Sam Apple's Tweet: Which brings me to a second NYTimes article from 1928. This one is from November 18: “Candy Needed in Daily Diet, Says Chicago Health Director.”  The official in question, Dr. Herman Bundesen, was a known fame hound. He had recently been fired for a self-promotional scheme.

Candy should have its place in our daily diet because it is a food, a very highly nourishing food, according to Dr. Herman N. Bundesen, President of the American Public Health Association and Health Director of the Sanitary District of Chicago. Analyzing the ingredients of candy recently, he said:

"Sugar is a great source of heat and energy; it is quickly utilized. That is generally known and conceded. Some people think that it is fattening, but candy is like everything else; it isn't the use of a thing that harms, it is the abuse. Chocolate is rich in proteins. It has a certain amount of fats, a large quantity of carbohydrates and minerals, and a small quantity of iron and lime.

"How many mothers know that when they are feeding chocolate to their children they are feeding iron, lime, phosphorus, proteins, carbohydrates and fats? Nuts are rich in proteins and fats. One of the richest sources of vitamin B, which is so necessary to build up resistance, is cereals, and nuts contain as much vitamin B as cereals. They are rich in proteins. Proteins build and repair tissues.

"Vitamin A is a very, very important element in food. Milk is rich in calcium, tremendously so, and also in vitamin A. That is another of the ingredients in chocolate.

"Fruits are very important in furnishing a basic ash. In the modern diet, containing much meat, which forms an acid ash, and cereals, which form a neutral ash, alkaline ash foods are needed, and therefore fruits are welcome from that standpoint. Pineapple is a good source of vitamins A and B. Some other fruits used in cady contain much vitamin A. This is true of cherries, strawberries and oranges. Strawberries also furnish iron. Figs supply some lime as well as roughage. Dates also furnish roughage and some lime."

The New York Times