Soil and Health Library
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whatsoever constitutes a violation of copyrights. THE NATIONAL MALNUTRITION*  
D. T. QUIGLEY, M. D., F. A. C. S.  
    
   
  
    
Published by The Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research Milwaukee, Wisconsin 
Copyright 1943 D. T. Quigley Seventh Printing of Second Edition December, 1952 
Printed in U.S.A. by The Olsen Publishing Co., Milwaukee, Wis.  
    
 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS  
Introduction 
Chapter 1: Our Dietary Needs Chapter 2: Why We Must Have Vitamins Chapter 3: Why We Must Have Minerals Chapter 4: Our Dietary Intake (What Do We Get) Chapter 5: What Are The Results Of Our Dietary Errors 
Chapter 6: How Widespread Are Deficiencies 
Chapter 7: Cancer-Its Treatment And Prevention 
Chapter 8: Nutritional Treatment Of Anemia 
Chapter 9: What Must Be Done? *The Soil and Health Library wishes to extend its sincere thanks to Kay Morgan of 
Irving, Texas, for having donated a copy of this book. INTRODUCTION  
   Since the first use of the word "vitamin" the problem of nutrition has been more or 
less confused. With the discovery of new vitamins confusion increased. When minerals 
were added to the necessary articles required for good nutrition the bungling and 
muddling connected with pontifical pronouncements from supposed high places made it 
more difficult for anyone, doctor or layman, to get at the truth. The matter would not 
have been so hard to untangle had not the whole question been saturated with the poison of commercialism. The selling of bad food had become one of the biggest if not actually 
the biggest of business enterprises. The usual scientific discussions which always follow 
the introduction of new ideas in medicine were not allowed to proceed as usual in an 
unbiased way, but commercial interests began in a most insidious way to combat 
scientific fact with ridicule, endowed res earch (endowed in one direction), and other 
well tried and tested methods. As the purveyors of good food were practically 
unorganized and had smaller investments, erro rs were allowed to go unchallenged, the 
general confusion on the subject of nutriti on increased and the sabotage on the health 
and well being of the American people proceeded apace. Under the stress of war the 
will to better health has been developed. The bad qualities of certain foods were 
admitted. It was conceded that white fl our and sugar were producers of the most 
dangerous diseases. An unsatisfactory compromise was made and the false statements 
foisted on the people to allay general unrest. In effect the bad food purveyors now said: our product was bad but now it is good. As a matter of fact white flour has been 
improved very little, sugar not at all and canned goods have the same reduced amounts of vitamin B that they always had, (the B largely killed by heat). The only good flour is whole grain flour and as this must be fresh, (it spoils in a few 
weeks) the white flour milling business would be affected in an adverse way if fresh 
whole wheat flour were to become universally used. In human nutrition we must aim at the optimum as in the inevitable national conflicts 
which test the highest in physical and mental development, only the optimum will 
prevail. The profit minded individual who prates about the American diet being 
satisfactory as it is, digs his own grave as he opens the way for our enemies. CHAPTER I  
OUR DIETARY NEEDS (What do we need?) The requirements for the maintenance of life in every living cell are to be obtained 
partly from the air we breathe, partly from the water we drink, and partly from the food we eat. There is the possibility of variations or changes in any of these three which may inhibit the optimum life processes in the living cells. Air may be contaminated with smoke or gas or dust. Water may be contaminated with typhoid fever germs or amebic 
dysentery. Food may be contaminated with disease germs, or may fail to contain the necessary elements for providing the highest type of resistance to disease germs. In the life of the ordinary person, the most common disease-producing factors are 
from food deficiencies. In the past it has been thought that contaminated air and water 
have a good deal to do with the production of disease, and while this does occasionally 
occur, it is not to be compared in importance with the amount of disease that is 
produced by errors in diet. In the past, before dietary principles we re on a scientific basis, much theorizing was 
done as to the cause of some of the common diseases. Philosophical methods of thought 
ascribed disease to air, water, weather, evil spirits, changes in the moon, cold, wet, and 
witchcraft. Today we know that the average healthy animal will live out his life free 
from disease, retaining mental and physical faculties until near the time that death 
comes from old age, if the individual is properly nourished. These principles have been worked out on laboratory animals, and are now well established. The application to 
human individuals is much more difficult than to laboratory animals, but by accident or 
design, much evidence has been accumulated on individual human beings and in 
groups, in factories, armies, and pers ons in certain geographical locations. The Japanese Army during the Russian- Japanese war suffered in a very great way 
from a deficiency disease. The Japanese Navy during the same war, properly fed, 
suffered very little from this disease. Some industrial plants have experimented with 
employees in the matter of a tendency to catch cold, and have found that the well-
nourished individuals have a much smaller number of days absent from work on this 
account. The people of Labrador every winter suffer severely from scurvy and beriberi 
due to the fact that during this period of the year they are located in a somewhat 
inaccessible geographical location, and fresh fruits and vegetables are not available. These instances are given to show the methods used to acquire information in 
connection with the human animal, and in order to show that in the main the principles that apply to rats and guinea pigs apply in the same way to humans. A few of the sources of information in connection with human diets are studies made 
in the Loetschental valley in Switzerland, th e Outer Hebrides Islands and the Indians of 
western Canada. These relatively inaccessible geographic locations permit the study of 
peoples who live on natural foods. Western Canada, in the region east of the Rocky 
Mountains, is hard to reach. The Indians in this part of Canada enjoyed long life and 
good health until a fort was established by the British government. The Indians who 
lived near the fort found they could trade their furs and fish for "the white man's food." The white man's food consisted mostly of white flour and sugar. The Indians took to 
this with as great enthusiasm as they did to alcohol; resulting in many cases of arthritis, tuberculosis, and tooth decay, with a shortened life period, and with lessened ability to 
work. The Indians in the back country who did not have access to the white man's food kept their good health; had no tuberculosis or any of the other diseases mentioned. In the Outer Hebrides--a little group of Islands in the north Atlantic west of northern 
Scotland--the natives were found to be healthy, strong, and long-lived. Their food was whole grain products, milk, milk products, and meat. There was no need for a doctor or 
a dentist. In time the Lewis tweeds from the Is land of Lewis in that group came to be an 
important article of commerce. A brisk shipping between Scotland and the capital of the 
Islands sprang up. This shipping brought the English and Scotch, who in turn brought 
marmalade and other sweets, candies, cookies, and products made with white flour and sugar. Coincident with the introduction of  these foods, the school children showed a 
large incidence of tooth decay, adenoids, diseased tonsils, arthritis, tuberculosis, and 
other diseases that go with deficiency diets. The people in the back part of the Island of 
Lewis and the people of the other islands who were not exposed to the diets of the more 
highly civilized English and Scotch suffered no deficiency disease. They continued to live to be near one hundred years of age without tuberculosis, arthritis, heart disease, 
diseases of digestion, or tooth decay. The Loetschental valley in Switzerland is high in the Alps and is relatively 
inaccessible. The population of the valley is around 2200. The summer is short, but is 
long enough to provide for a crop of grass, greens, and vegetables. The people of the 
valley live on milk cheese, butter, whole grains, eggs and meat. Neither the Indians of 
western Canada, the people of the Outer Hebrides, or the inhabitants of the Loetschental 
