DIETETICS. 101 



Bengal, who however belong to the same race as the lower Ben- 

 galis, but differ from them in taking more protein in their food. 

 Not only this, but these people are in every sense of the word 

 half starved, and they are very prone to disease, especially of 

 the kidneys, the very type of disease which we are told excessive 

 protein consumption must predispose to. Diabetes is also very 

 prevalent amongst these people, probably because of the enorm- 

 ous quantities of sugar-yielding food (carbohydrates) which they 

 are compelled to eat in order to provide sufficient calories for 

 life. They can not get fat, nor do they desire it. Mentally, they 

 are a very inferior race. This then is an experiment on a much 

 grander scale than Chittenden 's, and what of the results? It 

 is fortunate that most of Chittenden 's subjects "through force 

 of circumstances" have returned to their old dietetic habits. 



Exactly concordant results have been obtained when attempts 

 have been made to reduce the protein in the dietaries of public 

 institutions such as prisons, alms houses, etc. There has invari- 

 ably been a distinct increase in the sick list, especially of such 

 diseases as pneumonia, tuberculosis, etc. And if we seek for 

 evidence of an opposite nature, we do not find that excessive 

 protein ingestion is fraught with any evil consequences to the 

 community. Thus the Eskimo takes five times more protein than 

 the Bengali and two and one-half times more than the European, 

 and yet he is peculiarly free from ' ' uric acid ' ' diseases ; and his 

 physical endurance and his power of withstanding cold are ex- 

 traordinary, and there is no quarreling! 



There are a great many secondary factors, such as availability, 

 taste, etc., that determine the average diet of a community, but 

 the main determining factors are instinct and experience. In 

 the struggle for existence between human races, we may assume 

 that adequacy of diet has played a role and that the average 

 which is taken represents that which conduces to the greatest 

 efficiency. 



We have dealt at some length on these questions because of 

 their great practical importance, and because they show us that 

 in the matter of the protein content of our diet, as in that of all 

 other animal functions, there comes into play the principle of 



