The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-09-18
STARVING ON BEEF TEA.
Likely to Disturb Many Old-Ttme Cher
ished DeiEslous.

Likely to Disturb Many Old-Time Cher.
ished DelEslous.
II is generally believed that beef tea
and animal broths of all kinds are
nourishing. The most recent medical
take In order to combat what it calls
''The Beef-Tea Delusion," Modern Med
icine publishes an article consisting
largely of quotations from high mod
ern authority. We reproduce several
paragraphs below:
1.-The late DR.. Austin Flint remarked
on one occasion that thousands Of pa
tients have been starved to death while
being fed on animal broths, beef tea,
etc. No error could be greater than
the notion very commonly held by the
laity, and still quite too largely enter
tanned by the members of the medical
profession, that beef extracts, beef tea,
bouillon, animal broths, ETC., are pecul-
iarly nourishing in character. We can
adduce no better evidence to the con-
trary than is afforded by the following
paragraphs from 'Bunge's Physiological
and Pathological Chemistry one Of the
latest and most reliable authorities:
"'We must guard against supposing
that meat bouillon possesses strength
euing and uourishing influence. In re-
gard to this, the most delusive notions
are entertained not only by the general
public, but also by medical men.
Until quite recently the opinion
YVES held that bouilloo contained the
most nutritive part Of meat. There
was confused Idea that a minute guam
tfty Of material-a plateful Of bouillon
caa be made from teaspoonful Of meat
ext-act-could yield an effectual source
oi nourishment, that the eXtractives of
meat were synonymous with eoncen-
trated food.
"'Let Us inquire what substances
could render bopillon nutritious The
only article Of food which meat yields
TO boiling water Is gelatine. It Is well
known that albumen IS coagulated IN
boiling, the glyeogen of meat Is rapidly
converted into sugar, and this again
into Tactic acid. The quantity Of gels-
tine is, moreover, very small; for
watery solution which contains only
one per cent. Of gelatine coagulates on
cooling. Such coagulation may occur
tn very strong soups and gravies, but
never In bouiGon. Douillon, therefore,
contains much less thao one per cent.
OF geiatine. In preparing extract Of
meat, the quantity Of gelatinc is re-
duced as much as possible, because it is
ip high degree liable to putrefactive
changes, aud therefore likely to inter
fere with the preservation Of the prep
GRAFTON. The other constituents Of
bouillon are decomposition prod
ucts Of foodstuffs-pcoducts of the
oxidations and decompositions which
take place IN the animal organism.
They cannot be regarded as nutri-
tious, because they are no longer capa-
ble OF yielding any kinctic energy, or
at most such small amount that it Is of
no Importance whatever.
Nevertheless. until the most re-
cent times, areatin and creatinin, which
are among the chief constituents Of
meat extract, were regarded as the
source Of energy IN muscle. This asser-
tion was shown to be untrue by the re-
searches of Meissner and of Mott, who
proved conclusively that creatin and
creatin!n are eNereted in the urine
twenty-four hours after their absorb
tiop, without loss. 4 material which is
neither oxidised nor decomposed can
not form source Of energy, apart from
the fact that the quantity OF creatln
and creatinip which Is absorbed IN
bouillon Is 80 small that it could not
possibly be seriously regarded as the
source Of muscular energy"