By E. C. Robertson and F. F. Tisdall and by Dr. E. V. McCollum
Summary: Excerpts from two chapters of a 1939 compilation by the Canadian Medical Association, which admits that "the practical application of facts concerning nutrition has not kept pace with our increasing knowledge" and warns Canadian physicians that they "must increase their interest in this problem of normal nutrition, otherwise the public will seek information on this subject elsewhere." (Advice that was, tragically, almost wholly ignored.) In the chapter "Nutrition and Resistance to Disease,” Roberston and Tisdall explain that while clinical evidence regarding nutrient deficiencies in humans can be difficult to obtain because of experimental limitations, this is not the case for animal studies, which show quite clearly the effects of even "comparatively slight" shortages in vitamins. The authors present studies showing drastic differences in resistance to disease in animals fed a diet sufficient in nutrients and those fed diets deficient in, respectively, vitamins A, B, and D; minerals; and animal protein. “These studies furnish clear-cut evidence that improper nutrition lowers the resistance of the animal to infection," the authors state, "and also that the nutritional deficiency does not have to be so severe as to produce outstanding evidence of disease." In the second chapter, “Better Nutrition as a Health Measure," Dr. McCollum discusses the specific roles of vitamins A, C, and D in the body and in dental health in particular. Reprint 115, 1939.
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