Experimental rickets : the effect of cereals and their interaction with other factors of diet and environment in producing rickets / by Edward Mellanby.

  • Edward Mellanby
Date:
1925
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Experimental rickets : the effect of cereals and their interaction with other factors of diet and environment in producing rickets / by Edward Mellanby. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/106 (page 6)
    rickets-producing effects ; that; for instance, oatmeal would be expected to have a less intense rickets-producing action than white wheaten flour, and that unpolished rice would not be as potent as polished rice. These suggestions were based on the view that a cereal like oatmeal, which contains much more calcium. and phosphorus than wheaten flour, would either assist in the deposition of these elements in growing bone or, at least, would have a slighter interfering action. From this standpoint the suggestion not only seemed reasonable, but it might be further claimed to have the general support of those interested in dietetics. However, the results of experiments described below will show the danger of any surmise on the subject of dietetics, when the point has not been tested experimentally. I have already described many of the experimental results detailed in this publication when reading papers to or giving lectures before different societies, among which may be mentioned the Oliver- Sliarpey lectures of the Royal College of Physicians in 1922 [1 e] and. the discussion on the aetiology of rickets at the Glasgow meeting of the British Medical Association in the same year [1 /]. Since that time I have endeavoured to get some insight into the sequence of events and more especially to find the substance or substances in cereals which, under some conditions, interfere with the calci¬ fication of bone and the proper functioning of other tissues. This problem has proved more difficult than I expected, for its solu¬ tion does not appear to depend, as seemed at first probable, upon some well-recognized dietetic factor or factors. rlhe elimination of each known factor in turn is a slow process, but it is only when this has been done that fresh ground can be broken. Although the investigation is still incomplete, I have decided to publish the facts as I have so far observed them, partly because of their practical importance in dietetics, and also because they put into better per¬ spective one aspect of recent work on rickets, more particularly emphasized by American investigators, viz. the question as to the importance of the phosphorus and calcium elements of the diet in the aetiology of the disease. Further, as I have previously urged, they give emphasis to the importance of balance in dietary constituents. I shall first give an account of experiments which demonstrate the relative rickets-producing1 effect of different cereals, and then describe some attempts made to discover the cause of these differ¬ ences. Evidence will also be given which shows that the rickets- producing effect of cereals can be modified to varying extents not only by other constituents of the diet but also by radiations of the ultra-violet lamp applied either to the skin or some foodstuffs. In some instances the antagonizing influences can completely overcome the effect of cereals, whereas in other cases the antagonism is not so complete. It will be seen that there is a constant battle going on among dietetic elements as regards the calcification of bone, some substances stimulating and others preventing the process, and the ultimate structure of the bone is the outcome of the conflict. 1 The term ‘rickets-producing’ is used throughout this publication in a general sense and does not necessarily imply the presence of an active and specific agent.