DIETARY HABITS AND TRUE FOOD REQUIREMENTS
TOPICS: Dietetic customs of mankind. Origin of dietary standards.
True food requirements. Arguments based on custom and habit.
Relationship between food consumption and prosperity. Erroneous
ideas regarding nutrition. Commercial success and national wealth
not the result of liberal dietary habits. Instinct and craving not
wise guides to follow in choice and quantity of food. Physiological
requirements and dietary standards not to be based on habits and
cravings. Old-time views regarding temperate use of food. The sayings
of Thomas Cogan. The teachings of Cornaro. Experimental results
obtained by various physiologists. Work of the writer on true proteid
requirements. Studies with professional men. Nitrogen equilibrium
with small amounts of food. Sample dietaries. Simplicity in diet.
Nitrogen requirement per kilogram of body-weight. Fuel value of the
daily food. Experiments with university athletes. Nitrogen balance
and food consumption. Sample dietaries. Adequacy of a simple diet.
Having acquired information regarding the principles of metabolism
and the general laws governing the nutrition of the body, we may
next consider briefly the dietetic habits of mankind, with a view
to learning how far such habits coincide with actual nutritive
requirements. Eventually, we shall need to ask the questions: What are
the _true_ nutritive requirements of the body? How much food and what
kinds of food does the ordinary individual doing an average amount
of work need each day in order to preserve body equilibrium, and to
maintain health, strength, and vigor under the varying conditions
of life? What amount of nitrogen or proteid, and what the total
calorific value required to supply the physiological needs of the
body? How closely do the so-called “normal diets” and “standard diets,”
which have met with such general acceptance, conform to a rational
conception of true physiological needs? These are vital questions of
great physiological and economic importance, and they are not easily
answered; but theoretical considerations based on scientific data, and
experimental evidence combined with practical experience, should point
the way to some very definite conclusions.
Observations made in many countries regarding the dietetic customs and
habits of the people have resulted in the establishment of certain
dietary standards, which have been more or less generally adopted
as representing the requirements of the body. As a prelude to the
discussion of this question, let us consider briefly some of the
results of these dietary studies. In Sweden, laborers doing hard work
were found by Hultgren and Landergren to consume daily, on an average,
189 grams of proteid, 714 grams of carbohydrate, and 110 grams of fat,
with a total fuel value for the day’s ration of 4726 large calories.
In Russia, workmen at moderately hard labor, having perfect freedom of
choice in their food, were found by Erisman to take daily 132 grams of
proteid, 584 grams of carbohydrate, and 79 grams of fat, this ration
having a fuel value of 3675 calories. In Germany, soldiers in active
service consumed daily, according to Voit, 145 grams of proteid, 500
grams of carbohydrate, and 100 grams of fat, with a fuel value of 3574
calories. In Italy, laborers doing a moderate amount of work were found
by Lichtenfelt to consume daily 115 grams of proteid, 696 grams of
carbohydrate, and 26 grams of fat, with a fuel value of 3655 calories.
In France, Gautier states that the ordinary laborer working eight
hours a day must have 135 grams of proteid, 700 grams of carbohydrate,
and 90 grams of fat daily, with a fuel value of 4260 calories. In
England, weavers were found to take daily 151 grams of proteid, with
carbohydrates and fats sufficient to make the total fuel value of the
day’s ration equal to 3475 calories. In Austria, farm laborers consumed
daily 159 grams of proteid, with carbohydrates and fats sufficient to
raise the fuel value of the food to 5096 calories.
+----------------------------------+----------------+----------------+
| Subjects. |Proteid consumed|Total Fuel Value|
| | Daily. | of Daily Food. |
+----------------------------------+----------------+----------------+
| | grams | calories |
|Swedish laborers, at hard work | 189 | 4726 |
|Russian workmen, moderate work | 132 | 3675 |
|German soldiers, active service | 145 | 3574 |
|Italian laborers, moderate work | 115 | 3655 |
|French laborers, eight hours’ work| 135 | 4260 |
|English weavers | 151 | 3475 |
|Austrian farm laborers | 159 | 5096 |
| | | |
| American Subjects. | | |
| | | |
|Man with very hard muscular work | 175 | 5500 |
|Man with hard muscular work | 150 | 4150 |
|Man with moderately active | | |
| muscular work | 125 | 3400 |
|Man with light to moderate | | |
| muscular work | 112 | 3050 |
|Man at “sedentary” or woman with | | |
| moderately active work | 100 | 2700 |
+----------------------------------+----------------+----------------+
Observations of this order might be multiplied indefinitely, but
the above will suffice to give a general idea of the average food
consumption of European peoples doing a moderate amount of work. These
data, however, must be supplemented by the observations made in our own
country, which have been very extensive, through the “investigations on
the nutrition of man in the United States,” carried on by the Office
of Experiment Stations in the Department of Agriculture, under the
efficient leadership of Atwater. As stated by Messrs. Langworthy and
Milner, in an official bulletin issued in 1904, dietary studies of the
actual food consumption of people of different classes in different
parts of the United States have been made during the years 1894 to
1904 on about 15,000 persons,--men, women, and children,--as a result
of which it is indicated that “the actual food requirements of persons
under different conditions of life and work” vary from 100 to 175 grams
of proteid per day, with a total fuel value ranging from 2700 to 5500
calories. For comparison, the various data may be tabulated as shown on
page 155.
These figures by no means represent maximum food consumption. Thus,
studies have been made on fifty Maine lumbermen,[53] where the intake
of proteid food averaged 185 grams per day, with a total fuel value of
6400 calories. Further, dietary studies of university boat crews[54]
have shown fairly high results. The Yale University crew, while at
Gales Ferry, averaged per man during seven days 171 grams of proteid,
171 grams of fat, and 434 grams of carbohydrate, with a total fuel
value of 4070 calories per day. The members of the Harvard University
crew showed an average daily consumption of 160 grams of proteid, 170
grams of fat, and 448 grams of carbohydrate, with a total fuel value
of 4074 calories. It is also reported that a football team of college
students in the University of California consumed daily, per man, 270
grams of proteid, 416 grams of fat, and 710 grams of carbohydrate, with
a total fuel value of 7885 calories. These figures may be contrasted,
however, with the data obtained in a study of the dietary habits of
fourteen professional men’s families, where the average amount of
proteid consumed daily was 104 grams, fat 125 grams, and carbohydrate
423 grams, with a total fuel value of 3325 calories.
[53] Bulletin No. 149. Woods and Mansfield. Studies of the Food of
Maine Lumbermen. U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1904.
[54] Bulletin No. 75. Atwater and Bryant. Office of Experiment
Stations, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1900.
Leaving out of consideration the extremes given, it is undoubtedly true
that, within certain rather wide limits, there is an apparent tendency
for people of different nations, having a free choice of food and not
restricted by expense, to consume daily approximately the same amounts
of nutrients; to use what may be called liberal rather than small
amounts of food; and, lastly, to consume food somewhat in proportion
to the amount of work done. It is perhaps, therefore, not strange that
students of nutrition should have taken these results, obtained by the
statistical method, as indicating the actual needs of the body for
food, and that so-called “standard diets” and “normal diets” should
have been constructed, based upon these and corresponding data. Thus,
we have the widely adopted “Voit standard,” composed of proteid 118
grams, carbohydrate 500 grams, and fat 56 grams, with a total fuel
value of 3055 calories, as the amount of food required daily by a man
of 70 kilos body-weight doing a moderate amount of work. These figures
were obtained by Voit as an average of the food consumption of a large
number of laboring men in Germany, and they carried additional weight
because at that time Voit and others thought they had evidence that
nitrogenous equilibrium could not be maintained for any length of time
on smaller amounts of proteid.
