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whatsoever constitutes a violation of copyrights. THE ELIXIR  
OF LIFE  
 
By ARNOLD  DE VRIES 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
CHANDLER BOOK COMPANY 
333 NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE / CHICAGO 1, ILLINOIS 
 
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COPYRIGHT 1952, 1958 
BY  
ARNOLD DE VRIES  
 
 
  
 
 
All rights reserved. This book, 
or parts thereof, 
must not be reproduced 
in any form without permission. SECOND EDITION 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
   
 
    
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
CONTENTS  
Raw Food in Modern Nutrition  
Raw Food in Chemical Composition  
Raw Food in Physical Structure  
Raw Food in Experimental Study  
Raw Food in Nature  
Raw Food in Human Experience  
Raw Food in Limiting Circumstances  
Raw Food in Selection  
Raw Food in Preparation and Use  
Bibliography  
     
  
      1       
RAW FOOD IN MODERN 
NUTRITION  
THE "ELIXIR OF LIFE" is defined as an aromatic, sweetened 
substance containing great medical properties, embodying the quintessence or inmost principle of life, which will quell the 
pains of disease, preserve the characteristics of youth, and 
prolong life indefinitely. For ages sorcerers and alchemists dreamed of and searched for the elixir of life, and in more 
recent history scientists and philosophers have speculated as 
to its possible existence. There have been some diligent 
scientific attempts to find some substance that would induce 
rejuvenation in human glands and tissues and thereby restore or prolong youth. But failure has followed failure and the 
hope for an elixir of life has dwindled into a tragic dream, as 
each succeeding generation sees the constant and ever 
increasing degeneration of man. As disease progresses, as 
senility slowly but surely grinds away human happiness, as death approaches, so does the desire for a magic elixir persist, 
but without any real expectation of fulfillment. Today we 
have relegated the elixir to a superstitious world of the past—
a world of imagination—which can have no place in the reality of modern life. There is no magic medicine, no panacea nor cure-all for all 
human ailments. There is no method of prolonging youth or life indefinitely. But in a limited sense there is an elixir of 
life, embodying most of the qualities which an elixir is 
expected to possess. Its physical properties are well known to science and it is within the reach  of everyone. It is aromatic 
and sweet, contains definite medical properties, possesses the 
vital principle of life, tends to prevent and remedy disease, 
prolong youth, and increase the span of life. Its effects are 
rapid in development, high in intensity, and widespread in area of influence. It is capable of producing a profound 
biological change in human life within a single generation. These statements are backed by  scientific evidence in the 
fields of biochemistry, physiology, biology, and medicine, 
and they are subject to direct verification through the 
accepted methods of science. The elixir of life is so very common, so easily available, 
that it has constantly been forgotten in the search for more 
elusive and m
ysterious substances. Man is not prone to look into the simple nutritive substances of nature for the possible 
solution to his physical troubles. Yet, that is precisely where 
the elixir of life is to be found. In natural foods, unchanged 
by the hand of man, are the life-giving factors which determine the state of human health. The raw material of 
nature provides the answer to the biological problems which 
confront us. It becomes important, then, to consider the 
science of nutrition as the medium through which these factors may be considered and analyzed. The science of nutrition embraces the total relationship 
between food consumption and human health. The nutritionist looks upon the human body as a chemical 
laboratory whose efficiency of function depends almost 
entirely upon the chemical balance of the body cells and 
tissues. Chemical action supersedes bacterial action and 
controls the latter in both its normal and pathological state. The correct amounts of all chemicals and chemical 
compounds, properly balanced and combined, assure 
effective physiological function and prevent the development 
of disease. They furnish the fuel to yield energy for bodily 
activities; they supply the structural material for the growth of all tissues, and they serve to maintain the body's self-
regulatory system and the physico-chemical conditions within 
all cells, tissues, fluids, and body parts to directly or 
indirectly control the processes of life. Up to the present time most nutritional research has 
centered upon a study of the effects of different modes of 
food processing and preparation. Studies have been made on the effects of dividing foods into fractions—consuming some 
of the fractions and discarding others—as constitutes the 
process of refining. The preparation of different grains and sugars has thus come under close scrutiny. Many 
recommendations have been made in virtue of according 
discoveries, and refined foods have thus come under strong 
criticism in the field of nutrition. A mode of food preparation, employed both in certain 
refining processes and in the culinary art of the kitchen, is the 
application of heat to foods. This was first considered on a theoretical basis, as pertains to the loss of certain nutritive 
factors under exposure to heat. Later nutritionists followed a 
less narrow line of research and studied the question of 
cooking from its practical aspects. They carried out animal 
experiments, and their conc lusions were given further 
clarification through observations of animal life by biologists 
and zoologists. In addition, a number of physicians have 
applied nutritive knowledge on the effects of cooking to 
clinical 
practice , and the results give a clear picture of this phase of nutrition. Incidental facts and reports, given in many 
texts and journals of nutrition and medicine, tell the story of 
heat-processing foods as it is related to human health. Correlation of these important facts in the science of 
nutrition has been inadequate, however, and as a result few 
dietitians and physicians are familiar with sufficient data to enable them to make application of the knowledge in their 
practice. The layman is equall y unfamiliar with the necessary 
facts and hence fails to apply them in his own life. As a result 
most nutritional thought has, and continues to be, centered 
upon the selection of foods, with little thought as to the preparation of foods. The different foodstuffs have been 
divided into classes, depending upon the source of supply, 
and recommendations have been made on the basis of 
"balancing" the diet correctly between the different food 
types. This has been the essence of nutrition in practice, both for preventive and therapeutic purposes. People have thought 
far more of what they should eat than they have of how they 
should prepare the foods they do eat. From the standpoint of modern nutritional science, this state 
of thought is based upon fallacy and tends to lead to much 
confusion in the planning of nutritional regimes. Selection of 
foods is of worthy consideration, but it falls far short when not combined with adequate knowledge of how the respective 
foods should be used. Actually, far more research has been 
done on the effects of different methods of food processing, 
particularly heat-processing, than has been done on a 
comparison of different food types in an identical physical state. Often, when different food types have been compared, 
no thought has been given to the different conditions under 
which the foods have been prepared. Consequently the designation of "protective foods" in modern nutrition pertains 
more accurately to foods in a certain and earlier stage of processing than it does to foods of a certain type and source. This all finds important correlation with our concept of the 
elixir of life. Essentially raw f ood constitutes the elixir of life. Used as a small fraction of the normal diet—perhaps ten per 
cent or less—it is often sufficiently potent to preserve life and is capable of sustaining the state of health seen in civilization. Used in greater amounts, it provides correspondingly more 
noticeable and effective results. Used as the exclusive source 
of nutriment, it becomes an elixir of extreme potency which 
effects an astonishing transformation in physiological 
efficiency throughout the body. In this treatise we shall consider raw food in all of its 
ramifications and uses. The 
purpose is to determine both the theoretical and practical value of raw food in comparison 
with the same values for heat-processed food. Our guides in 
this determination are strictly scientific and involve in their 
final conclusions only the established facts which have found general acceptance in the science of nutrition. The analysis as 
a whole may show the way to a practical and effective mode 
of human nutrition, as well as indicate the therapeutic 
possibilities and medical properties of raw foods. 2      
RAW FOOD IN CHEMICAL 
COMPOSITION  
THE VALUE OF FOOD in animal and human nutrition is 
dependent largely upon its chemical composition. The essential nutrients of food are proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins. Hormones and enzymes also play a 
role of some importance. When the body receives adequate 
quantities of these nutritional factors, with minimum 
quantities of toxic and non-usable factors, the body responds 
favorably and functions in a state of health. As the proper balance is altered, with decrease of the necessary nutrients, 
and increase of the toxic substances, the body fails to operate 
at optimum efficiency and various manifestations of disease 
tend to develop. The application of heat to plant or animal substances tends 
to produce marked changes in chemical composition. These 
have been carefully determined in accurate tests by many nutritional scientists. The data on the subject is voluminous 
and covers the majority of common foods and the majority of 
elements and activators in nutrition. The effects of cooking 
may then be determined, and to some degree measured, 
insofar as they relate to the destruction of essential nutrients 
and the consequent impairment of the food in question. E
NZYMES  
   The presence of enzymes determines the "life" of foods. Enzymes are catalysts manufactured by the living cells of 
plant or animal tissue to carry out the chemical processes 
which are necessary for the cells to continue their existence as a living force. When the enzymes of a seed are destroyed, 
the seed has lost its potency for growth and is described as 
being "dead!' Indeed the status of being "alive" or "dead" in 
all foods may be defined according to the presence of 
enzymes. Some of the more common enzymes found in raw food are protease, lactase, lipase, diastase, catalase, 
salolalase, peroxidase, aldehydase, phosphatase and amaylase. It is noteworthy that all enzymes are heat-labile. Indeed, 
they are destroyed at temperatures which have little effect on 
some minerals and vitamins. Enz
yme destruction starts at about 118 degrees F, and by the time a temperature of 140 
degrees F. is reached, all enzymes have been lost. Thus the 
comparatively low temperatures used in pasteurizing milk, 
and in cooking other foods by the most advanced low-heat methods, still destroy every enzyme found in food. As all of 
the inter-related chemical reactions of living matter are 
controlled by enzymes, the destruction of the enzymes during 
all cooking processes may lower the quality of food and 
render it less suitable for the sustenance of life in the human 
body. M
INERALS AND VITAMINS  
   Of great importance in consideration of cooking is the loss 
of minerals, which occurs in varying degrees in all cases. Many of the minerals are water-soluble, and hence they are 
dissolved out of the food into the cooking water, which in 
turn is usually discarded. Phosphorus, calcium, iron, iodine, 
sulphur, copper, and the trace minerals are those usually lost in this way. The total loss may vary from as little as five to 
ten per cent to as high as nearly100 per cent, depending upon 
the mineral in question, the food being cooked, the amount of 
water present with the food, the temperature, and the length 
of the heating process. The average loss under the usual commercial methods of preparing vegetables is about 50 per 
cent of the minerals originally present in the foods. When 
vegetables are lightly steamed the average loss is only about 
one-third this much. With the "waterless" cooking utensils, 
which distribute the heat evenly throughout all sides of the container and thus prevent burning with little or no water, the 
loss is also reduced. When large amounts of cooking water 
are used, but served with the food, the consumer still receives the soluble minerals. It is believed that certain minerals may 
be damaged by heat even though they are not lost. This is due 
to the change brought about in their physico-chemical state 
which renders them less soluble and hence less assimilable by the body. Vitamins are lost in the cooking process in two ways. Some, such as carotene and vitamins A and C, are destroyed when the plant enzymes cause the vitamins to combine with 
oxygen, thus inducing oxidation. Certain others are not 
destroyed, but they are soluble in water and hence dissolved 
out of the food. Vitamin D and some of the B complex 
vitamins are lost in this manner. The amount of heat necessary to reduce the vitamin content of foods is not great. Even the comparatively low application of heat as used in 
pasteurization of milk destroys much of the vitamin A and 
enou
gh (25 to 50 per cent ) of the vitamin C to eliminate the milk's antiscorbutic qualities. Of the B vitamin group, much 
