Published Science

Lacto-ovo-vegetarian women fifty to eighty-nine years of age lost 18 per cent bone mineral mass while omnivorous women lost 35 per cent. This study established that this difference could not be explained by a greater bone density in the lacto-ovo-vegetarians during the third, fourth, and fifth decades of life. The possibility of higher sulfur content in the meat-containing diet, the effect of excess phosphorus, and the effect of an acid-ash diet are discussed. From the standpoint of a general survey, comsumption of calcium-containing foods was not appreciably different in the two groups. It is, therefore, concluded that lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet may be beneficial in extended protective health care in terms of defense against, or control of, bone mineral loss in the later years of a woman's life.

Twenty patients who had symptoms that were apparently neurotically functional are reported because they proved to have abnormal red cell transketolase activity. Although in many of the cases the etiology appeared to be associated with heavy consumption of "junk" foods, carbonated or sweet beverages, and candy, this was not so in all of them and the etiology in these cases remains obscure. The symptoms in all 20 patients could be correlated with those well documented in early beriberi and all were clinically improved by the administration of thiamin. In only two cases were other vitamins administered. Such improvement was slow and there were no dramatic recoveries. In 10 patients improved transketolase activity was correlated with clinical well-being. The other 10 patients did not keep their return appointments. Telephone contract revealed that they were asymptomatic.

Serum concentrations of thyrotropin (TSH), thyroxine (T4), 3,3',5-triiodothyronine (T3), and 3,3',5'-triiodothyronine (rT3) were determined in blood samples from 140 full-term healthy newborns, 110 appropriate weight and 30 large-for-gestational age, aged 1 to 6 days, delivered vaginally and breast-fed. Serum TSH levels decreased progressively from the 1st to the 4th day; serum T4 levels increased, with a peak on the 2nd day, and then progressively decreased until the 6th day; serum T3 levels increased to a maximum value on the 2nd day and then decreased to a minimum on the 5th day; serum rT3 levels increased during the 1st day and the level remained constant from the 2nd to the 4th day and later decreased slightly. The decrease of T3 was more pronounced than that of T4, while rT3 remained at high levels until the 4th day. Dividing the data into narrower intervals of time, it was possible to show that the maximum value of TSH was followed first by a net increase in serum T3, then in T4, and lastly in rT3 ant T3 levels. These data indicate that the rapid increase after birth of serum T3 levels is prevalently TSH-dependent; the following increase in serum levels of T3 and the increase in rT3 are prevalently T4-dependent. This study provides data concerning physiological changes in TSH and thyroid hormones in serum from a large number of infants, during the first week of life. They should be useful for the understanding of thyroid function in early postnatal life.

Incidence rates for cancer of the colon are more closely related to the extent of economic development in different countries than are those for any other form of cancer. Highest rates are found in Western countries. For example, age-adjusted yearly rates for men from 30 to 65 years old are, in Connecticut, 51.8 per 100,000; in Scotland, 51.5; and in New York, 45.3.1 Lowest rates have been reported from Africa, those for Uganda being 3.5; Mozambique, 5.5; and Nigeria, 5.9. Between these extremes are rates for Bombay, India, 14.6; and for Eastern Europe, with Yugoslavia at 20.1 and Bulgaria at 21.0.

Much of the interest in the relationship of dietary fiber to carbohydrate metabolism has stemmed from the suggestion that diabetes should be included in the long list of Western diseases that are associated with a deficiency of dietary fiber.1 Work in this area has been further stimulated by the results of trials of fiber in the treatment of diabetes. Kiehm et al.2 and Anderson and Ward3 found that when diabetic patients on low doses of insulin were treated with high-carbohydrate, high-fiber diets, insulin requirements were reduced. Jenkins et al.4,5 showed that addition of guar gum to the diet lessened glycosuria in diabetics regardless of insulin dose. Results from Miranda and Horwitz6 indicated that feeding a high-cellulose bread to diabetics flattened the glucose profile throughout the day. These studies opened up the possibility of developing treatments for diabetics aimed at modifying small-intestinal events. They also presented the opportunity to explore and develop the results of such changes in terms of overall carbohydrate metabolism. This, in turn, stimulated work to determine types of dietary fiber which may be most effective in modifying glucose tolerance and in defining the physicochemical properties responsible for these effects. Also, practical questions concerning mode of administration, timing with the meal, and the nature of the best background diet have been raised.

