When referring to the recommendation of “eat healthy fats” which one is the best choice? The following article makes a good deal of sense when faced with the array of oils in the supermarket. I agree with its conclusion.
Month: July 2020
Vitamin D and Infectious Disease
Immunologic Effects of Vitamin D on Human Health and Disease
Affiliations
- PMID: 32679784
- DOI: 10.3390/nu12072097
Free article
Abstract
Vitamin D is responsible for regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism and maintaining a healthy mineralized skeleton. It is also known as an immunomodulatory hormone. Experimental studies have shown that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the active form of vitamin D, exerts immunologic activities on multiple components of the innate and adaptive immune system as well as endothelial membrane stability. Association between low levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and increased risk of developing several immune-related diseases and disorders, including psoriasis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, sepsis, respiratory infection, and COVID-19, has been observed. Accordingly, a number of clinical trials aiming to determine the efficacy of administration of vitamin D and its metabolites for treatment of these diseases have been conducted with variable outcomes. Interestingly, recent evidence suggests that some individuals might benefit from vitamin D more or less than others as high inter-individual difference in broad gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to vitamin D supplementation has been observed. Although it is still debatable what level of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is optimal, it is advisable to increase vitamin D intake and have sensible sunlight exposure to maintain serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D at least 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L), and preferably at 40-60 ng/mL (100-150 nmol/L) to achieve the optimal overall health benefits of vitamin D.
This abstract and article was published in Nutrients, 2020: 12(7), 2097
In light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, questions are raised and answers sought about the role of nutrition in the prevention of infectious diseases. In this case, vitamin D (a fat soluble vitamin stored in the body) is examined.
Vitamin D Facts:
RDA Women: 600 IU; Men: 600 IU; UL: 4000 IU. Toxicity possible with long-term use of 10,000 IU daily. 1 microgram (mcg) vitamin D = 40 IU.
Primary Functions: Needed for absorption of calcium and phosphorus for bone formation nerve and muscle activity. Inhibits inflammation and is involved in insulin secretion and blood glucose level maintenance.
Consequences of Deficiency: Weak, deformed bones (children), loss of calcium from bones (adults), osteoporosis.
Concenquences of Overdose: Mental retardation in young children, abnormal bone growth and formation. Nausea, diarrhea, irritability, weight loss. Deposition of calcium in organs such as kidneys, liver and heart.
Primary Food Sources: Vitamin D – fortified milk, cereals, and other foods. Fish
Highlights: Vitamin D3, the most active form is manufactured from a form of cholesterol in skin cells upon exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Inadequate vitamin D status is common. Breast-fed infants with little sun exposure benefit from vitamin D supplements. People with very dark skin, especially from Asian and Afro-Carribbean descent find it difficult to make vitamin D from limited sunlight.
NOTE: It’s important to know that megadoses of any vitamin or mineral are never recommended, unless there is a medical reason for doing so. In this case, a Canadian study reported that among 303 middle-aged and older adults (who were not vitamin D deficient), those who were randomly assigned to get 4,000 IU of vitamin D a day for 3 years lost more bone in their arms than those who got 400 IU a day. Those who got 10,000 IU a day lost more bone in their arms and shins than those who got 400 IU a day. See the consequences of overdose.
Chronic Disease: Can Your Lifestyle Make a Difference?
Lately in the literature, lifestyle medicine has been mentioned as an effective practice that influences our overall health and risk of diseases in general. Many of the leading causes of death in developed countries have been referred to as chronic diseases and ways to prevent these diseases is to practice a “healthy lifestyle”. But what does that exactly mean? Some research has suggested that our susceptibility to Covid-19 may even be altered by our lifestyles, obesity being named a risk factor.
In 1999, a Harvard-trained cardiologist, James E. Rippe published a textbook entitled Lifestyle Medicine in which he expressed his hope for a “new emphasis in medicine related to the links between daily behaviors and outcomes”. The idea slowly took root. In 2006, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, a Seventh Day Adventist institution in California, debuted the country’s first lifestyle medicine education program. A few years later the School of Medicine Greenville at the University of South Carolina went a step further, integrating lifestyle medicine into every facet of the curriculum and requiring prospective physicians in medical schools to spend 50 hours over two years covering the ways in which diet, nutrition and exercise impact the various organs and systems. Several other medical school programs have followed, that have been dedicated to the principals that healthy food, rich in nutrients, healthy fats, and lean protein, can be a potent weapon in the doctor’s bag.”
