Sweet Salt

Sweet-toothed citizens, queuing up for the first ration cards the U.S. has seen, heard two hard facts repeated by doctors, dentists, dietitians: 1) we have been eating too much sugar anyway, 2) even if the U.S. sugar ration dropped to zero, we would probably be healthier than we are now. Reasons:

> Rationed white sugar, though it is the purest form of sugar sold, is also, from the nutritional point of view, the poorest. Brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup and honey provide plenty of sugar and vital minerals as well. Fruits, most of which are rich in sugar, also supply vitamins. By getting their sugar in these forms, the rationed public will actually get more food value.*

> U.S. citizens consume about 115 lb. of sugar a year per capita-twice the sugar ration of any other country, almost ten times what the U.S. used less than 100 years ago. Many dental researchers are sure that this excessive proportion of sugar accounts for the fact that caries (tooth decay) is the commonest U.S. disease. Fruit can satisfy the craving for something sweet, and the chemistry of the saliva and the digestive juices automatically convert the starch of bread, potatoes, corn, etc. to the sugars the body needs.

> The world got along nicely through most of its history with no sugar at all. There was no sugar in Europe until the Arabs brought their "sweet salt" to Spain in 700 A.D. For centuries afterwards, sugar was regarded as a precious spice, a medicine, a rich man's luxury. Only recently has it been considered a food.

*Saccharine, widely used as a substitute in the last war, is no substitute for sugar. It merely tastes sweet, may be harmful in quantity.

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