Persons with diabetes mellitus may reap substantial benefits from increasing their intake of dietary fiber. The short-term use of selected fibers lowers blood glucose values and insulin requirements1,2; serum cholesterol and triglyceride values may also decline.1,3 The long-term effects of fiber intake have not been evaluated, but two potential benefits can be proposed. First, improved diabetic control should lessen the likelihood of the specific complications of diabetes.4 Second, improved diabetic control coupled with lower serum cholesterol and triglyceride values should lessen the risk of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Epidemiological evidence supports both these suggestions. In regions such as Japan, India, and the West Indies where the intake of carbohydrate and dietary fiber is high, the specific complications of diabetes are less frequent than in Western countries, where the fiber intake is low.5–7 Heart attacks and diabetic gangrene among persons with diabetes are less common in India and Japan than in the United States.6,7 Thus, an increase in dietary fiber intake by persons with diabetes may improve diabetic control; the risk for the small-blood-vessel complications specific for diabetes as well as for large-blood-vessel disease may be decreased.

The origins of the current interest in the role of dietary fiber in lipid metabolism came from a large body of epidemiological data that appeared in the early 1970s. These data compared the incidence of diseases common in the Western world with their incidence in native African populations.1–3 The extremely high consumption of dietary fiber in the African populations studied was suggested as a possible explanation for their decreased susceptibility to“Western”-type diseases. A great deal of discussion has ensued concerning the validity of these arguments as well as possible mechanisms for the involvement of dietary fiber in individual disease processes.4–7

The observation that diets rich in cereals produced rickets in puppies if they were also fed inadequate amounts of a fat-soluble vitamin was made by Mel-lanby1 during the First World War. The historical development of the concept that phytate might be involved in this rachitic effect has been set out by Wid-dowson,2 one of the pioneers in this field. The observations were extended to man more than 40 years ago by McCance and co-workers during studies on the nutritional effects of whole-grain bread and oatmeal.3–5 At that time, the deleterious effect of many unrefined foods, particularly cereals, on calcium and iron balances was ascribed to their phytate content. Only recently has fiber itself been implicated, and the concern for the malabsorption of other minerals been extended to include zinc. Much of this older work is still relevant today, and, since these classic studies are often neglected when considering the problem of mineral malabsorption on high-fiber diets, they will be evaluated in this chapter.

In 1971, Painter and Burkitt1 published a hypothesis in the British Medical Journal suggesting that diverticular disease of the colon was caused by a deficient intake of dietary fiber. The publication of this theory stimulated a number of detailed research investigations, the results of which are now becoming available and enabling critical reevaation of the hypothesis.

The plasma lipoprotein profile bears an established relationship to the clinical appearance of atherosclerotic heart disease (AHD).1,2 Continuiing refinements can be expected in our understanding of the relationship of individual lipoprotein fractions to atherogenesis and of the qualitative effects of specific dietary variables on the lipoprotein spectrum. However, expert committees in most Western countries have made general recommendations for dietary changes intended to reduce the incidence of AHD. These dietary recommendations have emphasized alterations in fatty acid and cholesterol intake.3 Clinical experience indicates that such changes can be expected to reduce mean plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations by about 15% but are insufficient to achieve the low levels typical of low-risk populations.

The most important problem that becomes apparent when discussing the effect of dietary fiber on colonic function is the limited procedures for assessing colonic function. Unlike the measurement of respiratory, cardiac, or renal function in physiology and medicine, no comparable methods exist to assess colon function. The clinician usually asks only if an individual’s bowels move regularly, partly because colon function is so poorly defined. The role of the colon is somewhat belittled, as it is possible to live in good health with an ileostomy, i.e., with the colon totally removed. The ileostomy situation, however, does not sufficiently emphasize the absorptive and functional changes that must occur in the ileum to compensate for the loss of the colon. The functions of the colon (Fig. 1) can be summarized as follows.

