“It appears to me necessary to every physician to be skilled in nature and to strive to know, if he would wish to perform his duties, what man is in relation to the articles of food and drink, and to his other occupations, and what are the effects of each of them to everyone.
“Whoever pays no attention to these things or, paying attention, does not comprehend them, how can he understand the diseases which befall a man? For by every one of these things a man is affected and changed this way and that, and the whole of his life is subjected to them, whether in health, convalescence, or disease. Nothing else then can be more important or more necessary to know than these things.” Hippocrates 300 BC
Introduction
As you can read from the statements uttered by Hippocrates what we inscribe in these articles is nothing new. The only problem is that 2000 or so years has eroded the knowledge for most people of how to treat the body and prevent its ailments. The body has not changed in this time, it is still the original ‘blueprint’, and it still requires nutritional dietary sustenance to keep it functioning. It is only in the last 200 years that some people of learning began to revisit the concepts of health and how to keep the body going. These eminent physicians and scientists made great strides in discovering the nutritional needs of the body with respect to specific substances referred to as Vitamins, Minerals, Amino acids and Fatty acids. For the most part their lives became almost a constant battle to prove their theories against stone cold dogma and the ignorance of the medical establishment. One such notable eminent physician was Sir Robert McCarrison (1878-1960) who spent 30 years on nutritional research while working in the Indian medical service as a Lieutenant-Colonel. As he writes in his monograph ‘Studies in deficiency disease’ originally published in 1921:
‘My own investigations, on which this book is mainly based, were originally undertaken in 1914, at a time when I was engaged in a study of the thyroid gland and its disorders. My object then was to ascertain the effects of deficient food on this organ…. The scope of the inquiry was then extended to include an investigation of the effects of deficient and ill balanced foods on all other organs of the body….. For however necessary a knowledge of the normal structure and function of the organs of the body may be, it is not less necessary to possess a knowledge of the structural and functional changes induced in them by so fundamental a factor as faulty food…. In this way I have been brought to the conclusion that much of the gastrointestinal disorder so common at the present day, and much of the endocrine disorder probably almost equally common, though less readily recognizable, are attributable to deficient and ill-balanced food’.
‘Studies in deficiency disease’ a look at a valuable forgotten nutritional treatise of the past
In his time the word vitamin were substances that were known as ‘growth determinants’, ‘food hormones’, or ‘Advitants’ meaning substances that are necessary for life, and was quick to point out that ‘faulty’ food was a consequence of avitaminosis and ill balance of the food, which ultimately resulted in the manifestation of disease. At the same time acknowledging the biochemical individuality of humans so other factors were also at play such as age, gender, metabolism, insanitary surroundings, overcrowding and the susceptibility of various individuals of different organs, but the driving force toward disease was the faulty food. He also realised that apart from these varying factors between individuals it was important to establish a baseline of nutritional status. Even at this time McCarrison mentions artificially raising infants on boiled or pasteurized milk is vastly inferior to mothers natural milk, vegetable margarines replacing butter, fresh fruit a rarity and the scant availability of fresh vegetables, and mostly cooked to the point of complete extraction of their vitamin content and salts. He also mentions Belgium during WW1 when mothers were encouraged to nurse their infants, and the establishment of national canteens providing eggs,meat, milk and vegetables to expecting mothers which led to a large decrease in infant mortality and infantile diarrhoea. He talks about his common encounters with anxious mothers of a highly strung, nervous children of delicate digestion whose ignorance of essential principles of feeding is only excelled by her desire to do what she thinks is best for her offspring. Guided by her child’s preferences, converts her offspring into a static,constipated, unhealthy skinny adolescent, equipped with digestive and endocrine systems wholly unfitted to sustain to continued exercise of healthy function. When have you heard the physician of today state what McCarrison most humbly writes in 1921 :
‘ It is for us so to instruct ourselves that we may instruct such as these ( examples as above), and use our newer knowledge to the end that customs and prejudices may be broken and a more adequate dietary secured for those under our care’.
And concludes :
‘ I do not doubt that, if the practice I now follow of estimating the vitamin-value and qualitative balance of the food in every case that comes before me is followed by others, they will be impressed as I am with the vast importance of the food factor in the causation of disease’.