The figures given in the preceding table under the head of American
subjects constitute the “Atwater standards,” and as already indicated,
are based upon the dietetic habits of over 15,000 persons under
different conditions of life and physical activity. In the words of
the official Bulletin, these standards covering the quantities of food
per day “are intended to show the actual food requirements of persons
under different conditions of life and work.” Here, however, lies an
assumption which seems to meet with wide acceptance, but for which it
is difficult to conceive any logical reason. The thousands of dietary
studies made on peoples all over the world, affording more or less
accurate information regarding the average amounts of proteid, fat,
and carbohydrate consumed under varying conditions, are indeed most
interesting and important, as affording information regarding dietetic
customs and habits; but, the writer fails to see any reason why such
data need be assumed to throw any light on the actual food requirements
of the body. In the words of another, “Food should be ingested in just
the proper amount to repair the waste of the body; to furnish it with
the energy it needs for work and warmth; to maintain it in vigor;
and, in the case of immature animals, to provide the proper excess
for normal growth, in order to be of the most advantage to the body”
(Benedict).
Any habitual excess of food, over and above what is really needed
to meet the actual wants of the body, is not only uneconomical, but
may be distinctly disadvantageous. Voit, among others, has clearly
emphasized the general principle that the smallest amount of proteid,
with non-nitrogenous food added, that will suffice to keep the body in
a state of continual vigor is the ideal diet. My own conception of the
true food requirements of the body has been expressed in the statement
that man needs of proteids, fats, and carbohydrates sufficient to
establish and maintain physiological and nitrogen equilibrium;
sufficient to keep up that strength of body and mind that is essential
to good health, to maintain the highest degree of physical and mental
activity with the smallest amount of friction and the least expenditure
of energy, and to preserve and heighten, if possible, the ordinary
resistance of the body to disease germs. The smallest amount of food
that will accomplish these ends is, I think, the ideal diet. There must
truly be enough to supply the real needs of the body, but any great
surplus over and above what is actually called for may in the long run
prove an undesirable addition. With these thoughts in mind, may we
not reasonably ask why it should be assumed that there is any tangible
connection between the dietetic habits of a people and their true
physiological needs?
Arguments predicated on custom, habit, and usage have no physiological
basis that appeals strongly to the impartial observer. Man is
a creature of habits; he is quick to acquire new ones when his
environment affords the opportunity, and he is prone to cling to old
ones when they minister to his sense of taste. The argument that
because the people of a country, constituting a given class, eat
a certain amount of proteid food daily, the quantity so consumed
must be an indication of the amount needed to meet the requirements
of the body, is as faulty as the argument that because people of a
given community are in the habit of consuming a certain amount of
wine each day at dinner their bodies must necessarily be in need of
the stimulant, and that consequently alcohol is a true physiological
requirement. A large proportion of mankind is addicted to the tobacco
habit, and to many persons the after-dinner cigar is as essential to
comfort as the dinner itself; but would any one think of arguing that
tobacco is one of the physiological needs of the body?
It is said that dietary studies made all over the civilized world
“show that a moderately liberal quantity of protein is demanded by
communities occupying leading positions in the world.... It certainly
seems more than a remarkable coincidence that peoples varying so widely
in regard to nationality, climatic and geographical conditions, and
dietetic habits, should show such agreement in respect to consumption
of protein and energy.” Again, we hear it said that “whatever may be
true of a few individuals, with communities a generally low condition
of mental and physical efficiency, thrift, and commercial success, is
coincident with a low proportion of protein in the diet.” The writer,
however, fails to find evidence in the results afforded by dietary
studies that there is any causal relationship between the amount of
proteid food consumed and the mental or physical supremacy of the
people of a given nation or community. Cause and effect are liable to
become reversed in arguments of this kind. It is certainly just as
plausible to assume that increase in the consumption of proteid follows
in the footsteps of commercial and other forms of prosperity, as to
argue that prosperity or mental and physical development are the result
of an increased intake of proteid food.
Proteid foods are usually costly, and the ability of a community to
indulge freely in this form of dietetic luxury depends in large measure
upon its commercial prosperity. The palate is an extremely sensitive
organ, and the average individual properly derives great satisfaction
from the pleasurable effects of tasty articles of food. Furthermore,
there are many curious and quite unphysiological notions abroad
regarding foods, which tend to incite persons to unnecessary excess
and extravagance whenever they acquire the means to do so. The latter
point is well illustrated by the more or less prevalent opinion that a
cut of tenderloin steak is more nutritious than a cut of round steak.
It is true that the former is apt to be more tender, to have a little
finer flavor; but the round steak, when properly prepared, is just as
nutritious, and equally capable of meeting the needs of the body, as
the more expensive tenderloin. With increasing prosperity, we turn at
once, as a rule, to the more tasty and appetizing viands, partly to
satisfy the craving of appetite and palate, and partly because there
is an inherent belief that these varied delicacies, accessible to the
prosperous community, count as an aid to health and strength. The poor
laborer, with his small wage, is restricted to a certain low level
of dietary variety, and must likewise be economical as to quantity,
but on the first opportunity afforded by a fuller purse he is apt
to pass from corned beef to a fresh roast with its more appetizing
flavor; to eschew brown bread in favor of the white loaf, and in many
other ways to evince his desire for a dietary which, though perhaps no
more nutritious, appeals because of its finer flavor, more appetizing
appearance, and greater variety. He is in the same position as the
smoker who, limited by his purse to a five-cent cigar after dinner,
quickly passes to a cigar of better flavor as soon as his finances
warrant the indulgence. At the same time, if prosperity continues, our
laborer will speedily pass to a higher level of proteid intake and
greater fuel value, through increased consumption of meat and butter,
together with other articles rich in proteid and fat.
In this connection, we may emphasize a fact of some significance in its
bearing on dietetic customs; viz., that ever since Liebig advanced his
theory that proteid material is the sole source of muscular energy,
there has been a deep-rooted belief that meat is the most efficient
kind of food for keeping up the strength of the body, and hence
especially demanded by all whose work is mainly physical. Although this
view, as we have seen, has been thoroughly disproved, the idea is still
more or less generally held that an abundance of meat is a necessary
requisite for a good day’s work, a view which undoubtedly accounts in
some measure for the tendency toward a high proteid intake, evinced by
many of the laboring class whose means will permit the necessary outlay.
Increased consumption of proteid food may be coincident with thrift and
commercial success, but there is no justification for the belief that
these are the result of changed dietary conditions. The dietary of our
New England forefathers was, according to all accounts, exceedingly
limited as compared with that of to-day, but it is doubtful if the
present generation is any better developed, physically or mentally,
than the stalwart and vigorous people who opened up this country to
civilization. To-day, as a nation, we have greater wealth, and our
commercial prosperity has become phenomenal; but would any one think
for a moment that these characteristics are attributable to the
large consumption of proteid food so common to this generation of
the American people? No, increased wealth simply paves the way for
greater freedom in the choice of food; increased commercial success
and business prosperity throw open avenues which formerly were closed;
greater variety of animal foods, and vegetable foods as well, rich in
proteid, are made easily accessible, and appeal to eye and palate on
all sides; appetite and craving for food are abnormally stimulated,
and dietetic habits and customs change accordingly. In the words of
another, “the one thing that primitive, barbarous, and civilized man
alike long for is an abundance of the ‘flesh-pots of Egypt.’ The
very first use the latter makes of his increased power and financial
resources is to buy new, rare, and expensive kinds of meat.” With these
facts before us, it is difficult to accept the assumption that dietetic
customs afford any indication of the food requirements of the body. To
the physiologist such a view does not appeal, since there is a lack of
any scientific evidence that carries conviction.
But it may be asked, is not appetite a safe guide to follow? Do not
the cravings of the stomach and the so-called pangs of hunger merit
consideration? Is it not the part of wisdom to follow inclination in
the choice and quantity of our food? Can we not safely rely upon these
factors as an index of the real needs of the body? If these questions
are to be answered in the affirmative, then it is plain that a study
of dietetic customs will tell us definitely how much food and what
kinds of food are required daily to supply the true wants of the body.
