POODS HUMAN NUTRITION". 163 



Food in health and disease, N. S. Davis (Philadelphia, 1912, 2. ed., pp. XII 

 +j'/.'/,9, figs. 5). — In this volume, which is designed as a practical book on die- 

 tetics, the author discusses the general iirinciples of diet in health and disease 

 and the general questions of feeding the sick and diet in different diseases. 



It is stated that in preparing the second edition much of the material has 

 been rewritten and additions have been made to almost everj- subject discussed. 



Modern theories of diet and their bearing upon practical dietetics, A. 

 Rbyce (London, 1912, pp. XV+S68). — On the basis of personal observation and 

 study the author discusses the theory and practice of vegetarianism, low-protein 

 dietaries, and purm-free or uric-acid-free dietaries; and dietetic theories asso- 

 ciated with mineral salts, water, raw food, curdled milk, fasting, and other 

 systems. General questions of metabolism are also considered. 



Some statements from the concluding chapter, on the practice of moderation, 

 follow : 



A consideration of the arguments advanced for and against the various die- 

 tetic systems " will suffice to reveal the only principle w^hich is of universal 

 application in the selection of a diet. It is obvious at the very outset to the 

 scientific mind that there can be absolutely no justification for the claims made 

 by each set of propagandists for the wholesale adoption of their tenets and 

 practice, because the personal factor which is of such vital importance in all 

 human affsirs is overwhelmingly so in the question of diet. . . . 



" It has been held that popular taste is an infallible indicator of the best 

 and most suitable nutritive items in a nation's bill of fare, and doubtless there 

 is a period in the history of every country, before it has emerged from its 

 primary isolation and come into contact with other nations, when this may be 

 true. In such circumstances the selection of food is dictated less by choice 

 than by necessity, and as the resources of most countries are strictly limited — 

 and this remark applies with especial force to the most robust and vigorous 

 peoples living in temperate climates — the choice is by no means boundless. It 

 has been claimed that racial features have thus been molded, and that the 

 character of a people owes its origin in great measure to its food. But there 

 is absolutely no authority for the statement that the character of a man is 

 influenced by what he eats. . . . Diet does not alter the character or pei'son- 

 ality, but in large measure the personality decides the most suitable diet." 



As the author notes, the one thing upon which the believers in low-protein 

 diet, in a flesh-free diet, and in a purin-free diet agree is " the diminished 

 amount of food, and so the only conception which appears to unite them is the 

 fundamental doctrine of moderation, which has not only been taught from 

 time immemorial, but is actually practiced by all sensible men at the present 

 time." 



The author states that he does not doubt " that most of the systems detailed 

 may be made to answer the nutritive and dietetic requirements of everyday 

 life for individual cases, and, as has been proved by experience, some of them 

 may even be suitable for considerable sections of people." He does not think, 

 " however, that any one of them has succeeded in demonstrating its right to 

 the proud position of the universal food of mankind in the temperate zone." 

 He is personally inclined " to favor the claims of the low-protein system as on 

 the whole the most satisfactory solution of the dietetic problem, but probably 

 more reflective people will acquiesce in the proposition that the healthy man 

 can live on any system of diet by attention to moderation, regularity, and 

 variety, but the unhealthy man must look to the dietetic expert to guide him 

 in the selection of the best system or kinds of food to suit his ease." 



The volume contains a bibliography and an index. 



