These Are The Beauty – Full Foods

As you’ve already learned from “Beauty Is.............”, it takes a stag party to reveal what the American male really thinks of the ladies. There was also a time when a questionnaire, a really searching set of questions, was mailed to several hundred men. They were college men who are supposed to know exactly what they like in a girl. The one quality all the boys voted for was not beauty, not so-called sÈx appeal, but vitality, and practically everyone was astonished. Now those college men must have been very bright because when they voted for vitality they were asking for everything-beauty and sÈx appeal included.

Vitality, fortunately, is a quality we can all have. It’s not like owning sea-blue eyes, a graceful neck, or long shapely legs. You either have them or you don’t! You can do something about acquiring vitality. This is a word from the Latin “vita” meaning life. The dictionary defines it as animation, vigor, liveliness. Ask any man, even without the benefit of a survey, and chances are he would list what he likes best in a girl, along with all that vim and vigor, something like this:

1. Glossy hair
2. Clear eyes
3. Smooth skin free from blemishes
4. Even, white teeth in a good state of repair
5. Fingernails firm enough not to break easily
6. A trim figure, neither too plump nor too skinny, and this, in turn, leads too
7. Good posture

This seems like a large order and it is. But all these qualities, lumped together in that deceptive little word “vitality” can be yours if you take to heart some of the good, sound advice of nutrition experts.

Yes, you’ve probably guessed! The type of diet you follow has a great deal to do with the state of your health and, consequently, your good looks. There’s no magic to it. Just the magic of the Basic Seven Groups of Foods listed by scientists who have spent a great deal of time studying your daily needs. It’s a beauty at a bargain when you eat wisely.

All right then, let’s get right down to facts. Here are the Basic Seven Groups – the foods we swallow gleefully each day for radiant health and looks.

There’s variety here for you-carrots, spinach, peas, beans, broccoli, lettuce, romaine and other salad greens, green pepper, green celery, sweet potatoes, tomatoes. Eat at least one serving a day. These may be canned, frozen or fresh. When cooking, use a minimum length of time. Vitamins and minerals don’t often keep company with a mish-mash of overcooked vegetables. Don’t soak them in the water ahead of time either, for it dissolves a goodly number of nutrients. For plainly cooked vegetables, you’ll speed things up by starting with boiling water. Choose your lettuce and celery dark green rather than light. The deeper color usually means more vitamins and minerals. Or course, you’ll store them in the refrigerator after cleaning to retain as much vitamin content as possible.

Green or yellow cooked vegetables contain vitamin A. You need vitamin A for vigor and for growth. If you’ve stopped growing, you still need it to give you resistance to infection and to prevent night blindness. Now night blindness might seem a remote possibility to you, but try walking down an unlighted street one dark night and you’ll know what we mean!

Vegetables also give bulk to help push waste through the digestive system. In other words, girls, you shouldn't need laxatives to keep you regular if you’re getting enough bulk from your diet. Of course, there’s no law saying you have to eat carrots every day. Suppose you can’t bear the sight of them. Well then, switch to another yellow vegetable, say sweet potatoes, yams or corn. That’s the idea behind this sensible scientific approach to beauty.

Vitamin C, another important daily must, comes from citrus fruit, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and raw cabbage. Also excellent sources of vitamin C are tomato juice, cantaloupe, and strawberries. Vitamin C helps keep your teeth sound and your gums in a healthy condition. It's also good insurance against tender joints and fragile bones.

A medium portion of potato is a good source of minerals and vitamin C, especially when it's boiled in the skin (least so when fried). To get the most benefit, eat the skin too-it's good! Other vegetables and fruits belong 'here. Buy vegetables in season because they usually have more flavor and are more economical than.

Such as cheese,. evaporated milk, dry non-fat milk, ice cream. The scientists have said, "Milk adds years to life and life to years." (Here's vitality cropping up again.) Called our most nearly perfect food, it is indispensable in babies' diets, necessary throughout life. Milk is rich in calcium; it is our best source of this mineral. You need milk for constantly replenishing the calcium in your bones, teeth, hair, and nails. When you short-change on milk, you are cheating yourself of one of your most outstanding handmaidens to health and beauty. Without enough milk in your diet (a pint a day for grown-ups, a quart for children, or if you're pregnant or a nursing mother) you will tend to have brittle nails, dull, lifeless looking hair—possibly even your teeth will be affected.