valley ever had the benefits (or curse) of sugar. This Swiss valley, while supporting a 
rich and prosperous population, has never ha d a doctor or a dentist. There has been no 
need for either. The expected life period is around one hundred years. The persons are 
vigorous and well able to do manual work in the 80's and 90's. Deficiency diseases as 
we know them simply do not exist. The Swiss Guard which formerly was furnished to 
the Pope, and for which the Swiss government searches the country for the finest 
physical specimens, was largely taken from this valley. The foregoing are given as illustrations in the human family which might in some 
measure parallel laboratory experiments made on animals. A larger and more 
convincing exhibit could be adduced from the experience of the Chinese, Japanese, and 
Filipinos in connection with polished rice. The eating of polished rice produced 
hundreds of thousands of cases of beriberi--a  disease which paralyzes certain muscle 
groups, and in some cases produces insanity, and always leads to death. Our own southern states, southern Spain, Italy,  and other Mediterranean areas furnished 
thousands of cases of a disease called pellag ra. Persons affected with pellagra have red 
discoloration of the skin, with disturbances of digestion, and nervousness which finally 
becomes insanity. In the insane asylums of the southern states, over half of the inmates 
are there as the result of pellagra. Pellagra ha s been found to be a disease caused by diet 
deficiency. Beriberi in the orient and pell agra in America are still common, and the 
conditions producing the diseases in these different parts of the world can be duplicated 
in laboratory animals with the same result. Our knowledge, then, in regard to diet  does not depend altogether on experiments 
with laboratory animals, but every step and every conclusion may be backed up with 
facts that have been gleaned from human experience on great groups of people in various parts of the world. Our purpose here is not to adduce in every case the proofs of what we are saying in 
regard to human disease. These proofs are to be found in every well-stocked library. In 
the medical journals for the last five years this subject has taken up more space than any other, and in medical papers presented at c onventions this subject has been the principal 
topic for discussion. Newspaper and magazine s have carried innumerable articles, and 
in some several such articles may be found in one issue. The result of all the work that is being done in the universities and commercial 
laboratories throughout the whole civilized world is that certain chemical entities are 
found to, be necessary to life processes. Animal life demands certain minerals, certain 
vitamins, and certain fats and proteins in order that the body chemistry may be properly 
carried out. Never before in the history of the world has it been possible to say what 
these necessary things are. Always, up to the present time, diet has been a hit-or-miss 
affair. Experience has been the only guide. Success or failure depended upon accident. No guide was available except the likes and dislikes of appetite. Everything that 
contributed to the pleasure of eating was considered acceptable and good, just as anything that contributed to protection from the winter's cold and storm was thought to 
be acceptable and good. Grains were known to be good food. Human teeth were not capable of properly 
crushing them. Artificial methods came into  use. The crushing of wheat between two 
stones relieved the human teeth of much of their natural function. Elaboration on this principle led to the development of wheat flour as we know it today. Modern milling 
has robbed food of certain valuable ingred ients. The sweetness of fruits was acceptable 
and valuable to our early ancestors, but chemistry concentrated the sweetness and 
cheapened it so that sugar became a universal food. In the development of these two foods much was left out, and we now know that some 
of the things omitted were and are necessary to optimum functioning of life processes. In an effort to make foods more acceptable to the taste and to keep food supplies over the winter's season, sterilization by heat and the exclusion of microorganisms brought 
about the conditions which resulted in the canning industry. The factory production of 
sugar has robbed another class of food of valuable ingredients. Canning has also 
contributed to the deficiency picture by robbing certain foods of valuable chemical elements. When these changes in food were first developed, no one believed that anything was 
being done which was detrimental to our food supply. But now it is well known that factory processes--heating, canning, and ster ilizing--have a definitely bad effect, and 
that this bad effect is the removing of certain health promoting elements which formerly 
existed in the natural food. The question then  arises--What are these elements, and what 
has their absence from modern food done to the average so-called civilized individual? Before discussing the individual elements that are lacking in modern foods, we should 
understand that most of our thinking processes are on the basis of relativity. Do we 
know whether a child in school is a normal, healthy child or not? Do we know that a 
boy on a football team in college is a normal, healthy individual or not? Do we know a 
private in the army who has passed the physical examinations is a normal, healthy 
individual? Is the doctor who writes your pres cription a healthy or a diseased person? Is 
your minister, your grocer, your secretary, a normal, healthy individual? It is quite 
obvious that the standards of the present time are wrong standards. We have been afflicted by mass diseases for so many decades that the average layman and the average 
doctor, and quite obviously the average dentist, does not know what is normal. The standards of the present time have been built up from population averages, just as 
the standards of the insurance companies have been compounded of groups of 
policyholders. Both of these are false standards, but standards of groups of human individuals "as is." In the future when the human family takes advantage of the 
scientific aids to optimum health now available, the standards will be quite different. A 
decayed tooth will be looked upon as a very rare disease. Persons will not be afflicted 
with arthritis or neuritis before the advan ced ages. Most of the chronic diseases that 
afflict middle-aged persons at the present time will have disappeared. CHAPTER II  
WHY WE MUST HAVE VITAMINS  
   The young animal coming into the world receives a diet of milk. The milk contains 
fats, proteins, sugars, and minerals. With the exception of water, the needs of the young 
animal are completely supplied by this one food. After a certain time, in order to 
develop properly, the young animal must provide himself with other foods. One of the 
first needs is food that contains iron, as  Nature supplies the young animal with iron 
enough to last only a few months. Milk supplies calcium for the growing bones of the young, and must also supply protein for building muscle, brain, and other bodily 
structures. The milk supplies certain elements which convey the ability to resist 
infections. The most common of these is vitami n A which is to be found in the fat in the 
milk. The protein elements in the milk ca rry all of the vitamins of the vitamin B 
complex. The milk contains some vitamin C and perhaps, if the mother has been exposed to sunshine during her period of pregnancy, the milk contains the bone-
building element, vitamin D. The young animal, then, receives from his parents the 
vitamins necessary to life--the sugars constituting a good part of the solid material in the 
milk. The sugars are burned to supply energy. In the early months and years of life, the young animal is exposed to various types and 
kinds of infections. The only way in which the organism is enabled to resist such 
infections is through the optimum functi oning of the various glands, and the proper 
working out of body chemistry. It is a fact that well-fed animals survive exposure to 
infections which readily kill animals which are not thus well nourished. While the functions of various vitamins and minerals overlap to a very great degree, 
there is to some extent a specific action, and this specific action has much to do with 
ability or lack of ability to resist infections. Vitamin A, for instance, has something to do with protecting eyes from infections. The person who is lacking in vitamin A may 
develop a mild or severe eye infection, depending on the degree of the deficiency. The 
severe infection will inevitably lead to such  destruction of the eye tissues as to produce 
permanent blindness. Deficiency eye diseases are the best examples of infections built 
