CONSTITUTION OF DIETS. 



877 



proportion to their body weight, Asiatics doing the same amount of work 

 as Europeans require a less amount of proteids ; indeed, such evidence as 

 is forthcoming is rather in favour of the opposite conclusion. 1 



The following table (from Hultgren and Lantergren) gives the average 

 amounts of the proteids, fats, and carbohydrates in freely chosen diets of 

 workmen of different countries, together with the total heat values of such diets : 



With these may be compared the following : 



Soldiers on active service (Voit) 



Proteid. 

 145 



Fat, 

 100 



Carbohy 

 drate. 



Kilo- 

 calories. 

 500 3574-5 



The average proportion of proteid to non-nitrogenous constituents of the 

 food is given by Hultgren and Lantergren at 1 : 4-27 by weight, and 1 : 4-95 

 by heat value ; of fat to carbohydrate at 1 : 6-34 by weight, and 1 : 2-80 by 

 heat value. 



The manner in which the proteid and non-proteid constituents of 

 the diet are most advantageously taken into the body, or, in other words, 

 the constitution of dietaries, forms a subject belonging more properly to 

 the domain of personal hygiene. It would, moreover, occupy far too 

 much space to discuss at all adequately the constitution of diets of 

 different people and in different countries. It is sufficient to state 

 that under ordinary circumstances the proteids are taken in such 

 forms as flesh, egg, and cheese, bread and other cereals, and leguminous 

 foods, the fat in the form of meat-fat and butter, and the carbo- 

 hydrate in the form of starch or cane-sugar derived from or contained 

 in vegetable food. With a purely vegetarian diet the proteid 

 of the food may be derived largely from the leguminous plants and 

 to a somewhat less extent from the cereals, and the fat from the seeds 

 of plants. 2 We may now proceed to consider the effects upon nutrition 

 of some of the more important constituents of the diet. 



1 Cf. Kumagawa, Virclwiu's Archiv, 1889, Bd. cxvi. S. 370 ; Kellner and Mori, Ztschr. 

 f. BioL, Miinchen, 1889, Bd. xxv. S. 102 ; I. Munk, ibid., 1893, Bd. cxxxii. S. 91. 



2 For statistics concerning diet see J. Ranke, "Die Ernahrung des Menschen," 

 Miinchen, 1876; C. Voit in Hermann's "Handbuch," Bd. vi. ("Physiologic des 

 allgemeinen Stoffwechsels und der Ernahrung"), Leipzig, 1881; Konig, "Chem. d. 

 menschl. Nahrungs-u. Genussmittel," Berlin, 1882, Aufl. 2 ; I. Munk and Uffelmann, 

 "Ernahrung des Menschen," Wien u. Leipzig, 1887, in which also the literature of the 

 subject up to that date will be found ; Scheube, Mitth. d. deutsch. Gesellsch.f. Nat.-u. VolTccrk. 

 Ostasiens, Yokohama, 1882, No. 24, and-4rc/i./. Hyg., Miinchen u. Leipzig, 1884, Bd. i. S. 

 352 (diet of Japanese) ; Hultgren and Lantergren, "Untersuch. ii. d. Ernahr. Schwedischer 

 Arbeitern," Stockholm, 1891 ; Studemund, Arch. f. d. ges. PhysioL, Bonn, 1891, Bd. xlviii. 

 S.578 ; Ohlmiiller, Ztschr. f. ioL, Miinchen. 1884, Bd. xviii. S. 393; G. Bunge, "DerVege- 

 tarianismus," Berlin, 1885; Kumagawa, Virchows Archiv, 1889, Bd. cxvi. S. 370; Albertoni 

 and Novi, Arch.f. d. ges. PhysioL, Bonn, 1894, Bd. Ivi. S. 213 (criticised by Hultgren, ibid., 

 1895, Bd. Ix. S. 205). Diet statistics will also be found in most text-books of physiology. 



