William Penn Life, 1975 (10. évfolyam, 2-4. szám)
1975-04-01 / 2. szám
MWNSYIV KQUR HEALTH fANIA MSJtCAl SOCIETY Donna F. Wenger ROUGHING IT It should come as no surprise to you that many Americans do not eat as wisely as they should. Recently attention has been focused on the lack of fiber roughage in our diets. These fiber foods are wholegrains and cereals, essential but forgotten nutrients. We tend to eat foods that are easy to digest and chew, especially those made with sugar and white flour. Perhaps we eat more processed foods because of the great promotion of such products. Here are the consequences of our lazy eating habits. When you eat foods with fibers, such as wholemeal breads or cereals, you chew longer. As you chew you make saliva, which sets the whole digestive process going. Then your stomach makes gastric juices. While these juices help you digest your food, they also distend your stomach and make you feel full faster. So you eat less and feel fuller. When you eat refined foods, as white breads, soft drinks, and candy bars, you chew less. And the whole process is shortened. You don’t feel full as fast, so you probably eat more. Here’s an example. You can get the same amount of sugar in a candy bar as you could get in three pounds of apples. But you probably won’t eat three pounds of apples. Scientists are divided as to the health consequences of not eating fibrous foods. Since 1900 the Western diet contains 50% more refined sugar and 30% more fat, with 90% less cereal. Some doctors attribute the rise in diseases of the colon the lack of fiber in the Western diet. The tendency to be overweight is another possible side effect of our lazy diet habits. Although research regarding this continues most scientists agree that a bulky fiber diet is healthier for you than a refined food diet. The physicians of the Pennsylvania Medical Society remind you that apples and brown bread and other fiber food are healthier for you than soft drinks and candy bars. MISSING THE BIG GAME Here is a word for the athlete in your family. While you may expect injuries to be the most common cause for missing the big game, an upper respiratory infection will more likely be the cause. Dr. Allan Ryan, who has recently published a book called SportsMedicine, made this observation and a few others. When you first feel a cold coming on, you might debate whether or not to go to practice. Obviously, staying in or out of practice depends on your symptoms and your sport. With a cold, maybe you can practice basketball, but swimming is probably out. If you develop a fever, you shouldn’t even debate what to do. Coaches and trainers are less likely to be a problem than the player. Usually the coach doesn’t want a sick athlete playing in the game. In addition to the harm it could do to the sick player, the coach is also concerned about the danger of infecting the other players. The athlete is sometimes the one who pushes most to play. This is especially true of the good athlete, who will want to try to practice or play. The first problem is getting the athlete to report his or her illness. Then, the physician's advice and prescription should be followed completely. While you, as an athlete, may be in better shape and able to recuperate more quickly, you still need to be treated for an upper respiratory infection. Once you have consulted your physician, follow his advice. Plan to play the next big game. The physicians of the Pennsylvania Medical Society can’t say which team will win that game. But they do want all you players to be in the best physical shape to help your team win. POISON PREVENTION This year Poison Prevention Week is March 17-21. While each year these are less deaths due to accidental poisoning, even one such death is too many. There are three easy things you can do to protect your child from accidental poisoning. First, you can put all potential poisons out of reach of children. Obvious poisons, such as roach killer or weed control, should never be where a child can reach them. But some everyday items can also poison. The dish detergent that smells like lemons is not for your child to drink. Or the aspirins that you may occasionally need should not be where your child can get and eat them. So, put all potential poisons out of your child’s reach. And don't underestimate the ingenuity of your child. Try to think like him or her. Chances are your child can get to that place you think is unreachable. Put poisons out of reach, then for extra safety lock the cabinets. The second thing you can do is to keep the packaging of any dangerous item as safe as possible — by using lock proof tops or by keeping things, like weed killer, in their original container. Get containers with lock proof tops. Many drugs are now available in such form. Also don't transfer poisons into familar looking containers. Would your child know that cleaning fluid in the soft drink bottle isn't poison? The third thing you can do is educate yourself and your child. True, baby can’t read; but your five year old can still be curious enough to try something dangerous. To help your child protect himself, introduce him to Mr. Yuk. Mr. Yuk is a symbol that has more effect on children than the familar skull and cross bones. He is a reverse smiley face — green colored with an upsidedown smile (or frown), a stuck out tongue, and inverted V's for eyes. Your child can be taught to stay away from Mr. Yuk, then you can paste the symbol on items that could harm him or her. This symbol is copyrighted, but you can get some from POISON Box 116 Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230 You can also educate yourself. Do you know where your nearest poison control center is? There are about 40 in Pennsylvania. To find out where your nearest one is call the closest major hospital. Then write down the number, paste it on or near your phone. Show it to anyone who might need it, children who can read, babysitters. You may never need the number, but if you do it will be within reach. The physicians of the Pennsylvania Medical Society are concerned about your safety. They urge you to take a few small steps this Poison Prevention Week that may save lives later. Cont. on page 12 11