Because of a suggested relationship between dietary fiber and a number of diseases of the large bowel, most studies have concentrated on the effects of dietary fiber on the function and morphology in the large bowel. However, as large-bowel changes may be the result of reactions taking place farther upstream, there is an increasing interest in the effects of diet on the internal milieu of the small intestine.

Epidemiology is defined as the study of disease distribution in a population. During the past 30 years, this tool has served as a major vehicle for the identification of risk factors in neoplastic disorders.

In many highly industrialized nations, colorectal cancer is the most commonly diagnosed internal malignancy when male and female rates of occurrence are combined.1–3 In Canada and the United States, in particular, it has emerged as a major cause of cancer mortality and a leading cause of significant morbidity among all types of malignancy.1,2 In 1977, over 100,000 individuals were diagnosed with large-bowel cancer in the United States alone, and about 50,000 persons died with this malignancy.1 Clearly colon cancer is one of the most serious problems facing our society. Unfortunately, even fundamental mechanisms involved in its etiology, pathogenesis, natural history, and spread of metastases are not well understood.

The extraordinary commonness of obesity in urbanized communities is largely unexplained. Popular theories link it to physical inactivity or gluttony, but supporting data are scanty. Inability to limit food intake to the required physiological amount is generally blamed on a defect in the eater. However, in urbanized societies food itself is altered in many ways. One of the most drastic alterations is the fiber-depleting process in the manufacture of white flour and sugar.

This resource is a citation record only, the Center for Digital Antiquity does not have a copy of this document. The information in this record has been migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and updated. Most NADB-R records consist of a document citation and other metadata but do not have the documents themselves uploaded. If you have a digital copy of the document and would like to have it curated in tDAR, please contact us at comments@tdar.org.

This resource is a citation record only, the Center for Digital Antiquity does not have a copy of this document. The information in this record has been migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and updated. Most NADB-R records consist of a document citation and other metadata but do not have the documents themselves uploaded. If you have a digital copy of the document and would like to have it curated in tDAR, please contact us at comments@tdar.org.

Dietary fiber has forced its way to our attention in recent years for two main reasons: its noticeable effect on bowel habit in an age when fecal output is probably lower than it has ever been, and the suggestion that lack of dietary fiber is the cause of many of our current health problems.

Intestinal transit is the phenomenon accomplished by what is at first food, later chyme, and still later feces in making the journey of about one or two days along the alimentary canal. Transit is an important function to study, first because of its relationship to the change from food to chyme; at this stage, digestion is the principal activity affecting intestinal transit, mainly in the small bowel. Second, transit is studied in relation to the production of the formed feces; the retention and the excretory functions of the gut are the activities then under examination. “Intestinal transit” is most often measured as the total intestinal transit time along the whole alimentary tract and as such is mainly a function of propulsion in the small and large intestine. Yet, since there are variable periods of delay in the stomach, cecum, and rectum, such total measurements may be rendered capricious. The contribution of the various sectors of the alimentary tract physiologically to gastrointestinal transit will be summarized first.

