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Experimental study of the physiological needs of the body for food has indicated that the real requirements of the system, especially for proteid foods, are far below the amounts called for by existing dietary standards, and still farther below the customary habits of the majority of mankind. The ability of the body to maintain a condition of physiological equilibrium, with a true nitrogen balance, etc., on a relatively small amount of nitrogenous food, would seemingly imply that the large surplus so generally consumed constitutes an entirely uncalled-for drain upon the system, as well as upon the pocket of the individual, and without any compensatory gain.
In our experimental study of this question, observations on many individuals have extended over such long periods of time that there is apparently perfect safety in the conclusion that the new dietary standards which aim to conform to the true needs of the body are perfectly adapted to maintain health, strength and vigor indefinitely.
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The Influence of Diet on Endurance and General Efficiency
The Influence of Diet on Endurance and General Efficiency{1}
Experimental study of the physiological needs of the body for food has indicated that the real requirements of the system, especially for proteid foods, are far below the amounts called for by existing dietary standards, and still farther below the customary habits of the majority of mankind. The ability of the body to maintain a condition of physiological equilibrium, with a true nitrogen balance, etc., on a relatively small amount of nitrogenous food, would seemingly imply that the large surplus so generally consumed constitutes an entirely uncalled-for drain upon the system, as well as upon the pocket of the individual, and without any compensatory gain.
In our experimental study of this question, observations on many individuals have extended over such long periods of time that there is apparently perfect safety in the conclusion that the new dietary standards which aim to conform to the true needs of the body are perfectly adapted to maintain health, strength and vigor indefinitely. Further, the many data obtained in our experimental studies, reinforced by a multitude of personal experiences from all over the world, communicated to the writer, all lead to the view that there is great personal gain in the acquisition of dietary habits that tend toward moderation and simplicity. Renewed health, increased vigor, greater freedom from minor ailments, etc., are so frequently reported as the outcome of temperance in diet, that we are forced to the conclusion that the surplus of proteid food so commonly consumed—amounts far beyond what the physiological necessities of the body demand—is wholly unphysiological and in the long run detrimental to the best interests of the individual. There is seemingly sound philosophy in so changing the customs and habits of our daily life that they will conform more or less closely to our present understanding of the physiological requirements of the body.
It is certainly not presumptuous to assume that physiological experimentation can tell us definitely and concisely how much and what kinds of food are needed to supply the daily waste of tissue and to make good the loss of energy incidental to varying degrees of bodily activity. This we have sought to ascertain by our studies of the past five years, and confidence in our results is augmented by the fact that when living on a lower level of proteid consumption bodily strength and endurance are unquestionably increased; muscular fatigue and soreness as concomitants of severe or prolonged muscular effort diminish or are wholly wanting; thus raising the suggestion that under true physiological conditions the muscles of the body are capable of more prolonged effort, and with greater freedom from disagreeable after-effects than when the system is charged with an excess of nitrogenous and other waste incidental to large intakes of proteid food. In other words, consumption of proteid food in closer harmony with the true needs of the body is accompanied by a smoother and more efficient working of the bodily machinery; less friction and better results follow a daily diet in which excess is avoided and the intake made to correspond more closely with physiological requirements.
Those who are skeptical of the real value of a relatively low intake of proteid food frequently acquiesce in the general statement that as a physiological experiment it may be quite true that equilibrium, physical vigor, efficiency, etc., can be maintained by a smaller amount of proteid food, but they are inclined to the view that in the long run more abundant supplies of nutriment will be demanded in harmony with the ordinary customs of mankind. This is a reasonable objection, and one that time only can answer. It is quite possible—though not very probable—that an experiment of several years' duration even may fail to show certain deleterious effects which eventually may manifest themselves, assuming that the body does actually need more proteid food than our experimental results imply. This may be a purely theoretical objection, but it is one that is deserving of some consideration, since it is unquestionably true that there are many factors in the broad subject of nutrition not yet fully understood, and there are many phases of proteid metabolism not wholly clear. So far as any experimental evidence is concerned, however, there is nothing, in the writer's opinion, that can be construed as giving weight to this objection. Neither are there any observations bearing on the customs or habits of peoples or communities that can be adduced in favor of possible danger to the individual from a continued intake of proteid food in harmony with our experimental data; certainly none that is not equally susceptible of plausible explanation on some other ground.
As has been stated in another place, a daily intake of GO grams, or two ounces, of proteid is quite sufficient to meet the needs of a man of 70 kilograms body-weight, and this without increasing unduly the amount of non-nitrogenous food. In fact, for a man of the above weight doing an ordinary amount of work, the total calorific value of the daily food need not exceed 2,800 calories. As compared with the ordinary statements of the body's needs, this means a saving of one half in the amount of proteid food and about one fifth in the amount of non-nitrogenous food daily. That these smaller amounts of food are quite sufficient to meet the needs of the body is indicated by the condition of the subjects after many months of living at these lower levels. Especially noticeable, because at that time wholly unexpected, was the decided gain in bodily strength and endurance manifested by all the subjects of experiment. This gain was spoken of as gain in "total strength," but the element of endurance was incorporated therein, since the final product was a compound of the dynamometer tests of individual muscles and the number of times the individual could pull up and push up his body on the parallel bars. The natural interpretation of the results obtained was that the increased muscular efficiency was a direct or indirect result of the lowered proteid metabolism of the body. In other words, it might be reasoned that the smaller consumption of proteid food was a nearer approach to normal conditions, and as a result there was manifested an increased muscular efficiency. However this may be, bodily strength and endurance were certainly increased, and the question naturally arises, will this improved state of the body continue for any length of time under such conditions of diet? In other words, may we expect to find an improved physical condition of the body in following habits of life which seemingly accord more closely with true physiological needs, avoiding that excess of food intake that the common practises of mankind sanction?
One of the first subjects experimented with by the writer was Horace Fletcher, who in 1903 spent several months in our laboratory
