PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 



" What a Man Eats He Is." 

 Edited by C. F. Langworthy, Ph. D. 



Author of "On Citraconic, Itaconic and Mesaconic Acids," "Fish as Food,'' etc. 



DIET OF BICYCLE RACERS. f 00 d eaten per day by the 3 men are shown 



In connection with investigations regard- in the following table : 



ing nutrition carried on by the United Carbo- Fuel 



States Department of Agriculture, studies Protein Fat hydrates value 



have been made on the effect of muscular Grams Grams Grams Calories 



work on the consumption and utilization Miller 169 181 585 4770 



' , V V » , 1 11 j.' l. i. j- Albert 170 198 859 0095 



of food. A recent bulletin reports studies pjikington 211 178 509 4610 



carried on by Messrs. Atwater and Bry- ....... ,, 



ant. The subjects were 3 of the contest- ^^Zl^Z^irSiT'^l 



ants in a long-distance bicycle .race at S^Ss'fteS^te 



Madison Square Garden. The race lasted Protein to-?- fat tso- rarhohvdrates 



142 consecutive hours. During that time were. Protein 103 , , tat 150, carbohydrates 



the chief contestants took only such rest 402 grams with a total fuel value of 3,465 



cue unci win , „'_. ,., nr u calories. The commonly accepted dietary 



or sleep as was *^f**^^>™™- standard for a man at severe work calls 



ing on an average 5-6 of the whole day _„_. , nrn tein and a znn raWies 



and sleeping but little Of the 3 contest- ** % 7 m %TJn1rZ rtrfs Rafale "hat "the 



r^wtaMt sffis^f the bicycle racer's dietaries are high both in 



1 luuugiAHi, wii^ ° - „, Q v nor ; on ,^ protein and energy. On the other hand, 



investigation the first 2 were experienced 8* ^ 



and held out to the end ; the third with- £ account the nitrogen 



drew on the fourth ^y of the race Dur- b Hzed in * excess of the amount s * 



ing the first 72 hours he rode 863 miles. ,. , , , , £ 



Miller won first place; Albert, fourth ? [ \ e( } by the food we may say that the 



1 I , p r r' A ^' m -j v.„ total protein metabolized was about twice 



place. The amount of food consumed by as £ ag available protein f the 



Miller was determined by his trainer in food f ayer Amel ! ican mec hanic 



accordance With experience gained in simi- nfnfpsdnnal man and the average en 



lar contests, and consisted of simple foods, £ P r °*£* lon Q r oe ^ a 5 n rLater a 

 mostly liquid or semi-liquid. They in- ^ experiments would seem to favor 

 eluded among other things raw eggs milk, ^ followi £ inferences . 

 koumiss, bread, rice pudding, oatmeal, That ^.s^ ath]etes und ■ un _ 

 fruit beef extract, etc. No water was u severe exertion demand a f d 

 drunk during the contest. No alcoholic increased j f easil digested food of 

 beverage-unless the small quantity of alco- such kinds ^ wit £ th * subject and 

 hoi in koumiss entitles it to that appe la- ^ the availabilit of such food is not 

 tion-was used. Considerable quantities j affected b the logs of &{ and 

 of coffee were consumed after the first day, almQst continuous muscu l ar exertion, 

 but no other stimulant or beverage. Mil- That undef such circumstances the 

 ler s tremendous endurance is shown, not metabolism of n it r0 gen as well as that of 

 only by his riding 2,007 miles during the e ig increased; bod protein bei 

 week, but perhaps even more strikingly drawn Qn unlesg the food js abundant, 

 by the fact that the fatigue and strain pro- That trained athletes ar able to lose 

 duced no sign of either physical or mental relatively large amoU nts of body nitrogen 

 weakness. without any apparent ill effects. 

 1 Alb . e , rt n S , food was much more varied It Js conceivab i e that equally severe and 

 than Miller s, and he was permitted by his prolonged exer tion might perhaps be un- 

 trainer to eat more. His labor was not dergone without increased metabolism of 

 so intense and severe as Millers, since he nitrogen pro vided the supply of fuel ma- 

 rode about 185 miles a day less and did tedal was sufficiently abundant. This 

 not have such close rivals for his position questiori) however, can be settled only by 

 in the after part of the race as did Miller. experiments in which the diet is un , der 

 Nevertheless, the feat of riding 109 of 14 2 control. 



consecutive hours and covering 1,822 miles " 



in that time is sufficiently remarkable. His 



condition at the end of the race was ap- LIMITED DAILY RATIONS, 



parently as good as at the end of the first I n "Food and Diet" Dr. Pavy relates the 



day. * following : 



The digestibility of food and the income Some extraordinary, instances of subsist- 



and outgo of nitrogen were also studied. ence on a quantity of food so small as al- 



T>e average amounts of nutrients in the most to excite suspicion with regard to its 



476 



