VALUE OF VITAMINS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21885, 22 August 1934, Page 5

VALUE OF VITAMINS

DISEASE PROTECTORS ' USEFUL HEALTH RECIPES BY OUR FOOD SOCIALIST In our two previous articles wo have discussed the importance of the presence of proteins and mineral salts in our food and we have still to discuss vitamins, roughage, water, carbohydrates and fats. This article is going to deal with vitamins. The term "vitamin" is used to designate certain substances or groups of substances, not yet chemically identified, which are necessary for growth, health and normal body function. Each of the vitamins A, B, C, D, E, F and G has been labelled with a letter of the alphabet, and each has also been given a name based upon a characteristic nutrional function. For example, Vitamin A is also sometimes called the "antiophthalmic vitamin" because of its potency in preventing and curing Xerophthalmia; vitamin D is known as the "antirachitic vitamin" because it helps to protect the body against rickets. It must be remembered, however, that the function of the vitamin is usually much broader than the mere prevention of a specific deficiency disease. Beginning with prenatal development vitamins are essential to the satisfactory nutrition of every individual through his entire life and to prove this it will be sufficient here for us to consider the first four, namely, A, B, C and D. Vitamin A maintains general health and promotes normal growth. When this vitamin is absent or present only in a small amount in the diet of a young child, its weight begins to decline, its digestion and appetite are disturbed and eventually it would develop an infection of the lungs, the ginus, the ears, the bladder and the skin. It is found in milk, cream, butter, cheese, egg yolk, liver, liver oils (especially cod-liver oil, certain root vegetables and the leaves of green vegetables). Ordinary cooking methods do not destroy this vitamin to any great extent. Therefore the following recipes will be very rich in vitamin A. Liver Loaf.—lib. minced liver, half-

cup breadcrumbs, half-teaspoon salt, one egg, one teaspoon onion juice, one 6lice bacon, minced, pepper and chopped parsley to taste. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and bake in a greased dish in a moderate oven for 45 minutes Serve with a brown gravy, preferably one made from liver juice. Cheese and Spinach Roll.—Three bunches spinach, ilb. grated cheese, one tablespoon butter, breadcrumbs. Cook spinach, chop finely, add cheese and butter, and enough breadcrumbs to make a stiff mixture. Shape in a roll and bake in a greased dish in a moderate oven for 3D minutes. Stuffed Tomato Salads. —Lettuce, curds, seasoned; tomatoes, dressing. Scoop out tomatoes and fill with curds and tomato pulp and place on lettuce leaves.

Vitamin B promotes growth and its absence from the diet causes the disease known as beri-beri, in which there. is degeneration of the nerves, which results in paralysis and which occurs when people live too largely on a diet of highly-refined foods. It is found in whole cereals, legumes, vege-

EFFECTIVE FACE PACKS Mud baths and face packs have for uo long been associated with tine rare and costly treatments devised by beauty specialists that it may come as a welcome surprise to know that effective home treatment is possible at the most trifling cost. • The busy housewife can benefit by treatment to a greater extent than most other women, because the variable nature" of her work is responsible for blemishes, grime, wrinkles and harshness of skin. It is appropriate, therefore, that she should go to her kitchen cabinet for a cure, and she will find the riecesary ingredients in the oatmeal tin and the rosewater bottle. Simply mix fine oatmeal to a paste with rosewater, apply to the face, and leave on until it dries and cracks before removing with cotton-wool soaked in warm water. The/above pack is excellent since it both whitens and softens the skin. It should be applied at night-time. For .sensitive and wrinkled skins the white of an egg mixed with a few drops of rosewater is effective. The egg possesses astringent properties—hence its value for removing lines. Lemon-juice, of course, is an excellent medium for whitening the skin, Don't imagine that because the above are practically costless they must naturally be valueless. They are all effective and can be used with every confidence.