up on a deficiency basis. For years the scientific men of the orient debated the question as to whether beriberi 
was a mild infection of the nervous system, or an outright lack of building material necessary for nerve tissue. It is now quite apparent that the symptoms are those of a 
low-grade infection superimposed on diet deficiency. In the case of scurvy, it is not the 
same problem as in the past. It was formerly thought that lack of vitamin C was a lack 
of actual building material. The person with advanced scurvy has for years had the 
symptom of leakage of blood vessels under the skin. It was thought that the leakage was due to the fact that the cement substance in the walls of the capillaries was lacking to 
such a degree that the blood oozed out between the poorly cemented cell walls. Whether 
or not there is some lack of building material we do not know. It is evident that leakage 
does take place, but it is also evident that low-grade painful infections run concurrently with the progress of the disease. The most apparent of these infections take place in the mouth. The person with scurvy 
has infections existing in the gums, and the infections are those of the common pus-producing types of microorganisms. In other words, here as in deficiency diseases of the 
eye, there are innumerable evidences of inf ection eagerly crowding in on tissues which 
have lost their defenses on account of certain vitamin starvation. Lack of vitamin A and vitamin B and vitamin C opens the door to the entrance of infectious disease of, the eye, 
the nervous system, and the mouth. Apparently the processes move up and down like 
the arms of a scale. As vitamin and mineral intake is up, infection is down. As vitamin 
and mineral intake is down, infection is up. Vitamin D is the substance necessary to the proper building of teeth and bones. Whether a lack of vitamin D is accompanied by some sort of low-grade infection, we do 
not know. Apparently the disease produced by lack of vitamin D is purely a chemical reaction; but while vitamin D has been thought of as simply a protector of bone and 
teeth, its effect is apparent in other parts of the body. Undoubtedly there is a relation 
between this vitamin and protection from infections. This was one of the earliest facts 
discovered in connection with vitamins. It is now well known that exposure to sunshine protects the individual from 
tuberculosis. Exposure to sunshine is the best way of getting vitamin D. The short 
waves of light from the sun acting on the ergosterol in the skin produce vitamin D. 
These short waves penetrate the cornea and the other transparent structures of the eye; 
impinge directly through the transparen t blood vessels of the retina, and produce 
vitamin D by direct action on the blood stream in that manner. So even with the body completely covered up with clothing, a person outdoors in sunshine will receive some 
vitamin D through the eyes. Tuberculosis is a virulent and stubborn infection. However, early cases treated with 
vitamin D alone (exposure to sunshine) may be cured. Apparently the only persons who 
do develop tuberculosis are those who are lacking in vitamin D. We must conclude, 
then, that the effect of vitamin D is not comple tely a chemical effect, but that it is also a 
highly infection-resisting life element. In the breaking up of the vitamin B complex, several new vitamins. have been 
discovered. The first of these is riboflavin. It has been found to be necessary for the existence of every cell in the body. Clinically, the reduction in the amount of riboflavin 
results in sores developing in and around the mouth. These sores are actually small 
ulcers, and are associated with infectious mi croorganisms. In other words, infections of 
the lips and mouth occur in the persons who are deficient in riboflavin. Some kind of a 
barrier has been broken down in the person who is deficient, which allows these germs to flourish and to produce ulcers and sores in this part of the anatomy. Here again is 
illustrated in a specific way infection intruding itself immediately when the general resistance is lowered. Another part of the vitamin B complex is niacin (nicotinic acid) which relieves the 
symptoms of pellagra. The insanity is relieved; the digestive symptoms are improved, and the skin inflammation disappears. The person who is afflicted with pellagra and 
who has an inflammation of the skin has this infection as a result of the resistance of the 
individual's skin being lowered. His brain function is disturbed because resistance has 
been lowered. His digestive tract is diseased because resistance in this part of the body 
has been lowered. The taking into the body of a certain amount of niacin-amide raises the general resistance of the individual to this particular type and kind of infection, so that the symptoms disappear. Here again is demonstrated in a spectacular way a lack of 
resistance to certain specific infections coincident with a lack of a certain vitamin. For many years it has been known that the effects produced by yeast and liver extract 
can not be completely duplicated by giving the then known elements of vitamin B 2 
along with vitamin B 1. It was apparent that there we re undiscovered vitamins which had 
the ability to produce profound effects in the human organism. In dealing with 
laboratory animals, it was known that the combination of riboflavin, vitamin B 1 and 
niacin-amide would not provide the animal with as good health as when the whole B 
complex, as represented by yeast, was used. Drs. Jeans and Zentmeyer, of the 
University of Iowa, found that animals could be made so ill that their hair turned gray or that bald spots could be produced while giving all the synthetic vitamins and necessary 
minerals, but leaving out the undiscovered part of vitamin B
2 complex. For a time this mysterious element in the vitamin B 2 complex which had to do with 
the color of hair (gray or not gray) and which also had to do with the glossiness and 
beauty of hair, in some cases producing baldne ss, was referred to as the filtrate factor 
(or factors). It was not known whether this was a single or a multiple vitamin. Recent 
work has shown the filtrate element to be pantothenic acid. In nature it is found associated with vitamin B
6, since identified as pyridoxine. Apparently pantothenic: acid has a relati vely specific effect on the hair, nails, and the 
skin epithelium, and the integrity of the nervous system and brain. In the animals well 
supplied with pantothenic add, the skin glands appear to remain in better health, and the 
skin does not take on the wrinkling and aged appearance which occurs in those who are deprived of this vitamin. In human subjects, the same thing seems to be true--that a 
good appearance of skin, hair, and nails is s preserved in those who have a sufficient 
amount of pantothenic acid in the diet. It has been called the vitamin which prevents old 
age; but this statement is of course in error. No one vitamin prevents old age. Earlier in our studies of vitamins, Sherman of Columbia University was convinced 
that the vitamin which we now call riboflavin was an important element in preventing 
old age. Only by a judicious combination of all vitamins, combined with sufficient 
minerals, do we have the answer to the problem of old age. The vitamin which had first been called B
6 and is now referred to as pyridoxine has a 
pronounced effect on the nervous system. Animals who are deprived of this vitamin are 
unable to sleep; are extremely nervous and irritable. The same symptoms occur in 
human subjects in whom the amount of pyridoxine is restricted. In addition to these, the 
human subject has difficulty in walking, weakness, and abdominal pain. These 
symptoms manifest themselves in a decided manner in persons who are starved for pyridoxine, even though all of the other vitamins and minerals be given in sufficient 
quantities. The symptoms mentioned are very quickly relieved on taking sufficient doses of this vitamin. In considering the substance formerly known as vitamin B, the first division was one 
which was thought to explain the chemistry of the vitamin, and the terms used were vitamin B
1 and vitamin B 2. Vitamin B 1 was later found to be an entity which could be 
manufactured in the laboratory. The accepted name for vitamin B 1 at the present time is 
thiamine. A vast amount of work has been done on vitamin B 2. It was broken down by chemists into vitamins B 2, 3, 4, 5  and 6. Vitamin B 2 has come to be called riboflavin. It 
may be manufactured artificially in the laboratory. Vitamin B 3 now bears the name of niacin. Niacin as a chemical entity is not new. It 
has been known for many years, but the identity of niacin as a vitamin is new. It also may be produced synthetically in the chemical laboratory. Vitamin B
4, formerly called the filtrate factor or factors, now known as pantothenic 