There are writers who claim that instinct is a perfectly safe guide to
follow; that it is far superior to reason; but it is to be noticed
that most of these writers, if they have any physiological knowledge
to draw upon, are sooner or later prone to admit that the body has
certain definite needs which it is the purpose of food to supply, with
the added implication that any surplus of food over and above what is
necessary to meet these demands is entirely uncalled for. Thus, one
such writer states that “the man in the street follows his God-given
instincts and plods peacefully along to his three square meals a day,
consisting of anything he can find in the market, and just as much of
it as he can afford, with special preference for rich meats, fats, and
sugars.” Yet this same writer, a little later, emphasizes the fact that
“every particle of the energy which sparkles in our eyes, which moves
our muscles, which warms our imaginations, is sunlight cunningly woven
into our food by the living cell, whether vegetable or animal. Every
movement, every word, every thought, every aspiration represents the
expenditure of precisely so much energy derived from food.” Why, then,
would it not be wise to ascertain how much energy is so expended, on
an average, during the day’s activity and govern the intake of food
accordingly? Why not apply an intelligent supervision in place of
following an instinct which, in the words of the author just quoted,
leads one on to consume “anything he can find in the market and just as
much of it as he can afford”? Truly, if dietetic customs and the habits
of mankind are the results of instinct working in this fashion, there
cannot be much value in the data obtained by observing the quantities
of food mankind is in the habit of eating. Dietary standards based on
such observations must be open to the suspicion of representing values
far above the actual needs of the body.
Habits and cravings are certainly very unreliable indices of true
physiological requirements. Man is constantly acquiring new habits, and
these in time become second nature, forcing him to practise that which
he has become accustomed to, regardless of whether it is beneficial
or otherwise. The celebrated philosopher, John Locke, in his essay on
education, says: “I do not think all people’s appetites are alike ...
but this I think, that many are made gourmands and gluttons by custom,
that were not so by nature; and I see in some countries, men as lusty
and strong, that eat but two meals a day, as others that have set their
stomachs by a constant usage, like Larums, to call on them for four or
five.” Again, the so-called cravings of appetite are largely artificial
and mainly the result of habit. A habit once acquired and persistently
followed soon has us in its grasp, and then any deviation therefrom is
very apt to disturb our physiological equilibrium. The system makes
complaint, and we experience a craving, it may be, for that to which
the body has become accustomed. There has thus come about a sentiment
that the cravings of the appetite for food are to be fully satisfied,
that this is merely obedience to nature’s laws. In reality, there is
no foundation for such a belief; any one with a little persistence can
change his or her habits of life, change the whole order of cravings,
thereby indicating that the latter are essentially artificial, and that
they have no necessary connection with the welfare or needs of the
body. The man who for some reason deems it advisable to adopt two meals
a day in place of three or four, at first experiences a certain amount
of discomfort, but eventually the new habit becomes a part of the daily
routine, and the man’s life moves forward as before, with perfect
comfort and without a suggestion of craving, or a pang of hunger.
Dietetic requirements, and standard dietaries, are not to be founded
upon the so-called cravings of appetite and the instinctive demands
for food, but upon reason and intelligence, reinforced by definite
knowledge of the real necessities of the bodily machinery.
The standards which have been adopted more or less generally throughout
the civilized world, based primarily on the assumption that man
instinctively and independently selects a diet that is best adapted
to his individual needs, are open to grave suspicion. The view that
the average food consumption of large numbers of individuals and
communities must represent the true nutritive requirements of the
people is equally untenable. Naturally, there is general recognition
of the principle that food requirements are necessarily modified by
a variety of circumstances, such as age, sex, body-weight, bodily
activity, etc. It is obvious that the man of 140 pounds body-weight
needs less proteid than the man of 170 pounds, and that the man who
does a large amount of physical work demands a larger calorific
value in his daily diet, _i. e._, more carbohydrate and fat, than
the sedentary individual. The growing child, in proportion to his
body-weight, plainly needs more proteid for the upbuilding of tissue,
and there are many conditions of disease where special dietetic
treatment is undoubtedly called for. Our contention, however, and one
which we believe to be perfectly justifiable, is that the true food
requirements of the body, under any conditions, cannot be ascertained
with any degree of accuracy by observations of what people are in the
habit of eating; that customs and habits are not a safe index of true
physiological needs. On the contrary, we are inclined to the belief
that direct physiological experimentation, covering a sufficient length
of time and with an adequate number of individuals, will prove far more
efficient in affording a true estimate of the quality and quantity of
food best adapted for the maintenance of good health, strength, and
vigor.
Before considering these latter points, it is interesting to note, in
passing, that during the last four centuries many thoughtful men have
called attention to the apparent excessive use of food. There seems
to have been in many quarters a more or less prevalent opinion that
custom and habit were leading people on to methods of living, which
were not in accord with the best interests of the community. It must be
remembered, however, that arguments of this kind, even fifty years ago,
could have been founded only on general observation and the application
of common sense, since there were then no sound physiological data
on which to predicate an opinion, or base a conclusion. Still, there
were men of authority who attempted to lay before the people a proper
conception of the temperate use of food. We have not the time here to
consider many of these pleas, but I venture to call attention to the
somewhat celebrated book published by the physician Thomas Cogan in
1596, under the title “The Haven of Health,” and dedicated “to the
right honorable and my verie good lord, Sir Edward Seymour, Knight and
Earl of Hertford.” Under the subject of diet, this old-time writer
says: “The second thing that is to be considered of meates is the
quantitie, which ought of all men greatly to be regarded, for therein
lyeth no small occasion of health or sickness, of life or death. For
as want of meate consumeth the very substance of our flesh, so doth
excesse and surfet extinguish and suffocate naturall heat wherein life
consisteth.” Again, “Use a measure in eating, that thou maist live
long: and if thou wilst be in health, then hold thine hands. But the
greatest occasion why men passe the measure in eating, is varitie of
meats at one meale. Which fault is most common among us in England
farre above all other nations. For such is our custome by reason of
plentie (as I think) that they which be of abilitie, are served with
sundry sortes of meate at one meale. Yea the more we would welcome our
friends the more dishes we prepare. And when we are well satisfied with
one dish or two, then come other more delicate and procureth us by that
meanes, to eate more than nature doth require. Thus varietie bringeth
us to excesse, and sometimes to surfet also. But Phisicke teacheth
us to faede moderately upon one kinde of meate only at one meale, or
at leastwise not upon many of contrarie natures.... This disease, (I
mean surfet) is verie common: for common is that saying and most true:
That more die by surfet than by the sword. And as Georgius Pictorius
saith, all surfet is ill, but of bread worst of all. And if nature be
so strong in many, and they be not sicke upon a full gorge, yet they
are drowsie and heavie, and more desirous to loyter than to labor,
according to that old maeter, when the belly is full, the bones would
be at rest. Yea the minde and wit is so oppressed and overwhelmed with
excesse that it lyeth as it were drowned for a time, and unable to use
his force.”
