MILK IN ITS BELATION TO INFANT FEEDING 587 



Prof. Mathews has to say in favor of the use of lactose in infant 

 feeding. The following paragraph is taken from Prof. Mathews 

 text-book on physiologic chemistry : 



"The greater proportion of lactose in human milk may be 

 correlated with the very much greater brain development of hu- 

 man beings. There is a very rapid myehnization of the fibers of 

 the brain occurring shortly after birth in the first six weeks of 

 life. In myelin there is a large amount of galactolipins of the 

 nature of phrenosin or cerebrosids of various kinds. Galactose 

 is one of the constituents of this material. It may be that the 

 larger amount of lactose in human milk is to supply this need. 

 No other place of formation of galactose in the body is known than 

 the mammary glands, and these are, of course, very rudimentary 

 in the infant. The replacement of lactose by cane-sugar in milk 

 or in milk substitutes would seem open to serious criticism on this 

 account." 



The diluent for milk may consist of boiled water or the various 

 gruels. Gruel as a diluen t for milk was innovated by the French. 

 A. Jacobi in this country advocated the use of barley gruel in 

 cases of diarrhea and oatmeal gruel in cases of constipation. In 

 a study made of oatmeal gruel in infant feeding Levinson corrob- 

 orates the findings of Jacobi regarding the efficacy of oatmeal 

 gruel in reheving constipation. He also recommends its use in 

 infant feeding because of its caloric value and its high iron content. 

 Rice-water is frequently used by mothers in cases of diarrhea. 

 The different gruels, although they may often be indicated, are 

 not indispensable, and plain boiled water may be used in their 

 stead as a diluent for milk. 



The question of raw or boiled milk is one that has not yet been 

 settled. Pasteurized milk was for years considered the ideal food 

 for infants. Now, however, boiled milk is held to be not only as 

 good as pasteurized milk, but even better. Only very small 

 curds are formed in the stomach after the intake of boiled milk, 

 and hardly any curds are found in the stool after its ingestion. 

 Boiling of milk has another advantage — it destroys the bacteria 

 that may contaminate the milk. As for the objection so fre- 

 quently raised against the use of boiled milk, that it gives rise to 

 scurvy, the early use of fruit juices acts as a very efficient pre- 

 ventive. The only state in which raw milk should be given to an 

 infant is when the milk is certified., i. e., when it bears a seal show- 

 ing that it has been prepared under extraordinary aseptic condi- 

 tions under the supervision of medical men. However, even with 

 such precautions one often runs a greater risk than in using boiled 

 milk. 



Whatever the state of the milk given to the infant, it should 



