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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1956-09-27, Page 2Wife A Good Cook? May Be Dangerous An old romantic motto has taken on a new but deadly twist lately because scientists have discovered "that the way to a man's heart attack is through his stomach! In examining the fact that widows are three times as nu- merous as widowers, the scion- ' lists concluded that .many wo- men start committing culinary murder early in marriage, but that they are not alone to blame because the big point with a young swain is: Can she cook? And when he asks himself this question, he sees in his mind's eye a dinner table piled high with cakes, steaming puddings, pies, rich gravies and dressings, fat fowl and oil -soaked flap- jacks and other delicacies that mother used to make. And ima- gining all these tasty concoc- tions, he heads right for "the gal, just like the gal that buried dear old Dad." Between her indulgence and his fork, the slim young bride- groom grows portlier and port- lier, a prime candidate for many diseases that shorten and com- pulicate life. By the time he's forty, the odds are astonishingly good that he will fall prey to high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver and gall bladder disorders, dia- betes, arthritis, hernia, perhaps even cancer. Statistics show that the fatter you are, the harder it is to keep out of harm's way. Whatever medical fate awaits him, however, authori- ties agree, solidly that if he lets his wife overload him with cookery, he's flirting with arter- iosclerosis. This is the type of arterial hardening which is one of the mein widow -makers in sten under 65. It is so prevalent that in World. War II, US. sol- diers of 19, 20, 21 were disco- vered on autopsy to be loaded with arteriosclerosis, a condition Hot found in Korean soldiers the same age. Arteriosclerosis is most com- rnon in overweight men, and overweight men are so common that the American Public Health Association recently branded obesity "America's Number One health problem." Dr. Norman JoilifFe of Tew York City's De- partment of Health asserted that elimination of overweight would do more to lengthen the liife span than wiping out can- cer. Yet millions of wives still insist on tickling their husband's palates to death, and millions of Husbands actively submit to it, Just how difficult it is to con- vince patients of this can be seen in this story of the case of Mr. IL, an advertising executive in Elis early forties, who complained of dizziness and pain over the heart. The heart specialist found high blood pressure, incipient diabetes, coronary arterioscle- rosis (hardening of the arteries which supply blood to the heart), and a cholesterol read- ing of over 360 (normal is 180 to 200). The doctor ended his report with the statement that Mrs. R. was killing him with food. "How can that be?" Mr. R. protested. "My wife loves me. She buys„the _ best. .In fact, she only makes what I like.” "That's it," the doctor replied, "she's pampering you to death. If she doesn't stop, you'll get sicker!" •.. ,. . Mumbling something about good food ... kind mother made never harmed anyone . better than restaurants and business troubles Mr: R. left. Six ' months later, the patient had a near -fatal coronary. The first day the wife came up with a box of cream -puffs, one of hubby's favorite desserts. The doctor barred her from further visits and explained to the in- dignant son the general prob- lem of diet and heart disease. "Your f a t h e is difficulties come from a diet too rich in fats," the doctor said. He de- scribed what happened when cholesterol, a fatty substance needed by every cell in the body is eaten in excess, The unburned fat forms huge molecules that are deposited on the walls of arteries, especially the arteries feeding blood to the heart itself. These arterial pipes become so narrow and rough that a clot sometimes tears away from the wall and plugs it up. "Now," the doctor warned, "the heart is the hardest work- ing muscle in the body and needs food constantly. When a vessel supplying it with blood clogs up, the result may be fa- tal. At the very least, the part of the heart served by the ves- sel may be permanently scar- red. Fortunately, in time new arteries take the place of the damaged ones and after a while the patient usually' can resume normal activities. But the artery hardening process picks up again if he goes back to his .old eating habits." The young man was obstin- ate. "Dad is too young to have to worry about cholesterol and things." "No, he's not," the doctor snapped. "Do you know that at least one. out of every ten men in the late forties is so loaded with arteriosclerosis he can suf- fer a fatal thrombosis at any time? Between 60 and 65 it's three out of 10, and between 65 and 70, nine out of ten . . al- most .all the result of faulty nutrition." Confronted with this evidence, one wife asked: "What am I supposed to do? If I cut out all fatty foods, there won't be anything left but grass." The answer is you don't have to cut out all such foods. 