La Mer and Campbell have presented some evidence to show that the
antiscorbutic vitamine has a direct effect upon the adrenal glands. In
their scurvy cases they find definite evidence of the enlargement or
hypertrophy of this organ. Whether it affects other organs or not it
remains to be shown.
CHAPTER VII
HOW TO UTILIZE THE VITAMINE IN DIETS
In the preceding chapters it has been the aim to present the findings of
the principal workers in the field. In attempting to summarize the work of
so widely scattered a group as are now engaged in vitamine research it is
impossible to cover completely the many investigations and it is
inevitable that some work will have been overlooked, but the foregoing
covers at least the principal data on the subject. What is the bearing of
all this information on human behavior and what lessons can the layman
draw from it that is of direct application to him? Let us first consider
this question from the dietary viewpoint.
I. INFANT NUTRITION
The limited character of the infant's diet has made the consideration of
vitamine content in his diet much more important than in the case of the
adult with the latter's wide variety of choice. It is evident from the
previous data that a growing infant must not only be provided with a
sufficient supply of calories, nutrients and salts, but must also have a
liberal supply of the three vitamines. Milk has in general been classed as
adequate in all these features, but the vitamine researches have forced us
to reconsider our views in regard to this staple.
The first point to be borne in mind is that the vitamine content of either
cow or human milk is dependent primarily upon the food eaten by the
producer of the milk. In other words milk is merely a mobilization of the
vitamines eaten and if the diet is to yield vitamine-rich milk it must
itself be rich in these factors. Many a cow produces milk low in vitamine
content and the same is true of nursing mothers. There are many "old
wives" prejudices in regard to what food a lactating mother may eat and
unfortunately many of these prejudices are extremely injurious and false.
One of them is the prejudice against green vegetables. Experience has
shown that under ordinary conditions such vegetables are well tolerated by
the mother and from their content of vitamine it is evident that they are
suppliers of these factors. In the case of the cow the fact that cereals
are poor in some of the vitamines and green grasses rich therein, teaches
a lesson that bears directly upon winter feeding of cattle if the milk
supply is to be used for infants. We need a series of diets and cattle
foods for just this purpose of insuring the proper vitamine content in
milk. The preceding tables will enable one to develop such diets fairly
satisfactorily, but more data is urgently needed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account