The nutrition of man / Russell H. Chittenden.

  • Chittenden, Russell H. (Russell Henry), 1856-1943.
Date:
1907
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The nutrition of man / Russell H. Chittenden. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    disintegration, decomposition, and oxidation, by which arises the evolution of energy to maintain the heat of the body and the power for mental and physical work. These three main functions constitute the purpose of nutri¬ tion. The growth of the adult man from the tiny cell or germ that marks his simple beginning is at the expense of the food material he absorbs and assimilates. The rehabili¬ tation of the cells, or the composite tissues of the fully de¬ veloped organism, is accomplished through utilization of the daily food, whereby cell substance is renewed and all losses made good. The energy which manifests itself in the form of heat and mechanical or mental work, i. e., the energy by which the vital machinery is maintained in ceaseless activity, comes from the breaking down of the food materials by means of which, as the saying goes, the body is nourished. The body thus becomes the centre of different lines of activity, the food serving as the material out of which new cells and tissues are constructed, old cells revivified, and energy for running the bodily machinery derived. Development, growth, and vital activity all depend upon the availability of food in proper amounts and proper quality. The food of man is composed mainly of organic materials, for while, as Dr. Curtis 1 has expressed it, “ the plant can make organic matter out of inorganic elements, just this the animal cannot do at all. The thing of legs and locomotion, of spine and speech, can build his organic walls only out of organic bricks ruthlessly ripped from existing walls of other animals or plants.” It is true that man has need of certain inorganic salts in his daily diet, but they are in the nature of aids to nutrition (aside from such as are necessary for the formation of bone and teeth), contributing in some measure toward regulation and control of nutritive processes rather 1 Edward Curtis, M.D. Nature and Health : Henry Holt & Co., New York. 1906. p. 39.