SOCIAL ASPECTS OF NUTRITION 



weapon against nialnutrition if we use it properly. Pure \itamins are 

 invaluable in the treatment of deficiency diseases, l)ul (licir widespread 

 use by the public requires technical guidance if we are to avoid eco- 

 nomic waste and a false sense of security. It is obvious that the use of 

 multivitamin and minercil pills can be no substitute for an adequate 

 diet. Since we still have not identified all of the dietary essentials, a 

 suitably varied diet covers these defects in our knowledge. Even if 

 we knew how to put all of the dietary essentials into one capsule, at- 

 tempts at mass use of such a preparation would fail because of lack of 

 public acceptance. Our aim should be to teach people how to meet 

 their nutritional requirements with food. The widespread use of vita- 

 min and mineral supplements seems clearly indicated in situations 

 in which, for any reason, an adequate food supply is not obtained. In 

 such cases, a survey of the diet available and clinical examination for 

 evidence of deficiency should be the basis for dietary supplementation 

 which then may be handled individually or collectively as the situation 

 indicates. One of our great nutritional advances has been the intro- 

 duction of enriched white bread and flour. Here, a cheap, widely used 

 food has been employed as a vehicle for additional supplies of vita- 

 mins and minerals which are not being obtained in sufficient amounts by 

 that part of the population using bread and flour in the greatest amount. 



However, the addition of vitamins to foods is not something to 

 be done haphazardly. Carefully selected, widely used, suitable foods 

 supplemented by substances for which there has been shown to be a 

 widespread need are indicated. Other examples of the beneficial 

 and successful use of this principle are the addition of iodine to salt, 

 of vitamin D to milk, and of vitamin A to oleomargarine. The forti- 

 fication with vitamins and minerals of a large variety of foods of limited 

 use would be both wasteful and unnecessary. It might defeat the very 

 purpose of the practice by increasing the price of such foods, thus 

 tending to place them beyond the reach of those who need them most. 



An important trend in nutrition research has been the forma- 

 tion of the Nutrition Foundation by the food industry in order to sup- 

 port fundamental research in the nutrition field. Grants for research 

 on nutrition are made to universities and scientific laboratories through 

 an independent scientific advisory committee. This enables the food 

 industries to contribute to the advance of our knowledge and to obtain 

 and make the best use of the most recent advances in nutrition research. 