“How much a role does nutrition play in health? “It is the thing, says Jennifer Trilik , an associate professor at USC Greenville who directs the schools lifestyle medicine program. “if we’re talking about obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, there’s so much evidence that saturated fat and trans-fat cause chronic inflammation, damaged the DNA and create growths in an adult body that shouldn’t be there. On the other hand, apples and blueberries have so many healthy antioxidants. We were made to eat whole foods and plant based foods, not processed ones out of a bag.
Dietary Patterns
What are these dietary patterns that often claim successes over another pattern? This comparison offers a brief description of each pattern as well as the rationale for the claims.
| Dietary Pattern | Primary Characteristics | Rationale |
| Low Carbohydrate | Restriction of total carbohydrate to less than 45% caloriesHigh protein or either animal or plant origin | Has recent and widespread interest. Can include a popular variation called the ketogenic diet (highly restrictive) |
| Low Fat (Vegetarian and traditional Asian) | Restriction of total fat or 20% of daily calories. Some can include dairy and eggs, limited meat such as chicken and seafood | Long-standing use, extensive research backup. Popularity is weak due to limited appeal; lack of taste |
| Low glycemic (blood sugar) | Limits the glycemic load of certain vegetables and many if not all fruits. | Relevant to diabetes and pertains to carbohydrate quality as to effects on blood glucose in the body. |
| Mediterranean | Emphasis on olive oil, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, beans, limited meat, moderate wine included | Mimics the traditional diets of Mediterranean countries. Associated with extensive research that emphasizes “healthy” fats |
|
Mixed Balanced |
Includes both plant and animal foods that conform to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, DASH and Diabetes Prevention diets | Long-standing, widespread use. Associated with extensive research and intervention trials to address chronic diseases. |
| Paleolithic | Focus on diet of our Stone Age ancestors. Avoiding processed foods with emphasis on fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean meats.Dairy and grains are excluded. | Native human diet emphasis with substantial research. Emphasis on lean proteins. |
| Vegan | Often exclude all animal products, including dairy and eggs. If ill-conceived, can include plant-based junk food leading to nutrient deficiencies. | Relevant to ethics, animal welfare issues, environmental sustainability |
Vitamin C and Respiratory Infections
What Do We Know About Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient in humans. Without it we die.
Most animals internally produce their own vitamin C; humans do not so we need to obtain it from the diet or other external sources (supplements). It is a water-soluble vitamin and cannot be stored in the body.
Severe deficiency may develop within three weeks of very low intake. This can result in a sub-clinical form of scurvy that can be manifested in increased susceptibility to infections. This is often shown initially by easy bruising.
Diets lacking in fruits and vegetables (such as a low-carbohydrate diet) often do not provide enough vitamin C.
Functions of vitamin C
- Needed for manufacture of collagen
- Helps the body fight infections, repair wounds
- Act as antioxidant
- Enhances iron absorption.
Primary food sources:
Fruits: guava, oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, kiwi fruit
Vegetables: broccoli, green and red peppers, collards, tomato, potatoes, ready to eat cereals (fortified)
FYI: The RDA for vitamin C is 15-75 mg/d for children, 75 mg/d for adult women, 90 mg/d for adult men, and 85 to 120 mg for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The Tolerable Upper Limit is 2000 mg/d. Oral Intakes of 1 gram or more a day can cause nausea, cramps, and diarrhea and may increase the risk of kidney stones.
Impact on Infections
Some studies show that in common infectious diseases, supplemental vitamin C lessens the severity and duration of symptoms.
In severe respiratory diseases such as bronchitis or pneumonia, vitamin C has been shown to reduce symptoms and shorten hospital stays. Some studies report rapid clearance on chest x-rays of patients with lung infections, following intravenous vitamin C treatment.
