Chapter 14 

 DIET 



JOSEF BROZEK and OLAF MICKELSEN 



University of Minnesota 



Introduction 



It is well known that a quantitative as 

 well as a qualitative deficiency of food re- 

 sults in both a physical and a psychological 

 deterioration. However, it is easy to over- 

 dramatize the physiological importance of 

 specific foodstuffs. The exaggerated adver- 

 tisements indicating the benefits to be de- 

 rived from vitamin pills, bran cereals, and 

 other specific foods are a prostitution of 

 nutritional research and do much to dis- 

 credit it as a fledgling science. 



The overwhelming increase in the number 

 of scientific reports and the morass of non- 

 technical articles on food might tempt the 

 commanding officer of a submarine to follow 

 the philosophy expressed by the poet who 

 wrote (35): 



Methusalah ate what he found on his plate 



And never, as people do now, 



Did he note the amount of the calorie count — 



He ate it because it was chow. 



He wasn't disturbed as at dinner he sat 



Destroying a roast or a pie, 



To think it was lacking in granular fat 



Or a couple of vitamins shy. 



He cheerfully chewed every species of food. 



Untroubled by worries and fears 



Lest his health might be hurt by some fancy 



dessert, 

 And he lived over 900 years ! 



As far as one can judge from the few 

 available reports on the foods supphed to 

 submarines, there would at first glance ap- 

 pear to be very httle room for nutritional 

 improvement. One must realize, however, 

 that many things may happen both to the 

 food before it is eaten and to the sailor who 

 continues to live on this food. For example, 

 unappetizing meals resulting from poor 



planning of the menu or unsatisfactory ways 

 of preparing the meals may lead to a marked 

 deterioration of morale and, possibly, phys- 

 iological disturbances as well. There are 

 reports of submarine crews that had to sub- 

 sist for the latter part of a patrol on very 

 restricted diets; in some cases the men re- 

 ceived very Httle besides beans for the last 

 two weeks of a cruise. 



It is a common experience that a heavy 

 meal reduces both alertness and capacity to 

 concentrate. No scientific research has been 

 done on this subject. The submarine, 

 equipped with many instruments, requires 

 a high degree of mental efficiency at all 

 times on the part of certain crew members. 

 Since there are few things for the submariner 

 to really look forward to besides his meals, 

 he is likely to indulge in excess eating. This 

 habit, in addition to the immediate dis- 

 turbing effects noted above, might affect 

 permanently the individual's dietary prac- 

 tices. Over-eating may mean very httle in 

 the twenties, but the resulting overweight 

 present during the next two decades might 

 mean the difference between health or in- 

 vahdism due to cardiovascular disturbances. 



There is at present no nutritional research 

 related specifically to submariners. The 

 problems of submarine life must be pro- 

 jected onto the general background of avail- 

 able nutritional knowledge. On this basis, 

 an attempt will be made to point out those 

 problems, both technological and biological, 

 that demand further attention and are of 

 particular interest from the point of view of 

 undersea warfare. 



At the same time we wish to emphasize 

 that improvements in submarine nutrition 



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