THE BROTHERLY WAY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 101, 2 May 1938, Page 6

THE BROTHERLY WAY

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELFARE. THE WHOLE HOG. Dear People. - "What a world! What a world!' gurgles John Newzealand. with his knuckles at his gums, in the hope of detecting an eariy tooth, "let it is just this very wor d that I shall be up against, when once I am able to walk and talk and pay taxes. The price of life in a democratic country such as ours necessitates perfect physical and mental fitness; but it is not at all certain that my own resistance to disease has been guaranteed beyond peradventure. Custom makes monsters of us all, and it may possibly be that my mother is civilised to such an extent that she docs not care for raw greens and ra v fruit; perhaps she has developed into a tea-drinking fiend, with her taste for wholesome milk ruined for ever and a day. To a simple babe like myself, it seems passing strange that the twentieth-century is having to start learning all over again about the value of milk, especially in the case of an expectant mother. Ancient Food Hygiene. “The body-building properties of j milk have been extolled through I many a long century.” meditates I John. "Ancient philosophers were I certainly not in a position to analyse , mJ to classify the components ot milk as to energy-giving nutrients, j protein, fat and carbohydrate; all the Known essential vitamins; the minetals calcium, phosphorus, iron, sul- ! phur, iodine, magnesium, potassium. I sodium, chlorine and copper; and a I number of trace-elements such amanganese, zinc and fluor : e. Never-. theless, the wise men of o' '-en times i the priests, the medicine-men. the; magician.-, the prophets and the ■ sooth-sayers—knew that milk was I composed of substances which are i essential to health, strength, sanity | and fertility. The great Book upon whose teachings the Christian na- ! ticns of the earth are presumed to j base their philosophy abounds in re- I fetences to the body-building and growth-promoting properties of milk. Says Peter, in one passage: ■tDesire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby. Helping The Expectant Mother. "Whenever there is a food de- i ficiency,” John reminds himself, "its results will naturally show themselves most markedly at any time of particular physical or mental strain. Special need for milk and for the other protective foodstuffs arises in the case ot expectant and nursing mothers, as they have of course to perform extra nutritive functions in addition to nourishing their own bodies. Much of the sickness and disability usually associated with J child-bearing can be substantially re-i duced by improving the food habits of the expectant mother. One of the I commonest defects of modern diets is a faulty mineral supply, leading to disordered calcium metabolism, so that the mother has to sacrifice the calcium salts or her own bones in fi-.nqr of the coming child. This results in far too many cases of in-1 creased tendency to dental caries in i women, just as the very time when ; their teeth need to be at their best. I Preventible Misery. “Other preventible complaints during pregnancy and which are apparently caused by defective calcium. nutrition include muscle soreness and I

weakness, with the consequent In* ability to perform ordinary daily duties. This kind of suffering Is not relieved either by resting during the day or on retiring at night. There is also the inability to sit or to lie long in one position—a condition often associated with intervals of more definite muscle spasm and contractions which may be very severe. In a recent official investigation made in the United States on 576 cases of pregnancy, 55 per cent. (316 cases) complained of symptoms of this very nature. This kind of trouble not only makes the mother's life a misery, but also is apt to cause defective development and diminished resistance to disease in the coming child. Look After The Calcium Supply. ‘'But by Hananiah, Mizrael and Azariah!” mutters John, warming up to his subject, “there is often not the slightest need for any of this civilised misery! Most of it is preventible, for in the 316 cases of muscle soreness and weakness mentioned, relief followed almost without exception upon the administration of additional calcium and vitamin D. It must always be remembered that the expectant mother has to provide many essential chemical substances for the growing foetus. Between the twentyeight week of pregnancy and the full term, my mother had to supply me with as much as 25 grammes of calcium and 15 grammes of phosphorus. If. therefore, the expectant mother wishes to do herself and the coming baby the barest justice, she will prepare herself for this kind of duty bytaking into her system an adequate supply of milk and other protective foodstuffs. Prevention of Anaemia. “A nursing mother has to provide as much as 0.4 gramme of calcium daily to her baby. This process, over a period of months, causes a large drain on her own supplies, unless she is receiving an abundant amount in her food. In a Norwegian investigation. eleven women out of sixteen expectant mothers were found to be in a condition of negative calcium balance towards the end of their pregnancy. That is to say, these mothers were losing more calcium from the body than was being made up to them in their food. Another substance which is likely’ to be deficient in the diets of pregnant women is iron, of which the maternal organism has to supply a relatively large quantity to the foetus. A very large proportion of women of child-bearing age suffer from anaemia, a condition which is exaggerated during pregnancy and nursing. In an investigation made a little while ago at a hospital in London, fifty per cent, of the expectant mothers were found to be suffering in this way. .This very common deficiency can be prevented (or cured) by eating foodstuffs rich in iron, such as meat, egg-yolk and vegetables.” Yours as ever, (These articles outline the programme for the prevention and amelioration of physical and mental disability which constitutes the aim of the Physical and Mental Welfare Society of New Zealand, to be published later in pamphlet form.)