acid may be artificially produced in the laboratory. Vitamin B 5 is a still unknown factor, and may be single or multiple. It has to do with 
the health of the skin in chicks. This means that it has something to do with the 
resistance of the skin to infections. Vitamin B 6, pyridoxine, may be produced in the laboratory. A study of the chemistry of the vitamin B elements shows that all but one are now 
well understood, and this one may turn out to be plural instead of singular. We must 
depend on extracts from yeast, or liver, for this unknown substance. The administration 
of the synthetic elements as stated - thiamin, riboflavin, niacin-amide, pantothenic acid, 
and pyridoxine--does not give the optimum result in treating vitamin B deficiencies. Although the amounts may be measured with great exactness, there exists in extracts 
made from the wheat germ and extracts made from yeast a certain unknown factor or 
factors which cannot be disregarded in vitamin therapy, and which we must classify as 
one of the essential needs of the human organism. An attempt to provide treatment by 
simply using the synthetics in the vitamin B group cannot furnish optimum results. The 
unknown vitamins still have a dominating influence in the picture. Pyridoxine is the most effective remedy  in the rather common disease of old age--
Parkinson's disease. This is the disease formerly called palsy or paralysis agitans. It is 
characterized by involuntary shaking of the hands, arms, feet, and in advanced cases, of the neck and head. One of the needs of human beings, monkeys, and guinea pigs is vitamin C. This 
vitamin has to do with the integrity of blood vessels. It has something to do with the 
growth and function of bones. It has a good deal to do with the nutrition of teeth 
(dentine). Dr. Hanke formerly of the University of Chicago made experiments (Asylum at Moosehart, Ill.) on several hundred orphans in which he showed that tooth decay and 
pyorrhea were caused in part, at least, by a deficiency in vitamin C. The work of the 
Mellanbys in England showed that vitamin C has to do with the health of the dentine, 
and vitamin D has to do with the health of tooth enamel. Further work by the Mellanbys 
in London and Hanke in Chicago showed that the cause of tooth decay in children who were not properly nourished was associated with scurvy. "Mouth scurvy" might as well 
be used instead of the term "pyorrhea" or "tooth decay." The commonest sources of vitamin C are the citrus fruits--oranges, grapefruit and 
lemons. This element does, however, exist in all the raw fruits and vegetables. Bananas 
are a good source of vitamin C as are also apples and melons. Since it has a profound 
effect on the health of the mouth and the health of the blood vessels, it must be 
considered one of the very important needs of those animals which do not manufacture 
it in their own bodies. It is probable that in the past all living animals produced their own supply of vitamin C. We now know that birds, dogs, cats, and many other animals 
may exist and have good health with no source of vitamin C in the diet. Guinea pigs, 
monkeys, and humans have lost this function. They must receive their vitamin C from an outside source. This source must furnish the vitamins in sufficient quantities, or 
scurvy and its many associated disease conditions will result. Vitamin C may now be produced synthetically in the laboratory. The dose may be 
measured accurately. We know the amounts needed to prevent any possible 
manifestation of scurvy. The need for vitamin C is very definite and well-established. Over 150 years ago, its need was recognized by English physicians, and lemon juice 
was issued as part of the dietary of the men in the English Navy. This gave them an enormous advantage over the men of other na vies who all suffered more or less from 
scurvy. This advantage gave the English Navy a predominant influence in the affairs of 
the world and made England the Mistress of the Seas--a proud distinction which she 
still holds, and which was made possible by supplying a dietary element which her 
enemies did not have. Thus vitamin C, long years before its discovery, changed the 
history of the world in a very definite way. Other vitamins are changing the history of the world at the present time in as equally a 
definite and positive way. Vitamin D is contained in certain fats. It is usually found in association with vitamin 
A as in cod-liver oil. It exists in butter if the cows have been grazing in the summer 
sunshine and eating the summer grass. It does not exist in butter during the fall and 
winter months. It exists to a certain degree in eggs when the chickens have been exposed to spring and summer sunshine; but does not exist in eggs laid during the 
winter months. Our main source of vitamin D is not food,  but exposure to sunshine. It has to do with 
the building of bones and with the moving of calcium in the blood stream. Calcium 
must exist in a certain concentration in the blood, or nervous symptoms will follow. The 
nerves become hyperirritable. The muscles become weak and shaky. Intelligence is lowered by the absence of a sufficient concentration of calcium in the blood. Calcium has to do with the clotting of blood. A person who does not have sufficient 
calcium will more easily bleed to death. Nature makes a very great effort to maintain the normal calcium concentration in the blood. This effort is so pronounced that in order to 
keep the concentration up to near what it should be, it will rob bones and teeth for this 
purpose. This explains the thin, eggshell-like bones in many middle-aged and old 
persons, who have existed on a calcium deficient diet over a period of years. It explains 
also the increase in tooth decay during pregnancy, for Nature always robs the mother to feed the child. Not only does the parasitic new individual called the fetus rob the mother 
of calcium, but the fetus also robs the mother of iron, and other valuable elements. Undoubtedly Nature's plan is to disregard the older life in an effort to do the best 
possible for the new individual coming into the world. Vitamin D must be considered one of the very great needs, but a sufficient recognition 
of this need has not been apparent until, very recent times. The newer generation of 
babies being born at the present time are being dosed with cod-liver oil and other fish 
oils so that their supply of vitamin D will be better from year to year from now on. Experiments with rats have shown that a vitamin D deficiency not only produces crooked bones, but a relative lack of normal intelligence. This seems to be borne out in 
human experience, and in the schools the children with rachitic heads, the deformed 
chests of rickets and the crooked legs, bowlegs, and knock-knees due to lack of vitamin D, are less intelligent than children of the same age who have good, strong, straight 
bones and do not have the rachitic head or chest. The supplying of vitamin D by cod-liver oil and other fish oils is the makeshift way of 
solving the problem. All the needs of the individual for vitamin D could be very well 
met by exposure to sunshine. Some kind of a regime must be worked out in future years 
to allow more exposure, especially of children, to sunshine, as this is the physiological 
way to get vitamin D, and undoubtedly gives a better clinical result than our present dependency on fish oils. One of the objections to fish oil is that, along with the vitamin 
A and D, there also exists certain toxic subs tances. These substances are not harmful in 
the ordinary dose as taken, but when the human dose is given to a rat or other small 
animal, the toxic effects become quite apparent. The crooked bones which result from a lack of vitamin D in childhood have the effect 
of distorting the pelvis. This becomes a serious matter in the case of females, for it 
increases the hazards of childbirth. Most of the need for instruments in obstetrical 
deliveries, and most of the necessity for doing Cesarian operations are the result of 
deformed pelves produced by lack of vitamin D during the girl's growing years. Rickets has been exceedingly common in al l the northern parts of the United States, 
the percentage of school children suffering from this disease running as high as 70 to 80 
per cent. As stated, there is hope that in the future this percentage will be materially cut down. But it shows that one of our greatest dietary needs (if a vitamin coming from the 
sun may be called a dietary need) is vitamin D. The vitamin exists in fish-liver oil, 
because it has been stored up by the fish in the liver for future needs. The same vitamin 
D which appears in cod-liver oil may have gone through the livers of hundreds of 
smaller fish or smaller forms of life, and originated in the algae floating on the surface 
of the water. The sun acting on these algae has produced the vitamin D. 
