Of all of the primitive groups studied those using sea foods abundantly appear to obtain an
adequate quantity of minerals particularly phosphorus with the greatest ease, in part because the
fat-soluble vitamins provided in the sea foods (by which I mean animal life of the sea) are usually
high. This enables a more efficient utilization of the minerals, calcium and phosphorus. As I study routinely the sample dietaries being used by people suffering from dental caries,
usually associated with other disturbances, I find large numbers who are not getting in their food7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 181/250even half the minimum requirements of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium and iron and usually
only a fraction of the minimum requirements of the fat-soluble vitamins. These latter have a role
which in many respects is like the battery of an automobile which provides the spark for igniting the
fuel. Even though the tank is filled with gasoline there is no power without the igniting spark. There are two programs now available for meeting the dental caries problem. One is to know
first in detail all the physical and chemical factors involved and then proceed. The other is to know
how to prevent the disease as the primitives have shown and then proceed. The former is largely
the practice of the moderns. The latter is the program suggested by these investigations. Available
data indicate that the blood and saliva normally carry defensive factors which when present control
the growth of the acid producing organisms and the local reactions at tooth surfaces. When these
defensive factors are not present the acid producing organisms multiply and produce an acid which
dissolves tooth structure. The origin of this protective factor is provided in nutrition and is directly
related to the mineral content of the foods and to known and unknown vitamins particularly the fat-
soluble. Clinical data demonstrate that by following the program outlined dental caries can be
prevented or controlled when active in practically all individuals. This does not require either
permission or prescription but it is the inherent right of every individual. A properly balanced diet is
good for the entire body. REFERENCES
1. TISDALL, F. F. and KRAMER, B. Methods for the direct quantitative determination of
sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. J. Biol. Chem., 48:1, 1921. 2. KUTTNER, T. and COHEN, H. Micro colorimetric studies. I. A molybdic acid, stannous
chloride reagent. J. Biol. Chem., 75: 517, 1927. 3. PRICE, W. A. Eskimo and Indian field studies in Alaska and Canada. J. Am. Dent. A.,
23:417, 1936. 4. PRICE, W. A. Control of dental caries and some associated degenerative processes
through reinforcement of the diet with special activators. J. Am. Dent. A., 19:1339, 1932. 5. MATTILL, H. A. The oxidative destruction of vitamins A and E. J.A.M.A., 89:1505, 1927. 6. LEASE, E. J., et al. Destruction of vitamin A by rancid fats. J. Nutrition, 16:571, 1938. 7. HOYGAARD, A. Some investigations into the physiology and nasology of Eskimos from
Angmagsslik in Greenland. Oslo, Dybwad, 1937. 8. PEDERSEN, P. O. Investigations into dental conditions of about 3000 ancient and modern
Greenlanders. Dent. Rec., 58:191, 1938. TABLE OF CONTENTS   
 
Chapter 17
ONE ORIGIN OF PHYSICAL DEFORMITIES
FACES are classified on the basis of physical characteristics and appearances which identify
them as having a common ancestry. The constant reproduction of ancestral patterns constitutes
one of the fundamental laws of heredity. We are concerned here with the divergences from the
normal course of reproduction. The precision with which Nature reproduces widely distributed racial stocks demonstrates how
deeply seated and controlling are the Mendelian laws. In Fig. 98 may be seen four young men of
the Melanesian race born on four different islands. They have never seen each other, yet they look7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 182/250like brothers. Similarly, in Fig. 99 are shown four Polynesian girls. Here again they look so much
alike that they might readily be taken for sisters. Yet, they live in four different groups of Polynesian
islands; the Hawaiian, the Samoan, the Tahitian, and the Rarotongan. FIG. 98. These four Melanesian boys born on different
islands look like brothers but are not blood relations. They
illustrate the role of heredity in reproducing racial type. Heredity, however, can only operate normally when the germ
cells have not been injured. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 183/25099. These four Polynesian girls live on different islands and
are not related though they look like sisters. They record
their racial type by undisturbed heredity. The blending of different racial stocks produces typical characteristics of either or both ancestral
patterns. When, however, marked divergences appear without mixing of racial stocks, the result is
not due to heredity, but occurs in spite of heredity. In the previous chapters, I have shown that in
the modernized groups of various primitive racial stocks, ccrtain individuals developed marked
changes in facial and dental arch form from the racial pattern. We are interested to know the
nature of the forces responsible for this distortion of the ancestral pattern. In a study of 1,276
skulls of the ancient civilizations of Peru, I did not find one with a typical divergence from normal
such as we find in modern whites or in children of primitive racial stocks after the parents have
adopted the foods of our modern civilization. It is important that we study this phase in further
detail. In Fig. 100 are shown two Indian fathers and their sons, whom we studied in Peru. The father
and son shown above lived at Talara, in a highly modernized Indian colony. The father worked in
the oil fields on the coast. This district is an arid desert into which practically all food has to be
shipped for the large colony engaged in the oil industry. The father was born while his parents were
using the native foods of the coast, including an abundance of sea foods. The son was born to his
parents after they had adopted the foods of modern civilization. The father and son shown below,
lived in the high Sierras. The father is an Indian descendant of the Incas and was born while his
parents were living on the native dietary of the high plateau country, near Cuzco. After the
adoption of the modern foods by the parents, the son shown to the right was born. It is important
to keep in mind that the marked change in these fathers and sons has occurred in the first
generation after the parents have adopted the white man's foods, and has occurred in spite of
heredity.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 184/250FIG. 100. Disturbed heredity. Above, father a primitive
coastal Indian of Peru with normal facial and dental arch
development. Son at right presents distortions of both facial
and dental arch form. Below, father a primitive Andean
Indian with excellent facial and dental arch form. His son at
right has not reproduced the racial pattern. Both sons are full
blood. In Fig. 101 above is shown a Wakamba father in central Africa, a man who is working for the
railroad company which contributed largely to the food supply for the laborers. The boy shown at
the right was born after the parents had adopted the imported foods. In the lower picture, in Fig. 101, is seen a Fiji Islander and his son. The father was born to parents living on the native foods,
and his son was born after the adoption of the white man's foods. All these are typical cases of the
inhibition of Nature's normal procedure. We have additional data which indicate that our problem
is associated with a progressive lowering of reproductive capacity on the part of one or both of the
parents.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 185/250FIG. 101. Disturbed heredity. Above, the father is a primitive
Wakamba of Central Africa. His son at right has not
reproduced the tribal pattern. Below, the father presents the
typical Fijian primitive facial and dental arch form. His son at
right has a narrowed arch and change in facial form. Both
sons are full blood. In photographing the members of modernized families, regardless of racial stocks, we frequently
find that changes in facial expression appear in the younger members of the family. This change in
facial contour within a family does not occur in the primitive races, while on their native dietary. In contrast with this we see, in Fig. 102, two sisters and two brothers. In each pair there is a
