On this limited dietary of raw, uncooked food, with a complete absence of the high-proteid animal foods, and the ordinary vegetables, legumes, etc., and without eggs or milk, this family, with three growing children, had lived all these years. Note now what Jaffa observed regarding their food consumption. The first subject, a woman 33 years of age and weighing 90 pounds, was studied for twenty consecutive days, all the food eaten being carefully weighed and its chemical composition determined. As a result, it was found that the average amount of food consumed per day was: proteid, 33 grams; fat, 59 grams; carbohydrate, 150 grams; with a total fuel value of 1300 calories. The other members of the family were studied in a similar manner, one of the children being the subject on two separate occasions. The table (on page 217), showing the average daily food consumption, gives a summary of the results obtained.
| Proteid. | Fat. | Carbo- hydrate. | Fuel Value. | Proteid per Kilo Body- weight. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grams | grams | grams | calories | grams | |
| Woman, 33 years old, Weight 90 lbs. (40.9 kilos) | 33 | 59 | 150 | 1300 | 0.80 |
| Woman, 30 years old, Weight 104 lbs. (47.3 kilos) | 25 | 57 | 90 | 1040 | 0.52 |
| Girl, 13 years old, Weight 75 1/2 lbs. (34.3 kilos) | 26 | 52 | 157 | 1235 | 0.75 |
| Boy, 9 years old, Weight 43 lbs. (19.5 kilos) | 27 | 56 | 152 | 1255 | 1.38 |
| Girl, 6 years old, Weight 30 1/2 lbs. (13.9 kilos) | 24 | 58 | 134 | 1190 | 1.72 |
| Girl, 7 years old, Weight 34 lbs. (15.4 kilos) | 40 | 72 | 134 | 1385 | 2.59 |
As Professor Jaffa states, the tentative dietary standard for a woman at light work calls for 90 grams of proteid daily, with a fuel value of 2500 calories. Both of these women were light in weight, and furthermore had no occasion to do much physical work; but even so, a daily consumption of only 0.8 gram and 0.52 gram of proteid, respectively, per kilo of body-weight, with the small calorific values indicated, represents a phenomenally small amount of food. And yet Jaffa, in referring to the woman with the lowest intake of food, states that even this small quantity of food, judging from the appearance and manner of the subject, “seemed sufficient for her needs, enabling her to do her customary housework and take care of her two nieces and nephew.” Regarding the children, it is stated that the commonly accepted American dietary standard for a child 13 years old and of an average activity calls for about 90 grams of proteid and 2450 calories. As is seen from the table, however, the 13-year-old girl consumed of proteid less than one-third, and of fuel value only about 60 per cent of the amount called for; yet, says Jaffa, “notwithstanding the facts brought out by this comparison, the subject had all the appearances of a well-fed child in excellent health and spirits.”
We need not consume time in discussing the details of this experimental study, though the facts are interesting and suggestive, for it is only the general question of proteid requirement and calorific value that has interest for us at present. The fact is perfectly clear that this family of fruitarians, young and old, were quite able to live and thrive on a diet, the value of which in proteid and calories was at as low a level as was attained in our experimental studies. The rock of starvation, however, was not touched or even sighted by the voyagers down this stream of nutrition. We may all agree that it would be preferable, as a rule, to acquire the proteids, fats, and carbohydrates of our diet from a greater variety of sources than did the fruitarians; we might well complain at a dietary so limited in quality; but the point to be emphasized is that the low intake of proteid and the low fuel value were quite adequate for meeting the needs of the body. “It is a difficult matter,” says Professor Jaffa, “to draw any general conclusions from the foregoing dietaries without being unjust to the subjects. It would appear, upon examining the recorded data and comparing the results with commonly accepted standards, that all the subjects were decidedly undernourished, even making allowances for their light weight. But when we consider that the two adults have lived upon this diet for seven years, and think they are in better health and capable of more work than they ever were before, we hesitate to pronounce judgment. The three children, though below the average in height and weight, had the appearance of health and strength. They ran and jumped and played all day like ordinary healthy children, and were said to be unusually free from colds and other complaints common to childhood.”