   The need for vitamin E in the human diet has been recognized for only a few years. It 
has a specific effect on the voluntary muscles of the body, ordinarily called the red 
muscle. The muscular tissue of the human body amounts to at least 50 per cent of all the 
body weight. The health of this relatively huge mass of living tissue can not be 
disregarded, even though the person is not using his muscles in manual labor. Some of the most important work in connection with vitamin E has been done by Dr. 
Sergius Morgulis, of the University of Nebraska. He has shown that vitamin E is 
necessary to prevent muscular degeneration. He has been able to produce artificial 
muscle dystrophy in experimental animals by lessening the intake of vitamin E in the 
diet. Even after the muscles have been almost completely shriveled up and replaced by 
scar tissue, a good functioning muscle may be built up again in the same animal by 
supplying vitamin E. 
   Apparently the lack of a sufficient amount of vitamin E in human nutrition accounts 
for a good deal. of muscle weakness as well as muscle atrophy in the human animal. Different degrees of weakness down to actual  paralysis may occur, These results have 
been checked and found correct by workers in other universities. However, in the 
University of Copenhagen it has been found that voluntary muscles weaken and shrink in the absence of vitamin E, and also that certain nerve centers in the spinal cord are 
weakened, and in severe E deficiencies completely killed, by depriving the animal of this vitamin over a sufficient period of time. Healthy nerve centers in the spinal cord are necessary in order for voluntary muscles 
to function property. Muscle shrinking in vitamin E deficiencies may be due primarily to the effect of the deficiency on the spinal centers, and the muscle effects may be 
secondary in nature. Another need for vitamin E is much better known. This is the effect on the organs of 
generation. This was worked out some years ago by Evans, Bishop, and Barnett Sure. This work has shown that in the female who does not get enough vitamin E there is an inability to carry pregnancy through to full term. Abortions occur in animals or humans 
who do not get enough vitamin E. The effect of the vitamin is also well worked out in 
the male. Here it produces a lack of sperm. In the male the damage done is permanent. No amount of feeding vitamin E will restore the deficient male to fertility. In the case of 
the female, the ovary may lose its function so that it is practically useless, but this may 
be built up again by administering a sufficient amount of vitamin E. 
   When we consider the many-sided functions of vitamin E on ovaries, testes, spinal 
centers, and red muscle, we must conclude that  this is one of the most important needs 
for good health and proper functioning of the human organism. One of the reasons why this need has not been more universally recognized is that 
vitamin E is an element that is present in practically every kind of food. It exists in 
small quantities in vegetables and fruits, being in the greatest concentration in leaf 
lettuce and wheat germ oil. It exists also in meats, sea food, and dairy products. It stands 
the ordinary heat incident to cooking without destruction. The lack of vitamin E that occurs in human diets occurs because the amount present in the natural foods taken is 
diluted by the amount of non-vitaminized and nonmineralized carbohydrates which are 
consumed as sugar and white flour products. If 75 per cent of the food intake is 
composed of these sugar and white flour pro ducts, it will readily be seen that the 
amount of foods containing vitamin E is reduced 75 per cent. This same principle of course applies to  other vitamins. It also applies to minerals 
such as calcium, iodine, and iron. Nature having distributed this vitamin in many different kinds of foods, no ordinary food combination would ever produce a 
deficiency. It is only by the use of factory foods that vitamin E deficiencies are produced. CHAPTER III  
WHY WE MUST HAVE MINERALS  
   The ordinary student of nutrition has paid a good deal of attention to individual 
vitamins, but has paid little attention to minerals. There is no doubt but that mineral deficiencies exist as commonly as vitamin deficiencies, and that the mineral deficiencies stem from the same source--factory-made food s. In an article by Dr. Alice Bernheim in 
the journal of the American Medical Association of April 1, 1933, it was shown that the 
average diet of the average civilized person does not contain enough calcium. The 
calcium needs of a person of 150 pounds was shown to be from 71/2 to 10 grains a day 
(a grain = 60 mg). The ordinary diet, composed largely of white flour and sugar, does 
not contain this much calcium. The conclusion reached by Dr. Bernheim is that calcium deficiency is universal in all civilized countries. Another important point brought out by 
Dr. Bernheim is that different forms of calci um have different degrees of absorbability. Some calcium salts are readily absorbable and are used in the body. Others are not 
absorbable and pass through the gastrointestinal tract unchanged. It is well understood at the present time that the best forms of calcium are those which 
have gone through some kind of animal metabolism. Ground bone is more easily 
absorbed than other forms, and is properly used a good deal in baby foods. The forms of calcium that exist in milk and ,cheese have been through the metabolism of the cow, 
and therefore have been metabolized and are easily absorbed by the human animal. Milk 
and milk products, then, furnish the best source of calcium. With a sufficient source of calcium, nerves are less irritable. Without a sufficient amount, pains may exist which completely disappear after a sufficient amount of calcium is taken. Some of the pains of advanced cancer may be completely relieved by giving calcium. This does not mean 
that the nerves of the cancer patient have been obtunded as they would be by some drug, but that the pain has been simply a cry of the diseased nerves for calcium. Calcium is excreted from the body in the discharges which comes from wounds and 
open sores, and ulcers. Cancer usually exists as an ulcerated area. Much calcium is lost in the fluid that seeps from the ulcerated cancer surface. The small bodily supply is 
further depleted, therefore the giving of calcium by mouth or by intravenous use quiets the cancer pains. As calcium deficiency is one of our most widespread deficiencies, it shows up also in 
the lack of resistance in our teeth. The mention of tooth destruction in pregnancy calls 
to mind the direct robbing of calcium-bearing areas to furnish calcium to the child. But 
old infections may also rob teeth and bones, as calcium may be needed to erect barriers against invading microorganisms. This takes place in the lungs in tuberculosis. A 
tuburcular body being examined at postmortem will show many areas in the lungs 
which resemble small marbles. These densely calcified areas are simply Nature's 
method of trying to wall in the poisonous germs which are lodged in the lung. Calcification may take place in other parts of the body. It is not uncommon to find 
calcified areas in fibroid tumors of the uterus, and in any old chronically infected area. In all such conditions Nature's first call is on the normal body calcium, in the hope that it may be used as a defensive mechanism in the area where disease is going on. Ordinary whole wheat bread, meat, fruit and vegetables contain some calcium; but the 
amounts in ordinary diets are not sufficient to give the optimum needed by the body. There is no question but that calcium is one of our greatest body needs, as the bony 
structures of the body are perhaps the greatest in bulk and weight next to the voluntary muscles. The optimum calcium supply is a surplus and a surplus does no harm. In order that physiological processes may be carried on in a normal, proper way, 
