28 THE CUBA REVIEW 



membrane by a concentrated solution of sugar, which is undoubtedly due to the fact that 

 equilibrium of density is not readily established between the liquid of the two sides of the mem- 

 brane. The digestive disturbances noted when very concentrated solutions of sugar or other 

 substances are taken into the stomach are attributed to similar cases; that is, to differences in 

 the density of solutions on the two sides of the living membrane. 



Doubtless because sugar is commonly excluded from the diet of diabetics the statement has 

 been made that eating sugar is the cause of this disease, which of course does not follow. Such 

 an opinion is not entertained by physiologists, as is apparent from the statement in a recent 

 report(/) of the Connecticut State Agricultural Experiment Station, which shows the fallacy of 

 such a behef. That sugar, honey, sirup, etc.," produce diabetes" would, according to the 

 report, be "startling if true." 



It is sometimes said that sugar produces gout. There seems to be no proof of this theory. 



Sugar seems ill adapted to the sick, except when used in very small quantities as a flavor. 

 Jacobi (w) remarks that the absorption of sugar is slower by sick than by healthy children, and 

 that in such cases only a little should be given and never in concentrated form. He also states 

 that the conversion of milk into lactic acid takes place very rajiidly, while cane sugar is not so 

 readily transformed, and accordingly he insists that the latter be added to the food of infants 

 and Children. 



When any bad effects can be ascribed to sugar they are usually due to its use in larger 

 quantities than the 3 or 4 ounces a day which seem to be digested by the healthy adult without 

 difficulty. The conclusion to be drawn from such experimental work as that referred to is that 

 over-eating wath sugar is to be avoided, not, as has sometimes been stated, that sugar is other 

 than a useful foodstuff. 



The statement is sometimes made that sugar is unwholesome because it has been separated 

 from the plant and is therefore "artificial." Like a host of other statements of similar popular 

 origin, this is based on behef rather than experience and evidence and is not the view generally 

 held. Bunge(n) has called attention to the lack of calcium (lime) and iron in sugar as compared 

 with honey and sweet fruits. His contention that this might be a possible source of danger 

 does not seem probable when one considers the varied character of our diet and its abundant 

 supply of frmts and vegetables, milk products and other foods which contain calcium and iron. 

 The object sought is, of course, to supply in the diet all the substances which the body needs,, 

 and if this is done by the foods as a whole, the possible lack of constituent or constituents in 

 some single food which forms a part of the diet is not of importance. If for any reason calcium 

 is lacking in the diet, the deficiency may be easily made good by increasing the amount of milk 

 and milk products. Similarly iron may be increased, if this is desirable, by taking more fruits, 

 green vegetables, and the coarser milhng products of the cereal grains, foods which are within 

 the reach of practically everyone. 



It will be noticed that sugar as it exists in nature — e.g., in the sugar cane, in milk, and in 

 most fruits — is not highly concentrated. In milk it constitutes from 4 to 6%. It would seem 

 that the animal organism is best adapted to the utilization of food principles in the somewhat 

 dilute or bulky form in which they occur in the commonly accepted foods — protein as found in 

 meat, milk, etc., starch in grains and sugar in small quantities at a time, as found in vegetable 

 juices and milk and in combination with other foods — and that it does not readily accept un- 

 limited amounts of chemically isolated and purified food principles. Most of the statements 

 which have been made regarding the amounts of sugar which are well tolerated depend upon 

 evidence obtained in experiments in which the sugar was used dissolved in liquid, as in tea,, 

 coffee, or some similar way, or from ex-perience of the results which sometimes follow when a 

 large quantity of sirup or candy or some similar product rich in sugar is taken. How far the 

 conclusions drawn would apply to sugar taken in cake, pastry, custards and other cooked foods 

 cannot be stated definitely, as few tests have been made upon the digestibility of such foods. 

 With the exception of thick preserves and some similar foods, in which sugar is used as preserva- 

 tive as well as a flavor, most cakes, custards, and other foods flavored mth sugar contain it in 

 moderate amounts, which means that the sugar is diluted or extended by a considerable quan- 

 tity of other material. In this connection it may be said that it is the usual custom to take 



IConn State Sta Rpt. 1911, pt. 2, p. 161. to Therapeutics of Infancy and Childhood. Phila. 1896, p. 16. 

 n Ztschr. Biol. 51 '(1901) p. 155. 