Turning now to a larger community,—the island nation of Japan,—whose exploits in war have recently attracted the attention of the civilized world, we find a people the great majority of whom have remained untouched by the prodigality of western civilization, and whose customs and habits still bear the imprint of simplicity and frugality. After the restoration of Japan and the reorganization of the government in 1867, much attention was directed to the methods of living and to the dietary habits of the people, with the result that during the last twenty-five years there have been slowly accumulating many important data bearing on the food consumption of the people. These have recently been brought together in an interesting volume by Kintaro Oshima, and published[66] in the English language.
| Subjects. | Body- | Digestible Nutrients and Energy per Man | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proteid. | Fat. | Carbo- | Fuel | ||
kilos | grams | grams | grams | calories | |
| School business agent | 57.5 | 65.3 | 11.3 | 493.8 | 2467 |
| Physician | . . . . | 61.9 | 8.0 | 468.5 | 2315 |
| Merchant | 47.6 | 81.5 | 19.6 | 366.2 | 2082 |
| Medical student | 49.0 | 74.8 | 11.2 | 326.9 | 1811 |
| Medical student | 48.5 | 64.7 | 5.1 | 469.6 | 2305 |
| Military cadets | . . . . | 72.3 | 11.7 | 618.1 | 3021 |
| Prisoners without work | 47.6* | 36.3 | 5.6 | 360.4 | 1726 |
| Prisoners at light work | 48.0* | 43.1 | 6.2 | 443.9 | 2112 |
| Prisoners at hard work | . . . . | 56.7 | 7.5 | 610.8 | 2884 |
| Physician | 40.2 | 48.3 | 15.5 | 438.2 | 2201 |
| Hygienic assistant | 40.5 | 46.5 | 19.7 | 485.3 | 2430 |
| Medical student | 51.0 | 42.8 | 14.0 | 438.2 | 2163 |
| Police prisoners | . . . . | 42.7 | 8.7 | 387.3 | 1896 |
| Army surgeon | 54.0 | 79.3 | 11.7 | 502.0 | 2567 |
| Soldier | 66.7 | 75.8 | 13.5 | 563.8 | 2828 |
| Soldier | 61.0 | 58.8 | 11.3 | 467.8 | 2330 |
| Soldier | 56.7 | 55.2 | 10.9 | 459.6 | 2276 |
* Average weight of twenty subjects.
As is well known, the great majority of the people of Japan live mainly on a vegetable diet. It is also known to physiologists at least that Japanese dietaries are characterized by a relatively small amount of proteid, though since the passage of the Food Supply Act of the navy in 1884, the proteid-content of the navy ration has been decidedly increased. It will be interesting to note a few of the results collated by Oshima, and some of the conclusions that he draws from the data presented. The foregoing table shows a few of the more striking results of the dietary studies obtained with various classes of people, where the food used was largely vegetable, but generally with some admixture of fish or meat.
The figures presented, which represent the actual amounts of food consumed, with proper correction for the indigestible portion, show a much smaller intake of proteid than is common with European and American people; indeed, both proteid and fuel value are very much less than common practices call for among western peoples, even when due allowance is made for differences in body-weight. To quote from Oshima, “Probably the most interesting of the dietary studies are those with poorer classes, which comprise by far the larger part of the population. The dietaries of the miscellaneous class, including employees, prisoners, etc., consisted largely of vegetable foods and supplied on an average 59 grams of proteid and 2190 calories of energy per man per day.” Especially suggestive were the results of a study made with a military colonist, a type of man very common in Japan; in reality farmers who live at home, but have military drill at certain fixed times. The subject was carefully selected under advice of officers in charge of the district, and weighed 59.9 kilograms. His diet consisted solely of cereals and vegetables, being identical with that of the people in the rural districts of Japan. His daily food was found to be composed of 46.3 grams of digestible proteid, with a fuel value of 2703 calories.
Even more striking were the results obtained in a study of the dietary habits of three healthy natives of Formosa, employed as day laborers at the military hospital. They weighed respectively 60.9, 55, and 54.8 kilograms. The main portion of their diet was rice, supplemented, however, by a little salt fish, salted melon, spinach, ginger, and greens. The daily amount of proteid ingested was 48.0 grams (37.4 grams of digestible proteid), with a total fuel value of 1948 calories. A composite sample of urine covering seven days showed an average daily output of metabolized nitrogen of 6.93 grams, corresponding to a breaking down of 43.3 grams of proteid.