Children are growing taller, huskier, healthier.

PT HEALTH FEATURE

Role vitamins play

e \
haa these days grow tall-

, huskier and healthier. A
major share of the credit for
gains in child health is due to
advances in nutrition, and the
growing body of medical infor-
mation about the role vitamins
play in proper diets.

The existence of what was call-
ed vitamins was not clearly prov-
ed until 1906 when the British
nutritionist, Sir F. Gowland Hop-
kins, showed that rats fed a puri-
fied diet needed something pres-
ent in milk solids in order to
survive. Hopkins call the un-
known milky-solid substances ~
“accessory food factors.” _

Just what is a vitamin? -

In the early years of research
on this subject, vitamins were
generally viewed as “biocatalysts”
—substances that promoted es-
‘sential chemical reactions in the
body without directly taking part
in the reactions themselves. Fur-
ther research has made it clear
that they also function in other
ways. For example, vitamin A
is the source of one of the prin-
cipal substances involved in néght
vision.

Nutritionists now refer to vita
mins as substances obtained from
food or some other external
source and which are needed only.
in very small amounts.

a be %

As of early 1954, 13 vitamins
were accepted as probably essen-
tial for normal development and
health in man, all of them avail-
able in well-balanced diets that

includes milk, fat, meat, cheese, _

starch, sugar and green leafy
vegetables.

Although the functions of some
of the 13 are only now being
worked out, eight have been well-
known since the mid-thirties.
Here is a brief summary of the
“classical” eight that can help
you acquire proper eating habits:

Vitamin A. An oil-soluble yel-
low compound related to the yel-
low carotenoid pigments of car-
rots and leafy green vegetables.
Carotenoids eaten with food are
transformed into vitamin A and
stored in the liver: Essential for
normal growth and resistance to
infection, as well as night vision.

Thiamine. A crystalline com-
pound with a yeastlike odor.
Found in whole wheat, oatmeal,

nutrition

pork. Essential to utilization of
carbohydrate and fat in the body.

Riboflavin. A yellowish powder.
An essential constituent of all
animal and plant cells.. Found
in liver, milk and leafy veget-
ables. Lack of riboflavin causes
severe damage to the eyes, fis-
sures at the corners of the mouth
and a severe skin disorder.

Niacin. Liver and lean meat
are the best dietary sources of
niacin, although milk and eggs
contain generous amounts of tie
protein constituent, tryptophan,
which is normally converted in
the body to niacin. Lack of this
vitamin leads to pellagra.

Vitamin C. A pleasant, sharp-

, tasting crystalline substance. Vit-

amin C is found in tomatoes and
citrus fruits. It play a part in
the formation of connective tis-
sues and of red blood cells and
is essential to normal wound
healing. :
Vitamin D. An oil-soluble sub-
stance existing in several forms,
this vitamin is essential to bone-
building. It can be taken in the
form of milk, fish liver oil or
concentrates. And the body

makes its own vitamin D when .

the skin is exposed to the ultra-
‘violet rays of the sun or a sun
jamp.

Vitamin E. This appears to be
required by all animal cells,
though its function remains un-
known. It’s found in green leafy
vegetables and vegetable oils.

Vitamin K. Found in abund-

ance in green leafy vegetables, -

+ this seems to play an important
part in blood clotting.

One important thing to remem-
per is that if you eat a well-
balanced diet, you do not need to
take vitamins in special forms ex-
cept in special circumstances pre
scribed by your doctor.

There may be times when a doc-
tor has to prescribe synthetic
vitamins — as in pregnancy or
when the patient is deficient in
certain vitamins —- but the best
way to stay healthy is by eating
the vitamins that nature grows
for us, ws

In other words, buy your vita-
mins from your grocer and dairy-
man rather than from the drug-
gist.

OPEN FORUM

Eastern lumber camps

WOODWORKER, Kapuskasing,
Ontario: For an old westerner,

these eastern lumber camps seem
like some of the camps I used to
work in out west 35 years ago.
Yet men I have talked to here
say this camp is better than many
in Northern Ontario.

The bunkhouses are 96 feet
long and 24 feet wide,’ and house
41 men in each one. A few years
ago, I am told, the same bunk-

house held twice this number!

Wages are away below western
standards, although every work-
er is a member of the Lumber
and Sawmill Workers Union.
This union was once a good union,

built by the rank-and-file, but a-

few years ago Cooper stepped in
and the Canadian officials were
ousted. Since then there have
been no demands for better
wages or better working condi-
tions.

