Nitrogen Output.
Taken in. Nitrogen in Urine. Weight of Fæces (dry).
Feb. 9 7.883 grams. 8.64 grams.
10 8.087 8.29
11 10.102 8.55 18 grams.
12 10.436 9.93 18
13 8.170 8.87 80
14 8.321 8.33 58
------ ------ ------
174 grams contain 4.90% N.
52.999 52.61 + 8.52 grams nitrogen.
------ ----------------------
52.999 grams nitrogen. 61.13 grams nitrogen.
Nitrogen balance for six days = -8.131 grams.
Nitrogen balance per day = -1.355 grams.
Average Intake.
Calories per day 2529.
Nitrogen per day 8.83 grams.
* * * * *
Mr. George M. Beers, Clerk in the Treasurer’s office of the Sheffield
Scientific School, became a subject of study in January, 1903. Mr. Beers
was thirty-eight years of age, and had always enjoyed fairly good health,
although of somewhat frail physique. His occupation has always been
indoor work as accountant, etc. His body-weight was 61 kilos.
Mr. Beers came to the writer for advice as to possible ways of improving
his general health, and when it was learned that he was in the habit
of eating large amounts of meat, the suggestion was made to him that
it might be wise to ascertain the effect of a diminished quantity of
proteid food, and as a result of this advice Mr. Beers began to cut down
the amount of meat consumed daily. The effect of this abstention from
meat was so noticeable that voluntarily all meat was withdrawn from his
diet. With this change in dietary habits there came about a loss of
body-weight, which, however, was soon regained.
Commencing with May 14, 1903, the amount of nitrogen excreted from the
kidneys was determined from time to time, but not each day, since it was
very soon found that Mr. Beers showed great regularity in his dietary
habits, and a corresponding regularity in the composition of the output.
This regularity was due in large measure to the fact that the subject
became, for the time at least, practically a vegetarian. The beneficial
effects noted in his own experience with abstention from meat led to
his voluntarily excluding it from his daily diet, so that from January,
1903, to June, 1904, the subject practically tasted meat, fish, or eggs
on only four occasions, namely, the 26th day of November, 1903, May 19,
20, and 21, 1904. With this limitation to a vegetable diet and with
regular methods of living, the nitrogenous waste material was found to
be constant within very narrow limits. Emphasis, however, should be laid
upon the fact that there was no prescription of diet, but perfect freedom
of choice, although this choice was limited wholly to vegetable and
cereal foods.
The accompanying tables give the output of nitrogen, uric acid, etc.,
through the kidneys for various dates between May 14, 1903, and June 15,
1904. Scrutiny of these tables shows that the average daily output of
nitrogen, so far as the data show, amounted to 8.58 grams. This indicates
an average daily metabolism of 53.62 grams of proteid material.
Likewise noticeable is the perfectly steady body-weight throughout this
whole period of time, while the low level of 8.5 grams of metabolized
nitrogen testifies to an economy in the use of proteid food, which
indicates that in this subject at least the needs of the body for proteid
food could easily be met by an amount equal to about one-half that called
for by the Voit and similar standard dietaries.