Cogan likewise makes some interesting statements regarding the effects
of custom on the consumption of proteid food, especially meats. Quoting
further from this author: “The fourth thing that is to be considered
in meats is custome. Which is of such force in man’s bodie both in
sicknesse and in health, that it countervaileth nature itselfe, and is
therefore called of Galen in sundry places, an other nature. Whereof he
giveth a notable example, where he sheweth that an olde woman of Athens
used a long time, to eate Hemlocke (which is a ranke poison) first a
little quantitie, and afterwarde more, till at length she could eate so
much without hurt as would presently poison another.... So that custome
in processe of time may alter nature.” Finally, we may quote one last
saying of Cogan’s, because of the good sense and wisdom displayed
in the sentiment, as true to-day as when it was written more than
three hundred years ago: “Neither is it good for any man that is in
perfect health, to observe any custome in dyet precisely, as Arnoldus
teacheth upon the same verses in these wordes: Every man should so
order himselfe, that he might be able to suffer heate and cold, and
all motions, and meats necessary, so as he might change the houres of
sleeping and waking, and his dwelling and lodging without harme: which
thing may be done if we be not too precise in keeping custome, but
otherwise use things unwonted. Which sentence of Arnoldus agraeth verie
well to that of Cornelius Celsus: He that is sound and in good health,
and at libertie, should bind himselfe to no rules of dyet. To need
neither Phisition or Chirurgion, he must use a diverse order of life,
and be sometimes in the countrie, sometime in the towne, sometimes
hunt, and sometime hawke. But some man may demand of me how this may
agree with that saying of the scholar of Salernus ‘if you would be free
from physicians, let these three be your physician, a cheerful mind,
rest, and a moderate diet.’ Whereunto I answer, that a moderate dyet
is alwaies good, but not a precise dyet: for a moderate diet is, as
Terence speaketh in Andria: To take nothing too much: which alwaies
is to be observed. But if a man accustome himselfe to such meats and
drinks as at length will breed some inconvenience in his bodie, or to
sleepe or to watch, or any other thing concerning the order of his
life, such custome must naedes be amended and changed, yet with good
discretion, and not upon the sudden: because sudden changes bring harme
and weaknesse, as Hippocrates teacheth. He therefore that will alter
any custome in dyet rightly, must do it with three conditions, which
are expressed by Hippocrates. Change is profitable, if it be rightly
used, that is, if it be done in the time of health, and at leisure, and
not upon the sudden.”
This noteworthy book written by Cogan was preceded by the writings
of Louis Cornaro, the Venetian, who forty years before had published
the first edition of his celebrated book, “The Temperate Life,” and
who was a most ardent advocate of the benefits to be derived by
living temperately, especially in matters of diet. The simple diet
which served for the nourishment of the oldest peoples of Syria,
Greece, Egypt, and of the Romans when they were at the height of
their prosperity and culture, was advocated by Cornaro as conducing
to longevity, better health, and greater comfort of mind and body.
Himself a striking example of the effects of a reasonable abstinence in
diet (the last edition of his book having been written at the age of
ninety-five), his teachings have continued to attract attention down to
the present day; and although we have no values in grams or calories
expressive of his average food consumption, it is quite evident that
Cornaro lived a very abstemious life, eating little of the heavier
articles of diet common to his time and country. It is perhaps not
strictly physiological to refer to these cases, yet they have value
as representing a sentiment, common to the centuries now passed, that
benefit was to be derived by mankind from greater care in the taking of
food; that prevalent customs and habits were leading the people into
intemperate modes of life, and that these were surely tending toward
the physical and mental deterioration of the nation. We may attach much
or little weight to these conclusions, but there is a certain degree of
significance in the views, current then as now, that dietetic customs
and habits have no real connection with bodily requirements.
Passing down to our own times, we find physiologists, by the aid
of scientific methods, studying the effects of smaller amounts of
food (smaller than custom prescribes) on the condition of the body,
thereby evincing a certain degree of skepticism concerning the dietary
standards based on habit and usage. This has been especially true
regarding the nitrogen requirement, or the need for proteid food.
As has been clearly pointed out in other connections, there are
two distinct needs which the body has for food; one for proteid or
nitrogen, the other for energy-yielding material. According to the
Voit standard, a man of average body-weight doing a moderate amount
of work requires daily 118 grams of proteid food, or about 16 grams of
metabolizable nitrogen, with fat and carbohydrate sufficient to yield
a total fuel value of over 3000 large calories. As we have seen, the
fuel value of the food must of necessity be a variable quantity because
of variations in bodily activity. The more muscular work performed,
the greater must be the intake of carbohydrate and fat, if the body
is to be kept in equilibrium. With proteid or nitrogen, however, the
case is quite different, since with adequate amounts of non-nitrogenous
food, proteid is not drawn upon for the energy of muscular work.
We can conceive of the nitrogen requirement, therefore, as being
a constant factor in the well-nourished individual and dependent
primarily upon body-weight, or more exactly, upon the weight of true
proteid-containing tissue. Obviously, whatever else happens, there must
be enough proteid food taken daily to maintain the body in nitrogen
equilibrium. If this can be accomplished only by the ingestion of 16
grams of metabolizable nitrogen, then it is plain that the daily ration
must contain at least 118 grams of proteid food; _i. e._, it must
conform approximately at least to ordinary usage.
This question has been studied by many investigators, with very
interesting and suggestive results. Thus, in 1887, Hirschfeld[55]
reported some experiments on himself, twenty-four years of age and
weighing 73 kilos. His ordinary diet contained daily 100 to 130 grams
of proteid, and the amount of nitrogen excreted varied from 16 to 20
grams per day, corresponding to a metabolism of proteid equal to the
amount ingested. In other words, the body was essentially in nitrogen
equilibrium. Then, for a period of fifteen days, during which he was
unusually active, he lived on a diet in which the content of proteid
corresponded to only 6 grams of nitrogen per day, and yet he remained
in nitrogen equilibrium. The diet made use of was composed essentially
of milk, eggs, rice, potatoes, bread, butter, sugar, and coffee, with
some wine and beer, and on two days a little meat. It is to be observed
that the nitrogen or proteid intake per day was only one-third of what
he was accustomed to consume. In a second experiment, covering ten
days, similar results were obtained. So that evidence was afforded that
a young and vigorous man can maintain his body in nitrogen equilibrium,
for fifteen consecutive days at least, on an amount of proteid food
equal to only one-third of the minimal requirement called for by common
usage. Plainly, the difference between a daily consumption of 118 grams
of proteid food and 40 grams represents a large percentage saving,
both of proteid and in the metabolism of proteid matter with all the
attendant transformations. In these experiments, however, the subject
consumed relatively large amounts of non-nitrogenous food, notably
butter, of which on some days he took as much as 100 grams. The average
fuel value of his food ranged from 3750 to 3916 calories per day; a
fact of some importance, since it is to be remembered that both fat and
carbohydrate tend to protect proteid metabolism.
[55] Felix Hirschfeld: Untersuchungen über den Eiweissbedarf des
Menschen. Pflüger’s Archiv f. d. gesammte Physiologie, Band 41, p.
533.
In an experiment reported in 1889 by Carl Voit[56], on a vegetarian
weighing about 57 kilos, it was found that with a purely vegetable
diet the subject was able, for a few days at least, to maintain his
body in essentially a condition of nitrogen equilibrium on a daily
diet containing 8.4 grams of nitrogen, corresponding to 52.5 grams
of proteid. In addition, there was a large consumption of starchy
food with some fat. Klemperer,[57] experimenting with two young men,
having a body-weight of 64 and 65.5 kilos, respectively, was able to
keep them in a condition of nitrogenous equilibrium for a period of
eight days on 4.38 grams and 3.58 grams of nitrogen per day. The diet,
however, had a large fuel value, 5020 calories per day, and contained
in addition to the small amount of proteid, 264 grams of fat, 470
grams of carbohydrate, and 172 grams of alcohol. Breisacher,[58] in an
experiment on himself, using a mixed diet composed of 67.8 grams of
proteid, 494.2 grams of carbohydrate, and 60.5 grams of fat per day,
with a total fuel value of 2866 calories, observed a daily excretion
of nitrogen during thirty days of 8.23 grams. This corresponds to a
metabolism of 51.4 grams of proteid, thus showing that the 67 grams
of food-proteid taken was quite sufficient to maintain nitrogen
equilibrium for the above length of time.
[56] Carl Voit: Ueber die Kost eines Vegetariers. Zeitschrift für
Biologie, Band 25, p. 232.
