l. These elements are not found equally distributed in
the parts of plants and animals. In seeds they are found chiefly in the
outer layers or envelope which is commonly rejected as bran. A certain
vitamine especially concerned with growth and development, the fat
soluble B, is found in the green leaf along with lime and iron, all of
which are deficient in seeds. Roots especially supply an abundance of
alkaline salts which are highly necessary to balance up an excess of
mineral acids found in seeds.
Ignorance respecting these highly important facts has been responsible
for a great number of failures in attempts to adopt a non-flesh dietary.
A diet consisting of cereals and fruits, as for example a bread and
fruit diet, while apparently satisfactory for a brief period, must
inevitably result in failure because of lack of lime, iron and special
vitamines found in the green leaf. The same deficiency exists in flesh
foods. The soft parts of an animal, fat and lean meat, are almost wholly
lacking in lime and vitamines. They contain a great excess of mineral
acids. Even a carnivorous animal fed on such a diet soon shows evidence
of failure. The lime in the animal body is found almost wholly in the
bones, and the vitamines are concentrated in the liver and other glands,
so that in the case of flesh foods, as well as vegetable foods, for
complete nutrition it is necessary that the whole animal or its
essential parts should be eaten. Wild carnivorous animals do this as do
also wild men who live largely upon flesh foods. The cave men crushed
and ate the bones of the animals upon which they fed, and the Indian
tribes of Texas and the Northwest have long practiced the grinding up of
the bones of fishes to eat with their food.
Dr. Treves, one of London's most eminent surgeons was called upon by the
head keeper of the animals of the London Zoological garden for advice
respecting the condition of the lions. It was noted that the cubs bred
in captivity were club-footed and variously deformed, and in many cases
were either born dead or survived but a few weeks. His investigation
showed that the fault was wholly in the diet. The lions received only
the soft parts, lean and fat, of animals. When given bones and bone meal
the difficulty speedily disappeared. Stefansson reports that, when
living upon an Eskimo diet it is necessary to take the whole bill of
fare, including the raw frozen liver of the seal, otherwise serious
illness interv
|