FACTS, FADS AND FRAUDS IN NUTRITION 15 



comments as "organic mineral salts necessary for an alkaline balance," "neu- 

 tralize acids found in most deficiency diseases." Notices of judgment have 

 been published against the commercial products Kal (N.J. 24056) and Vegetrate 

 (N.J. 25574) for just such unwarranted curative and therapeutic claims. 



5. IRON 



Iron for blood building is recognized as a human nutritional requirement 

 not always adequately provided in the poorer type of the average American 

 diet. The quack carries this concept still further and points out that most 

 people suffer from an iron deficiency and that his product is absolutely necessary 

 as a source of the proper type and amount of iron. The truth is that foods 

 vary considerably in their iron content and in the proportion of iron which is 

 available. Investigations still in progress are attempting to determine the 

 availability of iron in our common foods. 



The whole process of blood regeneration is complex, involving other factors 

 than the iron content of the food. Nutritional anemia is a condition in which 

 the blood is deficient in hemoglobin. It may be due to an inadequate diet, 

 but pathologic conditions may also be involved. Anemia and blood regenera- 

 tion is a problem requiring intelligent scientific treatment. Blood-building 

 claims, therefore, should be excluded from popular food advertising and 

 certainly not taken seriously by the consuming public. 



6. IODINE 



Iodine is a chemical element essential for normal nutrition. Simple goitre 

 may develop in individuals living where food and water are deficient in iodine. 

 The prevention of goitre in these areas by regularly administered iodine in 

 some form is considered a nutritional problem, but treatment of a well- 

 developed goitre requires a more professional approach. 



(a) Iodine Prophylaxis. Iodine prophylaxis is conveniently accomplished 

 by the addition of a definite amount of sodium or potassium iodide to common 

 table salt (1 part in 5,000). Iodized salt is available in most groceries at no 

 extra cost. The fortification of foods other than table salt with iodine or iodine 

 compounds is not recommended by scientific authorities. The promiscuous 

 addition of iodine to that naturally present in foods is unnecessary and may 

 lead to excessive iodine intake and endanger health. 



(b) Exploitation of Iodine. Iodine is popularly heralded in many pro- 

 prietary and some natural food products as a general panacea for chronic 

 human ailments. The therapeutic value of iodine may be more varied than 

 science at present appreciates, but extravagant and vague claims are un- 

 warranted. 



Dried seaweed or kelp is an ingredient of many of these proprietary products. 

 Kelp is rich in inorganic constituents among which iodine is conspicuous, but 

 there is no scientific basis for attributing magic powers to kelp. Several kelp 

 products have been declared false and fraudulent by the Food and Drug 

 Administration because of such unwarranted therapeutic claims as "anti- 

 infective, anti-sterility, life giving, growth promoting" and as cures for al- 

 most any disease one can name: constipation, stomach disorders, indigestion, 

 nervousness, female troubles, neuritis, obesity, underweight, skin diseases, 

 anemia, fatigue, goitre, headache, rickets, arthritis, kidney disorders, heart 

 trouble, and many more. Sometimes the list is so long it needs to be given in 



