Whiskey is 48 per cent.

Brandy, 50 per cent.

Gin, from 20 to 35 per cent.

Rum, 60 per cent.

Sherry, 18 per cent.

Port, 18 per cent.

Sauterne, 14 per cent.

Claret, 10 per cent.

Champagne, 10 per cent.

Ale, 6 per cent.

Beer, 4 per cent.

All malt beers are rich in carbohydrates.

FATS

Neutral fats represent a considerable part of body tissues, and may become so increased in amount as to impair the activity of the individual and to interfere with important physiologic processes.

Fats are emulsified in the intestine, and are more or less decomposed into fatty acids and glycerin. The fatty acid unites with alkali in the intestine to form an oleate, stearate, or palmitate, according to the kind of fat ingested. The fatty acids combined with the alkaline bases sodium, potassium and calcium, occur only in the intestines. Ultimately fat is burned (oxidized), producing energy, to be later eliminated as water and carbon dioxide.

The adult ordinarily takes about 60 Gm. (2 ounces) of fat a day. The Chinese, Japanese, East Indians and vegetarians eat little or no fat as such, but get their fat nutriment from vegetables and cereals, hence animal fats may not be essential.

In certain disturbances of nutrition, especially in poisoning by certain drugs, as phosphorus, arsenic, chloroform, alcohol, etc., fat is deposited in large amounts in the intercellular tissue, notably in the liver.

Those who eat considerable amounts of fat are said not to as readily acquire tuberculosis, and it seems to be a fact that when the tuberculous patient begins to add fat, his condition

generally begins to improve. Consequently, it has long been a part of the treatment of tuberculosis to push fats in the diet. Such treatment, however, has been much overdone, to the digestive disturbance of the patient. Also, a tuberculous patient may gain weight and still the disease may progress; and an overweight patient may acquire tuberculosis.

If normal bile, and a normal amount of it, does not reach the intestine, fat is not well digested and absorbed, hence in liver disturbances and gall-duct obstruction the animal fat intake should be restricted.

With carbohydrate-free diets, as in diabetes, fat must not be pushed, lest acidosis be caused. The following fat content of foods may be noted:

Butter is 90 per cent. fat.

Cream about 27 per cent. fat.

Olive oil 70 per cent. fat.

Cocoanuts 57 per cent. fat.

Pecans 71 per cent. fat.

Walnuts 64 per cent. fat.

Peanuts 49 per cent. fat.

Oatmeal about 5 per cent. fat.

Chocolate and cocoa are rich in fats.

Since olive oil costs so much, it is well to note that the best quality of cottonseed oil has an equal food value.

Glycerin is a product of fat decomposition in the intestine. Lipoids. Lipoids are now more frequently termed phosphatids or phospholipins. The phosphorus-bearing lipoids seem to be present in all living cells, and are especially important in nervous tissues. They seem necessary for fat metabolism, and also seem to be concerned not only in the coagulation of the blood, but in the destruction of blood (hemolysis). It has lately been found that these phosphatids are not of multiple structure, but are more or less constantly composed of lecithin and kephalin in varying proportions.

Cholesterol (cholesterin) an alcohol, is a lipoidal compound. It occurs free, and in combination with fatty acids as cholesteryl oleate and cholesteryl palmitate. Although cholesterol was

thought to be a waste product of nervous tissue, it is now thought that it is probably not formed in the human body. Cholesterol, though occurring in other tissues of the body, notably the brain, is found in the bile as a normal ingredient. Under certain conditions it is deposited with bile salts as calculi in the gall-bladder or bile ducts.

Phospholipins are chemically phosphoric acid in combination with a neutral fat and a nitrogenous base cholin, and lecithin is a phospholipin. Macleod says that lecithin is widely distributed in the animal body, is present in the blood and bile, is an extremely important constituent of all cells, and "seems to be the intermediate stage in the utilization of neutral fats by protoplasm." He states that "its phosphorus probably serves as a source of this element for the construction of nucleic acid. In nervous tissues it is often associated with carbohydrate molecules (galactose), forming the substance known as cerebrin.”

The lecithin of the central nervous system will absorb an anesthetic, as will other lipoids. When it breaks up into its fatty acid and the nitrogenous body, cholin, the latter, though non-toxic, may be converted into neurin, which is poisonous.

