Evening star., 1942-09-17
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas X. Henry.

Ano Stuoy
By Thomas r. Henry.
In the animal laboratory at Cornell
University there are some ls-month- -old
puppies about three -fourths the size
Of normal dogs Of their age, which have
been kept young and healthy apparently
through semi-starvation.
The experiment was reported to the
American Chemical Society this week
by Drs. c. M. McCay, w. T. James and
L. L. Barnes Of the Cornell faculty.
When the puppies were three months
old they were placed upon diets of
natural foodstuffs that are eaten by
man. These were Of excellent quality,
but the amounts allowed were 50 small
that the animals could barely grow and
remained very thin.
They were kept in unheated quarters
throughout the winter. They were more
active than other puppies given all the
food they desired and resisted an epi-
demic of bronchial infection that swept
through the kennel during the winter.
Their bones grew regularly, even when
the body weight was kept constant.
When they were allowed all the food
they desired they ate about twice as
much as normal dogs for whole month
and the final body size was about three
fourths that of an ordinary dog Of the
same breed. Today they still behave like
puppies while their well-fed litter mates
are adult animals.
The results indicate, the chemists re-
ported, that mixtures of foods can be
prepared for man which will keep him
in excellent health on very limited sup
plies for long periods. These mixtures
would be low In sugars, fats and starches.
The low fat content would make 1t pos
sible to keep them for many months
without spoilage.
They contain all of the proteins, min
erals and vitamins necessary for life and
growth. All that is restricted is body
fuel.
II,
the Cornell chemists believe, may be as
sociated with this low intake Of energy
producing substances.
The food of the American soldier,
which necessarily contains many pre-
pared products, is watched closely by the
ONCE of the Surgeon General of the
Army, the chemists meeting this week
were told by Col. Paul E. Howe
The introduction of purified or pro-
cessed foods In the past-polished rice in
the Orient. cornmeal in Italy and con-
densed milk for babies-often was oc-
companied by significant incidence of
malnutrition, Col. Howe said But these
innovations came before the function of
vitamins was known.
Processing of foods" he declared, "is
not always detrimental, but revaluation
Of the product is required. The canning
industry, for instance, demonstrated
some years ago that in the canning OF
most vegetables and fruits and in prop
erly processed canned foods, the losses
in nutritive value may not exceed the
losses in fresh foods during the course
OF marketing. or the ordinary process OF
preparation in the home.
THE war has brought to the fore new
nutritional problems. The crux of these
problems is the conservation Of nutrients
in our food, particularly in processed
foods. The worldwide extent of mill
tary operations introduces additional
problems in the preservation of food
nutrients. The need to use foods that
do not require refrigeration and the
necessity to save space and tonnage have
presented some serious questions.
The messing operations of the Army
are constantly reviewed to determine
whether the food provided contains the
quantities Of nutrients required to main-
tain healthy, efficient soldier. The
conditions that exist in the Army may
become problems Of the civil population
| should 1t be required to use increased
quantities Of dehydrated foods. Dehydra-
ton and other processing methods in
| volving heat may modify considerably
the original nutritive value. Certain o1
the vitamins are easily destroyed and
may in considerable measure be lost
|
through processing. Packaging and
storage often result in further deteriora
ton.
1T is highly important to conserve
the maximum nutritive value of the
natural product. Along with technical
developments in the industry should
/ 60 research on nutritive values not only
Of the canned and packed product but
also OF the food as it will be consumed
"Comparison with the usual methods
Of preparation of fresh foods often will
be valuable In demonstrating the ad-
vantages Of a particular process. II
there are losses the consumer should
be informed OF the fact and extent Of
these losses"