Voices From the Past

In random wandering around cyberspace, I found a article from 1940 regarding constipation.. (This is part 2, which included the paragraph quoted.) One paragraph, in particular, caught my eye:

If roughage foods can be tolerated, their addition to the diet may completely relieve the mild case of constipation. Half a dozen or more stewed prunes every morning may do the trick. Bran and other "sawdust" foods should be avoided by everyone, since they are an irritant to the stomach, colon and rectum. Bran may have a place in the diet of cattle, but many doctors are agreed that it is not fit for human consumption. Instances of obstruction of the intestine by bran accumulations have been reported, as well as cases of "gastritis" and rectal disorders.

The whole thing reminded me of this article by Dr. Mike Eades.

Huh. From another article on the same site, this one on diet, also from 1940:

A large part of the population is not getting the optimum returns from food expenditure. Too much money is spent on breads and other cereals and not enough on the protective foods—particularly dairy products, fruits and vegetables. Of course, the indigent—and that means about 40,000,000 people—cannot afford to buy adequate amounts of eggs, milk, cheese, meats, fruits and vegetables.

Get that? We should be spending our food dollars on eggs, milk, cheese, fruits and vegetables, not grains and potatoes.

How the hell did we get where we are today?