[57] Klemperer: Untersuchungen über Stoffwechsel und Ernährung in
Krankheiten. Zeitschrift für klin. Medizin, Band 16, p. 550.
[58] L. Breisacher: Ueber die Grösse des Eiweissbedarfs beim
Menschen. Deutsche med. Wochenschrift. 1891. No. 48.
Caspari and Glässner[59] have reported observations made on two
vegetarians, a man and his wife, aged 49 and 48 years respectively, who
had lived for some years exclusively on a vegetable diet. The man had
a body-weight of 68.8 kilos, while the woman weighed 58 kilos. During
five days, the man consumed per day, on an average, 7.83 grams of
nitrogen and 4559 calories. This corresponds to 0.114 gram of nitrogen
per kilo of body-weight, and 66 calories per kilo. On this diet, the
man gained slightly in weight and showed a plus nitrogen balance of
5.2 grams for the five days. In other words, even this low nitrogen or
proteid intake was more than sufficient to meet the wants of his body.
The wife, during the same period of time, consumed per day 5.33 grams
of nitrogen and 2715 calories, corresponding to 0.092 gram of nitrogen
per kilo of body-weight and 47 calories per kilo. On this diet, the
woman gained 0.9 kilo in weight during the five days, and like the
man, she showed a plus nitrogen balance of 2.45 grams for the entire
period. The somewhat noted experiments of Sivén have been referred to
in another connection, and it will suffice to recall the fact that
he was able, with a body-weight of 60 kilos, to establish nitrogen
equilibrium on 6.26 grams of nitrogen, and for a day or two on 4.5
grams of nitrogen, with a total fuel value of only 2444 calories in the
day’s ration.
[59] W. Caspari: Physiologische Studien über Vegetarianismus. Bonn.
1905. p. 13.
These few illustrations will serve to indicate that, so far as the
maintenance of nitrogen equilibrium is concerned during short periods
of time, there is no necessity for the consumption of proteid food in
such amounts as common usage dictates. The high proteid intake called
for by the “standard dietaries,” and the ordinary practices of mankind,
is not needed to establish a condition of nitrogen equilibrium. It
would seem, however, as if results of this nature, presented from
time to time by various investigators, have been considered more in
the light of scientific curiosities than as data having an important
bearing on physiological processes. So strong has been the hold upon
the medical and physiological mind of the necessity of high proteid
that such figures as the above have merely excited comment, without
weakening in any measure the prevalent conviction that health,
strength, and the power to work necessitate a high rate of proteid
exchange.
To one willing to accept the data as having possible significance there
arises at once the question, How long can the body be maintained in
nitrogen equilibrium on such relatively small quantities of proteid
food? In other words, can experiments of this nature, extending over
comparatively short periods of time, be safely accepted as a reliable
means of measuring the proteid requirements of the body for indefinite
periods? Suppose, says the critic, we grant that the body can maintain
itself in nitrogen equilibrium for a week or two on a very small amount
of proteid food, what proof have we that in the long run the body will
be benefited thereby, or even able to exist in a condition of normal
strength and vigor? In other words, is a low proteid diet, one that
seems sufficient to maintain the body in nitrogen equilibrium, a wholly
safe one to follow? May there not be other elements to be considered,
aside from nitrogen equilibrium, which, if fully understood, would
satisfactorily account for the customs of mankind, in which perhaps
man’s instincts have been followed for the betterment of the race? It
was with a view to learning more concerning these questions that five
years ago the writer commenced systematic, experimental, work upon the
nutrition of man, with special reference to his nitrogen requirements.
The experiments and observations have been continued up to the present
time, with many suggestive results, some of which will now be referred
to.[60]
[60] In presenting the general results of these experiments, the
writer has drawn freely from his book, “Physiological Economy in
Nutrition,” published by the Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York,
1904.
One group of subjects was composed of professional men, professors and
instructors in the university, whose work was mainly mental rather
than physical, though by no means excluding the latter. Of this group,
two cases will be referred to with some regard for detail, since in
no other way can so striking a picture be presented of the effects
produced. The first subject weighed 65 kilos in the fall of 1902, and
at that time was nearly 47 years of age. His dietetic habits were in
accord with common practice, and his daily consumption of proteid food
averaged close to 118 grams. With a clear recognition of the principle
that the habits of a lifetime should not be too suddenly changed, a
very gradual reduction in the total amount of food, and especially of
proteid matter, was made. This finally resulted, with this particular
subject, in the complete abolition of breakfast, with the exception of
a small cup of coffee. A light lunch was taken at noontime, followed by
a more substantial dinner at night. There was no change to a vegetable
diet, but naturally any attempt to cut off largely the amount of
proteid food necessarily results in a marked diminution in the quantity
of animal food or meats. It is a somewhat singular though suggestive
fact, that a change of this order gradually results in a stronger
liking for simple foods, with their more delicate flavor, accompanied
by a diminished desire for the heavier animal foods.
As the day’s ration was gradually reduced in amount, the body-weight
began to fall off, until after some months it became stationary at 57
kilos, at which point it has remained practically constant for over
three years. The sixteen pounds of weight lost was composed, mainly at
least, of superfluous fat. For a period of nine months, from October,
1903, to the end of June, 1904, the amount of proteid material broken
down in the body was determined each day. The average daily metabolism
of nitrogen for the entire period of nearly nine months amounted to
5.69 grams. For the last two months, it averaged 5.4 grams per day.
Analyses made from time to time since these figures were obtained show
that the subject is still living at the same low level of nitrogen
metabolism. In fact, the data available afford satisfactory proof
that for a period covering over three years this particular person
has subsisted on an amount of proteid food equal to a metabolism of
not more than 5.8 grams of nitrogen per day. It may be asked why the
subject should have continued such a low proteid diet after the nine
months’ period was completed? In reply, it may be said that the new
habit has taken a firm hold, and entirely supplanted the dietetic
desires and cravings of the preceding years. Further, the improved
condition of health, freedom from minor ailments that formerly caused
inconvenience and discomfort, and the greater ability to work without
fatigue, have all combined to place the new habit on a firm basis, from
which there is no desire to change.
Consider for a moment what this lowered consumption of proteid food
really amounts to, as compared with ordinary usage and the so-called
dietary standards. The latter call for at least 118 grams of proteid
or albuminous food daily, of which 105 grams should be absorbable, in
order to maintain the body in a condition of nitrogen equilibrium,
and in a state of physical vigor and general tone. This would mean a
daily metabolism and excretion of at least 16 grams of nitrogen. Our
subject, however, excreted per day, during nine months, only 5.69 grams
of nitrogen, which means a metabolism of 35.6 grams of proteid; _i.
e._, about one-third the amount ordinarily deemed necessary to meet
man’s requirement for proteid food. But was our subject in nitrogen
equilibrium on this small amount of proteid food? We answer yes, as the
following balance period shows:
Output.
Nitrogen in Nitrogen through Weight of Excrement
Food. Kidneys. (dry).
March 20 6.989 grams. 5.91 grams. 3.6 grams.
21 6.621 5.52 ..
22 6.082 5.94 12.0
23 6.793 5.61 18.5
24 5.057 4.31 23.0
25 6.966 5.39 16.9
----- ---- ----
74.0 grams contain
6.42% N.
38.508 32.68 + 4.75 grams nitrogen.
------ --------------------------
38.508 grams nitrogen. 37.43 grams nitrogen.
Nitrogen balance for six days = +1.078 grams.
Nitrogen balance per day = +0.179 gram.
In this particular period of six days, the body was really gaining a
little nitrogen, _i. e._, storing away a small amount of proteid for
future use, although it may be granted that the amount was too small to
have any special significance. During this period, the average daily
intake of nitrogen was 6.4 grams, equal to 40 grams of proteid food.