marked change in the facial form of the younger. The arches and the nostrils of the younger child
are narrower and there is a marked lack of development in both the middle and lower thirds of the
face. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 186/250FIG. 102. Disturbed heredity. Quichua Indians. Note the
marked change in shape of the face and dental arches of the
younger sister at the right. Also of the younger brother at
the right. These families demonstrate a lowering of
reproductive capacity of the parents with the later born
children. Very striking illustrations of this progressive degeneration in the children of a given family were
found among the modernized aborigines of Australia. Two views of brothers are shown in Fig. 103
(upper). The father and mother of these two boys were born in the Bush. They were living, when
photographed, in one of the reservations, on the imported modern foods which were provided by
the government. This is also illustrated in the lower photograph. Note the marked
underdevelopment of the middle third of the face of the girl. FIG. 103. Disturbed heredity. These children are Australian
Aborigines. Note the marked change in facial and dental arch
form in the younger child at the right in both families. This is
depressed reproductive capacity of the parents. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 187/250depressed reproductive capacity of the parents. Striking instances were frequently seen among the modernized Maori of New Zealand. Two
sisters presenting two extremes of facial form are shown in the upper section of Fig. 104. The girl
to the left is the older. She has the typical tribal pattern which has been completely lost in her
younger sister to the right. FIG. 104. Above, two Maori girls in New Zealand and below,
two white girls in Peru. Note the facial change in the girls at
the right compared with their older sisters. If the change in facial form were the result of racial admixture, we should not have the types of
deformity patterns that these cases show. Indeed, in the same family we should not find several
different deformity patterns. The lack of development downward of the upper anterior incisors and
the bone supporting them is illustrated for the younger child, in Fig. 103 lower right. It will be noted
that when this girl's molar teeth are in contact her front teeth still miss occluding by a considerable
distance. Members of the white race are affected in a similar manner. In Fig. 104 (lower) are shown two
sisters; the younger to the right reveals strikingly the lack of development of the middle and lower
third of the face. The fact that this condition so frequently shows a progressively severe injury in7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 188/250the younger members of the family is a matter of great importance in tracing the causative factors. It is important to keep in mind that when the injury shows in the face of the young child it becomes
worse when the adult face forms. This increase in deformity occurs at the time of the development
of the permanent dentition, at from ten to fourteen years of age. In the islands north of Australia where contact with modern civilization is just being made, the
adult individuals showed a constant reproduction of the tribal pattern, while those born since
contact was made, had many divergences from normal. In Fig. 105 will be seen a family of six
individuals. Four were born before the modern store was put on that island and two after the
parents had come into contact with the influence of the imported foods. It will be seen that the four
older brothers show marked uniformity of facial design, and that all have reproduced the tribal
pattern. The two younger members show definite change in facial pattern. This is also illustrated in
Fig. 106 above, in which the oldest brother was born before the store was put on Badu Island,
and the three younger, after the establishment of the store twenty-three years ago. FIG. 105. Of these six brothers the four older were born on
Badu Island before the white man's store was established. The two younger at right below, after. Note change in facial
form. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 189/250FIG. 106. Above, the brother at the right was born before the
store was put on Badu Island, the three younger, after. Note
the change in facial form. Below, note that the dental arches
are too constricted to provide space for the erupting
cuspids. This boy is the one shown at the left in Figure 107. This problem of progressive degeneration in the younger members of the family is again
illustrated by the group shown in Fig. 107. The older girl has reproduced the tribal pattern of the
race with normal broad, dental arches. The second girl shows marked narrowing and lengthening
of the face. The third child, a boy, shows very marked divergence from the tribal pattern. This
group is shown below with their teeth exposed. It will be seen that the oldest girl has broad dental
arches typical of Nature's normal design. The second girl has a marked depression laterally in the
molar and bicuspid region producing a narrowing of the palate. The third child has in addition to
the narrowing of the face a marked deficiency in bone growth so that the cuspids both above and
below are forced entirely outside the arch. The total circumference as well as the breadth of the
upper arch is so reduced that space is not available for the cuspids. They will be seen imbedded
high in the tissue, as illustrated in the lower picture of Fig. 106. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 190/250FIG. 107. Natives from islands north of Australia. Above,
note the progressive facial change in the younger sister and
brother with lengthening and narrowing of the face and
body. Below, note the broad arches of the oldest girl at the
right, lateral depression of the bicuspids and molars of the
next girl and inadequate bone development of the boy's face. These are on an island north of Australia. Fig. 108 shows three white girl scouts in New Zealand. Note that progressive narrowing of the
body including both shoulders and hips has occurred in the younger members of the family. This is
also shown in Fig. 107. FIG. 108. White Girl Scouts, New Zealand. Note the
progressive lengthening and narrowing of the face and
narrowing of the hips in the younger girl at the left. It would be remarkable if these disturbances in the physical pattern were limited to the face and
dental arches. An illustration of other deficiency injuries is shown in Fig. 109, which shows three
children in a modernized Maori family. It will be seen that while the oldest girl has the typical Maori
racial pattern of face, there is a marked lack of development of the middle third of the face, with
progressive severity of distortion in her two younger brothers. On observing the feet it will be seen
that she has splendidly formed feet while the second child has flat feet, and the third child has
clubbed feet.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 191/250FIG. 109. New Zealand Mann. Note the progressive change
in facial form of the two younger boys as compared with
their older sister. Then note the progressive change in their
feet. Normal feet, flat feet and club feet. I have found similar examples in several of the modernized primitive racial stocks. The severity
of the disturbing factors may be different under different circumstances. Drought, industrial
depression, unemployment, and the like, all have their influence. In Fig. 110 will be seen three
Maori children of New Zealand; the second child is smaller in stature than the third and gives more
evidence of facial injury. While his older sister and younger brother have normal feet, his quite
severe disturbance in facial growth is associated with club feet. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 192/250FIG. 110. New Zealand Maori. Note the marked undersize of
the second child and underdevelopment of the face
associated with marked deformity of the feet. I have one patient who was the seventh of a family of eleven children. All the children in the
family have good facial development, except this patient. She was born in the midst of a severe
financial depression when the total amount of money available for the food for the family was
reduced to a very low level. The other children were born before or after the depression, and were