From the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) at Oregon State University comes this:
“March 13, 2020 – The Linus Pauling Institute is closely watching the clinical trials with intravenous (IV) vitamin C and COVID-19-related pneumonia with great interest. However, there currently are no available data to show vitamin C can prevent or successfully treat COVID-19 infections. Once the trial data are available for review, the LPI will comment on the efficacy of IV vitamin C in COVID-19.
In 1970, Dr. Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize winner, published Vitamin C and the Common Cold, a book that revolutionized the way the world viewed vitamin C and infectious disease. Dr. Pauling believed that increasing the daily dose of vitamin C could help the body mount a strong immune response when confronted with a respiratory infection.
Many people worldwide have reported better health after taking large amounts of vitamin C. To date, clinical trials have shown that vitamin C supplements can shorten the duration of the common cold. However, there are no data to suggest that vitamin C supplements can stop respiratory infections in the general population. Results from trials with participants undergoing heavy physical activity indicate a benefit of oral vitamin C on common cold incidence. There are no such trials on influenza or coronavirus.
The LPI continues to advocate for rigorous research on both oral and IV vitamin C for treating both inflammation and infection. Yet, the facts are that there have been few rigorous studies on vitamin C and respiratory infections. Clinical trials with IV vitamin C and coronavirus-related pneumonia are currently underway in China. These trials are of great interest to the LPI, and we will monitor them closely.
Meanwhile, the LPI recommends taking these steps to support a healthy immune system: Eat a healthy diet and ensure that you meet the recommended intakes of all micronutrients, especially vitamins A, C, D, E, as well as zinc
Oregon State University has established a COVID-19 website to provide detailed and updated information; links to OSU, local, state and federal resources; and some frequently asked questions. Please regularly check this website for important updates.”
Source: Nutrition Now, Brown, Seventh Edition
Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University
Detox? A Lot of Pseudoscience
Before you dust off that juicer, you should take a long hard look at the latest fad – detoxing your body from alleged accumulated toxins from environmental chemicals that supposedly lead to illness. When searching Amazon, detox, natural, and hygiene is frequently mentioned in the titles of the latest diet books, not to mention the myriad of products from tablets, massages, tinctures and tea bags that promise to cleanse your body of these impurities and your hard earned money. You can go on two-day to seven-day detox diets which promise cleansing and weight loss. You may lose weight, but that is more than likely due to starvation rather than the diet itself. These toxins are never identified by the manufacturers of these products. When asked to provide some scientific evidence that support their claims, no one seems to be able to provide evidence that “detoxification” is not a bogus treatment. Despite this, the detox industry has become a huge business with a little help from some celebrities like Ann Hathaway and Gwyneth Paltrow. If toxins build up in the body with no way to excrete them, we would die or need serious medical intervention. However, we have kidneys, a liver, a colon, skin and lungs that physiologically are designed to rid our bodies of any unnecessary substances we don’t need.
Detox is actually not a new concept. Health reform began in earnest in the 19th century in America. During that time, there had to be a great deal of food anxiety; food often was adulterated with chemicals in order to make it palatable. As Upton Sinclair in 1909 writes of the meatpacking industry in his famous book, The Jungle: “And then there was “potted game” and ‘potted grouse’ and ‘potted ham’ made out of the waste ends of smoked beef… and also tripe, dyed with chemicals so that it would not show white… and potatoes, skins and all, and finally the hard, cartilaginous gullets of beef… All this was ground up and flavored with spices to make it taste like something.” Ronald Deutsch, The New Nuts Among the Berries: How Nutrition Nonsense Captured America, Bull Publishing, 1977.
Food preservation was crude and foodborne illnesses were rampant. People had little resources to turn to in dealing with even the common diseases of society. Whom did they have to rely on for medical advice on how to remain healthy in an age of so much misinformation and confusion? People were vulnerable to just about any ideas from anyone medical or nonmedical that would help them to maintain health and avoid disease.
In the 1848 edition of Buchan’s Domestic Medicine was listed the general causes of illness: “diseased parents, night air, sedentary habits, anger, wet feet and abrupt changes of temperature.” “The causes of fever included injury, bad air, violent emotion, irregular bowels and extremes of heat and cold.” I’m going with the “diseased parent theory.
