Taking MOLASSES! #7

GREAT MOLASSES #7

CHAPTER 20

WHITE SUGAR: ACID-FORMING
MOLASSES: ALKALINE.

I shall be doing no damage to the white sugar industry when I
voice the dictum of food chemists that white sugar tends to
create acidity; for just as people will eat white bread (when
they can get it), so will they eat white sugar in preference to
brown, however much they may be told that the latter is much more
salubrious. Nor will they refrain from eating white sugar when
they are told that it is conductive to rheumatism and distinctly
bad for the teeth, as opposed to Molasses which tends to preserve
the teeth, and, having a somewhat alkaline action, helps to ward
off rheumatism and even to cure it. Furthermore, far from
containing a harmful "bug," it has been shown to contain a
germicide which destroys harmful bacteria in the intestinal
tract. These facts having been put forward by food chemists and
food specialists, the rational thing to do is to mix a little
Molasses with all our jams and marmalade, just as an artist mixes
his medium with his paints. In other words, white sugar having
been deprived of its most essential and wholesome elements, these
should be put back in the manner above indicated.

CHAPTER 22

MOLASSES AND THE NATIONAL HEALTH

It may also be argued that in drawing attention to an aliment
which possesses such extensive prophylactic and curative
elements, I am thereby doing a disservice to the Medical
Profession. But, on the contrary, I am doing its members a
distinct service. Unless the national health, especially among
the working classes, is reasonably sound, the policy of turning
the doctors into civil servants will simply result in their being
terribly overworked. Therefore, it is in the interest of doctors
that the food of the community should be as health-promoting as
possible. To this end the Ministry of Health should see to it
that all such food is available, as it is in Australia, New
Zealand, Canada, America, and other countries that could be
mentioned. It is interesting to note that in Palmerston, N.Z.,
where Mr. Persson has for nine years been supplying large
quantities of Molasses of the best and crudest kind, the latest
statistics record a lower death rate and a greater population.

CHAPTER 23

SUGAR-CANE: A LIFE SUSTAINING FOOD IN ITSELF

The following information was given to me by a lady who has
recently returned from India, where an associate of hers owned a
cane-sugar plantation. She told me that some of the workers in
the plantation were so poor, and that food was at times so
scarce, that they were obliged to live on and to feed their
children on sugar-cane exclusively. They ate all but the fibres,
which they ejected; and on this mono-diet contrived to sustain
life and remain healthy.

CHAPTER 24

METHOD OF TAKING MOLASSES

The most convenient way of taking Molasses is before meals. The
dosage is one teaspoonful, which should be melted in half a cup
of hot water, then cold water should be added, so as to make
two-thirds of a cupful, the latter to be drunk warm. For
children, half the dosage. The Molasses can be taken neat; but
hot water should be drunk immediately afterwards. Some people,
however find the latter method unsuited to them. The patient must
use his own judgment and adapt the method to his individual
idiosyncracies. Persons with delicate stomachs who find a
teaspoonful too much at one time, should take a smaller dose but
more often during the day. In severe cases, such as for growths,
Molasses should be taken last thing at night and on rising, as
well as during the day. The water should of course never be too
hot; never hotter than a temperature in which one can comfortably
bear to put one's finger. It is the utmost folly to drink any
beverage scaldingly hot, like some persons drink tea. Another
point is that the Molasses-and-water mixtures should not be
gulped down like nasty medicine so as to produce flatulence, but
should be sipped and tasted like connoisseurs taste good wines.
The reason for taking the Molasses in hot water is because by
being thus diluted it is more easily assimilated, and also more
digestible. Cold water with some people is apt to chill the
stomach. Even bladder troubles can occur after people have drunk
draughts of cold water at a time when they are over-heated.
Both children and adults can, with advantage, take Molasses in
the milk they use with their porridge or dry cereals for
breakfast or at other times. I have already mentioned how a
little Molasses may be and should be mixed with marmalade and all
jams made from white sugar. I have also mentioned how Molasses
should be taken per rectum in cases of growths in the bowels, or
colitis, etc. For external growths, boils, sores, cuts, etc.,
Molasses mixed with water should be applied as a poultice, in
addition to the internal treatment. As a natural ointment
Molasses has no equal.

The reader is warned against the use of the medicated variety
sold in tins in U.S.A. and elsewhere. People who have tried this
stuff have complained of discomfort in the stomach. In any case
it is unwise to take medicated aliments over a long period. In
asking friends in U.S.A. to send Molasses, it is therefore
important to state that other than unsulphured black strap
Molasses should not be dispatched. I should add that people in
this country (England) have rather vague notions as to what the
name Molasses really denotes. Many individuals seem to think it
is a synonym for Black Treacle. This, however, is incorrect, or
at best misleading. The "Universal English Dictionary" defines
the aliment as "the thick non-crystallizable dark syrup which
drains from raw sugar during manufac ture; thickest kind of
treacle." Nevertheless, ordinary black treacle, such as Fowler's,
is not Molasses, good though it is, for the reason that it is not
the thickest kind; it is much richer in sugar than the type of
Molasses most suited for therapeutical purposes. The very best
type for this purpose is, as I mentioned before almost as thick
as putty; moreover it has a somewhatgarlicky smell, and is rather
more bitter than sweeas well as tasting slightly salty. However,
as the only sample of this variety I have so far tasted comes
from New Zealand, and hence takes a long time to arrive, the
blackstrap type will serve as the next best.

The above was written before I came to realise that there seem to
be some confusion in U.S.A. about the nomenclature of Molasses.
One correspondent writes me that Blackstrap Molasses is the trade
name given to a particular brand, whereas another correspondent
writes that it is a term for crude black molasses in general.
Further to add to the confusion, an American friend tells me that
in some States the molasses used by farmers is called sorgum. In
the circumstances it is therefore difficult to give my American
readers any accurate information.
...................

MUCH OF THE LATTER ABOVE DOES NOT APPLY TODAY. PURE ORGANIC CRUDE
MOLASSES CAN EASILY BE OBTAINED FROM THE HEALTH FOOD STORE IN
YOUR AREA.
......

To be continued