FOOD AND DISEASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13967, 28 September 1918, Page 4 (Supplement)

FOOD AND DISEASE.

An interesting lecture on food values and their relation to disease, was given by Dr. Florence Keller on Tuesday evening at the Gas Company's room in Wyndham Street. Disease, said the speaker, enters our system through .three gates— lungs, the digestive sources and the skin. Fourfifths of the diseases of the body are contraded through the alimentary canal Therefore the condition of our teeth which are responsible for the process of mastication is a matter of great importance. It is a lamentable fact that in New Zealand, people suffer more from their teeth thart do the inhabitants of any other country in the world, with the exception of Australia. Without proper mastication we do not obtain the full value from our food and the alimentary canal gets out of order, a state of affairs which very largely results in the popularity of health resorts where mineral water may be obtained. ..;.•■• ' The general health depends largely upon the purity of the food we take, and both our milk and water supply should receive careful attention in this direction. Pure milk is practically a perfect food, but being opaque, impurities are very often hidden. The present method of delivering milk whereby dust and dirt from the streets can blow into the cans, ought to be discarded and we should receive our milk in sealed bottles. Our diet should contain a certain amount of uncooked vegetables which are usually served in the form of salads. Very often, uncooked ' vegetables are germ-carriers, and to avoid any danger in this direction these salads should be served with dressings. An ordinary mayonnaise dressing which is very wholesome is made by mixing one well-beaten egg with half a cupful of olive oil or one cupful of cotton-seed oil. to which a little salt and the juice of one lemon is added. This dressing adds to the nourishment of the salad and nullifies'ill-effects from germs.