The average daily output of nitrogen through kidneys and excrement was
6.24 grams. The average daily output of metabolized nitrogen, through
the kidneys, was 5.44 grams, corresponding to the breaking down of 34
grams of proteid material. Further, it should be stated that the total
calorific value of the daily food during this period was less than 2000
calories. Let me add now a final balance period taken at the close of
the nine months’ trial:
Output.
Nitrogen in Nitrogen through Weight of Excrement
Food. Kidneys. (dry).
June 23 6.622 grams. 5.26 grams. 10.6 grams.
24 6.331 5.30 30.7
25 4.941 4.43 14.2
26 5.922 4.66 11.9
27 5.486 4.98 15.2
----- ---- ----
82.6 grams contain
6.08% N.
29.302 24.63 + 5.022 grams nitrogen.
------ --------------------------
29.302 grams nitrogen. 29.652 grams nitrogen.
Nitrogen balance for five days = -0.350 gram.
Nitrogen balance per day = -0.070 gram.
In this period of five days, the average daily intake of nitrogen was
5.86 grams, corresponding to 36.6 grams of proteid food. The average
daily output of metabolized nitrogen was 4.92 grams, implying the
breaking down in the body of only 30.7 grams of proteid material
per day. The fuel value of the daily food, calculated as closely as
possible, was less than 2000 calories. The body was essentially in
nitrogen equilibrium, the minus balance being too small to have any
special significance.
It will be instructive to consider next the actual character and amount
of the diet made use of on several of these balance days:
_March 21._
Breakfast.--Coffee 119 grams, cream 30 grams, sugar 9 grams.
Lunch.--One shredded wheat biscuit 31 grams, cream 116 grams, wheat
gem 33 grams, butter 7 grams, tea 185 grams, sugar 10 grams, cream
cake 53 grams.
Dinner.--Pea soup 114 grams, lamb chop 24 grams, boiled sweet potato
47 grams, wheat gems 76 grams, butter 13 grams, cream cake 52 grams,
coffee 61 grams, sugar 10 grams, cheese crackers 16 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 6.621 grams.
_June 24._
Breakfast.--Coffee 96 grams, cream 32 grams, sugar 8 grams.
Lunch.--Creamed codfish 89 grams, baked potato 95 grams, butter 10
grams, hominy gems 58 grams, strawberries 86 grams, sugar 26 grams,
ginger snaps 47 grams, water.
Dinner.--Cold tongue 14 grams, fried potato 48 grams, peas 60 grams,
wheat gems 30 grams, butter 11 grams, lettuce-orange salad with
mayonnaise dressing 155 grams, crackers 22 grams, cream cheese 14
grams, ginger snaps 22 grams, coffee 58 grams, sugar 10 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 6.331 grams.
_June 25._
Breakfast.--Coffee 101 grams, cream 36 grams, sugar 13 grams.
Lunch.--Omelette 50 grams, bacon 9 grams, French fried potato 23
grams, biscuit 29 grams, butter 8 grams, ginger snaps 42 grams, cream
cheese 17 grams, iced tea 150 grams, sugar 15 grams.
Dinner.--Wheat popovers 57 grams, butter 10 grams, lettuce-orange
salad with mayonnaise dressing 147 grams, crackers 22 grams, cream
cheese 21 grams, cottage pudding 82 grams, coffee 48 grams, sugar 11
grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 4.941 grams.
_June 27._
Breakfast.--Coffee 112 grams, cream 22 grams, sugar 10 grams.
Lunch.--Roast lamb 9 grams, baked potato 90 grams, wheat gems 47
grams, butter 12 grams, iced tea 250 grams, sugar 25 grams, vanilla
éclair 47 grams.
Dinner.--Lamb chop 32 grams, creamed potato 107 grams, asparagus 49
grams, bread 35 grams, butter 17 grams, lettuce-orange salad with
mayonnaise dressing 150 grams, crackers 21 grams, cream cheese 12
grams, coffee 63 grams, sugar 9 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 5.486 grams.
It can be seen that there was nothing especially peculiar in these
dietaries, aside from their simplicity, except that the quantities
were small. Meat was not excluded; there was no approach to a cereal
diet; there were no fads involved, nothing but simple moderation
in the amounts of nitrogen-containing foods. Further, there was
perfect freedom of choice; full latitude to consider personal likes
and dislikes in the selection of foods; anything that appealed to
the appetite could be eaten, with the simple restriction that the
amount taken must be small. During the balance days, naturally, every
article of food had to be carefully weighed and analyzed, which fact
undoubtedly tended to limit in some degree the variety of foods chosen,
since increase in the number of articles meant increased labor in
analysis. Quite noticeable, however, was the extreme constancy in the
nitrogen-content of the daily diet, even on those days when the food
was not weighed. In other words, there had been gradually acquired
a new habit of food consumption, and the individual, unconsciously
perhaps, rarely overstepped the limits fixed by the new level of
proteid metabolism. This is a fact that has been conspicuous in nearly
all of our experiments, where freedom of choice in the taking of food
has been followed; and is in harmony with the view that after a lower
level of proteid metabolism has once been established, and the body has
become accustomed to the new conditions, there is little tendency for
any marked deviation from the new standards of food consumption.
With maintenance of body-weight, together with nitrogen equilibrium
through all these months; and with health, strength, and mental and
physical vigor unimpaired, there is certainly ground for the belief
that the real needs of the body were as fully met by the lowered
consumption of proteid food as by the quantities called for by the
customary standards. Finally, it should be noted that this particular
subject was small in weight, and hence did not need so much proteid
as a man of heavier body-weight would require. In recognizing this
principle, we may for future comparison calculate the nitrogen
requirement of the body, on the basis of the present results, per kilo
of body-weight. With the weight of the subject placed at 57 kilos, and
with an average daily excretion of nitrogen amounting to practically
5.7 grams, it is plain that this individual was quite able to maintain
a condition of equilibrium with a metabolism of 0.1 gram of nitrogen
per kilo of body-weight. Translated into terms of proteid matter, this
would mean a utilization by the body of 0.625 gram of proteid daily
per kilo of body-weight. Regarding the fuel value of the daily food,
we need not be more precise than to emphasize the fact that so far as
could be determined, on the basis of chemical composition, the heat
value of the food rarely exceeded 1900 calories per day. If we make a
liberal allowance, for the sake of precaution, it would seem quite safe
to say that this particular individual, under the conditions of life
and bodily activity prevailing, did not apparently need of fuel value
more than 2000 calories per day, which would correspond to 35 calories
per kilo of body-weight.
Let us turn now to the second subject in this group, a man of 76 kilos
body-weight, 32 years of age, and of strong physique. His active life
in the laboratory called for greater physical exertion than the former
subject, and consequently there was need for greater consumption of
non-nitrogenous food, with the accompanying increase in fuel value of
the day’s ration. As in the preceding case, there was no prescribing
of food, but a gradual and voluntary diminution of proteid material.
During the last seven months and a half of the experiment, the average
daily excretion of nitrogen through the kidneys amounted to 6.53 grams,
equivalent to a metabolism of 40.8 grams of proteid matter daily; a
little more than one-third the minimal quantity called for by common
usage. At first, the body-weight of the subject gradually fell until it
reached 70 kilos, at which point it remained fairly constant during the
last five months. That the quantity of food taken was quite sufficient
to maintain the body in a condition of nitrogen equilibrium is apparent
from the results of a comparison of income and outgo of nitrogen, as
shown in the following table:
Output.
Nitrogen in Nitrogen through Weight of Excrement
Food. Kidneys. (dry).
May 18 8.668 grams. 6.06 grams. 14 grams.
19 6.474 7.17 39
20 6.691 6.33 30
--
21 8.345 6.78 83 contain 6.06% N.
= 5.03 grm. N.
22 7.015 5.70 ..
23 9.726 5.75 38
24 10.424 6.39 57
------ ---- --
95 contain 5.76% N.
= 5.47 grm. N.
----
10.50 grm. N.
