LOW PROTEIN DIETARY IN THE TROPICS 155 



"It is better to sit than to walk, to lie down than to sit, to 

 sleep than to wake, and death is the best of all." 



Bearing in mind that the great outstanding problem in nutri- 

 tion is not the discovery of the minimum quantity of protein 

 on which a man can live, but the determination of the level of 

 nitrogenous interchange that is best for the efficiency, economy, 

 and general welfare of the body, it has appeared probable to us 

 that a survey of the food customs of the different races and tribes 

 in India, living under as nearly as possible identical conditions, 

 with careful observation of the effects on their respective de- 

 velopment and character, would go a long way in settling the 

 principal point at issue. 



Such a survey we have made for the provinces of Bengal, 

 Behar, United Provinces, and partially so for some of the people 

 of the Punjab. We shall now take up the facts that have been 

 obtained, and discuss the evidence afforded by these facts on the 

 adequacy or inadequacy of low protein dietaries. 



THE RICE-EATING BENGALI. 



In Chapter IV., dealing with the protein metabolism of man- 

 kind, will be found a series of dietary studies carried out on some 

 of the inhabitants of Bengal. From the information there 

 furnished, the conclusion was arrived at that the average Bengali 

 of the rice-eating areas lives on a dietary whose protein value 

 is 55 grammes daily. This quantity was arrived at from practical 

 experimental work on different classes of individuals, and from a 

 careful collection of the average amount of foodstuffs consumed 

 by large numbers of Bengalis. Full information will be found 

 under the dietary studies referred to. 



It was shown that the average amount of nitrogen excreted 

 in the urine by the average Bengali was about 6 grammes per 

 day. Making allowance for the nitrogen absorbed, but which 

 is dissipated or disappears in other ways than in the urine, this 

 would mean a low level of nitrogenous interchange, but higher 

 than that indicated by the urinary nitrogen. However, for the 

 sake of comparison and uniformity, we may adhere to Chitten- 

 den's method of computing the metabolism of nitrogen per kilo 

 of body weight ; the average Bengali will then show a nitrog- 

 enous interchange per unit of tissue practically identical with 

 that stated by Chittenden to be sufficient to meet all the protein 



