Rickets And Cod Liver Oil...

[sandyRoe]

Did the spoonfuls of cod liver oil we were forced to take when we were children mean we grew up straight limbed and in no danger of getting rickets?

[emmie]

i didn't say it was caused by a virus or bacteria, i did say and linked to the NHS site which says it is largely caused by diet, lack of Vitamin D found in sunlight, and the lack of certain nutrients. Some communities have different diets, if they lack certain foods for healthy bones, then you could well get rickets. In much the same way that junk food, high in fats in having a devastating effect on some peoples across the world, who's diet once was fish, rice, vegetables, and now consistent of more fast foods. This includes India, China, and many Asian countries, which is fast catching up with the west on unhealthy living and diet.

[mccfluff]

"Dark skinned immigrants may be particularly at risk because the darker the skin, the less capable it is of making vitamin D from sunlight", said Dr Mairead Kiely of UCC."

http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=21926

slathering kids in factor 100 before you send them out to play could have something to do with it as well as poor diet

[emmie]

teen boys may well adopt western type clothes, many of the teen girls are not - this may well change in time, but i see very young children dressed like their mothers, head to toe.

[emmie]

a long time ago i dated a guy from the Afro Caribbean community, he used to get sun burn when working outside, i never saw him or any of his Jamaican, Bajan friends ever slap on any sun cream, times have changed.

[emmie]

my mum can when she puts her mind to it cook meats, but very rarely fish, no idea why, perhaps they didn't have that much fish in the war years, equally my o/h, he was a carnivore of the first order, i had to strong arm him into buy some fish once in a blue moon, it got more prevalent once i showed him how easy it was to cook.

[PIGGYPOO]

My Mum is 70 and as a child was given Malt and Cod Liver oil on a spoon... luckily she is very supple at 70 and Cod Liver Oil may have been a contributing factor.

[woofgang]

emmie it has to be oily fish to help. Apart from canned fish and kippers, I don't think that it was ever a large part of the UK diet, in fact now that salmon is so widely farmed, I bet people eat more oily fish now than they did when i was a child, in the South at least.

[ClaryS]

Good food you cook from scratch is not cheap. You will pay as much for a fillet of cod or haddock as a steak. The cheaper fish, mackerel and herring are very good for you but lets say 'challenging' to prepare and eat ,and not suitable for children as even a fillet has a lot of bones. Lots of cheap pre-packed stuff has had the goodness processed out of it so I think its down to diet more than lack of sunshine. I must be weird, I loved halibut oil capsules as a kiddie and used to crunch them to get the fishy flavour, funny thing is I'm not a big fish fan these days, doesn't seem to have much taste except salmon which is a treat.

[ClaryS]

woofgang herring was a staple in the war, it was the only thing allowed to be sold on a Sunday and someone may correct me but I don't think it was rationed.

[Connemmara]

My mum used to stick the yellow gummy things into my potatoes. God they were awful.

[Mamyalynne]

ClaryS I too love the taste and crunch the capsules, Halibut oil is my favourite.

[woofgang]

Clary I am a post war baby (1953) and rickets was rare then.

[sandyRoe]

Piggypoo, I vaguely remember the malt along with the free orange juice and the cod liver oil . What was it for, anyone know?

[Tilly2]

Here you go, sandy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/8971466/Just-a-spoonful-of-malt-extract-could-banish-winter-sniffles.html

[sandyRoe]

Thank you, Tilly2.
Dietitian, Sian Porter, said: “Malt extract contains some protein, calories, vitamins and minerals and easily digested, simple sugars.” A tablespoon “would give some nutrients and it wouldn’t be harmful”, she adds.
'It wouldn't be harmful.' Hardly a glowing recommendation.

[Tilly2]

I wish I'd know that when my mum was forcing me to eat it.