Numerous false and exaggerated statements are made about this “physiological” emulsion with reference to food value. For instance:
“The nutritional value of fats differ; the nutritional value of these fats and their increased efficiency by combination over all others have been determined by extensive clinical observation.”
And also:
“The Russell Emulsion is approximated in food value by no other emulsion or food product in existence.”
“A ‘physiological’ emulsion is a predigested food. It is absorbed with little assistance from the digestive juices, and with no waste of energy. It is, therefore, the ideal food ...”
These are sample statements found in the pamphlet and accompanying circular. A dozen or more pathologic conditions are mentioned in which this “ideal food” is specifically indicated; but we find, also, this curious statement: “Patients can rarely take this dose [speaking of the maximum dose of 2 ounces night and morning] for more than three or four weeks without showing symptoms of over-feeding.” This unguarded remark about an ingestion of 48 grams of fat daily prompts one to ask what is wrong with the “ideal predigested food.”
Russell is wedded to the idea that “lime starvation” is the main factor in tuberculosis, and insists on the importance of large amounts of fat for the “lime starved.”
“Dr. Russell was the original interpreter of the Lime Starved State and originated The Lime Starvation Treatment in Tuberculosis. He also first pointed out and emphasized the therapeutic importance of regarding the combination of lime phosphate and casein, as brought down by the rennet enzyme, as a chemical union.”
This overworked lime-starvation theory certainly lacks any tangible confirmation (see in this connection a recent paper by Halverson, Mohler and Bergeim, in The Journal, May 5, 1917), and to urge it to promote the sale of a fat preparation is preposterous. On the uninitiated the exaggerated pseudo-scientific language of the pamphlet and circular advertisement will probably make some impression. Unfortunately such things count not only with the layman who, having no technical knowledge of physiology, cannot be expected to weigh the evidence but also with those medical men who, while scientifically educated, are influenced by unscientific claims when plausibly presented. The pamphlet is a striking example of a style which is dangerous because it smacks of science.
The Russell Company sells also a mixture called “Prepared Green Bone,” said to be made by partially digesting ground chicken bones with hydrochloric acid and pepsin and adding glycerin at the end of the digestion. The product is a sticky, unappetizing looking mass, put up in little earthenware boxes and advertised as a lime food, apparently to go along with the fat emulsion. The greater value of a few glasses of milk daily is evidently overlooked.