Why? The Science of Athletics

FOOD, FADS AND FACTS own. The trouble is that new scientific principles, even when their value is fully proven, do not easily overcome custom. They may appeal to a man's logic and yet not conquer his deep-rooted convictions. The mentallag, I sup– pose, preserves life, but it does make progress most terribly slow. The inertia of tradition, however, is not so dangeFous as the ill-informed theories of some modern faddists. Among the older traditions which are not yet dead is the purging of an athlete at the beginning of training, the belief that meat is the only strength-giving food, the cur– tailment of milk and the theory that butter increases weight and, by creating "soft-fat", decreases the powers of endurance, and that bananas are indigestible and of small food value. The Newer Prejudices Among the newer prejudices are the over-emphasis of an alkaline diet ; the cut– ting out of meat altogether from the ath– lete's menu and the newest system of so dividing the athlete's meals that the proteins and the carbohydrates are absorbed at different times. The explanation of why shibboleths remain and preju– dices persist is that our knowledge of the science of nutri– tion is as yet incomplete ; the power of tradition is still stronger than the evidence of scientific experimentation ; the faddists defeat the scientists by the plausibility of their advertisements, and men are wary of dropping a system which has suited them reasonably well for another which someone only says will lead to better results. The com– petitive life of an athlete is comparatively short, and he does not wish to risk losing a season's form for the sake of experimenting with some new thing which may not prove better for him individually. Nature Knows Best Most Times There is a lot, too, in that last explana– tion, and planning the dietary ofthe individual athlete often turns upon the coach having a good knowledge of the likes and dislikes of the particular pupil. It is, of course, an accepted principle that the athlete