DIET IN THE NAVY [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sni,—If the Army diet-sheet which you quote is typical, it confirms the fear that the food supplied to the troops is as inadequate as it used to be, being deficient, as I stated before; in vitamins, mineral salts, and roughage. It is reasonable to
* The schemes for the alleviation of unemployment suggested by our Contributor were, first for wood clearing and replanting, and secondly for "farmers to be allowed to enlist the services of suit- able men up to their needs for adequate board, lodging and unemploy, ment pay as at present." Our contributor stated that "nearly every farmer could find work for one, two or more men."—En, Spectator.------------------
suppose, therefore, that constipation is still the curse of the Army and, no doubt, this supposition would be supported by unbiassed statistical evidence.
Of the items in the diet-sheet, only the potatoes, roast meat, and soused herrings (all of which are excellent) contain more than a trace of the essential vitamins. The bread, being white, contains neither vitamins nor roughage ; the rice, being polished —why ?—is equally lacking ; the peas and beans are the tinned kind and, although excellent in many respects, are without vitamins and, moreover, tend to produce constipa- tion; the bacon reaches the soldier in such small quantities as to be negligible. In short, the diet is not a balanced one, and if it were not supplemented by private purchases and counteracted by a splendid outdoor life would ultimately have grave results on the health of the soldier.
You, Sir, quite rightly emphasize the caloric value of the food supplied, but is this the sole standard by which the quality of food should be judged ? Surely not. A healthy life can no more be maintained without vitamins than the propulsion of a petrol motor without an effective sparking system—an established scientific fact which, in spite of its inconvenience, should be everywhere recognized.
The Service man deserves the best we can afford to give him. Add to his present rations an adequate supply of green vegetable and raw apples, and gradually substitute wholemeal for white flour, keeping the rest of his diet much as it is at present with a few small adjustments. If, at the same time, he is taught the elementary relationship between good food and physical fitness then, in my opinion, he will not resent but welcome the change. Is there any evidence to support the contrary view ?
If the Services could learn a little common sense about food matters, who knows that the nation as a whole might not follow suit ? The degenerate physical condition of so many English people is due to many causes, but not least to wrong feeding. It may still be bad form to be patriotic ; yet those of us who love our country would leave no stone unturned in an endeavour to restore, among other things, the lost physical glories of English men and women. Would it not be in keeping with the great traditions of the Spectator to lead a crusade in such a cause ?—I am, Sir, &c., [We agree with much of what our correspondent says, and see no reason why raw apples should not be supplied to our fighting forces. But it must be remembered that we cannot make experiments-such as asking troops to eat brown bread instead of white. The reasons against such a course are many and obvious ; but if there was a demand throughout the Services for brown bread we have no doubt it would be supplied. As regards the Fleet, the introduction of refrigerat- ing plants in H.M. ships has ensured the supply of fresh foods over much longer periods than formerly, and it is the exception under modern conditions for ship's companies not to have fresh meat and vegetables daily. We understand from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that scientific analysis of the food of our sailors shows that it is not deficient in vitamins, mineral salts, or roughage.—En. Spectator.]
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