64 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



human body demands, however. A moderately ac- 

 tive man of average build requires about 0.28 of a 

 pound of protein daily, but the milk required to give 

 just that amount of protein would yield too little of 

 the necessary fat and carbohydrates to provide the 

 body with proper energy. On an average, 3400 

 calories of energy are required, but the milk which 

 would provide that would also provide too much 

 protein, 0.34 of a pound. To get just 0.28 of a pound 

 of protein it would be necessary to take an amount of 

 milk deficient in energy-making elements to the extent 

 of 700 calories, or nearly twenty per cent of the total.^* 

 Other reasons why milk cannot be regarded as a 

 perfect food for adults are, first, that the quantity 

 of water contained in it is so great that it would be 

 necessary for a man to drink at least four or five 

 quarts daily to obtain sufficient nourishment from it ; 

 second, that it has not enough solid bulk. It seems 

 to be a law of nature that man in common with most 

 animals needs a certain bulk to his food. The dis- 

 tention of the stomach appears to be necessary and 

 the bulk of the solids in man's food to play an impor- 

 tant part in promoting the peristaltic action of the 

 intestines.'" 



As an element in the diet of the human adult, milk 

 and its products may be said to be invaluable, but 

 milk is not of itself a suitable food for the normal 

 man or woman. For invalids and very young chil- 



