OUR BUSIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19878, 20 February 1920, Page 7

OUR BUSIES.

(By HTGETA.I

Published under the auspice* of the Hoyal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children.

"It is wiser to put up & fence »t the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.

FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE JUICE.

Onr readers will remember that recently an Australian correspondent asked question with regard to the use of fresh fruit or vegetable juice in the nutrition of a three months’ old babv. In last week’s article, which dealt with the Australian letter, we merely referred to the paragraph on fruit juice, page 40, “Feeding and Care of Baby,” because we wished to go more fully into the matter this week. The following is the text of the question asked:— QUESTION. Vhat vegetable or fruit juice would ?'° u s’ ve daily to a three months’ old infant, What quantity, and how often? REPLY. The whole trend of modern investigation tends to emphasise the importance of the daily use of the juice of fresh fruit or vegetables in all cases of artificial feeding, say from the end of the first month onwards. SCURVY. i’ or hundreds of years it has been recognised that prolonged deprivation oi fresh food was the outstanding cause ot scurvy, which proved so fatal on long sea voyages or on Arctic expeditlon!i- In this disease the composition ot the lands and tissues of the body become so profoundly damaged that .swellings and bleedings of the gravest character take place, especially in connection with the mouth, gums and teeth, but also affecting the joints and bones and the membranes covering them, further, the bones tend to become weak and fragile, so that fractures readily occur. The swollen, spongy and bleeding gums and the teeth, loose in their inflamed sockets, cause intense pain and lend to further impairment of nutrition. There is also great tenderness and pain in connection with the joints and hones The deterioration of the blood manifests itself externally in pallor and sallowness, and there is nrogressive enfeeblement of the mind 'as well as the body, the sufferer becoming dull, torpid and depressed. The extreme gravity of the condition is shown by the de’athlates recorded in various expeditions and military campaigns. In long voyages it was not an uncommon thing to lose 10 or 20 per cent of the sailors trom scurvy, and almost the whole of the crew were liable to be affected. As a preventive fresh meat was found to be only second in importance to fresh fruit and vegetables, and as long as the dogs or pomes held out Arctic expJorers were more or less safeguarded by killing them for food. The following summary from the latest report by the staff of the Lister Institute shows the “ anti-scurvv ” value of various foodstuffs investigatPROTECTIVE VALUE OF VARIOUS FOODSTUFFS AGAINST SCURVY. , res \ l . Vegetables.—The most potent anti-scurvy’ materials are raw cabbage leaves, the raw juice of swede lumps, and the juices of oranges and lemons. Raw cabbage leaves take the first place. Among root vegetables theie are great differences, raw carrot juice and raw beetroot juice proving comparatively feeble, while raw swede juice is placed in the front rank. The potato, jyhich was tested in the cooked gondition (after half an hour’s boiling) would appear to occupy a mean position, in this connection it is interesting to note that the cabbage nad swede are nearly applied species, and belong to the same natural order of plants—‘via crucifene. ”

11. Fresh Fruit.—A,mong the fresh fruits examined, ahe orange and lemon aie easily the most valuable protectivcs against scurvy. It is. therefore, the more surprising to find that the' juice ot fresh limes is distinctly inferior, but sucli it has proved to be. The experiments on this point include tests with monkeys as well as guinea pigs. Ordinary preserved lime juice was found to be almost valueless for the prevention or scurvv.

111. Dried Vegetables and Fruits. Dried vegetables have been found practically useless. Cabbage leaves within two weeks of drying were found tn hare lost about 93 per cent of their original an i-scuryy value, while three months niter drjing loss than 5 per cent was retained.

Most dried fruits showed similar do-

terioration, especially where the fruit was not markedly acid. The above summary makes clear tne foiling important points bearing on the use of fruit and vegetable juice in the artificial feeding oY babies, confirming what has always been advised by the society;—

(1) Orange juice stands first, but where this is not available the juice of apples, grapes, gooseberries, apricots, peaches, plums, etc., may be used. (2) Where fresh fruit is not procurable. the juice of swede turnips, potatoes. carrots or beetroot may be used. It is probable that cabbage juice may prove as efficacious in baby-feeding as it has proved in experiments on monkeys and guinea pigs; but until it has been given a fair trial it would be wiser to exercise caution.

The easiest way to obtain the juice of firm fruits or vegetables is to grate or scrape them, and mis equal quantities of the grated material and cold boiled watdr; then squeeze through muslin or strain through a very fine sieve. Tho use of this may be begun at any time after the first month. Start with 10 drops, and gradually work up to a teaspoonfu! a day in the course of a week. At the end of a mouth allow, say, two teaspoonfuls a day. At the end of three months from time of staring three toaspoonfuls may be given. At the end of four months the allowance may be a tablcspoonfiil. At nine months of age two tablespoonfuls may be given each day.

The best tune to give fresh fruit or fresh vegetable juice is midway between meals, when baby is awake.

The juice may be used cold, Or may be mode tepid by pouring it into a heated tablespoon. When giving fruit juice at first the baby is more likely to take it readily if the temperature of the fluid is about the normal temperature of mother’s milk—viz., lOOdog. Fahr. A baby may refuse cold fruit or vegetable juice; otherwise there is no objection to using it cold. Juices may be used in the following orders of preference, say: (a) Fruit Juices.—Orange, apple., apricot, peach, gooseberry, grape, plumj pear, tomato.

The juice of almost any ripe, sound fruit is suitable, and the above order is only intended to give a rough idea as to what might be be si The sole objection to lemon juice is its extreme sourness.

(b) Vegetable Juices—Swede turnips, garden turnips, potato, carrot, beet, cabbage.