of the riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine, about half 
of the inositol, and most of the folic acid and thiamine are lost 
when foods are cooked in the usual manner. As is the case with minerals, the losses are less, though significant, if the 
food is steamed. In all cases the less heat applied and the shorter the cooking time, the less is the total amount of loss. P
ROTEINS AND FATS 
   Cooking tends to coagulate the proteins of food and, with 
the exception of egg white, render them less digestible. Some 
of the sensitive amines are changed by heat, and others are 
destroyed. Both the cystine and cysteine are so denatured in the presence of heat and water that, according to Ragner 
Berg, they are "rendered valueless for nutritive purposes." The most important of all protein components, lysine, is 
destroyed by heat, as is the essential glutamine. Other protein 
factors are transformed and modified to lower forms and 
hence rendered less available to the body. Cooking decidedly alters the fat of food and usually renders 
it less digestible. In the process of frying, the fat so permeates 
the food and surrounds the individual food particles that they 
do not readily yield to the action of digestive juices. For this reason foods which are fried in fat are very difficult to digest. If sufficiently high temperatures are used in cooking fats, free fatty acids develop which are not only difficult to digest, but 
are in some cases definitely poisonous. When vegetable oils 
undergo the process of boiling or frying the toxic irritant 
known as acrolein is produced. In this connection it may be 
pointed out that acrolein has often been described as a possible cause of cancer. Its name may be found in most 
medical lists of possible dietary carcinogens. T
ARS 
   The formation of tars cannot be overlooked in considering 
the chemical effects of cooking. Tars are found in smoke and 
soot, and they form in any organic compound which is subjected to great heat over a sufficient period of time. Meat, 
eggs, potatoes, toast, and other foods which are scorched by 
heat until black forms on the outside may contain tar. Roasted 
coffee and coffee substitutes derive their flavor from the tars 
which form when the coffee beans or cereal grains are roasted. It has long been known that sufficient exposure to the tars 
found in soot and smoke tends to cause cancer. The heavy 
consumption of tars found in certain cooked foods may be no 
less irritating and no less cancer-causing. Dr. Angel Roffo described the physical characteristics of tars obtained from 
roasted coffee beans as the same as those obtained from 
tobacco. He also found that both were carcinogenic when 
given to experimental animals. Thus the consumption of tars 
in certain roasted and over-heated foods ranks as a possible 
cause of cancer and other diseases in modern life. A
DDITIONAL CHEMICAL CHANGES  
   Many food factors other than those already mentioned may 
be impaired or lost in the presence of heat. Starch is partly 
hydrolyzed by heat, and the soluble sugars and dextrin of 
foods are polymerized to some extent. Peptic substances are 
also affected and undergo dissolution during the cooking 
process. The "anti-lameness" chemical of raw cream, discovered by Wulzen and Wagtendonk of Oregon State 
College, is known to be destroyed by either boiling or 
pasteurization. The "filtrate-f actor" of certain vegetables, 
which controls the aging process of the body, is reported by 
Morgan and Simms to be easily lost when vegetables are boiled. Certain hormones, including those from the adrenal 
cortex, which have been successfully used in improving 
animal health, are thermolabile and are destroyed at the 
relatively moderate temperature used in pasteurizing milk. Other activating substances which may exist in food but have not yet been chemically isolated and studied may or may not 
undergo deterioration in the cooking process. It may be that simply altering the physico-chemical state of 
food through the use of heat is sufficient to account for 
certain adverse effects resulting from using the food. It is known that the toleration point of both minerals and vitamins 
as are normally found in uncooked foods is much higher than 
is the case when these nutritive factors are given in purified 
form. The use of purified minerals and synthetic vitamins 
shows this quite clearly. Minerals and vitamins must be found in an organic combination with other food nutrients if they 
are to be used efficiently by the body. With rare exceptions 
we must rely on the plant to synthesize the minerals of the 
earth into combinations which are entirely non-toxic. Such 
combinations remain non-toxic when transferred to the animal as milk, eggs, or flesh. However, in the presence of 
heat certain nutrients are destroyed and hence the delicate 
chemical balance is altered. It is known that in the case of 
proteins the modification of the com plex structure renders some of the protein factors useless to the body. Even when 
calcium is not lost in the presence of heat it is often rendered 
less assimilable, as has often been pointed out by nutritionists 
in connection with pasteurization of milk. It is hence possible that many other minerals, and perhaps vitamins and other 
factors, may also be rendered either useless or toxic to the 
body, as the complex chemical combinations are broken 
down by heat. Evidence of this is seen by the fact that leukocytosis, an 
increase in the number of white corpuscles of the blood, 
follows the exclusive consumption of cooked foods. Biologists have called this "digestive leukocytosis" and 
consider it a normal reaction to the digestive process. However, Dr. Paul Kouchakoff, of the Institute of Clinical 
Chemistry in Lausanne, Switzerland, conducted some 300 
detailed experiments which indicated that leukocytosis was the specific effect of eating heat-processed foods and never 
occurred after a meal of raw food. Reporting at the First 
International Congress of Microbiology at Paris in 1930, Dr. 
Kouchakoff pointed out that temporary leukocytosis followed 
the consumption of foods heated about 83-87 degrees C. If certain types of raw food were added to the cooked meal, 
leukocytosis would be prevented, though when foods were 
heated above 100 degrees C., no amount of raw foods would 
prevent the condition. Likewise, when heat-processed foods 
which had also been subjected to complex manufacturing processes were consumed, leukocytosis was unavoidable. In 
this case, not only did the white corpuscles increase in 
number, but the correlation of numbers between the different 
kinds of white corpuscles was altered. In medicine, an increase in the number of white corpuscles 
in the blood, together with disturbances in the percentages of 
different kinds of white corpuscles, is known to indicate that 
some kind of disease process is going on in our body. In time 
of infectious illness, or when harmful extraneous substances 
are introduced into our system, these changes in white corpuscle development always take place. We have reason to 
believe that the "digestive leukocytosis" following the 
consumption of cooked food is indicative that chemicals or 
chemical combinations in food may become toxic and 
harmful under the influence of heat, with the degree of toxicity dependent upon the temperature at which the food is 
cooked. The European nutritionist, Prof. Ziegelmayer, well 
illustrates the total biochemical changes that heat produces in 
food in these words: "It is certain that cooking alters the 
colloidal state of food: it decom
poses hi ghly molecular compounds, it alters the structure and surface tension of 
molecules, the degree of dispersity, the osmotic tension, the 
degree of dilution, the course colloid molecular and dispersed 
statuses, the water binding capacity and the hydrophobe qualities of the colloids, it alters the viscosity and reduces the 
falling gradient of energy.... The uncooked state secures the 
maintenance of some food substances, prevents alterations of 
the proteins, preserves the original mineral salts in their 
optimum concentration.... The more the food energies are maintained in their intimate compound and correlation, the 
greater the total effect and the higher the efficiency. " It is clear that all heat-processed foods undergo important 
changes in chemical composition. They lose a part of their 
mineral and vitamin content; their proteins are partly 
destroyed and rendered less di gestible and nutritious; their 
fats become less digestible and assimilable and sometimes become toxic. The starches and sugars are altered to some 
degree. The foods lose all of their enzymes, their "filtrate 
factors" and "anti-lameness" chemicals; their organic 
combinations of minerals and catalytic agents are broken 
down and altered, and some may become toxic. The complete chemical reaction to the cooking process covers considerable 
scope, as may be seen, and it is of definite importance in the 
science of nutrition, determining to some extent the value of 
practically all known foodstuffs. 3        
RAW FOOD IN PHYSICAL 
STRUCTURE  
COOKING INDUCES a rapid change in the physical state of all 
foods. The degree of change is dependent upon the amount of 
heat that is applied and its duration of process. The heat tends 
to soften the food and break down the rough cellulose 
material into a soft bulk. In so doing it renders certain foods 
edible and more palatable, though not necessarily more appropriate as nourishment. The change in physical structure 
of foods resulting from heat has an important effect upon the 
teeth and gums, as well as upon digestion, assimilation, and 
the rate of food movement through the intestinal tract. As 
such it may have a definite effect upon the condition of human health. F
OOD, TEETH, AND GUMS 
   It is believed that the buffer action of the cellulose of raw 
plant foods tends to prevent erosion of dental enamel. In 
experiments conducted by Carey Miller at the Agricultural 
Experiment Station at the University of Hawaii, it was shown 
that sweetened whole fruits, including grapefruit, guavas, 
plums, mangos, and pineapples, had only slight erosive effects upon the dental enamel of rats which consumed the 
fruits. When the cellulose was removed from the fruits 
through the process of juicing, with the juices then given to the animals, the erosive effe ct was increased three to 
seventeen fold. Experiments at other experiment stations also 
reveal the erosive effects of sweetened fruit juices upon 
dental enamel, especially when the juices are canned or 
otherwise heat-processed. The fact that this is almost entirely prevented when the whole fruits are consumed in their raw 
state is considered evidence that the physical contact between 
the teeth and the raw cellulose acts as a buffer and prevents 
dental erosion. The decay of teeth, as distinct from erosion, is affected by 
the physical state of food. Hoppert, Webber, and Canniff 
have noted that white rats may be kept on a diet fully adequate in minerals and vitamins and yet suffer from dental 
caries if the foods eaten are sufficiently soft to be impacted 
around the teeth. Wallace has noted that soft sugars, sweets, 
and other carbohydrate foods tend to increase susceptibility to 
tooth deca
y in humans , whereas cris p "fibrillar" foods such as raw fruits and vegetable salads tend to prevent decay by 
removing harmful bacteria, preventing tartar formation, 
inducing mastication, and also promoting the flow of saliva 
and oral mucus which is important in oral health. Whereas foods may be softened in various ways, and cellulose may be 
removed through different procedures, the most common 
contemporary method of promoting such food changes is 
through the process of cooking. Not only the teeth but also the gums are affected by 
changes in the physical properties of foods. The presence of 
sufficient raw cellulose or other food materials in the diet which afford the gums exercise is helpful to the development 
of healthy gums. In experiments with more than 200 ferrets, 
King and Glover found that animals given rib bone, with the 
attached muscle, tendon, and periosteum, which required 
much gnawing and chewing with consequent prophylactic action on the gums, were free from gum disease and tartar 
deposits at all times. Ferrets gi ven the same foods separately 
suffered from gum lesions and tartar deposits, for the animals 
no longer had to gnaw the bone to obtain the tendon and 
periosteum. Those ferrets which were fed entirely upon soft foods, including powdered bone-meal, all suffered from 
severe gingival disease and gum lesions, with heavy incrustations of tartar. Burwasser and Hill conducted similar experiments, using 
dogs for their work. Two groups of the animals were fed diets 
identical chemically but different physically. The control 
animals, given hard foods, maintained normal gingivae during the fourteen months the experiment lasted. Those 
given soft foods in the form of a mash all developed marked 
pathological changes in the gingivae, similar to those 
observed in ferrets. As a result of these experiments with animals, an attempt 
was made by J. P King to test the effects of hard foodstuffs 
on the parodontal tissues of humans. A number of 
institutional and other subjec ts suffering from severely 
diseased gingivae were given raw sugar cane to gnaw upon 
each day, thus exposing the gums to the friction of the hard food. In all cases where calculus deposits were relatively 
slight, there was rapid cessation of bleeding and marked 
improvement in the color, texture, and contour of the gum 
surface. When heavy accretions of tartar were present, 
improvement was noticeable, though limited. In all cases the gum area that was improved was limited entirely to that part 
which came in contact with the friction of the sugar cane, the  
 
