Am.   four.  Pbarni 
Sept.,  19  iS. 
The  Vitamins. 
667 
the  oils  with  water  only,  using  some  gum,  of  course,  but  I  should  be 
afraid  of  the  development  of  molds  or  a  possible  fermentation  of 
the  gum  solution. 
THE  VITAMINS.1 
Among  the  practical  points  emphasized  by  Madsen  is  that 
lactating  woman  must  have  food  rich  in  vitamins.  The  lack  of  them 
may  be  responsible  for  certain  pregnancy  disturbances,  uncontrollable 
vomiting,  distaste  for  food,  etc.  As  rachitis  develops  predominantly 
in  the  artificially  fed,  the  lack  of  vitamins  in  the  cow's  milk  or  their 
destruction  by  boiling  the  milk,  seems  a  plausible  factor  in  rachitis. 
We  do  not  know  yet  whether  the  scarlet  fever  virus,  for  example, 
.survives  moderate  pasteurization.  If  the  milk  has  to  be  sterilized 
during  an  epidemic,  provision  should  always  be  made  for  supplying 
vitamins  in  some  other  form,  meat  juice  for  young  infants;  potato 
puree,  or  egg  yolk  for  older  children.  In  digestive  troubles  we  must 
beware  of  not  letting  the  diet  get  top  poor  in  vitamins,  as  a  diet  that 
makes  little  demands  on  the  digestive  organs  is  generally  poor  in 
vitamins.  Desiccation  also  destroys  vitamins  in  fruit  vegetables, 
etc.  This  explains  why  an  antidiarrheic  diet  keeps  the  patient  so 
languid.  The  tea,  rice  water,  etc.,  are  peculiarly  poor  in  vitamins, 
and  special  measures  are  necessary  to  correct  this.  A  surplus  of 
vitamins  reduces  the  calory  demand.  Tagaki  found  that  the  men  in 
the  Japanese  fleet  gained  in  weight  when  the  rations  were  modified 
to  include  more  vitamins  although  it  represented  fewer  calores.  In 
the  Danish  prisons,  when  the  bread  ration  was  reduced  and  barley 
porridge  given  instead,  the  men  gained  in  weight.  Barley  is  richer 
in  vitamins  than  rye  and  wheat. 
Madsen  warns  that  a  lack  of  appetite  is  often  the  first  symptom 
from  a  deficit  in  vitamins.  He  thinks  there  is  much  to  suggest  that 
a  vitamin  deficit  is  a  factor  in  chlorosis  anemia,  neurasthenia,  vaso- 
motor disturbances,  etc.  In  fevers,  convalescence,  etc.,  the  necessity 
for  an  ample  vitamin  supply  is  imperative.  It  is  possible  that  the 
mysterious  benefit  from  cod-liver  oil  may  be  due  to  an  exceptional4 
vitamin  content.    The  commercial  infant  foods  on  the  market  are 
1  From  Ugeskrift  for  Lseger,  Copenhagen,  April  18,  1918,  80,  No.  16,  by 
E.  Madsen  through  The  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  June 
.29,  1918. 
