The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-05-26
NUTRITTONAL ANEMTA

2uANh8NAAM
 Tn the great majority of instances weakness of the blood, blood turn- ing to water" anemia, the condition Is merely symptomatic or secondary, that is, 1t is incidental to some un- derlying disease sunch as incipient tuberculosis or nephritis or syphilis; or an effect of some prolonged or frequent slight bleeding as in some cases of duodenal ulcer, internal hemorrhoids, nnenorrhagia; or due to chronic poisoning with such drugs as acentanilide (the "kick" in many nostrums) or salts, calomel CT castor oil. Castor oil usually causes blood corpuscles to appear in the evacua- tons, showing that 1t produces min- ute hemorrhages.)
 The treatment of everyday anemia is positively NOT c matter of taking iron. To take iron for such anemia is as sensible as 1t would be to carry water in c sieve. The specific cause of the loss or destruction of blood must be found and remedied.
 That anemia is attributable to lack of iron is more debatable today than ever before. That certain types of anemia, notably hypo- chronic anemia (prevalent today) and chlorosis (the green sickness | prevalent fifty years ago but prac- tically unknown today) are due tc some fault in the assimilation oi iron or it's absorption from stomach or intestine, seems more and more probable.
 An infant or invalid restricted tt milk diet may get insufficient iror for the body's requirements. A priS. oner kept on monotonous fare fol months and years may get insufii. cient iron. But you and l would find 1t rather difficult to choose 6 diet which does not furnish plenty of iron-that is, provided we are mol faddists or cultists or followers oi some queer theory.
 Tn any case of anemia, whether oi the incidental secondary type or thu essential primary type, 1t is futile, ir my opinion, to give iron in any form in the quantity formerly deemed correct dose. That is, Q few grainI of iron, organic or inroganic, in pow. der, tablet, pill, liquid or hypoder- mic injection, can have no remedia effect. believe the iron naturally present in numerous foods is mos readily assimilated into the blood and we must not forget that thC daily requirements of the body arC met by approximately one-fourth oi a grain of iron. The prompt bene- fit from comparatively huge doses oi iron-perhaps the equivalent of e teaspoonful of iron daily--in easel of hypochromic anemia is consist ently explained on the older as- sumption that the iron combines with and neutralizes sulphur com pounds in the alimentary canal which interfere with absorption oi the food iron. It is even more con- sistetntly explained, I think. on the newer assumption that the patients taste or appetite or desire for nautral foods is increased or her care to se- lect such foods is greater under med ical advice and consequently the pa tient's vitamin intake is increased (Hypochromic anemla is at last ten times as frequent in women as in men--I have no Idea why)
 In short I believe the chief cause of primary hypochromic or nutri- tional anemia is prolonged moderate vitamin deficiency. particularly vita. mins B. O. 0 and D. and hence that an optimal vitamin ration to supple ment the diet is essential for suc- cessful treatment. whether iron 4 given or not.