Desserts.—Plain puddings, junket, rice, stewed or fresh fruits.
Liquids.—Pure water, toast water, barley water, buttermilk, malted milk, milk.
Eat eggs sparingly, and in severe cases, not at all.
AVOID.—Alcohol, coffee, tobacco, dried fruits, nuts, cheese, candies, pastries, pies, spices, rich puddings, fried foods, vinegar, pickles, lemons, rhubarb, mushrooms, asparagus, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, gravies, patties, rich soups, lobster, salmon, crabs, mackerel, eel, veal, pork, goose, duck, turkey, salted, dried, potted, or preserved fish or meat (except bacon).
It is not sufficient to eliminate the foods to be avoided. To reduce the quantity of food is also necessary; yet this must be watched as the diet should not be so rigid as to cause a lowering of vitality. Eating between meals should not be allowed.
In an acute attack the diet should be confined to milk, vegetables, and fruits.
Diabetes
This is the result of a serious disturbance of nutrition. Since its presence is made manifest by the appearance of sugar in the urine, it is considered among the derangements of the kidneys. However, one should not be apprehensive of diabetes if the urine test for a day shows sugar. This may be due to an excess of carbohydrates, particularly of sugar, in the diet a day or two previous and all trace of it may disappear in a day or two. If continued tests show an excess, nutritional disturbances are indicated. The treatment is almost entirely dietetic.
The most usual form of diabetes is diabetes mellitus. It is supposed to be due to a disturbance in the metabolism of sugar. It may be aided by defective pancreatic ferments, the lack throwing more work on the liver in the metabolism of sugar.
The difficulty which confronts the dietitian is to prescribe a diet restricting the carbohydrates which will keep up the body weight and not disturb the nutritive equilibrium. The patient has a craving for sugars and starches, but the system cannot make use of them, and the heat and energy must be supplied by fats.