 inaccessible gum tissue remaining unaffected throughout the 
duration of the experiment. At a later period a group of subjects with gum disease were 
given the same quantity of sugar cane each day, but this was 
softened through a canning process. The results in this case 
were almost entirely negative and little or no improvement was noticeable in any case. One group of the subjects was 
treated by scaling to remove the tartar deposits, but this 
showed no favorable response and only accelerated the rate of 
calculus deposition. With or without such dental aid, the 
subjects receiving the soft, heated sugar cane failed to 
respond to treatment. D
IGESTIBILITY OF RAW FOOD 
   The change in physical structure brought about by heat may 
be partly responsible for change s in digestibility between raw 
and cooked foods. Cooking may impair or improve 
digestibility. For milk, most vegetables, and many other foods 
there is usually impairment. At the New York State 
Agricultural Station, tests were conducted with cooked and uncooked clover, hay, and corn meal, indicating that the 
relative digestibility of the albuminoids was more or less 
diminished by cooking. Thirteen separate series of experiments have been conducted at agricultural stations in this country on the supposed value of cooking or steaming foods for pigs. In ten of these trials, there was not only no 
gain in digestibility; there was a definite loss, and in some 
cases the loss was very considerable. The tests showed that a 
pig may require up to fifty per cent more food to produce a 
pound of gain in weight when food is cooked than when it is raw. Ragner Berg has reported sim ilar results in experiments, 
and he points out that a mixture of soy bean, wheat, wheaten 
bran, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and rye meal, which is quite adequate for animals in its crude state, becomes 
conspicuously inadequate when it is mixed with water, formed into cakes, and baked. I
MPORTANCE OF CELLULOSE  
   While digestibility is important, it should not be assumed 
that all foods should be one hundred per cent digestible. Many plant foods contain much cellulose, which is not 
readily digested. Yet, the presence of this cellulose in the diet is very important. Well-cooked foods, which lack raw 
cellulose, fail to stimulate peristaltic action to the degree 
necessar
y to promote ra pid and effective bowel action. The y remain in the intestinal tract much longer than raw foods, and 
putrefaction and fermentation are often well advanced before 
elimination is made. Usually th e feces have a rich bacterial 
flora and an offensive odor as evidence of the putrefaction 
that has taken place. The effects of the excessive fermentation and putrefaction 
of foods within the body are believed to be an important 
cause of disease. A number of distinguished scientists have 
held that prolonged putrefaction produces toxins which are 
absorbed by the bloodstream. Elie Metchnikoff, of the 
Pasteur Institute in Paris, made what is perhaps the most thorough study of longevity and senility ever undertaken, and 
he maintained that such putrefaction is a definite source of 
poisoning to the body and is the primary cause of the severe 
symptoms of senility. He associated the richness of the 
bacterial flora in the feces with the length of life and claimed that with both animals and humans the average longevity was 
greatest when the bacterial flora was very slight or entirely absent. In this connection it may be pointed out that intestinal 
putrefaction is rapidly diminished in the presence of 
uncooked foods. The cellulose of raw plants is of vital 
importance in maintaining normal peristaltic action in the intestinal tract and thus preventing stagnation in the 
movement of foods. On an exclusive raw diet, the movement 
of foods is so rapid that putrefaction is very slight; the 
resulting feces in such cases are almost free from offensive 
odor and contain only a fraction as many bacteria as would otherwise be present. If the viewpoint of Metchnikoff and 
others is correct, this would have a very important effect upon 
human life and be conducive both to a higher immunity to 
disease and a greater duration of life. The physical changes which cooking produces in foods are 
clearly marked. They involve primarily the destruction of 
cellulose material of plants. Such destruction may result from 
different methods of food-processing, of which cooking is 
only one. The effects of this change in the physical state of 
foods appear to have a definite reaction upon the health of the animal organism, and are particularly detrimental to the 
parodontal structures. They have a pronounced effect upon 
digestion, assimilation, and the movement of foods through 
the intestinal tract. As a cause of disease they rank of possible 
importance, and existing evidence would indicate they may be associated to some degree with senility and longevity. 4        
RAW FOOD IN EXPERIMENTAL 
STUDY  
THE THEORETICAL BASIS  for the results of using raw and 
cooked foods has been considered from the standpoint of 
biochemistry and physiology. It has indicated the manner in 
which cooking alters food. It would appear at first glance that 
these alterations would lower the value of the food and render 
it much less nutritious and valuable to animal life. For confirmation or refutation of this logical assumption, we must 
turn to applied science in the fields of nutrition and biology. Here many studies of animals which have used both cooked 
and uncooked diets under controll ed experimental conditions 
have been made, and they provide rather conclusive evidence on the entire subject. G
ENERAL EXPERIMENTAL DATA 
   Among the first scientists to study cooking in its application 
to animal nutrition were Weill and Mouriquant of France. In 
1912, as they were conducting their celebrated experiments 
with pigeons to determine the effects of refined flour, they 
added a less known series of experiments, also with pigeons, 
to determine the effects of cooking. A number of pigeons were fed whole raw grains; the others were given the same 
kind of grain, entirely whole, without any kind of refining, 
only this grain was thoroughly cooked. The pigeons given the raw grain showed great activity and vigor. They gave every 
indication of being perfectly nourished. Those given the 
cooked grains developed beriberi and all died paralyzed 
within ninety days. Other pigeons were then given two-thirds 
cooked grain and one-third raw grain, which was sufficient to 
give complete freedom from beriberi symptoms. While Director of Nutrition Research under the Research 
Fund Association in India, the celebrated British scientist, Sir 
Robert McCarrison, followed with the first large scale 
experiments with white rats which revealed the effects of 
cooking. One thousand pedigreed albino rats were placed on 
a diet of raw cabbage, raw carrots, raw milk, raw meat, unleavened bread, and sprouted legumes. Two thousand rats 
were then placed on a diet of white bread, margarine, tinned 
meat, tinned jam, boiled tea, boiled potatoes, boiled cabbage, 
and a small amount of milk. All animals were given the same 
general care. The laborator y was ke pt perfectl y clean ; the tiled floor and walls were freque ntly washed. The cages were 
large and spacious, so each rat could run about and exercise 
as it pleased. The rats given primarily uncooked foods were remarkably 
healthy in all respects. From all appearances they suffered 
from no diseases whatsoever, and all mothers reared their young. At the end of two and a quarter years, corresponding 
to 55 years in man, all rats were autopsied. The only trace of 
disease found was an occasional cyst in the liver, which was 
assumed due to the straw bedding which the rats often nibbled. The 2, 000 rats eating mostly cooked foods soon began 
developing a wide assortment of diseases—practically every ailment that one might find listed in any medical textbook. Foremost among these, as revealed in the post-mortem 
examinations, were: tuberculosis, arthritis, Bright's disease, 
gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, glandular enlargements, 
inflammation of the eyes, anemia, loss of hair, infected teeth, infected tonsils, middle-ear disease, corneal ulceration, and 
skin diseases of various types. In addition the rats seemed to 
be affected mentally. In contrast to the raw food rats, which 
were gentle and affectionate, these animals became ill-
tempered and vicious. They would bite the attendant, kill each other, and generally display a state of continuous 
nervous irritability. Following the rat experiments, McCarrison used twenty 
monkeys in a new series of tests. All animals except one were 
in perfect condition when the experiment began—the 
exception being the result of a slight injury sustained by one 
monkey during capture. Nine of the monkeys were placed on a diet consisting chiefly of raw foods, including wheaten 
bread, milk, ground nuts, fresh onions, fresh butter, plantains, 
and water. Six were given wheaten bread, cooked rice, cooked ground nuts, boiled milk, fresh butter, and water. The 
other five were given a similar assortment of cooked foods, 
fresh onions and water, plus a little fresh butter. All animals 
were provided with the same amount of exercise, sunshine, 
fresh air, etc. The only difference in their mode of life was their diet, involving the condition (cooked or uncooked) in 
which the food was given. Regarding the monkeys fed primarily uncooked foods, 
McCarrison stated: "They remained in good health, with the 
exception of an attack of jaundice in some of them; this was 
thought to be due to the sudden lack of exercise, as well as to 
the too generous provision of monkey-nuts which in the earlier sta
ges of the ex periment were not limited to 10 grams. The jaundice was corrected by reducing the diet to milk and 
bananas for a few days, and adding magnesium sulphate to 
the drinking water. After recovery, which occurred in all 
cases, the diet, as above detailed, was used without recurrence of jaundice or any untoward symptoms 
whatsoever. " The monkeys given cooked foods developed troubles from 
the very start. Diseases were common and every animal died 
within 43 to 100 days. Average length of life of those given 
the cooked foods plus onions was 60 days. Those allowed a 
little butter each day lived an average of 69 days. The postmortems of these monkeys indicated the presence of 
dozens of physical abnormalities and ailments. These 
included: dilation of the stomach, gastric catarrh, stomach 
ulcers, duodenal catarrh, degeneration of the mucous 
membrane, congestive changes in the jejunum and ileum, ballooning of the small bowel, atrophy and thinning of the 
walls of the small intestine, colitis, ballooning of the colon, atrophy of the omentus, and cancer of the pylorus. Experiments with guinea pigs, to determine the effects of 
cooked foods, were conducted by Dr. O. Stiner, an 
investigator for the Swiss Board of Health in Berne, 
Switzerland. Dr. Stiner placed a large group of these animals on a diet of their normal foods (hay, oats, carrots, and water) 
which would normally be taken raw, but in this case were 
cooked in a high pressure steamer. A large number of 
diseases appeared shortly thereafter. The teeth became 
softened to such an extent that they could be cut away with scissors. Gangrenous gingivitis developed, and the jaws 
softened and warped until the rows of teeth overlapped and 
would not close in the normal manner. The salivary glands became diseased and the animals developed both goiter and 
anemia. In certain cases two teaspoons of pasteurized milk 
each day were added to the diet, and this was followed by the 
development of another disease, arthritis. Most of the guinea 
pigs died of scurvy, with a smaller number succumbing to 
cancer of the lung. In America, Dr. Rosalind Wulzen and Alice Bahrs, of the 
Department of Zoology in Oregon State College, also used 
guinea pigs in their experimental  work. Efforts were made to 
determine the effects of pastuerized milk. The animals were 
divided into four groups which were given whole raw milk, 
whole pasteurized milk, raw skim milk, and pasteurized skim 
milk respectively. "Animals fed raw whole milk grew excellently and an 
auto
psy showed no abnormalit y of an y kind" Dr. Wulzen reported. Animals fed pasteurized milk did not grow as well, 
and developed stiffness of the muscles. Within a period of a 
month to a year they died after showing signs of "great 
emaciation and weakness. " The autopsy revealed that the muscles were extremely atrophied and streaked with white 
lines of calcification. Lumps of tricalcium phosphate were 
found deposited under the skin, in the joints, the heart, and 
other organs. In addition to guinea pigs, white rats were used in the tests 
at Oregon State College, these being reported by Bahrs and 
Hughes. The animals given pasteurized milk gained weight less rapidly than those given raw milk, and on autopsy the 
hearts were found to have a flabby appearance. The adrenal 
glands were of a pale color and there were small areas of 
apparent atrophy. The livers and skeletal muscles also 
exhibited a very pale color, as compared to those of the 
animals given raw milk. At Ohio State University, Dr. Ernest Scott and Prof. Lowell 
Erf also fed different groups of rats on raw and pasteurized 
milk. The animals on raw milk showed a good, sleek coat; 
they were adequate in growth and weight; their eyes were 
clear; their dispositions were excellent, and they enjoyed 
being petted. Those on pasteurized milk had a roughened coat; their growth was slow; their eyes lacked luster, and they 
were very irritable, often showing a tendency to bite when 
being handled. The rats on pasteurized milk also showed a 
loss of vitality and weight, and many developed anemia. Using cats in a similar set of experiments, Prof. Erf noted 
the following results when pasteurized milk was used as a 
partial ration for the animals: "(a) Incomplete mineralization of the offspring, (b) The inability of the animal to 
remineralize its own skeleton adequately after pregnancy and 
likely to produce a rachitic condition in the offspring. (c) Failure in the development of the teeth. (d) Muscular and 
ligamentous atony as well as changes in the histological 
factor of the various organs. (e) Tendency toward 
development in allergies. (f) Tendency toward sterility in subsequent generations. " Two English scientists, Mattick and Golding, employed 
white rats in a series of experiments, also with milk. They fed different groups of the animals fresh raw milk, pasteurized 
milk, and sterilized milk. Those receiving raw milk attained 
normal weight and growth in each of the four generations the 
experiments were conducted. Rats receiving pasteurized milk 
grew less rapidly, and reproduction was impaired. The animals 
given sterilized milk grew less ra pidly than either of the other groups; reproduction was also less efficient, and 
none of the animals in the third generation lived longer than a 
day. Another investigator, S. Schmidt-Nielson, fed white rats 
pasteurized milk and reported that the food produced 
diminished vitality and early death in the offspring of mature animals. Daniels and Loughlin reported the failure of normal 
growth in all rats given heated milk, whether evaporated, 
condensed, or pasteurized. They also observed that this milk 
increased the tendency of the animals to develop polyneuritis. Given adequate amounts of raw milk, none of the animals developed this disease, whereas three on pasteurized milk 
were severely afflicted. Kitc hin and McFarland noted that 
raw milk provided good growth curves in rats, whereas 
growth among animals given pasteurized milk was poor. Russell observed that the addition of raw beef to a wheat-milk diet in rats improved reproduction and increased the 
general vigor of the young. Abeline reported that rats fed 
whole wheat bread baked at high temperatures were stunted 
in growth and not so resistant to disease as were rats given 
bread baked at low temperatures. In Finland, Dr. Reinius reported feeding rats a diet composed exclusively of food 
heated in an oven at 140 degrees C. for 30 to 40 minutes. This 
caused total cessation of grow th of the animals, which was 
attributed to the destruction of certain amino acids by heat. McCandlish and Black, of the West of Scotland College of 
Agriculture, tested raw and pasteurized milk on the growth 
and health of calves. Fourteen calves of different breeds and sexes were divided into two groups of six and eight 
respectively, one receiving raw milk from the age of five days 
and the other receiving pasteurized milk from the same age. At the end of go days all calves on raw milk were alive and in 
good health. Of those on pasteurized milk, two had died and 
one had to be removed on account of unthriftiness. For the 
first 60 days there was no significant difference in the rate of 
growth, but after that period the calves on raw milk grew more rapidly. The calves on pasteurized milk consumed more 
food per pound of weight gained, using 6 per cent more milk, 16 per cent more grain, and 43 per cent more hay. W. Catel, using goats, also found better results from the use 
of raw milk. Animals so fed attained much better growth than 
those using pasteurized milk, though some fared badly when 
given milk from the bottle but thrived well on the mother's milk obtained naturally. Catel found that "The utilization of 
fat, carbohydrate, protein, calcium, and phosphorus was less  
 