57.343 44.18 + 10.50 grams nitrogen.
------ -------------
57.343 grams N. 54.68 grams nitrogen.
Nitrogen balance for seven days = +2.663 grams.
Nitrogen balance per day = +0.380 gram.
The average daily intake of nitrogen was 8.192 grams, equivalent to
51.2 grams of proteid food. The average amount of nitrogen excreted
through the kidneys each day was 6.31 grams, corresponding to a
metabolism of 39.43 grams of proteid matter. The plus balance of 0.380
gram of nitrogen per day shows that not only was the amount of proteid
food consumed quite adequate to meet the demands of the body, but the
latter was able to store up 2.3 grams of proteid per day. Regarding
the character of the food taken by this subject, it should be stated
that there was gradually developed a tendency toward a pure vegetarian
diet. During the last seven months of the experiment, meats were
almost entirely excluded. The diet voluntarily selected thus differed
decidedly from that of the preceding subject in that it was much more
bulky, contained a larger proportion of undigestible vegetable matter,
and was richer in fats and carbohydrates, with a corresponding increase
in fuel value. The exact character of the daily dietary is indicated
by the following data of food consumption, on four of the days of the
above balance period:
_May 19._
Breakfast.--Banana 102 grams, wheat rolls 50 grams, coffee 150 grams,
cream 50 grams, sugar 21 grams.
Lunch.--Omelette 20 grams, bread 57 grams, hominy 137 grams, syrup 68
grams, potatoes 128 grams, coffee 100 grams, cream 50 grams, sugar 21
grams.
Dinner.--Tomato purée 200 grams, bread 24 grams, fried sweet potato
100 grams, spinach 70 grams, Indian meal 100 grams, syrup 25 grams,
coffee 100 grams, cream 40 grams, sugar 21 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 6.474 grams.
_May 20._
Breakfast.--Sliced orange 140 grams, coffee 100 grams, cream 30
grams, sugar 21 grams.
Lunch.--Lima beans 40 grams, mashed potato 250 grams, bread 28 grams,
fried hominy 115 grams, syrup 48 grams, coffee 100 grams, cream 30
grams, sugar 21 grams.
Dinner.--Consommé 150 grams, string beans 140 grams, mashed potato
250 grams, rice croquette 93 grams, syrup 25 grams, cranberry jam 95
grams, bread 19 grams, coffee 100 grams, cream 30 grams, sugar 21
grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 6.691 grams.
_May 21._
Breakfast.--Banana 153 grams, coffee 150 grams, cream 30 grams, sugar
21 grams.
Lunch.--Potato croquette 229 grams, bread 25 grams, tomato 123 grams,
Indian meal 109 grams, syrup 48 grams, coffee 100 grams, cream 20
grams, sugar 14 grams.
Dinner.--Bean soup 100 grams, bacon 5 grams, fried potato 200 grams,
bread 31 grams, lettuce-orange salad 47 grams, prunes 137 grams,
coffee 100 grams, cream 25 grams, sugar 21 grams, banana 255 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 8.345 grams.
_May 23._
Breakfast.--Banana 229 grams, coffee 125 grams, cream 25 grams, sugar
21 grams.
Lunch.--Consommé 75 grams, scrambled egg 15 grams, bread 58 grams,
apple sauce 125 grams, fried potato 170 grams, rice croquette 197
grams, syrup 68 grams, coffee 100 grams, cream 30 grams, sugar 21
grams.
Dinner.--Vegetable soup 100 grams, potato croquette 198 grams, bread
73 grams, bacon 7 grams, string beans 120 grams, water ice 77 grams,
banana 270 grams, coffee 100 grams, cream 30 grams, sugar 14 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 9.726 grams.
While the critic might justly say that these dietaries lack variety
and would not appeal to a fastidious taste, there is force in the
illustration which they afford of a simple diet being quite adequate
to meet the wants of the body. Further, it should be emphasized that
there is no special virtue in any of these dietaries, aside from their
simplicity and low content of nitrogen. They represent individual
taste and selection. Any other form of diet would answer as well,
provided there was not too large an intake of proteid, and provided
further the fuel value of the day’s ration was sufficient to meet the
requirements for heat and work. Again, it might be said that with this
latter subject the daily consumption of proteid food was considerably
larger than with the first subject. This is indeed true, but it must be
remembered that the second subject had a body-weight of 70 kilos during
the last seven months, while the first subject weighed only 57 kilos.
Obviously, with this marked difference in the weight of living tissue
there must be a corresponding difference in the extent of proteid
katabolism, and consequently a difference in the demand for proteid
food.
As we have seen, the smaller subject for a period of many months
showed a proteid katabolism equal to 0.1 gram of nitrogen, per kilo
of body-weight, daily. The second and larger subject, on a totally
different diet, for seven months and a half, metabolized daily, on
an average, 6.53 grams of nitrogen. Taking the weight of the body at
70 kilos, it is readily seen that the nitrogen metabolized daily per
kilo of body-weight was 0.093 gram, almost identical with the rate of
nitrogen exchange found with the first subject. It is certainly very
suggestive that these two individuals with their marked difference
in body-weight, under different degrees of physical activity, and
living on different forms of diet, with only the one point in common
of voluntary restriction in the amount of proteid food, until a new
habit had been acquired and a new level of proteid metabolism attained,
should have quite independently reached exactly the same level of
nitrogen exchange per kilo of body-weight. And when it is remembered
that this was attained by the daily consumption of not more than
one-third to one-half the minimal amount of proteid food called for
by the dietetic customs of mankind, and with maintenance of all the
characteristics of good health through this comparatively long period
of time, there certainly seems to be justification for the opinion
that the consumption of proteid food, as practised by the people of
the present generation, is far in excess of the needs of the body.
Referring for a moment to the calorific value of the food used by the
second subject, in the last balance period, it is to be noted that the
heat value per day averaged 2448 calories, as estimated on the basis of
the chemical composition of the food. This would amount to 34 calories
per kilo. Whether this figure is strictly correct is immaterial; it is
certainly sufficiently so to warrant the statement that the needs of
the body were fully met by an intake of food below the standards set
by usage, and that maintenance of nitrogen equilibrium on a greatly
diminished consumption of proteid food is possible without increasing
the intake of non-nitrogenous matter.
Finally, as affording additional evidence, we may refer to a third
subject in this group, a man of 65 kilos body-weight, 26 years of age,
who for a period of six consecutive months maintained body-weight,
nitrogen equilibrium, and a general condition of good health, with a
proteid metabolism equal to 7.81 grams of nitrogen per day. During the
last two months of the experiment, the average excretion of nitrogen
per day amounted to 6.68 grams, corresponding to a metabolism of
0.102 gram of nitrogen per kilo of body-weight. This figure, it will
be noted, is practically identical with the values obtained with the
preceding subjects, calculated to the same unit of weight. Further,
this third subject did not reduce his nitrogen intake by an exclusion
of meat, but made use of his ordinary diet gradually reduced in amount.
His daily consumption of proteid food averaged 55 grams, or 8.83 grams
of nitrogen, and on this amount of proteid, without increasing the
intake of fats and carbohydrates, he was quite able to do his work with
preservation of physiological equilibrium.