not injured. In addition to this patient's severe facial deformity, she has had some arthritis and a
general rheumatic tendency. Her facial injury is marked and is characterized by a lack of
development of the middle third. Deformities of the feet associated with facial deformity have been found in several modernized
groups of primitive racial stocks. A typical case among the modernized Indians of Peru is shown in
Fig. 111. The face of this boy shows abnormal development with narrowing of the upper arch and
displacement of the teeth. This is associated with gross deformity of one foot and shortening of the
leg. He lives in the high country. This phase is strikingly illustrated in Fig. 112 where the face is
very badly injured and both feet are seriously clubbed. This boy is a Coastal Indian. FIG. 111. This boy is a modernized Indian in the high Sierra
of Peru. Note the disturbed development of the face
associated with the deformity of one foot. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 193/250FIG. 112. This is a modernized coastal Indian of Ecuador. Note the serious facial and dental arch distortion associated
with club feet. The serious expressions of physical deformities which we found had occurred in several
primitive racial stocks, after they have become modernized sufficiently to be using the foods of our
modern civilization, are occurring in our modern American families with equal severity and great
frequency. One method for determining the cause of these deformities is through an examination of birth
and death certificates to note the recorded data relative to physical deformities. An outstanding
contribution to this approach has been made by Dr. D. P. Murphy, of the University of
Pennsylvania. In an examination of 130,132 individual death certificates that have been recorded
between 1929 and 1933, he found physical deformities recorded in 1,476 cases. Dr. Murphy sent
field workers to make a personal study of the family histories by contacting the mothers or
grandmothers, of whom they were able to locate 890. From this group he was able to select 405
with sufficiently complete family histories to allow tabulation in a form that would throw light upon
the birth rank and other data. His studies strongly emphasize the presence of a period of low
reproductive activity. In concluding one of his reports he states: (1)
   Miscarriages, stillbirths, and premature births occurred more often than would be expected by
chance in the pregnancies immediately preceding and immediately following the pregnancy
which resulted in the birth of a defective child, and less often than would be expected by chance
in the remaining pregnancies. Miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth occurred most often in
the pregnancy immediately preceding that of the defective child. From the above observations, it is concluded that the birth of a congenitally malformed child
may be only one expression of a prolonged decrease in functional reproductive activity, the
other expressions being miscarriages, stillbirths, and premature births. It is suggested that the obstetrician has unusual reason to suspect the possible existence of a
congenital malformation in the pregnancy which follows immediately after a miscarriage, a
stillbirth, or a premature birth. Shute, of the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, in a personal communication,
states that he has been impressed, in his studies of aborted fetuses, with the large percentage that
are malformed. This seems to link the malformations with the causative factors which have resulted
in decreased reproductive activity.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 194/250    In connection with the production of imperfect infants, the period in the formative process at
which the injury occurs and also its origin are important. Murphy has thrown important light on this
phase in his study of the cause of the defectives in forty families with two or more malformed. (2)
He concludes: "Many if not most of the congenital malformations met with in this study resulted
from defects in the germ plasm, which were present before fertilization." Among the important questions that arise is the relative responsibility of the two parents. As an
approach to this phase Murphy (2) has made a study which deals with a consecutive series of 884
families in each of which there appeared at least one congenitally malformed child. In forty of these
families, there were two or more malformed brothers and sisters. He presents extensive data in
tabular form from which he takes examples to illustrate his interpretation. He states under the
"Clinical Value of Study" the following:
    It is evident from the above data (tables) that there is a strong tendency for congenital
malformations to duplicate in siblings that belong to a consecutive series of families. And also
that such defects tend to appear rather frequently among their more distant relatives. This
duplication of malformations is to be observed in the case of the more serious types of defects,
just as it is noticed in the less serious ones. These findings lend support to the theory that
congenital malformations are primarily the result of influences which affect the germ cells prior
to, rather than after, fertilization. The validity of this theory is emphasized by three examples
taken from Tables I and II. Family 17 in Table I contained 3 children with pyloric stenosis, two of
which were twins. Family 6 in Table II possessed 2 siblings with cleft palate, conceived by the
same father, but born to different mothers. Family 8 in Table II contained 2 children both
exhibiting an absence of the right half of the diaphragm. It does not seem likely that such
sequences of events as these could be the result of any forces that did not operate until after
fertilization had taken place. . . . Since, as has been shown in a previous report, congenital malformations are 24 times more
common in siblings of defective children than in the population at large, the present
observations should be of added clinical interest. Summary and Conclusions
1. A consecutive series of 40 families having 2 or more congenitally malformed children has
been studied with respect to the duplication of defects in siblings. 2. The defect observed in the first malformed child reappeared in a subsequent malformed
sibling in about 50 per cent of all cases; the 50 per cent remaining including all other
possible defects. 3. In a second group of 39 consecutive families, in which a malformed child possessed a
malformed relative, the malformation in the child and in the relative were identical in
about 41 per cent of cases. 4. In 19 non-consecutive families with 2 or more malformed children, the defect of the first
child repeated in a subsequent child in over half of the families. It is significant that while these important factors are just coming to light in our modernized
civilization, the evidence clearly indicates that several so-called primitive races have been
conscious of the need for safeguarding motherhood from reproductive overloads which would
reduce the capacity for efficient reproduction. For example, G. T. Baden (3) in his book "Among
the Ibos of Nigeria" states:
    It is not only a matter of disgrace but an actual abomination, for an Ibo woman to bear
children at shorter intervals than about three years. . . . The idea of a fixed minimum period
between births is based on several sound principles. The belief prevails strongly that it is
necessary for this interval to elapse in order to ensure the mother being able to recuperate her
strength completely, and thus be in a thoroughly fit condition to bear another child. Should a
second child be born within the prescribed period the theory is held that it must inevitably be
weak and sickly, and its chances jeopardized. Similarly, the Indians of Peru, Ecuador and Columbia have been familiar with the necessity of
preventing pregnancy overloads of the mother. Whiffen (4) in his book "North-West Amazons"
states:
    The numbers (of pregnant women) are remarkable in view of the fact that husbands abstain
from any intercourse with their wives, not only during pregnancy but also throughout the
period of lactation--far more prolonged with them than with Europeans. The result is that two7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 195/250and a half years between each child is the minimum difference of age, and in the majority of
cases it is even greater. It may also be important to note that the Amazon Indians have been conscious of the fact that