Lecithin is generally obtained as a combination of kephalin and true lecithin, and many preparations used for medicinal purposes contain glycerin. Preparations of lecithin have no advantage over egg-yolk, which is rich in lecithin. While animals fed on lecithin seem to gain weight over control animals, the ingestion of considerable amounts of it as food or medicine may be objectionable, as there is a possibility of large amounts of cholin becoming changed in the intestine into neurin, which is toxic. Neurin acts as a paralyzant of the nervous system and is a depressant to the circulation. When lecithin is fed the urea is increased and the output of uric acid may be diminished. Consequently, it would seem contraindicated in gouty conditions. It has been used as a stimulant to tissue building in debility, but as above stated, if extra lecithin is desired, eggyolk should be the form in which it is administered.

Glycerophosphates are derived from lecithin, and probably have no therapeutic advantage over inorganic phosphates. They split up in the intestine and liberate inorganic phosphates,

and during their administration uric acid is often diminished, perhaps because more nitrogen goes into urea formation.

The most important use of glycerophosphates is in conditions of debility, and especially of nervous irritability. There seems to be no special advantage of one glycerophosphate over another, therefore, theoretically, the calcium salt (calcium glycerophosphate) should be the preparation of choice, if a glycerophosphate is desired. Calcium is certainly more or less of a nervous sedative, and the glycerophosphate form is apparently a good salt in which to administer it.

SALTS

Sodium Chloride. This is the most important salt as it enters into all tissues of the body, solid and fluid, except the enamel of the teeth, but the foods we eat contain very little, except some of the sea foods. Consequently, civilized man adds salt to his diet, in fact, to almost every form of food. Human blood contains about 0.5 per cent. of sodium chloride, and it is needed for the production of the hydrochloric acid of the gastric juice.

The amount of salt taken daily by the average adult is about 10 to 12 grams, about 95 per cent. of which is, in health, rapidly eliminated unchanged. Consequently, there is a large surplus of salt ingested, due to an acquired taste for it, as about 2 grams per day will satisfy the needs of the body.

Large amounts of salt doubtless interfere with digestion, and cause unnecessary work of the eliminative organs, especially the kidneys. If there is renal or cardiac insufficiency, salt causes and promotes edema. On the other hand, wasting diseases may increase the elimination and loss of sodium chloride from the tissues, and under these circumstances an extra amount should be ingested; in fact, a man accustomed to salt in his diet and suffering from a protracted illness should not be long deprived of sodium chloride.

Calcium. The next most important salts are the calcium salts, and there is more calcium in the body than any other inorganic element except water. It occurs in large amounts in the bones, teeth, muscles, and milk. The adult requires 1.5

grams of calcium a day, as not far from that amount is excreted daily. In tuberculosis there is an increased amount of calcium excreted, and in osteomalacia the loss is excessive.

Calcium salts quiet nervous irritability and diminish hyperactivity of some glands, notably the thyroid. However, this therapeutic effect may be caused by the favorable action of calcium in parathyroid deficiency, these glands being more or less disturbed in thyroid disturbances. The parathyroid glands are largely concerned in calcium metabolism. The pregnant woman should receive an increased amount of calcium.

Alkali added to the milk of infants does not cause storage of calcium, but the addition of malt extract without alkalies does cause some storage of calcium, perhaps one of the advantages of adding malt extract to an infant's milk. Excessive calcium intake (perhaps taken as cow's milk) may cause mal-nutrition, especially if not enough sodium or phosphorus is ingested to form soluble salts, and, therefore, an accumulation of calcium occurs. It is difficult to increase the calcium content of the blood and tissues if they are saturated, but easy to increase this content if they are calcium depleted. The administration of dilute hydrochloric acid increases calcium and magnesium output as well as potassium and sodium output, and acidosis in diabetics may increase the loss of calcium. It has been suggested that scurvy may be due in part to calcium disturbance. Milk is an important calcium food. There is considerable calcium in greens, and in the green parts of vegetables. There is very little calcium in tubers and roots, but it may be supplied by carrots.

Iron. This metal is a necessity for health, but is required in such a small daily amount that it is easily obtained from an ordinary mixed diet. Spinach contains more iron than most any other food. Meat in all forms contains iron; even flour, oatmeal, rice and yolk of egg contain a small amount of iron. Milk, most vegetables and some fruits contain a little iron, and most waters contain iron in varying amounts. The salts contained in vegetables are largely combinations of potassium and sodium.