oxygen must be carried to each individual cell. The oxygen is carried to the cells of the body by a compound which is made up partly of iron. Oxygen enters the lungs, 
penetrates the wall of the air cells, and enters the blood. The iron containing 
hemoglobin exists in the red blood corpuscl es and having combined with the oxygen, 
carries it to the cells, where oxidation takes place. Without iron, no metabolism and no 
oxidation would occur. The need for iron is constant, as much of the hemoglobin is being destroyed and excreted every day. As new supplies of calcium must be provided, 
so new supplies of iron must come in by way of the gastrointestinal tract in order to provide for new hemoglobin daily. In the life processes of the ordinary individual, around 3 percent of the red cells are 
being destroyed every day. This means that a certain definite amount of iron must be provided to make up for what is lost. Iron must be supplied and absorbed in the amount 
of 10 to 25 milligrams every day. The diluti on of iron-containing foods be devitalized 
carbohydrates makes this optimum impossible. We may measure the amount of iron in the blood by the amount of hemoglobin present (red coloring matter). * (* Much of the iron in the body is used over and over again but there is a steady loss of a few millgrams 
a day.) In making blood examinations on large groups of individuals, it is very rare to find a 
100 percent hemoglobin reading. This means readings on persons ordinarily considered 
normal--life insurance examinations, soldiers, and examinations for entrance into 
industrial positions, and of women entering hospitals for obstetrical work--all are found 
to be more or less deficient in iron. Our best food source of iron is lean meat. The richest sources of iron among the 
various kinds of meat are liver, heart, and kidney. The muscle meats which are 
ordinarily eaten--steaks, chops, and cutlets--are also rich sources of iron and furnish this 
element in a greater degree than any form of vegetable or fruit. One of the most important of the mineral needs is the need for iodine. Without iodine 
the thyroid gland does not properly develop. In diets which contain quantities of iodine 
below the normal amount, all the life processes are operating below par. The thyroid 
gland contains the largest amount of iodine of any of the organs of the body, and as all 
the blood in the body goes through this gland every 17 minutes, it evidently serves as a 
trap for the filtering out of toxic material, the iodine acting as an antitoxin. A good deal of the toxic material in the blood stream is living material--that is, low-grade 
microorganisms that gain access to the circulating fluids of the body. The iodine-
containing thyroid undoubtedly inhibits the growth of these invading germs. In cases where the amount of iodine in the diet is definitely small, the thyroid undergoes a 
compensatory growth. It becomes many times larger than normal. This is evidently an 
attempt to furnish more thyroid cells to more effectively to filter out and use what little 
iodine there is in the blood stream. This function carried to excess produces the more poisonous types of goiter. We may consider iodine, then, as a necessary part of the dietary intake for its 
beneficial effect in cleansing the blood stream. Dr. Plummer and other workers in this 
field have established the needs of the human body at around 10 milligrams a day. Iodine is to be found in grains, fruits, and garden vegetables. It is also to be found in 
meats, eggs, and milk; but it is found in its greatest concentration in sea foods. The need for iodine is unquestionable. There is no doubt as to its value in providing 
the body with the ability to resist infections in general. In some parts of the United 
States, the soil contains larger quantities of iodine than in others, and these parts (South 
Carolina) show a greater amount of iodine in the wheat, barley, corn, vegetables and 
fruit. In parts of the country where there is a relatively small amount of iodine in the soil, the amount to be found in the crops is correspondingly less. In parts where the 
iodine is practically absent from the soil, on account of having been washed out, there is 
very little iodine in the grains and vegetables. In these parts, goiter and other thyroid 
diseases are very common. In such areas as  South Carolina where the iodine content of 
the soil is high, goiter is very much less frequent. There is no question but that there is a direct connection between the lack of iodine in the diet and the frequency of thyroid 
disease. The lack of iodine in ordinary diet was one of the first recognized universal 
deficiencies, and for several years iodine has been added to most commercial preparations of common table salt. The amount of iodine added to table salt does not change its appearance or its taste. The percentage of iodine is very small and much 
below the optimum requirements but it has undoubtedly served to decrease the number of cases of thyroid disease in the country as a whole. There is no possible danger in the use of iodized salt, and it does help to maintain 
something nearer of physiological mineral balance, so its beneficial effect is not 
confined to the thyroid. The person consuming iodized salt will have better health and better resistance to disease in every way. Another very important fact that has been learned in connection with vitamin and 
mineral deficiency is that where such a deficiency has existed over a long period of time, the dose that is given to correct the trouble must be several times larger than the 
maintenance dose. In connection with iron and iodine and some of the vitamins, the 
therapeutic dose is over one hundred times the maintenance dose. After a person has 
been deficient in one of these elements for ma ny years, either his gastrointestinal tract 
loses the power to absorb it in the normal way, or the cells of the body lose to a certain 
extent the ability to assimilate it. In medical circles, iodine is known chiefly as a treatment for goiter. This element, 
however, since it has to do with increasing the anti-bactericidal elements in the blood, is 
of value in every type of goiter, arthritis , and rheumatic disease. Some two or three 
decades ago many quack patent medicines were sold which had no medicinal value whatever except that the indicated dose contained a few grains of potassium iodide. As 
this accidentally supplied a very urgent body need, and partly corrected a universal 
deficiency in diet, such medicines were very popular. A change in advertising 
psychology has practically removed these remedies from the market. The need is now supplied in a much less efficient way by iodized salt. The needs of the human body for vitamins have been well established, but one 
fundamental defect in medical thinking has been a failure to recognize that minerals are 
also needed. We have called attention to the need for calcium, iodine, and iron, but there are several other minerals that are also necessary to the optimum health of the human 
body, including magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, sulphur, cobalt, nickel, and 
others. These are commonly grouped together under the head of trace minerals, as they 
exist only in quantities too small to measure accurately. They are to be found in all fruits and vegetables, and in meats and milk. There is no positive evidence that any disease results from a lack of these trace 
minerals, as they are so widely distributed in nature, and the quantitative needs are so small that deficiencies from these sources pr obably do not exist. However, the last word 
has not been said on this subject. Subsequent investigation may reveal that trace minerals play a greater part in human metabolism than we suspect at the present time. We do know that the person who has a sufficient intake of the three principal minerals 