these matters are related to the nutrition of both parents. Whiffen states that:
    These Indians share the belief of many peoples of the lower cultures that the food eaten by
the parents--to some degree of both parents--will have a definite influence upon the birth,
appearance, or character of the child. This problem of the consciousness among primitives of the need for spacing children has been
emphasized by George Brown (5) in his studies among Melanesians and Polynesians in which he
reports relative to the natives on one of the Solomon Islands as follows:
   After the birth of a child the husband was not supposed to cohabit with his wife until the child
could walk. If a child was weak or sickly, the people would say, speaking of the parents, "Ah,
well, they have only themselves to blame." These new data have a very important bearing on the problems of degeneration in our modern
civilization. Since it is true that a racial pattern can be changed in a single generation our modern
concept and teaching with regard to the role of heredity must be modified, in its relationship to
cause and effect. A deformity arising from intercepted heredity is just as truly biologic as a
deformity arising from accumulated impacts as expressed in heredity. Instead of blaming the past
generations for the distortions or frailties of our modern generation and thus relieving our own
generation of responsibility these new data indicate that the social organization that is creating these
divergencies from normal must alone accept the responsibility. This completely changes some aspects of the theories and practice of modern social education. Instead of planning the care and management of distorted personality as though the lesion were the
result of environmental influences upon a normally organized individual, it should be looked upon
as a distortion affecting one link in the chain of heredity which is neither the result of the distortions
of previous links nor a controlling factor for future links in the chain. The prognosis, in other words,
while being bad for the individual is not necessarily bad for his or her descendants. While many of the individuals who have suffered physical distortions have apparently practically
normal brain development we shall see in the following chapter that a certain percentage have so
great a disturbance in brain organization that they cannot and should not be considered as
individually responsible for their behavior. It is urgent therefore that the data presented in this chapter be looked upon as an important key
to the progressive degeneration that is taking place in many parts of the world under the influence
of our so-called modern civilization. It is a matter of profound significance that the most primitive
races were originally able to avoid the physical degeneration so general in many communities
today. It is also a matter of importance that the primitives recognized not only these dangers but
were conscious of and practiced adequate means for preventing them. They had sufficient
character to achieve the ends which they deemed essential. Weakness in character may constitute
the greatest barrier in the reorganization and conservation of our modern civilization. Two serious defects from which many individuals in our modernized civilization suffer are
impacted teeth and the absence of teeth due to their failure to develop. It is significant that in the
arches of the primitive races practically all teeth form and erupt normally, including the third molars. In the modernized primitives and among our modern whites with deformed dental arches many
teeth are impacted and often several of the permanent teeth have never formed. The evidence
indicates that this, like the facial and dental arch deformities is due to an absence of vitamin A in
the diet of the mother during the gestation period or of one or both of the parents prior to
conception. The cause is discussed in the next chapter. REFERENCES
1. MURPHY, D. P. Reproductive efficiency and malformed children. Surg. Gynec. and7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 196/250Obst., 62:585, 1936. 2. MURPHY, D. P. The duplication of congenital malformations in brothers and sisters and
among other relatives. Surg. Gynec. and Obst., 63:443, 1936. 3. BADEN, G. T. Among the Ibos of Nigeria. Phila., Lippincott, 1921. 4. WIFFEN, T. North-West Amazons. N. Y., Duffield, 1915. 5. BROWN, G. Melanesians and Polynesians. London, Macmillan, 1910. TABLE OF CONTENTS   
 
Chapter 18
PRENATAL NUTRITIONAL DEFORMITIES AND
DISEASE TYPES
A RELATIONSHIP between physical types and certain disease susceptibilities has been
recognized by diagnosticians for centuries. The skill of many physicians in reading intuitively and
from external signs the nature of their patients' troubles when these could not be classified with
precision played an important part in the successful warfare against disease in the period preceding
the advance in modern laboratory technique. For many of the old-time physicians, these
constitutional qualities were expressed as diathesis. An individual would be recognized as having a
phthisical diathesis (a susceptibility to tuberculosis). Similarly, the arthritis group had a rheumatic
diathesis. While modern science has undertaken to express its findings numerically, the problem of
reducing the diatheses to mathematical formulas has required so many overlappings, that it has
been impossible to establish definite limiting boundaries. In my investigations regarding the types of individuals who develop rheumatic group lesions as a
result of dental focal infections, (1)  I found that individuals could be divided into very definite groups
in which 15.05 per cent with severe lesions belonged to families in which similar disease symptoms
had occurred. Evidence was disclosed of a systemic factor that played a controlling role in
determining whether or not the individual would be seriously injured from dental focal infections. It
became very clear that the soil was quite as important a determining factor as was the type of
infection. This finding led me to broaden the scope of my investigations to include a search for
control cases that were free from the degenerative processes. I was not able to find these controls
in the clinical material afforded by our modern civilization, and therefore extended the search to
isolated primitive racial stocks. Associated with a fine physical condition the isolated primitive groups have a high level of
immunity to many of our modern degenerative processes, including tuberculosis, arthritis, heart
disease, and affections of the internal organs. When, however, these individuals have lost this high
level of physical excellence a definite lowering in their resistance to the modern degenerative
processes has taken place. To illustrate, the narrowing of the facial and dental arch forms of the
children of the modernized parents, after they had adopted the white man's food, was
accompanied by an increase in susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis. In Fig. 113 will be seen four young people, examined in the tuberculosis wards of the Juneau
(Alaska) Hospital for Indians and Eskimos. All exhibited marked evidence of prenatal injury. Note
the cuspids erupting outside the line of the arch. The teeth of the upper arch of the boy at the upper
left, pass inside the teeth of the lower arch. His upper arch is so narrow that even a finger could
not be passed between the lateral walls. These pictures had to be taken with short exposures in the
poor light of the wards. They reveal, however, the conditions.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 197/250FIG. 113. Eskimo children seriously ill in the tuberculosis
wards of the government hospital at Juneau, Alaska. They
were too ill to be moved to good light for photographing. Every tubercular child in these wards had disturbed facial
development and deformed dental arches. The parents were
living on modern foods. In Figs. 114 and 115 are shown several individuals photographed in the tuberculosis hospital in
New Zealand. Note the lack of development of the middle third of the face and the narrowing and
lengthening of the face. In several individuals the teeth of the upper arch closed inside the teeth of
the lower arch, instead of outside, as in normal persons. Here again, 100 per cent of the young
people with tuberculosis gave evidence of injury in the formative period, and 91.2 per cent of the
