282 FOODS AND DIETARIES 



The falsity of this idea may be seen by a careful study of the tables 

 on pages 283 and 286. 



The Best Dietary. — Inasmuch as all living substance contains 

 nitrogen, it is evident that protein food must form a part of the 

 dietary ; but protein alone is not usable. If more protein is eaten 

 than the body requires, then immediately the liver and kidneys 

 have to work overtime to get rid of the excess of protein which 

 forms a poisonous waste harmful to the body. We must take 

 foods that will give us, as nearly as possible, the proportion of 

 the different chemical elements as they are contained in proto- 

 plasm. It has been found, as a result of studies of Atwater and 

 others, that a man who does muscular work requires a little less 

 than one quarter of a pound of protein, the same amount of fat, 

 and about one pound of carbohydrate to provide for the growth, 

 waste, and repair of the body and the energy used up in one day. 



The Daily Calorie Requirement. — Put in another way, At- 

 water's standard for a man at light exercise is food enough to 

 yield 2816 Calories ; of these, 410 Calories are from protein, 930 

 Calories from fat, and 1476 Calories from carbohydrate. That is, 

 for every 100 Calories furnished by the food, 14 are from protein, 

 32 from fat, and 54 from carbohydrate. In exact numbers, the 

 day's ration as advocated by Atwater would contain about 100 

 grams or 3.7 ounces protein, 100 grams or 3.7 ounces fat, and 360 

 grams or 13 ounces carbohydrate. Professor Chittenden of Yale 

 University, another food expert, thinks we need proteins, fats, and 

 carbohydrates in about the proportion of 1 to 3 to 6, thus differing 

 from Atwater in giving less protein in proportion. Chittenden's 

 standard for the same man is food to yield a total of 2360 Calories, 

 of which protein furnishes 236 Calories, fat 708 Calories, and car- 

 bohydrates 1416 Calories. For every 100 Calories furnished by 

 the food, 10 are from protein, 30 from fat, 60 from carbohydrate. 

 In actual amount the Chittenden diet would contain 2.16 ounces 

 protein, 2.83 ounces fat, and 13 ounces carbohydrate. A German 

 named Voit gives as ideal 25 Calories from proteins, 20 from 

 fat, and 55 from carbohydrate, out of every 100 Calories; this 

 is nearer our actual daily ration. In addition, an ounce of salt 

 and nearly one hundred ounces of water are used in a day. 