Cholera, shortly to be epidemic in many British cities, was caused by rancid or putrid food, by ‘cold fruits’ such as cucumbers and melons, and by passionate fear or rage.” William Buchan, Domestic Medicine, 1848: A Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases; Google eBook .
There are two major ideas that flourished and dominated the 19th century that led to the premise that toxins must be removed from the body by detoxification – auto-intoxication and the natural hygiene theory..
AUTO-INTOXICATION
During the 19th century, people were told that constipation was at the root of most diseases and the term, autointoxication, became the mantra of the medical community. In 1852, a publication called The People’s Medical Lighthouse, a series of popular scientific essays on nature, uses and diseases of the lung, heart, liver, stomach, kidney, womb and blood had this to say about this common digestive problem: “daily evacuation of the bowels is of utmost importance to the maintenance of health”; without the daily movement, the entire system will become deranged and corrupted.” People’s Medicine Lighthouse, Lecture 71. Harmon Knox Root, A.M, M.D. 1852.
The term auto-intoxication was coined by Charles Bouchard, a French physician. Other physicians further defined the theory by describing the phenomenon as caused by the putrefaction or decay of proteins in the intestine generating offending toxins. This theory dominated a major part of the 19th century and has survived to this day
The obsession with the auto-intoxication theory led to the marketing and sales of a myriad of bowel cleansing products along with laxatives, enema and colonic irrigation equipment. These gimmicks are still available today. Although doctors prescribe colon cleansing as preparation for medical procedures such as colonoscopy, most do not recommend colon cleansing for detoxification. Their reasoning is simple: Your digestive system and bowel naturally eliminate waste material and bacteria; your body does not need colon cleansing to do so.
In fact, colon cleansing can sometimes be harmful. Colon cleansing can cause side effects, such as cramping, bloating, nausea, and vomiting. More serious concerns with colon cleansing are that it can increase your risk of dehydration, lead to bowel perforations, increase the risk of infection, and cause changes in electrolytes. Civilisation and the colon: constipation as the “disease of diseases. James Whorton BMJ 2000; 321: 1586-9
According to Quackwatch In 2009, “Dr. Edzard Ernst tabulated the therapeutic claims he found on the Web sites of six “professional organizations of colonic irrigations.” The themes he found included detoxification, normalization of intestinal function, treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and weight loss. He also found claims elated to asthma, menstrual irregularities, circulatory disorders, skin problems, and improvements in energy levels. Searching Medline and Embase, he was unable to find a single controlled clinical trial that substantiated any of these claims. Quackwatch, Gastrointestinal Quackery: Colonics, Laxatives, and More, Stephen Barrett, MD. August 4, 2010 www.quackwatch.com
My own investigations of the online “yellow pages” in searching for “Colon Cleansing” revealed that there were about twelve establishments advertising this service in my city of Asheville, North Carolina as of this writing.
NATURAL HYGIENE
Isaac Jennings, MD put forth the original ideas of natural hygiene in 1822 and became known as “The Father of Natural Hygiene.” He helped to developed a healing system called “Orthopathy” that claimed that Nature knows better than the most learned physicians of the time. That could be true – my opinion. Among earliest promoter of natural remedies was Samuel Thompson, a New Hampshire farmer who prepared “botanics”, as they were called, made from native herbs. In 1835, Dr. William Alcott, a graduate of Yale Medical school mixed part time farming with his medical practice. Other professors from Dartmouth and Amherst followed. A popular health cure came in the form of water cures. In 1849, the Water Cure Journal, Physiology, Hydropathy and the Laws of Life, edited by Dr. Russell Trall entered the health reform movement. By 1850, the Journal had 20,000 subscribers. Dr. Trall is quoted as saying: Typhoid and pneumonia are neither more nor less than a cleansing process – a struggle of the vital powers to relieve the system of its accumulated impurities”. http://www.whale.to/v/trall2.html.