Digestive enzymes adapt to the diet when substrate intake is altered. An analysis of experimental works shows that this process includes many enzymes. The intestinal step of digestion is the most important in the enzyme breakdown of dietary components. In the first part of this paper, I have pooled the data on the adaptive potency of pancreatic and intestinal enzymes. When protein, carbohydrate and lipid digestions are considered successively, it is clear that the enzymes involved adapt to any change in substrate intake. For instance, when the amount of starch intake increases, the specific activity of pancreatic amylase is stimulated. At the same time, augmenting the disaccharide level leads to an increase in specific disaccharidase activity, and the absorption rate of some simple hydrolytic products, such as fructose, increases. It thus appears that altering the amount of starch intake leads to a parallel change in the activity of all the enzymes involved in the sequential hydrolysis of the dietary carbohydrates. The second part of the paper discusses the physiological significance of this adaptation in terms of utility to the animal. Two situations are considered in which (i) the nutritional requirements are supplied by food or (ii) they are not supplied either because of a dietary or an enzyme deficiency. When the nutritional requirements, particularly that of protein, are met, adaptation is apparently not useful to the animal. Nevertheless, the role of this adaptation on the hydrolysis rate of different substrates can be supposed. When nutritional requirements are not met, some data show that enzyme adaptation may be advantageous to the animal. If dietary restriction is not too severe and thus the biosynthesis of all the enzymes markedly decreases, then digestive secretions would export considerable nitrogenous material into the gastrointestinal lumen; this material could be a substrate compensating for the essential components lacking in the diet. Any enzyme deficiency leading to substrate decrease is similar to a dietary deficiency. Many experimental studies have shown that in pancreatic deficiency the adaptive potency of the organism is responsible for establishing digestive compensation.

The effect of cell density on low density lipoprotein (LDL) binding by cultured human skin fibroblasts was investigated. Bound LDL was visualized by indirect immunofluorescence. Cellular lipid and cholesterol were monitored by fluorescence in cells stained with phosphine 3R and filipin, respectively. LDL binding and lipid accumulation were compared in cells in stationary and exponentially growing cultures, in sparsely and densely plated cultures, in wounded and non-wounded areas of stationary cultures, and in stationary cultures with and without the addition of lipoprotein-deficient serum. We conclude that LDL binding and cholesterol accumulation induced by LDL are influenced by cell density. It appears that, compared to rapidly growing cells, quiescent (noncycling) human fibroblasts exhibit fewer functional LDL receptors.

The effects of high-carbohydrate, high plant fiber (HCF) diets on glucose and lipid metabolism of 20 lean men receiving insulin therapy for diabetes mellitus were evaluated on a metabolic ward. All men received control diets for an average of 7 days followed by HCF diets for an average of 16 days. Diets were designed to be weight-maintaining and there were no significant alterations in body weight. The daily dose of insulin was lower for each patient on the HCF diet than on the control diet. The average insulin dose was reduced from 26 +/- 3 units/day (mean +/- SEM) on the control diets to 11 +/- 3 (P less than 0.001) on the HCF diets. On the HCF diets, insulin therapy could be discontinued in nine patients receiving 15 to 20 units/day and in two patients receiving 32 units/day. Fasting and 3-hr postprandial plasma glucose values were lower in most patients on the HCF diets than on the control diets despite lower insulin doses. Serum cholesterol values dropped from 206 +/- 10 mg/dl on the control diets to 147 +/- 5 (P less than 0.001) on the HCF diet; average fasting serum triglyceride values were not significantly altered on the HCF diets. These studies suggest that HCF diets may be the dietary therapy of choice for certain patients with the maturity-onset type of diabetes.

Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) receptor activity, as reflected by LDL degradation, was stimulated by the addition of insulin to cultures of human skin fibroblasts. These changes occurred independently of the glucose concentration of the incubation medium and occurred whether or not LDL receptor activity was suppressed. A comparison of the saturation kinetics of LDL receptor activity in the presence and absence of insulin indicated that insulin produced a 35% increase in Vmax with no difference in "apparent Km". These results suggest that insulin enhances LDL receptor activity by increasing the number of LDL receptors rather than by influencing binding affinity. In confirmation, LDL degradation by receptor negative cells was not enhanced by insulin. Sterol synthesis from [14C]acetate was also stimulated by insulin, but egress of cholesterol and cellular cholesterol content were unaffected by the hormone. The effect of insulin on LDL receptors was not dependent on its known ability to enhance cellular DNA synthesis and proliferation, because insulin stimulated LDL receptor activity in cells kept quiescent by maintenance in plasma-derived serum that was devoid of platelet derived growth factor. Nevertheless, the effect of insulin in enhancing LDL receptor number, coupled with stimulation of endogenous cholesterol synthesis, provides a mechanism whereby the cell could theoretically increase its supply of cholesterol during times of additional need.