mentioned--calcium, iron, and iodine--along with sufficient quantities of the vitamins, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in the natural state, will have a resistance against 
ordinary disease far in excess of the average person. Such person will have more 
freedom from fatigue, and greater ability to work; will live with the retention of all physical faculties to a greater age, and will have a better mind than the person who suffers some single or multiple vitamin or mineral deficiency. The various vitamins and minerals mentioned are all necessary. No one can be omitted if an individual would 
retain good health. The trace minerals will be taken care of in the intake of milk, meat, fruits and vegetables. CHAPTER IV  
OUR DIETARY INTAKE (What do we get?) In comparing our dietary needs with our actual dietary intake, we find that there are 
deficiencies which are widespread and more pronounced than the average physician recognizes. In the early work with vitamins, the relatively small amounts needed to make sick individuals feel better caused the workers in this field to lose sight of the quantitative side of the problem. All emphasis was laid on the qualitative side. When 
vitamin B was first used as a treatment for beriberi in the Orient, and concentrates from 
rye bran and yeast were used as a treatment, it was supposed than only infinitesimal 
quantities were necessary to bring about favorable results. The spectacular relief 
accorded by a small amount of yeast or wheat germ or rice polishings led the investigators of that time to believe that the patient who was relieved of his most 
outstanding symptoms was cured. The same error has crept into our orientation of the effects of vitamin A in connection 
with eye diseases. Laboratory animals or children suffering from xerophthalmia 
(redness, swelling, pus discharge, pain and ulceration of the eyes) will be relieved of the 
most distressing of these eye symptoms by relatively small amounts of milk, cream, 
butter, or cod-liver oil. But in order to cure the patient of the underlying pathology of which the eye disease is merely one small part, we must give ten to 100 times as big a 
dose as that necessary to relieve the outstanding symptoms. The same error has been prevalent in connection with the treatment of mineral 
deficiencies. Relatively small doses of calci um will afford complete relief to persons 
suffering calcium deficiency. This comfort and relief may be so great a change from the 
distress previously suffered that the person believes himself cured, even though he is 
only partially better. The distressing symptoms of exophthalmic goiter are relieved 
promptly and the patient is infinitely better after a few drops of a weak solution of 
iodine. The tendency to believe this is a cure is seized upon by wishful thinking of both doctor and patient. A relatively small amount of iron will produce a very great change in the appearance 
and endurance of a person suffering an iron anemia; but he will be far from cured. The muddling and stumbling in this field of medical research have emphasized the benefit of 
these specific treatments, but as yet have failed to orient properly the complete physical 
needs of the patient, which, as heretofore stated, are greater than the bare maintenance 
needs. Acting on these false premises, physicians in the past have been content to 
prescribe for their patients a few leaves of  lettuce, a few teaspoonfuls of milk or cream, 
a fraction of an ounce of butter, and a tiny bit of yeast--all of which might more nearly 
fit the requirements of a mouse or a small chick. The factor of quantity is now the most important factor in all dietary study. Since we 
have found we must deal with vitamins and minerals in a quantitative way, we must 
examine the diets formerly supposed to be adequate and see whether these contain large 
enough quantities of the necessary vitamins and minerals for optimum health. In 
examining such diets, we must consider them first, from the standpoint of maintenance 
of the person who has existed for many years on a dietary deficiency. From a practical viewpoint, the only persons who fit into the first class are the babies 
being born at the present time in the families  of the more intelligent members of the 
community, who have the advantage from earliest infancy of the newer knowledge of nutrition. These babies will have, as they grow older, no previous deficiency to 
overcome. The persons who at the present time have attained youth, middle age, or old 
age have not had the benefit of the new facts in connection with diet. Their presence 
among the living at this time is merely a fortuitous accident. By some hit-or-miss 
happening, they have picked up enough minerals and vitamins to allow them to continue to exist. Their existence is that of a person below par, carrying one or more 
chronic diseases. The small child on a deficient diet becomes afflicted with chronic tonsillitis. The 
school child may develop tuberculosis. The youth is pimply and anemic. All have bad 
teeth. Many have permanently crippled hearts due to rheumatic infections. Seventy 
percent have rickets. A large proportion have digestive diseases and constipation. All these handicaps are the result of errors in diet. Drs. Williams and Spies made examinations of diets in various parts of the United 
States, and in their book, "Vitamin B
1" published in 1938, they said there is much 
sameness in diets all over the country. This sameness is largely in the enormous consumption of non-vitamin, nonmineral foods composed of white flour and sugar. The average diet furnishes a vitamin B
1 intake of from 200 to 300 International Units. This 
is just enough to prevent the development of the oriental disease--beriberi. The 
American population are quite evidently not getting enough vitamin B 1 and are existing 
on the edge of pellagra and beriberi all the time. In order to have the optimum benefit 
from Vitamin B 1 a person of 150 pounds weight should have from 700 to 1,000 units 
per day. G. R. Cowgill, one of the outstanding workers in this field, states: "There are grounds 
for believing that American dietaries as a whole are unsatisfactory with respect to the 
content of vitamin B 1." Dr. Cowgill follows this statement by a copy of the following menus:  
   International Units of B 1 per 
serving  
Breakfast      
Orange Juice 18.1  
Soft boiled egg 15.1  
2 slices toast (white) 7.4  
Butter and honey 0.0  
Coffee 0.0  
Sugar 0.0  
Cream 3.1  
Total  43.7  
     
Luncheon      
Tomato soup 7.8  
Broiled chicken 13.6  
Mashed potatoes 10.0  
String beans 8.8  
2 slices bread (white) 7.4  
Tea or coffee 0.0  
Sugar 0.0  
Cream 3.1  
Pumpkin pie 1.0  
Total  51.7  
     
Dinner      
Fresh fruit coctail 18.1  
Roast beef 16.6  
Spinach 9.0  
Potatoes 10.0  
2 rolls 7.5  
Lettuce and French dressing 15.1  
Cake 1.0  
Coffee with cream 3.1  
Total  80.4  
Breakfast  43.7 I.U. Luncheon  51.7 I.U. Dinner  80.4 I.U. Total  175.8 I.U. B 1    Dr. Cowgill concludes with: "They do not supply even the minimum B 1 
requirements!" Dr. Burt Wolbach, of Harvard University, has shown that certain changes take place 
in the epithelium lining the windpipe and bronchial tubes of children who do not receive 
enough vitamin A. In making postmortem studies on a number of children who had died of other diseases, he noted that the majority of the children showed epithelial changes 
incident to vitamin A starvation. Postmortem proof, both gross and microscopic, existed 
to confirm the fact that these children did not receive enough vitamin A. The gross 
changes which indicated a lack of vitamin A were simply small abscesses in the tonsils, 
and the presence of pus in the accessory si nuses. The same changes occur in laboratory 
animals which are given inadequate quantities of vitamin A. Apparently these changes 
take place on a less severe vitamin A deficiency, than that which causes the gross 
disease of the eye. The changes in the throat and bronchial epithelium described by Dr. 