About board — there is always
lots of food on the table, but it
is very poorly prepared. Board
costs $1.75 a day; laundry is $1.50

It will a6

HAVE been shopping around

with my wife who has sud-
denly become interested in
washing machines.

After seeing a number of
models demonstrated by high
pressure salesmen, I fell into
a slight daze, and I cannot al-
together vouch for the accur-
acy of the following demon-
stration:— :

bos % ut

And here we have the new
washing’ machine, the Mendix.
The clothes are inserted in
this aperture here and by an
entirely new and revolution-
ary device they are wet or dry
cleaned in ten seconds flat. —

They are automatically iron-
ed and hung up to dry in the
washing machine, which by a
simple attachment is turned
into a airing cupboard. An-
other simple attachment quick-
ly turns the machine into a
dish washer.

The dishes are inserted here
and after they are washed and
ironed by a new process all
you have to do is to take this

clean it thoroughly — in the
washing machine if you like
— and the washing machine
can be cleaned simply by plac-
ing it in the dishwashing at-
tachment.

By another simple device
the machine can be adapted
for use as a vacuum cleaner.
You and your husband just
hold the carpet over the mach-
ine and it beats as it sweeps
as it'cleans. It is advisable to
do the dishes before the car-
pets.

You will be wondering what
this small piece of wire is;
this is an egg beater attach-
ment. Well, this wire looks
just like wire, doesn’t it, but

except wash clothes

simple attachment out and .

everything

you can’t believe all you see.

$03 es os

This wire is especially im-
ported from our own private
mines in Peru. May I-be struck

down this minute if I am tell-
ing a word of a lie.

Every inch of it comes di-
rect from Chile. You’ve heard
of Uranium 235 and 758,
haven’t you? Hinstein can’t
tell ’em apart. Well the same
thing with this wire.

By every test known to hu-
man science it is ordinary tin
wire — but it isn’t It is tin
456, a revolutionary new dis-
covery , which imparts the
amazing secrets of ancient
Inca cooking to us today.

But I digress. Back to the
machine. . . . By this simple
attachment it will polish the
floor.

And by twisting this round
what do you think you have?
An all-wave TV set and re-
cord player pickup. Music
while your Mendix works, ha!

» ha! ‘

And by this simple attach-
ment you can turn your Men-
dix into a refrigerator and
make your own ice creams,
and in summer you can reverse
the four-wheel drive and use -
-it as an air-conditioner.

Next year we are bringing
out a slightly larger and im-
proved model for two people
to live in as a complete labor-
saving caravan.

And how does one pay for
this miraculuos labor-saving
devicé. The Mendix is never
at a loss.

Insert this roll of toilet
paper in one end and say
presto!—perfect $5 bills come
out the other end!

Thank you sir, we will de-

liver today.

a month; medical fees, $1.50 @
month.

The workers are mostly French
Canadians and they tell me com
ditions are even worse in Quebec.

There is a lot of unemployment
in the lumber industry right NOW
and the same is true in pulp.
This company I work for is 4? -
American outfit, owned by the
New York Times, like a good
many of the companies around
here. Several small outfits aré
not even unionized.

If I seem to run down easter#

Canada, I do not mean 10.

may also mention that when 1

left northern B.C. three years 48°

there were lots of unorgani

there also. So it isn’t that the
east is unorganized and the west
is all clear sailing. What I want

ed to bring out is that the bosses
still have things too much thei?
own way all over Canada, espe

ally in the lumber industry.

| Flashbacks|

40 years ago

(From the files of the B.C.
Federationist, October 30, 1914)

Revealing the extent of une”

' ployment in B.C., the women's

Employment League reporte?
that in the first month of its &
istence 600 women had register
ed with it, many of them dest”
tute. !

I5 years ago

(From the files of The Advocate,
‘ October 27, 1939) ;

Premier Maurice Duplessis
Union Nationale government W4®
defeated in the Quebec provit”
cial election. The Liberals W9?
67 seats, compared to 14 in
previous legislature and
Nationale representation was
from 76 to 16. The vote Wa
widely interpreted as repudiatio?
of the Padlock Law and Duples
sis’ fascist sympathies.

10 years ago

(From the files of The Peopler
_ October 28, 1944)

Vicente Lombardo Toleda®®;

president of thé Confederation ©”
Latin American Workers, addré

ed the 60th annual convenlO”
of the Trades and Labor ©?
gress in Toronto.

ae

Ue

f-

at)

———
it) merrRISING ee)

leat il

|

A strong argument for disarmament.
PACIFIC TRIBUNE — OCTOBER 29, 1954 — P

AG!

ynio®