THE NEW HEALTH SOCIETY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19759, 9 April 1926, Page 12

THE NEW HEALTH SOCIETY.

HOW TO KEEP EXT. VALUABLE ADVICE FREE ('7 COST. (Fsom Ode Own Corheseondekt.) LONDON, February 24. A great ileal of very excellent advice may be read in an article specially written by Sir B Bruce-I’orter on behalf oi the New Health Society, cf which he is one oi the original members. The sole object of the society, it wll’ be recollected, is the promotion of the health of the nation. People are advised by the society to visit their doctors for periodical examination and bo warned of the signs of oncoming disease. Healthy people, it is pointed out, are happier people, and long before anyone breaks down so badly as to need hospital treatment. • that person has lost efficiency and is doing lower "fade work than should bo done, and this means lo?s of reputation to the firm, and loss of orders and dismissal of some fellow-workers. The main point for the nveratre mat, and woman is how to keep fit. Hundreds of years age at the great hospital at Mansur, in Cairo. . patient on leaving ins given four gold pieces in order that lie might rest and get fit before returning to his work. It has always seemed to Sir Bruci one of the most serious defects in the medical and industrial system that sufficient ea 1 is not taken at (he outset to prevent a man breaking down, and at the tber cm] cf returning to his work befor be is quite Ihe Essentials f life are the same, *’o mattei under what conditions one lives, and he can find no better example that that of a city that people need fresh air, fresh water, fresh food. and. a irood drainage system. The tragedy is that the av ee parents of (he nast knew so little of the sininle laws of health that much damage resulted in the early days, and the foundations laid of diseases which eriople in middle life, just when the family responsibility is greatest. § POINTS TO THINK (TVER. FRESH AIR. Sir Bruce writes Tam often called a h air fiend. So 1 stn, but it is quite a mistake to think that draughts causes colds, and, of the two evils, a clot window with lack of ventilation or an open one with a draught, there can be no question the lesser is the pen window- Germs are the cause of ds, and the stuffy atmosphere the best means of spreading them. I was impressed latelv by the experience of a firm in which colds have been reduced by 75 per cent, by means of improved ven Elation. '‘The man or woman who blocks up a ventilator ts a criminal of the worst type, who should be in prison, as he or she is depriving fellow-workers of an essential to * life, tending to lower their vitality >o that they may fall victims to ill-health. WORST TRAIT? OF THE OPPOSITE SEX. “Thu greatest essentials of health are Iho simple things within reach of all, but it is surprising how few grasp them significance until they are cut off. When we see a man or woman holding themselves up arid walking we are almost inclined to turn and look after them, Ihe present craze of the young woman to haM; flat chests and willowy figures is a wretched one, as ’t will exact its penalty in middle life, and will not tend to a healthv old a <r C , These young people are asKing tor trouble, and will get it They ran count on indigestion and all its miseries, and also a far greater chanre of consumption A big price to pay . for looking like a ivecdy ill-developed young man! Why a woman should wish to copy the worst traits oi the-, opposite sex I cannot understand There can be but little doubt the craze will pass, and the sooner the better it health is to count. Ihe size of the chest is not in 'tself the main thing, but wnat really counts is the expansive capacity. The only air I am afraid of is air winch has been contaminated by human usage. RECEIPT FOR A CLEAR COMFLEXION. . “It is surprising how ignorant the average man is 'on the subject of water. I think it is because he does not realise the waste products of the tissues are got nu of mainly by the lungs, skin, and kid neys, and they all require liquid for the puprose. lam often asked; ‘is it wrong to drink with meals?' and my answer is; Tt will be better to drink between meals. But this is not practicable for many people, and it wiser in these cases to drink at the end of the meal. The, danger of drinking at meals is that it enables the person to moisten his food and swallow it without chewing. The amount of water needed doi>cnds on many factors of work and temperature, and dryness Of the atmos pberc, but taken as an average it is suth eient to drink, as water, a couple of pints a day. Some folk say that they never drink as they are never thirsty, and yet they would be shocked if told never to wash unless (hey fee! dirty. THE STAFF OF LIFE AND OTHER FOODS. “The man who cheats the public by tampering with food is a criminal often on a par with the murderer. Industrialism has collected the bulk of the population into cities and towns. 