The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-01-05
IRON MUST Be
USED TO ROUND
OUT MILK Diet
Only Infants Properly Nour-
iShed Solely With
Fluid.

Mix from a healthy animal is a
complete food The human may be
classified biologically as an animal.
But for whom is milk a well bal
anced ration? The answer is for
the sucking young Of the species
that produces the milk.
Curiously enough when typical
analyses Of milk are compared the
discovery is made that chemically
there is quite variation not in the
constituents Of the milk from diff
ferent species. but in the percent
age in which these constituents Oc-
cur.
However, milk possesses the four
essentials of nutrition. These are
prOteins. fats and carbohydrates,
vitamins, minerals and water. The
proteins are present as casein and
lactalbumen The chief component
Of cottage cheese is milk Casein. Fats
are in the Well-KnOWn form Of but
ter fat. MIX sugar or lactose is the
carbohydrate The vitamins are
usually all present, but in varying
percentages depending upon the
diet Of the lactating animal
Lacks Vitamin c
Milk usually contains sufficient
amounts Of vitamins A and B, but
is usually deficient in vitamin C.
This shortage of c requires the adj
dition Of orange or lemon juice to
the diet Of infants. While D is
present in milk, yet nature hopes
that additional quantities will be
supplied by exposure Of the young
animal to the irradiating effects of
sunlight.
Mix is rich in minerals especially
calcium and phosphorus, which are
required for bone and tooth de-
velopment. The water content Of
milk is so large that animals sub
sisting on this food do not ordi-
narily need additional water.
However, closer examination dis
closes that milk is deficient in at
least one, if not two, essential miner
ais. The first of these is iron. The
iron content of milk is so low that
it requires a good analyst to find it.
Copper, which has been somewhat
an intellectual football among sci
entists interested in its role in nu-
triton, may or may not be an es-
sential in the diet But whether it
is or is not a nutritional essential,
it is found only in infnitesimal
quantities in milk.
Iron Highly Essential
Now the peculiar fact regarding
these two metals, iron and copper,
is that they are present in abnor-
mally large quantities in the livers
OF the newborn Of all mammals ex-
cept the guinea pig. With this ex-
ceptlon the iron is present in Suffi-
Client quantities to meet the normal
demand Of the animal during the
usual lactation period of the
species.
The Importance of iron in the diet
is obvious when one recalls that it
is an iron compound which makes
the blood red This compound
known as hemoglobin is absolutely
essential to most animal life. A
lack Of it is manifested in one of
the several diseases known under
the general term, anemia Any
form of anemia Is a serious nalady
From the above discussion one
may understand why milk alone, or
with some food not rich in iron, is
not a satisfactory diet for children
past five or six months Of age or
for convaleScing adults.
Careful experimentation has
demonstrated that beef liver, april
cots, peaches, prunes and spinach
are among the best foods for sup
plying iron 1t occurs in these
foods in the form in which it is
most readily utilized in the animal
body. For human consumption milk
should be supplemented with a good
source of vitamin c and a potent
source of iron.
The COW is worshiped as a sacred
animal in India.