A vulnerable public eagerly received their proclamations due to limited information and confusion on the causes of disease. Other proponents among many included Arnold Ehret, a German author of several books on diet, detoxification, fruitarianism, fasting, food combining, naturopathy, physical culture and vitalism. There was also Herbert M. Shelton who opened schools in Natural Hygiene and founded the American Society of Natural Hygienists Universal Healing, wwwuniversalhealingbelize.com/Brief- history- of –naturalhygiene.
In a previous post, the misguided principles of detoxification were supported and practiced by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg . Detoxification still is alive and thriving in the form of a pseudo-medical concept.. The bottom line: Detoxification is primarily designed to “sell you something”. If you want to “detox”, do not smoke, do exercise and eat a healthy balanced diet.
Ultra Processed Foods to Avoid
Ultra-processed foods are often thought as the nemesis of healthy eating. However, they are so ubiquitous in our food supply, it is so difficult to avoid them in the supermarket (they are displayed for our convenience and capture our cravings for sugar, salt, and fat as well.) The problem: If we tried to avoid all processed foods, there would be few choices in the supermarket. The best way for starters is to try to cut down on snack foods — they are highly processed and offer few nutrients.
What Else is in Your Food?
Twenty five years ago, It was largely assumed that health benefits came from the vitamin and mineral content of fruits and vegetables. That conclusion turned out to be incorrect because supplementation with specific vitamins and minerals failed to yield the same health benefits as did diets rich in fruits and vegetables. In addition, use of individual vitamin and mineral supplements was found to increase health risks in some studies, but not all. So, what else is in our foods?
Now nutrition and other scientists are investigating the effects of thousands of other substances in food on health. The subjects of many current studies are plant chemicals known as phytochemicals or phytonutrients. Phytochemicals are not considered essential nutrients because deficiency diseases do not develop when we fail to consume them. They are considered to be nutrients however because they are biologically active and perform health promoting functions in the body. Most bioactive food constituents are derived from plants.
Phytochemicals play a variety of roles for plants as they provide protection for the plant against bacterial, viral, and fungal infections; ward off insects; and prevent tissue damage due to oxidation. Some operate as plant hormones or participate in the regulation of gene function, while others provide plants with flavor and color.
More than 2000 types of phytochemicals, that act as pigments, have been identified and give plants a wide variety of colors. Some of these phytochemicals have been identified: beta-carotene (orange), lycopene (red), anthocyanins (blue to purple), allicin (white), and lutein (yellow-green). Many of them function as antioxidants in the human body as well as help us to fight against many chronic diseases in other ways.
The following are examples of vegetables you can buy or plant in the garden (organic not necessary) that provide some specific human health benefits that are thought to be due to either established nutrients or phytochemicals. Keep in mind that some have more research behind their claims; however, many do not and simply rely on presumed health benefits.
- Kale is a member of the cabbage family and is known to contain vitamins A, K, and C, as well as essential minerals like potassium, calcium, and magnesium. It is also rich in fiber and acts as a prebiotic that increases nutrient absorption in the gut. Kale also contains antioxidants that protect against oxidative damage and other aspects of chronic disease. Its nutrient density exceeds that of other vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, or those of the onion family.
- Onions have been known for their healing properties for centuries. One study compared wound healing results after the daily application of onion gel and found that scars were significantly less noticeable after just four weeks of use. Recent research has suggested that onions also contain compounds useful for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and inflammatory diseases. Most of these benefits can be traced to onion’s high concentration of sulfur amino acids, phytochemicals such as flavonoids, phytosterols, and saponins – compounds that have anticancer, antibiotic, and antithrombotic activity.
- Potatoes are a rich source of potassium, fiber, vitamin C. Little attention is paid to potatoes recently due to their high calorie density and their relationship with obesity and diabetes. If they are eaten in whole form and not as French fries or chips, they can be healthy due to their high potassium content. Often, they are the only source of potassium for many people including children. Adequate potassium can protect us from hypertension.
- Tomatoes contain the phytochemical, lycopene, the carotenoid responsible for its red color and acts as an strong antioxidant. An increased intake has been associated with a decreased risk of prostate and breast cancers.
- Cauliflower in both forms, white or purple are high in phenolic compounds (a phytochemical) and antioxidants. Purple cauliflower is especially high in anthocyanins that is a potent anti-inflammatory and antiviral compound.