Mikkel Hindhede
How far we have come from these valuable teachings of true nutrition pioneers. Mikkel Hindhede (1862-1945) a Danish physician and nutritionist who became manager of the Danish laboratory for nutrition research in 1910-1932 recalled the rationing in Denmark during WW1 when it was decided to reduce the feeding of potatoes and grain to cattle and feed the Danish Population, also reducing the supply by 50% to distillers making brandy, and 50% of the cereals to brewers of beer. This meant that the Danish population received an adequate supply of potatoes and whole rye bread containing wheat bran and 24% barley meal, barley Porridge,grains,milk and an abundance of green vegetables and some butter. Hindhede stated as a result of this redistribution of nutritional food for the people, the death rate dropped as much as 34% as a result, concluding that the principal cause of death lies in food and alcoholic beverage. Thank God poisonous drugs were scarce.
How much proof does one need for nutritional adequacy
As observed by Sir Robert McCarrison and others, instinct is a powerful protective property among animals; most animals know what food they need to replenish any missing nutrients, but humans do not have such instincts, Although some may feel the need to put some nutrients in their body, hopefully before it deteriorates. It is not unknown that nutrient deficient birds may even kill one of the flock and cannibalise the body to get the nutrients they need. Rats will behave the same way if the deficiency is severe enough, however, the longer the lifespan of a particular species the slower the deficiency will manifest itself, as in humans who can go for years eating nutritionless food but the degradation burns slowly until something fails or dysfunctions. In the bird kingdom, deficiency is a slow burn process because they live for so long, where typically, a parrot can live for 100 years and other species longer, but rats lifespans are typically 4 years. Having said that if the parrot lives in a cage then his longevity is seriously cut short. Birds have a long life span because they have a lot of spare energy capacity in the way of cellular mitochondria that they develop from continuous flying. A rat on the other hand scurries around but maintains only the mitochondria it needs. Interestingly, antioxidants is not a predictor of longevity as is shown when comparing a rat that has plenty, and a bird that virtually has very little. This is true for humans, if you are consuming lots of antioxidants believing the supplement industry, that is, it potentially can extend your life, then you will be sadly disappointed. In fact overloading the body with antioxidants can have a reverse outcome in that mitochondria need a certain amount of free radicals for signalling purposes to make more mitochondria to meet additional demand from the host, such as birds in flight. This is why birds manufacture a lot of spare capacity, i.e for energy intensive flight.
A forgotten nutritional hero – Sir Robert McCarrison
In Sir Robert McCarrison day, his exhaustive work in uncovering the deteriorating body of various species of animal and birds as a result of nutrient deficiency was widely published in the medical press, but completely ignored by the government and the medical establishment who were too busy absorbed in the study of disease rather than concentrating on the prevention and the promotion of health…sound familiar. His recommendations were a rewind of of what has been known for a millenia, even in Hippocrates time, refining any food stuff robs the food of crucial nutrients and fiber and an unnatural concentration that occurs partially in wheat and totally in refined sugar. To satisfy the desire for sweetness natural sweet foods such as fruit, figs,dates, raisins, and honey should be consumed and the total avoidance of refined sugar. Natural fats are essential to good health and must be consumed in the form of eggs, butter,cheese and raw milk, even cold pressed vegetable oils as opposed to the hydrogenated poisonous oils that are only available today. He even delivered 3 lectures ( the Cantor lectures) on nutrition and national health to the Royal society of arts in 1936. The following text is McCarrisons observations on the human body and that of animals when there is a vitamin deficiency.
Vitamin A
An essential vitamin required for growth and development of the young, and a powerful nutrient to resisting infection. This is achieved by maintaining the structural integrity of the epithelia which decorates the skin, the mucous membranes in the respiratory and alimentary (digestive) Tracts, glands, the interior of the eye ( retina and the carotenoids are legendary), the lungs, kidney, the bladder and all passages leading to the body exterior. The mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract is covered by epithelial cells that contain, what only can be described as tiny clumps of brush weed under the microscope. It is these ‘brush weeds’ that are slender soft brush villi fibers that are called ‘cilia’. The cells themselves secrete mucus which trap bacterial organisms, while the cilia beat in coordinated rhythm 600 times/minute to sweep the trapped organisms and propel them out of the body. A deficiency in Vitamin A cause these tiny brush Villi to malfunction allowing the bacteria to implant themselves onto the mucous membrane that can cause problems. Infection throughout the body including xerophthalmia which is a dryness of the tear ducts and cornea of the eye, and inflammation that can lead to night blindness, stomatitis, is inflammation affecting the mucous membranes of the mouth and lips, withwhite blemishes on the tongue. This deficiency can cause inflammation of the mucous membrane of the nasal passage, throat and the sinuses ( air filled cavities in the facial bone) and the accumulation of mucus in these areas nose and throat, a condition called Catarrh. Due to potential widespread infection, the skin can be affected as well, such as acne.
