Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1915-01-28
MALT AND MILK.

It is perfectly obvious that the III
innate source Of milk in all mammals
must resi- on the food intake. Conse
quently, wherever 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 more nu
tritious diet. In other words, she IL
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 a 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
lerment. capable OF effectinS by ca
talytic action the transformation. split
ting up or digestion Of other CON-
pounds.
The changes effected by the partial
termination and subsequent treatment
Of the grain are chiefly the conversion
OF the ,.itrogenous substances into d.
astase, the conversion OF the starcn
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) ana
dextrins. It occurs in terminating
seeds. in the leaves and In other
parts of plants and also in various ami
NAL secretions, such as the saliva ana
the pancreatic juice.
A very common medical preparation
in the form Of strip OF about the
consistency Of a heavy molasses Is
made by digesting sprouting malt in
water. expressing the solution. pre-
cipitating II with alcohol and drying
the precipitate
Two new words nave recently been
added to our vocabulary-"hormones.
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 OIL 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'
lions" are regarded az examples OF In
ternal secretions. Chemical products
of this kind which stimulate the &C.
tivity Of special organs are what Star
ling designates hormones.
Following long series Of investiga'
tons into the causes OF beri'ber' and
similar diseases, Funk in 1912 isO'
lated some highly complex nitrogen
Gus bodies from the grindlngs from
rice, from seeds. whole grains. raw
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 polyneuritis-
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 ?6O 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 vitamipes. Funk
regards vitamines as the mother sub
stance OF ferments and the hormones,
and Of vital Importance to the thyroid
ana other ductless glands: conse-
uuently, they are fundamentally the
regulators Of the genera co-ordina'
ton Of our bodies
Obviously this all points to q rea-
son for the effectiveness Of malt on
milk secretion and opens wide the
question Of nutrition IN general
Pn6ama is considering the estab