From the standpoint of good looks, need we say more? And from the health angle, scientists would tell you there is a feeling of lassitude when you are low in calcium. You need this mineral, too, for proper coagulation of the blood (so that you stop bleeding in a reasonable length of time when you cut yourself, or after an operation). Milk is also a very good source of riboflavin—one of the B vitamins. And of all the vitamins, this has been called the factor that helps us retain our youthful characteristics. Milk is also rich in protein, but more on this.

These are protein foods. They help build firm muscles (not the biceps kind but all the muscles your body needs to keep you in good shape). Proteins find their way into every cell in your body, so you need them each day to maintain health.

Peas and beans are good, but should only be used to "fill out" on the other protein foods. You might call them the poor relations of the family. They're economical and they're good, but they don't do as much for you as meat, fish, poultry, and eggs. So eat them with the others, but not as a substitute.

Meats, especially liver and kidney, give you iron. The red cells in your blood need this mineral to do the vital work of carrying fresh oxygen to the tissues and removing carbon dioxide. When your complexion is—let's not mince words—muddy or downright sallow and you get tired easily, it's your body's way of telling you it needs more iron. Try to eat liver or kidney at least once a week. If you just can't face liver alone, try grinding it into a hamburger patty or mix it with a little sausage meat. Season well and it tastes good!

Eggs are another wonderful "buy" for health and beauty, and economical, too. The egg has been called an oversized vitamin pill. Try to have one every day or at least four each week. It's a good way to add protein, iron, and vitamins A and D.

You also get A and D vitamins in fish, such as herring and salmon, Vitamin D is important for good development of bones and teeth. But, you'll be saying, your bones and teeth are already developed. All right then, you still need vitamin D to keep them in good condition. This is one vitamin that the body can manufacture itself from sunshine. If you live in a sunny climate all year round and get a good dose of sunshine every day, then you're lucky! Most of us don't, however. So we have to on food—eggs, fish and vitamin D fortified milk.

This includes rice and baked goods, too, should be whole grain or enriched. From this group you get a good share of that complex vitamin B. Important for the proper working of your nervous system, you need it for a healthy appetite and good digestion. So don't feel, if you are one of those reducers who cut out all starches, that you are doing yourself a favor. So many girls who go on low-calorie diets cut out cereals, then get nervous and jumpy. No wonder! They are gypping themselves of the B vitamins they need every day. Take a good look at some of the women whose looks you admire, or check on some prominent women famous for their beauty. Most of them have am inner serenity that is reflected in their faces and in their manner.

You should have a basic minimum of 3 teaspoons of butter or fortified margarine a day, regardless of whether you are reducing or not. You need vitamin A from this group of foods. You also need fat. Fat helps lubricate your skin, keeping it supple and soft. It aids digestion and gives you a feeling of satisfaction after meals. When any food will delay hunger pangs and keep you from nibbling between meals, you shouldn't snub it.

Eat a variety of foods from these groups. For instance, we've all been sold on the glass of orange juice every morning. It's a rich source of vitamin C. Now, tomato juice has only half as much of this vitamin, but it has carotene, a substance that the body can turn into vitamin A. Or for a change, give prunes a break. They aren't as high in vitamin C as orange juice or tomato juice, but they'll reward you with an extra bonus of iron and copper, two important minerals.

There's a reason why nutritionists stress a varied diet. Not all foods contain every nutrient, but one can supplement the other. Cereals, for example, are an economical source of calories, some of the B vitamins, and some minerals, but they are low on protein. When you eat cereal with milk, you're adding the protein you need and, incidentally, doing more for your health.

So there you have them—the Basic Foods for Beauty. Stick with them and they'll reward you liberally. It's good to know you can do something about beauty since it can't be separated from health. When your beauty meets you, he isn't going to say "Are you getting your Basic Seven every day? "—but he will vote for vitality.

