The San Mateo item. (San Mateo City, Putnam County, Fla) 189?-19??, 1909-03-06
Vegetarian
Diet.
II Adopted Strictly, Il Nay Lessen
Ones Vitality.

just now there is lively discus.
sion In England over the discretion
or relying exclusively on vegetable
diet. Though II is admitted that too
hearty indulgence In meat, eggs.
cheese and other animal food may
prove unwholesome, at least one lead.
ing medical publication. THE Lancet"
holds that there is danger in the
other extreme. II declares emphati-
cally that the individual who sul:-
sists upon an exclusively vegetable
diet Is far more susceptible to the
attacks Of disease than Is the con-
sumner OF animal food Indeed, 1t pro-
nounces vcgetarianism a "fallacy."
leaving both the physical energy AMI
intellectual vigor weaker than could
be expected with a mixed diet. 1t
argues In the following fashion:
"The vegetarian school has pointed
with triumph in its own wind to the
Oriental peoples as examples of pay
steal strength and endurance. sup
ported alone by a vegetarian die.
These examples in the light of an
exceedingly interesting practical In
quiry on the subject can no longer
serve the arguments OF the vegetarian
advocate. We refer to a study OF the
problems of nutrition connected par
ticularly with the well-being and ply
slque of the teeming natives Of Ben
gal In relation to their diet, which
consists principally of rice. The In
vestigation was undertaken by Cap
tain ID. McCay, /. NJ. s., the profes-
sor OF physiology at the Medical Col
lege, Calcutta, and 1t will be admit
ted, we think, that he has added
masterpiece of physiological inquiry
TO previous contributions. Theoreti-
cal considerations may be left out,
although they are obviously Of inter-
est compared with the results of prac-
tical observations. Experimental de-
tails, also, though full OF scientific
interest, MAJ be omitted, but 1t Is
enough to say that the results fully
justify the conclusions arrived at.
"Any one, we are told, who has
seen the ordinary Bengalee coolie at
work will not require much stalls
tical evidence to convince him OF the
marked superiority of the European;
men have often to be employed in
India for work that women will do
In England. Again, from an insur-
ance point OF view, the life OF the
Bengalee is very inferior to that III
the European. In spite OF the tact
that the Bengalee exists on a guam
tity OF protein Ga chemical compound
essential to health and furnished
largely by meat) than Professor Chit
tenden, of Yale University, regards
as sufficient, the Bengalee's resistance
to disease owing to an unreplenish-
ed condition Of the blood accompany
ing a low protein intake.
Nor is the function OF the kidneys
the better for a low protein intake.
for kidney disease is more com'Hon
among natives than among Euro
peans, while among the upper mid
do classes the extreme presence OF
glycosurld would prove conclusiVeiy
that the danger OF an excess oil car
bohydrate intake is even a more real
and present one than that OF pro-
ted excess From this II would mp
pear that the human machine Ia
health is able to eliminate more com
pletely the toxic products elaborated
from a generous diet OF protein than
from a diet overst0cked with car
bohydrate. At all events. In the lat
Ter case the resisting power OF tho
tissues TO disease is decidedly low
cred, so that diabetes, pneumonia
tuberculosis, spreading gangrenc'
etc, are very prevalent among tho
BenEalese, who subslst on a beggar-