AND ITS RELATION TO ANIMAL LIFE 1 13 



fats, etc., that follow in a natural sequence 

 are found to be the best medicinal treatment, 

 then it follows that the prevention will be 

 brought about by feeding the people on foods 

 rich in mineral matter, " which are sixteen 

 times as rich in fats and other properties, 

 as foods poor in mineral matter." (Prof. 

 Tanner.) 



Although I have only mentioned rice 

 and wheat, I have already discussed the ques- 

 tion of variation in the chemical constituents 

 of various food stuffs at considerable length, 

 and need not go over the ground again. 



One can obtain samples of any food pro- 

 duct that are very deficient in their mineral 

 constituents, and consequently abnormal in 

 their carbon compounds. 



The truth is that while the question of diet 

 has, in theory, long received the attention of 

 the medical profession, it has, in practice, 

 mainly resulted in the forbidding of certain 

 articles of food as containing ingredients such 

 as starch, sugar and others considered to be 

 deleterious to the patient. In other words, 

 the application of the dietetic theory has 

 been mainly negative. Where, however, cer- 



I 



