FISH AND SHELL-FISH AS FOOD 179 



curing certain diseases of the eyes, especially 

 xerophthalmia, and for the prevention and cure of 

 rickets. The prevalence of rickets among city chil- 

 dren is not generally realized. Most of the children 

 of the poor in the great cities have rickets at some 

 time or other. 



Although fatty fish have not nearly so high a fat- 

 soluble vitamine content as cod-liver oil and other 

 fish-liver oils, they contain much larger amounts of 

 these vitamines than most other foods. The impor- 

 tance of the vitamine content of fatty fish can hardly 

 be overestimated; for in many countries where dairy 

 products are scarce, as in Alaska, Labrador, and 

 Iceland, all of the common foods are deficient in the 

 vitamine which cures rickets, with the exception of 

 herring, mackerel, and other fatty fish. Doubtless 

 its presence in fish fat prevents the outbreak of 

 rickets and other diseases directly or indirectly 

 caused by a deficiency of fat-soluble vitamines. 



Dr. E. V. McCollum, in his consideration of 

 "Vitamines in Fish and Shell-Fish," ^ makes the 

 following statement regarding the efficacy of a fish 

 diet in the prevention of rickets: "Even in those 

 parts of the world where the climatic and hygienic 

 conditions are such as to favor the development of 

 bone defects, these are rare among children where 

 fish forms a prominent article of diet. The adminis- 

 tration of cod-liver oil is an effective substitute for 

 the eating of fish for this specific purpose." 



All fats and oils from fish or other marine animals 

 have been found to be rich in the fat-soluble vita- 

 "U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Document 1000 (1926). 



