702 INFLUENCE OF FOOD PRESEKVATIVES ON HEALTH. 



preservative. There is also reported in the clinical and medical his- 

 tory an increased appetite in the case of the majority of the subjects. 

 Although the quantity of food which had been found sufficient for the 

 normal functions of the body during the fore period is not diminished, 

 and even to a slight extent in most instances increases, a feeling of 

 hunger develops in almost every case, showing a disturbance of some 

 kind in the metabolic process. The nature of this disturbance is dis- 

 closed in the chemical studies, while its observation is a prominent 

 feature of the clinical and medical history. Judged by the develop- 

 ment of hunger alone, the administration of the salicylic acid might 

 be considered a stimulant. When, however, all the functions of the 

 body are in a normal state there is no need of a stimulant, and the effect 

 produced by the administration of the acid is evidently therefore an 

 abnormal one. In cases where it is advisable to stimulate temporarily 

 the digestive organs an effect such as that produced would be desira- 

 ble, if not continued too long. The physiological history of the use of 

 stimulants, however, shows that they are temporary in their effects; 

 that the increased activity induced by them is at the expense of the 

 total vitality of the organs. Hence, stimulants are indicated only for 

 temporary or intermittent use. The truth of this statement is wholly 

 established by the subsequent data gathered from the clinical and 

 medical history of the subjects. The temporary hunger, while accom- 

 panied in a number of cases by heaviness and uneasiness in the epigas- 

 tric region, does not cause any very great discomfort, and in the 

 majority of cases the abnormal desire for food soon decreases. The 

 same quantity or a slightly increased quantit}^ of food is consumed 

 throughout the administration of the preservative. 



The loss in weight which is observed in almost all cases indicates 

 that the apparent stimulation of the digestive process is not attended 

 with any corresponding benefit in the building up of the tissues of 

 the body. Assuming, as is done constantly in these studies, that the 

 energy developed by each individual remains practically constant, any 

 increased absorption of food materials ought to have been followed 

 by an increase in body weight. On the contrary, as is shown in the 

 study of the balances, the katabolic activities are increased more 

 strongly than the anabolic. There is a more vigorous tearing down 

 of the tissues of the body than there is a building up thereof, and 

 thus the observations made in the clinical and medical history are 

 thoroughly corroborated by the chemical studies of the foods and the 

 products of metabolism. 



The general study of the medical data shows in some instances 

 decidedly unfavorable symptoms attending the use of salicylic acid, 

 while in a minority of cases no unfavorable symptoms of a diagnostic 

 character are developed. After carefully weighing all the data, 

 favorable and unfavorable to the salicylic acid, disclosed in the detailed 