 complete in the animals fed on heated milk; these animals 
retained a very high proportion of choline in their food." Dried skim milk has been heralded as a "super food" in 
some quarters, but experimental animals live very poorly on 
this food after it has been heat-processed during manufacture 
or at any other time. Dr. Joseph E. Muller, of Indiana University, found that white rats given unheated dried milk 
had only 5.4 per cent dental defects, while the caries 
incidence rose to 9.3 per cent when heated dried milk was 
given. McClure and Folk likewise found that dried milk 
produced dental caries in rats, with the amount of damage being parallel with the degree of heating the milk had 
undergone. Kraft and Morgan, of th e University of California, 
reported that the dried milk lost half of its growth efficiency 
for rats if it had been cooked for 15 minutes, and all of its 
growth value if cooked for 25 minutes. From Germany comes a report from Fink and Schlie, who tested 21 samples of dried 
skim milk as contrasted to fresh skim milk. Of 200 rats given 
the dried milk, 95 per cent died within 40 to 100 days, and 85 
per cent of these had liver necrosis. All rats given the same 
diet, but with fresh skim milk instead of dried milk, survived 
the experiment with complete freedom from liver necrosis. Both mice and rabbits have been tested with raw and heat-
processed foods. Wilson and Cowel noted that young mice 
thrive better upon raw milk than upon pasteurized milk, 
possessing a higher weight average and much greater vitality. Marine and his associates fed a group of rabbits upon raw 
cabbage and a group upon cooked cabbage. The former were healthy and displayed complete immunity to goiter, whereas 
cooked cabbage was found to be goitrogenic and produced a high incidence of the disease among the animals. Cats and dogs fed commercial pet foods, which have all 
been heat-processed, show various symptoms of disease in experimental tests. M. L. Morris fed a group of cats upon 
fresh meat and all thrived well, but those animals given 
samples of many different commercial cat foods did poorly in 
comparison, and a number of the cats showed emaciation, 
skin lesions, and neurological signs. Dr. Clive McCay has pointed out that "The meat meals commonly used in dog 
feeds are often so over-heated in processing that they are 
entirely devoid of vitamin B
1. Recently in a digestion trial of 
meat meals made by students, the dog refused to eat and 
became badly constipated." Koehn observed that dogs may appear healthy and thrive for long periods on cooked rations 
containing cottonseed meal, "but eventually they will die very 
suddenly." Dogs fed upon raw foods are resistant to 
ex
perimental amoebic infection , but those animals given a diet of canned meat have very low resistance. E. C. Foust 
found that he could produce amoebic infection at will in 
poorly nourished animals and then establish a cure by feeding 
raw liver. This food arrested the amoebic lesion and at the same time lessened the danger of secondary bacterial 
infection. Magendie made extensive feeding trials with dogs to 
determine the effects of raw bones. Animals given boiled 
bones died within a couple of months, and those fed the heat-
processed bone extract, gelatin, for a few days, preferred to 
die rather than eat more. Fresh raw bones, on the other hand, kept the dogs alive for long periods and appeared to afford 
adequate nourishment. The canine experience with milk has been much the same. An English physician reported feeding puppies on pasteurized 
milk, and the animals died. Other puppies were given raw 
milk and thrived well. The American physician, Dr. Charles 
Sanford, reported that "Dogs fed on pasteurized milk only are liable to have the mange and other disorders, while others of 
the same litter thrive on raw, sweet and sour milk." E
XPERIMENTS WITH HEAT-PROCESSED FATS 
   In England Dr. May Mellanby tested raw and heat-
processed fats in their relation to the dental condition of the 
dog. Dr. Mellanby found that the inclusion of raw butter, raw butterfat, or raw cod liver oil in the dog's diet would, almost 
without exception, insure good calcification of the teeth. When these foods were heated at 120 degrees C., however, 
their calcifying potency was seriously reduced. This was 
especially noticeable when the foods were exposed to oxygen during the period of heating. The loss of calcifying properties 
was thought due to either impairment of the fat soluble 
vitamins by heat or to the production during treatment of 
harmful substances which in themselves interfere with teeth calcification. Heat-processed vegetable oils are staples of the dietary 
throughout most of India. Accordingly, Indian scientists have made tests to determine their value. Ragu and Rajagopalan 
heated groundnut, sesame, and coconut oils in an open iron 
pan to a temperature of 270 degrees, C., as is the usual 
practice in India, and these were fed to white rats. Those 
animals receiving 315 per cent ration of heated oils developed 
jaundice; at a 30 per cent level of oil feeding, all animals died 
within a week. Conversion of feed was very poor in all 
animals , and u pon auto psy the livers were found to be badl y damaged, congested, and discolored. Control animals, 
receiving uncooked oils, utilized their food well and survived 
the experiment in good health. Sir S. S. Sokhey, of the 
Haffkine Institute, tested hydrogenated oils and noted that they produced inferior growth in animals and interfered with 
the absorption of calcium in the body. The popular Indian 
butter substitute, vanaspati— made from the heat-processed 
oils of fruits, flowers, and vegetables—was fed to rats at the 
Research Institute at Izzatnager, and animals of the third 
generation became blind. Scientists of the Western world have also tested heat-
processed vegetable fats, as well as heat-processed animal 
fats, and found these to be instrumental in producing cancer 
and other diseases. British scientists injected 12 mice with 
cottonseed oil pre-heated at te mperatures of 340-360 degrees 
C. Two of the mice developed cancerous lesions at the site of the injection, whereas no animals of a control group injected 
in the same manner with oil heated at much lower 
temperatures developed cancer. Yet cottonseed oil has been 
found to produce cancer even when heated at comparatively 
low temperatures, providing the cooking temperature is maintained for sufficient time. When white rats were fed a 15 
to 21 per cent ration of cottonseed oil heated at only 95 
degrees C. over a long period, the animals rapidly lost weight, 
developed diarrhea, and were affected with enlarged liver, 
kidneys, and adrenals. All animals died within three weeks. In another set of experiments, a group of white rats was fed 
liberally upon heated, hydrogenated fats, and the control 
group was given a similar amount of unprocessed fats. All rats were then given butter-yellow, a known cancer-
producing substance. Every rat on the hydrogenated fat diet 
developed tumors or cancer, whereas not one receiving the 
uncooked fats was so affected. Dr. Lane has reported 
experiments in which 54 rats were given rations of brown lard heated to 350 degrees C. for thirty minutes. Thirty-seven 
per cent of these animals developed papillomas tumors of the 
forestomach and malignant tumors of the glandular stomach. Of rats given a similar ration of unheated lard, only 5.7 per 
cent of the animals developed tumors. Even this small percentage might be attributed to the fact that the so-called 
unheated lard had been heat-processed to some degree during 
manufacture. And last but not least are the celebrated 
experiments of the late Dr. Angel Roffo of Argentina. Dr. 
Roffo found that all fats heated to "browning" temperatures 
increased the tendency of experimental animals to develop 
cancer. The most damaging of fats were found to be those fried at high temperatures. THE POTTENGER EXPERIMENTS  
   Perhaps the most important of all the animal experiments 
with raw and cooked foods are those of Dr. Francis Pottenger, Jr., one of the world's great physicians and food scientists. These were conducted at the long established Pottenger 
Sanitarium in Monrovia, California, and covered a ten-year period. Both white rats and cats were employed. Rats given 
heated milk suffered from many kinds of deterioration, and 
the change in trabeculation of the bones was particularly 
noticeable. With the cats the experiments were reported in 
great detail and covered a large number of animals. A total of 900 cats were studied, and complete records were kept of 
nearly 600 of them. Through generation after generation the 
animals were studied, and Dr. Pottenger has issued the 
detailed results of the experiments as they apply to growth, reproduction, and all phases of the animals' health. In these tests the animals were fed upon meat-scraps 
(including the muscle, bone, and viscera), milk, and cod liver oil. The animals were divided into various groups, depending 
upon the condition, whether heated or unheated, in which 
their foods were given. Some of the cats were fed entirely 
upon raw meat and raw milk; others were given two-thirds 
cooked meat and one-third raw milk. In some cases raw meat and pasteurized milk were used. A number of cats were also 
fed sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, or raw 
metabolized vitamin D milk with raw meat. Cod liver oil was 
used by all animal groups. The cats fed entirely upon raw meat and raw milk remained 
in excellent health in all cases. Physical development was 
virtually perfect and the cats reproduced in homogeneity from one generation to the next, maintaining large skulls and 
thoraxes, broad faces with prominent malar and orbital 
arches, broad and well-formed dental arches, adequate nasal cavities, and large and long bodies. The cats were quite free 
