KEEPING HEALTHY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23221, 15 December 1938, Page 6

KEEPING HEALTHY

VITAMINS ESSENTIAL FRUIT DIET IN SUMMER VALUABLE BLOOD PURIFIER Much ado to-day is made about vitamins, those elusive essentials to health, but what they are or where they are to bo found is a matter that to the lay mind at least is still veiled in mystery. The fact remains that these vitamins A, B and C lay the foundations of health and that although they are found abundantly in ordinary iiems of food, it is possible to partake of quite a varied diet that is entirely devoid of them. There are many articles of food that are quite appetising, such as white bread, sugar, even meat and jams that contain no vitamins. Heat either renders the vitamins inert or destroys them so that it is quite possible to rob wholesome food of its nutritive value by cooking it. Apples and Oranges In the quest for health and beauty vitamin C comes valiantly to the rescue. It is found in juicy fruits and vegetables, and you need have no fear that this elusive vitamin is absent if you include apples, oranges, grapes, grapefruit and lemon juice in your aaify dietary. Fruit is especially necessary in early spring and summer During; the colder months of the winter we unconsciously "stoke up" in matters of diet. Our bodies actually demand more heat-producing food when the thermometer is low. We enjoy our breakfast bacon, put plenty of butter on our toast; we revel in crisp buttery crumpets at tea, and in a thousand and one similar ways we make our digestive organs work at high pressure, and, alas! in all probability we give our forms just that extra layer of adipose tissue that makes for an unfashionable outline. Happily, however, a really pleasant remedy is at hand—fruit in many attractive forms. It is without question one of the best blood purifiers obtainable, and how much more agreeable a purifier than compounded by the chemist and prescribed by the doctor. > . • ■ Effect on Complexion Fruit is essential for good health. It contains a large percentage of water and it is well to recognise that water is essential for both the outside and inside of the body if perfect health is to be maintained. If the system is clogged up by all sorts of impurities the complexion becomes muddy and the figure soon lores its suppleness and grace. How, when and where to cat fruit is a problem easily solved. Fruit, when eaten with the early morning cup of tea, gives a good start to the day and, of course, it should grace every breakfast table. At luncheon, "tea and dinner it is equally welcome, and the wise hostess to-day realises that dessert is 110 longer a luxury, but a necessity. Raw fruit is often added to green salads and imparts piquancy, and many women to-day realise the dietetic value of fruitades. Lemonade or orangeade made, of course, from the freshly-strained juice are health-bringing beverages. Taken hot, they make the very best sleep-producing " nightcap " in the world, and taken in the morning half an hour before solid food the diluted fruit juice has a very definite value in banishing adipose tissuo.