total number of patients were found to have disturbed dental arches. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 198/250FIG. 114. These are patients in the Maori Hospital for
tuberculosis in New Zealand. Note the very marked
underdevelopment of the middle third of the face above and
of both middle and lower thirds of the face below. Every
patient under thirty years of age in these wards had
deformed dental arches and disturbed facial development. FIG. 115. These girls are also in the tuberculosis ward of the
New Zealand Hospital for Maori. Note the marked
disturbance in development of the face and dental arches. All have pinched nostrils. In Fig. 116 are shown four typical individuals in the tuberculosis hospitals in Hawaii; one in Hilo
and the other in Honolulu. In each of these hospitals 100 per cent of the individuals had abnormal
development of the face and dental arches. FIG. 116. These are native Hawajians in tuberculosis
hospitals. Every child in the wards showed marked
disturbance of facial development and dental arch form. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 199/250disturbance of facial development and dental arch form. While we know many of the factors contributing to the nature of diatheses, I have found no data
dealing with the forces which determine diatheses, except the influence of heredity. The data I am
presenting in this volume, deal with forces other than heredity. An outstanding advance in organizing the data which relate the physical characteristics of
individuals to their disease susceptibilities has been made by the Constitutional Clinic of Columbia
University and the Presbyterian Hospital of New York, under the able direction of Dr. George
Draper. He has found it necessary in order to study man as a whole, to view him from four
different angles: "his form, his function, his immunity mechanism and his psychology." These four
attributes he has designated as the "four panels of personality." Dr. Draper has published several
communications including two textbooks, one entitled, "Human Constitution," (2) and the other,
"Disease and the Man." (3)  Dr. Draper has approached this problem from the data provided in the
medical clinics, and therefore, from the characteristics of affected individuals, whereas my
approach has been through a study of the primitive groups and the physical changes and disease
susceptibilities which occur as a result of their modernization. The similarity of our conclusions
greatly emphasizes the importance of the findings of each. Dr. Draper has emphasized the
importance of the face and of the dental arches in the general matter of susceptibility to disease. He
closes one of his chapters, entitled The Relation of Face, Jaws and Teeth to Human
Constitution and Its Bearing on Disease, as follows:
    The lessons which we have learned from these observations, however, is that the face and
jaws hold much information of value to the student of the human being. As clinicians in the field
of internal medicine we have been taught to observe the gums and teeth in order to detect
possible foci of infection. But for the student of clinical organismalism, the teeth and jaws hold
much valuable information about the total personality. For the worker in the dental branch of
medicine it would seem that an unusual opportunity is offered for extending such observations
and correlations. It may very well be that the dental student who becomes interested in the
relation of the mouth to the organism may form a most important link with the responsibilities of
internal medicine. The more we come to view man as a totality, as an organism which functions as a whole and
not as a collection of separate elements, the more do all the special branches of medicine
become fused with the general concept which forms the basis of this discussion, namely, the
relation of the human organism as a whole to those various reactions of maladjustment with
environment which we call disease. It is clear that a definite association of abnormal facial patterns with specific disease
susceptibilities exists. From my studies it is also clear that these abnormal facial patterns are
associated with influences resulting from a change in the nutrition of the parents of the individual. We are at this point concerned with the forces that underlie these phenomena. In approaching this problem as it applies to human beings, much can be learned from a study of
domestic and wild animals. Until recent years it has been common knowledge among the
superintendents of large zoos of America and Europe that members of the cat family did not
reproduce efficiently in captivity, unless the mothers had been born in the jungle. Formerly, this
made it necessary to replenish lions, tigers, leopards and other felines from wild stock as fast as the
cages were emptied by death or as rapidly as new stock should be added by enlargement. The story is told of a trip to Africa made by a wild animal specialist from the London zoo for the
purpose of obtaining additional lions and studying this problem. While in the lion country, he
observed the lion kill a zebra. The lion proceeded then to tear open the abdomen of the zebra and
eat the entrails at the right flank. This took him directly to the liver. After spending some time
selecting different internal organs, the lion backed away and turned and pawed dirt over the
carcass which he abandoned to the jackals. The scientist hurried to the carcass and drove away
the jackals to study the dead zebra to note what tissues had been taken. This gave him the clue
which when put into practice has entirely changed the history of the reproduction of the cat family
in captivity. The addition of the organs to the foods of the captive animals born in the jungle
supplied them with foods needed to make reproduction possible. Their young, too, could7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 200/250reproduce efficiently. As I studied this matter with the director of a large lion colony, he listed in
detail the organs and tissues that were particularly selected by animals in the wilds and also those
that were provided for animals reproducing in captivity. He explained that, whereas the price of
lions used to be fifteen hundred dollars for a good specimen, they were now so plentiful that they
would scarcely bring fifteen cents. If we observe the parts of an animal that a cat eats when it kills
a small rodent or bird, we see that it does not select exclusively the muscle meat. During my biological investigations using animals, I have had barn rats gnaw their way into the
room where the rabbits were kept and kill several animals during a night. On two different
occasions, only the eyes of the rabbits had been eaten, and the blood may have been sucked. On
another occasion the brains had been eaten. It was evident that these rats had a conscious need for
special food elements that were provided by these tissues. No phases of the problem of physical degeneration can be as important as knowledge of the
forces that are at work and the methods by which they operate. It is clear from the data presented
in previous chapters that these forces can become operative with sufficient speed to make a
difference in two generations, one succeeding the other. It is also clear from preceding data that
these forces originate in the change of the nutrition of the parents. A chemical analysis of the food (Chapter 15), discloses a marked reduction in the intake of
some of the vitamins and minerals in individuals who are undergoing a degenerative process. Many investigators have presented important data dealing with the role of vitamin A in prenatal
as well as postnatal growth processes. It is known that the eye is one of the early tissues to
develop injury from the absence of vitamin A, hence the original name for this vitamin was the
xerophthalmic vitamin. The importance of vitamin A to the eye, and the fact that this vitamin is
stored in eye tissue have been emphasized by several investigations. Wald (4)  in discussing vitamin A in eye tissues states:
    Extracts of eye tissue (retina, pigment epithelium and choroid) showed the characteristic
vitamin A absorption band at 620 mu. with the SbC13 test and were also potent in curing vitamin
A deficient rats. The concentration of vitamin A was very constant for different mammals, at
about 20 Y per g. dry tissue. Values for frog tissues were much higher. This comment is of interest in connection with the observation that I have previously quoted
regarding the raid of barn rats on the rabbit cages in the stress of deep winter. While it has been
