100 



Influence of Inanition on Metabolism. 



food as found by computation is greater by 9.88 grams than the amount 

 absorbed as found by the direct determination of water in the food, drink, and 

 feces. 



A possible explanation for this discrepancy is found when it is considered 

 that by the computations, food protein, fat, and carbohydrates are converted 

 to body protein, fat, and glycogen and in this conversion a portion of the 

 organic hydrogen is oxidized to form water. For example, in table 57, it 

 appears that on December 20, 1904, there were 33.70 grams of organic 

 hydrogen in the solids of the food. In the feces, there were 1.91 grams; that 

 is, there were 31.79 grams of organic hydrogen absorbed. In the same table 

 it is seen that there are only 30.70 grams of organic hydrogen in the quantities 

 of protein, fat, and glycogen in terms of body material computed as having 



Table 59. Elements and materials absorbed from food Metabolism experiment 



No. 70. 



1 In terms of body material. 



been absorbed from the food. Of the 31.79 grams absorbed, therefore, 1.09 

 grams do not appear as organic hydrogen of the compounds absorbed but have 

 been excreted in the form of water. Hence, in this process of converting food 

 elements to body compounds, there has been an oxidation of a small quantity 

 of organic hydrogen, corresponding to 9.74 grams of water. This explains 

 mathematically the discrepancy noted above between the water in food and 

 drink, less that of feces and the water computed as absorbed. 24 



While the mathematical verification of this transformation of organic 

 hydrogen to water in the changing of food materials to body materials is 

 evident, it does not necessarily follow that such transformation actually 

 occurs in the identical manner here described. Furthermore, the energy 

 of the material absorbed from the food when computed by use of the factors 

 for body protein, body fat, and body glycogen is practically the same as the 

 energy of the food less feces actually determined by the bomb calorimeter 

 (see table 60), and so it appears that no energy transformation occurred 



14 The slight difference between 9.88 and 9.74 is due to the dropping of decimals 

 in the calculation. 



