Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1920-06-17
LACK OF CERTAIN
FOODS DANGEROUS
BY e. v. MeCoIIum, Formerly With
Agricultural Experiment Station,
University Of Wisconsin.

all naturally occurring foods.
Exceptions are polished rice, and
the refined starches, sugars and fats.
In parts of India, China, the Philip
pines and other places in the far East
where the poorer natives eat polished
| rice as the principal article Of diet,
the disease beri-beri is prevalent. The
most characteristic manifestation of
this disease is paralysis, especially of
| the legs. Numerous carefully con-
Quoted experiments have indicated
| that this disease is the result Of speci-
| fic starvation for the water-soluble
unidentified dietary essential for
growth.
Fortunately We are in no danger of
obtaining too little Of this substance,
as all native foods contain it.
Seed Foods Need Supplements.
| The nature Of the mistakes Of diet
which are likely to prove serious both
in animal production and even more
| so in human nutrition can best be il
| Illustrated by considering the character
Of the growth of animals fed one of
| the three most important cereal grains,
wheat oats, or corn kernel, with the
addition of specific purified food sup
plements.
The three most important seeds EN-
plOyed as human foods are singly or
collectively incomplete foods and the
manner in which they are deficient in
quality is clear.
/. Their prOteins are of poor muscle
building quality and the values of their
proteins are not much improved by
feeding them in mixtures of two or
three. A diet principally derived from
these seeds needs the right kind Of
protein supplement from other sources.
Milk, eggs, the leaves Of plants, and
meats serve this purpose.
2. They all fail to supply enough of
the unidentified fat-sOluble A found in
butterfat This growth and repair de-
ficiency can be made good either by
taking with the grains, milk, eggs or
leaves of plants. Many experiments
have proven that the leaf of the plant
is, in general, much richer than the
seed in this unknown dietary factor.
3. The mineral salts Of the seeds
generally are present in too small
amounts, especially with respect to
the salts of lime and common table
salt, to make it possible for young
animal to grow without further add
lions Of these inorganic elements. In
some places the drinking water will
supply the lacking salts, but in many
other localities it will not.
Mineral Salts Required.
When but one of these classes Of
deficiency is made good the diet is not
greatly improved. When two of these
factors are improved the wellbeing Of
the animals is greatly benefited, pro-
vided one line Of improvement in
cludes adding the necessary salt mix
lures but not otherwise. Proper
amounts and proper proportions of the
mineral salts in the food mixture con-
stitute one of the most fundamental
dietary requirements.
When all three of the dietary fac
tors in which these seeds are deficient,
ID III,
salts, are properly supplemented, each
Of the SeedS-Wheat, Oat, or corn, or
mixtures of these-become highly eff
cient for the promotion of health.
A striking generalization can now be
made which was forced upon us only
after many experimental trials. Pro
vided salt-free or nearly salt-free wa
ter such as rain water, distilled water
and some of the purer natural waters
are used for drinking, it is not possible
to make up diet derived solely from
the seeds of plants, which will support
normal growth and health.
Leaves Supplement Seeds
In marked contrast to our eXper1
ence with seeds stand the results OF
feeding combinations of the seed with
an abundance of the leaf of the plant
We have as yet extensive experience
only With the alfalfa leaf, but enough
study has been made Of cabbage and
clover leaves to make it apparent
when our knowledge Of the chemical
composition Of other leaves is consid-
cred:
l. That the leaves of plants are es-
sentiaIly similar in their organic con-
tent.
.. That all are high in just those
mineral elements in which the seeds
are deficient; viz, salts Of lime and
common salt
We know from common experience
L.. IL, A.
a strictly vegetation diet eat the en-
tire plant.