milk in your diet each day. Dri»k plenty of water. Note: The subject of vitamins will be dealt with at length in a later article.