The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-01-13
HUMAN MATERIAL NEEDED FOR
 RESEARCH

Nearly every one who takes normal interest in the preservation of health knows something | about the importance of vitamins in the diet, particularly the parents of young infants and
 children. Perhaps most well reared babies to-day the sake of the vitamin c which prevents scurvy "a nutritonal disease which formerly en- countered even in the infants of well to do peo- pie, but seldom to day. Then, too, most babies that properly fed receive cod liver oil ra- ton nowadays for the vitamin D which prevents rickets, well as the vitamin A which probably aids the infant in the development of normal inn
 munity against infections. especially infections
 of the upper respiratory tract. It is because of he large amount of vitamin in cod liver oil
 that this food medicine has been dubbed bot
 tied sunshine" for the scientists who give Us this
 new knowledge believe that some influence in the ultraviolet rays of sunlight Cor ultra violet rays from artificial sources) imparts to the body. through the skin, the same effect as that of vi- tamn in food
 Cod liver oil is perhaps the richest of natural food source of both vitamin and vitamin D,
 but it is fortuQaely not the only source of these
 necessary vitamins for fresh raw milk and both of these vtamins; also fresh egg (yolk);
 also most of the fresh green leafy reshes or veg
 sweet potatoes yellow corn meal. string beans. orange ripe banana-are notable among the vitamin rich items of diet
 No sooner had the vitamins been brought to popular attention than the scientific research workers introduced concentrate. called ergo sterol or viosterol. which purports to be 200 times strong the best cod liver oil in vi- tamin content and this expensive medicine is now being urged improvement upon cod
 liver oil in the prevention and the of rcl<ets l may be more Irish than Scotch. but don't believe I'd part with any extra dollars for vios- terol ereosterol if I were responsible for the baby's nutrition. not as long as could get plain cod liver oil for the kid-say 10 drops two or three times a day at the age of six weeks, and gradually increasing week by week. till dose of | teaspoonful two or three times day is reached at the age of. say months, and after that daily tablespoonful. except maybe holidays of obligation, until the baby attains the age of year. After the first year it is just extravaganza to buy cod liver oil for the normal baby and 1t should not be given the child except under defn- ite instructions of the doctor.
 F. E. Musseri of the college of agriculture. Lincoln, Neb, is scientific authority who asserts that the present standard by which the vitamin value of foods or medicines is measured Is of questionable accuracy, and he backs up this opinion with sound evidence. He holds that the faulty conclusions since rats can and do thrive on far less adequate vitamin ration. compar- atively. than even fowl, to say nothing of human beings
 This brings once more to mind the great need for human material for scientific research. hope nuts will call me to task about the cruelty of my suggestion, when I repeat that we ought to
 use the human material now going to waste in tifc experimentation with human material would certainly involve no cruelty or hardship ons would eagerly offer themselves as such ma- terial and that they would gain both morally and
 physically H .hs ssh serxss % ssee How Come the Black Eye One reason elcctrO-coagulation of the tonsils
 is getting black cyc writes southern special
 ist. is that so many doctors are trying to do 1t
 without adequate preparation for the difficult
 giving 1t up as mo good"
 Answer-Having observed the work done by
 the technically skilled man and also by the n-
 trained man. I agree that amateurish bungling is a reason why so many old timers try to con-
 vince their patients that the diathermy method Is unsatisfactory.
 Prescribed or Demonstrated?
 Please inform me when and where the meet. ing of medical doctors was held, where the ma.
 jOrlty prescribed the of whiskey? (II. B. JD Answer-A number of such meetings have oc- cured where the of whis<ey was demonstrat- ed quite unanimously. do not know of any offi- cial action by the medical profession. but be-
 eve the national medical organization favors
 the removal of restrictions imposed upon the
 prescribing of alcohol by licensed physicians. If
 trusted, it is silly to let some government lame duck decide how much or how little the doctor
 may prescribe.