NUTRITION IN MAN 



347 



doubtful that two such different diseases as pellagra and war edema 

 can arise from the same cause lack of protein. At least, in one case, 

 there must logically be an error. Although we believe firmly in the 

 dietetic cause of both diseases, we cannot accept, for the present the 

 theory that they arise from a lack of animal protein. If this were so, 

 then we ought to encounter much more pellagra among the millions 

 of people that live on an exclusive vegetable diet. In both diseases, 

 the relationship between the proteins, carbohydrates and vitamines 

 (perhaps the caloric value of the food is often too low) seems to be 

 incorrect, and this is all that we know at present. 



250 

 ZSO 

 2.10 

 I9O 

 170 



150 

 130 



110 



90 

 70 



5 



7T7J 

 O 



I 



T 



7 



FIG. 64. THE VITAMINE REQUIREMENTS OF THE RAT ON DIETS RICH IN 

 PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATE AND FAT, RESPECTIVELY 



I, starch; V, starch + vitamine B after 14 days; II, sugar; VI, sugar + 

 vitamine B after 20 days; III, fat; IV, meat; VII, meat without vitamine B; 

 VIII, starch without vitamine B; = died; > = extra vitamine B given 

 (Funk-Dubin) 



We come now to the consideration of the nutrition in Europe during 

 the war, and the effect of this diet on the general health of the people. 

 The mode of nutrition in Germany at this time has been described by 

 Haupt (1245), Mason (1246), Bornstein (1247) and many others. 

 Zuntz and Lowy (1248) stated that even at the beginning of the war, 

 robust men lost about 12 per cent of their body weight, and Rosenthal 

 (1249) found, usually, a disturbance of the lipoid metabolism. The 

 influence on the children and the new-born was studied by Hoffmann 