'Fats are vital nutritional substances not only needed for the diges tion of other fats but for pro- ducing adrenal and sex hormones and vitamin D. Dr. William Heiden points out that the nor- mal concentration. of cholesterol in the blood won't be affected by the little cholesterol in dairy products, meat and eggs. But fat -soaked fried foods, greasy fowl, bacon and pork, rich gra- vies, dressings, puddings, pies and cakes are a different story. They can skyrocket the choles- terol count and crowd the blood with gangster molecules that can kill you. Men should eat sensibly! Go easy on gravies, rich desserts, cream, butter, dressings, fried foods, greasy dishes and calories in general! A man 'should get used to feeling a little empty at the meal's end. The wife should let him .know that she doesn't like his bulging waist and bil- lowing chin, After all, she mar- ried a man not a cow! At the same time, she should plan well- rounded meals. And no matter how he whee- dles, .cut down his waistline for that's a good way to measure your success. Chances are the wife will benefit emotionally as well as physically. Instead of a torpid, obese creature always on the verge of sleep, he may windup trotting her to a show some night, or taking her dancing, walking or bowling—something that never harmed any mar- riage, Modern child has longer life expectancy, the health of most North Americans has so improv- ed during the present century that a baby may be expected to live over twenty years longer than one born in 1900. TEA KETTLE MAKES COFFEE—Coffee and tea will go together In this new contrasption, recently displayed co the annual trade af!r in Leipzig, in the Soviet zone of Germany. The teas kettle Vitas a percolator that fits on the end of the spout. GOES TO MEETING—Puffing away an his familiar black cigar, former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill heads for an emergency meeting of Parliament on the Suez Canal crisis in London. TA 8h1 TALKS dam Andtcw Tiny cream puffs are popular for special occasions and often hide a sweet surprise of pudding or cooked fruit, a cold surprise of ice cream, or a warm surprise of creamed chicken or seafood. If you want to make 12 large cream puffs` from this recipe, use 1 generous tablespoon of the mixture when you drop it on the cookie sheet. For small, dainty puffs for parties, 1 tea- ipoon is the right amount. CREAM PUFFS Y2 cup water M cup butter Ya teaspoon salt 1/s cup sifted flour 2 eggs, unbeaten Bring water, butter, and salt to boiling point in saucepan. Add flour all at once and stir quickly' until mixture leaves sides of pan, forming a ball in, center of pan. Remove from heat promptly. Add eggs, one .at a time, .beat- ing each thoroughly into flour mixture. With addition of last egg, beat until mixture is glossy, smooth, and very thick. Drop. batter by spoonfuls on baking sheet. Pick up batter with 1 spoon and scrape it onto sheet with a second spoon, plac- ing about 2 inches apart. Bake at 450' F. for 15-20 min- utes, then reduce heat to 325° F. for 20-30 minutes (small puffs require shorter baking time). Remove to cake rack. Cut a slit in each puff so that the moisture can escape. • Cool throughly. Store uncovered if not used promptly. * * * Sweet pineapple filling be- tween layers of coconut is at- tractive for entertaining. This recipe makes 24 bars. PINEAPPLE FILLED COCONUT BARS Filling: % cups granulated sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 34 teaspoon salt 1 cup crushed pineapple, not drained 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon butter Mix first four ingredients to- gether in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Continue cdok- r ing uxitil thickened and clear, about 5 minutes, stirring con- stantly to prevent sticking. Re- move from heat and blend in lemon juice and butter. Cool slightly while preparing crumb mixture. CRUMB MIXTURE 1 cup brown • sugar, firmly parked ta cup butter 1 cup sifted flour V2 teaspoon salt 11/2 cups shredded coconut Cream butter and sugar to- gether. Add flour, salt, and co- conut; mix thoroughly until crumbly Press one-half crumb mixture firmly into a greased and floured 9 -inch square bak- ing pan„ Spread pineapple fill- ing evenly over surface. Cover with remaining crumbs and gess top layer down firmly, Bake in preheated 350° F. oven ;>-''f'dr 35 minutes or until golden brown. Turn out on wire cake rack to cool. Cut into 24 bars. * , * * If you're doing any of' the lighter type of entertaining, the orange, -in -toast -cups are easy to fix. Top with whipped cream. rr. ORANGE TOAST CUPS 12 thin slices bread 6 oranges Cut crusts off bread: butter both sides of bread and work into muffin tins to make cups. Bake a*, 375° F. 5-10 zninutes, or until brown. Peel oranges and cut into chunks; spoon into cooled toast cups. Pour spicy orange sauce over oranges. Gar- nish and serve. Serves 12. SPICY ORANGE SAUCE 1 ,coup brown sugar yi teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons cornstarch 1% cups water %2 cup orange juice 1/ cup lemon juice 2 tablespoons butter Y2 teaspoon allspice Mix sugar, salt, and corn- starch together in saucepan. Add water gradually, bring to boil quickly, reduce heat and boil 3 minutes, stirring con- stantly. Remove from heat. Add fruit juices, butter, and allspice; blend well. Makes 2% cups. Queen Of Sheba No Glamour Girl ? Was the Queen of Sheba the glamour girl that legend would have us belive? Did she. rank in good looks with those other historic beauties, Cleopatra and Helen u.uf Troy? When the Queen first entered King Solomon's gorgeous throne -room with its highly polished marble floor, it was so glossy that she thought it was wet and involuntarily lifted her long skirts — to display to the whole of the - distinguished company gathered at the King's court that she had hairy legs! That, at least, is the story told by the scattered tribes which still live in that part of the desert that was once the realm of the famous Queen. I lived for some months with these Arabs and was the first white ' man many of them had - seen. Although none of these tribes - en can read or write