Muscle samples from Friesian bulls were obtained using the Bergstrom percutaneous biopsy needle. The samples (100 to 200 mg) were suitable for metabolite and enzymic analyses and histological examination in relation to meat quality. The physiological response to biopsy was assessed by measuring serum free fatty acid and blood glucose concentrations, plasma creatine kinase activity and heart rate. Muscle glycogen concentration was also measured. These parameters were unchanged by the experimental procedure, with the exception of blood glucose and heart rate which showed significant increases. The experimental animals showed no adverse effects after repeated biopsy and it is concluded that the technique is suitable for investigating beef muscle metabolism in vivo, and does not cause an unacceptable degree of stress.

This study reports the effect of a vegetarian diet and dexamethasone administration on the hormone status of healthy Caucasian men and premenopausal women. A lower nocturnal release of prolactin and testosterone occurred in men fed a vegetarian diet, while in women, dexamethasone administration decreased the nocturnal release of prolactin and caused a greater decrease of plasma dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). These results show that diet modification can induce hormonal changes, If similar changes occur in patients with breast and/or prostatic cancer, diet modification may be of benefit in these patients with tumors known to be hormonally dependent.

This study reports the effect of a vegetarian diet and dexamethasone administration on the hormone status of healthy Caucasian men and premenopausal women. A lower nocturnal release of prolactin and testosterone occurred in men fed a vegetarian diet, while in women, dexamethasone administration decreased the nocturnal release of prolactin and caused a greater decrease of plasma dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). These results show that diet modification can induce hormonal changes, If similar changes occur in patients with breast and/or prostatic cancer, diet modification may be of benefit in these patients with tumors known to be hormonally dependent.

The effects of total fasting for 31 +/- 10 days followed by re-alimentation with an 800 calorie diet on thyroid function, i.e. T4,T3,rT3,RT3U (resin T3 uptake), and TSH, and on TBG levels in serum were studied sequentially in obese hospitalized patients (N=18). Additionally, cortisol, growth hormone, prolactin, parathyrin and free fatty acids were followed as hormonal and metabolic parameters, respectively. Further, CBG, transferrin, alpha 2-haptoglobin and complement C'3 were measured as representatives of other serum proteins. Results before fasting: T4, T3, TBG, cortisol, CBG, alpha 2-haptoglobin and complement C'3 of the obese patients were elevated when compared with healthy normal weight controls, whereas rT3, T4/TBG ratio, T3/TBG ratio, TSH, coritsol/cbg ratio, growth hormone, prolactin, parathyrin and transferrin of the obese group were normal. RT3U and fT4 index were decreased in the obese patients. Results during fasting: Significant decreases were observed during fasting for the following parameters -- T3, TBG, T3/TBG ratio, transferrin, alpha 2-haptoglobin complement C'3. rT3, T4/TBG ratio, RT3U, fT4 index and FFA increased. T4, tsh response to TRH stimulation, cortisol, CBG, cortisol/cbg ratio, parathyrin, growth hormone and prolactin did not change. Results during re-alimentation: T3, TBG, T3/TBG ratio, TSH response to TRH, transferrin, alpha 2-haptoglobin and complement C'3 increased. Conversely, fT3, RT3U, FFA, cortisol and cortisol/cbg ratio decreased whereas the other parameters did not change. CONCLUSIONS: 1) There is no evidence for primary hypothyroidism in obese patients during prolonged fasting and re-alimentation. 2) The rapid decrease of T3 and increase of RT3U after initiation of fasting are not fully explained by the observed slower decreases in TBG. 3) The alterations of T3, rT3 and RT3U resemble in their kinetics the changes in FFA levels. 4) Fasting reduced the levels of only certain serum proteins, interestingly TBG, transferrin, alpha 2-haptoglobin and complement C'3, all of which, except transferrin, are elevated in obesity. 5) The magnitude of the observed decreases does not suggest any clinically relevant deficiencies in serum proteins. 6) Re-alimentation reverses rapidly all observed changes.