Most girls are born healthy—some are born beautiful. Some girls are both healthy and beautiful—others are neither. Into this last group fall, or roll, the overweight.

The answer to "What makes me so fat?" in more than 95 percent of cases is a simple one. You are taking in more calories than your body needs, and the extras are stored as fat. No doubt you've been hearing about calories since you were that high. In case you've forgotten, a calorie is a measurement of energy. Without calories you couldn't survive—just don't take too many of them!

Maybe you enjoy the excuse—"it's my glands." Doctors now agree that even in the very small percentage of fatties due to gland trouble, there's a good deal of overeating. If you are very fat, don't diagnose on your own. See a doctor. Even doctors consult with each other. There may be some medical cause for your avoirdupois. Take his advice if he tells you to eat less.

Don't fall for the hullaballoo about fad diets. Pills, unless prescribed by your doctor, should be avoided. At best, they'll melt your pocketbook—at worst, they'll damage your health. Don't fall for the "get thin quick" diet—- the grapefruit and lettuce leaf type. You'll reduce all right, but you won't stay that way, because nobody can stick with this kind of diet for any length of time.

So far we've appealed to your good sense. In a direct appeal now to your good looks, take off excess weight by eating less. Include the Basic Seven Groups in your daily diet—but go easy on the high-calorie items.

Gravies, mayonnaise, griddle cakes, pies, cake, candy, nuts (5 calories in one little peanut), fried foods, rich sauces, cream (plain or whipped)-—we could go on and on—with a long list of all the lovely. gooey things. Skip them for a while and see what happens. You'll 'look better, feel a lot better. Once you've reached you want, you can indulge occasionally if you're seized with an uncontrollable yen. But when you reach, say, that wedge of lemon meringue pie, just remember it packs a solid 400 calories. Eat it if you must, but cut down by that many calories the next meal, or next day

What to do about acquiring those extra pounds? First, see your doctor! He will tell you whether you are underweight for your build and age. There are some people, called the linear type by our scientists, who normally are tall and lean. Your doctor may tell you your weight is all rights. In which case, you can skip the rest of this piece. If, however, you need to put on a few pounds, he will tell you how to go about it. At this point, your diet will play a large part in any weight-gaining program.

You need the milk of course. Try to take at least a pint a day, either as a beverage or in cooked dishes. Then there are all its wonderful by-products to help you out---cream, cheese, and ice cream. A milkshake between meals will give you a whopping 370 calorie count (170 from the milk, 200 from the ice cream). If this stretches the budget much, use evaporated milk in your beverages.

Leafy green and yellow vegetables—with emphasis on corn, yams, sweet potatoes and beets. Butter them up a bit when you serve them, and eat them in sauces.

Citrus fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C—they have high in calories but don't skip them. Drizzle a little honey on your grapefruit for instance, or brown sugar perhaps.

Potatoes and other vegetables and fruits. Here we go! Potatoes any way are good. Beans, navy, and lima, are for you. Avocados are excellent, so are bananas, dates, grapes, peaches, and raisins. And did you know a good baked apple will give you as many as 225 calories? Canned fruits packed in heavy syrup are very good too.

Eggs—one a day if you can manage it. If you like them scrambled, so much the better - gives you a chance for that extra dollop of butter or margarine.

Meat, Poultry, fish, cheese. Ham and pork are higher in calories than the leaner meats. Liver, once a week, dressed up with bacon—fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, sardines, should be your favorites. If you must have lean fish such as flounder, cod and the like—dress them up with Hollandaise or cheese sauce.

Whole grain cereals, enriched bread, and cream on your morning cereal if possible.

Where do we go from here? Right into the bedroom for a catnap, or a living room, or any room where there is a comfortable couch or chair. Try to relax more! There's absolutely no point trying to eat your head off if you allow yourself to get worn to a frazzle every day, Get your eight hours of sleep each night, more if you need it, and don't cheat. You'll soon find yourself with curves!