Views so radically different from those commonly accepted can be made
to carry weight, only by the accumulation of supporting evidence
obtained under widely different conditions of life, and by methods
which will defy criticism. It might be argued, and with perhaps some
justification, that while professional men, with freedom from muscular
work, may be able to live without detriment on a relatively small
amount of proteid food, such a conclusion would not be warranted for
the great majority of mankind with their necessarily greater muscular
activity. We are confronted at once with the oft-heard statement that
the laboring man requires more proteid food; he has a more vigorous
appetite, and he must take an abundance of meat and other foods
rich in proteid, if he is to maintain his ability as a worker. Note
the statements already made in other connections regarding the food
consumption of Maine lumbermen, of men on the football team, of trained
athletes in general. These men consume large amounts of proteid daily,
because their work demands it. If the demand did not really exist, they
would not so agree in the use of high proteid standards, so runs the
argument. The custom certainly does exist and is almost universally
followed; men in training for athletic events deem it necessary to
consume large amounts of proteid food. Custom and long experience
sanction a high proteid diet, rich in nitrogen, for the development
and maintenance of that strength and vigor that help to make the
accomplished athlete. It is common knowledge to-day, however, that the
energy of muscle work does not have its origin in the breaking down of
proteid material, certainly not when there is an adequate amount of
fat and carbohydrate in the diet. A high proteid intake must therefore
be called for because of some subtle quality, not at present fully
understood. It must not be subjected to criticism, however, because it
is sanctioned by custom, habit, and common usage.
Still, I have ventured to experiment somewhat with a group of eight
university athletes, all trained men, and with some surprising results.
We have not space for details, but it may be mentioned that the men
were young, from 22 to 27 years of age, and were experts in some field
of athletic work. By a preliminary study of their ordinary dietetic
habits, it was found that they were all large consumers of proteid
food, with a corresponding high rate of proteid katabolism. One subject
of 92 kilos body-weight, during ten days, showed an average daily
excretion through the kidneys of 22.79 grams of nitrogen, implying a
metabolism of 142 grams of proteid matter per day. On one of these
days, the nitrogen excretion reached the high figure of 31.99 grams,
corresponding to a metabolism of about 200 grams of proteid matter.
Calculated per kilo of body-weight, this means a metabolism of 0.35
gram of nitrogen, or three and a half times the amount needed by the
three professional men for the maintenance of nitrogen equilibrium.
These subjects, with an intelligent comprehension of the point
at issue, and with full freedom in the choice of food, gradually
diminished their daily consumption of proteid material, at the same
time cutting down very markedly the total consumption of food. The
experiment extended through five months, and during the last two
months, the average daily excretion of metabolized nitrogen of the
eight men amounted to 8.81 grams per man. This corresponds to a
metabolism of 55 grams of proteid matter.
Further, the average daily output of nitrogen through the kidneys
during the preceding two months was in many cases nearly, if not quite,
as low as during the last two months of the experiment. If we contrast
this average daily exchange of 8.81 grams of nitrogen with the average
output prior to the change in diet, it is easy to see that the men were
living on about one-half the amount of proteid food they were formerly
accustomed to take. Moreover, if the metabolized nitrogen for each
individual, with one exception, is calculated per kilo of body-weight,
it is seen to vary from 0.108 gram to 0.134 gram; somewhat higher than
was observed with the older professional men, but not conspicuously so.
Again, it is to be emphasized that the lowered intake of proteid food
with these men was quite adequate to maintain their bodies in nitrogen
equilibrium. We may cite a single case by way of illustration:
Output.
Nitrogen of Nitrogen through Weight of Excrement
Food. Kidneys. (dry).
May 18 8.119 grams. 5.75 grams. .. grams.
19 9.482 6.64 15
20 10.560 8.45 ..
21 8.992 8.64 ..
22 9.025 8.53 ..
23 8.393 7.69 89
24 7.284 7.34 24
----- ---- ---
128 grams contain
6.40 % N.
61.855 53.04 + 8.192 grams nitrogen.
------ -----------------
61.855 grams nitrogen. 61.232 grams nitrogen.
Nitrogen balance for seven days = +0.623 gram.
Nitrogen balance per day = +0.089 gram.
The daily intake of nitrogen during this balance period averaged 8.83
grams, corresponding to 55.1 grams of proteid food. The metabolized
nitrogen eliminated through the kidneys averaged 7.58 grams per day,
thus showing a daily average metabolism of 47.37 grams of proteid
matter. With a body-weight of 63 kilos, this individual was maintaining
equilibrium on a metabolism of 0.120 gram of nitrogen per kilo of
body-weight. The fuel value of the day’s food as estimated did not
exceed 2800 calories, thus substantiating the general statement that
there is no need for increasing the fuel value of the food in any
attempt to maintain a lower nitrogen level. This particular individual,
in his choice of food, unconsciously drifted--as he expressed
it--toward a simple vegetable diet, without, however, excluding meat
entirely. The following four dietaries will serve to illustrate the
character and amount of his daily food:
_May 21._
Breakfast.--Banana 106 grams, boiled Indian meal 150 grams, cream 50
grams, sugar 21 grams, bread 59 grams, butter 16 grams.
Lunch.--Lamb chop 37 grams, potato croquette 105 grams, tomato 216
grams, bread 55 grams, butter 13 grams, sugar 14 grams, water ice 143
grams.
Dinner.--Bean soup 100 grams, bacon 10 grams, fried egg 22 grams,
fried potato 100 grams, lettuce salad 63 grams, coffee 100 grams,
cream 50 grams, sugar 21 grams, stewed prunes 247 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 8.992 grams.
_May 22._
Breakfast.--Orange 60 grams, oatmeal 207 grams, roll 46 grams, butter
14 grams, coffee 150 grams, cream 150 grams, sugar 35 grams.
Lunch.--Boiled potato 150 grams, boiled onions 145 grams, macaroni
130 grams, fried rice 138 grams, syrup 48 grams, ice cream 160 grams,
cake 26 grams.
Dinner.--Celery soup 150 grams, spinach 100 grams, mashed potato 100
grams, bread 19 grams, coffee 100 grams, cream 50 grams, sugar 7
grams, strawberry short-cake 169 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 9.025 grams.
_May 23._
Breakfast.--Sliced banana 201 grams, cream 100 grams, sugar 28 grams,
griddle cakes 103 grams, syrup 48 grams.
Lunch.--Consommé 150 grams, rice croquette 140 grams, syrup 48 grams,
fried potato 100 grams, bread 36 grams, butter 15 grams, apple sauce
90 grams, coffee 75 grams, sugar 7 grams.
Dinner.--Vegetable soup 100 grams, bacon 20 grams, potato croquette
50 grams, string beans 120 grams, macaroni 104 grams, bread 26 grams,
water ice 184 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 8.393 grams.
_May 24._
Breakfast.--Orange 80 grams, fried rice 186 grams, syrup 72 grams,
coffee 100 grams, cream 50 grams, sugar 21 grams.
Lunch.--Celery soup 125 grams, bread 34 grams, butter 19 grams,
boiled onion 127 grams, boiled potato 150 grams, tomato sauce 50
grams, stewed prunes 189 grams, cream 50 grams.
Dinner.--Tomato soup 125 grams, bread 21 grams, fried potato 100
grams, spinach 130 grams, cream pie 158 grams, coffee 100 grams,
cream 50 grams, sugar 14 grams.
Evening.--Ginger ale 250 grams.
Total nitrogen content of the day’s food = 7.284 grams.
Here, again, we have dietaries not particularly attractive to every
one, but they represent the choice of an individual who was following
his own preferences, and like the preceding dietaries they are
characterized by simplicity. In any event, they were quite adequate
for the wants of the body, and their value to us lies in the proof
they afford that a relatively small intake of proteid food will not
only bring about and maintain nitrogen equilibrium for many months,
and probably indefinitely, but that such a form of diet is equally as
effective with vigorous athletes, accustomed to strenuous muscular
effort, as with professional men of more sedentary habits. Further,
these many months of observation with different individuals all lead to
the opinion that there are no harmful results of any kind produced by
a reduction in the amount of proteid food to a level commensurate with
the actual needs of the body. Body-weight, health, physical strength,
and muscular tone can all be maintained, in partial illustration of
which may be offered two photographs of one of the eight athletes
taken toward the end of the experiment; pictures which are certainly
the antithesis of enfeebled muscular structure, or diminished physical
vigor.
[Illustration: STAPLETON
_Photograph taken in the middle of the experiment, in April_]