366 



LECTURE XVI. 



1 Equivalent Na 2 O Corresponds to: 



Bunge's conception that common salt widens the circle of our food 

 supply, may well be a correct one. It makes it possible for us to enjoy 

 potatoes and many other foods which are rich in potash. 



As stated before, our ordinary food contains sufficient quantities of the 

 inorganic salts, and it is, in general, not to be feared that too little of one 

 or another salt will be taken into the system. 



Our diet is ordinarily a mixed one. If one article of food or another 

 contains too little of any salt, the deficiency is made up by something 

 else that is eaten. The fact that an exclusive diet of substances lacking 

 in this or that salt may lead to disturbances will be shown later. Now, 

 although it be granted that we need take no thought concerning the supply 

 of inorganic material required by adults, the question arises whether the 

 customary food of growing individuals likewise satisfies the requirements 

 of the organism. This is a justifiable question, particularly in the case of 

 mammals, and especially human children; for right in the midst of their 

 growing period a change takes place in their food which compels us to 

 compare the composition of their first food, the milk, with that which is 

 eaten subsequently. The amount of inorganic salts contained in milk 

 must give us some idea as to the requirements of the young. The follow- 

 ing table gives a summary of the contents of the ash from human milk and 

 that of certain animals : 1 



100 Parts by Weight of Milk Contain in Grams: 



Emil Abderhalden: Z. physiol. Chem. 26, 487 and 498 (1899) ; 27, 408 and 356 (1899). 



