18
—Lancatter Farming, Saturday. Dec. 14. 1974
mmmmmmmmmsimmmmmsmmsm.
ORGANIC LIVING
By
Robert Rodale
IS ALFALFA IN YOUR FUTURE?
What do heart disease, cancer of the colon, diver
ticulosis and diabetes have in common?
Researchers are now beginning to believe that this
seemingly unrelated collection of maladies may all be at
least partially caused by a lack of fiber in the diet.
“Ridiculous!” you say? The facts don’t bear you out.
Statistics show the incidence of those diseases has
skyrocketed since the total amount of fiber in the civilized
diet has dropped.
Call it roughage, bulk or non-nutritive fiber, it means
only one thing: Protection from many of the diseases that
plague our modem-day society. It’s not easy to change the
eating habits of a lifetime. But adding fiber to your diet
could be the single most important change you’ll ever
make.
If we compare the diets of most Americans of today with
those of 50 or 100 years ago, the differences would be
readily apparent. Today, for example, a major portion of
foods found on the shelves of supermarkets have been
processed and refined until few nutrients remain. Most of
the fiber has been removed as well, because no one
suspected that it played any nutritive role at all. Fiber
was thought of as excess baggage: The sooner you shed it,
the better off you were.
Times are changing, however. More and more
researchers are coming to recognize the importance of
fiber. Recently, a number of scientists urged the federal
government to encourage Americans to eat more fiber by
having fiber-rich foods included in school-lunch
programs, on food stamp programs and in meals fed to
servicemen.
Most of the research into the role of fiber in the diet has
been done in Europe, especially in relation to cancer,
diverticulosis and diabetes. Americans seem loathe to
admit that there is anything wrong with their food. But
one American researcher, Dr. David Kritchevsky, a
biochemist from Philadelphia’s prestigious Wistar In
stitute, is convinced that fiber in particular alfalfa
may play a significant role in lowering cholesterol levels.
If true, implementing a diet heavy in fiber might mean
an accompanying decrease in atherosclerosis, one of the
major medical killers in America today.
Dr. Kritchevsky’s work with baboons and rabbits
suggests that fiber works in the intestinal tract, binding
bile salts, which are produced from cholesterol. The bile
salts are then excreted and the body synthesizes ad
ditional bile salts from the stored reserves of cholesterol,
thereby lowering the body’s overall cholesterol supply.
And among all the fibers studied to date, alfalfa seems
to bind a larger amount of bile acid than almost any other
non-nutritive fiber.
“Alfalfa is not completely non-nutritive,” Dr. Krit
chevsky said. “But what is in it that binds? We don’t
know. We’re researching into all areas of fiber. We have
our observations and we have our hypothesis. We don’t
have the final proof.
“We have to find out whether or not the ‘something’ in
alfalfa is the only factor or a contributing factor to the
lowering of cholesterol.
“There might be some minor trace element in alfalfa.
Those who eat it get a lot of that trace element and
therefore have a lower cholesterol level..’
Though Dr. Kritchevsky won’t say how close he or other
YOUR PIONEER
SALESMAN
IS READY
WITH SUPERIOR
SEED AND SERVICE
• Hybrid Corn - high yielding single
and special crosses.
• Alfalfa Seed - for any rotation or
plowdown.
• Forage Mixes A mix for every
need (pasture, hay, haylage,
greenchop or green manure
plowdown).
• Hybrid Sorghum - grain, forage,
and sorghum sudangrass
hybrids.
Don't Delay.
See Y our Pioneer j— '•
Salesman To-Day! P,O .!!i ER *
Corn, Sorghum, Alfalfa
® Registered trademark of Pioneer Hi-Bred International.
Inc. Des Moines, lowa, USA
researchers are to finding what “it” U in fiber that works
its magic, the conclusion is clear. Either we start putting
more fiber into our diets, or we’re going to continue suf
fering from those problems.
Getting fiber into your diet isn’t difficult at all. Fresh
fruits and vegetables are relatively rich in roughage but
aren’t really as highpowered a source as whole grains and
nuts. . . ...
Alfalfa is available in several forms. Health food
manufacturers sell it as a food supplement in a tablet
form. Then again, you can take alfalfa seeds and sprout
them. Added to your salad, alfalfa sprouts provide an
added taste treat as well as a potent source of fiber.
But there are other forms in which to get fiber. Un
processed bran is one of the most common. This can be
sprinkled over hot cereal in the.morning or baked into
your whole grain bread.
It doesn’t matter where you get your fiber or how.
The important thing is that you get it.
(Editor’s Note: The opinions appearing in “Organic
Living” are those of Its author, Robert Rodale, an in
dependent columnist. Rodale’s comments do not
necessarily reflect the thinking of the Lancaster Fanning
editor or anyone else on the Lancaster Fanning staff.)
Read Lancaster Farming
For Farm Women News
Dutch School
Natural Foods
LARGEST SELECTION OF
NATURAL FOODS AND VITAMINS
IN CENTRAL PENNA.
RT. 222, AKRON, PENNA.
PH. 859-2339
LEAST COST PERFORMANCE
WITH PURINA LIFE CYCLE
TEMP-R-RATED LAYING CHOWS
When you feed your layers Purina, you feed a ration that is
adjusted to temperatures ... to get total performance from
your birds.
Purina Poultry Research knows how a hen’s nutrient needs
change as temperature changes So, they’ve formulated fortified
Temp-R-Rated ,il Laying Chows'I’.. 1 ’.. built to meet bird nutrient
needs to help hens produce at the top of their ability.
These rations, made with high quality ingredients, are balanced
for low, mild, warm and high m-house temperatures Feeding
the right ration at the right time can help hens produce each
dozen of eggs on a minimum of feed.
Come in or call us ... for more information on Purina Temp-R-
Rated Laying Chows for your birds Let us help you get more
eggs during all seasons of the year with the right ration.
Wenger’s Feed Mill he.
Janies High & Sons John B. Kurtz
Ph: 354-0301
Gordonville
West Willow Farmers Assn., hie.
John I. Hess, 11, Inc.
Ph. 442-4632
Paradise
McCracken’s Feed Mill, hie.
2 New Charlotte St., Manheim-
Ph. 717-665-2186
Ph: 367-1195
Rheems
Ph: 354-9251
R.D.3, Ephrata
Ph: 464-3431
West Willow
Ira B. Landis
Ph: 665-3248
Box 276, Manheim RD3