In the treatment of diabetes it is the rule, in order to diminish the amount of sugar passed, to decrease or altogether exclude starchy foods from the dietary, and to replace them by various substitutes, of which the most important are gluten bread and biscuits. Some of the so-called gluten flour and special foods sold as suitable for diabetic patients are impositions, inasmuch as they are found to contain either as much or nearly as much starch as ordinary flour. In one instance brought to notice at the end of 1905, a so-called gluten flour and special diabetic foods obtained from Messrs. H. H. Warner and Co., Ltd., who are also the vendors of Warner’s Safe Cure, but who in this instance acted as agents, it was found that the flour was practically ordinary wheaten flour. This is indicated in the following table, in which the result of the analysis of the special articles is placed side by side with the figures of the official analysis of wheaten flour published by the United States Department of Agriculture: --------------------------+-------------------+-------------------- | Department of | The Special |Agriculture, U.S.A.| Materials. +---------+---------+---------+---------- | Spring | Winter | Gluten | Special | Wheat. | Wheat. | Flour. | Diabetic | | | | Food. +---------+---------+---------+---------- Water | 10·4 | 10·5 | 12·65 | 11·06 Proteid | 12·5 | 11·8 | 10·60 | 12·40 Fat | 2·2 | 2·1 | — | 3·00 Convertible carbohydrates | 71·2 | 72·0 | 70·30 | 71·06 Mineral matter | 1·9 | 1·8 | 0·44 | 1·52 Fibre | 1·8 | 1·8 | — | — --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------- It will be seen that the amount of starch and other convertible carbohydrates in spring wheat is 71·2, and in the so-called gluten flour 70·30. CHAPTER IX. OBESITY CURES.