Vitamin B – B1 Thiamin
Vitamin B1 is involved with the maintenance of the neuromuscular efficiency throughout the body including the stomach, colon and heart. Observation of Thiamin deficiency can sometimes slow down the heart known as Bradycardia ( for adults < 60 beats/minute for aresting state), slow respiration, and a fall in body temperature and blood pressure.. Deficiency can also cause hypertrophy ( enlargement ) of the adrenal glands, and impair the production of gastric juices as well as stomach and lower bowel movement. The impairment of Gastric juice production will also affect nutrient absorption. Deficiency can also lead to the degeneration of lymph tissue, and atrophic changes in the spleen and sex glands, carbohydrate metabolism is affected, and reduced levels of glycogen are stored in the liver, and excessive accumulation of lactic acid in some tissue may cause functional paralysis and convulsive seizure. Excessive consumption of white flour and sugar may impair thiamin absorption. In essence a diagnosis that may include loss of appetite, impaired digestion, decreased stomach motility, slow bowel movement, dysfunctional adrenals, nervousness, loss of weight, vigor and fatigue can all be tell-tale signs of B1 deficiency. In the neonate, they may have stiffness of the arms and legs, rigidity of the neck, restlessness and pallor ( unhealthy pale appearance). Today, we know that this deficiency can give rise to Korsakoff’s syndrome, characterized by confusion, loss of memory, delusions, and amnesia. Interestingly, senior citizens who are thiamine deficient are given a diuretic drug to prevent heart failure, but these drugs encourage the expulsion of B1 through the urine making the situation worse.
Vitamin B – B2 Riboflavin
McCarrison noted that Riboflavin is needed to maintain skin health including the mucousmembrane of the digestive tract, in fact, as we know today B2 is required for energy production as do all of the B Vitamin complex as well as tissue repair. He also states that Riboflavin is involved in the integrity of the nervous system, and somehow plays a part in preventing anemia, although its is still not known if a deficiency inhibits red blood cell production, or because the red blood cells die prematurely.
The rest of the B Complex
Interestingly, he makes no mention of B3 Niacin, B6 Pyridoxine, B9 Folic acid, B5 Pantothenic acid or B12 Cobalamin, however, there is a very valid reason; they were not discovered yet. We do know that B9 Folic acid and B5 Panththenic acid was not discovered until 1960 and 1933 ( by Dr Roger Williams) respectively. Vitamin B3 was not discovered until 1937 by American Biochemist Conrad Arnold Elvehjem, and B6 Pyrodoxine was discovered in 1934 by Hungarian physician Paul Gyorgy and his colleagues, and Dorothy Hodgkin determined the chemical structure of B12 and received the 1964 Nobel prize for it.
Vitamin C
This has particular concern to the blood capillaries, as was known during the voyages of ships,were many of the crew suffered scurvy causing the gums to bleed, their teeth would fall out, and some fell overboard from general weakness or die of internal hemorrhage. Historian Stephen Brown in his 2003 book ‘Scurvy’ states that some 2 million sailors perished between the voyages of Columbus in 1492 to steam driven ships in the MID 1800s. How can that be, when in 1564 a dutch physician suggested a daily supply of oranges be taken on voyages to prevent scurvy, and in 1639 an English physician John Woodall prescribed lemon and limes to prevent scurvy. Even in 1753 a Scottish naval surgeon eliminated scurvy, but it took the British Naval establishment another 50 years before officially endorsing the practice. Deficiency leads to fragile bones, gastrointestinal disorders, teeth imperfections, unhealthy gums and bladder congestion. It can also cause adrenal enlargement like B1 Thiamin deficiency. Intestinal tuberculosis can also be the cause of Vitamin C deficiency.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is responsible for the absorption of calcium and to regulate it and phosphorus Metabolism. Although it is involved with calcium absorption into the body, it is vitamin K2 which actually transports the calcium transport into the bones and teeth. Weston A Price referred Vitamin K2 as Activator X. Working with the parathyroid glands, calcium is distributed in the correct amounts into the bloodstream. Vitamin D deficiency leads to the enlargement of the lymphatic glands and osteomalacia or bone deformity and possible dental decay.
