The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1921-04-22
Careful Experiments Show
Beer Is No Cure
DIR. SALEEBY DECLARES
SCIENCE AGAINST BEER
No Authoritative Investigations Are
Favorable TO Beer


most distinguished physicians aud
scientists in Great Britain, Dr. Sa-
lecby. who is now on a lecture tour in
America
CONDEMNATION OF BEER
AS A MEDICINE
By C. w. saleeby, M. D., FRS, Edin.
Chairman National Birthrate Conn
mission, London (o1s-20), Fellow
Geological Society, London
Recent experimental work done IN
! London and at Johns Hopkins Hos
pital, Baltimore, has conclnsively
demonstrated the unique protective
and curative properties OF certain rare
food constituents called vitamins.
Certain OF these are abundant in ger
minating grain and in yeast. Il has,
/ therefore. been assumed that they
would be present in beer, where they
would undoubtedly confer upon it the
quite extraordinarily medicinal value
which vitamins possess and which is
/ illustrated i'll such substances as cod
liver oil and lemon juice This, OF
course. is an assertion which can be
experimental and tested.
Such experiments have been made
by Drs. Arthur Harden and Sylvester
Solomon Zilva at the gardens OF the
/ Geological Society OF London. Their
paper entitled An Investigation of
Beer for Anti-neuritic and Anti-scor-
butte Potency" was read in London in
1910 and IS printed IN The Journal
the Institute OF Brewing, Vol. NNlN,
No 5 Vol Nv. New Series), May
June, 1918.
The authors made tests upon pig
cons. guinea pigs and monkeys. In
certain cases the alcohol WAS removed
from the beer, since its poisonous ac-
ton upon the animals would have
complicated the experiment, the object
OF which was solely to determine the
presence or absence OF the precious
vitamins in the beer. Lest fallacy
might arise from the use OF beer that
was stale, the authors decided 10
luse a beer that was fresh, emanating
directly from the brewery.
The beer was freshly brcwed no
sample being in the cask more than
a week or so. The daily ration OF the
beer was fetched every morning from
the brewery
The foregoing sentences refer to
particular experiment upon a male
Macacus rhesus Qndian species).
The monkey received diet which WAS
in every way nutritious but lacked the
anti-scorbutic factor To this the
beer in question was added. Acute
scuryy developed and, owing to the
animals suffering, ii had to be killed.
Due control experiments were also
made.
1t was, of course, already known
that beer could not possibly contain
vitamin A, the precious ingredient of
milk and cod liver oil. The only
question WAS whether beer might
contain vitamins and {, so-called
"ant-neuritic" and "anti-scorbutic'
respectively. The authors summary
is as follows
That bottled ale and stout and
fined beer, as brought into the
market, are lacking both i'll the
anti-neuritic and anti-scorbutic
accessory factors and that kilned
malt is ;lso wanting in these two
principles
In the official publication by the
!, Medical Research Council OF Great
Britain and Ireland, on this subject
Especial Report No. 3S, His Majesty's
Stationery Office. Kingsway, London)
it is stated that beer is destitute of
| vitamns.
In personal letter to myself from
DIR. Hardin, written during the pres
ent year, he tells me that further ex-
periments are now being begun.
Meanwhile, these are the only exact
scientific Investigations of this sub
ject Their verdict is to the effect
that, though the materials used by the
brewers are of high medicinal value,
beer itself is destitute of any me-
dicinal property This bears in my
judgment especially upon the use OF
beer for the expectant and nursing
mother, whom it is exceedingly I'M
portant to supply with an abundance
'Iof vitamins for the proper devclop-