The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1922-06-09
DREAD PELLACRA
FOUND DURABLE.
Proper Quantities of Animal
Protein in Diet Both Cure
and Preventive.
TAKES HEAVY TOLL OF LIFE
Scientists Of United States Public
Health Service Give Results Of
Many Years Study of Disease
Need Eggs and Meat.

Pellagra, a mysterious disease which
has caused widespread. illness and
taken heavy toll of life in the United
States and many countries of Europe,
is caused primarily by lack of animal
protein in the diet, and is both pre-
ventaDle and durable by proper Quanti-
ties OF animal protein being Included
in the diet, it is announced by the
United States public health service.
Doctors GOldberger and Tanner,
surgeon and past assistant surgeon, re-
spectively, reporting the results of
many years study Of the disease, as
sert that forty grams per day of beef
or milk prOteins i'm the diet will, for
practically all normal individuals, pre-
vent the contraction of pellagra. The
necessary forty grams of animal pro-
TEN are contained in about a half
pound of beef, or three pints of milk.
Must Get Enough.
"Thus 1t does not SUFFICE" says the
report, merely to include milk or
meat in diet to prevent pellagra. The
quantity of either of these or of other
like foods, alone or as supplements,
must be considerable to be effective
This may help to explain some Of the
instances of pellagra in individuals,
Gncluding some of those very rare
ones in nursing infants), who are al
legged to have had good diet. They
did not consume enough for their par
ticular needs"
The following selected quotations set
forth the logic of the situation as eX-
pressed by GOldberger and Tanner:
There is now at hand consider
able and convincing body of evidence
in support of the view that diet is the
primary controlling factor in the pre-
vention and causation of pellagra."
"TO begin with, account must be
taken of the fact that no unequivOcal
evidence of the transmissibility of the
disease has yet been adduced."
"Of outstanding significance are, on
the one hand, the demonstration that
pellagra may be completely prevented
by means of suitable diet, without
Intervention of any other known fac
tor, hygienic or sanitary, and, on the
other, the absence Of any sound evil
dence that the disease is preventable
by any other means"
Referring to experimental work on
group of convicts, the report states,
"At least of IL conviets who vOlun-
teered for the experiment and who
subsisted on a diet consisting princi-
pally of the cereals, wheat, maize, and
rice, with pork fat and some fresh
vegetables (sweet potatoes, turnips,
cabbage, greens), developed evidence
which experienced observers recog-
nized as that Of pellagra; whereas, OF
large number of controls, none pre-
sented any evidence justifying even a
suspicion of the disease.
The Protein Factor.
THUS, by process of exclusion
we are led to conclude that of the
known dietary essentials the protein
factor alone was concerned in our fail
ure to prevent the development of the
cases herein cited. And If our inter
pretatiOns are, as we believe, sound
(and if all dietary factors essential
In human nutrition are known) the
further conclusion may properly be
drawn, namely, that the dominating
role, Of diet In the prevention and
causatiOn of pellagra must be re-
ferred primarily to the character OF
the protein supply.
"SOme of the perplexity and con-
fusion will also be prevented if it is
not forgotten that the biological
quality of protein and it's adequacy
in relation to pellagra may, and doubt
less frequently do, depend on the plane
of intake. In our experience, supple
ment of not over 40 grams of milk
or beef proteins will, for practically
all normal individuals, adequately
supplement a pellagra-producing mix
ture of proteins from maize, wheat,
rice, and cowpeas, but 20 grams
representing somewhat over pint
of milk or quarter of pound of