The Effect of Food. 



In many cases of 

 tuberculosis there is a 

 factor which causes 

 diminution in the appe- 

 tite, and this must be 

 the chief cause of the 

 loss in weight. We 

 have seen that a pa- 

 tient's basal caloric re- 

 quirement is about the 

 same as when he was 

 at his best weight in 

 health. If we add to 

 this enough of an ex- 

 cess to maintain nitro- 

 gen equilibrium we do 

 not exceed the amount 

 of food consumed by an 

 active healthy man. 

 The human appetite 

 which will respond to 

 the demands of healthy 

 labor will not respond 

 to the abnormal de- 

 mands created by toxins. 

 Once eaten, the food 

 is absorbed by the intes- 

 tine about as well as in 

 health as shown by the 

 numerous authors quot- 

 ed by Ott and May. In 

 those cases, however, in 

 which there is profuse 

 diarrhea due to exten- 

 sive involvement of the 

 gut the losses of nitro- 

 gen and fat may be 

 considerable. Fried- 

 erich Miiller(&) de- 

 scribes a case in which 

 33 per cent of the in- 

 gested fat was lost in 

 the stools. 



MAY. 



24:25 26;27 28:29 3031 

 03' 

 02' 

 Of 

 00' 

 99' 

 98' 



won. -KG. 



60 



58 



20 

 15 

 10 



51- FOOD N* 

 .0 



CALS. 

 3000- 



JUNL 

 1:2 3-4 



EXCRETA 



Fig. 21. Nitrogen minimum in tuberculosis as 

 given by McCann and Barr. George P., with basal 

 metabolism of 1812 calories, was given about 2500 

 calories which was more than enough to cover his 

 requirement. The food nitrogen was diminished to 

 about 3 gm. but the excretion only fell to 5 gm., a 

 level slightly higher than in normal controls. 