Wolbach are now known to be very common. The change is the reversion of the cell 
type from a secreting cell to one which is simply hardened and flattened, and has only the function of acting as a mechanical barrier , like a scale on a fish. Apparently this is 
an effort on the part of Nature to sacrifice function for mechanical protection. On 
account of the vitamin deficiency, the cell loses its ability to fight against invading microorganisms, so Nature sets up a whorl of flat, hard cells which serve as a 
mechanical barrier. That this defense eventually fails is quite evident as the hardened, flattened epithelial 
mass finally separates; becomes a small hardened scale, and drops off, leaving a raw, 
undefended area which is immediately filled with invading microorganisms. The result 
is many tiny foci of infection, the result being chronic bronchitis, chronic tonsillitis, as 
chronic sinus disease. In our diets as they exist at the present time, it is quite evident 
that we do not receive enough vitamin A or enough vitamin B. We have stated that vitamin C has the function of protecting the health of blood 
vessels, gums, and teeth. An examination of the health or disease of these parts of the 
body will furnish a good index of our success in achieving diets that are sufficient in 
this protective element. Do we have a population with good, sound, healthy teeth? Do 
these sound, healthy teeth have a sufficiently good vitamin and mineral intake so that 
they may carry their function on into advanced years? Is the health of the small children and the condition of gums and teeth as satisfactory as it should be? Is it right and proper 
that every school child in America suffers the handicap of having some diseased teeth, 
some infected gums, and should the child be swallowing pus constantly, which comes into his mouth from pyorrhea? The obvious presence of mouth and gum disease in school children and adults needs no further argument or confirmation. We do not need to make vitamin C determinations on the blood stream. The widespread and severe 
character of disease in this one part of the body shows conclusively that vitamin C 
deficiency is universal in all civilized countries. Our needs are not being met in this 
connection. What we get does not measure up to what we should have. In connection with rickets, the disease caused by lack of vitamin D, no argument is 
necessary to sustain the truth of the statemen t that this disease is practically universal. The only question at issue is the degree of rickets that exists in any individual case. Here again the question of a right and proper standard comes into the picture. Four years 
ago at a Baby Show held at the County Fair in a western New York County, a certain 
fat, chubby baby won the prize as being the most perfect baby in the county. Within a month after this prize had been awarded, th e baby was in the hospital wearing artificial 
supports on the legs in order to straighten out the crooked bones due to a severe case of 
rickets! This baby had undoubtedly suffered from rickets during its whole life; but the lack of proper understanding of the disease and the lack of a proper standard caused the 
judges to believe this was a normal, healthy baby. The judges had seen so many rachitic 
babies, so many diseased babies, and had so seldom seen a normal, healthy baby, that 
they were misled. Many doctors are deceived by fat and do  not know the difference between a rachitic 
baby and a healthy baby. They do not know the difference between a healthy mouth and 
a diseased mouth, unless disease in the m outh is far advanced. Moderate degrees of 
tooth decay and pyorrhea are believed by the average laymen and the average physician 
to be normal. A lack of vitamin D and the subsequent disease, rickets, produces changes 
in the shape of the head, in which the forehead is high and broad. The head is wide 
above the ears and bulges out above the temples. This is the type of forehead that 
formerly was considered an indication of intelligence and brain power. The reverse is true. These high, wide foreheads which bulge not only sideways but forward are rachitic 
and contain brains which are less active than normal. The type of chest known as "pigeon breast," which projects forward and comes to a 
point at the sternum, is another common physical deformity caused by rickets. The well known knock-knees and bowlegs have been known as signs of rickets for many generations. A child may have one or all of these stigmata. It is a disease to be feared, 
and should receive attention at the very earliest age. The deformities mentioned are not the only bone deformities associated with rickets. Other bones of the body may also be softened and deformed by this disease. It should be 
remembered in this connection that while the disease is usually considered merely a 
lack of vitamin D, it is also in some cases a lack of calcium and other minerals. Bones, 
of course, cannot be property built without the basic building materials, which are 
calcium and phosphorus. The question as to whether or not the ordinary diet contains enough of the various 
elements contained in the vitamin B
2 Complex (riboflavin, nicotinic acid, pantothenic 
acid, and pyridoxine) has been a matter of controversy for several years.
The_National_Malnutrition_by_Quigley.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, 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 NATIONAL MALNUTRITION*  
D. T. QUIGLEY, M. D. , F. A. C. S. Published by The Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research Milwaukee, Wisconsin 
Copyright 1943 D.
Exposure to sunshine, which produces vitamin D in the skin.
What is the main source of vitamin D?
Vitamin D is necessary for the proper development and maintenance of bones and teeth. Its deficiency can lead to rickets and other bone deformities.
What is the purpose of the vitamin D, and what is its effect on the body?
Vitamin E is essential for the proper functioning of the body's cells and the prevention of infections.
Why is it important to recognize the importance of vitamin E?
The main issue is that the diet does not provide the necessary amounts of vitamins and minerals, leading to widespread deficiencies and chronic diseases.
What is the main issue with the current diet, and how does it affect the body?
These minerals are essential for maintaining the health of the body and preventing diseases, and their deficiency can lead to severe health issues, including rickets, anemia, and other complications.
What is the significance of the amounts of certain minerals, such as calcium and iron, in the diet?