- Bell Peppers contain antioxidants that may protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Green, yellow, and red peppers are all high in phenolic compounds and vitamin C.
Bottom Line: As you can see, antioxidant activity can collectively have a powerful effect against free radical damage. This is enhanced by the many phytochemicals associated with a variety of vegetables and fruits, not just reliance on one or two of them in the diet.
The Best Advice on Eating Red Meat
The Red Meat Debate: Use Some Common Sense
For the past decade or so red and processed meats (beef in particular) has been associated with a higher risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Two NYT articles are presented here to that addresses this issue and helps to clarify how to deal with this ongoing issue.
The red meat debate continues as we wake up this morning to the news that consumption of red and processed meats are of little risk to our health.
November 5, 2015
Back in 2015, an article appeared to agree with the current assessment about red and processed meat and in addition tells us how to deal with the disturbing reports about red and processed meat and heart disease and cancer.
So what can we really believe? The following article first appeared in 2015 and seems to me to take a common sense approach to the debate that never ceases. Hint: Life is a risk.
Dining Through the Decades: 1940
American Factory Workers
After a brief recovery from the Great Depression (some wondered what was so great about it), and no jobs, American was again forced to endure other hardships due to the horrors of World War II. The men marched off to Europe and later the South Pacific and the women marched out of the kitchen and into factories.
Food Rationing and Victory Gardens
The government restricted each American to 28 ounces of meat per week plus limited the amounts of sugar, butter, milk, cheese, eggs and coffee permitted. As a result, sales of convenience and prepared foods increased. Margarine replaced butter. In fact, margarine was a relatively new product to many and to make it look like butter, coloring was artificially added. Rationing, substitutions, and making do with less dominated most of this decade. Home cooks made sugarless cookies, eggless cakes, and meatless meals. Food was prioritized to the troops and farmers and manufacturers were obligated to supply military needs that created food shortages for consumers. Posters proclaimed: “Do with less, so they’ll have enough”. Food rationing using ration cards was introduced in 1942 and ended in 1947 The government restricted each American to 28 ounces of meat a week plus limited amounts of sugar, gasoline, butter, milk, cheese, eggs and coffee. The production and sales of convenience foods soared while the use of margarine replaced the restricted butter. The Victory Gardens provided vegetables helped to fill out dinner menus since canned goods, frozen fruits and vegetables were also rationed. Ground beef became popular; hamburger was only seven rationing points as compared with 12 for a T-bone steak.
The government encouraged Americans to plant Victory Gardens similar to what they had done in World War I. Reflecting the times, women’s magazines of the day featured recipes for fresh vegetables, while the vegetable sections of popular cookbooks grew larger. Home canning became a necessity to not waste the precious harvests of fresh produce from garden cooperatives.
On the Home Front
After the war, many new products were introduced to the American public. These “convenience foods” (dehydrated juice, instant coffee, cake mixes, etc.) came about because of the military interest and research in using these products for the troops. Many people could not afford to “eat out”; thus, many restaurants closed for good. People entertained differently with pot luck suppers and progressive dinners becoming popular. Neighbors pooled their rationing points to help the cause. Vitamins were recommended to help with the nation’s nutritional needs. This more than likely helped fuel a burgeoning supplement industry that we experience today.
Uncle Spam
Even though Spam had been introduced to the American palate a decade before, it played a major role in a convenient form of meat to the American table. The troops soon tired of their main course of rations – Spam. During the war, the U.S. government bought 98% of Hormel’s products – Chile Con Carne, Dinty Moore Beef Stew and canned hams and of course, Spam. Soldiers called Uncle Sam, “Uncle Spam”. Americans did not go on vacations due a rubber shortage for tires. But they did go to the movies, so popcorn consumption soared.
