294 SYMBIOGENESIS 



Before albuminous (colloidal) food can be of any use at all 

 it has to be largely converted during its passage through the 

 alimentary canal into crystalloid form, in order that its con- 

 stituents may find their way through the various membranes 

 of the body to their respective destinations and may help to 

 repair the waste of nitrogenous body material. Enzymes and 

 ferments are instrumental in this process of breaking down, of 

 simplifying and crystallising albumins, and they also assist in 

 the re-conversion of these crystalloids into colloids when their 

 diffusion would be fatal to the organism. We can thus see how 

 any impairment of the general integrity of digestive functions 

 and, indeed, of vitality generally must prevent and impede the 

 continuance of many vital functions and lead to a further 

 clogging of the system with foreign matter. Mr. Biggs quotes 

 "a distinguished biologist" as saying "when once you inter- 

 fere with the order of Nature, there is no knowing where the 

 results will end," which seems indeed a very justifiable remark 

 borne out by our study of anaphylaxis. 



The direct injection of complex and heterogeneous 

 albuminous and albuminoid substances into the blood is, in my 

 opinion, a flagrant violation of the laws of albumin 

 metabolism, seeing that the protective elaboration and conver- 

 sion of these substances by the digestive juices is thus 

 prevented. The blood is thus " ammonisized " and poisoned 

 by substances with which it is ill-prepared to cope and which 

 can only clog and deteriorate its operations. 



A toxin is not always required to create anaphylaxis. 

 " Several primary injections of normal serum into an animal 

 develop an anaphylactic state." 



" Anaphylaxis follows the injection of non-toxic and 

 harmless substances ; it is alone necessary that they be 

 of an albuminoid nature." (Italics mine.) Certainly this 

 should put us on our guard against albuminoids, which are 

 nearly all of animal origin, and the " harmlessness " of which 

 thus appears as very problematical, to say the least.* 



* For Note see page 295. 



