Good Herbal Health

There are so many dietary fads which may be harmless but senseless, still there are some that are both. Some are handed down from generation to generation, others are due to high degree of commercialism, and the specialized techniques of advertising.

In one group are those who sponsor the “eat more” slogans and have a special food to sell; on the other are those who foster and instill the belief that improper food combinations will develop exclusive mixtures and mysterious toxins in the alimentary canal.

Some superstitions and fallacies regarding foods are:

1) The idea that one can get more out of his food and thus eat less, through the simple process of mastication, is one of the more ancient food fads.

2) The food cultists of the “dangerous combination” group attempt to frighten by expounding the theory that certain foods are individually harmless, but in combination with other foods, may react chemically to form toxins which  poison the whole body. These include:

a. The combination of starchy food and acid fruit. This is explained by the food faddist on the basis that he acid will cause starch to explode in the stomach and that the enzyme that helps in the digestion of sigar is destroyed.

b. The protein-starch combination. The faddist believes that starches or sugar should not be eaten with proteins such as meat or eggs. This belief is due to the ignorance of faddists that this mixture is based on the opposition in the optimum conditions for protein and starch digestion, the former requiring an acid, the latter an alkaline medium.

c. The combination of fish as a brain food and celery as a nerve tonic.

d. Acidic fruits with milk. Milk should not be taken with any acidic fruit as this will lead to its curdling, thus making it harder to digest.

3) Women with ample figures and finances are particularly susceptible to the vendors of slenderizing victuals, which include thyroid extract and dinitrophenol. Most dangerous however, are those fallacies concerning the loss of weight, the need for which should be determined by the physician and the diet by the nutritionist.

There are those who believe that an obese individual should be given freak or poor diets. Some believe that they should be given laxative substances. This act of hurrying the food along the intestinal tract and out of the body before it has had time to be absorbed and utilized has serious effects. This might deprive the body of food elements.

4) There are those who stress on too much roughage. A certain amount of cellulose is essential for the proper functioning of the intestinal tract. raw and cooked foods, foods with or without roughage, whole grain cereals have a place in the diet, but not one should be stressed to the exclusion of the others.