The Colorado statesman., 1915-01-23
MALT AND MILK.

1t is perfectly obvious that the ul-
innate source of milk in all mammals
must res on the food intake. Conse-
quently wherever a mother suffering
from a deficient milk supply seeks.
from those qualified to advise. infor-
nation as to how she may correct the
unfortunate condition, she is invaria-
ably recommended to use a more nu-
tritious diet. In other words, she is
informed indirectly that the food she
has ha5itually used is deficient in
some important particular.
Almost without exception, the diet
recommended to a mother includes
some form of malt.
The word malt is believed to be de-
rived from a Sanscrit word meaning
soft. and having a reference to the
fact that malt is raw grain made soft
or tender by process in which germ
ination has been caused to proceed to
certain stage and is then controlled
and checked by the gradual removal
of the water and finally completely ar
rested by drying through the applica-
ton of heat in kilns.
During this limited termination en-
zymes are developed and the constit-
uents of the grain are so modified that
the finished malt differs from the orig
inal raw grain in that the greater
portion is split into simpler COM
pounds that more easily dissolve. An
engine is a complex organic sub
stance. or an unorganized or chemical
ferment, capable of effecting by ca
talytic action the transformation. split
ting up or digestion of other COM
pounds.
The changes effected by the partial
termination and subsequent treatment
of the grain are chiefly the conversion
! of the heterogeneous substances into .d1-
astase, the conversion of the starch
into grape sugar by the action of the
diastase, and the imparting of color
and flavor to the malt in the kiln
Diastase is an engine of great physi-
illogical Importance in that it is capa-
Bile of converting starch and glycogen
into sugar principally maltose) and
dextrins. 1t occurs in terminating
seeds, in the leaves and in other
parts of plants and also in various ami
NAL secretions, such as the saliva and
the pancreatic Juice.
very common medical preparation
in the form of sirup of about the
consistency of a heavy molasses is
made by digesting sprouting malt in
water. expressing the solution. pre-
cipitating 1t with alcohol and drying
the precipitate
a., npf1
added to our vocabulary-"hormone
by Startling in 1906 and "vitamines." by
Funk in 1912. Investigations conducted
since 1889 have fully demonstrated
that some of our ductless glands play
a role If vast Importance in general
nutrition, and this knowledge has
proved very useful in widening our
conception of the nutritional relations
in the body The conception that GER
tain glandular organs may give rise
to chemical products which on enter
ing the circulation influence the activ-
ity of one or more other organs is
finding application in the study of
the digestive secretions.
The gastric and pancreatic "secre
tions" are regarded as examples of in.
ternal secretions. Chemical products
of this kind which stimulate the ac-
tivity of special organs are what Star
ling designates hormones,
Following a long series of investiga.
tions into the causes of beri-ber' and
similar diseases, Funk in 1912 iso
lated some highly complex nitrogen.
GUS bodies from the grindings from
| mhn afpc auy
milk, fresh meat, yeast, fresh fruit
juices. the yolk of egg and the like
Because these compounds were nitro.
genous and proved to be absolutely
essential to organic life-the absence
of them is demonstrated to be the
cause of death from poIyneuritis-
Funk named them ''vitamines."
The vitamines are soluble in water
and are destroyed by exposure for ten
to twenty minutes to temperature OF
24S to '60 degrees Fahrenheit and by
extreme dryness So far as is known
animals are incapable of making vita.
mines: normally they are found in
plants, and especially in their seeds
and in animals that eat fresh vegeta.
BILE matter containing vitamines. Funk
regards vitamines as the mother sub.
stance of ferments and the hormones
and of vital Importance to the thyroid
and other ductless glands; conse.
quently. they are fundamentally the
regulators of the genera CO ordina
ton of our bodies
Obviously this all points to rea
son for the effectiveness of malt on
milk secretion and opens wide the
question of nutrition in general
Panama is considering the esta b.
lishment of n national school of telep.