from vermin, infections, and pa rasites. The membranes were 
firm and of good pink color. All evidence of degeneration 
was absent. Abortion occurred very seldom; the size of the 
average litter was five, and all of the mother cats nursed their young in a normal manner. The cats possessed excellent 
equilibrium. Organic development was complete and normal 
physical and mental function was the general rule. Death 
resulted only from old age or injuries sustained in fighting. None of the cats died from disease. Cats which were fed the cooke d-meat scraps were defective 
in many respects. They were smaller in build and the bones were smaller in diameter. In some cases the bones would grow out of proportion, with the hind legs being much longer 
than the forelegs. The animals did not reproduce in 
homogeneity, each kitten being of a different skeletal pattern. There were variations of facial structure similar to those of human beings. Configuration of the skulls was different in 
each individual cat. Often there would be marked failure in 
the development of the upper lip and in some cases a 
mandibular protrusion. Dental conditions would usually remain fairly good in the 
first generation, though gingiv itis occasionally developed. Second generation animals usually had much smaller primary teeth than normal and there was irregular spacing of teeth. Bleeding of gums would increase considerably. Some teeth 
would be lost. In the third generation loss of most of the teeth 
through decalcification and pyorrhea would be common. Dental development was generally so irregular that the 
development of the whole face was interfered with. There was severe impairment of bone composition in all 
cases. The calcium content would fall from the normal 12 to 
18 per cent of bone weight in healthy animals to 8 to 12 per 
cent in the first generation, 3½  to 7 per cent in the second 
generation, and finally 1½  to 3 per cent in the third 
generation. The phosphorus content also became progressively less, and by the third generation the bones 
would be very porous and similar to rubber. This resulted in bowlegs, distorted spines, and other deformities. Reproductive efficiency was greatly lowered. Abortion ran 
from 25 per cent in the first generation to as high as 70 per 
cent in the second generation. Deliveries were very difficult 
and many cats died in labor. Often the mother was unable to lactate. The mortality rate of the kittens was very high, many 
of them being even too frail to nurse. In a number of cases the 
mother would steadily decline in health following birth of the kittens and die about three months later. Others had 
increasing difficulty with subsequent pregnancies and some 
failed to become pregnant. In the males there was disturbance 
of genital development and descent of the testes. Sterility was 
so common that raw-food males had to be used for all 
breeding purposes. Development of the secondary sexual characteristics was 
incomplete. The degree of masculinity and femininity was 
lessened and cats of both sexes tended to become more 
neutral in appearance. For instance, X-ray pictures showed 
that skulls of third generation cooked-fed animals had neutral 
profiles for both sexes, as contrasted to the difference in raw-fed animals. At the same time sex interest was ver
y slack ; in many cases it was perverted, with some cats developing into 
true homosexuals. Most of the cats fed cooked meat were very irritable and 
would occasionally viciously bite the keeper. Intestinal 
parasites and vermin were very common. Skin lesions and 
allergies became worse from one generation to the next. Pneumonia and empyema were the most common causes of 
death in the adult stock; a great number died from diarrhea 
followed by pneumonia. No cats survived the sixth month of 
life in the third generation. Among the diseased conditions 
that were found upon autopsy were: osteomyelitis, cardiac lesions, hyperopia, thyroid disease, hepatitis, nephritis, 
paralysis, meningitis, cystitis, arthritis, rickets, enlarged 
colon, bronchitis, fatty infiltration of the muscles, rachitic 
rosary of the ribs, and enlarged bladder. Cats fed upon a combination of two-thirds pasteurized milk 
and one-third raw meat presented much of the same 
deterioration as the other animals. Reproductive efficiency was lowered; skeletal structur es were severely impaired; 
dental irregularity and gingivitis were common, and all 
kittens showed some form of deficiency in development. Cats 
fed evaporated milk were damaged even more, and sweetened 
condensed milk produced the most marked deficiencies of all. Even the raw metabolized vitamin D milk (from cattle fed 
irradiated yeast) proved harmful. The males showed osseous 
disturbances following its use, and the adult males died 
within 10 months, with the young males failing to live beyond even the second month. In some instances cats which had been fed either cooked 
meat or one of the forms of heated or vitamin D milk would be placed upon a completely raw diet, which would be 
continued in subsequent generations. Improvement in 
resistance to disease was noticed in the first and second generations in the "regenerating" animals, though there were 
still allergic manifestations, and reproduction was erratic. In 
the third generation there was considerable further 
improvement, and by the fourth generation some of the 
animals returned to completely normal skeletal and tissue 
form. From these experiments, as well as all others which have 
been reported, results of feeding raw and cooked foods under 
laboratory conditions become readily apparent. It follows 
that, almost without exception, experimental animals thrive 
well upon an exclusive diet of raw foods. With general 
uniformity they immediately suffer from various forms of deterioration—
physical, sexual , and mental—when given various forms of cooked foods. It has indeed been shown that 
members of certain animal species fail to reach maturity and 
reproduce if sufficient cooked foods are included in their diet. The degree of damage may vary to some degree with different animals, but in no instance have large quantities of 
heat-processed foods been consumed over a long period of 
time without some harm being observed. The contrast is 
clearly observed in all cases, a nd the many different animals 
used in the experiments show that the results do not apply to only certain kinds of experimental animals, but may be 
accepted as a general principle in all such nutritional work. 5        
RAW FOOD IN NATURE  
MODERN NUTRITION has given the experimental aspect of the 
use of raw foods, as applied to various animals. Other 
biological sciences give another, and equally important, 
aspect to the same subject. They show, through careful and 
detailed observation of animals beyond the confines of 
controlled experimentation, exactly how animals thrive in 
states of captivity, complete domestication, less-restrictive domestication, and wild nature. In the former state the diet 
may be primarily cooked or primarily raw, depending upon 
animal species; in the next it is primarily cooked; in the third it is mainly or entirely raw, and in the latter it is exclusively 
raw. These provide the contrasts that may be studied. C
APTIVE ANIMALS  
   In the modern zoological garden, we find evidence of 
disease, though this is markedly less than formerly. The 
captive animals, particularly the carnivora, were once fed 
mainly upon cooked foods. The death rate was then very high 
and the animals were valued accordingly. With the introduction of raw meat for the carnivora, the death rate 
sharply dropped; the animals lived longer and reproduced 
more successfully, with a proportionate drop in animal cost. Yet some of the animals are still fed largely upon cooked foods, and they suffer from much disease. Included among these are the primates. Forbes has pointed out that "the gorilla 
is very delicate and rarely lives long in captivity, even in his 
own land." A life span of 19 or 20 years is considered very 
long for a typical zoological gorilla fed some cooked 
foodstuffs. The orangutan is given canned fruit, bread, and even tea and coffee in captivity, and its life span is then very 
short and it is subject to all of the diseases common in 
civilization. The captive baboon, given cooked foods, is 
subject to many respiratory diseases and often dies before 
maturity is reached. The chimpanzee in captivity is probably better accustomed to a cooked diet than is any other primate. Typical diseases under these conditions are listed as follows: 
bronchial pneumonia, typhoid fever, scarlet fever, measles, cholera, grippe, colds, ulcers, colitis, tuberculosis, peritonitis, 
hypertrophied liver, debility, and loss of hair. DOMESTIC PETS 
   The ordinary house pets—dogs, cats, etc.—represent 
domestic animals which are fed chiefly upon cooked foods, and they display a long series of physical defects. The 
degeneration of the modern dog is so severe that it is 
receiving national attention from dog breeders and dog lovers. Pure-bred dogs are developing poor eyesight, 
impaired hearing, and such dulln ess of the sense of smell that 
they are no longer useful for hunting purposes. One of the 
most frequent symptoms of degeneration in dogs is weakness 
of the hindquarters. This is well marked in the German shepherds, great Danes, and Boston terriers.
TheElixirofLifebyArnoldDeVries.txt
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        Soil and Health Library
This document is a reproduction of the book or other copyrighted material you
requested. It was prepared on for the exclusive use of Oriana Galardi-Este, whose email
address is orianaoriana@gmail. com. This reproduction was made by the Soil and Health Library only for the purpose of
research and study. Any further reproduction or distribution of this copy in any form
whatsoever constitutes a violation of copyrights. THE ELIXIR  
OF LIFE  
 
