Evening star., 1953-03-30
Humon Diet Requires
50 Distinct ingredients
U. 5. Nutrition Experts Define
Composition Of Body's Fuel

U. S. Nutrition Experts Define
Composition Of Body's Fuel
By Thomos R. Henry
Health. happiness. sanity. ambition
and energy depend to q considerable de.
gree on what man eats.
A thoroughly adequate human diet
requires at least so distinct ingredients
perhaps many more as vet undiscov-
cred.
This is the rough estimate Of National
Institutes Of Health nutrition experts
who now are making some Of the out
standing contributions In this field.
The daily bread" for which men pray
must be an adequate mixture Of
starches, sugars. fats and fatty acids.
amino acids which are the building
stones Of the body, vitamins and min
erals mixed in the proper proportions.
Is Recognized vitamins.
Nature. fortunately. has taken over
much Of the problem, and any food
mixture which win keep q man alive
is likely to contain majority Of these
essential ingredients. or the human
system is able to manufacture them out
Of the raw materials which she pro- /.
vides. There are, for example. about Is
recognized vitamins. All probably are
absolutely essential to human well
being. but actual deficiencies Of only
seven have been concluSively demon
strated to date.
Food must supply at least ten min
erals, but deficiencies in most Of them
circumstances and some never have
been observed.
Twenty-Five amino acids probably
are essential, but deficiencies have been
noted in only eight. They are the basic
nitrogen bricks which the
body requires to build proteins for
glands and muscles.
Still there remains q wide field where
nature has failed or where deficiencies
are due to mans poverty or the perver-
sion Of his tastes. The result Is great
crippling and early death all over the
world. This is the field Of the Public
Health Service researches in the nu-
triton field.
Right Proportions Necessary.
A notable finding stressed by DR.. w.
II. Sebrell, jr., director Of the National
Institutes Of Health, Is that various nee
essary ingredients must be eaten in the
right proportions at the right time.
Essential in all diets. for example, are
the carbohydrates. starches and sugars
which are the fuel for the fire Of life,
and the proteins, which are the build
ing blocks of life. But II the protein
part of an adequate diet is fed sep
arately from the remainder. an expert
mental animal may starve. Just why
is one Of the unsolved problems.
Most of dietary research must be
carried out with animals. chiefly rats
and mice. Basically they have the same
requirements as human beings, but this
never can be postulated confidently, for
after all, there is considerable differ
ence between the life processes Of .
man and q rat. Man has acquired
through the milleniumS ability to syn
theSize some essentials In his own body
which rats must have ready-made.
Rats may be able to produce things
which man cannot. ,f.a
Study Diet As Disease Source.
Nutrition research at the laboratory
level" DR.. Sebrill says, "has been largely
concerned with establishing the dietary
origin of diseases and iSolating the de-
ficient nutrients. Great strides have
been made in working out specific
chemical reactions involving vitamins.
engines and harmones. The latter ap-
proach, however, has been confined
mainly to studies in model environ
ments and isolated biological systems.
More emphasis must now be placed on
the translation Of these teSt-tube find
ings into knowledge Of actual body
processes. How do the essential 50-odd
nutrients produce their effects In the
intact organiSm?"
New knowledge of nutrition. DR.. Sc
brill emphasizes, comes step by step
and the improvements brought about
often cannot be assessed directly. But
the overall effect of the advances, as
judged by the health Improvement Of
the American people. has been beyond
the most optimistic predictions 20 years
ago. Maternal and infant deaths, for
example, have sunk to unprecedented
low levels. Deaths from infection and
infectious diseases have shown re-
markable declines.
Many factors have contributed to
these advances. DR.. Sebrill stresses, but
there can be no question but that i'm
proved nutrition has played q major
part.
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