The marked increase in oxygen absorption after beefsteak may be readily explained by the oxidation of the products of digestion resulting from the digestion of the protein and fat. In some instances only one of these mechanisms may be operating, and in other instances both mechanisms may be operating. In the latter, the fall in oxygen absorption will be greater than in the former, and the fall in oxygen absorption may be so great and so prolonged that susceptibility to infection will occur. I wish to impress the reader with this concept of gamma-glucose. Knowledge in medicine and physiology is in a constant state of flux.
New discoveries open new doors and confirm or alter previous concepts.
In the light of our present knowledge, the concept of gamma-glucose presented here is fundamentally sound and warranted by supporting data, and it explains certain phenomena that would otherwise be baffling. Regardless of whether or not the above explanation is the correct one, the fact remains that the ingestion of sugar and starch may readily cause a fall in total bodily oxygen absorption through adverse effects on the blood sugar regulatory mechanism, and it is this state of oxygen lick that is responsible for susceptibility to infection.