By ARNOLD  DE VRIES 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
CHANDLER BOOK COMPANY 
333 NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE / CHICAGO 1, ILLINOIS 
 
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COPYRIGHT 1952, 1958 
BY  
ARNOLD DE VRIES  
 
 
  
 
 
All rights reserved. This book, 
or parts thereof, 
must not be reproduced 
in any form without permission. SECOND EDITION 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
   
 
    
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
CONTENTS  
Raw Food in Modern Nutrition  
Raw Food in Chemical Composition  
Raw Food in Physical Structure  
Raw Food in Experimental Study  
Raw Food in Nature  
Raw Food in Human Experience  
Raw Food in Limiting Circumstances  
Raw Food in Selection  
Raw Food in Preparation and Use  
Bibliography  
     
  
      1       
RAW FOOD IN MODERN 
NUTRITION  
THE "ELIXIR OF LIFE" is defined as an aromatic, sweetened 
substance containing great medical properties, embodying the quintessence or inmost principle of life, which will quell the 
pains of disease, preserve the characteristics of youth, and 
prolong life indefinitely. For ages sorcerers and alchemists dreamed of and searched for the elixir of life, and in more 
recent history scientists and philosophers have speculated as 
to its possible existence. There have been some diligent 
scientific attempts to find some substance that would induce 
rejuvenation in human glands and tissues and thereby restore or prolong youth. But failure has followed failure and the 
hope for an elixir of life has dwindled into a tragic dream, as 
each succeeding generation sees the constant and ever 
increasing degeneration of man. As disease progresses, as 
senility slowly but surely grinds away human happiness, as death approaches, so does the desire for a magic elixir persist, 
but without any real expectation of fulfillment. Today we 
have relegated the elixir to a superstitious world of the past—
a world of imagination—which can have no place in the reality of modern life. There is no magic medicine, no panacea nor cure-all for all 
human ailments. There is no method of prolonging youth or life indefinitely. But in a limited sense there is an elixir of 
life, embodying most of the qualities which an elixir is 
expected to possess. Its physical properties are well known to science and it is within the reach  of everyone. It is aromatic 
and sweet, contains definite medical properties, possesses the 
vital principle of life, tends to prevent and remedy disease, 
prolong youth, and increase the span of life. Its effects are 
rapid in development, high in intensity, and widespread in area of influence. It is capable of producing a profound 
biological change in human life within a single generation. These statements are backed by  scientific evidence in the 
fields of biochemistry, physiology, biology, and medicine, 
and they are subject to direct verification through the 
accepted methods of science. The elixir of life is so very common, so easily available, 
that it has constantly been forgotten in the search for more 
elusive and m
ysterious substances. Man is not prone to look into the simple nutritive substances of nature for the possible 
solution to his physical troubles. Yet, that is precisely where 
the elixir of life is to be found. In natural foods, unchanged 
by the hand of man, are the life-giving factors which determine the state of human health. The raw material of 
nature provides the answer to the biological problems which 
confront us. It becomes important, then, to consider the 
science of nutrition as the medium through which these factors may be considered and analyzed. The science of nutrition embraces the total relationship 
between food consumption and human health. The nutritionist looks upon the human body as a chemical 
laboratory whose efficiency of function depends almost 
entirely upon the chemical balance of the body cells and 
tissues. Chemical action supersedes bacterial action and 
controls the latter in both its normal and pathological state. The correct amounts of all chemicals and chemical 
compounds, properly balanced and combined, assure 
effective physiological function and prevent the development 
of disease. They furnish the fuel to yield energy for bodily 
activities; they supply the structural material for the growth of all tissues, and they serve to maintain the body's self-
regulatory system and the physico-chemical conditions within 
all cells, tissues, fluids, and body parts to directly or 
indirectly control the processes of life. Up to the present time most nutritional research has 
centered upon a study of the effects of different modes of 
food processing and preparation. Studies have been made on the effects of dividing foods into fractions—consuming some 
of the fractions and discarding others—as constitutes the 
process of refining. The preparation of different grains and sugars has thus come under close scrutiny. Many 
recommendations have been made in virtue of according 
discoveries, and refined foods have thus come under strong 
criticism in the field of nutrition. A mode of food preparation, employed both in certain 
refining processes and in the culinary art of the kitchen, is the 
application of heat to foods. This was first considered on a theoretical basis, as pertains to the loss of certain nutritive 
factors under exposure to heat. Later nutritionists followed a 
less narrow line of research and studied the question of 
cooking from its practical aspects. They carried out animal 
experiments, and their conc lusions were given further 
clarification through observations of animal life by biologists 
and zoologists. In addition, a number of physicians have 
applied nutritive knowledge on the effects of cooking to 
clinical 
practice, and the results give a clear picture of this phase of nutrition. Incidental facts and reports, given in many 
texts and journals of nutrition and medicine, tell the story of 
heat-processing foods as it is related to human health. Correlation of these important facts in the science of 
nutrition has been inadequate, however, and as a result few 
dietitians and physicians are familiar with sufficient data to enable them to make application of the knowledge in their 
practice. The layman is equall y unfamiliar with the necessary 
facts and hence fails to apply them in his own life. As a result 
most nutritional thought has, and continues to be, centered 
upon the selection of foods, with little thought as to the preparation of foods. The different foodstuffs have been 
divided into classes, depending upon the source of supply, 
and recommendations have been made on the basis of 
"balancing" the diet correctly between the different food 
types. This has been the essence of nutrition in practice, both for preventive and therapeutic purposes. People have thought 
far more of what they should eat than they have of how they 
should prepare the foods they do eat. From the standpoint of modern nutritional science, this state 
of thought is based upon fallacy and tends to lead to much 
confusion in the planning of nutritional regimes. Selection of 
foods is of worthy consideration, but it falls far short when not combined with adequate knowledge of how the respective 
foods should be used. Actually, far more research has been 
done on the effects of different methods of food processing, 
particularly heat-processing, than has been done on a 
comparison of different food types in an identical physical state. Often, when different food types have been compared, 
no thought has been given to the different conditions under 
which the foods have been prepared. Consequently the designation of "protective foods" in modern nutrition pertains 
more accurately to foods in a certain and earlier stage of processing than it does to foods of a certain type and source. This all finds important correlation with our concept of the 
elixir of life. Essentially raw f ood constitutes the elixir of life. Used as a small fraction of the normal diet—perhaps ten per 
cent or less—it is often sufficiently potent to preserve life and is capable of sustaining the state of health seen in civilization. Used in greater amounts, it provides correspondingly more 
noticeable and effective results. Used as the exclusive source 
of nutriment, it becomes an elixir of extreme potency which 
effects an astonishing transformation in physiological 
efficiency throughout the body. In this treatise we shall consider raw food in all of its 
ramifications and uses. The 
purpose is to determine both the theoretical and practical value of raw food in comparison 
with the same values for heat-processed food. Our guides in 
this determination are strictly scientific and involve in their 
final conclusions only the established facts which have found general acceptance in the science of nutrition. The analysis as 
a whole may show the way to a practical and effective mode 
of human nutrition, as well as indicate the therapeutic 
possibilities and medical properties of raw foods. 2      
RAW FOOD IN CHEMICAL 
COMPOSITION  
THE VALUE OF FOOD in animal and human nutrition is 
dependent largely upon its chemical composition. The essential nutrients of food are proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins. Hormones and enzymes also play a 
role of some importance. When the body receives adequate 
quantities of these nutritional factors, with minimum 
quantities of toxic and non-usable factors, the body responds 
favorably and functions in a state of health. As the proper balance is altered, with decrease of the necessary nutrients, 
and increase of the toxic substances, the body fails to operate 
at optimum efficiency and various manifestations of disease 
tend to develop. The application of heat to plant or animal substances tends 
to produce marked changes in chemical composition. These 
have been carefully determined in accurate tests by many nutritional scientists. The data on the subject is voluminous 
and covers the majority of common foods and the majority of 
elements and activators in nutrition. The effects of cooking 
may then be determined, and to some degree measured, 
insofar as they relate to the destruction of essential nutrients 
and the consequent impairment of the food in question. E
NZYMES  
   The presence of enzymes determines the "life" of foods. Enzymes are catalysts manufactured by the living cells of 
plant or animal tissue to carry out the chemical processes 
which are necessary for the cells to continue their existence as a living force. When the enzymes of a seed are destroyed, 
the seed has lost its potency for growth and is described as 
being "dead. ' Indeed the status of being "alive" or "dead" in 
all foods may be defined according to the presence of 
enzymes. Some of the more common enzymes found in raw food are protease, lactase, lipase, diastase, catalase, 
salolalase, peroxidase, aldehydase, phosphatase and amaylase. It is noteworthy that all enzymes are heat-labile. Indeed, 
they are destroyed at temperatures which have little effect on 
some minerals and vitamins. Enz
yme destruction starts at about 118 degrees F, and by the time a temperature of 140 
degrees F. is reached, all enzymes have been lost. Thus the 
comparatively low temperatures used in pasteurizing milk, 
and in cooking other foods by the most advanced low-heat methods, still destroy every enzyme found in food. As all of 
the inter-related chemical reactions of living matter are 
controlled by enzymes, the destruction of the enzymes during 
all cooking processes may lower the quality of food and 
render it less suitable for the sustenance of life in the human 
body. M
INERALS AND VITAMINS  
   Of great importance in consideration of cooking is the loss 
of minerals, which occurs in varying degrees in all cases. Many of the minerals are water-soluble, and hence they are 
dissolved out of the food into the cooking water, which in 
turn is usually discarded. Phosphorus, calcium, iron, iodine, 
sulphur, copper, and the trace minerals are those usually lost in this way. The total loss may vary from as little as five to 
ten per cent to as high as nearly100 per cent, depending upon 
the mineral in question, the food being cooked, the amount of 
water present with the food, the temperature, and the length 
of the heating process. The average loss under the usual commercial methods of preparing vegetables is about 50 per 
cent of the minerals originally present in the foods. When 
vegetables are lightly steamed the average loss is only about 
one-third this much. With the "waterless" cooking utensils, 
which distribute the heat evenly throughout all sides of the container and thus prevent burning with little or no water, the 
loss is also reduced. When large amounts of cooking water 
are used, but served with the food, the consumer still receives the soluble minerals. It is believed that certain minerals may 
be damaged by heat even though they are not lost. This is due 
to the change brought about in their physico-chemical state 
which renders them less soluble and hence less assimilable by the body. Vitamins are lost in the cooking process in two ways. Some, such as carotene and vitamins A and C, are destroyed when the plant enzymes cause the vitamins to combine with 
oxygen, thus inducing oxidation. Certain others are not 
destroyed, but they are soluble in water and hence dissolved 
out of the food. Vitamin D and some of the B complex 
vitamins are lost in this manner. The amount of heat necessary to reduce the vitamin content of foods is not great. Even the comparatively low application of heat as used in 
pasteurization of milk destroys much of the vitamin A and 
enou
gh (25 to 50 per cent ) of the vitamin C to eliminate the milk's antiscorbutic qualities. Of the B vitamin group, much 