Severe nutritional deficiencies developed in four infants from a new vegan religious community. They had received breast milk until the age of 3 months; thereafter, breast milk was supplemented with or replaced by extremely low caloric-density preparations. All of the infants had profound protein-caloric malnutrition, severe rickets, osteoporosis, and vitamin B12 and other deficiencies. One infant died, while the three others had an uneventful recovery. After discharge of the infants from the hospital, the community responded well to a modification of the infants' diet, which did not violate their vegetarian philosophy. However, they refused to give their infants vitamin B12 on a regular basis.

Severe nutritional deficiencies developed in four infants from a new vegan religious community. They had received breast milk until the age of 3 months; thereafter, breast milk was supplemented with or replaced by extremely low caloric-density preparations. All of the infants had profound protein-caloric malnutrition, severe rickets, osteoporosis, and vitamin B12 and other deficiencies. One infant died, while the three others had an uneventful recovery. After discharge of the infants from the hospital, the community responded well to a modification of the infants' diet, which did not violate their vegetarian philosophy. However, they refused to give their infants vitamin B12 on a regular basis.

Records of the dietary intake of 52 preschool vegetarian children seen from 1974 to 1976 revealed that macrobiotic vegetarian diets provided amounts of vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus that were marginal as well as less than the amounts provided by other vegetarian diets. Vitamin D supplements were rarely given. Two subjects had roentgenographic evidence of rickets. The medical histories of 32 children on macrobiotic diets who were examined in 1977 more frequently included prior physical and roentgenographic findings indicative of rickets, whereas those of 17 other vegetarian children did not. Children in the former group were more likely to have elevated levels of serum alkaline phosphatase. Two additional cases of rickets in children consuming a macrobiotic diet confirmed by roentgenograms were brought to our attention during the study.

Concentrations of ketone bodies, free fatty acids, glycerol, lactate, glucose, insulin, glucagon and cortisol were determined 6-hourly during 36 hours of fasting in 4 hyperthyroid patients and in 4 euthyroid controls. The concentrations of ketone bodies were elevated in hyperthyroid patients from the beginning and increased during fasting more rapidly and to higher values as compared to the controls. After 6 hours of fasting the blood ketone concentrations were 1.1--1.8 mM in hyperthyroid patients and 0.3--0.6 mM in the controls. After 36 hours the concentrations had increased to about 3.5 mM and 1.4 mM in hyperthyroid and control subjects, respectively. The concentrations of free fatty acids were identical in the groups compared postprandially, but increased significantly more in the hyperthyroid patients than in the controls during fasting. The glycerol concentration was higher in the hyperthyroid group throughout the observation period. The concentrations of insulin were slightly higher in the hyperthyroid group than in the control, whereas the concentrations of the "ketogenic" hormones, glucagon and cortisol were identical in the compared groups. It is concluded that hyperthyroidism leads to an increased tendency to ketosis, that is partly explained by increased concentrations of free fatty acids and that might also involve a direct action of long term thyroid hormone excess on enzyme activities (e.g. carnitine acyltransferase in liver).

In spite of numerous studies in the literature, it is still questionable as to whether the isocaloric exchange of carbohydrate and fat, in the form of a diet, leads to different degrees of weight loss. In comparative studies, obese patients given a low-carbohydrate (4.14 MJ [1000 kcal]) formula diet (diet Ia) lost 14.0 +/- 1.4 kg and those given an iso-energetic high-carbohydrate diet (diet Ib) 9.8 +/- 0.9 kg. The degree of weight loss was significantly different. Daily weight losses were 362 g and 298 g respectively. Comparative studies of high and low-carbohydrate (7.83 MJ [1900 kcal]) formula diets (diets IIa and b) with a greater number of calories did not show any significant difference. However, there was a greater mean weight loss with the low-carbohydrate diet (351 g/day) compared with that under the high-carbohydrate diet (296 g/day). Evaluation of 117 patients treated with formula diets resulted in a weight loss of over 9 kg in 102 obese patients and over 18 kg in 52 patients. The good response to the low-carbohydrate diet was partly responsible for the successful therapy.