Conclusions/Closing notes
The Nursery School
In these times, there were some independent institutions that were established to correct nutritional deficiency, particularly with children taken from the slums they were raised in and placed under the care of sensible individuals that could implement corrective health measures. People like sisters Margaret (1860-1931) and Rachel McMillan( 1859-1917) who were social reformers in England involved with the problems of poverty resulting from the industrial revolution. They opened the first of its kind a school based health clinic and later on in 1911 open air nursery schools for children between 18 months – 7 years old. This ‘nursery school’ program was designed to identify health problems in children before they entered into formal schooling. The US followed suit and in 1913 Caroline Pratt opened a nursery school in New York. Abigail Eliot who had studied with Margaret opened her Ruggles street nursery school fashioned on the model of McMillans example providing full day care for working families, however, with less of a focus on physical Health. Edna Noble White opened her Merrill-Palmer institute in Detroit soon after visiting McMillan’s nursery school in 1921. Today I am sure less or not at all, focus is on nutritional needs of the child in day care centres, with most staff simply childminders who will call the parents or a physician if the child falls ill. This is the testimony from Margaret McMillan on the children who came from the slums of Deptford:
“Children rickety and bronchitic, children with adenoids and dental caries, children with inflammatory states of eyes nose, ear and throat. After they have been nurtured and properly fed for three or four years they were almost all cured of any ailments they may have had: they are all straight and well grown, the average child is a well-made child, with clean skin, alert, sociable, eager for life and new experiences. He does not need, she says, to see the doctor or the dentist, and he has none of the minor ailments that affect the children of the slums”.
Maternal mortality
The question of maternal mortality was addressed, and amongst other problems faulty nutrition for the mother to be and it was said at the time “how much blame can be put upon it, we do not know, since the matter has not been thoroughly investigated”. McCarrison further remarked that it was a false argument that faulty nutrition was irrelevant because women of all classes have no idea how to feed themselves properly during or after pregnancy. We have the evidence that reproduction is influenced unfavourably with faulty nutrition including difficult labor, uterine bleeding and infection, and unless adequate nutrition is taken by the mother, her chance of survival decreases. The expectant mother should take an abundance of all vitamins including Vitamin D ( In the form of cod liver oil) iodine, 2 grams calcium, 1.6 grams phosphorous, 0.3 grams magnesium, and 20 mg of iron. Suggesting that a well balanced diet containing at least 70 grams of protein, whole cereal grains, milk, milk products, eggs and an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit. These are recommendations from a conventional medical physician back in the 1920’s, so why oh why did medicine give up on these essential recommendations ??.
“The medical and dental professions have failed to oppose the wholesale adulteration of our food supply, thereby allowing the insidious extension into our food culture of processed foods whose nutritional value was never questioned until after the damage was done.” N. Philip Norman, MD, 1947
“We conceive it to be our duty in the present state of knowledge to point out that much, if not most, of England’s sickness is preventable, and would be prevented by the right feeding of our people.” Local medical and Panel Committe of Cheshire, England, 1939
Check out other Articles in this series:
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose I (Phenols)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose II (Lignans, Triterpenes, Phytosterols, Carotenoids & Fats)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose III (Phenolic acids, sulphur, sulphides,sulphoxides )
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose IV (Glucosinolates, Sulforaphane, Indole-3-Carbinol)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose V (Lipid distribution, absorbed fats, Criciferous Veg)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose VI (Nutrients required for Liver Detox)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose VII (Seeds & the Omega Fatty Acids)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose VIII (Nutrients required for cellular energy production)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose IX (Water I Properties and Body fluids)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose X (Water II Cellular Hydration)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XI (Water III Fluid filtration, reabsorption, excretion)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XII (Water IV Blood pressure, Blood volume regulation)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XIII (Water V Body Fluid Dysfunction
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XIV (Dental Nutrients)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XV (Nutrients involved in Methylation I)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XVI (Nutrients involved in Methylation II)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XVII (Nutrients involved in Methylation III)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XVIII (Nutrients involved in Methylation IV)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XIX (Methylation V and the Microbiota I)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XX (Methylation VI and the Microbiota II)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XXI (Superfoods: Wheatgrass)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XXII (Superfoods: Adaptogens)
Nutrients in Food and their bodily purpose XXIV (Pregnancy: Nature vs Nurture vs Nutrition)
References/Acknowledgments :
- The Nursery school Historical foundations of early childhood education
- Diseases of Faulty nutrition Seleneriverpress
- Mary Swartz Rose, Cilium, Mikkel Hindhede, Robert McCarrison, Indian Medical Service, Wikipedia,
- Scurvy book 2003 Stephen Brown
- Famous quotes about health, soil and nutrition 2014 The Health Moderator
Author : Eric Malouin