An experimental inquiry regarding the nutritive value of alcohol / by W.O. Atwater and F.G. Benedict.

  • Atwater, W. O. (Wilbur Olin), 1844-1907.
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An experimental inquiry regarding the nutritive value of alcohol / by W.O. Atwater and F.G. Benedict. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    AN EXPERIMENTAL INQUIRY REGARDING THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF ALCOHOL BY W. O. ATWATER AND F. G. BENKDICT. INTRODUCTION. The present report gives the details of a number of metabolism experiments with men, in which the effects of diet with and without alcohol have been compared.* The details of a number of digestion experiments, which form part of the same investigations, have also been included. PURPOSE OF THE EXPERIMENTS. The main purpo.se of the experiments has been to get light upon the effects of alcohol in the diet, with especial reference to the question of its nuti'itive value. Food is used in the bod_y to build and repair tissue and to furnish energy. Only the nitrogenous compounds (protein) of the food serve the first purpo.se; they also serve as a source of energy, but the main supply of energj' is obtained from the fats and carbohydrates. The fuel ingredients may be burned at once or may be stored for future use. Alcohol contains no nitrogen ^nd therefore can not build or repair tissue; it is rather to be classed with the fats and carbohydrates, and if it has any food value, this must be as a fuel. It does not appear to be stored for any considerable time, but is disposed of soon after it is taken into the body. Alcohol, however, differs from the protein, fats, and carbohydrates of food materials in that it may exert, and when taken in large enough doses does exert, an indirect aetion upon the brain and nerves and through them upon the nutritive and other processes to which the general term metabolism is applied. In this way its actual value may be either increased or diminished according as it aids or hinders digestion, or either accelerates or retards metabolism. We have then to consider not only its direct action as nutriment for the supply of energy, but also its indirect action upon the metabolism and utilization of other food. In the experiments here The inquiry was undertaken at tlie instance of the Committee of Fifty for the Investigation of the Drink Problem. The experimental work was done in the chemical laboratory of Wesleyan University. A large share of the expense was borne by the committee of fifty although contributions were also received from the Elizabeth Thompson and Bache funds and from private individuals. The experiments were parallel with others of similar character, which are conducted under the auspices of the United States Department of Agriculture. These latter experiments form a part of a general inquiry regarding the food and nutrition of man, which is authorized by Congress and prosecuted in different parts of the United States. The special inquiry into the nutritive action of alcohol was made possible by the generosity of Wesleyan University, which offered to the committee of fifty the use of laboratory and other facilities that have been made available to the Department of Agriculture and the Storrs Experiment Station for nutrition inquiries. The investigation has been pursued with the active cooperation of a number of gentlemen, including especially Mr. A. P. Bryant, under whose direction the computations of the results have been made, and Mr. A. W. Smith, Dr. O. F. Tower, and Dr. J. F. Snell, all of whom have been intimately associated with the elaboration of the apparatus and methods. Mr. SMiTir and Dr. Snell served as subjects in- several of the experiments reported beyond, though the subject of the larger number was Mr. E. Osterberg. The details of the experiments without alcohol and of two of those with alcohol, Nos. 7 and 10, have been published in. bulletins of the United States Department of Agriculture as stated beyond.