tables, milk, eggs and yeast. Hence the following recipes will provide large quantities of vitamin B. Bean Chowder. One-quarter-cup cooked bacon, diced, one cup cooked beans, half-cup diced potato, one tablespoon cornflour, one and a-half cups hot milk, half-cup diced carrots, one-eighth-cup cold water, lialf-cup diced turnip, half-tablespoon butter, celery salt to taste. Cook vegetables in boiling water until tender. Add cornflour mixed with cold water and cook until thickened. Add butter, hot milk, season and serve. Wheatmeal Butter Sponge.—One breakfastcup light brown sugar, one breakfastcup wheatmeal, three eggs, five tablespoons milk, 2oz. butter, two level teaspoons baking powder. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one by one, and beat thoroughly. Then add wheatmeal, etc.. lastly milk. Bake in two well-greased sandwich tins in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes. Fill with suitable filling. A Cure lor Scurvy Vitamin C prevents and cures scurvy. The symptoms of mild scurvy are much like those of malnutrition—failure to grow; loss of weight, pallor, irritability and lack of vitality. It is also necessary for the production of sound teeth and therefore every prospective and nursing mother and every growing child should receive* a liberal supply. It is found in fresh fruits and vegetables, particularlv the green lerfv vegetables, and milk. T'nfortunatelv, most fruits and vegetables lose much of their original content of vitamin C when cooked. Therefore, it would be wise whenever possible to eat these foods raw; example, cabbage salad instead of cooked cabbage. A tempting dessert which is rich in vitamin C is:—Whey fluff: Two level tablespoons gelatine, quarter breakfast cup cold water, two cups whey, two-thirds cup sugar, one cup grated carrot, one lemon rind and juice, one egg white. Soak gelatine in the cold water and dissolve it by putting dish in hot water. Add whey and mix thoroughly, add sugar and cool. When it begins to thicken, beat and add juice and grated lemon rind and carrot. Fold in egg white beaten stiff and put in mould.

Prevention of Rickets Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins. Its function is to help regulate the utilisation of calcium and phosphorus in the body. An insufficient supply of this vitamin results in a lowered condition of the intestinal tract; a lowered concentration of calcium and phosphorus in the blood; defective calcification of hones (rickets and retarded growth). The best food sources of vitamin D are cod liver oil and egg yolk, and it is found in small amounts in milk, cream, butter and green vegetables. Ordinary cooking temperatures are believed to have little effect upon vitamin D. The two following dishes would make an excellent whole luncheon and would provide ample vitamin D for the day: —Spinach souffle: Two cups cooked spinach, one cup milk, half-teaspoon-ful salt, two eggs. Chop up spinach finely. Add milk r.nd seasoning to spinach. Add beaten yolks and fold in beaten whites. Bake in moderate oven until firm.

Floating Island.—Two cups scalded milk, three eggs, quarter-cup sugar, one-eighth teaspoonful salt, half teaspoonful vanilla. Separate whites from yolks of eggs. Beat yolks slightly, add sugar and gradually stir in hot milk. Cook in a double boiler,'stirring until it thickens. Add flavouring and salt. Pour into a serving dish and place stiffly-beaten whites in spoonfuls on top. The heat from the custard is sufficient to set the egg whites. Serve cold. This is also an excellent dessert for children.

BEAUTIFYING HANDS Before starting on a dirty job, fill the nails with a special peroxide- paste or some soap, or use face powder for the purpose. Wear strong leather or chamois gloves for outdoor work, and cotton or rubber gloves indoor, but to avoid keeping your nails in a perpetual Turkish bath, don't wear rubber gloves all day, states an overseas writer. Don't leave grime on the hands; wash it off immediately with warm water. The nail tips can be bleached by using nail strings impregnated with chlorine and peroxide. Water for washing the hands should be neither hot nor cold, but a comfortable warmth. It should be softened, and the soap used should be of the super-fatted variety. Instead of a nailbrush, use a soft cup-shaped sponge that, by gentle suction, will help to draw out grime. As for cuticles, they simply must not be pushed about. When they require treatment they must be gently lifted with a special instrument, and their growth painlessly checked with a cream that fulfils the triple duty of keeping cuticle. at bay, fortifying and strengthening the nail itself, and clearing away acid secretions that form under the cuticle. LINEN LABELS Cuffs and fronts of starched white linen when they are no longer fit for wear may be turned to account as labels. For garden use these linen labels are strong and weatherproof. They are also handy for indicating the contents of parcels in cupboards and storerooms, for they may be cut in convenient sizes, and are smooth and easy to write on.