Voltz and Dietrich3 have given dogs 2 c.c. of alcohol per kilogram of body weight. After ten hours only 73 per cent, of the material had been oxidized, or enough to provide for 43 per cent, of the energy requirement of the time. About 90 per cent, was oxidized in fifteen hours, but it required about eighteen to twenty hours for the dog to rid himself of the material. Alcohol, therefore, is not a quickly oxidizable substance, but it remains in the blood a long time. Although sugar may entirely displace fat metabolism, alcohol can only in part displace carbohydrate from its part in metabolism.

All alcoholic beverages are taken with a twofold object: first, the desire for flavor, and second, for stimulation; their food value, as above described, is usually little considered. In general, it may be said that alcohol as a stomachic is valueless when the gastric juice is normal, but is beneficial in cases of supersecretion, hypochlorhydria, and loss of appetite. Under these circumstances small amounts of beverages containing 5 to 10 per cent, of alcohol are sufficient for all purposes.1

1 Schweisheimer: "Deutsches Archiv fur klinische Medizin," 1913, cix, 271. 2 Togel, Brezina, and Durig: "Biochemische Zeitschrift," 1913,1, 298. 3 V6ltz and Dietrich: Ibid., 1914, lxviii, 118.

In the light of the social evils which accompany the excessive use of alcohol as a beverage there is no doubt that its total prohibition - if this were possible - would make for the public weal and improve the physical and moral condition of mankind.

The subject of alcohol could be spun out into a considerable story, but for further details the reader is referred to other sources.2

The ash constituents of a dietary are certainly of importance.3 In fasting there is a constant loss of salts from the body. There is apparently a "wear-and-tear" metabolism of the bones (see p. 99) which must be replaced by ingested salts.

The minimum amount of calcium needed in the daily diet in order to establish "calcium equilibrium" is unknown. Benedict's fasting man eliminated 0.138 gram of calcium oxid in the urine of the thirty-first day of his fast.

From the work of Bertram,4 it appears that a man can be maintained in calcium equilibrium when the diet contains 0.4 gram of calcium oxid. Herxheimer5 obtained the same result when a man took 0.86 gram of calcium oxid.

German authorities state that a man requires about 1.5 grams of calcium oxid daily. Thus Hornemann6 places the requirement of calcium oxid at 1.7 grams and of iron at 55 milligrams, the sodium chlorid balance being maintained with 5 grams of that salt daily, or half to one-quarter the amount usually taken.

1 Zitowitsch: Abstract in "Biochem. Centralblatt," 1905, iv, 574.

2 "The Use of Alcohol in Medicine": F. G. Benedict, A. R. Cushny, S. J. Meltzer, Graham Lusk, "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal," 1902, cxlvii, 31; "Bibliographic der gesammten wissenschaftlichen Literatur uber den Alko-hol und den Alkoholismus," 1904, by Emil Abderhalden.

3 For the older literature see Albu and Neuberg: "Physiologie und Path-ologie des Mineralstoffwechscls," 1906.

4 Bertram: "Zeitschrift fur Biologie," 1878, xiv, 354.

5 Herxheimer: "Berliner klinische Wochenschrift," 1897, xxxiv, 423.

6 Hornemann: "Zeitschrift fur Hygiene," 1913, lxxv, 553.

Tigerstedt1 reports that the diet of the Finns contains between 2 and 6 grams of calcium oxid daily, and this on account of the large intake of milk (see p. 348), which averages 1570 c.c. for men and 913 c.c. for women.

In contrast with this, the ordinary American diet of the average inhabitant of the Eastern States, as studied by Sherman, Mettler, and Sinclair2 presents a sorry spectacle.

The salt content of the dietaries taken by the people of the two nations may be thus contrasted:

Ash Content Of Ordinary Dietaries, Weights In Grams

Tigerstedt points out that this difference in the salt intake of the different peoples is due to the fact that the American subjects took an average of only 250 c.c. of milk in their diets daily. As pointed out by Sherman, the American family has only to drink more milk or eat more cheese in order to raise the ash content of the dietary. Those in charge of the food supply of institutions should not forget the importance of milk, and every care should be exercised to prevent the cost of good milk from becoming prohibitive.

1Tigerstedt, R.: "Skan. Archiv fur Physiologie," 1911, xxiv, 97.

2 Sherman, Mettler, and Sinclair: U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Office of Experiment Stations, 1910, Bulletin No. 227 A. Table giving the ash constituents of the edible portions of various food materials is given in this bulletin on p. 41.

The American families were reported to consume between 35 and 7 milligrams of iron daily, the amount ingested running almost parallel with the intake of protein in the food. This is much less than the minimum called for by Horneman.

The question of the minimal quantity of ash intake for human beings is far from settled.

The following table, compiled from part of the data presented by Sherman1 and by Sherman and Gettler,2 gives the ash content of various edible foods:

Ash Content Of The Edible Portion Of Some Common Foods

Meat, eggs, oatmeal, unmilled wheat, and green vegetables contain much iron. Milk, polished rice, and white flour contain little iron. Milk, oatmeal, and dried beans furnish large amounts of calcium.

Not only is the quantity of the ash constituents of significance, but Sherman and Gettler1 have shown the importance of the acid or base-forming potency of the ash of different foods. Thus, a dietary which contained 3000 calories, 300 calories being in potato, was given to a man, and then the potato was replaced by rice containing 300 calories. The result of the change was an increase of 50 per cent, in the titratible acidity of the urine and an increase in the amount of ammonia excreted.

1 Sherman: "The Chemistry of Food and Nutrition," New York, 1911. 2 Sherman and Gettler: "Journal of Biological Chemistry," 1911-12, xi, 323.

Blatherwick2 has continued investigations along these lines, which show that foods which have a preponderance of base-forming elements lead to the formation of a urine less acid than the normal. Such foods are potatoes, oranges, raisins, apples, and bananas, and these are very efficient in reducing the acid output. Tomatoes are less valuable in this respect. Rice and whole wheat bread increase urinary acidity. Plums, prunes, and cranberries, through their content of benzoic acid, increase the urinary acidity. Blatherwick notes that the hydrogen ion concentration of thirty urines obtained from vegetarians was - 6.64, in contrast with a value of - 5.98 reported by Henderson and Palmer for the urines of persons living on a mixed diet, and he emphasizes the close relationship between the hydrogen ion concentration of the urine and its solvent power over uric acid. These findings are, therefore, in accord with those of Hindhede (p. 341) and should establish the potato upon a high plane of dietary dignity.

To arrange a proper dietary for a given individual or group of individuals the very complete and valuable tables of Atwater will be found most practical. They are placed in an appendix at the end of this volume for the benefit of the student who may desire to apply in practice his knowledge of the general laws of metabolism.

Underfed or overfed individuals may alike become objects of commiseration and proper subjects for rehabilitation.

1 Sherman and Gettler: Loc. cit.

2 Blatherwick: "Archives of Internal Medicine," 1914, xiv, 409.