shown that vitamin A is essential for the normal function of eyes, its role in the formation of eye
tissues has not been clearly understood. Probably the most sensitive procedure for testing the
depletion of vitamin A in domestic animals today is by observing their behavior in semi-darkness. Edward Mellanby (5) has presented important new data dealing with vitamin A deficiency and
deafness. He states in an abstract of a paper read before the Biochemical Society, in London in
November 1937, the following:
    In previous publications I have shown that a prominent lesion caused by vitamin A
deficiency in young animals, especially when accompanied by a high cereal intake, is
degeneration of the central and peripheral nervous systems. In the peripheral system it is the
afferent nerves which are principally affected, including the eighth nerve, both cochlear and
vestibular divisions. It has now been possible to show that vitamin A deficiency produces in
young dogs degenerative changes in the ganglia, nerves and organs of both hearing and
balance inside the temporal bone. All degrees of degeneration have been produced, from slight
degeneration to complete disappearance of the hearing nerve. The nerves and ganglion cells
supplying the organ of Corti are more easily damaged than those of the vestibular division. As
might be expected when once the spiral ganglion cells have disappeared, additions of vitamin A
to the diet have no effect, and the organ of Corti remains completely denervated. The
"inattention" of dogs on these diets which I previously ascribed to cerebral defect is
undoubtedly due to deafness. It now remains to determine whether these results may be
extended to explain certain forms of deafness in man. The serious effects of deficiency in vitamin A on pregnant rats has been investigated and7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 201/250reported by Mason (6)  as follows:
    Abnormalities are described in the pregnancies of rats maintained on diets deficient in vitamin
A in varying degree. Prolongation of the gestation period up to 26 days in severe cases and a
long and difficult labour which might last 2 days and often resulted in death of both mother and
young were characteristic. Defects due to deficiencies in vitamin A in the diet of dairy animals, (pregnant cows, their
offspring and normal calves fed on the milk from those cows) have been reported upon by Meigs
and Converse (7)  as follows:
    In 1932 we reported from Beltsville evidence that farm rations frequently fed to calves may be
dangerously low in vitamin A, and that milk produced by cows fed hay which has lost its green
color may be an unsafe source of vitamin A in the calf ration. This preliminary paper reported
results dealing with four cows which had been fed over two years on a good grain mixture and
late-cut low-color timothy hay. Of six calves born of these cows, two were dead, one was unable
to stand and died shortly after birth, and three were both weak and blind. The fact that cows so
fed were unable to properly nourish their calves before birth led to the question whether the milk
from these cows might not be deficient for normal growth of calves from other cows fed on
rations adequate in vitamin A. This preliminary report included results on three normal calves
fed milk from those cows fed low-color timothy hay. The three calves died at fifty-seven, sixty-
two, and seventy-one days of age, respectively. Since growth, prenatal and postnatal, is related directly to the pituitary body, we are specially
interested in the knowledge available on the functioning of this gland. The work of Barrie  (8) throws important light on this subject. He has reported as follows:
    Partial deficiency of vitamin E as shown in the female rat fed on a diet containing only a trace
of vitamin E but which is otherwise complete, results in the prolongation of gestation, which
may be continued as long as 10 days beyond the normal period. The offspring under these
conditions are abnormal. These young may develop slowly and be thin and undersized in spite
of sufficiently profuse lactation, or they may become extremely fat and develop a leg weakness
and carpopedal spasm about 18 days after birth. Animals of both types have thin skulls and
short silky fur. Complete E deficiency in the adult also produces the soft fur and imperfectly
calcified skull. Partially E deficient animals occasionally give birth to a litter but fail to lactate. The changes observed are similar in several ways to those produced by hypophysectomy
(surgical removal of pituitary gland). Marked degranulation of the anterior pituitary is found in
both the abnormal young and the adult sterile animals. Lack of vitamin E therefore produces a
virtual nutritional hypophysectomy in the young rat. The inability of various species to complete gestation when vitamin E is not provided in
adequate quantity has been reported by many investigators. A. L. Bacharach, E. Allehorne and H.
E. Glynn have used their study of this factor as a means of estimating the quantity of vitamin E in
the diet. (9)  They state:
    A diet suitable for work on vitamin E causes female rats, fed on this diet from weaning, to show
a gestation-resorption rate not significantly differing from 100 per cent; when the diet is
supplemented with adequate amounts of vitamin E, also administered from weaning, the live litter
rate does not differ significantly from 100 per cent. It is found that, on such a diet, the percentage
of implantations (conceptions) is markedly different between animals that have been submitted to a
single gestation-resorption, owing to lack of vitamin E, and animals that are mated for the first time. The authors suggest that the process of undergoing gestation-resorption brings about some deep-
seated changes in the reproductive mechanism of the rat, of a kind not hitherto recognized as
characterising the vitamin E deficiency syndrome. One of the outstanding changes which I have found takes place in the primitive races at their
point of contact with our modern civilization is a decrease in the ease and efficiency of the birth
process. When I visited the Six Nation Reservation at Brantford, Ontario, I was told by the
physician in charge that a change of this kind had occurred during the period of his administration,
which had covered twenty-eight years and that the hospital was now used largely to care for young
Indian women during abnormal childbirth (Chapter 6).7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 202/250    A similar impressive comment was made to me by Dr. Romig, the superintendent of the
government hospital for Eskimos and Indians at Anchorage, Alaska. He stated that in his thirty-six
years among the Eskimos, he had never been able to arrive in time to see a normal birth by a
primitive Eskimo woman. But conditions have changed materially with the new generation of
Eskimo girls, born after their parents began to use foods of modern civilization. Many of them are
carried to his hospital after they had been in labour for several days. One Eskimo woman who had
married twice, her last husband being a white man, reported to Dr. Romig and myself that she had
given birth to twentysix children and that several of them had been born during the night and that
she had not bothered to waken her husband, but had introduced him to the new baby in the
morning. Sherman, (10) who has made many important contributions to our knowledge of vitamin A, has
shown in a recent communication that an amount of vitamin A sufficient to support normal growth
and maintain every appearance of good health in animals, may still be insufficient to meet the added
nutritive demands of successful reproduction and lactation. With the failure to reproduce
successfully, there usually appears in early adult life an increased susceptibility to infection, and
particularly a tendency to lung disease at an age corresponding to that at which pulmonary
tuberculosis so often develops in young men and women. He states, further, that vitamin A must be
supplied in liberal proportions not only during the growth period but during the adult period as
well, if a good condition of nutrition and a high degree of health and vigor are to be maintained. Hughes, Aubel and Lienhardt (11) have shown that a lack of vitamin A in the diets of pigs has
resulted in extreme incoordination and spasms. They also emphasize that gilts bred prior to the
onset of the nervous symptoms either aborted or farrowed dead pigs. Hart and Gilbert (12) have shown that the symptoms most commonly seen in cattle having a
