Evening Star Newspaper, October 26, 1930, Page 88

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., OCTOBER 26, 1930. The American housewife is largely responsible for the food habits of the family, for in @ majority of cases persons like foods to which they are accustomed. BY NELL RAY CLARKE. O eat or not to eat—what and why, and if not, why not—seems to be a moot question among modern physi- cians and dietitians. “Count your calories! Watch your vitamins!” have been the battle cries of an army of health enthusiasts, until the greatest indoor sport of the American housewife is sur- reptitiously feeding the family on a diet which is purported to keep all members physically fit and full of pep. Food experts and nutrition specialists have hurled their dictums at our heads until what to eat and why have become popular topics of conversation. on. “Eat moderately,” she said, “taking ordinary mixed diet containing sufficient natural foods, when their meals are appreciated. Therefore, they are likely to be guided by the choice of their menfolk. “It is the responsibility of the American housewife to see that the family gets food which it really needs. What she puts on the table is limiting the opportunity of choice of the family and to a largs extent is responsible for forming their food habits, because most of us like the foods to which we are accustomed. This increases her responsibility. “A great deal of the talk about certain foods disagreeing with people is largely bosh,” Dr. Stanley said. Then she explained. “We must remember that many likes and dislikes are basically psychological. Too much analysis of the diet question may account for them in some cases. We are sometimes resent- ful of regulation of our food likes and dislikes on an intellectual basis. At the same time, we must remember that even in digestion palata- bility plays an important part. While we are % Research Carried on at the Bureau of Home Economics, Washington, D.C., Indicates That Man’s Natural Likes and Aver- stons Are His Best Guides. the natural foods which our grindfathers and great-grandfathers ate as a matter of custom.” “How about these husbands who would like steak and potatoes 365 days in the year?” Dr. Stanley was asked, «well, T wish you would go upstairs and look at what a diet of steak, whole wheat and butter, mmdnlt——agoodbnslcdlet——hndmeto our white rats,” she said. “They weigh only about half as much as those who had, in ad- dition to that basic diet, all the vegetables they would eat and some milk to drink. But weight is only a small part of the story. The rats that went without vegetables and milk were poorly developed physically, even deformed. “The only gospel we are trying to preach to people about foods is to get the proper pro- portion of the essential fcod elements during the course of the day or week. It makes little difference what foods they are obtained from.” Attention was called to the fact that the food experts of the Bureau of Home Economics recommend that fruits and vegetables in va- riety and sufficient in quantity to supply 20 per cent of the total calories should be eaten, provided, of course, that the remainder of the diet is well proportioned. The wife who serves one-fifth of the food she puts on the table from each of the following five groups can hardly go wrong: Pirst, vegetables and fruits; W hether or not persons select enough differént foods from a cafeteria display to get the elements their systems need depends on the food habits they have formed at home. the psychology of foods, we might also that the idea that certain foods disagree th you is mental in origin. Sometimes this develop into a food idiosyncrasy, making it impossible for people to eat certain foods. remember a small girl whose family be- 1 been observed. ood likes and dislikes rents and older mem- foods or make disparaging remarks or even simply refuse them. When father refuses milk, y may think it is grown-up not to drink 1] L trouble with people today is that too many highly refined and highly flavored foods prevent the development of their natural appetites. It would be even difficult to recog- nize a natural like in many cases, because the highly refined foods have led us away from second, the proteins—fresh foods, poultry, game, fish and seafoods, eggs, milk and cheese; third, cereal grains—flour, meal, breakfast foods, bread, rolls, crackers; fourth, sugar foods— sugar, molasses, honey, sirups, candy, sweet chocolate, preserves, jellies, jams and mar- malades; Afth, fats and fat foods—butter, oll, lard, suet, cream, bacon, pork sausage and nuts. Meal planning is just the wholesome and at- tractive combining of these natural foods so that a sufficient quantity of those substances called body nutrients may be obtained. Some very interesting experiments have re- cently beem made by Dr. Clara M. Davis in newly weaned infants to choose their food. But all the foods set before the children were natural foods, unmixed, un- seasoned and unaltered except that some of them had been cooked in the simplest manner. The foods offered the children contained no made dishes, such as custards, bread or soup. There was no water, but milk of two kinds, and the milk was not poured over the cereal. Even the salt was put in a separate saucer, Under such conditions, although the idea of permitting a baby to eat what he wanted and as much as he wanted seemed radical enough, it was almost impossible for him to go wrong. Therefore, the experiment in no way is to be compared with putting before young children such edibles as roast turkey, baked ham, stuffed Eat What You Want When You Want It Dr, Louise Stanley, chief of the Burean of Home Economics. duck, pastries, gravies and combination dishes, such as puddings and souffles. The astonishing feature of the experiment to the layman is that these 7-month-old young- sters ate remarkable quantities of a wide range of foods, with virtually no digestive disturbances at all. And the results seem to be equal, if noé better, than the results which have been obe- tained in the past by commonly prescribed diets, from the standpoints of the growth, weight, bone development, muscle development, gencral vigor and appearance of health and well-being. It is to be understood, of course, that the range of foods included on the tray contained all the elements of nutrition—the proteins, fats, _ carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. The cooking was done in steam-pressure cookers to insure the retention of the soluble sube stances, the meats were finely cut and the vege tables and fruits mashed or cut. TRAY containing fifteen or sixteen saucers of the food was set on a low table before the child. Two spoons were provided—one for the child, if he showed a disposition to use it, and the other for the nurse. At first the nurse sat by, but made no movement and offered no suggestion or comment. When the baby reached or pointed to a certain dish the nurse then, and only then, took up a spoonful and put it into the child’s mouth; but only if he opened his mouth to take it. He was refused nothing he reached for and he was permitted to feed him- self as much as he chose. He was not corrected or instructed. Soon he was able to feed him- self. nhe.teanolagclvenporunnoffood the saucer was filled again and again until he had all he wanted. Not the slightest concern was shown whether he ate his food or not, but Dr. Davis found that the children always ate. During the first few months they showed a wide range of selection of foods, which sometimes resolved into lttle more than sampling, but after that time each seemed %o settle down to certain definite preferences, varying with the individual child. It was noticed that certain children liked certain things, although it was never possible to predict from day to day what individuals would eat. Dr. Davis says that the babies have been free from digestive disturbances. She further points out that the babies are above the average in weight for their heights, and the three older ones, who have been on the experiment for the longest time, show the greatest increase above the average, and that although none of the children is fat, they are healthy, vigorous and active. As a sage comment, she adds that probably the lack of appetite manifested by some chil- dren is often due, in part at least, to inter- ference with the child’s attempts to eat as he pleases in accordance with the dictates of his own appetite and to the emotional strain conse- quent upon attemptis to make him eat certain things in definite amounts and in prescribed order and manner. So probably, after all, eating what we wané when we want it lsn’t such a bad practice. (Copyright, 1930.) Tuberculosis Test Upheld. 'I‘n:mmu-mtomw.mm’spn- vate domain to imsist upon health work has been upheld again, this time in Jowa, where the Supreme Court recently ruled that the tuberculin testing of cattle was legal. The suit was brought by a number of cattle men in Mitchell County, who sought an injunc- tion to prevent the enforcement of the testing law. The court held that the test was accurate and had proved its worth, and went even further and ruled that bovine tuberculosis was transmittable to human beings, a question upon which medical experts are not of a unanimous opinion. 3