atient may be able to avoid future trouble from partaking of
the same food.

~Personal Idiosyncrasies.~--It may be that there is a personal
idiosyncrasy against one particular food, and in this case it becomes
more or less of a simple matter to prevent future attacks. Certain
individuals are, for example, invariably poisoned by eating shellfish,
others manifest a similar idiosyncrasy against strawberries. Thus is
the old proverb demonstrated: "What is one man's meat is another
man's poison." And he who wantonly flies in the face of the danger
signals Nature provides for his guidance must necessarily suffer the
consequences of his folly.

It has been proved with certain individuals that the foods that at one
time cause an attack of poison at another time may be eaten with
impunity. Thus it would seem to remain a question not so much of the
type of poison, ptomaines, etc., as the amount of resistance
manifested at the time by the individual partaking of the infected
food.

ACIDOSIS

~Metabolism of Fats.~--Acidosis is a condition believed to be due
primarily to some impairment in the metabolism of fat in the body, in
consequence of which there is an accumulation of substances more or
less irritating and at times toxic in character in the blood. These
substances, known as acetone bodies, are especially apt to appear in
the urine of individuals suffering from diabetes, likewise in those
undergoing starvation, whether as a result of treatment to overcome a
definite pathological condition, as in diabetes, or as the result of
disease itself.

~Malnutrition as a Source.~--Certain individuals, children especially,
develop symptoms of acidosis under many different circumstances; for
example, in many cases of malnutrition the evidences of acidosis are
almost invariable. The treatment in these cases must be, of course,
prompt in order that the condition may not assume a serious aspect.

~Dietetic Treatment.~--The diet is adjusted in order to neutralize the
effect of the acid in the blood. This is done in two ways: first, by
reducing the fat, and second, by increasing the amount of base-forming
foods in the diet.

The following table[164] illustrates the foods in which the
acid-forming elements and base-forming elements predominate:

FOODS IN WHICH ACID-FORMING ELEMENTS PREDOMINATE

_Estimated Excess Acid-forming Elements Equivalent to C.C. Normal Acid
per 100 Calories_

Beef, free from visible fat