vitamin A deficiency are the birth of dead or weak calves, with or without eye lesions. They report
also a condition of newborn calves which simulates white scours, and the development of eye
lesions in immature animals. Hughes (13 has shown that swine did not reproduce when fed barley and salt, but did so when
cod liver oil was added to this food. Sure (14) has shown that a lack of vitamin A produces in females a disturbance in oestrus and
ovulation, resulting in sterility. Further, he states, that resorption of the fetus may be produced by
lack of vitamin A, even on a diet containing an abundance of vitamin E, which is known as the anti-
sterility vitamin. One of the most important contributions in this field has been made by Professor Fred Hale, of
the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, at College Station, Texas. He has shown that many
physical deformities are readily produced by curtailing the amount of vitamin A in the ration of pigs. He produced fifty-nine pigs (15) that were born blind, every pig in each of six litters-where the
mothers were deprived of vitamin A for several months before mating and for thirty days
thereafter. In pigs, the eyeballs are formed in the first thirty days. He found, as have several others,
that depriving pigs of vitamin A for a sufficient period produced severe nerve involvements
including paralysis and spasms, so that the animals could not rise to their feet. He reported that one
of these vitamin A deficient pigs that had previously farrowed a litter of ten pigs, all born without
eyeballs, was given a single dose of cod liver oil two weeks before mating. She farrowed fourteen
pigs which showed various combinations of eye defects, some had no eyes, some had one eye,
and some had one large eye and one small eye, but all were blind.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 203/250FIG. 117. Above, this pig was one of fifty-nine born without
eyeballs and with other serious deformities due to lack of
vitamin A in the mother's diet. Offspring of these blind pigs
when normally fed had perfect eyes and no deformities. Below, A, at left shows normal eye of a pig at nine months. B, at right shows partial eyeballs and optic nerves produced
in offspring when one dose of vitamin A was given two
weeks before mating. (Courtesy of Professor Fred Hale.) In Fig. 117 I am able through Professor Hale's kindness, to show an eyeless pig and a normal
eye of a pig (at the left) and (at the right) a pair of incomplete eyes from a pig born in the litter just
mentioned. This one dose of vitamin A made possible the partial formation of optic nerves and
eyeballs. A typical eyeless pig is shown in Fig. 118 (lower). Note its deformed ears. Among the
many physical injuries which develop in the pigs born to sows fed on a diet deficient in vitamin A
are serious defects of the snout, dental arches, eyes and feet. This pig was born without eyeballs. It
also had club feet and two tumors. In Fig. 118 (upper right) is shown a pig with cleft palate, and in
Fig. 119 (upper right) one with double hairlip. In Fig. 118 (upper left) is shown a boy with cleft
palate and defective eyes. One of the very important results of Professor Hale's investigations has
been the production of pigs with normal eyes, born to parents both of whom had no eyeballs due
to lack of vitamin A in their mother's diet. The problem clearly was not heredity. Two litters, one
containing nine pigs and the other eight, which were born to mothers that had been deprived of
vitamin A before mating and for thirty days thereafter, produced the following lesions: All had
complete absence of eyeballs; some lacked development of the opening of the external ear; others
had cleft palate, harelip, displaced kidneys, displaced ovaries, or displaced testes.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 204/250FIG. 118. Upper left: Boy has cleft palate, and harelip. Upper
right: Pig has cleft palate, no eyes. Below, Pig has club feet,
deformities of the ears, two tumors and no eyeballs due to
lack of adequate vitamin A in the mother's diet. (Kindness of
Professor Hale.) FIG. 119. Many young of modern domestic animals are born
with deformities. At the upper left is seen a pup with cleft
palate. In two previous litters all the pups were deformed and
unable to live. At the upper right is one of Professor Hale's
pigs with double harelip. Below two blind lambs and one
with club foot. 7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 205/250with club foot. It is of interest that in October, 1935, Professor Hale reports that the Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station was informed that a litter of fourteen pigs had been born blind in June, 1935,
on a farm at Ralls, Texas. Of these, six pigs were raised and brought to the Station for further
study. The farmer owning the pigs stated that no green feed was available on his farm from March,
1934, until May, 1935. It will be noted that this condition paralleled the experimental conditions at
the station under which by restricting vitamin A before and immediately after gestation fifty-nine
pigs were produced without eyeballs. Professor Hale reports that in April, 1935, a litter of seven pigs were born blind at McGlean,
Texas, which was suffering from drought conditions, similar to those at Ralls. The litter and dam
were purchased by the Experimental Station. Matings were made between blind pigs. These were
fed rations containing ample vitamin A, and normal pigs with normal eyeballs were produced. Even
the mating of a blind son with his mother who had produced him when on deficient diet, produced
only normal pigs when both had ample vitamin A. He states, "If an hereditary factor had been the
cause of this congenital blindness, these matings would have produced some blind pigs, even if
vitamin A were present in the ration." The problem of congenital cleft palate has been very
embarrassing to those parents whose children have been so afflicted. It is of interest that breeders
of fancy dogs are frequently embarrassed by having this problem develop in their kennels or
among litters born to parent stock obtained from their kennels. In Fig. 119 (upper left) I have shown a water spaniel pup with cleft palate. This pup was not
able to nurse because of the impossibility of producing suction without a palate. When fed
artificially the milk was expelled through the nostrils. The mother had given birth to two previous
litters all of which were dead at birth or died soon after. Her diet had been reinforced with mineral
calcium phosphate in tablet form hoping to insure normal offspring. This is not nature's method. I am informed by a veterinary that he has experienced trouble with harelip, cleft palate or
serious facial deformities among dogs that are pets in homes where they are lavishly coddled and
fed the things they like best. He stated that he has more trouble with head defects in bulldog pups
than any other breed. There are few if any problems connected with modern degeneration on which so much light is
thrown as that supplied by recent investigations on the problems of paternal responsibility for
defects in the offspring. There are several reasons for this. Because the mother has the sole
responsibility for the nourishment of the fetus during the formative period and she alone provides
the handicaps incident to the process of birth, it is very natural that defects are practically all
interpreted as being associated with these processes. This unfortunately, has been embarrassed
further by the fact that since distortions in behavior do not appear until sometime after birth,
normality was largely assumed to be present up to the time of their appearance, and therefore of
necessity would be contributions from the child's environment. As such they would be subject
naturally to treatment by applying influences to change the mental environment. Hence the entire
problem of the role of the sex cells through controlling the architecture of the body including the
brain has been largely overlooked. Very important light is thrown on this problem in the data
provided on the pup shown in Fig. 120. This shows a dachshund pup with cleft palate and a very
severe spinal deformity. This is not unlike deformities frequently seen, or unlike that of the pup
shown in Fig. 119. The highly significant circumstance is the fact that these same deformities not
only appeared also in another pup of this same litter but in one pup in each of three other litters
