REVIEWS.

White Ribbon, Volume 1, Issue 13, 1 July 1896, Page 2

REVIEWS.

FOOD AND DISEASE. There has recently been placed in my hands an interesting little paper, written by Mr E. F. Wright, of Hays water, London, and formerly of Canterbury, N. X , on the Etiology of Disease. In his preface Mr Wright postulates that the difference between “ prize ” fruit and “ pig food ” is that “ the chemical constituents of the fruit are combined in different proportions, so that if prize fruit is a normal, natural product, the inferior specimen ; s abnormal.” “ What is true of the vegetable kingdom if true also of *he animal kingdom, the difference between a healthy rnd unhealthy beast consisting in the normal or abnormal combination ot its constituent parts.” “And what is trie of the animal kingdom is true of the human species.” The important fact is next noted that we rarely fee a robust, healthy man in the doc).. “ We find that the criminal classes and the submerged tenth are net only under fed but illfed. The poor buy poor vegetables and animal food, at the same time eat ing largely of a poor white bread, anti as like p oduces like, the wrong chemi cal con.bination found in the poor fruit and h ilf starved animal is reproduced in the decrepit human being. A dog can be fed for an unlimited time

on brown bread, but will starve to death if fed on white. How many of those who live largely on white bread are starving their systems to day.” The principal cause of ill health is, in Mr Wright’s estimation, eating diseased food —that is, food in which the chemical combination is abnormal. Observation and experiments have led him to the conclusion that such is cer. tainly the case in the vegetable kingdom. For instance, a laurel bush having its roots round a small piece of bone grew luxuriantly, while a similar plant placed just beside it, but in the unaided soil, looked unhealthy. Again, aphis appeared on apple trees growing in a soil which was deficient in lime. A liberal dressing of lime on the soil caused the aphis to disappear. The mussel scale was removed by treating tiie trees with various potash manures. Rust in wheat was found to be due to a deficiency of soluble silica in the soil. So. too, diseases of the vine and turnip were traced tc a lack in the soil of lime and potash. The results of these observations and experiments have led the writer to believe that the “ whole range of diseases in plant life is due to the deficiency in the diseased plant of one or more of its proper constituent elements, this deficiency being caused by a corresponding deficiency in the soil.” “ One of the chief component parts ot food plants is phosphoric acid,” but the quantity of this constituent varies greatly. For instance, one sample of oats has yielded 45.10 percent, of phosphoric acid in the ash, while others only 1.5 percent. And this variation has been traced to the soil which possessed phosphoric in a similar ratio. I'he important part which phosphorous fills with regard to the human body is clearly set forth It is the great ruler of 1 he quantity of oxygen in the blood.” And to the lack of phosphorous, which in combination with oxygen constitutes

phosphorous acid, is traced that anaemic Wood which forms the starting point of consumption, cancer, insanity, epilepsy and alcoholism. It is of special interest to note that Mr Wright not only traces the lack of phosphoric in the Mood to a lack of phosphoric acid in food ; he also says that “ a’cohol dissolves phosphorous compounds, and consequently an abnormal juantity of phosphoric acid is washed out of the blood." The point Mr Wright wishes to emphasise in sending forth the pam. phlet is, that phosphorous can he so prepared that it may he assimilated by the human system. While seeing much that is valuable and interesting in the paper, I do not think it has yet been proved that the mineral can be absorbed by the animal without first passing through the vegetable. L.M.S.