FOOD “FALLACIES” EXPOSED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22114, 18 November 1933, Page 9

FOOD “FALLACIES” EXPOSED

DIET AND EXERCISE MOST NOURISHMENT IN BUTTER COLD BATHS FOR SLIMMINQ.;, ■ (Fboh Oob Own Gobeespondent.i LONDON. October 5. Professor E. C. Dodds, professor, biochemistry, London University, and director of the S. A. Cdurtauld Institute of Biochemistry, delivered an interesting address at the opening session of the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, and made known some disquieting facts about food values and 1 the possibility of slimming successfully. , . Common beliefs which he exploded included those that: ' ■ ":.\ Beef tea, oysters, and lobsters are re* storative; Soup that sets to jelly' is particularly nourishing; Turkish baths, warm baths, massage and exercise all reduce weight; and Toast is less fattening than bread. All these beliefs Professor. Dodds controverted. i , . . "Most people," he said, “have no idea what a nourishing fopd really is ; and during times of convalescence and illness many valuable pounds, are wasted, in preparing more or less valueless dishes to rally the invalid’s strength. _A typical example of this may be found in the misplaced faith of most people in beef tea. “ The anxious mother purchases a pound or so of beef and_ proceeds to boil it for a prolonged period. Then the solid material is strained off, and the watery fluid, which contains the so-called nourishment, is given to the invalid, while the solid matter is usually given to the dog. On this occasion it is very definitely the dog which scores, because 99 per cent, of the nourishment goes to the dog and only I per cent, to the invalid. “To the lay mind there is perhaps no more potent restorative than oysters. Now a dozen oysters will yield 88 calories' of energy. That is to say, the well-to-do. person is spending, say seven shillings to purchase 88 calories of food. But the i slice of brown bread and butter which he eats with the oysters will give him well; over 100 calories. VALUE OP BUTTER. ■ ■

"The most nourishing: of all_ foods is butter, which contains 3600 calories to the pound. "The really nourishing foods are cheap, while the low caloried foods are expensive. A lobster, for instance, when eaten alone, will yield only 90 calories. People refuse bread because they believe it is fattening and eat toast instead. Weight for weight, toast is more nourishing than bread. QUESTION OF WEIGHT REDUCTION. “One often hears the remark that a particular soup must ibe nourishing because it sets to a when cold. This is due to the gelatine which is extracted from the or tendons, but gelatine is one of the few proteins that will not support life.” Clear soup was of a very low caloric value and could be taken with impunity by a fat person. _ “ It is a pity,” Professor Dodds continued, “ to see a diner refusing oysters and clear soup beeduse he fears he will get fat. While his thin friends are consuming low-caloried, delicacies he himself is taking in literally hundreds of calories by eating rolls and butter. “ It is impossible to attempt any form of dieting without reference to an accurate set of food tables, since otherwise unnecessary privation, associated with disappointing results, will almost certainly ensue. “ The question of reduction of weight is a purely scientific and mathematical one, and superstition, blind faith, and various articles of food, referred to as ‘ slimming,’ have no legitimate place. "It is much easier to take in calqries in the form of food than to get rid of them by exercise. EFFECT OF TURKISH BATHS. “ As a means of dissipating energy, Turkish baths and warm and tepid baths have no effect, while massage only reduces the weight of the masseur. “ Cold baths, on the other hand, greatly increase the metabolism, and therefore balance articles of food. A cold bath of five minutes’ duration at 16 degrees centigrade causes the loss of about 70 calories. "Most people have an erroneous view about the weight-reducing character of exercise, and from the point of view of reduction in weight it cannot be recommended unless combined with very’ rigid' dieting.” \ ONE WHISKY—THREE EGGS. “A glass of champagne is equivalent to about 10 minutes’ squash or rackets, and a double whisky and soda would re-

quire the full half-hour to allow for the expenditure of the necessary amount of energy. Remember that a large whisky corresponds in food value to three boiled eggs, yet very few who have dined out would take six boiled eggs as a night cap.” Professor Dodds said that the hardest occupation had been found by thq oxygen consumption test to be that of a Canadian lumberman, or, in this country, of a labourer in a brick yard. These workers expended a total of some 8000 in 24 hours, and had to cat four times as much as the sedentary worker in order to keep their weight from falling. Contrary to the general belief, the hardest mental work made no difference to the oxygen consumption, and brain work made no difference to the energy requirements of the body. The contents of protein, fat, and carbo-hydrates in all food substances had been worked out, and so a diet could be constructed by reference to the tables. Fat was more than twice as nourishing as carbohydrates. “Any form of obesity,”.he added, "can be reduced by suitable application of right principles.” For those who belonged to the “fat” group and wished to adopt some means of assisting the body to work off the excess which would result from the dinner to follow the school’s prize-giving, he said it would be necessary to play five hours and. a-half squash or climb a mountain to the height of Ben Nevis (4406 feet) five times; to walk 60 miles; or to run 30 miles. As another alternative 50 hours’ submersion in a cold bath would be effective.