about the same time. While four mothers were involved these four litters were all sired by one
father. The paternal responsibility is clearly established.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 206/250FIG. 120. This pup had cleft palate, as seen above, and
grossly deformed spine, as shown below. It was one of two
pups born in the same litter with the same defects and one of
five pups born in four litters with these same defects. Five
different mother dogs were involved but all pups were from
the same father dog. At the right in Fig. 119 a lamb is shown with club feet and two lambs without eyeballs. I am told
that in some of the sheep raising states quite a number of deformities occur in lambs at birth. One
writer states:
    These deformities may maintain themselves in any number of ways. We have them two-
headed, 5 and 6 legs, 2 tails, born without eyes, hermaphrodites, born with ribs on one side and
any number of such deformities. A common deformity in sheep is under-shot and over-shot
jaws. This simply means that the upper jaw extends farther to the front that the under jaw and
the front teeth do not meet. This is called over-shot and the reverse is called under-shot. It will be noted that a common deformity in sheep relates to an under-development of either the
upper or lower jaw which is one of the most common expressions of disturbed development in
humans. Some illustrations of the deformities that may occur in domestic animals are shown in Fig. 121. Above are seen two cows each with an extra foreleg attached to the shoulder; below, to the left is
shown a double-faced calf which also had a cleft palate; to the right a cat with deformed legs.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 207/250FIG. 121. Typical deformities in domestic animals. Above,
two cows with an extra foreleg hanging from the shoulder. Below, left, double faced calf. Right, cat with deformed legs. In corresponding with Professor Hale, I inquired whether they had information as to the effect of
vitamin A deficiency on the sire. He replied, "If we reduceed the vitamin A content of the body of
the sire, he would become sterile and, therefore, we could not try this procedure." The question
arises as to what the effect would be of a less severe depletion of vitamin A of both parents. It is a very easy matter to place the full responsibility on the mother, when defects develop in the
children. These data indicate that either parent may contribute directly to certain of the defects of
the children, due to defects in the germ plasm. A practical case from my field studies includes a full-blooded Eskimo woman who was married
twice, the second time to a white man, by whom she had several children. She had insisted on
selecting and preparing the native foods for herself, though she prepared the white man's imported
foods for him. With a total of twenty-six pregnancies she did not have any tooth decay. He had
rampant tooth decay, and a marked abnormality in the development of face and of the dental
arches. Several of the children had incomplete development of the face and of the dental arches. One of the girls who was married had very narrow dental arches and nostrils and a typical boyish
type of body build. Unlike her mother, this girl had a very severe experience in the birth of her only
child and insisted that she would not take the risk of having another. Several daughters have
narrow arches. The question arises whether the deficient nutrition of the father may have been the
contributing factor in the injury of their children. New light is being thrown on human problems by animal investigations. One study that is
particularly instructive has been conducted by McKenzie and Berliner of the University of
Missouri. (Bulletin No. 265.) The experimental animals used were sheep. Their studies indicated to
them that they could predict the level of fertility of the sire by studies made on the seminal fluid. They found that the percentage of abnormal spermatozoa increased to 84 per cent under
unfavorable conditions and reduced to less than 15 per cent under favorable conditions. When the
unfavorable conditions characterized by these abnormal spermatozoa prevailed the females did not
conceive. High temperature proved to be an important controlling factor as indicated by variation
in percentage of abnormal sperm. In one breed the average variation was from 2.5 per cent in
January to 22 per cent defective in August; in another breed from 18 per cent in January to 73 per
cent defective in August.
Nutrition_and_Physical_Degeneration_by_Weston_Price.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Of all of the primitive groups studied those using sea foods abundantly appear to obtain an
adequate quantity of minerals particularly phosphorus with the greatest ease, in part because the
fat-soluble vitamins provided in the sea foods (by which I mean animal life of the sea) are usually
high. This enables a more efficient utilization of the minerals, calcium and phosphorus. As I study routinely the sample dietaries being used by people suffering from dental caries,
usually associated with other disturbances, I find large numbers who are not getting in their food7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg. net. au/ebooks02/0200251h. html#toc 181/250even half the minimum requirements of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium and iron and usually
only a fraction of the minimum requirements of the fat-soluble vitamins. These latter have a role
which in many respects is like the battery of an automobile which provides the spark for igniting the
fuel. Even though the tank is filled with gasoline there is no power without the igniting spark. There are two programs now available for meeting the dental caries problem. One is to know
first in detail all the physical and chemical factors involved and then proceed. The other is to know
how to prevent the disease as the primitives have shown and then proceed. The former is largely
the practice of the moderns. The latter is the program suggested by these investigations. Available
data indicate that the blood and saliva normally carry defensive factors which when present control
the growth of the acid producing organisms and the local reactions at tooth surfaces. When these
defensive factors are not present the acid producing organisms multiply and produce an acid which
dissolves tooth structure. The origin of this protective factor is provided in nutrition and is directly
related to the mineral content of the foods and to known and unknown vitamins particularly the fat-
soluble. Clinical data demonstrate that by following the program outlined dental caries can be
prevented or controlled when active in practically all individuals. This does not require either
permission or prescription but it is the inherent right of every individual. A properly balanced diet is
good for the entire body. REFERENCES
1. TISDALL, F. F. and KRAMER, B. Methods for the direct quantitative determination of
sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. J. Biol. Chem. , 48:1, 1921. 2. KUTTNER, T. and COHEN, H. Micro colorimetric studies. I. A molybdic acid, stannous
chloride reagent.
Seafood-consuming primitive groups, as they receive fat-soluble vitamins that enable more efficient utilization of minerals.
What groups of people are more likely to obtain an adequate quantity of minerals, particularly phosphorus, and why?
The modern approach is to understand the physical and chemical factors involved, while the primitive approach is to prevent the disease.
What is the main difference between the approach of modern society and the approach of primitive societies in addressing the problem of dental caries?
The data emphasizes the importance of the forces that operate and the methods by which they operate in the development of physical deformities.
What is the significance of the data presented in this chapter?
Dr. Murphy found that the duplication of congenital malformations in siblings and relatives is not due to heredity, but rather to the influence of the parents' diet before conception.
What is the main point made by Dr. Murphy in his study of congenital malformations?
The study shows that the father's deficient nutrition can also contribute to the development of deformities in children, and that the sole responsibility for defects should not be placed on the mother.
What is the significance of the study on the effect of vitamin A deficiency on the sire?