482 



RELATIVE PROPORTION OP POODS REQUIRED DAILY. 



In most of the ordinary articles of diet, nitrogenous and non- 

 nitrogenous substances are present, but in very varying proportion in 

 the different foods. Man requires that these shall be in the proportion 

 of 1 : 31 to 1 : 41. 



If food be taken in which this proportion is not observed, in order 

 to obtain the necessary amount of that substance which is contained 

 in too small proportion in his food, he must consume far too much 

 food. Moleschott finds that a person, in order to obtain the 130 

 grammes of proteids necessary, must use 



Cheese, 

 Lentils, 

 Peas, . 



388 grm. 

 491 



582 



Beef, . . 614 grm. 

 Eggs, . 968 



Wheat bread, 1,444 ,, 



Eice, . 

 Rye bread, 

 Potatoes, 



2,562 grm. 

 2,875 

 10,000 



provided he were to take only one of these substances as food; so that 

 it is perfectly obvious that if a workman were to live on potatoes alone, 

 in order to get the necessary amount of N, he would have to consume 

 an altogether preposterous amount of this kind of food. 



To obtain the 448 grammes of carbohydrates, or the equivalent 

 amount of fat (100 : 175), necessary to support him, a man must eat 



So that if he were to live upon cheese or flesh alone, he would require 

 to eat an enormous amount of these substances. 



In the case of the herbivora, the proportion of nitrogenous to non-nitrogenous 

 food necessary is 1 of the former to 8 or 9 parts of the latter. 



237. Metabolism during Hunger and Starvation, 



If a warm-blooded animal be deprived of all food, it must, in order 

 to maintain the temperature of its body and to produce the necessary 

 amount of mechanical work, transform and utilise the potential energy 

 of the constituents of its own body. The result is that its body- 

 weight diminishes from day to day, until death occurs from starvation. 



