HOW TO BE HEALTHY

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 7 January 1928, Page 9

HOW TO BE HEALTHY

THOUGH CIVILISED

'J' HOUGH we are regarded by other nations as the pioneer jreople in outdoor sports and games, in many countries to-day wo find that they have bettered our instruction, writes Sir William Arbuthnot Lane, C. 8., in a recent exchange, i am not thinking now of the purely professional side of sport, or the winning of championships, but of the ways in which physical training and games "are organised for the average public schoolboy and university man. One of our most experienced anaesthetists told me that the public schoolboy of about Hi years of age made the biggest risk in operations, because he was •badly fed, badly drained and badly trained.

Since I first began to draw attention to the wrong dietaries and very inadequate sanitary arrangements in public schools and other institutions for young people, I have received overwhelming evidence from correspondents that those evils are widespread—though one does, not forget the ever-growing number of schools in which 'these requirements are being fully met. In still fewer, however, is proper attention given to physical training. Doctors are only too familiar with the cardiac and other changes resulting from the very casual aud imperfect treatment of the boys. There is seldom any thorough or careful examination or classification of the boys, and usually a master with no medical training is left to determine what games shall be played, and what form of exercise shall be taken. Boys arc thus frequently forced into modes of exercise seriously detrimental to their health, which in many cases is completely ruined. In the United States and Canada, on the contrary, the utmost care is taken, both in the schools and universities, to ensure right diet, sufficient sanitary accommodation, and appropriate training for all boys. In the University of Toronto, for example, I saw not only a magnificent gympasium, bathing pools, etc., but also the system of careful examination by medical men, specially trained for this purpose.

In the early years of the university course some- form of exercise is practically compulsory, but it is always graded according to individual capacity, and with a definite relationship to the physique of the individual as disclosed bv examination.

If sonic of the great public schools of England would send a fully qualified man to Canada and the United States on a mission of inquiry, he would return fully charged with most valuable

information, which could be applied with the greatest advantage to our public school system. Only the innate conservatism of our educational authorities stands in the way. We will go on aiming at producing athletic prodigies, instead of cultivating the physical wellbeing of the average schoolboy who is to become the backbone of the nation. Other nations have leapt ahead of us in many sports for the simple reason that they have learnt the lessons of modern science, and applied them to the organisation of physical exercises. I have been asked to say a little about the place of mineral salts ini .the diet. A well-known dietetic scientist has been good enough to supply me with the following information. Small amounts' only of these salts are required, but they are of such supreme importance that death would soon ensue if these quantities were entirely withheld. Fruits, vegetables, and milk are the mam sources of all the mineral elements. But the amount of each which is present in different foods, varies enormously. A food which is a rich source of one mineral element may bo a .poor source of others, e.g., milk is rich in calcium, but poor in iron. A mixed diet is therefore best to ensure the right amounts and proportions. Faulty cooking easily reduces or destroys the amount, of mineral salts in vegetables, etc. One authority states: “A diet poor in fruits and vegetables is almost certain to lack phosphorous and iron, and a restricted milk supply must mean shortage of the constituent especially important to children and pregnant mothers, namely, calcium.” The bones and teeth are largely composed of mineral salts (compounds of calcium and phosphorus), while iron is necessary for the formation and right action of the blood. Without the presence of these salts in the diet, therefore, teeth and bones cannot be formed properly; nor can the blood perform its duty as oxygen carrier .for the body. The heating, canning, bottling, or maturing of foodstuffs does not harm .the salts, but modern methods of milling remove them from such foods as flour and rice.

A diet which consists largely of these over-refined white cereal foods cannot possibly provide all the mineral salts necessary to growth and health. The vital secretion of the thyroid gland is impossible without salts containing iodine. Thus we sec what an essential part is played by these substances in maintaining health. .