30 PIECES OF BREAD

Hutt News, Volume 13, Issue 41, 3 April 1940, Page 8

30 PIECES OF BREAD

• ~7i *•*>* »>• *• **•■««>. ~ (fiUtiittll*). i

-frha nty qii.Mtianablii tyct» of * fio, tildes ottiteati at oak mattf at tH« ftangtora kealth C&tbp Recently Hi* been given iuftdfe&t pubitoity lb the to Start ail (life youngsters in New sftaland tin a to -bfetiek her-Mtraao-mieal effott. fotfei* iittl# stojnafeAi tflil :be buraUulr witii fulindla and belching with wiM* in efforts to add Jtist one mote slice to the record. Now, the child rens' health campe are tt splendid Idfea. They provide the kt'ddies with a wonderful h6llday aftd gives many a child a new lease of life, to take a delicate, oi underfed, child from She stuffy atmosphere of a congested city area and transplant him for a few weeki in the pure invigorating air of tht countryside is to make a new child of him. The change alone is bott food and medicine to him, and wt hate to depreciate in any way a movement that has as its aim such a laudablte object as the physical and mental resurrection of delicatt or backward little children. Bui when official sanction Is given tc such excessive indulgence in a concentrated and biologically poor food as bread, we think that a little criticism is justified. The fact that £ number of other children wer< known to the authorities to have consumed 20 or more slices of breac at oiie sitting appears to indicat< that encouragement is given th< children to fill up to tlielr fullesi capacity. Children are only toe ready to respond to this kind of en couragement, and if, under th< guidance of their teacherß ant guardians, they come to regard th< dining table as a sort of "festive board" for the gratification of rapa cious appetite, then how on eartl are they to be blamed for conceiv ing the idea that man "lives to eat' instead of the necessity of eating ti live. Unfortunately there was no men tion whether white bread or whole meal- bread was consumed, nor wai any indication given regarding thi thickness of the slices, but to glv< readers some Idea of the quantit; of bread required to cut .'SO slices Just take a 21b loaf and proceed ti cut off these pieces. Cut theto i quarter inch thick. Now, a quarte; inch slice of bread isn't a pafticu larly liberal piece of bread, especl ally for a hungry young camp guest nevertheless 30 slices of this meagn thickness will make a very consider able "hole in a 21b loaf. So much si that there will be a good deal lesi than half a loaf left for the nex meal. Bread is a. highly concen trated food, and to pack such largi quantities as 2d to 30 slices into th< stomach, let alone that .of a pre sumably delicate but neverthelesi hungry child, is to tax the digestiv* capacity far beyond its limits. Now, wholemeal bread, is a gooc wholesome food in moderation. Oni cannot live on bread alone, not evei wholemeal bread. Furthermore, on< cannot live and enjoy a very higl degree of health when bread am other cereal products preponderati to any great extent in the diet Cereals, and bread in particular constitute one of the best and per haps the most convenient forms oi energy food, but ail cereals (ant this, of course, applies to bread possess two bad faults. In the flrsi placed they are acid-forming, and ir ! the second, especially eaten witl silgar, butter, jams or other pre. serves as they usually are, they en courage over-eating. Acidity of the blood, or acidosis as it is called, is one of the mosl common derangements to which the blood is liable, and it is responsible either directly or indirectly, to at

iftfttt 74 per cent, of 411 human 4 Attlicj*iß; the Whaift deiihite system -of tife Wdy. • It lowers the reactance et the nya- ; Uhi to by foreign 'bacteria ana Other dtointegratlhg influences, but a* inWt WoW* are Iter more Concerned With pffeeti rathfef than With : eauili), the ftill _ »ifciilficance of tile potential dangers arising from acidity ate Seldom appreciated. § BOihe dif tfee; flO-cailed minor hut un- | pleasant - dilordehi thai are directly ? lefeociated with acidity include neU- | talgia, neuritis, shingles, urticaria, | eckenla, catarrh, and other inflama- | tory derangements of the mucous | membranes, gravel, etc. Incidentally. f these disorders, when left uncheck- | ed» lay the foundation for most of | the chronic ill-health that makes j iife such a burden to so many of | bur middle-aged and elderly ac- | quaintances. § Acidosis can only arise from eat- j Ing excessive quantities of foods | which contain a preponderance of | ICid residues, and of these the j cereal products (including bread) f are amongst the worst offenders. | To pack food into the stomach is } one of the suu.Ht methods of bring- ] ing about a digestive upset. The S t muscular walls of the org«n become * permanently stretched and weaken- , ed, and may sag and crowd the in- ' testines beneath it. The Btomach .! becomes chronically enlarged and although this enlargement may at first sight appeal to the gourmand as a mighty fine asset, it occurs only as a result of relaxation of the muscular walls. A distended stomach may have a greater cubic capacity than a normal stomach, but only at | the- expense of digestive efficiency. In the last analysis, the amount of food we eat has really very little bearing upon the promotion of our normal growth and functioning. It Is quality we need,, not quantity. . dur reßponsibilly towards our children does not cease with the j provision for a little moral and ' some scholastic training. Essential > as these may be for the attainment ! of a livelihood rind for his development intk a normally raiTonal being ; fit to associate with his fellow men, his physical education is even more essential, for it lays the foundation for ail his other training. It Is the foundation on which his whole life is based.