Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage have been found to have a protective effect against developing the autoimmune form of diabetes in children, says your article (Study links bananas, oats and yoghurt to greater diabetes risk in susceptible children, 8 September). Every parent would love to know how they were induced to eat them.
Harold Mozley
York
• Your editorial on public libraries (8 September) notes that the poorest areas often suffer disproportionately when it comes to funding. As a bookseller, we introduced a scheme this summer whereby a child can choose a book, along with a token, and then swap them once read. This has proved successful and we hope to develop this in the run-up to Christmas.
Rob and Kim Turnbull
Reiver Reads, Carlisle market hall
• Re your article (I chose to live at home as a university student. Here’s why I’d recommend it, 9 September), if students were to attend local universities and live at home, it might solve a lot of our housing problems. In Bath, large areas of family housing stock are now occupied by students for barely three-quarters of the year.
Jane Paxton
Bath
• My mother grew up in a teetotal home in Edinburgh in the 1930s. When she was a teenager, a doctor recommended daily Guinness for her anaemia (Letters, 5 September). This was the only alcohol in the house and she hated it. In later life, she only drank wine.
Tim Scott
London
• The hearts on 1970s pencil cases were usually pierced by an arrow, emphasising the direction of intent (Letters, 5 September).
Liz Fuller
London
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
