The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-03-23
SWEETS HELP WEARY.
PROF. LEE EXPLAINS HIS THE
DRIES OF THE USE OF SUGAR

Things Are the Easiest Way of
Supplying the Want-Alkalis Serve
the Same Purpose.
Prof. F. S. Lee of the chair of
physiology at Columbia University,
who made the statement the other
night at the Museum of Natural His
tory that candy was pretty good
thing to freshen UP on, said that he
didn't want that statement to be TAX
en- too literally.
ANY form Of sugar taken in small
quantities will produce the same re-
suit" said Prof. Lee. Il suggested
candy because candy is the most
agreeable form CT taking sugar. Mo-
lasses would be just as effective in
knocking out fatigue or few Jumps
of plain sugar would do as we'll"
Prof. Lee started his work by OBJ
serving manifestations Of fatigue,
both physical and mental, in man ana
the lower animals. After he had col
lected a great quantity of data ne
turned his attention to the chemistry
of the phenomenon. BY experiments
with the muscles of frogs and small
beasts he has prepared interesting
charts showing by means of wave
lines the growth of fatigue in the
muscles for a given length of time
without stimulation. Then he has OBJ
served the same muscles after they
have received injections of sugar or
alkalis and recorded the results by
Of
In every instance the muscle under
observation manifested greater ener-
gy and became dormant more slowly
after it had luncheon of sugar than
before. Prof. Lee has even tried the
sugar treatment on himself after ex-
cessive muscular action and obtained
satisfactory results.
/ "Other experimenters have gone
further than l in that direction" said
the professor, and their observations
have confirmed strongly my theory
of the chemistry of fatigue.
Everybody knows that the work
ing of the muscles produces fatigue
manifested by two kinds of physical
phenomena, diminution of lifting pow
i er and slowing up of muscular con-
traction. have found that these phe-
nomena are brought on by chemical
changes. The causes of fatigue are
chemical causes. Get the causes ac-
curately and we are in a good way to
find the cure. That applies to per-
sons in i'll as we'll as normal health.
It doesn't require scientist to under
stand the immense Importance of the
work
"The chemical causes are, first, the
consumption of necessary substances
in the tissues, literally burning up
of these substances; second, the ac-
emulation of waste products in the
tissues
'The most important substance
which is burned up when we work or
| play hard is some carbohydrate SUI
gar or starch, as the case may be.
have treated animals with drugs
and have removed from them the
carbohydrates. I found they became
fatigued, although they had done no
work. Then have given them sugar
in the form of dextrose, and found
that the fatigue disappeared rapidly.
Some investigators have used men,
putting them to hard manual labor,
and then experimenting when the
subjects were thoroughly exhausted.
They discovered after the subjects
had eaten a little sugar In the form
Of candy or something similar that
in half an hour the fatigue began to
disappear and went rapidly.
obviously the sugar quickly d.
gested, replenished the wasted car
bohydrate, and made the tired men
fresh and energetic again.
CAS- to the second cause, the waste
materials which are produced during
activity, especially muscular activity.
There are at least three kinds of
these waste materials which have
been recognized as important in caus-
ing fatigue. All are acids in reaction.
One is variety of Tactic acid called
sarcolactic acid, the second is mono
potassium phosphate and the third is
carbon dioxide, like the used up air
I we expel from our lungs. have test
Ell Ln0 dcIlOu VI tuGSS Ou lie IlSoucS
particularly on the muscles, and /
have found that each one is capable
Of producing fatigue.
''rt Is reasonable to suppose that il
acids cause fatigue the condition can
be removed by the use of alkalis.
That has been proved largely correct.
The most eatable form of alkali is or
! binary cooking soda. sodium bicar-
Donate. Doctors give it in diseases
where acids are prominent feature,
and it has been found very useful.
Acids appear in some diseases, such
as diabetes and fevers. to produce ex-
cessive fatigue, even coma. The use
of alkalis has already done much to
relieve that, and will do more If our
experiments work out properly. In
my own work have found that injec-
lions of alkalis remove fatigue pro-
duced by the waste materials l have