Starvation Overseas
World War II was extremely hard on those living in Europe. In July, 1943, a great tank battle occurred in the Ukraine between the Germans and the Russians with the Russians emerging as the victor. Some historians consider this a turning point for the war. In Leningrad, starving people ate anything they could find – leather shoes, briefcases; they stripped wallpaper off and ate the paste. In India, the British took rice to feed their troops and almost six million Indians starved or died from malnutrition. In the Netherlands, Anne Frank wrote in her diary about the bland diet that included slimy, very old cabbage. In Leningrad, people resorted to cannibilism. The siege ended in 1944 with the death toll from starvation at about 1 million people.
Ancel Keys, K Rations and a Starvation Experiment
Ancel Benjamin Keys (January 26, 1904 – November 20, 2004) was an American scientist who studied the influence of diet on health. When it appeared that the U.S. would be in World War II, Keys went to the Quartermaster Food and Container Institute in Chicago to inquire about emergency rations. After some frustration and lack of interest from the Institute, he eventually worked on the development of the K ration for military troops in the field. The initial ingredients of the K-ration were procured at a local Minneapolis grocery store—hard biscuits, dry sausage, hard candy, and chocolate. The final product was different from Keys’ original ingredients, but most of Keys initial suggestions did make it to the final product. The small container weighed only 28 oz. but provided 3200 calories a day.
Keys was not finished yet. Interest was building about how to treat mass starvation and how-to bring people back to normal nourishment afterwards in the best possible way to avoid metabolic complications. 1944 Keys carried out a starvation study with 36 conscientious objectors. The participants were eventually placed on a reduced 1800 calories/day for 6 months.
After and during the starvation period, the Keyes subjects exhibited a psychiatric syndrome, called semi-starvation neurosis. They dreamed and fantasized about food; they were anxious and depressed; they hid their food in their rooms; they often binged. Participants exhibited a preoccupation with food, both during the starvation period and the rehabilitation phase. Sexual interest was drastically reduced, and the volunteers showed signs of social withdrawal and isolation. Is this what happens in a less serious way to people who become chronic dieters?
TIDBITS AND TRIVIA
1941 McDonald’s opened their first hamburger drive-in near Pasadena, California.
1941 Cheerios breakfast food was introduced by General Mills contained 2.2 percent sugar.
1942 Americans struggled to find wartime food easy to prepare and at the same time lose household help. A new cookbook, entitled How to Cook A Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher was published to help these shortages. The Chapter headings told the story: “How to Be Sage without Hemlock: How Not to Boil an Egg”; “How to Keep Alive”; How to Be Cheerful Though Starving”; “How to Practice True Economy”.
1942 H.B. Resse decides to concentrate his marketing of his peanut butter cup which he sells primarily to the military. He charges a nickel for one cup which then led to a larger one in an orange, yellow and brown wrapper as we can recognize today.
1943 Spam is still with us after its introduction 6 years ago and again becomes all too familiar to GIs. In Britain civilians and troops consider it a luxury and vast shipments are also made to Russian troops.
1945 U.S. food rationing on all items except sugar ends but food remains scarce in most of the world. Black markets exist throughout Europe.
1947 The first commercial microwave oven is introduced by the Ratheon Co. of Waltham, Mass. Ratheon’s $3,000 Radarrange used an electronic tube called a magneton that cooks quickly, but the reults are unappetizing.
1948 V-8 Cocktail Vegetable Juice introduced by Campbell Soup Co. is a mixture of tomato, carrot, celery, beet, parsley, lettuce, watercress, and spinach juices.
1949 The average American steel worker has $3,000 per year to spend after taxes, the average social worker $3,500, a high-school teacher $4700, s car salesman $8,000, a dentist $10.000. Typical food prices: pork 57 cents/lb,, lamb chops, $1.15/lb; Coca-Cola 5 cents/7 oz bottle; milk 21 cents/qt; bread 15 cents/lb.; eggs 80 cents/dozen.
1949 General Mills and Pillsbury introduce prepared cake mixes, initially in chocolate, gold and white varieties.
1949 Sara Lee Cheesecakes are introduced by Chicago baker, Charles Lubin whose refrigerated cream cheese product will make his Kitchens of Sara Lee (named after his 9-year old daughter) one of the world’s largest bakeries.
Source:
Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People, Second Edition, Linda Civitello.
The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, Andrew F. Smith, Editor
FOOD, FACTS and FADS 