During the past four years, the Victoria Archaeological Survey has investigated the patterns of prehistoric Aboriginal settlement in coastal and central western Victoria. Many of these investigations were excavations of mounds which are a predominant archaeological feature of central western Victoria (Coutts 1976; Coutts et al., 1976; Coutts and Witter 1977a). The mounds probably were occupation sites since we found pits, hearths and ovens, the remains of animals including molluscs and eggshell, abundant waste flake debris, and finished and partly finished stone tools. The larger mounds appear to have been used as burial sites. Those sites investigated in detail date from about 3500 B.P. to 600 B.P. (Coutts and Witter 1977a). Concurrent with these investigations, we studied mounds in the Murray Valley and near the Grampians in western Victoria. A small mound (MK/1) near Toolondo, south of Horsham, has been dated at 820 [plus-or-minus] 95 B.P. (Coutts and Witter 1977a: 65). This mound is different to those found in central western Victoria in that it is essentially one layer, consisting of a mixture of charcoal and clay interspersed with burnt clay fragments and contained no stone tools, flake debitage, food debris, pits or burnt stones.

The following study examines the determinants of policy change in the area of nutrition. It is the purpose of this investigation to explain the change from a selective, or low income orientation, to a comprehensive orientation in nutrition policy [in the 1970s].

During the spring and summer months the diet of three Inuit families living in a seal hunting camp south of Holman, N. W. T., was studied. A total of 13 food items including the most commonly eaten mammal, bird and plant species were analysed for Vitamin C in both the raw and cooked state. We document a daily intake of ascorbic acid of between 11 and 118 mg and estimate a mean does of at least 30 mg. This is well above the levels documented in larger transitional culture villages by a recent Nutrition Canada report /// On a étudié pendant le printemps et l'été, le régime de trois familles Esquimaux qui vivaient dans un camps de chasse au phoque, au sud d'Holman, N. W. T. Au total, 13 types de nourriture, comprenant les mammifères, le plus souvent mangés, des espèces d'oiseaux et de plantes, étaient analysés pour la recherche de vitamine C, soit à l'état crû, soit à l'état cuit. Le résultat est une prise journalière d'acide scorbique de 11 à 118 mg, en moyenne de 30 mgs. Ceci est bien au dessus de ce qui a été constaté dans le villages de culture de transition (rapport Canadien sur la nutrition.)

The effect of a high protein (meat) intake of 2 g/kg on the calcium excretions and retention and on the intestinal calcium absorption was studied in man. In the control study the protein intake averaged 1 g/kg. The studies were carried out during a low calcium intake of 200 mg/day and a normal calcium intake of 800 mg/day. Two additional studies were carried out during a calcium intake of 1100 mg/day and one during a 2000 mg calcium intake. During the high protein-low calcium intake and during the 800 mg calcium intake the urinary calcium did not significantly increase. It increased moderately in two studies during the higher calcium intakes, however, these excretions decreased with time to control levels. The lack of a significant increase of the urinary calcium in the majority of the studies is probably due to the higher phosphorus content of the high protein intake. The calcium absorption, determined with 47Ca, the fecal calcium and calcium balances did not differ significantly during the high protein intake. In studies carried out during a low protein (meat) intake of 0.5 g/kg the urinary calcium changed little and the fecal calcium, the 47Ca absorption, and the calcium balance remained unchanged.

Semen analysis of 66 unmarried medical students in the age group of 17-21 years was carried out. A higher liquefaction time pH, motility, lower sperm count and abnormal forms were observed compared to reported values. Liquefaction time, pH and sperm count was found significantly different in non-vegetarians and vegetarians, perhaps due to difference in their dietary proteins.