FERMENTED MILK 479 



THERAPEUTIC VALUE OF FERMENTED MILK 



Fermented milks have been used ever since very early 

 times, but it is only within very recent years that physicians 

 have become interested in the possibilities of their use for 

 therapeutic purposes. Within the past twenty years there 

 has been an increasing number of papers in the medical jour- 

 nals on this subject, and at one time the widespread popular 

 interest in fermented-milk therapy was reflected by the nu- 

 merous magazine and newspaper articles on various phases of 

 the subject. This interest was stimulated in a large measure 

 by the work of Metchnikoff and his associates. His views, 

 which are set forth in some detail in Chapter V, "Lactic 

 acid as inhibiting intestinal putrefactions," of his book en- 

 titled The Prolongation of Life, are looked upon by the 

 more conservative investigators of this country as overdrawn 

 and as unsupported by experimental evidence. In this book 

 great stress is laid on the longevity of the people of certain 

 countries in which fermented milks are an important part of 

 the diet. 



In considering evidence of this kind it should be remembered 

 that many other things may contribute to the general health 

 and vigor of the people, and that these factors cannot be ex- 

 cluded in drawing the conclusions. The people who habitually 

 consume large quantities of fermented milk usually live a 

 simple life, largely in the open air, and we have no means of 

 knowing how much this may have contributed to the vigorous 

 old age frequently observed among them. 



The use of fermented milks as a therapeutic agent is based 

 on the assumption that they are able to combat the so-called 

 autointoxication caused by the undue accumulation in the 

 body of toxic substances emanating from the intestinal tract. 

 The theory of autointoxication may be stated briefly as fol- 

 lows : The digestive tract of the human being is at birth free 



