The best sources of this growth-promoting dietary essential,
fat-soluble A, are whole milk, cream, butter fat, egg yolk fat, and
some products of the plant kingdom, as the leaves of plants and
certain roots. Such foods as bolted (white) flour, degerminated
corn meal, polished rice, starch, glucose, and the sugars from milk,
cane, and beet, are mentioned by authorities as especially poor in
fat-soluble vitamine.
A lesson taught by experiences during the late war, was the
importance of certain amounts of fat in the human dietary; as in
those countries where milk, butter, and fats generally were unob-
tainable, the people became singularly susceptible to contagion.
Tuberculosis, for instance, became a veritable epidemic when the
fat supply was cut too low. Whether tuberculosis does not follow
a deficiency of fat-soluble vitamine, rather than a general deficiency
of fats, is a question that is still undetermined.
Whether an abundance of olive oil, cottonseed oil, or other
vegetable fats, or lard, which do not contain fat-soluble vitamine,
will provide against the incursions of tuberculosis, or if such fats
as milk, cream, butter fat, and egg yolk fat, which contain fat-
soluble vitamine, are absolutely necessary as a protective against
disease, is a proposition that still awaits final solution.
The facts cited by recent investigators seem to agree that fat-
soluble vitamine need not be sought solely in foods known to be
rich in fats. Of the various plant structures, the leaves are the
richest in fat-soluble vitamine. Some roots are next, and lastly
cereal grains. Clover, alfalfa, spinach, Swiss chard, and lettuce
contain the fat-soluble vitamine in similar magnitude ; and of these,
lettuce has the least.
19
SCIENCE of FOOD antf COOKERY
Writing on the subject of "Fat-Soluble as Nutrifr /2 Factors in
Plant Tissues," Osborne and Mendel5 say: "o.i gm. of alfalfa,
clover, timothy, and spinach evidently furnishes relatively at least
as much of this vitamine as does o.i gm. of butter fat. These
vegetable products may in fact contain more than butter fat."
This agrees with the work of Hindhede,6 whose results with young
men correspond with observations on laboratory animals. He has
contended that fat is not required in the diet of adults if an amount
of fresh fruits and vegetables sufficient to supply the vitamines is
eaten daily.
Steenbock and Boutwell7 demonstrated that fat-soluble vitam-
ines are present also in some roots, and in cucurbitous vegetables
(pumpkin and squash). They found the carrot and the yellow
sweet potato to contain so much of the fat-soluble vitamine that,
as a source of this dietary essential, they must be classed with
leafy vegetables.
They found the yellow maize (corn) to be comparatively rich
in this growth-promoting vitamine, as when animals were depend-
ent on it for their fat-soluble vitamine, the results were good, and
sometimes, even if not in most cases, normal. On the other hand,
white maize, in every case where experimental animals were de-
pendent on it for their fat-soluble vitamine, proved to be an
absolute nutritional failure.
A lack of this essential constituent in the diet results first in
a failure of growth and maintenance of life. Second, there is oft-
occurring inflammation of the eyes, or xerophthalmia, and mal-
nutrition of the skin, as indicated by encrustation of the ears, and
sores on the body generally.
WATER-SOLUBLE B
Page 8
Presented as published in 1921. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The best sources of this growth-promoting dietary essential, fat-soluble A, are whole milk, cream, butter fat, egg yolk fat, and some products of the plant kingdom, as the leaves of plants and certain roots. Such foods as bolted (white) flour, degerminated corn meal, polished rice, starch, glucose, and the sugars from milk, cane, and beet, are mentioned by authorities as especially poor in fat-soluble vitamine.
A lesson taught by experiences during the late war, was the importance of certain amounts of fat in the human dietary; as in those countries where milk, butter, and fats generally were unobtainable, the people became singularly susceptible to contagion. Tuberculosis, for instance, became a veritable epidemic when the fat supply was cut too low. Whether tuberculosis does not follow a deficiency of fat-soluble vitamine, rather than a general deficiency of fats, is a question that is still undetermined.
Whether an abundance of olive oil, cottonseed oil, or other vegetable fats, or lard, which do not contain fat-soluble vitamine, will provide against the incursions of tuberculosis, or if such fats as milk, cream, butter fat, and egg yolk fat, which contain fatsoluble vitamine, are absolutely necessary as a protective against disease, is a proposition that still awaits final solution.
The facts cited by recent investigators seem to agree that fatsoluble vitamine need not be sought solely in foods known to be rich in fats. Of the various plant structures, the leaves are the richest in fat-soluble vitamine. Some roots are next, and lastly cereal grains. Clover, alfalfa, spinach, Swiss chard, and lettuce contain the fat-soluble vitamine in similar magnitude ; and of these, lettuce has the least.
Writing on the subject of "Fat-Soluble as Nutrient Factors in Plant Tissues," Osborne and Mendel5 say: "o.i gm. of alfalfa, clover, timothy, and spinach evidently furnishes relatively at least as much of this vitamine as does o.i gm. of butter fat. These vegetable products may in fact contain more than butter fat." This agrees with the work of Hindhede,6 whose results with young men correspond with observations on laboratory animals. He has contended that fat is not required in the diet of adults if an amount of fresh fruits and vegetables sufficient to supply the vitamines is eaten daily.
Steenbock and Boutwell7 demonstrated that fat-soluble vitamines are present also in some roots, and in cucurbitous vegetables (pumpkin and squash). They found the carrot and the yellow sweet potato to contain so much of the fat-soluble vitamine that, as a source of this dietary essential, they must be classed with leafy vegetables.
They found the yellow maize (corn) to be comparatively rich in this growth-promoting vitamine, as when animals were dependent on it for their fat-soluble vitamine, the results were good, and sometimes, even if not in most cases, normal. On the other hand, white maize, in every case where experimental animals were dependent on it for their fat-soluble vitamine, proved to be an absolute nutritional failure.
A lack of this essential constituent in the diet results first in a failure of growth and maintenance of life. Second, there is oftoccurring inflammation of the eyes, or xerophthalmia, and malnutrition of the skin, as indicated by encrustation of the ears, and sores on the body generally.
WATER-SOLUBLE B