104 FOOD NUTRIENTS 



When a diet lacking certain food stuffs which contain vitamin E is 

 fed to rats, the reproductive organs of both the male and female 

 will be affected. Investigators have found that a deficiency of this 

 vitamin in the mother rat will lead to the resorption of the embryos 

 even after development has proceeded in a normal manner for a 

 week or more. Other research workers have found that this vita- 

 min is present in meat, wheat germ, rolled oats, yolk of egg, 

 milk fat, and lettuce. 



In the biology of to-morrow, there will probably be other vita- 

 mins to add to the group already listed. There has been some 

 work with what has been called vitamin G or vitamin P-P (pellagra- 

 preventive). Lack of it is known to induce pellagra, a disease 

 afflicting many people in the southern states. The late Dr. Joseph 

 Goldberger, of the United States Public Health Service, found 

 that certain foods contain this pellagra^preventive, but as yet the 

 amount of the preventive substance in various foods has not been 

 conclusively determined. 



Diets. Malnutrition was at one time attributed to poverty, 

 but scientists have found that there is almost as much malnu- 

 trition among the wealthy as the poor. Proper dieting is a matter 

 of selecting different foods that give all the elements essential to the 

 health of the individual. Many dietary studies have been made in 

 various countries and among people doing different types of work. 

 From these studies and from experiments, certain foods have been 

 recommended that are thought to make for physical fitness. 



All diets should include proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, prob- 

 ably in the proportions of one, three, and six. They should in- 

 clude, among other foods, a quart of milk and some leafy or raw 

 vegetable so that a sufficient supply of vitamins can be guaranteed . 



It should be kept in mind that people of different ages, sizes, 

 weights, and occupations naturally require different amounts of 

 calories of foods. The following table is suggested for determining 

 the number of calories of food needed by boys and girls : 



