The science of nutrition was pretty much nailed 93 years ago.

All downhill since then due to commercial interests and evil marketing.

What constitutes a good diet was described by Dr Robert McCarrison in 1932. He was a British army doctor stationed in India.

He reported that nothing could be more striking than the

contrast between the manly, resolute and stalwart Sikh

tribe of North India and the poorly developed, toneless,

supine Bengali and Madrassi tribes of the east and south.

He concluded that food was the paramount cause of this

difference. It is the Sikhs who usually appear in the head-

lines when there has been a bit of Indian trouble for the

British.

The typical diet of the stalwart Sikhs included fresh whole

wheat, milk, butter, legumes, vegetables, tomatoes, fresh

meat and root vegetables. He found some of the finest

specimens of mankind among this tribe.

The diet of the Madrassi consisted of washed polished rice,

condiments, vegetable oils, coffee, sugar, cocoanut, betel nut,

little milk and some fresh vegetables. They have also slowly

been adopting the use of white bread and refined cereals.

When McCarrison fed these typical diets to two groups _

of rats, those on the Sikh diet gained 235 grams and had no

illness while those on the Madrassi diet only gained 155

grams and were short-lived.