1 sometimes feai it may destroy our civilisation. Jo 'lore tood indefinitely moans that it must not be live food and so we find the working man lelymg more and more on tinned foods Tinned foods tire not in themselves pad, provided ihey are supplemented by live foods. I condemn them only where they displace all the natural foods, and if we 'must use them let them any.iow be pro ducts of the Empire. No doubt the want of knowledge of the overage girl of cooking is responsible, and if at school guts wou'd be teamed in this important branch of housewifery we would have much hupP *"Bcfore the days of roller mills, when wheat was ground by millstones, and the stupid craze for white Hour had not been introduced, bread was, in itself, a valuable food. To-day it has been reduced in value to an extraordinary extent, and few people realise why they are eating white bread. They arc eating it because the millers have decided the question tor them. 1 find several reasons why the millers should, from a business point of view, prefer white flour. 1. Not being a live food, it will keep indefinitely, so can be imported as flour. 2. It will hold 10 per cent, more water than wholemeal flour. 3. It can be adulterated with any other starch. “The second and third of these reasons are against the consumer, and 1 think two to one against is enough to make me avoid it. Natural foods are best, and bread is a vital food for the working class, so any tampering with it is criminal. In the production of white flour the first thing to go is the germ, which contains valuable salts; the rough coating being an aid to digetsion in that it regulates the bowel. The us. oi bleaching gas to make a white flour is very bad, ,and is enough, in some cases, to produce skin irritations in those using it, “When we consider the extent to which poor children rely on bread it is scandalous that white flour should be allowed. I know- of no more tragic sight in the food line than to go a train journey through the country districts and see fresh vegetables rotting in the fields because they cannot be brought within reach of the people who need them most at a price w ithin their means. The problem oi getting suitable fresh foods within reach of the poor is a matter of supreme importance if the nation is to regain its lost health. Buck a condition of things ought' not to be possible; when food is abundant the people should be able to secure it cheaply. THE BEST ALL-ROUND DIET. “People have an idea that rod moat means good blood, but this is a lallacy. There is more iron in spinach than in beef. The best all-round diet is one made up of wholemeal bread, butter, milk, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and cheese. The tendency of the meat-eater is to bolt his food just as do the carniverous animals, and tliis habit of bolting food has evil effects of a far-reaching character. . First — neglect to use the teeth means decay. Second, when you bolt your food and ask the stomach to do the work of the teeth indigestion soon results, and nothing can produce so much misery' as digestive disturbances. Why, even the facial expression of thi dyspeptic is characteristic, (liven a proper mixed diet with a good proportion of rough material there should lie no difficulty in seeing that the next point is assured—-i.e., a good drainage s,\ stem. THE DIGESTIVE TRACT. “The body lives round the digestive tract just us the hom-es in a town are built round the street. I have explained, when dealing with the need of a good water snpnlv that the waste of the actual body is carried off by the excretion of the kidneys and the skin. The main street has left in if the excess of food and the carts not required for any reason. _ It is not enough to pay a morning visit. Care should be, taken that the result is satisfactory. and wise people will arrange that the street is emptied a least twice daily.

■‘Vegetables are, essential articles of diet as they contain valuable salts and are regulating materials for the human machine. The well-being of the teeth depends on their being Used and if you rat vegetables and fruit vou must chew them. Cooking to a moderate degree does not destroy the whole of the vitamines in cabbage. Raw {nuts and vegetnb'es are best but if suitable rough food be taken and a regular habit established. there should be no need of medicines. The fortunes of pill-makers are larglv due to the absence of rough material in food eaten. “Whatever be the germ which is the determining cause of cancer, there can be no Question that constipation is the most prominent factor in preparing the ground for this germ to act. I have never seen cancer in a patient who had not been the subject of constipation. CARK OF THE TEETH. “The care of the teeth is important apart from, the appearance. Neglect means decay, ant! about the roots of decayed j teeth germs breed and from there infect | the blood stream and cause rheumatism and heart disease and stomach trouble. The more we study the causation of disease the more we find evil results from septic faci. I have seen patients who had inflammation of the retina going on to blindness merely from al>ces« at the roots of the teeth. The germs from decayed teeth get into the digestne tract and grow there at a great rate ami nhsornt ion of their poisons produces rhcnrtiatl-m and blood tmi-onine of a very dangerous and fatal type, mar come -imply from the infection til (he root- of the tooth.’’