82 SCIENCE OF HOME AND COMMUNITY 



Fisher's experiments. Another set of experiments was 

 carried on at Yale by Professor Fisher. His purpose was 

 to test Mr. Fletcher's claim that thorough mastication com- 

 bined with obedience to appetite leads naturally to the 

 selection of the proper amounts of food. The results have 

 a bearing on the question of the protein requirements. 

 Nine students took part in the experiment, which lasted 5 

 months. Two rules were followed : first, to masticate the 

 food thoroughly, and second, to follow the appetite regarding 

 the amount and kinds of food eaten. At the end of the 

 experiment it was found that they were eating only one half 

 as much protein as they had been accustomed to eat. Tests 

 of endurance were made both at the beginning and end of 

 the experiment, and it was found at the end that there was an 

 enormous increase in the power of endurance. The men no- 

 ticed, too, a general improvement in health and mental ability. 



These experiments show that men can live on a low pro- 

 tein diet and remain in good health or even improve in health 

 and physical condition. 



The other school, which favors a high protein diet, points 

 to the dietary studies which have been made in many 

 countries which show that these people are living on a high 

 protein diet. And they claim that while a person can live 

 on a low protein diet, it is dangerous to health to continue 

 to do so for long periods of time. 



General conclusions. As far as the author has studied 

 the question it seems to him that the low protein school has 

 the better of the argument. It points out that these studies 

 of dietaries simply show what people prefer to eat, but do 

 not show what is best for them to eat. Young children would 

 prefer to live largely on candy if allowed to follow their 

 inclinations, but this does not prove that this is the best 

 diet for them. 



There seems to be a general tendency to take a position 

 midway between these extreme views, to avoid on one hand 