of the riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine, about half 
of the inositol, and most of the folic acid and thiamine are lost 
when foods are cooked in the usual manner. As is the case with minerals, the losses are less, though significant, if the 
food is steamed. In all cases the less heat applied and the shorter the cooking time, the less is the total amount of loss. P
ROTEINS AND FATS 
   Cooking tends to coagulate the proteins of food and, with 
the exception of egg white, render them less digestible. Some 
of the sensitive amines are changed by heat, and others are 
destroyed. Both the cystine and cysteine are so denatured in the presence of heat and water that, according to Ragner 
Berg, they are "rendered valueless for nutritive purposes. " The most important of all protein components, lysine, is 
destroyed by heat, as is the essential glutamine. Other protein 
factors are transformed and modified to lower forms and 
hence rendered less available to the body. Cooking decidedly alters the fat of food and usually renders 
it less digestible. In the process of frying, the fat so permeates 
the food and surrounds the individual food particles that they 
do not readily yield to the action of digestive juices. For this reason foods which are fried in fat are very difficult to digest. If sufficiently high temperatures are used in cooking fats, free fatty acids develop which are not only difficult to digest, but 
are in some cases definitely poisonous. When vegetable oils 
undergo the process of boiling or frying the toxic irritant 
known as acrolein is produced. In this connection it may be 
pointed out that acrolein has often been described as a possible cause of cancer. Its name may be found in most 
medical lists of possible dietary carcinogens. T
ARS 
   The formation of tars cannot be overlooked in considering 
the chemical effects of cooking. Tars are found in smoke and 
soot, and they form in any organic compound which is subjected to great heat over a sufficient period of time. Meat, 
eggs, potatoes, toast, and other foods which are scorched by 
heat until black forms on the outside may contain tar. Roasted 
coffee and coffee substitutes derive their flavor from the tars 
which form when the coffee beans or cereal grains are roasted. It has long been known that sufficient exposure to the tars 
found in soot and smoke tends to cause cancer. The heavy 
consumption of tars found in certain cooked foods may be no 
less irritating and no less cancer-causing. Dr. Angel Roffo described the physical characteristics of tars obtained from 
roasted coffee beans as the same as those obtained from 
tobacco. He also found that both were carcinogenic when 
given to experimental animals. Thus the consumption of tars 
in certain roasted and over-heated foods ranks as a possible 
cause of cancer and other diseases in modern life. A
DDITIONAL CHEMICAL CHANGES  
   Many food factors other than those already mentioned may 
be impaired or lost in the presence of heat. Starch is partly 
hydrolyzed by heat, and the soluble sugars and dextrin of 
foods are polymerized to some extent. Peptic substances are 
also affected and undergo dissolution during the cooking 
process. The "anti-lameness" chemical of raw cream, discovered by Wulzen and Wagtendonk of Oregon State 
College, is known to be destroyed by either boiling or 
pasteurization. The "filtrate-f actor" of certain vegetables, 
which controls the aging process of the body, is reported by 
Morgan and Simms to be easily lost when vegetables are boiled. Certain hormones, including those from the adrenal 
cortex, which have been successfully used in improving 
animal health, are thermolabile and are destroyed at the 
relatively moderate temperature used in pasteurizing milk. Other activating substances which may exist in food but have not yet been chemically isolated and studied may or may not 
undergo deterioration in the cooking process. It may be that simply altering the physico-chemical state of 
food through the use of heat is sufficient to account for 
certain adverse effects resulting from using the food. It is known that the toleration point of both minerals and vitamins 
as are normally found in uncooked foods is much higher than 
is the case when these nutritive factors are given in purified 
form. The use of purified minerals and synthetic vitamins 
shows this quite clearly. Minerals and vitamins must be found in an organic combination with other food nutrients if they 
are to be used efficiently by the body. With rare exceptions 
we must rely on the plant to synthesize the minerals of the 
earth into combinations which are entirely non-toxic. Such 
combinations remain non-toxic when transferred to the animal as milk, eggs, or flesh. However, in the presence of 
heat certain nutrients are destroyed and hence the delicate 
chemical balance is altered. It is known that in the case of 
proteins the modification of the com plex structure renders some of the protein factors useless to the body. Even when 
calcium is not lost in the presence of heat it is often rendered 
less assimilable, as has often been pointed out by nutritionists 
in connection with pasteurization of milk. It is hence possible that many other minerals, and perhaps vitamins and other 
factors, may also be rendered either useless or toxic to the 
body, as the complex chemical combinations are broken 
down by heat. Evidence of this is seen by the fact that leukocytosis, an 
increase in the number of white corpuscles of the blood, 
follows the exclusive consumption of cooked foods. Biologists have called this "digestive leukocytosis" and 
consider it a normal reaction to the digestive process. However, Dr. Paul Kouchakoff, of the Institute of Clinical 
Chemistry in Lausanne, Switzerland, conducted some 300 
detailed experiments which indicated that leukocytosis was the specific effect of eating heat-processed foods and never 
occurred after a meal of raw food. Reporting at the First 
International Congress of Microbiology at Paris in 1930, Dr. Kouchakoff pointed out that temporary leukocytosis followed 
the consumption of foods heated about 83-87 degrees C. If certain types of raw food were added to the cooked meal, 
leukocytosis would be prevented, though when foods were 
heated above 100 degrees C. , no amount of raw foods would 
prevent the condition. Likewise, when heat-processed foods 
which had also been subjected to complex manufacturing processes were consumed, leukocytosis was unavoidable. In 
this case, not only did the white corpuscles increase in 
number, but the correlation of numbers between the different 
kinds of white corpuscles was altered. In medicine, an increase in the number of white corpuscles 
in the blood, together with disturbances in the percentages of 
different kinds of white corpuscles, is known to indicate that 
some kind of disease process is going on in our body. In time 
of infectious illness, or when harmful extraneous substances 
are introduced into our system, these changes in white corpuscle development always take place. We have reason to 
believe that the "digestive leukocytosis" following the 
consumption of cooked food is indicative that chemicals or 
chemical combinations in food may become toxic and 
harmful under the influence of heat, with the degree of toxicity dependent upon the temperature at which the food is 
cooked. The European nutritionist, Prof. Ziegelmayer, well 
illustrates the total biochemical changes that heat produces in 
food in these words: "It is certain that cooking alters the 
colloidal state of food: it decom
poses hi ghly molecular compounds, it alters the structure and surface tension of 
molecules, the degree of dispersity, the osmotic tension, the 
degree of dilution, the course colloid molecular and dispersed 
statuses, the water binding capacity and the hydrophobe qualities of the colloids, it alters the viscosity and reduces the 
falling gradient of energy. The uncooked state secures the 
maintenance of some food substances, prevents alterations of 
the proteins, preserves the original mineral salts in their 
optimum concentration. The more the food energies are maintained in their intimate compound and correlation, the 
greater the total effect and the higher the efficiency. " It is clear that all heat-processed foods undergo important 
changes in chemical composition. They lose a part of their 
mineral and vitamin content; their proteins are partly 
destroyed and rendered less di gestible and nutritious; their 
fats become less digestible and assimilable and sometimes become toxic. The starches and sugars are altered to some 
degree. The foods lose all of their enzymes, their "filtrate 
factors" and "anti-lameness" chemicals; their organic 
combinations of minerals and catalytic agents are broken 
down and altered, and some may become toxic. The complete chemical reaction to the cooking process covers considerable 
scope, as may be seen, and it is of definite importance in the 
science of nutrition, determining to some extent the value of 
practically all known foodstuffs. 3        
RAW FOOD IN PHYSICAL 
STRUCTURE  
COOKING INDUCES a rapid change in the physical state of all 
foods. The degree of change is dependent upon the amount of 
heat that is applied and its duration of process. The heat tends 
to soften the food and break down the rough cellulose 
material into a soft bulk. In so doing it renders certain foods 
edible and more palatable, though not necessarily more appropriate as nourishment. The change in physical structure 
of foods resulting from heat has an important effect upon the 
teeth and gums, as well as upon digestion, assimilation, and 
the rate of food movement through the intestinal tract. As 
such it may have a definite effect upon the condition of human health. F
OOD, TEETH, AND GUMS 
   It is believed that the buffer action of the cellulose of raw 
plant foods tends to prevent erosion of dental enamel. In 
experiments conducted by Carey Miller at the Agricultural 
Experiment Station at the University of Hawaii, it was shown 
that sweetened whole fruits, including grapefruit, guavas, 
plums, mangos, and pineapples, had only slight erosive effects upon the dental enamel of rats which consumed the 
fruits. When the cellulose was removed from the fruits 
through the process of juicing, with the juices then given to the animals, the erosive effe ct was increased three to 
seventeen fold. Experiments at other experiment stations also 
reveal the erosive effects of sweetened fruit juices upon 
dental enamel, especially when the juices are canned or 
otherwise heat-processed. The fact that this is almost entirely prevented when the whole fruits are consumed in their raw 
state is considered evidence that the physical contact between 
the teeth and the raw cellulose acts as a buffer and prevents 
dental erosion. The decay of teeth, as distinct from erosion, is affected by 
the physical state of food. Hoppert, Webber, and Canniff 
have noted that white rats may be kept on a diet fully adequate in minerals and vitamins and yet suffer from dental 
caries if the foods eaten are sufficiently soft to be impacted 
around the teeth. Wallace has noted that soft sugars, sweets, 
and other carbohydrate foods tend to increase susceptibility to 
tooth deca
y in humans, whereas cris p "fibrillar" foods such as raw fruits and vegetable salads tend to prevent decay by 
removing harmful bacteria, preventing tartar formation, 
inducing mastication, and also promoting the flow of saliva 
and oral mucus which is important in oral health. Whereas foods may be softened in various ways, and cellulose may be 
removed through different procedures, the most common 
contemporary method of promoting such food changes is 
through the process of cooking. Not only the teeth but also the gums are affected by 
changes in the physical properties of foods. The presence of 
sufficient raw cellulose or other food materials in the diet which afford the gums exercise is helpful to the development 
of healthy gums. In experiments with more than 200 ferrets, 
King and Glover found that animals given rib bone, with the 
attached muscle, tendon, and periosteum, which required 
much gnawing and chewing with consequent prophylactic action on the gums, were free from gum disease and tartar 
deposits at all times. Ferrets gi ven the same foods separately 
suffered from gum lesions and tartar deposits, for the animals 
no longer had to gnaw the bone to obtain the tendon and 
periosteum. Those ferrets which were fed entirely upon soft foods, including powdered bone-meal, all suffered from 
severe gingival disease and gum lesions, with heavy incrustations of tartar. Burwasser and Hill conducted similar experiments, using 
dogs for their work. Two groups of the animals were fed diets 
identical chemically but different physically. The control 
animals, given hard foods, maintained normal gingivae during the fourteen months the experiment lasted. Those 
given soft foods in the form of a mash all developed marked 
pathological changes in the gingivae, similar to those 
observed in ferrets. As a result of these experiments with animals, an attempt 
was made by J. P King to test the effects of hard foodstuffs 
on the parodontal tissues of humans. A number of 
institutional and other subjec ts suffering from severely 
diseased gingivae were given raw sugar cane to gnaw upon 
each day, thus exposing the gums to the friction of the hard food. In all cases where calculus deposits were relatively 
slight, there was rapid cessation of bleeding and marked 
improvement in the color, texture, and contour of the gum 
surface. When heavy accretions of tartar were present, 
improvement was noticeable, though limited. In all cases the gum area that was improved was limited entirely to that part 
which came in contact with the friction of the sugar cane, the  
 