and they have no written history, they know the story of their people for many centuries back, It is handed down from father to son in story form and they have astounding memories for facts, namec and even dates. One fact they all relate is that the Queen of Sheba had a deformed foot. . She concealed this by always wearing her skirts down to the ground, The ways us women having changed little, her female subjects fol- lowed the royal fashion and wore theirs to the ground too, so the Queen was not conspicu- ous in what was then an un- usual length for- an Arab wo- man's skirt. I was assured, however, that apart from her legs and foot she really was beautiful, hav- ing an abundance of jet-black, glossy hair and classical fea- tures ' et off by a smooth, coffee- coloured skin, writes Gilbert Harris in "Tit -Bits." Her figure the tribesmen went into raptures about, judg- ing by the demonstrative des- eriptioes they gave tree of it. 1 gathered that her vital statistics must have been something like 40: 28: 38 So proud was she of her slender waist and splen- did torso that she frequently went ,shout unclothed from the waist up. This fashion was also quickly followed by the other women. 1 was told that shapely figures have always been a feature of the Sabaeans, The men proudly point to their own womenfolk of to -day, who are the only Arab tribes I know who wear no clothing but their veils above the waist. The Queen's name was Bil- quis. Sheba vas the name of the country she ruled, Although the tribesmen liked to talk about the beatuy of Bilquis, what they considered even more worthy of mention was the smart business methods by which she amassed her fabu- lous wealth. By to -day's stand- ards she might qualify for the title "Queen of Spivs." In the Bible we are told she gave King Solomon "a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones." She made her - money out of frankincense by cornering the market. Frankin- cense is a sweet-smelling gum resin, much used in those days in religious rites and cere- monies throughout the whole Arab world. Practically the only source of this much - sought -after incense was the trees grown at Cana, on the south coats of Arabia, where they still grow to -day. Cana was only a small com- munity, . and to market the prod- uct to the great Arab countries to the north the merchants had to take it by camel caravan over a narrow mountain pass. It was the only route north. Unfortunately for the mer- chants, the other end of this pass came out close by the city gates of Shabwa, Queen Bil- quis's capital city. It was here that the only wa- ter supplies for many miles were available. The next wells ahead on the route were too far for either man or camel to make without replenishing at the Shabwa wells. It was also too far to go back without first replenishing the water -skins. Bilquis was able to make her demands with ease with the merchants .so beautifully trap- ped. They either sold the whole of their frakincese to her at her price or they were refused ac- cess to the wells. Their only alternative to selling to her was to die of thirst. By these harsh methods she filled her great storehouse with frankincense. Then, as the Cana merchants were not permitted to travel north, merchants from Egypt, Syria and many other countries came south to buy. They met the same treatment. They either paid the price Queen Bilquis asked — or no water. There was no argument about it •and even the most stubborn merchants could rind no other answer to the prob- lem and eventually paid the price asked. And what a price it. was! Bilquis was able to clear. a pleasant six hundred per cent profit. It's little wonder that his- tory overlooked the well -con- cealed fact that her legs were not all that they might : have been when she had such a mag- nificent figure and such a won- derful business head to be re- membered by, Silent Jail Break In Johannesburg last year, a native was on trial for murder. It was not an ordinary trial„ for the 'accused was completely deaf and unable to understand the usual sign language of the deaf and dumb alphabet. But the native had attended .a school for the deaf, where the pupils had developed their own sign language. And Father Er- nest Green, the chaplain of the school, had learned their pecu- liar sign language and now he came forward as interpreter. During the two-day trial he translated every word of evi- dence for the accused, and then gave the court the Ian's ans- wers to the chjge. The native was acquitted. But the deaf and dumb al- phabet has other uses. In 1938, a murderer serving "life" in a Swiss jail escaped with the .aid of a woman prisoner with whom he was in love. The windows of their cells faced each other across a court- yard and for months they held silent conversations by sign language from the windows. Messages mutual love led to an exchange of ideas on how to es- cape. So in complete silence, and separated by the wide courtyard, they finally agreed on a plan. The beauty of it was that no other prisoners could find out the details of the plan, so the. woman was able to get out of the female prisoners' wing, go over to the men's quarters and free her lover without arousing suspicion. LONG WAY UP—There's a lot of steps for tiny tomcat before he reaches the top. Kitty's taking a breather before he goes all the way. The steps lead to Rome, Italy's Altar of Heaven Church. TONGUE-Tt Ab—' Beaucaire,' a five -month-old bulldog, found New York's heat too much for him after arriving from London: As befits an English thoroughbred, he . disdained water nand found relief in q gists of iced tea.