are furnished in amounts which
science is proving to be necessary for the health and well-being of
the organism.

The sixth essential food substance, the ~Vitamines~, together with the
adjustment of the five foodstuffs just mentioned--the amounts and
types of each in the dietary which will assure the body of the best
results--has been, and still is a subject of grave interest. Even on
the most perfect adjustment of these foodstuffs, the diet would fail
to give the desired results without the inclusion of the sixth, or
vitamine factor, which has proved to be essential for the growth and
development of the normal body, as well as for its protection against
certain deficiency diseases.

In order to obtain the best results from food, both from a health and
an economic standpoint, it is necessary to become familiar with the
foodstuffs as they are combined to make up the various common food
materials. One foodstuff may be a producer of heat, but may lack
certain chemical elements which are essential to the building of
tissues; another may be able to accomplish both functions in the body,
but will prove too expensive to use as fuel, except when it is
absolutely necessary to do so. Thus, it is essential for the nurse to
understand where and how both the foodstuffs and the vitamines occur
in nature, in order to make use of them more advantageously. The
following table gives the sources of the foodstuffs, after which a
description of the individual foodstuffs and vitamine factors will
serve to point the way to their use in the dietary:

{ Milk, cheese (especially skim milk cheese).
{ Eggs.
{ Meat (lean meat in particular).
{ Poultry, game.
{ Fish.
Proteins { Cereals, corn, wheat, rye, oats, etc.
{ Bread and breadstuffs (crackers, pastry, macaroni,
{ cake).
{ Beans, peas, lentils.
{ Cotton seed.
{ Nuts.
{ Gelatin.

{ Wheat products (bread, cake, crackers, pastry,
{ macaroni, spaghetti).
{ Cereal grains, breakfast foods.
{ Corn products, corn meal, green corn.
{ Rice, sago, tapioca, taro.
{ Potatoes (white and sweet).
Carbohydrates { Starchy fruits (bananas).