 inaccessible gum tissue remaining unaffected throughout the 
duration of the experiment. At a later period a group of subjects with gum disease were 
given the same quantity of sugar cane each day, but this was 
softened through a canning process. The results in this case 
were almost entirely negative and little or no improvement was noticeable in any case. One group of the subjects was 
treated by scaling to remove the tartar deposits, but this 
showed no favorable response and only accelerated the rate of 
calculus deposition. With or without such dental aid, the 
subjects receiving the soft, heated sugar cane failed to 
respond to treatment. D
IGESTIBILITY OF RAW FOOD 
   The change in physical structure brought about by heat may 
be partly responsible for change s in digestibility between raw 
and cooked foods. Cooking may impair or improve 
digestibility. For milk, most vegetables, and many other foods 
there is usually impairment. At the New York State 
Agricultural Station, tests were conducted with cooked and uncooked clover, hay, and corn meal, indicating that the 
relative digestibility of the albuminoids was more or less 
diminished by cooking. Thirteen separate series of experiments have been conducted at agricultural stations in this country on the supposed value of cooking or steaming foods for pigs. In ten of these trials, there was not only no 
gain in digestibility; there was a definite loss, and in some 
cases the loss was very considerable. The tests showed that a 
pig may require up to fifty per cent more food to produce a 
pound of gain in weight when food is cooked than when it is raw. Ragner Berg has reported sim ilar results in experiments, 
and he points out that a mixture of soy bean, wheat, wheaten 
bran, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and rye meal, which is quite adequate for animals in its crude state, becomes 
conspicuously inadequate when it is mixed with water, formed into cakes, and baked. I
MPORTANCE OF CELLULOSE  
   While digestibility is important, it should not be assumed 
that all foods should be one hundred per cent digestible. Many plant foods contain much cellulose, which is not 
readily digested. Yet, the presence of this cellulose in the diet is very important. Well-cooked foods, which lack raw 
cellulose, fail to stimulate peristaltic action to the degree 
necessar
y to promote ra pid and effective bowel action. The y remain in the intestinal tract much longer than raw foods, and 
putrefaction and fermentation are often well advanced before 
elimination is made. Usually th e feces have a rich bacterial 
flora and an offensive odor as evidence of the putrefaction 
that has taken place. The effects of the excessive fermentation and putrefaction 
of foods within the body are believed to be an important 
cause of disease. A number of distinguished scientists have 
held that prolonged putrefaction produces toxins which are 
absorbed by the bloodstream. Elie Metchnikoff, of the 
Pasteur Institute in Paris, made what is perhaps the most thorough study of longevity and senility ever undertaken, and 
he maintained that such putrefaction is a definite source of 
poisoning to the body and is the primary cause of the severe 
symptoms of senility. He associated the richness of the 
bacterial flora in the feces with the length of life and claimed that with both animals and humans the average longevity was 
greatest when the bacterial flora was very slight or entirely absent. In this connection it may be pointed out that intestinal 
putrefaction is rapidly diminished in the presence of 
uncooked foods. The cellulose of raw plants is of vital 
importance in maintaining normal peristaltic action in the intestinal tract and thus preventing stagnation in the 
movement of foods. On an exclusive raw diet, the movement 
of foods is so rapid that putrefaction is very slight; the 
resulting feces in such cases are almost free from offensive 
odor and contain only a fraction as many bacteria as would otherwise be present. If the viewpoint of Metchnikoff and 
others is correct, this would have a very important effect upon 
human life and be conducive both to a higher immunity to 
disease and a greater duration of life. The physical changes which cooking produces in foods are 
clearly marked. They involve primarily the destruction of 
cellulose material of plants. Such destruction may result from 
different methods of food-processing, of which cooking is 
only one. The effects of this change in the physical state of 
foods appear to have a definite reaction upon the health of the animal organism, and are particularly detrimental to the 
parodontal structures. They have a pronounced effect upon 
digestion, assimilation, and the movement of foods through 
the intestinal tract. As a cause of disease they rank of possible 
importance, and existing evidence would indicate they may be associated to some degree with senility and longevity. 4        
RAW FOOD IN EXPERIMENTAL 
STUDY  
THE THEORETICAL BASIS  for the results of using raw and 
cooked foods has been considered from the standpoint of 
biochemistry and physiology. It has indicated the manner in 
which cooking alters food. It would appear at first glance that 
these alterations would lower the value of the food and render 
it much less nutritious and valuable to animal life. For confirmation or refutation of this logical assumption, we must 
turn to applied science in the fields of nutrition and biology. Here many studies of animals which have used both cooked 
and uncooked diets under controll ed experimental conditions 
have been made, and they provide rather conclusive evidence on the entire subject. G
ENERAL EXPERIMENTAL DATA 
   Among the first scientists to study cooking in its application 
to animal nutrition were Weill and Mouriquant of France. In 
1912, as they were conducting their celebrated experiments 
with pigeons to determine the effects of refined flour, they 
added a less known series of experiments, also with pigeons, 
to determine the effects of cooking. A number of pigeons were fed whole raw grains; the others were given the same 
kind of grain, entirely whole, without any kind of refining, 
only this grain was thoroughly cooked. The pigeons given the raw grain showed great activity and vigor. They gave every 
indication of being perfectly nourished. Those given the 
cooked grains developed beriberi and all died paralyzed 
within ninety days. Other pigeons were then given two-thirds 
cooked grain and one-third raw grain, which was sufficient to 
give complete freedom from beriberi symptoms. While Director of Nutrition Research under the Research 
Fund Association in India, the celebrated British scientist, Sir 
Robert McCarrison, followed with the first large scale 
experiments with white rats which revealed the effects of 
cooking. One thousand pedigreed albino rats were placed on 
a diet of raw cabbage, raw carrots, raw milk, raw meat, unleavened bread, and sprouted legumes. Two thousand rats 
were then placed on a diet of white bread, margarine, tinned 
meat, tinned jam, boiled tea, boiled potatoes, boiled cabbage, 
and a small amount of milk. All animals were given the same 
general care. The laborator y was ke pt perfectl y clean ; the tiled floor and walls were freque ntly washed. The cages were 
large and spacious, so each rat could run about and exercise 
as it pleased. The rats given primarily uncooked foods were remarkably 
healthy in all respects. From all appearances they suffered 
from no diseases whatsoever, and all mothers reared their young. At the end of two and a quarter years, corresponding 
to 55 years in man, all rats were autopsied. The only trace of 
disease found was an occasional cyst in the liver, which was 
assumed due to the straw bedding which the rats often nibbled. The 2, 000 rats eating mostly cooked foods soon began 
developing a wide assortment of diseases—practically every ailment that one might find listed in any medical textbook. Foremost among these, as revealed in the post-mortem 
examinations, were: tuberculosis, arthritis, Bright's disease, 
gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, glandular enlargements, 
inflammation of the eyes, anemia, loss of hair, infected teeth, infected tonsils, middle-ear disease, corneal ulceration, and 
skin diseases of various types. In addition the rats seemed to 
be affected mentally. In contrast to the raw food rats, which 
were gentle and affectionate, these animals became ill-
tempered and vicious. They would bite the attendant, kill each other, and generally display a state of continuous 
nervous irritability. Following the rat experiments, McCarrison used twenty 
monkeys in a new series of tests. All animals except one were 
in perfect condition when the experiment began—the 
exception being the result of a slight injury sustained by one 
monkey during capture. Nine of the monkeys were placed on a diet consisting chiefly of raw foods, including wheaten 
bread, milk, ground nuts, fresh onions, fresh butter, plantains, 
and water. Six were given wheaten bread, cooked rice, cooked ground nuts, boiled milk, fresh butter, and water. The 
other five were given a similar assortment of cooked foods, 
fresh onions and water, plus a little fresh butter. All animals 
were provided with the same amount of exercise, sunshine, 
fresh air, etc. The only difference in their mode of life was their diet, involving the condition (cooked or uncooked) in 
which the food was given. Regarding the monkeys fed primarily uncooked foods, 
McCarrison stated: "They remained in good health, with the 
exception of an attack of jaundice in some of them; this was 
thought to be due to the sudden lack of exercise, as well as to 
the too generous provision of monkey-nuts which in the earlier sta
ges of the ex periment were not limited to 10 grams. The jaundice was corrected by reducing the diet to milk and 
bananas for a few days, and adding magnesium sulphate to 
the drinking water. After recovery, which occurred in all 
cases, the diet, as above detailed, was used without recurrence of jaundice or any untoward symptoms 
whatsoever. " The monkeys given cooked foods developed troubles from 
the very start. Diseases were common and every animal died 
within 43 to 100 days. Average length of life of those given 
the cooked foods plus onions was 60 days. Those allowed a 
little butter each day lived an average of 69 days. The postmortems of these monkeys indicated the presence of 
dozens of physical abnormalities and ailments. These 
included: dilation of the stomach, gastric catarrh, stomach 
ulcers, duodenal catarrh, degeneration of the mucous 
membrane, congestive changes in the jejunum and ileum, ballooning of the small bowel, atrophy and thinning of the 
walls of the small intestine, colitis, ballooning of the colon, atrophy of the omentus, and cancer of the pylorus. Experiments with guinea pigs, to determine the effects of 
cooked foods, were conducted by Dr. O. Stiner, an 
investigator for the Swiss Board of Health in Berne, 
Switzerland.
An aromatic, sweetened substance containing great medical properties, which embodies the quintessence or inmost principle of life, and can quell the pains of disease, preserve the characteristics of youth, and prolong life indefinitely.
What is the "Elixir of Life" defined as in the book?
Heat, which destroys enzymes at temperatures as low as 118 degrees F.
According to the text, what is the primary cause of the destruction of enzymes in food?
It is essential for maintaining normal peristaltic action in the intestinal tract and preventing putrefaction and fermentation.
What is the importance of cellulose in the diet, according to the text?
The results show that, almost without exception, animals thrive well on an exclusive diet of raw foods, while those given cooked foods suffer from various forms of deterioration and disease.
What is the conclusion of the Pottenger experiments, as mentioned in the text?
The animals fed cooked foods died rapidly, developed various diseases, and showed signs of degeneration, whereas those fed raw foods remained healthy and reproduced successfully.
What is the primary difference in the health of animals fed raw and cooked foods, as observed in the text?